Oldie for Friday

Hello Everyone
Yes I know it's Saturday! I don't post on Fridays as I can usually be too busy with work, housework etc  
I have visited Erika's blog a few times and love it. See here  I thought I'd try and play along on Saturdays. I made this card for a very good friend last year (I have got older stuff but this is the first one I found in my vault of folders I thought warranted a place). I have since been asked to make a few more similar ones for other friends. My "thang" is to make personalised cards and never make the same card twice - I "tweak" them, for example change the colours, use a slightly different background, the wording etc

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

Serif digikit (one of the butterfly or aviary collection with extra butterflies "stamped onto one of the backgrounds)

Spellbinder Les Papillon and Lacy Accents border

Lidll card stock

Talking of Lidll I wasn't able to get any of the card and kits on Thursday! I just hope there is some left on Monday afternoon. I have a GP appointment after work and won't be able to get there until about 4pm. The only good thing (I suppose) is that it is all advertised under the children's section...

Have a great week end. Nothing much planned for me. Husband is working, then he's going to watch the FA cup with friends from his workplace So the TV remote is all mine and I'll be able to craft to my hearts content...knitting, colouring in, card making, scrap booking, crochet... Yay!

Might do a bit of Salsa dancing tomorrow afternoon. 

See you Tuesday

Take care

xx

Card for work!

 Hello Everyone
Thank you for popping by
I may have mentioned before that I started card making when I had to give up my first passion knitting for a while. I was the "mug" that used to buy a card for a team member that everyone used to sign - you know the drill. I was never reimbursed for these and there's 17 of us in the team. A colleague showed me her card makes and I thought I can do that! My very first purchase was a cd rom and now my "stuff" fills a room

Today's card is for the IT manager My "thang" is to make personalised cards. I was lucky enough to win a project disc made by Michelle Jackson-Mogford. It included this layout which I have "pulled" to bits. I found a free font called Juko Typewriter for the sentiment. I just thought it was apt for his job role (and he's a similar age to me and knows how back in the day we had to use typewriters!) 

Ingredients

8x8 card blank

Project disc with serif digikit images

Lidll grey and blue card stock

SW Gemini die - Lyra

Distress ink - Shabby Shutters

I'm off to Liddl now to see whether or not their offer for card/paper/craft packs have arrived. I may need to pop back on the 1st June!

A few firsts and meeting Maria

Hello Everyone

I hope that you all had a lovely long week end. It was a shame that the weather was not as bright and warm as they forecast!

On Saturday I met a lovely lady named Maria that visits www.cotswoldcrafter.blogspot.co.uk I think most of you know it but if you haven't visited, it is well worth it. It's one of the friendliest places I know. You will be made most welcome. We chatted and chatted and chatted. It felt as if we'd known each other for years but was the first time we'd seen each other. I did have an inkling who I was looking for because I'd seen a photo on the afore mentioned blog. But as I said on the blog it did feel a bit like of a blind date

Thank you to Margaret corgiowner, Erika and Littlelamb for joining in the dance I value everything you say

Margaret - my email is karenlotty@aol.com. I don't visit it often but I will look out for you

Today's card was inspired by this post by debsartliff See here 

It includes a few firsts for me a) sparkly sparkly b) texture paste through a mask and c) using an embellishment in the centre of my bow

I was asked to make a card for a friend. she said that the lady it was for had very poor eyesight, so I wanted to include textures, but still be able to put it into an envelope and not need a box. 

Now I've seen a photograph I think next time I will sit the "labels" slightly higher. Funny how a photo can change how we view things

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

C&C super smooth white card and paper

Liddl lilac card

CE Phill Martin Chic Viola texture sparkle past

serif flowery background - can't remember name of digikit, coloured lilac to match font

SW 3D Bow

Spellbinders Lacy Accent border die

Spellbinders Deckle Edge dies

The Works resin flower (Love 'em!)

Couldn't leave this post without the obligatory photo of our "blind date!"

Take care everyone, see you Thursday

Meeting Maria today

Hello Everyone

I have a lovely long week end to enjoy. I hope you have too. Husband is working today and Monday which means I have control of the tele remote and I can craft, craft, craft!

I'm meeting Maria Alder today. it feels like a bit of a blind date but hopefully, as we've seen photos of each other, we'll find each other. I'm so excited

Today's card is another "go to" 

Ingredients

4x6 deckle card blank

SW Creative Expressions open Daisy dies

SW Creative Expressions 3D bow

Mei Flower bling

Lidll card stock But sometimes I have printed off a square of colour in Serif to match the text I have used

This is my "make" from the C&C Members gift. I've used a TL die (1/2 price at Christmas) to frame it. I inked the edges and matted it onto black. I was so taken with the kit that I tried to order a 2nd kit but it was sold out. I liked the mixture of Candi It appears that most packs of Candi are usually a similar colour

Have a great week end everyone. Thank you for your comments

See you Tuesday

xx

Lyra...Simple but so stunning

Hello All

Thank you for popping in I say it time and time again but I am so grateful that you take the time to visit. I am in awe of all of your talent

Mrs Duck - I know exactly what you mean by husbands being a different type of artist. My husband practices that one a lot!

Jackie Durrant - I had a similar problem with a SW embossing folder. Fortunately my GC did not make an awful noise but it was mighty hard trying to get it through the machine. I mentioned this to Sue and she suggested substituting the pink plate for the base plate (+ raspberry plate)

Today's card is a "go to" card that I have a couple on stand by. My husband has a habit of asking if I have a card he can use at about 11pm - needed for the following day. At least that gives me enough time to add a personalised sentiment!

Not quite an Izzy bag!

Ingredients

Cream and brown card - Liddl

SW Gemini die - Lyra

Here is a photo of some of the very simple cards my MIL has made using Craftworks Candi. It was the members gift on C&C. She loves it. I'd bought her a Hunky Dory kit in the past but found it a bit fiddly for 90 years young in that it was the create a pop up flower kit. It involved a lot of folding and glue-ing

Becca Feakin

Hello Everyone 

Thank you for popping by. I am grateful that you drop in and I do value your feedback.

Thank you for your lovely comments on my previous post.

Mrs Duck and Michele I have a slight confession to make! The formula I used was for beer and just substituted Guinness. My husband is no Alchemist (there must be a joke somewhere there Ang!) and so he didn't notice that it wasn't specifically for Guinness. I'm sure you can substitute Carlsberg, probably the best lager in the world.

Thank you Margaret corgi owner for the blog address.

GailT Oooh! I'm sorry it sounded complcated but it was literally manipulating a couple of rectangles in Serif 

I had a fabulous time in Beverley and would certainly recommend the place we stayed at. Trip Advisor will get some feed back. Not sure if I can advertise the place on here. We had fun in Scarborough where we all behaved like kids and played the machines in the 2p Arcade - that took us back a bit! Some great meals out and some chill time. I've got a new addiction. Instead of taking a puzzle book I bought a colouring in book for adults. I did ask for an adult colouring in book in a certain retail chain We both laughed at the picture we had in our heads at my description. She said they were becoming really popular. I took my daughter's old colouring pencils (they're at least 20 years old) and had a whale of a time! What was great was they are single sided and therefore can be coloured with your alcohol markers

Today's card is an old favourite of mine and have been asked for it in several colour combinations and with more flowers on the left hand edge. Simple and easy

Ingredients

Cream card blank

Cream and maroon card PMD and Llidl

Becca Feakin Filigree Delights die set

Bitty Blossoms die set

Gold bling from Mei Flowers

Have a great couple of days and take care. For those feeling unwell or in  pain I hope things improve. See you Thursday xx

Happy Birthday Husband

Hello Everyone

Thank you for popping by. I do appreciate you visiting and I value everyone's feedback because you are all such talented folk. I may be off the radar this weekend and hope this scheduled post works.

Today's cards are my husband's birthday card and my SIL's whose birthday is tomorrow.
His favourite tipple is Guinness I created this all on serif - no digikit by creating the glass from a rectangle that I "squished" and duplicated colouring one white and one black. I cropped the black one to become the "drink" and the white to become the "foam". I turned it to "glass. I added the "bubbles" and "stamped" them. Next time I'd make them grey. I have an old Patsy May foil-it machine and so was able to foil the word Guinness. I "drew" a couple of lines. I found the chemical formula for beer and re-created it with serif (this is why I love serif!) I had intended to make the total card smaller than my SIL's but as we are all celebrating together I didn't want him moaning!

My SIL's card is using a serif digikit - Aviary English Garden. She loves her garden and has several bird feeders in the trees and a bird table. I decoupaged the blue tit (steady Ang!) and used the largest and smallest dies in the SW Noble Squares. I added some leaves from SB Small leaf set and a tiny bit of glitter on the "flowers/blossom" My base is the Falling Leaves embossing folder inked around the edge with a bit of Bundled sage DI. 

Enjoy your weekend

xxx

  

Mother in Law's Birthday card

Hello and thank you for popping in. I do appreciate it.

Congratulations to Michele and the safe arrival of Liam
Thank you Jenny L for the tips on how to find up to date "stuff" on blogs
Thank you Patricia, I am going on the hunt for shoe templates

Today's card was inspired by Window Boxes by Craftwork Cards See here
I have contacted them a couple of times asking if it's OK to show it and I never got a reply. So I'm hoping I am not breaching any copyrights.
Her 90th birthday was in February and this week end we are taking her away. her birthday present from us, my SIL and my daughter. So with partners that's 7 of us!

I made an easel card, marking the centre and then cutting a semicircle in the centre of this mark before folding card in half. The semicircle then pops up! The front part is then folded in half again to form the easel. Decorated the semicircle with various colours of flowers etc

Ingredients

10x7" white card to form card base (finished card fits into 5x7 envelope)

Patterned papers

SW lattice background

SW Daisies

Toinc Petal Pairs

Tonic Trailing Ivy

Distress Ink Antique Linen 

Spellbinder Deckle die

SW 3D bow strip to help stopper

Pearls for bling

I'm scheduling Saturday's post because I don't know what the internet connection will be like. I've still got to finish OH's card to take with us!! have a great weekend everyone

xx

The other card I made for my future son in law's sister

Hello Everyone

Thank you for visiting and welcome to Cornelia, thank you for popping in and your kind comments on my Bokeh attempt.

I was asked by my future son in law to do a card for his sister's birthday. As it was for a man to give I wasn't "allowed" to do anything "frilly!" My daughter suggested this style and use the colours red and black. I'd made a previous one to give to a friend's daughter. The one I made for her from me and husband is here 

Ingredients

8x8 card blank

Black card

White 250 gsm super smooth card which I printed all of the elements onto

Serif digikit - Digitangle (a freebie)

Sue Wilson's - 3D bow

Sue Wilson New York Collection - Herald Square

Off to craft now, I still haven't finished Husband's birthday card. It's all printed, just need to construct it - stick it together!

Everlasting Circles

Good Morning All

Thank you for visiting 

Today is dreary, so a great excuse for crafting. I really must make birthday cards for my OH and SIL for next weekend!

I was so excited to win a set of Sue's dies and my favourite concept too I'm still doing a happy dance and may even go to Salsa tonight!

Michele - yes feel free to use Thursday's idea I'd be flattered

Well done to Jackie and Brenda too

Today's card was easy. I amazed myself at how relatively easy it was to line up the Striplet to make a continuous background and I just had to buy that Happy Birthday die after seeing Hazel's (I think it was Hazel) creation on her or Sandra's blog I can't back track and find it to do a link! I gilded the piece of card before I cut out Happy Birthday

I'll do other versions of this in more delicate colours and bling it with a few flowers or a butterfly. What do you think

Ingredients

Black card 

Sue Wilson Everlasting Circles Striplet

Crafts Too Happy Birthday die

Double sided adhesive sheet

CE Gilding Flakes (can't remember name because I'd decanted it all into a plastic box

All Serif but no digikits!

Hello Everyone
Thank you for popping by. I do value your feed back immensely
Welcome to Josie and Debs. Thank you for joining the dance

For today's card I thought I'd show one that was inspired by something I'd seen on Pinterest. I needed to do a man's card with the brief - no sport. I knew that he liked whiskey so went with this idea

So, it is made using Serif - but no digikit. It is just blocks of colour and text. Some of the text have been set on a pre-set path and some have been given a metallic effect. All of which are available on Craft Artist 2. The corners are gold mirri card die cuts from Spellbinders Marvellous Squares

My Fine Tip Glue Applicator arrived today from Hope and Chances Creativity See here I can't wait to "play" It looks especially good to me because it has its own pot, a pin and a lid which hopefully means it won't "gunk" up like my CS glues does on occasions. I know Sandra endorses the item

Petal Pairs and Martha Stewart

Hello Everyone
Thank you for visiting 
Thank you Mynn for dropping in and your very kind words. I enjoyed taking part and I will certainly be using bokah style backgrounds again (for newbies see yesterday's post)

I hope you all had an enjoyable Bank Holiday week end. It was lovely to have husband at home for a change. We went to a friend's 60th Birthday party, on the Friday, which was great. She had a live act called "Soul Man" and played all of our favourite music, Soul, Barry White, The Drifters to name but a couple AND loads of Motown.
On Sunday afternoon we went Salsa dancing
Monday, it was clear out the fancy dress cupboard - watch this space for photos later in the year.

Janice Wallace the serif kit you asked about is a free kit called "Envelopes 2013" See below for another great image from the kit.

So today's card 

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

Martha Stewart punch around the page

Petal Pairs Flower pucnch

Tonic Ivy Die

Spellbinders D-Lite medallion die to make rosette

Britannia Happy Birthday die

Pale and dark green card probably from Llidl and a botched piece of patterned card (I managed to superimposed a small photo over the top of a piece of patterned paper - don't know how!)

I made a matching tent style envelope too!

This is the other image I loved on the free serif digikit "Envelopes 2013" I "cut" into it to seperate the pieces and re colour and to print separately to decoupage. I added a punch of a pair of glasses in dark brown and a Sue Wilson 3D bow in two shades of red 

Bokah

My first attempt at linking a challenge. House of Cards May challenge I hope this passes muster because I used serif to create my bokah effect. I created it by "painting" a lilac background and adding a white circle that I "faded" by varying depths and sizes and "stamped them over the top. I cut out the inner part and mounted it onto white card and then matching up the circles (as best I could) laid it over the top. The text I then set on a "pre- set" path and added a Spellbinder Les Papillon butterfly. It hasn't photographed very well, it's a bit more lilac than this. To me it looks quite grey

See you all Tuesday

Noble Squares

Hello Everyone,
Thank you for visiting. Today, I'm hoping that OH will be taking me to a local craft centre to look at fabric. I treated myself to a new sewing machine for my last birthday. The one I had was nearly 40 years old. I am determined to get back into dressmaking. I need a floor length dress for work that isn't a boob tube or spaghetti straps or clingy,clingy. Both my daughter (she's 6ft) struggle to find cheapish dresses that are long enough for us. Found a pattern, now need the fabric!
We're going to take MIL too. She has just started card making. Her favourite kit (at the moment!) is an old member's gift bought from C&C, a kit from Craftwork cards with Candi. At 90 years old, she is making some very pretty cards with it

Today's card

I went for the Square set because I tend to make smaller 6x6 cards. I wonder if the Noble rectangles would have to be posted as a large letter, but I really like them AND Sue's latest release too!

Ingredients

6x6 card blank

Sue Wilson Pierced Noble Square and Delicate Daisy

Button from Hobbycraft A pack of a about 12 colours with a about 12 of each - a real bargain at £1

Free digikit from Serif