Christmas Wreath

 

Now I don't really like talking about Christmas in October, but I have started to make some Christmas Cards for a charity event I am supporting.  I've also been playing around with a wreath kit (from Craftwork Cards) that I bought at Ally Pally a couple of weeks ago.

 

I was full of trepidation when I started getting the bits and pieces out of the packet because I have never done anything like this before, but I quickly got into it.

 

I sprayed the back of all the flowers with some Dylusions ink and Glimmer Mists so that the backs were not glaringly white.  After leaving them to dry, I shaped them all with a pokey tool to add dimension.  Then I layered them together to make seven flowers in total.

 

Prior to this, I stained the chipboard wreath with red ink and attached the ribbon.  Finally I added the flowers.

 

The wreath itself is quite small, about 8 inches in diameter, but so sweet.  I can't wait to make some more, I really have the bug now!  Have a look at the photos and see what you think.

 

The cards I have been making do use Stampin' Up products, particularly the discontinued Serene Snowflakes, which I hope to share with you soon.

Thanks for dropping by, and I appreciate your continuing interest.

Have a good week

Michelle x

PGL

 

Got back home on Friday night from a fabulous week in Wales at PGL.  The children had a brilliant time, and so did I.  Apart from dealing with homesickness, sickness and sleepwalking, it was great.  Although I have to say, I have never been so tired.  We were pretty much on duty 24 hours a day.  The first night, after going to bed at midnight, we were woken 6 times by various children, and finally got to sleep around 4am!  It did improve after that.

 

I didn't take part in all the activities, but I did have a go at Jacob's Ladder (so hard), rifle shooting and abseiling, which I absolutely loved.  Please excuse the less than flattering harness in the photo below - it wasn't very comfortable either.

 

And as if I wasn't tired enough, I went to Ally Pally on Saturday for the day with my mum.  We didn't stay until the end because I was exhausted, but I'm glad we went.  I managed to get some Harry Potter themed paper for a scrapbook layout for Emily's album.  I also picked up one or two other bits and pieces, but I found it all a bit samey.  Lots of decoupage papers, not my thing at all.

Today has been the usual - homework, ironing etc.  Nothing too thrilling.  Back to work tomorrow.  I'm really hoping that next weekend I can get on with some card making.  I have so many new Stampin' Up goodies to play with and no time at all.  C'est la vie!

Hope you have all had a good week.  Sorry I've not been commenting on your blogs for a while.  Hope to get back on track soon.  Thanks for visiting.

Take care

Michelle x

Perfectly Preserved

Today I want to share with you two cards I made over the weekend with the fabulous Perfectly Preserved stamp set from Stampin' Up.  This stamp set, along with the co-ordinating paper and Framelits dies are from the Autumn/Winter catalogue, which is jam-packed full of goodies.

 

This stamp set is absolutely gorgeous and I think it will get a lot of use.  I particularly love the jam jar stamp which I think is so versatile.

 

I stamped the jam jar in Pacific Point and then stamped three stems in Garden Green.  The flowers were stamped in Pumpkin Pie, Real Red and Pacific Point.  I die cut the flowers with the Cannery Framelits and adhered them to the card with 3D foam.  I rounded the corners of the card and backed it with Pumpkin Pie card stock, rounding the corners of that too.  I cut a strip of the Orchard Harvest DSP and added that to the base card.  Before sticking the decorated panel down, I made two holes in the neck of the jam jar with a piercing tool and threaded through some orange baker's twine.  Then I stuck the panel in place.

 

The sentiments were also stamped in Pacific Point and mounted onto Pumpkin Pie, then stuck to the card, again with 3D foam.

 

Items used : Perfectly Preserved stamp set, Cannery Framelits dies, Orchard Road DSP, Pumpkin Pie smooth card stock,baker's twine.
Inks : Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, Real Red, Pacific Point.

I'm finally getting into the swing of being back at work.  It's taken a while after six weeks off.  I'm going away next week on a school residential trip to PGL in the Brecon Beacons.  I have mixed emotions at going; leaving Mark, the children and Chloe for a week, being responsible for a young girl with diabetes (the reason I'm going), and maybe making a fool of myself if I try any of the activities!  I'll keep you posted - there may be photos!

I'm scrapbooking again on Saturday and packing for my trip on Sunday.  Then when I come back, it's the show at Ally Pally.  I'm not sure I'm going to feel up to it, but I've ordered the tickets now!

Thanks for dropping by, and your comments are always appreciated.

Take care

Michelle x

Summer Holidays

Yes, it's me, yes I'm back!  Sorry for the prolonged absence.  I thought I would blog more often being on holiday but it just hasn't worked out that way.  I am back to work tomorrow (shock to the system!), so I thought I would do a round up of the summer holidays.

 

This has probably been the best summer holiday for a few years. I have spent time with my family, I have had time to relax and recharge, time to be creative and time to complete jobs.  Here's what I've been up to:

 

Despite initially not being bothered, I was completely caught up in the Olympics.  I felt very proud to be British and very proud of how we came across to the rest of the world.  It was just amazing.

 

We have decorated Edward's bedroom.  It started off with just tidying and throwing things away, and escalated into full on stripping!  New colour on the walls, new flooring, new bedding etc.

 

We had a lovely holiday in Kent with my parents.  We stayed in a great house in Westgate-on-Sea and spent lots of time on the beach, walking the dog and just relaxing.  There were trips to Whitstable and Broadstairs, and a great little shell grotto in Margate.

 

Edward had a week away in Centre Parcs with a friend, so Emily and I had a week together catching up on films (mainly Harry Potter!).

 

I have been to a couple of Scrapbook crops.

 

I have just returned from a Scrapbook Retreat - 3 days and 2 nights in a lovely hotel.  Super meals and great company.  I have never spent so long crafting (it was very tiring!).  The photos below show some views of the hotel, as well as the layouts I completed.

 

 

I made a card - well it was our 18th wedding anniversary, so it had to be done!  The design is a complete copy from one that Vicky Hayes made (see it here ) which I loved so much.  Vicky has such inspiring ideas, do check out her blog, it's incredible.

 

The card is made from white card stock.  The hearts are cut from Nestabilities.  I glued three red hearts together, scored down the middle, to make it look 3D.  I used a Swiss Dots embossing folder on the left hand panel.  This design is so versatile and I know I will be making many more cards in this style (in fact I am planning my Christmas cards around this look).

 

 

And after months of worrying myself silly, Emily started college yesterday and seems to love it.  She has had a tough couple of years and I let out a big sigh of relief when things went well yesterday.  A new chapter has started for her, and she is on the way to achieving her dreams of becoming a teacher.

 

So now, after all that, I can go back to work feeling refreshed and hopefully stress free.  With any luck I will be back soon with another card to show you.

 

Thanks for dropping by and sticking with me.  I really appreciate your comments.

 

Take care.

 

Michelle x

Cottage Garden

Hello everyone.  Yet again it's been an age since I last posted.  So much for my theory that the summer holidays would bring more crafting time - I wish!

So time has been spent reading, running Edward around, trying to blitz his room, have a Harry Potterthon with Emily (one more film to go), watching the Olympics, etc etc.

This week Mark is on holiday and we are living in a state of chaos as we are decorating Edward's room.  Honestly, I think the room has elastic wall for all the stuff that has come out!  We are trying to give his room a more grown up look as he is now a teenager, and Mark is laying a laminate floor as I type.  I'm not sure how the stuff is going to go back in but that's a bridge we will have to cross in the next few days. 

Amidst all of this, I did find a small window of crafting opportunity at the end of last week and made this card.

I used the Cottage Garden stamp set and randomly stamped the solid flower in Regal Rose.  I then stamped the outline flower stamp in Elegant Eggplant over the top.  Using the cluster of small flowers I sprinkled those around using Perfect Plum and Bashful Blue.  I mounted the stamped piece using coordinating cardstock (I used the scalloped ribbon punch to cut the pretty edge).  The sentiment is from Happiest Birthday Wishes.

I'm really pleased with this card - it's the most stamping I've done for years!  Even though there is a lot of stamping, it still has the clean and simple look to it.  Hope you like it.

OK, time to make a cup of tea for the worker.  Have a great day and hope to be back soon.  Thanks for dropping by.

Michelle x

At last!

At long last I've finally got some cards to share.  Yesterday I spent the day at my scrapbooking crop but not making any progress on Emily's book.  Unfortunately my photographs did not arrive in time so I decided to use the time there and make some cards for the charity event that I am attending on Thursday.  It was quite a productive day in the end as I made 15 cards.

The four I am sharing today are all a variation on a theme. I have used mainly Stampin' Up products.  I used a 12cm square card in white as a base.  On a separate piece of white card I scored two lines near the bottom using my fantastic Simply Scored.  Then, using Pedal Presents (Hostess gift from the summer mini), I stamped the bicycle using black ink, and also the flowers on two of the cards and the presents on the other two.  I used my Stampin' Write markers to colour in the images.  I wrapped some Baker's Twine round the bottom under the scored lines, and adhered a stamped sentiment on top using dimensional foam.  The whole panel was then mounted on Real Red and Pacific Point card stock and then stuck to the white base card.

I'm really pleased with the finished effect, and I particularly like the added dimension of the scored lines and the twine. I think there will be a lot of scoring on future cards!

I hope you like them too.

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.  Today the sun is shining and it is actually not raining for a change!

I have a busy week ahead of me as we wind down to the end of term.  I'm really looking forward to the summer holidays - a time to craft I hope!

Take care and come back soon :)

Michelle

Olympic Excitement

Well, still nothing to share on the crafting front.  I'm struggling to fit everything in at the moment.  The big news is that I have joined Stampin' Up as a Demonstrator  (purely to fund my own hobby), which is hugely exciting.  I am just awaiting my starting up kit (Tuesday according to the UPS tracking system - can't wait!!).

I had a great birthday last week and was thrilled to receive so many beautiful cards, particularly two very splendid Stampin' Up ones!

Work is manic, gearing up to Open Evening on Tuesday and various other events as we count down until the end of term.  I work in Year 6, so there is a lot going on, plays, leaving picnics etc. 

We had the excitement of the Olympic Torch Relay going through Hertford this morning.  The rain held off thank goodness, although it arrived with gusto the moment we got home!

Edward managed to stand next to one of the runners as she was interviewed for Chinese TV.

And to add further to the Olympic excitement, we had an actual torch in school on Wednesday (apparently this one carried the flame from Greece) and all the staff and children had the opportunity of having their photograph taken holding it.  I felt quite proud actually.

So that's all my news at the moment.  I hope everyone is keeping safe with the torrential rain we are having.  Surely it can't go on for too much longer?!

Take care

Michelle x