Bees and blooms

 Good morning, it's the first Sunday of the month so time for a challenge over at We Love Stamping.

The theme for July is SUMMERTIME or Anything Goes.

There are 2 fabulous prizes, Lavinia Stamps and watercolours.

I used several Lavinia stamps to create my card, Bumble and Hum, Flower Divine and Forest Creeper, the background is Distress Oxide Inks and a honeycomb stencil, I also used a sunray stencil but doesn't show up very well. The sentiment is a sticker. 

Check out the challenge blog for full details of how to play along and to enjoy some beautiful summery creations from the rest of the ladies.

Thanks for visiting- have a good day.

Chris

x

TIOT In the garden

mmmchallenge #291

ellibelle's garden party #16

allsorts #853

Birthdays at Crafty Calendar

 My second DT card today is for the July Challenge at Crafty Calendar, the theme this month is

 Happy Birthday

Again, I've used one of Mo Manning wonderful images, this one is a Patreon image.

The card is for my lovely friend (and Marvin's 'baby sitter'), she has a gorgeous dog of her own, a handsome long-haired German Shepherd, whose soppy temperament belies his looks! His coat has an unusual reddish tint and I've tried to capture that with my markers and pencils. The patterned paper came with the image, the sentiment stamps are MFT and I've added some stamped embossed paw prints, they'll remind Helen of just how often she has to wash her floors when the weather is bad!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog- and please check out the Challenge for details of the prize and some great inspiration from the rest of the ladies.

Have a good weekend

Chris

x

craftrocket #138

kraftychicks #827

crittercrazies #112

Christmas in July at Sweet Stampin'

 Good morning, a bit late with my posts today, totally slipped my mind that these DT cards were due- blaming it the heat...or could be just my age! Anyway this one is for Sweet Stampin' Challenges- the new challenge begins today and runs for two weeks, the theme is Christmas in July. 

These two cute little guys are Mo Manning, available from the old shop. I've used Copics to colour. Snow added with Ink spatters. The falling snow EF is one of my favourites, but no idea of brand. The die cut is an old one from Memory Box, it's been very well used over the years I've had it.

There's more inspiration over at The Challenge Blog, it's easy to  play along- just remember to include stamping and follow the theme.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

alphabet E for embossing

creativeknockouts. #574

abcchristmaschallenge - L

hollyandivy #207

pearlysparkles #121

aperfecttimetocraft. JulyCh.

crittercrazies #112

The Legend!

 Good morning, another fortnight has flown past and once again we have a new challenge for you at Crafty Catz. 

The Theme is always ANYTHING GOES.

I'm sharing the card I made for my brother. The idea for this is unashamedly nicked from my lovely teamie, Chrissy, who's brilliant design can be seen here! As soon as I saw it I knew it would be perfect for my brother- he really can turn his hand to anything. Thanks so much for the inspiration Chrissy.

The image is a digi from QKR Stampede, sadly no longer trading. I've used my Copics to colour and used a brick wall stencil for the background, the papers are I think from Do Craft? Computer generated sentiment.  

Hope you can find the time to join in this fortnight, for more inspiration please check out the fab creations from the rest of the team here.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries

kraftychicks #827

digichoosday #7

themaleroom #212- DIY and woodwork are just 2 of his hobbies.

avenue613 June Challenge

carlinskaartenparadijs #96 (July)

MAWTT #191

dreamvalley #364

Merry Christmas to moo

 Good morning,  after winning a recent challenge at Christmas Or Not Bingo Challenge I had the honour of being invited to Guest Design for the July/August challenge.

Here is the card I made using Column B from the Bingo board.- Christmas, red, gingham, digital image.

I made a circular easel card using a digital image by Mo Manning, coloured with copic markers. The very old gingham paper is from Docrafts the die cut holly leaves using even older Sizzix die with red flat back pearls for berries. 

Please do take the time to check out the CONBC Challenge blog for some fabulous inspiration from the Design Team- there's lots of options on the board to give you a great starting point for a card design and, the challenge runs for 6 weeks so plenty of time to create something fabulous and join in.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

cdsunday #186

peaceonearth #114

creativefingers #325

CRAFT #783

Something beginning with B

 Good morning, my turn to host the challenge at Fab'n' Funky this fortnight, the theme I have chosen is 

'Something beginning with B'

My B's are Bear, bloom, bee , bow, brown, blue.

The stamp is from a set by Anita Jeram (Colorado Craft), coloured with pencils, sentiment from same set, I've used kraft card and an odd scrap of DP, no idea of brand.

There's more inspiration from my lovely teamies, so please hop over to F'n'F to take a look, hope you can find the time to play along with the challenge.

It's very hot here... seems wrong to be hiding indoors when the sun is shining but you can have too much of a good thing. Poor Marvin's routine is totally disrupted- he's still getting his early morning walk but has to wait until it's cool enough (if it is cool enough!) to go out again. The heat has not affected his appetite in the slightest though...and he still wants to play with his ball, I'm not keen on indoor ball games but it's too hot in the garden!

Keep cool everyone!

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

aperfecttimetocraft #6

craftyanimals. #106

daisychain #108

creativecrafters #101

allsorts #852

asyoulikeit Blue and brown is my favourite combo, aways looks good together and works well for both masculine and feminine cards.

CRAFT #782

lilredwagon #864

We want cake!

 Good morning,  a new Anything Goes Challenge begins today over at Crafty Catz, my card  is for a lovely friend who is a dog -lover...he is also very partial to cake!

I die cut a rectangle of white card and stencilled the brick wall on the right, masked it and stamped the TH Crazy dogs' heads. Coloured with Copic Markers, then stamped the sentiment (Your Next Stamp). Quick and simple but I know he'll like it!

Don't forget to check out the Challenge Blog, there are some fabulous cards from the rest of the DT- hope you can find some time to join in this fortnight.

Thanks for visiting,

happy weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

craftrocket #137

kraftychicks #825

addictedtostamps #519

mirtillamente #56

pearlysparkles #120

sparkles #201

mmmchallenge #280

aaabirthday #86

Good for the soul

Good morning, I'm here with a reminder of our June challenge at We Love Stamping- the theme is SPORTS or HOBBIES or Anything Goes. There are 2 prizes of Visible Image Stamps.

I made a set of ATCs, using Distress Oxides for the backgrounds and to colour. Some of the stamps used are Visible Image, Drag & Drip and Make Me Smile sets, no longer on their website. I've also used stamps from A&C, Indigo Blue and Kelly Panacci. 

As always, there is loads of inspiration over at We Love Stamping- so go enjoy! You will also find full details of how to play along and the prizes on offer.

I'm home now after a very enjoyable holiday cruising on the Rhine, we visited some beautiful places, enjoyed watching the scenery go by and ate too much! The ship was great, very comfortable, good food and pleasant, helpful staff . We made new friends too which was a bonus. The only downside was the journey home. I never ever want to go anywhere near Frankfurt airport again!!! Complete and utter chaos- totally disorganised -queues everywhere, automated machines not working,  hardly any security desks open so queues didn't move, just got longer and longer, people stressing everywhere over missing their flights and trying to push in! Luckily we did get through in time but I personally have no intention of going anywhere in Europe until they sort out the EES and get rid of the ridiculous queues.

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks to everyone who kindly left comments on my scheduled posts.

Have a good day

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

thelittlethings  #05

avenue613 Craft or Hobby

welove2create #04

tag-alongandatc # June Challenge

 

Summer Flowers

 Good morning, another scheduled post from me for a new challenge

 at Fab 'n' Funky, 

this fortnight Pat has chosen the lovely theme of Summer Flowers.

I started with a square panel of white card, smooshed it with pink and purple Distress Oxides, die cut a rectangle from the centre, then added some stencilling to the remainder, I stamped some script and two of the corners with a Lavinia corner stamp, then stamped around the edges of the centre cut out panel usin a very old Ladybug and Friends border stamp set. I used the same border stamps to stamp around the outer edge of the die cut rectangle, the flowers are from a set from Autumn Leaves. The tiny dragonfly is a little peg stamp given to me years ago by my lovely Mum, I don't use them very often but will never part with them. Added some details with a white gel pen and inserted the rectangle back into position. 

Please do check out the lovely cards over at Fab'n'Funky then please feel free to share your own beautiful flowery creations.

Thanks for stopping by.

Chris

x

New Design Team

 Good morning, this is a scheduled post as all being well I'm on my way to Amsterdam and the start of our river cruise. We booked this same holiday 2 years ago and it was cancelled the day before we were due to go so hoping for better luck this time! We have a lovely family friend who adores Marvin staying with him so he can be at home- no kennels for him!

Anyway back to the reason for the post- this is my first DT card for We Love Stamping, I was honoured to be invited to join this fabulous team.

 The theme for this month is Sports/ Hobbies or Anything Goes. 

                                                     

There are 2 prizes of Visible Image Stamps

I went with the hobbies option, always intended to take up photography when I retired...but didn't,  and created a circular card using dies from A&C. The main panel is cut from water colour paper, I used the Always & Forever stencil to mask off the centre and a sunburst stencil and Distress Oxides to stencil around it. The camera stamp and sentiment are also from Visible Image but no longer available on their website. 

 Check out the We Love Stamping Challenge Blog for full details of how to enter the challenge and to see the lovely creations from the rest of the ladies

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

All about the boys!

 Hi, back again with my second DT card for today, this one is for the June Challenge at

 Crafty Calendar

the theme is ALL ABOUT THE BOYS/MEN.

There is a prize of 2 digital images.

I've used the Happy dies again, this time I stamped the 'birthday'

The dp is the remains of a rock -themed pad I've had for years, no idea of brand. The image is of course a Bugaboo digi, I've coloured him with Copic markers and fussy cut him to sit up on the sentiment. 

That's it from me today, please don't forget to check out the Challenge Blog for more inspiration and hope to see you play along!

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries

craftrocket #137

creativeinspiration #39

creativeknockouts #572

kraftychicks #823

craftingfromtheart # (May)

girlzmakesguyzcards. #40

pickthreechallenge  #05- Birthday, blue, plaid

aaabirthday

Man card

 Good morning, this is the first of two posts today. The theme for this fortnight at Sweet Stampin' is 

CARDS FOR MEN.

this is the card I made for my husband's birthday next week, I had to use the Anita Jeram (Colarado) dog stamp again as it's so like our Marvin. I stamped onto a panel of white card, then used the 'Happy' and 'Birthday' dies for the sentiment. Dog is coloured with markers. I used a cloud die and some waste to create the thought bubble, I'm sure he dreams about his precious ball! The ball is from a very old set of  Nitwit stamps, and I stamped a few more to add to the corners of the z fold card. The DP is from The Works. 

Hope you can join us at Sweet Stampin' this challenge, we all need to make cards for the men in our lives. If you need inspiration just hop over and see what my lovely teamies have created.

I'll be back later!

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

creative-creases #116

craftrocket #137

kraftychicks #823

classicdesign #05

Creative Moments #282

A snowman!

 Good morning, it's my turn to host at Crafty Catz this fortnight, as always the theme is Anything Goes.

I made this card during the heatwave- trying to think cool thoughts! I added the two strips of patterned paper (very old!) to a panel of kraft card, then stamped the snowman (Woodware) in the centre, coloured him with pencils, stamped and embossed the sentiment. I used a white gel pen to add the 'snow'- quick and simple but another Christmas card for the box!

There's more inspiration at Crafty Catz, so please do hop over and take a look. Hope you can find some time to join us for this challenge.

Thanks for looking

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

CRAFT #781

kleurenmetpotloden (May)

MLCCB #68

Wednesday's Creative Inspirations (June)

shoppingourstash #575

hollyandivy #206

christmaskickstart #111

Nearly Frogot!

 Good morning, I was delighted to be invited to Guest Design for this month's Challenge

 at Critter Crazy,

 made my card, forwarded it to Becca- then nearly frogot the Challenge starts today! My excuse is the heat has fried my brain and what's left of it is absorbed with our up-coming holiday!  Luckily I remembered in time, so here it is!

The froggy, background paper and sentiment are Mo Manning digis, frog printed separately, coloured with markers and fussy cut, he's popped up on foam as I wanted his fingers to hang over the banner with the sentiment. 

I used a sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday

I rotated the sketch, and you have to look closely to see the dots in the corners...but they are there!

I'd like to thank the lovely ladies at Critter Crazy for inviting me to design with them this month. Don't forget to check out the lovely inspiration on offer there.

Thanks for visiting,

have a good week.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

crafterscafe Time for a laugh

pearlysparkles #120

allsorts #850

sweetsketchwednesday May Challenge

Not just for birthdays!

 Good morning- hope everyone here in the UK is getting their share of sunshine! It's been a very hot week here, bit of a surprise coming so early in the year...and over a bank holiday too. Enjoy it while it lasts :)

There's a new challenge at Fab'n' Funky, the theme for this fortnight is to

USE A STENCIL AND/OR EMBOSSING FOLDER.

I used an A&C stencil and DOIs to colour a square of white card, cut a circle from the centre and ran the rest through my Big Shot using a Lisa Horton water droplets EF. I stamped the image and sentiment (A &C) onto the circular piece, then stamped the image again onto white card, coloured with my markers, cut it out and adhered in place. I added the die cuts and gems and finished with a doodled border.

There's more inspiration for you over at F'n'F, hope you can join us this fortnight.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

addictedtostamps #518

stencilfun May Challenge

PFM #839

TIOT circles

audsentiments #337

allsorts #850

cyhtp May 2026

Birthday cake

 Good morning, it's time for a new  'Anything Goes' challenge at Crafty Catz.

This is the card I made for Jessica, my friend's 6 year old granddaughter.

The cute stamp is by Stamping Bella, coloured with copics, I added a little stencilling and placed her in the arch shaped aperture, The sentiment stamp is part of the same set. I die cut some bunting (no idea of die brand- lost the packaging many years ago!) and wrote the greeting with a black glitter pen. Added some glittery dots in the corners to match the block glittery borders. Not the best photo for the colours, it's more pink than purple IRL.

Thanks for stopping by- don't forget to check out the lovely creations from the rest of the team over at Crafty Catz, hope you can join us this fortnight.

Have a great weekend- we've been promised sunshine in the UK- a welcome change  for a Bank Holiday weekend!!!

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

CRAFT #780

digichoosday #4

thesisterhoodofcrafters banners

ilovepromarkers #607

girlzcreativecrafts #68

PFM #838

aaabirthday. #85

Last reminder for Stamping Sensations

 Good morning, a bit sad today as this is my last card for Stamping Sensations Challenges, it's been an honour to be part of the team for the last 3 years, working with such lovely, talented and supportive ladies.

There is still time to join in with this, our very last challenge, you can see all the details here. 

The theme is CUTE CREATURES, or of course you can enter using the Anything Goes option as long as there is visible stamping on the front of your entry.

I used A&C dies to cut the focal panel and black frame, smooshed some Distress Oxide ink in shades of pink onto the white panel,  added some stencilling using stencils  from various companies and the same shades of ink stamped Tallula in her tutu, (Stamping Bella) directly onto the panel, then stamped again onto white card, coloured with copics and fussy cut, adhered in place. I added a little pink stencil butter frosting in two of the corners, some black sequins and a stamped and embossed sentiment. 

Thanks for visiting

Have a good week.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

polkadoodle #5

crafterscafe May challenge

daisychain #107

craftyanimals #105

sparkles #200 ( 3 Sequins, 3 stencils )

dreamvalley #362 (embossed sentiment)

creativefriday. #411

creationsinmostlypink #93

Funky Flowers

 Good morning, there's a new challenge at FAB 'n' FUNKY, 

Pat K, our lovely host for this fortnight, has chosen the theme of

 MONOCHROMATIC 

(shades of one colour)

I love the look of monochromatic designs, there's something so 'together' about them! I  chose to use brown tones and several floral stamps from different companies. 

First I smooshed the background with D. Oxides and added some stencilled leaves and grasses along the bottom edge. I stamped the funky flowers (Hobby Art) stems and leaves  using brown Versafine Clair and coloured them with watercolour markers, adding some details with a white gel pen, masked them where necessary to add the swirl stamps ( a company called Autumn Leaves) and second generation stamping of some TH silhouette stamps to fill the spaces.  The little bees are from Lavinia. I doodled the border to finish.

There are loads of the Hobby Art  and Autumn Leaves stamps still uninked although both sets are far from new so I'm planning to make similar cards in different colours. One day.

There's more to see over at Fab'n' Funky from my lovely teamies and we'd be delighted to have you play along 

Thanks for visiting.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

4-seasonchallenge #104

do-allkreatives #113

mirtillamente #55

avenue613 May Challenge

allsorts #849

lilredwagon #858

Things with Wings at Sweet Stampin'

 Good morning, this fortnight the challenge theme at Sweet Stampin' 

is 

THINGS WITH WINGS

I was looking through my stamp collection waiting for inspiration to strike when I can across this beauty, unopened in the packet, she has wings...so perfect! Not sure why a mermaid would need wings and pretty sure that these would be too small to be much use but I really enjoyed colouring her with my Copics, then  added loads of Wink of Stella to her wings, fins, tail and the bubbles. I  fussy cut her and popped her up with foam onto some layered backing papers (The Works) The sentiment is part of the stamp set, The Card Hut.

Hope you can find some time to join in this fortnight, the theme gives you so much scope, if you need inspiration there are some beautiful cards from the Sweeties over at the challenge blog. It's easy to join in with our challenges- just remember to follow the theme and include some stamping- 'real stamps' or digital, both are fine.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

leighsbdesigns #52

kraftychicks #819

aperfecttimetocraft #5

conjurerofdreams #20

morgansartworld #100

Yellow Snow!

 Good morning, it's the start of a new challenge over at CRAFTY CATZ, the theme is always ANYTHING GOES.  I had a play with my Lavinia Stamps and made a Christmas card. A lot of masking and manipulating of the stamps went on... getting the layers to match up was a bit fiddly. I was happy with how it turned out though until I added the 'snow' some glittery paste stuff, meant to be white but looks yellow to me and makes me think of the Frank Zappa song! The stamps I used are a mix of old and new, the little houses and snowy pines are new, the small pines are older. I used watercolours to colour the houses. 

There's more inspiration to get you started over at Crafty Catz.

Today is also my granddaughter Emily's birthday, 12 today and growing up too fast. I won't see her until Sunday when they're all coming over for a meal and a family get together, so looking forward to that.

Thanks for visiting,

have a good weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

CRAFT #779

LTCCB #92

girlzcreativechristmas #175

POE #111

daisychain #107

hollyandivy #204

Big Happy Birthday

 Good morning,  this is my DT card for the May Challenge at Stamping Sensations.

The theme for this month is CUTE CREATURES or Anything Goes, there are some lovely prizes from Highlight Crafts.

I made this card for a friend's upcoming BIG birthday, I very kindly haven't splashed her age all over it, although sorely tempted, as I know she can be a bit sensitive about it!

The image is by Anita Jeram (Colorado Crafts) coloured with Copic markers, I chose to use blue/green as much as possible as they're her favourites. The stamped sentiment is part of the same set.

Sadly, this challenge will be the last one, after 16 very successful years Brenda has had to make the very difficult decision to finally close its doors. It would be great to see it go out with a final flourish and a bumper crop of entries so please do take the opportunity to join in one last time. 

There's plenty of inspiration over at the Challenge Blog, full details of how to join in and the lovely prizes to be won.

Hope to see you there

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

welovestamping May Challenge

addictedtocas #307

kraftychicks #818

simonsaysstamp Monday Challenge

allsorts #848

classicdesign #04

crittercrazy #110

Feeling 'all white'.

 

Good morning, it's time for our May Challenge at Crafty Calendar, the theme for this month is 

ALL WHITE.

This is way out of my comfort zone - I tried but not loving this card! I  think White on White cards can look elegant and beautiful and tend to think of weddings or Christmas so as I don't need a wedding card I went for Christmas. I used an embossing folder (came with magazine) a snowflake ribbon die from Poppy Stamps and TH sentiment dies. I distressed the edges of the focal panel and added some faux stitching with a white gel pen- it's white so it doesn't show up in the photo. Finished with a few little gems. 

The prize this month is 2  digi images of the winner's choice from LOTV

Now the rest of the team have absolutely smashed this theme so if you need some inspiration hop over to Crafty Calendar and take a look- wish I'd seen theirs before I made mine! 

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

CRAFT #779

MLCCB #68

Pretty in pink

 Good morning, it's time for a new fortnightly challenge at 

Fab'n' Funky, 

we have a colour theme for you this time-

Use PINK, BLUE, and/or YELLOW

I coloured this sweet Conie Fong image using my trusty Copics. This little girl reminds me of my eldest granddaughter when she was small and the dress looks very similar to one I made for her... it was even pink... not a colour I would usually choose but it did really suit her colouring. No way would she wear a hat though and the basket of flowers probably wouldn't have survived for very long!!! I framed it using a piece of DP with an aperture torn out and distressed, and doodled around the edges.

There's some lovely inspiration from the rest of the Team so do head on over to Fab'n' Funky to check it out. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge.

Thanks for visiting 

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

cdsunday+ #182

creativefingers #321

CRAFT #778

craftygalscorner #276

addictedtostamps #516

So many books....

 A new challenge starts today at Crafty Catz.

As always the theme is ANYTHING GOES.

I've had this image for quite a while, one of Mo Manning's Patreon digis. It makes me smile because it really could be me...the crazy hair - very similar to the style I sport when I get involved in a gripping story I tend to push it back resulting in a sort of tangled bird's nest. The dilated eyes and spaced out look are familiar too....

I've used my copics to colour the image, the book dp are long ago magazine gifts, and the sentiment stamp is Mama Elephant. 

I used this sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday

There's more inspiration from the rest of the ladies over at Crafty Catz, hope you can join us this fortnight.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

craftrocket #135

digichoosday #4

sisterhoodofcrafters make someone smile

sweetsketchwednesday April Challenge

craftingfromtheart April Challenge

neglectedstuff April Challenge The book dp and the brads.

Hug a tree

 Good morning, a quick reminder of our April Challenge at Stamping Sensations,

 the theme is The Beauty of Nature or Anything Goes.

 For me one of natures most beautiful creations are trees, spring buds and blossom, summer in full leaf -casting welcome shade, splendid autumn colours and the stark skeletons of winter. One of the most beautiful sights is to see a magnificent tree silhouetted against the skyline at sunset which is the inspiration for my card. 

The  tree stamp and sentiment are, from a set by Crafty Individuals which I've had for many years, stencil from Lavinia and Distress Oxide Inks.

For more inspiration and full details of how to enter and the lovely prize you could win please hop over to the challenge blog.

Thanks for visiting and have a good weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

CRAFT #778

kraftychicks #816

addictedtostamps #515

daisychain #106

farmquestgeneralstore #39

CAS at Fab'n' Funky

 Good morning, it's time for another challenge at Fab 'n' Funky, our lovely Pat is hosting this fortnight, she's chosen one of my favourite themes, CLEAN AND SIMPLE.

It's the middle of April so the obvious choice was to make a Christmas card!

I used some Lavinia stamps and stamped onto a die cut panel of Kraft card using dark brown and red Versafine Clair ink, added the white highlights with a Polychromo pencil then stamped the sentiment, matted the panel onto white card then onto a kraft cardbase...and that's it, CAS and quick to make.

There's more inspiration over at Fab'n' Funky so please check out my teamie's lovely cards and I hope you'll be tempted to join us with a fabulous creation of your own. 

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

FQCCCB #31

daisychain #106

MLCCB #67

dragonflydreams April Challenge

POE #109

allsorts #847

SCAS April 2026

hollyandivy #202

Favourite colour

 Good morning, this fortnight's challenge at Sweet Stampin' is up and running, the theme couldn't be easier...USE YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR... guess which mine is!

This cute fairy is a digi I 've had for ages, I think Funky Kits? Anyway, all coloured with my Copics, DP from stash, the dragonfly one is Polkadoodles, absolutely no idea of the green papers but they are very pretty! The dotty piece wasn't quite long enough so I played around with the scallop die and inserted the piece with the dragonflies, I finished with a scattering of tiny die cut flowers and stamped sentiment.

There's some lovely inspiration to be enjoyed over at the challenge blog, my teamies have been busy creating using their favourite colours. 

Thanks for visiting ,

Have a great weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

ilovepromarkers #604

unicorn #119

aperfecttimetocraft #4

thecraftingchallenge April 2026

avenue613 April 2026 (atg)

HQFCB #4

A boy and his dog...

 Good morning, this is my DT make for this fortnight's challenge at Crafty Catz, which starts today, the theme is, as always, ANYTHING GOES. 

The image is one of Mo Manning's more recent Patreon digis, I think the look on the dog's face says it all. I've used my Copics to colour and kept the design very clean to keep the focus on the boy and his dog. The sentiment is an old rubber stamp- no idea of brand. 

I haven't been doing much crafting this week, the weather has been too beautiful to be indoors, a real taste of summer for a few days. My lovely new garden furniture was delivered yesterday...of course the weather changed straight away!!! 

Thanks for stopping by today, please check out the lovely creations from the rest of the ladies over at the Challenge blog.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

asyoulikeit I prefer a clean unfussy design when I use a digi stamp I really like, I can print the image larger making it better to colour.

ilovepromarkers #604

TIOT Cute

craftyanimals #104

crittercrazy #109

dragonflydreams CAS

SCAS April 2026 (atg)

The beauty of nature

 Good morning, the April Challenge at Stamping Sensations begins today, the theme for this month is 

Inspired by Nature

There are 2 prizes to be won, a $20 Voucher from Gina K

and a set of Aall & Create Stamps

To create my card I die cut an aperture from a panel of design paper (The Works), then added some stencilling, the stamped sentiment and the moth. I cut a slightly larger panel of black card and a smaller aperture to frame my image, then  stamped the focal image onto a scrap of white card and used gouache paints to colour it. They are new and this is the first time I tried them so not too unhappy with the result but could do with a bit more practice. 

As always there's some wonderful creations from the rest of the DT, sure to inspire you so just hop over and take a look. You will also find the full details of how to join in with the challenges.

Thanks for visiting

Enjoy the rest of the Easter holiday

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

CRAFT #777 (ATG)

creativeinspiration #37

Ellibelle's Garden Party #13

addictedtostamps #514

letscreate #230

morgansartworld. #99

pickthree #3 Text/die cuts/wings

April Challenge at Crafty Calendar

Good morning and Happy Easter, hope you're enjoying the Easter break.

It's the start of a new challenge at Crafty Calendar, this month's theme is 

Die-Cuts/punches

There is a lovely prize of digital images from LOTV for our lucky winner.

This is the card I made for my friend's birthday last month, the first triple point card I've attempted- I've always thought the design looks impressive so was pleasantly surprised to find how easy they are to make. I used some pretty papers from a pad I bought ages ago from Hobbycraft, the cover was missing so I've no idea of the brand but it was a bargain price that I couldn't resist. The circle shutter die is new, bought it from Amazon, not branded. Tiny punched flowers, layered from whit card and vellum with pearl centres and  die cut leaves, die cut sentiment and numbers. 

There's plenty of lovely inspiration to be enjoyed over at Crafty Calendar, then why not get out those dies and punches and show us what you can create.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:
craftrocket #135

kraftychicks #814

classicdesign #3

aperfecttimetocraft.#4

crafterscafe #328

craftingfromtheart March Challenge

girlzrebel #50

tripleb April Challenge