Growing up.... too fast!

I came across this picture of my daughter that I took in September last year this evening and decided that it was screaming out to be scrapped, so I converted it into black & white, printed it out and created a layout.

What's so scary is that she was only 9 3/4 when it was taken.. not even 10 years old!  (I know that I'm biased) but she's going to be stunningly beautiful when she grows up.  I really pity any young man that comes 'sniffing' round her in years to come as they've got to get past her dad!

I created the sentiment on the photo by stamping onto Letraset Safmat before applying to the bottom right hand corner of the picture.  The Pink Paislee rub ons are metallic silver and have such a fantastic shine to them that really picks up the light beautifully.  I've accented the flowers across the bottom with silver brads to continue the shine on the page.

Creative Ingredients:
Black Bazzill cardstock - Silver metallic rub ons; Pink Paislee - Alphas; Woodware & Adornit - Punched leaves; Woodware & X-Cut - Flowers; Prima - Ribbon flower handmade - Button - Brads - Stamp; Unity Stamps - Letraset Safmat

PaperPlay Challenges - For a mum/mom

This week over on PaperPlay Challenges, we're kindly sponsored by Inky Impressions who are offering 1 stamp of the winner's choice and an Inky Goodie Bag

Our theme is to create something for  a Mum - this can be new mother, mother's birthday, etc... as Mother's Day is Apr 3rd in UK/Ireland


I made a clipboard for Mum to make her notes on.  It's made from an A4 opaque plastic clipboard (which was liberated from my friend, Kirsty Wiseman's craft room a couple of weeks ago).  I coloured the background using Alcohol Inks in red, yellow, blue and green, which when mixed together has given a lovely tortoiseshell effect. It's then decorated with BasicGrey Indian Summer paper, a paper lunch bag which I've cut to reveal a pocket for secret notes, some ribbon, lace and lots of flowers for that girlie touch.

You can see the range of flowers that I've used here.  Some ready made and the two white ones in the centre of the larger flowers are handmade and VERY 3D!

Creative Materials
A4 Clipboard - BasicGrey Indian Summer paper - Tim Holtz alcohol inks - Paper lunch bag; Poundshop - Flowers: Prima - Leaves; X-Cut punch - Butterfly; Prima - Lettering; Tim Holtz Vintage Market Sizzix die - Ticket; Tim Holtz - White pen: Inkssentials - Brads, ribbon, lace & gems from stash.

Congratulations!

I made this recently to congratulate two lovely people on their engagement.

I am in love with everything BasicGrey and couldn't resist the vintage / shabby chic look of this Capella, distressed around the edges and then inked and torn, matched with ivory lace, ribbon, pins and flowers.  The sentiment, which I printed out onto Letraset SAFMAT, is kept simple.

For those who've never used SAFMAT before, you simply run it through your printer (I use an Epson inkjet but have previously used it on a Hewlett Packard).  Allow it to dry thoroughly then cut it out and rub it on to your project.  It leaves a gentle matt effect, but looks great as it allows the background image to show through.  You can click on the photo above for a better view of the applied SAFMAT .

Creative Materials:
Cream cardstock - BasicGrey Capella paper - Lace - Ribbon - Pins - Flowers; Prima - Leaves; Stampin' Up punch - Sentiment printed onto Letraset Safmat - Inkpad; QuickQuotes

PaperPlay Challenges - Embossing

If it's Thursday then it's challenge time again over at the PaperPlay Challenge Blog  This time we'd like to see your creations made using EMBOSSING.  You can choose to either dry emboss or heat emboss, it's entirely up to you!

We're kindly sponsored this week by MELJENSDESIGNS who gave us some really cute images to work with.  They're offering up 4 images to one lucky winner who joins us this week.

My cats image was printed out and is coloured using Promarkers.  I chose to dry emboss a heart cut on my Big Shot using a Sizzix Heart die and the Cuttlebug Heart Blocks embossing folder.  The card is backed by a lovely, vintage looking piece of BasicGrey Capella paper which I inked the edges of using a QuickQuotes inkpad.  Flowers are from Prima. and it's finished with a couple of journalling spots cut from cardstock, lettered with alphas from Making Memories and tied with some gorgeous pale green/blue lace.

The perfect card for my parent's 53rd wedding anniversary at the end of this month.

Happy (belatedly blogged) Birthday, Susan

Only a few days late posting this card for our lovely friend Susan.  It was made and hand delivered on time (I promise!) but I never got round to tweaking the pic and uploading it through the week.

I'd like to enter this into the Ribbon Girl Challenge to make a project using the colours Cream, Pink and Brown.

Creative Ingredients:

Brown checked paper: BasicGrey - Pink & Cream paper/cardstock; scraps - Photograph; I took that! - Alphas; Making Memories - Flowers: Prima - Leaves; Woodware punch - Brads - Ribbon - Gems

Tweaked cards R us!

I made a quick card a week or so ago (at VERY SHORT NOTICE... GARY!!!) but couldn't get it across to Guernsey in time for Valentines Day (ordered Friday, needed by Monday) so I've changed and tweaked it a bit to become a for a card for his wife's birthday instead.

Hopefully Jules will love it. If she doesn't then it wasn't me that made it! ;-)

Creative Ingredients:
Cream A5 Cardstock - Paper; BasicGrey - Punch; Stampin' Up Bird/branch & Martha Stewart Butterfly - Flower; Prima - Stamp - Tim Holtz - Brad - Pins - Ribbon - White pen; Inkssentials

Inspired by a photograph

This card was made during some 'me time'.  Not for anyone or for anything in particular.  It all started when I printed a photo out that I'd taken quite a while back to test my new printer.  Bits and bobs were added until I as pleased and realised that I needed to stop before I totally cluttered it up!

Creative Ingredients:
Cream cardstock - Photograph - Butterfly: Prima - Stamps: Inkadinkadoo - Flower: Prima - Leaf punch - Woodware - Glossy Accents - Scroll; Delish Designs - Gems - Button - Crackle Accents - Ribbon - Inkpads; Versafine & Quick Quotes

BasicGrey Challenge 38 - Sketch

It's been a while since I played along with BasicGrey Challenges, even though they are my FAVE EVER paper manufacturer!|

They've got a sketch this week to inspire the creativity within; and inspire it did!

Papers used are from the Kyoshi range... aren't they beautiful?

This card can be purchased from me HERE

Creative Ingredients:

Papers: BasicGrey Kyoshi - Stamp: Tim Holtz - Flowers: Prima; Bird; Stampin' Up punch; Leaf punch; Woodware; Ink: Versafine & Quick Quotes - Brads - Ribbon

Cards update

February's a pretty busy month as far as birthdays goes.  Mine was on 2nd.

This lovely lady celebrated a special one on 8th.

This one flew over to Belgium to this lovely lady.

And this one stayed at home to go to South Shields to the lovely Jane who I had the pleasure of meeting when I went to London to cook with Ainsley Harriott.

Bring on the lighter nights is all I can say as night time, 'flash' photography is doing my doofers in!

Materials:
BasicGrey Paper - Tim Holtz on the Edge House Die - Tim Holtz sentiment stamp - Ribbon - Fiskars Scallop scissors - Computer generated sentiments - Thickers numbers - Making Memories alpha stickers - Prima flowers - pins - Martha Stewart butterfly punch - brads - corrugated cardboard - Stickles glitter glue

Love bugs Valentines canvas

Chatting to a friend at work who said she wanted to do something 'really special and different' for her man this year.  Not the normal, buy it from a shop, mass produced tat but something that meant something.

I came up with the idea of doing a canvas and being the arty friend that I am created a box for her to give to him.

But me being me, wasn't satisfied with just an empty box for her; I had to create something to fit inside it (well, to be honest I made the box to fit the canvas!) So I came up with this from the photograph she emailed across to me.

Am really pleased to say both Penny and Roger LOVED my creation.  To see her face when she opened the box at work to look at it was a real prize for me.  Let's just say it was taken out of her desk drawer many times on Thursday last week to look at ;-)  May they always be as happy and in love as they look in this photo.  xxxx

Materials:
Canvas - Ribbon - Heart punch - Prima flowers - Brads - WRMK ribbon slider - Tim Holts stamp - Making Memories alpha stickers.

Kathy's Waffle Sketch File

Jan / Feb 2011 - Triangles & Circles.

Ok, I've just realised when typing up this post to go with Kathy's sketch that I didn't include triangles; instead using circles for my bunting!  Sorry to be so dim Kathy!!!!

Materials:
White pearlescent cardstock - Prima Flowers - Brad - Papers: Prima & (turquiose) offcut from scraps - Rub on: BasicGrey - Alphas; Making Memories - LOVE diecut pressie from Rebekah Montague - Inkpad; QuickQuotes

BasicGrey cards

I was sent a load of stash recently from a very lovely friend of mine as she knows how much I love BasicGrey (Thanks Steph!)

These cards, chocolate bar and mini clipboard were made from only 2 sheets of 12x12 patterned paper.  Love the vintage/shabby chic look and feel of them.

Sneaky peek...

Sneaky peek...

Sneaky peek...

A5 card

A5 card

Materials used:
BasicGrey paper - 'Bingo' clipboard - Ribbon - Lace - Prima flowers - Martha Stewart Butterfly punch - Corrugated cardboard - Brads - Pins - Tim Holtz stamps -

Retirement Card

I was asked to make a Retirement card for a friend's colleague.  Now girlie and shabby chic I can do... but for the more discerning male recipient I had to have a little think about what was needed.

The brief was:
* gardening / DIY / Formula 1
* for a man (who turned out to be the hubby of an old school friend of mine - small world!)
* to include a poem
* needed to be A4/A5 in design

So, off to my studio I went and got to work on it.  I was lucky enough to have received a parcel of goodness from the lovely Rebekah - The Happy Scrapper which was a lovely surprise and it contained some fab papers, cardstock, embellie bits which were all perfectly co-ordinated.

I found this birdhouse paper in the box and think it's so cute and definitely appropriate for a gardening themed card.  The folder on the front is cut from a Sizzix die and contains the poem (hence the little note to OPEN). Rustic string which I frayed the ends of adds a bit of a manly feature.  The acetate toolshed, wheelbarrow and bird house were from one of Kirsty Wiseman's CDs "Call of the Wild".  I'm pleased with how the card turned out and it seems that my friend I made it for to give to her colleague is too.  Hope he likes it when he receives it.

Materials:
Cream cardstock - unknown manufacturer birdhouse paper - string - Prima flower - brad - Sizzix die - Kirsty Wiseman's CD - Papermania alphas - Pebbles Inc. candy dots

Scrapbook page

Kirsty Wiseman runs a Facebook online Cyber Crop page which she used to host via Ustream weekly.  She's set a sketch and a recipe to follow and we'd crop along to her chitter-chatter while we scrapped for 2 hours between typing little notes, quips and giggles in a live chat.

With Christmas and other things that Kirsty's been busy with, she's not had the chance recently to lead the group, so I hijacked it this week with a sketch and recipe.

I wanted to see the following in my recipe:


White background.
Square photograph.
2 different patterned papers.
Chipboard embellishment.
Sentiment and handwritten journalling.
3 brads or buttons.



I chose one of my wedding photos from way back when I was young (20 years old) and slim (size 8).

My chipboard was in the form of some Cosmo Cricket Blackboard and my numbers from Thickers.  The cream ribbon was almost the same colour as my dress which I gathered and ruffled one side while leaving the other end smooth.  This was simply stapled to my page.  I chose a black flower and black numbers and flower accents to contrast with the white background.  I also double matted my photograph onto white and then black.  I chose subtle papers from Prima's Shabby Chic Collection (thanks Steph!) and picked accent colours up from that for my crochet flower and paint streaks. I also used a patterned paper tag from DeLish Designs.  I don't do white space, hence there's not too much here but I did try and keep it to a minimum while still making it lush!

Kirsty's Cyber crop

Catching up on Blog posts not done.

From Kirsty Wiseman's Wednesday night Cyber Crops:

Week 7 - 13th October 2010

(This was during my blonde phase!)

(Materials: Sassafrass papers - Dunelm Blooms - Bazzill Brad - Thickers alphas - Pink waxed thread)


Week 8 - 20th October 2010

My lovely friend Kate at her wedding shower.  Miss my girlie lunchtime chats with this great girl!

(Materials: Papers; offcuts from scrap box - Blooms; Prima - Alphas; BasicGrey - Bird & decorated brad; K&Company - Glitter; Stickles)

Happy Birthday mum!

I have the most wonderfully kind and caring mum.  She was a daughter, still is a wife, sister, mother, mother-in-law, aunty, and grandmother.  All who know her love her and for me, I'm proud to call her mum.

She celebrates her 73rd birthday today and just want everyone to know that she's special and adored beyond belief.  If I can be half the mother that she has been, then my two children with be lucky indeed.

She had 2 hand made cards made by me this year;

From dad...

(Materials: Making Memories scalloped paper - Stampin Up image - Derwent Aquatone - Prima)

From us...

(Materials: Thickers alphas - Stampin Up - Derwent Aquatone - Prima - Woodware punch)
Love you so much mum; today, tomorrow & always.
xxx

Challenge 75 - Burgundy, Pink & Cream

Have you seen the girl's fantastic projects on Rosie D's this time round?  We have had some amazing entries to the challenge blog too.  Thanks to everyone who has already taken part and for those that haven't yet, remember you still have another week to do so.

Remember Tracy's theme for this time round is Burgundy, Pink and Cream colour combo.  GORGEOUS!!!!

This card is too late for my own Wedding Anniversary which was on 2nd July - 22 years!!!!!! Blimey where have they gone?!  We'll soon be celebrating our 25th - now that IS scary!

Materials:
Cream card.
Flourish stamp: Hero Arts.
Fabric paper: Indigo Mill.
Flowers: Prima.
Leaf punch: Woodware.
Clock & Sentiment stamps: Paper Artsy.
Brads: Stash.
Ribbon: Ribbon Mad.
Inkpads: Pretty Colour & Versafine.

Daring Card Makers - Emerald Isle?

It's been a while since my good intentions made public here on my blog that I wanted to take part more regularly again on DCM.  But I've managed to make my card this week.  If I'm totally honest, I sometimes make the cards and then forget to upload it.

Their theme this week is Emerald Isle?   Their first dare of each month comes from the birthstone of the month in question and for May that birthstone is EMERALD

Obviously the 'Emerald' part of my card comes from the predominantly green colour (something that I seldom seem to use in everyday cardmaking / scrapping for some strange reason).

Lots of Prima flowers used with button centres.  I added some artistic licence to the regular saying... because I can!

Materials:
Cream 5"x7" card.
All papers and cardstock - scraps from my (very thick and unused) scrap packs.
Flowers: Prima.
Greeting: My own, computer printed.
Ribbon: Ribbon Mad (sadly closed!)

Allsorts Challenge

On the Allsorts Challenge Blog they want to see creations using Pink and Brown so when I found this picture of my daughter in her pink coat on the 'log' flume with my parents it seemed just perfect!

I just love my dad's face- you can almost hear him scream.  Then again, mum's not looking too impressed either and seems to be holding on to Freya for grim death!

Materials:

Bazzill Swiss Dots card.
Felt leaves: Queen & Co.
Flowers; Prima.
Flower centres: Stash.
Heart: Opitec.
Journalling strips: computer generated.
Punch: Fiskars.
Pens: Stabilo & Sakura.

Basic Grey Challenges

My third challenge blog that I've neglected since what seems way before the ice age is the BasicGrey Challenges.


They're on week 11 since they've been back and this is my first time I've been with them since their return (see, I said it was before the ice age!).

This week saw photo inspiration in some wonderful colours.

Materials
White C6 card.
Embossing folder: Cuttlebug.
Paper & Lettering: BasicGrey, Figgy Pudding.
Rub on: BasicGrey, Boxer.
Felt embellishment: Prima.
Button, ribbon: Stash.
Inks: Versamagic.