Butterflies galore

The last of the three cards I made for Making Cards magazine. I used another of the Pink Gem digi kits, this one is simply called purple butterfly.  I went for a really shabby chic look with this one, distressing all the edges and then adding white acrylic paint to the jute ribbon and around the edges of the First Edition beyond the shore papers. The ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons, dies are Crafts Too butterflies and Joanna Sheen leaf flourish die. I used bronze gilding wax on the wooden butterfly and added some cheesecloth and roses from Wild Orchid.

Today is Mother's Day in England so we will be visiting my Mum today and taking her out for lunch.  Happy Mother's day to all Mums x

More shabby chic

This is another of the cards I made as an example for my cardmaking class last Thursday.  I used another Inylicious sentiment along with Crafter's Companion vintage wedding paper. The ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons. I used Martha Stewart flower and Woodware leaf punches along with a Hobbycraft star punch and a crimper.

We are off to the coast for the day to a vintage 60's festival which should be fun. Enjoy your weekend.

Star fairy

The new Crafts Beautiful magazine is out today and I am delighted to have this card published. They like bright cards with cute characters and not too many embellishments.

Image - LOTV Lili fairy magic digi

Medium - Copics

Papers -MFT

Sentiment tags - LOTV

Die - MFT fringed scallop border

Punch - Hobbycraft stars

Cardmaking class

This evening I am teaching my first cardmaking class at Prima Rosa, the vintage cafe/gift shop where I sell some of my cards and gifts. The owner likes her crafters to do classes if they want to and she provides tea/coffee and cake. Most of the people won't be cardmakers at all so I have chosen to do shabby chic cards. I am taking along some examples and will talk them through each stage but want to encourage them to create their own design rather than everyone creating the same card. This is one of the cards I have made for the class.

Sentiment - Inkylicious

Papers - Anne Marie

Ribbon and lace - Crafty Ribbons

Punches - Martha Stewart fern and flower, EK success retro flowers, Hobbycraft butterfly

Burlap buterfly - Michaels, Florida

Wooden butterfly - stash

She was born to ride unicorns

When I saw this gorgeous new digi from Pink Gem I couldn't wait to use her. She has been coloured with Copics and teamed with Echo Park Summer Days papers. It is that Marianne stars semi circle die again with some punched stars and a LOTV sentiment.

Pink and sparkly

Well the conservatory roof was replaced yesterday. They said it would take most of two days so we are very impressed. It looks great and is so much lighter. This morning we will be cleaning it and putting everything back in it. I will take a pic when it is done. I feel a scrapbook layout may be needed.

I used to use a lot of kraft card but lately haven't used it as much as I used to apart from shabby chic cards. I love the combination of it with different colours. 

Image - LOTV precoloured art sheet

Paper - MFT hearts

Dies - Sizzix thinlets flowers, MFT wonky stitched circle, Marianne stars semi circle

Spectrum Noir sparkle pen on her wings and the flowers

I bought the flower and semi circle dies from a fellow LOTV DT crafter who is having a destash. I am loving the semi circle one and you will see it again tomorrow.

Barrow of flowers

The second of my cards made for Making Cards magazine using a digi kit from Pink Gem Designs at Crafts U Print.

Image - Pink Gem pink barrow digi kit

Papers - First Edition Beyond the shore

Patterned burlap - The Range

Apple Blossom - Wild Orchid

Die - Crafts Too butterflies

Early start again today as the conservatory fitters will be coming early to remove the old roof and start fitting the new one. Hopefully if will be finished tomorrow and we can give it a good clean and get everything back on Wednesday.

Fun

Another very bright scrapbook layout using photos from Disneyland them park. The car is actually just he front of a car with a seat that Graham sat in for a fun photo. I used the Echo Park Summer Days scrapbooking kit again and some American Thickers letters.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. We will be at a craft fair today and tomorrow finishing clearing out the conservatory ready for the new roof on Monday. 

Shabby chic butterflies

I had three cards published in last month's Making Cards magazine using digi kits from Pink Gem at Crafts U Print. I like to use the main image as a topper by reducing the size of the digi.

Image and sentiment - Pink Gems peach butterflies

Papers - First Edition Beyond the shore

Lace - Crafty Ribbons

Flowers - Wild Orchid

Wooden butterflies painted with silver acrylic pint, cheesecloth, pins

We are having our polycarbonate conservatory roof replaced with a thermal glass roof on Monday and Tuesday next week so today we will start to pack up the things in the conservatory. 

Fantasia golf

Yesterday’s craft fair was really good, thanks for all your good wishes for it. I hope you have your sunglasses on for this one. 😊 I said yesterday I am loving the time to do what I want and I was determined o do more scrapbook layouts this year.  The photos were taking at Disneyworld Florida. The Fantasia Gardens golf is a really fun thing to do. There are all the things you would expect if you have seen Fantasia including dancing hippos and buckets of water from The Sorcerer's Apprentice which we managed to avoid.

I used only paper and elements from the Echo Park Summer Days scrapbook kit. I have never tried using jus a kit before and it certainly made for a quick page. My friend Lynsey is selling off lots of her craft supplies and is popping in later to bring me some scrapbook kits I have bought. I can't wait to play with them.

Christmas post

As promised another Christmas card today. 

Image - LOTV Christmas art sheet

Dies - Lawn Fawn forest border, Xcut stag, MFT wonky stitched oval, various tree dies

Sentiment - LOTV

A very early start for my first craft fair of the year. I am only doing a few this year and really enjoying my time to do exactly what I want to do.  I love crafting but also enjoy going out, reading, watching films and doing jigsaw puzzles. I have just read a brilliant series of books by Nicci French, the Frieda Klein series. I highly recommend it if you like a good crime novel. It is essential they are read in the right order as although they are separate stories there is also a story which runs through them all.

Carolling in the snow

Yes the Lili of the Valley Christmas art sheets have been out again. I love the carol singing aniamls, so cute. 

Papers - Papermania Home for Christmas

Dies - Memory Box stitched snowflakes, Lawn Fawn pierced rectangles, Joy lamppost

Sentiment - LOTV

I always seem to make two Christmas cards whilst I have the art sheets out so will share another one tomorrow.  Isn't it good to have some lovely sunshine after the wind and rain. This week is supposed to be much better thank goodness. I have my first craft fair of the year on Wednesday so will be sorting out my stock for that this afternoon.

One door closes another one opens

So has my title intrigued you. Well the sad news is that Lee Holland has decided he does not have time at the moment to add any digis to his shop so there is no more need for a DT. However the day after I had this news I received a message on Facebook asking me if I would like to guest design for Paper Nest Dolls at Swedish House Crafts as they are now stocking them. I said yes of course as they are so cute and great quality stamps too. They are thickly etched red rubber which stamp beautifully. This is the second of the ones I bought, Celine and I decided to do something different for this one and stamped the card blank using an old Tim Holtz stamp set. I then coloured Celine with Copics and used some old Spellbinder labels 10 dies.

When an Easter Egg turns into flowers!

This is one of the new hedgie images from the Lee Holland digi shop. It is a hedgehog with an Easter Egg which I have coloured with Copics. I had planned to use the image as it was and then make another covering the egg with flowers to show how it can be used all year round. I was decorating the egg with sparkle pens and one of them decided to spurt and puddle which look awful. Rather than waste the image it became the one with flowers.

I used Lillybee Victoria Park papers, crimped some kraft card, MFT wonky stitched oval die, Memory Box Springtime floral egg die, Fiskars tag punch and a Pink gem sentiment.

Audrey loves make up

I made this for a friend of mine who likes fashion and dressing up for occasions. The image and sentiment for Audrey loves make up from Stamping Bella is rather large so I kept the layout simple. I used some old backing paper and washi tape, enamel hearts and a Fiskars tag punch.

Enjoy your weekend. Not sure what our plans are yet.

In the garden

So my blog has been empty for a couple of days as I haven't had been crafting but busy with other things. Yesterday I made three cards though so there will be daily posts for a while at least.

I bought two Paper Nest Doll stamps as they are now stocked at Swedish House Crafts. This is Avery with watering can. Her hair was a challenge and could be coloured much better but hopefully next time I wil be happier with it. The papers are Bo Bunny Damask, ribbon from Crafty Ribbons, Doohickey lovely fence and Memory Box plant pot dies, The butterflies were diecut with an old mag freebie.

We are out with friends for a carvery tonight as we both have a 2 4 1 2 course voucher. No cooking yippee. I hope to get in the craftroom again today.

Arrival

When I saw this sketch on a Facebook challenge I knew I wanted to use it for a scrapbook layout. The gorgeous papers are Echo Park Summer Days. The photos show our room and Graham with the cases when we arrived at Fort Myers, Florida a few years ago. I used MFT sun and pierced banner dies. The title is done with American Thickers.

We had a great time at Potters resort as always. The food and accommodation were lovely and the show That'll be the Day was brilliant. Although we only saw it a couple of weeks ago we enjoyed it just as much. We arrived home at lunchtime, unpacked, had time to do a few things including typing this post and then got ready to go out with friends for a meal and a play at the theatre. 

Lynsey is coming over Tuesday morning for a catch up and a crafting morning before we go out for lunch. Whew its all go. I will hopefully catch up with some blogs later on. 

In the Christmas garden

As promised here is my second Christmas card using one of the LOTV art sheets, this time I used the Christmas Robins sheet. 

Papers - Dovecraft

Dies - Impression Obsession birdhouse, MFT wonky stitched rectangle, The Works border

Sentment - LOTV

Poinsettia - Hobbycraft with added sparkle using a clear sparkle pen

Punch - Woodware holly

Berries  and ribbon from stash

Present for the birds

I have so many Christmas art sheets from Lili of the Valley so I decided I would make a couple of Christmas cards to share this weekend. This one is from the girlie Christmas sheet. I added lots of sparkle to the snow using a Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen. The gorgeous papers are Echo Park a Perfect Winter. It is actually a scrapbooking pack so the banners you can see are on one of the papers as is the sentiment.  I just added a self adhesive spotty button.

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes for Graham. We went out for breakfast and then visited a garden centre and a couple of other places before coming home. We celebrated last weekend as you may know with a two day break away at Potters and we are going back there on Sunday just for one night to see one of our favourite touring shows That'll be the Day. We plan to get there early on Sunday to have a fun filled day of activities before donning our gladrags and enjoying an evening meal and the show. We will leave after breakfast on Monday as we are out again on Monday night with friends at the theatre to see a play. We also had lunch with my Mum last Thursday and are out with friends tonight for a carvery so the celebrations continue.

Happy Birthday to my Hubby

Today is Graham's Birthday and this is the card I made him. We have recently changed our car and it is a beautiful blue though the car is a bit different to this model. Good job Graham likes the cute images I use. He loves cars, driving and holidays so the backing paper of suitcases fitted my theme perfectly. I cut a piece from an old map, coloured the LOTV stamp with Copics, added glossy accents to the windscreeen and goggles and diecut it with a MFT wonky stitched rectangle die. The sentiment is an old Craftwork Cards one. I added some Spellbinder diecut arrows and metal steering wheel and cogs.

Gorjuss showers

I made this for a friend's daughter whose Birthday was yesterday. She loves Mary Poppins and in fact when she was much younger she played the young girl in the musical in London. We went to see it and she was brilliant. Now she is a trainee lawyer in London, quite a contrast. 

Image - Gorjuss Puddle of Love

Medium - Copics

Papers - MFT

Dies - Go Kreate frilly 9, Memory Box umbrella and clouds

Sentiment - LOTV teenage girl

Looking forward to seeing my Mum today and going out for lunch with her.

Hopping by to say Hi

I have used another of the cute new bunnies from Lee Holland which you can buy from the Lee Holland digi shop.  I wanted to keep the colours soft on this one, using Copics of course. The papers are American Crafts dots and stripes. The dies I used are Go Kreate frilly 3, Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle, Joy flowers and Impression Obsession leaves. The sentiment is LOTV.

I am hoping to get some crafting done this afternoon after some housework and ironing. We are having a new gas hob delivered today so need to arrange to have that fitted soon. We have a lot going on this month as we are having a thermal glass conservatory roof fitted later in the month to replace our current polycarbonate one. It should be warmer in Winter and cooler in Summer. It does of course mean we have to clear everything out before they fit the roof. 

Rock On

This is one of my favourite images which you can buy as a digi from the Lili of the Valley Etsy digi shop .  I love her style which reminds me of Stevie Nicks. I have only used her once before and when I looked back I found I had coloured her with the same colours but in reverse ie her boots were aqua, skirt purple etc. This is my fave colour combo so I guess I shouldn't be surprised. If I was sending myself a card this would be it as it has most things on it I love.

The papers are First Edition Beyond the Shore, lace and ribbon from Crafty Ribbons.  The image has of course been coloured with Copics. The colours are actually a bit more vibrant than the photo shows. I used a variety of flowers from my stash, some I have had for years and I really like the way they look together.

Off to the hairdresser this morning and then a trip to the garden centre for some more Spring flowers for the garden. Isn't it lovely to see it all coming to life.

Weekend break away

Good morning. Thanks for all your visits and lovely comments. Sorry I haven’t been to visit your blogs but we went away on Friday morning to Potters Resort as an early Birthday surprise for hubby’s Birthday which is on 8th March. We will be on our way home after lunch today so I hope to get some bloghopping done tomorrow.

We love it here as regular readers will know.  We stayed in the hotel which is lovely, great meals, activities and evening shows. We tried air rifle shooting at targets which was a great new experience. We did quizzes, bingo, table tennis, air hockey and spent some time relaxing too.  I even had a gorgeous cocktail. I ordered a non alcoholic one and they made an alcoholic one due to miscommunication from the person who took the order to the person making it so I tried it and liked it and it saved her making another. We usually have a bottle of wine at weekends, normally with Sunday dinner but apart from them I very very rarely drink alcohol.

So we will be doing a couple of activities this morning after breakfast and packing and then we ill enjoy our last meal here at lunchtime and be on our way home. It only takes about 45 minutes to drive home which is nice.

An old digi

I have a few Dillybean digis and this is another that I printed a long time ago. The only trouble with older stamped and printed images is that I use a different card now and some of the older card bleeds more easily. Thank goodness for my blender pen. He has been coloured with Copics, papers are old Dovecraft Jolly Happy Christmas. I used Memory Box stitched holly leaves and Sue Wilson poinsettia dies. The sentiment is LOTV.

Gone fishing

I was commissioned by Crafts Beautiful to create a cute boy's card so I immediately went to my LOTV stamps. This one is available in both rubber and digi.  I love colouring these boys, with Copics, and used my MFT mini cloud stencil for the sky again. The papers are First Edition Grand Plans and I used a MFT pierced fishtail die and Fiskars tag punch.  The Mach edition is in stores now.