Baby Card

My friend asked me to make this card following the birth of her new baby sister Jessica.

The wording and is done using dies by Quickutz. The flower is another die but by Marrianne Designs. The little giraffe is cut out from some papers by Dovecraft?

1st Birthday Card

I made this card for one of the babies I look after at work. It was his first birthday last week. The papers are by Dovecraft (I think). The sentiment is all done with Die Cuts by Go Kreate which I used in my Cuttlebug.

Happy 7th Birthday Ellie

Today is my daughter Ellie's 7th Birthday. Where does the time go. She doesn't seem to have been on the planet long enough to be 7 already.

Ellie loves my Sugar Nellie stamps so I thought I'd make her a concertina card so I could put a few of them on her card for her.
Because it's so long I thought I'd take a closer picture of it in two halves so that you can see it better. This is the first half.

and this is the second half.

My daughter has been wanting a Nintendo DSi for ages and I've finally given in and got her one for her birthday. This was her face as she opened it. I think she was pleased?!

Josh is so jealous though as he said he wanted one for his birthday. Unfortunately for him Ellie's Birthday comes first but on the plus side his is only 20 days away. I wonder if he'll get one for his???

Another Man U Card

My friend that asked me if I would make a Manchester United card for her sister-in-law to give her son Jack was so impressed with the card I made she asked if I would make one for her husband from the kids. She wanted it exactly the same but you know me I don't like making the same card twice so it is slightly different but not by much. The stamps are all from a set by Onefourzero, the wording is all done with Go Kreate Dies in the Cuttlebug.

The stamp inside the card is by Papermania.

Happy Birthday Chloe

This is the card I have made for my neice's birthday. The princess paper is by Dovecraft. The image is a Sugar Nellie coloured with Twinkling H2Os. The sentiment and lettering are all Go Kreate die cuts. For the inside I used a strip of the Dovecraft paper and then used my Go Kreate Frame die cuts to make the insert to write on.

Chloe is very into Princesses and horses so I hope she likes this card!

Truly Scrumptious!

Ok it's not the best photo in the world - I will take another tomorrow. (I have now added a better photo!) You see I meant to take the photo today while the sun was still up but I forgot and so rather than leave it yet another day before I posted my card on my blog and into the Truly Scrumptious challenge I thought I'd take a badly lit photo and then update it tomorrow when I have taken a better one.


So this weeks challenge is a sketch with the added extra of using the colours pink, green and black. Now they are not a colour combination I would normally go for but then that's the whole idea of a challenge isn't it - to take you out of your comfort zone and challenge you?!

So I raided my 6 by 6 paper stash as I remembered I had some papers in there that would fit the colour combo really nicely and this is the card I came up with.
I love the little bird on this card. It's by Imaginisce and cost 99p. It's so simple which makes it great for paper piecing and I just love the flower on its bum! I think the papers I used are by Dovecraft but I'm not sure, please correct me if I'm wrong! The squares and circles are all done using Nestabilities in my Cuttlebug and the flowers are mainly Primas.

Altered Art

Josh was asked to take part in a Secret Santa at school. He had to buy a gift for a boy called Tom for no more than £2 and bring it in wrapped up with Tom's name on it. We decided to buy a gift card and rather than just send it in in an envelope I thought I'd alter this empty Dove gift box and send it in in this instead.

It started off looking like this... and ended up looking like this...

The papers are by Basic Grey, I love the distress look of them and are lovely to work with. The ribbon I think is by Dovecraft but I might be wrong. The "Happy Christmas" is a Go Kreate Die used in my Cuttlebug and the letters for "Tom" are Quickutz Moxie alphabet dies also used in my Cuttlebug. When we'd put the Gift card in it I tied some red foil ribbon around it to stop the lid coming off in transit to school. I hope Tom liked it!

Quirky Crafts Challenge 13

The Quirky Crafts Challenge is back!!!! This week it's my challenge! How fab is that? So I know you are all going to rush over and join us this week aren't you?!

My Challenge is "Out and About" so there is lots of room for interpretation and I'm sure everyone has got something in their stash that would cover this one. If you would like to join us for the challenge you can find all the details (including a photo of the prize) here.

I thought I would use my new Fishing Bear Die cut for this one. I've had these Fishing papers by Dovecraft for a while now and the bear (who also doubles up as Fairy Bear). The fishing hat, rod, and fish are all part of the new die cut set my mum bought me at the Harrogate craft show a couple of weeks back. I attached the fish to a bit of cotton thread so that he dangles down from the rod.

Papers: Dovecraft

Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Boo Bear, Fishing Bear and "Happy Birthday" Go Kreate Dies

Teachers Gifts

I was looking through my "stuff for altering" stash and found I still had a couple of these paper pad sets left from last year so I thought I'd alter one as a Thank You gift for Josh's 1 to 1.

This is the raw version.

And this is it decorated. The paper and tag are from a set by Hot Off The Press. The wording I did using a Quickutz Die in my Cuttlebug. I added a couple of flowers and a velvet brad to finish.

This is the raw inside.

and this is it after I finished altering it.

Josh's class teacher is actually leaving to have a baby so I had the idea to make her a baby tin. They start off looking like this.

and this one ended up looking like this!

I used papers by Dovecraft and a gorgeous Magnolia stamp that belongs to my mum. The ribbons are a selection from my stash, I know the green spotty one is by Blonde Moments but the others I have no idea!
The only problem with the paint tins is that they aren't very big and trying to find baby things small enough to put in them is not as easy as you would think. They are probably better being used to put handmade biscuits or small chocolates or treats in. Oh well you live and learn!

Christmas Cards in June?!

There is a new challenge over at Quirky Crafts and this week the theme is Red and Green. I chose this as I really needed to make some more Christmas Cards and thought this would be a good incentive to make some!!

This is my DT card for the challenge and it's made using papers my mum gave me. The ribbon is by Dovecraft and the stamp is a Magnolia one.
I also made this one but then afterwards I wasn't sure if it was red and green enough as there is a lot of yellow on it too?! The papers on this one are by Basic Grey. The mouse stamp is a Penny Black and the Merry Christmas one is a Magnolia. I used some Stickles on the icy puddle and the snow to give it a bit of sparkle but you can't really see it on the photo.

There is definitely something not right about making Christmas Cards when the sun is blazing down though isn't there! LOL!

My brother and his Fiance and their little girl just popped round for a surprise visit, it was lovely to see them. Richie fell off his lorry earlier this week and has injured his hip so he's going to be out of action for a while. He showed me the bruise it's left him with and it does look very painful. This is the second time he's fallen off his lorry now. You'd think he'd learn wouldn't you?! :-)

They came to give Josh his birthday present which is an enormous Lightsaber that changes colours and makes different noises depending on the combinations of the handles?! Josh thinks its fab and all I can hear from upstairs right now is various Lightsaber sounds!! I'm just waiting for the smash! LOL!

Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge

Here is this weeks sketch for the Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge.

I hope I haven't cheated too much on this and it still qualifies! Instead of doing the image in a rectangle (as the sketch shows) I cut round the stamped image before I put it on the card. I had to as it just didn't work in another rectangle - it covered up to much of the word stamp background and it didn't leave enough room for the sentiment. I could have used different stamps but these were the ones I wanted to use so I had to tweak the sketch a bit to get it to work for me.

Even if it doesn't qualify I'm still really pleased with the way it turned out and it is now in the post on it's way to my friend in America. Hopefully she will like it too even though it will be arriving a little late! Sorry Anita! Stamps: Shopping Lady by Rubber Romance ~ Shoe Sentiment Stamp by Hampton Art ~ Shopping background Stamp by ?

Coloured With: Paper Piecing and Twinkling H2O's

Papers: Dovecraft

Embellishments: Adhesive Pearls

Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Go Kreate Die

Chloe's Card

I started making this card ages ago with no one particular in mind. I just wanted to use the paper as I thought it was really sweet. However after I put the paper on I couldn't work out what to do with it next. So it sat for ages in my "uncompleted cards" pile and I kept going back to it but couldn't get any inspiration.
Then at the Harrogate craft fair in March I bought myself these Boo the Bear and Fairy Outfit Dies from Go Kreate along with the "Happy Birthday" Die and the numbers Die. By this time it was coming up to my niece, Chloe's, 5th birthday and so I thought, as she's into fairies and princesses in a big way, that if I added the Fairy Boo Bear and the sentiment to this card to finish it off then it would be perfect for her.

The Bear's wings, tiara and the star on the wand are all cut from pink glitter card and the wording too.

This is the inside of the card.
Papers: Dovecraft

Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Go Kreate Dies - Boo Bear, Fairy, Happy Birthday, Numbers, Pointy frame

Birthday Card For Luke

Ellie was invited to her friend Luke's birthday party this afternoon. I challenged myself to make a card with "white space" These days I tend to start all my cards by putting a square of patterned on it, so I thought I'd see if I could make one without. I am very pleased with the way it turned out. This is the inside of the card. Stamps: Dovecraft

Papers, Tag and Images: Hot Off the Press

Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Go Kreate Dies

The Sugar Bowl Challenge

Challenge 5 on the Sugar Bowl Challenge is Christmas. This is a good one for me as I am supposed to be making a Christmas card every day and I haven't made any for quite a while!

I thought rather then sticking to the traditional red and green theme I would go for the icy blues. So here is Hamish all wrapped up and ready to take his teddy out sledging. We've had snow forecast for Wednesday here so we could be joining you Hamish! So much for Spring coming. Stamp: Hamish by Sugar Nellie ~ Circle "North Pole" by Magnolia
Coloured with: Twinkling H2Os
Papers: Dovecraft
Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Ice Crystal Die cut and embossing folder.
Embellishments: Flower by various ~ Brads

A Spoonful Of Sugar Challenge

I am so tired today. My beautiful daughter woke me up at 3am she'd been having a bad dream about gorillas and dinosaurs. Having got her settled back in to her own bed I then spent the next two hours laying awake trying to get back off to sleep. I eventually managed to get back off but didn't get many extra Zzzzz before the radio came on at 6am. Yawn!

This is a card I made yesterday for the A Spoonful Of Sugar Challenge. I just love the little cat on this stamp, he's so cute. Stamps: Sugar Nellie ~ Stamping Up
Coloured with: Twinkling H2Os
Paper: Freebie from magazine
Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Nestibilites
Embellishments: Ribbon ~ Flowers ~ Dovecraft Jewel Brads

Oh No, Not More Christmas Cards!!!

Yes I know you are all sick of Christmas cards, but if I put these two on today then I will give you something that is not a Christmas card tomorrow. I promise!

This card I made yesterday. I love this stamp, it is just gorgeous.
Stamp: Sugar Nellie
Coloured with: Twinkling H2Os
Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Nestibilites
Sentiment: Freebie from magazine
Embellishments: Flowers ~ Prima

The skater card I made this morning. The stamp is one of my Mum's, she stamped a few of them out for me while she was here over Christmas. I couldn't believe it though, she turned up on Christmas Eve and said
"I ordered some new stamps a couple of days ago and they turned up this morning so I thought I'd bring them over with me."

When she showed me the stamps, two of them were ones I'd bought her for Christmas and were all wrapped up sitting under the Christmas Tree. One of them was the North Pole one that I have used on this card and the other was another round one but it has Merry Christmas round the edge and a man and lady in the centre. I had to give her the lecture on not buying stuff for yourself so close to Christmas that I have previously had to give to my husband. Honestly! I don't know why can't they wait until after Christmas!!! LOL! On the plus side, because mum already had them I got to keep a set as an extra present. Hooray for me!
Stamps: Magnolia
Coloured with: Twinkling H2Os
Papers: Dovecraft
Equipment: Cuttlebug ~ Nestibilies (the new rectangles that mum bought me!)

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's my birthday today. Another year older and wiser?! Hmm not sure about the latter. Lol.

Of all the mornings to have a lie in, my kids chose this morning which would have been lovely if I had not woken up at 6.30am and then spent two hours awake waiting for the kids to get up so that I could open my presents.

Peej and I ended up having the funniest game of eye spy I've ever played with some really obscure objects being picked, like C.I.C. being "crack in ceiling" and P.C.C.I.C which was "paint covering crack in ceiling." Then of course there was B.L.T.D.W which was "bedside lights that don't work!" (There is a long story about the bedside lights not working but I won't go into that now. Lol) The fact that we were actually managing to get the answers to these either shows that we are on the same wave length or we're both just as mad as each other? I'm not sure which it is, but it was very funny, well it was to us anyway and it filled in the time until the kids eventually made it out of bed at 8.30am.

I got some great presents and some beautiful handmade cards which I will take photos of tomorrow and post them up for you to see. In the mean time I will share these two cards which I made with free downloads from Papercraft Junkies. This card is made with a Christmas tree download from PCJ's, papers and ribbon by Dovecraft. The cat and mouse stamp is by Sugar Nellie. The card I also did for the Raspberry Ribbons challenge but I was a little late sending it in so I'm not sure if it has made it onto their blog yet or not.

This image is by Debbie Moore and is a free download on PCJ's, I coloured it with Twinkling H2O's and added some Sprinkles to the snow and snowflakes. The patterned paper is some for the Cricut and the Merry Christmas is by Lili of the Valley.

Forever Friends Challenge

This weeks Forever Friends Challenge is "A Christmas Carol". I started off with this card and I was going to have it as "Frosty The Snowman" but then when I went back to the challenge blog I realised one of the DT members had already done that one so....I made this one instead which is "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow" The papers for both card are obviously from the Forever Friends range. The extra snowflakes where made using various punches. The ovals where done using Nestibilities in my Cuttlebug.

Chipboard Baby Album

I am feeling so tired today. I feel asleep this afternoon, luckily Maxy puppy woke me up by jumping on me when the alarm went off on my phone to tell me it was time to go get the kids from school. What a good puppy. I'm still feeling sleepy now though and I'm just hoping I'm not coming down with Peej's Flu bug and I'm tired because my body is trying to fight it off. Fingers crossed eh?!

Just over a week ago a friend of mine asked me if I could make a gift for a friend of hers that had just had a baby. Because she needed to send it to America I suggested making a baby album.

I can't show the front page as I used the birth announcement which has a photo and the families details on it so it wouldn't be right. However I can show you the rest.

These are the first two pages. All the papers I've used are by Dovecraft and I decoupaged some of the characters to give it some depth and interest. I just love these little elephants.
On this one the silicone glue I used started to show through the paper so I used a flower on the bed cover and another small star on the balloon to cover it up. Shhhh don't tell anyone!

These papers are so fun to work with and I have to say even though it took days to make I really enjoyed making this.

These little hippos are so girly. They remind me of Fantasia.

This little lamb with the duck is just so cute.

These are the "Fairy girl" pages

The last two pages I did as Christmas pages and thought I'd leave two spaces for photos.

On the back I made a vellum envelope and a tag with a ribbon so that my friend could write a little message to send with it.

It's the first time I've really made something like this. I have done a mini album for my mum before but I had photos to work with. It's much more difficult just leaving a space and hoping that a photo will fit in it. I am really pleased with the result though and my friend loved it too which is always good!

I apologize for the photos not being very good, I had to take them in a rush and the lighting was less that ideal but hopefully you can see enough to get the idea.

Peas on Earth

I thought I'd put these three on together since they are very similar. The stamp is by Penny Black and coloured with Twinkling H2O's. The embossing and ovals were done with the Cuttlebug and the sentiment is a freebie that came with a magazine.

For this one I used freebie papers. The ovals were done with nesibilities in the cuttlebug again and the Seasons Greetings ribbon I bought at a craft fair in Harrogate.

The bottom snowflake paper on this one is by Dovecraft, the green paper I used for the scalloped oval is by Blonde Moments.