Thank You

We had rain yesterday!  After weeks of unusually high temperatures (for the UK!) the weather has turned and the temperature has dropped.  A perfect day to stay in and catch up with my cardmaking.   I actually managed to make six different ones, some of which will be mailed this week.  I made a card for the Rudolph Days Challenge, but due to a slight hiccup, it will now start on August 1st and run for seven days, so I'll post my card on my blog in a few days. 

I'm just sharing this card today, a thank you card for friends of ours. The fuchsia is a wood mounted stamp bought many years ago.  The image is stamped with Memento 'Tuxedo Black', coloured with Promarkers and die cut and layered with Memory Box 'Stitched Circle' dies.  I cut off the right-hand side of the card front, covered it with fuchsia pink card and added a white embossed panel, made with a Creative Expressions 'Linear Leaves' e/f.  On the inside of the card, I added a purple piece of card, with a panel of the embossed white card on the top.

This photo shows the card open.

I am joining in the following challenges:
That's Crafty Close to Nature Challenge
Country View July Challenge ~ In The Summer Garden
Stamping Sensations July Challenge ~ In my Garden
Southern Girls Challenge ~ Flower Power
Back To Basics and Beyond Challenge #8 ~ Use an Embossing Folder
Passion for Promarkers Week 454 ~ Dies and/or punches

Butterfly

It's been several days since I've done any crafting as it's been so hot.   It's been a little cooler today, so I decided to play with my alcohol inks, which have been neglected for too long.  I used one of the pieces to make a CAS card, so I can join in with a few challenges.

I used a Memory Box 'Large Circle Burst' die with a square of white card and attached a piece of the inked card behind.  For this piece I used Ranger ' Stream' and 'Wild' Plum alcohol inks.  The letters were die cut with a Memory Box 'Uppercase Alphabet Soup' die, using purple card, picking out one of the shades from the alcohol ink. The butterfly is a Poppystamp die 'Elsa Butterfly' with three clear gems added to the centre.  I covered a card blank with the same purple card I used for the alphabet letters.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Poppystamps Challenge #46 ~ Birthday Party!

City Crafter Challenge Blog Week 422 ~ Butterflies

HLS July CAS Challenge ~ Animals

HLS July Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

That's Crafty 'Close to Nature' Challenge

Country View July Challenge ~ In The Summer Garden

Dies R Us Challenge #101 ~ Birthdays

Inkspirational Challenge #165 ~ Word Prompt- Birthday

Once a King......

When I saw Donna's card HERE I knew I would have to use the sentiment for a friend's birthday card.  We enjoyed a lunchtime party last Saturday in the garden and the birthday boy had arranged for an ice cream van to turn up at his house later in the afternoon.  As it was probably the hottest day we've had this year, an ice cream was just what we all needed!

The image is a freebie digi stamp  from Free Dearie Dolls Digi Stamps which I coloured with Promarkers.  I used matt silver pearlised card for the background, embossed with a Creative Expressions 'Textures - Linen' e/f.  To finish off my card I added a few silver Card Candi.

Here is the inside of the card.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Use Your Stuff Challenge #322 ~ Anything Goes (with a title or a sentiment)

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #199 ~ Men's Fashion

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #76 ~ Wild Animals (I hope a dragon counts as a wild animal) 

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #403 ~ Make it funny

2 Crafty Critter Crazies 16th Challenge ~ Anything Goes with a Critter

Tea For Two!

I'm not sure why,  probably because of the glorious weather we're having in the UK and it's great to be outside in the sunshine, but I seem to be playing catch-up with challenges and blog visiting lately.  The Twofer Challenge finishes on the 24th July, so I got my skates on two make two cards for different occasions, using the same die.  As there is nothing more English than a cup of tea, I went with a teapot.  The only way to make a good cup of tea! 

I am joining in the Twofer Challenge with this pair of cards.

Last year I was invited to a couple of afternoon tea parties, so I thought I'd make a thank you card in case I get invited to another one.  Afternoon tea always comes with delicious cakes, so I used a Cuttlebug cupcakes embossing folder to make the panel. The teapot and cup are dies from a Trimcraft set, 'Tea Party' and I inlaid all the detail.

I am joining in the following challenges with this card.

Crafty Friends Challenge #88 ~ Food/Drink
Cardz 4 Galz Challenge #76 ~ Food and or Drink
Double 'D' Challenge ~ Tea and/or Coffee
HLS July Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

For my second card, I used the teapot die cut, but trimmed off the handle, spout and part of the lid to turn it into vase.  The flowers were made with a punch and I drew the stems with a fineliner pen.  The circles are Spellbinder dies.  The black and white floral paper is from an old DCWV paper pad. 

I am joining in the following challenges with this card. 
Allsorts Challenge - Week 476/477 ~ Flowers all over
Crafty Catz Challenge #426 ~ ATG n Dies or punches
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Use A Die and/or Punch
Dies R Us Challenge #101 ~ Birthdays

Christmas in July

A CAS Christmas card today to add to my pile for December.

The sentiment is an old wood mounted stamp, stamped with Versafine 'Onyx Black'.  I'm not sure about the make of the embossing folder, I think it was a freebie with a craft magazine some time ago.  The red poinsettia was made with the two smallest dies from a Spellbinders set, with three yellow Nuvo Crystal drops added to the centre.

I am joining in the following challenges:

CAS Christmas July Challenge

CAS on Friday Challenge #137 Christmas in July

Aud Sentiments Challlenge #208 ~ Christmas In July + A Sentiment

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #170 ~ Christmas in July

Modsquad Challenge ~ Christmas In July

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Use A Die and/or Punch

SOS Challenge #362 ~ Christmas in July!
CHNC Challenge 395 ~ Christmas + optional Use Some Red 

AAA CAS Game #119 ~ Christmas in July

Thinking of You

A quick CAS card today so I can join in a few challenges, including the Less is More Challenge before it closes in a few hours.

The butterfly was made with two Memory Box dies, 'Swirl Butterfly' and 'Darla Butterfly'.  The butterfly is just attached by the body, leaving the wings free.  I added a flight path with Nuvo Crystal Drops.  A sentiment from the Happy Little Stampers 'Dandelion Wishes' set of stamps, stamped with Versafine 'Onyx Black', finished off my card.

I am joining in the following Challenges:
1.Less is More Challenge #375 ~ Olive and Tangerine
2.Butterfly Challenge #104 Spin The Butterfly wheel with the Letter O (Olive and Orange)
3.Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Use A Die and/or Punch
4.That's Crafty Challenge ~ Close to Nature

5.Country View July Challenge ~ In The Summer Garden

Happy Birthday

Happiness is........finding a die, which was part of a set, which I lost 9 or 10 months ago!  I couldn't use the set of dies without the one I lost without trying to cut the piece by hand.  After searching for ages, I assumed I had accidentally thrown it away. 😞 However, when I was going through a box of card yesterday, looking for a particular colour, there was the die between two pieces of card!! 😃

A card I made for my daughter who is celebrating her birthday today.

I started by covering a 6 x 6 card blank with purple and white spotty paper.  The frame, balloons and candle are from Sue Wilson's 'Celebrations' die set using purple pearlised card and silver non-shed glitter card.  I inlaid the white card in the apertures of the frame.  The flower was made with punches and the sentiment is computer generated, printed in grey.

I am joining in the following challenges. 

Simon Says Monday Challenge ~ Add A Little Sparkle
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge ~ Use A Die and/or Punch
Die Cuttin Divas Challenge #378 ~ Lots of Layers
The Crafter's Cafe Challenge # 200 ~ Lots of Layers
Dies R Us Challenge #101 ~ Birthdays
HLS July Anything Goes with Dies Challenge
Use your Stuff challenge # 321 ~ Birthday

Inkspirational Challenge #165 Word Prompt ~ Birthday

Barbecue Time!

A card today to thank friends for hosting a barbecue last Saturday.

For the background I used a Creative Expressions 'Dotted Matrix PinPoint' embossing folder.  The barbecue was made from snippets of card with dies from the Sue Wilson 'King of the Grill' set and layered on a Memory Box 'Stitched Hexagon' die. I added some red ink to the yellow flames to make them look more realistic. The matted hexagon was attached with foam tape to add dimension.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Crafty Catz challenge #425 ~ ATG - optional Think Summertime
Shopping Our Stash #362 ~ Feed Me (Under all those flames are burnt sausages!!  LOL!!)
HLS July Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Woof, woof!

A card today for a card swap, with a dog theme as a recipient has a lovely dog.  I kept the card just cream and black to match the beautiful ribbon. 

I started with a 6 x 6 cream card blank.  The heart dog image is a die cut from the Spellbinders 'Pawing Around (Dog)' set of dies and attached to a cream stitched square die cut and layered on a black mat.  The background is embossed with a Sue Wilson 'Pawprint Lattice' embossing folder.  The ribbon was bought at a local fabric shop and layered on a strip of black card. All the black card was snippets, so I'll be off to share my card in the Playground.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge #330 ~ Use snippets

 2 Crafty Critter Crazies 16th Challenge ~ Feature a Critter

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #215 ~ At Least Two Dies/Punches or One of Each

Bizzy Bec's July Challenge ~ Anything Goes
HLS July Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

I thought I'd share a few photos of  North Devon, a place we visit regularly.  It was especially beautiful last weekend in Ilfracombe where there was a 'Morris' festival on. 

There were lots of groups of people Morris Dancing, a traditional style of English dancing which dates back centuries.

Here are some of the dancers in action.  

The video clips should be working now!

Butterfly ~ Thank You

A card today which I made some time ago.  I've just discovered it in my draft posts and I have never made the post live...... until now!

The background card was already textured and has been in my stash for ages, bought when the Papermill had shops where you could fill up an empty box with your choice of card/paper.  The corners were punched with a butterfly corner punch.  The purple die cut butterfly was attached to a white Memory Box 'Astrid Circle' die cut,  just attached by the body and a clear gem added for the head.  This was layered on a purple Sue Wilson 'Double Pierced Circle' die cut. Using the Astrid Circle die again with purple card, I used the waste to add four star shapes to make the design more balanced and added tiny clear gems to the centres.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Butterfly Challenge #103 ~ Spin The Butterfly Wheel with the letter W (Wisteria)

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #215 ~ At Least Two Dies/Punches or One of Each

Age is only a number!

Looks like it's going to be another sunny day again today.  As someone said the other day, why do the weathermen keep saying we are in the middle of a heatwave?  We're not.....we're just in the middle of summer! 😎

The Crafty Calendar Challenge begins today, with the theme 'Totally Girly'.  

My DT card uses a pre-coloured digi stamp from one of our sponsors, Pink Gem Designs. The image is called Cocktail Molly and can be found HERE.  After layering the image with dark red card, it was attached to the card front.  I trimmed off a centimetre or so from the right-hand side of the front of the card blank.  Using the same red card, I punched a border using a Martha Stewart border punch and attached it to the inside edge of the front of the card.  I put a thin strip of white card behind the holes so I could add white pearls down in the border.

This photo shows what the front of the card looks like when it's open.

We have two generous sponsors this month:

Pink Gem Designs

and

Crafty Ribbons

The challenge ends on 28th July and I'm looking forward to seeing all your entries.  Please pop over to the Crafty Calendar Challenge to see lots of inspiration from the DT.

I am joining in the following challenges:
SoSS #113 - Over the Hill
A Perfect Time To Craft Open Challenge #07 ~ Anything Goes
Crafty Cardmakers #215 ~ At Least Two Dies/Punches or One of Each
2 Sisters on the Blog Challenge #17 ~ Fruit

Hummingbird

Welcome to my new follower, Maristella of Louca por porcelana!  Thank you for letting me know you are one of my new followers.

A card today which I hope has reached its destination.  I had a snippet of this background in my bits box from this project HERE which I liked too much to throw away.  It seemed the perfect background for this hummingbird image.

For the background I used the rubber band heat embossing technique with silver embossing powder over a Distress Ink background. The hummingbird is a Sizzix die, 'Free Bird', cut in black and matt silver card.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Less is More Challenge #374 ~ 'Bits Box' Item

4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #410 ~ Birthday

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #299 ~ CAS

CAS-ual Fridays Challenge #203 - Heat Embossing

Simply Create Too Challenge #140 ~No Pattern Paper

AAA Cards CAS Game #118 ~ Use A Frame

Thinking of you x 3

A friend likes to keep a supply of my 'Thinking of You' cards, not just for sympathy cards, but for friends who are going through a difficult time.  I made three cards of a similar design.

 For the first two cards I used the embossing folder which came with the Apple Blossom Magazine and Kit recently.  The scalloped border die also came with the magazine.  On the top card, I just used the top half of the embossing folder and used patterned paper from the kit for the bottom of the card. The flowers on all three cards were punched with an Xcut punch, which also embosses, with a tiny punched centre added.  When Craft Stash had a 40% off sale last week, I treated myself to a set of the 'Apple Blossom All Occasion Stamp Set A5 Wavy Sentiments' stamps as they go perfectly with the die and the embossing folder.  They had been on my wish list for a while and the offer was too good to miss.

A couple of other embossing folders fell in my basket so I could get free P & P.  This is one of them, 'Apple Blossom - Lattice Hearts'. 

I am joining in the following challenges:
Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #215 ~ At Least Two Dies/Punches or One of Each

Thinking of you

Yesterday I had a great day at a mixed media workshop with Andy Skinner, which was being held locally.  Another day when I was totally out my comfort zone with paints and inks.  I still can't get all the acrylic paint out from under my nails!  I haven't quite finished my project, so I'll post a photo another day when it's completed.

My card today uses an embossing folder, die, stamps and patterned paper from the Apple Blossom Magazine and Kit, which I bought recently.  The embossing folder is a relative of 'That Folder' which was a very popular embossing folder which came as a free gift with a magazine a while ago.  I covered the front of a card blank with yellow card, which was an recycled file divider.  As I recently finished supply teaching, I have been emptying all my old files (and there were a lot!) and saving all the cardboard dividers to put in my snippets drawers.  The flower was stamped twice on the same yellow card and fussy cut, with a tiny punched, green circle and white pearl in the middle.  I used an old green card divider to die cut the scalloped border, after stamping the sentiment.  The punched butterfly covers up a mishap with black ink that I didn't realise was on my fingers and was impossible to erase on the embossed surface! 

I am joining in the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge #329 ~ Use snippets

Crafty Catz Challenge #423 ~ ATG with the option of Embossing wet or dry

Country View July Challenge ~ In The Summer Garden

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper July 2018 challenge