Jill's Birthday

This card was made for my Sister in Laws birthday and heralds a years worth of blogging as I started when I did her card last year.



I made it on the same principles as the chipboard book templates by Colour My World.

I bought the baby one for an upcoming project and thought it would make a great birthday card idea for people with short names. I set to making a paper template first to see if it would work and was really pleased that it did.



I then needed to choose the papers and wanted each page to contrast so the letters would stand out.

I had just purchased the DCWV 2 drawer TSV from QVC and it arrived on the day I started making it. Some of the papers were ideal as my SIL is mad about shoes !



Page 1 papers are Dovecraft Glamour pack + DCWV Peeking Posies. The heart chipboard is from the DCWV TSV.

Page 2 paper is DCWV TSV and the sentiment is a vellum one from a DCWV scrap stack.

Page 3 paper is Dovecraft. Happy Birthday cardstock sticker from Docrafts, candles sticker from DCWV TSV


Page 4 paper is DCWV TSV. Vellum sentiment from DCWV scrap stack, cardstock stickers Docrafts.

Ribbons to tie are scraps from stash.

Jill loved it and said she had never seen anything like it before.

Another Baby Box

This is the last baby box for a while and a little bit different. My colleague Sue wanted one for her Sister who lives in France (I'm spreading into Europe now LOL)

Not knowing the sex of the baby she said she liked mint, chocolate and cream together, so thinking mint choccy chip ice cream I set to work.

On the lids of these boxes I have been using little kits from inside a TSV that I got from QVC, but no longer had any neutral coloured ones left. I had purchased the large 'B' Sizzix die previously and had a go at doing it myself. I used tags from my stash and a brass charm and think it has come out really well. I used chocolate brown velvet ribbon for the edge and it has a touch of luxury to it.

Sue wanted to encorporate the other children in the project, welcoming the new baby into the family hence the photos of brother and sister.

Embellishments used were from the following - Prima flower, Sizzix Die, Let's Make Cards, Papermania brads & peel offs, rubber stamps, printables off the tinterweb, & Sizzlits teddy die.

The slideshow below has all the images from this project.

Exploding box for New Baby

My exploding boxes have become very popular at work as a special keepsake. Jemma wanted one for her sister who was having a baby boy.

His parents had chosen his name already so I made it and was just waiting for him to arrive to make the final pages complete. Jemma had posted pictures on Facebook of the new arrival and I put one of the pictures in the box as a surprise. She had not expected that so I was really pleased.

It was nice to know the sex of the baby so I could gather together all my blue bits :)

Embellishments used were from Papermania (ribbons & peeloffs), QVC, Prima flowers, Poundland (felt stickers, 3D embellishments), printable off the tinterweb, Let's Make Cards die cuts, Cuttlebug embossing folders, rubber stamps.

All images are shown in greater detail on the slideshow below.

Baby Ladder

One of my colleagues was leaving to have her second baby and I was asked to make a special 'card' for her. When she had her first I made a special frame for her which was to be hung in the baby's room and I wanted to do something totally different for her.

Somewhere on my travels I had seen something like this where you lifted a lid and this whole stream of stuff came out hanging on a ribbon. I decided I wanted to do something like this so it would give plenty of areas for people to write their messages on. Our Head Office is getting so much larger we need as much space as possible now !

I have created a slideshow below with all the images on it.

In used many embellishments from my stash. There are peel offs, rubber stamping, the smaller Cuttlebug embossing folders, assorted stickers and die cuts from Poundland, freebie printable off the tinterweb, items from Let's Make Cards, Sizzlit dies and ribbon.

It was very long bythe time I finished with ten cards in total, decorated on both sides. Katie's colleagues loved it and I got many comments from people saying how unusual it was and something to treasure.

3D Wedding Card

Oops just recently found these photos lurking on a digital camera. Completely forgot I took them !

One of my work colleagues commissioned me to make a wedding card for her friends who were getting married in Jamaica and having a reception when they got back.

The bridesmaids were wearing dark green so I made a dress using a folding template from a magazine and used photos from the website of the hotel they were marrying in.





I made the inside of the card with a pop out heart and put some green paper in the background with peel of gold hearts on it.

The rubber stamp on the box is an Anita's one as are the peel offs used throughout the card.

The bride was amazed when she opened it as she couldn't work out how we had got the photos. Oh the power of the internet.

Photo Session

On Thursday I went to one of those Makeover and Photo shoot experiences which my hubby bought me as a present last year. I kept leaving it as I was a bit nervous about doing it and also wanted to look as good as possible with losing weight.

I had my hair cut, and my nails done and full make-up and then onto the photo shoot. At all points they are trying to get you to buy what they are using on you. The makeup alone would have cost over £200 . The whole process took about 4 hours.

I had photos taken with and without my glasses and changed into 3 different outfits. The photographer was great and put me at ease, getting me to do allsorts of different poses with different backgrounds. I was bricking it at first but soon got into it and my smiles became more natural.

You look at the photos on a monitor afterwards and we had 55, we whittled these down to 20 I was happy with. I'd asked about putting them onto a disc but you are paying for the copyright of the images and 20 cost £1400, obviously no way I was going to pay that much. I'd prepaid £100 which gives you £200 on the day and got a free 7" x 5" photo with the session anyway. This would have meant I could have 5 photos without paying any more money.

We were more ruthless with cutting it back and brought it down to 9. I'd paid a £25 refundable deposit to make sure I kept to the appointment so she said if I paid another £75 she would do me another 4 photos. I thought this was quite good as she was matching what it would have been if I had prepaid.

The bad news is I have to wait about 5 weeks for the photos and they are sent in the post by recorded delivery thankfully!

They will be worth it though as I looked so pretty. I honestly never thought it would be possible for me to look as nice as I did. Most are with my glasses off and it has made me more determined to move over to contacts with the ultimate goal to have laser treatment done in the future.

All in all it was a great experience and I want my photos NOW !!!

Building Work + Fridge Freezer

We've got builders in at home at the moment and there is dust everywhere. Having to be very careful with electrical items making sure they are covered up and doors closed.

We have a small extension at the back of the house and it was literally breaking away from the main house. When it initially happened we had to pay for a survey and the chap said he thought it was a problem with the foundations due to drains. This report was submitted to the insurance company and they got their own engineers involved. For over a year they have been monitoring the movement and said it is subsidence caused by insubstantial foundations on the affected section.

Well work finally commenced last week and guess what ? The sewage pipes were cracked and that is what was causing the problem. We are hoping this now means we do not have to pay the £1000 policy excess and they will re-assess the claim.

We have just had the fridge freezer repaired after being without it for over 2 months, the novelty has not worn off yet that we have proper refrigeration after such a long time without it.

VERY bad blogger

To be honest, this last month has been a bit of a bummer.

There has been good, but there has also been bad.

I went to see The Ting Tings on concert and they were absolutely brilliant. Small intimate gig 2 days after their single went to number 1 in the charts and they were fantastic. Love their album, really upbeat pop with catchy tunes.

Unfortunately the bad is that I have had another Sciatica attack. Fortunately I could tell the warning signs so was able to get to the doctors and do something about it before I completely seized up. I am very grateful that it is something that I do not suffer with all the time, how people with chronic back pain put up with it every day I really do not know.

At it's worst I was not getting very much relief from the painkillers, very little sleep maybe 1 - 2 hours per night for over a week. That was a killer, I just cannot function very well without at least 6 hours a night as it makes me really cranky (sorry to my darling husband ) The painkillers also made my digestive habits go off kilter and I was having trouble with certain painful side effects. I even blistered the small of my back with a hot water bottle (how dumb was that?)

Mobility was affected and I couldn't get comfortable a lot of the time in whatever position I was in. Constant cramping, numbness & pins and needles in my right leg were an unwelcome companion. I had tickets to see Chubby Brown and I had to send Paul with our friend as there was no way I could have sat still all that time. I was gutted as I'd booked the tickets before Christmas and really wanted to see him.

So anyway, I'm almost back to normal. Have took myself off the painkillers and some days I am in a lot of discomfort, but it is definitely easing up. I can't wait to start going back to the gym :)

The worst of it was when I am not feeling well I just lose my mojo completely. I think it is because I put a little bit of me in everything that I make and I only want to pass on the good things.

So expect lots of updates as I have some nice projects I've made to upload, plus lots to tell you.

New Baby exploding Box for Helen

One of my work colleagues Helen asked me to make and exploding box for imminent the birth of her baby nephew.

She wanted me to make it the same colouring as the previous one, but to make it personal we encorporated the details of the baby's big brother.

It would appear that baby projects are quite popular at the moment as you will soon see.

I used many embellishments to decorate the flaps of the box and Helen was absoloutely delighted with it.

I have made the slideshow below to showcase all the pictures.

Double Challenge Card

Now, I'm not usually too good at this sort of thing but I have made a card that satisfies 2 different challenges !

Over on Just Bex there is a Challenge Week and so far there have been loads of lovely challenges to get our mojo's stimulated. This is the card I have made for the Zest Appeal challenge which asked for a flower, ribbon, scallop and bling in zesty colours.

Another forum I visit has also got some challenges and this is in the Bright & Beautiful category.

The card is a Let's Make Cards one, paper is a freebie from a magazine, ribbon is Anita's, flower is HOTP, bling is freebies. Glitter butterflies and leaf sequin from stash. The tag is a printable scrapbook freebie, I have no idea who the author is as I printed it out last year and didn't use them !!

Love this brighter weather, it makes it so much easier to make brighter projects as your state of mind is sunnier in general.

Went to See Adele in Concert

On Sunday 4th May Paul and I went to see Adele at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham and she was absolutely fantastic.

I loved her first single and was soooo impressed with her voice. I was gutted when I realised she was playing a small gig at the Glee Club and it was sold out. Just when it was announced she was up for a Brit award this extra date was announced and I knew I wanted to go straight away. Paul initially didn't seem to be very enthusiastic about going so I booked it just for me and then he said he wanted to go to so I sorted out a ticket for us both.

I've never been to the Alex before and the best tickets in the middle seemed to be in the dress circle. We were right in the middle and the stage seemed really close.

The support act Elviin was really good. Never heard of him but really strong voice and was well impressed.

Adele was just blooming amazing. So good that Paul was impressed ( I knew he would like her !! MEN!) Her voice was amazing and she was exactly in tune. If anyone gets a chance to see her live you must do it, she was very good. The above piccie is courtesy of Paul's phone !

Bad Blogger !!!

Been really busy at work this last week so have been a bad blogger.

Been doing the 6am - 3.30pm shift due to staffing holidays and have been managing all the day to day running and planning of the day transport shift and it has been so tiring. I am doing my full job plus elements of 2 other peoples and it is good experience for me, but my body clock is all messed up as a result. Got up at 4.43am this morning and just could not get back to sleep !

Will have to catch up with a lot of stuff today as a result.

Di Hickman April #5 Guest Designer Card

This is the card I have made for my final Guest Designer slot on Di Hickman's blog.

I have really enjoyed doing these as it has made me try new techniques and push myself a bit.

I made this card to give to my hubby as he started a 3 day computer course today and is stopping over at a friends for the duration. I wanted to give him something that he could take with him to tell him how proud I am of him and how much I love him and miss him.

The base card was a lighter brown than I wanted so I darkened the edges using my trusty walnut Tim Holtz pad. I ran DCWV cardstock through the Heart Blocks Cuttlebug folder, sanded it back to the white core using a cheap emery board and used the distressing pad all over the embossing.

The square panels are from a vintage Papermania shapes caddy. The hearts are cut from the DCWV cardstock and the rub on letters are from my stash. The ribbon is a chocolate velvet from Paperchase and feels lovely :) The sentiment panel was made using Debbi Moore Metal Magic embossing powder. This is the firts time I have used it and I'm not completely happy with it. One layer was perfectly smooth but I did this with 2 layers and it didn't seem to melt as well. I will have to do a bit more practising with it I think. The stamp used is from Docrafts.

Paul loved my card and has took it away with him. He will be back on Friday night, we will have the Bank Holiday weekend together and he has got a couple of days off work next week.

I've Been Tagged !

By Jenny

1. If a movie was being made of your life who would you like to be cast to play yourself? And why?

Oh my god, I would never think of a question like this ! I have and am changing so much as a person I would have no idea who could portray that. Probably someone like Julia Roberts who is an actress I admire and has proven over the years how much she has changed too.

2. You are spending a whole month on a desert island for charity and you have to choose your favourite celebrity to spend the first two weeks with & your least favourite celebrity to spend the second two weeks with, who would they be & why?

My favourite celebrity to spend time on a desert island would be survival expert Ray Mears. He would ensure that I would always have something to eat and would be safe. He would build a nice hut and would know everything about the local wildlife and fauna. I saw him do a talk at the Birmingham Town Hall and he was absolutely fascinating, but also very humble.

The worst one would be Amy Winehouse. I weas one of the unfortunate people who saw her in concert at The NIA in Birmingham in October. She didn't come on stage until 9.45pm and she was absolutely pickled. Staggering all over the place and getting upset all the time because of her husband. I totally dislike the persona she has become and think it would do her good to be away from all the outside influences and de-tox. Then hopefully she would go back to being the extremely talented young lady with the fantastic voice that she USED to be.

3. What are your three favourite crafting products?

My rotatrim edgemaster with it's patterned blades

Sissix Big Shot as I can use all manufacturers dies and embossing folders with it.

Patterned paper

4. If you could invent something to do anything what do you think it would be?

I wish I could make something to zap all the sadness and badness in the world away.

5. What are the last three books that you read?

Lose Weight by Alan Carr

A Place Called Here - Cecelia Ahern

Daddy's Little Girl - Julia Latchem Smith (totally messed me up, brought back a lot of memories and now realise I can't read books like this again!)

6. QVC or create & Craft?

Definitely QVC ! Create and Craft is rubbish and I have NEVER bought anything off there.

7. Docrafts or Dovecraft or DCWV?

Oh No, that is really hard as I love them all. Probably Docrafts as they are the most affordable and their stuff has got sooooo much better over the years.

8. What is your claim to fame?

I did a music keyboard workshop at school with Orbital before they became famous.

I'm passing this on to:

Will have to have a think about it and will add names later

Di Hickman April #4 Guest Designer Card

The latest sketch on Di Hickman's blog is well balanced and I wanted to make something colourful which would cheer someone up.

I have had this sentiment by R. Penn as a digital download for sometime and have not used it before but think it is great for a RAK card. I used a Sakura glitter pen to colour the flower and draw the wiggly line on the sentiment.

The paper is HOTP, the ribbons, rub ons and brad are Papermania and the flowers are Prima daisies (which I would like in every colour please !)

The design team cards are really bright this week for the most part so hopefully that is a sign of mojo's returning now the days are getting brighter :)

It will be my last week as a guest designer next week. I have really enjoyed my stint and hope I will get a chance to do something similar in the future.

Di Hickman April #3 Guest Designer Card

This is the card I made for Di Hickman's 3rd April sketch.

When I saw the sketch at first I wasn't sure what to do with it. I purchased some new papers (like as if I NEED any more - naughty Mandy) which were the Laura Ashley Contemporary collection from Dovecraft. The soft tones of the blues and greens I felt would go nicely together with some likkle birdies that I had downloaded from a very talented digital artist Imagine by Fran. Please take a look at her blog, she is soooo clever. Her blog is in both French and English so don't be frightened when you first take a look !

The layers of card were inked around the edges using a Brilliance Pearlescent inkpad and I used a clear Sakura glitter pen to go round the edge of the birdie and the wavy edge panel in the centre. The sentiment is a rub on that was a freebie with a magazine.

I sent this card to a forum buddy for a RAK which I hope she will like. It's quite different from my usual style, almost seems too grown up and subtle for one of mine !

This is one of the first cards I have made which is hybrid, combining downloads intended for digital scrapbooking and printing them to use for projects. I subscribe to DigiFree and that is a great source of freebies by some extremely talented people. All they ask is that you give them some love by leaving some comments about their work. Many of them are just so blooming clever it really amazes me that they would do it for free. Just goes to show how generous the crafting community can be.

Visited Buxton

Did my longest drive to date today when Paul and I visited Buxton.

We were supposed to be going with friends camping in Wales, but it got cancelled on Friday morning. I had been looking forward to my first long distance drive and I was disappointed. A work colleague suggested we go to the Peak District and as I have never been before I did a little research on the net and we decided to go to Buxton. It was about 90 minutes driving each way, most of it motorway and fast A roads so it was a good chance to give the car a decent run too.

Some of the roads were so steep that my little car couldn't cope and I had to go up one in 1st gear. At the top of this huge hill we drove into a cloud !!! How cool was that ?

The views across the Peak District were absolutely stunning. It was such a shame that I was driving though as I couldn't take much of it in (for obvious reasons !) Paul took some pictures with the window open on the way back. I was driving at 50 miles an hour and they have come out really well. I will add some to my blog when downloaded and re-sized.

We hadn't really planned much when we got to Buxton except to go and have a meal somewhere. It seemed very quiet and we were looking round for somewhere to park up and saw a sign for Poole Cavern & Nature walk so decided to take a look. It turned out to be a guided tour of an underground cave and it was absolutely brilliant. We went for a walk through the woods and when we got to the top the views were worth the perilous walk through the mud.

On the way back down I slipped on my bum and got loads of mud on my trousers. We heard a woodpecker, but unfortunately couldn't see it. I was delighted as I have never heard one before except on TV. It seemed really loud too.

Not expecting to go tramping through the forest as we did, neither of us took hiking boots. I cannot drive in trainers at all so I had a change of shoes in the car anyway, but Paul didn't. Our trainers were absolutely caked in mud so Paul took his off and we couldn't really go for a meal with as much mud on us as we had so we had a few nibbles in the car and set off back home.

I am sooooo tired now, but really, really enjoyed today. It was so nice to get out for the day with Paul and he said he was proud of my driving today. I have a feeling we will be going out more often !

Angie & Ian's Engagement + Di Hickman April #2 Guest Designer Card

This is the second card I have made as a Guest Designer on Di Hickman's site. If you have not visited her site before I would urge you to take a look. It always amazes me how differently people can interpret the same sketch. Different use of materials and techniques along with some amazingly talented people make some great cards full of inspiration.

One of my work colleagues has just got engaged and I wanted to make her a special card to mark the occasion and thought this sketch would be perfect.

The backing paper is a wrapping paper from Paperchase. They do some fabulous papers, always fashionable and very good value when you consider you get the equivalent of 8 sheets of A4 paper for between £1 and £2. I love to pop into their shops when I go to Birmingham and see what I can pick up.

I used a small Cuttlebug folder for the embossed image and cut out a scallop circle using my Nestabilities dies. I love these and I am considering purchasing some different shapes.

The charm is from Claire's Accessories. I love going into this shop when they have a sale on as you CAN pick up some pretty cool stuff quite cheaply. Although most of their things are sold as ear-rings, phone charms or hair accessories if you think outside the box you can get some fabby little items for next to nothing. I once had over 30 items for £5 and when I took them apart had loads of bits for my cards.

Phil's Retirement + Di Hickman Jan #3

I needed to make a card for an old work colleague who was retiring.

I based it on a sketch Di Hickman did in January but twisted some of the elements to fit.

I used Cuttlebug folders to emboss the circles and the Congratulations text which I also inked with silver to define the words.

The image is a Penny Black Stickeroo. Got a few sheets of assorted designs and not used them before. I love how there are no defined edges to the clear background so it is almost impossible to tell it is a sticker !

The sentiment is a chipboard embellishment from a QVC TSV. I inked around the edges and was so pee'd off as I'd smudged it so I ended up distressing it more to cover up the mistake. I covered it with 3 layers of UTEE and sprinkled glamour dust glitter into the last layer. I then bent it gently to crack the surface.

He absolutely loved it and was pleased that I had made it especially for him. I worked with him for 11 years and he is a lovely guy.

Guest Designer Di Hickman April #1

I am a guest designer for the whole of this month on Di Hickman's site and this is the first card which has been published on her blog today.

I was really excited when I saw that mine was the 1st one under the samples she had done. It's a bit of a wow moment for me as I never think what I do is good enough as there are so many much better card makers than me and I am constantly amazed by their creativity.

I made the card for my friend at work and he loved it, although he wasn't terribly happy that I was announcing to the world how old he was.... that made me laugh!

The card was made using my currently most used Dovecraft Masculine paper pack, Making Memories Cosmopolitan, some brads from Docrafts, some peeloffs coloured black on a scrap of gold cardstock and a sentiment from Let's Make Cards. The papers and card were distressed around the edges using a Tim Holtz ink pad in Antique Walnut.

I'd better get working on next week's sketch now :)

Went Tobogganing !!

To celebrate a friend's birthday, a small group of us went to Tamworth Snowdome yesterday to go tobogganing down the indoor slope. It was a last minute thing so I went home at dinnertime and got some clothes for me an hubbie and we got changed at work.

Had an absolutely brilliant time !!! It cost £8 for 30 minutes and it was the best fun I have had as an adult. I have got 3 bruises, got absolutely soaked, crashed out of the toboggan and tumbled down the slope much to the amusement of my boss !!! but it was the most brilliant adrenalin rush and I wanted to do it again. I was really looking forward to it but it was so much better than I EVER imagined. It was just like being a kid again sliding down the snow covered grass banks at Bramley Park in Leeds

I can't wait until we go next time, hopefully we will go at the weekend and be able to do an hour. I was completely buzzing all day today !. We are trying to get a big group of us from work going as it will be a great laugh.

Got a couple of pictures on the digital camera which I will post very soon.

Guest Designer for Di Hickman

YAY! it is almost April and for the whole month I am a guest designer on Di Hickman's site.

I have 5 templates to work on and need to submit 1 card for each a couple of days before the sketch is due to be released in Di's website.

I have sent my first card to her and can reveal it on Wednesday 2nd April.

I am just so blooming excited and cannot wait to see my card on her site and will be a DESIGNER !!!! (can you tell I am a we bit excited ?)

Anyway the lucky recipient of said card will be my friend and work colleague Andy who is 30 tomorrow and honestly believes it will be the end of his life !

Sobia's Birthday

It was my friend Sobia's Birthday yesterday and I made a tag card so that a number of people at work could sign it too as she has left recently and we miss her.

She's a proper girly girl so I used some images from Pink Petticoat and the patterned paper is a mixture of Dovecraft and Paperchase wrapping papers. The tags were made from DCVW Peeking Posies cardstock and embellished with ribbons which were stapled on.



The openings are edged with Do Crafts ribbon from a TSV from QVC.

The lettering for her name is die cute using Sizzix Curlie Girlie set and self adhesive textured film. She has contacted me today and loves her card. She said it is very special and loves that people had spaces to put their sentiments on it too.

Easter Cards

Here are some cards I made for Easter.

I think it is probably the first time I have made Easter cards for many years as it is not normally something I would card make for.

However, I just loved these images from Pink Petticoat and purchased them for a friend as a thankyou for being just fab! If you read this you know who you are.

All cards were made using blanks from Let's Make Cards, I have a number of these now and have put them in a box on my desk to use them 1st. The paper used on the 1st one was from a magazine freebie paper pack. I embellished the card with Primas and gems from Papermania.
The other 2 cards were for members of my family.

The patterned paper I had forgotten I bought it last year. It is a double sided wrapping paper from Paperchase. I love how bright it is and thought it went perfectly with the fun images from Pink Petticoat.

The ribbon is from Docrafts/Papermania.

Back from Amsterdam .......

But we have brought back a nasty bug !

We were travelling home on Friday night and I was really, really thirsty which is unusual for me. Bought a bottle of water at the station and got back home about midnight. Within an hour I had uncontrollable diorhea with a really painful stomach. Over the next few days I was vomitting, sleeping and visiting the loo more times than I could wish to mention. I couldn't even keep water in! I completely lost my weekend to it

To make matters worse Paul has woke up with it today and he is worse than I was!

It seems to be the same thing that caused an epidemic at Christmas but we cannot work out why we have it now. I am guessing we picked it up from someone in Amsterdam. Fortunately both Garry and Hazel are okay but Paul was round at our neighbours last night for an hour and I hope he hasn't given it to them.

Oh well, at least he can't complain about constipation now !

Off to Amsterdam !!!

So tomorrow morning we are off to Amsterdam to meet our unsuspecting friend Garry !

We have been plotting behind his back with the lovely Hazel to celebrate his 40th Birthday.

We don't arrive until after lunch so he will never guess what we are up to. I cannot wait to see his face when he sees us tomorrow !

We get back on Friday night and then back to normal over the weekend. Looking forward to the 1st Grand Prix of the season too.

Happy Birthday Mom

It's Paul's Mom's birthday on the 13th and we will miss it as we will be in Amsterdam. Paul asked her if she minded if we didn't see her on the day and she said she didn't. We will make it up to her at the weekend but Paul popped in to see her today and she will have her card to open on the day itself and we'll call or text her whilst we are away.

I made this card using supplies and inspiration from an issue of Making Cards magazine. This was on the from cover and was perfect for Mom. The paper, flower and sentiment square all came from the material pack which came with the mag. The brad flower centre is a HOTP big brad with a rub on, the ribbon is Papermania, as is the green Happy birthday sentiment. the Mom lettering is from my stash, manufacturer unknown.

This card is so pretty and bright and perfect for cheering Mum up with the awful weather we are having at the moment.

Happy 40th Birthday Gaz

This is the card I made for our bestest friend who is 40 on the 12th.

I made a shaped card using a template I produced in Xara. Paul has been trying to get me to use this programme for a long time as it does a lot of great manipulations and with his help my confidence is growing.

The shaped card is covered with papers from the Dovecraft male pack (again) I am so glad I bought that as it has proven to be very useful lately! The star paper has been embellished with lots of star shaped gems from Papermania.

The dotty paper has vinyl embelishments from a HOTP pack, a banner, rub-on lettering, brad and a clear sticker from a QVC TSV pack.

The most exciting things about Gaz's birthday is that he has been in Amsterdam since Monday with Hazel and he has no idea that we have been plotting behind his back to meet him there ! It will be the most personal way to deliver his birthday card !

Captain Scarlet themed card

My friend Hazel commissioned me to make a card for Gaz based on Captain Scarlet. She had been unable to get a card featuring his favourite superhero so I came to the rescue !

I gathered some images from the tinterweb and placed them collage style using a programme called Xara. The symbol I wanted to use for the '0' in his age and placed everything else around it.

The whole collage is printed onto A5 size glossy photo paaper and then matted onto a black card blank.

Hazel absolutely loves it and I am sure Garry will too. It was nice to be able to do something so special for them both as they are very dear to both Paul and I and a wonderful couple.

Sobia's Parents Anniversary

A good friend who loves my cards asked me to make one for her Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary.

She provided an old photo of them and I wanted to use gold and cream as the colours as they are quite tradiotional Indian colours.

The photo was printed onto glossy paper and double matted on thin black and thicker gold with punched heart corners.

The heart paper at the bottom is a wrapping paper from PaperChase. The ribbon is Anita's/Papermania. The heart is a handmade paper topper which I trimmed slightly so the proportion would be better. The sentiment was from existing stash.

Sobia loves the card and she will be giving it to her parents at the weekend. I hope they like it too.

Pwetty Butterfly & Just Bex Challenge

This card was made for a challenge on Just Bex where you had to pick a letter and use 3 things starting with it.

I chose B and the components were butterfly, brad and buckle. The colours blue and black would have also counted at a push!

The butterfly is a stamped image coloured in using Marvy Le Plume pens and Sakura Glaze pens for the little flowers. The flower in the centre is tiny brad from a pack I got at Lakeland. The ribbon is Papermania and the buckle was bought from Ebay a while ago. The card blank is from Let's Make Cards.

Not put a sentiment on the card yet, I need to start making more cards for my own stash as I only seem to make them for commissions at the moment. My box at work badly needs sorting out and some new vibrant stock filling it up.

Happy Birthday Grandad

The last card for Katie was to be from her small son to his Grandad.

I used HOTP papers and my favorite Penny Black teddy stamps to spell the letters of Grandad.

The tag and ribbon are also HOTP, the brad and all peel offs are Papermania.

These teddies are one of by best stamping purchases and people always seem to love the results.

Happy 65th Birthday

Katie's Dad's card was to have a horse racing an domino theme.

The papers are again from the Dovecraft male pack, the leather ribbon is Papermania as are the cork 'Scrabble' letters. The chipboard letters and numbers are from a QVC TSV. The image was snaffled off the internet and printed onto photo paper and the dominoes were purchased some time ago from Poundland.

Really pleased with how this turned out and so was Katie.

Liverpool Supporters 30th Card

This card was given by Katie to her husband who as you can tell supports Liverpool.

The backing paper is from a forum buddy who makes her own papers using one of the graphics programs. I printed this onto hammer textured paper with 50% opacity so it looked more muted. The main image is printed onto photo paper and mounted onto red card to give it more oomph. I added a strip of red to the centre to provide an area to add the sentiment and the age using peel off, a banner and rub ons.

I am really pleased with how this card came out, I am sure any Liverpool supported would be delighted to receive it.

30th Birthday Card Football

My work colleague Katie gave me a commission for 4 cards for her husband and father.

This card was made for her husband from their small son.

The papers are from the Dovecraft Male themed pack.

The trophy, ball and banner are Sizzix die cuts that I bought some time ago from Ebay. I have since purchased the ball die and have a trophy but it is much smaller than this one. The Dad sticker is from a QVC TSV kit and the sentiment is a Papermania rub on. I used curling ribbon to embellish the trophy but this got squashed in the scanner!

Happy Birthday Harrison's Nanny

The cardI made from Harrison to his Nanny was made using an image from Pink Petticoat which I printed onto glossy photo paper. This was mounted onto some more of the metallic cardstock from Craftwork Cards. This was real bargain in their sale as I got 50 sheets for £5.

The base card is from a Let's Make Cards pack. The quality of them isn't too bad although I do find that sometimes the way they are packaged actually damages the cards which is a shame.

The image was embellished with a Crayola permanent metallic marker and a bit of Stickles glitter glue. The patterned paper, ribbon and peel offs are all Papermania.

Both cards were made to be flatter than I would normally do so he could post them both in the same envelope, so no 3d foam on these designs !

I do like the PP designs. To be honest I keep forgetting I have them and when I print onto photo paper I try to use the rest of the sheet at the same time so I am making a concerted effort to keep printing them out ready to use for future projects.

Happy Birthday Andy's Mum

My work colleague Andy asked me to make 2 cards for his Mum's Birthday - one from him and the other from his son

For his I used paper that is a sheet of giftwrap from Paperchase with loads of girly images on it.

The dress is a Papermania peeloff from a QVC TSV that was placed on velvet paper and some of the detail was coloured in using a permanent metallic marker. This was then mounted onto pink metallic card from Craftwork Cards.

The card was then accented using other Papermania peeloffs and velvet letter stickers from Poundland

Rob's Birthday + Just Bex Challenge

Our next door neighbour and very good friend Rob has just recently celebrated his birthday and this is the card I made him using this sketch from a Just Bex challenge.

The patterned papers on the card were from a Dovecraft men's pack and the blue and letters are by HOTP.

The sentiment banner is from my stash, no clue who made it !

We took him out for a meal to our favourite Indian Restaurant. We have all been there many times and the food is sublime.

Mother's Day Card + Di Hickman Sketch Feb #4

This is the card I made for Paul's Mum using this recent sketch from Di Hickman.

I used HOTP papers for the background. The lacy one was a 2 page spread and I just cut the lace edge off each and it was the perfect width. I am not very good at using 2 patterned papers together but the HOTP creative packs and Sarapapers make it so much easier for you.

The scalloped edge circle is cut using a Nestabilities die. I do love these, they add so much interest to a card in a such a simple way. They cut even the thickest card very well indeed. I added bling to the scallops using gemstones from Paperchase. They used do do great value pots of 250 to 400 gems for about £2.50 - £4 and they were a decent size pot. Shame they don't seem to do them anymore. I do like the Papermania ones but sometimes they are a little bit smaller than you would like and they only have a small number of each size on a pack.

The heart is a topper embellishment that I bought from Ebay. I bought a pack of assorted handmade paper embellishments last year with the intention of making Mother's day and Valentine cards and never got the time to do it so this is the 1st one I have used. How many crafter's have similar stories I wonder?

Bad Blogger !!!

I have been a very bad blogger recently. I've not been too clever recently as I realised that my problems couldn't be solved by going on holiday for a week.

Paul's snoring when I got back off holiday drove me round the bend and I thought I was going to lose my marbles. I had a nervous breakdown about 4 years ago and felt myself slipping back into the abyss and it really scared me. We ended up buying a single bed and although it was a difficult decision to make I started sleeping apart from Paul. This has helped me stop and think about what is REALLY wrong with me. I have realised that I was slipping back into my hate myself phase which is so terribly destructive. I give the impression I am this happy go lucky person and I am so unhappy a lot of the time because my self image is so poor. I think little of myself and cannot reconcile that someone else would not think the same. I'd totally lost my confidence and felt like I didn't matter to anyone or exist. Of course this couldn't be further from the truth, but when you feel like this there is nothing you can do and no one can tell you otherwise.

I have now come to the conclusion it is because I am so overweight and feel a bit trapped. I have decided I do not want to inhabit this fat person anymore and although I have a huge amount of weight to lose have decided to embrace it is a complete change of my life, not just a diet.

Paul and I have joined a gym 2 weeks ago and are going 4 times a week. A lot of the time we are going before work as it opens at 6.30am and I can honestly say I feel so much better and more positive. It is making me feel more bouncy and alive and for the 1st time in my life I am enjoying being active. It is costing us £55 per month each to go so I feel I need to 'get my money's worth' but also I am REALLY enjoying going - it's a weird feeling. I hope the novelty doesn't wear off !

One really good thing that has come out of it is that I have been able to sleep with Paul again all this week. If he is snoring I am sound asleep and cannot hear it. One night I couldn't sleep very much and I didn't hear him snoring. This is good news, if going to the gym will stop him snoring so bad that is worth much more than £55. If I am able to sleep with him again tonight I am going to deflate the single bed as I think that we may have solved the problem.

Also I think it is making me more tired so I am having a much better quality of sleep. I also think that mentally I am much happier with myself as I am actively doing something about my problem. Win Win all round I think.

So I have got a fair few projects that I did before I went away that haven't been blogged. My MOJO pretty much left me whilst I was so low and I couldn't even do my RAK's and felt awful about that. Thanks to some wonderful friends for being there for me and pulling me out of the black hole. I have however now found my creative side again and have started fulfilling commissions so over the next few days will be blogging them all.