My Christmas cake

Cake I made for my daughters wedding anniversary

Tweet Card for LIM challenge

It is week 65 over at Less Is more and the challenge this week is SKETCHES

It has been a challenging time for me over the past two weeks, it was the first anniversary of my mums death on Wednesday and today marks the 18th year since my dad passed away. I am so not in the mood for making cards but I made this one in memory of my dear "dad" who loved birds.

 Image is from hugbug, and sentiment is computer generated. I decoupaged the birds, went over the script with blue gel pen marker and embossed around the birds with my cuttlebug. Simple card for me.

Encaustic Art

This week the colour challenge at ' simply less is more' is

Three Shades of Green.

This is what I came up with!

This is my very first attempt at Encaustic Art and I was rather pleased with the result, it isn't perfect but it was great fun to do.

I made the image with two different greens, and attempted to capture grasses and a bird in the painting. I think you might just be able to make the bird out on the close up camera shot.

I layered the image onto green card stock and framed the image with plain white card. I then stamped the sentiment in green (whispers ink).

Memory Card for my Mum

My mum died last Easter Monday, although the date has changed, my mum is filling my thoughts this coming Easter so I decided to make my 3 wonderful sisters a card each in remembrance of our wonderful mum.

Week 61

Its week 61 over at Less is More
They have chosen a
Picture Inspiration
 from the fabulous 

Design Seeds

This challenge was indeed a challenge for me as I don't have a great supply of inks or stamps, stamping is something relatively new to me as I like to make flowers, so after having stamped the image of the flower several times and in several different colours/combos, embossed and chalked I eventually came up with something that I was relatively happy with. This was my last shot as I wasn't going to waste any more of my card ......lol.

I stamped the image in olive green onto plain white card stock, cut it out with my nestabilities and chalked the embossed area and just inside the embossing with the pearl green and pink chalks. I then chalked the flower stem and just inside the flower with a combination of darker and light chalks and put little pink dots on the tips of the flower using TH spun sugar distressing ink marker pen. This was matted onto a larger label which again was chalked with the pale pink and green pearl chalks. I stamped the butterflies using Spun sugar distressing ink and added wire as the antennae and a few pearls down the bodies. I went round the outside of the butterflies with the marker pen and cut them out and atached to the card with pads . The sentiment (which reads "Happy everything") was stamped out using a paler green ink, but it hardly shows in the photograph. I chalked around the outside of the card and over the sentiment. Seems like it is missing something to me .....

Hope you like it!

Our Day out in Dalton

The day after Mother's Day, my daughter, myself and my beautiful little granddaughter went to Dalton in Furness to lay a rose on my mum's grave. It was a sad affair, particularly as this was my first mother's day without my wonderful mum. Near to my mums grave is a statue of a very old broken angel that my Grandad used to lift my mum up to kiss when he went to visit my Grandmother's grave...... my mum was only 2 when my Grandmother died. As we were leaving the cemetery, my daughter lifted Emme up to kiss the angel, she kissed it twice, at that moment my eyes swelled up in tears and I imagined I saw my Grandfather picking my mother up to kiss that angel. It was a very poignant moment. I kissed the angel and then we went to cheer ourselves up with a visit to Wax Lyrical to buy some candles and then a late lunch at the Swan Hotel and Spa at Newby Bridge.  We filled ourselves up with a wonderful meal and a drink of hot chocolate that is to die for! After that we went to feed the ducks on the River Leven, Emme had a wonderful time as you can see by the photographs. It was a beautiful way to finish off a very sad morning.

Green Japanese Plant Card

I cannot get this card to photograph right, the green isn't showing that well and the colour looks altered on the photograph, I have photographed it several times and moved it around a bit to see if the light helps, but it didn't. I have even changed camera settings. The image was stamped in a wonderful shade of green (Anna Griffin), but I can't remember the name of the colour now. I also sponged the image behind in the same shade of green but applied different pressure from top to bottom, but that is hardly showing through on the photograph. I mounted the image on a piece of card to give it a border and this too was sponged with the same green but again, is hardly showing. This was then mounted onto white cardstock and I stamped the sentiment in the same shade of green.

Even though I am not very happy at the way the card has photographed, I will enter it as my 2nd Card for this weeks "Less Is More". My choice of weeks are:

Week 5    Pastels
Week 44  Green
Week 56  Don't Scrap it

White Vellum Butterfly Card

Its week 60 over at "Less is More" and the challenge is to choose any 3 of past challenges and combine them to make a card. This is what I chose.

Week 12  Off Centre
Week 14  White on White
Week 16  Butterfly
Week 42  Bit of Bling

As you can see I have used 4 but figured it would be ok as Mandi has too on her demonstration card!

I traced the butterfly and scrolled flowers and leaves image onto vellum and dry embossed. I traced the butterflies again and cut them out and mounted them onto the vellum, I then attached the vellum to plain white card stock and secured it underneath the ribbon. I then added a few pearls to give the design a bit more depth. Hope you like it!

Pink Butterfly Card

I cut out the hexagon shape and border for butterflies with my cricut, then I stamped "our daily bread " butterflies into the hexagon and ran the border through the bug. I matted a bugged background behind the butterflies and lightly chalked the daisy's with pink chalk. I made a bow and finished the card with a few embellishments to the corner and on the butterflies.

Masked Butterfly Card

Hi friends and fellow bloggers!

 I have had such a hectic weekend, that I haven't made a card for a few days. I went out for the afternoon with my family on Sunday to celebrate Mother's Day at a local Italian restaurant, the food was delicous, so I will definitely sojourn there again.

Then yesterday my daughter took me to Dalton (near the South Lake District, Cumbria) to lay a rose on my mum's grave, it was a sad affair as this is my very first Mother's Day without my mum. The weather was kind for a change, but very chilly up at the cemetery. We all shed a few tears as we kissed the broken angel (the one my grandfather used to lift my mum up to kiss when she was a little girl). We then had a lovely lunch at the Swan Hotel at Newby Bridge, then after feeding the ducks with my granddaughter, we came home fully sated and exhausted.

 So to the business in hand! It is week 59 over at "Less is More" and the challenge is to mask a design. I have never done masking before and as I do not have a large selection of stamps, I was a little lost of what to do for the challenge. So I came up with this. I hope you like it!

I punched out Martha Stewart butterflies and fixed them to watercolour paper, then I randomly splashed watercolour paints onto the paper, after leaving it to dry I cut out the side panel and fixed it to my white base card. I stamped the sentiment from our daily bread designs and added a little butterfly to the corner and finished off with a few pale blue pearls for embellishment.

Altered Images

My daughter wanted a card for her mother in law for Mothering Sunday so this is what I came up with.

My new Tim Holtz distressing markers arrived today, so I am off to play!

Butterfly/Rose

Believe it or not, the roses were made with plain white thin card and chalked with the same colour as the butterfly but look so much different (They do in real life too)....... how strange!

Fairy Card

I stamped plain white cardstock with the script and rose leaves, stamped the fairy and the butterfiles and then coloured them with Tim Holtz Distressing Ink....... the card hasn't photographed that well but I rather like this design. Next time though, I will be less vibrant with the colour, make the card slightly longer and take the flower stamp that bit higher. This was my 3rd attempt ........LOL!

I have entered this card as my 2nd Lim challenge for week 58 over at "Less Is More".

Chandalier

Yesterday I was feeling a little bit sorry for myself when there was a knock at the door and I was handed a beautiful bouquet of flowers from a very dear friend, as these brightened up my day; I thought I would make her a card as a Thank You!

I used Pink Petticoat Chandalier, which I double layered onto a cuttled background, tied black ribbon across the top and added a bit of bling to chandalier and ribbon. The sentiment is from Pink Petticoat. I drew a squiggle above the printed image to match the original design to make it appear to be less "hanging in space".

Papillion

It's week 58 over at "Less is More", and the dreaded One Layered card with "Script" (What no ribbon)!!

Here is my very first attempt at a One Layered Card, photograph isn't that brilliant but I hope I have captured the essence of the card.

I stamped the script and the butterfly onto brilliant white card stock and the wording at the bottom with black in. I then embossed around the script with spellbinders blossom nestability die...... I was going to add a little colour or glitter, but card looked nice enough without it so I left it bare.

Sunny and overcast here this morning, I can feel Spring just around the corner, so time to get out the old duster and polish and start Spring Cleaning my nest before I head into the craft room!

I would like to thank everyone for their kind words about my cards, they are very much appreciated. 

I have been rummaging through other peoples blogs again and "Wow" there are some amazing "artists" out there who have given me a little bit of inspiration.... My next learning curve must be learning to stamp, I am hopeless at it so any tips/instructions or tutorials would be very much appreciated!
Does anyone know how I "unfollow" myself ...... LOL
xx

Check this Out

This is a Prototype, but not sure I like it. I couldn't get the ribbon to sit straight and my weaving went a bit astray when I assembled it.

At last I have managed to sort the ribbon out, took a lot of patience and faffing, now I have fixed that I think that the sentiment is wrong too, perhaps it would be better if it were in a circular shape to contrast with the squares of the weave...... LOL, I am never happy with what I do, I think that this one is for the bin!

Sympathy Card

So much for cleaning the house, I decided to use a couple of the roses I made to make a Sympathy Card. Hope you guys like it!

Using smooth white card, I applied a strip of purple flowered backing paper, which matches the vellum of the purple rose and over this I layered a ripped piece of mulberry paper, which matches the mulberry rose. I fastened a piece of black leather chording underneath the two layers before positioning it on the card. I then stuck the roses on and added a little bling in the top right hand corner. The sentiment is computer generated. With hindsight I should really only have applied one rose but it was too late to change my mind after I had applied the glue.

Good morning fellow crafters and friends!
Day 2 of blogging for me and still trying to find my way around the dashboard, (with a lot of help from my friend), so please bear with me whilst I edit all my mistakes and I will try to post more of my work and my info later today.... xx

Lavender flowers card

Another card today, this time with some
pretty flowers. It was a  freebie digi image from
 'Beccy's place'. I used Copics & Promarkers to
colour it, then punched some flowers for around
 the edge. The main image is mounted on another
 'cuttled' layer also. A little lavender thread around the
cuttled layer and bit of glitter on daisies completed
 the card.

Butterfly card

For my next card I used another
digi image. I decouped the butterflies
& mounted them on a blossom 'nesty'.
I cuttled a background layer then  used
TH distress ink (antique linen) on the roses
and also on the background area too.
I added a bit of bling on the ribbon &
 butterfly too.

Baby boy card

For my next card I used another
digi image. I used chalk on the image
& glittered the hood on the pram.
Handmade roses again & some lace
down the side also.

Pink flower card

Here is my second card, such a pretty
flower image I think :)
Digi image ( Daily Bread) , I used smooth
white card again. Image coloured using
chalks, I edged the card with chalks also.
Handmade roses/daisies made using a punch,
 then I added yellow pearls to the centres.
A bow completes the card.

Cream flower card

This is my first blog post so please bear with me :)
 I made this card using  smooth white card, the
 sentiment is computerized.
The rose was handmade using a punch on
Anna Griffin paper, then distressed using TH
antique linen ink.I completed it by dry
 embossing two panels down the side
of the card.Hope you like it .
I am entering it into the challenge over
at 'Less is More' this week, which is to
use  NEUTRALS.