Rudolph Days - November 22

 Hello there,

I'm here today to share another card that I've made for the 'Rudolph Days' challenge over at Scrappy Mo's.  Here's what I've made:

I love these quirky birds by Crafty Individuals.  They're great for making Christmas cards and if you mask off the legs, they make great little snow birds.

Rudolph Days - October 22

 Hello there,

I'm here today to share another card that I've made for the 'Rudolph Days' challenge over at Scrappy Mo's.  Here's what I've made:

All stamps used on this card with the exception of the sentiment are by Crafty Individuals.

Rudolph Days - September 22

Hello there,

I'm here today to share another card that I've made for the 'Rudolph Days' challenge over at Scrappy Mo's.  Here's what I've made:

The stamps that I've used on this card are by Crafty Individuals and Katzelkraft.

Rudolph Days - August 22

Hello there,

It's the 25th of the month, so time again for another 'Rudolph Days' challenge hosted by lovely Scrappy Mo.  Here's this month's card:

This card features a very old stamp of mine by Penny Black.  I just adore these wonderfully cute penguins.  I used a square mask so that I could create a frame and blend in the sky,  The sentiment is by Inkylicious and I added a few punched snowflakes which I think work really well against the background. 

I can't wait to see what you've all made for the challenge and I'd like to wish you all a very happy day xx

Last Few Samples

 Hello there

Are we all ready for the weekend?  Whatever you're doing, I hope that it makes you happy!

I'm here today with the last of my sample from the Shows on the 5th of August:

I hope you've enjoyed looking at them and I'll be back with you again on the 25th with my card for this month's Rudolph Days challenge.  

Take care and stay safe xx

A Few Crafty Samples

Hello there,

I hope that you're all keeping well and happy.

I'm here today to share a few more of my samples from the last Crafty Individuals shows on Create and Craft:

The first card has a mandala that was designed by my crafty friend, Lynne Kirton, so I really wanted to do her proud and I'm happy with how the card turned out.  I've used Brushos in the background and then a gold glitter embossing powder to compliment the rich orange colour.

The last one with the ladybird on was a real labour of love as I used the front of the ladybird to create my border.....well, it seemed like a good idea at the time!

As you can probably see, I've enjoyed using my sequins this time around.

That's all from me for today but I'll be back soon with the last of my samples from the shows xx

Crafty Individuals On Telly Today

Hi there,

I just wanted to let you know that lovely Jean Hardy from Crafty Individuals will be on Create and Craft today at 12pm and 4pm.  She has some lovely new stamps and papers and who knows, you might even see a couple of my samples.  Here's just one of them:

I just fell in love with this paper as soon as I saw it and I knew that it would work perfectly with this fab honey bee drawn by Ellie Mulligan.  There are lots of layers on this one and I finished it by adding a blue jewel in the center of the bee and a few gold sequins to give it some sparkle .  I hope that you can join Jean but if not, then it will be available on catch up for the next couple of months.

Take care and I'll be back soon with more samples xx

Rudolf Days - July 22

Hello there my crafty friends,

It's the 25th of July, so time again for another 'Rudolph Days' challenge hosted by lovely Scrappy Mo.  Here's this month's card:

This card features stamps by Crafty Individuals.  I started by using their fabulous Baroque background stamp, then heat embossed it in white before adding some ink over the top.  The dogs and parcels were all fussy cut out and water coloured.  This isn't really my usual style of Christmas card but I really like it and I've made a few of them.  I think that they will be perfect to send to younger family members especially, although I think the humour may also appeal to the older generations too.  

Wishing you all a very happy and colourful day xx

Rudolph Days - June 22

 Hello there,

It's the 25th, so time again for another 'Rudolph Days' challenge hosted by lovely Scrappy Mo.  Can you believe that we are half way through the year already! Here's this month's card:

This card was made using the beautiful stag by Lavinia and some of the oldest Tapestry stamps that I own.  I think I'd only been stamping about a year when I bought them and that was more tears ago now than I care to remember!  A simple scene using a circle stencil to create the moon.  I had intended adding a Christmas sentiment but I think it has enough on it already.

That's all from me for today and I hope that it's a happy one for you all xx

A Little Birdie Me

Hello there,

I'm here today to share the last of my Crafty Individuals bird samples and here they are:

Once again, I've used lots of layers to create dimension.  My second card is mounted on a lovely paper by CI.  I love how fresh it looks in the background.

That's all for today but I'll be back with you on the 25th with my card for this month's Rudolph Days challenge.  Take care of yourselves and stay happy xx

Sending You Sunshine

Hello there,

I'm here again today to share a couple more of my most recent samples for Crafty Individuals and here they are:

I really enjoyed building up this scene and I used the sun ray stencil in the background.  It's probably the sunshine and the sentiment that makes me feel happy every time I look at this card!

There are lots of layers on this card and I made the plant pot just out of some terracotta card and then used a crackle stamp over it.  I also added a little shading to make it look a little more realistic.   I love the colours of this card.

That's all from me for today but I'll be back with you next week to share my last two samples from this time around.  Wishing you all a happy weekend xx

More Lovely Birds

Hello there,

How did your Bank Holiday go? I'm looking forward to reading all about your stories.

I'd like to share a couple more of my most recent samples for Crafty Individuals and here they are:

I absolutely adore this stamp and although it's only a 6x6 card, I think it's one of my favourite samples this time around.  It's such a joy to colour and it layers up beautifully

This is a sample using a couple of older stamps but I do love these ducks and it's a great stamp to use on masculine cards

That's all from me for today and I hope that you all have a very happy and colourful weekend  xx

Crafty Individuals On Telly Today

Hello there,

How are your Jubilee celebrations going?  We are having a family garden party today, so I'm really looking forward to that.  After a couple of years where Covid has dictated otherwise, it's really good to be making happy family memories again.  It doesn't seem two minutes since the Silver Jubilee, so I'm not sure how we've got to this one so quickly, it's quite scary if you sit back and think about it, so I don't think I will!  

In other news, lovely Jean Hardy from Crafty Individuals is back on Create and Craft today at 12pm and 3pm with some wonderful new stamps that have been designed by our own lovely Dora.  It's all about birds this time around and I have to say that I've really enjoyed making the samples again.  I've done lots of decoupage this time around, which I think worked really well with the new designs.  Jean is also releasing a new set of sentiment stamps which I've loved using and they will definitely be staying on my desk as they are so useful.   Here are the first two of my samples:

The Wren is such a beautiful stamp and will get lots of use, especially on masculine cards or even sympathy.  I wasn't sure where I was going when I first started this card.  I just kept adding more and more elements to it and I'm really happy with the end result.

How cute are these geese? I cut out and repositioned the heads on the two outside ones and I think it makes them look really comical!

I'll be sharing the rest of my samples over the next couple of weeks and I hope you like them.

I hope that you all have a wonderful Bank Holiday xx

Rudolph Days - May 22

Hello there,

It's the 25th, so time again for another 'Rudolph Days' challenge hosted by lovely Scrappy Mo.  Here's this month's card:

I love creating scenic cards, so I really enjoyed making this one.  The card mainly features stamps made by Crafty Individuals and I've used the branch from Stampscapes and the moon by Inkylicious.  I love this gorgeous hare stamp by CI, although it did originally have a large moon behind it's head.  After using it many times, I decided the I would cut it off as I can get more use from the stamp with just the lovely hare.  It was a bit tricky as it was quite close in but fortunately, I managed to cut it off without damaging the main image.  

That's all from me for today and I shall look forward to seeing you wonderful makes for this challenge xx 

It's All About The Tags Today

Hello there my friends and followers,

Well, it seems like ages since I last blogged anything but I've been busy making samples for the next CI shows at the beginning of June and I'm still really enjoying the gym three or four times a week, so I'm afraid that blogging has taken a back seat but on the plus side, I'm fitter than I've been in years! ;)  There seems to be very few of us left blogging now and to be honest, I'm not sure how much longer I'll carry on doing it myself.  It's not too bad in the winter when we are stuck in with bad weather but when the sun starts shining, there's so many other things to do and I hate to say it but it's so much easier to post on Instagram than it is spending ages putting a blog post together that only a few people may choose to read.  Anyway, I'll see how I go over the next few months, then make a decision one way or the other.  

I'm here today to share a couple of Art Journal pages with you that I made last weekend.  I made them for a challenge but got totally absorbed in what I was doing and I'm pleased with the outcome.  The challenge was to use a tag/tags on an AJ page.  Here's what I made:

Page 1

Page 2

The Double Page Spread

With the exception of the large sentiment and definition stamp, all other stamps that I've used are by Crafty Individuals.  I used Brushos on the background, stencils and also gesso through stencils to give a little texture and contrast in colour.

As I've definitely got lots of Snippets on these pages with the tags and butterflies, I'd like to add my first page to the 'Snippets Playground Challenge'

That's all from me for today and if I don't see you all before, then I'll be back on the 25th of the Rudolph Days Challenge.  

Take care of yourselves and stay happy xx

Rudolph Days - April 22

Hello there you crafty lot and how are you doing today?

I can't believe how quickly the months are rolling by, although I'm not sure why that surprises me when it happens all the time! :)

I'm here today to share another card that I've made for the 'Rudolph Days' challenge over at Scrappy Mo's.  Here's what I've made:

This one features the wonderful bauble stencil by Sweet Poppy stamps and some of my older stamps.  I love this bauble as it's so easy to use and you can fill it with lots of different scenes.  Some work out better than others but it's all trial and error really.  If I'm not sure if something will work, then I tend to try it out first on copy paper, rather than wasting card as it's not as cheap as it used to be.

That's all from me for today and I hope that it's a happy day for you all xx

Happy Easter 22

Hello there,

Just a quick post from me today to wish all my friends and followers a very happy Easter xx

Both cards were made using stamps by Crafty Individuals xx

Last Few Florals

Hello and welcome to the new week.  

I wonder what it will have in store for us all? Something good I hope x

I'm here today to share the last of my samples from the Create & Craft shows on the 1st of April and I hope that you've enjoyed seeing them as much as I enjoyed making them:

So my first card is a scenic one, you all know that I can't resist making these.  I was trying to think of different ways to use the bluebell stamp and I thought that they worked really well in the foreground of the scene.  The are all decoupaged, so another labour of love card.  My last two cards are on the grungy side but I enjoyed making them.  I've used the stamp on my last card quite a few times but this is definitely my favourite card that I've made with it as I love the colours and the touches of gold and the black die cuts finish it off really well and I even got out the sequins for this one.  That's all my most recent samples shared now, other that a couple of journal pages that I'll share with you at a later date.

Wishing you all a happy week ahead xx

A Few More Florals

Hello there my lovely friends and followers,

Are you all ready for the weekend?  I hope that you've all got something nice planned or maybe you'll be doing some crafting.  Whatever, you're doing, I hope that you all have a lovely weekend x

I'm here today to share a few more of my recent CI samples:

As I mentioned in a previous post, I really enjoyed making these samples and they are stamps that I will use time and time again as they are so beautiful and perfect for so many different occasions.  All of these samples have been layered up to create dimension, although it doesn't really show too well on these photos.  The cutting out of the bluebells was definitely a labour of love but worth it in the end.  I also enjoyed making the tag and playing with the colours.  The first card is one of my favourite samples from this time and it wasn't originally intended to be on black card but I found that it really made the image pop and It's quite a dramatic contrast.  Once again, I've used the gorgeous new butterfly stamps which I absolutely adore.

That's all from me and I wish you all a happy and colourful day xx

I would like to add my second card into the following challenges:

Try It On Tuesday - Spring Colours

Country View Challenges - Spring Is Coming

Crafty Friends Challenge Blog - Challenge 154 For April

A few Floral Samples

Hello there,

I do hope that you all had a good weekend and that you managed to do something that made you happy.

Did you see Crafty Individuals on Create & Craft last Friday?  It's still on Catch Up if you'd like to see it at some point and well worth a watch.  I'd like to share a few of my samples with you today and here they are:

                                         

My first card features of of the new stamps and the last two using some of the older but still very beautiful CI stamps.  On the first card, I've also used one of the butterflies from one of the new stamp sets.  The background paper on the last card was designed by my teamie Lynne and it's beautiful.  You can even see the dew on the cobwebs and I adore the colours.  We have some very talented and creative people on out DT and they are such lovely people too.  I'm very happy to be a part of the CI DT.

That's all from me for today and I hope that you have a good day, whatever you're doing xx

Crafty Individuals On Telly Today at 12pm & 3pm

 Hello there,

I'd just like to let you all know that Crafty Individuals will be on Create and Craft today at 12pm and 3pm with some beautiful new stamps and other products too.  The stamps are stunningly beautiful and I have really enjoyed making my samples.  Here's one of them that I've made and you never know, you might even see it on telly.  I shall be sat glued to the screen as I really enjoy watching Jean's demos and I love to see what my teamies have made.  After the shows, I am then filled with new enthusiasm and inspiration by what I've seen and I usually get the stamps out again and start creating with them.  I do hope that you'll be able to join Jean, if not, then you can always watch the shows on catch up.  Here's just one of my samples and I'll be sharing more of them with you very soon x 

This was the first card that I made with the new stamps and I mounted the finished image onto a paper by Crafty Individuals.  It's hard to see on the photo but I stamped the image out several times and then built up the layers.  I water coloured the image and then added a butterfly.  One of the new stamps has butterflies and bees on it and It's absolutely gorgeous.  It's one that will definitely be staying at the front of my stamp drawer.

That's all from me for today but I hope to be back with you all again very soon xx

A Seascape for Peace

Hello there my crafty friends,

How are you all keeping? Good I hope as Covid seems to be doing the rounds at the moment.  I find it a bit ironic that we all have to carry on as if it's over and done with and yet it seems that more people that ever are catching this dreaded virus.  Wishing everyone well who might have it at this time xx

Well, I have to say that I haven't been a very good blogger of late.  To be honest, I've been making the most of the warmer weather and have been out walking with my lovely Hubby.  Also.....wait for it....I've joined a gym, yes, you've read it right.  I lost quite a bit of weight during the lockdowns and I've managed to keep most of it off but I did feel that I needed more exercise, so I'm not rectifying that situation.  My gym has a really nice swimming pool, so I've been making the most of it and I've also started doing an aqua fitness class a couple of times each week.  Every little helps as they say and I'm definitely feeling fitter and happier and I'm also sleeping better, so all is good here.  

I've been in my craft room for the first time in a couple of weeks today and here's a card that I've made:

As the world seems to be in utter chaos at the moment, I wanted to create a peaceful scene in the hope that better times will come soon.  The stamps that I've used are by Stampscapes and Crafty Individuals.  

I'll be back with you all on the 1st of April as Crafty Individuals as Jean from Crafty Individuals will be on Create and Craft that day at 12pm and 3pm, so I'll be sharing one of my samples that I've made.  If you like your floral stamps, then you won't want to miss this ones as the new stamps are really beautiful and I couldn't put them down.  

That's all from me for today and I hope that it's a happy one for you all, whatever you are doing.  Enjoy the sunshine xx

I'd like to add this card to the following challenges:

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Rudolph Days - March 22

 Hello there,

It's the 25th, so time again for another 'Rudolph Days' challenge hosted by lovely ScrappyMo.  Here's this month's card:

I've used black card to make this one to make something a little different.  All the stamps that I've used here are by Crafty Individuals and the little snow men originally had legs on, so I cut them off to turn them into snow birds.  I like being able to make the most out of any stamps that I have.  

As I've used lots of snippets on this card, I'd like to enter it into the 'Challenge #424' over at Snippets Playground. I'd also like to enter it into the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything goes

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

That's all from me, so I wish you all a very happy day x 

Rudolph Days - February 22

Hello there,

It's the 25th, so time again for another 'Rudolph Days' challenge hosted by lovely Scrappy Mo.  Here's this month's card:

All the stamps that I've used on this card are by Crafty Individuals.  It's very easy to change these quirky dogs by giving them a Christmas hat.  I've made a few cards using this stamp, so look out for more in the future.  The snow was made using Dr. PH. Martin's Bleedproof, which I've mentioned before that I love using as it gives a really good white coverage, so it's just perfect for snow.  

That's all from, so I wish you all a very happy and colourful day x 

Blue and Gold

Hello there,

How are you all keeping? Good I hope.  I'm just about over my Covid episode now and although I've definitely felt under the weather, I know that things could have been much worse, so I'm thankful that It's been as mild as it has been.  The weather has been horrendous here and its raining again now, so I've had plenty of time in my craft room, which is a place where I'm always happy to be.  Goodness me, what with the lockdowns and now Covid, I don't know what I would have done without my crafting.  I have a great bunch of craft mates who always keep me smiling, so all is good.  

Now onto the card making and here's a card that I made for an online challenge but as I did lots of fussy cutting..... and I mean lots of fussy cutting, there are plenty of snippets on my card, so I'd like to add it to Di's latest challenge over at the Snippets Playground.  Here's my card:

The original challenge was to use blue and gold and add something stencilled in the background.  My background card was blue, so I stencilled the moon.  Next, I stamped and embossed the gold trees, then stamped and cut out the white trees for some contrast and to give a snowy feel.  You were allowed to use black or white in addition to the blue and gold.  The trees are by Stampin Up and are a set that I still love after many years of using them.  

That's all from me for today and I wish you all  very happy and colourful week xx

I'd also like to add my card to the following challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Masculine

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Happy Valentine's Day

Hello there,

Just a quick post from me today to share a card that I've made for Valentine's Day:

This card features one of my favourite stamps by Crafty Individuals and the backing paper that I've used was made by my lovely crafty friend Lynne.  It's quite a simple card but it says everything that it needs to.

I'd like to add this card to the following challenges:

Try It On Tuesday - All Loved Up

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Country View Challenges - Hearts and Flowers

That's all from me for today and I hope to be back with you all again soon x 

It's A Dog's Life!

 Hello there,

I promised a short while back that I would post some of my latest Crafty Individulas samples and here they are:

I apologise for the resolution. There was an issue which I've now resolved but these were taken prior to me getting it sorted, so they're not the best I'm afraid,

There were five new stamps, four dogs and a set with lots of little matching elements which are really useful.  You can't see too clearly but I've used these on my backgrounds and on the border of my first card.  All of these sets will be available from Crafty Individuals within the next couple of weeks.

Update on the COVID situation as a few of you have asked how things are.  Hubby and I have now both tested positive.  We are both feeling under the weather with some of the symptoms but we are both triple vaccinated, so finger’s crossed that it won’t get any worse than it is now.  I’ll let you know how things go xx

That's all from me for today folks, so I hope that you all have a lovely day xx

Just A Few Snippets

Hello there,

I hadn't intended posting today but I've just noticed that there's a new challenge starting over at 'Snippets Playground' so I thought that I'd pop over and see what everyone's up to, lots of mischief going on I imagine!  I was lucky enough to win a prize in the grand draw over Christmas and I won two lovely stamps by Sweet Dixie.  Now it would have been very rude of me to pack them away until later in the year wouldn't it and I had to see if they stamped clearly ;) That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!  Here's the card that I've made using one of the stamps:

Nothing too complicated here.  I simply stamped and embossed with VersaFine, then coloured in the gold bits.  As I have a few Christmas papers that I've never used, I thought that I would make a start on them.  I stamped a few holly berries by Crafty Individuals then fussy cut them to add on the corners for interest. these are my snippets.  I mounted my image onto red to match up with the berries.  Next time, I think I'll colour the image but this time, it would have been too busy with the background paper.

The weather its truly awful today, wind, rain and sleet, so I'm very happy here in my craft room.

If Pat is reading this..... Thank you for your comment on my last post and for mentioning the problem with the photo resolution.  I looked into it and I think I've solved it, so hopefully that won't happen in future x

Message for Magic Maggie.... I only have a few Stampscapes stamps at the moment but I will be adding to my collection when I can (I need two birthdays like the Queen! ;)   If you just type Stampscape Stamps UK into Google, then the site comes up and you then have the option to select UK.  The website is not very good and takes a bit of navigating but they arrived with me within two days, so great service and I would use the site again.  They are actually sent out by Serendipity Stamps as I think Stampscapes are based in the US.  Hope that answers your questions  x

I'm really done now :) :) xx

New Stampscapes

Hello there,

It seems like absolutely ages since I did a blog post but I've had no desk top computer for the last couple of weeks.  Thankfully, it all seems to be running okay at the moment, thanks to my SIL, so finger's crossed that it stays that way!  We've also been at our Son's house for most of this week decorating our grandson's bedroom.  His bedroom revamp also included a new Captain's bed which three of us started putting together yesterday....what a nightmare.  After three hours at it, we decided to call it a day and start again this morning.  We had literally just arrived when our DIL tested positive for Covid, so it was coats straight on and back home again.  What a pickle to be in and I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that we haven't picked it up over the last couple of days,  It will be nothing short of a miracle if we haven't.  Right then, that's my news so onto my card.  It was my birthday last month and I asked my Hubby for some Stampscape stamps which he very kindly bought me.  If you remember, I won a set in a challenge last year and after that, I was absolutely hooked on them.  Here's the first card that I made with them:

I'm sorry that I haven't been commenting much over the last couple of weeks but for some unknown reason, there are quite a few blogs that will only let me comment as anonymous on my iPad and as I mentioned, I've had no desk top.  I will now try to catch up the best that I can as I'm looking forward to seeing what you've all been up to.

Finally, I just wanted to let you know that Jean from Crafty Individuals will be on The Craft Store tomorrow (Friday 4th of February) at 10am and 2pm.  She has some lovely new stamps by a young artist called Ellie Mulligan, so hope you can tune in.

Take care of yourselves and I'll be back in the next few days to share some of my samples.  Until then, stay safe and stay happy xx