Daisy James

I've had a bit of a rummage through my craft stash and reaquainted myself with some of my older dies. I really love this daisy border die which creates such an effective frame around an image, adding a lot of interest and texture while still keeping it fairly flat for postage!

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge

Card Recipe:

• James with Daisy from Lili of the Valley
• Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Paper Boutique Thank You Square

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Daisy Tilda

I've not used my Tilda stamps for a while and inked this sweet flower girl for a birthday card.  I really enjoy using these images when I make the effort to ink a rubber stamp rather than take the digi option, and I'm really pleased how she turned out.

I've framed her with my favourite embellishments, flowers and ribbon.  I love that they can bring out  accent colours from the image, and are soft but create texture. They can be a little bulky for mailing, but I love the 3D effect.  You can share your favourite embellishments with us this week at As You Like It Challenge.

Designed for:

As You Like It Challenge

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers

Card Recipe:

• Magnolia Tilda Loves me loves me not
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax
• Organza Ribbon
• 15mm Satin Ribbon
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cosmos Daisy
• Open Roses
• Mini Rosebuds

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Kitty Cats

This week at As You Like It Challenge we're wondering whether you're a cat or dog person.  It's no question for me, as I've always had cats, currently two 2-year olds who are extremely efficient at keeping me on my toes.  One's a baby angel and her brother is, well, let's just tactfully say he's 'a handful'!  One moment he's rocketting around the house stripping the silicone out of our window frames, and the next moment he's demanding snuggles and is the sweetest cuddlepants possible.  It's a good thing I'm a cat person, because he's landed on his furry paws with us!

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

Card Recipe:

• Image from Lili of the Valley
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax
• Smooth White Card 160gsm
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cherry Blossom
• Open Roses
• Mini Rosebuds
• Ribbon
  

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Cute Squirrel

This fortnight at As You Like It Challenge we want to know if you prefer florals or cute themes.  I'm definitely a fan of the cute cards, particularly cute animals, both in my crafting and in real life.  The only florals I tend to use are on my papers and embellishments to create colour and texture.  Some of my favourite critters are the images by Lee Holland Digis, in particular his woodland creatures.  I cut the floral cardbase shape using my Silhouette.

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Tea Dye, Tattered Rose
• Grass: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Sky: Tumbled Glass
• Flower: Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Squeezed Lemonade

Card Recipe:

• Lee Holland Digi Squirrel 
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax
• Smooth White Card 160gsm
• Violet Plain Card 290gsm
• 15mm Satin Ribbon
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cherry Blossom
• Open Roses
• Mini Rosebuds

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Teddy with Woolly Balls

This week at As You Like It Challenge we want to know if you prefer crafting feminine or masculine themed projects. For me, I find masculine cards challenging (I like adding flowers and pretty papers too much!) so for me it's an easy choice of feminine.  I've teamed this cute watercoloured teddy bear with pretty springtime papers for a craft loving friend.  I love these papers, and I've matched the colour scheme throughout the embellishments.

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge
Lee Holland

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye
• Sky: Tumbled Glass
• Greens: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Blues: Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire
• Purples: Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Villainous Potion
• Oranges: Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge
• Pinks: Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo

Card Recipe:

• Little Teddy Holding Balls of Wool by Lee Holland Digi images
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax
• Smooth White Card 160gsm
• 15mm Satin Ribbon
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cherry Blossom
• Open Roses
• Mini Rosebuds

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Bouquet Bear

This fortnight at As You Like It Challenge we want to know if you prefer pearls of gems on your projects.  I am definitely more a fan of the subtle sheen of pearls than the glimmer of gems, and I have lots of flat backed pearls in different colours.  For this project I've also added extra pearls in the form of a pin, peeking out amongst the flower embellishments.

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye
• Greens: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Purples: Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Villainous Potion
• Yellows: Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge
• Pinks: Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Kitsch Flamingo
• Greys: Hickory Smoke, Black Soot

Card Recipe:

• James Bouquet digistamp by Lili of the Valley
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cherry Blossom
• Open Roses
• 15mm Satin ribbon
• Flat backed pearls

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Bee Card

I've adapted this bee hexagonal box to make a folded cardbase for a bee themed notelet using some brightly coloured card by Papermill Direct.

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Ladybird

A watercoloured summery card!

Designed for:
Lee Holland

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Greens: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Sky: Tumbled Glass
• Oranges: Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge
• Ladybird: Candied Apple, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot

Card Recipe:

• Ladybird with Butterfly by Lee Holland Digis
• Plain Red Card 290gsm
• 15mm Satin Ribbon
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cosmos Daisy
• Open Roses
• Hip Rosebuds
• Crealies Crea-Nest-Lies XXL41 Pierced Circles
• Enamel dots by Hobbycraft

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Teddy Handstand

We're asking what's your favourite sketch this week at As You Like It Challenge and I knew straight away what I was going to pick.  I love the pretty design of this card, with its two complementary designer papers and a strip of ribbon covering the join.  As usual it's decorated with a double bow and a cluster of papers flowers on the diagonals.  If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you will recognise it as being a layout that I return to time and time again.

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge
Lee Holland

Papermill Direct

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs
• Grass: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Sky: Tumbled Glass
• Flowers: Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge

Card Recipe:

• Teddy Handstand by Lee Holland
• Smooth White Card 160gsm
• Marine Blue Card 240gsm
• Aqua Blue 6mm Satin Ribbon
• Yellow 15mm Organza Ribbon
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cherry Blossom
• Open Roses
• Mini Rosebuds
• Crealies Crea-Nest-Lies XXL41 Pierced Circles
• Gems

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Koala

I've watercoloured a cute Koala image from Lee Holland's digi shop and paired him with some Springtime papers in the hope of charming the sun to shine this weekend!

Designed for:
Lee Holland

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Hickory Smoke, Black Soot, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye
• Greens: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Branch: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain
• Sky: Tumbled Glass

Card Recipe:

• Koala on a Branch from Lee Holland Digis
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax
• 6mm Satin Ribbon
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cosmos Daisy
• Open Roses
• Mini Rosebuds
  

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

It's a Bug's Life

I'm not usually a fan of bugs, in fact I'd normally be running in the opposite direction if I saw one, but I will make an exception for this sweet little fella.

Designed for:
Lee Holland

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers

Card Recipe:

• Caterpillar with Butterfly by Lee Holland Digis
• Smooth White Card 160gsm
• Woodstock Giallo Card 285gsm
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Cherry Blossom
• Open Roses
• Hip Rosebuds
• Crealies Crea-Nest-Lies XXL41 Pierced Circles
• 15mm Satin ribbon

I've been inspired by:

• Country View Crafts - Flower Power (using Distress Ink reinkers from CVC)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Squirrel and leaf

I love these little woodland critters by Lee Holland so I've created a clean and simple notelet card where this adorable squrrel is the focus.

Designed for:
Lee Holland

Papermill Direct

Card Recipe:

Image:

• Squirrel with Leaf Umbrella by Lee Holland

Cardstock:

• Smooth White Card 160gsm
• Apple Green Card 240gsm

Other:

• Nitwit Collections Papers

Watercolouring:

• Ecoline Watercolour Card 
• Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:
• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye
• Leaf: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Sky: Tumbled Glass
• Ground: Hickory Smoke, Black Soot, Speckled Egg
  

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

James Gardening

This adorable James the Bear image is coming out at Lili of the Valley this week, and as usual I can't resist this sweet little bear.  I've watercoloured him with my Distress Inks, and added a simple typed sentiment and pretty Nitwit papers.

Designed for:

Lili of the Valley

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye
• Grass: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Spade: Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot
• Sky: Tumbled Glass

Card Recipe:

• James Gardening by Lili of the Valley
  
• Marine Blue Card 240gsm
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Typed sentiment

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Summer Garden

This week at As You Like It Challenge we want to know if you prefer using digi or physcial stamps. I confess that I do love the benefits of a digital stamp, including storage, re-sizing, masking and merging and the confidence that there's a reduced chance of wasting watercolour card on a mis-print, but I also still love my physical stamps. There's something special about peeling back the rubber and seeing a perfectly inked image on the card!  I must admit this image was a particular challenge in that respect, and I had several increasingly frustating attempts before I got a fully stamped image becuase it's such a big stamp. But I ended up fussy cutting some of the misprints and using them on some other cards which I'll share later in the month.

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge
Dies to Die For

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Colorado Craft Company Summer Garden
• Typed Sentiment (fonts: KG Beneath Your Beautiful Chunk & Outside)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Flowery Gnome

I've had a week away and have struggled to get back into some crafting. Thank goodness for a long bank holiday weekend to squeeze in some time for a littel watercolouring session!

This week at As You Like It Challenge we want to know if you prefer pastels or bold colours. I'm definitely more a fan of pastels although I've used some quite strong shades for today's gnome image.  I tend to shy away from bright and bold colours, and my favourite colours are soft purples, blues and pinks.  I've added in some creamy yellow flowers and green foliage, but have softened the contrasts in my image with some pretty pastel papers in lilacs and yellows to match my image.

Designed for:
As You Like It Challenge
Dies to Die For

Papermill Direct

Water-coloured on Langton Watercolour paper with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Skin: Tattered Rose, Tea Dye
• Greens: Bundled Sage, Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Purples: Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord, Wilted Violet, Villainous Potion
• Yellows: Scattered Straw, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge
• Reds: Candied Apple, Picked Raspberry, Aged Mahogany
• Beard: Pumice Stone

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Flowery Gnome by Stamping Bella
• Maisy and Madeline have some Tea by Stamping Bella (sentiment)

Papermill Direct:

• Smooth White Card 160gsm
• New Lilac Card 240gsm

Other:

• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Crealies Crea-Nest-Lies XXL34 Double Stitched Squares

I've been inspired by:

• Simon's Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Giraffe with Flowers

What's worse than a giraffe with a sore throat?

A centipede with athlete's foot!

Sorry! I couldn't resist that one!  

Designed for:
Amanda Jayne Designs

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye
• Grass: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss
• Sky: Tumbled Glass
• Reds: Candied Apple, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany

Card Recipe:

• Picked for You Giraffe from Amanda Jayne Designs
• Blossom Digi Papers from Amanda Jayne Designs
• 15mm Satin Ribbon
• Smooth White Card 160gsm

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Hexagon Kitty

My next sneak peek of the new Polymer stamps being released by Lili of the Valley at 4pm on Friday 11 November on Create and Craft TV. 

I've watercoloured the little kitten and die cut him onto a hexagon shaped card framed by some more of my favourite NitWit papers.

Water-coloured on Langton Watercolour paper with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Kitten: Tattered Rose, Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot
• Sky: Tumbled Glass
• Grass: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss

Card Recipe:

• Polymer stamp from Lili of the Valley
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Creative Stitched Hegagon Nesting Dies
• Creative Expression Sue Wilson Camellia Open & Closed petals
• Dark Violet Card

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

In the Dog House

My third sneak peek of the new Polymer stamps being released by Lili of the Valley at 4pm on Friday 11 November on Create and Craft TV. 

I've watercoloured the little puppy and created a little kennel shaped cardbase for him using my Silhouette and lots of different shades of red for the layers, along with my favourite marine blue for the front.  I've added a bone-shpaed sign with his name typed and foiled.

Designed for:
Lili of the Valley

Papermill Direct

Water-coloured on Ecoline Watercolour Card with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Fur: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Tattered Rose, Tea Dye

Card Recipe:

• Polymer Stamp Set from Lili of the Valley
• Dog House Silhouette File by Lisa Norris

Papermill Direct:

• Post Box Red Card 240gsm
• Christmas Red Card 240gsm
• Lampone Sirio Red Card 290gsm
• Marine Blue Card 240gsm
• Plain Black Card 240gsm
• Apple Green Card 240gsm
• Pesca Nettuno Linen Effect Card

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Hexagon Mouse

My second sneak peek of the new Polymer stamps being released by Lili of the Valley at 4pm on Friday 11 November on Create and Craft TV. This time I've watercoloured the little meecie and die cut him onto a hexagon shaped card and used some of my favourite NitWit papers.

Designed for:
Lili of the Valley

Water-coloured on Langton Watercolour paper with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Mouse: Tattered Rose, Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot
• Ground: Tea Dye, Vintage Photo
• Sky: Tumbled Glass

Card Recipe:

• Polymer stamp from Lili of the Valley
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Creative Stitched Hegagon Nesting Dies
• Creative Expression Sue Wilson Camellia Open & Closed petals
• Plain Navy Blue Card

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Blossom Tag

We're looking at hair colour today at As You Like It Challenge, and want to know if you prefer colouring blonds or brunettes.  As a brunette myself (ignoring the invading greys!) my go-to colours are automatically the browns. My default colours are Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs and I actually find blonds quite difficult to colour as they seem to end up getting darker as I add more layers!

Water-coloured on Langton Watercolour paper with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers:

• Hair: Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs 
• Skin: Tattered Rose, Tea Dye, Worn Lipstick
• Greens: Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint
• Blues: Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire
• Yellows: Scattered Straw, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed
• Oranges: Fossilised Amber, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge
• Reds: Candied Apple, Barn Door, Aged Mahogany
• Ground: Hickory Smoke, Black Soot

Card Recipe:

• Blossom from CC Designs
• MFT Stitched Basic Edges 2
• 15mm Satin Ribbon
• Crealies Crea-Nest-Lies Extreme Labels and Tags No.12
• YNS Summer Plaid paper pad

I've been inspired by:

• CC Designs June FaceBook Challenge - Anything Goes

Happy crafting
Annette
xx