Another Birthday Bunny...

Hello folks!!

Firstly... Happy New Year to you all, I hope 2017 has started well for you and that you had a lovely Christmas time!! :) Secondly, I finally have another card to share with you... made for my lovely Mum's birthday just before Christmas...

My mum has always loved rabbits since being given a toy one- named Mr Bun, and who still resides, wrapped up safely, in Mum's wardrobe to this day!- so I ordered her a lovely mug with a watercoloured bunny as one of her presents and decided to continue the theme with her card and use an equally gorgeous LOTV bunny stamp :) I have had this stamp for a very long time (bought to use for my Mum!) but think this is the first time I've actually used it... it definitely won't be the last as I love it even more now!! 😍 I'm sooo glad I have it as it's one of the many that has now been discontinued :(

The image is simply coloured on cream cardstock (Papermill Direct's Cream Smooth, which I've found to be fine for colouring with markers on so long as you're not worried about laying down too much ink for perfect blending... and I like the relaxed style of quicker colouring so it's all good here!! ;) ) with Pro/FlexMarkers and Warm Grey Copics for the bunny... with a little added glitter and shimmer here and there, of course!! :)

I also added a bit of blue paper to match the butterflies and a scattering of diecut hearts and sequins... so many of my favourite brands made it on to this card!!! lol

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - Cream Smooth; SU! - Blushing Bride

Stamps - Lili of the Valley - Gift Wrapped (retired); Clearly Besotted Stamps - Many Mini Messages

Dies - Simon Says Stamp - Mum, Mini Hearts Set; CBS - Scalloped Edge (retired)

Colouring Medium - ProMarkers, FlexMarkers and Copics

Inks - Memento  - Tuxedo Black; VersaMagic - Pretty Petunia, Cloud White

Papers - My Mind's Eye - Lost and Found Portobello Road

Tools - Cuttlebug

Embellishments - Little Things by Lucy's Cards Sparkly Shaker Selection - Cherry Blossom, Forget Me Not

Finishing Touches - Wink of Stella Brush Pen - Clear; Sakura Stardust Pen - Clear

{Challenges}

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything Goes

And, last but not least, a fuller pic to show the lovely mug :) I only discovered the amazing artist, Hannah Dale of Wrendale Designs, late last year when a friend posted a picture of a book she had won... it was full of gorgeous dog images with a Black Lab on the cover and I fell in love there and then!! 😍 When I searched for the book on Amazon, though, I discovered she paints sooo many stunning animals and there are all manner of different items... if I had the room in amongst the craft stash I'd totally start collecting!!! lol

Right, I'm off to press post then to bed! Thank you for reading, have a good week!! :)

Bunny Birthday...

Hello everyone!! :)

Happy Hallowe'en to all those who celebrate it... and to those who don't, I hope avoiding the Trick or Treaters hasn't driven you mad!! ;D 

I cannot quite believe that I missed posting in September and had to say goodbye to my 'One Post A Month' goal... I just didn't actually realise it was the end of the month- thought I still had at least a few days left!! :( That's this year in a nutshell though, isn't it?! It has just flown by soooo fast!!! :/ I'm still really disappointed, to be honest, to have got over halfway and then let it slip... but I still intend to make one a month for the rest of the year... hence this *very* last minute post again tonight...

This is the card I made for my lovely Grandad's birthday a few weeks ago... I did planes for Father's Day so I thought this time I would go with a bit of cute fun... and no-one does that better than Lili of the Valley!! :) 

It's been a while since I did much colouring and I feel kind of rusty lately every time I try but, so long as you don't look *too* closely, I think this feela came out looking just about okay!! lol

I've not had a huge amount of energy going spare for cardmaking lately so I kept him pretty simple... some dotty paper, an old-skool label-maker sentiment (another purchase made after a Skype session keeping Jen company while she crafted!!! lol), some glitter, sequins and of course, a glossy balloon... thankfully these images lend themselves perfectly to CAS cardmaking as well as more involved styles!! :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - White Smooth

Stamps - LOTV - Balloon Bunny

Dies - Simon Says Stamp - Stitched Shapes

Colouring Medium - ProMarkers and FlexMarkers

Inks - Memento - Espresso Truffle

Papers - Simple Stories - Sn@p! Color Vibe (an amazing pad of spots, dots, stripes and chevrons... soooo useful!!!)

Tools - Cuttlebug, Label Maker, Guilloutine

Embellishments - Little Things from Lucy's Cards Sequins in Fairy Lights

Finishing Touches - Clear Wink of Stella, SU! Crystal Effects

Challenges I'm entering: SSS Wednesday - Anything Goes

Okay... now I'm off to bed before the Witching Hours strikes!!!! ;) Thanks for reading and I'll hopefully be back before the 30th of  November... I'm not sure why I always leave it so late since I have so many things I'd love to share!!! lol Have a great week, folks!! :)

Balloon Celebration!

Hello Everyone!! :)

Well, this has been a busy month and I very nearly missed my 'One Post A Month' for July merely because I hadn't registered that today was the last day of July!!! Seriously... who hit Fast Forward on the world lately?!?!!!! And whoever you are, I need you to hit Rewind asap, please!!!!! ;D ;D

Anyway, back to the point... I thought I'd share this little celebration card made for a friend's 50th last month with some lovely new goodies (okay, so I've had them a while but it was the first time I'd used them... we've all been there, right?! ;) ) ... I really enjoyed making this one... probably because of the colours... all my favourites!! :) :)

I stamped the string then stamped and masked the balloons and their dotty layers in turn, added the sentiment, die cut the panel, mounted it on a lovely SSS Audrey Blue card blank and added the sparkle!! Et voila!! Probably not quite as quick or simple as that sounds, knowing me, but, as brainfog is making it so I can't actually remember right now, I'm going to imagine that the process went like clockwork... for once!! ;D ;D

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - White Smooth; Simon Says Stamp - Audrey Blue

Stamps - Stampin' Up! - Balloon Celebration; Lawn Fawn - Milo's ABCs ('50')

Dies - SSS - Stitched Rectangles

Inks - VersaMagic Dewdrops - Spring Pansy, Pretty Petunia, Purple Hydrangea, Aquatic Splash, Turquoise Gem; Memento - London Fog, Tuxedo Black

Tools - Mini Misti; Cuttlebug; Heat Tool

Other - Crafter's Companion - White Embossing Powder

Embellishments - Little Things By Lucy's Cards Sparkly Shaker Selection - Glacier, Amethyst, Phosphorescence plus Swimming Pool 8mm; Anita's 3mm and 2mm gems

Finishing Touches - Wink of Stella - Clear

Well, thanks for stopping by and reading today!! :) Sorry to be short and sweet but I'm going to hit publish and run so I can go and give my gorgeous dog, who's not quite feeling herself today, a cuddle!! Hope you're all well and see you in August... yikes, I think I probably need to start on my Christmas cards!! ;)

Watercolour Father's Day...

Hello Everyone!!

Just flying by with a very quick post as the end of the month has snuck up on me but I am determined to keep my 'One Post A Month for 2016' goal alive... this is the card I made for my Grandad for Father's Day this year...

My Grandad used to be in the RAF so planes are always a good idea for his cards... this one is a new SU! set from the Sale-abration sets... all it needs is a little ink or embossing powder and you're good to go!! :)

I created a quick and simple background with my new Molotow Masking Pen (purchased, like so many things, after seeing the uber-talented Debby Hughes using it a while ago!) by drawing in some sketchy clouds and then washing some gorgeous Gansai Tambi watercolour in blue over that... I've used the Molotow pens and fluid a few times now and I'm loving what they let me do!! :)

I cut the panel with and SSS Stitched die and then added a sentiment and a few perfectly-coordinated sequins to finish this simple but effective card off just nicely!! :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Simon Says Stamp - Fog

Stamps - Stampin' Up - Sky's the Limit Sale-abration Set; Winnie & Walter - The Big, the Bold and the Happy; Craftwork Cards - Typewriter Alphabet

Dies - Simon Says Stamps - Stitched Rectangles

Colouring Medium - Gansai Tambi Paints

Inks - Versamark

 Tools - Cuttlebug, Heat Tool

Embellishments - Little Things by Lucy's Cards Sequins - Forget-Me-Not Sparkly Shaker Selection

Challenges: SSS Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes; Addicted to CAS #91 - Fly

Right... it's 11:38pm so I'd better get this published and linked pronto!! ;) Thanks for stopping by... I'll hopefully be back with an 'In My Crafty Life' post for June before we get too far in to July as I really enjoyed doing that last month!! Have a great weekend, folks!! :)

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!!

Easter, Tulips and Polka Dots...

Hello Everyone!! :)

I hope you all had a lovely long Easter Weekend? I'm back with my post for March (to keep up with my target of posting at least once each month throughout 2016!!) and I have a few very last minute Easter cards to share...

I needed some cards in a hurry so reached for the gorgeous two-step tulips from CBS' new With Love set and some chalk inks...

I decided I wanted a larger vase to balance my tulips than the one in the set so used one from another favourite CBS set from last year, stamped and masked it before stamping the tulip then coloured with a very light FlexMarker for depth. I also added a sentiment from an old-faithful Woodware set.

I knew I wanted to use  some of the fabulous polka-dotty card Jen had let me have for the bases so found a few complimentary shades of paper in my stash and added a punched border and some butterflies... go me- that's the second time in the last couple of weeks that I've dug out those punches having not even looked at them for aaaaages!!! lol Then just some WoS sparkle on the flowers and butterflies and I was done... I actually made five cards altogether but for some reason only photographed three of them so for two evenings work (on rather exhausted days!), I was pretty pleased with how these came out!! ;)

{The List}

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

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - With Love, Simple Silhouettes; Woodware Clear Magic - All Through the Year

Inks - Memento - London Fog; VersaMagic - Pixie Dust/Pink Petunia, Thatched Straw/Pumpkin Spice, Spring Pansy/Pretty Petunia and Tea Leaves

Colouring Medium - Flexmarkers (mainly Dove Grey but I think I grabbed a couple of brighter blues in there by mistake too!! ;D)

Papers - DoCrafts - Forever Friends Springtime; First Edition - New Leaf and Spring Feast

Tools - X-cut Scalloped Border punch; Martha Stewart Butterflies punch

Finishing Touches - Clear Wink of Stella

Challenges: Less Is More - Polka Dots; Addicted To Stamps and More - Make Your Mark; Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Anything Goes

Phew!! I might actually manage to hit 'Publish' before midnight and keep my one-a-month goal on track!!! ;) Thanks for reading everyone, see you in April!! :) (Btw- *how* the heck is it April tomorrow?!?! Somebody please slow time down a bit for me or I'll never be ready for Christmas... again!! :/ )

♡ I love you a Mini Bot!! ♡

Hello everyone!! :)

So, I have decided that, since regular posts seem to be the ever-impossible task around here, I should have a bit of a goal to aim for... but I know myself at this point so am going to aim relatively low and say I hope to at least post once per month this year... and if I make it twice occasionally then that's cause for extra celebration!! lol I managed January by dint of not getting that post up as soon as I'd hoped before the new year (!!) so here I am for February... and keeping it uber-simple as we have soooo much going on here (workmen here since late January and here until the beginning of March, at best, putting in a wheelchair access ramp for me out the back and currently, a much-needed new kitchen, which will also have some accessibilty aspects to make it easier for me to enjoy being creative in the kitchen as well as the craft room... so... pretty unpleasant right now but it will all be worth it in the end!!) with a post which will hopefully be as CAS as the card...

My mum took some of our crafty bits to the fairs at her church in January and February and we thought we should have at least a few Valentine's cards in the boxes... and as I was casting around for ideas, I spotted the fabulous Mini Bots from the CBS January Release sitting on my desk... so this was inevitable!! Uber-quick, uber-CAS and uber-fun... if I do say so myself!! ;D

Simply stamped in Tuxedo Black Memento with a bit of red Sakura Stardust pen (I've had these for years but only recently resurrected them from the depths of my shelves during a sort out... I forgot how pretty they are!! ;) ) for the hearts... and we're done!! Don't think I even need 'The List' this time as that's everything- see... uber-CAS blog post, too!! ;D

Challenges: CAS on Sunday - Valentine; Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes

Thanks for reading... hopefully I'll see you all again in March!! lol Hope you've all had a good start to 2016 so far!!

#ThrowbackThursday :: Up and Away :)

Hello :)

I'm back with the second in my as-and-when series of #ThrowbackThursday, or #tbt posts and I have another card using Clearly Besotted Stamps goodies, made at about the same time as my last #tbt card, so around 18 months ago...

Simple but effective, with a negative diecut aperture and some lovely clouds to set the scene for this fab hot air balloon... I made this one for my Grandad's birthday and he loved it (don't Grandparents make the best and most receptive of audiences!! lol)... I still rather like it myself!! ;)

The panel with the aperture has some inked clouds, which I made using a stencil I created with a negative of some of the same CBS cloud dies and some white pearlescent ink :)

This pic shows the lovely effect of using different heights of 3D foam to stick down all the different bits and pieces... much more interesting than everything being all one level ;)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - Sky Blue, White Linen; Craftwork Cards - Digital Cardstock (for the balloon)

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Going Places; Woodware Clear Magic - Retro Words

Dies - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Going Places, Sky's the Limit, Tag Along; Spellbinders - Nestabilities Circles

Colouring Medium - ProMarkers (sorry, no colour list as it was so long ago!)

Inks - Memento - London Fog; Brilliance - Moonlight White

Tools - Cuttlebug, Ranger Blending Foam

Finishing Touches - Sakura Stardust Pen - Clear

Challenges I'd like to enter: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Let's Get Sentimental ; CASology - Shape

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you've enjoyed another detour into the depths of my computer's Pictures folder!! :) Have a great week everyone!! :)

#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!! :) :) :)