Welcome Baby Roo

Just a quick post today to show you my quick Sunday card - I've been busy most of the weekend enjoying the Peaks from horseback and spending quality time with my Sis. But after getting home and getting the most urgent chores done (cleaning up my snake's vivarium and making a big batch of tomato soup from the produce in our greenhouse) I did find a bit of crafty time which I wanted to spend with some cute critters. 

I was inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches to make today's baby card. I'm also linking up with AAA Cards where the theme is "Inspired by a film" (Winnie the Pooh).  Last but not least I'm sneaking in just under the deadline for Lawn Fawnatics where the theme is Happy Little Critters.

Card: 300 gsm white card, Neenah Solar white card

Paper: Lawn Fawn Watercolor Wishes, Let's Polka in the Meadow

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters Down Under, Gleeful Gardens and matching dies

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

Dies: Lawn Fawn Say Cheese, Everyday Sentiment Banners, Spring Showers, Grassy Border

We Flamin-go Together

I've been enjoying a wonderful week with BFF who came for a visit with her gentleman caller. We have been going around Cambridge, we went to see Audley End (it was amazing!) and spent yesterday in London. We ate fish and chips, had afternoon tea and made pizzas in the BBQ. I also clocked almost 60,000 steps in three days so now my feet are a bit sore. But that's a good excuse to spend a lazy day in the craft room. 

Audley End

There were some ridiculously large trees on the estate.

Afternoon tea at Peacocks in Ely.

Today's card is inspired by the flamingo theme over at Curtain Call. Flamingos seem to be very much in this season, and who am I to argue. The Lawn Fawn flamingos always make me so happy! I was also inspired by the sketch over at RetroSketches and the Raspberry Pink + Lime Green colour combo over at Daring Cardmakers. Last but not least I was inspired by the Punny Time theme over at Lawnscaping. 

Card: 300 gsm white card, Neenah Solar white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Flamingo Together and matching dies

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black and Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Meadow

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Frames and Stitched Hillside Borders dies

Paper Pieced Flowers

With summer in full swing I am inspired by all the lovely flowers everywhere. This card was also inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch and the colours over at Color Throwdown. How amazing aren't those colours, I just knew I had to play along this time. I was also inspired by the paper piecing challenge over at Just Add Ink and The Thank You theme over at Clean And Simple On Sunday. Although just a little tip - if you are planning on doing paper piecing, be sure to pick a stamp that DOESN'T have a gazillion pieces which are all the size of a grain of sand or somewhere thereabouts... this required a lot of patience and there may have been some swearing and a lot of glue sticking to my hands. 

It should be quite obvious what happened here - I started by die cutting the frame and then stamping the triangular flower arrangement inspired by the sketch. I then proceeded to fussy cut all the required pieces. I'm a bit gutted that I didn't have any patterned paper with a slightly lighter purple to better match the challenge colours but all you can do is make use of what you have at hand. Last I die cut the sentiment and then went on to the puzzle of adhering every little piece. It would have been impossible to know which leaf fit where except I cleverly arranged everything in place as I was cutting, so it was just a case of picking each piece up with tweezers and adding glue. I keep questioning myself about the sentiment, maybe I should have gone for a banner instead to be closer to the sketch, but I think this works quite well too.

Card: 300 gsm linen textured white card

Stamps: Stampin' Up So Very Grateful

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka Mon Amie, Let's Polka in the Meadow, Let's Polka in the Dark

Dies: Lawn Fawn Scripty Thanks die and Stitched Rectangle Frame die

Posted with Blogsy

Hippo Rainbow Birdie Becca!!

I don't know about where you are, but here in the UK we are enjoying quite the heatwave - summer is finally here!! I hope the weather will follow me to Finland next week as I only have three more days at work and then I will be away until the end of August. Which sounds like such a long holiday, but in fact we are close to the beginning of August already. How did this happen? It's been such a miserable and very typical British summer so far but maybe it will be all sunshine from now on. 

Today I got really inspired to create when I saw the new challenge over at Lawnscaping. The theme is to create something in the colours of the rainbow. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Rainbow is my favouritest colour. I was also super inspired by the wonderful inspiration images over at Becca's (Damsel of Distressed) big three-oh birthday bash linky party. I was super inspired by the artsy images and particularly (yes you guessed it) the rainbow colours. And because Becca is the Queen of mixed media I thought I would play with my Brushos to create a really artsy rainbow background for my birdday card - Happy (belated) Birthday Becca!!! I hope you like the card.  I was also inspired by the sketch over at Retro Sketches, although I flipped it on it's side. Last but not least I'm linking up with AAA Cards where the theme is Stash Favourite (mine is Brushos, since I got them I have been using them like crazy, I just love how easy and fun it is to creat random artsy backgrounds with them).

I started by cutting out a rectangle of watercolour paper and spritzed it with water using a mini mister. Then I randomly sprinkled on some Brushos - the secret is to not saturate the paper with either water or the colour crystals if you want that funky speckled background. I had a few accidents where I ended up with big piles of colour, not exactly planned but I think it looks quite random and artsy. Then I die cut a white frame using a Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Frames die. Next I stamped the hippo, the birdie, the party hat and the balloon from Hippo Birdie in black Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured them with Copics and a white gel pen before die cutting using the matching dies. I also used one of the Lawn Fawn banner dies to cut the banner for the sentiment. Last I adhered a leftover piece of Let's Polka In The Meadow paper to a white hammered card base and added the whole party scene on top. I have to admit I'm really chuffed with how the card turned out, one of those cards that surprise you by turning out different - but better - than you initially imagined. 

Card: 300 gsm white hammered card, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm watercolour paper, Neenah Solar card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Hippo Birdie and matching dies

Ink and colouring: Memento Tuxedo Black, Brushos, Copics

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Meadow

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangles, Stitched Rectangle Frames and Everyday Sentiment Banners dies

Flamingo Shaker

Are you enjoying your weekend? I had a wonderful day yesterday at the gym where we had a launch party for the new releases but now I'm suffering the consequences. No, I'm not sore from the three hours of working out, I'm in pain from not having covered myself from the sun. Before leaving in the morning I thought maybe I should add some sunscreen, but thought this is the UK after all so it will be cloudy and probably rain. Boy was I wrong. And now I'm the colour of a cooked lobster. So make sure you protect yourself from the sun out there, don't be stupid like me. Sleeping was painful as my shoulders were constantly hurting simply from the pressure of lying on the mattress.

I thought I would try to distract myself from the pain for a bit by crafting. To get my mojo going I was browsing some challenges and this card is inspired by the colours at ColourQ and the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I was also inspired by Flora and Fauna over at Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge and Create a Scene over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge. Last but not least I am also linking up with Time Out where the challenge is to be inspired by the phrase "Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine"

I started by cutting the front panel and the opening for it with Stitched Rectangle dies. Then I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers to watercolour the sky and the grass (which you can't see from underneath the sequins and beads). Then I stamped the flamingo and coloured her with Copics and die cut the other bits I needed to create the scene from leftover bits of card and patterned paper. Then I attached everything in place for the flamingo scene. Next I die cut a piece of the black striped paper from Let's Polka in the Meadow and the black scalloped edge and adhered to the front panel. Then I used the Stitched Rectangle frame dies to cut a piece of 3D foam to form the shaker. I attached the acetate to the back side of the front panel followed by the 3D foam frame and bits of 3D foam to adhere the front panel. Then I assembled the beads and sequins over the flamingo scene and attached the front panel. Last, I die cut the hugs sentiment from pink card and added Ice Stickles for extra bling.

Card: Daler&Rowney 300 gsm watercolour paper, scraps of black, white, pink, kraft and yellow card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Flamingo Together and matching dies

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Meadow

Ink and Colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Tumbled Glass and Mowed Lawn markers, Copics R20, R43, Y00, Y13

Other: Sequins and small beads from my stash, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scalloped Borders, Stitched Rectangles, Stitched Rectangle Frames, Spring Showers and Scripty Hugs die, Ranger Ice Stickles

You Flamin-go Girl!

It's been a while since my last post. Work is as crazy as ever and I have been really good, spending lots of time at the gym. And this weekend I had the best guest - my sister. We went to the gym, cooked and baked, celebrated Midsummer and enjoyed a wonderful BBQ prepared by the Culinary Consultant. But sadly the weekend is coming to an end. I did manage to sneak in a bit of crafty time to enjoy my new Lawn Fawn stash. And next week there will be plenty of posts as I look forward to celebrate something special. Pop in on Wednesday to see what's happening, all I can tell you is that someone is giving out prizes!!

Today's card was inspired by a number of challenges. First of all I absolutely had to play along with this week's Color Throwdown as I just adore the bright, summery colour selection this week. I was also inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I was also inspired by the Distress Maniacs challenge over at Lawnscaping (I used Distress Inks to create the background). Last but not least I was inspired by the Use Patterned Paper over at Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge. 

I started by die cutting a piece of white card using a stitched rectangle die. Then I sponged yellow and red Distress ink and spritzed with water. Next, I stamped and die cut the super-cute flamingo on pink patterned paper from Let's Polka in the Meadow. I also die cut the sun and palms. After stamping the sentiment I arranged the die cuts and matted the panel onto white card using 3D foam tape. 

Card: 300 gsm smooth white card, 300 gsm textured white card, scrap of red card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Flamingo Together and matching dies
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Abandoned Coral and Squeezed Lemonade
Other: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Meadow, Spring Showers and Stitched Rectangle dies

Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

The whole crafting blogosphere is alight with coffee this week - yes, it's another Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and I was inspired to create something to celebrate the elixir of life. I managed to quickly create this card in the morning before we headed off to for Father's Day Lunch with the Culinary Consultant's family. Actually I had to re-make the card as the first time I smudged the ink really badly on the sentiment - I need to find better cardstock for stamping. Happy to hear about your favourites!

I was also inspired by the colour challenge over at Color Throwdown and the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I'm also linking up with the CAS Mixup where the theme is Stamping + die cutting + your choice (paper piecing)

Card: white 300 gsm super smooth card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Coffee Happy 

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black, Stampin' Up Soft Suede

Other: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Meadow patterned paper and Spring Showers die

Flamingo-a-go-go

Happy Saturday! I have finally managed to create a card, after at least two weeks out of the craft room. I've said it before and I'll say it again - working full time really poo-poos any attempts to enjoy the fun things in life. I have also lately been busy in the garden as the weather has finally turned a bit more summer-y which is lovely but is definitely time away from the craft room. And I had to take some drastic measures as I wasn't able to zip up my jeans any longer, so I've spent quite a bit of time in the gym and out running. And food prepping - after all weight loss is 90% about the nutrition. So I stand in my kitchen all evening, prepping salads and veg for the next day. Somehow all of this combined has left zero time for crafting! 

Getting back in the craft room was hard - just as getting back to the gym is hard. You need to exercise your crafty muscles to keep them active and I had to really work hard to be able to create anything. Luckily there were a few great challenges to help me get going again. First and foremost I was inspired by the flamingotastic inspiration image over at House of Cards. They have a end-of-term blog hop, there are a few more days to go so make sure you get flamingo-a-go-going and hop the hop! I'm also playing along with the sketch challenge over at Sunday Stamps. I'm also linking up over at Sweet Stampin' where the theme is 3 Or More Layers and That's Crafty where the theme is In The Pink.

Card: 300 gsm textured white card, gold mirri card

Stamps: Your Next Stamp Fred and Ginger

Ink and colouring: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

Dies: Lawn Fawn Stripey Backdrop, Say Cheese, Scripty Hugs

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Meadow