Sunday 30 December 2012

Jamie's first Birthday...

...the theme was the very hungry caterpillar, so this is my interpretation of it.  Happy Birthday James.xx

Friday 28 December 2012

Christmas at home..

...with my boys!  Such a marvellous day, I have never seen so many toys from Santa, they must of been good?!

Monday 24 December 2012

Day 24..

...this is for my gorgeous Grandson Jake, does the sentiment sum him up?  There arer a few different dies used her, you will recognise the mittens from a previous blog, the holly was using Sarah's punch( I still need to replace it after I broke it, I haven't forgotten), the santa clothes were from a sizzix strip die, aren't they cute? 
Have a great Christmas everyone. x

Sunday 23 December 2012

Day 23..

..this card is for a special little man in my life.
This card is based on a cushion that the young Hayley Spry showed me, I knew straight away that I wanted to make this.  The "buttons" are cut from a die and stitched on, the nose was punched out using the 1" circle punch, the holly was also a punch I think from dovecraft.
Merry Christmas Aryan. x

Saturday 15 December 2012

Day 15...

..another Birthday card, this time for my son in law Gavin.  I might have briefly mentioned that we do have certain people in our family who definately "own" the titles(see earliers posts).  Gavin is no exception, he definately deserves the title Superman! 
Happy Birthday Gav. x

Friday 14 December 2012

Day 14...

...caught up again! Here is my new Santa, my son Steve bought this for my Birthday this year.  I think I have a "thing" for Santa's as I like to have one in my hall( I know you haven't forgiven me yet Sarah, for getting rid of the last one!).  This Santa is in my hall and he is waiting patiently for me to decorate the tree, I will get round to it, not sure when thou!! x

Day 13...

...this card is for one of my "boys" at work, like me he loves tools and there is often a fight when new tools arrive!  So to help celebrate his Birthday I have made him this tool box (like the one he has), the clasp closes the tool box but as you can see inside I have used a few Dimension Fourth Stamps with little sayings on the tags (SU tag punch) that Mariusz says on a daily basis.  I know it won't mean much to you guys but to us it makes us chuckle as it's "so him" .  This card unfolds at the front and is supported by a back stand that I have made on the back of teh card.  Happy Birthday Mariusz.  Sto lat! x

Thursday 13 December 2012

Day 12..

...it's been a long time coming but AT LAST, Klaudia has passed her test, first time too, well done girl!  This quick card was to help celebrate this great ocassion.  Congratulations. x

Day 11...

...this Christmas card is for my youngest daughter Suze.  Her love of sheep never tires, but it does get very difficult to produce cards each year along this theme.  So, this year we have tobogganing sheep and the phrase that will be used a lot-"i'm the reason Santa has a naughty list".  Does that sound like anyone you know? x

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Day 10..

...another Birthday card for AJ's mum, I made this card by using various punches and dies-
SU bauble punch, heart punch, scallop punch and oval punch and a 4" x 4" animal die for the feet and eyes.  A Magnolia die was used for the swirl and flower.  I think he is just sooooo cute! x

Day 9...

...I'm running a little behind schedule( you knew it would happen), but this is the Birthday card that I made for AJ this year.  It's an easel card and I cut the Lego man by hand and made him so that he stands proud when in the easel position. The scene below was to recreate our evening out together.
AJ had some amazing handmade cards this year from Suze, Sam and Sarah, thank you girls. xxx

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Day 8..

...this is a sneak peak at the Christmas card we will be sending from our team at work, Shhhh!!! don't tell anyone! 
As these costumes were in our department it would be rude not to dress up and have a little fun:-) x

Day 7..

.. I just had to include our day out to see Thomas at Didcot railway, the boys and I had a great time. Jake was poorly so wasn't his usual self but since he has recovered I have evidence of his tremendous Thomas flag waving ability. x

Thursday 6 December 2012

Day 6..

...have you noticed, I have managed to catch up.  I know you doubtuing Thomas's thought I couldn't do it (I didn't either). 
Almost at the end of the Christmas at Home Range, background paper and bauble stamps used here along with the marianne fir die.  The Tree stamp is from a lovely little stamp set and you guessed it, I don't know the name of this either. At least I'm consistent! x

Day 5..

..you guessed it, yet another card from the Christmas at Home range, background paper and the holly stamp is from the range.  The fir stems are a Marianne die and the Happy Holidays stamp is from...senior moment...no, it's not coming.  I'm sure I will be uisng this again though! x

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Day 3..

... I know I know, I'm still catching up!!
Another background paper and stamp from the Christmas at Home range, The heart and mittens are cut using Sizzix dies, I really am loving the mittens die and this was a die I used at MJ's crop.  It's an old sizzlit die that I think would be very welcome in my stash, now where oh where, have I put my Christmas wish list?  x

Let it Snow..(day 4)

... no, really don't, at least not until Christmas Eve. Don't you think it just set's a great mood for Christmas when it snows at Christmas time, any other time I feel it's a blummin' nuisance( Yep, I am truly a grumpy old woman!)
Now, let's move on, again another card using the Christmas at Home bacground paper, the Let it Snow and snowflake have been cut using Sizzix dies. x

Tuesday 4 December 2012

Beautiful baubles..

..these are very beautiful and these are the Christmas at Home stamps, the background paper is also from the range.  I have used Stampin Up Cherry cobbler ink in all of the range along with cardstock from Payperbox.
How are your Christmas preparations going? x

Monday 3 December 2012

Let's get seasonal...

..apologies I have been a naughty blogger!  But it's that time of year when we need to get seasonal. Last year, you may remember that I took part in the December daily where I blogged every day something seasonal.  This year my intentions are the same, as you can see I am a little behind but I will "catch up" by blogging a couple of times a day until I do. I'm hoping to bring you some blogs of things that I have made or are inspirational.  The first up is a card that I have made using the beautitful Christmas at Home collection from Papermania/Docrafts,  I have used the papers, all of the stamps and embellished with whatever I have in my stash of goodies.  You will see the entire range over the next few blogs, just loving their products x

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Mike's mini..

..It's my youngest nephews Birthday, seriously what card do you make for a teenager?  Nothing to saucy or alcohol inspired, or too young or too old, the list is endless.  So I have gone bit retro and strong and masculine!  I have taken a leaf out of Nic Howards book(Big Picture Scrapbooking) and have tried to add lots of layers, textures and a cluster of interest.  There is a mix of punches, dies, stamps, embossing folders, inks, paint, brads, twine and herringbone seam binding.  Just love this look.  I don't think that my nephew Mike knows but his Dad(who I grew up with) used to have a Mini Cooper which he tinkered with, as I recall it was quite a babe magnet back in the day.  Maybe I should just keep that to myself?!   Happy Birthday Mike.xx

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Dad's hatchery..

 I know that it's not common knowledge but I grew up on a farm and while I haven't initially gone down the farming route, farming is in my blood and it might well rear it's head in the not to distant future with me, but enough of all that let me tempt you with this photo and a little background info! This is part of the main entrance to the farm and was originally my Dad's hatchery room.  I had many happy hours here helping Dad candle the eggs for Pheasants, Partridge, Chicken, Turkeys, Quails to see if they were fertile.  Washing and sterilising the equipment and placing them in the huge incubator.  I mean this was an industrial unit that had humidity control along with an automatted egg turner and thermostatically controlled.  Once the given numbers of days were up for the type of egg, we would see if the chicks had started to "chip" their way out.  If so we removed them from the incubator into the hatching unit until they were fully out and fluffy.  Once they were we would then put them under a lamp in a pen and start to feed and water them until they were on their way either to freedom or the table.  The choice was theirs.  Now, the building has been empty for many years as my Dad passed away 8 years ago and the equipment is no longer here. Walking in this building fills me with many happy memories, I want to make Dad proud and want to repair the roof, doors and windows and inside kit it out with some worktops.  I will let you decide what I'm going to use this for! x

Sunday 14 October 2012

Choo Shoe..

..isn't it every girls dream to own a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes?  This card is designed with Choo's stilleto's in mind, the higher the heel, the sexier they are? I wanted it to be sophisticated, sexy and fun while still being glamourous.  To create this card I sketched out a stilleto and cut it out, using the excess as a template, mask the paper down onto your cardstock and with SU basic gray ink I stamped on the lace from Tanda backgound set 1 lightly, then over the top of that in archival ink in black I stamped from SU simply said the flowery heart all over and finally using the Tanda background stamp, butterfly.  I only stamped 3 of these but I removed the mask so the wings came off of the shoe.  For the next part you will need an SU stampamajig(no that's what it is really called), this is an ingenious little piece of kit, a handle part and a thick acetate square that slots into the handle at right angles.  The idea is that you ink up your chosen stamp( in my case it was from the SU simply said dotted mini floral one), stamp this onto the acetate, the handle part does have to be at right angles with the acetate or it will not work properly, stamp image.  Now you can move the acetate around over your image and see where you want your chosen parts of the stamp to be, place handle in position , re ink your stamp, remove acetate while keeping the handle still, then stamp.  I masked alot of my stamp off by using scrap paper over the image, this left the delicate dotted swirls and flowers.  To make the stilleto and sole of the shoe I placed the shoe mask back over and using a lolly stick, inked this up in black and stamped several times to get dark lines in the heel, then with a brush, load with ink and gently make sweeping movements into the shoe to your desired intensity.  Remove mask.  Finally I punched some purple and black paper using the Martha Stewart butterfly punch, glued the black butterflies flat for shadow and the using cosmic glue just glue the spine of each purple butterfly to create the 3D look.  For extra dimension I used Gunmetal stickles over the dotted swirls and crystal gems in the centre of each flower. Just need a sentiment, I used SU teeny tiny wishes in black and die cut Klaudia using small stuff alphabet die.  You have to admit, it is one sexy stilleto? Happy Birthday Klaudia.xx

Sunday 7 October 2012

A friend like this..

...we all have at least one friend that is always there, through good and bad times.  One that gives you sound and honest advice, supportive, even though it might be a crazy idea or just to share and bounce ideas off of.  Out of all my friends, Sarah, is the one that I have known the least amount of time and met through our passion of crafting, so you could say we are on the same wave length in this.  That is probably where the similarity ends.  Sarah is much more fun loving, have a go at anything, and a collector of fine handbags and shoes.  I am more reserved and cautious, and yes, boring! This is probably why we get on so well, we compliment each other, we work well together, and we will one day set up a business together. As it is Sarah's birthday today, I wanted to create a card that suited one aspect of her personality, her love of tattoos. I also wanted in incorporate her favourite colour, purple. So, with embossing folders, spellbinders dies, distress ink(dusty concord) and pens and embellishments at the ready I created the above card. Originally I was going to make the focal point a skull with the metal embellishment but it just looked wrong so I changed this for a tattoo inspired flower.  This gives the appearance of the card a more cleaner, girlie feel but if you change the colourways, lost the ribbon and replaced with leather thong and used a skull as the focal point  you would have a great man's card. So, Sarah, Happy Birthday, go celebrate with a Banks Beer or maybe some Rum Punch? x

Friday 28 September 2012

Been craft shopping again..

..yep, it just has to be done.  It would be rude not too!! Had a fab day out on Sunday with Sarah (alas not Ali or Ju, you guys were sadly missed) at Ally Pally in London. As you can see I did buy some essentials like the massive pile of double sided and red line tape.  Apart from that I have bought stamps, ribbon, dies and cards stock all relating to what I believe will eventually transpire into Christmas cards.  I can't wait to start with the Papermania Home for Christmas Range, fit's in perfectly with my Nordic theme which I hope to transform my house in time for Santa's visit.  I'm sure Jake and Aryan have been good?  They have, right?  xx

Saturday 22 September 2012

Jazz..

..I will be honest, I know nothing about Jazz so it's always difficult to create something you have no knowledge about.  That is until I found these papers by Graphic 45, I just fell in love with them and thought it would be the perfect card this year for my great friend Lesley.  This is a lady who I have to "blame" for getting me into the card making game!  Lesley produces stunning craft work, no matter what she touches it looks amazing, which is why I always feel inferior when creating for such talented friends.  Anyhow, I know that Lesley loves Jazz, texture, grunge, stitching anything a bit "munchy" so these are my "munchy bits" that I have used-
Graphic 45-All that Jazz and Applause papers, Graphic 45 Trim No.3, Flowers No.30, Metal clothes pin(extra munchy!), Sentiment is using Stampin Up teeny tiny wishes, brad Papermania neutrals and all other cardstock is from Payper Box. Inks used were Tim Holtz distress inks - peeled paint and walnut stain.  I have machine stitched some elements on the design for extra definition and texture, just loooovvve this paper. So my luvvers(as Lesley would say) have a great day. xx

Sunday 16 September 2012

Mix it up..

..a little. Don't just use your stamps once and put them back in the cupboard never to be seen again.  I know, that's what I have done, but I'm taking a new approach, to discover how many ways I can use one stamp.  Now, you have already seen this stamp a few blogs ago, so I stamped this in the same manner using the same pens.  This time I have used my embossing folders for the background, stamped a sentiment (SU stamp and  Tim Holtz Dusty concord ink), plus cut one from the Tim Holtz typeset die, a couple of embellishments and there you have it.  A completely different look using the same stamp.  I think this design is much more modern whereas the other was more traditional, which is good as the traditional card was for an older lady and this one is for a younger one so they suit the recipients well.  Give it a go, challenge yourself, you will be amazed at what you can create using the same stamp. x

Monday 10 September 2012

One special couple..

..thats how I would describe my very good friends Lis and Nick.  Although we no longer live close by I think of them every day, I still live in hope that one day they will come back to my area. I grew up with these guys and our children played and grew up together, so it really was such a wrench when they decided to move to Gloucester.  Where they live now is so beautiful and yes, I am due to visit, its just sorting myself out a free weekend.  Free weekends just haven't happened for the last 9 months. Still, I wanted to make them a special Anniversary card to help them celebrate their special day. The numbers were stamped using 7 Gypsies numbers in SU basic gray and Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress inks, the hearts were stamped using a one of Sarah's stamps.  The hearts were cut from the Sizzix primitive hearts die, sentiment from SU tiny wishes set. Embellishments are a metal key, love ribbon and paper ribbon.  The 3 and 10 were stamped in red to emphasize the date and month of their wedding anniversary, all cardstock from Payper Box.  Have a wonderful day you two and I will see you both soon. xx

Saturday 1 September 2012

50 Golden years..

..of wedded bliss, amazing.  This card was made for Sarah's parents to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary.  It looks quite simple and straight forward, which it is, it's only when you start to list your "ingredients" is when you are really surprised at what you need to create it.
So, without further a do here they are-
Sizzix serif number dies, Stampin Up scallop punch, 13/8" punch, 1" punch, framelet label dies, tiny tag punch, Tim Holtz elegant flourish die, Bazzill card(brown), Paper Company-wedding white swirl on gold, Penny Black paper-Script white foil,Liqiud Pearls-lemon yellow, finishing touches-wooden hearts and brad.  All basic cardstock is Payper Box. If you are wondering how the roses were made, these were by using the Stampin Up curcle punches and cutting in a spiral, rolling these up and glueing using Cosmic shimmer glue-now ain't that just the best wet glue?  It never lets you down! So, Tony and Elizabeth, have a wonderful day today, I know that Sarah has been working very hard to make this day an amazing one for you.  Happy Anniversary.x

Monday 27 August 2012

Butterflies and stars..

..and pinks and purples, with a 30 on it, was the brief for this card.  Oh, plus large and luxurious. This is an A4 size card and it is very heavy(I know that you can't see that from this image), it's a card in a class all of it's own! Lot's of matting and layering going on using Bazzill and Basic Grey Perhaps papers-Sari and Red riding hood with a Karen Foster vellum to keep this card having quite a delicate feel to it. All basic card stock is by Payper Box.  I wanted lots of interest going on so I followed the design on the Sari paper and cut this out and inked the edges with Tim Holtz distress ink Tattered Rose, this was quite fiddly but it makes the design delicate, airy and interesting.  I matted this onto the vellum.  I used a Martha Stewart punch for the next layer down the left hand side for another dimension.  All of this was matted onto silver and then onto the Bazzill.  The metal butterflies are from Mei Flower and are stitched through the wings for security. I wanted to bring in some "bling", so the chain and bead work was added with the inked tags spelling out "Becca" and these were secured to the chain with curled wires and held in place with 2 silver headed pins.  I wanted to be discreet about the age so with a Stampin Up star punch I punched and inked the star and added 30 in white rub ons.  With the addition of a pack of 3mm gems, which again followed the design on the paper, the card was almost complete.  To counter balance the weight that was going on the front it had to have another layer of card on the back, then on course the insert as always.  I am really happy with this card, I hope the recipient has just the best Birthday.  Happy Birthday Bex.xx

Thursday 23 August 2012

Lavendar revisited..

..a couple of years ago I was absolutely besotted with trying to purchase a good Lavendar stamp, which I did use.  To make sure this little stamp keeps its worthy space in my craft cupboard I got it out and gave it a little road test.  This is another simple card but it has lots of white on white textures and the clean lines and simplicity of it all I am liking. I didn't use ink on this stamp, I used Marvy pens, this is much more controllable when you want fine detail.  I can probably hear Sarah sniggering at me right now, as I have so few pens.  In fact my "collection" is rather pathetic but we all know that colouring in is not really my bag,  Anyhow, I digress, using the brush tip end gently stroke the area which you would like that colour and repeat until all the stamp is in colour, then "huff" on it.  You know what I mean- breathe on the stamp to activate the inks again, then stamp. Cut out your stamped panels and lay these up on a textured piece of cardstock, I used a cuttlebug embossing folder to create my texture. Layer this on foam pads and add white gloss card, then foam pads again and stick onto your card.  Punch out the lower section using the Stampin Up scallop punch and adhere, add ribbon, and sentiments.  Cardstock used is all Paper Box and the coloured pens were Marvy le Plume II No.72 pine green, No.62 Wisteria, No.8 Violet, the stamp is a Scarlet Empress one.  I think this little stamp is going back into my craft cupboard, it's had a reprieve this time round. x

Sunday 19 August 2012

A Pink Panda..

..for  AJ's God daughter who is three.  I wanted something that was cute and colourful and very girlie, I think that I have managed that?! All of the cardstock is from DCWV Nana's Nursery baby girl pad and I have managed to squeeze 4 patterned card stocks on here, who would of thought that I was once scared to use these patterned papers? The cute panda has been cut using a Quickutz 4" x 4" die in white and pink glitter card stocks, the number has been cut from the Sizzix serif number die.  All that was added was a gem and some pink rub on's for Katy's name, rub ons are from Doodlebug.  Happy Birthday Katy, I hope you have lots of pressies! xx

Tuesday 14 August 2012

Youngest gardener...

I was blessed to have my Grandson Jake for the weekend while Mum and Dad were on their honeymoon. Jake is so inquisitive and he loves exploring so now that the sun is finally shining we were out in the garden.  I had bought him his first wheelbarrow, bucket, spade and rake, I have a patch of garden that is waiting to be planted up so it was perfect for Jake to experiment his new found gardening tecniques.  As you can see from the concerntration on his face that he just loved it, he did a great job digging and raking over that patch, just had to watch him like a hawk as he had the tendency to sample the taste of the soil with the spade.  The weekend flew by and I felt reluctant to hand him back. x

Friday 10 August 2012

Incredible card..

Maybe it's just me, but I am beginning to have a creative block when it comes to designing for family members.  I just can't think what to create for them year in and year out..do you suffer from that?  It's hard to keep coming up with something fresh and new when this block happens!  It's Suze's boyfriends birthday and I had no idea what to card to create so when Suze suggested a superhero card I did some research.  Well, some superheroes have already been ear marked for other people but when I saw the The Incredibles logo I knew that was the one for Mark(Suze did say that he isn't incredible, felt I had to add that as she was so insistent).  As I have said many times before that the simpler the design, the more difficult it is to make as the eye focuses on the simplicity and any mistake shows.  The logo was cut using the creative memories oval cutter and the rest was drawn and cut by hand with the exception of the 1" and 1/2" Stampin Up punches.  It is very striking.  So if you have a Mr Incredible in your family, why not give this card a go? x

Sunday 5 August 2012

Har ree P card..

AJ's sister (like me), loves Harry Potter and to tie in with the gift that we gave her, I like to make a card that links in.  So, I had seen this digi stamp from bugaboo stamps and bought the set, then printed it off and coloured it in using copic pens. Its then mounted onto some aqua glitter card to give it a bit of shimmer and shine.  The background has been embossed using Sizzix embossing folders and mounted onto black gloss card with an aqua glitter ribbon behind this.  The background matt and layer is white gloss card with a layer of self embossed two tone card.  The sentiment has been printed from our computer using the Harry Potter font and the star has been punched out from the embossed card using the Stampin Up star punch.  All cardstock is from Payper box as usual.  Happy Birthday Nikki. x

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Bride and Groom canvases..

Here are 2 more canvases that I made for the Bride and Groom, these canvases have photos's of them preparing for their wedding day.  I used the light coloured T shirt A4 printable canvas sheets and ironed them onto canvas.  Alongside this I have machined free syle in silver metallic thread, added lyrics from the song of their first dance, added beads from Sam's dress and other 3D embellisments.  As these are in sepia and on a white wall they do not have the desired "zing" that I intended but these were put in the Lounge room of the venue instead of the Foyer area (where these were originally designed for) where it was more well lit and darker walls.  You have to go with the flow when things change..I am still so pleased with these, I am thinking of making more of this style of canvas for my own home.  Love it! x

Sunday 29 July 2012

Seating plan..

Here is another personal touch that I had the pleasure of creating.  I have to say creating but maybe it's a combination of designing and creating?  I wanted to make a podium style seating plan, when the bottom half of this podium came my way I designed and my boy made the top ledge and sprayed this white for me.  Not bad for a recycled object?  I then painted a white wooden tray, added the Tim Holtz metal feet and printed off on a 12 x 12 sheet of cardstock the seating plan.  All that was added were the inlays of cardstock and brads and stitched together.  To make extra sure that nothing moved, the wooden tray has been secured onto the ledge before the seating plan was added and the flowers were arranged in a bouquet holder and a hole was drilled in the top of the ledge so that you could water the flowers and ensure that nothing got knocked off accidentally.  Just a few touches were added as dressings, which were the napkin holder and napkins and the electronic candles.  We also added 2 white basket of favours on the bottom shelf to "top up" for the evening guests.  You just have to imagine that they are there!! x

Wednesday 25 July 2012

Dressing the venue..

Following on from previous posts, this is the next chapter.  Suze (my youngest daughter) and I spent 14 hours transforming a conference hall into a Wedding venue.  There were 8 round tables and 2 top tables.  You might just see the place names-  mini easels that we painted and distressed with silver along the name plates that were cut from white foam and all names were cut in silver using the Tim Holtz typeset die.The various flowers that were used on the name plates were cut from a selection of white card using the Magnolia dies and held on with 1 silver brad and stickles added to these.  Yes, they took a long time but its those little details that make it from being okay/good to brilliant!
The tables had varying sizes of gems, plus favours(either vodka for adults and chocolate balls for children) all handmade and individually labelled. Each table had a table name of the places that Sam and Gav had visited on their travels through Italy where Gav had planned to "pop the question", the story was on the reverse of these and were laminiated. Just to make it clear that these have taken many months to make prior to the wedding.  The flowers through out the venue were arranged by Suze and myself so everything from the candlabras to the top table to the canvas sprays.  These were in creams, greens and whites and were duplicated in the bridal bouquets.  The chair sashes were to highlight the colour of the bridesmaids dresses which were two tone and it all looked so elegant. I have to say that when I went back in the room it did take my breath away and made me so proud that we had produced that for my daughter/Suze's sister.  I have been asked whether I would like to do this full time, I know that you should never say never but.....x

Sunday 22 July 2012

Mr & Mrs Canvas..

It is only now that I can truly share with you what I have been working on for MONTHS!  I felt it inappropriate to share this with you before the Bride and Groom had seen this.  As Sam had already chosen mini easels for the place names-which you will see in a later post,  I thought when I saw this easel it was just gorgeous.  This easel was bought second hand and was quite expensive but it did not fit in with the colour scheme of a wedding being black and bottle green.  So with 8 hours of sanding down and a further 10 hours of priming, undercoating and top coat the transformation began.  It is a lovely piece and I think that I would like to take it further by either using a silver rub and buff creme on it or silver leaf certain parts.  This easel was the first thing that I wanted the guests to see, I wanted to produce a canvas that was going to set the tone of the wedding and to welcome guests in as they arrived.  How annoying it is sometimes to enter somewhere only to be greeted by strangers?! I thought this canvas would alert guests that they were in the right location.  I had not prepared myself for the 50 hours work it took to create this canvas, the letters (apart from the & and welcome) are all 3D, cut by hand and assembled using cardstock and paper mached over the top, then painted in white and then silver leafed, textured and beaded(using beads from Sam's dress).  The flat letters are painted with silver acrylic.  I left a space to the left hand side to have a spray of fresh flowers.  I have to say that I am so pleased with this, it is beautiful and certainly ticked all the boxes.  Since the wedding I have had so much interest in this canvas from potential wedding parties, I haven't found anything else like it on the market so who knows where this piece could take me?? x

Thursday 19 July 2012

Sam's wedding..

I cannot lie, my nerves did get the better of me as the wedding approached and I bottled out of making the bridal bouquets.  To be honest it was a good thing as I did run out of time but I was pleased that Suze(youngest daughter) and I managed to dress the venue. More of that in later posts.
Just thought that I would share the card that I made for Sam and Gav's wedding, it's A5 in size and lots of varying whites with texture.  I was pleased that I managed to use the Sizzix embossing folders to create an extended embossed A5 size piece without having the line across, you know how you get that if you don't pattern match it up and leave the already embossed piece protruding through your bigshot before putting it through a second time.  With me so far?
The crystal buckle was from Mei flower, it was £1.50 so it you are thinking of making these cards in bulk try and find these wholesale! The sheer ribbon is from a bridal shop and the glitter letters are from one of those boxed jobs of glitter letters and glued onto some textured cardstock , machine stitched and with white leather thong added which attaches to the buckle.  It is much more elegant in the flesh.  I love this card.
Here is a sneak peek at one of the photo's that AJ took of the happy couple, gorgeous dress Sam wore, worth all the ups and downs that we went through to get this dress.  Totally gorge!
Gav looks very dapper too!  It was a lovely day (even with those showers in between) and it went really smoothly and by all accounts everyone had a good time-that's what its all about, isn't it?  So, congratulations to Mr and Mrs Blundell, who by now will be sunnying themselves in another country. x

Tuesday 10 July 2012

14th July...

is fast approaching, and I am getting a bit nervous if I can pull off dressing my Daughters wedding venue to a high class standard.  I have been preparing for months, making and creating pieces that will transform the venue from a generic wedding to a personalised one.  I am fortunate that I have a great support network of family and friends and without their help I wouldn't be this far down the road to completion. I thought that at last,  I would blog the save the date cards, invitations and order of service booklets all in one hit.  With the save the date cards, Sam wanted to incorporate a magnet so that guests could put this on their fridge, so the credit card size magnet is on removable sticky dots so that you can do this. The invitations are elegant and simple using designer paper, stitched with ribbon and die cut wording added, inside are pockets with matching RSVP which has been personalised so that guests just have to tick to either accept or decline and envelopes are provided self addressed so the guest just has to post this back.  Maps are included which are also matching the colour way for the Church and Reception.  The Order of Service booklet has had the main colour punched and ribbon added and the wording stamped, this turned out to be a booklet as the hymns that Sam and Gav chose were so long, it was a challenge but one that I managed to find a solution for. So, as I'm packing up all the wedding dressings and accents I feel anxious that I want to do the best for my Daughter on her special day, so keep your fingers crossed for me on Friday.   x

Wednesday 4 July 2012

Baby Chloe..

yet another commision for this style of baby card but this time for a girl.  I haven't made many baby girl cards, there seems to be a lot of boys born but not many girls!
On a different note, I know that I haven't blogged much of the wedding items that I have made but I will, promise!  xx

Monday 25 June 2012

Three little birds..

..sort of! I am trying to keep up with Birthday's and Anniversary's at the moment and I thought that I would try out the Stampin Up Aviary stamp set.  I did have fun, but when you are on tight deadlines you don't get the chance to have a "good play" to find out the limitations of the stamps.  Anyhow, here are 3 little birdie cards, 2 for Birthdays and one for an Anniversary.  I have kept all the same papers and colourways.  Inks used were all SU- Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Bordering blue and Tempting Turquoise. xx

Monday 18 June 2012

Copic class..

As I'm rather hopeless at "colouring in", Sarah and I decided to do a Copic's class to improve or acquire this skill.  I do believe it is a skill of light and shade, something that I am rubbish at.  Anyhows, after a day at class, it is official, I am still rubbish at this art.  My efforts are attached but this is a days work...yes, really!  I have therefore declared, this art is not for me, it's far too neat and just not my thing.  Give me ink and paint, anything messy really, now thats where my heart lies. I do take my hat off to all those that can not only do this but enjoy it.
Happy crafting. xx

Tuesday 12 June 2012

For my lovely Mum..

May is the month of Mum's Birthday and this year its a special one, she will be 75 years young.  You would never know that she is this age, Mum still does all the hard labour on the farm, one amazing woman. I could never do half the things that my Mum can, I admire her strength and determination.  When Mum was 70, the family gave her an amazing surprise Birthday party like no other, however on this Birthday I am not that organised and its more subdued in that we are having a family meal. I'm sure Mum will be happy having all the family with her on her Birthday, she really does deserve only the very best.
This year I am making a Bingo related card( Mum's favourite pastime), its in lots of pinks and greens, I have used lots of products which are-
cardstock-Nana's linen cupboard, Bazzill, paper patch sage breezy weave, script stamp, prima flowers and packaging, Tim holtz-brads, distress inks in colours vintage photo, peeled paint, fired brick and worn lipstick, Tim Holtz game of life stamps, Sizzix serif number dies, Martha Stewart leaf punch, Stampin Up 1/2" circle punch, Tattered Angels glimmer mist, iridescent gold and finally ribbon and gems.
Happy Birthday Mum.x

Friday 8 June 2012

Jakes 1st Birthday

Today is my Grandsons first Birthday, I wanted to make a very special card for him.  I thought this design was very in keeping with his personality, a cheeky monkey! Jake has just started walking so his parents are going to be very busy now as he is so inquisitive.  Tomorrow Jake is having his first Birthday party with all his friends and I'm sure he is going to "Go bananas" with all that is planned for him. Happy Birthday Jake. xx

Wednesday 6 June 2012

Snooker table..

Something for a friend of ours who loves snooker.Cues were cut free hand and Stampin Up punches were used to make the snooker balls and pockets.  Happy Birthday Dom. x

Monday 28 May 2012

Mr Phantom Mask..

Well, us girlies returned to Snazzy Stamping in Swindon, but this time Ali joined us.  Since we saw this at Ally Pally this year I have longed to have a go at making this Phantom style mask.  Can you believe that it's mostly paper, shrink plastic and paint?  I know there are a couple of metal elements in there too but I have now found a new passion.  Mr Phantom mask is hanging here in my hallway and I have decided he looks rather lonely so he needs a Mrs Mask to keep him company.  That is another project, way down on my wish list. Just loving these workshops at Snazzy Stamping, thank you Val. x

Monday 21 May 2012

Destiny mini book..

Who would of thought a day out at a workshop with the girls and we would all finish a minibook? All that's needed is to just add photo's and some journalling, but thats minor details! Julie-Ann, Sarah and I made our way down to Snazzy Stamping in Swindon to get our creative mojo back, it was a good call.  When we booked the workshop we had no idea what the project was and we were buying in on it "blind".  We are all seasoned crafters and quite often we feel disappointed on workshops or courses as we are continually searching for new techniques to quench our desire to progress further in our craft. Well, we were not disappointed.  I can now only speak for myself, here on in, but I had never thought of using mount board to make a mini book and since using it, I have a real desire to make all my books this way.  The feel of quality when handling this book makes it exquisite, and while we have used good quality cardstock to make our "hinges" for the book, I am wondering if grunge paper or grungeboard would be more hard wearing?
Val, the shop owner, was very generous with her time, and the "kit" had ample pieces left over for embellishing, should you require to do so at a later date.
Each of the mini books were unique, it was amazing to see everyones take on the kit given.
The lovely Almanac paper collection from Prima were used throughout the minibooks.
Lots of hidden journalling can be added under the flaps or in the pockets if you prefer.If you have not found the wonderful craft shop yet, it really has a treasure trove of goodies just waiting for you to experiment with. Or if you prefer why not call Val on 01793 602470 to book a place on one of the many workshops that are on offer.
We were all so inspired that next week we are venturing that way again to learn a new technique, more of that soon.  I know that I am so excited about this, I have been waiting to find out how to do this, like forever.
Until the next time.. happy crafting. x