Birthday bears with buns!

A quick birthday card, made using one of the LOTV die cut squares, and paper from the same Papermania pad as yesterday.  The cupcake was made using a SU punch and the flowers are punches as well.  The Happy Birthday label is from a LOTV clear pack of 36 different wee message labels, for all sorts of occasions.  The layout is this weeks Sketch and Stash (93), although I think it might have been better to have used ribbon for all stripes, instead of twine.  The happy birthday stamp and the paper is my new stash and the flower punch and nesties die are now getting old!  The colours haven't turned out good as they are IRL, but with the awful weather we're having today, it's no wonder!

LOTV baby boy

I have 10 baby cards to make - so I thought I would start off with one of the new stamps I bought in the LOTV shop, and I coloured it with Promarkers and Flexmarkers.  For the layout I used the sketch from this weeks 'Sketchy Challenges' and the paper is from a Papermania pad called 'Lucy Cromwell.'  The scalloped circle is an X-cut die.  All the other elements are various punches.

Tailor tilda

I finally finished my 'Tailor Tilda' card - I decided just to thread up my wee sewing machine with a natural coloured thread, so that it would match in with most colours and it stitched through the two layers of card without any problems at all.  The pink card is SU 'Rose Red' and the brown is 'Soft suede' - also from SU.  The patterned paper is from a Papermania pack called 'Regency.'  The sewing machine and bobbin were die cut using Joys dies (I think) and the leaves are a Sizzix die from SU.  The image was coloured using Promarkers and Flexmarkers.  The layout was from this weeks Sketch and Stash (new stash being the stamp and old stash being the paper.)  I made the rose with the help of a die and using Rose Red card - so I can enter this weeks Papertake Weekly challenge, as it's 'Make your own.'  The scissors are a brad from Crafts U Love and the adhesive measuring tape and lace are from a local craft shop.
Back to rain again today - I think summer must be over - it only lasted for two days!!

Ruby anniversary card

I was asked to make a 40th wedding anniversary card recently with the sentiment specified and the names of the couple included - so I ended up printing the label on the computer and putting the names on a wee 'tag.'  The image is a die cut square from LOTV and I added some colour with Promarkers.  The red and cream patterned paper is from the Papermania Portobella Road collection and came free with one of the magazines.  I added lots of 'rubies' since it was a 40th!  I will enter it in the Simon Says challenge as it is 'Anything Goes' this week.   I had intended to put this card on my blog last night, but our phone and internet went off while I was chatting on the phone - thankfully it was all back to normal this morning! 
Summer has come at last - it brightened up really nicely yesterday afternoon and seems to be holding for today - lets hope it stays for a while.  Hannah is going for a sleepover with her friends in a tent - so it needs to stay dry!!

WOYWW 164

On my workdesk this week you will see the same wee Magnolia image as last week - still uncoloured, but at least I have chosen the paper and card I will use with it.  I also decided to dust off the sewing machine as I thought it would be nice to use stitching on my card.  I bought this for something like £19.99 in Tesco a couple of years ago just to stitch on card in case it would be bad for my 'big' machine, but the problem is, I don't use it too often and of course when I tried it out this evening, there was a problem - the tension was far too loose.  I fiddled about for ages and then finally had to get out the instruction book - the problem was that you have to use metal bobbins as it has a magnetized bobbin case and basically there won't be any tension on the bobbin if you use a plastic one - now who would have thought of that!!  Most of my bobbins are plastic so I will have to fill one of the metal ones with the right colour of thread - I can see the idea of stitching on my card maybe wasn't such a good one after all!  I also have out a couple of sewing themed dies, so I might just use those instead!!  Now go and pay a visit to Julia's blog HERE to see what everyone else is up to this week.

SU challenge card

Just a quick card to get it into the SU challenge - I keep intending to enter but forget it ends the day before at 6 o'clock.  All products used - card, stamp, ink and punches are from SU.

80th Birthday card

I eventually got the 80th birthday card made tonight.  I used the Sweetstop Sketch SSS167 for the layout and the plain card is from SU - lucky limeade and island indigo.  The sheep are decoupaged and the label die is one of a set of three Nestabilities.  The 80 was die cut using a Quickutz set I've had for years now - they're just a perfect size for adding the age to a card.  The paper is 'Marjolaine' from Basic Grey - there were 5 or 6 co-ordinating double sided 12 x 12 sheets - but I've this one all used except for a wee scrap now.

CCT Anniversary card

My cousin and his wife celebrate their 25th wedding anniverary today, so I made this card for them - I was their bridesmaid all those years ago - infact I got to be flowergirl at 3 weddings then bridesmaid at 5 more, before getting married myself - and then I was matron of honour for my sister - so I have quite a collection of dresses of lots of different colours!  The card uses an LOTV diecut square and the layout is this weeks CCT challenge sketch.  I've found that the SU corner rounder punch is just right for matching up with the die cut square corners!  The sentiment stamp is from LOTV and the wee corners were die cut using a Marianne die. 

WOYWW 163

Time for this weeks WOYWW - to join in go to Julia's blog HERE.  My desk is a bit untidy this week as I've been trying to sort out what to make for an 80th birthday card for a man who keeps sheep - all I could find was this decoupage and now I'm trying to find paper to match up with it.  The label with the orange and white cord is from a White Stuff dress - I thought it was too nice to throw away and I might be able to do something crafty with it! Then recently I had noticed a few people had made cards with this new Tilda stamp with the sewing machine (called 'Tailor Tilda') so one arrived in the post today from the Glitterpot and I had to try stamping it straight away.  I'm thinking of using paper from this pad with it - I usually select paper and then colour the image to co-ordinate with it.  The red book is a page to view diary that I use to jot down sketches from various challenges etc. and the phone is there because I've just been chatting to my Mum - I phone her every night around midnight when she gets into bed!

Magnolia wedding card

I made this card today following the sketch on this weeks 'Sketchy Challenges.'  The shaped 8 x 8 card is from Craftwork cards and the pink card (yes its pink - it just looks peach in my photo!) and patterned paper are from SU - appropriately called 'Blushing Bride!'  The pleated ribbon is also 'Blushing Bride' from SU and the 'lace' was made using a MS border punch.  The Magnolia image was coloured with Promarkers and Stickles and I can enter this weeks Just Magnolia challenge as I've used ribbon, lace, flowers and pink - the middle row of the square.  The flowers and leaves were made using punches and the sentiment stamp is from LOTV.
I haven't had time to make many cards recently - when I get off school I need to get caught up on lots of 'Spring' cleaning! I've been busy doing all those horrible jobs like cleaning out the oven, the deep fat fryer and the kitchen cupboards and drawers - unfortunately I'm not even halfway round yet!  I have a couple of orders for cards, so I'll have to take some time out soon to get them ready!

WOYWW 163

Back home again for WOYWW 163 - well today on my desk,  I have a all the new stuff I bought while on holiday last week.  The highlight of the craft shopping was a wee visit to the LOTV shop in Leeds - it was very convenient to Leeds Bradford airport (where we flew home from).  Isn't it great when things work out like that!! Last time we planned to go on holiday to York DH managed to get himself knocked down in Dumfries and spent the whole holiday in hospital - so it was safer to fly there this time!! Anyway, you can see I bought some LOTV stamps and die cut squares and they are now stocking Promarkers/Flexmarkers and Wild Orchid flowers, so I had to get some of them as well.  The other tubs of paper flowers came from WH Smith - a bargain at 99p and the buttons came from Duttons in York.  The other bits and pieces came from either 'Boyes' or 'Craft Inspiration' in Scarborough - we went there on Friday so Nathan could have a go at driving a small tank! - but it rained so much that everywhere was flooded and the Military Adventure Park was closed, so we HAD to go to the shops instead!!

Thank you hen card

I made this card tonight for Nathan to give to his Granda for looking after his four wee hens when we were on holidays.  I used the sketch on this weeks Promarker challenge and a couple of Magnolia stamps, coloured with Promakers, cut out and layered up with foam squares.  I think I could enter the Magnolia challenge (using things beginning with 'B') as I have used buttons, a bird (well, a chicken is a bird!) and lots of brown on the card.  The thank you stamp is from LOTV and the paper is from a 6 x 6 pad by MME called 'Blink of an eye.'  The plain mustard and kraft coloured card are from SU, as is the punch used for the sentiment label.

New Home

Just a card I made recently for a new home, to show you today.  I used an old sketch from Sketch and Stash and the paper is from one of the Doodlebug 6 x 6 pads.  The twine is also Doodlebug.  The stamp is from a really old Woodware clear set, coloured with Promarkers.  The scalloped border punch is from SU and the new home stamp if from LOTV.  Speaking of LOTV, I'm really looking forward to visiting their new shop on our way back to Leeds Bradford airport tomorrow lets hope the flooding between here and there isn't too bad.  The shop is now stocking Promarkers, Copics paper flowers etc, so it should be good!  By the way, I managed to finish my jigsaw in time to pack it all up for going home - I took a photo just to prove it!

Wedding Invites

At last I think it should be OK to show you the wedding invites I made for my niece - they have all been posted out now, so it should be safe enough.  I used a cream shimmery card for the base and then embossed a piece for the front.  The layer under this is a pealised raspberry pink card and the ribbon is from Meiflower - they were very helpful in sorting me out with what I needed.  I used the same ribbon to tie a wee bow and then the pearl diamante thing was stuck in the centre.  The label was printed on the computer and punched out using a SU punch and the pink layer under it was also made with a SU punch, then finished off with a tiny adhesive pearl either side.  Because of the thickness of the embellishments, I had to make wee boxes to post them out in - my Scorepal board was very useful for this (I used the same card as for the invites).  The photography is rubbish as usual - the colours look much better than this IRL!

WOYWW 161

Its that time of the week again when we get to see what everybody has been doing on WOYWW - to snoop around go to Julia's blog HERE.  Actually, I am far away from my workdesk this week and so this is a photo of two desks put together to make the surface big enough to build a jigsaw in our wee holiday cottage.  I haven't brought anything crafty on holiday this year - cardmaking doesn't really travel and my cross stitch is almost finished and as it has been comissioned, I thought it was safer to leave it at home in case it would get damaged or lost in transit!  So I'm just building a jigsaw when the children have gone to bed, or else reading a book!  I hope I get it finished by the end of the week!  By the way, the piece in the bottom row that looks the wrong colour is actually right - its just that there is a bolt thing through the table and the piece is sitting up on top of it at a different angle from the surrounding pieces!

Twins birthday (2)

Just a card I made a few days ago, as I'm on holiday at the moment and unable to make any cards.  I used LOTV die cut square and the paper is from a First Edition pad, but I can't remember its name.  The flowers and leaves are made using punches.  The flowers have been inked round the edges with ink from SU, the match of the brown card, also from SU.  The layout is this weeks Sketchy challenge, although you can hardly see the lower band of lace as I've managed to cover it all up!  The wee heart buttons are ones I have saved from the labels of White Stuff clothes - a good excuse to buy lots from them - they have three different buttons on the label of each item, but the heart is the one I like best!  I printed the sentiment on the computer and then punched it out using SU punches.  I am also entering this card in the Allsorts challenge (In bloom) as I have added flowers.