Cory had a great birthday!

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

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

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!!

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!

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!