LAYERED OR FLAT FOR AS YOU LIKE IT

Hi Everyone

I hope your week has been going well.

Many thanks for the lovely wishes for Mum's birthday .. .. I started writing this post earlier today whilst I was with her, and can't believe that her birthday cards are still on display.  

Five days of birthday cards!   Must be a world record!  LOL!!!

It has all been very busy in the home of hearts and I feel like I am yet again meeting myself coming backwards.  But I have managed a bit of time in my little craft pod to chill and relax which has been super lovely and this is one of the creations I made.

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2062K" Fish are Jumpin
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Backing Papers:  Pink Petticoat (Sadly no longer trading)
ProMarkers
Corner Rounding Punch
Diamond Stickles for a bit of sparkle on the water .. .. but not showing up on the photograph
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I am taking this over to the "As You Like It" Challenge" where they would like to know what our favourite is:  Layered or Flat Cards (and why)?

No prizes for guessing that I love layered cards .. .. ..  mainly I think because I like to incorporate lots different layers so I can stitch them (but I do try to keep them postage friendly, unless the card is able to be given in person).  

Plus the layers help to reduce my mountain of paper and card snippets.

Enjoy the rest of the week .. .. .. where are all of these days disappearing to?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all enjoyed a good week - it has been a super busy one here .. .. hence being a bit of a blogland stranger.  

Every day is special, but today is extra special and I will be heading to Mum to celebrate her birthday. She is a whole 95 today!  

She shared with me the other day that she was born in a thunderstorm .. .. .. which was weird because we have had thunderstorms this week.  Must be natures way of celebrating her birthday!  LOL!!

I love making cards for her and try to make each one special as I have now reached a stage where deep down I can’t help but wonder if it will be the last one I will get to make for her .. .. but thankfully she is still managing to clock up the years .. .. and long may that continue.

This is my offering for birthday number 95 (which will no doubt be in the bin come Monday) because she gets fed up with things cluttering the place up!  LOL!!  No soppy keepsake boxes in Mum’s world.

This used:

Apple Blossom Designs Die Set:  Perfect Puzzles "Heart"
Backing Papers:  All from Snippet Mountains (this die gobbles them up so nicely)
Sentiment Computer generated and die cut using an old die set from The Works
Ribbon and twine
Corner Rounding Punch
and of course My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today.  Off to see the birthday girl soon!

Have a good weekend everyone.

TEENY, TINY TUESDAY TIME

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all having a happy Tuesday.

I was up bright and early today and got all of the "quiet" chores done super quickly so I could enjoy an early guilt free session in my little craft pod before Mr Heart surfaced - and this was the outcome made using a couple of my Teeny Tiny card blanks which measure a whole 9cm square.   

These used:

Image:  Penny Black "2995F" Stocking!
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Card and Backing Papers:  From the snippet box (which is getting a bit too full but to be fair cards of this size don't make much of a difference) - even if I do make two LOL!!!!!!!
ProMarkers

Spellbinders:  Circle and Scalloped Circle Dies

Crystal Glamour Dust

Xmas Red Stickles
My Trusty Sewing Machine

So that is me for today with two more Christmas cards added to the box and hoping to return to the craft pod later to enjoy a bit more crafty time.  There are never enough hours in a day for me to achieve everything I want too that's for sure - no matter how early I get up and start !!!

Hope you are lucky enough to have a bit of crafty time today too.

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a good weekend.

Some of mine has been spent in the craft pod .. .. .. and part of that time was dedicated to making a snippet card for taking over to the Snippets Playground Challenge.  No theme to follow other than to use up some of your leftovers in your creation.

It was super good news to know Di is now well enough to rally us all round again after her tumble which injured her arm and hand.  The word is that she tumbled climbing up the ladder into the treehouse, but I have my suspicions that she may have been being a bit "over-zealous" on the trampoline (again) and was attempting after doing back-flips, to jump high enough to fling herself through the air straight into the entrance of the treehouse - avoiding the use of the ladder completely!  

Do we have CCTV in the playground?

Anyway, this is my offering .. .. .. 

This used:

Papers and card are all snippets .. .. .. but unfortunately I forgot to take a photograph of my "before" ingredients .. .. .. but there are remnants below which I have just dragged out of the craft pod bin or were floating round for future use. 
Sentiment: MFT Die-namics Die "Thanks"
Spellbinders Heart Die
Paper Bow:  Creative Expressions Die "Ribbons and Bows"
My Trusty Sewing Machine
The backing card and papers were already cut to size and were sitting in a box waiting to be used.

There is a tiny matching heart I managed to cut from the leftovers too.  I thought it would be nice tied to a thank you present sometime to give to someone along with my card .. .. .. .. .and that is me for today.

Off now to see if I can backflip and land in the treehouse to deliver my creation.  Wish me luck!  Always super magical in the tree house once it is dark .. .. all the fairy lights make it so magical.

Hope you all have a good week ahead.

RELAX

Hi Everyone

I hope your day has been a good one.

We have actually had some much needed rain in our neck of the woods today.  But nothing like enough to make a big deal of difference to our reservoir levels.

But what I have noticed this week is that the nights are starting to draw in now .. .. followed by a shock I got at the post office when I noticed they had tons of calendars and diaries for 2026!!!!!  Eeekkk!!!

Anyway a quick share of one of the cards I managed to make today.

This used:

Image:  Beach Hut Collection from TheMOGallery via Etsy (which when I went to link seems to have disappeared) .. .. hopefully not permanently as they had some beautiful images that print so well.
Sentiment: Computer generated
Backing papers:  Pink Petticoat (also no longer trading) plus a snippet from Snippet Mountain
Corner Rounding Punch
Hot Fix Nail Heads
Ribbon
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I am entering this into the Little Red Wagon Challenge where the theme is "for a gentleman".

Hope everyone's week is going well .. .. .. the weekend is nearly here!!

A CARD FOR TWO CHALLENGES

Hi Everyone

I hope you enjoyed your bank holiday weekend.

Quite a bit of mine was spent with Mum hence the lack of blog posts.  But I have enjoyed some crafty time today which has been lovely.

So, here tonight with a card for two challenges:

This used:

Image:  DoCrafts Forever Friends (a really old little wooden stamp that I just love colouring)

Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat (sadly no longer trading)

ProMarkers

Backing Papers from Snippet Mountain

Spellbinders Circle and Scalloped Circle

Corner Rounding Punch

Tumbled Glass Distress Ink Pad

My Trusty Sewing Machine

This is for two challenges:

1.  The As You Like it Challenge - where they want to know your favourite colouring medium (and why)

My favourite colouring medium is definitely my ProMarkers.  I love them very much and am so happy with them that I have never bothered to even try any other sort of pens.  I like that they have a big chisel tip as well as the bullet tip for those bigger areas. 

and

2.  The Red Wagon Challenge - where the challenge is "the circle of life".  So you need to include circles somewhere in your creation.

No shortage of circles .. .. .. a plain one, a scalloped one and a good few on the backing paper.

Enjoy the rest of your evening and hopefully I will be here again soon.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LONDON KIDS

Hi Everyone

Today is a very special day in our family .. .. .. it is the Wedding Anniversary of our eldest son and his wife .. .. .. otherwise known as "the London Kids".

This is the card I made for them:

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "3338J" Long Kiss
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Backing Papers:  A gorgeous 12 x 12 pad called "Rose Gold" by Artstudio  (The Range)
Rose Gold Metallic Card
ProMarkers

Ribbon
Corner Rounding Punch
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Sadly the rose gold doesn't photograph too well .. .. but I tried my best.

Must admit I am loving having my Penny Black stamps and ProMarkers back in action.  I have missed them. 

Hope you have had a good day London Kids .. .. .. Loves ya very, very, very much!!!!

CRAFT WITH YOUR KRAFT

Hi Everyone

I hope your week is going well - my time has been spent with Mum these last few days .. .. .. but today my brother has been with Mum so I have had a whole day at home to catch up on the dreaded housework .. .. with the reward at the end being .. .. spending whatever time was left in my little craft haven.  Surprising how quickly you can fly through the housework when there is such a lovely treat at the end!

The ladies over at Little Red Wagon have set quite a simple challenge this week .. .. .."to use kraft cardstock" so no excuse for me not playing along as I love kraft card very, very much.  

Pre Covid when I used to do tons of weddings every other couple wanted kraft based stationery .. .. so I have loads of kraft snippets to delve into and have created this (which used "just one" of the bits I have available LOL!!)  .. .. .. 

This used:

Kraft Card Snippet
Patterned Snippets:  All that Glistens - First Edition Paper  (Very Old)

Sentiment:  Printed Ribbon
Spellbinders Heart Die
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Random snowflake

Don't ask me where that tiny little snowflake came from, it was lurking in my snowflake box as was the tiny little silver glitter card dot that is in the middle of it .. .. .. might have to investigate my snowflake dies because it is super cute.

To keep the finished card thin enough to go through that super narrow slot on the post office measuring gauge I actually cut a strip out of the heart and stitched it either side of the ribbon.

Off to link up now and then hopefully have little blog hopping session.

Catch you again soon.

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE - GUEST DESIGNER

Hi Everyone

Happy weekend!

Today is my last inspiration card for the current Penny Black Saturday Challenge where I have had the honour of being the Guest Designer for August.  

The theme is "Embossing" or "anything goes" .. .. .. but whichever option you choose does need to use a prominent Penny Black product.

This is what I have created:

This used:

Main Image:  "Whispers" Penny Black "3377K"

Background Image:  "Winsome" Penny Black "3811J" 

Sentiment:  "Loads of Love" Penny Black Clear Stamp Set "30-146"
Die for Main Image:  "A Pocket Full" Die Set Penny Black "51-053"

Tumbled Glass Distress Ink Pad (for distressing the main image panel)
Peeled Paint Distress Ink Pad (for stamping the "Whispers" stamp)

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder "Swiss Dots" for the embossed corners and also for debossing the paper-pieced sections of the main image (after having gently rubbed a black ink pad onto the raised side first)
White Embossing Powder for embossing the Winsome stamp to the background

Small Corner Rounding Punch

ProMarkers for adding extra colour to the stamped image.

Hot Fix Nail Heads
Flat Backed Gem
My Trusty Sewing Machine 

So that just leaves me to say a huge "Thank you" to the ladies on the Penny Black Saturday Team .. .. ..  I have enjoyed my time with you very very much.  

CHRISTMAS KICKSTART CHALLENGE

Hi Everyone

Not quite so bright and beautiful here today weatherwise .. .. .. but the air is much fresher and there is a chance of some rain .. .. which isn't a bad thing really as the gardens and the reservoirs really do need it.

Sharing a card today for taking over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme is 

"Let's Wreath it Up"

and this is what I have created:

This used:

Wreath Die:  Cheap and cheerful from Amazon here
Sentiment:  Computer generated
Backing paper I think was part of a Christmas pad from The Works ages ago 
Ribbon
Corner Rounding Punch
My Trusty Sewing Machine

A fun card to make that didn't involve me actually needing to do any die cutting at all because I had a little storage box full of leftover circles and wreath outlines from identical cards I have made previously .. .. and in a wide variety of colours.  So it was just a case of gluing the outline down and fitting the circles into the gaps. 

Hope your week is going well and no-one has ended up with sunburn.

I promise not to make my next post a Christmas one.  I know for a lot of people it is far too early to be making them, or even thinking about them .. .. .. but I just have to squeeze them in any chance I get.  

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday! 

Can't believe it if I have got the day right because all day my head has thought it is Wednesday for some reason .. .. .. I have been struggling for over a week to know what day it is.  As soon as I wake up I am racking my brains trying to work it out, and even then I change my mind a couple of times before I finally convince myself I have it right. LOL!!!

Anyway, once up and running, I decided I had better start making some cards for filling those teeny tiny envelopes I made here a little while back .. .. .. and boost my Christmas card collection into the bargain.

I decided to make a card using one of my favourite Stampin' Up! sets to create this Teeny Tiny card, which for anyone new to my blog measures a whole 9cm square:

This used:

Image and Sentiment:  Stampin' Up! "Hearts Come Home"

Heart die:  Poppystamps "Heart String"  (quite old now)

All paper and card from Snippet Mountain (not that it has reduced the pile very much LOL!!)

My Trusty Sewing Machine

Sadly only time to make one but each one counts in trying to avoid that last minute Christmas rush.

I am entering this into the challenge over at "Little Red Wagon" where the theme is "Set a Course For Home".

Short and sweet from me today as I have a lot to cram into my day (once again)!

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Many thanks for your lovely comments on my previous post.  They are all greatly appreciated.

I was up bright and early today with my fingers itching to do some more creating, so before I left to be with Mum I managed to pull this card together for taking over to the Snippets Playground Challenge and now that I am home again I can write up my post and rush over to the playground.

This used:

Image:  Bouquet of Blooms - Julie Hickey "SKU JH1058"
Sentiment:  Spice of Life - Colorado Craft Co. "BB557"
Stamping on Butterfly:  Birthday Background Stamp - Julie Hickey "SKU JH1041"
ProMarkers
Distress Inks for the butterfly
Corner Rounding Punch
Butterfly Die Set "Wings of Elegance" Craft Addition UK
Crystal Glamour Dust for the butterfly wings .. .. but the camera hasn't really picked it up.
Small Diamond Gems
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and these were the snippets I grabbed to play with at the start of the day:

I hope that everyone has had a good weekend and if like me you have stacks of snippets that need using up why not grab them and play along.  The challenge is always a fun and a really friendly place to visit .. .. .. with lots of laughs along the way.

Take care everyone.

BACK TO THE OLD ROUTINE

Hi Everyone

Well, the London Kids have now returned to their own home .. .. .. boo hoo!! 

We had a wonderful few days together.  Lots of eating, drinking, talking, walking, catching up with people they haven't seen in a while .. .. .. laughing and joking and playing silly games on the PlayStation that we haven't played for ages (in fact so long that I had to be taught what buttons I needed to press for what all over again)!!   

Sadly all good things must come to an end  .. .. ..  but I am left with lots of lovely memories of a very special time that I will never forget.  It felt a bit like Christmas but  minus all the stress! 

The London Kids love where we have moved to and my daughter-in-law has chosen an old Tudor looking house around the corner that she wants them to move into .. .. I have to let her know when it comes up for sale LOL!!!

So now it is time to get back into my crafting routine and get cracking on filling that card stock box and catching up with those card orders .. .. alongside looking after Mum of course.  My brother and sister took over whilst our visitors were here - but we did all go to visit Mum so the London Kids could catch up with her.  

Only decision now being .. .. which of all the cards I need to make shall I start with .. .. I feel you could name just about any type of card in the world and someone is wanting one.  Except New Year, Easter and Halloween!!  LOL!!

But this is my share for tonight .. .. ..

This used:

Image:   Cute Bunnies in Glasses via Etsy
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Backing Papers:  From that ever growing Snippet Mountain
Corner Rounding Punch
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I will hopefully catch you again soon.

PENNY BLACK SATURDAY CHALLENGE - GUEST DESIGNER

Hi Everyone

A super exciting post for me today as I have the pleasure of being Guest Designer for August with the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.  Woo hoo!!!

The theme this month is "Embossing" - or as always there is the "anything goes" option  .. .. ..  but whichever you choose your entry needs to use a prominent Penny Black product. 

Here is my creation which features heat embossing and embossing with a scoring tool:

This used:

Image:  "Social Butterfly" clear stamp set - Penny Black "30-116" (stamped onto card and heavy weight vellum and embossed then layered once the vellum layer had been fussy cut)
Sentiment:  "Gratitude" clear stamp set - Penny Black "30-105"
Background Paper:  MFT Bundles of Blossoms Pastels (very old)
Fish tail die set:  M&C Boutique from The Works (again quite old)
VersaMark Embossing Pad
Gold Embossing Powder
Heavy weight vellum
Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad - Sweet Plum
Craftelier Scoring Board (for embossing lines onto a strip of lilac card prior to rubbing over with the embossing pad, adding gold embossing powder and heat setting)
X-Cut Flower Punch
Pearls
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I have always had a "soft spot" for this challenge as it was the very first challenge I entered way back in March 2009 and it was my second ever blog post. A whole sixteen years and the stamp I used then is still being put to good use today.

I love looking back at previous posts .. .. .. even though I cringe at a lot of the things I posted .. .. .. but it does reassure me that I have hopefully improved, and also makes me realise just how old a lot of my stash is.  LOL!!!

Hope you get chance to dig out your Penny Black goodies and play along with the challenge.

In the meantime my day is going to be extra super exciting as The London Kids are coming to stay for a few days.  So very excited as we haven't been able to meet in person for ages .. .. .. only through Facetime.  So it is their first proper look at our new home.

I will catch you again soon .. .. .. if I don't burst with excitement in the meantime.

QUICK AND EASY

Morning Everyone

Just a quick and easy card today that is perfect for when you need a birthday card in a rush (especially good for when it is needed for one of those men folk we struggle with making for sometimes).

Change the papers to pretty and floral and it even works for the ladies too.

This used:

Nitwit Digital Image which is part of the Farmhouse FQB Collection (one of my favourites collections from them) 
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Corner Rounding Punch
Backing Paper from Snippet Mountain
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Happy crafting if you are lucky enough to have some playtime on your hands.