April Showers

We're certainly getting April Showers here this week, today I managed a long walk with the dogs between showers and then retreated to the craft room to make a few cards.  I put together some House Mouse decoupage that had been cut out a while back, isn't this a fun Spring image?  I added some Glossy Accents and Stickles to the raindrops and a couple of ribbons beside my image. 
I'm entering my card for:
House Mouse & Friends - anything goes
Creative Belli - animals
Sassy Cheryl's - April Showers
Use it Tuesday - April Showers (decoupage is my hoarded stash)
Bunny Zoe - ribbon or twine
Get Hippity - April Showers
Scrappers Delight - April Showers
Digi Designs - animal friends

Blue Buddleia Bear

 

I made this card using a Gruffy Bear from a Joanna Sheen set, using lots of blues.  I'm not convinced that the colours quite work...  to many shades of different values.  The colour inspiration came from House Mouse & Friends Monday and I based the layout on Sketch Saturday, with extra flowers and butterflies spilling out.  The lace came from my stash, sentiment is from the same stamp set.

My card is for:

House Mouse & Friends Monday - photo inspiration

Sketch Saturday - sketch

Paper Pretties - thank you card

Sweet Stamps - think spring

Wishes and dreams

This week's House Mouse & Friends Challenge is about making wishes come true.  I think this gorgeous bunny and friend  are wishing for summer, I know I am!  The decoupage is Joanna Sheen, I've added some ribbon, a Lili of the Valley sentiment stamp and DP by Prima.  I'm sorry now that I used the DP, it is so pretty and you can see so little of it!
My card is also for Do You Stack Up's Lots of Layers Challenge,  Stamp Scrap & Doodle's more than 2 layers challenge and Allsorts Challenge Anything Goes.

Lots of layers

 

I bought some new House Mouse decoupage from Joanna Sheen and have been cutting out while my mojo is missing.  There is a lot going on with the image so I've kept the rest of the card pretty simple, with a couple of layers, a border punch and some ribbon.

My card is for:

House Mouse & Friends - something new (the decoupage pack)

Charisma Cardz - anything goes

Simon Says - new something

Papertake Weekly - anything goes (option of new)

It's all falling into place - I don't be-leaf it - no trees!

This evening, instead of trees, I have leaves to show you:).  By good fortune this card fits the challenges for several of my favourite blogs, where I try to play along as often as I can.  Midnight Madness has a fab prize of House Mouse stamps this week and since the lovely America is also part of House Mouse Monday she suggest combining the sketch with their Fall challenge.  This little chap is a Joanna Sheen stamp, never seen ink before and I think I've had him for about a year - shameful!  Cupcake Craft is where I won my first ever blog hop candy; I also one one of my first ever Top 3/5 awards from them so I love to join their challenges and this week they have leaves as their theme.  Add to that Anything Goes at Basic Grey and Simon Says and I cover almost all my favourite challenges in one here.
About the card:  coloured with Copics and Distress Inks.  DP is Basic Grey, border punch EK Success, leaf and button punches Woodware. Sentiment is Dimension Fourth, strip ribbon from Stampin' Up.
This has been the strangest autumn for weather, we had that lovely sunny hot Indian summer, now it's mild but damp and we have a second bumper crop of mushrooms in the field where we keep out horses - unheard of so late in the year!  Tonight I took my hat off and filled it with mushrooms in the absence of a clean container!
Challenges for my card:
Midnight Madness - sketch
House Mouse Mondays - Fall
Cupcake Crafts - take a leaf out of my book
Simon Says - anything goes
Basic Grey- anything goes
Creative Inspirations Paint - inspired by Fall
Quirky Crafters - autumn leaves
Stampin' Sisters in Christ - Fall colours
Craft Your Days Away - autumn
Pattie's Creations - Halloween or Autumn colours
Whimsical Wednesday - Fall cuties
Shopping our Stash - autumn colours
Crafty Creations - fall and leaves

Tangled up mice

This week's challenge and House Mouse & Friends is Christmas Sparkle and I found this image stamped for me by a friend ages ago to use, as I don't have that many Christmas mice.  As I wasn't sure what it was stamped with I opted for watercolour pencils to colour but disaster struck when I added Stickles to the lights, which somehow bled around the lights.  I added lots of Distress Inks and some Copic dots to try to disguise it, hopefully the background doesn't look too much of a mess:).  I followed the layout from Sketch Saturday, adding some twine and some tiny punched stars that I also glittered with Stickles, though now I wish I'd kept them red not used clear...  DP is Cosmo Cricket and Memory Box, used a MS punch on the centre strip.

My card is for the following challenges:

House Mouse & Friends Monday - Christmas Sparkle

Sketch Saturday - sketch

Simon Says - anything goes

Paper Sundaes - anything goes

Stampin' for the Weekend - what a cutie

Kenny K  - Christmas

Sparkles Forum -something that sparkles

Clearly Inspired - glitter

Card Making Mamas - punches

Bows 'n' Berries - glitter

Netty G - anything goes

Double Trouble!

 I just had to get a second entry made for Less is More this week, I love my House Mouse stamps and love making cards with them.  But... I do tend to throw the kitchen sink at them:  lace, Nesties, brads, pearls, the works.  So could I do clean and simple?  One layer too?  Now Joanna Sheen does unmounted rubber sheets of House Mouse (or do I mean mice?) there are some fab smaller images to play with, so I came up with this duo, complete with purple asters for my friend Morag's birthday this week (she loves purple).  I like it as a change to the other HM cards I make, what do you think?
The card is from Craftwork Cards, it was originally square but somehow didn't look right, so it had one arch lopped off:).  To show off the border I added a strip of Artylicious cardstock inside the card (oops hope this still make it one layer!) and then proceeded to finish off the inside as well, something I'm usually very bad at.  Coloured with watercolour pencils on the outside, Distress Ink inside.  The inside sentiments are both Joanna Sheen from a different set.
My card is for:
Less is More - seeing double
House Mouse & Friends Monday - Happy Birthday with flowers - and Happy 3rd birthday to them!
Paper Sundaes - finishing touches
Stamp Something - stamp anything - last challenge :(
Truly Scrumptious - decorate inside your card

A House Mouse ATC

House Mouse and Friends has an ATC Challenge this week -now I've made lots of ATCs in the past but not for years - also quite a few of my HM stamps are rather bigger than ATC size!  I found this image, which a kind friend has sent to me, it's been sitting in a box ever since.  I was very careful colouring it because I think it just may be a pre-Copic image stamped with Versafine.  What an evil mouse he is to wake up his friend like that.  If there was room I'd have put a different sentiment:  "With friends like this, who needs enemies".  My ATC will probably become a card topper in the future, but for now, here's my first ATC for years:).

This is for the following challenges:
House Mouse & Friends - ATC
Stampin' for the Weekend - Paws for thought
Papertake - anything goes (optional metal) brads
Crazy Amigos - free theme

Summer Snooze

I coloured up this little mouse while I was on holiday and I'm really pleased with the way the poppy turned out, I've found this difficult before and I think I've over-complicated it by trying to use too many reds.  This week House Mouse & Friends celebrate their 100th Challenge so I thought I'd make him up into a card to enter - do check it out - they have some amazing prizes and candy!  I've followed Sketch'n'Stash's layout, using Memory Box Brioche DP.  The sentiment is also House Mouse, I've added tiny bits of bling to the dots of the I and the exclamation mark as well as bling in the corners.  The tiny buttons have thread knotted in them and the seam binding bow matches the length of it around the card square.  Didn't add it to the length as I didn't want to obscure his little tail!  Congratulations and best wishes to all those lovely ladies (and gentlemen) at House Mouse & Friends, they are one of the best teams for commenting on entries, thank you!
My card is for the following challenges:

House Mouse & Friends - buttons, bows and bling
Sketch'n'Stash - sketch
Stamptacular Sunday - animal antics
Papertake Weekly - getting cute
Fuzzy Wuzzy - animal + punches
Creative Stamp Friends - summer
Die Cut Dreams -animal antics
I Did it Creations - animals
One Stitch at a Time - flowers
Scrappy Frogs - summer flowers

Shopping our Stash - UFOs

I had big plans when I saw that this week's Shopping Our Stash Challenge is UFOs, because I've got plenty - unfinished objects that is:).  I love to sit and cut out decoupage while I'm watching tv.  Sometimes I glue the layers on, sometimes they sit in plastic bags, but as you can see the decoupage rearely makes it into a card!  Back to reality and I have at least made up one card with an adorable House Mouse image. 
I finished this one ages ago and then realised that I had missed a couple of layers out when I was glueing!  I've added the missed out meeces to one side, used some backing paper that matches from the Joanna Sheen CD, stamped a LOTV sentiment and punched out a lacy border with a MS punch.  I've added gems to the middles of some of the asters and also put some down the RH side.

My card is for the following challenges:
Shopping our Stash - unfinished objects
House Mouse Monday - adorn with jewels
Simon Says - let's get fruity

PS Thank you to Shopping Our Stash for my Top 3 badge, I hope more of you will join me in shopping my stash:)

Wishing you sunshine all year through

Today we have sunshine and showers and this is a bright happy card to celebrate the sunshine, though it has been so dry that we really do need the rain too!  I've used a Joanna Sheen House Mouse Decoupage, I have the stamp for this image too, it's beautiful isn't it.  I've added a LOTV sentiment, some twine and some gems,  The DP is My Mind's Eye and I've cuttlebugged some snowflakes onto the yellow paper.  Yes I do mean snowflakes, in the yellow they look like stylised sunflowers to me.
My card is for the following challenges:
House Mouse & Friends Monday - May flowers
Moving Along With the Times - sketch
My Mum's Craft Shop - anything but square
Creative Craft World - anything but square
Delicious Doodles - let the sun shine
Fairy Knoll - flowers
Totally Papercrafts - don't be square
Paper Sundaes - pop it up

House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge - multi fold card

Here's my second card as a Guest  Designer for House Mouse Challenges, the challenge this week is to make a multi-fold card.  I decided to have a go at a spring card which was easier than I expected and I found this great fun to make, using Sandy Hulsart's great tutorial from Splitcoaststampers. I used My Mind's Eye cardstock which is very heavyweight and I made it slightly taller by adding a circle cut with a Marianne Creatable die and then embossed.  There are Glossy Accents and Stickles on the flowers and yes, I have used peel offs in the corners of the card, hardly anyone uses them these days but they fitted the space perfectly!  The mice are from a Joanna Sheen unmounted sheet, aren't they adorable!

I've really enjoyed the chance to be part of the HM Challenge Team, they are a very friendly bunch.  If you get the chance, be sure to hop on board:).

My card is also for the following challenges:

Incy Wincy Designs - Spring is in the air

Cupcake Crafts - anything but square

Card Cupid - shaped card

Paper Cutz - Spring 

Guest DT Posting for House Mouse & Friends Monday - your favourite stamp

I was really excited to be chosen as a Guest Designer for February at House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenges, it's been very hard not to to let the news slip:).  Thank you so much to the HM & Friends Team for their friendly welcome:).  I found the theme really challenging; it is to use your favourite stamp.  Deceptively simple and yet so tricky LOL!  I looked over my stamps and coloured several images (you may have seen them blogged recently) and ended up with one of my new stamps as my current favourite.  This is from a Joanna Sheen unmounted Spring set and it is just adorable!

It's coloured with Copics and Glossy Accents.  The sentiment is also from the set, the green DP is Basic Grey Sugar Rush and  I've embossed white card, sponged Mustard Seed Distress Ink over it and stitched it down.  Add in a bit of bling, a bit of sunny yellow/orange ribbon from stash and that's my card!

I'm also entering my card for the following challenges:
Woodware - embossing
Incy Wincy - colour me wonderful - favourite colouring method is Copics!
Simply Create - bold and bright
Aly's Sunday sketch - bling bling
One Stitch at a Time - make it pretty

A little more lurve

There are so many love/Valentines challenges around that I couldn't resist making just one more card...  Still looking through the box of stamped images I found this adorable House Mouse image.  I've coloured it lightly with minimal shading because I'm fairly sure it isn't stamped with a Copic friendly ink, I've had it for longer than I've had my marker pens I think!
The hearts have Glossy Accetns on them, the DP is more of the Bearly Mine CD DP.  Wide lacy ribbon came from stash and I twisted the 3 green ribbons when I stuck them down.  The sketch is Midnight Madness.
My card is for the following challenges:
House Mouse & Friends &Totally Gorjuss Love
House Mouse & Friends Monday Challenge - all about hearts
Midnight Madness - sketch
Crazy4Challenges & Stamping Royalty & Crafty Cardmakers - hearts
Crafty Emma Challenges - cute and cuddly
Stamp, scrap & doodle& Dutch Dare & One Stop Craft & Paper Crafting Journey & Bunny Zoe's - love is in the air

Crafty Ann's - love is all around
Crafty Catz -& Crafty Sentiment & Stamps R Us - Valentines/ love
Fabulous Friday - use the word love
Fairy Knoll & Sew Many Cards  & C.R.A.F.T. -  & Tiffany Doodles & Everybody Art Challenge - Valentines

Really Reasonable Ribbon - pink, red, white
Papertake Weekly - have a heart
Pink Elephant - be my Valentine

House Mouse Card - new beginnings

There are several "New beginnings" challenges around, as well as "new" and what could be more appropriate than a Spring card with baby birds - or at least House Meeces maquerading as baby birds LOL!  My DH bought me some lovely crafty goodies for Christmas, including a Joanna Sheen decoupage set - my "something new". Once I completed the decoupage I based my card on this week's Midnight Madness sketch.
The background card has random stampings of music on it, using Distress Ink.  I used a clear Prima stamp and didn't mount it onto a block, I just held it and inked a bit of it, which is something Sarah Anderson showed us on a workshop at Stamp Attic.  The white panel behind the decoupage is embossed with a Paisley CB folder, another present from DH.  The flower border at the top is MS and the flowers are a Woodware punch, some have button centres and some Liquid pearls.
My card is for the following challenges:
Midnight Madness - sketch
Simon Says - new beginnings
Creative Card Crew -  new beginnings
Secret Crafter - buttons and bows
House Mouse & Friends - new beginnings
Paper Sundaes - something new
One Stop Craft Challenge - something new
Dutch Dare Cards - new beginnings
Pile it on - brand spanking new
Craft Your Days Away - punch it out

That post- Christmas feeling...

This House Mouse stamp sums up that "Why did I have that second helping of..." Christmas feeling!  I'm sure I can't be the only one who feels a bit like this....  LOL!
I've coloured him with Copics and Glossy Accents for the chocolate icing.  I used my new Nestie Labels die to cut an aperture behind him.  The DP is Basic Grey Cupcake, the gems and ribbon are from stash and I used my new inverse corner punch, though I've just noticed it's not lined up perfectly on the layers - drat!

My card is for the following challenges:
Simon Says Challenge - time to party/celebrate - I reckon this little chap has done plenty of partying!
House Mouse Challenge - aperture
Crazy Challenge - punch it
Paper Sundaes - cut it out
My Time To Craft - brand, spanking new - new Nesties and new punch used
Anything Goes Challenge - letter C - is for cake!
Freshly Brewed Challenge  - celebrate

DT Posting - Cooking it up with Katie #37 - food/drink, sentiment and tag

 Good Morning and welcome to Cooking it up With Katie!  This week's fun recipe is to include sentiment, tags and food/drink.  And oh GOOD GRIEF!  I just realised I forgot the tag - what an idiot!  Oops, the sentiment was meant to be on a tag...  Katie is currently having a DT Call, it's such a fun challenge to work with, why not give it a go?  Sadly this is my last card for the DT, life is very full at the moment and I am still trying to put Dad's affairs in order for my Mum.  It's been a fun team to be part of, thanks Katie!

My card uses a House Mouse decoupage from Joanna Sheen, some Cuttlebugging and a Dimension Fourth sentiment stamp.  I couldn't find any DP to match my image until I printed a page off from Essence of Nature, an Artylicious CD.  You can't see much of it but it's there I promise! Because of it, I'm making a second entry into CD Sunday Challenge.  I can't believe this doesn't get more entries, at the NEC last week I saw so many people buying CDRoms - come on gals and get entering!
My card is for the following challenges:

CD Sunday Challenge - the natural world
Totally Gorjuss - sketch
House Mouse & Friends - you gotta have friends
Anything Goes - emboss it
Crafty Cardmakers - dry embossing

Hmm.. now can I unstick that sentiment and turn it into a tag without trashing the card?...

PS I have candy, do please join in:)

Monochromatic Mice

I love this House Mouse stamp, which I think is called "Are we nearly there yet?".  I was lucky enough to win it after winning a challenge on House Mouse and Friends.  This week their challenge is Monochromatic and I thought this was perfect to make an Autumn brown monchromatic card.  I've coloured with copics and edged with Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy and Old Paper then further distressed the edges. The DP is from Joanna Sheen's Giordano Puppies & Kittens CD, I've added Distress Ink to its edges as well and the ribbed brown card is a recycled card from my local Craft Shop.  Flowers made with a Woodware punch.

After discovering CD Sunday's Challenge and entering something that wasn't totally monochrome, I'm having another go with something that does stick to the challenge:).  I'm building a collection of CDs and anything that makes me use them has to be good!

My card is for the following challenges:

House Mouse & Friends - monochromatic

Midnight Madness - sketch

Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes

CD Sunday Challenge - monochrome

Take It Easy

This is one of the Joanna Sheen unmounted stamps, I've had it for a while but for some reason the poppy gave me a real colouring headache:).  I'm much happier with this one which is watercolour pencils and Aquamarkers.  The DP is Basic Grey Sugar Rush and I've followed the sketch from House Mouse Challenge, they are having  a birthday blog hop at present.
My card is also for:
Totally Gorjuss Challenge - Wild Thing
Pixie Dust Studio - Fur or Feathers
Shirleys2Girls - Critters and Birthday

House Mouse - B is for...

House Mouse Challenge this week is the letter "B" - use anything to do with the letter B.  This is a card I made at Craft Barn's Open Weekend, on a make and take.  I've not blogged it before, but I would like to give credit to Craft Barn, sorry can't remember which demonstrator this was though.  It's coloured with Distress Inks, the 3d top to the card is punched with a Martha Stewart punch and has some BLING added with Stickles.  There is a BIG, BLUE, BOW and the main image has a BIG, BLUE, BEVERAGE cup:).

I've another card to show you, just for fun.  This has NO stamping on it  -gasp!  It's a House Mouse decoupage from Joanna Sheen, only I've got bored with just decoupaging the image as it's shown and my meeces are escaping off the image.  The marshmallows use Woodware Fluffy Stuff.  The green shaped cardstock is packaging from some Prima flowers that was just too pretty to throw away.