Boo, Hiss & Pass the Sweets

Dia daoibh!

Here we are, halfway through October, which means Halloween is creeping closer and I am entering that very important time of year when buying enormous bags of sweets is considered preparation rather than greed. Here in Ireland the evenings are getting darker, the weather is doing four seasons before lunchtime, and the Halloween treats are being bought, hidden, found and mysteriously disappearing long before a single trick or treater has knocked on the door. 

It is also time for Ally’s Angels Challenge #111, where our theme is always Anything Goes. Basically, crafty freedom with absolutely no adult supervision. What could possibly go wrong?

For my card I decided to embrace the Halloween madness and pulled out the Spellbinders Trick or Snark stamp set. With those colourful little monsters, balloons, a pumpkin, a ghost and a bat who appears to have appointed himself Head of Operations, there was plenty going on before I even got to that brilliant sentiment. “Let’s eat candy and judge people.” Well now. Finally, a Halloween activity I am fully qualified for. 

I stamped the image and coloured everything with my trusty Promarkers, going nice and bright with the Halloween colours. I added a few flatback pearls and some die cut stars embellished with iridescent glitter. I have to admit, these little fellas make me smile. They have balloons, sweets and absolutely nowhere important to be. The bat has even managed to get himself a lift without holding a single balloon string. There is always one clever lad in the group.

Do pop over and join us for Ally’s Angels Challenge #111. Remember, the theme is Anything Goes, so raid that craft stash, rescue something you bought three years ago and definitely intended to use immediately, and come play along. There is loads of fabulous inspiration from the Design Team too.

And with Halloween just around the corner, I shall leave you with my annual survival plan. Buy sweets for the trick or treaters. Eat the sweets. Buy replacement sweets. Hide them somewhere sensible. Forget where I hid them. Buy more sweets. A flawless system. 

Oíche Shamhna Shona daoibh go léir! 👻🎃🍬

Sláinte,

Wendy R.

The Male Room #215: Geometric

 Dia daoibh!

For The Male Room Challenge #215, the theme is Geometric, so I reached for triangles and arranged them with the confidence of someone who absolutely had a plan. In reality, I moved them around the card for so long they nearly qualified for residency.

I used colourful textured card in navy, yellow, lime green and dusky purple, cutting plenty of triangles and layering them into a clean modern design. Some point upwards, some point downwards, and a few appear to be quietly judging my spacing. The simple Congratulations sentiment sits across the centre in black, giving the card a crisp masculine finish. I added a few clear Nuvo drops because geometry may be serious business, but nobody said it had to arrive without jewellery.

We would love you to join us over at The Male Room with your geometric creations. Bring your circles, squares, triangles, hexagons or any shape that behaves itself better on your craft desk than mine did.

Thanks so much for shaping up and joining the challenge at The Male Room ❤️

Sláinte,

Wendy R.

LIKE GNOME ONE ELSE

Dia daoibh!

October is a funny old month. Half the country is on holidays, the other half is wondering where the summer went, and the craft desk is looking at you like “Well… are we making something or just staring at cardstock again?” Naturally the cardstock won. It always does.

Today’s card is for Heart’s Quest Fantasy Challenge Blog, where the theme is always Anything Fantasy Goes. That means the door is wide open for gnomes, fairies, magical creatures and anything your imagination can dream up. Do pop over and check out the Design Team creations because they are absolutely fabulous and packed with fantasy inspiration.

For my card I used the My Favorite Things BB You Gnome Me stamp and die set. This cheerful little gnome has clearly wandered into a mushroom patch and is having a grand time. I coloured the images with Promarkers, keeping the mushrooms nice and bright so they really pop against the clean white background.

To finish things off I added a little Glossy Accents and a sprinkling of iridescent glitter for that magical sparkle. Because if there is one thing every fantasy scene needs, it is a bit of glitter. Possibly a lot of glitter. There is no official limit.

Now it is your turn to join the fun. Anything crafty goes at HQFCB, so whether you are baking, sewing, knitting, card making or scrapbooking, we would love to see what you create. Pop your masterpiece into the gallery and share the crafty magic with us. 

And remember… if a gnome pops out of a mushroom patch waving at you, do not panic. It just means the glitter worked.

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 🍄

Card Chain Challenge September 2026

Dia daoibh!

September has arrived, and I have reached that very productive stage of the year where I look at everything I meant to organise months ago and think, “Ah sure, there’s always next year.” Efficient. Stress free. Highly recommended. And with that impressive level of organisation, it is time for the Card Chain Challenge!

This month, my card packed its bags and headed off to Beate in Germany, while in return I received a fab card all the way from Julia in the USA. Honestly, my cards are better travelled than I am.

For this one, I chose the Make It Funny theme, along with the colour palette of peony, scarlet and plum. Then I brought out Art Impressions' Shake Your Booty Bloomer set (because nothing says friendship quite like posting someone a magnificent pair of bloomers!) 😂 The image was coloured with Promarkers, with a little sparkle added to those fabulous hearts. The German sentiment reads “Das Leben hat auch schöne Kehrseiten!”, which translates roughly as “Life has its beautiful reverse sides too!” A rather perfect sentiment when the star of the card is, quite literally, a backside! I only mounted the bloomer part on the front of the card and sent Beate the lady separately, so she can mount her inside the card if she wishes. Basically, some assembly may be required. IKEA, but with underwear.

And because one slightly bonkers lady clearly was not enough, I also made a little CAS card using Art Impressions' Loads of Fun set. Again, she was coloured with Promarkers and kept clean and simple. There she is, balancing proudly on the ironing board while the iron sits safely on the floor. Health and safety have left the building.

That is what I love about the Card Chain Challenge. You never quite know what is going to arrive through your letterbox. It might be elegant, floral, beautifully intricate... or it might be a large pair of sparkly bloomers arriving from Ireland.

Either way, the postman has questions.

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 🦋