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Addicted to CAS #229 Craft

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Welcome to a new challenge at ATCAS and our hostess with the mostest Ceal has chosen craft as her code word.

So many ways you can go with this one, sewing, knitting, painting, card making, so why was it so difficult for me! mainly because I don’t have any of the related stamps, dies, etc but eventually came up with this.

I can’t say it’s one of my most favourite cards, and even though I love this die, it’s from the I dance by spellbinders series I’m just not happy with my card. The lady holding the glue bottle’s little legs move from side to side, so much fun

I eventually had my cast removed this week only to have my wrist put in a splint for the next few weeks it’s extremely painful and worse than the cast but at least I can now have a proper shower.It’s left me feeling sorry for myself as I was convinced I would be back to normal as soon as it was removed apparently broken wrists take a long time to heal and it really has dampened my crafting mojo as I can still only use one hand.

I was so happy to be chosen as an honorable addict over at Addicted to stamps and more for my giraffe card that certainly lifted my spirits and I look forward to getting back to two-handed crafting in the next few weeks.

Happy little stampers are asking us for anything goes with dies

As I haven’t used this die before I’m entering into the NBUS challenge#42

Do pop over to ATCAS my team mates have made some incredible cards and we look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Take care

Marie

Addicted to CAS #228 Birds

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Hello to one and all. Today is a special day for me as I’m hosting my first-ever challenge at ATCAS and the theme I have chosen is birds. I just love the little cutties and over the past few months I have accumulated quite a few of them and even a couple of doves decided to lay their eggs in one of my jasmine trees.

It was fun watching them grow and yesterday they decided it was time to leave the nest. To be honest I felt very anxious as the weather was horrendous but they didn’t go far and momma bird is keeping an eye on them.

On to my card, as this is ATCAS I’ve kept it quite simple Mr. P even asked me if I had finished it !!! The nerve !!

Concord and 9th Eclectic Garden dies, such a beautiful set there are two gorgeous birdies right and left facing and I really did want to use both but for the sake of cas ness only one made the cut. A touch of distress oxide and a couple of gold blobs (I couldn’t help myself) plus the fantastic Mr.Holtz’s sentiment stickers and I was done. I’m finding it a tad difficult using only one hand and can’t wait for the plaster to come off It really is still quite painful and I have another couple of weeks before it is removed.

I was so fed up with my plain plaster cast and my annoying little sister Kal kept urging me to jazz it up so this is all I could manage with the help of Mr.P of course.

I do hope you will join us at ATCAS the DT have some amazing cards to inspire you and I know you all have a least one little birdie in your collection..

Take care

Marie

Addicted to CAS #227 Pink

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Time for a new challenge over at ATCAS the fabulous Helen is our hostess this time around and she has chosen the code word Pink. I love pink and found it very difficult to come up with a card because I love it so much. For my card, I used this pretty Coneflower die by Honey Bee stamps which was coloured with Distress Oxide inks in Picked Raspberry and Kitsch Flamingo, the same colours were sponged inside the aperture and liberally sprayed with water and moved about with my heat gun. The pink hot foiled dot circle is by Spellbinders, the sentiment is a sticker by Mr. Holtz popped up with a little foam and not forgetting some clear Nuvo drops hither and thither on the coneflower.

We do hope you will join us at ATCAS the design team has come up with some beautiful cards to inspire and delight and I look forward to seeing your cards in our gallery.

I had a fantastic few days with my girlfriends in Halkidiki Greece they thoroughly spoiled me we had so much fun and hope to meet up again at Christmas if we aren’t in lockdown by then! I’m off again in the next few days with another dear friend as my boss ( the hubby) has given me six weeks off until my cast comes off. I have a doctor’s appointment this week to see how the broken bones in my arm are healing and hopefully, the cast will be off in the next few weeks which will make my life a whole lot easier.

Take care

Marie

Die Cuts Galore!

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Just popping in with a super quick post as I’m off to my summer house as I have girlfriends arriving from the UK and Australia for our annual weekend by the sea”The Balcony Girls” as we like to call ourselves haven’t been able to all get together for three years because of covid. Having a broken arm doesn’t help matters as I love to cook and take care of everyone, this time round I will with all difficulty have to let others take care of me, and being the bossy so and so I am it might be another three years before I see them again.

On to my card……

The gorgeous giraffe die is from Mr. Holtz’s colorize series I’m absolutely loving them even though there are some tiny weeny and I mean weeny pieces that tend to go missing and then turn up once I have cut them out again. My pink giraffe was coloured with distress oxides in kitsch flamingo and picked raspberry. The florals are from Spellbinders Be Bold Blooms set I love this set but once again there are some tiny pieces well actually they are all quite small and I had to cut about 100 flowers before I got the colour combo I liked. Luckily enough this card was made before I broke my arm as I would never have managed it. It’s been sitting on my desk waiting for the right challenge to come along. The wonky sentiment is also Spellbinders from sentiments by Yana Smakula hot foiled in gold.

Addicted to Stamps and More #435 are asking us to use die cuts or stencils

Inspiration Station #35 are asking us to use the photo below “Animal Kingdom” I was inspired by this photo seeing all of the animals living in harmony together.

This is a photo collage

Happy Little Stampers Anything goes with Dies

Well, that’s all from me as I have to go and give the very patient Mr. P packing instructions for my trip , this broken arm business does have some benefits wink wink.

Take care

Marie

Addicted to CAS # 226 Tropical

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Hello lovely crafters, I’m back after a little break, well two breaks actually and both in my left arm after a fall during mine and a dear friend’s joint birthday celebrations, and no I wasn’t dancing on a table before you ask. A young man bumped into me on the dance floor and knocked me flying. All night in the emergency room and a plaster cast for six weeks will make this birthday one to remember. The previous week I had excitedly accepted a DT spot at Addicted to CAS one of the first DT’s I had been on many years before and was devasted at the thought of not being able to carry out my duties. Luckily our lovely leader Kylie was very understanding I’d already made a card for this challenge and my right arm is fine so here I am happily taking part in my first challenge at Addicted to CAS as part of this exceptionally talented team. The code word for the next fortnight is Tropical and was chosen by the very talented Vicky.

I used the Tim Holtz Under the Sea Colorize die for the dolphin, Broken China distress oxide for colour. Altenew waves embossing folder for the background and Nuvo Crystal Drops for the bubbles. The sentiment is also by Mr. Holz I thought it fitted quite well with my dolphin.

Do pop over to Addicted to CAS we would love to see your tropical creations and the DT have some amazing cards to inspire and delight.

In other news, I was so happy to be chosen as Top Sister over at The Sisterhood of Crafters for my butterfly card and Design Team member pick for my Dragon card which really did help ease the pain.

Wishing you all a fabulous weekend

Marie

Butterflies, Dragonflies, and Bees

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Hello lovely crafters I hope you are all well and are managing to escape the tremendous heatwave that is sweeping across Europe. Living in Greece the summers are generally very very hot and to be honest, I’ve never gotten used to the high temperatures so I feel for you all especially those of you in the UK and my lovely little sister Karen from Crafting With Mabel who is suffering the extreme highs.

On to my card…..I noticed that The Sisterhood of Crafters is having a fun challenge they are asking us to make cards incorporating butterflies, dragonflies, and bees or all three.

Happy Little Stampers are also asking for cards using dies and anything goes so here is my “anything goes”

A bit of a close-up here for those of you who are suffering like myself with “bloggers blindness”.

I absolutely adore the ovalish die aperture but for the life of me, I don’t remember who makes it as I threw the packaging away and no one seems to know its origin.

I’m in a bit of a quandary as I’m not sure if the star of the show is a butterfly or a kind of dragonfly Mr. Tim Holtz calls it a funky insect but isn’t specific. If Vicky from Crafting Claire happens to pop in I’m sure she will know as she has proven to be a fountain of knowledge on more than one occasion. Anyways my “funky insect” was coloured with distress Oxides and then splashed with water and layered with foam. I made a shaker card adding sequins and some lovely Dp that I had in my stash which just so happens matched perfectly with the “funky insect”. The sentiment is from the Tim Holtz Metalic Sticker Book, I just love those stickers great value for money and so much easier than stamping.

I do hope you will pop over and visit The sisterhood of Crafters and Happy little Stampers as they have some fabulous cards in their galleries and the design teams have outdone themselves

Wishing you all a cooler/warmer next few days

Take care

Marie

Birthdays!

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I’m happy to be back after a few week’s break whilst refurbishing my holiday home and was pleased to learn that my previous card was chosen as top three over at The Sisterhood of Crafters for their pink challenge.

I also had a week’s holiday in the UK staying with my crazy sister from Crafting with Mabel, oh what a time we had mainly crafting and shopping for crafting supplies. I was able to bring back lots of goodies that I can’t get here in Greece, my suitcase was full to the brim it was a close call as to whether or not I would leave my clothes behind but decency prevailed.

July just so happens to be my birthday month so when I saw that Addicted to Stamps and More’s challenge this month was Birthdays then I just had to take part.

I just love this dragon die it’s from the Colorize series by Tim Holtz I had so much fun even if it did take forever to make. I’m wondering if the dragon is giving the little birdie the egg as a present or is it the birdie giving the dragon the egg to keep warm, what do you think?

The background was created with distress inks splashed with water, Dina Wakely’s gloss acrylic was sprayed over the top although you wouldn’t know it was gloss from the photo. Another Tim Holtz die for the cactus and distress inks used to colour both the dragon and cactus. The sentiment is from Spellbinders hot foil range and the little birdie has fallen out of its packet so I don’t know who it’s by.

I’m also entering into The Critter Crazy Challenge who are asking for real or imaginary critters as its feature.

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies is up and running so am entering there also.

https://2craftycrittercrazies.blogspot.com/2022/07/challenge-64-anything-goes-with.html

I do hope you are all well and look forward to catching up with you all but in the meantime do pop over to the above blogs as they have some amazing cards to inspire us.

Take care

Marie

Pink

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Hello lovely crafters am here with a quick post as I’m off for the weekend, the sea is beckoning and I’m looking forward to a swim in The Med.

I was excited to learn my card from my previous blog post was chosen as one of three favourites over at Happy Little Stampers and I’m here again to take part in their new challenge Anything`Goes with Dies.

This beautiful paintbrush die is courtesy of Vicky Papaioannou for Spellbinders, so many interesting dies in the set, and so many possibilities. The bristles I cut several times and layered colouring with Distress Oxides. The leaves were sprayed with Dina Wakely’s media gloss which was also used for the ink splatters. The butterfly is from Pinkfresh Studios hot foiled,stenciled with Distress Oxides, and layered with vellum. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz’s Ideology stickers and not forgetting the little gold blobs as they have been nicknamed also from Pinkfresh Studio I really enjoyed making this card it took a while as there are lots of processes but I’m very happy with the end result.

I’m also entering into NBUS as this is the first time out for the paintbrush die and The Sisterhood of Crafters who are asking us to Think Pink, this is my first time playing along with them and I think I have a fair bit of pink on here.

Do pop over and check out the galleries lots of lovely inspiration and the DT’s have outdone themselves.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Take care

Marie

Red, Black, and White.

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Well, what a week last week was !!!!!!! Not only did my little sister Kal at Crafting with Mabel get showcased over at Happy Little Stampers with her first-ever card but I too was showcased at Less is More and was Chic of the week over at Just Us Girls. needless to say, both sisters were very happy indeed.

So here I am again with another card for Just us Girls, it’s colour week this week and they are asking us to use Red, Black, and White.

Sounds simple, three colours what could go wrong? Plenty if you’re me I took all day to make a card and at the last minute decided against it so here is it’s replacement.

Super simple as you can see, I used my Cameo to cut the image and swiped Rocket Red Archival ink onto white card stock, I cut a few pieces of black card and gave the gentleman hair, and the lady shoes and a frock. I did in retrospect feel I should have given the gentleman something to wear, a pair of shorts at least I mean the lady is wearing mitts and he only has his hair to keep him warm!!

The panel was popped up with doubled sided foam for dimension and a couple of stick pins for a little something-something cos basically it looked a little plain.

Mr. P said they looked like they were walking the red carpet !!!? so I added a touch of red

And here’s the card that didn’t make the cut it’s not bad I just couldn’t make my mind up which I preferred so I’m entering this one into Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies Challenge and NBUS as it’s the first outing for this die.

I love this Altenew die,I used three layers of white card for dimension and two layers of red for the paper piecing but I felt something was missing a sentiment just seemed to take up too much space so I left it blank.

Do pop over to Just us Girls the lovely and talented Mac is the guest designer for the month of April and once again she and the Design team have fabulous cards to inspire us.

Happy Little Stampers and NBUS have some amazing cards in the gallery so make sure you pass by there too.

For all those who celebrated Easter I hope you had a fabulous time, here in Greece we celebrate next week so am looking forward to another swim in The Med weather permitting of course.

Take care

Marie

Alcohol Ink and Foil

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Hello lovely crafters hope you are all in fine fettle, I myself am in super-duper fettle as I had my first swim of the year in beautiful Halkidiki Greece where I have a summer home. The water was a tad cold, well freezing actually but it was fabulous, I’m back home today as the temperature has dropped to 16 so defo no swimming for me.

I’ve been waiting for weeks now to take part in a challenge over at Just Us Girls I’ve been so impressed by the DT and the quality of cards in their galleries. I’ve been biding my time waiting for the opportunity to join in and seeing their latest challenge Alcohol Ink and Foil I just had to take part.

So I decided to make it difficult for myself by using alcohol ink on acetate and then hot foiling on top. I was worried that the acetate might melt, no problem there, but as you all know trying to photograph acetate is a nightmare as you can see below.

I used a lovely memory box die to cut the heart, Ranger Mojito, and citrus inks with a splash of ink blending solution,(sounds a bit like a cocktail)minus the ink blending solution of course. I used the Tim Holtz puffy contraption to blow the inks hither and thither.Ten goes later and a full bin of acetate left me with this green affair.I used spellbinders dotted circles hot foil plates on top of the acetate double-sided foam was added for dimension and Pinkfresh studio gold blobs were placed underneath the acetate,looks like they are on top but they are under and look lovely in real life. Once again I have used Yana Smakulas hot foil sentiment and banner, I really must find an alternative I’m getting very repetitive.

Do pop over to Just us Girls as the DT have outdone themselves and the lovey and talented Mac from The Sweetest of Peas is the guest designer.

Wishing you all a fabulous week

Take care

Marie