Happy Christmas Everyone!

Well Christmas Eve has arrived!

This will be my last post until the new year and so I'd like to say a Great Big "Thank You" to all my blogland friends for visiting and leaving comments during the year.

My card was made using  Presscut dies, Sizzix snowman stamps and matching dies and snippets of red and white card and a little glitter. The spotty paper is from my stash.

I'm taking my card to The Snippets Playground to join in with all the fun and games there.

Wishing you all a Very Happy Christmas and I look forward to joining in again in 2016. Barb xx

Cuddly Buddly Snippets

Good Afternoon and Welcome

My card today is made with snippets of Papermania  paper, yellow and white card and a few bits of lace.

The image is an old one from Cuddly Buddly which I coloured with Promarkers to match the paper I was using.

 I added a bit of glitter to the dragon flies and used punches for the flower and leaves.  The clear gems I coloured with peeloff markers and the sentiment is from a set by Paula  Pascal.

I'm going to pop my card over to the Snippets Playground where it is week 208/209

An Oldie on Friday

Afternoon All,

My Oldie on Friday is a card I made probably 8 years ago using a stamp I bought from Create and Craft.

I stamped the image several times, water coloured and cut and decoupaged the pieces.

I've not used this stamp for a long time so think I'll have to look it out!

I'm linking with Erika's blog Snappycrafts where she invites us to share and "oldie" on Fridays.  This is the last link up for the year.

If you decide to join in leave a comment on Erika's blog and she'll visit you too.

Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Friday Smiles

Morning to you all.

This is Jim.  He's the Boxer puppy at the pub where we go for our roast dinner most Sundays and often for fish and chips on Friday.

If you're a doggie person like me I'm sure this face will make your heart melt.

My hubby was lucky enough to be able to take early retirement at 50.  He took on the job of food shopping as it's something I don't enjoy.

 However for our Christmas food shop I go too and we tear the list in two and both go for it.  We're doing to main shop this morning.  We'll be popping in to see Jim and have some lunch on the way home.

All cards are sent and decorations up.  We have a Christmas Dinner with friends to look forward to on Tuesday.

I'm linking up to Annie's  blog A Stitch in time Week 150 where we share happy thoughts every Friday.

Happy Christmas Everyone!

Sizzix Snippets

Hello Everyone,

Thanks to everybody who has visited and left comments over the past few days.

I'm so sorry this the first time I've opened my laptop for almost a week.  Life has just been taking over.

I'm going to try to catch up with visiting you all over the next few days.  I will get round to everyone but it may take a little while.

I made this card a few weeks ago using a lot of scraps of card and paper and a set of Sizzix stamps and matching dies.  The background is a scrap of  spritzed paper that didn't get thrown away!

The sentiment is by Hobby Arts.

I'd like to take this over to Miss Di's Snippets Playground Week 207

Coffee and Tea!

Evening All,

I've been out enjoying myself over the past few days so I apologize for only just catching up with visiting .

The background for this card was some white card.  I coloured it with a used and still damp teabag.  I think lots of us did this before distress inks.

I stamped some splatters from a Visible Images set.  The sentiment and coffee cup are from Stamping Up.  I used Dovecraft snippets for the coffee cup, coloured the top with a promarker and added a recycled coffee stirer.

The piece of hessian and string are also snippets.  So I'm off to the Snippets Playground with my second entry.

Happy Crafting to you all..

Eat Me Alice!

Evening All!

I'm afraid I'm running behind this week.

These are the four ATCs I did for Jo's swap where the theme was Alice in Wonderland.  As I have no Alice stamps or images of any type I had to give it a bit of thought.

I did the backgrounds, swooshing Distress inks then spritzing with water with micha powder added for shimmer.  For the table I used a Great Impressions stamp with the top masked off  before inking up and stamping.

The cupcakes are a Forever Friends stamp, coloured and fussy cut.  I stamped the sentiment and cut down the speech bubbles then added some glitter, sakura glitter pen and glossy accents for the cherries and stamped a few stars for interest.

I'd like to take these over to join in at Miss Di's Snippets Playground Week 206.

Birthday Box Details

Hello and thanks for visiting.

Several of you asked for details of the Birthday Box I posted recently.  I had a root round and came up with the sizes.  I've sketched out a template for you.

To download a copy for your own use just click the image at left to view a larger image and then right click the larger image to display a context menu. Select "Save image as" from the menu. The image file (.jpg) will be saved to your selected folder.

At least this is how it works for most Windows users - if you're using a Mac I imagine it will be something similar.

I'm so sorry that I only have measurements in cm but if you are able to print out  at full size you will just be able to cut out without bothering with measurements.  I did it yesterday and it worked fine.

Most print programs should print the downloaded file at the right size to use as a template. If this doesn't work for you then leave me a comment with your email address and I'll get back to you.

An Oldie on Friday

Happy Friday Everyone.

First today I'd like to say hello to Sharon who recently joined me here.  A very warm welcome to you.

My "Oldie" card today was made  several years ago  for our friend Allan.

I coloured the background of the card with distress inks before iris folding the dolphin with silver paper.

I added a googly eye a few shells and a little glitter glue.  The sentiments are by Hobby Arts.

I'm linking my oldie up to Erika's Scappy Crafts blog where she invites us to post something crafty and old just for fun.  If you link up with Erika and leave a comment she'll return the favour.

What a hoot!

Hello everyone.  I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

First of all I'd like to welcome my new friend Virginia.  I'm so glad that you joined me here.  

I was having a bit of a sort out a couple of weeks ago and came across this messy bit of water colour paper that's been hanging around for ever.  I almost threw it out then decided to see if I could resurrect it.

I had to wrack my brain to try to remember which leaf stamp I'd used.  It's from a Kidomo set.  I have heard that they are no longer trading and I used to love their stamps.

I used the stamp on the edge of a kraft card and then stamped it a number of times over the water colour paper.  Then I mounted the watercolour card onto black card and die cut the circle.

The owl was stamped  on the front of the kraft card where the hole would be then I coloured him, added Glossy accents to his beak and mounted it up.

I've had some of these leaf brads, in autumn colours for several years and I thought the red one matched well.

The owl and sentiment are from a Hobby Arts set called "Owls" I think.

I would like to enter this card into Miss Di's  Snippets Playground Week 205      and also
The Allsorts Challenge blog where the theme is autumn colours.

Thank you for your visit and Happy Crafting Everyone!

An Oldie for Friday

It's Friday again and time to link up with Erika on her Snappy Crafts blog when we post an "Oldie" just for fun.

If you leave a comment for Erika she'll return the favour.

My oldie today was made with a Woodware set which also includes a roast turkey.  You may remember them.  It was a very popular set at the time.

Christmas pudding with lots of cream is one of my favourite things on Christmas day but is probably only enjoyed in the UK.

I stamped the little mince pies onto green Papermania paper and added just a little colour.

Have a lovely weekend and enjoy whatever you have planned.

Friday Smiles

Happy Friday Everybody.

First I would like to welcome my new friends  PJ, Judy and Maarit. I'm  happy that you've joined me here.

 It would be really nice if you are able to visit them.


 Wednesday was my Birthday and these are all the handmade cards I had from friends from the club.  I also had a few crafty presents but unfortunately couldn't fit them into the photo.

I had a lovely week which began on Sunday with a workshop at Loobi Crafts with friends.  On Monday the same two friends took me out for a carvery which was delicious.  On Wednesday hubby took me and two of our friends out for a great Chinese meal and to cap it all I ate chocolate.  My first for a couple of months as I'm trying to lose a bit of weight before Christmas.

I'm linking up with Annie's blog A Stitch in Time where she invites us to join her for Friday Smiles - things that we have enjoyed during the week.

I'm also linking to Lisca's new friend Virginia who also invites everyone to talk about their week on her blog.

A happy weekend to you all.

Rudolph Day!

Good Morning to you All.

Today as it's 25th of the month it's time to enter a Christmas card into Mo's Rudolph Day Challenge on her Scraps of Life blog.

It's the last Rudolph Day Challenge for the year.

My card was made with a Christmas paper napkin.

I chose the area I wanted to use and carefully cut out a rough square which I stuck with a glue stick onto a square of white card then trimmed the edges of the napkin.

I put double sided adhesive paper over the top, covered with glitter and trimmed it up.

I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder for the background.

Thank you for your visit.  Happy Crafting!

Happy Birthday Cupcake!

Good Morning everyone on this cold and frosty Monday Morning.

Here's the card I would like to take to Miss Di's  Pixie's Snippets Playground Week 204

I used my new Presscut die to make the card.  I just had to get this wonderful die set after seeing cards that Liz and Di had made with it.

The stamp is a  Polka Doodles rubber stamp and the papers are by Dovecraft.

I added a few kraft hearts and some Glossy Accents to the cherry.

I'm off to my craft club now.  Hope you enjoy your day and thank you for your visit.

Life's a Journey

Happy Saturday Everybody.

I'm trying to get a head start on my charity cards for next year and so have been using up some of the backgrounds that have been hanging around for a while.

This was made with Brushos and some distress inks.

The sentiment is by Visible images and the bicycle is a Hero Arts stamp and matching Sizzix die.

I put a couple of yellow brads on the wheels.  I needed something for a little balance at the top so used the little clear star stamp that I keep on a small block permanently on my worktop. It's one of those funny little stamps that come in useful for so many things.

I've not straightened and cropped the photo too well I'm afraid.  In a bit of a hurry to post as I want to get in a bit of crafting before the football starts at lunch time.

I hope you enjoy your day and thank you for your visit.

Smiles for Friday

Happy Friday Everyone.

Today's photo probably won't make you smile but it was taken by my hubby a few years ago and I thought some of you may find it interesting.

It's a cellar spider with her eggs.  I know she looks like a monster but she's one of those spiders with the long skinny legs.

We live in a small thatched cottage and have quite a few around.  They are harmless so we just let them live their lives.

We're going to Cambridge shortly to visit hubby's Aunty in the nursing home.  On Sunday I'm going to Craft workshop so a good weekend for me.  I hope you enjoy yourself too.

I'm linking up with Annie on her blog A Stitch in Time where we share happy thoughts on Fridays.

An Oldie for Friday

Happy Friday Everyone.

My card today was made in 2010 and I remember the day so well, sitting in the garden on a lovely sunny day playing with texture paste and some masks.  This one is by Imagination Crafts.

Unfortunately the photo is not very good quality so the texture doesn't show up.

Hubby had been having a sort out and gave me lots of the divider sheets from old ring binders.  I decided to include the holes down the side of this card instead of trimming it away.

It was then mounted onto a piece of black card.  I tore the side and rubbed on some silver metallic rub ons which is similar the the gilding wax that we use today.

I'm sharing this card on Ericka's blog Snappy Crafts where we link up to share "Oldies" just for fun each Friday.

If you link with Erika and leave her a comment she'll visit you too.

Birthday Box

Good Afternoon and thank you for visiting.

I made this little box as a gift for a friend a couple of months ago.

I wasn't sure if I'd be able to print onto the Centura pearl card  but it worked really well.

After putting the box together I added a diecut trim around the bottom.  I stamped 'Birthdays' onto some pink card and stuck it to the bottom.

The twelve tags are cut from pearl white card then I stamped the months and tiny flowers randomly is a light brown colour around the edges for decoration onto some pink card for each tag.

The ribbons are all odd snippets from a box of ribbon offcuts.

I'm really annoyed with myself as I've put the dimensions away somewhere safe and can't remember where the safe place is ..... I'm sure you know the feeling.

I'd like to enter this little box into the following challenges:-

Allsorts Challenge blog "Anything but a Card"
Pixie's Snippets Playground Week 203

Plaid Flowers

What a horrid windy day we're having here today.  I hope you're all keeping safe and warm.

This card, that I made yesterday, is inspired by a card that I received from my web buddy Jools last week and posted last Friday.

I die cut the three flowers, used a scrap of paper from my stash behind then cut the centres, leaves and heart from a small piece of smooshed  card that was lying on my desk.  I rounded the top corner added a little Stickles and did a little inking with Distress ink.

I'm taking this card over to The Snippets Playground where it's Week 203

Hello!

Hello and Happy Monday.

First I would like to give a very warm welcome to my two new blog friends Krisha and Amanda. I',m  so glad that you decided to join me here.  I'm sure they would both be very pleased if you paid them a visit.

For today's card I used some of a recently pulled gelli plate print for the background. I stamped a Martha Stewart rose onto a page from an old gardening book. After tearing round the stamped image I coloured  it with two Promarkers  and inked the edges with Distress ink.

The sentiment is also by Martha Stewart and I coloured the two gems with a peel off marker.  I put one clear gem onto the smaller rose.

I would like to take my card over to join in at Di's Snippet Playground Week 203



I

My Metal Heart

Good Morning and thank you for popping by.

Today I'm showing an MDF heart that I decorated several weeks ago.

It's something completely different for me but I really had fun playing.

I stuck all sorts of bits and pieces including diecuts, bits of embossed card, buttons and beads onto the heart.  Then I painted it all with two coats of black gesso.  I finished by rubbing on green and then gold Inca Gold with my fingers.

I ended up with very messy hands but enjoyed it very much.  Goodness knows what I'll do with it now ....

I'd like to enter this into the Allsorts Challenge blog where the theme this time is Anything but a Card.

Well it's a dark dank day here today and no football on the television so I'm off up to my cabin for a couple of hours of crafting fun.

An Oldie on Friday

Here's my "Oldie" for Friday.

I'm linking up with Erika on her Snappy Crafts blog where we link up each Friday to show something we made a long time ago.  It's just for fun.  If you leave a comment for Erika she'll know you called.

First I'd like to welcome my new friend Bev.  So glad you joined me here.

I made this card a long time ago using a stamped image sent by a web buddy.  Isn't she lovely.  Unfortunately I don't know what the stamp is.

Anyway I added a little colour to her cheek and covered her with glitter.

The pricking is done with a brass stencil that lingers in a black metal box of numerous brass stencils that seldom see the light of day.  Paper pricking was very popular about ten years ago.

The sentiment is a well loved Stamp Addicts rubber stamp.   I think there is an oriental look to the font.

Happy Crafting everyone!

Share a Smile on Friday

Morning All!

It's good to be back sharing a smile on Friday again where we link up to Annie's Stitch in Time blog each week with our happy thoughts.

I've not smiled a lot over the past couple of weeks as I caught another of those horrid bugs.  I, who, boasts that I seldom catch a cold have managed to catch three bugs in two months.

Anyway I missed the NEC last weekend and two workshops all in one week and I'd paid for them all too.  No doubt I've saved us a bit of money overall - you know what I mean .....

But I did smile when this lovely card, along with a selection of Christmas diecut sentiments arrived unexpectedly from my web buddie Jools.  Thank you so much my friend for giving me a big smile this week.

Hope you all enjoy a good week.

Zig Zag Butterfly

Hello and thank you for your visit.

First I would like to give a warm welcome to Rachel and Lorraine who have just joined me here.  You may like to pay them a visit and share the lovely work they both make.

I've made my card today to enter into Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge where this time the theme is Z for Zig Zag with  butterflies.

I punched the butterfly onto the paper.  I don't know the make of the punch but it is one of those where the butterfly stays attached to the background.  I drew on the antennae and coloured clear gems with permanent markers then mounted onto a scrap of gold card then onto a piece of purple card.

The embossing folder is by Die'Sire and after embossing I used Distress Ink to colour it mauve.  This is the last piece of ribbon from the roll I've had for ages and I've only just realised that although the edge is gold for some reason it looks silver in my photo - oh well!  The tiny gold butterflies were punched from the scrap of gold backing card.

I'm going to put this card into The Snippets Playground Week 202 challenge now I've realised how many snippets I've used on this card.

Sweet Treat

Here's my second post today as I get back into the swing of things.

The image came out of my box of already stamped images.  I know it's an unmounted rubber stamp but can't remember what it is.

I coloured up the image with Pro Markers to match the papers from my stash that I'd  decided to use.

The sentiment is from Hobby Arts and the little red hearts are stickers that I've had for ever.

I'd like to enter this card into
The Alphabet Challenge blog where the theme is S for Sweet Treats

Snippets Flower

Good Morning Everyone.

I'm so glad to be back and joining in again now that I've recovered from another dose of a horrid bug.

I'd like to say thank you for all your good wishes and I'm slowly managing to catch up with what you'd all been doing as I mainly slept ......

Just before I got ill my Big Shot Plus arrived and I've only just started playing with it.

  This was the first thing I made using my free Bigz die to cut out both layers of flowers.  It wasn't meant to be used, just playing but as I don't like throwing stuff away it turned into a card.

I've used lots of scraps.  The large flower was a scrap of white card, diecut, spritzed with water, screwed up then coloured with Distress ink and shaped.  The smaller flower was cut from some packaging which I coloured pink on the back with a Pro Marker and the centre was punched from a scrap and covered with Stickles.   I rubbed through some sequin waste with Black Soot DI for the background.

I'm going to pop over to join in with the girls at Miss Di's Snippets Playground Week 202

Just hopping by

Hello Blogland  Buddies,

I just wanted to say sorry I've not been around to visit anyone since last week.

 I've had another of those horrid bugs since Saturday and today is the first day I've even opened my laptop.

It's just a quick snippets card today that was made some weeks ago  to take to the playground.  I'll be back catching up with everyone again as usual next week.

The  blue background is packaging.  I embossed the bottom section and inked to resemble water.  The sun, and dragonflies are  scraps of card.

The frog is a Woodware stamp on a scrap of green paper.  I added googly eyes and Glossy Accents after cutting him out.

I'm popping over to Snippets Playground Week 201

Friday Smiles

Happy Friday Everyone

I hope you've had a good week.   I've had a lot to make me smile this week.

It began last weekend when we went to the Golden Wedding celebration of some very special friends.  This is the card I made for them.

We went out to a local watering hole on Tuesday as usual where we meet up with friends for lunch.

Then my new toy arrived.  I decided to get a Big Shot Plus after  thinking about it for a while.

I no longer needed the Grand Calibur so gave it to a friend yesterday.  When she came round to collect it so we enjoyed a good chat a coffee and just a little crafty playtime.



I'm linking up with A Stitch In Time blog where Annie invites us all to share a smile on Friday.

Oldie for Friday

Good Morning!

Well as it's Friday again it's the day for showing cards which were made a long time ago.

Erica at Snappy Crafts blog invites us to link up with her.  If you leave a comment for Erika she'll visit you too.  It's fun to see other peoples "oldies" too.

The little kitten is a wood mounted stamp that I bought a long time ago in a bargain bin (from Hobby Craft I think)

I stamped him three times onto pages from an old dictionary then gave them a light wash of watercolour, fussy cut them and stuck them onto the background which is a linen paper.

I have  many wooden stamps that at stored on shelves in Really Useful plastic boxes.  Not the best way to store wood mounted stamps but I really have a lot.  I must try to find this little guy and bring him out again.  He really is quite sweet, isn't he?

Happy Crafting Everyone.

Pizza!

Hello and Welcome

My card today is for Freshly Made Sketches challenge blog.

As with my previous card I cut the circles from a pizza box.  The smaller circles were embossed on the back to give a dome shape to the circle resembling a pizza.

The sentiment is one from a Hero Arts set.

I ate the pizza for lunch yesterday .... then made the card in the afternoon after seeing the sketch.

The pizza was very tasty - goats cheese and squash with pine nuts.

Tall and skinny!

No I'm not talking about myself.  I only wish I was.

My card today is for the Mojo Monday Challenge where the theme this week is Tall and Skinny.

My card is A6 size, folded lengthways.  I embossed a strip of orange paper and then cut a strip of browny/gold paper and rounded two corners.

The two circles are cut from a pizza box and I put the smaller piece onto a soft mat and embossed on the back to make a dome shape to resemble a pizza.

The sentiments are both from an old and well loved Hero Arts cupcake set.

As  I've used snippets I'm going to take this over to Miss Di's at The Snippets Playground to join in with the playmates.

Yellow Flower

Happy Tuesday Everybody.

I'd like first to give a warm welcome to Donna,  Mary Anne and Marie.  I'm so pleased that you decided to join me here.

It would be so nice if you were able to pop in and visit Donna and Mary Anne.  Unfortunately, Marie I can't find you but if you leave me a comment I will visit you too.

This card was made at a workshop some time ago.  The set used is by Paper Artsy.   I added the sentiment, by Paula Pascal and the button when I got home.

We coloured the background with Distress inks.  I chose pink and yellow which is one of my favourite colour combinations.  The image was stamped directly onto the card and then just the flower was stamped again.  I painted the image and extra flower with acrylic paints.  I decided to paint my flower with  a dry brush although everyone else chose to do theirs with smooth water colouring.  The flower head was then cut out, shaped and decoupaged.

Thank you for your visit.  I do hope you will come back again soon.

Rudolph Day

As today is 25th of the month it's time again to join in at Scrappy Mo's blog for the Rudolph Day Challenge with a Christmas card.

Mo holds her Challenge on the 25th of each month and always offers a lovely prize for the lucky winner.

After embossing the background I rubbed on some gold metallic Rub Ons which unfortunately looks grey in the photo.  I added a tiny gem to the star and some Stickles around the edge for sparkle.

The tree is cut from a die which came as a freebie with a magazine last year.

My card was very quick to make so I made several using scraps of gold, silver, red green and blue card.

I'd therefore also like to join in again with the girls in Di's Snippets Playground Week 200.

Thinking of you

Good afternoon and thank you for your visit.

First I would like to say Hello and a Big Welcome to Carol.  I'm so glad to have a new  blog friend.

I'd like to join in at The Snippets Playground Week 200.

 I've used all snippets of card for this one including the little gold heart which came out of my bits jar. The ribbon is from a box of small pieces of ribbon that I keep to use, mainly for iris folding.

The stamp is "Deer" by Stamps Away.  I used the back of the stamp with Pumice  Stone Distress ink to stamp a quick background for the deer.

I would also like to enter this card in the Alphabet Challenge blog  where the theme is R for Ribbon

Happy Crafting Everyone.

An Oldie on Friday

Good Morning and Happy Friday!

My goodness how quickly they come around.

This is my "Oldie" card for Friday to be shared on Erika's blog.

Why not post one of your old cards and pop over.  Leave a comment for Erika and she'll visit you too.

This card was made several years ago.  The couple and sentiment re from a Woodware set and the Eiffel Tower is Hero Arts cut out with the matching Sizzix die.

Card, paper, ribbon and punched flowers from my stash.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Bundle of Joy

Good afternoon everyone.  I hope you're having a good day.

I went to craft club this morning and a cross stitch circle this afternoon so I've had fun.

This card will have arrived now so I'm able to show it.

It's a parchment card made for friends in the USA on the birth of their new Baby Boy.

Isn't it handy for us card makers now as we often know ahead of time whether the baby is going to be a girl or a boy.

The sentiment reads "A New Baby Boy Your Bundle of Joy"



I would like to enter this card into the  Mojo Monday Challenge #420

Tomorrow I have to make a start on another parchment card for a  Golden  Wedding  party we're going to on Friday Evening.

Snippets Jar

Good morning everyone and I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

We did a similar card to this at a card club a few months ago.

So using up scraps of white paper and the green gingham and green flowery paper I've had for ages I made this card.

The bee is an old Judikins stamp, fussy cut with glitter added to his wings and bits of raffia that have been in my stash for ever.

I'm off to join in with the girls at Di's Snippets Playground Week 199.

I'd also like to join in with The Alphabet Challenge blog where the theme is R for Ribbon

Wishing you all a 'Happy Day'

An Oldie on Friday

This is my 'Oldie for Friday'

If you fancy showing one of your old cards link up with Erika's blog.  If you leave her a comment  she'll pop in and pay you a visit too.

I made this card a long time ago with a wooden stamp I bought from QVC.  I don't know what it is.

I coloured the image with watercolour markers, a gold gel pen and a little black chalk on parts of her hair.  I outlined the geisha with a grey Zig pen.

I wound some Twilley's  gold thread on some black card then mounted my image.

I'd like to say hello and welcome to Jean who has just joined me here.  Perhaps you would like to have a look at her blog here.

Friday Smiles Week 141

Happy Friday Everyone!

Today it's quite cold and very overcast here and I think we'll have rain before long.  However we have a friend coming for lunch today so I'm doing a roast and we'll enjoy a good chat and a glass of red no doubt.

Tonight I'm going to a card class which I'm looking forward to and there are lots of footie matches to watch on television over the weekend so I've lots to look forward to.

I got a brochure in the post this week (see pics) for a retirement home.  Some of the junk mail we all get but it was addressed to me.  Although I'm retired I'm certainly not ready to leave my little cottage yet.

I think I would feel very out of place in a place like this.  I'd feel I had to dress for dinner each night and that's not me at all.  I don't enjoy dressing up and feel much more comfortable with informality.  That's just me now I'm older I suppose.

I'm linking this post up with Annie's blog where we share Smiles on Friday

Whatever your plans for the weekend I hope you enjoy yourself.

Thank You

Happy Thursday Everyone!

I'd like to start by giving a very warm welcome to both Meg and April who have recently joined me.  They both do lovely work so do pop in and say hello.

My card today was for a friend who last week dropped by with a delicious cake she'd made for us.  It wasn't for any special occasion she said it was 'just because'.  What a lovely thing to do.

I wanted to make a card quickly and this is it.

Using Peacock feathers and Stormy sky distress inks on my craft mat I spritzed with water and iped up with white card.

The birds came with a magazine and I embossed them in gold then made holes round the edge.  After stamping the sentiment and adding the hearts something was needed at the bottom so I stamped with a small corner foam stamp that lays on my desk, at hand, all the time.  Although it's small it's very useful.

I'm taking this over to The Snippets Playground where Eve is on duty this week while Di has a little rest.

WOYWW - Week 332

Good Morning Deskers,

It's Wednesday again!

So,  I'm linking up with our lovely hostess Julia for another "What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday".  It really is fun as we have a trip round the world to see what other crafters have on their desks today.

We have a club in our village chapel once a month and it's tonight.  I got an email from Susan who was going to do our demo tonight.  She is ill and unable to come.

As it was too late to ask anyone else to put something together.  I send the emails each month to tell everyone (12 of us) if they need to bring anything special  -well it's just a card and envelope.

Three of us are taking various stamped images, Christmas paper. punched bits and die cuts and everyone can choose their stuff to make a Christmas card.

Here's some of what I managed to do yesterday so I've got to rush off to get more done for tonight, plus make two late birthday cards.  A busy crafting day ahead for me.

It may take a couple of days for me to visit you all but I will get round to you all if I possibly can.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Zentangled Sunflower

Happy Tuesday Everyone and thank you for popping by.

My card today was made using a Woodware clear  stamp.

I used Promarkers to colour my image, two shades of yellow for the petals, two shades of green for the leaves and an orange for the centre.

I've not done a lot of zentangling although I do find it very relaxing and will do more.  I used a fine Micron pen.

After colouring the flower I did the doodling then coloured the black areas with a Promarker.

I rounded the corners and coloured the outside with yellow Distress ink.

The sentiment is from a Woodware 'retirement' set of stamps.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
Passion for Promarkers - Week 318
Crafting from the Heart #81

Another Butterfly

Hello Everyone!

First of all I'd like to give a warm welcome to my two new followers Kate and Lesley.  It would be really nice if you popped in to their blogs to see their lovely makes.

After making my previous butterfly card it occured to me that if I had done some embossing my card would have qualified for Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge.  So I made this card the following morning.

Although the colours are similar I used a different gelli plate print for the background. For this one I'd used some pearl acrylic paint.  I embossed the background with my Cuttlebug and rubbed some Black Soot distress ink over the raised areas.  It doesn't show as I then put on some mica powder which adhered to the wet Distress ink.

I used the same dies for the butterfly  and ovals.  The sentiment is another by Paula Pascal.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:-
The Butterfly Challenge where the theme this time is E for embossing
Crafting From The Heart #81

Happy Crafting to you all.

Forget Me Not

Hello Everyone and thank you for your visit.

I recently got out my gelli plate again and spent an afternoon pulling prints.  This is a card I made a couple of days ago.

The butterfly base was diecut from a piece of the same card as the background and the decorative top of the butterfly from a scrap of parchment.  Both are Memory Box dies.

I punched out the hearts and added some glossy accents to them and also the butterfly body.

The two ovals were diecut with Tonic layering dies from scraps of card.

The sentiment came with the Curly Sue stamp that I recently posted.   After I had stuck on the hearts my card looked slightly top heavy so I stamped the sentiment again at the bottom to give balance.

I'd like to enter this card into Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 198
and also The Allsorts Challenge - Week 332

A Friday Oldie

Hello and welcome to my little place in blogland.

Today I'm showing a card I made quite a few years ago now which unfortunately wasn't photographed very well.

I used an old wood mounted set which consisted of the two birds, a nest and an egg, which I used to stamp for the background.

I tore a piece of watercolour card from the block, cut off a strip and stamped the two birds in black then added a little watercolour pink to colour them.

For the strip on the left I used the "caught in crystal" technique which I've not used for a long time.

Inks were put onto some acetate then spritzed with water. Then I put glossy accents on top and sprinkled on a little glitter.  To finish I covered it all with tissue paper that had been screwed up then opened out and left it for a few hours to dry.

I added the dragonfly brad after colouring his body with a black permanent marker.

I'm going to link up on Erika's blog where she asks us to share an old card each Friday.

Have a lovely weekend.

Friday Smile - Week 140

Happy Friday to you again everyone.  Gosh how quickly they come round.

I'm linking up with Annie's A Stitch in Time blog for Friday Smiles.

This wasn't the photo I'd planned to show but when my hubby sent down this photo of this dear little chap I knew I had to post it.

A juvenile greenfinch who had been feasting on berries.  Look at the juice all over his beak and down his throat.  Isn't he adorable.

I've had a lovely week.  Yesterday a friend brought us a cake she'd made for us - just because!  Isn't that lovely.

 In the evening we went out for dinner with six friends.  We all lost children, many years ago now, and we meet regularly for a meal together.  We enjoy happy times together now.

I have a friend coming to craft this morning and tomorrow I'm off to a card making class with two other friends.

Have a lovely weekend Everyone!

Curly Sue

Good Morning and Happy Thursday everyone.

It's a beautiful sunny day here today.  My hubby has gone out to do some photography with a friend and I'm going to spend the day crafting.

On Saturday I went to Coleman's Craft Warehouse with friends to the Demo Day.

This is one of the stamps I bought.  It's by Woodware and called curly Sue.  Michelle Johnson used this stamp to make a card the same shape as this.  It's so quick and simple so ideal for filling up my monthly charity box.

As I'd been playing with my gelli plate last week I decided to use pieces of two gelli prints to make this card.

I stamped 'Curly Sue' with Archival black ink and painted the leaves with green acrylic paint.  Then I put on the glitter stickers (also by Woodware).


The base of the card is a two inch strip cut the length of an A4 sheet of another gelli print.  I backed it with black card to add strength to the base and stuck a piece of white card inside for writing a greeting on.

The card was so quick and easy to make and stands up beautifully.  It fits perfectly into a 6"x6" square envelope and I'll certainly be making more cards like this when I'm in a hurry.

Green is my favourite colour and so I would like to enter this card into the Creative Craft Cottage Challenge #49

I'm off to play now.  Have a lovely day!

"Lollipop, Lollipop oh ..."

Hello and thank you for popping in.

The weather has been awful here today but I've enjoyed an afternoon of crafting.

This card was made a couple of weeks ago.

I am on a mission to use stuff up and so the papers on this card have all been hanging around for some time and came free with magazines.

The image was already stamped and cut out but I coloured her to match the papers I'd used.

I punched out the flowers from scraps of paper and card and the swirls were die cut from scraps of white card.

  The strip of kraft card just had to be trimmed a little and the two birds were from my bits pot and filled a space nicely.  I added a little perfect pearls to the centres of the flowers and I added some glitter glue to her lollipop.

So now I'm just going to pop this over to Pixie's Snippets Playground before the gates close.

A Black Flower!

Hello and thank you for visiting me

First I'd like to give a warm welcome to Carole who has just joined me here.   She makes some lovely cards and has also done some silk painting.

The card I'm showing today started off as a piece of scrap on my desktop.  I'd got some distress ink left on my mat and spritzed with water and wiped it up with a piece of white card.  It looked quite pale and boring.  I rubbed some Black Soot distress ink through a mask but still didn't like it.

I put it to one side until I had a bit of a sort out when I decided to cut it in half to make a couple of DL cards.

I used Paper Artsy stamps for the stem and flower which I stamped with Black Archival straight onto the background.  Then I stamped the flower again onto some yellow paper, cut it out, separating the petals and stuck onto the card.  The centre is a circle of black card that I cut out, stuck on and then I added some white enamel dots.

I stamped a little grass in black at the bottom, inked round the edge with yellow then matted onto black card and added the three small brads in matching colours.  I used two sentiments for balance.

It was pretty quick to make and I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I'd like enter my card into the following challenges:-

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 197
Alphabet Challenge blog "Quick and Simple"