New Home Card

Just a quick post, this is a card I made for a friend who has recently got a new flat in London.

Vintage New Home Card 

I used an old book of maps and used a heart shaped die to cut a heart round a map of London I then mounted this on some coloured cardstock. Then printed out a new home greeting and mounted this on some old map to and that was it. 

Vintage Map Card 

Super simple but super effective. 

Time for something a bit different

Its my grans birthday next week and this week I spent a couple of evenings planning and making her Birthday card.

I decided I wanted to try something a bit different and rather then using stamps with animals or people in them I would use a floral stamp. I ended up getting a digi stamp from Tiffany Doodles which is a website I have never used before but will definitely be using again.

I found a stamp with a pansy in a pot which I thought my nan would really like, it took a bit of experimenting to work out the shading with my pro markers but after a few attempts I managed to get it right. I decided to keep the card quite simple and used a recycled card blank teamed with some floral patterned paper and a piece of colored pattered paper at either corner. I then cut out the stamped image and mounted it on the card using silicone glue to give it some dimension. I printed my own greeting and distressed it using the Tim Holtz distress ink pad.

Overall I really like this card it's very different from the other cards I have made but I certainly will be using this style again.

I won :)

Sorry it has taken me a little while to post on my blog, new job and commuting into central London on a daily basis is really tiring so I haven't had as much time as I would like. I am loving my new job though so can't complain. Hopefully this really will be the start of me regularly blogging again (I know I keep saying this but going to try and stick to it this time)

So I actually won some prizes at my local craft show :) I won a first for a bookmark that I made and then a second for a greeting card and another second for a 'something new from something old'. I was really pleased the standard of entries for many of the classes was really high so it was nice to know that some of my craft has reached that standard.

I hopefully will be able to post some pictures of the things I made for the show in the next few days (I just need to find them) for now
you will have to do with a photo of my first place rosette :)

First place rosette in pride of place on notice board :) 

Can't wait to get started on next years entires.

Im back....again

Hi everyone.

So I know I have neglected my blog a lot for the last month or so, this has been because I have been super busy. I got a new job working as  Public Affairs Officer in London and last week was my first week. This has meant moving all my stuff back down South which took far longer then I thought it would I never want to move again its far too stressful.

I also am a huge Olympics fan and was lucky enough to get tickets for a lot of events and went along for some of the free events like the Cycling Road race and the Marathon swim. I will put my photos up as a separate post soon as I really did have an amazing time one of the best things I have ever done.

I have also been crafting its my local Village Show this weekend and I have entered about 6 different Craft classes and the Photography which seemed like a good idea at the time but was a bit of a rush with the new job and the Olympics. Hopefully it will pay of and the judges will like my entries.

So yes basically I'm back and hopefully will be regularly posting more of my crafting online.

Quick Card

Here's another card I made using a digi stamp from Whimsie Doodles.

Crafty Essentials

I know on quite a lot of the blogs I follow people have done posts on their top crafting products.I thought I would do a number of posts on my favorite products. One of the best things I have purchased is the ATG tape gun I have two of them actually. A pink one which dispenses a  narrower tape and yellow one which has a thicker tape.

The guns make applying double sided tape so easy and the adhesive ATG use is so strong. Its brill for all types of projects. Its one of those products I now couldn't live without I would advise people to purchase it :) quite often. I got mine here http://www.3mselect.co.uk/p-2422-scotch-advanced-tape-glider-kit.aspx and its on sale at the moment for 11.99.

I will be doing some more posts in the next few weeks on some of my other top products so keep an eye out for them.

Another Quick Card

Just another quick post this evening, here is another card I made using a whimsie doodle digital stamp. I loved this stamp when I saw it, a nice cute image and a great sentiment. 

I made a simple card by mounting the stamp on some blue card stock and then covering a 6x6 card blank in some blue paper from the potobello road collection. 

Quick Card

I have been making lots of cards using some of the Whimsie Doodle digital stamps, check them out here http://www.whimsiedoodles.com/

They are such cute images, I love them and there are regualr new releases so plenty to download. I have made about 20 or so cards using these stamps so will be sharing them with you over the next few weeks. Here is the first one of the cards which I used a cute beach pig stamp for I then teamed it with some pink papers and a pink ribbon. The card is all wrapped ready to be sold so the Ribbon looks a bit squished. Im really happy with this card though really feel like I am making progress with my cardmaking skills :)

I'm Back

So I have been really busy pretty much ever since my Birthday back at the start of May, I have still managed to find time to craft and have even been selling some craft at local craft stalls and summer fetes. I have kept meaning to blog about all the different things I have been making but just don't seem to have had chance.

Im determined to make July a month where I get back into doing my blog regularly so hopefully lots of you will still pay a visit and read what I have been up to. Hopefully I will get a chance to pop round to all your blogs too to check out the lovely things you have been making.

Fabric Pinboard

I have seen fabric pinboards everywhere this year they seem to be really in fashion. I decided rather then spending £20 on one I would have a go at making my own. 

All it took was some fabric, some ribbon, pins and a staple gun. It was super easy to make and I am really happy with the result. I think I am going to try and make some more so I can have a few around my flat to brighten it up :) 

Boofle

I love boofle I think he is such a cute character so I was really excited when boofle crafting supplies were released earlier this year.

I have some of the boofle embossing folders but so far only one stamp that came free in the last issue of Do Crafts magazine. I did a quick card with this free stamp as an experiment and I am fairly happy with the result as it was something I throw together in half an hour.

The card was done on some of the square papermania recycled card blanks. The paper used to back the image was from some freebie paper I had in a magazine ages and and the image was coloured with promarkers. I added some ribbon along the fold to give the card some extra interest. 

My First Card Swap

I joined in my first craft swap this month. The theme was green and I received the most Beautiful card from my swap partner Chrissie. 

I thought I would post it here so you can all check out this fab card. I really love the 3D cards. As well as the card Chrissie sent some beautiful ATC's featuring some lovely art deco ladies. 

Jam Making

My mum is starting her own business where she is going to sell handmade cakes, biscuits jams all sorts really.

My mum is a great cook but not very creative so I got roped in to help with designing the labels and covers for all the products.

I also made a few craft items which I will blog about in a separate post. For my jam pot covers I die cut a scalloped square out of patterned paper I then affixed a smaller plainer square which I had die cut. I attached these to the jars using my new ATG gun (my new fave toy)

I ordered some beautiful fabric of of fabricrehab which has an amazing selection of beautiful and unusual fabrics. I used this fabric to make jam pot covers which I attached with elastic cut to size. It wasn't the most interesting craft ever but I am really happy with the result.

Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary

A couple of weekends ago I went to visit my Nan who lives on the Somerset/Devon border in the middle of Exmoor, I love visiting her there it is such a beautiful part of the country so idyllic :) 

Whilst there we visited the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary where they look after sick and abandoned donkeys, you can visit there website here, and if you ever in the area I would highly recommend it as a day out. 

I thought I would share with you a few piccys of the donkeys they are soooo cute. 

Mosaic Mirror Part One

Just a quick post tonight as it's super late and I have to be up early for work. I have been making a seaside themed mirror to hang in a bathroom and tonight finished sticking the mosaic pieces to it. I still need to grout it and plan to add a few seashells but here is a sneaky peak of what it looks like so far.

Hopefully will be finishing the mirror of later this week so will post again to show the finished thing.

Decopatch Jug

I admit it I am a decopatch addict. It is such an enjoyable and easy craft. This is just a quick post to show you all my latest decopatch creation.

I got a little silver metal jug from a bootsale for 50 pence and used it here with a variety of pink papers to match the flower I put in it. Not a green fingered girl so no idea what the flower is but I think it looks pretty.

It was a gift for my aunty and she really liked it so I was pleased with the result.

Easter Cards

I had a few last minute easter cards to get finished before the bank holiday weekend and a lot of my crafty pals have told me how good craftsuprint.com is so I decided to give it a go.

There are a huge range of printable cardmaking products and kits on there and I found a huge selection of easter related bits so it was hard to make a choice. In the end I found these super cute pig decoupage and pyramid card sheets.

All you have to do is cut out the bits once you have printed them onto a good quality cardstock and then piece them together.

The website provides a huge range of different kits from simple ones like the two above to more complicated moving cards. I also made one of these and was super happy with it but I will be posting about that later in a separate post.

But yes if you are looking for a quick make card if you have left it a little too late or if your just looking for a fun and simple project I would advise checking out the craftsuprint website.

Big Shot

I was lucky enough to get an early Birthday Present of a Big Shot machine this week, I was so excited when I received it I have been wanting one for ages as I think it will help take my card making to the next level.

So far I have just been playing around with it using different dies, I have bought a variety including some nestabilities, some bigz dies and a few embossing folders. I have found it super easy to use and am loving the results.

I made a mass purchase of dies from the Sizzix website, they are having a clearance sale on and there are some unusual and interesting dies available some as cheap as a £1 I would definitely advise checking it out.

I will be posting some more details about projects I have made with the big shot later on once I have had a proper go with it. If anyone has some great tips or techniques with the bigshot then please do post below.

WOYWW 4th April

I have missed WOYWW for a couple of weeks, glad to be back this week though to have a snoop round other peoples craft spaces. If you would like to join in then head over to Julia's wonderful blog.

This week I have been finishing of my easter cards, it took me a while to get my card making mojo back as have been spending the last month or so experimenting with other crafts. I am quite happy with the card I made though as it only took a couple of hours to complete. The stamp is one I got in hobby craft a few weeks ago it's so cute!

 As you can see my desk this week is again the floor, my actual desk is in my spare room and I like to watch the TV whilst I craft so I never seem to use my actual desk, maybe I should move the desk into the living room...hmmm.

Decopatch Elephant

Today I headed off again to the bootsale, I wasn't on the hunt for anything in particular but had a brainwave when I spied some wooden elephants. I have been wanting to decopatch some small animals for a while but the cardboard shapes are so expensive its about £7 for the smallest ones. As soon as I spotted the wooden elephants I knew they would be perfect for decopatching. I bought three elephants for 50 pence each.

When I got them home I started to decopatch of them. I recently ordered about 20 different sheets of decopatch paper so I have lots of different patterns to choose from. I decided to do this elephant in the mosaic style paper as I thought it would give it an exotic feel.

I cut the paper into postage stamp sized pieces and then layered them on with the decopatch glue. Once this was dry I painted on some eyes and then varnished the whole thing.

Super happy with the result and will be on the look out for other wooden animals in future at bootsales. I am a decopatch addict it is such an easy craft and so much fun, if you haven't tried it I would advise giving it a go.

Super Cute Sock Dog

As I seem to have lost my cardmaking mojo I decided to use my free time after work today to finish making my sock dog.

I had such great fun making the sock dog, its so easy to do and I have seen lots of different patterns out there to make other animals not just dogs, variation can also be achieved by using different patterns of socks. I plan to start making lots of different animals with socks and cant wait to get started on those. Hopefully they will be a bit neater then my dog here which I have decided to call patch as the sewing is a little bit patchy to say the least!

Overall though I loved making Patch and think he is super cute!! I have now got him sat on my chest of draws by me bed :)