It's anniversary time!

 Morning blogland,

It's Tuesday and time for a new challenge over at Passion for Markers and normally you wouldn't see me there this week but it's a special one and so both Teams are involved!

And why is it special I might hear you asking - well it's because it's Passion for Markers 17th Anniversary!  I do actually remember the blog challenge starting - and it being a ProMarker challenge blog, I might even have entered, I can't remember but I probably did.  

As it's such a big number - it's also a big prize week.  I'm not going to repeat all the prizes on offer - best to go visit the blog for that - what I will say is it's an 'Anything Goes' themed week to make it easy for you to pop an entry in.  The rules do still apply - use your markers, don't backlink and follow the theme - but such an easy theme this week.

My card for this week is:

Supplies used:

Rubber stamp:

Kanban Crafts : Urban Belles - birthday

Catherine Pooler - Hey, Hey, Hey sentiment stamp set

as always my stamp was coloured with my Copics

Dies:

un-branded stitched rectangles

Catherine Pooler - Hey word die

Paper:

My Mind's Eye - Bloom & Grow

Limetree Craft - blue light card for the matt

Now I started out with ProMarkers and quickly found that I preferred Copics so I drifted a bit, then I stopped crafting for a number of  years and so I wouldn't have participated in every challenge over these 17 years, but I'm pretty sure I have entered a lot and I was so super proud when I was asked to be on the Design Team.  I also think it will take an Earthquake to get me to leave! Even if my crafting at the minute is restricted to 30 mins slots to take account of a DVT in my leg!

I also thought, seeing as how it was a card for a challenge that has been going for a long time - I'd also use supplies that I've had for a long time.  That would be the stamp, That has 2010 as the date printed on the packet, and the paper also looks like 2010 from a quick Google search!

See when I say I've been crafting forever I mean forever - those supplies are new, as far as I'm concerned!  The Catherine Pooler stuff is the proper newest supplies!

So there, I've waffled on for ages - I'll finish by saying both pop on over to the challenge blog there are some wonderful cards on display and - Many Happy Returns Passion for Markers and here's to another 17 years!!

Sarah

Challenge/s:

The Neglected Stuff Challenge - May 2026: The only even 'newish' thing is the 'hey' die. Everything else on the card varies from 1 year to 16 years old..

Dragonfly Dreams: May challenge - use die-cuts.

Just Us Girls: #823 - Word Week: Flowers.  Hopefully flowers on the paper is OK?

Allsorts Challenge: Challenge 849 - Monochromatic (or AG - as you can see I'm going with AG)

Those tricky, tricky,

men.

Morning blogland,

And as another Tuesday rolls around, so a new Passion for Markers challenge starts,  This week my lovely Teamie Lorraine has chosen the theme of 'Masculine'.  As always the challenge has some very simple rules that you need to stick to if you want to be in with a chance at the randomly drawn prize.  With those rules being - it doesn't make what you make but you must use your markers (any brand) on your project; to follow the theme and no back linking. Even if you don't win the prize draw you're still in with a chance at a Top 5 spot. 

So those projects made for those tricky masculine cards I know some find them difficult, personally I don't mind cards for men or boys so much.  There are some great dies and stamps and digis out there aimed at the menfolk - although it can be a bit tricky if your man or boy doesn't like 'traditional' blokey things.

Our sponsor this week - Dr Digi's House of Stamps - does have a wide range of fun images for those masculine makes.  They also allowed the DT a stamp to use for our cards and this is my make with that digital stamp:

Supplies used:

Digital stamp:

Dr Digi House of Stamps - Dad DIY

coloured with my Copics

Rubber stamp:

Taylored Expressions - Simple Strips : Man, Myth, Legend

Tonic Studio - Say it With Sentiments

Dies:

Taylored Expressions - Simple Strips : Well Rounded

un-branded stitched rectangle dies

Stencils:

Lawn Fawn - Brick stencil

Polkadoodles - Great Outdoors stencil

Anything else:

Distress Inks

blending brush

black card to matt

It was fun creating this one - the scene came together really well but, as always, I'm such a terrible self critic that I was starting to worry that picking jeans and a blue shirt made him look a little like he was wearing a jumpsuit!  They are, in real life, very different shades of blue, not so much in the picture.

As always I would encourage you to pop on over to the challenge blog, take a look at my Teamies wonderful projects and think about popping something in yourself.  It's fun, honestly!

Aaaand, if you made all the way down here, thank you for ploughing on through my waffle!

See you soon,

Sarah

Challenge/s:

Just Add Ink: #785 Stencils and Dies (or both)

Digi Choosday Challenge: Challenge 5 - Wk: Anything Goes

Stencil Fun: May 2026

Gem of a Challenge: Challenge 4

Simples

 Good morning blogland

As pretty much normal for me - I'm late with a blog post.  The only credit I will give myself is that I am marginally less late than I normally am - so I suppose you could almost say I'm on time!

So the reason for this post.  It's New Release Time (that should have been Day but, hey as I'm 3 days late with this post, it's become Time) over at All Dressed Up stamps.  This month's release is super sweet - tho to be honest when are ADU stamps not - and I got a lovely digi to colour.

I did spend ages going through lots of different options for this card, put on layers / a frame / contemplated turning it into a shaker card / various patterned paper.  But, in the end, we went with what does seem to be my 'normal' style - not quite Clean and Simple but what I like to call ' Clean Lines'.

The only thing that bugs me about this card, is that it just wouldn't photograph properly.  I'll explain after you've seen the picture:

Supplies used:

Digital stamp:

All Dressed Up - Whimsical Day

coloured with my Copics

Rubber stamp:

Taylored Expressions - Simple Strips: Birthday

Dies:

unbranded stitched rectangle

Taylored Expressions - Simple Strips: well rounded

Anything else:

embossing board - to get the embossed lines

self-adhesive gems

And therein lies the problem - the embossed lines.  There actually six embossed lines on this card, 3 across the top and 3 down the side, but would the damn camera pick up the embossed lines down the right-hand side?  No it blooming well would not!  

I tried so many different angles and it only shows them really faintly, they only properly show up in real life.  And, as happy as I would be for everyone to pop over for a cup of tea and a 'look-see' at the card, that's not really going to work now, is it?

OK, so I think that's probably enough moaning from me now and, anyways, I do actually like how this card turned out.  It's the picture of it I don't!

With that I will wander off to do Sunday type stuff and just leave you with the request that you pop on over to either the Facebook Group, the blog or even, if you feel like it, the Etsy shop and have a look at the lovely examples of what can be done with these images. I disclaim all responsibility for any shopping spree I might set off! 😀

See you soon,

Sarah

Challenge/s:

Crafty Catz: #713 Anything Goes

Simply Clean & Simple: May 2026 Anything Goes (option - Things That Fly)

Krafty Chicks Challenge: #819 Birthday

As You Like It: Favourite sketch/layout and why.  Goodness this takes me back - when I very first started cardmaking I was really into layering and embellishments and had a little notebook that I kept all my favourite sketches in - because that allowed me to use some of the papers and embellishments that I was stockpiling!  Fast forward to today and I don't have a favourite sketch anymore - nor do I heap papers and embellies on a card - instead I have a favourite layout.  Which is: a top fold 5x7 card; large focal digi (or rubber stamp) on my Copic friendly paper; die-cut that out; matt onto another piece of coloured (or spotty or stripy) card; matt that onto the card front.  Finish with sentiment and maybe some gems/pearls as embellishment.  Sometimes add a couple of strips of patterned card at the top of the card.  If you look back at my most recent cards (not all of them because this isn't a set rule, it's just my comfort zone) you will see a double layer of matted card with a large Copic coloured digi as the top layer.  Long story short - that's my favourite layout.  I like colouring and it allows me to colour and spotlight the digi - that's why it's my favourite layout.