WOYWW #217

Hey its that time of the week again, where we all join Julia over at Stamping Ground for the weekly global desk nosy.

Thanks for all the lovely comments last week about my cards and OWH..I am still working on them, I have given myself until the October Christmas deadline to get my first batch of cards in..

On to my desk...meh! Today (Tues eve..) it is slightly staged, as I wanted to show off my goodies from JT - she sent me a craft care package, that has cards and some new goodies (birds, deco felt and stamps that I forgot to include, as they have already been used) for my stash!

The cards (Cupcake and Snazzy Crab) form part of our regular card exchange - email me if you want to play card exchange with me :)

She sent me this little pack of wooden birdies and I had this idea of how to use them, as they are a bit trixsy...

Wooden Birdies 

I wanted to showcase the bird, as they are so detailed. What do you think?

Finished Birdie

Kim from Happy Homeschool Room made a suggestion re: my winning stash from a couple of weeks ago, so I made her a card, as per her suggestion and it's complete and on it's way to her, but I can't show it to you until she gets it :)

I am really happy to be back at work, but one of the things that I really miss is being able to spend the majority of my day nosying at desks on a Wednesday :(

Cx

Loves Rubber Stamps Challenge Blog DT Call

One of the things I would like to do the most is be part of a DT for a Challenge blog...

Loves Rubber Stamps are looking for new members for their DT and so today's post is me applying for one of the positions and explaining why I would like to be part of the team.

I love to make things - especially cards, over the last year or so I have become more adept at using stamps both rubber and digital.

I get a lot of joy out of making beautiful things for people and it is most rewarding when I send something to a friend or family member and they contact me to say how delighted they are with the item.

Moving to NYC this year means that I don't have as many friends and I no longer sell cards, so I have all this lovely spare craft time on my hands..what a perfect time to be part of a DT!

Also my beloved Craft Buddy JT, gave me a great pep talk and made me realise that I should try, even if I don't get picked.

My 3 favourite projects are -

• The Union Jack quilt I made for my friend in the Greek Cypriot flag colours to celebrate the Mother's heritage - not a card, but still a project..

Union Jack Quilt

• This card with stamped Foxes, such a fun stamp..so many possibilities and it has such a contemporary expensive feel to it, that it made me proud of me! 

Foxy Card

• The strange and wonderful Hello Tree! Stamping can bring to life all of my crazy doodles...

Hello Tree

I hope I make the team, but if not, it's been fun looking through all my projects and choosing my fave things.

Cx

Being friendly..

Hey there!

WOYWW was fun yesterday, thanks for all the lovely comments about my cards and OWH.

JT gifted me an awesome Kenny K superhero stamp and I thought it would make a great birthday card for my friend Dave - known as Ado to most of us...Obviously the main photo today is of the card I made for him, every time I see it it cracks me up :)

It's nice to make things for your friends, especially when you know them really well.

Over the last few weeks I realised that one of my besties has been a bit out of sorts lately, so I made her this little card -

Long time to grow an old friend

Just so she knows no matter where I am, I'm always her friend.

The digital stamp is by Pink Petticoat and the ribbon is by CraftTime.

It's nice to have friends.

I miss my friends in London.

But I am happy to be making new ones here in NYC.

Cx

WOYWW #216 Time to give back...

Happy WOYWW!!

This last week has flown! Julia confused the hell out of me putting the post up early, but it keeps us on our toes :) Go to Julia's blog Stamping Ground to join us on the weekly global desk nose..

What's on my desk...inks, a finished cards, some digital stamps waiting to be coloured, a pen, a perfume bottle? and a half made card for JT - aaargh what a mess...and a big stack of cards for Operation Write Home (OWH) - briefly this is an organisation that encourages us lovely cardmakers to make cards for US troops based overseas...they can't get to a card shop and shop bought isn't as personal...so that's where we come in.

As I have only just moved to the US, I don't want to start selling my cards just yet, but need to keep my idle hands busy...I used to make cards for a similar organisation back home in the UK, so did some research and voila!

I love making these cards - super easy, no glitter, not too much dimension, limited sentiments and a set card size means that you get to plan and crack through heaps of them at a time. They prefer it if you don't make similar cards e.g same image different paper, but it's ok in small quantities.

Here are a few close-ups of some of the cards in the stack.

Missing You and Thank You - made using scraps

Crab Kite Birthday - stamp by Bugaboo Stamps

Flower Garden Missing You - stamp by Bugaboo Stamps

Finally a big shout out to Darnell and Kim, who took the time to respond to my requests from WOYWW #215 - Jodie I am nearly finished your 'creation'

Off to have a peek at desks now.

Cx

Isn't Sea lovely...

Hello!

Hope you all had a fun weekend, mine was fun too celebrating Hubby's birthday..but our celebrations got cut short as he had to work in the afternoon on his actual birthday - boo!

However it did mean I got to get my serious craft on..

I decided to take a little break from making cards for OWH - click the link, it is a worthy cause, if you have time, send them some stuff...but read the guidelines! During my break I had a nose at some challenges that I might want to enter this week.

I liked the By the Sea theme for the Simon Says Stamp challenge this week...it meant I got to use my new gift from JT - a Kenny K Mermaid stamp!!

The main photo is my entry and it will be going to a new friend...don't want to mention her name, as I think she reads my blog :)

It's slightly fussy, but I think the stamp warrants that. I embossed the whole card (a new first) using my Sizzix fish folder, the scalloped circles were die-cut using Spellbinders dies and the hello stamp is by Hero Arts.

This was a really fun card to make.

Cx

Happy Birthday Hubby

As you can gather from the title of my post it is Hubby's birthday today...

We have been having fun celebrating his birthday, starting with an amazing dinner at Tommy Lasagna, which does 8 types of Lasagna and as Hubby can eat Lasagna like Garfield he loved it..

The main card is his card and I believe it's an uber glam version of me - LOL..well not really it's Mae West by Kenny K and I just coloured her to match my skin tone and hair (if I had any..) I really like the blue and black Zebra paper, I think it makes it feel quite edgy.. It says Happy Birthday Baby, because I always call him baby..soppy I know :)

We are going to have a nice relaxing brunch today and I have a stack of cards from the UK for him and the odd gift or two.

Hope you all have a lovely Sunday too.

Cx

Polka dots..

As you may have noticed I do love working with Polka dots, so when I saw the CAS-ual Fridays challenge this week - CFC109 Polka Dots, I knew it was for me.

I made a few things - which I am going to show you, but the main photo is my entry.

I love the simplicity of this card and stamping on the die-cut butterfly (by xCut) was a massive adventure for me :) The spotty paper is by Pink Petticoat, comes in 38 colours and with different size dots!

I made 3 more cards that fit this CAS-ual Friday theme..

1 - This card was very thrifty, I have a Sizzix dog die and this is was remained after I cut out the dog..I trimmed very carefully around it so I got a thin shape. It's not full on polka dots, but I like it...the woof woof isn't great, but hey perfection isn't easy :)

Spotty Dog

2 - I love bunting and polka dots so.....

Polka dot bunting

I love this card...I was in two minds about whether or not this should be my entry for the challenge. the butterfly was supplied by JT in the first round of punch swap and fits the bunting perfectly. The addition of pearls helps the bunting feel more anchored.

3 - This final card was made with a topper that has been on my desk forever and actually travelled in my 'emergency' craft kit from the UK to NYC!! The birdie is by Lettering Delights and the background is by Pink Petticoat. I could never find a suitable use for it, but last night I remembered that I had the birdie stamp and voila! here we are.

A little birdie..

I'm quite pleased with these cards and they have already been allocated homes!

Stay cool - it's getting hotter!

Cx

WOYWW 215...Belated win..

Hello and Happy WOYWW to you all..

Hop over to Julia's blog Stamping Ground to find out all about WOYWW the weekly global desk nose.

I know it is hot in the UK, but DUDES!! What is up with this heatwave, it topped 39 degrees here in NYC today..delicious and horrific all at once..

With the return of Hubby came the prize I won for entering a competition in Quick Cards earlier in the year. My Ma had the prize and gave it to Hubby to bring home for me. Lots of lovely new goodies to play with and here they are on my desk. I got x2 bunting kits, tissue paper, crepe paper, a pack of card blanks, a box of blingy embellishments and a whole variety of felt and glittery embellishments.

The competition required you to make a kids party invite - here is my winning invite -

Robot Invite - Front

Robot Invite - Back

The funny thing is that I wasn't going to enter it as I didn't think it was good enough...but Hubby convinced me that it was good enough :) The other good thing about winning was that the letter from Quick Cards said that they had, had 100's of entries, but felt mine was the best one - how awesome is that!

And for those of you that are interested the Robot Stamp is by Lettering Delights..oh and can you spot the non deliberate error?!

I'll be nosying around at desks when I get back from work.

Cx

p.s here are links to the dressform cards and camera cards that I made with the stamps you all loved last week.

Dressform fun..

Hello!

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Hubby is home and we had a great weekend.

I decided to have a play with dressform that has been sitting on my desk and made these cards last week.

The main photo is for my new friend Layla it's her birthday today. I finally found a use for the random heart peel-offs that come with the Happy Birthday peel-offs, I never know what to do with these! The heart scallop border was made using the new American Crafts Knockouts punch that was also on my desk last WOYWW. The pretty paper butterflies are from Michael's and are part of their 2 for $3 range.

The next card is for a friend that sent me my fave Salad Cream from the UK.

Dressform Thank You

Because the dressform is so detailed I wanted to use elements that complimented it and didn't make the card too fussy. I also liked the idea of using Butterflies with the dressform and it seems to have worked well.

I don't usually stamp directly onto a card blank, but I thought the white card would be a great canvas for the stamp and it was nice to try something different.

I'll be playing with the dressform more, so watch this space..

Cx

The prodigal Husband returns...

..he was slightly delayed so got to our apartment at about 2am!! But it is lovely to have him back :)

He came bearing many many gifts, which proves he does actually listen to me...

In honour of his return, I thought I would enter a challenge!!

As you know I love Bugaboo stamps, but I have never ever entered a challenge on their blog, which is odd, so this little post will rectify that and hopefully be the first of many.

Bugaboo run a few challenges and my main photo is for the Stella Says Sketch July edition - here is the sketch -

I love the Monster Truck stamp, it's such fun and I used this great free font from FontSquirrel called 'Feast of the Flesh' it has a monster feel to it.

Instead of mounting the stamp onto a piece of card to create a border, I inked the edges using a Cranberry distress ink. The ribbon is by American Crafts, the star paper is by Bo Bunny and the spotty paper is by Pink Petticoat.

I am very pleased with the end result and I am now trying to think of someone to give it to..

Have a great Saturday.

Cx

No more sad face....

Happy Friday everyone!

I've had a great week, but I've been a bit sad as Hubby has been in the UK. I am now looking forward to his return and a relaxing weekend.

The main photo is my entry to the KennyK challenge - which is now fortnightly. The stamp is Ginger Gem, as named by JT!! I know amazing right?

JT gifted Ginger Gem to me and she fits this challenge perfectly - JT entered using her as well :)

The challenge is Teenz Rock...

I thought my new Dude You Rock stamp would go really well with Ginger and as she's called Ginger I decided to use orange as my main colour. I remembered that the awesome DCWV Hippie Chick papers I have are mainly orange and blue and felt they toned with her nicely...

I like the retro feel of this card, it reminds me of a VW Camper Van for some reason....

Have a great weekend.

Cx

Smile!

I saw this stamp (it's by Inkadinkadoo - of their many mini stamps) in my online Cards magazine and have wanted it for ages...bought it in a sale and then when it arrived I was a bit stuck re: how to use it :(

Then I saw this week's Retro Sketches challenge and a lightbulb came on. Here is the sketch -

Retro sketches #71

The main photo is my card. I had originally planned on this being a 5x7 card, but it felt too big. I used a sheet of kraft card, both patterned papers are by My Minds Eye and the button and paper twine are from my stash.

I love this card, I think the stamp works well, although the 'e' in smile is a bit smudged and I think that's for 2 reasons - overinking...naughty me and because the paper is a bit textured.

Work has gone well and Hubby will be home tomorrow, so all is well.

And a massive thanks again to all the lovely WOYWW ladies for wishing me luck for my first day.

Cx

WOYWW #214...First day of work

Happy WOYWW everyone. As usual if you don't know what WOYWW is, pop over to visit Julia at Stamping Ground for the weekly global desk nose.

I have tried something new this week, courtesy of Marit - she writes on her desk photos so you know what's what - love that idea and have tried it this week.

My desk looks a little staged, but the truth is I have set it up ready for playtime when I get home from work tonight (as I am 5hrs behind, I am writing this on Tues..), I did prop up the dress form, but only so you can see her better!

Below are a couple of close-ups of the stack of papers with the camera stamp (to be used for my Retro Challenges entry this week) and of my new dress form stamp - isn't she pretty!

The makings for my Retro Sketches entry (new camera stamp)

New dress form stamp

Hubby is still away and I am starting my new job today...eek, but I have been making the most of my last few days and I am actually starting to look forward to going to work.

I'll be nosying at your desks when I get home from work, so forgive my late comments.

Cx

Having some fun..

Today is my last day as a Lady of Leisure, as I start my new job tomorrow (EEK), so over the last few days I have been having craft fun..

I've managed to make lots of things, so had to divide up the posts.

Today's post shows cards that I have made using all Bugaboo Stamps..I love Jodie's stamps and I have lots of them.

The main photo today uses the Monster Truck stamp...how can this not make you smile? The card is for my Nephew - I know he is only two, but I am sure it can't hurt if I send him the odd card every now and again to remind him of Auntie Claire..The background is a Pink Petticoat paper.

As JT is back from her holiday, we managed an epic Skype session yesterday and I showed her some of the stamps and she liked the one on the next card. I know she is a fan of the 'Happy Everything' stamp, so this card will form part of our July card, punch and goodie exchange.

Flower Jar..

I love this flower jar stamp, it's so simple, but very impactful when it's all coloured and glittered. The background is again by Pink Petticoat.

The final card is hilarious - I love the Party Pig Trio stamp...why a trio of pigs? Why not I guess! I used my new American Crafts Knockouts star border punch (on sale at TJMaxx $4.99...). I'm a bit unhappy about the sentiment, but it had to go there as I made a mistake....

Party Pig Trio!!

I am very happy with this little Bugaboo session...I also managed to have my last day time skype session with my Ma and catch up with Hubby who is still in the UK.

I'll see you nice and early for WOYWW tomorrow, before I leave for work.

Happy 300th Birthday Mojo Monday

So in amongst all the boozing I have been doing (this is what happens when I am left unsupervised!)...I managed to make this card, following the Mojo Monday 300th birthday sketch.

It is not my greatest card, but I am happy with it.

I love the pink and purple tones that I used, I think it all blends together really nicely.

Mojo Monday was the first ever challenge I did and I have to give a massive shout out to the team that run it...gifting me Mary Fish is the greatest thing ever.... Mary Fish makes the kind of cards I aspire to... If you are reading this Mary, thank you, for constantly raising the bar.

Much love to the Mojo Monday team, keep it up, as I always need a challenge.

Cx

Happy 4th of July!

Hey everyone, it's Independence Day today here in the US, so it's a National holiday.

Hubby is off to the UK tonight for a week to attend a wedding and catch-up with our families and friends. I am a bit jealous, but I have plenty going on to keep me out of mischief.

The main photo today is off the 4th of July cards I made for my Yankee Doodle friends and family :) I used a Kenny K stamp, some Pink Petticoat papers, a tag punch and some twine. They were fun to make, even though I had an accident with one of the cards and had to discard it.....I dropped the Kenny K image on the floor, when it had its foam pads on and it stuck to the floor and ripped..not fun, after all the colouring, cutting and sticking...

They are all a little bit different - so here are some individual photos of them for you...

I am spending today with a new friend and his dog over in Astoria, then we are coming back into town to watch the fireworks - one of the cards is for him. Friday I have a date with another friend and then I am having a quiet solo weekend, as I HAVE A JOB!!! I start next week, it is temp to perm and I am most excited...

Have a Happy Thursday - holiday or not.

Cx

WOYWW #213....ideas

Hello!

I am running a bit late today for the usual global desk nose with Julia and the gang....pop over to Stamping Ground to see what I am on about.

I have been on telephone interviews all morning (it is 12pm here in NYC as I write this...) fingers crossed.

My desk is a bit untidy, pencil, tweezers, promarkers, etc and front and centre is an idea I am working on for a birthday card, I have had to cover over the greeting, as the person reads my blog. You can see my little box of flowers, they are made using this tool. Nothing is stuck down yet, as I'm debating the flowers v butterflies.

Here are a couple of photos so you can help me decide...

Socialite with just flowers

Socialite with flowers and butterflies

Let me know what you think works best!

I am off now for a late desk nosy - happy WOYWW everyone.

Cx

Crafting...it's not always easy...

Hello, hope you all had a nice weekend.

Hubby and I hung out with friends, set up his record deck and trawled the charity stores for more record bargains, so it was fun.

We had some sad news last week and I wanted to send a card to show our support, but I am not good at making sympathy cards...

I had a 'Thinking of You' stamp, but it's a bit jazzy, so I thought I'd tone it down by making the card using all the same tonal values for all the elements.

The main photo is the card I made. For once, I am quite pleased with a sympathy card. It always feels weird to me using the thing I love doing to make something for such a sad time...

I am also interviewing like crazy, so I hope to be in work by the start of August - fingers crossed.

My Ma and my Goddaughter are all booked and are coming to visit at the end of August. Whoo hoo! I am most excited and a dose of good news was very nice, after a bit of bad news.

Cx