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

 

Card Swap Group - Post-it-Note Holders

Hope you are all enjoying this gorgeous sunny weekend.  It really lifts the spirits to see the sun out, as well as having all the windows and the patio door wide open.

 

So, today I'm getting round to sharing last month's card swap.  Jane tasked us to make Post-it-Note holders.  I made mine for Margaret, who makes the most gorgeous cards.  I decided to use Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla as I thought they would appeal to Margaret.

 

I masked off a panel and stamped the script stamp in Crumb Cake (can't remember which one).  My Stamp-a-ma-jig came in really handy for this.  I scored a couple of lines above and below the script.  Then using Papillon Potpourri, I stamped two butterflies and cut them out with the corresponding punch, as well as two in Crumb Cake cardstock.  I added a sentiment and then the butterflies, curling the wings a little bit to give some dimension.

 

I also made Margaret a matching card in exactly the same way.

This is the Post-it-Note holder that I received from Aileen.  It's really beautiful.  The photo doesn't really do it justice (not helped by the fact that I don't seem to be able to make it larger - silly Blogger!).

 

It's been really nice to have a calm, relaxed weekend.  The last couple of weeks have been crazy!  Edward had his practise expedition for DofE last weekend, and the weather couldn't have been more awful - rain, wind, hail!  Having said that, he had a really great time.  The real one is the middle of June, and I think we'll all be more that prepared for it.  This week has been the SATs tests at school which comes with its own stresses.

 

I'm on a bit of a countdown - 5 working days until half term!!

 

Have a great week.  See you soon.

 

Take care

 

Michelle x

Scrapbags Spring Retreat - Part 2

Hi All.  So I was meant to post this a couple of weeks ago but never quite got round to it, life kind of got in the way.

 

Here are the layouts that I completed at my retreat before Easter.  I didn't get as many done as you would have thought over three days, probably because I spent too much time chatting!  But I had a great time.

 

Most of these layouts feature Stampin' Up products.

 

And the next layout is my first attempt at Project Life.  I've started an album for Edward for when he's 18 (3 years to go - nothing like planning ahead!), and I wanted it to be different to the ones I made for Emily.  I'm really pleased how this turned out.  You can imagine how excited I am about Stampin' Up teaming up with Becky Higgins and bringing Project Life to us in the new catalogue!!!!!

 

Hopefully I'll be back soon, but you never know with me!  Must actually get some cards made because I haven't made any for ages :(

 

Have a great Bank Holiday weekend.

 

Take care

 

Michelle

Scrapbags Spring Retreat - Part 1

Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending thee days at a scrapbooking retreat in a lovely hotel in Hertfordshire, organised by the lovely and amazing June.  The weekend was very relaxed, the company was great, as was the food - it was just fab!  June provided some beautiful layouts for us to complete as well as some fiendish quizzes for the more competitive of us!

 

I wanted to take a little Easter treat for all my fellow Scrapbags.  I was inspired by a video Lucy Tustian (a fellow SU demonstrator) made, and this is what I created.  All the products are Stampin' Up.

 

The grounds of the hotel are so pretty, and we were blessed with lovely weather, particularly on the Sunday.

It was a shame to have to leave on the Sunday afternoon.  I could have happily stayed for longer.  Tomorrow I will be showing you the layouts that I made, including my first Project Life layout,  Thanks for dropping by.  Have a lovely day.

Take care

Michelle x

A little crochet

 

Good morning.  I realised recently that my blog has become somewhere to show my Stampin' Up creations and nothing else.  That wasn't the reason that I started blogging in the first place.  As I'm not using it as a shop window for SU products, I've decided to go back to the original idea.  At the moment, I primarily use SU products, but as I am in the midst of a massive crafting tidy up, there is no knowing what I many unearth and be inspired by!

 

Having a crafting clear out is very daunting, particularly as I'm such a hoarder.  But quite honestly, I've got stuff stashed in nearly every room in my house and I've forgotten about half of what I have accumulated over nearly 20 years of card making (not to mention scrap booking!).

 

Or crochet!  There seems to be a fair amount of wool in my house too!  I've always got a crochet project on the go.  At the moment, it's a rainbow ripple blanket, but more of that another time.  Today I'm showing you a blanket that I finished at Christmas for Emily.  This is the second blanket that I have made in this style - the first one can be found here . Initially I was reluctant, because the blanket is made up of hundreds of hexagons that all need individually blocking out to get a crisp shape, as well as a lot of sewing.  However, Emily is very persuasive!  Also when I agreed to it, she had a single bed - which she doesn't now!

 

The blanket took me about a year and a half to complete, and quite frankly it was very boring to make - more of a chore than a pleasure.  I think it's because there are only three colours.  Emily's vision was a field of daisies - hence the colour scheme.  Anyway, because I was fed up with making it, I decided to make a conscious effort over the Christmas holidays to get it finished, and I did.  Not without some help though.  My lovely mum sewed in all the ends of the countless hexagons, a nasty job.  So here it is.  And someone else made herself very comfortable on it too!

 

Thanks for dropping by.  Have a good day.

Take care

Michelle x

Lots and lots of cards!

Hi all, thanks for dropping by.  I'm making up for my erratic blogging by posting a few cards today, so be prepared for a long post!

 

The first card uses two SU stamp sets - Petite Petals (my current favourite) and Sassy Salutations. I chose three pastel shades of ink - Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake and Pistachio Pudding, scored two lines to create a panel across the middle and a added a few gems.

 

 

The next card uses the Fresh Prints DSP stack, along with Petite Petals, Flower Shop and Teeny Tiny Sentiments.  My favourite colour scheme at the moment is Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana and Whisper White.

 

Another card using the Fresh Prints DSP Stack, this time teamed with Crumb Cake and Real Red. And of course, Petite Petals. 

 

The next card is similar to the one I made for Mark's birthday back in January.  I used Smoky Slate, Real Red and Whisper White again, as well as Gorgeous Grunge, Simply Stars and Sassy Salutations.

 

The next two cards are from my card swap group.  The first one is from the lovely Sue, and the challenge was to use red, orange and yellow. The card is amazing - I really lovely all the different flower images and there is so much dimension on the card.  It really is fab.  I was so impressed because the insert has been decorated and the envelope too - such attention to detail.

The next card was made by the equally lovely Jane, using one of her favourite stamps. The brief for this card was to use embossing and Jane has used a new embossing folder, which I think will become a firm favourite of hers.  I love the colours she has chosen.  A beautiful card.

 

Needless to say, I have yet to make my card for this month's swap, but hopefully that will be remedied soon!

 

I have been a little bit busy recently.  Mark and I have taken Emily to two University interviews in the last two weeks, and we are so thrilled that she has been offered a place at both Universities, in fact she was offered a place mid-interview at Worcester on Wednesday.  It has been a massive boost to her confidence, especially as she had convinced herself that no one would want her.  After a really tough three and half years, it's so great to see her dream of being a teacher getting closer to becoming a reality. 

 

That's it from me now.  Have a great weekend.

 

Michelle x

 

 

 

 

Card Swap 12

 

Apologies that I can't share the fabulous card that I received for this month's card swap (and it's simply stunning), I just haven't had the time to photograph it.  I will as soon as I can.

 

However, this is my offering.  The brief was to use yellow, orange and red, with the possible hint of Melon Mambo, and I've managed to achieve all of the above.  The colours I've chosen are Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Real Red (and of course Melon Mambo!).  I used the Decorative Dots embossing folder from the current Sale-a-bration, as well as the Banner Blast stamp set and Itty Bitty Banner punch.  The sentiment is from A Word for You.

 

I took my inspiration from Pinterest and tweaked it a little bit to suit my style.  I have to say, Pinterest is a great place to look when your card making mojo has upped and left you!

 

Please ignore the fact that the diamante seems to have slipped out of the centre of the yellow flower.  I've only just noticed it on the photo!

Thanks for popping in. 
 
Take care

Michelle x