My 500th Follower!!

JennyC69 - Please e-mail me ..... you are my 500th follower .... and I'd like to send you a small present xx

Golden Wedding Anniversary Card

I make quite a few of this card design throughout the year, each one is slightly different, mainly because I can’t remember what I did the last time!

I’ve used a variety of punches for the flowers and foliage, keeping colours to gold, cream and beige.  

I’ve used shades of yellow flat backed gems, but think I will have a look to see if RhinestonesOnline have some gold nail heads that would be suitable.

I don’t know why, but I was given a pile of this gold A4 paper but don’t use it very often for inserts, but it goes through the printer a treat and carries the golden theme through perfectly.

18th Birthday Card Using Quickutz Silhouette and Punches

There isn’t too much to this card.  The background is a DCWV paper from Granny’s Kitchen (I think). The numbers and letters were cut on my Quickutz Silhouette.  The design is finished off using small daisy punchies with a red flat backed gem centre and faux stitching using a white gel pen.

Simples!

What’s On My Desk Wednesday

This is going to be my long term project for 2011.  I got this blank calendar too late to make up  this year from Hobbycrafts sale for £1.99 last week.

The rings are not very big, which means I can’t do anything bulky, so I am going to have a go at making up the pictures for each month using digital scrapbooking elements, I hope to show you what I come up with as and when I finish them.

Who’s Counting? Fiftieth Birthday Card

My sister-in–law came up with the idea for this card for her husbands fiftieth birthday. She’d seen something similar but wanted me to make it a bit more personal for him.

Very Easy Fingerless Mitts

I am really enjoying discovering knitting again, but at the moment I only want to tackle projects that can be completed in a couple of nights and these fingerless mitts just fit the bill!

When I was given the pattern it just said use a “50g ball of wool” – so I thought chunky would be best, but as I didn’t have any, I have used two balls of double knitting together (I hope that makes sense)  It’s hard to see the colours, but the wool is a mix of purples, greens and cream.

You will need a pair of 4mm or 4.5mm needles.

Pattern

Cast on 32 sts.

Work in K1, P1 rib until work measures 3.5 inches.

Stocking st. 5 rows (P1 row, K1 row)

Increase 1st at each end of next knit row (34sts)

Stocking st. for next 3 rows

Increase 1st. at each end of next knit row (36sts)

Stocking st. for next 3 rows

Increase 1st. at each end of next knit row (38sts)

Work 10 rows stocking stitch

Work 4 rows K1, P1 rib

Cast off loosely.

Finishing:-  Sew ends in, Sew cuff and side, leaving a gap for the thumb, and then knit another one to make a pair!

I wanted my mitts to be a bit longer so added  another 4 rows of stocking stitch before the ribbing at the end.

I’ve Been Hopping …… Morsbags

You’ve got to visit this site:- http://www.morsbags.com/

I haven’t had time to make a “morsbag” yet, but without doubt I shall be making quite a few this year. The pattern is so brilliantly simple and can be downloaded free from the site.

The idea behind the site/bags is to make cotton bags for you and your friends etc. to try to eliminate the need to use plastic supermarket bags. BRILLIANT!

http://blog.quiltingonline.co.uk/2007/11/recycle-your-fabrics-with-morsbags.html

Birthday Times Card for Science Technician and Biker Lady

 

I was asked to make a card for our biker Science Technician, and it was a joy to make as everything just came together brilliantly.

I’ve used my basic Birthday Times template and then added clip art and embellishments to fit the theme.  The background paper for the bike is part of a page from a road map book, the scale and colours are just perfect.  The bike is a die cut I got from e-bay (in the days before I had a die cutter of my own) and I’ve just stuck large clear flat backed gems for extra bling on the wheels.

The test tubes are free clipart, I have added Anita’s 3D clear gloss finish to the coloured part of them for texture and dimension, and clear flat backed gems for the bubbles.

Needlework/Sewing Card

This card measures 12.5 x 12.5 cms.

The idea for this card came to me while rutteling about in a bag of brass charms that had been given to me.

I’ve used my X-cut 1in scalloped square punch and paper from a Papermania  Signature Blueberry Hill pad.

I’ve gone a bit mad on the faux stitching in a light brown Marvy le Plume fine tipped pen, but I think it works with the theme of the card.

Hmmmm …. My Sock Monkey

 

I’ve wanted have a go at making a sock monkey for ages, and this was an inspired Christmas present from my sister-in-law. 

The instructions seemed very clear and simple, and the pack was labelled Age 6+!

I embarked upon the project with great gusto, but after seeing my first effort, Mr FiddleFart picked it up and examined it  carefully saying , “I think you must have followed the instructions wrong!” Hmmmmm….

I know sock monkeys are not supposed to be really cute, but I seem to have created the “Evil Sock Monkey from Hell”, the stuff from which horror films are made!

I have to admit sewing isn’t really my thing, in fact it makes my gums itch and I can’t do any fancy stitching, which probably accounts for the “evil” mouth. So, I will keep the pattern in a safe place, and may have another go when I see an “inspiring” pair of socks! But there again perhaps I should stick to paper!!!

Retro Dressmaking Card

This card measures 17cm x 12.5 cms.

Remember all those old tape measures I plundered?  Well this is my first project using them, and it’s quite a different style for me……

I’ve cut out illustrations from this very old McCall's sewing book to make a background collage.  I bought it for no more than 10p from a car boot sale. It must date back to the 1950’s judging from the designs in it, which is why I bought it in the first place.

After making the centre collage panel,  I glued on the fabric tape measure and made a rough bow,  then matted it on black card.

I was going to leave it at that, but then remembered some brass sewing charms I had been given, so I added them to the corner of the card, continuing the sewing theme.

I’m not sure if I will let this card go ….. but it’s one tape measure down, and about another twenty three to go!

Liquid Beadz Pendant

Oh my life, I’ve just discovered Liquid Beadz! I know they have been around for ages, but it was only when I saw them reduced in HobbyCraft that I decided that  29p was neither here nor there to have a little play,  ….. well, now I am addicted and wish I had bought a couple more pots!  Typical!

The instructions were very simple to follow …. 

For this first attempt I cut a 2 ins square of strong card and covered it with a mixture of Midnight and Topaz Beadz with a spatula (not supplied).  They didn’t feel that sticky, but held onto the card well. I then decided to embellish the Beadz with other gems and charms I had by pushing them into the Beadz base, but admit to using a bit of extra PVA with them, just in case they didn’t stick, and since it dries clear, nothing would be lost.

It looked a bit of a mess when wet as you can see in the picture above.

But when dry I was thrilled with the results.

I wasn’t sure what to do with this first experiment, but in the end decided to turn it into a pendant.  I coloured the little bits of card still showing on the front and the whole of the back in black, and then sealed the back using Anita’s 3D clear gloss and added a flat back bail.

I’m not sure how wearable/durable it will be, but I can always turn it into a fridge magnet later.  However, as I like the end result,  I will invest in a couple of proper pendant bases to make a more “professional” piece of jewellery next time.

Wednesday’s Work In Progress

This was a Christmas present from my husband, it’s for me embellish and make more nautical for the garden.  I am not quite sure where to begin, so I am Googling for ideas at the moment.  I have some seashells and a drill, so that’s a start ….. I think I need some star fish and some crabs …… any ideas are very welcome!

My Suitcase of Crafty Treasure and Happy First Day Back At Work Favors …..

I was given a box of “crafting treasure” by a friend a little while ago and I am trying to use something from it as often as I can.  It’s so special  that I keep it all in a lovely old battered suitcase, so that its contents don’t get mixed up with my other stuff.

Anyway, I was looking through it and found these lovely little handbag die cuts and immediately had an idea for “little silly presents” for “the girls” to celebrate our first day back at work in 2011.

First I assembled the bags, using just a bit of glue and mini pegs to keep them together while they dried. What to put in the bags I wondered ………

I knew everyone would be back on their diets and chocolate of any description would be a out of the question, but not emergency rations ….. so I covered a Dairy Milk miniature to pop in each bag.

As a finishing  touch I tied on a small metal charm, also from my suitcase of treasure …… they are so cute I can hardly bare give them away now!

Blog and Site Hopping

I’ve been hopping again and I’ve found the “Jam Jar Shop” – I am always on the look out for little jars for sweets etc. throughout the year …… and this place has some really interesting stuff http://www.jamjarshop.com/index.asp

 

This year I am determined to start knitting again and I know that this blog Little Cotton Rabbits will inspire me to make a start http://littlecottonrabbits.typepad.co.uk/free_knitting_patterns/

And Here’s One I Prepared Earlier…..

This is an idea I got from follower Marc, to make ready prepared centres for Elisabeth Shaw mints etc. to use with my Stampin’ Up 1 3/8 plain circle punch.  Before, I have handwritten each and every sentiment on my mints, a laborious task, but Marc suggested that if I wrote out a sheet of sentiments, it could be photocopied or printed off again and again. Now, why didn’t I think of that?

To make the sheet, I first punched out a circle to use as a template and lightly drew round it twenty times on a sheet of card,  then I wrote “Happy Birthday” in each of one, rubbing out the pencil marks when I had finished. All I had to do then was scan the sheet and save it as a PDF file.  How simple is that?

The sentiment now fits perfectly in the punch and has saved me hours of work.

I deliberately didn’t add any faux stitching round the edge of the circle as that would make lining up the punch a little fiddly.

But by using a fine black liner pen, you can’t see the difference once the faux stitching and a few little stars etc. are added. It would also be easy to add dots to the letters to turn it into a dotty font.  I am presently working on a whole file of sentiments which I will probably offer as a freebie once they are done.