Floral Heart...

 

 And just like that, I'm back again! This time to share a pretty floral creation which was inspired by the cards I made case-ing Mindy Farmer's creations...

 I started by inking up this pretty Waffle Flower layered stencil using Tattered Rose, Abandoned Coral, Speckled Egg, Iced Spruce and Broken China Distress Oxides. I decided to go with a heart shaped aperture and cut this before attaching the panel using foam tape for dimension. I added a narrow strip of green pinstripe to ground the floral elements, then layered up my flowers and foliage dies in a corsage...

 

 I love the tulip style flowers that are from the Sizzix Tea Cups die set and think I will be turning to these quite a lot. The little flower sprays are a berry sprig with flowers cut from the hydrangea style flower of Tim Holtz Funky Florals #2. I finished with some small enamel dots (my latest obsession thanks to Marianne) and a few pearls...

Hope you like my floral creation and I may even be back with another masculine make tomorrow?!...

Crafty hugs,

 

 

Masculine and Feminine...

 Good morning, Blogger buddies! I'm back to share a couple of makes using one of my latest and fast becoming favourite die sets - Sizzix Tea Cups by Jennifer Ogborn...

 I started with a 5x7 inch card base and randomly stamped some script text in Tuxedo Black Memento. I then added a book page fishtail flag, mat onto a pale blue paper and a couple of strips of coordinating patterned paper from my scrap stash. I cut out the book template and embossed the top layer with Cuttlebug Script embossing folder and inking the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, before assembling using glue along the centre spine and foam pads behind the pages. I used one of the cup dies and the little tea bag tag, creating a collage group including a glasses die, backed with vellum, small tag die as a bookmark and flower and foliage dies.

I found the sentiment in a set from a magazine which I thought was just perfect for the theme and then added my Yana Smakula Script sentiment die and a stamped 'Happy'...

 I then decided to have a go at making the same card but with a masculine theme...

 ...I don't know if it's just me, but I felt this card turned out a little Harry Potter-esque?! I mean, the pastel one is still my favourite because it's...well, pastel!?! 

And there we have it, two cards, same design, different colour schemes...

I hope I've inspired you to have a go at changing up your colour schemes to completely change the look of your creation...

Crafty hugs,

 

Bloom cards...

 Good morning, crafty friends! Yes, it's me again! All I can think is that this spell of brighter weather and the lengthening days has given me the motivation to play in my craft room!...

Today's make was inspired by an extremely talented crafter, Mindy Farmer, who I found through the Share Handmade Kindness Facebook group and THIS was the card that inspired to create these pretty floral cards...

 And this is what I came up with...

 I picked out a combination of dies to create the flower spray and used one of my favourite sentiment stamps which is from Crafters Companion May Your Day Bloom stamp and die set...

 I started with the same blue and pink combination that Mindy used and mounted everything onto one of the last note cards that I got from The Works at a silly price. I have to say, I love the way this card turned out, so much so that I had to make it up in another colour way...

 And I have a feeling there may be more?!...

 I hope you like my die cut floral cards and if you do, can you please take a look at Mindy's Facebook and Instagram accounts @mindycraftscards - if nothing else, her pretty creations will make you smile!

Thanks for dropping by! Crafty hugs,

 Card Making Magic - Christina Griffiths Layered Florals, Sweet Dixie Christmas Rose SDD202, Sweet Dixie Daisy (think it may be discontinued), Sweet Dixie SDD102 Delicate Blossoms, Sizzix #665898 Teacups, Sizzix #663322 Rain Boot Planter, Crafter's Companion May Your Day Bloom

 

Pocket Pals - Part Three!...

 It's me again! Wow! Can't quite believe how much crafting I have been doing lately...I mean, the housework isn't getting done, but what the heck?!...

Before I could put away my Sizzix Pocket Pals die set, I though it would be rude not to make an Easter card with the cute little bunny (not that I normally make Easter cards) being that it's getting near to that time of year!...

 I made up the bunny in mainly white card and coloured the ears, nose and eyes with alcohol markers. I don't have an egg die (seeing as I don't make Easter cards?!) but used a Spellbinders nesting oval set and then used another oval die to create the curve for the pink ribbon. The bow was a mix of die sets that I have in my stash and the grass (which would have been my icicle/grass die, but I can't find it anywhere) was the large cloud die from Sizzix - Emily Tootle's Build a Landscape die set and I drew in some grass with three different green marker pens...

 I used Sizzix Hand Drawn Alphabet to cut out the Easter word and added a small stamped 'wishes' to finish the sentiment. I embellished with some handmade blossoms and leaves and clouds (of course!) to give an outdoor feel...

I quite like the way this card turned out, if a little cutsie..but don't think I'll be making more Easter cards in a hurry...

Thanks for dropping by and I'm sure I'll be back soon with more creativity...

Crafty hugs,

Sizzix #665813 Pocket Pals, Sizzix 665182 Jennar Hand Drawn Alphabet, Sizzix #662839 Emily Tootle Build a Landscape, Sweet Dixie SDD102 Delicate Blossoms

 

Pocket Pals part Two...

 It's me again! I'm rather enjoying playing at my crafty table at the moment (and long may it last) so decided to create another card, this time using the fox from the Sizzix Pocket Pals by Olivia Rose die set...

 

Now I have to admit that I don't know how fox-like my fox looks, but he's cute anyway! (I think these type of dies can look very different depending on the eye and ear placement)...

 

I went completely different with this make and created a fun, collage style card using scraps of patterned paper from my scrap drawers and photo themed dies that I got in a set from Amazon (another set that has maybe been used once!) I added some paint splatters and a hand drawn doodle border, to keep the card quite modern and finished with some diamante stars, gems and pearls...

Hope you like my cute card and thanks for popping by to see me...

Crafty hugs,

 

Pocket Pals...

 Hey there! I'm back with another Sizzix creation today and I must confess to having had this die set in my drawer for well over 12 months now and not done anything with it! (Bad crafter!) But thanks to a little shove from a lady in the Cardmaking with Sizzix Facebook group, who was looking for inspiration using this cute Pocket Pals set ( #665813), I decided it was about time to see the light of day, never mind the Big Shot!...

 I went with the pocket theme for this card and created a 5x7" gatefold card as a pair of jeans/trousers. I originally made the front of the card in the plain blue, but it was a bit much, so decided to add the pretty patterned paper for a bit of interest. I made belt loops with a 4x1cm strip of card, scored at 1cm on each end and attached to the top of the blue panels. I then cut two 1.7cm strips of brown for the belt, creating the point on one end and punching holes...

...I made up the bear and rabbit pockets and attached these to the front of my panels, adding the "happy" sentiment to one side and the "birthday" part to the other. I used the flowers from the set to decorate the bunny pocket and found a couple of fun dies in the speech bubble, belt hanger and hearts. All edges were inked with Distress Inks/Oxides and I finished with my signature pearls...

Hope you find inspiration in my cute make and thanks for dropping by...

Crafty hugs,

 

Sizzix You've Got Mail...

 Hey there, crafty friends! I've been playing around with the Sizzix 'You've got Mail' die set that I picked up in my January sale haul and made a pretty 'whatever' card...because the sentiment is "Just a note", I figure that it could be used for any occasion by adding "to say" and whatever the event inside...

 I started by die cutting the typewrite in a grey pearl cardstock, then added a black strip behind the keys and some gold details by cutting the top of the typewriter a second time in gold cardstock and snipping off the details that I wanted. I printed off some vintage postcard and label ephemera from The Art Scavenger (via Pinterest) and fussy cut them out, inking the edges and adding some stamped marks and paint spatters...

 The stamp set that I used for the postage stamps and typewriter message was an Amazon find (when I was still doing workshops) and I used a Memory box die to cut out the stamp shapes. The little envelope, flowers and leaves all belong to the 'You've Got Mail' die set and I layered everything onto a white panel embossed with Cuttlebug Script Textures folder, lightly inked with Salty Ocean and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. I added the "Just a Note" sentiment onto a piece of vellum and finished with some small, grey pearls...

 I hope you like my collage style card and thanks for popping by for a closer look!

Crafty hugs,

 

Josh Griffiths Forest Animals...

Hey there, crafty friends! I'm back to share a couple of cards made with the Josh Griffiths Forest Animal dies that I got in my recent Sizzix haul...

First up is the Valentine's card I made for hubby using the ever so sweet Bear die - he is so easy to layer up and turns out SO CUTE!...

Then I decided to make up the deer die and create a card...

The little rocks came from another Josh Griffiths set that I got in the sale called Twilight Animals...

And then, because you have to cut multiple layers for each animal, I couldn't waste the other layers, so ended up with a whole menagerie of animals!...

 

I have to say, that cute bear has to be my favourite and I can see me using him for quite a few Christmas cards this year! I still have the little raccoon to play with, but that's for another day...

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you like my die cut creations...

Crafty hugs, 

Passion for Markers - Something beginning with 'B'...

 Good morning, crafty friends! Hope you're all coping in this extreme heat that we're having here in the UK...best place to be is indoors crafting?! (If only I had the inspiration!)...

I'm here to share my DT card for this week's challenge over at Passion for Markers. The lovely Lorraine is in the hostess chair with a fun theme of 'Something beginning with B'...maybe bears, bugs, bows, blue, buttons or butterflies...

We're being sponsored by Dies to Die For who are offering one lucky winner a £15 voucher to spend in their online store...

 For my card, I dug out a die that I picked up in the Sizzix sale, possibly 4 or even 5 years ago and have never really known what to do with it, so cut it in white card and decided to colour it up with my alcohol markers...

I attached the bird (my something beginning with B) onto white card with the intention of cutting it out with a border but liked the way it sat on the slim panel and went with it...Some delicate papers and embellishments and a stamped sentiment were enough (I thought) to showcase this pretty die cut, and all mounted onto a light grey pearlescent cardstock...

I hope you can play along with our fun challenge this week and look forward to seeing how you all interpret it...

Crafty hugs,

A bit of crafty time...

 

I picked up this Sizzix flower die a couple of years ago in the sale (it was a bargain!) but have never really known what to do with it...

 

Roll forward a couple of years and a change in crafting style and I thoroughly enjoyed inking and layering it up to create this pretty, almost stencil style, corsage! After making it up in my favourite colour tones (pink, of course!...although it is more of a coral pink?!) I decided to try it in muted tones for a sympathy type card...

 

 

 

 Hope you're all keeping well and enjoying a bit of crafty time, like me?! Although it's back to the grindstone and cooking tea before going to work now...and on my Birthday too!

 

Hugs,