Red black and white....

I couldn't settle after playing hunt the Nestabilities so I decided to make a card up with one of the Elzybells images I stamped and coloured yesterday. I normally colour the teddy brown so I thought I would do him grey for a change...

Off to bed now as it has suddenly got VERY late! How does that always happen when I sit at my craft desk?
Good night!

Jane
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LOST: 3 INCH NESTABILITIES CIRCLE DIE

I was going to make a card tonight for the Elzybells Sunday Showcase but I cannot find my 3 inch Nestabilities circle die :-(
I used it yesterday when I was doing some stamping in the living room and now it has gone!
I have been looking for it for ages, have checked all the bins in case it sneaked in there and had no luck.
Am too wound up to make any cards now :-( Luckily I have a large hole punch that fits the 3inch scallop circle but it is not the same.
I will try and sleep on it and hopefully it may turn up tomorrow!

Does anyone know if you can buy single replacement dies for the sets? I can't be the first untidy crafter to have lost one....

Jane
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Elzybells Recycle blog challenge - loo roll mini-book

I made this mini scrapbook tonight for the Elzybells blog challenge. The theme this fortnight is 'Recycle' so I tried to think of what in our household we threw away a lot of all the time...I thought of all the cardboard loo roll tubes that end up in our blue bin and decided to turn them into a mini scrapbook!


I used 5 rolls. First I squashed each one flat and covered 2 with wallpaper leftovers from our weekend decorating...more recycling.... then added 2 eyelets to one end. The other 3 rolls were covered with white card and then had the eyelets added. I inked the edges of the flattened covered rolls with turquoise ink.
I made 5 tags in which I set eyelets and then embellished them with scraps of leftover organza ribbon from another project. I made up the book with rings and embellished them with more ribbon scraps.

The cover has a stamped topper paper pieced from Wallpaper and scraps of card. I die cut a scalloped circle from some card taken from a Waitrose cat food box (it was the perfect colour and fitted in the recycling scheme perfectly!)



Inside I matted and layered brown, turquoise and white paper scraps to make pages on which to place photos. The journaling can be written onto the tags. I embellished the inside of the book with more stamped and paper pieced Elzybells bears!



I trimmed one bear so it looks like he is
peeping over the page.

This challenge was great and I am amazed that I managed to create this from things we usually throw away....

Jane
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Time to play!

The last flat pack unit has been built and I finally had some time and energy to play with some of the goodies I bought at the weekend. I decided to try out my Messy Rabbit stamp. I have never tried any of Joanna Sheen's stamps before and I was really pleased with this one. I coloured it with Promarkers and highlighted the background with chalks. I picked up the spotty paper at the Ashridge Farm craft shop.


I used the bee that came in the Joanna Sheen set to make a mini card. I used my new Glossy accents on the wings and the flowers were stamped onto patterned paper and covered in glossy accents. I finished the card with gems in the centres of the flowers. The flower stamps are from Elzybells.

I hope you enjoyed your long weekend :-)

Jane
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I was wrong. Wallpapering is hard!!!

We have finally finished our Living room decorating!! Woo hoo! The Wallpapering was much harder than I thought it would be, it took much longer to get a good result! I am really pleased with how the Living room looks now and am totally exhausted! The carpet fitters come on Tuesday and we still have to build two sideboards, a TV unit and a table and 6 chairs but this can be done at our leisure. Am really looking forward to the house being straight again so I can get on with some cardmaking!
Am so proud of my wallpapered wall!

Jane
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Sunday morning Stamping

I woke up very early today so had a little play with my stamps. I made some card blanks using the largest Nestabilities circle and scalloped circles. I then layered up some more circles and stamped the footballer image and the Geisha image. The Geisha is from a small Woodware set I got yesterday at Ashridge Farm Craft Shop.


I paper pieced the geisha using Dovecraft papers and coloured her using Sakura pens. I used a black glaze for her hair.
As a final treat to myself I made this litle ATC to add to my collection. I am trying to make as many as possible to take with me to Alexandra Palace for the Big Stamp and Scrapbooking show in September. I had this image left over from practising so thought it would be ideal to turn into an ATC!
Off to do some reading up on Wallpapering techniques now before we start the Living Room wall. Hopefully it will go ok....how hard can it be? Surely is just Papercrafting on a larger scale :-)

Enjoy your Sunday!

Jane
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A few moments to make a card.....

We finished the second coat of emulsion on the living room walls this morning and got ready to go to Reading. As we were leaving the Postman delivered my Stamposaurus stamps I ordered from Create and Craft!


When we got home we finished the woodwork, all that is left to do now is wallpaper one wall.

I decided to try out the stamps this evening with this quick card. The spotty paper is some wrapping paper I bought from a lovely gift shop in Wokingham. I love spotty or stripy paper! I coloured the image with Letraset promarkers and Sakura pens.

Am looking forward to finishing the decorating tomorrow and having a day off Monday!

I hope you enjoy your Bank Holiday Weekend :-)

Jane
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No Cards yesterday!!!!!

I didn't make ANY cards or do anything crafty yesterday! I can't remember the last time that happened!
Still decorating the living room and whole house looks like a building site. My craft desk has lots of non crafty bits dumped on it :-(

Finished the ceiling yesterday and 1st coat of emulsion. This morning we got up and finished the second coat on the walls. Off to Reading now for a bit of retail therapy before coming home to do the woodwork....

Jane
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Elzybells new release stamps

No time for any crafting today as I was busy with work and preparations for starting the decorating in our living room. The room is pretty much clear now and all the holes in the walls have been filled and sanded ready for painting. We are going for a complete overhaul as the room has not been decorated for such a long time and badly needs it!

I did make some time to order some new rubber stamps from Elzybells. The new releases were out yesterday and I treated myself to the Koh-i-noors and a few new teddy stamps. I particularly love the new teddy snoozing in a chair. As usual I wanted far too many so I made a list, halved it, then took a few more off the list in order to have a reasonable size order! I can't wait for them to arrive now!

I have the day off work tomorrow so I am going to an 'Oscars' presentation at Son no2 school for an advert they have made in groups in his class. Let's hope he remembers to Thank his Mum in his acceptance speech :-)

I hope to make a couple of cards at some point before Tuesday when am back at work. I will get withdrawal symptoms otherwise!

Jane
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My first card using Koh-i-noor pencils!

I made this card today with the Cutie Patootie Elzybells stamp I got yesterday at the Craft group.
My Friend recently bought some Koh-i-noor pencils and I borrowed them tonight to try the colouring method that there is a great tutorial for on Elzybells blog I really enjoyed using the pencils and am really proud of how this card turned out. I am going to order myself some of the pencils tomorrow as I am sure I will want to order some of the new release stamps.


I also finished making the ATCs for Becky's swap at 'Monthly ATC swap'



The theme is 'One for the boys' so I used a cute footballer stamp and made 3 ATCs with Dandelion the dog. I coloured these with Koh-i-noors blended with OMS.
I can't wait until next month to receive all my swaps. I will have sent off 18 cards this month in all so my Collection will be growing very fast!

I hope to fit in a bit of crafting this long weekend but we are decorating our living room too starting Thursday evening so I may not have much time!

Jane
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Fun at the Craft group!

I went to the Craft group in Winnersh tonight for the first time with my Crafty friends from work and I had a FABULOUS time!! It was great. I sometimes craft with some ladies from work but most of the time on my own. The ladies who run the group are just so lovely and all the ladies attending were so welcoming too.



I made this card using an Elzybells stamp I borrowed from my Friend and embellished with felt flowers and a button I bought in France. They also had a table where you could buy bits and pieces and I found an Elzybells stamp! I also got a stamp with bees on and a stamp with a little footballer on which will be perfect for an ATC challenge I am taking part in, my son is also going to a party on Friday so I will use the stamp for the card and possibly the wrapping paper for the present.

Had such a brilliant day today, am really looking forward to the next Craft group on the 9th of June!

I am also entering this as a Birthday card for Becky for her 30th Birthday Blog candy

Jane
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A few more ATCs......

I discovered another ATC swap on 'Monthly ATC Swap' when I was blog hopping yesterday and contacted Becky to join in. The theme is 'One for the boys' so I decided to use my Baby Elzybells stamp and make it a Baby boy. The Papers are by K+Co and I coloured the stamp with Promarkers. You can make between 3 and 8 cards for the swap so I will see if I have time to make more this week to send in.

I am going to a Craft group tomorrow night in Winnersh for the first time called Carann Crafts. It is run by a lady who works at the Ashridge Farm Craft shop near Wokingham. I have packed up my wheelable bag and it is very heavy! It was hard to decide what to pack as I have no idea what I want to make tomorrow night.
Hopefully I will have everything I need!

Jane
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ATCs for a new swap...

Paul from ATC swappers got in touch with me today after seeing one of cards on the Elzybells blog and kindly invited me to take part in their swap this month. I was really pleased as I have been looking for more swaps to take part in. Paul was a guest designer for Elzybells a few weeks ago and I love the style of his cards. I had lots of fun following the colour themes that were set - Black and Blue and Cream and Purple and I can't wait to receive my swaps!




Both stamps used are from Elzybells.

Hope you had a good weekend. Mine was busy!

Went to Twickenham on Saturday to watch our team London Irish lose to Leicester in the Guiness Premiership final which was a shame but we still had lovely day out. I was lucky enough to pick up lots of buttons in a charity shop and some lovely vintage ribbons in a little boutique in Twickenham :-)

We are decorating our living room next weekend so I spent a lot of time sorting bits and pieces in there today and moving furniture around ready to get started on Friday.

Jane
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Friday Sketchers 52 Challenge

I made this card following the sketch at Friday Sketchers by Claudia Rosa.










I used Papermania retro Flowers papers and paper pieced a stamp from Hobbycraft.

The Challenge was mentioned on Elzybells blog as she is supplying the blog candy.

Jane
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Elzybells blog challenge diamond fold card

I made this card for the blog challenge on Elzybells.
The Blog Challenge this week is to create a card with more than one fold.
I found a demonstration for this diamond card on You Tube

I used the ice skater Elzybells stamp. I borrowed it from my Friend. I have lots of different Elzybells stamps but nothing Christmassy and for some reason I really wanted to make a Christmas card!

The papers are DCWV Christmas stack from last Christmas.

My Cards in Papercraft Essentials Magazine!

I was very excited today to see two of my cards in the latest issue of Papercraft Essentials Magazine!







I sent a card in to a competition in January that had to feature a fairy. I didn't win a prize but my card has been featured in the Reader's Gallery.



Another one of my cards is on the last page as I won a Prize in the Vintage card competition to win some lovely Debbie Moore designs goodies.


I can't decide if I am more excited about winning a prize or seeing my cards in the magazine!!! :-)

Something a bit different with felt!

I cut some more felt shapes with my Cuttlebug and nestabilities today. I decided to make this needle case. I was inspired to use these colours after spotting the spotty ribbon. I love spots and stripes! I cut the flower with a sizzix shape. I am really pleased with how this turned out and I plan on making a few more in different colour combinations.




I also made this little brooch using the same colour scheme. I sewed this on the machine but I think I would do this by hand next time as it has turned out a bit wonky....

Artist Trading cards

I made a few Artist trading cards yesterday and today:

I made these tonight for the Craft Ambrosia ATC swap. The theme is music and dance in an Altered Art Style. I chose Edith Piaf as the subject of my ATCs. I found the Altered Art aspect of the challenge really hard as it is the complete opposite of my usual style so I am not sure whether I should actually send these off and take part....








I had a play with my Cuttlebug cutting out lots of felt shapes and thought these hearts would make a lovely ATC topper.

I decided to use up bits and pieces left over from practising with my rubber stamps:



I am starting to think making ATCs is addictive!

Jane
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Back to crafting!

I settled back in to my craft desk today as I was on a day's leave from work. I had a trip to the Art of Craft in Farnborough and treated myself to a Cuttlebug and 2 packs of Nestabilities! I had wanted these for ages as I think they work really well as frames to stamping. I made this card and bookmark using Papermania Retro flowers papers and Elzybells stamps coloured with Letraset promarkers.







I made this card as well as I could not resist using my new Elzybells teddy stamp. I used my Nestabilities to make a scalloped card blank and paper pieced the sweet teddy. Eyelets, ribbon and a small tag with a gem finish the card off perfectly!

Some of my earlier makes....

Here are some cards I made earlier this year. As you can see I like to try lots of different techniques and I like my cards to look nice and bright!

Just saying hello!

I made this card when I got back today following my sketch I published yesterday. The stamp is by Elzybells and I bought the ribbon in France.

Card layout sketch

I have had a go at creating a card layout sketch as I can't make any cards until I get home. I will make some cards using this layout when I am back at my craft desk. If you make any cards using the sketch leave a link to the photo in my comments as I would love to see what you come up with!

Ribbon and buttons

The market was a little disappointing today. It was raining so was not as good as usual. I picked up some pleated organza ribbons and some very funky square bright pink buttons. I am going home tomorrow so I will start packing this afternoon. I have had a lovely time in Toulouse so far!

Craft Stash shopping day

I flew to France yesterday and am staying in Toulouse with my Parents. I went shopping with my Mum today and treated myself to some lovely buttons, ribbons and tassels from some of the local haberdashery shops. My favourite is a shop called la Droguerie where I got most of the bits below. I also bought a pack of lovely Canson Card as it has a great texture and a large sheet of flesh coloured card for paper piecing when stamping.




I thought I could use the little easels to display cards on when I photograph them. I can't wait to get my stash home and make some more lovely cards! Tomorrow we are going the market at St Sernin. They have some great stalls there and is a typical bustling French Sunday market. I hope to pick up some nice bits and pieces there too!

Elzybells Thank you Card

This is my first post as a brand new blogger! I made this card last night with the free papers that came with my Magazine which was waiting for me when I got home. The stamp is by Elzybells and I coloured it with my Letraset pro-markers and paper pieced the dress. This was a really quick card to make !