Quick post

Good morning all,
A very quick post as I have a very busy day ahead of me.  My son comes home from University today!!  Being that Anthony is my youngest and the last one at home,  when he is away at Uni the house becomes very quiet indeed (except when the grandson is with us).   He is quite a quiet lad and keeps himself to himself alot, working on his pc in his room alot of the time. However, I still miss him around the house.  I walk past his door and go to look in on him or I suddenly remember and feel a little tug in my tummy.  Oh us mums are daft things at times aren't we.
Ok, now on to todays card.  I'm sorry I wasn't able to do my 'something different' card,  I haven't had the time.  I made alot of the items on the card myself.  Something, as you probably know by now, I like to do alot.
First was the flower, I bought a bag of Petals from the NEC approx 3years ago as they were selling them off rather inexpensively and I thought they would come in handy.  Well I started with a circle of card and my Incredibly Tacky glue and just layered the petals in circles until I had filled to the center.  I trimmed it back a little until I was happy with the shape and then fixed my pretty center and left it overnight to dry.

I found a use for the layered border die pieces that I created the other day. and I think it looks very effective here.   Also I used the waste pieces from cutting the borders and added them top and bottom for added effect.

I decorated the inside quite simply, using just a matching embossed card with a waste border piece again.  The flower is made from a layer of white card and a layer of matt silver.  You will never guess what I used for the lower flower.  It is not mirri board or foil,,,,..................  it is the thick, foil lined pockets that my Fentanyl patches come in (how about that for recycling!!!!!)  It cuts and embosses beautifully and unlike mirri card it is not quite so shiny and therefore I am more inclined to use it as I am not a great lover of mirri card unless in very small doses.

The center of this flower is really effective, don't you think.  I created this by squeezing a 10p sized ball of Creative Expressions PVA in silver onto my craft mat and then I shook over some silver Decoballs (similar to Microbeads and Beadazzles). I let it dry overnight and then attached it to my card with the Incredibly Tacky glue.  To save waiting time for future projects, I made up a couple of these, some in different colours too.

 

The center to this flower was created using a method that the lovely Jenny used on her fabulous card too.  PVA glue with seed beads.  I used Pearl PVA with irridescent seed beads and a sprinkling of Creative Expressions Aurora glitter, just a tad more sparkle.





This is more 'over the top' for me, but I do like to ring the changes and after making that lovely big flower, I just got carried away.
Well thats it for today, I'm sorry its so short but I am shattered and need to sleep.  I just hope I haven't made any bad errors with my grammar or spelling....LOL!. 
Thank you for stopping by, I will do my best to visit everyones blogs this evening and see what lovely creations you have to share.  Take care and have a fab day.
Regards Linda xx

Vintage Christmas

Hello,
I don't know about you, but I am so pleased to see the weekend approaching as I have had little time to do crafting with having the grandson everyday and being poorly too.  Also, on Saturday, we go to collect my youngest son from University.  It seems an age since he was home last!
 
When I was packing up the papers for the Candy draw last week I fell in love with a couple of the Shabby papers and so left some on my desk for a card.  Well, at last I have made a card with them and I am rather pleased.  I wasn't sure at first what I wanted to create as the papers were simply roses. Then suddenly the card was designing itself, so to speak.

 
I played around with round dies and rectangles, filigree Motifs etc, but in the end I settled for a square.  Yes, the Fleur de Lis square.  I noticed as I was playing that if you offset two of the squares they form a beautiful Motif of their own and it resembles a snowflake.  Well that was when the card almost made itself.  With the snowflake in hand, the rest just fitted together quite easily. 
I don't know if you noticed but I have used some of the lace I showed on the blog the other day, isn't it lovely; being ivory it fits the vintage look perfectly. I threaded some fine organza ribbon and burlap string through the top holes to add a little extra colour and for texture I added some gold and berry red PVA pearls on the centerpiece and to the outer corners. 

I have kept the card quite bare of embellishments as I thought the paper had so much in it already that it didn't warrant over dressing.  I have, however, omitted one thing that I didn't mean to and that was the greeting.   I was going to stamp a small 'Seasons Greetings' at the top, directly onto the patterned paper (not sure how I forgot to do it!)
As the base card I used was a little thinner than usual I decided to decorate the inside also to give it some strength and stability.

I used more of the same papers and a pretty little Christmas Bells stamp with a greeting.  Again I have left it fairly simple in keeping with the vintage theme.

Finally, the card from the side.  I am really happy with how this one turned out, I do hope you like it too, but be honest please,  I know we all have different tastes.
That's it for another day.  I have a lovely floral card to show you tomorrow using layered Parisian borders.  It's something a bit different for me again.  I am really enjoying pushing my bounderies at the moment.  I am trying hard to play more and not just stick to layering diecuts.  I do adore my Spellbinders and will continue to use them, but now I like to mix them with lots of other things too. 
Before I go, I want to say a big thank you for the input regarding the Diecut Swap Shop.  We must all keep thinking on that subject and then, hopefully we can make a decision sometime next week.
Have a wonderful Friday.  Regards Linda xx

Swap shop

It's me again, 
If you are looking for todays card please scroll down.
Sue P. I have left a comment for you below, I hope its helpful.
Ok, I am back to talk to you about a sort of swap shop.
A few of you have mentioned to me in emails and comments about providing a place to swap diecuts.   Basicially we cannot all afford to buy all the dies on the market, it is impossible.  The chances are we all have at least some dies that probably others don't have and this gave me and a few of you the idea of offering to cut some for others.  Personally I think this is a fabulous idea and could provide a friendly service between blog friends.
Now my question to you is this, how do YOU think we could do it.  I am willing to take emails from everyone interested, providing me with their die lists and these I will then post on the blog for everyone to access.  I could create a Tab at the top of the blog so that anyone wanting dies can get to the lists easily.
We have three ideas at the moment, maybe you can come up with more and we will discuss it further when I have read all your comments.
The first was that everyone willing to be part of this could send me a list of Dies Available and Diecuts Wanted.  This would provide a proper Swap.
The second idea was a Charity one.  Each person that receives diecuts without a swap taking place, could make a small Charitable donation.
Finally, the third idea is that the recipient sends new stamps back to the provider for the equivilant of the postal costs incurred.
I personally think we could adopt the first and last ideas and make a go of it, but I really need and would love to have your imput. Don't worry if you cannot think of something today, take time to consider it and come back and post a comment anytime this week.  I will not do anything until after the weekend probably and I will discuss the thoughts with you all again before we proceed anyway; if we proceed at all (though I sure hope we do!)

I hope you do like the idea.  Between us I think we can provide a very valuable service. 
Thanks for listening.   Take care  Linda xx

More filigree work

Good morning my dear blog friends
Well the morning has started off dry so I am keeping everything crossed that it stays that way.  Mind you it was dry yesterday, it just got a bit windy; so much so infact it blew our ladder down from beside the tree and smashed the corner of the water bucket clean off.  I didn't think the wind was that strong at all but I think I was too busy beforehand to hear it (busy having forty winks with my grandson!! lol).
I hope this dry and seemingly pleasant day finds you all in good spirits and hopefully good health too.
I am still coughing myself, but feeling alot brighter today and ready to get going again I think.  I hate being poorly; I get cross with myself for not being able to do what I want to or for feeling more tired than usual. Thank goodness I don't get ill like this very often.  I haven't seen a doctor for anything like this in over 3years, so I cannot complain. 
Anyway to todays card.   I have been playing with the border dies again and this time I have created two smaller pyramid shapes.  I was so pleased with how they turned out I had to make a card immediately.   So what do you think, worth the effort or not?

I think you will agree, the border dies really do build up to make some lovely filigree shapes.  I am really pleased with the outcome of my time spent playing.  I have a few different ways of using the border dies now and I still have other dies to try it with.  Hopefully I can find more and more uses besides the normal snipping and layering.  I am determined to make my dies worth their money; and more.

The lace I have used here is an inexpensive but very pretty lace made by Dovecraft that I found on Ebay.  I had a whole 10metres for under just £5 and that included the P&P (shipping).  I received this the day after receiving the first bundle of lace that I put up for Candy, so now I have a few different selections to play with.  I love this one because it comes with eyelets so you can thread ribbon or trim through it for added effect.  They do make it this particular lace with coloured edges but I, personally, prefer one colour lace only (I tend to buy only white, ivory and black, I can always add colour if I need to with spritzers or inks etc).
If anyone is interested in the places that I found the cheapest for lace, here are some links to help you.  They are Buy It Now items as I never bid for items like this.
I am sorry to say but the beautiful lace I showed in the picture for the Commenters Candy, has sold out at the moment in the Buy It Now section. They only have one bundle left but it is being auctioned, if you're still interested however, take a look HERE )

Laces Galore Ebay Shop (This is the shop link)
Dovecraft 35mm Eyelet Lace  (£3.80 for 10metres)
Beautiful 2" cotton lace  (£2.25 for 5metres)
Soft 1.75" Nottingham lace (£1.99 for 5metres)
Raggy Doll Ebay Seller  (This link takes you straight to the seller full listings)
42mm Flat Lace   (£1.35 for 3metres)
32mmWhite or 38mm Ivory Flat Lace (£1.25 for 3metres)
(All prices are without Postage/shipping)

Finally the place I found the large flatbacked pearls.  They have two colours and both have the option for you to choose up to 14mm in size.  I have both colours and 4sizes and I think they are lovely.
Ivory Flatback Pearls
White Flatback Pearls
 (A tip for anyone new to using Ebay, if you purchase several items from one Ebay seller/shop they will recalculate the postage and so reduce the cost.  I ordered 4items all marked as £1.20each P&P, when I contacted them for a price they only charged me approx £2 total P&P.  So don't worry if you see lots of individual P&P costs, they only apply if you buy different items from different sellers.)

Well thats it for now but before I go I would like to ask a favour; please if you can, would you pop back later after 4pm as I have a post that I think will be of great interest to you. 
Right then, I am off for a rest now, so I will speak to you all later, if you can make it.
Have a lovely day.  (The sun is beautiful here in South Wales at the moment!)
Linda x

My Recipe
Teal card - The Papermill Direct online
Black Kanban card - Create & Craft
Ice White Centura Pearl A3 card - Create & Craft
Designer paper - Hot off the Press
Dies - Spellbinders Parisian Motifs
           Spellbinders Vintage Lace Accents Border (to make filigree pieces)
Pearly Button - The Hobby House online store
Flatback Pearls and Eyelet Lace - See above links
Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Bundled sage and Tumbled glass (mixed to make Teal)
Sentiment - Creative Expressions Sentiment Plate at  Sam Pooles Creative Studios

Cake Box Link

Hi all,
I am thrilled you enjoyed seeing the lovely creations from some of our lovely followers.  It really is beginning to look like a blog to share and I love it.  Thank you all so much.
In this fabulous  'sharing' way again, Jenny has been kind enough to send me the link to the website that sells the Cake ornament/box.  It is called the Celebration Cake and is supplied in kit form.  The pack contains 3full kits which are blanks, not templates. Basically its flat packed crafting.......LOL!!


So you don't need any A3 card or fancy skill with a craft knife, everything is done for you.  All you need to do is stamp, sticker or ink to your hearts content.   They also offer similar kits with Cot, Wedding Cake, Flower Baskets and Large Vase.  Worth a look even if you don't need anything like it now, you may know someone who will in the future.


The link is:- Scary Marys Cards



 I hope you are all well and enjoying a wonderful day.  It's been dry here; a bit cloudy, but at least it hasn't rained. 
See you soon.  Hugs Linda x

Showcase

Morning all,
I have been totally blown away by the wonderful words of encouragement that you have all left for me in your comments.  Your gratitude and thoughtful words mean so much to me and reassure me that I am creating something worthwhile in my blog.  Thank you all so very much.
I am sorry to say but I have been unable to make a card for you today, still haven't been up to it.  However, it actually allows me time to Showcase some work by two lovely followers and also a picture of my latest creations using the border dies (hope I am not boring you with my playing).

So without further ado, here we go..............
A small collection  of cards by Jenny L.

 

This following picture is the box for the above Handbag card

Aren't they just amazing.  A real collection of beautiful, creative designs and shapes.  Thanks for sharing with us again Jenny.  I don't like to choose favourites when people show me their work,  but I am so drawn to the mint butterfly card. The flowers, again, are stunning and the overall design is perfect.
Last from Jenny, we have two pictures of some astounding jewellery, all handmade by Jenny's crafty sister.  Wow, talent really runs in the family, these are wonderfully delicate and so intricate. Please pass on our thanks to your sister Jenny.

Last, but definitely not least, I have a card to show you from Christine Hussey

 This is beautiful Christine, everything about it is gorgeous and the layout is perfect.  That is a beautiful swirl diecut you have used.  As I said to Jenny, thank you so much for sharing your creation with us.  It is lovely to see your craftsmanship.

Ok guys that's almost it.  The only thing I would like to show you now is something I managed to complete the other day before I became too poorly.  New shapes with the border dies!
I have, as yet, only managed to do this effect with Parisian Accents and Vintage Lace Accents border dies.

Playing around with the dies like this has really opened my eyes to their versatility.  Even though I always look for new ways to use my dies, I will be looking even harder from now on.   These are so pretty, I can't wait to find the right card to use them on.  So keep your eyes open you may be seeing them pretty soon.
Bye for now.  Linda xx

Monday Quotation

 I had so much to do earlier with the Commenters draw and the BIG 100 followers Candy that I wasn't able to do my quote, so here it is. 
I found this beautiful and thought provoking quote on the blog of a lovely lady by the name of Megan. She has an inspiring blog full of freebies that she designs using freebies from around the web.  It is really worth a visit if you have time. Click  Here  if you would like to go straight there.

Whoever you are, be noble;
Whatever you do, do well.
Whenever you speak, speak kindly;
Give joy wherever you dwell.

The Second Ontario Reader, 1923

Isn't this a good life philosophy.  How sweet life would be if we all lived by these simple things.

Bye for now.  Be happy.  Linda xx 

Candy for the BIG 100

Well here we are at another Monday and I can't for the life of me work out where the week went again.  Ah well no point in worrying about it.  I do hope today finds you all doing ok and in fairly good health.  I am just glad we haven't gotten together or I would be blaimed for the few people with sore throats (it wasn't me...LOL).  Those of you who are suffering, I do hope you get better soon.  I won't lie, mine is still here and driving me bananas as I am now coughing all the time and my chest is starting to complain.
Right then, without further ado and chattering from me (that would be a first!!) lets get on with the show.  I put all the names into a hat and.........

 

 my thank you Surprise Package of Ribbon and Lace goes to ......................

CHRISTINE HARROP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Christine and thank you for your lovely comments over the past week.

Please email me with your address and I will get your package off to you asap.

May I take this opportunity to say Thank You to everyone that takes the time to leave me comments.  I wish I could afford to send you all something.  But who knows; I am sure, over time, I will get something to alot of you!

Now onto the two Candy prizes for the BIG 100 draw.   I hope you will excuse my photographs, I am no window dresser and really struggled to make them look pretty.  I was so tempted to just drop them from a height and see how they landed and then take the picture..... but I thought better of it as knowing my luck the embellishments would have been scattered from here to the dogs bed,.... and I did not want to have to fight to get them back!!!!  (My little yorkie loves to try anything.  She is such a greedy little monkey..ha ha!)

The Stamping and Colouring Prize consists of:

Perfect Medium Ink Pad

Dusty Concord Distress Ink Pad

6 Vivid Promarkers (inc one skin tone)

Sheet of Cut n Dry Foam

Special Touch of Magic Mask

6Sheets Watercolour paper (heavyweight)

12 Sheets Promarker paper

A5 Sheet of Anna Griffin Floral and Border stamps

Kanban Background and Lace Border stamps

The Embellishments Prize consists of:

7 of my Decorative Stick Pins

11 x 2.5meters (min) Organza & Satin Ribbon

Small, medium & large Prima paper flowers

Lilac & Blue ribbon flowers

Solid Brass Christmas Tree & Holly charms

Net of padded hearts in Red, Gold & Silver

2 sprays of beaded wires (Red & Blue)

Not showing but included:- 

Card of pearly buttons

Card of my handmade embellishments (see sat post for picture)

What do you have to do to be in with a chance of winning one of the above?  Easy peasy - just be a follower of my blog and leave me a comment under this post! 

As soon as we get to 100 followers, I will do the draw for TWO WINNERS!!  I do hope you like the prizes.

(If you could advertise this candy on your blog I would truly appreciate it, but it is not a condition of entry.) 

Well that's it for now.  I am hoping to feel a little better later on today, so that I can actually sit long enough to make some cards.  Fingers crossed.

Have a great day all.  Hugs Linda xx

We have a winner!

Well here I am at last.  I am so sorry for not posting this last night as promised but unfortunately I had family issues and was unable to get home and to my pc until almost midnight! I hope you will forgive me.
So without further ado, let's get straight into the draw. 
I have used Randomorg. as usual and the winner is..............................................

...............................................................

....................................................

...........................................

.................................

.......................

well actually I am not going to tell you yet............ but only because I  may have a bit of good news for someone else first!!

Commenters Candy

Yesterday I received some BEAUTIFUL  LACE that I purchased off Ebay and I am so thrilled with it that I wanted to share some with you.   So as a Thank You to all those who have commented over the past week, I will be doing a draw this afternoon (no other emergencies arising..... Fingers crossed!) 

The winner will receive a SURPRISE PARCEL OF LACE & RIBBON. 

Here's a little tease:-

 

You don't have to do anything, I will check my blog and enter all the names on the comments from the past week into a hat and pick a winner. (All the names from today will count too!!)
I will post the winners name, along with the pictures for the BIG 100 draw prizes first thing tomorrow morning!! 

Ok, now down to the nitty gritty..........

The Winner of the 80 followers Candy draw is................

CAROLE Z!!!!!!!!!!

Carole Z   7 May 2012 16:43

Hi Linda, love your pins and would love to be entered in the Candy draw! 

Congratulations Carole.  Please email me with your details and whether you prefer readymade pins or a starter kit.

Melanie,  In answer to your question, the glue I prefer to use for my Decorative Pins is E6000 but jewellery makers hypo cement is strong too (it's just more runny than E6000).  If you click on the Tutorials tab at the top of the blog you will find my Decorative Pins tutorial; it has a link to the place I buy mine.  I have found it the cheapest so far (including postage charge). Hope that helps.

That's it for the moment. I hope to be able to find some time to make a card or two today so, here's to crafting! 
Have a great day all.  Hugs Linda x

 

80 Followers!!

Hi all
First let me say Welcome to my latest followers, you are so kind to take time to visit me. I will repay the kindness to all my followers with visits to your blogs, if you have one, offer to show your work if you don't and regular offers of Candy!!! 
This brings me to the next part of this mini post:-

We have reached 80 followers!!

  Thank you all so very much.

I will be doing the draw this evening and will post the winner by 8pm at the latest.
I am not able to do the draw now as I have been rather lazy since having this horrid throat problem and I haven't taken any photos of the prizes for the next draw to show you.  With it being the BIG 100 draw and the overall decision to have TWO prizes instead of one big one, I think it only right to have them ready to show you when I have finished the draw.   So I'll get myself sorted and then I will get stuck into doing the photographs and, of course, the draw.

Thank you all for your lovely comments about the 'grown' borders and embellishments.  I am thrilled you liked the ideas.  Bye for now  Linda x

More creative ideas -Embellishments

Hi all,
For those of you who like me enjoy creating your own embellishments, I have a few more ideas to help you design some unique pieces for your cards or projects.

I love all the bling and dressy bits we can add to our cards.  Even if it is only to add to the center of a fancy bow, a little bit of bling can really finish off a card.  However, these types of items can come at a premium price and you often don't get alot for your money.  I have seen a card of embellishments similar to these for well over £5.   I managed to create these from items in my stash and findings and they would cost well under £1.50 (I cannot give an exact costing as it depends on the cost of brads.  I bought mine so long ago that I can't remember the exact price).  That is a vast difference in price, so  an attempt at making our own seems sensible don't you think?

So what do we need to start these?  Well the first thing is obvious isn't it: brads.  If you haven't got any fancy ones in your stash, don't worry use half pearls or rhinestones and just glue them together (use either jewellery glue or the Incredibly Tacky glue).

The other items that can be used are Bead Caps, broken bits of earrings etc..  Have a look at what you have or can find cheaply  (I found alot of my earrings for breaking up at the 'What' bargain store here in the UK.  A pair of earrings at only £1.50 broke down into more that 10 bases for other embellishments.
These little trinkets can be as addictive to make as Decorative Pins, so be warned.  You find yourself looking for all the bargains at the stores and checking through all your broken jewellery just to find something new or exciting.

Pearly or rhinestone ribbon sliders.  These are 13mm in diameter.





Check out the fancy shaped earring pieces too.  For this one I just used my jewellery snips to cut off the V at the top and bottom to make it symmetrical (see above picture).
Size = 14 x 25mm.

I flattened filigree Bead Caps (8x10mm).  Ease each leg down and then flatten into the centre with chain nose (flat nosed) jewellery pliers.  Be gentle, you don't want to snap them off.
Flatten size = 2cm in diameter.

Smaller filigree or daisy bead caps work just as well.  They come in a variety of sizes.  The smallest I have used is 5x7mm filigree (silver in picture above)
Flatten size =13mm in diameter.

The final beadcap is made to fit a 14mm bead.
Flattened size = 18mm in diameter.



One other thing that is very useful is a bead reamer or very narrow file.  Mine is from a set made by Basic Grey called Precision File Set. They are made for distressing and included are a narrow square file and a round file.  These are essential if you need to make the holes bigger in the center of your base pieces (ie. flattened beadcap) for the brads to go through.

Ok, so that's it for another idea post.   I do hope you can find something useful in all my ideas.
Do you have any ideas or tips that you would like to share?  If so email me and I will get them on a post asap.
This is the one thing I absolutely adore about crafting, the sharing!  I love being able to share with you and love to read and learn from other crafters too.  So if you do have any tips or tricks that you think could help me and our lovely followers/readers please don't be afraid to let me know.  If I get enough I can do a post dedicated to just Readers Tips,Tricks and Techniques.
Have a wonderful day all.  I will be back with a card soon so I hope you can pop by again and give me your opinion.
Bye for now Linda xx

'Grown' border Tutorial

Good morning all,
Sorry I wasn't able to do a post for yesterday, but I just wanted to rest up a bit and then spend the rest of the time playing with my dies.  I wanted to find out which of the border dies could be 'grown' to make deeper borders.   Boy did I have some fun and I think you will agree the results were worth the wait.   Now, before I get started, I am not very good at wording things these days, brain too fuzzy with all the meds, but I have done some pictures to go along with the explanations so hopefully you will get the gist of my creations.

First here are all the 'grown' borders

These are cut with only 2/3layers;  imagine doing 4 or 5 for an extra deep border or even as a background behind an aperture etc.  The uses are limitless.  (Please note: the bottom border is not 'grown' it is a reversed border; explanation to follow.)

Now I will break each one down and hopefully you will see the cutting process a bit clearer.  I promise it is alot easier that you may think and even the gluing is simple to do.

First its the new Vintage Lace Accents border:-

These new die sets by Sue Wilson Designs are beautiful, but I must say this border is amazing, especially when 'grown' as I now call it.

First we have the actual die



Then 3 layers, cut and glued together



The original die size for comparison

Next we have the cutting guide and gluing position.

The black pen marks show which bit to cut away.  By cutting carefully here, none of the lower border will show in the finished piece.  Do this as many times as you want extra layers to your border.

Here is a extra close-up view showing the position of the cuts to be made.
(If you cut it carefully, it actually makes a nice border on its own also.)

Now to the Lace Doily Accents border:-

This is only 2layers deep and it is still very impressive.




This is the original size with the bottom cut away....see next picture..
This is a gorgeous border in its own merit don't you think?!

When you have cut your second and any futher layers of the border, turn it/them around in the die and cut again, this will cut away the black heavy base and shape it to match the top, making it easy to glue to the previous layer/s.

Finally, we have Parisian Accents:-

One of my all time favourite die sets.
 First the die itself, of course


The deep border here is made up of 3layers.  Gorgeous don't you think?!


The original size of the diecut,  for comparison.


Finally, the cutting guide and gluing position.
First take off 1.5mm right across the bottom of the border in your guilotine or trimmer (or with scissors if you prefer).  Next cut straight down between the curl and the upright on both sides as shown. The shaded area must all be cut away so that none of the base shows in the finished border.


So what do you think.  Have I come up with something useful for you too?  I have a little added something up my sleeve too, but you will have to wait to see my next card for that.  It is only a small thing but it does create a nice effect.


Well that's it for my lastest tips and tutorial.  I do hope you like some of my lastest creations and will find them useful in your own crafting.
I have one favour to ask please before I go:  I have worked hard finding ways to create all these items, so if you use any of  them in your creations/projects would you be kind enough to give credit to me and maybe even a reference or link to my blog.  Thank you so much.

I hope you all have a good day.  The weather outlook is very grim for today and at 6am now, the rain is already pouring down and the wind has picked up too. Yuk!!
Best wishes Linda xx

Liking what I do!!

Well here I am again
Welcome everyone, thank you for finding time to pop by and say Hello, it really means the world to me. I know how hard it is to get around all our favourite blogs, so I really do appreciate your visit.

Ok, so here is my card for today, it is a bit late but as they say, 'Better late than never'.

Today I have used nothing but card, dies and stamps (oh and a bit of bling).  No fancy papers, ribbon or bows. No image and no colouring.  I wanted the focus to be more on the sentiment than anything else for this card,  as it is such a lovely and truthful piece of prose.

I received the new Sue Wilson 'Vintage Lace' dies the day before yesterday but I was too poorly to play with them, woe was me!! Of course as soon as I found a little bit of life in me yesterday, I had to get them out to play.  I have only used the border die for now, but I had so much fun playing, cutting and glueing it that I just had to find a place for it on my card.
For those of you who have the new dies also, or those who have seen it on TV you will notice that my border looks alot wider; you're not seeing things, it is.  I cut out two borders and then trimmed one of them down to remove the black heavy border at the bottom.  You have to be careful where to cut, but once you know where to cut it is so easy and it allows you to 'grow' your border into a really deep fancy lace and I love it!!   Isn't it lovely?
For anyone interested, I will do some tips with pictures for this later, once I have had a rest and my grandson has gone home to his mum and dad (health allowing of course).  With this method of cutting and glueing you can continue to 'grow' the lace indefinitely and it could end up as a very pretty lacy background. I have even managed to layer it so that you can shape it too.  More on that in the tutorial.  
I think Spellbinders could do with thinking about this, then their dies can be even more useful.  If the border dies were made to link easier or shaped to be glued in rows (as I have done) they really could provide a fantastic die to be used in more than just one way.  Perhaps I should email Sue or Christine Emberson and see what they think.

I managed to decorate the inside of the card today and the very pretty border I used here is the waste piece from the Vintage Lace border.  I think it is perfect to go with any of  the scalloped circle dies as it echos the shape beautifully.

Here you can see both the front and inside together.  I am really pleased with how this one turned out and haven't stopped smiling since I completed it; so nice after a grumpy day yesterday with my throat.  My glands are still swollen and my ear aches a bit but it isn't quite as bad as it was yesterday.  Thank you for all the well wishes.

 Ok that's it for now, I do hope you like todays card as much as I do.  I will do my best to get the Tutorial up as soon as possible.
The sun is shining nicely here in Wales, I hope it is the same where you are and you have a wonderful day.  Take care of yourselves and I'll catch you all later.
Regards Linda xx

My recipe
White 300gsm & Black 250gsm card  - Kanban via Create and Craft
Whirlpool cardstock   -  Bazzil at Aldridge Crafts
Picot Edge Circle Die,  Plain Circle Die,  Foliage, Sue Wilson Vintage Lace Accents,  
Scalloped Circle Die,  Insects & Fanciful Flight Dies  -  All Spellbinders 
Dragonfly Stamp  -  Anna Griffin
Wording stamp - Creative Expressions at Sam Poole Creative Studio
Tumbled Glass Distress Ink  - Tim Holtz/Ranger
Clear Rhinestone bling - Bobity Boo Gemcrafts (cheap place for Rhinestones and Pearls)
Brad and metal embellishment are from my stash

All the sevens

I was not been able to get onto the web last evening or throughout the night, don't know why.  Tried  from a different pc too,  but I think we had problem in the area not just in my home.  Anyway I have just gotten a signal (nothing till 3am, bad aye!) so I signed in and instead of my blog homepage coming up, which usually happens, it went to my blogger general page and guess what?   I know you will probably think that I am totally batty or something for being so amused by this,   my stats are all the 7's. 
Page views 7777, 
Blog Post   77, 
Followers  77
and if I think about it I tried to log in 7 times too, but I cannot confirm that.  Also I like number 7 and I used to wear No.7 makeup by Boots until my allergies flared up.   This is so strange, I just had to get it down in writing.

Ok, nuttiness over, I don't have a card to post yet, but I will have one before lunch I promise.  I am just working on it now.
See you in a bit.  Linda x

Showcase

Hi there my dear blog friends,
I am not very good at the moment with a bad throat so I haven't been up to making a card. However it gives me the opportunity to do a Showcase.  I hope to make something later for tomorrows post.
So here we have it, another Showcase for another lovely card by one of the Non-blogger followers.
It is a beautiful creation in girlie pink and white using the fabulous Spellbinders Parisian die sets.

Thank you Jenny for sharing this with me and also for allowing me to show another of your cards on the blog.

I adore the ribbon you have used and the beautiful pearl embellishment, what a fabulous finish to a stunning card.

Ok that's it for now.  Hopefully I will  be back soon with a card of my own to share.
I hope you are all well today.  Wasn't it wonderful to see some sun yesterday?  I hope you got to see it where you live too, it was lovely!
Big hugs Linda xx

Storage idea

Morning all,
I hope you have all had a good weekend.  It has rained all weekend where we are in S. Wales, UK, but at least we have not had floods as some poor people have.  My heart goes out to them all, it must be devastating.
I would like to thank everyone again for the lovely comments for my Butterflies Challenge card, I was very nervous about entering it into challenges, but I am glad I have, at last, had a go.

Today I have the last of my storage ideas to share with you.  Lots of pictures that I hope will give you some inspiration.
I acquired a set of filing drawers when my sister moved back to Canada and it has been such a bonus in my craft room.  To go inside I purchased a bulk pack of the hanging (suspension) files and started sorting through my boxes.

When my craftroom was set up I had the drawers put under my main desk so they sat right next to my legs.  This allows for easy access.






In each of the files I keep alot of the items I would like to grab quickly to help with my creating or finishing on my cards etc.

Here I have my acetate pieces from my Spellbinders packaging, plain cds for altering, doeflex and spare acetate.

 


I also store my craft sheets, cutting mats for my diecutting machines, sticky adhesive sheets and wax sheets etc





 A large cardboard backed plastic wallet holds A4 magnetic sheets for all my border dies and Grand die.
There are some new Cricut cutting mats here too.

(Sorry about this blurred picture, I think I had the shakes taking it.)



Thickers, rubs on and adhesive alphabets are all kept here too.  I can add them to a project quickly, without having to get up and go hunting around for them.

The last picture I have for you is the file for my fabrics that I use for flowers etc.   They include wool felt, paper backed felt, hessian (burlap), metallic mesh, thin leather etc.





The bottom drawer of the two is kept for storing the papers from my CDs etc.  A few year ago, I found two expandable files in the sale and that was how I first stored all my papers.  When I had my craftroom done I was going to get rid of them but I found they fitted well into these drawers and so I kept them.  Now all the papers I print go in here.



There are approx 10 more files in the drawers that I didn't show.  I just wanted to give you some ideas of the things that store well in hanging files and show you how easy it makes it to have them very close at hand.
I hope that some of you have been able to find something of help within my storage ideas.
I don't have fancy cupboards or coordinating fitments but my area has been designed to be fairly inexpensive, easily accessible and space saving.
Well that's it for now, except for the usual Monday Quotation, it is one that I had to learn early in my life and have tried to live by since (not always successfully, but I try!!)

Have patience with all things, 

but chiefly have patience with yourself.   

(Francis de Salle)

I hope you all have a great start to the week.    Hugs Linda xx

Draw Winners

I nearly forgot to post this guys, I am so sorry.  Sometimes I think I leave my brain on my pillow! lol!
Anyway, this is a very quick but important post so lets just crack on with it.

The winner of the Shabby Chic paper pack is................................................

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Christine Hussey

The winner of the Retro paper pack is..........................................................

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Sue P 

And finally, the winner of the Kanban paper pack is ..................................

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................

Kelly

Congratulations to you all.   Please can you email me at   lindascreativeharmony@gmail.com with your postal addresses and I will get your prizes off to you asap.

Thank you to everyone that took part and left such lovely comments for me.  

One last thing before I go, it seems that everyone is in agreement that when we reach the BIG 100 draw we should have two prizes.  So that is what I will do.  I will make up a Stamping/colouring prize box and an Embellishment prize box and every entrant can state in their comment which they would prefer to win.

My blog has been blessed with a few new followers of late so WELCOME to you all.  We are almost at 80 now so the draw for the Decorative Pins is getting very, very close.  Please make sure you have left a comment for me under the CANDY POST  or you will not be entered to win them.

I hope you all have a wondeful week.  Lets hope the weather is a little nicer! Bye

Hugs Linda xx

A Case Study card

Case Study CSC95

Today I have created my first ever card for a blog challenge.  It is for Case Study Challenge blog and  Joy Taylor is the muse for June.  Here is the card she did as inspiration:-

 

I am also entering this card into the Joanna Sheen Challenge Blog.  Two challenges for my first ever competition card.  I am quite excited.

This side view shows not only the dimension on the front of my card but also the inside decoration too.   I wanted to do something totally unique and very different.

I don't decorate the inside of all of my cards, but as this card is a top fold,  I wanted to ensure it was sturdy and could stand alone without collapsing.

Starting with Centura Ice White pearl card in size 5 x 7inches, I then layered it with plum card before using panels of canvas effect card in bright white.  This canvas card has a slight sheen to it and is also stunning when used with ink etc to create toppers etc.  It was a purchase from Aldi and has become one of my favourite cards.

The sentiment I used is one I've had for many years, but unfortunately cannot remember the manufacturer.  The fancy swirl beneath is a small stamp from a collection by the wonderful Anna Griffin.  It can be used in so many ways and it also makes fabulous lacy borders (*).

Next I used my Spellbinders butterflies and cut out three each in soft lilac vellum and also plum card.  Using some of the canvas card again with Spellbinders Moroccan Accents, I made an intertwined border for along the left hand side.  I love the effect of the border dies intertwined, it gives them a totally different look and expands the uses of your dies.  Sue Wilson of Particraft gave me that fab idea, thank you Sue.

(*) I have a quick tip for you here:-  If you have lots of small stamps and have often wondered what to do with them - use them to decorate around your Spellbinder diecuts.   If you leave the die in place and then stamp carefully around the edge you get a fabulous bordered finish to the stamping and it works out alot cheaper than buying the new stamps that are made to fit these dies.  If you want to create a border with a blank in the middle for your sentiment,  hold a smaller diecut in the center (as a mask) while your die is still in place and then stamp into the gap between.  Don't worry if the stamp doesn't fit in the gap, just let it stamp over the edge.  When you remove the die and the smaller shape (mask) you will have a perfect border around your diecut shape.

Often I will stamp the sentiment first onto the bigger diecut and then find a smaller diecut that covers it the best before I proceed with the border.  This allows us to create a border in the size that suits your sentiment without having to squeeze it in afterward.

Well that is it for now.  I hope you have enjoyed seeing my Case card today and will find some use from stamping tips.  I will try and do a photographic, step by step tutorial for those tips.   I don't have very good lighting etc for that type of thing, but I think I'd like to give it a go.  Wish me luck.

Bye for now.  Hugs  Linda xx  

Oh, before I forget, I will be back at 2pm with names of our 3Winners for our draw.