Say Hi Dragonfly

Morning all.  It's time for a new challenge over at Cardz4guyz.  They do seem to come around quickly.  The challenge this time is Bugs (the insect variety, not the VW variety).  I have to admit to being stumped for a while.  I knew that some of the DT ladies had already chosen bees so I wanted to do something else.  Anyway, after a lot of searching, I found the cutest dragonflies over on Etsy by SLS Lines.  I've matched it with a sentiment from a set I have from Polkadoodles and just popped it on a panel of washi paper.  I paper quilted the background panel to give it a bit of a lift and finished it off with the obligatory bling.  You can't see it very well but I used a spectrum noir sparkle pen on the wings and they really shine,  I've only used one dragonfly on this card so I have two more that I can use for other cards.  I hope you like it.

We'd love to see your interpretation of the theme so please pop over and join us.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Crafts and Books...My Idea of Heaven

As my regular readers know, I'm a bit of a one for blog stalking.  I especially love the odd challenge blog.  Can you imagine how I felt when I found The Library Challenge .  Oh my goodness, I'm in heaven.  If I'm not crafting, I'm reading - and this covers both bases.  I've been stalking it for a few weeks now but this week's I just had to join.

Several years ago (over twenty but who's counting) I did a home study course in A level English Language and Literature.  I know I have an odd idea of what's fun but learning to me just is.  One of the books we studied was Maya Angelou's 'I know why the caged bird sings'.  I'd not come across her before this but I've read all her biographical books since.  I also had the chance to see her on stage in Manchester.  Unfortunately, and to my eternal regret, myself and my friend chose to go by train.  We got on the train but it didn't move.  We couldn't afford a taxi and we'd left it too late for a bus so I never got to see this amazing women.  Anyway, as this is the subject of this current challenge I chose to pay tribute to her in my own way.

The card is made using an old Sheena Douglas Stamp from the Kimono set (I don't think it's available any more).  I decided not to use the cage in the set but to keep it simple with this gorgeous bird.  I hope you like it. 

I added the simple sentiment and a few obsidian dots over the inked background.  I must have been psychic as I bought the Spiced Marmalade distress ink on the way home from work this evening and it was just what I needed for this challenge.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn 

Feeling Off Colour

Morning all.  It's time for a new challenge over at Cardz4guyz.  I can't believe how quickly these challenges come around.  This time we have a Get Well Soon theme and the design team have come up with a wide variety of options that fit the bill.  Please pop over and have a look.  I was really impress by how different they were.

My card uses a stamp from 2 Cute Ink but I think it must have been a club exclusive as I can't find it in the shop.  Heidi has a tonne of cute images but I've been through the shop twice and it's not there.  I hope you like what I've done with it.

It's the first time I've used a stencil for the background and I'm really pleased with how that came out.  

I hope I've inspired you to join us at the challenge as I love looking through all the entries.  It never ceases to amaze me how much talent is out there and how one theme can throw up so many interpretations.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Yay, It's a Fab Friday!

Morning all.  It's been one of those nice serendipitous mornings for me.  I was browsing through some of my most recent pins on Pinterest and found this sketch.

It was perfect for a project I had in mind and I clicked on it and found the page.  I was chuffed to bits that the challenge was still live so I've started following Fab Friday on Bloglovin and I thought I'd enter my effort into the challenge.

I've had the stamp coloured up and hanging around for ages.  It was beginning to get on my nerves as I kept moving it around my desk so I thought I'd do something with it.  It's an old one from Dustin Pike and I don't think it's available anymore.  Here's what I did with it.

I'm so pleased with it.  I think it was meant to be.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

My Kryptonite

Afternoon all.  I'm feeling a little sorry for myself at the moment.  Age seems to be sapping my energy levels, my balance and my confidence.  I think I must have been near some Kryptonite.  Having sprained my ankle recently in one of those un-balanced moments (and you never fall over without an audience, do you)? I found myself with a little extra time to colour.  I found today's sketch challenge over at Sketch Saturday and decided to have a go. I used another fun image from Dr Digi's House of Stamps - they seem to be my favourite site at the moment - and I created this.

I found some fabulous papers that came free with a magazine about a million years ago and I'm quite pleased with the result.

Here's the original sketch.

I hope you like what I did with it.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x