Home is where the heart is

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's Thursday and time for another Tic Toe Toe challenge board bursting with inspiration! The board is in the capable hands of Joanne this week and it came at a great time for me :)

 

I chose the top row Heart/House/Die Cut and made a card for my youngest son who, having graduated, has moved into a new house with a group of good friends he was lucky enough to meet in his first few weeks of uni. 

 

The medallion was made by layering up stitched circles in various colours, the central one edged with a Lawn Fawn cloud border die. The resulting background was topped with a die cut house from X Cut which was cut twice more from snippets of coloured card so that I could inlayy the windows and the little heart.

I cut a panel with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and stamped a sentiment from The Greetery's PreText Sentiments and WPlus9's New Home, leaving enough space to glue the medallion between them. To link the green part to the bold black words, I used a fascia image stamp from New Home - and then capered about feeling very pleased with myself!!

So, now it's your turn to get creative with Joanne's board - so many options! Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge site and admire the sample the team has made to inspire you. When you are ready to share your own creation, you can use the Linky Tool you'll find at the bottom of the post. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies challenge; I'm also joining in at the Die Cuts and/or Stencils challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Perhaps I should send my son a nice rug for his new home. How about this one I found just lying around the house...

 

Oh, wait!

Sending hugs,

Hugs and farewell

Hello, crafting friends,

 

Today, I'm joining with many other crafters in Blogland to Pay tribute to one of our own, Lindsey, who died recently. She inspired so many of us through her work on many challenge design teams and I loved the warm and witty comments she left. She had already chosen her colour palette at Color Hues and the team there, and their sister challenge Seize the Birthday, are honouring their friend this challenge.

 

Blue and purple were the colours she chose and I've made a flowery card as she loved a floral. I used one of Uniko's large floral stencils, and sponged two shades of purple ink into it. Once that stencil was removed, I was able to position Funky Fossil's Brick Wall stencil over the top and stencil a fade-out wall effect in pale blue ink. The panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle.

The sentiment is meant as a farewell to Lindsey herself and a comfort to her friends. I stamped it in versamark ink, then heat embossed it in gold before cutting it out and attaching it to the crysanthemum. The panel was then mounted onto a card base and I added a few mismatched sequins to tie the colours together.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Color Hues which is running this tribute; I'm also joining in at Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge, which was another challenge Lindsey designed for.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I have some workmen in my garden today and this is the face of a golden retriever who isn't allowed to join in with all their jolly 'games'.

Poor baby. She just can't understand that they didn't come round to entertain her!

 

Sending hugs,

The Return of the Merry Snowflakes

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Last week I posted THIS snowflake card. The colour combination was inspired by Nancy's palette at CAS Colours and Sketches but I felt my card wasn't clean and simple enough for that challenge. So I made another one today :)

 

This one uses the same snowflakes (from Dies by Chloe) and stars (from the retired Stampin' Up Twinkle punch) but there's no stenciling, I used only one of the Nordic Frames (from the Greetery) and the sentiment is much smaller.

 

I heat embossed the sentiment in silver, cut it out with the small frame die, and attached it to a card base. The snowflakes and stars were arranged above and below the sentiment and I added a few drops of silver liquid pearls to link them.

CHALLENGES

Just squeaking in at CAS Colours and Sketches colour challenge *waves to my former teamies there* ; I'm also linking up with Perfectly CAS where the current challenge is Festive - and as always we are asked to use up to a third of the card front.

 

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Today's card would make a perfect note card for this weather if only I had a sentiment that said 'Sending Cooling Wishes'! After I press send on this post, I'm off to the supermarkety; I don't actually need anything - I just want to hang out in the freezer aisle!

Sending hugs,

Mine's a Club Tropicana!

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's time for another fun challenge at Addicted to CAS and this time I have chosen the code word:

 

The UK has seen some pretty tropical temperatures lately so I didn't have to exercise my imagination too strenuously! Here's what I made:

 

Oh to be lying beside a pool sipping a tropical cocktail! I made do with Eva's paddling pool and a glass of sparkling water while I stamped this cocktail directly onto a thick card base, using a neutral ink. I coloured it with coloured pencils, adding in a background (because I got carried away!) and some highlights with a white Posca acrylic paint pen.

 

To finish the card I stamped a favourite sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings which I left uncoloured.

 

Okay, now it's your turn! Are you feeling the tropical vibes? Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge site where my team mates have some amazing samples to inspire you. When you're ready to share your own creation, you can use the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post. I'll be coming round to see all your amazing makes - but don't forget to keep them nice and clean and simple with plenty of white space :)

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Happy Little Stampers Birthdayy challenge (Kylie has changed the CAS challenge to a Birthday one)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The cocktail stamp I used on today's card was a freebie in a magazine. I spotted it when shopping in a supermarket when my youngest son was up for a visit from uni. He found me examining it in the magazine aisle and went back and bought it for me as a surprise, bless his heart! Those little surprises are the best gifts aren't they! Do share your own stories of surprises - it'll cheer everyone up :)

Sending hugs,

Merry snowflakes

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I've been wanting to join in with the Christmas theme at The Snippets Playground for over a week now. A rummage through my snippets box brought no lightbulb moment but I finally got out the folders containing my offcuts of card instead!

I made a background on the flip side of a ruined card base, using the Snow Flurry stencil from Funky Fossil and some dark purple ink. Then I set to work cutting snowflakes with my favourite Dies by Chloe snowflake dies. These are great because you really can use tiny little snippets! I cut some stars out of the fragments too using the retired Twinkle punch from Stampin' Up.

 

The panel was cut out using one of The Greetery's Nordic Frame dies. I cut a smaller panel out of the panel with the smallest Nordic Frame die then inlaid it again for a bulk free look. Once the panel was attached to a card base, I topped the inlay with a bold sentiment from The Greetery's Snowflake Soirée, stamped in versamark, heat embossed in silver and fussy cut. And then it was just a matter of arranging the die snowflakes and stars over the stenciled background and adding a few silver accents with silver liquid pearls.

CHALLENGES

So I'm finally turning up at the Snippets Playground with my homework (Sorry I'm late Miss Sarn!); The challenge chosen by Lynda at ABC Christmas is N is for New, O is for Old. I've gone for old stash - the newest thing on my card is the Nordic Frame dies which were released 2 or 3 years ago now; At Sparkles Christmas, Helen is challenging us to use the Sentiment as the main Focus so I'm linking up there too.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

It hasn't rained for ages here, so instead of lush green grass we have hay, and there's certainly not a snowflake to be seen...

 

 ... unless you count my very own Special Snowflake of course!

Sending hugs,

Feel better with lilies

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's Thursday and time for a therapeutic dose of Tic Tac Toe inspiration! Betty has created a lovely board this week:

I've chosen the bottom line - Watercolor/ Bright Colors/Floral and have made a card for someone who is a bit under the weather.

 

I stamped one of the lilies from Uniko's Pure Florals Lily onto a thick card base and watercoloured it with diluted inks. When it was dry I added detail with coloured pencils. 

The flower was masked while I positioned the Trellis Background from Funky Fossil and inked into it with blue ink. To finish, I stamped a sentiment from MFT and added a sprinkling of sequins.

 

Okay, so now it's your turn! Which row, column or diagonal will you choose this week? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge site to check out the wonderful samples my teamies have made to inspire you. When you're ready to share your own creation, you'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post. Looking forward to seeing what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour challenge; also Stamping Sensations where the theme is Summer Flowers.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Apologies for the late news - early readers will have seen a blank space here. There are those that would tell you that is an accurate representation of what goes on in my head but I would insist that is just slander!! The truth is that I have been in a bit of a social frenzy this week; that's a bit like a shark feeding frenzy but with less sharks and more cakes!

Sending hugs,

Nautical but nice

Ahoy there, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to a great new challenge at Addicted to CAS! Toni is at the helm for the next couple of weeks with a code word that may leave you all at sea... (I know, I know, I'm really scraping the barrel for these puns!)

Yes, it's the nautical challenge and here's my take:

 

For the background of this masculine birthday card, I used part of a new diamond shaped stencil from Inkylicious, gifted me by a lovely friend. I sponged three different blue-green inks into the stencil for an ombré ocean look, then over-stamped it with some new Lavinia fish, which I was lucky enough to win at Allsorts :)

 

Above my sea, I added some clouds courtesy of Funky Fossil's Scenic Borders stencil. One of the sailboats from Waffleflower's Lighthouse stamp set was stamped on the ocean surface using black ink. I finished with a block sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, a small yellow punched circle and a tiny red enamel dot.

 

Right me hearties, it's your turn to take the oars! Do sail over to the Addicted to CAS challenge blog to check out the team's inspiration and then use the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post to share your own creations with us. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Darnell's NBUS challenge where we post projects made with our Never Before Used Schtuff; also Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where Anything Stenciled Goes; and also Allsorts where the theme is Summer.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Here's another pair having fun in the water:

As you can see, Eva's leg is absolutely fine now! Thank you so much for your well wishes - as you can imagine, we are all very relieved it wasn't anything serious. 

PS. Also, sorry about all the terrible nautical puns today :/

 

Sending hugs,

Chilling in July

Hello, crafting friends!

 

There are lots of Christmas in July challenges going on this month and, as the temperatures soar here in the heart of England, I thought it would be a great opportunity to make a snowman to cool down! 

 

This card features Berry, my favourite snowman from Purple Onion, and was made from snippets except for the card base! I stamped Berry in black ink on an offcut of white card and cut him out, trimming off his bottom half. The carrot nose was stamped again and cut out to make it easier to fussy cut him. His nose, scarf and arms were coloured with alcohol markers.

 

 

I glued Berry to the back of a panel with a die cut aperture, allowing his head, twiggy arms and scarf to burst out of frame. He was backed with a cut-to-size scrap of blue card. The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted's Red Robin.

 

The aperture had been die cut a bit too exuberantly and the stitching on the left of the frame had become just a slit. I hid this with snowflakes die cut from the rest of the blue card and balanced them with another snowflake under the sentiment (which you can see on the previous photo.)

 

Oops, spot the typo!

 That'll teach me to try to be all clever clogs in Photoshop!!

Here are the snippets I used: a blue die cut snowflake panel which had gone pear-shaped (used for the blue backing and the snowflakes), and the aperture panel which had damaged stitching. I'm happy to have saved them from the bin! I also used an extra white snippet for stamping Berry and Berry's nose! 

 

CHALLENGES

This is my snippetty homework for The Snippets Playground where there is a Christmas in July challenge; Jo at the Kickstart Christmas challenge wants to see cards featyuring Snowfolk so I'm joining in there too; Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge has chosen a Christmas in July theme, as has Allsorts so I'm also linking up there.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I'm still resting my fluffy girl's leg and we still have Myurphy staying with us. He has been a total star, seeming to understand that Eva is not quite right, and apart from one incident where Eva forgot herself and tried to chase Murphy down the hallway, they have both been very calm. I came up with a fun game where I stand in the middle of a paddling pool with a floating squeaky ball and try to keep it away from them with my feet. They stand there and use their noses to try to get it, and this appears to be very enjoyable for them!

Neither dog is keen to get IN the paddling pool as they don't trust the bottom of it (!) but sometimes the squeaky ball is irresistible and one of them cautiously steps in. Look at Murph pretending to be a hunter :) He's a lap dog really although he does love a hedge!!

Sending hugs,

Fashionably Late

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's Thursday and time for another fun board at the Tic Tac Toe challenge! I put together the board this week and have crammed it with all my favourite items - and I hope you'll love them too!

 

For my simple card, I went with the top row: CAS/Bright Colours/Butterfly - but I also added Birthday, Flowers, Die Cut and Leaves for good measure! No Sequins or Stripes but hey, I didn't want to over-egg the pudding!

The butterfly and flowers are from a beautiful Mama Elephant set called Butterfly Kisses. I stamped them onto a card panel using a pale green ink and coloured them with alcohol markers. The panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die by Heffy Doodle.

I added some details with a black fineliner pen and a fun sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Simply Stamped before mounting the panel onto a card base.

So now it's your turn! Which row or column are you going to choose? Or will you opt for one of the diagonals? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge site to admire the amazing samples my teamies and our wonderful guest designer Tara have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and can use it to share your own creation with us. We can't wait to see what you make this week!

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with We Love Stamping where Anything Goes with the option of Hot Sunny Colours; also Stamping Sensations, where the theme is Summer Flowers; and also The Flower Challenge where the theme is Clean and Simple.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My knee is now back to normal and I'd like to say a big thank you for your get well wishes! It was really painful but the worst thing was moving about like a 100 year old woman - and I do have a few years before that's supposed to happen! Unfortunately, I passed the baton to Eva who has now hurt her leg, poor love. She is having to rest it which is really hard because we have one of her pals, Murphy, staying with us, and of course all they want to do is play! The toys have been put away and I'm giving them extra cuddles instead. Murphy has to be walked by himself...

... although, to be fair, he seems to be having a reasonably good time!!

Sending hugs,