Material this time

These sold out last year as well as the paper ones so I am starting earlier this year. Last year I used slightly bigger baubles so I experimented with sizes. For the one on the left I used 2.25" squares and the only problem was that the pins in the red ones showed and if you look closely at the top you can see the red on the green row. So I added strips of ribbon as I don't like the pins showing.

The tartan one I made using 2.5" squares and this worked much better. The material was also much softer so my thumb didn't get as sore pushing in all the pins. These are made the same as the paper ones except I pin a square at the bottom and then each square is folded into a triangle and then folded again so the stright edge is pinned on either side.

We went to the theatre in Lowestoft last night with friends so stayed overnight in a Premier Inn as it was a long show. The 8 of us enjoyed a lovely meal last night before the show and we will be enjoying a cooked breakfast this morning before heading home, picking up some food shopping on the way.  I will be in the craft room all day tomorrow whilst hubby is out and have a lot planned to make. I have a craft fair next Wednesday then none until November when I have 5 fairs booked.

Christmas decorations

Regular followers may remember I made some of these for the first time last year and I sold out so I am starting earlier this year. I did a tutorial which you can find here.  This time I used 1.5" squares which meant 3 of each colour per row. I like making these with material too so will be making some of those as I only made a few of those last year and after keeping one for our tree sold the rest. I have so many things I want to make and will have a day crafting on Sunday as hubby is out all day for his last day of driving the rescue boat at powerboat racing. That is the end of the racing season then though he will no doubt be doing a bit of work on the boats to get them ready for Winter and the new season.  He loves it and it gives me the chance to get in the craftroom.  The poinsettias are from Hobbycraft.

Cross stitch bookmarks

Now these are something that look much better in real life. I thought I would have a break from my cross stitch LOTV fairy picture and try a couple of bookmarks using some free patterns from Durene Jones on Facebook.  I started with the owl one and of course it wasn't quick to make at all. There are so many small sections in different colours and lots of backstitching. The butterfly one was much quicker. I backed them with felt and blanketstitched around the edges.  They will be on sale at my craft fair next Wednesday.

Pumpkins

This really is a simple Autumn card made with Mintay Cozy Evening papers.  The image is so nice that I merely added a cluster of flowers to one corner along with some wooden and fabric leaves.  Really not much else to say about this card other than how much I love the colours. The large pumpkin looks like it could turn into Cinderella's coach doesn't it.

I have a Birthday card I must finish this morning before our line dancing class at 1pm. We are still loving it and learning slightly more complicated dances now.  In fact we have progressed from being the absolute beginners class to beginners. and she has started a new absolute beginners class.  Then we are off to Prima Rosa as I need to restock a few items as sales are going really well. I was going to stop making fairy doors but as they sold 3 in there last month I have some more to make.

Birds and flowers

Yes another card made with the gorgeous Mintay papers. They are so beautiful that it is easy to make lovely cards, I added some lace from Crafty Ribbons, a wooden bird from Hobbycraft and a mix of flowers from America, The Hobby House and Wild Orchid.  The leaves were made with a Joy die.

I hope the weather at the weekend was as lovely where you are as it was here. I love sunny Autumn days, so much fresher than the Summer. We got a lot done in the garden and hubby finished painting the fence whilst I did some crafting. I am doing a lot of sewing at the moment as well as making cards, some I can't share with you yet.

Friends plaques

These are one of the most popular items a make, especially in the tearooms/gift shop where I sell some of my cards and gifts. I simply cover the wooden hearts with pretty papers, sand the edges and add the sentiments, which in this case are Inkylicious and add some ribbon and flowers.  They do make a nice little gift for a friend.

A day off yesterday with a bit of retail therapy and lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Back to the gardening this morning then maybe some crafting or a jigsaw or maybe even both 😊.

Autumn

A busy day yesterday doing lots of gardening so I never got the chance to post on here. The pots are all planted up for Autumn with cyclamen, bulbs, pansies and violas. Lots of things cut down and tidied, more to do on Sunday including planting some wallflowers and moving a few plants.  Then we went out for the evening with friends for a a meal and a show at the theatre.

I have been playing with the gorgeous Mintay papers again. This card uses items from the Coxy Evening pack. I fussy cut the seed heads and added lots of diecut leaves using an Impression Obsessions set. Enjoy your weekend,

Cozy Evening New Home

This is the second of the new home cards I made using Mintay papers. This time I used Cozy Evening papers. The images that come with the papers are fabulous. I added some burlap with lace, a stamped LOTV sentiment, some wooden leaves coloured with vintage photo distress ink, some flowers I have had for years secured with a brad and added a clock embellishment I found in my stash.  I shall be making several more cards and scrapbook layouts using both packs of papers as the designs are so gorgeous.

The last snowman

This is the last of the new snowmen which recently launched at Lili of the Valley and I love them all. I coloured him with Copics, added some white gel pen for snow, diecut him with a MFT stitched die and distressed the edges using black soot distress ink and a distress tool. The papers are some from LOTV last year and I used one of the new sentiment digis,  I sanded some Cor'dinations for the diecut trees, something I haven't done for ages. It gives a snowy effect to the trees doesn't it.  I had a diecut snowflake on my desk and used just a small part of it in the corner.

Stripes and buttons on launch day

Today is launch day for the last of the new Christmas images from Lili of the Valley.  This one is squeaky stocking. Now I will admit to a bit of a disaster with this one but we crafters are very good at covering up things that go wrong. I had coloured it all with Copics except for some of the details like the stars as I wanted to sue sparkle pens. When I used a pink sparkle pen which hadn't been used for some time it pooled a bi and spoilt my colouring. So the pen went in the bin and I covered the stars with tiny buttons. I used MFT candy land papers, LOTV sentiment tags and a candy cane die I found in my stash which I think was a mag freebie. I also used a MFT stitched border die and some fun flock on the little hats.

Playing with some new papers

I had a lovely crafting day yesterday as hubby was out all day at powerboat racing where he is part of the rescue team of volunteers. I ordered two packs of gorgeous new Mintay 12x12 papers and made a couple of cards, one from each pack. I also made some other things which I shall be sharing on here during the week.

There are some gorgeous toppers on one of the sheets and as I needed some new home cards I used one of the toppers, a suitcase from a sheet of images and one of the pretty papers from the Dreamer pack. I used a Doohickey banner die with some spotted card and a Joy leaf die along with some flowers from Te Hobby House.  The sentiment was diecut with a Doohickey die and stamped with a LOTV stamp.

I have lots to look forward to this week. Today we are going into the city and I am having my hair cut. Tomorrow we are back at line dancing class where we shall be recapping on many of the dances and learning a new one. On Wednesday I am having a facial and massage and on Friday we are out for a meal and the theatre with friends. Enjoy your week.

Yorkshire

We had a lovely few days away in Yorkshire. Here we are in one of the many cafes we visited.

The much photographed cottage in Thornton-le-Dale.

The highlight was travelling from Pickering to Whitby on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. We have done this journey before as we love steam trains. It is wonderful that they preserve this railway and supporting it means it will be there for future generations to enjoy.

A trio of bears

I made this card for a friend's Birthday. I used the rubber stamp version of the LOTV posy bear trio but they are now available as digis. I coloured them with Copics and teamed them with MFT papers, LOTV sentiment and used a Sue Wilson sweetheart flower die set with added enamel dots.  I also used a cross stitch Roxstamp circle die.

We have been away for a few days in Yorkshire, heading home today. 

Pink banners

You may have seen a colourful version of this design which I posted recently. I made another using just hes pink Craftwork card papers. When I first made it i didn't like it much but it has grown on me. I feel the banners aren't defined as well as the mixed colour version. I did ink the edges of the banners to give more definition. The sentiment is from LOTV. This is one of the cards my class in September will be making, a nice easy one for them bearing in mind many of them are not cardmakers.

Alice and the Mad Hatter

It is my turn to share a card on the Swedish House Crafts blog and this is a card I made for a friends' daughter's 16th Birthday. Her name is Alice and I knew this lovely stamp Mad Hatter Avery was just perfect for the card I had in mind. I coloured her with Copics and die cut her using a MFT stitched die. The papers are MFT. I had the playing cards in a Christmas cracker years ago and it was perfect to go with the image. I added a banner, some diecut hearts which were the waste from some flowers and some numbers from my scrapbook stash.

Because SHC cannot show Disney images on their blog I had to photoshop it by covering Alice. I did this by copying paper from another card and adding it to the above picture so this is what you will see on the SHC blog.

Cheers!

When my email arrived from Lili of the Valley with the new images launching on 10 September I did smile when I saw this one. Isn't it a fun image and I am sure we all know someone we could send it to. I coloured it with Copics and added one of the handwritten LOTV digis to it.  The papers are Your next stamp Winter plaid, the ribbon is from my stash and the trees were cut using a Doohickey slender fir die set.

Another sneak peek, simply adorable

I really love the cute new images launching on 10 September from LOTV and this one my just be the cutest. I coloured him with Copics using chalk and a white gel pen for a snowy sky. I added some fun flock to his hat and used some old Bo Bunny Winter Wishes papers. I found the diecut trees in my stash when I had a clear out the other day and think they came from Dies to Die For when there were always some diecuts in your order. The sentiment tag is LOTV. I added a doily, sparkly poinsettia from Hobbycraft and used some foliage from the Sue Wilson cut and lift poinsettia die set along with a Joy holly die.

Sneak peek

I couldn't wait to get started on making cards with the final Christmas release from Lili of the Valley. These will be available on September 10th. This one is called snowy chums and of course it has been coloured with Copics. The papers are First Edition Jolly Holiday. I used Marianne snowflake, Crafter's Companion icicle and MFT banner dies. I also added fun flock to the fur.

A short post from me as I am scheduling this on Saturday whilst waiting for our dinner to cook. I have another image part coloured so hope to get a card made with that to share on Monday.

Yes another new snowman

Before I start bringing you sneak peeks of the final LOTV Christmas release I have another of the recently released snowmen to share with you.  I love all of them and can see me using them a lot. They are so easy to colour too and I have enjoyed using lots of different colour combos. I had a bit of a sort out of my Christmas papers and found this one sheet plus a few scraps of the Bo Bunny Snowfall pad. I love kraft with aqua. I coloured the snowman with Copics and added some doodling with a brown fineliner pen. The sentiment is one of the new ones from LOTV and I treated myself to some new Doohickey dies from Swedish House Crafts. These are Christmas tags.

I have some chores to do then hoping for a crafty play with the new images.

Wedding Day

Thanks for all the likes on my tooth fairy pillows. I took some restocks into Prima Rosa yesterday including this card. When I went in there I stopped to talk to a lady I met there once before and she introduced me to her friend for whom she bought one of my cards. They both said how beautiful it was and asked what I was bringing in. I showed them and they both bought something and I was so pleased one of them was a tooth fairy pillow.

So onto my card which I made using an old LOTV diecut. I still have a few of these to use. There are still some sock of these available in the LOTV outlet store on Etsy. The image is also available as a digi stamp to colour.  I used some Anna Marie paper, cheesecloth, a very old sentiment banner and some flowers from Hobbycraft. I coloured the wooden hearts with a pink sparkle pen and as it was brighter than I wanted, dabbed some off then coloured with a white sparkle pen. I also used a clear sparkle pen on the flowers and ribbon on the image.

Tooth fairy pillows

We recently popped into Prima Rosa, the tearooms and gift shop where I sell some of my cards and gifts. Judith the owner asked if I could make some tooth fairy pillows. I had never heard of them so had a look on Pinterest at the many variations and came up with my own design. I made a card template for the tooth and sewed the closed eyes, wrote a poem and added it inside the tooth which is where the child puts the real tooth and in the morning finds some money from the tooth fairy.

Another gnome

Oh what a hot few days and it is supposed to be hot again today then cooling down thank goodness. I planned to make several cards yesterday but it was too hot in my craft room and cooler downstairs so I spent more time sewing downstairs instead.  I am doing another LOTV cross stitch fairy and it is as addictive as cardmaking.

I did make a couple of cards though and this one is using another of the new LOTV coloured simply print images. I used First Edition Jolly Holiday papers, Go Kreate frilly 10 and some Christmas tree dies.  I added a couple of wooden snowflakes to finish it off.

We are planning a bit of gardening first thing whilst the back garden is in the shade, then some shopping and maybe some crafting time.

Gnome simply prints are here

The new gnomes from LOTV are now also available as coloured simply prints so here is my first card made to showcase them. I used a new paper pad from Your next stamp called Winter plaid which is a really lovely pad. I bought mine from Dies to Die For.   I used one of the new LOTV topper sentiments, MFT stitched banner dies and added some enamel dots and tiny buttons.

We are off out for breakfast this morning at a garden centre where we want to buy some bulbs. Then we need a new vacuum cleaner and some paint as we are having the hall, stairs and landing decorated.  So a little run around before heading home. We thought the coast would be packed as the it is going to be a hot day and it is the Bank Holiday so we will wait until the schools go back before enjoying the coast. Enjoy your Sunday. Looking forward to a double bill of Poldark and Peaky Blinders this weekend, that's our TV viewing sorted.

Ruby Wedding Commission

When one of the ladies in our line dancing class saw the Wedding card I made she asked if I could make her a ruby Wedding card. This is what I came up with and she was so delighted she insisted on paying me £1 more than I charged her.

Paper - Craftwork Cards

Flowers - Wild Orchid

Dies - Spellbinders and Whiff of Joy

Lace, bow and charm from stash

Happy Birthday Mum

Yesterday was my Mum's Birthday and this was the card I made her. As soon as I saw this new Pink Gem stamp I knew it was just what I wanted for her card as she is always knitting, mainly for charity. I coloured it with Copics, paper is LOTV romance and roses. The flowers were made with a new die I just treated myself to, Sue Wilson sweetheart flowers.  I added some lace, ribbon and a lace butterfly.  The sentiment is from a Woodware stamp.

We had a lovely day. The weather was gorgeous, sunny but not too hot.  We took her out for lunch and a walk around some water gardens then had tea and dessert before taking her home with her presents.

Mouse garland

The latest edition of Crafts Beautiful is in the shops and this is the card I made for them this month.  They asked for a simple bright Birthday card. I used an adorable LOTV image from one of the recent releases, Lillt friends garland and MFT bundle of blossoms brights papers. The sentiment is from LOTV and the apple blossom flowers from Wild Orchid.

A Summer card

Having a change from Christmas cards today. I needed to make a quick thank you card and sorted through some old LOTV simply prints I already had printed out. This is such a pretty image, shame it is no longer available. I used a MFT stitched scalloped circle frame die and made the blue frame with Go Kreate frilly 10 dies. The papers are old ones from a couple of different packs. I already had the flowers diecut, another find from the box I sorted out so simply added the butterfly from an old pack from Poundland and some enamel dots.

Launch Day at LOTV

Yes it is launch day at LOTV. I have used most of the snowmen and been sharing them with you but I think I still have 2 or 3 more to colour s well as more gnomes. I have loved colouring these snowmen, they are my favourites of course. It has been fun trying different colour combos with them.

I do love layering and distressing as I did with this card. Coloured with Copics, the papers are Carta Bella Winter Fun. The sentiment is from the new hand drawn digi stamps also out today. I added part of a Doohickey diecut fence and an odd tree I found already diecut along with a couple of stars.

We are planning a day out today starting with breakfast somewhere, then home for dinner, bottle of wine, Dragon's den and Poldark on TV.

You're on the nice list

 Well here is a surprise, a card that isn't Lili of the Valley for a change this week. I must welcome my 2 new followers, thanks for joining me. Of course all my visitors are on Santa's nice list.

I used stamps from MFT Jingle all the Way set, coloured with Copics. I have grounded them, it just doesn't show very well. The papers are some new ones I bought in The Works and the bunting die is Lawn Fawn.

Gnome delivery

Another of the new LOTV gnomes launching on Sunday. I love the cute bunny pulling the sled. The sentiment is also from a new set tags and toppers.  I used Copics for colouring and some old Jolly Santa papers. I had a sort out of a box I had kept bits and pieces in like diecuts. Some went in the bin, the Christmas diecuts sat on my desk to make me use them. I think the trees must have come from Dies to Die For when Tracey used to send diecuts with every order s I know I don't have that die. The snowflakes are a Memory Box stitched die.

This morning we are off to the hospital for Graham's annual eye check up, then Tesco, then collecting 2 jigsaws I bought from somebody on Facebook, then the garden centre for lunch and hopefully more plants as there is still space in the garden. It is starting to look so much better for clearing out lots of old stuff and replanting with colourful plants.