Get Knotted!

I actually managed to make something today!!!


It's nothing like I wanted it to be - it was supposed to be a tri-fold card. I'd stuck the bits down on the smaller flap, and then messed up with the paper - the last piece, natch - so I cut off the flap and it's now turned on it's side!






The topper is made using Mizuhiki cord and despite making tonnes of them, I still need instructions - you know how some things you just don't 'get'? This is one of mine!


The paper is from a pack I got from Readicut for free - pay p+p only - but the offer has finished now, sorry! The oriental paper is from the Artpapers Script Pack, and I also used my corner rounder and concave corner punch.


You've probably noticed that the ink I edged the card with doesn't match the papers.... I really need to do something about my meagre amount of 'essentials'. I have loads of non-essentials, but I have next to no stamps, about 5, yes 5!!!! ink pads/embossing powders and a few punches.


So that's why my cards are pretty basic.... no cuttlebug, no die cutters, nothing - yet! Besides, the card is for my brother - he's not going to notice, trust me....

So much for that idea...

You know I said I was going to get a bit of crafting done every day? It hasn't happened, surprise, surprise! Jack's had a cold the past week, and now it's got chesty which means he's not sleeping properly. Every time I walk out the door after settling him, he rolls onto his back and starts coughing, waking himself up again. And so it goes all night. So at the moment I'm sleeping in his room with him, or else he gets into a state by the time I get to him. I've bedded down with the laptop - the joys of wi-fi - and some DVDs, so hopefully he'll be better soon!

A Couple of Luggage Tags

I decided to do these for the boys, for when we go away in September. Cory chose the stamps for both - the frog is by Inkadinkado and the VW camper - probably the closest we'll ever get to the real thing unfortunately! - is an Anita's one.

I found the tags on eBay, I think they were about £2 for 4. I'll type their info on a separate sheet and attach it to the back of each picture.




Jacks tag: Frog stamp, See D's Dot-to-Dot Alphabet stamps, Marvy le Plume markers, ribbon scrap and Memories pigment inkpad, corner rounder punch

Cory's tag: Camper stamp, holographic peel-offs, black Stazon, Memories pigment inkpad, ribbon scrap, corner rounder punch


Hopefully I'll be blogging a bit more in future, as I'm going to try to do a little bit of craft every day because at the moment I don't seem to be getting much done and I'm feeling creative!

A Few Things About Me...

I came across this on Julie's blog, which is great by the way!

I'm not so prolific a blogger that I would get tagged :( so I just put it on my blog myself!

1. If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say? I'd say HOORAY! (Although it would be a miracle as I'm single!)

2. When was the last time you flew in a plane? Feb 2002.

3. What did the last text message you sent say? I can't even remember that last time I sent a text message let alone what it said!

4. What features do you find most attractive in the opposite sex? Sense of humour, and if they look like Michael Vartan it's a bonus!

5. What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future? Get the house sorted and decorated... I'm fed up of all the junk!!

6. Shoe size? 8

7. Been to Mexico? Nope.

8. When is the last time you had a massage? I had a mini manicure at the Parent Toddler group on Wednesday. Does that count?

9. What was the last TV show you watched? I don't have a TV, but I watch Alias and Scrubs on DVD - A LOT!

10. What are your plans for the weekend? I want to get some crafting done, otherwise a quiet weekend in with the kids.

11. If your significant other asked you to marry them TODAY what would you say? I'd have to find one first!

12. What is in the back seat of your car right now? I don't drive :(

13. What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Getting Cory ready to go out for the day with his dad, washing up, laundry... by 8am we've already been up for a couple of hours at least!

14. If you could marry any celebrity today who would it be? Michael Vartan.

15. Have you ever been to a strip club? Yes. When I was at college, it's what happens when all your mates are male!!!!!

16. What is the best ice cream flavor? Strawberry.

17. What is the last sporting event you watched? Probably football.

18. Ever go camping? We went all the time when I was at school, and will probably go again when the kids are older.

19. Last phone call? To my mum.

20. Are you allergic to anything? Nope.

21. What is one thing you have learned about life recently? Money is not as important as everyone makes out. Unfortunately it is just as essential.

22. What do you do at work? I'm a stay at home mum, but the kids are Home-Ed so I teach.

23. What is your mom's name? Carol

24. Ever cried for no reason? Yes, but obviously I don't know why! ;)

25. Can you do the Crank Dat dance? The what????!

26. What is your favorite color to wear? Black - it helps to disguise the bumps, but I'm trying to be a bit more adventurous as the weight comes off.

27. What is the longest plane ride you have ever been on? From Gatwick to Lanzarote.

28. What is the longest road trip you have ever taken? Fareham to Chester via Hull!!!

29. What are your turn-offs? Ignorant people, those who slate single parents.

30. What was your last alcoholic beverage? Hardy's Sparkling Rose.

31. What are you craving right now? Cheesecake - Belgian Chocolate or Vanilla and Rhubarb... I'm not fussy!

So, now you know a little about me.... now it's your go. If you want to answer the questions, put them on your blog and let me know so I can learn some stuff about the great people who read my waffled musings!

Another Bootie and Box

These go with the card I posted the other day. I won't give all the details as I've posted one before and I did it in exactly the same way, just with different paper.

Now, I don't have a Cuttlebug but I love the Swiss Dots folder that you can get. So I thought why not make my own with a bit of 0.5cm squared paper and a Making Memories Eyelet Hole Punch? Here's the result, and what I did with it!

(Yes, I know the ribbon is upside down.... I'll put it down to artistic licence!)

I will get round to getting a Cuttlebug, but I want to redecorate the house first, so I'll have to make do with a bit of DIY of the crafting type and stick with the dry embossing! I think it turned out okay.

My 'Weight Loss Journey'

Back at the end of January I took the plunge and joined Slimming World. I've decided to do a ticker so I can keep a track of it - and if it's out there in public I might not be so tempted to give in to temptation - nobody wants a ticker that goes in the wrong direction! As you can see, it's going okay so far, hopefully I can keep it up!

Baby card

It's been so long since I made any cards! Can you believe I haven't made anything since Mother's Day?

But I'm back - for now at least - to do a couple of orders, and there's a couple of competitions I want to enter too...... All I have to do now is find a few extra hours in the day, and I'll be away!

So.... this card is for a baby boy (duh!), and, as always it seems, turned out completely different to how I pictured it! I wanted the tag to be plain paper, but it would seem I have every shade of blue except one to match the background dp.



I have no idea where the paper came from. I cut the bottom off when I got it - I have a weird 'thing' about excess stuff; I always peel the backgrounds away from my peel offs too! Yes, you're right, there's a little bit of crazy in my corner of the planet! Anyhoo, I used my EK Success concave corner punch on the, umm, corners and also to do the scalloped edge on the tag. I took the guard off and punched along the edge, using the bottom side of the punch up so you can see where you're punching. You have to punch the white part and place it over the dp.

The baby's face and 'bundle of joy' sentiment are stickers made with microbeads (or something in that vein), again I don't know where they came from because I got rid of the packaging..... The brads are Papermania, and the ribbon is an offcut from my ribbon box.

There was meant to be a whole lot more ribbon, different papers and all sorts of other things but I sat down, got started and then realised I didn't have anything that worked! I've also only ever made one new baby card for a girl, all the rest have been for boys, and I'm starting run out of ideas (shock!) as I don't like to do the same design more than once, and I only have a very limited amount of stash.

I've got another bootie and box to make to go with it, hopefully I'll get that done over the Easter weekend. It's also Cory's 4th birthday in 3 weeks so I'll need to get going on his card. It's my brother's birthday next week too, and it's always really hard to come up with something for him.

Now I need to go and sort my craft room and bedroom as I've just found two fab chests of drawers for £35 each from the furniture recycling centre. They are HUGE, solid wood and I can fit so much stuff into them - and they're just begging to be rubbed down, painted and customised!

Happy Mother's Day!

Hope all that are had a good one!

Of course, a day like this means I get to make a card. Unfortunately, at the moment, I only seem to make cards for special occasions or the odd order. I never seem to be able to sit down for long enough to just 'create'! I'm sure I'll get back into it - hopefully soon!!

Anyway, this is the card I made for my Mum - it's safe to post it now!

It's quite a long card - 12 inches, by about 3 inches tall. I created the letters using a word processing programme, and after printing them I cut them out. I started with the 'back' piece - the second 'M' - and placed it at the far right of a strip of cardstock. I used DCWV paper and used a patterned piece for the letter and a plain piece for the rest. I did this again on a shorter strip for the 'U', and an even shorter piece for the first 'M'. All of them were backed with another sheet, but I forgot to take a photo. Duh! The left hand side had an inch extra, which I punched and finished with purple Making Memories eyelets (top piece only), tied with ribbon after sticking them together so that it didn't slip.

The letters were sponged with purple and white ColorBox inks, and finished with a butterfly embellishment, some American Crafts ribbon and some Stampendous and Anita's peel offs.

I hope that made sense... reading it back it seems a little jumbled, but I'm sure fellow crafters will get the gist!!