Sunday, 29 May 2011

A few wedding flowers


I thought that, as wedding season is approaching, I'd share with you some pics of some wedding flowers that I made a while ago.  This corsage spray is made with Aqua roses which are a lovely blue-y pink colour.  I've added a bit of gyp and some diamantes, together with a bit of soft ruscus foliage. 

Not being very organised, I forgot to take a picture of the bouquet when I made it, so I've managed to crop it from a picture I took at the service, when the register was being signed. 


By the evening reception the petals had become a bit bruised by being knocked around a bit, but this picture is a bit clearer.


Here's another simple corsage that I made - red rose, spray carnations, gyp and some camellia leaves "borrowed" from my mom's garden!


Sadly though, the flowers lasted almost as long as the marriage did, oops!!!

Thanks for looking,

Amanda

Saturday, 28 May 2011

Craft Your Days Away - Father's Day


We have our newly expanded DT over at Craft Your Days Away and it is the first time to see some fab creations from our new DT ladies.  Our challenge for the next two weeks at CYDA has been set by Sarah and she has chosen for you:

FATHER'S DAY (or a card for a man)

So, it is the perfect excuse to get your card made ready for Father's Day in the UK on 19th June 2011.  For those of you who are not celebrating it yet, you can make a card for a man too.

Photobucket

We have our regular sponsor, Simon Says Stamp, who are joining us again for this challenge and they are offering a $10 voucher to one lucky winner.  We are also on the look out for a new guest designer to join s for challenge 23 and Sarah will be picking her Top 3.


Now, onto my card ..... its an unusual choice, I do realise that but I have made it for a Dad who is Harry Potter mad!  He's not into football, or fishing, or golf so "normal" man images wouldn't really fit the bill.  When I saw this HP style image from Bugaboo (called The Chosen One) I knew it would be perfect for him!  I have coloured the image with pro markers and the paper is a free download from Summertime Designs.  I found the spider image on Flikr and it was free as long as it was for personal use only.  I added the googly eyes and have dangled him over the card with a thin ribbon so that he moves about.


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

Aud Sentiments - Card for a male
Charizma cards - Boy oh boy!
Digi doodles - Anything goes
Meljens Designs - Father's Day
Crafting for all seasons - Anything goes
Digistamps 4 joy - Anything goes

Thanks for visiting today,

Amanda

Friday, 27 May 2011

Simply Homemade - so much inspiration


Just got back from the weekly shop at Tesco where I spotted the current issue of Simply Homemade magazine.  I just had to share with you what a great buy it is for £3.99.  I love the cute unmounted stamps that came free with it and the mag is jam-packed with crafty inspiration!  There's a brilliant template sheet too.

I want to make EVERYTHING in the mag but I especially love the crochet shopping bag and the mini sewing box.  This is such a brilliant magazine for "Jack of all trades" crafters like me.  Oh no, I can feel another visit to Etsy coming on for some more supplies!!!

The next issue is out on 16th June so you've got about 2 weeks to get your copy too!

Amanda

Wednesday, 25 May 2011

Pollycraft's Dudley dinosaur


I'm getting back in the swing with crafting, slowly but surely.  I have the next 5 days off work (yay! another Bank Holiday Monday for us in the UK!!) and so I intend to get some crafting done.  I have done a little bit of retail theraphy on Etsy tonight - I've bought some lovely vintage style mohair and some adorable teddy patterns so I hope to get my sewing bag out in the next few days and have something nice to show you.  Retail therapy definitely helps - I recomend it, but then again, I'm not a bank manager, just a craft-aholic!!!

Today's card was one that I was asked to make.  It is for a little boy who lives overseas and so I have had to keep it fairly flat so that it can be posted easily.  I was asked to make a card with a dinosuar on it and so I thought that this Pollycraft image (Dudley with Balloon) was just right.  As usual I have coloured the image with pro markers, the papers are Its a boy thing by DCWV and I've cut the main shape with nestabilities.

The orange paper is supposed to be a giraffee but I thought it could also be scaly dinosaur skin (with a bit of artistic licence!).  I have embossed a strip of it with a Sizzix texture plate.  The card candy was originally white and I coloured it with a pro marker to get the colour match.


I told the lady (who the card was for) if Henry asks what kind of dinosaur it is, tell him it is a "Doyathinkhesaurus" - but then again, a five year old  boy probably knows all of the dinosaur names much better than the adults!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Crafting for all seasons - anything goes
Creativ Belli - use old/forgotten tool (Sizzix texture plates)
Digi stamps 4 joy - boys, boys, boys
Paper shelter - anything goes
Creative card crew - anything goes
Digital Tuesday - texture (embossing) and Pollycraft digi image
Stamps R us - going digital (Pollycraft image)

Thanks for looking,

Amanda

Sunday, 22 May 2011

Sharing a few birthday pictures ....

So sorry for being a bad blogger and not being around very much this week.  It hasn't been the best of weeks and I just haven't seemed to be in the right frame of mind to sit down and craft.  Actually, it is quite un-nerving as I have been in a bit of a cleaning and tidying mood all week which is not really me! 

I thought that I would share a few pictures of my son's recent 18th birthday - just to let you know that I'm still here and hopefully the crafting bug will bite again next week.

So here's me with my son on his birthday and, yes, I am wearing heels!  Can anyone spot the purple Papermania craft tote that I "forgot" to put away?



When we said that his taxi had arrived, this is what was waiting outside for us.  There was loud music blasting out and flashing lights inside - I think that all of the neighbours heard us and several came outside to see what the commotion was!!!


It was great fun being driven around before we went out for the night - we certainly turned a few heads.  My mother was waving out of the back of the limo just like the Queen.  We didn't have the heart to tell her that the windows were tinted and no one could see her!  Here's my youngest son enjoying the ride ....


And finally, here's me, yet again with a glass in my hand!  Must hide it next time!


Thanks for stopping by, I think it might be time to start making a new teddy bear, to get me back into the crafting mood.

Amanda


Tuesday, 17 May 2011

Tilda with flower pot card


This was the Tilda stamp that made me give into temptation after I had made a little pact with myself not to buy any more until I had inked up and used all of the others that I have bought.  I spotted it on a few blogs and it was a case of needing it, not just wanting it - you're with me on that one, right?  If you scroll down a couple of post you will see when I inked it up and added a little bit of grass and a butterfly that has been in my collection for almost 20 years.  I'm really pleased with how this one has turned out and I'm liking the bright summery colours at the moment!


Here's what I've used:

Magnolia stamp - Tilda with Flower Pot, coloured with pro markers
Pink paper by Anna Griffin
Flower paper by My Mind's Eye
Martha Stewart scallop lace heart punch
Happy Birthday stamp by Stamps Away
Tape ribbon (don't really know the correct name for it) - recycled from a sewing kit that it was wrapped around
Buttons and pearls from stash


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

A spoonful of sugar - anything goes
Anything goes challenge - Bingo (I chose Ribbon, flowers and Punches)
Claudia and Co - girl's birthday card
Cupcake craft - in the garden
Creative cowgirls - anything goes
One stitch at a time - anything goes
Pear Tree designs - use a stamped image
Divas by Design - anything goes
Thanks for looking!

Amanda

Saturday, 14 May 2011

Craft Your Days Away #20 DT card


Is Blogger playing now? Don't know about you, but I really missed my daily fix of catching up with all of your new crafting makes. Looks like Blogger is still catching up posting some of the posts that were "lost".

Anyway, onto today's challenge at Craft your Days Away and we have the results of our DT call over on the challenge blog.  Today's challenge has been set by DT member Lesley who has chosen a great challenge for you:

White + One Colour

Pop over to the challenge blog to see what the DT have made to inspire you for this challenge and to meet our new DT members.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Heart Song Designs - they have some beautiful images in their digi shop but I especially liked the Cupcake Tier image that I used.



I've kept my card fairly plain and simple for this challenge and chose Lilac as my "+ one colour" and not a speck of glitter in sight!  Here's what I've used:

Image - Cupcake Tier by Heart Song Designs, coloured with pro markers
Polka dot paper - Back to Basics by Dovecraft
Embossed white card using Cuttlebug embossing folder (with a lilac ink pad lightly brushed over to add a dash of colour)
Ribbon and button from stash



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

Fabulous Friday - Use ribbon or twine
Fab 'n' Funky - Buttons and Bows
Divas by Design - Anything goes
Crafty Creations - Anything goes
Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything goes
Sew Many - Anything goes
Make it colourful - dotty background

Thanks for looking, fingers crossed - hope this posts okay Mr Blogger!

Amanda



Sunday, 8 May 2011

My newest and my oldest stamps working together


My newest Tilda stamp arrived yesterday from Sunrise Crafts  - Tilda with Flower Pot (yes, I gave into temptation again!).  I ordered it on Thursday so I was almost lurking behind the front door on Saturday morning ready to pounce when the postman called!!!  I was having a play with my stamps this morning and looking through my folder of stamps when I re-discovered two of the very first stamps I ever purchased in a teddy bear kit nearly 20 years ago.  This was when I first dabbled with rubber stamping - before I got the bug BIG TIME!  The little tuft of grass and butterfly probably haven't been stamped by me for over 15 years but they are perfectly sized for Tilda's and I think I'll be using plenty more of them from now on.


So, Tilda looks lovely all on her own but I always struggle with drawing something for her to stand onto.  I don't really like to see her floating in mid-air so I usually just draw a straight line - but not any more!


I made a little mask by stamping onto a repositional note and cutting around her foot area.


Who would have thought that this 20 year old, tuft of grass stamp could make such a big difference?  (They were originally a foam mounted set but I ripped the foam off and mounted them onto E-Z mount to use with my acrylic blocks).


Do you agree with me that Tilda looks so much better now that she has something to stand on?  The butterfly finishes the little picture off perfectly too.  Okay, so it may be obvious to some of you to do this - but for me it was a bit like a light-bulb moment this morning and I'm just glad that I can make use of some of my older items too!

Right, that's it for me - I'm off to colour this new image in now.  Time for you to hunt through your stash for a tuft of grass stamp!

Thanks for looking,

Amanda

Friday, 6 May 2011

In the Garden - my new digi stamp


I've made a card with my new digi stamp this morning, which is by Leanne Ellis - I just love her range of digis.  They are available from her Etsy shop HERE and the one I've used is called "In the Garden".  The sun is still shining in my little part of the UK which probably influenced my yellow colour scheme.   I ordered myself some bits from Sunrise Crafts yesterday and I've just realised their website has the same yellow colour - maybe that was the inspiration.  Can't wait for the order to aarive - I gave in and had to buy one of the new Tilda stamps amongst a few other bits.

Here's what I've used today:

Digi stamp - In the Garden by Leanne Ellis, coloured with pro markers
Polka dot paper - Digi freebie from Summertime Designs
Other papers - Kay and Co
Butterfly punch - Tonic punches
All other bits and pieces from my stash



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

Flutterby Wednesday - open challenge
Divas by Design - Anything goes
Claudia and Co - Butterflies
Craft your passion - Anything goes
Stamp with fun - lace or ribbon
Everybody Art - I used their sketch


Thanks for visiting me today!

Amanda

Wednesday, 4 May 2011

Look what I made!!!


Okay, so I know that it is only a small tote bag but I MADE IT and I'm really pleased with how it has turned out!!!  It makes a change from my hand sewn teddies or just getting out my sewing machine to repair things.  The theory is, now that I have a little craft tote I can keep all of my bits 'n' bobs to hand, but nice and tidy (yeah, right, you all know I'm making that part up!).

As I only finished it on Monday and it is still on display I thought this would be a good time to share with What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday (or work chair in my case as I do not have a work desk - I craft where ever I find a space!).

I bought the instructions and fabric from the NEC Hobbycrafts show in March from Mandy Shaw's stand - she had some lovely stiched goodies, patterns and haberdashery on her stand.

Look inside - there's lots of lovely little pockets to keep my stash tidy (ha, ha!):


Here's the instructions that I used - you can buy the complete kit from HERE and make your own.  I also bought Mandy Shaw's new book last week - lots of inspiration to make "little and pretty" things.  (I purchased my book from Amazon which was a much better price than buying direct).


Also, still out on the table and on my mental To Do list is this cushion bought from my trip to Dunelm this weekend - no prizes for what my next sewing machine project is going to be!  While I was there I just had to have a little detour around the small craft section.  I picked up a couple of packs of mini alphabet stamps for a bargain price of 99p, a reel of red double sided tape which is the best I've found and some lovely glitter paper - the kind that gets you covered in glitter bits everywhere.




Thanks for having a look around my workspace today,

Amanda

Monday, 2 May 2011

Dancing Willow



First of all I want to say a big Hello and Thank You to my newest followers - I will try to get around to your blogs as soon as I can.  Hope you like the new background - I felt it was time for a change from the pale blue.  I'm liking my gingham at the moment - hence the background I've gone for!

Today's card is a fairly flat one so that it can be posted easily - I always worry about sending heavily embellished cards through the post in case it arrives to the recipient ruined.  Also, in the UK we are charged more postage if the envelope is more than 5mm thick so this one just fits under that.  Add to that, I think I may be going through a bit of a "clean and simple" phase at the moment - I keep trying to stick more flowers on but my hand just won't do it!!!

I made it for the Craft Your Days Away current challenge {Music and/or Dance} and then I realised that we had some sponsor images to use (see my below post).  Don't forget that we are having a DT call with our current challenge over at Craft your Days Away!

The stamp is Dancing Willow by Whiff of Joy and I have coloured it with pro markers.  The paper is from an old set by DCWV but I thought that it went perfectly with the images - dresses, handbags and shoes, what more do we girls need for a night out dancing and partying?  I've used flowers from a sizzix die, a MS deep edge punch and my nestabilities for the main shape.


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

Mami doodles - let's get girly
Paper cutz - Anything goes
Wags 'n' Whiskers - use a die cut/punch
Little Miss Muffet - use a die cut/punch

And lastly, for all UK bloggers - have a great May Day bank holiday and enjoy your day off work! 
Fingers crossed for sunshine!

Amanda

Saturday, 30 April 2011

Craft Your Days Away new challenge and DT call



We've got a great new challenge today at Craft Your Days Away and we are also having our first ever DT call!  Mel has set the challenge for the next two weeks and it is:

Music and/or Dance

We are sponsored by SJ Little Musings for this challenge and the images that I've used are called Acceptable in the 80's - which have a great retro feel.  {Can anyone else remember recording your favourite songs onto a cassette tape from the radio chart show?  I used to have a little microphone that I patiently held by the radio - someone always walked into the room halfway and ruined my recording.  Looking back, the sound quality was awful anyway but I never cared!!!}. 

I made a door hanger for this challenge for my little one.  We had new doors recently and I won't let him stick his name plate to the new door - so now that his door is "named" again he's quite happy.  I used the pre-coloured images this time because they were just right for what I wanted, but they also comes as a line drawing.  The only thing that I did to the images was to dirty up the front of the shoe with a bit of distress ink.  How many little boys do you know who have pristine, white pumps?

Now, if you are interested being on the DT with us pop over to the challenge blog for all of the info, but basically you will need to enter this challenge and then post another picture with one of your favourite creations (this doesn't have to follow the challenge).  We are a friendly bunch of crafters and are looking forward to expanding our DT!

I am going to enter this into the following challenges:

Inspire me Fridays - anything goes
Ai Factory - anything goes


Thanks for looking

Amanda


Friday, 29 April 2011

Red, white and blue - Grace


After the Royal Wedding today how could I not make something in red, white and blue?  I was literally glued to the TV all morning watching the wedding, obviously waiting to see what Kate would be wearing and she didn't disappoint - I thought that she looked very elegant in a stunning dress.  I loved watching the parades and all of the horses.  It reminded me that I too had a landau horse drawn carriage for my wedding day (only had one horse though) - something I now have in common with the future queen!!! It is times like this that it makes you proud to be British. 

On today's card I have used Grace by Sugar Nellie.  I had been looking for this stamp for ages and then I saw on Jenny's blog (My Inky Hands - see side bar) that they were available as digis from Funky Kits.  The images are so lovely and very easy to colour as lots of the shading is already done.  I've coloured the image with pro markers and the papers are a free download from Summertime Designs.  I've coloured some Mulberry flowers with promarkers and added some little stamens in the centre.  The border punch is by Martha Stewart and the leaf punch is "Grass" by Woodware.  The 3 little brads are to cover up where my pro markers bled when I tried to colour the buttons.  I was ready to throw the almost finished image away and then I though the brads would make good buttons! 

I've kept the card fairly plain because of the reason I am sending it.  It is going to the lady whose taught me to make teddy bears; a small group of us meet at her home to sew teddy bears!  She creates the most amazing ball joint dolls and makes fantastic wigs and clothing and I thought that she would like "Grace".  However, she is going through a very tough time at the moment - you can read her blog here if you want to.



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

Hanna and friends - I used their sketch
Moving along with the times - Anything goes
Fab n Funky - Red, white and blue
Amber's Crafts - use a digi
The paper variety - polka dots
Sweet stamps - sympathy
Tuesday throw down - add brads
Crafty cardmakers - red, white and blue
Make it Monday - Anything goes

That's it for today - back tomorrow with another creation!

Amanda

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Tilda with Christmas Presents


I've hardly done any crafting this past week - the weather over the Easter break has been absolutely amazing and so we have spent much of the weekend in the back garden.  We had a new fish pond last autumn and so we have had to do some finishing-off work and have planted around the pond too.  I'm really pleased with it; I just hope the heron doesn't visit us again!  Even Monty, my agorophobic cat, had a little walk onto the patio - he couldn't go on the grass though - he completely freaks out!

So, with the weather so warm, I had to cool things down a little by making a Christmas card.  I haven't used my Tilda's for quite a while too and I love this Christmas one.  (Might be time to buy a new Tilda stamp or two!)

Here's what I've used:
Tilda with Presents stamp by Magnolia, coloured with Pro Markers
Marianne doily die
My new Christmas Fancy papers by Dovecraft - half price sale bargain!
Cat's Life Press - circular sentiment stamp
Flowers, ribbon and jewels from stash


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

Sketch and Stash - free sketch challenge (I used sketch #11 and my new papers)
Party time Tuesdays - Anything goes
Wee Memories - Anything girly
Sparkles - Anything goes
Delicious doodles - Anything goes

Thanks for stopping by,

Amanda

Thursday, 21 April 2011

Milk carton tutorial


Just in time for last minute Easter chocolate gifts - Here's the tutorial that I said I'd do on how to make the "milk carton" gift boxes like I made in my last post.  Like I said, they are so really easy to make and I couldn't believe that I hadn't had a try at making one sooner.

So, here's what you'll need:
  • a ruler and pencil
  • a scoreboard or scoring tool
  • 1 sheet of A4 card (I used the hammered card from The Papermill Shop)
  • some kind of adhesive - I prefer the red double sided tape as it is a dry adhesive and once it is stuck down, its not going anywhere!
  • some scissors 

Turn your card to "landscape" and (on the wrong side/back of the card) measure on the long edges at 7cm, 14cm, 21cm and 28cm.  I have pencilled my lines in so that they can be seen in the photo but really you only need to make a little dot to mark each measurement.  Score these 4 vertical lines:



Next, down the short edges, mark the following measurements: 1.5cm, 7cm and 16cm.  Score these 3 horizontal lines, as shown below:



Next, across the top of the card, measure at 10.5cm and score a small vertical line just until you reach the horizontal line below (this is where the tucked-in bits are at the top of the carton):



Repeat this step at 24.5cm:



You can only just see in this picture that I have scored (with my ruler and score tool) where the two sides panels tuck in.  You don't have to do this but it does help the card to have a smoother finish at the fold lines.  So, score two lines down from the 10.5cm mark and 24.5cm mark to make triangles in each of the boxes below:



The squares on the bottom row will create the bottom flaps on the carton.  Cut up from the bottom of each score line, stopping at the point where they cross with the other line.  Trim the edge of each flap so that it folds in easier (as marked with orange pen below) and completely cut out the small rectangle on the bottom right hand side:



Trimming a little angle off each of the cut lines to create the bottom flaps:



Fold across your score lines now, horizontal and verticals.



Apply strong double-sided tape down the flap on the right hand side and stick to the other side, creating a 4 sided tube.



Now, fold in the flaps at the bottom of the carton and stick together with d-s tape.  Make sure that the carton retains its square shape - if you stick these off centre your carton will be out of shape and won't fold correctly:



Time to create the top of the carton now.  Push the small scored lines inwards (at 10.5cm and 24.5cm):



Fix the top of your milk carton together - the best way I've seen is to use these little bulldog clips.  You could also use brads or the d-s tape (but this would ruin the carton when it was opened).



Now comes the fun bit - decorate as desired! 



Hope you enjoyed my tutorial!

Thanks for looking,

Amanda