Flashback Friday #7

Do not adjust your sets, absolutely appalling card alert, normal service will be resumed shortly LOL

I have subscribed to a blog called The Crooked Stamper for a long while now. Leslie is really funny, very self deprecating and critical of her piles of stash. I love it when she takes a photo of her piles and 'does the numbers' and also when she takes the pictures from the farmers market she sells her cards at. Anyhoo, she shared one of her early cards for a blog called Flashback Friday

Basically the idea behind the blog is that they set a particular theme and you have to post one of year earlier cards that fits in with it.

The theme this time is glitter. Back in 2002 when I made my very 1st cards I had gone to a cross stitch show at the NEC with my friend Julie and we saw a demonstration at the Art of Crafts stall on how to make cards. We both had a Eureka moment and came back with piles of stuff.

Now if you go back to cardmaking in the UK in November 2002 there was nothing like the amount of gorgeous things there are now. There were very few patterned papers, you certainly didn't have all the punches and die cuts that are available now with the full collection of this and that, you really had to 'think outside the box' and be a bit more creative. You re-purposed bits and bobs before it became fashionable like it is now purely because it gave you a free source of stash. You would ask everyone to save their Christmas cards and buttons, ribbons, gift wrap, basically anything you thought might have potential.

Now the rundown on the cards above. The top one was made for my next door neighbours depicting the 2 parents and 3 children as snowmen. (you can see I had a thing about snowmen from the get go!! LOL) The bodies were made from pom poms with beaded 'buttons' on their bellies. I added coils of wire for mouths, little googly eyes and this wicked little trim for scarves. I added some wooden embellishments to depict the smaller chaildren, the central snowman is from a pack I had purchased. The green trees were from Ebay and I used the applique paint that you puff up with a heat gun to depict snow.

The snow on the ground was a mixture of a white fluffy stuff and glitter. Last but not least we of course have the obligatory peel off snowflakes and a rubber stamp sentiment. I was really proud of it at the time and my neighbours loved it because it was so personal.

Card #2 was made for my nephew who is a Chrismas baby so we always have to make a point of separating the birthday part of his day from the Christmas part. In 2002 he was 6 and I made the big snowman from Funky Foam and completely covered it with glitter.The hat was cut from black foam and the square buttons. The scarf was a present trim I had found in BHS and the candy cane was 2 pipe cleaners twisted together. The tiny snowman stickers are holographic and they came from a stationery shop and of course I went to town on the glitter for snow. Notice we also have more peel offs in gold, silver and white.

To be honest I look back at them now and think they are rubbish compared to what I make now but they brought me so much happiness making them, they really kickstarted this creative journey I am thankfully still on and everyone though I was so clever making my own cards.