Always in birthday bloom

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I'm back with another fun challenge at Tic Tac Toe! I came up with the ideas on the board this week and I hope you'll be inspired:

 

Naturally there is a stencil option and I've gone for the middle row where it appears: Use a Stencil/Birthday Sentiment/Blues and Greens.

 

I recently took delivery of the Always in Bloom layering stencil set from the Greetery and it has fast become a favourite. For this card I wanted to see if I could use the stencils to embellish a large sentiment and I think it worked quite well! The birthday part of the sentiment was from Avery Elle's Big Birthday, stamped in black ink, and I added a small 'happy' from an MFT set, stamped in yellow.

 

The flowers were added piece by piece as each requires three layers of stenciling, but it was surprisingly easy to build the design. When I was happy with the result, I trimmed the panel to size, popped it up on a card base with dimensional tape and finished off with some sparkling gems.

So now it's your turn! Check out the Tic Tac Toe Challenge site where my team mates have come up with some beautiful inspiration for you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and can use it to share your own design with us when you're ready. We are looking forward to seeing your entries!

CHALLENGES

I used the beautifully versatile sketch at Sunday Stamps for this card so I'll link up there; I'm also joining in at Double D where there's a fun collaboration with Altenew and where Anything Goes with the option to Use Stencils - as if I'd turn that down!! I'm also going to  link up at Stencil Fun, one of Darlene's and Diane's other challenges where Anything Stenciled Goes with optional Butterflies; and yet another of their challenges (they have SO much energy!!) Four Seasons, where Anything Summer Goes.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

You've heard of the expression 'happy as a pig in clover' haven't you? Well...

 

... it turns out that goldens girls are pretty happy in clover too  - especially if there's a river close by!!

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,

Labelled with birthday hugs

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's Thursday and time for another Tic Tac Toe challenge! Joanne has come up with a board bursting with inspiration:

 

Today's card was made with The Greetery's Oopsie Daisy stamp set. I stamped some of the stalks from the set onto a card panel and added three flower heads in Stampin' Up's Fresh Freesia ink. Coloured pencils were used to add a bit of detail and depth to the flowers and stalks. I cut the panel out with a pretty hem stitched frame die from Spellbinders.

 

The set also has a twine image which I stamped in black ink to 'tie' the daisies into a little posy. I thought it would be fun to add a little tag so I die-cut one from Stampin' Up's Wrapped Flowers die set and stamped it with a tiny sentiment from a Clearly Besotted set. 

 

The tag was tied up with black twine and popped up on a dimensional pad. To finish, I added a sentiment from MFT that worked well with the little tag. 

 

 

Okay, it's over to you now! Which row or column will you choose? Or will you go for one of the diagonals? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge site to admire all the amazing cards the team has made to inspire you, as well as Cindy, our special guest for this week :) You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with  Addicted to Stamps and More where the theme is Dies and/or Stencils.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I took Eva for a walk in our local park this morning and strolled through the field area where stalls were being set up for an event celebrating the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. Eva has walked through this field many times before but there have NEVER been stalls in it and she was very keen to let me know that she had noticed this!! Luckily I was able to distract her by suggesting a nice swim in the river where she enjoyed retrieving sticks for a while before returning home.

Sending hugs,

Yay for good news!

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Isn't it wonderful to have good news?! My daughter has been promoted at work and as if that weren't enough, her partner has been offered a coveted teaching position too. I am so happy for them and since I had a little minute, I made them a card :)

They both wear glasses and I thought these two bespectacled bears from Waffleflower's Books and Coffee would amuse them. First, I cut a rectangle out of white card and die cut  a square from it to make a polaroid frame. The bears were stamped on the square and coloured with alcohol markers and coloured pencils.

The wallpaper was made by masking the bears off and stenciling inks through a floral stencil by Funky Fossil, a gift from my pal Sandie :) When the masks were removed, I glued the polaroid frame to a card base and inserted the 'photo'. I stamped the Yay! from Pinkfresh Studio's Perfect Sentiments and added an MFT 'so proud of you' sentiment to the bottom of the polaroid, using a dark coral to coordinate with the wallpaper.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where Anything Goes and  Make My Monday where the theme is to Use a Stencil.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've just finished the last of my mothers day chocolate (I'm SURE I have some elastic waisted trousers somewhere!) What a lovely day I had - lots of crafting with my floofy daughter to keep me company as well as fun video calls from my human daughter and youngest son. I was lucky enough to have the real life company of my eldest son too for pizza and film night. "Pizza!" he said reverently, "One of Man's finest achievements!"

Sending hugs,

Nuts about you

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I've been enjoying making a few valentines this year! This one features a pair of bushy-tailed cuties from a new-to-me stamp set from Clearly Besotted called Foxy Friend.

 

 

The squirrels are supposed to be skunks but they make excellent squirrels! I coloured them with coloured pencils, fussy cut them and attached them to a die cut stitched circle that I'd masked with a stencil and sponged with blue ink.

I wanted to create an interesting border to the card base so I trimmed 1/2" off the front flap using a large stitched rectangle die. Pale blue card stock was glued underneath the flap and then ran a heart design washi tape along the edge. The squirrel circle was placed slightly overlapping the border and I finished with a die cut heart and a sentiment from MFT.

 

CHALLENGES

I was inspired by Lisa's photo choice at this week's Just Us Girls challenge, using the background and swapping the snow couple with the squirrels; I'm also joining in at Just Add Ink where there's a Just Pick Two challenge - Fancy Edge/Circle/Twine - and I've gone for Fancy Edge and Circle; I also made this card for Time Out Challenges where the theme is In Love; and am sharing at Darnell's NBUS challenge, the place to show off our Never Before Used Schtuff!

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I had to whisper the word 'squirrels' in case a certain young lady got a bit excited but...

 

 

... having had a long walk this morning with an impromptu swim in the river, nothing other than the rustle of a cheese wrapper would have had the power to rouse her!!

Sending hugs,

Awooooooo!

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome back to the first Tic Tac Toe Challenge of the year, hosted by my friend Joanne. She has come up with a board that is sure to inspire you:

Just look at all those options! I am saying I went with the middle row Sentiment/CAS/Animal but in fact I was inspired by all of the word prompts - check them and see!!

I started by stamping the outline wolf from Hero Arts' Color Layering Howling Wolf directly onto a thick card base. I made a mask for the wolf using a sticky note, cut a 1 1/2" circle from the sticky note to use as a moon mask and tore another sticky note to use as a rocky ground. With these in place on my card base, I was able to sponge dark blue distress ink over the sky area.

The moon and ground masks were discarded and I stamped the moon detail over the white circle. I was able to discard the wolf mask then and set to work colouring the wolf and the rocky ground. I used greys and blues to create the moonlit scene and finished with a Posca white acrylic paint pen to give the halo effect that the rock and the wolf might have when silhouetted against bright moonlight.

Finally, I stamped the Awooo sentiment from the set, which I combined with a birthday sentiment from MFT, and then added stars with the Posca pen and a silver marker.

So now it's over to you! Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge site where you'll find amazzing samples made by my teamies to inspire you. You will find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post too so that you can upload your own creation. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

This card is for my youngest son so I'm playing at The Male Room where the theme is For a Teenager; I was inspired by the colours and the wolf at the AAA Cards moodboard so I'm joining in there too; I was also inspired by Vicki's challenge at Just Us Girls to create a spnged or sprayed background; Pauline at Allsorts has chosen an Anything Goes challenge with the option to use something new (I've used my new wolf stamp set) and I will also share this card at Darnell's NBUS challenge where we all show off our Never Before Used Schtuff.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I really had to have this Howling Wolf stamp set because my golden retriever Eva actually does this. She tips her head back, points her noise to the sky and says Awoooo! Sometimes it's very gently and sometimes it's louder. At first it was clear that she did it when any of us did something unexpected, almost as if she was laughing at us or with us. The first time she ever did it was when she was a puppy and the children were playing a game of peekaboo with her, popping their heads out from behind a chair. Of course they were delighted when she 'awooo-ed' like an actual wolf cub! Now she does it more frequently and sometimes in public which can be a little disconcerting! I have a lowering suspicion she does it because she's a shocking attention seeker!!

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,

Upside down dog

Hello, crafting friends!

Welcome to another Tuesday and another fun challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches. This week is sketch week and this month's hostess Jenny has come up with a slimline design to get your creative juices flowing.

I must confess, the slimline format is not one I've particularly embraced but I have a new stamp set with horizontal images which I thought would work well for a long card.

This adorable pup is from Doggone Sweet by Penny Black which I fell in love with the minute I saw the upside down retriever! I recently guested at the very last Twofer challenge where the theme was Dogs/Cats and I'm afraid I was very much inspired by many of the dog stamps on display!!

I made a background for my little upside down dog by masking off the top of the card and sponging grey ink below it, then removed the mask and used Clearly Besotted's Tear Away stencil and some blue ink to create a puffy clouded sky above.

The pup was stamped in yellow ink, coloured with alcohol markers and coloured pencils, fussy cut and glued to the background. I finished it with an MFT sentiment which fitted neatly around the dog's ear. 

So now it's your turn! Do hop over to the CAS Colours and Sketches website to see all the gorgeous samples the design team has made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool there too so that you can share your own creation. Have fun!

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

Delighted to be a top 3 winner at Cardz 4 Guyz with this card!

CHALLENGES

I used the colour palette at Cards 4 Guyz for this card. It was actually made for a dog-loving female friend who recently had a fall (I thought the upside down dog might raise a smile!) but it could perfectly well be used as a masculine card. I'm also sharing at the NBUS challenge where Darnell wants to see our Never Before Used Schtuff!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

This is a rare photo of Eva with a ball:

She is not a dog that likes people to throw a ball for her to retrieve and is inclined to give you a 'go and get it yourself' kind of look if you try. She prefers to retrieve shoes and garments from around the house, cuttings I've put in a compost bag in the garden, or tissues. There are balls in her toy basket though and sometimes I ask her to get one so that I can reward her with a treat. She can differentiate between Ball, Sock, Fish and Squeaky, although sometimes she thinks it's quicker to just try them all at once!!

Sending hugs,

Sunshine in the city

Hello, crafting friends!

The unexpected sunshine we had recently really raised everyone's spirits so I decided to use it as a motif on a thank you card I needed.

I reached for the Sunny Day stencil by Clearly Besotted and positioned it over a thick card base, masking off the sides so that it would create the illusion of a panel. After sponging yellow ink into it, I removed the masks. The cityscape is another stencil from Clearlyy Besotted called The Tale of Two Cities. It's a layering stencil - I clear embossed the windows, then positioned the corresponding buildings stencil over the top and sponged blue into it. I love the effect! 

I fussy cut my cityscape and glued it onto the sunshine background. To finish the card, I added a yellow tag with the word 'thank' stamped onto it and added a die cut 'you' that I coloured ombré style with blue alcohol markers. 

CHALLENGES

I haven't managed to play along at Colour Hues lately so I'm getting in early this time! The colour combo is Blue and Yellow -  always a spring favourite! I'm also joining in at the Allsorts challenge where Lynn wants to see Yellow on our creations, so I have obliged with plenty of sunshine! The theme at Addicted To Stamps and More is Dies and/or Stencils, so I shall link up there too.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Eva has made a new friend, a little black dog with a curly tail called Coda. She is a 7 month old pup who was abandoned on the street in a cardboard box with her siblings when they were tiny (thankfully all have now found homes.) When we first met Coda she was terrified. She barked hysterically at us, telling us to keep our distance, and ran and hid in the hedges when we approached. Gradually though, over the last couple of months, she has realised that not only are we not a threat but that Eva is brilliant fun! The difference between shaking, barking, scared Coda and enthusiastic, running-to-greet-us and playing-with-Eva Coda makes me SO happy.

I don't have photos of the girls playing to show you yet but I can show you a photo of a young lady worn out from frolicking with her young friend!

Sending hugs,

Sorry I messed up

Hello, crafting friends!

There's been lots of mucky fun going on here, not just in the craft square metre but out on walks with Eva too. I've always said that I'm influenced by nature and today you'll be able to see just how much!

This card started with a little golden labrador, cut out with the Dog Builder punch by Stampin' Up. I coloured my pup with alcohol markers, gave him some features, and set him playing on some grass I sponged on the bottom of a card base. I foolishly added a dirty puddle and some mud to the scene, using Snow Front, also from Stampin' Up, and as you can see...

... he jumped in and got himself all covered in mud! He said he was sorry but I think it was a case of 'sorry, not sorry' because he'd always wanted to be a chocolate lab! Aaargh, stand back, I think he's going to shake himself!!

The splash of mud was created with Funky Fossil's Splatters stencil and I've had the idea in my mind ever since I saw THIS amazing card by the lovely Pat. To finish, I stamped the word 'sorry' and added a die cut 'oops' to go with it. I think it worked pretty well!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Perfectly CAS where the theme is Splash on a CAS design that uses only 1/3 of a card.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Of course Eva the beautiful princess would NEVER jump in a muddy puddle like this! Or would she...?

What you may not know is that Princess Eva has an alter ego called Miss Mucky McGrub!

Sending hugs,