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,

A drop of golden sun

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Happy Saturday and welcome to a fabulous new challenge at Addicted to CAS! Helen is at the helm for the next two weeks and she has chosen this code word:

 

Shades of one colour are always fun to work with aren't they! In a bid to bring a little brightness into my life, I've gone with shades of yellow and a sunshine motif for this note card.

 

After masking off the edges of my card base with low tack tape, I sponged pale yellow ink into Clearly Besotted's Sunny Day stencil, using a slightly darker ink towards the bottom of the card. Once the tape was removed, I added a sentiment.

 

 

First, I stamped the word 'sunshine' from Concord & 9th's Hello Sunshine stamp set in a darker yellow ink. Then I cut the word 'hello' using a die from Funky Fossil and coloured it ombré fashion with alcohol markers before gluing it above the word 'sunshine'. A few shiny enamel dots and the card was done.

Okay, now it's your turn to come up with a clean and simple monochrome card! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge blog and check out the fabulous 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 to link up your own creation with us. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at  Addicted to Stamps and More where the theme is Die Cuts and Stencils; at Try It On Tuesday, the challenge is to Use A Stencil so I'm joining in there; and also last but not least, Lil Red Wagon's challenge is to make a Clean and Simple project.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The weather is still a little erratic in the heart of England but we have had some sunshine and it is looking green and lush out in the countryside. Here's a photo of my second favourite golden girl springing out of the undergrowth...

Always full of the joys of spring that one - whatever the season!!

Sending hugs,

One layer of sunshine

Hello, crafting friends!

It's time for a shiny new challenge at Addicted to CAS today!  Sue is hosting for the next couple of weeks and has chosen a code word which is sure to get your mojo jumping!

I was very excited about this one because it gave me yet another opportunity to bring out my favourite stencil!

The Sunny Day stencil by Clearly Besotted was positioned over the top left hand corner of my card base and two shades of yellow blended out to a fade. I stamped a sentiment from Concord & 9th's Hello Sunshine using brown and orange inks, and added an enamel heart coloured to match with an alcohol marker. And that's it - the simplest card ever!

So now it's over to you. As always, there's a ton of inspiration from the design team at the Addicted to CAS challenge blog. You'll also find the Linky Tool there so that you  can upload your own creation. Have fun - but remember to keep your card nice and clean and simple with plenty of white space. I can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge, using the top row Friendship/Summer theme/Single layer; also Perfectly CAS where the challenge is to use One Corner and up to one third of the card front; and AAA Cards where the challenge is also to use One Corner and the optional twist is Childhood Memories - I grew up in the UK in the '70s when there were heatwaves every summer!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Ironically, our lovely sunshine has been ousted by torrential rain but here is a photo of my own particular little ray of sunshine!

Sending hugs,

Feeling beachy keen

Hello, crafting friends!

There's a brand new challenge at Addicted to CAS today and our lovely hostess Ceal has chosen just the right code word to get you relaxing!

Blue skies, sunshine on your skin, warm sand between your toes...don't your shoulders immediately go down when you imagine the scene? Mine did when I was making today's card! 

I masked off the edges of a card base and stamped the beach scene from Scene it More by Clearly Besotted. I sponged in a sea/sky and some sand then added colour and detail with  coloured pencils and a Posca white acrylic paint pen.

The sentiment was stamped below the beach in the non-inked area and I made a wide frame for the scene with two stitched rectangle dies from Heffy Doodle and attached it to the front of the card.

I highly recommend making a peaceful beach scene so do come and play with us! You'll find loads of inspiration at the Addicted to CAS challenge blog and we have the amazing Jen Mitchell as our special guest this week! The Linky Tool will be open for two weeks so that you can share your own creation. Have fun won't you - and don't forget to keep your card nice and clean and simple with plenty of that all important white space!

CHALLENGES

I made this card for my son who has just finished a pretty difficult year at university so I'm linking up with Heidi's Masculine challenge at Watercooler Wednesday.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My daughter has been visiting us and I've been making the most of her delightful company, so apologies for not being around much this week. Now that she's gone home, there's a very sad golden retriever in our house, so I'll be busy cheering her up with long walks and some of her favourite games.

Sending hugs,

Time for a celebration!

Hello, crafting friends!

Has anyone else been finding themselves more attracted to bright colours this year? I think I'm subconsciously choosing happiness!

I used Funky Fossil's Splatters stencil to  make the background for this card, sponging bright colours into one of the splatters, moving it around for each colour.

The sentiment banner is from Concorde & 9th's Hello Sunshine turnabout set. I stamped it onto vellum using black Stazon ink, adding a pink sentiment from MFT's Safari Party which I clear-embossed. The banner was carefully cut out and I used a water-based marker to colour the back of it orange. For that celebratory feel, I added sparkly stars made by colouring silver glimmer paper with alcohol markers and using Stampin' Up's Twinkle punch to cut them out.

CHALLENGES

Time Out got me thinking about various festivals and this card was inspired by the Hindu Holi Festival but can be used for any celebration I think. Find out more about Holi here. It's taken me a long time to get round to having a go at Stamplorations' Anything Goes Stencil Challenge, but I finally got there!  

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Never mind a celebration, it would be great to hear some really good news. Do let me know if you have any won't you! In the meantime, I've decided that it's time to cosy up the house with the wintery cushions and throws, and I might even treat myself to a glass of sherry later while watching The Great British Bake Off! It's Patisserie week so there should be some great eye candy!

Sending hugs,

The autumn fairy

Hello, crafting friends!

I had an autumnal moment in the Craft Square Metre and when I came up for air, this card had happened:

I adore this little fairy from Funky Fossil's Christmas Characters stamp set. She may come from a Christmas set but she's definitely an all-the-year-rounder! I made a layered background for her with three Funky Fossil stencils (Brick Wall, Fancy Trellis and Arched Window), stood her on a bit of wood-effect designer paper from SU and surrounded her with stamped leaves from Reverse Confetti's Fall Foliage.

The leaves were coloured with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers and because I'd used my semi-coated card stock they have a lovely sheen. The fairy was stamped, coloured and fussy cut. I've given her the Wink of Stella treatment so she shimmers and she has a glowing amber gem on her dress. She looks as if she's summoning up a wind to swirl the leaves around but maybe she's just trying to remember where she left her keys...!

Tiny dots, added with a gold pen and with the Wink of Stella pen give that magical feel. To make the sentiment, I stamped the banner from Concord & 9th's Hello Sunshine turnabout set in Stazon ink on vellum, added a greeting from Clearly Besotted's Simply Said, and snipped it out.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

This card was chosen as the Sapphire Winner at Color My Heart Color Dare!

CHALLENGES

I'm squeaking in under the wire at The Rainbow Challenge's Autumnal Amber challenge. I will also link up at The Color My Heart Color Dare 413 where I've chosen Canary, Espresso and gold, adding in Toffee and Sundance! Allsorts are looking for Autumn Colours this week so I'm joining in there too.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've been cleaning Eva's ears today. She is a very good girl about it I must say and the most difficult thing about it for me is getting her to sit in a position in the light where I can see what I'm doing. She always gets a nice treat when I've finished and she certainly looks forward to that!

It's terribly tiring though!!!

Sending hugs,

Winter Wear for summer

Hello, crafting friends!

When I bought Winter Wear by Concorde & 9th, it was an indulgence. I knew I could make winter woolly Christmas cards with it, but I like my stamp sets to work harder than that! Well, it turns out that with a little doodling, it becomes a very versatile set indeed and one that has given me HEAPS of fun!

The ladies in the set are the top part of a face with beautiful hair, and they are designed to be used to peep above a sentiment. But it really doesn't take much artistic skill to doodle in the bottom half of the face and some shoulders - the mouth is the trickiest bit. I stamped the specs that come with the set and turned them into sunglasses, coloured my lady with alcohol markers and cut her out.

It's her birthday, so I gave her a pair of pearl earrings. She needed a beach to lounge about on so I masked a square shape on a card base and sponged in a simple sky, sea and sand. I thought she could do with a treat while she's waiting for her pals to bring the cake, so I stamped her a cocktail from Clearly Besotted's Raise a Glass. Cheers!

I'm having a bit of fun combining sentiments from different sets at the moment, and this one uses the banner from Concorde & 9th's Hello Sunshine Turnabout, 'wishing you a happy' from WPlus9's Silver Bells and 'Birthday' from Uniko's Wild. For a little tropical flavour, I decorated the banner with some tiny flowers from Raise a Glass.

CHALLENGES
I'm going to link up with Double D Challenges where there's a fabulous beachy mood board and the theme is Let's Go To The Beach; Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Summertime; Seize The Birthday, where I'm sticking to the Anything Goes challenge; and a new-to-me challenge site Challenge Up Your Life where the theme is Vacation Mood.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
If all this beach talk is making yyou feel like a nice cool dip, you're not alone...

... the beach may be out, but Eva and her pal Jasper are happy with a river party :)

Hope you are all keeping safe and well.

Hugs,

Peace on the beach

Hello, crafting friends!

After a win at the fabulous CAS on Friday challenge, I've been invited to Guest Design with the lovely ladies there. *waves hello* The theme this week is

Summer 

Since there's no chance of me going on holiday this summer, I've gone to fantasy holiday land! Come and see:

A peaceful spot on an empty beach, glorious sunshine, a pile of books, the clink of ice in my Strawberry Daiquiri... YES PLEASE! Sorry, I didn't mean to shout but it does sound like the ideal place to unwind. In reality of course, Eva would be with me and would be scampering in and out of the sea in a very unrestful way and shaking cold salty water all over me!!!

I used one of Lawn Fawn's Stitched Hillside Border dies on speckled card stock for my sand and a pale blue card stock for the sky. This was masked with a sticky note and a sea inked in with a sponge. I added a sunshine from Concorde & 9th's Hello Sunshine and used a Heffy Doodles Stitched Rectangle die to cut them first into a rectangle, then to trim it into a square.

I made a beach towel out of a piece of striped washi tape and then assembled the rest of my elements - the cocktail is from Clearly Besotted's Raise a Glass, the books from Waffle Flower's Books and Coffee and the sunglasses from Paper Smooches' Sunny Side Up. I coloured everything in with alcohol markers, fussy cut them and attached them to the card.

Finally, I found a sentiment which worked perfectly with the shape of my sand: it's from Fly With Me by Clearly Besotted and it made me very happy!

Okay, it's over to you now! What does summer mean to you? I hope you'll join in with us and link your lovely CAS creation up here. There's some amazing talent on the CAS on Friday design team and you'll find some fabulous inspiration here too :)

CHALLENGES
I'm joining in at Time Out where the code word is Peaceful and the Beach/Ocean theme at The Sisterhood of Crafters.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
Eva doesn't need a beach to go swimming. She has a very effective water radar and is always diving into undergrowth and finding hidden streams.

When she gets home, she likes to be rinsed off and rubbed down with a towel. After that, she's more than ready for a square meal. Once that's eaten, she checks to see if I'm good for any chews or other treats but, if not, she settles down for a nice snoozle. This is usually in an area where I have to step over her to leave the house because then she knows if I'm going out or not :)

Hope you are all safe and well.

Hugs,