Allsorts Challenge #833

 The theme for this Allsorts challenge has been chosen by Sarah and she would like to see **Woodland Critters* on your card or of course there is the usual *Anything Goes* option.  There will be two prizes of stamps from Lavinia as detailed on the Allsorts blog post. 

For my card this time I thought I would make something for my Christmas card collection and have included a couple of woodland deer, standing amongst some Christmas trees.  The aperture was die cut into a square of white card.  It does have a lamp post which I snipped off  because it wouldn't appear in a woodland scene, backed it with a piece of blue starry paper and also cut some tall trees using two shades of green.  The deer were cut from kraft card. These were three different die sets but they work well together.

Blue Background - printed from Artylicious Season's Greetings CD (many years old)
Aperture die - unbranded from a few years ago
Tall Trees and Deer - two unbranded die sets purchased last year
Sentiment - from a book of sentiment stickers (Clarity) from a few years back

Rudolph Days

 We seem to be heading for the end of September already which means that it's time for yet another Rudolph Days challenge which, throughout the year,  opens on the 25th of each month and runs to the end of the month.  My card this time features a robin, along with a shiny Christmas bauble.  I started with a square of white card into which I die cut some cut out circle detail and added the die cut robin perching on some winter greenery.  I then decided that it just needed something else so dug out a bauble die which I've had for many years and also managed to find a matching circle die so that I could cut a silver glitter background for it. The sentiment was stamped and a little bow added and that's it - my card for the current Rudolph Days challenge.  Happy Rudolph Days everyone 😊

Background Detail - dies from Craft Addiction UK
Robin - also a CAUK die - largest of a set of nine
Greenery - from a small set of seasonal dies from Crafter's Companion 
Bauble - a very old magazine gift die
Bow - die from Gummiapan

Jingle Bells

 Many people are now making their Christmas cards and now that I've started and have the Christmas stash handy I can't seem to stop making to use up some of the inevitable bits and pieces which get left over each time. I had a slatted rectangle already die cut and assembled so I trimmed a piece of seasonal backing paper to fit my card and added the rectangle; die cut some Christmas bells in silver card and added tiny red bows.  Using some scraps of red and green card I cut holly leaves and berries, finally producing the sentiment on the computer to fit a stitched rectangle die.  That's another fairly quick card for this year.

Background - Paper printed from a Buddly Crafts download
Slatted rectangle - die from Craft Addictions UK
Bells - unbranded die from last year
Tiny Bows - from a retired Stampin' Up die set (elephants)
Holly - a Joanna Sheen die set which I've had for many years
Sentiment - composed on the computer, stitched rectangle a retired SU die set

Flowers

 A floral card to share today using a pre-owned stamp acquired recently.  I stamped and coloured using Distress ink for a water colour effect. I found a suitable piece of background paper and then, aiming for a sort of vintage style I stamped some text onto a strip of paper which I then distressed using a variety of small stamps.  The main image was also distressed and one of the edges cut using a 'torn notebook' die.  Finally a scrap of another torn notebook paper and a sentiment were added.

Flowers - Aall & Create stamp
Text Strip - stamped using a Dictionary Page stamp from Stampin' Up (long retired)
Background - Designer paper from an old pad (Phill Martin)
Torn Notebook - unbranded die
Sentiment - from an ancient Tim Holtz set with matching die to cut

Birthday Birds

 There were three crazy birds loitering on my desk, left over from a project made some time ago and as they were all ready to go I decided to gather a few more bits and pieces to make them into a card.  I started by cutting a scalloped circle aperture into a square of card, then backed it with a matching piece of embossed texture for a bit of added interest.  Now for something for the birds to perch on and I remembered I had a set of dies which cuts narrow strips in various styles, so one of these strips was glued across the width of the card as a handy place for the birds to rest.  Finally I added a fairly large die cut sentiment to tone with the colour on one of the birds.

Scalloped Circle Die - a very old set from Tattered Lace
Embossing Detail - E/F from Amazon
Crazy Birds - Unbranded stamps and dies
Birthday Sentiment and Patterned Strip - Unbranded dies

Birthday Frog

 This birthday frog is hopping along to the Playground for the current Snippets Challenge.  Apart from the card blank and the slightly smaller white square everything else here came from my never-decreasing Snippets collection.  The frog and lily pad were stamped onto white snippets and coloured using alcohol pens with a little pencil work for shading.  The backing circles were die cut from white and yellow snippets; the bullrushes from more white snippets (coloured with alcohol pens) and the little tag labels cut from even smaller white snippets.  Why not delve into your own snippets collections - you must have some surely - and make a card for this challenge. There's a great prize for the lucky winner.

Frog and Lilypad - unbranded set of stamps with dies
Bullrushes - from a retired Stampin' Up die set
Slatted Circle and Labels - dies from Craft Addiction UK

Christmas Friends

The cute reindeer I used recently on a card has a new friend so I couldn't resist combining them for yet another Christmas card.  Both images are pre-coloured digi stamps, resized  and then fussy cut so that I could use them together.  Once the fussy cutting was done this was a fairly quick and easy card.

 Background paper - download from Buddly Crafts
Friends - downloads from Craft Addiction UK, designed and drawn by Louise Dunne

Allsorts Challenge #832

 It's my turn to chose the theme for the current Allsorts Challenge and as we head into Autumn I thought that **Leaves/Trees* would be an appropriate choice along with the usual *Anything Goes* option.  There is an assortment of prizes from the Allsorts prize box for the lucky winners.

For my DT card I've used some fun leaf dies cut from card which I'd coloured using some Pixie Powders and a few scraps of gold card.  The completed leaves were adhered to some slatted rectangle die cuts using cream card backed by rectangles of the coloured red card.  These were, in turn, mounted onto a square of cream card embossed using a leaf vein pattern.  Final addition was a computer sentiment.

Slatted rectangles - dies from Craft Addiction UK
Embossing Folder - Leaf vein pattern, I think from Crafter's Companion (no name on folder)
Sentiment - produced using MS Word
Leaves - Artsy Leaves Tim Holtz for Sizzix

Prize this time

Christmas Cards

 Getting reacquainted with my Christmas crafty stash has seen me making a few seasonal cards.  Each year as Christmas makes start to appear online there are always new items to add to the stash and although I do try not to add too much, there's always something or other which tempts me.  I was drawn to a couple of digi stamps which became available recently and for this card I've used a cute reindeer image which came as a pre-coloured version and an outline image as well.  I resized the outline image and coloured it using alcohol pens with the addition of a little coloured pencil work for shading.  Some snowflake and other papers were used and I simply added a small sentiment and a die cut snowflake from my useful oddments pot.  Together with some cards left over from last year and the ones I've been making, the collection is growing nicely.

Digi Image - from Craft Addiction UK, designed and drawn by Louise Dunne
Colouring - Copic pens and Coloursoft pencils
Snowflake Paper - printed from a Buddly Crafts download collection
Other Papers - from my Snippets collection
Sentiment - from a printed sheet which I've had for many years, source forgotten
White snowflake - die from Crafter's Companion (quite a few years old) 

More Wings

 I have another tag to share on the theme of 'Things with Wings' for the challenge at Tag-along (and ATCs)

This is a larger tag using some die cuts which were already made and in my 'useful pot'.  I cut a piece of light blue card to fit the tag and stamped a beehive scene in sepia, sponging the edges to match.  I then added the pot of honey, honeycomb and bees..  The words were from the stamp set with the beehive. The final touch was a toning piece of ribbon for the top of the tag.

Beehive Scene - from an  Chocolate Baroque stamp set from many years ago

Die Cuts - all from a Craft Addiction UK set
Tag - set of tag dies from Sizzix in several sizes (largest used)

Small Gift Tag

I've made a quick and easy small gift tag for the latest challenge on the Tag-along (and ATC) blog. The theme this time is 'Things with Wings' and I've mostly used bits and pieces which were on my desk in a container where I keep oddments ready to use.  I started by die cutting a small tag from a scrap of white card and then added a Christmas tree and snowflake along with a fussy cut digital image which came ready coloured so this was indeed a very quick project.  The little duck is dressed in his Santa hat, ready for the festivities

Tag - unbranded die
Tree - left over from last Christmas (one of my many tree dies)
Duck - Digital download from Craft Addiction UK, drawn by Louise Dunne

Another Christmas Card

 Having started to look at some of my seasonal stash I've made another Christmas card to add to my collection.  This time I've used a fancy circular background die along with a Santa die which I remember buying last year and I know he was only used once so I thought it was time he had a second airing.  A bit fiddly to put together but I do like him.  I feel that the Ho-Ho-Ho would have been better with a shadow backing (which this die doesn't have) but I think another time I will try to cut a suitable one.  Once the Santa was assembled this was quite a quick card to put together.

 Circle Background - die set from Craft Addiction UK
 Ho-Ho-Ho - unbranded die
Santa - also unbranded

Snippets Challenge # 514

 Time to pop along to the Snippets Playground to hand in my homework for the latest challenge and to see what refreshments are available - hopefully something warming because the temperatures have dropped somewhat now we are getting some much needed rain.

I decided to make a Christmas card this time and as well as using up some snippets I'm also using items from my stash rather than purchasing a die which has been tempting me for a while - one which cuts the word 'JOY' all in one piece.  With this in mind I remembered that several years ago I'd bought a set of quite large alphabet dies and, to my shame, they've not been out of their hiding place for such a long time so out they came and this card is the result.  Everything used here, apart from the card blank and the blue square, was made from snippets.  I started with the white snippet which remained after making my card blank and stamped, coloured and die cut the gnomes.  I also die cut a few snowflakes.  The white background was trimmed from a larger snippet and embossed with a falling snow embossing folder.  Finally I die cut the three letters from a snippet of blue pearlised card. Quite a bit of work involved here but I'm pleased with the result and pleased with myself for resisting yet another crafty purchase ☺️

Embossing Folder - Falling Snow from Stampin' Up (long retired)
Gnomes - Friendly Gnomes from Stampin' Up (retired)
Alphabet - Unbranded dies from probably around 8 or 9 years back
Snowflakes - dies from Crafter's Companion (also years old)

Allsorts Challenge # 831

 Time for a new Allsorts challenge and this time the theme, chosen by Donna, is **Birthdays** or of course the usual *Anything Goes* option.  I would think that birthday cards are the ones we make the most so why not share some of your makes to be in the running for the prizes this time.  Full details on the Allsorts blog post as usual.

For my Design Team card this time I've chosen to make a masculine card - often said to be the most difficult to make.  I used a downloaded image and combined it with a selection of toning papers from my stash and a simple sentiment.  It's just occurred to me that the camera might need some explanation for a younger recipient who has probably only encountered photos being taken using a mobile phone 🤣🤣

Image - Lili of the Valley downloaded printable image
Papers - Toning selection from my stash, trimmed to fit a 5" x 7" card
Sentiment - produced using Microsoft Word

Rudolph Days

 It's time to visit the Rudolph Days challenge for the month of August and there are a few days left to the end of the month.  I have a stamped card to share this time, making one more to add to my growing pile of Seasonal cards.  I started by smooshing a square of white card through some Distress Oxide ink and stamped a couple of small snowflake stamps before adding the much larger one in the bottom corner.  All of the details of the large snowflake were coloured using some twinkly watercolour colour paint.  Final addition was the sentiment which was part of the stamp set. This is a 15cm card..

Happy Rudolph Days everyone☺️

Snowflake Stamp Set - from Crafty Roo (sadly no longer trading)
Shimmer paint - Set purchased from The Works many years ago  and still going strong
Stamping - used Versafine Clair Twilight
Smooshing - Distress Oxide Faded Jeans

Ship in a Bottle

 A stamped card to share with you today.  I started with a sticker stencil and added ink to form the bottle, then stamped and masked the boat before adding the little passenger. Some grasses were stamped to give a little background interest.  Image was coloured using pencils.  Final addition was a little tag which was die cut.

Stamps - Lavinia
Sticker stencil - also Lavinia
Tag - from Craft Addiction UK
Colouring - Polychromos pencils
Inking - Elements inks and Versafine Clair Nocturne

Snippets Playground Challenge #513

 Time to pop over to the Playground with my homework for the current challenge.  This card was made a while ago so apologies that there is no picture of the snippets this time. This card was made for my DIL who loves anything elephant related and I do try to find something different for her card each time her birthday comes around. Everything was made using snippets except the green layer and card blank.  I started by cutting the slatted die into a snippet of white card and backed it with the green.  The elephants, mouse and balloon were stamped and coloured using alcohol pens before die cutting. The sentiment was stamped and die cut from another snippet.  BTW, she loved the card 😊

Slatted Die - Unbranded one which I've had for quite a long time
Elephants, mouse and Balloon - Stampin' Up (retired) Elephant Parade
Sentiment - from Stampin' Up set (retired) Art Gallery

Birds and Bees for Allsorts

 The theme for  Allsorts challenge #830, chosen by Ellie, is ** I spy with my little eye, something beginning with B** or, as usual, there is the *anything goes option*.  There are two prizes of coordinating stamps and dies - more details can be found on the Allsorts Blog.  Time to get thinking of what you can make to be in with a chance.

For my DT card this time I actually ended up with two , both of which match  the theme - one with Birds and another with bees.  For the bird card I made my version of a tutorial from Sharon Goold which took my fancy and I was quite pleased with the result. although I can't claim credit for the design. It is more or less self explanatory but I added some detail within the moon using part of an ink blot stencil

Stamps - all  Lavinia
Stencil - ink blots by Marianne Designs
Sentiment - produced using MS Word
Background - Distress and Elements ink pads
Wire - hand drawn using black fine liner pen

For my second card I turned to die cutting and made this 'Bee Happy' card using some slatted hexagon dies and some of the dies from a honey bee set.  The background paper was from my stash and the sentiment was a stamp which was part of a magazine give-away from several years ago.

Background - printed from a Buddly Crafts download
Sentiment - stamp, part of a magazine gift from several years back
Dies - Slatted Hexagons from Craft Addiction UK
Bee Dies - Honey Bee die set also from Craft Addiction UK

Travelling Alarm Clock

I've made another tag for the current Tag-along (and ATCs) Challenge where the theme is **Travel**. I've die cut a fairly large tag which was then smooshed with Distress Oxide inks and over-stamped using stamps from a couple of sets which I've had in my stash since probably somewhere around the early2010's.  The Steampunk 'alarm clock' was stamped and embossed, fussy cut and coloured using pencils with some gold paint on the face, bells and key.  The stamped words came from the same set of stamps.

Tag - Largest one from set by Tim Holtz, Sizzix
Clock and Words - Steampunkery stamp set Chocolate Baroque Glenda Waterworth Design
Background stamping - Punky Romance stamps Chocolate Baroque Glenda Waterworth Design
Colouring - Inktense pencils and Kuretake gold glimmer paint
Distress Oxide inks in various shades of cream and brown

Dancing Mice

 I've been playing with more of my Lavinia stamps - such fun and I often don't know exactly what I'm going to end up with.  I started by stamping the pile of books slightly to the left of my square mat because I wanted to add the sentiment towards the right hand side.  I covered the books with masking fluid and once dry I put the circular sticker mask aperture in place so that I could add some colour for the background and also stamp the mice, bells and foliage.  Once I was happy with the result I removed the mask, and also the masking fluid from the books which I then coloured using Inktense pencils and some gold pen to decorate the spines.  Final thing was to stamp the sentiment 

Stamps - Lavinia designs
Sentiment - Wiry Words from Creative Designs (a very old set)

Butterflies

 I have a butterfly card to share with you today and I've used some slatted rectangle dies along with three different sizes of butterfly..  I had a session recently when I coloured a few A4 sheets of card using different mixtures of my Pixie powders with some spray starch, followed by covering the area with scrunched cling film and leaving it to dry naturally.  The leaving to dry bit was the hardest for me because I'm always impatient to see how the colours have turned out 🤣. I used all three of the slatted rectangle dies to cut into a piece of white card and then backed the whole thing with a slightly larger piece of Designer parchment paper which toned nicely with the butterflies which I'd cut from one of my Pixie powder  backgrounds, adding some gilding wax.  The sentiment was cut from white card and gilded also. 

Parchment paper - from Clarity stamps Indian Summer designer collection
Slatted and Butterfly dies - from Craft Addictions UK
Sentiment - from a long retired Stampin' Up set (Hey Chick)

Snippets Challenge #512

 Quite a lot of different snippets used on this card, albeit mostly quite small and I did remember to save most of them for a picture so I'm popping over to the Playground to see what's still available in the breakfast club and to show my card.

I started by cutting the candles in white card and it's handy that there is one plain one which can be used to back the more detailed ones.  I decided to colour the flames all in yellow and each patterned candle in a different colour using alcohol pens.  I then rummaged amongst my coloured snippets to find pieces to use for cutting more plain ones so that each candle could be layered up with a toning backing.  I couldn't really face popping all the tiny coloured 'waste' back into the spaces although I did rescue the very tiny snippets which I coloured orange and popped into the flames 😉.  I then found slightly larger snippets of white and purple on which to mount the candles, adding a birthday sentiment which was also cut from snippets.  I made my own card blank which left me with a strip of white card to add to my snippet mountain.  I have to say I'm slightly puzzled by what appears to be a puff of smoke or something similar with this die set - no idea really what that would be used for here.

These are some of my snippets, enough probably for another set of candles ☺️so they won't be thrown out.

Candle Dies - from Amazon unbranded
Rectangle - dies from a set by John Next Door which I've had for some time
Sentiment - dies from Crafters Companion

Travel

I'm back again, this time with a tag for the current Tag-Along (and ATCs) Challenge.  I've been a bit stuck with the theme which is *Travel* so I've been casting my mind back over stamps which I've had for many years to see if there was anything which would be suitable.  One or two possibilities turned out to be far too large to fit nicely onto a tag and in fact the one I've used here is a bit on the large side so I've ended up cutting the tag 'by hand' using a guillotine and punching out a hole for the ribbon.  I started by smooshing some ink onto the blank tag, then stamping and masking the hot air balloon before doing some random stamping as a background.  Once this was done I carefully removed the masking fluid and coloured the image using pencils.  This fun set of stamps includes several steampunk style images and a selection of suitable 'travel' words, some of which I stamped and cut out with scissors to adhere to the tag..  I know I've had these stamps for a long time, there is no date on the packaging but I've worked out that I think they probably date back some twelve years or so.

It may be that you have stamps or dies which suit the theme (or there is the anything goes option) so why not have a go at either a tag or an ATC (or both) - the challenge lasts until the end of the month. 

Balloon - from Steampunkery stamp set designed by Glenda Waterworth, Chocolate Baroque
Background Stamps - various magazine freebie stamp sets
Colouring - Derwent Inktense pencils and water brush

Allsorts Challenge #829

The theme for Allsorts Challenge #829 has been chosen by Helen who would like to see something featuring **Animals** or as usual there is the *Anything Goes* option.  There will be two prizes of Lavinia stamps, full details on the Allsorts blog. 

For my card this time I've chosen to use Lavinia stamps, a mix of old and new to build up this scene. I started by stamping the fairy pathway and the teapot which I then masked before sponging some inks for background colour..  At this point I stamped the hare, birds and the foliage, followed by more ink sponging to ground the scene and frame the whole design.  Finally the masking was carefully removed from the teapot which was coloured using pencils.

Stamping - all by Lavinia
Colouring - Inktense pencils and water brush
Inks - Versafine Clair, Elements and Distress

Tag-along (and ATCs)

 The theme for the month of August on the Tag-along (and ATCs) blog is **Travel** and no doubt many people are doing just that.  However it was a wonderful excuse for me to bring out a die which I just couldn't resist at the time but hasn't actually been used for quite a long time.  The two happy bunnies are certainly on their travels and I stamped a little scene on this ATC using a long-retired set of stamps (well a couple of them).  I also added some flying birds and a couple perched in the tree.  Final addition was a 'sticker' which I produced on the computer to suit the image.  Making my own so called 'stickers' means that I can choose whatever word or words which I feel are appropriate

Bunnies - unbranded die from a few years ago
Roadway and Tree - from Stampin' Up Sheltering Tree stamp set (long retired)
Birds - stamps from Card-I-o
'Sticker' - produced using MS Word

Chess

 I needed a card for my brother's birthday recently and came up with this design because the dies reminded me of an occasion many, many years ago when we were both still living at home.  He had decided to take up chess but absolutely refused to teach me how to play because with my quirky sense of humour I called the pawns 'prawns' which I'm afraid annoyed rather than amused him .  Funny how odd incidents from so long ago sometimes pop into my head - anyway he did like the card even though he didn't really stick with the chess.  In case you can't read it, the quote says 'when you see a good move, look for a better one'  and this was printed directly onto a piece of card using the computer.

 Chequerboard die - unbranded from Amazon
Chess pieces - also from Amazon
Quote - printed using MS Word, as was the birthday greeting

Eau de Parfum

A little while back I was lucky enough to win some great stamps and a stencil  from The Snippets Playground challenge and I made this card although at the moment it is awaiting a sentiment.  I started by stamping the clock stamp onto a square of white card using a light coloured ink and I also added some stencilling down the left hand side and in the bottom right corner; finally popping the two little hares into the left corner.  The perfume bottle and flowers were stamped onto a smaller piece of card and coloured using Inktense pencils.  Both of the pieces were then mounted onto some  grey card to tone with the stamping and stencilling. A shine was added to the bottle using Glossy Accents..  I will probably add a sentiment when I know who is to receive this card.  I can see lots of possibilities for these stamps, particularly the clock set so a happy dance here for my lucky win.

Stamps all from Aall & Create 
Stencil - also A & C

Rudolph Days Already??

Can it really be time for the Rudolph Days challenge and I guess the answer is yes so here is my card which was inspired by seeing one fairly recently from the lovely Di of Snippets Playground fame who does a great job of enabling other crafters to acquire new stash 🤣.  This little deer was so cute I just couldn't resist.  I also had inspiration here from Susan Hardy for  a way of using the circle die for a quick card.  I die cut the circle into a piece of white card and then used a smaller plain circle to cut out the aperture which I backed with a snippet of printed paper from my Christmas collection.  I then die cut the deer and a couple of tiny Christmas trees.  The nose on the deer was brushed with Wink of Stella for a bit of shine and a simple sentiment was added to what was a quick and easy card for the Rudolph challenge this time.  Happy Rudolph Days everyone ☺️

Circle die - Craft Addiction UK
Deer - die from Amazon
Trees - from a long retired Stampin' Up Christmas set
Snippet of Paper - printed from Craftylicious Season's Greetings CD from many years ago

Small Dwellings

I fancied a dabble with some stamping so, inspired by a video,  I sorted out some suitable stamps and a piece of water colour paper, trimmed to fit onto a DL card and came up with this.  The first thing I did was inked up my DL Gelli plate and pulled this background print then it was fairly straightforward to add the various stamps to build up the design.  The 'sticker' was one which I produced on the computer and glued in place.  Some sparkle was added here and there but sadly it doesn't show on the picture.  I do so enjoy building up inky scenes such as this.

Stamps - all Lavinia designs
'Sticker' - produced using MS Word and trimmed with scissors.

Snippets Challenge #511

 Time for another challenge in the Snippets Playground and as usual a lovely prize for the lucky person whose name is drawn at the end.  This card was made a short while ago so no photograph of the snippets this time but rest assured I reached for snippets to die cut the slatted squares and also the donkey was stamped onto a snippet before being fussy cut.  The blue layer also came from the snippets collection although the card blank was a purchased one and I needed to use a whole piece of a thinner white card so that I could print the words before trimming it down to fit nicely.  Sadly my current printer just refuses to take anything but the thinnest of card.  I've had the donkey stamp set for a few years but they are such fun and quite versatile.

Donkey - Darling Donkeys stamp set Stampin' Up (retired)
Slatted squares - Craft Addiction UK
Words - composed by me and printed using MS Word

Allsorts Challenge #828

 The theme for the latest Allsorts challenge has been chosen by Lynn and it is **Pretty Flowers** or of course you have the usual option of selecting the *anything goes* theme.. Prizes are from All & Create - more details on the Allsorts blog post if you follow the link.

This is the first time I've used this particular die set although I've had it for some time but as it incorporates flowers I thought it would be an ideal opportunity to use it here.  I cut out the various components from coloured card - the birdhouse was a piece of blue which I'd stamped using a wood grain stamp and the flowers were cut from a piece of white card smooshed with some Pixie powders which gives an interesting sheen.  The cream background piece was embossed with a floral embossing folder which I've had for more years than I care to remember.  Sentiment was produced on the computer and die cut.

Background - embossing folder from Sheena Douglass (from years back)
Woodgrain Stamp - Stampin' Up (long retired)
Birdhouse and Flowers - dies from Stampin' Up (also retired)
Sentiment - produced using MS Word, die cut with a retired SU die

Masculine Card

 One of the cards we sometimes find difficult to make to share today although I don't suppose that fly fishing is exclusively a male pursuit ☺️.  Anyway I'd spotted the dies and realised they were just right to make a card for the man I had in mind.  I looked through some of my designer papers and came across this piece which I thought would be ideal as a backdrop to show off the wording and the silhouette fisherman.. I also used one of the slatted circular dies for some added interest. There are quite a few other 'fishy' dies in the set for future cards as well. Although the wording came together as one die, each letter cut out individually so I made a template for lining them up  by die cutting it with some scrap card and laying the 'waste' over the area where the words were to go and then I could carefully adhere the individual letters into the spaces, finally carefully removing the template once they were in place.  Hopefully this card will be well received.

Background - DP from a retired Stampin' Up collection so no longer available
Slatted Circle - die from Craft Addiction UK
Fisherman and Words - Die set from Globeland (Amazon)

Bee Happy

 I made this card a little while ago when I first acquired the slatted hexagon dies but somehow I've not posted until now.  I started by doing some partial stencilling using a hexagonal stencil and then die cut three of the smaller hexagons using all three dies for each and then backed them with some yellow card before arranging onto the card panel.  Two die cut bees and a simple sentiment complete this card.  

Hexagon Stencil - from Lavinia Stamps
Slatted Hexagon dies - from Craft Addiction UK
Bees - a die from Sizzix which I've had for some years, no idea if it's still available

New Baby

 For a change I decided to make a Baby card, mainly just to fill a gap in my box of cards because I like to keep a selection ready for various occasions.  I started with a piece of blue background paper from my stash and then die cut the cute panda with a blue bow.  The next decision was to bring out these octagonal dies for a change and finally I added a banner with the wording.

I hear we're heading for yet another heatwave ... just when I thought the temperatures had become more bearable 🙄

Octagonal Dies - Set from Daisy Mae which I've had for some years
Panda die - Spellbinders
Banner - Dies from Creative Expressions, also years old
Words - Dies from Crafter's Companion

Snippets Playground Challenge #510

 Time for another opportunity to use up a few  more of my Snippets on a card for the latest Playground challenge.  This time I've brought my favourite bunny out to play and he's sitting beneath a floral tree enjoying the sunshine and hopefully a cool breeze.  I started with a square Snippet of cream card slightly smaller than the card blank and cut out the tree aperture, backing it with another snippet from my box of papers.  This is a left over piece from one I printed a while ago onto some textured paper.  I then die cut the bunny twice from a scrap of the same cream card so that I could layer him up for a bit of stability.  Next I pulled out a snippet of some card which I'd treated to some inking and, again, this was really a left over scrap which many people would have binned. I'm sure.  From this I cut a series of small flowers and then used another die to cut a few random cream 'dots' for the flower centres.  A simple sentiment tag and that's another card made although not much of a dent made in my Snippets mountain 🤪

Picture of the smaller snippets

Sentiment - dies from Craft Addiction UK Tiny Tags
Bunny, Tree Aperture and Flowers - unbranded dies (Amazon, Temu)

Allsorts Challenge #827

 The theme for Allsorts Challenge #827 has been chosen this time by Liz, who would like to see cards which would be suitable to send to a child or as usual there is also the anything goes option.  The prizes will be stamps from Saturated Canary (more details on the Allsorts Blog post.

For my card this time I went first to my box containing useful bits and pieces, including die cuts and/or stamped and coloured images left over from previous projects or from a colouring session which is one of the things I sometimes do when I need to craft but don't quite know what I want to make.  It so happens there were quite a few chicken images, probably dating from when the stamp sets were first issued, maybe a couple of years ago.  To form the background I used a piece of green card slightly smaller than the card blank and die cut it with a variation on the current trend for using slatted dies.  This piece was then backed with a darker green polka dot piece of paper to show through the gaps.  I then tried various arrangements of the henhouse and chicks until I was pleased with the layout, added a die cut sentiment and called it finished.  There is plenty of space on the card to add a die cut age number when it's about to be sent to probably one of the great grandchildren.

Background slatted die - an unbranded one I've had for some time
Chicken, henhouse and sentiment - stamps/dies from Stampin' Up (long retired)

In the Garden

 I've made an ATC for the current Tag-Along (and ATCs) Challenge where 'In the Garden' is the theme. This elf is working away in the garden and watering some of the plants - guess the fairies and elves have been having a heatwave too ☺️.  Some stencilling in the background and a bit of masking along with the stamped elf, bee and foliage.  An ATC doesn't take too long to make so why don't you have a go using the theme or the 'anything goes' option - a jolly handy prize on offer for a lucky winner.

  All stamps by Lavinia, some old, some more recent
Stencil and mask - also Lavinia

Tag-along (and ATC) challenge July

 Time for a new challenge at Tag-along (and ATCs) and the theme is 'In the Garden' or there is always the 'anything goes' option. .  For my tag I started with some partial stencilling and then stamped the Chinese lanterns and some foliage, finally adding some more ink around the edges and painting the lanterns themselves using Distress Oxide ink.  Finally a little 'sticker' which I produced on the computer. Some stickles and white pen used as highlights here and there.

 Stamps all from Lavinia
Stencil - also Lavinia
Tag - using a Sizzix Tim Holtz die set (largest size die)
Word sticker - produced using MS Word

Snippets Challenge #509

 I've just realised that I'd not made a card for the current Snippets Challenge.  No excuse really except that I'd been without a computer for a couple of days during the week and I'm afraid that being so out of touch really puts me all at 'sixes and sevens'.  Thankfully the update didn't take too long and it's all nicely back in place on my desk; also working more quickly which is great..   I did actually have to use some whole sheets of A4 card for this card because I've decided I will make my own card blanks for now and I also needed a couple of layers as well here.  All of the die cutting for this card was done using snippets of white card and I remembered to take a pic before throwing out the remnants.  

I started by die cutting the toadstools, colouring the caps with alcohol markers and then assembling them, popping the teeny tiny white dots back into the blank spaces.  This turned out to be very fiddly so I might have to rethink that procedure.  I lightly coloured the stems and some details on the little toadstool cottage. The next move was deciding how to design the layout and I settled for a slatted circle which was backed with a snippet of designer paper from my collection.  Tiny tags were used for the sentiment and a snippet of gold and white baker's twine used to attach them..

Picture of the scraps (snippets) left over after die cutting the toadstools and tags

Slatted Circle - Craft Addiction UK
Tiny Tags and Toadstools - Craft Addiction UK
Squares - Noble Pierced Square Nesting dies Creative Expressions

Rudolph Days Challenge

 The Rudolph Days challenge has caught me out yet again this month so it was a quick scramble to make a Christmas card before the end of month deadline.  I've chosen this time to make an eclipse style card using one of the slatted dies and an image from a pad of seasonal images which I've had for some years and is most likely now discontinued.  I selected two identical images and used one of the slatted dies to cut into the centre of one of them before layering them together for the effect.  A piece of toning card was used to cut a larger rectangle to back this and then it was adhered onto a 7" x 5" card blank.  A simple greeting was die cut and added and that's it - job done and my Rudolph Days card for June completed in no time.

Image from Lili of the Valley pad of seasonal images 
Greeting - dies from Britannia
Slatted dies - from Craft Addiction UK (squares)
Toning Card - Cherry Cobbler by Stampin' Up

Slatted Oval Background

 I got the idea for this card from watching a recent YouTube video by the talented Chrissie Stokes where she showed us a way of producing a slatted oval background without needing slatted dies (which I've not come across anyway).  This was achieved by using the largest of the square slatted dies (or the large circle would work as well)  and using the resulting piece to back a card design incorporating an oval cut out.  For my card I used an oval die with a floral design one one side where this actually cuts out the frame, which I was able to put back into the oval aperture before deciding what else to add.  I selected a dragonfly die which was cut from a piece of a Gelli print with a black layer for the body.  The sentiment was also cut from a scrap of the Gelli print.  Before it was assembled I decided to cut another layer of the oval frame to give the card a bit more dimension.  The dragonfly was brushed over with a glimmer pen for a bit of extra shine.  

Slatted squares die set - Craft Addiction UK
Oval Floral Frame - Gummiapan die from Easter Calendar 2025
Dragonfly - also Gummiapan die from Easter Calendar 2025
Sentiment - from Crafter's Companion (I've had this one a long time)

Allsorts Challenge #826

 Time for a new challenge at Allsorts and this time the theme has been chosen by Christine and it is either **The Beach** or the usual *Anything Goes*.  Prizes this time are from Grafton Crafts and you can see full details on the Allsorts Blog.

When I saw the theme this time I went straight to my collection of useful bits and pieces because I knew there were at least a couple of die cuts in there of some wooden posts, just waiting to be used and, as it happens I also came across a couple of seagulls and a handy clump of grass.  The seagulls and grass were already coloured and ready to go but the wooden posts were white so I set about colouring these with some Distress Oxide ink mixed with water. I then decided to go for a relatively CAS design using a couple of square dies and one of my slatted circles which I layered together, backing the circular area with a piece of a previously made Gelli print which is sea-coloured. Finally everything was adhered to a 6" square card - so far no sentiment has been added to the front of this card, which will probably be left blank because I find that people are often looking for cards in which they can write their own personal messages.

Slatted Circle Dies - from Craft Addictions UK
Wooden Posts and Gulls - dies from Gummiapan
Grass - from On the Horizon set Stampin' Up (long retired)

Inky Play

This card is the result of a bit of inky play and trying out the faux bleach or colour lift technique using a stencil and some water. First I smooshed some inks around onto a piece of white card which was slightly smaller than the card blank and once it was dry I used a damp sponge through the stencil in selected areas to lift some of the colour until I was happy with the result.  It was left to dry naturally although a heat gun could also be used if you are impatient (the results always seem to vary each time this technique is tried).  The stamped foliage was the final thing apart from a small die cut sentiment because I didn't want to cover up too much of the background.

Inks -Distress Oxides, Saltwater Taffy, Victorian Velvet and Wilted Violet
Stamp  and stencil - from Lavinia
Sentiment - a favourite free stamp, die from an ancient set of fancy dies by Sue Wilson 

Coffee Anyone?

I've made another drink related tag to take along to the Tag-along (and ATC) challenge. where the the theme is either Drinks or Anything Goes.  I don't have any small coffee or tea related stamps but a lovely blogging friend kindly stamped a few for me - thank you, you know who you are 😊.  This is quite a large tag so I was able to use one of my much larger set of stamps as a background.  I used a torn notebook die set to trim the edges of one of the smaller images I was sent and coloured and fussy cut the coffee cup from another to layer onto it, sponging the edges with brown ink.  The large tag was cut from an offcut (Snippet) of text printed paper.  Some toning baker's twine was used to tie through the hole in the tag and then everything was layered together.  I was inspired to come up with this design by the lovely prize this month.

Tag - Text printed paper from an old Prima pad, Tim Holtz tag die set with several sizes
Large Coffee Cup - from Caffeinated stamp set Aall & Create
Small Cup - from Tim Holtz small blueprint coffee cup stamp set
Torn Notebook Edges - unbranded die set

More Ducks

 I had a few die cut ducks left from a previous card so I rootled about amongst some of my older die sets and came up with the idea of using this gate, tree stump and some corn to build up a little scene.  I started by cutting a square of white card and brushed over lightly with some blue and green ink.  The ducks I already had and the die cut corn was found in my container of 'useful bits' so I just needed to cut the gate, tree stump, clouds and a couple of clumps of grass.  The sentiment was composed to fit one of my rectangular stitched dies using MS Word.    I find it interesting, and useful, to look back at older stamp and die sets to see just what can be pulled out to use with some of my more recent acquisitions - these dies came from several different sets 😉, all retired so no longer available.

 Ducks - unbranded die set
Gate - from Counting Sheep Stampin' Up
Corn and tree stump  - from Hey Chick also SU
Grass Clumps - from Elephant Parade also SU
Cloud - from Gummiapan (part of Easter Countdown special collection dies)
Sentiment - Stitched rectangle die set SU