Friday, 28 October 2011

Polka Dots - Less is More Week 38

So, I have finally got round to entering a card for the LIM challenge blog here .  I love the theme of polka dots and found it really easy to make a card that fits the bill.  This card is actually for my parents' wedding anniversary on Monday (they have promised not to read this!!).


The base card and all papers and embellishments are from Craftwork Cards Fruit Scoop range and all the stamps are by Paula Pascual.

Hope you like my first entry.  I am in awe of the gorgeous cards that people produce every week.

Happy card making.

M x

Thursday, 27 October 2011

A Touch of Greenery

Here's another card from my recent bout of creativity.  Again, a very simple card, and one I think would suit both male and female.


Ingredients
Stamps : All by Marion Emberson
Ink : Brilliance
Card stock from stock

I've got another card that I want to show you, that I made this week.  It fits the bill perfectly for the Less is More challenge blog - the subject being Polka Dots.  The only problem is that the card is for my Mum and Dad's wedding anniversary on Monday, and the final submission for the challenge is tomorrow, and my parents do read my blog - so what to do?  Ban them from reading the blog until Monday or not submit?

This week has been half term and a bit of a funny old week.  I've had very little motivation for anything, which is a bit worrying.  My dog is going through her first season (it's a bit of an eye-opener!!), and my kids are bickering.  It almost (not quite though) makes me wish I was back at work!!

Hope you are having a more productive week.

M x

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Sunshine and Flowers

This is the final card from my recent card making session.  Again I've gone for something relatively simple, although the stamping had to be done in stages and was a bit time consuming.  The whole look is rather summery which, given the weather at the moment, makes me feel a bit brighter.


Ingredients
Stamp : Sunshine and Flowers by Marion Emberson
Ink : Versamagic - Persimmon, Pretty Petunia and Oasis Green
Ribbon and card stock from stash

Enjoy the rest of your week.  Take care.

M x

Monday, 17 October 2011

More Pretties

Here's another card from my weekend of playing.  Purple is my favourite colour, so I particularly like this one.  Again, it is very simple.  I have had a lot of fun stamping and colouring, getting back to the basics and to what drew me to card making 16 years ago (although my style has changed considerably!).


Ingredients
Stamps : Thanks a Bunch by Marion Emberson
Promarkers : Bluebell, Purple and Violet
Cardstock and gems from stock

Hope you have had a good Monday.  We have had to succumb to the heating tonight.  Gosh isn't it getting chilly?!

M x

Sunday, 16 October 2011

Pretty Flowers

Here's one of the cards that I made this weekend.  Quite a productive weekend actually,  I am feeling like I have my crafting mojo back - I just want to keep making cards and do nothing else! Sadly, work looms tomorrow - but hey, it's half term in 5 days - hurrah!!


Ingredients
Stamped image : Thanks a Bunch by Marion Emberson
Promarkers : Magenta and Poppy
Embellishments : Ribbon and button from stock

Hope you like it.  Come back soon for some more cards.  Have a good week.

M x

Saturday, 15 October 2011

It's finished!!!!

The Flower Garden blanket is finally finished.  Yep, as of this morning.  I am SO thrilled to have it finished and that it looks so beautiful. Wow! 713 hexagons, can you imagine!  I can't give you amounts of wool or measurements (you can see how it looks on a standard double bed) but  I have used 10 different colours for the flowers, with the middles making up the 11th colour.  There are 50 flowers altogether (350 hexagons) with the remaining 363 hexagons being crocheted in white.  I have just edged it with a row of single crochets.  The worst part of the blanket was the blocking out and leaving them to dry over night, but it was worth the effort and made the sewing together much easier.





For my next project I have promised to make Edward a striped blanket, and I have suggested a ripple (my cunning plan because I have never made a ripple before).  Emily is trying to persuade me to make her another blanket and she wants it to be like my Flower Garden.  Not sure I can cope with more hexagons at the moment.  Her colour scheme is to have all the flowers white with yellow middles like daisies and joined together with green hexagons like grass!  We shall see :)

M x

Friday, 14 October 2011

More Flowers

Another card from last weekend.  Again, I have used some of my new stamps from Marion Emberson and coloured in the image with Promarkers.  I'm rather partial to my Fiskars' edge punches at the moment, as well as a touch of ribbon.  The colour scheme is not my usual choice, but I really like it.


Ingredients
Stamp : Sunshine and Flowers by Marion Emberson
Promarkers : Amber and Fuchsia Pink
Ribbon : From stash
Scalloped Edge Punch : Fiskars

I'm really hoping to make some more cards tomorrow.  Apart from the usual washing, ironing, shopping etc, we have nothing planned this weekend, which is nice after a really hectic, difficult week.  Heigh ho - one more week until half term! 

Happy crafting!

M x

Tuesday, 11 October 2011

Flower Power

Had a little card making session over the weekend, getting back to my roots - stamping and colouring.  I've made no secret of my love of Marion Emberson's stamps, and I finally got the time to have a little play.  I must say I really enjoyed the simplicity of stamping and colouring and adding a little embellishment with ribbon and sparkle, and my appetite has been whetted for more cards of this type.

For today's card, I coloured it in with my Promarkers, using my favourite colours.  Obviously there are plenty of options available.  I stamped the image three times, more or less in a straight line and just used two colours so it wasn't overly busy.  I made the little bow on the ribbon and stuck it down with Pinflair glue (in a syringe) -  I am quite impressed with the glue, I've never used it before.  I added a little bit of Glamour Dust in the centre of the flowers because I do like a little bit of sparkle!


Ingredients
Stamps : Flowers - Thanks a Bunch and Happy Birthday sentiment - Sunshine and Flowers
both by Marion Emberson
Promarkers : Orchid and Mulberry
Grosgrain ribbon and jewel from stash
Glitter in centre of flowers : Glamour Dust

Hope you like the card.  I feel very pleased with how it turned out.

I hope to share with you my Flower Garden blanket soon, I just have to finish the edging.  I am so pleased that it is almost finished - over 700 hexagons completed - wow!

I am really looking forward to half term (a week and a half to go), as work is getting me down a bit, but I feel in a way that other things have turned a corner.  That small glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel is definitely burning brighter.  I might even start to feel that life is getting better (although now I am scared I have tempted fate!).  Maybe soon I will feel like sharing.  All I will say at this point is that it has been a very long, hard year.

Hope you are all having a good week,  Take care.

M x

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

And last but by no means least . . . .

My commissions are finally finished - phew!  It's taken me a while but I got there in the end.

I am particularly pleased with this offering and I hope the recipient loves it too.  The papers are new although I have had them a while (if you know what I mean lol!), and the same goes for the Nestability that I used to cut the flower - bought at Alexandra Palace last year and never used.  I love the colours in the paper and the subtle use of glitter.


Ingredients
Base card - Large cream scalloped - Craftwork Cards
Paper - The Linen Closet - DCWV
Candy - Craftwork Cards

Hope you are all having a good week.  Mine has been quite busy.  Mark has just come back from another work jolly - it's really not on!!  Work is a bit mad - deadlines for display boards looming.  I am split between two year groups this year, so I never feel that I am getting anything finished.  I've got 31 pieces of writing to trim and mount by Friday, as well as titles, and embellishments to make, to add to the display.  Not to mention making an enormous flower with 31 petals, each petal representing a child in the class, and they have to write a message on it to say how they have been respectful!  Nothing like leaving things until the last minute!!

Anyway, have fun.

M x

Sunday, 2 October 2011

Fifty again!!!!

Apparently yesterday was World Card Making Day (or something like that), so what better incentive is needed to get the crafty stuff out!  This card is the penultimate one from a long list of significant age cards commissioned by a good friend of mine.  It was quite difficult to come up with a new design but I am very happy with how this one turned out.



Ingredients
Base card : Large scalloped - Craftwork Cards
Papers :The Bloomsbury Collection - Kanban
Candi : Craftwork Cards
Glitter : Martha Stewart - Golden Beryl

Thanks for visiting.  Enjoy the lovely sunshine, and fingers crossed it lasts a bit longer.

M x