Love is in the air.

In a recent crafting spree I made the first engagement card I have made in years! It's a simple design but I really like it. I've even managed to source some square cellophane bags that fit so I can package all my cards securely - hoorah!

I like the craft cards as a base, I think they make a nice background. I just bought some kraft Christmas papers which which will be making their way onto cards in the very near future. Watch this space!

PS - This card is available in my shop. Don't forget I am all about one-offs so when it's gone, it's gone!

x

Christening card order

Someone on Facebook was asking if anyone knew someone who would make a personalised card for her Godsons Christening and my friend very kindly put my name forward. We sent messages back and forth discussing what she would like and how much I sell for and when the card was ready she offered to come and collect it. Usually I make cards for people I know or make generic cards to sell at fairs so this was novel making a card for a customer I'd never met!

 

I kept the design simple using blues for a boy. I added a small cross brad to show the significance of the occasion without being too religious. 

I've also come to the realisation I don't have enough blue craft supplies so have the perfect excuse to go shopping! :)

Happy 30th Birthday, Tracey!

This morning I had some free time on my hands so I finally got round to making a card for my friend who reaches the big 3-0 milestone next week! She's an avid baker and makes delicious cupcakes, so I thought I would use that as the theme for her card. I chose my main feature and built up around that.

The card itself and the pearl embellishments are Hobbycraft own brand. The yellow spotty paper is Dear Lizzy Neapolitan paper pad for American Crafts. All other pieces are from Party Day paper par by Crate Paper. This pad was really good value for money as there are sheets with all kinds of different pieces that can be cut out and used individually.

I'm really happy with how this card turned out. It's pretty and bright, and is grown up but still fun. I really hope she likes it.

xx

Mrs. & Mrs!

Today my friend from teacher training Louise got married to her fiancee Kelly! I am currently getting ready to go to the Reception but thought I would quickly stop by and share with you the card I have made for them. Their wedding theme is vintage with lace, cream and dusty pink so I tried my best to make a card that would match.

What do you think? I bought the dresses from Ebay but everything else I already had in my stash :) I had an idea of how it wanted to turn out and I think this exceeds my own expectations! The butterflies definitely finish it off, it looked a bit plain without them. I hope the girls like it! Well, I'd better finish getting ready and have something to eat. See you later!! x

My Latest Designs

I have made good use of some of my time off and finally got my crafting table back out. It felt so good :) I got out all of my goodies that I haven't really used yet and set to work. I made quite a few cards and am planning another craft-a-thon in the next few days.

First, I used my 'Woodland Folk' papers and brads and I used a sentiment from a Popcorn the Bear stamp set. Then I moved onto my 'Bazoo' papers and flower embellishments. I wanted to match them up with my Kanban zoo animals stamps, I think I will do that on my next craft day! Finally I got out my rather plentiful supply of Tea House papers, stickers, brads and embellishments. I absolutely love this range! I've been keeping it for best which seems a bit silly now. Last but not least, I bought some toppers from Hobbycraft a while ago as they realy caught my eye and best of all - they were on offer!! This is such a sweet range. I used a topper of a woam in a bath full of bubbles on a card for my Mam as she is always in the bath!

I'm planning a special project at the moment too. It's hard for me to keep it under wraps I just want to talk about it all the time! I really hope it works out :)

Bee Happy :)

Yesterday I went to my old, old office to deliver a custom card for an ex-collegue. It was so strange being back in the office but it was nice to see everyone and catch up with them. The card I was asked to make was for Lisa to give to her friend to cheer her up a bit and let her know she's being thought about. The brief was a cute buble bee and the phrase "bee happy", so here is what I came up with;

Once I found the perfect bee I knew I wanted to use pastel blue and yellow. I sat for a while with my craft supplies and remembered I had the Bazoo flowers, so I tipped them all out onto the table and found the perfect combination to add to the bottom of my card. I used a black promarker to make the dotty trail for the bee and to add a little extra to the inside I stamped a flower in the bottom right corner and used my promarkers to colour it in. I was pleased with how this card turned out but Lisa was delighted!!! A job well done I'd say :)

Special 1st birthday card

My friend's baby turns one on the 12th of this month - I can't believe he is a year old already! I remember her being pregnant and getting bigger each time I saw her, and I remember the day I got a text message with a picture of a new-born baby boy in it. Ive watched him grow and change and he's quite the little boy now! And he's got a gorgeous smile!! =D

Anyway, I've just made time to sit and make him a card so I thought I'd share it with you.

There's a monkey in the bottom right as Linsey always calls him Monkey so I thought it was cute :) I've bought him a Raa Raa the Noisey Lion little library because last time we went out Linsey bought him a Raa Raa rucksack to hang on the buggy with all his bits and pieces in and she got waaaaaaaaay too excited when she saw it lol! And I've got him a nice little shirt which I know he will look lovely in. I'm going to the shops a bit later to get a little something for her to congratulate her on her first year of motherhood :)

I've just text her to tell her I've got some presents to bring over and she's invited me to his birthday tea party so I'm chuffed! That's my Tuesday night sorted =D x

When 2 say "I do"

Today I sat in a beautiful church and watched my friend get married to his beautiful bride, it was lovely! I designed a card expecially for them so I thought I would share it with you.

Just underneath the hearts I have the bride and grooms initials, they just catch the light and give a little bit of interest to the card without taking away from the design too much. It was a lovely day and so nice to catch up with some friends :)

Extra special birthday cards

I've had a really productive morning so far. I've completely finished two birthday cards for my Grandma, one from my parents and one from my brother and I. I think they're two of my favourite cards! And they just sort of happened, without loads of time thinking about what to use or planning a design. Sometimes I think cards that are made this way are the best. Anyway, here is how they turned out:

I feel so proud of these haha! My parents love them and I know my Grandma will just adore them. You can't really tell in these photos, but the Grandma card has "generations of love" and "hugs and kisses" written on it, and on the Mam card it has the definition of 'cherish'.

I love it when I have a lot of nice things to use that match so well! It makes life much easier =)

xx

Craft-a-thon

I was on a roll yesterday! I'd left my craft table out and decided the night before last to get up and spend as much time as possible making cards and anything else that took my fancy. And boy, did I get crafty! I decided to throw in the towel at 6pm when I was stiff from sitting and had a big mess to clean!! I made 12 of my small cards and one large card. I used up a lot of pieces I'd had hanging around and I felt great =)

I had a lot of fun putting these together and felt so proud when I looked across and saw them all standing on the desk looking all colourful and nice =) Planning on another day like yesterday in the VERY near future!

xx

Saturday = crafty day

After lunch I decided to get my craft stuff out since I haven't made anything in ages! I knew I wanted to make a couple of cards with my Dovecraft "Tea House" goodies and then just generally mess about a bit. For some reason I seemed to be struggling with ideas (maybe because I'm tired?) so only made 1 additional card. I have discovered I need more practice with stamps though, so that's something I will work on next time =)

Tea themed card

Cupcake themed card

And a cute little lamb card made with my Kanban stamps.

As well as realising I need more stamping practice, I realised something about brads and my crop-a-dile = You can only punch so far into the card! I had to pierce the card with a pair of scissors so now it looks a little messy on the inside =( Hey, it's a learning curve!!

xx

Craft time =)

Yesterday I got all my craft stuff out and set to making some bookmarks and cards. When my parents were away I spent FAR too much time on Ebay looking at crafty things to purchase and looking for new ideas to try out. I bought heaps of charms and little phone charm straps (and didn't really spend a lot of money - chuffed!) and decided to use them instead of, or even as well as, the ribbon on my bookmarks. I'll attach them to cards as well as I love cards with wee charms on. So, here are the fruits of my labour;

A thank you card with one of my newest stamps

A cute giraffe card with another new stamp I couldn't resist from Hobbycraft. (Bought the paper a few weeks ago on Ebay - perfect match!!)

And a "hugs n fishes" card I made with some stamps I received with Papercraft magazine!

Handbag bookmarks with little handbag charms attached.

A custom made, 2-sided bookmark with a little teapot charm, made for one of my Mam's friends

A little woodland bookmark with an Owl charm

And another custom order for my Mam's best friend. This also has an owl on it!

What do you think? It felt good to have a bit of a creative streak again =)