About Me

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I'm a retired primary school teacher, who started paper crafting in 2008, when I had a fancy to make my own Christmas cards. Since then, I have tried all sorts of techniques and styles - and I kind of like them all. I have been lucky enough to be on blog teams and large design teams and to do a bit of freelance demonstrating - and I love the challenge of working with different products. My crafting style is very varied - from junk journaling and art journaling, bookbinding and journal making, to quilting and patchwork - and of course I still make cards. This variety keeps me interested - and my crafty stash growing!! I'm always seeking inspiration for new projects.

Tuesday 31 January 2017

Catitudes Diorama

Morning!! Loads going on on Hochanda today!! The Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens are back - and so is the fabulous Catitudes CD featuring the art work of the fabulous Marilyn Robertson.

This diorama card is made using the papers and digital elements from CD2. I love the black and yellow together!!


Make sure to tune in to see Debbie at 8am, 10am and 3pm to catch all the offers on the CD, dies, stamps and embossing folders!

Cxxx

Monday 30 January 2017

Sparkling Flowers

Today's offereing is an 8x8 card that uses a Just Inklined digi called "Open Rose Vase". The sentiment is from Crafter's Inspiration 6, stamped with Onyx Black Versafine.


I used Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens to colour the image:
Roses: Red Berry, Crystal Clear, Spun Gold 
Leaves: Black, Holly Green, Crystal Clear
Vase: Black, Sterling, Crystal Clear 

The embossed background was created using an Embossalicious 8x8 folder called Rose Garden.

Cxx

Sunday 29 January 2017

Spectrum Noir AquaBlends

Fiona was on Hochanda yesterday with the gorgeous Spectrum Noir AquaBlends. This is using Sheena Douglass' Magnolia Blossom on Crafter's Companion Watercolour Card.


The pencils I used were :
Flower: Florals - Elderberry
Leaves: Naturals - Cypress, Oregano
Stem: Essentials - Black Umber 

I made the image into a circular easel card using Crafter's Companion Matt Black card, with some pink from my stash.

Cxxx

Friday 27 January 2017

Big Box Card

Morning!! I have another Catitudes project today! This one is a large pop up box card - made from an A3 sheet of double sided Centura Pearl Fresh White card. 


The papers are from the 8x8 paper pack, with the images, sentiment and embellishments from both of the CDs. I embossed some matching card with the Ornate Fans folder, and die cut the Cat Silhouette, the Boutique sign and the fans from the Oriental Additions.

Cxx

Thursday 26 January 2017

A bit of Catittudes!

I loved working on the launch of the Catitudes range. It has such fun images and gorgeous colours! And even better, all the elements available in digital format for playing around with!

And that's what I did with this little boxed set of cards.


Each card is roughly 4x4, and was created entirely digitally (I use Publisher) then printed directly onto Sheena White Stamping card!!


I just loved playing around with the images and background papers, layering and moving around!! I absolutely love physical papercrafting - but I do rather enjoy doing this kind of thing now and again!

Cxxx

Wednesday 25 January 2017

Teddy Bear!

Morning! More colouring today! This time with the Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens. The image is from Just Inklined, and is called Baby Boys Clothes. However, you can see that I chose to use pinks and purples to colour it in.


The colours I used are: 
Teddy: Tints - Blossom, Moonlight, Tones - Pink Lace, Vintage Pink, Portrait - Ivory
Blankets: Tints - Vanilla, Moonlight,
Blossom, Tones - Pink Lace, Vintage Pink, Wisteria, Old Lavender, Portrait - Ivory
Booties: Tones - Wisteria, Old Lavender, Tints - Lavender, Vanilla, Moonlight,
Portrait - Ivory
The sentiment stamp is from Crafter’s Inspiration 6, the patterned papers from an old Kanban A4 pad, and I decorated with pearls.

Cxxx

Tuesday 24 January 2017

A little watercolour....

Something totally different today! A circular tent fold card I made using the Spectrum Aqua pens and Sheena's Passion Flower stamp from the "A Little Bit Sketchy" range.


I love the Spectrum Aqua pens as you can scribble them on a tile, spritz them, and use them for backgrounds, as well as using them directly on the card. That's how I created the background for the card.



I did attempt the Bokeh effect with Pebeo White Gesso too - but it was rather a feeble attempt and really doesn't show up.

The main colours I used were from the Nature set- Sea Green and Peacock Blue. I also used Essentials Black and Spice for centres and Florals Jasmine and Orchid for centres.


Cxxx

Monday 23 January 2017

Bow Front Card

The gorgeous little fancy Edge'ables are back on Hochanda today! They are 5.3" in length, and are perfect for all sorts of projects.


This is a bow fronted card that I made using the Rococo die. The base is Centura Pearl Hint of Silver, and I used some Crafter's Companion Matt Black card to make the pink - from the Downton Abbey 12x12 pad - pop. 

Be sure to tune in to the shows today!

Cxx

Sunday 22 January 2017

A Little Thank You

Morning! Am back with another creation using the 5x5 and 5x2 Create a Card dies from Crafter's Companion. This one is a little Thank You box using both the Thank You Sentiment and the Floral Lace Heart die.


I have to admit that the ends of the box needed a little more length on the flaps to stay in properly, but I used the wrap instead to hold them firmly in place.

The box is made from Ivory Double Sided Centura Pearl, and the blue paper is from the Downton Abbey 12x12 Paper Pad.

Cxxxx

Saturday 21 January 2017

Birthday Diorama!

Morning. Today I have a very simple and easy Birthday Diorama card. I used the Birthday Garden 5x5 Create a Card from Crafter's Companion


The base card is Centura Pearl Fresh White double sided card, and I used the Teal from the Centura Pearl Darks pack.

It doesn't show particularly well in the photo, but I cut the Birthday Garden again in Silver Glitter card from the Luxury Silver Card Pack, then snipped out the sentiment and overlayed it. The back and side panels are embossed with Sara Signature Contemporary Christmas Elegant Snowfall.

Cxxx

Friday 20 January 2017

Pop Out Card!

Our lovely Debbie is on now for the last chance with the Create a Card Dies. This is another of my cards - this time using the Floral Lace Heart and Thank You sentiment.


The waste of the sentiment die was used on the front..... 


And the actual die cut was in the middle, along with the Lace Heart die again as a pop-out.


I love the combination of the matt black card with the glitter card from the Gold Luxury Card pack.

Cxxxx

What a Hoot!!

The Die'sire Create a Card dies are back on Hochanda today! I really love this size of die - and all the designs are gorgeous. And even better - there are sentiments too!!



This matching box and card is using "What a Hoot" with the "Happy Birthday" sentiment. I teamed up some chocolate brown card with the matt mirror card from the Luxury Card Pack in Gold.


There really wasn't much else needed, other than a few pearls, and a ribbon and bow!! 



Cxxx

Thursday 19 January 2017

Gone Fishing!!

Morning!! Another Hobby Edge'able this morning. This one is using "Gone Fishing", which I used to make an 8x8 card. 


I used a piece of background card that I had in my stash, and then cut the Edge'able into a piece of white linen card. This was turned into an aperture/frame, and pierced using Tim Holtz's piercing ruler.

The sentiment is Die'sire Essentials Only Words, and I decorated with buttons and Baker's twine. 

Cxxx 

Wednesday 18 January 2017

A little bit of knitting!

Evening! This is a card I made with one of the Die'sire Edge'ables from the Hobbies and Leisure Collection. It's called "Knit It" and when I saw it I just knew I had to use it for the band around a ball of wool.


So, I took a photo of a ball of wool, and blew it up on the computer. After printing it and cutting it out, I used Centura Pearl Hint of Silver with the "Knit It" die, to create the band, and layered it over a piece of purple card embossed with my Embossalicious Knit One Pearl One folder. I used the same folder for the background card, and decorated with a flower cut with Flowers for All Occasions 2 along with a button. The Happy Birthday sentiment is from the Die'sire Classiques Only Words collection.

I really like this card - it turned out just how I envisaged it!!
Cxxx

Edge'ables Card

Morning! The One Day special on Hochanda yesterday was a great deal on the Large Fancy Edge'ables from Crafter's Companion! I love the size of these as it gives you a gorgeous edge to a large card!.

This one is a W Fold card using Jardin. 

I used Centura Pearl Fresh White and Crafter's Companion Matt Black card, and embossed with Sugar and Spice Delicate Floral Embossing folder.
Th wording is using the Diamond Press Block Alpha, and I have decorated the inside with flowers using Die'sire Flowers for All Occasions. And I finished it with pearl "ribbon" and pearls!!

Cxxxx

Tuesday 17 January 2017

A day late .....

I shared a post this morning saying Fiona would be Hochanda today!! And then when I tuned in, I realised I was a day late!! Had to chuckle - story of my life!! 

Anyway, here's another sample from the Diamond Press show from yesterday!!


I used the mini stamp and die set - Save the Date, to create a little card and matching magnet.


I used a couple of the little dies from the Diamond Press starter set too - the arrow for the card, and the little flower with the star cut out for the magnet. The calendar is computer generated, and I used papers from Crafter's Inspiration 11 - Printed Paper Packs - Timeless. A little bit of gold mirror card from the Luxury Card Pack, along with a few pearl and a little ribbon completed the look!!
I will try to be a bit more on time in the future!!
Cxxxx

I want to ride my bicycle ......

Morning - a very quick post before I head out to the day job!!  Fiona Clayton will be on Hochanda later today with the fab little Diamond Press machine and some great stamp and die sets.

I made this frame using the "Enjoy the Ride" set. The papers are from the Crafter's Companion Website Monthly Downloads - May 2015.


I took the glass out of the frame so that I could make the picture 3D. I used Memento Gray Flannel to stamp onto Sheena White Stamping Card, and added colour to the flowers in the basket with Spectrum Noir Pen BT3.

Enjoy your day!
Cxxxx



Monday 16 January 2017

Time to begin ......

Well, it's certainly been a while since I've been on here! Life seemed to just take over at the end of last year, and while I have been making, I haven't been sharing. So, I am determined to blog more and share more this year, and I have a backlog of many samples from 2016 to get through. Hopefully I will be able to find the time to get on here and share.

So, this is a favour box I made with the Hobby Edge'ables. I made the box using A3 Fresh White Centura Pearl, then cut the Let's Bake Edge'able four times from a strip of card measured to fit the top of the box. 


I then filled inside with paper flowers, and wrapped ribbon around the box finishing with a bow and another flower - and of course pearls!

So, here's to being a better sharer in 2017!!

Cxxxx