Thursday 31 October 2019

Christmas Trees

My latest sewing design. I diecut the trees using a banner die from The Works. I really like finding new decorations to sew and hope people will like them. Very busy with orders and making stock for November's 5 craft fairs as well as making more Christmas cards to send.

Wednesday 30 October 2019

Card-io heart


Another card based on some I saw at the Peterborough show. I normally use a circle template but I liked the idea of using a heart instead. I used a Spellbinder die for my heart shape and simply stamped various foliage and poinsettias using small stamp pads. The sentiment is a mag freebie.

Last night we went to a 60's show with friends at the theatre in Norwich, having a nice meal first. Tonight we going to see Talon, the Eagles tribute band in Cromer. We are going with different friends to this one and if the weather is good we shall be going there this afternoon for a coastal walk before a meal and the show.

Tuesday 29 October 2019

Vintage style bag


I have another gift bag to show you today. I found a burlap paper pad the other day and it was perfect for the style f bag I wanted to make. I added some lace and a Kaisercraft sentiment. I coloured the holly with sparkle pens and added some Marianne diecut and embossed poinsettias which I cut from some Hobbycraft paper. The leaves were cut with foliage from the Sue Wilson cut and lift poinsettia set. I made a matching tag using my new Hobbycraft punch.

Monday 28 October 2019

New Card-io stamps


I do love using Card-io stamps and I was longing to try out some of the new ones I bought. I am really pleased with how this one came out. I saw some cards on the Card-io stand where they had used brown ink and I decided to try it for a change. I added a little colour with small ink pads before stamping the trees and used some silver paint for a snowy effect. The sentiment is Inkylicious.

Sunday 27 October 2019

It's a snowman bag


Another thing I have made is a few gift bags with matching tags. The kraft bag is from Hobbycraft and is a really nice quality. The papers are First Edition Holy Jolly Christmas and the image is a coloured one from Sassy Cheryl. I added some ribbon and twine and used a Sue Wilson cut and lift poinsettia die with white glitter card. The light some days is awful for taking photos which is annoying when things look so much better in real life.

If the weather forecast is right and it is fine then we are planning to tidy the front garden before I get into the craftroom.

Saturday 26 October 2019

Christmas is coming


I have been experimenting making a few different things for my November craft fairs. This looks even better in real life. I used an embroidery hoop and some lovely Christmas fabric. I added red flowers and gold poinsettias from Hobbycraft along with some leaves and berries.

I haven't made a card for a few days as I have been out and about and cutting out and sewing decorations. Today we are out but I hope to make some cards tomorrow afternoon.

Thursday 24 October 2019

Paper piecing at cardmaking class


This is the second card that my class made last night. I wanted to show them how to paper piece and this Woodware stamp is perfect for that. For this one I added a white glitter backing and for the one below an embossed card. I knew it would take them a while to paper piece the image so kept the design simple. I used a Woodware holly punch and card candi.


Wednesday 23 October 2019

Sparkly Snowman


I have my next cardmaking class tonight and this is one of two cards they will be making. The snowman is Woodware and I used Nuvo glitter pens to colour him which is what the class will be doing. I added some doodling using a Nuvo fineliner script pen. The papers are some old Wild Rose ones and I used Martha Stewart snowflake punches.   I have to keep the cards simple enough for the non cardmakers amongst them to make in an hour. Tomorrow I will be sharing the second card they are making.

Tuesday 22 October 2019

Make and Take


I did enjoy the make and take at he craft show. There were lots of them going on but I only did this one. When I got home I added the fun flock and Stickles. It is the first time I have ever water coloured using ink pads and of course time in a make and take is limited so I couldn't spend much time colouring but I did manage to achieve some shading. I think I will stick to my Copics in future. However I did like the inky effect around the edges and I love the stamp. It is part of a set by Rare Earth but it wasn't available on the stand which I thought a bit peculiar. Mind you at £22.99 I am not sure I would have bought it but it is a A4 sheet with several other cuties so I may have given in.

Monday 21 October 2019

Peterborough Craft Show


So I went to the Crafting Live show at Peterborough on Friday, my first craft show this year. This is what I bought and whilst I am pleased with the purchases I came home with Birthday money as there wasn't anything else I wanted. I picked up some essentials like coloured card and tape. The scissors are for my cardmaking class as some people bring a huge pair of scissors, not at all suitable for papercrafting and at £1 each I thought I might as well buy them. 

I was disappointed that here were fewer stands than last time and there was very little new stuff. The two stands I liked best were Card-io where I bought a couple of new stamp sets, yes one is snowmen. They had some lovely samples and I came away with lots of ideas. The other stand was a really pretty one, Time for tea. I had a long chat with the young couple who own it and it was refreshing to see a young couple coming into the craft business designing their own stamps. 

The mushroom die was the only one I bought apart from the matching stamp and die set from Time for tea. I couldn't resist the gorgeous vintage lace paper pad and a lovely Christmas one too. 

Saturday 19 October 2019

Gorjuss Bee


I had a good time at Peterborough craft show though there were not as many stands as the last time I went. This seems to be a growing trend sadly. I even came home with some money! I did get some essentials and some nice papers and stamps and a few other goodies. I made this card for a crafting friend's Birthday using another of the lovely new Gorjuss Girl papers which I cut with a MFT wonky stitched oval die. The main papers are Anna Marie Blissful Pink and I used some scraps of various papers with various punches. One good thing to come out of my cardmaking classes is that I am using my old punches more. The borders were cut using a MFT stitched die.  The sentiment is LOTV. 

Wednesday 16 October 2019

Watch the birdie


Did you buy any of the new vintage boy digis from Lili of the Valley? this one is my favourite which I coloured with Copics apart from his trousers and cap which I paper pieced. The papers are Liliybee Autumn Spice. I used an old Tim Holtz film strip die and added some acetate. Finding my acetate was the biggest challenge as I rarely use it. I cut a photo corner from kraft card and added some wooden chevrons. I used lots of vintage photo distress ink to everything. 

I am trying to fit in crafting amongst everything else this week, having been away last weekend (see Sunday's post) and am going to Crafting Live in Peterborough on Friday. At least I am getting on well with sewing whilst watching TV in the evenings. Planning a crafting afternoon today.

Monday 14 October 2019

Snowflake hearts


I had the idea of insetting some cross stitch fabric into felt hearts and I am pleased with how they turned out. I like coming up with different ideas for Christmas decorations and I really enjoy making them. It was a bit of an experiment and I decided to add running stitch to ensure the cross stitch fabric was fully secured. My old Spellbinder dies came in very handy.

Sunday 13 October 2019

Just Chilling and a Birthday weekend away


Well it certainly isn't warm enough for this any more. This is another of the new boys launching tomorrow at LOTV. I coloured him with Copics. Papers are MME Lime Twist. I used a corner rounder punch, MFT stitched rounded corner square die along with an old Memory Box tree and Doohickey fence dies.

As this posts I shall be enjoying my first cup of tea of the day at Potters Resort. We have been here since Friday and came with a couple of friends to celebrate my Birthday. There are so many activities here, great food and theatre shows and no chores to do. Just a weekend of relaxing and having fun. We have been doing quizzes, table tennis, line dancing, laser shot and many other things all included in the price. The evening are great with a 3 course dinner, music, dancing and a show.  Breakfast and a 3 course lunch are also included if you want them. They have a nice salad bar with jacket potatoes as one of the choices so I will probably have gone for that. Sunday lunch is included so a small breakfast, some activities, farewell fun and a nice lunch before heading home this afternoon. 

Saturday 12 October 2019

Paper pieced robin


I love paper piecing and this Woodware stamp is perfect for it. I kept the colours very muted using some LOTV papers from last year for the backing and Paper Addicts for the paper piecing. The sentiment is LOTV and I added some card candi for the berries.

I have my next cardmaking class on 23rd October and will be teaching them to paper piece. Well that's another card for the Christmas box, still plenty more to be made and cards and gifts to make for my craft fairs next month.  It is good to be busy making things I love making.

Friday 11 October 2019

Cosy penguin


I thought I wold make a few gift bags to sell and Lili of the Valley coloured simply prints are great to use. The papers are LOTV from last year. I used an old Martha Stewart snowflake border punch. I haven't used this for a few years I should think and had forgotten how effective it is.  I also used a MFT wonky stitched oval on the image and a snowflake die. 

Hobbycraft kindly send a £5 gift voucher on your Birthday if you have a loyalty card and after seeing someone on Facebook buy a tag punch I decided to buy one. I have tag dies but the punch is so quick to use and I thought it would be ideal for my cardmaking classes too. It cuts 3 different sizes, very ingenious I thought. Yes I know I could cut the shape and punch a hole in it but I want to make some packs of dies and the punch will make it much quicker giving me more time to spend doing the fun part of decorating them.

Thursday 10 October 2019

Santa's on the cover


Crafts Beautiful asked me to make a jolly Santa card for their Xmas Special and this is what I came up with. They like bright colours and not too many embellishments. I even made the front cover.

The image is from Lili of the Valley coloured with Copics, papers from The Works, sentiment from LOTV and tree die from Crafts Emotions.

Wednesday 9 October 2019

Swedish House Crafts DT card


Today is my turn to post on the Swedish House Crafts blog and I decided to make a card using the gorgeous papers Laserowe Love Navy Romance and a Laserow Love oval ornamented frame which I coloured with Victorian velvet distress ink. I fussy cut the flowers and added them to the frame. I also attached some lace from Crafty Ribbons.  The leaves were cut using Woodware punches and I diecut some flowers from Maja Designs Denim and Girsl papers using Lady E tiny flower dies.

Tuesday 8 October 2019

Happy Birthday to me and a look in my craftroom


Happy Birthday to me today.   I chose my presents from Graham, a pair of burgundy ankle boots, a Gorjuss Girl calendar and diary and the new hardback Elly Griffiths' novel.  We started the celebrations on Sunday when as you may have seen we went out for a meal and to the theatre. Today we will be going to line dancing class at lunchtime as usual as I don't want to miss it and tonight we will be enjoying a M&S meal at home with a bottle of wine. We have something planned for later in the week which I will tell you about on Sunday.

So I thought I would share one of my noticeboards in my craft room with you today just for a change. The fabric heart was given to me by a friend to remember her Mum who was one of our best friends. She died a few years ago from cancer and the heart is made from one of her favourite dresses. The butterfly brooch I added because we shared a love of butterflies and I bought it from a cancer charity. 

I have a lot of my favourite things on this board, photo of hubby in Florida, Pooh bear, Gorjuss Girls, used book tokens including a special edition Harry Potter one, tags friends have made, two cards from Faye which inspire me to improve my colouring and a butterfly tag I made at a workshop at a craft show. I don't know if you can read the kraft tag but it was attached to weekly organiser from a friend and it reads "For the most organised person I have ever known." 

Monday 7 October 2019

Two Gorjuss Girls


This is another of the toppers I bought recently. They are all lovely but I just had to use this one as I love this colour combo. I found some lovely Gorjuss paper, added a doily, and a wooden heart coloured with a sparkle pen. The flowers are from The Works I think, butterflies from Poundland and I use my lovely old Martha Stewart fern punch. 

Sunday 6 October 2019

Cross stitch tags


I spotted a pack of cross stitch tags to make in Dunelm last week and here they are. There are 4 patterns in the kit, the others are a heart and a mitten but I preferred these.  They were quick to make and now I have the patterns to use again.  They came with plain tags to back them and some cream ribbon which I kept to use on something else as I preferred to use Christmas ribbon which is from Crafty Ribbons.   MFT make a cross stitch tag die so I may treat myself to that once it comes back into stock as it comes with a scalloped tag die as well as the cross stitch panel.

We are out for a meal tonight and then going to the theatre to see one of our favourite singers, Midge Ure. You may remember him from Ultravox. We have seen him more times than I can remember over the years and were so pleased he has come to Norwich.

Saturday 5 October 2019

Simply Card-io


I made a dozen 4" cards to put into packs of 4 for Prima Rosa, the vintage tearooms/gift shop where I sell some of my cards and gifts. Judith asked for Christmas items to be taken in this week so I thought I would make some quick packs. I haven't used my Card-io stamps for ages and haven't tried hem on such small cards before. Because there are small stamps in the sets I found they worked well. 

Prim Rosa had their Macmillan coffee morning yesterday instead of last week and we went there with friends for lunch and to buy raffle tickets, lucky dips and support the event.Hubby won a cream tea in the lucky dip but I don’t know yet if we won anything in the raffle. 

Friday 4 October 2019

To the top sneak peek


I am so pleased hat LOTV are releasing some new vintage boy digis which I know are going to be so popular.  This one is to the top nd I have coloured him with Copics. I found a pack of patterned burlap which I bought a few years ago in Florida. I used a Cherry lynn compass, MFT stitched sun and clouds and sentiment dies.  I sanded the compass and clouds as I cut them from Core'dinations and distressed the image edges.

Tomorrow I will be sharing something Christmas with you.

Thursday 3 October 2019

Another addiction


After so many years of not doing cross stitch I find myself addicted to it. I bought a cross stitch magazine and it had this pattern in it. It can also be made for a cat lover so that is next on my list. It was meant to be a hanger on a wooden dowel but I wanted to fit it into a round frame so adapted the pattern to fit. I do like the back to be neat so cover the back with a felt circle attached to the frame. 

Because this was meant to be a different shape I only just had enough material to go inside the hoop but the next one I will be making I have cut a big enough circle to gather the back in after looking at a tutorial on the web. You gather it in with a running stitch and then cover with a felt circle.  Being only 4" this is a fairly quick project and I do love sewing whilst watching TV unless it is a really gripping drama.  It is the first time I have ever sewn text and I was pleased with how easy and effective it turned out.

Tuesday 1 October 2019

Growing up is optional


I made this card for a male friend's Birthday. I think this is a great quote and one we can all follow if we wish. It is from Woodware. I love using bright papers especially spots, stripes or checks. A simple layout, just using a wonky stitch oval MFT die. I don't always think to use dies on papers to create interesting shapes on layouts.  I used a Fiskars tag punch too.

The start of a new month already and the weather is definitely changing. Last week was a real mix of sunshine and showers with several rainbows. It should be turning cooler this week apparently so time to get out those jumpers and sweatshirts. I must admit ankle boots are my favourite footwear.