Happy Easter

 Hi all, and Happy Easter to you! It's a windy damp one here, I don't believe it stopped raining for more than 10 minutes today - hopefully tomorrow will be better!!

I'm back with my Unity Stamps tulips again, this time I've gone all colourful. Not a great photo, it was dreary when I took the pic, should really have got my lamp out. Coloured with polychromos and some sparkle added to the Pussy Willow.

Sweet Stampin - spring or Easter

Just Us Girls - Easter/spring + dies

Addicted to Stamps #514 - any occasion 

Word Art Wednesday #746/747 - anything goes 

As you like it - favourite embellishment - mine are gemstones, I use them on most of my cards to add some sparkle but not bulk

Buzzy bee

I've had a run of family and friends birthdays recently, so it's been an age since I actually made a card just for the fun of it!  I've been a long time admirer of Unity Stamps but could never find a UK stockist (if anyone knows of one, please let me know!) but they had a brilliant sale just recently which meant I could kinda justify the postage costs. This little bee dude was the first to get inked, isn't he a cutie!  

Coloured with polychromos and some hexagons stencilled to the background; clear gloss and glitter added to his wings and some gold sequins and white die cuts to finish.

Allsorts #845 - things with wings 

Moving along with the times #187 - the birds+/or bees

Word Art Wednesday #742/743 - anything goes

Just Add Ink #781 - just add wings 

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!)

Cards for Marion and Chris

 Hi all, I have a few personalized cards to share, so here's the first two

This one is for a neighbour of Mum. My colour theme was entirely inspired by this sheet of cardstock, so I was quite pleased with myself for getting the colour of my flowers reasonably matched! I did have a time of it getting the sentiment right, the one I settled on was version #4! My stamp is an oldie from Colorado Crafts - coloured with polychromos and a few gold splatters added to the background, along with some gold sequins.

Addicted to Stamps #508 - birthday 

Word Art Wednesday #734/735 - anything goes 

Sweet Stampin' - bright and beautiful 

Snippets Playground #524 - my snippet is my sentiment cut from leftover card from the base

And this one is for my brother-in-law - it turned out to be quite apt as when I sent it we had 6" of snow outside. It was the perfect 'sticky' snow and I don't believe I've ever seen such big tall snowmen everywhere before! Thankfully it only hung around for a few days, quite enough for me! Stamp from MFT. Not entering into any challenges as it's similar to one I saw online, but just uploading it here for my records. 

Birthday card for Aunt Cilla

 Hi all, I've taken another break from my Christmas card order to make a card for my mum to her sister.  Mum has a beautiful rose garden with every colour of bloom, so I thought I'd send Cilla some roses from her garden!  

This Penny Black image does take a while to colour but it's worth it, though I'm never entirely happy with how I colour the vase, some day I'll take some time and learn how to do it LOL.  I happily found some DP which kinda matched the roses, I've added some metallic gold splatters to the background and then some pink, red and gold gems to pull it all together. 

Layout from Freshly Made Sketches #712

As You Like it - favourite embellishment - mine is definitely these little gemstones which I use on a lot of my cards for just a wee bit of sparkle 

Penny Black Saturday November - anything goes 

Word Art Wednesday #724/725 - anything goes 

Think Pink!

 We've had a wild couple of days with Storm Amy passing by, but thankfully it wasn't as bad as Storm Eowyn earlier this year - still plenty of trees down and flooding in parts but I think the worst of the rain missed us.  i love how storms are named nowadays, it certainly makes them more memorable!

I'm back with another one of my little carolers, this time in pink. I hadn't intended to add the tag in the corner but it's covering an oops from my ink pad and the snowflakes are covering a splodge from my sparkle pen too!  They do kinda hide the circular stencil I used though. 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - think Pink

Simon Says Stamp Monday - trees

Addicted to Stamps #502 - Christmas 

As You Like It - square or not - I used to make A6 sized cards but always struggled to cut my base layers straight, so getting some square dies and going down the square card size was a godsend for me! 

Sparkles Christmas challenge #177 - non traditional Christmas colours

Here's a wee pic of Molly post-walk, not looking too impressed with getting caught in the rain! 

Embossing 2 ways

 Hi all!  I seem to be in a blue phase at the minute, I need to get a different colour palette going LOL

First up is this little sailing boat from Penny Black - coloured with polychromos and popped up on foam pads. I've used a new slimline embossing folder that I thought would kinda work as the sea and added a few metallic paint splatters to give a splashy feel.

Penny Black Saturday challenge May - monochrome or anything goes

AAA Birthday #73 - any birthday 

Cardz for Guys #371 - body of water

This one is similar to one I made a while back, using this pretty Altenew flower stamp. I used the same embossing folder in the background along with a few white dies to use up some leftover white card.

Cut it Up #329 - so sorry

As You Like It - - soft or bold colours? - well, it depends what I'm making! For sympathy cards I definitely think more subtle colours work best

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - beautiful blooms 

And just for some brighter colour!... Here's a wee photo of my lovely Rhododendron - it usually gets hit by the frost or rain, but we're enjoying a lovely sunny dry spell this past couple of weeks so it's looking fabulous this year!! 

Alexandra's birthday card

 How can it be the middle of February already, and how can my niece be turning 15!!!! It really is no time at all since she was a wee tot!  

Her card was a bit of a rush job, so I used one of the Lili of the Valley images that came as part of a bundle offer.  Coloured with polychromos; stencilled clouds; clear gloss added to the flowers.  (I usually put some hearts on her card somewhere as she's a Valentine's baby, don't always remember to though!)

Next job is to make a Valentine card for Greg, a bit lastminute.com so it's not going to be too fancy LOL!! 

Seize the Birthday #299 - add a heart

As You Like It - stamps or digis - I know I've used a digi here, but I'm definitely a Stamp girl!  It just seems a lot less faff to get the inkpad out rather than trip upstairs to my 'office' where the printer lives! 

Word Art Wednesday #687.688 - anything goes 

Addicted to Stamps #486 - make your mark

Greg's birthday card (and Chris and David's too!)

 Hi all! I struggle with masculine birthday cards, and thought this Gerda Steiner stamp would be a useful one to have.  My brother and brother-in-law and Greg all have birthdays pretty close to each other so they all got variations of this card!  I hadn't quite intended to add the clouds originally, but had made a rubbish attempt to draw some 'go faster' lines in the sky to give the car some movement, and the clouds and stars were a good cover up LOL

Coloured with polychromos; clear gloss added to the window and their glasses.

My Time to Craft #552 - masculine 

Snippets Playground #499 - my clouds were cut from leftover white card after cutting my card base

Sparkles challenge #184 - monochrome blue

Addicted to Stamps #485 - dies/stencils 

We survived Storm Eowyn unscathed, but it brought down a LOT of trees round the country.  I guess it was a good job they didn't have their leaves yet or it would have been a whole lot worse!  We have a lovely walk down through our estate that we do most days so it was very sad to see 10 trees down in the one spot, they would have been 50+ years old.  I wonder if it was the same gust of wind felled them all at the same time. It was definitely a good call for the government to request that folk stayed home that day!

Marlene's birthday card

Well we're battening down the hatches here, waiting on Storm Eowyn to hit later tonight, with workplaces and schools closed and government red alerts issued to stay home tomorrow. Windy weather does frighten me so I'm not looking forward to 80 or 90mph winds!

I've a wee birthday card to share this evening using a new stamp from Gina K.  It took an age to colour but I love how it turned out!  I added some clear gloss to the flowers just to make them stand out a bit and then a wee gem for the flower centres.

Time Out #280 - favourite thing to do - well it's too damp and dark to be out in the garden so the next best thing is to colour!  Even as a child one of my favourite things to get at Christmas was a colouring book! I'm convinced that's why I love card making so much, I'm just embracing my inner child 😉

As You Like It - gems or pearls - I prefer gems as they're flatter for mailing, and come in loads of colours so I always have some that suit

Fab'n Funky #608 - all things bright and beautiful 

Word Art Wednesday #683/684 - anything goes 

Mum's birthday card

 Hi all, well that's Christmas done for another year!  Doesn't it just fly by, can't believe it's nearly back to work time after being off for a fortnight. We've had a chilly spell this past few days, I don't mind a skiff of snow but hate it when it melts and freezes - no good for a wee dog who likes her walks and 2 slaves in danger of breaking hips 🤣!  

Anyway, I'm here to share mum's birthday card using a new Lili of the Valley stamp - I love their images as most of my enjoyment from card making is actually the colouring in! 

Coloured with polychromos; sparkle added to the flame, clear gloss to the cherries and chunky glitter to the bunny's tail.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - something new (my stamp)

Addicted to Stamps #483 - birthday

Word Art Wednesday #681/682 - anything goes 

Just Us Girls #756 - use a die

Molly had a great time on Christmas morning and had a blast opening her presents!  Think she is glad to see all the decorations down though and everything back to normal!

Last Christmas cards of 2024

 Hi all!  I've been busy with all my Christmas cards, last minute as usual, but actually finished early this year (yesterday LOL).  Though that was probably mainly thanks to Canada's postal strike and me not sending any international mail! I'm looking forward to having a whole 2 weeks off work and getting some fun crafty time. I still have to upload mum's birthday card, but in the meantime I'd like to wish all my blog buddies a very happy and peaceful Christmas x

First up is Greg's card using this little Molly dog from Purple Onion Designs 🤣 - I made a few variations of this one but Greg's had extra heart shaped snow added! Coloured with polychromos, extra sparkle added to her hat and popped up with foam pads. Can't remember where I bought my tree dies. 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - use dies

As you like it - anything Christmasy (sorry couldn't get it to link to the direct post)

Snippets Playground #496 - my trees and snow layer were cut from the leftover card after cutting my square base.

ABC Christmas - Your favourite colours - I love red and green on a Christmas card! 

And next up is another that I made quite a few of, again using another Purple Onion Designs stamp.  The glitter card and chunky glitter in his hat make it a lovely sparkly one! 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - cold and frosty 

Moving Along with the Times #173 - snowman 

Word Art Wednesday #679/680 - anything goes

A birthday bear for Sandra, and Betty's birthday card

Evening all!  Well such a beautiful bright sunny Autumn day we had today, made a nice change!! And I doubt it will be like it tomorrow with Storm Ashley on its way and gales and rain due.  We've had lots of Brent Geese arriving this past while, so hopefully the wind doesn't blow them off track!  I absolutely LOVE to see them flying in formation overhead, honking away to each other. 

Anyway, I haven't been very inspired recently so was pleased that I actually enjoyed making this card!  Image from Lili of the Valley, coloured with polychromos.

Layout from Tuesday Morning Sketches #778

Addicted to Stamps #479 - any occasion 

Fab'n Funky #602 - fur or feathers

Word Art Wednesday #669/670 - anything goes 

And just sharing this one for my own records, but it's very similar to another I made a while back... 

Feel better soon

 Hi all, I'm back!  I've taken a bit of a break from blogging and haven't been making an awful lot of cards, but I'm determined to get back into the swing of things now the darker evenings are here.  

So here's a wee get well card - I couldn't think of what to use for a bloke but came up with this and then the inside reads "hope you're back to full strength soon", I think it works ok 🤪

Image from MFT, coloured with polychromos and popped up on foam pads; clear gloss added to the weights and his tache.

As You Like It - favourite die - my favourite die is usually my latest one (this burlap die) but my most used die is my stitched square set and I use them on 99.9% of my cards, mainly because I'm rubbish at cutting anything straight LOL 

Addicted to CAS #268 - masculine 

We Love Stamping September - colour something 

Ruth's birthday card

 Hi all, here this wet cold summer's day to share my sister's birthday card.  I can't believe it's almost the middle of July and we're STILL having to put the heating on!!!  Mind you, looking at the heatwave in America I don't think that would please me either! 

I've used my bunny alpha's from LOTV - coloured with polychromos and clear gloss + glitter added to the letters.  

Colour theme from MFT Colour challenge #240, a shame that they're stopping their challenges ☹️

Addicted to Stamps #471 - make your mark

Cut it Up #307 - critters

Snippets Playground #484 - my flowers were cut from some leftover card

Leaving card for Ryan

 Hi all. I'm here this windy old evening to share a card for a work mate who has a new job with a company who makes films for the farming community.  I don't think I have any farmer stamps in my stash but figured these critters from an old MFT set would be perfect...

Coloured with polychromos and the pig and chickens popped up on foam pads.  Grass and cloud stencils for the background.

Addicted to Stamps #465 - die +/or stencil

As You Like It - cute or floral.  Looking through my stash I do have quite a few floral stamps, but they're definitely well outnumbered by my cutest ones! 

Allsorts #775 - for the love of animals 

Miss Molly is fast asleep on the sofa as I type here.  So in her usual fashion of looking not one bit comfortable (and very unladylike LOL)....

Happy Easter

A very happy Easter to you all!  We've had the most glorious sunny spring day, and I'm delighted that the clocks moved forward today too! You definitely feel more like getting up and doing stuff when it's brighter outside!

My Easter cards were all a variation of this one, not a stamp or ounce of colouring in sight!  My cute bunny die was a purchase from Creative Depot (I think) a while back.  These were all cut with shiny silver card and then I added loads of chunky glitter to their sweet bunny tails.  The background embossing folder is from an old Simon Says Stamp kit.

Simon Says Stamp Monday - emboss it

Papercraft #104 - Easter 

CAS on. Friday - dies only

I haven't shared a photo of Molly lately, so here's a silly one of her sitting on the stairs.  She perches her butt on one step and then her feet are on the one below.  Doesn't look one bit comfortable!  Daftie.