Scenic Card

Hello Folks.  Its a better day here and the sky is much brighter than of the last few days and its Dry.  
Whilst I was rearranging my stamps last week I came to a few of Sheena Douglas stamps that had not been used, so I thought I should give them an airing.  These stamps are silhouette stamps and really easy to use.  I had some folded card at the ready and decided to stamp directly on to the card, very brave I know, as it leaves no room for mistakes.   For the background I used Distress inks in Dusty Concord, Stormy Sky, Tumbled Glass for the sky area and Bundled Sage and  Forrest Moss  for the bottom half of my card. The little butterfly stamps were also from another of Sheena's sets and those were stamped with Dusty Concord.
The large butterfly I painted and crackled it  ( sorry the picture does not show it)  I added a few tiny pearls to them all and I really enjoyed the making of this card as it made me use my inks and stamps again. 
Most of my recent cards are using Dies, and I love doing that along with making my flowers.  So No flowers or Bows on this one.   I hope you all have a love day whatever your doing.  I'm off to sort out more of my stamps.  Watch this space.   Hugs Rita xxxxx

Secret Box and Snippet Card

Hello my dear friends and fellow bloggers.   Its been a busy week for me and needless to say I did not get any crafting done till yesterday afternoon.  I did try my best to get round as many blogs as I could and  I'm sorry if I missed out on anyone. Sometimes it hard to visit everyone, but I do try my best.   So today I settled down to make this little secret box from 300 GSM Hammered card and papers from myG45 My Secret Garden.   I saw it first at Splitcoast Stampers and  saved the Tutorial.  It's since been done by lots of bloggers, so I thought you would like to see this one that I made yesterday.  It does take quite a bit of time to prepare, but so easy to put to-gether.
  My dear friend Patricia at Summerhouse Crafts will be really proud of me as I made my very first Snippet card from the cuttings from the box.  I used a mask to give me the shape and used distress ink in Bundled Sage to add some colour, then added the snippets.   Patricia has made some fantastic Snippet cards ,so maybe you'd like to pay her a visit over at her Blog ( Here ) 
Its been such a dismal day here, dark and wet.  So as its Burn's Night we will be having the traditional Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, it should be taken with a wee dram of Scotch Whisky too.  Robert Burns was our National Poet and the 25th January was his Birthday, so in Scotland  we celebrate the birth of Robert Burns.  We  stay  a few miles from where he was born in Alloway, Ayrshire.  I hope you all enjoy your week-end and after a quick tidy up, I will produce another card hopefully.     Hugs Rita xxxxxx

This is my Snippet card

Springtime Card

Hello again folks.  Well, we have had such a beautiful day here and hopefully so have you.  It really makes a difference to how we think, speaking for myself  here.
I have a confession to make though, remember I said I was going to update my craft room, well I did start and then came across my Susan Tierney Cockburn dies and flower kit.   So suffice to say that I sat down and started making pansies, and got lost in my flower making that dinner was a little bit later than usual last night.
So this morning I have put together an 8X8 card displaying my Pansies. The backing  paper is from Graphic 45  Secret Garden Pad and its so stunning, I would recommend it to anyone that loves flowers.
The corners again are from  Joy Crafts and the clock and the swirls are from Cheery Lynn and are so easily cut.  The sentiment is one that I keep reminding myself and its from Inkylicious..  You can tell that I'm easily distracted, but I have made a start to-day and promised myself I would not start another card until I have spruced up my work space. ( no mentiom of my walk in cupboard though.) That will keep till another day.
A few of you asked about Molly's shawl, but because it was the same Khaki colour as her Mum's and Aunt Annies I did not want to bore you with another shawl.   So I have added a previous picture for those that have never seen my Lace knitted shawls. Looking forward to a change of colour for my next one though.  Hope you are all having a lovely day whether or not your crafting.   Thank-You for all the lovely comments you so kindly leave on my blog as everyone is so much appreciated.    Hugs Rita xxxxx

Molly's Lace Shawl

Birthday Card

Hello to you All.   I have been playing  AWOL for a week, but the truth be told I was finishing Molly's lace shawl.   I had no inclination to make a card at all and the weather was so dark and dismal.   However I managed to make a birthday card to-day, but found it difficult to get motivated.  So its a card made up from dies and using Teal & White card I managed to create a  card for a friends birthday later this month. I used SB Elegant Labels four along with a lovely heart die from Cheery Lynn called Lattice Hearts & Vines.  Finished off with a sentiment and some pearls, ribbon and a tiny rose.  I'm intending to start another card this evening as there is nothing I watch on television.   My craft room too is in need of an overhaul and that is a job I'm not looking forward to.  Got a phone call from my only brother this morning saying he is hoping to come  over for a visit in July.  He stays in Australia, so it would be wonderful to see him again.   I hope you all enjoy a lovely weekend no matter what you are doing.   Hugs Rita xxxx

White Wedding Card

Hello to everyone.  Isn't this month just flying in.  I never liked January anyway, but like it or not it's here.
My card to-day was one I got a commission for in early December and was to be made for January.   So after the festivities were over I started to think about a design for my card.  The finished card is the one I am showing you today.   However, on Thursday of last week I asked for the details etc, and Guess what........ it was for January 2015.  No pressure there then.   Anyway, I am pleased with my finished card most of  it was made up of dies and of course my little roses.
Over Christmas I was knitting shawls and berets for gifts and of course they took off like a rocket, everyone loved them and now I have orders.  I knitted a silver grey one for my friend Jan as she feels her head very cold and loves her hat,  so I have just finished another one for her in a beautiful purple heather colour,  my girls both have Khaki ones and love them too.  I've added some pictures below the card.
 Very wintry and cold today, but nothing like the terrible floods that others are having to cope with.
 Please look after yourselves and keep warm and dry.    Hugs Rita xxx

Jan's Beret

  I steam my Berets with a dinner plate inside to hold the shape.

Annies Beret

' Dreaming of You ' Vintage Card

Hello Everyone.   I hope you are all winding down after the excitement of the Festive Season.  My younger members of the family went home yesterday and we worried till they arrived home as the weather was really bad.  It was Wonderful to have everyone together and it definitely perked us up.  I started this card a while ago and found it again whilst tidying up, so I decided to give it some finishing touches. The stamps are old ones by Rubber Stampede called Dreaming of You and Definition Background.   I actually started out using up offcuts of Tim Holtz paper from the French Industrial pad.  I then stamped the images with Archival Sepia ink before distressing with Walnut Stain and Bundled Sage distress inks.  I added some lace to the image. So today I found some Marianne corners on my desk and gave them a good going over with the inks before getting to work with my Treasured Gold waxes. Added some crochet flowers and a few of my own just to give it some height.  The Sizzix heart was one of the many TH dies that I received from Annie  in my Christmas box.   Now I'm about to start a White on White Wedding card with matching bag , so I better make sure my surfaces are pristine clean.   Enjoy your Day.    Hugs Rita xxxx

Spellbinders Dies and Stencil card

Happy New Year Everyone.   Hopefully it will be better than of late, the tragedies of the world are still going on.   However, on a brighter note I have a card to share with you today.  Among my many crafty gifts this Christmas was this stunning stencil from my dear friend Redanne. We always try to find things that are different and this year she really excelled herself.  She knows how much I treasure her friendship, along with many others who help me day to day.
I chose a pre-folded card for this one and after using Tea Dye Distress Ink to colour my stencil,  I cut out some Spellbinders Aster flower toppers and inked them sparingly with the same ink.  The corner die is beautifu,l and its really big ,but with great results, it's another Spellbinders Gold Elements One 
After creating my flower and adding it on to the corner,  I remembered to add my quote and dyed silk ribbon bow.  However, I managed it with a jiggle around and got it to fit.   Hope you have a nice relaxing weekend.
Carolyn, Neil, Hamish and Molly are arriving and staying till Sunday, so no crafting for me this weekend.  Hugs Rita xxxx  

Monochromatic New Year Challenge

Hello Everyone.  Here we all are at the start of a brand New Year, so I'd like to wish you all Happiness, Peace and Contentment, but most of all a Healthy New Year.
Just before Christmas I won the November Challenge over at Country View Challenges and was absolutely delighted.  But as November's winner,  I was asked to do the Guest Designer Spot for their January Challenge ' Monochromatic '  and of course I was so honoured at being given a chance, no way could I refuse.  They have a wonderful DT, so why not take up this first Challenge of 2014.  The Country View Crafts are one of the best stockists for keeping in stock most of the things us crafters need, and they also offer a great service. so please pay them a visit if you have not already done so.

Now on to my card..  It is an 8X8  White card, layered and matted with black linen card.  My design  was started with my Tonic Verso die set called  Decorative Bows and from there I knew I wanted corners, and used a Joycraft corner die,  my sentiment could be meant for me really,  because I firmly believe that Nothing ventured ,Nothing gained. The scalloped edging at the foot of the card was made again from a tonic punch and I added black ric-rac braid along the top edge.  The tiny white roses were made using the Cheery Lynn medium rose strip, with leaves using the Dancing leaves die from Penny Black. A large silky crush bow to finish it off and my card was finished.   So why not join in this wonderful challenge as your first of 2014.    Hugs Rita xxxx