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A very warm welcome to my teeny, tiny part of the huge world of blogging. This is where I share my passion for making hand made greeting cards. So - why "Always with a Heart"? Well this is for two reasons. Firstly, it is because every card I produce carries a heart on it somewhere. This can be big and bold or small and almost hidden - the fun sometimes is just trying to find it! Secondly it is because I put my heart into everything I produce. I hope that any visitors enjoy seeing what I post. If you drop by then please leave me a comment so that I know you called. It would be nice to know that you have found my heart in what I do.

Wednesday 30 April 2014

HELLO PRESENT

Hi Everyone

Happy Wednesday!

I hope your week is going well.

I had a lovely surprise last night.  I was busy trying to get my ironing all up to date and thought it was nearly 10.00pm as I was finishing  .. .. I packed everything away only to discover it was only nearly 9.00pm!! What a lovely surprise that was!!  A whole extra hour that I didn't think I had!

Now why can't that happen with days too?  Why do I never think it is Wednesday .. .. but suddenly discover it is Tuesday?  LOL!!!

Anyway, there is definitely a birthday card shortage here in the House of Hearts so I need to make some super fast ones .. .. nothing complicated .. .. just cute and nice to give:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2178J" Hello Present
Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat "Tiny Celebration Sentiments"
Backing Papers:  Kaisercraft "Key to My Heart"
Go Kreate Dies:  Large Frames Scalloped Squares
ProMarkers
Diamond Stickles
Ribbon and Pearlsw from my Stash Box

and that is me for today.

Table plan planning, place names and favour boxes are top of the list today so off I scoot!!!

Catch you again soon .. .. hopefully.

Love

Monday 28 April 2014

RUDOLPH DAY CHALLENGE - APRIL

Hi Everyone

Happy Monday!!

The start of a whole new week!!  Woo hoo!!

Mr Heart is off work today and is sorting out the greenhouse ready for this year's crops to be started off .. .. and I just know he is wanting me to be out there with him .. ..but the world of weddings cannot stop just because Mr Heart has a day off!!!  Too much pretty work to be done to get my hands and nails all filthy dirty!!!

Anyway, two more Christmas cards finished and ready for putting into the stock boxes and also for taking over to Sandra's Rudolph Day Challenge.

I had a little panic when I first saw Sandra's lovely makes for this month. I thought she had "upped the anti" and we were having to make four cards this month!!  But no .. .. a minimum of two was fine .. .. so here are mine .. .. 




These used:

Image:  Stampendous "CRR143" Snowy Postcard
Sentiment:  Hobby Art "CS010D" Town House Scene-its
Backing Paper:  Dovecraft "Noel"
X-Cut Corner Rounding Punch
Distress Inks
Gold Embossing Powder
Glamour Dust
Ribbon from my stash box

and that is me.

Two days of posting!!  Can't be bad!!!  Though it would appear I gave a few of you torture with one of the hearts yesterday.

It was certainly there .. .. 



easy when you know isn't it!!! LOL!!!

Enjoy today.  I hope it is a good day for you.

Love

Sunday 27 April 2014

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

I hope you are having a lovely weekend.

We have a little bit of sunshine this morning .. .. but I don't think it is going to last very long if the forecast is right  :-( 

Another busy wedding week here last week with happy couples finally "tying the knot".  Others have been collecting invitations, a few trying hard to finalise their seating plans and order of services and some only just starting out on the first steps of choosing designs and planning everything.  All exciting stuff!

A few boxes to empty now that a few recent weddings have taken place .. .. which in turn increases the snippet piles to even greater heights.  Panic!!!!!!!  LOL!!!

No snippet fest today .. .. back to my normal routine of two snippet cards which I am going to run over to Pixie's Snippet Playground Challenge with:





I am back tomorrow with my makes for Sandra's Rudolph Day Challenge  .. .. thankfully they are all ready and waiting to be shared.  My Christmas card stocks are building up very nicely.  Wish I could say the same for all the other types of cards that should be in my boxes!! Stocks are looking very depleted!  :-(

Have a lovely day today everyone .. .. I am off to put my admin and favour box making head on now. Luckily I can do both downstairs whilst watching over the Sunday dinner and chatting with the family.

I love Sundays!!!  

Love

Sunday 20 April 2014

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all having a lovely Easter.

We spent a little bit of time out in the garden on Friday morning .. .. and all the time I was thinking about my rubber stamps.  After another full week of wedding work I was itching to get stamping.   

So today I treated myself to a snippet fest .. .. and made up for not making an appearance the last two weeks!!

The first three cards share the stamps I was reminded of whilst gardening .. .. mainly due to an abundance of ladybirds, dandelions and bumble bees!  But sadly we have no hedgehogs :-(




and now to make up for not having made my snippet Christmas cards for two weeks either I have made amends there too (After all I can't go breaking my New Year Resolution can I?) .




Can you tell I have been missing my sewing machine too!!

So .. .. all ready for taking over to Pixie's Snippet Playground.  I hope I can remember the way there after being absent for so long!!!  I don't even have a note from my Mum!!

I really enjoyed my little craft session today but as always on a Sunday I am lazy and don't list my ingredients.  Best get linked up quickly otherwise it won't be Sunday .. .. and I will have to get listing!!!  

Enjoy the rest of the Easter break.

The Easter Bunny never left any chocolate eggs in the House of Hearts.  I think he bobbed in and made an appearance .. .. .. saw all the Christmas chocolate we still haven't eaten .. .. and made a sharp exit LOL!!

Love

Sunday 13 April 2014

NO SUNDAY SNIPPETS :-(

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all having a lovely sunny weekend.

Another week has gone by with no time to even play with my snippets!  That is two weeks I have missed visiting the playground now! (Sorry Miss Di).

Many thanks for the lovely emails though checking that all is well here in the old House of Hearts.

Did you think I had escaped for a break? .. . or that I had decided to take part in the Derby 10K with my Son last weekend and was still running!!!  LOL!!

Nah!!!  I have been working very hard on weddings and orders.  Not only current happy couples to work for but potential new ones to do samples for too!!  

We did receive an offer for a little break though as you will see here  .. .. 


but how would I book Mr Heart and myself in?

Would I have to register as Mrs Julie Always With A Heart .. .. which was the name on the postal address as it arrived!!  What a mouthful that would be!!

I must admit there are some lovely offers inside so we might book an escape .. .. but not for some time yet. All is super busy in the House of Hearts as you might have guessed.  Even Mr Heart has been trained up for Cuttlebug duties and nearly has all the stars on his trainee badge! 

There is so much I want to get on top of that I haven't been anywhere near blog-land I am afraid :-(  You know what it is like .. .. you tell yourself you will "just have half an hour catch up" and suddenly it is an hour + .. .. so I decided the safest bet was to ban myself completely.  After all you can tie a lot of ribbon bows in an hour and I have to admit that when I do stop working I feel it is only fair to spend time with my family .. .. otherwise they might forget what I look like!!!  But it won't always be this busy and normality will resume eventually I am sure.

I have gained a few lovely new followers too during my absence .. .. thank you for liking my blog enough to want to come back .. .. but you must be wondering why you bothered signing up! Sorry folks .. .. I promise I'm not always this bad at posting .. .. it just happens when I get extra busy.

Mr Heart was laughing at my little date block I bought from London the other day saying "I can't believe you need this to remind you what the date is".  He laughed even louder when I said it isn't really good enough. The date and month just doesn't cut it.  I need to know what day it is and even what year!!!

He couldn't believe it .. .. .. but when working with weddings for 2014, 2015 and even 2016 you can easily wonder what year it "actually" is!! LOL!!

I wish everyone a good week - with hopefully some sunshine!

Love

Friday 4 April 2014

WITH LOVE

Hi Everyone

Happy Friday .. .. ahead of what I hope will be a happy weekend for you.

We have The London Kids coming to stay for the weekend so whilst my printer has been beavering away on wedding work I have been "finding" the spare bedroom for them.  My eldest Son is taking part in the Derby 10K as part of the 2014 in 2014 challenge.  Not sure where he has got this "running streak" from.  It must be a throw-back from the past because certainly Mr Heart and I couldn't run to save our lives!!

I tried running from the Post Office back to my car the other day (only a few hundred yards) and twisted my ankles twice in the process LOL!!

Anyway, there is only so much cutting, printing, creasing and folding of card that can be done before your fingers itch to get a stamp out to play with.  I decided on this one .. .. which looking at the weather this morning doesn't seem very appropriate.




This used:

Image and Sentiment:  Imagination Crafts Decoupage Stamp Range "Tulips"
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder:  Swiss Dots
My Trust Sewing Machine
Watercolour Paint Palette
Versafine Ink Pad and Clear Embossing Powder
Liquid Pearls
Ribbon
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads

So that is me for today.

Time to get Mr Sheen and Mr Dyson working overtime whilst the printer churns away .. .. again!!!

Busy, busy world here at the moment!

Love

Tuesday 1 April 2014

SUPER DUPER BUSY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday.

I hope you are all well and have got to see a little bit of sunshine this week.

All super duper busy here at the moment and no time to make anything to share with you .. .. other than boxes of card I have been cutting to size ready for a mammoth printing session tomorrow .. .. and then of course boxes of the off-cuts that I can't bear to throw away!!  I think they would make for rather boring pictures!!  LOL!!!

So instead I will share with you a card that I made for this month's Quick Cards Made Easy magazine which used some fabby Sizzix dies, distress inks and Stampin' Up stamps.  There were four other cards in the set but this one was my favourite.  I really enjoyed making it.  Especially working on the background paper.  I think I should do more of that!!


So, off I go to get tidied up ready for tomorrow.  A tidy work area makes for a good quick start to the day.

I hope everyone is well.  Sorry I am AWOL at the moment but needs must I'm afraid!

Catch you when I do.

Love