Final Card Swap Challenge

Today, I am sharing the card I made for our final challenge.  Sadly, our card swap group is coming to an end, but I've thoroughly enjoyed being part of it for the last three years.  I made some good friends and received so many beautiful cards.  A big thank you goes to Jane for getting us all together, setting the challenges and co-ordinating everything.

 

The challenge was that anything goes but there had to be stamping on the inside and on the envelope.  I kind of knew what I wanted to do but I still had a little look on Pinterest (I spend my whole life on there!), and saw something similar to what I had in mind.  I had bought a SU set a few week's ago and have been dying to use it - Birthday Blossoms - it was perfect for what I had in mind.  I also used three of the new SU In-colours - Mint Macaron, Cucumber Crush and Watermelon Wonder.

 

The card was fun to make, and used a few techniques - stamping, masking, punching die-cutting and colouring.  I hope you like what I've made.

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping by, and I really appreciate any comments that you leave.  Enjoy the rest of your day.

 

Take care

 

Michelle x

SAB Birthdays

Hi.  Just popping in to share some birthday cards I made a few months ago during the Stampin' Up Sale-a-bration promotion.  All products are SU.

 

 

I've had a busy few days since we broke up for half term on Friday.  Firstly, my daughter Emily came home from uni for a few days (with an absolute mountain of washing), then we spent Saturday cooking and cleaning for Edward's 16th birthday which was on Sunday.  We had a lovely family party.  Then on Monday, Mark and I went up to London looking for more Shaun the Sheep (more of that later).  Yesterday saw us back in London, with the hope that we would be able to see QI being recorded - sadly not to be.  However, we consoled ourselves with some lovely tapas in Covent Garden.  Today I have been ironing (the said mountain!), in preparation for taking Emily back home tonight.  At some point, I may actually be able to do some crafting - here's hoping!

 

Take care

 

Michelle

Embossed Card

Good morning.  Today I'm sharing a card from my card swap group.  The challenge was embossing.  I decided to keep the colours simple and showcase nine of my Stampin' Up embossing folders (they look pretty cool on the Very Vanilla cs).  I added some stamped and punched butterflies and a few crystal gems.

 

This is the card that I received from Aileen.  The colours are gorgeous and the embossed and stamped hearts are so pretty,  I love the way the card has been put together - it works really well.  I'm really not very good at placing elements at angles.  Anyone who knows me well, knows I don't like random!

I'm still trying to catch up with my backlog of posts.  Hopefully, over this half term week, I will be able to remedy this.  Although I have more photos to share of Shaun in the City (part 2), and I'm really hoping to get busy with some paper later on in the week.

 

Thanks for popping in.

 

Take care

 

Michelle x

Card Swap Birthday

Hi.  Yet another card from months ago.  I believe it was for one of my card swap group, but I may be wrong.  All products are from Stampin' Up.  I was particularly pleased with the colour combo.  I love the colour grey, much to my daughter's annoyance.  She was particularly rude when I painted my nails grey a while ago!

 

I haven't posted since my Scrapbags Retreat in the Easter holidays.  I know I mentioned the driving.  I was very proud of myself when I arrived, and felt that I had overcome a big hurdle.  I don't feel brave enough to drive on the M25 yet, but one day maybe!!!  I did have a lovely time and hope to post about it at some point.  Most of the layouts that I made were using SU DSP that I have had for a while, and I'm trying to use up.  I will try and take photos and show you, although some pages still need a few bits and bobs added to them.

I hope you are having a lovely Bank Holiday weekend,  Emily came home on Friday and we are taking her back tomorrow, so my weekend has been mostly about doing her washing!  We were planning to go to London today, but the rain and the fact that I'm a bit under the weather put us off. 

Thanks for dropping by.  Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Take care

Michelle x

Feathers

Hi, just popping in quickly to share a card.  I "borrowed" this design from Pinterest - I just fell in love with the falling feathers and the odd sprinkling of sequins.  I made it a while ago and I think I used Lost Lagoon, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso ink pads from SU.  And I'm pretty sure it was for my card swap group.  That's the problem with being so behind, I can't remember who I made the cards for!

 

 

I have an exciting weekend ahead of me.  I'm off to Suffolk for a scrap booking retreat.  I have mixed emotions - excitement and anxiety.  Even though I have been driving for 25 years, I have lost my confidence for long journeys.  I only really drive locally, and that's not everyday, as I walk to work.  I'm armed with Mark's satnav, as well as written instructions, so fingers crossed!

 

Take care and thanks for dropping by.  Have a great weekend.

 

Michelle x

Thank You Cards

Morning!  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter.  Mine was unintentionally busy!  I decided, in my wisdom, to start sorting out my bedroom.  What a job!  I've filled two bin bags and have not remotely finished.  I was supposed to be putting my feet up to get rid of another nasty cold but it was not to be.  I also went to a concert at the O2 on Saturday night - McBusted.  Bit of a drama there, because Emily was supposed to come with me but she caught my nasty cold and took to her bed.  Edward was dragooned into coming with me, thankfully he really enjoyed himself - as did I.

 

Anyway, here are some thank you cards that I made to say thank you for our Christmas cards.  Don't worry, I haven't only just sent them!  As I said previously, I have a lot to catch up on.

 

I can't take any credit for the design.  I shamelessly copied it from the SU catalogue.  I love the design, it's so clean and fresh.  Also, because I had 8 to make, luckily it was very quick to assemble them all.

 

I used the incredible versatile Crazy About You stamp set, along with the Hello You Thinlet dies.  The colours are Pumpkin Pie, Crushed Curry, Lost Lagoon and Pistachio Pudding.

hope you all have a good day. Take care and thanks for dropping by.

Michelle x

My Christmas Cards

Hi.  I know it's a bit late now, over mid-way through January (how did that happen?!), but I wanted to share the Christmas cards I made for 2014.  My colour scheme was a lot of white, with Smoky Slate, Soft, Sky, Pear Pizzazz and Lost Lagoon.   I really like the non-traditional colour scheme and look for my Christmas cards.

 

When I first saw the Autumn/Winter SU catalogue, I knew that my first order would be for the Festival of Trees stamp set and matching punch, as well as the All is Calm DSP.  I also fell in love with the Endless Wishes stamp set, as the sentiments have so many possibilities and I knew I would get plenty of use out of them.  And then a couple of other things were added: the adorable Frosted Sequins, the All is Calm Washi Tape and the Lucky Stars embossing folder.  I was all set!

 

I tried to keep my designs simple, I'm a real fan of Less is More.  But simple does not always mean quick!  The first two cards were the quickest of the batch.  Just two strips of washi tape, a couple of stamped and punched trees, a sentiment and some glitter glue.

 

This second design, however, was not so straightforward.  First I sponged the stars - two lots of sponging per card (and cleaning after each go).  The I embossed white card with the Lucky Stars and then cut circles, which I adhered to the front of the card.  Then I stamped and punched trees which went on top of the circle, then the sentiments followed suit.  After that I stuck on the sequins and finally added some glitter glue.  Oh, I neglected to mention that I had to cut out the white panel and the coloured panel first.  I made 22 of these cards!  Worth it though.

The final design (which I shamelessly stole from Vicky Hayes at Crafting Clare's Paper Moments), took the longest of the three.  It looks deceptively simple.  Cut a panel, then an aperture.  Pierce around the edge of the panel.  Stick a circle of All is Calm DSP in the aperture.  A little bit of silver ribbon, some glitter glue and a sentiment and there you go.  Simple.  But not when you make 22 of them in one afternoon.  My hands ached so much from the piercing, I really wished that had I scored some lines instead.  However, (and luckily) I was very happy with the results.

So, two weeks into term, four weeks until half term - yay!  We had to go to a Parents' Evening on Thursday for Edward - last one in Year 11.  Apparently, it's only 16 teaching weeks until GCSEs start!  Pretty scary stuff - well I'm scared.  Not too sure about Edward - teenage boys don't really give much away.  We are all hoping that his Xbox doesn't have to have a little holiday for the next few months!

Emily is back at University.  It was really hard taking her back, worse than September I think.  She has exams on Monday, so contact is minimal at the moment.  I really miss her but I know it'll all be worth it.  We are going to visit in half term and actually get to spend some time exploring Canterbury rather than just picking her up and dropping her off.  I think our dog Chloe really misses her too, she's so cuddly of late, although I'm not too impressed when she comes for a cuddle at 5 O'clock in the morning!

That's all from me today.  Take care and wrap up warm!

Michelle x

Family Birthday and Card Swap

 

Hi everyone.  This week has seen us celebrate Edward's 15th birthday.  He had a good time although it seemed quite low-key - a meal out and then a small family get together.  He was happy though that his birthday was over half-term so that he didn't have to go to school!

 

I wasn't sure what to do for his card this year, but after much discussion, Emily and I decided that a Hobbit theme would fit the bill.  I usually make this type of card as a 9-square one, but Emily insisted on 16 pictures and so the card size had to be increased to accommodate them all.  The card is 8" square.  Edward was delighted.

 

 

Of course we had to have a suitable sentiment inside.  Mark found this font on-line and it was just perfect.

 

Emily and I have been winding Edward up a lot recently by singing songs from Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat so it only seemed fitting to make a Joseph themed card for Emily to give to him!  He was SO impressed.

So, this month's card swap was all about banners and pennants.  This is the card I received from Ann.  It's really lovely and I like the shades of brown and the way she has used the banners to make the sentiment.

I really struggled for this challenge and I don't know why.  I think it's because I have recently made a card for Jane with banners on and I wanted to do something completely different.  I took my inspiration from Pinterest and pretty much CASEd this card.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, even though there is no white space on it at all!  It took me a long time to make but I enjoyed it immensely.

 

 

The colours are Very Vanilla, Strawberry Slush, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso.  The stamps are Hardwood, Banner Blast, Best of Shelli and Chalk Talk.  I also used some Hot Cocoa Liquid Pearls.

 

Well, I didn't sleep much last night, too much on my mind.  Today is a very big day in the Stampin' Up world - retiring lists, Project Life, sneaky peaks, etc.  No wonder my mind was buzzing!

 

I'm also thinking about kitchens constantly.  Last Friday we received the news that Mark had won a prize in a monthly draw at work - A NEW KITCHEN!!!!  I'm not even joking.  We have a budget which we are really trying to adhere to (it's very hard!).  Emily has her ideas, Mark has his, Edward doesn't care, and I don't know what I think!  The catalogue is massive - so much choice.  We've been to the showroom, and I've been round to a friend's house to look at her new kitchen.  Again, my mind is buzzing.  It's so exciting, and scary.  Watch this space.

 

Anyway, thanks for dropping by,  Your comments are, as always, very much appreciated.

 

Take care

 

Michelle x

 

 

Hi everyone.  Thank heavens it's Friday!  This week has seemed very long and incredibly busy.  At school we've been getting organised for our week away at PGL in Wales next week.  I'm really looking forward to it but there has been so much to do, and I still haven't organised home life for while I'm away, let alone begun to pack.  Well, that will have to wait until Sunday because I'm off to Scrapbags tomorrow!

 

Here's a card I made for a colleague at work who is celebrating a very special birthday today.  I used some Craftwork Cards products that I found whilst I was tidying up over the summer, as well as glitter and ribbon.  The sentiment is SU.

 

 

The next card was a commission from a friend at work.  I've made a lot of these concertina cards over the years, but never for a wedding.  It's very plain and simple, but I took the lead from their wedding invitation.  I didn't have any letters that were the required size, so with Mark's help, I braved it and dusted off my Silhouette die cutting machine (I've been too scared to use it!!).  I'm so thrilled with the results and will be using it a lot more, particularly in my scrapbooking.

 

I used SU card stock - Not Quite Navy and Very Vanilla. and my fantastic Simply Scored to make the folds.

 

And finally, just cos I'm so proud, Edward got an award tonight at his cricket presentation evening - Most Improved Player for Under 14s.  Well deserved (yes, I know I'm biased!).

Well that's me for tonight - I really must go and organise paper and photos for tomorrow.  If I don't see you before, I'll see when I get back from Wales - goodnight :)

Take care and thanks for popping in.

Michelle x

Catch-up

Just popping in to have a quick catch-up from the last few weeks. Since I last posted, I have been working hard to get Emily's birthday album finished, and I am pleased to report that it is finally finished.  After a 12 hour crop on Saturday, I breathed a massive sigh of relief on Sunday lunchtime when I finished the final page.

 

Instead of one album, it ended up that I had to have two.  I made 80 pages in total and they wouldn't fit into one book.  I'm really proud of the work I have done and I hope Emily likes it.  I will post some photos in the coming weeks when everything has calmed down.

 

Card making has taken a bit of a back seat over the last few months (as has blogging!).  I'm looking forward to some relaxed card making time coming soon - especially as there is a new Stampin' Up catalogue going live in the next few weeks and I will definitely want to have a play with some of the lovely new products.

 

Anyway today I am sharing a selection of things that I have made over the last month.  The first being an anniversary card.  I actually had three anniversaries to make cards for in May, so I cheated and made three of the same design!

 

I used the Bloomin' Marvellous set from the SAB promotion, as well as A Word For You.  The colours are Wisteria Wonder, Calypso Carol and Lucky Limeade.

 

This next card was made for my neighbours' daughter, using some polka dot paper and Martha Stewart glitter.  A little bit of scoring and some Nestabilities completes the card.

And the final card is the one I made for my dad for Father's Day.  I used the Clockworks set with Always Artichoke, Crumb Cake and Early Espresso ink, on a Kraft card.  A little bit of Washi tape and natural twine, as well as the Teeny Tiny Sentiments.  It was a bit of a different look for me - I find masculine cards quite difficult - but my dad liked it.

And the final thing I'd like to share is a little crocheted cherry brooch that I made for a friend  who is getting married soon.  It's for her bridesmaid who is called Cherry!  I was rather pleased with it and may have to make some more.

So apart from a spell of illness last week, and Edward getting hit in the head with a tennis racquet (nice golf ball sized lump!) life ticks on.  I still haven't made Emily's card - she hinted at a pop-up Hogwarts card - nothing like a challenge.  Hopefully I will be back soon to share some quick cards that I made a few weeks ago from a kit.  Until then, take care and thanks fro dropping by.

Michelle x