JINGLE ALL THE WAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Wednesday.

I hope life has been being kind to you and if not that things soon turn around.

We had a fabulous weekend celebrating our son's birthday and hearing all about their holiday.  Sadly as suspected their excursion didn't involve them seeing the Northern Lights.  Their photographs showed just the tiniest speck of light on a big black background .. .. that was as good as it got.  But thankfully they could laugh about it.

They are now back home and we are already looking forward to the next time we will all be together .. .. which will be Christmas! That is going to come around very quickly now that November is within touching distance!!!!

I am happy to say I am actually starting to feel like I am slowly getting "back on track" with life again .. .. .. after a rather hectic few weeks.  Mum is much improved, which has helped settle my brain enormously and all of my wedding work is waiting for "happy couples" to get back to me with their signed off proofs or next instructions .. .. so Christmas is once again getting a much needed look in.

I started today with a card for taking over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the current theme is "Jingle all the Way".

This used:

Image:  Just part of Penny Black "2238K" Jingle All The Way!
Sentiment:  Computer generated
Backing Paper:  The Lovely Studio "Jingle Bells Book Print"
ProMarkers
Ribbon
Glossy Accents
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it .. .. making my total number of Christmas cards made this year 40 .. .. and another nice flat one for easy posting.

Enjoy your evening.

Catch you again soon

MEETING MYSELF COMING BACKWARDS

Hi Everyone

So much for me being back in blogland!!

Since my last post .. .. which seems a lifetime ago now .. .. my feet don't seem to have touched the ground.  My time has been taken up making samples for interest new "happy couples", magazine commissions, card orders and having fun with Mum!  No general crafting has happened at all .. .. which will never do!!

I have also been having to "find the back bedroom" ready for the London kids coming home tomorrow for a couple of nights.  Can't wait to see them again!   They will no doubt be here at the crack of dawn to avoid all that chaotic London traffic.

They have been away on a cruise to celebrate our Son's 40th birthday and were hoping to see the Northern Lights.  I didn't get any excited phone messages so I am guessing that perhaps didn't happen for them .. .. but it will be an excuse for them to go back again sometime. 

I must admit I really don't feel old enough to have a son that is 40!  I can't say I even feel 40 myself!  But the weekend will be a lovely time and we will have fun celebrating his milestone birthday.

So with no new creations under my belt I will share some of the cards I made for Issue 202 of Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine .. .. .. which should now be available on the shelves.

I got to work with some lovely Sue Wilson stamps and dies and these were my favourites from a set of five:

 

So back to the wedding samples for me before heading off to Mum and I will hopefully catch you again soon.

Take care everyone and have a good Thursday.

JUST FOR BEING YOU

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a good Tuesday.

Sadly my regular supplier of card blanks retired recently and as stocks are starting to run low here I have begun (after all these years) to make my own .. .. which inevitably means once I have cut my 14.5cm square base card from an A4 sheet I am left with a strip of card.   

No way can I throw that strip away .. .. .. and rather than add them to the "white snippets" box I thought I would put them to one side for tags at Christmas.  But then I looked at it again, folded my strip in half and wondered if it would make another good "small card" .. .. similar to my teeny tiny ones but a different shape.

So that was what I made .. ..  but I did cut the length a little to give me a base card that measures 6.5 x 13.5cm

But guess what?  It would appear other crafters use these "cut off" pieces and turn them into cards and bookmarks .. .. ..  and they have their own official crafty name .. .. scraplings!!!

Just look at these scrummy makes on Pinterest here .. .. all from scraplings .. .. and all individual works of art in their own right.  

So with itchy fingers and delight that my offcuts would come in useful this is what I came up with .. ..

This used:

Image:  Hero Arts "S5316" Silhouette Grass
Sentiment:  WOW!  "Stamp Set 41" Just Saying
Distress Ink Pads:  Spiced Marmalade, Dusty Concord and Faded Jeans
QuicKutz Dragonfly Die
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Mr Heart has also made me a template for my skinny envelope  -  but I haven't made that yet (having him at home more is proving very useful in some regards LOL!!)

So with offcuts used up what better place to take my creation than Pixie's Snippets Playground (sadly somewhere else I haven't had chance to visit recently .. .. sorry Di!)

You will notice in my material list a QuicKutz Die .. .. did anyone else invest in the QuicKutz Squeeze Die Cutter.

I still have mine and an array of little dies.  The dies are two inches square and you can see those in  that little plastic bag in the middle of this box.  You put the die on the magnetic plate then add your card and squeeze a few times for all your worth!!  Boy does it work your arm muscles!!

The picture above has come from the internet.  Mine no longer has it's box - it just had a layer of dust!!  Tut tut!!

Anyway, that is me, and many thanks for your lovely comments on my wedding work post of yesterday.  You are very kind.

Catch you soon.

MORE WEDDING WORK

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a good Monday.

A really busy day here and no time to make anything to share, so I decided to take some more wedding stationery pictures and post those.

If Mr Heart and I were to be getting married again I think this is the stationery I would make for us to give  .. .. but ask me again tomorrow and I may choose a different one.  (Invitation that is not husband  LOL!!)

and that is me for today.

Short and sweet.

CHRISTMAS KICKSTART CHALLENGE

Hi Everyone

Two posts in two days!!  Wow!!  Things are looking up!

A lovely day here that is going to be full of rain from start to finish .. . .. perfect for crafting and not feeling guilty about ignoring those outdoor chores .. .. and a day when once again the bird bath will be turned into an infinity pool!  Lucky birds - they will have fun in that!!

So we are into October and Christmas cards are high up on the "must do" list. 

With things having been so hectic during the last month I have unfortunately slipped back a little with these and sadly I have missed a couple of the Christmas Kickstart Challenges.  Sorry Jo!  But I am pleased to say I back today!  

The theme this fortnight is "woodland friends" and I think this little character fits in nicely.

This used:

Image:  LOTV Digital "Woodland Owl"
Sentiment:  LOTV Christmas Sentiment Tags
Backing Papers:  Make and Create "Merry & Bright"
ProMarkers
Crystal and Gold Glamour Dust
Ribbon and Twine
Glossy Accents
White Gel Pen
Nail Heads
Eyelet for the Tag
My Trusty Sewing Machine

So this now means I have made 39 Christmas cards this year so far .. .. nowhere near enough .. .. and  the ones I have made are no longer nestled in my stock box because I have sold most of them.

I must admit though I have been good this year and am putting to one side some I would like to send myself.  That is half the stress of Christmas for me.  I make cards and then sell them all and end up making my own in a panic at the last minute.  But not this year!!!  I have promised myself a stress-free Christmas with no last minute cards to make.  My own little stash is going to stay nicely tucked away.

Anyway, that is me for today.  Off to link up today's creation.

Have a good day everyone.  Sorry if the rain is going to spoil something you had planned.

WISH BIG

Hi Everyone

Happy Saturday!

I hope you weekend has got off to a good start.

My whole week feels all mixed up because Mr Heart has now dropped down to a three day working week ahead of retiring next year .. .. and I no longer have the foggiest idea what day of the week it is LOL!!  I am sure I will get used to it eventually.

Most of my time this week has been spent making wedding samples for the "happy couples" I met last weekend .. .. .. but today I started with a card for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.  This challenge is always "anything goes" but with an optional theme which this month is "black and white and one other colour".

So here we go with my offering using black, white and yellow

This used:

Images:  Penny Black "3788F" Art of Love and Penny Black "3811J" Winsome
Sentiment:  DigiStamp Boutique (sadly no longer trading .. .. boo hoo!)
Backing Paper:  Pink Petticoat "Gingham"
ProMarkers
Glamour Dust
Nail Heads
Ribbon
Papermania Dew Drops
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today.

Enjoy your evening and I will catch you again soon.

MUSIC SPEAKS

Hi Everyone

Happy Wednesday!

I hope your week so far has been a good one.  Mine has been one of those where time seems to be flying by far too fast!

Today is our youngest son's birthday.  The son who lives local to us and is trying hard to pursue a music career alongside his student support work at the local college.

My day started with our normal birthday routine where I arrive at his good and early armed with a warm bacon sandwich, a packed lunch for his dinner break and his pressies and birthday cards.  I then give him a lift to work.  

So a morning when he doesn't have to make much effort!  Lucky lad!!!

This was his card for this year:

This used:

Image:  Visible Image "Music Speaks"
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Backing Papers:  Craft Sensations "Pastels"
Distress Ink Pad:  Spiced Marmalade 
Green Embossing Powder
Twine
Musical Charm
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it.

Our son loves his music and spends every waking hour composing, listening or dreaming about it (a bit like me with my crafting LOL!!). 

His music went alongside this really interesting video where 12 calligraphers wrote psalms throughout the evening in a cathedral in Saint Petersburg last year. 

I love the video so much and have watched it so many times, completely in awe of  the immense talent shown by everyone.  How they can write so beautifully and accurately in the first place amazes me .. .. let alone do it with a camera inches away from them!!  My hands would be shaking like billy-o!

Anyway, that is me for today.  Best crack on with that "must do" list before another day disappears in the blink of an eye!

Have a good one everyone.

NOSE TO NOSE

Hi Everyone

Happy Saturday!  I hope you have had a good day.

Many thanks for your kind comments, and birthday wishes for my lovely Mum yesterday  .. .. we both had a lovely time together and made some more happy memories that I won't forget.

As you would expect the weddings are now starting to slow down "a little" which means I can give my blog some of the attention it deserves.  I do love my blog and really enjoy it when I have time to post and visit my blog pals.   

This is my offering for today:

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "30-521" Nose to Nose

Sentiment:  Computer generated using font "Sweetheart Script"

Backing Papers:  The Lovely Studio "Snow Flurry"
Penny Black Die Set:  "51-375" Snowflake Stitch Frames
Distress Ink Pads:  Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire
ProMarkers
Crystal Glamour Dust
Masking Fluid
Ribbon
Little Stars from my snowflake box
My Trusty Sewing Machine

So that is me for today.

Enjoy your weekend everyone!  Catch you again soon.

FOR THE LOVE OF POPPIES

Hi Everyone

Happy Friday .. .. another weekend is nearly upon us and it looks like it might be a chilly one.  In fact I have even had to break out the "long sleeves" again this week!

A busy day here with quite a bit of it spent with my lovely Mum as today is her birthday.  She is now a whole 89 years young and this is the card I made for her which reflects the poppy flowers on her tea cup and lap tray .. ..

This used:

Image:   Penny Black "4065K" Bountiful
Sentiment:  Lili of the Valley "Sentiment Tags"
Backing Papers:  Frou Frou Craft "Red Poppies"
ProMarkers
Ribbon and metallic cord
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it.

Many thanks for your lovely comments on my previous post .. .. I was asked how I made the jar look full of water.  To do this I stamped the jar twice and die cut them both.  Next I stuck stamped and coloured die cut flowers on top of the first jar, then trimmed an aperture into the centre of the second.  This was then glued on top of the first and then glossy accents was used to fill the aperture.  All you needed then was a barrow load of patience to leave it alone and not keep poking it to see if it was dried through.  Once it was it could be added to the card front.

So that is me for today.

Happy weekend everyone!  I am hoping for a super productive one!

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a happy Tuesday!

We started off with a beautiful sky today that was full of sunshine and thankfully it lasted for quite a bit of the day!!  Let's hope we are still going to get a few more days like this .. .. I'm not ready for summer to end yet!

Today I am sharing a little "teeny tiny" card, which for anyone new to my blog is a whole 3.5 inches square .. .. just perfect for using up those snippets (but to honest I would need to make a few thousand to make any impact on the offcuts I have piling up).

But never mind .. .. making anything is good .. .. and I love that I make use of every scrap of paper and card.

This used:

Image:  Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Collection "CMS297" Flower Jar and matching die set

Sentiment:  Hobby Art Clear Stamp Set "CS013D" Floral Greeting
ProMarkers
Glossy Accents
Ribbon

My Trusty Sewing Machine

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

and that is me for today, and as I have attacked my snippets I am popping over to Pixie's Snippets Playground to show of my creation.

Everything came from my snippet collection other than the paper for the envelope.

Catch you again soon.

CHRISTMAS KICKSTART CHALLENGE

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday and Happy September  .. .. ..  where is 2019 disappearing to?

Just flying in quickly today with a card for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme this fortnight is to take your inspiration from the challenge's blog header.  What a clever theme!!

This is what I have come up with:

This used:

Image and sentiment from "Digistamp Boutique" sadly no longer trading .. .. boo hoo (please come back!!)
Backing Papers from "The Works" 
ProMarkers
Crystal Glamour Dust
Snowflakes from my snowflake box
Creative Expressions "Aqua Dazzlers"
My Trusty Sewing Machine

So after all my ramblings of yesterday today is short and sweet and Christmas card number 37 goes into my box .. .. woo hoo!!

Hopefully catch you again tomorrow.

HAPPY WEEKEND

Hi Everyone

I hope all is well with everyone and if not that things improve very very quickly!

It has been all systems go here in the House of Hearts and my feet don't seem to have touched the ground for weeks now.  Today was my first chance in ages for a nice slow relaxing start .. .. and even the opportunity for a lie-in to re-charge my batteries.  But did I manage it?  Nah!!!  I was still awake at daft o'clock! LOL!!!

I have been working super hard on lots of projects and have also completed a wedding for a lovely happy couple who got married today .. .. I do hope they have had a really lovely day.

Mum's decorating is finally finished and her new carpet was fitted on Thursday.  So all the furniture needed putting back into its rightful place.  She was so happy to escape from her bedroom .. ..  bless her!

All of the above has meant that next to no housework has been done for quite a while but I am actually going to enjoy getting our home back in order!  Who would have thought I would look forward to doing housework!!  I must need my temperature taking.

But of course there still has to be a bit of "crafting time" in every day and whenever I have been kept away from my general crafting I grab my ProMarkers and make straight for the drawer that contains my Penny Black stamps and do a "lucky dip".  No matter what stamps comes out I know I will be happy .. .. and this is what I came up with today:

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "1729K" Just Buzzin By!
Sentiment:  Penny Black Clear Stamp Set "30-105" Gratitude
Backing Papers:  Make & Create "Romantic Escape"
X-Cut Punch "Flower Doily"
ProMarkers
Crystal Glamour Dust
Nail Heads
Ribbon
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I really enjoyed my little crafty play today .. .. let's hope for a major improvement and a bit more blog activity over the next few days!!!