Happy new year

Good morning everyone, I hope everything is ok on this very miserable (the weather in Scruff's Corner!) last day of December 2013. Will you be making any resolutions this year? I haven't made any for years except for a couple which I kept to myself in case I broke them lol....do they count or do you have to tell people what they are? One thing I would like more than anything (except for the obvious one's like no more rain on the poor flooded people, jobs for all etc) I would really like it if someone could make the year go a little slower than this year, I can't believe how fast 2013 disappeared!

y

Happy

New Year

2014

 t 

Before I disappear again to make a seating plan for the Holiday Inn's Gala Night tonight I would just like to let you know that the winners have been chosen over on the Crafting Muskateers blog....why not hop over, it might be you :)

I hope you have a lovely safe and warm night tonight and that 2014 is your year to make your wishes come true. xx

  

Handmade wedding invitations

This is the reason I love my job so much  (as well as having a warm and cosy craft room at home so not having to venture outside when the weather is lousy) but I get to play weddings and meet the nicest couples/brides and bridesmaids/families and they like my work enough to let me have one of the main roles in their weddings. I feel completely honoured to be lucky enough to make the stationery for them :) 

I would like to add at this stage that we, Party Nights Creations have a sale on at the moment. If you order your day and/or evening invitations during the month of December you will receive a discount of 10% as seen in Wedding Ideas.

I had another invitation order collected on Wednesday morning and another happy bride, thank you Catherine.

I made a seating plan, guest book and favours with name tags for the wedding on Saturday for Sue and Paul

and some more Thank You cards for Judith and Howard

and I also made some cards for the new Kathy's Waffle challenge which goes live tomorrow.
Thanks for dropping by and I'll see you later.

Crafting Muskateers

Good morning all :) I would like to say a great big thank you from all of us on the DT for your wonderful support in taking part in our Crafting Muskateers challenges.

Before I reveal the new challenge I'd like to let you know who the winners are. The over all winner was 

No 8.....Starcyl

and the top three, who were this month chosen by Avril, were

No 18 Linda Simpson

No 37 Anna Marie and

No 78 Rina M

Congratulations all!

So onto this month's challenge.....the theme is

Layer It Up

and we very lucky to be sponsored by Hunky Dory who have donated a lovely prize

I would like to wish you all the best for the busiest month of the year, I cannot wait to see what everyone comes up with and this is my contribution (I hope you like it!)

It's from a kit I bought about 3 years ago (maybe even longer) and I've really struggled with it. Now I've had a jolt I may be able to use it a bit more :) 

Thanks for dropping by.

Aspire Crafts

Just a quick note

Today's Aspire Crafts on Create and Craft times have changed to 12pm and now 4pm so

one hour earlier than scheduled....

. 

Don't forget to get those emails in .......

Bits and pieces

There is still time to enter the challenge over on Kathy's Waffle Sketch File using another one of Kathy's brilliant sketches. Just a pointer to something you may or may not know, if you get stuck for some inspiration, all of the sketches will still be on the Sketch file and you should be able to access them by clicking on the names in the right hand column of the blog.

First the sketch

 

and now, my cards

The sketches are free to use, and but please, when you use them remember to give the Sketch File the credit and add a link back to it.

Thanks again xx

What's on your Workdesk Wednesday

Good morning everyone, writing this post this morning is very distracting as I have five burley men erecting scaffolding so they can do some work for us! (and breathe ;))

So my photo today is for the lovely lady Julia who runs the Stamping Ground blog and WOYWW. She made a comment about my desk... 

"I don't get it - I publish my mess weekly and yet you say it's too embarrassing for you - now is that you have higher standards or I've no pride?!!"

...so this week I'm going to show her what mess really is lol 

and yes, a good proportion of that lot was on my desk, probably some of it for months so now you see why I couldn't bring myself to show it :) It might, however get that way again as I really don't have the time to spend tidying up at the mo ;) 

Yes Julia, that was my daughter's IPad mini in the pink case. it can be bought from ebay. It's actually cut out and foiled rather than sparkly but it's very pretty and it reflects the light beautifully.

This is my desk just now, eek lol

Thanks for dropping by :)

Aspire Crafts

Good morning everyone

Just had the brilliant news that we are back on Create and craft.tv today 27th at 12 

noon and 5pm with our Vintage Bloom Collection

. 

Hope you will be able to join Cheremane for lots of demos and inspiration.

Another one of the DT cards I made from the Vintage Bloom kit.

Aspire Crafts

Well today in Scruff's Corner we have the perfect weather for staying in, in front of the tv, and watching the new shows on Create and Craft (Channel 675 on Sky) by Aspire Crafts. There are two further shows on Ideal World (Ideal World sky 644 freeview 22) at 3pm and 5pm. There are some fab demos and some wonderful samples....the DT have been so busy!

I'm so excited seeing my work on TV again.
Back later, need to watch the show :) x

What's on your work desk Wednesday?

Good morning from our very soggy corner of the world, I hope you are all ok.

I can't believe it's so long since I took part in this..it has probably been because my desk has just been such a tip I was too embarrassed to show it, yes, this has been tidied  :)

The cards you can see are to be finished and packed for Friday and the seating plan is the next thing on my list.

Pop over to Julia's Stamping Ground and see some more desks from around the world :)

Thanks for dropping by xx

Free p and p

If you fancy investing in the gorgeous goodies I used for my Aspire Crafts design team cards then you can order any time this month and get free p and p on all orders to the UK mainland and Scotland. This usually only applies to orders of £20.00 and over, any orders below this are usually subject to a carriage charge of £4.99.

The Vintage Bloom goodies are worth getting your hands on as are the DekroMounts, in fact I'm doing my order as I write this post :)

If you hop over to the Aspiring Crafters' blog and the Aspiring Crafters' Facebook page, Fran is introducing the design team this week.

Thanks for dropping by. xx

The winner, top three and a new challenge

in the Crafting Muskateers challenge Christmas in October are as follows

No 32.....Marlene who was chosen by Random.org and wins the fab set of Promarkers

and the top three were chosen by poor Nicola (it gets harder to choose every month as there are so many amazing entries.

No 10.........Elena
No 24 ........Alexandra
no 150........Joyce

So onto the new challenge for November. This month the challenge is being sponsored by Little Claire and theme is Pretty Pastels and here is the very generous prize which is up for grabs!

And now onto my card

I've used an image from the Little Claire web site and the papers are really old ones from when I was on Debbi Moore's DT years ago. I coloured the image with Promarkers and added lots of iridescent glitter and a piece of blue ribbon and Bobs your uncle!

Thanks for dropping by and good luck with your entry to our challenge, I can't wait to see what you make :) 

Aspire Crafts

I am absolutely chuffed to little mint balls to be asked to be on the Design Team for the very new Aspire Crafts.

A rather large parcel arrived on my doorstep on Monday morning and this is what I found when I opened it.....

This is the Vintage Bloom collection and it is absolutely beautiful and the quality is excellent. I had to have a play with it straight away and have been dipping into it all week in between other work! Here are my 'makes' so far

I have added a few flowers and feathers and a couple of bits of ribbon but everything else is what was in my parcel. You really need to take a look at the web site because you will be amazed at some of the stash on there.

We have a Facebook page called Aspiring Crafters and there is also an Aspire Crafts  blog where you can keep up with all the goings on and up to date news from Aspire.

Well that's it for tonight folks, see you tomorrow and thanks for dropping by.

Witty titles!

Do you ever wish you could not only write fantastic content in a blog post and then come up with a witty title? Yep, me too. But where do we start? Do we begin with a witty title and hope that

1. it is going to be read by hundreds of thousands, ok, maybe thousands, hundreds, well a few anyway and
2. is picked up by major search engines

or 

Do we write the content first and then sit on it for days trying to come up with a witty title?

I would love to find out what everyone thinks.

So now as I am unable to come up with either, I shall add a couple of cards made for my brother's birthday earlier this month. The first card was made using the Kathy's Waffle Sketch File sketch (what a mouthful that was lol)

 The papers on this card were left overs from old Funky Hand projects, the ribbon was from my stock and the boat is a wonderful stamp set from the very talented Stephanie Wincott at Clearly Besotted stamps. There is still time to use the sketch over on KWSF and we would love to see what you've done with it.

This card features a pre-coloured teddy topper from Lili of the Valley and he is just so cute. The sentiment is a Kanban one and the button and twine are from my stock box.

Thanks for dropping by and I'll see you again soon :)

Waffle, waffle, waffle

We're just a little bit late with this challenge on Kathy's Waffle Sketch File, but it's not the end of the world :) I loved this sketch as soon as I saw it and have no desire to change it in any way, or should that be 'I've no desire to change it yet '. lol

Anyway, I hope you like it as much as I do and I would really love it if you would join in with us please.

The papers are from the new 'Boys Will Be Boys' downloadable kit from Funky Hand so you'll able to start playing with it as soon as you have ordered it :)

Thanks for dropping by and I can't wait to see what you make with your download.
Take care. x

New challenge

 We are now onto Challenge 6, can you believe it's 6 months since we started?  The theme this month is Christmas In October and is sponsored by Bridlington Stationers who is non other than Darren, the hubby of our very talented Nicola and here's what they are about

"Bridlington Stationers is owned by Darren Saul. Established in 1986, Bridlington Stationers Limited is a company brimming with experience. We are a customer focused business supplies company delivering over 30,000 products available on a next day delivery basis on a local and national scale.

Our commitment to personal and friendly service ensures a high level of continuity. We are here to advise, recommend and supply the office products that you need to assist in the smooth running of your business. Our aim is to save you money, save you time and give you the opportunity to buy all your office needs from under one roof."

Oh, I almost forgot, the prize for October is a pack of Promarkers.

Now for my card using my favouritest stamps :)
                                               
The stamp is from the Merry Little Christmas stamp set by Clearly Besotted Stamps, the papers are from a freebie My Mind's Eye pad which came with a magazine last year (I think), the poinsettia is a Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 2PK - Flower, Mini Daisy with gold gems in the centre and everything else is from my stash.

Thanks for dropping by and good luck with our new challenge. :)

And the winner is

Hi everyone, thank you so much for taking part in the Crafting Muskateers challenge for September, we had some fabulous entries. It was my turn to choose my top three and it was so difficult, I think I changed my mind about four times lol, still, I got there in the end.  Well done to Avril B, the winner chosen by Random.org, I hope you enjoy your fabulous prize with was donated by our very own Nicola.

 My top three are (in no particular order) Emily Shroom, 

Tina 

and  Susan I

your projects were all amazing! I hope you've contacted CM for your badges.

Thank for dropping by.

Handmade jewellery

Good morning from a rather murky Scruff's Corner this morning. I'm hoping that the sun will break through later as it did yesterday. My parents called yesterday afternoon and we sat outside and had a drink, it was lovely. Today is a gardening day.....well, I use the term gardening very loosely! I weed and plant and hubby cuts the grass but there is no method to what we do, neither of us has a clue but we muddle through and when tidy, the gardens look lovely. I'm not very sure when it comes to pruning but both our mums are keen gardeners so decent advice is only a phone call away (or there is always Google) :)

Can you believe it's October on Tuesday? This year has gone so fast. A lot of our town centre shops have some Ch******s stock in and the supermarkets are advertising the large tins of sweets at silly prices. I usually start with my cards for sale round about now (I can't seem to make any before my holiday in August....it just doesn't work for me. I have tried putting Ch******s music on but I can't muster Mr Mojo whilst the sun is shining lol The Autumn sun is different as the light changes and the nights draw in. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that if you don't see me making any Ch******s cards over the next couple of weeks then please feel free to stick you boot up my backside!! :) I need to be let off this week because I have a wedding on Friday and a wedding fayre on Sunday.

So what do I have to show this weekend, well I've done quite a bit this week but I won't show you the pictures of the ironing etc I'll just show my jewels :)

The ankle bracelets were both commissions and I used an assortment of clear crystal drops, size 11 ab crystal seed beads and size 6 silver lined clear seed beads, all bought from G J Beads in St Ives. The chain and the lobster clasps were bought from Beads Direct in Loughborough. Both places have excellent service and I think I use them about equally. I have to say though that every time we go to Cornwall my visit isn't complete unless I visit the "bead shop in St Ives" (whether I need beads or not :)

I'm now going to schedule a post for tomorrow, thanks for dropping by and I will see you soon. x

Happy birthday to you

We had two birthdays in our house last week. Hubby was.....on 12th and my baby was 20 on 14th (where have all those years gone?) I didn't get the chance to photograph them before now but they are here now :)
Yet again, it was Kanban to the rescue. I chose these sheets as he is a part time DJ :~) (I will sort out card details tomorrow).

 The next card is made using a House Mouse decoupage sheet from Joanna Sheen (via Create & Craft a few years ago) I thought of this sheet as my daughter has just qualified as a hair dresser. I'm so proud of her as she has done two two year courses in about 18 months. Well done sweetheart.

House Mouse decoupage sheet from Joanna Sheen

Sentiments by Kanban

Papers were a freebie in a craft mag ages ago

Assorted paper flowers, gems and lace from my stock

well that's all for today folks. There are 10 of us going out for a meal tonight for DD's birthday as we didn't go last week as it was Race Week last week in Doncaster and I won't go into town during that time. Also, the sun is shining and there is a slight breeze so I'm going to do a bit more ironing and go and weed my garden for what might be the last time this year. I also have some samples to make for a (not so) local hotel.

Thanks for stopping by, take care and I will see you tomorrow.

Aspire Crafts

There is lots of excitement among the girls on the Team Kanban at the moment. "Why?" I hear you ask........well, there is a new baby amongst us. Mr & Mrs Kanban have had the baby really and called it Aspire Crafts. Click on the badge below and you will be taken to the Facebook page.

Just in case you don't have Facebook, here is what was announced during the week......

"The Aspire Crafts Factory Outlet at Unit 5 Riverside Mills, Saddleworth Road, Elland, HX5 0RY will be open this Saturday 21st September 9.30 till 1pm. Come along and see some of the latest products that are coming through production! As well as a few of our new products you can also get many other brands too including Spellbinders,Graphic 45, Kanban, Indigo-Blu ,Pan Pastels, DecoArt, Dovecraft, Sweet Poppy Stencils and much more! The "official" opening will be in the next few weeks. More details to follow."

I would like to wish Karen and Keith lots and lots of luck for the future and I'm really looking forward to working with you again :)

Have a lovely day whatever you are up to and thanks for dropping by. xx

Wedding Cards

I had two wedding cards ordered last week. The first one was to be made in the wedding colours of peach, navy and ivory and Kanban came to the rescue again!

 Ingredients:

8 x 8 cm ivory card blank,

 navy blue card,

900972 Special Day by Yvette Jordan 

Kanban flower

SU punch for flowers

 8 x 8 cm blank card

901529 Papercraft Toppers from Kanban

Kanban Acetate butterfly

Silver mirri card

38mm white organza ribbon

6 x 6 cm suare card 

Lili of the Valley

Silver mirri card

red ribbon

Silver acetate butterflies from Kanban

Right, that's alll for Saturday.....I know it's actually Sunday morning but I started this post on Thursday ready to schedule it and put the pictures on, then I did something else and forgot about it. I'll now go and write the one for today :) xx

Clearly Besotted

You may have noticed my relationship with Clearly Besotted Stamps......I'm building a nice little collection of them! One of the reasons I like them is that a lot of the sets have a solid image great if you are rubbish at colouring :)) and an outline image (allowing you to colour how you want). You can see what I mean in this card

Ingredients

You Are stamps and dies

Butterfly Wishes Additions stamps and dies

Sentiment - Thinking Of You

6x6 blank card

Gems

and here is another card using CB stamps just because I like it not because it has the two stamps as mentioned above :)

Ingredients

6 x 6 blank card

hot pink card

Background stamps - Building Blocks

Stepping Out

Thanks for dropping by, back soon :)

Waffle Update

Another Tuesday has come and gone which means another card on Kathy's Waffle Sketch File using the sketch from the beginning of the month, Crest Of A Wave (whenever I see the sketch this month the old Boy Scout song starts in my head "We're riding along on the crest of a wave while the sun is in the sky.......) lol

  I used one half of a card from Craftwork Cards as the top wavy line on the front of my card. The little silver frames were cut using Spellbinders Decorative Elements Labels Eight, the flowers are from Prima, paper borders are from Doodlebug, happy birthday stamp is from Clearly Besotted and the gems are from my box.
Thanks for dropping by, back soon :)

Hand Made in Zakynthos

As always when I go on holiday I took a load of beads with me and sat on my sunbed and made jewellery :) A lady ordered three ankle chains from me so I was kept busy for the whole holiday making bracelets and ankle chains. Oh and I am so in love with beaded Kumihimo bracelets (as thought you can't tell lol)

The sun was almost too bright to take photos but even with the flash on on the camera it was a bit dark so I plumped for these.Thanks for calling by again. xx