My photo
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.

Sunday, 24 April 2016

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday!

Well after making a rather late appearance yesterday with the latest sketch for my little library .. .. I am early today with a card that uses the sketch along with a collection of snippets from my snippet mountain!!!





and here is the sketch .. .. ..




As some of you will know I am lazy on my blog on a Sunday and do not list my ingredients .. .. but if there is anything you wish to know then you only have to ask and I will do my best to answer.

Just of to share in Pixie's Snippets Playground and then it is time for lots of computer work today .. .. .. place names and meal choices to type up and order of service booklets.  But at least I can do all that downstairs in the company of the lovely Mr Heart!

Have a good day today.  I hope you get a bit of sunshine somewhere along the line.  

Love 

Saturday, 23 April 2016

SKETCH TWENTY SIX

Hi Everyone

Happy Saturday!

I hope you are having a good day.

As promised I have added sketch number twenty six onto the sketch tab at the top of my blog and it is here too.


Feel free to have a play if you fancy the look of it.

Hopefully  I will be putting it to good use soon.

Love

Friday, 22 April 2016

ODE TO JOY

Hi Everyone

Happy Friday!!

Well .. .. what can I say?

So much for me sharing a Teeny, Tiny Tuesday card this week .. .. the sad thing is, it was made but I just didn't have time to photograph and post it :-(  But that does mean I already have one ready for next Tuesday!!  Woo hoo!

This week has disappeared in the blink on an eye .. ..  but as long as I am ready for my new "happy couple" who I am meeting tomorrow all will be good.

So a quick share today that I simply had to make using a stamp I have been longing to own for a while now .. .. .. and I managed to win it in an Ebay auction last weekend




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "1657K" Ode to Joy
Music Image:  Hero Arts "CG222" Music Background
Sentiment:  Hobby Art "CS013D" Floral Greeting
Backing Papers:  Craft Sensations "All Time Favourites"
ProMarkers
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it.  Short and sweet.

The music background stamp is actually a huge one .. .. so I masked the backing paper off with post-it notes and then stamped just a section of it.  Luckily the stripes on the paper made sure it ended up nice and even.

So that is me for today.  

Time to go and sort things ready for tomorrow and then head off to see my Mum .. .. once hubby gets back from work with my car.  His is still on the drive feeling bruised and sorry for itself .. .. and it isn't being collected until Monday .. .. I can't believe that the nearest garage that can look at it is nearly an hours drive away and it takes a whole week to fetch it and leave a replacement courtesy car!!!!  But that is what the insurance people have organised and who are we to argue!!  

Have a lovely evening and a good weekend everyone .. .. Sketch 26 is ready for going live tomorrow too .. .. for those of you who are collecting them.  

Love

Monday, 18 April 2016

MEADOW

Hi Everyone

Happy Monday!!

I hope yours got off to a better start than ours did here in the House of Hearts!!  No sooner had Mr Heart set off to work than he was back again .. .. and not a very happy bunny either!  Someone ran into the side of his car and left a big dent down the passenger side.

Thankfully no-one was hurt - it is just the hassle and time involved in trying to sort everything out. We have our fingers tightly crossed that they will repair it and not just want to write it off !!

Anyway, enough of that and on to nicer things .. .. like a card!  




This used:

Image:  Docrafts Clear Stamp Set "Meadow"
Sentiment:  Penny Black Clear Stamp Set "30-176" Sentimental
Backing Paper:  Craft Sensations "All Time Favourites!
X-Cut Punch:  Butterfly
Tim Holtz Distress Inks for the background
ProMarkers
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Ribbon and Gems from my crafty stash box

and that is it!!

Loving the Docraft stamp set.  It is made up of lots of little elements all stored in a sturdy wallet and it didn't cost the earth either


I think I will be getting lots of use out of this set.

So that is me for today .. .. rather late .. .. but better late than never.

Wonder if I will manage a teeny, tiny make tomorrow?  I hope so.

Love

Tuesday, 12 April 2016

TEENY, TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!!

Today I was determined to get a teeny, tiny 3.5" card made before the "crafty do list" of the day started to get a bashing.

My life is about to go super manic busy on the commission/wedding front but I am in that strange place today where I am waiting for deliveries to arrive and brides to provide information .. .. so I am trying to get on top of general makes and card orders whilst I have the chance.  

So here we go:



This used:

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder:  Roses
Nestabilities Die Set:  Hearts
X-Cut Punch:  Flower (very old and probably not on sale any more)
My Trust Sewing Machine
Ribbon and Gem from my crafty stash box
We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

and because I gave myself an almighty fright last night by checking my work calendar for the year and then comparing it to the "how many sleep to Christmas" app on my IPad, I thought I had better make a Christmas card for the stock box too . .. .. a teeny, tiny one!! LOL!!



This used:

Image:  Penny Black "3986J" Crystal Wreath
Wow!Embossing Glitter:    Pink Sherbert
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Glitter Card
Ribbon, Pearls, Gems and Button from my crafty stash box
We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

and because both of these creations have used odds and ends from my never reducing snippet supply I am also skipping over to the Pixie's Snippets Playground to wave them about there.

So that is me for today folks .... ... you never know I might even manage to get a few projects behind me for sharing here over the next few days!!  Woo hoo!!!

Have a good evening everyone.

Love

Tuesday, 5 April 2016

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday .. .. just!!!

I was hoping to have appeared with a teeny tiny Tuesday card today .. .. but sadly it just didn't happen.  Can't believe there wasn't even time to cover the front of a 3.5 inch card!!!  Shame on me!!

Life has been super exciting and busy over the last week or so .. .. not helped by the fact that I have had to endure one of those rather large birthdays and a wedding anniversary, both of which have involved lots of celebrating.

Mr Heart and I went away for a lovely little break .. .. not very far to travel and very enjoyable .. .. and there has been lots of celebrating with family and friends too.  No wonder the scales weren't very pleased with me this week .. .. boo hoo!!!  

But hopefully now that Mr Heart has returned to work, life might settle back into more of a normal routine.

As I haven't managed to make a card today I thought I would share a couple of makes from the commissions I worked on for the issue of Quick Cards Made Easy magazine that has just gone on sale .. .. though to be fair I could have shown you all the cards from both commissions as I loved every one.

The first comes from a Chalkboard Effect Commission that I really enjoyed completing


and the second used dies on a Fancy Edge Card commission.  


I loved this card so much!!  I even made one very similar for a very special friend to give me for my birthday LOL!!

So I have made an appearance .. at last.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed very soon .. .. not that I am sure what normal is any more in the old House of Hearts!

Take care everyone and I'll catch you soon.

Love

Friday, 25 March 2016

MESSAGE FROM ABOVE

Hi Everyone

Happy Good Friday!

What a fabulous day it has been.  

Lovely sunshine here .. .. and Mr Heart was even able to cut the lawns!  I love the smell of freshly cut grass.

But what I want to know is how come in the week we have super early alarms (we need three of them to wake us up!!)  .. .. .. but come the weekend and bank holidays when the alarms are switched off and I have the chance to lie in I am awake even earlier than when the alarms would normally go off? What's that all about?

If you have ever seen the film Frozen .. ..  Mr Heart decided that I am the little girl "here" who wakes up hyper and announces "The sky's awake so I'm awake" .. .. but to be fair I'm not quite that bad .. .. but I do whisper in Mr Heart's ear "the sky's awake"! 

Yes .. .. I am annoying!!  But Mr Heart just smiles and goes back to sleep and I get up and play LOL!!  Not many men would put up with me that's for sure.

Well in today's early morning play time, I managed to make a card using my new sketch from yesterday (I just needed to machine stitch very slowly so as not to create too much noise at "daft o'clock".. ..  so here it is:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2617J" Message from Above
Sentiment:  Cardio "Sentiments"
Backing Papers:  Kaisercraft "Treasured Moments"
MFT Die-namics:  Blueprints 14
My Trusty Sewing Machine
ProMarkers
Pinking Shears
Ribbon and Pearls from my crafty stash box
and Sketch Number Twenty Five from my little sketch library tab


and that is me for today.  

Enjoy the rest of the Easter break.  Hopefully not too many of you are having to work through it.

Love

Thursday, 24 March 2016

A NEW SKETCH

Hi Everyone

Happy Thursday ahead of what I hope will be a lovely Bank Holiday weekend for everyone!  The weather doesn't sound too promising but never mind.  

I am pleased to report that sketch number twenty five has made an appearance in my little sketch library today.

Sadly there has been no time for me to put it to use yet .. .. but at least it is sitting there ready for when I get chance!

So here it is:


If you fancy using it then please feel free to do so .. .. along with any of the other sketches that are in my little sketch library.  You will find them all in the little tab at the top of my blog.

Happy Easter everyone - and don't eat too much chocolate (just "nearly" too much) LOL!!

Love

Tuesday, 22 March 2016

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!

I hope your week has got off to a good start.

Mine has been quite productive so far, and today started with a major clear up as I needed a completely clear desk for my next mission.  

So whilst clearing I of course came across a few little snippet of card that I couldn't possibly throw away .. .. .. and rather than add them to the huge snippet mountain I decided I would turn them into a teeny, tiny 3.5" square card for taking over to Di's Crafty Snippets Playground.  It also gave me chance to have a quick play with that cute little sheep die I bought from the NEC last week.

So here we go:




This used:

Marianne Collectables Die "COL1385" Sheep
MFT Die-namics Die Set:  Blueprints 12
X-Cut Flower Punch
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Weathered Wood Distress Ink Pad
Computer Generated Sentiment using font"Zipty Do"
My Trusty Sewing Machine
We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board 
and a tiny scrap of ribbon for the bow

and that is it!

First outing for my little sheep die.  

Off to mess up that tidy desk now!!  I bet it will take all of 20 minutes to look as messy as it did before I had the tidy up LOL!!!

Catch you again soon.

Love

Saturday, 19 March 2016

NEC 2016

Hi Everyone

Happy weekend.

I had a fabulous day at the NEC yesterday .. .. though I can't say the train journey there and back was fabulous.

Hardly any carriages and everyone crushed together .. .. .. far worse than I have ever experienced on the London underground .. .. so every time someone needed to get off the folk standing in the door area needed to get off to let them through .. .. and you just hoped you were able to get back on again along with all the new passengers that were being let on!! 

Anyway, I won't moan any more (except to perhaps mention my still aching feet LOL!!!).

I thought you might like to hear about my favourite stands and see what I was too weak to resist:

These first two were my very favourites stands.

The first one because of the amazing demonstrations and the patience of the lady demonstrating who answered everyone's questions .. .. whilst at the same time twinkling with glitter!!

This was Card-io - where I got these lovely goodies.  I am just hoping I can re-create some of the fantastic cards that were being demonstrated.  No need for blending tools or duster brushes .. .. just a dry baby wipe and tiny little ink pads produced the most amazing results.

 I see from their website that they are on Create and Craft on Wednesday so I will definitely be getting that lined up to record.



Then my other favourite was Inkylicious

Again fabulous demonstrations but also the most amazing collection of stamps and sentiments backed up with the most beautiful sample cards which had all been made by the owner and her Mum.  Each one made you want the stamps to recreate them .. .. I had to be super strong on this stand (but will definitely be visiting their website again (when my crafty pennies have  replenished themselves).


Next the essentials in the form of kraft card stock and charms and then a set of Extra Large X-Cut circle dies.  I am hoping to use these to make pages to go inside a circular guest book made from two records.  Looking forward to trying that!!


Then some lovely shaped dies that I am keen to create with - the little ewe looked great all made up on the sample cards. 


So that was my fabby day and fabby purchases.  Can't wait to have a play .. .. but lots of orders and commissions to do first.

.. .. and that is me for today .. .. but before I go this is a message for the lovely ladies I spoke to on the Stampin' Up! stand who I had a great conversation with.  They were super excited that the MISTI is now available in the UK and I said I would link to where I got mine from for them.  Lovely to spend time with you ladies and here is the link Dies to Die For.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

Love 

Thursday, 17 March 2016

TO SAY THANK YOU

Hi Everyone

Happy Thursday!

I hope the week is being kind to you.  The weather definitely seems to be taking a turn for the better here! 

I wanted to say a proper "thank you" to everyone who left me such kind comments and supported me recently in the 2016 British Craft Awards.  I truly can't thank everyone enough for all the kind words and encouragement I was given, and for continuing to visit my blog even though work pressures in my little wedding stationery business often prevent me from posting and visiting in blogland as often as I would like to.

It really means a lot to know I have such loyal followers .. .. who are happy to overlook my sporadic postings and continue to visit on the off chance I have made an appearance.  I can't believe that in the past I had time to post and comment every day .. .. I do miss that.

So as a thank you I have decided to do a little surprise giveaway.


To decide who should receive my little giveaway I took all the comments that people had kindly left on my original post here .. .. .. where I announced I had been nominated .. .. and the post here .. .. where I shared my excitement at actually winning one of the categories I was nominated for, and popped them all into a box along with those from people who do not have a blog but leave me lovely comments and messages by email.

The box was held up high above the head of the "now famous" Mr Heart to pick out a winner.

.. .. .. .. and that winner is

The lovely Eve 


The lovely thing is that I felt I really knew everyone who was placed in that box.  I knew little things about everyone in there and would have loved anyone and everyone to have won. I feel so blessed to have made so many lovely blog buddies .. .. some who I know I will never ever meet and yet feel so close to.

Is anyone heading to the NEC tomorrow (Friday)?  My lovely Sis and I are going for the first time in about five years!  A fun day ahead and I can't wait!!

Enjoy today and I will hopefully catch you again soon.

If you could get in touch with your address Eve I will get your goodies in the post to you.

Love and hugs and thanks to everyone .. .. 

Tuesday, 15 March 2016

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!  I hope everyone is well and life is being kind to you.

At last my world is starting to slow down into a more normal pace (well normal for me) after a very manic start to the year .. .. it has seemed like every time I have crossed something off that crafty "must do" list it has been replaced by another three items that are equally as important.  Hence my non-appearance in blogland recently.  Where is 2016 disappearing too!!?!

Anyway, I am pleased to say that I have manged to create one of my teeny tiny 3.5" square cards for sharing today.




This used:

Image and Sentiment:  Stampin' Up Clear Stamp Set "Garden in Bloom"
Memento Dew Drop Ink Pads:  Dandelion, Cantaloupe, Tangelo, Pear Tart, Pistachio and Tuxedo Black
Accent Beads - that have been lurking in my bead collection for years and never seem to reduce
Glossy Accents
My Trusty Sewing Machine
We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

and something a bit naughty!!

Confession time .. .. .. I have been longing for a MISTI stamp tool for ages, and ages, and ages, and when I saw earlier this year that Tracy at Dies to Die For was accepting pre-orders for them, I decided I would order one ahead of my birthday later this month .. .. and put any birthday money I was lucky enough to receive towards it.  Big birthdays hurt and deserve a big treat!!!

Well it arrived at the weekend but Mr Heart was clearly of the opinion that it shouldn't be used until my birthday. What torture.  But I was a little bit naughty today and used it on this card with a layered Stampin' Up set.  I couldn't wait to use it any longer .... and it is so fabby!!!  I love it!!!

My theory is that if I have paid for it with my own money so far .. .. then it isn't a birthday present.  It will only become a birthday present once I receive birthday pennies!!  Does that sound right?  Well it works for me. LOL!!  I have put it all neatly back into the box now though so Mr Heart may never know.

My lovely Sis and I did another wedding fayre on Sunday and I still have everything to pack away! What happened to that promise to myself of being super organised .. .. clearly it went out of the window along with the new year resolution to make Christmas cards all year.  I have made a grand total of one so far!!!

Sigh!!!

Hopefully it won't be too long before I am back with another creation.

Love 

Friday, 4 March 2016

DUCKLING

Hi Everyone

Happy Friday!!!

Yay!!!  The weekend is nearly here .. .. not that the weekend is particularly different to the rest of the week for me .. .. it is crafty fun all the way.. .. but it will mean that Mr Heart is around, which is nice.

A quick share today:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "3347H" Duckling
Sentiment:  Computer Generated using font "Candy Round"
Backing Papers:  Dovecraft "Floral Muse"
Nestabilities:  Classic Circle, Classic Oval, Scalloped Circle and Scalloped Oval
Joy Craft Dies:  Flowers 2
ProMarkers
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Pearls from my crafty stash box
and Sketch Number Twenty Four from my little sketch library - which you can find on a tab near the top of my blog


That now means I have caught up and used all of my sketches at least once  . .. .. . must get some more made!!  It saves me load of time to just click on the tab and choose a design to work with.

Have a good weekend everyone, and a happy Mothering Sunday to all you lovely Mums out there!

Love