HAPPY CHRISTMOOSE

Hello

Today was the first chance I have had to craft in ages.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was really nervous to make a card.
It's like I'd forgotten everything.
Does anyone else feel like that, after a time away?

To help me get started, I turned to the CAS(E) this Sketch Challenge.

It was also my first time inking up this Christmas Moose - 

isn't he the cutest - and so easy to colour.

CAS(E) this Sketch

clearly besotted - happy christmoose, coloured with copics

mft - inside and out stitched squares

ENJOY YOUR NEW HOME

Hello.

There's no excuse not to join the Library Challenge this week.
It's a 'reader's choice', so you can choose any book you like for inspiration.

I have been trying to guess the books from the current entries, 
but have failed miserably  :-)

Can you guess my inspiration book?

It was my first time inking this stamp set up, so I stamped every image a few times, die-cut them all, and then played around with them until my country house came together.

It's a simple design, but creating 3D elements by using foam tape, gives it more interest.

Did you guess my book?
It's what I am currently reading...

Jane Austen's Mansfield Park.

The Library Challenge

Wplus9 - neighbors stamp and die set.

Copics.   MFT - rectangle die 

QUILT IT

Hello.

This week I ended up down a rabbit hole of quilt patterns.
Fascinating.
Hubby told me not to get excited - I don't have time (or money) for another hobby :-)
So, I satisfied my craving by quilting with paper.

Here's the card I made for my dd and sil's 3rd wedding anniversary.

I began by inking up a panel with a rainbow of distress inks. 
I then used a small, stitched die to cut little squares.
I love how the stitching on the die, adds to the 'quilt' look.
Then I cut the squares into triangles, and with some plain white die-cuts, made up my 'quilt' pattern.

I added the letters for Annabel and Andy, and popped the whole thing up on my card base.
Finally, for some extra interest, I stuck some plain, white, leafy dies underneath.

This was fun to make, and there are so many quilt patterns out there to guide your design.
It's definitely something I will revisit.

Challenge

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge

Anything Goes

supplies

mft stamps - in and out stitched square dies, stitched alpha

distress ink

the works - leaf die

PIGEON POST

Hello.

I actually made it into my craft room today!
I let the puppy in and tried to persuade him to sit in his bed.
No such luck. 
After 10 minutes hoovering up every scrap of paper and sequin on the floor, trying to drag things off shelves, and then weeing on the carpet (him, not me!) 
I gave up.

I managed to make this card whilst he was sleeping.

I'm playing along at The Library Challenge, 

where the inspiration is a terrific sounding kids' book..

'Don't Let the Pigeon on the Bus'

My card was quick and simple.

I die cut lots of clouds and stuck them to a card panel.

Then I added my 'pigeon', a branch for him to perch on,

and an embossed sentiment.

The Library Challenge

supplies

Wplus9 - Happy Birds, coloured with Copics

The leaves die is from a set I got at The Works

Copics.   Wow Embossing Powder

And if anyone is wondering how the puppy is getting on, here he is with his best mates.

You can follow his antics on Instagram at Buster Paton

TIGER TIGER

Hello.

I'm heading to the library again today,
with an all time classic for inspiration...
The Tiger Who Came to Tea.

As usual, I had to get creative with my supplies,
using copic markers to turn this cat image into a tiger.
I think I might have got away with it  ;o)

The Library Challenge

 

Cat/Tiger -  MamaElephant 3 Amigos, coloured with Copics

Cupcake - Lawn Fawn, Beep Boop Birthday

Hi + Sentiment - WPlus9 Friends for all Seasons

Clouds Dies - Memory Box

BIG, TINY NEWS

Hello.

Flying by today with a simple card for the 'small images' theme,
at Less is More.

FACT : Having a puppy makes it easier to create CAS cards  :o)
I have no time to overthink what I'm doing - just straight into my craft room - a simple image and sentiment - 
a touch of colour - and BAM! 
I'm done.
What works for you?

Less is More

supplies

mft - hello little one, coloured with copics

mft - stitched scallop basic edges die

echo park - bundle of joy dp

BIRTHDAY FISHES

Hello.

Phew! It's a scorcher here today.
I definitely wanted to sit in the cool of the library
and read the afternoon away.

I dug deep into my stash for this week's challenge
and found this little, fish stamp in an old Papermania set.

I stamped him all over my card panel, and used Copics for the colouring.

Then I simply popped up the panel on some coloured card and added the sentiment banner.

It would have been cute to change the sentiment to say..

a million birthday fishes... but in the end it was too much fiddling about!  :0)

The Library Challenge

supplies

papermania - stamping for him.   copics

mft - fish tail flag die     mama elephant - birthday messages

LEOPARD LOVE

Hello.

I'm still struggling to get into my craft room, with the new puppy running around.
It's another week before he can go out for walks, and I can tire him out!  :-)

Here's another card made in between his naps.

I didn't have time to colour the leopards before it had to be posted off,
but I kind of like the simple look of them.

Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday

supplies

mft - cloud stencil, loveable leopards, 

neat and tangled - journaling alpha

distress ink - tumbleed glass

STRAWBERRY BIRTHDAY

Hello.

Eek! New puppy in the house!
Watching a pup and trying to craft are mutually exclusive,
so I nipped into my craft room every time he was napping,
to create this simple belated birthday card.

I managed to find a couple of old strawberry stamps in my stash -

sorry I don't know what make they are.

I stamped and masked the back ones, and then fussy cut the others and popped them up with foam tape.

Originally the cake stand was a flat, black stamp, but it just needed a bit of a lift, so I covered it with one stamped in green and also fussy cut.

Not perfect, but I was in a rush :-)

Challenge

Inspired by

And here's the guy who's keeping me out of the craft room...

Buster

supplies

plate stand - stampin' up, on a pedestal

copics   altenew fresh leaf ink

Sentiment - mama elephant birthday messages

KUNG FU FIGHTING

Hello

Today I'm sharing a quick, and funny (I hope) card,
for the Time Out Challenge

I used a piece of graph paper in the bottom of my stamping platform, to line up all those letters (one row at a time), because they can be tricky little things. Annoyingly they stick to your finger, tweezers and just about anything, when you're try to adjust them.
I find a piece of card is best to push them into place, and I don't worry too much if they're not perfect.
It all adds to the 'handmade' look, right?

supplies

mama elephant - tiny ninjas     copics

lawn fawn - violet's abcs

QUILTED BIRTHDAY

Hello.

I stan laurafadora (in a good way!)   :-)

and when I saw THIS stunning card, I wanted to CASE it.

Here's my attempt...

To make the 'quilt' I covered a piece of card with small strips of dp then cut it into two 2" x 2" squares. 

The squares were then cut into 2 triangles, 

and then these triangles were each cut into 2,

giving you 8 pieces in total.

Then you simply arrange the pieces into your 'quilt' design.

(Laura has a great step by step video to follow).

I used a textured cardstock, for added interest, 
and some glitter paper for a touch of bling.

Challenge

Simon Says Wednesday

Anything Goes

supplies

papermania textured card stock

mft - in and out stitched square die

mama elephant - birthday messages

RAINBOW BIRTHDAY

Hello.

It's chucking it down here in Yorkshire today,
and the only chance of a rainbow, is this one coming out of my craft room!

I know. I know.
Those damn rainbow sentiments aren't quite lined up perfectly, 
are they?
It's so annoying. 
But they're stuck down fast. Argh!

I'm entering this for...

The Library Challenge

mft - love you a bunch, coloured with copics

mama elephant birthday messages - embossed onto mft fishtail flag dies and then coloured over with zig clean color real brush markers.

GIVE ME LEMONS

Hello.

When is a lemon not a lemon?
When it's a leaf die from the WPlus9 Happy Birds set  :o)

That's what I had to use to make this 'lemon' card for this week's
Inspired By Challenge

Not a perfect lemon shape, but close enough.
What do you think?

I have just realised though, that maybe those lemons at the bottom should be hanging down from the leaves. Duh!

Inspired By...

supplies
mft stripes stencil with distress oxide faded jeans
leaves die from the works and 'lemons' from wplus9 happy birds set - coloured with copics
thanks die from lawn fawn

MAKE WAVES

Hello.

When I first started card making - many moons ago - 

I decided I wouldn't use stamps and ink, 

cos they were just too expensive.

Instead, I bought little, card toppers, a few cheap dies and some punches.

I could get by with those, I told myself.

Ha! Ha! Ha!

snort*

I think that lasted about 6 months!

So, it's been a while since I made a card with no stamping at all,

but those clever librarians at The Library Challenge

have pushed me to think outside the box.

The challenge book is To The Lighthouse, but

I don't posses a single lighthouse, sea, beach, or fish stamp,

so I tried to create a deep sea theme 

using a decorative punch in shades of green, to represent the waves.

There's a pretty touch of glitter, for added bling, on the hello sentiment. It just doesn't show up too well on camera.

The Library Challenge

supplies

martha stewart decorative punch

memory box hello die

various shade of textured green card and a sprinkling of glamour dust

TWEET WISHES

Hello.

Plum coloured birds?  Are they a thing?

Apparently they are.

My friend google showed me some gorgeous, plum coloured Starlings.

I kept my card as simple as I could for the

Less Is More Challenge

where the theme is duck egg blue, plum and white.

supplies

wplus9 - happy birds

mama elephant - labeled messages

distress ink - tumbled glass

copic markers - v15/v17 

THEO

Hello.

Here's the card I made for my great-nephew,

who turned one this week.

I wanted to make it masculine, but keep it cute,

so I opted for those party animals and a green/orange colour combo.

Entering the

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

where the theme is 'Masculine'

supplies

mft - party animals, stitched alphas,

copics

TIME TO PARTY

Hello

Here I am, back with another card using my new

waffle flower set.

It's my favourite.

(although, to be fair, I say that about every new stamp set I get)

:o)

I came across a lovely challenge, 

that I don't think I've taken part in before...

The Library Challenge

The premise is to use their chosen book cover as inspiration for your card.

This time the book is The Art of Stripes, 

and the cover is so great that I wanted to stick to it 

as closely as I could.

My main inspiration was the pink background, the girl with a 

black and white striped top, and the placement of the sentiment.

supplies

waffle flower- go girl

mft - in and out stitched rectangle

sentiment - clearly besotted, raise a glass

distress ink - spun sugar      glossy accents

AWESOME

Hello.

I have been dying to play with this fabulous, waffle flower set, but it was just the perfect image for my daughter, so I didn't want her to see any of it before she got her birthday card.

Does that make sense?

Now that she's had her birthday I can share :-)

The set comes with other hair styles and glasses etc,

so you can mix and match other looks

and I can't wait to play with it some more.

Entering the challenge at...

Addicted to Stamps and More

supplies

waffleflowercrafts - go girl

mft - ray of light stencil, in and out stitched rectangle

ranger ink - wild berry    glossy accents

POP UP SHADOW BOX CARD

Hello.

I've seen a lot of shadow box cards recently, 

so I thought I would try one of these pop-up ones.

The good things about these is that they fold flat, 

to fit into an envelope.

I followed the instructions by the amazing Jennifer McGuire.

How cute are those little, baby clothes?

I got them to hang across the middle like that,

by attaching them to a strip of acetate,

which is almost invisible.

Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday

supplies

mft - in and out stitched squares, cloud stencil, scallop border die,

bundle of baby clothes, hello little one set.

distress ink - tumbled glass, twisted citron