Thanks for Your Support !

This is a card I made to give to the vets and staff at the veterinary clinic where I have been taking my cats for the last 7 years. Unfortunately I recently lost my Freya who was the grand old age of 22, she had a long and healthy life and in her last days the vets and staff were so kind and supportive not just to Freya but to me as well, showing great compassion and thoughtfulness ,so I wanted to make them a card to thank them for their care.



The stamp is a favourite of mine, " Uplifting Occasion " by Penny black, I have stamped it several times and decoupaged it to give a 3D effect and `lift` it off the page ! The image is water coloured with distress inks.
The background papers are both sides of Imaginisce - Fairest of them all - Enchanted Garden. The punch is Ash branch L-Em from Sir Stampalot and I`ve just used a paper piercing tool to give a stitched effect round the edges.

I have been suffering a bit with depression lately, it didn`t help loosing my best furry friend of the last 22 years, but through crafting I have met and made some wonderful friends who have helped enormously to cheer me up and I`d like to take this opportunity to thank them whole heartedly for including me in their outings and gatherings lately. Crafting has really been a life line for me and has helped me on the road to recovery, so thank you all and thank you again to everyone who has visited and commented on my blog.

Bye for now and happy crafting xx

Bon Apetite !

My Dad asked me to do a card for a guy he knows through work, I asked him what the guy liked so I could base a card around that, the only brief I got was "He`s a big bloke and he likes to cook " !! ( thanks Dad, really helpful ! ) so this is what I came up with.
I didn`t want to over embellish it as it`s for a male so just a couple of ribbbon tabs and a bit of a swirl to balance the card.
The image is from the American SU catalogue " Voila " - coloured with distress inks and marvey le plume pens and a tiny bit of diamond stickles around the candle flame!
The 50 is cut from cuttle bug die - Hippy Chick !
I find male cards very difficult to do as most of my stamps are quite girly and cute but this SU stamp set is a really good stand by and I`ve used it quite a lot.

Thanks for looking in, bye for now and happy crafting xx

LOTV Challenge - Anything but a square

My new LOTV stamps arrived this morning and I couldn`t wait to have a play. I love, love, love these new designs they are so sweet. I`d like to enter this one in the LOTV challenge , this time it is anything but a square so I`ve opted for hearts on a centre stepper card, as Valentines day is fast approaching I thought hearts would be quite topical! I`ve never entered a challenge before so I hope I do this right !!

I have coloured the image with distress inks and added a tiny bit of diamond stickles to show the water coming out of the can.
The backing paper is MME Bloom and Grow which I thought was kind of fitting for the image.



The hearts are cut from Nestabilites dies, the flowers are Prima and the leaves are Maidenhead Fern punch from Sir Stampalot
I ordered 4 stamps in total this time around but I`m pretty sure I`ll be going back for some more. Now I`m going to carry on " playing " with my new stamps and see what else I can come up with.
Thanks for looking in, bye for now and happy crafting xx

Out the Window

Here is one of the new Tildas that I just fell in love with, Leaning Tilda and the Romantic window both available from Sir Stampalot. I`ve coloured her with distress inks and raised the image on foam pads to give the illusion that she is poking her head out of the window, the shutters and window frame is also decoupaged to give depth . I`m not entirely happy with the colouring I have to say, I ran out of my usual water colour paper and this one didn`t allow blending very well it is too absorbent, but I persevered with her anyway.



It didn`t help matters that I made this in the wee hours under artificial light either ( must invest in a daylight bulb !)



The flowers and leaves are a mix of Prima and Magnolia and the backing paper is Magnolia " You are so special - Lace Flower " also from Sir Stampalot.
The swirls at the side are cut from Storybook Cricut cartridge.

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate all the lovely comments you all leave me, bye for now and happy crafting xx

Tilda with Lilacs

This is one of my favourite Tildas, my gran loved lilacs and when I used to visit her as a child we would walk through an alley way into town together and one of the houses that backed on to the alley had a lilac tree that overflowed into the alley. The smell of lilacs was so thick in the air, every time I smell lilacs now it takes me back to that time and makes me think of my lovely Gran who I miss dearly.

I have coloured her with distress inks and cut the circle out around her by drawing through a nestie and cutting free hand, ( inked edges hide a multitude of sins ! lol)
The baking papers are DoCrafts " Henbury Lane " very pretty papers which I`m nearly out of as I`ve used them so much. The swirly die is Tim Holtz and the tag is an old Sizzix original die. The scallop border punch and sentiment are both SU.



The mesh bow is from ribbon mesh available from Ribbonbox ( click for link )which I purchased from the NEC last year, it`s fascinating stuff, you just pull and twist it into any shape you need and it stays in shape ! it`s available in a variety of colours and I wish I`d bought more of it.

Well, while the sun is shining and I have plenty of natural light I`ll get on with some more crafting, I should be doing housework but there will be plenty of dull days for that ! bye for now, thanks for stopping by and happy crafting xx

" Through the Heart "

I don`t often get the chance to just "play" without a project in mind or just make a card for the sake of it, but as I`ve been signed off work for a month, it has given me the chance to relax and do just that. I was in a crafting mood yesterday,( seem to have found my mojo so I thought I`d strike while the iron was hot ! )
This is what I came up with...

A little apperture card using the largest of the Heart Nestabilities. Tilda shopping water coloured with distress inks - available from Sir Stampalot. The paper is MME "Bloom and Grow" the border punch is Martha Stewart "Floral Lace", Prima flowers and Sizzix "Swirly" extended die.



I thought the colours pale green and peach gives it a nice fresh Spring feel to it, as we are having such a long dreary winter I thought I`d cheer myself up with this colour scheme.
While I`m still in this frame of mind I`ll get on with some more card making, maybe I can get ahead of myself with this years birthday cards !
Thanks for stopping by my blog, bye for now and happy crafting xx

"Double Trouble "

Here is a card I did for one of my best friends twins Charlotte, it was their 7th birtday this week, it seems like such a short while ago they were just babies !
The images are Molly Blooms stamps from last years summer collection, the backing paper is Bo Bunny "Alissa Twirls" available from Craft Den in Wisbech and the die used is the "Scrollwork" from Tim Holtz from Sir Stampalot I`ve also used SU punches, ribbon and sentiment.


This one was for Alexander, also Molly Blooms Summer Collection all available from Sir Stampalot. The backing paper is "Hallowhimsy" from Imaginisce ( this is the reverse side, the other side is multicoloured spots, it took me ages to decide which side of the paper to use ! does anyone else have these dilemmas over double sided paper ! too much choice that`s the trouble ! LOL )The circle was cut from good ol` nesties, can`t live without them ! the sentiment is SU and the "grass" is actually the Martha Stewart " Icicle" punch just turned upside down when punched out.
Both images are coloured with distress inks and the number 7`s were cut from Cuttlebug die " Hippie chic" I just cut the little ornate serifs from the bottom !

Haven`t done any other crafting this week, I`ve been signed off work by the doctor and am awaiting blood test results so lost my mojo a bit, hopefully it`ll return soon, until then bye for now and happy crafting ,thanks for visiting me xx