'Welcome' Twin Boys

I was recently asked by a good friend and neighbour, if I could make two

identical 'Welcome' cards for his twin nephews.

His sister and her husband have adopted identical twin boys

who are just eight months old and they became their parents yesterday.
Mark asked if I could make something with a jungle theme, and this is what I came up with.

The animal stamps I used were a free gift on a craft magazine,

and I found a tutorial on them on CRaFTi PoTeNTiAL YouTube channel HERE

which I 'cased'

For those of my crafty friends who know me well, stamping is not something I do very often,

apart from stamping a sentiment! I have to say with the help of my Misti,

I produced these two cards quite easily and which I am really pleased with.

I even added a bit of free hand drawing!

There were 20 stamps and a jungle embossing folder in this fabulous free gift.

I have a feeling I will be using them again.

The products I have used are:-

Die-Namics- Pierced Rectangles
Safari Friends stamps - Free gift with Papercraft Essentials Issue no. 145

Promarkers
Sentiment - Computer generated

Challenges entered:-

Crafting with Dragonflies - Baby card

City Crafter Challenge - Something beginning with 'S' (stamps)

Addicted to Stamps - Make your Mark

I Love Promarkers - One for the Boys

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Boys to Men

Just us Girls - Something Old or New (New stamps)
Dare 2B Artzy - Bright Colours
heARTful Stamping Challenge - Anything Goes + A Stamp

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

Anniversary Card

Today I am sharing an anniversary card I made recently for my

god-daughter and her husband.

The products I have used are:-

Heart ribbon die - Purchased from eBay

Spellbinders - Labels 3

Docrafts - Xcut Embossing Folders - Hearts

Impression Obsession Stamps - Sentiments 1

Challenges entered:-

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Anything Goes

Crafting with Friends - Anything Goes

Creative Fingers Challenge - Anything Goes

Fussy and Fancy - Anything Goes

Crafty Sentiment Designs - Anything Goes

Brown Sugar - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

A CAS Christmas Card

Today I have a CAS Christmas card to share with you.

I have used a really old wooden block stamp that I have owned for

many years and hardly used!

The products I have used are:-

Creative Stamping 2005 Stamp - LL 21 H

Spellbinders Nestabilities - Large Deckle Rectangles

Promarkers

Stickles

Challenges entered:-
Watercooler Wednesday - All About Christmas

Scrappy Mo's Rudolph Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafting by Designs - Get Ready for Christmas

Frilly and Funkie Challenge - Christmas in July

ABC Christmas Challenge - N is for New & O is for Old (Old stamp)

Die Cut Divas - Christmas in July

A Gem of a Challenge - Christmas in July

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.
Janice x

Congratulations!

Today I am sharing a card I made, for a good friend and neighbour.
After three years of home studying, he was given the news on Wednesday

that he had passed his Open University degree with an Upper Second Honours.

Such fabulous news, and so well deserved.

I came across the idea for the card on Pinterest.

The products I have used are:-

Darice Embossing Folder - Stripe

Docrafts Xcut Nesting Dies - Star

Presscut die - Congratulations

Challenges entered:-

Double D Challenges - Black and White with a Pop of Colour

Watercooler Wednesday - Masculine

Happy Little Stamper - Anything Goes with Dies

Crafty Creations - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Crafty Sentiments Designs - Clean and simple or Fussy and Fancy

Thanks for stopping by.
Janice x

My card is in 'Quick Cards Made Easy' magazine...

Today, I'm sharing a card I made for the 'Quick Cards Made Easy' magazine.

In April, I was successful in applying to be part of their Reader Design Team,

which was to take part in a sketch challenge for their August issue.

Here is the card I made...

with their sketch ...

and here's the magazine and the article...

The products I have used are:-

Hobby House Topper - Life's a Beach
Sentiment Stamp - Papermania (Jesse Edwards)

Woodware Punch - Large Daisy
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Polka Dots

Home made Card Candi

Challenges entered:-
The Paper Shelter - Holiday Time
Cards and More - Holidays and Summer Time
Cuttlebug Mania - Sea You
Everybody-Art Challenge - Summer/Tropic
Fairytale Challenge - At the Coast
Stinkin' Inkers Challenge - Summer Heat
2 Sisters on the Blog - On the Beach
Card Mania - Summer Fun
Craftaholics R Us - Beach

Thanks for stopping by.
Janice x

A 'Just For You' Card

I have seen lots of cards recently, using the inked embossing folder technique.

It's been a long time since I tried this, so I thought I'd give it another go.

The products I have used are:-

Crafter's Companion Die'Sire Embossing Folder - Floral Frenzy

Spellbinders Shapeabilities - Charmed, I'm Sure

Tonic Punch - Small Daisy

Big and Juicy Rainbow Ink Pad - Hydrangea

Challenges entered:-

The Flower Challenge - 'Embossing Heat/Dry'

Crafty Friends - Floral

Pause, Dream, Enjoy - Emboss It (Wet or Dry)

Really Reasonable Ribbon - Anything Goes with Ribbon

Brown Sugar - Colour Inspiration

Dare 2B Artzy - Bright Colours

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

'A Bit More Time to Craft' Challenge #48 - Anything Goes

Today, I am sharing my Design Team card made for the

'A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge Blog' where the theme is always 'Anything Goes',
which I made for one of my crafty friends.

The challenges are held on the 1st and 15th of the month where the lucky 3/5 winners can

win their choice of 3 digi paper sets from the very talented Lozzy.
There are lots of fabulous sets to choose from which can be found HERE
and they print beautifully.

You can find all the challenge details HERE on the blog, where you can also
see the rest of the design team's lovely makes.

Why not enter the challenge yourself to be in with a chance of winning.

For my card, I used the July challenge sketch over at

 Clair and Sharni Get Crafty! Facebook group which I am also entering.

The products I have used are:-

Lozzy's Cream Tea Digi Papers
Lawn Fawn - Stitched Scalloped Borders
Sentiment Stamp - Free gift with magazine
Promarkers

Challenges entered:-
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes/Optional Twist - Monochrome
Mod Squad Challenge - Make the sentiment the main focal point
Watercooler Wednesdays - All About Birthdays
City Crafter Challenge - Two Colours Only
4 Crafty Chicks - Summer Celebrations
Craft Rocket Challenges - Anything Goes
Little Miss Muffet Challenges - Anything Goes
As You Like It Challenge - Do You Prefer Pearls or Gems
(I like both, depends what type of card I am making!)

Thanks for stopping by.
Janice x

Christmas in July....again!

Today, I have another Christmas card to share with you for 'Christmas in July'

....that makes four now ready in my box!

The products I have used are:-

Spellbinders Nestabilities - Circles and Scalloped Circles

Spellbinders Shapeabilities - Charmed, I'm Sure

Creative Expressions Wood Mounted Stamp - HH137F

Promarkers

Challenges entered:-
Creative Moments - Anything Goes/Optional Twist - Christmas in July

ABC Christmas Challenge - O is for Old (Old stamp)

Aud Sentiments - Christmas in July + A Sentiment

Die Cut Divas - Christmas in July

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes/Optional Twist - Die Cuts

Fab 'n' Funky Challenges - Shaped Cards

Dragonfly Journeys - Christmas in July

My Time to Craft - Christmas in July

The Holly and the Ivy Challenge - Anything Goes

Christmas Cards all Year Round - Anything Goes

Creative Craft Cottage - Christmas in July

Retarte - Anything Goes or Christmas in July

Deep Ocean Challenges - Christmas in July

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

Christmas in July

Today, I am sharing another Christmas card made for this year's collection.
Since there are quite a few 'Christmas in July' challenges running this month,
I'm hoping this will get me making a start on mine.

After cutting the mittens in red card, I then glued each one to white card and cut

around the edge. I used 3D foam pads to adhere them to the base card, and used the

snowflakes from the mittens to decorate the corners....no waste on this one!

Products used:-

Winter Mittens die - Purchased from eBay

Crafts-Too Embossing Folder - Snowdrops

Hero Arts Stamp C2856 - Christmas Greetings Message

Challenges entered:-

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Anything Goes

Die Cut Divas - Christmas in July

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes/Optional Twist - Die Cuts

Christmas Card Challenge - Anything Goes

Dragonfly Journeys - Christmas in July

My Time to Craft - Christmas in July

The Holly and the Ivy Challenge - Anything Goes

Christmas Cards all Year Round - Anything Goes

Creative Craft Cottage - Christmas in July

Deep Ocean Challenges - Christmas in July

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

A Male Birthday Card

Today I have a masculine birthday card to share with you. I thought

I would have another try at making a stencilled background using distress inks.
I have to say I am quite enjoying this technique. I now need to buy some more stencils!

I die cut two of the Happy Birthday's and glued them together.
I used a large 3D foam pad, (positioned under the star) to adhere to the base card.

A fairly quick and easy card to make.

The products I have used:-
Happy Birthday die - Purchased from eBay

Sizzix - Photo Corners #2
Inky Doodles Stencil - No name

Distress Inks

Challenges entered:-

Crafty Friends Challenge - Man/Boy

CCEE Stampers - Use a Mask

Retarte - Anything Goes

Crafty Calender - Anything Goes

Hiding in my Craft Room - Super Scraps Saturday

Just us Girls - Blending

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

Making Memories Crafting Challenge #7 - Anything Goes/Anything but Square

Today, sees the start of another challenge over at

Making Memories Challenge

The challenges are held on the 1st Friday of every month,

all the challenge details on the blog HERE
Today, you can see Design Team A's fabulous projects for the challenge,
then come back again on the 15th of the month to see Design Team B's.

Why not enter the challenge yourself to be in with a chance of winning.

This month's challenge is Anything Goes/Anything but Square

Our sponsors this month are:-

The Cutting Cafe - Prize is 3 Cutting Files

Cute As A Button  - Prize is 3 Digi Images.

Here is my card:-
Poor Fred....I gave him a pink bow without thinking!
I have a friend in the U.S. who just loves giraffes, so when I chose this digi image
I had her in mind to make a card for.
I'm hoping she will have received this card by the time she's reading this post!

The products I have used are:-

Cute as a Button Digi Stamp - Fred the Giraffe
Docrafts - Xcut Embossing Folder - Wicker
Spellbinders Decorative Elements - Lacy Squares
Die'Sire - Thank You
Scor-Buddy
Promarkers
Glimmer Dust

Challenges entered:-
The Paper Shelter - Going Digital
Scrapy Land - Anything Goes
Sunny Day Crafting - A is for Animals
Watercooler Wednesday - Feminine Anything Goes
Digi Chooseday Challenge - Anything Goes
Passion for Promarkers - Anything Goes
The Crazy Challenge - Animals
Addicted to Stamps and More - CAS

Thanks for stopping by.
Janice x

Red, White and Blue!

There are quite a few challenges around this month relating to a red, white

and blue theme in celebration of Independence Day in the United States.
Not wanting to feel left out (living here in the UK), I thought I'd make a card and

enter some of them too!

I cut three of the stitched circles, glued them together to give

more depth to the frame, but still keeping it flat for posting.

The products I have used:-

Lawn Fawn - Stitched Circle Frames

Digi Stamp Boutique - Love Cake Set
Crafter's Companion 'Textures' Embossing Folder - Distress
Sizzix - Framelits 'Hello' set of dies
Promarkers
Glimmer Dust

Challenges entered:-
Simon Says Stamp - Red, White and/or Blue

Always Fun Challenges - Patriotic

Cards in Envy - Patriotic Please {Red, White and Blue} Card Challenge
Shopping Our Stash - Flag Day (UK)

Creatalicious Challenges - Anything Goes with optional red, white & blue

Come and Get It Challenge - Colours of your Nation (UK)

Dragonfly Journeys - Red, White and Blue-tiful!

Cut it Up Challenge - Patriotic/Red, White and Blue
Paper Sweeties Challenge - Photo Inspiration

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

A 'Clean and Simple' Male Birthday Card

Today, I have another of last month's birthday cards I made for my God-daughter's

husband, who celebrated his 40th birthday.

I started by embossing a frame directly onto the base card, then die cut two of the smaller

stitched label dies, and adhered them onto the embossed frame with 3D foam squares.

Next, I cut two number 40's, one in gold mirri card, the other in the brown card,

and glued them onto the label, slightly off-setting them.

The products I have used are:-

Spellbinders - Labels 1

Stitched Label dies - from The Works

Trim Craft First Edition - Number and Date Dies

Die'Sire - Happy Birthday

Challenges entered:-

Crafty Catz - Anything Goes with a twist of Embossing

Crafting with Dragonflies - Punches and/or Dies

Crafty Friends - Man or Boy

Little Red Wagon - Three of a Kind (3 dies)

Scrapyland - Embossing/Heat or Dry

The Crafty Addicts - Anything Goes with an option - Use Die Cuts

That's Crafty - Keep it Simple

Thanks for stopping by.

Janice x

Christmas...

As there seem to be a few Christmas cards appearing on various blogs that I follow,

I thought I'd make my second one of the year, as it is now July and I plan every
year to make an early start!

I cut the reindeer and trees die, three times and glued them together to give a bit of depth.

I also only glue the lower half to the base card, to leave the trees free.

I added Glimmer Dust to the sky, which you can't see very well from the photos.

The products I have used are:-

Reindeer and trees - Unbranded die from eBay

Memory Box - Stitched Borders

Crafts-Too Embossing Folder - Snowdrops

Scor-Buddy

Challenges entered:-
Crafting by Designs - Christmas
Fab 'n' Funky - Christmas
Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - Christmas
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
Incy Wincy Designs - Sparkle or Shine
Rudolph Days - Anything Goes

The Merry Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes
My Time to Craft - Christmas in July
Christmas Cards all Year Round - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by.
Janice x