Just to say

I could make these wreath cards all day long and no two would look the same as I have lots of different Card-io sets and lots of coloured ink pads.  I bought a set of 5 wooden sentiment stamps in The Works and this is one of them.  I thought they were a nice font and a good size and this one fits perfectly into the wreath.

Have you caught the Wordle Craze yet? I always do 3 different solitaire games each morning on my Ipad and after seeing some people on Facebook playing Wordle I decided to give it a go.  I like that it is only one per day and really gets the brain thinking.  Keeping the brain agile is so important especially as we get older. 

Boating Bears

I can't believe it is a week since my last blog post.  However I have been making some things I can't share with you yet. This is another from the latest launch from Lili of the Valley.  This one is Boating Bears which I have coloured with Copics.   I used a Lawn Fawn mini cloud stencil and salty ocen Distress Oxide for the sky.  The paper is Craft O'clock Plum in Chocolate.  

I thought she needs a parasol so used some Core-dainations which I sanded and cut with an old Marianne die.  The lace is from my stash, roses from Wild Orchid and the little tag is from the paper pad.

Looking forward to a trip out this morning for breakfast and a walk by the river.  Have a good weekend.  I will be back tomorrow with another card.

 

Teddy and chocs

Another cute teddy from the new Lili of the Valley launch.  I fussy cut him and coloured him with Copics.  The papers are Dovecraft Make a Wish and I used a Sweet Dixie flower die and LOTV sentiment.

 

 

Row, row, row the boat

Another cutie from the new LOTV launch.  I coloured it with Copics but used chipped sapphire distress oxide for the sea.  The papers are Echo Park dots and stripes.  The sentiment is LOTV and I used a clearly besotted border die.  The ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons.

A day out today in Beccles with back massages for us both followed by a nice lunch and a look round the shops and market.

 

Second sneak peek

There are some adorable teddy bear digis in the new launch coming soon at Lili of the Valley.  This one is Little Ted together.  I coloured it with Copics using chalk for the sky.  I printed the image quite large so kept the design simple.  The paper is MFT and the cross stitch hearts are a Memory Box die.  I added a LOTV sentiment and some doodling.

We are off for routine check ups at the dentist today.  Let's hope we both get away with no fillings.

 

First sneak peek

Lili of the Valley have a gorgeous new launch of digi stamps coming soon.  This one is choccy mice which would be great for a lot of occasions.  I coloured it with Copics.  The paper is MFT and I used a doily and some wooden hearts from Hobbycraft.  Both the sentiments are LOTV.

 

New shower room

In 2019 we had our bathroom converted to a shower room and I wanted to create a double layout to document the change for our house scrapbook.  We wanted a complete change of colour going for a more modern look especially with the tiles.

The new shower room is actually brighter than it looks in the photos.  It isn't easy taking pics in a small room and the grey wallboard makes it look darker than it is.

It was hard to know how to do these layouts so I kept them simple just adding some washi tape, enamel dots and wooden chevrons and arrows.  The arrows will make sense when the two pages are facing each other in the album.

Last card for January

Yes another baby card for my stock and another cute LOTV image coloured with Copics.  The papers are Maja Denim and girls  I used a Sue Wilson flower die and an old Memory Box baby bunting die along with the Crafter's Companion sentiment die.  I tend to forget about my sentiment dies so must try to use them more.

 

Winnie the Pooh

 

My first cross stitch of 2022. I had this as a kit from Hobbycraft for Christmas with the pattern, material and threads. I do love doing counted cross stitch. I remember years ago when the pattern used to be printed onto the material but I much prefer a blank piece of Aida. I love Winnie the Pooh and friends. I noticed that British Heart Foundation sell a box of patterns with thread and material enough to make one cross stitch. I bought one so will be making some of those as well.

Scruffy Edward and his balloon

This is a favourite image of mine and so far I have only used it for boy's cards so maybe I should make one for baby girls.  It is Scruffy Edward from LOTV coloured with Copics.  I used a Lawn Fawn stitched circle and Crafter's Companion sentiment dies along with a limited edition Marianne heart balloon die.  I used a MFT min cloud setncil and salty ocean distress oxide for the sky.

The backing paper is MFT and I found a pack of MME denim paper which gives a lovely texture to the card so I used up some scraps of that.

 

Congratulations

The couple across the road had a baby boy last week and this is the card I made for them.  The image is LOTV coloured with Copics.  I used a Lawn Fawn stitched oval, Memory Box stars and moon, Crafter's Companion sentiment and MFT stitched scalloped dies along with assorted papers and some gingham ribbon.  I love gingham for baby cards.

Whilst I was making this one I decided to make 2 more for stock which I will be sharing with you.  As I had to put an insert in this one I decided to package all my latest cards for sale.  Sometimes I leave them until there is a big pile of them and it takes ages so this year I am going to try do a few at a time as it isn't the most interesting part of cardmaking.

Fairy wreath

My last Card-io wreath card at the moment and this time I have used some larger flowers and added fairies to the sentiment.  I have had these fairy stamps for a long time and think it is the first time I have used them.  I am really enjoying finding different ways of using these Card-io stamps.

 

Springtime wreath

I tend to go for purples and pinks so this time I went for orange, red and yellow for the flowers on my Card-io wreath.  I have had great fun using so many different flower stamps on these wreaths over the last few days.  The sentiment is from a Card-io set and I added bees as well as butterflies for a change.

 

Grandparents

Scrapbook layouts look so much better in real life as they are not easy to photograph.  This picture was taken at our Wedding.  I don't think anyone would wear a cap to a Wedding now.  I don't know why they are dressed so warmly as we got married in June but no doubt this was my Grandma's smart coat.

I found some embossed Core'dinations in my stash and sanded some of it.  The papers are Tim Holtz.  The embellishments represent some of my early memories of my grandparents as it says on the tag.

For sale page has been updated with sold items removed and more added.

Let's build a snowman

My second Christmas card using Card-io stamps.  I tore some paper and created the sky using chipped sapphire distress oxide and a circle I diecut for the moon.  I thought it would be fun to have the large snowman in front of the moon and after creating some snowdrifts using the torn paper and distress oxide I added a couple of bushes and a couple more snowmen along with some chunky glitter.  I stamped the branches with silver and added a sentiment which was a magazine freebie.

 

Another wreath

I have really been enjoying making some different cards and of course they are nice and flat for posting.  I used exactly the same stamps for the wreath as the ones I used for the blue balloon card.  It is good to compare the two to show how different they look with different colour flowers.  I used mowed lawn and rustic wilderness distress oxides for the grass and salty ocean with the Lawn Fawn mini cloud stencil for the sky.

 

Not everyone has a boat named after them

Last year I was going to finish one of my scrapbooks and started well and then didn.t do any layouts for months. Si I looked through my scrapbooks and found two are complete and the rest all need finishing.  I have started well and over the last couple of days have done 4 layouts so will see if I can continue the good work.

This is me aged 5.  Can you imagine a child having bows in her hair like that nowadays.  My Dad was into model boats and maned this one after me.  I used various papers, MFT stitched ricrac die and a Spellbinders star die. 

 I found the little doily in a pack I bought in America along with some vintage tickets from Craftwork Cards bought at a show.  The kraft words are Tim Holtz.  The paper bow is from Hobbycraft and flowers from America. Looking at ideas on Pinterest I realised that pages don't always need a title so this one doesn't have one.

 

First Christmas card of 2022

Whilst stamping wreaths with Card-io stamps I though it was a good opportunity to start my Christmas cards.  I kept the wreath very simple with just two stamps.  The sky was made using distress oxides seedless preserve and salty ocean.  I used chipped sapphire distress oxide and torn paper for the snowdrifts.  I added a bit of sparkle with a white sparkle pen which doesn't show on the photo.

 

Up up and away

I think I have only used these Cardio balloon stamps once before and after deciding to stamp a wreath with blue flowers thought the balloons would look good inside it.  I used salty ocean distress oxide with the Lawn Fawn mini cloud stencil before stamping the balloons.

 

Mouse friends

I decided to have a play with my old and new Card-io stamps on Monday and Tuesday and made 7 cards.  I really need to build up my stock so am off to a good start.  I am pleased to see that more craft fairs are being advertised this year.  I have 6 booked so far with the first one in March.  I don't do any in January or February as they don't usually do well.  I am trying out a few different venues plus some I have done before.  I don't want to do too many and just turned one down as it was the day after one I am already doing and prefer to just do one per weekend.  I also prefer 4 or 5 hour fairs as with set up and take down that is quite enough.

I do love these wreath cards and after trying the hanging basket one I did the other day direct to the blank card it reinforced my preferring to stamp onto card and back onto coloured card before adding to the card blank.

On the ball city

I was asked to make a football card for a teenager in Norwich City football colours. (The post title refers to their slogan.)  I looked at their kit and made it as near as possible given that the design on the image is different to the actual kit.  The image is a digi from Pink Gem coloured with Copics.

The papers are MME Lime Twist, great colours on these papers.  I used a Fiskars tag punch and kept the design simple as I printed the image quite large.

 

In the countryside

I made this for a male friend and am very happy with how it turned out.  I shall definitely be making some more countryside scenes.  I used distress oxides and a lawn Fawn hill stencil and torn paper.  All of the stamps I used are from my new Card-io sets with the exception of the flying geese which are from a Christmas set.

I find when I start making cards with Card-io stamps that the ideas for more cards keep coming and time is my only limitation.

 

Playing with some new and older stamps

I really want to make more Birthday cards with my Card-io stamps and as I love making Christmas wreaths had a go at a flower wreath.  I am happy with how the wreath turned out but not so happy with my first attempt at a hanging basket.  I need a lot more practice I think.  I used Dusty Concorde distress ink on the corners for a change.

Off to se my Mum today and go out for lunch.

My For Sale page has been updated and all sold items have been removed.  Some stamps have been reduced so take a look and leave a comment if there is anything you would like.

 

 For sale page has been updated. Some items have been reduced so please take a look and leave a comment if you would like to buy. Also advertised on Facebook.

Romantic Rock again

I had an order from my regular customer and she asked for a card with this image so I decided to print off two and make two similar cards.  I used the LOTV coloured simply print, the most used of my simply print images as she keeps asking for cards with her.  I too love this image.  

The papers are Bo Bunny Penny Emporium.  I used a new Impression Obsessions die I got in my Secret Santa from Dies to Die For.  The tags are new stamps from LOTV and the flowers were a Christmas pressy from Hobbycraft.  I also used a Lawn Fawn pierced rectangle die.  

I have added a sale page. Please take a look.

 

Rainbow launch day

It's launch day at LOTV for all the new stamps, digi and polymer.  I have used one of the rainbow images along with a sentiment from the love letters set.  I coloured it with Copics and had fun layering up on rainbow coloured card adding some punched stars.

We went out for a ride and lunch yesterday at a lovely village tearooms as it was a lovely day, though rather cold. So housework this morning as it is supposed to be wet all day so a day indoors planned.

Enjoy your weekend.

I have added a for sale page. Please take a look.

 

Sneak peek number 3

 

A much fussier card than yesterday.  I used an image from the rainbow set this time and a sentiment from the candles set.  All the new sets will be on sale on 8th January in both digi and polymer.

I coloured it with Copics as usual and used a clear sparkle pen on the hearts.  The papers are Maja Denim and Girls.  I added lace and flowers from Wild Orchid.

More pampering today as we are both having back massages so that will be lovely.  Have a good day and thanks for popping by.

 

Sneak peek number 2

It has been so good to get back to cardmaking.  I think the short break from it reinvigorated me along with the lovely new stamps from LOTV of course.  This is the owl from the new Love Letters set and I used 2 of the tags from the new mini alphabet and number tags.

I kept this card really simple, colouring the owl with Copics.  I tried colouring the clouds with distress oxide for the first time and I am really pleased with the result.  I used a MFT mini clouds stencil.  The paper is First Edition Gardenia and I just added some brown ricrac.

We are going into Norwich today for breakfast and I have a hair appointment.  It's the first time we have been in the city since a couple of weeks before Christmas and as the schools go back today hopefully it won't be too busy.

 

Love Letters sneak peek

a

On Saturday I had a sort out of my Christmas stamps and downloaded and printed some new images and sentiments from Lili of the Valley ready to make a start on some cards.  I made this one yesterday and am planning on making more today after a few chores.

This sweet elephant and sentiment are from the new Love Letters set which launches on 8th Jan along with 3 other new sets. I used the digis but they will also be available as polymer stamps.  I coloured it with Copics.  The paper is Dovecraft Finding Paradise.  I used some new Memory Box dies Cecilia flowers along with some older leaf dies.

I chose a Secret Santa pack from Dies to Die For one of my Christmas presents and I was so pleased with how much I got in it. You are guaranteed at least twice the price paid but I got much more than that.  The Memory Box dies were one of the die sets I got.  I don't buy anywhere near the amount of craft stuff I used to but I have ordered 2 more distress oxides and some everyday Card-io stamps with some Christmas money from my Mum.  I want to try making more Birthday cards with Card-io stamps for a change.

 

Happy New Year

 

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year. 

I am going back into the craft room today so will be soon be sharing some cards using a new launch from Lili of the Valley.