Daffs and Bunnies... Easter again!! ;)

 Hi everyone!! :)

I popping in (just in the knick of time again!) with my post for April... I was honestly so sure I would manage two posts this month but... you know... life always has other ideas!! lol

Anyway, I have another Easter card to share this time... this one went to my Mum who claimed the image as soon as she saw it coloured on my desk!! :)

I managed to get hold of this cutie from Lili of the Valley when they re-released some old favourites earlier this year and I'm so glad I did... very cute... and very easy to colour!! ;D I just die-cut him with my new MFT Wonky Stitched Squares (love these and can't wait to get a hold of the rectangles!!) and added a few sequins and some Wink of Stella... with the dotty card base to add interest, it really didn't need anything more!! Perfect since, as usual, I was on the last minute getting this one finished!! lol

{The List}

Cardstock - Polka Dot card from Anna-Marie Designs (I think!)

Stamps - LOTV - Spring Bunny with Daffs; Woodware Clear Magic - All Through the Year

Dies - MFT - Wonky Stitched Rectangles, Fishtail Flag Stax

Colouring Medium - ProMarkers and FlexMarkers

Inks - Memento - Espresso Truffle

Tools - MISTI, Cuttlebug

Embellishments - Little Things by Lucy's Cards  - Sequins from a mixture of  Shaker Selections; DoCrafts - Anita's 2mm Gems

Finishing Touches - Wink of Stella Clear

Challenges: Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything Goes

Well, I'm off to link up and get ready for bed... I seem to be able to sleep for England at the mo' after a busy week last week!! :/ Hope you're all well and enjoying the week so far... let's hope the weekend brings back that lovely warm sunshine from last week!!

#ThrowbackThursday :: Cute & Cuddly :)

Hello :)

Long time, no blog again... health stuff... life stuff... etc., etc.... I won't bore you all with the details or excuses again!! ;) I'm glad to be back, anyway, and thought I'd get things going again with an idea I had a while ago whilst going through the mountains of photos on my computer... I realised I have a huge number of photos of cards, jewellery and other crafty things from quite a while back which I have never got around to posting and, since I am finding myself with less energy for crafting (cardmaking in particular) at the moment, I thought I would start a little as-and-when series of throwback posts... which I will post on a Thursday and tag with the well known #ThrowbackThursday or #tbt hashtag :) I will still be posting new cards when I can, of course, but I'm hoping this may help me to fill the gaps of time a little ;) 

So... up first in my #tbt series, a little CBS Baby card from about 18 months ago...

It was for my cousin to celebrate the birth of her little girl... I kept it simple as I was having trouble with the old mojo at the time but I ended up loving it :)

A stamped, diecut and watercoloured giraffe, along with an assortment of stamped hearts on the notebook page and two sentiments, all from CBS, and then a sprinkling of diecut hearts and gems was all there was to it... of course, we crafters know nothing is ever as 'simple' as that at the time but, looking back on it now, it seems like should have been!! ;)

I also stamped a few of the hearts on the inside lining papers to prettify it all a little... excuse the slightly grey area between the two hearts on the inside front in the photo above- I stamped the baby's name and birthdate in that gap but blanked it out for my post :)

{The List}

Cardstock - PaperMill Direct - Baby Pink, White Linen and assorted scraps for the hearts

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Cute & Cuddly, Baby Love, Many Thanks, Many Messages and Just A Note

Dies - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Cute & Cuddly; Simon Says Stamp - Holiday Shapes and Large Holiday Shapes; MFT - Notebook Edge

Inks - Memento - Rose Bud, Lulu Lavender, Angel Pink and Lilac Posies

Colouring Medium - Watercolour with Brilliance Pearlescent Purple and Pearlescent Orchid

Embossing - Versamark Ink and Crafter's Companion White Embossing Powder

Tools - Heat Gun

Embellishments - Docrafts Anita's - 3mm and 2mm gems

Finishing Touches - Sakura Stardust Pen - Clear

Challenges I'd like to enter: Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Anything Goes ; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes ; Addicted to Stamps and More - Make Your Mark :)

I thought I would also share a pic of the felt heart decoration I made to send with the card with the little one's initial on it... this was my first felt decoration and, while not perfect by any means, I was pretty pleased with how it came out :) I did go on a search for a more solid felt after this though, as this wool/acrylic blend really wasn't very strong for sewing and stuffing... it is lovely and soft though and will get used for less demanding purposes :)

Okay, that's all from me today... I'll hopefully be back before *too* long, though, and will maybe share a few pics from my amazing outing to see the Cherry Blossoms at out local park last week, something that has been a dream through years of living housebound!! :) :) :)

CBS and sewing for World Cardmaking Day...

Hello folks!! :)

Well... Happy World Cardmaking Day to you all!! :) Seeing all the posts about WCD this morning, I thought this was as good a day as any to make my long-overdue return to Blogland (again- I know!! Thank you to anyone who has stuck around this long!!) but, having actually made it to my desk to make some cards earlier- my mojo actually made one of its fleeting reappearances just in time for World Cardmaking day- how unusually cooperative of it!! ;) - I haven't got much energy left... so I will try and keep it short... it is sure to be sweet by virtue of the stunning stamp set I made my card with!! :) 

After depriving us for the month of August ;D , the lovely Steph came back with another fab CBS release last month... and I was waiting to pounce on the postie so I could make a card for a sewing friend of mine the very day it arrived... her birthday was two days later but I knew the Sew Special set was perfect!! :)

I used the stamp set and matching dies along with a lovely vintagey floral paper from First Edition, some stitching on my new little machine- which I am still in love with... but more on that another day!! ;) - and added a little watercolouring and some WOS to the images... as it was coming together, I was quite unsure but ended up very happy with the result and it was just perfect for my friend!! :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - White Plain

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Sew Special, Fabulous Fuchsias (Happy Birthday sentiment)

Dies - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Sew Special Die Collection; MFT - Fishtail Banner Stax

Inks - Versafine - Vintage Sepia; Memento - Espresso Truffle, Angel Pink, Summer Sky, New Sprout

Papers - First Editon - Floral Pavillion

Tools - Cuttlebug, my new (teal! ;D) Sewing Machine

Embellishments - Sequins, Gems and Pearls from stash

Finishing Touches - Wink of Stella Clear Brush Pen

Okay... thank you for stopping by tonight... I am truly grateful that people still want to read my blog when there are so many unscheduled and lengthy absences lately!! :) And now, I shall hit publish and head off to bed before I fall asleep right here... hope you are all having a lovely weekend!! :) And if any of you were lucky enough to make it to the craft shows on this weekend, I hope you had a fab time!! :)

Good Times... Sketch Saturday Week #311 :)

Morning everyone!! :)

Well, it's time for the fourth and penultimate of my GDT posts for Sketch Saturday... this month is really flying by!! :) This sketch is really very me and I was excited to sit down to create with it... somehow still found myself slightly flumoxed by the number of layers, though, so kept things as simple as possible by sticking pretty much exactly to the sketch!! lol

I actually made this several weeks ago... I was trying to get ahead knowing that I wouldn't have much time or energy for crafting with my friends staying... but I made a mistake with the sketches and thought this was the second week's so had to go back and get another one made quick-smart when Jen set me right!! Luckily we realised we were talking at cross-purposes about design ideas while on Skype!! lol Anyway... when I made this, Jen had just brought me my first ever packs of SU! cardstock and I was just dying to have a play... such scrummy colours!!!! :)

I'd also been itching to use this CBS bike stamp and the sketch was just perfect for it... I used one half of the flowery tree from the Design A Tree set to come out of the bike's basket and then added a few butterflies from Good Times, too... love how it all came together!! :) I also kept things simpler by avoiding using any patterns and making one of the strips on the sketch a layer of vellum :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - White Plain; Stampin' Up! - Perfect Plum, Coastal Cabana

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Good Times, Design a Tree

Dies - Clearly Besotted - Scalloped Edge Die Collection; MFT - Fishtail Banners

Inks - Hero Arts Shadow Inks - Soft Granite, Soft Purple, Soft Pool, Soft Pink, Soft Blue; VersaMark

Papers - Forever Friends - Springtime 6x6" Pad; DoCrafts Anita's - Vellum

Tools - Cuttlebug, Heat Tool

Embellishments - Docrafts Anita's 3mm gems

Finishing Touches - Wink of Stella Clear; Stickles - Frosted Lace and Crystal

Extras - Embossing Powder - Crafter's Companion White

This week's sponsor at over at Sketch Saturday is Bugaboo...

... and here's the sketch...

I hope you'll join in and please stop by the SS blog to see what the rest of the DT have come up with!! :) Hope you're all well and have a lovely weekend!! :)

Also, thank you so much to the lovely folk who've left comments recently... I'm sorry I've not been making it back around to visit people but I am still having to take things a bit easy after my friends' visit and in preparation for some work on the house starting in the next week or so... but I'll try and get round to people asap!! :)

LIM... with lots of glitter!! :)

Hello :)

I'm back to share another Less is More card with you... I am so enjoying joining in with the challenges over there again!! :) This card is far from perfect but I had such a lot of fun making it that I decided I would share it anyway- here goes...

This week Jen and Chrissie wanted to see us use Stencils or Masks... I don't actually have any of the newer thin stencils (yet- I am (im)patiently waiting for delivery of a Simon Says Stamp order that should remedy that!!) but really wanted to try that type of thing... so I used the only one I had, which I created myself on my Cricut a couple of years ago (for this card) with an improvised paper circle mask and some acrylic paints. Only trouble was, as the stencil's Doeflex, it's actually a bit thick for using with the paints... so I have blobby hearts :( But I still kinda love it :)

I doused the paint in Glamour Dust before it dried and then, in an attempt to camouflage the blobbiness a bit, I went around the hears and filled in the rest of the circle with lashings of Clear Wink of Stella... didn't work fabulously but it's definitely sparkly!! lol

Such pretty sparkle... I don't think I've made a card without my Wink of Stella since I got it- and that's fine by me!! :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - Black Smooth

Heart Stencil - homemade 

Colouring Medium - Docrafts - Artiste Acrylic Paint - Lagoon and Blackberry

Dies - Nestie Circle; Simon Says Stamp - Holiday Shapes (little heart); MFT Die-namics - Happy Hellos

Tools - Cuttlebug, sponge aplicators

Embellishments - Glamour Dust

Finishing Touches - Clear Wink of Stella

I'm entering this over at Less is More - Masking or Stencilling :)

Okay, so that's me done- I hope you'll excuse the blobby hearts and just enjoy the fun design along with me for this one!! :) Thanks so much for stopping by today!! :)

More butterflies... more CBS... obsessed?! Me?! Never!! ;D

Hi again folks!! :)

I'm back again with another quick card for the Clearly Besotted challenge..

This one's very simple with a layout I had seen a lot around blogland and just had to try- I am loving negative die cuts atm and the asymmetry of this really appeals to me, too!! :)

I chose a lovely piece of First Edition paper which was pretty enough without needing any extra help from me beyond a little edging in the same blue ink as the butterfly to tone it in, and a couple of my fav CBS Butterflies for the focal point... as I said, very simple... but I like it!! :)

{The List}

A6 top-fold cream card 

Clearly Besoted Stamps - Butterfy Wishes stamp set and matching dies

Inks - VersaMagic - Aspen Mist, Malted Mauve

Paper - First Edition Spring Feast

MFT Die-namics Fish Tail Flags Stax banner die

Woodware Clear Magic Jane's Script sentiment

Gems - 2mm and 3mm from DoCrafts/Anita's

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges: Clearly Besotted Challenge #1 - Anything Goes :) ; Cas-ual Fridays - Over the Edge :)

Wow- another uber-short post... helps (not the right word, but you know what I mean!) that I'm crashing a bit atm M.E.-wise and feel like my arms are going to fall off if I type more!! :S lol Basically, I am desperate to craft but not up to it and so seeking distraction in blogging and stash buying... when I should probably be resting!! Oooops!! :S lol Anyway, have a lovely weekend, everyone, and I hope you're all well!! :)

You Passed!!

Hello again folks!! :)

I'm back again (so soon- what's going on!?!lol) with another quick card for the Clearly Besotted challenge..

This one is, fairly obviously, a well done kind of card and I used a few different CBS sets and another great coloured card blank made from the card I got from Papermill Direct a little while ago... I just love how different a look a coloured blank can give!! :)

I had fun stamping this panel... I'd seen a lot of this type of design around and had been dying to have a go... the CBS stamps are perfect for it!! :) And also got to play with my MFT Notebook edge die which I'm loving and a few fab Star die-cuts a friend sent me... these have really been soooo useful!! :)

{The List}

A6 top-fold card blank  and white card - Midnight Blue Smooth and White Linen from Papermill Direct

Stamps - Clearly Besoted Stamps - Just a Note,  Many Thanks and Framed Sentiments

Inks - Memento - London Fog, Ladybug, Danube Blue, Summer Sky, Angel Pink

Dies - MFT Die-namics Notebook Edge border die

Star die-cuts from a friend - from Simon Says Stamp, I think, and I love them!! :)

Gems - 2mm and 3mm from DoCrafts/Anita's

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges: Clearly Besotted Challenge #1 - Anything Goes :) ; ATSM - Addicted to CAS :) ; MMCS - Dies, Dies, Dies :)

Right, that's me done again... d'you think I'm getting the hang of this shorter posts thing a little!?!lol Hmmm... not sure it'll last knowing me, though!!lol Hope you are all okay and have a lovely weekend despite the weather!! :)

Butterfly Wishes...

Hello folks!! :)

Well, with the aid of my new and much, much zippier netbook/notebook, I have been catching up with editing the huge stash of card pics that have been building up recently... the snail-like pace of my old netbook made editing photos sooo difficult that I could hardly bare to try as I could only get through just a couple before my energy levels/eye/head pain made me have to stop :S ... and that's not even mentioning all the unmentionable things I've uttered (or screeched?!) in sheer frustration at it over the last year!! ;D Anyway, much better now and, as I now have quite a queue of cards to share, I thought I should get on with it!! So here is one I made a month or so ago for my lovely friend Elaine's birthday...

 This is a very different looking card for me... the deep coloured card base, busy patterned papers etc., but I was so pleased with how it turned out!! :) And as any of you who know Elaine will know- butterflies were, of course, obligatory!! :)

I used a whole host of new stash on this card- MFT flag dies, papers, gorgeous purple cardstock for the base card and the fab CBS Framed Sentiments stamp set I had been dying to get my hands on... and which fits pefectly in my fav Nesties- yay!! :) - along with my fav CBS Butterfly dies... 

I used my new Fishtail Flag die for the sentiment, running it through my 'bug twice to get the shaping at both ends... love this soo much and have done it many times since!!lol

{The List}

A6 Top-fold card blank- Purple Grape from Papermill Direct

Papers- Teresa Collins Fabrications (free gift with Cardmaking & Papercraft mag last month)

Dies - Clearly Besotted Stamps Butterfly Wishes, Nesties Labels 18, MFT Die-namics Fishtail Flags Stax

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Framed Sentiments and Spring Blooms (sentiment)

VersaMagic Inkpads - Wheat, Tea Leaves and Purple Hydrangea & Perfect Plumeria mixed on stamp to get colourmatch with papers

2mm gems from Anita's/Docrafts

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges: Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes (so long as multiple entries are allowed?) :) ; The Ribbon Girl - Use A Die-cut :) ; The Hobby House - Anything Goes :)

Thank you for stopping by today and for any comments... I so miss blogland when I have to take a break... but hopefully I'll be back again before too long this time!! :) Hope you're all well and get to enjoy our lovely taste of summer this week!! I have my hairdresser coming tomorrow afternoon so can't afford the energy to go outside today and may not make it before the weather turns depending on how much it takes out of me and how long it takes to recover but it's so nice just to be warm and have the lovely sunlight through the windows anyway!! :)