Butterfly and Dragonfly.

Hi there. I thought it was time I got back into the swing of things and start making cards and blogging again. It's been great to keep up with all your blogs and follow what you've all been up to, crafty wise and just generally.
2014 is being kinder to our family so far. Chris, my eldest at Medical School in Sheffield, had big written exams on the 3rd of January which he passed to our and his relief. Kieran, who had an essay to write the day after his Grandma died, got a high mark in it and another he wrote at Christmas did even better. He's studying History in Newcastle.  They both graduate this year so we're really happy that despite their loss they managed to keep going.

Right back to the card. This is the card I made for my mum-in-law's birthday on the 26th January, the same date as my birthday too!

 

 

 

I'm not quite happy with the placement of the butterfly and the dragonfly but she loved it which is the main thing.

 

I'd like to enter this card in the challenge

 The Ribbon Girl-  Anything Goes

 

 

Card Recipe

 

 6"x6" card- Craftwork Cards

Paper- LOTV Antebellum paper pad, distressed

Purple Card- Core'dinations , sanded and distressed

Ink- Memento Tuxedo Black

Stamps- Dawn Bobby Designs-Delicate Scroll

              Inkylicious- Wings and things

              LOTV- For Her sentiments set 20 

Copic Ciao pens for butterfly and dragonfly

Die- Tattered Lace corner

Embossing powder- Wow in Vintage Jade for scroll from Stamps by Chloe

Other stuff- Glamour Dust in crystal

                    Two sizes of flat back pearls from Andy's crafts

 

 

I hope I'll be able to make more cards to blog but we're still sorting out mum's house so we can sell it.

Anyway I hope you're all having a good 2014 so far.

 

                                                    Debra x

 

 





                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

A Christmas Wish

Just a quick message to you all. Thank you for your kind messages about my mum, they were a big comfort to me. I hope I'll have chance to get back to my blog in the New Year. I've been looking at the crafty things you've all been making and they've been fabulous!

     Anyway I just want to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.


                                             Sending you a big hug,

                                                          Debra xx



No posts for a while

I won't be posting anything for a while as my lovely mum has very sadly passed away after a brief illness. As me and my hubby have a lot to do I won't be commenting on your posts either but I will look what you're all up to if I can. Take care everyone and if you still have a mum give her an extra hug when you see her.


                                                  Debra x

A different kind of card

Hi there. Well the nights are drawing in and it's getting colder. I hope you're all ok and that the storms didn't affect you. My son Chris and his lovely girlfriend Lexi have recovered from their flu now which is great.
Today's card is a bit different than I usually make but there was a good reason for that. Fiona, a lovely lady who knows my hubby,  asked if I could make a card for her husband for their 25th Silver Wedding Anniversary but as he is blind it couldn't just look nice, he had to be able to feel the elements on the card. I wasn't quite sure what to make but she asked if it could have the same background as the card I had made for Stuart on our 25th anniversary (on an earlier post) and as her husband liked to garden something to show that too. After I sent her a few photos to see if I was on the right track, this is the card I made for her husband.

  

 



As you can see there are a lot of things to feel. The silver pearlescent card was debossed with a lattice pattern, the plant pot embossed with dots, the silver garden tools are corrugated and the leaves, letters and numbers are separate die cuts which can be traced with your fingers. Just to finish, a few raised adhesive dots.

Fiona was so pleased with the card she sent a donation for my local MS society, of which I'm a member, which was so lovely of her! She's since told us that her husband really liked the card which I'm so happy about. I hope they had a wonderful day.


Card Recipe

Card Blank- 8"x8" Craftwork Cards
Cardstock- Mirri card and Pearlescent card from stash
Dies- Cuttlebug Olivia alphabet. Flower pot and stem dies from the old Sizzix hand cutter (I can't even remember what that machine was called )
Embossing Folders- Crafters Companion Embossilicious 6"x6" Lattice used to deboss the card and a dotty folder that was free with a magazine.
Other bits and bobs- Fork and spade from stash (how lucky was that, that they were silver!). Glitter adhesive dots in 3 sizes from local shop.


That's it for today. I think I'll colour something while my hubby subjects me to sport on the tv ( it is his turn to watch something he likes!) but oh, how I wish for a craft room.

  Sending you all a hug

 

Debra x

It's a Dalmatian sitting down!

Hi there. I hope this post finds you all healthy and happy. My eldest son and his girlfriend have had fresher's flu. I'd not heard of this, having not been to university, but seemingly the new intake of students brings out lovely new bugs which are happily shared between all the students causing misery for a few weeks. In the son's and his girlfriend's case I know this is true but I'm sure the extra drink discounts in the pubs and clubs during fresher weeks may also be a contributing factor to some of the students taking time off from their studies.
Anyway back to the strange heading. I want to enter the Live and Love Crafts October Challenge in which you have to think pink. Well I haven't got time to stop making Christmas cards, not that I've made many, so I thought why not make a pink one. Obviously it still needs to look like a Christmas card so it's taken a while to get the balance right. I decided to use a charm I've had for many years but it was too bright a gold so I put Shabby white Fran-tage on it ( tip to silly people like me, when you've just heated a metal object with a heat gun don't try to pick it up with your fingers straight away!) I showed it to hubby saying doesn't it look a bit like an angel, it's actually a bell if you can't tell, and he replied that it looks like a Dalmatian sitting down. Well I looked at it but I just don't see it so please tell me what you think it looks like.

The poinsettia

and the bell/angel/sitting down Dalmatian?

What do you see? Polite answers please!

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges-

Live and Love Crafts October Challenge Use Pink

LOTV October Challenge Anything Goes

Crafty Little Fairies Challenge Christmas in October

Card Recipe

White card and card blank- Craftwork Cards
Ink pads- Memento Toffee Crunch for image and the music, Distress Ink Old Paper for inking the edges to make card look more cream than white and Colorbox Rosebud on the tag at top of card
Card- Core'dinations Sugar and spice for mat and die, sanded.
Stamps- Lotv Holy Light and set 46 Background Bits-Notes for the music . Stamps by Chloe Starburst Background. Hunkydory Snowy Swirls for tag.
Pens- Copic Ciao
Dies- Spellbinders Labels 8 for image, Decorative Labels 8 for image mat. Dies by Chloe Medium and small Poinsettia builder dies
Vellum- Docrafts 12x12 Glitter Vellum Polka Dot for poinsettias
Punch- Xcut Leafy Lace
Embossing powder- Wow Pink Sherbert Embossing Glitter for Starburst Background and Sparkling Snow for the Snowy Swirls on tag
Other bits and bobs- DecoArt Glamour Dust on the image, lace, ribbon and charm from stash, small and large flatback pearls from Andy's crafts, string for charm came from the tag, tag from Blade Rubber stamps.

Well another long post so I better get back to my crafting.

 

Sending you all a big hug,

 

Debra x



Finally I've made a Christmas card!!!!

Hello there. I keep looking at different blogs at the lovely Christmas cards everyone has made and I've started to panic as I haven't made any. Things have been conspiring against me (my excuse and I'm sticking with it!) and I just haven't got around to it. Anyway, at last, I've got one made to show you. Just the one, mind you, but it's a start.  

This is just a close-up to show the glitter on the card. Glamour dust is used on the image, the Tattered lace corner is cut out of glitter card, even the ribbon has glitter snowflakes printed on it.

The sentiment is stamped with a Versamark watermark stamp pad and then embossed with silver embossing powder on a tag stamped with snowflakes and swirls. The charm is tied on with a lovely fluffy thread and then Fran-tage encrusted jewels are sprinkled and then embossed to add a little bit more sparkle just in case there isn't enough!

Card Recipe

Card blank & stamping card- Craftwork cards
Stamp pads- Memento tuxedo black, VersaMark watermark, Colorbox robin's egg.
Pens- Copic Ciao
Stamps- Lotv Festive post and set 35 Christmas handwritten phrases. Hunkydory Snowy swirls.
Paper- Lotv Beach bliss, Maja It's Christmas time, Kraft card, glitter card.
Ribbon- both from stash
Fluffy thread- Ek success adornments- had this a long time so don't know if still available
Tag- Blade rubber stamps
Charm- Hobby house
Die- Tattered lace corner die
Other bits & bobs- Stampendous Fran-tags encrusted jewel white kit. DecoArt Glamour dust.



I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges-
 The Ribbon Girls October Challenge Make It Sparkly

LOTV October Challenge Anything Goes


I had a fabulous time last Saturday at the GNPE at Harrogate. I bought lots of crafty goodies but the best bit was meeting up with Carole, who I started following on her blog as her cards are lovely and has some great ideas for them. We had a good natter as we kept meeting on various stands and I felt like I'd known her for ages! I think we both bought more than we intended but you can never have too much craft stuff as I keep telling my hubby, lol. I have to say a big thank you to my son who was a big help reaching over peoples heads to get me things as the stands were busy and to him and his girlfriend, Lexi, for their company at the show. Thanks!
Well that was a long post today so I should really go and start a making a card.

Thank you for your visit, I hope you like today's card.

 

Sending you a big hug,

Debra x

Pink and Lilac...

Hi there on this sunny afternoon. I'm here feeling a bit sorry for myself as I'm full of a cough and cold and don't feel like card making. So I'm going to show you a couple of cards I made back in January, doesn't that seem a long time ago! My mum's and mum-in law's birthday is a week apart in January and as I'm still recovering from Christmas I tend to make them similar cards. This time I used lili of the valley Thinking of you stamp which is really sweet with it's teddy in an envelope and You are my sunshine stamp. I'm sure they don't mind getting similar cards but they can compare them as we all live near one another, nearer than when we all lived near Manchester.
Anyway here's the cards for today

Card Recipe

Card blank 6"x6" and white stamping card- Craftwork Cards
Cardstock- from local stationer
Paper- Papermania Lucy Cromwell
Stamps- Lotv- Thinking of you, You are my sunshine, Simply sophisticated sentiments set 26 and 'mum' is from For her sentiments set 20
Pens- Copic Ciao
Die- Spellbinders- Adorning squares
Ribbon- Organza ribbon from stash
Lace- I think I got from Lotv shop in Leeds
Butterflies- Satin ribbon of butterflies, cut singularly and coloured with copics are from stash but Ribbon box do something similar
Other bits- Glamour dust on stamp and butterflies
                   Flatback pearls from Andy's crafts


I hope you like today's cards. I think today I would have added more elements to the cards but then again after the Christmas preparations and the festivities themselves who has the energy, not me lol!

Here's hoping you're all keeping well and having a great weekend. Thank you for your visit and have a big hug from me

 

Debra x