Difficult times

Good morning

A sombre post today. This is one of those types of card I dislike making but unfortunately a necessary one. 

I took my inspiration from several cards I found on Pinterest and used the following products - 

• stamping card
• matt black card
• yellow core'dinations
• Spectrum Noir Harmony inks - honey pot, lemon tonic and straw bale
• Sara's signature collection - Enchanted forest delicate dandelion stamp and die set
• heartfelt sentiments from Vintage Lace
• black gems from my stash

A very simple card for a very sad occasion.

Take care

Lesley

Welcome baby

Good morning

How are we all doing? My week at work gave me a nice little break from staring at the same 4 walls and we had lots of fun with the children in our care. Lots of crafting, gardening and water fights!! 

Today I am sharing a new baby card made for a new member of my extended family. Unfortunately due to social distancing I wasn't able to deliver it personally but did send a lumpy parcel which they have now received so I can share it with you.

The stamp I have used is an old one but one of my favourites. It is new baby from Humphrey's Corner collection by Crafter's Companion which I have coloured with my Spectrum Noir Triblend pens - 

• true blue blend, ice grey blend, brown grey blend and ice blue blend

For this card I also used - 

• baby blue centura pearl card
• white hammer card
• New Arrivals paper pad from Docrafts
• Spellbinder's floral ovals and stately circles die sets
• tumbled glass distress ink
• Sara's signature collection - Butterfly Lullaby - Flit and flutter die set
• ribbon and gems from my stash

 I used the Distress ink to edge all the card stock.

I cut the smallest butterflies from the die set and arranged them so that it looked like the baby was looking at them.

That's all from me today folks. A parcel arrived this morning so I am heading to my crafty haven for some playtime.

Stay safe

Lesley

Last one

Hello folks

My last day at work for a couple of weeks today and my last Easter card for this year - 

 The stamp is from Stamping Bella and is called Bundle girl bunny. I have coloured her with Spectrum Noir original pens, Illustrators, Triblends and Copic pens - 

• eggs - magenta blend, citrus green blend and true blue blend
• bunny suit - ice grey blend, C00, C1, C3, pale pink blend and PP4
• rabbit - ice grey blend, C00, C1, C3 and true blue blend
• ground - brown grey blend
• sky - IB1

I have also used - 

• LOTV's shabby shack paper pad (this is a very old paper pad and these were the last few pages)
• white linen card
• Gemini happy Easter die
• Gemini stitch edge oval 2 die set
• twisted citron and tumbled glass distress inks
• ribbon and pearls from my stash

Have a good Friday.

Stay safe

Lesley

Even more Easter wishes

Good morning

More scheduling today I'm afraid. Not much chit chat, just straight into the craft - 

More Easter cards today, don't worry not many more to go!

This is a dinky little card - only 6x4 inches (keeps postage costs down). I used Stamping Bella's Bundle girl bunny stamp which I coloured with Spectrum Noir original pens, Illustrator pens, Triblends and Copic pens - 

• face - fair skin blend, TN2 and CR3
• bunny suit - ice grey blend, C00, C1, C3, pale pink blend and PP4
• eggs - earth brown blend, earth brown shades, true blue blend and pale pink shades
• sky - IB1
• ground  - brown grey blend

For this card I also used - 

• ivory centura pearl card
• Graphic 45 Botanical Tea paper pad
• Gemini happy Easter die
• Gemini stitched edge oval 2 die set
• ribbon and pearls from my stash

That's all from me today, thank you for stopping by.

Stay safe

Lesley

Bunny wobble

Good morning folks

Another scheduled post from me today as I am in work all week. I am hoping the weather stays fair so we can be outside all day, fingers crossed.

Today I have some more Easter cards for you - 

 The stamp is called Happy Easter bunny wobble from Stamping Bella which I have coloured with Spectrum Noir original pens, Triblends, Illustrator pens and Copics pens - 

• rabbit - ice grey blend, C00, C1, C3, pale pink blend and PP4
• bag - true blue blend
• eggs - pale pink shades, coral blend, earth brown blend and earth brown shades
• daffodils - light yellow blend, GB5 and alpine green blend
• grass - alpine green blend
• sky - IB1

I have also used - 

• ivory centura pearl card
• Graphic 45 Botanical Tea paper pad
• Gemini stitched edge oval 2 die set
• Gemini Happy Easter die
• ribbon and pearls from my stash

Another version - 

A completely different look using the same products.

That's all from me today.

Stay safe

Lesley

Butterfly wishes

Good morning folks

A scheduled post from me today as I am back at work for the next week. This is another card I made using one of my unused stamps. It turned out a lot bolder than I expected but I like it so it got made into a simple card for my charity box.

For this card I have used 

• Majestic butterfly layering stamp and die set from Crafter's Companion
• Harmony quick dry inks - honey pot and ocean blue
• black soot Distress ink
• Spotty dotty layering stencil from Crafter's Companion
• white centura pearl
• matt black card
• Neenah card
• Sue Wilson's double stitched rectangles die set

That's all from me today.

Stay safe

Lesley

Simple birthday wishes

Good morning

A quick, scheduled post from me today. One of the good things about being is lockdown is that it gave me the opportunity to tidy up my craftroom and whilst doing so I found some stamps that I hadn't used - shock horror!!!! This is a card I made using one of those stamps - 

 This is a very simple card and to make it I used - 

• Spring wreath layering stamp and die set from Crafter's Companion
• Harmony quick dry inks - honey pot, ocean blue, Chinese red, green topaz and grasshopper
• stamping card
• matt black card
• red core'dinations
• pearls from my stash

I am not convinced that it is lined up correctly but I like the effect it created. 

I have decided to make extra cards to give to my local charity shop when all the business is over with so I will add this one to that box.

Thank you for stopping by today.

Stay safe

Lesley

A host of daffodils

Good morning folks

Back to Easter today and a taste of spring. The daffodils in my garden have all gone now, they seemed to bloom much earlier this year, only cheerfulness and tulips left. This card is a lovely reminder of a few weeks ago - 

 For this card I have used - 

• Hunkydory's Little book of floral favourites
• green Adorable Scorable
• green floral Adorable Scorable
• stamping card (for the card base) from Crafter's Companion
• ribbon and pearls from my stash

I used 3 pages of the book to cut out and decoupage to give the card more interest. 

A simple card but a perfect scene for Easter.

Stay safe

Lesley

21 again and again

Good morning

How are we all doing? I had a bit of a wobble mid week but after a day in the garden yesterday (those weeds didn't know what had hit them!!) I feel much better (and the garden looks good too). I am heading back into work next week so will be planning for that over the weekend. 

Today I thought we would have a break from Easter cards so I am sharing my last 21st birthday card.

For this card I have used - 

• Woodware's Turned 21 stamp
• Father knows best paper pad (an old LOTV pad)
• kraft card
• Paris dusk Memento ink
• Pearls coloured with TB9 Spectrum Noir pen

I ran the TB9 pen around the outer edge of all my mats and layers to give definition.

All in all a very simple card.

Right that's me done for today. Unfortunately the housework is calling!

Stay safe

Lesley

All your eggs in one basket

Good morning

A scheduled post from me today. Not going anywhere just spent some time on the laptop yesterday and thought I would kill two birds with one stone so to speak.

Here is another of my Easter cards - 

 The stamp I have used is Squidgy in a basket from Stamping Bella which I coloured with Spectrum Noir original pens, Illustrators and Triblend pens - 

• skin - fair skin blend, TN2 and CR3
• hair - earth brown shades and EB8
• bunny ears and feet - ice grey blend, C00 (Copic pen), pale pink blend and PP4
• dress - pale pink shades
• basket - gold brown blend and gold brown shades
• ground - brown grey blend
• sky - IB1

I have also used - 

• Summer Breeze paper rad from First Edition
• white linen card
• Gemini stitch edge hexagon die set
• Gemini Happy Easter die
• tumbled glass distress ink
• ribbon and pearls from my stash

I was batch making these cards and made them in a couple of different colourways (please excuse the state of the bows!) - 

 In this card the dress is coloured with green turquoise blend.

And on this card it is coloured with coral blend.

That's all from me today folks.

Stay safe

Lesley

Happy Easter

Good morning

It is a lovely day here on the North West, bright and sunny if a little chilly. It's funny really - if we were all allowed out you can bet the weather would be miserable but instead we are having some gorgeous weather. Strange times indeed. I need to head out for some essentials today so am going to combine this with my daily walk.

Today I thought I would share some of my Easter card. Here is the first of many - 

 The stamp is from Stamping Bella and is called Bundle girl bunny. The little rabbit is a separate stamp so you can position it wherever you wish. I coloured the image with a mixture of Spectrum Noir original pens, Illustrators, Triblends and Copics pens - 

• rabbit - ice grey blend, C00, C1, C3, earth brown shade and earth brown blend
• bunny suit - ice grey blend, C00, C1, C3 and pale pink blend
• face - fair skin blend, TN2 and CR3
• eggs - pale pink shades, coral blend and earth brown shades
• sky - IB1
• ground - brown grey blend

I have also used - 

• Graphic 45 Botanical Tea paper pad
• ivory centura pearl
• Gemini stitch edge oval 2 die set
• Gemini Happy Easter die
• antique linen distress ink
• seam binding and pearls from my stash

Thank you for stopping by today. 

Stay safe

Lesley

Concept cards

Good morning folks

And a happy Easter to you all. How are we doing at the moment?My Easter is very different than I had planned. Gone is the family meal and instead I am in my craft room eating chocolate whilst the rest of the family are having a lie in.

I have been playing with the concept cards from Hunkydory's Paintdrop Florals card kit. 

For these cards I used - 

• Paintdrop Florals concept card kit from Hunkydory
• gems from my stash
• clear nylon thread

These were fun to make and make a change from my normal cards.

Have a good Easter Sunday. I going back to my chocolate.

Stay safe

Lesley

Poppies of Amethyst

Good morning

In order to relieve the stresses and strains of this funny time I have been doing lots of colouring. I was really pleased with how this one turned out so I made it into a card - 

This is a Molly Hutchinson stamp called poppies of amethyst which I coloured with the following Spectrum Noir Triblends, Illustrators, Original pens, Sparkle pens and colour blend pencils - 

• hair - ice grey blend, IG6, IG8 and black colour blend pencil
• skin - fair skin blend, TN2, CR3 and saddle brown pencil
• dress - blue turquoise shades and lake blue pencil
• wings - peacock blue, sterling silver and crystal clear Sparkle pens
• flowers - blue turquoise shades, BT5, dull green blend, lake blue and fern green pencils
• sky - ice blue blend

I also used - 

 - matt black card

 - white linen card

 - Sue Wilson double stitched rectangles die set

 - Fire opal glitter from Chloe's Creative Cards

 - Tumbled glass distress ink

 - satin ribbon and pearls from my stash

Thank you for stopping by today.

Stay safe

Lesley

Summer Blooms

Good morning

How are we all? Hopefully you are all well and coping during these tough times. It won't surprise you all to know that even in these difficult times I am still managing to do a little crafty shopping - isn't the Interweb a wonderful thing - and today's card shows this perfectly. I had some fun on Chloe's new website and the stamp came free!!

For this card I have used - 

• Summer blooms panel stamp from Chloe's Creative Cards
• Bejewelled blue WOW embossing powder
• Spectrum Noir Midas ink - silver
• Grasshopper glitter from Chloe's Creative Cards
• Vista luxury pearl paper from Chloe's Creative Cards
• Flower burst stencil from Chloe's Creative Cards
• Hunkydory Diamond Sparkles glitter in icicle blue
• Gemini Happy Birthday sentiment die
• white centura pearl
• Neenah Crest card
• bling from my stash

I stamped the image using the silver Midas ink first then added the Grasshopper glitter to the leaves. I then stamped and heat embossed the flowers onto the vista paper several times, cut them out and decoupaged them onto the stamped base.

I applied embossing ink through the Flower burst stencil and then heat embossed with the Bejewelled blue embossing powder.

I really enjoyed making this card, covering myself and the cat with glitter. 

Thank you for joining me today.

Stay safe 

Lesley

21 again

Good morning folks

How are we all doing? I have been keeping myself busy with household chores and a little crafting. I have been cracking on with Easter cards and will be able to share those with you all after Easter. I think with everything that is going on at the moment I will probably be sending more Easter cards than usual - it's a good thing I have plenty of time (and craft stash😄😄😄!!!!).

Back to today and I am sharing yet another 21st birthday card which I made for my son's birthday - 

For this card I have used - 

• balloon sentiments stamp and die box kit from Crafter's Companion
• balloon numbers stamp and die set from Crafter's Companion
• Memento inks - Paris dusk, Danube blue and summer sky
• clear embossing powder
• matt black card
• stars silver mirri
• Sheena's stamping card
• Gemini stitch edge hexagon dies

I stamped the balloon numbers and sentiments with the Memento inks and then overstamped then with Versamark and heat embossed with clear embossing powder so that they resembled real balloons. I use a stamp platform so was able to overstamp easily.

To create the background I used - 

• Spectrum Noir Harmony inks - baby blue, ocean blue and midnight
• Spectrum Noir Midas ink - silver
• Tinsel silver embossing powder
• AALL and Create totally dotty stencil

I really went to town on the background of this card. I used the stencil and the lightest shade of ink, then moved the stencil and applied the next shade and moved the stencil a final time and used the darkest shade of ink. I randomly stamped the confetti from the stamp set with Versamark and then heat embossed with the silver tinsel embossing powder.

That's all from me today folks. 

Stay safe.

Lesley

Practise, practise, practise

Hi everyone

I thought I would get ahead with my posting whilst I am waiting in a virtual queue........ 

Today's post is another from my journal book - 

For this page I have used - 

• Woodware stamps - creative quotes and art easel
• distress inks - blueprint sketch, pine needles, festive berries and fossilised amber
• Memento inks - cantaloupe, lady bug, summer sky and pear tart
• Copic pens - E44 and E49

I loved playing with this set of stamps and will be using something similar on future cards. I am quite liking this playing in a book before you make something. The paper quality isn't the best but it does give you a good idea if something will work or not.

Take care everyone ......

Crafty hugs

Lesley