Lovely Lavender

Morning all.  We have a new challenge for your this morning over at Make My Monday.  Meg would like you all to 'use a digital stamp'.  Ooh, now there's an excuse to go shopping whilst staying firmly indoors.  Not that I really 'need' anymore digital stamps.  I just need them, if you know what I mean.  Anyway, in an incredible twist of fate, a newsletter appeared in my inbox from Power Poppy, so I popped over for a little browse. 

This gorgeous little lavender bag caught my eye and I really 'needed' it.  Lavender is one of my absolute favourite plants.  I'd like to say it was the only stamp I 'needed' but I'd be lying. Thanks Meg, I'm blaming you for this little spending spree.

To finish the whole thing off I stamped 'friend' on the label and mounted it on one of my scrap backgrounds.  I couldn't be happier with the result.  It's like it was meant to be.

Anyway, I'm sure you all have some digi stamps you can use (or, if not, you can use it as an excuse to shop whilst staying at home).  Please join in the fun.

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

Oh Boy!

Morning all.  We have a new letter for you over at The Alphabet Challenge today.  B is for Boy.  We'd like to see you Boy projects please.  I struggled a bit for this one as nothing came straight to mind.  I went through all the digistamps I'd got printed out (I'm determined to get rid of some of my stash during this lock down) and still didn't feel it.  I started to colour a cute car image and totally messed that up so it went in the bin and I changed tack.  I have a love/hate relationship with my Cricut Explore.  It sits on my desk and stares at me and I get the courage up to use it and something usually goes wrong.  I am a nightmare at sizing the designs.  I can't get the hang of choosing the right material or my blade will need changing or the card slips on the mat.  The list of possible disasters goes on.  I'm not sure why I decided that today would be a good day to cut a project.  Anyway, I found a background that I'd used before and I knew it would be perfect for a Tiddlyinks image that I'd got on my desk - it doesn't appear to be available any longer but she has some fun stuff in her etsy shop.

As usual I messed up the sizing so I stuck it to a card front and added a sliver of red and some more blue at the bottom to cover everything up.  I'd like to say I designed it that way 'cause I really like how it turned out.  I'd be lying though.  It's a complete fluke that it works.

OK, I obviously need more inspiration for the Boys in my life.  Let's see what you've got.

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

Stash Busting

Having all this extra time at home just recently has given me an opportunity to tidy my stash.  And by tidy I mean look through it, find stuff I'd forgotten I'd got and pop it back - but maybe in a slightly different place.  This week I managed to find a die I had forgotten I'd got (underneath a box on top of another box on Will's work desk) and some more papers that I'd had free in a magazine from the dark ages.  Brilliant, both of them would be perfect for this week's challenge at Cardz4galz.  Leslie has chosen the colour combination of Black and Pink.  

The papers were perfect and I used the frame die to cut some glitter card.  I had the tiniest piece of pink glitter card (see, this is why we don't throw anything out) so I chose one of my butterfly dies and cut it out and stuck it on a white glitter panel that I'd put in my frame.  I added a bit of black bling and that's it.  Another card using my stash. Not that it's made much of a dent in it to be fair.

OK, over to you.  Crack out the pink and black and let's see your lovely creations.

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

I Choose to Use...Dies

I think I've mentioned before that the DT members on the challenge blogs pick our themes well in advance of the blogs going live.  Well I picked today's theme at Cardz4guyz so far in advance that it was a real surprise to me to find that I had picked it.  I apparently want you to use 'dies as a main feature' on your project.  I probably had something in mind when I came up with the idea but I really can't remember what it was.  Senior moment or what.

Anyway, after racking my brain for a bit I came up with two cards for this challenge.  Both of them very similar but also very different.

My first card uses a fabulous die set from Altenew called Shattered Triangles.  It was one of those must have purchases that just fell into my basket when I ordered some other stuff. I decided to go with a black and gold scheme for this card and I knew that I wanted to inlay some of the details.  I found a lovely scrap of shiny variegated black and gold paper but it was only 2 inch square so I only inlayed one triangle. As it happens, I really like it that way.

My second card uses the same layout but a totally different look.  I needed a card for my Brother-in-Law's birthday and, as he is a photographer, I had the perfect die.  I'm afraid I can't tell you who made this one as I have a feeling it was one of those cheap little sets that the Range do for a couple of quid.  I love it though and I'm really chuffed with this one as well.  I sponge various distress inks onto card and cut them out and mounted them on my blank.  Voila.

OK, your turn.  Please join in the fun or I won't have anything to chose a winner from.

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

Spring!

Morning all.  We have a new challenge for you today over at Sparkles Monthly.  For this one Cathy has chosen 'Spring is in the Air'.  My Mamma's birthday was always on the first day of spring but when I see daffodils poking their heads up I always think that's the first sign.  As this is the case it seemed appropriate to create something with a daffodil on.  That's twice in a week.  Mind you, this card is totally different to my Monday post. I've been taking the opportunity - during the unexpected isolation - to spring clean in my craft room.  It's amazing what stuff I've found from years ago.  Today's project uses an ancient decoupage sheet that a neighbour gave me way back when.  I can't remember the last time I used a decoupage sheet.

The papers where off cuts that I've also been sorting through.  If this lockdown lasts for long you could be seeing one or two more blasts from the past.  I quite enjoyed going back to basics.

OK, off you go.  Let's see you spring into spring with your creations.  

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

A Host of Golden Daffodils

Morning all and happy Easter Monday.  It's very strange not being able to go to the usual Easter services in Church but I totally get the idea of keeping our congregation safe.  We've been very lucky to have a service to read through and most of us are doing it at the same time for a sense of fellowship.  Anyway, all this extra time at home has at least allowed me to get ahead with my design team work. For today's Make My Monday challenge we would like to see 'Spring Flowers' please.  

I love spring flowers and, when my son was born, his great grandmother sent me a huge box of early daffodils from the Isles of Scily.  They hadn't quite come out on the main land so it was a little bit special to get some sent to me like that.  I always think of daffodils when I think of spring.  

My card uses an ancient piece of backing paper that came free with a magazine years ago (I've been having a sort out).  The daffodil stamp is a more recent magazine freebie.  I think they look fabulous together, what do you think?

I had enough backing paper to do two cards  so I have another similar one in my box for Church.  We always have a host of golden daffodils in the Churchyard at this time of year.

OK, over to you.  Please pop over and join in with your spring flower project.

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

Happy 10th Anniversary to The Alphabet Challenge

Morning all.  Today is the 10th Anniversary of The Alphabet Challenge. We are starting again at the letter A and, although we have chosen an 'anything goes' theme, I thought it would be appropriate to create an Anniversary card.  To be fair, I've been itching for an opportunity to use a Mo's Digital Pencil image since I first saw it.  It was one of those images that I just needed when I spotted it.  Didn't have anything specific in mind but really just had to have the image.  

I found some hearts and flowers papers and just layered everything up.  I'm really pleased with how it came out.  Looking at it I think it may be perfect for mum and dad on their anniversary.  

Please pop over and join in the anniversary fun.  We do love to see your projects.

Thanks for reading and stay safe.

Love Dawn x

Let's go fly a kite (well, maybe when this crazy stuff is all over)

Morning all.  We have another outdoorsy themed challenge this week.  This time Cardz4galz want to see a kite on your creation.  I promise the design teams are not doing this as some form of torture.  All our themes were picked well in advance of the current lock down situation.

I did think this one was going to be tricky for me as I didn't think I owned anything with a kite on it.  I was going to try an origami approach but went through my stash just in case.  As it happens I did own a kite stamp.  I can't remember buying it but it looks like one of the cheap single ones that Hobbycraft do. I actually enjoyed playing with this and really like the results.

The sentiment is from a Wplus9 set I've had for ages.  I just fussy cut one of the stamps from my background to mount next to the sentiment and left it at that.  I didn't even add bling.  I must be sickening for something.  That's twice in a week.

Off you go to find your kites please.  Let's see what fabulous creations you can come up with.

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x

Beside the Seaside

Morning all.  It's Tuesday so it must be time for a new challenge at Cardz4guyz.  I know it would be lovely to be beside the seaside but, at the moment, it is more important to stay indoors and keep yourself and others safe.  You can, however, be beside the sea or even on it for our new challenge.

I didn't have to think very hard about this one as it gave me another excuse to use the 'Seaside Seagulls' stamp set from My Favourite Things.  Ok, I will admit, it is one of my very Favourite Things.  I kept it fairly simple with an inked sky and a die cut sea and stuck a frame around it before adding my little Gull.

No gems, just card candy to finish it off and that's it.  He doesn't look all that impressed does he.  OK guys, over to you.  Your creations are as close to the sea as I'm going to get for a while so please join in the fun. 

Thanks for reading and please stay safe.

Love Dawn x