Happy Birthday Charis

Woohoo - it's the first day of the summer holiday!  It's been a long, hot, emotional few weeks and now it's all over.  Yesterday I said a very tearful goodbye to 30 brilliant children, who I've known since they were four years old. The day was even more emotional as our Head Teacher left.  I am so pleased for him as he is moving on to a bigger school, but sad for me as he employed me and believed in me, and has been very supportive to me over the last few years.  But things change, and September is a long way off.

 

Anyway, enough of that!  Today is my niece's 17th birthday, and here is the card I made for her.

 

My absolute favourite products of the moment are encapsulated on this card.  I love the Six Sided Sampler and matching Hexagon punch (anyone who knows me, knows I adore hexagons!).  Papillon Potpourri is just incredible, teamed with the Bitty Butterfly punch, and as for the new In-Colours - they are just my favourite Stampin' Up colours ever!  Here I have used Baked Brown Sugar, Pistachio Pudding and Crisp Cantaloupe.

 

 

The card was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest - can't give a name-check unfortunately as I didn't make a note of it and now can't find it!

 

I'll be back soon with a slightly different version of this card. 

 

Have a good day and thanks for dropping by.  Take care

 

Michelle x

Goody Boxes - Black Magic

Hi Everyone.  I hope you have all had a wonderful weekend, and are loving this weather.  I spent a blissfully cool day yesterday at my Scrapbags crop.  The village hall we use is generally pretty cold in Winter but yesterday it was wonderful and so pleasant to be crafting all day away from the heat.  As Emily's albums are finished, I had a very relaxed time making the class kit and playing around with another kit I had bought.  I am planning to make a start on a book for Edward soon - even though it's four years away!

 

Today I am sharing with you some cards that I made from a Craftwork Cards Goody Box, called Black Magic.  The kit consists of card blanks, paper, embellishments, ribbon, Candi, and 3D foam pads.  I had fun knocking up some quick cards to supplement my box of ready cards.

 

 

(The above card is my favourite)

 

Work is really busy as we "wind down" to end of term.  My class, Year 6, has been working hard on their end of year play, which is a version of Grease.  They are performing it tomorrow night.  I generally take on the role of Props Manager, and this year I have been tasked with making two cars - Greased Lightning and the Scorpians' car.  Have a look at the finished articles.

 

 

 

I have to say that I am pretty proud of them.  They started life as a very big cardboard box, which I cut down, then added a little bit of papier mache, paint, bubble wrap and shiny paper and ta-dah!

Well I'm signing off now as my glass of chilled cider is calling!  Thanks for dropping by.  Have fun and take care.

Michelle x

Card Swap Group - 3 and 4

Well after quite a delay I'm posting photos of the last two card swaps.  This is May's card from Zoe, and I really love the colours she has chosen - I'm a big fan of peacock colours, so it fits the bill perfectly.  Apologies to Zoe for posting it so late - I've been a bit snowed under for the past few weeks.

 

 

June's card is from Sue and I love the colour she has chosen - Soft Sky by SU.  I was intrigued by the flower element - it's made from air dry clay and pressed out from an embossing folder - must try that technique.  What you can't see from the photo is the embossing on the flower on the right hand side and the inside is beautifully decorated too.

And here's the card I made for Jane.  The theme was embossing, either heat embossing or dry embossing - I hope the scored lines count!  I chose Strawberry Slush and Baked Brown Sugar - the new SU In-Colours - they go together so well.  I used the flourish type stamps from Floral Words by Marion Emberson, and the butterflies are Papillon Potpourri (SU).  The sentiment is from Marion Emberson too - Find Joy Everyday.  I'm really pleased with this card and may make a couple more for my box of stock cards.

Well, I'm off to help out at our school's summer fair - we certainly have the weather for it.  Have a great weekend and see you soon.

Michelle x

Card Swap Group Birthday Cards

Hi, hope you are all well.  I'm good - getting a little bit excited because Emily and I are going to see Robbie Williams at Wembley tomorrow night.  Also, the new Stampin' Up catalogue goes live tomorrow and I have my order ready and waiting - although I'm not able to place it until Wednesday because of going out.  It'll wait a day though, I guess. 

 

Today I'm sharing the beautiful birthday cards that I received from my fellow Card Swap Group.  The first is from Zoe (her blog here ).  I really like all the different textures, and the colours are really me.  I also love the faceted button, I've already added those to my list!

 

 

The next card is from Alison.  I am fascinated by this card and have been trying to figure out how to make one.  I'm going to give it a try when I've finished work for the summer.  I love the colours on this card, as well as the flowers and the punched edges.

 

The third card is from Margaret (her blog here).  We both agree that this stamp set didn't grab us in the catalogue, and how we are both total converts now.  I really like the scoring effect she has added, and I will definitely be trying that out on some of my cards. Again, the colours are beautiful.

 

The next card is from our group leader, the lovely Jane (her blog here ), who knows that I love hexagons (wait till you see the new hexagons from the new SU catalogue - top of my list for Wednesday!).  I love the summery colours - perfect for a June birthday, and the simplicity of the card - it's the sort of card I would make.

 

And the final card is from Sue, who had to make me two cards this month - more about the Swap card on another post.  I really liked this card because it is so different  The colours are perfect, and I love butterflies.

As I said, I will be sharing the Swap Group card from Sue on another post, also the one I received from Zoe the previous month - apologies Zoe, I've had no time recently.  Also, apologies to Jane as I still haven't posted her card for June - it is made, just needs to be photographed and then I'll pop it in the post.

Thanks for dropping by.  I'll be back soon.  Take care.

Michelle x

Emily's 18th Birthday

 

Hi All.  I've been meaning to post this all week, but you know how it is!

 

We all had a brilliant time last weekend, for Emily's birthday.  We had friends and family on Saturday for a little party, and lunch out on Sunday (her actual birthday).  Emily had a really good time.  She absolutely loved the scrapbooks, was thrilled with the tickets to see The Lion King and was delighted with the card.  I'm so pleased that her birthday was such a success.

 

Here are a few photos of her birthday.

 

Emily is not one for tradition, and had joked about a pop-up Hogwarts Castle card!  She is obsessed with Harry Potter, so I shouldn't have been surprised.  I couldn't quite achieve that, but with Mark's help, did manage a 3D Hogwarts.

 

Balloons within a balloon, in Emily's favourite colours (up on the table so the dogs - yes the three dogs that we had on the day - couldn't get to them!).

 

The birthday girl (she'll kill me if she knows I've posted photos of her - please don't tell!

The cake!  If you know the programme, The Big Bang Theory, you'll be familiar with this.  If you don't - well you have missed a treat!  We love this programme, and the cake that my very clever mummy made, represents Emily's favourite episode of Sheldon and Leonard in a ball pit.

Emily looking at one of the two scrapbooks that I have been "slaving" over.  It was really worth all the work to see her reaction.  She was really pleased with them.

And finally, the Harry Potter cupcakes that Emily made for the party - I think my favourite was Dumbledore.  If Emily had had her way, we would have all come dressed as Harry Potter characters, that or Disney characters!  She has a Peter Pan complex and never wants to grow up!

 

So, now we have a change to the house dynamics - three adults and one child - pretty scary.

 

It was my birthday yesterday and I had a fabulous day, despite having to take Year 6 all day!  I had a lovely meal out with Mark and the kids plus my parents - we went to Café Rouge.  It was a surprise arranged by Emily.  My mum made me a beautiful cake, also a surprise.

 

I had some gorgeous hand made cards from the card swap group that I belong to, which I will share with you soon.

 

Well, that's it for today.  Have a marvellous weekend - make the most of the weather.  Thanks for dropping by.

 

Take care.

 

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

Card Swap Group - 3

 

Morning!  Today's card was made for Alison as part of a Card Swap group.  I decided to use an old hostess set - Simply Soft - that I've had it for ages and never used.  I cut three identical panels and stamped the flower outline in Always Artichoke.  I then stamped the petal part in Wisteria Wonder.  Considering I couldn't find my stamp positioner, I didn't do a bad job.  Think I may have to invest in a Stamp-a-ma-jig - it would have made my life so much easier!

 

I mounted the three panels on some Wisteria Wonder card stock which I then mounted on a white, square card.  I used some of the gorgeous Ruffled Ribbon in (WW) around the middle, and finished it with a sentiment from Elementary Elegance (old SAB set) punched out with the Ticket Duo Punch Builder.

 

 

I received a lovely email from Alison saying she loved the card.

 

I'm supposed to be scrap booking today but to be honest I'm not in the mood.  The weather is so depressing and the light is really poor, it makes it more difficult.  I did get up early to do a bit of work with Glossy Accents - you would think that an hour and a half later it would be dry - but no.  Oh well.

 

Have a good day and take care.

 

Michelle x