Even More Christmas Cards

Morning all!  Here's another batch of Christmas cards to share with you.  All materials are as before. 

I can't believe it's the last day of August already and that the summer holidays are almost over. I feel like I need to start them all over again, as I haven't achieved everything that I wanted to.  I am not looking forward to getting back on the treadmill of being back to school, the routine of packed lunches, uniform, homework etc.  The holidays have not been that great, due to personal reasons, and it's only this last week, just when it is nearly over, that things have started looking up. I guess that's the way life goes, but sometimes I wish things were different - ah well, never mind, just feeling a little bit sorry for myself.

Have a good day everyone.

M x

More Christmas Cards

Hope everyone has had a great Bank Holiday weekend.  Mine has been very productive.  I've made all my September birthday cards, no mean feat because there are so many of them.  I've also spent a lot of time helping Emily declutter her room.  So far we have filled the paper recycling box and 2 black sacks as well.  Still nowhere near being finished yet!

Mark has been a busy bunny and had a mad scanning session yesterday (he moaned a lot!).  I think he scanned about 35 cards.  I did say that he should have scanned as I made them and not left them all until the end - but would he listen? Lol!!

The following cards measure 10cm x 10cm and are all made from the Trim the Tree paper collection from Craftwork Cards.  I don't know if you can tell from the photos but the trees are 3D.  They are made from 3 diecut trees, all scored down the middle and stuck together.  They fold flat when they are in their envelopes.

The next four cards use the fancy edge cards from Craftwork Cards.  I wasn't too convinced about these at the time.  I've only just come round to scalloped edge cards!  But now I love them and use them all the time. The Candi suits them too.

I hope you like them and I look forward to showing you some more tomorrow.  Make the most of my regular posts - it'll all go to pot when I go back to work!!

M x

50th Birthday

This is a card I made for my friend who will be 50 on Tuesday.  I decided to make the 50 quite discreet, not that she has a problem with her age, and used white rub-ons for the purpose.  I love this paper, I think it is so pretty.

Card blank : White hammered landscape C6 - had for ages

Paper : Sugar and Spice by Dovecraft

Cardstock : DCWV

Flowers : Petaloo

Candi - Craftwork Cards

I'm really pleased with it and hope Katrina likes it too.  I've actually made another one without the 50 for a friend whose birthday is in September.

I haven't been able to make any cards today, despite that being the plan, because I have been helping Emily sort her room out, clear her desk etc, in readiness for 6th Form.  This is not a small task as her room resembles the aftermath of a tornado, typical teenager bedroom.  She has decided to be ruthless and we have filled a black bin bag already and we have barely started!  Wish me luck.

M x

Cheers!

Just enjoying a glass or two of champagne to celebrate my 17th Wedding Anniversary.  Mark is cooking a sumptious meal (his choice, I suggested a takeaway) of scallops to start and posh sausages and puy lentils for the main course.  I've had quite a chilled day.  Haven't done anything special but it has been lovely all the same.

I've been trying to break the back of all the birthday cards I need for September.  They pretty much all have to be different as most of them are for people I work with.  I also have an order for three special cards to complete in the next week (typically I have left this until the last minute).  I have really enjoyed my card making today as I don't feel under any pressure.  I'll be showing you these over the next week - they are awaiting scanning.

I've also started to organise my crafting area too, little by little.  I've got an A5 Notebook and I have written down all the colours of my inks, ink pads, Glimmer Mists, Promarkers etc to avoid duplication when I go to stamp shows (in readiness for Ally Pally at the end of September!).  I've also noted down my Nestabilities, Cuttlebug embossing folders, clear stamp sets etc.  It's jolly useful and reminds you what you have.

Here are a few Christmas cards that I made recently.  They are all the same design, just different colour combinations.  As usual - all products are Craftwork Cards.  (Sorry the cards are a bit wonky - you just can't get the staff these days!!).

Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.  I have to say, we had better weather 17 years ago!

M x

Results Day

Just a quickie today to say well done to my beautiful clever Emily.  After a really tough year of illness and not being able to attend school regularly, Emily has done better than anyone could have expected with her GCSE results.  We are on such a high today after going to school this morning expecting the worst.  And more importantly, she has secured her place in 6th Form, which is so important to her future plans.

I'm so proud of her and it was lovely to see her with a smile on her face, talking positively about the future.

We are off for a celebratory meal, and maybe a little glass of wine or two!

M x

Super Cute Felt

Just wanted to share with you this lovely book that has just arrived from Amazon.  It's truly amazing!  I'm really taken with the magenta and coral flower brooch that's on the front cover - it's so pretty.  It's full of gorgeous projects.

The problem is, it's another hobby - to go with the card making and paper crafts, the crochet, baking etc, which means more paraphernalia!!  Mark will go nuts!  He's already fed up with my card making stash taking over the house.  We'll have to keep this one secret from him lol!

If you get a moment you should check out the author's blog here .

Quick update on my Christmas cards - I've made 63!!!!!  There will be photos soon, but my trusty scanner person (Mark) is just not getting on with the job!!

Take care

M x 

Sunday at the Beach

On Sunday we took Chloe for her first trip to the beach.  Emily has been champing at the bit to do this for weeks.  It was quite tricky to find a suitable beach that allowed dogs off the lead, one that wasn't too far from where we live.  In the end we had to go to the Suffolk coast where dogs are allowed on the beaches all year round.  The beach was actually 100 miles from home, a two hour journey.  I was very anxious because Chloe doesn't really like going in the car!  She wasn't too bad in the end, maybe she resigned herself to it.

The beach was at Sizewell, famous for its rather ugly power station right by the beach.  But the actual beach was really nice.  There was a very reasonably priced car park close by, a little beach cafe and toilets - perfect!  We took a picnic and our camping chairs and we were all set.

Chloe loved the beach and had great fun tearing up and down.  She didn't like the water however, and nothing could persuade her to dip a paw in the water.

It was a long way to go, but we had a lovely relaxed family day out.  Even the journey home wasn't too bad, as Chloe was exhausted and slept for a lot of it.

It looks like she had fun doesn't it.

M x

MIMM 3

OK, so here are the final pages of my Moleskine Journal.  This first set is about my present status - married, kids, pets etc and the accompanying page is about my home and my favourite way of relaxing.  I think I was supposed to use a brayer on these pages. I do own one but for the life of me I can't remember where it is, and to be honest I couldn't be bothered to look for it!  It's been years since I have needed it.

These two pages are about my handbag and make-up and perfume.  I tried to replicate my current bag, which is my beloved Cath Kidston day bag.  We were supposed to draw around the items and label them, but I thought it would be better to use a handbag template and take a photo and then list the contents of my bag.

These two pages are about my writing and music.  I haven't answered all the questions because I am still thinking of the answers.  I find it difficult to narrow down my favourite music (or anything really) because it depends on my mood at the time.

OK, on to family and friends,  Wasn't too sure about spraying ink through a doily, but quite like the effect in the end.  I quite like the splodges too, obviously I intended them to be there lol!

And the final two pages are about food and drink.  This was supposed to be one page but I had pages to spare and thought it would look better spread out.

And that is that!  As I said before, I still have the tags to do - just the twenty of them!  But I think I am just going to wash them with coloured ink to match each page.  It's more about what is written on them, but that dear readers is for my eyes only!

Thanks to Kirsty Wiseman  for producing such a great class.  I am so pleased I took the plunge.  It's been liberating.

M x

Christmas Cards 2011

So, I finally got round to starting my Christmas cards yesterday.  I didn't think inspiration would strike as I couldn't feel less like Christmas if I tried!  Anyway, once as I had spread out my papers and embellishments things started to happen.

I am using last year's papers from Craftwork Cards called Trim the Tree which I bought in the sale.  I have two colourways - the first is the pink and black that I have used below, and the other is purple and lime green which I will use when I have exhausted the possibilities of the pink/black.

I'm using different sized cards this year.  I usually use a 12cm square or a 15cm square.  This year I have decided to use a 10cm square and the standard A6 sizes.

I have gone for simple styles, I don't like anything too fussy.  I love the modern, contemporary feel of these papers - I have never been very keen on the traditional style with red, green and gold, or the really cute images either.

Altogether I managed to make 17 cards - not a bad afternoon's work.  I made 2 of each design where possible.  Some designs have not been scanned yet, waiting for the glitter glue to dry.  So more to show you another day.  I have to make around 70 cards, so still a way to go. That will keep me quiet over the next couple of days!

Have a great Sunday.

M x

Summer Holiday Tasks - Update

Well, the summer holidays are at the halfway point and I thought it was about time to take stock and see how I am doing with the goals I set myself.

1. Complete my Me in my MoleskinE journal.

I've pretty much finished the actual book (more photos to come soon) and only have the tags to do that go in each page pocket. I'm really happy with how it turned out and can't wait to share the rest with you.

2. Make a start on my Christmas cards.

Well, up until this morning I hadn't made any, but this afternoon I have made 8 cards so far, and now feel on a roll to make some more. Edward thinks I am completely nuts to make them in August, but I know there is a method in my madness! Will share them with you over the next few days.

3. Tidy my craft area/make it work for me.

No, not happened yet!

4. Finish my new Flower Garden blanket.

In hindsight I think this was a tall order. However, it is progressing nicely. I made a plan of how it is going to look (it took me an hour and a half to do it!), using my Promarkers. Counting up all the hexagons was scary - I have to make 713 in total!! I have already made about 300, so still plenty more to do.


The thing that is slowing me down, is blocking out all the hexagons. I can only do about 13 at a time and have to leave them overnight to dry. It's definitely worth it as they sit better, flatter.

This is how far I have got in joining them up. It hasn't taken too long but I am glad I made the plan as I have to refer to it constantly.

5. Make more cards/be adventurous.

I haven't really done this yet either, but there is still plenty of time. It's typical though don't you think, that when you have lots of time to be creative, the ideas seem to dry up.

6. To enter a card on a challenge blog.

This has also not happened but I have been looking at the Less is More challenge blog and may give it a go soon. This week's challenge is a One Layer card using ink - sounds interesting, so I may give it a go.

So, I suppose I am quite pleased with how things are going. What I didn't want is too feel under pressure with the tasks I have set myself. If I don't achieve everything it doesn't really matter as long as I feel like I have done some of the things I wanted to do.

Hope you are all having a great weekend.

M x

MIMM 2

So, the next two pages are about the state of my mind, on a good day and on a bad day. What makes me happy etc.


These pages deal with the heart and love. I really like the colours on this page and the way it is laid out. Again, lots of book print.

The final two pages in the selection are about how I view my hands and feet. These pages were really fun to do. I may go back and put Glossy Accents on my toe nails.

Well that's it for a week or so. I'm taking a short break. Have a good week and see you soon.

M x