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

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

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

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

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

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

Lots and lots of goodies!

Good morning!  How are you all?  I'm fine and feel nice and rested after yesterday's exertions lol! So after doing a bit of housewifely duty by doing some ironing, I have been taking photos of my lovely purchases.

My first photo is of the lovely and talented Julie Hickey from Craftwork Cards.  She is such a star, so friendly and helpful, always ready for a chat.  Craftwork Cards is always the first stand Mum and I stop at, whenever we go to a stamping show. 

I wasn't actually going to buy anything from Craftwork Cards this time, but as you can see from the photo below, I changed my mind.  I think I must be one of few who don't actually like their Warren the Rabbit images, and I'm not so keen on Frosty the Snowman either - I don't really do cute.  But I was taken the colours of the papers and card stock that go with Frosty - love the contemporary colours.  Also bought some delicious new Candy - gorgeous metallic, holographic colours.

I got a really good deal on Promarkers - 10 for £15.00, so I bought two lots to take advantage of the offer.  I won't be buying anymore for a while now so why not?

Another must have stand to visit was Sugar and Spice - I am such a fan of Marion Emberson, as I am sure I have mentioned once or twice!  So it was nice to meet her and say hello.  I bought a couple of sets of her stamps - alphabets, as well as a retro flower punch that I have wanted for a while, some silver Glamour Dust, and some crystals and a couple of packets of buttons.

These masks were  a bit of an impulse buy, but I thought they would be really handy for journalling, using Distress Inks and spray inks.

I bought some journalling spots and tags, some plain Manila tags, memo and bingo cards, as well as a script stamp from Paperartsy.

Some more Glamour Dust (crystal), some calendars and a memo stack, some glue pens and some Pinflair glue (everyone is raving about this, thought I would try it out).

The Craft Fairy is a such a great stand to visit - lots and lots of beautiful ribbon, in every colour you can imagine.  It was really hard to choose.  They are so reasonably priced too - about £1.30 for 3 metres. 

Any finally (well nearly!), two new Nestabilities, some magnetic sheets, Promarker fine nibs, a new acrylic block, some Diamond Glaze and even more buttons.

Well, that's all the purchases that I made for me.  As you can see, I had a really successful day.  My only disappointment was that Art From The Heart wasn't at the show.  I had intended to buy some more spray inks, a pack of Moleskin Journals and some pre-printed images.  I also wanted to take some photos of their beautiful artwork for inspiration, but it was not to be.  I have made an internet order since I have been home, so I am sure the products will be will me in a matter of days.

My final, final purchase at the show wasn't for me, it was for my mum, for her birthday in November.  She was umming and ahing between two designs of Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page punches - they were a really good price from Stamposaurus, so I bought one for her and she bought the other.  I'm really glad because she wanted them both so much, and now I don't have to worry about what to get her for her birthday.

If you have stayed with me until the end, thank you!  Hope you haven't been too bored.  It was so exciting to spread all my goodies out this morning and see what I spent my money on.  I won't be having anymore splurges like this for a while now - got to think about Christmas (urgh!).  Just need to find some time to have a play!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, take care.

M x