Hydrangea postage stamp collage

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's time for more fun with flowers! At The Flower Challenge this month, we'd like to see your birthday cards featuring beautiful blooms!

 

 

Here's what I came up with:

 

When I first saw Waffleflower's Postage Stamp Collage die, I became very excited like many other crafters. It quickly found its way into my craft stash but it hasn't come out to play nearly enough yet. This is a fun way to use it - stamping an image onto the whole thing, colouring it, cutting the middle of each individual stamp out and glueing them all to another whole die cut.

 

I used the large hydrangea image from Colorado Craft Co's Big and Bold Get Well, stamping it in pale green on watercolour paper. It was lovely to spend some time watercolouring it with a mix of Stampin' Up inks and Arteza Brush Pens. I didn't want to cover the bloom up too much so I made a tag-style sentiment stamped with a small 'happy birthday' from Concord & 9th. This was tied to the panel with gold thread tied into a multi bow then the panel popped up on dimensional pads.

Okay, now it's over to you! Do hop over to The Flower Challenge blog and check out the amazing variety of floral cards our talented team have made to inspire you. When you're ready to share your own creation, you can use the blue Linky button at the end of the challenge post. You have until 5pm 25th July to join in - have fun!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Allsorts where Gail's theme this week is Way to Grow.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I have dashing about like a mad thing today because it's a birthday weekend and the family will be arriving :) The dogs know something is up of course - Eva is taking it all in her stride as always but Lulu is nervous and needs extra TLC. She removed all the stuffing from her plushy ball earlier on and distributed it around the living room and garden!

Sending hugs,

Get better with bright Crocuses

Hello, crafting friends!

 

The crocuses are out - yay! This means that actual spring is on its way! The mud is still here though... but let's focus on the crocuses shall we:

 

My neighbour has gone down with a horrible covidish cold, poor thing, so I thought I'd cheer her up with a card. The crocus image on this card is Uniko's Spring Botanicals Crocus, stamped three times on a watercolour card panel and coloured enthusiastically with my new Arteza watercolour brush pens. I really do need some practice to get the hang of these but I used such bright colours the recipient won't be able to look at it for long lol!

 

I added extra leaves and grass with just simple strokes of a couple of the green pens and scribbled in a sky with a couple of the blues on the damp card. When dry, the panel was trimmed with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and matted on a white card panel that I coloured round the edges with a coordinating alcohol marker.

 

I finished with my favourite Get Well sentiment from Colorado Craft Co's Big and Bold Get Well and an enamel heart. Let's just hope the card doesn't give my neighbour a headache as well as well as her cold...!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Beautiful Blossoms (where I was thrilled to have my last card chosen as a Top Pick!) There's always a lovely mood board there to inspire us. I'm also joining in with Try it on Tuesday's Hearts and/or Flowers challenge.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The crocuses that inspired me have been planted at the entrance to the fields at the back of our house. Despite all the rain and the mud, and the fact that many excitable paws and trudging wellies pass that way...

... they're not holding up too badly!

Sending hugs,

Feel better with forget me nots

Hello, crafting friends!

 

The other day,  I was looking up forget me nots to see whether they had 4 petals or 5. It turns out they usually have 5 but can have 6 but never mind that, while looking I started to wonder whether I could put a leaf stamp and a little flower stamp together and make forget me nots... And so this card happened:

 

The leaves are from a flower in a long-ago retired Stampin' Up set called Butterfly Basics and the tiny flower is from a freebie SU set from a few years ago called Thoughtful Blooms. I inked up the stems and leaves from the first flower with a green water-based marker and stamped it along the bottom of a card base, varying the height and angle. I was then able to add the tiny flower to these images, stamping repeatedly in pale blue ink.

 

For a bit of depth, I used coloured pencils to add yellow flower centres, to vary the intensity of the blue petals and to shade in the leaves and stems with green. 

To finish the card, I stamped a favourite sentiment in blue ink and tied some yellow bakers twine to the edge, finishing with a neat bow.

CHALLENGES

I used the colour palette from Sunday Stamps to create this card so I'm linking up there; I'm also linking up at Stamping Sensations where the theme is Summer Flowers and We Love Stamping where the theme is Fabulous Florals.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Earlier on in the year, when my daughter found her wedding dress, we had conversations about the little rhyme for a bride:

 

Something old

Something new

Something borrowed 

Something blue

For 'old' and 'borrowed' I lent her these little vintage pearl earrings, very simple and just what she wanted.

 

 

'New' was easy as her dress and shoes were new. But we were stumped on the 'blue' for a while. In the end, I asked her if she would trust me to embroider something on the inside of the dress where no-one would see it and she agreed (clearly not knowing that embroidery is not my forté!)

 

And so I had a go at embroidering a tiny forget me not on the inside of one of the seams. It's not expertly done but she seemed to like it and it was a personal touch.

 

Speedwell with their 4 petal heads

It turns out it isn't a forget me not (which, as I now know, has more than 4 petals) but is more like a speedwell!

Sending hugs,

Pastel recovery

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another Thursday full of Tic Tac Toe Challenge fun! I fell head over heels with the board Felicita created this week:

 

 

Spring - yay! I couldn't wait to crack open those pastel inks so I opted for the middle column Bold Sentiment/Free/Pastel Colours and made a get well card.

 

I used a Uniko stamp set called Just Because which features a fabulous silhouette plant. Using a stamping platform to get good ink coverage of the solid image, I stamped the image all over a card base. I used pastel inks and varied the position and angle and colour each time I stamped.

 

Over the top of the card base I created a dimensional sentiment layer using stitched circle and stitched rectangle dies. I stamped the top layer with Uniko's Pinstripe background stamp and added a bold sentiment from The Colorado Company. I finished with different sizes of lovely shiny enamel dots - my favourite embellishments!

 

Okay, so now it's your turn! Which colomn or row will you choose from the board? Or will you opt for one of the diagonals? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge blog and check out the inspiration from the design team. 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 how you were inspired!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Allsorts where I've taken the Anything Goes option; also Little Red Wagon where Chrissy wants to see us use our die cuts - my sentiment uses a rectangle and a circle die.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

It was so much fun to use spring colours on today's project and I'm enjoying seeing the bulbs coming into flower in the garden. It's still pretty chilly though and while I tend to tuck a throw over my knees if I'm sitting for a while, the pups have a much better way to stay warm!

 

Nothing like a rousing game of tug for raising the temperatures! Poor old Lion Friend has seen better days but they seem to prefer the old toys for tug (thank goodness!)

Sending hugs,

Hope you feel brighter

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Are you looking for some Saturday inspiration? Well look no further! It's time for the latest Addicted to CAS challenge and come and see the word Sue has 'picked':

(See what I did there?!) I can't wait to see the gallery of gorgeousness as you link up your cards! Here's my take on it:

I used lovely bright colours to stamp one of the flowers from The Greetery's Oopsie Daisyy onto a card panel. My favourite get well sentiment, from Get Well by The Colorado Co, was stamped over the top in crisp black ink.

 

The panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and mounted onto a card base. I finished the card with an enamel heart and a tiny yellow enamel dot.

 

Okay, so now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS website and admire my talented team mates' beautiful cards. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and can use it to share your own creation with us. Don't forget to keep your card nice and clean and simple with plenty of clear space and have loads of fun!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with the current Any Occasion challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More; and am sharing at Darnell's NBUS challenge where we show off our Never Before Used Schtuff (and while we're there, come away with a whole new list of things we 'need'!!)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We have been busy here as Eva has had her adorable pal Murphy to stay. When we first got to know him, he was only four months old and Eva treated him as if he were her very own pup. Now he's a suave and sophisticated grown-up gentleman, although he does sometimes (often!) forget this...

but then again, so does Eva...!

Sending hugs,

Precious Love

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Happy Saturday to you and welcome to a brand new challenge at Addicted to CAS! My talented teamie Raga has chosen the cue word for us this time and it's a timely one with Valentine's Day around the corner:

 

Of course you can use hearts on any kind of card, so the world is your oyster! I have gone for the kind of card you could give at any time of the year to show your love and appreciation.

 

I started this card with a beautiful sentiment from The Colorado Co's Big and Bold Get Well, stamping it in pink ink. I heat embossed it with clear embossing powder so that it became waterproof and then splodged a load of diluted blue ink over it and blotted with kitchen paper. When it was dry I cut a label shape out of it, using a die from The Works, and attached it to a card base.

Meanwhile, I cut some gold foil hearts using dies and punches and enjoyed decorating them. The largest one was run through an embossing folder I picked up in a Hobbycraft sale last weekend - 50p well spent I reckon! It was embellished with a clear gem. I punched a few pink hearts and stacked them up under the punched heart to add subtle detail. The tiny heart embosses as it cuts :)  Finally, all the hearts were glued in place around the sentiment.

So now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge site to check out the beautiful designs my talented teamies have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post so that you can share your own creation with us when you're ready. Have fun - but remember to keep your design nice and clean and simple!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge where Anything Goes; I'm  also joining in at CASology where the cue card is Affection.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I'll leave you with a picture sent from my very own precious daughter* captioned "Me as a child when you used to tell me to tidy my room!"

*May not be an ACTUAL photo of my daughter!!

Sending hugs,

Getting well with feathers

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I really do seem to have the blues at the moment... no, not feeling depressed at all but definitely attracted to shades of blue!

 

Here, the beautiful sentiment, from the Colorado Co's Big and Bold Get Well, was stamped directly onto a thick card base using Stampin' Up's Smoky Slate ink. I stamped the feather from the new-to-me stamp Strength by Altenew, using the same ink and varying the position of the feather each time.

The feathers were painted with Stampin' Up's Balmy Blue using the loose watercolour technique - that is deliberately painting over the lines. I tried to swirl the watered down ink off the images to emphasise the feathery shape. Once the ink had dried, I added depth and detail with coloured pencils and a white Posca acrylic paint pen.

 

The card was finished with a simple cord and tassel made with coordinating bakers twine.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with CAS Mix Up where Jenny has chosen the inspiring theme of Loose Watercolour this month; also CAS on Friday where the theme is Feel Better - and it's always great to have some of these cards in your stash! I'm also joining in with The Sisterhood of Crafters where the theme is The Color Blue and with Darnell's NBUS Challenge where we go to share our Never Before Used Schtuff - that feather is new and I love it!

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My daughter has sent me info about an online word game called Wordle in which you have to guess a five letter word in six guesses. It's brilliant! Each day a new game is posted and it only takes 5 to 10 minutes so is a great thing to do in a short break. I love that it was created by a guy called Josh Wardle for his girlfriend who loves word puzzles, and it is absolutely free! Do check it out and let me know how you get on!

Sending hugs,

With love from me to you

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I obviously had that loving feeling today because I've made a valentine! Come and see:

 

I get very inspired when I see the wonderful backgrounds people make and for this card I had a go myself. I painted a square of plain water onto a piece of card and added diluted purple and red inks in horizontal strokes. To create dimension, I clapped wet hands over it and then tapped a brushful of each colour ink over it which gave a confetti effect. When my background was dry, I trimmed it to size with a square die from Stampin' Up.

The main part of the sentiment is from Uniko's Big and Bold Love which I stamped in red and heat embossed with clear embossing powder for a nice bit of shine. I paired this with MFT's From Me To yYou from the stamp set of the same name, heat embossing it in white on a bright red banner. This set me off humming a very famous tune (which I'll embed below because it's bound to cheer everyone up!) The Colorado Co's Get Well set features some cute hearts which I stamped above the sentiment before mounting my panel on a purple mat and attaching it to a square card base.

CHALLENGES

No prizes for guessing that I was inspired by the purple and red colour duo at the current Color Hues challenge! I'm also joining in with Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge where Anything Goes.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

So this is the Beatles song that I can't get out of my head since making this card:

 Just look at those young lads having fun! Where on earth does time go? Enjoy!

 Sending hugs,

Rhapsody in blue... and grey

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I am delighted to have been invited to join in the fun at Seize the Birthday as Guest Designer for the months of January and February! We're kicking off with a fabulous colour duo:

I was instantly inspired by these wintery colours and a gorgeous new-to-me stamp set, Big and Bold Get Well by Colorado Craft Co.

 

 

The set features a massive hydrangea head which I stamped off the top and bottom of a thick card base using Stampin' Up's Smoky Slate ink. The flowers were coloured using the loose watercolour technique which is basically splashing a load of diluted ink around in an arty way! It's worth mentioning that I find the Smoky Slate ink incredibly stable when I'm watercolouring; I don't use a huge amount of water but there's no blurring.

When the card was dry I left it under a pile of heavy books to flatten. When I retrieved it, I added centres to the flowers with a dark grey pencil and made a light and dark grey sentiment by mixing and matching a couple of sets.

And now it's over to you! Do hop over to the Seize The Birthday blog to check out all the amazing samples the talented team has made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool there too so that you can upload your own creation. Have fun!

CHALLENGES

I was really inspired by the first CAS Mix Up challenge of the year, chosen by Jenny who invites us to use loose watercolouring on our cards; I'm also playing along at Happy Little Stampers Watercolour challenge where Anything Watercolour Goes; I'm sharing at Darnell's NBUS challenge, the place to show off your Never Before Used Schtuff, and joining in at Time Out Challenges where the theme is New - I've enjoyed using my new stamp set.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Eva is missing her family so I'm spending more time with her training. One new thing I'm doing is giving her a lead to carry when she's out on a walk - in a safe place obviously. She is rather inclined to greet 'her public' and most people pet her when she does this as she radiates friendliness. 

 

When she has her lead in her mouth though, she seems to believe she's on duty and walks past people - still wagging, but with the air of being far too busy to stop and say hello! When we come to the end of the safe area, I ask her to sit and she gives me the lead back. She loves this new game!

Sending hugs,