Canary love...

Good evening, lovely Blogger friends!  It's been a bit of a mixed bag of a week since I last posted...last Thursday was the funeral of a friend's daughter who was in school with my eldest and lived in our village.  It was such a sad day and to be honest I wasn't prepared for how hard it would hit me and I spent most of Friday feeling down and unmotivated.  On Friday evening, hubby's cousin came down from Scotland to stay for the weekend, so it was spent out and about, chatting, barbecueing, pitching tents for my eldest and his mates to camp (!?) and then packing it away again in the morning!  Monday and Tuesday was spent making the most of the fabulous weather and I did a bit of gardening - however, as with any project, it looks ten times worse than when I started at the moment!  I also have a friend's wedding invites to do and the prospect of having to make 100 of the same thing makes me hyperventilate, but I have at least made a start!  So, that's why today I decided I would sit at my crafty table and create something to share with you all!
I was inspired by the lovely Jane's card - I adore her patchwork background and though I don't have the hexagon dies (this may have to be an investment in the near future!) I decided to have a go at a quilt style background using triangles...

(I must apologise for the rubbish photos in advance, but I had to use the flash to take them!)
Like Jane, I made a criss-cross card using my new First Edition Dreamcatcher paper pad...love this purple, pink and lemon combo!  After creating the patchwork pieces, I decided to prick the edges to add to the fabric feel, then had the bright idea to hand stitch them!?! Oh my word!  I now have the utmost respect for all you ladies who hand stitch your cards...it takes FOREVER!  By the time I had got half way down the second edge, I was starting to regret my decision and by the second piece I was getting tetchy!  After all that, I wonder if it was really worth it and next time I'll probably just get out my fineliner pen!?!

...The image I used is SC Canary Love and she was coloured with my Pro/Flexmarkers (the more I use my Flexmarkers, the more I love them!)  Here's the colours for all you Letraset fans :

Skin : Satin, Dusky Pink, Sunkissed Pink

Hair : Champagne, Sandstone, Caramel, Saddle Brown, Cocoa

Top : Muted Pink, Honeydew, Watermelon, Antique Pink

Dress : Pink Lavender, Orchid, Wild Orchid, Red Violet, Cloud Blue, Celestial, Sapphire, Royal Blue, Ivory, Vanilla, Mustard

Shoes : Ivory, Vanilla, Mustard, Muted Pink, Honeydew, Watermelon, Champagne, Sandstone

Bird : Ivory, Vanilla, Tulip Yellow

...I used some of my favourite Marianne Dies to make the doily and added some rich, polka dot, purple ribbon...

...I used some of the triangles to decorate the corners of the insert and a simple sentiment in the centre.  I also made a stand for the card to sit on using the template from A Year in Cards.   For those of you who are beady eyed, you will notice my latest crafty addition...

...Yes, I gave in and ordered the stunning Memory Box Precious Hearts dies and you'll never guess what happened?!  The Precious Stars and Corner Bow just fell into my basket too!!  Love them all!
I'd just like to say a big 'Hi!' to my latest follower Ali - welcome to my little corner of Blogland and I hope you come back often!  I have also been quite lucky recently and won 4 digis at Crafts4Eternity, a bundle of delicious ribbons from Crafty Ribbons and then discovered that I was the lucky winner of Mandy's pin candy - can't wait to get those! (This lady makes the most beautifully embellished cards, if you've not been over to visit her, it's well worth a look in my opinion!) So, that's it from me for another day and I hope to be back with some more crafty creations before long...thank you so much for dropping by and if you'd like to leave me a comment, I'd love to hear from you - they really are very much appreciated!  Crafty hugs, Lisa x
I'd like to enter my card into the following challenegs :

Simon Says Stamp

Things with Wings

Make it Monday

Linky Party #139

No Matter Which Challenge

Things with Wings

Natalie and Amy

Things with Wings

Forever Friends Fortnightly Challenge #61

Pastel Colours

Papertake Weekly

Anything Goes