Cats or Dogs (DT) As You Like It Challenge

Hello peeps, I hope this Thursday finds you well and that life is being kind to you.  We all need a little kindess.

There is a new themed challenge at AS YOU LIKE IT today, and that theme is Cats or Dogs (your favourite, but please tell us why).

I've had cats in my life since I was born, literally - Sam, the farm tabby, used to sleep under my pram in the garden and wouldn't let anyone near, he was a fierce guard cat!  I can't imagine being without one now, with their cuteness (when they want), their calming purrs, their antics, scheming, mischief, all in all life would be dull without a furry feline buddy.

For this bundle of fuzz, I have used:

MFT Birdie Brown - Cat-Astrophe stamps MFT-BB-104

and the matching dies

a mixture of MFT and Honey Bee papers

a Whimsy ribbon slider die

Two sentiments - one from the cat stamp set, the other from Personal Impressions

and, shockingly, a beautiful piece of rainbow organza ribbon from Fantastic Ribbons

Kittens all coloured up using Zig Clean Colour Pens

Our sponsor for this challenge is

POLKADOODLES

Looking forward to meeting all your furry friends!

Hugs

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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All The Cupcakes (DT) Dies To Die For

Morning all, here I am, on time for a change, and officially another year older than I was last week!

Let's face it, it doesn't matter how old you are, there is no better way to celebrate a birthday than with a great big cake (or lots of  smaller cakes).

And the lovely things used for this are:

MFT Clear Stamps - All The Cupcakes stamps MFT-CS-489

MFT DieNamics - All The Cupcakes dies MFT-1781

MFT Clear Stamps - Big Birthday Sentiments stamps MFT-CS-133

MFT DieNamics - Stitched CU Comp Vertical MFT-767

(I used the cover up die cut as a stencil for my background inking)

Vertical die has gone from website now, but the Horizonal one MFT-768 is still available

As mentioned above, I used the die cut as my stencil, and then inked up with Distress Inks and my Picket Fence brushes to get that soft marbled effect.

All the cakes were watercoloured with the Zig Clean Colour Pens.

We didn't do much for my birthday on the day, but we did take a trip to the seaside yesterday, got a fish and chip takeaway and sat down on the seafront to scoff it.  On the way back to the car, I caved in and got my first Costa Flat White in four months, it was like nectar!

Anyhoo, that's me for today, see you soon.

Hugs

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Summer or Autumn (DT) As You Like It

Here we are again, another alternate Thursday which brings a challenge from AS YOU LIKE IT.

This time our theme is Summer or Autumn (your choice, but please explain)

I'm not a huge fan of summer (surprising really as I was born slap bang in the middle of it, today in fact) as I struggle with the intense heat.  I much prefer the more mellow days of autumn, the warmth is kinder, the light is softer, and I love the rich tones of the foliage changing from green to gold.  I don't even mind the evenings getting shorter, it's nice to be able to close the curtains on the world and be safe and snug indoors.

I have used Playful Henry from CC Designs.  The stamp is no longer available but you can get him as a digi.

I stamped Henry and his leaves onto kraft card and coloured the leaves with Polychromos pencils.  I stamped Henry again onto watercolour paper, colouring him with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and Zig Clean Colour Pens, fussy cut him, and laid him over the previously stamped outline.

For the leaves, I got messily inky with some Distress Inks and then die-cut with some Lawn Fawn stitched dies.

The sentiment stamps are a Whimsy set.

Finally, some matting and layering with autumn tones of plain papers.

Our sponsor for this challenge is

CRAFTY RIBBONS

I do hope you will find time to come and join us.

Hugs

Birthday Bear (DT) Dies To Die For

Morning all (just)!  Today's lateness is easily explained, I had a surprise visit from a friend who was dropping off a birthday present, and as we haven't seen each other since March we had a socially distanced catch-up in the front garden.  It must have been entertaining for the neighbours as friend has quite a distinctive laugh, bless her.  It was certainly good to see her, and the urge for hugs was huge, but we were both very well behaved.

And on the theme of birthdays, Facebook asked me if I would like to do a fundraiser for my upcoming day - a bit eager I thought, as it was then still a week away, but what the heck.  I chose to raise funds for Cats Protection and I cannot say a big enough thank you to all who have donated so far, it's only been up for two days and I am already only £11 off target.  It would be lovely to burst that target into tiny pieces and benefit all those cats and kittens who so desperately need help.

Also on the theme of birthdays....

Lovely things used

Gerda Steiner - Birthday Bear stamp set

MFT Stencil - Mini Cloud Edges MFT-ST-100

MFT 6x6 paper - Summertime Polka Dots MFT-EP-65

The bear and the bird are separate stamps in the set (don't look too closely or you'll see the join) but they work so brilliantly well together!

All painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers).  The purple matting layer is just white card edged with a Copic - it was the closest match I could get to the Wilted Violet DI used on a couple of the bunting flags.

Anyhoo, that is me done for today so I am off to fry some sausages!

Hugs

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Strike Up The Band (DT) Dies To Die For

Morning all, I am getting later and later with my posts.  I had intended to do this last night, but then I started watching Vera and before you know it, I was snoozing in the armchair.  By the time the husband woke me up, it was time for bed, and too late for sitting down with a laptop!

Anyhoo, I've been wanting to use this stamp set again for quite some time, but was getting a bit flustered because when I bought it I didn't buy the die set (oh hindsight is a wonderful thing you know) and the watercolour paper that I normally use is too thick to cut happily with a craft knife.  However, I bought a new type of Bristol Board to try, so gave it a go.  It is thinner than the watercolour paper, and much whiter, which suited the rabbits, but the ink doesn't move around as well.  It is a bit of a compromise paper if I'm brutal.  However, it did mean that I could actually fussy cut the bunnies without crippling my hands, so that is what I did.

Ingredients used for today's make are:

MFT Birdie Brown - Strike Up The Band MFT-BB-93

MFT DieNamics - Collage Cover Up MFT-1257

MFT 6x6 papers - Positively Peppy MFT-EP-63

Looks like the MFT Graphic Grid paper has now been retired (sorry)

Bunnies are all watercoloured with Distress Inks (ReInkers) and sentiment was stamped with Bahama Blue Memento ink.

Hugs

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As You Like It Challenge (DT) Farm or Jungle

Thursday again chaps!

Here we go with a new challenge theme from the

AS YOU LIKE IT team.

This time around, the theme is Farm or Jungle

(and please please please tell us why you made the choice you did)

I was born and raised in the countryside, surrounded by farms and the usual collection of farm animals, cows, horses, sheep, pigs, chickens, and the occasional goat, so having them around me all the time, and probably influenced by televisions shows like Daktari, Tarzan, and Animal Magic, I found the exotic animals to be far more interesting than a black and white milk cow!

So I went off on a tangent, and created an urban jungle!

Lovely items used are:

MFT Birdie Brown - Sweater Weather On Safari MFT-BB-79

and the matching dies MFT-1599

MFT SY Kissing Booth MFT-SY-17

(didn't use the dies for this, fussy cut instead)

Clearly Besotted Build It Stencil

and a gallon of Distress Inks and Zig Clean Color pens

The winner of this challenge will be invited to guest design with the team for August!

Looking forward to seeing all your creations.

Hugs

Bring Out The Sunshine (DT) Dies To Die For

Yes, I know I am late, but the last three days of heat have taken their toll and my tail felt a bit limp this morning.  You would think that being a summer baby that I would love this time of year.  Don't get me wrong, I love the sunshine, I just really struggle with summer heat.  Anything over 20C and I am a mess!

Anyhoo, this little lady is perfectly dressed for summer.

Ingredients used:

MFT Birdie Brown - Bring Out The Sunshine stamps MFT-BB-71

MFT DieNamics Bring Out The Sunshine dies MFT-1521

MFT Birdie Brown - Sweet Birthday Wishes stamps MFT-BB-78

MFT DieNamics Sweet Birthday Wishes dies MFT-1589

MFT sentiment Delicious Birthday stamps MFT-LLD-35

MFT 6x6 paper - Positively Peppy MFT-EP-63

MFT Stencil Mini Cloud Edges MFT-ST-100

A weeny bit of paper piecing for her frock and all the other colouring is Distress Inks (ReInkers).  I apologise for the mess I made of the grass, it was a bit of an experiment.

Hugs

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Early Birds (DT) Dies To Die For

Going by the time and volume of the dawn chorus recently, there are a lot of early birds out there.

Most of them seem to be shouting their beaks off right under my bedroom window - there was one little chap this week who started before 4.00am (I know, I checked the time) and continued to CHEEEP for three solid hours.  Then, to add insult to injury, he popped up again during the day while I was working, sat in a shrub, mocking me while I tried to concentrate.  I have his card marked.

I wonder how many of these early birds may be having their breakfast?

Items used:

Whimsy Clear Stamps - Early Birds

MFT Background Stamps - Bundles of Blossoms

Painted with a mixture of Distress Inks (ReInkers) and Zig pens.

No worms were harmed in the making of this card,

Hugs

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(Psst.  The new Stamping Bellas are up for pre-order - check out those Gnomies!)

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As You Like It Challenge (DT) Stamp or Digi

Hello everyone (well ok, hello Annette and Faith 😏), welcome to another alternate Thursday and a new themed challenge from the AS YOU LIKE IT team.

This time our theme is Stamp or Digi (please explain your choice).

For me, it is always stamps.  Don't get me wrong, I have tried digis, and yes, I appreciate the convenience of storage, but for me (and this is very much my personal preference) they take away something of the creativity.  It might be something to do with working with computers in my day job and the urge to get away from the screen, but I thoroughly enjoy the rummaging through boxes, the choosing, the inking, the cleaning, the putting it away in a different box...... and I like to be able to play with the positioning of the stamped images as I am creating rather than walking away from the computer with it set in stone ink.  Call me old fashioned if you like, but it is definitely stamps for me.

So, for this little cutie, I ripped a hole in a sheet of paper to create the "splotch" and then gently inked it in Distress Ink Vintage Photo using one of my Picket Fence Blending Brushes directly onto the card base.

On watercolour paper, I stamped the elephant with his pen, and the separate pencil pot, coloured them up with Zig pens, fussy cut them, and fiddled with the position until I was happy enough to then stamp the "ink splat" and the sentiment in Memento ink.

Once that was done, I committed to gluing the two image pieces.

The elephant, pencil pot, ink splat and sentiment are all from the

Clearly Besotted - Little Notes stamp set

We have a lovely sponsor for this challenge and it is

DIES TO DIE FOR ONLINE STORE

Looking forward to seeing what you create!

Hugs

Say What? (DT) Dies To Die For

Morning all, how are you this morning?  For some, lockdown is starting to ease, but I am still safely tucked up at home, only venturing out once a fortnight for food.  Monday to Friday finds me nestled into the box room study which has become my home office, so I still very much look forward to my weekends!

Anyhoo, she's bright, she's sassy ...... are you ready?

Ingredients used:

CC Designs - Rockabilly Gals CCD-0128

Clearly Whimsy Stamps - Say What CWSS121

MFT DieNamics - Stitched Ric Rac MFT-1513

MFT Clear Stamps - Purrfect MFT-CS-388

MFT Purr-fect dies MFT-1503

MFT 6x6 paper - Spring Whimsy MFT-EP-61

I loved colouring up this one as I managed to purchase a couple of extra colours for my Zig collection, including Blush and Tea Rose, which will help with skin tone shading.  The husband has already been told that he will be adding to the collection for my birthday next month, LOL!

That's me for today.  Stay safe, whatever you are up to.

Hugs

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Saddle Up & Celebrate (DT) Dies To Die For

Morning all, I'm here today, in the saddle as you might say!

A little something for the boys for a change.

Yummy things used:

MFT Birdie Brown - Saddle Up & Celebrate MFT-BB-61

MFT Die-Namics Saddle Up & Celebrate MFT-1359

MFT Cling Rubber Stamps - Circle Celebration Background MFT-BG-114

MFT 6x6 Watercolor Wash

Lawn Fawn 6x6 Spiffy Speckles

I used an old MFT Die-Namics die set called Grassy Edges which has long retired but

you can still get the MFT Tall Grassy Edge die

Images watercoloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens - I admit it, I am in love with these pens, they make an ideal companion for colouring on the move (or even stationary, like I am mostly) as all you need is a waterbrush.

Yee haw!

Hugs

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Creating A Scene (DT) As You Like It Challenge

Thursday again peeps!  I'm not sure where the weeks are going, but I think the last time I checked the calendar it was only Easter.

Anyway, you know by now that alternate Thursdays mean a new challenge theme from the AS YOU LIKE IT team, and this time around it is to Create A Scene (Or Not) - the choice is yours, but please do remember to tell us about your preference.

I'm really lazy when it comes to creating scene cards - don't get me wrong, I will do them, but sometimes the faff required is more than I can face, so I do tend to make more subtle scenes, i.e. not much in them!

Ingredients for this simple card are:

CC Designs - Foxes CCD-0196

CC Designs - Create A Scene CCD-0148

MFT Birdie Brown - Greetings Galore MFT-CS-335

and lashings of Distress Inks (ReInkers)

I had trouble with the photo on this one, not sure what happened but the expose was off, and trying to tweak it so you can actually see it has caused the sky and foreground grass to fade to almost nothing.  Bah!

So, that's me done, but you will be wondering about the prize for the winner - one lucky person will get to be a Guest Designer with the AYLI crew for July!

Go on, go and get scene-ing.

Hugs to all (socially distanced of course)

Wish (DT) Dies To Die For

Hello peeps, a little later than usual but we have had huge excitement watching a shrub being removed!  Our house is one down from a junction, which makes getting out of our drive a little hairy at times as all the roads on the estate were designed to be curvy (intended to slow traffic, but really messes with visibility).  Our old neighbours decided that it would be a good idea to grow a hedge on the boundary of their garden, right alongside the junction - well, they weren't the most enthusiastic gardeners in the world, so the hedge got higher, and higher, and higher, until you simply could not see any cars waiting to pull out into our road, and they couldn't see us either because of the way the road bends.  The wife managed to get her own car hit when she was reversing out by someone coming round the corner who simply couldn't see her because of her own damned hedge.

Our new neighbours, who moved in a few months ago, have been slowly dealing with the garden and this morning I woke up to the sound of a chain saw and.......... yaaay the hedge has gone!  We can now see up the road and, more importantly, we can see the road junction, and people can see us, so no more holding your breath as you leave the driveway!

Anyhoo, today I have something very simple for you, and no coloured image in sight.

For this I have used:

MFT Essential Sentiments Stamp Set MFT-CS-137

MFT DieNamics Wish MFT-1273

Lawn Fawn 6x6 Knit Picky Fall LF1732

Sunny Studio 6x6 Summer Splash SSPP114

The stitched circle die is MFT DieNamics A2 Stitched Circle - I bought it from DTDF when it first came out, but the set wasn't on the website for long, so sorry about that.

Oh and yes, the Happy Birthday is heat embossed.

Hugs to all

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Please be aware that there may be a little delay in you receiving your order, Tracy is doing her best but is working alone until her sister is allowed to return to help with picking and packing the orders.  Be kind, be patient.

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Beary Special Birthday (DT) Dies To Die For

Hello everyone, wishing you all a happy bank holiday (UK) weekend!

OK, so I love teddies, and I love Birdie Brown, so this set is the perfect combination.

Actually, I think it was my first ever Birdie Brown stamp set and it started the journey down the slippery slope of got-to-have-them-all.  I didn't buy the matching dies at the time, and (oh hindsight is a wonderful thing) I wish I had because it has taken me forrrrrrrrrrrrever to get them, but they arrived last week and I am now a very happy little critter!

MFT Birdie Brown - Beary Special Birthday MFT-BB-36

and the matching dies Beary Special Birthday MFT-936

MFT Die-Namics Gift Shaker Window & Frame Dies MFT-1364

MFT Clear Stamps - Little Birthday Notes MFT-CS-465

Bear with balloon painted with Distress Inks (ReInkers)

Red card from stash

Ignore the patterned paper, I stole it from one of the Hubby's origami pads!

Hugs

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As You Like It Challenge (DT) Favourite Embellishments

Hello Thursday!  It's time for a newly themed challenge from

AS YOU LIKE IT

and it is Your Favourite Embellishments

(please explain your choice)

Most of you know that I prefer a clean and simple style, so embellishments are very few and far between, however occasionally, if an embellishment is called for, I prefer to use die-cuts or punched shapes as accents as they are more in keeping with my CAS style, for this one I have created a little fountain of stars.

So the ingredients for this are:

MFT Birdie Brown - Birthday Buds MFT-BB-099

and the matching die set MFT-1708

Lawn Fawn 6x6 - Really Rainbow Scallop LF1860

MFT Clear Stamps - Anything But Basic Birthday Wishes MFT-CS-274

I have watercoloured the images with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens.

Our sponsor for this challenge is

FANTASTIC RIBBONS

Looking forward to seeing all your lovely embellies!

Hugs