Guess the country!

 Good morning, wow, haven't we had some lovely sunshine this week!! Just what I've been wishing for, so I am one happy bunny!

I'm making the most of it while it lasts and spending as much time as I can in the garden.

My card today is for our new challenge at Sweet Stampin'

This fortnight we want you to choose a country and make a card/project inspired by it- the colours of the flag, food, culture- whatever springs to mind. 

I chose Japan. The stamps I used are both quite old, the branch and blossom are Penny Black, no idea of the make of the little girl stamp. I rediscovered it recently while looking for something else, I was so pleased as I thought it was one that Marvin had eaten during his puppy days. 

The background is smooshed inks and I used Perfect Pearls and a brush to colour the blossom. The panel is matted onto black cardstock and gold printed vellum.

Please hop over and see which countries inspired the rest of the Sweeties, then why not play alon, we'd love to which country you choose.

Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend.

Chris

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For Emily

Good morning, it's my turn to host this fortnight's challenge at Fab'n' Funky which means I choose the theme- and as it's my granddaughter's tenth birthday today I chose

for a child, baby or teen

 This is the card I made for Emily, I picked this Krista Smith image because Emmy loves cake, and coloured it to look like her (Copic markers).  For the background I die cut six squares of white cardstock, stamped 3 of them with a Uniko birthday stamp and stencilled gingham pattern on the other 3 using the same ink pad. The sentiments are stamps from various companies. I added 10 die cut candles to the inside. 

As always there are some fabulous creations from my teamies over at Fab'n' Funky so do hop over to check them out- hope to have you play along this challenge.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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Challenge entries:

classicdesign #4

sheepski #86

avenue613 May 2024

dragonflydreams May 2024

allsorts #779

creative-creases #81

asyoulikeit -

I prefer to use bold bright colours when making cards for kids

May mood board

 Good morning, it's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and once again we have a lovely mood board to kickstart your inspiration.

Our sponsor for this month is AALL & CREATE with some fabulous prizes on offer for our lucky winners .

I made a CAS card taking inspiration from the lilies and colours of the mood board. 

The stamps I used are Aall & Create Heliotropic (915) and a sentiment stamp from a Stamping Up set. I used my Copic Markers to colour the flowers and added a little background stencilling. 

For full details of how to enter this challenge and the lovely prizes on offer please visit the main challenge blog.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Chris

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Challenge entries

beautifulblossoms #16

crafterscafe #307

theflowerchallenge #91

tripleb May 2024

dragonflydreams May 2024

Simply Clean and Simple May 2024

MAWTT May 2024

May Challenge at Crafty Calendar

 Good morning, it's time for our May Challenge at Crafty Calendar.

Our sponsor for this month is 

Di's Digital Stamps

The theme for this month is Anything Goes

I made a CAS card featuring the cute Buddy in the Garden, he's coloured with markers, fussy cut and placed on top of a green die cut that looks a bit like a trellis! 

I scored some lines to make a simple border, added 2 tiny buttons and a stamped sentiment...and that's it! 

Please hop over to the challenge blog for more inspiration- hope you can join us this month.

Have a good weekend

Chris

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challenge entries

Simply clean and simple May Challenge

cutiepie #193

disdigidesignschallenge #Fantasy

Sweet strawberries

 Good morning, time for a new challenge at Crafty Catz.

 This fortnight we are sponsored by the fabulous

 All Dressed Up.

Aunty Sue is our lovely host this time and the theme is Anything Goes-

with an  optional twist of Summer.

I used a very sweet  sponsor image, Strawberry Patch, after all what says summer better than strawberries! 

I've used my Copic markers to colour and added some lightly stencilled clouds to the background. The design paper is from various companies, matted onto white card. The die cut strawberries are also coloured with Copics. 

There are some lovely creations  from the rest of the team using these sweet sponsor images over on the main challenge blog, I hope you can find the time to check them out and that you will be inspired to play along with us this fortnight. 

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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Challenge entries:

cutitup #303

cardz4galz #224

aperfecttimetocraft #5

alldressedup #150

classicdesign #4

Guest Designer at Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2

Good morning, I'm honoured to be a Guest Designer at 

Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2

This is the lovely sketch I used to make my card

Sketch #277

As you can see I followed the sketch quite closely, The stamp is  from CC Designs, coloured with Copic markers. The papers are old, carefully hoarded ones from LOTV, Diecut circle fames from Tonic Studios and tiny die cut flowers (un-named die). The sentiment is computer generated. 
Please do take the time to hop over to the challenge blog to see what the ladies on the Design Team have created this month, I always find it fascinating to see how other people interpret the same sketch and how varied the results can be.
Thanks for visiting
Chris
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Challenge entries:
ilovepromarkers #558 Anything Goes
digichoosday #17
PFM #737

Embossing

Good morning,  a new challenge begins today at Fab'n' Funky.

The theme chosen by our lovely N-Eva is

 EMBOSSING- WET or DRY.

I haven't used my Lavinia stamps for a while so I thought it was time to give them an airing. I stamped some leaves across the top of a square of white card using Versamark ink and then embossed with white EP, then did the same along the bottom edge using a buttercup stamp. I sponged Distress inks in shades of red, orange and purple around the edges of the square fading out towards the centre which is lightly sponged in yellow. I stamped more leaves and some grasses using purple Versafine Clair and the fairy image in black, her wings are coloured with Distress Ink , details and highlights added with sparkle and white gel pens. A stamped sentiment (also Lavinia) and a few clear gems to finish.

For more inspiration please check out the Challenge blog, as always the ladies have produced some fabulous cards.

Thanks for visiting.

Chris

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Challenge entries:

avenue613 April Challenge

I spy.... #14

craftygalscorner #254

aperfecttimetocraft #4

papercraft #105

pinspirational #312

creativecrafters #75

For a boy...

 Morning all, hope you've had a good week. It's been busy here as Hubby has been away for a few days- a little jolly with his besties! So  apart from the day my friend stayed over I've been home alone...with Marvin! He was such a good boy, he did sulk a bit and lurked around by the front door for most of the first day, but after that he decided that I needed to be protected and didn't leave my side, he even slept in my bedroom, which he never does normally. We were up and out early as that's his normal routine (not as early as my husband takes him...but he's an alien and gets up at the crack of dawn- I am definitely not a morning person but it didn't seem fair to make Marvin wait for too long! I've lost count of the number of times I've walked around the woods with him but it was a pleasure, everything is so beautiful just now, lovely fresh new leaves and plenty of bluebells. As a bonus we didn't get wet once- so lucky!

Now onto my card- it's my DT make for this fortnight's challenge over at Crafty Catz, no sponsor and no prizes this time, but you could be one of Top 3 and win a fabulous badge for your blog!

Rhoda is hosting and has picked the optional twist of 'For A Boy'

I made this card for my teenage nephew, it was so quick and easy to make as there's no image or colouring...or even any stamping,. I used a brick wall EF on the white panel and flicked a little ink on it,  apart from that it's all die cuts.

Thanks for visiting today, have a great weekend

Chris

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Challenge entries:

lilredwagon #752

unicorn #97

classicdesign #04

pearlysparkles #94

dragonflydreams -use a die

craftrocket #113

themaleroom

Birds and blossom

 

Morning everyone. I'm here with a mid month reminder for our April Challenge at 

Stamping Sensations. 

The theme is Spring or Anything Goes

sponsored by Crafty Individuals.

There is a lovely mood board to use if you wish

I took my inspiration from the bird, blossom and colours.

The little birds and birdhouse are Molly Blooms stamps I have had for ages, coloured with Copic Markers, the clouds are stencilled. The flowers are stamped and embossed onto pink cardstock and fussy cut, it's an even older wood backed Magenta stamp. The background panel was made by smooshing Distress Inks over a square of white card  and some added stencilling.

For more inspiration and details of the prize on offer please hop over to 

Stamping Sensations Challenge Blog

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

allsorts #776

craftygalscorner #254

I spy with my little eye #14 Wings

thefourseasons April Challenge

tripleb April Challenge

hereisaplacetostart April- add flowers

cupcakeinspirations

Just one Earth

 Morning everyone, there's a new challenge beginning today at Sweet Stampin', this fortnight we are celebrating Earth Day (April 22).

I made a journal page using several stamps and stencils from various companies. I did intend to add something recycled but got carried away and forgot! The central image, a digistamp (DigistampAtelier is one I coloured literally years ago, then abandoned the half made card as I wasn't happy with the design. I used a circle die to cut out the image and added some stencilling and a few tiny stamped flowers, so it is sort of re-cycled!

Please take a look at the main challenge blog for some lovely ideas and inspiration from the rest of the team.

Thanks for visiting,

have a great weekend

Chris

x

Your wings exist...

Morning everyone, today we have a new challenge starting at 

Fab'n' Funky 

with the theme of 'Add a Sentiment' 

chosen by our lovely Pat K who is hosting this fortnight.

I used a fabulous Mo Manning digi, Feronia, that I've been itching to colour up ever since she arrived.

I printed her quite large and used my Copics to colour, adding wink of Stella to her wings for some sparkle, which of course doesn't show in the photo! I die cut with a stitched rectangle die, allowing her wing to protrude over the edge. The background DP is from a very old Anna Marie Designs pad, all panels matted onto dark brown cardstock. The sentiment is from a Crafters Companion stamp set.

It's a lovely easy challenge theme this time so I hope lots of you will play along, just click here to hop over to the Challenge Blog for some ideas and inspiration from my lovely team.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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PFM #734

HQFCB #4 (A/G)

unicorn #97

letscreate #206 A/G

morgansartworld #75

sheepski #85

worldwidecrafters #15

mirtillamente #30

April Challenge at Stamping Sensations

 Good morning, the April Challenge at Stamping Sensations begins today.

The theme for this month is Anything Goes, there is a  spring mood board for added inspiration should you choose to use it.

Our sponsor for this month is

Crafty Individuals

(£25 voucher)

Here's my card, inspired by the daisy on the mood board.

I used stamps from Aall Create, the panel with the frame was cut from watercolour paper which I'd previously coloured using brushos and water. The daisy is paper-pieced.

There's plenty of inspiration to be enjoyed over at Stamping Sensations so why not head on over to take a look.

Thanks for visiting

enjoy the remainder of the weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

avenue613 April Challenge

welovestamping April Challenge

creativeinspiration #13

kraftychicks #710

craftygalscorner #253

beautifulblossoms #15

thefourseasons April Challenge

audsentiments #312

Crafty Calendar April Challenge

 Good morning, today sees the start of our April Challenge at Crafty Calendar, our lovely sponsor for this month is 

All Dressed Up.

The theme is 

'Embossing- wet or dry'

I chose to use a sweet little fairy image, Flower Dreams. I printed the digi onto a square of white cardstock, then used a metal stencil to emboss the floral border. Keeping the stencil in place, I used Distress Inks in shades of pink and green to colour the lightly embossed image, I really like the softer effect. I coloured up the image using my markers and stamped the sentiment. The two butterflies were stamped and embossed onto white vellum. I used a maker to colour the underside after they had been cut out.

The rest of the Crafty Girls have produced some stunning cards this month, click here  to check them out!

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

alldressedup March Challenge

MTTC #531

stencilfun April Challenge

tripleb april Challenge

aplacetostart. April Challenge

dreamvalley #313

HQFCB #4 (atg)

ilovepromarkers #556 (atg)

No such thing!

 Good morning, my card today is for our new challenge at Crafty Catz,

sponsored this fortnight by 

 and hosted by Nana Connie.

The optional twist is Cute Critters.

I used an image I've had for some time, coloured the cute bear with my markers, fussy cut and popped up on foam. Background books are an image I found online, sentiment stamped with tiny alphabet stamps.

Please do hop over to the challenge blog to see the lovely creations from the rest of the team, you have two weeks to play along- remember the twist is always an option!

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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Guest Design for T.I.O.T.

 Good morning,  back in January one of my cards was chosen as a Top 5 pick at TIOT, I was delighted to be  invited to Guest Design for them, thank you ladies. 

The theme for the challenge, which starts today is

 Rainbow Colours.

I recently succumbed to temptation and treated myself to a new stamp set from Colorado Crafts- no way could I resist these cute bunnies! They bring to mind Morecombe & Wise as they skip  offstage singing 'Bring me Sunshine'' which inspired this card. 

I blended Distress Inks in rainbow colours onto a panel of white card cut slightly larger than the  diecut sunrays. Bunnies were stamped, coloured with markers and fussy cut, then popped on top of the die cut.  I  finished with a  sentiment from the same stamp set.

Sending you all some sunshine wishes

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

aperfecttimetocraft #4

classicdesign #3

craftyanimals #82

critter crazy #85

incywincy- inspired by song- Bring me Sunshine

thefourseasons April Challenge

craftinghappiness #168

polkadoodle #13

Steampunk birthday.

Hi, it's my turn to host this fortnight's challenge at Fab'n' Funky,

the theme I've chosen is

 FANTASY.

It's my eldest granddaughter's 17th Birthday next week and this is the card I made for her.

She's an avid reader, it's her favourite pastime and grew up with the likes of Harry Potter and Skulduggery Pleasant (she still loves them!) - anything fantasy appeals to her.

I saw this beautiful freebie image (Gecko Galz) and immediately thought of my Livvy. 

I made a triple stepper card, decorating each layer with  stamps and die cuts from various companies.

It was easier to take photos than go into long descriptions.

second panel

third panel

Please do check out the Challenge blog for more ideas and inspiration, I hope you like the theme and are tempted to join in with your own fantastical fantasy creations....just let your imagination fly free!

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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Challenge entries:

digichoosday #12

classicdesign #03

creativefingers #274

cards galore encore #121

geckogalzs March Steampunk Challenge

creative creases #78

craftrocket #112

creativeinspiration #12

 

Snowy

 Good morning, as it's almost Easter I thought I'd share a Christmas card, well why not?!

I used my much loved Penny Black Snowy stamp, he who narrowly escaped the jaws of death when Marvin was a pup and chewed everything he could get his teeth around- rubber stamps were a firm favourite!. He would lurk nonchalantly in my craft room waiting for an opportunity -then quick as a flash he would nick something and leg it out of the room, looking for somewhere to lie down and have a good old chew. Fortunately, on this occasion, I spotted him straight away and managed to retrieve Snowy more-or -less intact (one of his arms is slightly damaged but stamp is still usable)

I've coloured his scarf and hat with my markers, and added loads of glitter to the trim and pompom. An embossed background, some panels of left over DP from the scrap drawer. I added some die cut snowflakes with tiny red gem centres to finish.

Thanks for visiting

hope you have a good day

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

rudolph days March Challenge

christmaswiththecuties #79

pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge March Ch.

peaceonearth #60 (ATG)

PFM #732 -3 snowflakes, 3 colours

christmas-craft-creations

Girls Rock!

 The last two weeks have just flown past and once again it's time for a new challenge at 

Crafty Catz.

Janet is hosting this fortnight and her optional theme is 

Use an embossing folder.

Our sponsor this time is

THE PAPER SHELTER

The Design Team were given a lovely digi to play with but I chose to use one I already had and really wanted to colour up.

So here's Rebel, coloured with markers , fussy cut and popped up with foam. I used a brick wall embossing folder, no idea of make and ripped and distressed some  papers that must be donkeys years old - I think they were magazine freebies. I die cut the splat and stamped the sentiment onto it.

For loads more inspiration please check out the challenge blog- my teamies have created some beautiful cards for this challenge. Remember the theme is entirely optional, Anything Goes at Crafty Catz.

Thanks for visiting and have a lovely weekend.

Chris

x

craftrocket #112

digichoosday #11

aplacetostart March

aperfecttimetocraft. March

mirtillamente #29

sheepski#84

morgansartworld.#74

worldwidecrafters #15

Beautiful Day

 Good morning, hope you are all keeping well and have been lucky enough to see some spring sunshine over the weekend. This is such a beautiful time of year- especially when the sun shines- nothing looks quite as good when it's lashing down with rain!

It's time for our mid month reminder at Stamping Sensations, the optional challenge them is Spring, with some lovely prizes courtesy of Aall & Create, our fabulous sponsor this month.

I made a card using my favourite spring colours of green and yellow and a pretty daffodil stamp that was a magazine cover gift some time ago.  The embossed panel with the aperture is cut from card that I had previously smooshed and sprayed with brushos and shimmer powder. I layered it onto a square of pale yellow cardstock with the stamped sentiment already in place. The daffodil spray is coloured with markers and fussy cut an d I added 3 tiny pearls to finish.

As always there's loads of fabulous creations from the rest of the team, so please do pop over to the main challenge blog for some inspiration and for full details of prizes and how to join in. 

Thanks for visiting, have a good week.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

mmmchallenge #221

creativecraftinguncles #51

pearlysparkles #93

flowerchallenge #89

thefourseasons March

tripleb March

beautifulblossoms #15

Easter bunnies

 Good morning, It's time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin ' , the theme for this fortnight is EASTER.

I made a card for Charlotte, my youngest granddaughter using a cute A&C stamp set. The bunnies are coloured and fussy cut and popped up on foam inside the die cut frame, along with some die cut grass. The clouds and eggs are stencilled.

It doesn't seem possible that Easter is only two weeks away, we haven't had any spring yet, just rain and more rain, although to be fair it has been mild and much drier this week- even most of a day of beautiful sunshine on Thursday. I took the opportunity to dead-head the primulas in the big pot beside my front door and got a bit of a shock when the hugest bumble bee landed on my hand! I left the primulas after that- the bee obviously wanted them for herself and I wasn't going to argue! 

There's plenty to see over at Sweet Stampin' , as always my lovely teamies have  produced some fabulous inspiration for you to enjoy and we'd love to have you join us with your own beautiful Easter creations.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x 

Challenges

allsorts #772

TIOT Spring

cutiepie #192

daisychain #83

Spring

 Good morning, for this fortnight's challenge at Fab'n' Funky Buffy has chosen the theme of SPRING.

I wish it felt more like spring here! Yes we have loads of pretty spring flowers...bowing their heads in the rain which we've had for days on end now! Not going to mention the mud...

I drew round a template to make this flower shaped card then die cut a circular aperture in the centre. The image, coloured with Copics, is from Krista Smith and made me smile when I saw it. It brought back a memory of my eldest granddaughter as a small girl. We visited a butterfly sanctuary that had many species of large butterflies flying around, she was fascinated by them and desperately wanted to touch but knew it wasn't allowed- then one decided to settle on a lady's head...that was it...she refused to come out of the greenhouse because she wanted one to land on her! No luck!  Eventually, we managed to persuade her away with promises of ice cream but not before I thought we were all going to melt in there! 

Thanks for visiting my blog today, please check out the challenge over at Fab'n' Funky, I hope you'll be inspired to share your own beautiful spring- themed creations with us.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

allsorts #771

PFM #730

shoppingourstash #517

aperfecttimetocraft March Challenge

thepapershelter #587

Another polar bear

 Hello, I had time for a little play today and some more cute stamped images to colour up- courtesy of the very generous Bunny. This cute guy is another Whipper Snapper stamp. I wish they were easier to buy here in the UK, very few stores seem to stock them now, there are some on Ebay but a limited range. Anyway, here he is- all coloured up with my markers and heading for the slopes! The papers are very old end-of-pad leftovers that I found lurking at the bottom of a drawer. I've added some die cut trees and a stamped sentiment.

I followed a sketch from Cheerful Sketches

Thanks for visiting today, enjoy your weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

leighsbdesigns #27

cardz4galz #220

shoppingourstash

peaceonearth #59

christmaskickstart #84

cheerfulsketches March Ch.

Polar bear trio

 Good morning, a new challenge is starting today at Crafty Catz.

Ginny is hosting and has picked the optional twist of Monochrome.

Our sponsor this time is

 

DI'S DIGISSTAMPS

I love the look of monochromatic cards so I was very happy with Ginny's choice.

The image I have used is Three chilly polar bears, coloured with Copic markers and fussy cut.

The background panel with the sentiment was recycled from gift card packaging and placed onto a panel of design paper and embossed 'snow'. I've added some glittery silver die cut trees.

Don't forget to check out the fabulous inspiration over at Crafty Catz- hope you can play along this fortnight.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

asyoulikeit colourful or monochrome. Difficult to choose a favourite as both have their own appeal, but I always like the look of monochrome.

CRAFT #711

hollyandivy #158

dreamvalley #311

CCAYR March Challenge

craftyanimals #81

MLCCB #55

POE Christmas #59

Spring Chickens

 Good morning, first Sunday of the month means it's time for a new challenge at

  Stamping Sensations.

This month the optional theme is Spring, sponsored by AALL & CREATE.

My first thought was to create a floral card with beautiful spring flowers but I'm not very good at those so I decided to trawl through my stamp collection hoping for inspiration to strike... these crazy chickens 'sprang' out at me. They are Paper Artsy stamps,  I bought this pre-loved set from Ebay a while ago and promptly forgot about them in the furore of finishing off Christmas cards. I made the background during a session with splatter stamps, fun but lots of mess to clear up so I made several at the same time. I stamped the chickens on the splat coloured their legs and feet with watercolour pens, then stamped them onto white card, coloured and paper pieced them. I drew their springs with a line marker and white gel pen. I used a very old peg stamp alphabet to stamp Spring Chickens. The border is coloured with markers.

Hop over to Stamping Sensations for some wonderful inspiration, all the details of how to enter and the lovely prizes on offer this month, hope to see you join in this month.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

allsorts #770

MTTC #528

kraftychicks #705

paperfunday #62

critter crazy #84

FQGSCB #13

thefourseasons March Challenge

March Challenge at Crafty Calendar

 Good morning- March has arrived- yay!!! I know we can still get wintery weather in the UK (and often do) but for me the arrival of March means that spring is almost here- warmer, brighter, longer days, such a relief after the dreary dark days of the beginning of the year. It will be so nice when the ground dries up a bit and we're not sloshing around in mud taking Marvin for his walks- he doesn't care one jot about how muddy it is, how cold or wet but hosing him down twice a day does get a bit tedious! Fortunately he doesn't object in the slightest to being vigorously 'outdoor showered', just lifts his legs obligingly so we can reach the muddiest bits! Then comes the battle over the towels, they're his so he thinks it's fine to drag them around in the puddles if he so wishes! Then peace for a while as he snuggles up to the radiator to dry off and re charge his batteries ready for the next walk...it doesn't take him long.

Anyway, I've waffled on for long enough so onto today's card. It's my DT make for this month's challenge at Crafty Calendar which begins today. We're sponsored by Lawn Fawn with a lovely prize for our lucky winner, the theme is MORE THAN ONE FOLD.

I made this Tuxedo fold card a while ago for a friend's birthday, she's a very bubbly lady who loves bright happy colours and CAKE. She was very happy with this card. I used a mixture of balloon, number and alphabet dies from various companies, the cake is a Bugaboo digi.

Please check out the challenge blog for some great inspiration from the rest of the team.

Thanks for visiting and have a super weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

creative-creases #77

kraftychicks #705

mmmchallenge #220

2sistersontheblog #84

cutitup #298

I spy #12 (balloons, banner, birthday cake)

thesisterhoodofcrafters dots/stripes

die-cut-divas March Challenge