colouring for mermay

 a little colouring to share with you all today.

good morning.

whilst i didn't go out over the bank holiday weekend i thought i would do some colouring (not much i hasent to add) but i do love mer-may.

so on saturday evening (uk time) i watch the ever talented Amy Young on her colouring channel colour one of the new stamps released by sweet november for mermay. 

i watch carefully how Amy coloured the tail and loved the result for koi fishes, even though Amy had used copics it was so neat. so with all this info i thought that i would give it a go but with my distress inks. 

and here she is:

i have used tiny townie mermaid set and i need to do it all again soon. i've used various blues including:

faded jeans, chipped saphire, uncharted mariner, prize ribbon for the tail.

and in the next couple of days i will add her to a new card and possibly enter her into Stampingbella mermay challenge..

i have added some liquid pearls in her hair and randomly added whtie dots with my posca pen.

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

happy birthday - Saturated Canary image

 hi and good morning to all

stopping by this morning to share my latest make.

i recently purchased a couple of saturated canary stamps that i had been hunting for for a while, Blanche and Genie. 

thankfully they are now added to my stash.

here is my first creation to add to my card stash and i've used Blanche

isn't she just sassy.

colouring medium is with distress ink and sakura glitter pen

and i've added a little frantage.

i have also used a few dies from: tonic, spellbinder and marianne.

mulberry roses, stamens, pearls, tuile and satin ribbon

when i first started colouring many moons ago i fell in love with 

Krista Smiths images i saw them as something a little different and

now i have a little more time on my hands my crafting timetable will increase...

here is my list of items used to create my card.

inks:

fade resistant dye ink: memento - expresso truffle

Tim Holtz:  distress ink

skin: 

vintage photo, tattered rose, worn lipstick

lips:

aged mahogany

eyes:

shaded lilac

hair: 

antique linen, walnut stain, frayed burlap

dress:

shaded lilac, dusty concord, mermaid lagoon

highlights:

sakura glitter pen, pale gold

papers:

Fabriano 5, 140lb watercolour card 

mintay - lovely day

7x7" base card

stamps:

Saturated canary - Blanche, discontinued

stempleglede - follow your heart, discontinued

miscellaneous:  

double sided tape, foam pads

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

celebrating 10 years of blogging

 good morning

welcome to my celebration share for today.

hold the front page!

i can't believe it's been 10 years since i dipped my toes into blogland how time flys. 

my blog journey began when i was lucky enough to be chosen to be one of lili of the valley's design team members, a pinch me moment as i'd only been card crafting and learning how to colour for a few years, and i'd fallen in love with their adorable stamps.

so i thought i would re-create the card i made and shared from my first blog on the 19th March 2016, on this epic journey of blogging i've enjoyed sharing all my makes,  so today i have used the same image (anniversary surprise) and it has been painted with distress ink compared to my original image that was coloured with copics, i've used the same die, similar papers and the same satin ribbon. (i bought loads of it) and a larger card base.

original first post photo image..

my style has changed some what as i rarely use my copics or pencils but i am forever grateful to Alyce at kit and clowder (link on the side bar) for her colouring classes.

i just want to thank everyone who has stopped by and commented on my post whether it's been my cards, just colouring, candles, knitting or doll making.

thank you all so, so much.

watch this space for more shares in the near future.

thanks for stopping by and craft happy, Ann

Merry Christmas

 hi and welcome to my share for today

i'm back to a christmas themed card, i recently bought two really cute stamps from Sweet November Stamps for personal use, i really couldn't resist them....

a simple matt and layered card using christmas papers from Maja Design.

i do love their papers and i thought the tag sheet suited my coloured image really well.

joy has been painted with distress ink and the image has been sealed with Tim Holtz distress glaze.

a little side on view

and my chosen sentiments, they are penny black.

here is my list of items used to create my card.

inks:

fade resistant dye ink: memento - expresso truffle

Tim Holtz:  distress ink

skin: 

vintage photo, tattered rose, worn lipstick

eyes:

faded jeans

hair: 

antique linen, scattered straw,

night dress:

spun sugar, victorian velvet

shoes:

walnut stain, frayed burlap, fired brick, antique linen

gift:

rustic wilderness, lumberjack plaid, festive berries

image background:

old paper

papers:

Fabriano 5, 140lb watercolour card 

maja design - Christmas wish

7x7" base card

stamps:

Sweet November stamps - Joy

Penny Black - joy of christmas

miscellaneous:

satin ribbon, resin snow flake, tim holtz distress glaze    

double sided tape

suppliers i use:

stamps:

craftelier

designer papers:

the mad scrapper

craft heaven shop

colouring papers:

ken bromley art supplies

also you can buy from:

other on line stores and craft fairs in your area

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

 

thinking of you

 hi and morning to all:

sharing a quick card today that's just been smudge inked, stamped, spritzed with water, dried and then spritzed with mica stain.

my distressed image has been mounted onto black card and placed in the centre of my 5x5" base card with foam pads and the sentiment off set to the left again set on foam pads.

not my usual type of card but i loved messing about with the inks it gives a uniqueness to the card

items used:

ink:

memento espresso truffle

tim holtz distress ink:

black soot, wild honey

distress mica stain:

decayed

stamps:

thinking of you - my stash

landscape - kaiser kraft

misc:

foam pads

double sided tape.

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

be my valentine

good morning to one and all

sharing a new colouring for february and also a new stamp to my stash from Sweet November Stamps, this is Lottie Love and she is adorable.

as this stamp is for personal use only this will be my OH valentines card for the next few years lol.

the image has been painted with distress inks and as it has been a while since i picked up my brushes i felt a little rusty and played it safe with my colour pallet.

the images above and below are the first colouring and touch up finished image.

you know sometimes you think it needs a little more well i should have left it alone but i thought a little more shading on the hair and that's when i told myself i was a little rusty

and now Lottie appears to be a brunette and i've lost some of my shading definition on her fringe..

internal layout

here is my list of items used to create my card.

inks:

fade resistant dye ink: memento - expresso truffle

Tim Holtz:  distress ink

skin: 

vintage photo, tattered rose, worn lipstick

eyes:

chipped sapphire, broken china

hair: 

antique linen, walnut stain, frayed burlap, scattered straw,

top:

victorian velvet, speckled egg, aged mahogany

pants:

old paper

shoes:

fired brick, antique linen, speckled egg

papers:

Fabriano 5, 140lb watercolour card 

maja design - denim & girls

DL base card

stamps:

Sweet November stamps - Lottie Love

LOTV - grungy corners & valentine sentiments discontinued

dies:

spellbinder - layered circle

miscellaneous:

distress ink pad: spun sugar, victorian velvet & faded jeans

double sided tape

suppliers i use:

stamps:

craftelier

designer papers:

the mad scrapper

craft heaven shop

colouring papers:

ken bromley art supplies

also you can buy from:

other on line stores and craft fairs in your area

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

 

Believe in the magic

 hi and welcome to my share for today.

i have created a mix-media type of a modern Christmas card using various mediums, and i'm impressed at the results.

whilst browsing through facebook on Sunday ranger-ink popped up on my feeds offering a video tutorial on a winter card. so ranger kindly forwarded the link, i watched and thought i'd give it a go, i've got distress inks, embossing ink, stamps, dies, embossing powders and stencils off i plodded and a few hours later i'd created my card (not all the items from the video i have just used what i have available that are similar).

Julianna was right the small distress ink-pads would have been better but i didn't have any but i carried on as i love the idea, and on my creation i have added some mica spray which you can't really see...it just looks like a smattering

and instead of an image i have added a die cut embellishment and to finish off i have added a die cut sentiment.

 some of the items used:

DL white base card

distress oxide ink pads:

tumbled glass, shaded lilac, broken china

distress ink pad:

vintage photo, broken china

papers:

fabriano watercolour paper, sizzix glitter card, silver foil card

stamps:

 Lavinia - snowflakes, crafters companion - nordic script

dies:

ldrs, sizzix, creative expressions

miscellaneous:

ranger texture paste - opaque, wow embossing powder- platinum regular, sweet poppy ultra fine glitter - white, tim holtz collection stencil - stars, cosmic shimmer vintage mist and a huge pearl and diamanté embellishment.

memento ink:

espresso truffle

it all seems a lot for a slim card but i loved every minute making it..

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

Merry Christmas

 hi there and good morning to all

sharing my completed card project that i started a couple of days ago.

i wasn't too sure how this card was going to turn out as the only thing i had planned was using two of my stampingbella christmas images.

the inspiration: 

i was impressed with a colouring that Amy Young created on the colouring with Amy a few weeks ago and i had recently bought that new image from the last release but i couldn't buy the tree has it has been discontinued so. treated myself to Tina trims the tree with Amy's creation in mind.

i have used Tina Trims the tree and the three amigas, masked the amigas and positioned and stamped Tina to one side and i have to say it looks like the ladies are having a blast..

all the images have been painted with distress ink and i have used a few of my dies and a couple of stamps to create my embellishments and background.

here is the list of colours used:

Skin: vintage photo, worn lipstick

hair: frayed burlap, antique linen

dresses from left to right: mermaid lagoon, worn lipstick, speckled egg, lumberjack plaid & speckled egg

hats: lumberjack plaid, festive berries

tree: peeled paint

background: antique linen, broken china

 some of the items used:

7"x7" white base card

distress re-inkers

fabriano watercolour paper

stamps: stampingbella, dohickey/magnolia, 

dies:

tonic circles, joycraft, anna-marie

where i buy some of my supplies from:

dies to die for, stampingbella, art from the heart, sevenhills crafts, ken bromley.

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

first colouring for 2026

 

good evening crafters

happy 2026 to you all

popping in with a quick post for the new year and like always i start the new year with the start of a Christmas card, well coloured images any how.

i was inspired by Amy Young a while back after seeing one of her creations using one of the last released stamps Alexis & Serena paired up with a retired image of a Christmas tree over on her colouring adventures with Amy.

so i thought i would have another play

here is the start of my next collaboration of merging two stamps.

i've paired the three amigas and Tina trims the tree.

i've got a bit carried away with the background and i haven't decided on the papers, card size and or embellishments yet so that's my plan for the next day or so. 

colouring medium used is distress ink.

once the card is complete i will list everything i have used.

so for now thanks for stopping by

enjoy your evening and

craft happy, Ann

happy birthday

hi and happy sunday to all

well i've caught up with all the images i had coloured up over the last few months,

and i have stamped some new images ready to be inked.

today's little cutie is from lili of the valley and again this image is discontinued.

 i have had a little wobble with my card designs recently but i have chosen to stick with shabby chic style for the time being.

my image has been painted with distress ink and i have added some glitter highlights with my sakura glitter pen (i love my glitter pens).

all my papers have been over stamped around the edges with various stamps i enjoy using and distressed the edges on all the layers, i have also used a lovely die from dohickey and i've added a few mulberry roses, a little trinket and some flat back pearls to complete

 some of the items used:

7"x7" white base card

distress re-inkers

fabriano watercolour paper

maja designs paper pad

stamps: lili of the valley - discontinued & mft sentiments

vintage lace die

mulberry roses

flat back pearls

heart trinket

where i buy some of my supplies from:

dies to die for, stampingbella, art from the heart, carroway cottage, the mad scrapper, sevenhills crafts, ken bromley, craftheaven-shop.

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

happy birthday

hi & good morning to all.

well after another week has whizzed passed i thought i would share my latest completed card using an adorable image from Lili of the Valley that is now sadly discontinued.

i consider myself really fortunate to have a large collection of their stamps in rubber and polymer and every now and again i have to create a cute card.

i'm still using my distress inks to colour my images and i'm still in a shabby chic mood using fabulous papers from maja design, vintage summer basics.

And after sorting out some of my boxes i stumbled across some trinkets i'd forgotten all about.

i've stamped and distressed all the edges of my designer papers and stamped around the edges of my image.

note to self: image panel needs to be a little slimmer, stamped, distressed and mounted on the panel next time, so that the designer paper isn't lost..

 some of the items used:

7"x7" white base card

distress re-inkers

fabriano watercolour paper

maja designs paper pad

stamps:

lili of the valley - discontinued

mulberry roses

staymens

heart trinket

where i buy some of my supplies from:

dies to die for, stampingbella, art from the heart, carroway cottage, the mad scrapper, sevenhills crafts, ken bromley, craftheaven-shop.

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

 

happy birthday

good morning crafters.

popping in with another recent make, today i've used:

Charlotte loves to shop

from stampingbella. this is a first outing for this stamp like many other bella stamps i have in my stash due to the fact i have been moving from one craft to another and i must admit i feel a little rusty at the minute with my card making.. 

this cutie has been coloured up with my usual medium of distress ink and i have gone all out using various papers, dies, flowers and embellishments to complete..

i have three more images that are coloured up and are waiting for me to add to cards and then i'll be in a mad rush (maybe) to stamp, colour up and make some christmas cards.

no pressure lol..

some of the items used:

7x7" white base card

distress re-inkers

fabriano watercolour paper

maja paper pad

stamps:

stampingbella - image 

mft - sentiments

various dies

mulberry roses

pearl stamens

pink embellishments

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

 

wishing you the best day ever.

popping in with today's share.

when stampingbella released these images i knew i would add them to my growing stash of bella's and they don't disappoint.

today i have used:

uptown girl loves to sing.

my image has been coloured with distress ink and her outfit has been finished with dots of glitter ink and white posca pen and on the edges i have added some frantage. 

i had planned a simple cas card but i couldn't quite figure out a layout so i scoured my paper stash and my card was created. i've used a couple of dies for the border, some mulberry flowers along with pearls and stamens and a dinky corner stamp from my stash to complete the layout.

there are things on this creation that could have been done different (and that's just me being super critical on myself) and next time i use this super image my creation could be super cas or highly elaborate.

some of the items used:

7x7" white base card

distress re-inkers

fabriano watercolour paper

lili of the valley, paper pad - discontinued

stamps:

stampingbella - image & sentiment

magnolia corner stamp

posca pen

sakura glitter pens

various dies

mulberry roses

pearl stamens

frantage

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

happy birthday

 hi and welcome to my share for today.

a super adorable image from saturated canary.

Tilly

a simple card, the image i have coloured with distress ink and highlighted with glitter pens and i've also add a little posy with the birthday salutations.

i've also used a beautiful sheet of paper from maja designs for my base layer and i have used one of my tim holtz stencils to add a few stars using my glitter pen on the paper and also on the image. my flowers are a mix of mulberry roses, www.carawaycottage.co.uk and some i had in my stash.

some of the items used:

7x7" white base card

maja designer paper pad: 6x6"

distress re-inkers

fabriano watercolour paper

stamps:

saturated canary - discontinued

lili of the valley, sentiments - discontinued

satin ribbon

sakura glitter pens

tim holtz stensil

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

happy birthday princess.

 Good morning crafters.

Popping in with my share for today.

i have another completed card to show using one of the curvy girls from stampingbella: curvy girl loves the beach.

just a really fun image to use and i have teamed the image up with some of bella's sentiment stamps on the background and i have stamped them randomly, again i have used my distress inks and glitter pens to colour the image and added some of my maja design papers and distress ink pads to complete.

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

cheers to you. birthday card

good morning crafters.

popping in to share one of my latest completed cards, a birthday card using a Stampingbella image i coloured up a while ago:

Opal the optimist, i have used my distress inks and glitter pens to colour as well as a little frantage, mulberry roses and two dies to complete.

i have been lucky enough to have two holidays recently hence no post for a little while and i am trying to catch up and complete greetings cards using the images i have already coloured.

With Halloween & Christmas just around the corner hopefully i will be creating some seasonal greetings cards over the next few weeks.

but in the mean time

thanks for stopping by

enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann

Merry Christmas & SB challenge

 good morning crafters

well it's the middle of July and for most crafters that can only mean one thing:

getting ahead with christmas cards. 

i have to say it's not something i normally do but i couldn't resist joining in with Stampingbella's current challenge: Christmas in July

i've chosen to use glitter and shimmer card to give it a luxury christmas feel and i've teamed it up with some of my fave dies.

it's funny sometimes when i make cards they aren't the vision i had originally, i had planned on using christmassy papers and got side tracked with the glitter card. 

the image has been painted with distress ink and the baubles and star have been highlighted with glitter pens and i've masked my image to stamp the christmas sentiment.

some of the items used:

distress ink, spellbinder, joycraft & creative expression dies, sakura glitter pen, memento ink, stampingbella stamp: savannah has a star, magnolia sentiment stamps, white base card, gold glitter & satin card from sizzix.

all it leaves me now to say is:

thanks for stopping by enjoy your day and

craft happy, Ann