Simply with love

This is for the sketch on C.R.A.F.T. 84:

The background paper is Forever Friends from their 'with love' paper pad. The Forever Friends challenge atm is 'a card for a man or boy' - I think this would be suitable to give to a man for Valentine's Day (yes, a bit soppy, I know, but ...).

The Newton bear stamp was a freebie with a magazine a couple of years ago - a useful, simple stamp, coloured with copics - very therapeutic this evening.

It's also for Colour create 61 which calls for 'pink, red and white' with the option of using hearts. As we're approaching Valentine's day there are a few challenges around that ask for hearts or the theme of love, so I'm linking for:

Ann's creative nook 199: got hearts?
Woodware 9: hearts
One stitch at a time 44: love & Valentine
Lexi 31: say it with love
Going grey (Scrap-creations): love is in the air
Cuttlebug spot: inspired by a song - 'with love from me to you'
Bunny Zoe 8: love is in the air

This is also for:

Aud's sentiments 19: sentiment can only have two words
Stamp n doodle: New year's resolution - one of my resolutions is to use up offcuts - applies to everything except the base background
Simply create 34: I'm the boss - I used a cuttlebug folder for the embossed hearts
Speedy the cat (Mark's finest papers) 37: embossing
Crazy challenge 49: animals
CES 18: all creatures great and small
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Craft your days away 11: anything goes
Let's ink it up 8: anything goes
Top tip Tuesday 17: anything goes

Too good to waste

Challenge 2 on my Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog asks for either a freebie or something recycled to be used.

This year I was quite ruthless in sorting through our Christmas cards. I usually keep quite a few of them to use to make recycled cards to sell for charity. I much prefer, of course, to make my own cards from scratch, but I appreciate that some people wish to buy something cheaper and so I always have some recycled ones available too.

So I've used two cards that we received and mounted them on to paper from BG eskimo kisses, the second card having the image matted on to a piece of smokey grey mirror card (not as dark as it looks in the picture).

Both cards have an embossed look that is lost on the scans.



Thank you to all those who have joined in my challenge 2 so far - there's still time until 22:00 UK time Friday 14 January - so why not rescue some of those lovely pictures on your received Christmas cards and recycle them.

Wednesday comes round so quickly

And it's time for WOYWW 84 - if you haven't a clue what I'm talking about (is there anyone left who doesn't know?) then click on the link and have a nosey! and join in.

Just a little explanation for those who queried the contents of my mug last week - green tea with lemon - and you can see that it's becoming a bit of a regular brew.

The box of papers is out because I wanted to look for retro papers for the card I did last night and also planning to make one for another challenge.

The stamp on the pile on the right has been kindly lent by a crafting friend for me to stamp some images, so I must get those done in the next few days.

I now need to decide what's going to be happening in that empty space in the middle - I certainly need to make some family birthday cards - oh yes, the family birthdays continue thick and fast - right from end of November to April, there are soooo many, not that I'm complaining.

Journaling tickets prize

I was fortunate enough to be randomly picked on Let's craft and create as winner of challenge 9 and have received these fab Tim Holtz journaling tickets - looking forward to using them. And a lovely card from Mandy and Eileen to thank me for taking part in their challenge.