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!! :/ )

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!! :)

Soft and Subtle with CBS... Sketch Saturday Week #312 and a Blog Hop :)

Hello everyone!! :)

Well, I can hardly believe it but I am here to share my fifth and final Sketch Saturday GDT card with you... and as it is Sketch Saturday's 6th Birthday, there's something a little special going on this week... a blog hop which I am pleased to be joining in with... more details after the card!! lol Also this week, as it is the fifth week in the month, you can choose which sketch you want to use from the SS archives... from as far back as #215 to the present so plenty of choice!! :) I went with a sketch of Jen's which I loved when I first saw it a couple of months ago but didn't have chance to use at the time... here's my card...

I pulled out a few more CBS items for this one- all from the SMS (Shop My Stash for any newcomers- have a look at the tab at the top to know more!) drawer, though some had been there longer than others!! :) I kept it nice and simple as I haven't had a lot of energy this week but the addition of some designer paper (as part of my ongoing SMS challenge, I am also trying to use more of the consumables in my stash- like the tons of cardstock and papers I have- as well as using all my never before used stamps and dies) kept it interesting :) I also added a couple of lines of stitching with my brand new and utterly fabulous (*TEAL*... this makes me ridiculously happy!!! lol) sewing machine!! :)

I love the soft and summery look this has with the colours and oh so pretty flowers :) Oh, yes- and my fave ever sentiment stamps made another appearance too!! lol

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill - Rich Cream Linen

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Bridal Bouquet and Fabulous Fuschias

Dies - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Bridal Bouquet Die Collection and Lovely Labels Die Collection

Inks - VersaMagic - Thatched Straw, Persimmon, Sea Breeze, Turquoise Gem & Aspen Mist (blended on stamp), Aloe Vera & Tea Leaves (blended on stamps), Pink Grapefruit

Papers - First Edition - Boho Chic

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

The sponsor over at SS this week is Little Miss Muffet Stamps...

...and here's the sketch I used...

... though don't forget, you can choose your own favourite :)

I hope you can join in and take part in the blog hop too!! :) Here's the list for you...

Sketch Saturday 6th Anniversary Blog Hop

1. Alex

2. Audrey

3. Barbara

4. Carla

5. Cathy

6. Debra

7. Donna

8. Faye

9. Jen

10. Jo

11. Julie

12. Kathy

13. Laura

14. Lesley

15. Lizy

16. Marzena

17. Niki

18. Rachel

19. Stephanie

20. Tabbatha

21. Vannessa

22. Wendy

The collection has closed. Let other people know about it through twitter.

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All that's left is to say thank you to Jen and the other SS ladies for having me as their guest designer this month... I have had a lot of fun!! :) It's also Jen's final week on the SS DT... I know I will miss her sketches!! :)

Thanks for stopping by folks (and for reading what turned out to be a rather mammoth post!! :S ) ... I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! :)

Summer Butterfly... Sketch Saturday Week #308 :)

Hello!! :)

So... a while ago, Jen asked me if I would like to be a Guest Designer for the month of May over at Sketch Saturday... and- funnily enough!- I said 'Yes!!'... so here I am today very happily sharing my first GDT card using a fab sketch by Jen... which is also a birthday card for a wonderful and butterfly-loving crafty friend...

This is a simple card... just a piece of DP, one die cut butterfly and some vellum- with a touch of sparkle and a few pearls added, of course!!- but I was really pleased with how it came out... I have shied away from sketches recently but felt like my layouts were getting a bit stale, so I'm glad Jen's offer gave me a push to try something different :)

Told you there was 'a touch' of sparkle... the butterfly was cut from a glittered paper... but I still added several coats of amazing Wink of Stella to the rest... and then couldn't resist adding a bit more to the background piece, which was also already glittered!! lol

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill - Pale Turquiose Smooth

Stamps - Clearly Besotted - Dandelion Dreams (sentiment)

Dies - Clearly Besotted - Elegant Butterflies Die Collection

Inks - Hero Arts Shadow Inks - Soft Pool

Papers - First Edition - Summer Breeze; DoCrafts Anita's - Vellum

Tools - Cuttlebug, half a broken pair of scissors for distressing edges, Heat Tool, my teeny-tiny sewing machine

Embellishments - Flat-backed Pearls

Finishing Touches - Clear Wink of Stella

Extras - Embossing Powder - WOW! Clear Semi-Dull

This week's sponsor over at Sketch Saturday is Whimsy Stamps...

... and here's the sketch for you...

Whew... I'd forgotten how much more there was to add to DT posts!! lol I do hope you'll join in, though, and you should definitely pop over to the SS blog to see what Jen and the rest of the regular DT have come up with!! :)

Spring Blossoms :)

Hello :)

Today I have a quick card to share for the CBS challenge, which is Spring... the perfect challenge to use one of my sets from this month's release (Steph is clever like that!! ;) ), the unbelievable fabulous Design A Tree :) I love this set so much already... this card came together in moments and is the tip of the tip of the iceberg of options for this set!! :) {I am on the last minute for the challenge today despite writing this post a week ago... I was all ready to hit publish when I realised I hadn't actually got the pics off my camera and on to the computer yet, let alone edited them... and I've not been feeling to great this last week so it has taken me til tonight to get there!!}

I simply stamped the trunk and flowers in colours inspired by the gorgeous photos of our local Cherry Blossoms which my mum has been taking while out walking the dog, then dipped the tip of a paintbrush into my green ink pad and dabbed it in short, sharp motions on my card for a spiky grass look :) Selective inking for the sentiment, a perfect little off-cut of paper and I was done... so quick and easy!! :)

Oh, and of course, I had to add a bit of sparkle, too :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - Buff and White Plain

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Design A Tree

Inks - VersaMagic - Sahara Sand, Pretty Petunia and Aloe Vera (I think! :S)

Papers - First Edition - Spring Feast

Tools - Xcut Border Punch - Scalloped

Finishing Touches - Glitter - Wink of Stella Clear and Sakura Clear Stardust

Challenges: Clearly Besotted Challenge - Spring :) and Less is More - Makes Me Smile - this card makes me think of Cherry Blossoms, which I love and in turn make me think of my little sister, who I love dearly... plus, new CBS loveliness and pretty ink and cardstock colours always make me smile!! :) :) :) (This is such a lovely idea for a Challenge, too!!)

Okay, that's it from me for today, I'm off to link up then to bed... I've just come from a lovely Skype chat & craft session with Jen- we both ended up playing with our jewellery stuff rather than papercrafting!! lol One of these days I will actually get around to sharing some more of my jewellery with you all... I have been having a lot of fun with it lately and it's fab having Jen along for the ride now, too... think it's jewellery on the cards for our Sunday afternoon/evening while she's here as well!! :)

Oooh, before I go- I just wanted to say thanks for all the lovely comments on my last cards, especially the Harry Potter one for LiM... I was soooo chufffed to be ShowCASed over there so thank you, Chrissie and Jen!! :)