Enys Gardens

I was in the mood for scrapbooking Friday afternoon so made 2 layouts for our Cornwall scrapbook.  I get stuck for the design sometimes so have been pinning a lot of layouts for inspiration on Pinterest, They often come out different to the inspiration but I find them a useful starting point. The purple papers are from a lovely set I bought in The Works.  I used a Marianne die for the pretty circle.  The heading was made with American Thickers and an alphabet from Michaels in the US.

Our host at the cottage told us we should visit Enys Gardens and we were so glad we did. We have never seen so many bluebells. It is hard to capture in a photograph but I did my best.

Flying High

I can now reveal why I have been making so many of these cards using the coloured simply prints from LOTV. They are for a TV show on The Craft Channel (Hochanda) on Wed 21st. I will let you know the time when it is decided on Monday. 

This one is called Flying High. I used MME Lime Twist papers again.  I miss being able to buy papers like these at reasonable prices in the large US craft stores.  The sentiment is LOTV and I used some old Memory Box kite dies along with MFT stitched clouds,  I found the cardboard button in one of my boxes of allsorts and thought it matched the kites well.

I am so pleased that both my Mum and hubby have had their second vaccinations and am hoping to get mine soon. Mum's was 11.5 weeks and Graham's was just under 10 weeks from his first one. 

 

Dinosaur Boy

Another coloured simply print from LOTV, this one is called Birthday-Saurus. As the topper is lovely and bright I wanted to use some bright papers and found this lovely sheet in the MME Lime Twist pack which matches the topper perfectly. The sentiment is LOTV and I used First Edition banner dies, Lawn Fawn bunting and Hobbycraft punches.

Friday has come around quickly this week and we are making a trip to M&S at a retail park this morning. That will probably be the extent of our travelling this weekend although we may pope to a local garden centre sometime but I think places will be much busier at the weekend.

 

Car repairs

Another coloured simply print from LOTV today called under the bonnet. I diecut him using a stitched square die from The Works. The papers are Man Made from First Edition.  I used the MFT zigzag border dies and Memory Box tool dies.  The sentiment is from LOTV.  No home car maintenance goes on now with modern cars, just classic ones.  Graham washes and polishes the car but for anything else like servicing it has to go into the garage.

 

New home, new stamps

I sold a large new home Woodware stamp on Facebook as it was so big it nearly took up the whole card. Just after I sold it I saw someone selling a Woodware set for the same price but this one has various patchwork stamps. I love their patchwork stamps and had great fun paperpiecing the house, tree and sign. The papers are Craft O'clock home sweet home. I just added some little banners and used the paper with MFT stitched cloud dies.

So looking forward to our back massages today. It has been so long since we had them and we both really feel in need of them. We have really missed going once a month.

Get well Bunny

Well we ventured into Norwich yesterday and it wasn't as busy as we feared. Graham had his haircut thank goodness. I spent a book voucher I had for Christmas and went into a couple of other shops.  It was so nice to browse a book shop again. The shops I went into weren't busy at all but the queue at Primark was ridiculous. It was the only big queue I saw. We met up for a cuppa enjoying the luxury of sitting outside a cafe in the sunshine.

So onto my card which features a coloured simply print from LOTV called get well bunny.  I used dusty concorde distress ink around the edges.  The papers are some Joy ones which I discovered whilst looking for something else. I had no idea I had them. Think I got them from The Works.  I used MFT wonky stitched circle and Moonstone fabulous flower dies from Hunkydory.  The sentiment is from LOTv which I diecut with a MFT pierced fishtail die.

In the shed

Another coloured simply print from LOTV. I have been making these cards for something special which I will tell you about soon. This one is In the Shed. The light was awful when I photographed this but the backing paper is actually dark green woodgrain. I used a MFT trellis fence die and thought what else shall I use. I have a number of birdhouse dies so chose one of them along with some tiny bird dies.  The sentiment is LOTV and I added some flowers from Michaels in America, I rarely use flowers on men's cards but thought these ones don't make it look too girly.

 

Twice as nice

Another coloured simply print by Lili of the Valley. I used some old LOTV papers up, up and away which are available as digi papers at Nitwits. The sentiments are LOTV. I used a cross stitch circle and Joy bunting dies along with a Hobbycraft heart punch. The flowers have been in my stash for ages and were just the right colour to match the paper. I remembered I had some stamens so threaded some through the centres,

Well last weekend before a lot more easing of restrictions.  We won't be going far this weekend but look forward to a trip into Norwich on Monday. I have some vouchers to spend and Graham has a haircut booked. I hope it won't be too busy as it is a long time since we have been around many people. 

Enjoy your weekend x

 

Racing by

For my card today I used two of the coloured simply print images from LOTV. This one is called racing by. I fussy cut one of the images and decoupaged it. The papers are some I bought a few years ago at a show and are called vintage vehicles by Amy Design.  The sentiment is from LOTV.

I used Lawn Fawn stitched wavy border and Memory Box town border dies. I added some metal embellishments I bought in America from Hobby Lobby. 

 

Making a scene

I love creating a scene using dies and I have a lot of garden dies so I just had to choose which ones to use.  I used a coloured simply print Little Snail from LOTV adding some colour to the sky and ground. The papers are MFT sweet sunshine. I used a Go Kreate 9, Memory Box snail, MFT stitched sun, Joy tree and some toadstool dies. I coloured the top of the toadstools with Copics and added dots using a white gel pen.  

I am making a few cards with these coloured simply prints so back tomorrow with another.

 

Scruffy George

 I have finished another cross stitch hoop. The design is Scruffy George from The Little Stitchery, part of LOTV. He fits nicely into a 5" hoop.  I used similar colours to the pattern as I have so many threads already that it isn't worth buying the specific ones on the pattern. He was a joy to stitch. Because there was so much of one colour on his face it was easy to stitch that part whilst watching TV.  I love how the final backstitching really brought him to life.

Well what strange weather this week. Yesterday we woke up to a light dusting of snow, then the sun came out. Later on a few small snow showers, more sun and some hail.  At least the snow hasn't laid on the ground, just the rooftops and garden.

I managed to get us dental check ups for early May yesterday and we have back massages next Wednesday.  Graham has a haircut booked for Monday and I have mine booked for 27th April.  I will be so glad to get it cut and coloured.

Last Easter make

This is the Easter card I made for my Mum. I used one of the new images from LOTV coloured with Copics. I used a Lawn Fawn pierced rectangle and MFT fence dies. The flowers are from Hobbycraft and the Martha Stewart fern punch came out again.

That's the last of my Easter makes to share with you. It is going to be even colder today with the possibility of sleet or snow. We may go food shopping this morning if it isn't snowing. Otherwise another day home in the warm.

 

Easter gift

I can share this now that I have given it my Mum. I used a gift bag from Hobbycraft and a cute coloured simply print from LOTV. The paper is Lemoncraft Fresh Summer. The sentiment is LOTV which I diecut with a MFT pierced fishtail. The fence is my fave one from Doohickey, clouds are Memory Box and the stitched sun die is MFT.  I added some Easter choccies for Mum to enjoy.

What changeable weather we have had this week. On Tuesday we were really hot gardening and yesterday I had my hat, gloves and Winter coat on to go for a walk. Having a quiet Easter at home just doing things we enjoy. We have a roast dinner takeaway ordered for this afternoon so that will be lovely not to have to cook and have lots of pans to wash up. Enjoy the rest of Easter.

 

Simply floral

Lili of the Valley have released some lovely horizontal and circular floral images. I used the coloured simply print for mine but they also come in black and white to colour. The papers are Crafter's Companion vintage. I used stitched square from The Works, Lawn Fawn pierced rectangle, Sweet Dixie leaves and Hunkydory Moonstone fabulous floral dies as well as my old fave Martha Stewart fern punch. 

Well the weather has been unseasonable warm for the last two days and should last today too and then all change back to normal. The sun has brought out more Spring flowers this week including the dwarf cherry and the tulips. Off to do some tidying in the garden this morning.

 

Gardening weather

This was my hubby on Saturday though he had a sweatshirt and overalls on. He dug up an old clematis Montana which had gone rotten. It hardly flowered last year though it used to be covered in flowers.  It was a cutting which somebody gave me when we moved in our house 24 years ago so it has done well. The fence needs painting now before we but a new plant to go in its place.

I was asked to make a card for a gardener and used another image from Pink Gem. Their adult images are great. This is a coloured digi which I diecut using a MFT wonky stitched rectangle. This has to be one of my most used dies. The paper is First Edition Gardenia. I used a MFT stitched sun, Joy clouds and a Marianne Designs wheelbarrow die which I coloured with mahogany distress ink.

Slight easing of restrictions today and the weather should be good so we are going to visit our friends who live about 2.5 miles and sit in their garden. We text and message regularly and have had a few doorstep chats whilst exchanging books etc. It will be nice to have a proper visit and a good catchup.

Easter tags

A friend asked me to make 10 Easter tags to attach to gift bags. I used an old Spellbinders tag die and papers from Lemoncraft called fresh Summer. The yellow and green papers were just what I wanted. I had enough of the carrot and bunny ribbons to fit 10 tags which was v lucky. The carrot ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons and the bunny ribbon I bought years ago in America.  The images are coloured simply prints which I diecut.

It was lovely and sunny yesterday but the wind was rather cold. It is supposed to get really warm tomorrow for a few days cooling down for Easter. I just hope people won't start travelling too far with the slight easing of restrictions. I wish they would define local though. Does that mean within your county, up to 10 miles away or something else? At least it is clear in Wales, travel within Wales.

Footballer

I was asked to make a card for someone who likes football and remembered I have this coloured digi from Pink Gem. I found a last sheet of football paper from a very old pack and an odd sheet from a Crate Paper pack.  I used a MFT wonky stitched oval die and a Hobbycraft star punch. I used an old crimper on the stars. The ribbon has been in my stash for ages and has been very useful, something else I don't have much left unfortunately.  The sentiment is an old stamp from Little Claire. I like the simplicity of the font.

 

Time for a snowman

I know it is nearly Easter but I really need to get some more Christmas cards made. I love the snowmen at Lili of the Valley and this one is such a jolly one. I coloured him with Copics and added some snow with a white gel pen. The papers are First Edition Jolly Holidays, flowers and wooden leaves from Hobbycraft, sentiment tag from LOTV.

At least the weather has been a bit better this week so far though hail is predicted for tomorrow!  We have been out tidying the garden and enjoying the Spring flowers. Apart from that life goes on the same as the last few weeks. Our hair is getting longer and we are getting closer to a second vaccination. A slight easing next week with being able to meet another household in an outside space. That will be ok as long as the weather isn't too cold or raining.  Stay safe everyone.

 

Game Boy

I was asked to make a card for a friend's grandson who loves computer games. This is Game Boy Oliver which I coloured with Copics. I love the bright MFT papers for modern looking cards and I also love mixing the stripes. I printed the sentiment.  I used Hobbycraft star punches, a Lawn Fawn stitched circle die and paperclip die from a set of Tim Holtz notes dies.

 

On the farm

I managed to make another scrapbook layout for my Cornwall scrapbook. The photos were taken at the farm where we rented the holiday cottage. The gorgeous wisteria is outside the farmhouse and the calves were just a few weeks old and so sweet.  I used papers, ribbon and a wooden butterfly from the new Craft Label Butterfly Kisses collection. The letters are also new from Dovecraft called mini printed letter tiles. Hop over to their website as they have some great bargains and postage is free over £15.

 

More romantic rock

I was asked to make another card with this lovely coloured digi from LOTV Romantic Rock. I used Craft O'clock plum in chocolate papers, added some lace from Crafty Ribbons and a pretty paper flower and pearls. I used a pierced rectangle Lawn Fawn die to cut out the image and some dusty concord distress ink around the edges. I just have to add the personalised sentiment.

Well another weekend has come around again and let's hope it is a dry one. We have had so many wet days this week. Have a good one x

 

Butterflies

This is the first card I made using some of my new goodies. I challenged myself to make a card using only these rather than using an image. 

The papers, wooden butterfly, sentiment die cut and ribbon are all from the new Butterfly Kisses range from Craft Label.  I even used the two tiny butterflies from the banner diecut. I also used MFT stitched scallop border and pierced banner dies.  I backed the banner diecut with the new white adhesive glitter card.

Back with another purple card tomorrow.

 

My first ever card

 Well I did make some cards yesterday but didn’t get round to blogging them. I also sorted through a large box of cards which I have kept over the years. These are mainly handmade, cards from Graham or those that have special memories like Silver Wedding or when I left work. The box was overflowing and I couldn’t get the ones from Christmas and Graham’s Birthday in it.

So I decided it was time for a sort out. It was very interesting looking back at them. I have some gorgeous cards from my friend Lynsey who you may know on Facebook. We used to work together and would often discuss cardmaking. We spent many happy times at craft shows too. She gave up cardmaking and now makes fairies selling as Raindrop Crafts.

Which brings me onto my first ever card I made 15 years ago this May. I have always loved making things  since I was a little girl and had a fancy to try cardmaking. We were in a garden centre with a craft section and Graham suggested I buy a cardmaking kit to see if I liked it. I bought that and some handmade papers and that was the start of it.

I had no idea what I was doing, didn’t want to follow the instructions in the cart but it was a starting point. This is the first card I made which was for our Anniversary. I kept it to show how far I have come since that first day. It may not be very good but it was made with love. 

New goodies

 Well I ended up doing all kinds of things other than crafting yesterday. However I did get a lovely craft delivery with my latest DT pack from Craft Label, formerly Trimcraft. This time we were given an amount of money to spend on their new website which I much preferred. It was lovely choosing what to buy and I only spent 43p over my allocation. We were asked to choose some of their newest items which I did with the Butterfly Kisses range. They have some great bargains on their website like the card blanks and some of the older paper pads. I have used a lot of my grand plans pad so got another as there are some great designs for male cards.

Today I am definitely having some crafting time so hopefully will have something to share tomorrow.

My Mum's card

I had planned to share this yesterday but stayed out of the craft room at the weekend so didn't get to schedule this post until yesterday afternoon. We went to see my Mum on Sunday for Mother's Day and this is the card I made her. 

I used a cross stitch pack from Hobbycraft I bought recently. I really enjoyed sewing this one so will be using the pattern again. The papers are Craftwork cards, flowers from Wild Orchid. I used a MFT stitched scallop frame die and some Memory Box butterfly dies. I only have one of these doilies left so ordered some more from Ebay. Unfortunately the person I used to buy from is no longer on Ebay so I hope the new ones I ordered will be as nice a quality.

I am planning some creative time in the craftroom today so may have something to share tomorrow.

 

Not my Mum's card!

As the title suggests this isn't the card I made for my Mum.  I can't show that today as my Mum looks at my blog every morning. We will be going to see her this morning so I will share her card tomorrow.

You may have seen a pink card with this image which was for an order. My friend loved it but said she had discovered her MIL's favourite colour is blue so I offered to make her another one in blue. I changed the sentiment on the pink one to Happy Birthday so that has gone into stock for sale.

I used some lovely papers from Craftwork cards. The MFT stitched scallop border die came out again along with an old Xcut oval die.  The lace is from Crafty Ribbons.  I keep rediscovering ways I used to decorate cards and that is to add a rose to the centre of a paper flower. These paper flowers are years old and I am gradually trying to use some of them up.

Happy Mother's Day to all Mums.

 

Amongst the flowers

I finished backstitching this one last night and I was so glad to finish it. Backstitching all those leaves became a bit of a chore but I am pleased it is finished. I sewed it in a 5” hoop as the stitching is so near the edge of a 4” hoop. I then transferred it to a 4” hoop and laced across the back of the fabric. A white felt circle to neaten the back and it is all ready for sale. I used a pattern from Durene Jones Etsy shop. 

I always post my makes on Facebook and am very pleased to say that a friend asked to buy it. It is nice to think someone will be enjoying it rather than it just being added to my stock.

Well the weekend has come around again. We have had two more theatre shows rescheduled this week. One of them should have been last year. At least the new dates are later this year. Last week we had one rescheduled to next year so we got a refund instead. I hope we can get to the theatre later in the year as it seems so long since we have been and it is something we really enjoy.

Have a good weekend. Do something that makes you happy. I know choices are limited but we just have to make the most of each day x

James Bouquet

I have used some lovely new LOTV digi products on this card. I used purple damask papers, James bouquet and a simply cute sentiment. I decided to colour him grey for a change, with Copics of course. I used pierced rectangle and Joy butterfly dies and added some lace from Crafty Ribbons and flowers from Hobbycraft.  I used a clear sparkle pen on the flowers.

We have had horrible weather the last two days, strong winds and some heavy rain which was all day Wednesday and a few heavy showers yesterday. That lovely sunny weekend a couple of weeks ago was so much nicer. Let's hope we get some better weather soon.

 

Seesaw

This is the last of my commissioned Mother's Day cards. I have used another coloured simply print from LOTV.  The papers are some old LOTV ones back from when they did paper pads.  These are so useful for 7" cards as they are 8" pads. I used some ric rac and Crafty Ribbons lace. I tried an old technique with some of the flower stalks, wrapping the wire around a cocktail stick. I added a burlap and punched butterflies. I also used MFT wonky stitched rectangle and stitched scallop border dies.

 

Simply flowers

Thank you for all the Birthday wishes for Graham for Monday. He loved his movie themed card. I have used some new images from LOTV called simply cute flowers. They launched last week along with the main images. There are lots of flowers, leaves, birds and butterflies which are handy to add to any of their main images. I decided to create a card just using some of them along with one of the new simply cute sentiments.

I created my arrangement in Word. I inserted each one into a new document, then formatted them by clicking text wrapping through. This allowed me to move them where I wanted them. I rotated the foliage and sent them to the back along with some of the flowers. It took a bit of playing around with until I was happy with the arrangement.  I coloured it with Copics.

The papers are pink ephemera, some of the new digi papers from LOTV. I used a MFT wonky stitched rectangle, Joy flower and Memory Box foliage dies.  The butterflies are from Poundland. I coloured one of them with a burgundy Copic.