Happy Halloween Everyone

It's All Hallows Eve tonight so Happy Halloween to everyone.



Hope that hyperlink works, I'll have my fingers crossed!

Happy Birthday Elliot

It's a friends, little boys birthday today, a halloweeen baby. He's going to be 2, here's the card I made for him.

Happy Birthday Elliot, hope you have a great day.

Moo-ry Christmas

I love this little cow and the sentiment, 'Moo-ry Christmas'. I've used him again but on a completely different card. I designed the background paper myself in photoshop and used an old sketch I found on one of the challenge blogs for inspiration, (sorry I can't remember which).

I love this colour combination but I don't think the photo does it justice. The backing card is a opalescent burgundy/brown colour and the snowflakes match this.

Baby Reindeer

Isn't this image just the cutest! I found it while searching through clipart on the internet. It is a line drawing so I've printed it out and water coloured the image. I've used slightly un-traditional colours but I think they work really well together.

New Grandparents

I thought a quick break from Christmas cards was in order. Here's a card I was asked to make for a set of new grandparents. It was their first grandchild and obviously a girl! I made the topper in Photoshop and then decoupaged it. I've used the Skittle-do-doo sizzix alphabet for the lettering.

I hope they like it.

Santa

I've used a different Santa image this time, I think he's really cute and looks a little mischievous! I've used very traditional colours and have added loads of faux stitching! The buttons are out of my huge button tin, I managed o find 3 near the top but the 4th proved to be a bit elusive and I had to empty the whole time to find it!

Snowman

Another Christmas card I have made for my ever growing collection. I'm still crossing names off my card list and have a way to go so there will be more yet!

I realised I never take a photo of the inside of the cards I make. I always include an insert, mostly these are just a folded piece of paper with a printed message but recently I've been adding some more detail and decoration to them. This one is a bit different and matches the outside of the card:

Christmas Card

I think most of the cards I have scheduled to appear on here over the next few days are Christmas cards which until now I hadn't had a chance to blog. So prepare for Christmas overload! Here's the first:




I'm not sure about the finished result of this card, once again I just think it needs something extra but I'm not sure what that is. I'll probably keep looking at it and hopefully inspiration will hit before Christmas!

Birthday Card

Here's a card I made a while ago for the birthday list on CM&P Forum. I've used my bargain flowers which I got at a car boot sale from a lady who used to own a florist's shop and was selling all her silk flowers off for 50p a bunch. The image is one which came free on the front of a magazine a while ago. I keep meaning to use all these things but there's just so many in my stash drawer!

Going away

I'm off down to Devon again this afternoon, it's a bit last minute and I've been running round like a headless chicken all morning trying to get evrything organised and ready. I've been asked to help a couple of nurseries re-write and update all their policies and procedures in line with new Ofsted guidelines. I have been spending quite a lot of my time doing this recently and I love working in Devon as it means I get to spend some time doing what I love - walking in Dartmoor.

As I'm sure you all know by now my internet connection in Devon is temperamental to say the least. For this reason I have left posts scheduled to appear on here daily, so please do check back over the next few days and I'll try to log on and let you know what I'm up to if I can. I am planning on returning the weekend of the 1st November, so I'll catch up with you all then if not before.

I'm going to turn the word verification for comments back on while I'm away as I won't be able to check for spam messages and don't want you all bothered by them.

See you soon

2 Sketches 4 You Bonus sketch

This is a card I've made for someone on the birthday list on CM&P Forum. I used the bonus sketch which is on 2 sketches 4 you this week. Here's the sketch:

Once again I've put the butterflies on strips of acetate to make them jiggle about and you can see this clearer in the second picture.

I've used papers from the Papermania Flowery Pack and a peel off sentiment.

I hope the butterflies make it through the post ok!

Sketch Saturday No. 21

I've got some birthdays coming up and I was beginning to think I'd never get any inspiration for the cards. Then I saw the sketch on the Sketch Saturday blog and an idea for a birthday card immediately popped into my head.

This weeks sketch:
My card:

You can't see the vellum layer very well in the picture. I've stamped it with a smaller version of the same stamp as I've used in the centre of the card. I used white stazon and it is quite a subtle effect which is why it doesn't show that well I guess.

I've used:

2 Anita's stamps
DCWV paper
Turquoise and clear gems

Post soon

Friday Sketchers & Rainbow Lady's

Another card which covers multiple challenges, only 2 this time but I don't think that's bad!

Here is sketch no. 24 from Friday Sketchers:


Challenge no. 35 on Rainbow Lady's challenge blog was to use ribbon, I often use ribbon so this was a nice easy one to achieve!

I've used:

Dovecraft paper
Papermania paper
An image which I received in a swap, (sorry not sure where it originates from!)
Snowflake brads

Post soon

My Time To Craft, A Spoonful of Sugar & Daring Cardmakers

I made this card yesterday with the Spoonful of Sugar challenge in mind and then as I was looking around the other blogs I realised I'd actually covered 3 challenges in one go, (at least I think I have!)

My Time to Craft, Challenge No. 33 was to 'Get Doodling'. You had to include some freehand drawing, this could be a border or picture. I have hand - drawn the cow image and also added faux stitched borders, so I guess I covered this one twice although I have realised a new challenge has been set today so I'm just a lit too late to join in with this one.

A Spoonful of Sugar was a sketch by the very talented Lim, a copy of which can be seen at the end of the post.

Daring Cardmakers challenge this week was to 'Paint the Town', to use any paint on a card. The image is hand coloured using water colours.

I've used:

Backing papers from Dovecraft

Two red buttons, from my stash

A hand drawn and coloured Christmas cow image

Post soon

Papertake Weekly Challenge

Here's the card I've made for the Papertake Weekly Challenge. The sketch is no. 13, drawn by Katherina.


I've finally managed to get away from Christmas cards and make a much needed birthday card instead. I love using blues and like the colour combinations on the card. I'm not so happy with the image as I think I could have chosen better colours and also the paper has creased/wrinkled slightly as I used thick paper instead of my watercolour pad because I couldn't find it!

The papers are from DCWV
The stamp is from the 'Dotty Dollie' set
Sentiment is a Papermania rub on

Post soon

Kaboodle Doodles Challenge 7

The challenge over at Kaboodle Doodles this week is to make a tag.

I needed to make a tag for my Mother's birthday present. It's not her birthday until December so I wasn't going to do it yet but having seen the challenge I thought I may as well join in and get something else ticked off my to do list!

Here's the tag I've made:

I've included two images to make it easier to explain what I've done!. The tag is made by putting tiny slits in the backing paper and threading strips of acetate through these. I've then added butterflies to the ends of these and silk flowers on the base. The butterflies jiggle about with the slightest movement or breeze and look like they are flying!

Hope you like it!

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge

Just slipping this one in before the Saturday deadline! This sketch is for challenge no.2 over at The Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge. It's another great sketch which really inspired me. Here's the sketch:


Once again I've made another Christmas card, my brain seems to be well and truly stuck in Christmas mode now. I've got some birthday cards to make but I just can't seen to get away from the festive ideas! I've gone for really traditional red and green and used my current favourite stamp.

I've used the following:

Penny Black 'Xmas Kiss' stamp which has been coloured with watercolour pencils
Papermania Merry Christmas stamp
Backing paper from the Dovecraft 'Tis the Season' Pack
Red narrow ric-rac ribbon
Silver gems

Post soon

Sketch Saturday

It's sketch number 20 over at Sketch Saturday and it's a great one. I found this to be an inspiring sketch and had no problem at all coming up with a card to fit. Here's the sketch:


I decided to make another Christmas Card as I've still got loads to make although the list is getting gradually shorter!


I've used:

A Forever Friends Sticker which came free on the front of a magazine
Backing paper from the Dovecraft 'Christmas Traditional' Pack
Green paper from the Dovecraft 'Victorian Christmas' Pack
Plain mustard yellow cardstock
Christmas domed stickers, (not sure where these are from as they are no longer on their bag!)
White ribbon

Post soon

Cuttlebug Challenge 3

I popped over to the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog earlier just to see what the challenge was this week and I got carried away and have finished my item already!

This weeks challenge has been set by Trudi and is 'to create something other than a card or to alter an item using your embossing folders'.

I'd already decided that I am going to make little Christmas gift boxes which will either contain hand made choccies or biscuits so I've been saving little cartons and boxes to be decorated. I thought this was the ideal opportunity to make a start on these and this is what I've come up with. There are 3 different views so hopefully you can get an idea of what the whole tin looks like.

I've used a small cuttlebug embossing folder to emboss a sheet of metal and have then cut this out and stuck it in the top of my tin.

Other items used are:

Paper from Dovecraft 'Christmas Traditional' pack

Skittle-de-doo Sizzix Alphabet

Penny Black 'Xmas Kisses' stamp water coloured with pencils

Green ribbon from 'Anitas'

And of course a custard tin!

I wonder if I'll be the first to post my creation on the cuttlebug blog??!!

Post soon

2 Sketches 4 You Kazan's Sketch 11

I managed it - another card made for another challenge!

This card is for the challenge over on the 2 Sketches 4 You Blog, another fantastic blog with great sketches.

I just love this little stamp and think it will appear an awful lot in my Christmas cards this year!

I've used:

Plain red cardstock

2 papers from the Dovecraft 'Victorian Christmas' 8x8 Paper Pack

Penny Black 'Christmas Kiss' Stamp

Watercolour pencils to colour the image

Square Nestabilities

'Merry Christmas' Stamp from a Papermania set