Twofer Challenge - Garden!

Hello, and thank you for visiting me!  I am entering Darnell's fabulous Twofer challenge which this month is 'Garden'.

I decided to use the Sizzix Thinlets Intricate Vintage Butterfly die on both of my cards. Butterflies just make a summer garden perfect!

I see some really different cards that people make for this challenge but I am not so good at coming up with really cool, alternative ideas but I do like how these came out. 

This birthday card started off using a background that I had in my pre-made stash which I had also  used to clean a wave stencil on from a previous make which left a cool cloudy effect.  I did some second and third generation stamping using an Indigo Script stamp and the flowers and leaves are Paperartsy rubber stamps stamped in Versafine Clair.  The Butterfly is cut from an old business card of my husbands which I had painted with acrylic paint.  I have loads of them from him and his Dad and they are so useful.  I backed the pink butterfly with cream glitter card using the Bigz die that co-ordinates.  The colour added to the flowers and leaves is Imagination Crafts Starlight paints and the sentiment is a Lili of the Valley Rubber Stamp. 

I love sending 'sending hugs' cards if people are feeling down, ill or have a bereavement or just because!

The background paper is Lili of the Valley and I love the little hearts scattered  down the side.  I cut the three butterflies from black card and the sentiment is using My Favourite Things Label Maker Sentiments and Versafine Clair ink.  Very simple but I love it!  I have to confess my husband has come up with an idea to use this card for something else - all to be revealed in another post!

I love supporting Darnell in this fabulous Twofer  challenge although I don't always manage it! 

Take care and have an absolutely fabulous day!  Christine xxx

Bloom and Stencil!

Hello and thank you so much for visiting me!  A CAS card today - It is actually the birthday card I sent to the wonderful Darnell who we all know and love.

I began by stencilling some lovely summery Distress Oxide colours through the Foiled Again mini stencil from Stamplorations.  I made sure to fade out towards the edges and I love the effect.  The stamping is all done with Versafine Clair in Nocturne - the flower and butterfly are from a Marion Emberson clear stamp set called On Your Special Day and the fab distressed word 'Bloom' is from the clear Hope Blooms set by Stamplorations.  I added some Stickles to the flowers for a little sparkle.

I love how this turned out and did a male version in this style that I will post another time. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Allsorts  - Clean and Simple
Penny Black and More - Summer Colours
Stamping Sensations - The Earth Laughs in Flowers
Stamplorations Summer CAS
Stamplorations - Anything Goes

Thank you again for visiting me and I hope you are having a fab week!

Take care, Christine xxx

Happy Birthday With Border Dies!

Hello and welcome to my blog.  Thank you so much for visiting me.  My card today is made with no stamping or ink at all, just die cuts and snippets of left over card and patterned paper.

I started off by making the background by die cutting seven layers of patterned paper, all from snippets of paper left over from a very old  (and large) 12 x 12 paper pad.  They were cut using dies from a new edger die set from The Works which is fabulous and includes 9 different dies.  I cut the layers to size first, then die cut them and glued them together and added them to my black card base.  The 'Happy Birthday' is cut using Spellbinders Sentiment Three set and the butterflies are from Sizzix Butterfly Frenzy Decorative Strip die.  I was going to add further embellishment but decided I liked it just as it is.

I would like to enter the wonderful Di's fabulous Snippets Challenge  -  my whole card is made up of snippets! 

Thank you so much for visiting me and I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Take care!  Christine xxx

I've Been A Busy Bee Making Cards!

Hello and thank you for visiting me!  My first creative post for a very long time and I have made two cards!  Anyone who knows me personally knows I am scared of bees (wasps too) but in aid of Darnell's fabulous Twofer challenge I bought a bee stamp set (they had to be cute bees, not too realistic) and away I went!  So I would like to enter my cards in the Twofer Challenge which is Bees!

For both cards I used the 'Bee' sentiment and another one from the set along with two of the bees.  The set is Bee Happy by Hunkydory.  All stamping is done with black Versafine.  I hope these are ok to enter as when I look at them now, the layouts are rather similar - sorry!  I didn't realise when I was making them - I was so involved (and enjoying myself!).

The one below also used lots of coloured snippets from my bits box to make the flower from Sizzix die set Flower Set.

The frame is from a die set from Gummiapan that I bought via Hochanda.  The frame is from a snippet too.  I added clear sparkle pen to the bees wings and the flower centres.

I would also like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Pixies Snippets Playground - use Snippets.
Country View Challenges - its a Bugs Life.

An inky background for the this one.

I started with a piece of watercolour card then inked up an acrylic block with Mustard Seed, Dried Marigold and Ripe Persimmon Distress Inks, spritzed it with water then pressed it onto the watercolour panel,  Using the same inks, I stamped the background with IndigoBlu Collector's Edition No. 2 French Script and Creative Expressions Chicken Wire.  Then black Versafine for the main stamping.  The bees wings were sparkled with clear sparkle pen.

I would also like to enter this into the following challenge:

Stamping Sensations - Show Your True Colours.

It is so nice crafting and blogging again - I hope to keep it up more regularly as much as I can.

Thank you so much for visiting me and have a lovely weekend.

Take care - Christine xxx

My Re-Vamped Craft Room!

Hello!  Thank you so much for visiting me, I really appreciate it.  Yesterday I did my first post for several months showing the terrible state my craft room had got into, you can see it here if you missed it.  Below are the photos showing the result - my re-vamped craft room and I absolutely adore it!  I am such a lucky girl (ok, old lady!).

I can't believe how cool it is and am fanatical about keeping it tidy.  You can't see from my photos, but there is so much space and the floor is completely clear, Yay!  Its so easy to find everything which makes crafting so enjoyable again.

Thank you again for visiting.  Take care.  Christine xxx

What I Have Been Doing While I Have Been Away!

Hello at last!  Sorry I have been away from Blogland for so very long.  We have been giving my craft room a complete revamp.  As you can see by the photos below, it had got to the state where I didn't even like going in there and was losing my love of crafting.  Even the floor was covered with stuff, and all my stamps, dies etc were all over the place and I couldn't get to a lot of them!  I was tripping over stuff, a lot of it rubbish and really couldn't cope anymore.  Because of our health problems, it has taken us (I could not have achieved it without my husband, Darren) so long. 

Today I am just showing 'before' pictures - as ashamed of them as I am! So here goes!

There it is, nothing hidden - I know how shocked you must be about the state of it all!  I hope you will come back tomorrow and see the change.

Thank you so much for sticking with me and for the comments and emails of concern  I have received while I have been away, I can't believe what a lovely place the crafting world is.  It really makes such a difference to me and means a lot!

Thank you for visiting me. Take care.  Christine xxx

Thank You Di!

This post is part of a special Linky Party hosted by the fabulous Darnell to say a huge 'thank you' to the lovely Di from Pixies Crafty Workshop who hosts the wonderful Pixie's Snippets Playground and has done for the last seven years encouraging us to use all our snippets.  Not only that, Di offers us the chance to win fabulous prizes and also  gives us oodles of support and is such a fantastic friend to have!  I have met Di and she is just as lovely in person as in the virtual world, we are lucky to have her!  Thank you too to Darnell for hosting the thank you party - you are lovely too!

My cards use a fabulous sentiment die set I was super lucky enough to win from Di after participating in her mammoth Christmas giveaway.  Thank you so much Di.

I made four Christmas cards, two in the red and two from Brusho backgrounds using the fabulous die and some Sizzix/Tim Toltz snowflakes and a few stones from my stash.

I wanted to show Di how I used my awesome prize!  I will be using it lots more too I am sure and I am so happy I have made a start on this years Christmas cards.

As well as the Thank You Di Hop I would, of course, like to enter:

Pixie's Snippets Playground! - All the snowflakes and sentiments are snippets.

Thank you again Di!

Take care and thank you for visiting me.  Christine xxx