Create your own background

Morning all.  I'm only just getting my head around what day is which at the moment.  It's hard to keep track as I've been no further than the craft room in days.  Anyway, if today is Monday, we will have a new challenge to keep you going at Make My Monday. Silvi is asking us to create our own background.

I think I mentioned just recently that I had gone a bit mad with purchasing magazines.  I very rarely buy them but over the last month or so I've been tempted by quite a few.  This turned out to be quite fortuitous as I had the perfect stamp and die set to use for my card.  Simply Cards and Papercraft had a lovely leaf stamp and die set which I've been itching to use.  I stamped the leaf several times to create my background and used Verdigris embossing powder and heat embossed it.  This has to be my favourite embossing powder and I will be gutted when it's finished. I've had it for years and I've no idea who makes it.  I used the die to cut one leaf out and mounted it onto a small panel.  I did flick a little of the embossing powder onto the panel and heated it to give it a little bit of interest.

I just distressed the edges of my panels a bit and added some gems to finish it off.  I'm quite pleased with the results.  It's not what I normally do but I might try it more often if they turn out like this.  The photo doesn't really do it justice.

Anyway, over to you.  Please can we see your lovely homemade backgrounds.  If you are in need of inspiration please check out the design team.  They are a talented bunch of ladies and have very varied styles.

Thanks for reading and stay safe.

Love Dawn x

Pink (and Grey) Elephants on Parade

Morning all.  If you are fed up and bored we are here to help with a new theme over at The Alphabet Challenge.  I was so impressed with how much support I got for my theme last time. I hope Caz can get as much interest for her theme of Zoo Animals.

I sorted through all the digi stamps I'd got printed out and decided on the really sweet mummy and baby elephant stamp from Drawn by Krista.  I also managed to chose a layout that allowed me to use up some of my endless scraps.  Can you tell I've been tidying my craft room.  Not sure I'll be able to find anything when I want it but I've managed to find tonnes of stuff I don't remember buying.

Here's what it turned out like.

I hope you are all safe and well and you can find time to play along.  Visiting your blogs is keeping us design team folk busy and uplifted.  It really is a pleasure seeing what everyone creates.

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

A little dose of cuteness to keep you going.

Morning all.  Time for a new challenge at Cardz4Galz and, just to make you smile in this time of craziness, we would like to see some cute animals.  For a long time now my husband has been in the habit of finding some cute video on YouTube or Facebook first thing in the morning and showing me my dose of 'morning cuteness' before I go to work.  Give it a go.  It's much better than going out after viewing the news.  He usually picks something with a kitten or a koala.  Well, for my dose of cuteness I've gone the Kitty route.

I die cut lots of 'Birthdays' to create a tone on tone background and coloured this cute little guy from Bugaboo.  He's part of a block of three images but I really only needed him.  I did add some sparkle pen to his nose and hat before matting him on some layers of red and blue to match my scheme.  

I hope you are all safe and well out there and can find some time to join in our fun challenge.  We really need more doses of cuteness to cheer us all up.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Life's about the Journey - Chance would be a fine thing!

Morning all.  I hope you are all safe and well in these extraordinary times.  If you are stuck at home and looking for something to do - or even if you aren't - we have a new challenge for you over at Cardz4guz.  We would like to see you using a stencil on your projects please.

I have to admit to having no idea where this card was going when I set out.  And, funnily enough, it's entirely inappropriate considering the current situation.  I hope you will forgive me but this was just how my brain went at the time.

Having chosen my stencil I was inspired by a recent Jennifer McGuire video to use a coloured base.  I used Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers to ink my stencil and I'm so pleased with the result.  After that I had to decide what to do with it.  Having not bought any craft magazines for ages, I have to admit to going a bit mad this last week.  My most recent purchase having a fabulous 'great outdoors' themed stamp set on the front.  I chose a sentiment and a signpost stamp and created this card.

I am so pleased with the result.  I didn't even feel the need to add bling.  I know!  It's so unlike me.  And, having just noticed that I'd cut my paper down on one side and not evened the pattern on the other, I am going to pretend that it was a design feature and I'd meant to do it that way.

Anyway, off you go and find your stencils people.  Unless you are a key worker (and God bless you and keep you safe if you are) then I'm sure you have nothing else to do. Lol.

Stay safe please and thanks for reading

Love Dawn x.

I Could do with some Tropical

Morning.  It's Monday - round again too quickly.  It does mean, however, that there is a new challenge up at Make My Monday.  I think Janeen must have known we'd all be fed up with the weather when she chose the theme of 'Tropical'.  Who couldn't use some tropical weather at the moment.  I don't really have much that fits the bill in my craft stash.  I know, with all this stuff how could I not!  I do have some pretty papers that my other half bought me a few Christmases ago. One had a pretty flamingo pattern on it so I let that do the talking for my project.

I figured with paper that was so lovely I wouldn't mess about with it.  I added the die cut 'Sunshine' and heat embossed 'hello'.  I had to fling a few gems at it because I can't help myself  and Voila!

Please pop over and join in the challenge.  We could all do with a slice of Tropical Cheer and the DT have some lovely inspiration.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

There is a Green Hill Far Away...

Morning all.  I know we are still in the season of Lent but Easter is fast approaching.  So, this month at Sparkles Monthly Challenge we would like to see some Easter Projects please.  One of my favourite Easter hymn is 'There is a Green Hill...' so I took this as my inspiration for my card.  Three crosses on a hill outside the city wall of Jerusalem.  I've added two hills in front of each other as my die is smaller than I thought and it needed a little more in the front of the card.

I did try adding happy Easter but it looked rubbish so I've left it as it is. Right, I'm off to Church.  Please join in with our challenge and let me know if you have a favourite hymn.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

For the Youngsters

Morning all.  It's my turn to choose the subject, and winners, for this week's Alphabet Challenge and as I have the letter Y I'd like to see something for the Younger generation.  Having picked the subject months ago I can't actually remember if I had anything in mind.  Probably as a consequence of being one of the 'older' generation.  Well, middle aged then. 

Having gone through my images I chose this cute little boy with a camera from Sasayaki Glitter.  I'm not sure what's going on with her shop at the moment as there doesn't seem much in it.  I love his shirt as I can make it as bright and colourful as I want.  The background is some old origami paper I have but it just seemed to fit with my colour scheme.

I added a few stars and gems as it looked a little empty.  I also added the camera die.  I love it but can't remember whose it is.  And that's about it folks.  Over to you - pretty please.  

Thanks for reading


Love Dawn x

Spring - Will You Hurry Up and Get Here!

Morning all.  Are you as fed up of the wintery weather as I am?  I know we've had a mild winter with next to no snow (and don't think I'm ungrateful for it) but I keep checking to make sure I've not developed webbed feet.  

The new challenge over at Cardz4galz should at least put a little spring in your step - or your crafting - as we'd like to see your spring flowers please.  Now originally I was going to do a card with cherry blossom on.  My grandma's birthday was always on the first day of spring and we planted a cherry tree when she passed away so we would always have blossom on her birthday.  However, the more I thought about it the more I realised that I don't really count blossom as flowers.  Daft isn't it.  Our apple tree in full blossom was probably what sold us this house when we came to view it.  Anyway, I dug out one of the very first dies I ever bought.  It's a sizzix die and I had to figure a way to get it to go through my machine.

I inked the card with distress inks (fossilized amber and worn lipstick for the petals and peeled paint for the leaf and stem) .  I'm not sure that this is very Me.  It's a bit big and bold.  I found some papers I liked to go with it but it still isn't really doing it for me.  I may go back with my shimmer pen later if it doesn't warm on me. I absolutely adore tulips and every year I say I will plant some bulbs.  I always forget though.  Maybe this is as close as I am going to get to any this spring.

Come on, time for you to show me your spring flowers.  I'm off to look at the blossom on my tree.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

My Husband's Obsession - Well, One of Them

Have you ever heard it said that boys don't grow up but their toys get more expensive. My husband is a bit like that.  He likes his things to play with - his projects.  One of his 'projects' is the garden pond and the fish to go in it. Which brings me on to this week's challenge at Cardz4guyz.  We would like to see something beginning with F on your project.  His 'fishpond' started out on paper, as most of his projects do.  It didn't look too bad on paper.  He measured it out in the garden.  It didn't look to big when he measured it.  Then he started digging.  Ok, I think that's when it got a little over ambitious.  Apparently, it has to be so deep so the fish can keep warm at the bottom in the winter.  Not quite sure why it had to be about three times the width of the original plan but, by that time, I figured it was best not to ask and let him get on with it.  It's his birthday today so I've made him a fishpond card and here it is.

I used a fabulous die from Hero Arts that I saw once and had to have.  I blended the background and added the panel to the front.  I then cut extra lily pads and waterlilies and inked them up. I added a little orange to my fish and made him shimmer with some spectrum noir sparkle pen.  To be truthful, it's not really much like our pond, either of them.  Oh, didn't I mention.  We got frogs in the pond and frogs and fish don't do well together - especially during the mating season.  So he built a smaller pond in the front garden for the frog.  The frog isn't a bit grateful.  It keeps getting out and walking back to the big pond!

Anyway, over to you.  Let's see your Letter F projects please.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

In the Pink

Morning all.  I hope you are all very much 'in the pink' as that's exactly what we need for our new challenge at Make My Monday.  I decided that, with Mother's Day coming up soon in the UK, I would make a Mum card.  I chose an adorable little dog stamp from Penny Black. He's holding a cute rose for his mum.  I already had a very pink background from my basket of premade layouts.  It's good to be getting rid of a few of these.  I've got tonnes of scrap papers to create more when I've made room in the basket.

I'm not sure it's very much my mum in style so I might give it Anna next door from Bertie (the dog).  Damn, I should have coloured him black! Besides, Bertie in real life is so much more adorable.

Over to you now.  Let's see your pink creations please. Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x