Good morning it's been a while!

I'm so happy to be back posting today, I've had a bit of a hard going summer with a huge health scare that has changed me forever and to be honest I'm more than a little bit relieved to get back to a quiet crafty life!

My lovely Fab'n'Funky challenge is back today with a new challenge

It's the anniversary of the birth of St Francis of Assisi today - patron saint of animals

so our challenge in honour of this is

All Creatures Great and Small

(all living creatures - animals, birds, fish, insects.... no fantasy creatures and please remember teddy bears aren't real living creatures, neither are fairies or dragons - I'm sure you catch my drift!)

I thought I'd better get a move on with my Christmas cards as it's not long now! - but that's a whole other blogpost!! So I have a lovely stag centre stage on my card

This is what I did....

Dies

 Dashing Deer - Crafter's Companion Sara's Scandi collection

 Snowflake corners - Wild Rose studios

 Ovals - Tattered lace

Papers - Crafter's Companion traditional Christmas

Dark red card, pearl and ribbon from stash

Hope you'll join in with us this week

did I say I was so happy to be back 😃

biggst of hugs Judith xxxx

Don't you just love it when a card in your head comes together on the page!

Hi all

 My daughter asked me to make a card to give to her friend's baby girl who has reached the mile stone one year old!!

I bought some dies a few weeks ago from the lovely Appleblossom when they were on hochanda - I got these and a couple of other sets and I'm just so in love with them, these are from a set called 

A day at the zoo 

I was asked to help out with the Die'sire DT this week with some of the samples for the new Christmas launches (watch this space! - they're fab!!) I think the die cutting gave me a bit of inspiration away from my usual colouring - I really enjoyed the experience. Anyone who hasn't tried creating with die cuts- you really need to give it a go - it's really a totally different experience in crafting - and far from the easy option - all that measuring, precision and sticking without getting the glue all over lol - quite a challenge 

and it's decorated inside too

I used several sets of die dies to create this card

This is what I did....

!0inch x 7 inch card

Card for die cutting - American crafts and Crafters companion centura pearl (plain white side)

Outer card

Animal dies - a day at the zoo from the appleblossom die collection at Craftstash

Happy birthday die - Sue wilson dies from creative expressions

Stitched banner dies - Justrite dies A2 stitched banners and rectangles

Cicrle dies - spellbinders

Stitched circle die - Mamma Elephant

Number 1 - Tim Holtz vintage market dies from sizzix

Papers - 12x12 vintage market papers

twine from my stash

Inside 

cross stitched rectangle - Mamma Elephant

Happy birthday die - Tattered lace

Balloon punch - Martha Stewart

Letters - Tim Holtz vintage market from Sizzix

There is also a 'Baby Card'  challenge still going on at Moving Along with the times Challenge blog

Pop over there and show us your baby cards!

Challenges entered

Allsorts - gingham

Hugs 

Judith x