Sunshine celebrations

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's time for another Tic Tac Toe challenge, and this time, the board has been devised by Linda! She's opted for some lovely seasonal ideas.

 

I went for the diagonal from top left: Sunshine/Free/Blue to make a masculine birthday card.

 

The background was made by masking off a rectangle on an offcut of white card and stenciling a sunburst using yellow inks through Clearly Besotted's Sunny Day stencil. I trimmed this out with a stitched rectangle die and mounted it on another offcut of white card, trimmed to be ever so slightly larger than the sunshine one and swiped with blue ink. I sponged a card base with paler blue ink and attached the sunny panel to the card front.

 

The banner is from Concord and 9th's Hello Sunshine stamp set. I stamped it with blue ink twice on more offcuts of white card and stamped and heat embossed one of them in red with a sentiment from Uniko's Floral Vines. I sponged both with pale blue ink and snipped them out with paper snips, cutting just the central bit of the sentiment version to pop up over the whole banner. A few colourful enamel stars finished the card.

Okay, now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog to check out all the beautiful cards the rest of the design team has made to inspire you. Choose a row, column or diagonal from the board and create a card, then link it up with us using the blue Linky button at the bottom of the challenge blog post. We are looking forward to seeing what you make!

 

CHALLENGES

I'm off to the Snippets Playground with this card as I used lots of offcuts of white card to make it;  I'm also linking up with The Male Room, which is challenging us to make Mixed Media masculine cards; and Allsorts, where Sarah's optional theme is Summer Days.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

While I was getting this post ready, the golden girls were romping about playing with each other. They play pretty boisterous games, taking it in turns to be hunter and prey. I am always impressed with the way they look so fierce with all their jaws exposed but never hurt a hair of each others heads (or bodies come to that!) Lulu is younger and more agile but she never takes advantage, always deferring to her big sister.

 

I stopped typing for a minute to see if I could get a photo of them playing but they immediately stopped...

 

 

... and Eva made this "WHAT?!!" face at me! Lulu looks very submissive in this photo but do not be deceived! She will be up and fighting as soon as I have stopped interfering with my silly photos!

 

Sending hugs,

Friendly Flowers

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Happy Thursday to you :) I'm here to bring you a brand new challenge at Tic Tac Toe Challenge where I have created a fun board with all my favourite things on it!

 

This is what I made with the diagonal from top left, Friendship Theme/Flowers/Bright
Colours:

 

What a joy it was to bring out this gorgeous stamp from Waffleflower,  Poppy Hawthorn, and colour it with alcohol markers. The sun was out and I went for splashes of yellow and orange to celebrate! Once the colouring was finished, I fussy cut the cluster (I'm sure dies are available for those that are allergic to fussy cutting!)

 

Taking a thick card base and masking off a border with low tack tape, I sponged some blue inkinto the centre for a background. I removed the tape and stamped a sentiment using Uniko's Floral Vines, then glued the flower cluster in place, trimming off the bits that overlapped the edges of the card front. Very simple and lots of fun!

Now it's your turn! Here's how to play: Hop over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog and check out the amazing inspiration from my team mates; Choose a row, column or diagonal from the board and make a card using the ideas; Share with us using the blue Linky button at the bottom of the challenge post. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

We Love Stamping has a theme of Fabulous Florals for their 15th anniversary challenge so I'm joining in there; I'm also linking up at I Spy With My Little Eye where the theme is Something Blooming Lovely.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The European Cup football tournament is on at the moment and my OH and I are enjoying watching it with the golden girls. Of course we are armchair experts and are constantly yelling at the players to move faster and pass more accurately!

 

No need to tell this young lady to move faster. Lulu for the win! Poor Eva is still on the bench with her paw injury but is enjoying watching (and partaking of the snacks!)

Sending hugs,

Swimming in winter

Hello, crafting friends!

 

First of all, here's a message for the lovely lady who asked me what I meant when I used the abbreviation OH. I do hope you see this!

 

When I arrived in Blogland, I too saw people using OH and DD and wondered what they meant. By context I began to understood that DD was Darling Daughter. From there it was clear that DH was Dear Husband. But OH? I could only suppose it meant Old Husband which seemed a bit irreverent but then a friend told me it was Other Half and all became clear. I use OH now because it makes me giggle (but don't tell DH!!)

Okay, let's move onto a little light crafting! There are a couple of challenges in Blogland calling for things with wings, which encouraged me to pull out a favourite stamp set by Craft Consortium called Riverbank featuring a beautiful swan.

My Arteza watercolour brush pens were on my desk jumping up and down shouting 'pick me'!! So I went and got my jam jar of water and my brushes, and used them to create a simple background for the swan. First I stamped the swan on watercolour paper, then I dampened the paper around the swan with water. It is so easy from there to add strokes of colour with the pens and move it around on the paper to give the illusion of cloudy skies or water. I added some simple green shapes for the river banks too and left it to dry.

 

The swan was easy to colour with the same blue grey. I left that to dry while I stamped foliage and twigs and trees over my bank shapes to add detail. After all that, I went in and added darker details and finished off the swan with an orange beak and black accents. The sentiment is a favourite from Uniko's Floral Vines. I trimmed my panel and mounted it on brown card before attaching to my card front.

CHALLENGES

Stamping Sensations' February challenge is all about Animals, Birds and Creatures so I'm linking up there; Liz has chosen the theme of Things That Fly for Allsorts this week and although Mr Swan is currently swimming, I am sure he could put on an impressive display of flying if he chose!

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The swan stamp I used today came into my mind when I took the golden girls to walk by the river. I deeply regretted this because although the flood water has receded, the banks are knee deep in mud. That's fine when you have canine claws but not so much when you are wearing old wellies!! We had the place to ourselves (as everyone else had the sense to walk somewhere else!) and half way up the river, we came across a pair of beautiful swans gliding up the river. Eva learned a long time ago that swans are not to be messed with, but I'm afraid having a naughty little sister emboldens her to imagine she is a fearless huntress! I had to be quite stern but we walked past the swans with the dogs on lead and me explaining how we just have to be Grown Up Lady Dogs sometimes and behave with Dignity and Decorum. Needless to say, when we had safely passed the swans and I let them off lead again, dignity and decorum were the last things on their minds! Sigh.

Sending hugs,

Autumnal mushrooms

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Are you ready to do some Saturday crafting? Well have a look at the new Code Word at Addicted to CAS, brought to you this time by Ceal:

 

I was thrilled to see this word because it gave me a chance to get my Greetery Mushroom dies out and have a play! I think mushrooms make a lovely autumnal focal point and they're great for male cards.

 

This one is for my eldest nephew whose birthday is in October, and who will be celebrating with a slap up meal at my house this year! It's very simple. I made a stencil out of the waste from die cutting an arch and sponged inks into it. The arch was extended with sticky notes to form the banner and I continued the ink blending with those in place.

 

The mushrooms were die cut from snippets of white card stock and sponged with ink, then I assembled them and glued them to my background. The card was finished with a pair of sentiments I'm enjoying combining lately - Happy Birthday from Uniko's Floral Vines and Have a Wonderful Day from Clearly Besotted's Fly With Me.

 

Okay, so now it's your turn! I know you have some mushrooms in your stash somewhere... why not get them out and make a clean and simple card to share with us! You'll find loads of inspiration at the Addicted to CAS challenge blog and will find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post to link up your own creation. Have fun!

CHALLENGES

This is my homework for The Snippets Playground - I used snippets of white card to die cut my mushrooms and used die cutting waste to make a stencil; I'm also joining in with Four Seasons where Anything Goes with a Fall Theme; it's Anything Goes with a birthday theme at HLS Birthday so I'm linking up there; also Less Is More, which also has an Anything Goes challenge and the cards must be clean and simple of course; I'm also sharing at Darnell's NBUS Challenge where we showcase our Never Before Used Schtuff.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The summer in the heart of England has been odd this year. It's tended to be warm but damp and the combination has brought the mushrooms out like a rash!  We've seen proper fairy rings appear in the fields behind our house, and who better to frolic about in them...

 

... than our very own fairy queen! She's obviously been trying to magic up some extra treats but it's just not working... we have to watch that waistline madam!

Sending hugs,

 

The colour of sunshine

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's Thursday and time for another round of crafting Tic Tac Toe courtesy of the Tic Tac Toe Challenge! Joanne is on Board Duty today and what an inspirational board it is:

 

I've gone for the diagonal from the top left: Letters/Yellow/Sunshine and made a card to bring some sunshine into a friend's life :)

 

I started with a yellow card base, left over from an old card kit. The Sunny Day stencil from Clearly Besotted was positioned over it and yellow ink stenciled into it for a tone on tone look. I found some coordinating washi tape that needed using up and made a border with it, then stamped a favourite Reverse Confetti floral stamp at the bottom in black ink and coloured it with yellow alcohol markers.

 

The sentiment is my 'letters' part of the board. I was excited to put a current Uniko sentiment with an older Clearly Besotted one which is a lovely wavy shape. To add a bit more interest to my card, I trimmed one corner with a Corner Rounder, then stamped the flowers and leaves again on a scrap of white card, coloured them, fussy cut them and popped them up on dimensional pads. 

Okay, so now it's your turn! Which row or column has grabbed your attention this week? Or is it one of the diagonals? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog to check out the gorgeous samples the rest of the team have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and can use it to link up your own creation with us. Have fun! We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

In the Color Dare Challenge #562, you get to choose whether to use 1, 2 or 3 of the three colours shown. I opted to use the yellow and team it with black; I'm also joining in with the Stencil Fun Challenge - not going for the optional Butterflies theme; I'm not going for the optional Butterflies at Allsorts either but I will link my card up there; It's the first outing for this charming floral set so I am sharing at Darnell's NBUS Challenge too.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I am such a fan of the colour yellow. It is the colour of sunshine, positivity, warmth and happiness. There is a good reason that there are so many famous yellow logos! I was given a bunch of beautiful, deep hearted yellow roses the other day, and they lift my spirits every time I look at them!

 

 

I hope they have the same effect on you today :)

Sending hugs,

A friendly garden

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Are you ready for a little clean and simple inspiration? Well it's time for another Addicted to CAS challenge and Toni has come up with this word prompt: 

 

 

I've made a spring note card to send to a friend.

 

The stamps I used are the Greetery's Springtime stamp set which are designed to work with some hourglass shaped dies. I found they also worked really well with some stitched circle dies from Waffleflower! I stamped the ground repeatedly, then added the flowers in springtime oranges and yellows, cut the scene out with the die and sponged blue ink round the sky area.

 

I stamped a tiny butterfly from an old Stampin' Up set to add a bit of movement to the scene and a little kitten (an ancient wood mount stamp) to watch it flutter about. To finish, I stamped a Uniko sentiment in grey beneath the circle.

Okay, so now it's your turn to think about gardens - but no need to leave the craft room ;) Hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge blog and check out the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the team. 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 white space will you... we can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Try it on Tuesday where the theme is Hello Spring; also Stamping Sensations where the theme for April is Anything Stamped with the Option of CAS; At We Love Stamping the theme is Anything Stamped with optional (real) animals or birds; Ellie's theme at Allsorts over the Easter holiday is In the Spring Garden so I'm joining in there too.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've been looking after the lovely Lady Dora this week, an aristocratic black cat, who always looks as if she's wearing a crinoline and a white lace bodice when seated.

 

There's another black cat in the area - an attractive but vulgar chap who lounges around in a rumpled suit of fur and has all the appearance of having been out on the tiles all night. He has designs on Lady Dora's virtue and sometimes tries to gain entrance into Her Ladyship's residence for a free meal so I have to protect her from his wily ways. Sometimes I suspect her of making secret assignations with him... It's all drama around here I can tell you!

Sending hugs,

Rustic Garden

Hello, crafting friends!

The delicate little flowers on today's card are made with my favourite crafty item at the moment - the Botanicuts Wildflower Mix dies from The Greetery. They are quite fiddly but absolutely addictive!

 

 

I coloured my flowers with sponge daubers before glueing them together.

 

To showcase my flowers, I used a kraft card base and cut a matching panel using one of the Nordic Frame dies, also from The Greetery. I made a background by scribbling on the panel with a white watercolour crayon then glued the flowers on it in a curve. 

 

Finally, I stamped a sentiment from an old Stampin' Up set and popped up another sentiment from Uniko's Floral Vines over the top of it.

CHALLENGES

I've been wanting to join in with The Flower Challenge's Use Your Latest Stamps/Dies theme all month and think I will just get this card in before the deadline!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I have become very, very fond of this little cutie!

 

He's quite a dignified chap who turns into a little babe when he falls asleep!

Sending hugs,

The one layer birthday

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another fun challenge at Addicted to CAS where Barb is your hostess with the mostest for the next couple of weeks! As you know, we love clean and simple cards at this challenge but Barb is adding an extra twist:

 

Yes, your cards need to have only one layer this time - so the challenge is to refrain from adding die cuts and embellishments! Can you do it?!

 

I make quite a lot of one layer cards and my favourite techniques to add depth and dimension are masking and ink blending.

For this card I started by masking off the left and the bottom of a nice thick card base with low-tack tape. Next, I stamped the basket from Stampin' Up's Season's Blessings stamp set and covered it with a mask made with a sticky note. Then I blended a little soft blue ink outwards and upwards, adding a little pale brown ink at the bottom. The leaves were stamped next so that when the tape and basket mask were peeled away, the plant appeared to be growing in the basket and there were nice crisp edges.

 

There are flowers in the stamp set I was using but even the smallest were bigger than I wanted, so I found some smaller ones in another set. I stamped them in a coral colour and doodled flower centres and extra stems with a green marker. The card was finished with a sentiment from Floral Vines by Uniko.

So now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS blog to check out the fantastic samples the team has made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us. Remember to keep your card nice and clean and simple, with plenty of white space, not forgetting the one layer element! Have fun!

CHALLENGES

I’m linking this card up at Seize the Birthday where Lindsey has chosen the theme of Signs of Spring. It's wonderful watching the garden burst into life at this time of year but I love it when potted plants in the home start to flower too - it always seems such a miracle to me :)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We are Celebrating Easter in the most beautiful spring sunshine! My daughter and eldest son are with us and Eva has a young pal to stay.

They’ll be having a treasure hunt where they'll be looking for carrot sticks together!

Sending hugs,

Tulips from middle England

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Are spring flowers bursting out all over your area? They certainly are here and I am loving the display and discovering something new in the garden every day. Today's simple one layer card was inspired by that:

Although I don't have a walled garden myself, I've always loved the look of sun-warmed brick as a backdrop for flowers. For this card I stamped the tulip image directly onto a card base, using a barely-there green, and coloured them with coloured pencils.

 

The tulips were covered with a mask made with a sticky note so I was able to stencil a background using Funky Fossil's Brick Wall stencil. When the mask was removed, I stamped and heat embossed the friendly sentiment from Uniko's Floral Vines over the top.

 

THIS CARD WON AN AWARD

Delighted that the team at Just Add Ink voted this card their winner! 

CHALLENGES

There are two challenges asking for favourites this week - The Alphabet Challenge, where Helen is inviting us to use a favourite colour combination, and As You See It where the challenge is to use our favourite spring flower. I like almost ANY colour with green so I've opted for orange and green, and I love ALL spring flowers but have chosen tulips this time! I'm also linking up with Just Add Ink where Kerry has chosen the theme of Just Add Masking, and Allsorts where Brenda's topical theme is Spring is in the Air.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I'm not the only one enjoying the spring flowers...

 

... although I suspect that a boy dog has maybe left a Special Message on this little clump of daffs!

Sending hugs,