Photo heavy

I have just looked and have far too many uploads to do individual posts so I'm going to 'spam' my own blog :o

Here goes!!!!!

I made both these boxes to showcase them really but the 40th sold before anyone really got to see it! Which was good of course!

I've been wanting to make a card using patchwork for a while and I bagged two bargains from Everycraftsapound in the papers and the inch punch (the papers may well have been less than a £1). I love the sickly sweet colours on this.

Another commision. My remit was that the recipient likes horses and I knew just the source for this pretty necklace. A card that is a gift - perfect!

I really really love making these boxes. Since i bought a file for my Robo - sorry Silo - nah, he'll always be my Robo - to cut them I can make them easily when I want, no measuring! I really love the news stories in the generation ones too.

I think I made about 15 of these little note books. I love the ones above this text but then again, I really love the October Afternoon typewriter. I had stamping issues until I asked Sue at our Craft n Chat group who suggested stamping on a mouse mat. Lifesaver!

I love these jars. I love the concept and really really should make a journal with one myself.

 
These were an idea I found on the internet. I couldn't find a verse to go that was more UK than USA so I made one up - I quite like it, I'm no threat to the poets of the world though!

Adam has been a busy boy lately too, this is his first 'sale'! I gave him a Kanban kit I no longer loved and he has made amazing cards from it. He also sold a few at the Fayre - more cards than I did!

Here he is working very hard at making Christmas cards. We could be an '& son' in 15 years time :o)

This pic was just sooooo adorable I had to include it. I'm thining of getting it put on a canvas!

These little jars were my contribution to the Friends of School committee. They then filled them with sweets to sell. I bought one for my niece and have one for Adam put away for Christmas - although he knows we have it! I love the images off the Serif CD-rom! And it was a freebie, bonus!

My lovely niece was 11 on 11.11.11 so I wanted to make something to celebrate how rare this is. I used only photos from this year. Got to do patchwork again too!

this is my chaotic stall at the school. I was in Adam's classroom which was lovely if a little distracting!

When we went to my sisters for my nieces birthday, she informed me I'd promised to make her a cake again this year - guess who broke her promise and forgot? Luckily I got a chance to make it up to her when they came over the weekend after! She loves Club Penguin and has a Puffle she takes to bed - she'd kill me if she reads this!

And finally these are the start of this years Chrismas cards. I only have 60 to make :o    Yup, 60, so, I could make 10 of each design or carry on playing with the gorgeous stamps and papers some more. The papers were another bargain from Everycraftsapound although they were a little more, and I bought 2 packs since they are sooooooo lush!

And breath.............

Christmas gift boxes

Well, I've been given inside info that cards are not a big seller at craft sales. A little gutted by this news but since I do love to diversify my crafts I have set out to make some little papercraft gifts. These little boxes were cut from my Robo - do I need to change his name by deed poll??? Silo maybe :p The papers were the yummy free ones by My Minds Eye (on some) which sadly seem to be discontinued. I was so gutted to find that out I went and bought the mag again for another freebie!

Parent's Christmas Cards

These were inspired by a Barbara Gray demo on Create and Craft. She was showing rain drops on a brayered skyline and I thought I could make it Christmassy. I, sadly, don't have a good brayer yet and mine gives a very 'mottled' look so I ended up using foam pad and distress ink to achieve the sky. I love the trees in this card.

Gift Tag

I was asked by a colleague to make a gift tag for her parents. I recently joined a 'craft n chat' group which falls every other WWednesday and that is my day off - happy days!!!!! The ladies there are such a lovely group and I'm loving going. I've had a day where I spent it playing inking, another where i was very productive, I've taken Adam who did far more than I did. I made this tag one session. never before has 4 hours flown so fast.

I love this little tag - well, it is probably 'big' in the tag world! really quite a simple tag too!

Sooooooo Bad!

Oh, it really is quite scary how far behind I am here. I have been so so busy preparing for my first every craft sale it got to where it didn't seem worth the fallout. I very nearly cancelled. but, that was a couple of weeks ago now and I'm a lot calmer. I'm going to do a mass upload here hopefully and get caught up!

Adam had his birthday party late again this year. We had a disco party for him hence the 'decks' cake. It was a very last minute thought for a cake and for once it went very smoothly when it came to baking it. The party nearly managed the same apart from when he went head first into a door and had a lump so big i wouldn't have believed it possible apart from in a cartoon. Luckily there was a slush machine at hand to get the 'ice' from. Oh this pics are still playing up I see!

Ooooooh, pretty!!!!!!

I have to thank Jo Channon for this technique, and the crackle one she helped me perfect a while back. I saw her do this recently and needed to try it.

I recently bought some button blanks which I got to play with too. I've used a scrap of the matt ivory to cover it here. Again I used the Xyron Design Runner for the sentiment. The stamp is Kanban. I need to add acetate to my shopping list - think I'm going to be making a few of these!

You can't see this very clearly but it is very sparkly with micas and glitter. I used Cosmic Shimmer to spritz the card before adding the elements. I love this card and keep peeking at it.

I'm also entering it into the Sir Stampalot blog challenge. I'm very new to entering blog challenges but the lovely reception I got from the ladies here has encouraged me to return.

Messy me time!

Well, Adam turned 8 whilst we were away on holiday - where does the time go? Mark has been wanting to take him to the Space Centre in Leicester for a long time but it is a loooong way from here. When I googled it I spied that it was a Lego weekend there this weekend just gone and Prof. Heinz Wolf was there too - Mark seemed to know who he was lol! (I do remember his face from Young Scientist of the Year but certainly not the name). Sadly, as it is so far and we have a dog, it wasn't possible for us all to go - shame.....Mummy had to stay and babysit the pampered pooch. So, like a whirlwind I chored up on Friday night and Saturday morning to free up some much needed 'me' time to play with my stash. I've been wanting to try this technique for a very very long time but rarely get time to just play. I bought a Xyron design runner a while back but have never - I know how bad am I? - ever used it! I love this phrase and will be putting it to use alot more often now, may even invest in more cards. I love the colours, Dylusion inks which I really do love, even more that Cosmic Shimmers. In a class with Dyan I learnt how to remove ink through a mask with water and kitchen towel so I had a play doing that here and it really does show up well.

Post Holiday Blues

I hate coming back from my holidays. The only thing that makes it bareable is our gorgeous four legged furball. Its cold, dismal and only 3 pays until Christmas. Enough bleating Mrs!

I did get itchy fingers whilst away and after a week looking at my stash and a few little purchases I set to doing something. I had do make an Autumn card for the 52 card challenge and my cardmaking magazine was still being flicked through when I noticed the centre page digi images. loads of Autumness waiting to be inked. I'd just bought the Autumn Promarkers too so it seemed rude to not have a play. Now please forgive my clumsy colouring, I am very new to colouring in - lol!!!!! haven't really done much since I was about 8. I see these little digi images every month but until now have never had an urge to do anything with them so I was determined whatever my efforts, they would end up on a card.

The prompts for this were:- Twine/Kraft/Autumn so full marks for me!

I decided the kraft was a little dull so I put it through my BigShot along with a Creative Expressions mask and then while it was still on the card, spritzed it with Worn Leather Dylusion ink. I think it warms it up without overpowering it.

I've entered this into the Polka Doodles blog challenge, although with all the talent over there I don't hold much hope but I was always brought up to believe it's the taking part that matters.

The end....

....for tonight!!!!! Wow, was that an update? I hope I can manage to keep updating more now. Thanks for viewing - I would welcome your comments!

My latest love

It was suggested by a lovely friend that I make some of these and as a thank you I made these for her little girls. I have been shocked with the response to these - orders for 18! They were recommended as 'teacher gifts' for Adam to give, but when I showed them in work I got orders for more and then again, showed them with more orders. Thankfully they are mainly for Christmas! I am going to make a few for the stall too! Getting quite organised now! Don't know why it is insisting on turning the photo. Adam did most of the work on his.

Making carnations

I saw these being made and decided to have a go myself - note to anyone wanting to have a go, ensure you know how you will package the card afterwards!!!! Lesson learnt.

My first box card!

This was for a friend who's boys are so adorable that I had to 'steal' her photo - don't panic, she forgave me :o)

Another holiday 'must make'

We went up Mount Snowdon when we were away and when we returned and I went through the photos I came across on that took my breath away. I'd like to take credit for the photography as an art but it was most definitely luck!

Making something from something

Adam was invited to the cinema for a friends birthday party. Obviously it was to see Pirates of the Caribbean, to which I insisted Mummy needed to be there for guidance lol! The invite was 'themed' and as I struggle to make cards for boys and men I thought I'd adapt the invite into a card. I made no money for these so hope they are legal! The first card was a square flat card but when I needed a card for a friends boy I thought I'd try and make it a little more 'special' and made it into an easel card. Sadly Adam had to loose 2 crayons in the making of these cards - shush though, he doesn't know yet :o

Layout to rival it's subject matter

We have been to Wales twice this year - the first visit was so good we had to go back. I am besotted with it. Far too much to see in a couple of weeks though. This is a photo of the kids once we'd found Swallow Falls, we missed it when we were there a couple of years ago. Betws-y-Coed is such a lovely place with so many stunning falls alongside the pretty town. I had to do this layout more or less as soon as we returned. I'm no artist - my art teacher would agree there, but I wanted a background that mimicked the falls. I had great fun making this work.

Special occasion

calls for special crafting.

It was my 25th wedding anniversary and I was at a loss as to what to make for Mark. I thought of a book with 25 photos in a timeline of memorable moments in our marriage so far - they include the place we met, the church we married and had Adam christened in, all 3 canine babies and of course Adam. I have to say I was impressed Mark got every one of the photo meanings!

Made a series...

of cards!!!!! Get me! I love this simple but stunning design. The papers do all the work really, Dovecrafts Eastern Promise and Laura Ashley. They are simply gorgeous. The different toppers work so well with them too. The blue one was for the 52 card challenge and I really love the little tea bag stamp, it's the 'tag' element of the 3 prompts - clever hey? These will be for sale on my stall at the school Xmas fare.

I'm going to enter this one (my fav one)  into the Sir Stampalot monthly competition, the brief is 'anything goes'.