Craft Fair Goodies

As promised here are some of the craft fair items that I have been working on. Below are 11 packs of note cards in various designs. The cards themselves are about 9cm x 11.5cm and there are five cards in each pack. I'm trying to decide which one is my favourite but I have to confess, I like them all!!


And here they are in close up so that you can see the detail. First up is a little Japanese doll, stamped using a Hero Arts stamp and coloured in with my trusty Promarkers.


Next is another stamped card, using a flower from the Build-a-Bloom set by Craftwork Cards.

Next up is a frosted cupcake, with a stamped image (can't remember the manufacturer), Kanban paper, coloured in with Promarkers with a little bit of glitter on top.

Another cupcake from the same set, with paper by DCWV and more Promarkers and glitter.

Sweet little bags and shoes - paper by Bella Press, and a little touch of glitter. Just a Note stamp by Graphicus.

Owls (I love the owls!). Stamped image from Craftwork Cards and the paper range is from My Minds Eye.

Another Japanese doll using the Hero Arts stamps, coloured again with Promarkers (I am so addicted!).

I can't remember the name of these papers, I've had them for ages. I think the colours are unusual, but they really work.

A tree full of birds from Graphicus - coloured with Promarkers and highlighted with a Sakura Gelly Roll pen.

This next one is Mark's favourite (perhaps it's the absence of glitter!). Papers are by DCWV.

Finally another girlie one, shoes, dresses and handbags. Paper by DCWV with some paper Prima flowers and dimensional paint in the middle.

And now for some crochet. I've been making lots and lots of flowers for brooches, but haven't actually finished any off. On Friday evening when I was feeling better I thought I ought to make a start - sewing buttons in the middle and attaching brooch backs on the other side. The first photo is a brooch I am keeping for myself - well, I think I deserve one after all my hard work!

Here are the five finished ones - I've got SO many more to finish - I need to get my act together!

I've now got two craft events that I am attending - one on the 21st November and the other is on the 4th December - it's going to be a busy time!!

Take care. M x

Miserable Sunday

So here I am sitting snuggled under my granny blanket, watching Sex and the City Season 3, glad I am not out in this filthy weather.

I have to say that apart form a niggly sore throat and cough, I am feeling much better. So back to work tomorrow. Thanks for the kind messages, people. Emily is feeling better too - so much so that she has gone out without a coat or sweatshirt, in a thin shirt, in the RAIN! I tried to tell her, but what do I know??!! She did at least take the proffered umbrella, but I bet she doesn't use it. She better not have a relapse!!

I have been busy making note cards and also finishing off some flower brooches. Hopefully I will have something to show you soon (just waiting for Mark to get back from Tesco so that he can scan the cards!).

Stay in the warm and dry and have a good Sunday.

M x

Thanks goodness it's Friday!

I'm not having a great week this week, actually I'm off work today, after being sent home yesterday. I have succumbed to the dreaded lurgy and am currently sitting snuggled under a duvet on the sofa with Emily who has it too. We both look like ghosts with red noses!

I'm hoping that I will be better for the weekend because I want to have a play with some of my goodies from last weekend, but I'm not sure that's going to happen.

So Emily and I are drinking hot chocolate and watching films, feeling a little bit sorry for ourselves!

Hope you guys are all OK. Take care.

M x

The Big Stamp and Scrapbooking Show - Alexandra Palace

I had a brilliant day out yesterday at the above event, with my Mum and my friend Helen. If you haven't been this show, it's well worth a visit. I haven't been there for a few years and wow, has it grown! It was absolutely heaving - but very exciting!

For the first time at a show, I didn't really have a shopping list, I just wanted to browse, watch some demonstrations and get some inspiration. I was thrilled to be able watch the brilliant Dyan Reaveley, from Art from the Heart, create one of her masterpieces. She creates truly inspirational , vibrant art journals. Check out her blog here and her website here .

Obviously I couldn't go to a show and not buy anything so here are my goodies (I think I was quite restrained, although some might disagree!).

I added some new colours to my Promarker collection, as well as some useful storage boxes, so that I can store my pens in colour families.

Another shape from the Nestabilities range was added to the basket - I thought a flower would be quite useful so I bought this Dahlia.

Mum and I both thought these alphabet stamps from Creative Expressions would be really useful. They are a perfect size for cards.

I am never able to resist pretty ribbon, and it's so hard to find such a good range, and at such a reasonable price. Have a look at the website here .

Even though I don't want to think about Christmas at the moment, I did still buy a couple of Christmassy things, like these stamps from Paula Pascual.

It wouldn't be a stamp show without my favourite shop, Craftwork Cards. Again I was reasonably restrained (I was quite proud of myself!). I bought a pack of paper and some doilies from their Ice Cream Parlour range - beautiful colours. I am feeling quite inspired after watching their resident card making queen, Julie Hickey, demostrating her card making skills. Watch this space for some new cards!

More Craftwork Card goodies - greetings die cuts, both for birthdays and for Christmas. As well as some Christmas tree die cuts.

And finally, LB Crafts. I invested in some beautiful Paper Artsy stamps - gorgeous images, I really love them. I can't decide which is my favourite - I'm leaning towards the owl and birdhouses.

And because I spent a certain amount of money, I became the proud owner of a limited edition pin, made by Linda Brown - a very clever, creative lady.

So that was my day - and a very good one it was too. I was so tired when I got home and just wanted to chill, but things did not slow down. Emily had a Night Hike for Brownies, Guides and Explorers and didn't get home until 1.40am - I am feeling so tired today! Have a good day everyone.

M x

A little bit of crochet

Look at my gorgeous new stash of wool! It's for my new project - a Granny Stripe blanket as designed by the lovely Lucy at Attic 24 (pattern found here). The wool is Style Craft Special DK found here - a snip at £1.35 per 100g ball.

The colours I have chosen are violet, bright green, raspberry, pale rose, pomegranate, fondant, lipstick, green, turquoise, sherbet, bluebell, lavender, lemon, saffron, jaffa, apricot, meadow, aster, spring green, aspen and cloud blue.

I may add a couple more colours - I think I need a couple of deeper colours like a grape and maybe a darker red.

The tray below shows my recent crochet work - lots and lots of flowers. These are going to be brooches and they just need finishing off now. I was assessing my range of colours and I obviously favour pink, red and purple. Think I need to add a few more colours - what do you think?. I am hoping to sell these flower brooches at my school's Christmas Fair.

The other crochet project I am working on is hair clips. These are mainly finished - just the blue, pink and green ones at the bottom to finish. I am using up my Rowan Cash Soft on these as they don't take much wool at all.

I am still working on my other project of note cards/thank you cards, but that is a whole other post!

Take care and hope your week is going well.

M x

Summer Card Making

The fruits of my summer holiday card making - I generally make two or three of each design with a view to hopefully selling some. The first four cards are made using the Blossom, and Spots and Stripes papers from Craftwork Cards. These are truly beautiful papers - I love the colours and how they all work well together.

The next card is similar to one I posted yesterday using the Tiffany papers from We R Memory Keepers, I just changed the message and reversed the position of the flowers.

The next batch of cards are some more from the Cupcake kit from QVC. There is a pink version of it as well but it got overlooked in the scanning (Mark was very confused by all the cards, bless him!).

I've had another productive crafting day today. I made another two sets of note cards and have also been finishing off some of the hair clips - managed to get five sets finished before the tingling in my fingers got too bad. I feel like I'm on a roll now, so maybe I'll get some time after work this week to carry on - I'll keep you posted!

Have a good week if I don't get to speak to you before then. Take care.

M x

P.S. Have been having a play with my Promarkers today and I love them so much. Plus I've been working my Cuttlebug SO hard - one of the best pieces of equipment I ever bought!!

Peaceful Saturday

Hi Folks - hope you are all having a lovely Saturday. I am! The sun is shining, I am feeling chilled after a busy week, I have no obligations today and I've been doing a spot of card making. A very unusual Saturday indeed! Normally there is so much to do - I'm making the most of it while I can.

I am busy making things to sell at our school's Christmas Fair (sorry for mentioning the "C" word in September!). I have been making sets of note cards/thank you cards which I am going to sell in packs of 5. Hopefully I'll get them scanned tonight and I can share them tomorrow. So far I've made three packs.

I've also been doing lots of crochet too - making flowers for brooches, which I am hoping to sell too. I've gone a bit crazy and made loads! I've also made some smaller flowers to make hair clips.

Hopefully I will be able to share some of the cards I made over the summer holidays soon. Again just waiting for them to be scanned.

These three cards are recent cards - two September Birthdays and a Good Luck card for Edward. The cute elephant punch on the first card is a Martha Stewart punch which is hard to find in this country but my lovely Mum managed to track it down. The papers are DCWV.

This nine square card is a favourite of mine - I love the colours. The papers are Tiffany papers by We R Memory Keepers.

And finally Edward's Good Luck card. My clever husband was responsible for the image (it's the school crest).

Enjoy the rest of your day. Strictly Come Dancing is launching tonight - I'm very excited!!

M x