WOYWW 191 - First day of leisure

Happy WOYWW!

It's my first day of leisure or packing - I prefer leisure, packing can wait ;)

I'm actually writing this in my pj's for the first time ever!! YAY!! I have had a great week and I am happy for it to be that time of the week already!! Join me and many others over at Stamping Ground with Julia, for our weekly desk viewing. Go to Julia's blog to find out more.

My desk is looking considerably tidier than last week!

So what's on my desk!
My new doilies, I've got some Pinterest inspiration printed out, which you can see. The doilies are really sweet, they are quite small and I bought them on eBay. There are bows, my glasses, some flowers for a project that is in my head, left over butterflies, my fave stack of Martha Stewart inks and a couple of glue rollers. Next week I have set aside a day to play with the air dry clay I bought last year...I bought these plunger moulds that you can see and I am going to make pendants and brooches, but I was also thinking they would be cute framed?

Here is a close of of one of the flower moulds -

I've also had a successful week selling Valentine's cards and other things on the website - yay! This is great news and random, who knew how popular Valentine's Day was?!

I'm going into town to the most amazing Paperchase ever, it's on Tottenham Court Road and if you are ever in London, go there!! Yay! It's treat time :)

Oh and WOYWW'ers - go to Monday's post to see the finished Scottie and Anniversary cards :)

Cx

Saying goodbye and thank you...

So it's my last day at work today. It's been hard work for 7 months, but I've met some nice people. So to say thank you, I decided to give people a calendar.

I wanted to wrap them nicely and write a little note.

The main photo is of the calendars with a note, wrapped and embellished.

I am very pleased with these. I used plain kraft paper sheets from Paperchase, and wrapped them around the calendar and secured with tape, making a kind of pouch. I then cut out these journaling cards to use for writing notes.

But I felt they didn't stand out against the paper enough so, I mounted them onto slightly bigger pieces of paper and I used scraps from the Amy Tangerine paper set..again! Here's a photo, but I had to mask it off, so you can't see the journaling cards, as I was dumbo and wrote on them before taking the photos - doh!

The butterflies, were cut using my shiny new Xcut butterfly dies - yes lots of new treats for me, but with the move, no clothes, no bags, no nothing..but the craft boxes have space, so if it can fit in then I can buy it!! Whoo hoo!! I used scraps of paper and co-ordinating Candi's, I think it all looks a bit shabby chic?

Here is one last close-up photo of the blue butterflies, you can just see some of the journaling paper peeking out.

So I guess this is me saying goodbye and thanks..

Cx

Birthday Woofs!

Hey! Hope you had a good weekend, I am super happy, as I only have 2 more days of work to go..Yay! LOL status here I come...

I had a fun craft related weekend, more about that later in the week.

As you can see from the main photo today, I finished my Scottie dog that was on my WOYWW 190 desk last week. I think he's cute and I'm going to make another one, with a 2nd Birthday on the tag for my Nephew.

Here are a couple more - there are lots more over at my shop for sale. They are really fun and easy to make, I think a few people will be receiving these from me soon!

Scottie - Green Big Spots

The ones that I have made for sale, have a little change to the one shown in the main photo. I decided I didn't like the Candi so much and opted for using these big flat sequins (they came from £land and you get x6 colours and millions of them) with adhesive gems instead. I prefer this. I like the kraft card blank too.

Last week, I also had the little pile of heart anniversary cards on my desk. Well, I felt they needed a greeting and my fellow crafters agreed.

This did not prove to be as easy as it sounds...I tried approx 10 different ways to add a greeting and finally came up with this -

I'm pleased with this, I used a stamp that came free with a magazine, stamped onto a scrap and then I hand cut out the shape. Easy!

Cx

Journal 2013 - Part 2

Hi, not as many posts this week, that is in part due to my epic leaving do...I won't go into detail, but let's just say I am too old to party like that!!

Once again WOYWW was fun this week. I love seeing what my fellow crafter's are up to and finding new, interesting blogs to read / stalk..

Thank you so much to everyone that swung by my blog and left a comment - I am adding a sentiment to the heart cards and I'll finish the Scottie dogs off and show them to you next week.

I mentioned on Tuesday that I was going to show you what the pages look like once they are in the journal. Today's main photo - is of the July pages that I showed you on Tuesday. They look pretty sweet when they are in the journal, can't wait to add photos and text.

Here are a few more photos of the pages - not finished. In their rightful place in the journal.

May and June Pages

You'll notice that the Month arrows are just loose in the album sleeves. I wanted to make sure that every page had an arrow ready to go, so I don't have to cut them in a rush! In the pages shown below, I have slipped in some of the text panels, to give me food for thought when I get to that month.

September Pages

I chose the frame paper for 3 of my 6 September pages, as it is the month of my 40th birthday, I am assuming that there will be lots of photos and I have this idea in my head that I can trace the shape of the inside of the frame and cut the photos to fit. Hmm, we'll see, now that I have written it down, it sounds complicated :)

I'll show you pages as I finish them throughout the year - you won't have to wait too long for January :)

Cx

p.s Valuable lesson = do not leave finished pages on desk overnight, as the Feline Night Crafters leave paw prints on them and they have to be redone / changed....grrr...

WOYWW 190 - Cutting, cutting, cutting

Whoo hoo! It's Wednesday, so it's time for WOYWW, hosted by the wonderful Julia over at Stamping Ground.

If you are new to WOYWW, it's the time of the week where you get to look at craft desks from around the world - whatever state they are in.

As you can see my desk is a bit equipment heavy this week and seriously untidy!! I hardly ever leave my desk like this, but with the snow, the epic journey to work and the cold, I just haven't felt like tidying...don't judge me...

I decided to follow Julia's twofer post from WOYWW 189 and give you bonus desk pictures. The main photo is of my entire desk and I thought you might not be able to see the detail (this is the best bit of WOYWW for me - the nosing at the detail..), so here are 3 more photos.

Left Side -

Some boxes full of odd bits and bobs - papers, embellishments, etc, on top of the boxes are some anniversary cards that I thought I'd finished, but now think they should have a greeting - advice please. You can also see some paper twine (which I love and it's from Poundland!), Sizzix die cut flowers and Scottie Dog die cuts, the flower punches from last week and a small selection of pro-markers, tape, stamps - aaaaaaargh!! Why is there so much and this is ONE side of my desk....

Middle -

The Big Shot, the new journal layout - just peeking out behind that is my set of Xcut tag dies, my stack of ribbon, in the background propped against the glue pots is a little New Baby gift I am playing with - you can just see the blue felt 'Y' against the patterned paper. On top of the big shot to the right are some magnetic shims I am trying out (£2 on sale) - so far so good I really like them.

Right Side -

Good old ATG + glasses on top, Sizzix packaging....more new stuff (oops), scissors, my desktop recycling bin that needs emptying, my paper trimmer, various punches and inks and just poking out from under the Sizzix packaging is my beloved Versamark black ink pad - what on earth would I do without you?

How on earth did my desk get so messy?! To reward you for your patience and to prove I do not just buy new goodies and that I do actually craft :) I took a photo showing of the Scottie Dog card I am planning for a boy birthday.

Cute right? I'm also hoping to make a few of these for sale on the website...which needs updating with the Valentine's Day stuff...this weekend for sure.

Happy WOYWW and thanks for your patience today.

Cx

Journal 2013 - part 1

We are not discussing the snow! I had to wfh yesterday, which is nice and a pain all at once. Today seems better but they are now running a reduced service on the trains...

Anyway, yesterday I told you about my new project - a Journal for 2013. I wondered if I could make a journal without having to purchase anything new? Also this year is a big one for me, with the move to NYC and turning 40, so a journal seems like a good idea.

So I thought I would share how I am putting mine together. Basically I don't want to embellish all of the pages. I want to try and do that closer to the month of the page, so that I can think about complimenting the photos and things that are going on the page.

The main photo today is of the papers I am using to create my pages. I've used the pretty set by American Crafts - I've been using it a lot :) I cut the papers to size, x2 of each from each paper (x4 of one kind) and round the corners. I haven't been too accurate with my cutting to size..

I realised that I would need to plan how to use the 20 pages of my album, so I did a little drawing..

As you can see I have dedicated 6 pages to Sept, which is my birthday month...I am anticipating an action packed lead up to my 40th..

The album is one of 3 that I bought at Michael's in Las Vegas in 2011 and I've had no idea what to do with them.

Album - closed

Album - open

I also cut out shapes for writing on and arrows for the month - I used a mixture of papers for these.

Framelits arrow die, used for 'Month'

Shapes and index cards for 'Text'

I wanted to show you a pre-planned page (for July), so you could see how all the elements plus embellishments will come together. Notice the bicycle that was on my desk on WOYWW 189..

A July page

Below is the finished spread.

July pages finished

You can see I've stamped the month onto the arrows, added some Candi's to the bicycle, added another tag/embellishment, but there is plenty of space for photos, notes, tickets, whatever!

Tomorrow is WOYWW so I'll be back on Thurs to show you what the album looks like now all the pages are in (some finished, some in planning..)

Cx

Snowy Sunday

So yesterday was a snow filled day, it snowed over night and didn't stop all day. Which to me meant that I had the perfect excuse to stay home, bake and craft!

The main photo today is the view of my street from the craft room - brrr.

Following Mexican night on Friday (see Facebook for the embarrassing photos) we had quite a lot of defrosted raspberries left over. So I went in search of a recipe to use them and came up with this Raspberry Bakewell cake - yum!

It's really easy to make and here is a photo of my finished cake..

It tastes as good as it looks :) and I will be making it again.

I also started a new project today, I've been nosying around blogs this week and discovered there are a lot of people creating mini journals based on an idea called Project Life. I don't really get scrapbooking, but thought that making a mini journal for 2013 might be fun and as I am about to be a 'lady of leisure' it should keep me out of mischief..

I'll show you how I've been putting the journal together later in the week, but for now here is a photo of the back garden on snowy Sunday.

Cx

Playing with photos

I thought I would have a little card break and show you something different :)

I love taking photographs and I am so excited about the move and all the great photos I'll get to take. Recently I've been using BeFunky to edit my photos...it is awesome! It also has all these great effects that I wanted to try out, so I spent an evening with a mix of photos and here they are!

Today's main photo is of the boat pier in Alki Beach, Seattle. I took it a couple of years ago and I love this photo, especially as Alki Beach is my favourite place in the whole wide world. I've shown you before (on the left) and after. In this case I used the pinhole effect and tweaked the vignette a little. Pleased with the outcome of this one.

The next photo is of me on a boat on the River Thames in London. I was riding the boat from work one night and had my camera, so took a few shots. The original here is also on the left and I used the Lomoart effect here. Not great, but possibly better than the original?

Me on the River Thames

The photo below is of Lemon and Amy on our trip last year to Amsterdam. They look so cute in this photo. The original is on the top and I used the Lomoart effect again (it's my fave..), I tweaked the vignette again. Not sure which one I prefer...

Lemon & Amy in Amsterdam

The final shot is of Battersea Power Station in London. I took this on the same trip as the one of me earlier. The original is on the top and the Lomoart effect was used. I totally prefer the treated shot, it really brings it to life.

Battersea Power Station in London

I sometimes forget that my blog is for all my little hobbies and activities and not just papercrafts :)

Cx

Starting to get my romance on...

Well, not really :) but I have started making Valentine's Day cards for our website.

I'm not a big Valentine's Day fan, but I love working with hearts so...This year I thought I would try and create some more contemporary cards.

The main photo today is of one of 4 designs I have been playing with. This one is the most time consuming, as you have to hand glue the back of the die-cut Love Birds and it is muy tedious! But on the other hand it is is so simply beautiful, I want to send one to myself so I can frame it (weird or no?)

You can also see my 'drying rack' in this photo - it's a piece of string, hung between the shelves and I drape cards across it that need to dry. This bad boy also works with pegs and can hold 20 cards - sweet. I have 2 of them.

Anyway I digress..here are the other 3 designs, I made 2 of them a couple of weeks ago and I am still happy with them - I try and start 'seasonal' cards early, makes it less stressful.

The card below has a bit of a manly feel to it I think. The Union Jack stamp is from Paperchase and I've always been a bit confused as to where I should use it. Perfect use methinks.

Valentine's Day - Spots and Hearts

Valentine's Day - Lots of Hearts

The card above is a bit of a twist on the more traditional lots of red and hearts. I went for a lot of red, but offset by a fair amount of white. The felt glittery heart mounted on the scalloped heart helps to keep it contemporary, as does the lack of 'Happy Valentine's Day'. I think it's nice to leave the sentiment off when you know the recipient will know why they are receiving the card.

The final card below is a bit of a twist on the main photo - portrait and using a pair of scalloped hearts, with one embossed with spots. This card is really quite classy and once again I want to keep one..

Grey Scalloped Hearts

A red version

What do you think?

Cx

WOYWW - 189 - Belated Christmas...

Yay! It's that time of the week again, when us crafters from all over the world join Julia over at Stamping Ground for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday.

Last week's one was fun and I found some new craft blog friends...I've seen some awesome stuff.

I take my photo on a Tuesday evening and this week, I was most excited to get home and try out my Christmas gifts to myself...

Basically, as I missed the WOYWW after Christmas when everyone got to show off their awesome Christmas gifts, I thought I would show you what I bought myself. Fortunately, I went a bit crazy in the Sizzix mega sale and on my desk are the things I bought that I tried out.

New embossing folders (you get x4, an owl, a pear, a flower and an A6 floral one), a Reindeer die - couldn't resist him, so gorgeous, finally some Framelits - I have been covering these for quite a while now..I also bought a letterpress plate for the Big Shot - it is awesome, it will require some mastering though.

Also on my desk are my glasses, some tape (for using with the Framelits), my glasses, a 1 inch square punch that I use to make flag banners, 2 interesting flower punches - I can't describe the technique :( - so go here and check them out. My fave Woodware scalloped heart punch (you'll see what I've been up to tomorrow) and the rest is pretty much on my desk every week..

Oh and before I wish you Happy WOYWW, check out my post about the cards that were on my desk last week, lots of you commented on them and I thought you'd enjoy seeing the finished result.

Happy WOYWW everyone!!

Cx

Spring Birthday!

I've been inspired by my work colleague Katie to make a whole series of pretty spring birthday cards.

You got a sneak preview of what I've been up to on WOYWW 188. I dedicated some of my lazy weekend to finishing these cards off.

Today's main photo is of the first spring card I made, that was shown on my desk earlier in the week. This is my favourite of the 9 cards I made.

I really like working with the Pink Petticoat papers and my trusty HP printer and good quality ink-jet card from Rymans really did a great job. The Autumn Blossoms and Pear papers are my favourites :)

I get the feeling this is going to be a long post, so I'll start out telling you what I used to make these cards, there are elements of some or all of these items on each card.

I used the following items:
- American Crafts coloured twine
- Pink Petticoat digital papers (papers are from various collections including the new colour palette update, autumn blossoms and little big dots). I also used tiny everyday sentiments also from Pink Petticoat.
- Papermania Vintage Notes buttons and big bloomers. Also used and by Papermania are the Capsule Collection big bloomers
- The plain paper flowers are all from random craft stores
- Core'dinations coloured core stock, from various collections
- Woodware tag punch
- I used A6 card blanks, double-sided foam tape, UHU (yep, I might have mastered it...) and a mini-dot permanent glue roller.

Here are the rest of the photos -

Orange & Walnut - Butterflies & Flower

Blue Hydrangeas & Flower

Pink & Blue - Spotty Circles & Stripy Flower

Green & Orange - Big Dots & Stripy Flower

Green & Yellow - Pears & Damask Flower

Apricot & Green - Green spots, Apricot Wild Roses & stripy flower.

Pink & Grey - Pink Wild Roses and Grey & Pink Flower

Baby Blue & Turquoise - blue checks, turquoise and baby blue flowers

I am so pleased with these cards, can't wait to get them to Katie and get some up on the website..

I also spent the weekend watching bball and NFL games and making Valentine's Day cards, which I'll be showing you soon.

Cx

Fun Start to 2013 Part 3

I really enjoyed WOYWW yesterday, can't wait for next week, I love seeing other crafter's desks...nosy, nosy.

Anyway back to this post....just how many cards did we make on Saturday!!

This is the final post and the main photo today is a slight cheat, as I made it before the playdate, but made it as I had an idea of how to use the new papers that I got on sale at TK Maxx and wanted to show it to JT, as I thought it would give us food for thought. The papers are gorgeous and are by Amy Tangerine for American Crafts and I also used them when I made the dress form cards for JT and her family before Christmas. I am very happy with this card. I really like how Liz over at Pink Petticoat uses twine and tags on her cards, so thought I'd have a go myself. The sentiment tag is one I punched from a Pink Petticoat set using my new-ish tag punch. The twine is also by American Crafts and was part of a 24 roll set that I split and gave half to JT for Christmas. The twine colours are absolutely gorgeous. Below is a close-up, so you can see the sentiment and the button.

The card below is another fave from my makes on Saturday. The embossing folder belongs to JT and the ribbon is off of the Christmas gifts she gave me. I just love the simplicity of it all. It's based on a Pinterest sketch, that I modified slightly.

Embossed Birthday

The next card is actually for JT's husband. It's his birthday soon and I am sure he doesn't read my blog, so think we are safe showing this! I really wanted to use the star embossing folder and thought the big circular digital stamps would work here. The spotty paper, blue button and zebra candi give it a bit of zing!

Star Birthday

Star Birthday Close-up

I bought a roll of cupcake tape for us to play with. I'm not totally convinced about the tape, it's a tad big, but I think JT's cupcake embossing folder looks awesome.

Cupcake Birthday

The final card is very simple and I like how all the pinks compliment each other.

So that is the epic playdate posted. I'm really pleased with the output. I should be back over the weekend with a complete post of the cards I've been making for my work colleague Katie. Oh and pop over to JT's blog to see what she made. I think both of us were channelling our inner Mary Fish (I love you Mary Fish).

Cx

p.s I have decided that I will be very poor when we move to NYC, as I will be able to get my hands on all kinds of American Craft goodies...