First Submission

Finally I can share something that I have known for a while now. One of my pages is featured in the 'readers submissions' section of the December issue of Scrapbook Trends magazine!

I have been buying both this and the Cards magazine for several months now and really like them - bit pricey - but I love the size, the style and the big glossy photos as well as many of the designs featured. I am always being told 'you should submit your work' but like everyone else I guess I figure there's always someone better than me out there, plus I wouldn't care to be rejected.

Well I decided it was time to take the PLUNGE and I got accepted first time - yay! And here it is .

I submitted my 'Sweet Dreams' page featuring Maddy asleep in her Disney princess nightgown. It's a shame some of the detailing has been lost slightly in print. I had to include a 'how to' so it does detail some of the techniques used in creating the page including the delicate pink stamped and glittered swirls in the upper left corner which look lovely up close and for real.

I am thrilled that it featured on a whole page as well and now that I've been accepted I won't mind too much if I get rejected next time. There WILL BE a next time cos I plan to submit a few more pages - why the heck not? I don't plan on living my life with a handful of regrets to show at the end of it.

While this is the first time I have had a project appear in a craft magazine it's not the first time my name has appeared in print so I dragged a copy of a piece the West Suffolk College did on me for a local newspaper a few years back. They had just hired me to teach short courses for them and were keen to introduce scrapbooking. I thought I'd share it cos it's fun to see how both myself AND my style has changed in this shot.

I am of course a few years younger and several pounds lighter in this shot too. I was invited along for a photo shoot so the whole thing was very exciting at the time. Even more exciting was seeing my name in the college brochure that was distributed throughout local papers - I have a copy somewhere?

I am truly grateful to many who have helped, supported and encouraged me in developing my craft talents over the years. AND especially to those who encouraged me to submit my work! THANKS SOOOOOO MUCH! It means a lot to me. Hope you don't mind that I shared.

New Stamps!

I can finally say I own a set of Waltzing Mouse stamps and something tells me it won't be my last. I have been drooling over these stamps and trying to decide just when to order some. I have followed Claire's blog for some time now and watched as she introduced one, then two, then three sets of stamps and she now has a lovely collection and is well and truly in business! She seems like such a lovely lady who is herself a crafter (one of us) so I'm super pleased for her. You can check out her blog here http://waltzingmouse.blogspot.com/ I know she is set to release sneak peeks of even more designs any day now.

I only ordered a single set initially so I could see what quality they were and I'm happy to report that they're great. There are so many stamps squeezed into just one set and Claire as a crafter herself has cleverly designed them to work with Nesties; making them a 'must have' if you own a die-cutting machine and Nestabilities dies. At £13 they're alot of stamps for your money making them great value as well. I know we're all watching our pennies right about now so value for money is really important.

This set measures 8" x 6" so you can imagine the sizes. To give you an idea - the star stamp uses the largest star die! Just like Verve, Claire added a handwritten 'thank you' on the invoice - I love the little personal touches like that.

I wanted desperately today to play with these but today is NOT a good day. I have simply just 'lost' today somewhere. I decided maybe I could just copy one of Claire's samples, maybe one of the tags or something but that wasn't working - don't have much mojo at all today!

In the end it has taken me ALL DAY to make a single card and no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get a nice shot of it. I used red 'glittered' embossing powder but because of the glitter, silver and sparkly gems I kept getting flashback. I took the card into the light, turned off the flash and lost the detailing completely (plus my tremor was so bad I couldn't hold the camera steady) so I 'gave up'. You will just have to take my word for it that this card looks lovely up close and in person tho' it's hard to tell that the centre circle is 3D'd with glittered edges and the text is silver embossed!

It didn't help my mojo that I couldn't find the wide silver ribbon I know I have somewhere so I had to settle for white which had to be pieced in the end making me altogether disappointed with my effort. In theory I like the card's layout so I am NOT going to give up and I fully intend to have a proper play - just as soon as my energy level returns. I am determined to do Claire's stamps justice and I can't wait to see what she has designed for us next!

This Week's Class

Well this evening I had a MAJOR moment of panic when I thought I had lost the samples for a class I'm teaching tomorrow! I did eventually remember where I had SHOVED them when my daughter and the grandkids came for dinner over the weekend. If my memory was better I would've known exactly where I put them.

I will be teaching these pocket cards using some lovely Bo Bunny Christmas papers and I thought since I was here at the computer typing up instructions that I'd share a picture here on the blog.

I used a Christmas range from Bo Bunny and these yummy burgundy, green and pink colours worked really well together. All the decorative tags, circles and card inserts came from a single sheet of paper designed to work together.

I'm told I have a pretty full class so it promises to be fun. Right now I'm headed for an early night cos I have to work a full day before getting home and fixing dinner and then rushing out to class. Thankfully Wednesdays are my days off so I plan on taking it easy and relaxing with my mother for the day. She is scheduled for heart surgery on 11 November (all prayer greatly appreciated) and I have been neglecting her of late. We can both take it easy together and have a really nice visit.

My First Ever Verve Stamps!

I had such a great class last night and really enjoyed myself. I think maybe it was a combination of my not being quite so tired as I have been on some occasions lately and a really great mix of students. We had a lovely group and I sure hope some of them are booked on to my next class. I will have to make sure I prep for class again by getting in an extra nap and early night - I'm sure that helped.

I wanted to share some new goodies that actually came last week but I barely managed to open the package and that was as far as I got until today. I have been meaning to purchase some Verve stamps for a long time now - you know how it is - sometimes you have to be content to drool over something for a while. Well since they were having a bit of a sale in the beginning of October I decided there was never a better time and Mr Postie delivered my package last Friday.

I ordered as many of the little scripture 'plain jane's' as I could because they worked out at under $3 each and I wanted to have some scripture cards close at hand when I need one. These are just small enough to make a super quick square mini card (my fave) but big enough to build up if I want to make a larger card.

I am really pleased with Verve as a consumer. They were super speedy in getting the stamps out to mom, I'm guessing they used the signature blue & brown tissue paper that was wrappede around the stamps and not mom (can recycle that!). They also took the time to write a thank you note on the delivery slip - I love when a company does that, and even included a free 'thanks for your custom' stamp - how cool is that! Add to that the quality of the stamps and they get a 10/10 from me.

Since Vicky and I went to a ladies day at Garland Street Baptist Church last Sunday (had a fabulous day) these stamps may just have to get put to good use on thank you cards. Vicky also mentioned wanting to make small gifts for the gals in her bible study group and again these might be perfect for a set of mini cards, bookmarks, prayer journals etc. I have been checking out the gallery for inspiration. You can check out the stamps and gallery here http://vervestamps.com/gallery/main.php They had a really nice project that was a cube, decorated on each side with a different verse that would make a really neat gift idea too.

I love the styling on some of these stamps with some words highlighted and a mixture of text styles.

I chose Matthew 11:28, Psalm 51:10, Psalm 31:24, Philippians 4:13 - personal favourite, Philippians 4:4 - something we should do in ALL circumstances, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 37:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Psalm 121:1-2, Psalm 46:10 - a simple verse but again a favourite of mine, and Hebrews 11:1 - 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen' which seems real appropriate right now as Sunday's topic was 'Walking by Faith, not by Sight'. I think I missed one? Sure I ordered a dozen. I'm not siftin back through them again!

There were a couple more I wanted to buy but they will have to wait for another day. For now I am thrilled to have such lovely new stamps to make handmade cards sets and other projects for Christian friends and family. I am getting a really nice selection together between PTI, StampinUp! and now Verve!

Well today I went to 'veg out' with my mother for the day and I took along my new stamps just in case I felt able to do some crafting. Surprisingly I had a real productive day and this is what I ended up creating.

I created a super quick card using a series of plain and scalloped squares cut with my ever trusty nestabilities. These cards take minimal effort and time which is exactly what I want when I need to send a card using these scripture stamps. Then while I was playing I decided to try my hand at making a bookmark and came up with these using the same basic process.

I will laminate these and add a nice piece of ribbon to finish them off and make them more practical for repeated use. I can see making a tall slim card either to house one of these as the decoration on the front (that can be removed and used) or to simply tuck one of these inside. I love simple gift giving because it means you can give a gift more often and if it's a gift for encouragement or support then it's especially nice to give them as aften as you can.

I wanted to see if these simple designs would look just as nice in some different colours so I grabbed a few scraps of Cosmo Cricket and made these. In fact all these things were made using scraps.

I just love the colours and designs in this one. While I think this card is nice as it is I could still add a small flower embellishment or button or two if I felt I really wanted to.

I owe mom a BIG thank you for sending these on to me. I'm thinking when I get time I can cut all the elements out and send her everything she needs to make a few cards for herself. Does that sound OK mom?

I was also real pleased that my eldest sister Sherilee joined me crafting in the afternoon and even mother dragged her WI photo scrapbook out and did a little crafting before getting 'pooped' out. It was a really good day.

Guardian Angel

It's been a long time since anyone asked me to make them a card and surprise, surprise, I actually agreed but a work colleague needed one and I couldn't refuse. Her son's 'other' granny fought with cancer and won but has now been told she has cancer again. My work colleague had her own scare with the 'Big C' and always races or cycles great distances to raise loads of dosh.

I thought a guardian angel might be real appropriate right about now so this is what I was making at 5.30 am. I am usually up at 6 am most mornings, certainly on a work day but I happened to be too tired to do it last night and was awake and alert so I just got up!

I had this angel already half coloured lying around so I finished it last night and then sourced out scraps to match but that's as far as I got before running out of steam and heading for an early night. This fatigue stuff really is the pits!

I threw the rest into place while hubby was taking his turn in the shower this morning so I didn't have long to do it. I am soooooo glad I have craft stuff lying around everywhere right now. I do eventually clean it all up but this time I was very thankful I hadn't - huh? - imagine that? - who'd have thought I could say I was glad I had craft stuff all over the place?

My colleague wanted some special words inside so I had to do this bit at work in my lunch hour. I simply took what I needed to work and made the liner instead of my usual blogging and checking e-mails.

I was super happy that I'd used up some scraps from my stash, she was happy cos she couldn't find just what she wanted in the store and I even made a couple of squid. Quite surprising when you consider she used to bring her handmade cards in to work and I used to buy them. She simply doesn't have time anymore but then who does?

A Day Late!

Well I am a day late for the Monday Mojo challenge cos today is Tuesday but at least I've found my mojo and regained some energy! The naps and early nights eventually do the trick thank goodness. I may never be bang on time for this challenge so I'm not gonna stress about it.

This is my effort for this weeks challenge. I used scraps left over from a class on the weekend (don't know what else I was gonna do with them?), grabbed the machine for some sewing, used my distressing thingy, an MS snowflake punch (will have to either buy it or give it back at some point) and some new BLING in at YTOC that I purchased on Saturday morning and have been itching to use.

This card is a real mix of papers and colours and probably not my style really but we put so many Cosmo Cricket papers together in quite an ecclectic mix on the weekend that I didn't mind this at all. I chose Christmas cos I figure if I do nothing but Christmas projects for the challenges in the next few weeks I can actually cross a few people off my Christmas card list so I have less to make later.

I haven't done the inside yet but this shot shows you a bit more detail. I picked up the pink bazzill cardstock at a show a few weeks back because it was such a different shade of pink - boy I'm glad I got 4 sheets of it now!

This is the new range of bling at YTOC but I sure wish you could see it all. I had a really tough time deciding which ones to get and eventually settled on a neutral (pearl & clear) and the colours I've been using lately (green & blue, pink & purple) for my angel cards. It's super reasonably priced too which makes buying several even easier.

Well today I hope to do some cleaning in my craft room and also some crafting so it'll look pretty much how it started by the end of the day I guess. Then maybe one more nap this afternoon will set me up for back to work tomorrow.

Createalicious challenge

I quickly want to share a card that I am entering into the latest createalicious challenge. You can check them out here http://creataliciouschallenges.blogspot.com/

The task set was to use pink or plum with burgundy and green and add lace or fibres. I think this creation just about covers it although maybe I should've used a more neutral paper behind when I took the photo - oops!




The main decoration on this card features layers of plain and scalloped hearts in burgundy, dusky pink, pale green floral and a brown paper that has a woven look to it.
The front of the card is cut short so the whole thing is tied closed not at the end as you would expect but at the end of the front. I punched a slit in the back using a StampinUp! punch. I secured the ribbon at the front under the heart, passed it around the back and through the slit so I could tie it in front.



Here is the card opened so you can see what I mean. I added some lovely old crocheted lace that I've had for years. The finished card features inking (brown ink) and stapling as well as faux stitching - 3 of my absolute favourite techniques.

Since submitting for the first time ever to a magazine recently and actually getting chosen (will share more soon promise) I have been encouraged to enter more challenges and I'm really enjoying them.

Make 'n' Take

We sadly ran out of time on Sunday's all day workshop to get to the make 'n' take done so I promised I would share it here on my blog for anyone wanting details.




Cut your yellow card stock to 3 1/4" x 6 3/4" and score in from one end at 3 1/8" and then a further 1/2" which should leave a remaining 3 1/8".

Fold on all score lines. Cut your ribbon length in half and secure one to the inside base of the cover and secure post it note on top.

Secure remaining ribbon on the outer front cover and secure yellow scalloped square on top.

Layer up front decoration with a brown 3" square followed by a floral 2 1/2" square and add your daisy, leaf and button embellishments to complete.

NOTE: you can ink and add 3D dimension to any of the elements you wish in this project.

Tie closed to complete.

When I give these as little gifts, (especially if filling a basket with several) I like to use clear celophane to wrap them in and pretty ribbon or twine and a gift tag as a finishing touch. The ease and 'pretty' factor make this a super gift for a ladies group and presented in a basket with several different colours makes choosing one extra nice.

I also have a 'post it note' tutorial here on the blog so check it out for more inspiration.

Class Projects

I wanted to share what photos I had of the class projects from Sunday's workshop. There were 4 main projects - not all mine I might add.

This is a variation on an extending card that with a few additions becomes a beautiful seasonal home decor project that would grace any mantepiece, shelf or sideboard.

The SEI papers had lovely flocked details and because of the horizontal line running throughout the project this striped design paper used for the front panels provided a super quick and almost effortless decoration.

The bird is a pretty addition to the front and reminds me of a 'little robin red breast'. It was inspired by the cards that are in an upcoming class at YTOC. The stamped text came from a set that was in everyones goodie bags.

This the project standing and partially opened which reveals the two extending sides just waiting to be pulled out.

This is the left side extended which shows the colours and papers used. The right side is an exact replica and this project features papers from the same SEI range, some glittered, some embossed and some flocked but all very pretty. This is a lovely colour combination for Christmas.

This is another project which was a 2 page layout designed to fit several photos to feature a year in the life as the title suggests. This project was undoubtedly the best of the day for me which took me by surprise as the thought of a year of pictures didn't appeal at first.

Of course the fabulous 'Cosmo Cricket' papers would've made anyone want to do it and so I took this class but changed the papers up to feature a year of our allotment or something similar. I have yet to add photos to mine though.

This is the left page which has been left 'naked' of journaling, photos and title but the red cherry paper is one I have been itching to use and it makes me think of retro kitchen's, recipe books, homegrown produce, baking and preserving - hence my theme (when I finish it). I can also picture mom when I look at this paper. She has a similar blue in her kitchen right now and I seem to recall a red gingham 'pinafore' style apron and maybe a red 'Betty Crocker' cook book in previous years if memory serves me right. Didn't I make the aprons for you mom? Do you still have the pattern?

Anyhow I learn't a lot from mom in the early days of life as a wife, mother and homemaker so this paper conjures up a real sense of 'comfort' for me.

This is the right side which has 3 sections that open up to reveal more photos - upper left, upper right and one directly below this. Even the little scalloped edge detail makes me think of aprons and moms crocheted pot holders and things!

I wish I had photos of mom in her kitchen cooking but I don't so I will have to trawl through my stash. I do however have photos of Maddy making cupcakes - maybe they would work - hhhmmmmm?

This was a third project - a cute little double sided crate just perfect for gift giving all decorated up in some lovely 'Bo Bunny' papers from the 'flutterbutter' design. This would actually make a nice evening class with a smaller group so I will probably not be sharing instructions for this just yet.

If I were giving this as a gift myself I would probably make several hand made cards and envelopes and either a post it note holder, note book or similar item to fit in one side and most definately put some yummy chocolates in the other side - just to balance it out you understand.

Sadly I didn't manage to get a shot of the last project to share. Towards the end of the day time just seemed to run away us all. If anyone else has a picture they can share please post a comment and I'll send you my e-mail address.

Well this post ended up far too long so I'll do a further post for the post it note holder.

All Day Workshop

Well since I am posting this today it means that the all day work shop has been and gone (sorry if you missed it). All the prepping, all the hard work and efforts of everyone involved - all done, although I'm sure Amanda probably has a few bits of mopping up to do. It takes a surprising amount of work to put on one of these events.

I wanted to share some of the day with you and also some of the projects plus the directions on the post it note holder that we simply ran out of time to teach. It may take 2 or 3 posts but I'm determined to get there today!

Everything was all set up and ready to go when I arrived with Kay and Rosina. It looked so nice and inviting. Goodie bags are also included in this all day workshop and there are drinks and sweets to help keep your energy levels up!

Amanda is planning a special 2 day workshop coming up on 24 & 25 April 2010, hopefully with Donna Downey (USA), Leonie Pujol (QVC) and Paula Pascual so this was a great idea to advertise it. You can put your name down on a list for this one already just to make sure you don't miss out.

These were the die-cutting machines at the ready - boy you should've seen the state of this table at the end of the day!

I did get a chance to chat to one or two of the ladies during the afternoon break and for those who haven't yet decided which die-cutting machine to invest in it proved really helpful for them to see these machines in action and to have a go themselves. Since I own a 'Big Shot' if I'm asked it's the only one I stand by every time.

As with every class or workshop you teach you learn valuable lessons and while it's important to allow students access and opportunity to try out different equipment; sometimes it's worth the extra effort to cut things out for them. If I'm being honest this should've been one of those occasions because we could've achieved so much more in the time we had if some of it hadn't been spent on these machines - and we all want more of that.

Never the less it's quite clear to see that Kay and Rosina are having a great time working on the various projects. I even took a couple of classes too which was such a lovely change.

I'm hoping Annie will share a photo or two with me, particularly since I asked her to take a few shots of me in action and she's such a great photographer. Hopefully then I can share a few more shots of the day.

Today though - I've had a lie-in till 6.30 am and am planing on resting up. I can already tell I'm not in a good place today and haven't been for the past few days so I may just shower and have a PJ day today and do whatever I have the energy to do - or nothing at all.

Mojo Monday - Just!

Well I may just have made it in time for the Mojo Monday challenge for October and this month's competition hopefully.

I had 2 choices today - blog and check out everyone elses creations (less energy) or make one of my own. You now know which one I chose. Here's the sketch from MM - link on left if you want to play along or even if you want to use the sketch some other time.

And here's my version of this weeks sketch. Considering my lack of enthusiasm - not MM's fault, entirely mine I should add - I am super pleased with the finished card and I know just who I'm gonna give it to for Christmas too. In fact I may have to make another three or four for the special people top of my card list.

I have misplaced my larger gems which would've matched the silver and glitter better so I had to use these flat backed pearls instead but that's not a major - it's still cute. I couldn't resist using one of those sweet angels again and besides the supplies were still out on the table where I left them so it was pretty much a given I'd use them first. I also wanted to try one of the new easel cards that I've been seeing lately so I made my card square to make it easier.

This is the card when it is folded back and propped up on the inside back. I adhered my heart flat in the front and raised in the back so it sits at a nice angle and so the front of the card stays nicely in place. The inside front is also decorated so the whole card has some real depth to it and a bit more effort than the average card. I DID say it was SPECIAL didn't I.

I found this lovely 'me to you' ribbon and used a MS border punch behind it to make it stand out more and while I'm not usually a 'fussy' card maker I 'fussed' some by adding the BIG bow - again to make it really special.

I had great fun playing this time around. I really should make more effort for Mondays. I'm actually off next Monday (resting up from teaching at the all day workshop) but I just might get a jump start next week.

Will post pictures of the workshop either Sunday night or Monday moring.

If you've never clicked on the Monday Mojo link - DO! Even if you don't play you can see lots of great card sketches and when you click on the names in the list you see even more inspiration and some great blogs. Happy hunting!

All in a Name

We needed name badges for the all day workshop and we decided to use a flower design to mimic the flowers I made on the aprons (well kinda). At least they will match. I knew I had plastic badges and printed names on the computer so it was just a case of cutting and assembling.

I came home from class last night all wide awake so I couldn't settle down to sleep just yet. I decided since I had this on my project 'to do' list that I would play around and see what I could come up with. In the end I managed to finish them all.

I would've liked the text a bit larger and I probably could've used rubber stamp letters but hubby was already in bed so I didn't want to make noise and disturb him, I can't get to everything in my craft room right now (re-organising shelving in closet), and the computer was easier and quieter.

Since I had several to make 'easier' was good, in fact it was VERY good. The front covers should pop off these so we can always change them at a later date but for now they'll do just fine.

Do you realise the all day work shop is just 4 days away! Not long now :-)

Class

Last night was a class night and this was our project. I had made it some time ago but haven't been able to share it until now.

We used some lovely Bo Bunny Christmas papers and ribbons and used the Martha Stewart punch to cut the snowflakes and border. A simple set of Christmas stamps for the sentiments, some sparkling gems and there you have it.

We usually make at least 2 cards per class but because of the work involved in this project we just made one. One proved to be plenty! Everyone did go home with instructions and enough to make another complete card though. This is Rosina doing a fantastic job (she always does you know) and creating a beautiful card.

I had a table of complete beginners and another of fairly competent ladies so I was split between the two tables. That makes the task of teaching much harder because you can spend more time with one group than the other but it paid off. My 'newbie' ladies really got into their stride and all went home with a completed project. This project might look easy but with so much measuring and piecing it's actually quite tough if you've never crafted before. Nothing like in at the deep end but I'm so chuffed to be able to say they all rose to the TOP!

I have several more classes coming up - many of which are filling up fast but I'm really looking forward to getting back to teaching again after the long break over the summer. It's what I love to do.

A Host of Angels

Well I have had real fun playin with the cute angel stamp over the past couple of days. I made several cards intending to take them to work to sell - 8 in fact and I sold 6 straight away!

I guess it was worth all the effort huh? I had so much fun with the colour combinations and matching them up to the Christmas papers I had on hand. Apologies for the photos - I had bagged them already so I had to photograph them at an odd angle because of the glare from the bags. I haven't made cards to sell for at least a year or more, maybe two - I enjoyed it but I'm glad I don't do it all the time.

These were the bright pink, green and brown ones - all with a slightly different background arrangement but using the same angel, snowflake and sentiment elements. They needed to be fairly quick and easy for mass production.

Here is a close up shot of one.

I just love this very different green and blue colour combo - taken from the papers but such a different colour choice for Christmas.

Here is a close up of one of these ones.

I'm not a lilac/purple person usually but I especially loved the colour of the angel with black hair against this colour background. (sorry about the spec - don't know how that got in the shot??).

Another close up shot.

I coloured this angel with pink hair just for fun and then thought 'no way could I match it to any paper for Christmas' but a careful dig through my paper stash and I even managed to find a Christmas paper in these colours!

This evening I went to Jilly's (bestest friend) for dinner and we both stamped a whole bunch of these cute angels. I guess I'm not quite finished with them just yet then huh?