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A very warm welcome to my teeny, tiny part of the huge world of blogging. This is where I am hoping to 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 always 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.

SKETCH LIBRARY

Friday, 17 January 2014

SKETCH SATURDAY

Hi Everyone

Zoom .. .. .. my week has gone!!!

Sorry for the quiet couple of days.  All super busy on the wedding/order front and I need to keep my head down and get on.

I needed a card in a hurry on Tuesday so I nipped over to the Sketch Saturday Challenge blog as their sketches are always scrummy to use .. .. and this is what I came up with:




This used:

Image and sentiment:  Pink Petticoat "Just for Ewe"
Backing Papers:  DCWV " Latte Stack"
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Cuttlebug Embossing Borders "Just My Type"
Distress Ink:  Tumbled Glass
ProMarker
Glamour Dust
White Gel Pen
Scrap of wool

and this is the sketch I followed in case you have time to play.


The challenge closes today so I had better get a wriggle on and link up!  Can't believe my card was finished Tuesday and delivered to the recipient by Royal Mail before it even made its way to my blog!  Slacker!!!

All super busy here with wedding work and things are hotting up with enquiries from "new happy couples" who have happy days planned .. .. I see my first new couple of 2014 this Saturday.  Woo hoo!!

I think it is going to be a bumper wedding year this year if these first two weeks of 2014 are anything to go by.  Who said romance was dead?!?!

Have a lovely day everyone and thanks for calling by my blog.

Hoping to get some serious visiting of my own in over the weekend!!  I am a rubbish blog buddy!  Sorry :-(

Love

Monday, 13 January 2014

ONE OF THOSE WE DON'T LIKE MAKING

Hi Everyone

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

My share today is one of those cards that it always makes me feel sad to make.  

It isn't one that I need to send personally, it has been requested by someone else .. .. but even so it is still sad to think someone is no longer part of this world and others are hurting because of their absence.

But I suppose it is all part of the pathway of life.  

So here we go:




This used:

Image and Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat  "Dandelion Wisps"
Backing Paper:  Pink Petticoat "Pinstripes" "Vintage Rose"(another one that is retiring!!  Gosh I won't be able to link through soon as all my downloads will no longer be available).
My trusty sewing machine
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads

So that is me for today.

Hopefully I will be back tomorrow .. .. .. but there is a lot on that there do list !!!

Love 

Sunday, 12 January 2014

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday .. .. I hope your weekend has been a good one and you managed to find a bit of crafty time for yourself.

Today has lasted a little longer than yesterday and I am pleased with my progress .. .. but there is still lots to do and I could do with another two days in every week (two that are just for me and no-one else is aware of!!  LOL!!).

So as promised here are my Sunday snippets for taking over to show my playmates over in Pixies Crafty Snippet Challenge  .. .. ..







 as always on a Sunday I am lazy and do not list my ingredients but if you want to know where anything has come from just ask away.

I love colouring that gorgeous snowman stamp .. .. and I am really sad because I also love sticking the little peel off dots on.  Those too are snippets because they are the waste left over from some peel-off stickers that are yonks old.

So that is me for today.

I hope you have a good week (and if you find out how to add more days to it then please let me know).

Love

Saturday, 11 January 2014

WHERE DID TODAY GO?

Hi Everyone

I hope your Saturday has been a good one .. .. not sure where mine went!  I think I blinked and missed it.

The plan was to tie lots of ribbons .. .. but I haven't tied anywhere near enough!!  Never mind tomorrow is another day.

Here is my share for today using another of the lovely images from a retiring set over at Pink Petticoat .. .. and even the papers are retiring.  One of my favourite backing paper collections too!!  




This used:

Image and Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat "Diva Doodles"
Backing Paper:  Pink Petticoat "Perfect Papers"
ProMarkers
Ribbon, charm, cord and gems from my stash box

and that is me for today.

Time for a relax now!!

Catch you tomorrow with my snippets.

Love

Friday, 10 January 2014

SKETCH AND STASH - CHALLENGE 130

Hi Everyone

Woo hoo!!!

Happy Friday .. .. the weekend is in touching distance!!

I hope you have all had a good day and the weather hasn't been too awful for you.  It was actually quite nice here today until tea-time and since then we have had constant rain :-(

I have had an order collected today (which means a bare area in the production line) and then made a small batch of cards for my lovely Sis to take to her salon .. .. and then decided I deserved a little play with my new stamp set which I bought with my Christmas money from my Mum.  I saw it on the WOW! Embossing Powder website .. .. and when a set sticks in your brain and won't leave it you know it is right for your collection.  Plus I thought the price was amazing for a whole set of stamp and sentiments!

So here we go, my new stamp set used for the Sketch and Stash Challenge:




This used:

Image and Sentiment:  "Stampset 2" Gratitude
Backing Papers:  Nitwits "FQB Petal Fresh Collection"
Distress Ink Pad:  Tumbled Glass
ProMarkers
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
My Trusty Sewing Machine
ProMarkers
Glamour Dust

and if you fancy playing along then here is the sketch I followed.  I saw it over on lovely Debs' blog and just knew I would enjoy playing with it:


I wish you all a lovely rest of Friday evening and a great weekend.  (I can smell my fish and chips are about ready .. .. I love Friday's when I am spoilt and have my meal cooked for me .. .. but I don't enjoy the mess that is left behind . .. but you can't have everything in life can you!!  LOL!!!)

Love

Thursday, 9 January 2014

I RAN OUT OUT TIME !

Hi Everyone

Happy Thursday!!

Sorry for the "no show" yesterday.  I ran out of time LOL!!  I am on a mega catch-up in the old craft pod following the Christmas/New Year break.  Good job my batteries got well charged up so I feel nice and hyper!

It was a busy, busy manic day yesterday and then hubby got the treat of a bottle of red wine out for us to have with our evening meal (though to be honest it was so late by then you couldn't even call it evening any more!!).  I am so lucky not to be married to a man that expects his dinner to be on the table as he walks through the front door!!

I didn't even find time to release all the lovely comments you left me on my lovely new die!!  Can't wait to use it!!

But here is the card I was going to share with you yesterday .. .. had time allowed  (yes, more of those gorgeous hedgies!!:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2074J" Mighty Wishes!
Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat (sadly no longer available)
Backing Papers:  Fancy Pants "Swagger"
X-Cut Punch:  Corner Rounder
ProMarkers

A nice simple make but using one of my favourite new images that I bought in a sale just before Christmas. I just love colouring it and it is great for those pesky male cards .. .. which is always a bonus.

So that is me .. .. late for yesterday and early for today!!  LOL!!!

Hope you have a good day.

Love

Tuesday, 7 January 2014

SOOOOO EXCITED !!!

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!!  I hope your day has been a good one.

The post lady today delivered the goodies I bought with the Christmas money my lovely Mum kindly gave me.

Not sure when I am going to get chance to play with everything because that "do list" is growing at a fair old rate of knots!!  But you know what it's like.  You get a new die and you just have to cut with it don't you! Well .. .. it would be rude not to!

I ordered this little beauty from Impression Obsessions .. .. called "Heart of Hearts".  I have had my eye on it for a while and have lots of plans in my head for it .. .. but I had never even considered all the hearts that would fall out of the die once cut. Just look at them all !!!!


Tee hee .. .. there are some super tiny ones there for me to torture you all with at a later stage aren't there? LOL!!!

They will sit in a special little box all of their own ready for action and if the box gets too full then I will be able to sprinkle them on the table at our next wedding fayre won't I.

I need to have a clear up campaign now and set everything up ready for hitting the ground running tomorrow so I will love and leave you!

Have a lovely evening everyone.  Hope you are dry, safe and warm.

Love

Monday, 6 January 2014

LOLA ROSE IS RETIRING (AND SHE DOESN'T LOOK OLD ENOUGH)

Hi Everyone

Happy Monday!!!

Hubby was back at work today after his break and I have dropped back into my old routine as if we never even had a Christmas.  Certainly the 6.00am alarm was a bit of a shock to the system.  

Tonight's share is using up some of an old paper stack. I love the colours in it.




This used:

Image:  Pink Petticoat "Lola Rose Big Birthday Wishes" (it just took me ages to find this image over at Pink Petticoat and I was shocked to see that it is being retired along with lots of other images).  Best check there aren't any I "need" before they disappear!!!  Eeekkk!!
Sentiment: Pink Petticoat "Tiny Celebration Sentiments" .. .. which was stamped with the plain label from the LOTV Christmas Tag set.
Backing Papers:  DCWV "Latte Stack"
Martha Stewart Punch:   Traditional Scallop
Woodware Punches:  Daisy
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
ProMarkers
Glamour Dust
Ribbon, Brad and Eyelet from the Stash Box

and that is me for today.

Must go and check out those retiring Pink Petticoat images now before I regret it.

Love

Sunday, 5 January 2014

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday!

I hope you are having a lovely day.

I am being super brave and sharing a New Year Resolution here today in the hope that writing it down will make it happen!

Every year I regret not having made enough Christmas cards in the build up to Christmas, and I end up making them in a mad rush (or not at all).  So I am starting really early and this year Sunday snippets "have to consist of at least two makes" and a least one of them has to be a Christmas card.  Those are my new self inflicted rules. 

So it will mean I am using up double the number of snippets and getting my Christmas card collection growing too .. .. win, win!!!  I know it will feel strange come the height of summer .. .. but hopefully by then it will just be a habit I am into.

So here we go with my first two snippet makes for 2014 .. .. all ready for taking over to share with my lovely snippet playmates in Pixie's Snippet Playground Challenge:







I am still going to be lazy on a Sunday though and not list my ingredients.  It saves me having to work out and list where all my paper snippets originated from LOL!!  

Rather a lot to do today here in the House of Hearts so I am going to fly .. .. ..  but hopefully I will be able to have a bit of a blog catch up this evening.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Love

Saturday, 4 January 2014

T.L.C.

Hi Everyone

I hope your weekend has gone well so far.

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my share of yesterday.  It sounds like quite a few of you would like to have a go at making a similar card.  If you do, and you fancy sharing, I know the magazine would love to see what you make.  You can send a photograph in by email.  (And yes, there are hearts on my commissions too, there were lots on the ribbon).

Can you believe I took our tree down today and when checking which lights no longer worked .. .. they all did!!!  Then they didn't, then they did!!  Typical!!

A speedy post sharing my make tonight:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "3924K" T.L.C,
Sentiment:  Inkadinkado "96070-M" Kathy Davis Happy Anniversary (without the flower)
Backing Paper:  Nitwits Collections "Always and Forever FQB"
My Trusty Sewing Machine
ProMarkers
Diamond Stickles

Catch you again tomorrow with my snippets .. .. and one of my new year resolutions!!

Enjoy the rest of today.

Love