Wednesday - what's occurrin'?

Morning readers,

And welcome to my first post in September! The year is simply racing away with me!

I've a make to share with you today ..... a guy card for a teen

Materials used:

• White, 250gsm, C6 card and envelope
• Card in white and navy, for my card front, insert and matting layer
• Snippets of card in white, for my image, football and sentiment
• I borrowed the stamp set with the footballer, the football, along with the matching dies, they're from Made to Surprise. I stamped them using Versafine Clair nocturne ink and die cut them, colouring the image with Faber Castell polychromos pencils
• Polkadoodles numbers (from PD8026 - Feb 2024 - NBUS) stamped using Versafine Clair twilight ink - OMG! Those numbers were fiddly - I started trying to use the smaller numbers but gave up eventually! I'm gonna go out on a limb and say those numbers may never again see the light of day!
• MFT "Birthday" (from CS.74) stamped using Versafine Clair twilight ink on to a white snippet which I then fussy cut out
• Elsewhere on the card I used the CRASPIRE "Happy Birthday) (From WHO167-57-0250) using Versafine Clair nocturne ink
• On my card front I used the borrowed grid stencil (for the "football net" and Distress Ink in blueprint sketch, applied with a makeup brush

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Stencil Fun - September challenge - ANYTHING STENCILLED GOES + (optional) YELLOW
2. NBUS - challenge No. 90 - USE NBUS
3. Simon Says Stamp - Monday challenge - GET IN SHAPE ... well, footie will get you in shape!!
4. GirlzMakeGuyzCardz - challenge No. 42 - SPORTS
5. Love to Craft - challenge No. 94 - ANYTHING GOES

Here's a bit of nostalgia for you ... I was looking back at some of my older blog posts, and came across one from 2011. I had entered the Simply Less Is More challenge, which I used to love, and I had FORTY FIVE comments!!! Those were the days! I don't get anywhere near that level of comments any more, now it's a good day if I get to double figures - though I appreciate every single one of those comments. Do people not blog as much or am I just more out of touch with crafting than I thought?

Monday - Woo Hoo! A fresh, new week!

Morning readers,

I hope you are enjoying your Bank Holiday weekend (in the UK), shame about the weather but ... it's been so long since it's rained that I almost wanted to just stand out in it!

I've a make to share with you today ... this was one of those that started with the sentiment and then the pocket watch ... it looked like it needed something extra so I added the ink and then the clock faces .... on reflection the clock faces should have been less intrusive but hey .... it COULD have worked! You have to try these things .... don't you?

Materials used:

• ATC blank
• Snippets of card in white and black
• Close To My Heart sentiment and clock face (from D1257) stamped using Versafine Clair nocturne and morning mist inks
• Handprints pocket watch image (C2016) stamped using Versafine Clair nocturne ink
• Using a Tim Holtz mini blender that still had some brown/red Distress Inks on ... I applied a light layer of colour to the ATC, taking as much care as possible to not over ink the pocket watch
• A quick spritz of Crafters Companion Spray and Shine, to protect the Distress Inks

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Polkadoodles - challenge No. 8 - ANYTHING GOES
2. Gem of a challenge - challenge No. 8 - ANYTHING GOES
3. Creative Fingers - challenge No. 328 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Pattie's Creations - challenge No. 245 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Creative Inspirations - August challenge - ANYTHING GOES

Saturday - welcome to the bank holiday weekend - ENJOY!

Morning readers,

It's a Bank Holiday weekend so it should come as no surprise that ... it's RAINING! Gardens desperate for some quality rain but ... honestly ... it's a holiday weekend!!!

I've a make to share with you today ... another anniversary card for a commission. It was Quick, Clean And Simple AND used a couple of my growing (again) collection of snippets!

Materials used:

• White, 250gsm, C6 card and envelope
• Card in white and red, for my card front, insert and matting layer
• Snippets of card in white and red, for my image panel
• Carabelle hearts image (from SA60156 - from 2017) stamped on to my snippet using Versafine Clair strawberry ink
• MFT sentiment (from CS.794 - from 2023) stamped using Versafine Clair nocturne ink
• Stardust stickles to trace around the three hearts and to add some celebratory sparkle!

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Addicted to CAS - challenge No. 315 - ANNIVERSARY
2. Little Red Wagon - challenge No. 873 - ANYTHING TIME THREE
3. HQCL - challenge No. 87 - ANYTHING WITH A HEART GOES + (optional) RED and/or YELLOW HEARTS
4. Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday challenge - ANYTHING GOES
5. Retro Rubber - challenge No. 279 - ANYTHING GOES (must use images older than one year)

TGIF peeps, another weekend looms large!

Morning readers,

I've a make to share with you today ... I sometimes forget how therapeutic I find blending inks, this just reminded me. It was, however, not without issues as I dropped my vintage photo ink pad as I was packing up my ink pads. We crafters hate waste and I did NOT want to start the project again so ... I whipped out my mini ink pad (in ground espresso) and added a few more "corners" to make it look deliberate, what do you think? Did it work?

Materials used:

• ATC blank
• Snippets of card in kraft and white
• Distress Inks used: Antique linen, Pumice stone, Tea dye, Vintage photo, Fired brick and Ground espresso - blended with a Tim Holtz mini blender and domed pad
• Once dry, I stamped the Craft Stamper free sentiment (remember those? - I haven't read Craft Stamper in over 5 years so this has to be older than that!) "Tempus fugit" and the Art Impressions clock face (J-2611 - reckon this is 15+ years old) using Versafine Clair nocturne ink
• Finally, a quick spritz of Crafters Companion Spray and Shine, to protect those water based inks

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Tagalong and ATC's - August challenge - FASHION or ANYTHING GOES
2. The Little Things - challenge No. 07 - MERMAIDS or ANYTHING GOES
3. Retro Rubber - challenge No. 279 - ANYTHING GOES (using older stash) 
4. Crafting Happiness - August challenge - BACK TO SCHOOL or ANYTHING GOES
5. Everybody Art - challenge No. 604 - ANYTHING GOES

Wednesday - how's your week coming along?

Morning readers,

I've a make to share with you today ... since yesterday was designated "Rudolph Day" then it was obviously going to be a Christmas card!

Materials used:

• White, 250gsm, C6 card and envelope
• Card in white and red, for my card front, insert and matting layer
• Gerda Steiner image, musical notes and sentiment (from "Carol Puppies" - GSD656 - May 2026 - NBUS) stamped using Versafine Clair nocturne and strawberry inks - sadly, as you can see, my Gerda Steiner order was damaged in transit ... some of the images in this set and the others in my order were also damaged. Gerda Steiner dealt with the issue superbly and promptly.
• Elsewhere on the card I used the MFT sentiment "Merry Christmas" from CS.723 "Holiday Cheers" and stamped using the strawberry ink
• Faber Castell polychromos pencils used to colour my image
• Anita's dimensional gloss on the puppy eyes
• Stardust stickles on the fur of the hat and on the "grounding"

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Rudolph Day - August challenge - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES
2. NBUS - challenge No. 89 - USE NBUS
3. Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - challenge No. 277 - "A" is for ANIMALS
4. Holly & Ivy - challenge No. 210 - ANYTHING CHRISTMAS GOES
5. Creative Aunts - challenge No. 116 - ANYTHING GOES

I was the lucky winner over at Dream Valley this week, for their challenge #366 - thanks so much

Monday and another week begins ...

Morning readers,

Hope you all had a good weekend and managed to keep yourselves "gainfully" employed - whether that was actually work!, or perhaps crafting or socialising with friends/family.

I've a make to share with you today ... it's an anniversary card - I figured I hadn't used this wood mounted image in YEARS and it was high time it saw ink again. I do think I may have had it a little too long though, as it didn't really want to stamp as crisply as I remember. Anyone got any suggestions of how I might recondition an elderly rubber stamp?

The front/back of my envelope, insert and reverse of my card,
along with the snippet used for my sentiment

Materials used:

• White, 250gsm, C6 card and envelope
• Card in white and pearl cream
• PSX Petaluma lily botanicals image (K-1276) stamped using Versafine Clair nocturne ink
• Faber Castell polychromos pencils used to colour my image
• CRASPIRE sentiment (WHO-167-57-0256) stamped using Versafine Clair  nocturne ink
• Once my sentiment was fully dry, I fussy cut it, leaving a narrow white border and adhered it to my card front
• Elsewhere on the card I stamped the TCP sentiment (from S.5845.CL) using Versafine Clair morning mist ink
• Stardust stickles added, to give some celebratory sparkle

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. We Love Stamping - August challenge - SUMMER BLOOMS
2. Kleuren met Potloden - August challenge - ANYTHING GOES
3. Neglected Stuff Challenge - August challenge - ANYTHING GOES (using neglected stuff)
4. Polkadoodles - challenge No. 8 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Pammie's Inky Pinkies - challenge No. 2634 - ANYTHING GOES

Saturday, it's the weekend!!!

Morning readers,

I've a make to share with you today ... I've been asked to make a few anniversary cards recently, plus, I always need them myself! Twice this past week I have set out to make an anniversary card ... only to have them turn out to be BIRTHDAY cards. You will be pleased to hear that I managed to control the urge to make a birthday card and to make the anniversary card below. One down, two to go! This one turned out to be Quick, Clean And Simple - nothing to distract from the message sentiment!

 

Materials used:

• White, 250gsm, C6 card and envelope
• Card in white and red, for my card front, insert and matting layer
• TCP sentiment (from S.5845.CL) stamped using Versafine Clair nocturne ink
• Honey-Bee Stamps sentiment (from HBST-218 "Heartfelt") stamped using Versafine Clair charming pink and strawberry inks
• Stardust stickles used to trace the lines of the hearts and give some well celebratory sparkle!

I'll be entering the above make for the following challenges:-

1. Papercraft Challenges - challenge No. 133 - BACK TO BASICS (Keep it simple)
2. Pammie's Inky Pinkies - challenge No. 2633 - ANYTHING GOES
3. Dream Valley - challenge No. 366 - ANYTHING GOES
4. Stamps+Fun=Creativity - challenge No. 499 - ANYTHING GOES
5. Krafty Chicks - challenge No. 834 - CAS (Clean And Simple)