SKETCH ON A SATURDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Saturday .. .. in fact happy Bank Holiday Saturday!  

A lovely long weekend .. .. a taste of what is to come when Mr Heart begins his new regime come October.  He is getting a bit excited about three day weekends becoming the norm!  I wonder why LOL!!

Yesterday I had a play with my new sketch and I decided it had better be another Christmas card (sorry) in an attempt to add to that hungry Christmas stock box.  I had intended to post last night, but sadly lack of time meant it didn't happen.

So here I am now instead: 

This used:

Sentiment:  Stampendous "CRH296" Cling Joyeux Noel

Backing Papers::  Kaisercraft "Frosted"

White Embossing Powder

Wooden embellishment heat embossed with white embossing powder

My Trusty Sewing Machine

Snowflake from the overflowing snowflake die-cut box

Ribbons and gems from my crafty stash box

Sketch Number Thirty Six from my sketch library which looks like this

Good timing though because I am able to enter this into the Rudolph Day Challenge for August.

Enjoy your weekend everyone .. .. the sun has made an appearance here already so let's hope it is here to stay for at least three days (but more if it can mange it would be good)!

Catch you again soon hopefully.

A NEW SKETCH AT LAST

Hi Everyone

Happy Thursday!

Hope you have had a good day.

I seem to be having a really good week this week and getting lots done .. .. oh for every week to be like this one! 

Lots of orders crossed off the list, wedding invitations finished ready for handing over tomorrow, a baby step forward in catching up with my commenting and even a new sketch added to my sketch library at last!  Woo hoo!!  

I have a little book with sketches doodled in them ready for sharing .. .. I just need to convert them into actual images I can share with everyone.

For anyone new to my blog there is a tab under my profile picture that will show you all the sketches currently in my collection. Please feel free to use any you like the look of.

So here is the new sketch .. .. number thirty six.

Sadly there has been no time for me to actually use it today though. I hope you like it and have fun with it if you decide to have a play.

Did anyone catch Lavinia Stamps on Hochanda this morning?  It was their first ever appearance on the show .. .. an early 8.00am programme .. .. but it was super busy for them and everything was selling really quickly. There was hardly anything left by the end so come the 2.00pm slot they were taking orders with delayed delivery .. .. and even that had to be cut short. How wonderful for them.

Anyway, that is me for today.

Catch you soon

HAPPY POST

Hi Everyone

Happy Wednesday!

I hope it has been a good day for you.

The sun actually made an appearance here this afternoon .. .. .. let's hope it is going to be around over the bank holiday weekend.

What wasn't quite so exciting was the speed at which it started to go dark tonight.  I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer yet.

A magazine dropped through my door yesterday that I had been fortunate to have been asked to contribute to.  It is one of those bumper magazine where you get lots of supplies for making a variety of projects .. .. whether you like stamping, embossing, decoupage or simply using the papers and toppers.  

When the commissions were sent I only received the supplies I needed to work with .. .. so when I saw the other items in the bundle it was a lovely surprise.

I particularly love the little row of houses .. .. how cute are they?  They will definitely be being inked up sometime soon!

As for my makes in the magazine .. .. well these were my favourites.. ..

There aren't just cards in the magazine but tags, gift bag and box ideas.  

These were my gift bag and box .. .. I loved making the little gift bag on the left it closes with a little velcro tab.  

So that is me for today.

Catch you again soon.

TEENY, TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!

I hope today has been a good one for everyone .. .. and if not then hopefully tomorrow will be a much better one for you.

My day has been quite productive and got off to a good start by me at last actually reaching the bottom of that annoying ironing basket.  It has taken three ironing sessions to finally see the end of it!!  That laundry fairy never did make an appearance.  

We have one of those meters that lets you have cheaper rate electricity through the night/early morning and I love getting up early to get as many appliances working as I can.  A really good day in my eyes sees the kettle, washing machine, dishwasher, tumble drier and iron all working at the same time.  How sad am I?  

Then once all that excitement was over and done with I was ready to hit the ground running and attack some of the things on my crafty "must do" list.  Lots to accomplish in the next few weeks so I need to be ultra organised and productive.

One of the big things on my list is to prep for a wedding fayre that is happening at the beginning of September.  I have a lovely box of new card, blingy bits, lace and ribbons that my fingers have been itching to make some new samples with .. .. I sadly didn't get as far as that today .. .. .. but I have set up the bare bones of my display table ready for deciding what colours and designs are going to display well together.   As my table never looks the same from one fayre to the next I always mock up my table at home and take photographs on my ipad, that way I can follow those and set up quicker at the venue.

I did find time for a teeny, tiny Tuesday make though .. .. and apologies for it being a Christmas card .. .. I know it is still far too early for a lot of you .. .. but my stock box of Christmas cards was "culled" at the weekend by a lovely customer and the box was left holding just one card!  (If she had a baby Grand-daughter I think that would have gone too LOL!!). 

So here we go .. .. my 3.5" x 3.5" little creation for today:

This used:

Image:  Digistamp Boutique "Partridge in a Pear Tree" (I love that digi stamps can be re-sized)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated using font Times New Roman.  There are sentiments alongside the image but I wanted to use slightly different words.
No backing paper .. .. just a couple of strips of washi tape on the card base
ProMarkers
Distress Ink:  Antique Linen
Glossy Accents
Glamour Dust
Tiny Pearls
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I know partidges don't really have blue feathers .. .. let alone sparkly ones .. .. but it is nice to dress up at Christmas don't you think?

I am also going to enter my card into the August Challenge over at Digistamp Boutique.

So that is me for today . .. a little bit earlier than last night..

I wonder what tomorrow will hold for us all?

MONDAY'S MALE

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a good start to a new week!

Mine has been spent having a tidy up of the craft spaces ahead of what is going to be a manic six weeks or so.. .. .. and whilst tidying I came across the box I use to hold images I have coloured and stored ready for use later.  Great for when you are short of time!

So one of those images has made its way onto today's card.

I am going to enter my card into this month's Penny Black Saturday Challenge where they want to see a shaped card (but not square or rectangular) .. .. my choice is a little boring I know .. .. but I went for a circular card.

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2078H" Birthday Dog

Sentiment and Backing Papers:  Pink Petticoat (now called The Lovely Studio) but the sentiment is no longer available.

Spellbinder Nestabilities:  Classic Circles and Scalloped Circles

ProMarkers

Heart and Star Punch

Glossy Accents
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Glitter and Ribbon from my crafty stash box

So that is me for today.  A little later than I intended but better late than never.

Catch you again soon.

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday!

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

Today is a special day in our family .. .. it is the London Kids wedding anniversary .. .. and this is the card I made for them.

As no full pieces of card were harmed during the making of this project it is perfect for taking over to share in Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge where we are encouraged to use our "leftovers" from other projects.

Everything for this creation came from my huge pile of snippets apart from the ribbon.  That needed to come off a roll because all my offcuts were completely the wrong colour.

So that is me for today.  A short and sweet post because on a Sunday I am always lazy and do not list my ingredients .. .. but if there is anything you wish to know then please just ask away.

I am busy trying to catch up with myself (again!!) after a couple of days away.  

I always feel like I am on "catch up" these days.  What a shame the laundry fairy didn't come and take up residence whilst we were away!  They would have been very, very welcome!

Catch you again soon.

PURR-FECT

Hi Everyone

Happy Thursday!

A while ago I named Thursday on my blog as TIMMAY day .. .. standing for "those I must make all year" (meaning Christmas cards) .. .. but of course that hasn't happened as much as it should.  

But today is an exception .. .. I am here using a pre-loved stamp that I gained from Ebay a couple of weeks ago

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "1516K" Jolly Xmas Kitty
Sentiment:  Computer Generated using Font "Wreath Regular" and Craft Artist 2
Backing Papers:  Dovecraft "Winter Blooms" (one of last years paper packs that is still going strong)
Die-namics Dies:  Blueprints 14
ProMarkers
Glossy Accents
Ribbon from my crafty stash box

I was well chuffed to gain this image.  I can remember seeing it many many years ago in a lovely craft shop in London where they had so many Penny Black stamps I was in heaven.  But at that stage in my crafting journey I felt the stamp was far too big for me to ever be able to do anything with it .. .. .. and every Christmas since I regretted not buying it .. .. simply because I wanted to team it up with my idea of a great sentiment.

I think this one will be being repeated quite a few times this year .. .. particularly to cater for all those cat lovers!

So that is me for today with another much needed card for my Christmas stock box.

Many thanks for all your lovely messages on yesterday's post .. .. and the suggestions for things to occupy Mr Heart on his soon to be gained Mondays!  I have been reporting them all back to him .. .. but so far he hasn't said "that's a good idea"!  He simply laughs!  I wonder why!?!? LOL!!!

Take care everyone and I'll catch you again soon hopefully.

HOW LONG?

Hi Everyone

Well I cannot believe it is nearly two weeks since I made an appearance on my blog . .. . .. shame on me!!! 

So much has been happening.  All good though so I can't complain!

Lots of work has arrived and departed .. . .. . .. and some has arrived and will be around for quite a while as some of my happy couples aren't getting married until next year .. .. .. but that doesn't stop us designing and ordering all the materials we are going to need to complete their orders.  It just means I need lots of storage space.  

Mr Heart has been on holiday from work this week too so that has thrown a spanner into my routine and it has been a case of me grabbing time when I can to escape to my lovely crafty world.   It is no good him taking holiday and me ignoring him now is it !?!?!

Nothing I have made over the last two weeks can be shared just yet .. .. but I can share my favourite makes from this month's issue of Quick Cards Made Easy which has just gone on sale.

The first commission I was very fortunate to receive was a technique one called Distress Oxide Inks Made Easy.  I had the time of my life with this commission because alongside the fabulous Oxide Inks I used a variety of beautiful stamps from Lavinia Stamps. Hard to choose my favourite from the card collection really because I loved them all .. .. but I will go for this one

Then my second commission was also a technique one called Filigree Panel Cards Made Easy where I used scrummy First Edition Dies alongside sentiments from Digistamp Boutique. 

Again I could have posted all of my makes .. .. but this one was my favourite

So there we go .. at least you know I am still alive and kicking (and crafting where I can) until Mr Heart returns to work on Monday.

But there is change on the horizon .. .. Mr Heart is starting self inflicted phased retirement come the beginning of October .. .. and will be working a four day week.  No more Mondays in the office for him.

That means my Monday routine will be thrown out of the window.  I will need to draw up a new plan of attack for all I want to achieve.  But he has been warned .. .. I am not ready for slowing down any day soon.  I am having far too much fun.

The best bit of him not working on a Monday will be that he can take over the job of bringing the bins down the drive and washing them out .. .. I definitely won't miss that job!!  LOL!!

Hopefully see you soon.

DAYS UNTIL .. ..

Hi Everyone

Happy Friday .. .. ahead of what I hope is going to be a lovely weekend for us all!

Today I thought you might like to see something I have put together for giving my niece when I see her this evening.  

She gets married in a few weeks time .. .. and I thought she might like to stick this to the front of her fridge to help with the exciting "countdown".

Quite a few people have asked me if I would consider doing tutorials or videos of how I make some of my projects.  

I am sorry but as much as I am sure I would enjoy doing it, I don't feel video creating will ever feature in my crafting life .. .. there isn't enough spare time in my life to do all of that editing etc.  It seems difficult enough sometimes to just get something posted here on my blog .. .. but perhaps the next best thing might be a series of photographs .. .. so I will explain how I have made my plaque with the help of some pictures.  If you feel this is interesting / helpful in any way then let me know and I can consider doing this type of thing a little more often .. .. but sadly no videos :-(

So here we go with the process

I started out by using my Craft Artist 2 programme to decorate a rectangle using a variety of downloads and colours and then added my words using font Sweetheart Script (how appropriate LOL!!).

This was then printed onto heavy duty smooth card, stuck to mountboard and then cut to size using my trustyFiskars ProCision Paper Trimmer .. .. .. .. this is something that has been in my arsenal for a couple of years now and I really don't know how I would cope without it now.  Anything that can cut mountboard as well as it cuts photocopy paper has to be a winner in my book .. . and no blades or cutting strips to replace either .. .. bonus!  Great for large 12 x 12 papers but it will also fold in half when working on smaller jobs.

Next thick twine is tied through the hole in a wooden chalkboard heart, the hole is then topped with a twine bow and the other end is tied around a piece of chalk.  Add one part of a strong magnet to the twine on the chalk and the second half of the magnet to the plaque front.  

Gems are stuck to the flowers in the top right hand corner to finish the front.

Four crafting magnets on the back will stick the plaque to a fridge front .. .. but alternatively you could cut two holes in the top and thread ribbon or twine through to hang it up.

So just a little wrapping job from me now and today's project is all ready for giving away tonight .. .. just leaving my niece with the job of counting up the days for writing on the heart.

Of course something like this could be counting down to anything .. .. .. Christmas, a holiday, a special birthday .. .. in fact anything you want to add some extra excitement too .. .. but for our family it will be the countdown to a very special day that we are all looking forward to very, very much.

Oh .. .. and before you ask .. .. yes I have been on stationery duty for her and so far I have done save the dates, day and evening invitations. This just leaves the venue stationery which will go into production in a few weeks.

So that is me for today.  I can't actually lay claim for inventing this type of plaque .. .. I have been making them for a while based on one I saw in a shop window in York where they were selling ones that said .. .. .. Days until Santa comes!   Oooo... now there's a scary thought.  How many days is it now!!! LOL!!!

I'll catch you again soon .. .. have a lovely weekend.

TEENY, TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!

August already!!  Where did the rest of the year disappear to?

Here with another teeny, tiny card (3.5 inches square for anyone new to my blog).  

Pretty quick to make except when it came to the butterflies .. .. I just couldn't decide what colour looked best .. .. and now I have 9 other pairs of rejected butterflies. Never mind .. .. they will go in a tiny jam jar to come out again another day (when I can't decide what colour to use LOL!!).

This used:

Image:  Hero Arts  "H2817" Garden Flowers Sketch

Backing Paper:  just a snippet that I think was from a Stampin' Up collection

ProMarkers

My Trusty Sewing Machine

X-Cut Butterfly Punch (very old and no longer available)

Woodware Tag Punch

Twine and Pearls from my crafty stash box

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

Ideally I would have liked to have used an old paperback book for the background .. .. but it would appear that it is time for me to raid a charity shop again because there were none around that I could use.  So instead I used the next best thing I had kicking around in my snippet collection.

OK .. .. so that is me for today.  Best fly!

Enjoy the rest of your evening.