An 'Oldie' Pear

Good Morning on a very wet day here in the east Midlands.

My card today was made quite a few years ago using a red rubber cling stamp which was stamped onto white card and then coloured in with Promarkers.  I stamped again and coloured one pear which was fussy cut, shaped and added with silicone glue for dimension.

I rubbed distress ink around the edge and stamped off a little on the background too.

The sentiment is by Paula Pascal and stamped onto a scrap of card which had been coloured with tea then I diecut with a small Marianne die.

I didn't realise when I made this how ragged the black matt was... oops!

As it's Friday I'm joining in with Erika on her Snappy Crafts blog where she invites us to share any craft  project from way back.  It doesn't have to be a card.   Link up with Erika and she'll visit you too.

I hope you all have a good day and enjoy your weekend, whatever your plans.

Happy Scrapping!

Good Morning and thank you for your visit today.

I've recently been having a play with Brushos again and the results I get really are very mixed!

Anyway I had two small pieces lying in a pile of scaps on my desk and yesterday afternoon  decided to use them up.

I rounded the corners and black embossed the flower stems then using the same Paper Artsy set stamped and layered up the flower heads.

The black pieces were also scraps which I embossed and the sentiment is from an Inky Doodles set.

After sticking all the pieces to the white cards I realised I'd got a smudge of red ink on the bottom of one card.   After just a few expletives and not to be beaten I rounded the corners of the card and added a blush of red around the edge to cover up the smudge.

It's our monthly craft club this evening so I look forward to seeing what we'll be making.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

A Male Snippet!

I came back from a short break on Thursday so yesterday  after getting the washing finished  managed a bit of crafty time in the afternoon.

Some time ago Wendy got us making cards for men at our monthly club using images cut from magazines.

Yesterday I made a few Christmas cards plus this card using snippets of card and paper and an image cut from a magazine.

The border is a scrap of silver miri card embossed in my Cuttlebug, rubbed with a sanding block then rubbed over with a black stazon ink pad.

I'm taking it over to join in with the playmates at Pixies Snippets Playground - Week 246

A Late - Oldie on Friday

I'm a bit late but just managed to sort out an Oldie for Friday.

 I wanted to join in with Erika on her Snappy Crafts blog where she invites us to share a craft item of any sort which was made some time ago.

I have often thought of having a go at a journal page but still never taken the plunge but I did make this card a couple of years ago with journaling in mind ...

I used a piece of card that had been used to wipe up paint from my mat.  I painted the hearts and leaves but only added a little shading to the vase as I liked the mottled effect.

I scribbled round the sentiment with a gold gel pen and doodled quickly round the edge.

I've no idea what the stamp is but it's not been used since.

Smiles this Week

Good Morning Smilers!

 We arrived home yesterday afternoon after a lovely holiday in Dorset spent with friends.  The last of the washing is now blowing away on the line.

Having watched every series of the Monkey World programmes on the television and feeling we almost knew both the animals and keepers I was keen to visit the rescue centre.  So that was the reason for our holiday which was booked a few weeks ago.

Our friends Pat and Allan  drove from Essex and we met up at the lovely B&B we had chosen.

When it was time to come home we all agreed we'd had liked another couple of days.  The weather was great and Dorset is a beautiful part of the country which I'd not visited since childhood.

The photo of the ring tailed lemur was taken at Monkey World and the second photo is me feeding swans at the Swannery on Tuesday.

I didn't worry about my diet and enjoyed some delicious meals, several big glasses of red wine and an ice cream each day.  I've put 4lbs back on but am now back on track and sure that will soon be off

I'm linking up with Annie on her Stitch in Time blog where she invites us to share our Smiles of the Week every Friday.

Have a lovely Weekend Everybody!

Howdy!

Good Evening and thank you for calling in.

I went to a dabble day the weekend before last where we made a card very similar to this one and I have used techniques we did on the day.

The stamps are a Woodware set which includes another shorter boot.  I'm planning on making some girly cards as I think they'd work well for line dancers.

The background is scored and rubbed over with distress inks.  The hat and boots were stamped and  embossed in black onto brown paper which had been screwed up and stuck onto pieces of card.

The birthday sentiment is from a Paula Pascal set.

I'd like to enter my card into the
Crazy Catz Challenge # 335 (anything goes / optional twist - hats)

Rudolph Day Robin

Good Morning and thank you for visiting my blog today.

I haven't joined in with Mo's Rudolph Day Challenge for a while as life just seemed to take over so happy to be joining in today with a card I made recently.

I used the wreath from one little set and all the other dies from another.  I recently lent them to a friend so sorry I'm not sure of the make at the moment.

This was my first card playing with the dies and I wish I'd added a few more holly leaves and berries.  I just wanted to try all the dies out.

 I added a little stickles to the pine cones.  The matt is a go dark gold shimmery paper although it looks brown in the photo.

A quick update on my weight loss.  I'm very excited to say I have lost my first stone (14 lbs ) to those outside the UK.

It's been a slow journey but this time I mean to keep it off.  At my age I've not got time to play around - except for my crafting that is!   Just 16lbs more to lose and I'll keep you updated.  Sharing with you all helps me to stay on track ....

Happy Crafting Everybody!

Feeling Positive about the Negative!

 Hello and thank you for visiting.

Although I bought this Bunny  die to make  baby cards I've not made one yet but been having fun playing with it anyway.

I made the first card and then decided to make a second with the waste by just mounting the butterfly paper on to black card.  I decided not to faux stitch this time but I did add the cotton wool tail.

Two very quick cards to boost my charity box.

Both papers came free with a magazine ages ago.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

My New Bunny!

Hello and thank you for hopping by for a visit.

This is my new Sizzix BigZ die which arrived yesterday.

I was cardmaking up the garden in my cabin and got a phone call from hubby to say it had just been delivered.

So I popped down to the house and went straight back and made this card.  I cut it out with a scrap of white card and a snippet of paper which came free with a magazine a long time ago.  Then I cut off his tail on the paper to reveal a white tail and stuck them together.

I added the small flower stickers as part of my "using up" project although after sticking on the first decided I didn't like it.  When I tried to remove it  the paper underneath tore so I had to add a few more.  I think I may add a piece of cotton wool to his tail.

I would like to enter my card into Darnell's NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) #7 Challenge and
Pixies Snippets Playground - Week 244

Old as the hills!

Morning All!

I really can't remember when this one was made but it was a long long time ago.

The panel is cut from a shop bought card and the stamps are by the stamp man.  I love this set and can't wait for Oriental to become popular again as I have so many oriental stamps hidden away.

I'm running late again so hope I'm not to late to link up with Erika on her Snappy Crafts blog where she invites us to show an oldie on FRIDAY!

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend if you are in the UK and just enjoy wherever you are.

Smiles on Friday

 Good Morning Smilers!

It's been a crafty week for me.  On Sunday I went to a workshop with friends then yesterday morning six of us went along to learn to make triple easel cards with Wendy Stenton who lives in the village.

Many of you may remember Wendy from Create and Craft.  She put out boxes of die cuts, embellishments and snippets of pretty papers.

We all made two cards and had a lot of fun using up bits and pieces.  Wendy has another class of six today but we left lots for them to play with too.

Here's a small selection of the cards that we made.


  I said I'd tell you about the hiccup we had at the wedding.  We can laugh at it now although it wasn't funny at the time.  When we unzipped the bags that our clothes were in there were no trousers on hubby's hanger.  After a bit of a panic we ran literally from the hotel room across the road and a huge car park where we managed to get a pair of dark trousers to fit from the local Asda supermarker.  One last check when we got back to the room and there were the suit trousers at the bottom of the bag.  They'd slipped off the hanger.

I had said I'd wear my jeans in solidarity with hubby as it was me who'd done the packing gulp!  Thankfully it didn't come to that but I think he'll have to pack his own next time !!!

I'm linking up with Annie on her Stitch in Time blog for This Week's Smiles  ...Week 184

Have a lovely Weekend Everybody.

Vase and Butterflies

Since my blog break I've been busy catching up with visits.

 Life seems to be rather hectic at the moment and I've had to cut down on time spent posting and entering challenges but I've just managed to get this card finished for Mrs. A's Butterfly Challenge #60
V is for Vase/Vanilla.

During my recent craft sort out I found some card's with cut outs for iris folding and this one just fitted the job.

I didn't have a pattern for the iris folding but think it works quite well.  After finishing the card something seemed to be missing so I punched out a couple of flowers and stuck them onto the vase - job done.

As I used a small amount of my paper strips for the vase and butterflies and scraps of white card for the flower I would also like to join in with the playmates at Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 243

Smiles on Friday

Hello and let me introduce Myrtle the baby Schnauzer.

Wouldn't her sweet little face make you smile any day of the week.  We're really looking forward to meeting her.

She is the new little addition to the family of our friends and I made a hello card to welcome her as soon as I knew she'd arrived in her new home.

Life has been taking over a bit recently and I've not joined in for a few weeks with Annie so I'm happy to be back with the girls sharing  Friday Smiles - Week 183.

We went off to Norwich last Friday for a few days to attend a wedding on the Saturday.  It was a wonderful day although we did have a small hiccup but I'll tell you about that next time.


Whatever you have planned for the weekend I hope you enjoy yourselves.

Little Myrtle

Hello and thank you for your visit.

We got home on Sunday evening after a lovely few days away spent with family and friends.  The wedding was lovely and the bride looked beautiful.

We did have one little hiccup which  could have been a disaster but I'll tell you about that in a later post.

I got an email last evening to say our friends have now picked up their new puppy, Myrtle.  So I made this card for them this morning and have just popped it in the post.

The sentiment is a Clearly Besotted die, the stamp is by DeNami and I used my new Spellbinders die set for the first time.

I used lots of snippets of card and my last piece of this grosgrain ribbon so am off to join in with the girls at Snippets Playground - Week 242

As I've been away for a few days I'm afraid I'm playing catch-up again with comments but will get round to visit you all over the next few days.

Wedding Card

Hello and Welcome

This is a very quick post as we're off to Norwich shortly for a family wedding which is tomorrow.

Life has been so hectic since my recent blog break so I'd like to apologise to those I may not have visited much since my return.  I will get there.

I have enjoyed joining in with Erika at her Snappy Crafts blog each Friday with an oldie although I've been absent for a few weeks now.

So -  I hope this might just qualify as an oldie.  It's the card we sent to the happy couple earlier this week..  A very different type of card from my normal style.

It was made about 18 months ago at a Loobi Crafts workshop and I have been hanging on to it since Sophie and Gary got engaged.

I used the de-bossed side of the embossing folder and carefully wiped Erika's favourite sparkle paste over it which fills in the indentations.  It is a technique used by Sue Wilson.  I also used Sue's dies for this card.  The sentiment may seem a bit strange for a wedding card but I thought it really appropriate for the couple it was sent to.

Have a lovely weekend everyone.  It sounds as if we're in for a lovely few days in most of the UK.

Folded hedgehog

Evening all,

I've just got back from our monthly craft club and this is what Wendy taught us to make tonight.

I'm sure lots of you have seen these book folded creatures before and I was really looking forward to learning how to do it.

We all really enjoyed the evening.  She is made from 200 folded pages and took me all the evening to make.  I have half a book left so am going to make another for a friend.

Happy Crafting Everyone!

Very Pink

Good afternoon and thank you for visiting.

I've finally finished my tidy up and it's lovely to be able to work with space around on my worktop. How silly of me to think that everything would be straightforward.

I've only made a few cards but can you believe I've managed to lose my clouds die on my first attempt.  It's disappeared into space - literally and is only the second die I have ever lost.  The first was a bee several years ago.

 Anyway the positive news is I have now lost 11lbs and finding my joints are far less painful and I'm sleeping much better.

Well my card for today was made with Mrs. A's Butterfly challenge P for Punches/Pink in mind.  It's very pink, I think you will agree and I used punches for all butterflies and the sentiment too.

As I used snippets for the banners, literally finishing up some scraps, my card also qualifies for the challenge at Pixies Snippets Playground - Week 240

Oldie for Friday

Hello and Welcome.

It really doesn't seem like a Friday as we were away visiting friends for a few days and I seem to have missed out a day somewhere.

Anyway - It's Friday so I'm linking up with Erika on her Snappy Crafts blog when she invites us to show an old craft item each week.  It doesn't have to be a card.

Leave a comment for Erika and she'll visit you too.

My card today was made probably five years ago.  I used Distress inks through a piece of sequin waste.

The bees are a Judikins mounted stamp and both sentiments are from a Hobby Arts set.

Have a lovely weekend whatever you're doing.

Happy Birthday 'Cupcake'

Good Morning Everybody!

First I would like to say a big Thank You to everyone who left such lovely and encouraging comments welcoming me back.

We've just arrived home after a lovely few days away with friends in Essex which included a 40th Birthday BBQ party.  I managed to keep my eating and drinking to a sensible level so fingers crossed that I get good results from my fasting blood test tomorrow morning.

I've spent the past three weeks sorting out my craft cabin and have now reached the pointy end!

I found this basic card which was cut out several years ago using a Wendy Stenton stencil so decided to finish it off using various bits and pieces that I wanted to use up.

I used a background  scrap stamped with the Hero Arts envelope stamp and pieces of white card for the cake frosting and candle which is a stamp by Wendy too.

The paper on the base of the cupcake is an old snippet of  Papermania paper and the peeloff sentiment and embellishments came to light during my sort- out.

I'm taking this over to play with the girls in Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 239 

I'm Back with a snippet!

Hello Everyone!  It's good to be back in blogland.

First I'd like to say a great big Thank You to all those who left comments and sent emails.  It's good to be missed - but seriously I do very much appreciate your kind words.

My break was longer than intended due to all the things that have been happening over the past few weeks.

I feel I need to get more balance in my life and as I have a milestone birthday coming up later this year now seems to be the time to do it..

As many may know I quit smoking a couple of years ago and since then have put on over 2 stone in weight which isn't good for arthritic joints.

Since being away I've lost 8lbs in weight and now manage 6 mins a day on the cross trainer.  Would you believe it took me four goes to do one minute when I began.  I'm hoping that sharing this with you all will keep me on track and I'll keep you posted on the weight loss.

I've only managed to make a handful of cards during my absence so today's card is one I made several months ago which was never blogged.

I stamped and stencilled on a scrap of gelli plate print then added the flower which was a scrap of white card.  The flower is from a Paper Artsy set and the bee is a Judikins stamp.  I used a button from my stash and added white lines on the stem and leaf with a gel pen.

I 'm off to join in at Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 238 with my card

I hope to get round to visit and see what you've been up to while I've been away and although it may take a little time I'm sure you'll be patient with me.  Barbxx