Allsorts Challenge ~ What Make You Happy

This is my second post today, please scroll down to see my Crafty Calendar Challenge DT card. 

A new Allsorts Challenge begins today and Gail has chosen the theme of  'What Makes You Happy'.  There are a lot of things that make me happy, but I decided on 'Sunflowers' and 'Making Fancy Fold Cards', so combined the two for my DT card.  As always, there is also the option of Anything Goes for the challenge.

I made a Spring Fold card, one of my favourite folds. It's easy to make and folds flat for posting.  The sunflower is a Cheery Lynn die cut and the snippet of patterned paper is from The Range.  I used a punch for the leaves.

There are two prizes of a Penny Black stamp and die set from Buddly Crafts to be won.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Galz Challenge #251 ~ Floral Frenzy

Krafty Chicks Challenge #771 ~ Birthday

Creative Creases Challenge #104 ~ Fancy Folds

Cut it Up Challenge #331 ~ Anything Goes

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #618 -Use your die cuts

The Sisterhood of Crafters Challenge ~ Flowers

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge#29 ~ Anything Florals Goes

Triple B June Challenge ~ Bird, Butterflies and Blooms

Crafty Calendar Challenge ~ Add a Sentiment

The June Crafty Calendar Challenge begins today with the theme 'Add a Sentiment'.

I used a Crafter's Companion 'Wishing You A Very Happy Birthday Clear Stamp And Die' set.   I stamped the sentiment using Versafine Clair 'Morning Mist.  The patterned paper is from The Range.  To finish off my card I added a flower die cut with dies from the Jamie Rodgers 'Daisy Blossoms' set.

The prize this month is Heffydoodle stamps and dies.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #179 ~ Birthday 

Word Power June 2025 Challenge ~ Anything Goes with Words as a focus

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #618 ~ Use your die cuts

Creations in Pink Challenge # 81 ~ Anything Goes in MAINLY PINK

Rudolph Days May Challenge

I'm not sure where this last month has gone, but tomorrow is the last day of May and the last day of the May Rudolph's Days Challenge.  So just quick card today before the challenge closed.

I saw this preloved Stampin' Up 'Snowflakes Card Thinlits Die' for sale online recently for about the cost of a cup of coffee..... how could I not buy it? I have no willpower!  I used the main die with navy blue card.  I used the same die again with a large snippet of patterned paper from The Works and trimmed around the edges so it left a border on the navy blue card.  The snowflakes were dies from the same set.  A sentiment finished off my card.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Rudolph Days May Challenge

NBUS Challenge #74 ~ Never-Before-Used-Schtuff ( new die set)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown ~ use Die Cuts or Punches

Baaa!

Out of my comfort zone using a sketch today. Jules has lots of sketch templates on her blog which she generously shares with anyone who would like to use one.  For my card I used square sketch #2.  The image isn't quite square, but I thought it looked okay with the rest of the layout.

A friend of mine loves anything sheep related, so I looked through my printed digi stamps and found this one which I thought would be perfect for her birthday card. The image is a pre-coloured digi stamp from Beccy's Place from the 'Warm and Woolly' set. (For those of you who use digi stamps, Beccy is closing down the digi stamp part of her shop at the end of June, so just a few more weeks to pick up a bargain.)  The patterned paper was snippets from a paper pad from The Range, so I'll be sharing my card over in the Playground.  I wasn't sure where to put the sentiment, but found a Sizzix stamp the right size to fit in the image rectangle.

I am joining in the following challenge:

Love Those Pretty Patterned Papers May Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #617 ~ Add a sentiment

Creations in Pink Challenge # 81 ~ Anything Goes in MAINLY PINK

Snippets Playground Challenge #507 ~ Use Snippets

Allsorts Challenge ~ 16th Birthday

A special Allsorts Challenge begins today for our 16th Birthday, with a simple theme of  'Anything Goes'.  As it's a special challenge, there are also prizes to be won by our US entrants.

I used an AALL & Create #928 'Flower Press' stamp, stamped with Memento 'Tuxedo Black' and coloured with Promarkers.  The image was die cut with a Sizzix 'Stitched Rectangles' die and I used a border die from the same set to die cut two pink strips.   The sentiment is a stamp from the Stampin' Up 'Best Year' set, stamped with Versafine Clair 'Nocturne'.  I added a few tiny pink pearls to finish off my card.

There are four prizes of products from AALL and Create.

 

and three prizes just for our US based entrants:

A $25 store voucher from Lawn Fawn

Three stamps from Colorado Craft Company

A $25 store voucher from Gina K Designs (Worldwide)

I am joining in the following challenges:

Fab 'n' Funky Challenge #617 ~ Add a sentiment

The Sisterhood of Crafters Challenge ~ Flowers

Passion For Markers Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #29 ~ Anything Florals Goes 

The Flower Challenge #102 ~ Add Spots or Stripes

AAA Birthday Challenge - Game #73 ~ Anything Birthday Goes

Lupin

While we were on holiday with friends last week, we had two hares visit us every morning and we enjoyed watching them playing in the field outside our accommodation while we were eating our breakfast.  I wanted to send a thank you card to the couple who found the amazing house we stayed in and this image was the perfect one to use.

I stamped a Lavina Stamps 'Lupin' hare on a square of white card with Memento 'Rich Cocoa'.  I stamped a second image on a scrap of card to use as a mask.  After covering the original hare with the mask, I positioned a Card-io MajeMask 'Leaf', stencil over to top and lightly fill in the leaf aperture with 'Peeled Paint' Distress Ink.  Keeping the stencil in place I put a second stencil over the top, Lavinia Stamps 'Glory', and stencilled the pattern using the same ink pad.  The image was coloured with Promarkers and I added a little shadow to ground the hare.  The sentiment was a stamp from Stampin' Up 'Humming Along', stamped with Versafine Clair 'Acorn'. The stamp and the leaf stencil were used for the first time, so I'll be sharing my card over in the NBUS Challenge.

I am joining in the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge #74 ~ Use Never-Before-Used-Schtuff 

We Love Stamping May Challenge ~ Four Legged Friends

Stamping Sensations May Challenge ~ Anything Goes

May Stencil Fun Challenge ~ Anything with a Stencil Goes

Passion for Markers Week 789 ~ Special Anniversary Challenge - ATG

Badminton

I came home on Friday from a lovely week away with a group of friends, in a large self-catering house just outside Clovelly, North Devon. I'll add a few photos at the end of this post.

I made this card for a friend who celebrated her birthday just before we went away.  We both play badminton once a week with a few other friends, so this was the theme of my card.

 

The racket and shuttlecock are dies from Sweet Dixie 'Badminton' set. The shuttlecock is attached with foam pads to add some dimension.  I die cut two squares using dies from the Lisa Horton 'Stitched Scalloped Layered Squares' set and embossed the smaller square with a folder that look a bit like a badminton net.  I'm not sure of the brand as it is a preloved folder I bought a while ago and there is no brand name on the folder.  The sentiment and mat were die cut with two Sizzix dies.

I remembered to take a photo of the snippets I used, so I'll be joining in the challenge in the Snippets Playground.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge #506 ~ Use Snippets

NBUS Challenge #74 ~ Use Never-Before-Used-Schtuff (pre-loved embossing folder)

 Little Red Wagon Challenge # 807 - D is for Die Cut

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #219 ~ AG + No Patterned Paper

AAA Birthday Game #73 ~ Anything Birthday Goes

If you've read this far, here are a few photos taken last week.  Clovelly and Hartland Quay were both film locations for the 'The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society' film.

 

Clovelly

The dramatic coastline at Hartland Quay.

...... and finally, a photo of the dining room in our accommodation, what a fabulous wall!

Allsorts Challenge ~ Paper Piecing

A new Allsorts Challenge begins today and Lynne has chosen the theme 'Paper Piecing'.  I've paper pieced stamped images in the past, but decided to find a die that I could paper piece.

I used a Sweet Dixie 'Large Owl Applique Patchwork Square' die.  I used the die with brown card and put blue card behind the central square to make the owl stand out.  I then layered the brown frame on a beige mat.  I used the die again with the patterned acorns and leaves paper from a very old paper pad, called 'Woodland Folk'.  To keep all the little pieces in the right place I used a square of  'PRESSN'SEAL' (which is like a slightly sticky thin plastic) over the die cut, before removing the paper from the die.   This keeps all the pieces in place until you need them and makes it easier to inlay all the little patterned papers in the right space.  I used snippets of orange, white and shades of brown with the die so I could inlay the spaces in the owl.  I die cut the leaves in green and laid them over the top of the brown leaves in the frame to add some dimension.

The prize this fortnight is a Personal Impressions £20 store voucher.

I wasn't sure if the card above looked too busy, so I made a second card using paper from The Range with a more subtle pattern.

This time I inlaid all the spaces around the owl so that everything was flat. After removing all the small patterned paper to inlay, I was left with a patterned paper frame. Rather than waste it.......

..... I attached it to a square card blank. I punched a couple of small circles in a darker shade of green and used them for the eyes.  So a really quick and easy card to finish.

Don't forget to put our next challenge in your diary.  As it's our 16th Birthday Celebrations there will be some amazing prizes to be won.

I am joining in the following challenges with the first card:

Love Those Pretty Papers May Challenge

Mix It Up Challenge #77 ~ Paper Piecing

Triple B May Challenge ~ Birds, Butterflies and Blooms

Dream Valley Challenge #336 ~ Things With Wings

Out of my comfort zone....

The Tag-along (and ATCs) Challenge started this month.  I've already made a tag, so I thought I'd have a go at making an ATC.  I usually make 7"x 5" or 6"x 6" cards, so it was a challenge to make something much smaller.

The ATC measures 3 1/2" x 2 1/2".  I covered a piece of card with a snippet of patterned paper from The Range and corner rounded the corners. I doodled a pattern around the edge using a dark green fineliner pen..... no idea why it looks blue in the photo!  The leaves and flowers are stamps from a Two Jays 'Funky Flowers' set, a recent purchase from a charity shop and they had their first outing.  I stamped the leaves on the ATC in Versafine Clair 'Rain Forest' and again on a snippet of green card. I fussy cut the leaves on the green card and paper pieced them on the ATC.  I stamped the flowers and centres with Versafine Clair 'Shady Lane, fussy cut them and glued onto the ATC.  The sentiment is a stamp from the Stampin' Up 'Best Year' set, stamped with 'Rain Forest'.  Three tiny yellow pearls finished off my card. 

I am joining in the following challenges:

Tag-along (and ATCs) May ~ Anything Goes

We Love Stamping May Challenge ~ Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations May Challenge ~ Feminine/Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge #74 ~ Use Never-Before-Used-Schtuff 

Crafty Catz Challenge #693 ~ Anything Goes with an option of May Flowers

Craft Rocket Challenge #693 ~ Flowers

A second make to share today, a card made for a 19 year old neighbour who completed the London Marathon recently for the first time.  The run was made even more difficult due to the unusually hot weather for this time of year.

I used a die and stamps from the Crafter's Companion 'Celebrate your success' set. The layered, punched stars are attached to the card with foam pads.

I added a piece of blue card behind on the inside to show through the 'CELEBRATE' when the card is closed.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Word Power May 2025 Challenge

Butterflies Galore

An easy fancy fold card today after watching a video on the Nifty Noodles Crafting Facebook page..... just one extra fold.

The patterned papers are from The Works and The Range.  I used Memory Box 'Pippi' and 'Isabella' dies to make the two butterflies.

There is a plain panel inside for the message.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Alphabet Challenge ~ B is for Butterflies - more than 2

Krafty Chicks Challenge #766 ~ Birthday

Love Those Pretty Patterned Paper May Challenge

Triple B May Challenge ~ Birds, Butterflies and Blooms

Creative Moments May Challenge #270 ~ Patterned Paper

Crafty Calendar Challenge ~ For A Child

The May Crafty Calendar Challenge begins today with the theme 'For a Child'.

The image is an All Dressed Up digi stamp which I coloured with Promarkers using the colours of our local football team. I layered the image on a blue mat and raised it up on foam tape to add some dimension. The sentiment is part of the digi stamp.  The patterned papers are from Anna Marie Designs.

The Crafty Calendar Challenge ends on 28th May.  Please hop over to the challenge blog to see the beautiful creations the DT have made for inspiration.

There is a lovely prize of two stamps for the lucky randomly chosen winner.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts Challenge #546 ~ For The Kids

Addicted to Stamps and More! Challenge #491 ~ Make Your Mark

Passion For Markers Week 786 ~ Birthdays

I Love Promarkers Challenge #582 ~ Anything Goes/Masculine