Square or Not at AYLI

Hello everyone. Hope this week is being kind to you. I am here with inspiration for our new challenge at

where the theme is Square or Not? (with your reason of course)

In a bid to use excess card stock in my stash (and believe me there is a LOT!!) I have been making my own A6 card blanks. I also appear to accumulated many envelopes of the same size so win, win!!

This card was made using an old paper kit from Craftwork Cards. I subscribed to the monthly kits a very long time ago and this is Pretty Patchwork. All of the elements are from the kit.

Autumn is well and truly underway here in the UK and it's been glorious once more, after a week of much needed rain. Gales are forecase for tomorrow so I hope to get a little bit of crafty time. I am drowning in Wedding Invitations at the moment as Connor (youngest) and his Fiance, Amelia have asked me to make their wedding stationery...eeeek. 

See you soon xx

 

Birthday at Allsorts

Morning one and all. Donna is hosting at Allsorts this week and given an optional theme of 

BIRTHDAY

Here is my card.

 I do love a fun fold and always find inspiration at Sam Calcotts, Made to Surprise You Tube channel. this particular one is a napkin fold, looks really impressive but is so simple to make. I used spots and stripes from an old Craft Creations paper pack and dug out an equally aged Wild Rose Studio stamp, coloured with Promarkers.

Two prizes of two stamp sets

That's me for today. I hope the weekend has good things in store.

See you soon xx

Allsorts I Spy B

 It's all about B at Allsorts this time and I have gone with buzzy bees!!

I made an arch shaped card using a Daisy Mae nested die set (that I cannot find a link for). The bees and hive are courtesy of a little used My Favorite Things set called Meant to bee that I coloured with Promarkers. The little buzzy bees themselves are layered and I gave them a little sprinkle of glamour dust too. The spotty paper was in my bits and pieces basket but I've a feeling it was from a First Edition pad. I went "all out" with this one and added layers to the inside too but forgot to photgraph it before posting!! It's the heat!! 

2 prizes of coordinating stamps and dies

It's been relatively quiet Chez Wills, the fields are brown and the pony shouts at me regularly throughout the day asking for carrots, apples and a hay top up as he has no grass!! I am sure Mother Nature will provide some rain at some point and when she does, won't be able to stop it!!

Thankyou for your time and I'll see you again soon xx

AYLI - Cats or Dogs

I have chosen the theme at

and it's cats or Dogs

 It's dogs in our house. We've had dogs since before our eldest Son was born so that's a very long time now!! Our current "twins" are nine years old and have Martin just where they want him. Every word on the card I made for his Birthday is absolutely true!! We buy them their own ham when doing the weekly shop and Bowie, in particular, has finely tuned ears and sits by the fridge as soon as we put the kettle on. He knows that we will be opening the door for milk!!

It's a large card this time an 8x8 card base covered with Nitwits digital papers from the Woof Collection. The sentiment was done on the computer and layered between the papers with a photo of the boys, Bowie and Bumble (+ball). That said we've another cat that has made itself at home in the stable yard. He is quite shy but at least doesn't scoot as soon as he sees us coming now.

We finally had some rain and I got soaked riding Wills yesterday morning!! It was very refreshing though!!

See you soon xx

AYLI Layered or Flat

 Hello friends and visitors

starts today with the theme of

Layered or Flat?

I have gone with the flat option. Postage is so costly these days so I do tend to make postage friendly cards more often than not.

This one used a very old Woodware stamp that I inked and stamped on to multiple pages from a MME paper pad. I then cut them out and stuck them onto a paper base that I'd stamped first. A very effective and flat card!! 

Thank you for your continued support xx

Flowers at Allsorts

Happy weekend everyone. I hope that you have something good in store. Here in the UK there are flowers in abundance so our theme at Allsorts this week, chosen by Lynn is

FLOWERS

a lovely theme for the time of year but you can, of course take the anything goes route too.

I love bright bold colours so, to start with, die cut some patterned paper and shimmery cardstock using a Sue Wilson floral die set. They looked a bit lost without a background so I chose a Crafters Companion die set (I think from the Downton Abbey Collection) and cut the background in black. It looked much better so I didn't use as many flowers as I'd intended but have saved them for another day. The "Birthday" is a favourite Whimsy one and I found a simple wishes stamp to finish off the sentiment. I hope I've tempted you to join in our floral extravaganza and very much look forward to seeing what you make.

Prizes (drawn at the end of the month) from

Prizes from Highlight Crafts,  AALL and Create and Stampendous

See you there!!

 

Happy Birthday Allsorts!!

There is a BIG party going on at Allsorts Challenge today where we are celebrating 15 years of challenges.

I am truly honoured to be a part of this lovely team and it was a pleasure to make my DT card to inspire you to join in!!

Obviously it says HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

I went a bit bonkers with the balloons, making a shaker with a Crafters Companion set that, I think, was a magazine freebie. The die cut Happy Birthday banner is also from Crafters companion and the little balloons were magazine freebies too. I cut those from rainbow coloured bits and pieces of cardstock and paper.

So it's an open invitation to join the fun.

As it's  our 15th Birthday there will be FIFTEEN prizes generously given by Aall and Create!!

See you there!! xx

Spots &/or Stripes

 Happy weekend everyone.

Spots and/or Stripes is order of the week at Allsorts challenge although we welcome your Anything Goes makes of course.

I couldn't resist and used both by teaming some lovely (very old) Foundation papers. Remember them, double sided and in wonderful colours, I still have quite a few left that I discovered when tidying my craft room back in January!!

I don't normally choose lilac/purple tones but these colours went so well together that it was a shame not to. The adorable bunny and sentiment is a Stamping Bella stamp set that I coloured with Promarkers. 

Prizes from Stampendous

While you are here please take a look at the invitation to a rather special event that is happening next week.

Allsorts is 15!!!! and I can't tell you how proud I am to be on the Design Team.

It would be lovely if you could join the celebrations!!

Allsorts Anything But Square

 Lorraine is hosting at

and her optional theme is Anything but Square.

We have another family Birthday, this time Grandson Jackson who is a whole ONE year old next week.

I made this card for him using a combination of stamp sets, a sheet of Marianne Designs striped paper, a free balloon die and a lovely DL Aperture die set from Craft Stash.

He really is a cheeky monkey so that little primate was just right!!

Looking forward to seeing what you make!!

Have a lovely weekend xx

Autumn Colours

 Happy Weekend friends!! We have had more autumnal temperatures in the UK this week and the landscape is beginning to look more seasonal. I have been leaf collecting from our drive on a daily basis and the dogs are coming back from walks with muddy trousers!!

This leads nicely to the optional theme this week at

which is Autumn Colours. 

I am proud to be showcasing an image from one of our wonderful sponsors

Ruth Hamilton Design. I chose Pop of colour Spray and coloured it with Promarkers.

I took inspiration for the colours from a Julie Hickey Designs paper pad.

It goes without saying that we have fabulous sponsors who continue to offer support and fabulous prizes month on month. 

Prizes from: Stamp Addicts, Oakwood, Highlight Crafts, Ruth Hamilton Design, AALL and Create and Craft Stash

Happy Birthday Allsorts Challenge!!!

 Happy Weekend everyone and there's lots to be happy about at

Allsorts Challenge this week as it's 14 years old and there are fab prizes up for grabs if you enter!!

Prizes from AALL and Create: A4 stamp set Blooming Field and coordination die, 2 A5 stamp sets, 2 DL stamp sets plus stencils and A6 stamp sets.

When I started my crafting journey it was one of the challenges that I supported regularly and look at me now, so incredibly proud to be part of the super talented Design Team. Thank you Brenda!!

Here is my make

I know that many of you visit Sam Calcott of Mixed Up Craft for inspiration. My card is similar to one that she shared earlier in the week. I used some Creative Expression floral dies that I cut from Centura Pearl card. I then inked them to match the pretty backing paper (The Range this week...ooops!!) and added a sparkly gem in the middle. I love that the pearly lustre shines through the inks although they did take a while to dry out. 

It looks like it might just be another dry day here. I hope that wherever you are in the world, that you have a good day and that some crafting is included.

See you for a bit of christmas on Monday xx

AYLI Favourite Flower

 Morning, Morning all!! I have a spring in my step today, it's my last day at work for a week and a bit (thanks to the Spring Bank Holiday tagged on the end!!). I am hoping for some fine weather to get out in the garden. I have some seeds coming on in the greenhouse that are doing well but the borders need a little bit of attention.

On the subject of flowers we would love you to share your favourite flower with us at

I am certain I have told you before that I have a memory of a glorious rose that Mum and Dad had growing in their garden called Blue Moon. I have never smelt a scent quite like it since and hope to actually find one locally to plant in my own garden, although they do not tend to do well on our windswept site. 

Anyway here is my own Rose inspired card using just a handful of the many, many paper flowers that I have in my stash. The paper is from a Craftwork Cards pad and the die cut Birthday and stamped Wishes are from Whimsy Stamps. The scalloped curved edge was made using an old Spellbinders die.

Thank you for your company today and I look forward to seeing your floral makes.

See you soon xx

African or Australian?

 Hello everyone!!

It's a first for me today. Never have I ever shared a koala here!! I have seen real ones at Longleat Safari park and, as a child of the 70's,  used to love watching Skippy (the bush kangaroo) on TV during the summer holidays but colouring one has been a first!!

He is my DT piece for As You Like It Challenge where we are inviting you to share your favourite African or Australian animal, with your reason, of course.

On thorough inspection of my stash looking for either type, I didn't find any "safari" type animals but did find this cutie that, I think, I bought in support of an appeal when Australia was suffering horrendous drought and bush fires a few years ago. He looks a bit washed out in the picture but he was coloured with my Warm Grey Promarkers so looks much more colourful in real life. Try as I might I cannot seem to get a good photograph when it's sunny!! 

So, that's it for now. See you soon xx

Favourite sketch or layout at AYLI

 Hello, me again and it's lovely to be back with my DT card for

I am ever so lucky to be on this team and I hope that, like me, you feel that it makes you think out of the box a little bit. This time we would love you to share your favourite sketch or layout and give the reason for your choice.

When I am lacking inspiration I ALWAYS pay Jules a visit. She has a wonderful library of sketches here that she is happy to share. 

I used number six to create this...

...and not a cute image in sight!! 

I found this rather splendid paper pack while, as usual, I was looking for something else entirely. It's Docrafts Parisienne Blue Capsule Collection that, as is so often the case, I had forgotten existed. As it all co-ordinates it was pretty quick to put together and I also discovered a navy blue ink pad for the stamped sentiment so that was a very good day in my craft room!!

It would be lovely to see your favourite layout or sketch.

See you when I do xx

A Gnome with a cake...of course!!

 Happy Friday everyone and what better way to celebrate than sharing a gnome with a cake!!

This gorgeous image is from Star Jam Lines who is the sponsor at the new Colour Crazy Challenge.

I used Promarkers to colour this cheeky chappy to match some gorgeous, very old, MME papers.

I love that he is wearing an oven glove on his head...that's a look that has passed me by!!

I hope you are all doing okay, especially those of you that are in lockdown. Life has been fairly quiet chez Wills which is actually how we like it. I have started to do a bit of shopping for the festive season and have started making little gifts too. 

That's all for now friends, see you soon xx

The bear essentials...Cutie Pie

 Hello friends. I hope you had an enjoyable weekend. We were gifted wall to wall sunshine so made the most of it by taking a quick visit to West Bay on Saturday. We got there early and managed a peaceful thirty minutes on the beach, just sitting and people watching!! It was all about the four legged family members yesterday. An early morning ride followed by a session trimming the dogs with the horse clippers (UK friends...think Specsavers with the Farmer shearing the sheep!!), they look so much better for it!! It was so hot in the afternoon that we hosed down the ponies. On returning to his paddock Wills promptly got down and rolled in the mud!! 

If you've got this far I am actually here to invite you to the new Cutie Pie Challenge.

The Bear Essentials...a cute card with a bear on it...simple!!

Another challenge sponsored by Lee Holland, not used one of those images for yonks and find two consecutive Dt pieces by the same sponsor!! This little cutie was coloured with Spectrum Noir markers to match the bright and cheery paper, that I think is First Edition. The banner is from a retired Clearly Besotted set that I stamped and heat embossed. 

Thank you for stopping by and listening to my jabbering...I will leave you with a couple of snaps of the sea, what a beautiful colour too.

See you later in the week xx

Birthday Wishes

 Hello all. Hope you are well this Friday and looking forward to the weekend. 

 I have a cute squirrel to share with you today. He and his bunch of balloons is available here and his creator is the sponsor of the new challenge at

You know by now that it's always Anything Goes and your image must be hand coloured...easy!!

The original plan was to just showcase the image and balance it with the fabulous "Birthday" but it just didn't look right, boy oh boy did I panic..."what if I can't find the exact colours among my obscene amount of paper pads?" As if!! All is well though as I found just the thing in an old Echo Park A Boy's Life pad and it looked so much better. 

I have looked in awe at you clever colourists who manage to make balloons look see through so was determined to have a jolly good go. Imagine my delight when I realised that I had achieved a reasonable attempt, I really should have more confidence at my age!!

Thank you for calling, it's still a delight to see comments, they are much appreciated.

See you soon xx 

 

Spring or Summer

 Hello everyone. Apologies for being a bad blogger but time just seems to be running away with me at the moment with one thing or other. I seem to blink and another week has gone by and I haven't paid you a visit...sorry.

Anyway, I am here today with a pretty summery card to support the new challenge over at

where we are asking whether you are a fan of Spring or Summer.

To be picky I am happiest in early summer when the world outside my window is looking fresh and colourful and the grass is still vibrant green (not so much this year though with no April showers!!). Although the days are warm and the mornings and nights lovely and light it is still also cool enough to get a good nights' sleep without over heating...or is that just me and my own personal central heating at the moment!!

We look forward to seeing what you decide to share with us.

Fingers crossed I will get chance to pay you a visit soon. Until then take care xx

Hedgie Birthday

Yay...another Friday has rolled around and I will resist the temptation to ask if you have anything nice planned for the weekend!! If you fancy a bit of crafting then we would love to see you at

We are an Anything Goes Challenge as long as your card is hand coloured in your medium of choice. 

I did this...

 using Birthday Hedgie from our Sponsor Bugaboo.

 The lovely Jules has just added TEN lovely new Sketches to her library and I used #43...THANK YOU!! The papers were freebies from Making Cards Magazine and the sweet little hedgehog was coloured with Flexmarkers. 

Thank you for your visits and kind comments, they are much appreciated. 

Let's see what May brings!! See you soon xx

Little Butterfly Girl

Hello friends, lovely to see you here this Friday morning. It is time for me to share another DT piece for 

where the theme is always Anything Goes as long as you share a card with a hand coloured image.

Our sponsor this time is All Dressed Up and I have coloured the pretty Little Butterfly Girl.

I used Promarkers to match the Nitwits paper, some coordinated sequins and sparkly wings finished it off perfectly. I stepped out of my comfort zone with this one as I rarely use shades of purple and lavender, however, I was really pleased and gave myself a pat on the back for being so brave!!

I hope you are all well and coping with the social isolation. I think Mother Nature is being kind to us here in the UK with fine, dry weather at last. I have been on Annual Leave this week (typical!!) and had an "essential" trip to our local Agricultural Merchant for animal feed so that was a change of scenery!!  Other than that I have no idea what day it is and have baked as though my life depends on it. We are going to be a little bit cuddlier, in this household, when we come out the other side!!

That's all for now. Keep well xx