Monday, 1 August 2016

I'm an Acorn!

The bad news is that it's Monday again (boo) but the good news is that you may have seen that the lovely Squirrel is making her "Random Challenges" a little less random.  She's also created a group of Little Acorns to help her in the form of a design team and today is her first challenge!

It's a nice and easy Anything Goes so there's no excuse not to join in the fun over on her blog.

Since it's the first day of August, (cue blue skies, sunshine, flip flops, sandy beaches, ice-cream) I've created a snow scene bunny card to share with you!  ;0)



Please pop over to Squirrels blog to see the other creations by her talented (and slightly nutty) team of Little Acorns and, of course, join in the challenge.  It runs for 2 months so you've got plenty of time to get creative (nuttiness is a bonus, but it's not compulsory!).



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



Sunday, 31 July 2016

Weigh In

I made this card a little while ago but I realised that I've not blogged it yet, so I'm putting that right today!  I was really pleased with this one; of course it's pink, my favourite colour, uses one of my new favourite dies, and features a cute bear!  ;0)



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



Saturday, 30 July 2016

Morning Coffee

This is another sample for my submission to Papercraft Essentials and it was probably one of my favourites from the set I made, but unfortunately in the magazine it got relegated to their website.  I love this image and the CAS layout showcasing her.  I also love this die that gives a stitched line on both sides of the cut line.



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



Friday, 29 July 2016

Easel does it

Just a quickie from me tonight as I forgot to schedule this one last night!  I don't usually make easel cards but I liked this one with the raised bow panel instead of a sentiment panel for the base prop.  I die cut the 'hello' several times and layered them up for a raised effect.




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



Thursday, 28 July 2016

Lilac Bunny

The challenge at As You Like It Challenge this fortnight is to showcase your favourite papers.  I've loved various papers in the past (Papermania's Lucy Cromwell, LOTV (no longer selling papers), Nitwit Digis, but my favourites most recently have been Maja Design; I love the soft pastel colours and pretty floral patterns.



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



Wednesday, 27 July 2016

Oliver - Film Night

A rarity from me with a masculine style card.  I've kept the design very simple, creating an octagon shaped card base by cutting the corners from my standard square base.



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



Tuesday, 26 July 2016

All Seasons Notepad Set

I've made a little notepad set with the new Seasons Girls Stamps from Lili of the Valley.  Each image represents a different season so I've matched the image with the colours of that season. I've used my binding machine to make small notepads using mountboard wrapped with designer paper, and lined the inside of each notepad's cover with kraft paper for a neat finish.

Here's Spring:



... Summer ...

... Autumn ...

... Winter .....

... and finally, Noel.


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



Monday, 25 July 2016

Critter Christmas

In the heat of July I'm in Christmas mode!

These adorable critter stamps from Lili of the Valley are so cute and I can't decide which I love the most, so I've used both today on a couple of CAS cards.

Also have you seen that Lili of the Valley are also now available in Digi Stamps? Woohoo!!!!




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




Sunday, 24 July 2016

Hello Chickie (and some new pens)

Today's card is as clean and simple as they come with one layer design featuring a Stamping Bella image. I inked the edges of the layer to give it a bit of a frame!

I treated myself to a new set of watercolour (Docrafts Artiste Dual Tip) pens yesterday and I've tried them out for the first time on this image. They were fairly smooth to blend with the paintbrush and lovely bright colours compared to some of the DI reinkers.  Another benefit I can see with them is that they're ultra portable, unlike the reinkers which would get a bit messy if I tried to transport them! The pens came in a tidy little case which was a real bonus.

Considering this was my first attempt with them, I was fairly pleased.  I think I need a bit more practice with them, but I think they're gonna be fun!



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



Thursday, 21 July 2016

Sending Hugs

We're using Rubber Stamps at In The Pink this fortnight and I've opted for one of my favourite brands, Stamping Bella.  This is Bonnie Loves Bows and I admit the the skirt freaked me out a little, but I persevered and here she it in all her frilly glory!



Card Recipe:
Created for:



Sponsored by:


I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Everyone needs a friend like you

Today I'm sharing a card I made for a lovely friend's birthday.  She's opened it now so I'm safe to share, and I must say that I rather liked it (and kinda wanted to keep it - but she's a very special friend so I'm happy that it's gone to a good home).  I've used Confetti Mouse from My Mum's Craft Shop and water-coloured it with a mix of DI reinkers and Sakura Stardust Gel pens for some sparkle on the confetti and banner.



Here's a close up (sorry it's a bit blurred but I didn't realise this until I'd sent her the card) to show the sparkle of the gel pens.



Card Recipe:
Created for:




I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Tuesday, 19 July 2016

Monday, 18 July 2016

Good Luck Jasmine

Just a quickie from me tonight because I'm still catching up on my unposted creations.  This is another sample from my pull-out feature in Papercraft Essentials issue 135 featuring Jasmine laptop from Lili of the Valley and Time For Tea Cottage papers from Nitwits.  




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



Sunday, 17 July 2016

Just a little note to say ...

This is another sample from my pull-out feature in Papercraft Essentials issue 135 featuring Jasmine Texting from Lili of the Valley and Time For Tea Cottage papers from Nitwits.

I love this simple layout with the quarter circle panel, although I did get in a bit of a mess while distressing the edges of the watercolour paper which just seems to dissolve into a fine dust when it's rubbed with the distressing tool blade!  And I'm not exactly one for housework.  A house becomes a home when you can write 'I love you' in the dust on the furniture!



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



Thursday, 14 July 2016

Pingu Pals

Today's the start of a new challenge at As You Like It Challenge and the theme is to show us your 'trademark style'.  I'm not really sure what mine is anymore actually.  It used to be fussy and fancy, with lots of fluff, but I'm also loving the CAS look.  I guess the things that I think I do a lot, and therefore might suggest I'd be recognised in a line up are:
  • Cute critters
  • Chalked sky
  • My "go-to" CAS layout

I've also managed to sneak in some penguins, glitter and ribbon, as well as purple which is one of my 3 favourite colours.


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Simon's Monday Challenge - Flora and Fauna
  • Crafty Calendar - Dies &/or Punches
  • Simon's Wed Challenge - Create a Scene (I used 2 digis to create a Waddle of penguins (that's my favourite name for a group of penguins) & added a chalked cloudy sky)
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Friday, 8 July 2016

Jasmine Texting

Woohooooo, it's FRIDAY, and to celebrate I'm sharing another sample from my pull-out feature in Papercraft Essentials issue 135, this time featuring Jasmine Texting from Lili of the Valley and Time For Tea Cottage papers from Nitwits.

I was really pleased with how this one turned out, probably partly because it gave me another excuse to use my favourite Nottingham border die too. :0)




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



Thursday, 7 July 2016

Jasmine Coffee in a Teapot and Exciting (for me) News!

I have something really exciting to share today ... I've been published!!!  I know that lots of you have had your creations appear in magazines but I am so proud to see my cards in glossy print I just had to share it with you.

I was asked to make 11 cards for a special pull-out feature in Papercraft Essentials issue 135 that came out a week ago today, so I rushed out to buy a copy, and lo and behold, my teapot card was on the front cover!

So today I'm sharing that card with you using a pretty Jasmine Coffee image from Lili of the Valley and beautiful Summery papers called Time For Tea Cottage from Nitwits.   I'll share some more from the feature over the next few days.

I hope you like them! :0)




And here's the front cover of the magazine featuring my card.
I was dancing around the room when I unwrapped it.
Yup, I'm still grinning now!  :0)





Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Country View Challenge - Fun with Circles (I've bought my DI reinkers from the store)
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 6 July 2016

Special Bunny Birthday

I'm really late with my post today as I've just got home and realised that I forgot to draft it!  But it's worth the wait as it's a special card for a special birthday.  I really enjoyed the box card I made for Father's day and so decided to try a second one for a 50th birthday card for a friend.

I used MFT Snuggle Bunnies with the matching dies for my scene, and also used lots of scenery dies (sun, grass, blossom, rolling hills etc) as well as a Happy Birthday and 50.

The papers are lovely and girlie this time and I created 4 layers of inserts which were good fun, but a bit fiddly! But I was pleased with the end result, and my friend seemed to like it too.  She gave me a commercially made pop up card for my 40th so I wanted to do something similar for her special birthday.




Here's a bit more of a close up of the cute bunnies and teddies in their garden scene:



... and from the other side ....


Card Recipe:

I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday, 30 June 2016

Cuddle Bunnies

It's been a week since my last post but today I've got a real cutie to share with you using a sweet bunny image from Digi Stamp Boutique called Bently and Bunny.  The challenge at As You Like It Challenge is to showcase your favourite colouring medium and mine is definitely my reinkers. I find them so therapeutic when I have the paintbrush in my hand blending out the ink.  The only downside is when I confuse my water bottle with my cuppa and dunk my brush in the wrong one.



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



Thursday, 23 June 2016

Beach Babe

I'm in summer mode today with a lovely image from Stamping Bella called Sandy has a Sombrero. I just wish it was me on the beach!  I've added some lace to support the Lace challenge at In The Pink too!  Gotta dash as I'm off to meet some friends today in "Tweeksbury"! :0)




Card Recipe:

Created for:



Sponsored by:



I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 22 June 2016

Maisy and Madeline

It's mid-week and I'm here to share one of my creations for My Mum's Craft Shop, this time little Maisy and Madeline.  I've used a 'new to me' colour combo of aqua and orange which is definitely away from my usual pinks and purples!  I started off picking my backing paper first, and then decided when painting the image chose orange for the flower, so matched that on the embellishments.  :0)



Card Recipe:
Created for:



I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Sunday, 19 June 2016

Super Critters

This is my very first attempt at a pop-up box card, and I'm hooked.

This one did take me an age to construct but I really loved the end result.  I used my new Clearly Besotted Caped Cuties and matching dies (a lovely surprise gift from a very dear friend) and lots of dies (grass, fence, landscape borders, stars, stitched circles etc) and created a bespoke sentiment printed onto my backing paper.

I hope you like it because I'm already thinking about my second one!




Here's a bit of a close up. The flying bunny is on a little strip of acetate.




You can tell I loved how this one turned out by the multitude of pictures ... here's one from the front:




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



Thursday, 16 June 2016

Hold my hand

We want you to show us your favourite dies this week at As You Like It Challenge and this Nottingham border die has been my favourite for a while.  I love the pretty flowers and it's my 'go-to' die for clean and simple feminine designs.

I've teamed it up with a recently purchased stamp set called Snuggle Bunnies from MFT, and the sentiment is from the same set.

Although they look black in the pic, the ribbon and pearl are actually navy blue. I do find it difficult to find true blue embellishments because most of my blues are aquas, but these navy blues seemed to match the papers.



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



Friday, 10 June 2016

Wedding Day

I attended a family wedding last weekend and I made the bride and groom a card with a matching guest book / photo album.

I really love this image from Lili of the Valley and painted it up in their wedding colours which were pink and white.

I used lots of flowers, ribbon, jute mesh and lace all from The Ribbon Girl and I was really pleased with how it turned out.  I love the combination of the rustic jute mesh together with the soft velvet ribbon and lace.


I also made a little bound book using the same image. I covered 2 pieces of stiff mountboard with patterned papers and added a strip of contrasting coloured paper along one edge.  I wrapped all the raw edges around the edge of the mountboard and stuck them down on the reverse side of each cover. I then punched a hole in the opposite edge, added a hole reinforcer cut from the same contrasting backing paper, threaded a piece of narrow pink satin ribbon through the hole and stuck it down on the reverse with tape.  I then lined the inside of each cover with kraft paper.  I cut 40 square pages of plain kraft paper for the inserts, and bound the lot together with my binding machine using matching pink wires.  Sorry about the photo quality, I forgot to take a proper photo before I gave it away, so only had a basic picture on my phone so the colours are a bit bright.

Hope you brought your sun glasses!




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



Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Coffee (in a Teapot)

It's my turn to showcase a project at My Mum's Craft Shop and I've got a cute little mousey from Whipper Snapper Designs called Colby's Caffeine.  I've made a teapot shaped card from a circle with shaped spout, handle and base.  The 'lid' is just an added circle with a brad on it.  I've cut the image out with a stitched circle stax die and kept the embellishments simple with just some flowers and a die cut '50'.


Card Recipe:
Created for:



I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday, 2 June 2016

My name is Annette, and I'm a Chocoholic ...

This weeks' challenge at As You Like It Challenge is to show us what is your favourite food or drink. My favourite could be either, because you can both eat and drink chocolate!  In my project I've used the edible variety in the form of a chocolate cake. Yum!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Sweet Stamping - Embossing (I embossed around the edge of the oval with a tool)
  • ABC Challenge - Important (it's for by friend's birthday on Sunday)
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday, 26 May 2016

1, 2, 3 (and 4, 5, 6, 7)

In contrast to yesterday's CAS card, I've gone a little overboard with the embellies today. So much that instead of stopping at the 1, 2, 3 theme for this fortnight's In The Pink challenge, I've also got a 4, 5, 6 and 7!

I've used 1 bow (& 1 image), 2 papers, 3 colours (pink, green, brown), 4 dies, 5 lanterns on the bunting, 6 pearls and 7 flowers......  and relax!

I am really pleased with this card and I'm not sure I want to part with it now!



Card Recipe:
Created for:



Sponsored by:



I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 25 May 2016

Beary Special Wishes

I'm a tad late posting this today, but better late than never, huh?  I'm sharing an image that is new for me from Whipper Snapper called Beary Special and I love his cute face and little ears.  I've also used a new Die-Namics Sunny Skies die and mixed it in with some stitched clouds.  Both the image and the sun die are available from My Mum's Craft Shop.  I've added some chalked clouds to my image using a home-made 'cloud' mask which you can download for free here if you like it.


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



Thursday, 19 May 2016

Bow-tastic

To tie, or not to tie, that is the question.  Yup, we're talking bows at As You Like It this fortnight and we want to know if you like them big or small! I'm definitely into my double bows, so I'd say the bigger the better! I love satin ribbons (I have a whole array of 15mm wide satins in all the colours under the sun) and love matching them to my papers.



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