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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.

Monday 30 November 2020

MORE CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

A quick Christmas card this evening that is for taking over rather smartish to Fezziwigs Festive Frolics Challenge.  The challenge is nearly over so I had better run quickly .. .. ..

The theme this fortnight has been "Decorating the Tree" and this is my very late decorated tree:




This used:

Christmas Tree Die:  MFT "MFT-1429" Christmas Tree Window
Backing Papers:  Make & Create "Magical Christmas"
ProMarkers
Glossy Accents
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  I had my wedding work boxes out again .. .. my remaining "happy couples" have their wedding dates coming up in the first half of next year and I was revisitng  their boxes and making new stationery for them.  I do hope all is going to go ahead smoothly for them this time around.  They have already cancelled their weddings once and will have waited a whole year for their special day to come around again..  

Saturday 28 November 2020

JINGLE BELLS - JINGLE BELLS

Hi Everyone

How has your day gone?

It has been very dark and dismal weather-wise in my neck of the woods, with quite a bit of rain .. .. .. the perfect kind of day for staying cosy and warm inside.

Today is the last day of my designs for making quick Christmas cards and what could be quicker than putting a card front together using digi images, adding your own sentiment and then saving it in your file called "images set out for printing".  It might take a little while to get the images exactly how you want them .. .. but once done it is there for always (if you remember to back up your files regularly).

So this is my last quick Christmas make: 



This used:

Images:  Fresh Cuts Studio  Christmas Starry Forest
Image Backing: Huckleberry Hearts "Watercolour Clip Art"  (the same one I used yesterday). 
Sentiment:  Computer Generated using font "Mountains of Christmas"
My Trusty Sewing Machine

.. .. and that is it.

Quite a sweet little image and a cosy little place to spend Christmas don't you think?  You definitely wouldn't be accused of breaking the "no more than three families rule" if you were staying there would you.  It might be a little cramped with just two occupants though!!  LOL!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

Friday 27 November 2020

MAGIC OF THE SEASON

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well.

Sorry for missing a couple of evening this week.  I have been busy finishing off all my Christmas card orders and think that I may be there with those now.  My aim was to get them all posted out by the end of November and it is looking like I might have a big tick on that line of my "crafty do list".

I still need to finish all of the ones we want to send ourselves though .. .. .. hence my week of "quick makes" .. .. and this is quick make number six. 

Just one more to day to go. 

This is today's offering:



This used:

Image:  Penny Black "3057K" Leaping Deer
Sentiment:  Penny Black "30-310" Believe
Background:  Huckleberry Hearts "Watercolour Clip Art" (a digital background .. .. much quicker than waiting for paint to dry!!)
Memory Box Die "99031" Snowflake Heart for the silver stars
My Trusty Sewing Machine


and that is me for today.

Once again my photographs have decided to present themselves in reverse order .. .. but never mind.

Hopefully the weekend will see me catch up with myself and with all your lovely blogs.  This has been one very busy week one way or another.


Wednesday 25 November 2020

MUCH LOVE THIS CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

I hope your day has been a good one.

Here tonight with "quick and easy" card number five .. .. and one that is using up some of those glitter card snippets I have, along with one of those scrapling card bases that seem to be increasing faster than ever!

For anyone new to my blog these scraplings are the offcuts from the card bases I make.  I trim them to measure 6.5 x 13.5cm.



This used:

Little holes:  part of the MFT Die Set "Blueprints 14"
Sentiment:  Woodware Clear Magic Singles "FRS357" Trimming the Tree
Star and Heart Die
My Trusty Sewing Machine

So my photographs are all multi-sizes tonight .. .. that's a new thing .. .. but at least they appeared in the right order for a change.

Catch you again soon.

Did you find the heart?  LOL!!

Monday 23 November 2020

RUSTIC WREATH

Hi Everyone

I hope Monday has been kind to you.

Quite a nice bit of sunshine here today after a very cold and frosty start.  

So for my fourth quick and easy card needed to be one where I didn't need me to use my stamping platform because I have been busy making lots of the card I posted yesterday and I didn't want to remove the stamps.

So today I went for a super cheap wreath image which I re-coloured brown and added lots of glitter stickles to.



This used:

Image:  Huckleberry Hearts "Wreath Clipart"  (eight different styles of wreath to work with in the set and super cheap at the moment)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated using font "Vanilla Shot"
Magenta Stickles
Ribbon
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Not quite a teeny tiny card,  just over 4 inches square and I made matching envelopes from thick brown paper so there is no need to try and track some of those down.

.. .. .. and that is me for today.  A little bit earlier than normal so hopefully chance for a catch up of your lovely blogs before I head up that wooden hill.

Take care everyone and keep safe.


Sunday 22 November 2020

BELLISSIMA

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all been OK today and have managed to do something that has made you smile somewhere along the way.

Sunday done and dusted here along with day three of my quick and simple Christmas cards.



This used:

Image:  DoCrafts "PMA 907941" Bellissima Christmas
Sentiment:  Hobby Art "CS059D" Winter Wishes
Spellbinder Deckled Rectangle
Distress Ink Pad:  Stormy Sky
Gems
My Trusty Sewing Machine

.. .. .. a super easy card and one I will be repeating over and over!

As I was heading up-stairs to photograph my little make I showed Mr Heart and explained that I was doing a week of "quick and easy" Christmas cards and said that "I think this one is my favourite so far" .. .. .. to which Mr Heart replied "What, more than the gnome one?".  I am guessing that means Mr Heart's favourite so far must be the gnomes!   LOL!!

This card will be super quick now because I created a stencil using the Spellbinders Die from thick paper, and added a shaped strip of paper at the bottom to ink through.  The sentiment and tree image was put into my stamping platform so both can be stamped at the same time.  Very, very quick once you have everything set up ready.


Hope the coming week is going to be kind to you .. .. .. and that Boris has some good news for us somewhere along the line.

Saturday 21 November 2020

KRAFTY CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

Hope your weekend got off to a nice start.

A lovely cosy day at home here .. .. and one which I have really enjoyed.  Part of it included a crafty session to create another quick and easy Christmas card after my rash decision to make all of my Christmas cards this year.

This is today's offering which is a simple embossed image and a stamped sentiment.  A few gems and a bit of stitching and this is what you end up with:




This used:

Image:  A really, really old Papermania stamp "Bauble Decoration"
Sentiment:  Woodware "FRS357" Trimming the Tree
Speckled Kraft Card
White Embossing Powder
Gold Gems
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I was really chuffed with my gnome card last night .. .. but when I got up this morning and sat looking at it on my mantlepiece whilst drinking my first coffee of the day I decided my gnomes were far too small so today I supersized the gnomes and the layers and the design now looks like this:


.. .. .. and quite a few of them have been made today.

Catch you again tomorrow with another quick and easy design.

Take care everyone.

Friday 20 November 2020

HOPE I DON'T REGRET THIS

Hi Everyone

I hope your day has gone well .. .. yet another weekend about to start.

Where are these weeks disappearing too?

Today .. .. and call me mad .. .. but as I don't have any Christmas weddings to complete .. .. .. I decided I would make ALL of my Christmas cards this year.  Something I have never done before.  

So this coming week is going to be dedicated to quick and simple Christmas cards that are nice and flat, full of love, and quick and simple to make (perhaps even simple enough to get Mr Heart involved LOL!! .. .. .. though I won't hold my breath as the kitchen decorating is still a never ending work in progress!

This is the first card I will be multiple making:




This used:

Image:  ATArtDigital "Gnome for the Holidays" (still on offer) and the full set (with an added heart) as used on this gnome I used here
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Backing Paper:  LOTV "Cloudy Evening Skies"
Crystal Glamour Dust
My Trusty Sewing Machine


I put everything into Craft Artist 2, shaping the bottom edge of the sky background before adding the gnomes.  I was tempted to add die cut falling snowflakes and gems to the background but managed to convince myself that I would be on the slippery slope of making a "simple and quick" card too complicated.

Of course the only problem is if I make all my cards this year then I am making a rod for my own back as everyone will expect them every year going forward!  But part of me feels a handmade Christmas card is my way of showing folk just how special they are .. .. and how happy I am that they are still here for me to send a card to.

Anyway, this is my first quick and easy card.  Six more designs to go.

I won't start a discussion on whether we feel comfortable in having a COVID jab .. .. .. or shall I?

Thursday 19 November 2020

WITH LOVE

Hi Everyone

I hope your week has been going well.

I am here today to use an image I fell in with over at Sandra's Etsy Store.  The ones that were on the website were pre-coloured images (beautifully coloured) but I wanted to colour my own and asked Sandra if she would be willing to release the image uncoloured.  Yay!!  Sandra said yes and added the image on Tuesday .. .. thank you big time Sandra!!!  I love it and will be using it lots xxx.

Here is what I made with it:




This used:

Image:  Whimsy Dreams Clipart "May in Black"  (it comes as a single and double image so more ideas lined up)
Sentiment:  LOTV "Embossed Labels"
Backing Paper:  From the snippet pile
Crafter's Companion Edge'ables "Renaissance"
Memory Box Dies:  "Kaleidoscope Butterfly" and "Moonlight Butterfly"
Distress Ink Pad:  Milled Lavender

So that is me for today.

I'll catch you again tomorrow .. .. ..  life should be a little calmer over the next few days so hopefully there will be some extra crafting time.

Wednesday 18 November 2020

TEENY, TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Hope you have enjoyed your day .. .. .. well as much as you can during these strange times.

Lots of crafting here today .. .. ..  finishing off with a teeny, tiny card, which for anyone new to my blog measures 3.5 inches square.



This used:

Images:  Card-io Collection "Festive Scene"
Sentiment:  Lawn Fawn " LF568" Peace Joy Love
Distress Ink:  Stormy Sky
My Trusty Sewing Machine

So a tiny post for a tiny card .. .. .. and because I am running very, very late.

Catch you again soon.



Monday 16 November 2020

SPRING RABBIT POSY

Hi Everyone

I hope Monday has been kind to you during these strange, strange times.

A quick share from me for taking over to the Cutie Pie Challenge Blog where the theme for this month is to use a button or buttons on your creation.  I am hoping that a die cut button will count: 




This used:

Image:  LOTV Digital Image "Spring Rabbit Posy"
Sentiment:  DigiStamp Boutique (sadly no longer trading .. .. sob sob!!)
Backing Papers:  Sorry not sure .. .. it was taken from my snippet box
X-Cut Mini Die Set "Buttons"
Spellbinder Circle Die
ProMarkers
Ribbon
My Trusty Sewing Machine


and that is me for today.  I decided to have a break from Christmas and fast forward to spring!  

I'll catch you tomorrow for Teeny Tiny Tuesday.

Sunday 15 November 2020

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

I hope you have enjoyed your weekend.

My day has been super productive .. .. which feels good.  Lots of Christmas orders crossed of the list  YAY!!

I didn't think I was going to have time to make something for my blog .. .. but surprise, surprise I did ... .. and I came up with:



This used not very much at all:

Spellbinders Nestabilities:  Heart Die
Mixture of Grosgrain Christmas Ribbons
White Gel Pen


and that is it!

Will hopefully catch you again tomorrow.