CCT Little Bugs and butterflies

I know it's been a while, and I'm still not creating any new cards these days.  I made this one last year out of oddments of paper and a pretty Penny Black stamp from my stash, coloured with Copic pens.  When I saw the CCT challenge was for bugs and butterflies it jogged my memory and so, I decided to share it with you.  It's one that went into a charity box, so hopefully someone, somewhere, has it and likes it!

Now that summer has finally decided to make an appearance, my spare time is in the garden, and should it be raining I'm picking up my crochet hook. My son gave me a bamboo hook as a pressie, so I tried it out making flowers:

I did try out a flower with 3ply baby wool that I put onto a project - when it is finished I will share, and you cant see my crochet mistakes as I've managed to hide them under a die cut and some other flowers!

 This square is from a pattern called Faded Painted Roses, I'm hoping to make a few more for a blanket.

And the picture below is the centre square from the Demelza blanket designed by Catherine Bligh.  I have finished the main sections, just need to join up the pieces and work on the border, it's stunning, even if I do say so myself. The picture is the square unblocked - I still have to learn how to do that, but for now I've gone ahead and stitched the pieces together in the hope that a gentle wash and warm tumble dry will even things out.

I am so chuffed that Catherine asked me to pattern test the centre square from her next new design, it's going to be called Ross and is beautiful too - but for now it's still a secret!  The designs are inspired by the Poldark tv series and the colours in the landscapes here in Cornwall, I can hint that there is more of the granite greys and masculine shades in Ross.  It will be lovely to snuggle under them and watch the Ross and Demelza characters on tv when the new series comes out, that's if I can get them finished in time!

Thank you for stopping by and for staying with me.  I hope one day to get back to card making, or at least projects with my stamps and die collection.  It might not be for a while though as Mum is needing a lot of care and attention, and that is not a situation that is going to get any easier with the passage of time.

CCT Food and Drink

Well hello there! yes, I am here to share a card with you again after quite a while.  And, unfortunately it is a one off as I'm still not really doing any paper crafting these days. The theme this week at Cute Card Thursday is food and drink, pop on over to the blog to read all about it and for inspiration from the DT.

 This card is one I made a while ago for a special lady's birthday this Saturday, so I can't put it on my Facebook page just yet.

I have used lots of Marianne Design products on my creation, the picture is from a MD Mattie's Cutting sheet that came out last year, so I'm not sure if it is still available.  The background paper is from the Victorian Vintage pack, again I've had it a while so not sure if you can still get it.  I've roughed up the edges of the paper and the mat then added 3d snow and glitter.  The mat behind the picture is from an older die set too.  Here's a couple of close ups of some of the details:

I die cut the bunch of grapes in set LRO366 then coloured with various chalk inks, adding in a few extra leaves from the mini leaf punch die and the glass from LRO367.

And in this picture you can see the little piece of chicken wire die cut I've tucked in behind, together with more leaves, snippets of leaves and fronds from the grapes die, little flowers from the flower punch die and tiny butterflies.

Thank you for stopping by to take a peek at my card, and for sticking with me too despite my infrequent blogging.  I am being creative with crochet - something I can pick up and put down and follow a pattern so not have to think too much.  I need to be making something, but using someone else's skills at putting it all together!  Here's what I just finished:

Summer Garden

I've made a card! After an extended break from cardmaking, and with all my stash put away, a neighbour came and looked through my 'for sale' basket and selected a couple of cards to buy.  But, she wanted something pretty with flowers to send for a Congratulations on your new job card.  I explained that I couldn't do exactly that, but could make something simple with Congratulations.  I'm still not in the right head space for colouring images, and time to do any craft is a few minutes here and there between looking after Mum, Izzy and the home.  So here is my card, and the lady liked it so that's a bonus!

The background paper is a sheet from the Studio Light paper pad #31, the picture is from the Marianne Design Mattie's Beautiful Swans cutting sheet, and I've decorated with various MD die cut bits and pieces and a lace bow.  The flowers, leaves and butterflies are all from MD strip dies, I use them a lot and keep little jars for the pieces I haven't used, ready for next time.  The frame for my picture is the larger square from LRO234 - still playing with my new X-cut machine and had to tighten the rollers to get any embossing, plus it doesn't come with an embossing mat so I had to use my old one from the Cuttlebug hence not an even surface over all.  It's a learning curve with this machine, great for the big stuff, even better if I can buy an embossing mat.  But .. .. .. a bit OTT if I'm just wanting to cut a little leaf or single swirl embellishment.  I'm thinking I might need one of those mini machines - any recommendations?

And I even used another piece of the paper and decorated the inside, adding the die cut Congrats on a pretty plain white die cut frame and a few more mini butterflies from the jar.

So, having been AWOL for so long I'm not up to speed with what challenges are running.  I have seen that the Crafty Catz challenge is for female only cards, and I think my card fits that theme.

Well, my stash is still out on the dining table so who knows, I might be inspired to make another card before it starts to gather dust!  Thank you for stopping by to take a look, and hope you will come back when I have something else to share - bye for now!

CCT Easter

This week at Cute Card Thursday we are getting ready to celebrate Easter.  Our sponsor is Di's Digi Stamps, please stop by the blog to read all about the prize and see what the rest of the team have made.

My card is one of my UFOs from last year .. .. admit it, we all have them!  I had the My Paper World from Viva Decor stamped main image already coloured in, and the card base sorted out too with old papers from my stash and a pretty Marianne Design square mat.  And that is as far as it went - looking a bit naked I thought.  So, I got out the same set of stamps and decided to stamp and fussy cut out the little chicks, the bow, extra primrose flowers and a couple of daffs.  I added touches of sparkle too and die cut 3 mini eggs from scraps of the paper I still had in my stash.  I little touch of pearl trim and that's it folks!  It's plainer than some of my recent makes, but I like the fresh feel for Spring.

Here's a close up of the little embellishment I created with the fussy cut 'extras'.

Thank you again for stopping by.  Looking after Mum and the house/garden are still taking up the majority of my time, but hopefully I will have some help in the garden very soon - giving the back lawn it's first cut nearly did me in and took two days .. .. not that it's much of a lawn after Izzy's waterings and the dreadful winter.  I will have to buy some grass seed for the muddy patches once my knight in shining armour gardening chap has done a little hard landscaping and given the smaller borders a solid edge in the hope that Izzy will realise where the grass stops and the dirt starts, and where he can run and where he can't!

Marianne Design Divas Shaped Card

Time for the next Marianne Design Divas challenge, and sorry I'm a day late posting .. .. time just runs away with me these days!  We have changed the rules a little to make it easier for you to enter so please check the blog for details.  Our sponsors this time are Marianne Design and Buddly Crafts, I've linked up the MD products I used to the Buddly Crafts shop to make your shopping easier!

The option is to make a shaped card, and with Easter not far off, I've made an egg card.  It does stand up on it's own as I cut a sliver off the bottom of the back, but for my picture I've lent the card up against a couple pieces of rough rose quartz.  Any how, on to the details of the products:

Country Style paper pack PK9130

Mulberry paper RB2219

Fern die LR0403

Wave borders LR0395

Branch from Pine Cone set LR0286

Flower petals from CR1202

Flower inner petals from CR1203

Pearl Butterflies CA3116

Green ribbon from JU0951

Tulle JU0924

Here's a close up of the flowers I made.  I have a confession - I made these last year but have had them in my bit box for ages. so I'm not entirely sure what die I used for the crumpled inner petals .. ..

The bigger outer petals are definitely from CR1202, the smallest die.  I've cut from Mulberry paper then inked with yellow inks, spritzed and shaped so that when dry they hold.  I think the inner petals are from the smallest die in set CR1203, but any small petalled die would work.  Again inked, spritzed and scrunched up.  I coloured the pearl centres with Copic pen so they would be yellow instead of white.  The feathers seemed a nice addition for Easter, and I used some of the flat back pearl trim from Buddly Crafts to accentuate the curve of the wave borders and there's a little raffia from my stash.

Thank you for stopping by, please take a look at the beautiful projects the rest of the DT have made, they are stunning - I wish I had their talent.  Special thanks to Monika who inspires me to have a go at making my own flowers.  She has tutorials on her blog if you want to try too!

The Creative Inspirations blog theme is 'Nature' so I will enter my card with them seeing as I have flowers and feathers and natural raffia.

Going Green

I've gone through my box of card blanks and found a pile of envies this long skinny shape.  And as I have quite a selection of coloured SU! card I can cut up for card blanks - expect to see more!

You might recognise the little picture as it's the smaller version from the sheet I used a couple cards back, Mattie's Beautiful Flowers.  The pretty mat is from the die set Anya's Circles LR0327 and I fixed the design to the base with 3d foam.  The paper is a plain green and I've overstamped behind the image with a small diamond pattern, but in green so you can't see it!  The right hand side I've embossed with the Pearls folder DF3424 then inked and added sparkle to the bigger dots. I had a tiny piece of green Marrakesh trellis cut out in my bit box so added that down the side.  The ribbon is from the Victorian Christmas selection and is lovely and soft so easy to tie in a bow.  The text is cut twice with die LR0223 and I've added sparkle with Stickles to the top layer.  I've created a little floral corner and added tiny butterflies and little pearl strings to finish off.  Here's a close up of the flowers:

The dies I used here were all Marianne Design, of course:

mini butterflies CR1354
mini leaves CR1336
mini flowers CR1323
small poinsettia flowers LR0142


The Crafty Catz challenge is for ribbon and bling this week, so I can enter with them.  And at Crafty Cardmakers they are asking you to go green, so I'm with them too!

Thank you for stopping by to take a peek.  Have a lovely weekend and fingers crossed the sun keeps shining where you are!

CCT Ribbon and Lace

 This week at Cute Card Thursday we would like to see ribbon and/or lace on your creations - I used a bit of both!

Our sponsor is All Dressed Up - please stop by the CCT blog to read all about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have made.

For my card I stamped up this LOTV wedding carriage, I've had the stamp a while but this is the first time it's been inked!  Colouring was easy with my Copics and Stardust Stickles on the bride's gown.

Here's the card:

It's fairly small, a 5" square, so not a lot of room for embellishments.  The papers are old magazine freebies by Nitwits and I've managed to add a die cut lace strip as well as real lace, some die cut blooms and butterflies then a little organza ribbon bow and tiny heart charm.  More Stickles added to the flowers and the butterflies for added sparkle and liquid pearls in the centres of the flowers.  Die cuts are Marianne Design, of course, so here's the list:

Triangle lace scallop edge LR0385

flowers from smallest die in CR1203

leaves from bird on branch die LR0138

butterflies from strip die CR1354

Thanks for stopping by to take a look at my card, I hope you like it.  I'm still busy looking after Mum most of the time, and trying to keep the house and garden clean and tidy - it's hard work on my own.

Mother's Day

For our next challenge on Cute Card Thursday, we are looking to Mother's Day and asking you to create something for a Mum, a Grandma or special lady.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Bunny Zoe's Crafts, please stop by the CCT blog to read all about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have made.  My card is for Nan, and I have stamped up one of my old Sarah Kay designs and coloured with my Copics as though it's a Grandma sharing a moment with her Grandson.

The papers are from the new Studio Light paper pad #31, very vintage and very pretty.  I've over stamped the top layer with the new Marianne Design Anja's script stamp and blinged up the edges with the 3d snow and loose glitter added on top.  Then I've decorated with liquid pearls, die cut blooms and butterflies and a tiny piece of wired organza ribbon.  Here's a close up of the corner:

The flowers I die cut from mulberry paper with Marianne Design dies COL1323, CR1323 then inked, spritzed and shaped them. The butterflies are from the strip die CR1354,  the text is cut with die COL1397, and there's a snippet of trellis from the Marrakesh folder and die set DF3416.

The Creative Inspirations blog challenge is for something pretty, seeing as it's for Mother's Day - so I can enter my card with them.

Thanks again for stopping by.  I am just about managing with Mum and finding a little time to craft now and then, but it does take a while to get anything finished .. .. so I end up with several UFOs on my dining table waiting for inspiration for what to do next!  Hopefully I'll finish something soon and can share it with you.

CCT Flowers

Hello there!  It's time for our next challenge at Cute Card Thursday, this time we want to see some flowers on your creations - stop by the blog to see what the rest of the DT made and read all about the prize.

I just have the one picture for you today, the camera isn't playing ball on the close ups and this one is a bit off on the colours - ah well!  I've used another pretty picture from the Mattie's Flowers cutting sheet, the picture is actually a circle but I've cut it into an oval to fit the pretty Marianne Design lacy frame CR1204.  The background paper is a sheet that looks like floorboards from the Country Style paper pack, I've roughed up and inked the edges for a more rustic look as well as inking the edges of the picture and lace mat.  To embellish I raided the bit boxes and found the little green hearts, lavender swirls and flower sequins.  I've cut a fancy MD die cut in half to decorate the edge of the card, inking the embossed areas to tie things in.  And I found the snowflake circle die already cut out in my bit box ready to tuck in behind the picture on top of a piece of jute ribbon and length of lace.  I've die cut a few tiny flowers with the tiny flower strip die then finished off with scraps of ribbon, twine and liquid pearls.

Thanks for stopping by again.  I'm feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment with trying to look after Mum as well as the house and garden - and finding time to craft and catch up with blogging, Facebook etc.  I really appreciate the visits and can see from my stats that lots of ladies are stopping by - so thank you each and everyone.

I Do!

I recently got to play with a couple of my older LOTV Wedding stamps, and this is one of the cards I made.

This image is 'I do!' and I've coloured with my Copics then added lots of sparkle with Stardust Stickles and glaze pen over the hearts.

Here's the card:

Having difficulty focusing the camera again .. .. and having to take the picture under the cooker hood light as it's back to dull misty days here in Cornwall.  I've used white pearl paper for the embossed background and for my die cuts - all Marianne Design of course.  Here's a close up of the flowers and the list of dies I used:

Better focus this time!

The embossed background I made with the new folder DF3424 called Pearls - it's going to be one of my favourites!

And I've cut a swirl edge with one of the dies in the wave border set  LR0395 tucking a little tiara lace behind.

I've cut the new star doily LR0397 to tuck in behind the image.

The flowers and leaves are cut with the strip dies I love so much, the leaves from CR1336, and the flowers from CR1323.

The Addicted to Stamps challenge is to use die cuts with your stamped design, I think I'm ok to enter with them! And over at Sweet Stampin' the theme is for glitter and sparkle, plenty of that too!

Thank you for stopping by, I'm not sure when I'll be around again but I do have several half finished projects on the go .. .. enjoy the rest of your weekend - and hey! it's brightening up here so I'd best make the most of it and take Izzy for a quick walk.

CCT Warm Colours

Well I'm actually blogging my DT card for Cute Card Thursday, on Thursday!  And here in North Cornwall the sun is shining, the wind has dropped, the birds are singing and pecking away in my garden - hopefully eating all the pesky bugs.  It actually feels that Spring might finally have arrived, but shhhhh, I shouldn't talk to soon!

So, this week at CCT we want to warm things up, show us something made with warm colours.  Looking after Mum has been a wee bit exhausting at times so I haven't had time to stamp and colour any images lately, instead I've used one of the pretty images from a Marianne Design Mattie's Beautiful Flowers cutting sheet.  I covered my cream base card with a piece of patterned paper from the Country Style paper pack, it's got a subtle pattern but I've added to it by stamping the little dots with Sahara Sand chalk ink, randomly here and there.  The stamp comes with the Party Numbers die set and I just inked without using a block then casually stamped not worrying too much about where the dots went .. .. been watching some of the mixed media clips on You Tube for ideas!

Around the edge I've added golden glitter on top of the 3d snow, then there's little bits of ric rac ribbon and a heart charm, die cuts from cream card and a scrap of patterned paper, and then the flowers - here's a close up:

I've cut them from Mulberry paper then inked the edges with a golden yellow chalk ink, spritzed with water, moulded with a ball tool and when dry added a tiny black gem to the centres to tie in with the picture.  I cut a few tiny flowers from cream card using the flower strip die and, of course, I had to use some of the little butterflies too. I am really liking those strip dies that Marianne is bringing out.  Here's the list of the dies I used on this card:

text die and stamp - COL1324

flowers - COL1323

tiny flowers COL1323

tiny butterflies - CR1354

leaves snipped from LR0137

triangle border - LR0385

Marrakesh trellis - DF3416

Thank you for stopping by to take a peek at my card. Can I remind you that the new Marianne Design Divas challenge is now up for the next month with the theme of monochromatic.  I didn't get a chance to create a DT project this time, although this card could almost fit the bill .. .. ..

Now, I've been following the Mixed Media blog for a while now, trying to get more adventurous with my crafting.  The February theme is for glitter, so I am hoping that my mix of glitter on top of the thick snow tex will count, along with the mix of stamping on my background paper, the inking on my die cuts and the different papers will count and I can enter my card with them.

CCT Sweet Valentine

I'm late again!  This week at Cute Card Thursday we are celebrating Sweet Valentine's, please stop by the blog to read about the prize and for more information from the DT.

As my regular readers will know, I'm busy looking after Mum at the moment so crafting has not been a priority.  I do find it therapeutic and must make some time for myself - doctors orders! Thankfully I've been given the green light to go back on HRT so hopefully the hot flushes and aching joints will soon be a thing of the past .. .. had I known what was going to happen with Mum I'd never have stopped it, but hey ho! who knows what's around the corner.

So, my card for the Sweet Valentine's challenge is just a die cut creation with goodies from Marianne Design - I'll give you a list, but first here's a close up of the flowers I made:

I've cut them from the pink sheet of mulberry paper in the mixed pack, then spritzed and shaped with a ball tool to give dimension.  I've used a Rose Pink pearl pen for the centres and also across my lace and on the butterflies.  Here's the list of Marianne Design goodies with links to the Buddly Craft shop - just in case you want to go shopping!

Country Style paper pack

Tiara Sweet lace

hearts die set CR1225

flowers die set COL1323

leafy swirl die set LR0271

mini butterflies die CR1354

charming alphabet set COL1397

I hope you like my card.  Thanks for stopping by to take a look.  I've not been on the pc for several days so not sure if there are any challenges I can link up to .. .. please let me know if you see any!

I see that the Marianne Design Kreadivas blog challenge theme is for a project with MD goodies and the option of 'love' - so I can enter with them!

CCT is in the Pink!

Apologies for being late again sharing my DT card for Cute Card Thursday where we are 'In the Pink!' - so looking for lots of pink on your creations.  Our sponsor is Bunny Zoe Crafts, please stop by the CCT blog to read all about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have created.

I have stamped up one of my older LOTV designs, this is Emma in the Rose Garden, and I used a grey Momento ink for a change to keep things soft.  I've coloured with my Copic pens then added Stardust Stickles to the flowers and hem of her dress, and glaze pen on the butterflies - and it's not showing up!

Here is the card:

I've used another of the 5" square base cards that I thought looked better with the papers I'd chosen. My paper and die cuts are all by Marianne Design and on the papers I've added the embossed faux stitching then inked the edges with a soft grey/green chalk ink and a touch of Stardust glitter on the pretty flower design in the corner.  The circle is threaded with pink organza ribbon and I've added a quadruple loop bow at the bottom - and that means I can enter a new challenge I found called Craft-Dee BowZ where it's anything goes with a hand tied bow.  A few soft pink pearl blobs finish things off.

The Marianne Design dies I've used are the mini butterflies CR1354 and the ribbon doily with rosette CR1350.  The pretty papers are from the Country Style pack.

Thank you for stopping by to take a look at my card.  Things are still topsy turvey here with Mum but with some improvement.  I have found a decorator to come and finish off the painting jobs I don't have time for anymore, and to re-decorate my bedroom and hang the wallpaper I've had for 3 years - it looks fab!  And with family visiting over the weekend I'm only just getting my breath back - but hopefully it will be a quieter week and I can find some time to play with my craft stash.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

Rudolph for Rudolph Days!

Here is my Rudolph card for the January Rudolph Days challenge - I'm just making it on the last day!

The image is another of Sylvia's designs at Wee Stamps and isn't he cute!  I've coloured with my Copic pens and added touches of glaze pen.

Here's the card:

It's a C6 blank with a simple layout using up a piece of old Nitwits paper.  I've added my embossed faux stitching around the edge sof the image and paper and inked with Sahara Sand chalk ink to bring the stitches out.

For embellishment I've added a length of pretty pearl trim over lace from my bit box.

Thanks for stopping by, I'm scheduling this post so fingers crossed you get to see it, and hopefully I will have time to come back and add it to the Rudolph Days link.

Ladies Only at CCT

Sorry I am late again sharing my DT card with you for the Ladies Only theme at Cute Card Thursday.  It has been a tough couple of days with Mum, and both of us seem worn out this morning so whilst she is sleeping I have a chance to blog!

This little darling is Dyanne drawn by Sylvia Zett for Wee Stamps - I have the digi version, thankfully they are available again.  I've coloured her with my Copic pens and added touches of glaze and glitter, although it is difficult to see in the picture.  Here is the card:

It's another of my big 7" square blanks, and as most of my newer papers are either A5 or 6" square, I had to go rummaging in my old 12" box.  These are pretty designs from several years ago by Imaginice (think that's how it's spelt), and I have mostly bits left so made the most of them.  The die cuts are by Marianne Design and I've finished off with a little bow and more of the liquid pearl blobs. 

These are the Marianne Design dies I used:

Birthday die plus stamp 'Girl' COL1349

heart with waste hearts CR1256

flowers COL1323

leaves LR0226

mini butterflies CR1354

Thank you for stopping by to take a look.  I will try and link up to some challenges if I have time to go look for them, do let me know of any that you think might be suitable for me to enter with this card.

Thank you to Sarah for telling me about the As You Like It Challenge - I'm entering my card with all the layers because, like Sarah, I have lots of papers to use up!

Just Boys!

So sorry I am late sharing my DT card with you for Cute Card Thursday's Just Boys challenge. Our sponsor for this one is Di's Digi stamps, please stop by the blog to read all about it and see what the rest of the team made.

My friend Blankina kindly sent me this stamped image to colour, he's called Snoesjes 'Goal!'  Also, if you like colouring with Copic pens, like me, stop by her blog for a fabulous colour chart! It's unusual but shows the colour families, with numbers, in an ingenious but easy to see way.

And here is my card:

Another simple one with old papers from my stash, punched red stars, a little red trim and the Marianne Design die cut Birthday greeting, oh and the little metal gem too!

Finally, Mum is home from the hospital.  It has been a stressful time with several unexpected medical problems I wasn't expecting .. .. but hopefully with some tweaking of her meds and the help of the Community Nurses it should be a short set back.  She is confined to bed at the moment so I am having to do absolutely everything for her .. .. .. but she is eating well so I'm cook as well!  It does mean I'll not be around much so sorry for not leaving comments or getting around to visit.

Vintage style at Marianne Design Divas

The new challenge over on the Marianne Design Divas blog is to create something with a vintage style and at least 3 products by Marianne Design. Our sponsors for this challenge are Buddly Crafts and Marianne Design.  The DT have produced beautiful examples for your inspiration so why not pop over and take a peek!

I have taken a picture from the Matties Beautiful Flowers sheet to make a Spring card - I do hope it's not so far away, I'm tired of all the rain! I've die cut the oval image then inked the edges before fixing to the beautiful oval die cut frame, where I've used the same ink to highlight the embossed areas.

Here's the card, I've had to photo enhance as the colours were looking too pale and washed out, so perhaps it's not quite this bright in real life and what looks like a layer of kraft coloured card is actually more caramel in colour, the card is much warmer in real life with soft caramel tones and chalk inked highlights and edges with Sahara Sand:



I've added the sparkly edging with the Viva Decor 3d snow pen and fine pale golden glitter from my stash, and also added the caramel coloured pearl dots in places on the paper too.  The pretty lace is by MD and is much creamer also.  I've die cut the flowers from Mulberry paper then inked with yellow chalk ink, spritzed, scrunched and then when dry teased them out.  The leaves I've die cut from the caramel and green card and inked the edges for the vintage style.

Here's a close up of the corner embellishment.

Marianne Design products I used for this card:

Mattie's Beautiful Flowers sheet

Victorian Vintage paper bloc PK9092

Mulberry paper

Vintage lace JU0898

banner and text COL1324

flowers COL1323

leaves CR1336

leaves LR0226

oval frame LR0240

Marrakesh trellis die DF3416

On the We Love Vintage blog the current challenge is for vintage style with lace - I hope that's how it's translated anyway.  So I will enter my card with them as I do have vintage lace and think I might have got the style sussed at last!

A bit of fun at CCT

This week at Cute Card Thursday our challenge is to show us some fun times!  Our sponsor for this challenge is All Dressed Up, please stop by the CCT blog to read about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have made.

I have made a little 5" square card with various Marianne Design goodies, and being for a boy I stayed clear of the flowers!  The image is skateboard Don coloured with my Copics and cut out with a die in set CR1223, and I used a die in the same set to cut the edge of the paper scrap down the side.  The papers are from the Garden Party pack, and I've inked and distressed the edges. I die cut the star behind my image from cordinations cardstock so I could distress with an emery board, using the biggest die from the set CR1226.  The text I die cut with the new Charming Alphabet dies COL1397 then finished of with the narrow cream ric rac and MD domed metallic gems.

It's been a busy few days here with meetings to try and arrange for Mum to come home from the hospital.  Most have gone well, but a few hiccups in getting support for me to help with showering etc and a granny sitter for when I need to be away for more than an hour or so.  She is doing much better and actually starting to become more mobile so I will have to take over her physio too as the waiting list for home physio visits is long .. .. ..  Next week I should be taking delivery of a hospital bed and other equipment, then fingers crossed.  She sleeps more nowadays so I should be able to find time to craft, once we settle into a routine.  So, I am still an infrequent blogger and am sorry for not visiting/commenting very much, but I do appreciate all the visits you make to see what I've been making.

Wee Lullaby

I have made a card with one of the Wee Stamps digi designs I recently managed to get printed out.  She is called Lullaby, and I coloured her with my Copic pens and then added lots of Stardust Stickles.

I also found an old tiny rubber stamp in my stash that echoed the sprays in the design so I've stamped around the edges of the design, at the bottom in dark ink then along the top and sides in a softer chalk ink .. .. difficult to see but it is there!

Here's the card:

I'm still playing with the vintage/shabby style and distressing the edges of all my layers.  The papers are from the Marianne Design Sweet Baby bloc, I'm not sure if it is still available, but I still have some to use up!  I've created floral embellishments with die cut flowers from mulberry paper that I've inked, spritzed and scrunched up, then teased out and fixed pearls in the middle.  I used flower dies COL1323 and the smallest die in CR1204 as well as a few tiny left over leaves from CR1336, little pink sparkly sprays from LR0106 and the swirly leaves in LR0271.

And as the new butterfly punch die CR1354 came today I just had to cut out some to finish things off - aren't they sweet! I really like those punch dies with the tiny die cuts.  A few blobs of liquid pearls here and there and I was done, hope you like it.

The challenge at the In The Pink blog is anything goes, so I can enter my pink lullaby card with them.

Christmas Romance

I was looking through my card album and came across this little one that I hadn't got around to blogging - so here it is as my first Christmas card for 2016!

The new Don and Daisy Christmas Romance stamp from Marianne Design is coloured with my Copic pens, then a sprinkling of frosty snow added.

Here's the card:

It's on a 5" square base card and the papers are a patchwork from the MD Scandinavian Winter pack with narrow white ric-rac braid covering the joins, I've loved the designs in this pack but now I just have oddments left and this was a good way of using up some of them.  I've used a selection of Marianne Design die cuts to embellish, finishing off with white pearl pen and more glitter frosting. 

These are the MD dies I used:

red flowers from Mulberry paper with flower set COL1323

pale blue flowers and centres of red flowers with flower set CR1323

leaves from set CR1245

snowflake from set LRO327

banner from set COL1325

The Jingle Belles blog challenge is for something old (my papers) and something new (the new Don and Daisy Christmas stamp).  And, over at Crafty Catz the theme is for flowers so with my sprinkling of red and white festive blooms, plus little blue ones to the side, I can enter with them too.

Enjoy your weekend - I'm stalking the postman for some new crafty stash .. .. .. fingers crossed my packages arrive tomorrow then I have the weekend to play!

Hey! what's new at CCT

The new theme at Cute Card Thursday is Hey! what's new .. .. interpret as you like.  Our challenge is being sponsored by Bunny Zoe's Crafts, please stop by the CCT blog to read all about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have created.

For my DT card I used a new Wee Stamps digi image called Jillian that Sylvia Zett gave away as a freebie on her blog just before Christmas.  I've managed to print her off and colour with my Copic pens.

Here is my card:

I've taken one of the 7" square cards I recently got and paper from my stash - no idea who made it as it's a single 12x12 sheet I picked up at a craft store years ago.  I've inked the edges of the mat card layer and paper with soft pink chalk ink, and also the die cut image and mat too.  Then it was lace, pearls and die cuts to finish things off.  I kept it quite simple, and left off a text as I'm not sure what occasion it will be used for yet.  The die cuts are all Marianne Design - these ones:

heart circle doily CR1251

Anya's fancy oval (cut in half) behind image LR0236

leaves from CR1245

butterflies from LR0261

flowers COL1323

Creative Inspirations challenge is for flowers, so I can enter my card with them.

Short and sweet from me tonight as it's been a tiring day.  Izzy is all smooth and sleek from the doggy groomers, but feeling the cold especially as we are getting stormy hail showers!  Either we stay indoors or I'll have to buy him a warm rain coat!  I risked visiting Mum and didn't cough too badly, she is very down in the dumps but cheered up chatting to me.  Unfortunately her short term memory is virtually non-existent so I have to keep repeating conversations over and over, and she is not too good physically although is brighter now that her iron levels are back up.  There is going to be a meeting next Tuesday afternoon with family and health careers to decide what and where is best for her - the family think she will do better back home in familiar surroundings, but we will need support from the community doctors, nurses and careers.  We will have to wait and see .. ..

Sarah Kay Kiss

I have had this cute Sarah Kay stamped image in my UFO box for quite some time .. .. having run out of the pale denim blue Copic colour I had to order a refill, and then I couldn't decide what style to go for .. ..

Well, I'm having a go again at the shabby chic style, with perhaps a hint of vintage - I'm not sure what the difference is apart from the cards I've seen where vintage seems darker and shabby chic has tons of lace embellishments and lots of rough edges.  So, this is my version of a combination of both.

Here it is:

The picture is rather wishy washy as I've had to take it under the cooker hood lights again - when will it stop raining!  The actual card is more beige/brown in real life and the lace is cream, ah well!

I've distressed the layers and added little bits of embellishment.  The papers and die cuts are all Marianne Design, as is the lace. The flowers are cut from mulberry paper then inked, spritzed, scrunched up and when dry, teased out to give the shabby look.  The little hearts are waste that I saved from cutting out doily LR0185 for another project.

These are the Marianne Design dies I used:

image cut with die in set LR0235

flowers COL1323

mini leaves CR1336

birds LR0290

I'm joining in a new to me challenge at Stamping Sensations, where the theme is to include some die cut elements along with a stamped focal point.  I hope they like my card.

That's all for now dear friends, I will back soon as I've been playing today .. .. the cold is still with me but hopefully on the way out.  Mum is still in the hospital and not doing so well, but once I am up and about again I'm hopeful the family will be able to arrange for her to come home with visits from the district nurse etc to help with her care.  I will have to put my nursing cap back on - it's been a while though, around 40 years since I trained and worked in a hospital.  Back in those days once you married and started a family it was difficult to continue which is why I changed careers.  But some basic skills you never forget and I would like to care for Mum in her own home for whatever time she has left.