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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.

Thursday 28 February 2013

MARSHMALLOW

Hi Everyone

Well today has been beautiful here weather wise .. .. I have even managed to dry some washing outside and it smells gorgeous!!  (The down side being I have now put clothes into what was an empty ironing basket .. .. boo hoo!!).

I was hoping to have taken part in Sandra's Rudolph Day Challenge this week .. .. but sadly time just hasn't allowed it. Sorry Sandra :-(   

Even this morning I was hopeful I might manage a last minute appearance but like every other day in the House of Hearts I expect far too much of myself.  The day has flown by on Mother's Day makes, orders and wedding work.  We also have another wedding fayre happening on Sunday and I still want to do some new samples for that too.  

So somehow with everything else that is going on Christmas just had to wait .. .. and I consoled myself with the thought that there are still 300 sleeps to go until the special day .. . well that is the number according to the fabby little calculator here.  I don't know about you but I always count things in "sleeps" LOL!!!

Currently Mothering Sunday makes have to be high on my list at the moment (10 sleeps) so here is one of my Mothering Sunday creations:




This used:

Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat "Lovely Mum Sentiments"
Backing Papers:  Pink Petticoat "Marshmallow Paper Pack" (New this week and offer until Sunday)
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
My Trust Sewing Machine
Diamond Stickles (though you probably can't see it)
Ribbons from my stash box

So there we go with my share for today.  There shouldn't be any problems with the heart tonight .. .. but it would appear that a few of you struggled last night .. .. but I do think I have been being just a tad too kind recently LOL!!!

Anyway, there were lots of hearts would you believe .. .. and here are just a few of them on the top of some of the cupcakes.


Easy when you know where!

Have a lovely evening everyone.

Love

Wednesday 27 February 2013

SWEET BIRTHDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope your day has been good and kind to you.

We actually managed a little sunshine here today!!!  Yay!!!

A quick share today using a scrummy cupcake digistamp.  The only decision being do I use one big cupcake or a line of three.  Well the line of three won .. .. but perhaps a big one will be in order another time LOL!!

So here we go:




This used:

Image:  Delicious Doodles "Strawberry Cupcake"
Sentiment:  Computer Generated using Font "Zipty Do"
Backing Papers:  Dovecraft "Tea House"
ProMarkers
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Ribbon from my stash box

Well that has made me a little hungry now!!!  

I'll hopefully catch you again tomorrow . .. . but in the meantime have a lovely evening and thanks for calling by.  Help yourself to a cupcake before you leave LOL!!!

Love

Tuesday 26 February 2013

WISHING YOU A SPECIAL DAY

Hi Everyone

I hope your week has got off to a good start.  Certainly the world seems extra busy now half-term has finished. 

I decided to post early today so I didn't run out of time .. .. like I did yesterday!!  Shame on  me!!!  Where does the time go?

Anyway, round to my share for today:




This used:

Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat "Lovely Mum Sentiments" (brilliant for a birthday as well as Mother's Day)
Backing Papers:  Pink Petticoat "Isabelline" (I have nearly used up all the papers I printed off from this set so you will be having a break from them for a bit .. .. though I could happily use them all day long .. . I LURVE THEM!!!)
X-Cut Punches:  Butterflies
Martha Stewart Punch:  Daisy
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
My Trust Sewing Machine
Netabilites:  Labels 4
Flowers, brad, button, feathers and pearls from my stash box

So there we go.

All caught up with posting .. .. just need to catch up with my commenting now .. ..  I am getting there slowly .. .. albeit if very slowly,

Enjoy your Tuesday  Hope your weather is nicer than the dull, damp, day we have here.  But never mind, it could be worse!!!

Catch you soon

Love

Sunday 24 February 2013

SNIPPETS AND PENNY BLACK

Hi Everyone

I hope your weekend has been an enjoyable one.  The snow hasn't arrived yet that we were promised .. .. a little flurry last night and just the occasional flake every now and then today.  I wonder if we will miss it all together.

I just went to take my pictures of my snippet make for entering into Pixies Crafty Snippet Challenge this week only to discover I only had room for five more photographs on my memory card!!  Eeeeekkk!!!  Lucky, lucky me I managed to get some fairly decent ones with my allocated five .. .. and here are three of them LOL!!!




As always on a Sunday I don't list my ingredients but as I am sure you can tell from my last few posts, I am struggling to close my Penny Black drawer at the moment LOL!!

I am also going to enter my card into the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where the theme for February is "Love and Marriage".

So another job on the list now .. .. delete some of those photographs off my memory card (as a matter of urgency LOL!!).

Enjoy what is left of Sunday everyone and thanks for calling by.

Love

Saturday 23 February 2013

SKETCH SATURDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well and your weekend has got off to a good start.

We are having the "very odd" flake of the white stuff here this morning .. .. so I wonder if we are going to have a little covering later?!?!?!

I have missed taking part in the Sketch Saturday Challenge the last few weeks so decided to play along nice and early this week and here is my little creation:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2243K" Bee Costume
Sentiment:  Hero Arts "CL171" Sparkle Clear Tickets
Backing Papers:  Pink Petticoat "Isabelline"
ProMarkers
Glamour Dust
Diamond Stickles
Gems and Buttons from my stash box

and if you fancy playing along here is the lovely sketch I worked to:


Major sorting out and re-organisation going on in the House of Hearts today .. . and then hopefully this evening I will get chance to have a sit down and relax with a catch up in blogland!

I was hoping to have done some visiting last night but by the time I sat down I was just "too tired" .. .. or lazy!!!!!!!

Catch you again tomorrow with my snippets.

Love

Thursday 21 February 2013

ACROBAT

Hi Everyone

Rushing in and out tonight .. .. but that is better than last night's "no show".  Just no time to post at all!!

My days are disappearing in the blink of an eye .. .. and I certainly can't believe it is Friday AGAIN tomorrow!!!

Anyway here is my share:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "3976K" Acrobat. . .
Sentiment:  Computer Generated using Font "Zipty Do"
Backing Papers:  DCWV "Latte Stack"
Go Kreate Dies:  Concentrics Frilly Square #3
ProMarkers and Chalk
Diamond Stickles and Glamour Dust
My Trusting Sewing Machine
Ribbon and Charm from my stash box

and that is it!

A bride has picked up her stationery this afternoon so I now have some clear spaces .. .. just for a little while!!  All of her boxes can be stored away whilst we wait for her RSVPs to be returned.

Time for a little clear up now ready for a mammoth session early doors tomorrow.  Lots to cross of the list tomorrow so I want to try and get a bit of a head start.

Enjoy your evening everyone.

Catch you soon

Love

Tuesday 19 February 2013

TIME TO BE A TEENAGER !!

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a good day and that you saw some of the lovely sunshine.  

My day has flown by far too quickly again today.  I have been sharing my time between wedding invitations and card orders.

Tonight I will let you have a peep at a card I have made for a very good friend to give to her Grandson who will be a BIG 13 next month (I hope he doesn't turn into Kevin overnight LOL!!)

I think I am safe in sharing my card .. .. I can't imagine finding a heart on a random blog post being of major importance to a young lad of 12 .. ..nearly 13.

Can you remember as a kid telling people your age as "nearly" whatever your next birthday was going to be and always wanting to be older?  Well I think I have grown out of that and am quite happy not to be adding any extra years on now LOL!!

So here is my share:




This used:

Image:  Mo's Digital Pencil "Paul Texting"
Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat and Computer Generated (but in my rush I didn't write the font down .. sorry)
Backing Papers:  A mishmash of Pink Petticoat and a random snippet from Aimee Asher
Sizzix Die:  Stars
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
ProMarkers
Metallic Cord

and that is me for today!

Enjoy what is left of today and thank you for calling by .. .. unless you are the "nearly 13 year old" .. .. eeekkkk!!!   LOL!!!

Love

Monday 18 February 2013

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

Hi Everyone

Another really lovely day here with beautiful sunshine (lovely apart from the fact that the sunshine makes my windows look like they are in need of a bit of a treat!!  LOL!!!).

A quick share tonight for adding to my pile of Mother's Day cards.  Some people are looking for flat ones for posting so this will be one of those .. ..  the little pearls are tiny enough to keep the card away from the dreaded "large letter" price bracket!




This used:

Image Digistamp Boutique "Flower Border"
Sentiment:  Digistamp Boutique "Mother's Day Set" (part of a Mother's Day set that I was persuaded to buy by the lovely Katina's beautiful make here)
Backing Papers:  DCWV "Citrus Stack"
X-Cut Butterfly Punch
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
My Trusty Sewing Machine
ProMarkers
Self Adhesive Pearls

and that is it!

I am going to enter this into the Digistamp Boutique Competition for February.

So that is me for today .. .. a super quick post for a change.

Love

Sunday 17 February 2013

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday to everyone.  It looks like it is going to be a lovely day .. .. the sun is making a very welcome appearance and melting the frost away.

I am up and about bright and early .. .. .. which is quite a surprise considering the time we went to bed last night!!!  Or should I say "this morning"  Our evening with friends just flew by :-(

But for some reason I woke up far too early for my own good and just couldn't switch my brain off .. .. so instead of lying in bed thinking about all the things I want to do (and need to do) I decided I might as well get up and do some of them LOL!!

So here is my snippet share for the day.  I am quite chuffed with how this one turned out.  The sentiment is actually part of a Mother's Day collection from Pink Petticoat but I think it would work for a birthday card too.




As always I am super lazy on a Sunday and don't list my ingredients but if you need to know about anything then just shout and I will try my best to help.

I have been trying to catch up with a few blogs this morning but keep getting error messages and trouble with blogs loading .. .. hopefully this is just a little hiccup and everything will settle down soon . . .. but just in case Mr Blogger is due to fall out with me I thought I had better skip over to the playground to share my creation in Pixie's Crafty Snippet Challenge sooner rather than later.   It is a great place to play if you fancy joining in and everyone is always made to feel so welcome by the lovely Di and all the other playmates!!

I am hoping for a big wedding stationery production day.  Yesterday was spent getting household jobs done (and all the dreaded ironing out of the way) so now I can settle myself at the dining room table and get stuck in.  Yay!!!

Have a lovely day everyone.

Love

Saturday 16 February 2013

HEDGEHOG BOUQUET

Hi Everyone

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

Our weather here has been really lovely .. .. and it seemed to stay light until quite late!  Spring must be on it's way .. .. woo hoo!!!!

Just a quick share from me tonight as we are expecting visitors very soon .. .. and I still have a few things to do ahead of them arriving.

So here we go:




This used:

Image:  Penny Black 1444K "Hedgehog Bouquet"
Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat
Backing Papers:  First Edition Papers "Boho Chic"
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Woodware Punches:  Flowers
ProMarkers and Chalk
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it.

Time to run and make myself look a little more presentable and to find somewhere to hide my Big Shot Pro .. .. not something you can tuck away in a corner very easily .. .. and not something most folk would expect to find in your kitchen.  Though I could perhaps pass it off as a machine for making pasta sheets for lasagne  LOL!!

Have a good evening everyone and I'll catch you tomorrow with my snippet make.

Love

Thursday 14 February 2013

I LOVE YOU .. .. MR HEART !

Hi Everyone

I hope that you are all well and that you have a Happy Valentine's Day!!

Mr Heart and I swapped our valentine cards at 6.00am this morning .. .. and this is the one I made for him.  He found the heart quite quickly!!!  He did ask whether he had to count how many hearts there were .. .. but sounded relieved to know he didn't need to bother (after all I would have to count them to check he was right) LOL!!

Quite a weird Valentine's Day for us actually.  Normally we would be having a "romantic dinner for two" this evening but we are on week two of the "fasting diet" .. .. which is where you eat normally (but sensibly) for 5 days of the week and the other two days you have one meal and then only water/black tea or coffee for the rest of the day (though I have to admit to having a bit of milk in mine).  Sounds horrendous but we are finding it remarkably easy .. .. and people my hubby knows have had some brilliant results, so we have decided to give it a go.

Thursday is one of our "fasting days" so our romantic meal had to happen at breakfast .. .. ..  scrambled eggs on toast by candlelight at 6.30am.  It must be love!!!   LOL!!!

.. .. ..  and here is Mr Heart's card from me:




This used:

Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat "Just An Old Fashioned Girl"
Backing Papers:  Pink Petticoat "Waterfall Hearts"
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Nestabilities:  Classic Square Large
Button and Button Twine from my stash box
My Trust Sewing Machine

and that is my share for today.

Time to get to work now!  I have a mountain of orders to clear and a few dozen wedding invitations to make .. .. not that they will all get finished today.

Catch you again soon .. .. have a lovely day whatever you are doing.

Love

Tuesday 12 February 2013

MUM'S ARE LIKE BUTTONS

Hi Everyone

I hope the week is treating you well  .. .. sorry I am not getting around to visiting you all .. .. I am still ploughing my way through lots of lovely orders .. .. some of which are now centering around Mother's Day which is only a few weeks away!!

So even though I can't spend much time in blogland I can at least show you some of the things I am making that I "can" share .. .. .. and this is one of them which is using a gorgeous new paper pack that the lovely Liz from Pink Petticoat has just released.  All the papers are lovely scrummy shades of yellow and grey!!  Just stunning.  No stamping or colouring needed for this one!!




so this used:

Sentiment:  Pink Petticoat "Mum's are like buttons"
Backing Papers:  Pink Petticoat "Isabelline" (22 gorgeous papers on offer until Friday at £1.99)
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Button, ribbon, cord and charm from My Stash Box

Short and sweet but a quick appearance in-between jobs is better than another "no show" day!

OK time to go and thread diamante buckles onto ribbons!!

Have a good evening everyone.

Love