Altered Originals

More gilding

2010-11-22T10:26:00.005Z

I thought I would have a go at some more gilding, so I made another picture for Christmas. I chose images that face each other so they'll look good on the mantlepiece. It's really hard to get a decent photograph as it's so dull today, and they are also highly reflective, but it is a lot better up close.

Again I used the kit I bought from HERE - it's well worth the money as you get plenty of gold leaf (25 sheets, this 6 x 4 design took 1½), brushes and enough paint in several colours to do dozens of designs.

Thanks for looking

Christmas is coming...

2010-11-13T14:13:00.005Z

am I allowed to say that? I have to admit that I'm not a fan of tinsel at Christmas, but I think my house can sometimes look a little bare and less than festive. I am always trying to come up with something more personal to add to my collection, and having decided that I would try my hand at Verre Églomisé (glass gilding), chose a reindeer to get me started.

I was surprised how easy it was after reading how tricky gold leaf can be to use, and although I used imitation gold leaf which is thicker it was still so easy to tear.

This is where I bought the kit if you're interested in having a go: Gold Leaf Supplies

Thanks for looking

Charisma Cardz Sketch Challenge

2009-05-07T23:25:00.003+01:00

I really enjoyed doing this sketch challenge at Charisma Cardz although the colours look really dull in the photo, it's actually quite a bright card in real life.

I started with a green base that's actually a nice bright colour. I matted the dp - not sure where it's from - on some brown cs for the main panel, and ran some mossy green Core'dinations cs through the cuttlebug with the swiss dots folder. The picture is a digi-stamp (I used the ready coloured one) and the sentiment is computer generated. I finished it with another strip of brown cs with a sticky ribbon, and some peel off dots coloured using peel off markers.

Thanks for stopping by

365 Cards - I Want Candy

2009-05-07T22:58:00.003+01:00

I struggled a bit with the 365 cards challenge today, I had nothing that would really 'work'.

It's only an A6 card so I didn't have quite so much space to fill, so I started with a pink layer, with K&Co Sweet and Sassy paper on top of that. I embossed some white card with the Swiss Dots folder and cut the sweet out of some more K&Co paper. I added a page pebble and some ribbon, and the sentiment is computer generated.

Thanks for looking

365 Cards - Think Pink

2009-05-06T21:27:00.004+01:00

Today's 365 cards challenge is to include 'a whole lot of pink', which wasn't too hard for me as I am going through a pink phase at the moment. I started with a dark pink base, with a layer of pale blue cs, and a layer of paler pink. The strips of paper are from the K&Co 6x6 packs Sweet and Sassy and Belle. I paper pieced Vicky's dress using paper from the same pack and coloured the rest with Promarkers. I layered her up on the same colours of cs as before and added the green ribbon. I finished it with the flower with a 10mm Dovecraft gem in the centre.

The inside uses the same cs again and is finished with a strip of dp.

Thanks for looking,

365 Cards - A Hard One!!

2009-05-05T22:38:00.003+01:00

I really struggled with the 365 Cards challenge today - to include the sentiment 'You are there, and I am here'.

I've had this Inkadinkado stamp pretty much since I started stamping, and rarely use it but thought it would work well for this challenge. I stamped it on white card with black Stazon and watercoloured it, before mounting it on various layers of brown and white cs and Scribble Scrabble dp. I paper pierced one layer. The base of the card is brown cs with layers of the same papers, and the strip across the middle is punched using a Fiskars border punch layered onto white paper. The ribbon was out of a bargain box so no idea who makes it, and the sentiment and the box it is in is computer generated.

The inside uses the same Scribble Scrabble paper, and again the sentiment is computer generated.

Thanks for stopping by,

365 cards - Day 65

2009-05-04T18:57:00.003+01:00

The challenge at 365 cards today was a Mother's Day card which, being in the UK we've already had this year. The card I came up with just says 'For You, Mum' so it could be used any time - for Mother's Day, a birthday or just because.

The base is 6x6in purple cs, covered with the paler green from the Papermania Boutique 8x8 stack. The purple dp is from the same stack. I used the same combo for the strip in the centre, and added the computer generated sentiment printed on white cs. The image - Tulip bowl from Sketching Stamper - was coloured using Whispers markers and mounted on the same purple cs as the base. I'm not sure about the flower, but it's there now, and it's staying put!

Thanks for looking

365 Cards - Super Sketchy Sunday

2009-05-03T21:29:00.005+01:00

I really enjoy doing the various sketch challenges that are around, and this one in particular has so many variations, I had to stop at just one card (for today at least!)

The chandelier was a free download from Jak at Crafter's Kitchen and the paper is Papermania 8x8 Boutique stack. The flowers are attached using brads, and I added some bling to the chandelier. It is all mounted on a black 15x15cm base. I decorated the inside with the same paper and another flower.

Thanks for stopping by

365 cards - Floral Fest

2009-05-02T21:28:00.003+01:00

The challenge at 365 Cards today is to include eight flowers on your design. As much as I love all the flower embellishments out there, I have real difficulty in placing them right. They either seem to be too spread out and look lost, or too cramped and busy, so as lovely as they are, I decided to use a digi-stamp instead. Luckily this one (Daisy Crazy from SketchingStamper) had the eight flowers required, so I coloured it in using watercolour pencils but decided they looked better not painted. It's actually a tri-fold card, and all the inside panels are decorated with the same layers of green cards and gingham paper. The sentiment under the image flap says 'Birthdays are like flowers; the passing time brings forth the most beautiful blooms' - can't find who said it, but it's nice anyway. You can see it in this picture:

Thanks for looking, I really appreciate it!

Skateboarder Josh

2009-05-01T22:58:00.002+01:00

The boys were with Nanny and Grandad for the day today, so I managed to play with my new digi-stamp - 'Skateboard Josh' from DigiStamp Boutique. I didn't have a recipient in mind for the card so there's no sentiment, but I like it as it is.

Josh is coloured with Pro Markers, except for his clothes which is paper pieced. He's mounted on various layers of cardstock (12 layers in all!!), and the papers used are both from the Papermania 'For Him' 8x8 stack. I popped him up on foam dots and added some ribbon from Papermania also.

The inside is built up in the same way:

Thanks for looking :)

365 Cards - Day 62

2009-05-01T13:01:00.006+01:00

Todays challenge over at 365cards is 'Age is just a number' so there should be a number of some sort on the card. This was a bit of a challenge but after thinking about it for a bit I came up with this card:

I've made one similar before - the numbers are wooden and about 8.5cm tall. I covered them with paper from the K&Co Sparkly Sweet stack, and sanded the edges. The other layers are also from this stack and they are mounted on purple cardstock. I finished the corners with half pearls, and added a panel inside for the greeting. These photos show the card front on and the inside.

Thanks for stopping by

PTW Challenge card - Spots and Stripes

2009-04-29T23:47:00.003+01:00

This is my entry for the Papertake Weekly challeng e which was spots and stripes. I decided to go for a masculine card, so the Dovecraft Masculine 12x12 stack was perfect. The stripes came from that pack, and the spots from the Papermania For Him stack. These are matted on white card, while the card base is slightly textured. The circles are up on foam dots and finished with a button. I cut the corner piece and again matted it on white and added some half pearls, and the sentiment is some peel off stickers. The corners are rounded to tie in with the scallops and also the inside:

Thanks for looking :)

Anniversary Card

2009-04-28T22:12:00.004+01:00

This card was made using a digi-stamp from Grab-a-doodle-do - the pretty birds set. I coloured it using pro markers, and the ribbon was also coloured using these. The yellow is the reverse side of some SEI paper, embossed with the swiss dots folder. The bottom is the front side of the same paper and it is all mounted on pink SEI paper. The image is mounted on the same paper, embossed using scallop nesties and finished with a gem in each scallop, popped up on foam dots. The sentiment is computer generated, and printed on SEI paper (again!), and finished with some primas.

Thanks for looking

365 Cards Challenge - Something's Fishy

2009-04-27T23:24:00.003+01:00

For todays challenge over at 365 Cards you had to include at least one fish - kinda tricky as I didn't have anything remotely fishy! I've had my eye on some digi-stamps from Pink Petticoat for a while so thought why not - and Cory can use them too. So, here's my attempt:

I haven't made a shadow box card for a while so thought I would give it another go. I cut the circle in the base cs using my cuttlebug and nesties after scoring the fold lines. The fish is between two layers of acetate, as are the rocks and weed (both free hand drawn). I used DCWV dp on the back sheet, and the blue dp on the front is American Crafts. I finished it with the greeting (part of the digi-stamp kit) and a button, and some peel off stickers that I think look a bit like bubbles. It's not a great picture as it's so hard to photograph acetate, especially at night with rubbish lighting!

Thanks for looking

Gift Box

2009-04-23T20:38:00.003+01:00

Not a card this time, but a gift box. It's big enough to fit three travel sized bottles of bath smellies.

I used cream hammer card for the base - I'm not sure of the measurements as I made it to fit the bottles. The pink was embossed using the Framey keepsake board and finished with half pearls, and the dp is Laura Ashley. The cuttlebug butterfly was one that I got in a swap and I added some crystals to it's body. The box is tied closed with the ribbon.

Thanks for looking :)

PTW Challenge card - Perfect Pastels

2009-04-17T11:36:00.004+01:00

Well this really was a challenge as I don't really have anything I would call pastel coloured - I tend to go for brighter colours and big patterns, but I settled for this Laura Ashley paper from an 8x8 stack, layered on the palest pink I could find. I stamped my Stampendous 'Sketchbook Dragonfly' using black Stazon, and coloured it using watercolour pencils. I cut it out and embossed it using nesties, and layered it on a pink scallop. Finished the corners with 5mm half pearls.

Thanks for popping by

Bev's Blog Candy

2009-04-16T07:58:00.003+01:00

Bev has got some fab blog candy to give away <HERE> to celebrate her blogoversary this month. Pop over and see what's on offer!

Boys Will Be Boys

2009-04-10T20:00:00.001+01:00

This was going to be a challenge entry, but I've decided to try another one for that, so it's here instead, just another card to add to my ever-growing stash of cards!

I used my 'Little Boy' stamp by GCS Artstamps (available at SirStampalot), another stamp that I love but don't use often enough! I coloured him using watercolour pencils* - didn't do a great job as I've not used them before, I normally use paints - but practice makes perfect as they say! He was cut out using nesties and layered on some blue paper I pinched from Cory's own craft stash (which is nearly as big as mine, lol). The other layers are Dovecraft Masculine dp, layered on the same blue paper, and the sentiment is cut out from the dp too.

* Mine were a bargain - a tin with 24 pencils for £2.80 from Tesco

Thanks for looking,

Christening Card

2009-04-09T13:00:00.000+01:00

I wanted to keep this card fairly simple, and although it is for a church christening I didn't want it to be overly religious. I think the cross stamp (Papermania PMA10056) fits the bill, as does the writing which was created in MS Word. I mounted the cross on silver card (dull silver, not shiny), and used my ticket corner punch on both layers. I used a Debbie Moore Regency Corner stamp on each corner which was a late addition as I thought it looked a bit too simple! Finally I added some gems to the cross.

Considering it was such a simple card, it took a surprising amount of tries to get it right - I think I've managed it now!

Thanks for looking, let me know what you think

PTW Sketch Challenge card

2009-04-08T22:24:00.004+01:00

This is my entry for this week's Papertake Weekly Challenge, a fab sketch that I will definitely use again.

I used my Stampendous Beaded Bodice stamp - one of the first stamps I bought when I started card making, and still one of my favourites now although I rarely use it. I stamped the image with Versamark, and embossed it using Ranger Antiquities Chinese Red embossing powder. It's all layered up on misc red and black card, and I've added clear gems and a sentiment created in MS Word.

I'm really getting into these challenges now, and they're really helping me come up with new ideas so you'll be seeing a lot more entries in future!

Thanks for popping by

Quilted Card

2009-04-07T22:44:00.004+01:00

This is my attempt at a 'quilted' card - don't look too closely at the stitching... it's a new machine and I'm still getting used to having an electric sewing machine dedicated to card making. My other one is a Singer with a treadle that I don't like to use on cards as it only does one stitch - forwards!! Anyway, I used some gorgeous K&Co papers - from the Amy Butler 'Belle' collection. They were a 6x6 pad, and are only £2.50 for 36 sheets! Needless to say I have quite a few packs sat waiting to be used :)

This is the sketch over at 365cards, and I made each square 4cm x 4cm, cutting some on diagonals and leaving others whole. I assembled them how I wanted them and stitched over all the joins - not the neatest job in the world, but these fangle-dangle machines are so FAST!! The blue is Core'dinations and I finished it off with some half pearls.

Thanks for looking!

Go bananas!

2009-04-06T23:17:00.004+01:00

This card is another challenge entry, this time the Daring Cardmakers Challenge, and the theme is "feeling fruity". Cory is getting into stamping and in his collection he had this Hero Arts stamp, so I borrowed it while he wasn't looking (he's very possessive of his stash, a feeling I think most of us can relate to!)

I stamped the image with Stazon, and added the branch freehand. They are watercoloured and cut out using nesties, layered on a Core'dinations cs scallop. The challenge being fruit related presented a problem - nothing fruit related! So I found a clip art and made my own backing paper, and the sentiment was also created using MS Word. I decorated the inside of the card using the same papers and font, just to break up the yellow a bit. The sentiment on the front is finished with a 1cm brad, but I can't remember the brand.

Thanks for looking, and let me know what you think :)

Cory's Birthday Card

2009-04-02T23:59:00.005+01:00

It's hard to believe that Cory will be five in a couple of weeks! He spotted this paper in the craft shop the other day, and I knew it would be perfect for his card as he is so into animals at the moment.... he's decided he wants to go on Safari - not sure if we're ready for that yet!

Anyway, here's the card:

It's another digi-stamp, this time from Grab-a-doodle-do. I'm afraid I cheated a bit and used the ready coloured image as none of my markers/paints etc were quite right. So, the background is Sandylion 'At The Zoo' and it is matted on dark brown Core'dinations cs. The strip is Sandylion 'Stripe' paper, again matted on cs. I printed the image and matted it before popping it up on foam pads, and added the ribbon from American Crafts. The sentiment is typed up in MS Word, as is the number 5 which I printed the outline only onto HOTP Wild Things Giraffe print paper. This I cut out and layered on a couple of nestie circles. Instead of using brads, I used some peel off stickers (or the negatives left behind on the sheet) as I could colour them to match with peel off markers.

This card will also be entered into the Charisma Cardz Challenge and Secret Crafter Challenge for this week.

Thanks for looking, let me know what you think :)

Digi-stamped card

2009-04-01T23:16:00.007+01:00

This card was digi-stamped using 'Vicky' from Sketching Stamper, then the dress was paper pieced using K&Co Sparkly Sweet paper (close-up below)

I layered her up on Core'dinations CS and matted it on black. The background is the same paper again matted on black and to break it up I added the black Dovecraft ribbon. The image panel is popped up on foam pads and I added 3mm Artwork crystals to finish it off.

As it turns out, paper piecing is my favourite technique (this week anyway), so it fits in with the challenge over at Charisma Cardz: "My Favourite Things". Looks like I'll be entering my 2nd challenge in as many days!

Thanks for popping by!

Papertake Weekly Challenge Entry

2009-04-01T22:52:00.003+01:00

Well, I've been saying for ages that I'm going to enter one of the many challenges I've come across, and here it is: my first ever challenge entry!

It's an A6 card for the Papertake Weekly Challenge, and it was to include 1 circle, 2 ribbons and 3 stamps. The circle is the nestabilities, the two ribbons are small but definitely there, and it gave me the opportunity to use my MFT Punny Farm stamp set which I love, but find hard to use (in a creative sense, not literally!). I paper pieced the hat and wellies using K&Co Sparkly Sweet DP, and used another sheet from the same block for the background layer. I coloured the rest of the image using Whispers markers.

Thanks for looking as always

Finally made something!

2009-03-29T19:26:00.010+01:00

These are the first things I have made since before Christmas (!) and hopefully they'll be the first of many. Apologies for the terrible photos, the lighting was awful when they were taken and no amount of editing would make them look better!

The blocks were made for my nephew Ollie who was born in February. I used DCWV papers and some misc papers from my stash. The blue on the front is Core'dinations cs with some die cut letters I bought years ago off of eBay, coloured to match, and finally added the little blue hand and feet.

Next up is my Mum's Mother's Day card. I got the idea from the far superior card on Karen's blog, although I don't actually have the butterfly die/folder so I had to use one I was sent in a swap, hence the white! I also didn't have any bling that was small enough so I used stickles which didn't do a very good job of drying in the dots it was put on in. I made the card to match the present which follows.....

This is a recipe folder that I CASEd from Lauren Meader... in fact I downloaded her template from Papertrey Ink and using that as a guide, I just altered the number of pockets etc. I made the recipe cards myself using MS Word - 9cm x 19cm to fit in a 10cm envelope. There are 4 pockets, three on the inside and one on the outside of the fold IYSWIM, as well as a notes page (which is just another recipe card with the top cut off) and a jumbo paperclip for clippings. If you click on the pictures you'll hopefully be able to see more clearly than I can explain. I wish the photos did it more justice, as the papers (Laura Ashley) are really stunning in real life.

Thanks for looking

I've been tagged - TWICE!

2008-11-26T22:54:00.004Z

Wow, so I've been tagged twice..... does that mean I have to twice as interesting???

Thanks to Jane and Toni for thinking I might have something useful to say... I'm going to add my facts now and have a think over the next few days who to tag, as it's Jack's 2nd birthday tomorrow and I need to get things ready!

I have to share 7 random or weird facts about myself, and nominate 7 other blogs to tag. So:

1. I home educate my boys (with the help of their dad, and various family members) and would eventually like to train to be a forest school practitioner.

2. I have my ears, nose and eyebrow pierced and have done for about 10 years.

3. I don't have a TV (but I still watch Alias and Scrubs on DVD a lot!)

4. I can't swim

5. I hate the water, probably the cause of number 4!!

6. I spend way too much time blurfing, and end up not actually making anything

7. I hate, hate, HATE clowns and spiders

Now you know something about me!

Blog Candy from Rach

2008-10-23T18:19:00.003+01:00

Rach is giving away some Whiff of Joy blog candy HERE, check it out for a chance to win.

Business Card Holder

2008-10-07T00:21:00.004+01:00

I have a business card holder for when I do fayres and the likes, but thought it might actually be nicer if I made my own for when I leave cards in shops etc. So, I had a play and came up with this:

I used Kanban Vintage Deco 300gsm card, and you can see from the second picture that I made the template a panel longer at each end (that's the back and the smaller bit at the front) so that it could be folded over to cover the joins. This way there's pattern on the back as well as the inside.

Thanks for reading,

Birthday Cards

2008-10-07T00:07:00.005+01:00

This first card was really quick and easy, but it actually looks quite smart in real life. The base is black cs (A4), and on that I have a mat of red with the oriental paper. Then I have matted Core'dinations cs on some more red. The image is a peel off that I thought I would use as I'm trying to use them all up (but it's hard, cos I hate using them now!). I finished with three gold mini brads.

*CASEd from Julie

For the second card I used blue A4 cs for the base and cut it down to make it square. The dp is from the Dovecrafts Masculine 12x12 pack and I have edged this with a strip of blue, which I trimmed with a wavy edged cutting blade and then faux stitched using a machine and white Sakura Glaze pen. The greeting panel is the same cs as used for the base and strip, and the greeting itself is another peel off coloured using peel off markers. Again I finished with 3 mini brads.

Thanks for looking

Hanging Christmas Decorations

2008-10-05T20:21:00.005+01:00

This will only be a quick post as I have too much stuff to do, and not enough time in which to do it!

I made another of these decorations using coasters today. This time I used paper from Anita's 'Classic Xmas Blue' 6x6 pack, and silver ribbon with a Christmas greeting on it. The letters are the same as before, again embossed with silver. I have to say these letters are great to work with, I'll definitely be buying more (from HERE)

Sorry about the picture, the weather's been horrible and dull so it's hard to get a good one :(

Thanks for looking!

Gift Voucher/Money Wallets

2008-10-04T21:52:00.004+01:00

These money wallets or gift voucher holders were really simple to make, but I think it's much nicer to put cash etc in something like this.... I think it makes it feel more like a present!

The two Christmas wallets are made with Papermania 'A Wonderful Christmas Time' papers, and misc cs. The 'Merry Christmas' part was cut from another of these sheets and matted on the same cs as the wallet and band are made from. I finished the band with some green grosgrain ribbon.

The second uses the same paper pack, but this time I used my square scallop punch with an image from another sheet. This one is slightly larger as originally I made them to fit up to a £50 note, but figured if they are DL size, they could be put into an envelope easier if you wanted to mail them, and they would be more likely to fi a shop voucher too.

The final one uses paper from my favourite pack, Dovecraft 8x8 Retro Flowers. The wallet is made in the same way but has a grosgrain ribbon tie instead. I've attached the ribbon to the back of the wallet with dst.

Thanks for reading

Coasters

2008-10-04T01:00:00.005+01:00

I finally found somewhere that sells white coasters (as opposed to the printed ones I used to have to use that showed through!), so I did some experimenting:

I covered both sides with dp from Papermania 'A Wonderful Christmas Time' set. I sanded the edges and punched holes using my Crop-o-dile, and added red eyelets. I threaded red grosgrain through, using dst to secure it on the back. The letters are chipboard, covered with Versamark and embossed with silver embossing powder - these came from Handy Hippo and are 1 1/2" tall.

For this pen holder, I again covered both sides of the coasters with dp from the Dovecraft Masculine set. I sanded them and then used ribbon to join the sides (the holes were made with the larger side of he crop-o-dile). The base was stuck on using Diamond Glaze, and the dividers were added at the end.

Thanks for reading

A Couple of Birthday Cards

2008-10-04T00:21:00.004+01:00

These were for 3 year old twins.

For this one I used Dovecraft Retro Flower dp layered on yellow Core'dinations cs. I used the ticket punch and added an eyelet to each corner. I stamped 'Lola with Bird' from Funky Kits, and paper pieced her dress and hat. I coloured the rest using Whispers pastel markers. This I matted onto red Core'dinations cs, and then onto yellow - and also layered the name in the same way. I coloured the brads to match the dp, and added a flower and spotted brad.

The second card uses another dp from the Dovecraft Retro Flowers pack, layered on pink Core'dinations cs. I stamped 'Lola with Flowers', watercoloured her and layered her on green cs. I finshed the fron off with the lettering and some ribbon.

The inside of the card uses some more of the same paper, with a panel of cs with the white for a message.

Thanks for looking

Notelet Set #3

2008-09-16T21:55:00.005+01:00

Another notelet set, but with a different box. I'm not too keen on the notelets themselves - I think the stamped image is too small and that the colour is a bit strong - I might do another set and make the cards more like the top of the box. Not to mention that I put the corner pieces in the wrong corners on the green ones... didn't notice until I uploaded the photo now!

There are 6 notelets in the set, 2 each of green, pink and purple to match the colours of the main image, which is 'Modesty' by Penny Black, watercoloured and pierced in the corners. I also roughed up the edges a bit as they looked a bit flat without.

Thanks for reading, and as always any feedback is very welcome!

Post-it Pad

2008-09-11T20:35:00.004+01:00

This was a really quick make.

I used a piece of white Core'dinations cs 9cm x 19cm, scored at 9cm and 10cm. For the top I used a dark blue piece of Core'dination cs cut slightly smaller than the white and used my concave punch on the corners. On top of this is more of the same but slightly lighter, and a couple of mm smaller. Sorry, I don't know the exact colours of the cs, as they're from a pack and don't have it on. The top is a dp from the Dovecraft Retro Floral pack with the corners rounded, finished with a (Papermania I think?) flower and brad, and peel off lettering coloured using peel off markers from Imag-e-nation. The post-its themselves are from Tesco.

I'm fairly happy with the results, but I think in future I wouldn't use white cs for the base.

Thanks for reading

A Quick Make...

2008-09-09T21:57:00.005+01:00

...well it would've been if my bind-it-all had co-operated, but I got it going in the end and produced this pad and pen set.

The pad measures roughly 9cm x 9.5cm, the pages being just under 9cm x 9cm. The purple is misc cs, and the paper on the pad and pen is from the Dovecraft Retro Floral Prints 8x8 pack. I thought I would have multicoloured pages to add a bit of interest so I picked colours that matched the dp (blue, green, pink, orange and yellow).

The pen is made in the same way as these here with the exception that I heated the tape for about 40 seconds before adding the beads - apparently it helps the beads stick better, so I'll see if it works.

Notelet Set 2

2008-09-09T14:17:00.004+01:00

This set is different to the first in that it opens out, instead of having a flap.

I made 6 A6 cards, and used the Chick-a-Doo range of Sei papers and some more Core'dinations card. The papers are double sided, so the cover consists of the front side of Chick-a-doo layered on slightly larger pieces of the reverse side IYSWIM. The front of the top three cards are Pee Wee's Kiwis from the same paper range, and the bottom three use the reverse side, so all six cards are made with one sheet of 12x12. The scallops are from the Core'dinations card, which I've drawn dots on using a Sakura glaze pen, and the pictures are 2" circles taken from a sheet of the paper I used for the covers.

I didn't plan to use these for the scallops but I put a message on them and when they were all put together I didn't like them and needed to cover them up!

The ribbon used to tie them up is American Crafts... I thought it was too dark, but the opinion so far is that it's a good contrast, so it's staying. Oh, and the box itself is another sheet of Core'dinations white cs.

Thanks for reading

Notelet Set

2008-09-07T13:38:00.005+01:00

Six notelets with envelopes in a box

I made these A6 notelets and box using the Core'dinations ColorCore cardstock. I bought one of their 6x6 Super Assortment pack, and found them really good to work with. The orange scallop square, the green panels, the box and the band are all made using the card (although the box and band are 12x12 sheets).

The flower is a stamp which I coloured using Whispers pastel markers. I covered the whole square in clear versamark and embossed the whole thing, then put it on the scalloped square. The green layer has silver eyelets on each corner, and the picture was put on glue dots for a bit of dimension. The sentiment says 'Just a Note...' which was printed directly onto the card in Fine Hand font in Olive Green (3).

The box was a bit of guesswork really, and it took me a couple of goes to get it right, but now it works I can make a pattern and hopefully make a few sets.

Thanks for looking

Another Set of Blocks

2008-09-03T23:24:00.004+01:00

I've managed to get another set of blocks finished, this time NOEL. I used the same sized blocks, same set of papers, but this time I tried the letters with clear Versamark ink and white embossing powder and I think it worked much better.... even if the E is a bit wonky!

Thanks for looking, I'm off to bed in a bit!

Christmas Blocks

2008-09-03T18:00:00.004+01:00

I made these blocks to go on my table at the 'evening gala' I'm doing next month. I figured I'd aim to make more Christmas stuff as most people seem to be starting to think along those lines by now.

They're 2in blocks from Opitec, which I have given a couple of coats of white acrylic paint. I've used papers from a 6x6 Christmas pack, but I can't remember which brand - I'll try to remember to look next time I go to the craft shop and update later. I stamped the letters using the Plain Jane alphabet stamp set from See D's in white with white embossing powder. I wasn't completely happy with how they turned out, which I think is because of the ink... it was a bit patchy. These were glued on with PVA, and once they were dry I used a snowblock (like those used in nail bars) to sand the edges. They're finished off with a layer of acrylic sealer.

Thanks for looking

I've received an award

2008-08-25T06:44:00.005+01:00

...although I don't deserve it! I was given this back in April and completely neglected to put it up on here and pass it on. So, sorry to Toni who gave it to me.... that will teach me to pay more attention! Thankyou!

I'm to pass this Artey Pico award on to five other bloggers and here they are:

Lauren, Liz, Amy, Nettie, and Jak.

Another Girly Birthday Card

2008-08-05T20:11:00.004+01:00

This card is similar to the last one I posted. It's the same size, and I used the same papers. This time I covered the entire base with the pink piece, and cut two triangles from the black. I matted these onto white card. The triangular pieces weren't particular sizes and they weren't matted centrally, just to make it a bit less formal. The whole thing was matted on black, and finished off with the centre piece. This was a cuttlebugged layer that Dimps sent me (thanks!), layered on black, then onto silver and onto black again. I popped it up on glue dots to add a bit of dimension.

Thanks for looking

Girly Birthday Card

2008-07-27T19:41:00.005+01:00

I used a white base for this A5 card, with a slightly smaller piece of black matted on top. I cut four rectangles of the two papers - not sure what brand they are, it doesn't say anywhere on them - and made one large rectangle. I think if I did it in future I would cut one full sized piece and stick the two contrasting pieces to it - a bit of a waste when you're as short of stash as I am but definitely easier. I'm not sure if you can see it properly from the photo but some of the flowers on both papers are outlined in silver, so I wanted to carry that on in the other layers. I cut the middle layer from some silver card I pinched from Cory's craft box (I swear that boy has more than I do!) and used my ticket punch for the corners. On top of that is another rectangle of black. The flowers are single layers of what are actually 3D peel offs, stuck onto acetate and coloured from the back using the peel off markers from Imag-e-nation. I popped them up on glue dots for a bit of dimension, and added the greeting - again with peel offs, as I don't have enough stamps :(

Hope you like it, and thanks for looking!

Cards for Father's Day and a Birthday

2008-07-13T21:22:00.005+01:00

Ok, so I know Father's Day was a while ago, but never mind! These were made for my dad, and for my Grandad from my mum.

For the background I used Basic Grey paper, and used my sanding block to soften the edges a bit, as I did with all of the layers. The dp is from my local craft shop, but I don't know who from. The layer with the lettering on is cream card coloured with chalks, and peel offs. I finished it with 3 page pebbles.

This card looks simple, and had I had a bit more stash it would've been! I knew what I wanted to do with this card, and I had the dp but no paper that matched for the background. So I dug out the coffee - can't stand the stuff personally, but it seems it does have it's uses! - and stained a piece of white cs. When it was dry, I added darker patches with more coffee and chalks.

The dp is mounted on some paper I got from the freebie pack from Readicut - you can't see it but it's metallic. The tag - which is off of some clothes from Asda - is also covered in this paper, and the edges have been sanded. The ribbon is American Crafts, and I finished the corner with some mini brads.

For this card I layered pink cs onto the base, and the green and patterned paper are a double sided dp layered on more white. The page pebbles use the same paper, and the Cuttlebugged butterfly is one from Dimps (thanks!). Simple but effective.

Thanks for looking

Sketch pad

2008-07-13T21:01:00.004+01:00

I made this using my Bind-it-All. It's A5 size, so just right for popping in a bag (well, one of my cavernous hold-alls, anyway!) and carrying around with me, for when I'm feeling 'inspired'!

The paper I used for the cover is Basic Grey, and on the inside I used a blue to match that in the paper. The letters are from a pack that Dawn from the Imag-e-nation forum sent me, so thanks Dawn! I left them as they were, as they did have a very light pattern on them and I think they show up well against the background. The ribbons are from American Crafts and Dovecraft.

A few new things

2008-07-13T20:00:00.005+01:00

This is the first of several posts I'll make today, seems as I haven't posted for three months.... which is just shocking!

Beaded Pens

I've wanted to make these for ages, and I finally bit the bullet and ordered some Mini Micro beads from PennyWise Arts - which arrived in a week and I was only charged $8 for shipping, so I would definitely recommend them. The pens are from Tesco - a pack of 6 is £1.00.

I cut a piece of paper the length of the clear part of the pen and wide enough to wrap around with a slight overlap, then used 3mm dst to attach it to the pen. All of the pens here used 6x6 DCWV paper - the patterns are scaled down, and on an area as small as the pen I prefer this to bigger pieces.

I then cut a piece of double sided tape from an A4 sheet (from Stix2), the same size as the paper. I attached it to the pen ** CAREFULLY **, as it's pretty much permanent; then I removed the other side of the tape and rolled it in the beads. I rolled it around between my hands for a couple of minutes just to make sure they all stick - as yet, they're all still on there!

Well, I hope that made sense... here's the picture

Thanks for looking

A Thank You card

2008-04-13T19:06:00.003+01:00

Just a quick post today, as I've still got some more thankyou cards to do after Cory's birthday.

This card is just over 4" square. I used a piece of DCWV paper from a 6x6 block and cut it a couple of mm smaller all round. The scallop circle is done with the 3" punch, from the same cs as the base (from the Paper Mill Shop - before they changed their prices and box sizes - they don't do that colour any more!). I stamped the image which is 'Sketchbook Dragonfly' from Stampendous, coloured it using the Whispers Pastel set, cut it out and stuck it onto the scallop. I added the dots with a white Sakura pen, and added a couple of primas with a Dovecraft brad.

Thanks for reading!

Birthday Banner

2008-04-12T21:18:00.004+01:00

Two posts in one day, can you believe it?!

I made this banner for Cory's birthday. Now, until now I've always bought banners - it never even occured to me to make one! Duh! So I was sitting there after I bought the Dovecraft Masculine pack, thinking 'what am I going to make with all this 'male' type paper, as I have so few male cards to make?' I thought it would be relegated to a drawer and forgotten about, until I thought of doing this:

Sorry it's not a great picture, but the weather's been awful and I just couldn't get a decent photo.
You can see better if you click it. (Please try to ignore the fact that the patterns are out of sequence... not sure how I managed it, but it bugs me every time I look at it!)

I made the triangles with plain white cs, and I got 3 triangles from a sheet - turn an A4 sheet so it's landscape and mark at 14 and 28cm from the left. Turn it around and mark at 7 and 21cm from the right hand side. You can connect the lines, but I just used a metal rule and a craft knife to cut them. I cut the dp 5mm smaller all round and used dst to attach them to the cs. The scallop squares were done using my 2" Woodware punch, and the letters are some stickers I bought ages ago - can't remember where, though - and never used so I thought I'd try them.

I joined them together using a length of white 5mm ribbon from the bargain box at the local craft shop. I just popped a tiny piece of dst behind the ribbon on the back of the triangle to stop it slipping, or I know I would be constantly straightening them up! One thing though - this size triangle means that the banner is about 6 feet long! Didn't think to add it all up before I started cutting....

Thanks for reading

Cory had a great birthday!

2008-04-12T13:43:00.004+01:00

Well it was Cory's birthday yesterday... can't believe he's 4 already! We took him to Marwell Zoo for the day, and he loved it. Him and Jack were on their best behaviour too, not a single moan between them, but they did get super-hyper and didn't go to bed til 9 - about 3 hours after I could've happily crashed out! He saw all his favourite animals - giraffes, tigers, penguins, hippos and rhinos - so he was really happy with that, as he missed the giraffes when we went to London zoo last year. We didn't tell him where we were going, so it wasn't until he saw the huge picture of a tiger at the entrance that he kind of guessed where we were.

Sorry, none of the photos have been edited at all, as none of my programs seem to want to co-operate today!

Here's the card I made for him:

It was a pretty simple card in terms of the layering - the base is misc. yellow 12x12 cardstock, layered with the same cs in orange and green. I drew the picture, which took a fair while, and did the border separately - next time I'll draw the border and the picture on the same piece of paper, it's far too fiddly cutting the border out and risk ripping it. Now I haven't got any of the markers or pencils that I would like and have seen so many brilliant things done with, I just used bulk standard kids coloured pencils from the supermarket. Not the best result in the world, but I think it worked! I used sticky pads to make it stand out a bit. Oh, and I added the flower and brad but I can't remember who they are by.

Now I just have to make some thankyou cards.... Cory's practising his handwriting so he can sign them!

A Couple of New Cards

2008-04-07T19:30:00.005+01:00

These two cards were made for my Grandad's birthday, the first from me and the boys, and the second from my mum and dad.

I've had the 'Punny Farm' set from My Favorite Things since it was launched, but haven't got round to using it yet, other than stamping some for Cory to colour in. The papers are DCWV. They came in one of the 12x12 blocks, and I thought I would never use them, but I thought I would try this. I'll admit it's not my best cards, but I think it's fun and it was quick seems as it's got to be there by Thursday!

I stamped the cows, the pun and the 'moos' in black Stazon, cut out the cows and attached them with glue dots.

The second card was a dark blue base, with the corners rounded top and bottom. The left hand side panel is white base with blue and white spotted dp from the 12x12 Masculine pack by Dovecraft. I punched a 3" scalloped circle from white card, and as I didn't have a chalk in the right colour I used eyeshadow. Us crafters can use anything for a result, eh? On top of this I cut a circle from a piece of dp from the same pack as before and finished it with a 1cm brad (can't remember where it's from). Made the corner piece with the same blue and white cardstock as before and added some mini brads. Finished with a bit of ribbon and some peel offs for the sentiment, as I didn't have a suitable stamp.

Off to start Cory's birthday cards.....

Just a quick post today

2008-04-03T22:43:00.003+01:00

No cards done, or anything else for that matter. Had quite a few things that have needed to be done, so crafting has taken a backseat for a few days.

So, check out my weight loss ticker -

- updated today, now I've reached my Club 10 (which also means I don't have to pay next week, so I'll have more to spend on craft goodies!). Only 3 1/2lbs to go before I reach my 2 stone award, too.

So just a brag post really, but I'm really pleased with myself, to have got his far in 11 weeks! I don't very often stick with things for this long, so I've kind of impressed myself!

Two Cards In As Many Days!!

2008-04-01T21:48:00.005+01:00

First time in far too long!

This one used the papers from the Readicut pack again - the shimmery ones are really pretty. I used the Penny Black 'Modesty' stamp and Reeves watercolours to colour it. I put some JudiKins Diamond Glaze on the flowers just to add a little dimension. Here's a picture of the image, but you can't really see it too well.

I punched opposite corners of the card and the paper with my corner rounder (large size), and decided against adding ribbon. I usually like to have at least a little bit of ribbon on a card, but thought it might look a bit busy. Besides, somebody wanted the card before the paint was even dry, so they must've liked it as it was!

I wonder if I'll manage another card tomorrow.... three in a row must be some kind of record!

Get Knotted!

2008-03-29T19:06:00.004Z

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...

2008-03-26T22:46:00.002Z

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

2008-03-23T23:53:00.000Z

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...

2008-03-21T20:33:00.003Z

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

2008-03-21T20:01:00.005Z

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'

2008-03-19T23:35:00.002Z

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

2008-03-19T22:31:00.002Z

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!

2008-03-02T21:14:00.007Z

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!!

'Twins' card

2008-02-13T19:49:00.004Z

This card goes with the bootie that I posted yesterday. It doesn't look how I thought it would, but I think it turned out okay. I had planned to use a few buttons etc but I couldn't fit them on without it looking over done.

The letters are some that I found on eBay, bought them for doing a scrapbook for my eldest but never got round to using them. I covered a tag with gingham paper - the same as I used on the box - and added the letter and an eyelet. Put eyelets on the background piece as well and threaded some pale blue ribbon through.

I used my concave punch for the corners and used a Papermania brad on each one. I have to say I'm not overly keen on these brads. They look nice enough, but several had fallen apart when I opened the packet, and some are totally squashed so you can't use them. Also they don't sit straight when they're opened out as they're not bent right. Maybe I was just unlucky and got a bad batch?

I also bought some Whispers Strokes pens today. The pastel set. I could never afford the copics I really want, so figured these would do. I'd not heard many good things about them, but so far I've found the colours are fine for what I want to use them for, namely colouring my nellies!

So, that's what I'm off to do now - colour nellie's whilst watching Alias on DVD for like the gazillionth time!!

Happy Birthday Me... and A Baby Bootie

2008-02-12T19:20:00.000Z

I made this for a neighbour who has just had twin boys. I love making them, they come together really quickly. There will be a card to go with it, but that's not finished yet!

The boot itself is finished with peel offs - perfect for using them up, and one of the only things I use them for now - and a bow. The label has a cute little sticker, a beaded nappy pin. It's really sparkly and nice, but doesn't really show up too well on the photos. The ribbon has 'baby' written on it - you can just about see it. The buckle is a Papermania brad.

Now, the box. I covered a sheet of card with DCWV pale blue gingham paper. Its about 10cm x 10cm, and 5cm high. The lid was made in the almost the same way, but I cut an aperture in the top and put in a piece of acetate. Again it's finished with peel offs (to hide the joins!) as this time I made the lid and added the paper afterwards. Finally I added another bow, to match the boot.

So, I'm off to enjoy some birthday (cheese)cake... a belgian chocolate one, too!

I've been playing...

2008-02-02T14:20:00.000Z

... with my new Bind-it-All! I can't believe how easy it is to use - it looks complicated, but it really isn't, and is well worth the money. I got mine for £44.99 from A1 Crafts and it's only £2 postage! Really good service too, it arrived in 2 days.

So, I started with a birthday calendar. I sorted out the pages - nice and easy, half A4 - and I have them now so I can either use them again or change the fonts etc. This took longer than actually putting it together. For the cover, I used a piece of cardstock covered with paper (can't remember where it came from) and used DCWV paper to cover the inside of the cover - the blue piece. The label on the front was done in a word processor program and cut out with a 3" scallop punch, then finished with a microbead sticker. The date pages were printed on plain white card, and the back page is just pink card. It's a bit thicker than normal cardstock, and I got it from The Paper Mill Shop in one of their mixed boxes. I used a 1/2" silver wire.

Now, I'm off to play with my new Sugar Nellie 'Lola' stamps, and see if I can't come up with something that uses both new toys!

Card Organiser

2008-01-26T23:36:00.000Z

Here's a card organiser I've just finished. I started it a while ago but I've only just managed to get the date pieces done. I used American Crafts double sided 12x12 cardstock, with a pocket for two months worth of cards. The date pieces are just the month with space for you to write in names and dates - I was going to put in a little calendar but figured that it would probably be simpler doing it this way.

Lettering is stamped using See D's 'Dot to Dot' alphabet set in black StazOn. I got the ribbon from the Range, but not sure what make it is. Used a comb binder to do the spine, but only until I can get a Bind-it-All. I have so many ideas for things I want to try when I finally get one! Hopefully it won't be too long a wait.

Oh, and there's new Sugar Nellie stamps out tonight (26th) - a new designer with new characters. I've just ordered a couple... there's free postage at the moment, but not sure how long that's on for, go to Funky Kits for info.

Nothing new...

2008-01-17T16:42:00.000Z

I've done no crafting today, but I've really got to get my butt into gear and get some stuff done. One of my neighbours is about to have twin boys and I wanted to get a bootie and box done (there's a picture of one I've already done in an earlier post) or do I do two, or a pair in one box? Hmmm, I'll have to think about that one!

I've been selling loads of my old craft stuff - you know those stamps you just have to have when you start out and then never use? Yeah, those... well I just sold a load on eBay, so now I'm on the lookout for some newbies. I've already found MFT and it's sooo much cheaper to get things shipped over.

So, no new stuff but here's a card I did for my brother's birthday last year. No stamping, but the cards on the front are real cards, and really tiny - just perfect for cards! The paper is DCWV, and the words are peel offs (another thing I over spent on at the beginning and now rarely use!)

I'm Back!

2008-01-16T07:57:00.000Z

Wow... long time, no blog! I have done no crafting since before Christmas - not even thank-you cards (oops!). There's been 'stuff' going on but today is my dad's birthday so I had to come up with something. I've had this in mind for him since I saw these on SplitCoast, so thought I'd give it a go as I've never put photos on blocks before:

I think they turned out okay! The photos were developed in matt sepia, and the letters were stamped using the See-D's Plain Jane Alphabet. All the papers are DCWV.

The card:

Those numbers are wooden ones that I got for Cory to play around with and they're 8cm high so perfect for crafting with. I'm sure he won't mind me having a couple! The main paper is American Crafts and the blue is DCWV. The ribbon is also American Crafts and you can just about see some brads but I haven't a clue where they're from!

Well, I'm off to make some chocolate covered pretzels!

I Used My New Nellies!!

2007-12-18T21:25:00.000Z

This is not only the first Christmas card I have made so far, but also the first time I have used my new Nellies (well, Luca!)

THESE STAMPS ARE FAB!!! I would love all of them, but it will have to be between now and New Year as I'm going on a major - and strict - stash diet (sob!). I've just got too much stuff and I keep buying more... particularly as I said a couple of months ago that I was going to lay off the card making and do more altered stuff. It was harder than I thought it would be, and I keep getting orders, so I started stamping more. The only thing I will buy early next year are some stamps from Gina K - her stamps are great! I'll call it an early Birthday pressie.

So, the card:

The colours are actually much nicer in 'real life' but I just couldn't get a decent picture. Luca was watercoloured - it's the first time I've stamped onto watercolour paper and I think it turned out well. I layered it up on DCWV papers and finished with some ribbon and a 'Merry Christmas' peel off (I haven't got any decent Christmas stamps)

Anyway, I'm off to play with Luca and Nellie!

More Christmas Decorations

2007-12-10T20:18:00.000Z

I finally got round to finishing the blocks I started! I started off with a short word, just to see how I got on: JOY. I really enjoyed doing them, so will definitely do some more, including a set each for the boys with their names.

Here they are, the finished article:

I used 2" blocks from Opitec - bargain, £2.20 for 10! - and lightly sanded them, then painted them with ivory acrylic paint. I used papers from a Craft Creations scrapbook pack, and black versamark ink with See D's Ancient Alphabet stamps. Finally, I sanded the edges lightly to finish them off.

Getting nothing done...

2007-12-09T22:10:00.000Z

... but a fun day had by all. Got up this morning to wind, rain and a generally murky day, and anyone with young kids knows that bad weather and little ones don't mix. So we decided to try an indoor play area that we haven't used before - Coral Cove in Devizes - and the boys really enjoyed themselves. Cory's been to similar places before and always has fun, but it was Jack's first time and he loved it! Now I argue that we should always go to this one, because under 5s have to be supervised at all times!!!!! I swear there were more adults than kids, and that they were having more fun!

Of course, according to Cory, at least, no trip out is complete without shopping... he could shop for his country, that boy! So we did the shopping, and then went to Avebury to look at the stones (and of course the gift shops!). Pity the weather was so crummy, but we'll go back again in the spring.

Christmas presents

2007-12-08T22:08:00.000Z

I've been pretty busy today, after I decided that all Christmas presents this year (apart from the kids') are going to be handmade. These are a couple of the things I came up with - there will be more, but they'll be done another day!

So, the first two started life as beer mats! I was having trouble finding the coasters that a lot of the US craft sites sell; I had chipboard squares, but they weren't thick enough and they were way too big, so I bought about 100 beer mats for about £2 on eBay and this is the result. Pretty cute IMO!

This was a plain untreated photo frame from Wilkinsons - you get 3 for £1 so a pretty good deal. They're not as wide as I would've liked though. Anyway, I painted it - I mixed the colour to match some of the text on the paper - then used 2 matching DCWV papers to cover it. I left a couple of millimeters so that you could still see the pink around the edge of the frame, and finished it off with some ribbon.

I'm off to paint some blocks for yet more presents!

Thank-you cards

2007-12-03T22:08:00.000Z

Well, I've finally got some cards made! Cory's been to stay with Nanny and Grandad overnight, so I made the most of the spare time.... I should really have been ironing, but I had to do thank you cards from Jack. His birthday was a week ago and I haven't sent them out yet... oops!

Here they are:

DCWV dotty, cream and blue papers, Dovecraft ribbon, 3" scallop punch, quilled butterfly

DCWV pink, brown and striped papers, American Crafts ELEMENTS ribbon, 'thank you' peel offs

Sandylion 'Butterflies' paper, Dovecraft ribbon, 3"scallop punch

I'm really into paper and ribbons at the moment, so thought I would give the stamping a rest for while. Although I am just about to put in an order for some Gina K sets, so watch this space! And I like the scallop punches so I'm on the lookout for some of those in different shapes and sizes, too.

Right, I'm off to make some picture frames out of some beer mats (pics to follow...)

Happy Birthday!

2007-11-27T22:43:00.000Z

Today was Jack's 1st birthday, and we had a brilliant day! He had a really good day, and he and Cory really enjoyed themselves... they even loved the fireworks - we weren't sure whether they would or not, but Jack laughed the whole time. So cute!

I finally got his card done at about 10 o'clock last night - my stamping skills seemed to disappear and it just wouldn't do what I wanted it to do! Still, here it is:

Now, normally I make all of our birthday cakes, but since finding a fab shop we've decided that we will all have our cakes from here in future. This one is completely chocolate - chocolate sponge, chocolate filling and look at all that chocolate on top! And all those little animals in between the pieces.... needless to say, it didn't last long!!!

What I need to do now is digiscrap the photos... only I can't! My computer had to be completely rebooted and I have nothing on here. No programs, or at least none that I like using, and I lost everything except for my family photos which luckily I am totally obsessive about backing up on disc. So, now I need to go over to DSP and download/buy loads of new stuff! But for the time being here's the birthday boy (with Dad) enjoying one of his presents.

Oh and Do Crafts have a half-price sale on See-D's stamps at the moment ('while stocks last'), I'm off to choose mine!

Sorting, sorting

2007-11-25T21:39:00.000Z

Another old card for you today, as I still haven't done anything new! I've been sorting out my craft room so I have more room for Cory when he wants to do his thing. He's really getting into crafty things which is great, but it means twice as much mess so I've had to get a bigger table and rearrange the room around it!

So, as I mentioned this card is quite an old one, but a technique that I really enjoyed doing. It's actually a lot easier than it looks, especially as this one used a printed image, peel offs and a couple of brads. That's it! I got the idea from here and there are some really great ones in the gallery there. I used Word to size up the image and used the quote 'Birthdays are like flowers; the passing time brings forth the most beautiful blooms' which I laid over the top. The peel offs are coloured using these pens, as are the brads.

My blocks from Opitec have arrived, so I will hopefully get some of those done in the next few days, will post them when they are done, along with Jack's birthday card which I really need to finish by Tuesday!

Christmas is coming!

2007-11-20T20:35:00.000Z

First up, apologies for lack of blog entries... I haven't done much craft stuff at all the last few days. There's just been too much going on - don'tcha just hate it when life gets in the way of crafting?! I've been busy getting things ready for Jack's 1st birthday next week - where did that year go? - and I'll post his card when the paint's dry.

But for now you'll have to make do with these cute Christmas decorations. I've seen so many that various craft-blogging people have done and I thought I'd have a go.

I used a Woodware 3 inch scalloped circle punch on various DCWV papers. You can use more or less pieces, but I think 8 works quite well. You could also use a smaller punch - I used the 3 inch size because it's the only one I have!

The deccie on the left has 10 pieces, but I think it's a bit cramped. The one in the middle has 8, and the last one has 7 - I know, I know... it was supposed to be 8 but Cory decided he needed to cut one of them in half and it was the last of that paper! That last one makes all the difference!

Proof that I will alter ANYTHING!

2007-11-15T08:38:00.000Z

Here's a jam jar that I just couldn't throw away - as if I don't have enough junk already! I just used a strip of DCWV paper, a couple of lengths of ribbon and a tag, et voila! Took all of 5 minutes. Still, it does look kinda cute....

Right, I'm off to look for more stuff to stash!

Cute Gift!

2007-11-14T21:27:00.000Z

Here's what I came up with when I was asked to do a 'new baby' card for my cousin... I know, not exactly a card, but I'd come across the template for the shoe at http://www.bydonovan.com/ and was desperate to try it out! (unfortunately the site was lost and is being rebuilt from scratch, but check it out when it's done, cos there are some brilliant templates for all sorts of things). I had the baby toppers anyway so made a simple card that's roughly A6 size, and used one on the side of the box. The box itself was guesswork with regards to measurements, and the top has a panel cut out - it's acetate and vellum in the gap, with a peel off to finish.

I still haven't managed to get started on Christmas cards, I just can't seem to get 'inspired'! But I have just bought loads of craft goodies so once they arrive I'll - hopefully - be coming up with ingenious ways to alter them.

Better get cracking on the Christmas cards so I have plenty of time to play!

Crafts for outdoors...

2007-11-12T21:09:00.000Z

So I've just had a new fence and gate put up outside, and the front door spruced up. Which meant taking all the door furniture off. Well, me being me, I figured why just put it back on when I didn't particularly like it in the first place? So when my dad turned up with a piece of wood shaped very much like a number plaque, guess what I just had to try?

All I did was paint it with acrylic paint that I mixed to match the paper, then cut the scrapbook paper about 2mm smaller all round. I glued it on using PVA and printed the numbers on tracing paper, which I then transferred onto green paper. Glued these on, again with PVA, and outlined with a brown pencil. I finished it off with a covering of acrylic sealant. All that needs doing now is to fix the brackets onto the back and voila! Took about 20 minutes if you take off the drying time.

Next time I probably won't use a pencil to outline it, but I was too impatient to get it finished to wait until I had bought something more appropriate!

More Digiscrapping...

2007-11-11T06:00:00.000Z

So, it's been a pretty hectic couple of days, and I haven't managed to get any new stuff done - I was supposed to get Christmas cards and the boys' thankyou cards done, not to mention get stuff ready for Jack's 1st birthday, but no luck - so here are a couple more digital scrapbook pages. They're some of the first I did, and I'm really new to it still, so they're a bit clunky... takes a bit of getting used to using PSP for this kind of thing. Still, I think they're pretty cute!

These pages and embellishment all came from digitalscrapbookplace again.

My first blog!!!

2007-11-10T06:47:00.000Z

Well, here it is.... my first blog.

To start with this site will just be a few photos of my work, with links to my best-loved websites and the odd tutorial etc, but hopefully with time (and, of course, readers!) it will become much more.

So, now for photos.

I'll begin with a couple of digiscrapped pages, until I get myself sorted

These page kits and embellishments came from Digital Scrapbook Place

More to follow soon..........