Flowers and fairy - Get Well Soon

Another of my friends from choir has recently had a serious operation and is currently recuperating and unable to come back to choir.  I'd got a lovely stamp that I'd found online, coloured and filed away some time ago so thought this might be the ideal card to use it on.

Hubby bought me a super little sewing machine for Christmas as I was really keen to try stitching on my cards.  I'm embarrassed to say that this is the first time I've used it.  Anyhow, I'm pleased with how my first 'stitching' attempt has gone but I think I could still use a bit more practise.

I used pink cardstock to layer my sentiment and stamp and the mats for the stamp were made using my Xcut dies.  The paper flowers were from my stash and the stamp was coloured using Promarkers.

Thanks for stopping by! x

House Mouse Gingerbread Xmas

When I subscribed to Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine at the end of last year my free gift was a super House Mouse pack including 2 stamp packs and a set of decoupage sheets.  As it was a little late last year to use the Christmas goodies I've been waiting till now to get them out and try them.

The stamp is Christmas Gingerbread House from Joanna Sheen and I have coloured the image using Promarkers.  I fancied making something a little different so I looked to Youtube for inspiration and found a great card layout by DaisieMae12.  The papers I've used are Papermania Mistletoe Kisses and I've used my Marianne snowflake die with a button and bakers twine to embellish the bottom corner.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

I <3 Promarkers - #139 Anything Goes

Charisma Cardz - #41 Clean and Simple

ABC Christmas Challenge - U for Up to you

Christmas Crafting Challenge - #15 Buttons and Twine

Thanks for stopping by! x

Special Friend card

Mom-in-law asked me to make her a card for a special friend of hers recently and here is the finished result.

I love these papers from Pink Paislee.  They're called 'Spring Jubilee' and the chipboard tag matches the collection.  I've used my Martha Stewart punch along the yellow cardstock and then embellished with pearls from my stash.  The pink 'lace' butterfly embellishment (not sure what else to call it!) along the left side was in a collection from someone's craft clear out I bought a while back on Ebay.  I've been waiting for ages for suitable project to use it on and finally the colours matched perfectly.

Thanks for stopping by! x

Edwardian Lady - Thinking of you

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine lost her Dad who's been unwell for some time.   She's not been well herself over recent years and I do think of her a lot and hope that she's doing ok.  I made her a 'Thinking of You' card rather than the normal sympathy card.

I used paper and a stamp from my Edwardian Lady collection and coloured the stamp using Promarkers.  I've layered the paper and stamp onto green cardstock and also the sentiment which I found on online.  The ribbon and lace were from my stash along with the mulberry flowers, gems and pearls.

Thanks for stopping by! x

Macmillan Charity Cards

Last Saturday we held a Coffee Morning at our work premises in aid of Macmillan's 'World's Biggest Coffee Morning' event.  I decided to make a few 'quick' cards along with selling a few from my stash to help boost donations.  Last year, sales from my cards were extremely successful so I thought it was definitely worth trying again.

A few of my cards were made using designs and a free gift from 'Quick Cards' and they certainly proved very popular.  These ones were snapped up first!

I also made a more detailed card with a 'Flower Fairies' stamp that I'd coloured a while back.  I only wish I'd had more time to make a few more as the ones I did make went really well.

Thanks for stopping by! x

Niece's Boofle Birthday

Our lovely Niece, Charlotte was 16 on the 2nd September.  Can't believe where the time has gone (or that our own son will be following closely behind with his 16th at the end of November!).

I wasn't sure what design to go with for a 16 year old but I hoped that I wouldn't be wrong in choosing Boofle.  I bought some lovely Boofle goodies a while back when we visited Crafters Cove in Llangollen.

I purchased a super decoupage pack but decided on the printed sheets that you cut out rather than the die-cut sheets.  The backing papers are all from the Boofle range too apart from the Kraft card.  Flowers and buttons were from my stash the red dotted flower was created using my Marianne die.  A small Dovecraft doily under the sentiment finishes everything off.  I was really quite please with this one :).

Thanks for stopping by! x

Sweet Little Donkey

Well I don't know what it's like where you are but after a brief bout of sunshine yesterday we're back to the normal British weather today of damp and murk.  And to make matters work I was really hoping to have my new car today but unfortunately it's been delayed until next week.

My pen-friend in Austria has recently had a new addition to her family, a beautiful baby daughter, Caitlyn Siobahn.  Even though I don't write to her now as often as I ought to and tend to converse more on Facebook, I thought it would be nice to send a card as a welcome to their new arrival.

I decided to go for a different card layout again but tried to keep the embellishments as 2D as possible due to the card having to fly airmail.  I've used Meljen Designs 'Sweet Little Donkey' which I've shaded in cool greys and pink using Promarkers. 

I've used my Nellie Snellen Scalloped circle die for the digi stamp and my Marianne swirl cutter.  The ribbon, gems and pearls were from my stash. The gingham backing paper was from the Back to Basics set by Dovecraft and the pink card is from Papermania.

The lovely circle sentiment was a freebie from Netty's Cards and has been attached using sticky pads.

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

I <3 ProMarkers - #125 Circles

Passion for ProMarkers - #157 Gingham/Checks

Thanks for stopping by! x

Summer Butterflies

Today's card was inspired by the sketch over at Totally Gorjuss.  I decided to go with a summer theme using strawberry pink, aqua and cream.

The papers were Spring Jubilee by Pink Paislee and I've used my Martha Stewart scalloped edge punch and Nestabilities die.  The butterfly was created using a Marianne die in my Cuttlebug.  Mini pearls from my stash were used to embellish the card edge and butterfly.  The sentiment was found online but sorry I can't remember where now.

I would like to enter this creation in the following challenges:

Totally Gorjuss - #139 It's a sketch

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Strawberries & Cream

Thanks for stopping by! x

Magic of Oz - A few creations

For those of you who don't follow my craft blog, I thought I'd just post a few pictures of my recent addiction.  I'm absolutely loving the 'Magic of Oz' papercraft collection from Graphic 45 and have made several cards recently for family and friends using their stamps, die cuts and papers.  I'm sure there'll be many more to follow :)



You can find more details on how I made the cards over at my sister site 'Twinkle Twit Crafts'.

Emerald Oz Birthday Card

Another one from the super Graphic 45 collection 'Magic of Oz' but this time as a birthday card for my lovely friend Jo.  I thought it was about time I had a go at a different card layout from the normal square or rectangular design.  I cut the front of the square card blank in half and then placed two scalloped circle die cuts overhanging the edge.  The inside of the card was then covered with matching 'Oz' paper and the coordinating  reverse side was used on the front of the card.

The white scalloped circle was stamped with 'Dororthy', 'Toto, and the 'Yellow Brick Road' and then coloured with Pro-markers.  I think next time I would stamp the Yellow Brick Road then add Dorothy and Toto as separate die cuts over the top as unfortunately the brick road was visible through Dorothy's shoes and legs!! Fatal error!

I've then used my Marianne Creatables 'swirl' and also a leaf die from the same collection to create the finishing touches.  The heart was from a selection at Hobbycraft and paper roses were purchased from 'Flowers4Crafts' on Ebay.  The remaining paper flowers were by Petaloo and were purchased on our recent trip to Crafters Cove in Llangollen :).

I am entering this creations in the following challenges:

Charisma Cardz Challenges - #25 Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations - #169 Anything Goes
I <3 ProMarkers - #123 Anything Goes
Allsorts Challenge - #161 In Bloom

Thanks for stopping by! x

'A cut above the rest......'

One of my lovely friends from choir recently moved into new business premises so I thought I'd make her a 'Good Luck' card for the occasion.  As she's a hairdresser I thought this lovely stamp from C.C. Designs was just the job.

The pink star paper I used was from Dovecraft and other papers were freebies from Cardmaking and Papercraft.  I've coloured the stamp using Promarkers and used a pink pearl for 'Hairdresser Honey's' hair slide.  I've used Nestabilities Scalloped circles and I created the quirky sentiment using the PC.

Sorry this picture of the stamp is a little blurred, but hopefully you get the idea.

I'm entering this creation in the following challenges:

Totally Gorjuss - #138 Sweet & Simple

Thanks for stopping by! x

'Ozian' friends

For my friend's birthday back in March I decided to give my favourite 'Magic of Oz' selection another airing.  This was a very simple card where I went for darker colours to match the Scarecrow and Tin Man and stamped a sentiment onto one of the matching chip boards.  I've used brown Mulberry paper to mat the Oz postcard which was torn along the edges.

Thanks for stopping by! x

Happy 9th Anniversary

Last month saw mine and lovely Hubby's 9th wedding anniversary.  I decided to make a card with something that had a meaning to both of us so went with a selection of the lyrics from 'our song' - Oh, Baby I by Eternal.

I used a torn effect on the verse and had a go (for the first time!) with my Tim Holtz distress ink and blending tool.  I was really pleased with the result :).

The heart was from my stash but I think was originally purchased from Hobbycraft.  The letters were from a local hardware store.  The green card was from The Range and is by Papermania and I believe the spotty paper was from a selection of My Mind Eye bought from Ebay.

Thanks for stopping by! x

The Magic of Oz - Happy Birthday Niece

Last year I saw these wonderful papers and chip boards in one of my craft magazines and couldn't wait to get my hands on them.  At first I thought them a little expensive but the quality of the material is just superb.  I've made several cards with them already but here's the first attempt I made for my Niece as she just adores The Wizard of Oz.

The range is called 'The Magic of Oz' and is from Graphic 45.  There are 8x8 and 12x12 papers, 2 different sets of chip boards and 3 sets of cling stamps in the range.  I settled for the 8x8 pad in the end, managed to find both sets of chip boards on Ebay and bought cling set '2' which included this lovely Dorothy stamp, Toto, the yellow brick road, 'There's No Place Like Home', ruby slippers and a Munchkin character.

I've used Promarkers to colour Dorothy and Toto and embellished the ruby slippers with red glitter glue.  The flower, velvet brad  and blue gingham ribbon are from my stash and the chip board is from the Oz collection.  I've used a Martha Stewart punch along the bottom edges of the Kraft card and the Graphic45 papers.  I printed the sentiment using the PC.

Thanks for stopping by! x

A late start to 2012......Get Well Dad

Oh my.....it's been a while!
Card making and all things crafty have taken a back seat unfortunately since Christmas due to work commitments, but none the less I thought it was time to at least post.... something.  Although, I've not had the time to sit and craft for endless hours, I've been making the odd creation here and there for family and friends so here goes......my first post of 2012!

Dad was admitted to hospital earlier in the year for a heart valve replacement and this is the card I made him.  Being an avid ornithologist (or bird-watcher to the rest of us) I thought it was very appropriate.

The paper and card was from a random selection purchased on Ebay a while back.  The digi-stamp was from Meljen Designs and is called Garden Bird House.  I coloured this using Promarkers and then added a decoupage effect by creating a second layer for the birds, bird house roof and two of the flowers.  The ribbon and buttons were from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by! x

Bulk Christmas cards - Choir of Angels

For a 'certain' group that I belong to, I thought it would be nice to make them each a handmade Christmas card this year.  As there are 23 of them all together I needed to come up with a fairly simple layout for each card so as to not be too time consuming (I do have a life outside crafting and a business to run...*shock*!  :)).

I chose a lovely and very appropriate digi stamp from 'Little Musings' which was just £1.50 for both a coloured and an outlined image.  It's the stamp colouring that's actually taking the most time but I much prefer the overall hand finished looked rather than the pre-coloured.

I've used red card stock from my stash and run this through my Cuttlebug to get the dotty effect.  The musical paper is from Dovecraft's Jolly Christmas.  I've coloured the stamp with Promarkers, inked the edges of my image with red ink and finished off the Angel's wings with glitter.  The sentiment is from my Daisy & Dandelion collection (which I'm making great use of!) and the button and bakers twine are from my stash.

All in all I've made 5 of these so far and am hoping to make a batch of 5 each weekend.....that's the plan anyway :).

I am entering this card for the following challenges:

ABC Christmas Challenge - 'U' is for Unused Stash (Dotty Embossing Folder)
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Seeing Spots
Jingle Belles - A Carolling We Will Go (Here We Come A-Wassailing)
Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Christmas Songs (Here We Come A-Wassailing)

Thanks for stopping by! x

Christmas Humphrey - Make a wish

I'm just loving the Humphrey decoupage sheets that I bought the other day by Crafters Companion.  This is my second creation and I decided to have a change from the usual red and green and instead match up the colours in the decoupage.

I've used lightweight card from my stash and the blue swirly paper is downloadable from Shabby Princess.  This is from the 'Holiday Magic' collection.  I've used my Martha Stewart scallop punch and the ribbon and stars were also from my stash.  I thought the sentiment was a lovely match to the picture and this is from my Daisy & Dandelion collection.  The decoupage image has been finished with varnish.

Thanks for stopping by! x

My Mind's Eye Christmas freebies

Well, another beautiful day today in the Midlands.  It's hard to believe with all the lovely weather that Christmas is just around the corner.  Went for a super dog walk this morning which Arnold just loved as we were with his best bud Arthur the Airedale Terrier :).   

I received some lovely free papers and chipboards with my October edition of Cardmaking & Papercraft so I thought I'd give them a try.

The free goodies are by My Mind's Eye and I've used lace, ribbon and gems from my stash (although the lace doesn't show up very well on the photo).  The sentiment is a rubber stamp from Daisy and Dandelion and I've coloured this with promarkers.

Thanks for stopping by! x

A butterfly sympathy card

My brother asked me to create a sympathy card for him to send to a friend so I decided on a blue and ivory theme using butterflies.  I ordered some pearlescent card from Ebay and a new embossing folder and decided I would use a die-cut butterfly to finish off the design.  Unfortunately, although dispatched some time ago my Marianne butterfly die has not arrived and I think it's looking less and less likely that it ever will :(.  Due to this I've used a mirrored butterfly instead that I bought a while ago from a sale at Hobbycraft.

The embossing folder is 'Garden Flowers' by Crafts Too and I've used my Nellie Snellen die to cut the circle.  the flowers, ribbon and pearls were from my stash and I've printed the sentiment using a grayscale shade.  I'm quite pleased with how the overall card came out and I think it's definitely a design I could use for other occasions such as anniversaries, birthdays etc.

Thanks for stopping by! x

My First Tilda Stamp

 I took my DD to the local craft shop, MSA Crafts last week as a treat for doing well settling into High School.  Well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it! (Although I did buy a fair amount of stuff too ;) ).  I can't believe I've never visited before and I can't wait to go back again as they had a really good selection.  We bought another pile of Promarkers, rubber stamps, decoupage sheets, card blanks and I was really chuffed to see they had a massive collection of Marianne dies.

I've seen a lot of Tilda stamps around on various blogs and magazines and I just love these cute stamps. So I decided whilst out 'treating my DD' that I would also treat myself to one of these :).  The Magnolia 'Tilda Wants a Hug' stamp grabbed my eye but it wasn't till I got home that I realised it's actually a Christmas Stamp as she has holly in her hair! Oh well, I shall enjoy using it for this years Christmas cards.

I've used Dovecraft backing papers and my newly bought Marianne swirl die.  The paper edges have been torn and inked with Dovecraft Forest Green ink and the stamp coloured with promarkers and finished with a little red glitter glue.  The sentiment is from Daisy & Dandelion with Mulberry flowers from 'Flowers4Crafts10' on Ebay.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

CES Challenge Blog - #56 Totally Gorjuss/Pretty Girls

Thanks for stopping by! x