I kinda like you

I've got an unexpected 'extra' card this week and this one is hot off the press.  I don't usually get much chance to pick up my paintbrush in the evenings after work, but decided to have a play with this one. The layout is probably one of the most CAS I've ever made, and I've done some 'Faye-style' doodling around the edge to frame the image panel.

The card was made for one of my favourite pals to tell her how lovely she is, and to bring a little bit of chickie sunshine into her day. 

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Stamping Bella Heidi Needs a Hug
• Versafine Ink Pad
• Sentiment from MFT Snuggle Bunny stamp set
• Glossy Accents

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Black pen

I've been inspired by:

• Simon's Monday Challenge - Things with Wings
• Magnolialicious - Anything Goes
• Simon's Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Celebrate

Happy 'Hump Day'!  Yup, it's Wednesday, and to celebrate I've used a CCD image from a set of 3 by Roberto's Rascals called Celebrate!

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Roberto's Rascals Celebrate by CC Designs
• Versafine Ink Pad
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Oval Stax
• Glossy Accents

From The Ribbon Girl:

• 15mm Aqua Berrisford Satin Ribbon
• Cherry Blossom
• Cosmos Daisy

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• 10mm & 15mm Wild Orchid Craft Open Roses

I've been inspired by:

• Inky Chicks - Flowers (using flowers from sponsor)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

One of my Peeps

An uber clean and simple card from me today. Considering there are only 3 colours on this image, it still took quite a while to colour!  The chicks are ever so slightly different shades because I used different under-coats on each of them to try to make them look more individual!  I'm not sure it achieved much because they look the same now! 

Card Recipe:

• Stamping Bella One of My Peeps
• Versafine Ink Pad
• Stitched Scallop Basic 2
• Glossy Accents
• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Nitwit Collections Papers

I've been inspired by:

• Seven Hills - Bingo; animals, watercolour, bold colours - stamp
• Magnolialicious - Anything Goes
• Penny Black & More - Anything Goes

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Barrow of Presents

We're using our favourite colouring mediums this fortnight at As You Like It Challenge and mine has to be my Distress Ink reinkers which I use to watercolour my images.  I love the depth of shadow you can get with the inks as well as the smooth blending, but most of all I love the therapeutic application with the paintbrush!  It takes me twice as long to paint an image as it does to colour it with Copics, but my cards are not made for mass production so speed isn't an issue. I've often thought if I was going to earn even National Minimum Wage for my cards, they'd have to sell for about £25 each!  Looks like I'll have to stick at the day job for a while longer! 

Card Recipe:

From Lili of the Valley:

• Sentiment Tags

From The Ribbon Girl:

• Cherry Blossom
• Open Roses
• Mini Rose Buds
• 15mm Satin Ribbon

From Dies To Die For:

• WRS Barrow of Presents
• Versafine Ink Pad
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Oval Stax

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• 6mm lilac satin ribbon
• 3mm flat backed pearls

I've been inspired by:

• Simon's Monday Challenge - Layer it up (layered colours DI reinkers, layer papers etc)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Spring Panda

Today's image is one I've actually had for a while but, like much of my rubber, he's been neglected while I play with new stash!  But today he's having an outing in a Springtime themed Mother's Day card.  I've stamped him in pale grey ink and watercoloured him.

Here's a bit more of a close up of my little panda...

... and although I've shown you this before, I've also included a mini-tutorial on how I've coloured some of the orange flowers using some a drops of DI reinker in a few drops of water.  I dip the flower tip into the diluted ink, just for a few seconds, and let them dry (or if you're impatient like me, dry them with a hairdryer!)

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Wild Rose Studio Panda with Flowers
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax
• Maja Design Coffee in the Arbour Paper pad

From The Ribbon Girl:

• 15mm Berrisford Lemon Satin Ribbon
• Cosmos Daisy
• 15mm Yellow Gold Open Roses
• 10mm Cream Open Roses (coloured - see pictures above)
• Mini Rose Buds (coloured - see pictures above)
• Peaches & Cream flat backed pearls

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Typed Sentiment (Wendy Medium font)
• Vellum

I've been inspired by:

• Craty Calendar - Mother's Day
• Country View Crafts - Tim Holtz (Tim Holtz reinkers to watercolour image and flowers)
• Noor Design - Spring
• Simon's Monday Challenge - Layer it up (layered colours esp on the flowers!)
• Seven Hills - Animals, Watercolour, Bold Shades
• Inky Chicks - Flowers

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Bunny with Flower

There's a new challenge at The Ribbon Girl Challenge starting today and I've used some gorgeous goodies from The Ribbon Girl and a cute bunny image from Lili of the Valley.

Card Recipe:

From The Ribbon Girl:

• Pion Spring Meadow Paper
• 15mm Dusky Blue Satin Ribbon
• Cherry Blossom
• Cosmos Daisy Flower
• Cream Open Roses
• Pale Pink Open Roses
• 10mm Blue Open Roses
• Hip Rose Buds
• Mini Rose Buds
• Red Tiny Berries
• 3mm Ivory Pearl String
• Hessian
• 5mm Aqua Crystals
• Glossy Accents

From Lili of the Valley:

• Bunny Trio Flower

From Dies To Die For:

• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Momento Stamp Pad Ink

Created for:

I've been inspired by:

• The Cutie Pie Challenge - Digis and Dies
• Noor Deisgn - Spring (the papers are from Pion's "Spring" collection)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Wedding Couple Hanger

A the In The Pink Challenge there is an inspirational photo designed to get you in the pink and lacy mood! I've chosen to focus on the wood, cream and pink lace, romantic theme of the image for my sample and I've made a wooden wedding hanger using a cute Wedding Couple image from Lili of the Valley.

Project Recipe:

From Lili of the Valley:

• Wedding Couple (available in rubber or digi)

From The Ribbon Girl:

• Small Lily
• 30mm Ivory Open Rose
• Hip Rose Buds
• 4mm Pearl Ivory Trim
• Pink Beaded Berries
• Trinket Pin

From Dies To Die For:

• Versafine Ink Pad
• Maja Design Vintage Romance Paper pad
• Memory Box Precious Hearts
• MFT Dienamics Stitched Circle Stax

Other:

• Wooden MDF Square
• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Viva Pearl Pen - Ice White
• Whiff of Joy Heart Banner
• Pink lace
• Cream lace
• Beaded Twirl
• Pink Tulips
• Small Self Adhesive Flat Backed Pearls

Created for:

I've been inspired by:

• Country View Crafts - Tim Holtz (Reinkers from CVC)
• Penny Black & More - Anything Goes
• Seven Hills Craft - Patterned Paper, Pastel. Die cutting (using Stitched Circle Stax)
• Inky Chicks - Flowers

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Orchid

I may have been a little bit naughty on the 'new stash' front when I went to Bristol on Sunday and have had a play with some of the goodies that found their way into my stash.

I've been drooling over this image, Orchid by Stamping Bella, for a while when I saw her I couldn't resist scooping her up.

Watercolouring her dress was a little scary, but once I got started I was really pleased with how she turned out.  I also bought the scalloped edger die which I think is going to get a fair bit of use!

Here's a close up of Orchid with a bit of sparkle on her dress.

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Stamping Bella Orchid
• Versafine Ink Pad
• Mama Elephant Friend Script Die
• MFT Stitched Scallop Basic Edges 2

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• Sakura Stardust Gel pens
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Nitwit Collections Papers
• Glittery brads (purple and green)

I've been inspired by:

• Deep Ocean - Dots (on the dress) and Stripes (paper)
• Crafty Calendar - Special Lady
• Country View Crafts - Inspired by Tim Holtz (using reinkers from CVC)
• Seven Hills - Watercolour, Big Words, Pastel Colours (using Orchid)
• Inky Chicks - Flowers

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Poorly Bunny

Today's card is a CAS 'get well' card for one of my most loveliest friends who's been feeling unwell. It features my favourite bunny from Lili of the Valley.  I've typed the sentiment using 'handwriting font' and added an orange satin ribbon as an accent to draw out the orange in the image.  This is one of my favourite 'get well soon' images but I felt the sentiment could have been a bit bolder.

Card Recipe:

• Get Well Soon Bunny from Lili of the Valley
• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Wild Rose Studio Antique Library paper pad
• Typed Sentiment (Handwriting font)
• Marianne Design Border Stitch die
• 6mm Orange Satin Ribbon

I've been inspired by:

• Simon's Wednesday Challenge - For a special lady (for my friend who's been unwell)
• Crafty Calendar - Special Female
• Country View Crafts - Inspired by Tim Holtz (painted with DI Reinkers)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Meant to be

At As You Like It this week we are asking what your favourite stamp brand is. I must admit I go through phases of preference; I started off stamping with Penny Black and still love them despite not using them much.  I have also fallen in love with lots of others including Stamping Bella and Purple Onion Designs. But when I look at my hoard of stamps, my LOTV collection is by far the largest.  I've used a sweet romantic image called 'meant to be' today and added lots of goodies from The Ribbon Girl in a cream and lilac colour combo.  

Card Recipe:

From Lili of the Valley:

• Meant to Be

From The Ribbon Girl:

• Pion Violet Field Paper
• Ivory Carnation
• Small Lily
• Mini Rose Buds
• 10mm Ivory Open Roses
• 15mm Purple Open Roses
• White Pearl String
• 4mm Pearl Ivory Trim
• 48mm Vintage Ivory Fluted Ribbon
• 16mm Lilac Velvet Ribbon
• Ivory Trinket Pin

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Tim Holtz Stitched Ovals Nesting Die

I've been inspired by:

• Country View Crafts - Inspired by Tim Holtz (watercoloured with Distress Ink reinkers)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Wiz

It's Wednesday so I'm sharing my weekly DTDF project, and this time it's a more masculine style card featuring Wiz from Stamping Bella and my trusty Frantic Stamper stitched border dies. The sentiment comes with the stamp so this really is a simple layout.  I tried to get a bit of glow from the magical ball onto the Wizard and his clothing which involved a fair amount of careful blending!

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Wiz from Stamping Bella
• Versafine Ink Pad
• Frantic Stamper Stitched Scene Builder Edges

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Nitwit Collections Papers

I've been inspired by:

• Magnolialicious - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• Country View Crafts - Inspired by Tim Holts (watercoloured with Distress Ink reinkers)

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Bunny Blooms

I've made another card featuring one of the new images from Lili of the Valley, this time a cute bunny.  It would also be perfect for the 'Spring' theme at Squirrel's Random Challenge so pop over to take a peek and enter your Spring themed creations.

Card Recipe:

• Bunny Blooms by Lili of the Valley
• Button Twine
• Frantic Stamper Stitched Scene Builder Edges
• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Metal Charm

I've been inspired by:

• Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
• The Sketchy Girls - Spring
• Allsorts - Spring

Happy crafting
Annette
xx

Spring into Spring

It's the first day of March and there's a Springtime theme at Squirrel's (not so) Random Challenge starting today. For my card I've used this Gardening Chicks image from Stamping Bella and some puffy cloud borders from Lawn Fawn.  The sentiment comes with the stamp and the layout is very clean and simple.

Card Recipe:

From Dies To Die For:

• Stamping Bella Gardening Chicks
• Lawn Fawn Puffy Cloud Border Dies
• Versafine Ink Pad

Other:

• Watercoloured with Ranger Distress Ink Reinkers
• The Langton Watercolour paper
• Nitwit Collections Papers

I've been inspired by:

• The Sketchy Challenge - Spring
• Magnolia-licious - Anything Goes

Happy crafting
Annette
xx