Caught in the Act !....

Intrigued by my post title ?  All will be revealed later !

There's a sketch for this week's Simply Less is More blog challenge, it's a simple and classic layout but we are asked to stick to it exactly, no different orientations or moving around the elements.

Here's my entry

I haven't entered the LIM challenges in quite some time, what with being away from home and my stash a lot recently and having lots to do when I have been home, there just hasn't been time to enter many challenges.

When I saw this week's sketch an idea for a card popped into my head, ideal as I needed to get an Anniversary card made anyway.

I used a flower stamp from a set of freebie stamps I acquired recently - stamped using Stampin'Up! Midnight Muse ink - to stamp randomly on the centre panel.  I mounted the stamped layer on a very slightly larger piece of Midnight Muse cardstock to give it a narrow border.  I created the sentiment on my computer and cut it out using a pennant die by Spellbinders, before attaching using foam pads.  As a finishing touch I added a couple of gems to the topmost flower and three gems underneath the stamped layer. 

Now, to the reason for my post title.  I have my 86 year old Dad staying with me for a few weeks, he's an avid papercrafter and cardmaker (and a whizz on the computer !)  and we've been having so much fun crafting together whilst he's been here.  As I've been doing a fair bit of sewing lately, he was curious to see if he could master my gorgeous new sewing machine and have a go at making something himself (never having used any sewing machine before, I might add !)

So, this morning found him busy getting acquainted with the machine.....

... and within a short time, he'd finished off these lovely projects.... how cool is that ? 

I'm so Blessed to have my Dad with me and doubly so as we have so many interests in common.  I shall be really sad when he goes home again in a few days, but will be looking forward to his next visit when we can maybe plan some more adventurous projects to work on together.

Thanks for dropping by to see today's creations, hope you've enjoyed your visit.

April Sugar Block Club BOM

As another week draws to a close and we look forward to the weekend, I'm sharing my latest quilting block for the Sugar Block Club BOM (Block of the Month).  If you'd like to know more about this BOM club, click on the link in my sidebar to check it out. 

When I received the email with the design and instructions for April's Block I groaned out loud !  Yet more paper piecing - which I've struggled with so far on the course - Yikes !  However I did actually find it a lot easier with this month's block.

I don't know if it's due to the fact that I'm getting more skilled in this method or if it was actually easier - as there were fewer sections on each template this time.  All I hope is that there aren't too many blocks created with this method during the rest of the year as I am determined to stick it out to the end of the year and complete all twelve blocks ! 

My pals Linda and Karen are also following the Sugar Block Club BOM course and you can check out their blocks for April on their own blogs.  We have all selected different colours and designs in our fabrics and it is interesting to see just how different the same block pattern looks.

Thanks for checking out today's project, I hope you've enjoyed your visit and that you'll be back again real soon.  I'll be sharing the block for May on here on the last friday of next month - if I've managed to stick to my timetable and get it finished in time !

I Can't Stop The Rain.....

'I Can't Stop The Rain' is our new theme for the challenge over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog starting today.  Our prize sponsor this week is Saturated Canary.

 

Foir my DT card I decided to use this really cute stamp from Unity Stamps' Itty Bitty range.  I coloured the image using my Copics, added Glossy Accents to give my birdie shiny wellies and as 'rain' drops - the GA isn't easy to see on the main pic, so I've included a close up shot here

 



The sentiment comes with the image stamp and the bp is from the DCWV Nana's Kitchen pack. I used dies from Marianne's and Memory Box and SU! Midnight Muse cardstock for matting under the image and sentiment layers.

Hope you like today's project, thanks for stopping by - do check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT over on the CCT blog.

Learning to Machine Quilt

Last saturday I attended a workshop to learn machine quilting and had a really great day.   The aim of the workshop was to create six blocks of fabric and quilt them all, before joining them together to create a large decorative tote to carry cutting mat(s) and rulers.

There were eight of us attending the workshop in all, here we are setting up our sewing machines ready to get going

 

Here's my lovely new Janome TXL 607 sewing machine - it's a dream to work with although I'm still learning what it can do.  I have so many new project ideas flying around my head using it, can't wait to get started on some of them !

 

 

We were asked to prepare for the workshop by stitching nine 5 inch squares of fabric into blocks

(known as nine-patch)  making 6 blocks in all

 

Taking each of the 6 nine-patch blocks, we cut them in half vertically and then horizontally, creating four new square blocks which were then sewn back together in a different order (hard to explain in words, so here's a pic of four of the squares being sewn back together....

....and the finished block of four - known as a 'disappearing nine-patch - you will note how the centre (red) squares get cut into four small squares and the four corner squares remain whole.

 

We were then ready to start the machine quilting - here's my first panel

 

 

first panel finished

 

second panel finished

 

 

 

I still have four more panels to quilt and after they're finished I'll join all six panels together to create the tote, adding binding strips and handles in matching fabrics.  Still a WiP for the moment, but it will be great practice to machine quilt all these panels and have a useful tote at the end of it.  I'll share more pix once my tote is completed.

 

Hope you've enjoyed seeing my latest sewing project.  I need to pack my sewing machine away for a while, I'm busy cardmaking again as I have a number of birthday, thank you,  anniversary and DT cards to make in the next couple of days - wish me luck !

 

Thanks for dropping by to my little bit of Blogland for a 'look see' .



Happy Birthday for Yesterday !

It was my DH's birthday yesterday but I didn't want to post a pic of the card I made for him on here until after he'd received it, wouldn't want to spoil the surprise !

 

 

For my design I decided to use a new set of Stampin'Up! stamps I acquired recently.  It was a free gift with an order of a certain amount as part of their 'Saleabrations' event.  I think the images in the set are perfect for male cards.

 

I stamped all the images using Memento Rich Cocoa ink then fussy cut them all out.  The background was created using a strip of SU! Crumb Cake cardstock with a strip of vintage looking Washi Tape attached across the centre.  I added two thin strips of gold mirror card top and bottom of the Crumbcake layer. 

 

My Dad is staying with me for a few weeks (a lovely treat !) he's also a cardmaker and helped me with the card by making the lovely rosette from a piece of paper from my stash.  I cut the numbers out using a set of dies by Memory Box - I love these alphabet dies as they are a great size for cardmaking and scrapbooking, cut crisply and the cardstock doesn't get stuck inside the dies.  

The sentiment is from the same stamp set cut out using a die from a set by Spellbinders. 

Thanks for checking out today's project, I really appreciate evelyone taking the time to check my work, I have great fun creating my projects and to have so many lovely visitors and comments is just
the 'Cherry on the Top'.

Cake Walk

Happy Thursday Bloggers, we've a new challenge starting today on the Cute Card Thursday Blog, our prize sponsor this week is Whimsy Stamps and the theme is 'Cake Walk'.

Here's my DT card for the challenge.

 

 

I've certainly included lots of cakes on my design !  The background papers I used are a selection from the 'Cupcake Boutique' paper pack by Docrafts.  My particular favourite from this paper pack is the baking one, which I've used on the bottom background layer.

 

The cake image and sentiment are from a set of Stampin'Up! stamps and I matted all the layers over various pretty colours of SU! cardstock.  The twine was in my stash and a piece of Card Candy was just the perfect pink shade to match the colours in the papers and twine. 

 

I coloured the cake using Copics and added touches of Stickles on the flowers and Glossy Accents on the candles and the cake stand.  The design is finished off with three pretty pink half-pearls in the upper left.

 

I hope you've enjoyed today's project, thanks for stopping by today.  Do hop over to the CCT Blog to check out all the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT.

 

Today is my DH's birthday, I'll share pix of the card I made for him on here tomorrow - it's a very special birthday too !

Happy Birthday J !

Today is the Birthday of one of my pals, she's coming to dinner with us this evening so we can celebrate with her and I hope she's had a lovely day so far.  My Dad has made one of his 'special' fruit crumbles for pudding and we are having a yummy roast chicken dinner (I'm getting peckish just thinking about it !)

Here's the card I made for J (I'm hoping she doesn't see my blog post before she comes here as I don't want to spoil the surprise, so fingers crossed she's been too busy to spend time on the internet !).

I used the 'Hearts a Flutter' stamp set and matching dies, Baja Breeze ink pad and fancy label punch, all from Stampin' Up! to create my design.  The sentiment was from a set of magazine freebies and the gems were in my stash. 

To create a darker layer under the sentiment, I punched out another label from turquoise cardstock, then cut it in half horizontally and glued behind the sentiment layer, with top and bottom just peeking out, to give the illusion of a larger layer. 

I recently bought a few rolls of Washi Tape (for the great price of 99pence a roll) and this lovely pale turquoise gingham one was perfect for my card. 

Here's a pic of J's pressie, I made a sweet gift tag using a scrap of white cardstock which I found on my workdesk.  It had already been embossed with a hexagon embossing folder and was a piece left over after making another card recenlty. 

I added a length of pretty Washi Tape along the centre of the tag then attached the cute bird after cutting it out using a SU! punch.  The sentiment was stamped onto the bird using a sweet little stamp from a SU! set.  The lemon ribbon was in my stash and picks up the colour on the Washi Tape for a little pop of bright colour. 

Thanks for popping by today, hope your Sunday is passing smoothly and pleasantly. 

Butterfly Kisses

Hey Bloggers, it's Thursday again so we've got a new challenge starting for you over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog.  This week our theme is 'Butterfly Kisses' and the prize is sponsored by Whiff of Joy Stamps.

For my DT card I've used a pretty little stamp which was in a magazine freebie set some time ago and is by Wee Stamps - isn't she a real cutiepie ? 

I've coloured my little fairy with Copics and given the flowers in her hair and the one on her dress a bit of bling using Stardust Stickles.  The image layer was cut out using an oval nestie then matted over a layer cut with a slightly larger scalloped oval nestie.

The bp is a scrap from my stash and I love all the sparkly bits in the design.  I used a small butterfly stamp from a Stampin'Up! set and SU! Peach Parfait ink to create the background panel on the right.  A Martha Stewart butterfly border punch created a pretty band across the centre and the butterflies were created using a SU! stamp and matching punch.

The sentiment was from the freebie stamp set which I cut out using another SU! punch after stamping using SU! Gumball Green ink.  Butterfly bodies were created using a Waco Pearlmaker Pen and I added a few faux pearls with the same pen on the image layer as a finishing touch.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing today's project, do hop over to the CCT blog to check out the rest of the DT designs, I'm sure they will inspire you.

Thanks for dropping by here today, I really do appreciate you visiting.

Discovering the Delights of Paper Piecing and Hexagons

Happy Wednesday dear Bloggers, hope you've got better weather than I have here in Cornwall, it's dark and very wet here today - a perfect day to stay indoors and craft I think !

As it's WOYWDW on the Craft Mad and Loving It group on Craftbubble today, here's the pic of what's on my workdesk which I'll be sharing on the Forum.

 



When I went to the South West Quilt Festival at Westpoint last friday, I picked up a couple of sizes of hexagon dies by Sizzix (the large and medium) from The Cotton Patch stand to use with my Big Shot.  I haven't done a great deal of the traditional paper piecing method of patchwork and wanted a hand stitching project that I could take with me on my travels.  Hexagons seemed to be the perfect solution as I can stitch away and make dozens of them whilst travelling, with the plan of stitching them together to form a quilt or some other patchwork project at a later date.

I couldn't believe how speedy it was to cut out the paper templates using the medium sized die, I folded a pile of A4 copy paper in half (long ways) and cut one set with the die.  As each cut produces 4 hexes it gave me a huge pile of templates. 

Using the larger die I was able to cut hexes from fabric which are slightly larger than the paper template.  I used 8 layers of fabric at a time - not sure what the maximum number of layers is, might have to experiment at a later date.  These dies certainly make short work of cutting out the hexes, I just cut my fabric in 6 inch wide strips and layered them concertina-style on the die. 

Now I have a box full of fabric hexes and paper templates to work on, it may take me many months to stitch a sufficient number to make a finished project, but it will keep my hands busy when I am away from my sewing machine, fabrics and papercrafting stash.

Tomorrow I'll have a card to share with you as there'll be a new challenge starting over on Cute Card Thursday.

Thanks for visiting today, I really appreciate you giving up your precious time to stop by and check my latest project.

A Little Puffin on your Birthday

Today, is my 'baby' brother's Birthday, I'm sure he's having a smashing day.  Here's the card I made for him, I hope he liked it.

 

I recently bought this fabulous Puffin stamp from Crafty Individuals, I think he is such a cutie and couldn't wait to use him.  I stamped him and his speech bubble onto white card and cut out, coloured bits of the image with Copics and added Glossy Accents on his beak, heart and his legs and feet.

 

Using a Marianne's die set I cut out the journal page and tab, stamping the design on the page using a set of stamps by Stampers Anonymous and Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  The sentiment is a stamp from a set by SU!  

 

I created an insert on the computer, both my Bruv and I are fond of using Puns, and he likes to puff on a good cigar on occasions.  The words I put on the insert said I hope that on his birthday he is allowed a little Puffin' !   I think it will make him giggle and brighten his day.

 

Thanks for dropping by to check on today's project - hope you like it.

A nice day out, a mud bath and a bit of a 'Moo'......

I've got a bit of a 'mixed bag' of a post for you today and be warned it is a bit image heavy !

Firstly I've created an entry for the new challenge over on the Moo-Mania Blog, which has the theme 'Feathers' .

I used Pan Pastels, an Indigo Blu stamp set and a piece of Washi Tape with birds on it.

Yesterday I had a lovely day out at the South West Spring Quilt Festival held at Westpoint, Exeter.   There were a large number of stands and some truly scrumptious fabrics on sale - yes I did succumb to a few I have to confess !  It was great fun to have a play on a large quilting machine, so much easier to quilt a large project on one of these than on my regular sewing machine, but as I don't have around £9000 to spare, I guess I won't be getting one any time soon LOL  There were also some amazing quilts on display, I can't image me ever becoming skillful enough to create something like them, but I'm happy making less complicated patterns at the moment. 

Here's a few pix of a fabulous set of Fat Quarters of fabric I just couldn't resist, I love the colours and have a project in mind for them.

 

I particularly like these two designs, especially the cute octopus

This design has the fun title of 'Floaters and Sinkers'

And now to the mud bath referred to in the title

Miss Tilly returned from her walkies having taken a slight detour via a deep muddy patch, so it was straight into the sink for a bath

 

We are not amused.....

 

"Don't you dare laugh......."

That's it from me today, hope you've enjoyed reading this post and it left you with a smile on your face. 

Something Borrowed

As it's thursday we have a new challenge starting on the Cute Card Thursday Blog and out theme this week is 'Something Borrowed'.  Our lovely prize sponsor this week is Bunny Zoe Crafts.

Here's my DT card for the challenge.

I decided to use a set of SU! stamps, which I borrowed from my pal Linda (who is a SU! demonstrator).  For my design I again used the technique of stamping the image in grey ink rather than black.  When stamped in grey the outline is less defined, giving the coloured image a different 'feel' and more like a watercolour, which was perfect for this stamp. 

After stamping with grey ink the image was coloured using Copics.  SU! products used are background papers, image and sentiment stamps, Framelits dies and pricking guide.  After pricking the diecut layer I created faux stitching by drawing a line with a fine-nib black pen between each pricked hole. 

The green gingham ribbon was a scrap from my ribbon box, bow and buttons are from DoCrafts.  Foliage fronds were created using a Marianne's die and a scrap of Gumball Green SU! cardstock.  Finally, I added a little Stickles as the finishing touch.

Thanks for taking the time to visit today to check out my latest project, hope you are having a wonderful day.  Do hop over to the CCT to see what the rest of the DT have created to inspire you.

Happy Birthday Cherry

Wishing my crafting pal Cherry a very Happy Birthday today, hope you have a great day Sweetie.

Here's the card I made for her......

 

I utilised my new fav technique - Distress Inks direct to paper - dragging the lighter colour of ink pad along the basecard in one direction then a darker ink in the opposit direction, merging the two colours where they meet.  Using this fabby Kaiserkraft image I then overstamped with Black Archival ink.  Finally, the sentiment from a set by Stampin' Up! stamped vertically at the side fnishes off the design.

 

Simple, effective and I do hope Cherry liked it.

 

Thanks for visiting today, leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this technique if you have time.

Happy Bird-Day

Happy Tuesday Bloggers, mine has dawned bright, sunny but a tad chilly, I hope the weather in your location is kind to you today too.  I was up bright and early this morning and as I've been away from home for a few days, there was a large pile of laundry building up.  One load is washed and hung out on the line already and I'm hoping it proves to be a good drying day. although I'm not looking forward to the resultant ironing that will be required !

 

Whilst away from home I was really missing my crafting, although I did manage to do a little knitting - well those who know me understand that I can't survive without something craft-related with me wherever I go.  I had a nice break away but was more than happy to get back to my stash and do a little cardmaking (and sewing) again.

 

This little card was created using a stamp I bought recently and is one of the DoCrafts Urban range of stamps.  It's a cute bird but quite large - the base card is 5 x 5 inches to give you some idea of the size of the image.

 

I stamped the bird onto the base card and again on some patterned paper, then I inked just the wing area of the image and stamped onto a scrap of coloured cardstock.  After cutting out the body of the bird stamped onto the paper I attached it over the stamped image on the base card.  I do like the faux stitching around the edges of the image and if you are a stitcher, it would be really easy to create a template for applique using the stamp.

 

To finish off the design I added touches of Stardust Stickles and stamped a sentiment (from a SU! set) vertically in the bottom righthand corner.

 

Thanks for popping by to check out today's project, hope you like it. I'll be working my way around the blogs I visit regularly to catch up on posts I've missed whilst having no internet access, during the next couple of days hopefully.