It's a wrap!

Hello, crafting friends!

Oh the joy of seeing a couple of challenges and snatching some time to join in!

This card looks simple but I had a bit of problem solving to do before it came together. I wanted the stamped 'ribbon' to look as if it was wrapped around the panel, but the stamp I had from Uniko's Background Builders Classics wasn't long enough for a standard card so I trimmed the  card base and panel down a bit. Luckily I had a kraft envelope the right size!

I stamped on the kraft card stock with Stampin' Up's Poppy Parade ink. The kraft darkens it down a bit so Real Red card stock was a good match when I die cut the bows using MFT's Birthday Cocktail die set. The holly sprig is from Budding Beauties Winter by the Greetery.

I had planned a circular tag style sentiment but I couldn't get my elements to work well together. In the end, I found this sentiment from Thye Greetery's Snowflake Soirée which fit the space exactly and that excited me so much I forgot about circles!

CHALLENGES

I loved the brown-paper-parcels-tied-up-with-string in the snow and the sketch at Inspired By this week; Sparkles Christmas Challenge's theme for November is Presents and I thought it would be fun to create a card that looked like a present!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

It was my darling dayughter's birthday yesterday and her floofy sister naturally wished to send birthday greetings. Normally she greets the family with cute little 'hen noises' or raises her nose and 'arooos' gently but since we were celebrating at a distance this year, we sent this:

It is not natural for a retriever to hold a thin rose stem in her mouth I can tell you! I removed all the thorns first and used kitchen paper to create a padded area for Eva to hold on to. She was rewarded with dried sprats!! Isn't she adorable?

Sending hugs,

Get well soon!

Hello, crafting friends!

Welcome to another fun challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches! It's Holly's last time hosting this month and she's going out with a bang with this gorgeous sketch:

I love the stripe element and the 'any shape' part of the sketch seemed perfect for a pretty floral.

I stamped two of the stripes from Uniko's Background Builders Classics set in a pretty greenish aqua then trimmed the panel to size with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle.

The floral is from So Much, also by Uniko, which I stamped, coloured with alcohol markers and fussy cut. I stamped it again and coloured the large flowers so that I could trim them out and pop them up on dimensional pads. I finished with some gems and a sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Just For You. 

So now it's your turn and I can't wait to see what you come up with! Do check out the fabulous inspiration from the team, and from our special guest Michal, at the CAS Colours and Sketches challenge blog. You'll find the Linky Tool there too so that you can share your own creation. Have fun, but don't forget to keep your card clean and simple with lots of lovely clear space :)

CHALLENGES

I've used the gorgeous colour palette at Color Hues, Lime Green and Aqua, so I shall link up there; I'm joining in again at Uniko's July/August challenge where the theme is Flowers with optional slimline format; I'm also playing along with Allsorts and Stamping Sensations, both of which have a theme of Feminine/For a Lady; and Chocolate Baroque, where the theme is Beautiful Blooms/Flowers.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Today, I took this card and some flowers to a friend who had a nasty fall while out running and somehow managed to break her hip and her arm. She's having to be seriously patched up and I really feel for her because she is one of the most active people I know and I'm not sure how well she's going to take to rest and recuperation :/

Sending hugs,

I just called to say I love you

Hello, crafting friends!

It's Tuesday and time for another of our weekly challenges at CAS Colours and Sketches. Wei is our host for April and what a great sketch she's come up with for her final challenge of the month!

Those strong diagonal lines are striking aren't they? I opted to use them as a background for my card.

I chose a line stamp from Uniko's Background Builders Classics and used grid paper in my stamping platform to help me stamp it three times with even spacing. I went for a grey ink because I wanted my card to be monochrome with just a pop of yellow. The card panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle.

The phone is from Sugar Peaz's Call Me and I think it's such a lovely way to say hello! I stamped it and coloured it with seven different grey alcohol markers to get that matte shine, then stamped the dial again on a separate piece of card, adding the numbers. This was coloured and cut out and popped up on the phone. The centre of the dial was stamped separately again and a tiny die cut heart decorated with a gem added to the centre. This was glued to the centre of the dial.

The final details were stamping a cord connecting the receiver to the body of the telephone and adding one of the sweet sentiments from the set.

So, now it's your turn! As always, there is so much inspiration over on the challenge blog from my team mates and from this month's wonderful guest designer, Melanie Hungerford. Do go and have a look and you'll also find the Linky Tool where you can link up your own creations. Please remember to keep your design clean and simple!

CHALLENGES

I haven't managed to  join in at the Tic Tac Toe challenge for a little while but I've chosen the Hearts/Encouraging Sentiment/Vintage column to inspire this card; the colour scheme is from Color Hues where they're looking for Grey and Yellow. I'm also linking up with NBUS, the place to share our Never Before Used Schtuff, as it's the first time I've inked up the Call Me stamp set.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I made this card for my daughter who sent me a book which absolutely blew me away (Paranesi by Susannah Clarke if you're interested.) My glowing review has encouraged her to want to read it herself so I thought I'd send it back to her with this card. She will be amused by the phone because we have something quite similar sitting in our hall!

It is a vintage phone that has been rewired so that it works with a modern phone socket, and was our housewarming present to ourselves when we moved here. It always makes my husband jump out of his skin when it rings but we would never part with it!

Sending hugs,

Fingers crossed

Hello, crafting friends!

It's Mothering Sunday in the UK today so I hope those who are celebrating will be spoilt :) Now, what would I like to do today? Hmm, maybe a little crafting...!

I've spotted some 'lucky' and 'green' challenges around Blogland so that's what's been on my mind, and I thought it would be the perfect moment to reach for my new Caring Hands stamp set by Waffle Flower. I stamped the crossed fingers hand, coloured it with alcohol markers, then added a lucky four-leaved clover from a very old Clearly Besotted set. Once I'd added a stem with a marker, I cut the whole thing out and attached it to a pale green circle layered with die cut vellum hearts

For the background, I used Background Builders Classics by Uniko to stamp a diagonal pattern onto a card panel in shades of green ink. I trimmed this to size with a Stitched Rectangle die by Heffy Doodle, then added my hand circle. Finally, I stamped a good luck sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, snipped it out, and popped it up with dimensional pads.

CHALLENGES

I've used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches, flipping it upside down, and the theme of luck at CASology. The photo at Inspired By also helped with the luck theme and I've stretched out the green rainbow into straight lines! The challenge at Just Add Ink this week is Just Add Green, which I have done :) I shall also share this card at NBUS, the place to share our Never Before Used Schtuff! Thank you to all these challenges for entertaining me for a couple of hours!

AND IN OTHER NEWS 

It's been a difficult weekend with my little Eva. When she was a pup she was quite anxious so I had to train her to overcome her fears one step at a time. I often forget now that she ever had these kinds of problems but every now and then, something triggers her. Fireworks is an obvious one, but a strong wind often makes things seem alive and that can worry Eva. Yesterday, we were walking past a building site where there was a fabric barrier, and a gust of wind sent the fabric billowing out in front of us. Poor Eva tried to drag me into the road to get away from it and has been quite jumpy ever since. We will need to return to training for a while.

Sending hugs,

Hearts and stripes

Hello, crafting friends!

Valentine's Day might be over but my heart dies have arrived and I'm not leaving until I've tried them out! But then it occurred to me that a heart motif would be perfect for a teen birthday so I set about making one for my niece.

The heart dies are an older XCut set - it's taken ages to find nesting dies with a heart shape I like! I cut four hearts out of black card stock and one out of white card stock stamped with one of the stamps from Uniko's Background Builders Classics. The hearts were all glued together to make one dimensional heart.

To decorate my heart, I stamped and heat embossed the styylised roses from Clearly Besotted's Just For You and watercoloured them. Once they were dry, I fussy cut the centres in three different sizes. The die cut leaves were found in my snippets box. I coloured them with a marker and glued them together with the roses on the heart.

The background is a pale pink card panel that has been stencilled with Funky Fossil's Simply Stripes, then trimmed with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle. The sentiment was made with a combination of stamps from my stash, stamped and heat embossed for extra shine.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

So pleased that this card was a Fave at Festive Friday and was also the Diamond Winner at Color My Heart Color Dare!

CHALLENGES

I was inspired by Festive Friday, where I chose Hearts, Flowers and Watercolouring from the inspiration list. It was Time Out Challenges that influenced the style of hearts and flowers with its mouthwatering inspiration photo! I decided on the pink and green colour palette thanks to Color My Heart Color Dare #431, adding the black to give it some 'edge'.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've no idea what was going on today, but this morning I was able to go for a walk with Eva without a coat on! There was a warm breeze and lots of lovely sunshine! Spring in February? I mean, no-one is longing for spring as much as I am but that really is a bit early! A sharp wind has picked up since then though, which enabled me to get a bit of crafting done, pausing to have a nice cuppa and a slice of homemade coffee and walnut cake. Little pleasures...!

The mug was a lovely gift from my youngest son and I can only be thankful that he didn't use the personalisation service to put something rude on it! He probably ordered it first thing in the morning when his naughtiness levels were at their lowest!

Sending hugs,

Tartan thanks

Hello, crafting friends!

I'm still pinching myself about joining the design team at CAS Colours and Sketches but we are starting our year of fabulous challenges today so I guess it's all true! We're kicking off with a fabulous colour challenge:

While I was making this 'moving house at Christmas card', it crossed my mind that the clapperboard stamp in WPlus9's New Home could be used to make plaid, so that's what I've done with these colours!

I trimmed a panel with a stitched rectangle die by Heffy Doodle, masked off the bottom on the diagonal and sponged Pool Party ink over the top part. Then, using my stamping platform, I stamped fine lines in Cherry Cobbler using the Clapperboard stamp, and thicker lines in Bermuda Bay using a stamp from Uniko's useful Background Builders Classics.

Once I'd stamped my background I attached the panel to a card base and topped it with a large die cut sentiment - Bitty Thank You from Concord & 9th. This was cut from Cherry Cobbler card stock and heat embossed before being glued to the plaid.

What do these colours make you think of? Have a look at all the inspiring cards on the CAS Colors and Sketches site and link your card there too!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Allsorts where Ellie is also easing us in with an Anything Goes challenge; I'm also joining in at DiesRUs where Anything Goes (as long as it features a die of a brand the store carries.)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Making this card suddenly reminded me of a pair of pyjamas one of my boys used to wear as a child. I remember him coming downstairs to open his Christmas stocking looking like one of the Darling boys from Peter Pan!

He's quite a lot bigger now of course but still an absolute sweetheart!

Sending hugs,

Designer paper? Make it yourself!

Hello crafting friends!

Like most crafters, I have a lovely big pile of designer paper that never really seems to go down. And it's not surprising really when it's so much fun making your own! Come and see:

The panel on this card started life as a simple piece of aqua card stock. I stamped it repeatedly with the dotty line in Uniko's Background Builders Classics, using Stampin' Up's Daffodil Yellow ink. Because it's a photopolymer stamp, it's easy to curve into a 'garland of beads'. I stamped over these with the fir branch from Winter Foliage, also by Uniko, using Stampin' Up's Granny Apple Green.

I wanted glitter and shine and different finishes, so I used gold Stickles on some of the beads, my gold Stampin' Dazzle pen on others and left the rest unembellished.

I felt the panel demanded a bold sentiment, so I pulled out Stampin' Up's Letterpress (retired), stamped it with Memento black ink, cut it out with my trimmer and popped it up on dimensionals.

CHALLENGES
I'm joining in with CAS(E) this Sketch where the sketches always get me going - and  it's so lovely to see my friend LeAnne guesting there this week :) The Colour Throwdown has a gorgeous Aqua, Green, Gold and White colour palette which really inspired me, so I shall link up there too. Finally, this is my second entry into the current Uniko challenge - Christmas with optional Tree.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
So, it's December. For many, this is the month for writing Christmas cards, planning family get-togethers, wrapping presents... but for Eva, it's the perfect month for jumping into the river and pretending to be a duck!

So how are you spending your December so far? And please note that I'm desperately hoping someone is going to send me a picture of themselves in a river dressed as a duck!

Hugs,

Further investigations with Miss Maple

Hello crafting pals!

I was just tidying away from the leafy number I posted yesterday, when I had another idea and so tidy-up time had to wait! Come and see:

I wondered what would happen if I were to ink up a leaf with a brush and then 'stamp' it. I brushed on Old Olive, Soft Suede and a little Pumpkin Pie ink and then pressed the leaf onto a scrap of card stock. I was excited to see that it looked all speckled, very different from the dragging technique I tried yesterday.

I fussy cut the leaf and then drew around it so that I could cut out a second plain leaf. The plain one was watercoloured with Cajun Craze ink and allowed to dry.

I mounted both leaves on a background stamped with the dotty stamp from Uniko's Background Builders Classics and finished off with a Concorde and 9th sentiment.

I really enjoyed making cards with a leaf but there is no denying that stamps and dies were invented to make crafters' lives a lot easier! I think I'll be investing in some leafy ones before next autumn!

Today's card was inspired again by CAS Watercolour Challenge, with its Maple Leaf theme; I'll also be linking up with The Fusion Card Challenge where you can use the sketch for inspiration, or the photo, or both! I'm just working with the gorgeous sketch this time, and I've flipped it upside down.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
When I'm out in the countryside with my charming assistant, Eva the floofy golden retriever, I enjoy watching nature putting on her displays. Has anyone else noticed what an amazing year it is for mushrooms this year? I have seen such an abundance of them and such a diversity - tiny mustard coloured ones, saucer shaped flat-topped ones, tall dome-shaped ones, classic fairytale red capped ones with white spots and many, many more!

Have you noticed mushrooms in your area? Or is nature surprising you with something else this year? Do let me know won't you!

Hugs,

Birthday stars and stripes for a man

Hello crafting friends!

I'm the sort of person that likes to wake up in the morning and think, happily, that nothing out of the ordinary is going to happen that day but I'm afraid Life has been happening a bit lately. And talking of lately, I missed my nephew's birthday because of it, so today's card was made to set that right. Come and see:

My first Uniko order arrived and I am absolutely delighted! Amongst the gorgeous stamp sets was the Background Builder Classics which I know I'm going to be using a lot. For its first inking I used some nice autumnal colours to stamp a design just off the edge of a good thick card base.

I stamped the belated birthday greeting from Altenew's Birthday Greetings below a nice solid banner to ground it and embellished with some Stampin' Up washi tape and some punched stars. There! A quick, simple, one layer, male card to pop in the post this afternoon.

This month's Uniko challenge is Anything Goes with optional autumnal twist, so I thought I'd link up there, proudly using my new stamps! I'm also joining in with The Male Room, where they want to see CAS cards, and Addicted to Stamps and More, where it's an Anything Goes week.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I had to be in London yesterday and texted my daughter on the off-chance that she might be free for lunch. She was! It was lovely to see her and, as a bonus, she works in a beautiful part of London where we were able to have a picnic lunch in a private garden in a pretty Georgian square. What a peaceful oasis in a busy day!

Thanks for joining me today. I'd like to think you have found this site an oasis in your busy day!

Hugs,