Christmas houses

Oh I'm hooked on making these little houses now.  All the cards are done (hopefully) so I don't feel a bit guilty about playing now.  One of these will be for my Mum and the other for a good friend who's house number is 28.  Quite soon I'll have a whole village on display!

Still reeling from the terrible news of the shootings and the senseless loss of innocent lives.  Feeling so sad for the families who have lost a loved one in such a way - words can't express it.

Christmas angel card

Love this stamp I got in my cup of kindness swap from Debby (see previous post) and I managed to make a whole bunch of cards very quickly using this and the free stamp from Craft Stamper for the stars.

I think this little "angel" is going to be inked up a lot - she's so sweet and I can give her a different outfit each time!  Hope everyone's preparations are going well - not long now to the big day.

Cup of kindness swap

Here's my wonderful "cup of kindness" from Debby at Cozy Blanket who hosted the swap and was my partner.  Isn't it just fab - and there was also a lovely glittery handmade heart and a rolled sparking flower which are sitting on top of my little Christmas trees.

It was a brilliant idea and I'm so pleased with all my goodies especially that gorgeous little angel stamp which has been inked up a few times already for my Christmas cards.  Thanks for letting me join in Debby.

Christmas decorations

Well, I have been busy!  Not sure which one of these to enter for the Christmas decoration class in our regional Women's Institute competition - unfortunately, it can only be one.  The silver dove was so easy to make from silver card, embossed and rubbed over with black acrylic paint then wiped off so it looks like metal, clever eh?  The little tree took absolutely ages to cut and fold all those little strips of paper but once I got to attaching them to the polystyrene base, it was quite quick.  The bauble was made following the instructions here from Vicky at Blush Crafts.  So grateful for those otherwise I wouldn't have known where to start sticking the sections together.  Hope you see something you like.

Thanks for stopping by.

Birthday party hat

Here's a picture of the jester's hat I made for our recent Women's Institute 25th birthday party.  I didn't win first prize but we were all winners really as the money we raised for the event went to our local Hospice.  We had a great party - such a wonderful bunch of ladies ranging from 20s to late 80s who have such amazing stories to tell and skills to pass on to the younger members.

We have a Christmas craft show in December and I've put my name down to do a hanging decoration so will have to get started on that shortly.  Its a regional show so quite a bit of competition between the WIs - should be great fun.  Thanks for stopping by.

Jingle bells

This was the theme for our craft club Christmas challenge and we were all given a little bell to include on our card.  I decided to get a little bit painty when the silver bird I cut and embossed looked just too shiny!  Had a great time playing with new stuff here - used the Brushed Pewter distress stain to print on the backing paper, then my new snowflake edge die (love it) and then some of the clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles.

Really like how it turned out.  Hoping it won't take me as long to get the rest of my cards made this year!
Thanks for stopping by.

A pair of ATCs

Here's my take on our latest craft group swap challenge for a pair of ATC's with the theme "Wings".  I like these old booth photos and had fun making them look like a couple split apart and thinking of each other.

Must get on with my Christmas cards shortly, time seems to be flying by too - its nearly November!  Thanks for stopping by.

Altered shopping lists

Well, I thought I'd get cracking with my stocking fillers and did a couple of these for starters.  The plain shopping list pads are really cheap at from the stationers.  I wish I could remember the site I got the inspiration from as they were delightful and included a decorated gift bag but I can't find it again.  I recently got some Magnetic Craft Tape from Docrafts which was self-adhesive and makes it so easy to apply.  The dress form and the little Notes pad come off the shopping pads and can be used as 'fridge magnets. 

I think one of these with a nice pen or pencil in a gift bag will look great.  Hope you are getting some crafting time in while its cold and wet outside!

Halloween tag

Well I've not been doing much lately (except enjoying a late holiday in Skye) so it was good to get some inspiration for a spooky tag from Clare here as I needed to make one for our Halloween swap at my craft club.  Really pleased how it turned out and although you can't see much of the stamped tissue background, it was really easy to do following Clare's tutorial and instructions on Tim Holtz' blog.

 and this is the back of the tag:

Hope my swap partner likes it!  Thanks for calling by and hope you're getting up to some nice messy crafting yourselves.

Golden wedding anniversary

Haven't had much time to play this week but I was asked to make a wedding anniversary card by my good friend and I really enjoyed doing this style again.  Thank goodness for my Graphic 45 papers - they are so appropriate and I love the colours.

Hope they like their card - 50 years eh?  Wow, that deserves a celebration!  Thanks for stopping by.

Hidden Depths

Been dying to try out this Brilliance Ink resist technique from September's Craft Stamper and when I got my new Lynne Perrella stamps, there was no excuse!  It was a bit scary at first as I thought the inks weren't going to spread properly on the glossy cardstock, then I thought the over-stamping was going to smudge but I was actually very pleased at the way it came out.  I didn't have the Ancient Page Ink so I used Stazon for the main image but I think I'll have a go with Versafine next time as the image looks a bit "sticky".  The Lynne Perrella stamps are really detailed and I love them.

Be interested to know if anyone else has tried this technique.

Less is More Challenge - Pink & Brown

Well this week's challenge over at Less is More is to use the colours Pink & Brown - yummy, my favourites!  I decided to use my new Purple Onion patterned diamond stamps, then cut them up and set them on the diamonds of an embossed pink background.  Then just added a couple of embossed flowers to finish.

I like the way it turned out!  Now I'm going to do the rounds and see some of the other lovely creations already submitted.  Thanks for looking at mine.

Altered tin

Inspired by Linda's gorgeous altered tin here at Itsy Bits and Pieces I thought I'd have a go making one for my friends' second wedding anniversary - makes a change from a regular card.  I really enjoyed playing and I think they'll like to see one of their wedding photos given the vintage treatment!

 and the outside ....

I also made a little "telegram" in an envelope as a gift tag.  Thanks for taking a peek.

Less is More Recipe 3-2-1

This week's challenge over at Less is More is to make a card with 3 of something, 2 of another and 1 of something else.  Sounds easy but its taken a while to come up with my entry.

There are 3 stamps, two words and one piece of baker's twine.  I do love that dress stamp - I got it from a friend and it always reminds me of my Mum's old dress patterns!  Thanks for stopping by.

Less is More challenge. Tearing.

Took me a while to get down to making this card but I tore some gorgeous handmade paper (not easy with all the fibres) then layered that with some lovely torn glittery card.  It looked like waves so I was thinking mermaid, flying fish, boat or anything vaguely sea-like!  Nothing in my stamp collection came to light so I ended up with the Be(e) Happy sentiment in turqouise!  Well, I liked it!

Thanks for looking and I'm off to have a look at everyone else's creations this week.

Art Deco dwelling

This piece was for "homework" from our fortnightly craft class at the local garden centre.  We had four pieces cut from theTH Artful Dwellings die and had to put them together in a theme of our choosing for our partner at the class.  I enjoyed playing and hope my partner likes what I made.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look.

Less is More challenge - one layer, fur or feathers

A bit quicker out of the blocks this week - must be that Olympic fever!  Hasn't it all been wonderful but what on earth will we watch next week?  Roll on the Paralympics.  My card for the Less is More challenge this week uses a couple of lovely chicken and mesh stamps from a TweetyJill set called Poultry Party and an Inkadinkadoo sentiment.  Enjoyed playing with this one.

Off to watch the closing ceremony and feeling very proud of London right now!

Brave Boy Brandon

Just a quick pic of my poorly boy Brandon who had a claw removed yesterday after tearing it on the fence (Ouch!)   He looks resplendent in his purple bootee and is still a bit woozey but he should be all better by tomorrow when the bandage comes off.  In the meantime, he's getting lots of extra cuddles.

Less is More Challenge - Blue & Green

I'm late with this week's challenge over at Less is More but here's my take on the Blue and Green theme.  I started off with my new honeycomb mask (love it) and some Broken China Distress Stain.  Then I used Chrissie's fabulous stamp (free with Craft Stamper) and embellished it with dots of black Enamel Accents, matted onto some black and then green cardstock and added my favourite sentiment from SU - easy peasy!
And no stabbed fingers this week LOL

Off to look at everyone else's creations.  Thanks for taking a look at mine.

Owl Bookmark

Got to thank Vicky over at Blush Crafts for this great idea to make a super bookmark out of scraps of paper and a magnet to keep it in place.  I already had a pack of googly eyes and just cut two little squares of magnetic sheet I've had for ages and it worked really well.  An ideal project to make with children or in my case, the ladies at our Women's Institute who love easy ideas they can share with their grandchildren.

Hope you take a look at Vicky's tutorial to see how easy it is. 

Less is More Week 78 challenge - horizontal band

This week's challenge over at Less is More is to follow a sketch to make a card with a horizontal band in the top half plus a sentiment.  I never enjoy making Sympathy cards but its usually easier to make one when you don't actually need one so I thought this would be a good opportunity.  Here's my entry for this week and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has done.

Thanks for stopping by to take a look - I appreciate it.

My gorgeous pin-up boy

Had to share this lovely pic of my beautiful Brandon which has been selected for the February slot (Loving Looks) on the 2013 Cavalier Forum calendar.  We sent in several pics of both dogs but I'm sure Serge's day will come.  I'm so proud of my handsome boy.

Less is More challenge - Sewing theme

Eek!  I almost passed on this one (Less is More - Theme Sewing) as sewing and me just don't get along.  I can crochet and knit but ask me to sew and I break out in a sweat - ridiculous I know.  So I had to have a go and I actually stitched these five faux buttons onto the stamped card and (drum roll here!) hand stitched the line across the card.  I swear there are a couple of drops of blood on there from where I stabbed myself several times but what the heck, it matches in with the colour scheme.  Thanks to Chrissie and Mandi for getting me outside my comfort zone yet again!

Ribbon Girls Challenge

This is the first time I've joined in at  The Ribbon Girls challenge but here goes.  The colours to use this time were blue, aqua and brown - a lovely combination, and there were some very inspiring examples on the blog.

That swirl is from my latest purchase Spellbinders Twisted Metal Tags and Accents - think I'll be using this set a lot!  Thanks so much for every encouraging comment.

Less is More Challenge One Layer Card - 3 items

This challenge really got me going.  I used the waste from a Spellbinders Twisted Metal Tag die cut and sponged some Fired Brick DI through it then stamped the group of girls in the centre.  I did some dots round the shape with a black pen to give it an outline then stamped the sentiments using a stamp from one set and half an SU stamp so its 1 layer, 2 colours and 2.5 stamps but there are 3 girls on it!  Hope that counts.

Thanks for popping in.

Bunting card

Another card made with those lovely little bunting flags that seem to be everywhere - I love them.  The sun is actually peeking through today but the forecast is for more rain tomorrow (sigh...) so I guess its time to do what I can in the garden today but the ground is absolutely waterlogged so it will be on with the wellies!

Have a great Sunday whatever you are doing.

Less is More Challenge - Gold

Haven't done a LIM challenge for a good few weeks but when I saw the theme was Gold, I thought hmmm, where's that gold coloured crepe paper I had stashed away.  Mind you, it had a mind of its own when I tried to get the shape out of the die and its a wonder it stayed it one piece!  The message says "the best moments" on the front and inside it says "are when you set your spirit free"  - nice sentiment for a crafty friend of mine.

What do you when its raining .......

Well, we've had a great deal of rain lately but no more floods thank goodness!  It looks like July in the UK is going the same way as June - I think we had our summer in that very hot week back in March.  Anyway, at least it means there's more time for crafting when I can't get into the garden so I've been busy catching up with some birthday and thank you cards.  Here's a couple of them.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my creations.

Blue Flower card and flash floods!

Saw a great card over at Blush Crafts by Vicky here http://blush-dolly.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/red-white-and-blue.html and had to give it a try it looked so easy yet striking.  This is my version - thanks Vicky for the great inspiration.

Oh and just another quick pic to show you how our little stream at the bottom of the garden turned into a river after the terrible storm we had the other night.  I've never seen rain like it and and so thankful that our house is at the top of the hill and not the bottom!

Butterfly tag with paper carnation

Got all painty for the background of this tag and thought the carnation I made yesterday went well.  I cut out the butterfly by hand as I couldn't find a stamp the right size.  This tag is for a swap with my friend and I know she likes this style - good job I had an apron and gloves on when I made it though - I'm such a messy worker LOL

Clare's carnation flower tutorial

Wow, Clare is the queen of flower tutorials and put together a great video showing how to make a lovely carnation.  This is my attempt and I'm really pleased how it turned out.  Thanks Clare!

Here's the link to her tutorial if you want to have a go.  http://clare-buswell.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/paper-carnation-flower-tutorial-video.html

Winding up my DIL

My DIL, Nicola, has been very busy rushing around doing a hundred things at once so I thought I'd make her a card to put a smile on her face.  I love the way her arms move and the wheels she runs on!

The image was a freebie from the geckogalz papercrafting group and the gorgeous flower and pleated ribbon are Prima.

Seedsman's purse mystery

Now here's a picture of a paper "Seedsman's purse" I made ages ago and forgot all about posting.  I can remember the name of the tutorial because it was so unusual and I really liked how it turned out but I can't remember where I saw it and of course, the piece has been sent off to a friend at the other end of the country so I can't have a look to see how it was folded.  I wonder if anyone recognises it?    It was made from one sheet of 12x12 paper and formed a neat little pocket to hold some goodies which was then closed with the flap and tie at the top. 

Thanks again for your kind comments - I really do appreciate them.  Margie x

Little French tag book

A little French tag book made for a friend who loves this theme as much as I do.  Isn't that picture of Marie Antoinette on the front just beautiful?  I've got lots of projects on the go at the minute but not much is getting finished as I keep getting distracted by loads of other things going on.  Its been a great long weekend though with Jubilee celebrations and a visit from our son and daughter in law.  Its been a while since we've seen them and it was great catching up.  Hope everyone has enjoyed the weekend - whatever you've been up to. x

White "vase" made from card

I've been really busy lately making lots of paper flowers for our Craft group's display for the Jubilee Flower Festival next weekend and I was given the task of making a "vase" to display everyone's work in.  Well - seeing as we are a papercrafting group, I thought I'd make one from card and this is how it turned out.

I really like the embossing which was done with a Craft Concepts folder called Blooming Season but I'm even more impressed with the fact that the sides all matched up when I put it together.  I'm not the best at designing things but I couldn't find a template anywhere so had to start from scratch.  Just hope nobody decides to put any water into it!

Ooh La La!

Made this tag for a French-themed swap with my crafting buddies. 

I used stamped tissue for the background then made the little banner and added lots of bits and pieces.  I love the lace which was handmade in Nottingham but a little bit goes a long way!  Thanks for all your lovely comments on my efforts - I really appreciate it. x

I've ordered some Christy Tomlinson "she-art" stuff from the US and can't wait to get messy with it.  She has such confidence - wish I could just go for it like she does but it takes me so long to decide what to do!  As someone once said: "I thought I was indecisive, but now I'm not so sure!" LOL

Paper roses with leaves!

Oh, we love these!  My sister in law has been staying for a few days and we've had a great time crafting.  We made paper roses and then spotted this leaf tutorial from the very talented Clare here http://clare-buswell.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/leaf-tutorial.html  and we were smitten.  Here's the results which we are both very pleased with.  Just hope we can remember which ones belong to who LOL.

Dress form and ruffles

This is a card I've made for a friend after seeing Clare Buswell's beautiful creation and her tutorial here http://clare-buswell.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/paper-ruffle-tutorial-lots-of-photos.html   Mine isn't half as good as Clare's but I was pleased with the end result anyway.  I just love the Prima Almanac papers - they are all beautiful.  Thanks for all your kind comments - I love getting them!

Back from holiday

Back from a lovely week in the Peak District staying in a converted barn with fantastic views.  I only took limited supplies and didn't have all that much time to craft with all the walking we did but I made this Thank You card for the farm owners, inspired by the bicycle at their entrance.  Hoping to get back into crafting once all the washing and ironing is done!

Less is More Challenge - doodle card

Oh, this was fun!  I stamped the little girl then masked her to print the script over but put an arch shape over first so I could doodle the arch in afterwards!  My dear husband says it looks more like an iron than an arch but hey, its pretty good for someone who can't draw (at all!).  I like the doodle around her hat much better!  See what you think anyway.