Something different

This card's a bit different for me - as I said in my last post, I'm sorting through and using up my old stash. These dufex decoupage images have been lying around for a couple of years - from an NEC Hobbycrafts spending spree. 

The colours a bit wrong - that's because of the rubbish weather and lack of natural light that we have at the moment because of our winter. In "real life" the medallion is a lovely shade of lilac and silver (but you get the gyst of it don't you?). I matted the decoupage medallion onto a Nellie Snellen die - the die is square so I cut 2 and off set one. I must try and think "outside the box" more in order to maximise the use of my dies.  The medallion reminds me a bit of a snowflake - very apt for recent weather.


I've added a bit of faux stitching with a fine purple liner and stamped the greeting in Soft Plum ink by Memento.  The AB jewels are from Papermania.

Thanks for visiting today,

Amanda

Using up the old stash

I said at the beginning of January that I wanted to use up some of the huge stock pile of crafting stash that I already had, before buying new stuff.  Its amazing what we squirrel away - my craft cupboard was like a treasure trove when I started looking!

With all of the cold weather and snow that we are experiencing in the UK, I had to turn my mind to Spring and make a card with flowers and pretty colours.



The stamp is from LOTV, stamped in Memento London Fog and coloured with pro markers.  The paper is Tea Party by Dovecraft and I found a leaf die by Marianne's which I bought about a year ago and forgot all about!  I have had the wooden flowers for absolutely years - I think they were part of a kit from QVC - one of the first purchases I made from them about 10 years ago.  I bet there's lots of you who have similar forgotten crafting treasures in the back of a cupboard - go look!!!



I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

ABC Challenges - Birthday Cards

The Paper Girls Challenge - Wooden elements

Sunday Sketch and Stamp - I used their sketch

Thanks for looking,

Amanda



My crochet scarf

Here's my latest crochet project - I've managed to finish this scarf just in time for the cold weather that is forecast for the UK this weekend.  I think that I'll be needing it very soon  - its great - really snuggly and warm! 

We've seen a few snowflakes in the Midlands this morning - fingers crossed - that's all we'll get!  The snow is lovely to look at if you don't need to get to work/school etc. but its a nightmare to try and get around in the car - me, my car and snow are not a good combination.

I used a pattern from Nicky Trench's book - Cute and Easy Crochet - to make this scarf, which I altered the size slightly.  Its really easy - mainly chain and slip stitches - great for a beginner!  This book is great - some fab ideas in it.

I can't remember where the flower pattern came from - I think it was a Crochet Today magazine - but I made these a while ago.  I think that the flowers need some pretty little buttons to sew in the centre of them to finish them off. 

I'm working on a crochet blanket, made from granny squares next - photos soon!

Thanks for looking,

Amanda





Quick and easy trio of cards

Grrrrr! Is it just me or is anyone else having problems uploading photos to Blogger?  Its taken me a whole day to get round the problem and work out how I could upload my pictures.  Normally I just upload them from My Pictures on my PC but Blogger wouldn't let me do that so I have had to upload them to a Picasa web album to put them onto Blogger.  Simple when you know how but soooo frustrating when Blogger doesn't work as you expect!



Anyway, rant over - here's a few cards that I've made.  They are quick and easy ones all based on the same design.  I needed a few cards to keep in my desk for work - ready for colleagues birthdays at short notice!   I tend to save my coloured "special" cards for friends and family who appreciate the work that goes into making it (or I sell them for charity).

All of the supplies are from a Papermania Goody bag that I bought just before Christmas, except for the button and a bit of card candi from Craftwork Cards.

I am going to enter this card into the following challenges:

ABC Challenges - Clean and Simple

Pretty little ribbon shop - Flowers and ribbon

Thanks for stopping by,

Amanda

New Year - New Start and a Thank you

Happy 2013 everyone - I can't believe how the time has flown by so quickly and it has been 2 months since my last post. 

First of all, I can't take credit for this lovely Christmas card - it was the only handmade one I received this year and I wanted to thank the lady who made it as I have not seen her.  I know that she wanders around blog land from time to time so hopefully she will see this post - it has had pride of place on my fireplace and when it is time for the cards to come down this one will be a definite keeper.  

No crafting pictures to show at the moment - so here's the next best thing - a few pictures of my kitties!  Here's the lovely Lola hiding behind one of my pressies.

I'm hoping that I will have more time in 2013 to craft, than I did in 2012.  I did make a few Christmas cards but never got round to taking a photo before they had to be sent.  I've also been doing a bit of crochet and started making a few teddy bears again.  I need to order some more supplies so at the moment I have 3 half finished bears.  I can't promise what I'll be putting on the blog, but I'll do my best at being around a bit more this year and hopefully my crafting mojo will return now that I have more free time on my hands again!

Monty always likes to pose for a picture:

So, as its new year I guess that my New Year resolutions will be to enjoy more time to craft and be creative and to use up my stash that I have far too much of.  If I look back to last year - I probably said the same again then.

I look forward to catching up with you all again during the year and getting some cards made to enter some challenges too.

Happy New Year and thanks for stopping by,

Amanda