Just to say.....

Morning everyone... 

How are we all?

I thought today, I'd share a little non christmas card with you. 

This one is from the wonderful Just to Say range from Docrafts, and I absolutely love this stamp. I love lilies anyway, so this one was always going to be my favourite!

I decided to colour it with the Artiste brush markers and did a few layers to give it a decoupage look. 

The colouring was washed in with an aqua brush, then darker shades added over the top with a denser depth of colour.

.... and just look at the card blank! These blanks are 5 inch square cards that are sold in a pack - already embossed! Perfect!! The embossing and weight of the card is just so lovely - my favourite this year, I must say!

I hope you like todays little project... I'll be back soon with another sometime soon!

Take care! xx

A little Gift Box

Just a very quick post this morning, as I wanted to share this little box with you.

It was created from a 12 x 12 inch sheet of Home for Christmas papers just folded, tucked and glued together. 

I finished it off with a Tulip Christmas stamp - how cute are these?!

Hope you like it! 

All I want for Christmas......

Hello again....!

Two posts on one day! That must be a miracle if ever I knew one... lol.. but I just wanted to share this little creation with you. 

I've been busy over the weekend catching up with a few family orders for Christmas cards, and even had time to do my personal family ones!! At least the kids won't feel too left out now.. lol.  

I also had time to make this one - a cute little stamp I bought last month to make the hubby's Christmas card.

I began by choosing the papers I wanted to use so I could match up the colours for the stamped image. This makes it so much easier (when I remember to do it!)... lol.

I layered up the papers onto mirror card, but opted for red so it didn't look too girly. I thought red gave the card a little bit of bling, but also kept it quite masculine.

Decoration was kept quite simple with a little poinsettia and a holly branch die cut. What did I do without this die?!

I finished the card off with a little bit of liquid applique and a dusting of glitter...

I hope you like today's little share, I'm not sure if I'll get back for the next few days as I have some magasine bits to work through, so please check back - I'll update when I can!

Happy Crafting!!!

I would like to enter this card into the following challenge..

Promarker Challenge - One for the boys

Frosty mornings....

Good morning all!

Well, it's finally warmed up a little this last couple of days, thankfully, but I just wanted to share a couple of photos from our doggy walks in the woods. 

It was a really bad frost last week, as most people across the UK had I think, but it did look really lovely. Just a shame I didn't take my camera with me up to the woods, as the pics would've been far better than these ones that were taken on my mobile... but I think they're still nice. 

Frosty mornings are just perfect for the furballs as they tend not to get too wet or muddy... however, try telling that to little Truly who is always determined to have her belly and feet dried come rain, shine or snow! Daft dog!

 Spot the Spangol.... Scooby our little Springy spangol was running around like a loon - probably smelling the rabbits I guess.

I hope the weather has warmed up a little where you are this morning. I know it's supposed to get cold again this week, but a few days of warmth has done me the power of good.. lol..

Have a great day everyone!!

Pretty in pink....

Morning all!

I hope you're all staying nice, warm and snuggly in your houses - I know it's not thawed out for the past few days here, and it's freezin'!!!

Only a couple more weeks until Christmas, and are you ready? I am... sort of.... presents bought, wrapped and waiting, and a few of the food bits got too. I've failed miserably with making my own cards again to send, but cards have been sent (they just weren't made by me.. lol). But that's nothing new really... next year I will make my own... !

Today I thought I'd share a non-christmassy card with you. This is from the Just to Say range of small decoupage from Docrafts - and they're fab!!! I love all the designs in this range, the stamps too! We don't have papers that go with the set, but they are such lovely images you can see they go with any you may already have in your stash - this was the Forever Friends New Additions. 

So here's how I made it. 

• Perfect pink - in the image, there are some pink flowers, so I decided to use a pink base card to accent these areas a little more. 

• Keep it simple - the image was a beautiful decoupage, so I kept the layers really simple. I combined layer colours and used white, pink and blues. It helps to bring things together. I also cut the borders slightly different widths for variation.

•  Embellish it - With this card, my little addition was a couple of die cut corners and a few gems. I put them in opposite corners to each other. I think it helps keep the focus on the image, and just adds a small bit of elegance. 

Now.... as you know (or should lol) it's been a tad frosty this past couple of days or so... so yesterday, I decided to go into the garden and grab a few photos of the frost on my little plants.

These were on my holly bush, which has bloomed this past year. It's a variegated holly, but at the moment looks white!!

And something a little more focused. I love how the crystals form on the leaves... my +4 filter came in handy after all! lol.

Righty... that's me done for today. I hope you like todays project... keep a look out for the Just to Say range in your local Docrafts stockist... they are simply stunning.

Until next time - happy Crafting!!

Lickle Wellyfants....

How are we?

I've had a really lovely weekend, all nice and relaxing - and even had a trip out to Lincoln Christmas Market yesterday with the family. Although, I must admit, it always seems to come to life more when it gets darker. We went around midday and the atmosphere wasn't there until the sun set around 4pm and it started to get dark. Suddenly, everything changed and it all seemed more Christmassy.

I could even be tempted to find my Christmas tree and put it up!!

So.. onto today's card, and I thought I'd share a card using some stamps that I won as a blog challenge prize. I totally love elephants, and these little guys are just the cutest!

I got a set of four... so it was difficult to choose which to colour up first, so I went for this one first... the other will be shown tomorrow!

Here's how I made it... 

• Make it darker - I firstly coloured the image using watercolour paints, then decided to make the background much darker than I usually would. I went for a mix of dark blue and purple paints to add depth. Somehow it helped to make the colours of the elephants pop a little. 

• Flush it - Of course I had to add some flush! A very good friend of mine once laughed that all my little animals have flushy cheeks... of course they do! It adds a little bit of personality doesn't it? 

• Highlight it - A little dot or three of white gel pen (I use Papermania Artiste) on the eyes and on the cheeks add a little highlight to the important areas. 

• Cut it out - I've decorated the card using a few different die cuts. The trees have liquid applique on them to give them extra dimension too. Using die cuts also helps to fill an empty space. 

And whilst I was colouring up these little cuties, I also decided to play with another couple of lovely stamps. 

This one was my total favourite from the set of Papermania stamps which came out with the Art Deco range. Isn't it just stunning. I love it. 

Again, coloured with watercolour paints and a very light wash background to make the colours pop. 

And this one was one I picked up from a local craft shop last week. I had got my loyalty points voucher, so used it for this lovely set. So classy isn't it.

As you can see, I haven't got around to making these two into cards yet... not sure how to finish them to be honest, but I'm sure I'll think of something by the end of the week. lol. 

Well, that's it for today... check back tomorrow for another little elephant card... I hope you like today's cards and pictures... Happy Crafting until next time!

Teddy love....

How are we? I have had a really lovely few days at home this past week.. nice and quiet. And I can't exactly believe how close it is getting to Christmas! Town is stupidly busy, people still buying presents and the car parks are choc a block! Meadowhall the other day was totally full in the car parks - 12000 spaces and they were full!

So, today, it's been a nice quiet day getting the car sorted out - general stuff - and back to blogging to share this little card.

I am in love with these cute little bears... and combined with the pinks and reds they're just perfect for any occasion. 

I've kept this card quite nice and simple so it's suitable for a beginner. All I've used is a little layering on the topper and a border punch for the edges.

Here they are in closer detail.

You don't even need to have any glitter glue - there is encapsulated glitter on the heart and other areas of other images, and you can see how it adds a little bit of glitz to the card.

And a bit of bling? Well, of course you need some... so a small amount of Anita's ribbon and some sparkly Papermania gems was added to finish off the card and add a bit of luxury.

So... that's the step by step decoupage... and what if you fancied a bit of stamping?

Oh gosh..... I've just realised the lace has decided to do a bunk! Sorry about that.. let's just focus on the stamping eh? lol.

The card was stamped in Me to You grey ink - it was bought out a while ago, and it makes a perfect permanent ink.

I then coloured it with the Artiste markers in a grey tone. Just odds and spots of colour..

Here's the watercolouring on the card in a little more detail..

Well... I hope you like these cards. i'll be back soon with a few more - and maybe not teddies! lol.

Just to say...

Evening!!

I really don't know where the last two days have gone - and I started this post yesterday! Didn't get very far did I? lol. In fact, yesterday I spent having a bit of a reprieve and doing a little bit of colouring on and off, in between the housework and furball cuddling!

I wanted to share with you one of the cards from the Just to Say range from Docrafts / Papermania.. and I think they're just soooo lovely for every occasion. 

Now, I know this is a sympathy card, and I will go into details below on how it was made. But here it is in full... 

And here are the smaller images..  A little close up for the embossing detail on the frame card.

And a little close up of the detailed stamp. So fine, yet so perfect to stamp with!

Ok... so here's how I made it.

• Keep it simple - The cards I have used come from the Just to Say range. They are a perfect little 5 inch square card and they come in plain, scallop emboss or dotty emboss detail. I chose to use two of the scallop frame cards, kept one as it is, and cut the frame out to stamp into. 

• Softly does it - Because this was made as a sympathy card, I used the greeting that was in the lily stamp pack. There are three sets - a sympathy set, get well set and thank you set. I chose to ink up in brown dye ink, pull the colour out with a brush pen and add a little lilac to the petals. 

• Babywipes again?! - yes.. they came out in force again, to shade in lilac ink around the outside of the smaller cut out frame. It emphasises the embossing detail a little more and adds a subtle colouring to the edge. 

I hope you like the card... I don't like making sympathy cards, but I just wanted to show you how the sets work. Perfect for any occasion me thinks.

Right... it's Horlicks time, then bed.... it's been a long day today.

Night night everyone!!!

Tatty Tatty Teddy...

Morning all!!!

Well fortunately, it has decided not to snow overnight like it was expected to... oooh it's way too early for snow! Brrrrrr..... 

Today, I've decided to share a little Tatty Ted card or two with you, but I've made it even more tatty by distressing the edges a little. 

The finished card I'm quite pleased with. I don't often do distressing, I much prefer the clean look of a perfect card. But I had opted for the Kraft card from Docrafts (LOVE THIS!) and I felt it just needed some inky edges on the paper.

The topper was part of one of the decoupage packs - Me to You with Love... absolutely perfect for any occasion really, and the glittering on the images is just perfect for a bit of glitz!

I inked up the edges first with Artiste ink. This was done with dye inks in Chocolate and Black, then scratched around the edges with a craft knife. Yes.. it was a blunt one. I'm really not safe with a sharp one.. lol.

The ribbon was created with raffia, which is a perfect combination to the kraft card. I made a raffia bow, then took some bakers twine and created another little triple bow, cut the ends and fastened it to a button.

This little card was a very very popular one at my recent demo's.

It is literally around 5cm wide with a little topper stuck to the top. The topper is from the card kit and just simply mounted onto a scallop circle die cut from kraft.

See the glittering on the heart? Just perfect! The raffia this time was knotted a few times, then threaded through the button.

I hope you like these cards... something a little different from my ordinary style.

Happy Crafting everyone!!!

Loving the Tatty look

Firstly... I want to say Thank You to the Passion for Promarkers blog, as I've won a prize with this card... can't believe it! 

That really got my day off to a great start yesterday. I really enjoyed making the card above too - totally out of my comfort zone working with the grungy type of look, but I loved this card.

Today, I have lots of crafting going on ready for the weekends demo's and next weeks shows on Create and Craft. But the main thing is to try and stay warm! At least it's stopped raining now, all ready for the snow this weekend! Perfect!

Anyway.. onto today's post, and I'm feeling Tatty-fied again.. so thought I'd share this little card with you. I really love this new range from Docrafts, and the colours in the papers when combined with Kraft card are just beautiful.

Now, I'm not one for distressing edges etc, but did a little bit on this card. Check below to see how I did it.

How I did it... 

• Work those edges - I decided that my main card was going to be cream because I wanted to dust around the edges with brown dye ink. I just plonk a bit of ink onto my glass cutting mat, then pick up the ink with a dry baby wipe which I wrap around my finger tip. Rub OFF then ON to the paper in a circular motion and you'll get those perfect dusty edges. 

• Doodle it - When you have finished dusting around the edges of your paper, take an Artiste pen in a coordinating colour and create a couple of doodle lines around the edge. Try not to get them straight, keep them creatively wonky ( !! ) to make them flow a little simpler. 

• Glitz and Glamour - If you dislike the feeling of glitter on your desk, or on your fingers, then with these decoupage images you don't need to worry! The glitter is encapsulated into the card so it doesn't shed. And all the decoupage is die cut. Win Win if you ask me!

• To bow or not to bow - that was the question! So for this card, I decided to use wide cream Anita's ribbon and just simply loop it across the card. Stick a length of double sided tape across the card, then cut a length of ribbon longer than the card. Cut both ends to an angle, then stick onto your card, you can then loop equally on both sides of the image. 

• Perfect layering - Kraft cardstock is one of my all time favourites at the minute. It really doesn't matter what colour cardstock you put it with, it will work perfectly! I used it with the Me to You double sided papers to contrast with the soft pinks and whites, and you can see just how lovely it is. 

Right.. onto today's work me thinks - housework first, then craft work next!

Whatever you're upto today, stay warm and safe.
Happy Crafting!

With Love....

Morning folks!!

What a surprise it was this morning to wake up and find it only cold, not raining! I'm pretty sure that the woofers are happy about that as they may realise they aren't going to wash away now... hehe. 

Joking aside, hasn't the weather been absolutely awful this past few days? I'm hoping that everyone who reads my blog is staying safe and warm. 

Today, I want to show you a card from the absolutely beautiful Me to You With Love range... this was on my show last week, or you can see it at my demonstrations. I am up in Huddersfield this Saturday at Armitages Garden Centre, so if you're passing please call in and say hello. It would be lovely to see you. 

How I made it..

• Keep it Simple - The main image of this card is from the die cut decoupage kit, which not only means they don't take any cutting (perfect for me!!) but there is also quite a bit of depth to it. So, to keep the eye focused on the main image, I have kept the background simply layered and then mounted the image on cardstock layers.

• Give it the edge - To accent the edges of the layers of paper, just go around the edges of it with a coloured pen. I have used the Docrafts Artiste pen in black. This makes the paper stand out from the background of the card. 

• A little bit of glitter - This wonderful Me to You range has the glitz and glamour that you need! The glitter is encased within the glue, so if you don't like the feel of glitter this is perfect for you as it doesn't shed! You can see the sparkle on the image below.

• Texture, texture, texture - With the decoupage and glittering, this card is already quite tactile. I decided to add a little bow from wide satin ribbon and finish it with a button and some raffia. Raffia goes with anything at all, and it's a perfect combination with the red tones in the image and papers.

So there you have it... my card for today. I hope you check back tomorrow for another little creation.

Until then, happy Crafting!!

Wonderful nature......

The weather has really taken a turn for the worse this past week - lots of flooding everywhere, over 200 flood warnings, flood alerts and the like, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everyone stays safe out there. 

We're very lucky to not live anywhere near water, so I don't quite need to grow my waterwings and webbed feet at the moment!

So, today... I'd like to share a few photos with you to celebrate nature at it's best. 

This first photo was of some funghi that the hubby noticed when out walking with the woofers. He came home and told me about the small collection that was going on under the said tree, so I ventured out, armed with his fuji camera and snapped these beauties!

Ever since I did my photography course years ago (and yes, I have letters after my name as a result!) I have loved  taking natural history photographs. In fact, my final assesment was flora and fauna, and I even managed to have a four page spread in Amateur Photography as a result!! So chuffed was I!

Anyway, I digress..... Red Caps (the Fly Agaric) are amongst my favourite funghi - so bright and colourful against the autumn tones that you'd find them nestled amongst at this time of year.

This little one was just sat all by itself, and I thought the leaves just added to the feel of the picture. I think these funghi are pretty cool.. I hope you do too!

Now.. this little view is from the back of the house. My daughter shouted me - as she has a thing about clouds! - and told me that the sky looked beautiful... so again, grabbed hubby's small fuji camera (because it's quicker to find!) and snapped this picture. Cool eh?

I did darken the image VERY slightly, so the houses were more in silhouette.

I hope you like today's post.. back with crafty bits and bobs tomorrow - I spent yesterday making my room a little tidier, so I can now at least get to the desk! That's always a bonus isn't it.. lol.

Until next time!!!

Hello Little Ted....

Hello again!!

Well, surprise surprise... I managed to get back to my blog to bring you another little Christmas card as promised. 

I really can't believe Christmas is coming around so quickly - although this year, I am very prepared and just need to pick up one more present. Usually, I'm still shopping around a few days before! I've already posted some cards and need to get my finger out next week and get making my special ones. 

So.. today's card was one that was asked for, for a Grandson, and I thought this little image was so cute. I really like making cute cards, so it's no surprise the little ted caught my eye in the pack. 

How I did it... 

• Match it up - Using mirror card for the layers helped to bring out the wonderful gold foiling on the topper. As there was alot of white on the image, a white card was used for the base. Remember to leave a small border all the way around the edges to contain the design. 

• All about texture - Combine the traditional colours of christmas with something a little softer. The net bow adds a little bit of elegance to the image. Layered up with twine and a button makes the card a bit more tactile for a child. Just remember to stick it on well!

• Make it softer - traditional colours are great as a contrast to the more contemporary ones in this topper. To soften the edges to help them blend in, file lightly with a nail file to bring out some of the base colour. 

• Little details - if you cannot find the right sentiment for your topper, use rub on letters to create it. These are small Doodlebug rub ons and the heart on the hat is from the same pack. 

I hope you like the card, and I hope you like the details that I've given. This is something I've been thinking of doing for a while now, so we'll see how we go..

Okay dokay... until next time!!!

Oh little bear... little bear....

Morning folks...

Well, it's a very wet, miserable and grey day here in Doncaster again. Perfect day to get stuck in to making more samples for my upcoming shows on Create and Craft I think.. then I can sit and relax this evening. Great idea me thinks...

Today, I have something a little different to show... I have made a Christmas card to fit in with the challenge over at the Promarker Challenge blog. I just loves my alcohol markers, so it was great fun to get them out to play.

Here's my card.

Sorry for the quality of the picture - I must really get my camera back out and stop being so lazy, taking pictures on my phone... the quality really isn't that great!

Anyway.. I've coloured onto the wonderful Papermania Kraft card, love this stuff... and I've coloured with the promarkers. I did add a little black shadow with pencils. I've noticed the oval looks really squint on this photo, in fact it is rather oval-ly and fits the frame really well!

Here's a little close up of the colouring.

I'll be back tomorrow with a really cute little commissioned card... hope you check back soon!

A little Art Deco....

This weekend went past in a bit of a hurry! I did promise to come back and upload a few cards for you, but never really had chance. I've enjoyed a very lovely, peaceful weekend with the Mr... but today, I have got two cards to show you!

I am not tiring of the Art Deco at all... I am loving it more every time I get the pack out! I was asked to make a few special Christmas cards so thought I would treat myself to a pack to use and came up with these two cards.

Now, the images aren't necessarily Christmas, but they can be used for any occasion as you can see.

I chose two of my favourite images to use on the cards, and made these into 8 inch square cards. I think the beauty of these images needs the larger size cards. The one above I've used a die cut border on each side and kept it quite nice and simple. Just matching up the colours of the background to the dress and a little bit of silver mirror card finishes it.

This was the second card... and I LOVE this image. The decoupage is stunning and the foiling that is on these designs is amazing. Absolutely beautiful.

With this one, I went with gold mirror card because of the gold foiling on the dress.

I used some Christmassy papers that I had in my box and again, a little die cut to decorate. For the main part of the image, I filed around the edges to give it a light distressed look.

Well, I hope you love these images as much as I do.... and if you've used the Art Deco range, pop by and tell me... and I'll come and take a peep.

Happy Crafting everyone!