New Home card!

Where has the morning gone? Did a bit of gardening first thing as my poor leeks were still waiting to be planted out!! But have just really been pottering doing not very much!! Really need to get on with some card making this afternoon, so thought I'd blog now and can then focus on that after lunch. 

A little bit of excitement this week, as my Cupcake card was chosen as a top 3 pick at Crafts 4 Eternity.  And my Birdhouse card won me a $10 voucher from Creative Knockouts to spend at The Stamping Chef. Am really looking forward to spending this as I have seen some lovely digi papers on the site!!

Anyway - this is a quick card I made a while back when I needed a new home card. The backing card and topper are from an old Kanban kit - Well Wishes and Celebrations - Fly Away Home sheet. I mounted the oval topper onto the matching rectangular mat. 

I mounted some gold mirror and white pearl card onto a red square card blank, then used some of the matching red dotty card. A piece of the border strip was placed down the side, and the topper stuck on so that it hung over each edge. I used red pearls on the card, and little black 'gems' on the flowers and cat's collar to finish it off.

I would like to enter this into:

Aud Sentiments - 2 word sentiment (New Home)

Take care,

Cxxxx

White on white!!

Afternoon!! Despite the weather forecast, it has been a beautiful day here - with sunshine instead of the predicted rain - although yesterday's showers were most welcome for the garden. No real work today - but had a great SUP session this morning as well as last night - so am feeling fighting fit - or maybe just fit to drop!!

Today's offering is a white-on-white card gatefold card - another that I made at Dee Paramour's workshop a while ago - so the details may be vague!!

The two panels on the front were embossed with (possibly) Creative Expressions Heart Lattice folder, and a little seam binding wrapped around the bottom and tied in a knot. The decorative pieces were cut with Sue Wilson's Lattice Heart Striplet Die. The decorative circle is cut from the Calabria die (Italian Collection) - and mounted onto a plain white circle. 

The inside of the card was embossed with the same folder - and the larger of the Calabria dies was used to cut the piece for the sentiment.

I would like to enter this into

Southern Girls Challenge - Dyeing to See Those Punches (dies used)

Take care,

Cxxx

Birthday Blues - not!!!

Has been full on day and a half at the 'day job' - busy, busy, busy!! Then rushing to pick up the car from the garage!! Is sooo nice to have my own car back - and it's all clean inside and out!! Can't remember when it looked so good!! has taken a little while to get used to it again though!!

  

Anyway,  yesterday was Tina's birthday!! Happy Birthday Tina!! This is the blue easel card I created just for her!!! 

The base of the Easel card is made from two 6x6 white cards. I printed this lovely blue Chocolate Box image from the Topper Companions of Crafter's Companion Halcyon Days CD (A5 size) onto Centura Pearl Hint of Silver. This was then mounted onto a piece of taupe coloured Bazzill card. For the rest of the card I used papers from the CD printed onto CC Silk Finish Paper, more of the taupe card, and some blue Bazzill. 

The stopper is cut using the smaller of the Crafter's Companion Die'sire Cameo Frame Dies, and the letters from the Die'sire 1" Alphabet set (both upper and lower case). A paper bow and bunting from the CD, along with a few pearls finished the whole thing off.

I would like to enter this into:
Crafty Bloggers Network - Bingo Board - Column A - Die Cut, Image, Patterned Paper

Finally, a welcome to my new followers on the various platforms. It's lovely to have your company here on my blog!! Enjoy!!

Cxxx

Sunshine - and Flowers!!

Good morning!! A what a fabulous one it is too!! The sun is shining - and I have lots to do today!! The garden is calling to me - there's still so much tidying up to do. I managed to finish weeding the veg patch yesterday, but there's a pile of top soil that needs spreading over some of it. And the leeks need planting out. And the border's at that point where some stuff has gone over and really needs sorting out. A gardener's job is never done!!

But It's going to have to wait as I have commissions to do!! I will, however, pop out at some point to pick some strawberries and raspberries. Have had a little bowlful every day for a while now - I just love growing my own stuff - stepping out the back door and picking fruit,  collecting a few salad leaves for lunch, or digging a few spuds and veggies for dinner!! Perfect!! 

Today's post is a card I made a while ago at a workshop with Dee Paramour, and never got round to blogging - and because of that I have forgotten the details of some of the items used - but never mind - you'll get the idea.

We started by embossing a piece of white card - I think I used the Sea Grass folder - and then used the direct to paper method to ink over the embossing. I used Mustard Seed (or it could have been Wild Honey). 

The flowers were also cut from white card - with Sue Wilson's Finishing Touches Classic Rose die - and inked with Shaded Lilac and Mustard Seed (?) The 'backing' flowers were cut from black card. The leaves are from the same set - inked with Bundled Sage.

For the sentiment banner, we squished the ink pads directly onto a craft mat, spritzed with water, and then smooshed (technical term !!) a piece of card in the ink!!  Having dried it with a heat gun, I then stamped a sentiment, and cut it to shape. It was fixed to the card with a little bend in it to give dimension. The finishing touch is a bow made from black seam binding. 

So, off to do busy things!! Hope you all have a great day!!

Cxxx

CCM&M #118 - Wooden It Be Loverly!!!

Good afternoon!! And what a gloriously sunny day it's been so far!! Hope you are all having a good one! I, for one, am feeling totally energised and will shortly be heading back out into the garden to do some more weeding - and of course soak up the sun!! 

But before I do, it's challenge time again over at Crafty Cardmakers and More. Suze is hosting this time around, and she would love to see something wood related on your project. The use of paper (obviously from trees!) is not enough - so a wooden embellishment, wood effect embossing, images of trees, a wooden fence etc. Your project could even be made of wood - box, frame etc

Our sponsors this time around are Crafty Sentiments Designs who are offering 3 digi images of the winner's choice. 

For my wood theme, I have used a image from our sponsors called 'Bird House', and coloured it with Spectrum Noirs: Bird Box - FS1, FS2, TN2, TN4; Flowers - PL2, PL3; Leaves - GT3, JG4; Bird - LY1, LY2, LY3.  I cut it out with a Spellbinders Oval, and matted this onto a green scalloped oval.

The purple background is cut and embossed using Crafter's Companion Enchanted Create-a-Card Die. I inked round the edges and over the embossing with Seedless Preserves DI. Around this I wrapped green satin, pale purple and dark purple ribbons. Behind the die cut, I placed more green, and then used glitter glue to highlight the flowers. 

On the base of the easel, I used more purple, embossed with Crafter's Companion Embossalicious 6x6 Floral Frenzy folder. On top of the green strip, I used the oval cut from the Create-a-Card, embossed it with Embossalicious A4 Dottie folder - and inked over with Seedless Preserves DI. 

To continue the wooden theme, three wooden buttons were used as the stopper, with two smaller ones on the ribbon. Little pearls on top finished off the embellishments.

Make sure you check out the rest of the Design Team inspiration over on the Crafty Cardmakers and More blog. There's some fab work there. 

I would like to enter this into:

Creative Knockouts: Embossing (with the Create-a-card die, and the embossing folders)
Red Rubber Inspirationals - Embossing 

Back soon,

Cxxxx

A busy day.

It was a really warm morning this morning - but a great turn out as ever for Race For Life. I struggled a little this year - and not just with the heat. I have been doing Race for Life for many years. I started walking with friends. Then jogged with a friend. Then jogged on and off on my own for a few years. Then two years ago, my eldest niece joined me. And last year, both my nieces and my sister were with me. This year I was back on my own due to other commitments that they had. And in among that huge group of women who had all turned out for the same good cause as me, I felt really lonely. It was really strange. At the mile mark, I was almost in tears - so many groups of people all encouraging each other - and I was on my own. It took another half a mile to snap out of it - and remember the reason why I (and everyone else) was there!! A big thanks to all who sponsored me for such a worthy cause.

After a quick snooze (whilst I was supposed to be watching the Grand Prix) I then spent a few hours tidying up the veg patch. Has been somewhat neglected - so is still only partially done!!

Onto today's card, which is another I made for my friend's twin sister. This one was for my friend's twins to give their auntie. 

T

The twins are almost three - and when asked what they would like on their card for Auntie Angie, one of them said 'sprinkles'. So I decided that we would go with a cupcake with sprinkles on. I used a free digi from Bird's Cards and paper pieced the icing with Papermania Ivory Creative Tones paper (this has been in my stash for a long time!!). 

The cupcake holder was coloured with Spectrum Noir pens - GB8 & 9, FS2, TN1, GB1, EB6 &8. I then used Glossy Accents to make it shiny. 

The card itself is made from a large sheet of Dark Chocolate Centura Pearl. I used more of the Papermania paper and Centura Pearl, along with some gold pearl card from my stash, to create the layers. These were cut with Spellbinders dies - circles, scalloped circles and Grand Decorative Circles. The hearts were cut with X Cut nesting dies, and the numbers with an old X Cut set. For the banner and name, I used my Craft Robo - with the Silhouette software.

i finished off with a piece of ribbon and a few beads for those all important sprinkles. And of course there had to be a matching box!!

I would like to enter this into:
Brown Sugar Challenges - Dots and/or Stripes (stripes on the cupcake case)

Crafts 4 Eternity - Food

Back soon,

Cxxx

... and the world's alright with me!!

Today I spent the day at Pickwell Farm on a workshop with the lovely Hels Sheridan. Driving back home afterwards, I realised that it's been quite a while since I've had a few days to do things just for myself - no school work, no DT work, no commissions, no birthdays to make stuff for. But it's kind of happened just by chance this weekend. Yesterday I had a fab day with SUP and gardening and a little sewing. And today I had all day just crafting for myself - not because I had commissions or projects to work on - but just for me!! And tomorrow I have Race for Life - and then maybe more gardening!! So - right now - the world's alright with me!! 

Anyway - here is what we were working on today. 

We started by painting the three panels (Tando Creatives Wall Art) with Docrafts Artiste paints. I used Conifer Green, Lagoon and Sea Spray. We then used paint through stencils - this one is Crafter's Workshop TCW359 - Microbial. A little flourish stamp with more paint completed the background.

This particular wall art comes with the pieces for the tree - so the next job was to paint those too. This time I used Mocha and Chocolate Brown for the tree, the same three colours as above for the flowers, and a combination of Sea Spray, Mocha and Burnt Umber for the butterflies. I did a little stamping onto the tree branches (sorry don't know what the stamp was) with the Burnt Umber to add some texture, and added a little Treasure Gold in Onyxite along the edges. I used a little more on the lighter coloured flowers.

We used a little greyboard to make the hinges - I painted mine to match the wall art, and then affixed the trees, flowers and butterflies. This allows the piece to bend slightly so that it will stand up - rather than hanging on a wall. 

There are a couple of mistakes - the panels are a bit too far apart, and the tree should sit at the bottom of the panel - but I am rather pleased with the result - and it already has a place in the living room!! A good day's work!!

Take care,

Cxxxx

What a totally chilled day!!!

I have had a really lovely day today. It started this morning with a great Wake Up Work Out paddleboarding session out in the harbour - with the sun shining down. Whilst I can usually stay upright when padding, I do struggle when we do the balancing excercises - especially turning round on the board. But today, I was much better and was able to turn 360 degrees without wobbling and falling off today!! Must be improving!! I then spent some time in the sun, tidying up my garden. And finished off with a great dinner of fresh mackerel caught by my OH. Just wonderful!!! 

Today's post is a card I made for a friend to give to her twin sister for her 40th birthday. she wanted bright colours - and a cocktail glass. So, I used Whimsie Doodles 'Margarita' digi stamp from the Summer Fun collection. 

I coloured the image with my Spectrum Noirs:

           Lime - LG5, JG1, JG5            Cherry - BP1, BP6, PP6          Cocktail Stick - BT4 

           Cocktail - HB3, LV2, LV3        Shading - IG1, IG2

The base card was made from Centura Pearl Snow White and it was then a case of matting and layering.The fuchsia card is also Centura Pearl, while the blue and green are Bazzill. The design papers are all from my stash. I think the green and purple are Papermania, the turquoise is from DCWV Luxury Card stack, and I have no idea about the pink. 

The two borders are cut from Centura Pearl with Spellbinders Classic Scallop Edgeability, and one of the inserts. I wrapped turquoise organza ribbon around them both. The numbers and letters are cut with Crafter's Companion 1" number and alphabet die sets. To finish off I added a little glitter glue to the top of the glass, some purple ric rac and a couple of sparklers (from The Works).

As ever, there is a matching box - using more of the card and papers. 

I would like to enter this into:
Charisma Cardz - Sparkle and Shine (glitter glue on glass - and sparklers)

Cuttin and Stampin - Birthdays

Am off to a workshop with the fabulous Hels Sheridan - so hopefully will have something to share from that in the next few days. 

Cxxx

Wedding Day!!

Today's post is a wedding card commissioned by a friend for her daughter's big day. It's based on a design I made for a previous commission - but in a completely different colour way. 

It's an 8x8 card made from a large sheet of Snow White Centura Pearl. The textured cream card is from my local market, and the pink paper and blue card used for layering is from my stash. i also used more of the Centura Pearl card.

To create the pink heart image, and the Congratulations sentiments, I mixed Dreamweaver Pearlescent paste with acrylic paints. Can't remember exactly what combination, as it was a bit of a trial and error to get the colour I needed. Quick tip - mix the paint first then add small amounts to the paste. The pearlescence does alter the colour - so it really is a case of playing around. And you don't want to add too much paint as the paste then becomes too runny. The stencils I used were both Dreamweaver - Rose Heart and Congratulations.

I used a combination of Spellbinders Circle, Scalloped Circle, Splendid Circle and Grand Decorative Circle dies to cut and mount the heart. For the sentiment I used my X Cut corner rounder, and a Long Scalloped Rectangle die.

Cream satin ribbon, a few pearls, and some decorative strands from the Wedding section of my local craft shop were used to finish off the card.

I decorated the top of the box lid in the same way as the card. For the inside of the lid and base I used more of the cream textured card, and a Centura Pearl Grand Decorative Circle embossed with Creative Expressions Cascading Hearts folder. The paper hearts are cut with X Cut Heart and Scalloped Heart dies, and the little pearl hearts are from my stash.

Here are the box and card together! I was pretty pleased with the result. 

I would like to enter this into:
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Wedding
Tuesday Throwdown - Celebrations (Wedding)
Dies R Us - Weddings

Take Care,
Cxxxx

Football!!

Finally got round to blogging the Father's Day card I made for my Dad. He loves football - and with the World Cup on at the moment, thought it would be a good theme for his card.

I used a topper from an old Kanban kit. I love the neutral tones of the image, and decided to keep it simple with browns and creams. The A5 card is made from brown card from my stash, topped with a lightweight cream textured card. The grey/brown card is a scrap I had left over from some pieces I printed from Craft Artist - can't remember the name of the digi kit - but it's one of the free ones. 

I embossed more brown with Embossalicious Dottie folder, and finished the lot of with some ribbon tied into a knot. 

A quick - but heartfelt - welcome to my new followers - both here on the blog and via Pinterest. It's great to have you here.

I'd like to enter this into:
Try It on Tuesdays - One for the Boys

Back soon.

Cxxx

Camden Town Birthday!!

Just a quick post today. This was the card I made for my Stepson's birthday. I used Crafter's Companion's Camden Town Male CD for this. The main image is from the Fabric Companions, with the 'Son' sentiment from the Sentiments section.

The smaller image at the bottom comes from the Topper Companion sheet. Both of the images, and the paper were printed on Neenah Desert Storm card. The blue strip is from my stash, embossed with the 8x8 Knit One Pearl One Embossalicious folder. The base card is CC black, and I used more of the black to edge each piece. I finished off with some fabric covered buttons.

I would like to enter this into:

Catered Crop - Manly Men

Cupcake Inspirations - For the Boys (using the brown/blue colours of the icing on the cupcakes).

Be back soon. 

Cxxxx

For a friend!

Every year I make my some of my closest friends a matching gift set for their birthday. This is one of the one's from this year - a mug mat, a framed picture and a card.

The image is from a lovely little shop I found on Etsy called Graphicals.They have loads of gorgeous vintage images, which can be used in items you sell as well as for personal use. 

For the mug mat, I printed the image onto printable cotton. It's the first time I have tried this - and I really love the effect. It looks totally different to using an iron on transfer - and goes through the sewing machine with no issue. All the other fabrics are from my stash - and I edged it all with bias binding.

I used the same image in a shop bought frame - with a quote I found on the Internet.

And the card is 6x6 with a combination of coloured card from my stash, and papers from Craftwork cards Vintage Flora paper postcards set. 

I would like to enter this into

Craft for the Craic - Something Summery or Floral. 

Be back soon.

Cxxx

The Anonymity of the Internet!!

A strange title today - and you may wonder where I am going with it. Well - I will get to it a little later after I have shared today's card.

I made this for a friend's 50th birthday. She is a runner (that's how we met) hence the theme for the card. 

The runner is a cutting file from Beanpole Books. It comes as part of a sports themed set. I dusted off my Craft Robo to cut it out - and did the name and numbers at the same time. The purple background paper that I edged with Spellbinders Triple Scallop Edgeability and Insert, is from a lovely little site with some great free vintage stuff.  The green flowery paper is Papermania. 

The matching box had lots of photos inside from all her running exploits - both local - and in the recent Paris Marathon. Hence the map of Paris and of Cerne Abbas (English Heritage) on the front.The usual ribbon and pearls finish it all off.

So - to today's strange title. Whilst I was waiting to meet a friend for lunch, I noticed a card in a shop window. It said "On the Internet you can be anything you want. It's a shame so many people choose to be stupid". The word stupid could be replaced by insensitive, unfeeling or tactless. Or indeed a myriad of other similar or stronger words. The anonymity provided by the Internet enables people to say things without taking responsibility for what effect those words will have. And indeed some hide behind it simply so they can say things that they know will have a negative affect on someone.

In my last post I mentioned that I love reading all of your comments. And that is true - I absolutely do. People take time out of their busy lives to pop over to my blog and sometimes leave me a comment. I am most grateful for that. As a blogger it's difficult to know what the reaction to your blog is without feedback.

But I have recently had some interesting critique of my projects via anonymous comments. I always moderate the comments, and have not published them. Not because I will only publish positive comments - but because the person/people have left these comments anonymously. I have also not published a recent positive comment for the same reason. 

Everyone has the right to an opinion. There's a lot of stuff out there that I don't like or isn't to my taste. The difference is I tend to just not comment - I don't feel that I need to be negative to anyone. And if for some unknown reason I did, then I would do so without standing behind the screen of anonymity that the Internet so conveniently provides. People think that they can hide who they are and then feel free to say what they like. If you want to say things to others about their work, then you should give them the means to respond directly to you. 

So, because I will not respond to such comments left anonymously, I have decided to turn that facility off on my blog. This may prevent some people being able to comment due to the other restrictions that this brings, but if that's the case then please feel free to follow the blog through my Facebook page and leave your comments there.

Maybe me writing this has given those people the response from me that they thought they were looking for. If that's the case - then so be it. It will not, however, stop me from crafting or blogging about my crafting.

Well, that just about finishes me off for today. Looking forward to a meal out tonight with family.

Cxxx

Another busy week!!

I always think I'm about to have a lull where I can kick back and relax - but it never seems to happen. Mostly, I think, because when there is a gap, I fill it by getting ahead on things on my crafting list in preparation for the next big thing that will land in my lap.

This week is no different!! But having spent the day dressed as a pirate on a school trip with twenty eight 6 and 7 year olds, I'm having a little rest while dinner's in the oven - and decided to blog. This is from a while ago when I went on a workshop with Julie Hickey.  

It's a little A6 card made using the Botanica papers and bows. The papers are so gorgeous that it needs very little else other than a  few 3D butterflies, the strip of Kraft card and the bow and sentiment.

There's not really a lot else to say about it - so I won't. What I will say, is that it is great to welcome all the new followers. I have had a quick look and I have 56 followers on Google, 17 on Bloglovin, 38 on my FB page, and 12 on Pinterest. A grand total of 123 (if my maths is correct). Compared to some blogs that's peanuts - but for me it's a great feeling to know that people out there are interested enough in what I am doing to follow me. So a huge thanks to you all.

I would love for you to leave me a comment if you have the time, as I love reading them all. 

Back soon,

Cxxx

Crafter's Companion Challenge - Tag, Bag or Box!!

This month's challenge over at Crafter's Companion is 'Tag, Bag or Box'. Quite a scope there for your imagination. I have made a tag in a tag!! 

I started by printing out the Tag template from the Scruffy Little Cat CD onto Kraft card. The great topper with the boots is from the Embellishments section of the CD, printed onto Neenah Solar White card.

The papers and flowers are all from the Nature section of the Embossalicious Resource CD, as is the little pocket for the smaller tag. The orange and blue papers were printed onto Silk Finish Paper, and the pink onto Centura Pearl Hint of Gold. The spiral flowers were also printed onto Centura Pearl, and then put back through the printer to print the blue paper on the back. 

I used the 8x8 Rose Vine embossing folder to add some texture, and the sentiments are from Die'sire Sentimental Stamps - Memories are Made - stamped with Wild Honey and Victorian Velvet DI's.

To finish off, I inked the edges with Faded Jeans, Victorian Velvet and Wild Honey DI's, added some metal leaves and a butterfly from my stash, along with some ribbon and twine.

Click here to follow the link to add your entry into this month's challenge. We are all looking forward to seeing what you come up with!!

Cxxx

Where did that week go?

Can't believe where the time has gone - a whole week without blogging!! The time just got away from me. We had a BBQ for my OH's birthday last Sunday, then it was back to work, and catching up with my crafting list of jobs. 

Then yesterday, I started a new SUP class. On Thursday's it's ladies night when we all go out for a paddle and a bit of a natter. Well, Friday mornings is now Wake Up Work Out!! This means a bit of paddling, then a workout ON the paddleboards - think squats and planks and you'd be in the right ball park. Needless to say I got a bit wet from falling in at first - and now I hurt!! A lot!! We then headed over to Tauton to watch the T20 cricket - another of my OH's birthday pressies!! 

This morning has seen me run one of the slowest 5k's in a looooonnnggg time - due to the inability to move my arms and legs properly after Friday's workout!!

We're off out in a mo for the last of my OH's birthday treats - this one's a surprise - so will hopefully tell you about it in my next blog.

Anyway - this is a card I made using the freebie from the Crafter's Inspiration (4) Magazine. The topper and the peachy paper are from the pack. The pink card is C&C's textured effect card, and the green leafy one is from my local market. Everything is mounted onto some green Bazzill.

It's on a 6x6 card - finished with ribbon and pearls from my stash!!

Now - off to get ready to go out again!!
Cxxx