little princess cards

Regaining my muchness...

2012-01-21T02:41:00.000-08:00

...yep my muchness has returned thankfully and I was up early this morning to check out the challenge for this week over at Less Is More which is called "Cut It Out", or in other words to create an aperture card.

I love love aperture cards so this was no hardship for me and decided to create a Valentine card.

I used a square Nestie to create the aperture and masked off the inside to ink up the centre with Tim Holtz distress Ink in Tea Die.

The beautiful frame stamp is by Technique Tuesday which I bought many years ago called "Postcards from Paris".

Finally I punched out the little hearts using my new SU heart punch. The "love you forever" sentiment is from Papertrey's Little Labels stamp set and I have selectively inked up the word Valentine from an old Hero Arts stamp.

Well the sun has just popped it's head out so I will be off for a brisk walk on the sea front today to blow away the cobwebs, but hopefully will be back in the craft room again soon. Thank you for stopping by!

Runway inspired...

2012-01-07T02:24:00.000-08:00

I recently stumbled across a fab challenge blog called "Runway Inspired challenge" and decided to join in this week.

I love the photo inspiration for the current challenge, but admit I did struggle at first. Although I use black a lot in my crafting, probably too much if the truth be known, I don't think I've ever made a completely monochrome black and white card.

Although my creation is so simple it took me best part of 2 hours to decide how to place 6 strips of black card to best effect. This is what I came up with...

I do love bold graphic designs but admit that I am not an expert. I've kept the design very simple and tried to emulate the stripes going off in different directions as they are in the photo and placed the sentiments at an angle to emphasise this as well.

A stripey bow and a gorgeous Tim Holtz antique button tops it all off.

Well, I hope to back again very soon, thank you for stopping by!

Happy New Year!!

2012-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are now in 2012...where did last year go? I hope you all had a good Christmas and haven't got too much of a hangover this morning. If you have, or even if you haven't, get a cuppa, put your feet up and relax coz I've got a mega long post for you today!

Since changing jobs just over a couple of years ago and returning to full time work, my spare time has diminished considerably. So it has been lovely in between all the festivities to have a bit of me time. I've been working on this l'il project over the last week, popping into the craft room at every opportunity.

I feel the lack of crafty time has sapped my creative energy recently and I feel I have got a bit stuck in a rut, especially with colour. So what better way to kick start my mojo with a photo that has inspired this collection.

Isn't this a fab colour combination? I don't think I've ever put pink, yellow and black together. I love it.

photo credit

First up is a photo of a few of my creations...

I've used a B Line leafy stamp that I've had for ages to stamp the background. The ribbon is by Papertrey called Lavender Moon...a lovely pinky lilac. I've coupled with some mustard coloured ribbon from my stash.

The sentiment is also by Papertrey as is the die cut "you". A little punched heart highlights one of the words to add a bit of extra interest. The heart punch was part of a whole load of SU stash that I received from mum as a Christmas pressie! Thanks mum.

Next up is a lovely little gift envelope made using a free downloadable template which you can find here. I've resized it in Paint Shop Pro to measure approx 10cm x 11cm, but of course can be resized to suit.

This time I've added some leaves using my new Sizzlets Little Leaves die and the tag is from Papertrey's Tiny Tag set. The little glass bowl is from a charity shop.

Just for fun I decorated a tin using another Papertey Tiny Tag.

I started to carried away and looked around the house to see what else I could adorn and found this bottle from Lakeland. I may use it just to put flowers in but it does come with a cork so it could easily used to put something lovely in like bubble bath etc.

The next photo shows my lovely little mini cake stand with a dome lid from The Range. Isn't it just adorable?

I've simply attached some ribbon and a sentiment by SU called You're Sweet.

The doily was die cut by hand using a Cheery Lynn doily die called "English Tea Party". Measuring 5" x 5" it fits perfectly inside my cake stand. It did take a few goes to get it to die cut cleanly as it so intricate.

I was wondering what to put in it so I handmade some chocolate bark with glace cherries and walnuts. Very simple to make...just melt dark and white chocolate, swirl the light and dark chocolate together to create the bark effect and add the topping before it cools.

Perfect to put in my cake dome.

I had enough leaft over to store in a another jar, this one is by Laura Ashley.

I created the tag using a Waltzingmouse sentiment.

Phew, well done if you got to the bottom of this post. It may be a long time before I can create a collection like this again, but I hope you have enjoyed it. Thank you for stopping by!

Just One Word...

2011-12-24T01:13:00.000-08:00

I have a million and one things I should be doing right now, not least because I haven't wrapped a single present and I'm off out at lunchtime. But I just about found time to whip up a quick card for the challenge over at Less Is More this week called "Just One Word".

I've used Tim Holtz trees...OK I've stamped them in pink, artistic licence and all that but it was one last opportunity to use my pink artichoke as a prop lol.

A single tree stamped in black for a bit of contrast and then a sentiment that says it all. I have never identified the maker of this set of stamps, I believe it was Delish but I have not been able to confirm it, but they are years old now anyway. Still some of my best ever Christmas sentiments though.

Well, I am going to dash now to make a start and try and get into the festive mood. I've put Mr Michale Buble on, and am off to have a soak in the tub before having a little tipple!

Thank you to all of you who have visited my blog this year, left lovely messages and regularly follow me. I still find it humbling that here I am in my little corner of cyber space doing what I love best and you all come and see me!

Have a fantastic Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

I look forward to getting back in my craft room after Christmas (or sooner if I have my way!).

Holly Jolly Christmas...

2011-12-18T01:37:00.000-08:00

Two creations for you today as I missed posting last week.The first is a card for the challenge over at Less Is More which this week is "Music". I went for a musical sentiment which I've taken from the fab new Michael Buble Christmas album I downloaded a couple of weeks ago and haven't stopped playing since I bought it. The song I have chosen is Holly Jolly Christmas.

The style of this card is similar to one I did a few weeks ago using another Penny Black stamp. This one is called "Winter Bough".

Simply stamped in black ink onto Papertrey's Soft Stone cardstock and added a few lilac pearl adhesive stones for a splash of colour. Then just added a piece of SU's black striped grosgrain ribbon and the Holly Jolly sentiment also by Papertrey from the Holiday Lights stamp set.

Onto my second creation taking inspiration from a very spikey branch from my back garden...

...and this was the result. Very simple hand drawn branches with a few lilac berries and a computer generated sentiment.

I hope you like. As ever thank you for stopping by my l'il old blog!

Holly swirls...

2011-12-04T02:56:00.000-08:00

I was just about to put away the Penny Black holly stamp I used in my post last week but something stopped me. I've used this stamp so many times in my crafting but felt it had even more to offer so I decided to see what else I could come up with.

And this is it...

I've used silk coated cardstock and stamped the holly in Versamark. I used the resist technique by brayering Adirondack ink over the top to create my first layer. Hopefully you can see the white bits of the holly showing through where the Versamark has resisted the ink.

Then I just stamped the holly again in the same colour, this one is in "Wild Plum", around the edges of the card. I also stamped off on to a sheet off paper to reduce the amount of ink on the stamp to create a shadow effect.

This one is stamped in "Bottle", a beautiful shade of blue.

And finally one more shot of all 3 colourways. The other colour I used was "Oregano", a much more muted colour but I love it. All the sentiments are by Papertrey.

I love the "movement" of this stamp and I am pleased with how the layers of stamping have created quite a lot of depth to what is a one layer card.

Well, I hope you like them and thank you again for stopping by!

May Your Days Be Merry...

2011-12-03T03:10:00.000-08:00

Is it really Saturday again? Another hectic week has flown by for me so it is lovely to unwind with a bit of crafting this morning.

I love starting my Saturdays by visiting Less Is More to see what the challenge is. I was over the moon when I saw this weeks' challenge which is to use green. I have always used green a lot in my crafting and love all shades of green.

For this card I've gone all subtle. I've simply daubed some Distress Inks in Peeled Paint and Pine Needles to created a smudgy background. I then stamped this lovely Penny Black "Winter Bough" stamp in Peeled Paint over the top.

The die cut "Merry" is from Papertrey, which I've layered up in dark green and white to create a shadow effect.

A few gems for the berries finish it all off.

Well, I'm going to spend the rest of today chilling out, thank you for stopping by!

Introducing Bianca Snowflake...

2011-11-27T03:37:00.000-08:00

Managed to squeeze in a second post today just to show you this lovely snowflake die from Memory Box. This is one stunning snowflake.

The bling purple charger plate is from The Range. I made a very simple cracker to co-ordinate and layered up 2 snowflakes. Tricky to layer as it is so delicate so I just used tiny tiny pieces of foam tape. I've also just simply stamped a sentiment onto a piece of card which I think would be lovely for guests.

I bought a 40p glass from Morrisons and stamped a sentiment in white Stazon on to the glass. This did take a few attempts to get right. I wasted one glass but at 40p it didn't really matter too much.

I love this die and am sure I will use it over Christmas for decorating the dinner table.

I feel my crafting going in a new direction, moving much more into home decor. I will always do card making but don't be surprised if more posts like this pop up on my blog!

Right, I really do have to go now, see you soon!

Poinsettia card...

2011-11-27T02:13:00.000-08:00

A very quick post before the Sunday mad rush. It should be a day of rest but it never is for me as I cram in a million and one jobs before I go back to work tomorrow.

This is a very quick card made using PTI's Poinsettia Year of Flowers stamp set. I've stamped and embossed the poinsettia in white and layered it up. I've used a dark grey cardstock and mounted it onto SU's Sahara Sand. The ribbon and poinsettia are SU's Rich Razzleberry.

The little joy ornament was from a local shop and cost just £1.99.

Hope you like, thanks for stopping by!

A bit of bling...

2011-11-26T03:33:00.000-08:00

The challenge over at Less Is More is to use bling. Well if there was ever a challenge meant for me surely, surely this is the one lol.

This is such a simple card whipped up in a flash...

This beautiful beautiful holly swirl is an old Penny Black stamp called "Winter Scroll". I absolutely love it and never tire of using it.

I've stamped the holly swirl in a sumptuous deep pink to contrast with the silver embossed Happy Holiday sentiment from Papertrey's Holiday Photo Finishers stamp set.

And of course added a bit, OK quite a bit lol, of bling. The gorgeous pink glittery artichoke is from Next.

Well I haven't even made a start on Christmas yet, I think I will do most of my shopping online this year to save time but I suspect I will do a little bit of late night shopping when the Christmas lights are on just to get into the atmosphere.

That's all for now, thanks for popping by!

Gracious vases...

2011-11-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

Hi again everyone, hope you are all well and are not suffering with any winter bugs.

Here is my card for this week's challenge over at Less Is More which is called "Silhoettes". I think this set of vases from Papertrey is perfect for this challenge.

I used a Ronna Farrer border stamp for the vases to sit on. The gorgeous purple vase is from Next and was a snip at just £5.

Finally I just added a few lilac gems for the flower centres.

Well, I'm hoping to back very soon, I already have other creations well under way!

My new colour scheme...

2011-11-13T03:31:00.000-08:00

I've been very naughty and completely changed the colour scheme of my Christmas tree this year. I've never had a white tree before but I love it and have chosen lilac, aqua and plum colours for the decorations. Probably a little bit early to put it up but I couldn't wait!

Now I'm just gonna have to decorate the rest of the lounge to match hee hee..

It's my wedding anniversary today. Not only did we get married on the 13th, it was a Friday too. DH claims it is his lucky day and I have to agree it is for me too.

I decided to make an anniversary card to co-ordinate with the Christmas tree lol. A simple strip of hearts and a lovely sentiment from Cloud 9 designs.

In fact the weather here today is exactly as it was on my wedding day, a beautiful warm sunny autumn day, I've said it before but I just love this time of year.

Well, I'm going to get ready to go out to dinner, have a great weekend.

Memory box dies...

2011-11-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll today...two posts in one day...doesn't happen very often but when I received these beautiful new dies through the post I just had to forget all the housework that needs doing today and have a play.

It didn't take me very long to sniff out these new dies from Memory box. There are quite a lot of designs and can be bought from either Joanna Sheen, Craftsulove, or Oyster stamps.

Here I've combined the Amira Flourish and the Essex label. I think they work perfectly together.

They are so delicate I thought may have problems in getting a clean die cut, but I got a perfect result with my Big Shot.

As the design of the flourish is so detailed I decided not to go for a full background. I just randomly stamped a Papertrey damask stamp several times in the centre of the card. I think an all over background would have swallowed up the lovely design of the flourish die. One of the damask designs didn't stamp very well and is more grey than black but I think this adds a bit more dimension.

I love these dies...I've now ordered the snowflake die and I've got a lot more on my wish list!

Fireworks...

2011-11-05T02:52:00.000-07:00

As it's the 5th November today I thought I would do a firework themed card for this week's challenge over at Less Is More, using red and orange.

When I designed this stamp several months ago I remember thinking it could be used as a firework stamp but never thought I would actually find a use for it this way!

I could have just added a "happy fireworks night" sentiment, but instead I've used the lyric from Katy Perry's "Firework" song!

Well I hope you like this very simple card and that you have a fab fireworks night. Stay safe!

Deck the halls...

2011-10-30T03:02:00.000-07:00

Isn't it fab having an extra hour today? Time to squeeze in a bit of extra crafting.

This is a very simple little collection using Papertrey's Holiday Lights stamp set.

The colourful string of lights are fun. I've glazed each bauble with Glossy accents to make them shine.

The cracker was a bit tricky because I've used black and white cardstock. I had to glue the black to the white card at each end which took a while.

It was worth the effort though. I think these would look great on the Christmas table with matching place settings.

One of my friends has asked me if I could make some of these cards for her, so I thought it would be nice to give them in a matching presentation box using one of Papertrey's clear boxes.

Some bright pink ribbon finishes it all off.

I hope you enjoy your extra hour today too. See you soon!

Seeing stars...

2011-10-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

I didn't think I would get any crafting done today. This morning has been a whirlwind...cleaning, cooking, getting ready for visitors later today, the list goes on, but I just about managed to whip up a super quick card for this week's challenge over at Less Is More which is called "Stars".

I've used my star nesties for the first time. I have to say I really love the look.

The swirl is by Hero Arts called Leaf Flourish. The sentiment is by Papertrey from their Star Prints stamp set. I only received this the other day so I'm delighted to have found a use so quickly for it!

Finally, a few blue star gems to finish.

Right, I really do have to dash. I am so glad for an extra hour tomorrow and trust me I will be making the most of it!

It's a wrap!

2011-10-23T02:10:00.000-07:00

I still have unused items in my stash that I bought when I first started crafting, now some 9 years ago. I have come close so many times to throwing things out only to find suddenly I have I use for them.

I created this card using a Keepsake Wrapture. It was hidden away in a box and had never seen the light of day since the day I bought it.

I was waiting for a stamp to fit it, and low & behold in amongst my stash I found this diamond Anna Griffin stamp.

And here it is...you can just make out the 2004 date on the Wrapture...this must be roughly when I bought it.

I shall be entering this card into the latest Passion For Papertrey challenge "sensational silhouettes". I've used a stamp from Papertrey's "Turning a Leaf" set and the sentiment is from the Star Prints set.

It's nice to know even after all this time I found a use for the template and it wasn't a waste of money.

Well, it was good to be able to enter 2 challenges this weekend. I had Friday off work and managed to fit in a little me time for crafting which is why I'm a bit ahead of myself. As usual though, I have to dash to fit in all the Sunday chores before work again tomorrow!

Polka dots...

2011-10-22T03:19:00.000-07:00

This was not what was lurking in the back of my creative mind when I woke up this morning. I have no idea how I arrived at the end result, it just kind of evolved as I went along.

The theme this week over at Less Is More is Polka Dots. Now I love polka dots but strangely never quite know how to use them in my card making. For this card I chose the subtle approach...just a strip of dots so that I could leave lots of white space.

Now you may remember me saying that I had ordered some new stuff from Papertrey...well I have used some it here. I have used a polka stamp and the beautiful sentiment is from the half and half stamp set.

The bracket flourish is actually by Prima. It is quite small and I think was part of a set that cost £1.99!!

I've used it to frame the sentiment...

I've used lilac ink for the polka dots and offest it with a strip of SU's Rich Razzleberry and black ribbon. The base card is Papertrey's Soft Stone, a very pale grey and my fave neutral colour cardstock. The feathers were a last minute addition...I just happened to stumble upon them rooting around for something else and thought they would be just right for this card.

That's all for now but I already have another card ready to bring you tomorrow for a different challenge! How's that for being organised...well it is for me!

See you soon!

Autumn...

2011-10-16T01:43:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. I hate this time of year.

I love the coolness of the day, the changing colours of the leaves, the autumn sunshine, the early morning mist, the build up to Christmas.

I hate the never ending virul infections that plague me this time of year. This autumn seems to be no different and I have been struggling with a nasty little bug again for the last few weeks.

I don't need much of an excuse to cheer myself up, and to help me feel a little better I ordered some new stash from Papertreyink.

It has worked and I'm feeling better already lol.

This set is called "Harvest Berries". I have created 2 contrasting cards using SU's Rich Razzleberry, and Papertry's Vintage Cream cardstock.

I cut the rectangular aperture carefully with a craft knife, cutting round some of the leaves so that it forms part of the frame.

I've also stamped the inside of the card so that the leaves can be seen through the aperture.

For the berries I've just used some black gems.

The sentiments are from Papertrey's Star Prints stamp set.

As ever, work is sapping me of my time and energy...I'm sorry that I don't get to leave you messages as often as I would like. I think inevitably I will not be able to post as often either, there just aren't enough hours in the day. I would rather post less frequently and bring you I hope some decent stuff rather than rush and be unhappy with the creations I post.

Whatever happens you can rest assured I will do my best!

A few goulish creations...

2011-10-09T01:58:00.000-07:00

I do love creating stuff for Halloween.

This fab bottle is from Hobbycraft and perfect for Halloween venom! I've used one of the fantastic Waltzingmouse sentiments for the label. The beautiful cat stamp is by Inkadinkado from a set called "Cats and Bats". Isn't it gorgeous?

I love the shape of this bottle and think it would look perfect on a Halloween party table. I've used orange food colouring but I suppose you could use orange juice, save the kids from bouncing off the walls!

Next I stamped a Halloween sentiment in black ink onto some orange twill ribbon...

...and used it to tie a bag of mini orange Oreos.

I have to say I ate most of them as I crafted hee hee...they are delish.

You may remember the purple bottle from my Halloween creations of last year. I just couldn't resist using it again for this photo shoot.

Finally one more shot of those Oreos lol...

Well, I would like to have carried on and added to this set but time ran out as usual. I hope you like anyway.

A challenge with a heart...

2011-10-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

I had every intention of getting in the craft room last weekend. I was raring to go when, here in the South, we had 30 degree heat. Sounds very nice, and it was outdoors, but my craft room was like an oven so I had to abandon the crafting idea altogether. Typically, one week later and it is cold and windy so I have been able to get back in there and get crafting again.

This is my creation for this week's challenge over at Less Is More. As I mentioned in my last post I was proud to have made the showCASe for the "Seeing Double" week.

The challenge is a make single layer card including one or more hearts with minimal embellishments. I struggled with this at first. Then I decided to go a little crazy, be a little outrageous and came up with this.

I die cut a heart template and drew round it. The rest is hand painted in watercolour in pink and lilac.

Finally for added interest I painted some black dots.

Well, I'll leave you to decide if it is a little crazy, but I actually loved doing this and may indeed re-create for my wedding anniversary coming up in November!

I hope to be back again soon. I am already working on my next project and fingers crossed I will be back tomorrow with some new creations!

New stamps by Paula Pascual...

2011-09-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

Long time no see I know, it seems like all work no play at the moment. Well, almost. I found time today to have a little play with 4 new stamp sets from Paula Pascual.

These are gorgeous contemporary Christmas designs including delicate snowflakes, Christmas tree, beautiful Christmas carol text and Christmas frame.

All 4 sets work fantasically well together, I love all of them!

Thank you Paula, they're perfect.

Before I go I would like to also thank the LIMettes over at Less Is More for ShowCASing my creations for the "Seeing Double" challenge. I am honoured! I would have submitted today's card for this week's challenge but realised I put the sentiment in the wrong place! Hay ho, there's always next time!

Bye for now!

Arachnophobes beware...

2011-09-10T06:27:00.000-07:00

...it feels like so long since my last post...things have been really hectic here depriving me of crafting time but finally I managed to get in my crafty hideaway today and come up with some Halloween creations.

It's also been a long time since I've made something other than a card. I really enjoy making other papercraft creations but get so little time just to play.

I have made the card especially for this week's challenge over at Less Is More which is one layer challenge called "Seeing Double".

2 spiders, and now I look again, 2 webs!

The glassine gift bag is by Papertrey. I've used black Stazon to carefully stamp the web on to the bag and left it to dry for approx 10 minutes. Then I just added a fun tag using a Waltzingmouse sentiment.

I started to get carried away and thought it would be great to do a Halloween cracker...I mean why not, crackers are not just for Christmas! I think these would be great for a Halloween party.

The cracker is pictured here with my new cutlery set from Next.

And finally, one more photo. The rest of the stamps I've used are by Inkadinkado.

Well I had a lot of fun with these little creations, I hope you like them too!

A little doodling...

2011-08-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Wasn't quite sure whether I would get back in my craft room this weekend as we have been out a lot. But I managed to squeeze in a bit of time today before I head off out again later on.

I simply sketched some feathers using a Faber Castell pencil onto SU's Not Quite Navy cardstock. These pencils look fantastic on dark card.

Here it is in it's infancy. Lightly sketched and the sentiment positioned and stamped so that I can build on my drawing.

I then gradually added more strokes to each feather until I was happy with the overall result.

Finally, I added the magic ingredient...Glamour Dust. It looks stunning on top of these pencils. To compliment the navy card I've used Papertrey's Antique Linen card for the background and matching ribbon.

Well I managed to get my final lie-in this morning and it was heavenly. Hope you managed to get one too!

A challenge recipe...

2011-08-27T05:44:00.000-07:00

...this week's challenge over at Less Is More really had me scratching my head. The theme is called "take 3 challenges" ie combining 3 previous challenges in one card. No pressure then lol.

So here are the 3 challenges I picked:

1. Week 6-Off the edge: Not only have I stamped my floral vine off the edge of the card, I've stamped it off the edge of my oval too-tick.

2. Week 12-Off centre: I've placed my framed sentiment off centre-tick

3. Week 25-Buttons or ribbon: Obviously here I've chosen buttons-tick!

The beautiful leafy vine is by Fiskars. I only bought this yesterday from The Range as we have just had one open nearby and very nice it is too.

I haven't been too happy with my recent creations, but I actually like this one.

Well, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the Bank Holiday, I don't care that weather isn't that great, it's an extra lie-in for me and that is all I ask for in life!

Playing with watercolour...

2011-08-21T02:04:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I head out into the sunshine, it really is glorious here today and I want to make the most of it.

This was a sketch I did earlier in the week, and instead of just drawing the image in black ink as I usually do I have watercoloured it instead.

I initially decided to use very subtle colours in pinks and blues.

Later I added deeper shades of pink for a slightly different look.

Right I'm off to slap on the factor 50 sun lotion or I will be a lovely shade of red by the end of today! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Things that move...

2011-08-20T04:37:00.000-07:00

Back in the craft room again after another hectic week at work. It still looks like an explosion has taken place from last weekend, I just haven't had time to tidy up. So it was a quick whizz round this morning before getting started on this week's Less is More challenge. I know it will end up exactly the same but I can't start off in a mess.

The challenge this week is a theme-things that move. Well, a peacock displaying it's feathers I think qualifies so this my entry.

A beautiful stamp from WPlus9...the first time I've inked it up.

I've stamped the body of the peacock in lilac and then painted the feathers in turquoise. Just a few gems and a couple of sentiments to finish off.

Well, I'm hoping my weekend doesn't whizz past as I have so much I want to do. If I can clear up the new mess in my craft room I will hopefully be back soon with another creation!

Mixing it up...

2011-08-14T03:15:00.000-07:00

I rarely revisit previous creations to see how I can adapt them as I always move on so quickly to the next idea I have in mind. But today I've taken time out to look back at a couple of my earlier cards and have just played around to get a slightly different look.

I've used the same format of sentiments as shown in my post of 07/08/11 as I think they work so well together. The bracket flourish is from Papertrey's Mat Stack 2 collection, one of my fave's, and the large main sentiment is by Hero Arts.

I cut strips of card and stuck them onto the Quickutz die cut frame, and then stamped the sentiment in black ink. I love the look of the stamped sentiment on the different coloured cardstock.

Well, the weather is beautiful here, so I'm off to sit in the garden for the rest of the day and take it easy. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Getting inky...

2011-08-13T05:50:00.000-07:00

...the challenge over at Less Is More this week is a one layer challenge using ink.

This is a technique I have used before although not that often. I have simply sponged some Adirondack ink in Butterscotch around a circle and then stamped a leafy swirl from Flourishes LLC.

It does feel like autumn is in the air, especially when I walk to work early in the morning, I just love this time of year.

Well, I hope I can squeeze in a bit more time in my craft room this weekend. Fingers crossed I will be back soon!

Finally...

2011-08-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

...just about time for one more post before the weekend is out.

This creation actually took me quite a long time to perfect. I think I must have had at least 8 attempts before I finally got the balance of my design as I wanted it.

I've used Hero Arts Delicate Leaf Clusters. When I first saw this set it didn't jump out at me, but something in me must have thought that it had potential and I'm so glad I went with my instinct.

The bracket die is one I've had for years by Quickutz. I just die cut the bracket in Papertrey's Fine Linen cardstock to provide some contrast.

The main sentiment is from Hero Arts Live Life set ,and the sentiment running up the side is from Papertrey Think Big range.

These photos were all taken on top of my newly painted cupboard as shown in my earlier post. It provides a really good backdrop for my photos and the lighting is actually much better in my lounge than my craftroom.

Right, I'm off to give everything a quick tidy up before work tomorrow, see you soon!

Kickin' off the weekend...

2011-08-06T04:22:00.000-07:00

...with a couple of, I think, quite vintage looking cards.

I've used 2 of the Hero Arts stamps as mentioned in my post of 03/07/11, which in case you missed it you can find here.

I've used Papertrey's Vintage cream cardstock. I am very fussy on cream card and for me nothing comes anywhere near this for quality.

For a bit of added interest I've stamped a frame from Papertrey's Mat Stack 5 in vanilla ink underneath the sentiment.

The other colour cardstock is Papertrey's Simply Chartreuse. I ordered a double pack-it was a gamble as I hadn't seen it in the flesh as it were but I knew this shade of green is one of my fave's and I was right to take the gamble! It is gorgeous.

The Vintage cream card makes a change for me from using plain white cardstock, and matches perfectly with SU's lovely striped black & cream ribbon.

Well, as ever, I have loads to try and cram in this weekend, I hope to be back soon.

A new design...

2011-07-31T05:15:00.000-07:00

Finally things are returning to normal for me and I have managed to get in the craft room this afternoon.

I couldn't think of what to create and was just sitting there doodling when this came together!

I had already had a card prepared with an embossed circle and just drew a few leafy vines in black ink straight onto the cardstock. The shape of the leaves were kind of inspired by the oval gems that I've had for years and never used.

I'd love to say this took hours to draw but the whole card took me about 5 minutes!

And look who is also back to normal. Honestly, the stress she has caused me in the last week was unbelievable, I really thought we might lose her at one point. But she is doing really well and getting spoiled rotten.

Well, it's been good to get creating again and I hope to back with more very soon.

Normal life will resume soon...

2011-07-31T03:29:00.000-07:00

I have spent the whole of last week desperately trying to save a cat's life. I can't believe the day after I took the photo shown in my last post Jasmine became very sick. After numerous tests it turned out she had an infection. We had to syringe feed her round the clock just to try and keep her alive. Thankfully once the vet eventually made her diagnosis Jasmine bounced back very quickly, but not after an exhausting week and scaring the living daylights out of us.

So no cardage yet, just haven't been able to fit it in, so I thought I would share these before and after photos of the unit in my lounge, painted before Jasmine became ill.

The unit is quite old and looked very tired, so I painted it in white and changed the door and drawer knobs.

And this was the result. I bought the door knobs from Bombay Duck. If you have never visited their site I highly recommend a browse, they've got lots of lovely stuff. These crystal knobs were a fraction of the price you'd pay anywhere else.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out. We very nearly just got rid of it and replaced it, so reviving it in this way has saved us a fortune and it was fun to do.

Well, as long as another crisis doesn't come along I should be back soon with another creation.

Work hard, play hard...

2011-07-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

...I'm a firm believer in this motto...I work hard during the week so on my time off I like to make the most of it and cram as much in as possible.

Despite officially being on holiday this week I got up at 6am today (I feel lying in is a waste of my precious time, although I do allow myself to lie in on a Sunday to 8am!). I could see the sun was shining so I thought I would do some crafting before heading on out for the day.

But there was a snag...Mr Mojo seemed to be off on holiday as well, and I sat there scratching my head for a long time not knowing quite what to do. I knew that I wanted to step outside my comfort zone so I decided to go for a collage, something I don't consider myself to be an expert in. This is what I came up with...

There are lots of elements here...I've used Papertrey's Polka Dots Basic 2 for the banner, re-used the brackets from my previous creation, stamped the Bella Toile on to SU's Melon Mambo cardstock and die cut the frame using a label 9 Nestie. The sentiment is my own creation.

A little bit of bling, striped ribbon, and to finish I've stamped the black flourish brackets using a stamp from Papertrey's Mat Stack 2 collection.

Over the last few days apart from crafting I have been painting...furniture that is. After painting my wardrobes recently, I got hooked and have pretty much now painted all our furniture!

Our lounge looks like a workshop at the moment, but I have say it is looking good. There is so much white it looks kind of French Country chic...there is a bit of a mish mash of styles of furniture going on but it does all seem to work together quite well.

And look who's over seeing the proceedings slouched over the chaise...honestly...she doesn't care what colour the furniture is as long as she's got somewhere to chill out!

And finally I thought I would share with you my new chair...well it's actually really old. I walked into my home town of Whitstable with DH today...something I just don't get chance to do very often. It has changed in recent years and has some really nice boutiques now and antique stuff to. OK, some of it is a bit pricey, for the tourists I suppose, but I found this French chair hiding in the corner marked up for £99. We ended up haggling and got it for £90. I don't think I would have got a chair like this for any less anywhere else. Very shabby chic.

It needs cleaning, but to be honest I can see me getting it re-upholstered, I think a really lovely striped fabric would look amazing. It would probably cost more than the chair to do but what fab statement piece.

I've had a great day. Apart from getting this fantastic bargain, we sat and ate fish & chips on the beach which was a real treat. Despite a gloomy weather forecast it has been a beautiful day and I've really enjoyed myself!

Rainy Days and Mondays...

2011-07-18T00:21:00.000-07:00

...aren't getting me down today...the weather is pretty awful so I have tucked myself away in my craft room for a couple of hours...I'm not complaining.

This card couldn't be more of a contrast to my last card in terms of colour. I've used SU's crumb cake as my base, and stamped SU's lovely Bella Toile on the central panel.

To create the brackets I've used a WPS9 designer die and trimmed it so that the edges are straight. It's great to find a different way of using a die. To finish I've used some Tim Holtz brads and thin black ribbon to tie a double bow.

Well, it is still early so I hope to fit some more crafting in today. Will be back soon!

Going dotty...

2011-07-16T22:50:00.000-07:00

After a hectic week it is good to get back in the craft room and switch off. And what better way than to join in this week's challenge over at Less Is More which is called "Circles"

I've gone for a really bright card using an old Hero Arts set of stamps called Box of Dots. It's unusual for me to use such bright colours but I was inspired by this gorgeous two tone ribbon from Craftsulove.

I've mixed up 2 sets of Papertrey sentiments, stamping one on to vellum to add a bit of interest but also sticking to the CAS look.

Well I'm hoping to get a bit more crafting done as I'm off work for a week. Trouble is I've come down with a cold, I swear these viruses know when I'm going to be off. But I won't let it stop me and intend to cram as much in as possible!

Friends...

2011-07-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

After months of flowering our roses are just coming to the end, so I thought I would cut and arrange some in a vase for this post before it was too late.

These are some of my favourite colours and were the inspiration for my latest creation.

I've used the lovely Hero Arts poly clear "Delicate Leaf Clusters".

To add a bit of interest I drew and cut round a fancy template to layer underneath the vellum. I've stamped one of the fern stamps from the set in Versafine's Spanish Moss, stamping it diagonally rather than all over, in order to leave some white space.

Then I layered another leaf in white Stazon on top of the vellum. The sentiment is also Hero Arts, from the Live Life set.

....mmm...this is beginning to be a habit now...posing for the camera again...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

My latest stamp design...

2011-07-09T02:30:00.000-07:00

...do you remember when I first had a go at creating cards with my own little designs? This was the first drawing I did way back in May 2010 (you can see my original post here).

Well, finally I had this one made into a stamp in varying sizes. It is a slightly different design to the one above, but I suppose that's the thing with original stuff, every sketch is unique.

And here it is all stamped up. I chose turqouise and green ink and randomly stamped each stem. I have to admit, I like the overall effect.

A few of the stems are quite long so I was over the moon when I found these Papermania acrylic blocks with grid lines. You see I am actually the queen of wonky stamping...don't let my final blog creations fool you...by then I have usually bodged several versions with my wonky stamping.

The grid lines made lining up the stems a doddle, and I would highly recommend these blocks.

The lovely sentiment is by Hero Arts from the "Live Life"poly clear set. I've used Versafine ink in Imperial purple.

The beautiful reversible satin ribbon is from Crafts U Love.

Again the grid blocks make it easy for lining up sentiments as well.

And finally, right in the middle of my photo shoot, Jasmine decided to muscle in...honestly any opportunity to pose...

Well, I'm glad I had this design made into a stamp. Although I have rough idea of how I want my designs to look, I never really know how they will translate as a stamp so it's always a bit of a surprise when I actually stamp the design for the first time. I'm quite pleased with this one and hope you like it too.

Guilty...

2011-07-03T03:17:00.000-07:00

I am truly ashamed of how many stamps I buy that rarely, or in some cases, never, get to see the light of day. Something new always comes along and I end up putting older stamps away and forget about them.

So it was a pleasure to stumble across some old Hero Arts stamps that I love and had been hiding away for several years in an old box. This particular one is from a set of 4 word wooden block stamps from the 2007 Hero Arts catalogue called "Fancy Script Messages". I think the text is stunning...if you want to see the set of stamps I have found a link here.

First I stamped a frame from Papertrey's Mat Stack 2 collection in peach. Then I used my Tombow pens (another under-used craft item) to colour the "G" in burgandy and the rest of the word in black.

A few gems and ribbon, and voila, job done.

I'm really happy that I managed to mix the old with the new and must make more of an effort to continue to do so.

I'm off to enjoy the gorgeous weather we have here...I can feel my craft room getting hotter by the minute, so I will probably take a cold glass of something nice into the garden and chill out for the rest of the day!

Shades of Blue...

2011-07-02T03:04:00.000-07:00

Yikes...it is really 2 weeks since my last post??

Life has been really hectic, what with work and decorating...little did I realise handpainting my wardrobes would spark a complete a makeover in my bedroom. It's great to feel well these days but that in turn creates it's own problems as I try to cram in everything I haven't been able to do for months! Still, I am happy and thankful that my health is so much improved.

This week's challenge over at Less Is More is a colour challenge...shades of blue.

I really wasn't sure what to do and sat with my head in my hands this morning staring at a blank sheet of card not knowing where to begin. I tried out various combinations for over an hour but settled on this creation in the end.

My blue colour palette was inspired by my Colourbox Queue set of inkpads of which I have several. They are really old now but I keep all my inkpads in an airtight container and always have which has really made them last.

My shades of blue include turquoise, midnight blue and navy. I've embossed a circle and then stamped my Hero Arts Thanks background stamp in turquoise.

The leafy branch is a Marianne die...I really like it but I find it quite difficult to arrange the 2 branches in a way that's pleasing to the eye. In the end I die cut one branch and then reversed the die so that the leaves were pointing in opposite directions.

I painted one of the branches with a turquoise Twinkling H2O. Have you see the gorgeous new pots?

Aren't they just beautiful? I already have loads of H2O's, bought when they were sold as sets, but I just couldn't resist buying a few of the new pots...they look soo good sitting on my craft worktop.

And finally a picture with my Hero Arts word stamp...this is also really old but I've hardly used it. Just one of those stamps that I've never known quite how to use, but now that I have I love it. Hero Arts have brought out some fantastic stamps recently and I am just waiting for some new ones to arrive from postie as we speak...

I really enjoyed this challenge-thank you LIM girls for such a fab theme.

Well, no more decorating for me this weekend. I'm hoping to do a bit more crafting and enjoy the beautiful weather we have here. Hope you have good one too.

K is for...

2011-06-19T08:10:00.001-07:00

...Kate, my niece. It's her birthday soon and I thought I would make a monogram card as it fits with this week's challenge over at Less Is More, the theme is "Monogram".

I've used PTI's Polka Dot Basics 2 for the background and one of the frames from the Mat Stack 3 collection.

The clear lid tin is also by Papertrey. I stamped the polka dot on a strip of card and stamped my sentiment along the edge, adding a tiny monogram to match my card.

The colours were determined by the chocolate eggs, aubergine and lavender. I've used PTI's soft stone cardstock, a really lovely light grey.

And finally a close up of the monogram. The letters are from a Papermania alphabet stamp set.

Phew, that's it for today, 2 posts in one day is some going so I'm now off to put my feet up and enjoy my Sunday evening!

Creating a vellum wrap...

2011-06-18T05:31:00.000-07:00

Having used vellum in one of my latest creatons, I realised how much I had missed it, so I thought I would create a vellum wrap for this card.

It doesn't look much photographed like this. You don't get the full effect...

...until you lay the vellum over the design like this. I stamped PTI's cake from the Make A Wish set on to card and then decided where to put my sentiments once I had finished stamping the cake. The beautiful large sentiment from PTI's Think Big collection is perfect. I made sure I stamped it to partially overlay on top of the cake design.

I then I just added the Make A Wish sentiment for a bit of added interest.

I use 100 gsm brilliant white vellum for my overlays, it has a lovely sheer quality, and I know it will feature in more of my creations in the future.

Colour Blocking...

2011-06-18T04:09:00.000-07:00

...that's the challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays this week.

It's a look I love but have never mastered. I've gone for circular blocks of colour...really bold vibrant colours set against the black chevron stripes.

A mixture of sentiments adds to the quirky look.

Right I'm off to enter into the challenge and then continue playing with my new stash!

New stash...

2011-06-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

In my last post I mentioned I was waiting for more PTI stuff to arrive...well it arrived this morning...I'm like a cat with 2 tails and when I opened the package I think I actually started to purr!

It was a huge order...cardstock, ribbon, buttons and stamps. I'm not even going to mention the postage...you don't want to know lol.

After sorting through it all and giving it all a new home, I got cracking and made this card using the Chevron Stripes...I love love this design...really universal.

I am really into mixing up my sentiments at the moment. All of these are PTI except the Friend definition which is by Paula Pascual.

I ordered cardstock in most of the colourways...here are just 3 of the colours.

I have added to my PTI stamp collection with Chevron Stripes, Polka Dot Basics 2, Year of Flowers Violets, Make A Wish and Year of Flowers Poinsettias.

The reason I ordered so much was because I love having everything match...here are some of the spools of ribbon to match the cardstock. I only got the storage box yesterday...it was on offer in Hobbycraft and cost approx £3. Note how there is still plenty of room left in case I order more PTI ribbon in the future...

The next picture has nothing to do with my new PTI stuff, I just thought I would show you my other storage...the inspiration came from Sparkly Girl Tina...hop over to her blog she has some fab storage ideas.

Some of the jars are from IKEA, but ASDA do virtually identical jars if you don't have an IKEA near you.

I bought the white storage rack from TK Maxx a couple of years ago.

All of my shelving is from IKEA. In previous posts I have vowed never to go back there...as I've said before I love their stuff but hated their store as I used to find it so confusing despite arrows telling me which direction to walk (now I know the store a bit better I always delibarately walk against the arrows on the store floor as an act of defiance much to everyone's annoyance). But of course I couldn't resist another visit to see if I could add to my shelving, and found a very tall matching CD unit. I knew I had the perfect spot for it and knew my little jars would look very chic.

And finally, one more picture of my stash...the 2 middle shelves are all for PTI stuff. The glass jars are from Lakeland and are the perfect size for a pack of PTI buttons.

The right hand middle shelf is for my PTI stamps. I could have saved space by removing the outer packaging as the stamps come in a jewel case, but I just can't bear to throw any of PTI stuff away even if it is the packaging!

Again, note how there is still space left for some more stamps...

Well, I have hours and hours of fun awaiting me with this little lot. And if all this were not enough I found out I won the competition over at Passion for Papertrey, a lovely little PTI stamp set to add to my collection, it really was the icing on the cake.

Well, hopefully I will be back soon with more PTI creations.

A recipe for fun...

2011-06-11T04:07:00.000-07:00

...that's the challenge over at Aimes fab blog Passion for Papertrey this week.

The challenge is : a dollop of colour (3 colours plus neutrals if required eg black/white)
a sprinkle of buttons (2 buttons)
a pinch of ribbon (1 ribbon)

I have chosen green, navy blue and grey. I know grey is a neutral but I hope I still qualify as I've used white as well.

This is the first time I've used this frame from Papertrey Ink's Mat Stack 3 collection. Ideally you need a 3/4" circle punch for the circle to fit inside the frame, but I didn't have one, although I've since found out SU do one. Instead I used a Nestie die from the standard small circle set and found that it fitted perfectly.

I've used the lovely leafy stamp from PTI's With Sympathy set yet again, it creates such a fab background. and just seems to go with everything.

And finally a close up of the Mat stack frame, I really love this design, it creates a lovely focal point.

Right, I'm off to enter into the challenge and then cram as much as I can into my weekend. I have a few days off next week, and am soo looking forward to it especially as I have more PTI stuff being shipped to me as I write this and am hoping for it to arrive when I'm off!

Have a great weekend.

Breaking the rules...

2011-06-05T04:42:00.000-07:00

It's been ages since I done anything remotely like this...many of my recent creations have been clean and simple so it was nice to do something a bit more involved.

I have created a collage effect by stamping the same background design as my last creation and then layering up with the Hero Arts dogstooth pattern and adding several different sentiments pointing in different directions...I mean who says sentiments have all got to be facing the same way?

I've still tried to keep the overall look clean...I love my white space and can't give it up even if this is a collage!

The lovely bracket flourish is from Papertrey Ink's Mat Stack 3 collection. The butterflies are recycled from my acetate card made a couple of weeks ago...I always try to re-use stuff from earlier creations, it saves work and money!

Well today is already flying by so I gotta dash...see you soon!

Two for the price of one...

2011-06-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

It is often difficult for me to enter one challenge in a week, so to be able to combine my latest creation for 2 challenges is quite an achievement!

The first challenge is a fab sketch over at CAS-ual Fridays.

When I first saw the sketch I was nervous and didn't know quite what to do. Then I remembered I had this lovely Papertrey Ink stamp from the Mat Stack 3 collection. It is one individual stamp stamped several times to create the half circle.

I am also entering my card into the challenge over at Less Is More which this week is "Monochrome".

I have chosen varying shades of green. I used Versa Magic chalk ink in "Niagara Mist", a lovely grey/green, very subtle and one of my fave ink pads.

Right, I'm off to go and put after-sun on my face...I thought it was going to be quite cool today after starting off cloudy, but suddenly the sun came out whilst I was out shopping and I now have a very red face. I wouldn't care I'm normally so careful and never sunbathe...not much point being a freckly red head...it's usually fake tan all the way for me! Just hope my nose doesn't peel...not a good look lol.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

At last...

2011-05-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

...the wardrobe painting is coming to an end (my last post refers), and I have found some time to get in the craft room.

I've used Papertrey Ink's gorgeous woodgrain set, staggering the 3 designs in 3 different colours.

The lovely swirly sentiment is by Hero Arts and is perfect for over stamping the background design.

A really easy card with very simple stamping.

Well, enjoy the rest of the Bank Holiday and the half term if you are off ;)

What I've been up to this Bank Holiday weekend...

2011-05-29T08:03:00.000-07:00

It takes a lot to for me to put my crafting on hold, but I thought I would share with you the new project that has taken up all my time this weekend..

Virtually every room in our house has been redecorated, except our bedroom. I have 3 very large wardrobes in the bedroom...but they were just plain pine wardrobes.

They were bought years ago and I had come to hate them. However despite being pine, there was nothing wrong with them, they hold a massive amount of my stuff, and I was reluctant just to get rid of them. So DH suggested painting them. I must admit I wasn't keen. I may be able to knock out a half decent card or two, but painting furniture? I just thought the wardrobes would just end up looking like they'd been hand painted, amateurish and quite frankly naff.

But I felt I had nothing to lose, after all it would have been very expensive to replace them...just think of the craft stash I could buy with the money instead. I had wanted built-in wardrobes, but it is out of the question in our room. Our bedroom is in the extended part of the house, with windows on 3 walls and the bedroom door on the 4th, so there is just not enough continuous wall space to have built in wardrobes.

Here is a picture of the original wardrobe. I'm embarrassed to show you, but you would not have got the dramatic before and after pictures if I didn't. It's not a good photo but you get the idea...

So off I went to B&Q, and had a look at the paint. I was surprised at the range of paint you can get now for this sort of thing. I plumped for a Dulux Satin Finish for wood in "Milk White", a lovely white with a blue undertone-perfect for my colour scheme.

I have to say I was over the moon with the result. The satin paint is gorgeous and gives a really professional finish. The turquoise and black chandelier was the catalyst for decorating, it's a beauty. And as a finishing touch to tie it all in I bought some turquoise glass doorknobs from Ebay for the wardrobes.

The room is so bright now and the chandelier twinkles as the light bounces around the room and off the wardrobes (it looks as though I've got white paint on the walls above the curtain rail but it's just the reflection of the chandelier honest!).

I'm just in the process of finishing painting the last wardrobe...DH despairs that I have 3 of them in our room, but I have given over one tiny part of one of them to accommodate his clothing, and a drawer, so I don't know why he complains...

This is my first attempt at anything like this, and I have to say I'm hooked...I keep looking around to see what else I can paint! I have posted these pictures in case there is someone out there who may be wondering what to with their old furniture...give it a go, it's fun to do and you could save a fortune too!

EDIT-How I did it
I didn't paint the inside of my wardrobes, and to be honest I really don't think it makes any odds. I didn't use a "one coat" paint but seriously wish I had!! I would recommend using a one coat paint-it is more expensive but you will save yourself a lot of work. I ended up putting 3 coats on each wardrobe!! If you don't use a one coat paint I recommend lightly sanding in between each coat for a really smooth finish. The other thing I did was paint the tricky bits with a paint brush and used an emulsion roller for the large parts. This was OK as it was an emulsion paint, but some of the one coat paints for wood are oil based in which case a gloss roller might be better.

I am no means an expert but I hope this helps!!

My second entry...

2011-05-27T03:06:00.000-07:00

...for the challenge over at Passion for Papertrey "inspired by a song".

I just couldn't resist using this sentiment again, as used in my last creation. I've stamped Papertrey's Damask Designs onto SU's Melon Mambo cardstock.

To finish I added a vellum wrap, stamping the sentiment in black Stazon.

Well, I gotta dash, I've got so much I want to do this Bank Holiday weekend I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in, although I'm sure crafting will feature somewhere...

Butterflies....

2011-05-22T03:04:00.000-07:00

...that's the theme of this week's Less Is More challenge.

Now a few week's ago the challenge was to use acetate, but unfortunately because I was ill I was unable to join in. I was gutted...as you all must know by now acetate is my absolute favourite medium to work with. So I am combining the 2 challenges today to make up for it!!

I stamped the background with white Stazon using, yet again, Papertrey Ink's "with sympathy" stamp set. I can't get enough of it. The large floral stamp is just so pretty and delicate.

I've used a Waltzingmouse frame, and the sentiment and butterflies are by Hero Arts. The butterflies are painted with Twinkling H2O's and then I just added some bling to finish.

I took the photo against a backgdrop of grey fabric which made it much easier to photograph and makes the white floral design easier to see.

Well I feel much better now that I've had my acetate fix, have a great weekend!

EDIT

I have made a slightly different version for the challenge set by my lovely bloggy buddy Aimes over at Passion for Papertrey.

The challenge is called "inspired by a song". I just happen to have the most appropriate sentiment by Papertrey for this challenge... "Always on my Mind" sung by of course Elvis Presley.

Right, I'm off to enter the challenge, see you soon!

One last post...

2011-05-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

...before the weekend is out and the working week begins.

A slight variation on my latest creations. A simple decorative edge layered onto SU's crumbcake cardstock, created by cutting round an old template I had buried in my stash.

The sentiment is stamped on to a strip of vellum...I love love vellum so why haven't I used it for so long?

The vellum is secured by a small amount of Herma tape just below the main part of the sentiment, and I ran a narrow strip along the top of the underside of the vellum.

I love these neutral colours, I just topped it all off with a splash of lime ribbon for contrast. The stamps are by Papertrey, the sentiment is from "Simple Sentiments" and the floral image is from the "With Sympathy "set.

That's all for now folks, see you soon!

The Heart Blooms...

2011-05-14T05:07:00.000-07:00

Hello again peeps, long time no hear I know. The good news is my health has improved considerably...the bad news is that I've been really busy trying to catch up with everything I should have been doing for the last few months leaving little time for crafting.

Finally, I managed to sneek in some time today to create a card using my new stamps from WPS9. Importing the stamps was very reasonable, in fact the stamps and postage came to approx £13.00 and I received the stamps in just over a week.

I don't think I've ever put these colours together before now. I've used SU's More Mustard cardstock and combined it with a lovely fuschia colour ribbon from Paperchase and buttons from Ebay.

I cut one of the larger solid flowers out to create a mask, enabling me to stamp the outline flower over the top.

With reference to the photo of my cat Ronnie in my last post, it would appear that several of you were concerned that I had an empty craft shelf..as if...it is actually the shelf for my Bigshot machine, I just took it out to use it and Ronnie took advantage!

Breaking away...

2011-05-01T03:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just get the urge to create something that is for me a bit different...to be a little more brave and experiment more.

If anyone had told me that woodgrain effect would look good in crafting I would never have believed them. It so a good look, and these woodgrain stamps from Papertrey are awesome.

I've stamped all 3 designs in black Versamark onto vivid lime green cardstock. The label is from PTI's Mat Stack 3 stamp set.

Can you see the non crafting item on my craft shelves?? Honestly, he is such a slob. He has his own cat basket and luxurious cushions to sleep on, but oh no he's got to slouch on my shelf.

See you soon!

Less Is More Challenge 13

2011-04-30T03:49:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. My card today is for the challenge over at Less Is More called "Lucky Dip Thank you or Congratulations."

The fab sentiment by Papertrey Ink is from the Think Big Favourites #2 set, large sentiments that make a lovely focal point.

The floral stamp is also by PTI and is actually from their With Sympathy stamp set, but I think it can be used for any occasion.

That's it for today, hope you enjoy your weekend.

Papertrey Make It Monday challenge

2011-04-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

Now that I have quite a few Papertrey stamps I can join PTI challenges, and I thought I would waste no time in joining in this week's challenge over at Nicole Heady, designer and co-owner of Papertrey Ink.

This week's challenge is to draw a frame around the card front.

I used PTI's fab Year of Flowers Mums stamps. I didn't do any measuring for the frame. I simply arranged my blooms and sentiment and then used a rectangular nestie to draw round the flowers!! Really quick and easy.

I decoupaged the larger flower and painted the leaves to add a bit of contrast.

This is a stunning stamp set and know I will use it over and over again.

Turning a new leaf...

2011-04-25T05:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying the Bank Holiday. Instead of sitting in a traffic jam somewhere, I have been quietly relaxing at home sitting in the garden enjoying the lovely weather and I found time to do a little crafting as well.

How could I not play with my new Papertrey Ink stash?

I've used the turning a new leaf stamp set and mat stack 2. Absolutely beautiful stamps.

That's all for now, off for a little more R&R in the garden!

Off Centre

2011-04-23T02:31:00.000-07:00

Yay!! I've actually made a card!! Things are very slowly improving and it was lovely to get back in the Little Princess craft room and get creating again.

This week's challenge over at Less Is More is "Off centre" ie to make a card with little or no symmetry but still achieve perfect balance.

It's a technique I use a lot and I hope this is what I've managed with this creation. As well as stamping the frame off centre, I even stamped the sentiment off centre too.

The beautiful frame stamp and sentiment is by Papertrey Ink. As a little pick me up I ordered a load of craft stash from PTI. And I was lucky enough to win some PTI buttons in addition to some other fab stash from the lovely Emma recently-thank you Emma for all the lovely candy.

Well I am hoping things continue to improve so I get some more crafting done. Trouble is the weather is so fantastic...I'm torn between the craft room or sitting outside in the garden with a glass of ice cold lemonade. Hopefully I'll end up doing both!

Enjoy your Easter and I hope you have the lovely weather too.

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial

2011-04-21T04:03:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, happy Maundy Thursday to you all! No cardage to show you at present as I'm still struggling with my health, or lack of, so I bring you a tutorial I prepared ages ago but never got round to blogging.

I haven't played with crepe paper since I was a little girl. It makes for beautiful flowers as you can see...

So how did I create them? Here is a guide...

Step1: Cut 2 strips of crepe paper. I wanted my blooms to be quite full so I cut strips of approx 2 feet. Any longer than that and the crepe can be quite difficult to manage. For the blue and purple flowers I cut the width of both strips to approx 3cm. For the pink flower I made the width of the inner strip smaller for a slightly different effect. Check out the photos below to see what I mean.

To secure the flower I die cut a 6cm circle.

Step 2: Secure both ends (I just used a small piece of double sided tape). Once secure, fold the circle of crepe paper. Really press the crepe paper to make the folds as crisp as possible. The better the folds the better it will look and the easier it is to work with.

tep 3: You should end up with something like this. Gently push the circle together in readiness to mount onto the circle of card.

Step 4. Next come the tricky bit. Rather than lift the crepe paper over to the die cut circle, I placed the circle of card inside my already arranged crepe paper. Crepe paper can stretch very easily so it is better to move it as little as possible.

Step 5. This is where you need patience!! At first it seems like it is never going to fit on your circle of card. But if you just draw it in first from top to bottom and the left to right, you will find the folds of paper kind of ping into place. Hence the need to really fold the crepe paper well before you start gluing it.

6. Fold the second strip of crepe, take the first stage of the flower and place it in the middle of the next layer.

Step 7: Add another layer of glue.

Step 8 : Finally add the inner layer of crepe. I found this bit the most tricky. If you want an easier life cut the strips a bit shorter and wider as it is easier to handle!!

Then you are ready to add your bling! The beautiful bling is actually a large spacer and gem from The Hobby House.

To show off one of the blooms I made a dimensional envelope...I think the recipient would be suitably wowed!!

It was actually quite hard to track down some nice coloured crepe paper. It was sheer luck I stumbled across these lovely colours in a local stationary shop.

And finally just one more photo of the pink and blue flower as I like the photo!

Well I hope you like them. It took me several attempts before I was satisfied with the end result.

I hope to be back soon. As you are probably aware I am going through a difficult time with my health. I have soo much catching up to do with you all, but I am very limited as to the amount of time I am able to spend on the computer so it will be slow going.

In the mean time I hope you all have a lovely Easter.

Creating your own sentiments...

2011-04-09T05:53:00.000-07:00

I couldn't quite believe it when I saw this week's challenge over at Less Is More which is called "Sentiment Focus".

A while ago I created my own sentiments and had them made into stamps...

The beauty of this is that you can create your own perfect sentiment for your project.

In order for the focus to be on the sentiment I stamped it over a fab decorative design. This one is by Judikins and one of my fave's.

These are for my own personal use, but I urge you to give it a go, it is very satisfying!

New stamp designs by Paula Pascual...

2011-04-03T05:41:00.000-07:00

Check out these fab new designs by the hugely talented Paula Pascual. You can see Paula's new stamps here. Wonderfully contemporary and right up my street.

I have used the sweet little dandelion heads from Paula's Punchable Tags set to create my background.

The round label and sentiment is from the Journalling spots and the tag is from the Punchable labels set.

I have chosen SU's rich Razzleberry as my main colour and teamed it with moss green.

And finally I created a little gift envelope using another label from the Punchable labels, and the wonderful friend sentiment is from the same set. Just added a flower and some ribbon to finish.

Here is close up of the friend definition sentiment...lovely isn't it?

What are you waiting for-hop over to Paula's blog where you can see more of her fab designs.

Less is More Sketch Challenge

2011-03-26T03:14:00.000-07:00

Feeling a bit better today so I thought I would make the most of it and make a simple card for this week's Less Is More challenge. I was thrilled to have one of my cards make to the Less is More showcase a couple of week's ago. This week's challenge is a sketch which you can see here. A really fab sketch and I love making DL cards so this was a pleasure to create.

I bought the the leafy background stamp years ago from LB crafts but sadly it seems to be no longer available.

The lovely flowers are by Prima...

...I just added a fab sentiment by Paula Pascual.

Well today I am going to sit out in the back garden and take it easy. Despite the weather forecast saying it wasn't going to be very nice, the sun is trying to come out and unusually for here on the South East coast it isn't windy!!

Hope you all have a good weekend.

My new leafy die...

2011-03-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, sorry for not posting for a while now, my health has still not improved and I am having to rest a lot.

I haven't been well enough to do any crafting so I bring you a card I made a few weeks ago, made using this lovely Marianne creatables leafy die called "Forest Branch". It is so delicate and definitely my fave leafy die ever.

Here is a slightly different angle...as you can see I've created a gap card. The Waltzingmouse Very Vintage Labels 5 frame secures the two pieces of card.

I have made sure the inside of the card is neat and tidy as well...

...and this is the first time I have used my Melon Mambo SU cardstock and I love it.

A huge thank you to Jo from Siggi Shop for designing my watermark for me-looks really good doesn't it? I'll be back as soon as I can.

One I made earlier...

2011-03-12T03:34:00.000-08:00

First of all, can I say a huge thank you to everyone who left a comment on my last post-a whopping 80 comments, a new record for me. I love reading all your comments and I am humbled that so many of you take time out of your day to leave me such lovely messages.

I've taken the step of getting another of my designs made into a stamp...

Here it is....

You may remember my original drawing that I did back in june 2010...in case you missed it you can see the full post here.

And here it is inked up...

...in turquoise (my fave) ...

...in lilac...

and green...

I shall be entering these in the Less Is More challenge for this week, the theme being "off the edge". It is a technique I use frequently...in fact all of my own stamps are designed off the edge so it seems perfectly fitting to enter these cards into the challenge.

Well, it was lucky that I had already got this stamp prepared and ordered last week, as usual my rubbish health has got the better of me and I am on doctor's orders to rest as much as possible. The way I've been feeling recently I don't need telling twice!!

So I'm off to put my feet up, I'll be back when I can.

Variation on a sketch...

2011-03-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

Another quick sketch for this week's challenge over at "Less Is More", which is to use pastel colours.

This is similar in style to the stamp I got made up as shown in my post of 19/02/11. It always surprises me how a few slight differences to the sketch can result in a completely different look.

I've been very naughty coz as well as buying Prisma recently I've now also bought some Faber Castell Polychromos pencils. Hobbycraft had them on offer, so it would have been rude not to. I have to say I couldn't choose between them, they're both lovely to use and both look amazing.

For this sketch I used these gorgeous pinks.

Right, I'm off to enter into the challenge, have a great weekend.

Another drawing...

2011-03-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Just a quick mid-week post showing a drawing I did at the weekend. Not sure about this one and wasn't sure whether to post it on my blog. It's not quite how I wanted it, it's not quite the right perspective and I think the outline is a bit hard, but I'll draw it again and keep refining it until I'm happy with it.

I've drawn it straight onto SU's Old Olive cardstock...I had completely overlooked this colour in my SU card stash and absolutely love it so have ordered some more! I've coloured the flower with Prismas and added a bit of Glamour Dust.

Right...gotta dash to work now...hopefully will be back at the weekend!

Creating an acetate overlay...

2011-02-27T03:58:00.000-08:00

Well, what a horrible week I've had...I have been ill all week....even my little Jasmine, pictured below, has been ill as well.

Today is the first day I have even attempted to go in my craft room since last weekend, so I thought I would just create something very simple with my latest stamp.

I wanted to do something a little different so I used a lovely Melissa Frances frame to create an acetate overlay. To secure it I've just attached a brad to each end of the frame.

I used Stazon black ink to stamp the frame on to the acetate...I know the crafting rule is not to use Stazon with clear stamps, or at least not the Stazon remover, but I found that even though it's a permanent ink if you clean the stamp with a wet wipe immediately after stamping, it removes the ink without the need to use any remover.

And here is my little girl...she has been very unwell...she caught an infection and is now on antibiotics...we even had to syringe feed her as she stopped eating and drinking...thankfully she is well on the road to recovery, and quite clearly taking advantage of the situation....

When I think of the craft stash I could have bought with the money's she has cost me in vet's bills, but of course she is worth it. And I've had to craft around her this morning, I didn't have the heart to move her!

I apologise now for not getting round to see you, especially to those of you who I know have left me some awards on your blogs, I just haven't been well enough to even switch my computer on. I will get round to you all I promise, but it's going to take a while to catch up.

Fingers crossed next week will be a bit brighter for me, hope you have a good one too.

A kaleidoscope of butterflies...

2011-02-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to show you a card I made using the lovely Hero Arts Antique Engravings butterfly stamps.

The grasses are hand drawn direct onto SU's Sahara Sand cadstcock. I've used Prismacolor pencils in Tuscan Red and Black Raspberry, and then just added some white highlights to the tips of the grasses.

It's been a long time since I've used butterflies in my crafting. I prefer lifelike drawings of butterflies as opposed to stylised drawings, I think these are just perfect.

Right, gotta dash...thank you to everyone for your lovely comments about my stamp in my last post, they mean a lot to me.

Another of my own stamp designs!!

2011-02-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

I've done it again...got another of my own li'l designs made up into a stamp. I have quite a few drawings that I have scanned ready for making into stamps. However, I very nearly didn't bother with this one as I didn't think it was one of my best. I'm so glad I did though as it turned out far better than I could ever have imagined.

OK...are you ready...can I have another drum roll please...

Ta-Dah!!

Here is the acetate sheet that came with the stamps. The manufacturer managed to fit 2 stamps onto the one sheet in slightly different sizes.

And here is the design in 3 different colourways. The size of the stamp is exactly what I wanted...the largest stamp measures approx 13cm x 7cm. I love big impact stamps that make a statement on their own. I hope that's what I've achieved.

First up, here it is stamped in turquiose...

...and then lime green...

...and finally a deep pink.

When I look at the end result I do feel an enormous sense of achievement. If you have had any thoughts about doing your own stamp designing I urge you to take the plunge. There is nothing quite like seeing your own artwork as a stamp.

I still have no plans to sell my stamps, they are just for my own pleasure for the time being, but I hope you enjoy looking at my creations anyway.

Fabulous Flourish....

2011-02-13T04:06:00.000-08:00

Well, it's Sunday...the day where I try to cram in as much as possible before the dreaded Monday morning, and work takes over my life once again for the week.

So here are some superquick cards, created using the Hero Arts Fabulous Flourish stamp.

I think of all the flourish stamps that are out there this is my fave.

To create a bit of depth I dabbed some of the ink in the same colour as the flourish with some cotton wool.

The fab sentiments are by Paula Pascual, I absolutely love them.

It makes a change for me to create cards with no Glamour Dust and no ribbon! I do get stuck in a rut sometimes.

At least it's a short week at work for me as I have a couple of days off later in the week. Hope you have a good one whatever you're doing.

A new sketch and a new challenge....

2011-02-12T03:59:00.001-08:00

I am really enjoying Chrissie's and Mandi's fab new challenge blog "Less is More", it's only their second week and already a huge success. Well done girlies for creating such a fab challenge blog.

This week's challenge is a one layer card with the theme of a flower or a tree. Well. If that ain't me then I don't know what is lol.

Another perfect excuse to sketch another flower with my Prismas. I suppose this is a bit like a dahlia, but it can be whatever you want it to be....

For speed, I drew straight onto the grey cardstock (no practice first!!), I used 3-4 different coloured Prisma's to create a bit of depth. I was pretty terrified of adding the sentiment (should've done that first groan)...had it gone wrong the whole sketch would have been in vain!

Luckily it turned out OK. I'm not entirely happy with the overall composition of the image with the sentiment but it is difficult when you are drawing straight onto the card. I had to have a rough idea of where I was going to place the sentiment before I started.

Here are the colours I used. The curious bullet shaped item that looks a bit like a mascara, is in fact a Prisma pencil sharpener. I wondered if it was just a bit of a gimmick but I have to say it is fantastic.

Here are my pencils all sharpened up. Because the leads are a soft wax they break easily when they are sharpened with an ordinary sharpener. At least they did with my sharpeners. Maybe other sharpeners are just as good but personally I would recommend the proper tool for the job.

Now the next picture is for a couple of my international bloggy buddies Sheila and Rufus, who I believe are both from the States and are not familiar with Glamour Dust. I often refer to it in my blogging as I use it virtually all the time, and (wrongly) assume that all my blog visitors know what I'm talking about!

Glamour Dust by DecoArt is a really fine glitter, readily available in the UK, that I apply with a Quickie Glue pen. I have other glitters, but this for me sparkles like no other! I've had this bottle for approximately 6 years and am only now just reaching the bottom of the bottle. Not bad considering I use it in nearly every project. That's what I call value for money.

And finally a photo showing the drawing with a bit of Glamour Dust. I have to say there must be some magic ingredient in the Prisma pencils as I think the glitter looks just beautiful combined with these pencils.

Well, I hope once again you like my l'il drawing...given more time I know I could refine it and experiment a bit more with shading using my Prismas. One of my favourite techniques I used in my art work many years ago was colouring on dark cardstock with pastels....working with Prismas reminds me of this, but I am just soo out of practice!

Thank you once again for all your lovely comments. I have some more time off next week and will be catching up with you all then.

Have a fab fab weekend!

Prismacolor on dark card...

2011-02-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Following on from yesterday, I decided to sketch some grasses in white Prismacolor onto SU's Rose Red cardstock.

Here was my inspiration...

This photo was taken in a lane close to my home. These beautiful grasses grow near a stream all year round and change colour with every season. I really really have a thing for grasses.

Here is my artistic interpretation of the photo...

Although they were easy enough to draw, I would like to get a couple of these stems made into a stamps as I think they would be quite versatile. Having said that, as I look at them again I think I can improve on them and will continue to refine my drawings.

The white Prisma really shows up beautifully on dark cardstock, and for some reason the Glamour Dust looks amazing dusted over the Prisma, it really shimmers.

I have yet to actually colour an image with Prismas, I'm just experimenting with individual colours. I'm enjoying discovering what I can do with them, so if it's OK with you I may do some more li'l sketches before moving on!

Sketching with Prismacolor....

2011-02-05T04:43:00.000-08:00

You may remember a while ago I sketched a few of my own little images. However, I only got to draw them in black ink (in case you missed them you can see one of my designs here)... I just couldn't think of how I could draw them in colour to good effect. I didn't feel coloured ink would give me the look I was after, and my coloured pencils are not of a very good quality.

I have had my eye on Prismacolor pencils for a long time, but because they are quite expensive I just never got round to buying any. But as I had some birthday money (thanks again mum!!) I thought this would a perfect opportunity to indulge.

Here they are...and oh my, they are absolutely amazing. The pencils have a fantastic soft wax core with a really high quality pigment and lay down colour beautifully. They have already become an essential item in my crafting, and I haven't even scratched the surface of what these babies can do! There don't appear to be many retailers in this country that sell them. In the end I got mine from CraftsULove, but I did track down another online company that sells them individually called 1 buy 1 pencils.

This is how my sketch started out...very very simple flicks with a pencil in a circular motion. Doesn't look too interesting at this stage...

Then I just added more flicks to gradually incease the density of my flower.

Then I just added a little Glamour Dust for a bit of sparkle.

I have created this card especially for a new challenge blog set up by my lovely bloggy buddies Chrissie and Mandi, called "Less Is More". If ever there was a challenge blog with my name written all over it then it had to be this one!! This week's challenge is a colour challenge....pink, black and white.

In the next photo I added a bit more depth of colour with a few different shades of pink.

Maybe ordinary pencils would have done for this project, I don't think this card shows Prismacolor at their best, but I can really tell the difference working with them, and I know they will come into their own on darker cardstock.

This is an incredibly simple drawing and similar to my previous sketches, but I hope you like it anyway.

Right, I'm off to enter it into the challenge, and play some more with my new babies!

Making an impression...

2011-01-27T01:50:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone for all the kind birthday wishes you sent me. I had a lovely day yesterday, a day out doing a bit of retail therapy followed by a fantastic meal with DH. It turns out I share my birthday with crafting royalty...none other than Claire Brennan of Waltzingmouse...what an honour!

I have a whole day of completely "me" time today...a day to do exactly as I wish, and it is difficult to know what to do first!

So I thought I would kill two birds with one stone in this post...first to show off some thank you cards made with my new SU stash that my lovely mum bought me for Christmas (thanks mum), and two to show how I create the impressions that so often frame my sentiments, as this one of the most common questions I get asked.

I can only show you how I do it, there may well be other ways. I just learned by trial and error. As I don't have a Wizard I use my Bigshot which works perfectly with Nesties. Sooo....

Step 1: Please two tan embossing mats onto the Bigshot multisurface platform as shown...

Step 2: Place a Nestie on top of your cardstock, with the cutting side face down, and then place on top of the tan embossing mats.

Step 3: Place a clear cutting plate on top of the Nestie and card. (apologies for the well used, I mean well loved, state of mine!!). Then just roll it through.

And Voila!! A perfectly embossed shape. What I realised after many failed attempts is that it really does not take a lot of pressure to create the embossing. I was continually trying to add shims to thicken my Nestie sandwich, then trying to force it all through, ending up ruining a lot of cardstock as a result!

This is now a technique I use a lot, particularly for the one layer cards as it adds a bit of dimension without the need for layers.

And finally, some pictures of my cards...one with SU's striped grosgrain ribbon in Rich Razzleberry...

...one with Certainly Celery...

..and one with Marina Mist.

Well, the day is yet young, and I am going to make the most of my day with more crafting and blogging. The weather here is horrible, very dull and freezing cold, just the excuse I need to stay tucked up in my craft room!!

I hope my l'il step by step guide helps those who have been unsure how to create impressions with Nesties.

See you again soon!

Beauty...

2011-01-23T03:45:00.000-08:00

...is in the eye of the beholder...

This week's One Layer challenge over at Simplicity was definitely created with me in mind I'm sure. The challenge is to use a sentiment only to create card, so no images...

Those of you who follow me regularly know that I rarely use images in my card making, although not all of them are one layer cards.

This sentiment by Rhonna Farrer is my absolute favourite of all time...probably meant more for scrapbooking as I don't know on what occasion you could use this sentiment for, but hey, I just love the aesthetic beauty of the stamp, and this was a fab opportunity to use it.

Yet again I cut up my stamp so that could stamp it in two colours, and I have added a little bit of Glamour Dust to the "B" to make it stand out a bit more.

Unlike my last couple of creations that I haven't really been happy with, I really like this card. Of course, I've topped it off with some big and blousy ribbon I bought ages ago from Clinton Cards.

Well, I hope to be doing a marathon blog hop next week to catch up with you as I have some time off, not least because it's my birthday next Wednesday! Not saying how old I am lol...

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

With Valentine's Day in mind...

2011-01-16T01:48:00.000-08:00

....you'all must know by now about my obsession with acetate, so when I recently bought a Stazon Ink pad in Platinum I just had to give it a go.

I did get myself in a bit of a mess at first, coz as ever I didn't read the instructions. I don't do instructions, I don't have time.

As I discovered afterwards, you're supposed to squeeze a few dots of the ink onto the inkpad and use a squeegie to spread it over, but oh no yours truly ploughed in gung ho and plastered the inkpad with the ink and ended up getting it everywhere!

I know, I know, had I read the instructions I would have saved myself time....

The photo doesn't really do it justice, it looks much better in the flesh. I had my usual fight to get a half decent picture of the acetate.

Not sure this will be the card I give DH on Valentine's as I have some other ideas lurking, but I hope you like it anyway.

LOVE stamp: Whisper
Main sentiment: Melissa Frances
Background stamp: KatzelKraft

Working with numbers...

2011-01-09T04:56:00.000-08:00

...I don't know about you but I find age cards quite difficult to make. I always struggle where to put the numbers without it just looking like it is an after thought. But as it is my friend's fiftieth birthday I knew I had to make an effort to include the age on the card (although she may not agree lol!)

Ages ago I bought some Do Crafts numbers and had yet to use them. I like that the set has large and small numbers, and for this card I have used the larger numbers.

I decided to over stamp the numbers with a lovely Paula Pascual sentiment, so that they are integral to the design and don't, I hope, just look like an after thought.

I bought my friend some jewellery so I made a little matching box as well.

For these creations I kept the stamping very subtle, so much so I wondered if the camera would pick it up, but luckily it has. Rather than stamp the background design randomly all over I have stamped the design as a cluster in one corner of the card and box, I just think it looks better that way.

I was also very lucky to get these pictures as the light started to fade very quickly. Roll on the summer and the light evenings!!

Several people have asked me where I get my white cardstock. I have to say I am very fussy on my cardstock and get mine from PDA card and craft. For me nothing else comes close. I use their 300gsm brilliant uncreased white card, and love that they do larger sized creased card if you want to make a bigger card.

Well, can you believe it...no blog posts for over a month and then 2 in one weekend!! Just gotta keep it up now!

Background stamp: KatzelKraft from The Craft Barn

A Gift For You sentiment: Waltzingmouse

Number stamps: Forever Friends "Hand Script Numbers"

Coloured cardstock: SU's Soft Suede

Ribbon: May Arts Silk ribbon from America

Happy New Year!!

2011-01-08T04:14:00.000-08:00

I hope you all had a good Christmas...mine was hectic at first, but after visiting all the relatives, I had a very quiet Christmas, but that is just how I like it. Is it really a month since my last post?? I suppose I've had a lot on my mind recently and just haven't been able to focus on crafting. I'm happy to report things are settling down a bit now and I hope that I can get my crafting butt back into gear!

Now there is nothing like a simple card to get me back in crafting mode and this little dandelion stamp I bought just before Christmas was perfect for the job.

And of course there is nothing like a challenge to get me moving, so I also made a card for this week's One Layer Week challenge over at Simplicity, which is to use yellow.

I don't use yellow very often, but I love this mustard shade.

Just a little bit of Glamour Dust and a huge bow, job done.

Right I'm off to finish all my Thank You cards, have good weekend!

Stamp: Personal Impression "Make a Wish"
Ink: Archival Ink in Mustard and Colourbox in Heliotrope

All you need is love...

2010-11-27T16:38:00.001-08:00

I'm back!! I know, don't faint, I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted a creation...probably the longest I've ever gone without posting since I set up my blog.

Well, without further ado, here is a peek at my latest creations...

I think it has actually done me good to have a creative break (well that's what I'm going to call it). I feel re-invigorated and ready to go again. But when I finally got back in my craft room yesterday, I just sat there with a very blank look on my face. I kept thinking what if I've forgotten how to make cards, what if I just can't think of another single thing to make...it was actually quite scary. I knew I had to do something to get back in the creative zone, and this week's Simplicity One Layer Challenge being hosted by Jennifer Styles was just what I needed.

The challenge is "Inspiring Minds" ie to use some of Walter Erhard's art work as inspiration, some of which you can see here.

I chose this picture:

I've lost count of how many stamps I've bought and never used, just waiting for the right project to come along, and boy did this LOVE stamp from Stampington fit the bill perfectly for this challenge!!

Of course it's not a Christmas stamp, but I wanted to use it for a Christmas card and came up with this....

I took inspiration for the colours from these bottles of body wash!

And here are all 3 colourways pictured with the Stampington stamp, which I removed from the wooden block and cut up so that I could play about with it.

I made 2 DL cards, one vertical and one horizontal, both of which I could use for this week's challenge.

I think this is my fave colourway. In fact I like the design of the card so much I will probably do a more eleborate version to give to DH this year, the sentiment is perfect.

And finally, a slightly different layout, hence the need to cut up the stamp.

Well, unlike some parts of the country, we haven't had a single snowflake here after all. I've gotta feeling it's waiting for me to go back to work. I don't mind it snowing at the weekend, but not when I've got to travel. I somehow think I will not escape it next week.

I'll try not to leave it quite as long before I post again. Until next time stay warm!!

A little update...

2010-11-25T13:48:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

Sorry I have not been around for a while...thank you for your e-mails and messages of concern. I am OK, no excuse really except I have just been mega busy recently. I'm getting very twitchy now though and am aching to get into my craft room again.

In the mean time, I hope you like the snow effect on my blog, that's if you haven't had a bucket load of it already where you are! We are apparently set to get some snow this weekend, so I might be out on my sledge instead of my craft room hee hee...

Fingers crossed though I will be back very soon!

It's a cracker!

2010-10-31T03:58:00.000-07:00

Last week I was wondering what to do with my extra hour this weekend...it's just such a luxury, I knew I would have to make the most of it. When postie brought me my cracker stencil from Creative Expressions yesterday, I knew exactly what I would be doing.

I liked the swirly snowflake design of my last cards so much I thought I would use it again to make a matching cracker.

This is it how it started out...

Now ordinarily it probably wouldn't matter too much how you stamp the design but my design had to be placed centrally so that you could see the sentiment, so I marked it out roughly in pencil first.

My rolling pin is a bit too fat to use to roll the cracker around so I used a can of deoderant spray, it worked perfectly!

I didn't realise at first but it is a little bit gappy where I've tied the ribbon and you can see the notches, I should have tied my ribbon a bit tighter but hey it is my first attempt!

The cracker was actually very quick and easy, and fun, to create and I know this won't be the last one I make.

Well I hope you enjoy your extra hour today, and of course Happy Halloween to everyone!

Getting creative again...

2010-10-30T05:01:00.000-07:00

Feeling pants all the time does nothing for my creativity, and I'll be honest, I just haven't felt like crafting at all in the last few weeks. Goodness knows I tried several times to go into my craft room, but I walked straight back out again with a heavy heart, as nothing came to me at all.

So it was a complete surprise when, during a rare quiet moment at work, my eyes fell onto a Kleenex box of tissues on my friend's desk. The pattern on the box was all smudgy with swirly snowflakes and it was like BING!! The creative light bulb switched into overdrive and I thought I HAVE to re-create the design. Now sadly my friend hasn't finished blowing her nose yet but she has promised me the box when she's finished with it lol! Maybe you've seen it in the shops but I haven't been out anywhere to have a look. Apparently the tissue boxes even come in different colourways too! When she gives me the box I will take a picture to show you!

Anyway, here is my attempt to re-create the gorgeous design...

Here are some different colourways...

First up, Adirondack ink in "Stream" a tantalising turquoise ...

Next, Adirondack ink in "Wild Plum", a sumptuous cerise...

...and finally, my personal favourite, Tim Holtz "Black Soot" a gorgeous smudgy smoky black.

The amazing thing is I used a swirly snowflake stamp by Hero Arts which I bought some 5 years ago and have never used! I love it when I finally find a use for forgotton stamps!

And to top them all I've used one of Paula Pascual's fab sentiment stamps.

Thank you so much to everyone who has left comments recently, it is so kind of you especially as I haven't been blogging lately, but I am hoping to have a really good catch up soon!

A Thank You card...

2010-10-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

...sent to my lovely bloggy buddy Lily of Lily's Art Creations, to say a huge thank you for the fantastic blog candy I won recently.

It has taken me a while as my health has been rubbish as usual, but I am cautiously optimistic things are improving.

The background was created using this fab stamp by B Line Designs from LB Crafts. Sadly it looks as though many of the B Line stamps no longer exist, I'm so glad I got mine when I did...in my view they were some of the best stamps ever and I will never part with them!

I left a gap each side of the background so that I could stamp this swirl over the edge. It is by Fancy Pants, from the Bella Brush stamp set, again one of my all time fave's.

The gorgeous orange Webster's Bloomer was part of my blog candy, and the beautiful wrinkle ribbon was handmade by Lily herself! What a talented girlie she is.

Finally the sentiment is by Hero Arts, and I've used a Waltzingmouse stamp above and below the sentiment.

Thank you again Lily for all the wonderful candy, I have only just started to play and am having great fun with it all!

Joy & Peace...

2010-10-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

Here is my entry for the Simplicity One Layer Challenge this week which is entitled "Heavy Metal" ie, to use something metallic on a one layer card. So I have used an Encore inkpad in metallic gold to stamp this lovely sentiment by Papermania called Silent Night Sentiments.

The rectangle was very easy to draw...I just laid a rectangular Nestie over my sentiment and drew round it...perfect! And of course, the obligatory three snowflakes...am I becoming a bit predictable lol?

I really didn't think I was going to make anything this week...I don't want this to become a blog about my ailments, but my health is not at all good at the moment so I'm just doing what I can when I can. This was a nice quick card to make, which is just about all I have energy for at the moment. I hope to be back with you very soon.

More Paula Pascual stamp creations...

2010-10-02T02:36:00.000-07:00

...luckily I had these prepared earlier in the week as my health is not good at the moment and I cannot do much in the way of crafting. Today is a slightly better day though for which I am thankful.

These cards were made using Paula's beautiful "Filled with Flowers" stamp set. The little flowers are so delicate and just gorgeous.

I've stamped them in Versa Magic in "Tea Leaves" and "Spring Peony" and given each one a dusting of Glamour Dust, and I've placed a tiny sparkly heart in the centre of each flower.

I know I've used this next format several times now but I just love it...you will tell me if you get fed up of seeing it won't you lol,

The next card is a slight variation and one I will be entering for this week's One Layer Challenge over at Simplicity. The challenge is show gratitude for our mums. My mum, like many I know, adores flowers, so this is for her.

I absolutely adore these stamps from Paula and know I will use them over and over again.

I apologise for not leaving comments on your blogs recently...I am having to limit my time on the computer as I need to rest as much as possible, I will as soon as I feel a bit better.

I had a lovely surprise the other day when I found I'd won some fantastic blog candy from the lovely Lily over at Lily's Art Creations which has really lifted me. I urge you hop over to see Lily's work, she is soo talented and produces the most amazing creations.

A new drawing and a great big dopey cat...

2010-09-26T02:26:00.000-07:00

...this sketch seemed the natural step on from my earlier dresses which you can see here.

In terms of originality of the image it's nothing new I know, lots of artists love drawing ballet dancers, but I was just in the mood. I wasn't sure whether to actually blog it as the drawing hasn't quite turned out how I wanted...I wanted a more delicate feel and the angle of her body isn't quite right...I'm soo out of practice when it comes to figure drawing yet it used to be fave type of sketching when I was younger.

The really annoying thing was that half way through my sketch I realised her feet were going to touch the edge of the card, grr!! But I was too far into it then to turn back and start again!

I know it's not perfect and I definitely need more practice, I find it far more daunting showing you my art work than I do my card making!!...but even though I'm not a brilliant artist or anything I do enjoy drawing as well as the card making itself and if I can combine the two so much the better!

Now Ronnie has been feeling rather left out...you know...as I only showed you pictures of Jasmine the other day, so I leave you with some photos of him muscling in on the act...

See you next time!!

I'm enjoying...

2010-09-25T05:21:00.000-07:00

...the fact that it's Saturday hooray!...I am so relieved. This week at work has been busy and I have had a really horrid virus to contend with...it is somewhere between a cold and flu...why is it I never just get a 24 hour cold? I always seem to get some nasty little bug that won't let go for weeks.

I still feel pretty horrible but, as ever, crafting has made me forget about it for a few hours, enough for me to make a card for the fab Waltzingmouse sketch challenge this week.

Love this week's sketch, it's right up my street.

Goodness knows how many times I've used this background stamp from WM's Victorian Frippery set. I dont think I will ever get fed up of using it. The frame is the first outing for my Very Vintage Labels 10 stamp. Even the little Fleur De Lis stamp that I've used behind the sentiment is by WM.

I was very lucky that a friend managed to get some May Arts Silk ribbon on a trip to America. I absolutely love it.

Right I'm off the enter my card into the challenge, and then have a rest!!

Toodlepip for now!

More Christmas designs...

2010-09-19T02:19:00.000-07:00

...using my lovely new stamps by Paula Pascual.

I got a bit carried away last night and stayed up late creating this collection...I just couldn't stop, so put your feet up coz I've got just a few photos to show you!

This card was made using the Large Christmas stamps by Paula.

Absolutely love all the elements of this set. I just love working with these neutral colours. I used Versa Colour ink in Sand Beige and black Versamark.

And then on to the Joyful Bubbles stamp set...these were great fun to work with. I think this set is really versatile and I know I will use it a lot.

And just for fun I created my own bauble...I thought it would make quite a good gift tag.

Eventually I had to go to bed, but I still had loads of variations in my head! I'll save them for my next set of creations.

Well, I'm back at work tomorrow...it means inevitably my blogging and crafting will grind to a halt until the weekend again. Wish I could give up the day job but I gotta pay for the stash somehow!

Joy...

2010-09-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

I've been so excited today and not just because it's nearly brussel sprout season...postie brought me a little parcel this morning...new stamps designed by the uber talented Paula Pascual. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them on her fab blog, and I find her wonderful creations just so inspiring.

I've used the same format as in my last creation...although this time I've embossed an oval shape. Several people have asked me how I emboss my shapes into my cardstock. I found a good tutorial on Splitcoaststampers which you can see here. Although it shows how to emboss a die cut shape, I simply put a plain piece of card through with a Nestie together with my Tan Embossing Mat-the principle is exactly the same.

I use a Big Shot with my Nesties so I do have to play about with different thicknesses of shim to get the right pressure.

A touch of Glamour Dust, a few gems and job done. I think Paula's stamps are soo classy and I will definitely be making up batches of these to send to family and friends this year, in all sorts of colourways and combining the different designs, I think they all work really well togther.

A couple of peeps have asked to see more of my Maine Coon cats Ronnie and Jasmine on my blog. Well, here is Jasmine...

Before you say "aah", don't let that "butter-wouldn't melt-in-my-mouth" look fool you. She is part cat, part demon! Although she is very loving, she is so naughty. You cannot turn your back on her for one moment or she will wreck a room in minutes!! She is sweet with it though so I can't tell her off...

Well, Jasmine has given the game away...as you can see I bought more than 1 set of Paula's fab stamps!! I hope to have more Paula creations to show you in the next day or so.

Let it snow...

2010-09-17T00:28:00.000-07:00

Crikey, it was only autumn in my last post and now I've jumped straight to winter hee hee...

This is my entry for this week's One Layer Wednesday over at Simplicity, which is to use 3 images and 1 sentiment.

I actually find simple cards are very often harder to make than layered cards...one tiny mistake can stand out like a sore thumb. It took me 3 goes just to get my embossed rectangle straight!

On top of that was deciding upon the whole composition...to make it interesting without using any layers or embellishments.

First I decided to place my rectangle off centre. I think it looks better than it would have if it had been central. Then there was the decision where to place my 3 snowflakes for best effect. I decided to have a couple stradling the embossed lines of the rectangle, to help bring the design together. And finally, for just a bit more added interest I stamped the snowflakes in 2 different colours, I just think it would have looked too bland if they had all been the same colour.

And that was my thought process with this card! It looks like quite a quick card, and it would be to recreate it, but it actually took some time to really think about the composition.

But that's why I love simple cards...if done right they can be so effective. Hopefully I have just about achieved this!

Celebrating autumn...

2010-09-16T02:42:00.000-07:00

This is most definitely my favourite time of year, so I have created a leafy wreath to celebrate the arrival of autumn.

Very easy to create, if a little time consuming, but I think worth the effort...

X-cut have brought out some fab leaf punches...the one I've used is the Hawthorn shown below. I just love that it embosses the little leaf veins..

First I sprayed some leaves with Glimmer Mist in Tiger Lily, a gorgeous shimmery orange...

You can see them a bit better here. I continued to give them a good dousing until they were completely covered...

Whilst they were still wet I gave them a bit of a scrunching and let them dry completely before moving on. I then edged them in Tim Holtz distress ink in Brushed Corduroy...

I die cut my hoop with 2 circle nesties and started to layer up my leaves. I used Stix 2 tape as I'm not good with wet glue!

And this is the result. It measures approx 12cm across.

I really enjoyed making this wreath and wouldn't mind trying other versions with different leaves punches. I think a holly wreath with berries would be good for Christmas.

Right, gotta dash, my holiday is zipping past at an incredible rate and I've still got so much I want to fit in!

See you again soon.

Big Bloomers

2010-09-13T01:23:00.001-07:00

No, I'm not referring to my undergarments!! This is the name of the turquoise ruffle by Webster's Pages. Isn't it fab?

I made this card for this week's Waltzingmouse sketch challenge and have flipped the design on it's side. The only thing is I forgot to split the background as per the sketch...I hope I can be forgiven and don't end up disqualified!

I used my Deb Devine embossing folder for the background, one my fave's. To add a bit of interest I stamped a background design behind the sentiment, from WM's Victorian Frippery stamp set.

Right I'm off to enter the challenge and then I'm going out for some retail therapy as I'm off work this week-yay!!

Thank you again for all your lovely comments about my l'il dress designs, I'm so glad you liked them!

Drawn in a flash...

2010-09-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

...this really was...I've just got back from shopping and quickly sketched this dress this afternoon in about 2 minutes...I am losing light so quickly now in my craft room that if I left it any later I would not have been able to take any photos today to post on my blog.

I wasn't going to draw any more outfits, but I quite fancied drawing a dress to fit the entire lenght of a DL card. That's the beauty of drawing your own images...you'd never be able to buy a stamp this big!!

This is supposed to be the back of the dress...not quite sure if it looks that way. The skirt is a kinda fishtail, but I think it would have looked better with proper layers, to look like layers of tulle...something I think I will do next time.

It was a good excuse to use my mosaic bling from Papermania...I knew I would find a use for them one day!

And here they are pictured together! Actually they really do look much better in the flesh...the Glamour Dust really sparkles and gives the dresses quite a lot of depth, especially in artificial light.

Drawing these dresses will be a good excuse to watch Strictly Come Dancing for more ideas, not that I need an excuse I am a huge fan already, but the girl's frocks are amazing aren't they?

Right I'm off to catch up with you all, see you again soon!

A new sketch...

2010-09-09T13:38:00.000-07:00

Yep, I have been doing a little bit more drawing during the week. I have no idea why I chose to draw this particular image...it's not normally my sort of thing but it just suddenly sprang to mind so I just went with it.

I sketched the image directly onto my card. The card is a standard 6" x 6" so the drawing is quite large as it almost fills the space. It took only minutes to draw and at this stage I'm quite pleased with the result.

However, the next stage is to add ink. I know if I mess up I will have to start all over again, not an idea I relish even if it was quick to draw as I know I will never get it the same again.

So I go over some of the pencil lines in black ink...already I can see I have added far too much. I'm not happy with the shading, then I'm not happy with the bow...maybe I shouldn't have added it all...then I think the bodice is too short...oh well it's all too late to change it now!

The card was drawn and painted over a period of 4 days...I sketched in the evening, and took photos in the morning before work. I then added my ink the next evening and took more photos the next morning and so on. It was the only way to get the photos taken in stages. It just so happened in between photo shoots I checked out the Wednesday One Layer Challenge over at Simplicity, and Play Date Cafe challenge, and this week's challenges for both is black and white, with a spot of colour.

Perfect!! It was just too irrisistable...I just added a dark pink gem to my black and white image for my spot of colour!

However, as I've now added too much black ink I decide that I'm going to add colour...this is going to be a bit of a goth dress! So I paint it in a pinky purple colour and add loads of Glamour Dust.

Despite my earlier misgivings I am now quite pleased with the overall result.

And of course it is a card so I add a single line sentiment to finish it off..

It's not a perfect drawing and it's not perfectly coloured either. I'm such a perfectionist that I get very frustrated when things don't go quite right. But actually I did enjoy drawing this little dress and of course that's what it's all about. And if you enjoy it too then, for me, it's the icing on the cake!!

Creating a background with my new stamp...

2010-09-05T02:21:00.000-07:00

Firstly can I say a huge thank you to everyone who left comments and sent me e-mails about my last post. I have been quite overwhelmed by the lovely things you've said about my l'il stamp.

I wanted to show that my stamp design can be used for backgrounds as well as a stand alone design. Here I stamped it up in lilac and beige ink onto a panel of white card.

I over stamped the background design with the Hero Arts sentiment and frame stamp "to someone special".

DH asked what I'm going to call my stamp...you know it hadn't even occured to me! He has already named it "Summer Burst". I really like the name, although it isn't a seasonal stamp, but then does it really matter? I will have to have a think about it!

So many of you have asked when I'm going to sell my stamp which is such a huge compliment and I feel awful for not being in a position to sell at this moment in time. I think in all honesty I need a few more designs than I've got at the moment, I've currently only got a handful, so I will continue to do my little sketches and get my own stamps made up, and then showcase them on my blog.

I have now really got the bug for rubber stamp designing and your lovely comments definitely inspire me to do more!

Dancing on the ceiling...

2010-09-04T01:38:00.000-07:00

...ohh what a feeling...as Lionel Richie sang all those years ago...

And why may you ask, am I dancing on the ceiling?? Well, you may remember a few months ago I was thinking about getting some of my own l'il sketches made into stamps. So I thought I would test the water and get a stamp made up. You can see my original design here.

OK...are you ready? Can I have a drum roll please...

Ta Dah!!

The stamp turned out far better than I could have ever dreamed. I managed to find a really good stamp manufacturer, and I am over the moon with the quality of this stamp.

So would you like to see the result when it's all inked up? OK, another drum roll please!

Here it is...

No embellishments, just simple stamping to show off the design. I have just added tons of Glamour Dust for some sparkle!

It is really simple stamp design I know, but then I love clean and simple. The stamp itself is quite large..approx 12cm x 9cm, but that's what I wanted so that it can make a statement in it's own right!

And finally one more shot...

It is the weirdest feeling seeing your own design in the form of a stamp, but very satisfying and now I want to do more! However, I'm a long way off selling these at the moment...having a full time job doesn't make things easy as I have so little free time. But I will plod on and do it when the time is right.

These very simple cards were made quickly this morning so that I could post them on my blog for you to see, but I think there are a lot more interesting creations I can make with this stamp so watch this space!

Be afraid...be very afraid!

2010-08-28T04:11:00.000-07:00

I've been working on this little project for a couple of weeks now and wasn't going to post it until nearer Halloween...but then I saw this week's Waltzingmouse sketch challenge and decided to incorporate my sketch challenge card among these creations.

Before I go any further I have to have a little toot as I made the top 3 Waltzingmouse awards for last week's sketch challenge!!

I love joining in the Waltzingmouse sketch challenges each week and look forward to Saturday mornings to get started. This week's sketch is very me...

And here is my entry...

I decided to do an aperture card using a frame stamp from the Very Vintage Labels 2. I also needed an excuse to use the tiny little lizard stamp from Wanda's Pantry stamp set as I think it is so cute...I don't know about you but I often overlook the little stamps that come with some stamp sets.

Here we have some Halloween candy...humbugs make very good freshly plucked eyeballs don't you think lol...

As I was making these creations I remembered my Inkadinkadoo bat stamp and created a purple moonlit sky to set them against...

...and of course I couldn't resist including an acetate creation as well...

Finally one more shot of the Irish Toad Oil...I actually managed to track down some purple food colouring for this project!! Makes my hyperactive just looking at it! But of course I have no intention of drinking it...it is only for show!

You may have noticed that I've had a little fun with my signature as well in Paint Shop Pro, using the Creepy Girl font for these photos.

I really enojyed making these creations and hope you like them.

Enjoy your Bank Holiday weekend whatever you do...at least the weather has improved here so fingers crossed we will be able to have a barbeque this evening!

Going batty...

2010-08-21T05:05:00.000-07:00

... my creations that is, not me hee hee...OK maybe I am a little lol...

Now I know Halloween is still a couple of months away, but I've been itching to use my new Waltzingmouse halloween stamps. I just had to use some of them for this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch #11 challenge.

The WM halloween stamps were great fun to work with. I am really lucky to have an old fashioned sweet shop near me in Canterbury, selling all sorts of fab colour sweets.

The only thing is you have to ask for 100grams...it's just not the same as asking for a quarter like you did in my day lol!

These lime sweets taste every bit as good as they look...and yes I did sample a couple lol.

Now I had a bit of fun with this week's Waltzingmouse sketch....

I thought I would create a bit of a different scalloped border...so I arranged these bats around my card. It took quite while to punch out the little blighters and stick them on but I think it works...

And finally one more shot of the bottle...I got a bit carried away with my props lol...I think it looks quite realistic!

The good thing is that now I have finished making these creations I can eat the sweets! What's that? You think I should share them? Shame you're that end of the computer because of course you know I would...

Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge #10

2010-08-15T12:32:00.000-07:00

...by the time I finished this card today the sun had set and I had lost all natural light...I can't believe how quickly the evenings are drawing in...so I have taken this photo in artificial light...not something I've ever done on my blog...I just wasn't sure if I would get time to take a photo in daylight hours next week when I'm back at work.

So here it is now...to ensure I am in time to enter the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge.

I have used the WM Victorian Fripperie stamp set, although the background was created using a B line stamp stamped in white Stazon on to acetate. The pink background was made by spraying Glimmermist in Sherbet on to white cardstock and then using the same stamp I embossed it with white embossing powder.

And I've used my lovely bling flower centre buttons from The Hobby House again...I just love them.

Well, I hope you like...I'm off to enter the challenge...have a good week, see you again soon!

Distressed flowers...

2010-08-15T00:08:00.000-07:00

...it's been a while since I've made any flowers, so I got out my TH distress inks and here's what I created...

I followed a fab tutorial which you can see here.

I made these DL cards for this week's Passion for Papertrey challenge using my Blossom Nesties and distress inks in Dusty Concord, Broken China and Peeled Paint. The Papertrey stamps are from the "Turning a New Leaf" set.

The lovely bling flower centres are buttons by The Hobby House.

I even made a DL matching gift envelope as well.

As you can see I didn't extend the black band right across the middle of my cards...that way I could continue my stamping around the right hand side of the card.

Even though I made the flowers they were really quick and easy cards to create.

Right, I'm off to have my Sunday breakfast!! See you soon!