Happy Fathers Day

I finally managed to incorporate the Page Plans sketch (my only challenge this week :() into a Father's Day card for my dad from my kids. This weeks sketch was by Chris

I used another one of my Penny Black images stamped for me by Jo from Only Joking and coloured it with Prismas and Sansador (I think I'm getting the hang of them now-I just wish they wouldn't break when they are sharpened.) and double mounted him onto pale blue and silver card. The papers, faux ribbon and round stickers are all by Papermania. Sorry about the wonky scan LOL My batteries in the camera were dead so I had to scan them quickly as my parents came over yesterday. I can't rescan them cos they went home with them!

This is my card from DH and myself.

I love this image from The Stamp Boutique as it sums my dad up perfectly! He is quite difficult to make cards for as he doesn't have any hobbies. papers on this one are by the English Paper Company and K & Co. Dad is a Sizzlit die.

I can also reveal my second Di Hickman challenge card as a guest designer. This is the template

I made this one for a friend who got married a couple of weeks ago. The papers are from one of the K & Co wedding mat stacks, die cuts are Sizzix, the bride and groom was cut for me by a friend on her Robo and the card was finished off with white organza ribbon from Ribbon Oasis

That's me off back to work now. I have a couple more commissions to slip in amongst the wedding stationery so will hopefully be able to incorporate a couple of challenges.

Time flies!

I seem to be losing track of the days at the moment and am having to ask all the time what day it is. It might be an age thing (;)) but I think it's down to lack of sleep. I'm getting by on five hours a night at the mo and my body is desperately telling me it needs eight LOL. I haven't done any h****w**k or ironing for a couple of weeks now as time is passing me by. DH and the kids are looking after the house and I'm managing to take an hour or so off to cook and eat my tea and that's about it. Don't get me wrong, it's not a complaint, I have the best job in the world :) Where else can you just take work outside and sit in the sun all day ;) I even sent my mum home yesterday armed with large sheets of card, Big Shot and some dies so she can cut the letters for me for one of my orders. I'm also trying to organise her a surprise birthday bbq for next month which isn't easy when I keep having to hide things so she doesn't find them (invitation componants etc ;)). Which leads me nicely into my 'show and tell'The invitations for mum's birthday party :) The stamp is by Art Impressions and she is called Eunice, which just so happens to be my mum's name (she is so going to choke me when she sees them - I have made her a spare to keep in her keepsake box). I stamped her with black Versafine and paper pieced her using Papermania pink papers.

Next up are a couple of commissions which needed to be done this week. The first is for an ardent Doncaster Rovers supporting son of a very good friend.

Striped paper on the numbers is Pink Petticoat and they were cut by hand. Only after I had stuck it to the card (using foam pads) did I realise that the stripes should be horizontal and not vertical. Sorry Rovers. Football, scarf and Rovers stamps are from One Four Zero and were part of my prize last year from Papercraft Essentials. They were all stamped with a red chalk pad. Letters are Wingo Zingo.

The second card is for mum's birthday. I am well ahead of myself now, thank goodness.

It's a gatefold accordian card IYSWIM. We have Eunice again and again she has been stamped and paper pieced. Numbers are again cut bu hand and this time i used some more left overs. Sentiment is a Papermania rub on, Mum is Wingo Zingo cut from silver mirri card, flowers are from ebay and the pearl brad is also Papermania

I hope you like so far. If you do, please don't just look and run, leave me a comment. It's lovely seeing who my visitors are and where they have come from.

Feeling hot, hot, hot

Wow, aren't we blessed with the weather here in the UK at the moment, it should stay like this until about the middle of December. I worked from seven am yesterday until lunch time then decided that I would go outside and potter tidying the greenhouse etc..............Well, eight hours later, the garden had been weeded to within an inch of it's life and all the bedding plant finally got planted. DH brought me some more home today, not sure if my poor old body can stand a repeat of yesterday just yet! I spent this afternoon sat on the patio making some bridal jewellery for a commission. He he, I have an open air studio.

Here we go with Friday's work

Today or was it yesterday (Monday) is or was, lol, a very special friend's birthday and as I couldn't think what to buy her, I settled on a Teaching Assistant's Survival Kit containing all the usuals eg vodka, chocolate, ear plugs etc and some lovely smellies. To say she was pleased with it is an understatement. Happy Birthday Annette :)

I have a few more bits and bobs to show but I am going to hit the sack and will be back to show them tomorrow at some point. I haven't done any challenges but have made some cards.

Till tomorrow. xx

My first reveal

I am oh so chuffed to be a guest designer on Di Hickman's blog for the month of June and my first card went live on Di's blog last night so I can now show it here.

I thought the sketch lent itself perfectly to a 'bookmark card'. Again I used my fabby Summer pad from Three Bugs, the ribbon is from one of the brilliant kits that Bea & Stu sell on the Ribbon Oasis web site, I've had the verse on my lap top for so long that I can't remember where it came from but the stamp at the top is by Rubbadubbadoo I backed the bookmark onto orange card and laminated it before adding the yellow fibres. The whole think was fastened to the front of the card with a foam pad, I did try using a repositionable tape runner but it kept falling off! I finished it off with a couple of brads from my stash.

Blog Candy

Last minute Lizzie as usual! I meant to do this card the other day when I first saw it on Jo's blog and then promptly forgot all about it. She wanted a pink card but one made specifically for her candy shout. I've just made this one hence the lateness! Anyway, Jo is giving away some fantabulous blog candy (including my very favourite Sugar Dumpling paper :)) to celebrate all the good things in her life at the mo, chiefly her DH coming home from working in Australia...........have you stopped smiling yet Missus?

So, my pink card

The scan doesn't pick up the colours properly so I will photograph it tomorrow in sunlight (hopefully) It is actually lemon and pink. So, the image is Pink Cat Studio (one of my favourite set of stamps) painted with pearly paints, the ribbons are from Ribbon Oasis flowers are Prima and others from ebay and a bit of bling finishes it off nicely.

This is a guest book I've done today too. The bride and groom are having a Liverpool themed wedding and I'm doing table names in the shape of football shirts. The seating plan will also have miniature shirts on bearing the names of some of the players!

Well, that's it for now...........I'm going to post my comment on Jo's blog.

Back soon

Page Plans

I received my gift yesterday for being a winner on the Page Plans blog a couple of weeks ago :)

I just love these little stamp sets and have several of them.................but none of these. I was so pleased when I opened my envelope, thanks very much girls :)

Today is my great nephew's third birthday. He is such a precious little thing but an absolute b****r!! LOL He was critically ill at five months with meningitis and my niece was told that if they had left it another 24 hours before taking him to hospital we would have lost him!! This is Jack

and this is the card I made him

The image was printed onto photo paper and decoupaged and his name is printed using a train font I found on my laptop whilst browsing through the fonts list for something else :)

Thanks for looking.

One, two, three

............challenges so I might just be up to date with the challenges I take part in :) I haven't even started the catch up on Just Bex yet, I think I may have to abandon May and start with June! So the first one is for Friday Sketchers # 4 by Heidi

I made this card for a forum birthday (I'm pretty sure the recipient doesn't read my blog so I'm quite safe) The backing paper is Basic Grey, the image is by Pink Petticoat, the flowers are Prima and other bits are from my stash so I'm not sure where it all came from!

My next card is for the Stamp Something challenge. This one is another sketch this time by Katharina.This card is for a friend's birthday. The papers used are by the English Paper Company, the Doodlebug paper frill is embellished with small self adhesive pearls, the flowers are Prima mounted onto silver mirri card and the sentiment is from the Stamp Boutique.

My third challenge is from Page Plans using a sketch by Renee

It's my sister in law's birthday in a couple of weeks so I thought I would get ahead as I am really busy with weddings and planning a surprise 70th birthday party for my mum. The papers are by Brenda Pinnick and were party of the fabby blog candy I won on Kath's blog The flowers are a mix of Papermania and Prima and the sentiment is a rub on.

My final card doesn't use a challenge but I thought I would show it anyway LOL It's a commission for a friend's son's 30th birthday.

I used my lovely 3 Bugs paper pad again (shock horror!) The waves under the kayak/canoe (not sure which it is :)) were done in Word Art and it actually says '30 today'. The die cuts are by Sizzix I think. This is the first time I've used any of them. I bought the packs when I first started card making about 5 years ago and finally opened the packet yesterday *blush*.

Back to work now, thanks for looking.

Papermania two in one!

Challenges/Dares that is. I've managed to combine the Daring Cardmakes challenge from Tuesday (This week we are looking at the 3rd Anniversary and traditional and modern gifts for the 3rd Anniversary is:-Leather or crystal/glass) with Di Hickman's blog sketch from WednesdayDH is working tonight and is DJing at a civil partnership function so this is the card I made for him.

Backing paper and squares are cut from the Exquisite Paper Collection 6 x 6 pad by Papermania, flowers are by Prima with little pearls in the centres ( a la DCM dare-glass!) tiaras and hearts are Quickutz cut from mirri card and the sentiment was generated on the pc.

I've made a couple more cards this week but can't show them yet as they are for the next four weeks sketches on Di's blog. Wait till you see them, they are fab!!

I am in the process of finishing 108 place cards for a wedding order then I need to make a birthday card for my great nephew who will be 3 on Tuesday and make a 30th birthday card for an order from a friend who wants anything to do with kayaking for her son!!!

Page Plans

I've just completed my card for the Page Plans weekly sketch so I thought I'd better upload it before I forget! I've also finished the few Father's Day cards for the shop so I can kill two birds (well three) with one stone :)

The papers and flower are from the My Mind's Eye kit I bought last week. They are just gorgeous :) The sentiment is a rub on and I finished the cards with self adhesive pearls.

The stamps are from one of the mini sets by Tanda Stamps and I have to admit it's the first time I've used them although I bought them last year *oops* The papers are from the Basic Grey 6 x 6 boxer pad.

My last card is one I made on Saturday for a couple of business acquaintances who got married on Sunday. DH DJ'ed at the reception.

The stamp is by Elzybels and a bit of colour was added using Sakura glitter pens.

Monday, Monday

.........and boy can we tell it's a bank holiday here in the UK. What a miserable windy day. I shall cheer myself up a little later with a bit of beading me thinks :) DH has gone to work today and is having a day off later in the week so hopefully we will be able to get out for a while. We might just head to the coast for fish and chips and a donut..............how very British LOL

I've done another couple of challenges over the weekend as I needed a couple more Father's Day cards. The first is from Friday Sketchers Sketch 3

and Stamp Something whose remit was The challenge this week is "Faux Something." We'd like to see you fake us out with your clever faux creations! There are so many different techniques out there, give one a try. Check out the samples made by our design team for some inspiration. We tried faux stitching, faux silk, faux leather, faux linen, faux ribbon and faux metal. My "faux something" are the chipboard letters spelling the word "DAD" They are cut from two layers of card topped off with a layer from one of the K & Co mat pads. The other papers are Three Bugs, page frill is Doodlebug and the star is Cherry Arte.

The next two cards are to pop round to the shop in the morning. Both images were coloured with my Prismas and Sansador and the little rugby player charm is made from shrink plastic. The papers and ribbon are all from my scrap box.

Daring Friday

Only just!! I finally managed to get the dare card done on the same day as the dare is posted :)

It's Sue's turn to set the challenge this week...............I’m sure that most of us girlies had a bead box when we were little and if you were like me, would spend hours sorting and swapping them with friends. Come to think of it, things haven’t changed that much because I still have a box of beads and I’m hoping that you do too.For my dare this week I would like you to make a card that incorporates beads somewhere in the design…..it’s as easy as that!It can be one bead, lots of beads, big beads, and small beads, whatever you like as long as there’s at least one on your card somewhere.

I was playing around with my new Prisma coloured pencils and Sansodor and this is the first image I coloured. The paper is from my new 3 Bugs pad which came the other day and I bought the fishy beads about three years ago and opened them this evening for this challenge! The 'wave' (not scalloped :)) page frill is by Doodlebug.

Have a great weekend.

Yesterday............

....all my troubles seem so far away :) I won't sing any more, the weather is glorious and I'd hate to make it rain!
Last night I realised that I hadn't made a birthday card for DH's niece who's birthday it is on Tuesday so had to be quick as it had to be in the post this morning. Thanks to Di Hickman's sketch for this week I managed it.

Paper is from the English Paper Company and the die cuts are Quickutz and Sizzix with the cake being paper pieced.

I had a client come to collect some jewellery yesterday evening so I can show it here now.

The lady was thrilled with them. She is going to a wedding next week and has the most stunning lilac dress and wanted jewellery to match.

Right, back to work now as I have a client coming at 10. Whatever you are up to this bank holiday weekend, have a fab one..................I'll be working on and off.

Thanks for looking.

Blog Candy

Look what I've got through the post!

I would like to say a huge thank you to Kath for all this wonderful candy. As well as the Brenda Pinnick album there are papers, chipboard letters, embellishments, flowers, buttons, ribbons and fibres! Wow, it's fab.

I also got a couple of little bits yesterday from A Card 4 U

3 Bugs paper pad, Just Dreamin kit from My Minds Eye and some Bazzill card. Oh and some card bags (my mum wanted a corner rounder which was £4.50 and it was free p & p over £25, so naturally I had to make the order up! LOL) Prisma pencils and blending stumps were from ebay :) I am very pleased with my little lot but I know it will stay in the drawer for a while for a couple of reasons..............1. I am too busy to do any proper crafting (I mean which hasn't been ordered) an 2. i have loads of paper pieces still which I'm trying to use up.

Have to go back to work now as I have appointments right through to 5 today. If you come to look, please let me know by leaving a comment even if you don't like my work. It's just lovely to see where my visitors come from :)

More, more, more!

First up is the sketch challenge from Di Hickman's blog last Wednesday...........slightly late but it's here ;)Blooms are Prima and Papermania, paper is K & Co and the white card has been Cuttlebugged, ric rac and ribbon from stash.

Next is the Daring Cardmakers challenge from last Friday which was set by Mel and she said 'I've based my dare on the book by Graeme Base called 'Animalia' (just because that book happened to be sitting near my desk when I realised it was my turn for the dare this week).
So, all you have to do is create a card featuring an animal.'

Paper is Sugared by Basic Grey and one of the wedding pads by K & Co, lovebirds stamp is by Pixiedust on ebay and the greeting is a rub on. I'm not sure if birds are classed as animals or just birds so just in case they're not, there are a couple of giraffes on the paper! LOL

And the next one please is another lovely template. This time it's from Friday Sketchers

Papers this time are Basic Grey and Dovecraft, paper frills are by Doodlebug, flowers are Prima and the image was stamped by my lovely friend Jo at Only Joking

I've also managed a couple of challenges from Just Bex Challenge 4 was set by Sarah and was to make a gift bag from a brown paper envelope. This is my first attempt but will definitely give this another go It also fits this week's challenge on the new Stamp Something blog which says For this week, create a little something to say thank you. It's a phrase we say all the time, but sometimes you just need to show people you really mean it. It can be a card, a gift, a scrapbook page or what ever. Just a little something to say thank you!

And last but not least, a couple of cards from Leigh's template challenge on JB.

I missed the challenge weekend by a mile but with the help of the templates etc I've managed to get a couple of anniversary cards made for the shop tomorrow :) Papers again are Papermania and K & Co, flowers are Prima, sentiment is a Lettraset rub on and everything else is from my stash.

So now back to jewellery making and wedding stationery and I will need to get to bed before the dreaded one o'clock like last night as I am at the shop again tomorrow.

Back soon, thanks for looking. xx

Card Sketches and templates

I think I've mentioned before how I love sketches :) and as I have a pile of cards to make today, I thought I would take advantage of all the new sketches/templates posted on some of the challenge blogs and forums. The first one I finished at 12.45 this morning!It was Chris's turn this week to provide the sketch and it is brilliant as usual. Have a hop over to the Page Plans blog and see some of the DT cards, they are fab!

This card is part of a three card order. One to a granddaughter and two to the little girls from the dogs. This is the first. The paw was copied ruffly (sorry!) from a paw print rubber stamp and enlarged on the photocopier. Papers are Basic Grey, English Paper Company and DCWV, the name is spelt out in silver coloured brads and the sentiment was done on the PC.

I will be back later as I have quite a few cards to make as I have a day off from the salon, then tomorrow is my last day as my friend will be back at work on Wednesday.

TFL xx