Hello Chrysanthemum Friends

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I'm back today with a reminder to come and join in with The Flower Challenge where we're celebrating flowers with stencils this month :)

 

I adore all the huge flower stencils from Uniko and thought this gorgeous crysanthemum was perfect for an autumn hello to a pal. 

 

Three autumnal colours of ink were sponged into the stencil and I added depth with coloured pencils. The panel was cut out with a stitched rectangle die and mounted onto a card front.

 

The bold two-colour sentiment was created with my favourite hello die from Funky Fossil and the word friend spelled out with MFT alpha dies.

I hope you are inspired to get your stencils out and join us this month to make a floral card. Do hop over to The Flower Challenge blog and check out the cards made by my talented team mates. You'll find the blue Linky Button at the bottom of that post and can use it to share your own creation. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at The Paper Players where Joanne has chosen the colour theme Shades of Orange and Brown; and also joining in with the Anything Stenciled Goes challenge at Stencil Fun.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Here's a photo of another friend!

 

This is Eva doing a fabulous recall! I am trying to look blasé and pretend that I'm pretty much a top trainer, but the reality is that I nearly dropped my phone when she turned and came running. Moments earlier she had been rolling in something suspect, oblivious to my feeble cries; and a little later on the walk, she was delighted to find a noisesome ditch she hadn't previously explored and seemed disappointed that I didn't share her excitement.

Sending hugs,

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 belated birthday from the pack

Hello, crafting friends!

 

How quickly the months are flying past! At The Flower Challenge, we are welcoming August with a fabulous colour challenge!

And here is the gorgeous colour palette:

What do you think? I adore this combination of colours and couldn't wait to get started!

 

I pulled out alcohol markers in all the colours except the pale blue, and a beautiful stamp set by Sugarpea Designs called Meadow Motifs. Using a neutral ink and a stamp positioner, I stamped the largest flower cluster at the bottom of a card panel, then flipped the panel and stamped it again. The markers were used to colour the clusters and I added a little bit of extra detail with coloured pencils.

 

The panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die and sponged round the edges with pale blue ink. I stamped a belated birthday sentiment from Lil Inkers and finished with a few coordinating sequins.

Okay, it's over to you! Do hop over to the Flower Challenge blog to check out the amazing cards my team mates have made to inspire you. When you're ready to share your own creation you can link up with the blue Linky button at the bottom of the challenge post. I'm looking forward to seeing what you make with this great colour palette!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Allsorts where Ellie's theme is Season's Delights - she wants to see what we love about summer. The abundance of flowers at this time of year makes me really happy (but I may be back with an ice cream card!!) I'm off to visit Darnell's NBUS Challenge as well because Meadow Motifs is new to me and having its first outing

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My youngest son was with me when I was making this card. He picked it up and examined it. "I like it," he said. "It reminds me of a playing card!" It took me a moment to understand what he meant but it's true - it does have the symmetry of a playing card!

Sending hugs,

A masculine 18th birthday

Hello, crafting friends!

 

The birthdays are coming up fast in our family, including those masculine ones that are a bit more challenging to create cards for. I am always very grateful for challenges that inspire me for those!

 

This card features a background made with an off-cut of green/blue card overstamped with Stampin' Up's retired Hardwood stamp using a darker green/blue ink. I trimmed it to size with a Heffy Doodle Stitched Rectangle die, then gave it a bit of interest by cutting it in three with Lawn Fawn's Stitched Hillside border dies and then glueing it all back together on a card front.

 

The popped-up focal tag was cut from a snippet of white card using a Heffy Doodle Stitched Rectangle die. I used some washi tape to mask off two horizontal lines and then sponged the rest with red ink. I loved the way it showed off the stitched framing. The number 18 was die cut from a tiny snippet of navy card, and I punched the star from it too. The Stampin' Up sentiment is a very handy one that is a gazillion years old (give or take a few years!)

CHALLENGES

All of this card was made with snippets except the card base, so I shall skip over to The Snippets Playground with my homework. No need for a brolly of course because the sun ALWAYS shines there!! The card was heavily inspired by the challenge Inspired By, where they always have the most amazing photos to get our creative juices flowing. I also took inspiration from Inkspirational where the word prompt is Frame - I have the stitched frame on the focal tag and the background acts as a frame too. I shall also link up with Ellie and Pauline's I Spy With My Little Eye challenge where the theme is Something for Boys or Men.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

My eldest son lives locally and often pops by to say hello. Today he came bearing a box of chocolate truffles he'd found at Marks & Spencer. "I've brought you some essentials," he said.

 

Then he added: "I don't know who this Marc fellah is but I hope they'll be nice!"

We opened them up to check and can reveal that they are very tasty indeed! 10 out of 10, would recommend!

Sending hugs,

Nostalgic thoughts

Hello, crafting friends!

 

The golden girls and I went on a slightly earlier walk yesterday, mainly because I had one eye on the weather forecast... Sadly, we have had to say goodbye to The Tropics and embrace welly weather again. But that's okay! It gave me the perfect opportunity to abandon the allotment and have a little inky play.

 

With this card I have wandered quite some distance from Comfort Zone Central and ended up in Vintage Village, which is uncharted territory for me! But sometimes it's fun to challenge yourself isn't it :) I imagined overlapping letters, so I masked areas off on a panel and sponged pale brown ink over the edges before stamping them with script stamps from The Greetery's Pretty Postmarks. The panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die and, for a bit of detail, I cut the centre of the panel out with a label die before replacing it.

 

 

Once the background was glued to my card front, I created a little focal cluster on my letters using a stamp image and postage marks from the Pretty Postmarks set. I topped this with a gorgeous old-fashioned rose from Fleur Impressions, also from The Greetery, stamped and cut out. I added some tiny pearls too for extra prettiness!

 

The sentiment is from a Dovecraft set that I thought would be perfect for this vintage look! I stamped it in brown ink and coloured the little butterfly with a pale pink marker. When I glued it on the panel I left a little bit unglued and curled it up a little.

CHALLENGES

This card was inspired by We Love Stamping where Lynn's challenge for May is anything stamped goes with an optional twist of Vintage. I'm also whisking this card over to Allsorts where huge congratulations are in order as the challenge celebrates its 15th birthday this week! There are amazing prizes, so do come and join in :) 

And talking of 15th birthdays, next month will actually be We Love Stamping's 15th birthday too so save the date for a special celebration there too!

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The temperatures may have dropped but there's no need to worry about chilly toes in my house...

 

 

... as the built-in foot warmers are working perfectly! Thanks Eva!

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,

Inspired by primulas

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I have been looking after a friend's cat while she (the friend, not the cat!) swanned off in search of fun and sunshine. To welcome her home, I arranged a bunch of spring flowers and made a card to go with them. I was short of time, so this is a very quick but cheery card, just right for the back-from-holiday blues.

 

I reached for a retired Stampin' Up set called Bloom by Bloom, which I've never inked up. It is absolutely perfect for quick stamping! The large flower reminded me of the bright pink primulas which come out in my garden at this time of year, with their happy yellow centres :) I stamped a pattern using a group of three of the flowers to anchor it, and positioned a bold sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio's Perfect Sentiments in the centre.

 

The panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and I mounted it on a Bermnuda Bay panel cut slightly larger. This was attached to a card front and decorated with a few matching gems.

CHALLENGES

The bright colour palette is from Claire's challenge at the Paper Players this week; I'm also linking up at Little Red Wagon where Kate wants us to be inspired by a photo (see In Other News below); and, since this set is seeing ink for the first time, I am visiting Darnell's NBUS Challenge. 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I have a really tiny garden but I take great pleasure in it. It has a tiny patch of grass, just big enough for a pair of golden retrievers to sunbathe on, which I 'mow' with a little handheld electronic gadget. I don't like the look of naked fence, so I have grown ivy up the fences which attracts loads of little birds for feeding and nesting. And there are flowers (although never enough!) which brighten my days throughout the year :) There's the bright pink primula which inspired today's card and which was one of the first things I planted 23 years ago when we moved here. 

It has self seeded and the one in this photo has settled on the edge of the gravel path. It's not the ideal spot as we trip over it on the way to the water tap, but I thought it was so friendly growing there, close to the house, that I've let it remain.

Sending hugs,

Playing with layers

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome back to The Flower Challenge where we are going for layers this month!

 

 

I'm not usually very comfortable with lots of layers, but I've gone all out on this card with a layered background and a spring bouquet layered up with foliage and flowers!

 

The design started with a neutral background, layered with a strip of an ancient SU paper. I trimmed this to size with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and stamped the bottom corner with my sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio's Perfect Sentiments.

 

The bouquet was made up of the Greetery's Inside Out foliage dies, cut from black card; and the Wildflower dies, also from the Greetery, cut from white card and coloured with inks and daubers and coloured pencils. I glued everything in place and finished with a rustic twine bow.

 

Okay, now it's your turn! Do hop over to The Flower Challenge blog won't you - there is some incredible inspiration from the design team! When you're ready to share your own design, you can use the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post. Do make sure flowers are the focus of your design and have fun creating!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Seize the Birthday where Linda has chosen the Topping of Spring Floral. Also Addicted to Stamps and More where the challenge is to Use Dies and/or Stencils.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

There's lots of talk about spring but, after a reprieve of a day or two, the rain and the mud is back :/ But the golden girls don't mind a mucky walk and they get to have a spa treatment or two afterwards before a cordon bleu dinner in the Kitchen Restaurant and relaxation in The Lounge Area.

 

Lulu wonders what happened to those cucumber slices for her eyes...? You ate them Lulu!

Sending hugs,

An accident and a snippety save

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Things have gone quite quiet here after the Easter celebrations and more rain has driven me back indoors. But the great thing is that my NBUS box contains some pretty florals I have been saving for a rainy day! One of my favourite ways to relax at the moment is to sit and watercolour flowers, so I pulled out some inks and Poppy Hawthorn from Waffle Flower and settled in.

 

The flower cluster was stamped with Stampin' Up's Sea Foam ink and the leaves and flowers watercoloured with Garden Green and Flirty Flamingo. When it was dry I fussy cut it, intending to lay it across a card base. But then I thought it would be better on a classic stitched rectangle panel and decided it would be a nice touch to trim the side of the flower cluster with the stitched rectangle die so it would look as if was part of the panel. I had to use the partial die cutting technique for this and I'm not sure whether it was because I was doing it in the semi dark or whether I'm just a Fool of the West, but it all went horribly wrong and I cut all sorts of bits off the flower cluster that I hadn't intended to!!

After all that watercolouring, there was no way it was all going in the bin so I sat down and, after a bit of arranging, head-scratching and re-arranging, I ended up with this...

 

... which was much nicer than what I was intending to do!

 

The flowers are layered up in the corner of the panel with a few stray leaves snipped off and tucked in. I finished off with a pretty 'thank you' sentiment that is part of the set.

 

Thought you might like to see the snippets I ended up with after my booboo!

CHALLENGES

Thought Miss Di and Head Prefect Sarn at the The Snippets Playground would approve of my refusal to bin the bits, so I'm romping over there with this card (and to find any stray eggs!); The colour palette came from Rachel's beautiful choice at CAS Colours and Sketches; Ann has a fun Tic Tac Toe board at The Paper Players and I chose the bottom row Flowers/Thank You/Pastels; and of course I shall nip over to Darnell's where I've not only got some NBUS to link up but have also remembered to join in with her IDEAS challenge - an encouragement for those who want to pep up their crafting life! This week is ink/colour mediums.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The chocolate eggs may have all been eaten but my eldest son, who is staying with us, is still very much in egg mode. He popped into the kitchen to make himself a sandwich for a snack to keep him going until lunch time and couldn't understand why I dissolved into giggles when I came in.

 

Here is his mega egg sandwich - and he was just frying up some bacon, mushrooms and tomatoes to garnish it with. He did full justice to lunch too! In his defence, he is very tall and slim and needs a lot of energy. And for those that are wondering what the golden girls made of it, they sat watching him the whole time. But he is wise to their 'starving orphan' act and ignored their wide eyes sending 'I've never been fed, not even EVER' messages!

Sending hugs,