Starting over

Hi everyone, and welcome to 2014!  Hope it is going to be a happy, healthy and crafty year for you all.

 

I have finally returned to blogland after so long away, so it is time for me to welcome you to the first Crafty Little Fairies Challenge for 2014 ... it is the turn of the Pink Fairies this week, and our theme is

 

Starting Over

 

A pretty apt theme for the season I'm sure you'll agree, and particularly resonant for me!!

 

This week we are sponsored by the lovely Mary at

 

 

The rest of the fairies have sprinkled their fairy dust as always so don't forget to check them out ... this is what I did.

 

 

Stamps: Penny Black image from "Hugs" transparent set;

Media: promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: LotV "Country Lady" and "Country Gent";

Supplies: flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts; ribbon from Hobbycraft; pearls from the Hobby House; lace and charm from my stash; printed sentiment from LotV Art Pad 8;

Tools: Joycraft butterfly die.

 

 

Challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday - Something New
Totally Gorjuss #216 - New
Heck Of A Challenge - New
Sentimental Sundays #187 - Pick of Team's Favourite Challenges

(I picked #140 Celebrating the NEW)

Craft Your Passion #194 - Something New

Oldie But A Goodie - Tartan or Check

(my PB stamp is several years old)
A Gem of a Challenge #109 - Anything Goes

Creative Craft #26 - Anything Goes

Creative Card Crew #52 - Anything Goes

Bearly Mine #117 - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations #253 - Anything Goes

Stampin' For The Weekend - Anything Goes

 

 

Hope you can join us this week and look forward to seeing your creations.

hugs,

Crafty Little Fairies - Autumn Colours

Good morning everyone and welcome to another Crafty Little Fairies challenge. Thanks so much for all your entries last week - so good to see you sticking with our new venture.

This week it's the turn of the Pink Fairies, and our theme is

Autumn Colours

So we would love to see all your rich shades of red, deep yellows and golds, oranges and/or browns - lovely!

This week's kind sponsor is Teresa from My Crafty Heart with a £10 store voucher - woo hoo!



Don't forget the challenge is now open to all makes of stamp (inked or digi) so have fun!

The rest of the DT have filled the air with autumn colours - here is my effort.

The truth is I don't use autumn colours very much ... but I thought these yummy LotV papers would fit the bill so I based everything else around them. Don't you just love this cute image ... I thought it goes so well with the papers. :-)

Stamp: LotV "Emma Pot Plant";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; image edged wtih "shabby white" frantage;

Papers: LotV "Country Lady";

Supplies: flowers all from Wild Orchid Ceafts apart from white rose; berries by Magnolia from the Glitterpot; lace and twine from The Ribbon Girl; pearl from The Hobby House; sentiment from LotV Art Pad 8; gingham ribbon from my stash.

 Challenges:

Lili of the Valley Ideas To Inspire (September) - Ribbon & Lace

Wild Orchid Crafts #86 - Inspired By Autumn

Sketch Saturday #277 - Sketch

Hope you can join us in the Crafty Little Fairies challenge this time - good luck!

Hugs,

Happy Birthday To Dad!

 

Good evening everyone .... hope you are enjoying your weekend. Once again it's two cards in quick succession from me, as I had to sit down yesterday and make a birthday card for my dad so I could hand deliver it when we drove over to see my parents today.  His birthday is actually next week but I didn't want my effort getting bent in the post - it's an 8" * 8" card and they do sometimes get mangled in transit!

 

 

I bought myself a LotV sketch pad ... I don't have a lot of male cards to make so I thought this would be good value at the side of buying individual stamps. This is the first one I have coloured - the paper is very smooth and a good weight, though I have to confess I found I got rather a lot of bleaching and bleed with my Promarkers when trying to colour a large area (the chair).

 

 

Image: LotV "vintage boys" sketch pad;

Sentiment: LotV "Everyday Grungy Sentiments";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: LotV "Country Gent";

Supplies: hessian ribbon and twine from The Ribbon Girl; ribbon from Hobbycraft; button and card candi from my stash;

Tools: lettering cut with Cuttlebug "Hippie Chick" alphabet dies.

 

 

Challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Sketch

 

Passion For Promarkers #200 - Add Ribbon, Lace or Twine

Divas By Design - Tie A Ribbon

Craft Your Passion #164 - Natural Materials (hessian and twine)

Cutie Pie #45 - 3-2-1

(3 bows, 2 papers, 1 image)
Joanna Sheen - Spots &/or Stripes

Pile It on #22 - Stripes &/or Plaid
ABC - O is for Open

Creative Inspirations #216 - Anything Goes with Option of Buttons

Simon Says - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

 

Thanks for visiting today.

Hugs,

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Masculine

 

Good morning Penny Black lovers, and welcome to June's Penny Black Saturday Challenge!

 

Thanks as always to everyone who entered last month's Anything Goes challenge - it was great to see all your fabulous entries ... but we couldn't help but notice there were several that were sadly ineligible for our fab prizes as they didn't use a Penny Black image. Don't forget - our only rule is that you need to follow the theme using a Penny Black image stamp, large sentiment or stickeroo as the main focus of your project.

 

Anyhoo, on to this month's challenge .. and with Father's Day just around the corner what better theme than

 

Masculine

 

As always we have a fab range of prizes from our regular sponsors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

$20 online voucher

 

The rest of the DT have worked their Penny Black magic - here is what I did.

 

 

This is my dad's Father's Day card. I have to admit that I did struggle as I don't really have any overtly masculine PB stamps ... but when I delved into my box I thought that this cute pair of adult and child hedgies was quite suitable for the occasion.

 

This card also gave me opportunity to use my new Heart Banner die which I have had lurking in my stash for a couple of weeks, but there hasn't really been much crafting going on for me to use it ... and last but not least my yummy new LotV "Country Gent" papers which arrived Friday afternoon!!

 

 

Stamps: Penny Black "hugs" transparent set; LotV "Everyday Grungy Sentiments";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: LotV "Country Gent" and "Country Lady";

Tools: classic circles and labels three nestabilities; Magnolia Doohickey "Lovely Fence" die; La La Land "Heart Banner" die; Stephanie Weightman "Tattered Lace" die "Aphabet Retro" (from Hobbycraft).

 

Challenges:

CRAFT #209 - Father's Day / Male

Papercrafting Journey - Masculine Cards

Creative Craft #11 - For The Fellas

Cupcake #244 - Boys

Crafty Catz #185 - Inspired By A Storybook Or Nursery Rhyme

(Hodge the Hedgehog)

I ♥ Promarkers #170 - Use Dies But No Punches

Creative Card Crew #37 - Punches &/or Dies

Simon Says - Anything Goes

Totally Papercrafts #169 - Anything Goes

Party Time Tuesdays #122 - Anything Goes

 

That's all from me for today - I hope you can join us this month. Have a great weekend.

 

Hugs,

Warm Autumn Teddy

Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying your weekend. I have been catching up with some DT work, but I also found the time to make a card for the numerous Autumn-themed challenges that are around right now. As I said when I posted a couple of autumn cards a fortnight ago, this is really out of my comfort zone as I never normally craft with autumnal shades. Last week though, I sent off to LotV for the sentiments to go with the new geisha scroll; and I thought that the stamp might get lonely on its own in the envelope so I also ordered this adorable teddy stamp to go with it :-). I thought straight away that I may be able to make this stamp work with autumnal colours ... so here's the result.

 I also knew I had some yummy orangey-gold and brown shimmery foil flowers in a little tub ... I craft in my dining room, and some time ago I placed the tub on top of a heavy waist-high bookcase and it fell down the back. Well,today just had to be the day that I asked my husband to pull all the books off the shelves to retrieve the packet!

I'm also having a bit of a moment with floppy scrunchy bows. I saw an online tutorial somewhere (sorry I can't remember where to give a credit) about twisting the ribbon into several loops, so I've had a few goes. The results are a little eccentric looking, but luckily I think that's half the point! I topped this one with a little wooden flower button from my stash.

Stamps: LotV "Patchwork bear" and sentiment circle;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: mixture of My Mind's Eye, Robin's Nest and Dovecraft;

Supplies: pearls, pearl brad and antique gold spacer from The Hobby House; ribbon, button and flowers from my stash;

Tools: large classic square and Fleur-de-Lys square nestabilities; Leone Em "Ash Family" leaf punch.

Challenges:

Crafty Catz #153 - Autumn

Pretty Little Ribbon #15 - Autumn Colours (max 11 challenges)

I ♥ ProMarkers #137 - Autumn Colours

Crafty Creations #190 - Colours of Autumn

Dutch Dare #185 - Fall Is In The Air

DYSU #92 - Warm Colours

Anything Goes #77 - Animals

Penny Black & More at Allsorts - Animal Magic

Cute Card Thursday #237 - Lotsa Ribbon!

Stamptacular #184 - Photo Inspiration

Sketch Saturday #228 - Sketch

Need to go and get my dinner now before sitting down to the X-Factor results and Downton Abbey - lovin' the new autumn TV schedules but they really do eat into my crafting time lol!

Hugs,

Away With The Fairies (2) - Things With Wings

Good afternoon everyone - after my exciting news this morning about becoming a Lili's Little Fairy ( see here), I got quite carried away with the idea of fairies, and decided to make a couple of fairy cards.  I haven't actually done any crafting for a fortnight what with work and then going away on holiday, so I thought I needed to get a bit of practice in colouring :-) Bizarrely though I didn't choose one of my beloved LotV fairy images for this task - the reason being that I wanted to make cards for some autumnal challenges, and I thought this gorgeous Whimsy stamp by Sylvie Zet would best fit the bill. Also  I wanted to get some practice at colouring hair which I always find a bit of a challenge ... and the fairy on this stamp has certainly got a good head of hair to colour !!

Today's post could equally be called one image, two ways, as I have made two cards using the same stamp - the colours are also similar, but the style of the two cards is quite different. Both are quite outside of my comfort zone, as I never normally use these colour schemes.  

First up is a CAS card which I made to highlight the use of autumnal colours.

Stamp: Whimsy set by Sylvie Zet (free with Papercraft Essentials magazine);

Sentiment: Pink Petticoat (digi);

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Supplies: pearls from The Hobby House.

Challenges:

Passion For Promarkers #167 - Clean and Simple

Stamptacular Sunday #181 - Less Is More

Paper Pretties Wednesday #224 - No Patterned Paper

Without Words #1 - Autumn (CAS Card)

Papertake Weekly - A Hazy Shade of Autumn

Crafty Pad #188 - Autumn Colours

Addicted To Stamps #39 - Autumn Colours

Colour Me Creative #52 - Autumn Colours

Paper Shelter #82 - Autumn Colours

Crafty Catz #150 - Brown & Orange

Crazy 4 Challenges #154 - Anything Goes with a Fall Twist

Sparkles #36 - Away With The Fairies

Fab 'n' Funky #139 - Things With Wings

Crafting For All Seasons #36 - Things With Wings

Challenge Up Your Life #78 - Fantasy

Creative Craft - Anything Goes

Whimsy #51 - Anything Goes

Secondly I made a bit fancier card for three challenges:

Stamps: Whimsy fairy as before; Whimsy "Friendship Ticket" stamp; See-D birthday sentiment;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: Prima "Botanicals";

Supplies: flowers and seam binding from Wild Orchid Crafts; pearls from The Hobby House; lace from my stash;

Tools: Leone Em "Ash Branch" leaf punch.

Challenges:

Crafty Calendar (September) - Browns & Creams

Wild Orchid Crafts # 59 - Autumn Colours

Sketch Saturday #225 - sketch

Rightee - that really is all now from me for today - though I hope to get some more crafting in before I go back to work on Monday :-)

Hugs

Happy Birthday To Someone Special

It is my dear dad's birthday in 2 weeks time, and as there are so many male-themed challenges around in the run up to Father's Day I thought I'd get a head start and make his birthday card early (I'll then have chance to make him a Father's Day card to enter a few more challenges later on :-)  )!!

I'm sure this cute Fizzy Moon bear is another one I got with a store voucher I won .. he just looks so relaxed snoozing in his chair! This is another 8" * 8" card, and these Fizzy Moon images work very well as they are quite big (see my recent Fizzy Moon 8" * 8" wedding card here)

Stamps: Fizzy Moon "All About Him"; Fizzy Moon "dad" sentiment; LotV birthday sentiment;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: Pink Petticoat (gingham) and sei (large check);

Supplies: pearls from The Hobby House; ribbon and button from my stash;

Tools: Martha Stewart "iron gate" edge punch.

After I had taken the photo I realised I've forgotten to colour his darling little nose lol!! I'll be sure to do that before I post it! (the card that is, not the nose!!)

Challenges:

Allsorts #156 - Happy Birthday to Someone Special

Passion For Promarkers #150 - Birthdays

Crafty Catz #134 - Card For A  Man

OSCC #184 - For The Boys

Really Reasonable Ribbon #48 - Father's Day / Masculine + ribbon

Try It On Tuesday - Father's Day / Male (sponsored by The Craft Barn)

Simon Says - Father's Day / For A Special Male

Totally Papercrafts #118 - Animals

Crafting For All Seasons #27 - Celebration With Buttons

Ooh La La #105 - Ribbon Or Twine

Craft Your Passion #111 - Sketch

That's all for today ... it's so hot here I think I'll soon be snoozing in my chair like that bear!!

Happy Birthday Darling

I'm still taking a bit of a break from DT work and crafting deadlines, but today is my dear husband's birthday so of course I had to make him a card!!

I made another 8" * 8" card - soooo much space to decorate lol - esp. on a man's card which I always tend to make a bit more "clean and simple". Anyhoo here is the result.

Stamps: LotV "Cheers Bear"; See-D "Happy Birthday"; Fizzy Moon "Special Husband";

Media:  Promarkers and Flexmarkers; image and lace distressed with TH "antique linen" distress ink;

Papers: Pink Petticoat (gingham); sei (check);

Supplies: raffia lace and gingham ribbon from Hobbycraft; wooden heart buttons from Crafty Emma's; brown button and twine from my stash.

Challenges:

Anything Goes #62 - Boyz To Men

MAWTT - Cute As A button

Totally Gorjuss # 122 - Anything Goes With A Button

Charisma #9  Ribbon

Lili's Little Fairies - Ribbon & Lace

Totally Papercrafts #107 - My Favourite Things

(LotV teddies, ribbon and of course my husband :-) )

Simon Says Stamp & Show - Anything Goes

That's all for today - on holiday from work today so off now to get ready for a day of fun and relaxation. Thanks for visiting :-)

 

Fall Into Autumn With Fizzy Moon

I don't generally use autumnal colours much in my crafting, but as there are so many autumn-themed challenges around right now I thought I'd better give it a go. It also gave me the opportunity to use one of the dleightful new Fizzy Moon stamps I bought at Port Sunlight from Jill at The Hobby House, as the large flowers are suitable for any colour scheme - not to mention a ticket stamp and some paper I bought from Jill too :-)

Stamps: Fizzy Moon "With Love"; Whimsy blank ticket stamp; See-D "Celebrations" birthday greeting;

Media: Promarkers, Copics, and TH distress inks in Dried Marigold and Vintage Photo;

Papers: unknown (floral); BasicGrey (plain) and Prima "Botanicals" (script);

Supplies: lace gifted from Dawny P; flowers from Sweet Lilac and Wild Orchid Crafts; pearls from The Hobby House;

Tools: Fleur-de-lys square nestabilities; Tim Holtz distressing tool on paper edges.

Challenges:

I ♥ ProMarkers #87 - Autumn Colours

Stampin' For The Weekend #18 - Colours of Autumn

Deep Ocean #10 - Fall Colours

Crafts & Me #56 - Include Orange
Fussy & Fancy - Hallowe'en or Fall

Bunny Zoe's Crafts #17 - Lace It Up

Stamptacular #133 - So Distressing

Crafty Pad #142 - Vintage

Allsorts #124 - Bear With Us

Totally Papercrafts #87 - Animals

Papertake Weekly - Get In Shape (square, rectangle, ticket)

Sketch Saturday #176 - sketch

I noticed after I had done all my colouring etc. that somehow some of my distres ink had splodged onto the corner of my backing paper ... and as it was a birthday gift it was the only piece I  had! Oopsie!! Since I took the pic I have improvised with a couple of gold corner peel offs in the bottom left and top right-hand corners ;-)