A hugely happy happy birthday

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I'm living in Birthday Land at the moment as lots of friends and family celebrate their special days around this time of year. Today I want to show you a really quick card that I made for my brother's upcoming birthday:

 

The bright striped paper is a Stampin' Up design given to me by a lovely friend. I trimmed a little smaller than a card front and cut off the top at an angle.

 

 

Along the top I positioned the die cut word 'happy' from Uniko's Big and Bold Happy die set. I cut several of these out of yellow card and stacked them together for some nice dimension. I topped that with a birthday sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks stamp set, stamped in red ink and snipped out. That's it, very quick and simple :)

CHALLENGES

Kim's fabulous 'cut on an angle' sketch at Freshly Made Sketches this week was my inspiration for this card, so I'm linking up there; I'm also joining in at AAA Birthday, where the theme is Clean and Simple birthday cards; The sentiment is the main focus of this card so I'm playing at Word Power too.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The nesting season is in full swing in my tiny garden and loads of birds, mainly sparrows, robins and blackbirds are busily popping in and out of the ivy and making exciting rustling noises. Eva takes it all in her stride and although she gets quite interested when the fledglings start to learn to fly, I am pretty confident she wouldn't harm them. Lulu, on the other hand, spends a lot of time watching them...

 

... and I cannot be sure that there are no dark hunting thoughts going on in that pretty head! You will be glad to know I don't leave her unsupervised in the garden!!

Sending hugs,

The accidental card

Hello, crafting friends!

 

We're halfway through our challenge at The Flower Challenge and we'd love to see your card in the gallery! Layers are the theme this month.

My card was a total accident! For another project, I'd cut a panel with a cover die called Country Garden by Gemini. It needs a shim but I'd forgotten about that, so had ended up with an uncut version. My Arteza watercolour brush pens were (as usual!) out on the table so I amused myself by using some pretty spring colours with a little water and a paint brush to colour the image. It was just ordinary card stock so I wasn't expecting it to work, but I quite liked the result and it was just right for layering.

 

I used a small flower die to cut daisies out of snippets of white card. These were layered over the largest flowers and I found enamel dots in different colours and sizes to decorate the other flowers. The panel was then attached to a card base.

My final layer is a frame from the UFO box which had been cut from white card with a double stitched rectangle die. I backed the frame with foam tape for a bit of extra dimension. The sentiment is from MFT's All Occasion Sentiments, stamped on a snippet of white card, cut out and popped up on dimensional pads.

 

Okay, so it's your turn! My talented team mates have made some gorgeous cards to inspire you and you'll find them over on The Flower Challenge blog post. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post too and can use it to share your own layered floral creation with us. You have until April 25 and we can't wait to see what you make!

 

CHALLENGES

I'm off to The Snippets Playground with this card! Sorry I didn't take photos of my snippets because I didn't know it was going to be a snippets card but the floral panel was a rescued failed die cut, the frame was a left over, and all the other elements were snippets of white card.

AND IN OTHER NEWS 

Lulu is in the doghouse! We'd had a locksmith round and I asked him if he'd make a fuss of the dogs before I shut them in the kitchen while he got on with his work. Once Eva knows who is in the house she is fine, and Lulu took her lead from Eva so there was no barking at all. When the locksmith left, I released the dogs and praised them for their excellent behaviour. I then got on with cleaning the living room. I wanted to give it a good sweeping to get rid of any dog hair, so I popped the pups out in the garden so they wouldn't walk in the sweepings. But twice in a row proved to be a step too far for young Lulu...

 

... and she had started digging a hole before I noticed and was able to stop her! Very frustrating but totally my fault for pushing her further than she could cope with. She will now need to be supervised carefully in the garden so that behaviour is not repeated. Sigh!

Sending hugs,

Roses are red

Hello, crafting friends!

 

With Valentine's Day on the horizon I thought it was time to get into the spirit of romance, and what better way than a bouquet of red roses and a wedding or ruby wedding anniversary card!

 

I'm having a wonderful time using my new goodies in the Craft Square Metre! The background of this card was made with The Greetery's Ribbon Maker Large Scallop die. I had seen the DT use the die in this way and fell in love with the look! The card is a lovely suede look cream card that I've had for years (and sadly have very little left.) I cut the scalloped pieces and glued them onto copier paper before trimming to size.

The other new item I'm using is my new Arteza brush pens and oh! I have fallen head over heels with these too! I used them with a water brush to colour these roses from a favourite older set: Modern Roses from WPlus9. I've also found a proper white watercolour paper at Crafters Companion and it's superb.

 

While waiting for the roses and leaves to dry, I stamped a sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, and snipped it out. Everything was then arranged on the background and glued in place, then the background was attached to a card base.

 

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at We love Stamping where Hilary has chosen the optional theme of Romance; At the Alphabet Challenge, W is for Weddings so I'm joining in there too., as well as at Try it on Tuesday  where the theme is Hearts and/or Flowers. The background die and the watercolour brush pens are brand spanking new so I'm also off to Darnell's NBUS Challenge to play :)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I'm afraid I can't stay to chat today as I have two chocolate labs to deal with. Someone seems to have swapped my golden girls for them... thank goodness for my kind neighbour giving me those extra dog towels!!

Sending hugs,

Shiplap and Roses

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I can't tell you how delighted I am to join the team at The Flower Challenge where many of my heroines of craft are creating effortlessly beautiful cards month after month! For this first challenge of the year, the theme is to incorporate a heart somewhere on your floral card.

 

It's coming up to that time of the year when we share the love, so I made a masculine valentine :)

I started with a wood plank background, sponging a variety of neutral inks onto an offcut of white card and cutting with The Greetery's Shiplap die set. I laid the planks out on a piece of copy paper, and glued them in place, before trimming to size with a stitched rectangle die by Heffy Doodle.

The single rose bud is from a Studio Light Bible Journalling set, and the leaves from WPlus9's Modern Roses. I stamped them, coloured them with coloured pencils and fussy cut them. I added them to the shiplap, glueing them together as a single item, then stamped the 'with love' sentiment from The Greetery's Tagged Elegance. To finish, I stamped a row of hearts using a much-used stamp from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, and embellished with a pair of enamel hearts.

Now it's your turn! At the Flower Challenge we want to see cards featuring flowers so don't forget to make them the main focus of your creation. Do hop over to the challenge site to check out the amazing inspiration on display from my talented team mates, and when you're ready to link up your own card, you'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the challenge post. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm frolicking over to Darnell's NBUS Challenge as the Shiplap die and the Bible Journalling set are Never Before Used Schtuff! The team at As You See It want to see our new craft stash too, so I'm linking up there; Triple B have an optional moodboard for February but your card must feature a bird and/or a butterfly and/or a bloom.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The golden girls and I had quite the eventful walk yesterday afternoon. We'd been careering about in the countryside and were just coming back, tired but happy, when suddenly a herd of 5 Muntjac deer shot out from the shelter of a hedge almost right in front of us. The pups' eyes were practically on stalks! They shot off in hot pursuit of course and my heart was in my mouth; I know Eva wouldn't be able to get near them but Lulu is FAST! However I can (with relief) report that she is not as fast as the deer and soon turned back, panting hard and with tongue lolling. The girls trotted home shoulder to shoulder, presumably having convinced themselves that they were marvellous hunting dogs, and did justice to large bowlfuls of meaty chunks before settling down for a nap.

Sending hugs,

Thinking pink again

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Thank you to those of you who have cheered us on as we offered Lulu, our little golden retriever pal, a new home. She has been with us for five days now and from being quite nervous and unsettled has very quickly grasped the routine. This afternoon, we went for a long walk by the river, which has burst its banks providing pools designed for maximum puppy fun. So now I have two toweled-dry, happy girls with full tummies fast asleep on the sofas! And this of course means a little crafting fun while the going is good!

I thought I'd better add to the Christmas card stash!

 

 

Isn't it fun to try outside-the-box colours for festive cards :) For this card, I used a scrumptious pink plaid paper for the background, stamping a few pine branches on the card base before attaching it. I die cut some pine branches and fir trees from snippets of white card to layer on top, colouring the branches with ink and a sponge dauber first but leaving the trees uncoloured.

 

 

The sentiment is a lovely blocky one from Uniko, stamped in the same blue-green as the stamped pine branches. The larger tree is decorated with a generous helping of enamel dots and sequins for full festive shine!

CHALLENGES

It's wonderful to see Stephanie and Lauren at Jingle Belles donating to Breast Cancer Research Foundation again this year for every pink Christmas card linked up with their Pink Christmas challenge (ends in 4 days so you have plenty of time to add your own creation!); Diane and Darlene from DoubleD are supporting Breast Cancer awareness month with their Pink October challenge so I'm joining in there too as well as at Peace on Earth Christmas where the tree on their inspo board started me off; I used the fab sketch at TGIF so I'll link up with them too.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I have been walking Lulu for a long time now so when I heard that she was going to need a new home, I practically begged to be considered. I had fallen in love with her the very first day I walked her. She was nervous and when I spole to her she looked at me anxiously with her little round eyes, and when I took her to a safe place and let her romp wild and free, she almost couldn't believe it! 

 

 She and Eva get on so well and have lots of interests in common (long walks, swimming, getting wet and muddy, being groomed and cuddled, meaty chunk meals, bones for special treats, training games that involve cheese or meaty treats, naps on the sofas...) and Eva has seemed to understand that Lulu is not just a temporary boarder but a member of our family. I feel as if I've been given the most wonderful gift!

Sending hugs,

Autumn Mums

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Fancy a little Thursday crafting inspiration? How about 8 crafting suggestions? That's what you get at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge! Here's the fab new board dreamed up by Felicita this week:

 

 

 Some of you will dive straight in to the Halloween suggestions, but I thought I'd go for something a little less spooky!

 

 

I thought of a new way to use my SU Little Detail embossing folder! I embossed a panel with the folder, then cut a large label shape in the centre. The result is a little textured border at the top and bottom of the label with a space in the centre for a focal point...

 

... - in this case a Clearly Besotted crysanthemum coloured with alcohol markers and coloured pencils then fussy cut. I added an offset sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, stamped in dark brown ink, snipped out and popped up on dimensional pads. Finally, the card was finished with a few coordinating gems.

Right, now it's your turn! First, hop over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog to check out the samples the rest of the team have made to inspire you; Second, choose a row, column or diagonal from the board; Third, create something gorgeous using the board ideas and share it with us using the Linky Tool at the bottom of the challenge post. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Can You Handle The Pressure where we must use embossing folders with an optional theme of Bees; The challenge at Little Red Wagon is to use at least three Layers - a massive challenge for me but as well as the card base I managed the die cut label, the fussy cut flower AND the sentiment! Try Stampin' On Tuesday #625 is challenging us to use old stamps and the crysanthemum stamp I used is so old I can find no trace of it online!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I am looking forward to becoming an Autumn Mum :) Last weekend I horrified my neighbours by announcing that I was having a baby and had to hastily explain that the baby in question was of the canine variety! I'm sure she's going to be a wonderful influence on Eva...

 

... or perhaps not!!

Sending hugs,

A glimpse of autumn

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's Saturday so it's time to inspire you to make a clean and simple card with just one word at Addicted to CAS! It was my turn to choose the code word this time and I've gone for something that enables you to keep going summer crazy, or think ahead to autumn if you adore those russety colours, OR get a head start on your festive cards with some winter foliage!! 

 

Yes, I think I've covered all bases here :D

 

I recently took delivery of an Altenew set called Wallpaper Art which I couldn't wait to ink up! It was the leaves that attracted me with their mix of outlines and solids - so dimensional! Here they are having their first outing:

 

I stamped the front leaf group in brown ink, coloured the outline leaves with yellow, green and rust coloured pencils, masked off the group and stamped the smaller solid leaves over the top in rust ink. When I took the mask away, the rust coloured leaves appeared to be behind the main group. So simple!

 

The sentiment is a favourite from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, stamped in brown ink, snipped out with scissors and mounted on dimensional pads.

 

I really hope this has inspired you to have a go! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS blog where my team mates have plenty more inspiration for 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. Don't forget to keep your creation clean and simple with plenty of clear space! We can't wait to see what you make! 

CHALLENGES

Since this is the first outing for this gorgeous stamp set, I'm sharing at Darnell's NBUS Challenge, the place for showcasing your Never Before Used Schtuff! I'm also joining in at Just Add Ink where the theme is Just Add Clean and Simple; also Color Dare 561 where I've chosen the bottom row Paprika/Shortbread/Mocha and have added in Honey Butter and Pine; I'm also playing at A Place to Start where Anything Goes with an optional twist of  Leaves or Trees. 

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Thank you so much for your lovely messages wishing Eva a speedy recovery. It's always such a worry when things go wrong with dogs' paws but I am pleased to report that Eva has suffered no set backs in her recovery from the fungal nail infection and...

 

 

... things are going on pretty much as normal!

Sending hugs,

Hearty Birthday wishes

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's Saturday and if you're looking for a little crafting inspiration, Toni has chosen a brand new word prompt for you at Addicted to CAS:

 

 

If I'm honest, Toni's word choice made me think of my ever-growing craft wish list but I put that firmly to one side and came up with a cute feminine birthday card instead! I pulled out some bits and pieces from my snippets box and had a little think about what stamps to use with them, and here's what I came up with:

 

The die cut stitched rectangle was a left-over from making a frame. I masked off an area for a sentiment and stamped a pinstripe from Uniko in yellow ink. In the white space revealed when removing the mask, I stamped a lovely wish sentiment from Altenew using a dark coral ink. Towards the top of the rectangle, I added the birthday girl sentiment directly on the pinstripe. For extra interest, I stamped the line of hearts from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks at the top and bottom.

Now for the cake! I reached for my favourite cupcake stamp from Sugar Rush by Walter & Winnie (sadly no longer trading.) I stamped the cupcake, adding the patterned cake case and a candle, and fussy cutting the whole thing as a single item. After colouring in the icing and the candle, the cupcake was decorated with a diecut flower and leaves and popped up on dimensional pads. Finally, the rectangle was glued to a card base.

Okay, now its your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge blog to check out all the wonderful inspiration from my team mates. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation when you're ready. Remember, we are a clean and simple challenge so make sure your card has minimal layers and plenty of clear space. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Seize The Birthday where the Optional Topping is Circles but I've gone for the Anything Goes option; also Happy Little Stampers Birthday where Anything Goes.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

So I'm back from my daughter's wedding where the sun shone and everything went pretty much according to plan. I say 'pretty much' because Eva, who was supposed to remain virtuously in the farmhouse kitchen, managed to persuade someone to let her out by the power of her big brown eyes and set off to find us all assembling for lunch in the marquee! My two sons, who know all her tricks, rounded her up efficiently before anything untoward happened, and when the food was removed she was allowed to come and join in with the celebrations :)

Sending hugs,

A side of daffodils

Hello, crafting friends!

 

The Addicted to CAS challenge is back - hooray! We have been waiting for our esteemed leader Kylie to return from her sabbatical and it's great to welcome her back :) Our first Code Word has been chosen by the lovely Jaydee: 

 

I'm loving all the spring colours at this time of year and I've used them with my new favourite embossing folder and an older classic sentiment stamp to create a CAS spring birthday card.

 

I positioned the embossing folder off the edge of the card base and then used coloured pencils to colour the flowers. Coloured pencils are probably not the best way to colour the raised flowers but it worked! The sentiment, from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks, was stamped in green, snipped out with the end cut into a flag and popped up on dimensional pads.

 

So, now it's over to you! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS blog to check out all the wonderful inspiration from the Design Team. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us. Don't forget we are a Clean and Simple challenge, so remember to use minimal layers and leave plenty of clear space. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

Cardz 4 Galz has a Spring Flowers theme so I'm linking up there; I'm also joining in with Seize The Birthday where Nancy has chosen Things in a Garden as her topping.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

In the UK, spring comes with sunshine and often quite strong breezes - perfect for hanging the washing out to dry for that meadow fresh feel. Spring also comes with spring showers, so my personal fitness has improved no end with all the running in and out of the garden rescuing the nearly dry laundry from the line! I have a willing little helper of course...

 

... but oh my! Sorting out the laundry is tiring work!

Sending hugs,