Life Is Better With You

Hello.
This week, my dh and I, celebrated our 41st wedding anniversary.
Wow! That seems a crazy long time :o)
I am so happy I found my soul mate all those years ago 💘

As we've just come back from the beach, this seemed a cute stamp to use for the card.

As you can imagine, we've done our fair share of hearts and romance cards over the years, but this time I wanted something cute and fun.

This took quite a bit of masking here and there to separate these 2 critters from the full image, but I think it was worth it.

Challenge

Allsorts

🏖️At the Seaside⛱️

or Anything Goes

• colorado craft company - beach life
• my favorite things - ray of light stencil
• pinkfresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
• ranger distress ink - mustard seed / fossilized amber
• copic markers / white pen

Big School, Big Adventures

Hello.
I know we haven't even had summer yet, but I'm already thinking of 'back to school' cards.
I have 3 special family ones to make and here's the first.
For a special girl who is starting big school.

This was fun to make.

The jumper is in the new school colours, but I didn't want to use the shorts from the set because they just looked too masculine. So, I gave her a little ra ra skirt. I'm sure that won't make it past the uniform police, but it does look kinda cute.

The background is a digi image from Clearly Besotted - I tried colouring it, but it looked too busy so in the end I left it plain.
The 'good luck' tag was stamped and heat embossed in white.

Challenge

Addicted To Stamps & More

• spellbinders - trailside trio / splash days  camp days
• clearly besotted - school days digi
• colorado craft company - good luck sentiment - rooting for you
• wow - white embossing powder

Berry Blooms (And A Rare Floral Win)

Hello.
Today I'm sharing a rare, floral card. 
I always find them really tricky to put together, but I'm happy with how this one turned out.

I went for a mix of berry shades, through to soft, light pink, for the blooms and added in the fresh green leaves to pull everything together.

I kept the background simple, so I didn't distract from the blooms, but added that little extra detail, using the scoring blade on my paper trimmer to create the subtle horizontal lines. 

Challenge

Inspired By

I was inspired by the mix of flowers and leaves
with berry shades, to light pink and a touch of green.

• altenew - garden picks 3d dies
• sentiment - colorado craft co - citrus berry cupcake
• pinkfresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
• coloured cardstock - concord & 9th

Flowers From A Friendly Hedgie

Hello.
I love die-cutting right now, but sometimes I just want to colour.

This sweet little hedgie, with his pretty bouquet,  is perfect for that.
Not too taxing - my Copic skills aren't up to much - but turns out looking really cute.

This is a wooden block Penny Black stamp that I have had forever - so it was lovely to give it an outing.

I stamped into the corner of a panel, and then just coloured it in with copic markers.

There's something very therapeutic about colouring, isn't there?

Challenge

We Love Stamping

🐣Spring🌷

• penny black - bountiful
• colorado craft company - citrus berry cupcake (sentiment)
• copic markers C1 C3 C7 - YG00 YG23 YG11 YG06 - G05 G14 G17 G28
• E00 E11 R05 - Y17 YR07 R29 - BV04 BV13V06

Find Me In The Garden

Hello.
Today I'm sharing a sweet, bunny card with you.
These guys are helping themselves to the veg patch! Let's hope Mr McGregor doesn't spot them :o)

I did a little bit of masking to get those bunnies close to each other, and some more on the bench and vegetables. I admit, trying to get my brain around which parts to mask and stamp first can be tricky - so some of those veggies are fussy cut and added afterwards.

Challenge  

We Love Stamping

🦅🌳🐿️ Wildlife 🌺🐝🐟

 

or anything goes

• colorado craft company - garden therapy/rooting for you
• I think the bench stamp is Magnolia
• Copic markers

Driving By With Birthday Wishes

Hands up who else doesn't want to put their Christmas stash away yet?
You can't make me  :o)

Today, I've used a couple of Christmas sets to make this cool, birthday card.

The background is a snowy hills stencil.
Yep - you can see I STILL haven't got the hang of lining those trees up.
I'm gonna call that snow  - on the edges :o)

Then my van and presents were stamped, die cut and added with foam tape.

Challenge 

I've gone for the optional theme this week, because I really need to up my game for
masculine cards this year.

Allsorts

For Boys or Men

(or Anything Goes)

• the greetery - christmas care-a-van
• waffle flower crafts - snowy hills stencil
• colorado craft co - citrus berry cupcake ( sentiment)
• ranger distress inks - tumbled glass, cracked pistachio, carved pumpkin, mowed lawn
• memento ink - grey flannel
• versa color ink - vanilla, lagoon blue

The Cheeky Robin

 Hello. I'm excited today, to be a guest designer for the

AAA Colourful Challenge

with this sweet, winter snow scene.

There was lots of debate in our house about whether this colour scheme was blue, or green!
As you can see, I went with more blue shades, a touch of green and some lilac (that my dh insisted was in there)   :o)

I can't wait to see what the other designers have come up with. 

The background was inked up with distress ink  (tumbled glass)  then I used a small, round stamp for the extra blue/green shades.
The white ink doesn't stamp well, so I made a quick stencil with a piece of scrap card and a hole punch, and sponged the ink through that.

My snowy pals were stamped, fussy cut and coloured with Copics - then popped up with foam tape for some extra dimension.

Check out the amazing work from the Design Team and 

I know it's a busy time for everyone, but I hope you'll find some time to play along.

xxx 

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• colorado craft company - christmas presents
• ranger distress ink -  tumbled glass
• my favorite things - snow globe sentiments
• winnie and walter - big bang confetti
• copic markers / white gel pen

Everybody Join The Conga Line

Hello.
Who doesn't love a versatile stamp?
These guys were bought for birthdays, but here they are, having fun with a Christmas conga line :o)

This was a simple card to put together. Just a quick stamp and some Copic colouring.

Then, I added the die-cut fairy lights for some extra festive fun.
Yeah - I'm not sure about the lights. I think I'll make another card without them.

Challenge

We Love Stamping

Anything Christmas

colorado craft company - conga line

concord and 9th - handmade holiday dies

concord and 9th sentiment - tiny trees turnabout

copic markers / white gel pen

Good Times and Tan Lines

Hello.
Life has been getting in the way of my crafting recently, but I finally got some time to stamp.
When I'm feeling a bit out of practice, my 'go to' is a great sketch (thank you Freshly Made)
and some easy to colour animals.

I kept things very simple for this card - stamping those cute guys heading to the beach.
Then, I decided it looked a bit weird because they were cropped off at the sides, so I stamped again on my card base. It took my brain way too long to work out how to do this!! 

Challenge

Freshly Made Sketches

#697

• colorado craft company - beach life
• copic markers
• concord & 9th cardstock - grapefruit / aqua sky
• white gel pen
• mft - stitched scalloped rectangle die

Tiny Paws, Big Plans

Hello.
What is this cute, little guy?  A guinea pig?  A hamster?
The description of the stamp set says 'six little mice', but I don't think he's a mouse.
Whatever he is, he's painting the town red :o)

I used a 'ray of light' stencil and some red inks for the background. Then added some water drops. I think my paint brush still had some blue paint on it, so some drops are tinged blue, but I'm ok with that :o)
The little, critter was coloured with Copics and fussy cut, then popped up with foam tape.

Challenge

Freshly Made Sketches

I've rotated the sketch, but kept the portrait aspect,
and my critter has replaced the circle.

• colorado craft company - paint the town
• my favorite things - ray of light stencil, scallop stitched edge die
• copic markers
• ranger distress inks - festive berries / fired brick
• memento ink

We Are All Artists

Hello.
This Easter, Nibbles the Guinea Pig became an artist,  painting his very own egg with some colourful blooms.

I created the egg with a large oval nestie, and used a scalloped die for the trim.
The blooms and leaves were stamped from an old lawn fawn set I have (yes, I do have an odd flower set in my stash).
Then, I added a grassy edge and my guinea pig was fussy cut - yeah, I need to practice that!

For the Inkspirational Challenge

where the mood board is 'decorated eggs'

• colorado craft company - paint the town
• lawn fawn - penelope's blossoms
• altenew inks - fresh leaf/baby pink/citrus burst/turquoise
• nestie oval die
• my favorite things - stitched scallop edge die
• spellbinders - landscape edge die
• pinkfresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
• copics 

Paint the Town Red

Hello.
Here's a card I made for my eldest dd's birthday - 
just to remind her that she's not too old to paint the town red  :o) 

I am really not good with 'random'. I like clean lines and orderly stamping,
so it took me SIX attempts to get his smooshing to something I was happy with.

Challenge

As You Like It

Favourite Cute or Floral

My Favourite is definitely cute (but not babyish, if you know what I mean)
I love cute, critters like the guinea pig above. 
It's fun to create little scenes for them, AND they're easy to colour.
Flowers, on the other hand, are my nemesis.
I love seeing everyone's pretty, floral creations, but I am terrible at them.

----------------------------------------------------

• Colorado Craft Company - Paint the Town
• Distress ink - Festive Berries
• Copic Markers - White Gel Pen

Hippity, Hoppity, Easter's on it's way

Hello.
Today I'm sharing an Easter card, with this cute, bunny, hiding all the eggs   :o)

I don't have any 'Easter' stamps as such, so I just altered this bunny slightly.
He's usually carrying an armful of veg, but I taped over that bit to ink him up, and replaced it with easter eggs, which are actually the dies for potato stamps in another set.

Challenge

Freshly Made Sketches

• colorado craft company - garden therapy / rooting for you
• mft - stitched rectangle die
• copic markers / white gel pen

Springtime Birthday

Hello.
Today I'm sharing a birthday card, with these two, playful cats.
They're all about good vibes and fun, and enjoying some spring sunshine.

I'm playing along at the Seven Hills Crafts Challenge - if you fancy it,  there's still plenty of time to join in.
This time it's a technique challenge, where they would like to see you use a stamp, a die, and a stencil. With the proviso that they aren't designed to go together. 

Challenge

Seven Hills Crafts Challenge

Hmm.. not sure I've completely nailed this challenge.

stamp - those two adorable cats
die - the birthday sentiment

stencil - the clouds and grass

• mft - pawty time, coloured with copics
• mft - rectagnle scalloped frame die 
• mft stencils - grassy edges / mini cloud edges
• distress ink - tumbled glass / twisted citron 
• sentiment - colorado craft company - citrus berry cupcake

Cupcakes are the Answer

Hello.
Recently, I've been seeing some lovely cards, where the stamped image is just left plain and uncoloured.
So, I thought I would give it a go.

I chose this big, cupcake stamp because I find it really tricky to colour, and it fits the challenge theme at Inspired By.
What do you think? To colour or not?

I stamped the cupcake off the edge of the card and, for fun, I added that cute fox, helping himself to some frosting.

I used my Copics on one cupcake, and left the other uncoloured.

I think the uncoloured one is growing on me - and it certainly saves on time  :o)

Challenge

Inspired By...

• colorado craft company - citrus berry cupcake
• mama elephant - decorate the tree / birthday messages
• copic markers / white gel pen

Can You Dig It

Hello.
My daughter got an allotment last week. It's a jungle. 
Clearing it is hard work, but lots of fun. My 2 grandsons (3 and 2) had a great time digging in the dirt looking for worms :o)

So, this is a 'congrats on your allotment' card - that's a thing right?   :o)

I used a circle die in the corner of my card panel, and distress inked a background.
Then the bunny was die cut, coloured with copics, and popped up with foam tape.

I wrote out some funny plant markers and stuck those inside the card.

Challenge

CAS On Friday

CORNER OF YOUR CARD

• colorado craft company - rooting for you
• circle nestie die
• distress ink - tumbled glass / cracked pistachio
• copics