MAWTT

Hello All

Thank you for popping in. It appears things are getting back to normal (fingers crossed!). My friend's funeral is on Friday which obviously is going to be very upsetting and I will put a dedication to her memory on here at some point. 

Yesterday I had a minor op on both wrists! I wasn't expecting both to be hacked. They are small punch biopsies but I do look like I've had a very nasty accident. I wasn't expecting to have them sutured either. Anyway, I'm fine and will be back to work tomorrow.

Later this week I hope to go to a new Salsa venue, I don't think I'll be dancing - too scared to get my arms knocked. A very good friend is teaching and his partner has just given birth to a beautiful daughter and I'd like to pass on my gift onto them. If I don't go OH will do the honours. if I don't go I will go to our little craft group and get this infamous dress I need to make cut out. I'll be able to lay all of the fabric out on long tables instead of crawling about on my living room floor! I hope you are able to enjoy the sunshine if you're lucky enough to have some.

Maureen, if only I looked as glamorous as the image on my last post. You'd have to squint very hard and through one eye for me to look half as good!

Jenny L I remember how glamorous my mum looked in her clothes. Whenever we went out to visit relatives etc she always wore beautiful fitted suits with a peplum on the jacket and everyday she wore her hair in a French pleat

On to today's card I have entered this week's MAWTT challenge See here . The theme is stitching. I coloured various "materials" from Serif and used an Ali reeve mask to place the squares and rectangles. The text was printed on my pc and cut out using an EK Success circle cutter. All of the components were then faux stitched 

See you Thursday with photos of the card and gift for the baby. Take care everyone xxxx

Oldie for FFFFriday

 Hello one and all
We have beautiful sunshine today, I hope it lasts for a few days at least. Dancing last night was great fun but it was sooooo hot (in more ways than one!) Gail will know what I mean!
Hello to Glenda, thank you for joining in the dance.

Yay! I won a prize on Christine  Emberson's blog here. I think you all already visit her, but just in case! It's brightened my week and feel very lucky (2nd win this year - that never happens to me)

After everything else that has happened this week, a couple more, but trivial, problems. My camera stopped working recently and thinking it was the battery, bought a new one but that's doesn't work either! Then yesterday I tripped on my iPod cable and broke that, so at the moment I can't take photos. Fortunately I had downloaded my recent makes.

Today's oldie was going to be a scrapbook page that included my friend that died recently of us taking part in the Harefield Hospital Fun Run in 2012. It appears that because I'd printed it and placed in my 6x4 photo journal I have deleted it from my laptop
So, my Oldie for Friday See here is one of the first cards I made with one of my favourite MCS cd-roms. As you can see- no dies! I think it's from Fab Glam Fifties. The scrap book page would have been so apt seeing Erika's oldie

If the sunshine lasts I will take the day off from housework - but I might set up the ironing board in the garden and do the ironing.  We haven't got any plans per say but tomorrow we may go and support our local football club's Summer Fete. A friend's son in law is the manager and our daughter quite often helps working in the beer tent or face painting etc - they have a bar too!

Hope everyone enjoys the sunshine while it's here

See you Tuesday

xxx

Birthday card for a fellow crafter

Hello Everyone
Thank you for coming and a big Hi to Pam, welcome to the dance! I had scheduled this post because I  had a hospital appointment, that knowing how it normally runs could take all afternoon! Well it did and the scheduling didn't work. Hey Ho!

I had some very upsetting news on Tuesday afternoon that a dear friend had unexpectedly and suddenly died. I was devastated. In a later post I will explain who she is and why she means so much to me
A quick explanation of Tuesday's post in that I probably made it sound more complicated than it actually was.  All I did was cut the smaller die in the centre of a piece of card knowing that the decorative die cut (in black) would cover the hole! A die cut or stamped sentiment can be placed on the smaller piece. I just aligned my text to be in the centre first. Apart from the black, it only took a 4.5 inch square of patterned card

Todays card

I made this card for a fellow crafting friend who makes the most exquisite quilts. It is made up of "materials" from Serif. I coloured them all purple. The tape measure is an embellishment from Serif (sorry but I do love my Serif kits). All I did was die cut 1.5" squares and piece them together

Ingredients

6x6" card blank

Spellbinders Large Squares die set

Serif kits including Knitty Gritty

Sue Wilson 3D plain bows

Becca Feakin Filigree Delights die set

I need to make a Birthday card for a fellow Salsa dancer for Friday and sadly a Sympathy card.

I'll be out dancing on Friday night, my daughter is teaching a Rueda class - a type of Salsa that's brilliant fun!

See you all Saturday

A Quick, Simple card for this Year's Fathers Day

Thank you, thank you, thank you for taking time out to visit my little blog. 
Thank you to Desire Fourie for joining the dance. 
Gail, I don't do anything hard with Serif. It's usually pick a "material" drag it onto page. Add an embellishment and a bit of text. These days, because my computer technician (daughter!) no longer lives at home I do try to create cards without logging onto my laptop and use my dies instead or hybrid craft with both

You may recall that last week just seemed to disappear for me and I so wanted to send a card to my dad that I created this in about 10 minutes flat AND managed to get it in the post on Saturday morning. My dad is retired and plays golf but I've made soooo many cards with a golfing image and/or beer! I wanted to do something different

I was really pleased with the result because, I don't know about you, it wasn't a "happy accident" as is usually the case with me. I will definitely create similar ones in other colour combinations.

I created it using a piece of "material" from Serif - Butterfly Motifs. I sized it to fit largest die in Sue Wilson's NY collection - Herald Squares and placed the text, sized to fit the smaller die in the same set, slap bang in the middle of it (click on "material" hold "Shift" key and click on text - go to "Align" tab and centre. I cut the text out with the smaller die i.e. gutting the card. No waste. I matted this onto the decorative die in black and 3D foam onto the bigger piece and matted it onto black. Took more time to explain than actually make. Would be great for batch making. Can make two cards from one piece of A4 card.

After visiting our son's grave on Sunday (OH wanted to go as it was Father's Day) we met up with our daughter and had a fab afternoon dancing Salsa

I hope you like this simple card (a bit embarrassing to show as it was so easy). It will be so easy to adapt

Oldie for FFFFriday

Good Morning Thank you for popping in. I love to see your comments but I honestly understand if you're not able to but I do appreciate your visit

I am going to be so busy today. Firstly I must make this year's Father's Day card and get it into the post. I know he won't get it until Monday now but at least he'll receive one and as I don't get to see him very often, he will appreciate it  Better late than never! I won't be able to photograph it because now my camera has packed up and iPod needs charging! In fact this photo has been taken "off" my iPod. 

Where has this week gone? Talk about being rushed off my feet. I must get this dress I promised myself started too But the "shell" I made is too small so I've got to adjust the pattern before I cut into this expensive (in my eyes) material The house looks like a tip and must do some dreaded housework. 

As it is father's day tomorrow not sure of the plans, we'll probably go Salsa dancing tomorrow afternoon

Hello to AnnB from MWATT for joining the dance!

 This is my offering for Oldie for FFFFriday here is last years Father's Day card

I was lucky enough to win a cd-rom from Michelle Mogford-Jackson at Serif when I had an email read out on C&C. I printed the images onto Kraft card. I altered the sentiment, inked the edges of a 5x7 card blank, layered the image having roughened the edges with the edge of my scissors, embossed the "rivets! with a ball tool and rubbed gilding wax over the top. I then decoupaged the top hat, monacle and moustache.

Have a great week end everyone, see you Tuesday

Take care

xxxx 

MAWTT

Hello everyone

Thank you for popping by I very much appreciate it and Hello to Amy from MAWTT for joining the dance.

Thank you Patricia for the web details for wool etc

This is my offering the this weeks MAWTT See here The theme for this week is "Song Lyrics" and I chose "Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. I made this card for a couple's engagement. They are in their 50's. I was asked to make a card with a country theme. I thought this image would apply and as the lyrics suggest - their good news overcomes what life may have dished them over the years.

 I faded the image using Serif and cut two extra at full resolution. I decoupaged them over the top of the transparent one.

Ingredients

8x8 card blank

Serif tools and text

Spellbinders D-Lite Vines of Passion

Spellbinders Itty Bitty Blossom

Sue Wilson Maidenhair Fern

Hope everyone is well and if you're in pain that it's easing

See you Saturday

MAWTT

This is my offering for this week's challenge at MAWTT See here and the theme is "The Happy Couple" I made the card for my daughter and her now fiance. She is definitely not a frilly, frilly, girlie, girlie type of person but is not a tom-boy either

Ingredients

Serif digikit for the hearts

Spellbinders D-Lites Vines of Passion

Before I forget, GAILT To do the tin foil effect is very easy. Scrunch up a piece of tin foil - not too tightly, but to your choice and use like a piece of sponge/cut'n'dry. dab onto ink pad and then onto card stock. 

CHERYL - the knitting needles are "clacking" away. I hope to finish the little cardigan for Milly-May by the week end!

Thank you 

Oldie for Friday... I know It's late!

Hello Everyone

I'm back and so is the laptop - Hooray!

A big welcome to Cheryl, thank you for joining in the dance!

I dread to think how old this project is See Erika's page here. As her oldie yesterday has butterflies I thought I 'd show this one!

Les Papillon and Marvellous Squares were the first dies I ever bought. I have done quite a few in different colour ways of this card and in the bottom right hand corner have used a sentiment instead. It was inspired by a post by Sue Wilson 

It's a 6x6" card blank

My Craft Studio background paper 

Cream card "dabbed" with distress ink using a scrunched up piece of tin foil a la Ali Reeve stylee and a little bit of bling

Take care everyone and hopefully normal service has been resumed and I'll be catching up with all that I've missed. See you Tuesday

xx 

Another quick post that is scheduled again

A girlie birthday card using My Craft Studio

Hope to be back soon (I hope)!

Wedding card for a Salsa friend

Hello again, another scheduled post!
Today's card is for a very good friend who I met at Salsa. She got married on Friday 5th June. The day started miserably but was then bathed in glorious sunshine. So I hope her ceremony was late enough in the day to have been able to enjoy it all the more and have some lovely photos taken

I created the background using Serif. I drew a couple of lines freehand to create a frame and placed the text to fit inside the die cut. Now, if i hadn't created the drawn line I would have been able to place the text slightly higher - hey ho Will remember next time! I turned it into an easel card because I miscalculated the measurements and was slightly larger than 6x6 I printed it out on my(cheap) laser printer and used my old Patsy May foil it machine. I used gold foil which doesn't really show up in the photo. The whole card reflects her inivtes she used

So, I added this little tag on the back

Ingredients

6x6 card blank

gold mirri card

Tattered Lace Heavenly Hearts

Sue Wilson 3D bow for stopper

Oldie for Friday

Hello and thank you for popping by
I am scheduling the next few posts as I'm going to be without my laptop for a few days, so I hope they work. My laptop is going into "hospital for a few days!
If anyone new joins in, I apologise for not acknowledging you and will catch up with you at a later date

Today's oldie which is inspired by Erika See here

It is old as you can see from the quality of the photo!

Erika's theme has been "distressed" this week. This is a bit of a "cheat" in that I know a lot of you achieve this background using distressed inks but I created mine using Serif! To make the frame I used Spellbinder 5x7 matting basics and used a size in between to emboss an "edge" too on black card. This was added to the background using 3D foam tape The die cut is from the D-Lites range of Spellbinder dies (can't remember name now)

Enjoy your week and I'll be back (when laptop has recovered!) as soon as possible

Moving Along With The Times - this week's challenge

Oh my goodness!
Thank you all for your latest comments. I am thrilled to bits that you have liked my last post. It is a great boost to my flagging confidence
So, thank you to Astrid, Liddl don't stock the card very often and I have missed out in the past. The latest purchase will last me a long while, to Carole, Diane, Glenda, Terri and Darlene for joining the dance. talking of which, Gail I'm glad you enjoyed watching the dancing at Cubana, you must let me know where that is. I think the very up close and personal dance you saw may have been Kizomba, not Salsa, although depending on who you're dancing with can be very up close and personal too!

I would like to enter today's card in this week's MAWTT See here their 6th birthday
I made it for my son's widow who celebrates her birthday on Sunday. 

I wanted to do something on the slightly bright side Thank goodness for Liddl card and paper!

No dgikits this time!

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

Liddl  paper in a beautiful peach colour

Cor'dinations orange card

SW Pierced Tags

SW Delicate Daisies (open)

SW Maidenhair Fern

Couture Creations embossing folder Large Retro Flowers

Bling from stash

I took this photo with the intention of turning it the right way around but I quite like this landscape effect and will do this layout again with images rather than text

MAWTT challenge

Hello everyone
Thank you for popping by. I really, really value your feedback because you're all so talented. Even if you do not have time to comment I do appreciate your visit
I had a very successful day at Lidll yesterday. I bought 5 packs of the card, 5 packs of the paper and a couple of packs of the patterned paper. And lo and behold, I get in from work at lunch time and husband had been and bought 5 more packs of each of the paper and card! Don't you just love 'em. 
It's a bit cheeky I know, but there has been a few times when I've missed out on these offers. I will be giving some to my craft group and my MIL The stash will last me about 5 years!
GailT - I have to say that after dancing my knees do ache and probably I don't dance as much as I used to but I enjoy the social side of it too. I love watching (especially my daughter) all these dancers having fun

Today's card 
I am going to enter this card into a couple of challenges (so bear with me)
The MAWTT challenge See here
As you can see it's all to do with texture. I posted a similar one last week but I'd done it before tha challenge was launched. This time I have used a different mask with CE texture paste and used an image from DQ Faux Quilling Flourishes from Serif. I have place the tags a little higher on the card and layered up (3 layers) the lacy accents border. More texture from embossing and a 3D bow and resin flower from The Works. All done in shades of lavender

I would also like to enter it into the following challenge too

http://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/pink-and-lavender-photo-inspiration.html