Another oldie

Another scheduled post and another old Christmas card. Well it is the last Saturday of November, so the Christmas rush will really start. No dies used for this card and a great way of using scraps and an embossing folder. I just cut a lopsided triangle and covered with torn strips of patterned paper. I inked the torn edges, card blank and embossing folder. I wrapped the "tree" with gold thread. AND peel-offs!

No card today just a poem

Hello Everyone
I am not posting a card today, just a beautiful poem written by my OH. Today is a sad day for all of our family and son's friends. It is six years ago today that our son passed away. OH wrote this poem to place on his grave. I have to say that he writes the most fantastic poetry. They are always personalised and quite often, they make the recipient "well up"

Although we will be far away

our hearts are by your side

With trees, as they sway

and leaves that fall and glide

in the garden at the the zoo

where our darling son does lie

Our love for you is ever true

And we'll never say goodbye

For you are with us every day

No matter where we roam

for in our hearts you'll always stay

For that truly is your home

I'm going to add something that my mum used to say to us when we were kids at bedtime and I used to say to mine "Night, night. Sleep tight. See you in the morning"

Oldie for Fffriday

Hello 
I'm still scheduling my posts. So I can't link this post to Erika's site - Snappy Crafts. I made this for an avid shoe lover! I used My Craft Studio cd-rom for the image and papers. Mirri card - which I tend to only use at Christmas these days. Back then, I think every card had either gold or silver mirri!. The butterflies were given to me

Birthday card for a crafty friend

Hello Everyone
Thank you for popping in. I am scheduling my posts for awhile because I will be without my laptop. So apologies if I don't get to see your comments and your blogs. I will look forward to seeing everything when I can
I made this card for a friend who crafts. we also work at the same place. In fact, she was the one that pointed me in the direction of card making. Now, because she makes cards I really didn't know what to do. I decided to use all die cuts with a new set of dies that I hadn't used very much

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

Spellbinders - Marissa's bouquet - all of them!

Cor-dinations card stock

I think the embossing folder is CE

Sentiment printed using Serif cut out with Sue Wilson Austrian tag

Simple CAS Birthday card

Hello everyone, thank you for popping by. Thank you for your kind words over the last few days. It was upsetting, especially for my OH who has had to deal with all of the legal side, but we/he is getting there. So, we had a lovely weekend afterall. I went shopping with my daughter on the Saturday. She actually needed to go to Hobbycraft - she does not craaft in any way shape or form! I couldn't turn down that opportunity! I bought some of my favourite knitting yarn, as I hadn't seen this particular colour, for another baby garment for my stash. we also looked at ideas for Christmas presents, in particular for my MIL. She loves to come to our little craft group but at 90 years old struggles to remember how to do things now. But she gets frustrated  at not doing something with her hands whilst we're there - silly I know. Daughter came up with an idea to buy a box frame and a bag of red different sized buttons. I make an outline of a heart to go into the frame that she literally covers with the buttons. Actually if any of you have ideas of which glue would be best, bearing in mind I daren't let her loose with a hot glue gun. I'm thinking Pinflair glue gel would be the best in the hope she may feel like doing it at home as well as at our craft night. She may need guidance at every sticking on each button, but it'll be a start. It is a real shame because she used to enjoy sewing, making costumes, knitting at crocheting. The four of us went dancing on the Sunday afternoon and had a takeaway at ours in the evening where we chatted and chatted and found out all about the holiday in Sharm.

Right, todays card is  a CAS cards, which I love. As this is for my aunt, I did add a bit of movement too with the butterfies

Ingredients

7x7 card blank

patterned vellum form my Lidl stash

SW Striplet -Everlasting Circles

SW Mini Striplet - Flights of Fancy - Butterflies

SPellbinders - Marissa's Bouquet - Butterflies

SW Noble Pierced Squares

Sentiment printed on Serif using a free font

CS - Phill Martin Twinkles - Chic Violet

Enjoy the rest of your week

Oldie for Fffriday

Hello to all of you. I can't believe it's Saturday again! Thank you for your lovely comments on my previous post. I was so pleased with the result, I'm in the middle of making a second one I've been asked to do. I love this die, it allows you to make smaller cards as well as really dressing it up for larger cards. Those stores you mentioned Hazel are beginning to appear down South, but there are only a couple around here at the moment. I know what you mean Jackie about having to make Christmas cards at the moment. Thank you for your best wishes and support over my worry for the safety of our daughter. We had a great day, catching up and we're off shopping later today. 

My oldie inspired by Erika at Snappy Crafts is a twisted easel (first ever) Christmas card I made for my MIL, made in the days before I owned a die cutting machine. She likes traditional Christmas cards, but I didn't want to use a Santa Claus image. So a Serif  digikit - Hearts and Roses Christmas, a bit of glitter and a Martha Stewart Punch to the rescue. We've had more bad news this week, the death of a good neighbour and the sudden death of OH's uncle. Life feels worse than "Eastenders" at the moment. Thank goodness for the therapy of crafting
Not much happening this week end, shopping today, dancing, tomorrow with a bit of crafting in between

Inspired by Sue Wilson

Hello to everyone. Thank you for visiting and comments. Thank you for your note Hazel. Unfortunately both of those stores you mentioed do not exist in Welwyn Garden city. I will need OH or daughter take me to Stevenage or Harlow. I do try and look out for bits when I'm out and about, when I remember to! So, baskets, hearts - Patricia knows why and cheap jewellery - a tip from Debs A, to cut into and make embellishments. 
Daughter arrived home in the early hours of yesterday. We met for lunch and she got the biggest hug and kiss ever. Such a relief to see her. She couldn't praise, Thomsons, the resort staff, security enough. She and her fiance had a fabulous time and wouldn't hesitate in going again - not yet a while young lady!
Today's card has been inspired by Sue Wilson and I have her permission to show it on my blog
On Thursday 5th November she showed this video and card I had a go at something very similar on Tuesday afternoon. The only difference is I used Serif instead of alcohol inks and sprayed the card with Crafter's Companion Spray and Shine but next time I will just print it onto glossy photo paper, printed the sentiment and a different die for the pretty border. I followed Sue's technique for cutting the "Flights of Fancy" but left a 1 cm border

Ingredients

7x7 inch card blank

Supersmooth 250gsm white card

Red card from stash

Serif digikit - Psychedelic and a free font

Sue Wilson - Flights of fancy

Sue Wilson - New York tag - cut out 4 times

pearls from stash

Hope you like it, I was thrilled with the end result and must be one of the few times that I have made a card that wasn't a happy accident! I will definitely make this card again. Not much on the horizon until the week end apart from more crafting!

Great news!

Hello everyone
Thank you for your lovely comments on my posts and your best wishes. I enjoy reading what you say.
Tracy, I hope you're able to be back to 100% crafting soon. I'd find it very frustrating, especially if I couldn't do my knitting
Jenny, it has been worrying and I've been quite tearful too. I'll probably burst into tears when I eventually get to see her as well
Yay! daughter text me this morning to say that they are on their way home (fingers crossed!) In fact they should be boarding a plane as I publish this post. They're flying back to East Midlands and then having to get a coach back to Stanstead. But, you know what, it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, she's on her way home. It has been a truly sad, horrific, incident for those innocent Russian people. It does make you stop and think.
Anyway, today's card has been made for a work colleague's birthday. Making cards for work colleagues is one of the many reasons why I started card making. I was the one with the responsibility of buying the cards (there's 17 of us) and nobody thought to help with the cost. So it is for a gentleman who hasn't ever given any hints as to what hobbies he likes and for religious reasons does not drink. Last year I made a card using Serif digikit - Zodiac and made a "Saggitarius" card. SO! this year I was struggling to do something, especially as I started doing a zodiac card and when it was finished, it only struck me then that I'd done something similar to last year. A quick re-think and remembered I had a MCS cd-rom  called Nursery Rhyme. I googled his date of birth, to find that he was born on a Wednesday. I needed to make the topper in similar colours to the existing card in order to place it on top I took it into Serif and changed the colours, added shadows etc

Ingredients

7x7in card blank

MCS cd- rom Nursery Rhymes in the 3rd Anniversary collection

Serif digikit - Zodiac for lettering and "manipulating" the image 

Sue Wilson Noble Pierced Squares

Sue Wilson Pierced tags

Black card stock

CE Enchanted Gold gilding wax

Embossilicious Embossing folder

I hope you like it. Right I'm off to craft now to try and take my mind off the wait!

My Oldie for Ffffriday

Yes I know it's Saturday! I've scheduled this one again because when this is published I will be at the GP's for my flu jab. This is going to be quick, please leave comments if you're able I love to receive feedback.
I'm a very jittery at the moment, our daughter is in Sharm el Sheikh, originally she is due home on Sunday, now of course, we're uncertain. I cannot wait to see her and give her a cuddle

Today's oldie inspired by Erika at Snappy  Crafts It is one of the cards I made for last year.

Ingredients

6x6 card blank

Serif digikit - 'Tis the Season

Spellbinders - Holiday Baubles

Red Mirri card

bling from stash

Hello everyone, thank you for coming to visit. Welcome to Claire from Unicorn. Your comments as always are lovely and I enjoy seeing your feedback. I didn't make our Halloween costumes, Maureen, sewing is something I would really like to get back into. Last summer a friend told us about a Fancy Dress shop that, sadly, was closing down, we needed Movie themed costumes for their party and we paid a visit. My OH loves the "fashion" of Georgian period. He loves the wigs, flouncy shirts etc and found a couple of male costumes. We then found the matching lady's costume, so, it was a done deal! We did get Movie themed costumes too, OH - "Officer and a Gentleman", and I became" Frenchy" from" Grease". We bought a few more wigs to add to our growing collection. I have to say, wear a wig and you immediately "change" character.

Today's card was requested by OH, "Can you you do me a a Get Well card for tomorrow morning" I hadn't played much with this Striplet and thought it'd make a pretty card that wasn't too frilly and flowery (as was the brief!)

 

Ingredients

Lidll patterned paper

SW Striplet - Quilted Blocks

Sentiment printed and cut with Becca Feakin - Filigree Delights and shadowed with the same die cut in the Lidll patterned paper - perfect fit for the Striplets.

Right, I'm off to finish making a Shepherds Pie to take to MIL and eat with her. We're hoping that by having company, she'll be tempted to eat better. I've then got craft club which happens to be at her warden controlled complex

See you Saturday. I do try and visit all of your blogs, sometimes blogger won't let me leave comments.

Second Christmas card of 2015

Hello Everyone. 
Thank you for coming to visit and I know I always say it, but it makes me smile that you take the time to pop in and leave comments . So welcome to BARB and to JACKIESJEWELS too.
Halloween was great fun, we danced and danced until 2am. The journey home was horrendous though - pea soup fog! I have added a couple of photos at the bottom of both of us and of our daughter. She was our chauffeur for the night, so hats off to her for doing a stupendous job in that awful fog. OH and I won the prizes for best dressed male and best dressed female! That was an honour and a surprise.
Today's card(s) is my second attempt at this year's Christmas cards. I don't sell my cards as such but make my own and as I don't buy them I donate what I would have spent to my favourite charity. These will be hand delivered to special members of the family. I very rarely make the same card twice, but will make variations of a design I like. I recently treated myself to Sue Wilson's Poinsettia dies and I AM IN LOVE with them. Sorry it's a bit photo heavy. I was thrilled to bits with the results of my makes AND  I don't do stamping, I'm loving these Poinsettia stamps though. I've entered this into the unicornchallenge blog - Christmas is coming  

Poinsettia made with a serviette backed onto card and gold micro beads on Pinflair glue gel. Britannia sentiment die and SW Maidenhair Fern die. EF is SW's Snowflake lattice 

Work in progress Vellum Poinsettia and CS pearl glue Olympic Gold, Serif background 

Vellum, clear micro beads and CE Foundation card stock - coconut white

Close ups of the Poinsettia

And the boxes, both made with a Hougie board/patricia's instructions

And Finally!

Daughter as a scary clown

Husband and me!