Witchy wishes from Polkadoodles

 

Hello crafting fiends (yes, we are no longer friends; it's Halloween making time!)

Firstly a bit of a disclaimer... I have started using ChatGPT to brighten my background layouts to show off my cards.  A short blurb into the software, along with the photo and some details of the items you want it to display in the background, and it creates a perfect layout to display my project.  If you see stuff on my pages stating AI-generated, please know that my cards are all totally handmade, from scratch, using real supplies!  Only the photo editing and background are done via AI. 

I had such fun making this bright little Halloween card! I started with a clean 5 × 7 inch white base, then built a colourful focal cluster using the witch, broomstick, cat and “Broom Parking” sentiment from the Polkadoodles Grab Your Broomstick Matchables stamp set.  This stamp and die set is no longer available, but... if you go to the Polkadoodles website, there are plenty of other cute witchy characters and stamps you could use to replace the one I used.

For the background, I raided my scrap box and tore up little pieces of Polkadoodles backing paper. The lime green, purple and monochrome patterns were layered behind the characters, keeping the panel fairly compact so there was still plenty of fresh white space around it.

I stamped the images onto colouring card and brought them to life with Ohuhu markers. I went for a wonderfully witchy mix of green skin, glossy black hair, deep purple clothes and bright orange stars, with warm brown on the broom. Once everything was coloured, I fussy cut each piece and left a slim white border to keep the outlines lovely and crisp.

When I assembled the card, I tucked the broom behind the witch, popped the tiny black cat beside her skirt and ran the “Broom Parking” sentiment across the right-hand side on a longer black strip. Trying the layout before adding glue made it much easier to balance all those bold shapes.

The final touch was a scattering of purple Nuvo Drops in different sizes. I placed nine in clusters around the image, mostly in the white space, then left the card flat until they were completely dry. They add just the right amount of shine and dimension without stealing the spotlight from that fabulous witch.

My project tip: A slim white border around fussy-cut stamped images works like a built-in frame. It keeps even black hair and tiny broom details clear when they overlap patterned papers.

I really love the mix of cute characters, bold colour and scrappy texture on this one. It feels spooky without being scary—and the little cat in its tiny witch’s hat might just be my favourite bit! Which detail catches your eye first?

I'd like to enter this into:

Colour dare challenge - use colour palette 

Creative inspirations challenge - Anything goes

Tic tac toe challenge - using grid (bottom line die cut (fishtail and banners), patterned paper (even if only scraps) bright colours

Thanks for dropping by - leave me a comment, and please click on the icons in the right corner to follow me on other social media platforms.

See you very soon

Crafting hugs

Rachael

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Tropical 40th birthday card

 Hello crafty friends! 

Today I’m sharing a bright and cheerful 40th birthday card made especially for my sister-in-law Donna, featuring the fabulous Stamping Bella Summer Bundle Girl and Puppy Hula Dance rubber stamp.

I started with a bold pink polka-dot background, layered onto black cardstock for a crisp border. For the centre, I blended yellow and orange inks onto white card and added a fine script stamp over the top. I love how that little bit of texture makes the panel feel lively without competing with the main image.

Next, I framed the inky panel with white stitched and scalloped die-cut layers. The clean white frame gives all those tropical colours room to shine and creates a lovely stage for the girl, her puppy and the oversized birthday greeting.

I stamped the Stamping Bella image onto smooth colouring card and used alcohol markers to bring the flowers, grass skirt, pink outfit and sweet little puppy to life. After fussy cutting the pair with a narrow white border, I raised them on foam pads so they sit proudly in front of the frame.

For the wording, I mixed several die-cut styles to make the milestone feel really special. I used the Julie Hickey Designs sweet pea numbers die set for the big pink “40” and its small black “th”, then added the black script “birthday” from a Crafter’s Companion die set. The Time for Tea Designs Hey, Hello, Hi Sentiment Die creates the bold layered “hey” across the right side, and two separate Crafter’s Companion word-die set called relations provided the pale yellow “sister” and “in-law” lettering along the bottom. A tiny pearl accent finished everything off.

My little tip: lay out all the large sentiment pieces before sticking anything down. They take up more space than you expect, and arranging them first makes it much easier to balance the characters and keep every word readable.

I had such fun combining the hot pinks, sunny oranges and tropical flowers on this one. It feels bright, playful and perfect for a milestone celebration. Do you enjoy mixing lots of different sentiment dies on one card, or do you usually keep the greeting simple?

I'd like to enter this into:

Thanks so much for stopping by - leave me a message if you can; it makes my day to read them, other social media can be found in the top right corner of my blog page.

Crafty hugs

Rachael

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Autumn fox Polkadoodles new release

Hello crafting friends

Sorry it's been a while; time just gets away from you, doesn't it.

While I've been away, I celebrated my big 50, and have spent lots of time doing great stuff to celebrate, including three holidays, an escape room, two new exercise experiences, a jet ski, and other awesome things, crossing off the list of things I wanted to do this year!

Doing all this and fitting in time to craft has been tight!

Anyway - over at Polkdoodles, there is a fabulous new autumn/halloween digi release called Hello Autumn available here 

This cutie is called fox on a pumpkin 

I used a script stamp to lightly stamp in grey on a piece of white card, and then used some washi tape to layer some strips down.  Over that, I splattered black ink.  

The image was printed on white card stock and then coloured with Ohuhu markers, and details added with Polychromos pencils for a sketchy look. I then fussy cut the fox out, added foam pads and layered him up

The sentiment is also a Polkadoodles stamp set/. With this one, you stamp a whole A6 sheet and use a corresponding die to cut them all out.  I always have a dish full of these sentiments on my desk as they are super handy! Get them here

I finished the card with a black fine-liner to scribble a border around the edge.

I hope you like it

I'd like to enter this into:

Creative inspirations challenge - anything goes

Everybody art challenge - anything goes 

Crafts galore encore - anything goes

Critter crazy - anything goes with an animal

Girlz rebel - use washi tape

I hope I will see you again soon.  If you have landed here, please leave me a little message, or you can check out my other social media channels by clicking on the icons in the top right of my blog homepage.

Thanks for stopping by, crafting hugs

Rachael

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Lili of the valley cute girls release

 Hi crafting friends

OMG, how cute is the latest Lili of the Valley release?  You haven't yet seen it - well, best check it out here, because there are some super cute girlies, as well as some awesome party animals. PLUS - at the moment they are HALF PRICE!!!

I will post some inspiration over the next few days on Instagram (link in top right to join me there or on Pinterest/Facebook)

But here is just one of those girls

I printed her out and coloured her with Ohuhu markers.  I was feeling the pink and purple vibe!  I then fussy cut her out, leaving a thin white border.

The background was done using seedless preserves distress oxide and a polkadoodles stencil (it's actually from the Christmas range, but no one else needs to know I'm stretching my stash into all seasons!)I then used the same colour to splatter, along with the Spellbinders splatter effect, black ink.  The frame die I cut from black cardstock is a Sizzix one called Geo Floral frame, all finished with a LOTV sentiment and of course some stickles on the flowers.

Shes just adorable!

I'd like to enter this into:

Crafty Catz - Anything goes

Craft rocket Challenge - No design paper

A place to start - No squares Anything goes

A perfect time to craft - Anything goes

Crafters cafe - for the girls

I would love you to join my blog, or any of my other Social media platforms.  I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by and have a look here, all comments are greatly receved!  

See you all soon

Crafting hugs

Rachael

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Udderly cute cow

 Hi crafting friends

Did you see the latest release from Polkadoodles the 'udderly cute'collection. It has some of the most adorable cows, waiting to be coloured in a variety of colours and with some gorgeous papers too.  I loooove the cow print paper on this!

I printed the digi image onto watercolour card stock in a light grey (you can adjust the transparency of the image to change the colour)

I then used a combination of watercolour paints and coloured pencils for detail to bring this cutie to life, before fussing with cutting out, leaving a small white border.

I then mounted it on a white rectangle, cutting a larger rectangle from the cow print paper.  All finished with a daisy and a sentiment (also in the bundle)

There are so many cute cows to choose from. Check out the full bundle here, or you can buy them individually.  There will definitely be something you 'need'! 

Id like to enter this into:

Crafty calender - Love is in the air

Crafty Catz - Anything goes

Cut it up - This makes me happy - (dies used flowers and stitched rectangle background) card making just makes me happy and so does this image.  it really made me smile when i saw it!

C.R.A.F.T - love/anything goes

Little red wagon - Love

Hope to see you soon, thanks so much for dropping by.  If you do land here, please leave me some love - it makes my day to read them!

Crafting hugs

Rachael

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Sweet moments dog

 Hi everyone

I’m sharing another cute card today using the latest   polkadoodles release called sweet moments. I made so many cards with this release I couldn’t stop!  

I stamped and cut the image out before colouring with ohuhu markers.

The card blank is a hunkydory scalloped circle die and for the backing card I used stamps from the set in grey and pink ink before die cutting a circle from it. The sentiment is also in the set white missing powder on black card for a striking look. The card was assembled using foam pads and glossy accents for the shiny nose

I love black and pink as a colour combo and adore this sweet little card. I hope you do too! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Rachael

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Sweet moments stamps and dies from Polkadoodles

 Hi everyone

Mrs Polkadoodles herself was on hobbymaker TV channel today with the latest stamp and die releases.

This is one of my most favourite sets - I had so much fun playing with these new goodies for the tv samples I made loads!

Here’s one of my favourite cards:

I used seedless preserves distress ink and a piece of acetate to make the inky background, finished with some splats 

The image was coloured with ohuhu markers and cut out using the matching dies.  I used a white gel pen to add details into the mug and bear’s hat.

The background I used black versafine ink and used smaller stamps from the set and randomly stamped them int eh background to add texture and interest.

The image was added using foam pads and I finished the card with a black fineliner to doodle the boarder around the edge of the card, with some bald Nuevo drops for shine.

I love how it turned out! Hope you do too!

See you soon

Rachael

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New release have a mice day

 Hi everyone

Quick post today showcasing one of the many cards I made with the new release from Lili of the valley.  

This sets called ‘have a mice day’ and can be brought from the Etsy shop online. There are four new sets all are soooo cute!

I stamped and coloured the image with ohuhu markers, before fussy cutting him out. The labels are a combination of stamps from a Woodward set and dies from a crafters companion set cut from white and teal card. The background is peacock feather distress ink splattered with some script washi tape and an off cut of black/white stripy paper

All layered with foam pads for dimension.

I think these mice are just so sweet. I made loads of cards with them

Thanks for dropping by!

Rachael

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some bunny loves you bunches

 Hi Everyone

Happy new year - first post of 2025!  For those of you who use Instagram, I tend to post more often on there so please follow me here for more inspiration!

I love Christmas, but something about spring cards makes my heart happy!  The fresh colours and florals are so pretty, also with Spring comes love and valentines day.

For this week's challenge over at Polkadoodles blog, I used an image that's available singularly or on a USB or mega bundle download.  I love to colour, but sometimes I just don't have time, and there are some beautiful pre-coloured images on the PD website you can use for a quick easy card.

This one is from the Bunny Love collection and is called Love You Bunches.

There are also papers in the mega bundle/USB, so I printed these on a smooth white card stock and used them with a Kraft card for a softer look.  finished with some white die-cut flowers.  It's too cute!

Thanks so much for stopping by - see you again soon!

Rachael

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Happy Christmas stamp set - those extra stamps

 Hi everyone

When we have new stamp sets we always head for the main stamps, the characters usually for me.

On this stamp set, I wanted to use some of the extra stamps as the main feature, perhaps for a male card or someone who isn't into cute creatures (I don't know of many who wouldn't, but there are a few!).

I made this card using the brand new Lili of the Valley release called Happy Christmas.

I was recently added to their DT and I am so super excited about it.  I have made a selection of cards which I'll feed into my Instagram over the next few weeks.  This is where I share most of my makes, so please hop over and follow me.

I stamped and coloured the images so I could pick my colour theme.  I had a pile of scraps on my tables from other projects, so used a scrap or tartan and a dotty red scrap to layer behind my image.  I die-cut an oval out of another scrap of red card. The corrugated card was yet another scrap.  

The sentiment is from a digital set available from the Etsy website too. 

I added my images using foam squares, added some stickers and some Nuvo drops and the card was complete.

All images and sentiments are available from Etsy here

I'd like to enter this into:

Thanks for stopping by!

Rachael

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Elvis Wesley Mouse, slips and slide into Christmas

 Hello Crafting friends

Whether you love it or hate it, the big 'C' word is on the way in only a few weeks!  I'm finishing the last of my cards to send, and this is a great opportunity to share this card with you to celebrate the start of a brand new challenge at Polkadoodles!

Today I am sharing a card made using Elvis Wesley moose.  He is a snake peek of a USB that's currently on sale on Polkadoodles website, and will be on the next TV show with Nikky.

The backing paper is also from the same USB.  I just love the bright bold background it makes.

So I printed him out on super smooth card and coloured him with my latest craft room addition a full set of Ohuhu Markers.  I have got copics, spectrum noir, and promarkers, but these might become my new favourite....  

When I printed Elvis, I did so in a lighter grey, so it's closer to a no-line drawing in places.  

Paired with a tag die cut and a tree from my stash, and of course some sparkle! 

If you want more info on the Polkadoodles challenge - all of the info is here, but it's a weekly challenge, with prizes for top designs and a lucky randomly drawn winner.  

I'd like to enter this into:

CRAFT challenge - Christmas for children

Craft rocket - Christmas

Crafty chicks - Christmas

The Holly and the Ivy - Christmas

For more of my designs, please follow me on my other SM channels the link is top right of this post.  

Thanks for dropping by, I love that you found me!  Hope to see you again very soon.

Rachael 

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Tiddlyinks Molly Swims image on 5x7 card

 Hi crafting friends, 

I'm back with a super cute card made using a Tiddlyinks image that I have had on my computer for ages and never used.  She's so cute, and perfect for the summer!

She is called Molly Swims and can be found on Etsy under the Tiddlyinks shop.

The backing papers are also from Etsy from a shop called Jenny L and these papers are called Secret Garden.  Again I downloaded ages ago and have not used them.

I cut the stripy paper leaving a 1-inch strip for the patterned floral paper.  The image was coloured with copics and fussy cut out.  I used a stitched circle die and placed it off the page to highlight the Molly.  The 'Hello' die is from Penny Black as is the sunshine sentiment, they are a seperate die and stamp set but work together to make phrases.  I then coloured the 'hello' in the same pink used on the rubber ring.

As a final touch, I put glossy accents onto the rubber ring and her sunglasses for a bit of shine.

She is just too cute!

I'd like to enter this into:

As you like it challenge - cute or floral I love anything cute, whether that's a cute girl or boy, or some critters.  I also love a floral, so on this card, I combined both!

Colour throw down - pink, yellow and green

Passion for markers - use a die (I used a stitched circle and a sentiment die)

A place to start - anything goes with option of add flowers

Creations in pink - mainly pink

thanks for stopping by - I hope you like my projects.  why not have a look on Instagram, interest or Facebook for more inspiration.  The links to my pages are in the top right corner.

See you all again soon.

Crafting hugs

Rachael 

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Z fold card with spring gnomes

Hi Crafting friends.

This week I'd like to share a photo of a card I made for the latest polkadoodles challenge.

 I used one gnome image called Spring gnome - plants but I wanted more than one pot.  There is only one in the original gnome image so after printing this I cropped the main gnome out, and then cut and pasted several pots.  I made some smaller, some larger, and even flipped some so they added variance to the image.

I wanted this card to be really striking so I opted for a different fold, a 'z fold'.  The card is a 5 x 7 top-fold black, and I scored at 2.1/2 inches on the front folding it back to make a z fold card.  I coloured all of the images and fussy cut them, before arranging them on the card blank.  I used a dotty lilac card stock from my stash in the background to make a really happy spring card.

the sentiment is a stamp from Polkadoodles and a friend stamp from Crafters companion that I die cut in white and coloured with copics to match the image colour scheme 

I'd like to enter this into:

Moving along with the times - fun fold

Crafty gals corner - anything goes

Aud sentiments - spring and a sentiment

Daisy Chain challenges - not square

Love to craft - anything goes.

Thank you for dropping by - however you got here!  I'd love for you to leave me a little comment, or alternatively follow me on my other social media channels (links are in the top right of the page) 

See you again soon - crafting hugs!

Rachael

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Spring is in the air

Hi Crafting friends

I don't know about you, but I am bored of this horrible grey and wet weather we are getting in the UK.  I cannot wait for spring, when the bulbs start to appear and the skies start to show blue with a hint of the sun! 

I made this card to cheer me up - I figure if it's raining outside, I can still have sunshine in my craft room.

This is for our latest challenge over at Polkadoodles.  each week we have a new challenge, but it's always anything goes!  you can enter with any image (not just Polkadoodles) and using all kinds of mediums.  The winner gets three digital images for free, chosen from the hundreds in the polkadoodles library. This image is called cute chicken with balloon, from an artist called Lucy Monkman who has a very distinct line style.  Perfect if you're not confident at colouring. 

I fussy cut them out after using Copuics to colour, and mounted on some vellum.  I did this as the patterned paper in the background is quite busy, so the vellum helps the image stand out against the spots. 

So cute - it made me smile!

I'd like to enter this into:

Don't forget to hop over to the Polkadoodles block and check out other DT inspirations and we love to see what you make each week!

See you soon

Rachael 

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Winter pastels colours

 Hello crafting friends

Today is once again a new challenge, the last for 2024, before we take a short Christmas break! What a year it's been for me, lots of life-changing moments and an awful lot of reflection!

I find crafting helps with my mental health and certainly when I need to reflect or back away from a situation for some distance and just stop thinking for an hour or two.

Anyway - back to the challenge.  I made this for the challenge using Winnie and Penguin from the white Christmas collection. Our theme was a pastel rainbow, but I chose to just use a few of the colours.

The papers are offcuts from my scraps drawer, and the colours match perfectly with my image.  Do you colour to match your paper, or colour an image and then find matching paper?  I do both, but this time around I coloured first.

I used a Kraft card square blank and rounded the edges on two sides as a point of difference from a usual square card.

The image was coloured using Copic markers in pinks, blues and violets, and I used a white gel pen to add detail to her cheeks, and stickles for the snow and her wings.

I then fussy cut the image out and mounted it on top of the car using foam pads.

I'd like to enter this into:

Thanks so much for stopping by - there is more inspiration on my Instagram pages if you prefer this way. If you are here - I would you to leave me a comment.  

See you again soon

Crafting hugs

Rachael 

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Jingle all the way

Hello crafters!

Another two weeks has flown by and we are now into to December on the countdown to the big day!

I am dropping in to share this super cute card in nontraditional Christmas colours - after all, why can't Santa be pink, just because a large drinks manufacturer said he was red, he can be whatever colour you like! 

I made the backgournd using the smaller star stmaps in the set along with two different blue shades of copic for the spots..  Its called Jingle all the way.  I then stamped the main images and coloured them in before fussy cutting and adding on foam pads to my card.

I stamped the setmeiment int he top corner, but the card needed something else... so i doodled a border around the whole thing and around the sentiment.  When mounted on black it really pops off the page.  A really modern take on a traditional classic!

I'd like to enter this into:

Thanks for stopping by - please leave me a comment if you land here, i love to read them and please either follow me on here, or on instagram, facebook or pinterest! 

See you soon!

Rachael 

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Pop up Bella bear

 Hello everyone. 

Time again for another challenge over at PD blog, and you can win some of the amazing images NIkky has.  There are loads of new ones, and a ton of oldies but goodies to choose from!

I used an image from the Bella Christmas bear release called 'Santa stop here'. Once I had coloured and fussy cutout, I used a pop-up die to add it to the inside of the card making it feel really special for the recipient. . The outside is decorated using the papers from the same release. The Christmas trees I took from the paper and enlarged them. Backing papers are more than just an accent behind the main image, have a close look and see what you can use in different ways!

I'd like to enter this into:

crafty catz - Anything goes

Creative fingers - anything goes

Jingle belles - christmas card with an animal

Most magical time of the year - Christmas

Creative inspiration challenge - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today - please leave me a message so I know you have stopped here!

lots of crafting hugs!

Rachael 

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Octopus kisses

Hello crafters

Another fortnight has passed so it's time again for another Polkadoodles challenge over on our blog.  You can choose any theme and any project to share with us for a chance to win images.

I have today used one of my all-time favourite images - Winnie Octopus kisses   I have seen some comments recently about people not feeling confident to colour, so just as a reminder - Polkadoodles also do pre-coloured versions of most of the images, so if you lack confidence, or even if you need a quick card in an emergency, the pre-coloured images are amazing!

If you do like to colour - then for this image I used Copic markers for a base colour.  I used a couple of shades but didn't do much blending.  Over the top, I then used polychromos pencils to add depth to the shadows and texture across the image.  They are great for adding small detail too such as flicks in the hair. It really helped with the effect of pearlescence on the tail.  it looks like it shimmers between the purple and the turquoise. Finally, I added a white gel pen for a glittery effect

The papers are from my polkadoodles stash, when I print out digi images that have matching papers I keep them in a pile on my desk so I can pull them out when needed so I don't waste anything.

All then finished with twine, stickles glitter and some Nuvo drops.

I'd like to enter this into:

Creative fingers - Anything goes

Creative Inspiration challenges - Anything goes

Ally's Angels - anything goes

Crafts galore encore - Anything goes

Love to craft - Anything goes

Thanks so much for joining me - I hope to see your entries o our blog.

If you like my work then you can follow me on Instagram, Pinterest of facebook - the links are above.

See you all soon

Rachael 

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Magical pony

 Hello everyone

As it's the 22nd, it's time for the new release inspiration from all dressed-up stamps.

There are two stunning girlies for you this month, perfect for those little (and not so little) girls in your life.

The two new images are available here from etsy  and are:

Magical pony

Watering time

Aren't they adorable?

I'd like to enter this into:

• Craft rocket Challenge - Layer it up
• Through the purple haze - girls
• unicorn challenge - add an animal
• Dream valley challenges - four legged friends

Don't forget our challenge is still on over at Facebook with the theme die cut and you can enter the blog challenge too as it's 'anything goes'.  We don't have many rules only that you must use an  All dressed up image!

See you very soon

Crafty hugs

Rachael 

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Egg-cited chick!

Hello everyone! 

Yay - Spring has finally arrived.  Outside is warm and sunny, with trees budding to life and flowers blooming!  this is my absolute favourite time of year....

To celebrate this, and the start of a new Polkadoodles challenge, here's this cute easter chick, re-purposed to celebrate spring.

This cutie is called egg-cited chick.  from the recent release.

I coloured him with copics adding lots of colour depth to the inside of the pot and adding white gel pen spots to the outside.  The sentiment is from the full bundle you can buy along with this chick.

The background is the square trellis one also from Polkadoodles with distress oxide ink in mustard seed.  The pink stamps are from the posy blooms stamps.  I then tore a strip of scrap pink paper to add interest around the sentiment

I hope you like this, and I also hope you'll check out our challenge blog for tonnes of inspiration from the talented DT!.

leave me some love if you stop here, or follow me on other social media platforms (links top right!)

I'd like to enter this into:

The alphabet challenge - adorable (anything cute)

Creative fingers - anything goes

lil red wagon - Spring

Passion for markers - animals

try it on Tuesday - anything Spring

See you all soon!

Crafting hugs

Rachael 

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