Another card for Anthony

Good morning everyone,
I must start todays post with the biggest thank you for all the wonderful comments yesterday.  I am so pleased you liked my card, especially as I struggled so much with getting it right for my son.

Today I have another card I created for Anthony, but this was from my daughter to her brother.  I wanted to do something slightly different and in colours that I don't regularly use, but when I explain how I got my inspiration for this one I think you will be a little tickled.  You see I was in the attic with my daughter last week, still clearing and rearranging, when Sian passed me a roll of wallpaper that was left from decorating my bedroom.  I was about to put it in the waste pile when she said to me that she thought it would make nice backing paper for my cards.  I put it to one side and thought no more about it as we were so busy.   The next day I decided to cut up some of the wallpaper and see how it felt for cardmaking.......  well, it had such a lovely texture I decided to give it a go and when I looked at the, now dirty wrapper (the attic is so dusty) I suddenly realised that kraft card would coordinate perfectly.  So that is how I came upon the blue and kraft colour scheme;  blue textured wallpaper covered in dust!   LOL!!!!!!
But it works, don't you think?

I used the beautiful Fleur de Lis rectangles from Spellbinders for my central matt with an X-Cut Large Ornate Frame for the verse.   The verse was printed onto white card and then coloured with Adirondack Halzelnut ink and Ranger Antique Linen distress ink. 

I added some hazelnut spotty ribbon over a 1inch wide satin ribbon and also two tabs of the spotty ribbon to the top of the card.  I wanted to create the effect of the topper matts being suspended.
I finished the border off with the Spellbinders Damask Accents and then completed the outside with some antique brass brads and two waste pieces from the Fleur de Lis matt to accent the top corners.

I decorated the inside to coordinate, using a plain white matt stamped with just Happy Birthday.   I wanted this one to look like it was tucked into the border instead of being suspended.

So there you have it, my wallpaper card.  I am so pleased how this turned out and I can't wait to use that paper again, it is fabulous.  I would recommend using good quality wallpaper remnants to everyone, it saves on waste (who wants to waste money after all) and it provides a marvelous source of backing paper that is so easy to use..... oh and it embosses beautifully too (I've tried that too).
I do hope you all have a good weekend and manage to do a little crafting. 
Take care of yourselves, I'm hoping to make a Christmas card or two today (here's hoping). 
Regards Linda xx

My sons birthday card

Hi all and good morning,
Thank you so much for the wonderful, kind comments that you left for me yesterday.  I was so thrilled to see you all visit after my time away.  Everytime I have had to go away for a break I come back and read your warm, thoughtful comments and I am humbled.  Bless you.

Today I am back with the first of my sons birthday cards.  I made this one from me and I will be honest I struggled so much with the design as my son has no major likes other than online gaming.  He is a real brainbox and seems to be doing well at Uni, but I couldn't really translate that onto a card, so I thought simple styling with simple colours would be the best way to go.

I apologise for the poor photos but my camera battery was about to run out when I took the pictures and I didn't have enough time to wait for it to be charged.    One thing I have just realised, I took the pictures before I put on the 21's..  I put one set of numbers above the gems (bottom, left) and the other alongside the tartan matt (top, righthand side).

As you know I love to decorated the inside of my cards to match or coordinate with the outside design and this one was no exception.  I left the Spellbinders label blank inside so I had a place to write my personal greeting.  The Happy Birthday was stamped to the inside too as I wanted 'SON' to be the main focus on the front of the card.
Both of the papers used here are free downloads, but unfortunately, I cannot find where I got them from at the moment.  I will, however,  keep looking and let you know in a future post if I find them again.  I love the soft grey stripe  paper as it is such a versatile paper and it coordianates with so much.
Well that's it for this post, I am off to design some new Christmas Decorative Pins and also some fabric flowers etc as I don't have my grandson today.  This means I can play for longer and if I design something new and pretty I will use them for the next challenge.... I'll keep you posted on that.
Whatever you are up to today I hope it is rewarding.  Take good care and have a great day.
Hugs Linda xx

My baby is a man today!

Good morning all,
Well today, my youngest son turns 21, I just can't believe it.  Where did all those years go?  It only seems like yesterday I was walking around the hospital willing the contractions on so my new baby would be born.   To this day I still call him my baby;  He will always be my baby,  much to his annoyance I think.
I wanted to show you his birthday cards today, but I have decided that I should first show you the butterfly card I mentioned on my last post.  It is clean and simple but the stylish design could be used for a few occasions I think.  I hope you like it.

I started with a 5.5" x 7.5" side fold card.   The Spellbinders butterfly was cut in both ivory and brown.  I wanted the brown one to act like a shadow, so I cut it down the middle to allow me to move each section slightly outward.   On the background I used the Tied Together embossing folder and added drops of bronze pva from Creative Expressions.  I also used a little of the pva for the body of the butterfly to add some dimension.

I cut some corners in coordinating brown card and aded some half pearls.  Finally, I used a wrap of brown crushed silk ribbon through one of the Spellbinder buckle diecuts.  
This was an easy card but a bit time consuming with the pearly dots and the drying time, but so worth the wait as the finish is always so effective, don't you agree.
Well that's it for today,  however I will make time this evening to do another post for tomorrow to show you the cards I made for my sons 21st.
I am hoping to be blogging more often again now as the clearing and rearranging is almost done and what I have left to do can be done at intervals now.    So, here's to catching up and creating something new.  I even have a new Challenge in mind!!! (but that will come a little later this month).
I hope you are all keeping well and have not had any hardships with all this rain.
Hugs and best wishes Linda xx

Final entry

Hi all,
I am expecting my children for late lunch today and so I have little time to blog I am sorry to say.  However this may be rushed but it is still very important.  It is a final entry for the Almost White Challenge from our own lovely Christine Hussey.  So without further ado, here is her  stunning creation.

Isn't this beautifully done, that smattering of red just in the center really pops what was already a perfect creation.
I think the reason I love this so  much is that Christine has used the 'waste' pieces from cutting the Spellbinders Damask Accents border.  If we didn't know better, we could easily have assumed they were diecuts from a die in their own right.  I don't know about you but lately I have found alot of the 'waste' pieces from my dies are more useful than I first thought.  It's great to just sit and play sometimes, you'll be surprised what you find!  Thank you so much Christine, you've done it again, stunning!
Please forgive me rushing off like this.  I will have time to myself later so I will load up the Challenge results and post it for tomorrow morning, AND I have actually finished the Notebook that I started a while back;  I can't wait to see what you think. It's been hard to create something fairly simple when all I wanted to do was something very different indeed! I do hope you can stop by and give me your honest opinions.
Have a great evening all.  Big hugs Linda x

A Bit of Bling

Good morning all,
A very short post today as I haven't been to bed all night again.  Everytime I change my patches (painkiller meds) I am wide awake for hours and last night was just such a time.
Ok, again before I start I must remind you about the word search.  Todays post is the last one in which you will find words that do not fit in with the text.  There are three final words today, collect them up and use them with the other words from previous posts (since Tuesday) to make up the sentence.  See Tuesdays post for the details and all the requirements.  Good luck all....surprises could be awaiting you

Todays card is a bit over the top with bling for me, but it is for a little one year old and I think she will like it.  Do you remember me telling you about my neighbours daughter who was coming around to learn card making?  Well Seren is her baby sister and she is one today.   I just hope she likes the card.  Here it is for your observation:-

I used my grand entrant circular nesties for the card base using soft baby pink card and matts/layers in ivory linen card.  The papers used here I have had in my Feminine Paper box for a couple of years and as I had already used them they are without names, so I am unable to tell you the manufacturer.
The image is a freebie from a magazine, it is part of the Daisy and Dandelion set from Do win Crafts.

 I decorated the inside to coordinate and shaped the writing area into a pennant to correspond with the front.   I added some white glitter letters to spell out Serens name and a silver number peeloff for her age.  I am not a great fan of peeloffs as you know,  but they can be a real asset for something like this.

I didn't put as much work into this card as I usually do with all my other cards but I didn't entrant think it was needed for a baby's card.  I do hope you like it though.
I'm sorry I didn't get to the blogs last night, but I promise I will be by this evening when I do the Extra Candy post for the Challenge.  Which reminds me, thank you all for the wonderful entries so for the Challenge, your creations are stunning and so varied.
Well I am off to bed now for a couple of hours and then later Serens eldest sister Ellie, is back to do some card making with me.   So have a wonderful day today what ever you are up to and thank you so much for your visit, it means the world to me.
 Regards Linda xx

Bright pennants

Hi and a happy Sunday to you all.
I have something sunny and bright for you today, hoping it will cheer up the day if it is a dull one again.   Don't know about you, but this awful summer we have been having has really gotten me down.  I can never plan what I want to wear the night before and even if you hear claps of thunder it does not mean torrential rain is on the way.  Here in South Wales at the moment it, means that the sun will probably shine within 5mins of the Thunder banging through the atmosphere.
Whichever way it goes, I do hope you like todays creation.
I have left off the sentiment purposefully.  Now it can be used for more than one occasion.

I started with a base of soft gold pearlescent card and then matted and layered with coordinating papers.  I'm sorry to say but I can't remember the manufacturer of the papers I used but I will look in my bit box to see if any of the pieces in there have the description written on them.  Next I cut three pennants in different lengths and layered with another of the patterned papers.   I covered the edges of these pennants with a border cut using Spellbinders Parisian Accents die.

I embellished the card with a lovely floral spray using flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and a couple of extra peachy roses from my stash.  As you can see,  I also used one of my Decorative Pins and a few tiny lengths of pearls for a little contrast.

In the close up you can see the tiny dots of golden pearly doodles I used to embellish the paper.
To finish it all off I added some buttons that I had made myself using embroidery thread from my cross stitching stash and an old button blank.  Passementarie, which is the collective name for button wrapping, braid making and frogging has been used since medival times to decorate clothes and uniforms.  It is now back in fashion again and is being used to decorate jumpers, tops, jackets shoes and handbags. It can also be used to make fancy brooches.
I have become addicted to this creative fashioning (as I am sure you can tell) and I was, therefore, thrilled to find out that Create and Craft tv where doing shows wth Gina Barrett on this subject.  So if any of you like the look of this try and catch some of Gina's shows.  I don't buy the kits, I try to use things around the home, like domed buttons or even thick mount board circles, hexagons or even squares. 
Have a wonderful day and keep dreaming of sunny days (don't know where they went!)
Best wishes Linda x

Tutorial as planned

Good morning all,
Well at last I managed to find enough time to get to the craftroom and do the tutorial I planned.  Infact I have done two, so look out tomorrow for the second one!  I have included this with all my Tutorials for future reference.  Just click on the Tutorials Tab at the top of my home page and you will find a myriad of useful and helpful ideas, not only from myself and also from other crafters that have really impressed me.

Todays tutorial is simple but so useful and it is a bit of upcycling too.   So what is it?  Well, do you remember the last card I made?  Ok, no jokes now, it's not been that long...LOL!!  I used this technique to create that card.  Here's a reminder for anyone that may have missed it....

What I want to show you is another way to use your packaging from Spellbinders or other flat acetate packaging;   and it includes using the dies that came in the packaging too!  So two birds, one stone scenario, good aye!

When you cut your packaging from the dies take care to cut it as close to the curves as possible to create the biggest flat sheets of acetate as possible, it makes it easier for larger dies.  Now all you have to do is decide which shape you want to cut first.


USING THE APERTURE OR WASTE PIECE

Step One:  Cut your die shape from the acetate.  Try to center your die on the acetate before putting it through your GC, Cuttlebug, Big Shot etc; this will be beneficial when using the template.
(Sorry about the glare on the acetate but I had to have it so the acetate would show up.)



 Step Two:  Adhere your acetate in the correct position using tiny bits of removeable tape. I then used some sticky notes to protect any uncovered cardstock.  Next, using your preferred tool, apply your ink of choice and swirl it through the aperture until the required depth of colour is attained.  Add deeper tones to the outer edges if you want to create a center soft focus effect.  (Sorry mine is shown after I have stamped as I forgot to photograph it before!)




Step Three:  Remove the acetate and then stamp over the ink shape with your chosen stamp.  Take care to clean your acetate now with a wet wipe or just a damp cloth, dry and store till next time.
   STORING YOUR TEMPLATES.  Write the die name on the acetate with a permanent marker and store them in polypockets in an A4 file.  Arrange them in the same order as your dies are stored to make searching easy.

USING THE DIECUT SHAPE

Step One:  Adhere the acetate diecut to your chosen cardstock with tiny bits of removeable tape and then with your ink applicator apply the ink all around in a small circular motion or with outward sweeping strokes.
(I have done this purely for the demostration not for an actual card, so it is unfinished)

Step Two:  Remove the die to expose the open shaped area and clean the acetate with a wet wipe or damp cloth.  Dry and store as above.

Step Three:   Using your Aperture (waste) piece of acetate, place it over the shape and stamp through the aperture, taking care to press all over the stamp to ensure the image reaches the outer edges.

Step Four:  Remove the acetate, clean as before and then use your finished design as desired.  (I am going to cut mine down now to enclose all the red inked area and use it as a backdrop to a sentiment on a Spellbinders Fancy Tag) Perfect, a background and matt all in one!



I do hope you like my little tutorial and will have a play yourself.  It is wonderful the things you can do with bits of old plastic, ink and some inspiration.  I'd love to see what you do, so maybe you could let me know if you use this techinique at any time and I could take a look.

Well, have a good day and stay crafting!! (Oh lord, I am getting to sound like Bruce Forsyth.....LOL!!)   See you soon   Linda xx

A Card......Happy dance, happy dance!!!

Morning all,
Wasn't it lovely to see two fabulous ladies win some Candy yesterday.  I wish I had lots of money to do a Candy give away every week, it's such fun.   Thank you all for the lovely comments again, you are so kind.  With Candy in mind, my next giveaway will have a little challenge attached.  More info tomorrow.  Please, please try and join in,  I need something good to keep my mind busy and you can all help (trying a bit of bribery now.......naughty me. LOL!!)  I'll try to make it fun I promise.

Ok, I have done it at last, I have made a card.  It is rather simple sorry, but at least I have started cardmaking again. I really was beginning to wonder if my mojo had taken a downward spiral but I think I have kicked it into touch, just about.  [Oooooo, can't you tell I'm a Welsh girl, rugby terms are inbuilt I think :) ]

I haven't put a sentiment on the card for two reasons: one I could not make up my mind which way up to have the card, as I think it looks good both ways (which way do you like it?) and two because I couldn't decide what to have on it anyway.  So I thought I'd wait until I need it and then I could make a more informed decision as I would know the occasion I wanted to use it for.

Do you notice anything you may have seen recently?..............Yes, that's right,  I used the white flower and golden ornate disc from the lovely fimo pieces that Linda W. sent to me, didn't they go well with the overall colour scheme (and no I didn't plan it that way, they were chosen after).  The only adjustment I made to Linda's fabulous designs was to add a touch of pink to the end of the petals of the flower (hope you don't mind Linda).
Here's a side view to show you a little more of the dimension.

Well that's it for today, but before I go I wonder if I may draw your attention to a new blog that one of our own, Sue (planetsusie) has recently started:-  http://susiesplanet.blogspot.co.uk.  Yesterday she gave us a little view of her 'minature world' and it is so cute I thought you may be interested to see it; I know she would love to have your opinions if you can spare a minute or two to pop over.

Ok, I am off to get some sleep as it's 7.42am and I am getting bleery eyed now (with that in mind, please excuse any daft mistakes).   Have a good day all.  I just hope it's nicer where you are, as in Torfaen, S.Wales, UK we are having horrid rain AGAIN!!!
Bye for now.    Linda xx

Showcase

Good morning dear blog friends.
I am sorry but I didn't manage to get to the craftroom again.  My grandson is full of beans and I get so tired that when he leaves with mum or dad, I normally sit on the sofa and nod off within 10mins...LOL!
Anyway, it is not a waste of another day, I have some beautiful cards to show you that were sent to me some time ago.  I was waiting for the right time to showcase them and then, unfortunately, I became ill and they have sat on my laptop just waiting.
The lovely Christine Harrop created these  cards and I think you will all agree with me she definitely has an eye for layout and a lovely style indeed.

No. 1 is made using the largest motif from the Damask Motifs and Accents sets of Spellbinders dies.  This is such a delicate and pretty card.   This is a 'Me' card.

No.2 is (I believe) Labels one with Martha Stewart punch for the borders.   The background looks like the new M-bossibilities design, but I am not sure.  Christine you will have to help us here, is it letterpress effect with inks or a printed paper.  Whichever, it is beautiful.

No.3 is ........just gorgeous!!  Forget which dies have been used, I just love the whole thing.... and what a fabulous colour.  Christine this is so elegant and the delicacy of the backing paper is beautiful and perfect for a Wedding Anniversary.

No.4 is a CAS (clean & simple) card and what a stunner it is.  I love the flourish diecut used here, it is also very delicate and in no way overpowers the design or layout.

All in all I think you will agree, Christine has a created four different cards that show us the versatility of using diecuts.  They don't always have to be big central pieces, sometimes delicate smaller pieces are ample.
Thank you Christine, for letting me showcase your work.  It has been a pleasure and a privilege to do so.  I hope you will let me show more for you as you find time to send them.
Well that's it today, except again, to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for all the words of comfort and best wishes, I have been completed blown away by the amount of care shown to me and it still brings a tear to my eye.  You are all so truly generous of spirit.
Tomorrow I hope (again) to have a card for you but I will definitely have two wonderful cards to show you that I received in the post yesterday (Carole and Jenny you are stars and the cards are amazing!!  They are already up in the craftroom on my wall of fame.)
Have a good day dearest blog friends.  Keep smiling and keep crafting.
Hugs and best wishes Linda xx

Busy times ahead

Hello all,
First I must say welcome to the latest followers,  thank you so much for joining us.  I hope we can get to know each other and share some fun times.
Okay, before I start I have something I need to say.    At this moment my life is extremely busy as the house is being de-cluttered, spring cleaned (Ok don't panic, I know it's summer!) and then decorated.  I need to have it made easier for me now so decluttering is a must!  Unfortunately, as most of you know, I suffer 24/7 pain with my back and all this is going to take it out of me for a while. 
So you may find a post missing now and again or the posts may be very short on words, but the cards should still keep coming as crafting is my way to relax and destress.
Now that's over, let's get on with todays card.

I was looking at the cards I'd made the other day and I spotted my CAS (clean and simple) ones and I was so happy with how they came out that I decided to have a go at another one.  So todays card is just that, Clean and Simple but with lots of layers.   I hope you like it.

    
I used the lovely LOTV (Lily of the Valley) Special Day stamp and I chose this because it fitted so well within the overall design.  This is a lovely stamp set to use as you can write in the month and year of the Special Day and circle the actual day.  There is another circular stamp in the set and also several greeting stamps too for a very reasonable price.  They fit so well within alot of the Spellbinders or Marianne dies.

I embossed the background with a Cricut polka dot embossing folder and cut the edge shape with Spellbinders Labels 20.   The patterned paper and first blue matt were cut with Nellie Snellen dies and the top blue matt was cut with an X Cut die (I will update this with the names as soon as I can get to them).  The final circular matt was cut with the middle sized Spellbinders small circles.

Some of you have asked about the sizes of my cards, so here is a rough guide to help you:
Larger squares:-  7x7" or 8x8" 
Smaller squares:-   6x6"
Tent cards:-   6x8"   However todays was 5.5 x7.5" (it suited this style better)
Larger cards (8x10"  (but, again, the style/layout may alter that slightly).

Ok, that's it for today, its gone 4am and I am shattered now so I am off to bed.  Have a fabulous crafty day.  I will try to finish my blog rounds and my emails this weekend also.  Linda xx

Red, white and blue

Good morning all
I am so pleased you liked Jennys card and the quotations in yesterdays post.  I do so love to see the work of our smashing non-bloggers and I thank them for trusting me to show their work.  I hope they continue to do so.
I wanted to post this card yesterday afternoon in recognition of the 4th July for all our American friends, but unfortunately the glossy accents didn't dry in time to take any pictures.  So it is a little late but, as they say, better late than never.
I was inspired to create something to celebrate the year 2012: British year for the Queens Jubilee and Olympics and of course, as mentioned Independence Day in the USA.
I didn't want to just stamp an array of fireworks, that would have been too easy, so, this is my creation and an interpretation.

Here's to the red, white and blue.  



First I embossed the background with Spellbinders EL-003 Patchwork (Side A - freeform flowers), I thought this pattern echod the swirling of fireworks perfectly.  In the center of each I put a small drop of glossy accents and then poured over clear glass microbeads.  I wanted them to resemble the twinkling stars in the night sky (I did think about doing the background in the navy cardstock to represent the skyline better but it didn't come across as bright and celebratory as the red did).








Next I used a rosette to resemble a catherine wheel with the foliage as the bright colourful sparks shooting off into the night air.  My blue crystal pin is the nail that holds the catherine wheel to the wooden stake or garden shed.





Finally I needed something to make the whole thing a little more tangible and that is where the lace came in.  I imagined people looking out of their windows from behind the net curtains, hoping for a glimpse of the wonderful display outside; everyone celebrating together.

So there you have it.  My imagination at work.......................................... what do you think?
I am sad to report that I have received one opinion already and it was not a favourable one, unfortunately. I was told it is too gawdy! :( .   But I am not upset really, it would be a boring world if we all liked the same thing and we would all be making the same cards, not good!!. LOL

I hope you all have a rewarding day today and possibly some crafting time thrown in with the mix.
Take care  and I will see you all again soon.   Hugs Linda xx

I am entering my card in the following challenges:-

Penny Paper-Crafty  Challenge No.83 - Red, white & blue(11/7)

Celebrate the Occasion  Challenge No.69 - 4th July (9/7)

Craft Punked  Week 26 - American Independence Day
Divas by Design  Challenge No.42 - Red, white & blue(10/7)
Creatalicious Challenges  Challenge No.35 - Anything Goes (14/7)
Creating Memories in Time  Independence Day Challenge(13/7)
The Cupcake Craftroom  July Challenge - Layers (End mth)
Chocolate, Coffee & Cards Challenges  Challenge 16 - Anything Goes (13/7 )
Mema's Crafts  July Challenge - Anything Goes (15&30/7)
Party Time Tuesdays  PTT #75 - Be patriotic (9/7)

Clean and simple

Before I get into my card today,  I just wanted to say that I left a few replies to the comments on yesterdays posts, so please take a look if you can.

For todays card I have gone completely opposite to yesterdays creation.   I sat for a while and thought what could I do today that would be different;  I have, as you know, been trying to break the mould a bit as often as possible lately.  Well there is nothing wrong with a bit of Clean and Simple now and again, especially when you need a card for someone you are not too sure of or are unsure of their tastes.  So this is what I came up with

I pulled out my 12x12 papers and found this lovely floral shaped paper piece from My Minds Eye that I had purchased in a sale at the end of last year.  Straight away the white stitching brought to mind crisp white card and the card was almost made really wasn't it.  There is nothing Cleaner and Simpler than white, so all that was left to do was to find the right topper and cut a black fancy edge. 

I still had Sue Wilson's latest die sets at the front of my box after using the border die for my layering technique recently.  So I pulled out another coordinating MME paper, some black Kanban cardstock and more of the white Kanban 300gsm card that I used for the base.  I cut the large Motif in black and patterned paper and the smaller motif in the white and patterned paper.  I layered them up this way as I didn't want too much of the black showing through.  I wanted the diecut topper to echo the colours of the paper without any of them, except white, taking over.   My aim was for the topper to be part of the paper strip and to only stand out a little. 
I was going to wrap the card in the ribbon before tying the bow, but in the end I decided that I wanted as little 'fuss' on the card as possible. The single bow was the answer.  All in all I think it turned out pretty well.
Besides the initial reasons for the card, when I had finished creating it I also thought it would suit a male recipient (possibly without the bow) and would make a lovely thank you card or invitation too.
So what do you think, is this something you like to create or even receive yourself or is it too Clean and Simple for you?   I look forward to reading your comments and finding out more about your tastes;  I find it fascinating.  Do you know I have even set up my phone to receive notifications of your comments now.  I just love to read your views and see what you are all up to and this way no matter what I am busy doing, I can still check them and send quick emails if I have to now and again.  I am getting so 'technical' these days it is scary.   I even have a few apps now..... Go Linda ...........LOL!!
Thank you so much for stopping by,  I hope you all have a wonderful day.   Be happy and keep smiling.  Linda xx

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