Bauble Bling !

Here are some Baubles I made for family and friends for Christmas, ( that is to say I made the bead decorations on them, not the baubles themsleves, glass blowing isn`t in my skill set just yet ! LOL )
I bought two kits from the NEC in November of this year and have spent every spare minute I had when I wasn`t making Chrissy cards sewing the 1600 beads that each bauble takes !


The larger of the three and the gold one were made up out of the kits and the gold and red smaller one I made with the beads I had left over from the kits, plus some bell beads I`ve had for a while. The bead kits are from the spellbound bead company and they have a whole selection of beautiful jewellery kits, check out their website here


This is the "Swags and Tails " kit in Gold


This is the "Anatolia" kit in Red and Gold



This Swags and Tails one is made up of the beads I had left over from the kits plus the little glass bell shaped beads which are La Fourmi from Carole`s Crafts.

Now that Christmas is all but over with, I can get back to some card making. I have two cards to make for my best friends twins Alex and Charlotte, who have a birthday in early January who will be 7 years old, I don`t often get a chance to make children`s cards as most of my nieces and nephews are growing up so quickly !
Well I`d best get on with it as they`ve got to be made and posted out by wednesday,
bye for now and a Happy New Year to all my friends and followers xx

" Little Angel " !

Here is another of the many Christmas Cards I`ve made this year, but I have finally finished them now. This one is stamped with the cutest image from LOTV coloured with distress inks and highlighted with quickie glue pen and glamour dust. The Backing paper I made with an old Trimcraft snowflake stamp I`ve owned forever ! just stamped in clear and embossed with old gold detail embossing powder. The other backing paper is Magnolia and the sentiment and punches used are SU as is the beige ribbon.



I`m not usually one for using colours like this at Christmas, I`m normally a traditional girl when it comes to such things but I`m trying to break out of my usual mould of red, green and gold and I`ve been experimenting with different colours this Christmas and I`m liking the results !

It`s been snowing here on and off all morning and it`s got me in the mood for Christmas so I`m toying with the idea of getting the festive decorations out. It`s a big job decorating our house for the Christmas season , I admit I am like a big kiddie at Christmas time, I love to see the house all tinselled up ! Better get up in the loft and see what I can find ! bye for now, thanks for visiting and happy crafting xx

Advent Box

Here is a 3D advent box I actually made last year from an idea I got from the very 1st Magnolia Ink magazine, I`d almost forgotton about it but I brought it out to fill with goodies for my Mum, she`s always treating me at christmas so this one is for her.
The images are stamped from Creat a Scene stamps "Vintage Christmas" from Creative Expressions and I`ve used the SU " lovely as a tree " set of stamps for the backgrounds

The Papers are Magnolia from last seasons chrissy range, the numbers are cuttlebug die alphabet set " Hippy Chick " and the handles are Tim Holtz hitch fasteners which I bought from Graphacus online


The photo`s aren`t great as I took them in artificial light, it`s been so gloomy weather-wise lately it`s been hard to get a decent shot but the artificial light really makes the glitter sparkle. The glitter is glamour dust sprinkled over quickie glue pen which is a very quick, easy and fast drying method for sparkles !

For the top of the box I just stamped out the main image and slightly raised it with foam pads just to give it a bit of lift off the background, the flowers are from Calico crafts and the gold bling is from Sehlbach and Whiting.


Again, apologies for the lousy photos ! I haven`t invested in a photo light box yet but it is on my christmas list !


Thanks for stopping by my blog, bye for now and happy crafting xx

Polar fun !

Another Christmas card, I`m on a roll now, made 19 so far, just about half way there for my hand made cards this year. I couldn`t resist this image from LOTV.
The good thing about polar bears is they`re a pale colour so not much colouring needed, this was a very quick card to make which is a blessing when you have so many to do !
The background trees are from `lovely as a tree ` SU set , the sentiment is SU also as are the ribbons. The punch is icicles from Martha Stewart and the background paper is from last years Magnolia collection.
I`ve use a bit of distress inks for shading on the polar bears, (not sure it shows up well in the photo ) the snow is just glamour dust over a quickie glue pen.

I`ve got a day off tomorrow in lieu of having to work my two days off next week for stocktake at work, YUK ! a job I hate, but to console myself I am off to an SU party tomorrow night which I am really looking forward to.
bye for now and happy crafting xx

Shopping on Ice !

Here is the first of the Chrissy cards I have done, I`ve been crafting up a storm for the last two days and managed to get 12 cards done, only 30 odd more to go!
I was determined to get them done early this year and not leave it until the last minute like I usually do!
The image is from LOTV, I love these stamps, they are really affordable and fantastic images, they stamp like a dream too.I have used distress inks to colour and Glamour dust to highlight the snow and the fur on her hat and coat.
I have no idea what the background paper is sorry! it`s one I bought at the NEC last year !
I have used the cuttlebug embossing folder snowflakes for the little strip of card that the ribbon is tied round. The ribbon , sentiment and punches used are all SU and the little charm is from my bitsa box, it`s from a pack of craft bits and pieces my Mum put in my christmas stocking last year ! She doesn`t craft but she often finds all sorts of great embellishments for me, she`s got a good eye for detail and often collects bits and pieces on her travels, that she thinks I can use in my crafting.
Well, I`d better get some housework done now, you should see the state of the carpet round my craft desk ! deffinately time to put down the glitter and glue and get out the vacuum cleaner ! bye for now and happy crafting x

A Beary Happy Birthday !

This is a card I have done for my friend Jeanne`s Birthday.
I love this little Penny Johnson stamp ( available from Sir Stampalot )it has been usefull for all sorts of occasions. I have watercoloured the image with distress inks and die cut the image using Nestabilities labels 2.
The Background papers are "Regency" from Papermania, the ribbon is Gisela Graham, the window slot punch and sentiment are both SU and the flower is Prima, can`t remember where the little butterfly embelishment came from, it`s one of those finds at the bottom of my embellishment box that I`ve had kicking around for a while !

I have FINALLY started my chrissy cards ! YAY me ! The muse left me for a while and I have had serious crafter`s block, but I`m back in the saddle and raring to go so watch this space for some chrissy creations soon, I think a trip to Sir Stampalot did the trick, surrounded by all those yummy new goodies that I couldn`t resist ! It`s a tonic for anyone that I would highly recommend !
I`m off to a SU catalogue launch tomorrow so I`m bound to get some inspiration there too - surrounded by all my crafting friends and I`m really looking forward to the afternoon, what better way to spend a couple of hours with great products and great company !
Thanks for visiting my blog and reading all my waffle ! bye for now and happy crafting x

Here is a card I did for my friend Bridgette`s Birthday recently ( check out her fab blog in my side bar - A stamp for all seasons )
The Tilda is from the last new range available from Sir Stampalot,coloured with distress inks, the papers are MME bloom and grow, Punches used are Martha Stewart `loopy` border punch and SU tab punch, the sentiment is SU as is the ribbon and linen thread which I cannot stop using ! The oval and Scallop oval are nesties and the flowers are from Carole`s Crafts.
I have used White Opal liquid pearls to highlight the spots on the prezzies.

I am going to attempt a bit of crafting today, haven`t done any in over a week, I`ve had a few health issues and I seem to have lost my mojo a bit. I`ve also had to cancel my plans for the NEC this year due to serious lack of funds which is a shame because I look forward to that every year. Maybe I`ll be able to catch the spring show next year instead. Hopefully I can find my muse again today and finally start my chrissy cards, I keep starting them and finding no inspiration and giving up, I`ve heard of writers block, I seem to have crafters block ! LOL, maybe a good crafting session today will get me back on track again ! here`s hoping, bye for now xxx

Movin` on

Here is a card I made for my next door neighbours who moved house this week, it`s a shame they had to go ( nothing to do with me honest ! lol ) haven`t met the new neighbours yet, hope they`re crafters !
The stamps used are all Su - `Loads of love` - `Loads of love accessories` - `Good Neighbours`
I`ve coloured the houses and trees with rich regal SU stampin` spots and the truck is paper pieced with SU real red cardstock and gone over with glossy accents.



The slider window was punched from the SU window punch ,it is so handy, probably one of my most used punches. The background paper is Bo Bunny double dots.



No crafting for me for a few days as I`m off back home to London to visit my brother for a long weekend and much needed rest, I haven`t had a good mooch round the big smoke for ages so I am really looking forward to it, Mmmmmmm I can almost taste the coconut butter buns in China Town there is no taste like it anywhere else on earth ! can`t wait ! bye for now, thanks for visiting my blog and happy crafting xx

Christmas Kitty

Here is a sample I have done for Sir Stampalot, it`s one of the new Stampavie stamps.
I have coloured with distress inks and used diamond stickles to highlight.
The background paper is Magnolia and I`ve used my favourite die of the moment the Tim Holtz hanging sign, BOY have I had some mileage out of this one, I love it and I just cannot stop using it LOL !


I have cut an aperture in the card so that the swinging part of the hanging sign can hang freely and I`ve just used large jump rings to secure the two parts together.


I am trying to get a head start on my Chrissy cards this year instead of leaving it until the last minute like I did last year, the trouble is I have all but exhausted most of the Christmas stamps I have .... oh well, a good excuse to go out and buy more I guess !! LOl, bye for now and happy crafting xx

Some bunny loves you !

Here is a card that I did for my best friend Sally`s 7th Wedding Anniversary.
The stamp is "cuddles " by Penny Johnson available from Sir Stampalot . Coloured with distress inks, The background paper is Daisy Bucket, the tags are SU "tiny tags" set, punched out with the SU tiny tags punch. The linen thread is also SU. The felt heart is made from two petals cut from a 6 petal felt flower and the wooden heart is from a set of birthday cake decortations that I`ve had for years ! I tend to hoard embellishments from all over the place but I usually find a use for them eventually !!
Well I`ve got two days off work now so I`m going to spend today crafting, I am thinking about starting my Chrissy cards ! last year I left it until the last minute and put myself under way too much pressure to finish them so I`m getting a head start on myself this year !
Bye for now and Happy Crafting xx

Autumn Leaves

Here is a card I`ve done for Sir Stampalot using one of the new Sarah Kay stamps. I challenged myself to use colours I don`t normally use and I kept to a limited colour palette and I have to say I was really pleased with the results. I get into a habit sometimes of using the same colours that are my favourites but I am trying to broaden my horizons !


The paper is the reverse side of Basic Grey " Hot Stone " which I didn`t even look at when I bought it but I like very much. The image is coloured with Distress inks, Peeled paint, spiced marmalade, brushed corduroy, tattered rose and pumice stone.

The leaves are cut from Sizzix big leaf die and the linen thread is SU which I cannot stop using !!

This image has a very Autumn feel to it as does the weather today ! It`s very wet and windy so a good day to stay indoors and craft, pity I have to work this afternoon which I`d better get myself ready for now !
Thanks for stopping by my blog, bye for now and happy crafting x

Tilda Sisters

Here is a project I submitted for the last Magnolia Ink magazine, unfortunately it didn`t make the cut but I was pleased with it.
When I buy stamps, dies, embossing folders etc I ask myself how much use am I going to get out of it before I buy it, when you craft on a budget like I do it`s an unfortunate necessity ! This wasn`t the case with this Tim Holtz hanging sign die, I fell in love with it and bought it without knowing where or when I`d find a use for it, but now I have it I can`t stop using it !!



I turned it backwards and upside down for this project and turned it into this photo frame, as the theme of the Magnolia competition was " family " So I came up with the idea of doing a kind of old fashioned photo frame ( I hope that`s what I`ve acheived ! )



The images are coloured with distress inks, stamps used are wondering Tilda and Tilda wrapping presents ( just the top half of her though! ) the flowers are prima and Magnolia and again I`ve got good use out of my Sizzix extended cuts " swirly " die, the flat back pearls are hero arts. All products from Sir Stampalot



I`ve got to make a card for my best friend and her husbands anniversary now, so I`ve got a good excuse to play with the new stamp I bought at Sir Stampalot this morning, ( not that I need an excuse to craft ! lol ) thanks for visiting my blog, bye for now and happy crafting x

Feline Fine !

This stamp from LOTV was irresistible to me as a cat lover. My cat gets quite a few hugs like this from me ( although I`m not sure she`s entirely happy about it ! )LOL
Coloured with distress inks, the paper is Basic Grey " Phoebe " the shape is cut from Labels 10 nesties, the photo corner punch is from the American SU catalogue which my good friend Jane was very kind in getting for me from her relative that lives in the states. The `grass` is actually the MS icicle punch which I have found to be very useful and the little tag is a boss cut die. Couldn`t tell you where the little plastic flowers and felt leaves came from, I`ve had them donkeys years, normally they are stuck to little pegs but I pulled this one apart as the colours just fit so well (the peg will get used for something else no doubt !)
I`ve got most of the day to myself today so I`m going to get on with some crafting, I`ve been given some lovely new stamps from Sir Stampalot to do some samples for them, so I`m looking forward to getting stuck in, so bye for now and happy crafting xx

Bind-it-all Calendar ( long post, lots of piccies !)

I`ve had this weekend to myself so it has given me plenty of time to play with my new toy, the pink Bind-it-all machine. Here is my first project using it, I always make myself a calendar for the new year and I ALWAYS leave it until the last minute so I thought I`d get well ahead of myself for next year this time!
I got the idea from the Zutter website, and with a few modifications this is what I came up with.




I have only used 6 spaces on the o wires to display half the year at a time but it could be made to display the full 12 months, this one is going to be sitting on my desk and as I have limited space I decided to make it shorter, the next 6 months are tucked away in the drawer underneath.


I have used the lovely nitwit papers that I bought from Sir Stampalot, the pegs I picked up in Oldrids department store ages ago and they`ve been sitting in storage waiting for a project to use them on, the pages were cut from nestabilities labels 10, the gingham ribbon is Bazzill and the tassel is papermania.
I wanted the calendar pages to be removable so that I can use it for years to come ( don`t really want to cut all those pages out every year !) The pegs were an ideal choice for that so all I have to do year after year is print myself another calendar from the computer.



It was a bit tricky getting the o wires in the top without bending the cardstock, the trick was to almost close up the o wire first before feeding it through the holes, then close it up completely once it had been threaded through.
I must say I am pretty pleased with the outcome. It was a labour of love but I hope the end result was worth it.



Well, my family is back today so I`d better clear away the mess from my crafting weekend and get on with some housework, at least then it doesn`t look like I`ve spent the WHOLE weekend playing ! shhhh don`t tell anyone ! lol , bye for now xx

Tea for Two

I have made this card for my best friend Sally`s birthday, we`ve known each other since we were three years old and this image from LOTVso reminds me of us as little girls ( although I don`t think I was quite this cute !)
I`ve coloured the image with my beloved distress inks, the background papers are from Bo Bunny, the sentiment is SU as are the small circle and scallop punches. The spotty and pink large flowers are prima from Sir Stampalot.


Got the house to myself this weekend which is a vary rare occasion so I`ve got plenty of " me time " to craft and have a play with my new `pink` bind-it-all that I got for my birthday, wasn`t I a lucky girly !! Watch this space for binding projects in the near future ! bye for now xx

Horseplay

Products used:- distress inks to colour, MME bloom and grow paper, Henbury lane paper from DO, felt flowers SU, Martha Stewart and SU punches

Here is a card I`ve made for my Neice who has a birthday coming up, she`s mad about anything to do with horses.
I fell in love with this stamp at the LOTV stand at Doncaster last weekend, in fact I fell in love with all of the LOTV stamps and wish I`d bought more of them, so when I came home I went straight on their website and ordered some !! The Summer Craft show was a great day out, but exhausting, my poor legs are still recovering from all the walking I did but I came away with some great new stamps and embellies and yes.... ribbon, I couldn`t resist !! I`m like a moth to a flame with ribbon and flowers ! trouble is I`m running out of storage space for them !
Well, I`ve been crafting up a storm today but having the windows open because of the heat we`ve been plagued with little thunder bugs, they get everywhere and tickle your skin! So I`m off for a soak in the tub, bye for now xx

Storage Solutions

I have had quite an industrious day sorting out my Tilda collection, first I stamped the images out onto plain copy paper, then laminated the sheets, then clung my Tildas to the back , they fit perfectly into these Stampendous "Stufftainers" available from Sir Stampalot.

As my collection is ever growing, I can now see at a glance exactly what Tildas I have which saves an awful lot of rummaging in a storage box ! They also protect the stamps from getting squished and they stack up or hang.



Well now that`s done, I can go clean my extremely inky fingers and get down to some serious crafting, I went to the Doncaster `Summer Crafting ` show yesterday and bought some more `stash` I was very good though and even bought some money home with me, how restrained am I ? !!!! So I have lots of goodies to play with which I am about to get on with, bye for now xxx

Birthday Cards

The best thing about having great crafting friends is the beautiful collection of hand made cards you get for special occasions. I just had to share with everyone the fab handmade cards I received today for my birthday. The detail, time and thought that has gone into each and everyone of them is so appreciated, so thank you (from left to right of the cards in the picture ) Sue, Louise, Lou, Dora and Claire for my beautiful cards.
I`m off to Doncaster tomorrow for the craft show where I`m sure I`ll have no problem spending my birthday pennies ! bye for now xx

Life`s a Beach !

All this sunshine we`ve been having inspired me to do a beach themed card. This is Molly Blooms again, I`ve cut her off the beach ball she was sitting on and placed her in her deck chair which I`ve paper pieced with sizzix papers. The bunting and window/Mirror, table and tray are all from the Molly Blooms collection too, all available from Sir Stampalot. The background paper is Magnolia, I have used such a lot of this one it`s so versatile, pity they aren`t printing it anymore ! The coloring is done with my fave distress inks again and I`ve added a bit of sparkle with stickles diamond on the cupcake.






Boy did I have trouble making this little beach house, and it seemed like such a good idea at the time but it took FOREVER and was bloomin` fiddly but I think it was worth the effort in the end !!
Hopefully this weather will hold out over the next week until my holiday, keeping everything crossed lol, bye for now xx

Gone Fishing !

Here is another one of the samples I did for the Molly Blooms launch for Sir Stampalot. This one is George, ( I love the lips on the fish ! ) I have really enjoyed making these cards and it`s nice to do a card for the men for a change, I don`t often get the chance . I have coloured him in with distress inks and added a bit of stickles to the bee`s wings and 3D gloss to the fish jar. The backing papers are Basic Grey origins - hot stone ( the spotty one ) and Kaiser country grove - daisy chain. I also used the sizzix embossing folder from the beach set for the bubbles.
Well it`s nearly midnight now so I`d better go get some shut eye, got to be up fairly early tomorrow as I`m off with some good friends to a Clarity Stamp demo in Wisbech. I`ll try not to spend too much, ( like that`s gonna happen ! ) LOL , bye for now x