Heart die challenge - part 2

Hello lovely people,

If you saw my post yesterday you will know that I set myself a little challenge to make 3 different cards with my new heart dies.

FYI: I have set myself these type of challenges before...and so far, only ever made it to 1 or 2 cards before giving up!

I kept this one pretty CAS as I think simple layering with coloured card really shows off the design of the dies nicely.

I cut the larger heart into white card and layered lilac card behind it and then layered the smaller heart onto lilac and popped it on top using foam pads.

All it needed to finish was some co-ordinating satin ribbon, a single pearl and, of course, some stitching!

Card recipe;

Dies: Heart vines base affections die set & Someone special affections insert die - Tonic Studios

Ribbon: 7mm orchid satin Berisford ribbon - The Ribbon Girl

Tune in tomorrow to find out if I managed to make that third card!

I'm off now to get on with my household chores because sadly, the ironing, kitchen cleaning and hoovering are not going to do themselves :-(

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Baking apron

Hello lovely people,

It's Creative Inspirations challenge time and we have the theme...

SHAPE IT UP!
(NO SQUARE CARDS ALLOWED!)

Our fabulous sponsor for this challenge is Live and Love Crafts with a £10 voucher

I have made a couple of apron shaped cards before and I really don't know why I don't make more of them because I always love the way they look and you can do quite a few themes with them.

As you can see, this one has a hint of a baking theme but is mostly just pretty and flowery!

I used oval dies to create the apron shaped base card and the matching shaped piece of DP to cover the front.

I loved choosing the embellishments for this card and although I have used real lace for previous designs, the Kraft borders make a really good alternative. 

The teeny rolling pin is my favourite bit of the card and is the perfect size to wrap a sentiment banner round :-)

Card recipe;

DP: Coffee in the arbour - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Old Swedish lace & Tea label tags - Magnolia Doohickeys, Numbers - Tonic Studios, Alphabet soup - Memory Box, A nice cuppa die set - Stampin' Up
Rolling pin - Miniature rolling pins - The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: A little sentimental - Clearly Besotted
Ribbon: from stash

The DT have made some wonderful samples to inspire you so pop over to Creative Inspirations to take a look :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Pretty bicycle

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at As You Like It and our theme this time is...

YOUR FAVOURITE LAYOUT
...and don't forget to tell us why it's your favourite!

Our sponsor this time is Sweet and Sassy Stamps

My favourite layout is cased from a previous card and any design with this pretty shaped base is a winner for me but I especially loved arranging all the details around the central image circle.
It even makes it really easy to add names/ages etc. which I sometimes find a little tricky!

This bicycle image is a really simple one but is so cute and I think it would be good for some masculine designs too...minus all the flowers etc.!

Card recipe;

Image: Good times - Clearly Besotted

DP: Vintage baby - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Natural button twine - The Ribbon Girl (not available at present)

Seam binding: Limoges blue - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Dies: Large frilly frame #10 - Go Kreate, Circle stax - MFT Die-namics, Heart flower swirl - Magnolia Doohickeys

Letters/numbers: magazine freebie stamp set

I hope you will pop over to As You Like It and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team :-)

Whilst making this card it occurred to me that there must be lots of lovely layouts that I have used before and would be worth revisiting so I plan to CASE myself more often!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;
Live and Love Crafts (blue)
Papertake Weekly (take your pick - I used blue and vintage)
Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)
A Gem of a Challenge (one for the girls)

Birthday bears

Hello lovely people,

Oh dear, this week is disappearing in a flash and I totally forgot to do my post this morning for the new challenge at As You Like It - I am feeling so ditsy right now!

Ok, let's get on with it and our theme this time is...

YOUR FAVOURITE - FUR OR FEATHERS?
(and don't forget to explain why it is your favourite!)

We are sponsored by Sweet Pea Stamps

If you have spent any time on my blog you will know how much I love all things furry, especially bears...they just have that cute and cuddly factor :-)

My fave bears at the moment are the Happy Bears from LOTV and I just love colouring them...with a few touches of sparkle of course!

The papers I used are actually from 2 different LOTV pads and they go together so beautifully, plus I am really loving this colour combo right now.

Card recipe;

Image: Happy bears - LOTV

DP: Pastel dreams - LOTV & Romance and Roses - LOTV

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Ribbon: 7mm pale turquoise satin - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: heart swirl - Magnolia Dohickeys

Number stamps: magazine freebie stamp set

Copic colours;
Fur: E40/41/42/43
Pot: E43/44/47
Flowers: RV000/R81
Leaves: G20/21
Pink: R81/83/85
Light turquoise: BG10/11/32
Dark turquoise: BG15/18
Balloon: BG10/11/32/15
Ground: T0/1/2/3/4

I hope you will pop over to As You Like It and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;

Glamorous Tilda

Hello lovely people,

I hope you all had a lovely Easter break!

I was so thrilled to have some sunshine and that meant I could get in the garden so those fence panels are in and the garden is looking a whole lot tidier now :-)

I did have a bit less crafting time as a result but still got a few DT cards done as well as this card that I made for a few challenges...

I wanted this Tilda for ages but she always seemed to be out of stock so I was delighted to finally get hold of her a month or so ago...and it still took me until now to ink her up!

She got a pretty paper-pieced dress and I added a little Copic shading for depth.

You can see I couldn't resist using my Go Kreate dies again ;-)
I'm not getting bored of these any time soon so hope you aren't either!

Card recipe;

Image: Tilda in evening dress - Magnolia Rubberstamps

DP: Vintage Spring basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Seam binding: The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV

Dies: Large frilly frames #10 - Go Kreate, Heart swirl - Magnolia Doohickey

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E51/53/55/44
Dress shading: RV91/93
Feather in hair: RV91/93/95
Drink: YR30/31
Glass: B0000/000

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Sweet Magnolia - use a sentiment
2.  Totally Tilda - spring flowers
3.  The Ribbon Girl - pastel colours
4.  Sweet Stampin' - paper piecing
5.  A Gem of a Challenge - shaped cards
6.  Fab 'n' Funky - Bingo (Kraft / shaped card / stitches)

Sewing themed apron card

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme this time is...

BUTTONS &/OR BOWS

It's a double sponsor week as well so we have 2 fab prizes on offer

Whimsy Stamps

and 

Bugaboo

It was my Mother-in-Law's 65th birthday at the weekend so that needed a really special card and after the success of my previous apron card (this one) I thought I'd do a sewing themed one.

I used bits and bobs from all over the place to fit the theme and when I couldn't find what I wanted I created my own, like the little button card and thread spools which I cut by hand and stamped.

I very nearly forgot to add a '65' so had to quickly add the little tab; not so easy to stitch in place with the pocket already stuck down!

I also made a matching tag to pop on her present :-)

Card recipe;

DP: Petal fresh - NitWit collection for LOTV

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Lace: Danielle  -The Ribbon Girl

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Family sentiment tags - LOTV

Sentiment: For you circular sentiments - LOTV

Dies: Heart flower swirl - Magnolia Doohickey
Pins: Teardrop ivory pearlised pins - The Ribbon Girl
Charm: Scissors charm - The Ribbon Girl
Ribbon / buttons: from stash

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team and there are some great tips on creating the perfect bow :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;

1.  ABC Challenge (F is for festive - any holiday or birthday)
2.  Fussy and Fancy (ribbons and lace)

Time for tea

Hello lovely people,

It's that time again so I'm here with our new challenge at In The Pink and this time we have the theme...

FOR A SPECIAL LADY

So, this can be something for Mother's Day or for any other special lady in your life!

Even better, we are sponsored for this challenge by the fabulous Dies to Die For with a £15 voucher - how exciting!

I created this card for one of my special sister-in-laws who loves teapots!  She also loves rats and has 3 as pets so let's say this is a cute rattie in the teapot rather than a mouse!

I stamped the image in brown rather than black ink for a softer look and I created the dotted effect on the teapot with my blender pen just to add a little extra interest :-)

My usual flowers are all present and correct plus my favourite lace and some seam binding.  I did a little running stitch down the middle of the seam binding and pulled it up to create the ruffle.

I was aiming for a vintage style, inspired by the pretty papers - what do you reckon?

Card recipe;

Image: Time for tea (Moonbeam meadow) - Crafter's Companion

DP: Sweet baby - Pion Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Seam binding: Cruise beige - Wild Orchid Crafts - no longer available
Lace: Teresa - The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Family sentiment tags - LOTV

Sentiment: For you circular sentiments - LOTV

Copic colours;
Teapot: R000/30/20/21 & blender for dots
Box / tag: E40/41/42/43 & E44 on box corners
Stick: E44/47
Mouse / bunting: W00/0/1
Grass: YG11/13/63
Flowers: YR30/31/24

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the very special creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Live and Love Crafts (photo inspiration - I was inspired to use pastels, florals and vintage style)
2.  Papertake Weekly (anything goes)
3.  Simon Says Stamp (special lady/girly)
4.  ABC Challenge (E is for exceptionally cute)
5.  The Ribbon Girl (add flowers)
6.  Sweet Stampin' (all or nothing - I went with lots of layers!)

A summer apron

Hello lovely people,

My blog post today comes to you live from Austria!
I am sitting in the bar of our lovely hotel after a day's skiing - lots of snow today!
So much snow in fact that we stopped a little early and spent some time relaxing in the sauna, jacuzzi and pool :-)

I couldn't leave it all week though without sharing something with you so here is an apron card.
It's my first apron card and I just drew and cut the shape by hand, saving my template so I can make more the same of course!

I tucked lace all around the edge of a rectangle of card to create the pocket and stitched on the little label tab with the recipient's name.

I was excited to use a new die to make a couple of little tags to go in the pocket :-)

The satin ribbon is stuck down just a teeny bit near the ends of the ribbon just to stop it flapping around.

Card recipe;

DP: Coffee in the arbour - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Lace: 'Teresa' - The Ribbon Girl
Ribbon: from stash (out of a dress I think!)

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Simple tag - Magnolia Doohickey
Charm: cherry charm (not sure where from but similar at The Ribbon Girl)
Circular sentiment: For you circular sentiments - LOTV

Letter stamps: magazine freebie

The cocktail of the day (a Mai Tai) and some delicious looking canapes have just been put in front of me so I'm going to leave you now and give those some serious appreciation :-D

Thanks for popping by and for any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Fussy and Fancy (tic tac toe - charm, die and lace)
2.  The Ribbon Girl (Magnolia (used a Doohickey die) with lace)
3.  Fab 'n' Funky (ribbon and lace)
4.  Cute Card Thursday (floral delight)

Cute ballerina

Hello lovely people,

I'm still all over the shop with what day it is this week but I really think I could get used to working just 2 days a week!

So, having figured out it's Thursday that must mean it's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme for you is...

CUTE

We are very kindly sponsored for this challenge by The Ribbon Girl with a £10 voucher :-)

I think pink and cute are just made for each other!

I know lots of you will agree with me that LOTV images are some of the cutest around and they don't come much cuter than this gorgeous little ballerina.

I did have to do a teeny little bit of clever cutting with the star wand to use the size of circle die that I wanted, as there was already plenty of white space around the image so I didn't want to use a bigger circle.

Of course, I just had to add some girly details with a layered bow and some flowers :-)

Card recipe;

Image: Wish upon a star - LOTV

DP: Pion Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Seam binding/twine: The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: leaf and swirl - Magnolia doohickey, Circle stax - Die-namics

Letter stamps: magazine freebie

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
complete list to follow

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the super cute creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies and our guest designer :)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am playing along with;
1.  A Gem of a Challenge (children's playtime)
2.  ABC Challenge (D is for die cuts)

Lilac wedding card

Hello lovely people,

Where did that week go to?!
I am working this weekend but only until about 2 p.m. each day so I still get a little crafting time too :-)

I have a wedding card to share with you today and I seem really drawn towards a shabby chic/vintage style for wedding cards at the moment.

I used a big sentiment as the focal point again but cut into a circle this time.

I had a little spending spree at The Ribbon Girl (yep, another one!) and got loads of gorgeous new bits and bobs including some fabulous charms... like this little heart.  It's such a simple charm but it's so elegant and I adore it... good job I bought a few!

Card recipe;

Image: Statements: congratulations - LOTV

DP: Vintage Spring basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: various, all from Wild Orchid Crafts

Seam binding: Sky mauve lilac - The Ribbon Girl
Lace: Laila - The Ribbon Girl
Twine: ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl
Heart charm: heart with side loop - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Circle stax - Die-namics

Letter stamps for names: magazine freebie

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend whatever you are up to :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Live and Love Crafts (hearts)
2.  Papertake Weekly (hearts and flowers)
3.  Fab 'n' Funky (charm us)
4.  Fussy and Fancy (it's all about love)
5.  The Ribbon Girl (Lovely Lili & charm)

Typewriter love

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at In The Pink but first I have to say how thrilled I am with all the amazing entries for the last couple of challenges.
It's wonderful to see how much you all love pink too!

Ok, I'll get onto the theme for our new challenge and it is...

LOVE &/OR HEARTS

Yes, it's *that* day coming up again soon so we thought we'd get you in the mood!

This digi stamp comes with some ready made text for the typewriter but I wanted to do my own text so created some on the computer.

I also popped a couple of thin foam pads behind the page at the top so it adds a teeny bit of dimension.

Card recipe;

Image: Quirky querty - Pink Petticoat

DP: Devoted - Carta Bella

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Seam binding: Pink tulip - The Ribbon Girl
Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Circle stax - Die-namics

Sentiment: done on computer (font is Travelling Typewriter)

Copic colours;
Grey: T0/1/2/3
Pink: R81/83

If you haven't already done so then do take a look at the truly lovely creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies at In The Pink.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am playing along with;
1.  The Ribbon Girl (romance)
2.  Papertake Weekly (anything goes +/- book print)
3.  Fab 'n' Funky (hearts &/or flowers)
4.  ABC (C is for Cupid)