Fairies Galore!

For some reason I seem to be drawn to making Fairy themed cards at the moment!

I'm not too sure why?

They will be going to help fund raising for local charities, so I hope others like them too!

Easter Ahoy!

With Easter around the corner I thought I'd better get a wriggle on and make a few cards

I found some puffy Easter stickers in ASDA - only £1 for the sheet

So, they feature in everyone of these cards!

What a Relief!

For a while I thought I was going to loose my craft room! My son has split with his girlfriend and wanted to move back home for a bit. 

Whilst I would have loved having him home once again, it would have meant going back to crafting on the dining room table. And I have accumulated a lot more stash since then!

So, I have am quite relieved that he has found a house to rent nearby with a friend from work.

Pets Galore!

I treated myself to this set of pet die shapes which includes cats, dogs, a goldfish and rabbit!

They are made by First Edition and cut beautifully!

I just has to add a couple of carrots to the bunny rabbit card - think I will be using this for some of my Easter cards this year. I loved the sausage doggie too!

Thieves in the Night!

This week we had a new sofa delivered, so we arranged that, for a small charge, our local council would pick up and dispose of the old one. You can have up to 5 items disposed of for the same price, so yesterday we added a broken wooden step ladder and an ancient split hosepipe and left them in the front garden.

This morning we woke up to find the ladder and hose pipe gone!

Well, the ladder was rotten and wet and not even fit for the bonfire whilst the hosepipe leaked like a sieve in several places - whoever took them, is welcome to them!

Jeepers Creepers- Where d'ya get those sneakers!

Well, from Woodware Stamps of course!

Although this stamp set has been out a year now, I never knew about it until I stumbled across it on Pinterest. There are some great cards made with it and lots of people have used  paper piecing to get a great effect, So I had a go too!

These are a couple of cards I have made for girl or boy teenagers - most of those I know, live in their Converse or Vans Shoes!

I Love Owls !

I could not resist buying these 2 cute felt owls from The Works and soon whipped up these 2 birthday cards - the owls were only £1 for the pair!

http://www.theworks.co.uk/p/craft-embellishments/felt-owl-stickers---pack-of-2/5052089184176

Be My Valentine

A valentine card for my husband - we've been married now for nearly 31 years, so don't need to make a big fuss about it!

I did an indoor car boot sale this morning, but when I got there found 3 other ladies selling hand made cards, so I put mine away and concentrated on the bric-a-brac and toys. I did OK, but my Dad on the stall next door came back with next to nothing, having sold most of his model cars, mens clothing, shoes and books!

This months ATC Travel Swaps

I host the monthly theme ATC swap over on Docrafts - this months theme is travel!

You can use any technique or style,and as you can see, there is a wide interpretation of this theme.

I am just about to sort out the swaps and will be getting them out in the post tomorrow

I love joining in the ATC swaps on the Docraft and Trimcraft forums and try to enter as many as I can, it often means stretching yourself or trying out something a bit different on a small scale!

Wedding Card Commission

I make cards for several different charties including a local Sport for the Disabled one. They have asked me to make a wedding card for 2 of their members who are getting married and I was happy to oblige!

Velvet Plum Bows

I treated myself to a purple grab bag from Craftwork Cards sale and with the pile of papers, card and embellishments was this pad of velvet plum paper bows!

I just had to have a play with them and start adding bows to some cards - they are so easy to put together!

More stash gone!

A quiet weekend has allowed more time for crafting - so a few more cards for the Charity box! 

I'm also up to date on all my ATC swaps for this month too. For anyone who wants to join in with my January Travel ATC swap , the details are here.

Using Up Bits & Pieces

My stash is far too big and one of my New Years resolutions is to try and make a hole in it!

These papers and embellishments have been around for ages and its about time they went.

These cards will soon be making their way to help raise funds for Sport for the Disabled, Cancer Care for Suffolk or St Elizbeth Hospice in Ipswich - all local charities which I donate cards to.

My Cozy Cave

This is my small and compact craft room- after years of crafting on the dining room table, I really appreciate a room of my own. Not surprisingly, the size of my stash has also grown to fill all the extra space. 

I love just spending the odd hour in here, listening to the radio and playing with my bits and pieces - I never have clear idea how my cards will turn out, I just put together a stamp, a backing paper and some embellishments and see what works together!

I find card making a great way of de-stressing from life and also a great way of making friends through my blogs, swaps and craft forums. A happy and healthy New Year to you all!

Not Many Bargains at The Range

I was a bit disappointed with my visit to the Range - it seemed there was mainly Christmas stock in the sale and not much else.

I only bought some full price card blanks and this pretty decoupage pad - and it was only reduced by £2!

I did have a fun afternoon crafting though,  and made these cards for 2016

Hope You all had a Great Christmas!

Hubby, Daughter, Me, Mum, Son and Sons GF

We had a lovely meal at a local pub - no arguing over the sprouts, no getting up early to put the turkey in the oven and best of all  - no washing up! Well worth every penny. Staff were super too, so we left a good tip for those who put their Christmas day on hold to help  make ours so good.

Really enjoyed the Xmas Doctor Who episode and for once wasn't left confused about what was going on - River Song rocks!

Off to check out the sale at The Range to see if there are any crafty bargains.  May 2016 be a great year for you all - Dawn

Christmas ATC's and Advent

I've placed all the Christmas ATC's that I've received this year on the door around my advent calendar, so that I can admire them every time I pass into the lounge. There are some lovely robins, stockings and snowmen, plus a cross stitched initial with a gingerbread man!

Wren with Blackberries

This card was made with a very old stamp of a wren which has been lurking at the back of the basket for a long time - its made by Jayne Netley Mayhew. 

It's layered against some lovely soft pink roses background papers with a hot pink ribbon. I enjoyed making something that didn't involve glitter, snowmen or reindeer!

Purple Angel Christmas Card

 Probably one of my last Christmas cards for this year - for my Aunt who loves the colour purple!

I'm not sure how many cards I have made for Christmas this year - but it must be more than 200, as I make for a couple of local charities as well as my large family. However, I still have lots of Xmas stash left over, as well as several stamps that I didn't get round to using!!

Dressing up

 The Creative Stamping Magazine had a lady stamp who could wear 3 different dresses - do you remember comics like Bunty and Twinkle where you could cut out the doll and her different clothes?  I used to love them as a child!

I've had a go at cutting out the dresses in different scraps of paper to make up these cards.

 This tulip backing paper has been sitting around for years waiting for this inspiration!!!

Look what came in the post today!

All three of the magazines that I subscribe to arrived this morning!

With husband at work and daughter out on a trip with the Guides to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, I have got plenty of time to play with the  free gifts of  stamps and dies.

Thanks Scrapthology!

I participated in Scrapthologys recent 'Inspiration Interrogation' and was lucky to receive this wonderful crafty prize!

I've never had one of these build-a-scene sets before and straight away had to get out my trusty cuttlebug and start cutting.

This is my first attempt with a sparrow substituted for the peacock!

Cannibalising Old Christmas Cards

These 2 cards were made by re-using some little robins that were on one of the Christmas cards I received last year - they were so cute, I just had to use them again!

I cut out branches from scraps of brown card and put them against different backgrounds. I still have a pile of last years cards to recycle in some way!

Great Free Gifts!

I just love the free gifts that came out with magazines this month! The Poinsettia nesting dies from Papercraft Essentials are a lovely size and the dove from Simply Cards and Papercraft Magazine is so pretty.

I managed to combine both of them in this Christmas card.

And I added the dove to this wedding card I made made previously. I have made another dozen or more poinsettia flowers yesterday from scraps of red and green paper  - so another Christmas card session beckons today!