Sentiment focus at Christmas Card Club

 Hello there! Well its time for Christmas card Club again and this fortnight the focus is on the sentiment. I have made 5 cards using the same design - in slightly different colours....

My sentiment is rather sweet - and could cover more than Christmas I guess - the stamps are, I think, Hunkydory....or crafters companion - really not sure.

Mum has made 3 cards - 

They are from Crafters Companion, Sue Wilson and Julie Hickey.

Hope you have a good day!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Best Friends

 Hello there! I am returning to the Countryview Crafts blog today with the doggy entry for my challenge - its called Best Friends.

I've made this one using distress oxide inks saltwater taffy and crushed olive put through three different IndigoBlu stencils to create the background. The dogs are both from Crafty Individuals - I have kept them largely black and white except for the eyes and tongue - for which I used the pink and green from the background. I made this card with my friend Shelagh in mind - she used to look after a sheepdog on occasion and now has a cockerpoo (??) called Martha. 

Big hugs

Rachel 

Cats and/or dogs at Countryview Crafts

 Hello there - well first of May already - and its a very special one for me as I will be collecting my sister from the airport - first time we have seen her in 5 years so its long overdue! so excited!

Another exciting thing though is a new challenge over at Countryview Crafts - this month the theme is cats and/or dogs. Its my choice of theme - and on this first day of the challenge I have a twofer for you ...using a combination of TH cats and Lavinia mice plus a Lavinia stencil.

The cats and sentiments are from the Halloween snarky cat stamp set by Tim Holtz. The mice are from Lavinia and the stencil is also from Lavinia - you can find it here. I used distress oxide fossilised amber here. To make my card I first stamped the images in black versafine clair, then coloured the cats in using clean colour pens. I then masked this area off and applied the ink through the stencil to make a border above and below the image. 

I do hope you can join in the challenge - you will find it here.

Happy May!

Hugs

Rachel x

Clean and simple at Christmas Card Club

 Hello there! 

Well I am a day early for Christmas card club as I already had a post going out live tomorrow - so I thought I would just slip this one in. Its clean and simple this fortnight and I think this was my mums choice. My cards - very cas - and slightly wonky - featuring a stamp from IndigoBlu.

Just three of them this time - time seems to be ever elusive for me - must be the call of the hills!

My mums cards couldn't be more contrasting really! 

Sue Wilson dies

Crafters Companion embossing folder

Very lovely mum!

Looking forward to seeing what everybody else does!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

More Spring at Countryview Challenges

 Hello there! I am over on the Countryview Challenges blog again today where the theme for the challenge this month is Spring. This time I made a card using Spring flowers into a wreath ...

The central verse is from a stamp set by Alison Bomber - the flowers are all from Kay Carley and the buzy bees from a hobby art stamp set.

Big hugs for a happy Spring!

Rachel x

Cats and/or dogs at Christmas Card Club

 Hello there! Well I have thoroughly enjoyed this theme - and have 6 cards to share with you today - 3 cat cards and 3 dog cards!

First my cat cards - one stamped - and two recycled from last year! I think the stamped image is from Hobby Art - but I could be wrong. Its coloured in clean colour pens anyway! The top black cat I made the background then fussy cut the cat and added it to it. The bottom black cat came from a card from Katkin - where I get Shadow's food from! Now for the dogs ....

All basically the same - using an stamp from KatzelKraft - he's a very cute Daschund!

Now for mums cards - The first two are made using the very lovely Noof from Lavinia stamps - 

The last one uses an image from a Joanna Sheen CD.

So there you have our Christmas Card Club this fortnight!

Big hugs!

Rachelx 

Christmas embossing folders at Christmas Card Club

 Hello there! Well these fortnights truely role around quickly! This time the theme for the Christmas card club ladies is Christmas embossing folders - I made a real mess with my first attempts - so they went in the bin and I started again - reasonably happy with my makes this time - I used a crafters companion 3D embossing folder - and the verse is from a stamp set by Alison Bomber. 

I coloured the background using bundled sage DO and then used clean colour pens to colour the embossed parts.

My mums cards are much more exciting - Card 1 Tattered Lace embossing folders Sue Wilson die

Card 2 Tattered lace  embossing  folder Chocolate Baroque stamp

Card 3 Sheena Douglas's embossing folder

I hope you have a great Sunday - I am at work for another week whilst my children both finished on Friday - so going out tomorrow is going to be even more painful!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Spring is here - new challenge at Country View Challenges

 Hello there! Well March has passed me by and here we are onto April....and there's a new challenge starting at Countryview Challenges - this month we would like to see Spring like makes. For full details check out the original post here- you can link up your entry there too.

My card was made using bird stamps and sentiment from Hobby Art, a bit of drawing and a blossom bud/leaf stamp from Kay Carley at Paperartsy.

I started by stamping the birds then I drew the tree before adding the buds and leaves. Next I used distress oxide tumbled glass to colour the background. The rest I coloured in using clean colour pens.

I do hope you can join the challenge which you will find here .

Enjoy the Spring!

Rachel x

My niece is sweet 16!

 Hello there! Well its been a busy wee while - been doing lots of walking - did a 20 miler last weekend with my friend Anita - training for the Mighty Hike at Northumberland in July. Yesterday I did a 10 miler - part of the Lancashire coastal path walk that I| started in October. I'm doing that with my friend John - we try and manage a walk every couple of months! Other than that just busy with life really! And enjoying the glorious weather we've been having!

My niece is going to be 16 in April and I have made her a card using Noof - the newish stamp from Lavinia.....

I decided he looked like a bit of a tree climber - so there he is!!! I hope she likes him!!!

Some pictures from the last walk ...

This was the start of the walk - Knott End - looking over to the ferry on the other side at Fleetwood. We were going to do the ferry crossing there and back for completeness but the tide was out!!!!

This was walking on a concessionary pathway along a disused railway  bund near Preesal.

And this was almost back to the car at Cockerham!

A fine walk indeed!

Hope you have had a good Mothers Day!

hugs

Rachel x

sweet treats at Christmas card club

 Hello there - well these fortnights roll around fast don't they? Its time for Christmas card club and its Sweet treats this time out - I have used a pink Ink Designs stamp and made multiple cards of the same design.

I stamped the image and coloured using clean colour pens then cut it out using an hexagonal die. Next I used distress oxide to colour the outer of the diecut plus the card. I also diecut metallic card hexagons to use as mats.

Mums cards are both part os her drive to use up older hunky dory stuff - they look fab - well done mum!

Hope you have a great day!

Big hugs

Rachel x

More Flowers for mother's day

 Hello there! 

Well more flowers here today for the mother's day challenge over on the Countryview Challenges blog. This time I have used the same Kay Carley set as last time - but chose the muscari flowers. I love muscari - they were the main flower in my wedding flowers/invitations when I married Shaun many moons ago. 

I started this card by making the background - I used a lavinia stencil first of all and used distress oxide tumbled glass in the background - I think my sponge must have been dirty as it doesn't really look like tumbled glass. Then I used a Kay Carley stencil to stencil in some background muscari before stamping and colouring the main images. I used clean colour pens to colour the stamped images. 

There's still plenty of time to join the challenge - just link up here.

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Bells at Christmas card Club

 Hello there - well I'm running late - so this will be brief - its bells at Christmas Card Club today - I struggled to find a stamp so have gone anything goes with a stamp from Hobby Art,

My mum has been a good girl and done two cards using honeydoo stamps.

Will edit this later with my craft sale pics from a stall I ran yesterday!

Off walking now!

Hugs

Rachel x

Mother's Day at Countryview Challenges

 Hello there! Pinch punch its the first of the month! I can hardly believe its 1st March already! Wow - this year is fairly speeding away. Of course, being the first of the month means its time for a new challenge at Countryview Challenges and the theme is Mother's Day. My card doesn't say Happy Mother's day on it but it is one I will be sending when Mother's day rolls around at the end of the month. Luckily my mother in law doesn't look at blogs so its safe to post it here. 

I've made it using a stamp and stencil from Kay Carley of paperartsy. I used distress oxides in the background and coloured the image in using clean colour pens - I do rather like them - they blend so well! I also stamped an old Alison Bomber sentiment on my card.

I do hope you can join in this months Challenge. You could win a £20 voucher to use in store. 

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Penguins at Christmas Card Club

 Hello there! I do hope you have been keeping safe during this stormy weather - its certainly been awful hasn't it? Well I love todays theme - and it seems highly appropriate as my Penny (aka Penguino) has her 14th birthday today - so perfect!

I have made 6 cards for this fortnight's theme : My first two are duplicates using a stamp by Katzelkraft that I added some Christmas hats to. 

My next two use stamps from Hobbyart and backgrounds from Stamperia's Poles collection.

And finally two makes just using the Stamperia poles collection. 

Mums makes are all different - she has made this one using hunkydory items ...

This one using a woodware stamp ...

And finally this one using the Grumpy Penguins stamp from KatzelKraft - as above!

I hope you have a lovely Sunday! Big hugs and stay safe!

Rachel xx

Yellow flowers on a Spring day

 Hello there! I hope you are doing well! Time for some more flowers and hearts for the theme at Countryview Challenges this month. This time I have been enjoying doing some masking and using a variety of Chocolate Baroque Floral stamp images plus a background stamp from Crafty Individuals. The Colouring was done using Clean colour pens.

To make my card I first drew and cut out a heart shape - then drew around it onto a card blank three times in a stack. I then created three heart masks and also an outer mask to cover the outside of the card whilst I was stamping the hearts. Then I stamped the heart images, starting with the central one, masking the outside and the lower and upper hearts, then repeated the idea with the top and bottom hearts. The final stamping was done with all three hearts covered and the outside exposed for the text stamping. I coloured the images using clean colour pens and then added the sentiment.

Hope you have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel xx 

Gifts at Christmas card Club

 Hello there! Well its time for the first February outing of our Christmas card Club and the theme this time is gifts. So I made three using a die set from Tim Holtz and then two others from recycled Christmas Cards.

Sylvie you should recognise the recycled one on the left as you sent it to me!!!

My mum made three cards too using hunky dory toppers.

Hope you have a great Sunday!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Hearts and Flowers at Countryview Challenges

 Hello there! Well its already time for a new month and that means another challenge at CountryView Challenges - and the theme this month is Hearts and Flowers. For my first make I've gone all Chocolate Baroque on you and used IndigoBlu Flake for the stamps.

I thought I would make a flower shape from 4 hearts ...do you think it worked? 

To create each one I stamped the image in flitterglu then rubbed over the flake before using a sponge to remove the excess.

I hope you can join this challenge!

There's loads more inspiration from my friends and you can link up ....Remember, the prize is £20 to spend in Susan's wonderful shop! But please make sure your make includes both hearts and flowers.

Have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel

Final post for Chocolate Baroque

 Hello there! Rachel here for my final post as a regular DT member - its been a pleasure working on this team but I find myself moving in a different direction and heading off on a different road! I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint in any way I can - and that includes reducing my purchases of crafting items. I will continue to make purchases but hopefully they will decrease - and I will get time to use all the wonderful stamps I already have. 

These small stamps can be used in so many ways - as the other DT member have already shown this month - here's a couple of ideas from me..... simple stamping to create a wreath....

masking off the card to produce a stamped border ...

And using stamping and stencilling together to create a tag.

Have a great day!

Thanks for your time!

Rachel x