Be Joyful

Morning all.  The Alphabet Challenge has a fun new challenge for you today.  The subject is J for Joy.  

I'm loving this one as it gives me a chance to use a stamp I bought 'just because'.  Have you ever just seen something that made you smile you just had to have it?  This is what happened to me when I saw Mo Manning's image Joy.  It made me smile so much.  You can see the Joy in the image.  And this was the Challenge that it had been waiting for.

I've kept the card very simple because I think the image says it all.

Please pop over and join in the fun.  I think we could all use a little Joy sometimes.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Is your Beach Body Ready?

Morning all.  Time for some 'Summer Fun' over at Cardz4galz.  Any Summer Fun would do but, as I've been dieting since 2 weeks before Christmas, I thought I'd show off my Beach Body to you.
Here it is, what do you think?

And that's as close as you are going to get to me in a bikini.  Yes, I have lost 3 stone.  Yes, I am a shadow of my former self. No, I still don't own a bikini and I have no plans to buy one.  Believe me, the world will never be ready for that.

The image is one of my absolute favourites from Mo's Digital Pencil and she's such fun to colour.  I love her curves.  Believe it or not, the sandy coloured backing paper is a Christmas one.  I've hidden the snowfake under her bum.

Why not pop over and join in with your summer fun designs.  

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Music to my Ears

Morning all.  Who's up for a new challenge at Cardz4guyz? There's lots of scope with this week's subject of 'Music'. 

I've got tonnes of potential stamps for this one.  The hardest part was deciding on which one.  In the end I went with this brilliant Jukebox from Dr Digi purely because I'd bought it and never coloured it.  I don't know why 'cause it was so much fun to colour.  Plus, I had the perfect background papers to use.  They were a freebie from a long forgotten magazine but they screamed out to be used with this stamp.  Here's the result.

And I have to say it's a relief, after a few weeks of mojo malfunction, to be pleased with the result.

The Design Team have created such a diverse group of cards for this subject you just have to pop over and check them out.  And whilst you are there you can join in the fun.

Thanks for reading. 

Love Dawn x

Going off the edge

Morning all.  Time for a new challenge over at Back to Basics and Beyond.  This week we are pushing you right off the edge. There is a fab tutorial from Jennifer McGuire on You Tube and you can access it here.  The idea is to use a larger stamp around the edge of your card - and if you use Jennifer's technique you can create two cards at the same time.

I don't really have a lot of large stamps but I think I need some as I loved doing this technique.  My plan was to use a cherry blossom stamp but it was an odd shape and didn't really work so I chose the lily from the same set (I think it's Papermania).  I just coloured it in and used a die cut sentiment.  I could have used one of the sentiments from the stamp set but they are small and I was afraid it would get lost.

What do you think?

One thing I will say for Back to Basics and Beyond.  It is still managing to teach an old dog new tricks.  I think I need to invest in some more stamps as I can't really do this with Digis.  Well, I suppose you could but it would take a coat of thinking over first.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

For a Guy

I should have this week's Make My Monday Challenge down pat.  After all, Cardz4guyz was my first design team spot. Plus I needed a male tennis card for a 16th birthday.  Simples.  I didn't even have to think about it.  I could kill two birds with one stone.  A Guy card - for the challenge - plus I'd get the 16th card out of the way.  Yeah, right.  Do you know how many male tennis digis there are available?  Needless to say, searching for the image became the most trying part of this make.  Female tennis players there are a plenty.  Male ones, hardly any.  In the end I found this fabulous image on Craftsuprint.  It's designed by Gordon Fraser and I have a lot of his images - although they are all printable ones rather than digis.  My printer isn't really up to the job anymore so I don't really use them, which is a pity.  I'm glad some of his images are now available as digistamps.  I think he's a brilliant fun artist.  Here's the end result.

I kept it really simple and I'm chuffed to bits with the result.  

Please pop over and join in the fun.  Any Guy card would do and it would give you the opportunity to stock up.  You know that you've never made enough cards for the males in your life.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Sun, Sea and Sand

Morning all.  Although the rain returned last night (right in the middle of cricket training) we are looking for your Sun, Sea and Sand cards over at Cardz4galz this week.  

For my card I decided to dig out a long forgotten stamp from Joanna Sheen.  I have a feeling that I won it but I can't remember where from.  To be fair, my original idea was to go clean and simple with it but the ink smudged as I was colouring it.  So, modifications where made and this is the result.

I water coloured the sea and sand background and the frame die is one I bought from The Works.  I'm growing to like it more, even if it wasn't exactly as I had intended it.

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

As Derek Drives off into the Sunset

Morning all.  We have a very male theme for you today over at Cardz4guyz.  We are looking for your 'Transport' cards. Now you could argue that girls like vehicles too.  My first proper date with the OH was to see the touring car races at Donnington Park (his dad was mortified that he'd taken me to a race meeting but I loved it).  However, you don't really see many girly vehicle cards do you?

Anyway, this was ideal for me as I needed a retirement card for a colleague.  After persuading him again and again that he really didn't want to go, Derek finally put his foot down and stuck his notice in.  The office really isn't going to be the same without him.  Derek loves his motor bike so there really was only one option for a card as far as I was concerned.  I found a suitable image over at Dr Digi and coloured it in.  I created a sunset background using an embossing folder and this is how it turned out.

I'm going to miss his insights into the Superbike Racing on a Monday Morning.  And his endless trips to make tea and coffee.  And about a million other things too.

Enjoy your retirement Derek.  You've definitely earned it.

Derek, the Legend!

Anyway, I've digressed a little bit.  Please pop over and join in the fun.  We do like to see what you come up with.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x