Birthdays are good for you

Another card for the order. This one for a man in his 40's. With no specific subject to work on I thought this Inkylicious sentiment would make a nice card. I used a MFT stitched rounded corner die set to make the frame. The papers are MFT. I love their bright coloured papers, and many of the geometric designs are great for male cards. I used Hobbycraft star punches and MFT pierced fishtail dies.

Well that's the end of another week in lockdown. It doesn't seem so bad this time of year as many days are pretty miserable outside and very cold so we wouldn't be going far anyway. We are missing going out for meals but our local pub does a great delivery service so we have ordered roast pork dinners for Sunday. It makes a nice change from cooking and washing up.

 

Game Boy

I have an order for 8 cards. Luckily 4 of them I already had made up so am working on the other 4. This is for a 13 year old who likes gaming on his computer and luckily I had this LOTV stamp Game Boy in my collection. It is now available as a digi. I used MFT papers which give an optical illusion of not being straight in the photo but I promise they are. I wasn't sure how to embellish it then remembered I have an old set of Spellbinder arrow dies which I have used a lot. So three black arrows and job done. The image as always is coloured with Copics.

 

Robins are not just for Christmas

I made this for a male friend's Birthday. He loves birds so I thought this stamp was perfect for a Winter Birthday.  It is an old stamp by Sheena Douglass which I coloured with Copics. The paper if First Edition Gardenia and the sentiment is Little Claire. I used a new tree die I bought form someone recently on Facebook. It is a lovely set called Autumn. The pots are old Memory Box dies.

First Christmas card of 2021

I really enjoy cross stitching small pictures and they are ideal for making into cards. This is from a pattern by Durene Jones and is a freebie on her FB page. The papers are some old favourites Bo Bunny Altitude. I made a frame for the image using stitched square dies from The Works. I used white glitter card with a Martha Stewart snowflake punch and tree dies by Marianne and Doohickey.

I belong to a cross stitch group on Facebook and I am amazed by the time some people spend cross stitching. I love crafting but I don't want to do it all day every day but some of these people are obsessed. They begrudge anything getting in the way of them stitching and some of them have head torches for stitching in the evenings. I want to laugh at some of the posts like the lady who said when you make a hot drink, fill a flask as well so you can make another drink quicker than waiting for the kettle to boil again allowing more stitching time! That takes obsession to a whole new level I think.  I am glad nothing obsesses me that much.

Cute Bear

I have another of the new images launching on Friday to share with you. This is cute bear 4, coloured with Copics. I found the gingham paper, think it came from an old LOTV pack. I love gingham for baby cards. The sentiment is LOTV, ribbon from stash and square doily from Ebay. I used Dovecraft 3d pearl effects around the image and kept the layout simple.

Had a lovely visit to my Mum yesterday as we are in a support bubble. She continues to keep herself busy painting, knitting and puzzling. Today's exciting outing is to get our click and collect shopping at Tesco. Stay safe everyone x

 

Balloons

I have another of the new digi stamps from LOTV to showcase today. The launch date is 8th January and there are cute bears, elephants as well as babies. I coloured Elephant 4 with Copics then diecut it with a Lawn Fawn pierced rectangle die. The papers and Birthday balloon die are all MFT.  I added an enamel heart from Tiger.

Nothing much to report here. Every day is much like another. Apart from the usual household chores to be done we go for a walk some days, practice our line dancing, read, craft, do jigsaw puzzles and watch TV. I am working on a small snowman cross stitch which I will be making into my first Christmas card for this year. Today we have a click and collect from our local farm shop/butcher. We tend to stock up for the freezer so we go as little as possible. That and a trip to the small Co-op nearby for a few things will be our trip out for the day. Stay safe everyone x.

 

Baby hammock

I got into the craft room as planned on Friday and really enjoyed using one of the new baby images launching soon from LOTV. This is baby hammock coloured with Copics. The papers are First Edition It's a girl. I used MFT stitched ric rac, Your Next Stamp heart banner and Lawn Fawn stitched circle dies along with a Hobbycraft heart punch. The flowers are from Hobbycraft but they had glitzy centres which I didn't like so I took them out and added some enamel dots.

There are some really cute stamps in this launch, not just for babies so I will be back with more to show you soon. Hopefully I will get another made today.

 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone. Let's hope for a much better year. Judging by the lack of blog posts many of you like me haven't done much crafting between Christmas and New Year. I have been cross stitching but only went into the craft room to make this cross stitch into a card. I do plan on getting back in there this afternoon after we take down the tree and cards in the lounge.  We took the other decorations and tree from the conservatory on Wednesday. I love them but it is nice to have a good clean and get straight. I can't bear decorations left up after today. New year, clean start.

I really enjoy sewing small cross stitch images and this owl is from a free pattern from Durene Jones. I changed the colours as the owl is purple in the pattern which I thought rather odd. I also like using whatever colours I have and that I feel suit the image.  I made a frame using a stitched square die. Unfortunately I didn't have the right size square die to cut out the centre so had to measure and cut the centre out. The paper is from an old pad by Nikki Sivils called tree love. I punched some stars and made the moon using a small circle die.

I didn't make as many cards as usual last year, though I still made 163 plus various other items. I didn't do as much scrapbooking as planned either. I start every year with good intentions but last year was such a strange year that I didn't always feel like crafting as much. We did 86 jigsaws, mostly 1000 pieces, which is more than we usually do. Many afternoons were spent puzzling and playing music. A good way to forget what is happening in the world along with reading. I must have read around 50 books I reckon.

Yesterday we printed out some photos from our Cornwall holiday and I have sorted them into a new scrapbook along with photos from the previous two years. I will be making a start on that soon and will endeavour to be a better scrapbooker.

 The next two months will be mainly spent at home I think so plenty of time for crafting, puzzling, cross stitching, reading, listening to music, going for walks and watching TV.  Thank goodness for Netflix and Amazon Prime. We have enjoyed some great shows on there since we subscribed last March.

Stay home, stay safe and happy crafting. 

Plum in chocolate

Aren't these colours gorgeous. I bought a set of plum in chocolate papers and chipboard diecuts from Craft O'clock recently and had fun making this vintage style card. I added some cheesecloth, lace from Crafty Ribbons, a bark heart and roses from Wild Orchid.  I diecut the tag using a mini tag set from MFT, stamped a Little Claire sentiment and added some baker's twine.  I kept the embellishments mainly to the bottom as I didn't want to spoil the gorgeous flower pattern at the top of the paper.

 

Coffee

I made this one for a friend whose Birthday is today. As she doesn't like cute Making a card for her is always a bit more challenging. She loves coffee and I suddenly remembered I had a set of Laserlowe Love coffee papers. I used vintage photo distress ink, fussy cut the coffee and cake and layered using foam pads. The banner at the top was made using a stitched die from MFT.

 

A new snowman stamp!

My last Christmas card to share with you before Christmas. Yes I bought a new set of Whimsy stamps because of the two snowmen. I have this image as a coloured Sassy Cheryl digi and have always loved it so when I saw that Whimsy had released it as part of a set I had to buy it. I coloured it with Copics and used a pearl pen for the snow. I used the adhesive glitter card from Craft Label and Sue Wilson poinsettia dies. The sentiment stamps are part of the stamp set.

The number of Coronavirus cases is rising alarmingly so we have been staying at home this week, apart from an early visit to a local shop for a few things yesterday. We move into tier 4 on Saturday so we will be staying home anyway. Thank goodness for lots of indoor hobbies. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. Have the best Christmas you can in these troubled times x

New baby January launch

Now that the Christmas cards are finished it is time to get some stock made in anticipation of craft fairs hopefully later next year. Lili of the Valley are having a launch of very cute baby and animal stamps in January. This is cute bear 1 coloured with Copics. I used the dotty method to colour him and am really pleased with how it turned out. I put down so much colour going over it to get it right. The papers are First Edition It's a girl. I used a stitched square die from The Works and Dovecraft pale pink 3D pearl effects.

I haven't had much time for crafting this week though I have been cross stitching in the evenings whilst watching Netflix. We have just finished watching The Crown which was very good. A real eye opener although it has to be taken as a drama and not a documentary so not all of it is 100% accurate I am sure.

We are going out for breakfast this morning to our usual little place where they only have 3 tables. It is one of the best breakfasts and we will be able to take a walk by the river too.

 

A snowman and penguins

What could be better than a snowman and and some penguins. This is the card I made for hubby and he loves it. I love using kraft, red and white.

Image - LOTV Snowman and penguins

Medium - Copics

Papers - LOTV from last year (no longer available)

Sentiment - LOTV

Dies - Memory box die coloured with DI vintage photo, Elizabeth craft tree (I think) (This is a great die in 5 parts which you can use to make different size trees)

Wooden snowflake coloured with vintage photo DI

I think I am ready for Christmas. Cards posted, presents wrapped, most of the food bought apart from vegetables. I have some very cute new digis from LOTV launching January so will be able to make a start on using them now.

Another snowman!

I used one of the many snowman digis by LOTV for today's card. The papers are some old Wild Rose ones called Frosted Lace. I used a MFT wonky stitched oval die and coloured him with Copics using chalk for the sky. The sentiment is LOTV and the stitched  snowflakes are Memory Box dies.  I used white glitter card as I also did for the trees. These are some new dies I bought in The Works. I had £1.35 on my loyalty card to spend and as there was nothing else I wanted I bought these which were just £3. I have lots of tree dies but these are quite different to the ones I already have.

 

A change from Christmas

I started sewing this a few weeks ago then put it to one side whilst I sewed some Christmas decorations. I decided to finish it this week and was pleased to see that most of the cross stitching was done so I finished that and then added the backstitch. The pattern is by Durene Jones on Etsy.

We are going out for breakfast at a local farm shop and cafe today where they have good precautions in place. We need to get a sack of potatoes and a few other things while we are there. We will be wrapping presents today and tomorrow then apart from fresh vegetables we are all ready for Christmas.

 

Penguin family

Thank you so much for the lovely comments on the card I posted yesterday which my Mum painted. Mum looks at my blog everyday and was overcome with the lovely things you said.

This is the card I made for her using Penguin family from LOTV. Coloured with Copics using a white gel pen for snow on the penguins. The papers are from LOTV last year, tree dies are Marianne and Joy and the snowflakes are also Joy dies.  The sentiment is a new one from Craft label. I used white glitter card and added some glitter to the snow for a sparkly card.

Painted by my Mum

 I have something different to show you today and it is the card my Mum painted for us. We are so impressed with it. I wonder how she knew of my love for snowmen! 😂😂⛄☃

In February my Mum decided to learn to paint with acrylics and had four 2 hour lessons. Bear in mind my Mum is 88 and hasn’t painted since she left school at 15. Then came lockdown so she decided to teach herself using a book and Youtube. We have been amazed at how much she has improved from her first painting. This card will be one to treasure.

Snowman for the tree

 

I decided to make this cross stitch snowman using a pattern from the magazine Kate kindly sent me (see hedgie card in Sunday’s post). He is supposed to have dangly legs but everyone knows snowmen don’t have legs! I really loved sewing him and am very pleased with how he turned out. I used my own colour choice to match the colour theme on the tree. I sewed the ribbon loop to the back of the perforated paper and then glued white felt to the back.

Here he is on the tree.

New trimmer

I wanted to buy a new trimmer and asked people’s advice on Facebook. I was thinking of getting a Fiskars one but several people recommended the larger Fiskars one, the Procision trimmer. I decided to go with that one and am so pleased with it. It has a self sharpening blade so need to buy new blades anymore. It is very sturdy and cuts like a dream.

I love the fact that it folds in half which makes it higher on my desk meaning it is better for my back, an added bonus. It measures in inches and centimetres whereas my previous trimmers didn’t have inches on them. When it folds out it is perfect for scrapbooking or cutting papers for cards larger than 6”.

Hedgie and present

I have a friend who rescues hedgehogs and loves craft especially anything hedgehog related. One of my blogging friends, Kate, very kindly sent me a cross stitch magazine as she planned to make something from it but decided it was too much for her. There were some small designs in the mag for tags and cards and I started off by following the pattern. However it came out so small I wasn't happy with it so that went in the bin and I made a bigger version using the pattern but adding in extra rows and stitches as appropriate. 

I used a MFT scalloped circle frame die and Go Kreate dies to create the larger frame.  The papers are First Edition almost Christmas and the glittered poinsettias are also from Craft Label. I used Crafter's Companion and Sue Wilson dies for the foliage.

James in a hammock

Having a little break from Christmas today with a sweet James card. This is one of the new coloured simply prints from LOTV called James in a hammock.  I had some Birthday money left from my Mum so decided to buy some new papers. This is from one of the pads, Home sweet home by Craft o'clock.  I also ordered a stamp set with 15% off so along with the bargain dies I recently bought I have bought more in the last week than I have all year I think.

I also used some Crafts Too butterfly and toadstool dies and a piece of cheesecloth.  Another Saturday night in and another movie night. We are working our way through the Harry Potter series and tonight is the 4th one, Goblet of Fire, a particular favourite. It is a long time since we have watched them so we are really enjoying them.  Enjoy your weekend.

Christmas masks

Those of you who know my love of snowmen won't be surprised by my choice of Christmas masks. I thought they would make a fun scrapbook page. I used products from Craft Label, almost Christmas papers, foil chunky alphabet and pieces from the Winter Sparkle decoupage pad.  

We certainly won't forget 2020. It was so nice to get out a little more this week. On Wednesday we went out for breakfast and yesterday we both had hot stone massages which were lovely. Prima Rosa opened yesterday, the vintage tearooms/gift shop where I normally sell some of my cards and gifts. Unfortunately they have all had to be removed for the time being to maintain social distancing but they will be back in there when things are back to normal. We are going there for a light lunch today.  We originally planned to go with friends, who like us don't see hardly anyone else. Of course being in tier two we can only go on our own.

As I won't be doing any craft fairs early next year I really must do more scrapbooking this Winter.  It is no good printing photos and sorting them into a scrapbook if I don't get the layouts made. So that's my plan, let's see if it works out.

New tree

 

 I haven’t been in the craftroom for a few days as we have been busy preparing for Christmas. All the cards are written ready and stamped for posting. A few were sent out yesterday. We decided to buy a smaller tree for our lounge this year and we are so pleased we did. The larger tree is up in the conservatory so yesterday afternoon was spent decorating them both. We went for a rustic look for the smaller one as it has snow and pine cones on it,  some of the decorations are handmade and I am so pleased with how lovely my new cross stitch reindeer look on it. 

I am currently cross stitching a snowman for it. It is a bigger decoration and I only started it a few days ago.

Blustery Day

A blustery day always reminds me of my favourite bear, Winnie the Pooh, with him and Piglet bent over in the wind. It is my last Card-io card at the moment. I used a couple of Card-io stamp sets for this one and stamped in brown rather then black. The sentiment isn't Card-io but I liked the shape of it with the design. I added some Stickles and used a Toni punch with white glitter card as it needed something to finish it off.

A trip to an out of town M&S and Boots today for a few things. I think the Christmas decorations will be going up tomorrow to celebrate the end of lockdown and 1st December. I can't bring myself to put them up in November though I know several people have this year to cheer themselves up.  It will be nice to be able to go out for a meal from Wednesday onwards even though being in tier two we can't meet up with friends indoors.

Inkylicious meets Card-io

Once I have the Card-io stamps out I have to make more cards. I am not sure if I need them but if I don't then they will be ready for next year when hopefully I will be doing craft fairs again.

The cottage is an Inkylcious stamp which I stamped in white and then added some snow with a white glitter pen. I stamped the wreath in the same way as yesterday's card but this time in brown although it looks green on my laptop. I added some red liquid pearls just to lift the design.

Time to get all the inserts into my cards and see if I have enough. I need to get some more tags made this week plus hubby's card which always gets left until last. I have the image printed ready to colour.

 

Hats off

It thought it was time I had a play with my Card-io stamps again and decided to try one on red card for a change. I keep a diecut circle backed with post-its which I use to create a wreath by stamping around the diecut, then removing it and using different stamps around the circle. I used pearl pens to create the berries and snow.

A morning in the craftroom today and tomorrow I plan to get my Christmas cards written. Enjoy your weekend x

 

Relaxing

Today I have used a coloured LOTV art pad. I love their boy images and that dog looks very content doesn't he. The papers are First Edition almost Christmas. I added some ribbon from my stash, used a banner die from The Works, a pierced rectangle die from Lawn Fawn and a stitched ric rac die from MFT.  The tartan bow is from Craft Label.

Tree tags

I need to make several tags, not too large or elaborate, as I do prefer to use handmade tags on my presents if possible. I used products from Craft Label for my tags. The papers are First Edition North Star and Almost Christmas. I was lucky to find that the First Edition bunting dies were perfect to use upside down as trees. I especially love the middle one which looks just like a tree decorated with baubles.  

I used the adhesive glitter sheets from Dovecraft which is so easy to use especially as it sticks to itself whereas sometimes trying to stick glitter card to glitter card can be tricky. The pearl stars and glitter twine are also new from Craft Label. They have a clearance sale on their website at the moment so head over and check them out. Click on the link in my sidebar.

 

Oh dear

I have teamed the new First Edition North Star papers with another Hobby House topper. I added some Stickles and white pearl dots to the image. I used a hexagon die, Doohickey slim fir dies and a Joy snowflake die.  The sentiment is from Pink Gem.

A simple card but another flat one for posting.

Cute reindeer

I loved stitching these cute reindeer decorations. I bought the pattern two weeks ago from Catkin and Lillie on Etsy and stitched these in the evenings whilst watching TV. I sewed them on perforated paper added the ribbons loops and backed them with white felt.