Welcome


Hello, my name is Dionne and I have been crafting for a very long time. As a very young child my mother tried to teach me to knit, it was a disaster. However, it must have sparked an interest in making things and, partly to prove that I was not totally useless and partly because I really wanted to make things, I taught myself to crochet. Over the years I have developed a love of cross stitch and all types of paper craft ..... I eventually even taught myself to knit.


I am married to a very understanding man, thank goodness, because I spend all my time either crafting, thinking about crafting or talking about crafting. I am hopeless at housework and dinner is often late!


Thank you for visiting my blog.


Dionne

Monday 31 August 2015

Sketch II Design

Earlier this you Crafty Boots Challenges set it's first ever sketch challenge.  The Design Team had so much fun we decided to have another one.  Here is the sketch for the current challenge.


There are one or two additional rules for this challenge:
  • you can rotate the sketch and you can re size the elements if you wish.  
  • do not move the elements around too much, the original sketch layout should still be recognisable.  
  • you can use any materials you like to make anything you like, for example, a card, a box top, a gift bag, a scrapbook page, an ATC, an inchie, etc.  Just as long as the original sketch design is obvious in whatever you make.
I have taken a little artistic licence and came up with a couple of twinchie canvasses, here is the first:


I painted the canvass with blue acrylic paint and stamped it with a Tim Holtze script stamp.  My original idea was to paint a large white daisy with a large yellow centre, but my nerve went and I went on the hunt and found this gorgeous Peteloo flower in my stash.  The bee is also from my stash. 

If you are wondering about the quote, it is Rupert Brooke "The Old Vicarage, Granchester".

............ Stands the Church clock at ten to three?
And is there honey still for tea?

Don't forget to pop over to the Crafty Boots Challenge and see the other projects based on this sketch.


Dionne

Friday 28 August 2015

The Heavy Horse


Friday at last and it is a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK so a lot of people will have Monday off.  I know that a lot of people are planning barbecues and holiday breaks, and one good friend has a family wedding.  The weather is week has been atrocious but I hope for their sake that it is a lot better for the weekend.

The UK is still very agricultural but this is a sight we no longer see in our fields, but what a magnificent sight to see these fabulous creatures at work.  Not far from us is a Shire Horse sanctuary, which we visit from time to time, they have five different breads of heavy horse.  If the weather is nice, perhaps we shall go there this weekend.


This image is from Delicious Doodles, it is called 'Working the Land'.  I coloured the image with my F&C polychromos pencils.


I then mounted the image on dark blue card and silver mirri.  The papers are from a Craftwork Cards stash and the sentiment is from Kanban Crafts.

I hope you have a great weekend, whatever it is you are planning to do.


Dionne

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Ellie


Oh wow, I know that the British are often accused with being obsessed with the weather, and not without some justification, but I think it has been raining here since last weekend.  There have been some breaks between the showers but never for long and it has turned quite cold - there must be a lot of very disappointed holiday makers out there.

A quick post today and another recent freebie, this time from Tiddly Inks.  This very cute elephant is called Ellie.


I coloured Ellie with Promarkers and I went over her balloons with a clear Wink of Stella Brush pen.


I mounted her on silver mirri card and the very attractive paper is from a Forever Friends New Baby stack.  The lace and stork charm came from my stash.

I made the card for friends of ours who recently had a beautiful baby girl.  Along with th card, I sent a couple of little cardigans I had made for the new baby.



I apologise for the poor quality of the photographs, I am afraid I have never been able to work out how to photograph knitted items.

Don't forget that there is still time to enter your projects in the Crafty Boots Challenges 'Fair and Square' Challenge.


Dionne

Monday 24 August 2015

Mousie Mousie

It is time for the mid challenge reminder for Crafty Boots Challenges, where the current Challenge is 'Fair and Square'.  There have been some amazing entries so far and the DT have had great fun looking at your entries.

I have a card to share with you today, which features a Bugaboo digital stamp called Mouse - Candle - isn't he cute?


I coloured the image with Promarkers and mounted it on some silver mirri.  I then added some polka dot papers from my stash and a sentiment.  In theory, cutting those backing papers should have been a simple matter, but I really struggled to get then just how I wanted them.  It was getting a little late so I am choosing to blame tiredness!

As always there are some fabulous inspirational pieces from the Crafty Boots Challenges Design Team but this week there are also a couple of outstanding cards from our Guest Designers, so why not take a look for yourself.


Dionne

Thursday 20 August 2015

Sweet Pea Fairy

We all love a bargain and it is even better when it is free. This little fairy was a freebie from Leanne at the Gecko Galz courtesy for my good friend and Crafty Boots teamie, Mrs Beez.  Isn't she lovely?


Her little hat reminded me so much of a sweet pea, so I have tried to make her the same colour as a wild sweet pea.


After colouring her with Promarkers I added some glitz to her wings and gloves with a clear Wink of Stella Brush and some glitter o her dress.  I mounted the image on silver mirri and some purple card and the backing paper is from a DoveCraft pack.  The sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.

You may be thinking that the card has a very geometric look, this is because I made it as one of my DT cards for the latest Crafty Boots Challenge, which is entitles 'Fair and Square'.


Dionne


Monday 17 August 2015

Fair and Square

Another Monday and another challenge at Crafty Boots Challenges, the theme of this challenge is 'Fair and Square'.

My first challenge was how to interpret this challenge, I decided to go with squares, if you look closely you will see that I have manged to work 5 squares into this card.  How you interpret the theme is up to you.


This adorable little cutie is from Tiddly Inks and is called 'Happy Bee Day'.  As soon as I saw her I knew she was perfect for Mrs Beez birthday - Mrs Beez is crazy for all things bees.  I may have gone a little OTT with the bees in this design but under the circumstances I think I can be forgiven.


I coloured the image with Promarkers and mounted it on gold mirri, I also cut out the dentiment and mounted it on some of the gold mirri.  The backing paper if from the Forever Friends New Baby stack - I really love this stack, so many gorgeous papers.  The big bees are from a peel off set and the daisies are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The est of the Crafty Boots Challenges Design Team have come up with some amazing takes on the Fair and Square theme, make sure you take a look when you enter your project.

Good Luck.


Dionne

Friday 14 August 2015

Sunset at Sea

Wow, what a difference a couple of days can make, the weather has turned cold and showery, fingers crossed that the sunshine will be back in a day or two.

In the meantime I have another seaside themed card to share with you.


This fabulous sunset image is another image from Delicious Doodles called 'Sunset at Sea'.  After colouring the image with my F&C poloychromos pencils I mounted it on gold mirri card.


The backing paper is out of a DoveCraft pack and the sentiment and and angel fish buttons are from my stash.

Have a wonderful weekend.


Dionne

Wednesday 12 August 2015

Beached

Another lovely sunny day here and there are lots of holiday makers about, our little village has so many strange faces about and it is lovely to hear children playing.

The current challenge at Crafty Boots is “Life’s a Beach/Summer Holiday” and I have been searching my favourite digital stamp sites for suitable images.


This fabulous harbour scene is from Delicious Doodles, it is called 'In the Harbour'.  I coloured the scene with my F&C polychromous pencils and mounted it on blue card and silver mirri card.  The blue script paper is a scrape left over from when I was experimenting with creating my own backing papers.


The backing paper came from a Craftwork Cards paper pad called Harbour Boulevard - the large anchor is part of the design.  I cut a second anchor from another sheet of paper and used Pinflair Glue Gel to space it over the first.

Don't forget to add your holiday projects to the Crafty Boots Challenge.


Dionne 


Monday 10 August 2015

Colourful Beach Huts

It has been a fabulous weekend in my part of the UK, perfect for a trip to the beach.  I imagine that there are lots of burnt faces this morning.

It is time for the Mid Challenge Reminder for the current Crafty Boots Challenge. the theme for the current two weeks is 'Life's a Beach', anything that reminds you of holidays.


My card features another Delicious Doodles image, this one is called 'Beach Huts'.  I coloured the image with my F&C polychomos pencils and mounted it on blue card and silver mirri.  The backing paper and sentiment are from Craftwork Cards.


I created my own little beach scene with brown Flower Soft and some tiny shells and plastic starfish.  The white picket fence is a die cut.Don't forget to enter your holiday project into the Crafty Boots 'Life's a Beach' Challenge.


Dionne




Thursday 6 August 2015

Coming Home

This week seems to be flying by, before I completely loose touch with it, I wanted to share another card with you.

It is my second Design Team piece for the current Crafty Boots Challenges, which is entitled "Life's a Beach" or "What I did on my Holiday's".


I do not know where this harbour is but it reminded me of my childhood holiday's - a cross between the Norfolk Boards and Cornwall (although that lighthouse seems a little unlikely in either place).  This beautiful image came from Delicious Doodles and is called 'Coming Home'.


I coloured it with my F&C polychromos pencils and mounted it on silver mirri and powder blue card.  The backing paper came from a Craftwork Cards paper pad called Harbour Boulevard and the anchor came from my stash.


Dionne

Monday 3 August 2015

Life's a Beach

Another Monday and the start of a new Challenge at Crafty Boots Challenges.  The theme is "Life's a Beach" or "What I did on my Holiday's".

It is that time of the year when many people in the UK are packing their cases and heading for the beach for the annual two weeks of sun and sand.  Obviously, not everyone enjoys a beach holiday, some people enjoy walking, or rock climbing.  Some people even spend their two weeks decorating their home.  Whatever you do, we should like to see your interpretation in the form of a project.


One of my Design Team Mates recently introduced me to Tiddly Inks and as soon as I saw this fabulous image of Wryn Floating Along I knew I wanted it for this challenge.


I coloured the image with Promarkers and I added just a hint of clear Wink of Stella to the glass, so it twinkles.  The luggage set was a freebie from Tiddly Inks.  The other embellishments all came from my stash and the backing paper came from a DoveCraft  pack.

The rest of the Crafty Boots Challenges Design Team have been busy making some fabulous project, so why not pop by and see for yourself.


Dionne

Sunday 2 August 2015

On a Winter's Day

I have my final Christmas card (for now) to share with you, which features one of the Delicious Doodles winter scenes, this one is called 'On a Winter's Day'.


As with the previous two cards, I have used my F&C polychromos pencils to colour the image, just to add a little colour here and there.  These images are so lovely, you could easily leave them black and white.


As with the other two cards, I added some twinkle to some of the snow with a clear Wink of Stella Brush Pen and, once again, of the papers used on this card are Papermania's First Noel pack.

There will be a brand new Crafty Boots Challenge starting tomorrow, don't forget to stop by tomorrow to find out more.

Dionne

Saturday 1 August 2015

Highland Cottage

I do have Christmas card to share with you today and it features another image from Delicious Doodles, this one is called 'A Crofter's Winter'.


As with the card I shared with you yesterday, I have used my F&C polychromos pencils to colour the image.


I am not sure you can see it, but I have added twinkle to some of the snow with a clear Wink of Stella Brush Pen.  Once again the papers used on this card are Papermania's First Noel pack.

As I said yesterday, I have made three similar Christmas cards using these papers and Delicious Doodles images, come back tomorrow and I will share the final one of them with you.


Dionne