Saturday 26 September 2015

Lazy Afternoon

Today's card is for my FIL, whose birthday is today.  He's been in hospital lately so I'm hoping that this watercoloured card will cheer him up a bit. The image from Lili of the Valley is one that I've not used for a little while so it was good to dig it out again.  I kept the layout simple with the large Happy Birthday die. Ironically the papers I chose to match the image are from the Country Lady pad!




Card Recipe:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Friday 25 September 2015

Christmas Soldiers

You can never be too early for Christmas, which means I can get these quirky fellas out again!

Love 'em!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday 24 September 2015

Sweetest Wishes

The new challenge this week at As You Like It Challenge is to choose either sweet or savoury, and there's no question as to what my favourite is.  To be honest it's primarily chocolate (untainted by fruit, nuts or other "unnecessaries") but then I'm rather partial to cake too (chocolate, coffee, lemon drizzle, even carrot cake, but again I'll pass on the fruit cake!).

There's also a new challenge over at Sugar Bowl, so I've chosen a really 'sweet' fairy image called 'let's eat cake'.  It's a really clean and simple layout, and I tempted fate by finishing my card completely before stamping the sentiment, but luck was on my side, and it gave a clean image.



Card Recipe:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Tuesday 22 September 2015

Pink Fairy

I've got a pretty in pink fairy card today that I made a little while ago, but she's not made it to my blog yet.  I've used May Fairy from Lili of the Valley, and also used their papers so it's pink all round.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Sunday 20 September 2015

Kiss me quick

I'm sharing a little romance today with a sweet image from Crafter's Companion. I've added some lace to added softness and a little array of blooms.

Have a lovely Sunday.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Saturday 19 September 2015

Midsummer's Night

I've got a lovely Lili of the Valley card to share today using one of my favourite fairy images.  I have used her for a 'thinking of you' card, but she's so versatile that I've used her here on a birthday card. I've coloured her in DI reinkers, used my favourite papers and lots of glitter!  I was quite pleased with the finished result.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Friday Sketch - Sketch
  • Dragonfly Dreams - Girlie
  • Noor! Design - Shaped Cards
  • Simon's Wednesday Challenge - Dies (I used 2 different ones)
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Friday 18 September 2015

Mimi Stars

I've got another 'Just for fun' card today.  Abi left a comment on my blog a couple of days ago saying how nice it is sometimes to make a JFF card, and I can certainly agree.  This one was fun as I used the no-lines technique again (I find it soooo hard, but very rewarding when it doesn't turn out too bad).  I've also used one of my favourite papers which is from LOTV.




Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Simon's Monday Challenge - Favourite Technique (no lines - looks FAB when it's done well, but I find it so hard to do myself)
  • Creative Inspirations - Favourite Occasion (Birthday because they are so flexible, no restrictions so I can let my creativity go with the flow)
  • Dragonfly Dreams - Girlie
  • Stamping Sensations - Sew Special
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday 17 September 2015

Bunny Twila

There's a new challenge at In The Pink and although it's not 'my week' in the Pinkie job share I have with Squirrel, I happened to have this card made so thought that I'd share it today.

I'd originally made it to promote the purple friends challenge over on Squirrel's own blog, but I only realised after finishing it that there was a teeny tiny flaw in my plan!

However, for the very reason that it failed to meet that criteria, it perfectly suits the friends theme at In The Pink this fortnight!

For some unknown reason I tried the no-lines technique again.  I really don't know why I insist on making things harder for myself by doing that.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Simon's Monday Challenge - Favourite Technique (no lines - looks FAB when it's done well, but I find it so hard to do myself)
  • Dragonfly Dreams - Feminine (pink and girlie - my favourite style!)
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday 16 September 2015

Poorly Bunny

I've made this card at the weekend for a pal who's been feeling seriously under the weather and I'm hoping that this bunnykins will cheer her up, if only a smidgeon.  I struggled a bit with the shading on the grapes or some reason, but otherwise he was fun to paint.  I'm not entirely sure I've used him before today but he's perfect for a poorly bunny.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Tuesday 15 September 2015

Wee Post Box

I've got a cute pup from Wee Stamps today, which I've coloured using the 'no lines' technique.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Monday 14 September 2015

Pig Out

I decided to have another go with BBQ Tilda, and this time she's got some rabbit food (lettuce) on her burger instead of bacon!

To be honest, I think I'd prefer the bacon version myself! ;0)



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Sunday 13 September 2015

Tilda with Yellow Flowers

I've got a 'just for fun' card to share today which is pretty rare for me as many of my creations are for DTs, but this one uses one of my all-time favourite Tildas.  I'm not a huge fan of Tildas, they have to be a certain style, but this one really captured my heart and I love her.  So much so that I've even used my least favourite colours for her, and I still love her! I hope she brings a little sunshine into your day too. :0)



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday 10 September 2015

James and the Giant Tree

The challenge at As You Like It Challenge this fortnight is to showcase your favourite die.  I've recently bought quite a few of the stitched dies, and I'm really liking this stitched speech bubble die which I can use with my favourite Merry Christmas die.  I have a few other sentiment dies and it works great with them for an easy CAS layout.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday 9 September 2015

Ballet Lessons

I'm sharing a little more purple friends inspiration in support of Squirrel's challenge, this time using a cute Penny Black trio of friends.

These three girlies look like they're having lots of fun practising their pirouettes! I'm not sure I'd be quite as dainty in ballet shoes!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Dragonfly Dreams - Girlie
  • Penny Black Saturday Challenge - 3DP
  • Stamping Sensations - Sew Special (the heart banner is "stitched")
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Monday 7 September 2015

Pow! ... Bam! ... Kapow!

I find masculine cards really tough, but that wasn't the only reason that this card was difficult for me.

I bought this image thinking he'd be fun, and he is, but boy-oh-boy I found him difficult to colour.

My first mistake was to try to paint him with my re-inkers, but as usual I struggled with the hair and clothing (mainly the cape) but also the colours.  I only used blue and red, and all the areas sort of merged into each other.

So that went in the bin and I tried again, this time thinking I'd use my markers which I find easier on clothing and folds etc. But in a moment of optimistic madness I decided it would be a good idea to try the no-lines technique!

Why?????

And then to top it off, I decided to fussy-cut him for the layout I wanted!

Yup, if I can make things more complicated, then it seems that I will.

And did!

Anyway, after all the trials I'm quite pleased with the end result.

I cased the layout from here 'cos I thought it looked fab and I can't take the credit.  The sun rays were chalked on using a strip of scrap card as a mask/template.

This project is to support the challenge at Without Words Challenge where the theme is 'for the boys', a theme which has been freaking me out since I saw it on the list.  I hope you find the masculine theme easier than I do!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Sunday 6 September 2015

Nacho

Nacho arrived this week, and I decided to ink him up this yesterday. He was a lot bigger than I'd expected (he's a big lad!) and for some reason I decided to ink him in pale grey and paint him in the no-lines technique.  I think his expression matched mine as I picked up my paintbrush!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Saturday 5 September 2015

Hello, Is it me you're looking for?

Are you singing yet?  (sorry!)

I've got another Lili of the Valley cutie today, and a really clean and simple layout.

I've got my stitched hillside border out again, and my Mama Elephant 'hello' die.

Simples!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Friday 4 September 2015

Every Bunny needs a friend who's all Ears

I've got another sample for Squirrel's "purple friends" challenge today, and it's a cute CC Designs image called Bunny Twila.  I saw the sentiment somewhere (can't remember where though), and typed it using different sized fonts.

The ribbon is a gorgeous wide satin (and for some reason is making me crave chocolate) and I've kept the layout simple with just some flowers and pearls as embellishments.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday 3 September 2015

Star Box

I've been looking at the pop up 'explosion' boxes that have been appearing on blogs and decided to have a go and make one.  I've used double sided papers from the Lucy Cromwell paper pad and a couple of cuties from Lili of the Valley to make my box.  It folds flat to slip into an envelope but pops open with the side flaps hanging down.  I've added a sentiment and cut around the shape of it to create a text banner, and the stars are die cuts from a nesting set.

This project is to support the challenge at In The Pink where the theme is Ribbons & Bows.  I've added a band of bright pink ribbon around my card base, and a double bow to one side.  It nicely decorates the card when it's folded shut too.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Tuesday 1 September 2015

Penguins

Yesterday was 'new release' day at Lili of the Valley and I've got a couple of samples to share using the new images. I was tasked with showcasing the penguins (which are my favourites from the new release) and today I've used one image on each card rather than all three on one card as I did before.

The images are really versatile, and I love this CAS look.  The papers are also Lili of the Valley.




Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx