Fussy and Fancy Challenge #177 A different Fold or Shape of Card

Hi there I am so excited to be hosting this challenge , I like to start with a blank piece of card and then with some ink, paint, stamps or dies create  a card or piece of altered art. I always love it when someone asks 'How did you do that?'
So for my Challenge I am asking you to make a card which is a different fold or shape of card .... there are so many out there: gatefold, stepper, zig zag, accordion, popups but  it does not have to be complicated ... just a bit different from what we normally make. Here is my offering:

It is actually a very simple card to make, I just started with an 8x8 card blank I scored and folded the front down the centre and folded it back on itself. Then used an embossing folder on 2 slightly smaller squares of pearl card, I put one piece onto the inside of the card and split the second one in half to put on the outside and inside of the folded front (it is just makes it easier to get it around the folded front)
Then I cut 2 large lacey circles , I glued one to the folded front overhanging at the front edge and then carefully matched up the second circle sticking it to the inside of the card, so that when the card is closed it is hidden, hope this picture makes it clearer

That was the basic shaped card made, then all that was left to do was to decorate the outside and inside.
Here are the flowers I made:

This card is for my only niece who is getting married tomorrow 19th November. Her Mum (my sister) told me that she will be carrying a posy made out of wheat, red berries and vintage roses, Meg likes rustic vintage so I was not surprised.  I managed to find some heads of dried Canary Grass instead of wheat and even the 3 dragonflies will mean something special to her on her special day.
By the time you are reading this I will have sent it to her with all my love for their future together.

I hope you will join us in this Challenge which is being sponsored by 'Wild Orchid' who sell the most beautiful handmade paper flowers. Remember it  does not have to be complicated sometimes the best ideas are the simple ones and after all Crafting is about relaxing and having fun. You can find out more about how to enter here. My team mates and I look forward to seeing what you make
Bye for now Annie xxx

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #175 Shades of Autumn

Well it's Friday so it has to be another Fussy and Fancy Challenge #175 in fact and the host this time is the very dear and talented Jo Rice .... I have admired Jo's work and been inspired by her for many years. The theme she has chosen is a beautiful one 'Shades of Autumn' as Autumn is my most favourite time of year I knew it would involve leaves because it is their colours which transform the countryside in October when the leaves are shades of reds, yellows, orange, rusts and brown .... lovely mellow colours.    So here is my offering ....not a card this time but a wreath of Autumn leaves.

Autumn also brings to mind a poem which as a child we had to learn off by heart, 60 yrs later and I can still recite John Keats' Ode to Autumn .... 'Season of Mists and mellow fruitfulness' it reminds me also of Harvest Festivals held in churches all across the country.
The wreath was simple to make I had a polystyrene ring which I wrapped in hessian ribbon, then I die cut the leaves from dies I have collected over the years from Tim Holtz, Sheena Douglass & Sara Davies. The task was made easier because I had a pad of Coordinations card which featured Tim Holtz original Distress ink colours, every shade of yellow, rust, brown & burgundy. I used a Clarity stamp of My poem

I loved this project and I hope that you will join us and share your version of 'Shades of Autumn' with us it is easy to enter just go here for more information and a quick upload link.
So that is it for today, I was just thinking as I was posting this that it will not be long before we are posting our Christmas Challenge posts, I really don't know where this year 2016 has gone. It has brought many things to our family, some good , some bad but at the end of September it gave us the biggest blessing of all ....the birth of our first Great Grandson Charlie George .... he was not due for another month but he is tiny but perfect in every way....here he is just a few days old...

I just had to pop back because Charlie is now three weeks old and he has altered so much, he's

filling out beautifully and he wasn't due to arrive in the world  until Monday 24th October. Because this is supposed to be a craft Blog I better post something crafty  .... some bunting I made for his nursery ....which is grey and blue with elephants in it!!

Bye for now xxxx Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #173 My favourite things

What a lovely challenge this is, chosen by our lovely talented, Gina who has asked us to make something crafty using your favourite crafty things. I am such a fickle person and my favourites change from week to week, but the two constants that I always love are textures and making my own paper flowers ....and my favourite flower has always been the Poppy. So here is my offering for this challenge:

Firstly I cut the sentiment using a new Diesire die and just to be a rebel I decided to lay it sideways on, then I used one of my favourite Sue Wilson embossing folders, Tartan Trellis, I diecut two layers of diecut lattice which I offset to make a dense basket weave effect set behind two oval frames.

Here is a closeup of that texture:

Then all that was left was to cut and make Sue Wilson's 'Exquisite Poppies' and her olive branches, these really do make it very easy to create realistic poppies. So there it is plenty of texture and my favourite flowers and I have just realised all the dies I have used have been Sue Wilson's, my favorite designer.

I enjoyed making this card as it is going to my only niece, Meg ... I know she will appreciate it because she is a very clever crafter herself. October is a very busy month for family birthdays and anniversaries so I better get my thinking cap on.

Please join us in this challenge, it really is a wonderful one because the choice is all yours , you can enter here and we look forward to seeing what your favourite things to craft with are. Bye for now Annie xxxx

Fussy and fancy Challenge #171 Lets Fly Away

So here we are at the end of August and another Fussy and Fancy Challenge, #171 in fact and it is hosted by the lovely talented Eileen. She has chosen Let's Fly Away as her theme and she tells us that we can interpret it as we please ... things with wings or holiday destinations, so that gives us plenty of choice.

I knew straight away what I was going to do, but first of all I have an admission to make ... I am a crafter but I am also a hoarder I buy stamps and crafty goodies and just hoard them which brings me to the Stampendous stamps I bought many months ago and have never used. I have several stamps of hot air balloons, all very lovely but I saw these and had to have them mainly because they came with the cute little landscape stamps which make it easy to make a skyscape which looks as if you are looking down from above. If you look carefully you can see the Eiffel Tower, a windmill and a German castle.

So I made this very simple scene a bit of masking allowed me to make some fluffy clouds, some very basic colouring and I was ready to mat and layer and add a tiny globe charm dangling from some black jute twine. Sometimes I can ffaff for hours and end up with nothing but this simple card just came together and will be very useful for one of my male Family birthdays, I do find men's cards difficult so that is one problem solved.

Please join us by entering your crafty makes details here and we look forward to seeing your wonderful ideas on Eileen's theme

Well I have just heard the wonderful words 'What's for tea, Nana' coming from downstairs so I better dash Love and crafty Hugs xxxx Anne

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #169 A Walk in the Garden

It's that time again ....time for our next Fussy & Fancy Challenge .... number 169 hosted by the lovely talented Diane who has chosen 'A Walk in the Garden' as her theme. She explains that she would love to see your interpretation of gardening, it can be flowers, butterflies, bees or even veggies ... whatever your idea of gardening is.
Next to crafting gardening is one of my favourite pastimes and most of cards have flowers on them so there was plenty of choice there. Then I remembered one of my favourite quote stamps from Clarity stamps ...it  credited to C Ghandi  If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden.
I made up a diecut frame I had, I love the bevelled deep set centre of the frame....

Before I finally glued the sides in place I used a piece of my precious sheets of G45 Secret Garden papers as a background.

Then it was playtime and I used various diecut flourishes, flowers, metal embellishments and feathers and the stamped quote to make a little plaque which is now sitting on my craftroom windowsill a reminder of my Dad who I lost 46 years ago. He loved his garden especially roses so it makes me smile every time I sit looking out of the winow
Hope you can join us in this challenge, uploading is simple just follow this link here

Well I had better go and feed my boys, before they ask that enormous question 'Mum what's for tea' By for today see you next time xxxx Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #167 Flowers and Lace

This challenge is hosted by the lovely talented Sheryl, who also happens to be the person who keeps this wonderful challenge site running from week to week.  Immediately I knew what I wanted to do, I had recently bought this lovely Just rite Sunflower stamp. I stamped the image 3 times so that I could decoupage the flower head and leaf.
Sunflowers just make me smile with their huge sunshine yellow faces, so I had the perfect sentiment stamp ....a Clarity stamp 'Sending you Sunshine', this is a really what I call a 'just because' card that you can send just to remind someone you are thinking of them or just to cheer them in. Here it is:

I hope you will join us in this challenge, most people have flowers and lace in their stash so we would love to see what you make, it can be a card, home décor piece whatever you choose as long as it has some flowers and lace on it. You can upload your project here it is very easy.

Hope you have fun crafting, so until next time crafty Hugs ....Bye Annie

#165 Anniversary or Wedding

So here we are again it's Friday and time for another Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge, the lovely talented Tammy is our hostess this week and she has chosen Anniversary and Weddings  as her theme. Well it just so happens I had a request to make a Golden Wedding Anniversary , 50 years that is quite an  achievement and very special.

I used Sue Wilson's dies they do give a guaranteed result and I went for cream and gold and a very simple card really..

The three panels in the background were cut using a striplet die, I am not very good at doing straight!! everything tends to be at a jaunty angle but I tried very hard to  get it right. I made the gold rose and used some of my favourite mulberry paper blossoms together with a couple of Marianne flourishes. I diecut a lacey frame and used it to make a buckle effect with the sentiment on a freehand banner.

As I am sat here writing this I have suddenly realised that this August my Husband and I will be celebrating our Ruby wedding (40 years) I wonder if he will get me a card like this .... I might have to make it for myself!!

We have had a week of lovely weather here in North Wales so my crafting has been put on hold whilst I potter about in the garden, after the soggy Winter we had it is amazing how the garden survived, in fact everything seems bigger and better this year, the apple tree was heavy with blossom so hopefully we will have a great crop fruit.

Bye for now xxx Annie

#163 Fussy and Fancy Challenge ..... Birthdays

F&F Challenge #163 Birthdays, hosted by the very talented Sasha
This really was a card that started off as one thing and ended up totally differently.... I bought myself a craft magazine with an embossing folder as a freebie, when I tried it out I was quite pleased with it and before long I had made a plain cardblank which I put away in my stash.

Then I was thinking of ideas for a birthday card and I found the card blank again, I did some diecutting, inking and added a sentiment but I still didn't know where I was going. Then I remembered some pretty Apple Blossom bird stamps I had bought... and before long I had made a topper for the front of my card

Then all I had to do was make some paper flowers, I tried to make them look like the cherry blossom on the branch the bird is sitting on .....and here it is opened

That reminds me later this month our cherry tree will blossom it looks so pretty, bare branches heavy with beautiful delicate pink flowers and then you can guarantee the wind will come and blow them all off the tree and the lawn will be a carpet of beautiful pink flowers.

Must dash as I have a roast dinner to cook

Bye for now xxx Annie

F&F Challenge #161 Pink and Green

Hello there!! well anther Friday so that means a new Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge and it is being hosted by the super talented and hard working Beth. She has chosen Green & Pink for Challenge #161, this opens up so many possibilities so why not join in with us and send us your work here
My inspiration for this challenge was a paper pad called Love Letters I found amongst my stash .... luckily all the papers were various shades of Pink and Green which made my life so much easier. I decided on an easel card one of my favourite cards and so simple to make.

I made the base of my easel from some lovely cream hammered card which holds it's shape beautifully, then I chose my papers and layered them up, I decided the top layer was to be banner shaped which I cut out freehand.  I spent a lovely afternoon making my flowers and foliage, something  I have  always enjoyed doing so now all that was left to do was the sentiment, I searched through my stash and then I remembered the craft magazine I had bought which had many stamps in the style of Rennie Mackintosh as a freebie..... and there it was 'May your Day BLOOM with happiness ... perfect.

The best thing about easel cards is that they fold down really flat for posting which is always something to think about.

This time I will have to make a box to hold this card in because of the 3D flowers but as I will be giving it to my lovely Daughter in Law by hand it will be simple enough, I hope she likes it. I better get on with making the box then..... so bye for now xxx Annie

FF Challenge 159 Things with wings

Hi there! it's Annie here and it is my turn to host the next Fussy and Fancy Challenge. Because it is almost Spring here in the UK and soon we'll have Birds, Bees and Butterflies fluttering in our gardens I thought it was time for a Things with Wings Challenge. The challenge is being kindly  sponsored by Sweet Lilac flowers so I hope you will join in with us, here is my offering ....

I can hear you saying ... 'is that all you've done..... stuck one butterfly on a card' .... well look inside... I decided to add a few more fluttering by ...

It was difficult to photograph because the acetate was catching the light so here is a slightly different angle

It  was made using Crafters Companion accordion card die and some thick acetate, I put the lacey overlay on and backed it with some French navy card, the old saying is 'Blue and Green should never be seen' but I really love this colour combination. Once the frames were constructed and teased into shape the fun began cutting out all those butterflies and making them flutterby. I always have a crafty program on the tv in the craft room, the lady on the tv was also using butterflies on the card she was making and the presenter asked 'Do you know what they call a group of butterflies?' and the answer came back 'A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies' (yes I had to lookup the spelling!!) so there you are you learn something new everyday.

I do hope you will be able to join us again on F&F have a play and use your favourite things to make something with Wings .... Birds, Bees, Butterflies, Dragons , Angels or any mystical creature as long as it has wings we would love to see them all. Uploading is easy it is all explained on the Fussy and fancy Blog here . I hope you enjoy playing along with us and you can be sure that the design team and myself will love looking through all your work. So now I am off for a quick cup of coffee and play with our lovely Black Lab, Jasper who is impatient to get out into the garden. This is him last summer sitting on the garden bench waiting for someone to play ball with him

Bye for now xxx and crafty hugs Annie xx

Fussy and fancy Challenge #157 Jo's Recipe

It's fussy and Fancy Challenge Friday again and this time my very talented friend Jo Rice has set the challenge ....in fact she wrote a little poem:

A recipe.....

Create a design and have some fun,

Use this recipe and your work will be done,

Just use black and white to make a start,

But then add some red , a flowers and a little love heart......X

They say you can find love in the strangest places well there I was doing my food shopping and there lying on the shelf was a battered piece of  MDF....just waiting to be loved ....and then  remembered Jo's recipe and as it is coming up to valentine's day .... so the battered piece of MDF was rescued for a reduced price.

Several coats of white Gesso later and I was ready to play, I stamped a lovely script stamp diagonally all over it, then for the touch of red, I found some red heart gem, made some red paper roses and found 3 little stickpins with  red hearts on them. Then I thought the O looked empty searching through my embellishment drawer I found a metal filigree heart which with the help of some 'invisible' thread I made it float in the centre of the O so here it is:

 

I could have gone on adding bits and pieces but it would have looked like a pizza with too many toppings so I decided Less was more

 

Hope you will have a go at Jo's recipe it's very simple and as the other members of the design team have shown it can be used to make cards, home décor let your imagination run wild I know Jo is looking forward to seeing what you come up with .... let's make her smile she's such a lovely talented lady. You can find out how to enter your work here

 

Right the sun is shining so I am going into my garden to see what is going on there, I could see through my window that I have lovely clumps of daffodils and primroses that have managed to keep growing even when the weather was so terrible. Now I know Spring must be on it's way, hurrah I can't wait and I know Jasper ( our black Labrador) can't wait either, he loves to lie with the Patio doors open so that he can just wander in and out as he pleases.

 

Till next time Bye for now xxx Annie

Fussy & Fancy Challenge #155 Fashion

Well here is the first Fussy and Fancy challenge of 2016, hosted by the talented Tone who has chosen the very exciting theme 'Fashion'. Now I'm not the most fashionable of ladies, I dress more for the weather especially when it comes to walking our dog Jasper. But my guilty pleasure over the last 6 years has been Downton Abbey which sadly finished here in the UK at Christmas, part of it's attraction was the wonderfully elegant fashion of the Edwardian era.
So when it came to creating my offering I knew I would have to use some of my treasured Graphic 45 papers from the Ladies Diary collection ... I have had it for a while now but just couldn't bring myself to use it. Anyway the time had come so here was what I did, very simple because the papers speak for themselves:

There are so many beautiful fashion plates in this G45 collection I could have used but this is my favourite, I love the silky jade o f her dress with the touch of soft pink.

I hope you will join in with us again this time, as always we would love to see your cards, mixed media, boxes anything you have made which fits in with the theme 'Fashion'.  Everyone has an equal chance of winning because the overall winner is chosen randomly, then Tone as hostess will chose her Top 5. You can find out more about the challenge and how to upload your work here

I look forward to seeing your work and leaving a comment for you, but for now I think I need a cup of tea so Bye for now love and hugs, Annie xxx