Wednesday 30 June 2010

WOYWW - a complete and utter mess!

Here is my desk today looking very shambolic and messy! I had a crafting session last night to make the Christening card which is on my desk. The session started with a 35 mins hunt for a cross charm which I knew I had somewhere! I found it eventually in a small box which was inside a bigger box full of ribbons!
My organisation did not last long!


I will keep this brief as I am off to work soon...there are lots of bits and pieces on the desk which I used to make the card and lots that I didn't. My treasured Easel from Julia is hiding at the back :-) I hope you enjoy having a snoop around my desk...if you want to see more please hop over to Julia's
Have a great Wednesday :-)
Jane
x

Tuesday 29 June 2010

Make the Day special blog candy winner and some ATCs

Thanks so much to all of you who visited my blog and left comments for the 1st Make the Day special blog hop.

I have drawn a winner using Random org to receive the card I featured and...the winner is...

Ann who said...

Love the owl - and the way everything coordinates so well. Fab card!

Congratulations Ann! Please send me an email to milliesmarvels@gmail.com with your address and I will send the card to you.
Make sure you take a look at the Make The Day Special blog and the other DT blogs for the rest of the winners.

I have some ATCs to share with you today which I made for the Addicted to ATCs swap. The theme for June is Sewing and Fashion and I used some papers and stamps I bought at Ally Pally to make my ATCs

I normally make 3 the same but decided to make 3 different ones this month for a change! I loved using the pink with black and sticking on bits of lace and other haberdashery bits and bobs. The theme was such a great one to have a play with :-)
I hope you have a great Tuesday!
Jane
x

Monday 28 June 2010

A Cool Cat!

First of all I would like to Thank all of you who left me messages of support yesterday regarding my 'card selling' issue. It was lovely to read all your messages and advice so I wish to thank all of you who took the time to comment from the bottom of my heart :-) I will keep you posted on any updates!
Now on to happier things and a card which will hopefully make you smile, it certainly does cheer me up when I look at this image!

This cool cat is one of the new stamps that will be released this week at Pollycraft. I have been trying to be good and use up all my scraps, this dotty paper is a leftover from a Funky Hand print out and I love the bright pinks and greens. I coloured the image with my Promarkers and added some glossy accents to the glasses. The pink card was also from my stash and I used some American Crafts thickers for the sentiment.
I hope you have a lovely Monday and enjoy the sunshine, it is so warm here today!
Jane
x

Sunday 27 June 2010

A Friday Freebie card and some dissapointing news

I didn't get around to making a card with the Pollycraft Friday Freebie last week as I was really busy! I did a little bit of stash shopping yesterday and a bit of cardmaking today so things are getting back to normal!
Paula has a gorgeous Mermaid image to share with you all this week.

I decide to create and underwater scene using K+CO papers for the Mermaid to swim around in. I coloured the image with Promarkers and added glitter and glossy accents to her tail. I added some Prima flowers for seaweed and dotted a few pearls around. The sentiment I used is Hero Arts.

I found something out yesterday that really shook me up, it's quite a long story so I will try and keep it brief. I normally take all the cards I don't use and sell them to a craft/gift shop which is my 'local'. I sell them for about £1.75 to £2.00 and the lady who runs the shop puts 50p on them before selling them. She told me yesterday they suspect one of the ladies who comes in and buys my cards is selling them on to another handmade card shop (who charge around £6.00 per card) and passing them on as her own!!! My cards have been seen there and apparently this woman has done this before. I couldn't believe it!! I was so upset and angry I stormed round to the card shop hoping to see one of my cards there with someone elses details there but they were all gone. I am going to keep an eye on this shop the next time I take a large batch of cards to sell. I was so angry and upset that someone would do this.
Has anything similar ever happened to you, if you have any advice for me, I would be really grateful for any suggestions on what I should do next :-( .
Sorry this has been a longer post than usual, hope you all had a lovely weekend
Jane
x

Saturday 26 June 2010

Make the Day Special Blog Hop

Welcome to the Make the Day Special Blog Hop! We are showcasing cards made with the stamp ranges available at Make the Day special. Each member of the DT has chosen a range to work with and I chose my favourite....My Cute Stamps! I love all the images in the little Forest Friends set in particular. The little Owl with his eyes closed is just adorable!

To make the card, I used My Mind's Eye papers which I bought from the Funky Farm Scrapbook Farm and used a simple layout as I wanted to show off the stamps and the papers. I cut a scalloped circle from Coordinations card to add my panel of sky card to and then mounted it to the card with foams pads.
I stamped the owl, branch and leaves, the little bird and the sentiment onto textured card and then coloured in and cut out the various elements. All the colouring was done with my Promarkers. I stuck the elements down with my glue gun and foam pads and then added some button accents. I didn't want to make the card too girly so it could also be given to a man.
Thanks for visiting me for the blog hop, make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win a prize and I will draw a name from all the comments on this post to win the card pictured above.
If you arrived here from Jo's blog, your next stop is Kate.
Please see the blog order below if you wish to take part in the hop from the beginning, make sure you check out the other blogs to see some stunning cards from the rest of the DT.

Make the day special

Lucia

Kim

Lesley

Jo

Jane (me!)

Kate

Cath

{ippity} Inspiration


Hope you have a great Saturday and a fabulous weekend!
Jane
x

Friday 25 June 2010

Sew Sweet!

I have a very bright and summery card to share with you today which I made using a stamp from the QKR stampede range which is available from Make the Day special. This image is 'Just Sitting' and as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to combine it with Gingham or checks.

I found this very bright backing paper in my stash with the purple card and this gave me the direction for my card colour scheme. I stamped onto smooth card and coloured the image with my Promarkers before cutting it out and mounting to a panel cut from my Nesties.
I cut the purple card to fit my card base and matted it with the checked card and sewed around the edges. I then wrapped the front with ribbon before sticking it to the base.
I added a sentiment with Prima and My Little Shoebox letter stickers and finished with some pins, a flower and buttons.
I hope you have a great Friday!
Jane
x

Thursday 24 June 2010

Football is SERIOUS!!

I do not like Football. Never have. My Husband, however, loves it and so do my kids. In fact most people around me do...I made this plaque for a work colleague who celebrated her Birthday last week. The colours are those of her country's team and I used a plaque I bought at the Car boot sale for 50p as a base for my Project.


I covered the front of the plaque with Making Memories paper and poked through the holes with my pokey tool so I could thread through some wire I had shaped around a pencil.
I sanded the edges of the paper and inked them a little.

The football buttons were some my Son bought at a craft fair when we went together ages ago and I found them under his bed when I was clearing out. The sparkly letters and the white ones are from Making memories and the larger ones are my favourite Prima ones (you will have seen these a lot lately on my Projects...)
I finished it off with a bow which I think I received a long long time ago in an RAK from Becky!
Have a truly terrific Thursday!
Jane
x

Wednesday 23 June 2010

What's on your Workdesk this Wednesday?

I can't believe it is already Wednesday! I have been so busy since the weekend I have hardly seen the days go by! It's time for me to show you my desk again and is is cluttered but so much tidier than it was an hour before this photo was taken!

There are various finished projects on my desk which have just been photographed under my very sophisiticated system of 2 sheets of 12x12 and a daylight lamp. There are a set of drawers on the desk too which I bought from the Car boot sale for 50p which are waiting to be covered, I think I caught the altering bug after making my WOYWWAC tissue box!
The basket on the left has finished cards in which are waiting to be bagged up to go to the gift shop for selling. The choccies are for my Best Friend and are part of her Birthday present. I am going to see her today :-)
I hope you enjoyed looking at my desk. If you want to see more, hop on over to Julia's, she will welcome you with open arms!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Jane
x

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Angelicat and some very exciting news!

I have some very exciting news to share! From the 1st of July I will officially be a member of the 2010 Squigglefly Design Team! I applied last year and was told that I have been selected and now I can't believe my term is soon due to begin :-)
I love the images on Squigglefly and am such a big fan of digi stamping. The selection of Designers and styles available at Squigglefly is just amazing, something for everyone and every occasion!
As a treat, before the start of our DT term, we were asked to choose 3 images to have a play with.
This is the 1st one I have chosen, Angelicat by Crissy Armstrong. I really love Cats and love making cards with them on.
I cut Angelicat out with my craft knife so I could let his wings and tail hang out of the 'box'. I framed him with a Nesties shape.


I made the card into an easel shape and used organza ribbon and layers of DCWV card which has gorgeous embossing and glitter on it. All the layers were edged with ink to give dimension. The sentiment which is by Elzybells was cut out with Nestie label shapes. I decorated the top of the card with Butterflies, buttons with stick on pearls and lots of flowers.

I coloured the image with my Promarkers using tones of Soft Green and creams. I added Tim Holtz distress glitter for the wings and the halo and a tiny bit of glossy accents for his nose.
My 1st challenge as part of the Design Team will be in July but you can definitely expect to see a few more Squigglefly cards from me before then!
Have a great Tuesday!
Jane
x

Monday 21 June 2010

An altered pen box for the Pollycraft Monday Challenge

It's Monday already and time for a new Pollycraft Blog Challenge. The Challenge theme this week is to decorate something other than a card that must include a stamped or a digi- image and lace and glitter.
This had me stumped for a few days and suddenly when I saw this pen box, inspiration struck!
I bought the pen box a couple of weeks ago at a Car boot sale for 50p.

I decorated both sides with stripey glittery My Mind's Eye paper and added a strip of lace. I stuck the paper on with double sided tape and sanded the edges for a neat finish. I also added a drop of glossy accents to the ends of the lace after I had stuck it on with narrow tape to stop it from fraying.


I covered the lid with the same papers, also sanding the edges and adding a strip of lace. The letters I used are beautiful glittery ones from American Crafts.

I used a super cute Kiki Fairy image and coloured her with Promarkers adding glossy accents to the flower on her head and glitter to her wings, wand and star.
As a finishing touch I added some flowers and buttons threaded with ribbon.
I hope you will be able to join us for this Challenge for the chance to win
It's a great prize, the kits are just scrummy!

tcc blog

Make sure you check out the rest of the DT's amazing creations for some inspiration.
Have a lovely Monday!
Jane
x

Sunday 20 June 2010

Happy Father's Day!!

This is the card I made for the boys to give to Hubby for Father's Day. I used the fabulous Ronnie charity digi which is available from Pollycraft. I love him so much and I have used him so many times on Men's cards already.


I used Bazzil card, Making Memories and Papermania paper and the letters are from Prima. I edged all the layers with ink and added the squares to the backing paper with foam pads. I cut the image out with my Nesties, I just love that Pinking circle!

I used the Passion for Promarkers sketch and of course coloured Ronnie with my Promarkers!

PFP challenge 56 - sketch

I hope you have a lovely day today for Father's Day!
Jane
x

Friday 18 June 2010

Delightful Daisy!

I recently discovered Squiggles stamps and I have fallen totally head over heels for Daisy! She is just adorable and she is wearing the cutest little dress and boots while flying her balloon.

I added her to this card which I made for June's Squiggles and Giggles blog challenge. The theme is 'Birthday best' and as Daisy is wearing her best Birthday dress, I thought she would be perfect! Daisy looked to me that she like she would be at home in a lovely sunny grassy green field to fly her balloon so I created a scene for her using Pink Paislee papers.
I coloured Daisy with Promarkers and cut her out very carefully leaving a very narrow border. I added glossy accents to her balloon and gave her lovely shiny green wellies too. I stitched around all the elements of the scene adding a spotty ribbon to draw attention to the stamped Hero Arts sentiment.
As a finishing touch, I added a couple of flowers and some coordinating gems.
I hope you have a lovely Saturday!
Jane
x

Pollycraft Friday Freebie Flo

It's Friday!! Paula has a lovely Friday Freebie for you this week. Please meet cute little Flo!

I used some of my scraps to make this card, the backing paper is from Crate Paper, I love it and I have another sheet of it I can't bring myself to cut into yet! I have treasured every scrap :-)


The ribbon is from my stash and the flowers are from John Lewis. The little gems are very old and are from Papermania. The sentiment is Hero Arts and I cut it out with a Nesties label shape.
Make sure you pop over to the Tales from Pollycraft Blog to pick up your own little Flo, the DT have made some lovely cards to inspire you all too.
I hope you have a lovely Friday and a good weekend. I have some crafting lined up and some deadlines to meet!

Life's Adventures...

I have a card to share with you today made using a stamp from the Adventures in Happiness stamp available from Make the Day special. I love the sentiments in this set and a lot of them are great for Men's cards


To make this card, I cut some gridded paper to the size of my card base, I stamped the sentiment in the bottom corner and then sewed around the edges. I then fixed it to the card base. I cut a square of black card and added a square cut from an old map over the top at an angle. To finish, I added 2 American crafts chipboard shapes, a Doodlebug embellishment and a couple of gems.
Jane
x

Thursday 17 June 2010

A mini monster card

A quick ost today to share the card some of you saw a sneak peek of on my desk yesterday. I needed a little card to put in with a letter to a Friend and I wanted something to make them smile so the Cogs and Critters from Pollycraft were ideal.

I printed Fluffy on to linen card and coloured him in with Promarkers. I cut him out with a Nesties shape, inked the edges, punched a Stampin up tab shape, stamped it with an Elzybells sentiment, inked the edges and then added it to the image.
I covered the base card with yellow textured card and then added a panel of K+Co paper from the Actopus to Zelephant pad.
As a finishing touch, I added a tiny button and some glossy accents.
Thanks to all of you who visited my blog and left comments yesterday.
Have a lovely Thursday!
Jane
x

Wednesday 16 June 2010

What's on your Workdesk Wednesday???

It's Wednesday already so time for a bit of Workdesk sharing. After my serene organisation from last week, I have a bit of mess to share with you today. This was the desk as it looked at bedtime last night. I made a gift which I cannot reveal yet and a mini card last night. The mini card is on my desk and I will be posting it tomorrow.

There are lots of things in my desk this week. The scraps system is working well and I have made quite a few cards since it's introduction using just scraps. There is a pile of new buttons on my desk I got at a bargain price from Hobbycraft last week. I love American crafts and Making memories and there were lots of bargains at Hobbycraft last week from those ranges. I couldn't resist treating myself!
I will try and come to visit more desks this week, I was so busy last week I didn't get round to many of you!
Thanks for all the lovely comments you left last week!
I hope you enjoyed rummaging through my mess, if you want to see more desks, please pop over to Julia's blog for more WOYWW fun.
I hope you have a lovely Wednesday.
Jane
x

Tuesday 15 June 2010

No1 bear

I have another Men's card to share with you today, the colours of the Doodlebug papers I used for yesterday's card really inspired me so I decided to make another card with them. For this card I used the 'No1 bear' digi stamp available here from Di's Digi downloads.

I printed the image onto textured cardstock and coloured it with Promarkers before cutting it out. I added glossy accents to the centre of the rosette and the bear's nose. The layout is vey simple and I used up some of the scraps left from my previous card. The letters I used are by Papermania as is the button and the pearl is by Prima. I have really enjoyed using these Doodlebug papers and I have lots left so expect to see more of this colour combo soon!
Have a lovely Tuesday!
Jane
x

Monday 14 June 2010

A card for Dad

I made this card last night using a pack of Doodlebug papers I picked up in TKMaxx on Sunday.
I used an A6 card for a change and it was quite fun to work with a different shape of card for a change.
The letters I used are from Prima and the button was from my stash.

I used the special Ronnie digi which was designed by Paula to help Emma raise funds in memory of her Dad. He is perfect for Father's Day cards and all those hard to make Men's cards.
"Ronnie'' is available to buy for only £1.50 directly from Emma and also from the Pollycraft shop. ALL proceeds from the sales will go to the YAA.
I hope you had a lovely weekend and have a lovely Monday.
Jane
x

Sunday 13 June 2010

For a special Dad

A quick post to share another Men's card made with the adorable Cogs and Critters fron Pollycraft. I still adore these images and they are perfect for those hard to make cards for boys and Men.

I printed the image onto ribbed card as an experiment...not as good as the linen for blending with Promarkers but it was well worth a try!
The papers I used are from Making memories and the lime green is Bobunny Double dot. I cut the circle the little robot is sitting on from my new Pinking circles Nestabilities and the little spanner charm was a lucky find from the pound shop. The letters are from American Crafts.
I hope you have a lovely Sunday, rumour is we are going to see some sunshine...let's hope so!
Jane
x

Saturday 12 June 2010

A present from Kitty

I have the cutest little Kitty card to share with you today. I used the 'Present from Kitty' image which is available here from Di's Digi Downloads. Di has such a talent for creating cute little Characters and I absolutely adore this little cat.

I used bits and pieces from my scaps box (my halo is shining!) to make this card so I am not too sure who the patterned papers is from. I coloured the image with Promarkers and then followed a very simple layout to put the card together.
I layered the image on 2 lots of Nestie shapes to create an interesting frame for it. The ribbon is from my stash as are the flowers and gems and the sentiment is by Hero Arts.
I hope you have a lovely Saturday!
Jane
x

Friday 11 June 2010

Pollycraft Friday Freebie - Beer Monster

It's Friday already (yay!!) and Paula has a wonderful freebie for you all to have a play with this week on the Pollycraft blog. I fancied a change from all the square cards so made a DL card instead. The plan was to make a shaped card but the beer glass would just not stand up!


I traced around a Guiness glass postcard to get the shape for the glass. The backing papers are from the Papermania It's a Man's world pad. I coloured the Beer Monster with Promarkers and cut him out. I added glossy accents to the glass and his eyes. I added an Elzybells button as a finishing touch.
Love the little monster, he is just so cute!
Have a great Friday, so pleased it is nearly the weekend!
Jane
x

Little sweeties!

I have another card to share with you today using one of the 'My Cute Stamp' sets available at Make the Day special. This card was made using the adorable 'Sweet Kawai' set.

To make the card, I stamped the sweetie image four times and cut it out with my Nesties. I cut a scalloped square to frame the images. I coloured the images with Promarkers and covered them with glossy accents.
I cut a piece of green card to fit my card base and a slightly smaller piece of My Mind's Eye stripey paper.
I matted them together and sewed around the edges with my machine. I stampe the sentiment and cut it out with a Nesties label which I matted on to another cut from green card. This was placed in the middle of the card with the images spaced evenly around it.
I love these cute little sweeties! Good enough to eat!
Have a lovely Friday!
Jane
x

Thursday 10 June 2010

A brave night

I have another Pollycraft card to share with you today using one of the new Cuthbert and Kiki images which were released on Monday. I made a very simple card which could be used for Father's Day or a Birthday.

The papers I used are by K+CO. The image was coloured with Promarkers, I love this combination of brown with green! The button is from American crafts and the string was a pressie from my friend Petra.
The letters are from Prima, I really love this range of letters, they are my favourite at the moment.
Thanks so all of you who left comments on my WOYWW post yesterday, I will try and get round and visit more desks over the coming week.
Have a lovely Thursday!
Jane
x

Wednesday 9 June 2010

WOYWW - Serene organisation

I have been decluttering...a lot...I spent a lot of time over the past few days sorting through my stash and I was ruthless in getting rid of what I will not use. I still have masses of stash left but now I can actually see what I have which helps a lot before starting a Project!

My shelves over my desk have never been this organised, at the weekend, I bought the little clear plastic drawers to the left of my shelf for £1.00 at a car boot sale. Most of my Promarkers are in there now with little dots on the caps so I can see the colours more easily. My buttons, ribbons, bling, rosebud flowers are also on these shelves, the basket is full of tapes and foam pads.

The tubs on the hanging rail are still messy, not had time to sort them out yet! The letter rack on the desk was another bargain for £1.00 from the car boot sale, it holds my scraps and most used glues, scissors and other tools.
These shelves are over the TV next to my desk. My cuttlebug lives here with dies, the drawers have rubber stamps in and other little embellishments. Above are my papers and lots more ribbons.
I hope you have enjoyed this little tour of my craft space. If you want to see more, please pop over to Julia's, you could even show us your workspace, it would be a good week to start as What's on your Workdesk Wednesday was one year old last week so this is the start of a brand new year of desk sharing!
Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Jane
x

Tuesday 8 June 2010

A card for my Brother

Just a quick post to share this card I made for my Brother who is celebrating his birthday this week.
I followed the lovely sketch from CPS as it was nice and simple and I needed to make the card in quite a hurry...

I used a Martha Stewart punch for the loops and the papers are from DCWV, the Citrus Stack...I think...

The cute little robot is a digi stamp which is available from Pollycraft. I coloured him in with Promarkers.
Once I had matted and layered everything, I sewed round the edges of each layer with my machine.
I had a busy day yesterday rearranging all my stash with some cheap storage solutions I bought over the weekend...all will be revealed tomorrow in WOYWW!
Jane
x

Monday 7 June 2010

Pollycraft Monday Challenge - Ribbons and Bling

It's for a new Pollycraft Monday Challenge! For Challenge #47, Kylie wants to see Ribbons and Bling. AS you know, Ribbons and Bling are some of my favourite things so I loved this Challenge.
I used the adorable image of Kiki with Cupcakes to make my card and gave the top cupcake a bling cherry!


The papers are from the DCWV Sweet stack and the ribbon is by Making Memories. I used a very simple layout on the card and decided not to add a sentiment.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and it was printed on to my favourite textured card. As a finishing touch I added lots of bling around the image and on the patterned paper panel.
Make sure you check out the blog for the rest of the DT's cards and I hope you will be able to join us for the chance of winning a £10.00 Pollycraft voucher.


I hope you have a great Monday, I have the day off today so I hope to be able to get some crafting done :-)
Jane
x

Sunday 6 June 2010

A 'super' card for Moving Along with the times Challenge #49

I have a card to share with you today which I made using a super cute free little mouse digi download from Whiff of joy stamps. I followed a sketch from Moving along with times and all the papers are from the DCWV Boys stack. I love these papers!

In order to define the layers , I inked the edges of each piece of card. The little letter stickers are from My little Shoebox.


I coloured my image with Promarkers and then cut him out before adding him to the card with foam pads.
I added stars instead of the flowers on the sketch as they fit in better with my scheme. The net ribbon was a gift from my friend Petra and I thought it looked perfect on this card.

Please click on the image above to get your own copy of this cute digi. Below is the lovely MAWTT sketch I followed for the card.

I hope you have a lovely Sunday!
Jane
x