Flutterby butterfly

And another batch of ATC's for the International swap I mentioned earlier in the week.

This time the background was created with inks, the butterflies were stamped twice, the second one cut out, coloured and covered with Rock Candy

That makes three sets down and two to go - nearly there !

The stamp is Inkadinkadoo, the papers, Melissa Frances and Payper Box, little tag punch is by Stampin' Up, fabric flowers are Tim Holtz.

Daughter dear

It has been AGES, EONS, YONKS, seriously, it seems a gazillion of days has passed since I scrapbooked just for me, just for fun, just because I had a photo I wanted to put in an album - just because .....

Anyhow, I was sat here last night, at my scrap table, which also houses my Mac, which draws me into facebook and emails and itunes and apps and all manner of diversions !

And I suddenly felt the urge to scrap

So scrap I did !

I ignored the diversions, grabbed the nearest couple of sheets of paper and then my latest favourite photo and just played !

The photo is of my daughter Amy, who is incredibly photogenic but who seldom allows me to capture that beauty on film

The papers are Melissa Frances, the cardstock is Color Core, flowers and ribbon from stash, quote is computer generated

Border punch is Martha Stewart, large purple flower is handmade by moi, pearls are Mark Richards

I used a Versamagic ink pad to ink all the edges of the papers.

I spend so much time creating for the shop, for classes and for samples, I had totally forgotten how much fun it is to create something just because !

I used to scrapbook every single day, before the shop, before commitments, and, to be honest I miss it. But, don't get me wrong, I also love my class preparations, it is a case of finding a happy balance, between work and play. I guess that for the last four years I have ALWAYS put the shop first, it is my baby, but I also understand that to stay doing what I do and more importantly - enjoy doing what I do, I also need to, just occasionally, set aside an hour or so, to just PLAY !

Play with what I love the most

Scrapbooking !!!

Scrapbooking led me into crafting

Scrapbooking is my relaxation, my peace

At the risk of sounding all airy fairy, it is what makes my heart sing.

I love making cards, but they are given away, they are made from images, stamps, papers all designed by others and that is fine,

But my scrapbook pages are kept, for me, and my family to look at and love

To remember and cherish

Moments caught on film which will disappear all too quickly, captured and presented in a layout, a memory - preserved to enjoy for many years to come.

Tuesday project

 Once again I have one of our tuesday afternoon projects to share

( oooooo get me !!!! actually finished, photographed and blogged all on the same day - I will have to steady on or I will need a lay down !)

This time the project we chose from the Creative Expressions booklet was by Dee Paramour, all credit must go to her for her initial design - thankyou Dee.

So here is mine, once again with many slight variations

Dee's original design was a Christmas card and I have no doubt at all that at some point I will be making a christmas version, but for now I decided to have a break from Christmas and complete the design with a love theme instead.

The sparkle inside the heart is a stamp embossed with Kaleidoscope embossing powder - very pretty and delicate

As always it was a sharing afternoon and we all brought in supplies for each of us to play with, thankyou to Anita for the border die and Linda for the sentiment stamp which is by Stampin' Up.

Forever in my heart

Tonight I have the second batch of ATC's for the international swap I have been invited to join.

As I mentioned last night, there is no theme just the condition that all the ATC's have a stamped image on them.

I stamped this beautiful Crafty Individuals image out twice, onto different coloured papers and then cut out the butterfly from the second stamp 

I need to make twenty in total so I am doing them in batches to make it a little easier, as I would like to keep one of each of the designs for me, I will be making five sets of five all together.

Girls Night Out

I have been busy making ATCs today, here are the first batch ready for our international swap.

The theme was open, the only criteria being that there had to be stamping on them.

I used a crafty individuals stamp.

I coloured the ladies frocks with copic markers, I popped up a few of the letters too and embellished each ATC with a little bit of Tim Holtz film strip and a ticket stub from Making Memories.

The two little rows of dots at top and bottom are liquid pearls.

Stampin' Up

These are the two cards we made in class with Linda on thursday

First up a heart shaped easel card

And a landscape tent card

I am totally in love with this colour combination, thankyou for a fabulous afternoon and two beautiful cards Linda xxx

Christmas card number four

And for once, actually ahead of myself I have christmas card number 4 of this year, with a week to go in our first month.

I used papers by Bo Bunny, the image is a Marianne designs one, the ribbon is from my shop ( I LOVE this tartan design), the sentiment stamp is one by Stampin' Up

I am really happy to know that a few of my friends and customers are also joining me in trying to complete at least one Christmas card a week during 2013, this week both Dawn and Keitha mentioned they are making their Christmas cards already, keep it up girls xxx

Feeling Blue

Our tuesday afternoon get together this week resulted in another card.

Once again inspired by a design in the Creative Expressions booklet and once again by Sue Wilson. 

We changed this one up quite a bit this time, 

Different size, we went for square

Different colour, totally centred around the gorgeous blue ribbon Anita brought for us all to share.

Different die cuts, again provided by Anita

Different stamp, provided by Linda, as was the embossing folder.

So another one of those projects that was the same but different.

Warm Winter Wishes

 Tonight I have a project I started before Christmas but have only just managed to finish.

It was one of our 'tuesday afternoon' sessions and the idea of the banner was inspired by a lady called Sally-Jo, Linda found it on her blog and we all thought it was such a pretty project.

I used all chocolate and cream shades for mine as I intend to hang it next year in my lounge ( now that it is finished !)

We used a label die, snowflake stamps, inks and alpha stamps all by Stampin' Up.

My hearts were chipboard which I embossed with a shabby embossing powder.

Lace and flowers complete each piece.

You can see Linda's version HERE, Margaret and Anita have also both finished theirs but I don't think they are on their blogs yet.

And you can find the original version by Sally Jo HERE - thankyou very much for sharing the idea xxx

Songbirds

I have been busy art journalling but most of it has been in the circle journals we are currently involved in at the shop, therefore, I have not been able to share it on here, or it will spoil the surprise for the recipient.

But occasionally when the inks and paints are out anyway I cannot resist playing in my own little art journal.

This is what evolved this week as various mediums lay around my work table.

The backgrounds were created with a mix of acrylic paints and gesso, stencilling with inks and some torn book paper in the corners. I added some stippled gesso through sequin waste for texture.

The quote was handwritten with a black archival journalling pen

The birds have been coloured in with my copic markers.

The tumbling letters are stamped in archival ink and the hearts are punched scraps of paper which have been outlined with a watercolour pencil for a little definition.

I have been busy with the usual sunday roast and cleaning routine today, rewarding myself with a little crafting in between laundry loads, and have managed to complete one of the many unfinished projects that have accumulated in my 'to do' box. I will be back tomorrow to share it with you.

Merry Christmas Deer

Christmas card number 3 of the year.

I have beaten last years measly total of two made before December.

The reindeer stamp is by Stampin' Up, as are the dies I used to cut the frames, I used an EK success border punch and I believe the sentiment stamp is Inkadinkadoo.

I have no idea whether I will keep this up, I very rarely manage to keep anything going for a full year. But my intentions are good and I am enjoying the feeling of being a little better prepared than last year.

One thing I have managed to keep up so far is my Insanity training, Neil and I have finished 6 full weeks so far, not missing a single workout, we have 13 sessions left to do and I have to admit, I am feeling much stronger. Although I have been going to the gym consistently for a whole year, press ups have always been my nemesis, I have just never been able to do them. Not one ! But I am regularly managing to do several at a time during the workouts now. So happy with myself that I am managing to keep it up ( although I will be jumping for joy when they are finally finished, it has been one huge commitment  !)

It's all white

The girls and I who regularly meet up on tuesdays for a little crafting therapy, often end up doing more chatting, laughing and eating than actual crafting. But we decided, at the beginning of the year, that it would be a good idea to prepare ourselves a little better in the hope that we do complete some projects.

Anita had bought us all an inspirational project book from Creative Expressions and we all agreed it would be fun to work through it.

 This week we chose a card designed by Sue Wilson as our starting point

Here is my version of Sue's card

I didn't have all the exact supplies that Sue had used so there are variations from the original.

The textured background was created with tissue paper, the little dots are liquid pearls.

I used a sentiment stamp and dies from Stampin' Up.

None of us finished the card in the session itself ( as always, chatting and eating took priority), but I am pretty sure they are all finished now.

It was a pink glittered Christmas

Here are the ATC's I made for the Running With Scissors December ATC swap

The Theme was  'A pink Glittered Christmas' as chosen by Debbie

Although I love pink I am not a fan of glitter and to be honest the theme troubled me at first. I just couldn't get my head around using pink for Christmas, the traditional side of me kept denying me the ability to think out of the box.

But once I got started and embraced the challenge, I thoroughly enjoyed using a non-traditional colour to inspire the cards, and, I was really pleased with the results.

So thankyou Debbie xxx

That's the fun of having different personalities choose the themes-  you never know what you might get and you never know what you might come up with yourself !

If any of you are interested in joining our monthly swap at the shop please check out the ATC swap info page at Running With Scissors

Clouds come floating

Margaret's new tag challenge is up and running.

You can find out what it is all about it over at Running With Scissors (shop)

Here is the tag I have made for January

The idea is to have a quote on your tag and this months theme was SKY

I cut my tag to shape ( 6x4 inches)

The background was created with Distress Inks - I used Peeled Paint, Broken China, Dusty Concord, Rusty Hinge, Scattered Straw and Barn Door

The sun was created first by inking through a punched hole, I then placed the punched circle back over the yellow sun as a mask and used a brush to apply the rest of the colours

I then stamped various grasses using a couple of Stampin' Up stamps and black Archival Ink

The quote was computer generated, using the American Typewriter font and added in strips.

I used scraps to create the embellishments.

The challenge is open to everyone and is just for fun and inspiration, if you would like to play along pop along to Running With Scissors for all the details and a list of all the upcoming themes.

Tags, Tags and more tags

I was just a tad dismayed by the fact My Holtz had decided to take a break from his twelve tags of christmas, I felt as though the usual build up to christmas had been tarnished just a little. Almost as though Tescos had banned the selling and eating of the Mince Pie !!!!

Don't get me wrong, I didn't always take part, and to be honest I think I only ever completed the twelve tags twice in it's entirety. But !!!! It's an institution among the crafting community, even if I haven't taken part, I have checked in, ogled and imagined the possibilities.

So, with a little bit of a pouty lip, I glanced at the new tags Tim is sharing on his blog each month throughout 2013.

I looked

I liked

I was inspired ( as always)

I skipped to the next blog on my google reader

I sulked

I considered

I went back

I ogled once again

I gave in !!!

Here is my first Tim Holtz inspired tag of 2013

So ..... Thankyou once again Sir Tim.

For sharing your talents

For sharing your techniques

For encouraging us to just get out our stuff and CRAFT !!!

If you take a peek at Tim's blog you can see my tag is quite different from the original, but that is what it is all about, using what you have, so grab what you have, play and create !

You can play along with Tim's tags HERE

Have FUN crafting xxx

Baby it's cold outside

I had a lovely today with my two good friends Margaret and Anita, thankyou both.

We enjoyed lunch out and a browse around all the local gift shops. As promised, the snow began to fall in earnest, doubling the time it normally takes to get home, but it was a really lovely day.

So, it seems fitting, with the snow falling outside the window, to be sharing another Christmas card towards next years collection.

Papers are Bo Bunny, Sentiment stamp is by Stampin' Up, Santa's sleigh is by Inkadinkadoo.

Let's hope we are not snowed in tomorrow morning - brrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Sympathetic wishes

Thankfully I don't often have to make sympathy cards.

But, recently one of my friends sadly lost her dad. I am sure there are no words that can truly express our sympathy but I do hope that at least by making a card, Jan knows I am here for her should she need anything, be it a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen or arms to hug.

Thinking of you Jan, hope all goes well on thursday

Much love xxx

Merry Christmas

As part of my New Years 'goals', I intend to make at least one Christmas card per week

This is the card I made in the first week of January, just hitting my self inflicted deadline !

Papers are by Bo Bunny, sentiment stamp is Stampin' Up, Snowman is Inkadinkadoo, the little candy cane charm was from a local discount warehouse and the buttons are Paper Mania, Ivy leaf border punch is Cart Us. I coloured in the snowman's accessories with a copic pen and the white stitching was created using a gelly roll pen by Sakura.

Even if I make just two more Christmas cards I will beat last years total of two achieved in January !

Thankyou again

Another batch of thankyou cards, I am hoping to finish the intended 25 at the weekend, so I can hand them all out next week.

Same stamps as previously used by Stempleglede, all sentiments are all Stampin' Up

Patterned papers are by Me and My Big Ideas

I used Memento ink for stamping and Copics for colouring in. The rose ribbon above is by Tim Holtz.

The floral background is card I stamped with smaller stamps from the set, so that I could have a perfectly matching patterned paper. 

I have another 15 to make, so watch this space, they will all be similar but all slightly different.

Anniversary wishes

Mum and dad's wedding anniversary was the day after dad's birthday and I made them this card to celebrate.

They have been married 40 plus years, I find it an inspiration and am so proud of both of them, they are the best parents a girl could wish for

Love you both 

xxx

Happy Birthday Dad

It was Dad's birthday on the 6th, he was still in Lanzarote with mum but was home the following day.

Here is the card I made him.

I used a mixture of papers from Tilda and Bo Bunny, the embossed hearts in the centre are a Stampin' Up embosslit and both the word stamps are by Stampin' Up too.

All is settling down into a more usual routine now, it feels good to be back to 'normal', 

Christmas has been re-boxed and resides once again in the attic - I do hope we never have any workmen up there, as the six foot snowman is wrapped in bin bags to keep him clean and now looks more like a murder victim than a festive decoration.

I have no real news years resolutions, I always make them

....... and promptly break them !

So, instead I have set myself a few goals

To make at least one christmas card a week

To complete the Insanity training programme and continue to eat healthy and train in the gym regularly

To read more books

To finish more projects

To be more organised

Yeah right !!!! the last one is never gonna happen, just ask Neil, Dad or Anita or anyone else who knows me.

Have you any goals or resolutions for the new year ?

Same but different

I wanted to make some thankyou cards to show a little gratitude to all my generous customers who brought in treats for myself and my family at Christmas.

I had a quick count up and realised I needed 25 cards, so to make life a little simpler and hopefully help the card-making go a little quicker, I sketched out five basic designs and will complete each design in five different colour combinations, just changing the embellishments and finishing touches to make each card individual.

Here are the first five I made

All cards have been made using the Friendship Rose set of stamps from Stempelglede, which were a much appreciated gift from my lovely friend Anita ( who knows my taste so well !) Thankyou - I LOVE them xxx

The argyle type paper is from a pad by Me and My Big Ideas, the floral paper was made by me using the smaller stamps from the set, I added extra colour using copics and a background stamp by Denami Design.

The lovely aqua coloured lace was a gift from my dear friend Margaret.

All with the same stamps, papers and colours, but different

Same but different !

Will be back soon with another batch in a different colour.

Dream Machine

November's ATC theme was chosen by Jan, who chose Machines with Metallic as the guide to colour.

I went with a telephone as a 'talking machine' as my inspiration, making the old-fashioned dial from cardstock, I added a big silver brad to the centre, the stamp was Washi tape which just happened to be sat in my stash, already adorned with the image of  a telephone.

The background paper is one from the Kraft pack by Tim Holtz, the dots and swirls were platinum Liquid Pearls.

And the silver tape at the bottom is builders tape run through my Cuttlebug and rubbed with Alcohol ink.

Black or White

I saw this Whiff of Joy digi  image on t'internet and knew it would be perfect for Neil's birthday card.

Neil has always been a fan and was lucky enough to see Michael Jackson several times in concert. 

I kept the rest of the card fairly simple ( I find it incredibly hard not to throw on flowers, pearls and ribbon)

The image was coloured in with Polychromos pencils and the sentiment is a Forever Friends one by Do Craft.

And the final batch of Christmas cards I made this year - there were other designs but I made them so last minute that they didn't all make it onto my camera !

This one was for my aunt and uncle.

These next three were all for neighbours and are each a variation on a theme.

Finally one for Helen and her family, who I mentioned in an earlier post.

I do have some other christmas projects to share ( not cards though) so will be back with them.

I am not generally a 'stressy' person, but leaving most of my cards til Christmas week was a little of a stretch - even for me. I did a run of four nights to finish them all, staying up til 3-4 in the morning and getting up at normal time and must admit I don't want to be doing that next year. 

So .......

Despite my best intentions of making one Christmas card a week last year ( I managed 2 in january !)

I DO intend to make at least one a week this year in order to have at least 50 made by Christmas.

I am sure both Anita and Margaret will hold me accountable !