First Rudolph Day of 2016

Hello there My Friends

Gosh where did January go then? I don't know about you but I have been pretty busy this month with one thing or another and to be quite honest, I am hoping that February and the rest of 2016 will be a bit kinder to me.

So here we are at the end of January and I have two cards to share with you for the Rudolph Day over at my friend Mo's blog.

Here is the first one...

I stamped some Snippets of red card with the bauble stamps and die cut them with my Spellbinders dies.  More Snippets for the Memory Box ribbon and Penny Black sentiment, a little ribbon onto the background MME paper and a card was born.

And just for good measure, I made another card....

Again I used some Snippets including the glitter paper border down the side and the vellum.  The lady was cut a long time ago when I was with my friend, and I will try and use the rest of them.  It needed a little dolling up when I finished, so added some glossy accents and sprinkled MS glitter over.  The vellum was left over from another card which I stamped the Stampenduous border stamp and embossed gold powder.  No idea where the background music paper came from, I found it in my Snippets drawer when I was clearing it out. 

Running off to my friend Mo's Rudolph Day and the Snippets Playground with my cards.  See you on the swings with Parsnip.  I need a cwtch with my fluffy friend!!

Happy Birthday Rachel...

Hello there Peeps!!

 

Sorry I have not been around  much, but life just seems to get in the way of things lately.  To be honest I had not been in my craft room much lately, or so I thought.  I was thinking it was about time I emptied my camera and there were more crafty photos on there  than I realised so I thought I would share one of the cards made most recently for my Buddie Rachel.

The green is quite different to what these photos show, and the text is a good match, unlike the photos.  I never quite get how some colours, green, blue and red, don't always photograph that well.  Or is it just that the weather was not good when I too, the photos?  Oh hum!!

 

These Spellbinders border dies were bought nearly a year ago and except for the initial playing when I received them, they have not seen fresh air.  Naughty me!!  I will say though that they are pesky little dies and thank goodness I had waxed paper or else they may have just ended up in the bin!!  Thanks Miss Di for that little gem!!

 

I also used a Tonic die for the flourish and Memory Box dies for the butterflies and Liquid Pearls for the dots.  The paper is Bo Bunny which was a fresh-never-been-used-before sheet.  Well Rachel is a good friend.  The butterfly and white pieces were all Snippets so I am going to sneak down to the Snippets Playground and see what is afoot.  I understand Mrs A is planning to put some of my chickens in the Nativity Play, so I want to see who else is going to be on stage!!

 

See you all for some hot chocolate!!

 

Hettie

 

 

Mummy and Daddy's Diamond Anniversary

Hello my Lovelies!

 

My Wonderful parents celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary a couple of weeks ago and I had a little spark of an idea for the card I wanted to make.  When I saw my lovely Buddy's card for her friend's 25th I just knew it was the right idea.  So without further ado here is the card I made for my parents..... 

This photo is one of my favourites of their wedding.  I scanned it from the little album that were given to their parents.  I have my Grandad's album...lucky me!!

 

A close up of the sparkly die cuts.  Can you tell I had great fun making this card?

 

Side view with another photo.  The box base I cut using my Silhouette so that I could have fancy edges.

 

And now one showing the happy Lovebirds cutting their cake.  I am telling you, I have never used so many blingies on one card!!

 

Top view.  I wanted to ensure that the bits looked as good from the front as the back so I adhered another shape to the back. 

I used a few Snippets and had to raid the Christmas Snippets basket as I ran out of the silver.  Luckily I managed to find a few more bits.

Here is the card folded.

 

And now the other folded side.

 

This card took me several hours to make and all the time I was giggling as it was so much fun.  My parents loved it and my Dad, ever the engineer kept looking to see how I made it!!

 

I am going to sneak this into the Butterfly Challenge - K is for Knot...well the were tying the knot after all!!

 

I am also going to skip over to the Cuttlemania Challenge as there isn't a square in sight!!

 

Off to the Snippets Playground now to have a play and see if there is any choklit behind the bike shed!!  See you there!!

 

Hettie

NBUS Birthday Card

Hello there

I know, I know, I have been a very bad blogger lately.  My blog has been badly neglected, save for my Friday Funny posts.  I have visited a few of you, but time has simply been running way ahead of me lately, but hopefully the lure of working outside will not be so strong now as the nights are drawing in and it is getting a little on the cool side now.

I wanted to share my Christening cards I made recently, but I appear to have lost the photos.  Shame as they were gorgeous.  For one of the cards I used the same stamps as this card (well it seemed a shame to put them out too soon!) so I guess I can stretch the NBUS rule as this was only the second time I used them.....

The Lilies are Sheena Douglass stamps that I bought AGES ago and not used them - shame on me.  This was also the first time I used my new Abandoned Coral DI which I LOVE!!!    I inked up the stamp with Versamark and WOW white embossing powder.  I then used Abandoned Coral  and inked the background.  Spritzed and flicked some water, trimmed and adhered to the front of the card.  I needed a little white so used a MB die cut that was in the Tin of Shame.  I used some Snippets to stamp the HB and inked up again, Can you see it is different card as it is darker?  I mounted this on to a slightly larger piece of white snippet having first tied a little ribbon around the card. 

Some pearls spotted around and there you have my card.  I do love this colour and those stamps are not going to be back in their packet for long!! 

 

Right then....off to join in on the following Challenges!

 

NBUS

 

 

Addicted to Stamps Challenge

Snippets Playground

Thank you for calling by.  Please leave me a comment so I know you have been.

 

Hettie

Sympathy Card for a Friend

Hello

I had occasion to send a sympathy card to a friend who lost her brother recently.  I have a lot of envelopes which were given to me that takes cards 4.25" x 8.5" so I needed to make my own cards.

I used my NBUS Spellbinders die that my Special Friend picked up for me at a Stamp Show in US.  Isn't it just gorgeous.  The die cut at the bottom comes out of the centre.  There are two other cuts too, and I will no doubt share those with you another time. 

 

The sentiment is a stamp I picked up quite by chance on a stall in our local market, it was second hand, but just what I needed.  I used DI to stamp it.  I just love the punched details on this die set.

 

 Here is a close up of the die cut with all the detail.  The flower and butterfly die cuts were made with my Memory Box dies, the flower was from another Special Friend who gave it to me when we met up earlier this year.  You know I love it Kath!!  Again, coloured with DIs.

 

Right then, off to play in the Playground as there were lots of white snippets used on this card.  I am grateful to Miss of the Playground, who advised use of wax paper for fiddly die cuts, and boy is this a fiddly die cut!  Worth the trouble though I think!  I am also entering this into the Cuttlebug Challenge which this week is "Anything Goes".

 

Thanks for visiting.  See you on the swings!!

 

Hettie

Scrapbook Tuesday...WaTer on Tuesday...

Hello

 

Yikes!  I better get a shuffle on while it is still Tuesday!  As we had a Bank Holiday last weekend, I planned to catch up on some sleep and have a play in my room.

 

I am not showing you the evidence of my sleep catch up but I will show you what I made in my room....

It has been ages since I did a scrapbook layout and I really enjoyed this one...

 

Aren't these die cut flowers darling?  This is a NBUS  Poppystamps die and was bought for me by a Special Friend.  You know who you are.  Now you know for sure that I love it.  I coloured them with Picked Raspberry, Mowed Lawn, Abandoned Coral (NBUS), Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint, and Pine Needles DIs.  I also cut some MB flowers used with the gutted piece of background.  Some of the flowers to the left of the photo are Prima, some punched card and manipulated and one is layered paper flowers, spritzed, scrunched over a brad and prayed with Brushos when dry.  Things I do for a layout ey!!

These pink flowers are ancient.  Heidi Swapp bought from a craft show many moons ago.  The corner is a Susan Wilson die.

The papers are MME and ...oh darn I forgot.  There are also lots of Snippets used.  This butterfly was "borrowed!" at a retreat several years ago and has been nestling in my Tin of Shame. 

The letters were cut on the Cricut.  I glossy accented them and sprinkled some micro beads on them, as well as the centres of my die cut flowers.

This red flower is a brad by Tilda (NBUS again) which I bought when I saw them in a shop in Prague.  I really didn't expect to see brads in a fabric shop in Prague!!!!

 

 

Right, it is still Tuesday so I am joining Elizabeth for her T on Tuesday, though I am upping my water intake for May as I am conscious I don't drink enough.  Joining the Girlies on the swings at the Snippets Playground too.

 

If you think you may have seen this photo before, you are right.  I scrapped the same some time ago.  However, last year I entered it into my work's Wildlife Photography Competition and it won!! Well, I had to scrap it again as it was a shame to waste the photograph. 

 

Thanks for calling by.

 

Hugs

xx

Rudolph Day

Hello there

Gosh 25th February has come round quick...or is it me?  It is time for the Rudolph Day gathering over at Scrappy Mo's place so here is my card to throw into the pile...

I took a Snippet of card and inked it up with Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot DIs and just swooshed the colours all over.  Once dried I inked up my lovely TH snowflake stamp with some Versamark ink and then embossed it with white WOW powder before heating it with my heat gun.  I cut the top edge with a Tonic die but unfortunately it didn't turn out quite as I planned so I trimmed it down (I did the first die too close to the edge...oops!) and actually liked the curved shape.  So I cut out the MB Snowflake that I currently have on loan from Kath - thank you again.Then back to the drawing board as the piece was a lot smaller than planned.

Cue a NBUS stamp that I bought in US as part of a set that came with a large Poinsettia.  It was a Stampenduous stamp set reduced to $2.  I could not leave it there now could I?  So I inked it up with Versamark and embossed it with silver ink.

On both the card base and the inked piece I used my little splodge stamp, Shaded Lilac on the base card and Silver embossing on the inked piece.  Some silver twine round the inked piece, a tag cut from a Snippet, VOS brad and a Noel cut with my Penny Black die and hey presto another card for the box.

Off to link this with Scrappy Mo and the Snippets Playground.  You have until Saturday to join in on the Rudolph Day...short month this month being February.

Thanks for calling by.

Hettie

Happy Birthday Ann

Hello there

I had snow this morning on the way to work!  What was THAT all about.  I knew it was forecast for the guys up north but since when has South Wales been in the northern part of the country.  Pretty cold it is too today!

Never mine ey.  It is always warm in blogland!

I wanted to share a birthday card I made for a dear friend of mine.  So often she asks for me to make cards for her to send (remember my cows wedding card)  and it was nice to make her one and a 70th one at that!  

It is quite a trick colour for the camera to get right, as with a lot of purple shades.  It was more of a purple grey and some of these cards are more blue.  The photo below is the nearest I think, though the pale blue is not quite right.  You get the drift though.

I seem to be into flowers right now and making my own.  These are quite simply Tonic petal pairs punches (some of the first punches I owned) which I then poked a brad through several layers, then spritzed them and scrunched them over to make them as compact as possible.  Once they had dried off I just pulled them out a bit to created the buds.  Simples.

The dies and embossing folder are all from a set I had before Christmas that I hadn't used so were NBUS.  I kid you not, the embossing folder is a PITA if you have not got an A4 die cutter as it is designed so that you have one background sheet.  Maybe a nice fairy will be kind and deliver the new Sizzix one that is coming out!  Yeah right!!

To compensate for the not being able to use one sheet I added some silver behind, as well as some silver Ivy and Sizzix letters.  My favourite (and only) Memory Box butterflies, a ribbon bow and a spritz of Shimmer Mist and hey presto Ann's card was done.  

I used a plethora of Snippets on here and butterflies with ribbon so I am fluttering by the Snippets Playground and Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge.

See you later folks.  Keep warm and safe.

Hettie

Scrapbook layout...Hurrah!! Tea On Tuesday. Flutterbies!

Hello there!

Brrrr!  My craft room has been shut up all day and with no heating on it sure is cold when I come in!!  What we do for the love of our art ey!

Last night I finished off a layout that I started on Sunday, my first in months!!  So I am sharing it today with my trusty morning cup of Glengettie tea....

 What? You want to see the layout?  Oh! Go on then!!

Not the best shot for some reason as my camera has obviously focused on something.  I cannot take the photo now as it is too dark and the colours will be pants.

Some small close ups for you..

 And now one of  my favourite photos of the day...soooo long ago.  You see I love my headdress.  When I got married tiaras were just coming in and everywhere I went with my Mum to try dresses on the assistants kept insisting I had a tiara but as far as I was concerned, I had lots of those as a girl in my dress up box and so I wanted a grown up headdress.  I got my way, as you can see, even if the stroppy assistant had to order it in specially as the one in the shop had some pearls missing and it was grubby!!  I only planned to have one wedding and so I was having it my way!

I have to say, the upload of this post has taken so long thanks to BT that my tea has now changed to hot chocolate.  Over an hour just to upload the photos.  I hope you like them!

Off to link up with Elizabeth at Tea (or cocoa) on Tuesday as well as Mrs A for the Butterfly Challenge as it is a Valentine theme, and as usual the Snippets Playground as there are Snippets galore in here.  The rub on "You are my everything" is positively ancient and one of the last ones on the sheet so definately some VOS!! I am also joining the Cuttlebug Mania challenge as they are looking for I heart you.  I think this might count!!  I have used lots of die cuts on this layout. If you want to know about anything specific (I lost the will to live and list everything with this internet), ask away!

I shall now be resetting the internet and possibly shoving it somewhere so will be calling by later after that has been done and I have stopped chewing my desk!! 

Thanks for calling by!

Hettie

Winter Birthdays....

Hello There

Brrrrr!  I have just come back in from Dancing where we held a "bit of a do for Rabbie".  In other words, some nibbles, some Robbie Burns poetry, a Highland Fling and a toast to the Birthday Boy.  Coming home it was mighty cold with some sleet which got to be more snow than sleet by the time I got home!!!  Wrap up warm and that advice goes to my blogging friends across the pond.  I can hardly believe what New England is going through only a few months after our visit there.  

Right then onto tonight's post.  

Last week I had a flurry of birthdays, including 3 on Friday alone!  So I decided to make some wintery birthday cards, one of which was for a Playground friend who had kindly let me borrow her MB Snowflake die after I was drooling over my laptop at her cards.  So here is my card...

 

Isn't that die just wonderful?  And typical of MB dies, it cuts so well too.  So how did I make  it?  I took a piece of white cardstock (some of them from the Snippets drawer) and inked it with Broken China, Faded Jeans, Tumbled Glass and Shaded Lilac (NBUS) DIs.  Then I used my favourite technique of spritz n flick by spraying some water into my hand and flicking over the card, leave it a few seconds then dab the excess water.  Once this was dry I then took a TH snowflake stamp, versamark and my new favourite WOW embossing powder and randomly stamped some snowflakes on the card.

Then out with the NBUS MB Happy Birthday die and cut this out then I used the visiting MB Snowflake die.  Unfortunately one of them got a little scuff when I peeled the tape off.  Never mind...out came the PB Smile die and a Snippet of blue metallic and I covered the blemish.  I liked the idea so much I decided to use it on all of them!

Last job was to layer up the two layers onto the card and hey presto cards were completed.  I sent a photo of the first one to Hubster who was in work and his reply was "its a bit Frozen"!  Typical man ey!

I hope you like it.  Expect to see some similar ones now for Christmas any time soon!  This die has now been pushed up the Wish List now I have used it.  Thanks Matey for letting me borrow it.  

Off to the Playground as some of these elements were made from Snippets.  I hope there is plenty of hot chocolate and plenty of room in front of the fire!

Hettie

Multipurpose Design of Cards...

Hello there

Brrrrr!  Tis a cold one here right now and I am typing this whilst huddled under a quilt..a home made one of course!  Do wrap up well and keep well!

A good friend of mine over the seas asked me if I could make some cards for her to sell at a Craft Fair that is organised by her Mom so I sent a bundle of cards which I made using Snippets left over from the Album I made for my Mum a little while ago....

I cut the Snippets into strips and laid them on the card base at an angle.  Some strips were embossed, some were stamped and others had some faux stitches.  I added some MB butterflies and flourishes made using MB and Tonic dies.

I was asked to make some Sympathy cards...I really do not like making these, and I used the same format for making these too.

I used also added some Liquid Pearls to added spots and glimmer.  It is a beautiful pearlised effect.

This was a lovely strip die which I had in my stash for some time and had not used until now. Isn't it just beautiful? 

I am taking all these down to the Snippets Playground.  Bagsie a cwtch with Parsnip!

Thanks for calling by.

Hettie.

Happy Birthday Cherry...

Hello there

I do hope you are all keeping warm and cosy and not snowed in.  But then again....all that extra time to play in the craft room!  Not such a bad thought after all is it?

Towards the end of last year when I was in the C mode it was Cherry's birthday.  Now I usually try and make a card with a Cherry on there somewhere but this year I decided to open the Tin of Shame and make something from there.  I am determined to get that tin at least half empty during this year.  So here it is...

The first thing I decided upon was this stamped image which is Artistic Outpost and was sent to me by a dear friend.  I always think these look like two spinster sisters who run their family haberdashery.  So that was my theme.

The background piece was in an envelope with a WOYWW ATC.  The pink trellis was sent in another envelope of goodies from over the Pond.  The stamping is all Paperartsy.  There are a few MB flowers tucked in behind the image.  I used Snippets for the stampings and matting of image.

This tiny piece of lace has been in the bottom of my lace basket for years and years so it was time it was used up.  I just love all these little haberdashery pieces.  The button and thread labels.  A little glass flower button to finish it off.

All made using Snippets so I am off to the Snippets Playground to check everything is still in place after the winds we have had recently.

Hettie