A Sloth of Polar Bears

Who knew a group of Polar Bears is called a Sloth? Not me until I googled it!

This weeks group of Christmas cards all feature Polar bears of one sort or another.

More Holly !

 A few more Christmas cards featuring  my cute little sprigs of holly. 

I've now made around 50 Xmas cards, but still lots more needed!

A Sprig of Holly

One of my favourite embellishments at the moment is a little felt sprig of holly - I have bought 2 packets so far from Hobbycraft. 

They seem to fill up an empty space or add a bit of texture and dimension to many different styles of Christmas cards.

A Herd of Reindeer

 Now that the Christmas Card production line line is in full swing, I've made sure that a few of them feature a reindeer.

I love seeing them in a snowy scene and have several reindeer and stag ornaments that I bring out every year

What's your favourite Christmas character?

One Christmas Stamp - Several Colourways!

I've got a bit carried away with this oval sentiment stamp that was part of a set from this months Creative Stamping Magazine.

I stamped it out in many different coloured inks and tried it out with different background papers.

Now I've got to try out the other

stamps in the set!

Cat Number 3

No time to make cards this week as we have a new addition to our household - Jinny!

She is 6 or 7 months old and we have adopted her from Suffolk Animal Rescue after her previous owner died.

She is lively, friendly and very inquisitive.

Our other two cats are getting used to her - but Jinny is quite feisty and will hiss and bat them if they get too close.

Latest Cards

The papers I won this week are so lovely that I just wanted to sit and stroke them,  but I gritted my teeth and have started to make some cards with them!

This glittery flamingo uses the papers from the Paradise Crush pack

Whilst this cute felt hedgehog has a textured leaf background paper from Wild A Heart!

Lucky Me!

I came home today to find I have won 2 packs of paper from Trimcraft!

The 12 x 12 'Wild At Heart ' scrapbook papers are especially lovely

The papers are doubled sided and include these cute bunnies

And also vintage newspapers with embossed stags, deers and hares! The competition closed at the end of July, but the prize was well worth the wait.

Christmas is Coming

I know many of you started making your Christmas cards ages ago - some even make them all the year round!

I could not get started until the weather started to cool a little, I just can't get in the mood when it is so hot!

Anyway, this weekend I finally dug out my Christmas craft box out from under the stairs and started to get a few ideas. In the end I made 11 cards, a good start, but I do need to get a crack on so that I can make enough to give some to a couple of local charities too!

Embossed ATC's

I've joined in with the technique swap at Docrafts - this months technique is Embossing.

It made me realize that it was ages since I got out my embossing powders and hot air gun.

I enjoyed making these, so perhaps I should make the effort more often!

Bumble Bee Colour Scheme

These papers, tags and embellishments came from my recent USA trip - I like the mix of patterns, textures and colours, a bit different from my usual cards!

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American Craft Goodies

I've just come back from a holiday in Florida - in between visiting all the theme parks, I squeezed in a visit to Michael's Craft Store. I had some dollars given to me for my birthday, so I treated myself to this lot of goodies

 

Some I will be using to put together a scrapbook of the holiday - but most will be used for birthday cards. Now that I have finished all the washing, I shall retreat to my craft room for a play!

Up in The Air - Creative Stamping Magazine

There are some great stamps in the latest edition of Creative Stamping Magazine. Called Up in the Air, they feature planes, balloons, rockets and kites!

These are a few ATC's that I have made to swap using some of the stamps.

One Embossing Folder - Three cards

This square  leafy border embossing folder is free with issue 153 of Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine. For the sunflower card, I inked inside the folder before putting it through my trusty Cuttlebug.

The plain kraft paper sets off the lovely Craftwork Cards orchids and hummingbird toppers and, although it is not very clear on the photo, the lilac background on the other card has a soft sheen to it.

I think I shall be using this embossing folder quite a bit in the future!

Birthday Thanks!

Thanks to all my crafty friends for their lovely birthday cards, ATC's and gifts. These were from Wendy, Mary, Laura, Tina, Evaline and Lyn and came from all around the world!

I've been sitting in the garden, enjoying the sunshine and am looking forward to a meal at a local Chinese restaurant with my family this evening!

Craft Stamper September 2016

This months Craft Stamper magazine includes a free quirky tower stamp. 

I added it to this blue background paper that I have had for years for an ATC - and I'm now waiting for a bit of inspiration to complete the rest of it! 
PS - the pineapple die and stamp set turned up when I was looking for something else!

What A Mess!!

Yes, This is my craft room - I would like to say that I was in full creative flow when this was taken, but no, this is how I walked away and left it yesterday!

After years of having to craft at the dining room table, it is so nice not to have to pack everything away each time. I am lucky to have room for 2 desks and loads of storage boxes and trays. However, I cannot remember where I have put my pineapple die and stamp set - shall I waste time sorting through everything or hope it just turns up?

ps - why did I get over 700 hits on my blog yesterday, mainly from Russia???

Gorjuss Bargain

I picked up this packet of 14 Gorguss die cut notelets to use as card toppers. They were only reduced by £1 to £1.99 - but I thought that was still a bargain.

And these are the first 2 cards I have made with them!

Funky Moped!

Anyone else remember that classic record by Jasper Carrot called 'Funky Moped' ? I never knew it was produced by Jeff Lynne of ELO fame!

Well, this funky retro moped, paper and embellishments all came from the Craftwork Cards box.

Vintage Perfume Bottles

I'm still working my way through the Craftwork Cards sale box that I bought back in April. These cards are made with the perfume bottle toppers from their Vintage Ephemera range.

Despite making these cards here  plus these ones too,  there  are still loads of bits left!

The Battle of The Somme - My Scrapbook

Last year my Mother and I went on a coach trip organised by Galloway Travel to visit the World War One battlefields and cemeteries in Flanders - and I made a scrapbook to record our visit.

Thiepval, which was on the news last night, is a stunning memorial to those with no known grave, including my great great uncle Arthur Whiting.

There are so many cemeteries scattered around the area. This is Ploegsteert memorial, where another great great uncle Charles Hollingsworth is listed. He and his brother Fred died on the same day, in the same battle - neither body was ever found. Hitler, Churchill and Monty all fought in this area in WW1.

The main reason we went on this trip was to find the grave of Charles brother Walter who died in 1916 - the only one of my relatives who has known burial spot. This was at a small site in Grevilliers

We stayed at Ypres where Menin Gate is, every evening a small ceremony is held to remember the dead - very moving. James Jolly, another distant relative,  is named on the gate.

One of my strongest memories was of Delville Woods where thousands died, but is now a tranquil wood full of bluebells but pockmarked by overgrown trenches and shell holes.

Another memorable place was Lochnagar Crater - created at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. there are small brass plaques along the walkway around the rim and we have paid for the 3 Hollingsworth brothers to have their names remembered together in the same place.

Sorry this is such a long post, but I wanted to make my own small tribute to all of those involved in the Battle of the Somme. I can highly recommend taking a guided tour of the area. We learnt so much from our knowledgeble guide Mike Peters. He really bought the battles to life for us. There is a bit more about the trip on another blog of mine here