Last Birthdays

So according to my calender there are only three birthdays left until Christmas so I thought I would make the cards so that I could have a quick tidy up before knuckling down to get my Christmas goodies sorted. I know full well that this won't be the case, and birthdays will continue to crop up but that was the plan when I made these two cards. The first for my niece and the second for my friends 40th.


This used:
Image: Lili of the Valley
Promarkers
Papers, ribbons and flowers from the stash.

I made this card for the LOTV challenge which this week is a sketch.

The next card I roughly followed the sketch again:


This used:
Image: Lil of the Valley
Promarkers and Tim Holtz distress ink.
Backing paper from the stash. The embellishments are actually the cut out "petals" from the flowers on my halloween and autumn cards.

So hopefully that is it and I can concentrate on Christmas, at least for today.

Thanks for popping by

C

Spooky Anniversary

So this has been a bit of a manic week for me, what started off as looking like a nice schedule with lots of crafting time quickly became full of unexpected work chores!

Anyway, trying to prioritise tasks, and have snuck in this crafty goody before finishing off my Hallowe'en costume ready for tomorrow.

My friends anniversary is actually on Hallowe'en so thought I would do them a nice themed card.



This used:
Image: Penny Black 4087J back-seat witch
Promarkers
Tim Holtz distress ink, weathered wood
Sizzix embossing folder - Tim Holtz spider web
Paper and ribbon from the stash, and hallowe'en confetti



As it is an anniversary card I have found some confetti in a card shop which I thought would be perfect :) They will probably be picking it up for weeks!

It's not too spooky but I will be entering it into this weeks Penny Black and I Lv Promarkers Challenges.

Back to Christmas

Get me with my multiple blogs in a week, I think London buses may be rubbing off on me ...

So with the epic amount of Xmas goodies I have to make I thought I aught to crack on, one card a day may just see me through, but not sure where I will find the time for the crochet, but at least I have found a solution to the crocheted label problem :)

So here is my share for today - rather naughtily this is actually the first Xmas card that I made - but you didn't know that!


I love this little guy (Wee) and he will be featuring on all my cards in one form or another :)

So here it is:



This used:

Image: Whiff of Joy Wee with tree
Backing Papers: Papermania 'A Christmas Carol'
Sentiment: Penny Black 2764F ...A Merry Xmas
Promarkers
Card candy and embellishment from the stash


So that's me again, I am entering this card in to the Whiff of Joy Challenge which this time is 'Distressing'.

TTFN

Hallowe'eny Birthday

So it's a friends birthday today, and she just happens to be into all things Hallowe'en so thought I would use this as an excuse to buy more crafty goodies for a card she would love - not that I really need excuses but this seemed like a good one :).

Still busy finding time to get all my crafty Xmas organised but it's nice to do something that is not so Christmasy once in a while - i definitely need more days in my week!

So here it is:



And the full card:



This used:

Image: Penny Black 2253K Witchy Mouse
Embellishment: Provo Craft "Flowers" and "Granny Smith" card candy
Promarkers
Weathered Wood distress ink
Ribbon and paper from the stash.


I hope that she likes it, it was a bit of a last minute make as I had to wait for the stamp to arrive in the post, I was almost camping by the door :) Luckily there was a sketch for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge this week which I will be entering this little number into, and the theme for the Penny Black at Allsorts challenge this month is Colours of Autumn so it will work for that too - bonus!

TTFN

Whiff of Joy Challenge

So the race is on to get prepared for Christmas, I always think I will be more organised, then never am, but it is still only October so have a little time yet.

Having lots of cards to make I decided why not make a few of them to enter in a challenge, just to make them a little more exciting.

So here it is, one of the many cards that need making :)



This Used:

Image: Whiff of Joy: Wee with Tree
Backing Papers: Papermania, A Christmas Carol
Sentiment: Penny Black
Promarkers and Distress inks
Ribbon, button and flower from the stash

Off to get ready for work now, sigh...

Mustard

OK, so just a little while since my last blog then :)

It seems that work seriously interferes with my crafting and blogging time, but hopefully soon I will have more time for both.

In the mean time I thought I would share my new craft - crochet :)
I treated myself to a kit and I loved it sooo much I have decided to make my Xmas gifts this year - as if just finding time to make the cards wasn't challenging enough :) and I possibly need to find a way to crochet a gift tag, but that's another story...











Isn't he great!
Just in case you were wondering why he is called Mustard - as now it is obvious it's not because of his colouring - it's because he is a sausage dog! :)

All it takes is wool and a bent stick, how cool is that! I have decided that I am going to make him a little Belgian friend who I shall call Dijon :) Now where did I put my needle...

Back to Crafting :)

So I after a manic couple of weeks I have finally managed to get at my goodies for a good old play :)

So I have been busy busy busy making cards for birthdays this week eek! I hope they make it on time - though I very much doubt that they will, still it's the thought that counts right :)

I thought I would share a couple of my creations before going off to make more - and put on some more laundry - it's amazing how it all builds up!




This used:
Image: Whiff of Joy: Willow writing recipes
Distress inks tattered rose and antic linen
Promarkers
Ribbon, flowers and peel-off sentiment from the stash box.

This little number is being entered in to the Whiff of joy, Cute Card Thursday and I Love Promarkers Challenges.

The next card I know will be late as it is to be hand delivered to the lovely Edd who runs the fruit stall outside of the pub I am currently working in and it is his birthday today - but being a bank holiday we are all taking a well deserved day off - so tomorrow will have to do :)




This used :
Image: Lili of the Valley
Promarkers
Distress ins antique linen and tea dye
Ribbon and peel-off sentiment from the stash.

This cutie is going in the Lili of the valley, By the Cute and Girly and Crafty Catz Challenges.

Get me with my challenge busting!!!

Thanks for stopping by

xx

Quicky Play

OK so I knew it had been a little while since I had time for a share - but I didn't realise quite how long it had been! They say time flys when you are having fun - but they neglect to mention that it romps right past you when you're not!
Unfortunately I have no exciting news to share - I have just been terribly busy at work, and now one of my chefs is away on holiday so I not going to get much more time off for the next two weeks :(
I have been applying for a couple of new jobs so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them :)

Anyway - on to more important things - the massive amount of cards that I need to make for up and coming birthdays :)

Number 1 my brothers girlfriend Sally:



This used:
Image: Penny Black 3206J Crossing Bridges
Promarkers
Paper scraps and some of my stolen paper roses :)

So that's one down and because I can I will be entering it into the penny black and allsorts challenges
Yay me :)

Creative Treat

So after being terribly busy making birthday invitations - and designing save the dates, invitations and orders of service for my friend Gill's little sister's wedding I decided that I had earned a non invitation based crafty treat.

Rather excitingly my new stamps from Whiff of Joy arrived yesterday - pesky ash cloud finally left us in peace - so I thought I would have a play with one of these - and of course they are now my new favourites :)



This Used:
Image: Whiff of Joy - Willow with Umbrella
Backing Papers - Funky Hand Minty Madness and Salt and Pepper
Card Candy - Granny Smiths
Promarkers

The photo is a bit rubbish as the sun had moved around the corner by the time I had finished!

Of course making cards is super fun, but seeing how many challenges you can get them in to is almost as good :) I have managed three with this little number:

Get Funky Challenge - April Showers
I Love Promarkers - Black, White + 1 other colour
Whiff of Joy Challenge - Sketch challenge

Off to continue playing, and I may cook tea too :)

Still Alive!

How long has it been since I've had a share? :)

Don't worry - not that you were - I have been busy making birthday invites for mine and my good friend Gill's combined birthday party - we were born on the same day, four years apart.

I remember sharing a couple of birthday parties with my older sister when I was younger - and although it must have seemed like a good idea before hand I don't really remember enjoying them all that much. I didn't really like the people she was hanging around with when she hit her teenage years - and when you're that age a few years is miles apart in taste - not as though I ever liked anything she did, and probably still don't, though back then it was probably on purpose where as now it is because we are completely different people. I must have driven my mum mad!

But now a joint party is completely different. I met Gill back in 2001 when she became the new manager in the pub that I was working in, and we got along like a house on fire. Our first shared party was drinkies in a pub and Karaoke, which we enjoyed so much it became tradition. Spookily one of the other pub managers also shares our birthday (she is slightly more than four years older but I won't say by how much - lol) and joined in the karaoke fun.

So this year - after two years apart we are back to drinkies and karaoke in our pub, but being all grown up (not) we have decided to give it a theme - 1920's prohibition America - and hopefully everyone will be rolling up as gangsters and molls!

Of course this was the perfect excuse for a little buy at Ally Pally and this is the finished article:



This Used:
Image: Circa Design 1930's lady in frame (what is a decade between friends)
Distress inks
Card scraps from the stash (including fabulously strokeable Hunky Dory, almost too beautiful to use)

Thanks for stopping by :)

First Stamping

Today I have been busy playing with some of the new goodies I got from Ali Pali yesterday - technically they are for my birthday next month but I needed to make sure that they worked :)
So these are the first creations of many I'm sure they will be used for - although not technically the first stampings as Jules "borrowed" some before shooting off home :)



This Used:
Image: Forever Friends
Cuttlebug embossing folder: Swiss Dots
Promarkers
Scraps from the box
Papermania embellishments and Craftworks card candy
Diamond Stickles

This "Springy" number works nicely for both the Allsorts challenge "Petals and Pearls" and the Forever Friends spring theme.

The next card is a brand new shiny penny black which My lovely Husband found in the discount bin on the simply stamps stall - bargain!


This Used:
Image: Penny Black 1692K everest next
Papermania buttons
Promarkers

Obviously this is for the Penny Black Saturday challenge which this week is Buttons Galore, but is also perfect for the I Lv Promarkers Challenge and Cute card Thursday!

Jules was laughing earlier but every new stamp I play with is my new favourite :) I love them all!

Quicky Post

Just a quick post pre-work dash - I know I said that I wouldn't be crafting this week but my one of my best friends little sister just got engaged so I had to! :)

Amazingly I had made it before checking out the challenges and yet it is perfect for cute card thursday - yay me!



This Used:
Image - Forever friends "I'll drink to that"
Promarkers
Silver card scraps
Peel-offs


Very excited about the craft expo tomorrow with Mummy Gibbs (Jules) it will make today go quicker - hopefully :)

Last Play...

So this afternoon I had my last play (for about a week ish) before the mass clean up that will occupy at least tomorrow if not Monday too :)
This evening saw the pre-emptive first strike where I finally managed to organise our millions of DVD's into the storage cases in alphabetical order - I'm a bit OCD and I don't care as now I have more room for my toys :)

So this is the last creation of the weekend - unless I get mega busy tomorrow. I checked out the challenges before I started and reckon I can get it into Penny Black Saturday Challenge and the allsorts challenge :)

This used:
Image: Penny Black 1471F Cute!
Promarkers
Ribbon and Brads from the stash

As the allsorts challenge states no ready made design papers rather than leaving the card plain I thought I would just draw my own - checks are super easy and with the amazing range of promarker shades it works really well.

That's it. Job done! :)

Back to work on the tidying i suppose...

Second Saturday

So it is Saturday mark II in London and all is going well. Yesterday Paul and I had an exciting cinema day watching two new 3D films - Clash of the Titans and (the much more exciting) How to Train Your Dragon.

Unsurprisingly not much crafting got done but I did manage to create this girly number for one of the birthdays in May - probably my Sister's - which I will be entering in the I Lv Promarkers Challenge!




This used:
Image: Forever Friends; Special Present
Promarkers:Blush, Dusky Pink, Pastel Pink and Rose Pink
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Fancy Corner
Papers from scraps box and of course a couple of the paper roses :)

I seem to be going through a bit of a pink phase at the minute - but it's Ok as I spoke to my Bestest friend Claire and she is too - must be something in the Thames :)

Just one more card to do before the toys go away! I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing :)

A Late Share

So it suddenly occurs to me that I deliberately didn't share the card I made for Jules last week so as to not ruin the surprise for her, and then it completely slipped my mind until just now so I thought I would put it on all be it a week later :)



This is my second attempt at playing with my Walnut Hollow toys and I am dead chuffed with it even if I do say so myself!

The main image is a Hero Arts Flourish and the roses I used from a card I received and have recycled. I think I need to get more cards with these little embellishments on just so I can reuse them myself :) I must point Paul in this direction :)

Rather disappointingly I managed to make Jules and Dave an anniversary card without taking a photo so I can't share, however Paul didn't tell me it was a big one, so wasn't themed :( MEN! :)

Another Birthday

Who would of thought it but birthdays keep coming round - it's almost as if everyone has one every year! :)
So the idea was that last weekend I would have a crafting session to get enough cards done to get me through the next couple of months so that I could put my toys away and tidy up ready for Jules and Dave coming down next weekend for the exciting crafty fun at Ali Pali! What actually happened was I had to go to work on Saturday and Sunday was spent chillaxing and getting ready for work on Monday - still a nice long 3D filled weekend coming up - with plenty of time for crafting AND tidying, just one more work day to go, but I thought I would sneak in a crafty card, not sure who it is for yet but fits nicely with the penny black challenge so it's all good :)

Here we go:


Image: Penny Black; 2243K Bee Costume
ProMarkers
Stickles
Scrap paper for Roses :)
Mica Pigments on the wings - got more on me and my table than on the card but never mind :)

Back soon
xx

A Weekend Creation

Friday, apart from being Jules birthday, is my friends 5th Wedding Anniversary, which according to my research (google search) is Wood - one of the more exciting years :)

Being at Chez Gibbs in mid crafty session I decided it would be a good time to make their card, with access to Jules stash :)

So here it is:




I even managed to get on a teeny tiny rose:




This used:
Backing paper: From the stash
Image: Penny Black 2288k Furry embrace
Promarkers
Sentiment: Again from Jules :)
Wooden Heart embellishment, Rafia and Stickles

One rose down, several hundreds to go... :)

And now for something completely different

With all the excitement of going away last weekend I completely forgot to share the card I made for Manth's birthday (Manth is my cousin-in-law).

I wanted to do something different and to use the new toys I got for Christmas too and so this is what I came up with:



This used:
Backing paper: W H Smiths
Sentiment: Peel-off
Border: Cuttlebug embossing folder organic flourish
Image: Hero Arts Flourish
Wire beads and brads from the stash box

The main image I stamped on to the metal and embossed by hand using my Walnut Hollow tools for metal crafting.

For a first attempt I am very pleased with it and look forward to playing with the tools some more :)

Same Stamp, Different Day

So after the drive up from London (admittedly for most of which I was napping), Mummy Gibbs crafty stash got me all inspired and as I have spent an entire week away from my toys - including my NEW Promarkers - I thought it would be a good time to play and crack on with the ever increasing list of cards that I need to make.

Next week is my bestest friends birthday and I thought I would take the opportunity to express my girly side - I think this is the most girly card I have ever made - and actually I really enjoyed making it - mastering the fine art of paper rose folding - and despite what I thought when I started I really like it :)



This used:
Image: Penny Black, 3831H sentiments
Backing paper: Funky Hand CD "now that's funky"
Leone Em Pty Punch: CP30 Ash Branch
Circle Nesties
Promarkers
Ribbon, Brads from Jules stash box and Scraps I found in her very organised "pink" and "brown" draws

The Roses took me a little while to do - but mostly because I spent more time unsticking my fingers than should have been necessary for a "grown-up", and then of course Jules had to find which backing paper it was that I used from the many scraps she has lying around (there has been a crafting tornado come through Jules dining room).

Anyway, must dash before Jules starts trading my new pens for her old ones :)

I have entered this card in the Funky Hand and Penny Black Saturday Challenges, lets see what else I can get it in ... :)

The Beast!

So my boss at the pub has swanned off on holiday yet again leaving me to mind the flat and the beast that is her cat - Barney. Here he is helping me with my blog :)



He is not very happy with me at the moment as I was told he was on a diet and given explicit instructions about his feeding schedule - but apparently no one told Barney and he has taken it upon himself to seek revenge by covering everything in fur!

Also being at the flat means i don't have access to any of my toys and getting serious crafty withdrawals and have I even have plenty of time that I could be crafting in as Barney is very kindly getting me up nice and early lol. Will have to get a mega session in on the weekend with mummy Jules :)

Just three more sleeps - not including the nap in the car on the drive up :)
Good times

A Card for Michael

So it was my brother No. 1's birthday on Tuesday - luckily I am a bit more organised in real life than in my cyber shoebox (but only just) and managed to get his card in the post on Monday. Typically the daft boy left it - unopened I might add - at my Mum's house so he didn't actually get it until yesterday - what can you do? =) Really I think I shoud get his address, but it's not like he is really ever there!
Here it is:



This Used:
Image: Not sure as it was sent down by Jules but he must be a Penny Black
Backing Paper: More from the pressie
Sentiment:Peel-off
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Iron Works
Derwent pastels and Whispers Strokes to colour the image
Peel-offs from the box



Rather annoyingly I now have to go to work when there are still so many cards to make - I envy you Mummy Gibbs =)

Busy Bee

So I have been very busy this weekend making several mothers day cards and starting on the mountain that is the March birthday cards, and not even thought about the anniversary cards but I have found my phone connection to the computer so progress so far can be recorded =).
It all started out so easy, a Mothers day card for my Mum and my fave mummy-in-law Jules.
Then it turned into making 2 cards for Mary (my Scottish mummy), one from me and one from Gillian (her actual daughter), it's a good job Amanda (her other daughter) has moved out of the pub or I might never have got them done!
So here are the four cards that I started with:



This used:
Image: Penny Black 1738K "Uplifting Occasion"
Backing Paper: Not sure they were a present from mummy Jules
Sentiment: Again not sure I "borrowed" it from Jules
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Organic Flourish
Whispers pens and Derwent pastels to colour the image
brads and peel-offs from the box





This Used:
Image: Penny Black "Cheesecake"
Backing Paper: Again not sure
Sentiment: "Borrowed" it from Jules
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Organic Flourish
Derwent pastels to colour the image
brads, copper wire and peel-offs from the box





This Used:
Image: Penny Black "Cheesecake"
Backing Paper: Wrapping paper from W H Smiths
Sentiment:Peel-off
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Organic Flourish
Derwent pastels to colour the image
brads, wire and peel-offs from the box






This Used:
Backing Paper: Another pressie from mummy Jules
Sentiment: "Mum" from Jules and a peel-off
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder: Organic Flourish
Docrafts Xcut small square punch
Brads, wire and beads from the box and flower recycled from last years homemade crackers (thanks Jo)



Jules - no guessing which one you are getting, though I think it is quite obvious =)


I am also very excited about these cards - and hopefully those in the future - because Paul (my lovely husband and Jules baby boy No.1) has quit smoking and has taken up origami to keep his hands busy so he is very kindly making me "paper treats" to put inside my cards =).

New Toys

Ok so today I have been busy spending my hard but as yet unearned pennies on toys for crafting. Now where did i put my table...

Tah Dah

Ok, so I have finally found time to create my small little corner of chaos. Next stop - something to fill it with :)