Hello Baby Boy...

Hey,

I recently fell in love with the Loveable Laundry set by Newton's Nook, so I bought it whilst I was on vacay.

Then I got back to the news that a friend had her baby and it felt like kismet!

I stamped and watercoloured all of the fun onesies/babygrows using distress inks. I die-cut them out using the matching die, after I had coloured them.

I created a background for the onesies/babygrows using a Clearly Besotted stencil and Broken China Distress Oxide ink.

The sentiment uses a Technique Tuesday 'hello' die that I have had forever and the 'baby boy' is from the same set as the onesies/babygrows.

Cute, fun card to make, now it really needs to go in the post with the real-life onesies/babygrows that I bought him.

Cx

Hello Winter Baby..

Hey,

At the end of January our friends had their first baby, after a really difficult set of stillbirths. I think it's ok for me to reference that, as they are advocates for talking about it and support several charities, that bring this subject to forefront of people's minds.

To celebrate the arrival of Baby Rowan, I went baby stuff crazy and sent them a flat rate box of goodies and I am working on another project for them.

I also made today's card to go with the box of goodies.

As Rowan was born during the Winter, I thought it would be fun to make a Winter focused baby card.

I started by smooshing some distress ink onto watercolour paper. Then cue much fussing and fiddling trying out all of the background elements!

The Polar Bear stamp is by MFT and is one of my all time fave sets (Polar Bear Pals).

I love how it came together and is a really nice twist on regular new baby cards.

Cx

Elephant Frenzy!...

Hey,

Remember when Tiffany (part of the Craftgang) had a baby shower earlier this year and I got the days wrong? And then her baby Sophia was born the next day?

I made her this card and I posted it on Instagram.. Since then I have made approx 50 of them for people that have reached out and asked me if I will make them one?!

It is lovely, but I am still a bit baffled by it's popularity.

Today's version is for a good friend, whose wife recently had a baby girl. I love making these cards, the mixing of the patterns is so fun and a bit different for me.

Making these cards is also a great way to use my patterned paper stash.

Cx

Craftgang Baby...

Hey,

So I promised you I would tell you all about my weekend!

One of the Craftgang (Tiff) was having a baby shower over the weekend and I thought it was on Sunday. So I spent Saturday morning frantically finishing off her baby quilt....

After it was finished, I patted myself on the back and got my clothes ready for the shower on Sunday.

I noticed that my phone was going nuts and it was the Craftgang asking me where I was..yep, totes got my dates wrong and the baby shower was on Saturday!!

Cue, me getting washed, dressed, make-up on, gift wrapped and in a taxi in 15 mins flat!

I am so glad I checked my phone and made it in time for at least part of it...

Then we all wake up on Sunday morning to the news that Baby Sophia made her entrance into the world at approx 8am on Sunday morning LOL!!! I am guessing she 'saw' all the beautiful clothing she had to wear and decided to get on with it!

So on Sunday I made the new baby card - which is the main photo today. I decided to do something a bit different and broke out my Silhouette Portrait and used a Lori Whitlock Elephant card template.

It was so much fun to make. You cut the card blank, the x2 elephants and the trunk hearts and ears. Super easy to assemble and I added brads for the eyes. The papers I used are by American Crafts and I have had them for years and only used 1 sheet!! I also used a purple cardstock for the card blank, ears and hearts, because Tiff loves purple.

So that was my Saturday and Sunday was spent at my desk pretty much going 'what happened yesterday?' LOL.

Cx

Winter has arrived...

Hey,

So it's officially Christmas break - whoop whoop!

As you know there has been an influx of babies in my life recently!

First some background, I have a friend Michelle - well really she is a Sister after 25 years of friendship. She is from Seattle and we met at University in Plymouth. Cue many years of backwards and forwards between Seattle and London. Her family are my family and vice versa.

Michelle moved to Hawaii a few years ago and she is an amazing artist and Hawaii has brought out the best in her work (in my opinion).

Michelle's family are still in Seattle and Wesley her brother is a firm friend of mine and this week his girlfriend had their baby boy - Winter Kanade.

Winter was a bit early (5 weeks..) so my plans had to be accelerated a bit, so I am still working on some items for him. But I did manage to create the card you see today for them.

Both Wesley and his girlfriend are into superheroes / star wars etc and they have the cutest dog, so naturally there had to be a superhero and a dog on the card.

As we all knew Winter was going to be a boy, I wanted to say 'hello' on the card and not 'it's a boy'.

This card is essentially a CASE of a card I previously made, so I am pleased that the design is versatile enough to be a baby card too! The Hero and Dog stamps are by Lil Inkers.

Cx

Hippo in my pocket..

Hey,

Big thanks and love to Julia and the WOYWW posse, yesterday they welcomed me back (home) with open arms, I do love blogland, it has given me many great friends and reasons to feel happy.

In my post yesterday I talked about today's cards.

There have been a LOT of new babies arriving in my world recently, so I finally sat down on Tuesday night and started making the baby girl cards.

I love this card that I made last year. I keep recreating it and I've used it for babies and birthdays.

As I have most of the MFT flower stamp sets I decided to mix those in with the usual Zoo Crew and Denim & Daises sets by Paper Smooches. I used Bold Blooms and Pretty Posies by MFT.

These two cards were super easy, using the MISTI (well the small stamp perfect, I swamped my Mini MISTI for the big one and I also have the Tim Holtz version..), I stamped the two cards in tandem.

I added some bling here and there to finish of the cards.

I love this new slight variation on my theme, adding in different flower stamps creates a totally new look.

Cx

Hello babies..

Hey,

I have this strange love for new Baby Cards...

They make me so happy and I was lucky enough recently to be able to make two of them - one for a boy and one for a girl - yay!

The main card today is for friends of mine that just had a baby girl. As the female half of this particular couple is quite funky, I decided that a card to welcome her Daughter should also be funky!

In the clear out of box of shame I came across a host of ready to go backgrounds, including the one I used for this card, which is actually an oops that I couldn't bear to part with...

So glad that I kept it as it has worked out perfectly for this card. I die-cut a babygrow (onesie) from some precious ancient paper, love the sparkly stripes. I love the giant baby word die, it's by Lil Inker and I had to hunt it down after seeing it somewhere years ago. I stamped the rest of the sentiment, which doesn't show so well here, but it did pop on the card IRL.

The next card is for a client of mine and my colleague and I adore her and wanted to send her a nice personal card from us and the team. She has 3 Daughters already, so that was the theme of my card.

What do you think?

I love it, the cute stamp and die set by Mama Elephant worked out so well here. The sentiment was a gift from JT.

More babies please!

Cx

Welcome Sunny Rae...

Hey,

So I have been destashing a bit and selling on the monthly Hero Arts kits, as they haven't really been my style, sad as they are great VFM.

I met a lady on the group I use on FB and she recently had a baby girl - Sunny Rae - such a gorgeous name and the baby is gorgeous too!! As I was sending her a batch of stuff she had bought off of me, I thought I'd make her a card too.

Any excuse for me to make a baby card...

I thought the main focus of the card should be some sort of sunray / sunburst, given the baby's name.

I used an old faithful Crafters Workshop stencil with Fossilized Amber Distress Ink.

I really wanted a cute critter on the card and remembered that I had some of the MFT birthday bears die-cut and ready to go, so I coloured the x2 bears and the balloon using Zigs - yes that is a pink bear..creative license..

I love the giant welcome stamp by Lil' Inker Designs, sadly I don't get to use it as often as I would like.

Finally I added stamped Sunny Rae's name on the card - using Studio G alpha stamps from 2011 that I have hardly used, but I keep hold of them for moments like this!

I am so pleased that my card looks like the vision I had in my head, so rare that the final card looks how it was 'supposed' to.

Cx

Baby Card Frenzy...

Hey,

Happy Friday.

It's not really a frenzy!! But I did feel like all my Christmasses had come at once, as I got to make TWO baby cards at once (joy).

I LOVE making baby cards.

These are both for my colleague Jim and his wife, who finally welcomed their Daughter a couple of weeks ago.

You will remember Jim from baby quilt fame.

I made two cards, one from hubby and I and the other from my other NYC based work colleagues to send to him.

The main card is my one, I used the Studio Calico 'Celebrate Animal' stamp set, I love it, I love Studio Calico stamp sets. To make everything pop a bit, I used distress ink through a stencil to create a soft background.

The second card was so much fun to make. I used Bo Bunny glitter paste through a spotty stencil - I love glitter paste, it ends up so shimmery when it dries. The onesie / babygrow is by Clearly Besotted and I wanted it to stand out a bit more from the background, so added a loop of twine. The sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp (stamped slightly wonky..oops).

Both cards were fun to make and are really nice modern baby cards, perfect for a designer and his newly expanded family.

Off to Philly tonight to hang with friends all weekend, then next week I will be in Rochester for work, so all posts will be scheduled.

Cx

Graphic Baby Quilt...

Hey,

So far I have been to the gym twice this week and my butt has been kicked - BIG TIME!!

Anyway, remember how I can actually sew and make things other than cards?

One of my London based work colleagues has been a great friend to me since I started my job and when I heard that He and his wife were expecting I thought it would be nice to make a baby quilt for them.

Jim is a designer...so this means he is fussy, he had seen my quilt (FYI, still not 'quilted') and told me that he wanted something similar.

So I hunted for a Moda charm pack that was girly, but graphic. I decided to add pink and grey solid squares because the prints are quite full on.

The backing I found in my fave quilt store in NYC, it was on mega sale and was a lucky find as it is normally $29 a yard - NO!

This quilt came together in 4hrs - honest from start to finish, I had planned to do it over the course of 2 days, but once I got into my groove I just kept going.

There was a small panic (aka hissy fit) when I realised I didn't have any binding for the edge of the quilt. A massive hunt through my sewing boxes ensued and I found an ancient reel of pink spotty binding (from Amsterdam), which meant the swearing could be now kept to a minimum.

Here are the work in progress / finished shots that I shared on Instagram over the course of the day I was sewing the quilt...with a lot of moaning as I loathe and detest pinning...

The creative process + my beloved Sewing Machine

This was the first time I abandoned my usual method of adding the trim and I am glad that I did, I think my improvised method was much neater and quicker.

I am still in shock at how easy this was, it's a record for me and I am SO happy with the end result, as were Jim and his wife.

See I do, do other things with my time ;)

Cx

Just Add Ink: Colours..

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Today I am playing along with the Just Add Ink colour challenge -

I thought the colours would be great for a baby card.

I am a little bit addicted right now to using the Neat and Tangled Skunk for baby cards..

I stenciled some Turquoise ink onto my white panel using a Tim Holtz grid stencil and then added the pink spotty washi tape and a scrap of grey paper. Then I ran the whole piece through the Big Shot using a Simon Says Stamp stitched rectangle die.

I coloured (Zigs) and cut the Skunk out, as always using artistic license with the colour...

The Skunk is popped up using foam tape and the sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp.

I am loving the Pretty Pink Posh clear droplets right now and so added a few here for a bit of interest.

I am really happy, such a sweet card, I love making baby cards.

Cx

The Paper Players..Hello Baby Girl...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Today is officially the first day in the proper NYC office. This month I will be doing 2 days from home, as I am still not 100% fit, but I am excited to be in the office with my colleagues.

I had fun over the weekend playing at my desk, I felt all inspired, following class on Friday.

I love making baby cards and had one to make, so I had a lot of fun and it totally works with The Paper Players challenge this week -

This card is for my Flamingo crazy friend, so it was only right that I started this card by heat embossing the Flamingo background stamp by Simon Says Stamp.

The Stampin' Up Cheerful Critters are always super handy and I stamped, coloured and fussy cut the Rabbit for this card. The sentiment was a mix of stamps.

I had planned on saying 'Welcome Baby Girl' - but I don't have a welcome die and I really wanted that to be a die-cut (time for spendyspendy..). So I used the giant SSS Hello die - I think it works well here.

When I started putting it together I thought it needed something to make the elements pop a bit, but not obscure the background too much..in comes my friend vellum..

A slightly kooky baby card, which made me smile a lot.

Cx

New Baby Heat Embossing....

Hey,

Happy Monday.

So as you all know I love making baby cards.

We have had a few new arrivals in the last couple of months and I was playing with an idea for a DT make - coming soon and thought it would also work for babies.

I stamped the hearts and words using Versamark and covered the panel with white embossing powder and heat embossed it to create a resist.

Using Picked Raspberry distress ink, I washed over the heat embossing and you get the awesome panel that you can see.

The first card was made at the start of December for a November baby and my new Lil Stinker stamp and dies by Neat & Tangled had just arrived, so I really wanted to use them.

I used Zigs to colour the Skunk and used some creative license to make the stripe pink, so she is clearly a girl Skunk..

The sentiment stamps are by Simon Says Stamp and are the handiest set ever for baby cards.

I added the gold strips so that the pink panel stood out a bit more.

The card below is pretty much the same, but I used different heart stamps and a slightly different sentiment.

I love these, they feel very modern and fresh, not at all like normal New Baby cards..

Cx

Pocketful of New Baby...

Hey,

I was asked by a neighbour to make a fun and unusual 'New Baby Girl' card..

FUN TIMES!! We all know that I love to make New Baby cards..

Because I love Paper Smooches stamps and I wanted to enter their call for a Sept Guest Designer at PaperSmooches..I decided to break out two Paper Smooches stamp sets for this card.

I would be so honoured to be part of their DT for a month..

I used Denim & Daisies and Zoo Crew, along with sentiment stamps from a Studio Calico set.

First I die-cut the white stitched panel, it made it easier to plan out the flower explosion. The flowers, hearts, dots and leaves are all from the Denim & Daisies set and I stamped them in a random configuration and colours.

The Hippo is from Zoo Crew and I coloured her (?!) and fussy cut her out...I didn't realise that I didn't have the dies..need to remedy that!

I die-cut the pocket and stamped the stitched decorative edge and then added the sentiment.

It took me approx 25 mins to get the Hippo and pocket aligned to my satisfaction...way too fussy, but I didn't want to eclipse all the lovely flowers!

I added some blingy stars (from JT) to the flower explosion and now I am 100% happy with my card.

My neighbour loves it and has asked for it to be remade as a birthday card..awesome!

Cx

Moving Along With The Times...New Baby

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Moving Along With The Times Challenge..

This time our hostess is Beckie and her theme is New Baby...

Now you know I LOVE New Baby cards...

Friends of mine recently had a baby girl, they are a bit hipster cool (unlike me) so I wanted to make a card that was a bit out there and not very traditionally New Baby.

I made a bunch of distress ink backgrounds and thought this purpley / pinky one would be perfect for a New Baby card.

I have to confess I cut, coloured and stamped at least 20 critters until I got the sentiment looking how I wanted it too..LOL OCD time..

The critter stamps are by Mama Elephant and I love them, they are totally overused and they come a with a wide range of sentiments - except new baby!

The sentiment stamps are a mix of Studio Calico and Simon Says Stamp.

I added a few sequins and a bit of wink of stella here and there to finish off my card.

Your turn to show us your New Baby creations,  but first go over to MAWTT and see what fabulous things my teammates have made.

Challenge ends on July 6th.

Cx

It's a Girl....

Hey,

So I LOVE making new Baby cards.. no idea why, I just do!

So JT's bestie and her Husband had a baby Girl last week (congrats) and I have met them, so I wanted to send them a card, welcoming her to their family.

I recently bought a whole batch of the mini Lawn Fawn stamp and die sets, as they were a good price.

One of them was -

I thought it would make a great new Baby card, as the Elephants could represent the parents and the heart would appear between them and be the new Baby.

I dug out a piece of ancient DCWV sparkly Baby Girl paper - I think I've had it since 2011.. I die cut it and a coordinating pink piece using nesting Spellbinders label dies.

The sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp, once I had placed the Elephants I didn't think the stamped heart would work, so I punched a pink heart, popped it up and added a bling to signify one new baby.

I love it, Baby cards make me happy.

Cx

Cake and quilts...

Hey,

Hope you all had a great weekend.

I thought today I would share a card I made using some of my colouring from The Daily Marker colouring challenge last month.

It's been a 'let's eat cake' kind of weekend..we went to afternoon tea at a friend's house to meet her new Daughter - who is GORGEOUS!!

I managed to FINALLY finish her baby quilt -

I choose the Parisian Pooch fabric, because my friend and her Husband are big fans of Paris and I like all the baby quilts to have a touch of the parents incorporated.

Finishing this quilt gave me a new found love for my amazing sewing machine and it's super fast speed - meaning I got this bad boy done in under 3hrs...

This was an adventure for me, as I used flannel for the first time, it's a beast to sew, but gives superb results..

Back to my card :) The stamp is a freebie from a UK magazine, I love it, so pretty and versatile. I die-cut it using my new Gina Marie stitched scallop dies and the sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp and Hero Arts for Stamptember 2014. The best bit for me is the ancient paper from a dodgy craft expo that JT and I attended way back in 2012, it came in a huge pack and I am still working my way through it.

I am happy with the finished card and the baby quilt..

Cx

Welcome Baby Maggie..

Hey,

Hope you are having a good weekend so far.

Today Hubby and I are running some errands before heading out for a boozy NYC style brunch :)

Two weeks ago Hubby's bestie and her Hubby welcomed their first baby Maggie into the world. She is gorgeous and we can't wait to meet her.

As this card was for a special couple, I thought a shaker card was in order..

I had the shaker pouch already to go and that determined the shape of the aperture. I used Sizzix oval frame nesting dies to create a frame for the pouch.

I am so in love with the Black Friday Studio Calico Celebrate Animal set that I used it again for this card - for the Elephant and Girl.

I randomly decided Lilac was my theme colour for the card and so stamped the Elephant using a Lilac Tsukineko ink. I used the same ink to stamp the Penny Black Dots in Space onto the background paper.

The Baby die is by Lil' Inker and I die-cut it in the same cardstock as the card blank..I like making my own card blanks, I get to co-ordinate things even more!

The whole thing just looks so pretty - I love shaker cards and new babies.

Cx

Welcome shiny new Niece..

Hey,

Hope you had a great weekend.

We did, we caught up with friends, hung out together and played at our respective desks :)

One of my good friends had a baby this week - a bit earlier than expected, but all is well, they knew it was a girl and so I have been calling her my niece...

She is a stunner and called Eloise, isn't that pretty.

I made this fun shaker card to welcome Eloise to the world.

Obviously I used the Fuse to make the shaker pouch, but this time I stamped the sentiment onto a piece of card and sealed that inside the pouch along with the sequins.

I used a brand new stamp and die set by Studio Calico for the sentiment and the elephant. I added a frame using my new Simon Says Stamp stitched square dies, it helped cover up a couple of mistakes..

It felt a bit flat, so I added the row of hearts by Die Versions in a bright pink paper..this made the card for me!

I can't wait to meet the beautiful Eloise and have a cuddle..

I'm working on her quilt, hopefully it will be done before Christmas

Cx

Twin babies...yay!

Hey,

Happy Friday.

Today is my last day in the London office until next month.

I fly home on Sunday.

It has been fun, busy and a bit of a whirlwind..now for some quiet time with my parents before I head home to Hubby.

I made today's card ages ago...but forgot to post about it.

Friends of ours had twins!! This fabulous event collided with a Bugaboo Stamps sale, so I just had to buy this cute stamp, perfect for my twin baby needs.

As you can see I added a slightly wonky s to boy..

I coloured the stamp with Promarkers and all the other stamps used are by Simon Says Stamp.

Have a great weekend, see you in NYC next week.

Cx