Take the Coastal Path Less Travelled

 Morning all. We have a lovely summery theme for you today over at Make My Monday.  Think 'Boardwalk/Coastal Path', so anything seaside.  Ice creams, beach volleyball, sandcastles etc.  I like my coastal walks to be a little more peaceful these days.  Just walking barefoot in the sea along the beach would be wonderful.  That's what I imagined doing when I chose my image.  

I thought it might make a nice 'thank you for watering my plants/feeding my cat' kind of card so that's what I've gone for.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Vincent

 Morning all.  Sorry this is a bit late.  My week has been upside down and I don't know what day it is.

Over at Cardz4galz  we would like 'blue skies' on your projects please.  A little while ago someone sent me a slide show showing Van Gough's paintings set to Don McClean's Vincent.  The words and the pictures put together made so much sense and made the pictures so much more appealing to me.  I wish I still had the slide show.  When I found some clip art on Etsy in the same style as Van Gough's Starry Night I thought it would be perfect for this.

The pictures are by 2artprints and I thought they would be lovely behind this new die from Kokorosa.

Only one day late, I also have a card for The Alphabet Challenge.  We are up to 'H for Horticulture'.  A perfect opportunity to use another of the sweet gardening image from Whimsyclipgarden.

I'm not sure how much gardening he's doing but he looks happy enough.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Simply Angelic

 Morning all.  How is it the 1st of August already.  It'll be Christmas before you know it.  Quite apt then that we have another Sparkles Christmas Challenge where we are looking for 'CAS Christmas' projects please.

Last year a friend was bemoaning the fact that religious imagery on Christmas cards was very hard to find these days.  Since then, and as a committed Christian, I've been looking for Christian images to use this year. I don't send many Christmas cards.  I only send to family and close friends and thought it would be good to send these types of cards to my Church family and other Christian friends.  I picked up some cute Nativity images from Dotwit on Etsy and I've used this sweet little angel for my card.

I'm not really very good with CAS cards.  They take me longer to do than fussy ones.  I am, however, quite chuffed with this one.  I used this image as I'd already got it printed and cut out but I think I could make a set of these with other images from the download.

Please pop over and show us your CAS.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Mr and Mrs

 Afternoon all.  I apologise for missing a couple of DT posts recently.  I had several migraines on consecutive days and was pretty much useless until I had fully recovered.  I'm back on it today with a card for the 'Wedding/Love' challenge over at Make My Monday.  I have a simple card with pretty papers and a couple of hearts I had in my project tub.  I keep odds and ends that I've cut out of scraps when I'm cutting other things on my Grand Caliber. I figure I may as well get as much cut with one pass and keep the extras in a tub to be used at some point in the future.

Not bad for a bunch of scraps really.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Summertime fun

 Morning all.  We have a new theme over at Cardz4guyz today.  Let's have some 'summertime fun'.  I've used a very old sheet from Gordon Fraser over at Crafts-u-print.  Isn't it fun.

He reminds me a little bit of the guy that keeps losing his ice cream in Lilo and Stitch.

Please join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Kool for Kidz

 I almost forgot it was the 15th today and that would never do.  15th is  Sparkles Monthly Challenge day and this month I have chosen 'a kids card' as my theme.  Once again I've used some fabulous clip art from Dotwit on Etsy.  I've chosen the Football collection for my card.

I am obsessed with her images and this set has both male and female images which will come in handy when my great niece has a birthday as she's a cracking little player.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Forever Friends

 Today, over at Cardz4galz we are celebrating 'Friends and Friendship'  which I thing is a lovely theme.  I'm blessed to have some wonderful friends and my very best friend is my wonderful husband.  As soon as we moved onto the marina God blessed me with a new best friend, Ellen.  She has been amazing in her support and we've had such fabulous laughs.  There will, no doubt, be more laughs tomorrow when we are out Bra shopping!  Here's my card for this challenge.

Please pop over and join in the fun.  Let's celebrate your friends too.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Merry Monochrome

 Morning all.  It's the first of July so it's Sparkles Christmas Challenge.  Get your Christmas in July cards started as you mean to go on.  We are wanting 'Monochrome Christmas' projects please.

I'm really struggling with my camera at the moment.  The white panel is debossed with a Christmas tree embossing folder.  I've decorated it with gold gems and matched it with a gold patterned paper.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

A perfect blend

 Afternoon all.  Sorry I've missed a couple of posts.  I've been doing some extra hours and the boat has been too hot to cope with.  I'm back today with the 'blend two or three colours' theme over at Make My Monday.  It's not something I do often as I'm not very good at it but I've blended blue and yellow (making a nice green where they cross) through a stencil.

I'm quite happy with how it turned out.  It's still not my style but I'm pleased it doesn't look a complete mess.

Please pop over and join the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

The advantages of living on a boat - I don't have to do the garden!

 Morning all.  It's my theme over at Cardz4guyz and I've chosen 'Gardens/Gardening'.  We had a lovely garden when I lived in a house but, I have to say, it's not a skill that I have.  Shrubs!  Shrubs are good.  You just stick them in and leave them to it.  I'm lucky I don't need to worry about it anymore.  There is no lawn to mow when you live on a boat.  Having said that, Howard, our neighbour, has so many plants on his roof.  It's stunning to look at.  He used to teach horticulture and he has a passion for succulents.  He doesn't drive so, every now and again, one of us on the pontoon will nip him out to a garden centre just to see how happy it makes him.

Here's my tribute to Howard.

I hope you will all pop over with your gardening cards so that I have something to comment on.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Oops, I forgot to Sparkle

 I don't know if I'm coming or going.  I totally got yesterday's date wrong and forgot Sparkles Monthly Challenge.  We are looking of 'masculine' projects please.  Come back later for the Cardz4guyz post and you could get two for one.

I have some papers and ephemera from Mintay so I used these and grunged it up a bit with my distress tool.

Please pop over and join the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Full of (stencilled) Beans

 Morning all. Not sure where the weeks are going but I know they are going fast.  It's rolled around to another Make My Monday Challenge and it doesn't seem two minutes since the last one.  This time we are looking for 'stencilling' on your projects please.  I used a fun stencil I've had for ages from Funky Fossil.

I stencilled a darker roast bean at the bottom and got lighter as I went up.  I then added my panel with some coffee themed die cuts.

Please nip over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

A Seaside Card at the Double

 Sorry this is late, I've had a bad week.  Firstly, we have the new theme of 'Seaside/Coast' over at Cardz4galz.  I've used some more Dotwit clipart for this one.  I am slightly obsessed with her images over on Etsy.

Isn't she cute.

Next we have 'D for Double' over at The Alphabet Challenge.  I've used another two Dotwit images.  These two came from the Poppy set.

I'm hoping to be more organised next week.  Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Jingle all the way

 Me again. 1st of the month means a new theme over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge. Our new theme is 'Jingle Bells'.  We would like to see bells on your projects please.  

As well as the clipart I've been purchasing from Dotwit on Etsy she also has fussy cuts.  The images have a line outside to guide your scissors.  I used this wreath, which I printed twice and decoupaged.  I am finding these images really easy to make cards I'm happy with.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Cool dude

 Morning all.  Over at Make My Monday we would like 'Embossing -dry or heat'.  It's got to be dry embossing for me as heat embossing is very hit and miss when I do it.  To ring the changes a bit I decided to emboss some patterned paper.  I used an old Tim Holtz embossing folder and pieced the squares back together before adding my 'cool dude' in the middle.  Isn't he adorable.  

I distressed my squares a bit and added a sentiment.  The image is from a set of clipart on Etsy by Orson Artistry.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

We're turning Japanese

 Morning all.  Thank you all for the fabulous entries to my 'Balls' theme over at The Alphabet Challenge.  We are up to 'C for Circles' this time.  I created this card for my Sister-in-Law she's been a few times to Japan so I thought these beautiful images would go down well.

The images are from Customized Bliss on Etsy.  I love how this one turned out.  It was a BIG birthday but I chose to not advertise the fact as I will be the same age later this year.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Brown and Green for the Galz

 Brown and Green is not a colour combo I would automatically go to for a Girly card but over at Cardz4galz we have 'Green, Brown and twine/ribbon' for our new theme.  Recently I had bought yet another set of images from Dotwit on Etsy. Funnily enough it was a set of cute Dog images but, scattered in amongst them, there were several images of plants and things.  They were perfect.  I am so obsessed with this Etsy shop.

I am so pleased with how these look.  The card turned out better than I imagined (which never normally happens).  I promise there is ribbon there.  You can just see the two layers of ribbon one either side of my images.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

A late card and a missing card

 I have my weeks all in a muddle.  I could have sworn it was next week this week.  As a consequence yesterday's Make My Monday card is late.  We would like you to 'say it with flowers' please. My favourite is Lavender so that's where I went with this one.

My missing card is from the Cardz4guyz blog.  I uploaded it last week and it has disappeared.  I have asked Caz to add it to the page so it may appear yet.  The theme is 'Squash it' basically it means 'use an embossing folder.  I hope Caz can add it to the page as the folder I used is my favourite.  It's an old double sided one from Spellbinders.  I'm so pleased by how this one turned out.

Please go and check out the other DT cards and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

You don't have to be mad to work here...we'll train you!

 Morning all.  Two posts in one day! Go Me!

We are on the 15th of the month so we have a new challenge over at Sparkles Monthly.  Our new theme is 'Trios'.  3 of anything on your project please.  My other half needed a leaving card for a colleague so I did this for him.

Not sure what's going off with my picture.  The central panel didn't look that wonky on the original.  I was looking for some manic, stressed out critters for the three images and found some lovely fun images on Orson Artistry (Etsy). I also added three sets of three gems.  Apparently, I nailed the brief and the other half was thrilled with it.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Oh Balls!

Morning all.  It's my theme over at The Alphabet Challenge today and I've gone for 'B for Balls'.  Doesn't matter what sort of balls.  One of the design team has come up with a brilliant idea and used gumballs.  Go over and check it out.  

I have gone for football this time.  I know, I'm a cricket girl at heart, but in a family of football fans (some Derby County, some Notts Forest - and yes we do still talk to each other) I have gone with the majority.  I even have a great niece who plays for the local junior girls team.  Go the Stanton Ironesses!

I have discovered a new clipart designer on Etsy and I am totally in love with their designs.  Dotwit is new to me but I had to fill my basket with some of their sets.  You will be seeing more of their work coming up.  It does make it easy to create when the artwork is so lovely.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x