Eating up the bits !

Hello there,

Do you ever have an 'eating up the bits ' tea where you concoct something from whatever's left in the fridge/freezer ? Well I've done that today but with my cards - no not to eat lol !!!

Sometimes (quite often ) I cut a piece of paper or stamp something and then decide not to use it so I have a big pile of 'left overs' and today I thought it would be a good idea to use some of them. My crafty version of Ready , Steady Cook !!

The old meets the new as I have used some Sale-a-bration items and Fun Flowers is perfect for using odd pieces of paper..............

Then I decide to make a few Top Note boxes to match- these are so easy to make and look sooo pretty.....

Trouble is I still haven't used up all my scraps, I've just got a pile of smaller pieces lol !

Even left overs look co-ordinated with Stampin Up. This was a fun exercise too and I must remember to do it regularly with different colour schemes and then I might have more room on my desk.

Last night you may remember I mentioned I was going to watch Britains Got Talent, well it was quite strange because I was sort of half watching/listening and blog surfing at the same time when I suddenly saw a familiar face !

Jean Martyn (keyboard, Great Balls of Fire, sparkly jacket) was my next door neighbour when I was a child and my Dad ,who was a keen photographer, used to take her promotional photos and record album covers (yes it was that long ago lol !). So that's my BGT claim to fame and definitely the closest I'll ever get to being on it ! I will now keep an eye out for Jean in the semi-finals and give her my vote !

More motorbikes

Evening all

What a dark ,dismal ,dreary day - typical Bank Holiday weather ! Hope it cheers up later in the week.

Todays cards are more motorbikes- yes, I am actually enjoying using this and it has probably doubled the amount of male cards I make lol !

Have used paper from the Love Letters range because I think it has a tyre tread feel to it. Sentiment is from the very useful Occasional Greetings set

Have also created some extra 'tracks' by inking some linen thread and placing on the card. A bit messy but I think it creates the desired effect !

A Father's Day version this time - again stamped on Love Letters papers and sentiment from Occasional Greetings, a good recipe this lol !

Now I'm off to sit down for some Sunday night family viewing - Britain's Got Talent - the girls love it, I'm not so sure !

Fun Flowers

Hello all, hope you are well

Finally this morning I got to play with my new Fun Flowers die - and I know it's definitely going to be one I use a lot !

My inspiration for todays projects came from a simple little tealight which I decided needed to be a bit prettier.

The before picture.............

and after.....................Looks much better between uses now ? The base is the medium sized flower and as I used Very Vanilla I glued 3 pieces together before I ran it through the Big Shot , just to make it a bit sturdier. I then stamped it with one of the flowers from Growing Green in Crumb Cake.

The smaller Crumb Cake flower was embossed with the Vintage Wallpaper folder and then the centre was embossed with the Square lattice folder and finished off with a Pear Pizzazz Boho Blossom and a little pearl. Quicker to make than to explain lol !

As the Big Shot allows you to cut more than one sheet at a time , it would be rude not to and so I made a few coordinating cards

Look how deep that embossing is - love it !

I also made a box using the Top Note Die with my new Pear Pizzazz ribbon and buttons

These boxes are sooo sweet and ideal for jewellery or a gift card.

Sorry for the piccie overload but just wanted to show you all my new toys Hope you like ?

Survival Sunday !

OMG what a tense afternoon !!!

It started quite leisurely with a relaxed, early family Sunday lunch out then Simon, Sophie and my father-in-law and brother-in-law set off to Molineux for the most important game of the season.

Isabel and I went to a local flower festival and then called at a garden centre as she wants to start growing some veg. We haven't got room for a vegetable plot but bought her a container and a few plants- I'll keep you posted how it goes !

Then.... we settled in front of the telly and the radio simultaneously to see how the football scores would go. Supporting Wolves is never straight forward but they definitely made hard work of it today, with their fate in their own hands they just needed to win to stay in the Premier League...............by half time they were losing 3 nil !!

I was having to keep texting the other scores to them at Molineux and it was such a rollercoaster, with Wolves in and out of the relegation zone like the okey cokey lol !!

All's well that ends well and a goal with 5 mins to go (thanks Becki lol! ) secured Premier League status for next season and local rivals Birmingham relegated.

I do have a card to show you, another motorbike one.........

Very quick and simple, background stamp is from Trendy Trees. I have had a very busy week and am still hoping for a full day crafting with my new Big Shot.

Off to put the champagne in the fridge before the Wanderers return. We ARE Premier League !!!

Not made by me !

Morning all,

Just thought I had better show you the beautiful SU cards I received.......

Lovely aren't they ? Thank you to everyone - and now my wishlist has just got even longer !!

One more card I want to show you- one that Isabel made for me. I find it amusing how Sophie has inherited Hubby's addiction to football and Isabel loves to craft. Not quite sure whether it's a case of nature or nurture lol !

She knows she can take her pick from my 'older' non SU stuff and this is what she came up with....

Cute eh ? She did say I hope you didn't mind Mom but I used some Stampin Up ink and other things because it's better than the other stuff ! Couldn't have said it better myself !!

Future customer there I think lol !

And the winner is .................

Morning all,

Had a lovely day yesterday but very busy and would you believe I haven't even tried my new Big Shot yet !!! The handle is on but that is as far as I've got. I'm looking after my little nephew today so won't get much chance but expect loads of Fun Flowers later in the week lol !

When I was making Lynda's card and cutting out the flowers I decided this would be a perfect addition to my recently neglected Baroque Motifs stamp

Don't those flowers look as though they've grown there? While I'd got the stamp out I just had to make another one..............

This time I made a paper fringe and added some Pear Pizzazz ribbon. Quicker flowers this time , punched using Boho Blossoms punch. Think I'll definitely be using this stamp again with the Springtime Vintage papers !

Now to the winner4 of my blog candy - no hi tech stuff, names were drawn from a hat ( well, a coaster actually) and the winner is ..................

-

Congratulations Kate ! Email me your details and I'll pop your prize in the post. Thank you to everyone for their comments, they are always very much appreciated and the blog counter has gone over 10,000 now so keep reading !

If I disappear for a few days you'll know I'm turning that handle ;)

Celebration Candy !

May already- where is the year going ?


Very busy month for me , lots of birthdays, including my own ( officially 21 again this year ! ), my wedding anniversary and my Blogaversary !!


So to celebrate I have some candy for you - the clear Hostess set ' Because I Care' .


To be in with a chance of winning please become a follower and leave me a comment on any posts between now and 15th May. A winner will be chosen at random after 7pm on 15th May.

Each comment gives you an extra entry into the draw, so talk to me lol !

Good Luck x

Happy Birthday

Well,it's official I'm 21 albeit for the second time lol !

I was thinking about different life stages, eg in my first 21 years it was childhood thru the teenage years and I had just got together with now Hubby.

The second 21 has been marriage, the births of 2 lovely daughters and watching them grow and develop. I have a lot to celebrate and maybe we should all appreciate the special people in our lives.

Another person celebrating her birthday is fellow Jem, Lynda and this is the card I sent her..........

I decided to decorate the frame by cutting out the flowers from a scrap of Springtime Vintage paper and adding some Crystal Effects.

Hope you've had a lovely day too Lynda !

Thank you to everyone for the beautiful cards, I will show you them later in the week.

Off to eat some more cake and sort out the winner of my blog candy. I will be back in the morning with the result.

Motorbike Mania

Morning all,

I did try to 'talk' to you yesterday but Blogger was being very naughty- I'm blaming the fact it was Friday 13th lol !

Anyway all seems back to normal now but Chris and Ciara I have noticed that your comments from my last post seem to have disappeared ??! Thank you for them anyway and don't worry I will make sure they are included in my candy draw. Don't forget you only have until 7pm tomorrow to enter !

Today is a rare male card from me, I know I don't do it often enough but I find it harder to get enthused about men's card . To help me out , I did recently order the A la Carte Motorcycle stamp. It's actually part of my birthday order but my friend needed a motorbike themed card ( she did , honest ) so I quickly mounted it, used it and put it back!! Don't tell anyone lol !! I did clean it VERY well !

All goodies have had to be surrendered now and as I was banned from their bedrooms last night I think the girls were doing some serious wrapping up - now I just have to be suitably surprised as I open everything lol !

Back to the card ...............

I have used the Elegant Soiree papers and a Tiny Tag , colours Marina Mist and Soft Suede. I have got a few more ideas planned when I'm allowed to play officially.

Hubby and Sophie set off at 7.30 this morning up to Sunderland to watch Wolves ( isn't it amazing how they get up easily when football is involved ? ). Wolves did manage to sneek out of the bottom 3 last week after beating arch enemies West Brom but it is still so close at the bottom that another win is needed - fingers crossed !

Only one more sleep until I get my new stamps, embossing folders, paper, ribbon , buttons ,Fun Flowers die and of course --my Big Shot !! Can you tell I'm excited, I'm worse than a child, bet I'll have birthday-itis tonight and not sleep lol !!

Don't forget to enter my candy draw and Good Luck !

Silhouette Sentiments

Morning all,


Definitely April showers here today, one minute it's beautiful sunshine then it's pouring down !! At least it's good for the gardens.


Pleased to report that the recipients loved their scrapbook albums and were very impressed with how easy it is to stamp your own wrapping paper.



Todays card is one of those that no one enjoys making - a sympathy card. I always think simple is best

Stamped in Concord Crush. Frame from Four Frames and the rest of the stamps from the hostess set Silhouette Sentiments - love how the bird fits perfectly into the frame.

This is a very useful set with small sentiments and flower images, must confess I haven't used it much, must make time to see what else I can do with it.

Now to decide whether to put the washing (in and) out or just stick the dryer on lol !

Moment of madness

Evening all,

Think I have just about caught up from my late night now !

Yesterday in a moment of madness I decided to put a few photos of the trip together in an 8 x 8 album for the people we went with as a little keepsake.

Two slight problems, 1) we went with 3 couples so I needed 3 albums and 2) they needed to be finished by today !!!

Obviously it had to be very quick and simple and I used some retired papers I had left with Rich Razzleberry and Certainly Celery

I can't show you the more interesting pages because they've got other people on and I don't think that would be fair.


Eventually they were done .................

and I used the new A la Carte Star stamp to stamp the wrapping paper and the Top Note die and Four Frames stamp to make a tag..............

Hope the recipients like them - I might even convert them !

You can tell how tired I was , when I got back my neighbours came round with a box from the UPS man and I didn't open it for 2 days !!! That might have something to do with the fact I'm not allowed to play with the contents yet but Hubby hasn't actually made me hand them over for wrapping yet and he's at work tomorrow ............ ;)

Living it up in London

Evening all,

No crafty projects to show you today but just wanted to show you where I've been for the last couple of days.

I had an invitation to a posh do in London, new dress required , it just happened to be a week after the main event last week lol ! It was an all expenses paid trip to a black tie awards evening in a VERY posh 5 star hotel. We travelled down by train, first class of course !

This was inside the hotel and was like being abroad. Our room was HUGE ......

We had a fantastic time , everything was amazing but I'm so glad I didn't have to pick up the bill !!!

It was a very late night ( or more accurately middle of the night ! ) so I think I might need a few early nights to catch up.

Nice to see how the other half live but it is always nice to come home.

This was the first time Hubby and I have stayed overnight on our own without the girls and they stayed with grandparents, so I suppose it was inevitable that Isabel would choose that day to have an accident at school !!! Luckily, it wasn't anything serious but as she banged her mouth and bit her tongue there was a lot of blood involved ( school even washed her white top because of all the blood ! ). Anyway while they were comforting her the teacher said she would ring Mommy and Isabel piped up ' you can't she's gone to London'. The teacher said don't worry I'll try Dad and she said he's gone to London too ! Luckily my Mom picked her up from school and the teacher explained what had happened and so I'm hoping they don't think I left her 'home alone' lol !

A soothing bowl of ice cream later and she was fine.

Right off for a much needed early night.

Baby Blossoms knickers !

Evening all, hope you are well.

More Baby Blossoms I'm afraid - I just can't stop playing !

Regular readers will remember we decorated Isabel's room a few months ago and when I saw the Baby Blossoms set I couldn't believe how well they matched her duvet and curtains...........

So I decided to make a picture for her room

Good match isn't it and so appropriate for her girly room.

With the left overs I made a couple of cards............

While Isabel was admiring her new picture she said " Mom , I've even got some Baby Blossoms knickers " and do you know what --- she's right lol !!!!!

Perfect lol !! I can't believe I hadn't noticed before. As my Big Shot is on its way perhaps I need to buy some more so I can use them to make my own version of SU fabric flowers !

Must go and check out what other SU items are around my house lol !

One today !

Doesn't time fly when you're having fun - my little blog is 1 today !!!

I still can't believe that 1) I've managed to do it and 2) that anyone is interested enough to read !!

But I am so glad that I have and you do !! I have really enjoyed it and made some new friends too, even if I still don't really know what I'm doing. A couple of days ago I tried to make a 'sticky' post about my candy and instead discovered how to schedule a post for a future date - so now I don't have to be live lol !

Today is my sister's birthday too and here is the card that I made from the girls......

Do you like the new shape from the top note die ( made by turning it and running through again ) ? I also decorated her a bag like I gave to Jules but a bit smaller this time as she's not a crafter and doesn't need to fit in 12 x 12 papers !

Oh and yes my bedroom walls are very nearly Baja Breeze and that was before Stampin Up invented the colour lol !

Thank you all so much for reading and heres to many more anniversaries !

Birthday Baby Blossoms

Hello all,

Well, did you enjoy the wedding ? Wasn't it all beautiful and didn't she look stunning ! Oh to have a waist that tiny .........

Seriously though what a wonderful advert for all things British and not a drop of rain in sight !

Todays cards are a couple I sent earlier in the week to fellow Jems who were celebrating birthdays.

Baby Blossoms again but back to the more conventional version, stamped onto the butterfly punch this time. Also like the part textured look by putting part of it through the embossing folder.A different look by changing the colour scheme- Baja Breeze with Soft Suede, Chocolate Chip and Very Vanilla.

Hope you both enjoyed your special day girls !

The lovely people at Stampin Up have a special treat for us demos when its our birthday - they allow us to order 1 item with a 35% discount during our birthday month- so guess what I ordered today.............. yes, it had to be the Big Shot ! Can't wait and Hubby is so pleased I have organised his pressie for him . He might manage to wrap it himself -- on second thoughts if it's not wrapped I don't need to wait for the actual day lol !

This is another brilliant reason to become a demo so if you would like to know more please get in touch for a no obligation chat.

Also as a birthday treat from me and to celebrate my blog's 1st birthday on Tuesday I have some candy on offer ( see post above ) so please leave a comment to be in with a chance of winning.