Simples!

 We would like you to KEEP IT SIMPLE for the next fortnightly challenge at TRY IT ON TUESDAY!

I have done a very quick and easy one layer card and try as I might I simply couldn't get a decent pic! 
I spent longer trying to take a photo than I did making the darn card! 

I used a Lavinia stencil and lightly sponged over it with Bundled Sage DO.

The stamps are mega old (one of the stems has simply disintegrated!) but they're a much used set.

All the stamping was done with Versafine Shady Lane.

Once dry I used a white Posca pen on the seed heads and then dotted some Stickles onto them. They look real nice in real life and for a really quick make I am happy (for once!).
Look forward to seeing your creations over at the challenge blog. x

Another page

Here's another page from the fabric book (well two actually!)
These two are the last page and inside back cover and it has been a labour of love. 

My lovely visitors will have already seen the front of this book which I have been working on for a while - it's now finished and I still have some pages to share. 
(The front cover is HERE)

Am so very grateful to a good friend who introduced me to 'Slow Stitching' when things here were at rock bottom. 
Not only has it helped my health but it's also served the purpose of making a very large dent in all those scraps of lace, fabric etc which have accumulated over the years!

I simply sat and hand sewed odd bits of stuff and with the exception of me deciding I wanted to do something 'frothy' which also reflected my love of birds and flowers there was no definite plan.
I did what I wanted and didn't concern myself if the stitches were untidy or the edges frayed. The whole point of slow stitching is the mindfulness, where you shut out everything and just let things evolve. Perfection isn't the point - the journey is.

I can honestly say that this has been the best therapy.
Life now has got so much more positivity and I am thankful.
Sometimes 'hanging in there' makes your arms ache but it makes your shoulders stronger!

Thanks for looking. x 
It's been a long long time since I have linked up to any challenges but here goes
Snippets Playground (all my fabric/lace are leftover snippets)
Neglected Stuff
Triple B
Ellibelles Garden Party #14

Mid Month at TIOT

As promised here's the second make with the stencil for our current challenge at TRY IT ON TUESDAY, where the theme is NUMBERS.

I used a stamping block for the centre inked with Fossilized Amber DI.

The stencil was inked in Cracked Pistachio and Fossilized Amber.

The Dandelions are Lavinia.

I made a mistake when I stamped the sentiment - I wanted the dandelion seed to seem as if it was carrying off the word flies..... but in a moment of brain fog I stamped it the wrong way round! 
Hey ho.😞😟              

There's a week left for you to join us with your Numbers creations! x 

Countdown?

 NUMBERS is the challenge at TRY IT ON TUESDAY.

I'd already made my mind up to use the Woodware numbers stencil  as it was the only thing I could think of.... but then sat looking at it wondering what else I could do!

Remembering a very old Visible Image stamp set  I rooted about until I found it. The numbers stamp and the sentiment are from that set - it's called Time after Time - and have no idea how long I have had it - except I think it might have been one of the first VI sets I ever bought!

Inks used - Cracked Pistachio and Tumbled Glass.

I made two cards using the stencil - (the second one is scheduled for mid way through this challenge) -  as it was out of the desk I might as well use it, although it is not one of the stencils I like to use a lot - it's long and thin and moves about a lot as there's not a lot of places to stick tape to in order to make it secure. 

Was just glad that I came up with something on the theme! x

Inky

This is my make for TRY IT ON TUESDAYS new challenge which starts today. 

The theme is 'MAKE YOUR OWN BACKGROUND'.
It's been a while since I got out any inks and made a mess on the craft mat and I started without any real ideas in mind!

I made a couple of background pieces using just 2 different colours on each one and this is one of them.

Speckled Egg and Pumice Stone just swiped on the mat and then the card pressed down randomly.

Didn't think it looked too bad so this was the first inked piece I used.

I'm trying to motivate myself to clear out the craft room. 

We're having new flooring in a month or so, so of course all the cupboards have to be emptied. 

To my shame I found this uninked and obviously unloved Woodware stamp during a half hearted attempt at putting some stamps in a box.

No idea how long I have had it either. I stamped it in Rich Cocoa ink and then just highlighted little bits of it with a blue pencil. Stamped a small script and a bit of a crackled stamp to give a bit of depth to the background.

The stamp has now been consigned to the 'get rid of' box as I doubt it will ever see ink again! 

Thanks for dropping in. Hope you can join us this time at Try It On Tuesday. x 

A struggle!

The challenge at Try It On Tuesday this time proved a real headache for me! The challenge is 'CUTE'.

I don't do cute.
I CAN'T do cute - in fact looking through the hundreds of stamps here, I have the grand total of 2 sets of Penny Black Hedgehogs which is a testament to how much cuteness there is in this craft space. 

Nothing. Nil. Zilch.

No cuteness overload here at all.

So with nothing else I had to resort to making a relatively CAS card using one hedgehog which got itself stamped onto watercolour card for the first time in the 10 (maybe more) years that I have owned the set.

All coloured with my Mondeluz pencils and the best attempt at cuteness I could muster!

Hope to see lots of cute creations in the link up this time round!

Thanks for looking today. x

 

 

Spring

 Our fortnightly challenge starts again today at TRY IT ON TUESDAY and we're celebrating SPRING
Any project which means Spring to you

I had the flower die folder out so I cut 2 Spring Daisies (well they look like daisies to me!)

Coloured with Mondeluz pencils. They then sat on my desk for almost 2 weeks as I simply couldn't think of anything to do with them.

In desperation I opted for a honeycomb embossing folder and stamped and coloured a little bee.

When I tucked the flowers in the base it still looked bare so I just stamped a few bits of foliage from a very old and very well used Hobby Art set in Bundled Sage Oxide.

The sentiment is another one well used and eons old - stamped in Bundled Sage.
Thanks for looking and please come and join us at Try It on Tuesday with your spring creations! x 

Faux Cyanotype

This last week I have felt a little better in myself 
(maybe it's the Slow Stitching - See post below!) 
and although have spent a lot of time just sitting at the craft desk shuffling bits of stuff round with no end product (depressing enough as it is without failing to conjure anything up) . 

I have still paid sporadic visits to blogs over the last several months as pretty makes give me a little lift even if it's only for a short time and this last week something caught my eye on Pat's lovely blog.

It's been a long time since I made a card for anything other than my TIOT DT duties -
but in a couple of hours of no brain fuzz I  tried the Faux Cyanotype I had seen done by Pat and the Group of 7 Cardmakers. 
(Hello Lolly and friends xxx - it's been a forever long time 💕)

I found picking up an ink blending brush was also something that I didn't need to get myself in a state about which perked me up even more. (Whether it lasts will be a different thing)

The stamps are by Inkylicious and they were used a lot in the past - placing of the hummingbird not quite right as I really wanted it to be nearer the flower but hey ho - at least I made something just for makings sake.
I did though have to stamp the image many times with the white ink - thank God for Misti is what I say.
I lightly inked the edges of the frame and the card itself with the same Blueprint Sketch DOX.

Having been brave enough to push the dark cloud aside I have linked this up to the Group's blog. x

Feminine

 Our challenge at TRY IT ON TUESDAY for the next 2 weeks is called MAKE IT FEMININE.

I recently was introduced to 'Slow Stitching' which is all about relaxation and mindfulness. 
The idea is not to actually plan anything but to allow your project to simply evolve without any pressure. No using a sewing machine either, just all hand stitching.

I have a very large box of vintage lace, odd bits of fabric and bits of stuff long unused so it seemed a start to maybe use some of it up.

I ended up making an A5 size 6 page fabric book and this is the front cover.

I stamped lots of quotes, some images of flowers and birds onto fabric and as I did each page just picked one which took my fancy at that particular moment.

I found a previously made tag in the box and just used that for the front.

I am not proficient with a needle and thread but can honestly say I really enjoyed making this book.

Stitching with no plan and no worrying if your stitches were even straight was very calming and  I allowed myself to just shut everything out. 
The best thing was being able to pick it up and put it down without trying to plan out a design.

I am delighted with the finished book - no doubt I will be able to share more pages with you over the coming months!
Thanks for looking and I hope to see your 'feminine' projects over on the challenge blog. x 

A new challenge at TIOT

Another challenge at Try It On Tuesday starts today and it's called 3-2-1

So 3 of something, 2 of something and 1 of something on your project. You can make anything you like as long as it incorporates the challenge theme.

I made a relatively CAS card which started out as white on white but having looked at the components spread out on the craft mat for a day I decided to add a tiny dusting of colour.

So 3 flowers edged in a light dusting of Picked Raspberry ink, coupled with 2 pieces of 'trellis' in Cracked Pistachio and 2 die cut stems all mounted onto 1 wavy edged die cut square.

I added a tiny die cut centre with a teeny pearl onto the flowers as I thought it lifted them a bit.

Hope you can join us at TIOT - have a peek at what the rest of the team have come up with too!
Thanks for looking today - I appreciate you coming to see me. x  

All Loved Up!

Try it On Tuesday's challenge  this time is called 'All Loved Up'.

I steered away from the usual red and went for a rustic look!

The backing paper is eons old (found in the paper box) and I roughed up the edges and ran over with Antique Linen DI.

Edged with a paper doily and then cut out two hearts from some hessian ribbon.

2 small pearl buttons and some white thread on top and then added some twine and a larger pearl button.
Job done!


Thanks for looking - hope all is well with you in your part of blogland. x

Text

 Our Try It On Tuesday challenge for the next 2 weeks is 'ADD SOME TEXT'

I made a few cards like this several years ago with different coloured backgrounds when I was looking to add a few cards to my own stash box. An added bonus was that they were quick and easy to do!

I tried dark blue and silver, plum coloured card with gold, red card with black etc but by far the one I liked the best was the one done on a black background with gold.  

As I am trying to keep on an even keel and not get stressed I decided to re-do something from the past rather than sitting looking at a blank desk wondering what to do!

Plain black card gold heat embossed with a text stamp (that old I have no idea where it came from) and a dandelion die (or is it a Cornflower??) -I think it's a Sizzix one cos it's that rusty brown colour.

I added a heart shaped word die to this one, cut twice, once in white then in gold mirri card and fussy cut the word.

Hope you will join us this over the next 2 weeks and please stop by the challenge blog and see what the rest of the team have done this time round!.

Thanks for looking today. x

It's Cold Outside

First challenge of 2026 at Try It On Tuesday.
Our theme this fortnight is 'It's Cold Outside'.⛄

I always think of blue shades whenever anyone mentions cold so did something relatively quick, simple and of course blue!
Some ink blending and stamps from Lavinia, Inkylicious and Card-io.

I hope you will find time to join us this challenge!

Feeling a bit more upbeat the last couple of weeks. 
We had a wonderful time away over Christmas - and another couple of places I wanted to visit ticked off my bucket list. 

Budapest is a beautiful city, Salzburg was stunning and Vienna was simply magical. I felt like I was in a fairy tale and had to keep pinching myself!

So with Canada and Alaska done, 3 of my 5 European cities done it's time to look forward to the next big adventure which will take place in a few months time round a big birthday.... (21 again before anyone asks...).

Happy New Year to everyone.

 

 

Santa

Our last challenge of 2025 at TRY IT ON TUESDAY is called 'All About Santa'

This was one of the quickest cards to come together and is a complete change to my usual Christmas cards.

I had a roll of corrugated cardboard bought for a group project and despite the group using it I still have lots left so here it was used as a backing for my Santa. 

I spattered it liberally with a white Posca pen before sticking it to the base card.

The Santa image was part of a pad of vintage Christmas papers. 

I distressed the edges, used some Antique Linen DI and matted it onto a piece of dark red card, before adding a few more spatters around Santa's face.

A couple of dies, a scrap piece of ribbon and an off cut from another vintage paper to make the tag before finishing with the fabric flower.

Thanks for looking and I hope your Christmas preparations are going well.

The TIOT team is back on 6th January with a brand new challenge so I wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and may 2026 be a good year for us all. x

Snowflakes

Snowflakes is the challenge for the next two weeks at TRY IT ON TUESDAY.

I re-visited an old (and sometimes messy) technique of Stencil Monoprint. I made several cards like this some time back and I enjoyed doing them again.
You get a different result each time from the same stencil!

I used Chipped Sapphire Oxide. Swiped over the stencil, sprayed it with water then pressed it onto some watercolour paper. 
I really like the artsy imperfect images.

When dry I stamped the sentiment in dark grey and then overstamped and white heat embossed.

I love the snow - there is nothing better than bright blue skies and a white snow blanket everywhere - as long as you're inside with a mug of hot chocolate looking out that is......  🍵 

Get Ready For Christmas

Time for our next challenge at Try It On Tuesday and this time we're kick starting Christmas preparations.

I had some wooden circles left from a previous (and very old) project so I made a couple of 'baubles' by simple stamping and colouring, highlighting the edges with either a Posca pen or a little bit of white embossing.

The backs of the wooden circles were simply stamped with a Christmas Greeting.

The pics aren't the best as I am having difficulty holding camera/phone steady at the mo. It's only temporary but certainly ain't good for trying to get clear images!

Hope you can join us this challenge - looking forward to seeing your creations and thanks for looking today. x 

Halloween

Our new challenge at TRY IT ON TUESDAY is 'Halloween'.

Halloween is definitely not my thing  - think that's cos when I was growing up it only consisted of 'Duck Apple' 
(where apples were floated in a bowl of water and you had to bite into one with your hands behind your back)
or  'Toffee Top' 
(Nan would coat apples with toffee and they'd be hung from a string in a doorway and you had to bite into one to get it - again with your hands behind your back - getting toffee out of your hair was not a lot of fun!) and not a lot else, unlike now where there are costumes, house decorations and every shop seems to sell something spooky related.

I opted for an ink blended background and a couple of Lavinia stamps. The tiny cute spider is from Card-io.

There's a bit of sparkle on the flourish which doesn't show very well.

Hope you will join us this time and please have a look at the rest of the DT makes. 

Thank you for all your good wishes. Some days are good, others not so but am hanging in there and trying to keep myself motivated with different things! x

Autumn at Try It On Tuesday

Our new challenge at TRY IT ON TUESDAY is called 'Autumn Colours'
Despite the mess left at the back of my garden from next doors magnificent Oak tree I find Autumn to be one of the most serene times of the year. The colours are simply beautiful and do much to soothe a troubled soul.
Here's my card

Used a 3D embossing folder from Tim Holtz, 

I swiped it over with a Versamark pad after embossing and added some copper embossing powder.

Some ink blending using Fired Brick, Peeled Paint, Crackling Campfire and Rusty Hinge.

I have struggled to take a good pic that will show off the copper embossing which is disappointing! At a time when I am finding fault with so many things I was actually reasonably OK with this make and the effect made by the embossing powder!

Thanks for looking today and hope you will join us. x

Animals

Try It On Tuesday's next challenge is 'Animals - Real or Imaginary'.

I am still struggling a bit so this is the best effort!
(Pic ain't the best either!)
Inky background at top, some old Crafty Individuals stamps with the giraffe being fussy cut and an odd scrap of striped paper.

Hope you can find time to join in at the challenge blog this fortnight and thanks for taking the time to pop in and see me. xx

Pretty Papers

We have a new challenge today at Try It On Tuesday with the title of 'Pretty Papers'.
A challenge it was for me too! 

Aside from the other stuff going on in my head at the moment I had such a terrible job trying to find papers. In a mass clear out a couple of years ago I got rid of all those papers I had coveted, bought and never used and left myself with only a few (still never used either!) so I was a little bit bothered as to what I could do.

I remembered some time back (and I MEAN some time back) there had been a freebie with one of the Cardmaking mags so a delve into a box and found them at the bottom - a little bit tattered as all kinds of stuff had been dumped on top of them but pretty papers nevertheless.
I got out the lace box too.
I chopped off part of the front of the card and simply edged it with lace.

If I'd have been on top of things I probably would have stitched this card as I always think stitching looks good on a vintagey card. Maybe next time.

Thank you again for looking and for any comments you leave.
I hope all is well in your part of blogland. x