Favourite Food

 We are feeling a little bit peckish at 

where we would love you to share a project inspired by your favourite food.

I am a real fan of lemon, if it's on the menu with a piece of fish, in a sauce or in a dessert or cake then I am going to choose it!! I am even partial to it in a G&T...funny that!!

No better stamp to use than this lovely little mouse  from the Penny Black Homemade set.

I used this Mixed Up Craft tutorial for the impossible card base and, as it was little bit floppy without, added the connecting panels on the front and back for stability. I had used 300gsm card but I think the cutting and folding just weakened the base a little. The image was coloured with my Promarkers and I bravely cut into a piece of Maja Design paper to decorate the base. I bought the Daisy Mae arch die set a while back and, I think, this is the first airing. They are a really great size so I think will probably make a rather nice card base at Christmas.

I hope I have given you some inspiration to join us and once again thank you for continuing to visit and leave such encouraging comments. In a world where it's easier to "like" I much appreciate your time. Oh yes, on the theme of commenting hasn't blogger been a devil of late?! Darnell has shared a "how to" if you are struggling. I have done a bit of housekeeping and hope that my comments are now reaching you all!!

Take Care xx

Some Challenges

NBUS #38 - My lovely sparkly new dies

May Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Anything Goes +/- Nature

Allsorts #675 - Favourite Stamp/Dies (my "go to" for food/drink related themes)

Dies and digis

Hello friends and visitors. Hope you are keeping well and happy.

I am very happy indeed as the new theme at

is right up my street, digis and die cuts. We had some lovely images from our Sponsor, Fred She Said, and I coloured mine with my Promarkers to match the lovely paper that I picked up during a recent visit to The Range at Weymouth. My die cuts are the mats which come from a Tonic set and a "happy" that was cut twice for a bit of height. 

 I tested myself with the colour combo and am quite pleased with the result.

Thank you for stopping by and I hope I have tempted you into joining us with your cute makes.

See you later in the week 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

Christmas Cuties Heart

 Hello everyone. The sun may be shining here in the UK and the temperatures are rising but I have a little bit of festive cuteness for you today.

That's because it's time to kick off the new challenge at

where, although we are now Anything Goes (as long as it's CUTE) , we give you a little prompt, should you wish to use it, and this time it's hearts as in Last Christmas, I gave you my heart!

Disappointingly the card looks flat but it is actually quite dimensional. The heart, that was cut from the middle of the Lawn Fawn paper is actualy raised with Pinflair Glue Gel for some height. Never mind, you get the idea. I coloured the sweet little ChristMOUSE with my Promarkers and fussy cut him so that he was sitting on the heart then sat the whole lot on a die cut mat. The snowflake button was the perfect finishing touch.

Thank you for your visit and encouragement. You are much appreciated x

AYLI Floral or Cute

Morning All!! 

Over at As You Like It Challenge it's Cute or Floral? 

My longsuffering standing friends and followers will know the answer from me is CUTE!! I do have floral stamps that I use for grown up cards, from time to time, but mostly I will reach for a cute stamp or image. The reason...cute justs fit with my love of patterned papers, that are mostly contemporary in design, and the non fussy style that I favour. 

Here is my cute inspiration for you, made using a rubber stamp set from our sponsor LOTV . Coloured with Promarkers and mounted behind some pretty Marianne Designs paper into which I had die cut port holes framed with coordinating paper.

I faffed about with sentiments, die cut ones, stamped ones and just wasn't happy so ended up with a very old, sweet little oval from Craftwork Cards. Just right, I think.

It looks like the weather is going to be good for the Easter Weekend. My word, didin't we have some rain earlier in the week, much needed in the garden actually and it meant Martin didn't need to water our six new £1.79 clematis that we picked up in Aldi last week...yes £1.79!! 

I wish you all a peaceful and Happy Easter xx

Easter or Spring

Hello everyone, happy new week!! 

We are all leaping about like spring lambs over at The Cutie Pies Challenge where our new theme is 

Bunnies and Blooms 

We would love to see your Spring or Easter cards featuring a cute image.

I dug out a very old Stampendous set and made this...

The little strip of paper is a snippet from my scrap box and I coloured the image and chose a mat in the same colour. The fun sentiment is part of the set too.

The daffodils in the picture were blown down in high winds so I rescued them and they are currently looking very pretty on my kitchen table. We put in lots of different daffodil bulbs the autumn before last, so are enjoying a second show of really different blooms from the later varieties. Goodness knows with all the atrocities going on in the East that we should grab joy where we can and these pretties certainly do that.

See you soon xx 

Passion for Markers #635 - Animal magic

Snippets Playground #425

New or Recycled

It seems like only yesterday that I was posting the Non-Easter character challenge at

but those two weeks have flown and here I am again with another bit of inspiration for you.

 This time we are looking forward to seeing your projects using recycled or new (remember to tell us why). Well I couldn't make up my mind, I had some lovely stamps that I recently won over at Snippets Playground and a fabulous gift box that contained bathing goodies so I used both!!

Here is the box before I flattened it and cut it up.

The cheeky little stamp is a Saturated Canary one by the name of Oo La La.

I coloured her with Promarkers and fussy cut her. I am not a huge fan of the white showing but thought that she would "disappear" into the busy foiled mat and I was right, she stands proud with that white edge. I cut the box into six panels, one I kept whole and halved another to go either side, behind. The lid was a flat copper foil so that was used for the scalloped edge mats, behind her and behind the message. That particular stamp set was part of the challenge win (together with another SC stamp too!!) and came from IndigoBlu and is called Giggles. Honestly the sentiments/sayings are hilarious!!

I still have four panels of the box left and some parts of the base and lid which I think would look rather nice on a Christmas card so expect to see that later in the year!!

For now though I will say cheerio and wish you a good weekend xx

White Christmas

 It always makes me smile when I am taking photographs of Christmas cards when the sun is shining and it's warm!! Still, had to be done so that I could share my DT piece for the new challenge at

We are now  Just for Fun challenge and always Anything Goes with a prompt if you would like to go in that direction. The additional theme this time is White Christmas and this is what I made.

I have looked in awe at the truly wonderful stitched cards that Lena shares on her blog and, as luck should have it, managed to find one of the die sets that she used, while paying a visit to Buddly Crafts looking for something else entirely!! Well, I just had to get it and it arrived after I'd coloured this cute couple so my original design changed so I could use it. I joined the lines with a silver pen as I didn't have time to stitch it. But watch this space, I am itching to have a go!! Thank you Lena for the inspiration.

Thank you for stopping by. See you later in the week xx

Bright & Cheery

 Hello friends. As surprising as it is, I am here with a card that I made just for fun. That doesn't happen very much these days as my card making seems to be specifically for Design Team posts. I stepped back from the cute coloured images that I am so fond of and made this for a friend.

I wanted bright and cheery colours so chose this lovely collection from Marianne Designs and die cut the flowers and leaves using a Creative Expressions floral set and some snippets of blue cardstock for the teeny tiny ones. I inked the edges and shaped them for some dimension and stuck them along the wavy edge with Pinflair glue gel. The mahoosive layered "Birthday" die set is a Whimsy Stamps one that was a gift from a lovely blogging buddy and I paired it with a random Happy stamp. I am imagining this layout as a Christmas card with snowflakes instead of flowers...good idea Sarah!!

I hope that my card has lightened your hearts in a world currently full of  horror.

See you soon xx

Some Challenges

Allsorts Challenge #668 - Feminine

Crafty Calendar - Spots, Stripes or Easter (if there aren't enough spots please delete me!!)

Pixies Snippets Playground -  #424

All hail the Easter...dragon!!

 Hello peeps welcome to Thursday and the new challenge over at

We have something a little bit different today and are inviting you to share your favourite non-traditional Easter character.

I don't mind admitting that I have never considered putting anything other than a fluffy bunny, chick or lamb on an Easter card. But never one to shy away from a challenge, and after taking advantage of the excellent prices currently (at the time of writing!!) offered at LOTV,  I decided to put a dragon on my Easter card. Why not?!

The paper is from a Taylored Expression stack that I've had forever. I rummaged in my snippets drawer to find suitable colours for the mats and coloured the adorable dragon, with Promarkers, to match. The sentiment was computer generated and it was lovely to use my cheery Lynn banner die set again after a fairly long haitus. Happy days!! 

I am so looking forward to seeing your non-traditional Easter characters, I think we might be in for a giggle or two!!

Have a lovely weekend, when it arrives. I think we are due some nice weather here in the UK, so fingers crossed for that.

See you soon xx

Beginning with B

 Happy Monday everyone. 

I might have mentioned before but I am not a lover of blue, unless it's navy so I never reach for it in crafting. The new challenge starts at The Cutie Pies today and the theme is Beginning with B so I challenged myself and used Blue as the starting point for my cute card and here it is.

I have surprised myself and actually love it!! I have no idea where the pretty paper came from but, as luck should have it, I had a perfect piece of cardstock to mat it upon. I had previously used the lovely set from Tracey Hey  and therefore knew that it is a LARGE stamp so didn't need any frippery. I had a lovely time colouring the beautiful bouquet. In reality the large blue flower is more the colour of the paper, cornflower blue, but the camera has, once again, done strange things!! Fussy cutting such a large piece was a challenge...Pauline, you would have been proud of me!! Promarkers, of course, were used to colour everything and good old Pinflair glue gel adds some dimension.

 I hope you will join us. Numbers in blogland seem to be getting lower and lower, both in visits to my blog and also entries in challenges. I know it is sometimes easier to click a like but honestly, you have no idea how much your comments and visits have meant to me over what has,  personally, been a really difficult couple of years. So thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

Take care all and see you later in the week xx

Interactive or Not?

Well, my Birthday week whooshed by and after a hectic couple of days back at work is well and truly forgotten. Thank you for your cards, gifts and good wishes, you really are a lovely lot!!

Please don't be too shocked by the card I am sharing today, there's not a cute image in sight.

We have another really good theme at As You Like It. Interactive (moving parts) or not?

I do actually like to make interactive cards but ever mindful of the cost of postage these days I do tend to stick to cards that are post friendly. This one was actually hand delivered.

 This one is for a friend who turns 60 next week. He competes in trial bike competitions so this free image was perfect. I found some matt silver board in my stash that proved perfect for matting the Bo Bunny spotted paper. I die cut some circles to make a kind of road sign for the 60 and left it at that. For a crafter that really doesn't like making man cards I am really pleased with the outcome.

I hope you will pop over and take a look at what my clever team mates have made and feel inspired to join in.

Thank you for your visit xx

Sleigh bells ring (are you listening?)

 Happy Monday all, and yes it is a happy Monday for me as I am on annual leave. Not a great deal planned, routine breast screening later in the week, and the weather looks quite settled once storm Franklin has passed so that's good. We survived storm Eunice, on Friday, with  no damage, just some tree debris and I hope you can all say the same.

The Christmas Cuties are back after our winter break so we hope that you will join in and get ahead with your Christmas cards.

We would love you to share your cards featuring a sleigh, as you can see, I made three while I was about it!

I used a sweet stamp set and co-ordinating die set from Lawn Fawn and coloured the little bear and his sleigh in pastel colours to match the Julie Loves papers.

Looking forward to seeing your cards.

Stay safe everyone and see you soon xx

AYLI - Favourite Occasion

 Hello again everyone. I hope this week has been kind to you, that you have stayed well and that you are looking forward to the weekend. 

We have another challenge for you at 

What's your Favourite Occasion to make a card for?  Just remember to tell us why and, this time, you are in with a chance of winning a mahoosive amount of ribbon!!

Christmas makes me warm and tingly so it was a no brainer for me. 

So, there I was rifling through my Christmas basket, looking for a particular sentiment stamp actually, when I came across my wonderful Stampendous Snowy Postcard stamp. It hadn't seen ink since goodness knows when. Anyway I rectified that and used Walnut Stain Distress ink on top of some Maja Design paper. Then stamped again and cut out the oval and glue gelled it on top. I painted the holly too and then used a wink of stella brush for a bit of shimmer. Added lots of Stardust Stickles, sentiment and ribbon. It looked a bit flat so I had another rummage and found this board lamp post which was just the thing to finish it off. 

Thank you for your visit, always much appreciated xx

Hearts and Flowers

 Happy Monday, it's St Valentines' Day so here is a great big hug for you all!!🤗

The February Cutie Pie Challenge starts today and, with the theme of Hearts and/or Flowers, we are looking forward to seeing your cards featuring Valentine or Mothers' Day cards. 

Here's mine and I apologise for the shocking picture!! 

I have taken the Love route just because I wanted to colour this adorable LOTV stamp again. It's still available as a digi here. I used Promarkers and kept the colour story simple with pale blue and red. The sentiment is also from a (really useful) LOTV set. I have cut mine up and have them in a little bag on the desk, at the ready!

Wishing you a good week ahead xx

Some challenges

Sweet Stampin' - Love, love, love

Rose #2

 Hello friends, hope you are all managing to keep well. I managed to grab myself a spare few minutes yesterday so made this so that I can join in at Allsorts Challenge.

You might remember me saying here that I always felt intimidated by the petals on this stamp and have only ever coloured it the once. I decided to dust off my Lyra pencils this time with a bit of blending solution and surprised myself, it was so much easier than with my Promarkers. I still kept the card simple as she really does deserve to be in the spotlight doesn't she?! I found some little cut outs from a Julie Loves kit from way back and used those for the sentiment.

It's been a horsey kind of day today, the ponies had their feet trimmed and then Wills had a visit from the vet for his annual vaccinations so while waiting I took some pictures using my phone. He loves a selfie!! Not sure I am particularly pleased with my chins though!!

I reckon we have the same smile there!!

See you soon xx

Some other challenges

Crafty Calendar February - Anything Goes

True Love or Fabulous Friendships

 Hello everyone. So January has been and gone and lovely February is upon us and my promise to craft more has well and truly gone by the wayside. I don't generally ride very much in the winter when it is wet, cold and dark but it's been so lovely and dry that I haven't really stopped. Saying that we are sure to get some nasty weather sooner or later. 

Anyway, I did find the time to make the card I am sharing today. It's my DT piece for

As You Like It Challenge

where we are full of love with our theme of True Love or Fabulous Friendships.

I love receiving a nice envelope through the door so spread the love by sending thinking of you cards to friends that I've not seen for a while. This is one such card that I recently made. She has a labrador so the die cut shape is perfect I think,

I started with a snippet of black Foundations card that I trimmed to fit the 4 x6 card base and then cut the aperture. The die is from Crafters Companion and all I did was backed it with some Doodlebug Designs paper and added a green ribbon. My trusty Mama Elephant sentiment and tag die set came up trumps again to finish it off.

It would be lovely to see your makes over at the challenge blog.

Thank you for dropping in and I hope you stay well. See you soon xx

Some Challenges

Snippets Playground #420 -Rubys Memory

AYLI Favourite Colouring Medium

 Hello everyone. I hope this finds you all well and settling into this new year. I am actually enjoying January so far. Although it's been very frosty the daylight is stretching out just a little bit longer in the afternoon so that's good. I noticed a snowdrop in Mog and Suzy's garden today which made me very happy and the daffodils are pushing their way up too. Still, mustn't get ahead of myself, I am sure there will be still some horrid weather to come.

Anyway, my post today is to share some inspiration and encourage you to join in at

where we are looking forward to seeing your projects showcasing your favourite colouring medium. Mine is Promarkers. I have tried all kinds of pens, pencils and inks over the years but still go back to my trusty Promarkers. They are so familiar and never let me down. Here's what I did with them...a card for a very special little lady who was 5 years old last weekend. 

Our sponsor is the fabulous Lili of the Valley and I used You're a Star, in rubber form, (she is available as a digi here). I tend to shy away from purple but Mollie loves it so Purple it was!! The date stamp is also LOTV and the papers MFT. I added lots of glitter in various forms and even the handwritten month and year on the date stamp was done in glittery purple!! 

Here is the Birthday girl

Thankyou for visiting today. See you soon xx

Some Challenges

Passion for Markers #624 - Use a die

Stamping Sensations January - Anything Goes +/- add a die

Simple Starts

 Hello you lovely people. I hope this new week finds you well and happy. 

It's my pleasure to be hosting the first challenge of 2022 over at

and we are breaking you in gently with a SIMPLE START, which basically means we are looking for a Clean and Simple card featuring a cute image of your choice.

Here is my inspiration for you using a really cute digi image from our sponsor.

I coloured this little cutie with my Promarkers and the Thank You was simply typed. It looked a bit flat so I added some creamy pearls and then mounted the coloured image on a snippet of some similarly coloured card that I had used to die cut a circle, previously. Much better!!

If, like me, you are hoping to be a little more crafty in 2022, I hope you will pop over to the challenge blog and join in. 

Lovely to have your company, as always. See you soon xx

Some Challenges

Crafty Catz #577 - Anything Goes +/- CAS

I Love Promarkers #501 - Anything Goes +/- Get Well

Crafty Calendar - Anything Goes

Snippets playground #419

A very jazzy gift box

 Hello friends and visitors, well Happy New Year to you all!! Although it seems so long ago now, I hope you all had an enjoyable, peaceful and safe Christmas and that 2022 brings you good health and happiness.

It's the first challenge of the year at

and we would love to see your favourite way of decorating a gift.

Today I am sharing a really lovely gift box. I have made them in the past but it wasn't until Lena shared a whole load of them that I remembered just how fabulous they are.

They make the simplest of gifts really something special and honestly they are SO simple to make using one sheet of square paper or light cardstock of any size. You can find the tutorial here. If you would like some inspiration be sure to pay a visit the AYLI challenge blog to take a look at what my fabulous team mates have made.

See you soon xx