Happy Birthday, Auntie Rachel!

I don't know about you, but I tend to buy stamps with cards in mind for specific people. As soon as I saw the poodles set from Clearly Besotted Stamps (yay, they are back!!!), I knew they were perfect for my French teacher sister. 

Obviously I had to have a poodle, and some shopping bags on there - she loves shopping and I'm always amazed at what she picks up in charity shops for next to nothing (a Brora cashmere jumper that just needed a little bit of extra sewing for one.)

I started with a piece of Make It Colour! Copic card stock and stamped everything with Memento Tuxedo Black. I then did some Copic colouring of the poodle - they have to be pink, don't you think? And then I found some snippets of patterned paper and did a bit of paper piecing on the bags. I added the ticks in bright pink.

I took a white A2 card base and stamped the French speech bubbles around the outside in different shades of pink and then cut my card panel down and popped it on top with some fun foam.

You'll notice there's something missing here. I used to have a set of links to the products used on my cards around about here. It was powered by InLinkz who are changing over to a product called LinkDeli. In doing so the price goes from roughly £5 a month to £25. Although I was part of the Simon Says Stamp affiliate programme, I earnt very very little from it (like pence in 6 months), I just liked having a central database for my purchases. So I hope you will understand it's just not worth it for me to continue with it. My previous posts will no longer have the links available, so I may go back at some point and tidy them up. I enjoyed using it, but finances have to come first and it no longer seemed a viable option for me.

Thank you so much for popping by today. We're almost at the weekend, so enjoy it when it comes :)

Love From Lizi Summer Blog Hop

Hello Everyone! I have the pleasure of being part of a Blog Hop for a new to me shop called Love From Lizi. This is a UK shop and they sell a variety of crafty supplies from paper to Nuvo Drops as well as a monthly card kit. A big thank you to them for having me on the hop!

You should have arrived here from Alicia and I'll give details of who is next at the bottom of this post. This hop is part of a GIVEAWAY where Love From Lizi is giving a free card kit or £20 to spend in the shop, so please leave a comment on this and all the blog posts in the hop by 25th June to be in with a chance!

I had one of the mini packs with some super cute patterned paper and decided to do something different with it and came up with an art piece.

I picked out some of the patterened papers - cute hedgehogs! - and did something I've never done before, I tore it up. Yep, tore it right up. It was cathartic and also scary. I love my patterned paper, but have never treated it so meanly! I laid the pieces in the order I wanted and then I put some Tombow Liquid Glue onto a large sheet of watercolour card and stuck them in place before spritzing them with some Distress Spray Stain in Picket Fence that a friend kindly sent me. Be careful with this stuff, as my craft mat is now spritzed - cover your surfaces well!!

I left it to dry overnight and in the morning noticed it hadn't all stuck down, which I rather liked the effect of. I then got my Paper Artsy Eclectica stamp set with the hedgehogs (matched the patterned paper you see!) and stamped on top with Archival Ink. I had a notion to colour it in, but in the end decided to let the paper come through.

I cut it down to size to fit into my frame and decided it needed some washi tape on the bottom and top for added interest.

Here is a list of the supplies used on this card. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products. If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps in a small way to support the running of my blog and is very much appreciated, thank you! 

Love From Lizi Mini-Packs - Forest Friends

Tombow 88 oz Mono Multi Liquid Glue

Hahnemuhle Watercolour Paper 300gsm 25 x 32.5cm 40 Sheets

Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black

Paper Artsy Eclectica Kim Dellow 01

InLinkz.com

 
Here's a bit of an artsy shot of it in my garden - let yourself grow after all.

Thank you so much for joining me today, it's been fun doing something different. Hop on over to Laura now to see what she's come up with.

Don't forget to leave a comment on this post and all the others in the hop to be in with a chance to win a card kit or £20 to spend in the shop :)

Craft Haul - April, May, June 2017 - VIDEO

Hi Everyone! Those of you in the UK, how are you surviving the heat wave? Seriously, it's nearly 9pm here as I type and it feels like it's about 24 degress outside. Musn't grumble as it's lovely to have the sunshine, but an ice bath would be really nice right now....

Anyway, I have a haul video of the purchases I've made over the last three months, including the recent craft fair I went to that some of you may have seen on Instagram.

You can watch the video here or over on my YT channel and if you haven't already, would be lovely if you could subscribe. That way you don't miss any in future :)

Here is a list of my purchases. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products. If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps in a small way to support the running of my blog and is very much appreciated, thank you!

Clearly Besotted Sweet Symphony	Clearly Besotted Poodle Around	Clearly Besotted Into the Woods II	Inkylicious Ink Dusters	Memento Dual Marker Pen	MFT - Dienamics Stitched Rectangle Scallop Frame	MFT - Dienamics Rectangle Peek A Boo Window
MFT - Dienamice Square Peek a Boo Window	MFT - Seaside Seagulls	MFT - Stencil Cloud

LinkDeli.com

Thank you so much for reading and watching, enjoy the rest of the week.

Happy Birthday Love

As soon as I saw the March My Monthly Hero card kit add ons, I knew I had to have the Welcome Home set. Whilst the kit you have to order from the USA (if you are interested, Michelle has some information about purchasing them as an international customer), Seven Hills Crafts gets the add ons in as soon as they can. 

I had this very card in mind as soon as I saw it specifically for my husband's birthday which is today. 

This card took a LOT of masking, but since I love masking, it wasn't a problem for me. I started by taking a piece of Make It Colour! Copic friendly card stock and some Memento Tuxedo Black and after a lot of working out how I would mask and place each element, I stamped the animals in place. I had to rub off some of the ink on the squirrel around his bottom and tail so that it would look like he was sitting on the chair.

I then masked the animals and stamped a chair on top and got colouring with my Copics. I really should start writing down the colours I've used because I rather like how the squirrel came out!

I then took a stencil that my friend Tina sent me and masked off the chair and animals and blended some spun sugar distress ink on top to make it look like wall paper behind. I then die cut it out with a stitched rectangle die - I'd like to say it's not centred on purpose, but it's not, just my bad die cutting..... I popped up the panel on a dark grey card base.

I added the little speech bubbles using a fun little die my friend Dawn gave me for my birthday last year and added in the words myself. Both me and my husband have always been Star Wars fans, but recently rekindled our love of it by watching Star Wars Rebels, the newest element in the franchise, on DVD and YouTube, as well as revisiting some books my sister bought me 23 years ago. The quote is what Leia (me, as the sewing mouse) tells Han (husband as the paper reading squirrel), and what he replies, as he's being encased in carbonite in The Empire Strikes Back. If you love it, you love it ;)

Here is a list of the supplies used on this card. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products. If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps in a small way to support the running of my blog and is very much appreciated, thank you! 

Hero Arts Welcome Home

Memento Tuxedo Black

My Sweet Petunia - MISTI Mini

Copic Markers

Mini Distress Ink Pad - All Colours

Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# SET OF 26 COLORS 26Cdsk

InLinkz.com

 
So now that I've got my inner nerd out, thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you have a fabulous weekend :)

Flower Challenge #9 - Anything Goes - Reminder

Welcome back to our mid point reminder for this month's Flower Challenge. It's Anything Goes and I've really enjoyed seeing all your makes:

Here's my take on the theme with a simple almost one layer card. These are an older set from Clearly Besotted (discontinued sadly) that my lovely crafty friend Laurie sent me as she no longer wanted them. I don't have a lot of layering stamps, but I can see why people like them. They are really very simple to use, working best with a stamp positioner, and make a quick card.

I started with a stitched detail card panel which I found in my scrap box. Using my stamp positioner and some of my Altenew inks - they are designed for layering, so thought they would be perfect for this card - I positioned and inked the different parts of the rose.

  I stamped the sentiment on the card, covering a little of the rose, but I felt that wasn't too much to worry about. I then popped it up onto a dark grey A2 card base using fun foam.

Here is a list of the supplies used on this card. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products. If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps in a small way to support the running of my blog and is very much appreciated, thank you! 

Altenew Red Sunset Dye Ink Cubes

Altenew Crisp Dye Ink - Green Fields

We R Memory Keepers Precision Press

Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# SET OF 26 COLORS 26Cdsk

InLinkz.com

Keep your entries coming in, you have until 25th to get making :)

Gansai Tambi Pearl Background with Jane's Doodles Cactus - VIDEO

Hello Everybody! I hope you've all had a great weekend and the weather was nice wherever you are. I'm here today to share with you a card I made for my lovely Copic teacher. OK, a bit of a Teacher's Pet, but I had a little something to give her and wanted a card to go with it. The theme had to be cacti, so I had no hesitation in using my NBUS Jane's Doodles set that I got back in February.

I also took the opportunity to use my new Gansai Tambi Pearl Watercolours to create the background. They are deliciously shiny and work really well with the other Gansai Tambi paints. I love them, they make lovely loose watercolour backgrounds like here.

I stamped and coloured the cactus with my Copics (well I have to show her how much I've been practising), fussy cut (!!!!!!) and popped up on foam tape on the background panel. I've attached it to a fawn A2 card base.

I've a video you can watch below or on my YouTube channel in HD on how the card came together.

Here is a list of the supplies used on this card. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products. If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps in a small way to support the running of my blog and is very much appreciated, thank you!

Jane's Doodles - Cactus

Memento Tuxedo Black

Copic Markers

Gansai Tambi Pearl Colours

Gansai Tambi Starry Watercolours

Kuretake Gansai Tambi 24 pan set

Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# SET OF 26 COLORS 26Cdsk

Versa Fine Onyx Black

InLinkz.com

 
Thank you so much for taking the time to watch and read and I wish you all a fabulous week ahead. Happy Crafting one and all :) xx 

Flower Challenge #9 and Magazine Makes #7

Hello again! It's time for another challenge over at The Flower Challenge and this month, it's Anything Goes.

So you can give yourself free reign and have lots of flowery fun this month. Here's my card:

I get quite a lot of flower stamps and dies with my magazine subscription and this is from issue 162, the most recent. I took the main flower image and stamped it in archival ink onto some scrap watercolour card. I then took the vase and stamped it onto a small square of watercolour card and added the stems in as well.

I coloured them all in with my new Daniel Smith watercolour dot card. The colours are lovely and I've been trying the wet on wet technique since watching my friend Lisa's recent video. She's definitely streets ahead of me with it!

I die cut the frame from dark grey card stock and glued it around the vase and after fussy cutting the flowers I adhered them to the stems using foam pads. I wanted them to look as if they were coming out of the frame.

I cut the panel to fit the frame and then adhered it to a light yellow card base - must be something about grey and yellow at the moment with me!

I like to have a few cards to hand without any sentiments just for sending and for adding sentiments to later as I can then decide what I need at the time.

Here is a list of the supplies used on this card. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products. If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps in a small way to support the running of my blog and is very much appreciated, thank you! 

Simply Cards and Papercraft Issue 162

Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black

Daniel Smith Hero Arts Palette Watercolour Dot Sheet

Hahnemuhle Watercolour Paper 300gsm 25 x 32.5cm 40 Sheets

Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# SET OF 26 COLORS 26Cdsk

InLinkz.com

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you feel inspired to try the challenge this month. You have until 25th to enter :)