Pop Up Butterfly Card - Happy Birthday Paul's Nan!

Well it's been a very loooong time since I last posted... nearly 11 months... ooops... I have been crafting on and off... things have been a bit up and down at home as Paul has been quite seriously unwell and I think it's partly that which has kept me away... he's still not 100% and there is still a lot of uncertainty on the future but we are trying to keep positive.....

Anyway I wanted to try to get back into blogging again to record some of the things I have made... this is a card for Paul's Nan who's birthday is today.

It's a pop up circle card and I have to say I love making these and giving them... I have made 4 now and the response is always really good.

I've used mainly all stampin' up items as I am still addicted to all things SU!!!

Happy Bird-Day!

I'm really into circle or scallopped circle cards at the moment....I made this one a few weeks ago for Melissa's birthday which happens to be today! :)

Sitting here very sorry for myself as I've picked up his man-flu and I feel pretty grotty today, whole body just aches and I don't know what to do with myself as I'm not the sort of person who can sit around doing nothing but physically at the moment I just can't imagine moving other sitting here huddled under the duvet!

Anyway the scalloped card is made usung the Sizzix Bigz XL Die - Scallop Circle Album die. I got the die at a cheap price and was very excited when I realised that the scallop is larger than a regular nestie scalloped circle, it also comes with the smaller circle which I used on the background paper.

The owl is a Penny Black stamp (which is a favouite of mine) she is coloured in with copic markers and I used a white pen to highlight.

I thought the inside looked a little plain so I cut out a swirl and attached it to the piece of card which is holding the scallopes together and I just couldn't resist using the embossed butterflies over the swirl, thought they looked effective!

Right I'm back off to do nothing but huddle under the duvet with my cat and try to shake off this flu that I've got... thanks for looking!

A Ickle Owl Card!

Here's a Ickle owl card that I made for the lovely Mandy, I had to try out my new Quickutz branch die! I stamped the swirl stamp using Stazon On White and glittered some of the swirls using Star Dust Stickles!

The Baja Breeze flowers have small Swarovski crystal bits of bling in them and the hearts on the owl have been diamond glazed.

Supplies
Card Stock: Thick Acetate, Stampin Up Chocolate Chip, Baja Breeze & Pink Pirouette cardstock

Stamp: Owl Stamp - Came free from a Stamping Magazine, Swirl Stamp - Can't remember who it's by! Greeting Hero Arts

Inks: White Stazon, Stampin' Up Chocolate Chip & Pink Pirouette

Tools: Quickutz Revolution: Branches Die, Flower punch: Woodware Tiny flower

Happy Birthday Becky

Look another card with orange in it….. slightly worrying how much orange I am using at the moment but don’t worry Becky your orange papers are safe!!

Papers are once again the lovely My Minds Eye range, I really do love these papers! The front paper with little flowers has Swarovski crystal stones in the centre of the flowers and they really do make the card sparkle! I love a bit of bling especially the Swarovski bling!

Cupcake stamp is from the Stampin Up Crazy For Cupcakes set, which I have wanted for AGES and got it for my birthday – Thank you Clare, first time they have been inked up! Sentiment on the inside is part of a Heidi Grace stamp set, I just love Heidi Grace, so sad that Fiskars are discontinuing her range.

Scalloped oval punch is the new punch from the Stampin’ Up mini catalogue along with the small oval punch and the sentiment inside is part of a Hero Arts set.

The owl is a Penny Black stamp coloured in using my copics, yes I have been bitten by the copic bug, not had much chance to play with them yet as I’m busy with the scrapbook so still trying to master the technique.

BTW for anyone wanting to buy copics from the UK at a good price I would highly recommend cult pens they sell the Copics for a good price, if you spend over £10 postage is free and they arrive so quick… what more could a girl want! Cult Pens

They have just started stocking the Copic atyouspica glitter pens which are come in 13 different colours.. if you haven’t heard of them before let me help you LOL

The main difference in the Spica glitter pen is that the sparkle is actually made up of micro glass flakes and they claim that they have twice the writing length of other pens. They are a pigment based acid free ink and they dry pretty quickly. They sparkle much more than the stardust gelly roll pens and the clear is a proper clear and not a silver colour.

The only other tip I have read is that you must keep these pens stored horizontal and you must not drop them!

Whilst I’m on the subject of pens they also sell the fantastic Uni-Ball Signo white pen that is in the SU catty, their price almost half the price in the SU catty so well worth using them! I’m really fussy about white pens and inkpads looking true white not grey and this is the only pen I have found that looks a true white and works really well on dark cardstock. Uni-Ball Signo White Pen

OK I’ll shut up about pens for now LOL…. I have to admit that I do have a bit of a pen addiction, thinking back to when I was a kid I always had a thing for pens back then, Saturday morning in town with the girls checking out what new pens they had in Heffers stationary shop!

14th Birthday card... hmmm Basic Grey!

Well I've had an eventful afternoon crafting... let me tell you... I have a bit of a reputation for needing to be kept away from sharp objecs because I tend to have accidents... I am a bit clumsey you see... well today is one of those days... There I was christening my lovely new fiskars knife (thank you Nikki!) when whoops not paying enough attention whilst cutting the numbers and sliced the top of my finger open... blood all over the birthday card I was making!

So after some choccie to make me feel better I had to start again with another card.... to be honest I am glad I did because I have to say I really like this card and the one I was making just didn't look right especially with my own blood over half of it!

Anyway this card is for our Nephew who's 14 next week, scary how time flies by... I have to be honest and say I really get stressed about male cards, normally leave them until the last minute because I have hardly anything in my stash that I can use... why can't they appreciate a nice pink flowery card!

I bought this Basic Grey paper pack lastmonth after seeing cards Becky had made with the same pack... I am so pleased I bought it! I've used Stampin Up Chocolate Chip as the main card stock, I think the colour works really well.

The little enamled tag is from a set I got for my birthday from Making Memories (thank you Becky!). Yet again you have come to my rescue!!

Happy Birthday Sarn!

Well yet again... months fly by without me blogging! Sorry... it's been a busy few months with meeting up with fab crafty friends and then just recently working at Ally Pally.

This card was made for the very lovely Sarn who's birthday it is today, hope you have a fantastic time hun!!

The bird is a stamp by Hero Arts, yes I am still into birds LOL, papers are basic grey, along with the papers used to colour the bird in. The scalloped border is a Martha Stewart punch which I had borrowed. The greeting is a A Muse stamp, I love A Muse stamps... just wish you could get them in the UK!

I've also been really busy scrapbooking, Paul's sister is 40 in June and at the time we came up with the idea of making an album for her... I have just realised that this will be the first complete scrapbook I have made as I have about 5 on the go at the moment.

It's hard making an album for someone else, time is ticking and the pressure is on now as I have so many more pages to do and more photos to get from the family. I need to start taking the piccies so I can pop them up onto this blog.

Mum's Birthday Card

It was my mum's birthday last week and I wanted to make her a nice card, she's had a rotten 2009 so far so I wanted to make sure I made something a little special and this is the end result.

First time I have been successful with stamping onto acetate, I stamped the swirls with white ink onto the acetate and attached the flower to the front but everything else is underneath the acetate.

Thank you to the lovely Becky for giving me some to try, really pleased with the result as the acetate I had tried it on before just sat on their wet.

The card stock I've used is Stampin Up Elegant Eggplant & Perfect Plumb... I have gone into a purple phase at the moment and I just love these two colours!


The stamp set is one of my favourite Stampin' Up sets called Doodle This... I just love the doodle flower and the large swirl is a Sizzix Sizzlit die, another favourite of mine!

Clare's Bo Bunny Birthday Card

I’m loving the dotty Bo Bunny papers, I just have troubles actually cutting into the paper, I keep pulling the sheets out to use… the sheet goes near the cutter… then I question what on earth am I going… I can’t cut this gorgeous paper… quickly I back off give them a stroke and then back in the ‘not to be used’ 12x12 box!… Please tell me I’m not mad and have a serious paper issue!

But this time I was brave and did the deed… I cut into the only sheet of turquoise Bo Bunny spotty 12x12 paper.. Did I feel better for it?! NO! But then I noticed that CTM still have many sheets in shock so I feel relief now that I can get more to stash away…

So here’s where that precious Bo Bunny paper went… on Clare’s birthday card…. I‘m in a turquoise and brown mood at the moment…

I’ve been wanting to try out my new Stampin’ Up goodies from the US for a while, the cake stamp is from the Fun & Fast set (Page 54).

I'm Back... I hope!!

Hello!!

Long time no post... past month has been very stressful and crafting has kinda gone out the window, just not felt up to it... but have managed to still buy a few crafty things!

In the past month we've had a car accident to deal with, the stress of chasing the insurance company after the car being written off, being without a car has been a big stress, we've been given an old banger to poodle around in locally but we can't use it on a daily basis.

Works been very stressful, been working through lunch breaks and coming home with headaches a lot recently then my Uncle was rushed into hospital last week with a suspected heart attack, which turned out to be a problem with his disc in his neck, he had an operation friday and hopefully is on the slow road to recovery.

Still enjoying my saturday job at Capture The Magic, unpacking all that lovely new stash is like having your own large parcel of goodies... I unpacked all the new Doodlebug stuff last weekend and it's gorgeous, I want one of everything but I was very good and came away with no shopping for a change!

Fingers crossed things are on the up now and I can get back to playing with my stash... thanks for taking the time to stop by!

60th Birthday Card

Here's this weeks forum challenge which was to make a card with a number ... Just so happens to be Paul's mum's 60th on Monday so I had a perfect excuse to make this card!

I can't believe that I have actually cut into one of the gorgoeus Bo Bunny papers I bought from Capture The Magic... I just love the Bo Buny range and I found it really hard to cut into this as I only had the one piece! I cut the 6 & 0 myself using an old template.

I've had quite a good weekend stash wise... I went to see the new shop A Touch of Crafts in Bury St Edmunds & Capture the Magic on Saturday to do a little (cough cough) shopping!!! Hmmmm I bought some lush papers, I has actually been on a paper ban for the past few weeks prior to my little trip this weekend!!!

ooooh and I got the most gorgeous craft bag from CTM they have just got the K & Co Amy Butler ones in stock and it was calling me with the help of Alison!! It holds a lot in it even a 12x12 album... plus it has pink on it... what more could a girl want?!

Pink Cupcake!

I just love these cupcake stamps by Hero Arts.... I'm back on my favourite colour combo pink & brown...hmmmm yummy!!! I used a sketch from the weekly forum challenges for this card.

The happy birthday greeting is from my new Stampin Up set and the scalloped circle is the Stampin' Up scalloped circle... I know I have the scalloped nestabilities but the Stampin Up punch is a MUST buy!!!

The scalloped edging has been done by the Stampin Up slot punch, it's not avaiable to buy in the UK yet but I got sent it as a pressie :)

Flower Birthday Card

This card was inspired by a challenge on the forum, the challenge was to use your old stash to make a card... I really enjoyed going through my old stamps and forcing myself to use something that wasn't brand new! I know we all get excited about new stash and sometimes the old stuff gets neglected...

The stamps are Hero Arts Peeking Posieis, I remember when they came out, I just had to have them because they are so pretty... I haven't used them in a while which is a shame because I really do still like them.

Papers are by basic grey I had a real tough time using this one as I have been keeping it for a rainy day!! the greeting is an old rub on.

I made this card with a lovely friend in mind and found it very hard to part with it because I really wanted to keep it... but she loved it so I'm happy!

13th Birthday Card

I find it really hard to make male cards, simply because when I buy my stash I am always drawn to the pink & girly stuff... I look at the stash suitable for men's cards and they just don't inspire me... So I don't buy it and then when it comes down to actually making a male card I go into complete panic mode... why can't I just use pink and flowers?! Although I do have an order for a gay pink card which is going to be very interesting!!

Anyway this card is for our Nephew, he's just started to get into music in a big way Iron Maiden is god apparently!! I got sent some wonderful templates by email a few months back that I had been meaning to try out and thought this was the perfect opportunity to try them!

Basically these templates start at 11 and go up to 100 and all you have to do is print the number onto card, it shows you where to fold the card and then you cut round the number... If anyone is interested in owning a copy of this please email me as I'd be happy to email you a copy :)

The 'Iron Maiden' is decoupaged although it doesn't show up very well... he opened it whilst I was on the phone and he was very excited about it, it's wicked apparently and he wants to frame it... awww bless him!!!
I was at my Stampers 10 group last night and had a lovely time, we all made a lovely pop up card, really impressed which how easy it was, I'll pop up a piccie of mine tomorrow!

Birthday Bella

Here's a card I made for my lovely friend Kerryn, 30 today happy birthday hun!

I love my Bellas, don't have many... I really could do with some more, just have no patience in waiting for them to arrive as the last lot took nearly 7 weeks!! I've just got into stamping on patterned paper, I know a little slow and behind the times lol...

I love this paper, can you believe that it's part of the papermania range?! It has a lovely sheen to it, a friend sent me a card with this paper and I just had to get some!

The scallop circle is from one of the new Hero Arts sets and the 30 is the cuttlebug alphabet set babyface.

I Love Flower Stamps!!

I see a flower stamp and I'm drawn to it, I can't help myself lol!

Here's two cards I made the other week for a card making competition, the cards had to be female birthday but with no pink... As you can imagine I found the no pink a bit hard! :)

I've had this brown patterned paper for some time and haven't wanted to cut it as it's so pretty but I decided to be brave and take the scissors to it!!

Both cards I've used the Nestabilities scalloped circles.. and I'm into lace too now although I don't have much of it at the moment so using it is only for special cards at the moment!!

Male Birthday Card - Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all my online blogger friends!!! Lets hope 2008 is a good one for us all.... I've been quite poorly over christmas/new year... just slowly trying to get back on my feet.

Anyway first card of the year and it was a kinda OMG I've got a male card to do and I have no idea what to do type of panic this afternoon lol!!

Anyway had a little play with that lovely cuttlebug cake die and this is the fairly simple but effective card I came up with... Hope it doesn't look too girly?!

The dotty paper is HOTP (still in shock that I cut into this as it's gorgeous!) and the 'happy birthday' stamp is from the new Hero Arts clear stamp sets (yep I treated myself to a few sets!)

Loads more cards to share and you'll be impressed to hear that some don't have pink on lol!!

Birthday card... and it's pink!!

Well I couldn't not post another pink card... sorry I know I need to use some other colours, I just can't help myself, I just always reach for pink... I just love this cuttlebug cake die, one of my best buys! The swirly bits of the icing have glitter on them so it really sparkles, the photo doesn't really show it up.

You'll be pleased to hear I have hardly made any pink christmas cards...

Birthday Cake

Oooh no not another brown and pink card I hear you say lol... sorry!! I know I need to start using all my other colours but pink is my safety net!!

Love my new cuttlebug cake die, think it looks like the doodlebug style, love this paper too, it's from the glitterpot.

I promise the next card I show will not be pink.. gulp!!!

hmmm Blonde Moments!!

I'm into pink & brown again... The flower is coloured using Blonde Moments pearl powders, they were a last minute purchase from Ally Pally after admiring them every time I went!

They are fantastic, you use a perfect medium ink pad to stamp with then brush on the powder, to seal it all you do is spritz a bit of water onto area and let it dry, you can also use them like paints too... the photo really doesn't do them justice as they shimmer!

Gatefold Birthday Card

This card was inspired by a challenge from Kerryn... I've never really done a gatefold card before so this was a bit of a challenge for me lol!

The flowers are stamped using those Blonde Moment flower stamps and the 'happy birthday' was done from Doodlebug rub on's. The sentiment inside the card is from a DCWV quote pack. The papers were all from Capture The Magic... found it hard to cut into these as I really like them but it was worth if for a very special friend!