It's a wonderful life

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Lorraine at Allsorts Challenge has chosen a theme very close to my heart this week: For the Love of Animals. "It would be great to see entries with the animals we have as pets," she says on the post. Say no more Lorraine, I need absolutely no encouragement!

 

As a golden retriever owner, you'd think my shelves would be groaning with retriever stamps, but no. Stamp manufacturers don't seem to understand that these are the best dogs in the world (this may actually be just my own biased opinion!) and golden retriever images are sadly few and far between. I do have a Penny Black set though, called Doggone Sweet, which does represent my pair of rascals pretty well! 

 

 

The dog nearest the hedge is Eva. At nearly ten years old she is the sensible one of the pair and occasionally demonstrates this. She has no toys near her - we, the humans, are her toys! She plays us for fools all day long, taking breaks for well-earned snoozles. If we aren't available, Eva does like to tear apart a toy sometimes, imagining herself to be a great huntress, and if we have guests she likes to rummage about in the laundry basket and parade through the room showing off our oldest underwear!

 

We adopted Lulu last year. She was four years old and will be five in June. She still behaves like a puppy despite my efforts to train her to be a Grown Up Lady Dog. She expends a lot of energy chasing things and trying to communicate her urgent desire for snacks, so she needs plenty of naps too. She loves a ball and her little plushie toys and uses them as a comfort blankie when she gets confused about life. Her sleep style is pretty much always on her back with her paws all over the place. Both dogs' hobbies include getting wet and muddy, snacking, rolling in nefarious stuff and pretending they have no idea what 'No' means.

The card is very simple: edges of card base masked off with low tack tape; dogs stamped and masked; sky and foreground sponged in; hedge and trees stamped with retired SU sets; masks removed and dogs coloured and detail added with ink and paintbrush. The sentiment, from an old Clearly Besotted set, was chosen with a chuckle - there aren't any days that aren't wonderful in these dogs lives. The worst that happens is that Mum goes out for an hour or two to replenish stores of Meaty Chunks and Fishy Treats!!

 

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Allsorts but also Stamping Sensations, where I've been inspired by the spring mood board, and We Love Stamping where the theme is also Spring. Double D's challenge this month is Cute Little Animals and although I explained to the golden girls that they are NOT little, they insisted that they are extremely cute and practically handbag dogs, so I'm joining in there too ;)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've been very light-hearted about the dogs but when Lulu came to us, she was very stressed, had lost a lot of weight and was really scared to be in new surroundings. She had begun to be reactive around other dogs and had to be toilet trained all over again. She didn't want to let me out of her sight and barked her head off if I left the house. She slept on the bed right from the beginning and would wake multiple times in the night whimpering. I would just cuddle her until she fell back to sleep. Eva is not a dog that likes to be in close contact with other dogs but gradually, she began to help to comfort Lulu. They bonded on our daily long walks which really helped Lulu to unwind and let go of her fears. This is a (very bad, sorry!) photo of her in the early weeks cuddling up at night with Eva and with a stuffed toy as her comfort blankie.

 

Today, she has put on weight and become beautifully fluffy! She knows our routine and is no longer stressed. We have just come back from a long walk and she has swum and fetched sticks from the river and frolicked about with Eva. We met several dogs and she greeted each of them calmly with a friendly wag and a sniff. On the way back I bumped into a lady I know with a lab and a wolfhound, and we all walked back together while the dogs sniffed and played. I am so proud of Lulu's progress and of Eva who has helped to rehabilitate her sister.

Thank you for reading my ramblings about my beloved dogs! 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,

Winter joy

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I thought it was time to catch up with some challenges today! I scrolled through Challenges for Days to check out the latest challenges and was inspired to make...

 

 

... a Christmas card!! You'd think I'd have had enough of festive creativity but there's some great inspiration out there and it's never too early to make a start on this year's card stash. This card began with the background: I swiped the bottom of a card panel with a pale blue ink pad, then masked off the ground with a sticky note and blended purple, pink and blue inks over the sky area. I added the fir trees from Stampin' Up's retired Snow Front stamp set, stamping repeatedly to get an illusion of depth, and a tiny church from a thrift shop find.

 

The sticky note was removed and I stamped the tree from Stampin' Up's retired Sheltering Tree, adding a little bird from Snow Front and extra details and shading with coloured pencils and markers. A load of snow was dotted in with a Posca acrylic paint pen and the sentiment was stamped using an old magazine freebie. Finally, the panel was attached to a card base and I'm delighted to have a 2024 Christmas card under my belt!

CHALLENGES

I was inspired by the gorgeous colour palette at Colorful Options so I'm linking up there; The Sisterhood of Crafters have an Icy Cold theme and Little Red Wagon's challenge is Still Snowing, so I'm joining in there too; And last but not least, I've gone for A is for Anything Christmas at ABC Christmas. (They also have B is for Berries there so I may well pop in again soon!)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My worry over Lulu's cut pad is subsiding a bit as I can see it's on the mend. I have come up with a way of bandaging her foot for the outdoors with an 'inner' of bubble wrap secured with an 'outer' of lots of vet wrap and this has enabled me to let her off lead for short periods. She needs some good runs though and is beginning to be a little bit naughty (stealing some chocolate off the coffee table - luckily I caught her before any harm was done - and even jumping up at my husband, who admittedly has a very excitable energy!) I can't wait to get out into the countryside with them again - not least because this gentle on-lead walking isn't doing anything for my waistline!!

Sending hugs,

Misty Mountains

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I have taken over the coffee table and it is laden with Christmas crafting goodies! It just means I can dip in and make a card whenever I have a spare minute. This is my latest effort: 

 

 

This card happened because I had this beautiful 'Go tell it on the Mountain' sentiment from He is Born by Penny Black, and it occured to me to pair it with actual mountains!

 

 

First I masked off the edges of a white card panel with low tack tape ready to create the scene. I used purple ink to stamp the mountains from Stampin' Up's retired Snowfront, then covered them using a sticky note mask and sponged in a sky using a blend of blue and purple inks. There are lots of pine trees in the set and I used them to create a wooded area using second and third generation stamping to give a misty look.

 

Once the scene was complete, I stamped the sentiment in versamark ink and heat embossed with gold embossing powder. The panel was matted onto card was finished with my trusty Posca white acrylic paint pen which I used to add snow and ice to the scene.

CHALLENGES

Joanne's theme at As You See It is Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year. What makes it wonderful for me? It's the birth of Jesus, the most extraordinary event ever! I'm also linking this card up at Stamping Sensations where the theme is Getting Ready For Christmas.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My darling golden girls are getting on like a house on fire. Every morning, while I get up and get ready, they play a rousing game of Bring The Bison Down and Bitey Face together, and I love the way they take it in turns to be the Hunter and the Prey. When I'm ready, we go out on the fields together and romp about and chase the crows and have a good sniff in the hedges before returning to do some sensible training and have breakfast.

 

 

Here they are on the field this morning, tails up and as happy as the day is long! What a joy they are!

Sending hugs,

Oh deer

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another Thursday round of Tic Tac Toe! It's Joanne's turn to get us inspired with a brand new board and as usual there are all sorts of ways you could go with it!

 

 

I'm loving the autumn season but a little voice has been getting ever louder in my head and I have responded by getting a bit more serious about making Christmas cards!! I chose the left hand column Foliage/Berries/Trees.

 

 

The scene was made with a retired Stampin' Up set called Snow Front. I used a torn sticky note to create a simple snowy background, then stamped trees and snow drifts and deer, adding details with markers and coloured pencils. The scene was trimmed to size and attached to the centre of a frame, hand drawn with a gold pencil directly onto a card base.

 

The sentiment is from a retired Uniko set called Pure Florals Poinsettia, stamped in red ink and heat embossed for a bit of shine (hard to see that here.) The holly and berries are from The Greetery's Budding Beauties Winter, stamped and fussy cut and positioned to tie everything together.

Okay, so it's your turn! You can choose any row, column or diagonal from the board and do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge blog to see the amazing samples the design team have 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. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Winter Wonderland where the theme is Let It Snow; I think this card would be a good card for a man, and it's a CAS design which is the challenge at the The Male Room.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I met up for coffee (and, in his case, an enormous bacon sandwich!) with my youngest son. We went to a place near the train station that had been recommended to me by a friend who grew up up in the area. It's always fun to go to a cafe where you need to be careful not to run over any stray birds in the car park...

 

and when you visit the Ladies Room, there are peacocks on the roof!! Thank goodness we didn't bring Eva!

Sending hugs,

Snow? In July?

Hello, crafting friends!

Happy Saturday and welcome to another fabulous challenge at Addicted to CAS. I had to look twice at the code word this time...

... but it's true, we are giving you the chance to make a start on those festive cards long before the crazy season starts!

I've come up with a design that would work well for batch making, using Stampin' Up's Snow Front stamp set. I find it's best to work out where I want my elements to go on a piece of scrap paper first,  which makes it easy to reproduce on a card front.

This winter scene was stamped with just four stamps. I used a water-based blue pen to add extra snow drifts and a Posca white acrylic paint pen to add snow flakes and other details. The die-cut sentiment is from Tonic Studios.

Here's a bonus design that I tried but abandoned when I realised there was too much masking involved for it to be useful as a batch make.

So now it's your turn! What does the word Christmas say to you? There's lots of inspiration over at the Addicted to CAS challenge blog so do hop over there and enjoy the samples. When you're ready to link up your own creation, you'll find the Linky Tool there too. Have fun - and don't forget to keep it clean and simple with lots of lovely clear space!

CHALLENGES

I took my colour inspiration from Color My Heart Color Dare 451, choosing New England Ivy, Glacier and Candy Apple and light brown as my neuytral;  I'm also linking up with Merry Little Christmas' July challenge where Anything Christmas Goes.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

You know when you're trying to have a nap...

... and people just keep BOTHERING you!!

Sending hugs,

Inspired by toile de jouy

Hello, crafting friends!

The 25th of the month has arrived and with it the reminder that there's another 25th that has to be planned for! So, here we are with a little forward thinking:

When I eventually decided I had to have Snowfront by Stampin' Up, one of the ideas I had for it was a toile de jouy-style card and unlike so many ideas that remain ideas, this one actually made it onto paper! I sponged three areas on a card panel with blue distress ink, stamped the deer on each and masked them while I added trees and on the centre, the cabin.

After removing the masks, I added detail with coloured pencils and a Posca white paint pen. The card panel was trimmed to size and mounted on deep red card.

I added a sentiment from a Uniko set before attaching the panel onto a card base.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Christmas 24 where the sketch was perfect for the toile de jouy idea; I thought my deer would work for the Paper Players' CAS Animals theme this week and Helen is hosting the All About Occasions challenge at Watercooler Wednesday so I'll join in there too; And of course it's Rudolph Day at Scrappy Mo's where we are invited to submit a Christmas card each month between the 25th and the end of the month.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We had the odd shower today but Eva and I managed to choose the sunniest times for going out. On our way home this afternoon, we passed a telecoms man working on one of those roadside boxes of wires. He and Eva took to each other immediately and after he had pet her for a while, she flirtatiously stole a rag from top of his tool box, wagging all the while. Giving things back is one of the earliest things I taught her and I must say it has come in very handy over the years!

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,

With sympathy

Hello, crafting friends!

Sadly I needed a sympathy card and they're always hard to make aren't they. I always think nature scenes are a good way to go - there's something peaceful about them.

This card started off as a one layer card but I splodged ink, not only on the bottom of the scene but also  inside the card! I am a messy crafter :/ Anyway, I saved it by trimming the card front down and using it as a panel on a clean card base instead. And then I've had terrible problems photographing it too so altogether a frustrating day in the Crafty Square Metre!

The background was made by masking off the bottom of the card and sponging blue ink above it, then swapping over and sponging green ink below it. The scene was stamped using stamps from Stampin' Up's Snow Front. I finished off by doodling some birds and tapping my white Posca paint pen against a ruler to get some white splatters - thanks for that tip Nancy if you're reading this!

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

Delighted that this card was chosen as a Watercooler Rocker at Watercooler Wednesday!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with AAA Cards where the theme is One Corner with the optional twist of Making a Scene; I'm also joining in with Watercooler Wednesday, where Dawn is hosting an Anything Goes challenge with a Masculine Twist; and Cardz 4 Guyz, where Helen has chosen Male cards with a CAS theme.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've been feeling a bit blue I must admit, but this morning my lovely baking friend popped round and left a batch of Mince Pie Therapy on my doorstep. There's been a delivery of some intriguing new books and I have lots of fabulous things to craft with, not to mention a wonderful supportive family, including my Personal Trainer, Mrs Floof! I am very grateful for all of this and for all of you, my online friends who share the excitement of creativity. And  there we are - I'm feeling better already!

 

Sending hugs,