New this week 10th April

The countdown to Easter is on what kind of cards do you send , cute springtime cards or those with a religious feel.

Easter with a fun hidden bunny flower colour change or change of bunny colour can make this card personal to you or maybe you'd prefer just the flower pot or just the bunny and a different embossed card pattern or maybe a plain card so many choices how will you personalise yours.

Find in other occasions

 Easter with a fun hidden bunny flower colour change or change of bunny colour can make this card personal to you or maybe you'd prefer just the flower pot or just the bunny and a different embossed card pattern or maybe a plain card so many choices how will you personalise yours.

Find in other occasions

Gold foil and soft pastels for a springtime card . 

Add a sentiment in gold on a tag , on the card or even on,a vellum wrap.

Find on the butterflies page.

A clean and simple feel to this gold foil card would you add a

 ribbon and tag to send your special message or perhaps a

 vellum overlay wrap.

Find in the butterflies page.

Silver foil and soft pastels on this card ,a simple hello or maybe

 a birthday wish the choice is yours.

Find details on the butterfly page.

A touch of the exotics for the next 3 cards ,add a sentiment of your choice in a

 co-coordinating colour or maybe add a gold or silver for more wow factor to send you good wishes.

Find details on the flowers page

A touch of the exotics for the next 3 cards ,add a sentiment of your choice in a

 co-coordinating colour or maybe add a gold or silver for more wow factor to send you good wishes.

Find details on the flowers page

A touch of the exotics for the next 3 cards ,add a sentiment of your choice in a

 co-coordinating colour or maybe add a gold or silver for more wow factor to send you good wishes.

Find details on the flowers page

Finally a commissioned card I can now share.If you love the image but for a different occasion and would prefer in different colours just message me to discuss details.

New this week April 1st

Mother's day is over and the next event is Easter, do you prefer religious Easter cards or those that depict Easter bunny or spring time.

Find in 'Other occasions' 

Find in 'flowers'

Find in 'Baby cards'

find in 'Butterflies'

find in 'flowers'

Find in 'Other Occasions'

Find in 'Weddings'

New this week

Find details in 'Girls and Ladies'

SOLD

Find details in 'Girls and Ladies'

Find details in 'Engagement and Anniversary'

Find details in 'Magical wishes'

Find details in'bugs and things with wings'/'Other

 occasions '

Find details in 'Butterflies'/'Girls and Ladies'

/'Flowers'

Find in 'Other occasions '

Find details in 'Other occasions' 

New hobby

Crafter's Companion have some fab fabric paints and I decided to treat myself. I've done silk painting before and love all the effects you can create so when I saw Pebeo fabric paints and big stamps from Sheena Douglas I had to have a dabble

I love butterflies and though its suggested that when painting clothes its done before the garment is made up so the fabric is lovely and flat for painting on I decided to jazz up a pair of jeggings .

I started with a butterfly on one of the back pockets ,stamping the outline by using some of the white fabric paint as ink, it worked ok but I wasn't overly convinced. I went for purple and yellow for this butterfly .

My confidence bolstered I decided to have a go at several butterflies on one of the legs. Using the white paint as ink was harder here, in fact I can understand why it's recommended to paint before clothing is made, stamping over seams doesn't work well but overall I think it looks ok. Must admit I've only been brave enough to wear the jeggings to slimming club so far but who knows.

I decided some of the images would benefit from being inked again in a darker colour so I experimented with Versafine and Stazon and despite both saying not suitable for fabric stamping the jeggings have been washed several times and the ink lines are still in place and the garment hasn't fallen to bits, but I have since bought a fabric ink from Crafter's Companion Threaders range but as yet I haven't used it.

Excuse the loo in the background but the bathroom is the only full length mirror I have.

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

613 Ave create - anything goes optional twist critters

(hope butterflies count as a critter)

Addicted to stamps - anything but a square

Time out challenges - a little bit retro 

(hope my leggings have a 60's feel)

Penny's -anything goes

Crafty creations - anything goes

Paint yourself

This cute artist was a freebie from whimsy and she was such a delight to colour and the perfect image to go with one of my favourite word stamps. I have several of these sentiments  all sayings from children. I guess they have a special place in my heart as I use to be a children's nurse  and love the innocence and honesty children come out with.

I decided I wanted to keep my card pretty simple and wanted to experiment with my new acquisition of distress inks. I know I'm behind the times but hey ho. I created my background and then stamped my sentiment onto the background . I coloured my little artist with promarkers and then fussy cut her out.I attached her to the background I'd created and then attached the background to a white base card.

I think this would make a fun get well card or just a cheer up card for someone , I think it would bring a smile to anyone's face.

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

the corrosive challenge- anything goes

A place to start - inspirational

The paper shelter - letters and or numbers

Shopping our stash - make your mark

Lemon shortbread - anything goes

Ring a ring of butterflies

My original idea was to make a circle of butterflies but decided it looked rather over kill so went for a much simpler design. The butterfly stamp is from a Threaders set by Sheena Douglas for Crafter's Companion coloured with Promarkers and cut out bu hand.

The gold circle is cut in mirri card and was actually waste from a create a card die I made a while ago and forgot to post.

I used a white square base card, added the gold circle then simply stuck the butterflies around the circle evenly.

No sentiment as yet but think a small sentiment in the middle would finish nicely and it could be for birthday, mother;s dat or even thank you, will definitely be using this design again as it was super quick to create once I had the elemnets and I think is quite stunning in impact.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges;-

I love promarkers - anything goes

crafty creations - anything goes

addicted to stamps and more - CAS

CAS on friday - butterflies

passion for promarkers - make it feminine

colour crazy challenge - anything goes

try it on tuesday - inspired by a song

My final housemouse and friends guest designer challenge

In the UK school is still several weeks away from breaking for the summer but in the home country of the House mouse and friends they are already thinking of the days they return back to school so that is the challenge this time around but as always there is an anything goes option so everyone can play along.

I love my garden but in the last couple of years mother nature has been my garden designer as we have  been concentrating on sorting my sons garden and then I had a shoulder injury that has meant I haven't been able to compete with mother nature and her love of dandelions in my garden is only too evident, so for me this house mouse stamp represents my garden in summer. 

I decided to use an embossing folder on my card which is simply embossed and tinted with aqua pens and silver guilding wax. My mouse I coloured with promarkers and then fussy cut him out before attaching to the image and adding some small dashed lines as on the stamp for his 'puff'.

I die cut the embossed image and simply added that to an card base that had been coloured with yellows distress inks so I'm dreaming of a warm summers day. The sentiment just sums up my card as ,much as I don't like all the work the dandelions cause me as Eyeore says weeds are flowers too its just that they aren't where you want them and they do add colour and wildlife too so they can't be all bad.

I finished the inside of my card with the original image stamped and coloured with water colour pens but somehow the mouse on the card front looks bigger.

I would like to thank Christine and the team at Housemouse for giving me the opportunity of being guest designer and wish whoever is the next guest designers well and hope they have just as much fun as I have had. Please pop over and join in the fun you never know what might happen it could be you.

Floating in the air

Time for another House mouse and friends challenge and my penultimate guest designer card. I wanted to do something a little bit different and challenging for me anyway so here is what I came up with. 

I used a diesire create a card easel die to create my card but my challenge was to use acetate , well actually clear recycled packaging. I cut out the card pieces so I had a white card base and the bits for the easel were in acetate. I used the matting dies from the set to create a white bric- a -brac edging ti frame my finished image which of course for a house mouse challenge is some super cute mices.

I stamped the image onto the acetate using stazon and let it dry. I then used some water colour pens and mixed the ink with some pva glue on a piece of glass from an old picture frame for my mixing palliate and then painted my image from the back so the colours didn't obscure the printed image. I then left it to one side and crossed my fingers that when it dried it would have the effect I hoped for and thankfully it did.

I used pva glue to stick the acetate together and to the card and I love how it turned out. The sentiment is cut in purple mirri- card and the flowers are stamped and fussy cut before being shaped and stuck into position to hold up the easel.

Now I expect there will be lots of entries for this challenge as who doesn't make cards for birthdays and there is always the anything goes option if you are birthday card making filled so no excuses to pop along and join in.

Mousey die challenge

 I can't believe it's time for another challenge over at house mouse and friends challenge.

The challenge this time around is as always anything goes  and the optional theme this time is to use dies. 

When I make cards I like to try and make them with a recipient in mind and as I have quite a few family birthdays coming up it was easy to find inspiration.

I used this fun stamp of some cute wee mousey friends getting into the party spirit  and helping each other to a tipple  from the dregs of a martini glass.

I used a couple of dies on this card ,the first I used is a background die from memory box cut into pale blue centura pearl card I love this die as the die gives so much as you can use both the positive and the negative so no wastage.

I decided on a shaker card just to add to the party feel and used a couple of circle dies to create my window and frame before layering the dies and acetate to create the shaker and topping with the stamped image which once coloured I'd fussy cut.

Now I said there's no wastage with the background die so my sentiment inside the card shows just how that works and just finishes the look as its perfectly colour co-ordinated.

Hope you can all join in the fun mixing your dies with those super cute mices and can't wait to see what you all come up with.

Lots of pots

I can't believe how time flies by and this is already the time for another house mouse challenge guest designer card for me, its been such fun.

The challenge this time is flower power . I decided that this time I could use one of the few house mouse stamps I have, this cute mouse taking a rest beneath a daisy, my favourite flower. I always imagine he's taking respite from a blazing hot summer sun ,wishful thinking I guess but you can always dream of a red hot summer in the UK they do happen occasionally.

I decided to use a die to create my base card one I think is rather clever,well its several dies really as its a diesire create a card die. There are several different versions that can be  created but for my card I went with an open lace look in cream card.

The circle that is the central focal point of the card I used to place my image. I decided to create a stack of pots to add depth to the scene by stamping the pot part of my image 3 times and slotting the images into each other once coloured to crate the stack.

The images are all coloured with promarkers and spectrum noir alcohol markers and fussy cut out, I used pointalism technique to add a shadow around the images which just add a little more depth and also ground the scene I created too.

No sentiment as that can be added as appropriate to either the cut out design or to the reverse of the circle the image is on.

So hop along the the challenge and join in the fun.

If geeks are square how come they change the world?

Huge apologies to all at House mouse and friends for this not posting on time but I did think I had scheduled it but obviously I missed pressing a button and haven't been around to check as my son had been in hospital and on the day of his discharge I had a phone call to say I could have some surgery the following day on a cancellation that I had been waiting for so please forgive me and hopefully things will get back to normal now.

House mouse and friends Guest designer challenge 3 and for this challenge  I used another decoupage to create my version of 'Lets be square'.

When I was at school many moons ago those who did a lot of study or those who were just clever were called squares, I guess the interpretation was that they didn't know how to have fun, I suppose an updated version of 'square' is now known as 'geek' funny how names change with generations but really just mean exactly the same thing. I often wonder if those who do the name calling ever realise that the same peeps they called for being studious or clever are the ones that often go onto university and then get called names for being party animals or lay abouts' but later get well paid jobs and are often the innovators of changes to our world. If I were given the choice I think I'd like to be a clever square or geek.

Enough philosophising and onto my card. I used a white base card which of course had to be square. I created a background by doodling some mathematical equations ,alphabet and quotes that I dragged from the back of my brain and randomly added to the card.

I cut the image on a square of the decoupage paper and built up the layers so the cute studious mouse is truly the central focus of the card. 

I added one of the fun sentiments which I thought turned the card into a fun card for my neighbours daughter when she moves to secondary school in September(just got to put it somewhere safe till then).

Clean and simple but still fun and quirky.

Why not pop across to the House Mouse challenge blog and join in the fun yourselves, how will you interpret 'Let's be square'?

Guest designer challenge 2 for house mouse and friends

Welcome to my 2nd post as a HMAF guest designer hope you are all going to join in by popping across here.

The challenge this time is lets eat, and I chose to make the earliest festive card I think I have ever made using one of the CD images. I think these wee mice eating candy canes or as we would call them in the UK peppermint canes are so cute and as the weather here has been a mix of wintery and Spring it was easy to make on one of the dull and dreary days and believe it was a dull November .December day not early April when I made it.

I mounted the image on gold mirri-card for my focal image.

I decided to keep my colour palette simple and used a white base card dressed with some red patterned mirri-card offset against some embossed white centura pearl card embossed with snowflakes using a crafter's companion  3D embossing folder. 

I didn't add another sentiment as the canes the mice are eating

 spell the word JOY  so I didn't think it needed anything else.

Hope you'll all pop along to Housemouse and join in the fun

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:-

Fab n funky - cute critters

A bit more time to craft -anything goes