It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas!

Hello to you, crafty friends.

Apologies for such a long hiatus from my blogging activities - the return to school in September was it's usual madness and things weren't great for me in terms of the workload that I was expected to clear during the day, which in turn was impacting on my work/life balance. Soooo, after much soul searching, I applied for a new job and was successfully appointed! It is with huge sadness and much regret that I am leaving the school after nearly 8½ years, and I will be joining my new team next week.

It might take me a wee while to find my feet in my new job, and that very precious work/life balance, but I'm hoping to be able to rejoin the Design Teams I was previously with and I thank them all for their patience throughout 2017 where I appear to have been such a "flaky" teamie!

So, without further ado, it's new challenge time over at All Dressed Up and, as usual, our theme is Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image.  Wendy has plenty of gorgeous images available in the All Dressed Up Etsy Store. Haven't got any All Dressed Up images? Wendy has very generously provided some freebies here - please send your friends over to ADU for the freebies though, to make sure they're available for other crafters to share!



Here is my inspiration for you using one of Wendy's newly released images Christmas Hair Do:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base card - is Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which I have cut, scored and folded following this tutorial to make a Triangle Tri-fold card
  
• Design paper - is from the long-since-retired Party Paws collection by Crafter's Companion. This gorgeous foiled paper was in a pack of papers and die-cut toppers which I found in my stash 😳
• Image - is by the oh-so-talented Wendy who is the artist behind All Dressed Up. This image is called Christmas Hair Do and I brought her to life with my Spectrum Noir Marker Pens (but sadly forgot to record the colours I used) and highlighted bits with my Clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen. I then die cut this cutie using my largest Die'sire Essentials Hearts Die
• Ribbon - is from my stash

I hope you'll come over to All Dressed Up and join in with this challenge. Don't forget that our Dressy teamies over on the All Dressed Up Facebook Page run their own challenge and you can enter both challenges with the same project. Why not play along and increase your chances of winning some of Wendy's gorgeous digis?

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• November Challenge - Christmas/Winter Theme at I'm a Crafter's Companion Facebook Page
• November Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes at Sweet Stampin' Christmas
• Challenge 46 - Anything Goes at A Snowflake's Promise
• November Challenge - Winter is Coming! at Colouring in Scrapland

I'll be back next week - in the meantime, take care!

Hugs, 

Helen x

The Love Bus

This is my second post of the day - please scroll down to see my earlier post

Good evening crafty friends and I'm back with another post!

I'm GDT with the Dressy Girls over on the All Dressed Up Facebook page and tonight sees the launch of the new Challenge - our theme for you this month is Square Cardz with an All Dressed Up Image.

We're heading off to a family wedding tomorrow - the bride was one of my bridesmaids when Papa Mia and I got married many moons ago and is also one of his cousins, so this is the very special card I made for the happy couple using one of Wendy's gorgeous wedding images and trying to follow the wedding colours of blush and rose gold:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Centura Pearl Snow White with Hint of Gold which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card base. I have also scored 5 vertical lines at ½cm intervals on the folded side of the card
  
• Image - is the beautiful Just Married by Wendy at All Dressed Up Digital Stamps. I have brought this lovely camper van to life using my Spectrum Noir Colouring System Marker Pens in the listed colours before die cutting it using my largest Sizzix Ovals die. I then tool distressed the edge of the oval just to add a little bit more detail
• Love Birds - IG1, IG2, IG3, CR6, DR5, DR7
• Suitcases - CR2, PP3, PP5, CR6, DR5, DR7, EB1, EB2
• Bunting - CR6, DR5, DR7
• Windows - IG3, IG1
• Bodywork - IG1, IG2, IG3, CR2, PP3, PP5, CR6, DR5, DR7, Clear Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pen and 2 pearls
• Tyres - IG4, IG6, IG9
• Grounding - EB1, EB2,
• Outline - BT1
• Embellishments - of pearls and ribbon were from my stash and I used the bow-maker on my Ultimate Pro to tie that lovely big bow.

I hope that you've inspired you to come over to the All Dressed Up Facebook page and play along with our Square Cardz with an All Dressed Up Image. Haven't got any All Dressed Up images? Wendy has very generously provided some freebies here - please send your friends over to ADU for the freebies though, to make sure they're available for other crafters to share! Don't forget that our blog challenge of Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image is also running at the moment - why not enter your card into both challenges so that you're in with a chance of winning more images? 

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• For Someone Special Challenge at Crafty Sentiments Challenge
• Challenge #162 - Use a Stamp or Digi Image at Dream Valley Challenges
• M is for Make Your Mark at The Alphabet Challenge Blog
• Use a Digital Image at Little C's Aloha Friday Challenge
• Challenge #171 - Anything Goes with Ribbon at Really Reasonable Ribbon Challenge

That's it from me for this evening ... now I must shoot off and ensure we've got everything ready for travelling to the wedding tomorrow!

Have a great weekend!

Hugs, Helen x

It's a good year for the Roses

Good morning crafty friends!

Can you believe it's September already? Is it me, or is there just a slight autumnal nip in the air creeping in first thing in the morning? Here at Casa Mia, we're winding down to the end of the summer holidays: today is the last day of my long hols as I'm back to school on Monday, youngest Bambino returns on Wednesday but eldest Bambino has another couple of weeks at home before we drop her off at her new Uni in the middle of the month.

It being the 1st of the month brings a new challenge over at Feeling Sketchy and for this fortnight our sponsor is the lovely Tracey and team from Fred She Said Digital Designs. Tracey is offering our lucky winner a US$10 Gift Card to their store. Tracey also very kindly gave each DT member their choice of image to use for this challenge.

So, here is the sketch we're playing with this time:

And here is my take on it, using an image from Fred She Said Digital Designs Store:

I have flipped the sketch to suit the rose spray and leaves and added more swirly bits for good measure ... and then realised once I had photographed my card that I had forgotten to add a scatter of something across the top of it ... doh 😝!!!!! Never mind 😁!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Base card - is Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card base
• Background layer - is a 14cm square piece of black cardstock
  
• Image - is Rose Spray from the gorgeous Hearts and Roses Digi Set which not only includes this image but also Hearts and Roses (where the spray is inside a heart shape), 3 different sentiments and 2 printing sheets with multiple copies of the images to maximise the use of your cardstock. I have brought this image to life using my Spectrum Noir Colouring System Markers and followed the Roses Tutorial in the Kit and Clowder Elements of Nature Class before fussy cutting it and sticking it to the background layer. This is the first time I've coloured roses using this tutorial and I'm pretty pleased at how they've turned out - they almost have a velvet-like sheen to them!
• Flourishes - have been die cut from Centura Pearl Snow White Silver using one of my Die'sire Leaf Swirls dies. I then cut the swirl into 3 pieces (not that you would guess looking at it would you?) before tucking these behind the image.
• Sentiment - was stamped directly onto the black cardstock with Silver VersaColour Ink using one of the cover freebie stamps from the January 2017 issue of Cardmaking and Papercraft.

I hope that I have inspired you to come along and join us with this sketch, but if you are in need of any further inspiration please head over to Feeling Sketchy and take a look at the gorgeous creations by my very talented teamies! Then come back and show us your version of our sketch - don't forget that you can always flip or rotate the sketch, amend the shapes of elements ... as usual we just need to see that you have been inspired by our sketch! We'll be back with our new challenge on 15th September 2017.

I will be back a little later to link up to some challenges.

In the meantime have a lovely day!

Hugs, Helen x

Flowers for you

Good evening crafty friends and hope this post finds you well.

It's New Release Inspiration Day from the second half of the blog team over at All Dressed Up and Wendy has designed 4 wonderful images perfect for all kinds of card, including those "oh-so-tricky" early teenage boys. Here are the images:

From top left going in a clockwise direction there is Busy Little Bee, Little Squeak, Surfs Up and Summer Time - just click on the image name to be taken straight to it in the shop!

I've used Little Squeak for my card this month (as we have a little squeaky house guest with us, having his own holiday whilst his family are away!) and here it is:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is a pre-made card base in A6 size
• Design Paper - is from a freebie Brambly Hedge download by Crafter's Companion way back in May 2013. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be on the website any longer 😞
  
• Image - is Little Squeak created by Wendy at All Dressed Up Digital Stamps Esty Store. I have brought this cutie to life using my Spectrum Noir markers  using some of the techniques for texture in the March 2017 Monthly Class from Kit and Clowder before die cutting it using one of my Die'sire Create-a-Card "Emma" dies
• Sentiment - is by Lili of the Valley and comes from the Swirly String Sentiment Set. As mine is a clear stamp rather than digi, I have stamped it directly onto my DP using Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
• Ribbon - is from my stash and tied into a double bow using the bow maker on my Ultimate Pro

I hope that I have inspired you to head over to the ADU shop and treat yourself to some of these images, but do head over to the All Dressed Up Challenge Blog to see the other wonderful creations using these 4 new images.

Don't forget that we're hosting our usual Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image challenge on the Blog and that our Facebook Teamies are hosting their own challenge for August and the theme is Girlz Rule with an All Dressed Up Image.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Favourite Embellishment and Why at As You Like It Challenge - ummmmm, embellishments? They're the things that everyone puts on their cards to make them look gorgeous and if I try the same, mine look like something the dog brought in - right?!!!!!!! 😅 Having said that, even I can make a piece of ribbon look nice courtesy of the bow making prongs on my Ultimate Pro and a big double bow like on this card hides a multitude of sins, including the fact that my die cut has a straight edge underneath the bow - shhhhhh, don't tell anyone will you!!!!!!!
• Challenge #40 - Animal Kingdom at Craft Rocket Challenges
• Week 429 - Forest Friends at Allsorts Challenge Blog
• Challenge #5 - Anything Goes but Feature a Creature at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies
• Challenge #5 - Anything Goes but must have something related to an Animal at Crafty Animals
• Animals at Dragonfly Dreams

And just in case you were wondering about our house guest, here's a pic of Willy the guinea pig enjoying some spinach!

That's all from me for now - enjoy the rest of your week.

Hugs, Helen x

Thanks for being Fintastic!

This is my second post of the day - please scroll down to see my first post

Good afternoon blogging buddies - yup it's another post from me, and another one that's on time ..... whoot whoot!!!!!! 😆 I will catch up with myself, honestly!

It being the fifteenth of the month, it's new challenge time over at All Dressed Up and, as usual, our theme is Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image.  Wendy has plenty of gorgeous images available in the All Dressed Up Etsy Store. Haven't got any All Dressed Up images? Wendy has very generously provided some freebies here - please send your friends over to ADU for the freebies though, to make sure they're available for other crafters to share!



Like a number of the Dressy Girls, I was completely bowled over by Wendy's new images in July and wasn't able to craft with this one at the time. Since then, eldest bambino has (very reluctantly) given up the Mini Swim Squad she's been part of for many years, although she is hoping to continue swimming/swim training once she gets to Uni. She asked if I could make a card to say "thank you" to her Swim Teacher so I showed her this image and she said "Perfect"! I then remembered that the Kit and Clowder May 2017 Colouring Class for Markers featured a Mermaid and a good many hours later, hey presto!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is a pre-made A6 white card
• Image - is called Mermaid Kisses  from the pen of Wendy at All Dressed Up Digital Stamps. I have coloured this fin-tastic beauty using my Spectrum Noir Markers and using the Kit and Clowder May 2017 Colouring Class as my guide.

And that's all there is to it; even the rocks were hand drawn! Here's a close-up:

I hope that I have inspired you to join in with in our challenge of Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image but if you're in need of any further inspiration, please head over to the All Dressed Up Challenge Blog and check out the wonderful creations by my exceedingly talented teamies and this month's Guest Designer Vicki. If you would like to be considered to be our Guest Designer for next month's challenge, then just pop GDT after your name. This challenge will end on the evening of 14th September (UK time) and we'll be back with our next challenge the following day.

Don't forget that the Facebook Dressy Girls are also hosting a challege and their theme for the month of August is Girlz Rule with an All Dressed Up Image.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Challenge #141 - Wave at Inkspirational Challenges - well, she's under the waves anyway 😁!
• Challenge 6 - Anything Goes with Option of We are all at Sea at The Fairy and The Unicorn Challenge
• Hand Coloured Image at Star Stampz
• Week 375 - You Don't Bring Me Flowers at City Crafter Challenge
• Challenge #95 - Anything Goes with Option of The Abyss at Ike's World Challenge
• Challenge #24 - Mythical and Magical at Unicorn Challenge
• Simon Says: Nautical at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Until next time, take care!

Hugs, Helen x

On Your Bike

Good morning crafty friends and hope this post finds you well. After a month's hiatus, I'm back - things got a bit hectic as usual as we approached the end of term at school and then we went to France for a camping holiday the evening we broke up (not to be recommended I can assure you!) and although most of my DT creations were made and posted on the respective DT blogs, somehow I didn't seem to get the time to post them here at Casa Mia. However, now the summer hols are here, normal service should be resumed 😄!

We'll kick things off with the new challenge over at Feeling Sketchy which starts today. This month we're being sponsored by Diane from Di's Digi Stamps. Diane is very kindly offering the lucky winner of this challenge a US$12 Voucher to spend in her store - thank you Diane!

Here is the sketch for this challenge:

And here is my take on it:

We haven't been using sponsor products for this challenge, so everything is from my stash. My card recipe is as follows:

• Base card - is a pre-made A6 card base in white
• Paper - is from the Crafter's Companion May 2015 Club Inspire download called Springtime Florals. I have used this pretty sprigged floral paper and inked the edges using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink to add definition
  
• Topper- is also from the Springtime Florals download and again has been edge distressed using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink
• Flowers - are another part of the Springtime Florals download and I have fussy cut them before adhering them to my project
• Border - is embossed using a border embossing folder from the current (September 2017) issue of Cardmarking and Papercraft magazine. I have embossed this onto a piece of yellow Core'dinations card and then (following a raid on Papa Mia's shed ... shushhhh, don't tell him will you 😏 ) carefully sanded the raised part to reveal the white coloured core.
• Sentiment - is another border embossing folder from the September 2017 issue of Cardmarking and Papercraft magazine. I have embossed this onto a piece of Neenah cardstock and cut it into a pennant shape before very carefully going over the embossed lines with my AB2 Spectrum Noir Marker Pen

I hope that I have inspired to you to have a go with this sketch and join in the fun at Feeling Sketchy this time, however if you're need of any further inspiration please head over to the blog and check out the other wonderful creations by my clever teamies. Then come back and show us your take on our sketch - don't forget that you can flip or rotate the sketch or change the shapes ... we just need to see that you've been inspired by our sketch. We'll be back with our new challenge on 1st September.

In the meantime, I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Challenge #87 - Embossing Wet or Dry at Crafting with Dragonflies
• Challenge #5 - Flower Power at SheepSki Designs Challenge
• Challenge #53 - Pretty Pastels at Cardz 4 Galz
• Challenge #490 - Embossing at Cute Card Thursday
• Challenge 47 - F is for Flowers at Sunny Day Crafting
• Challenge 69 - Anything Goes with the option of Girly at The Crafty Addicts
• Challenge #235 - Flowers at Ooh La La Creations
• Flower Fancy Challenge at Di's Digi Challenge

I'll be back a little later with my next DT card - in the meantime, enjoy your Tuesday!

Hugs, Helen x

#takeaselfie

Good morning crafty friends and hope you are well. Can you believe that we're half way through July already! In a little over a week, schools in our area will have broken up for the holidays and I for one, can't wait!

It's new challenge time over at Feeling Sketchy which means it's time for a new sketch. Andrea from SheepSki Designs is sponsoring us for the whole of July (thank you Andrea!)

It's new challenge time over at Feeling Sketchy which means it's time for a new sketch. Andrea from SheepSki Designs is sponsoring us for the whole of July - thank you Andrea! She has also very kindly given the DT some of her gorgeous images to use as inspiration for this challenge, and we showcased these in our last challenge. Some of the DT have swapped images so that you can see how different people use the same image.

Here's the sketch we're following this time:

And here's my take on it, using a SheepSki Designs image which I was lucky enough to win earlier this year:

Regular readers will know that my eldest Bambino celebrated her 18th at the beginning of the month, and this is the card I made for her from Papa Mia and I. And this image was perfect for Bambino as, like many other girls of her age, she's permanently attached to her phone and can often be caught in a similar pose 😁!!!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card Base - is Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which has been cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card base
  
• Image - is the totally mesmerising Selfie Obsession by Andrea at SheepSki Designs which I have coloured using my original Spectrum Noir Markers in the listed colours before die cutting her using my largest Die'sire Essentials Hearts die
• Skin - FS2, FS3, FS4, FS6, TN4, FS8 (Blush), DG4 (Eyes)
• Hair - BG5, BG7, BG9
• Dress - VB1, VB2, VB3
• Phone - IG1, IG2, IG3
• Heart Frames - are made from Silver Glitter Paper which I have die cut using my 2 smallest Die'sire Essentials Hearts dies to make a frame
• Sentiment - comes from 2 separate dies and was cut from Turquiose Glitter Paper. The Happy Birthday die was in my Crafter's Companion Advent Calendar 2016 and I used the "th" portion of this die to cut again from the turquoise glitter to go with the numbers. The "1" and "8" both come from the Diamond Press Whimsical Alphabet collection
• Glitter Domes - are from my stash

I hope that I have inspired you to have a go with this sketch, but if you're in need of any further inspiration then please head over to the Feeling Sketchy blog where you can see the other great projects by my clever teamies. Then come back and show us your creations - don't forget you can flip or twist the sketch, change the shape of the elements ... we just need to see that you've been inspired to create using our sketch! We'll be back with our new challenge on 1st August 2017.

Have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Helen x

Flower Garden

Good morning crafty friends!

Before I go any further I would like to wish eldest Bambino a very, very Happy Birthday! Today is super special as she reaches the ripe old age of Eighteen! There are no surprises planned - at least we haven't planned any, but I'm not sure the same can be said of her friends. A group of them will be hitting town this evening; you have been warned ...... 😂

Anyway, today sees the launch of our new challenge over at Feeling Sketchy and we're welcoming another new sponsor to our "fold" 😉 - Andrea from Sheepski Designs who is sponsoring both of our sketches for July. Andrea has also very kindly given the DT some of her gorgeous images to use as inspiration for this challenge.

Here's the sketch we're following this time:

And here's my version of it:

I apologise for the light bouncing off the shiny card - the weather and light has been atrocious here today so I've had to take my photos with artificial light, which I really hate doing.

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - Snow White Centura Pearl which I've cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card. I've used an embossing folder (which was a magazine freebie) to make the 2 borders on the card 
  
• Image - is Floral Heart - Image No 66 which comes both with and without the butterfly. I've used my Spectrum Noir markers in the listed shades to breathe life into the flowers and butterfly, before die cutting it using my largest Die'sire Essentials Hearts die
• Flowers - AP1, AP2,DP2, DP3, EB8, GY1, GY3, GY4, IG1, IG2, IG3, PL3, PL5, PV2, PV4, TB3, Blender Pen
• Butterfly - AB1, AB2, AB3, EB8
• Outline - BT1
• Heart Frame - is die cut from Snow White Centura Pearl using my two smallest Die'sire Essentials Hearts dies
• Sentiment - is another magazine freebie, which I've stamped directly onto white card using Tuxedo Black Memento Ink and then I've die cut this using my smallest Die'sire Essentials Hearts die

I hope I have inspired you to come over to Feeling Sketchy and play along with this sketch, but if you're in need of further inspiration, please check out the other beautiful creations by my talented teamies. Then come back and show us your take on our sketch - don't forget you can twist it, flip it, change the shapes ... we just need to see that you've been inspired by our sketch. We'll be back with our new challenge on 15th July.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Challenge 13 - Anything Goes at SheepSki Designs Facebook Page
• Challenge #4 - Square Cardz at SheepSki Designs Challenge
• Challenge #93 - Embossing Heat or Dry at Sparkles Monthly Challenge
• Challenge #84 - Punches and/or Dies at Crafting with Dragonflies
• Challenge #138- Rural at Inkspirational Challenges
• Challenge #5 - Summertine with Butterflies at Scrap and Craft

Hope you have a lovely weekend.

Hugs, Helen x

It's Holiday Time

Good afternoon crafty friends and hope this post finds you well!

We're now breathing a huge sigh of relief here at Casa Mia as eldest Bambino finished all of her 'A' level exams this afternoon ... it's a long wait now until results day in August to see if she attains enough UCAS points to accept her place at her chosen university. Please keep everything crossed for her! Between us, we've frantically been making cards for her 5 subject lecturers and also her 1 support lecturer.

It's new challenge day at All Dressed Up and, as usual, our theme is Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image.  Wendy has plenty of gorgeous images available in the All Dressed Up Etsy Store. Haven't got any All Dressed Up images? Wendy has very generously provided some freebies here - please send your friends over to ADU for the freebies though, to make sure they're available for other crafters to share!




With the summer holidays in mind, here's my inspiration for you:

Eldest chose this image for her Travel and Tourism lecturer, which I think is exceedingly appropriate 😀and I wanted to go for a vintage style - I'm thinking of an aged photograph here of a beauty enjoying the French Riviera, or maybe even Monaco ... what do you think?

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is a premade A5 card in white
• Design Paper - is by Debbie at The Crafty Pad and is in the Chocolate Chip and Cream Delight Paper Pack
  
• Photo Frame - is by Marisa at Pixel Scrapper and it's called Polaroid Frame - Grunge. This is a .png file which meant I could superimpose it over my image which makes my design look like it's a photo in a frame!
• Image - is by Wendy at All Dressed Up. This beauty is called Sea View and she was one of last month's New Release images. I have used a Sepia Technique Class by Alyce at Kit and Clowder and I used my Spectrum Noir Pens in just 5 colours (TN1, TN2, TN4, TN7 and TN9) to bring this scene to life. 
• Sentiment - is a magazine freebie, which I have stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink before die cutting the sentiment using one of the label dies in my Die'sire Essentials - Just the Ticket set

I hope that I have inspired you to come over to All Dressed Up and play along with us this month. However, if you're in need of any further inspiration please do head over to the Challenge Blog and check out the other gorgeous creations by my oh-so-talented teamies and Katrina, who is our Guest Designer this month. YOU could be our Guest Designer in July - just enter our Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image challenge this month, and be sure to enter the initials GDT after your name! The closing date for this challenge is 14th July 2017.

Don't forget that the Facebook Dressies have their own challenge running until 30th June 2017 and the theme this month is Monochromatic. You can enter one project into both challenges for more chances to win some of Wendy's gorgeous images!

If I've inspired you to have a go at colouring in sepia tones but you don't know where to start, I can highly recommend the classes at Kit and Clowder ... although I think I need waaaay more practice 😁. If you decide to sign up to any of Alyce's classes, please be sure to mention my name and let her know that I sent you over - thank you 😉!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Challenge #9 - Monochrome at Daisy Chain Challenges
• June Challenge - Summer at Dare 2B Artzy
• Challenge #128 - Summer Fun at Simply Create Too
• Summer Sun at Whoopsi Daisy

That's it from me for today - whatever you're doing for the rest of the week, have fun!

Hugs, Helen x

A Cupcake for you

Good morning crafty friends and welcome to a new month - eeek! Here at Casa Mia we're in the middle of our half term holidays, a "staycation" as eldest bambino is continuing to revise hard for her "A" level exams in the next couple of weeks. 

It being the first of the month, it's new challenge time over at Feeling Sketchy and our blog has evolved a bit, due to personnel changes. Andreja has taken over as DT Co-ordinator and, for the moment, we may not always have a sponsor for our challenge. Never fear though, my teamies and I love visiting your blogs and commenting on your creations, and we will be awarding our 3 Top Picks for each challenge as chosen by the DT. So I do hope that you will continue to come over and play along with our sketches.

Talking of sketches (😁) here's the sketch for this challenge as designed by Jen:

And here's my take on it:

As you can see, I've kept the panel in the same orientation, but have extended the card base upwards.

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is a pre-made A5 card base in white
• Design Paper - is from a Crafter's Companion Club Inspire Download from July 2009 called Sunflowers and Sunshine. I did my usual and coloured the image before choosing the papers (😜!) but fortunately for me, this sunshine-y yellow gridded paper fits the bill quite nicely!
  
• Image - is Daisy CupCake (available from here) by Fred She Said Designs. They very kindly sponsored an earlier Feeling Sketchy Challenge and I wasn't able to share this image then - so I thought this luscious cupcake should still have an outing and decided to use it on this card. I have brought it to life using my Spectrum Noir System Markers in the listed colours (using a bonus technique class from Alyce at Kit and Clowder) before die cutting it using my largest Sizzix Framelits Ovals die
• Daisy - IG1, IG2, IG3, GB1, GB5
• Cake - TN3, TN7
• Icing - GB1, GB5, GB7
• Cupcake case and leaves - CG3, LG5, CG4, Spectrum Noir Pencil 001 (Original Issue in Essentials Tin)
• Border - I think is from Hobbycraft in a mixed pack of cling stamps, which I stamped using Scattered Straw Distress Ink
• Sentiment - is from my favourite stamp set, Swirly String Sentiments (now only available as a digi) by Lili of the Valley again stamped in Scattered Straw Distress Ink.
• Pearls - from my stash

I hope I have inspired you to come over to Feeling Sketchy and join in with this fab sketch, but if you're in need of further inspiration please head over there to check out the gorgeous creations by my talented teamies. Then come back and show us your take on our sketch - don't forget you can flip it, change the shapes ... we just need to see that you've been inspired by our sketch! We'll be back with our next challenge on 15th June 2017.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (with a little help from the girls at Paper Playful):

• Challenge #229 - Food and/or Drink at Ooh La La Creations
• Challenge #296 - Make it Digital at The Paper Shelter - both my image and design paper are digital creations
• Challenge #36 - Anything Goes/Use Die Cuts at The Crafty Addicts
• Challenge #12 - Anything Goes with option to Use Yellow at Creates and Makes Challenge
• SOS305 - You Are So Sweet! at Shopping our Stash - my DP is very old and has been (ahem, unused!) in my stash since March 2013 ... shame on me 😏!

Hope you have a great day.

Hugs, Helen x

Way down deep in the middle of the Jungle ...

... I discovered some these friends having great fun!

Good evening crafty friends and it's All Dressed Up New Release Inspiration day! Wendy has again produced 4 stunning images, and us Dressy Girls have been falling over each other to use them!

I'm delighted to share with you Bon Voyage (top left), Jungle Friends (top right), Sea View (bottom left) and Strawberry Patch (bottom right) all available in the All Dressed Store now!

I have been playing with Jungle Friends and here's my project for you, a fun new baby card:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base -  is Centura Pearl Ivory made into a "wonky circle rocker" card using the largest rosette from the "nest" on the Ultimate Pro Embossing Board Springtime Sweets and Cupcake Treats which I used as a die, embossing, cutting, scoring, and folding the rosette.
  
• Image - is Jungle Friends by Wendy at All Dressed Up Digital Stamps. I have coloured these cuties using my Spectrum Noir Pens in the listed colours, before die cutting them using an "out of the box" techniques using my largest Die'sire Essentials Circles die.
• Tree and Leaves -CG4, LG5, CG3, TN3, TN7
• Elephant - HB2, HB2, HB3, IB2
• Birds - IB1, IB2, PP6
• Giraffe - CT1, CT3, OR1
• Flowers - PP4, PP6
• Sentiment - is by Debbie at The Crafty Pad (available at Card Making Downloads) and is called Handle with Care which I've cut out and added to the back step of the card.

Do head over to the All Dressed Up Store and treat yourself to one of these beautiful new images and don't forget to check in on the Blog and Facebook Page for more inspiration from the Dressy Girls using these fab images. Our challenges are still running too: on the All Dressed Up Blog we've got our Anything Goes with an All Dressed Up Image challenge and our teamies on the Facebook Page have got their own challenge running until the end of the month and their theme is A World in Bloom. Hope you'll be able to join us!

I would like to enter this project into the following challenges:

• Challenge #2 - Anything Goes at Crafty Animals
• Tic-Tac-Toe at Whoopsi Daisy - I'm claiming the top row of Digi, Sentiment, Embossing
• Challenge #2 - Anything Goes with a Critter at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies
• Challenge #88 - Include an Animal at Creative Craft Cottage
• Challenge #73 - Shaped Cards/Projects at Dies R Us Challenge
• Challenge #92 - Four or More Legs at Sparkles Monthly Challenge
• Challenge #81 - Animals at Crafting with Dragonflies Challenge
• Challenge #122 - Fun Folds at Cut It Up! Challenge
• Challenge #95 - Animals at Aloha Friday Challenge - Kitty Bee Designs

Have a great week!

Hugs, Helen x

Birthday Elegance

Good morning crafty friends and hope this post finds you well.

Our Blue Tit parents are very busy going to and fro the wooded area near us, and when they need a quick fix they hop down to our seed feeders. Their babies can be heard chirping once the parents have flown out of the box and the parents are slightly less timid now when we're in the garden.

It's new challenge time over at Feeling Sketchy and our lovely sponsor for this challenge is Digi Stamps by Lizzy Love who is offering a prize to our lucky winner.

This is the sketch we're playing with this time:

and as soon as I saw the sketch I was inspired to make this Triangle Trifold card:

This card has already gone to my Mother-in-Law who celebrated her Birthday yesterday - I think she liked it 😊!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card Base - a piece of 28.5cm x 9.5cm Snow White Silver Centura Pearl card which I scored and folded using this tutorial at Splitcoast Stampers. I made sure that the pearlescent side of my card was on the front and then die cut the 2 corners opposite the folds using my Die'sire Classiques Lace Corner dies
  
• Design Paper - is a piece of Navy Blue Pearlescent Paper which I cut to make 2 triangles to go behind my die cut corners to make them stand out
• Sentiment - is by Paulette at Create with TLC and this was a blog freebie, probably in January 2014. I took the sentiment into my word processing package and recoloured it blue to tone in with my DP before cutting it out using my second smallest Die'sire Essentials Ovals die. I then matted this onto another piece of the navy blue paper which had been die cut using my second smallest Die'sire Essentials Scalloped Ovals die and fixed to one flap of the card with foam pads
• Ribbon - is white organdie ribbon from my stash 
• Inside of card - is a piece of white cardstock which has been matted and layered onto another piece of the navy blue paper

I hope that I have inspired you to come over to Feeling Sketchy and join in with this sketch, however if you're in need of any further inspiration please check out the other wonderful creations by my clever teamies. Then come back and show us your take on our sketch - don't forget you can flip it, change the shapes etc. ... we just need to see that you've been inspired by our sketch! We'll be back with our new challenge on 1st June 2017.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Monochrome at Dragonfly Dreams
• May Challenge - Anything Goes with Ribbon at The Ribbon Girl
• Fold it Fancy at Di's Digi Designs Challenge
• Challenge #172 - Cards with optional Fun Folds at Pause Dream Enjoy Challenges
• Challenge #188 - Add a Sentiment at Crafty Cardmakers
• Challenge #248 - Monochrome at The Crazy Challenge
• Challenge #173 - Birthday at The Crafter's Cafe Challenge
• Challenge #1 - Anything Goes Monochrome at Monochrome Magic

Whatever you're up to today, have fun ... I'll be back a little later with another post!

Hugs, Helen x