Back from my little holiday!!

Haven't blogged for a few days as have been away. It was my OH's 50th birthday on Friday and I booked a short break for us on Exmoor - a place he really loves. On one of the days he took the boat over to Lundy Island to spend the day wandering round with his camera photographing all manner of wildlife. He was last there on his 16th birthday!! 

Here is the card I made for him. I have to admit that it was very last minute due to all the other things that have been going on. I was a little stumped as to what to make this year. I wanted something wildlife related and had settled on butterflies - but didn't know exactly what. I went shopping with a friend, and we went into Paperchase. And I saw this gorgeous piece of wrapping paper. It was perfect - butterflies but in a grungy/vintage sort of style. 

The base of the card is made from a large sheet of Mink Centura Pearl, and I layered a piece of the wrapping paper onto some brown and beige Bazzill card. Another strip of the Centura Pearl was embossed with my X Cut A4 Butterfly Pattern folder, and mounted onto more of the brown card. The rosette is made from concertina folding two strips of the wrapping paper, and gluing onto card. The letters and numbers are cut with my Die'sire 1" dies, and I finished it off with a button and metal butterfly from my stash.

The matching box was made from more of the Centura Pearl and decorated in exactly the same way.

On the inside of the box, I added loads of photos of him!!! Luckily he liked it - even though I felt I hadn't put a lot of work into it. It was also admired by the landlady of the B&B in which we were staying!!

Well, I have the rest of the Davis clan and a few of Steve's friends arriving tomorrow for more celebrations - and I feel like I am nowhere near ready!! So much to do, so much I have forgotten to do (and probably buy), and so little time to do it!! 

I would like to enter this into:

Allsorts Challenge Blog - For the Guys

Simple Create Too - For A Male

Hopefully will be back with another post on Monday!!

Cxxx

CCM&M Challenge #117 - Flourishing!!

Well, after the whirlwind of blogs from last week, I have something quite different today. And what's more - it's my 200th blog post!! So, it's the start of a new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and More. Elaine has chosen 'Flourishing' for our theme this time, and she would like to see flourishes somewhere on your project - they may be stamped, die cut or both!!

We are sponsored this time by The Stamping Boutique who are offering the winner 3 digis of their choice. And if they have used a Stamping Boutique image then it will be 4 digis!!

For my 6x6 twisted easel card, I have chosen to use 'Whimsical Bird' from our sponsors as I felt that it really fitted with the flourish theme. I have been working with the beautiful pastels of Halcyon days for a few weeks - and decided to go for something totally opposite. So I chose teal, fuschia and a greeny/yellow - quite an 'in your face' combination!! 

I used Spectrum Noirs to colour in (BT6, BT4, BT3, BP7, PP1, LY3, LY2, LY1), and then found some matching card in my stash to mat and layer. I used Spellbinders Grand Labels 1 to cut the image and some of the mats, and embossed the pink layers with Embossalicious 8x8 Regency Swirls Folder. A bit of Peacock Feathers DI was applied while the image was still in the die.

I cut my flourishes with Spellbinders Floral Flourish and Flourish Accent dies, and used them liberally!! Some pearls provided the finishing touch!! All in all, a really in your face, over the top design!!  Such fun!!!!

Pop on over the Crafty Cardmakers and More blog to check out more inspiration from the Design Team - and then get working on your Flourishing project!! I look forward to seeing what you create!!

I would like to enter this into 

Dream Valley Challenges - Things with Wings

Cxxx

It's a sell out!!

I haven't watched TV all day - so have just sat down to catch up on the Crafter's Companion shows! And what do I find - it's sold out!! Wow - so great to have been involved in something so popular!! It was good to see my memory book and box on the 11am show - trust Mr May to find the sweets and distribute them to the crew!! I noticed it was back in the box for the last show!!

So, here are the last two samples to share with you. This 6x6 card was sat on the table with the display of the card kit for the first few shows - next to the Halcyon Days CD. 

This used one of the toppers and the matching card stock - embellished with ribbon and fabric flowers!!

And this last one is a DL card made from the printed card stock. The background is meant to look like an old fashioned film strip - and I used some crochet ribbon down the side and along the bottom.

Well - what a week!! Hope all of you who wanted the Weekender managed to get hold of it - you'll definitely enjoy working with it when it arrives. 

Will be back tomorrow with other things. 

Cxxx

Good morning - another Halcyon Day!!

It's Sunday morning, and after a lovely breakfast in bed, I am all set for a lovely day. The sun is shining - and Halcyon Days is back on Create and Craft at 11am with Dawn Wheeler. This card was shown yesterday by Sara, so thought I ought to share it with you. I have to be honest and admit that I did not originally intend to make an offset gatefold. I wasn't concentrating properly and made my first score line on on my Ultimate at the Tri fold line instead of the Gatefold line. Rather than wasting the card, I decided to go with it.

I love the rich colours of this topper from the card kit. I used the matching cardstock to cover the front and inside of the card. I used the border strips on the inside along with some coloured card embossed with the Gothic Script folder.

With the topper itself, I split up the image from the two frames, added some coloured card behind each frame, and offset them. I finished off with some ribbon, pearls and paper flowers. 

Be sure to tune in to Create and Craft at 11am to see Dawn - remember that this card kit is exclusive to Create and Craft so be sure to get yours.

I have two more samples to blog - so will be back later on to share some more.

And thanks to my new follower on Pinterest. I'm still getting used to it - so it's great to see people beginning to be interested.

Cxxxx

What a great day!!

It's only the second time my samples have been shown on TV - so it's still quite exciting and novel for me!! And today it was also a little nerve wracking as it was our lovely boss Sara Davies launching the CD and showing the samples. 

So, I have watched all four hours of shows from today and was really chuffed when one of the first cards she held up was my 8x8 4 Step card. The Tri-Fold Shutter Card, my 'Sweet' Box and Memory book all feature on the VT they showed - although I have yet to see them 'in the flesh' so to speak. In the second hour the A5 card was shown and there was a shot of the small canvas that I am going to show you in a mo. I noticed the larger canvas was hanging on the back wall too. In the third hour my little camper van box and frame card were shown, and both my twisted easel and offset gatefold cards appeared in the 4th hour. 

I'm sure the novelty will wear off - but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Anyway - here is the third sample for today - the little frame card on canvas.

I started with a 5x7 canvas, painted it with Pebeo White paint - then dabbed over the top with Antique White on cotton wool. I used some Core'dinations card embossed with A4 Gothic Script to create the strip at the side, and the mats behind the frame and sentiments. I cut a white border from Neenah card using Lace Border 1 die, and a small Cameo frame for the sentiment. I used one of the mini toppers as an extra embellishment - having cut off the gold foil border.

The shells are real - and I used my hot glue gun to fix them on. I finished with a little ribbon around the border, and for hanging it up.

I will be back tomorrow with the final three samples!! Don't forget to join Dawn on Create and Craft!!

Cxxx

Are you enjoying the Halcyon Days shows?

Back again. Hope you've been enjoying the shows so far. Here's another card made using the card kit. This is one of the toppers which came with matching printed cardstock. I used the card to cover the front of an A5 card, and cut the bunting from the other half to layer up at the top. I cut the bottom with my Die'sire Lace Border 4 die to give a decorative edge.

The flowers are from my stash, and I cut the leaves using the Leaves 2 die. These were sprayed with Pearl Diamond Spray and Sparkle.  

Make sure you keep watching the rest of the shows. 

Cxxx

It's today!! Halcyon Days launches on Create & Craft TV!!

Good morning!! Today's the day for the launch of Crafter's Companion Halcyon Days. And this morning I am sharing another of the cards made using the Card Kit. 

I have used another of the Diarama cards - this time on a twisted easel. The base of the easel is made from a piece of A4 card that I cut down. I used a combination of Core'dinations card and printed card from the kit for matting and layering. I cut the decorative square using the Elegance Stamping Frame. For the stopper, I used a wooden button - and added a few more for embellishing!!

I embossed some of the Core'dinations with the Knit One Pearl One embossing folder, and added a little bow made from twine. 

Don't forget to tune in to Create and Craft at 9am to see the launch of the show with Sara Davis. And I will be back later in the day with more samples!! 

Cxxxx