Late daffodils

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's time for another Tic Tac Toe challenge! There's loads of lovely inspiration on today's board so I do hope you'll want to come and join in with us :)

 

I've opted for the diagonal from top left - Flowers/Free/Die Cuts and made a belated birthday card for a pal whose birthday had disappeared under a load of random boxes in my chaotic little brain - aargh!

 

I started with Altenew's Daffodil Delight embossing folder, positioning my card panel in the folder at an angle and using my squidgy mat to avoid hard lines. I then decided to cut the panel into a tag with a nesting arch die from The Greetery which flattened my embossing a little but hey ho! Next time I will die cut first and THEN emboss!

I'd used watercolour paper as my panel so I could use my Arteza watercolour brush pens to colour the image - yes I managed to plan ahead for that bit! The watercolouring is what is called 'loose' when the professionals do it but that when I do it is probably more accurately described as 'messy'!

 

The little tag was stamped with a sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings and cut out with a circle punch. I used a couple of small punches to make a hole and a hole strengthener, then threaded some yellow ribbon through it and secured with glue dots. Finally, the tags were attached to a card base.

Okay, so now it's your turn! Here's how to play: First, hop over to the Tic Tac Toe blog to check out the amazing inspiration from my team mates; Next make your own creation using the suggestions from a row, column or diagonal on the board; Finally, use the Linky Tool at the bottom of the challenge blog and share your creation with us - we can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

Jaydee's challenge at The Paper Players this week is Clean and Simple spring flowers, and I have used the fresh green, yellow and aqua colour palette at The Color Throwdown; I'm also visiting Can You Handle the Pressure as I used an embossing folder and am joining in with the All Occasions challenge at Krafty Chicks with my belated birthday card.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

After mentioning how fluffy Lulu is getting, I thought you'd like to see 'before and after' photos of her:

 

Here she is in November last year, looking very thin and short haired, and with no 'feathers' on her legs. 

 

 

And here she is yesterday, out on what I call 'a walk' but that the girls have decided is 'a rabbit hunt'!  Look at those floofy pantaloons and that luxuriant tail! What a beauty!

Sending hugs,

With love on your birthday

Hello, crafting friends!

 

We're halfway through our first challenge of the year at The Flower Challenge and I'm hoping to inspire you to join in! The theme this month is to add a heart to your floral card.

 

Hearts are not just for valentines of course - I've added a heart-shaped sentiment label to this birthday card:

 

The background was made using The Greetery's Print Shop Floral Frame, which incorporates stenciling and stamping. I went a bit mad and extended my frame to reach the edges of the whole card front! I sponged a bit of blue ink round the edges of the design and then masked the centre off with a die cut heart and sponged more blue ink round that too.

 

 

I cut an extra heart and stamped it with a sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greeting, then cut another heart and stacked them together for extra dimension. This was offset over the masked heart in the centre of the card front and some clear gems added for a bit of sparkle.

Okay, so now it's your turn! Do hop over to the The Flower Challenge blog where my team mates have made some spectacular cards to inspire you. When you're ready to share your own floral creation with us, you'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post. You have until 25th to join in - have fun!

CHALLENGES

I was inspired by AAA birthday where the team would like to see our birthday cards feature a heart; I'm also linking up with the Stencil Fun Challenge which has an optional theme of Love/Hearts; Hearts are Mervi's optional theme at Allsorts and it's the word prompt at Inkspirational so I'm also joining in with those challenges. 

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My eldest son popped round to visit the other day and presented me with a large bag of chilli crinkle crisps. It is true that I'm a fiend for hot, spicy foods and I received the gift with becoming pleasure and gratitude. My son then told me cheerfully that he'd bought them for himself but that he'd just remembered that I liked them! Men really are a different species aren't they? Or 'specie' as my other son would say!

Sending hugs,

Delicate rose

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Today I'm joining my Tic Tac Toe Challenge team mates for a wonderful new board of inspiration devised by Felicita:

I immediately went for the right hand column CAS/Sentiment/Stencil - you know I can never resist a bit of stencil fun!

 

I chose two of my favourite stencils, both from Uniko, Pure Florals Rose and Nature's Treasure. I wanted to see if I could follow the line of the rose with the curve of the leaves and I'm pleased with the way it turned out. 

 

I started with the large leaf from Nature's Treasure, sponging pale green ink into it with a dauber. The stencil comes with the leaf mask as well, so I taped that over the image while stenciling the rose in peach ink. I used the smaller leaf at the top to balance out the colours and, after removing the leaf mask, added colour and detail with coloured pencils. Finally, I stamped the birthday sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings and added some clear dots for that 'fresh as the morning' look!

Okay, so now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge blog and check out the amazing inspiration from the rest of the design team. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it when you're ready to share your own creation with us. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with The Flower Challenge where the theme this month is to use a CAS style to showcase your flowers; I'm also playing along with Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where anything using stencils goes; and the Stencil Fun Challenge where the optional theme is birthdays.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My daughter wanted a bohemian style wedding so she shunned the more traditional roses and lilies for a handful of wild flowers! I was a bit dubious about this at first ("Nothing says 'I do' like a bunch of dead flowers," I said sarcastically) but she wanted to try, so I agreed to give it a practice run. Wild flowers and grasses had been specifically grown for this event so we were able to choose a selection. I then made a posy, cut the stems to length, wrapped them in water soaked kitchen roll and wrapped them tightly in clingfilm. This was then covered in jute twine and finished with a pretty bow.

 

Aren't they pretty? And just exactly what she had envisaged! We put the bouquet in the fridge overnight and carried it about in the heat of the next day and amazingly, they stayed fresh! So we were able to go ahead on the night before the wedding and pick flowers for the tables and to create the bouquet, which my daughter whipped out of the fridge just before walking up the 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,

A heart of gold

Hello, crafting friends!

I made a card in just a few minutes and I'm delighted with it! Come and see:

This stencilled rose is perfectly capable of carrying the whole card don't you think?! It's the recently released Pure Florals Rose stencil from Uniko and it was so quick and simple to sponge in an ink blend from yellow to  orange! I intensified the orange in the very heart of the rose which helps to add dimension to a one layer card.

A pretty, cursive sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings in a darker orange finished the card. And now I want to make a whole set of cards in different colours - watch this space!

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

Thrilled that this card was a runner up at Color Hues!

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with Color Hues' one year anniversary challenge, Yellow/Orange - congratulations ladies! I'm also linking up at the NBUS challenge where Darnell wants to see your Never Before Used Schtuff; and Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where Anything Goes.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

In Victorian times, yellow roses meant a decrease in love or jealousy! Imagine receiving a bouquet of them!! Nowadays though, yellow roses symbolise friendship which I think is a much more appropriate way to use these beautiful warm flowers. Most of us don't think about the meanings of flowers before gifting them to our friends these days but Im beginning to wonder what we've been saying to one another!

Sending hugs,

Double the sunshine

Hello, crafting friends!

The sunshine continues here in the heart of England and I'm enjoying it so much I've extended it to the craft square metre - twice!

I used Clearly Besotted's Sunny Days stencil in these two cards. It is such a favourite of mine partly because it has proved to be so versatile and if you're interested in seeing some more fun ways to use this stencil just click here :)

CARD ONE

For this one, I positioned just the bottom of the stencil over the top of my card panel.

I blended an ombré effect into the stencil using an orange red, an orange and a yellow ink. That was masked off and I blended blue ink out to a fade beneath it to represent a sea.

The sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings, and the boat and birds from Waffleflower's Lighthouse, were all stamped together in black ink using a stamping platform.

CARD TWO

It occurred to me that I could ink up one part of the stencil, then turn it 180 degrees and ink it up again to make a whole sunshine - tada!

In fact it left a narrow white strip in the sun's centre but I sponged that in seamlessly. But it didn't matter in the end because I decided to add a banner sentiment over the top. This one is from Winnie and Walter's Sugar Rush, stamped in orange ink. I was so happy to find that a new sentiment from Uniko's Floral Vines fits perfectly inside it!

In interior design and fashion, they're always talking about 'disruptor colours' - the idea being that a tiny bit of something that doesn't seem to  'go' jolts the eye and adds excitement to a scheme or outfit. It works for cards too! Here, I added three non-matching embellishments - an orange enamel dot, a blue sequin and a gold gem.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

Delighted that Card Two was the Designer Choice at Tic Tac Toe challenge and that Card One won an honourable mention at Seize the Birthday AND was a Festive Friday Fave! 

CHALLENGES

I'm linking both these cards up with this month's Twofer Challenge where the challenge prompt is Sun or Sunrays. In this challenge we must make two cards using the same stamp, die or stencil, making sure that the cards are for two different occasions, and are two different designs.

I'm also linking CARD ONE up with Festive Friday where I've chosen CAS, blue and boat from the inspiration list; and Seize the Birthday where the challenge is to create a birthday card and I've gone for the optional twist of nayutical.

With CARD TWO, I'm also joining in with the Tic Tac Toe challenge, where I've chosen the middle row Hello/friend/sun or sunshine; Day of the Month Card Club, where they're celebrating Best Friend Day; and Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where anything using stencils goes.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Despite closing all the windows and blinds upstairs during the day, it's still too hot for my fluffy girl to sleep comfortably - and she'll put up with anything rather than go downstairs by herself and sleep on the cool kitchen tiles! But I have come up with a cunning plan! I get a couple of her dog towels, spray them lightly with water and pop them in the chest freezer, and get them out just before it's time to settle down. She is delighted!

Sending hugs,

Happy yellow lilies

Hello crafting friends!

Welcome to a brand new challenge at Addicted to CAS! Joy is hosting the challenge for the next two weeks and has chosen Flower as her theme word.

It's always fun to get out the flowers isn't it?! I've chosen these pretties from Clearly Besotted's Perfect Lilies, a bargain I recently bought from the company's amazing sale section.

I stamped them in a pale yellow ink then held Funky Fossil's Trellis Background stencil over it and sponged blue ink roughly round the outside. The flowers were coloured using coloured pencils and the card finished with a sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings.

And now it's your turn! There's heaps of inspiration from my teamies over at the Addicted to CAS blog.  Check it out and you can also link your creation up there using the Linky Tool. I can't wait to see the gallery fill up with beautiful CAS floral creations!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where Anything Goes; and Stamplorations Stencil challenge where Anything Goes; I've not used the lily stamp before so I'll share this card at the NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) challenge.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

It's so much lighter now and it's showing up all those dusty corners! I think this weekend is going to have to be the start of my spring cleaning!

Sending hugs,

For the green fingered man

Hello, crafting friends!

I'm all about the cards for men at the moment! Here's one that would suit a green fingered one. (By the way, isn't it fun that while we speak of 'green fingers' in the UK, our American cousins use the term 'green thumb'?! Here's a little piece by The Grammarphobia Blog that discusses the matter!) 

I'm busy using the cacti from Woodware's Succulents again. I made a little cloche effect by cutting out an offcut of blue card stock with a nesting label die from The Works; for the base, I backed a snippet of wood effect paper with a scrap of dark brown card stock. These were both glued in place on a card base.

The cacti were arranged onto a weirdly shaped scrap of white cardstock in my stamping platform which enabled me to stamp them all at the same time with Memento black ink. I coloured them all with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers and fussy cut them before arranging them in my cloche.

The card was finished with a punched heart, a sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings, and a little label, coloured with green markers and stamped with the words 'to you' from MFT's From Me To You.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

I'm so pleased this card was showcased at The Library Challenge!

CHALLENGES

I'm crazy about The Library Challenge at the moment and wanted to join in again the minute I saw this fortnight's book cover! I'm playing along at AAA Birthday with this card too, going for the Masculine/Die Cut/Patterned Paper column of the Tic Tac Toe board. I'm also linking up with Stamping Sensations' Make It Masculine challenge and, for the second time, with Allsorts where they also have a Make It Masculine theme. This card was made from snippets, except the card base, so I shall join in at The Snippets Playground too :)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My lovely eldest son came to visit! We made our arrangements via text of course and during the course of our text conversation he said: "Look at you, using emojis like you were born in 2000!" I'm not actually very good at using emojis at all and have no clue about what most of them mean! Later he said "I hope you didn't take offence at mye teasing you about emojis. I only say 2000 because I didn't really understand them myself until recently!" Isn't he adorable?!

Hope you are finding time for some therapeutic crafting!

Hugs,