All things grow...

 Good morning, this is a scheduled post as all being well I will be in London on Saturday for lunch and a show- a combined birthday and Mother's Day treat from my daughter. I'm really looking forward to it, the best part being a day spent with my daughter, she is the best company anyone could wish for. 

We've had some lovely spring weather this week, on Thursday we took Marvin to the beach- his first dip of the year (if you don't count ginormous puddles that is!).  I thought it might be a bit cold by the sea but it was so warm I was casting off layers as we walked- perfectly comfortable in a t shirt, Marv was mega excited to see the sea and rushed straight in - we didn't let him swim for too long as I'm always worried that he'll get limber tail again as its happened a few times now, but the sea was so calm he was fine- and very happy. A real bonus to have a day like this in March and I'm so glad we made the most of it.

My card today is for this fortnight's challenge at Sweet Stampin',  the theme is FEMININE, so plenty of scope if you'd like to join in, and we hope you will. 

I used a digital stamp this time, one of my older favourites from Mo Manning, this one is available in the shop. I've used Copic markers to colour, added a stamped sentiment and matted the image onto a square of pink cardstock, adding the dots with a white gel pen. 

While I remember, there's a gorgeous freebie up for grabs over on Mo's Patreon page.  

Don't forget to check out the inspiration from my lovely teamies over at Sweet Stampin' Challenges

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

dragonflydreams March Challenge

ilovepromarkers #579

PFM #781

crafterscafe #317

Double trouble!

 Good morning, hope you're all enjoying a good week so far. Today's card is my DT make for this fortnight's challenge at Fab 'n' Funky. 

Our lovely Pat is hosting this week and her theme is ONE FOR THE BOYS, which was a great opportunity to colour up this fabulous Mo Manning image that I've had for some time. This cute pair look as if they were made for each other, so happy together, sitting on the step planning their next adventure!

I've used my Copic markers to colour, the papers are from stash, I added the ball because Marvin said that every dog needs a ball, the sentiment is from a very old set of Nitwit stamps.

There's more to see over at Fab'n'Funky, some fabulous cards from the rest of the team, do hop over for a look, hope you'll be inspired to join in.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

addictedtostamps #489

unicorn #107

dreamvalley #333

avenue613 March challenge

MAWTT #176

aaabirthday. #71

Spring Time

 Good morning,  a spring -themed card today, my DT make for this fortnight's challenge at Crafty Catz.

our lovely sponsor for this challenge is 

THE PAPER SHELTER

The theme is Anything Goes with an option of Spring Greens.

I used a sweet sponsor image, Sophie in the country,  kindly given to the team, thanks!

To make the background design I stamped the larger clock (Stamperia) onto a square of white card, then masked it to stamp the smaller clock behind it, then masked both clock faces to add some stencilling, script stamp and the leaf sprigs. 

I printed the image, coloured with Copic markers and fussy cut her and placed in front of the large clock. The sentiment is stamped and embossed with white EP. 

There is more inspiration to be found  from my lovely teamies over at Crafty Catz.

We'd love for you to join us this fortnight, 

hope to see you there.

Have a good weekend

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

cardz4galz.#246

craftrocket #123

creativeknockouts #543

ilovepromarkers #579

thepapershelter #630

thesisterhoodofcrafters Shades of green

PFM #780

TIOT Spring Fling

Crocus

 Good morning, a little reminder of our March challenge at Stamping Sensations. The theme for anyone who wishes to use it is Spring but it's optional- you can enter with anything Goes as long as there is a stamped element on the front of your card/project. Full details of how to join in as well as details of the prizes on offer can be seen at Stamping Sensations Challenges- there are also some wonderful inspiration cards from the design team, so it's well worth popping over to have look.

My card is made using a lovey Crocus stamp from Aall and Create,  I coloured it with water colour pens, it had to be yellow to match the ones in my front garden which were in glorious full bloom at the time of making the card, sadly most of them have finished now but they really did brighten my day every time I went past. The background is blended using Distress and Elements Inks, 2 different stencils and a splash of water. 

I'm looking forward to the lovely spring weather forecast for the rest of the week, let's hope we all get to enjoy it!

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

beautifulblossoms #27

classicdesign #3

thefourseasons March Challenge

papercraft #117

tripleb. March Challenge

welovestamping March Challenge

Happy Day

 Hello, I've been huddling indoors for the last few days, not really enjoying the cold snap after the taste of spring we had last week.

I was doing a bit of half hearted sorting out when I came across some previously coloured up images I had forgotten about, so I decided to use some of them to make cards- much better than tidying up!

This sweet Mo Manning digi had been cut into a small rectangle so I looked for some ideas of how to use it, I found this lovely sketch at Sweet Sketch Wednesday -

I cropped the tulip from the image and pasted it x 3, coloured it with my markers and cut it into a small strip. the little bird on the other strip is a stamp and the smiley snail (looking forward to a feast of yummy tulips, no doubt) is hand drawn copied from a cartoon I found online.

I added 6 tiny flower brads and stamped the sentiment.

Thanks for visiting, hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

sweetsketchwednesday2 March Challenge

CRAFT #750

Ellibelle's Garden Party #1

2sisters#95

creatalicious #287

dragonflydreams March Challenge

Udderly fantastic!

 Good morning, time for a new challenge at Fab'n' Funky,

 Ginny is hosting this fortnight and she's chosen a real fun theme- 

Make It Punny -

I used a fun set of Art Impressions stamps, coloured the dancing cows with my markers, layered it onto a square of balloon patterned dp. I  added 3 die cut  balloons, coloured to match. The sentiments are part of the same stamp set. 

Please hop over to Fab'n' Funky Challenge Blog where you'll find some punny cards from the rest of the team to raise a smile...or make you groan! 

We're looking forward to seeing what you create for this fun challenge.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

addictedtostamps #488

PFM #779

mmm #247

craftyanimals #92

crittercrazy #97

daisychain #94

kraftychicks #758

ilovepromarkers #578

Enjoy life...

 Good morning, a new Challenge at Crafty Catz starts today-

 the theme is Anything Goes with an optional twist of Add A Sentiment, 

chosen by our lovely Ginny who is hosting this fortnight.

Our sponsor for this challenge is Di's Digi Stamps.

I made an easel card using some hoarded papers from Heartfelt Creations, not much of the pad left now but it's at least 10 years old. I cut a few extra flowers from left over scraps and layered them up for dimension. The sentiment, an Indigo Blue stamp, is stamped and embossed with white EP . I've added a die cut swirl ( very old TH Sizzix Bigz die), loads of tiny pearls and a large die cut 'celebrate' as this was a birthday card for my lovely daughter- I think the beautiful sentiment is just perfect for her! 

There's plenty more inspiration to be found over at Crafty Catz, some beautiful projects from the rest of the team. Hope you can find the time to join us for this challenge.

Thanks for visiting, have a good day.

xx

Challenge entries:

lilredwagon #797

retrorubber #249 - die cut, flowers heat embossing.

(I have had the stamp for at least 3 years)

TIOT - For a lady

aperfecttimetocraft #3

beautifulblossoms #26

girlzcreativefun #7

paper-rocks-scissors.#3

sparklesforum #185

dreamvalley #331

creative-creases #101