I'm taking a break

I just want to say a huge thank you for visiting my little blog. Although I haven't been blogging for very long I am finding it difficult to keep up - I don't know how you ladies do it. I have got to the point where I feel that I am not "creating" but are being inspired by/copying other people's work (if you see what I mean) and sort of make similar cards to theirs.I really struggle to come up with new ideas.
I have so many long term projects that I would like to do, for example, I still haven't sorted through my late mother's things and want to make a box frame with a favourite photo of mine and some of her jewellery. I have several photo books I'd like to do. I used to keep a photo diary of days out and want to bring that up to date.
I may be back blogging later in the year but ffor now here are a few photos of my most recent makes. I will carry on visiting as many of your blogs as time, internet and laptops permitting
Take care everyone and thank you again

Ally Pally buys! and a card inspired by something I saw at Ally Pally

Hello Everyone

I thought I'd show you my purchases from Ally Pally. I thoroughly enjoy this Craft show. I met up for lunch with some ladies that visit this blog Cotswold Crafter where we could have sat and chatted all day! We don't meet very oftn but because of our love for craft and chat on the blogs, it was like meeting old friends. There were a few bargains to be had as described below. I like to watch the demonstrators at work and to see their cards that have been shown on their blogs. Everyone is so friendly and they always have time to chat and show techniques etc They make you feel very welcome to ask questions and help you out

Two frames from Every Crafts a Pound £1 each

CE mounting cushion - one of my most expensive buys! It'll be used for very special cards. John Lockwood "sold" thisto me when he showed it on Hochanda. It is made of plastic, which means you can cut it into very narrow strips with ordinary scissors and will not gum the scissors up. If you put it down in the wrong place you can lift it off the card and replace it. It easily goes around circles etc

3x new colours of Pixie Powders £7.50

6x Tonic Nuvo drops £10

Teacup die £3

Water brushes and sprayer £5.90

Glitter jewels

Red liner tape 50p each

Sue Wilson New Addition Accessory dies £5.20

Pearls £1 each

CE Infinity Embossing folder £4.99

There may have been better bargains than this but I was happy to have paid what I paid!

The card!

There was a lovely lady demoing on the Imkylicious stand where she did a paint effect and just stamped in black on top - some she heat embossed, some she didn't. I wish I had taken photos. 

I had made a few backgrounds with Pixie Powders that were just lie-ing around. I really didn't have a clue what to use them for. I was just enjoying "playing" I found these two images on Serif and Yay! my printer accepted the water colour card. It was all done purely by chance. I will try this again and use PP on a tiny area and use images on just part of the coloured piece, eg just the rose bud. I have several images that would suit , flowers, ladies, hats, just loads thinking about it! I used one of the new colours of Nuvo drops I bought

I used Sue wilson back ground die by cutting it in one direction and and then replacing the card in to make another cut to make the a narrower piece if you see what I mean!

Happy Easter everyone!My husband will be working all of the week end and so will feel like an "ordinary" week end for me but no doubt I will be partaking in eating a little chocolate to celebrate

Off to Ally Pally!

This is a scheduled post as I will, well and truly be on my way to Ally Pally when this goes live. I enjoy ths show vry much and to see the designers work up close and personal and because it's run/sponsored by Hochanda, some of my favourite designers/companies will be there - Creative Expressions, Sue Wilson, Clarity stamps, Ali Reeve to name but a few. I'm not sure what I want to buy this time. I just love walking around and "ooh-ing and ah-ing" at all of the goodies I have a few ideas and a bit of a Wish List. I'm sure lots of things will jump into my basket!

My card today is a card I made a couple of years ago for our IT Manager. He is a similar age to me and even though he enjoys the job,  he often "wishes" the technology would "slow down"

I hope you all have a lovely week end. If you go to Ally Pally I hope you have fun (I know I will!)

Ingredients

7x7 card blank

Images etc Serif digikit

Sue Wilson Gemini die - Lyra - Perhaps I'll treat myself to some more Gemini dies I only have this one!

Craft Rocket Challenges #36

Hello Everyone
Thank you for taking the time to visit and if you're able to leave a comment, I appreciate it very much

Today sees the start of a new challenge at Craft Rocket Challenges which has changed to monthly now and this challenge's theme is Inspired by a movie or a book. At first I wasn't sure which avenue to explore - Dirty Dancing, Great Gatsby, Star Wars, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella etc etc. I decided to use the film "Rocky" as my choice. Coincidentally, I was asked to make a card for somebody that loves boxing and this is what I came up with. I printed a few pages of the Queensbury boxing rules which I tore into pieces and randomly stuck over my card as a background after shading the edges with some Vintage Photo Distress ink. I decoupaged the boxing gloves on top using a piece of twine as the laces. I hope you like it and maybe join in the challenge.

This is my last card as part of the Design team for Craft Rocket Challenges. It was a hard decision but I have decided to leave mainly because life is just so busy at the moment with work and i also got to a point that I wasn't doing craft for my own purposes (selfish I know!). I have lots of projects in my head that I just don't seem to get the time to start. For instance, I need to still sort through some of my mum's photos and jewellery and create a box frame using a favourite photograph and her jewellery. I would like to do some photo books (using serif of course) of recent holidays. I also started a "photo diary/journal" of events we have been to that needs bringing up to date. Plus I have a beautiful grandson that I love to play with. The list is endless

Take care
xx

My Oldie for Saturday

Hello Everyone

Another week end is upon us, what are you up to? Providing the weather is kind, we're all off to Paradise Wildlife Park see here. When my son was alive, he worked as a zoo keeper. He started there when he left school and as my mum said, how many of us can truly say they did a job they loved. He was head keeper of the primates. He has a special spot there. It is a place very close to my heart. Tomorrow is the launch of becoming Zoological Society of Hertfordshire and the opening of the new penguin enclosure. I'm really looking forward to it because there is quite a few of the family going including Oscar.

My card today is an old one I made for my mum, whose birthday would have been next week. I kept it flat so that I could laminate it.I still make cards and place on her grave. A bit daft I know, but she loved my cards and unbeknown to me kept every single one I made for her when she was alive

I hope you all have a great week end

Ingredients

7x5 card blank

Image from a Serif digikit

Sue Wilson Striplet - Floral Meadow

I never use embossing folders!

Hello Everyone
I hope that you are all well. How has your week been. I was off work yesterday and will be again tomorrow, only to use some leave up because the "new" year begins 1st April and needed to use some days up. Yesterday was a chance to catch up on some tele (I'm hooked on Broadchurch - never watched the previous series but boy! I'm thoroughly enjoying this series) I had recorded, I finished a crochet blanket for the Preemie and Angels group I belong to on Facebook and start a second.

Today's card was made for a fellow crafter from the blog Cotswold Crafter  here It's a lovely friendly blog that is like a cafe, we chat, swap ideas, do weeky challenges (if we want) just for fun. You'd be most welcome to join in.

As my title suggests I don't use embossing folders very often if at all.On this card i have used two!
As the blog is like a cafe I just had to use this pretty image I have on a Serif digikit

Ingredients

6x6 card blank

Pale blue card stock from stash

background and image Serif - Victoria Nelson digikit

Embossing folders - Couture Creations Large Classics and Sue Wilson Bed of Roses

Spellbinders - Marissa's Bouquet

Sue Wilson - Maidenhair fern

Another Wedding Anniversary card

Hello All

Hope everyone is well. Hasn't the weather turned cold. We had a lovely couple of days with really warm sunshine and now it's bitterly cold again. Hopefully it will warm up soon and now the clocks are going forward, the evenings will be lighter and hopefully it will get warmer. My bones certainly need it
Today's card is a bit of an oldie. It will be our wedding anniversary soon and I made this one a couple of years ago. I think I saw something similar on Pinterest at the time and used it as inspiration. I found an old map of St. Albans where we married and went from there. Something similar would work for a New Home card too

Ingredients

7x7" card blank

Serif background

That Special Touch mask

Distress Ink -Vintage Photo

Spellbinder Vines of Passion D-Lites die

First Wedding Anniversary

Hello All

Huge apology first of all, I thought I'd got this post scheduled and obviously hadn't!
Thank you for your lovely comments and visiting. I enjoyed my dancing on Sunday afternoon and yes, I got cuddles with Oscar. I cannot believe he is now 11 months old, where has that year gone?

On Monday my husband and I went to a new (to us) dance class for Kizomba. This dance is soooo different to wht we're both used to in the Salsa world but we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will be going again.

Anyway today's card was made for  a friend to give to a welsh couple celebrating their first wedding anniversary. I was inspired by a box frame I saw at another Salsa venue. It is of a huge heart of paper butterflies. This venue has numerous inspirational/motivational pictures.
In Serif I created a silhouette of a butterfly shape that I really like. I found some copyright free music paper on the internet and set my ScanNCut to cut out approximately 40 miniature butterflies. I drew a heart onto my card blank and literally stuck them on using Pinflair glue gel.

The friend had a beautiful poem translated into welsh which I used as the insert.

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

music paper printed from a copyright image - edged with Antique Linen distress ink

butterflies cut from an image in Serif on ScanNCut

My oldie for today

Hello Everyone
I hope that you are all keeping well. At last I feel so much better, still have the cough but not nearly as bad as I have been. I am hoping to go dancing tomorrow afternoon - well as it's in the afternoon, it's more like a social because children come too. So, probably not a lot of dancing BUT lots of chatting. It's lovely to be able to have a catch-up and not have to shout or strain to hear what's being said (plus I'll get a cuddle with Oscar, hopefully)

Today's card is a fairly new one BUT was made a few weeks ago and I used  "old" dies to create it with. It's an anniversary card for a crafty friend to give

Ingredients
4x6 card blank
Sue Wilson Embossing folder - Bed of Roses
Spellbinder - Deckle edge
Tattered Lace die - Starlight Oval
Image - a freebie from Serif - Sweet Melody

Craft Rocket Callenges Number 35 - Make It Feminine

Hello All
This is a scheduled post as it is my design for Craft Rocket Challenges This challenge's theme is MAKE IT FEMININE This challenge is sponsored by Di's Digi Designs  You are not obliged to use one of their images but if you have feel free to use them. Why not take a look at the other designers ideas and take part yourself. You have until midday Wednesday 5th April (when Craft Rocket Challenges change to monthly challenges) to enter - but no back linking please.
Unfortunately I do not own any of Di's Digi stamps or downloads and used one of my faithful images from My Craft Studio - Fab Glam 50's. Recently I'd also treated myself to Sue Wilson's Stitched Lattice Frame die set and hadn't used it before. I thought it would make the perfect addition to the background to match "her" pretty netting on "her" hat.This card was being posted and needed to be fairly flat. But in the past, I have added 3D roses/flowers to "her" hat etc

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

black and maroon card stock from stash

Image from MCS cut with ScanNCut together with the mats by adding off set lines

Sue Wilson - Stitched Lattice Frame

Sentiment printed using Parisan font

My oldie for Saturday

Hello All

Hopefully the cough is easing and I'm beginning to feel less "washed out" My husband and I have been off work this week, He wanted to go away but I am so glad we hadn't arranged anything as I would not have been able to go. At least he's managed to still go out dancing and be able to have a little bit of s lie in! Nothing much planned for the week end except I need to make a couple of cards. I haven't felt like crafting AND I don't like to disappear into my craft room whilst he's at home. Whilst the football is on I will probably disappear into my craft room and "play"

Today's card(s) were made for a couple of crafting friends.  One is a knitter and one is a quilter. The background for the "knitter" was a photocopy of a knitting pattern and the I paper pieced the background for the "quilter" The shaker elements were small press studs, beads, safety pins etc

Ingredients

7x7 inch card blank

Spell binder square matting basics

kraft card, gold, silver, black and coloured card from stash

X-Cut haberdashery dies

Playing with Serif and ScanNCut

Ihpe that you are  all well. I am still suffering with a sore throat and cough. The cough has been around for about 7 weeks now and after a couple of courses of antibiotics I am now being sent for breathing tests for possibly asthma. It leaves me feeling just exhausted and washed out.

Anyway, today' card was made for a friend of mine who is a drummer. I decided to pay with Serif and found a copyright free image of this sketchy set of drums. I took it into Photo Lab on Serif and used that to cut it out "away" from it's background. It took me a couple of attempts trying to get in between the cymbal stand etc. I love how I managed to cut the middle out of the bass drum. To brighten it up a little, I decided to add a mat of red. Now, I'm a real newbie to the ScanNCut. If I remember rightly, this was my first attempts at using it. The mats were cut and the guy's name was cut in ScanNCut using basic patterns stored in my CM 300. I am beginning to get a little more adventurous as my previous post shows and "playing" in "canvas". The "Happy Birthday is a die cut using a Presscuts Die Too

Ingredients

6x6 card blank

Red card - Lidll

Black card - The Range

Everything else described as above

Craft Rocket Challenge Number 34

Hello All
This is a scheduled post as it is my design for Craft Rocket Challenges This challenge's theme is NO PATTERNED PAPERS. Why not take a look at the other designers ideas and take part yourself. You have until midday Wednesday 15th March to enter - but no back linking please.

I made this card for a friend of my daughter. Her favourite colour is red and she loves her killer heels. She was determined to buy (and she did!) a pair of Jimmy Choo shoes when the "girlies" visited New York.
A very simple card, none of my daughter's friends are particularly frilly, so this fitted the bill for today's modern women.
 It was inspired by John Lockwood Sadly I cannot get his actual post to come up. He made it a few months ago under the title "Simple Sunday" Please take a look at his blog. It is amazing.

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

Shoe created as a cutting file in ScanNCut - a dingbat from www.dafonts.com and cut from CE black gloss card

Red card - Lidll cut into 2" squares

Sue Wilson - Pierced Flags

Black and white bakers twine 

My Oldie for Saturday

Hello All
I hope you weren't troubled by storm Doris too much. We were exceptionally lucky. As I was on my own it did feel pretty scary listening to the wind howling away and I could hear a few recycling bins crashing down the street. We didn't suffer any injuries or damage though
My cold/infection is still making me feel washed out but I think I have turned a corner and am on the mend
I have chosen to show this card today as I have used this image a lot for both friends my age and my daughter's friends. I always try and make a different version for each card I make (which can prove difficult at times) but this was one of my favourite layouts. The image comes from a free Serif digikit. So I can change the size of it to suit the particular layout
I think I may need to root the image out again and "play" with it - maybe remove the beret and just have the eyelashes and lips - change the colour of the lips and make it more gothic like - decoupage it -  change the colour of the beret - cut out eyelashes and add.... What do you think
I hope you have a great week end. I am hoping to be well enough to go to a Salsa venue on Sunday afternoon, where we chat more than dance and have a catch-up. It's not always easy to talk at night time venues because the music is played at a much louder volume!

Ingredients

Card blank made with Sue Wilson Noble Pierced Squares

Turquoise/green card created with Serif to match colour of beret

Image from a fee Serif digikit

Sue Wilson Open Daisies dies

button from stash 

A card for an adult using Sue Wilson's New Arrivals Shadow Box!

Hello All

Well the cold really took hold and I relented and went to the doctors. I have chest infection and a swollen ear canal! I'm on antibiotics and because the doctor was surprised that I wasn't in pain with my ear, I have to go back to get that checked in a couple of weeks! Ho Hum!
Today's card was made for a friend who is an avid Bridge player. I'd not long treated myself to Sue Wilson's Shadow Box - New Arrivals and wanted to play with the layout to make this card a little different to just a pack of cards. So from one extreme to another! The card is actually made up from the "fall out" pieces
I'm looking forward to the week end, not that I have anything planned but hope to feel less washed out and feel more like doing things

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

Symbols and recipients name printed and traced over with a versamark pen and then heat embossed with clear CE embossing powered

Crafts Too die - Happy Birthday

My oldie forSaturday

Hello Everyone

I hope that you are all well. Thank you for popping in and if you can leave a comment, I do value your time and appreciate your feedback. Recently I have bee catching up on some Hochanda shows I'd recorded (yes I'm that far behind!) where Lisa Horton was showcasing some of Sue Wilson's Perspective dies and was flicking through some of my photos and found this card. I used the small dies in the HAPPY collection. It's a bit of a cheat in that rather than try and line all of the dies in the middle of each square I did them top, middle, bottom!
I haven't got much planned this week end, I'm fighting off a cold. So, I think and just stay put. Crafting will definitely be on the agenda and catch up on more craft shows I've recorded. have a great week end everyone

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

all card stock from Lidll

Sue Wilson Perspective dies - HAPPY

Craft Rocket Challenges #33 - Anything Goes

Hello Everyone, thank you for taking the time and trouble to pop by.
It's time for another Craft Rocket Challenge - here This fortnight it's Anything Goes. You have until 12pm (UK time), Wednesday, 1st March to submit your entries. They have to be projects that have not been previously posted. So, no back linking please. It is just for fun

I thought I would show you the "monster" I have made for my grandson. I have used "Edward's Imaginarium" by Kerry Lord. He bought me the book for my birthday after I'd shown my daughter the book's concept saying that when he was big enough he could design his own "monster" This is a bit of a "tester" in that I did use other yarn instead of Kerry's lovely alpaca yarn. When he's ready to design his own I will defintely be using her yarn because it is so soft. Kerry Lord's site  I will use it a teaching tool for colours and body parts

My oldie

Hello All
How's the weather your way, as I'm typing this it is snowing and beginning to settle. Busy week end again, today is my MIL's 92nd birthday and as her sister is visiting we're going around to see them and Oscar is (hopefully) coming too. On Sunday we are having lunch out with other members of the family.
My oldie is a real oldie. I made this with one of the first decorative dies I bought and Tonic Petal pairs punches - do you remember them I must admit they are languishing in a drawer now. Dies have taken over AND I was beginning to find them difficult to use. Probably user error but I was getting a little frustrated with my attempts to punch them out I.m also showing another vry similar one, this time using Mrs Duck's favourite die - Spellbinders Itty Bitty Blossoms! Apologies on the poor photography

Ingredients

4x6 card blanks

various colours of card including Centura pearl card

Bekka Feakin - Filigree Delights die

Tonic Punches

Spellbinders - Itty Bitty Blossoms

white pearls and tiny gold bling from stash

Printed sentiment

Playing with vellum....

Hello Everyone

Thank you for your visit, if you're able to leave a comment I really appreciate you taking the time.
I had a great week end. On Saturday we went to a surprise 60th birthday party for two of my friends from school days. It was lovely to have a bit of a catch up at a "happy" event, rather than having to meet at funerals, which sadly at our ages appears to be happening far too often these days. Well done to their son and daughter for managing to keep it well and truly under their hats, because their faces when they opened the door and seeing us was an absolute picture!

Today's card is the one I made for our daughter's birthday. She likes "pretty" but doesn't like "frilly/fluffy" stuff. I'd seen Sue Wilson create the background using a Triple Perspectives die and softened it by placing vellum over the top. I followed her tip of keeping the pieces in the card when cutting the second part out. The beauty of these Perspective dies is that it cuts a negative part (as used in this card) and a positive piece. It did take me three attempts because I managed to tear the card when removing the die on one and then managed to stick the vellum on the wrong side on another! Ho hum, after all it's only a piece of card

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

Turquoise card from stash

Printed sentiment

Sue Wilson - Triple Perspectives - Happy Birthday

Sue Wilson - Pierced Flags

Sue Wilson - Dandelion dies

Spellbinders - 5x7 rectangle dies 

My Oldie for Saturday

Hello Everyone
Well! Where on earth did January go! It just seemed to fly by. I'm off to a party tonight which I am really looking forward to. Hopefully, there'll be a few friends there that I haven't seen in ages. So, we'll be able to have a good catch-up. We may go dancing tomorrow but I think it will depend on the weather. It has been so cold, windy and wet!

I am posting an oldie today. I made this card last year for a work colleague. I do find it hard to do male cards. As he enjoys all genre of music, it seemed an obvious choice

Ingredients

7x7 card blank

black and vintage gold cardstock from stash

Printed card created in Serif

Sue Wilson - Pierced Flag dies

Tonic - Treble Clef die

Craft Rocket Challenges #32 It's a Love Thing

Hello All
Today is the star of a new challenge over at Craft Rocket Challenges The theme this fortnight is anything to do with LOVE especially as it's Valentine's day soon. But of course, it doesn't have to be a Valentine card. It could be hearts, anniversary, wedding, engagement, etc. Why not take a look at the other designers work and take part yourself. You have until 15th February to take part and it can be anything new. In other words no back linking please

I took the theme literally and made a Valentine's card for my husband. As it is for a man I have kept it very simple and in one of his favourite colours. It is literally a couple of die cuts - job done. I have to say that CAS cards are one of my favourite styles and Sue Wilson's Perspective collection is one of my favourite die sets at the moment

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

3 shades of blue card from my stash

Sue Wilson's Perspective dies - LOVE

My oldie for Saturday

Hello Everyone

I had a few spare minutes so I thought I'd schedule this post as I'm going to be having a bit of a busy week end. My daughter will be teaching Rueda on Friday evening, we always go and support her, saturday night a Salsa friend is having a "Blow Away the January Blues" party and Sunday I am going to the Craft Show at Sandown - this was something that I wasn't really planning on going to but a friend suggested it and as I was lucky enough to have a ScanNcut for Christmas I thought I would explore and it's a crafty day out woo hoo!
Today's oldie is a simple card that I made, just because... I'd had a play with ink misters and then thought OK what can I do with it. I have had the misters for years and I have only ever used the end result this once. have a great week end.
Are any of you going to Sandown on Sunday?

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

My ink misted background

patterned papers tonally created in Serif

Sue Wilson Pierced Flags

Pesscut/Crafts Too Sentiment

A little bit of summer

Hello Everyone, hope you are all well. I think I'm over the worst of my cold, just feel muzzy headed and tired. A big thank you to Pia for popping along and leaving a comment I hope you'll be able to visit again
As January is so gloomy I thought I'd try and brighten things a little and show you a birthday card I was asked to make for a friend whose favourite flowers are fuschias. I recently started to take photographs of layouts of my cards to get an idea how they would look before sticking anything down. I don't know if it has helped....

This is the one I chose (don't know why it has appeared in this spot I would have liked it to have been at the end!)

Ingredients

5x7 card blank

All created in Serif

Maroon/wine card from my stash

My oldie for Saturday

Hello Everyone, thanks for visiting and if you leave a comment I do value your feedback. The weather here is very sunny but mighty cold I expect.  I say expect because I haven't ventured out since Tuesday because I've had a really nasty, heavy head cold. But (fingers crossed) I think I am over the worst of it.
Today's oldie is a card that I have made several versions of for my crafty friends. Those that knit have a page from a knitting pattern (photocopied), quilters have a paper pieced background and "sewists" have a an image of a dress pattern! The shaker elements are sequins, beads, tiny safety pins, press studs etc. with appropriate embellishments
The sentiment inside this particular one read
"I knit, therefore I am armed with scissors, two very sharp sticks and some very strong yarn. So don't mess with me"
I'm going to have a very quiet week end to see if I can shake this cold off completely - I don't want it to end up as a naty chest infection!

Ingredients

7x7 card blank

card and knitting pattern from my stash

Tonic Circle dies

X-cut Haberdashery dies

beads and buttons etc