Handmade Paper Flowers

Just a quickie for tonight. I made this card a couple of weeks ago for a lady. It's the only female card I've made just recently. I've been concentrating on making men's cards as I struggle to get inspired. Women's cards seem to be much easier!This paper was part of a free download set from Tinker & Co. I really love these colours at the moment. I've made the flower myself using my nestabilities and an embossing tool. I inherited quite a lot of handmade papers a while ago, but never really used them. They are perfect for making flowers with though. To finish I've added a Craftwork Cards sentiment on foam pads, to the middle of the flower and a few teal adhesive stones. I might make some more like this! It only took a few mins to make too!

Christmas Candles & Memo Block or Post It Note Holders

Today, I've been experimenting with a post it note box or memo block holder that I saw on Betty's Blog. She has lots of fantastic tutorials for boxes and gifts etc. Do take a look if you get a moment. I've tried to follow her instructions, but have adjusted the measurements according to the size of my memo pads, which I bought from Wilko's for 36p each! I've tried flipping the papers and cardstock on this version to give it a slightly different look.

As my first attempts they are a little big rough around the edges and could do with a little bit more refinement! However, they were really quite easy to make.

I seem to be having some sticky issues just lately!!! Firstly my bauble money holders wouldnt stay stuck down when money was placed inside them, so after a few attempts, I decided to raise the spotty pocket by using foam pads, so I'm hoping that its fixed that problem! I don't know why I didnt do it that way to start with! Pregnancy brain has well and truly set in and everything seems to be hard work at the moment! The second sticky issue was with my candle gift boxes. After about a day the acetate window fell off as the ds tape wasnt strong enough to hold it on. Then I had a thought! Why not use the glue gun that I've had sat in my draw for 3 years that I've never even take out of the box! And hey presto! it worked! I've even gone on to make a couple more boxes which are much stronger now! I also decided to add a punched snowflake to the top of each candle just to give it an extra touch! I have put a disclaimer in the box though, to remind people to remove them before lighting the candles!!!I had a go at doing a flowery version too!
After fiddling with the wire handles on my candle jars, I got really fed up and went off to hobbycraft where I bought this much thicker and coloured wire, which made making the handles 100 times easier. I've stuck on the snowflake and ribbon using my glue gun, as I'm guessing the heat of the candle will probably just make it all fall off if I use my ds tape! Again here, I've added a snowflake to the candle.

Thats all for now, I'm not making any more cards or gifts, I've packed my craft knife away! well until after the weekend anyway, when I have my sons pre-school christmas craft fair. I have a few orders for Christmas cards from friends but I'm going to wait and see what I've got left over before I make any more!

Christmas Snowflakes

Well I don't have any new Christmas cards to show today! I've spent the past few days "bulk making" some of the cards I've already done, ready for a couple of craft fairs I've got coming up soon. So I thought I'd take a break from that and have a go at something different! I had some of this tall slim notepads left over from last year and decided to do something with them. I spent most of the day working on this first one, but now its finally done I like it! So I decided to use the same layout for the others but just changing the colour scheme.

It opens up like a book and inside there is a small wallett flap for you to tuck things into! I've also decorated the top strip to finish it off.And the Red & White version! I'm not sure which one I like best, but I think this red/white one is quite striking. I think I may do a few cards like this too. Today I had a sudden flash of inspiration! It doesnt happen very often, so I thought I'd better get on and make these before I completely forgot I'd even had the idea! They are simply tea light holders, using re-cycled baby food jars. I saw one on the Elzybells blog back in the summer which had little flowers stuck all over it so initially I wanted to stamp some holly or christmassy images and stick them all over the jar too, but it turned out to be way too fiddly so I decided to use the same snowflakes as the notepads above! I've created a little handle using some craft wire and finished it off with some ribbon and adhesive stones. I have to collect some more jars now as I think they'd look nice in pairs or a set of 3 maybe.

And finally! a little birdhouse tree decoration. I've had this made for some time now, but kept forgetting to photograph it. It was inspired by the Papertrey website, who have a free template, for personal use. You can find it here! Its such a sweet little touch. I might have to make a few more for my tree.

Pink & Girly

I've had a few Children's parties recently and here are a couple of cards I made for my son to give. The first being this cute Peppa Pig card. I've used my new hearts embossing folder which I love! The papers are from Imaginisce and are from the Happily Ever After range (I think!!) I've stuck some gem stones onto peppa's crown and have used some glamour dust on her wings.Using the same layout and paper! I've gone for a Disney Princess image this time, both of which tie in with the presents we gave! Hopefully both of the recipients were happy with them!
And another of my "number" cards, only this time in Lilac/Purple, which I'm quite happy with. not a colour scheme I would usually make this card in but it works!And finally, a card for my friend to give to one of her friends who has just found out that she's expecting! I dont get asked to make may of these, so I offered! I love this Lola Rose image from Pink Petticoat. All papers are Pink Petticoat too! The sentiment is part of a Hero Arts sentiment set. The baby bump is layered using foam pads to give it that extra bit of dimension!

wooohoooo.....two posts in one day! I've been busy

I've been having a play today. These are a a few creations I was inspired to make after seeing this fantastic blog full of really useful video tutorials! Its a really great resource! take a peek if you havent already discovered it! First up is a bag of Reindeer Food. I've used some basic porridge oats mixed in with some red edible glitter. I've never really considered making these before, but they are so simple and I'm sure kids will love them! The little reindeer is the template that I used for the reindeer card below. I've just resized him in psp and drawn the rest of his face on! The little poem is really sweet.And the rest of today's batch!

My second and favourite project today was this Snowman Soup! I actually bought a bulk box of these hot chocolate sachets the other day. I have tried one or two of them, but I bought them with this recipie in mind! I've added a few white marshmallows and candy cane. I have lined the cello bag with the Doodlebug Winter Asterisks paper and have printed the snowman and sentiment from my pc. The top strip has been embossed with the cuttlebug snowflakes folder. This i the final version after having made a few attempts, this was the one I settled for.

Yummy!

I've been getting ready For Christmas! and its only October....

Well as the title says I've been getting ready for Christmas. It is a little early for me. Usually I don't make any Christmas cards until at least the end of November. I have however been really inspired by all the fab cards and gifts on Splitcoast Stampers and also I'm loving the use of Kraft card stock with white brown's & reds, by the Elzybells team. I'm severely lacking in funds at the moment so the option to buy all the gorgeous new Christmas stamps is just not available! So I've set about making some of my own embellishments using my punches and a pair of scissors! I'm actually really pleased with how they have turned out, but as yet have only made a card using the punched Robin. I thought I'd share them with you though, so here they are! I first saw a punched Robin card on Ruth M's blog which is what first inspired all my punched characters!

The Robin!

I wasn't really sure what to do with the little Robin once I'd made him but after a bit of inspiration surfing, I came up with this. Something quite simple really. I really love these gingham ribbons. I've stocked up as I have a feeling they are going to be the theme of my cards this Christmas!The main man! Santa! I had good fun making him. I'd seen a couple of examples but thought I'd adapt them to come up with my own version. I've used my nesties to cut out the beard and a flower punch for the moustache. I've inked all the edges in charcoal ink to give him a bit more definition. I love my little penguin! I didnt really know what i was doing when I was making him, so made him up as I went along. I'm really pleased with how he turned out. I think I might make a little bobble hat for him though or maybe a santa hat.
Frosty's not really a punched character! I used my nesties again to cut him out, but wanted to go for a bit of a rustic look. So I pulled out my gingham ribbon again and added a button as his scarf. I've used Kraft cardstock for his buttons and hat, all of which have been inked. I decided to go with an orange brad for the nose rather than trying to create a pointy carrot type nose. The string for the arms was an after thought. I'm really pleased with how it looks though. To finish him off I've just added some highlighting with my white marker pen.

I saw Kath's card which had been made using the free template from papercraft inspirations which was what led me to make this card! I've used a combination of doodlebug card to make this card and again have inked all the edges to define him a bit more. I've used foam pads to stick his nose on to make it stand out a bit more and have highlighted it again using my white pen. The snowflakes were cut using a cuttlebug die, but I've now invested in a snowflake punch which is a lot less time consuming! Finished off with some star shaped adhesive stones in the centre of each snowflake. I never seem to use the stars so thought this would be a good way to utilise them! I then finished the card with some brown & red gingham ribbon topped with a sparkly snowflake and a brown brad. I wasn't sure whether to add a sentiment or not, but I dont think it really needs it! I think most people would gather that its for Christmas! I hope!

The reason I've been a bit absent...

...I'm having another baby! and I've been feeling so ill this time round. I'm currently 16/17 weeks and just starting to get a bit of energy back! Its been a really tough few months, as we have had lots of tests carried out to see whether or not this baby has the same disease that we lost our little girl Rebecca too. The results have come back all clear, which is fantastic news but its been an extremely stressful and worrying time.10 weeks12 weeks

I've made some cards too! The first is a variation on a card from my last post. I was asked by this lady to make a card for her Aunt who is having a tea party for her 70th birthday. I had a go at trying to fold a little table cloth, and as it turns out, its a lot harder than you would think!

I bought a few quickutz dies from ebay recently and decided to make a few simple cards for my box! I've made this card is several colours. The sentiment and border are printed directly onto the card. I've got a few orders that I need to get working on, so as soon as they are finished, I'll upload some pictures.

Thanks for stopping by!

For the Men & Boys!

Some of these cards go back a while now! To start with, I was asked to make two golfing cards for a chap who's 60, as it turns out there were for the same man! Luckily I figured this out before I went ahead a copied the first card I made!I've been on ebay and invested in some Quickutz dies, a Golf Tee & Ball and a Golf Club set and the Grass die. I can see myself getting quite a lot of use out of these so thought they would be a good purchase! I can't remember where the paper for this card came from, but I'm pretty sure it was a download. The pringle design works great with golf cards! I've done quite a bit of paper pricking on this card too! I think its my latest "thing"And here is my second attempt! Decided to go with the large numbers theme on this card and embellish it with the golfing die cuts. I've used a tartan looking paper, which I think came from the Basic Grey Archaic set, very fitting as the chap is also Scottish! I've mounted the numbers onto foam pads so they stand out a bit and have tied the two together using some eyelets and elastic stringy stuff!Within the space of 3 days I was asked by two different people to make a card for a keen cyclist! This time though they were actually for different people so I was able to replicate the card! I really didnt have a clue what to do, so I took a look through my trusty old stash of magazines when I came across a booklet of mens cards, I think it was from Papercraft Inspirations last year. This is my interpretation of the card they featured which was a paper pieced mountain bike. I beleive I've seen a version of this card on Stacey's blog too! It was a bit challenging getting all the pieces to fit together!
This one is for a Watford Football Club fan! I'm never really sure what to do when it comes to football cards. I've done one a bit like this in the past, and after Googling some images, this is what I came up with. The background card is part of the Black Magic set I bought recently, it has a yellow core. I've sanded it down so it looks distressed. I didnt realise that it would make so much mess though!

And this final one was for my friends Dad for Fathers Day! The suggestion was for Automotive! Something Classic! So I thought, blokey, James Bond, Aston Martin! The image has a slight hint of green in one of the back windows, and this is what inspired the colours of the card. I really like this teal/grey combination.

A Few for the Kids!

Hi everybody, I'm sorry its been so long again since I updated my blog...I just dont seem very with it at the moment so am taking the opportunity to blog today and hopefully catch up while I'm feeling in the mood! I've had quite a lot of requests for cards just lately and really haven't had a lot of time to just have a play. I'm all up to date now though so I'm hoping to get playing with some new ideas and textures soon.
This first card is my favourite of the childrens cards! She's a little cutie! I downloaded the Prima Ballerina set from Cuddly Buddly a very long time ago and this is the first time I've ever used her, I'm ashamed to say! I really like her though. The papers are also cuddly buddly. I've kept the card reasonably simple and have layered the ballernia's dress to add a bit more depth.
My second favourite is this Edwin card. The paper is an old scrap I had in the draw. Not sure where it came from but its what started me off on this card! I've fastened some of the stars on with small eyelets and foam pads. Again, I printed off the sentiment using PSP and have cut it cut using my nestabilities.

Here is a Ben 10 Card, I was asked to make....my litte boy's not quite into Ben 10 yet so I didnt have many ideas. I did a Google image search and came up with this picture, which I thought would look good if I layered the arm giving it a bit of depth. I created the sentiment in PSP and printed it directly onto the co-ordinating cardstock. This card was for the same lady as the Ben 10 Card. She liked the layout of the first one so I said I'd have another go with this card. The Thomas Image was Googled and I've layered the face and bumpers using foam pads. And finally, this card was set as a bit of a challenge! I was asked to make it for a special needs, blind teenager. The challenge was to make a nice touchy feely card with textures! I hope I've acheived that here! I started off by cutting out the numbers and embossing them with the swiss dots folder. They are then mounted on contrasting pink card and have been stuck down with foam pads. My thought was that she might be able to feel the shape of the numbers and also the texture of dots. I've added a few embossed flowers also using foam pads and some adhesive gem stones. To the bottom I've added another strip of embossed swiss dots card with an added strip of lace. I have recently inherrited a huge basket full of lace and trims, which I'm hoping to use a lot more on my cards from now on! I'm pleased with the result of my first go with them! And to finish I've layered up 3 silk/paper flowers.

Thanks for stopping by and I promise I will update again soon! I do have some more cards to show you, so as Arnie would say "I'll Be Back!"