New Stuff in the Crafty Cupboard......

Look what's turned up - new gorgeous stuff from Craftwork Cards. There are die cut banners, a pad of kraft tags (gorgeous quality, really heavyweight cardstock), a pad of die cut mannequins some plain, some embossed, and my favourite new thing a pad full of different pattern die cut paper bows, I'll show you some stuff made with them later in the week.....If you go to their website, you get 15% discount on your order to promote their new website

Although I have never got into the Tim Holtz tag thing, I couldn't resist making a quick tag. I cut an embossed frame in half and inked it with Wild Honey distress ink, stamped some Hero Arts background spots and stripes, inked a music note flower from the Tea Dance collection and it was ready for the mannequin.....

 and this next photo is of some more toys tools that have arrived. A self-indulgence this time, I ordered some of the latest Susan's Garden flower dies by Sissix from Blitsy, (have you been to look at Blitsy's site? Fantastic discounts on craft stuff)  Oops, I had to pay customs duty of £20 ($30) before they would deliver. Never mind, they will be fun to work with. The dies are so TINY though, I am not sure I will have the patience to do them, but I am itching to try, so watch this space

I am debating whether to take any craft stuff with me on my cruise holiday. I know that I get withdrawal if I stay away from it for too long. Maybe my ProMarkers and some stamped images? Yes, I could sit in one of those steamer chairs in the sun colouring happily for hours. Happy days ahead...

See you tomorrow x

Print and Cut

One of the reasons I wanted a Silhouette was the ability to print and cut - I have bought lots of label shapes and I have visions of printing sentiments then cutting out the label shapes - I have no idea how to do this yet, but I'm sure there is an easy way. So my very first attempt to print and cut was this funky little bee shape. I thought that it would cut around and leave a white border, which I would have hated - I dislike that 'sticker' look, but no, I printed the bee twice, and it cut perfectly, even around those thin little antennae. I added a bit of stitching, and did a rather wobbly bee trail on the machine as well, but it didn't seem to matter - a funky bee trail for a funky bee! The gathered ribbon is from Polkadoodles

I cut the wings and head off the second bee, and popped them on with foam pads, then I covered the whole thing in glossy accents......

and the sentiment was from a set that a faithful visitor and blog friend sent me - she saw it, and thought of me, and got it for me as a gift. I have made so many good friends through this blog! Thanks again Sandy x

We have eleven days before we go on holiday, I have made ten lists already and the bedroom looks as if a bomb has gone off in there. I guarantee, that no matter how organized I am, trying on outfits (well, it's a rare chance to dress up on a cruise), that I will unpack on board and gaze helplessly at the stuff I take,  thinking 'why on EARTH did I bring that......' Still, list making is a lot of fun. I particularly like to put down things that I have already done so that I can put a nice line through it - I know, sad!

See you tomorrow x

More winners and a swing card.

Now I am going to make someone happy this Monday morning. The number that came up for the Craftwork Cards goody box was number 5.........GLENNIS

The original winner of the Letraset limited edition ProMarkers has still not been in touch, so I drew again out of all the original comments, and the name that fell out of the hat this time was DIANNE BELL 

Congrats to you both, email me with your details please, I need full address and telephone number if you are in the USA, just the address if you are in the UK. If I don't hear from either of these winners by next Monday, I will redraw. Sigh!

I have at last found time to play around a bit with my Silhouette, I am not really comfortable with it yet, it certainly isn't second nature to do stuff quickly, so I tend to use my Cricut and tried and tested cuts. But I need to master it, and the only way I am going to do that is to use it. So here is a swing card I made, and I couldn't believe how easy it was to do. I have made a few of these special fold cards by hand in the past and it took forever to measure and cut accurately. All the layered pieces were cut out perfectly (I just used the back of the pattern paper which was white, and inked it)......... really easy, so I am happy with the way it's going. I have no intention of designing complicated stuff myself, I just don't have time (or the talent to be honest). I will use it in the same way that I have always used the Cricut, take a cut and put my own stamp/interpretation on the card. The advantage of the Silhouette is that you can buy just one cut at a time, I have yet to explore fully any of my Cricut cartridges, so this may be more effective.  

the sentiment is from a sheet by Kanban, who have sadly gone out of business here in the UK, the little girl was a freebie stamp from a magazine by designer Gillian Flint.....

I added a little spray of flowers to the left hand side which looked a bit bare....

and the stamp was coloured with ProMarkers whilst I had my feet up on the sofa admiring my souvenir socks.......

I have suddenly become re-energised today. The healing took place suddenly when we booked a last minute cruise (sailing around the Mediterranean for a couple of weeks). All of a sudden I have enough energy to go hunting for new clothes (and shoes, oh, and a new bag....). It's a miracle!

See you tomorrow when I'll show you my first attempt at print and cut with the Silhouette x

WIN a Craftwork Cards Goody Box.......

These are the latest goody boxes from Craftwork Cards, packed full of gorgeous coordinating card making goodies. I have one to give away to one of you.......

You get a load of 8 x 8 beautiful papers, foiled message labels, matching candi, matching ribbon, sentiment butterflies, dress forms to decorate, coordinating die cut flowers....it goes on and on, loads and loads of stuff PLUS ten scallop card blanks and envelopes, and ten square card blanks and envelopes - you will LOVE it

All you have to do is pop over to the Craftwork Cards blog, and sign up to follow - the design team post at least every day, so there is huge inspiration over there, you won't regret it! We have 958 followers today, let's see a lot of new faces tomorrow.  Come back here and leave your name, making sure I can identify you if you win (make sure you leave a name). I will mail the box to anywhere in the world, and will pick a winner by random.org on Monday. Good luck.

On the subject of prizes, I haven't heard from Kanda, who was drawn as the winner of the limited edition ProMarkers. If I haven't heard from her by Monday, I will draw another winner from those who left a comment on the relevant post.

Still staying with Craftwork Cards, here's one I made using the very lovely new Tea Dance collection. The flowers were cut out a couple of times from one of the papers, and layered. The embossed square is one of their embossed frames. I covered the petals of the flowers with a thin layer of vintage rose distress stickles, so they have a lovely sheen....

the candi got a matching coat of stickles as well......

and the stamens were added with some pale pink liquid pearls.....the doily effect is printed on the paper, isn't it pretty?

Phew! Long post today, as my energy levels aren't up to full power yet, I may need to take a nap now.....

and the winner is.....and some butterfly kisses......

Firstly, the winner of the Letraset limited edition ProMarkers is.....

KANDA

Congrats and email me your name, address and a telephone number so that Letraset can get the pens out to you (they need a phone number for the courier). Thanks to all of you who threw their names in the hat, there will be another giveaway very soon...

So I got back to my desk at last, I am still feeling quite tired, so little steps. I made this card with some lovely Authentique papers, the cloud die is by Memory Box, and the butterfly is by Quickuts (I never spell that company's name properly, but you know who I mean!)

I popped the cloud layer on with foam pads, then added more foam pads to the cutout clouds and offset them......

I love this butterfly, the pearls were done with liquid pearls, I am finally getting the hang of using that stuff without having pointy little tops to the pearls......

The weather here has been gorgeous (at last) time for a nice relax in the garden with the Sunday papers. We are going to a 50th wedding anniversary lunch party today, so fingers crossed the weather holds.

I'll be back tomorrow with a surprise giveaway for you x

I'm back!

Let's start with a card.....here's one I made last week with another card blank from Whichcraft, a center step blank this time. I decided to get Kiki's birthday card safely made, even though her birthday isn't until August. I cut and tore a load of various shades of white core cardstock, then sanded them to show some white. The stamp is a LaLaLand mermaid, and the shells are real shells that I found tucked away. Not quite sure what the bit of burlap is doing, but it looks a bit like a fishing net if you have a good imagination. Overall, I love this, and I think she will too. Having the card blanks already cut and scored makes life so easy - thank you Paula for sending them to me

Next, well, I must say thank you for all the good wishes and emails I have received, they really did cheer me up tremendously, and I appreciate each and every one

I have no intention of boring you with medical type details, but a couple of things did stay with me after my hospital visit......I trained as a RN many moons ago, but it is so different from a patients perspective....

Why do they put you in a strange gown in a sickly shade that makes you look ill even if you are feeling okay? Why does this gown tie at the back, so that if you have a IV in one arm it's impossible to walk without showing the world a not very flattering view of your naked backside? Then when they come to 'do stuff' to you, you have to remove the offending gown because the area of body they want exposed is inevitably the front bit not the back.....just wondering.....

The number of people who turned to me and said in a low, emphatic whisper "I HATE hospitals" - Six. Such a ridiculous statement - as though the rest of the world LOVES them. I felt like saying "Oh really? if I want to cheer myself up I can think of nothing nicer than going to sit in a hospital waiting room for a few hours drinking that really weak coffee from the machine and breathing that special hospital smell of disinfectant. With luck, I may see some really strange back views of patients as well to give me a laugh......" of course, I didn't say it, but it didn't stop me thinking it. 

When did they start giving patients enough information about their condition to get a PhD on the subject? I had information overload, and believe me, most of it, I didn't want to hear. In my day, the patient wasn't told anything at all, the relatives were taken into a little room, given a cup of tea and given the (bad) news. Then the patient spent the rest of their lives wondering why everyone burst into tears when they walked into a room and saw them....there is a middle ground waiting to be discovered I think....

I was walked to the operating theatre, when I got to the ante room a nurse bustled up and said 'you can't wear those' and took off my pink fluffy slippers. She put on a pair of beige socks and said kindly 'you can keep these as a souvenir'. What? So that when I am relaxing on the sofa at home, with my feet up, I can look at my feet, smile fondly, and say 'ah yes, these socks remind me of that lovely visit to...............' Not in the same league as a sombrero hat from Spain or a pink plastic flamingo from Florida is it?

When did doctors and nurses start qualifying at the age of 14? I'm sure they were older when I was in training all those years ago...

So there we go, that's my last word on the subject, fingers crossed that this ablation was a success and I don't have to repeat the whole thing in a few months - still, look on the bright side, I will be prepared this time and make sure I take my souvenir socks in with me and make sure that my backside looks as attractive as possible.....

See you tomorrow when I will have sorted out the ProMarker winner, sorry about the delay, I've been busy being a diva x

I'm home!

Just a quick line to let you all know I am home, bruised and battered but home! It will take a while before they know if its a success, but I am determined to think that it was.....a story or two to tell you when I am less sleepy. Thank you all so much for the messages of support, what a lovely bunch you are x

Whichcraft.......

I was sent a parcel of die cut shaped cards from the lovely Paula Walters of Whichcraft - one of the companies I met at the craft show at the NEC earlier this year. They make the most gorgeous shaped cards, and shaped die-cuts that fit the cards perfectly.......Go HERE to browse around their site, there is a lot of inspiration on there

So this first card was done with one of their square scallop card bases, the scallop square is exactly the same size, so I was able to emboss it, then add it to the base card with foam tape, which gives real dimension to the card. The flowers were punched and shaped, I punched tiny gold flowers for the centers......I know someone who is celebrating a golden wedding anniversary this summer, and I thought this card would make a lovely change from all the usual golden wedding cards......

Just look at all the depth and layers on this next card - again, decorated with Heartfelt Creations flowers and some die-cut leaves....I love the shaped base, and the way the cut out edged frame fits perfectly...

You can really see the layers on this side view, and of course, it's easy to make very pretty cards because all the cutting and folding is done for you...

I cut the flowers in white, and coloured with ProMarkers. The spotty paper is by DCWV....

I have thought long and hard about whether to write this next bit of the post today, as you know, my blog is a lighthearted look at crafting and life. I also know that if I don't post for a while, I get lovely emails asking if everything is okay. So on balance, and because I have such a lot of faithful blog friends, I am just going to share that I am going into hospital on Wednesday for a Cardiac ablation - I have had an irregular heartbeat for many years, but it's got worse over the past couple of years and it's time to try and get it sorted. I will, hopefully, only be in overnight, then I have to do nothing at all for a week or two. I am already plumping up the sofa cushions and practising my diva act. So you must bear with me if posts are a bit sporadic for a couple of weeks. I can't say I am looking forward to the next couple of days, but hey, I will be a new woman...I'll pop back as soon as I can x

A bit of this and a bit of that.....

Here's a card I made for the Craftwork Cards blog using their lovely Candi bloom stamps, I added lots of gems and embossed the image in bronze embossing powder so it looks nice and glittery in real life... to see the other cards I made for them, go HERE

Here's some new photos of my pride and joy, the grandchildren. I haven't seen Kiki and Monty for a few weeks, but they sent me these photos and are coming to stay for a few days in a couple of weeks. Here is Kiki in the park......

and Monty has decided he is Peter Pan.......

Then we went for Sunday lunch to see Max and Milo who both have birthdays this week. For some reason Milo decided that his dressing gown was a cozy thing to wear - mid afternoon!

and here is Max, having one of his profound conversations with me, and showing off his new gappy teeth - yes, the tooth fairy is on red alert......

See you tomorrow x

A Pretty Box, and win a Limited Edition set of Promarkers...

It's my turn to post over at the Letraset blog today, here's a peek at what I did, go HERE to see what it's all about

Now I have a set of the new Limited Edition Spring/Summer Promarkers to give away to someone. All you have to do is leave a comment over on the Letraset blog under my post, then pop back here to leave your name. You can enter wherever you are in the world, and the winner will be drawn on Friday 17th May. You will get twelve ProMarkers, and a blender pen in the set. Gorgeous colours too....

Heatwave 

SandDune

Starfish

Pineapple Crush

Green Shoot

Oasis

Rock Pool

Capri Blue

Reef Blue

Spring Lilac

Peony

and

Fresh Bloom

So good luck and thanks for dropping by x

4th Birthday Cards

 I saw a box that had been made to look like a lego cube - I can't remember where so I can't credit the genius who thought of it - and thought it was such a good idea it would make a great birthday card for my two little darlings who both have their fourth birthdays soon. I used a 1 1/4" square punch and a small round punch to make the lego tiles.....

I had a couple of people ask me about the embossing folder I used for the candle card I showed yesterday, it's a Cuttlebug folder from a cut and emboss set called, I think, Birthday Wish. I did a quick google search, and you can still find it on Amazon and various craft suppliers

A miracle happened yesterday, it was HOT, not warm, but really hot here in Solihull, nice enough to sit in the garden with a cold drink and a good book. Bliss. Apparently we have more of the same tomorrow before a sudden plunge in temperature on Wednesday sends us all shivering back to the winter woolies. I am enjoying Summer whilst it lasts!

Thanks for dropping by, see you tomorrow x 

Embossed Candles...

Now that I am in an embossing sort of mood, I can't put the folders away, typical of me, I don't use stuff for ages, then rediscover them and go a bit overboard. This row of embossed candles is another folder that I have never used. I embossed the candles onto vellum, and just coloured the flames lightly in pale yellow. I needed to stick the cut out panel onto the card, always tricky with vellum, so I used some foam pads, then covered that with a ribbon that has the sentiment stamped directly onto it......

I think Max has been having etiquette lessons. I usually have a very hasty little phone chat with him if I am lucky, but yesterday when asked to come and talk to me he said 'how are you, very nice to meet you' - the extreme politeness then disintegrated a bit while he chattered on about how the tooth fairy had forgotten to collect his tooth, then I had a very formal 'goodbye, it was very nice to talk to you today'. The whole elegant conversation was marred a little bit by the sound of three year old Milo yelling in the background 'I don't want to talk to Ma, I want to play in the garden....' Ah well, you win one, you lose one..

See you tomorrow when I'll show you the little boys birthday cards, they are turning out rather cute.....      

Flower Wreath Card

They've done it again - another clever idea from Craftwork Cards. These flowers are embossed onto a square of beautiful white card that fits perfectly onto the front of a 6 x 6 card base which seems to be my default size.....

I used some of their die cut flowers, just rolled and shaped them a bit, and added a sentiment label to the center.....I coloured all the flowers and dots quickly with a buttercup promarker before sticking on the flowers...

and used candi dotted here and there, adding a gem to the center of some of them. I like the overall effect, nice and cheerful

 I seem to be turning into one of those people who is constantly talking about the weather, but........today was sunny first thing, gorgeous blue skies, but sweater weather rather than tee shirts. Obviously a couple of people looked out of the window, shouted YIPEE at the sight of the sun, and dressed without just popping their heads out of the window to feel the temperature. So there I was, in my cozy sweater sipping my coffee next to a woman who thought she was in the Caribbean. Strapless floaty maxi dress and flip flops, the sort of thing you would wear as a beach cover up in a smart resort. Not even a cardigan - 'she'll catch her death in that'  was my first thought. My second thought was that I am turning into my mother....

See you tomorrow x

Candi Flower

Here's the finished candi flower card. I used papers from the tiny prints set, also by Craftwork Cards (I love gingham). The sentiment stamps are bold and gorgeous - I cut mine, so that I now have effectively three sentiments - celebrate, in style, and celebrate in style.......I used an aniseed flexmarker to colour the leaves and little dots, and added just a few tiny gold beads

the butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch....

Going back to gingham - I have no idea why I love it so much, and always did, even as a child. When I dabbled in dressmaking in my teens in a desperate effort to extend my wardrobe, I seem to remember pink ginham - I think I wanted to look like Doris Day. (Younger readers, go and google ). I have had gingham curtains, cushions.....but these days, I get my gingham fix from pretty papers. Don't even get me started on polka dots, I could bore for Britain on that subject. So spots, dots, stripes and  checks  are all firm favourites. What patterns do you return to time after time?

See you tomorrow x 

Embossed flowers....

I've been messing around with those border embossing folders again, sorry about the rather badly cropped photo - I was so focused on getting the embossing to show clearly that I didn't notice that I had cut the top of the card out completely, still, you get the gist......

and here is what else I have been doing today, these new flower stamps are by Craftwork Cards, and are designed to take the card candi - I am sure everyone who comes here regularly know what candi is, but just in case, they are clever little domed discs of cardstock in every colour and pattern you could possible want, they take the place of brads, much easier, and very very reasonably priced so you save pennies as well as time

 I'll show you the card I made when I finish it tomorrow...

Has spring sprung in your little corner of the world yet? Here in the UK it remains a little bit on the chilly side, bright sunshine but cold enough for a couple of hail storms! Last week I saw a desperate sight, a guy of advancing years wearing rather short shorts (which his wife should have smuggled out of his wardrobe years ago), sandals and that great fashion faux pas, beloved of some Brits - grey socks. Having a keen sense of the ridiculous, I did have a secret little smile at the stupidity of his appearance, and I must admit, when it suddenly started to hail, I laughed out loud....it was so funny to see his wife trailing behind him, trying to pretend she wasn't with him....ah, men!