Gatefold Card with a twist - Tutorial

Here's a little project to use all those double sided papers you've been hoarding - you get two cards from one 12 x 12 sheet, so perfect for quick and economical mass producing. I have given the instructions on the photos......

Now your card will look like this.....

 Now fold the score lines on the little left over pieces, and glue onto the card as shown below (fold so that the other side of the pattern paper is on top......

Stamp or write your message on the insert....

Finish with a punched flower attached to just the left hand side of the card. Here's what it looks like folded....

This card would make great party invites, or even wedding invitations - you could add printed details onto the insert.

The horses in the field opposite my house have had two little foals, they are so sweet. I have been trying all day to get a good photo of them. I wish I had had the camera out when one of them tried to reach a tempting leaf on a branch just out of reach, those wobbly legs just weren't up to it, and she fell over in a ungainly heap of lanky legs. Mummy mare nudged her up with a toss of her head, as if to say 'KIDS!'

Talking of kids, I have some news I have been hugging to myself for a while now. I am going to be a grandma again! Our daughter Alex is expecting her first baby in November, I am so excited, rushing in and out of baby shops like a woman possessed. We won't know if the baby is a little boy or girl until the birth so at the moment he/she is just our little Peanut! 

See you tomorrow xx

Art in Action

I thought you would enjoy seeing photos taken at Art in Action - a huge summer exhibition of all sorts of art, held at Waterperry Gardens in Oxfordshire. So many talented people were exhibiting, from potters........

 I loved this huge bird bath......

Artists who work with glass........

Artists who work with beads - can you believe that this portrait of Alan Turning (inventor of the Enigma machine in WW2) is made entirely of beads!

Artists who compose pictures using fabric and thread.........

and these next two were Batik......read the description of the process below, and marvel at the talent that created these pieces......

and fabric....

These scarves were made from silk organza and were all hand wired to create the ruffled shape - can you imagine how long that would take! 

and no, I didn't buy anything - the prices reflected the quality of the work and craftmanship, but I mentally spent about £200,000! I hope you enjoyed my little 'Summer Exhibition' today, see you tomorrow x

Portugal - from sunshine to showers.....

We had an incredibly restful holiday in Portugal - such a beautiful country...... 

The hotel had glorious gardens, where you could sit by little streams like this one if you wanted to get away from the noisier pool areas.... 

We did have a bit of drama - on the first evening there we were sitting out on our balcony, it was about midnight and very quiet. We had closed the sliding doors into the room - and then discovered we couldn't get back in, there was no handle on the door (I assume for security reasons). Panic stations. The place was deserted, there was nobody in the rooms on either side of us. Then I realised I had my iPad out there, so I looked up the hotel, sent them an email headed URGENT and prayed that somebody would see it. Please help, I wrote pleadingly, we are locked out on the balcony of room 08, please send someone to rescue us. 
They must check their emails regularly, because within minutes the night manager was there, trying very very hard not to laugh.........

But apart from that, and returning to the aftermath of the referendum, we had a great time. I had left a key to our house with my friend who was going to pop in and water the garden while we were away. Ha! I think she had to drain the water out of the half drowned pots, apparently we missed the monsoon. So everything had doubled in size in two weeks, the hostas were flowering......

and I found two of these wrought iron plant stands all rusty and abandoned in a far corner of the garden, I lovingly rubbed them down and repainted - looking quite good now that the flowers I planted have begun to trail over the sides.....

I'll be back tomorrow with some crafty stuff, see you then x