Fussy and Fancy Challenge #214

So another Friday another Challenge  and this time our the talented Darlene is our host she has  chosen

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #220 A Different Shaped or Folded card

Well Hello again, sorry I was not able to Blog my last card in time for the challenge, something went drastically wrong with my blog and I couldn't access it...as I am not very Computer Literate it has taken me a while to sort it out.

Anyway here I am back in time to host this fortnight's Challenge I have chosen 'A different shaped or folded card' I just thought it would be fun to see some different cards to the regular square folded cards which are what I usually make. It does not have to be Origami, just more than the one simple folded spine but that doesn't mean complicated. For example an easel card is just a couple of folds for the base and then another shaped mat fixed on with your main image on. You Tube is always a good place to start.

These days you can even get dies to create these basic shapes and just dress them up, I have made Stepper cards in the past and the measuring just drives me mad, but recently bought a die from Crafters Companion to speed up  the job leaving me more time to play around with the decoration. Here is my card:

I needed a couple of new Home cards for two of our younger family members who have moved away to university so was lucky enough to have  a freebie from a magazine which had stamps, papers and a little die all to do with Bees and both my granddaughters are mad about the environment and conservation especially Bees so these were perfect. Once I had formed the base by cheating with a die it was playtime ...fiddly making bees but I love them. I managed 2 sweet little cards in an afternoon.

Here is a closeup of the Bees ...cute eh!!

Bye for now, where is this year going to, it is almost time to make Christmas cards.... 'OOOOH NO I hear you cry'.... Love Annie xx

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #218 Clean and Simple

 Well I am sorry this post was too late for the actual challenge which was set by the talented Tone, my computer decided  to play around with the settings for my blog and I could not access it. I am not very computer literate and so it took a while to sort it out. At least I was able to send a picture for it to be included in the Fussy and Fancy blog

Just for the record here is my card, Clean and Simple isn't easy for me . I seem to end up wanting to fill all the white space so they look like Pizzas with loads of toppings !! Hahaha. I think I just about made it with this card even though I had to add some flowers at the last minute, you know I like making flowers by hand.

Bye for now Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #216 Green and Pink

hello today is Fussy and Fancy  Challenge #216 this time the  die whicis simply Green and Pink so plenty  of choice there, Green and Pink is seen everywhere in Nature. here is what I came up with:

I decided to go with a Crafters Companion die which cuts a very different card shape and  build the layers up. It also gave me a chance to do my favorite thing making my own flowers this time I used parchment and Clarity Groovi plates.

This made a card which folds very flat which makes it so much easier to post.
We would love to see your cards or other crafty creations entering is easy just go here

Must dash now it is teatime
Hugs Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge # 212 Favourite Florals

Spring has finally arrived in the UK it is another Friday so another challenge this time our hostess is the very talented Jo Rice , she has chosen Favourite Florals as her theme. I love all flowers so it was difficult to choose a favourite but then I remembeed I had a beautiful Die which makes the most realistic Poppies so it just had to be the Big, Bright, Blousey Poppies which add a splash of red in our garden during the Summer months. Here is my card, very simple:

Here is a closeup of the detail in these poppies:

I enjoyed making this card because making flowers from a blank piece of card is my favourite thing to do and it passed a few hours one afternoon.

We would really love you to enter your crafty makes into our challenge, it doesn't have to be a card it can be mixed media or whatever you choose you can find out more about entering here. Good Luck. Bye for now have to make the most of this fine weather while it lasts, the weeds are growing fast in my garden. xxx Annie

Fussy and fancy Challenge #210 Add a die Cut

So here is F&F Challenge #210, I really don't know where the time goes to, but our lovely hostess Gina has chosen 'Add a Diecut' as her theme. It is a great challenge because I know I rarely make a card without a diecut even if it is just the sentiment but my favourite diecuts are butterflies especially as I can use them to cover my mistakes .... perhaps a thumbprint or worse still a stray blob of glue!!  So I decided to go to the extreme and every bit even the base of this easel card is a diecut, the only other thing I use was plain white card , distress ink and a few gems ....so here goes:

I love easel cards they are a lovely surprise for the person receiving it, they look complicated but they really are quite easy to make.

Here is a closeup of  of my butterflies and flowers:

I hope you will join us and enter what you make, it is so easy to enter see here. We do love to see  all your beautiful work, it can be a card, a tag mixed media, anything you fancy making as long as it has a diecut on it.

That is it for today so Bye for now xx Annie

F&F Challenge#208 spring flowers

Well officially it is Spring but honestly it doesn't feel like it over here in the UK. However for Fussy and Fancy Challenge #208 our lovely hostess Darlene has chosen the theme Spring Flowers, I took my inspiration from the few Spring flowers in our garden, Daffodils and Crocus, I just love the combination of yellow and purple a teaser of what is to come when the garden is fully in  bloom.

Creative Expressions brought out a beautiful set of dies by Sue Wilson last Year which enable you to cut daffodils out either embossed and flat or by adding the tiny trumpet a really pretty 3D flower. So here is my offering for this month:

and here is a closeup of the flowers:

Hope you will be inspired to join us and create your own version of Spring Flowers in whatever craft you prefer, a card a tag, mixed media. We would love to see them and it is so easy to enter see here

Bye for now and Happy Crafting
Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #206 Favourite Colours

Hello again, well I cannot believe how quickly the time is flying . Here we are in the middle of February already and time for another Fussy and Fancy Challenge hosted by the lovely talented Beth, she has chosen Favourite Colours as her theme. I do love a bit of pink especially against a bit of grey so here is my offering:

I have been trying to teach myself parchment craft using Clarity Groovi plates for a while now, I have always love the delicate results that can be achieved with this old craft but it takes so much patience using the traditional methods. With this new system the acrylic plates make it much easier. I started by tracing the outline for the centre circle and then coloured it in from the back, I gently cut slots for the ribbon and then pierced and snipped the first picot edged circle. Cut a second circle and mounted the two together.

I used a sheet of my precious patterned parchment from Clarity again called Shenandoah in my favourite pinks and grey. I embossed my sentiment and the corners and stuck my circles onto it. This is the groovi system at it's simplest some of the work that experienced parchers do is so wonderful and intricate , I can only dream.

Bye for now Annie

FF Challenge #204 'Fussy and Fancy'

Well, Happy New Year to everyone, this is my first post for 2018 seems ages since our last challenge before Christmas. I am hosting this challenge #204 and I have chosen Fussy and Fancy as my theme. it is a nice easy one to start the New Year it is really Anything Goes as long as it is Fussy and Fancy.
Here is my offering:

It is a very simple card using Sara Davies Flutterby Die to give me the cut in feature then I added some more butterflies .... well you cannot have too many can you? I also made some tiny flowers using my favourite Sue Wilson Poppy dies, the background card is Iris coloured Foundation card from Creative Expressions.

Why don't you give this challenge a go, my Teamies have put up some wonderful inspiration up using so many different types of crafting so it really is anything goes as long as it is Fussy and Fancy. you can find more details here and I really look forward to seeing your entries.

Bye for now and happy crafting
Annie x

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #199 So Spooky

Hi there just cannot believe we are on F&F Challenge #199 and this time it is the Halloween Challenge 'So Spooky' hosted by the talented Sasha

We didn't celebrate Halloween over here in the UK when I was a child, or even when my own children were growing up but now it is quite a big event in our calendar. I had to search for what I had to meet this challenge and ended up using an embossing folder of trees which I highlighted with some coppery gilding wax. Then I made my pumpkin out of some very old Spellbinders flower dies I cut it out 8 times and folded each one across the centre then stuck them back to back to form a little 3D pumpkin, added some lime green vine leaves, I cut some extra vines to twist through the die cut letters.

It was all assembled but something was missing ..... googly eyes ..... I searched and searched but couldn't find them I think my grandchildren must have used them up years ago when we used to craft together, such Happy Days. I was just about to give up on the idea when I found a box of sequins and decided I could make spooky eyes peeping out of the darkness with them.

So I hope this is spooky enough, it would certainly scare me seeing all those eyes glowing in the dark behind the trees.

I hope you will join us in this challenge, it is  really fun one, we really would love to see what  Spooky means to you. Entering is easy details are here.

Right I need to get out in the garden we are expecting Hurricane Ophelia to hit us tomorrow 16th October so all the loose garden stuff and furniture needs putting in the sheds until the Spring.  So bye for now and Happy Crafting xxx Annie

Fussy and Fancy challenge #197 Shabby Chic

Oh my goodness where did September go here we are again with another Fussy and Fancy Challenge, this time our host is  Jules and she has chosen Shabby Chic as her theme ...... that is very good timing because on Monday my granddaughter Lorna has her birthday. She has just moved into her first ever house and it is very obvious her style is Shabby Chic. So here is the card I made for her using Crafters Companion Dies this time and some lovely shabby chic papers from one of their cds, I do like to mix it up and try various types of crafting .... Jack of all trades ...master of none as My old granny used to say...... back to the card:

I still love making my own flowers so the rose is one of mine but I did cheat and use some pretty bought ones too.

At the moment I am trying out something new, it's a steep learning curve for me and my waste bin gets very full but I do find Clarity's Groovi system so therapeutic, I get lost for hours at a time. I also find it satisfying as I have tried traditional parchment in the past but I was too heavy handed and too impatient, so groovi really fills the gap. Here is the card I made for Lorna's housewarming:

and a Get well card for my lovely Daughter in Law Wendy:

These are very basic some of the more expert ladies make exquisite work, but I am enjoying the process. Please enter our challenge we love to see what you have made you can find more details here

Bye for now Annie xx

F& F Challenge#195 Anything Goes Mixed Media

So another Friday another Fussy and Fancy Challenge #195, this one is hosted by my very dear friend Jo Rice whose work I have followed and admired for many years. Jo has chosen Anything goes Mixed Media.
Now this is a challenge for me, I admire Mixed Media artists and I love their work as a result I have dabbled in the past but not very successfully .....but I had to give it another go .....for Jo

I decided it was safer to keep it small so decided on a large tag. Like so many crafters I have bought many things and never used them, well for this challenge I had to crack them open .I started by giving my  tag a coat of white gesso, then a coat of one of Andy Skinner's beautiful  dark blue Deco Art fluid Acrylics and let it dry ... then applied a coat of Deco Art Crackle paste with a palette knife. The instructions said crackle would be larger and deeper the thicker you applied it,  so I tried to vary the thickness and let it dry ....then the magic happened and my mdf tag began to look like a piece of weathered old wood:

Then I made a dragonfly with Sheena's perfect partners die and stamp, used a stampendous sentiment stamp 'Dance like nobody's looking' and added some flowers and butterflies made with Tina Cox's flowers and butterflies groovi plate and suddenly I was done. Mixed Media 'my way' using some of my favourite techniques using stamps, die cutting and groovi parchment.

Fancy having a go ... it's good to challenge yourself sometimes ... Mixed media is what it says: mixing up all your tried and tested techniques in another way. You can find out more about how to enter here it couldn't be easier. We would love to see what you come up with, most of all have fun!
Bye for now xx Annie.

Fussy and Fancy Challenge #193 Favourite Colour

Hello Fussy and Fancy Crafters here I am still playing Catchup with my challenge Blogs, This is for Challenge #193 which is hosted by the lovely talented Gina, she has chosen a lovely theme for this time 'Favourite Colour' This was an easy choice for me because July is my one and only Sister's Birthday and her absolute favourite colour is Lavender  Blue.

I had already bought the stamp I used for the topper, it is a Sue Wilson 'Stamps to Die for' I chose it because we both share a love of Art Deco art style. Sue is a beautiful crafter herself and makes the most wonderful Clean and Simple cards unlike my usual Pizza ...everything thrown at it style so I wanted to attempt to keep it as uncluttered as I could. Using Iris coloured cardstock I ran it through an embossing folder which gave me a corner design, I cut out the aperture with the die that matched the stamp and then placed the topper in the aperture. I stamped and embossed my Art Deco sister sentiment, then I spent a wonderful afternoon making parchment dragonflies ..... yes you guessed it, again Dragonflies always feature on cards between us, it is a long standing tradition from when my dear Mam was alive, there always have to be 4 representing the 4 women of our family. 

I love family traditions, don't you.

So there it is a card full of favourite things for my Sister she has already received it and she told me she Loved it so that is all I need to know.

Right I better get on it is already time for me to prepare for our next Challenge and I think after trying to be so neat and tidy this time I am going to do something messy so watch this space. Till then, Happy Crafting xx Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge 191 Celebration

Her we are again another Friday, and Challenge #191 Celebration.....this is a very simple card I made in rather a hurry for a birthday I nearly missed oops!!

Dies are so useful when you are in a hurry .... I am just so pleased she will never know that I nearly missed her celebration. I have also bee a very naughty little Blogger, the Summer months are so busy what with having to keep the garden tidy and then of course my computer decided to throw a wobbly too so it is really 'Better Late than never' as I catch up for the last two months Love and Hugs Annie

Fussy and Fancy Challenge # 189 Pamper your Pets

Another Friday another challenge from Fussy and Fancy, this time our hostess is Diane she has chosen 'Pamper your Pets.
We have always been animal people, for the last 8 years we have have had our adorable Black Labrador, Jasper, I cannot imagine life without him. As a child we always had cats and I love their independent natures too , I have used a favourite Clarity stamp of a kitten together with it's verse

'The dreams of a kitten are gossamer things,

A slight hint of breeze

the faint rustle of wings,'

Here is my card:

It is a swing card which gives it some lovely movement, the verse is on the back of the image:

The whole card is based on a new die set from Crafters Companion for kinetic cards, you know how I love my shaped cards / different folds!

Talking of pets I couldn't go without adding a photo of my handsome boy:

Hope you will find time to enter our new challenge see here for details of how to enter.

Bye for today xxxx Annie

Fussy and Fancy challenge187 Pink, Pearls and Posies

It's Friday again and time for Fussy and Fancy Challenge #187 hosted by the lovely talented Darlene who has chosen 'Pink, Pearls and Posies' (flowers).
I was thrilled with this challenge because I have recently started using the Clarity Groovi system, a modern twist on ancient Parchment craft .Tracing the lineart from an acrylic plate makes it so much easier, one of my most recent plates is for making 3D flowers and butterflies. I have been enjoying playing with these and had a selection already made.

So really then it was just a case of making a simple die cut card to show  off my flowers. I have a long way to go to master all the lovely lacey techniques involved in Parchment but I am really enjoying  the journey. It also has the added benefit of being very therapeutic ... I can easily lose whole afternoons whilst playing with this system.

Please join us in this challenge whatever your craft of choice is you can find out more about how to enter and also see lots of inspiration from my design team mates just click here

Fussy and Fancy Challenge # 183 Springtime

I am very sorry I have not been able to blog my last 2 F&F Challenges because I have been having problems with my computer  however hopefully I have fixed it with the help of the younger generation!! ' Oh No Nana not again' they shout!

So it is Friday again and time for Challenge #183 it is my turn to host the challenge so I chose a very obvious but lovely one .... it is Springtime .... we have had a couple of Spring like days up her in Wales, so lovely after a quite wet Winter.

Anyway here goes, I have seen this shaped card whilst looking around for crafty ideas, it is so simple.... It started off as a 8x8 card blank, I folded the front back in half, then I cut 2" off the bottom edge

Then flip the cut off piece and make a zig zag shape against main card, this makes a box shape in the fold of your card, this reminded me of the popup box cards I used to make and that it how the whole idea came to me.

I used some of my favourite Clarity Garden Birds stamps and cloud mask to create the backdrop, I diecut a picket fence to follow the shaped band and decorated with some die cut flowers, I stamped a little nest with eggs in to put in the box shape and I was done

Amazingly the whole thing folds down to fit in an ordinary envelope, so this will be my 96 year old Mother in Law's, Mother's Day card. there is plenty of texture and movement to help her poor eyesight, bless her. (Just a reminder Mother's Day is March 26th in the uk this year.)

So that was my idea, I would love to see your ideas on Springtime ... it is so easy to enter just go here where you will find everything you need to know you will also see more beautiful ideas from the rest of my Fussy and Fancy team mates. Look forward to seeing what you come up with.
Crafty hugs and xxx Annie

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