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.

Monday 31 August 2020

BEST WISHES

Hi Everyone

I hope you have really enjoyed your Bank Holiday Weekend .. .. today was the best day here weather-wise .. .. and I took Mum for our first walk out since well before lockdown started.  We had cocooned Mum before Boris said we all had to stay indoors because we were paranoid about her catching anything.

Mum enjoyed her taste of freedom, and it was a very different world to the one she last saw .. .. .. and she certainly didn't like wearing a mask .. .. but it had to be done!

Once I got home it was crafty playtime and this is what I came up with today using one of my scrapling cards which measure 6.5 x 13.5cm




This used:

Bird Image and Background:  Hero Arts "CL338" Be Yourself 
Sentiment:  Clearly Besotted "CBSFA085" Fancy Sayings
Flower Stamp:  Creative Expressions "UMS633" Shaded Peony and matching die set
Distress Inks:  Tumbled Glass and Bundled Sage
ProMarkers
Hole Punch for the flower centres
Glossy Accents
My Trusty Sewing Machine


and that is me for today .. .. can you believe we are starting September tomorrow?  


Sunday 30 August 2020

SANTA'S LITTLE HELPER

Hi Everyone

I hope your weekend got off to a good start.

Our weather was beautiful early doors .. .. .. but went downhill very quickly .. .. .. ending up with rain, rain and more rain.

As it definitely wasn't a super sunny day I decided to make my final Christmas card for August. This is for taking over to Fezziwig's Festive Frolics Challenge where the theme this fortnight is "Santa's Little Helpers".  So many helpers to choose from but I decided Santa would really struggle big time without Rudolph.




This used:

Image:  Bugaboo Digital Stamp "Xmas Trio Block" There was a snowman as part of the trio but I cropped the him off as I decided he might delay the delivering of special parcels if he started melting mid delivery.
Sentiment:  Woodware Clear Magic "FRS771" Merry & Bright
Backing Paper:  Pink Petticoat
ProMarkers
Chalks for Rudolph's rosy cheeks
Crystal and Gold Glamour Dust
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.



Friday 28 August 2020

CHRISTMAS KICKSTART CHALLENGE

Good morning everyone

I hope you have all been having a good week despite all the rain .. .. .. but if the weather forecast is right we are going to be having a lovely sunny bank holiday weekend!  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

So August is flying by in the blink of an eye and I am behind with this month's Christmas cards .. .. .. I still have two to do so I decided I had better get those done and off my list.

This one is for taking over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme this fortnight is "Christmas Birds".  




This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2995F" Stocking!
Sentiment:  Woodware Clear Magic "FRS771" Merry & Bright
Backing Paper:  The Works (my favourite Christmas paper pad from last year .. .. so I picked up another three in their new year sale .. .. back in the days when we were allowed to go out as and when we wanted  .. .. sigh!)
Circle Die:   MFT - 435 Blueprints 12
Wavy Edge Die:  The Works
ProMarkers
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Ribbon
Gems
Crystal Glamour Dust

and that is another Christmas card into the box.  Just one more to go for August!

Enjoy the rest of the day everyone.  The rain is just starting here .. .. again!!!



Wednesday 26 August 2020

TEENY TINY

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a good day .. .. .. it has tipped it down with rain again here for a good part of the day and once again the bird bath has turned into an infinity pool.

Today I had a play with a download that my lovely blog buddy Pauline from Crafting With Cotnob showcased and has been creating with over the past week.  If you have never visited her blog you really must.  She uses the most gorgeous paper kits and designs the most beautiful cards.  Thank you for sharing the download links Pauline xx

This is what I came up with .. .. a teeny tiny creation that for anyone new to my blog measures 3.5 inches square.




This used:

Papers and Images:  Polly's Paper Studio "Butterfly Clock Tags" and "Shabby Rose Background Pattern"
Nail Heads
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I love the colours, papers and images in these collections very, very much.

Stay safe everyone.  Hopefully I will be here again tomorrow .. .. all being well.


Tuesday 25 August 2020

WILDFLOWER STEMS #2

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a good day.  Much better weather-wise here today .. .. .. but not very promising for the rest of the week .. .. boo hoo!!

A quick crafty play this evening after getting back from Mum's created this:



This used:

Sizzix Thinlits Die Set "664164" Wildflower Stems #2
Sizzix Bigz Heart Die Set "660233" Heartfelt
Sentiment:  LOTV "Embossed Labels"
Caran D'Ache Neocolor II Watersoluble Wax Oil Pastels (for painting the diecut flowers and splattering the background)
Glitter Dome sticker coloured with a ProMarker


and that is me for today.  

Short and sweet.  Catch you again tomorrow for teeny, tiny Tuesday!


Sunday 23 August 2020

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Happy Sunday!

I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend and found something fun to do.  Still a mixed bag of weather here with sunshine one minute and rain the next!

Unchained from the kitchen, for a short while, today I created this card for playing along with a couple of challenges: 




This used:

Image:  Hobby Art Clear Stamp Set:  CS125D Peonies
Sentiment:  Clearly Besotted Clear Stamps Set:  CBSSP649 Speaking Out
Backing Paper:  From my snippet mountain
Embossing Folder:  Sizzix  "662606" Botanicals
Distress Oxide Stamp Pad:  Worn Lipstick
Crafter's Companion:  Scalloped Tag Die
ProMarkers
Ribbon and Twine
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I am entering my card into the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground:   Where we are encouraged to use up our leftovers (whatever they may be).  My offering uses card and ribbon that has stacked up in the "wedding work leftover" box for quite a while.

As You Like It Challenge:  Where they would like to see your favourite colour to use alongside pink and I have chosen kraft (this was a very popular colour combination with my wedding couples so I have lots of offcuts to use up LOL!!).

It would seem yesterday's heart was driving a few of you to distraction, so to put you out of your misery the pesky little heart was here:


and that is me for today.

Thank you so much for calling by my teeny tiny part of blogland.


Saturday 22 August 2020

HAPPY HARVEST

Hi Everyone

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

It was harvest festival day here .. .. .. as in the day Mr Heart decided to dig up all the crops he has been growing.  So vegetables are coming out of our ears!

Seeing him digging up the carrots reminded me of this stamp that hasn't seen the light of day for a while 



 
This used:

Image:  Trimcraft "CLG STMP" Harvest
Sentiment:  Woodware Clear Stamp Set "JGS581" It's the Little Things
Backing Paper:  Pink Petticoat
ProMarkers
My Trusty Sewing Machine

So most of today has been spent in the kitchen.  

Courgettes were turned into soup that was frozen ready for adding Stilton Cheese, Seasoning and Cream to when it is time for it to be eaten.

The beetroots have been turned into Beetroot Chutney using an old recipe my late Mum in Law used to use many many years ago.  We haven't made it before and I am just keeping my fingers crossed it tastes as good as I remember .. .. .. especially as we have a rather large amount of jars full of the stuff.

Carrots, tomatoes and cucumbers are still in the fridge for future use .. .. and there are lots of tomatoes still ripening.

We have done quite well with our crops this year considering we are only really just getting into it.  The only things we failed with were radishes and lettuce which we thought would be super easy to grow!!

Anyway, that is me for today.  Good luck with the heart searching .. .. a bit of a tricky one tonight.


Thursday 20 August 2020

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY LONDON KIDS

Hi Everyone

Happy Thursday .. .. Mr Sunshine has made an appearance again today .. .. very appropriate because it is a celebration day here in the House of Hearts.

It is the London Kid's 15th Wedding Anniversary today.  Where have those years gone?  If I hadn't got it written down I would have guessed it was their 8th or 9th!!

Here is the card I made for them.  Not a traditional wedding anniversary card but hopefully one that is full of memories for them.

The soft silver elements are the colour of my DIL's wedding dress and the purple represent the bridesmaid's dress and the groom and best man's cravats.  

The heart was made by punching out lots and lots of daisies from pages of a paperback book that had been sprayed with Distress Spray Stains and all the crystals and embellishment represent the fact that is is their Crystal Anniversary.  Have a happy day kids!! Loves ya soooo much xxxx

Sadly we cannot celebrate together, but I know the card arrived safely and they thought it was lovely.



This used:

Backing Paper from The Works
X-Cut Daisy Flower Punch
Ribbons
Distress Spray Stains:  Seedless Preserves and Brushed Pewter
Gems and Crystal Embellishment
Spellbinders Heart Die (used to stick all the flowers onto)
Frame Die:  Unbranded from Amazon
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today (wishing we could go back 15 years and do it all again.  It was such a special weekend).

Just off to peg some washing out next and to make sure Mr Heart is still up the ladder he is using to trim the conifer trees!!!  No doubt I will feel sorry for him and end up picking up all the mess he has made on the lawn .. .. .. when I should be busy tying ribbons!!!

Wednesday 19 August 2020

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

What a busy old week this is turning out to be. 

I am back into wedding mode temporarily and thankfully all my suppliers are now up and running again so no problems with getting necessary deliveries .. .. .. just keeping my fingers crossed that things are able to remain this way.  

Just time for a little play session to create this week's teeny tiny card, which for anyone new to my blog measures a whole 3.5 inches square.

I made a card similar to this a few weeks ago .. .. .. but it was a larger version



This used:

Image:  Hero Arts "H2817" Garden Flowers Sketch
Backing Paper:  From the Snippet Mountain
X-Cut Corner Rounding Punch
ProMarkers
Glossy Accents
Button


I hope everyone's week is going well.  Plenty of rain around here at the moment so not much time needing to be spent on garden watering duties .. .. .. thank goodness!

Catch you again soon.


Sunday 16 August 2020

WOODLAND BIRD

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend .. .. .. certainly the gardens in our neck of the woods have been doing a happy dance today.  They have had lots and lots of rain!!

My crafty playtime today is for entering into the All Dressed Up Challenge .. .. where the theme is always "anything goes" with the only rule being that you use an All Dressed Up Image on your entry.  Not a problem if you don't have any to use though as there are some lovely free ones available to download. 



This used:

Image:  All Dressed Up Stamps "Woodland Bird"
Sentiment:  Digistamp Boutique (sadly no longer trading)
Backing Papers:  Grace Taylor "Parisian Chic"
ProMarkers
Ribbon
Gems
My Trusty Sewing Machine


and that is me for today.

I will hopefully catch you all again soon.


SNOW IS FALLING

Hi Everyone

I hope that you have had a really good Saturday.  A much more pleasant day here temperature wise that's for sure.

Both our youngest Son and my Mum were into the snooker when I called on them yesterday, sadly they drew me in and I have ended up watching it today.  Thank goodness it is the final this weekend and I haven't got interested early on in the tournament!!  LOL!

Today my crafty play session used one of my scrapling cards, which are the leftovers I have after cutting my base cards from an A4 piece of card.  I trim them down a little more though so they finish up measuring 6.5 x 13.5cms.



This used:

Image:  Penny Black "1873H" Xmouse Ornament!
Sentiment:  Hobby Art Ltd "CS144D" Christmas Frostings
Backing Paper:  Wallpaper as mentioned in my post here 
ProMarkers
Distress Ink Pad:  Stormy Sky
Ribbon
Snowflake Charm
Gems
Nailhead Heart
Crystal Glamour Dust
My Trusty Sewing Machine


So that is me for today with another Christmas card added to my box.  But only my third for August.  Still another two to go!

I am taking my card over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme this fortnight is "snow is falling".  Hopefully it doesn't matter that a mouse is hanging onto the snowflake LOL!!.


Friday 14 August 2020

FEZZIWIG'S FESTIVE FROLICS

Hi Everyone

Happy Friday!

My day got off to a good start bright and early .. .. .. it began by finishing off some little tags I started last night .. .. .. made for entering into Fezziwig's Festive Frolics Challenge where the theme for this fortnight is "All Wrapped Up" .. .. so it is all about wrapping and tags.

I then made a batch of walnut and chocolate chip muffins followed by a couple of batches of bread rolls.  One lot topped with cheese and the second topped with pumpkin and sunflower seeds.  The kitchen smells lovely!

Washing on the line and now I am round to posting my tags .. .. . 



These used:

Stampendous "CRR122" Cling Snowfall
Clear Embossing Powder
Distress Ink:  Stormy Skies
Clearly Besotted "CBSSP649" Speaking Out
Cut and Make Die CDS - Mini Christmas Dies
Heart Punch
Ribbon
Glitter Card
Unbranded Tag Punch from Amazon

Just hoping I haven't peaked too soon as I am off to Mum's next to do the laundry and make her an evening meal .. .. and share a couple of those muffins with her whilst we put the world to rights! Though that might need more than a few hours if we are to sort out the whole world   LOL!!.

Enjoy what is left of today and have a good weekend when it arrives.


Wednesday 12 August 2020

TEENY, TINY WEDNESDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope your Wednesday has gone well.

How hot is it?!?!!? and so very muggy!  But on the good side we are saving a fortune on our heating bills LOL!!

I am here sharing a card I starting making last night but didn't finish until this morning.  A teeny, tiny easel card .. .. .. a whole 3.5 inches square when folded flat.




This used:

Creative Expressions:  "UMS633" Shaded Peony
Creative Expressions:  "CED1432" Perfect Peony Complete Petals Die Set
Sentiment:  Clearly Besotted "CBSFA085" Fancy Sayings
Memory Box Dies "Kaleidoscope Butterfly and Moonlight Butterfly"
Distress Ink Pad:  Victorian Velvet
Spellbinder Circle and Scalloped Circle Dies
Metallic Seed Beads
Card and Papers from my Snippet Mountain
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I am having a real problem getting my blog posts to look anything like they should.  I have messed about with this one for at least an hour now!!  

Is anyone else having problems?

My photographs aren't going where they should and all the spacing is completely out.  I have having to press "shift and return" to stop it keep doing double line spacing!

I have tried clearing the formatting and starting again .. .. .. perhaps Mr Blogger is feeling a litter "over heated" too ????

Enjoy your evening everyone.