Floral mail

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another fun challenge at The Flower Challenge! This month it's hip to be square as our theme is to make a square card featuring those gorgeous florals.

 

It's hard to believe it's March already and that here in the UK, we'll be celebrating Mothers Day on the 10th of this month. How fun to open an envelope and find a card inside featuring another envelope bursting with pretty flowers!

 

I stamped and fussy cut the flowers from The Greetery's Pine Blossom - which is a Christmas set but when has that ever stopped me?! Next, I cut the envelope from Mama Elephant's Botanic Envelope die set, as well as the Inside and Out leaves dies from The Greetery, which I sponged with green inks. I arranged the flowers and leaves inside the envelope and stamped it with a Mothers Day sentiment from Uniko. 

 

For the background, I stenciled a panel using blue ink and Funky Fossil's Fancy Trellis stencil, then layered a piece of thin mustard envelope paper over it. To finish, I positioned the flower filled envelope in the centre.

Right - now it's over to you! Do hop over to The Flower Challenge blog to see all the wonderful samples made by the talented design team, then come up with a creation of your own feasturing flowers on a square design.  When you're ready to share your card, you can use the Linky Tool which you'll find at the bottom of the post. You have until the 25th to join in - enjoy the challenge!

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in again at Allsorts with this envelope of spring flowers as Lorraine's theme is Spring; Spring has also sprung over at the Four Seasons Challenge so I'm linking up there too; I'm also linking up at Inspired by where I was inspired by the inspiration photo with its gorgeous envelope of blooms; and Color Dare #590 where the trio of colours are Lagoon, Clover and Honey Butter.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We've been spoilt with some moments of sunshine in the last few days, but cloud is building up again as I type and I'd better get those golden girls out before it rains! They have caught on to the fact that I always seem to be looking for water at the end of a walk and have enthusiastically joined in with the task of finding it:

 

Not sure if they read the memo all the way through though...!

Sending hugs,

Natural merriness

Hello, crafting friends!

 

In the first half of this year, I was so busy that I didn't have much time to craft. And even when I did find a minute, it was a stamp and go type of crafting. What I really love is starting a card, changing my mind, having a lightbulb moment, dragging half my stash out to find the right thing... only to have another idea and swerve off on another tack! Do you know what I mean? That's how this card was made!

 

I had a vague idea of making a Christmas card and I knew I wanted to use some left over botanical die cuts on it, perhaps as a wreath, but the card base started as white until I came over all rustic and brought out the brown card stock, which made me think I might stencil a brick wall using brown ink for a tone on tone look but then suddenly remembered white ink... well, you get the picture!

 

I liked the frosty look of the white ink on the brown card and added extra 'snow' with a white paint pen. Then, inspired by the natural vibe of the card, I rooted about in my DSP drawer for a precious snippet of wood effect paper to make a beam to hang my snippety wreath on with a twine bow. The wreath die from SU had been cut out of green card which I swiped with white ink, and the botanical die cuts from Mama Elephant were white so I coloured those with ink and a sponge dauber, and then glued everything together.

The sentiments are from The Greetery's Snowflake Soirée, the 'be merry' part stamped on the card base and the 'may all your days' part stamped on kraft card, snipped out and popped up on dimensional pads. 

CHALLENGES

I used lots of left over botanical die cuts on this card, a snippet of wood effect paper, an offcut of brown card for the card base and a white offcut to line it with, plus a tiny piece of kraft for the sentiment and some left over twine. All that is to say that I'm playing at the Snippets Playground with this card; I'm also joining in at Jingle Belles where Lauren and Stef want to see cards with a vintage vibe (and I'm hoping my card will pass the Vintage Test!); I'm joining in at Color My Heart Color Dare #563, choosing the left hand diagonal Candy Apple/Toffee/Green Apple; I'm also just in time to join in with Rudolph Days where we make a card to celebrate the 25th of each month, then share by the end of the month.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Autumn seems to be drawing in a bit early this year. It's still lovely and warm but not boiling hot, and it's quite unsettled. It's actually much nicer for the dogs...

 

... and they get to intersperse their swimming activities with rabbit hunting which is much too hot for Eva with her thick coat in the full sun!

 

PS I must once again state that no rabbit is ever in the smallest danger of being caught by either of these two goofballs!!

Sending hugs,

You've got vintage mail

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I had some spare time today and sat down to play with some crafty bits and pieces. Have you noticed that the postal theme has become trendy again with Waffleflower selling out of their gorgeous new postal stamp themed stencils, stamp sets and dies in record time? Well I unearthed my Mama Elephant Botanic Envelope die set and my Holiday Foliage dies from Flora and Fauna and this is what I came up with:

 

It's a very vintage style isn't it? I don't know what came over me!! It was great fun to make though :) I made the envelope first, cutting the envelope itself and lots of fir branches and winter leaves and berries out of lots of white snippets. I coloured these with inks and daubers adding 'snow' with a white paint pen and then assembled everything and glued it together.

 

For the background I used Funky Fossil's Postage Frame stencil to create the postage stamp shape on a card base, then the Snow Flurry stencil, also by Funky Fossil, to layer a snowy background over it. I added a little putty coloured ink to the edges of the card before adding Greetery and SU sentiments and popping the envelope up on dimensional pads.

CHALLENGES

I used heaps of white snippets to make this card - only the base was not a snippet - so will frolic over to the Snippets Playground with my homework; I'm also linking up with Christmas Craft Creations and Double D Challenge where there's a Christmas in July challenge; as well as Peace on Earth where there's a gorgeous mood board but I opted for Anything Goes. I'm just about squeaking in for Rudolph Day too!

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Poor Eva has a sore paw with a slightly swollen pad. These are so difficult to treat but the best remedy is rest - and that is not a popular decision as you can imagine. I am protecting the pad with a dressing and taking her for very gentle walks on soft grass but she keeps turning tragic eyes on me which are saying "Why are you not taking me swimming? Why can't I hunt squirrels? Who are you and what have you done with my Mum?!"

Sending hugs,

Bags of snippets

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Yesterday evening my sister took me out to dinner and I wanted to bring along a little thank you. I found quite a big off-cut of SU designer paper, which must have been around for quite some time, so I used it to make a little treat bag to fit a mascara I knew she had been wanting to try. There was just enough of the paper to get a thank you card out of it too.

Here's the bag and the card together. It was so quick to make them using just die cuts and no stamping.

THE BAG

I used my Simply Scored to create a simple bag shape. (For those that are interested, the paper was trimmed to 6.5" square, then vertical scores made at 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 6". The paper was turned 45 degrees clockwise and scored at 1.5".) I assembled the bag using strong red tape, popped the mascara inside and secured the top with a tiny enamel bulldog clip tied up with coordinating twine. I made a label from a scrap of vellum, cut with a stitched rectangle die by Heffy Doodle, and decorated with some leaves that were in my snippets box.

 

THE CARD

It was a tight squeeze, but I was able to trim the left-over bit of paper with another of the stitched rectangle dies. The same die was used to cut out a piece of green card from my snippets folder. I fussy cut the bottom of the designer paper along the scallop design, layered it over the green card and attached it to a card front. This was topped with a scrap of vellum cut with a stitched circle die by Waffleflower, and a sentiment die cut from a black snippet. Simple!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking these projects up at The Snippets Playground where Miss Di and Head Prefect Sarn are preparing for Jubilee celebrations; The Sisterhood of Crafters want to see Bag projects so I'm joining in there too. I'm sharing the card at Happy Little Stampers Die Challenge where Anything Goes, and at Addicted to Stamps and More where the theme is Die Cuts and/or Stencils.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My sister and I dined at a posh restaurant where there was a 9 course 'tasting menu', and a waiter whose accent became more and more French as the evening wore on. There was even an 'amuse bouche' which made us go a bit giddy! 'Well, that certainly amused MY bouche!' we declared at regular intervals and giggled like silly school girls.

My sister had told the staff beforehand that it was my birthday and, at the end of the meal, this plate was brought out! Those little sweetmeats are handmade white chocolate fudge and passion fruit jellies - and oh my goodness they were delicious!

It was a lovely evening but I can tell you that staggering about in high heels used muscles that I had obviously forgotten I had!!

Sending hugs,

A pretty celebration

Hello, crafting friends!

I was delighted to be invited to be Guest Star Stamper at The Color Throwdown this week - and when I saw the colours I was double delighted!

Aren't they dreamy? Even without the photo, these are definitely wedding colours to me. 

I started the card by cutting down a card panel with one of Lawn Fawn's Stitched Hillside Border dies. Holding the Trellis Background stencil by Funky Fossil over one half, I inked into it with versamark ink and heat embossed with gold. The two pieces of the panel were then put back together and trimmed to size with a Stitched Rectangle die by Heffy Doodle.

To decorate the background, I stamped some pretty flowers from Clearly Besotted's On Your Day, coloured them with alcohol markers and fussy cut them. They were arranged with some die cut leaves from Mama Elephant's Botanic Envelope die set. I added a tiny glimpse of sparkly gold under my flowers and glued everything in place.

The finishing touch was a never-before-uysed sentiment die that I picked up for pennies in a sale at The Range.

What do you think of the colours? Do they excite you as much as they did me? The samples from The Color Throwdown team have me drooling every week! Check out their inspiration at the challenge blog and you can link up your card there too.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at CAS Mix Up Challenge where Nancy's theme is Stencil Heat Embossing; I'm also sharing it at the NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) Challenge too, where I'm showcasing that Congratulations die.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

When I married (all those years ago!) I wore off-white velvet, trimmed with gold braiding, and carried a bouquet of yellow roses and autumnal foliage. I tended to wear autumnal colours in those days - golds, browns, oranges, and olive greens. 

Then, autumnal colours - Now, sugared almond colours

Interestingly, almost 30 years later, I tend to wear a very different palette of colours. My daughter has told me I dress like a sugared almond - but in a good way, she added hastily!

How about you? Have your colours changed?

Sending hugs,

Double flowers

Hello, crafting friends!

I've got two cards for you today. I made them yesterday but it got dark and so I was unable to photograph and post them. Roll on those lighter, later days!

CARD ONE

The first card is a cheerful note card that could double up as a valentine. It uses two new items as well as an old favourite.

I've been waiting for the right moment to bring out Mama Elephant's Botanic Envelope Die and having used it once, I love it to bits! The die comes with leaves to arrange in your envelope but I opted to fill it with it with flowers from Clearly Besotted's Blossoms in Bloom stamp set. These were stamped, coloured with alcohol markers in lovely bright colours and fussy cut. The die set includes a trim for the envelope which I cut out of white card. I wanted it to be a bright blue but didn't have a card in that colour, so I coloured it with an alcohol marker, making sure to run round the edges too.

I created a background for my envelope by sponging blue ink directly onto a card base around one of the masks from Funky Fossil's Postage Frame stencil. I added the postmark from the stencil too, using a neutral ink, and stamped over it with a sentiment from the Blossoms in Bloom set.

CARD TWO

I needed a get well card so used the same stamp from the Blossoms in Bloom set. I was aiming for a very soft look for this card because we don't want our poorly puddings getting over-stimulated do we?!

I stamped the floral spray onto a card panel using a pale green ink, masked it with a mask made with a sticky note, and stamped it again to make a larger grouping. The flowers were coloured with alcohol markers in pale colours and I masked them off again to sponge around them with pale blue ink.

The sentiment is from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, which I stamped, heaty embossed twice with clear embossing powder and snipped out with paper snips. I thought the high gloss sentiment would make a nice contrast with the soft flowers.

And here are both cards together!

UPDATED TO ADD AN AWARD

I was delighted the envelope card got a mention at The Color Throwdown!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up both cards with The Twofer Card Challenge where we are asked to make two different designs for different occasions, using the same stamp or die. The theme this month is Flowers; I'm also joining in with Inkspirational where the word prompt is Mask - both cards use this technique.

With card one I'm also joining in with The Color Throwdown where there's a lovely bright colour palette from new team member Susie; also The Uniko Challenge where Anything Goes and the optional twist is to Use a Stencil; and also the NBUS challenge where I'm sharing my Never Before Used Schtencil and Die.

With card two, I'm playing along with Inspire Create where there's a beautifully versatile sketch; and also CAS on Friday, where the theme is Feel Better.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I live in a small market town in the middle of England and a few local friends and I are operating a book share. We email or phone each other about the things we've been reading and recommend books to like-minded readers. There's no pressure to take or read the books but it's a way of keeping in touch and we veracious readers are so grateful for the (so far!) unending supply of entertainment. We drop the books outside each others houses as we walk past, and those that are shielding leave books outside to be collected. It works well! Books I've read this year include Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - both excellent!

Sending hugs,

Snuggle up warm!

Hello, crafting friends!

I love the autumn when the weather is bright and warm enough to dispense with a coat. The young lady in today's card has added a hat and scarf, so presumably her day is a bit chillier, but she looks ready to scamper through piles of leaves doesn't she!

My girl was made up of elements from Concorde & 9th's Winter Wear and I scribbled in the illusion of a sweater. She was stamped on a semi coated card stock, trimmed with a Heffy Doodle stitched rectangle die, and coloured with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.

To  finish the card, I swooshed ink pads over a piece of scrap card stock and used dies from Mama Elephant's Botanic Envelope to cut leaves from it. I added a suitable sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Warm Wishes and attached the panel to a card front.

CHALLENGES

I'm using the gorgeous autumn colours from CAS Colours and Sketches because they were irresistible! And I'm also linking up with Just Add Ink where they're going back to basics with just Ink, Stamps and Paper - just how I like it!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I took Eva down to the fields behind our house the other morning and was amazed by the scene - it didn't seem cold enough for frost! I knew there was something up when Eva didn't cast herself to the ground and have a good old roll as she normally would in frosty weather! Have a look at the close up...

Isn't that extraordinary! A million little webs draped over the grass and hung with dewdrops! What astonishing beauties there are in nature if we take the time to look!

Sending hugs,