Just Bex November # 2

A recent challenge on Just Bex was to make a card following a template and for an extra point you needed to use something starting with D.

This card was again made from raiding my scraps, a touch of ribbon, a rub on sentiment from Let's Make Cards, a die cut flower from Papermania and a diamante gem.

Really like this sketch, nice and simple but well balanced.

Di Hickman Challenge November #2

Another RAK card and another of Di's templates.

I have again used some scraps from my box as I have got so many and feel I NEED to use them as it is a waste otherwise.

I'm in a bit of a pink & purple phase at the moment. I think it's because the weather is so miserable and I need cheering up and bright colours are a good antidote !

The circular paper is a textured wallpaper sample pinched from Homebase some time ago. I ran an inkpad over the fluffy edge where it was torn. The dotty paper on the panel is from my scraps box and I have no clue what make it is as it was a notelet from a forum buddy. The flowers are a Sizzlits Cut & Emboss with a gem in the centre. When I got this die I went through a load of my scraps and cut loads out ready to use in future projects.

The sentiment is from a Cuttlebug folder and I had a section left that I saved and cut the individual letters out. This was also edged with an inkpad.

I am really pleased with this card made almost entirely from scraps.

Di Hickman Challenge October #2

Catching up on Rak cards and template challenges at the same time. Used Di Hickman's template to make this card.

The backing paper is wallpaper from my scraps box edged with a bit of a Brilliance inkpad. The central circle is a scrap of card overlaid with a Papermania die cut which I embellished with a bit of Glamour Dust. The circles alongside are Cuttlebug folders which I ran over with a black Stazon inkpad to define the shapes. I embellished the centres with a Sakura pen and a bit more glitter.

Hello Daddy !

I had been commissioned by my friend Dervla, who is very heavily pregnant with her 1st child - to make a card from the baby to it's Daddy for when it pops, due sometime within the next month.

James is one of the most excitable people I know so I wanted to make it a fun card. They do not know the sex of the baby so I suggested we use green and yellow, also Dervla is Irish so has an affinity for green.

The backing paper is HOTP, there are an assortment of dies in this project. The circular lettering is a Cuttlebug alphabet. They cut perfectly EVERY time and after the recent problems I have had with a Sizzlits extended cuts alphabet not cutting properly then I don't think I will use another brand now, it's just not worth the hassle. Alphabets are bloody fiddly anyway and you want to be certain that it will cut 1st time. Sorry, rant over ! Anyway this font is very adaptable as you can use the letters or the circles over another colour as I have done here.

The Daddy lettering is hand cut from glitter card using a font I printed out. The star on the exclamation mark is a fluke as whe I was cutting out the circles next to it was a star and the bottom of the mark looked boring so I replaced it. It adds a bit more impact ad I think works better !

The pram and baby gro are Quickutz which I am ashamed to admit I have had for a long while and not used. The nappy pin, bottle and head are Sizzlits. I have never been able to get a good clean cut with these dies until I got a tagalong and the roller action makes a huge difference compared to the old lever style Sizzix die cutter.

I made a matching box for this project using more die cuts, the sentiment is another Sizzlits die. I also used sparkly star shaped gems. Inside the box I used lemon tissue paper and have put a packet of silver stars and nappy pins to scatter into the box.

I love this card, I loved making it for 2 very special people and I can't wait to see Baby G

Wedding Card & Di Hickman Sketch Oct #4

This card was made for my work colleagues wedding and I used a Di Hickman card sketch for the design.

The patterned paper is from a Dovecraft pack I bought at the NEC, the sparkly lilac is Paperchase wrapping paper. The stamped image is highlighted with Sakura souffle and glitter pens. The ribbon is from a great stand at the NEC, 10 rolls for £10 and the peel off is Papermania.

I was very tempted to pit something above the writing, there is a lot of blank space on this for one of my cards - but I'm pleased I resisted the urge as it looks more sophisticated for it!

Bookatrix Wedding Card

One of my colleagues getting married at the weekend and I was commissioned to make a card by my friend Dervla.






She chose the style of the card and I have made it using the wedding colours of lilac and sparkly white.

I used sparkly and irridescent papers throughout and edged the pages with Papermania peel offs. I used one of my favorite stamps for the image on the card and embellished with mulberry flowers, ribbons and Papermania heart shaped gems.















The matching box was lined with lilac tissue paper and embellished with more peel offs.

70th Birthday Book

I had been commissioned by one of my work colleagues to make a special book for her Step Mom's 70th Birthday. Karen has asked me to make a few things for her recently and each item has surpassed the last and I've got a reputation to uphold now!

I had the idea of making it a book with photo's of the people it was from and a space for them to write their own sentiment alongside.

The 6" square mini scrapbook started life as brown and pink and as the recipients favourite colour is purple that just wouldn't do. The trouble was, I didn't have any paper big enough so I used self adhesive irridescent film for the main cover, and used a strip of some gorgeous silver and lilac glittered wrapping paper that I bought from the NEC last year. Through out the project the only glitter is from this paper, I was absoloutely covered by the end !

I used some ribbon to cover the join of the 2 papers, and the sentiment on the front is Papermania peel offs.

The main pages are a photograph of family member with partner and a plain section to write on. these are all matted on various purple papers and embellished with Prima flowers.

In the middle of the book there are 2 poems to celebrate a mother.

I had intended to use gems for the middle of the flowers, but the book was getting so fat that I had to reduce the thickness. I had originally inserted lengths of ribbon between the covers of the book to tie it, but they were straining against the thickness so much that they would not hold it. The box had already been made and the thickness was as big as I could make it with A4 card so I couldn't make another so I came up with the idea of using a long length of ribbon to double wrap the book and this kept it together and small enough to go into the box. The box was embellished with peel off and I used a length of lilac organza ribbon to tie a bow for presentation. Karen was delighted with it and they were having a get together at the weekend for her birthday. I told her if her Mom doesn't cry I haven't done my job properly!

Below is a slideshow of the all the photos of this project

I've got a new car !

Took a car for test drive last Saturday and picked it up yesterday.

I am now the proud owner of a Silver Peugeot 206 'Y' reg and it looks a bit smart, but best of all it has power steering.

Just got to get used to the difference in the responsiveness, that will take me a little while I think but will test it out this afternoon as we are going to Sister in Laws in Shirley so it'll give it a bit of a run out.

Bets of all, much lower insurance group than my old car and much more reliable.

Mark's Leaving Card

I made a card for a work colleague who is leaving for pastures new. As it needed to be signed by the members of staff I decided to make a folding card so there were more areas to write on.

The front of the card was made using an Sizzix Extended Cuts alphabet Wingo Zingo. I must admit I used this for the first time and so far am not impressed with it as it didn't provide an even pressure an the letters. It wouldn't cut through some of the card at all and I had to experiment with different layers. Will need to persevere with it I think.
The masculine papers are a combination of Papermania, Dovecraft and DCWV.

The central photo is one that was taken at a recent birthday party and I decided to put springs behind his head and hands so they wobble about. It was such a funny photo and he was so animated. My hubby thought he looked like Stephen Hawkins but Mark loved it !

Happy 25th Birthday Tash

It is a very good friend of our's birthday today and this is the card I have made for her. We were supposed to be seeing her tonight but that got cancelled so we will be giving it to her on Monday morning.

The papers were from my Crafts Beautiful sub gift, the flower is a new one bought today by Petaloo, the big brad is HOTP and decorated with one of their rub-ons. The bracelet is looped through the card and can be worn.

The buckle is an embellishment I bought from Ebay and can be removed as it is there only for card decoration.

Been to Hobbycrafts at the NEC

I went to the NEC today all on my own !

It was only the 2nd time I have driven on the motorway and the 1st on my own and I really enjoyed it. Having the Sat Nav makes a massive difference as I can concentrate on my driving more as I don't need to worry about maps or anything. However there was a traffic jam on the M42 for about 20 minutes and we came to a standstill. I couldn't believe I had to stop the car on a motorway. It was a bit weird to say the least doing stop start, stop start in 1st gear. It was like reliving driving into Birmingham city centre for the 1st time yesterday - the traffic was appalling....

I was very good buying wise. I renewed my subscription to Crafts Beautiful magazine and got a great storage tote and loads of goodies, wicked gift loads of stuff I can use in it. I also ended up with 4 of their goodie bags and got absolutely loads of freebies from them.

Picked up some bargains in the way of ribbons, A4 plastic storage boxes, Penny Black stickers and some Papermania bits and pieces.

Got some nice stuff from Debbie Moore, some beautiful little acetate images and some deep embossing powder. Also got some large Heidi Swapp flowers and a couple of bits from the Craftwork Cards stall.

I couldn't believe how much it cost to park though £8 !!!! And how big are those car parks ? I was a wee bit worried that I wouldn't be able to find the car so had used a couple of things as landmarks and they led me straight back to my car. I was well chuffed !

Ali's 50th Birthday

This is the most ambitious project I have done so far and I am so amazingly proud of what I have made.

The book was inspired by an article in Papercraft Inspirations and is called a meandering book. The original project was made using a single piece of 12" x 12" cardstock cut into a particular design using a template supplied in the magazine. I had a go at this and decided for this it was going to be too small so made one using the same design but with 5.5" square pages instead of 4"

The idea was that each family member would have a photo on one of the flaps and there is a tag behind each which has special birthday sentiments that each person wanted to have included. There are also photos with her husband and behind these poems and a sneaky tag from me. There is also a fold in the very centre of the card which hides a sentiment from all the family.

This was a very special project for someone I know so it made it a more personal thing to do. When I first made the size of card I thought it was going to be too empty but by the time the papers were added, then the photos and tags it became a lot fatter and we struggled to close it. You wouldn't believe how heavy it turned out in the end. I made a box for it and wrapped it in tissue paper for presentation.

The fastening was made using a velcro square which is hidden under the flower '0' in the 50. I have beaten my previous best for Prima usage - 90 on this project not including the other flowers on the front !

I have been told it made Alison cry for ages and she won't take it out of the house so no one can see it unless they come round.

Please see below a slideshow with all the photos of it. The ribbons that are sticking out are where the tags are hidden.

Happy 40th Birthday Tina

It was my next door neighbour and very good friend Tina's 40th Birthday last Sunday and I made a folding card for her.

I had never seen this type of card before until I joined the Just Bex forum and it was one of the challenges for September.

Unfortunately I was unable to complete the challenge in time to get some points but it goes to show that some ideas do stick in there !


The card was made using papers and embellishments from the recent Crafty Bitz TSV from QVC. In fact it has to be a world record for me as it was delivered on the Friday and I started using it the following day.

The birthday sentiment on the front is a Cuttlebug embossing folder, the number stickers are Papermania and the present die cut is from a Let's Make Cards kit.
Inside the rub on quotes are from DCWV and the Birthday Rules sentiment is from a HOTP book and I chalked it to add colour.

I really enjoyed making this card and think it is a style I will be making more of in the future.

It amazed me how quick it was to put together once you had chosen all the elements.

I've Passed My CPC

I've got some absolutely wonderful news.

I've passed my exams and gained my CPC which is a Certification of Professional Competence in Road Transport & Haulage.

For 3 whole weeks my life revolved around a 2 week course and revising for 3 exams I sat on the 7th September and on Thursday night I got the results I have been waiting for. I passed all 3 papers on the first attempt which is rare as the numbers to achieve a pass are so high.

This is now a stepping stone into a much more responsible role and the ability to go into transport management.

For a woman in a predominantly male profession it is vindication of all my hard word and a massive confidence boost.

I am very proud of what I have achieved, but still can't quite believe it.