Guest at Don & Daisy blog

I was invited to be a guest designer on the Don and Daisy blog for the new challenge - holiday greetings.  I've put together a card with Daisy In the Sunshine stamp and the sailing boat from the Summer scenery set.  I've coloured with my Copic pens and added Lace Stickles along the edge of the sea as it meets the sand, and on the waves.  I've got a couple more close ups for you .. .. ..

Here you can see the sea shells I've die cut and some little pieces of sea shell and sea glass from my local beach, dusted with a mustard shade of loose glitter as though they are still covered in sand!  I simply got craft glue on my finger, stroked over the shells and then dusted the glitter - messy but effective! The little flower is one I was making up as I went along a while back and it was on my desk so I used it, the centre is a blob of clear Viva Decor pen and pink glitter - lovely sparkle on this card!

And this is the bottom left corner with more shells, the little bit of fence and a text stamped onto a die cut banner that I've trimmed down. The embossed areas and edges on the die cuts I've coloured with chalk inks in soft pink and sandy brown shades

Finally, the card .. .. ..

Again, taken on a bright sunny day so the colours are looking washed out, it is brighter in real life.  There's another shell decoration at the top along with a stamped PB postcard onto the MD handmade paper, and a tiny scrap of tinsel I found in my stash.  I had fun making this card and beachcombing for the little extra bits, there are so many shells on the beaches here washed in after all the storms.

Here's the long list of Marianne Design products I've used for my card:
patterned paper from Rose Garden pad PK9102
Mulberry paper used to stamp the PB postcard RB2219
Daisy In the Sunshine stamp DDS3320
Summer Scenery stamps DDS3333
shell dies LR0230
anchor and starfish dies LR0232
lace edge across middle of card and used to make faux embossed stitching around edge of paper LR0161
fence die LR0205
text and banner die set COL1324
flower created from smallest die in CR1201
fronds from LR0192

I'd like to enter my card into the Fussy and Fancy Friday outdoor challenge.  Today I'm off out with hubby, need to get a few bits and pieces and walk the dogs somewhere although it's looking a bit cloudy and the roads in Cornwall are usually hectic on a Saturday .. .. but hopefully everyone will be leaving the county now that the Whitsun/half-term break is over .. .. leaving the locals a little peace and quiet before the summer madness begins!

Shades of Blue at CCT

It's time of our next challenge on the Cute Card Thursday blog, and this time we are looking for shades of blue on your creation.  Our sponsor is the Stamping Boutique so why not stop by the CCT blog to read all about it and see the rest of the DTs creations.

For my card I've used a cute LOTV baby stamp I got a while back and have only just got around to inking and colouring with my Copic pens.  I've cut out the image with a pretty Marianne Design die and added blue stitches then embellished with little clear and blue stars I found in my stash and an odd strip of lace.  Here's the card:

I've cut the base from kraft card with a Frilly #10 die, and with a smaller die in the set my piece of pretty background paper.  The paper and die cut pieces are all by Marianne Design, I'll give you the list:

patterned papers from Hello Sweet Baby pad PB7041
image cut out with CR1248
clear text stamp CS0890 onto small plain die cut piece from CR1251
large white flowers with embossed hearts also from CR1251
little duck LR0307
leaf flourishes from LR0271
little flowers from CR1210, embossed and inked with soft blue-grey chalk ink.

I hope you like my cute baby card.  The Die Cuttin' Divas have a boy theme going at the moment so I can enter my card with them, and the Crafty Cardmakers would like to see flourishes so I'm in with them too!

A simple Fairy wish!

Hello there! I am back after a busy weekend and then a day or so of catching up on the housework and laundry .. .. the garage is looking almost empty but there are bags of rubbish for the bin men (hope they take them all) and a stack waiting for the tip .. .. and at last the floor is down in the lounge and the skirtings fixed - now it's fill and paint time again!

But first, I needed a little relaxation time so finally got to colouring one of Sylvia's sweet Wee Stamps digital fairy images I've had on my pc for ages, and now at last can print out! And, as she is a fairy her wings needed a touch of sparkle so I played safe and used a quickie glue pen and some loose glitter that is now top of the stash pile.  I did have a little difficulty layering up the shades of colour on her hair .. .. not sure what I've done differently as it's the same card I've been using for a while, perhaps going through the printer somehow changes the properties?  I will have to watch and see.

Here is the card, taken in the glorious sunshine we've been having here in North Cornwall (no sign of the promised rain, yet!) so shadows and a little washed out on the colours, but they are pastel anyway. And I just noticed there's a stray pearl to the side of the card on the blue cushion .. .. but now I've looked it's gone, how strange! I've coloured with my Copics then found a scrap of digi paper from my stash pile to add to the front of the small scallop card, inking the edges with spun sugar DI.  The white lace mat and matching paper strip across the bottom of the card are Marianne Design dies, as are the flowers and leaves too.  I added the lace and pearls but kept things clean and simple - well as CAS as it gets for me that is! I left off adding a greeting so I could use the card for any occasion, and will just add something inside when needed.

So, here's the list of Marianne Design dies I've used:
circle - CR1248
strip - CR1250
flowers with the smallest die in  COL1323
small skeleton leaves from LR0156

The Addicted to Stamps blog are playing bingo and I can make a cross with two diagonal lines .. .. first with lace, pearls and a doily, and second with die cuts, pearls and flowers.

And at the Corrosive challenge blog it's an anything goes theme!

Wee Peggy

At last I've got the printer working!  well I had it working the day we got it but then when the router died I couldn't get it to link up to the new one .. .. after a long, and no doubt expensive, phone call to Epson a nice man walked me through the hassle of re-loading all the software.  And hubby told me how to resize the pictures easily so I can print out my adorable Wee Stamps digis the size I want!

Here is Peggy, she is coloured with Copic pens and I gave her a sunny shadow to pic up the warm tones in the paper, although I'm not altogether sure I like it.  Here's the card:

It's a deliberately bright card as I've made it for Mum to send to one of her friends, and at nearly 90 years old, neither of them see pastel shades too well.  The bright pink card is SU! from my stash, the text is an old PB stamp and I've coloured some of the pearls a darker shade of pink with a Copic marker, the rest of the stuff is all Marianne Design, so here's the list:

paper from Rose Garden pack PK9102
Scallops vintage lace JU0907
pink die cut along bottom edge is the plainer die in set LR0300
flowers cut with Mulberry paper RB2219 from die set COL1323
skeleton leaves LR0156
little butterflies LR0261

There's quite a few challenges I can enter with this card, so here goes:  Stampin' For the Weekend are all for the girls as is A Creative Romance, Papertake Weekly are all so cute! At Craft Your Passion the theme is for pearls and lace, and Totally Gorjuss is also looking for lace.

I've had to clear all my craft stash away as my youngest son is arriving with the family tomorrow to stay for the weekend so we need the dining table for meals! Hopefully the weather will be kind as the grandsons are wanting to have a bbq on the beach - and I don't fancy that in the wind or rain!  Enjoy your weekend, and as it's a BH here in the UK on Monday, I'll not be around 'till later next week - catch up then!

Just the words

This week on Cute Card Thursday we are focusing on words, so just a sentiment on your card and no image.  We are sponsored by My Creative Classroom for this challenge, stop by the CCT blog to read all about it and see the rest of the design team's creations.

I was messing about a few weeks back with the cute little baby feet die I won on the Marianne Design challenge #101 and together with some other bits and pieces by Marianne Design I created this card .. .. and then saw it was going to be perfect for the challenge!  The colour is looking rather grey on my screen, it's a proper baby blue in real life.

And here is the card, a small square (still using up the envies) and as well as cutting out the feet from silver card, I cut the nappy pins, swirls and little ducky too.  The flowers I cut from handmade paper then inked the edges, more of the blue chalk ink that's gone a bit grey but matches the lavender grey coredinations card I used to mat and cut the fronds.  The text I stamped and then cut out with a pretty circle, inking the embossed areas and the inner circle with the chalk ink. I found little snips of satin ribbon to tie up the pins and buttons to finish things off.

Here's the list of Marianne Design bits and pieces on this card:
Hello Sweet Baby paper PB7041 gingham in the background and flower design for the buttons
Mulberry paper RB2219 for the flowers
vintage lace stars JU0906
text is clear stamp CS0889
embossed faux stitching LR0161 around edge of gingham paper then inked to highlight
circle die LR0168
baby feet LR0305
nappy pins LR0217
little duck cut from LR0307
silver leaf sprays LR0271
fronds from set LR0107
flowers CR1204 the smallest in the set
buttons LR0188 small ones

The Diva's by Design challenge is an anything goes week so I'll enter my baby boy card with them too.

Marianne Design challenge - with flowers

Oops! I nearly forgot that I had made a card for the Marianne Design Challenge and now have left it to the last minute to join in .. .. better late than never!  The theme is Mother's Day with flowers or, as Mother's Day has already been and gone here in the UK, a card with flowers - there's plenty of inspiration on the blog.

I've created a little scene with Don and Daisy stamp 'Love Is' DDS3330 and scenery stamps from the Summer set DDS3333, colouring with my Copic pens.

Here's the card:

Keeping with the floral theme in the image, I've added a floral spray and floral lace, and as there were little butterflies on the pretty paper I die cut some extra ones to fly on my card.

Here's the list of Marianne Design products I've used in addition to the stamps:

paper from Rose Garden pack PK9102
lace from JU0925
faux embossed stitches added around edges with LR0161
pink scallop cut with die from CR1273
pink flowers and swirl from LR0112
turquoise leaves from LR0227
ivory sprays from LR0106
little butterflies from LR0261

I didn't add a greeting as I'll keep the card for whatever occasion crops up - birthday, anniversary, engagement etc.

The ABC challenge is up to the letter L = lots of layers, and as I have a fair few I'll enter my card with them too.

In The Garden

Well, in the garden is where I've been for most of the weekend, or at the garden centre, or the beach .. .. when the sun shines Cornwall is a glorious place to live!  And, we even got a craft fair after all on Saturday.  The one planned was cancelled at almost the last minute, but thanks to Stamps and Memories, Dragonfly Designs and the The Craft Studio, a lovely show was put together at the Lanhydrock Hotel & Golf Club - and we even got Lili of the Valley too!  I must admit that I didn't spend a lot .. .. well hubby was with me walking the dogs and it was a hot day, and I'd just ordered some stash on line as I thought the show wasn't going to happen .. .. fingers crossed for another one soon .. .. perhaps in September?

The card I'm sharing with you today is one I made a while back when the weather was not so good, and I had no internet .. .. so what else was there to do but craft!  I got to play with one of the new Marianne Design border dies, Anja's Flowers CR1273, a set of two with the daisy edge and the plainer edge with the cut out sections - you can see it on the card in a bit.  First, my image is a Sarah Kay stamp I've coloured with my Copic pens, and for the glittery edge I used Stardust Stickles and Pansy loose glitter, so very sparkly!  I've moved the craft cupboard from the conservatory to the porch, it's closer to the dining table where I sit and craft and in the process of emptying things out and rearranging I found the box with all my loose glitters .. .. so expect to see more sparkle!

And here's the card in all it's sparkly glory!  The papers are from the MD Hello Baby paper pack PB7041 and I've added the embossed faux stitching around the edges then inked with a grey/blue chalk ink so it stands out.  The plain card is a coredinations piece in a purple/grey and the ribbon is a little piece of wired purple organza from my stash, being wired it keeps the shape of the bow quite nicely.  Pale blue pearls finish things off.

The Crafty Creations challenge is to use at least two items from the recipe list they've given: I have flowers, die cuts, ribbon and purple so way to go! Crafty Little Fairies challenge is 'in the garden' so my card fits that theme too, and Sketchy Colors would like to see grey and lilac shades - perfect!

I still have lots of catching up to do .. .. still no fast broadband connection here so it can be a bit iffy at times getting about, but I hope to visit everyone who has left me a comment recently and catch up with my blogging friends soon.

Coffee Time

As promised, here's my DT card for the Cute Card Thursday challenge to make your own embellishments. Our sponsor for this challenge is Whimsy Stamps, please stop by the CCT blog to read all about it and see the rest of the DTs creations.

 I've used another cute Daisy stamp, this one is called coffee time and is one of my favourites.  I've coloured with my Copic pens then cut out the image with a MD die to fix to my card, here:

The colours are looking a bit strange on my pc - but it has just done a major upgrade after being inactive for almost a week so I wonder if that's something to do with it, or the fact that I'm now viewing on my tv instead of my little old monitor .. .. ah well, the wonders of technology!  The base is actually cut with a Go Create Frilly #10 die from Sage Shadow card by SU!  I've used off cuts of the same for my swirls and the coffee pot set.  All my embellishments are handmade, cut from dies then titivated with ink, glitter and pearls.

These are the Marianne things I used for this card:
Daisy Coffee Time stamp - DDS3328
patterned paper from Hello Sweet Baby - PB7041
die to cut image - CR1248
swirls snipped from LR0111
flowers also from LR0111, and the flower stamens with the ends inked then Stickled with Sugar Candy
glittery fronds given the same treatment - LR0106
coffee/tea set - LR0315 with the embossed dots gone over with a pink Sakara Souffle pen

The Papertake Weekly challenge theme is for pretty pastels, so I can enter my card with them as I'm all pastel pink and pastel green.

It looks like another sunny day today so I'll potter about a bit more in the garden.  I managed to get 3 wigwams banged in for the sweetpeas yesterday, those poor things were getting fed up of being in their pots and desperately needed to climb sunwards - a variety called Charlies Angels that is scented, and blue .. .. this is not a colour coordinated bed as the roses that still survive there are mostly pink, there's a blue creepy thing, white cosmos and a little purple scabious.  As long as I keep out any yellow or orange I can probably get away with it!  Trouble is, the red poppies from last year have self seeded everywhere and I don't have the heart to clear them out, ah well, at least there will be flowers as long as the sun keeps shining!

For that Special Day

I'm back!  with a new router and a glitch on the telephone line fixed, hopefully I'll be able to catch up with you all over the next few days.

First up is my DT card for the Marianne Design Divas challenge and this month the theme is to create something for that Special Day, with at least 3 MD products.  I was able to use lots on my card, starting with the adorable Snoejes stamped image I've coloured with my Copic pens.  I took the photo in the conservatory in bright sunlight, so there are some shadows showing, but hey! don't knock the sunshine!    This time we are sponsored by Cuddly Buddly as well as Marianne Design, so lovely prizes to be won. Here then is my card:

I've used a scallop card base and pretty pale plum card by SU! for my matting and some die cutting. I've edged my stamped image with pearl string, available from Cuddly Buddly, along with a few extra pearls from my stash here and there, and I made a bow from the white tulle plus adding little snips in amongst the flowers.  Here's the list of Marianne Design products I used:

Snoesjes Just Married stamp: HM9462
clear stamp Wedding Day: CS0886

Rose Garden Pretty Paper pack: PK9102

white tulle: JU0924

pearl romantic hearts: CA3109

dies:
Anja's Border at top of card: LR0300
Anja's Vintage Swirls: LR0271
Tiny's Love Birds: LR0298
passe-partout oval (small die for text): CR1241
flowers created with dies from square set: CR1203

As I'm so behind with everything I've not had a chance to see if my card will fit any other challenges so will link up later on if I find any.  And if you are looking for my CCT creation - it's coming!  I have to add it to the CCT blog first then will blog it here tomorrow.  It's good to be back and have things working tickity boo!

Paw Pals

It's Thursday so time for a new challenge on the Cute Card Thursday blog - and this time we want to see your 'Paw Pals', it could be kitty kats, cute puppies or even teddy bears .. .. whatever you think fits the theme.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Whiff of Joy, stop by the CCT blog to read all about it and to see the rest of the DTs creations.

This cute LOTV stamp was a favourite as soon as he came out and has seen ink several times already.  I've coloured with my Copic pens plus added the sparkly Stardust Stickles - does anyone else notice that there's something in Stickles that makes Copic pens bleed? I might have to rethink my Santa cards this year (save throwing in the bin) and go back to loose glitter and a glue pen.

Here's the card:

I've used papers from the MD Wintertime pad, adding the embossed faux stitching around the edge and inking with brown chalk ink so the stitches show up.  The white snowflakes and doily MD dies I've embossed and inked with a blue chalk ink that's got contaminated with grey .. .. interesting shade though!  I die cut the text and found the red hearts in my waste jar to finish off - nothing too fanciful on this one and all stuck down reasonably flat so should be ok to post at the flat rate.

The Marianne Design things I used for this card include:
Wintertime Paper pack PK9100
Merry Christmas from LR0225
snowflakes CR1225
large white doily LR0112

No challenges I could see to link up with this time.  Today I'm slow getting motivated, overslept and woke with a thick head ... but I need to get on so will go hit the shower!

Crafty Daisy

I've been busy in the garden for a few days as it's been better than the forecast, and after a visit to the garden centre I've made up a basket and a couple of planters to fix to the new fence now that it's had a final coat of paint .. .. a bit of a saga from blue to white and now to stone but at least I can say that the first few attempts using up the old odds and ends were undercoat ... and now it looks nice and crisp.  Today it's a bit breezy and with rain on the way I'm hoping things will survive, so no more gardening today, instead I might just get back to crafting again.

To my card - this is Daisy crafting, one of the new stamps from Marianne Design and I coloured her with my Copics.  I did enjoy making this one with the stitching and layers.

The base is cut with a Go Create Frilly #10 die from red card, then I cut a slightly smaller layer from the pretty French Roses paper pack.  I cut out my stamped and coloured Daisy image with one of the fancy stitch dies and then backstitched around with red floss, and had fun stitching the leaves and flowers too.  The embellishment die cuts are all by Marianne Design with little pearls and tiny red hearts added from my stash.

Here's the list of Marianne Design things I used:
that gorgeous paper from the French Roses pack PK9106
white tulle JU0924
Daisy crafting stamp DDS3340
Text from COL1324 and label from COL1325
B.F.F. stamp on balloon from COL1307
balloon die PP1401
tiny butterflies from LR0261
scissors LR0195
red swirl snips from LR0112
Daisy cut out with CR1248
flowers and leaves from CR1248 & CR1249
die cut ribbon CR1269

The Die Cuttin' Divas are wanting girly creations and on the Dream Valley challenge blog it's anything goes.

Time for a mid morning coffee break - and a play with a new set of dies on that theme .. .. see what I can come up with!

Here Comes Summer!

Happy Beltane!  It's the 1st of May and big celebrations down in Padstow today, although the actual astronomical quarter day isn't until Monday .. .. so a good excuse for a long weekend of celebrations and the traditional raising of a glass of Mead!

So, before I get too carried away, I'd best share my card with you.  The theme this week at Cute Card Thursday is 'here comes summer', our sponsor is Nikki at Bunny Zoe's Crafts - stop by the blog to read about the prize and see the rest of the DT's creations for Summer.

I'd already started this card for the Marianne Design colour challenge to create in yellow and green, and then saw that the Don and Daisy challenge #15 is for 'outdoors' - so I'm entering this card.  I had fun stamping and masking Daisy on her bicycle to add the little fence from the Don & Daisy Summer stamp set, a bit fiddly but worth the effort of cutting out the inside of the bike wheel, although I only did the front wheel .. .. so it's a break in the road, perhaps leading off someplace else .. .. ah the imagination just from a stamped picture!

And here is my card, a small C6 size as I have green envies to use up.  I have a gap in my stash - no pretty papers in green and yellow!  All I could find was a scrap of green gingham, so my card is relatively CAS with just a few die cuts for embellishment.  My image is coloured with Copics and the faux embossed stitches added around the edge, and I found an old 'summer' stamp in my stash to add too. The pearls are coloured with Copics to match the colour theme.

Here's the list of Marianne Design products I used on this card:

Daisy bicycle - DDS3322
Don & Daisy Summer set - DDS3333
the teeny tiny butterflies are from another Daisy stamp - DDS3320
yellow border trim - LR0270
yellow flowers - COL1323
green & yellow stamens from mini poinsettia set LR0142
swirls from set LR0112

Have a nice day, and here's to Summer!