Birthday Girl!

GOOD MORNING! And it is a good morning too. I have just put our recycling out for collection and I am actually in time for the collection which makes a refreshing change! It is beautiful out there. I hope it's going to keep warming up.

Keep saying to hubby I could do with a conservatory on my side of the shop in this weather so I can sit and enjoy in between customers.

It was my daughter's birthday last month and I made this card for my son to give to her:

Image: Sophie from Digistamp Boutique

Coloured with Prismacolor pencils

Flowers on dress stamped with Versamark & embossed with clear powder

Papers: Nitwits Never Not Collection

Sentiment: Doodlebug rub ons

Number: Chipboard inked with VersaColor cubes 42 Lime & the 22 Fresh Green

on top to tone it down a bit

I am entering this card for Stamp Something April Digi Day Challenge.

Thanks for looking and hope the sun is shining with you today.

Sue x

My first Peacock card!

I have to confess that I bought this stamp AGES ago and this is the first time I have used it! In fact, while it was out I decided to stamp a few images in different colours so that I can start to prepare some other cards, so those may crop up shortly.

My friend's daughter had a birthday and I thought this would be perfect as she is in her early 20's.

The stamp is Hero Arts Peacock (CG184) stamped here in Barn Door Distress Ink.

Sentiment: Paula Pascual Personal Impressions set

Background: Hero Arts Fantastic Flourishes (CL106)

Thanks for looking and Happy Mother's Day to all you Mumsy's out there! Hope you all have the wonderful day that you deserve.

Sue x

Mother's Day Card

Gosh! I've posted for 2 days on the trot. It must be a miracle.
 I thought that I would share a Mother's Day card with you that I made for someone else.

I stamped Hero Arts Silhouette Flower (CG105) with Versamark onto white card & embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I brush painted the flowers with Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge & Peeled Paint distress inks.


The BP is a Basic Grey from the Green at Heart pad I think. The border punch used was Xcut Doily Dots.


Bought some Elzybells alphabet stamps from that famous auction site and they are great. Stamped Mum & cut out.


Just for You sentiment was a Forever Friends freebie from a magazine. Small flower stamp was from a Personal Impressions (Paula Pascual) sentiments set.

Added some ribbon and some gems to finish.


I am entering this card for two challenges:

Creative Inspirations - Mother's Day/Mum
Crafty Calendar Challenge - April Showers Bring Forth May Flowers


Thanks for looking.


Sue x

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Christmas in Spring

This week the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge is for a Christmas card so I thought I would enter this one (although the picture is not great!):

This has not previously been shown on my blog but it was made for my son last Christmas. The card was put together using the following:

Visible Image Chrismas words background stamp - embossed with clear powder

Background coloured over with Stormy Sky Distress Ink

Image: Francis from Digistamp Boutique

Coloured with Prismacolor pencils

Snowflakes punched with Tonic punch

Tiny Typed Alphas downloaded from Pink Petticoat

Thanks for looking.

Sue x





Happy Birthday Stan

Well today is another one of those special days, it's Stan's birthday and he's 5 today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY STAN!!!!!!!! Stan is my nephew. Now the problem here is that I made him an easel card but in my haste to get card and present in the post I omitted to take a photo of it. So, I am going to show you the one I made for my son. Stan's is very similar but obviously has a 5 on it instead of a 10!

The number templates I used are from Craftwork Cards. They are fab. Draw round them, cut out and Bob's your uncle. I used Bazzill swiss dots light blue card called Poolside. The navy blue card has been embossed with Cuttlebug Seeing Spots embossing folder.

My son has oodles of Star Wars and Clone Wars stickers so I pinched some and matted them onto the card.  The sentiment is from a Stampendous cling set called Happy Messages. The sentiment comes as one cling but I picked up a tip some time ago and I cut the Happy away from the Birthday so that I can use the two words separately - as in this case, then you aren't limited regarding use.

Thanks for looking and have a sooper day!

Sue x

Heart Fridge Magnets

What have I been up to? Well following the small canvases I spotted some paper mache hearts in Hobbycraft that had magnets attached.  They are quite a good size at 10.5cm high by 10.5cm wide but small enough to decorate quickly. Would be great for those who do craft fairs and the like and they are very light weight, so despite their size they sit nicely on the fridge door without moving.

I decided to alter them as I thought they would make great little gifts with Mother's Day coming up and here are 2 of them:

I painted them both with gesso first and left to dry. This one is painted with Peeled Paint Distress ink. The flowers are stamped from a Verve set called Petals & Stems in Barn Door distress ink. Stripes are a small Hero Arts wooden stamp. Coloured the lace with the Barn Door ink too and added some bling to finish!

I painted this one with Wild Honey distress ink. Stamped Hero Arts background cling stamp Heart Flourishes (CG169) in Peeled Paint distress ink and coloured in the hearts with a prisma pencil. Finished with organza bow.

Mine are quite rustic looking and not to everyone's taste but like the small canvases......the possibilities are endless and they are big enough to stamp a greeting on!

Thanks for looking.

Sue x

Mini Canvas Creations

Well, I decided to try something a bit different for a change. I had been reading my latest copy of Craft Stamper and as always, after seeing the articles my mind runs wild with ideas and the crafting possibilities I am yet to explore!

I had bought a couple of reasonably large canvases some time ago and made a mental note to buy some gesso and to have a bash at decorating them in some shape or form. Anyway, I popped into my local Papermill Shop and there was nothing much going on there so I nipped to The Works which is nearby.

I picked up a few items including some gesso:

and while I was at the checkout, I spotted these little beauties in a box on the counter for only 99p each so I grabbed some:

I thought I would have a go at decorating these first as they are only small, about 3 inches by 4 inches and they look great standing on their own little easels!

 
So, here is what I made:

(I painted all the canvases with gesso and left to dry first.)

Then used some Antique Linen followed by Wild Honey distress inks rubbed onto the canvas.

Stamped Hero Arts writing stamp on in Barn Door distress ink.

Hero Arts stripes in Brushed Corduroy and some small hearts from a Paula Pascual sentiment set in Barn Door too.

Hero Arts flourish is also in the background in Barn Door.

Stamped a heart from this set which I bought from a lovely Docrafts member called Suzanne - thanks Suzanne!

Added some Gold Stickles to the heart and added sentiments in Black Stazon.

Had bought some metallic rub ons from ebay (something else I have never tried) and rubbed some gold on my heart and in various places around the canvas.

Then decided to do this one:

This time I used Peeled Paint distress ink on canvas base.

Stamped a MSE Love stamp in Barn Door distress ink.

Added some little hearts in Peeled Paint and finished off with a red ribbon and some more metallic rub on.

Finally: 

Antique Linen and Wild Honey for the background again.

Hero Arts Thank You definition stamped in Brushed Corduroy to the left.

Penny Black Clique 3858E in Broken China distress ink to the right.

Added a contrasting ribbon.

Stamped a 'thank you' sentiment in Broken China onto a Wild Honey background piece of card and added a clear fragment which is sticky on one side and sticks to the image.

I cut round it and attached it to the ribbon with some glue dots. 

Finally added some self adhesive gems in Taupe from The Hobbyhouse.

I thoroughly enjoyed doing these and they don't take an age to do as they are so small. But they are lovely little gifts to give someone and the potential for different messages is endless!

Thanks for looking and have a wonderful day.

Sue x

Engaged.......at last

My poor neglected blog! I should have made it one of my New Year's resolutions to remember to post more often I think.

A lovely customer who comes into the shop came in and presented me with her wedding finger one morning to show me she is now engaged. She really is a pleasure to see and she got lots of big hugs from me. Couldn't resist making her a card after that fantastic news and here it is:

I wanted it to look bright and cheerful, just like this lady. (Have never met her other half as she doesn't live nearby but always pops in on her travels.)

I used a Bee Crafty download called 'Whimsical Girl the Kiss' which is so versatile for engagements, anniversary, valentines or birthdays. Have coloured it with my Prismacolor pencils.

The backing paper was a freebie from Simply Cards & Papercrafts magazine a little before Christmas.

Computer printed sentiment onto a Craftwork Cards card blank.

When I gave it to her she had a few tears as I think she was so overwhelmed and didn't expect to receive a handmade card from me! Awwwww how nice......nearly made me cry too. Honestly, us women we are so soft aren't we!

Have a lovely day wherever you are.

Sue x

Warmest Wishes

I'm not usually one for adding posts at this unearthly hour of the night but I kept forgetting to take a photo and then once I had taken the photo forgot to download it. The morning will be the usual rush around for school and I knew I must get this done before bedtime or it will be too late for the challenge at this rate and I really do enjoy this one when I get time to join in.

My card is for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where you must stamp onto anything but white card. I am somewhat behind with the Christmas cards and decided to use my Fantasy stamp to make another Christmas card.  I used some kraft type card that I bought from the Papermill Shop a little while ago and thought I would use red and green shades as these are usual Christmassy colours.

Started off using my Hero Arts Old Letter Writing stamp and stamped it in Peeled Paint Distress ink in 3 places. Then stamped the Fantasy image in Barn Door distress ink.

Also used the Barn Door ink to give the edges around the card a distressed look.
 Used some bright red ribbon and added some snowflakes punched out from the kraft card with one of my Tonic punches and coloured with the Peeled Paint ink again.

Added loads of red self adhesive gems to finish and stamped a Hero Arts greeting from my Holiday Sayings set.

The card has a true vintage look and feel and I was really pleased at how well the colours go together. Phew! Another one done.

Thanks for looking.

Sue x

Baubles & Snowflakes

Well, all is calm on the kiddie front so I may actually get chance to finish this post before we have some lunch and then I'll try and persuade the kids to do a bit of homework.

Bought my daughter a new pair of boots yesterday and she cannot wait to get to school tomorrow to show everyone. She's so chuffed with them they were on as soon as she got out of bed this morning and she came in to me in nightie with new handbag across shoulder and boots on. She's been trotting round in them ever since!

My son bought himself a new XBox game yesterday so I can hear distant grunts and complaining (when he's losing) but apart from that he seems quite happy with his purchase too.

Now then, I have made a Christmas card which was inspired by Jillian Foster's card here.

The baubles, snowflake stamps and sentiments are all from the Hero Arts stamp set Magic of Christmas (CL462).

The baubles, snowflakes and outer edge of the card were all inked with Tim Holtz distress inks in various colours: Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain and Antique Linen.

I cut the bauble stamps out 4 times and pieced the centres after inking them. The baubles were highlighted on the stripes with some Prismacolor pencils in co-ordinating colours.

Finished off with some co-ordinating self adhesive gems and some lovely brown ribbon.

I have decided to go potty this week and enter this card for several challenges:

Creative Inspirations - anything Christmas or winter related

A Spoon Full of Sugar - distressing

The Stamp Man - Tim Holtz

2 Sisters - snowflakes

Crafty Calendar - Winter Snowflakes

Thanks for looking and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sue x

Christmassy Tree

Morning and welcome. I am pleased to say that you can now see the white bits on our dog Tyson again. We decided in a moment of madness to give him a bath on Sunday and I was actually very surprised. He stood perfectly still in the bath while my daughter stroked his head. He was then quite happy to be wrapped in my son's old Batman towel, complete with hood. To top it all, he laid down on his blanket in the lounge while we blow dried him! That was a relief as it's not the height of summer and he could have been wet for a long time. Our last dog Buster, would have run the minute we even tried to coax him into the bathroom and would certainly not have entertained my hairdryer!

I have managed another card - shock horror. I am entering this for 2 challenges: Penny Black Saturday Challenge where the theme is 'Let It Snow' and Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge which is 'It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas' .

Background stamped with snowflakes from Hero Arts sets Magic of Christmas CL462 and

Sending Holiday Cheer CL464

Colours used are Versacolor cubes Amethyst, Lavender and Atlantic Blue

Main image: Penny Black Fantasy stamped with Versamark and embossed in white

Self adhesive pearls in co-ordinating colours from The Hobby House

Sentiment: Hero Arts Holiday Sayings CL343

 

Sorry the pictures are a bit dark, I was struggling to get some decent light with this lovely weather we're having!

Thanks for looking. Sue x

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Zigzags or Triangles

Good morning. Have just polished off my Rice Krispies and now finishing my cup of tea before I start the mad rush to get the kids ready and out of the door for school. Incredibly my daughter has eaten all of her breakfast this morning without me having to nag her to put her dolls down and concentrate on the matter in hand!

It has been soooo long since I managed to get my act together to do a Penny Black Saturday Challenge and I'm glad to be entering this week. I had already started this card and added the zigzag ribbon so now it fits the bill.

I have used the sledging image from the Christmas Critters clear stamp set and created my first little 'scene' on a card. There was a bit of fiddling about to do the hills and get the trees on but I was quite pleased with my first attempt.  I put some Bazzill Basics swiss dot paper in blue call Poolside for the sky. The sentiment is Hero Arts from the Holiday Sayings set of Christmas clear stamps.

I added white glitter for the snow on the hills and under the sledge and Stickles Frosted Lace to the trees and bobble hats for a bit of an icy look. The trees are from the Hero Arts set Sending Cheer and are stamped with Versacolor cube Olive.

The hedgehogs are coloured with Prismacolor pencils.

Thanks alot for looking and have a fab day.

Sue x

Spooky Witches on Your 6th Birthday!

It's the 1st of November and it's my niece's 6th birthday today so HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISOBEL! We hope you have had a lovely birthday and received lots of wonderful presents. We bought a pink ZhuZhu hamster and some accessories and were thrilled to hear that Isobel took them to school with her today. After seeing the pink hamster and the various bits and pieces that you can buy to go with these marvellous creatures, my daughter has now taken an interest in them too.  I think this may just be added to the never ending list of items that we are hoping to receive from Santa!


Of course I made a card for Isobel and as Halloween was only yesterday, I went for a card on that theme. I thought it would be a bit different for a birthday card at this time of year.

It was an easel card and the images used for the witch and the bats were digital downloads from Pink Cat Studio - Lily Witch and Halloween Value Pack. 

The backing papers were another download from Polka Doodles called Polly Witchydoodles.

The sentiment was computer generated using the Matisse ITC font.

The image and bats were coloured using Prismacolor pencils. I added some glossy accents to the bats' eyes so that they looked effective.

Thanks for looking!

I have actually managed to make a card for this week's Penny Black challenge so I'll try and get that posted tomorrow.

Sue x

Oh Well, Fluffy Bunny It Is!

It was recently my brother-in-law's birthday and he is a keen cyclist. I tried to find a picture of a road cyclist and even put out pleas for help on the Docrafts forum. I had some wonderful offers back but nothing I felt would be spot on. Found some images on searching the internet but they were photo images and I am a keen stamper and like to colour the images myself. 

After a lot of umming and ahhing I decided to opt for something else, wait for it..........a fluffy bunny. Can you believe it? What came over me? What grown man wants a fluffy bunny on his birthday card for goodness sake. By the time I had been searching for an image his birthday was looming so I had to make a quick decision or there would be no card at all. (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).

Here is the finished article:

The image is a download from Bee Crafty Downloads, coloured with Prismacolor pencils.

Sentiment is from a Stampendous set called Petals Plus.

Added a button threaded with some natural jute.

I know that he liked the present as it was something he actually asked for so at least that went better.

I have to say I am very excited as I have made a card for my niece for her birthday and it is a bit different. Can't share it on here yet as my sister is a follower and may get an early peep. Shall post it once the birthday has gone.

Thanks for looking.

Sue x



Yummy Cupcake 2

Well, after I stamped several images of my cupcake the other day when I made the card for a friend, I thought I should make good use of them!

For this one I used the same sentiment but with an added ribbon and some different backing paper.

 

Card blank: Craftwork Cards

Image: Hero Arts Giant Cupcake

Coloured with Prismacolor pencils

Backing Paper: NitWits Never Not freebie from Simply Cards & Papercraft issue 73

Bazzill Basics Pirouette swiss dot card

Sentiment: Pink Petticoat Tiny Alphas

Pink knotted ribbon

Diamond Stickles

Thanks for looking.

Sue x

How Old!

I have suddenly become as busy as a bee! With Dad's birthday on Tuesday I had another card to make this weekend....and here it is!

For Father's Day I used one of Di's Digi Downloads for Dad and I went back and bought this one for his birthday. It's called Gardening Pop.

I really enjoyed colouring the image and was really chuffed with it!

I have been rather cheeky and put 'How Old!' as Dad is 81 this year.  Although it is a male card I wanted to make it bright and cheerful as although Dad is in his eighties I am sure he doesn't feel it!

Background: Hero Arts Branch Background

Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Broken China, Wild Honey, Barn Door, Peeled Paint

Edges touched round with Wild Honey

Picture: Gardening Pop - Di's Digi Downloads

Coloured with Prismacolor Pencils

Woodware chipboard letters coloured with Distress Inks above

Button and twine from stash

Thanks for looking!

Sue x

Yummy Cupcake

Hi there. Totally dreadful weather here today. To say it's blowing a gale is to put it mildly! Only plus point is that the rain has stopped temporarily.

I have been so wrapped up in kids doings and shop stuff that I have had little time for ages to make any cards. However I managed to finish one today for a friend's birthday! I bought the Hero Arts cupcake cling stamp absolutely ages ago and although my kids have used it, this is the first time for me.

I have found that I am becoming a regular purchaser of Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine just lately. Well, what actually happens is I buy a copy and then every time I go to Tescos or the like I am looking for the next issue, even in the knowledge I have only just bought the previous one! I am not saying that I am becoming obssessed with card making but hubby will no doubt disagree. I tell you what though, it comes to something when you go out somewhere and hubby starts poining out possible card making materials that might interest me!

Anyway, the backing paper was a freebie from issue 73. The collection is called Never Not from NitWits. The paper was layered onto Bazzill Basics swiss dot Pirouette paper which is a lovely pink.  

The image is coloured with Prismacolor pencils to match in with the paper and some Diamond Stickles were added to make it all sparkly and girly. The sentiment is made up of Tiny Alphas from a Pink Petticoat download.

 

The card blank was from Craftwork Cards.
 

A side view to finish showing the 3D effects!

Thanks for looking! Have a great weekend all.

Sue x

Row of Trees

Morning! Looks like it's going to be another lovely day with the sun shining and not a cloud in sight here in Lincolnshire.

I thought I'd share one of the teacher's 'thank you' cards with you. I bought a set of Hampton Art clear stamps recently called Tree (SC0183). The teacher is quite young (compared to me anyway!) and I wanted something clean and contemporary looking.

Stamps: Hampton Art 'Tree' clear stamp set (SC0183)

Ink: Versacolor cubes in Cinnamon, Bamboo and Cocoa

Card Blank: Craftwork Cards

Brown card: Piece of recycled card from the back of a pad in the shop!

Button and Twine from stash

Woodware corner rounder used for some cornersSentiment: Stampendous Perfectly Clear stamp set called Petal Plus

Thanks for looking and have a lovely weekend.

Sue x

Have a Great Time in Australia

It was a happy yet sad day yesterday. It was the last day of the school year and both my kids move up to a new class in the Autumn.

Thank you cards were made for the teachers and regrettably my daughter's teacher is actually leaving to go travelling in Australia.  She has been absolutely fantastic and we couldn't have wished for a better teacher for our daughter's first year at school. We bought her some pressies and wished her lots of happiness and I made her this leaving card:

I downloaded the Summer Time Sandals digi stamp from Whimsy Stamps (a Meljen Designs stamp).

Sentiment: Computer printed before decorating card

Background: Verve Stamps - Petals & Stems clear stamps coloured with Versacolor cubes in Magenta and Lime

Scalloped card: Craftwork Cards

Sandals: Coloured with Prismacolor pencils

Finishing touches: Diamond Stickles and some clear gems


I masked out the surrounding detail on the stamp so I only got the flip flops for my card as I wanted to do my own floral background. Although she was leaving, I wanted the card to be bright and cheerful so I focused on the positive side of her leaving rather than going for a 'sorry you're leaving' style doom and gloom card!

I notice that the theme for the Bee Crafty Downloads Blog this fortnight is 'At The Beach' so I thought I would enter this card.

Thanks for looking!

Sue x

Fun at the Summer Fair

It was our village Summer Fair on 11 July and I have been meaning to put this post on since.

This year there were various competitions for various age groups and I encouraged my kids to join in. I thought it would be great if they won something although the taking part is great fun. They both created a 'scene in a box'. My 5 year old daughter is Polly Pocket mad and decided to opt for a beach scene. She made the flag and umbrella and added her own glitter effects to them! We made a little rock pool and she added some Polly Pocket chairs and a picnic box.

My lad is 9 and he went for a winter scene. He decided to use my Penny Black Fantasy tree stamp for the background and added some diamond Stickles for added icy effect! The snowmen were cotton wool and stick on gems.

I was 'challenged' by one of the Mum's at the school to enter the knitting category. A 'small knitted item' was the requirement. I haven't knitted for 15 years but I thought this would be a bit of good fun. I haven't got any of my knitting patterns so I scoured the internet. I have never been good at knitting clothing so I thought I would try and find a small toy or something like that and I remembered I had used Jean Greenhowe's patterns in the dim and distant past. Well! What a treat, I found a free pattern of hers on the internet for some small cakes. You can find it here.

I'd left it all a bit til the last minute but bought my wool etc on the Friday and by Sunday morning I had knitted a small selection of icing topped biscuits and cakes, plus one piece of shortbread that my son asked me to do.

We took all the entries down to the village hall on the Sunday morning as they were all being judged before the start at 2pm.

Well we went down about 2.30pm and boy were we chuffed! My daughter had won 3rd place, my lad had won 2nd place and I had won 1st!. We all had a rosette each and we had a good chuckle as my prize money was £1.50! Not to be sniffed at though. 

We bought some lovely scones and cookies while we were there and had a go on all the other stalls.

There is an Autumn Fair too, so we'll have to see what competition categories come up next time!

Thanks for looking.

Sue x