Facebook

OMG, how addictive is that !

Paul joined Facebook a few days ago and was telling me all about it. I've heard of it of course but wasn't bothered about it a I am a very busy bee already but I finally succumbed and joined yesterday and find myself a little addicted.

A load of my ex-work colleagues are on there (most are Techies in IT) and a load of my forum crafty buddies are on there too. After less than 24 hours I have 23 friends and still have loads of people who have not responded.

I am hoping that it is a novelty thing and my fascination with it will wear off otherwise I will have no time for crafting and the whole purpose of my blog will be lost.

Cardmaking with CJ

Our nephew CJ stopped over at our house on Friday night and we had a good time playing games and watching DVD.

Saturday we went to the cinema and saw Balls of Fury which was a very funny parody of old Kung Fu films set in the guise of a Ping Pong tournament. It was quite cheesy but really funny and I enjoyed it immensely. We then went to Burger King for our dinner and we took him home as him Mum is really poorly with a horrible sickness & diorrhea bug. CJ started with it on Christmas Eve and it has been passed round everyone, we are hoping he hasn't given it to us.

When we got to their house he asked me to help him make a card for his Mum to say thankyou for his Christmas Presents. I had given him a huge cardmaking pack for his Birthday so he had loads of supplies and his Mum loved it. He said he had professional help from me (how sweet is that ?) but really I sat back and let him create, I just showed him what he had in his pack as he hadn't opened all the packets up.

All in all it was great to really enjoy spending time with him. He is growing up so fast, I can't believe he is 11 already and is not a little boy anymore.

Di Hickman Card Sketch Team call

Di Hickman is on the lookout for about 3 people to become members of her design team and gave us a special sketch to use & to email our designs to her by the 26th December.

I made 2 cards as it seemed appropriate as you cut up one paper, you could use the negative as well. 2 cards at the same time can't be bad!

The first card was made using DCWV papers, scrummy Dovecraft velvet ribbon, a Craftworks Cards tag and Sizzlits Wingo Zingo alphabet


The second card was made from the offcuts of DCWV paper, a Cuttlebug embossing folder, Cuttlebug die for the curcular strip, a Papermania metal rimmed tag and Papermania big brad from the new Christmas collections. The sentiment is a magazine freebie.

I emailed the designs off yesterday and am keeping my fingers crossed. It would be FAB to become a DT member and as I love doing Di's sketches that would be the best one to be on !

Happy Birthday CJ

It was our Nephew's birthday on Christmas Day and this is the card I made for him. He's now 11 and getting VERY cool so I thought I needed to do something different, but didn't know what.

I happened to get an email from a store with a sale starting so went to browse, saw this Cuttlebug folder (which I already had but not used before) and was inspired.

One of my forum buddies had uploaded a card which had been embossed on acetate so I embossed a full folder with that and it came out really well. I am so impressed with these folders as the image is so very crisp. I inked the raised words and layered it on blue so it stood out. This makes it look like a subtle shine on the card which I was pleased with. I then embossed a piece of white card and cut out individual words that summed up what we think of CJ the most. He is growing up to be a lovely young lad and we are very proud of him.

The 'medal' is a Papermania Tag with a Cuttlebug embossing folder inserted in it and embellished with ribbons and the die cut lettering is my new Sizzlits alphabet Round a Bout bought from the Ellison's sale (75% off, what a bargain !)

I wasn't sure if he would like the card or not as this is the first 'grown up' design that I have made for him but he loved it.

Di Hickman Sketch December #3 - 2 cards

This is the card I made for my hubby using this sketch from Di Hickman and some Blonde Moments patterned paper I won in a little competition (Thank you Valerie)

The stamped image is a Penny Black one. I bought some images from an Ebay seller and this was one of the designs. I WAS SUPPOSED to be using this and other designs to make special Christmas cards to sell at work but I became so busy with commissions that my time was spent elsewhere. Oh well, at least I will be prepared for next year (yeah right!)

The stamped image was coloured using Marvy le plume pens, Sakura glitter pens and the 'snow' on the umbrella was applique paint (not puffed up) sprinkled with Glamour dust whilst still wet. It looks raised and shiny in real life but the scan doesn't pick it up at all.

The sentiment is from a recycled Christmas card.

My hubby loved it :)

This card was also based on the sketch and was made for our good friends and next door neighbour. The patterned paper is DCWV, a Cuttlebug embossing folder was layered up and the snowman highlighted with a second layer. I also used a clear Sakura glitter pen to highlight some of the words and snowflakes but this is too subtle to show on the scan. The snowflake is a Sizzlits die embellished with a bit of bling and the sentiment is a Freebie Digital Download that I printed out on photo paper some time ago and now cannot find on my computer.

If I am printing photos I like to fill the rest of an A4 sheet up with other things to print so I don't waste paper and have some things to hand that I like. I find if I only use the photo at the time the rest of the paper gets dog eared and wasted anyway so it's a bit of a bonus to do what I do.

Ian's Leaving Scrapbook

A good friend at work is leaving to move up to Lancaster and I was asked to make a special leaving card for him. As he was Paul's immediate boss we know him quite well and he will be sorely missed. He has so much knowledge in his particular area of expertise I think they will struggle without him.

I decided to make a mini scrapbook, all of the pages are in the slideshow below.

He is passionate about a few things (Preston North End football team, Single Malt whisky and walking & cycling in the Lake District) so I encorporated them into the book which was assembled mainly by using images from the tinterweb printed on photo paper.

I have used backing papers from various sources and die cut lettering from Cuttlebug and Sizzlits, some Sizzlits diecuts a few stickers. There were a few pages at the back left for people to write on and I wrote a poem especially for him. I made a box for it to presented in but forgot to take a photo !

They gave it to him yesterday and he was overcome with emotion. He said he knew it must have taken a long time to do and really appreciated it.

Di Hickman Sketch December #1

Another Rak for a forum buddy who has suffered a very sudden and tragic bereavement.

I have used this Di Hickman Sketch for the design layout.

The backing paper is a magazine freebie, the paper layered on top is a hessian textured wallpaper.

The sentiments is from Let's Make Cards, the flower is a Cuttlebug mini embossing folder and this is layered on another circular design to make it bolder. The embossed image was highlighted with ink and the flower coloured in with a permanet marker.

Di Hickman Sketch November #4

Another Rak and another Di Hickman Sketch !

Used this one as inspiration using more Let's Make Cards bits, some ribbon and HOTP brads.

I'm in my purple phase still and have used some more of the lush ribbon from the NEC. How I wish I had bought 2 reels !

Di Hickman Sketch October #5

Catching up on blogging recent cards I have made using Di Hickman sketches. Used this one to make a Thank you card.

All items used were bits and pieces from various Let's Make Cards issues. I have had these packs for a while and used so little of them that I am making a concerted effort to split them up and use the elements. I am discovering that if they are in a little box on my desk I have a far better chance of using them.

Thanks to Di's sketches I am getting much more used to leaving blank spaces on my cards !

Leaving Card + Di Hickman Sketch November #3

One of the Girls at work Nicky left on Friday so I made her a card using this Di Hickman sketch as inspiration.

As soon as I saw this sketch I felt the row of circles lent itself to a message and think it works really well.

I used DCWV Peeking Posies paper as she is a bright and funky girl and loves pattern. I used a Cuttlebug alphabet for the lettering and there is a strip with circles joined together which I used to cover the join in the 2 papers.

The finish off I selected co-ordinating Prima's and added a touch of bling. She loved the card !

French Invites

I was commissioned by a work colleague to make some cards on behalf of her in laws to celebrate a 60th birthday. They are hiring a French chateau for a week and inviting key people to a party they are having.

I downloaded the photo from the website they booked through and matted on black & gold and raised on 3d pads.

The text is printed onto the card blank and the bottle and glasses is confetti on 3 d foam.

The inserts are individually printed.

Lucky them, wish I was going......

Merry Christmas H

I was commissioned by a work colleague Andy to make this card for his girlfriend.

The brief was pink, girly and fluffy. The first thing I thought of was this Penny Black image as having met H she is so thin and petite and I thought this was perfect. Not owning the stamp I went shopping on Ebay and got some stamped images. Unfortunately they got lost in the post during the post strikes so the nice lady sent them again.

I coloured in the design using a glitter pen for the outfit and Marvy le Plume pens for the hair and skin. The white areas were filled using the applique paint that you fluff up with a heat gun sprinkled with Glamour Dust fine glitter. The stamped image was matted on black and then pink glitter card. This panel is raised from the card using 3d foam.

The H started out life as a plain beige chipboard piece from Poundland (an absolutely fantastic buy I have mentioned previously, I only wish I had been able to get more than 1 alphabet pack) I coloured this with pink permanent pen, 2 layers of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel and sprinkled with Glamour Dust.

The patterned paper is a wrapping paper from Paperchase. The black patterned is a flocked design so it is very tactile. The fluffy border is a previous purchase of an item sold as Christmas Ribbon a couple of years ago. All I know is it was a bugger to stick down ! The sentiment is a Papermania peel off. It's really nice to be able to get decent sized card sentiments these days.

The inside of the card is personalised with a photo and a special message. Andy absoloutely loved the card. He is giving it to H tonight so I will get the verdict in the morning.

Paul's Birthday + 100th Post !

It was my wonderful hubby Paul's birthday on Sunday and I made this card for him using nearly a whole sheet of Doodlebug stickers !

I was buying some lovely new butterfly papers from the Capture The Magic site never having previously purchased Doodlebug and I have to say I am in love :)

I saw these cardstock stickers and just knew I needed them for my tech mad hubby. He works in IT and just happens to be gadget mad.

I like doing this style of cards, but they are a bugger to scan and display properly !





I can't believe that is my 100th post ! I was so resistant to doing this as I just didn't have the time to do other stuff as well as making cards, but I am so glad that I did (my hubby will say told you so) I am able to ramble on about all the lovely things I have made to my hearts content. I honestly don't know if many people visit my blog but I know it has been a great way to showcase what I do to potential customer's and it's nice to write down the materials that have been used etc for each project.


As expected it does take a lot of my time, but I feel it is worth it. Also it has been a great way to get more involved in forums and other peoples blogs and that ultimately has expanded my cardmaking into other areas and now started scrapbooking albeit on a small scale at the moment.

I cannot imagine what I would do if I didn't craft !

Nanny's Birthday Book

One of my work colleagues asked me to make a special book for her. It was to be from 2 little girls for their Nanny's Birthday.

I was provided with loads of photo's of the 2 little cousins and set to work. It was decided that there should be some with them together and also some separate. Tash came up with the idea of handprints from each of the girls and I have left a page alongside so they can do their individual messages to their Nanny which would be a special touch that all Nanny's would appreciate I think.

She liked the same coloring as the previous book I made so I used the same paper for the cover. I added the chipboard circles and brads to wrap the closure round as this was a great mistake that I made on the first one. I just didn't anticipate the difficulty of keeping the book closed !

The patterned papers used inside are from various manufacturers and I used a sprinkling of Primas to embellish the pages.

The matching box and front of book were embellished using die cut lettering from Ellisons Curlie Girlie and Sizzlits extended cuts Wingo Zingo. The paper was a self adhesive irridescent film and the alphabets came out much better using this thinner medium.

I have done a Slideshow of all the pages below.

Di Hickman Challenge September #4

I made this card for my friend Dervla as she left to have her baby. The 'Guardian Angel' is there to watch over her and Baby G in the final few weeks and was made using wire & various beads I have gathered. One of my forum buddies had made and Angel of Love and I thought I would have a go at something similar. I made a few of them and they will probably be appearing in other cards.

I used one of Di Hickman's templates as inspiration for the layout. I don't usually tear small pieces so that was a little different for me. Both pieces of card are from my scraps box and I used a Cuttlebug folder to emboss the swirls and ran a silver inkpad over the top to highlight.

The backing paper is DCWV Peeking Posies and has a subtle glitter in the centre of the flowers. The ribbon at the back was left loose so I could hang the tag from it using a heart shaped paperclip from Paperchase. The tag is from HOTP to which I added some appropriate rub on sentiments from Let's Make Cards and attached it with a Papermania Brad.

Exploding Baby Box

My good friend and work colleague Dervla was leaving to have a baby and I was asked to make a card for everyone to sign.

I'd already decided that I wanted to make something very special for her and came up with the idea of putting a baby bootie inside an exploding box. This would then give plenty of flaps for my colleagues to write their sentiments in.

I made the bootie first using a template obtained from the By Donavan site. The finished bootie then dictated the size the box needed to be. I embellished the edge of the bootie with border outline stickers and a Papermania brad. The sentiment was added as it looked a little plain and the baby when born will have a surname of G.

The box was made to a finished size of 5 1/2" square and required the use of many pieces of card to get the required shape. I used a piece of mountboard for the base to make it substantial and all the pieces wer then mounted on that.

The layers were individually decorated. The base has peel off borders around each edge. The top cream layer has been corner punched with a corner adorner punch. This performed really well even though the card was very thick. I used this cut out shape to stencil through with a gold gel pen to the green layer to add a little interest.

The embellishments used inside were a mixture of items from a QVC TSV kit (baby tag with HOTP nappy pin, pram,angel tag, cutie tag,) Lisa Bearnsen QVC kit (clear quotes, B embellishment on lid) Prima flowers Pink Petticoat downloaded image.

Dervla said she wasn't going to cry - but she did ! I said I hadn't done my job very well if she didn't. She absolutely loves it, so does James to proud Father to be. I just wanted to make something special for 2 lovely people and I am very much looking forward to meeting Baby G.

As a result of making this box I have now been commissioned to make another one so i guess I'll have to cost this one up !

I have made a slideshow with all the images of the card below.