Countdown to Christmas!

As I'm now not working and am trying to get back into cardmaking, I have decided to try to make some Christmas cards this year ... up until about 2015 I had made all my cards for several years, but then it all kind of drifted away! 

I have signed up for an online colouring class which I'm hoping to get started on in the next week (as soon as I can stock up on stamping card!!) but in the meantime I found a few coloured images when I was rooting in my stash, so here is my first Christmas card of 2021 - the countdown begins!

As I have made only a handful of Christmas cards over the past few years I am determined to try to make use of the stash I have already - particularly stamps (who knows how long that resolution will last)?

I noticed a bit of Promarker bleed ing on the post box which i did my best to repair with some Stickles glitter glue ... it doesn't actually look nearly as bad in real life as on a blown up photo!!

Stamps: Penny Black "Royal Mail" (3766J); LotV "Circular Christmas Sentiments";

Media: Promarkers;

Papers: LotV Nitwits "Festive Trimmings";

Flowers and ribbon from my stash.

Challenges I would like to enter:

ABC Christmas Challenge - P, Q, R 

(R is for Ribbon)

Addicted to Stamps & More #411 - Make Your Mark

Christmas Cards All Year Round (August) - Something that starts with "O" or "P" 

(P is for Postbox and Poinsetta)

Christmas Craft Creations (July) - Anything Christmas Goes

Crafty Calendar (August) - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday #691 - Anything Goes

Double D Challenge - Mason Jar 

(Use a mason jar or anything in the jars on mood board - I used a red poinsetta)

Jingle Belles - Red and Green All Over

Passion for Markers #604 - Christmas in August

Penny Black Saturday Challenge (August) - Anything Goes 

(option of interactive not taken up)

We Love Chocolate Baroque (August) - Favourite Stamps:

(As I said in my previous post this is a really difficult one ... but Penny  Black were the stamps that first got me into stamping and at one time were almost all I ever used. Although things may have moved on since then they'll always hold a place in my heart)

I'm off to make a friend's birthday card now so I'll be back soon.

Hugs,

Magical dragon

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to win the Cutie Pie Challenge, and my prize was 2 digi images from Lee Holland Art

I have to confess that although I have a few digi images I have rarely used them up to now as I’m not overly familiar with how to resize them etc., but having won a couple I thought I’d give it a go. Lee has lots of fab images in his online shop so it was pretty difficult to pick 2; but I was particularly drawn to his images of cute dragons, primarily as they are quite different from anything else I’ve seen.

So here is a birthday card for a friend that I needed to make straight away, using one of the images.

What is not to love about this cute baby dragon?? ❤️ I’m also a big lover of butterflies so this image ticked all the boxes for me. I wasn’t too sure how to colour him so I’m not altogether confident about that, but I did my best and had a lot of fun. 

I am also starting to look through my stash and reacquaint myself with what I’ve got after three years of doing very little cardmaking … including absolutely loads of dies!! I rooted out these fabulous Magnolia Doohickey flowers which haven’t been used in toooo long!

The card is actually pretty sparkly, but the light wasn’t too great when I was taking photos so the pics don’t fully capture that. 

Stamps: Lee Holland Art - “Dragon with butterfly”; sentiment free with Simply Card and Papercraft magazine ;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Tools: Spellbinders dies and Magnolia Doohickey “doily flowers” dies;

Paper, gems and ribbon from my stash.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Bit More Time to Craft #143 - Anything Goes

A Gem of a Challenge #16 - Anything Goes

Alphabet Challenge - I is for insects

Cute Card Thursday #690 - Anything Goes with optional theme of summer

Passion for Markers #603 - Favourite Colours 

(I definitely love pastels, and think lilac and green work very well together)

Simon Says (Monday) - Birthday Celebration

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations (August) - Any Celebration 

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

We Love Chocolate Baroque (August) - Favourite Stamps 

(that is a really difficult one as I love lots of stamps … but I do tend to love stamps that a feature cute animal gazing at a butterfly, and this cute dragon has got to be my new favourite (for now!!))

That’s me done for today. Thanks for visiting. 

Hugs,

 

Old Crock!

Here is a large (8*8) but fairly simple card I made for a friend’s milestone birthday, which actually happened last year during first lockdown so sadly we couldn’t all celebrate together. It was also during the period when I wasn’t blogging so hasn’t been published on here before.

This vintage car stamp (“Old Crock”!) holds fond memories as I first used it to make an 80th birthday card for my dear late dad back in 2008 (which was also the subject of my first ever post on this blog!!) so I thought it would be good to give it another outing for another “vintage” milestone!!

Stamps: Butterfly Kisses “Old Crock”; Penny Black4071F “Flourish Birthday”; Lili of the Valley “Everyday Grungy Sentiments”;

Media: Promarkers;

Tools: Spellbinders nest abilities (frame); Provo Craft “Hippie Chick” number dies;

Papers and embellishments from my stash.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #16 - Anything Goes

Crafter’s Cafe #271 - Anything Goes

Crafty Hazelnut (August) - Anything Goes With Patterned Paper

I ❤️ Promarkers #440 - Anything Goes - TOP 3

Love To Scrap #148 - Old School

Penny’s Challenge #501 - Anything Goes With Paper

Seize the Birthday #219 - Anything Birthday Goes with optional theme of Travel

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations (August) - Any Celebration

Sweet Stampin’ - Gingham, Tartan and Plaid - TOP 3

Thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Baublicious!

 Here is one of only two cards I made for last Christmas during my cardmaking and blogging “vacation” … prompted primarily by the need to send a special family card but wanting to swerve the shops during pre -Christmas lockdown.  

As you can see it is another effort made using dies rather than stamping, due to my concern over my lost colouring skills with little time or opportunity to practice so as to get back up to scratch - something which is now no longer an issue so I’m hoping to do a lot more colouring practice this year!!

This is an 8” square card so there was plenty of room for these gorgeous baubles; and I’m quite pleased with how it turned out with the baubles hanging from a bough, all cut out from glitter card.

I’m also loving this big swirly Christmas sentiment die which is actually big enough to be the focal point of a smaller card.

As previously mentioned I no longer have the packages for my dies, so below follows what I have been able to work out!

Papers: Lili of the Valley

Tools: Marianne Designs Creatables - Baubles and Fir Branch; Memory Box - Crisp Bows; unknown - sentiment die

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge #15 - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps #410 - Die cuts and/or Stencils

Christmas Craft Creations (July) - Anything Goes

Christmas Crafts All Year Round (July) - Something that starts with M or N 

(M = “Merry”)

Crafty Catz #560 - Anything Goes - optional theme Christmas in July

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge #551 - Anything Christmas Goes - optional theme dies/punches

Incy Wincy - Red/White/Blue or Sparkly/Glitter

Penny’s Challenge #501 - Anything Goes Using Paper

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Out With the Old and In With the New 

(most of the dies on the card are previously unused, and the ribbon is very old)

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #97 - Anything Christmas Goes

Seems strange to be posting a Christmas card in the middle of a heatwave, but there you go!

Until next time,

Hugs,

Gone Fishin’

Hi everyone,

Here I am with another new card to my blog, and it is another of the very few cards I made while I was “in the wilderness” and not blogging. 

This was for my darling husband’s special birthday. He really loves fishing and can happily pass a lazy summer afternoon on the river bank,  so I just couldn’t resist this adorable fishing bear image, which as always I coloured using Promarkers.

In case you are wondering about the strange splodge on the greeting,  I have “redacted” the date of his birthday on this photo  😀

Stamps: Daisy & Dandelion - “Dandelion Goes Fishing”,  Penny Black - 4071F “Flourish Birthday”, Lili of the Valley - “Calendars”, Trimcraft “Me to You” husband text,

Tools: various Spellbinder dies, Provo Craft “Hippie Chick” number dies, Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page - “Iron Gate”

Paper, jute ribbon and gems from my stash.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Bit More Time To Craft #143 - Anything Goes

Allsorts #632 - Masculine

Crafter’s Cafe #270  - Layer It Up

Crafty Calendar (July) - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers #212 - Always Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday #690 - Anything Goes with optional theme summer

Love to Scrap #147 - Anything Goes

Passion for Promarkers #600 - Dies and/or Punches - TOP 5

Simon Says (Monday) - Lazy Days of Summer

Sparkles #142 - Outdoor Fun

That’s all for today. Until next time, take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Summer tea party!

Hi everyone,

Here is a summery birthday card I made during the period when I wasn't blogging. Having got so out of practice with colouring I have had a phase of making cards with die cuts rather than stamped images, and this is one of them.  The combo of the teapot, bunting die and and summery colours really puts me in mind of a summer tea party in the garden!

This was another die set I bought when I unexpectedly came upon a Crafters' Companion shop whilst out shopping  ... I am absolutely blown away by the intricacy of this die. Sadly as previously mentioned, I no longer have the packaging for any of my dies since I mounted them all into a bespoke case ... very convenient for storage but not so good for describing what I have used!!

Stamp: free with Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine;

Papers: LotV Nitwits Collection - "Perfect Pair";

Tools: Die-Sire Create a Card Easel die (name unknown); La La Lands "Heart Banner" die.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #14 - Anything Goes

Corrosive Challenge #7 2021 - Anything Goes

Crafters' Cafe #269 - Anything Goes

Creative Knockouts #409 - Something To Say

Cute Card Thursday #690 - Anything Goes with optional summer theme

Fab 'n' Funky #531 - Anything Goes

My Time To Craft #461 - Ribbons and Bows

Penny's Challenge #500 - Anything Goes with paper

That's all for today - thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

A flower for you

Hello everyone,

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend, despite the miserable weather.  Here I am again with another card - this time a birthday card I made for a dear friend recently, using this adorable LotV stamp “Patchwork Flower” - like all my cards this is a hand stamped image from an old polymer stamp, coloured with Promarkers.

Stamps: LotV - "Patchwork Flower" and "tiny tags"; sentiment - See-D;

Papers:  LotV Nitwits Collection - "Perfect Pair";

Tools: Magnolia doohickey die “lovely fence”.

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #14 - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More #408 - Birthdays

C.R.A.F.T. #604 - Anything Goes

Crafters’ Cafe #269 - Anything Goes

Crafty Calendar (July) - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday #690 - Anything Goes with optional summer 

Cutie Pie #160 - The Bear Essentials 

Everybody Art #494 - Anything Goes

Penny’s Paper Crafty #499 - Anything Goes with paper

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

That’s all for today … it will soon be time to start gearing up for this evening’s football extravaganza .. COME ON ENGLAND!!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Hugs,

Krafty Christmas

                             

Good morning fellow crafters!

Here I am again with a card I’ve never blogged before as I find my way back into cardmaking … and today it is a Christmas card, which makes me think I’m really going to try to make some Christmas cards this year. 

I just love these adorable penguins … “Christmas cuddles” by Wild Rose Studio, and Lili of the Valley Kraft papers … I have been away from crafting for so long that I have still got some physical LotV paper pads!!  Sadly I can no longer list the makes of dies I use as a couple years ago I bought a fab storage caddy for them with magnetic storage pages, but I didn’t make an inventory of what was what!

Challenges I would like to enter:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June technique tic tac toe 

(gems, patterned paper, die cuts)

 A Gem of a Challenge #13 - Anything Goes

Allsorts #630 - Use Design Papers

Christmas Crafts All Year Round  - Something Beginning with K or L (Kraft paper)

Corrosive Challenge #6 - Anything Goes

Crafty Hazlenut’s Christmas Challenge #548 - Anything Goes (Christmas) with optional snowflakes

Penny’s Challenge #499 - Anything Goes with paper

Sparkles Christmas Challenge #125 - Krafty Christmas - SPOTLIGHT WINNER

The Holly and Ivy #97 - Anything Christmas Goes -TOP 5

We Love Chocolate Baroque (June) - Hand coloured image

Winter Wonderland - Christmas birds - TOP 3

That’s all for today - thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Another card .. for the boys

I felt sufficiently inspired yesterday by my first blog post in nearly three years that I decided to do another one …. They’re coming along a bit like buses!!

This is a card I made recently for a friend’s birthday … over the next few weeks I will be posting some cards which are not necessarily brand new but which have never been blogged before .. they are my recent attempts to get back into card making 😀

This is an adorable James the Bear image by  Lili of the Valley, coloured as always with Promarkers, and is a much simpler style as I think befits a masculine card. 

Challenges I’d like to enter:

Alphabet Challenge - F is for furry friends

Crafty Calendar (June) - Anything Goes

Creative Knockouts #406  - Furry friends

Cutie Pie #160 - The bear essentials

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Animal antics

Sweet Stampin’ - Something beginning with B - TOP 3

(bear, beer, Birthday greeting) 

I hope I’m starting to get back into the basics of blogging now, so onward and upward! Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Here comes the sun!

This is my first time posting on here for about 3 years, and my first time ever from my iPad so I guess this is a bit of an experiment!!

I have been doing very little cardmaking over the past three years, but I have started doing a bit more over the past 12 months due to COVID lockdowns and also because I have now finished work. 

So here I am dipping my toe in the water once more with a card I made for an elderly aunt’s birthday.

I have used a hand stamped image by Lili of the Valley, coloured with Promarkers. The rest of my stash is so old I can’t now narrow down who has supplied what!!

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Bit More Time to Craft #142 - Anything Goes

Allsorts #629 - Anything Goes

Crafters’ Cafe #268 - Insects / butterflies

Crafty Creations #422 - Anything Goes

Creatalicious #213 - Anything Goes with option of at/in the water 

(flowers are of course in water)

Cute Card Thursday #689 - Anything Goes

Passion for Promarkers #596 - Summer Colours

Penny’s Challenge #498 - Anything Goes

Sparkles #141 - Floral Extravaganza

Stamping Sensation (June) - I love … 

(Lili of the Valley stamps)

We love Cocolate Baroque (June) - Hand coloured image

That’s all for today as I gradually feel my way back into blogging. Take care and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

All the 9's!!

Hello again,

Did I mention yesterday that after a 2 year absence I made not one but TWO cards in quick succession last week??  This is because I was originally inspired by the fact that our dear next door neighbour celebrated her 99th birthday last week - wow!!

Our neighbour really is a lovely lady, and her son and daughter-in-law travelled down to visit her for the week and arranged a birthday tea party for her. If such a happy occasion couldn't inspire me to make rather than buy a card - what would??

So here it is ...

During the summer I had been thinking about trying to dip my toe back into card making, but I was very nervous as I know I will need a LOT of practice to get my colouring skills back. We happened to visit a garden centre I 'd never been to before, and discovered a branch of Crafter's Companion which was full of tempting stash including some fabulous large intricate dies which would make a brilliant focal point for a card without the need for colouring.

I ended up having a bit of a splash, but then faced some delay as the creaky old plates for my trusty Cuttlebug could not cope with the intricacy of the dies! However two new plates and a shim (and a bit more spending) later!! I was ready to give it a go.

This card is very different from my "normal" cardmaking style,  but I'm rather pleased with it though it sure wasn't quick - it must have taken me 45 minutes just to poke all the bits of card out of the die cut!! The die is very impressive though ... this card is an 8" * 8" and it is plenty big enough. I love the way I can actually make the butterflies within the frame 3-dimensional.

Stamp: Penny Black "Flourish Birthday" 4071F

Papers: Lili of the Valley

Tools: Die-Sire Create A Card Metal Die set - Butterfly Easel; Memory Box "Prim Poppy" die; Cuttlebug "Hippy Chick" numbers.

And here's the inside ... 

Challenges:

Pile It On #146 - Think Big (8" * 8" card and big die for a big birthday!!)

Moving Along With The Times #79 - Use Gingham and/or Buttons

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes with patterned paper

Simon Says - Anything Goes

A Bit More Time to Craft #75 - Anything Goes

The Ribbon Girl - Anything Goes

I think after all that crafty effort I need a bit of a lie down ... but hopefully I'll be back before too long.

Hugs,

First card since forever ....

Well hello to everyone in blogland ... it's been so long (over 2 years!!!) since I either blogged or indeed made a card that I have completely forgotten how to even upload a card!

However I have recently felt a little bit inspired, so decided to have a bit of a play ... what fun I had delving into my stash as I had no clue what was even there any more!! I was actually inspired to begin by a very special birthday (more of that in a forthcoming post) ... but as I ruffled around in my stash I  found an image I coloured a LONG time ago, and it inspired me to make a card for my friend's birthday which fell last week.

So here it is ....

Stamps: Lily of the Valley;

Media: Promarkers 

Papers: Lili of the Valley "Bonnets and Bowties";

Tools: Memory Box die "summer border".

Challenges:

Allsorts #483 - Things With Wings

Stamping Sensations - I spy with my little eye, something beginning with B (Bear, Butterflies, Bow, Blossoms)

Crafty Cardmakers #217 - All Creatures Great and Small

Penny Black & More - Make It Feminine

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - Anything Goes with patterned paper
The Ribbon Girl - Anything Goes

A Bit More Time To Craft #75 - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations #373 - Anything Goes

Penny's Challenge #395 - Anything Goes

Simon Says - Anything Goes

I will definitely be back soon to display the SECOND card I recently made - woo  hoo! Til then ... if anyone can give me any hints and tips as to why my blogger app is now putting random spaces between the paragraphs??

Hugs,