Hello Friends,

A quick post today, I wanted to share my last few Easter makes before taking a few days away from blogging...we are out to lunch today and.... tomorrow, I'm hoping we'll get some outdoors exercise, a nice long walk!

Last year I made some cute ducks from a Tilda pattern, I didn't have any craft fairs this year and barely had time to get the sewing machine out, but  I have been wanting to make this goose for a while: it could be an Easter or Christmas dec.

I displayed him on our table at brunch, placed over some golden eggs of course!

I'd also like to show you the last few Easter cards I made...the first one using the House Mouse Easter stamp and Tonic affections dies:

Two more of the create a scene style, this time using bunny dies.. 

 A final simple card using papers and stamps that were free with a magazine...

Finally a Tilda bunny...I started him a while ago and rushed to make the clothes, so when I get the chance he will be redressed!

Hope you all enjoy the rest of the weekend whatever you are doing! I'll be back in a few days,

Love and hugs
Carole X

WOYWW #304 - Wednesday 2nd April 2015

Hello Friends and WOYWW visitors!

Gosh, 1st April already and I promise not an April Fool insight on here I promise!

Well, it's been a while but I'm back with a WOYWW post! For those of you who don't know what this is, it's that time every week when we get to share what's on our desks courtesy of Julia and Stamping Ground   - click the link to find out all about it!

So what's on my desk this week?

Well, there are some water coloured sketches I've been playing around with for a  special project that I'm working on and will be posted in a few weeks time...and that's all I'm saying at the moment!

The mini album die will be making up the main part of the project...I'm just still deciding what to do with the cover...

 and as well as some CAS cards and Easter cards, my Annie Sloan workbook is tucked behind the art pad....I am a big fan of Annie Sloan chalk paint and 'Annie Sloaning' something is a bit of a buzz phrase in our house...well you can guess why!

Tom(my husband for new visitors) gave me the book one of my Christmas presents; it's  a place to put ideas, cuttings and record projects....

Last week I finally got around to putting photos of my first big furniture upcycle from last summer; an old desk we picked up for very little and I "Annie Sloaned' for use in our little summerhouse that I use as an outside craft area. I was thrilled when Annie looked at the photos on my blog and sent me a message...of course I've put that in there...I was pretty pleased with it for a first attempt at a furniture worker and I really enjoyed it.

Finally a few photos of one of the projects on my desk...a little Easter card. It's tiny, 4x4 inches square and made using kraft card. For the front I die cut a Spellbinders Scalloped Oval die and inked the edges with Shabby Shutters distress ink. I used a cute little die that one of my friends gave me as a birthday present for the images..it's 'Bunny Stuck in a Flower Pot' by Cottage Cutz, but the little bunny on the front is from a little set of bunnies by Impression Obsession and the leaf is from Spellbinders 'Sprigs'.

The main part of the card is inside, where I created a pop up using the bunny die, coloured with Promarkers...just  a bit of fun!

Thank you so much for stopping by, it's so nice to be sharing my desk again!

Love and Hugs

Carole X

TBT Challenge #7, Easter - Monday 30th March 2015

Hello Friends,


The current Throwback Thursday Challenge from Bibiana is to share a previously blogged Easter themed project. I looked back to last year, where I made lots of craft items - sewn and wooden hanging decorations, but very few cards...I chose this one to revisit for the challenge, made using a cute Mo Manning digital image.

This is the original post: http://8thwonderart.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/easter-card-craft-fair-sunday-16th.html

I do like the image, especially the very obliging dog!

I hope you all had good weekends? We could have done with a better start to summer in the UK, couldn't we?

Last week I had annual leave to use up before the end of March, so I was home. Tom was here a bit of the time, but mostly it was me and the hens, except Friday when I did go down to the office to check in with my volunteers and give them their Easter eggs!

Luckily it was a pretty pleasant week for weather and I even ventured into the craft barn one day. I had intended to do lots of little 'jobs' in the house, but it turned into a bit of a craft 'retreat', which I really enjoyed. It was nice to be able to spend more time on crafts I wanted to make, such as the watering can project, instead of being rushed, which I admit not liking..there's enough of deadlines at work!

One great part of the week, was spending more time with the hens, especially young Tilda, who has been very timid. I knew it was because we were 'forced' to get her in the dead of winter, soon after losing Bella, so I hadn't had much time to handle her and thus bond with her. Now she is finally following me and taking food from my hand and she joined in 'helping' Tom with some digging last week too. I took too long getting their evening corn treat ready one afternoon last week, that she actually flew up on to my back in protest!

Cara, after 4 years of not really much being bothered with contact (a very independent hen), has become my 'shadow'. Ok I know it's because she knows I will give in and let her have her favourite snack, a blueberry, but it is nice.

Enough of my waffle, this week I will be doing something I don't usually do and that is post most days, as I have quite a few Easter projects left to show you. Even with having a week devoted to craft last week and getting quite a bit done, I still have no idea how some of you post daily... I guess I am a very slow crafter!

I am entering this card in 

Bibiana's Throwback Thursday Challenge  #7 - Easter

Love and Hugs 

Carole X

Easter Chicks - Sunday 29th March 2015

Good Morning Friends,

Thank you for visiting, whether regular or a visitor, it's great to have you here! 

Thank you also for your comments on my bookmark, there was a bit of a fad to make these corner bookmarks a few years ago and I made a few back then, but when I received the die it, was the first thing I thought of making and it was a fun revisit, now I want to make some more...I did some sketches for a felt one in front of the TV last night!

We've had horrible squally weather this weekend, but I'm hoping it's just to get it all out of the way for a nice, sunny Easter, who knows!? At the moment it is so windy I had to put Cara and Tilda back in their run, they would far rather be scratching about in the garden, but it's for their own safety..hmmm...try telling that to a couple of hens!

Today's card, I want to enter in the current NBUS challenge and also this week's Allsorts Challenge where the theme is 'Feature a Creature'.

Have you see Kittie Caracciolo's cards? (http://kittiekraft.typepad.com/kittiekraft/)

I have long been an admirer of the lovely scenes she creates with dies, so I thought I would make a few Easter cards using this design idea. 

I gathered together the dies...all except the fence and borders are new and never before used: I either had them for my birthday (chickens and tulips} or bought them recently, just to gather a collection of 'useful' dies....

First of all I die cut all the pieces, everything except the fence was cut using white card. I used kraft card for the fence as it is quite delicate to completely colour: I simply inked it randomly with Vintage Photo.

Next I coloured all the die cuts: I used Promarkers for everything except the chicken and rooster, which I coloured with distress inks (except the combs and wattles, I did use pens on those). It's funny, remember I was sent those lovely Chameleon pens by my cousin in the US last year? I really really like them, but promarkers are still my go to pens..though to be honest, Chameleons are better suited to larger projects with lots of shading and colour variants.

I used a 6x6 card blank, the die cuts are small so would be lost on a larger card. I then created the aperture using Spellbinders Classic Squares and burgundy and very pale pink adorable-scorable card. Because there is a lot of colour, I wanted to balance this out by leaving the outer frame and background free of ink, I don't like to over do it with the inking on cards if I can help it. I used a pale blue card (adorable-scorable) for the background and left the die-cut sentiment (also new) white as well. I did try it in different colours but kept coming back to white.

These are the dies I used:

Spellbinders Classic Squares
Spellbinders Shapeabilities Sprigs...this is a 'pre-loved' die but new to me!
Spellbinders Wrought Iron Fence (I didn't have  a small enough picket fence so I improvised!)
Impression Obsession dies - Farmyard chickens: new
Spellbinders Die-Lites - I used the birds for the 'delightful tree' set, had it a while, first time used
Impression Obsession  -grass: new
Impression Obsession -Tulips:new
Impression Obsession - Easter Joy:new

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your Sundays,

Challenges to enter with this card:

NBUS Challenge #4 Anything Goes 

Allsorts Challenge week 304: Feature a Creature

Love and Hugs
Carole X