A sunny Saturday !

Hello, a nice sunny Saturday at last !

I've been to work this morning but I am going to enjoy the rest of the weekend !

Firstly for those of you worried about the courgettes I have an update - we have picked the first one !!

We also had a couple of tomatoes and some lettuce earlier in the week- very satisfying this grow your own but a good job there's a supermarket too lol.

Later we are off to friends for a bbq to celebrate their son's 2nd birthday so here is the card I made .............

Monkey is from Fox and Friends, papers are Celebrations and I've had more use from my Timeless Type alphabet again .

Off to enjoy the sunshine, I've also got a peaceful few days planned but more about that next time. Enjoy your weekend ! x

Thank yous

Evening all,

I was so busy last week after coming back from holiday and all the school events crammed into the last week that I have just realised I haven't showed you the thank yous I made.

Isabel wanted her teachers to be elegant and not have anything to do with school on it so I chose Baby Blossoms because I just love playing with these stamps

Colours are Old Olive, Sahara Sand and Rich Razzleberry. Sentiment is from the Because I Care hostess set. Teacher liked them I am pleased to report !

The Headmaster was also moving on to pastures new so I made a masculine version.........

Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake this time with no Baby Blossoms lol but the Stylish Star A la Carte stamp.

I have been really good and made a start on getting the new school uniforms but still got the dreaded shoe hunt later this week- wish me luck !

Evening all,

Hope you had a good weekend ? Wasn't it nice to have sunshine on BOTH days ? It was Hubby's birthday too so a good time was had by all !

First day of the school holidays, so did I get a lie in ? No !!! I usually look after my 2 year old nephew on Mondays but this week I also had my 6 year old niece plus my two !

Actually, they were all very good and despite the age range they were all happy to play with the toddler toys lol !

Back to Hubby's card, out came the Pumpkin Pie and Basic Black to make it in his beloved Wolves colours................

The background from Trendy Trees is one of my favourites ( I must confess to not using the trees enough but I get plenty of use out of this swirl and also the sentiments ). The Timeless Type alphabet is sooo useful and the heart was from that set too !

The little ones have now gone home and Bob the Builder is packed away so I'm off to have a peaceful sit down x

Dasher

Evening all,

Sorry I have been missing this week but I have been buried under a mountain of post holiday washing and ironing ! Now, 8 loads later, I've finally caught up and am ready to start on this weeks accumulation lol !

Last night we went to Sophie's presentation evening and I was so proud as she received 5 awards including a sports award, a music award and Pupil of the Year !! Think it's going to cost us a new mobile phone though lol !

While away last week I couldn't be without my crafting stuff so I packed a bag of very limited items and decided to make some Christmas cards. I know you haven't heard me mention the 'C' word for a while and that's because despite my good intentions , my Christmas card production ground to a halt. I think I got distracted by all the brill new things in the Mini Catalogue ! Anyway I was amazed how quickly I could make cards if I didn't get sidetracked...............

Colours are Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla and Old Olive with papers from Jolly Holiday. I love this Z fold shape as it adds dimension without being too bulky for posting

Also made a few others and quickly got to 25 !Dasher is one of the A la Carte stamps and at £7.95 is excellent value. Although these are very traditional Christmassy colours, he looks just as good in other colour combinations - as soon as I get a minute I'll try some others !

Off to organise everything for last day of school, oh and its Hubby's birthday on Saturday and I haven't made a card or bought a pressie yet! Another busy day tomorrow I think !

Holiday piccies

Evening all , how are you ?

You may have noticed that the posts for the last week have been short and sweet- that's because they were all scheduled in advance ! I know you didn't think I was that clever (neither did I ) but I am obviously improving and they all worked to plan lol !

The reason being, I've been on my hols and spent the week in South Wales along the Pembrokeshire Coast. This is a stunning part of the world and the weather was kind to us too.

This was the view as we sat outside right beside the sea for our evening meal last Saturday......

and how about this for a 'city centre' lunch break....................

This was taken at Britain's smallest city, St Davids and this was the view from the picnic table................Stunning, isn't it ?

A few other pictures I took ...............

I can feel some scrapbook pages coming lol !

We also spent a day on a deserted beach and if I show you the photos you can see just how quiet it was.................

and these two dots on the shoreline are my girls having a paddle.........

and I love this picture of Sophie (contemplating the meaning of life ?) and the tiniest wisp of a cloud in the cornerHope you've enjoyed a look at my piccies and now I must get back to normal and the mountain of washing we brought back !

Unfortunately I also missed the Jems training today as I think Hubby would have thought a de~tour home via Leeds just a little too far lol !! Hope you all had a fab day girls and a very Happy Birthday to those celebrating this week.

Back to all things 'crafty' next time x

Timeless Type

Evening all,

As promised I've got a card to show you using my new Timeless Type alphabet dies. I just love this font and I like the fact you have got both upper and lower case letters- I like names spelt with capitals lol !

I have used the Celebrations papers to make a card for one of Isabel's friends .............

I always think it is special to receive a personalised card and it solves what to put on a boys card when they're no longer little but not yet grown up lol ! Think I will get plenty of use out of this alphabet !

One for the boys

Evening all,

Looking at the calendar we've got a busy week next week, loads of school related things all crammed into the last week ! Still not long to wait for those 'lie - ins ' !

Todays card is another motorbike one..............

Chocolate Chip, (retired paper) and some linen thread. Very quick but effective. Ideal when you haven't got much time, talking off which I suppose I'd better start thinking about the card and pressie for Isabel's teacher !

Back soon with a card using my latest new 'toy' - the Timeless Type alphabet.

Wedding Wheels

Morning all, hope you've got something nice planned for the weekend.

Todays card is based on some swaps I made ages ago with the Wedding Wheels a la carte stamp set. This stamp is excellent value and makes a fun wedding card..............

Colours are Concord Crush and Crumb Cake- look at that beautiful ruffled ribbon, so easy to do !

Almost ever Saturday this summer I have felt sorry for brides getting married that day as we have had very few dry ones. The weather is the one thing that even the most organised bride can't arrange lol ! The joys of the British weather !

Anyway congratulations to anyone getting married today and fingers crossed it stays dry for you !

Glorious Gloriosa

Evening all,

More April showers again ! We must be due another heatwave soon !

Todays cards are inspired by this stunning beauty...............

It's a gloriosa and a fabulous shade of Melon Mambo with just the slightest hint of Pumpkin Pie and so teamed with some Basic black for added drama my colour combination was decided lol !

Anyone who reads Becki's Crafty Creations will know that she has made some amazing cards with a brayer so I thought I would have a go. I'm not very good yet - perhaps I could have a lesson next time we meet Becki lol ?

Does anyone else have moments when they suddenly get an idea come to them in bed and they just HAVE to get out and try it ? Well, that's what happened for this flower. I suddenly thought the overlay stamp from Greenhouse Garden would make an ideal dandelion/ alium style silhouette.Look how seamlessly I added the stem - without even using my stamp-a-ma-jig, bet I couldn't do that again !!!

The next card uses Silhouette Sentiments and that stem again...............
and finally a quick z fold card using another hostess set, Fast and Fabulous

Hope you like my attempts with the brayer. I enjoyed practising even if I did end up with Melon Mambo fingers from cleaning it lol !

Happy Birthday Jules

Morning all,

Back bright and early to wish a very Happy Birthday to Jules ! It is so difficult to make a card for such a talented person so what did I decide ?

Well, Jules often says that I think 'outside the box' ( I think this is a polite 'Up North' way of saying I have some strange ideas lol ! ) so I thought I would give Party this Way a different look. This is a fab set and works perfectly with the bold colours and Celebration papers but I decided that bunting needed a pretty, girly, vintage style make over..................

Colours are Baja Breeze, Rose Red and Pretty in Pink. I could have stamped the bunting onto designer paper but to make it extra special I decide to design my own 'fabric' a la Cath Kidston lol!

Easy to do with all the little stamps, but not so easy to cut out, could do with a punch please SU lol ! And just because Jules loves her 'arty farty' angles.............


Jules also loves cupcakes so I have something else to show you. Sorry Jules but these are not on their way to you but you're not missing out too much because they aren't edible they're made from flowers !

Sweet aren't they ?

Have a fab day Jules ! x

Summer inspiration

Evening all,

It's like a hotel here - Sophie has checked back in after a fab time in Germany and now Isabel has checked out to a friend's birthday sleepover ! It's definitely quieter when they're not here together lol !

Todays projects were inspired by my floral efforts yesterday. The brief was to do something to put on a table for a summer picnic or barbecue. I decided to use a salad bowl and float the flowers in water.................

A few sliced lemons and skewered strawberries means it smells yummy too ! See that jasmine leaf bottom left, doesn't it look like the one from Baby Blossoms ?

I must confess I'm not a big fan of gerberas but these were so vibrant. Anyway I needed to make a card and a little box for a bracelet so inspired by my floristry this is what I came up with.............

Colours are Real Red, Whisper White and a variety of greens, Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Certainly Celery andWild Wasabi. The flowers are from the versatile Greenhouse Garden and the leaf IS from Baby Blossoms. Sentiment from Party this Way and frame from Four Frames.

Hope you enjoyed seeing where my inspiration came from. Back tomorrow x