Walkies!

Good afternoon blogging buddies and I hope that this post finds you well. If's nearly the end of the Easter holidays here at Casa Mia, but I'm going to enjoy the weekend!

Over at All Dressed Up this afternoon, it's time to see how the second half of the Dressy DT have inspired everyone using the New Release Images for April. As usual, Wendy has outdone herself with some stunning digis, and here they are:

The new images are Butterfly Bunny (top left), Happy 40/50/60th (top right) - and yes you really do get all 3 images for the price of one!, Pretty in Plaits (bottom left) and Spring Walks (bottom right). The links will take you directly to the image in Wendy's Etsy shop.

I've been lucky enough to play with Spring Walks, and here is my card for your inspiration:

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Centura Pearl Ivory cardstock which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card base
• Design Papers - are from the Crafter's Companion Club Inspire October 2016 Download of the Month Times Gone By. This set of shabby chic style papers is a "card companion" meaning all you have to do is press print and affix the result to your card (ideal if you're card making in a hurry) but all 3 papers come individually in the download too, together with some sentiments and ephemera.
  
• Image - is Spring Walks and this girlie and her canine friends out for a walk (perhaps in the Bois de Boulogne 😉!) come from the pen of Wendy Burns, the artist behind All Dressed Up Digital Stamps. I have brought this trio to life using my Spectrum Noir Markers Pens in the listed colours, before fussy cutting them out and adding them to my card.
• Skin - FS2, FS3, FS4, TN4, FS8 (Blush)
• Hair - TN3, EB3, EB8, AP4, Silver Gel Pen
• Top - AP1, AP2, AP4
• Trousers - EB1, EB2, Blender Pen
• Sandals - EB2, EB6
• Small Dog - EB2, EB3, EB6, EB8
• Large Dog - EB1, EB2, EB6, AP4
• Flowers - AP2, AP4, CG2
• Grass - CG2, CG3
• Outline - BT1
• Flower - is made from the same Times Gone By paper as the top layer of my card companion. I have used my Die'sire Classiques Delicate Flower die and then bent all of the petals over to give a 3D effect. I have also popped a small silver gem from my stash in the centre of the flower.

Please do head over to the All Dressed Up Blog where you can see all the New Release Images showcased by the Dressy Girls. And when you've treated yourself to this image, don't forget that the Blog Challenge is running until 14th May where it is always Anything Goes with an All Dressed up Image and the Facebook Dressy Girls have their own challenge and the theme until the end of April is Feature a Creature - this image would be perfect!

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

• Favourite Colour and Why at As You Like It Challenge - I always seem to have a large area of neutral colour on my cards at the mo, and brown/tan/beige/cream seems to be fitting the bill nicely because these neutral shades tone in well with many other colours, pink in the case of this card
• Challenge #49 - Easter/Spring at Animal Friends Challenge
• Challenge #1 - Anything Goes at Crafty Animals
• Challenge #7 - Spring is in the Air at Daisy Chain Challenges
• April Challenge - Shabby Chic or Vintage at Eclectic Ellapu
• Challenge #91 - Your Favourite Colour Combo at Sparkles Monthly Challenge - pink and brown are a classic shabby chic combo and one of my "go to" combo's when inspiration is lacking! I was helped by the card companion here in just the right shades to go with the Vintage AP colours of the girl's top
• April Showers and/or Spring at Crafty Calendar Challenge
• Use Something Digital at Di's Digi Designs Challenge - the image and my papers are digital compositions

I hope you enjoy the weekend!

Hugs, Helen x

Wedding Day Shoes

Hi Crafty friends and hope this post finds you well. I hope that you managed to enjoy some fine weather over the Bank Holiday weekend and a belated Happy Easter to you and yours.

I've been a very bad blogger again, and have been neglecting posting. In truth, Mr Mojo has cleared off and the run-in to the Easter holidays was the usual end of term mayhem at school. Plus, youngest Bambino went on a Geography Field Trip the first day of the hols (10 days in China visiting both Shanghai and Beijing!) so getting her packed and sorted took up some time. Then Papa Mia has taken time off both sides of our Bank Holiday weekend, which has really cramped my style.

Over the weekend, our newest challenge went live 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 make sure you adhere to the terms of use if you're saving these though, to make sure they're available for other crafters to share!

Here's my inspiration for you:

I apologise for the sub-standard photos - I had to use my phone as the camera was in China 😁!!!!!

My card recipe is as follows:

• Card base - is Centura Pearl Snow White Silver which I have cut, scored and folded to make a 15cm square card base
• Design Paper - is from Sara's Signature Collection - Together Forever and was included on the papercrafting CD Rom which came with Crafter's Inspiration Magazine - Issue 10 
  
• Image - is For Your Wedding Day by Wendy Burns, the artist behind All Dressed Up. I have brought this image to life using my Spectrum Noir Alcohol Marker Pens in the listed colours before die cutting the image using one of my Die'sire Essentials Circles dies
  • Bows on Shoes - PP4, CR6, DR6, DR7
  • Inside of Shoes - EB1, EB2
  • Outside of Shoes - IG1, IG2, IG4, Silver Gel Pen
  • Rose - PP3, PP4, DR6, DR7, DG2, DG3, DG4
• Border - is also from a piece of Centura Pearl Snow White Silver card which I have die cut using my Die'sire Edge'ables Mini Victoriana die. I think this must have been a freebie with an edition of Crafter's Inspiration Magazine as I can't find this precise die in the store. The die isn't as long as my card, so I had to find the centre of my card strip and die cut this, then match up the edge of the die to the cut so that the border repeated itself. Then I repeated this on the other side of the card strip. It was very fiddly to do, and there was much muttering under one's breath as my die cutting machine wasn't being very co-operative either 😆!

I hope that I have inspired you to come over to All Dressed Up and join in the fun this month but if you're in need of further inspiration please head over to the blog and check out the lovely creations by my talented teamies. We've also reintroduced our GDT spot, so our lucky winner is invited to join us on a future challenge - this month it's Jeanette, so please head over to her blog and take a peek at her beautiful card. 

Don't forget that the Facebook Dressy Girls have their own challenge running until the end of April and their theme this month is Feature a Creature. And you can combine both All Dressed Up Challenges if you would like to!

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

• April Challenge - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Wedding Day at Dragon's Lair Designs Challenges
• Favourite Card Base Shape and Why at As You Like It Challenge - this is definitely a 15cm square card base as it's easy to cut layers to fit it, suits different shaped die cuts for images, borders etc. and suits my OCD tendancies where everything has to fit on the card base!!!!! It's also easy to buy commercially made envelopes to fit this size for posting so I know my creation will reach it's destination safely!
• SOS #299 - A Rose By Any Other Name at Shopping Our Stash - my stash items are both the CD Rom from which the paper came from (issued Spring 2016 I think) and the die I used to make the border which was a magazine freebie (last year too I think)
• {PIN}spirational  Challenge #188 at {PIN}spirational Challenge - I've been inspired by the lace borders around the eggs and have made my own double edged border using a repeated die cut
• April Challenge - Girls Things or Girls Rule at Colouring in Scrapland
• It's a Girl Thing at Come and Get It Challenge
• Challenge #142 - One For the Girls at Crafting When We Can Challenge

I think that's all for me today - the Chinese Laundry beckons, not just because there are a few piles of washing around the house but youngest's suitcase needs emptying of it's contents! Whatever you're up to today, have fun and I hope you manage some crafty time.

Hugs, Helen x