Alex's birthday and Greg's Valentine

 Hi all, here this evening with a birthday card for my lovely niece who turned 16 yesterday. Hard to believe, it feels no time since she was a wee tot! I had to do a last minute addition of the heart border as I cut my base panel of pink totally wonky and could not get it straightened, and that kinda threw my placement of the silver 16 so it looks more squished than I had planned!  She a Valentine's Day baby, so there's always a heart or two on her card.  Stamp from Lili of the Valley, coloured with polychromos. 

Addicted to Stamps #510 - dies +/or stencils 

Word Art Wednesday #738/739 - anything goes 

We love Stamping February - hearts

And this is Greg's Valentine using a real oldie Whipper Snapper stamp.  I had gone on the hunt through my stash for a pack of red card and came across a pack of kraft card that I had absolutely no recollection of buying! The love die is from Penny Black.

As you like it - cute or elegant - I'd say 90% of my stamps are cute so an easy choice for me!

Sweet Stampin' - no designer paper

Let's Craft and Create #228 - from the heart

Crafty Calendar February - love is in the air

 

We've had nothing but rain all year so when a sunny day coincided with a day off work, we treated ourselves to a wee trip to the beach and fish'n'chips by the sea. It was absolutely Baltic though, and snow on the Antrim Hills on the way up, definitely not a day for a paddle! It must have been a very rough high tide as the beach was covered in sandy foam (and not a sinner on it but ourselves!)

Greg and David's birthdays - a twofer

 Hi all, roll on Spring... apparently we've had the wettest January in almost 150 years, and February is shaping up not much better.  We'll be going rusty soon!  Anyway, here this wet evening to share a couple of cards for Greg and my brother. Their birthdays are close and I was chasing time, so they ended up the same but different!  I've dug out this 20 year old stamp from Whipper Snapper - isn't it fab when you still love them after all this time!  

For Greg's card I went to the bother of masking off my stamp and double stamping it so his neck would be even longer ... and then went and and stamped it in virtually the same place 🤣. Oh and I was delighted to come across some lost googly eyes on a recent hunt through my stash! 

Cut it up #349 - this makes me happy - my stamp and googly eyes!

Addicted to Stamps #510 - dies +/or stencils

For my brother's card I used this nice blue and silver shiny card and run it through an embossing folder.

Word Art Wednesday #738/739 - anything goes 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - add some texture 

Cards for Renee, Andrea, Edmond and Shona!

Hi all! I'm caught out every year with all my June birthdays, you'd think I'd know better by now and not have such a mad rush every year!  Anyway, apologies in advance for the long post....

First up is this one for my Aunt using this Gina K stamp, which I love but it does take me an age to colour.  I hadn't intended to have sparkly butterflies but I lifted clear gloss instead of glue (they're decanted into the same design bottles), made a mess so just went for it and got my glitter out instead! 

• Allsorts # 825 - what makes you happy - I find 90% of my pleasure in making cards comes from colouring the images
• Addicted to Stamps #494 - any occasion 

Next up is for my Uncle's 80th birthday, using a Penny Black yacht, a couple of stencils and some sparkly silver die cuts.

• Just Us Girls #779 - word week - number 
• Cut it up #332 - masculine 

Third is this Whipper Snapper cutie for my sister-in-law with a few die cut flowers to finish it off...

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - fur, feathers +/ or flowers
• Fab'n Funky #618 - use die cuts
• Word Art Wednesday #702 - anything goes 

And lastly some Gerda Steiner chickens for my friend.  The dude in the middle is popped up and a few clear sequins to finish.  Not adding it to any challenges as it was inspired by one I saw on Gerda Steiners blog, but wanted to post it for my own record.

Pinks and purples

 Hi all.  I've just noticed that both my cards this evening have a similar colour theme.

This first one uses an old LOTV stamp and some DP I bought a while back and have struggled to use!

Layout from Global Design #326

As You Like It - favourite colouring medium - I love my polychromos .  It can take a while to build up the layers of colour but they blend beautifully.  I also prefer them over markers as they don't unexpectedly run out on you!! 

Sparkles Monthly Challenge #148 - ribbon, raffia or twine

And this second uses another old favourite from Whipper Snapper, this time coloured in watercolours for a change - it's definitely quicker to colour with them than pencils... or maybe I just didn't put in as much effort 😉   I might actually go over the centre of the purple flowers and make them a bit darker.

My time to Craft #473 - floral

CAS Mix Up January - loose watercolouring

Pupdate...

Miss Molly got a parcel delivered from Amazon today, took her about half an hour to get into it and get her new ball out!  And after chasing it round the kitchen for another while she's now fast asleep.  Money well spent hahaha.  Supposedly it's puncture and chew proof, so we'll see!!

Floral sympathies

 Hi folks, it's been a brrrr chilly couple of days here, the weatherman definitely got it right! We had a bit of snow last night so it was all very scenic this morning, but I'm glad to say it's all away, bar a couple of sad looking snowmen ;)

I've a few sympathy cards this evening, I never seem to have any in my stash.  Both use an older stamp from Whipper Snapper - I absolutely love their stamps but I get whacked with customs charges every time, so I try to resist as best I can!

Bonus points for this one using up some DP that's been in my stash for years, I was lucky to have some pale blue card that matched it perfectly and just enough left over for my sentiment and corners :)

• Layout from Mojo Monday #557
• Pixies Snippets Playground #400

• The Flower Challenge #55 - pastels
• Simon Says Stamp Monday - layer it

A couple of my chilly tulips with their snowy hats!

Bunnies and zebras!

 Hi All  😁 I'm celebrating the return of my mojo with not one but two cards this evening!  I've been mostly CASEing other folks cards this past few weeks so it's nice to have a bit of my own spark for a change! 

This bunny card was inspired by this week's brilliant challenge pic over at Inspired By (I'd love one of those blankets!)   I doodled in some stripes and various marks on the bunnies and added gloss to yer man's specs and glitter to a few of the coloured bits.  I've never thought of doodling on this image before but I think I'd definitely do it again!

(Mama Elephant stamp; Paper Smooches sentiment)

Also for Cut It Up #220 - black and white and a pop of colour (though my next card would also do for it too!)

Some evenings when there's nothing on telly I just get comfy on the sofa and colour away.  This little guy was done during Marcella which really did my head my head in so I was glad to have this to distract me! It makes me so cross that so many of the TV programmes set in Northern Ireland depict us all as total nutters!  

(Whipper Snapper stamp; Elizabeth Craft Designs stencil; sentiment die unknown)

Time Out #182 - 7th birthday celebration

Addicted to Stamps #400 - dies and stencils 

Word Art Wednesday #481-482 - anything goes 

From one extreme...

Hi All!  Sorry I've been MIA again, I'd absolutely zero mojo so just gave myself a break from crafting and blogging.  But it's definitely now time for a boot up the derriere and to get on with it, mojo or no mojo!
I'm off all next week hurrah - we get Mon & Tues off for the traditional Twelfth of July holiday and then work decided to close the rest of the week.  I've lots of jobs planned but we'll see how that goes!  I can finally tick haircut off my list, got it done on Thursday so I'm a bit more ready to face civilisation again ;)

I've a really simple card and a OTT card this evening!  This one uses an old favourite monster from Whipper Snapper - coloured with polychromos and gloss/glitter added to his .... ummmm ... scales?  I've no idea what to call those bumpy bits!!

Stamping Sensations July - all creatures great and small
Seize the Birthday #194 - red, white and blue
Make My Monday #126 - stars and/or stripes
Cardz 4 guys #248 - red white and blue

I'd started making this one for last week's Sketch Saturday challenge but faffed about too much and missed the deadline.  It's a tad too busy for me, reckon it all got very complicated with that too snazzy DP.  I shoved in those snowflakes too and kinda wish I'd left well alone!  It was another faffing session trying to figure out where to put the sentiment - tried die cuts and strips of card in various shades before just stamping it down!
(that black strip is mirror card)
Not sure if I'm loving this one or not, but here you go anyway ;)

ABC Christmas - O is for Over the top
Word Art Wednesday 446-447 - anything goes

A monster birthday wish

Just a quickie post tonight with my brother's birthday card as I need to get it in the post tomorrow.

I've used an old Whipper Snapper stamp - coloured with polychromos, sparkle added to his spines and clear gloss to his eyes and nails.  My circle background is a really old embossing folder, I think it was maybe one of the first ones I bought and it still gets an airing now and then.

• Layout from MFT Wednesday Sketch #474
• Monster theme inspired by the Library Challenge #52
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - anything goes

Two old oldies!

Sunday evening already, how'd that happen so quickly!  Time definitely goes quicker at the weekend!

I've two real oldies this evening - the date on this Whipper Snapper kitty stamp was 2008 so it's lasting well!  Coloured with polychromos and popped up on foam pads. Clear gloss added to his nose and thermometer.

• Layout from MFT Sketch #472
• Papercraft challenge #54 - use 2 DPs

And this stamp from Anita's is even older with a date stamp on it of 2002!  I think it was maybe one of the first Christmas stamps I ever bought and I still ink it up now and then.  He comes with a load of stars round him but I masked them off and then inked up my sky.  I hadn't intended to add so many stars but I made a bit of a hash inking the sky and needed to take the focus off it!  

• AAA Cards #157 - one layer + polar animal
• ABC Christmas - A is for Any Christmas
• Christmas Cards All Year Round January - anything Christmas

Love bunny and a confused penguin

Such a bright beautiful winter's day we had today, the sun was splitting the trees, so it was nice to get all wrapped up and get to the local park for a dander.  I couldn't believe how much their daffodils are up already! It was Ruby's first outing after a surprise visit to the vets on Thursday to get 4 teeth out, poor wee thing. But she's back to her old self now, and woofing down her dinner :)

This first card uses some real old oldies - I'm not even entirely sure how ancient my Whipper Snapper bunny is!  I've also used a partial sentiment from an old Paper Smooches set and for some reason my MFT heart die rarely gets an outing!
Coloured with polychromos, sparkle added to the big heart and clear gloss to his nose.

• Layout based on CAS(e) This Sketch #355
• Crafty Cardmakers #248 - anything goes
• Creative Inspirations January - I've gone for the 'something old'

This card got a wee bit confused in the making!  It started off as a penguin based one for the Christmas Kickstart challenge, and this little penguin was the one I chose.  So then I thought my boozing buddy would be perfect for the 'cheers' challenge over at MFT Birthday and I thought I could make it that it could also double as a winter birthday card. But now I'm not sure it actually looks like either a Christmas card or a birthday card!!  Maybe it's more of a Thank You for after Christmas?

• Christmas Kickstart #27 - penguin parade
• MFT Birthday Project - cheers to the New Year
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - use a stencil

A flying Zebra and Get Well roses

We've had a lovely bright day today, but it's all change for tomorrow.  Storm Brendan is due to hit with 85mph gales, so it definitely won't be an umbrella type of day!  This little guy would be blown to Spain LOL

I had a little slice of this swirly DP in my pile that I knew would come in handy and it was just big enough to slide behind my hearts die :)
Zebra popped up on foam pads, sparkle added to the edge of the umbrella and shine added to his hooves.  Little blue stars from stash.

• Layout from AAA Cards #156
• Pixie's Snippets Playground #369
• Your Next Stamp #130 - shades of blue

I couldn't get a decent pic of this one, you'll have to trust me that it looks much better in real life LOL

I've discovered that I can colour in and watch TV at the same time, mostly thanks to my fab new sharpener that catches all the shavings, so I'm not up and down every 2 minutes to sharpen my pencils!

Floral image from Clearly Besotted, coloured with polychromos and then splattered with pink and green watercolours.

• Layout from Freshly Made Sketches #417
• Simon Says Stamp Monday - fun with florals
• Word Art Wednesday #420-421 - anything goes

December Calendar and a little elf

So here's December's calendar page for Mum, bonus points to me for actually being on time for a change!  I think this stamp is from Whipper Snapper, bought a looooong time ago and not inked for quite a few years!   I'd probably be totally skint if they had a UK supplier as I love their stamps.
My calendar stamp is a recent purchase from Amazon and I reckon they were a good buy, it's so much less of a faff than individually stamping all the letters of the month.  I haven't done anything in the background, other than ink in a snowdrift.

• Papercraft challenge #51 - use a number on your project
• Addicted to Stamps #369 - CAS
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - anything goes

 I've still a few Christmas cards to make, I can hardly believe we're already at the end of November!
This one uses my trusty elf from MFT - coloured with polychromos and clear gloss / glitter added. My sentiment is cut from sparkly card, and I added a few die cut stars.  I think it kinda looked better in my head than the finished effort though!

• Layout flipped from Freshly Made Sketch #413
• Pinspirational challenge #252 - I went for the bauble theme
• Fab'n Funky #459 - Christmas

Birthday chick

I'm always slightly out of my "comfort zone" (I hate that expression!) with one-layer cards but thought I'd give it a go ... and I love how it turned out :)

I used an old Whipper Snapper image - masked it off to use my chicken wire stencil and then overstamped with this Gummiapan text block stamp.
Chicken coloured with polychromos and clear gloss added to the balloon, his beak and feet, and sparkle to his red comb.  My lines down the edge are a couple of Paper Smooches border dies.

• Addicted to CAS #166 - one layer
• Less is More #402 - OLC Stencil
• AAA Cards #147 - along the edge
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - CAS

Christmas Chicks

Hi all, I've been MIA for a while with a sore shoulder, so no crafting and no blogging :(  I'm still not right, but got a bit bored this evening so made this quickie Christmas card and matching tag.
These are Whipper Snapper chickens - coloured with polychromos and gloss/glitter added for some sparkle.  Paper Smooches snowflakes cut from glitter card.

• Simon Says Stamp Monday - not a card
• Christmas Kickstart #15 - festive things with wings
• Crafting by Design - get ready for Christmas
• Word Art Wednesday #396/397 - anything goes

Ruth's Birthday card and a Pelican

Just a quickie post tonight, Killing Eve is on shortly so I'm on the clock here ;)

This is my sister's birthday card using a recent-ish purchase from Whipper Snapper.  Coloured with polychromos.  I got a bit carried away with adding all my extras, I could have done with a bigger size card though this is kinda the biggest I normally make!
Gummiapan squiggly edge die; Paper Smooches heart die.

• Layout from Try Stampin on Tuesday #416
• Crafty Cardmakers #237 - dies or punches
• Papercraft Challenge #41 - glitter / sparkle

And this one uses a real oldie from High Hopes, paired with a few fishies from an MFT set.

Coloured with watercolour pencils and clear gloss added to his eyes, feet and the rope round the posts.  Water stencil is from Simon Says Stamp.

• Simon Says Stamp Monday - life on the ocean waves
• Seize the Birthday #169 - sunshine
• Your Next Stamp Fun Friday #118 - sunshine

Summer time

We had a damp, cloudy, frizzy hair type of day today, so I thought I'd go looking for summer in my cards instead ;)

I won this Reverse Confetti ice lolly set ages ago and had no clue what to do with it, so this is it's first outing.  I paperpieced the lolly, added another layer for the central bits and then added some clear gloss and lots of glitter. I didn't quite get the layering order right in my layout so added the little arrow as it just didn't look right.
This card will be to send a few €€ to my newphew and niece for their holidays so I'm sure they'll be more interested in what's inside ;)

• Layout from CAS(e) This Sketch #329
• Pinspirational #242 - pic of ice lollys
• Your Next Stamp Fun Friday #117 - 3 of something (3 x DPs)

And here's my Whipper Snapper birdies again, I think this is maybe one of my favourite stamps ever!  

Coloured with polychromos to match this pretty DP and gloss/glitter added to their wings.  I had a dirty finger incident in the top corner and needed a major cover up but didn't want to add any yellow so just cut my sun from white card; I like how it turned out :)

• Penny Black and More July - summer colours
• Simply Create #151 - use some DP
• Make My Monday #100 - thank you
• Through the Craft Room Door - anything goes