Mid Way at Try It On Tuesday

Half way through our 'ROMANCE' challenge at Try It On Tuesday so there's still time for you to be all soppy and lovey-dovey!

Another simple CAS card from me, this time using linen textured card.

Smooshed a little off cut in Picked Raspberry Oxide then used a tiny script stamp in the same colour to try and give it some depth.

These little heart dies  were just lightly inked on the tips and the bottom of the stems in the same ink.

Thanks for looking today and have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Mid Way - Things with Wings Challenge at Try It On Tuesday

 There's just a week left for you to take part in our Things with Wings challenge at Try It On Tuesday.
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with vellum -but it doesn't stop me wanting to use it!

Think because the base card is pearlised it didn't help when I came to take the pic either.

I used a simple textured embossing folder on the background to give some interest.

The Angel wings are from Pink Ink, bought very recently in a sale and never before used -  white heat embossed on vellum and fussy cut - a bit of a tricky job but got there in the end!

Because I always have such trouble attaching vellum without  the glue showing I used a tiny silver heart and a silver encased pearl brad on the top wing. Fortunately the top wing hid the spot of glue on the underneath one.

Heat embossed white sentiment.

I sponged a little Brilliance Moonlight Ink round the edges and in real life it does give a sort of 'dreamy' effect.

Quite happy really with how this turned out after seeing something similar on an internet trawl some time ago.

Thanks for looking! x

Sharing over at
Simply Clean and Simple - Use a Heart
MAWTT #168 - CAS
CYHTP - A/Goes
and it's week 3 for Darnell's IDEAS - E for Embossing folders and as my Angel Wings are NBUS am visiting there too!

Try It On Tuesday Mid Way Reminder

Our Hearts and/or Flowers theme at Try it On Tuesday has reached it's half way point. Some great creations added to our blog this time and there's still another week to go if you haven't had a go or even if you want to do another!

Just before Christmas my friend got married and this was the card I made for them.
The majority of the card was done using Centura Pearl and I used up a few oddly shaped bits of card which were in the folder with the full sheets to make the corner flourishes.

I opted to emboss the background to give it a bit more interest.

The 2 smaller flowers were made from some oddments of card too using a Spellbinders die - there wasn't enough to make the big one!
I forget how many rounds I cut but I wanted them to be full!

They are a bit of a faff to glue all together but I think worth it in the end.

Layered onto silver matt card and used a little bit of leftover to die cut the silver leaves and used the smallest pieces to pop behind the tiny heart shapes in the corner flourishes.

It's been a while since I managed to skip across to the Playground but am sticking my head through the railings this week!
Also sharing at
CYHTP - A/Goes
Alphabet Challenge - W for Weddings
Cut It Up - Have a Heart
MMM - Love

Thanks for looking - have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Try It On Tuesday - new challenge

Our challenge theme at Try It On Tuesday for the next two weeks is HEARTS AND/OR FLOWERS
 

I was having a bit of a mooch through a box of odd pieces saved from other makes when I found two pieces left over from an acrylic dirty pour a long time back.

Looking at them I wondered why I kept a couple of them cos they were very small and odd shaped but obviously I was psychic as they fitted perfectly into the idea I had in my head for this challenge!
 
I embossed a piece of cardstock for some texture on the background then die cut my heart from the biggest saved piece.

I used the other small pieces to paper piece the flowers.
Am not sure whether I will use this as an anniversary card or another occasion so currently no sentiment!

I need to do this technique a little more often as I really enjoy it and you never know what patterns and designs are going to turn out!

Hope that you can find time to join us this challenge - look forward to seeing your creations as always! x

Catching Hearts!

 My goodness it has been so cold this last week! I know many in other parts of the world experience arctic conditions much worse and for longer periods but here it is so unusual for it to be sub zero for so many consecutive days.

Thankfully this morning, although still cold it is a little warmer than it has been and the forecast is for it to get higher temps in the coming week - but we're to have rain!
So not sure which is the best, cold and ice with bright blue skies or warm and wet but grey overhead!

Whilst making this (another Pinterest inspired card) I thought how cold this poor fairy's bum must have been sat on the snowy floor.....  😨😄 (I resisted the temptation to outline it in white!)

There were a couple of things that perhaps I could have done better -
I was irritated that I didn't manage to align the hanging string when extending the dangling heart but don't think it looks too bad (if you don't inspect it closely!👀🙈)
and I don't think the 'grass' stamped at the bottom of the pine cone spray was the best idea but I will know for next time!

Despite several different stamps this really didn't take too long to do and overall I am contented with how it turned out.
I am now finished with making my Christmas cards! 

Sharing at
Jingle Belles - Wrapping up 2022
Country View Crafts - Christmas
Krafty Chicks - CAS

CAS Stencil - October

Our challenge at CAS Stencil this month is 'Patterned Paper' and has been set by Loll.
Loll seems to think that we all have patterned paper mountains lying about.. have no idea where she gets that idea from...............😄😄
So here's my DT card -

I recently had a mass purge of patterned paper and got rid of a lot but I did keep some odd sheets from pads which I knew I would definitely use!

I used a small hearts stencil and heat embossed - white ones first leaving the centre red one till last.

Placed onto a die cut piece of black card.
I heat embossed the die cut sentiment and it is really shiny in real life! (Saving this card to give to my other half!)

Stencilling onto patterned paper was another first for me and I hope that will have a go and join in with us this month - 'cos I know you're all now looking at your paper pads!!

Lots of inspiration over on the challenge blog too - my talented teamies have so many wonderful ideas!
AND - we have a wonderful guest designer this month - Gundi- who has made a fantastic card showcasing her stencil and patterned paper!

Am sharing my make over at -
CHNPP - A/Goes
The Male Room - CAS
CAS on Friday -  Masculine

Love is everywhere..... except in my kitchen!

As currently the house is in a state of disarray🙈🙈 (no kitchen - just a bare concrete floor and re-plastered walls, no electrics, no water, nothing, zilch), I have had to spend the weekend sat in what little uncluttered space was left on the top floor.
There was me thinking that I would be able to come back from our little break (more on that at the bottom of the post) and be able to not find white cement dust everywhere..... WRONG!!!  The lounge has the old kitchen table and chairs in it, the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms turned into store rooms and the top floor the same, so surrounded by glasses, pans and the like (did ALL that stuff actually come out of the old units???) I made some room on my craft desk.

CAS Mix Up's challenge this month is 'Dimensional Dies' and although I hate mess anywhere else except the craft table, I managed to find enough spark of imagination to come up with this card. 

Coveted this stitched die for a while and was very happy when I returned home at the weekend to find it waiting for me!
I stamped the back panel in Versafine Smokey Grey Ink as I thought black may be too stark. The stamp I used is a very old one and as I removed it from it's wood backing a long time ago have no idea whose make!

The heart die cut was triple embossed with 'Red Tinsel'.  It glittered quite well but had a slightly rough finish to it, so gave it the Glossy Accents treatment!
Very pleased with the way it turned out when dry. Here's a close up.

Added it to the little stamped panel with some foam pads and then die cut the 'string'.
I hooked the little curl of the string around the word die and simply stamped to finish.
(Dimensional Dies/Stamping/Embossing)
Quite happy with the way it turned out all things considered!
Sharing  at
Allsorts - Love
CUYL - Love
JUGS - Love
JOS#2 - Glimmer/Red/Heart
Country View- Black/White + One
MTTC - All you need is Love
Time Out - Inspired by the hearts on the pic (to see it please go to their BLOG) 
And finally - a great week away with some really good friends, lots of food/drink and a bit of bowling thrown in!
4 years on from first winning this trophy we managed to do it again last week!  A lovely end to a lovely week.
Can only hope that in another 10 days time the kitchen also has a lovely ending!

Sorry this has been a picture heavy post! Hope all is well with you all - and thanks for visiting me today! x

3 in a row!

My goodness this is the third consecutive day of posting! (Making uo for all the time I was absent last summer!)
Have moved now from anniversary/love ones for the stash on to baby ones (will share later) but this is one of the smalzchy gooey ones.........

......made because the stamp set was still out on the desk from my previous 'love shower' card here!

Started by using Spun Sugar DI onto the stamping block and spritzed with water to create the watercolour wash background.
Stamped the handle of the brolly - considered colouring it but changed my mind!.
The umbrella canopy stamped and embossed with white onto a scrap of spotty paper and then popped up with foam pads.

Rummaged about in the 'scrap box' and found odd teeny bits of card (why I kept such small pieces I don't know but glad I did!) and then punched out all the hearts.
I punched out too many so now have a lots of these floating about in the scrap box too!

They were really fiddly to stick onto the card - I ended up using a pair of tweezers and dunking the heart into some glue as I gave up trying to glue the back of them whilst holding between my fingers - there was more glue on me......

Sentiment stamped and a few Dew Drops for a little bit more interest to the background.
Not too bad?

 Joining in at
CAS-ual Fridays - Hearts
Pixies Playground #319
CAS Watercolour - Heart
AAA - Love
Crafting W/Dragonflies - Valentine/Romantic
Daring Cardmakers - Pic Inspiration
House of Cards - Valentine background or colours

I have a nice lazy week planned - next duty is Sunday in the Midlands - so I have a little bit of messy inkiness time to look forward to! x

Not long to go now

A quickie share from me today as I am off on my travels again - a few days in Norfolk!

Not a holiday as such as it is part of my Presidential duties. (Not long now - just two more duties after this one!)

I am slowly trying to make my stash more balanced - I have made a few baby cards and in the last couple of days have concentrated a little on Love cards which can be used for engagements or anniversaries etc
This one was a simple CAS card made with my much loved Hero Arts flourish stamp and a snippet of red card.
The flourish is stamped with Encore Metallic Silver - got a lovely shiny surface in real life.
A die cut stitched heart and some blingy gems and the sentiment stamped in Versafine Crimson Red.
Just rounded off the corners so it didn't look too uninteresting and plain!

Overall it may be a simple card but I like it!
Joining in with
Tic Tac Toe - (Bingo) Sparkle/Love /Free
TIOT - Fire (Red Heart) and Ice (Metallic Silver)
Sweet Stampin - Valentines/Love
ATS&M - A/.Goes

So that's it for me until the end of the week. We have really high winds here so the long 5 hour journey is going to be fun..... not. Hoping it eases a little the further South and East we get!
Thanks for looking at my share today - see you all soon! x

Romance?

I don't do soppy.   With Valentine's Day looming, I am fed up with soppy!
Valentines' Day is dear husband's birthday.      We don't do Valentine's day.
We don't really do birthdays either - not cards or presents but we normally have a nice meal around the date - not ON the date 'cos everywhere is full of soppy!!!

I have made a 'not soppy' Love card - made for no other reason than I was feeling a teeny weeny bit soppy.
 
The heart stamp was a cheapie from Hobby Crafts - bought it as I don't posess any heart stamps and thought it might be needed.... first time it's seen ink!
I used a Brilliance Ink Pad in Rocket Red for the heart and the splats (which are from a Visible Image set).

The ink splatters across the card were a mix of the Rocket Red ink and Festive Berries DI as I wasn't sure if mixing water with just the Brilliance ink would work!
Mounted the heart on a scrap of vellum cut with a nestie, stamped the sentiment in Onyx Black and added a strip of corrugated red card (which means I can go play again over at CAS Mix Up!)

Unsurprisingly there's lots of soppy love themed challenges around so am linking to -

Crafty Purple Frog - Love is All Around
House of Cards - Love theme
Time Out - Inspired by words
              (and I have used 'Heart')
Uniko - Anything Goes
Allsorts - Hearts
AAA - CAS
House that Stamps Built -
                   Red/Hearts/Vellum

It's very cold here today. We've had a couple of snow flurries but it hasn't stayed. Changed the bed and done a little bit of housework this morning. Planning now on having a lazy day in the craftie space - in the warm!

Thanks for looking today - have a great weekend whatever you're doing - and if you're doing 'soppy' - enjoy!!  x  

Love is all around!

I don't do Valentines. Never have. Think it's a load of tosh!! Why should there be one designated day dedicated to showing someone else you care???? Do it all year round you loveless lot!!
Valentines Day = Money Making Exercise in my book!  Rant over.
Going to now spread a little LURRRVE with this card!!

I really liked this image from Mo Manning and have used it many times over the last couple of years.
Coloured it using Promarkers and then rubbed some pastel chalks for the sky and ground - merely to take off the stark whiteness of the card as the papers have more of a creamy background than white.
I think the papers were originally from a Christmas Paper Pad but they seemed to fit OK for the 'love' theme!

I followed the sketch from this weeks challenge at 'Card and Scrap' HERE and based the colours on the pic at Cupcake Inspirations HERE.
Sentiment is from SU 'Good Greetings' set, cut the oval with a nestie, matted onto red and punched out a couple of little hearts.
The ribbon was a challenge win from eons ago and I added a red button secured with some twine.

Challenges -
Fan-tastic Tuesday -  A/G. Twist - Sweetheart
OSAAT - Love is in the Air
Dragonfly Journeys - Queen of Hearts
Eceltic Ellapu - Love Actually
Come and Get It - 1 image, 2 papers, 3 embellies (ribbon, button, punched hearts)
Corrosive Challenge - Love, Love, Love
DP2 - A/G with Mo image

It's a wild day here! Perfect for sitting up here listening to the wind and rain! Thanks for taking the time to pay me a visit today - have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Wedding Day!

Time for another challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers (aren't the weeks just flying by?) and this time Sonia has chosen the theme of 'Cut It Out' - so dies and punches are to be used on your project this time and we are sponsored by HOBBY ART STAMPS and DI'S DIGISTAMPS.

I am sharing a Wedding card I made as a commission earlier this month. 

I was asked to include some 'pink somewhere' on the card as the Flower Girl attendants were wearing a baby pink colour.

I used my fave linen textured card, rescuing all the offcuts to use for the die cuts!

The background has a punched edge (Martha Stewart punch set) which I edged with Petal Pink ink.

The flower wreath was also randomly sponged with the same ink and some pale pink and  teeny white pearls were glued to the flowers.

The heart and butterfly die cuts also edged with pink ink and a couple more pearls to the butterfly body.
PC generated sentiment to finish.

Other Challenges -
Ecletic Ellapu (Pink Team) - Flowers/Anything Floral 
Pixies Snippets - Week 148
Stampin Boutique - Congratulatory 
Crafty Calendar - Bingo (Pearls/Sentiment/Die Cut)

Suzy Bees Blooming Challenge - A/Goes with twist - Wedding

Thanks for visiting - hope you will have a go this time with the challenge - have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Love Actually????

One of the things I love most about my much loved husband is that he shares everything with me - last week he spent several days feeling decidedly poorly with some nasty coldy virally chesty thing and today I have woken up with a hacking cough and someone has kindly left a ton weight on my chest combined with an elastic band round my head! I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't end up as bad as he was.......! He says 'sharing everything is 'love' actually'............

So perhaps this is NOT the best time to be sharing 'lovey dovey' cards as I feel like growling instead of being romantic and sentimental - but it is OH's birthday on valentine's Day and this was originally made with him in mind but have decided to share it now - !
This is a take on a Christmas card really.. differences being that I have used plain white textured card instead of glitter card for the tree and where the little red bauble was hanging I have replaced it with a red heart.
Oh and instead of torn paper at the bottom to resemble snow I have used a scrap of Kraft  -

In fact I have no idea why I have told you all this cos when you read that they're nothing like each other!! LOL General idea was the same anyway!

Just used up a few leftovers from other projects and a sentiment stamped in Versafine Sepia ink -am quite happy with it!

Challenges -
Card Mania - Love is all around
Love 2 Create - Red
OLLCB - Use a heart (#2)
Glitter n Sparkle - Add some Red
Red Carpet Studios - Love Actually
Cardz 4 Guyz - Truly, madly, deeply
Tuesday Throwdown - Valentine's

Sadly the weather here is reflecting my misery! It's wet (again) and we have had some hailstones/sleet in the last few minutes - a day to stay (feeling sorry for myself) in the craft room I think!! x

Love Heart!

I popped along to a craft fair today at Event City. Nothing spectacular there really - I still think there's a lot you can get cheaper on line but picked up a couple of stamps and boring stuff like magnetic sheets for storing my dies and some glue! I was a tad disappointed as there weren't many distress inks or markers being sold - I wanted Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean DI's-  and there wasn't any of these to be had anywhere so it's back to online for me!

Husband has a stinker of a cold so he's been banned out of the craft space since Tuesday which meant I had a little play on my lonesome yesterday!

Made a couple of CAS cards, both with a 'love' theme although not strictly Valentine's (we don't do the lovey flowery stuff as it's HIS birthday so we celebrate that instead)!  Saw a make similar to this on Pinterest with lots of hearts dangling so thought I'd do my own interpretation.

Quick and simple and made from some snippets of card, two different dies, a punch, some red embroidery thread and a stamped sentiment embossed with clear powder all matted and layered onto red and black card before assembling onto the base.
The sentiment actually says 'From My Heart to Yours' - but I only inked half of it! It's a really old stamp and the backing is getting a little bit worse for wear so it took me several attempts to stamp without smudging.

There are MILLIONS of love themed challenges so am entering this into a few!
Cuttlebug Mania - Red
SOS - Love/Valentine's
Lexi's -Valentine/Love
ATCAS - Love
OLLCB - Use a heart
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday - Red/Love
Oldie but Goodie - Valentine 
Simon Says Stamp - Have a Heart
Nutcrafters - Love
My fellow 'reds' supporter Brenda is giving away some awesome candy (pic in my sidebar) and she asks that you say what your all time favourite item is - mine definitely has to be my Cuttlebug - I don't know what I would do without it!
And - as this is a snippets make I think I may venture to the Playground this week - as long as some of my so called 'play MATES' don't tell tales on me AGAIN - yes you know who you are... and next time I SHALL name and shame!!!!
Thanks for stopping by - will be round to catch up with you all later! x

Vintage Sepia

Continuing with my 'use up that paper or chuck it' theme, I sat yesterday and fiddled with a few things. I have though come to accept that I am NEVER going to get to the bottom of these paper mounds as quite frankly, I will soon become bored!
But I have definitely promised not to buy any more and this is something I WILL keep to.
(Besides - there are so many lovely digi papers now and instead of buying packs where you only use half (or even less) at least with digis you can just print what you want! LOL)  

Whilst ferreting about I found an absolutely ANCIENT half used paper pack by Basic Grey and a slightly less ancient  and less used pack by Joy Crafts - the sepia vintagey colours appealed so here is the card -
Dusted off the sewing machine too!

Edges distressed with the wheely tool, then Tea Dye distress ink and stitched.
The main image and the script stamped with Vintage Sepia ink, cut out with nesties and the main image then sponged with Tea Dye and Antique Linen.

Attached the image using a mother of pearl button, folding down the top corner.
Sentiment tag also got the same treatement with the ink!

The ribbon is hand dyed and I found a coppery coloured heart in the stash box .   
All the vintage lace used is from my stash, the bottom corner 'fan shape' was from a crochet doily and I just cut it into quarters!
Papers all carried through to the inside.

Challenges -
Stamping Sensations - Ribbon/Buttons/Bows
CFTH - Pearls or Buttons
Artistic Inspirations - A.Goes/Feminine
Country View Crafts - Monochromatic
Creative Moments - Ribbons/Pearls
Divas by Design - Use Ribbons
Simon Says Stamp (Monday) - Anything Goes
Bunny Zoes' - Stitching
Fab n Funky- 1image, 2 Buttons, 3 papers

So that's me for today - have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Halloween Dance

I am not a Halloween person! Nor am I inclined to read or watch anything remotely spooky.... (apart from Casper that is!) but once in a while seeing all the masks, capes, spidery things I am tempted to produce something non cute that could be (loosely) interpreted as suitably scary.

Perhaps the image is not your normal kind of anniversary/wedding card subject but the sentiment seemed to fit with it so a wedding/anniversary/engagement card it is....... for someone who likes all things Twilight Zone!

Basic white card covered in some black paper then a piece of purple crackle style paper.
After distressing the edges, some Pumice Stone DI applied and some faux stitching in black along the edge.

Image matted and distressed in the same way, coloured with a mix of promarkers and Distress Inks.
Black lace, black pearls and flourishes and two die cut gothic style corners.

The freebie sentiment printed onto the purple paper. The two 'bats' are tiny cut outs from the corner dies - they didn't start off life as bats - I just used a pair of scissors and trimmed the off cuts a bit!!

The metal heart charm is a dull dark grey colour - the shine comes from the flash on the camera - I had a devil of a job taking this pic (perhaps not a good choice of descriptive person for Halloween??? LOL) - its very grey and damp here today and the dark colours didn't make for good photo taking!

So there it is - my Halloween offering for 2013!

Challenges -
Creative Insp - Happy Haunting
MAWTT - Spooktastic
CRAFT- Halloween
Crafty Catz - Halloween
LOC - Halloween
Card Crafters Circle - 3 embellishments
Country View Crafts - Something Spooky
Emergency Crafters - Halloween

Thanks for stopping by - have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Spring is on it's way?

Certainly feels like it here today! We had a hard frost overnight but during the morning the sun came out and is still here at 4pm! Unheard of! Not only that but it was warm enough to dispense with the 'North Face' body warmer under the jacket this morning on my walk too! The crocus and snowdrops are all flowering and the daffs have just started to poke their heads through the soil - so is Spring on it's way? I hope so!

I realised today it has been almost a week since I last posted....... I have been trying to visit all my blogging buddies but life has overtaken me this week! My head has been full of other stuff- but I was asked to make a wedding card and I managed to concentrate for long enough to put this together.

Not too difficult but was a bit fiddly and to be honest it doesn't look like I spent hours on it - which I did - because my concentration level was virtually non existent during the assembly process!!

I used white hammered cardstock throughout.
The punched edges are done with a MS punch - not the one I wanted to use (which was my doily lace one - but it decided to give up the ghost and won't punch through anything!) but think it looks OK.

On top of the punched layers I cut another piece of card and wrapped three strips of broad satin ribbon round it by mounting it onto foam tape to raise it from the square piece.

Another piece of white ribbon and some lace onto a piece of card which was then placed on top of the 3 ribbon piece and then the two pieces were matted onto the punched edged layer.

I printed out the sentiment in varying fonts using a grey colour and cut with a fancy tag nestie and added two little sparklies!
The butterflies were punched out and stamped with an Elusive Images flourish stamp in Smokey Grey ink and liberal helping of glamour dust applied! Couple more sparklies on the bodies.

The large pearl and crystal heart is of course from Imagine (where else! LOL) and I popped a scrap of lace under it to hang down - tried ribbon but it looked too 'heavy' so stuck with the lace.

Overall I'm reasonably happy with it and who knows if my new punch arrives later this week I may well re-do in a cream colour and let the lady choose which one she wants then the other can go in my stash!

Challenges -
Created with Love - Things that Fly
Love to Create - All that Glitter
OLLCB - Sparkle and Shine
Dream valley - Ribbon and Bling
2 Sisters - Love
Crafty Ann's - Love Actually
Daring Cardmakers - Fly Fly Butterfly
Pretty Little Ribbon - Anything Goes

I hope that you all have had the same sunny day as me! x

Queen of the Screen - But no crown.......

Have had a small break from card making for a couple of days and caught up with other things (not housework...lol).

The next challenge at the Art'n Soul flickr group was to alter a jigsaw piece using monochrome colours. Although the closing date for this challenge isn't until 3rd April, I thought I'd better get this done whilst I had the chance otherwise as usual I shall be dashing about at the last minute!

The jigsaw piece measures 5" x 3" and was sent to me by Maureen some time ago. Poor old Thomas the Tank Engine was unceremoniously ripped off the front and I painted the piece with white acrylic paint to get rid of the grey card back and sides. On reflection I could have left these cos the theme was monochrcome..... doh!

I covered the front with random alphabet paper ( have no idea where this came from... found 2 sheets of it at the back of a drawer!). Used black and silver embossing powder on the edges and stamped the Paperartsy image onto white card with black stazon. I mounted the image and words onto silver mirri card and glued in place. The camera and film strip are a black and white photocopy of K and Co scrapbook paper suitably reduced in size to fit the piece and I finished with a silver star and heart. I then took what I thought was a metal crown charm from my stash - it was curved and wouldn't sit flat so I decided to flatten it............. this was NOT a good idea as the charm was plastic and promptly shattered into about a million tiny pieces when I pressed down on it with the edge of the hammer........................ so my 'Queen of the Screen' is currently crownless until I can get some flat crowns!

Despite the monochrome theme, I couldn't resist giving her a teeny touch of red lipstick!

Creative Inspirations is predominantly a card site but does permit other projects to be submitted for challenges. Their theme this week is also Monochrome so have linked this and Fab n Funky's challenge is black and white and fotunately for me so was Little Red Wagon's!

Key to the Heart

I am hosting a Valentine Challenge over on one of my Flickr groups.

Quite simple really, all you have to do is decorate a heart in any way you want from the template provided. The group is an International one so whenever you make something you have to be careful that it isn't too thick, heavy or bulky otherwise it costs a fortune to post and you spend days panicking in case it doesn't arrive at your partner's in one piece! But please click on the link and go and have a look at the diverse range of hearts produced from the same template.

Here is my heart! Thick maroon card, cut with deckle edge scissors, red and cream paper from Hunkydory rubbed over with 'Tea Dye' distress ink, small heart cut from same maroon card with some script paper and then a piece of Coredinations card embossed with the script folder matted on top. Small heart attached with 3d pads to give some depth.

The rose was cut from a large embellishment I bought at the NEC last year and the padlock and key from my stash!

The challenge at 'Created By Hand' is to make something that's not a sqaure or rectangle, so the heart shape fits in perfectly!

With a song in your heart......

After having had several days of card making, I decided today to tackle something a bit different. Needing some inspiration I discovered the challenge at S2g Twisted Thursday was to create 'anything but a card' and with a twist of 'Valentine's Day.

This project was made out of mountboard and I will eventually mount it onto a canvas (somthing else for the workroom wall!!!!). It was inspired by Sue Roddis and the template for the heart shape came from her 'Decorative Handmade Books' and it measures almost 12" long.Please click on the pic and enlarge it to see it better!

I covered the heart in K and Co paper, then used the Crafty Individuals bird stamp (one of my favourites). The words are from an Elusive Images set. The flourish and feather stamps are also from the same set.

I used 3 heart shaped brads mounted onto more of the script backing paper (which doesn't show very well in the photo) and them matted it onto dark brown card.

The tiny silver wire nest with the small blue 'eggs' I can take no credit for - isn't it just lovely? It was a present last year from a crafting friend and I have never had occasion to use it before now.

The little polka dot wooden heart I gave had in my stash for years - it came from a local craft shop and I secured it with some organza ribbon and added a few fibres, resisting the temptation to add feathers too.

This was a welcome change from the cards and I enjoyed doing it! Theme Thursdays challenge is 'Hearts' so this fits in with 2 challenges!