Craftyhan's Crafty Corner

Baby News...

2011-11-08T17:26:00.002Z

Hi everyone! Just a little note to let you know...that I am pregnant! I am due 28th March...Atty and I are both very happy and excited about our little surprise :) Unfortunately it means my craft room will now be a nursery...but I'll still have a craft space in our spare room which is good! Not that I am going to have plenty of spare time now...but I would like to make some baby bits and pieces...any ideas would be gratefully received!

So....boy or girl? :)

Hope you are all well!

Monkeying around...

2011-10-12T19:03:00.004+01:00

Evening all! It has been a while since I have posted - I kinda lost my craft mojo but having had a few birthdays and special occasions happening recently I've been forced to find it! I am loving 'citrus' colours and I have always had a penchant for 'hot pink', especially if it is mixed with glitter! It was my sister's birthday back in September and I wanted to make her a fun card. The monkey image kind of reminded me of the two of us (she is my little sister)...

I seem to be into my 'layering' at the moment and this card contains several of them! I've been rooting around in my craft stash to try and use products that are either unused/unopened or have not been used in a while. I hadn't used my Martha Stewart punch for a while so out that came...

The glittery letters are from America (I can't remember where I bought them from - I bought waaaay too much, and that was 2 yrs ago - yikes!) and seem to fit perfectly with the theme of the card. I had a bit of trouble getting them to fit but managed in the end...

Hope everyone is well. I am trying to get back into the Craft World - it seems to be a lot harder now that I have moved out. I thought it would be easier! Hopefully I will have a bit more time soon. I'll do a few more posts this week to show you a few more cards that I have managed to make.

A cat wedding?

2011-07-10T19:50:00.006+01:00

Two of my good friends (that I have made here in Cambridge) got married yesterday. It was such a beautiful wedding and I can say hand on heart that it was one of the nicest weddings Andrew and I have been to! Plus the rain held off which made it extra special. Congrats guys!

I had looked in a few shops for wedding cards as I didn't have any in my card stash and didn't think I would have time to make one but I was getting very frustrated trying to find a decent wedding card so felt I had to make a personalised one for them! They have a gorgeous little cat called Amber so I thought this stamp would be ideal for them! I also wanted to make a 'non-traditional' card for them to stand out a bit...

Lilac seems to be very 'in' at the moment fashion-wise so I took a bit of inspiration from dresses I had seen on the red carpet...

I thought it would be nicer to personalise with their initials rather than their full names...

Absolutely love these roses...

Stamped using bronze ink and accented with gold pen...

Something a bit different? Definitely colours I wouldn't normally put together...

Pleased with the way it turned out! They had a postbox for everyone to put their cards into at the wedding (very cool idea) so hopefully I'll get some feedback soon from the happy couple :)

Have a good week everyone!

Into the blue

2011-06-14T20:24:00.010+01:00

No prizes for guessing the theme of this card! :) I made this mermaid themed birthday card for one of my friends recently after having a root around in my stamp stash and stumbling upon one of my all time favourite Anya images...

I know that I really need to work on my colouring and practise more as I see other works of art on various blogs and get very jealous!

Another way that I like to add ribbon to a card instead of directly onto the card. Created the punched heart shaped hole with a trusted Martha Stewart punch

Some bubbles, sequins and various different bits of textured paper

Ta-da!

I'm slowly starting to get back into the swing of things and popping by people's blogs is definitely helping my inspiration!

Bee Birthday

2011-06-09T20:31:00.010+01:00

Hi Everyone! Long time no see ;) I've been lying under the radar for quite a while now so I thought that as I'm slowly beginning to get back into my card making, I'd post a few cards over the next couple of days to show you what I've made!

I think my crafting bug has come back as I have quite a few birthdays coming up and I always get a really guilty feeling walking into {insert high street chain here} to buy a birthday card. More often than not, that horrible feeling takes over and I return home to make my own creation! It was my Nan's birthday at the beginning of June and she loves my homemade cards (she has been on the receiving end for more years than I care to remember!) Here is one of my 2011 collection so far....

Found this cute little magnolia image hiding in one of my stamp boxes

This is a transfer...I'm getting good use out of my little distressing tool as you can see!

I was really stuck on how to create the word 'nan' so I actually stuck letters onto the card (lightly) then coloured around with black marker. After I removed the letters, this was the outcome...

Notice the little bees...and the curly wire for her antennae....

I really hope everyone is well. My life is finally starting to make sense a bit more now and I'm not unpacking boxes or starting new jobs at the moment so fingers crossed, now that I have my fab little craft room (dream come true honestly, I am so lucky - pics to follow later) I will be making much more of a concerted effort to get creative!

Cupcake Surprise!

2011-01-17T18:46:00.002Z

Hi everyone! Hope you are all well in blog-land. I know I've been an awful crafter and blogger of recent but it's a new year and a new start! I have promised myself that I will make more time for card making as I have just not had the time what with moving out and away for a brand new life!

Things in Cambridge are going well and we are moving into a new house in March which will have my very own craft room...lots of nice space so I can spread my stash out more. Hurrah! Anyway, it was my Mum's birthday weekend just gone and I couldn't face forking out god knows what for one made by a machine so I sat down over two nights to make this...

Was fairly pleased with it considering I haven't made any cards since August last year really! Wow...that's quite a long time :)

Before I blabber on anymore, I'll leave it there for tonight but just wanted to say hello to everyone that still popped by! Thanks for sticking around and here is to a great 2011!

I'm still here...

2010-10-06T13:16:00.002+01:00

...and trying to find the perfect craft desk! Hmph....spare room is much tidier now and I am looking forward to many an evening crafting away. Hopefully that isn't too far away! I really am missing making my cards and have been organising my craft stash in preparation!!!

Hope everyone is well? Feel free to post how you are, what you've been up to etc!

Take care and thanks for stopping by!

Hello Cambridge!

2010-09-20T09:40:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone, just a quick post to say that I am now living in Cambridgeshire! Am trying to organise my craft stash and am hopefully buying a desk within the next couple of days so I can get cracking on some card making and scrapbooking! Can't wait!!

Hope everyone is well!

News...

2010-08-29T18:27:00.002+01:00

Hi everyone, hope you are having a great bank holiday weekend. We've only had a little bit of rain so far in Sussex - I guess it's traditional!!! Anyway, I'm sorry I have not blogged for a while but there are lots of changes going on in the life of Hannah at the moment. The big news is that I am moving to Cambridge...in about 3 weeks! It's totally mad and very stressful but we're moving there so Atty can do his Aviation course. We're very excited but also very nervous...as you can imagine, there is so much to do but we've hopefully found a lovely little house to make our own...and the best bit is that we have a spare room which will be a craft room/guest bedroom! I am soooo excited about this to be able to have a little bit of space which is separate from my bedroom.

I have got to make a couple of cards before I leave so hopefully they'll be posted on here soon but thanks to those of you that keep stopping by - I do appreciate it.

Oh before I forget, if anyone knows of craft shops in or around Cambridge, feel free to drop me a line!!!

Pink and Orange 90th...

2010-08-18T21:24:00.007+01:00

Hi everyone! Just a really quick post today as I've got a day off work and lots to do! This was the second of two 90th cards I had to make...there were no specific's apart from 'Great-Nan' and I didn't want to make it too boring so....

Glittey 90 cut out with my cricut machine...

Yummy orange ribbon....

Kept it simple with three little pink gems...

Et voila! What do you think?

As I said, a super quick post today, but hope everyone is well. I am slowly getting my crafting bug back! I think I need to organise my craft stash as my boxes seem to be overflowing at the moment!!! Have a good day :)

Happy Birthday....to a penguin?

2010-08-15T17:32:00.004+01:00

Well that was quite a tall order! A penguin on a birthday card...I was scratching my head for a while on this and searched high and low for the right image which proved to be quite difficult! However, I found this little guy which seemed perfect for a birthday card (majority of penguin images are winter/christmas themed!) from Cuddly Buddly Crafts the other day. Although the order was for a 90th birthday with a penguin on it, no other specifics were given so I wanted to keep the card bright and colourful...

I embellished the birthday penguin with some white g

litter on his tum, some ribbon, some glitter and a button...

I didn't want the card to be too crowded/busy so kept it fairly simple...

The colourful paper from DCWV does the trick and the Martha Stewart punch finishes the sentiments off nicely...

I love the furry star brads from Making Memories...

This is 1 out of 2 cards for my friend's order so I'll post the other card up in the next few days. Lots has been happening over the past few weeks so I haven't had too much time to craft but after this week, things should hopefully be happening for us! Atty gets his results on Thursday so we'll be finding out if he has got his place at University. If he is unsuccessful then we have lots of other options available so I guess it's wait and see' time! I've got an interview on Tuesday for a place on a Floristry course (1yr, full time!) as I think I would love to do that for a career and combine my love of making things into a business, perhaps in the wedding industry. Who knows! Apologies for rambling...it's just been about 2yrs in the making so it's been a long time coming for those of you that know me. Onto happier time fingers crossed... :)

Stamp winner...

2010-08-11T11:06:00.004+01:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in posting the winner of the stamp. I've had three bits of bad news in the past 3 days so I haven't had much time to do anything :(

Anyway, the winner of the stamp is....

Sally B

I really liked your idea of the ideas book so I think I'll start to keep a visual journal/diary of things I like. Thank you for that tip! Please drop me a line so I can make sure the stamp gets to you.

Thank you to those of you that entered - they were all fab tips so I hope you picked up some advice too!

Will be posting cards later this week when I've got my head together. Hope everyone is well.

My first easel card...

2010-08-06T08:50:00.005+01:00

Good morning everyone...it's Friday! Thank goodness - it's felt like quite a long week :( Never mind, the weekend is just around the corner and I am looking forward to relaxing!

Last night, I managed to finally sit down and work out how to make an easel card. I looked at a couple of tutorials and it seemed simple enough but I realised that I didn't have a 12' piece of card so approx 11.75cm (A4) had to do so I had to adjust my measurements accordingly! That was the trickiest part. I have wanted to make an easel card for a while now and as it's my parents wedding anniversary today, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out this new technique....

I didn't want to stick to the traditional reds/pinks of love themed card so I used some yummy Doodlebug paper that I picked up at Hobbycraft this week for 49p per sheet....

Kept it fairly minimal (my mum prefers my cards when they are simple in design!)

I used my new Panasonic Lumix G2 DSLR to take these pics - I have not had a chance to look at the manual properly yet so these are what I call 'test' shots!

Took a pic from the side to show you what it looks like. I got to use my new Martha Stewart score board too...

What do you think? I think it turned out ok - was surprised at how easy (apart from the measurements!) it was to make. I will definitely be making easel cards from now on! My Mum was very impressed when I gave it to her this morning :)

On a side note, I've only received 3 entries for my stamp giveaway so I thought I would extend it until Sunday and post the winner first thing on Monday. Please feel free to enter as many times as you want - I think I'll get Atty to pick a winner out of a hat!

Have a great Friday...

Stamp Giveaway....extended till 08/08/10

2010-08-02T20:59:00.006+01:00

***STAMP GIVEAWAY EXTENDED UNTIL MIDNIGHT ON SUNDAY 8TH***

To help get rid of this silly crafter's block that I seem to be experiencing, I thought I would enlist the advice of my trusty followers. So, in order to be in with a chance to win this little stamp that I bought from Stamposaurus (brand new!):

...all you have to do is leave a comment with some advice on how to beat the dreaded crafter's block! I'll pick the best bit of advice out of those listed.

I'll start off with this one which I have tried but just seem to be in awe of other's work - the crafty bug doesn't seem to be following me:

"Try blog-hopping to grab some inspiration"

Look forward to what help you can give me!!! It's only a little giveaway so closes Midnight on Thursday and I'll post a winner on Friday 6th! Open to everyone so share the post around!

Greetings...

2010-07-28T07:43:00.009+01:00

...from outer space!!! Hello everyone! Hope you are all well :) Life is a little crazy at the moment but I managed to make two little cards last night - 10 minute makes! One is for my Nan for helping to organise my Grandad's 80th celebration and the other is for Atty's cousin who organised the Charity Ball we went to on 17th July - so much fun!

As you can see, very simple designs but I don't always think that you have to spend hours on a card. If you keep it simple, it can look just as effective in a very short amount of time. What is the shortest time you have been able to make a card?

The first card is for Louise (Atty's cousin) and I made sure it looked fun!

The card is partly for her two young boys so I made sure they would like it too! This little alien does the job...

Funky transfers with the crazy letters fit in with the out of space theme...

The other card is for my Nan so a bit more traditional...

Love the colours - definitely reflect the temperature at the moment!

Gorgeous epoxy stickers from DCWV...

I'm slowly starting to get organised with everything - even my craft stash was sorted! So hopefully I will be back on track with my card making now. I have missed it!

Thank you for stopping by - feel free to leave me a comment!

Busy Bee...

2010-07-20T21:29:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone! Hope you are still with me :) I know I have not blogged for nearly a week, how rubbish of me! I hope you can forgive - I started my new job on Tuesday back at my old job. It's only temporary so it's keeping me busy and making me very tired so I have not been able to do much crafting.

Being tired has not stopped me buying though! I managed to pick up some cricut cartridges in Hobbycraft for about £28 each as well as the Design Studio (£28 too) and the Jukebox (£40) which I thought was good.

I won the Anyone for Anya challenge last week so I was really chuffed with that! I am looking forward to receiving my prize. I have been stopping by people's blogs, even if I have not had time to leave a comment!

Anyway, I hope to make a card this week and post it up here. Thanks to those of you that are stopping by - I do appreciate it!

Hope you are all well :o)

Con-grad-ulations Emily...

2010-07-13T20:34:00.005+01:00

Now why did I think of that amusing sentiment after I made her graduation cards?! Always the way isn't it! Feel free to borrow!!!

The fab little graduate is a digi image from Pink Cat Studio (click here to purchase)

Quite different colours to use for a grad card but I love love LOVE my greens and blues!

Gorgeous papers from DCWV....Martha Stewart punch making another appearance...as well as an unusual way to use my ribbons!

Quite a funky card I hope you'll agree!

She loved this one and the other one I made for her! Love seeing people's faces when they realise it's handmade...definitely makes the effort worthwhile!!

Lil' sis graduated in London yesterday - very proud of her. Well Done Em! x

Hope you are having a good week. Can't believe it's Wednesday already tomorrow! Where is this week going?! ;o)

Emily's Graduation...

2010-07-11T20:40:00.002+01:00

Man, I am starting to feel old! My little babby sister is graduating tomorrow and it only seems like yesterday that I graduated! It really is scary how time is flying. Although it's been a lovely day here, I had to find time to make two cards for her graduation; one from me and one from my parents. I have had this digi image from TGF for ages and have been waiting to use it! Finally it has come in use!

I decided to enter this card in this week's Anyone for Anya challenge where they have a colour combo to use: black, white and pink...

Hopefully Em will be smiling tomorrow when she graduates!

Yummy paper from DCWV...

Simple sentiment which was coloured in with Promarkers...

Fairly simple design...and flowerless!

So there we go! I'm looking forward to giving her the card, I think she'll like it :)

I've just read the blog post again on the Anya challenge and their DT has closed now so I'll guess we'll see who the new members of the DT are in the next week or so...looking forward to it!

Only 1 more day off until I start work again *sigh*....it's been fab though!!!

Boy or Girl?

2010-07-08T11:56:00.006+01:00

Well I have finally managed to make a card! My time off work is whizzing by and I'm having so much fun! I've crammed lots in but still got lots to do too...I went to the Isle of Wight on Tuesday which was brilliant. The weather was fab! I've only got 4 days off left after this so I guess I need to use them wisely :)

Before I left my old job, I was asked to make a card for a friend's sister. The order was for a 'leaving to have a baby' card and for it to be personalised. Sounds easy enough right? However, the mama to be didn't know whether it was gonna be a boy or a girl so it had to be neutral colours. Easier said than done! But I think I did OK...

I made the little baby gro using the same DCWV papers so everything matched...

Gorgeous little silver charms and furry brads from Making Memories...

Cute little rattle! I also added a cheeky little pink gem inside the star...

Fab little punch from Martha Stewart came in handy...

Really hope she likes it! Think it turned out alright in the end.

Right, I am off into town to run some errands. Hope everyone has a fab afternoon! Thank you for stopping by :o)

Just checking in...

2010-07-02T20:59:00.004+01:00

I'd just written a long post and it didn't save...don't you hate it when that happens?!? Blimmin' technology...

Anyway, in short I was basically saying that it's been a crazy couple of days..

Wednesday - finished work! Really lovely day, sad in parts but overall really enjoyable
Yesterday - Atty's Birthday, Tank Museum - fab day and he loved his presents and card...big thumbs up!
Today - Goodwood Festival of Speed - brilliant but SOOO tiring
Tomorrow - Goodwood again...boy am I going to be tired!
Sunday - Wireless @ Hyde Park

Monday is RELAX day...I cannot wait as I need to rest! Anyway, thanks to those of you that are stopping by even though I have not posted anything new since Tuesday. I hope to get crafting next week in between my day trips out. Hope you are all well!

Best buds...

2010-06-29T18:03:00.008+01:00

Well it's only Tuesday and I'm still feeling like I'm on a tropical island so this colour scheme seems very appropriate! I had to make a couple of cards for people who are leaving as well asm me tomorrow so I made a summery one for my pal at work, Pippa! I had a little help this week as over on the Anyone for Anya challenge this week you have to follow a sketch...

Here is my interpretation...

Cutesy Anya playing her little heart out...

Funky little sentiment...reminds me that I don't use epoxy stickers enough...

Gorgeous K&Co Citronella flowers...

That ribbon is straight I promise you! I wanted Anya to look like she was sitting on something. Candy dots prove to be a vital staple in this one!

Yummy! So summery...

I can't quite believe it's my last day at work tomorrow. It all seems very surreal and so sad. I've made some lifelong friends at this job and I know I will stay in touch with some of them. I'm looking forward to my time off though...although not masses of rest since new job starts on 12th July!

Hope everyone is coping in the heat. I thought I was going to melt earlier and had to stop making my card as I was coming over all queasy!

My boyfriend the pirate...

2010-06-28T07:56:00.001+01:00

Good Morning everyone! Hope you had a great weekend. Mine was very relaxed apart from watching the England game (deary me!!!) and I managed to make a couple of cards. The most important one was for Atty's birthday which is on Thursday and I was in two minds what kind of card to make him! One of his favourite things is pirate's (don't ask me why...think it's a boy thing!) Anyway, after rifling through my stamps, I came across the Changito pirate set by Stampendous which hadn't been opened...so I had to use them!

Love these little buttons from Dress It Up range....

Used my beloved cricut machine to cut out the numbers and letters...

Cheeky changito makes an appearance with his treasure...

Another pirate themed button...the paper is from the DCWV All About Boys stack...

I used some flock to create a 'sand' effect...

You see how fab the weather was over the weekend by how bright the card is!

I really hope he likes the card! I think he will...I'm pleased with how it turned out and it didn't take as long as it usually does when I make 'important' cards :o)

This week is going to be a bit of weird one since I leave work on Wednesday so it's going to be a sad couple of days. Never mind, on to bigger and better things hopefully!

The little mermaid...

2010-06-26T14:22:00.008+01:00

Well, I can officially say that I am melting today! It is super duper hot here in Sussex with blue skies and very little breeze...shouldn't be complaining especially as I have time off coming up! Fingers crossed the rain doesn't begin on 1st July!

I finished early yesterday so I popped to Hobbycraft after work. Whilst I was browsing, I came across some unusual flowers from Imaginisce in a bargain bin! An idea then popped into my mind for a card (as it normally does in HC) and I thought of this week's Anyone for Anya challenge which was 'FABULOUS FLOWERS'...

This is the first time I have stamped this Anya and she is so adorable with the little gems in her hair...

The greeting is from TGF as well. You can see another flower too behind the sentiment. I love the glittery tail and shell bikini...

Gorgeous ribbons, forked at the tip of course...a cheeky jellyfish complete the underwater scene.

I used two different types of gems to create some bubbles. The backing paper is from DCWV. Used lots of circles too to add to the bubble effect!

I love this colour combo. I used a similar one a couple of cards ago for Scuba Diving Changito. I just love the Sea!

Anyway, I am off to enjoy the rest of the sun. Enjoy your day!

My favourite....cupcake!

2010-06-22T18:41:00.009+01:00

Hmm....when I think of my favourite things, lots of things pop into my head and I found it really tricky to pinpoint one thing. Until I came across my cupcake stamps. I love all things sweet and some of you will know that I have a longstanding friendship with the sweet treat! My friend Kim, (the one who left work about a month ago) makes THE most amazing cupcakes and they have got to be my FAVOURITE cupcakes in the whole world. She is the Queen of the Kitchen!

So if you haven't already guessed, over on the Promarker Challenge this week the theme is 'favourite things' and I think I might be able to churn out at least one more card with this theme (turtles, shoes, chocolate, disney princesses etc...!) but my all time favourite is the cupcake...so kitsch! Here is my inspiration - one of Kim's two tone cupcakes...

And here is my card...

The purple button looks like an iced gem!

Testing out one of my new Martha Stewart punches...

Think this sentiment is spot on!

Two tone cupcake (just like Kim's!) complete with a glittery case...

Looks good enough to eat doesn't it?!

Yum yum! I love that DCWV Sweet stack...those papers are delish too! Feeling in quite a creative mood tonight so I might get cracking on another one if I can keep my hayfever under control!

Lily Place Cards...

2010-06-22T09:09:00.005+01:00

Good morning all! It is such a beautiful day here in Sussex...roll on hometime I say! Sorry I have not posted in a couple of days. I have had a few orders to finish off including some more wedding stationery for my friend at work. I didn't have do write the names on so she just wanted them blank. I tried a few different options but she decided on this design...

Nice and simple but looks effective...

I love the deckled/hammer effect card which is from The Paper Mill (hand cut and folded!). The lillies are beautiful too - took quite a while to track orange calla lillies down I can tell you!

I'm not sure I could handle the stress of doing this full time but I guess I am fitting it in between my full time job at the moment! Maybe when I am stuck for ideas for a new career?! I wonder if I will make my own wedding stationery....there's a thought!

Enjoy your day...

Just Relax....

2010-06-17T08:35:00.012+01:00

Well I have the fortune (I use that in the sarcastic sense of the word!) of Sunday being my Dad's birthday as well as Father's Day and I was umming and ahhing about what to do for his birthday card and then I came across this week's Promarker Challenge which is 'a male themed card plus a sketch'. Here is the sketch...

And here is my interpretation...

The image is from Digi Boutique for 99p (click here) coloured with Promarkers of course...

Just typed the sentiment out on MS Word and coloured in the white card with a couple of different blue promarkers...

Candy dots and gems for a bit of bling...

I think he'll like it...it's much simpler than my usual style but I kinda like it!

I think he'll like the image....long story but my sisters and I clubbed together and bought him a beautiful hammock last year and he hadn't put it up still as of last week...so we all moaned at him for about a week and I came home from work last night to find him lying it in having spent the afternoon putting it together! So I think the hammock image is just perfect :o)

Have a great Thursday everyone...this is my Friday today as I am off work tomorrow. Very excited since it's Atty's last exam and my lil' sister should get her preliminary result for her degree so we're having a celebratory BBQ and I am in charge since my parents are at Ascot all day!

Feeling bubbly...

2010-06-14T13:26:00.000+01:00

Afternoon one and all! The sun is shining at the moment in Sussex and fingers crossed it will stay that way! Sun always puts me in a good mood!

Yesterday I got round to making a card and I wanted to make a card to send to Atty's cousin whose son has just been discharged from hospital as he had undergone a heart operation - he's only young but he's a real fighter! I didn't want to send a traditional 'get well' card or 'thinking of you' so bubbles were the order of the day for this underwater themed card and Changito seemed like the perfect stamp to use. It's these types of cards that make me want to go on holiday!

Cheeky Changito complete with glittery seaweed and an inquisitive fishy friend..

This starfish looks happy doesn't he!

Mr seahorse blowing a few bubbles...

Bit out of focus but this epoxy greeting looks fab...

Close up of changito who was coloured in with Promarkers...

Wanted to use circles of card to look like bubbles too...

My nan has just asked me to make some invites for my Grandad's 80th birthday celebration so I must get cracking with some ideas for that soon....amongst various other things!

Anyway, hope everyone has a lovely afternoon!

Promarker Offer

2010-06-12T10:09:00.001+01:00

Now everyone loves a bargain don't they? Well at the moment, Hobbycraft are offering Promarker sets for £4.74 per pack (saw this in the Hobbycraft at Havant, Hampshire yesterday but guess it is Nationwide!) Just checked online and there are 3 sets available at that price too! Click here. Delivery is free over £30 or £3.99 under £30 UK only.

Can't go wrong for that price!!

Pink Overload...

2010-06-11T18:47:00.005+01:00

Over on the Promarker Challenge blog this week, the theme is Pink Birthday and I completely agree with the DT girls when they say that they expect a lot of entries! I have gone totally overboard with the pink on this card - probably got at least 5 or 6 shades of pink but I kept seeing things on my craft stash that I had to use...maybe I will try and make a simpler card using the theme over the weekend...

Beautiful Tilda covered in roses and glitter...

Finally got round to ordering some gorgeous roses from Wild Orchid Crafts - embellished them with glitter...

Wanted to try something different so I folded some pink ribbon to make it look like a rosette (sort of!)...managed to use lots of buttons and some handmade paper even made an appearance...

Forgot to say that I added a little pearl to the centres of the flowers...

If you are still with me (thank you!) - I fear that the pink overload was in danger of making you ill! Hopefully fit in some card making this weekend as I've got quite a few orders and family birthdays....

Howdy Partner!

2010-06-08T15:51:00.009+01:00

Good afternoon! At the least the sun has made an appearance and the rain has disappeared...for now! Hope everyone is well. I have been ridiculously busy over the past couple of days (apart from the weekend when I was able to finally fit some crafting time in!) so apologies for the lack of blogging *slaps wrist*....I finish work in just over 3 weeks! Can't believe it :)

So I've bought a few new crafty bits and pieces, one of which was a cute little cowboy stamp from Stamposaurus. I'm definitely getting better at making cards for Kids - I actually found myself struggling to make a girly card about a week ago - what was that all about?! Anyway, back to the stamp. So this little guy was just sitting there waiting to be stamped...I had a bit of free time last night and this is what I came up with...

Such a fun sentiment...and best of all - it matches the theme! Bit of bling on the 'o'...

Lots of different textures and patterns including papers from DCWV and Bo Bunny...

Here is the handsome fellow coloured in with Promarkers...

Funky brads from Making Memories compliment the cowboy/sheriff theme...

I also used shimmer chalk on the bits of brown card - love a bit of glitter!

Hope you like it!

Sunshine + Friday = Happy Han...

2010-06-04T09:06:00.005+01:00

Good Morning one and all! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to update my blog in the past couple of days. It's been one of those weeks of all work and no play BUT I have a clear weekend ahead of me and I cannot wait. Had a few crafty deliveries this week including some new punches and flowers so I am looking forward to trying them out.

Hope everyone is well! I am stopping by blogs even if it's only for a few minutes and I'm loving the father's day cards that lots of people are creating! My Dad's birthday falls on Father's Day year (I know it varies per year...think it's the third Sunday of June?) so I'm gonna have to get cracking on his birthday AND Father's Day cards.

Anyway, I will get into the swing of updating again soon I promise - just been a busy week!

Simple wedding...

2010-06-01T07:58:00.005+01:00

Good morning all! I just can't believe it's the first day of June today...where is this year going? That means I officially only have 21 working days left at work...wow! That is gonna fly by.

Hope everyone had a great Bank Holiday weekend. Mine was a good 'un...chilled out lots and got to make some cards! Also saw Sex & The City 2 yesterday and had lunch with the family which was nice as we don't often do that nowadays.

My big sister has flown to Boston today and I managed to slip a little list into her suitcase if she just happens to go past a Michaels....fingers crossed hehe! I am desperate for a EZ Pull Ribbon purse but I refuse to pay £18 for one!

Anyway, my sister's friend got married at the weekend and she asked me to make a card for the happy couple. I'll be the first to admit that I am not too hot on wedding cards but never one to shy away from a challenge, I gave it a go!

Simple wedding embellishment did the trick..

The adhesive pearls are so pretty...

Plain white ribbon tied and trimmed...

Love the handmade paper...

Very simple card but I like how it turned out in the end...

Unfortunately,I think it rained most of the day but it was inside a country hotel so I guess it didn't matter too much. My sister brought home the wedding favours which were iced cookies in little bags - they were very cute!

I have just finished making 40 place cards for a colleague at work and she asked if I would ever go into making wedding stationery. I have enjoyed making the invites and the places cards but it has been quite hard to fit it in with a full time job! We shall see....

2010-05-30T22:13:00.000+01:00

Hello all! Just a quick one today to say that two of my favourite craft sites are offering free postage this bank holiday weekend (until midnight on Monday 31st)...

The Craft Barn - click here

Crafter's Cove - click here

I was fairly good and only picked up some Woodware punches and Stamposaurus 'Boy' stamps. Can't spend too much this month!

Flowers for Nan...

2010-05-29T16:33:00.005+01:00

Well we all saw that coming didn't we? Bank Holiday = RAIN! What a surprise! Never mind, at least it means an extra day off work though :o)

Just a quick post today but it's my Nan's birthday next week so I made her a card to celebrate...

I kept it nice and simple, nothing fancy - sometimes you don't need a central image or embellishment to make a card look nice...

I coloured the sentiment in with a promarker again to match the paper...

Martha Stewart punch making another appearance...

Gorgeous flowers from Papermania and Prima...

See? Nice and simple!

That's all from me today. Have a great Saturday!

Finally Friday...

2010-05-28T15:09:00.008+01:00

Hurrah! It's finally Friday on what has been quite a stressful week. I am very much looking forward to the Bank Holiday weekend as I am sure you all are too! Hopefully I can fit some craft time in :o)

Anyway! I have quite a few birthdays in May and I made this little cutie for a friend of mine at work. Hope she likes it! I decided to enter it into the Promarker Challenge this week with their theme of 'Anything Goes'. Check out the AMAZING prizes they have on offer...I am guessing they are splitting the prizes out (or at least I hope so!) as it would be good to see quite a few people win.

I took ages colouring Anya in - especially her hair! I tried out the Ryman card and it worked perfectly! It's not as stiff as other card I have but most importantly it doesn't bleed. Massive yay!

I decided to cut out the bow twice and stick with a foam pad with a jewel centre...

Love the purple and green together! I put faux white zig zag stitching round the edges - must try with a proper machine again soon...

Cute little sentiment which I coloured with a promarker. Perfect little butterflies too! You can just about see where I stamped purple pearlised ink on the green card...

Finished card...

Looking at it again now, am thinking it's a bit too busy but I am sure she will love the fact that it is handmade!

Roll on 3.45 when I roll on outta work! Have a great rest of the afternoon :o)

New Blog Look...are we liking?

2010-05-27T08:16:00.005+01:00

Hi guys! Just a little post today to see how many have you have noticed the new look? As most of you are ladies, I have no doubt that you have noticed that something is different! I am so pleased with the new layout and think it looks absolutely FAB. I must mention Heather from LeeLou Blogs who was a massive help in sorting this out. Thanks Heather! So...verdict on the new blog? Are we liking or not feeling it so much?

I must be honest that my blog is like my baby...I LOVE updating it and it's a sort of diary for me too which is great. Massive thanks to those of you that read regularly/comment/just pop by now and then - I really do appreciate it, genuinely. Better things are to come! I honestly can't wait until I leave work now - it's less than 5 weeks to go. I can be a lady of leisure for a few weeks and craft away the days.

Bought some coated cardstock last night from Ryman's so I'll give that a go tonight with my trusty promarkers. Atty is working late so it'll be card mania! I also stumbled across Wild Orchid Crafts. I am sure I am a bit slow on the uptake here but they seem to be responsible for many of the beautiful flowers I see on people's creations when I blog-hop. I bought a few bits from there including some hat pins which I can't wait to try out on some of my cards! Still undecided on distress ink...thoughts anyone?

Have a fab day!

Hands up if you love pink?

2010-05-26T08:22:00.003+01:00

Where has the sun gone?! I think it might make an appearance later on but with the British weather, you never know!

I managed to create this card last night before I went out for a curry (yum!) - am trying to get rid of my cold/hayfever, but alas, didn't really work! I have a couple of birthdays coming up and this is for a friend. Pink and girly never fails and as I haven't used a TGF image for a while, their birthday Anya came in handy!

I was pleased with the colouring for this image...just need to practise a bit more...

A glittery headband and gem centre for her bow completes the look...

I snuck a little butterfly into make the card even more girly...

Simple stamped sentiment with a punched glittery border...

Gorgeous Prima flowers make their appearance. I pinned a few together with a glittery white brad and embellished the leaves with glitter...

I decoupaged (must look up that word to check if I am spelling it right!) the cake; stamped, coloured and cut out the image twice to create the pop-out effect...

Et voila! I love PINK as I am sure you can tell from reading my blog and love the different tones of pink in this card...

I have decided to 'invest' (at least that's what I say to Atty when he groans: "What are you buying now?!" at me) in some products that I have not tried before...I might even do some reviews on them. Now which one to buy first?!

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - it always look so unusual so this technique intrigues me!
Silkies - I think they produce a similar effect to Smooch accent ink but we'll have to see...
Flower soft - I have seen some amazing things done with this product so again, I am intrigued!
Mirri card - no idea what this does but I'll find out! I've seen a few people use it...

I didn't get the job which totally sucked (big time!) BUT things happen for a reason and it just wasn't meant to be unfortunately. Is it going to stop me from pursuing my dream? It certainly isn't. I know if I work hard and be patient, I'll get there...you'll see!

Best cardstock?

2010-05-25T08:17:00.007+01:00

Hello loyal bloggers in blog land! Hope you are well on what is another gorgeous day. Shame I am stuck indoors....Nevertheless, the crafty side of my brain is alway switched on and I would like to pose a question to my fellow craft enthusiasts regarding cardstock.

Now I am a loyal lover of Letraset Promarkers and have grown quite fond of them since my purchasing my first pen in 2009, however, I have recently been drawn to Copics and how well they seem to colour. This got me thinking (dangerous I know) about the cardstock I have been using. I have had to try a few different types since alot of them seemed to bleed as soon as I got near it with a promarker. So, the big question is....what type of cardstock do you use when using promarkers/copics?

I have heard some good things in blogland about coated card with Ryman selling it. A trip into town might be in order (yay, payday!) BUT £10 for 100 x 200gsm sheets seems like alot to me...or do I need to shut my inner bargain hunter up on this one? Any advice will be greatly appreciated on this one!

I am trying to distract myself since I am patiently waiting to hear whether I have been successful with a new job. It's a dream role and I was over the moon just to get an interview but I am literally crossing everything.....so I just need to wait. What's meant to be, will be! Right?! :o)

Everything happens for a reason...

Farewell Kim...

2010-05-24T14:16:00.012+01:00

As most of you who read my blog regularly know, my pal @ work (Kim) left work on Friday so I thought I would post a couple of pics of her last day! Here is a pic of her beautifully decorated desk (if I say so myself...!)

Me & Kim...*sniff*

Group shot No.1....

Some random weirdo in the background...ahem...

Tanja & Kim having a bevvy...

Group shot No.2...

Faith, Kim & Janet...

Kim & Ralfy...

A wonderful day was had by all. Plus I got to leave work early to enjoy the rest of the sunshine - hurrah!

The knitting cow...

2010-05-24T09:00:00.008+01:00

Good morning everyone! It is looking to be a b-e-autiful day here in Sussex - too bad I am stuck inside working *sniff* Never mind...it's paying for my craft habit lol!

I was a bit poorly at the weekend which was a bit rubbish but I still managed to summon up the energy to make this card for the Pink Gem challenge. The colour theme was Pink, Burgundy and Green and here is what I came up with...

This lil' cutie is from the Pink Gem range. I made this card for one of my best pals @ work who is off to Africa for 5 months in August to teach english. She is a knitting fanatic so this image was perfect. The cow is coloured with promarkers (who says you can't have a pink and green cow?!).....

Love these paper embossed flowers with a bit of bling...

Simple congrats will suffice...

Paper candy dots for the finishing touches...

The card looks brown in the pics but I can promise you it is burgundy! I had trouble finding burgundy flowers but I thought they are close enough...

I must admit and be honest that I did struggle a bit with this colour scheme but am a firm believer in trying new things...and different colour schemes! I thought I'd try out for the GDT spot - no harm in trying is there? It would be a great opportunity, so fingers crossed and wish me luck!

Have a great day!

Sunday sunshine....

2010-05-23T17:17:00.006+01:00

Well it's a bit of a scorcher here today in sunny Sussex :o) Love the weekend's when the weather is as beautiful as it is today! This is just a quick post to spread the word of Debbie's amazing blog candy...

Debbie is offering...

1 @ Set A set of 72 Copic Ciao Markers (WOW! in it's own right!!!)

2 sheets of Sweet Pea Stamps

The Greeting Farm 'Buddies' Stamp Set.

12x12 K&CO Speciality Paper Pad ~ Madeline.

12x12 K&CO Speciality Paper Pad ~ Berry Sweet.

12x12 Basic Grey Collection ~ Green at Heart.
6x6 Kaisercraft Paper Pad ~ Lilac Avenue.
6x6 Kaisercraft Paper Pad ~ Tea at Elsies.
Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page set ~ Double Loops.
EK Success Medium Retro Flower Punch.
Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Scalloped Ovals Dies ~ Small.
Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Scalloped Ovals Dies ~ Large.
Tim Holtz Alterations Die ~ Elegant Flourishes.
Marianne Designs, Creatables Die ~ Butterfly 1.
50 (25mm) Two-Tone Paper Roses in assorted colours.
50 (25mm) Paper Roses in assorted colours
25 Champagne Pink Gardenias & 50 matching Cherry Blossoms.
25m Saddle Stich Ribbon in assorted colours.
300 (4mm) Flat Backed Pearls.

Candy closes on 28th May - click here to enter and check out Debbie's fab work too!

Cupcake goodbyes...

2010-05-22T09:04:00.000+01:00

Woop! It's the weekend. Double woop since the sun is also shining brightly! Atty is out all day with the boys so I am spending the day with my lil' sis which will be groovy. Yesterday was a bit of a weird one as it was Kim's last day so it was a day of mixed emotion's as well as presents, tears and lots of a'drinking! Was a good day though and I have no doubt that I will be seeing her again very soon :o)

Anyway, I was asked to make a special card for the team to sign for Kim and couldn't post it earlier in case she wandered onto my blog! As she is the 'Cupcake Queen', it seemed very appropriate to have a big cupcake on it!

This cupcake looks good enough to eat!

Decided to make it stand out so layered one on top of another...

The baby blue compliments the baby pink and lilac. Love all the different textures...

DCWV stack came in useful as usual...sweet as candy...

Gorgeous felt flowers from Making Memories with a furry brad centre...

Lots of different layers...

Have a great Saturday! No cards for me today but will definitely crack on tomorrow with a few orders! :o)

Love,

Lucky Cat...

2010-05-20T09:15:00.010+01:00

Cats are supposed to be lucky aren't they? Or is it bad luck? I can never remember! Either way it doesn't matter too much since my lovely friend Kim adores the furry critters so I had to have one on her leaving card.

The first wave of leavers depart from the office tomorrow and unfortunately, the situation is becoming all too real :o( I'm so sad that one of my bestest work pals is leaving and I don't want to think about it too much until it happens! Definitely an ostrich moment :o) Never mind, just means that we'll have to have more non-working lunches! Always a silver lining and all that jazz.

So....I have bought her THE coolest thing in the world as her leaving gift - more on that later - but I wanted her to have a funky and bright card from me to try and detract away from the depressive situation - is that silly? I picked out a really, really busy backing paper and went from there...

This little minx is from TGF and I decided to blend her with the background using Promarkers and embellished with glitter glue and Smooch accent ink...

My Martha Stewart punching is becoming a little bit obsessive so maybe I need to branch out a little! I do find it quite hard to punch sometimes so I punch some bits of tin foil to sharpen it!

A sparkly K&Co flower keeps the card cute and girly...

Simple sentiment with co-ordinating ribbon at an angle makes it a little quirky...

Only a few raised pieces on this card (think it's only the sentiment and the two circles)...

I gave it to her about an hour ago along with her gift and she loved it! Always makes the time you put in to creating cards so worth it when people realise it's handmade. Here is the present I got her....

A cupcake caddy! She is the Queen of Cupcakes and they seriously are to die for...she is so talented! So I thought this would be perfect for carrying them around :o)

Anyway, this has been a very long post (well done if you've read this far lol!) so I will leave it at that. Hope you have a fab day!

Love,

Blog Candy Winner

2010-05-19T09:04:00.005+01:00

Hello! Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to post this but a few things came up! Anyway, on to more important things....the blog candy winner is......

Number 2....which I believe is Dora so if you could email me your address (click on the contact button on the right hand side) and I will post your stamps out to you this week. Well Done Dora! A big thank you to everyone who entered - I really enjoyed visiting all of your blogs!

Love,

Blogoversary Candy Time...

2010-05-17T06:20:00.003+01:00

***BLOG CANDY NOW CLOSED...WINNER TO BE ANNOUNCED SOON***

***THIS CANDY POST WILL STAY AT THE TOP OF MY BLOG UNTIL 17TH MAY - PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR FURTHER POSTS...***

Woop woop it's CANDY TIME! My blog will be 1 years old on 17th May so I am offering a little bit of candy to celebrate. Apologies it's not a whopping stash like most people offer for this kind of celebration but I've had to tighten the purse strings a bit this month so you can win....

1 x Crafter's Companion, Flower Fairies Friends Marigold Set

1 x Crafter's Companion, Flower Fairies Friends Buttercup Set

So here are the usual crafty rules...

1) Please share the candy on your blog, either as a post or on your sidebar - I don't mind which!

2) Leave a comment so I can check out your lovely blogs!

3) Optional - but if you can please become a follower if you aren't already. I'll visit yours if you visit mine ;o)

Candy ends on 17th May @ midnight. I will post the winner within the next couple of days after the candy finishes. I will post worldwide so please feel free to enter if you are not from the UK.

Think I have covered everything apart from...best of luck!

Love,

That Friday feeling...

2010-05-14T14:54:00.001+01:00

A very quick post today with no pictures I'm afraid. I've had a bit of a busy week so have not had much time to fit crafting in but I'm looking forward to this week as I have a couple of cards that have been ordered. I'm off to Wembley tomorrow to watch the footie, and although I am not normally a footie fan, I am definitely looking forward to watching a highly-anticipated match!

Anyway, I will try to catch up on people's blogs over the weekend and comment where I can. Also, don't forget that there are only 3 days left to enter my blog candy. If you enter today, you currently have a 1 in 8 chance of winning - odds are looking good so please feel free to enter and spread the word!

Love,

Dino-mite...

2010-05-08T16:05:00.000+01:00

Happy Saturday everyone :o) Hope you are having a good weekend so far...whatever you are up to. I have spent the past 4 hours helping my dad, sister and Atty build a shed! It's taken way longer than I thought it would do but if it helps my dad out, I don't mind so much!

Anyway, I managed to make this small card last night. It was a bit of a silly one that I made for Atty to say thank you for being nice to me when I was feeling poorly. It didn't take long to do either...nice and simple!

The dinosaur is from a Woodware collection. I was undecided on whether to stamp him on to white card and colour him in but decided on just stamping him in black ink and embellishing the heart he is carrying with green glitter...

Love the sentiment too! Funky little gems and furry little star brads complete the look...

Atty said he loved the card. I think a lot of the time it's the thought that counts but he loved the stamp!

I'm off to a birthday party tonight which should be fun. I'm absolutely knackered from the shed building so I hope it's not a late one. Gawd I'm getting old! Have a good evening...

Love,

Friendly Turtle...

2010-05-06T07:21:00.000+01:00

Thursday already? This week is really flying by again. I had a big sort out at the weekend and found some stamps I have never used including this little turtle.

I'm glad I uploaded these photos and captions at the weekend as I am currently in bed feeling very sorry for myself :o( Got a bad throat and ear infection which is v.annoying...

Wish I'd coloured the background a bit darker so it matched the rest of the green tones in the card but never mind...

Paper flowers with button centres....green overload!

Matching punched out flowers with gem centres...

Cute sentiment which is just an epoxy sticker from DCWV...

Martha Stewart punch making an appearance again...

Have a good day. I'm hoping I'm on the mend now as I am getting a bit of cabin fever...

Love,

All things grow...

2010-05-04T07:40:00.001+01:00

Back to work today *sigh*....the bank holiday weekend flew by! Managed to fit in quite a bit of crafting which was good :o)

Still in magnolia mode, I came up with this little cutie...

I decoupaged her crown and added some gold gems for jewels...

Cute little flowers with pearl centres...

Love a bit of felt! Used a furry pink brad with an orange pearl for the centre...

Good ol' Martha Stewart punch coming in handy here...also used some mulberry paper for Tilda to sit on...

Love the glittery DCWV paper that I used in this card...unusual colour combo too...

What do you think? I wasn't too sure on the colour combo at first but think it worked out OK in the end. I just love the Magnolia range but they can work out quite expensive if like me you get carried away easily and things just fall into your online basket...ahem...I wonder if I could manage one month without buying any craft goodies. What a ridiculous thought! ;o)

Love,

Cute as a bug...

2010-05-02T17:44:00.006+01:00

Well it's already Day 2 of the bank holiday weekend but I am still LOVING the time off :o) Finally time to fit in a mammoth craft session! My magnolia stamps were practically throwing themselves at me this morning so I have been in magnolia mode all day. Here is the first creation for today with yummy spring colours...

How cute is Tilda? I don't normally colour her hair blonde but thought she just had to have blonde hair here...

Some pretty paper roses in yellow. I actually removed the green leaves so they could match perfectly...

Fun little windmill button - loving the glitter as always...

Lots of different textures including my trademark forked ribbon in a knot!

Thought this K&Co sentiment was just right...

Lots of different layers as you can see...

What do you think? I really love the colours in this card, nice and fresh for spring! I've only made two cards today but I think I'll be able to make one more by this evening. Lasagne for dinner...yum!

Is everyone else enjoying the bank holiday weekend? I'm excited to have another day off work tomorrow so I can have a full day's crafting as Atty is at work! Teehee!

It's actually stopped raining in Sussex for now...the sun shone briefly about half an hour ago but it's more or less been raining all blimmin' day!

Love,

Hot Pink Pirate...

2010-04-29T07:50:00.001+01:00

Woop woop....it's Thursday which means it's nearly the weekend :o) Definitely looking forward to a lie-in especially since it's a long weekend too! I'm going racing @ Goodwood as well which should be a laugh...I wonder how many other people use the horse's name to decide who to bet on?!

Anyway, I managed to find some creative time this week and finally got round to using a stamp which I picked up @ the NEC from Magnolia's new range. I love love LOVE it! As I mentioned earlier this week, somehow a load of magnolia stamps managed to order themselves from The Glitter Pot. Crazy no!? ;o)

Haven't used Magnolia images in a while but I am so in love with this range...

A big gorgeous bow to complete the look...

Short and sweet sentiment...

Big pink Prima flower with a button centre...I've embellished the petals with glitter too...

Lots of different layers on this card. Can you spot the candy dots too?

So there you have it! Definitely a funky pirate card with the contrasting pink and black....definitely one of my fav colour combo's!

I'm finish the wedding invites tonight and they are nearly there! Nice relaxing weekend please :o)

Love,

Age is only a number...

2010-04-27T07:49:00.003+01:00

Yikes! This week is flying by again. I've got to crack on with finishing the wedding invites tonight so am hoping to get those completed. My website is coming along too but it is alot of work! Hopefully it will be up and running the next couple of weeks :o)

It's not often that I make humourous cards but I absolutely love this little lizard and thought that the sentiment was just right!

Loving those tropical little candy dots....

Lots of bright colours used in this card...especially with the bright lime green ribbon...

Matching cheeky sentiment from the same stamp set...

Nice and simple right? I really like the bright colours...bring on the Summer...

I naughtily bought some of the new stamps from the Magnolia Fairytales Range 2010: Pirates and Princesses from the Glitter Pot and it has been shipped so I am really hoping it is there when I get home. After my rubbish experience @ the NEC with the Magnolia stand I will definitely stick to buying this craft range on the net! Has anyone else ordered from the new Magnolia range?

Love,

Big is beautiful...

2010-04-25T08:38:00.000+01:00

Monday already?! That weekend just flew by! Managed to make a few cards though which is always good :o)

Yesterday I went to Atty's Gran's 90th Birthday celebration sans Atty so it was a little scary! It was nice to see everyone and goes to show that I can do those family things without him :o) This was the card I made for her from me and Atty. I love theses big flowers from my Prima tropical tin - such a pretty shade of purple...

Purple flowers with torn paper behind and glittered petals. I added two more little flowers from Papermania to add a bit more depth to the flower...

There are lots of different shades of purple in the design but the two strips of patterned DCWV card are the only hints of patterned paper...

This is probably the most accurate photo with the various shades of purple on show...

I added some faux stitching in with a purple glaze pen...

Atty said she loved the card which was nice. I really enjoy knowing that people love the fact that is handmade and that real effort has gone into making a card. I'm not sure I could buy a shop bought card again!

My blog candy is now up and running until 17th May so make sure you enter. Got to be in it to win it!

Enjoy your day!

Love,

Glittered Butterflies...

2010-04-23T08:46:00.005+01:00

Woohoo it's finally Friday! I am so glad it's the end of the working week :o) I don't have a really busy weekend either for the first time in weeks so it'll be nice to take advantage of the nice weather.

It's Atty's Gran's 90th on Sunday so his mum asked if I could make her a card. I love love love the pastel pinks in this card and throught the glittery butterflies (from meiflower) were great. I added on the wire antennae and coloured their bodies with smooch accent ink...

I added on the wire antennae and coloured their bodies with smooch accent ink. I also coloured in parts of the embossed strip of card. You can see my Martha Stewart punch being well used!

Lots of different textures and patterns being used as well as various shades of pink...

I didn't glue the butterflies down completely as I wanted their wings to be raised slightly off the page...

Here is a close up of the result of the painstaklingly (sp?) slow process of flocking the letters...

Have not used paper candy dots for a while but thought the colours matched up nicely. Also used smooch accent inks on the rough edges of the torn strip of pink glitter paper...

Fingers crossed the weather will be nice for her birthday celebration on Sunday. I've also made a card for her from me and Atty so I will post that on here over the weekend.

Have a lovely Friday and enjoy the sunshine!

Love,

Why are pirates called pirates? Because they arrrrr!

2010-04-21T08:41:00.010+01:00

Atty's little cousin told us this joke at his Dad's 60th and it really tickled me for some reason! Simple things etc.... ;o)

I bought this Pirate stamp at the NEC (courtesy of Stamposaurus) and then found the perfect backing paper when I was in Southampton at the weekend. I was in the mood for crafting last night and managed to make this little bad boy...

How cute is this cheeky chappy? There is something about pirates which I love (I blame Johnny Depp) so I just had to have it when I saw it at the NEC. I find that Stamposaurus stamps actually stamp very well and you always come out with a crisp image as though you've drawn it yourself ;o) You should be able to see the embossing on the black circle behind - reminded me of waves...

Although the main colours of the card are black and grey, I wanted to add a little bit of colour so I used a few instances of red here and there. Thought this little red crab was very appropriate so I placed him on a black leather shape...

I decoupaged (is that the even a word?) his hat so it stood out a bit more and also coloured his compass with gold pen. The circle of card was actually white but to make it match, I used grey shimmer chalk to blend it in...

Lots of different shapes in this card so I used different die cuts for the sentiment to contrast each other...don't always like to be matchy-matchy! Like the circle with the stamped image on, this sentiment was originally pearlescent white so I chalked this grey too...

I drew white accents on the black die cuts to emphasise their shape. There is also a circle of black flock behind the red ribbon - you might just be able to see it...

He's so cute! I really enjoyed making this card with all the different shapes and lines. It was good to make a card that wasn't straight lines and neat edges...I like the criss-crossing ribbon as well as the various red highlights in the card. What do you think?

Glad it's Wednesday...ever closer to the weekend. The sun is shining here so I will be clambering for the exit at lunch time! Enjoy your day...

Love,

Have a beer mate...

2010-04-19T16:06:00.006+01:00

Boy oh boy, I cannot wait until I get to craft more! I am struggling to fit crafting time in at the moment which is rubbish as I have 'invested'/'splurged' quite a bit on craft supplies recently, especially at the two craft shows I attended within the space of 2 weeks! Never mind, not long until I can craft until my heart's content and become a lady of leisure (temporarily mind!).

This was the second card for Atty's Dad which was just from me. He likes a beer so I thought this stamp that I picked up from the NEC was perfect! I've picked up quite a few boy/male themed stamps recently so I shall be trying them out in the upcoming weeks. Admittedly I did struggle with this card as I was very tired and I couldn't think creatively, however, this is what I managed to come up with....

Close up of the contrasting ribbons...it took me a while how to tie the ribbons so they would form a cross (hey, I was tired OK?!)....

Need to save up to buy my craft circle punches to make it easier to cut (neater) circles...

Beer, complete with frosting! The ink manageed to blend with the promarker (whoops!) - think I might have used the wrong ink as Memento doesn't normally do this when I use that...

Good ol' foam pads came out to play here as you can see from this angle...

Two things, before I forget! First is that my blog turns 1 on 17th May so I will be posting my blogoversary candy later this week when I have sorted out what I will be giving away. The second thing is that I will be sorting out a website in the next few weeks as well and any advice about this would be gratefully received...I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing but I'm willing to give it a go! Lol! Wish me luck :o)

Hope you are all well and thanks for stopping by!

Love,

Travelling at 60...

2010-04-14T20:56:00.001+01:00

It was Atty's Dads 60th on Sunday and I had to make a card for Atty to give him. To be honest, I really struggle with male themed cards and I always feel under more pressure when it's for a family member or for Atty!

Atty's Dad used to be a pilot and is very well travelled so I thought this would be appropriate instead of using one of my male-themed stamps...

I cut the '60' numbers out myself and used shimmer chalk to emphasise the corners...

Also cut the letters out but they looked a bit lost without the blue centres so I added these in...

You can see the card that I used here...from the DCWV travel stack which includes a paper with aeroplanes on it. Perfect right?...

Love these little gems on the ribbon...all the colours go really well and not one of your usual combos...

The layers are fairly flat on the card about from the middle square...

Was relatively pleased with the final result but I felt it was lacking something - not sure what! Atty's Dad really liked it so I guess that is what matters. Guess I am sometimes a bit overly-critical on myself :o)

Anyway, I haven't been able to fit much crafting in recently but once I finish my job on 30th June I'm going to have plenty of free time to craft to my heart's content!

Hope you had a good Wednesday.

Love,

Hi there...

2010-04-12T07:59:00.001+01:00

Good morning everyone...that weekend whizzed by quickly! I managed to sneak in some card making after my trip to Ally Pally (more on that later in the post) and make this card very quickly for a friend.

I picked up some smaller square cards at the NEC a couple of weeks ago as I sometimes feel that the bigger square cards that I use are just a bit 'too big' for a smaller sentiment e.g. thank you cards etc.

With Spring in mind, I wanted to keep the colours light and fresh as well as keeping it clean and simple...

Love the furry brads that Papermania do...think they complete the look of the flowers. Loving the lime green also..

Thought this sentiment was perfect and matched the colours of the card...it's a stitched circle from Making Memories...

One of my favourite ribbon techniques is to tie two different colours of ribbon together and gently pull either side of the different colours and glue down then trim the ends of the ribbon...

Still avoiding those sticky pads at the moment as you can see...

This card honestly took about 10-15minutes as I was so exhausted from Ally Pally that I don't think I would have managed a minute more! I love the purple, green and pink together...I love lime green as a colour and because it's so bright, I often find it difficult to combine it but I reckon this works! Oooh Lime Green and Black is a great combo!!!

Ally Pally was great, managed to pick up some great bargains and it seemed busier than usual...perhaps because I went a bit earlier this year. This is my third time @ Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show and will definitely continue going. Much prefer this show over the NEC which was too stressful! I managed to pick up some of my dream brads from Doodlebug Design's which was great amongst many many stamps...I am officially obsessed, it's terrible!

Anyway, I did make two cards for Atty's Dad's 60th Birthday which was yesterday and will post them later this week. Have a great Monday...

Love,

Wedding Chicks...

2010-04-09T07:54:00.003+01:00

Happy Friday everyone!

I went to a wedding last weekend and thought it would be nice to send the newlyweds a couple to say thank you. I managed to pick up three stampendous stamps from ebay for £6 which was mega 'cheep' (hehe!) since the price tag on the stamps were about £6 each! I used this stamp on one of the cards and picked out the various pastel tones from the background paper...

The cute couple! I only coloured in the flower and the top hat since I stamped the image on coloured card and didn't want to spoil it...

Gorgeous prima flowers with a furry brad to complete the look...

You can see the different levels of the card from this angle - not as 3D as my usual creations...

Love the purple and pink together...

I am obsessed with 'forking' the ends of my ribbon tails! Just think it looks a bit neater but maybe that's just me...

The colours really remind me of Spring...bring on the sunshine I say....

So what do you think?

I am so used to certain techniques that you can run the risk of being 'set in your ways' but I always think it's good to try different things...even if it doesn't go your way! I like the stamped image with only two parts coloured in..think it's quite effective and stands out.

I'm off to Ally Pally tomorrow to stock up on craft goodies although I went to the NEC two weekends ago so hopefully this will be a smaller trip than usual (she says!)

Love,

Chocolate Easter Treats...

2010-04-05T16:30:00.005+01:00

Easter is definitely not complete with some kind of easter treat so the quickest and easiest treat to make is easter nests. I am not a fan of using shredded wheat and think cornflakes taste a bit nicer so they don't look as realistic but I'll settle for them being tastier!

A lot of them have already 'disappeared' but I managed to steal enough to place on my cake stand that I bought last time I was in Florida...

Love the baby blue and pink cases contrasting with the bright yellow cheeky chicks...

Close up of a cheeky chick guarding one of the nests....

Aren't they cute? Bought a whole army of them in Poundland!!

You definitely don't need to go overboard at easter as these were very 'cheep' (excuse the pun) and easy to make indeed! Plus the best bit...getting to lick the bowl full of excess chocolate....yum yum....still a young girl at heart!

Love,

Easter Gift Bags...

2010-04-04T10:40:00.002+01:00

Hello everyone :o) Hope you are having a lovely weekend. I've had quite a busy one as I went to a wedding yesterday which was alot of fun..plus the rain managed to hold off until about 9pm *yay*!

Instead of giving easter cards this year, I decided to make easter gift bags using some templates I had recently bought. I have never made gift bags but after the fifth one I was getting the hang of it!

Pastels definitely connotates easter to me but I didn't want to go overboard so mixed the pastel pink with sharper shades to compliment..

Love the big pink bow on this one...

The colours in this one really shout 'Spring' to me...

The lilac and yellow go well together - a colour combination I wouldn't normally pick out...

The photo doesn't do this colour justice, it really is a beautiful and bold shade of teal...

Each of the bags had a chocolatey treat inside them as well as decorative paper or tissue paper to complete the gift bags.

They went down very well with my family who were impressed with the bags and didn't realise they were handmade! :o)

Happy Easter!

Love,

Trip to Hobbycrafts...

2010-03-26T12:29:00.001Z

Hello everyone, just a really quick post but I am very excited as I'm going to the NEC tomorrow for Hobbycrafts. I've never been so I hope it's good....and I hope there is stuff left as I know it's been on for 2 days already!

Looking to pick up some bargains as well as treat myself to a few things...i.e stamps!

Have a great Friday...and maybe see some crafty pals tomorrow!

Love,

Citrus Chic...

2010-03-19T07:45:00.002Z

On a miserable day like today, it's always nice to look at cards like this to remind you that Summer really isn't too far away :o)

This was a relatively quick card to put together once I'd chosen the bits and pieces that I wanted to appear on the card.

No stamping though....isn't it funny how you go through phases of using certain techniques on cards e.g. stamping, only using embellishments etc. I definitely had a stamping phase! So I decided to try a non-stamped card....

Silky Martha Stewart ribbon in a glorious orange...

Bright as you like DCWV citrus matt stack....

Papermania sunshine (very appropriate!) capsule collection - cute buttons...

Some paper flowers from the same range along with a golden transfer...

Can just about remember what the sun looks like ;o) It really is bleak out there today...never understand English weather but that is one of the quirks of living in the UK!

Friday already? This week has whizzed by again (probably helps that I was off sick on Wed)...really hope I can cram some crafting in before the Monday rears its ugly head again. Only one week to go before my trip to the NEC....I am beyond excited but I hope I am not building it up in my head!

Before I forget, I managed to order a Martha Stewart scoreboard from Joanna Sheen before they went out of stock at £17.99 but whilst searching for other Martha Stewart products, I came across this site who have the scoreboard for £16.00 and postage I think is £2 for the UK so it works out the same, give or take a penny. Anyway, I thought I'd post it in the hope that it would help someone if they wanted it!

Have a great Friday...roll on 3.45pm!

Love,

Chocolatey Pink...

2010-03-17T12:05:00.000Z

I don't know why but this card really reminds me of chocolate...more specifically chocolates with strawberry fondant centres! Must have chocolate on the brain! :)

This was a card for Atty's Mum's birthday so I kept it clean and simple and not too fussy...

The card was white so I used pink chalk to match it with the colours in the rest of the card...

The ink actually looks a bit lighter in the photograph but it's actually quite alot darker than it appears...

Cute little pearls which also feature on the bow of the present in the stamped image....

Gorgeous pink felt flower with vellum, ribbon and charm...

Yummy colours right? I've been called matchy-matchy before as I love to colour co-ordinate (in pretty much every aspect of my life) which some find wierd. I just like things to match and get a bit frustrated if they don't (especially with my card-making) although I like to admit that I do like to try different colour combo's that I necessarily don't think go together...always fun!

Only Tuesday? It appears as if I've managed to pick up a chest infection from Atty which is making me cough and splutter everywhere - rubbish! Not sure if I'll be able to make many cards this week but I need to make some more cards to go in my stash @ work :)

Enjoy the sunshine if it's made an appearance -it has done in Sussex!

Love,

Post Mother's Day...Cards!

2010-03-15T08:18:00.002Z

I did actually make this on Saturday night but haven't had a chance to post it yet!

I think I have fallen into the trap that ALOT of women do in that since we have been together quite a while, Atty seems to think that I am now his personal , carer, secretary and birthday/christmas/mother's day/father's day card and present organiser! Or I wonder if it's just me? :o)

Here is the Mother's Day Card I made for Atty's Mum (who probably has more craft stuff than me!)...

I got to play around with my new Recollections insect stamps with this cute little buttefly. Can you see the flock on the body?...

I have kind of fallen in love with those damn Papermania capsule collections which can be quite pricey if like me you want lots of the different colours! I was good and only bought the bows, ribbon and flowers from their Verde collection...everyone loves a bit of glitter!...

Nice and simple! Think she liked it...I know Atty did. I'm trying to make cards with colours I don't normally use and green is definitely one of them. Love the different tones in this card though...especially the ribbon!

Han + ribbon = love!

Have a great Monday....

Love,

Wedding Invite Samples...

2010-03-14T14:18:00.011Z

Apologies for my lack of blogging recently....as you will see from the next couple of posts I have been quite busy (crafting and non-related crafty things!).

If you remember, last year I was asked to make some save the date cards for a colleague's daughter's 2010 wedding so now it was time to make the invites! I make 5 different samples so they can hopefully pick bits of different samples so that we can come up with an invite that that they are 100% happy with...

Sample No.1....

It's only one-sided so the information is on the back...

Sample No.2...

The lillie's were quite hard to originally track down since the bride requested orange calla lillies...

Gorgeous gold organza ribbon finishes off the invite ...

Sample No.3...

Not sure if you can see but the insert is in there but isn't glued down like the others. Calla lillies are glued to one side only and the ribbon is tied differently...

Sample No.4...

Very simple but effective...really like the handmade paper...

Sample No.5...

Different ribbon used again to tie the lillies...

Can't decide my favourite! I really like the simplicity of No.4 but like the fact that No.1 is one-sided and doesn't open up like traditional wedding invites! I am torn! :o) I really enjoyed making these and was a bit nervous as I've never made invitations before but I think they turned out OK!

These invites will definitely keep me busy when they have decided on the final design. I think they would like me to make the rest of the wedding stationery too which will be great experience for me as well as a challenge!

Love,

Mr & Mrs...

2010-03-02T07:43:00.001Z

Having picked up some cute little charms from Hobbycraft at the weekend, I had to try them out! I'm not normally a fan of charms but I have seen them being used on lots of cards recently and in the spirit of trying new things I gave them a whirl...

Different sized pearls - I love pearls, definitely a symbol of weddings for me...

Martha Stewart heart punch came in handy again...hiding a little pearl...

Here's the little beauty - managed to tie it with the two different colours of ribbon

Must learn to photograph in a better light! Ashamed to admit that the embellishment came pre-made but it really is so pretty and so right for this type of card...

Stampy stampy - wanted to choose a different wedding greeting and just loved the swirls on this one (FF collection). See the different ribbons and a cheeky streak of fine glitter...

Canny believe we're in March already...this year is starting to whizz by :o) Got a few Craft Shows coming up so hoping to pick up some bargains...off to Ally Palace in the middle of April and then first trip to Hobbycrafts at the NEC @ the end of the month. Best start saving now!

Love,

Dino Fun...

2010-03-01T07:54:00.003Z

Encouraged by the recent stitching I have seen on various blogs, I decided to have a go for the first time yesterday! Helped by my very patient mother, I was shown how to do a zig-zag stitch and after a few goes, managed to make a square! I know it's a bit wonky in places but hey, it's my first go so cut me some slack ;o)

Loving the lime green and brown combo so used both colours in the tag and ribbons...

You can't see it particularly well but there is some green flocking on his spots...

This was white card to begin with...I embossed it although you can't see too well (again!), then coloured in with a lime green promarker...

Had to get a button (or two!) on there as their presence has been lacking on my cards recently...

You can see the different textures here...including the ink smudging on the lime card (outer edge), embossed brown card, handmade green paper with stitching, plain brown card, then the coloured lime green card as the inner edge...

Different angle for the final piece..

This card was fun! Having had quite a stressful week it was nice to have such a relaxing weekend...I managed to make two cards to add to my stash (will post the other on here tomorrow)....I am enjoying the new techniques and products I have discovered - love to blog-hop!

Love,

Big Secret

2010-02-28T13:48:00.002Z

Thanks to Dora for this heads up! Prima are currently offering two fab prize baskets (one for US bloggers and one for International bloggers) worth up to $100 - wow! Click here to enter :o)

Finishes Sunday (28th Feb) - Good Luck!

Love,

In Love...

2010-02-26T07:21:00.001Z

Hi all, just a quick post but I made Atty an anniversary card earlier this week since it was our anniversary on Wednesday...yet again it's a Rachelle Anne Miller stamp - I just love her stamps...

Used a martha stewart heart punch in the corners of the card and embellished with glitter...

Two different colours of ribbon as well as them being different materials - trimmed the edges to a point - think it looks a bit nicer this way...

Fab felt and paper flowers from Making Memories...

Cute little porcupines (I think?!) coloured in with promarkers. Used a little clip instead of using an anniversary sentiment...

I gave it to him on Wednesday and I think he liked it :o)

I'm trying to do some card-making this week but I've had a bit of a funny week so I'll see if I'm in the mood. I won't bore you with the details (might waffle on for a while) but I wish I could craft all day every day like I know some ladies are lucky enough to be able to do. Perhaps one day...?

Much love,

Cats, like butterflies, need no excuse...

2010-02-23T07:51:00.003Z

Happy Tuesday everyone....well it's still very grey and miserable but I've got a day off work tomorrow so I'll be a happy gal at 5pm today! :o)

I knew I had to make another card for Mr Hannah's mum this week and I didn't really set myself a day to do it but I came across one of my Rachelle Anne Miller stamps last night and started colouring it in...and then I started to piece the card together. I don't know about anyone else but I sometimes get a bit frustrated when I have to set myself a crafting time slot (e.g. when someone has commissioned a card) so I've decided to try and not do that and just do it when I'm feeling creative and not so pressured...does that make sense?! Worked prety well last night as I really enjoyed this card! I was only set the theme of 'cat/cats'' so here's what I came up with...

Not sure if you can see it but I smudged some white glitter chalk onto the card. I also tried the technique with the promarker around the outside of the image...still not sure!

Glittery little brad for one of the centres of the flowers. Bit of smooch accent ink used here too...

Glitter, glitter, glitter, oh how I love thee! These flowers actually look like they are made out of fabric but they are actually paper...

Good ol' transfers came to the rescue again but this time in silver...

And then another view of the card...

Crafty Recipe...

Paper - Forver Friends 6 x 6 'Party Time' Paper Pack
Card - The Paper Mill
Ribbon - Stash (in fact I think it was the ribbon tabs you get on cardigans!)
Sentiment - Transfer sheet from Hobbycraft (Silver)
Image - Rachelle Anne Miller stamped using Memento Ink & Coloured in with Promarkers
Accents on the image - Smooch Accent Ink (Sugarberry), Sakura White Pen, Papermania Brad, Papermania Chalk
Flowers - Papermania 'Heather' Capsule Collection and some of their glitter brads

Hope she likes it. I actually decided to put some glitter on the wings of the butterfly to accent the wings a bit more but didn't take another pic!

Well best be off to work... :o) Have a great day, whatever you're doing!

Much love,

Turtle Cake & Flowers...

2010-02-22T13:51:00.000Z

It is now a little late since my birthday was over a week ago but I thought I would post some pictures of the amazing cake that Mr Hannah made me and the flowers that I had delivered (whilst they lasted!). I was browsing the usual stores for birthday cakes and they were very uninspiring. Mr Hannah made me a birthday cake last year too (a rubberduck no less!) so offered to make me one again this year. He said he would surprise me and he did! My favourite animal is a turtle...

Can you see the glittery waves? How good is that! I was very impressed...

A close up of the turtle, complete with gold dusted shell! You can also kind of see the shark that he made round the side of the cake...

Here's me - a bit rosy-cheeked...too much excitement for one day - just before blowing out the candles...

And here are the beautiful flowers that were delivered...my favourite flowers are lillies (pink lillies especially which were in this bunch!) How lucky was I? The boy did good...

What are men like though...I said 'Ooh you've written a card too' He replied 'Oh I'm not sure...I can't remember!', luckily he had though. LOL!

It really was such a nice day :o) It's our Anniversary on Wednesday so I've got to crack on with my card for him. Must really finish my thank you cards too....

Have a good Monday everyone...it's raining here (still!) in Sussex (boo!)

Much love,

Birthday Monkeys...

2010-02-21T15:35:00.000Z

Mr Hannah's mum rang last night to ask if I could make her a card for today so....I manage to pull it off! Did a little bit of it last night and finished it off this morning. It worked out pretty well as I can enter it in this week's Promarker challenge since it is any promarkers but using the theme of 'buttons and bows'. What a fab theme!

Here is my card...

Some cute little monkeys coloured in with promarkers....added a little orange gem on the bow...

Don't often use transfers but this one seemed to work well on ribbon for once...

Some glittery yellow flocking for the balloon...

Close up of the buttons...

Cute little felt star 'button'...

Matching ribbon and bow...

Crafty Recipe...

Paper, Buttons, Bow, Yellow Ribbon - Papermania Capsule Collection 'Sunshine'

Star Button - Making Memories

Sentiment - Transfer from Hobbycraft

Gem - Anita's

Glitter Flock - Papermania

Image - Rachelle Anne Miller stamped using Colour Box brown ink and coloured in with Promarkers - Cinammon, Cocoa, Tan, Tulip Yellow, Yellow, Pumpkin, Bright Orange and Rose Pink

I dropped the card in earlier and she loved it which was good! Luckily, she's also comissioned another card for me this week so I will crack on with that tomorrow. I really enjoyed this colour scheme and on this miserable Sunday afternoon - it reminded me of Summer! Hope everyone is having a nice Sunday.

Much love,

Thank Ewe...

2010-02-20T08:05:00.011Z

The day has finally arrived! I am this week's guest designed over on the Craftbubble LGS group. I set a sketch along with the theme of 'animals'. Mr Hannah's sister helped make my lovely birthday cake so I decided to make her a thank 'ewe' card using my sketch. Here is the sketch..

And here is my interpretation of the sketch...

How cute is the little sheep? He's from one of the Honey & Hugs sets . I added some googly eyes to give him a bit more of a 3-D feel as well as some cotton wool for his hair. You can sort of see where I have embossed the pink card in the corner with a flower pattern as well as using my Martha Stewart doily punch...

A gorgeous Prima flower with a velvety Papermania brad...

Just fancied adding these bows on as it looked a bit bare in the corner. I sometimes worry that my cards are a bit too crowded but everyone's different...

Another bit of embossing (can you tell it was my first go?!) and a sentiment transfer from the same range as the stamp...

You can see the different layers here...it's not very often that I don't layer the pieces of my card. I think it's quite important to have different layers to make the card stand out - but that's my preference! You can also see that i coloured some parts of the embossed card with grey as it looks a bit bold without the toning down...

I only used a grey promarker (think it was Cool Grey 3) fo the background and I coloured in his ears, hooves and nose with a jelly roll black pen...

Crafty Recipe

Sheep Paper & Stamp, Sentiment - Papermania Honey & Hugs collection

Image stamped using Black Memento ink and embellished with gelly roll pen, cotton wool and googly eyes

Bow & Ribbon from Stash

Flower - Prima with a Papermania brad centre

Punch - Martha Stewart doily punch

Hope everyone enjoys my challenge this week! I have to make quite a few thank you cards this weekend so hopefully I'll be able to have another go at the sketch :o) I'm really looking forward to seeing everyone's cards!

Much love,

Special Delivery...

2010-02-19T09:25:00.003Z

It was Lauren's turn this week over on the Let's Get Stamping group over on CB and she had come up with a great twist for this week's challenge! You had to have an embellishment (preferably hand made) as the focal point of the card instead of a stamped image...but there had to be stamping somewhere on the card. Here is the sketch...

And here is my interpretation...

Here is a close up of the embellishment - I cut out the baby gro from some pink handmade paper then embellished with buttons, a bow and dabbed some pearlised ink on the edges...

Here is the stamped element of the card - first go at using pearlised ink, stamped cute little pink footprints to create backing paper...

Instead of the normal 'new baby' sentiments, I picked a different one to use...

Crafty Recipe

Paper - Forever Friends With Love paper pack
Glitter Paper - The Flower Factory
Sentiment - Paperchase
Buttons, Bow, Stamp - from stash
Handmade paper - Papermania
Ink - Memento dewdrop Pearlised Ink, Orchid
Hanger - Hobbycraft; think it might be Craftime

*******************

Hope the girls over on CB like it :o) I must admit although it seemed a bit daunting at first, it was nice to go back to embellishments. I have been a fan of stamping for under a year so it reminded me of how I used to craft - I guess you get stuck in your ways!

Thank GOODNESS it is Friday, so pleased at that. I am excited about my first GDT spot over on the LGS group so keep your eyes peeled for that tomorrow.

Have a great Friday!

Much love,

Birthday Goodies

2010-02-18T12:10:00.001Z

Hello all, hope you are having a good day. It's looking very miserable outside my window at work at the moment - hope the weather is a bit better where you are!

Anyway, as promised, I am posting some photos of the lovely craft goodies that I received on Sunday from my family, Mr Hannah as well as my fab friends! I bore most of my work pals with my crafty obsession so they were really lovely and got me some fab goodies. Apologies about the poor picture (it was late last night!) Check them out...

Handmade papers, Honey & Hugs paper, Promarkers..

Embellishments, ribbons, transfers, brads, bows and fab FF stamps...

Papermania travel satchel, promarker holder, more stamps...

and more stamps....especially lovely new FF wedding stamps...

How lucky am I?! Totally spoilt but I was so grateful and over the moon...I can't wait to try out my new bits and pieces :o)

Hope everyone is well. I am hoping to make a card later for Mr Hannah's sister to say a big thank you for helping him with the brilliant cake he made me.

Much love,

Blog Candy Winner

2010-02-16T15:46:00.002Z

Hi all! I'm sorry I have been so slow in getting the winner up here! It was a manic day at work (and at home in the evening!) so I relied on good ol' Random Number generator and it came up with..........

....which I believe is JulyeB so if you can get in touch with me through the 'contact me' link then I'll get your prize out to you later this week :o)

Thank you all for entering and for your lovely comments. My blogoversary is in May so no doubt I'll have some more candy up for grabs then!

I'll take a picture of my lovely new craft goodies which I recevied for my birthday later - I was very spoilt!

Whilst I remember, I am the guest DT on the Let's Get Stamping group on CB and I'm very excited about this week's challenge - look for my post on Saturday (2oth).

Much love,

Just a quick post...

2010-02-16T08:48:00.003Z

I will post the winner of my birthday candy later today (apologies for the delay - it was a bit of a hectic one yesterday!) but just wanted to draw your attention to some fab blog candy on offer on Rosette's blog - check it out!

Pop back later (mid-afternoon) and I will have picked a winner from Random.org. Thanks for your patience!

Much love,

Birthday Candy

2010-02-14T21:00:00.002Z

***This post will remain at the top of my blog until Sunday 14th February (my birthday!) - please scroll down for recent posts***

Well as I turn 24 on Sunday 14th February, I thought I would offer some yummy birthday candy to my lovely followers.

I have one DoCrafts January-February 2010 goody bag for one lucky follower to win...

I have actually asked for one of these goody bags for my birthday as I thought it was fab so hopefully I'll get it lol! :o)

Here's just some of what's in the goody bag:

Exclusive Daisy & Dandelion Stamp

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Boutique Ribbon

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Embellishment Set

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Mini & Polka Dot Buttons

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Mini Bows

Papermania Capsule Collection *sunshine* - Petals

How fab is all that?! All you have to do to be in with a chance is...

1) Become a follower if you aren't already - share the love!

2) Please spread the word about this candy on your lovely blog

3) Post a comment to let me know you have done so

That's it - simples!

Entries close at midnight on Sunday 14th February and I will pick a winner on Monday 15th Febuary and post the winner during the day so please remember to check back to see if you've won :o) I post worldwide so please feel free to enter, wherever you are from!

Good Luck!

Much love,

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple...

2010-02-11T08:09:00.002Z

My good friend at work turns 50 on Saturday and as she commissioned me to make her daughter's save the date cards (and invitations, place cards etc!) I thought it would be nice for her to have one my hand made cards for her big day! The title of this post is tongue in cheek as she doesn't look 50...but I love that poem! As you can see, lots of purple on this card as I know she likes that particular colour...

I took a pic of the card flat so you can see the different layers...

Beautiful Prima flowers with a velvet brad centre...

Love the pearlised card...I coloured in the '5' and the '0' with my trusty Promarkers...

This is one of the bows from the new Papermania Capsule Collections...

Thought this sentiment was really cute...

Love this Forever Friends stamp - first time using it...

Another look at the finished card...

Crafty Recipe...

Patterned Paper - Forever Friends - 6 x 6 'For You' Paper Pack

Ribbon & Sentiment - Stash

Bow - Papermania 'Heather' Capsule Collection

Numbers - DCWV Spring Stack coloured with Amethyst Promarker

Flower - Prima with Papermania brad centre

Gems - Anita's

Glitter Paper - The Flower Factory

Stamp - Forever Friends coloured with Promarkers - Saffron, Blush, Vanilla, Silver, Amethyst, Lilac, Orchid, Aubergine, Cinammon, Cocoa

* * * * * * *

I'm starting to get excited about my birthday now! Only a couple of days to go :o) I am so silly when it comes to birthday (whether it's mine or a loved one's!) and I get so excited over them...even as I get older! Maybe I'll change my mind when I hit 30 :-s

Anyway, I am slowly getting back into my craft mentality. We had a CV workshop yesterday at work (and today) and I definitely feel a bit more proactive about what I'd like to do when my job comes to an end:

- continue wanting to be a production editor for a craft magazine

- perhaps go into freelancing for craft magazines?

- or open a craft shop (omg wouldn't that be heaven?!)

I will get there it's just a bit daunting not knowing where to start! What's your dream job?

Anyway, nearly the weekend! Not sure I'll have much time to craft this weekend (apart from my DT stuff for CB as I'm the guest DT for the Let's Get Stamping group next Saturday - major yay!)

Have a great day!

Much love,

Pink + Lime Green = fab colour combo...

2010-02-08T08:36:00.002Z

Well I managed two out of my three cards this weekend! Not bad going considering I thought...I was going to combine the last two challenges but I couldn't find an Anya stamp with wings on it - d'oh! I will try and do that card this week for a lady at work's 50th birthday :o) So over on the Let's Get Stamping group over on Craftbubble this week it was Karen's turn to host the sketch and her twist was 'wings' and here was her sketch...

And here was my interpretation of the sketch...

I came across the two different types of paper in the DCWV 'Kids' matt stack and it went perfectly with the Rachelle Anne Miller stamped image I had picked...

Very plain sentiment but wanted to use the word 'wishes' as the image was quite magical...

Here you can see where I have glittered and flocked - I reckon I will get obsessed with flocking!!! I wanted to keep the colours complimentary of each other so stuck to pink, green and brown...

Beautiful K&Co Citronella paper flowers...

I added a little pink glitter glue on the red gem to make it less red...

Crafty Recipe...

Paper - DCWV 'Kids' Matt Stack

Glitter & Flocking - Papermania

Flowers - K&Co Citronella

Image - Rachelle Anne Miller (Magic Fairy) coloured with Promarkers

Sentiment - Anita's Peel-offs

Glitter Glue - Glitz It

Ribbon - Stash

I have enjoyed getting back into the swing of things in terms of my card making this past week. I had forgotten how therapeutic it is :o) Anyway, here is to a quick week at work so that the weekend can arrive (and my birthday lol!)

Have a great week!

Much love,

All Creatures Great and Small...

2010-02-07T17:12:00.006Z

Wow...it's Week 37 over on Passion for Promarkers! I remember entering the challenge in their first week - it only seems like yesterday! Bet the DT has lots of fun each week with their creations! I haven't managed to have a go at their challenge since before I went on holiday but managed to find time this weekend to make a card with their theme - all things great and small - and created a card with one of my new favourite stamps...

The adorable Rachelle Anne Miller stamp using lots of different types of embellishing...

A cute little wooden ladybird to blend in with the 'undergrowth'...

First time for everything - I used glittered flock here for the centre of the flower! Also used my favourite - Azure Smooch Accent Ink for the raindrops...

Some fine glitter on the ladybird spots and Sakura Gelly Roll pen (black) for a faux-stitching effect...

As the backing paper was from DCWV doodling stack, I decided to 'doodle' on various parts of the card, including the Prima flower...

Crafty Recipe...

Main Backing Paper - DCWV 'Doodlin' Around' stack (8 x 8)

Red Square - My Mind's Eye doodled on with Letraset fine black pen

Yellow Square - DCWV 'Citrus' matt stack

Doodling - Sakura Gelly Roll Pen (black)

Image - Rachelle Anne Miller (Lily - My Little Friends) coloured with Promarkers

Embellishing - Azure & Pool Smooch Accent Inks, Papermania Fine Glitter and Glittered Flock

Flower - Prima 'tropical' tin embellished with buttons & Sakura pen

Wooden Ladybirds from stash

That's quite enough of the word 'doodling' it's making me all giggly! I know I set myself three cards this weekend but I reckon I might only be able to do two - I'll see how I go after dinner!

Much love,

Choo choo choo....

2010-02-05T21:09:00.000Z

I made this card for my friend at work for her godson and the theme was....Thomas the Tank Engine! I know I said earlier in the week that I actually struggle with kid's cards but I had a lot of fun with this one! I came across this image in a mini colouring book and coloured it in with my promarkers and then the rest started to come together...

Close up of the numero uno and the starry border with black glitter dots...

Here's Thomas, complete with steam puffing out of him! I used black brads to make it a bit more 3D...

Sentiment from a transfer pack...

Starry paper from none other than my favourite paper company - DCWV...

Crafty Recipe...

Plain Cardstock - The Paper Mill

Patterned Paper - DCWV, It's All About Boys

Image - Mini Colouring Book (from Sainsbury's!) coloured with Promarkers

Brads and Glitter - Papermania

Glitter Paper - The Flower Factory

Stars - punched out of red cardstock

Steam - cotton wool!

Hope you like it :o)

I've set myself the challenge of doing three challenges this weekend, namely my favourites - Let's Get Stamping group over on CB, Promarker challenge and Anya Challenge. Fingers crossed I manage to do them all....bring it on!

Happy Friday everyone - huge YAY for it being the weekend.

Much love,

Pink Gem Candy

2010-02-04T20:32:00.000Z

It's Janet's birthday on 27th Feb and to celebrate she is offering this FAB candy - as you know I love Pink Gem so would be a happy girly to win these! Hop over to her blog for a chance to win (thanks Cherry for the heads up :o))

Much love,

The Dragon and the Girl with the Duck...

2010-02-03T06:45:00.001Z

I've never been one to shy away from bargain corners and sales so when I heard that Pink Gem Designs had 35% off six of their stamps, I couldn't resist! The dragon and Mimi with the Duck were calling me and at £2.93 and £2.57 respectively, how could I turn them down?! They arrived yesterday so here are a few pics of them...

Pink Gem Designs have such a fab stamp range which is v.affordable and even more so when they have these types of offers! They will always hold a special place in my crafty heart as my first prize for a card was a stamp from them :o)

Hmm...now to decide which one to use first!

Much love,

Robot Ramblings...

2010-02-02T13:13:00.000Z

I think my crafting mojo is finally starting return (that and I have a bit more time on my hands!) so I have managed to make two cards so far this week.

I sometimes find it difficult to make cards that I consider to be 'out of my comfort zone'; cards like male themed cards and kid's cards but I came across one of the packs of stamps I had picked up in the states and just had to use him! I found some matching paper and brads and it all started to come together...I wonder how other people piece together their cards? I guess it is different for every card but first came the stamp, then the paper, then the brads and the rest kinda fell into place after that! Anyway, apologies about the dodgy photos (they were taken in a rush before work this morning!) - here is the finished 'robot' card...

The funky robot and rocket brads...think they set the card off nicely...

The little fella that started it all...

You can see his gem buttons here as well as where I have 'dabbed' on smooch accent ink around the rocket as well as the sentiment to give it a 'rusty' look and drawn green lines to 'accent' (pardon the pun) the edges of the frame - can't get enough of that ink, just so versatile...

Very blurry pic (apologies if it makes your eyes go funny!) of the happy birthday embellishment...I never used to struggle with this part but I do find it difficult to match my sentiments now, think I got away with it here...

Another blurry pic of another one of little robot brads...

Crafty Recipe...

Stamp - Recollections 'Robots' stamped with Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers

Plain Card - The Paper Mill

Patterned Cardstock - DCWV It's All About Boys Matt Stack

Brads - Around the block 'Boys'

Gems and Sentiment - Anita's and Papermania

Ink - Smooch Accent Ink in Green Apple and Pumpkin

So there you have it!

I guess it's good to 'create' out of your comfort zone every once in a while, keeps your ideas fresh instead of repetitive cards!

It's my birthday soon and I've asked for some promarkers (and a wallet) to add to my collection. I love using them and especially love the new colours. I am obsessed with stamps and inks now...I blame my fellow crafters! :o)

Hope everyone is well! I hope to start entering some challenges again now I'm starting to have a bit more free time again! Here's hoping anyway.... ;o)

Much love,

10(ish) minute make...

2010-01-25T06:24:00.001Z

Good morning all! Hope you had a lovely weekend :o)

My sister gave me the challenge of making a quick engagement card for her friend who had just got engaged. I was short of time anyway and up for a challenge so I managed to make this in just over ten minutes...

I wanted to keep it really clean and simple so I kept it very minimal on the embellishments. This is my first time using vellum and I loved it! I came across this paper by Papermania and thought it would look great on this card...

I 'cheated' a little as the embellishment was pre-made (apart from the white swirls of glitter which I added myself as well as the pearl centre for the flower)...

To add a little personalisation, I stamped 'Shell & Dave' with silver ink and randomly embellished with silver glitter glue...

Crafty Recipe

Papermania Glitter Vellum

Heart Embellishment from Artymiss (although if I had time I would have had a go at making myself as it looks fairly straightforward)

Papermania Fine Glitter
Glitz It Silver Glitter Glue
Silver Ink & Papermania and Studio G Stamps

What do you reckon you can make in 10 minutes?

Much love,

Why I can't stop buying craft stuff....

2010-01-11T12:21:00.001Z

Hello! Naughty me - haven't posted for a while...again. I made a funky card at the weekend and will try to post it on here later - got to try out one of my many new stamps *yay*

I finally got round to buying some new promarkers yesterday and bought the seasonal packs from Joanna Sheen as they seemed to be the best price per pen. I do think it's quite expensive to buy them as per pen you can pay anything from £1.40-£1.95!

Some of you might have already seen this but I received an email from The Craft Barn to say that Artymiss are no longer trading. I decided to click on through and perused their sale section to find a few bargains! I have picked up some Rachelle Anne Miller stamps (which I have fallen in love with recently!) for about £2.87 each! Postage is very reasonable on this site so I was quite impressed! You can see the range of Rachelle Anne Miller stamps if you click here

Anyway, I'd best get back to work. Hope you are all well!

Much love,

I'm still here...!

2009-12-29T15:51:00.004Z

Hello all!

Firstly, many apologies for not updating my blog in so so long, I am terribly ashamed but truth be told, I just have not had time in the past month to update it. Naughty me! Thank you to those that contacted me checking I was OK...promise that I am :o)

Right, so I shall update you on the past month......I went to Florida for two weeks on 21st Nov and had such an amazing time! I picked up soooo many goodies which I am desperately trying to find homes for :o) I picked up some more cricut cartridges (including Sesame Street and Disney's cars!) which were on offer at $39.99 (!!!) over the thanksgiving weekend. I saw a Cricut Create on offer in Michaels on Black Friday for....wait for it.....$69.99 - that's about £45! I was very very tempted to fit another in my suitcase but resisted and stocked up on cartridges instead :o)

So I came back on 8th December with Tonsillitus (had to go to doc's in FL - boo!) and was bed-ridden for a few days but was over that within a week. Managed to get back to work and clear my inbox and get back on top of things last week just in time for the Christmas break - kinda can't believe I've been back 3 weeks already! So that's what's been happening in Han world for the past month or so! Busy busy bee. Oh before I forget, I majorly stocked up on my DCWV packs and clear stamp packs in America - cannot WAIT to try them out!!!

I have actually made a few cards including a birthday card for my sister and christmas cards for my family but have not had a chance to upload the pics yet. I'm off work until next Monday so I am hoping to upload them to my blog as well as find time to test out some of my fab new products!! Have I bought anything since I've been back? Oh yes! Gosh, I'm terrible and can't resist a good bargain...I've managed to buy stamps from The Greeting Farm (my excuse - they had free shipping on xmas day), The Glitter Pot (my excuse - they had Forever Friends stamps half price and still do...) and All that Scraps (my excuse - they had Rachelle Anne Miller and C.C. Designs stamps on offer!) I blame my pals at Craftbubble for my addiction to stamps. At least I tend to pick things up cheap e.g. couple of packs of stazon ink pads approx £2, colorbox ink wheel approx £4.50 etc! I managed to pick up a few bargains in my local Hobbycraft too today...must.stop.spending!! Eeek

I really hope everyone had a FANTASTIC Christmas and got some lovely presents (please let me know if you got some craft goodies!) I got some cricut cartridges from my mum and sister, Mr Hannah's mum got me this brilliant pack from Create and Craft as well as a We R Memory Keeper's Mat set (she gave me this last year too and I have worn it out!) Mr Hannah was overly generous and bought my an ipod touch - couldn't believe it, I got all emotional when he surprised me with it!

Right, think that is enough to keep everyone going until I start posting properly again! Hope everyone is well :o)

P.s. My friend had her baby (whilst I was on holiday - 2 and a half weeks premature!) and it was a baby boy which they have named Joseph :o)

Much love,

Boy or Girl...

2009-11-20T06:35:00.001Z

My lovely friend Zoe goes on maternity leave today (can't quite believe it's come around already) and I was going to make her a nice 'good luck' card but after sifting through my baby embellishments I thought I'd make her a card which I thought would be a bit more 'unique'. As she doesn't know the sex of her new baby, I decided to have some fun and make a boy and girl themed card. This is what I came up with...

I found some epoxy stickers in my stash and thought it would be nice to have the different phrases to match the baby-gro's...

The gorgeous baby-gro's are too cute! I wanted to keep it simple though and not too cluttered...

Some cute felt dummie's with the word 'or' seeing as they don't know whether they are having a boy or a girl...

Recipe...

Paper and Pearls - Papermania
Baby Embellishments and Epoxy Stickers - Paperchase
Cardstock - The Paper Mill
Letters from DCWV Spring Stack

Really hope she likes it! I've got her some lovely baby stuff - hope she likes them too. It's got me terribly broody though - I think I'll keep that from Mr Hannah lol!

Anyway, this is the last from me properly for about two weeks now. I will try and update you in Florida when I can - have a great few weeks! Can't believe it'll nearly be Christmas when I get back. Eeek!

Much love,

Tractor fun...

2009-11-18T06:52:00.001Z

A friend at work asked me to make a birthday card for her nephew who turns 4 this week. I don't make children's cards very often so it was a chance for me to be extra creative! The brief included a digger or tractor, Joshua's name and the fact the he was going to be 4 years old. This is what I came up with....

I printed the digger on red card and coloured in a few bits with a black promarker. I then used red glitter glue all over and added two googly eyes..

I wanted it to look like the digger was actually saying '4 today'...hope it came across that way...

I kept the lettering simple, almost child-like and also made sure the colours matched colours in the backing paper...

The whole card is quite simple but I didn't want to overcrowd it too much with lots of different sections...

Recipe...

Paper - Kids pack from Dovecraft
Cardstock - Paper Mill
Googly eyes - Hobbycraft
Number and Lettering - DCWV Spring Stack
Blue & Red Glitz It Glitter Glue

I gave it to her yesterday and she seemed to love it which was good! I must admit I did struggle initially but once I picked out the right paper and sorted out the main image I felt much happier. Really hope her nephew likes it too!

I enjoyed making this card in the end as I haven't had the chance to be very creative in the past few weeks :o)

Much love,

My goodness..

2009-11-16T11:27:00.002Z

...I haven't blogged properly for so long! I feel very bad but to be honest, I just have not had the time which makes me sad! I am all packed for my holiday (check me out!) - I am so excited now as it's only a few days away. I am hoping to pick up some crafty bargains out there :) I have been so so busy over the past month and unfortunately, not much of my time has been spent being crafty.

Hope everyone is well - not much is new with me. Hoping to get my 'exit' date this week at work which will give me something to focus on. Just waiting for that dream job to pop up ;o)

I am trying to finish off a card for a friend at work (4 year old nephew - think diggers, trucks etc) and I am really struggling....so any help or advice would be gratefully received! Thanks loyal followers :)

Until next time....

Much love,

*Craftyhan's Crafty Corner*

Baby News...

Monkeying around...

A cat wedding?

Into the blue

Bee Birthday

Cupcake Surprise!

I'm still here...

Hello Cambridge!

News...

Pink and Orange 90th...

Happy Birthday....to a penguin?

Stamp winner...

My first easel card...

Stamp Giveaway....*extended till 08/08/10*

Greetings...

Busy Bee...

Con-grad-ulations Emily...

Emily's Graduation...

Boy or Girl?

Just checking in...

Best buds...

My boyfriend the pirate...

The little mermaid...

My favourite....cupcake!

Lily Place Cards...

Just Relax....

Feeling bubbly...

Promarker Offer

Pink Overload...

Howdy Partner!

Sunshine + Friday = Happy Han...

Simple wedding...

Flowers for Nan...

Finally Friday...

New Blog Look...are we liking?

Hands up if you love pink?

Best cardstock?

Farewell Kim...

The knitting cow...

Sunday sunshine....

Cupcake goodbyes...

Lucky Cat...

Blog Candy Winner

Blogoversary Candy Time...

That Friday feeling...

Dino-mite...

Friendly Turtle...

All things grow...

Cute as a bug...

Hot Pink Pirate...

Age is only a number...

Big is beautiful...

Glittered Butterflies...

Why are pirates called pirates? Because they arrrrr!

Have a beer mate...

Travelling at 60...

Hi there...

Wedding Chicks...

Chocolate Easter Treats...

Easter Gift Bags...

Trip to Hobbycrafts...

Citrus Chic...

Chocolatey Pink...

Post Mother's Day...Cards!

Wedding Invite Samples...

Mr & Mrs...

Dino Fun...

Big Secret

In Love...

Cats, like butterflies, need no excuse...

Turtle Cake & Flowers...

Birthday Monkeys...

Thank Ewe...

Special Delivery...

Birthday Goodies

Blog Candy Winner

Just a quick post...

Birthday Candy

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple...

Craftyhan's Crafty Corner

Stamp Giveaway....extended till 08/08/10