Be The Person Your Dog Thinks You Are

Hello. We've had a lovely few days of sunshine here in Yorkshire, so my dog,  Buster,  has been happy to be able to play in the garden. Here he is with his besties, Ollie and Indie ;o)

I have a large picket, fence die that I used for this, just trimming off the pointed posts, and backing it with a subtle colour, to try and create more of a garden fence. Before sticking it down I did a little distress ink shading for the sky and grass, and tucked in my 'over the fence' pup.

Then I used some more die-cuts to create my scene - a couple of pups, some flowers and clouds, the ball, and a little bird - all coloured with copics and popped up with foam tape.

Challenge
Addicted to Stamps and More

my favorite things - woof pack, with flowers and bird from sittin' pretty
distress ink - tumbled glass and peeled paint
picket fence die, memory box -  puffy clouds 
pinkfresh studio - diag stitch rectangle    copics

Happy Candle Blowing Day

Hello.
It's been a busy week here,  and when time in my craft room is limited,  I like to jump start my creativity with a good sketch - which means a quick visit to Freshly Made Sketches.

When I saw this week's sketch, I instantly thought of candles, which meant rotating the sketch 90 degrees. The candles were die-cut, coloured with my new Ecoline pens, with a touch of glitter on the flames,  and popped up with foam tape.  
I tried to be artsy with the background (and I really wanted to play with those new pens) so I drew some quick stripes. It's a bit rough - I didn't really think it through - but hey, that's handmade for you :o)

Freshly Made Sketches

concord and 9th - make a wish
ecoline brush pens

pinkfresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
winnie and walter - big bang confetti

Hello Baby

Baby showers! What are they all about? Here in the UK we never had them when I was expecting (many moons ago). I think they're definitely catching on now, but I'm not convinced we really know what to do at them. This weekend we had a family get together at a local eatery, with some baby gifts for the parents-to-be, and I made these simple, prediction cards for us all to complete. It was a fun thing to get everyone involved.

I only thought of these at the last minute, so they are very simple. 
I got myself a little production line going on the kitchen counter, stamping those letters individually takes concentration!! Thankfully the animals are all one stamp, but I also saved time by leaving it uncoloured, and I kind of like how that adds to the simplicity.

Playing along with a new (to me) challenge

The Male Room

with one grandson a year old and another on the way, I am going to have to up my game when it comes to 'male' cards.

mama elephant - the wild roar
my favorite things - mini well connected alphabet
versa color celadon ink

Sending You Birthday Fishes

Hello.
Sending some birthday fishes today - for the 'Under the Sea' theme at  AAA Birthday Challenges

I started by distress inking the top of my card panel, and spritzing it with a little water. Then I added my fishes, and gave them some googly eyes, for a little fun.
To fill in the gaps I went back and stamped some fish and blubs! Of course, I dropped a stamp and smudged black ink everywhere, so the little, dark, blue puffer fish were added to cover up the mess!
As it happens - they help to pull this little under water scene together.

AAA Birthday Card Challenge

hero arts - i'm a puffer for you, coloured with copics

distress ink - tumbled glass    altenew ink - starlight
pinkfresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
googly eyes

I Love Moo!

Hello.
When digging through a craft box a few weeks ago, I came across this pillow cover pattern. When my girls were small I made a ton of these, and all the children in the family chose different animals. So, with my Grandson coming up to his 1st birthday, I thought I would see if I remembered how to follow a pattern ;-)

I chose a soft, polar fleece with a cow pattern, so it's nice and cuddly - and it was actually pretty easy to put together. The main body of the cow has a velcro opening underneath, so a standard sized pillow fits inside. The head is also attached with velcro, so it can be pulled off !!!
I got in a bit of a pickle with the ears, and wasn't quite sure how to attach them, but they turned out ok in the end.

Like I said, it's an old pattern, but a quick google shows there are some still out there. Here's a quick look, just for reference, if you want to try and hunt one down - Butterick Animal Pillow

Love To Craft Challenge

#67 Anything Goes

Do More Of The Things You Love

TGI Friday! It's been a long week. I've had my grandson for a couple of days - which is wonderful - but 4am starts are tough. I also got some new glasses - varifocals - do any of you have them? They are certainly taking a bit of getting used to. Things are all a bit zoomy! Minor issues though, when you look at what's going on in the world right now. My thoughts and prayers are with the people of Ukraine, and their families and friends.

Today's card is for my fabulous SIL, who retired this week. Hopefully she can now relax a little and do more of the things that she loves.

I started by inking up my background with distress inks, spritzed with a little water, and then used foam tape to add the cover up die (remembering to leave a couple of areas free, so that I could slide those animals into the frame). The 'books and coffee' critters and elements were die cut, coloured with copics and then popped up with foam tape.

Challenge
Addicted to Stamps and More

waffle flower - books and coffee
mft dienamics - tri frame cover up
sentiment from clearly besotted, time to relax
distress inks - kitsch flamingo, fossilizeed amber, squeezed lemonade, broken china

Just Wanted to Say Hi

Hello.
It's the dreaded one layer card, over at Less is more this fortnight, and to make it doubly difficult, they'd also like to see just one word!

I decided if I was just using one word, I would make it a big one  :-)  and I got out this large 'hi' die.
I die cut it onto some scrap card and then used this as a template to draw the word onto my card blank with a fine liner (of course I messed it up a bit, but we're not looking at that, right?).
Then, I stamped the balloons, using the scrap piece as a mask.
To try and give it some dimension I used a pale grey copic along some of the bottom edges.

Challenge
Less is More

the stamp market - hi die
balloon stamp from mft party penguins
ranger inks - canary, orange bliss,  wild berrry

Cards for Ukraine

 Sharing a card today, to show support for the people of Ukraine 💙💛

I've used the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag.

Challenge

Color Hues

altenew - hug me
distress ink  - salty ocean / squezzed lemonade
pinkfresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
copics