Happy Birthday Hazel...

Hi,

Today I am wishing a very Happy 40th Birthday to Hazel..

Hazel runs MAWTT and is a lovely person, she gave me my first DT slot and she is always the first to wish the DT Happy Birthday.

So I thought I would return her ongoing kindness by surprising her with a card in the post :)

The main photo is obviously her card. The card blank is by American Crafts and I was inspired by the colours on it, so I added a strip of pink paper, matching twine and 40 numbers. I die cut the circle and you can see where I have embossed it with another circle die. I used some spun sugar distress ink and a stencil to get the spotty background.

I hope the card arrives before this post...

Happy Birthday Hazel.

Cx

Good Luck...

Hi,

Boy, am I glad it is Friday!! Despite the 4 day week it has been pretty crazy at work..felt like a 7 day week!

It has had fun parts though - WOYWW 5th Anniversary, was lots of fun and all my ATC's are ready to post now. Watching a colleague's jazz band was very cool. Best bit though is that I won a prize...can't tell you what until it arrives (disclaimer) but I am super excited...

Today a colleague is leaving us and I was asked to make her leaving card. I have already given her a little gift and card from me..so wanted it to be different to that.

She is pretty stylish, so I decided to use a fave digital stamp - well it's actually a designers sketch that I cleaned up.

I hope she loves it!

The paper was a freebie, the pearls are from The Works in the UK, as is the card blank and I coloured the image using Promarkers and added a touch of glitter glue, so the dress would shimmer.

Hope you all have fun plans for the weekend. I am taking it easy on Sat, going to try and do more of the Online Card Class. Sunday I am off to my first Bikram yoga session - which is Hubby's idea of hell - exercise in a hot room?! I must be a bit mad.

Happy Friday.

Cx

WOYWW #260..Happy 5th Anniversary WOYWW..

Hi,

Well it is a very special day today. One that many of us WOYWWers have been waiting for.

It is the 5th Anniversary of WOYWW and today we swap ATC's (although some of us have already started...)

Our lovely hostess Julia keeps many of us sane with WOYWW every week on her blog Stamping Ground. Many a friendship has been forged because of our weekly desk nosying and I for one couldn't be more grateful.

So Julia if you are reading this - thank you very much, here's to 5 more years!

My desk is 'staged' this week as you can see :) Trying out my new compact camera....must turn off the date stamp!

Creating ATC's has been fun and I managed to make 12 of them - I have swapped 8 already, so there are 3 left excluding the one for the 'true' swap.

Here are some photos of them - all different and all with a mini keepsake envelope -

WOYWW Anniversary ATC's and Mini Envelopes - 1

WOYWW Anniversary ATC's and Mini Envelopes - 2

WOYWW Anniversary ATC's and Mini Envelopes

Aren't they gorgeous? The envelopes were such fun to make too. I am so proud, they are little teeny tiny cards. I got to use all different techniques which was fun fun fun - I love them..what a great way to learn about ATC's - more swaps please!

I'll be visiting you all much later on - as I am going to see one of my colleagues and his Jazz band after work.

Cx

OWH - Masking with punches..

Hi,

Back to work now..boo! I did thoroughly enjoy the 3 day weekend.

I was thinking about simple but effective ideas for OWH, I happened to have a scalloped heart that I had punched on my desk and it gave me an idea...

My main photo today is one of the cards I made using my little idea..

I punched a scalloped square, adhered the scalloped heart in the middle of the square - using temp glue. I then took a fingertip ink dauber and inked around the heart - using it as a mask. I wasn't too bothered about my ink coverage, I think it looks better a bit patchy. I removed the heart and punched a smaller heart in contrasting paper and added a sentiment in the same colour ink.

Very easy to do and I think it would work with most punched shapes.

I made 6 cards in total - 2 of each sentiment in pink and blue. Here are the other 2 sentiments.

Masked Heart - Love You Very Much

Masked Heart - Thinking of You

My supplies were - Hero Art stamp (fuzzies), Lawn Fawn stamps (Love You Very Much), Bo Bunny stamp (thinking of you), Woodware heart, scalloped heart and scalloped square punches.Studio G inks and misc paper scraps. The card blanks were made using 100lb cover stock from Target - cut to A2 (US) and scored using the Martha Stewart board.

I will totally be trying this again with different shapes and different colour inks.

Cx

OWH..Having fun with 'scraps'....

Hi,

I hope you are all having a nice Bank Holiday weekend. I have been having fun with Hubby and in the craft room.

Most of my efforts in the craft room have been for OWH - which I will show you over the course of a few posts.

Today's versions came about by accident. I bought a box of patterned card blanks by American Crafts specifically for using for OWH makes. When I got them home I realised they were part of the Neopolitan series and I have papers to match :)

One of the papers looks like this -

So I had a lightbulb moment and cut it into little individual images...

The main card is one of my favourites from the whole batch - as you can see, I put a different sentiment over the one that was under the scooter. As with all the cards I made here I used some of the papers from the Neopolitan pack, but all of the papers I used were in my scrap box and I didn't up any whole sheets. I also used some plain co-ordinating papers. I also added pearls to the cards for a little bit of fun.

Here are the rest of the batch that are finished (there are some on my desk to be completed) -

OWH - Cards made using Neopolitan by American Crafts

All of the cards use die cut shapes - circles, squares, labels - a great way to get the most out of scraps. I also covered anything I didn't think was right with a punched element.

The final card uses one of the little images, but the rest of the stamps and the papers are not Neopolitan. The trainer (sneaker) stamp is from my Simon Says Stamp May card kit, as are the backing and stripey paper, the notepaper is a random scrap and a Lawn Fawn sentiment stamp.

OWH - Happy Birthday

I really like the final card - it's very boy and I find these quite difficult to make, so might replicate this for my own stash of cards.

They have all come out really well, looking forward to showing you the next batch.

Cx

Gallery Idol....

Hi,

It's a 3 day weekend here - whoop whoop..I also made my Q1 bonus and tonight is Sushi madness time..so much merriment here in NYC.

I am a bit sad though as I entered Gallery Idol 2014 - with the main photo today - but I didn't make the cut, but the winning top 20 are so fab, I feel honoured that I was among such amazing cardmakers.

For the first round you had to make a card using washi tape.

I used Recollections washi tape, that was a gift from JT as part of our annual $20 challenge. The stamp and sentiment are by Technique Tuesday and I heat embossed it using white powder. A bit of bling as a finishing touch.

I am really pleased with my card and proud that I had the guts to enter..I knew it was going to be tough..

Have a great Memorial Day weekend.

Cx

Moving Along With The Times....Snow Cute

Hi,

Yes it is that time again...Team B are up over at Moving Along With The Times...this week it is the turn of    Anne to be our hostess and she has chosen a theme of Snow Cute.

I bought a great Pink Petticoat Christmas set in the sale and decided that the text and the imagery would work really well for this challenge.

I did a bit of retouching and combined the text from 2 of the images, to get the sentiment exactly right. The snowflake paper is also by Pink Petticoat. I coloured the Donkey and the text using Promarkers and Martha Stewart glitter glue. I added the green doily and it works! I normally dislike coloured doilies :)

Go on over to MAWTT and check out the awesomely inspirational gallery by the rest of the DT and join in the early Christmas fun.

Cx

WOYWW #259..My 100th Post this year!!

Hi,

I am most excited that my 100th post this year falls on the same day as WOYWW (join Julia and the gang on her blog Stamping Ground for more info about WOYWW).

Maintaining a blog is hard work, but made much easier when you have things like WOYWW and all your blogland buddies.

My desk is a bit random at the moment...I am doing a big OWH drive, so you can see some remnants from this - my 'love' stamp folder, newish glasses, scissors, inks, stamp press - with a stamp, mouse and some random stencils.

I am most excited about next week's ATC swap!! I made 12, 2 have homes already so if you want to swap, just leave a comment and we can swap addresses - I am based in NYC and don't mind posting to wherever.

I ran out of time to make a little card for you WOYWWer's..So I thought I would show you the pop-up Anniversary card I made for my President (Terry) to give to his wife for their 30th Anniversary..

Pop-up Card

Each panel was personalised as per Terry's request - aeroplane (travel), heart (love) - the 3rd panel contains a quote relating to food and family. I went for spotty papers, that didn't clash or overpower the rest of the details. The card was cut using a Silhouette template.

I love it, Terry loves it and I believe his wife does too :)

See you for a desk snoop later :)

Cx

Playdate Part3 - Bingo challenge...

Hi,

This is the final part of the playdate that I can show (the other card is a MAWTT DT make).

I saw the SJ Crafts May Bingo Challenge on Julia's blog and decided it would be a fun thing for JT and I to do on a playdate -

The rules are straightforward - you just pick a row. I went along the bottom - Mixed Alphas, Torn Paper and bow or knot. JT showed hers yesterday.

I like how my card turned out - torn paper is not a thing I am normally fond of, but it works here.

I used American Crafts papers and the Alphas are from Target and come in a big pack for $1 and I buy them whenever I see them, as they come in handy..I cut down a D and a K to get 2 'L's' in the right patterns. The ribbon is also by American Crafts and I thought a knot worked best here. I added a bit of bling to anchor everything!

 A fun playdate make - I like the bingo idea, I might make a few more of these, just for the fun of it.

Cx

Playdate Part 2 - Setting challenges for ourselves...

Hi,

Hope you had a good weekend.

Mine was oodles of fun - especially the Skype playdate with JT on Saturday, you saw one of the cards yesterday, today I am showing another 2.

The main card is based on an old RetroSketches sketch -

We each chose a sketch to play with.

I used an American Crafts stamp set for this. I stamped 2 flowers and some leaves onto my white backing paper and watercoloured them using Gelatos. I stamped an extra flower and leaves and then cut those out and mounted them onto my card using foam tape - for some dimension. The final touch of lilac bling really brings the card alive.

Very happy with how this came out - it's nice to revisit old sketches.

The next card is based on our fave recipe - x3 papers, x3 embellishments, x1 stamped/coloured image and x1 sentiment.

Sweet Birthday

My new Big Eared Bunny stamp got to come out and play here. I dug out a piece of my fave American Crafts ice cream paper and found 2 more contrasting papers also by American Crafts. I added 3 little bits of bling around the stamp and a sentiment that I created on my computer and then punched with my EK Success label punch.

This card just makes me smile - I must use the recipe more..its fun.

Cx

Playdate Part 1 - CTD #292...

Hi,

Yesterday JT and I had an epic Skype playdate..so much fun to craft with my buddy even remotely!

We managed to make 5 cards - one of which you won't see for a month or so, as it was our make for the DT at MAWTT.

Today's card is my entry for Color Throwdown #292 -

We based our cards on this beauty by Nancy Ball -

I die cut my butterflies using an Xcut Die, using some random papers that I got a while back and the embossing folder was a freebie. I added some bling to the buttreflies for a bit of standout. I had stamped the greeting directly onto the card..but unfortunately it was a hot mess, so had to recover it with a punched label and I stamped a Bo Bunny sentiment onto that!

I love this card, the vary sizes of the butterflies really worked. I have a recipient earmarked for it already.

A great output from a fun morning with JT..more to come.

Cx

Cards for men...

Hi,

YAY!! It's Friday...this week has been HARD!!

I am most excited as JT and I are doing another Skype playdate tomorrow - whoop whoop..it's gonna be epic!

I am also pleased to see that this is my 96th post of the year!! I am on target for my goal of 200 posts this year..there is no reason for that number, other than I want to achieve it. It will mean that for the 2nd year running I have taken this blogging thing seriously and that makes me super proud.

I often struggle to make cards for men, however when making for my work colleagues it all just seems to flow..

I am the 'resident' card maker at work. We are a small company that are growing, so it is nice for people to receive a handmade card with their name on, it retains our family feel. I love making these cards, as I get to experiment a bit.

The main card is for one of the AM's - his birthday is Monday and as you can see he is going to be 30 - hence the retro tech paper - from Graphic Stock. Unfortunately when I stamped the sentiment originally, it smudged, so you can see a bit of a crafty repair!

This card is for one of our board members who is a numbers guy..I made a different card for him originally, but I didn't love it, so cut the sentiment and his name off of the original and started again. Much happier with this one - the number washi tape felt like a nice touch.

As you can see I have been obsessed with blue bling whilst making these :)

Happy Friday everyone and have a great weekend.

Cx

Happy Birthday Grandma...

Hi,

It's my Grandma's birthday today.

Now that I am in NYC, she writes to me every month, which is nice esp as we don't always see eye to eye :)

I write back with a pretty card - usually made especially for her.

As I now have the scoring board, I thought I'd up the ante a bit and match her card to her envelope.

I've had the floral papers since I first started crafting!! It is Rose Garden by Papermania and they are so fussy, that they are hard to work with, but suit my Grandma perfectly! I cut a piece of pale blue card stock to size and embossed the front using a free folder that I got with a magazine Lemon brought with her.

The label die cuts were made using my Xcut dies and I added grey adhesive pearls.

It's a bit fussy, but my Grandma is going to love it.

Cx

WOYWW #258...missing my friends...

Hi,

It is that time again - WOYWW...join Julia our fabulous hostess and the rest of the gang over at her blog Stamping Ground for the weekly desk nose.

So my desk was a bit busy on Tues eve when I took the photo. Martha Stewart scoring board out, some random place cards that I bought for a project and didn't use..now trying to figure out how to use them now, my glasses, my mouse, a pencil and a stray heart from ATC making.

I am missing Lemon, it's hard being away from our friends and family and nice that they come and visit. Hubby's mother and sister are coming out in October which will be awesome. As my SIL is a very close friend of mine (how I met Hubby) and for Hubby and I to get to hang out with her - sans sproglets will be fun.

I made this little card for Lemon, so she knows how much we appreciated her visit.

Miss You!

The stamp is a new one from Simon Says Stamp, coloured using Promarkers - I thought the leopard paper by American Crafts suited the stamp perfectly!

I'll be swinging by your desks later.

Cx

By the power of 3...

Hi,

I saw JT's post a few days ago and knew I had to give the latest CAS-ual Friday #131 challenge a go..

The idea is to use three of something! Using just a 1/3 of the card..

I know it's no where near time to be thinking of Christmas, but in my defense my DT challenges recently have been all about Christmas AND I bought the lovely stamp which is by Simon Says Stamp that you see on my card a few weeks ago and had no use for it yet.. I had wanted the stamp last Christmas but it was out of stock. I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and added a touch of glitter glue to the Santa hat.

So how does my three break down - well I consider the stamp 3 - 3 animals, then I used 3 words and 3 blingy gems.

I love it, so clean. I am also quite pleased with the actual card blank...I made it using my Martha Scoring board..loving this new addition to my kit.

Thanks JT for the inspiration.

Cx

Mini envelopes..

Hi,

Instead of doing what I was supposed to on Saturday afternoon..I was once again inspired by Amber of Damask Love to try something new.

So I grabbed a 6x6 paper pad - Abroad by Studio Calico and set to work.

The main photo today shows the batch of lovely envelopes I made..and here is a photo of how the backs look.

Mini envelopes reverse

The Martha Stewart scoring board is really earning its keep!

I am going to send some of these to JT and use some of them for my WOYWW ATC's

Super easy and fun to make.

Once again Amber gives me a new trick :)

Cx

If I Could Turn Back Time....

Ha ha yes it is a Cher song title, as I am off to see her tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

I am not a huge fan of hers, but she puts on an amazing show and before one of us dies I want to see her..

My card today is one I made ages ago, I needed an emergency Thank You (all of mine are on my desk at work - doh!). I used my freebie Lotus flower stamp and matched it up with a Pink Petticoat paper scrap and a punched sentiment.

I love that the colours of the stamp and the paper co-ordinate perfectly.

Today is my first day with out Lemon..I miss her LOADS..but I am so happy that she managed to come and celebrate her 40th with Hubby and I.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

Moving Along With The Times....White on White Christmas

Hi,

It's time for Team B over at Moving Along with the Times and we are hosted by Hazel who has chosen a theme of  - White on White Christmas.

I think I've cheated slightly with a bit of silver, but I tried for all white and my stash wouldn't co-operate :)

I have had the angel peel-off for ages and never had the perfect opportunity to use it. The snowflake folder by Sizzix is a fave of mine and I love it in white. I added a bit of white ribbon because it all looked a bit flat when I laid it out!

It's quite a grown-up Christmas card for me!

I hope you are planning on joining in the fun this week - but first pop along to MAWTT and check out the other gorgeous white creations by the team.

Sad day for me, as I had to say goodbye to Lemon this morning :(

Cx

WOYWW #257...Still Hungover?!

Hi

Happy WOYWW..

Lemon's birthday visit has been epic and I believe I am still hungover from Monday - ugh! Too old for this!!

Why is there a photo of my desk? Well every week we join the lovely Julia on her blog Stamping Ground for WOYWW and have a global desk nose.

My desk is very tidy this week, because Lemon has been here, I have not been around much. The little stack of flowers are from my Ma and she sent them with Lemon, there is a bow (that won't stick) a card in progress covered over (as the person it's for reads my blog) the little jar of blue stuff is embossing paste and is flattening out my card and my mouse is there.

This week instead of one card for you lovely WOYWWers I thought I would show you some of the Mother's Day cards that I made for my work colleagues. I know some of you were curious. I made 40 of them in the end.

Mother's Day Cards

You will notice that there are some with names..Americans seem to give Mother's Day card to lots of different ladies!

I am very proud of them all but I really did bite off more than I could chew :) mainly because the flowery ones are so much work. They are based on the card I made for my Ma - fine when making one! The backing paper and the paper that the flower sit on are easy to put together. It's the hand colouring of the flower (with Promarkers), poking holes in the flower, threading the twine, adding the button and tying the bow that takes so long!

The butterfly and heart cards are simple to make. Did you notice the dog card? One of my colleagues has a dog crazy Mother and I was happy to oblige.

Sorry for the longish post :) I'll be visiting you after work.

Cx

Happy Birthday Wifey..

It's Lemon's birthday today and Cinco De Mayo!

Hubby and I call her Wifey...

The main photo today is a collage of photos of Lemon, Me and Hubby..over the years..there are a few more choice ones, but some things should be private :)

Here is the lovely card and envelope I made Lemon for her birthday -

Lemon's Card

I decided to go with type and use all 'F' words as she is 40!

The envelope was made using my lovely Martha Stewart scoring board and I chose a fun paper with numbers on by American Crafts. Only a back view, as the front has text...

Lemon's Envelope

Tonight we are heading to Vamos! To celebrate in Cinco De Mayo style = hangover tomorrow at work...

Cx

Simon Says Stamp..Card Kit May...

Hi,

Happy Friday!!

Lemon arrived last night - whoop whoop!

Today is also our 1 year anniversary of being in NYC! How quick the time flies.

To celebrate I thought that I would show off my makes from the SSS May card kit - this is my first one and I think it is total VFM and might help me curb my craft expenditure (yeah right)..

Here's the kit for May -

You get card stock, patterned paper, a stamp set and a few other things. This month we got a stencil, a mini Distress ink, a new mini round distress inker and a set of fun heart enamel stickers.

I have made 3 cards so far. The main photo is my fave..unfortunately I had to take the photo at night, so it's not the best..and my washi tape is lifting! But I tried a new technique..heat embossing with a stencil :) I used the stencil from the kit, I got a bit too much Versamark ink on the card, so ended up with the black line, but it kind of gave me a border! The stamp and the paper are from the kit too.

This card uses papers from the kit, love the patterned one and the Dude stamp. The Happy Birthday stamp is by Woodware. Love the simplicity of it.

My final card uses a paper and 3 stamps from the kit...loving the shoes and the spots.

I was always a bit nervous about joining a kit club, but this has really changed my mind.

Have a great weekend, we are off to Atlantic City to celebrate Lemon's 40th.

Cx