Cupcake Cutie (DT) and cheerio to Dies To Die For

 Yoo-hoo, hope you all had a super Christmas and were

on Santa's naughty list (much more fun!).

 This is it then folks, the last DTDF make from me.

Whimsy Stamps - Big Hugs Die Set - WSD390a

MFT Tiddly Inks - Cupcake Cutie stamps - MFT-TI-006

MFT DieNamics - Cupcake Cutie dies - MFT-2043

MFT DieNamics Fine Finish Edge die - MFT-2147

MFT 6x6 papers Festive Celebrations - MFT-EP-85

Memory Box Open Studio Christmas Fairy Jewels - mb-JWL005

Tiddler stamped on Canson Bristol Board and inked with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

So, I would just like to finish with a THANK YOU to Tracy and my

team mates for the opportunity, and for putting up with me over the years, it's been a blast, and

you all have a very special place in my heart.

And a very big THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to pop over on a Saturday to see what I have been up to.  It's all been for you actually.

BIG HUGS

One final time

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The Gnome And The Bird (DT) Dies To Die For

Morning all.  What's it like where you are?  It's a bit dingy here, I think we might be in for some much needed rain today.  I only hope it lets my towels get dry first!

There have been a lot of gnomes about on the crafting scene for a while now, and many of them are super cute.  However, when Stamping Bella released their new batch of Gnome stamps I am sure

you will have heard my squeal about 500 miles away.  The only thing about them that scares me are the beards!

Stamping Bella - The Gnome and The Bird

Memory Box - Nottingham Border die

MFT 6x6 papers - Buffalo Brights

Sentiment comes with the Gnome stamp.

Sparkly yellow dots from stash.

Image coloured with Zig Clean Colour pens and a Derwent grey ink drawing pen.

Hugs

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Buttons or Pearls (DT) As You Like It Challenge

Is it Thursday?  Honestly, this working from home lark has totally screwed all sense of place and time, and it's only my first week of it!

Anyhoo, after a quick consult of the calendar, I can confirm that it is indeed Thursday and that means it is AS YOU LIKE IT CHALLENGE day, and we have a popular theme for you this time, which is Buttons Or Pearls (and please tell us why).

I do like buttons and pearls, but I tend to use buttons for boys and pearls for girls, and as I make more girls cards than boys, I guess that makes pearls my favourite!

Disclaimer:  It is a complete coincidence that Red Leader Annette and I used the same image for this challenge.

So, the ingredients for this card are:

CC Designs Rockabilly Girls stamp set (love this sassy lass)

Bit of a mixture of Sunny Studio 6x6 papers from different collections

Memory Box Nottingham border die

Martha Stewart arches border punch

Martha Stewart grass border punch

Sentiment from Clearly Besotted Laugh Out Loud Again

and a sprinkling of shimmery pearls from various sources

Little lassy has been coloured using Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens as watercolours

There is no sponsor for this challenge BUT the prize is still pretty special - the winner of this challenge gets to Guest Design with the team for April.  Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee, that is exciting!

Right then, I'm off, you need to go and get your buttons and pearls sorted.

Hugs to all

Bundle Girl With A Snowdrop (DT) Dies To Die For

After finding a coating of snow on my car the other evening after work I thought I should have a dose of Spring for you this morning.

My mum's garden has hundreds of these now, and if you are a fan of Countryfile you will see them featuring a whole festival of these tomorrow night.

Yes, it is the beautiful snowdrop.

Stamping Bella - Bundle Girl With A Snowdrop EB-909

Stamping Bella Cut It Out Bundle Girl With A Snowdrop CIO909DIE

Memory Box Nottingham Border die

Lawn Fawn 6x6 papers Spiffy Speckles LF1868

MFT Birdie Brown - Birthday Buds stamp set BB-099

I've seen my teamie Annette using the Nottingham border for a while now and had been drooling over it, so when I saw it was on SALE on the DTDF website it was like a sign, I knew the time had come to purchase it for myself!

Little Bundle Girl and her snowdrop (yes you can get pink ones) has been coloured with Zig Clean Color Brush Pens.

I think we could all do with a few signs of Spring right now.

Hugs

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Viking Henry (DT) DTDF

Hello peeps, and welcome to the first Saturday of the New Year!  I'm here today with a dose of adventurous spirit for those men in your life (young or old) for my DIES TO DIE FOR

inspiration make.

and the list of wonderfulness used is

CC Designs: Viking Henry

CC Designs: Birch Trees Stencil

Memory Box: Bamboo Shoots

Memory Box: Delicate Fern

Die-Namics: Pierced Fishtail Flags Stax

The font set used is "A Hint of Lime" from Die-Versions (bought from DTDF a long time ago) but any small font would work, this one is only 1/4" (6mm) and was a challenge!

The Impression Obsession Alphabet Plain LC would make a good substitute.

Image was painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and Polychromos Pencils

The background green paper is from an old pad of Basic Grey and I stencilled the Birch Trees with Gathered Twigs Distress Inks

Hugs to all

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Tessie The Teacher (DTDF DT)

Morning everyone.  Welcome to the world of germs, well, certainly a house of germs.  How is it, that everytime the schools have half-term, full term, PD days, and the kids are roaming loose around the world (instead of being held in captivity, which they should be until at least the age of 14) there is an almighty outbreak, within three days of them being released, of hideous germs that sweep through civilisation like a wildfire?!

This house has been infected with germs since just after the start of the last half term.  Toad came home with it.  To be fair, he may not have been the carrier, as the office is also riddled with coughs and sneezes.  I travel to work on public transport and for weeks those journeys have been like travelling with a TB epidemic.

I kid you not - anyone under 5' is infected with every germ known to mankind, and some that aren't yet discovered.  Seriously, every childless adult should be issued with a free-for-life supply of Dettol Wipes.

Anyhoo, it's Saturday, so it is my day to share a DIES TO DIE FOR make with you, and as I have been grumbling about children, here is Tessie The Teacher, who doesn't look as if she has been near a germ in her entire life!

Stamping Bella - Tessie The Teacher

Echo Park - For The Record 2 Documented

Die-Namics - Stitched Scallop Basic Edges

Memory Box - Parker Uppercase Alphabet

Memory Box - Varsity Numbers Background

The image, as always, has been painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

and I have stamped and painted on Daler Rowney Bristol Board

Hope your weekend is sneeze free

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Dies to Die For on-line store

Out of my depth

Twice in one day.  Today I made a toad-in-the-hole for the first time in nearly 20 years.  To say I was nervous sounds ridiculous, I mean, I cook dinners every day of the week, so why should something as simple as a toad upset me?  Well, Mr Toad got his name from a passion developed over my mother's version of, yes, you guessed it, toad-in-the-hole.  My past forays into batter making have not been all that successful, apart from keeping the Winter Olympics supplied with ice-hockey pucks, so it was a somewhat scared Squirrel that shoved the big glass dish into the oven.

And the other out-of-my-depth moment was today's card.  OK, so maybe the card wasn't out of my depth but the challenge I'm entering is:

I made this to enter at

MFT Card Challenges - Wednesday Sketch No 307

For the card I used

MFT Polar Pals stamp set

Masked with Post-It Notes to create the row of bears

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and fussy cut

MFT Die-Namics double stitched rectangle die

Sentiment from the MFT Merry Everything set

Papers are all Nitwits (Winter Wishes sold by LOTV) except

for the kraft matting layers (which are a recycled envelope!)

Snowflake dies are Memory Box

Oh, and the toad-in-the hole?  Enormous but absolutely yummy!

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

😻

Sports - LOTV reminder

Hi all, just dropping by with my second design team inspiration card for the Lili of The Valley June Facebook Challenge - not many days left now to enter so you need to get your skates on!

So this rather colourful card was made using

LOTV Water Babies Little Folk stamp

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

The rather loud papers are a mixture from various Basic Grey pads

The ornate oval frame is a Spellbinders die

And the lettering done with the Memory Box alphabet soup die set

Pre-scalloped card base

The challenge closes at 6.00pm on 15 June so better get busy if you want to be in with a chance of winning the fabulous prize.

That's the happy part of this post.

The sad part is that this will be my last ever post for the LOTV design team.

I was over-the-moon when I was asked to join the Design Collective last year, but nothing stays the same forever, and there have been a lot of changes, so, after a lot of careful thought and conscience wrestling, I decided it was time for me to step down.  Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to leave comments or visit me for my Lili posts, it wasn't a decision easily made but c'est la vie.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Hello Honey

I was at a loose end yesterday and just rummaging through stamps to see what would inspire me, and I found one that started the ball rolling.  Whether it was inspired or not remains to be seen!

You can tell that the camera doesn't know how to deal with a lot of white space!

So, I started with masking off the edges of the card and then in the centre panel

I stamped with a Woodware Old Letter stamp

Then I stamped, coloured up Honey from CC Designs and fussy cut her

and finally added the Memory Box hello word die

and that's it.

Hope your day is a good one.  It is piddling down here, has been since yesterday afternoon.  Rosie has an appointment with the v.e.t for a claw clipping this morning (if I can catch her) and then it's off to the garage again as the exhaust saga continues.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

update:  claw-clip cancelled. I'm bleeding and she's scarpered in a right hissy fit. The joy of cats. Sigh!

Don't Worry, Bee Happy

Morning all, how are you today?  It's a bit damp over here, and chilly, and we are having to have a new exhaust fitted on the car this morning.  I hate it when the car needs something done, why can't they make the parts of something stronger?!

Anyhoo, I have a happy little card for you today:

You know by now that I am a sucker for Roberto's Rascals stamps

This little chap is Bee Henry from CC Designs

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Orange paper is a scrap of Basic Grey, that I edged with a Martha Stewart border punch

Matting layer and lettering cut from a sheet of chocolate brown Bazzil Bling card

The happy die is from a Paper Smooches Christmas set

The bee was cut using Memory Box Alphabet Soup dies

Sweet and simple but I hope he makes you smile as much as he does me.

Yesterday was my last day in my job of 11 years.  Crumbs.  It still feels surreal, like it has been happening to someone else, but today I am unemployed.  Don't panic, I start my new job on the 18th, but it means I have a week of "me" time to craft and relax.  Hurrah.  My beloved boss, the lady I have worked with all those years, has also left, and we are going to be starting a whole new adventure together!

Well, that's me for today, have a happy weekend.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Game On

You MUST know by now that Lili of The Valley have a new release out on 31 March featuring Jasmine and Oliver.  My teamies have been posting peeks like crazy so you may have seen some of them.

I only had the one image - Oliver Game Boy - to sample, I posted my first version of him a week or two ago, but have made two further versions since.  Here they are:

I got really inky with this one making the camouflage background with Distress Inks

Image is painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Cog wheel dies from Memory Box

Sentiment is from Set 101 Teenage Boy Sentiments also being released at the same time

Again, painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

The backing paper is from an old Basic Grey pad but the little critters reminded me of some of the Wii games that Toad plays, endlessly!

Spellbinders Nestabilities octagon nesting dies

Again, sentiment being released on 31 March alongside the image stamps

As you can see from the colour choices, you can use Oliver for the younger or older ends of the age spectrum.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Just keep swimming, swimming......

I love Finding Nemo, it's up there in my Top 20 films.  Mind you, I love anything Pixar so my Top 20 is a bit crowded with their animations.

Anyhoo, I was thinking Finding Nemo when I made these two cards for the Lili Of The Valley Design Collective

The stamps are from the recent Little Critters release and this one is Little Fishes (you get all three fish, the bubbles, and more!)

Both cards painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Card 1 - papers are Wild Rose Studio and I used dies from MFT, Tonic and Memory Box

Card 2 - papers are Crafters Companion, the circle die is CC Designs and the "weed" frond is a Martha Stewart border punch

Sentiment is LOTV Vintage Labels Set 28 with a slight adjustment with the letter F

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

As You Like It (DT)

Morning all.  As you might have twigged from the post title, I have been invited to join the Design Team of those super talented crafters over at As You Like It Challenge!

This is my first challenge for the team and the theme for this fortnight is

Paper or Non Paper Project

(and remember to tell us why you chose what you did)

Here is my first DT project

It wasn't a difficult choice for me, having tried many crafts over the years, some more successful than others, I have always come back to papercraft.  I love that you can create something so colourful and/or dimensional from a flat piece of paper!

I decided to have a go at making a perpetual calendar, which I did completely freestyle with no template.  It took the best part of a whole day to make but I am quite chuffed with the end result.

Papers used are all from the First Edition Sweet Owl pad, with the exception of the black card

Numbers done with Memory Box dies

Days with letters from a Clearly Besotted set

Months (cut down, they were too long otherwise) from a MFT Die-Namics die set

Flowers made with Woodware punches and an office hole punch

And some lace trim from my leftovers box

This challenge is sponsored by DIGISTAMP BOUTIQUE with a £10 voucher

digistampboutique.co.uk catalog

digistampboutique blogspot

So there you have it, do come on over and join in the fun - this challenge is wide open for you to make all sorts of projects, from a simple card through to a wedding cake (if you feel that ambitious!), it's all about your style of craft.

Hugs, Squirrel xx

I'm not Lion

Honestly, I'm not Lion.  Would I fib to you?

I've used the lion from the LOTV Faraway Friends mini stamps

The little tag is from LOTV Sentiment Tags - Set 24

(there's a nelliphant and a monkey too)

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Memory Box Corner Bow die

Martha Stewart leaf punch

My Favourite Things Wonky Windows die

Papers are an allsorts mixture of old Basic Grey and ancient Papermania

Hugs, Squirrel xx

Ready for the weekend

Morning all!  Have you heard the forecast for the weekend?  November weather at last, AND there is a chance of a flurry of the white stuff for us over here in the east ...... thermals at the ready!

I received some very welcome happy mail this week, and I could not resist getting this little fella inky immediately.

Isn't he just the most adorable?!

This is Winter Bunny from Roberto's Rascals at CC Designs

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Dies are Poppystamps/Memory Box Evergreen Landscape and Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillsides

The night sky paper was a scrap that was just laying on my desk

Matting layer is Bazzil Bling Raspberry

Sentiment from Sweet Little Sentiments set by Clearly Besotted

Well, that's me for today - I'm popping into town this morning once my hair is dry, and then this afternoon Rosie has a trip to the v.e.t for her six month check-up.  You may hear the screams about 2.15ish.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Pollycraft Candy (Before and After)

Morning all.  Cough cough splutter sneeze.  What a way to start a Monday.  Poor ol' Toad has been really poorly over the last few days with an absolute stinker of a cold, and the rotten meanie has passed it on!  

Anyhoo, some of you may have seen on Facebook on Saturday that we had an inky paws incident.  Here's the evidence.

I thought that I had positioned my elbow in an anti-Rosie place, but she can be a determined little devil.  So, she jumped up, over my arm, and front paw into the inks.  The picture shows Walnut Stain, but my craft bench and her white fur also showed more than a bit of Salty Ocean!  

I almost binned this to start again but a very encouraging blogging buddy convinced me that the image was saveable, and she was right (of course).

So, this is Candy from Pollycraft (CC Designs)

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Grand Merry Christmas from Memory Box

Scalloped circle from Tonic

Double stitched circle from MFT

Red card by Bazzil

Snowflake paper by BoBunny

Snowflakes by X-Cut Palm Punch

I may rename her Phoenix

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Remember remember the 10th of November

OK, so it's a little poetic licence, but hey, we don't want you to miss the date for the Lili of the Valley release of the cutest little folk and critters!

Self portrait time today:

This very simple little card uses the squirrel image from the Woodland Friends stamps

Isn't that such a cheeky face?!

Papers are the LOTV/Nitwits Enchantment pad

Sentiment from Personal Impressions

Image painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Scalloped stitched circle dies from Memory Box

Custom sized card base

Remember - 10th November - these guys are going to sell FAST!

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Special Offer

Calling all Lili fans, here is a date for your diary - from midday Wednesday this week, until Sunday, there will be a special offer over at Lili of The Valley on many, many yummy and delicious stamps!  There will also be a challenge running over on the Facebook page so make a date for Wednesday 14th October and come over and join in the fun!  

The Design Collective have been busy having a wonderful time making samples for you from the stamps that are going to be on offer and you will see these sprinkled throughout blogland and Facebook over the next few days.  If they don't tempt you into treating yourself to some of the stamps then you must have ice in your veins!

Here is my first sample card for the week:

The LOTV stamp used is Teddy With Penguin

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Papers used are LOTV Frosty Christmas and, just peeking through, Krafty Christmas

Lots of dies used for this one:  Tonic circular trellis set, Tonic classic circles, Memory Box Stitched Snowflake Circle Frame and Memory Box Twilight Snowflakes

And very subtle, between the trellis and the snowflake frame, there is a twinkle of Glamour Dust

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Take Two, well three really

Happy Monday y'all!  Oh, who am I kidding, it's Monday again, yadda yadda groan.  But enough of all that, there is Part II of the Lili Of The Valley Christmas release on the way, hurrah! 

If you have been taking notice of the Design Collective's sneak peaks you will know that the release is all about Trios.  There are six to collect:  Penguins, Snowmen, Elves, Santa, Reindeer and Robins - and I will let you into a secret too, if you collect them all, there is set of sentiments as well, bonus!

I was asked to do samples for the Reindeer Trio and this is my second outing with them.

LOTV Reindeer Trio stamps

Painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Papers are LOTV Frosty Christmas

Sentiment is Set 5 Christmas Circular Sentiments

Circle dies are Tonic

Memory Box Precious Snowflake (but I used the longer bow and string from Precious Stars)

Glamour Dust

6x6 card base

Hope the rest of your week is a good one folks.

Hugs to all

Squirrel xx

Sneak Peek 1

Guess what?!

There is another new stamp release from Lili of The Valley at the end of the month!  Whoop whoop!

You will be getting Part 1 of the Christmas release, AND a whole new batch of Fairies, in fact a whole year's worth, and I cannot begin to tell you how cute they all are.

As a member of the Design Collective, I was lucky enough to be assigned a Fairy to showcase for you, and here she is

This is November Fairy - isn't she just darling?

I have painted her with my beloved Distress Inks (ReInkers) with a smidge of Polychromos for her hair

Her wings have A Wink Of Stella which the camera hasn't picked up but which looks so pretty shimmering in sunlight so you will just have to trust me on that one

The papers, which made me think of fireworks, are all First Edition New Bloom

The sentiment is from LOTV Set 23 Girlie Banners, which I trimmed down to remove the curls

Stitched stars are from Memory Box, and the smaller stars are an X-Cut punch

My fellow DC pals have the other 11 Fairies to share with you, and some have the Christmas stamps, so there will be loads of sneak peeks for you to look out for over the next 10 days before the release.  Perfect amount of time for you to decide which ones to buy - it's going to be hard to choose, I promise.

Hugs to all

Squirrel (LOTV DC)

xx