Just floating along

Hello lovely people,

Hurrah, it's Friday!!

I have a Dies to Die For DT card to share with you today and I made a start on using my rather large pile of new Stamping Bellas!

I know the weather isn't too sure, but it IS Summer so I've gone all Summery with this one...

I've created a little scene in the aperture and since I don't have any wave border dies (yet!) I decided that hillside borders would do the job instead!

I die cut the clouds from plain white card and added a touch of colour with Copics.

Oooooh, wouldn't you just love to be chilling out like this right now?!

The sentiment is cut out with another of those super useful little MFT Blueprints elements, and I reckon it's one we can all agree with, right?!

If I've tempted you with any of the lovely supplies I've used then you can go straight to the individual products via the thumbnails at the end of my post or just pop over to Dies to Die For and have a little browse around!

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

Copic colours;
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04 & R20
Hair: E53, E35, E59
Swimming costume: R81, R83, R85
Ring: Y15, Y19, YR23 & B00, BG53, BG57
Watermelon: R14, R17 & G19, G28
Clouds: C00, C1

Lovely things I've used from Dies to Die For;
Tiny Townie Frances loves to float - Stamping Bella
Tiny Townie Frances loves to float 'cut it out' dies - Stamping Bella
Inside and out stitched circle STAX - My Favorite Things
Stitched hillside borders - Lawn Fawn
Blueprints 13 - My Favorite Things
Puffy clouds - Memory Box

Other ingredients;
Cool Summer 6x6 paper pad - Carta Bella
Pink Baker's twine - from stash

A Summer card...and some amazing news...

Hello lovely people,

I had a most productive day yesterday so I think today I will treat myself to some crafting time :-)

I have a bright cheerful card to share with you today that I made whilst I was guest DT for The Ribbon Girl.

But oh look, what's this...?

Yep, Mary and Andrea asked me to join the DT :-)

I am totally over the moon as this has been a hugely iconic DT for me for many years and I am sooooo delighted and proud that I get to be a part of it!

While I have a little lie down to recover from the excitement, here's my card...

I always find myself colouring this image with a big smile on my face, although I have a suspicion I have only ever coloured her in pink - lol!

These absolutely stunning papers are just one of the paper collections now stocked by The Ribbon Girl and I love the gorgeous Summery colours :-)

I made a frame for the image using 2 circle dies and stacked up 2 white frames and 1 DP frame to give it some depth.

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

The Ribbon Girl products;
Galleria Paperieu 'As if in a dream' assorted 12" papers
16mm hot pink/white saddlestitch ribbon
Dragonfly charm small
Cherry blossom pink
Pink 10mm open roses
Tiny pale pink rosebuds
Tiny white rosebuds

Other products;

Image: Sally and her snail - Stamping Bella

Other flowers: from my stash

Dies: Large frilly frames #7 - Go Kreate, Circle stax - MFT Die-namics

Sentiment: Teenage girl sentiments - LOTV

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E53/35/37
Clothing / shoes: R83/85/RV17 & BG53/57
Snail shell: W3/4/5/6/7
Snail body: W00/0/1/2
Flowers: YR30/23/Y35 & R81/83/85
Grass / leaves: YG21/23/17

LOTV Summer inspiration

Hello lovely people,

It will come as no surprise that I had a wonderful day with Sue and Annette yesterday; I feel very lucky to be able to meet up with like-minded and truly lovely crafty friends :-)

Today I have been crafting pretty much all day but that will all come to a standstill in a couple of hours as I head off to yet another beer festival!

In the meantime, I'm here to show off a little LOTV gorgeousness with the card I made for the LOTV 'Something for the weekend' feature.

There's a PDF with step by step instructions on how to make this card and you can find all the tutorials, including mine, here.

This is the first one of the new Seasons Girls that I have coloured and even though it is a beautiful intricate design, it's really easy to colour.

I also made my own faux button for this project and you can find the step by step for this in the PDF too.

It's not like I don't have enough buttons in my stash but this is the perfect way to make your button co-ordinate...and I'm a sucker for co-ordination!

Card recipe;

Image: Summer - LOTV

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

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

Dies: Teal label tags - Magnolia Doohickeys, Mini Victoriana - Die-sire

Sentiment: from Happy bears set - LOTV

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E51/53/35/59
All greens: BG90/93/96/99
All pinks: RV91/93/95

Thanks so much for popping by and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

It's Summer!

Hello lovely people,

Thanks for all your lovely comments on my happy news from my last post; it's so lovely to be able to share it with you and to have your support :-)

My first aim when I got back from holibobs was to do some crafting but the gorgeous sunshine put paid to that plan, in the best possible way!

Instead I have been tidying the jungle where my garden used to be - lol!

I did eventually do a little crafting yesterday evening because it is Creative Inspirations challenge time and our theme is...
SPRING INTO SUMMER
So we want to see any creations with a Spring or Summer feel

Our sponsor for this challenge is My Mum's Craft Shop

I'm continuing to challenge myself to try new styles so I was having a play with this pretty flower stem die and discovered some freebie papers on my desk that provided the perfect backdrop for them; isn't it great when that happens?!

 I love how striking the black borders and die cuts look against the white card and pretty DP :-)

The sentiment stamp is an ordinary straight line stamp but it's really easy to curve it as you stick it down on the acrylic block and I used the edge of the circle die as a guide to make sure it follows the curve of the aperture.

Card recipe;

Dies: Circle stax - MFT Die-namics, Tall Chloe stem - Memory Box, Butterfly dies set - Impression Obsession

DP: freebie with magazine

Sentiment: from Wire roses set - Woodware

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,

Feeling happy

Hello lovely people,

Things I am happy about today;

1)  I have had an utterly amazing 38 day holiday in America but am actually happy to be home again to sleep in my own bed and catch up with all my friends and family

2) I passed my course and am now a Pharmacist Independent Prescriber (so I can prescribe medicines just like a doctor!)

3)  It has been sunny today so I was able to do a little tidying in the garden; still LOTS more to be done though!

4)  While I was away, this happened...

I had to sit on this news for ages and then I was unable to get my hands on the actual magazine until I got back to the UK so I am super excited to finally share it with you.

I even got a little bit of my colouring on the cover!

I thought I'd share all 3 cards at once rather than spread them out but I won't do all the extra shots with close ups and details as this post would be unbelievably long if I did, and I kept the cards fairly simple anyway to show off the images.

 #1 - my favourite card of the trio :-)

#2 - that sentiment is so true!

#3 - yum yum...anyone fancy ice cream now?!

Card recipes;

Image: Sand castle Ellie, Surfer Avery, and Ice cream Ellie - all from The Paper Nest Dolls

DP: Country meadow, Pastel dreams, and Bonnets and bowties (solids) - all from Nitwit Collections

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Tilda lace - Magnolia Doohickeys

Charms: Shell mix - The Hobby House
Sentiments: various from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair (ice cream): E11/15/18
Hair (sandcastle): E53/35/59
Hair (surfer): Y21/YR23/E35
Turquoise bits: BG000/01/02
Pink bits: R81/83/85
Yellow bits: Y23/35/YR23
Sand: YR30/E50/E51/YR31/E53
Water: BG0000/000
Shell: E41/423/43
Stick: E55/57
Ice cream cone: E50/51/53

I hope you have all had a beautiful day, sunny or otherwise!

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

Beach fun

Hello lovely people,

I'm so sorry I haven't been round to see you all much lately; the last week or so has been a 'life gets in the way of crafting' week...how dare it!

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

SUMMER FUN

We have 2 Cute Ink sponsoring us this time and they have a prize of 2 free digi images of the winner's choice.

I decided to make an easel card since I haven't made one for ages and I always like the extra decorating space that comes with an easel - perfect for personalising the design with a name!

Despite the extra space, the embellishment on the bottom section does need to be fairly minimal so the card will fold flat, hence I put all the lovely 3D flowers and layered bow on the top section.

The sentiment comes with the image and I thought it would look cute as a little hanging plaque :-)

I love this chic lady...hmmmm, maybe because I would love to look like this!
Well, I can do the big hat and cocktail part!

Card recipe;

Image & sentiment: Uptown girl Sandy and her Sombrero - Stamping Bella

DP: Shoreline treasures - Pion Designs (available from Live and Love Crafts)

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

Seam binding: Cruise beige - Wild Orchid Crafts
Wooden star / pearls: from stash
Letter stamps: magazine freebie stamps

Copic colours;
Skin: E00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E50/53/55
Hat / bag: E40/41/42/43
Bikini / bag / flip flops: B91/95/97
Drink: RV11/R83 & Y21/Y35
Glasses: W9
Sand: YR30/31/E50/51/53

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 for you too :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;
The Ribbon Girl (anything goes +/- stars or stripes)
Fussy and Fancy (fancy folds)
Craft your Passion (anything goes)

You are my sunshine

Hello lovely people,

This weekend started very promisingly with a fabulous curry with friends on Friday night.

Then it was off to my brother and his girlfriend's for a relaxing weekend with some gorgeous food; fish pie cooked by my brother on Saturday and a lovely Sunday lunch out.
Oh, and how could I forget the cream tea in beautiful sunshine in the garden on Saturday afternoon - yum :-)

We also went to see Jurassic World at the cinema on Saturday evening and would you believe it has been 7 years since I last went to the cinema?!  I absolutely loved the film and it was worth the trip to the big screen :-)

I can't believe June is nearly over, and I have one more card to share this month for the LOTV Design Collective.

Since it is Summer, and even the weather is nice and hot, I thought I'd go for some pretty florals and you can't get much prettier than these new LOTV papers!

This turned out really quite CAS; I just couldn't bring myself to cover up the gorgeous papers too much!

This image does have a lovely sentiment that comes with it but I was itching to use my new postmark greetings!
I added a little sparkle to the flower centres and butterfly wings :-)

Card recipe;

Image: You are my sunshine - LOTV

DP: Romance and roses - LOTV

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: Greetings postmarks - LOTV

Dies: Scalloped squares - Nestabilities, Circle stax - MFT Die-namics
Sparkle: Crystal glamour dust

Copic colours;
Bear: E41/42/43/44
Pink flowers: R81/83/85RV17
Aqua flowers: BG10/11/34
Grass / leaves: G20/43

I hope you all had wonderful weekends whatever you have been up to!

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

Challenges I am entering;

Bunny Zoe (furry friends)
Papertake Weekly (trio-tastic - 3 designer papers)
A Gem of a Challenge (summer time)
Addicted to Stamps (bingo - flowers, stamped image, punches/dies)

Summer treats

Hello lovely people,

I am so very excited today as I am off on my holibobs tomorrow!  We are heading to Yorkshire for a week of walking and cream teas :-)

So, if I am a little MIA over the next week you will know why!

But before I go, it's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this time is...

SUMMER!

We are delighted to be sponsored for this challenge by The Ribbon Girl with a prize of a £10 voucher

I feel like I've done quite a few fancy cards recently so thought I'd go CAS for this one.
I did my usual trick of colouring the image before stamping the sentiment and then hoping I didn't muck up the stamping of the sentiment!
I have this sentiment as part of a freebie set with a magazine but it's available from Clearly Besotted and let me tell you, their stamps are lovely and stamp so beautifully :-)

It seems like ages since I coloured up a gorgeous Wryn image and this one was perfect because you can't have summer without ice cream, right?!

Card recipe;

Image: Sweet treat Wryn - Tiddly Inks

DP: Yours truly - Pebbles

Twine: Ivory button twine - The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: from Sweet rose set - Clearly Besotted
Button: from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E21/25/29
Ice cream / skirt / shoes: R83/85/RV17
Flowers / top: B0000/01/04
Ice cream cone: E50/53/55/57
Ground: T0/1/2/3/4

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous 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.  Without Words (Summer holidays)

Bikinis and cocktails

Hello lovely people,

I have had a delightful a weekend and it has flown by as usual.

I had a lovely catch up with friends and very much enjoyed seeing their new house and pilfering plants, specifically some very pretty aquilegias, from their new garden!

I also got several hours of gardening done and had two lovely walks in semi-sunshine :-)

Ok, onto the crafty stuff...

I really have nothing against yellow but it's not a colour I would usually choose for my cards, however I thought it was perfect with this image to create a sunny feel.

I had lots of pretty flowers and lace out to go on this card and really couldn't get them arranged to my liking so decided it just didn't need any of them and left it all CAS instead.

In the end I did add a couple of pearls to 2 corners of the flowered layer...and forgot to re-take the photo...you'll have to use your imagination...lol!

My new word die was the perfect match though!

I bought this stamp about 3 months ago with a special friend in mind...so of course I didn't want to use it before her birthday...which was today!

It was lovely to finally ink it up!

Card recipe;

Image: Uptown girl Sandy and her sombrero

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

Dies: Birthday words - Paper Smooches

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E50/53/55
Hat: YR30/Y21/Y23/YR23
Bikini / flip flops: R81/83/85 & B91/95/97
Bag: R81/83/85 & YR30/Y21/Y23
Drink: R0000/000/81
Sunglasses: T6/8/10 & B97
Sand: YR30/31/E50/51/53

Now, roll on summer so we can all lounge around in bikinis with a cocktail in hand...I wish!

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

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Without words (pink, yellow, blue)
2.  Sweet Stampin' (CAS)

Dreaming of summer

Hello lovely people,

Time has flown by yet again and it's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday.  This time our theme is...

FAVOURITE COLOUR COMBO

We are sponsored by
The East Wind

with a prize of 3 digital images of the winner's choice

So, what's my fave colour combo?

Pink, of course!

Ok, I know that's just one colour, not a combo!  I have a few colours I like to team up with pink but at the moment I am really loving pink and blue.

And you can tell how sick I am of cold winter weather as I have gone for as summery an image and card as possible!

I had the idea to pop the fence die cut up on foam pads to add some dimension and it worked so beautifully; I do love it when a plan comes together :-)

I brushed some Wink of Stella over all the flowers but can you see it in the photos?  Nope!

Card recipe;

Image: Pink lemonade Tilda

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

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: leaf and swirl, and lovely fence - Magnolia Doohickey, mini butterfly set - Impression Obsession

Circular sentiment: For you circular sentiments - LOTV

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E55/57/59
Top / glasses / trousers: R81/83/85
Trousers: E40/41/42/43
Shoes / bow / straw: B0000/000/41
Drink: YR30/31 & T0/1/2
Ground: T0/1/2/3/4

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 for you too :-)

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

Challenges I am entering;
1.  As You Like It (matt or shiny? - matt all the way for me because it gives a 'softer' look to my cards, even the Wink of Stella is a really soft subtle sparkle!)
2.  Fussy and Fancy (things with wings - butterflies)
3.  Winter Wonderland (lots of layers)
4.  Simply Magnolia (anything goes)

Bye bye summer

Hello lovely people,

It's double trouble from me today with 2 blog posts and the first one for you is for our new challenge at In The Pink where we have the theme...

FANCY FOLD

There are lots of lovely fancy fold designs out there and I always think they make for a really special looking card.  My favourite at the moment is the criss cross card so here is my creation...

I am having to limit the number of Magnolia stamps I buy as they are so lovely I could easily have them all, so I just picked my one absolute favourite from the last release which was the Pink Lemonade collection.  And this is it!
I think I am clinging on to the last bit of sunshine and warmth with this card! Yes, I know it's really autumn now but shhh, no-one has told the weather yet :-)

I made a large pull out tag to go inside but have decided to leave it blank for now until I decide how it should be finished depending on what I do with the card!

Card recipe;

Image: Pink Lemonade Tilda - Magnolia (available from Bunny Zoe's Crafts)

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

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Ric rac: from stash

Tag: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: Circle stax - Dienamics, Tilda lace - Magnolia Doohickey

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E50/53/55/57
Top / ribbons: RV32/34/R56/RV69
Trousers: E40/41/42/43
Shoes: E41/42/43/44
Drink: YR30/Y23
Foam / bubbles: YR30/Y21/Y35

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies; there are lots of different fancy folds to inspire you.

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

Challenges I am playing along with;

1.  Live and Love Crafts (pink)

2.  Midweek Magnolias (anything goes)

3.  Sweet Magnolia (just for girls)

Summer fun

Hello lovely people,

Here we go again with a new challenge at Crafty Little Fairies and our theme this month is...

SUMMER FUN

Once again we have a lovely selection of prizes on offer from these lovely sponsors...

The Ribbon Girl - £10 Voucher

Whiff of Joy - Stamp of the Winners Choice

Delicious Doodles - 4 Digi's of Winners Choice

Little Claire - Prize TBA

Stamp and Create - Prize TBA

This theme gave me the chance to use some gorgeous bright colours and my new Annabel stamp from LOTV in another simple design to let the cute image stand out.

These new Annabel designs are fabulous and she looks like she is having fun in every single one with her little doggy friend but this one really brings a smile to my face :-)

Card recipe;
Image: Annabel upside down - LOTV
DP: Stella & Rose 'Mabel' - MME
Tags: Sentiment tags - LOTV
Twine: The Ribbon Girl
Flower: Wild Orchid Crafts
Pearls: from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E51/55/25
Dungarees: E41/42/43 & E44 for buttons
Top / bows: YR12/14/18
Branch: E57/59/49
Leaves / grass: G12/21/17
Dog: E34/35/37 & E30/31/33#
Shoes: E43/44

For lots more summer fun head over to Crafty Little Fairies and check out the fabulous creations from my teamies.

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

 

Challenges I am entering;
1.  Lili of the Valley (take two - use 2 LOTV products - image and tags)
2.  Sweet Stampin' (summer fun)
3.  Papertake Weekly (anything goes +/- Christmas)