Top Note Die Frame

Evening all,

Do you ever have one of those days where you are constantly busy, rushing around but don't seem to actually achieve anything ? Well, I'm having one of those WEEKS lol !

Nothing major but just loads of little jobs to get done and no spare time which is not good for crafting.

Also I'm finding it difficult to find something to show you that doesn't involve Fun Flowers - think I am seriously addicted !

I have made a little photo frame with the Top Note die, with Father's Day in mind.............

I have only temporarily stuck the photo on because I think definitely need a more recent one but I think you get the idea ! It stands up really nicely and I thought it would be ideal for a desk at work ? Top tip - fold your card and paper and then run both through the Big shot at the same time with the fold slightly inside the die. I'm making it sound a lot more complicated than it really is !

Colours are Chocolate Chip and Pretty in Pink and hearts are from I {heart} Hearts set. Will definitely try this again when I've got more time.

Quick update on the cucumber saga- we couldn't get another plant so we are trying courgettes now so fingers crossed lol ! Just to prove I haven't killed off all of Isabel's plants, we have progress with the mini tomatoes.....

Off to watch The Apprentice, enjoy whatever you're up to !

Evening all,

Well, a new cucumber it is lol ! There was no miraculous recovery and if possible it looks even worse so we are going to try again.

It's a bit late for me this evening, past my bed time , but I have only just finished baking ! One of the ladies in my floristry group is opening her garden tomorrow and I am going along to help out (wonder if she's got any cucumber plants I could 'borrow' lol ) and so after tea I decided to make some cupcakes to take along. Well the cakes turned out fine but I used some new cupcake cases and they looked terrible after they were cooked, see through and greasy so at 9 o'clock I decided to start again and made a coffee and walnut cake which looks much more presentable to inflict on the general public !

When I asked the girls what they thought about the cupcakes they said they looked fine but then they had the light bulb moment and realised that if I didn't take them they would be able to have them instead ! Instantly they became ' not as nice as you usually make Mom' but how many can we have before bed lol!

Todays card is a little Silver Wedding card using the Owl punch...........

Very quick and easy to do , this punch is so useful, I've seen some very clever creations about but I just haven't had time to try them yet.

Now I'm off to bed and I hope it doesn't rain as much as is forecast tomorrow.

Yipee !!!

Evening all,

Thank you ,thank you, thank you ladies for your help with my Blogger problem. I think I can now leave comments again but I'm still not sure what's going on with the spaces ! I have another mission for you tonight lol .............does anyone know anything about emergency first aid for cucumbers ?

I think I mentioned previously that Isabel was very keen on growing things and we have a pumpkin, some baby carrots, some mini tomatoes and some lettuces that all seem to be coming along nicely but when we went away last week I left the cucumber plant in the conservatory as I had been told it was too early for it to go outside. Well, one mini heatwave later and it's not looking too good ....................

You can stop laughing now ! I've tried Miracle -Gro but so far , no miracles lol ! If it doesn't revive by the weekend I have had to promise to get her another one. Grass looks nice and green though doesn't it ?

Anyway, back to what you really came to look at. Last week I took my SU catalogue on a shopping trip and we were in search of some SU friendly fabric. One of the reasons I wanted a Big Shot was the fact that it cuts thru other materials than card and paper, about 50 I think !

Obviously there is plenty of fabric available but I wanted something that would match SU colours and only a small amount of it because I'm definitely not good at sewing lol ! A very nice lady in John Lewis let me study all the colours and then buy some in 10cm amounts rather than metres and this is my first fabric Fun Flower............

Isn't it fab ? I'm soo excited. Amazingly, it looks good with Baja Breeze, what a coincidence hee hee. The larger flower is just fabric but the smaller one is glued to card so it can still be turned up. I'm going to enter this card into the Simply Stampin sketch challenge this week.

I also made another 8 x8 card and used Sweet Summer and some Itty Bitty flowers.......

Couldn't resist a little Top Note die box - I love these !!

At least these flowers look a bit healthier than the cucumber lol ! If anyone has used other materials in their Big Shot please let me know, I'd love to see what you've made - and I look forward to hearing from the green fingered amongst you lol !

Blogger help please

Evening all,

I am after your help with Blogger. As you know I don't do technical but have been having problems with it for the last few weeks. Large spaces keep appearing that are not in my original posts and now for the last week or so I can't leave any comments ! It lets me get all the way through to the end and then takes me back to the blogger sign in screen ?!!!

If anyone has any ideas I would be really grateful and I am so sorry I have not been able to leave anyone a comment but I am still reading !

If Blogger allows me I do have a simple little wedding card to show you today..............

Colours are Perfect Plum and Very Vanilla and I have used the Baby Blossoms set and Tiny Tags with the Mr & Mrs from Occasional Greetings. Simple but I like it.

Hope someone can help with the comments situation but I suppose if you've got the same problem you can't leave me a comment lol ! Aaaagh so frustrating !

Fast and Fabulous

Hello there, hope you have all been enjoying the mini heatwave

Fast and fabulous may be the name of the stamp set I have used today but it also sums up the last week. As always the holiday has flown by but we have had a fab time. We have been away for the last few days to Barmouth and the weather was absolutely fantastic. The girls had a great time on the beach and I was happy to watch the world go by !

We definitely had a room with a view...........

.

I had taken some stamps and ink in case we were stuck indoors but the sun was shining constantly. I did think of stamping on the beach but I was too worried that my precious inkpads would dry out in the heat lol ! Should have taken punches instead ! At least the rain this afternoon meant I could have a little play without feeling guilty that I wasn't cutting the lawn.

Anyway back to Fast and Fabulous, this is another card I have been asked to make and is a large 8 x 8 square but credited for the design must go to Kate from Kate's Krafts. She sent me a very similiar card for my birthday recently (minus the Nan ! ) and I fell in love with it straight away, the design ,the colours ,the sparkles everything...........

I love that stamp I have used to make the background and I'm sure I will be using that a lot.

Look at those lovely sparkles ! Hope you don't mind me CASEing it Kate and I promise to try my own versions soon too. Jules , thanks for the post too , it was a lovely treat to get home to !

It's nice to go away but it would be much better if the fairies came and sorted out the washing and ironing lol ! Back soon x

Floral Frenzy

Evening, and quite a pleasant one it is too !

I'm watching BGT again , sad I know. I voted for Jean last night, for old times sake although I did think she was slightly bonkers ( sorry Jean ). She got thru though so well done Jean !

Todays card is one I was asked to make and needed to include quite a few words so the pc was needed too. That didn't stop me using my SU stash to decorate it ..........

A variety of flowers from Growing Green, Sweet Summer and Flight of the Butterfly so I am going to enter this into the Simply Stampin challenge as I haven't played along for a while.

I always feel flattered when people ask me to make cards for their loved ones' special occasions so I hope this one was well received.

I've put my bedding plants in today so I need to go and water them and hope they will turn into Chelsea Flower Show lol !

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 !