Going Round in Circles

Going around in circles is kinda the way things are for me just at the moment!  This week the Cute Card Thursday challenge is sponsored by Rick St Dennis - do stop by the blog to read all about it and see what the rest of the DT have made.

I've been backwards and forwards to the doctor for blood tests, asthma checks etc so, along with the garden project and looking after Mum, I've not had much time to craft.  I was browsing Pinterest a while back and knowing that this challenge theme was coming up I took note of a card originally posted on the AnMaCreatif blog last year - see it here - and sort of copied it .. .. my layout is slightly different as are my papers and I've added the pearls.  It was reasonably quick and easy to do, die cut out the different pieces, ink the edges with green chalk ink for a touch of shabby, then stick it all together!  I've used Marianne Design papers from the Beautiful Butterflies pad PK9089, and the owl die set COL1302 plus the hearts from the bird set COL1301 and the little pearl heart embellishment on the top of the hearts is also by MD.

The Sketch 'n' Dies blog challenge is anything goes with die cuts so I'll enter my thank you owl with them.  The Fussy and Fancy Friday theme has been anything with wings - hope I'm in time to join them again espcially as I was in the top 5 last time!  And, the Incy Wincy challenge and Crafty Creations also want to see things with wings so I can enter with them too.

Sorry I've not been around to blogs this week, I will try and catch up over the weekend .. .. life sometimes throws a spanner or two in the works and you end up going round in circles!

I do love to be beside the seaside!

It's still sunny here beside the sea on the north Cornish coast today although a breeze is making it deceptively cooler, but a great day for sailing! My DT card for this week's Cute Card Thursday seaside challenge features the cute LOTV lad with his sail boat and I wanted to create a scene with him using the sail boat from the Marianne Design Don & Daisy summer scenery set.  I've coloured with my Copic pens and added touches of glitter for the waves.

Our sponsor for this challenge is Whimsy Stamps - always a great prize!

And here is my card, a different picture to the one on the CCT blog - I took another this morning so there are less shadows, but the colours don't look quite as bright - ah well!

My papers are from the Maya Design Life in the Country pad, Happy Birthday is cut with a Joy Crafts die from red SU! card and I've decorated with punched fronds and die cut shells using Marianne Design dies.  The numbers are also MD - and my original plan was to make a birthday card for my grandson to give to one of his friends .. .. but I couldn't think if they would be mostly 5 or 6 years old so cut each number, then saw how they both looked together and turned it into a 65 year old birthday card, perhaps for a keen sailor that's about to retire and spend a bit more time at the beach! The numbers are only fixed with a single foam pad each so if necessary I can do a bit of tweaking .. .. that's the joy of making your own cards.

The shells are MD LR0230 with a touch of chalk ink on the embossed areas.  The numbers are MD COL1347 and the set comes with a couple of stamps to add pattern - I left mine plain.

Moving Along With The Times blog challenge is also beside the sea side so I can enter with them, and the ABC challenge is up to the letter 'N' for nautical, so I'm in with them too!

Taking it easy - I wish!

Well here I am with another card to share with you .. .. but I kinda ran out of inspiration when it came to the embellishing bit .. .. too sore with sunburn and an aching back!

The image is one of my new LOTV stamps that I've masked and then added the fence from the Don and Daisy Summer Scenery set by Marianne Design plus a couple little butterflies from another Daisy stamp.  I've coloured with my Copic pens to create the scene - here's the card:

The papers are scraps from my digi print out basket, the bunting is another MD stamp, and I've simply finished with a die cut button and bit of string.  There are a few MD dies I've used, the button is from the label & button set LR0188, and the scallop edge is from the daisy border die set CR1273.

The Additcted to Stamps challenge theme is outdoors, and Totally Gorjuss are celebrating Dad's so I'll enter with both of them.

And this is how my new bit of garden looked at the end of yesterday, taken from the guest bedroom window.  Thankfully I'm not the person doing the digging .. .. actually it's a digger done digging!  It is looking a bit better this evening with the trench along the fence now filled up with good topsoil ready for the hedging plants arriving tomorrow.  Looking at that ground it is a wonder I grow anything - not really soil at all but something the locals call 'shisty shillit' which is the worst kind of decayed slate layered with clay .. .. rock hard in the dry and sticky in the wet - and stony all the time! Plus there's the remains of builders sand and agregate below the window, at least there's going to be a path along there so not so much of a problem. I've painted the fence posts dark brown this afternoon, and might get the fence painted later on with a darker brown woodstain so it ties in with the rest of the house.  The sunburn that is now starting to itch is the result of Saturday's wondering about, the backache is from painting and watering the patio pots and back garden this evening with the closest water-butt running dry so I'm having to walk back and forth with the cans to the one with water left in it - we need rain!

Flowers for Marianne Design Divas

oh my!  I am late sharing my DT project for the next Marianne Design Divas challenge - its flowers, so nice and easy.  You just need to have a minimum of 3 MD products on your creation, let us know what they are, but other than that you can mix in any other brands you like.  As always the prizes are fabulous, and don't forget the Candy for our followers too - stop by the blog to read all about it.

I went with something a bit different and made a little heart hanger for the wardrobe.  I used some good quality thick felt for the base heart, but the rest is a selection of thinner, and cheaper, felt .. .. although I think I would rather have something in between.  The flowers were easy to gather up with a thinner felt and I've just added a small seed bead to the centres.  Here's a close up:

And here's the list of Marianne Dies I used to make my little heart hanger:

hearts cut with CR1225
flowers cut from the 3 dies in COL1323
leaves are from the biggest flower in LR0107 then cut up in bits to look like leaves.
loop to hang my heart made with white Tulle JU0924

I hope you will come and join us, the rest of the DT have put together some gorgeous projects for your inspiration - remember, you can make anything with flowers and the 3 MD products.

The Crafty Catz challenge is to use at least 2 different dies on your project, so I can enter my heart with them.

I am busy in the garden again .. .. at last I have found someone to do the landscaping of the last little bit that the builders used as their cement mixing area and lay the gravel drive with gates .. .. so by next week it should all be looking fabulous!

Marianne Design Divas Candy!

Oo! just look at these lovely goodies .. .. I wish I could enter!  Marianne Design Divas candy is for our followers, just hop over and see what you have to do to enter.  I love that cute bucket and spade die set with the sandcastle, and those new alphabet stamps coming out are sure to be a useful addition to anybody's collection.

So Macho!

It's Thursday so it's time for another challenge on the Cute Card Thursday blog, and with Father's Day this coming Sunday here in the UK, we are going all Macho!  Our sponsor for this challenge is Katharina at Whiff of Joy, stop by the blog to read about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have made.

I took advantage of the recent 3 for 2 offer on the manly stamps at LOTV and added 3 new pieces of rubba to my collection.  I am going through my stash though and selling some off, check out the Stamp Sale page - I've started the list with 5 LOTV teddy bears that have been forgotten and need a new home .. .. email me if you are interested in re-homing them!

Back to my card, I've coloured up the Vegetable Patch stamped image with my Copics - it's a bit brighter in real life with the carrots being, well, a more carrot colour!  Here's the card .. ..



I had both brown and mustard card in my stash and a piece of digi printed out paper (not sure where from though) in the basket that matched in, again more mustard in real life.  The strip of ribbon is dark brown gross grain and I coloured the pearls with a dark brown Copic pen to match - no they are not black!  I've added the embossed faux stitching around the edge of the paper and mustard layer then inked with brown chalk ink so they pop out.  I've used the same chalk ink to highlight the embossed areas on my die cut daisy flowers and the buttons - Perfect for Incy Wincy's challenge for faux techniques as I have faux stitching and faux buttons, and of course faux flowers.

And, of course the die cuts are by Marianne Design, so here's the list:
faux stitching created from LR0161
brown scallop edge from CR1273
daisy flowers from LR0106
brown stamen in centre of flowers from LR0105
green fronds from LR0107
buttons from LR0188

In addition to the Incy Wincy challenge, there are several Father's Day/Masculine challenge themes around this week so I'm also going to enter my card with Craft Your Passion, Oldie but a Goodie (old paper and card and in fact everything is old except the stamp) and Cutie Pie looking for Cute for Dad.  And then there is the LOTV monthly challenge I almost forgot about .. .. it's for sporty or male creations so I can enter my gardening chap.

I am busy in the garden today, weeding around my sweetpeas where I'd dug in my home made compost and now I have tomato, cucumber and melons coming up! Obviously my compost bin hasn't been hot enough to kill of seeds so I might have to be a bit more selective about what I put in it from now on!

I'm on the Snoesje blog today!

How exciting to see one of my creations on the Snoesje blog this morning!  I made this one as my first DT card for the Marianne Design Divas a little while back - you can see it and get all the details on my blog post here

I am taking Mum to Bodmin Hospital this afternoon for an eye check up so have to get myself organised.  I'll be back tomorrow with a card to share, until then: Byeee!

Happy Birthday from Ruby

I have another card to share with you today with another of Sylvia Zett's adorable digi images for Wee Stamps, this one is called Ruby and is a favourite to colour with so many details in her hair.  I've used my Copic pens and a mix of colours as this is another card for my Mum to send to one of her friends - and she likes to see bright colours.

Here's the card:

I was turning out my paper stash and trying to get some order .. .. this subtle sheet of blue stripe is an old piece but I thought it would work for this card as picking out any other shade from the image wasn't working.  To bring the colours 'out' I've die cut flowers from different coloured card, added the butterflies and pearls, and finally a stamped birthday text by LOTV. Job done!

Here's the Marianne Design die list for you:
flowers COL1323
leaves cut from LR0137
little butterflies from LR0261
scallops along bottom from CR1273
embossed faux stitches with LR0161

Stampin' for the Weekend have an anything goes theme this week, and at a Creative Romance it's also anything goes, with the optional extra of a Birthday creation as they are celebrating a whole year of challenges!

Enjoy your weekend, I am keeping my fingers crossed that the wind doesn't get any worse as my garden is already taking a battering .. .. at least the sun is shining and it's warm for the moment!

Perfectly Pink at CCT

Sorry I'm late sharing my DT card for Cute Card Thursday .. .. I've been stuck in the garden finishing off bits and bobs and staking the tall plants before the bad weather hits, and it's taken longer than I thought.  Anyway, here's my card, and we are looking for perfectly pink creations with a fabulous prize from our sponsor Nikki at Bunny Zoe's Crafts - do stop by the blog to read all about it and get some inspiration from the Design Team's creations.

For my card I've coloured up Wee Stamps design, Amy.  Mine is a digi but she is also available in rubber too from Whimsy stamps.  I've coloured with my copic pens with lots of pink - here's the card:

The base I cut with a Frilly #10 die from bright pink old SU! card and also cut my 'Birthday' and little butterflies from it too.  I've decorated with flowers and leaves, added sparkle to the butterfly wings and little pearls to the flowers colouring them with a Copic to match.  I've also coloured the pretty flower lace strips which has the effect of stiffening them up so they so any overhang doesn't flop - like at the top of my card.  The pretty background paper is from the Marianne Design Rose Garden pack, code PK9102, and after cutting it slightly smaller than the base I've gone over the edge with pink Stickles.  All the dies are by Marianne Design, of course, so here's the list:

Birthday COL1349
flowers COL1323
flower stamens from LR0105
skeleton leaves from LR0156
butterflies from LR0261

The Squirrel and the Fox challenge is for girly creations, the Papertake challenge is anything goes with the optional extra of making it summery, perfect!

Peace on Earth

Just a little Christmas card to share with you today, and one I made for a couple of festive challenges.  Jingle Belles want to see Peaceful creations and I remembered I had an old stamp that would be perfect .. .. and Winter Wonderland don't want to see any red or green, so I've avoided those colours and stayed with a monochrome white/grey blue theme which is what the ABC challenge are looking for with the letter 'M'.

My card is all Marianne dies, starting with the big candle die - quite an old one but new to me.  After I cut it out and embossed with the blue-grey chalk ink, I went over the candle drips with a crystal Wacco pearl pen which has given a shimmer look with a hint of pink in certain light! You can see that in the centre of the poinsettias it's just a sort of white, so it must be the ink that's giving the shimmer - nice though!

Here is the card:

I've embossed a piece of paper with Swiss Dots then added the embossed faux stitching around the edge, highlighting with the chalk in.  Then there's the 4 corners, text stamped onto the banner, mini poinsettias and the ivy sprays - job done!

So these are the Marianne Design dies I used for this little card:
embossed faux stitches with LR0161
corners from set LR0285
candle from set LR0243
text stamped onto banner from COL1324
mini poinsettias from LR0142
ivy sprays from LR0206

All being well I'm going to see a crafty friend tomorrow so will be back with my next card on Thursday - see you then!

Take a hike!

that's what Don is doing, hiking along the coast path, maybe he will find Daisy!  This card could be the companion to the last one I shared with you as many of the elements are the same, although I avoided any pink and chose to add more yellow to the mix.  Again I used the little sailing boat from the Summer scenery set and a smaller sun then repeated some of the sea and grass edges across the design to create the image.  I've coloured with my Copics and added the Lace Stickles to the waves, the same as before.

Here's the card:

I've used the same paper and turquoise card but this time cut the shells from white card and inked with an aqua chalk ink and chose blue and aqua Stickles to add the sparkle.  The little yellow shells I picked up on the beach, and the little piece of white shell too.  I've used all Marianne Design die cuts so here's the list:

Square turquoise mat for the image - LR0242
shells - LR0230
anchor and starfish - LR0232
swirls and frilly bits - LR0157
text and banner - COL1324

The Sweet Stampin' blog challenge is for a special boy/man card, and Allsorts challenge is for the guys, so I can enter both of those with my card.