Friday 29 November 2019

Have a Brew Journal Page with Grunge Stamp Background

The new range of texture stamps from Claritystamp are fabulous for all kinds of projects.  For my first, I created a journal page with a magazine clipping as the focal point.

Thursday 28 November 2019

Remember: A Sympathy Card

It wasn't long after Remembrance Day when I was working with the new Tina's Flower Spray stamps and matching stencil from Claritystamp.  They seemed perfect to make a sympathy card.

Wednesday 27 November 2019

WOYWW 547: It Never Rains...

I'll be brief this week as I am still catching up with school work and sample making having been ill again at the end of last week (hence a lack of visiting).  I'd no sooner got over the flu symptoms than I was hit with a stomach bug, luckily of the 24 hour variety.  All samples are now posted and I have almost caught up with all my marking so time to join in with WOYWW and link up with Julia at The Stamping Ground to share my desk.  Great to see that Shaz is making such good progress and is out of hospital.
I was so busy making a new baby card for a colleague, that I totally forgot to take any photos of my desk until I was almost finished.  The new Dad is a Villa fan so the colour scheme was easy.
Eva actually made it over to play after an absence of a few weeks.  I thought I'd take a photo of her, as well as what she was working on, just to prove that she is still here!

She was stamping over previously created backgrounds using shaving foam, inks and stencils.  As you can see, she was far more prolific than I was in the time it took me to make one card.
This week I will be round to visit (honest), although it will be tomorrow morning as I am at work today.

Monday 25 November 2019

Shaker Card with a Difference

A friend showed me a card that she had made from an idea seen in a magazine.  I am sorry that I don't know who to thank for the original idea but I love this shaker card with a difference.

Friday 22 November 2019

Repeat Background for a Character using a Single Stamp

This card was a last minute addition to my samples for the Dee's New Friends stamps.  It turned out to be my favourite.  It shows that the large A4 stamp set can still be used to create an A5 card and I love how the background turned out using only one stamp.

Thursday 21 November 2019

Mermaid Tail Panel Card

You don't have to use the characters from the Dee's Friends stamp sets to create a card.  Here, I used the mermaid tail and bubbles from the Faith A6 set to create a panel card.

Wednesday 20 November 2019

WOYWW 546: Under the Weather

Sorry I was late visiting this week, I have been feeling under the weather and I am just glad that I had my flu jab back in September so it wasn't any worse.  It did mean that I didn't make it to Maria's workshop last Saturday which was a real shame as I always enjoy them.  There are people far worse off than me however.  I do hope that Shaz is feeling a lot better and that she is allowed home from hospital soon.
My desk is a mess.  I haven't tidied up since I made my latest Christmas card, which is about all I have done lately.  Now I have to catch up with samples and get them posted.
The finished card.  I made my own patterned paper to create the folded Christmas tree.  If you are interested in the details, pop back on Saturday when I will be sharing the step by step.  Not sure if I'll have time to visit before the weekend as I have deadlines to meet and a lot of catching up to do.  Please pop over to the Stamping Ground for desks far more interesting than mine to visit.  Happy WOYWW.

Wednesday 13 November 2019

WOYWW 545: Wet, Wet, Wet

I do hope everyone is safe from the awful floods that have hit the UK during the last week.
I suddenly realised yesterday that I had very few finished Christmas cards and decided to complete a few that I had started at a workshop (I always spend more time chatting than crafting lol).  The ones at the back are ones I made myself.
Hubby's back operation went well on Monday, however his discharge was a different kettle of fish.  I had a text off him to say he needed an X-ray before being discharged and then another one shortly afterwards to say that the hospital had been flooded and there was no electricity.  At the time of writing this yesterday afternoon, I still don't know what is happening, just that his ward may be evacuated. 
The sneak peek top right is the card I was working on last week.  Hopefully it will be shown on Hochanda at 12pm or 4pm today.  If not, check back on Friday as I shall be sharing the step by step then.  Happy WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday) everyone.  Further details and desks can be found on The Stamping Ground where we link up with Julia each week. 
UPDATE Hubby home from hospital, sore but walking under his own steam.

Sunday 10 November 2019

Friday 8 November 2019

A Glittery Birthday Card: Coloured over the Glitter

I made this card for our eldest son's birthday.  I hope he   likes it, even with all the glitter lol.  It is a technique that I have seen Paul Church and Barbara Gray use a great deal and it works wonderfully well with a pretty designer paper.

Thursday 7 November 2019

Autumn Tag

When set four of the Distress Oxide inks came out last year, I used them to create backgrounds on four different #8 manilla tags.  Later I turned them into tags representing the four seasons (see HERE).  At the time, however, I could only finish off the Spring and Summer tags, as only those words  had been brought out by the Clarity New Design stamp club.  This month, however, Autumn was added to the collection, so I finished my third tag.

Wednesday 6 November 2019

WOYWW 544: Back into Routine Already!

Sadly I'm back to writing this post on a Tuesday afternoon ready for joining in with WOYWW on a Wednesday morning.  The half term simply flew by.  I spent a happy week in my craft room, finished off with Friday at the NEC (see HERE for more). 
My desk shows the start of a sample for a show with Maria next Wednesday, sorry I can't show you more yet, but I will try to remember to include a picture of the finished piece next week.
inside the Advent book

The front cover
As you can see, I finished the Advent book that I started at a workshop with Maria Moorhouse in time to give to #2 son and his girlfriend.  They hosted a spectacular family firework party at their house last Saturday which we all attended.  He was super safety conscious and had even purchased the electronics necessary to set the fireworks off remotely.  The children in the houses round about enjoyed it too, looking through the bedroom windows.

Happy WOYWW everyone, I'll be round to visit in the morning as I will be at work late today (meeting night).

Tuesday 5 November 2019

Batch Making Bauble Cards

Having watched Barbara Gray demonstrating this technique with the two way overlay bauble sets at the NEC recently, I decided to try it out and batch make some Christmas cards.


Monday 4 November 2019

A Highly Recommended Workshop


Today's blog post is a little different.  I am not sharing a step by step, although I have taken plenty of close up photos of my finished project, because the idea is not mine but belongs to Maria Moorhouse.  I do have her permission to share pictures of my finished project  I can highly recommend her monthly workshops at Shrewsbury, Catterick and Preston where she shares ideas for cards and mixed media projects and she will be holding a Groovi workshop in January in Shrewsbury for the first time.  We always complete at least four card projects during each workshop.
Although I finished this project at home, I took everything that I needed to finish it away from last month's workshop with me and had completed the bulk of the work there.


It is an Advent Book and holds chocolate gifts for December for my son and his girlfriend who hosted an amazing family firework party at the weekend.
I can't recommend Maria's workshops highly enough for value for money and fabulous ideas.  She can be contacted via Facebook if you would like to book a place or find out more about her workshops. 

Sunday 3 November 2019

A Crafty Day Out at the NEC 2019

I hadn't planned on going to the autumn Craft Show at the NEC this year.  For tickets and transport you are looking at a spend of £30-£40 before you even get through the doors.  However, as I won a pair of free tickets through HixxySoft, I decided to go for a day after all.  It gave me an opportunity to catch up with friends, drop off some samples for Claritystamp and get hold of some stamps that I was after.

Friday 1 November 2019