Falling Leaves

 Hello everyone. Lynn has chosen the alternative to anything Goes theme at Allsorts this week

🍂Falling Leaves 🍂

My quest to use unloved stuff continues and this time I unearthed a Spellbinders die set and a Dutch Dubadoo cloud stencil.

I stencilled the linen effect card blank using tumbled glass DI. Used all the dies in the set and cut them out in good quality white card and then coloured them all with Promarkers. The Best Wishes stamp is from a Clearly Besotted sentiment set.

Out of my comfort zone but I really enjoyed making this.

2 prizes from AALL and Create of A5 stamp sets

 

Thank you for your company today xx

Square or Not?

 Chrissy is the host at

and her chosen theme is 

Square or Not?

I am a square through and through. I LOVE symmetry so the square satisfies that need for order. In this case I have gone all out with the squares, using a lovely Papermania pad and many, many squares and a sequin or two to add a bit of shine.

I look forward to seeing what shaped card you favour and why.

While I am here I must apologise for the lack of visits to my crafting buddies this week. I have been struck down by the dreaded Covid and have been feeling really poorly. I promise that I will catch up with you all soon.

See you at the weekend xx

Anything Goes

 It's the 800th Challenge at Allsorts this week so it's a free for all with Anything Goes!!

I made a new baby card for a change. Once again I dipped into my stamp arsenal and found a lovely Hunkydory stamp set that I used to make this,

I stamped the boots on different coloured dotty paper, added a little bit of shade and cut them out. The sentiment is part of the set too. So effective yet really quick and simple. 

Prizes from  AALL and Create.

See you soon xx

Feature a Creature

 Only three months to go...just saying!!

Time to get those Christmas cards in production if you've not already started.

We are Feature a Creature at

I had a set of LOTV reindeer printed out and waiting to be coloured so I made three cards using those.

They are dinky little 3x3 cards. The images were coloured with Promarkers and I chalked the sky before adding twinkly snow. The paper pack is a Bazzil one from my early days of papercrafting and I'd forgotten how great kraft and red look together. Each card had a little bit of ribbon and I attached a rusty bell and tag with a bulb safety pin. I've used these in my journals/folios and they make great hangers.

I hope that you will support us and look forward to seeing your Christmas cards.

See you soon xx

Sympathy or Get Well

 Happy Weekend again.

Liz has chosen Sympathy or Get Well as the alternative to Anything Goes at Allsorts this week.

I knew that somewhere in my stash I had the perfect little Pure Innocence (MFT) stamp for a Get Well card. I found it and made this...

I also have the dies too so I used that to cut her out. I'm not really sure why though because I can never actually line them up so would probably have  been better with scissors!! Anyway she was coloured with Promarkers to match the scrap of paper that I found in my scrap box. I actually really like yellow and red together. The pretty doily was another long forgotten find and suited the tea on a tray vibe perfectly. 

I hope I don't have to use it but nonetheless it can go into my box for now.

Thank you for stopping by xx

Favourite Dies

Hello everyone. It's a lovely theme at AYLI this week. I expect we all have these in our stash

Favourite Dies

I have found so many unused dies during the course of this year and have made a real effort to use them instead of regular circle or square dies. I shamefully have several complete crafting suites that I've never used. This die set came with stamps and the shakey thingy too so I used all the things to make this and, I have to say that sets with the whole kit and caboodle are definitely my new favourites!! 

I am almost certain that this set came from shopping telly years and years ago. It was an impulse "must have" purchase (admit it, you've all done it!!) that's never seen the light of day and worse than that, there are two other sets too that I fully intend to use now that I know how fabulous it is to have whole sets of things!! The paper was a Doodlebug Designs one and then I stamped, heat embossed in white, die cut and put it all together in no time at all. The glittered vellum ice cubes took an age to dry but worth it, I think!! 

I am intrigued to see what dies you will share with us and if you feel the need to confess about your "must have" purchases please unload, your secret will be safe with us!!

See yyou at the weekend xx

Something Fishy at Allsorts

Such a fun challenge at Allsorts this week where Gail is hosting and has chosen

Something Fishy as the optional theme so it would be fabulous to see your projects based around the sea, fish or underwater. You can of course go for Anything Goes too.

 Prizes for weeks 787 and 789 of Lavinia stamps (photos not to scale)

I found a lovely little Mulberry Wood stamp in my stash and coloured him with Promarkers.

It's coloured with Promarkers and I found some scraps of suitable paper that I stuck together and cut to make a background. The image didn't look quite right so I made a frame from a lovely piece of shimmery navy blue cardstock that worked a treat. The sentiment from the set (one of four actually) was also mounted on the navy and, I think, finished it off really nicely. The fish was coloured to look like a trout, with shimmer and all but hasn't photographed particularly well so just use your imagination!! 

Thank you once again for your support and I shall see you soon xx

Birthday Girls at The Cutie Pie Challenge

I might have mentioned that I am branching out a bit in my papercrafting and have made several folio/journal type projects. The new theme at

this month is Birthday Girls 

so it's the perfect opportunity to share a lovely little gatefold folio that I made from a kit that I bought at My Porch Prints, it's called Cottage Girls and is absolutely adorable.

Here is the front

the kit is complete with all the little tags and ephemera so I had a lovely time fussing with the bits and pieces. 

Here it is unfolded

I think it would be a lovely way to present a gift card or real life money too!!

I hope that you will support the Cuties and join our Birthday Girls challenge this time. This prize is up for grabs as its our Birthday!!

See you there xx
 

Autumn Colours

The mornings are chillier and darker so I guess Autumn must be on it's way in the northern hemisphere. That leads me nicely to the optional theme at Allsorts Challenge this week

AUTUMN COLOURS, Anything Goes is welcome too.

I made hidden paperclips using a kit from My Porch Prints. I'd forgotten how relaxing fussy cutting can be and it was lovely to faff about with them to arrange on the little sleeves. These will probably be added to journals and/or greeting cards. The paperclip is, as the name suggests, hidden between the layers of paper so can be attached anywhere. They would actually make a rather fancy bookmark.

There are Lavinia stamps as prizes for the next couple of challenges so well worth an entry or two.

Thank you for your visit, it's much appreciated 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

Getting Sentimental

 We are getting Sentimental at Allsorts this week. The optional theme was of Brenda's choosing and I had a great time thumbing through my stamps and dies looking for inspiration.

In the end it came from my die drawer and I cut the Live, Love, Laugh die from patterned paper. It was a charity shop find so I'm afraid I'm not sure of the brand I think the paper pad is from First Edition  but the cover has long gone!!

I used one of the lovely Jules' rectangle sketches #10 this time.

The prize for this challenge is a 

Selection of Woodware sentiment stamps from Craft Stash.

See you there!!

Elves, Gnomes and Fairies

 The months are ticking by but there's still plenty of time to add to your Christmas cards and this time at

we are showcasing 

 Festive Elves, Gnomes and Fairies.

I just had to use my MFT Elves, I love them and they come out every year. A simple bauble design this time using a Lawn Fawn Die. The little elf was coloured with Promarkers. I used a real LOTV Christmas tag stamp and added a jingle bell too.

Delightful Animals

Happy weekend crafty friends. Thank you for stopping by today. We've a new challenge at Allsorts and Lolo has chosen DELIGHTFUL ANIMALS as her optional theme (Anything Goes is also welcome).

I don't need to tell my long suffering followers that I am an animal lover, especially if they bark or neigh. Dogs have featured lots of late so I have a chestnut horse to share today. 

 I made this card using a Hetty Clare image (pony flowers) coloured with Promarkers to match Symba (whose owner Jane was the recipient of this card for her 60th). The papers are from a First Edition pad that was suitably chestnut coloured!! I used a Technique Tuesday stamp and added a little tag to suggest a shape of a rosette.

Here he is is in real life!!

Prizes (2) from AALL and Create

I hope you have something nice planned for the weekend. It's a Bank Holiday here in the UK which means I get an extra day off and the weather actually looks quite promising.

See you on Monday with a bit of festive cuteness xx

AYLI - Colouring Medium

 We are sharing our favourite colouring mediums at

and it will come as no surprise that my own favourite is Promarkers.

I love the way they blend and they are so long lasting. In fifteen plus years I have only ever had to replace one or two of my most used colours Tea Green and Sandstone.

Here's what I did with them

I used some spotty scraps and coloured this adorable LOTV bear with my Promarkers.

Thank you for visiting me. Work has been full on so I am afraid time to return the compliment has been in short supply. 

We are looking forward to seeing your favourite colouring medium.

See you soon xx

Four Legged Friends

 A new week and a new challenge at

where the theme is

Four Legged Friends

Here's mine....

The embossing folder and stamps were free with a magazine a very long time ago so I had great fun putting this cute scene together. The curtains are on the embossing folder so I cut out the window and then embossed again using patterned paper. Then I inked over the embossed detail with Shabby Shutters DI to show up the detail. The cute little dog was coloured with Promarkers.

This is the reverse of the card front, the cutie from the back!!

We hope you will share your cute four legged friends with us.

See you soon xx

Summer Days

 Hello one and all. I am the host at Allsorts this time and I chose

Summer Days as the optional theme.

I've gone back to my childhood with my card today. Summer fetes in the village with stalls, tug of war and an ice cream van selling the soft whippy ice cream with a flake!! 

It's been a long time since I used a crafting CD so I had a lot of fun looking through Crafters Companion Halcyon Days that was full of inspiration. I did this prit cut and stick frame card. The bunting was made using a Magnolia die and the With Love is a leftover from the "real" Halcyon Days papercrafting kit. 

I hope that I have inspired you to revisit your childhood summer days or more recent trips to the beach or other favourite summer places.

See you soon xx

Bugs, Feathers or Fur at AYLI

 

The new challenge lands today at AYLI and we would love to know which of these is your favourite.

Bugs, Feathers or fur? and a little explanation is required too.

I am not a fan of bugs and the flapping of the feathery friends freak me out so I am sharing a horse today.  Wills isn't really furry at this time of year, more silky really but he does get softer fur in the winter and at any time of year there is nothing quite like the sniff of a velvet muzzle!! 

My lovely team mate Brenda recently mentioned tackling her UFOs (unfinished objects) and I have been making a concerted effort this year to do the same. I have reduced the pile a fair bit but along the way have rekindled my love of cross stitch which, in turn, meant the purchase of one or two kits, this horse being one of them from Zindagi Designs. I used all the called for colours and simply mounted in a hoop. I have a Christmas bird on the go at the moment that I'm finishing as well as quick stitch coasters for my work mates' Christmas gifts so no new starts on the horizon.

This is the closest I could get to that elegant horses paces and the face of a old middle aged lady concentrating!! It's taken two years to start rebuilding my confidence and it's still fragile at times. I bear a permanent reminder of my tumble and given that this lovely boy is  a little tinker I really ought to stop, but the need (like buying paper pads) just cannot be curtailed!!

See you at the weekend xx

Seasonal Delights at Allsorts

 It's the weekend again so it can only mean one thing...a new challenge at

ALLSORTS where we welcome anything goes but also tempt you with an optional theme. This week it's

Seasonal Delights

I have gone with the beach vibe. Thumbing through my stamps I found a quite small one from Ladybug Crafts that, I think, was a challenge prize years ago and until now remained uninked. I remedied that, inked it up and coloured it with Promarkers to match a lovely paper from The Range. Perfect ice cream cornets and ice lollies to go with the beachy feel. It was too small really for a card so I made a magnetised bookmark.

The paper has a little bit of sparkle so I added some stickles to the floral decor on the flip flops too.

Here's a jaunty angle showing the shimmer.

The reverse is identical but I didn't share that because I picked up  an Aquamarker by mistake and the colouring was shocking.

I know it's not going to be beach weather for all of you but in any case I hope the sun is shining for you this weekend.

See you soon xx

Cats or Dogs at AYLI

 Hello and welcome. We have a lovely theme for you at

it's a simple one Cats or Dogs and we would love to know why.

For me it's DOGS. Our current hairy kids are Sprollies (Collie x Springer Spaniel) we've had both breeds over the years and were fortunate to find a mixed litter available at the right time when they joined our family eight years ago. They are such a brilliant mix of both breeds, loyal, intelligent and loving. The card I'm sharing is for a Cavalier King Charles loving friend.

I think that the image is a Hunky Dory one. The background paper and spotted mat were bits that came from my scrap box. Both sentiments were on the die cut sheet too and I added some pearls and gems to add a bit of glamour.

I will leave you with a recent pic of the "boys" Bowie and Bumble. It's one of those moments when Bo gets the ball and will NOT  give it up. Honestly he is a little tinker and poor Bumble looks on lovingly until Bowie gives it up!! Not really brotherly love is it Bo!??

Oh and Wills Wills looks like he wanted to join in the fun as well. He is no stranger to the ball flying past him at 30mph from the ball flinger and the dogs charging after it!! 

I can't wait to see your cats and dogs. xx

Pigs in blankets anyone?!

One of the best parts of Christmas lunch is most definitely pigs in blankets, they just don't taste the same at any other time of year. Nor do they look as cute as these...

The new challenge starts today at

and the theme is Clean and Simple.

I know, my cards aren't quite that but there is a fair amount of white space so it's a pretty good interpretation!! I bagged the cute stamp set from Clearly Besotted in a sale a while ago. Coloured all the different piggies with Promarkers and fussy cut them and stuck them on little plaid bits of MFT paper.

 They are all matted on silver mirri but, as you all know, that does not photograph well!!

I hope you will be inspired to join in.

Thank you for visiting 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!!