Thursday, 23 April 2026

April DT Project 2 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Easter - bunnies, chicks, eggs

Hello friends,

We’re in full swing in April with our Easter themed challenge (think bunnies, chicks, eggs) as chosen by our lovely team member Christine, and I’m here with my second DT project to inspire you for our challenge for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook.

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:

You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks and please list them in your entry. You can enter 5 times each month with different projects. We’ve got a fabulous £20 prize voucher that one randomly selected winner will win this month.

So I decided to make a card with the lovely bunny from Kate Crane Paperartsy stamp set KC019 as my main focus and I used the quote from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous CMS049 Nature’s Discovery. 

First I prepared the background (I made two) using Ranger Distress Mini Inks: Twisted Citron, Worn Lipstick, Wild Honey, which I blended using the Tim Holtz Ranger blender. 

I placed my Kate Crane Stencil PS503 on the background and rubbed through it with a baby wipe to ‘lift’ the ink. It’s interesting to compare the two ‘lifts’ from the first to the second. Obviously the first one was wetter and made the card I was using swell under it more, giving a raised effect. 


Next I stamped my bunny and the cute little bird from the same set, in Archival Black Soot and coloured these in using Ranger Distress Watercolor Pencils. I then fussy cut these out. (I cut the whiskers off the bunny and the legs from the bird). 


I stamped my quote directly onto the background using Ranger Archival Black Soot Ink, lined up where I wanted my bunny and bird to go and stamped these onto the background too. 
I layered the background card onto black cardstock to give it a border and then placed this onto my Kraft card substrate. 

Finally I placed the cut out images and glued these over the stamped images. 
And here’s my finished cards. 


I hope you’ll maybe try this for yourself and be inspired to enter our challenge on Facebook. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog. 
Hugs
Carol xx 

You can find the products I used here:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Kate Crane Paperartsy Stamp Set KC019

Kate Crane Paperartsy Stenci PS503

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Nature’s Discovery CMS049

Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pads

Ranger Archival Jet Black 

Ranger Distress Watercolor Pencils 

Ranger Blending Tool

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Thursday, 9 April 2026

April DT Project 1 for Country View Crafts and Challenges

Hello all,

Here we are in April and I’m popping in with my first DT project to inspire you for our challenge for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook with the theme ‘Easter’ as chosen by our lovely team member Christine.
(Think Bunnies, Easter Eggs, Chicks etc).

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:

You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks and please list them in your entry. You can enter 5 times each month with different projects. We’ve got a fabulous £20 prize voucher that one randomly selected winner will win this month.

I do hope you’re all keeping well. Well, we’ve just had Easter, so bunnies and Easter eggs may have been in the minds for many of us. They were for me. 

I decided to alter a children’s hard page book with a view to completing a full book eventually. This is the start. 


First I covered the page with torn pieces of book pages and glued these down. I then gave a watered down coating of Finnabair Heavy Gesso in white.



Using Dina Wakley turquoise paint with a Tim Holtz Stencil, I blended through the stencil in a couple of areas. I used the stencil from Tim Holtz Clear Stamps and Stencil Noteworthy, Blossom and Polkadot thmm113. 


Holding the stamp from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Botanic Collage CMS447 in my hand, I then gently pressed the stamp down using the bottom part text only of the butterfly, in the background, using Ranger Archival Pebble Beach. 

For the zigzag stiching around the edges I used the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Spring Sprung CMS084 stamped in Ranger Archival Black Soot. 

I stamped some Winter Teasels from the Alison Bomber EAB43 Winter Teasels set in the background with the Ranger Archival Black Soot and I stamped the words ‘Sunrise, the beauty of the shadow’ from this set too. 

I added a postage stamp from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Postage Sticker Book and stamped over this with a ‘franking’ stamp from Crafty by Toni. 


So now my background was complete, I stamped my bunny from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Spring Sprung CMS084 in the area that I had left for him to be placed. 

I then painted him with Dina Wakley paints: cheddar, turquoise, white and magenta and added a bit of glossy accents to his eye. 



I cut out three small hearts from pink painted canvas and placed these beside him, and using three flowers from my stash I layered these beside him too. 
To finish I added a sentiment from the Tim Holtz Small Talk Sticker Book. 

And here’s my completed Easter project 1. 


Now to fill the rest of the book. No pressure. 
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. 

I hope you’ll maybe try this for yourself and be inspired to enter our challenge on Facebook. 

Have a great day. 
Hugs
Carol xx 

You can find the products I used here:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Spring Sprung CMS084

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Botanic Collage CMS447

Alison Bomber EAB43 Winter Teasels Paperartsy (currently out of stock) 

Dina Wakley Paints

Crafty by Toni

Ranger Archival Ink (Black Soot is out of stock)

Finnabair Heavy Gesso


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Saturday, 21 March 2026

March DT Project 2 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Spring

Hello there,

Just popping in again with my second DT post for March for Country View Crafts and Challenges with the theme of ‘Spring’ (spring into spring) as chosen by our lovely team member Vicky. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:

You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks and please list them in your entry. You can enter 5 times each month with different projects. We’ve got a fabulous £20 prize voucher that one randomly selected winner will win this month.

So I decided this time I’d make something in my art journal of a pretty scene with delicate butterflies fluttering in the sunset. 

First I masked off the page to create my graduated background using Distress Mini Inks Blueprint Sketch, Worn Lipstick and Wild Honey. I then splattered some water over this (and dabbed dry with a piece of kitchen towel) to create a bit of interest in the background. 

Using the flower stamp from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous CMS084 Spring Sprung, I stamped this in Versafine Clair Nocture, off the edge of the sunset and on top of the mask. I love this set!! 
Once all dry, I carefully removed the masking tape. 


I then stamped the Butterflies from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous CMS447 Botanical Collage onto a separate piece of paper with Versafine Clair Nocture and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss embossing powder. 


Next, I coloured these with Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils and fussy cut out. I mounted these with 3D foam where I wanted them to sit in my scene. I added a light blue diamanté to each one for the ‘head’. 


Choosing a sentiment from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology Sticker Book, I cut this down into 3 appropriate segments, mounted onto black card, then placed this on my scene with 3D foam too. 

And here’s my spring scene in my art journal. 


Hope you’ll give some of these techniques a try to create your own scene and maybe enter into our challenge on Facebook too. 

Thanks for checking out my blog
Hugs
Carol xx 

You can find the products I used here:
(If anything is out of stock you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you, and she ships overseas too). 

Tim Holtz CMS084 Spring Sprung 

Tim Holtz CMS447 Botanical Collage

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk Sticker Book (Currently out of stock)

Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pads 

Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils

Tim Holtz Distress Splatter Brush

VersaFine Clair Nocture Ink Pad

WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder

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Wednesday, 4 March 2026

March DT Project 1 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Spring

Happy March! 

Here I am ‘springing’ in with my first DT post for March with the theme of ‘Spring’ (spring into spring) as chosen by our lovely team member Vicky. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:

You must use products from brands that Country View Crafts stocks and please list them in your entry. You can enter 5 times each month with different projects. We’ve got a fabulous £20 prize voucher that one randomly selected winner will win this month.

Some of you know that I’m on a road trip currently driving around the UK. I’ve got a small (ish) craft kit with me so that I can still craft. 
For each place we stay at, if it’s pretty good accommodation I’ve been leaving a ‘thank you’ postcard when we leave. Trust me, not everyone has got one. Haha. 

Anyway, I’ve been using flowers for my postcard focal and therefore they translate to Spring for my project this month. 

Using some bought ‘plain’ postcards, I used Distress Old Paper and Antique Linen Mini inks to create a ‘stained’ looking background by smooshing the cards into them on my craft mat. I then blended Distress Vintage Photo Mini Ink around the edges with a Tim Holtz blending tool. 



I added a postage stamp from Tim Holtz Idea-ology postage set and then using the Crafty by Toni Correspondence set, I ‘franked’ the stamp and added the word ‘postcard’ to the middle top. 
This set also has address stamps in it so I used one of those stamps for the address. 



I used a couple of my Tim Holtz flower sets, stamped with Black Soot Archival Ink as the focal image and then coloured each one with Distress Watercolor pencils. 


I added with a ‘thank you’ from my stash as I went along.



It’s a nice way to say a thank you to someone for their service or for a kind deed. Too often we’ll complain but not as quick to say thank you. I hope I’ve delighted many staff and owners on our road trip with my little postcards. 

I hope you like my idea for Spring and may give this a go yourself. 

You can find my full process on my blog here 

And don’t forget to join in our challenge this month. Looking forward to seeing your entries. 

Thanks for checking out my blog. 
Have a great day. 
Hugs
Carol xx

Products used: (if anything is out of stock, you can always contact Brenda to see if she can get it in for you). 

Crafty by Toni A5 Stamp Set -CBT0018
(I used the set CBT0013-Crafty by Toni A5 but it’s out of stock - this one is good to use too). 

Tim Holtz Botanical Collage CMS447
I also used Tim Holtz CMS401 Flower Shop 

Distress Watercolour Pencils

Distress Minis Inks and Oxides 

Tim Holtz Idea-ology 


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Saturday, 21 February 2026

February DT Project 2 For Country View Crafts and Challenges - Hearts

Hi there, 

Here I am with my second DT Project for Country View Crafts and Challenges on Facebook, for the theme of Hearts as chosen by our lovely team member, Cassie. 

The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter: https://www.facebook.com/groups/164920247712393

There’s a fabulous £20 prize voucher to win to for one randomly picked winner. 


You can enter the challenge with 5 different entries but you must use brands that Country View Crafts stocks and please mention them in your projects.   


So although my first project was for a Valentine's Day gift and card for the other half, my second project is a gift for my best friend.


I thought she might like some artwork from me plus the sentiment in the picture really does describe her - she's so inspirational.


First I made a little canvas on an easel - a quick and easy make but quite cute I thought.



I die cut a heart from Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Stacked Tiles Hearts 665858 and blended over this with Distress Ink Worn Lipstick and Wild Honey.

I then stamped out the heart from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Love Notes CMS477 with VersaFine Clair.



I then tore a piece of corrugated card into the shape of a heart.

I layered these together and glued onto the canvas with a piece of thread bundled up underneath them.

I stamped and cut out the word 'Friend' from a quote in Love Notes set, layered it onto black card and then added this onto the heart, raising it up with 3D foam.


That completed my first gift and here it is…



My next  gift  to make was my shadow box picture. Using a 4x4 inch frame, I measured out the area where the image would sit.

I picked out the heart to use from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Love Notes CMS477.

Then using Distress Watercolor pencils and a water colour brush. I inked up my brush with one colour (ie worn lipstick) and added that to 2 areas of my chosen heart. Then I added a second colour to it (ie wild honey), spritzed with a little water and stamped it down in the first place on my paper. I repeated this for all 9 hearts with different colours. Where the colour was a bit patchy I filled this in using the inked up brush direct to the stamped heart.



Then I stamped out my sentiment with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink and cut out the individual words.



I layered each one onto black card and then  placed them in position over the hearts using 3D foam.


And my second gift was complete! And here it is! 



I hope you like this and may be inspired to try something out like this for yourself.

And hopefully you'd like to join in our challenge this month.


Thank you for stopping by my blog.

Have a great day

hugs

Carol xx


Products used: (If anything is out of stock, you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you).


Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Love Notes CMS477 

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/cms477-tim-holtz-cling-mounted-stamp-set---love-notes-172554-p.asp


Tim Holtz Distress Distress Ink Minis 

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-mini-ink-pads-859-c.asp


Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-watercolor-pencils-1598-c.asp


Tim Holtz Sizzix Dies

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/sizzix-thinlits-and-framelits-die-sets-wstamps-by-tim-holtz-519-c.asp


VersaFine Clair Nocturne

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/versafine-clair-ink-pads-and-re-inkers-1311-c.asp









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Saturday, 7 February 2026

February 2026 - DT Project 1 For Country View Crafts and Challenges - Hearts

Hi there, 

It’s time for my first DT project for Country View Crafts and Challenges for February with the theme of Hearts as chosen by our lovely team member Cassie. 


The challenge is open worldwide and you can join the group here where you will find information on how to enter:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/164920247712393


There’s a fabulous £20 prize voucher to win for one randomly picked winner. 


You can enter the challenge with 5 different entries but you must use brands that Country View Crafts stocks and please mention them in your projects.   


February always means the month of ‘luurve’ for me (and pancakes), so I bring you my Valentine’s card and gift that I’ve made for my other half. 


For the gift I decided to make a shadow box framed picture as I’d picked up a rather nice pebble on the beach a little while ago. That’s what sparked the idea off for me. A pebble! 

First I created the background by smooshing watered down Distress Oxide Barn Door onto my card to create a water wash look across the middle. 


I stamped Snarky Cat from Tim Holtz Stamp and Stencil set Snarky Cat THMM109, twice, in VersaFine Clair Nocturne and coloured him with Distress Watercolor pencils, then fussy cut him out. I cut along the line up his left ‘arm’ so I could tuck in a heart for him to hold. 


I stamped Snarky’s heart from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Love Notes CMS477, twice, onto card with Distress Oxide Barn Door and coloured these in with Distress Oxide Barn Door and a water brush and fussy cut out. Once dry, I pressed this into my WOW Embossing pad and then covered it with WOW clear embossing powder and heat set. 



I repeated the above steps for the small hearts from the Tim Holtz Stamp and Stencil set Snarky Cat THMM109. 


I kept aside one Snarky Cat and one main heart for my card to be made later. 


Using a piece of nylon net from a supermarket chestnuts bag, I wrapped this around my pebble and secured with my hot glue gun. I then hot glued it to my background. I tucked in a piece of twig too and hot glued it in place. 

I hot glued my small hearts randomly on the net. 



I glued the main heart under Snarky’s arm and he was ready to add to the background. In order for him to be raised up so that he was sitting on the pebble, I constructed a ‘Z’ shape piece of card and fixed one end to Snarky Cat and the other end to the background  where he needed to be propped up. 





To finish I used glossy accents on his eyes and once dry I assembled this into my shadow box frame. 

And here’s my gift for my other half but shhhh don’t tell him about it as it’s not Valentine’s Day yet.  



Now for the Card…


Using a large heart from the Love Notes set, I stamped three of these with Distress Oxide Barn Door across my background card, overlapping them as I went. I then coloured these in using Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils in Barn Door and Candied Apple using a water brush and then drew over them with a black fine liner pen to outline them and give them some substance. 



I stamped the sentiment under these in VersaFine Clair Nocturne and then I layered this onto a piece of black card leaving a border, and then layered this onto my main card substrate. 


I had already stamped out, coloured and cut Snarky Cat and the heart so it was just a matter of assembling these onto the background, which I did with 3D foam tape. I then added glossy accents to his eyes to finish. 


And here’s my Valentines Day card...




I hope you like my first projects for February - maybe you’d like to create something similar for your loved one? 


And we’d love to see you enter into our challenge this month on Facebook if you can. 

Thanks so much for visiting my blog. 

Have a great day

Hugs

Carol xx 



Products Used: (if an item is out of stock, you can always contact Brenda at Country View Crafts to see if she can order it in for you).


Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Love Notes CMS477 

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/cms477-tim-holtz-cling-mounted-stamp-set---love-notes-172554-p.asp


Tim Holtz Stamp and Stencil set Snarky Cat THMM109

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-stamp--stencil-set---mixed-media-109---snarky-cat-179345-p.asp


Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Minis 

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-mini-oxide-ink-pads-kit-13-181124-p.asp


Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Pencils

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/tim-holtz-distress-watercolor-pencils-1598-c.asp


VersaFine Clair Nocturne

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/versafine-clair-ink-pads-and-re-inkers-1311-c.asp


Ranger Glossy Accents 

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/ranger-inkssentials-glossy-accents-mini-14ml-6833-p.asp


WOW Ultra Slow Drying Embossing Pad

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/wow-clear-ultra-slow-drying-embossing-pad-150653-p.asp


WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder

https://www.countryviewcrafts.co.uk/wow-embossing-powders-15ml---clear-gloss-regular-t-171662-p.asp




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April DT Project 2 for Country View Crafts and Challenges - Easter - bunnies, chicks, eggs

Hello friends, We’re in full swing in April with our Easter themed challenge (think bunnies, chicks, eggs) as chosen by our lovely team memb...