New Beginnings!

This time of year always seems like the 'end' of things. The end of the school term, the end of the school year, the end of work for a while. And this year - a lady who I have known and worked with in different capacities for 10 years, has decided to 'end' her career and retire. 

But maybe I should all look on all this as the beginning of new things - and not the end. The beginning of the holidays - the start of working with a new group of children - and the start of a whole new phase in this lovely lady's life.

I was invited to her 'leaving do' - and the number of people there - and the lovely things that were said about her in various speeches - paid testament to what a wonderful teacher and leader she has been throughout her career.

I decided to make her a little card and gift as my way of saying thank you for the support she has given me. 

For the base card I folded an A4 piece of Crafter's Companion Kraft card in half, then cut it down to make a square card. The topper is from Kanban's Well Wishes and Celebrations collection - with the paper being from the co-ordinating paper pad. Everything is matted and layered with more Kraft card. I embossed one of the layers with Spellbinders Grand Dainty Dots folder. 

For the tag, I printed the message onto more Kraft card, then cut a tag shape around it. This was mounted on more of the paper and card. I used the paper to make the flower - with Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms, and the leaves are from the same set. I finished off by inking the edges with Vintage Photo DI, and a little twine.

I found the quote for the frame on-line, and printed it onto Kraft card. I used the same paper to matt and layer, and make the flowers. The shop-bought box frame was made to look a little more vintage, by sanding down the edges.

Tuesday Throwdown - Handmade flowers

Craft My Life - All Crafts Challenge - Frame

Take care - and will be back soon.

Cxxx

Pretty Poppies!!

Hope you're all well! I have had a great weekend - made even better knowing that I don't have to go to work tomorrow! Yesterday, being Saturday, was parkrun. We ventured away from home to show our support to my eldest stepson on his 50th parkrun!! He did really brilliantly with a new PB - on the back of a fantastic performance last weekend at the British 10K in London - coming home in the 46th fastest time out of a field of 25,000 runners!! Not bad!!! 

As it was a different parkrun to usual, I did manage to record a PB for that course - but still a couple of minutes slower than my usual PB. Will wait until the Autumn, with the cooler weather, to attempt a new PB!!

This week was the last week of term for me - with lots going on. That, coupled with a lot of crafting commitments, has been the main reason for the slow down in blogging. Will be full on for the next two or three weeks - but will try to pop on now and again to share some of what I've been up to.

Today's share is actually a set I made for a friend's birthday a while ago. It consists of a 'mug mat', a card and a framed picture/quote.

The gorgeous poppy image came from Graphicals on Etsy - a beautiful site with some lovely vintage images for sale. 

For the mug mat, I printed the image onto printable cotton fabric, then patch-worked it with some fabric from my stash. It's backed with plain red cotton, with a little bit of wadding in between.

The card is 6x6, with the image printed onto Elegance satin card, cut with a Spellbinders circle die. I used matt black card for the scalloped circle, and for the border which was cut with Spellbinders Edgeabilities - Triple Scallop and one of the inserts. The red is Centura Pearl, and the lime green is Bazzill Bling. The gorgeously bold paper is from Craftwork Cards Monochrome collection. I finished it will a few red pearls.

Into a shop-bought frame, I layered more of the green, black and red cards, with more of the monochrome paper. I printed the image with the quote onto Elegance satin card.

I would like to enter

Card:

Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes

Take care,

Cxxx

A quick Cupcake post!!

Been a while since I've had time to blog - so thought I would take advantage of a quiet moment with a quick post to share another leaving card.

This is another 8x8 card - made with the Hunkydory 'A Touch of Style' set. This one is called 'Birthday Treat' - I love these cupcakes!

I used some silvery grey Bazzill, with some Create & Crafty pink and peach texture effect card. I cut some plain and scalloped circles with my Spellbinders Nesties - and the letters with my XCut Roma alphabet die set.

The scalloped edge was cut with an old border die - think it is XCut - but not 100% sure - and I used two colours of ribbon to echo the peach and pink - with some little pink gems to embellish.

Last working day of the school year for me tomorrow!! And then it's a case of getting my head down to complete quite a few projects before end of the month. Hopefully will surface now and then to post.

Take care,

Cxxx

Sad Times

It has been one of those days today. Things going not quite how I expected them (although not necessarily in a bad way) - and lots to ponder on. On top of that, my husband had to attend the funeral of his cousin who recently lost her fight to cancer. I had to work, so was unable to accompany him. But it makes taking part in events such as Race for Life even more personal and meaningful. 

I find sympathy cards very difficult to make - especially when I know the recipients well. I try to keep if simple and unfussy - as it just seems more appropriate. This topper was from Kanban's Well Wishes and Celebration set. It's a light purple colour - and the other toppers in the selection were a combination of this purple and a beige colour. For whatever reason, it gave me the idea to use very dark chocolate brown card instead of black.

The square base card was cut down from an A4 sheet. I then used some purple and more chocolate brown to mat and layer. The large brown layer was embossed with Spellbinders Grand Dainty Dots embossing folder to add a little texture. I finished off with some ribbon and pearls from my stash.

Not much else to say really. 

Cxxx 

Purple and Pink!!

Have had a few lazy days recently - catching up with friends and family,  and doing jobs around the house. But, having been back at work this morning, thought I would take time to sit down and blog before I start crafting.

Today's card was a commissioned card. I was asked for a leaving card with a purple and pink theme.

This Hunkydory topper and card was the perfect thing - 'Handbag Heaven' from the 'A Touch of Style' collection. 

I started with an 8x8 card blank, and used pink and purple Bazzill cardstock for the mats and layers, along with some white pearlescent card. The bottom layer of white was embossed with Crafter's Companion Embossalicious 8x8 Chantilly corner embossing folder. 

The lettering was cut in three different colours - purple, pink and white - using Crafter's Companion Die'licious 1" Alphabet dies (upper and lower case sets). A little ribbon and some pearls from my stash, completed the card.

Back soon,

Cxx

Crafter's Companion - July Challenge - Show Off Your Sentiments

A very good afternoon to you!! Hope you are enjoying as much sunshine as we have had so far today - it's been beautiful - even though I have been indoors for most of it. Been a busy one - and doesn't look like slowing down anytime soon!! Think I'm busy now for the rest of the month!!! Mustn't complain as it's mostly crafty stuff - and that's got to be good. And talking of good, after the two successes mentioned in my last post, I have another one to tell you about. I was chosen as a top 3 Inspirational at Red Rubber Inspirationals blog - this was for my birdhouse card again!! And my lovely new badge is over there on the right!! 

Anyway - Crafter's Companion have launched their new challenge for July. It's called - Show Off Your Sentiments - so you need to feature a CC sentiment prominently on your project!!

Here is my contribution to this month's inspiration. It's a joy fold card, and I have used a sentiment from Sheena Douglass' A Little Bit Sketchy - King for a Day set - The man who has no imagination, has no wings'.

I used the Die'sire Create a Card - Enchanted - die to cut and emboss the teal mat, layering it over orange card. The sentiment is on Neenah Solar White, and backed with grey and Centura Pearl Snow White - Hint of Silver. The left hand panel is more of the orange and teal, with the Centura Pearl embossed with Embossalicious A4 Ornate Butterflies. 

The colour combination seems a little unusual, and that's because I wanted to include one of the images from the stamp set as well - on the inside. The kingfisher (from the King for a Day set) was just calling out for me to attempt to colour it - and I decided to give the Spectrum Noir Pen/Pencil combo a try for the first time.

So this first image is coloured just with pens: CR1,2,3, FS9, OR1,2,3, BT1,2,4,5,6,9, TB1,2,3  and the second has the pencils on the top: 118, 120, 1, 112, 92, 91, 84, 69, 74, 53, 54, 55, 62, 65.

The difference doesn't show up too well in the photos - but I was quite pleased with how vibrant the colours appeared after applying the pencils. Lots more practice needed - but not a bad first attempt.

This is the inside of the card. The Centura pearl on the left and middle panels has been embossed with Embossalicious A4 Dottie folder, and the panel on right with the 6x6 Floral Frenzy folder. The sentiment on the right is from Sheena Douglass - Free as a Bird - set. I used the Die'licious 1" Alphabet Dies for the IMAGINE - and used my computer for the '... and be as .... '   To finish off I used ribbons and buttons from my stash.

Now it's over to you to 'Show Off Your Sentiments' - looking forward to seeing what you come up with. Click on the picture at the top of the page to go to the FB to add your project! 

Cxxx

30 years together!!

Good morning - not so bright and sunny today. But at least that makes me feel less guilty about staying in and crafting. Having a slow start to the morning - but have more commissions to work on - and a birthday present for a friend, so once I've blogged I shall have to get on with it. Such a chore!!!

Today's card was a commission from a friend's husband to give to his wife for their 30th wedding anniversary. He just gave me a copy of one of their wedding photos and left the rest to me. (I have obscured their faces on the photo for their privacy - just in case you're wondering what the blobs are!!) 

Because the flowers were peach, I wanted to use that along with pearlescent white card. I decided to go for an A5 tent fold card, made using Centura Snow White Pearl. I layered some matt white card onto this, then another piece of pearl embossed with Spellbinders Grand Dainty Dots. Along the bottom half of the card, I used some orangey peach Bazzill card - with just a little bit showing above a die cut pearl border (X Cut Rose Border die).

The paper at the bottom is from a lovely site on Etsy called Valeriane Digital. This is from a pack called Wedding Peach which has 12 gorgeous papers. 

The photo is mounted onto the Bazzill card, matt white, and a Spellbinders Decorative Label 1 cut from Centura Pearl. The flowers are made from the digi paper using Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms die, and the leaves are Centura pearl - cut with dies from the same set. The numbers are cut using CC 1" Numbers set, and I finished off with a pearly heart, peach coloured pearls, and some ribbon.

I used similar elements on the lid of the box - but left off the photo, and placed the flowers and numbers onto the square. 

On the inside of the box I used more of the papers and card, and a smaller decorative label 1. 

I would like to enter this into:
Crafty Calendar Challenges - Petals and Pearls

Hiding in My Craft Room - Weddings

Cxxxx