Bird crazy

Good morning and welcome to the blog.

It's my wonderful son-in-law Jonny's birthday tomorrow and this is the card I made for him.

I love, love, love these birds from the Tim Holtz 'Bird Crazy' set and I've ordered the accessory stamps as well, mind you I did order them two months ago! Still patiently waiting but getting a tad irritated now. Never mind, these little guys filled the bill for my card today.

I made a card base 5 x 7" and inked the front of the card with distress inks in salty ocean, peeled paint, scattered straw, dried marigold and a hint of tattered rose. 

I stamped the corners with two Hero Arts stamps - Envelope pattern and Grid pattern in Versafine Olympia green.

The branch die is from Marianne designs

The sentiment is cut from a Heartfelt Creation's stamp - 'All Seasons Sentiments' HCPC3544 that is full of all sorts of useful words that you can cut out to form loads of different greetings. Just genius!

I've coloured my birds with an assortment of inks (that is short hand for saying I can't remember exactly) and the eyes are made using Tonic's Crystal drops in Pearl white and ebony.

As Jonny has a really quirky sense of humour I'm sure these wee guys will have the desired effect and raise a smile.

Thank you for joining me today.

Have a good one! 

Flowers Galore!

 A very good morning to you.

It's Friday!! Yeah, almost the week end. I have to go out and sort out my winter wardrobe, well some of it anyway. I think I've told you before that I hate clothes shopping but it's got to be done. Most of my stuff from last year is too big now so need's must as they say. 

I've two cards today with similar themes but using different dies to embellish them.

Apologies for the sideways pic but my 'full frontal' one was too blurry. LOL

I wanted to show that you can use your dies with all of your crafty techniques and I have missed colouring in stamped images lately.

I placed the Trailing Blossom dies outside and inside my card but I noticed that Jodie shadowed them in her demo. I think I liked that way better but here you go - here's my original version.

Tonic - Trailing Blossom die set; Square layering dies; Martha embossing folder

Stamped image - Heartfelt Creations Sunkissed Fleur Swirls [HCPC 3537]

Sentiment - Heartfelt Creations Beautiful You [HCPC 3532]

Chameleon pens for colouring - Olive green, Spring Meadow, Seville Meadow, Warm Sunset, Red

Close up of stamped image

My second card uses another of my favourite flower stamp images.

Tonic - Amelia embossing folder

 Small Dainty bow die set 

Tails from the Large Dainty Bow set

Sentiment from Tonic toppers

Hero Arts Delicate Blossom stamp set

Chameleon pens for colouring - Red, Olive green

Pearlescent paper to back bows

Pearls from stash

Close up of stamped image

Hope this inspires you to get those stamps out and inked. Your Tonic dies will work perfectly with them every time! :) 

Scrapbooking? Me?!!!

Good morning and welcome to the blog today.

My project to share today is, well you've guessed it, a scrapbooking page.

If you know me at all you know I don't do scrapbooking. It terrifies me!

I was asked to make a page for the current launch so here we are.

Tonic - Trailing blossom Floral die

Royal Shrub Strip die

Silhouette First Dance die set

Tag shape from the Beautiful butterfly  frame collection

Oval layering dies

Victoria embossing folder

Heartfelt Creations Daphne collection paper

Vintage seam binding

Computer generated names

Flowers from stash

Resin bird from the Ribbon Girl

Gathered twigs distress ink

Embellishment Attic bow maker

Marshmallow Glimmer mist

I only had time to take a quick pic and it hasn't caught the gorgeous gleam on the roses but it's there. :)

I love the way the blossom die hugs the centre image and draws your eye to the romantic couple.

I've called them Ernest and Mabel and printed the names onto one of the labels available in the Daphne collection papers.

Right oh! off to have a lie down and recover.

See you soon! 

Say it with flowers

It's the middle of the week and as we are having a grandson free zone for half term I'm able to get a few things sorted out and tidied up. 

As I have mentioned, the girls and I made a card in the box for our main project last night and this is mine.

I promise it's the last one for a while as I now have quite a collection. 

This one is simply a congratulations card - I can add details to the side panels when I know to whom I am sending it.

Heartfelt Creations - Daphne papers

Sun kissed fleur and leaves dies

Stamen from a Leone Em punch

Filigree border and bow - Sue Wilson (Creative Expressions)

Butterflies - Ribbon Girl

Sentiment - Stamping Up

Worn lipstick, peeled paint distress inks

A sideways view

Close up of bow and butterfly

I love this array of pink flowers, I just love Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies anyway, so any excuse to use them is a good excuse.

I hope you have a good day and thank you for calling in to see me.:)

A profusion of butterflies

Hi, welcome to the weekend on the blog.

We have watery sunshine this morning accompanied by gusts of wind and it's freezing cold. Brrr!!

I cannot imagine what it must be like for those people whose homes are under water. How they are coping defeats me and my thoughts are with them. I hope the Government finds a way, and quickly, to alleviate their misery.

Surprise, surprise!!! I have another card in a box today, this time filled with butterflies. 

I said that these wee cards are addictive and so they are. There isn't a theme that you can think of that this format doesn't fit!

I've gone a little overboard with the embellies but I love this one. :)

Papers - First Edition - Noir et Blanc

Sentiment - Hero Arts

Flowers - Sizzix medium Sizzlet die

Swirls - Tonic - Frond Finesse and Sensational Sprigs

Butterflies - Tim Holtz Alterations - Movers and Shapers die

Small butterflies - X Cut punch

Trellis - Heartfelt Creations die

Gathered twigs distress ink

A sideways view. 

I do hope you enjoy this one, I certainly loved making it. 

Thank you for joining me today. Have a good week end.

Lots of people have asked me where I found the instructions for the card. You will find it here - 

Card in a box 

Enjoy!! 

I've popped this into the Open Minded Crafting Fun Challenge #4  

I hope it fits the remit! :) 

The Crafting Musketeers # 10 'Butterflies'

Decorated tissue box

Hi and welcome on this dull and rainy Saturday. It's so dark here it's like late afternoon or early evening. 

I'm sniffing and sneezing like a good 'un here so I thought I would decorate my tissue box to cheer myself up a bit. :)

I love these oval boxes of tissues but they are a tad more expensive than the little cube ones so I did a little yanking and tearing and opened up the bottom so now I can refill the box with more modestly priced tissues and still have the shape I like. 

Although the pattern on the box wasn't bad, it didn't really match the setting so I sought out some of my old designer pads and hit on this combo.

K & Co - Watercolour bouquet papers

Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur stamps and matching die

Tonic Victorian border punch; Frond finesse and assorted butterflies

Ribbon from stash

The wee floral panel

A view to show the top of the box. Of course I didn't have enough of the little patterned flower papers left so I had to resort to another one, but I'm sure no one will call the DP Police and have me arrested.

I didn't have an oval die to fit the shape so I was a little bit challenged re: cutting the oval top out. 

I ended up inking the plastic rim of the box and pressing the wrong side of the dp on top to get the shape. I used Spellbinder petite ovals for the centre.

After getting the 'template' I cleaned the edge of the box and I'm glad to say it worked!

I hope you have a super week end and find some time to have a crafty play. 

I suppose I'd better pretend I'm actually doing something and get myself dressed. Oh! I can hear the wee man from Hermes at the door - it must mean my latest Tonic Intrica dies and punches have arrived. I know what I'll be doing this afternoon!!!!!!!

See you soon! :)

Be Blessed

It's the weekend! Time for a little crafty fun I hope.

First of all, apologies for the awful pics. I had to use my daylight lamp - it's so dark outside and all I've managed to do is catch the shadows. The colours are a bit washed out but hopefully you will get the idea of it anyway.

My thanks to Alison Whelan for the beautiful image. I follow Alison on Pinterest and she has a gorgeous collection of vintage images with links to JanetK's website where you can get a lot more. They are free to use so if you like vintage you will love these.

Cream hammered card for the card base and butterflies

Vintage image (re: above)

Tonic Semi Verso die - Butterfly princess; Antique label; vine edge punch

Paper clay flower coloured with Viva Decor Inka gold

Butterfly stamps - Heartfelt Creations

Promarkers for colouring - satin, almond, tan, baby pink

gems from stash

Gathered twigs distress ink

Papers - Papermania 'Beautiful' edged with spun sugar and bundled sage distress inks

Close up of the image 

I've matted it onto three of the antique labels cut up to form a frame

I've decorated the inside of the card to complement the front

Thank you so much for popping in today.

I'm off to take down the Christmas decorations!

 

How about a bit of bling?

Hi there, I hope you are having a good weekend and finding some time to craft. 

I've been busy, busy, busy but found literally a few minutes last night (whilst Dr Who was on - I'm not a huge fan) and rustled up this fun, blingy card.

I found the pink and silver card blank in the middle of some stash so thought I would put it to good use.

Tonic Studios - Holly rings die cut inside the card and backed with silver mirri

Spellbinders snowflakes

Sentiment - Heartfelt Creations

Bling from a huge roll I bought at the Belfast show

Ribbon from stash

I've glittered round the edge of the sentiment but it's not showing very well in the pic

So it was in for a penny, in for a pound and on went the blingy bits with red liner tape. :) 

A sideways view to show the layers

Well, it's a bit out of my comfort zone but I did have a lot of fun putting it together.

The girls took me out for a birthday meal and cinema visit on Friday night. The meal at Redz was superb, nothing fancy but lots of variety, well cooked and lots of it! The film 'Philomena' was absolutely wonderful. Full credit to Judi Dench and Steve Coogan for their superb acting. The cast was great and the story line poignant and very, very real. There are still Irish women looking for children taken from them all those long years ago - it seems such a shameful episode but many really lived through it.

I would recommend it to you.

Thank you for calling in and hope you have a good week ahead. 

Tonic meets Heartfelt Creations

Hi, I hope you are having a great weekend the awful weather notwithstanding. :)

It's been so dismal here I thought I would have a wee play with some of my older stash. 

I've brought the Tonic Verso Delicate Lattice die and punch (ahem! that is very new) out for an airing whilst I wait, and wait, and wait for Create and Craft to deliver my new Indulgence dies.

7 x 7" square card

Tonic Verso Delicate Lattice die and matching punch

Centura Pearl card stock embossed with one of my new Embossalicious folders

Sentiment - Whimsy

Stamped image - Heartfelt Creations Sun Kissed Fleur collection

The image is coloured with Promarkers

The butterfly is cut from a Spellbinder's die - Les Papillons and glittered with Art Institute crystal glitter

A close up of the butterfly detail

Sorry about the pics but the light is very poor and I'm no photographer. :)

Thank you for calling in today.

Dance like no one's watching

Good morning and welcome. Well it's Monday and we are into another working week. I think Monday's make me appreciate even more that I'm retired. I used to dread them and the weekend was never long enough. :)

Today I have a card featuring another of the lovely freebies from All Dressed Up. You can get them HERE. 

I've teamed the little ballerina with Heartfelt Creations Daphne collection papers

The music strip is from Memory Box

The sentiment is taken from a much larger stamp and die cut with Die-Namics ticket die (Blueprints 3 set) 

The butterflies are taken from my new butterfly border die by Joy Crafts

I've coloured them with Viva Decor Inka Gold paints in Rosa and Rose Quartz. 

The image mat cut from my all time favourite Spellbinders Floral Oval die is coloured the same way. 

Did I ever say how much I love these paints? I think you may have heard me mention it a few times. :)

The flowers are cut from felt using the Memory Box phlox flower die set

The leaves are X-Cut punch birch leaves

Peeled paint distress ink

Felt scallop border and pearls from my stash

The ballerina is coloured with baby pink and antique pink Promarkers

Skin - soft peach, oatmeal and blush, baby pink

Hair - caramel, sandstone, daffodil bloom

A sideways view to see the layers

I've decorated the inside to complement the front of the card.

I think I'll enter this into the All Dressed Up challenge #1 'Anything Goes' as you are allowed up to three entries! :) 

I hope you have a good start to the week.

Play time!

Good morning. Hope you are well and having a great start to the week, or should I say midweek. :) The days just fly by and in no time we will be sorting out Christmas presents and planning the menus for our family get togethers. 

I received a die this week that I've had my eye on for ever. I didn't want to pay £20 for it so I kept an eye out until I found it at a reasonable price and nabbed it for my collection. 

I've popped a picture on rather than try to describe it. As I was playing with it I quickly realised I could get a lot more out of this one die than just cutting it in one piece. This is not news to those of you who own it I know but it was fun cutting it up.

I've also put a piccy on that shows my cutting up so far. You could still use the lattice portion as just an open scallop edge if you wanted to. It's a beautiful die that cut like a dream in my Big Shot Pro. I can see me using it in all sorts of ways in the future. 

I've labelled the 'borders' in the pic. The little arches remind me of tiny windows too, or if you cut the sections up you could make a flower from them. I've used the single segments from Section 3 to make this stylised snowflake for a simple Christmas card. 

The centre motif is from my new Spellbinders Delicate Doilies die set and the greeting from the Tonic Christmas Cracker set.

The embossing folder is from the Embossalicious range at Crafter's Companion - Star of Wonder

A close up of the 'snowflake'  I've used Art Institute crystal glitter to add a wee bit of bling

A very simple card using much the same ingredients but this time the motif has been used to make baubles. The sentiment is from Crafter's Companion

The ink is Memories Cherry Red and actually doesn't look that pink!

The card stock I've used for embossing is Centura Pearl silver white

I know that anyone who already owns this die has probably found a dozen more uses for it but I enjoyed myself just trying out the obvious.

Have a good one and I'll catch you soon!

Winter Fairy

Hi and welcome today.

I treated myself to some gorgeous Wee Stamps yesterday drawn by the lovely and talented Sylvia Zet.

This one features the Winter Fairy image, isn't she lovely?

I was dismayed to discover that I hadn't any vintagey traditional papers in my stash! I have so much Christmas stuff but nothing hit the spot at all. I finally uncovered my last pieces of MME 'Happy Holidays' 6 x 6" collection so though it isn't the backing paper I would have chosen it was the only one that I left. :) Needs must!

Image - Winter Fairy - Wee Stamps

Papers - My Mind's Eye 'Happy Holidays'

Holly Berry and Striped Sun Kissed Fleur stamps and dies - Heartfelt Creations

Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Pinecone and branch die

Spellbinders - Ironworks - Motif die

Sentiment - Craftwork Cards

Vintage photo distress ink

The image is coloured with Promarkers - sorry I put them all away and forgot to note down which ones I used.

Crystal glitter - Art Institute

I've decorated the inside to complement the front and added a greeting cut from a HOTP Cardmaker's Christmas Card quotes pad that I unearthed in my search for a backing paper! 

A sideways view to show the layers

I hope you enjoy this card today. Thank you for joining me and for any comments you leave. 

Don't forget there's a free digi bundle to be won from Charmed Cards and Crafts. Just leave a comment under THIS POST to be in with a chance of winning a bundle of your choice! :)

Have a great day!