Memories Album

I thought that I would show you what I was making just prior to Christmas (for presents), it was some Memories Albums using the Memory Keeper dies from Tonic Studios. This one was make for our friend who we very often go on road trips with, the last one being our epic American Road trip in 2017. The papers I used were all printed using the Crafters Companion Destinations CD. I also printed off some resized postcards from the CD and used them as ephemera cards. You will see in the photos that two pages look undecorated these I added photo frames to these after I took the photos. I finished it by adding "Travels With My Friends", the letters I cut out with the Cricut and then added Glossy Accents to once they were stuck in place. I think I managed to keep this quite masculine looking, hope you agree.

Thank for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Patterned Papers

With Christmas rushing towards us so fast now I thought it would be nice to put something on here that was not Christmas related. I made this card using images and papers from Debbi Moore's Decadence CD, I've used gold mirri card for the matting and the corners. The corner dies are from Tonic and I made some flowers in matching pearl paper using a Crealies die, adding some matching flat backed pearls to the middles to finish. I'm going to enter this into Craftyhazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge, which is all about using patterned papers.

Tomorrow my Crafty friend and I hit the road to travel to Crafters Companion's Craftaganza retreat. As we both live here in the south of England it's going to take a few hours to reach Durham and the hotel where the retreat is being held. Once there we are in for three days of crafty fun (this is our second year attending this event). As we are also going to a Graphic 45 retreat the following weekend with Clare Charvil (My Creative Spirit). We decided rather that driving all the way home on Wednesday just to turn around Friday and drive back up to Kenilworth we're going to take our time driving down to there, stopping for some crafty shopping on the way at various shops we've only seen on the Internet. I hope to have lots to show you when we return after next weekend.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Wedding Day

As I'm sitting here at my PC writing this post Princess Eugenie and her groom are standing at the alter. My wedding outfit is hung upstairs ready for me to change into as today is also the day the my Niece gets married. I just wish that the weather was a little kinder to them both, especially after the wonderful weather we had at the beginning of this week. My card that I've made for the wedding is an 8x8 card base and silver card for the layering. I then used white card and Tonic dies along with stamps and dies from the Heartfelt Creations Dogwood collection. The swirl die cuts are from Tattered Lace. All my good wishes go to both Brides and Grooms for a long and happy life together.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Snippets And A Butterfly

My card today came together after receiving the new Tonic Mixed Media dies, while taking the dies out of the packaging I noticed that the card on the inside of the packaging was an Apricot colour, just the right colour for the current challenge over on Mrs A's Butterfly blog this time. So I quickly trimmed all of the packets up into usable sizes and used one for the matting on this card. A rummage through my snippets box found some gold card and a piece of precious Graphic 45 from the seasons collection, I layered these together and then from my ribbon stash layered some ribbons across the bottom part of the card. The flowers and butterflies were from a Scrapbook decorative strip that I won in a blog challenge sometime ago, it's been sitting on my shelf waiting for a project just like this. Finally I added a button again from my stash and a Best Wishes sentiment that was from The Paper Craft Boutique. A a lot of this came out of my snippets box I'm off over to Pixies Snippets Playground to see if there is still time for me to play.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Leaves

My cards today are for the new challenge over on the Twofer Blog, this month they want cards with leaves on. Last month the Tonic Kit (kit 12) was some beautiful leaf dies so this was a good excuse to get them out and used. I've teamed them up with some stamps that were on free with Creative stamper last month too. There was a nice collection of leaves that could be used as background stamps, some nice quotes and also some Halloween stamps too. The one exception to these was the Happy Halloween sentiment which was from a Chocolate Baroque set from a few years ago.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Celebrate in Style

This card has been made for my Mother to give to my Niece on her Birthday and it's been made well in advance as her Birthday is not until October, but it fitted with the current theme over on the CD Sunday blog this time around which is Celebrate in Style. It's been a while since I joined in with one of their challenges (sorry Ladies) so it was the perfect excuse to make this now. I've used Debbi Moore's Art Deco Summer Moments CD and one of the design sheets and backing papers. The flowers are made with a Crealies die and had been made sometime ago (I have quite a collection in different colours) with a flat backed pearl popped into the middle. The corners are made using a Tonic die, again these were ready in a box. I finished it off with a sentiment made on the PC.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Crafty Play Day

I belong to a local group of Crafters who meet once every two weeks on a Thursday evening and again once a month on a Saturday. Last Saturday was one of those days and below was the result of some playing with a canvas, texture paste, black card and gilding waxes. We started by putting texture paste onto the canvas and then partly drying it (the aim is to get like a skin on the top) and then pushing it about to get the ripple effect with a palette knife. When this was dry it was painted with a wash of Deco Art paints, I used Red, Yellow and Green on mine, although the green is very pale. While this was drying I cut out from black card, a Bee from a Tim Holtz Sizzix, Texture Fades die and embossing folder. I also cut out some flowers and leaves using some Tattered Lace dies that use the same technique as the bee, again in black card. The Dream die was from Tonic, I cut two of these and stuck them together. I then used Pebeo guiding wax on the Bee and Dream, and Viva Decor Inca Golds on the flowers and leaves (these come in various colours). After sticking everything in place I added some pearls that matched into the centres of the flowers and then some gold leaf around the edge of the canvas.

I'm entering this into the following challenge:

More Mixed Media Challenge - Anything Goes /Optional Green

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

75th Birthday

Wow the last week or so has just flown by and there is still so much to be done before the big day next week. Recently I was asked if I could make birthday cards for a friends mother who was turning 75 last weekend. When I say cards he wanted 5, one for wife, two for mother and 2 for Nan, his mother is also a friend so I also needed to do one from us too. Here is what I came up with for Wife. I used Heartfelt Creations flowers and leaves against a distress inked background. The sentiment is a Tonic die. Just a quick post from me today as there so much still to do.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Lavender and Lace

This week the challenge over on the Allsorts challenge blog is Lavender and Lace, and I'm rushing in at the end of the week with this card for the challenge. The card has a better Lavender colour in real life but for some reason I could not get a better photo than this today. I used a 6x6x card base and gold mirri card for the matting. The paper has been travelling around my worktops in my craft room for so long I can't remember where it came from anymore, only that it was free with a magazine. But it was just the right colour for the card. The lace is from my stash and the flowers left over from a recent workshop using Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies (again these were just the right shade).  The die cut circles are from Tonic and the pearl swirls from Tattered Lace.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comment which are always appreciated.

Sue

Fathers Day

A quick post from me today. This is the card that I have made for Father-in-law for Sunday. He is Cornish and loves the beach. The image in the card is one that looks similar to a beach that was close to where both of my in-laws lived for many years. It's from Joanna Sheen's Janet Kruskamp collection. I also used some shell stamps from Chocolate Baroque which were stamped onto card scraps and embossed with silver EP then fussy cut and used as embellishments. The with love is from a Tonic Die and the DAD from a Sapphire set, which came with the machine when I bought it. As I have used snippets on the card I shall be entering this into the Pixies Snippets Playground challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Husband, who hasn't seen this card yet as he's still away today playing golf. I made this card (an 8x8) by first cutting a piece of Sheena's stamping card to just over 7x7, then I used stencil paste through a Dylusions stencil which was over sprayed with Dylusions when the paste was dry. I then used Stamps by Ryn to for the background scene. The giant turtle is also a stamp by Ryn that I stamped onto a separate piece of card and then fussy cut it out and added it with glue gel. The Happy Birthday die cut is from Tonic.

I would like to enter this card into the Customer Creation Challenge over on Ryn's blog and also into the Stamping Sensations challenge which is Anything Goes (this will be my third entry into this challenge this month)

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Cake, Cupcakes And Sweets At Allsorts

My card today is for the Allsorts Challenge, which this week is Cake, Cupcakes and Sweets. I found this lovely image on The Makey Bakey Mice CD from Crafters Companion. I printed the topper onto some glossy photo card and the backing paper onto super smooth paper. After cutting the backing paper to size it was stuck onto a 6x6 card base with some ribbon wrapped around the middle. With the small piece of ribbon that was left over I tied a knot and stuck it onto the ribbon. I added the topper with a little glue gel to lift it slightly, made the sentiment on the PC and colour matched to the image. Then I punched some small flowers from a piece of the left over backing sheet and a Tonic punch and inked with a matching ink pad, before adding some pearls to the centres and some small leaves from a Nelli Snellen punch.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Black, White And One Other Colour At PCC

Over on the Perfectly Created Chaos blog the current challenge is for Black,white and one other colour. So this afternoon while try not to be interested in Crate and Craft and the new CHA releases I've made this card for the challenge. It's a 6x6 white card base with black matting, then stamping in black using two stamps from a Chocolate Baroque set called Sunny Sunflowers. I used the two stamps to stamp a background using a Black Onyx ink pad from Versafine and also to stamp two of the larger flower on a separate piece of card. I then cut out one of the flowers as it had been stamped and the other cutting away some of the stamped area making a layer to go on top of the other. My one other colour is Mustard Seed distress ink, this I used to distress the edges of the card and also the sunflowers, using a distress pen in the same colour for the centre of the flower. I then popped a piece of ribbon in a matching colour around the centre of the card before mounting onto the black. Lastly I added the flower using glue gel and also added a Best Wishes sentiment cut from a Tonic die.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Texture At PCC and Butterfly Challenge

I made this card to cover two challenges, At Perfectly Created Chaos the theme is Texture and the Butterfly challenge is looking for Jade and/or Jewels. The card looks more jade in real life than it does in this photo, but it has got jewels on as well so I have the challenge covered. I started by embossing a piece of white card stock in a Tattered Lace butterfly embossing folder and the taking a distressed crayon (peacock feathers) and rubbing over the whole of the card. Next I took a damp baby wipe and rubbed over the crayoned piece, as the crayons react with water this gave it a softer look. I then took the same crayon and went back over the top of the raised areas this time I left it alone. I mounted this onto some gold mirri card and then onto a white 6x6 card blank adding some gold and white ribbon around the middle. The fern is from tattered lace and the beast wishes a Tonic die. The butterfly is a Tim Holtz stamp, which was coloured and fussy cut before I added the jewels to the body. I mounted this onto the card with glue gel.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Father Christmas

The current challenge over on the CD Sunday blog at the moment is Father Christmas. As soon as I saw this challenge it had me reaching for Debbi Moore's Santa Clause 3 CD. It's taken me all week to get it made but here is my card for the challenge. I started with an 8x8 card base and printed off this wonderful Father Christmas to decoupage, he hangs over the edge of the card slightly, but I don't mind that. After matting the backing paper onto some gold mirri card and placing the decoupage on top I look around for some embellishments to add. These parcels are some that I cut out of some scraps last year from a Tonic die and didn't get around to using, so I added some of these. Finally I added the Seasons Greetings which was cut out from a scrap of red mirri card using a Britannia Die.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Sparkle and Shine With Allsorts

While visiting a couple of blogs this morning I saw that the challenge over on the Allsorts Challenge blog was Sparkle and Shine. So I decided that I would have a play and make something for the challenge. I rummaged around in my stack of stencils and found this one from Imagination Crafts of Snowflakes, then discovered that I did not have the colour that I wanted in sparkle paste. Not to be put off I found some pearlescent texture paste and used this through the stencil onto a patterned background, once I took the stencil off I sprinkled iridescent glitter over the top. When it was dry I matted onto some silver mirri card and then onto a pearelscent 7x7 card base and added a sentiment from Tonic dies.

I would also like to enter this into the Perfectly Created Chaos challenge which is Anything Goes.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue 

New Home

Just a quick card to share today. Yesterday my Niece and her boyfriend bought their first home together and although I could have had a card already made for them, they've had quite a job buying somewhere. Here in the south and in the small town where I live in particular there are so many people going after the same few house that are going onto the market, it has taken them well over a year to get this far. First they found that they were not putting in a big enough offer, then they found somewhere and because it was taking so long to go through (not their fault) the lady decided she would ask them to pay a lot more money. So they said thanks, but no thanks and started all over again. Then we get to now and they have just picked the keys up ready to move in at the weekend, I think you can see why I did not want to put the horse before the cart by making the card ready. This one was made using a tonic die and green and black card stock, it was quick and easy to make and ready to pop through their door later on.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

When I'm 65

Yesterday it was Hubby's birthday and he's reached his official retirement age, although he retired in 2012. We had a quite day together and finished it off with a trip to our local Indian restaurant. I had asked him what he would like to do to mark the occasion and he decided on a birthday tea, so later today I have family and friends arriving for just that. There is going to be loads of sandwiches, nibbles and cake all washed down with party drinks no doubt. As it's his 65th we are celebrating by going away and for this trip we are of to Vancouver and also an Alaskan Cruise. This is something that we have both wanted to do for sometime now. I'm also hoping to meet with a couple of blogging friends while there.

Below are a couple of the cards that I made for him, the first covers his favourite hobby, Fishing. And the second his latest obsession Golf. For the Fishing card I used an image from Joanna Sheen's Nostalgia Collection and dies from All Occasion dies and Tonic. The image show two children a girl and a boy, we have one of each, hubby often took them both with him while fishing but I certainly did not dress my daughter in dresses.

 The second card was made using the Fairway to Heaven stamp from Indigo Blu. It was coloured with distress inks and distress pens with the sentiment being made on the PC.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Collapsible Box Card

Today I have this collapsible box card to show you, made for my Father-in-law to give to my Sister-in-law the other day for her birthday. The beautiful flowers and papers are from Debbi Moores Country Rose Dimensional CD. The flowers were all cut out and decoupaged then popped onto acetate to arrange in the box. The sentiment is a Tonic die and the butterflies made with an All Occasions die. I have spoken to my sister-in-law since she received this and she loved it.

Thanks for taking the time to look and your kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue

Butterfly Birthday Card

Today is my Sister-in-laws birthday and this is the card that I've made for her. I started with an 8x8x card base then printed a backing paper from the new CD from MCS and Tattered Lace, Love in Bloom. It was a very plain backing paper which I then over stamped with background and swirl stamps from Chocolate Baroque. The main image and sentiment are also from Chocolate Baroque, I coloured the image with pro markers before cutting out with an oval die. I then mounted onto another oval cut in gold mirri card. The butterflies were cut from a Tonic die and the With Love from a Crafters Companion die. I finished by just adding a gem to the centres of the butterflies.

Thanks for taking the time to look and you kind comments which are always appreciated.

Sue