Blue on Blue

Now those of you who visit me often, know how much I like white on white cards. I was about to make one, when I thought 'I wonder how it would turn out done in a colour'

So here it is, my 'blue on blue' card.

I rather like the effect, and will probably try it again, I rather fancy a totally coral card, or maybe a mint green.............watch this space!

Engagement Card

Here's another Fiskarettes card, this time using those really cute little intricate shape birds - they were punched in white and sponged

I used my new favourite tool, the shape cutter to cut out the aperture and a scallop bottom edge for the card. The leaf spray is Clearly Besotted

Flowers for Hospital

These days, at least here in the UK, flowers aren't welcome in hospitals, so I decided to make these.

The stems are coffee stirrers painted green, then I punched a bunch of flowers (Bloom Fiskars squeeze punch) and stuck one to the front and back of each stem. The 'vase' is a plastic milk shake bottle filled with shredded tissue paper

I reckon this would brighten the day of anyone in hospital, and would only take up the space of a card on their bedside locker

When I was doing my nurse training, back in the dark ages, flowers took up a huge amount of time, and the lowliest junior nurse had to tend to them. Every evening, dozens of vases were removed from the ward into the sluice, where they lived overnight, after having the vases washed and dried until they sparkled, and clean water poured in. Then the vases were carried back the next day. What a palaver! I can see clearly why they aren't welcome these days

Sailaway

I used the shape cutter tool by Fiskars to make this one. The waves were cut using a scallop border on the hearts template, then I used the positive cut to sponge the sky, and the negative cut to make the waves......

The boat is simply made from a punched circle and some scraps for sails

I run a regular feature over on the Fiskarettes UK Facebook page on using up scraps, and another one on making cards for men, so if you don't already visit there, be sure to pop over for a look. There are regular contests and giveaways as well.

New Home

This one was made using Simon Says Stamps 'build a home' stamp set. Love the simplicity of it, the clouds were Fiskars cloud punch, and the tiny hearts are the 'waste' from the heart border punch

Why is it that when I go on holiday, I lie on a sunbed making lists of all the stuff I have to do when I get home? I take a special notebook with me just for this purpose! This year, with my new found gardening obsession, there is the added pressure of wondering how all my new plants are getting on without me....oh, it's so exhausting being on holiday.......

Dad's Day.....

Here's a couple of Father's Day cards made for the Fiskarettes facebook page. 

I used the star power punch to punch some corrugated packing material for this next one, honestly, those punches cut thick materials like butter

I am off to Portugal for a couple of weeks. Look out for some snaps of sunshine and fishing villages (although the forecast for wednesday is rain!)

Wall to wall sunshine and a garden....

Here's a card I made for the Fiskarettes page on Facebook. I used the shape cutter to cut out a circle and sliced it in half, then scalloped the edge. Voila, an umbrella! The background raindrops are a stencil, and the clouds are momory box dies, both from Simon Says Stamp

We have a finished garden! Here is the new patio looking out from the house....

Plenty of room to sit and enjoy the sun, it's been scorching today...

The lawn further up looks a bit of a mess after having a cement mixer and piles of bricks on it for five weeks...

But the new lawn looks like velvet

The yellow hose snaking it's way around the garden is a permanent fixture at the moment as we water in the new lawn and plants...

The tumbledown walls halfway up the garden have been replaced as well, they really were crumbling and I was concerned that the children would clamber all over them when they visit and that the whole thing would collapse. So now it's child safe. We still have a lot of planting to do, fences to paint, the deck on the canal to spruce up......... 

So now that that is over, I can turn my attention back to my blog - I have neglected it over the past few weeks.