Give me a hug

This is one of four cards I made for making Cards magazine using Le Holland coloured digis. I was asked to do a feature using fun flock. I love Lee's digis and was very pleased with the feature. I used a Go Kreate die and Nitwits papers. I love making a frame with these dies. I used a clear sparkle pen on the background and it swooshed to give a snowy effect. The sentiment and stitched circle dies are Lawn Fawn and I used MFT layered snowflakes. I added some white glitter to the fun flock.

I would like to enter this into the anything goes challenge at Simon Says and inspired by a song at Allsorts (My song is Baby it's cold outside)

Looking forward to an evening out with hubby tonight. Pizza Express then the theatre to see a comedian we both like, Hal Cruttenden.

Material baubles this time

I really enjoyed making the paper baubles which you may have seen on my blog. I have always wanted to make some material ones and after looking at Pinterest and a with a friend's help on Facebook I had a go at them. I bought some slightly larger polystyrene balls for these.

The light yesterday was awful, so gloomy so it was hard to get a photo/

This is a slightly better pic of one of them. Basically you make hem almost the same as the paper ones but the material is folded diagonally into a triangle then diagonally again so the rough edges are at the top of each point. 

I diecut the squares on the first one but that took a long time as unlike paper I had to cut one at a time and then some of the material didn't cut right through it all. So for the second one I measured and cut 5cm squares and my lovely new Fiskars rotary cutter which I bought at the NEC came in very handy.

Challenges

Simon Says anything goes

Crafteezee anything but a card

Ho Ho Ho Hedgies

I just had to make a card using this super cute new topper from Pink Gem. It comes with decoupage and can be used to fill an A5 card but I like to use them as toppers. I used some old papers,punched holly leaves and gems and ribbon from my stash. I though the two left hand corners looked bare and was going to diecut some corners when I remembered these silver corners I have had for a few years. I coloured some white card using a silver Wink of Stella pen and punched some tiny stars to finish.

I would like to enter the Baby It's Cold Outside challenge at Simon Says.  A fairly free week for a change which has been good for getting on with finishing Christmas cards etc. I'm not finished yet though,bags and tags and a few special cards still to make.

Tea light gift boxes

I should be making Christmas cards really but sometimes I get an idea and just have to give it a go. I bought some tea lights and thought I could make some gift boxes with those for my next trading day on Monday. I am not the best at construction as the first attempt in my bin proves. However after an adjustment in calculations making sure the lid was slightly bigger than the base I made these.

I cut a star out of the lids and then used some cute MFT tiny stitched tag dies, sparkly poinsettias from Hobbycraft and some bells and berries from my stash.

I would like to enter these into anything but a card challenge at Crafteezee.

Following the leader

I love these sweet mice which are another image from the LOTV festive friends coloured art sheet. I used some old papers, a gliery poinsettia from Hobbycraft and a Woodware holly and Xcut ivy punches. I added sparkle with a clear Spectrum Noir sparkle pen to the star and bauble on the image and the wooden snowflakes.

Challenges

Simon Says Baby it's cold outside 

Allsorts based on a song (Following the Leader from the film Peter Pan)

Not a Christmas card!

I had a change from making Christmas cards with this one using a sweet Elisabeth Bell topper from The Hobby House which I fussy cut. The papers are MFT hearts and stripes, ribbon from Crafty Ribbons, sentiment from Inkylicious. I used a Lawn Fawn stitched circle and a Spellbinders heart circle die. The butterflies were cut with a Crafts Too die.

I would like to enter this into the based on a song challenge at Allsorts. Mine is based on I'll be There for you by The Rembrandts (Friends TV theme song).

Another early start today for my last craft fair of the year. It is a lovely Christmas fair and I did really well last year. I then have the hospital shop on Dec 3rd and that will be it for this year.

In the forest

So despite making Christmas cards all year I still have about 10 to make. One day I will have them all made by now, maybe next year. I have used one of the images from the LOTV precoloured festive friends art sheet. The sentiment is an old Little Claire dinkie stamp, papers are LOTV forzen snowflakes. The ribbon is a new one from Crafty Ribbons which I bought at the NEC.  I added a couple of trees cut using Joy dies and white glitter card.

Challenges

Simon Says Baby It's cold outside 

The Paper Shelter a Christmas card

Some for the ladies

You may have seen the cards for men I posted last week which were made using Hunkydory toppers. When they asked me to review some of their products I also chose the Amethyst Dreams papers and  The Little Book of Garden Treasures. I used both of those to create these 7x7 cards.

I am often asked for cards without cute images, suitable for older ladies. Now my Mum loves cute images but they are not for everyone and these beautiful images really don't need too much embellishing especially if they are used for smaller cards.

The papers are absolutely stunning. However I have to be honest and say the only thing I am not so keen on is that they are shiny and I really prefer matte papers. I have enjoyed working with these and thank Hunkydory for asking me to review them.

I shall be at the hospital craft fair today so a very early start.  Up at 5.15 to get ready and load up the car as we get there about 7.30 to set up. 

A new stamp

I was lucky enough to receive this stamp as a Birthday pressie. It isn't easy to find new PB stamps anymore. I coloured it with Copics adding a little chalk for the sky and some white gel dots for snow. I framed it with a new die I bought from Swedish House crafts. The papers are from LOTV and I added some trees cut from white glitter card.

I coloured two of these so you may see this stamp again soon.

Challenges

Penny Black and more at Allsorts make someone smile (the pressie made me smile and I am sure whoever gets this card will smile) 

Stamping Sensations get ready for Christmas

A unicorn for Christmas

I am delighted to be showcasing another of Janet's new images and you can find it here.  I decided to just use part of it as a topper teaming it with Bo Bunny Altitude papers. The lovely ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons. I used some silver glitter card with a Joanna Sheen star die.

Quick post as I must get on with making more Christmas cards.

My fave colour

I love Lee Holland's digis, elephants, flowers and purple so this is the perfect card for me really.  I coloured the ellie with Copics and mounted him on a doily. The paper is LOTV and flowers from Wild Orchid. I used a new die from Swedish House Crafts.  The sentiment is Inkylicious.

Penguin tags

I had a play with my Copics yesterday afternoon, something I haven't had enough time for lately.  I have ben longing to use these new penguin stamps and dies from MFT. It was such a gloomy horrible day yesterday so the photo doesn't really do them justice.

I used a Spellbinder tag die and some MFT border dies with the spotted card. The sentiment is an old dinkie one from Little Claire which is perfect for tags.

Challenges

Crafteezee anything but a card 

Penny Black and more at Allsorts Make someone smile (they make me smile and I am sure the recipients of the presents will smile too) 

Stamping Sensations get ready for Christmas 

As you like it Monochrome or rainbow (I do like monochrome but mainly use at least two colours so rainbow for me. You need lots of colour for Christmas)

We are out again tonight, meal with friends and then Chicago at the theatre. It is performed by one of the high schools and our friend's 15 year old daughter is in it. Last year's production of We Will Rock You was amazing.

More for men

Two more cards for men using those Hunkydory toppers I told you about yesterday. The Little Book of Magnificent Men is a really useful addition to anyone's collection. Both these cards would suit my hubby. I kept this one really simple again using MFT Free Spirit papers. I simply used the offcuts of paper, reversing the stripes and added a sentiment.  The topper was bigger than I needed so I just cut off some of the sky.

This one would actually be suitable for females too and the sentiment I used is actually from the female teenage sentiments from LOTV. I used the same paper pad. This time I used the two pieces of music paper that I cut off the top and bottom of the image and added some punched musical notes.

I have some lovely purple papers and garden toppers to use and will be reviewing those soon.

All at sea

I was delighted to receive an email from Hunkydory inviting me to review some of their products. I could choose which products I wanted to use and the first ones I am reviewing are the Magnificent Men Toppers. I get asked a lot for cards for men as opposed to boys and people usually want them for the man's particular interest. This pack contains so many different hobbies/pastimes/activities/sports that are going to be very useful.

The images are quite big and I wanted to make a 6x6 card so I cut off the top and bottom. I love the sketchbook and watercoloured style of this nautical image.  I used MFT free spirit papers, added a Cheery Lynn diecut lighthouse and a Go Kreate diecut gull. The little banners were cut from a scrap from the same paper pad using a Fiskars tag punch. I will be back with two more cards I made from them tomorrow.

Pine cone bauble tutorial

I have been wanting to make these ever since I saw some on Pinterest and thanks to a tutorial From Enfys Cashmore on Fiskarettes UK on Facebook I found out how to make them. I decided to include a tutorial on here so if you want to make them you may find it useful and also for my own reference for another year.

You will need lots of 1" squares of two papers, a polysterene ball lots of pins, ribbon and any embellishments you want to add.

Start by folding two corners on one side of each square.

Attach four squares with the points meeting at the bottom of the ball. Attach each one with three pins as shown. I stuck another square over the bottom once I had finished to make it look neater.

Now start building up your layers. Attach a layer of one colour with the points level with the joins of the bottom layer. Each paper will be secured with two pins with the point hanging down.

Fill in the gaps with the second colour. Keep building up the layers in this way. Always do the same colour of each layer first otherwise the pattern won't look right.

When you have one layer to go pin a loop of ribbon at the top.

I added some sparkly poinsetias to the top of mine. You could add bows, berries, holly leaves or just do another layer of papers.

Challenges

Winter Wonderland what you love to do at Christmas (I love Christmas decorations) 

The Ribbon Girl anything goes 

Crafteezee anything but a card

Blogger commenting upate

Today’s second post. Just a quick update on my Sunday post. It isn’t a problem with Chrome but with commenting on my Ipad. Having had a virus on my laptop a couple of years ago from commenting on a blog I only ever use my Ipad for commenting. If you have a pop up window then I can comment. Today at the hospital was really busy and I sold loads but it was very tiring so I will catch up some commenting tomorrow. 

Reindeer Post

These reindeer from LOTV are particular favourites of mine. I must colour up some of the stamps but in the meantime I have used another from the precoloured art sheets. I am trying to use some old papers and these are the old Papermania Home for Christmas ones. Just a few sheets left now. I do love this scandi style.  I used a stitched square die from The Works and Joy trees with glitter card.  The sentiment is LOTV and I added some snow with a pearl pen.

Challenges

The Ribbon Girl anything goes 

Allsorts red

Early start today as we are trading at the hospital shop. 

Blogger commenting problem

As well know Blogger has a hissy fit from time to time and causes problems. I am having trouble commenting on any blogs which have embedded comments rather than a pop up window. My profile comes up as Google account with no picture. Sometimes I can add my name and blog URL and then after clicking various pictures to say which has a car etc eventually I can comment. Other times I can’t comment at all.

So if you have embedded comments could you please change them to a pop up window. It only takes a moment. All you have to do is go to settings, click post, comments and click pop up window next to comment. That way I can start commenting on your blog again.

We are out for a meal at ASK Italian with friends tonight and then going to a 60’s show at the theatre.  Should be a good night.  Enjoy your Sunday.

All aboard

I made this for a friend whose Birthday was yesterday.  He loves steam trains and searching through some images I found this one. I can't remember the make but it was just what I needed. I then found the perfect backing paper amongst my odd papers, added some tickets from my scrapbook stash, burlap and a string bow.

Not sure what we are up to today, probably a day at home. Enjoy your weekend.

Reindeer

The new Crafts Beautiful magazine is out today and this is a card I have published in it. I used a Hobby House topper, cutting one side straight. I added some of my favourite fun flock to the hat. The papers are First Edition wanderlust. I used a Kate snowflake from Simon Says and Frantic stamper dies for the trees.  The sentiment is from LOTV.

We are off to see my Mum this morning, have a catch up and go out for lunch.

Bear and bunny

I couldn't resist buying this sweet digi from Lee Holland's Etsy store. I coloured it with Copics when we were in Cornwall and finally made it into a card. I used LOTV frozen snowflake papers, Lawn Fawn forest border and Memory Box border dies. I added some glittery snowflakes using MFT layered dies.

Challenges

Penny Black and more at Allsorts make someone smile (My friend will smile as she asked if I could make a card for her with this image ages ago.) 

Stamping Sensations Get ready for Christmas 

The Ribbon Girl anything goes

Allsorts pretty papers

Help!

Yes I am back with a card. I have used another of the new LOTV art sheets, festive friends along with one of the new paper pads. The ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons, sentiment stamp from LOTV. I used my new Sue Wilson die set and unlike some of her dies these came out of the machine easily. 

Challenges

The Ribbon Girl anything goes 

Simon Says anything goes 

Allsorts pretty papers 

New stash from the NEC

I really enjoyed going to the NEC again this year. It has been a while since I went and I had forgotten what a big show it is. I haven't taken a pic of the essentials I bought, card blanks, tape, kraft card etc. 

I came home with so many ideas for things to make, just need time to make them. I have used the rotary cutter already and it made cutting material much easier than using scissors. 

The nail varnishes have a standard brush and a fine nib. As well as using them for nails you can paint on wood, glass etc. I have had a go on some little glass jars and they worked well.

I only bought one die set and these stamps. As you can see from the picture above I just bought two little paper pads. I would say that was the only disappointment that there weren't any papers like Bo Bunny and Echo Park, just the usual older pads. There was also a lack of cute stamps which was just as well as I really don't need anymore at the moment.

I am spending most of the day in the craftroom as I need to get lots of things made for my next hospital shop next Monday and of course I still haven't made all my Christmas cards yet.

Scandi Santa

Another scheduled post today as we stayed overnight Thursday night after the craft show and then on Friday drove back to Norfolk but instead of returning home we went to a Premier Inn at Lowestoft, which is actually just over the border in Suffolk. We then went to the concert and stayed overnight so will be returning home this morning.  Off to Tesco and unpack and then have a look at my purchases from Thursday.

I got to play with another of Janet's new images at Pink Gem. I love scandi style and this Santa goes so well with the new scandi papers from LOTV. I used another new sentiment stamp from Sleek Designs and stamped it directly onto the precoloured digi. He is also available to colour but I was running short of time before my trip away. I added lots of sparkle with a brush pen and used MFT layered snowflakes with glitter card. I diecut lots of banners using pierced banner dies from MFT.

I would like to enter this into the anything goes challenge at Simon Says.

Ewe are the best

A touch of Spring amongst the Christmas cards today. I bought this MFT stamp set and knew it would go well with the new Blooming Lovely papers from LOTV. There are several stamps in the set and I found using my TH stamping platform made stamping the scene with lots of different stamps very easy. I coloured it with Copics and used a MFT mini cloud stencil and chalk for the sky.   I created the hills and fence with a MFT rolling hills die set and used Crafts Too butterfly dies.

I would like to enter this into the anything goes challenge at Simon Says.

On our way back from Birmingham today and out at a concert tonight, Talon, an Eagles tribute band. We have seen them before and they are brilliant. 

NEC

Very excited today as we are going to the NEC to the Creative Craft show and Crafts for Christmas. We stayed overnight at a Premier inn so will be up early for a cooked breakfast to keep us going and off to the show which opens at 9.30. I was lucky enough to get complimentary tickets from Jayne at Stamposaurus so that saved a lot. I haven't been for a few years but there are a lot of stands I want to see and as I have only been to one big craft show this year we decided to go.  I have some Birthday money, thanks Mum, and some money from my recent sales so will be treating myself to some new goodies. Scheduled a post for my blog for tomorrow with a card.