Something Old

Sorry I've not posted on here for the past couple of days, after spending a lovely weekend in Hereford with crafting pals, I managed to pick up some nasty germs and have been feeling rather poorly since I got back home.  I do hope these germies go on their way soon, it's not a lot of fun coughing and sneezing day and night !

So, as it's thursday that means there's a new challenge starting today over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog.  This week our theme is 'Something Old' and our prize is sponsored by Cedar Chest Designs.

 

When I read this week's theme it made me think 'Vintage' for my DT design.  I've used a sweet stamp by La Blanche which I was lucky enough to win in a challenge a while ago.   With Distress Inks I 'aged' the image layer, then flicked water droplets all over and blotted with a tissue, a technique which adds to the distressed look.  I then used DI's and a water brush to colour in parts of the image to create the look of a hand coloured old sepia photograph.  Finally, to set the DI's and 'age' the image more I spritzed 'Goosebumps' all over. 

 

I used a Spellbinders frame die and Stampin'Up! Early Espresso cardstock to create a picture frame effect around the image.  The background paper is a scrap I had in my stash and I used a length of the sumptious wide striped ribbon from SU! to tie around the side of the card.  The sentiment is from SU! stamped using Cherry Cobbler ink and cut out with a heart shaped die.  I used a Waco Pearlmaker Pen to add the tiny pearl border round the heart. 

 

Do check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT over on the CCT blog for great inspiration and to get the full details of this week's challenge.

 

Thanks for dropping by my blog today.

Have a Hoot of a Birthday !

Good Morning Bloggers, hope you are doing OK.

The project I'm sharing with you today is a 40th Birthday card I made for a family member. 

This cute owl was in a set of magazine freebie stamps which were produced by Woodware.  I stamped him on to patterned paper and again onto some plain cardstock before cutting out the different parts and building the finished design.   The background embossed layer was created with a Crafts Concepts embossing folder.

The fern fronds were cut using a Memory Box die and the sentiment from the stamp set was stamped onto a circle of cardstock cut with a Stampin'Up! punch.  The numbers were cut using a Memory Box alphabet die set and I added Glossy Accents on to them to give some dimension.  I also added GA to the owl's eyes.

The button was in my stash and I tied a length of twine through the holes before attaching.  The green leaf shaped gem had been in my box of gems for some time and was a perfect finishing touch. 

Not too many friperies and no flowers on this design as it was created for a man, hope he's going to like it.

Til next time........

Gifts for Pals

This weekend I'm with an awesome group of crafting gals, all of us met through an online forum and for the past three years have managed to meet up for a weekend long 'Craftathon'.   This year we are meeting in Hereford as the lovely Clare has arranged space for us to craft to our hearts' content for the weekend. 

I do love making gifts for friends and family, and I've made one of these 'thread catchers' for each of my crafting pals.  I've pre-scheduled this post so hopefully I will have handed the gifts out to everyone before this post goes live.  I know not all of my pals are stitchers, but these work just as well as desk tidies for paper and card scraps and I know they are all papercrafters.  They are really handy to pop into a bag or tote to take along when crafting away from home too.

Here's the thread catchers closed up

and here's a shot of them opened

 



I've tried to select fabric in the colours I think they like, I'll let you know if there was any swapping around after they all received them !

Simplify

This week's challenge over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog has the theme 'Simplify' and our prize sponsor this week is Whimsy Stamps.

Now regular visitors to my blog will know how much I love the CAS (clean and simple) style of design and to me this week's theme 'screamed' CAS so that's what I have gone with for my DT card.

I've used a lovely 6x6 scalloped square base card, Distress Inks in Broken China, Peacock Feathers and Seedless Preserves and the fabulous blueprint dragonfly stamp from a set by Stampers Anonymous.

I stamped the dragonfly image onto a piece of white cardstock using Memento black ink, then used the DI's to colour the white background applying them with Inkyliscious brushes on a blending mat.  I then attached this image layer to a slightly larger piece of holographic metallic cardstock. 

The sentiment is from a set by Recollections which I stamped directly onto the basecard using Memento Bahama Blue ink.  I added three gems from my stash and painted a thin film of Stardust Stickles on the dragonfly wings to give them a subtle shimmer.

Here's a close up shot where you can see the shimmer more clearly

 



Do check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT over on the CCT blog, you're sure to be inspired.

Thanks for dropping by today, hope you enjoyed your visit.

Comments are very much appreciated, leave me a few words if you can spare the time !

WoW + Black

Today's project is a White on White plus one other colour (WoW+1) card I made for the challenge I'm running over on the Craftbubble Craft Mad and Loving It group. 

I used a Darice embossing folder and a piece of white cardstock in my Cuttlebug to create a background.  Everything used on the design is from Stampin' Up! except the embossing, small white flower - which was cut using a Nellie's Choice punch - embossing powder and gems. 

I stamped the butterfly with Versamark ink onto a scrap of black SU! cardstock then added white embossing powder from Sparkle 'n' Sprinkle before heating, and cut it out using the matching SU! punch.   The sentiment is from a set of stamps I received as a free gift from the current SU! Sale-A-Bration promotion and I have the matching punch to go with the stamps. 

Black and white is always a classic and chic colour combo and one which I love. 

Hope you've enjoyed your visit today.

My Latest Quilts

In my last post I said I'd be sharing pix of some of my latest sewing projects, so here you are. 

I've been working on a quilt for my youngest grandson and have now finallly finished it.

I shall be taking it with me when I go to stay with my Daughter for the half-term week next week.  I hope he's going to love it !  I know he loves the blankie I crocheted for him some time ago and apparently has it on his bed every night.  Maybe his new quilt will become the latest favourite !

I used a Jelly Roll by Moda for the quilt top, the fabric design is called 'Monster Bash' and it's just so much fun.  Lots of monsters and cobwebs and don't you just love these fabulous colours ?   Just what an 8 (almost 9) year old will like I hope.

Here's a close up shot of some of the fabrics

 

 

To make his quilt realy warm and snuggly I've backed it with lime green fleece and quilted it with a zig-zag stitch 'in the ditch' using lime green thread.  I think you can just make out the stiches in this close up shot.

 

I've also made a lap quilt for my Daughter, using a very pretty patterned fabric, same design but in lots of different pastel shades.  Again I've backed the quilt with fleece, this time I used a pretty pink one. 

 

 

I can just picture her all snuggled up and cosy under this little quilt on a chilly evening.  

 

I do like this design, this is the second one I've made and I may well go on to make more as I have some fabrics in my stash which would look lovely in this pattern.   I really am enjoying my quilting and other sewing, problem is that the house is filling up with fabric stash now as well as my papercrafting stash - oopsie !

 

I must give a special 'Thank You' to my trusty 'quilt holder' who helped me to get a better photograph than if I'd laid the quilt down for the shot. 

 

Here's a pic of the three quilts going to new homes in the next couple of days

 

 

 

There are some more sewing projects I want to share with you, but I need to keep them under wraps for a little longer as they are gifts and I'm never sure exactly who is visiting my blog so don't want to risk spoiling the surprise, watch this space..........

Up in the air !

It's a lovely sunny and fresh day here in my part of Cornwall again today, hope you have some nice weather too.

 

This week the challenge on the Simple Less is More blog has the theme 'Up in the air' and they suggest using images of balloons or planes etc.  As birds are 'up in the air' for a lot of the time, I decided to use a bird image for my entry.  I love this very atmospheric image from a set of stamps by Indigo Blu which I purchased at the Birds in the Barn craft store in Essex last year when I visited with a crafting pal.

Firstly I created a background using Distress Inks blended on to a piece of white cardstock, then water flicked onto the surface and blotted.  After leaving it to dry I stamped the image over the top using black Archival Ink, then trimmed to size before attaching to a very slightly larger layer of black cardstock. 

The sentiment is from the same set of IB stamps stamped directly onto the basecard using the black Archival Ink.  The gorgeous swirl was cut from another scrap of the black cardstock using a Memory Box die then glued into place.

Thanks for stopping by to check out today's project, I've got some sewing to share with you next time.  Have a wonderful day, wherever you are and whatever you have planned.

Sale-A-bration time on SUO

Morning Bloggers, hope you've woken up to a lovely bright, fresh and sunny day like me.  It's so nice to be able to fling the windows open and let fresh air into the house.

 

The project I'm sharing today is my entry for the current challenge on the SUO (Stampin' Up! Only) challenge blog.  Currently SU! have a special offer running called 'Sale-A-bration' whereby you get free items if you spend a certain amount on your order.  For this challenge we are asked to use these 'freebies' on our entries.

 

Last month I selected these really sweet little stamps as my freebie, cute aren't they - this month I'm getting the matching punch.  I stamped four of the images onto a square of white cardstock using 'Raspberry Ripple' ink, lining them up 'by eye'.  I then attached the stamped panel over a scrap of Cherry Cobbler cardstock, tied a length of narrow Cherry Cobbler ribbon around the base card and attached the stamped layer over the top of the ribbon.  I put just a touch of glitter glue on the candle and the tiny heart in the bottom righthand image.

 

That's it, card done - result !   Hope you likee !

An Eye For Detail

Happy Thursday Bloggers.  Our theme for the challenge this week over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog is 'An Eye for Detail' and our prize sponsor is Whiff of Joy Stamps.

Now I puzzled a while over this theme, couldn't think how to interpret it at all.  I then broke down the title into individual words to try and find inspiration.  I thought of maybe using an image with large eyes or something like that, but finally I settled on the word 'Detail' and ran with my design.

I decided to create something highly detailed, in a Vintage style when I dug out this fabulous stamp set by Hampton Arts Graphic 45 to use.  The stamp set was part of a christmas gift from my lovely pal Kathy an it's really fabulous - thanks Matey.

The background paper was a piece I found in my stash and I distressed around the edges using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I stamped the two lovely ladies, eiffel tower and corner images on to white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, then used the same DI to distress/colour all the images after fussy cutting out. Using the postage stamp image from the set I stamped along the bottom of the background.

After stamping the corner I cut it out using a fancy circle die from Nellie Snellen before distressing in the same way.  I then gathered up a length of lace from my stash, coloured it a little with the DI then attached behind the corner image.  The fancy corner top right was cut from gold card using a Marianne's die and the heart shaped image cut using a Marianne's Craftable die.

I used two more lengths of lace, one cream and one black, across the centre of the card and added the lush metallic button so it looks like a choker necklace (or a lacy garter for a more risque interpretation!).   It is very sparkly IRL, but sadly this isn't showing up in the pic. 

I attached all the elements using PinFlair glue to give them dimension, then picked out certain details on each image by adding Platinum Stickles.  Again this isn't showing up terribly well in the pic, but there is Stickles on the stripes on the ladies' dresses, the stars around the eiffel tower and also on the tower itself and around the edge of the heart shape.

That's my 'Detail' design, I hope you like it.  Do please pop over to the CCT blog and cast your eye on all the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT, you can also get full details of this week's challenge there.

Pretty Pink Cardies

Just before last christmas I received a lovely comission from a sweet crafting pal, to knit a pink cardi for her little girl.  She had a favourite pink cardi which was far too small for her to wear any longer which was making her unhappy.  I managed to find a knitting pattern which was a close enough match to the original cardi and some lovely soft yarn in the right shade of pink, so set about getting it knitted over the christmas holidays.

Here's the finished cardi ready to be packed up and shipped off to it's new home.

 

and here's the cardi being modelled beatifully by it's new owner

 

 

I think the pretty flower buttons were a great hit judging from this next pic

 

 

 

After finishing the cardi there was almost half of the yarn left over, so I decided to knit an extra 'surprise' in the form of a Ballet Wrap top.

 

Here it is finished and ready to be posted out

 

 

and here's a very happy young lady modelling her 'surprise' extra

 

 

 

Now who wouldn't want to knit pretty things for this gorgeous little one ?  I really enjoyed making these for her and so happy to hear that she was delighted with them when they arrived.  Thanks for sending me the stunning pix Katie.

 

Thanks for stopping by to check out my latest projects.  I think I'll share a card with you next time, so until then, keep on crafting !



Fairies, Balloons and playing with Inks

This week I've been playing with inks and some stamps that haven't seen the light of day for far too long.   

After using Peacock Feathers Distress Ink on my Splodge Mat for the card I shared with you last, I spritzed a little water onto the mat over the residue of the ink rather than just wiping it off.  I then pressed a sheet of white cardstock onto the mat to pick up the ink, turning it round a couple of times until there was some colour over the whole sheet.  This background was my starting point for the following 6 x 4 inch panel.

I used Picked Raspberry and Seedless Preserves DI to distress round the edges and through a flower shaped mask at the bottom to create random shapes.  I haven't inked my Lavinia stamps for quite a while so it was about time they came out to play !  Using grey ink and the 'Icicles' stamp it created a very subtle effect at the top of the page.  I then stamped the beautiful 'Harietta Silhouette' on the left using Versafine black ink and on the righthand side I stamped the 'Chinese Lantern' stamp. 

To build up the scene I then stamped the 'Large Path' stamp in the middle and used the 'Slender Mushrooms' stamp along the bottom.  I then randomly stamped the 'Stars' image all over the sky area to complete the scene.  Touches of Stardust Stickles on the Chinese Lanterns, on Harietta's wings and dragged across the path finished the design.

My next project is an ATC using another piece of the background sheet I created and the same DI colours and mask.  After stamping the Lavinia 'Stars' all over the background I then used the larger hanging stars stamp which was a freebie with Craft Stamper Magazine recently.  The balloon image is a stamp from Hampton Arts and the sentiment from a set of stamps from The Artistic Stamper.  I added Glossy Accents on the large stars to give them some dimension.

That's it from me for today, I really enjoyed playing and getting inky fingers, it was great fun to not start out with a project in mind but just experiment and see what turned out.

Hope you've enjoyed your visit today.  I've been doing some more sewing and I'll share pics of my projects in the next few days. 

Love Struck

HUGE apologies everyone, got my am's and pm's mixed up - this post should have gone live at 9 this morning and not 9 this evening !  Oopsie !

Happy thursday Bloggers, hope you're having a great day.  Time for a new challenge over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog.  Our theme this week is 'Love Struck' and our prize sponsor is Bunny Zoe Crafts.

 



I'm really loving the vibrant colour combo of turquoise and pink right now, so when I discovered this week's challenge theme my first instinct was to reach for these yummy romantic colours.  Regular visitors to my Blog will also be aware that I'm very 'into' fabrics too, and for my DT card I decided to include some in the design.

Using the Sizzix bird die and three different fabrics I cut out the bird, branch and flower.  The fancy heart was cut using a Marianne's Craftables die and I stamped randomly all over the diecut using the Love and definition from a set of stamps by Kaisercraft.

I used the same pink cardstock to add a base layer over which I added a slightly smaller layer of turquoise on which I'd stamped a random speckle design using a stamp from The Artistic Stamper and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink. 

The patterned paper is by SU! and using a set of Spellbinders dies I cut out the lacy aperture top left and the lacy embellishment on bottom right.  I distressed the edges of the paper layer and the diecut heart using the DI.   With a set of Memory Box alphabet dies I diecut the letters to spell the word LOVE. 

I used Promarkers around the edges of all the fabric diecuts to soften the edges a little and finally added the tiny pink heart shaped gems and a round gem for the the bird's eye.

Do pop over to the CCT blog to check out the creations from the other DT members.

Nice to have you visit here today, thanks so much for taking the time.

Through the Arched Window

Hello dear blogging friends, I hope you are having a great weekend.  I've had a lovely crafting time starting with a lovely day at my pal Linda's with other crafting pals yesterday.  We each stitched a 'thread catcher'  (there's pix of mine further down the page) had a good old chat and a delish lunch cooked by Linda. 

Today I've been working on my DT card for the next Cute Card Thursday Challenge, creating an ATC and a piece of artwork using some fabulously zingy colours - which I will share later.

Over on the Craft Mad and Loving Group on Craftbubble it is my turn to set the group a challenge for the month of February.  I've indulged myself a tad with the theme as I do so love the White on White (WoW) style.  The challenge I've set is to create a project using WoW plus one other colour, there's an added extra if they choose to include it of 'fibres' - could be fabric, twine, ribbon or anything of that sort.

I love red and white as a combo, I think the red really 'pops' against the white and is very 'clean' looking.  For my design I used a few of the new items I bought at Craft4Crafters at Wespoint recently.  The fabulous trellis arch is by Tonic Studios and I used flower and spray dies by Marianne's to create the embellishments.  The red and white spot paper behind the trellis was a magazine freebie, the red and white twine is from my stash and the sweet little ' love' sentiment is from a set of stamps by Stampin'Up! .

Here's a close up shot of the details

I'm really looking forward to seeing what other members of the group create for my challenge.

Now, on to my thread catcher - it is collapsible and very handy to pop into your bag when crafting away from home.  Althought it is a thread catcher, it works very well for collecting the waste bits and pieces when doing any kind of crafting - although putting in things with wet glue or ink on them could spoil it as it is made of fabric.

Fully closed

 

part way open

 

 

inside view

 

 

 

That's it from me for today, thanks for dropping by to check out my latest projects.

Is there smoke coming from my sewing machine ?

...... if not, there should be I think !

Yup, you've guessed it I have been doing rather a lot of sewing over the past few days.  Got a couple of projects to share with you and a WiP (work in progress) which is turning out even better than I thought it would.

Firstly, here's a sweet little lap quilt I've made for a lovely pal - it's a surprise for her and she won't know until she receives it what I've been working on - I hope she's going to like it.

It's just a very simple patchwork using 4 inch squares, with a border added which matches the backing and plain 'stitch in the ditch' quilting.   As I've used hi-loft batting (wadding) I didn't want to do too much quilting on it, which would have flattened some the 'puffiness'.

Here's a shot showing part of the backing, you can just see how the quilting has formed squares on the backing, corresponding with the seams on the patchwork front.  I really love this sweet pale pink gingham with little daisies in the pattern, I have some fabric left, so will be using it again on future projects.

After seeing the round cushion I made for myself recently - to make sitting on my sewing chair more comfortable -  a pal asked me if I would make her a cushion to go into her teal coloured bedroom.  I picked up these lush fabrics at the recent Crafts4Crafters show at Westpoint, don't they look splendid together ?

 

This shot shows the sides

 



Here's a sneak peek of the quilt for my youngest grandson which is my WiP.   This fabric is such fun with all the monsters and cobwebs in the designs, and ooooh those fabulous colours !  I used one jellyroll for the whole quilt front, this one is by Moda and called 'Monster Bash', and I'm backing it with lime green soft fleece so it should be uber cosy.

I'll share pix of the finished quilt once it's completed, but I though you might like to see what I'm working on next. 

Finally, I've done a little papercrafting and created 6 swapsies for the January swap over on Craftbubble's Craft Mad and Loving it group.   Here's a sneak peek of what I made - I can't share a full pic yet as I don't want to spoil the surprise if any of the other swap members happen to come by here, I can't wait to receive the swaps from everyone else, they should be here by the end of next week, fingers crossed.

Can ya tell what it is yet ? 

Thanks for popping by to check out today's projects, hope you've enjoyed your visit. 

Bye for now x