English Garden Set

I'm so happy that this set of 4 products has arrived from Pinkfresh Studio. They came up with the brilliant idea of matching the stamping set with the die so it can all be cut in one go. In addition they have washi tape that can be cut with the same die, and a stencil to colour.

I decided to cut one set of the washi tape and make a set a cards.  

I ended up with 4 cards. It's a quick and easy way to make a set of cards to gift!

The first card ... I embossed a grid and sentiment in gold, and used a die to emboss a border around the card, adding a few enamel dots.

Another shot to try and catch the gold embossing to match the gold foiling on the washi tape.

The second card is very CAS. I needed a Sympathy card and I wanted to keep it soft and airy. A splatter of ink to tie in with the NBUS  "Reglettes Ronds" die from Simply Graphic. (Ruler circles die).

Card three was inspired by the Freshly Made Sketch. I die cut the circle from the panel, then embossed with the Rustic Linen embossing folder.

The last card of the set used the wreath. I didn't want the full circle so decided to trim off one edge. Found some patterned paper in my stash and added the thin gold strip of washi from Altenew.

What do you think? 
Would you like this set? Which is your favourite?

My entry to ...

... Addicted to CAS : Grid

... Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge : Anything Goes

... Freshly Made Sketches #542

... NBUS #40

... Less is More : Emboss

Welcome Precious Twins

When I saw spotted this amazing shutter card by Ptit Ange over on Mes P'tit Ciseaux, I knew I had to make one.

Here is my take for my friend's daughter who has just had the sweetest twin boys. I used my NBUS Stampin' Up Sweet Baby set.

Here it is in action …

My entry to ...

... Inkspirational : Precious

... The Card Concept #178 I went with the colours. Hope that is acceptable.

... NBUS #39

Soft Blossoms

First time playing with the Altenew Hill Blossoms Stencil! Doodling gives it another look (see Norine Borys' card - so inspiring). 

I wanted to keep this very pale, so when you do the first layer, use a very light touch - you should almost not be able to see the colour. 

I added some paint splatters so that it would carry on the feel from the patterned paper strip.

My entry to ...

... Addicted to CAS : Nature

... Seize the Birthday : Pastel Colors

... Addicted to Stamps & More : Birthdays

... NBUS #30

Time to Celebrate

For those who follow my blog, you'll know I starting making this card with my adult daughter in mind, but then decided it was too young for her. So here is the card I eventually gave her.

She has a special bond with our dog, Snoopy, so I thought this new stamp from Colorado Crafts was the perfect fit. Plus she has to wait for her present as we're still in lockdown.

Snoopy's just turned 14 and is getting old. This photo was from a year ago.

This was today ... still sleeping at 1:13pm. Looks like he woke, thought of getting up, but then collapsed back to sleep. He only woke up at 2:30pm! I often feel I have to check to see if he's still breathing.

I coloured with watercolours and gave the dog block patches just like our Snoopy. 

My entry to ...

... Time Out Challenge #186 : Pets

... Inspired By #171 : I woof celebrating

... NBUS #25

... The Daily Marker 10 Day Colour Challenge

... The Paper Players : Clean & Simple Birthday

Relax Your Way

The situation here in Mauritius has changed dramatically since my Birthday just over a month ago. We have been back in serious lockdown since 10 March! No one can go to work except for medical staff and essential workers. Only supermarkets are open, and you can only shop twice a week according to alphabetical surname. One mistake in our quarantine procedures for those arriving in Mauritius means we lost our ZERO covid cases status in local population as we've had for the last 10 months. We went into lockdown when there were 8 local cases and now we're at 212 new cases. Yesterday we had 230, so for the first time the numbers are going down.

Our area has been declared a red zone, so in addition to all the lockdown rules, no one is allowed in or out of the area. We can't get deliveries in from places outside the zone. 

So my son spends another Birthday in lockdown. Last year he had to cancel the party he had organised - this year he already knew he wouldn't be celebrating with his friends.

We tried to give him some fun ... I taped some paper across in front of his door ... and filled the space with balloons.

When he opened his door, he was showered with balloons. 

Since it's not an easy situation for anyone at the moment, I thought I would give a card encouraging him to be relaxed. We can only take things a day at a time.

My entry to ...

... Addicted to CAS : Shapes

... Make the Card : Masculine

Cups of Tea

I recently turned 60 and decided to celebrate with a ladies lunch... 22 of us! My friend, Nadia, arranged the flowers on the table in my Royal Doulton Memory Lane tea set. My mother gave me this on my engagement all those years ago!

I decided to use the Altenew Vintage Teacup as my nameplates.  (Thank you Sandy Allnock for teaching us how to shade them - looks so real!)

I made little "tea bag tags" with the names.

I ordered the roses, but the Plumbago, Blue Peter, White Pentas are from my garden.

I love cold soup, so I gave everyone the choice for the starter between cucumber soup (with or without smoked salmon) or gazpacho.

Since I love tea so much, thought I'd make some teacups using some patterned paper. I have so much of it, but I rarely use it. So this is a different take on my "normal" ink and stamps approach.

  

Here are the 2 together - very different looks.

My entry to ...

... Twofer Challenge #36 : My choice : Teacups. I hope it's ok that one is not a card but a "nameplate".

... Make the Cards Challenge #7 : Coffee or Tea

... AAA Birthday #23 : Patterned Paper

... Timeout Challenge : Different