A Berry Sweet Card Tutorial

I was in need of a whole stack of cards to donate for fund raising after listening to a lovely couple speak at our church the other evening.  They were talking about their work with Caring for Life which is a Christian charity that helps care for people with all manner of physical, emotional or social difficulties.  You should check it out here.

Their talk was very thought provoking and I genuinely admire them for their commitment so it was only natural that anyone would come away wondering what could be done to help.  My mind was pondering if I could do anything even before they'd finished so I felt as though Debbie might be speaking to me individually when she jumped back up at the very last minute and added as a last thought 'Oh and if anyone wants to make handmade cards that we could sell, we can really use some'.  That was all the prompting I needed - this was definitely something I could do!

I chose today to get busy on these cards since I'm desperately waiting for Mr Postie to deliver my latest Waltzing Mouse stamp order.  I was in hope it would come today as it's my day off but nothing so far.  Still I have spent the entire morning playing with stamps so it's cool and besides I know me.  I would've been very distracted if they had arrived so I might not have gotten these cards done.  See how good God is to me?  He knows me sooooo well.  My stamps will arrive that's for sure but most likely not until after these are finished LOL.  Just a s well I think cos I'm hoping to use the new dies I ordered for the WMS sketch challenge this week - well as long as they arrive before Saturday that is.

Since I knew I needed several and I needed them quickly I decided to keep it pretty clean & simple.   I also knew I wanted to use this super sweet berry stamp set and whilst I was about it I decided to take a few shots for a tutorial too.  It's nice to get back to tutorials.

First up I had purchased a pack of 25 pre-made mini card blanks with envelopes for just £3.99 with this project in mind.  I usually make my own card blanks and envelopes but doing it this way wasn't really any more expensive and it was a fantastic time saver too.  I started off by stamping one of the Waltzing Mouse handmade stamps on the back of each card.

Next up I used my pattern tracing wheel and ruler to run a faux stitch line around the front of the card.  I just love this technique.  Hopefully you can just about see it in this shot but click on it to enlarge it if not.  Maybe that will help.

Once that was done I cut a square measuring the same as my card front (4" x 4") and die-cut a heart from the centre.  I then used the relief by centring it over the card front and shading in an area using distress ink.

Then I stamped my sentiment where I thought I wanted it to be.

And after that I decided to stamp up all my strawberries - don't they just look yummilicious?   I'm gonna try this card again as a gift set and maybe do some fun colours like pink berries and lime green leaves, plus I think I might try the WMS gingham stamp instead of shading next time too.  Ooooo and I can see a shade heart with the text stamp over the top too - endless possibilities!

Then I used the same heart shaped die, traced it onto a scrap of card stock and stamped the sentiment in about the same place as I had on my card front.

After cutting out my strawberries I was then able to position them onto this scrap piece where I thought they would appear on my card.......

....and then re-stamp my sentiment to get just a portion onto my strawberry.  I set my strawberries aside for a moment to do the next step.

I love to doodle so I used the heart die to trace around my inked heart with a black fine line marker.

But because this fine line was too neat and because I also wanted a kinda hand stitched pen detail I traced around the pen line freehand weaving in and out and then added a few stitch strokes so it created a piece of patchwork.  On reflection it kinda looks like barbed wire too but what the hey!

All that was left to do was adhere my strawberry taking care to line it up to the stamped sentiment.  After that I inked the edges of my card - yes I love this technique too.  It's kinda like adding another layer without actually doing that. 

Finally I finished it off with a few doodled pen dots (which you can't see in this shot so go back up to the first shot) which again I love to add.  And there you have it!  One quick, easy, pretty card - ten down and only 15 more to go!  Then all I have to do is line them, bag them up and pop them into the post.

I am at my mother's house for dinner and crafting this evening so no prizes for guessing what I'll be doing tonight huh? LOL.

And as an added bonus keeping myself occupied today has helped keep me on track with the diet.  Can you believe I kept my weight steady and maintained the entire time I was out of action with Labyrinthitis and NOW I gain a couple of pounds?  Aaarrgghhhhh!!  I'm hoping it's back off when I see the nurse this Saturday and that I'm getting back on track.  Jessy has been out walking with me plus I played on the Wii fit board this week too - first time ever and it was a blast.  I don't usually do any computer games but I about pee'd my pants laughing when I tried to hoola hoop and then when Dave got on to try it I nearly pee'd em' again laughing at him!  In the new year I plan to join a Salsa class or something but I'll keep plugging away at what I can when I can until then.  I'm still just a bit too giddy to put myself out there in public LOL.

Blessings

Suezie

P.S.  I will be running a couple of Christmas workshops at my church before Christmas if anyone's interested in coming along.  I'd love to catch up with you all.

Another Demo Day

Well I kinda hate to say it - cos I said it once before and my surgery was cancelled - but here goes..... today was my last demo day at base for a little while. I am crossing the days off the calendar and getting really close now.

I spent today with my friend Amanda at her store on the US air base. I didn't get too many samples done today but it was a real nice change of scenery and since I ride in her car there and back it's also a real nice chance for us to catch up a bit too. She spoilt me with goodies, which she doesn't need to do but they're all very yummy so I'm not exactly gonna turned them down now am I? She is a real sweetie but I'm definately buying the Baskin Robbins next time for sure.

Maybe I'll have a smaller one next time too (pralines & cream - yum) since I can't face dinner now - I'm way too full!

This was the first card I made today and I think it was one of my favourites. I could do this card again and again. It's simple, non-fussy and pretty. I used the new labels die set from Nestabilities that I am keen to play some more with. We thought if you turned it up the other way and punched a hole on either end it would make a great label on a jar or one of the clear paint cans. I checked my e-mails tonight and saw even more uses for it. And to think I wasn't too keen when I first saw it!

The next two cards use nestabilities as well since I was demonstrating using them. I used the nested flower which I love cos it's kinda funky looking and also the scallop and plain circles on this one. I sure wish I'd seen that my music on the flowers was the wrong way around though - aarrrggghhhhh!!!

I used a Sizzix Hello Kitty flower die for the base of this one, then the nested flower on top, then a blossom die on top and finished with a large button and some adhesive beads. I still like the first card best even though it doesn't have a flower at all.

Well I am off to Waltzing Mouse to check out the new release stamps and take Claire up on her free postage deal before I call it a day. It has been a very long one and I got suddenly tired towards the end of it. Thankfully I don't have to clean house tomorrow. My darling hubby washed the kitchen floor, hoovered, tidied the sitting room and even did laundry BLESS HIM!

In fact he did so much housework he didn't even make it to the allotment today. How sweet is he? Think maybe I'll keep him a while yet!

Project Tuesday 27 April

Well it's that time again folks! I had just a couple of hours this evening to get my project done for PROJECT TUESDAY this week. I had several things lying around on the table such as papers with a delicate pink and almost buttermilk yellow colour scheme, a flower die (that I had recently borrowed from YTOC), lace and an almost pink/peach coloured ink pad. That was my starting point this week.

Like most weeks I know what I want to create with my project - at least I get an idea fixed firmly in my head and once it's there I build on it. I had tried this frame technique some months ago when I made a cute red & blue frame during a demo day. I liked that idea then and I like it now so I knew it had to be a framed quote. This is how it finally turned out.

These colours look much brighter with the flash. If I made my projects on time I could photgraph them in natural daylight but since it's dark outside I had to make do like most weeks.

I was leaning towards a baby girl theme (probably cos I was supposed to be doing a baby card right about now) but I decided to go with this quote. My mother's b'day is comin up in June and I thought she'd like it.

I decided to get a bit sneaky with my paper this week. This was the last sheet left when I purchased it and I wanted to save some. I started with a 10" x 10" square which meant I had two 2" strips - perfect for a card. I folded up my frame then opened it back up and cut a good sized square out of the back so I have enough paper to decorate up a box lid or something.

I used nestabilities dies all over this project but because I didn't have one big enough to fit my project (the first creamy yellow scallop) I cut scalloped squares, cut them in half diagonally and placed them behind the triangular flaps. I then trimmed them flush before securing everything in place.

Even up close this looks neat and tidy cos I made sure I covered over the joins with another layer. I used glue dots to secure my ribbon and lace twisting it as I went along. This shot shows just a glimpse of the depth to the whole thing. I used foam pads on most layers including several of the flower layers too.

I cut the leaves free hand, spritzed them with water so I could get a really nice scrunch to them and set them on the heater to dry quickly - I only had a couple of hours remember! I inked pretty much everything in sight including the leaves and finally I printed off the quote with a light charcoal coloured ink so it would be a bit softer.

I plan on adding a backing. Not sure if I'll use poster board in a cream or something else but I will mount it and add ribbon or something to hang it with. I guess it could stand with a small clear plastic photo/plate stand thingy too.

I still have my baby card to do and I think I might try this technique on a card next. Why not have a go yourself and see what you can come up with. Hopefully I have inspired some of you to play along with us this week. You can check out the other DT members and their projects plus get details for the frame here.

I am also entering this flower into the SASSY DESIGNS challenge this week. If you haven't had a go at making a flower yet check it out here for a tutorial and details of the challenge. I have made a few of these ones now. I used a Sizzix Hello Kitty die would you believe? Add a bit of curling, inking and layering up - who needs to buy flowers when you can make one!

Makin it a Quickie

Look Kay I'm posting! (inside joke folks) But I'm making it a quickie cos my weekend starts here (Friday at about 4.00pm - yay!) but I have loads to do. I cannot ignore the housework this weekend for sure, I gotta catch that lovely sunshine and get ALL the laundry dried on the line this weekend and we have a family day planned for Sunday. I guess it's time to give out the awards for football and I'm sure Zacheriah is in there somewhere winning one so we decided to make a day of it. I forgot Saturday! I get to spend that day with my hubby doin whatever we want - well after housework and laundry that is.

Oh I waffle on sometimes don't I? - you guys don't need to know all that stuff but I hope to take a photo of Zach - been a long time since I shared any pictures of the grandkids here and I know mom loves to see em'.

Anyhow I needed a quick and easy project as a gift for a work colleague who is also a fellow believer. It is her b'day tomorrow although she celebrated at work today. Last night was also American Idol night so it had to be SUPER quick and easy. No way was I gonna miss that! Still don't know who went out cos it was Idol Gives Back and they split the show in two! Not sure when the other half is on. Dave has lost all interest in it this year since he finds out from US friends and family on Facebook before we've watched it - takes all the fun out of it. As long as he doesn't tell me I'm fine!

Sorry - back to the project - in that kind of mood today I guess.

Like I said Jo is a fellow believer and so I wanted to use a few of my plain Jane scripture stamps from Verve. I knew she would appreciate having a set of cards on hand so she could share the love with others. I kept them bright and cheery since Jo's young (just a few years older than my eldest daughter) makes me feel real old! I knew she would appreciate bright and funky. Some quick cuttin with nesties - makes the job sooooooo much easier, some simple stampin and punchin and that's pretty much it.

I needed quick packaging too. I tried one of my Papertrey clear boxes but US sizes are different to UK ones so in desperation this morning before I headed off to work I grabbed a clear bag and made a quick header card for it. I added some text on this later at work this morning - real quick like - shame on me I know - but it wasn't easy. I am usually the first in the office for a good hour (nice and quiet when you have work to catch up on) but NOT this morning. Of all days Jo arrived just 15 minutes after I did. You'd know just how surprising this is if you realised how hard it is for Jo to be on time for ANYTHING. Needless to say it was hard gettin the finishing touches added in case she put her head in the door.

I'm happy to say she loved em (and the chocolate I added in the bag with them). I put something like 'wishing you all good delights and birthday blessings' (can't remember exact words - sorry).

I have another gift on my table for Amanda's birthday but it might be Saturday before I get it to her. Sorry Amanda - I know your b'day was Wednesday but I haven't been able to get by the store. At least it'll be a nice surprise when you do get it huh?

Strawberry Sweetness!

I managed to get a project for an upcoming class done yesterday while I was at YTOC but I still had at least one more to do so I brought the materials home with me. This morning I played hooky from church (shame on me I know) and instead I played with my supplies. This is what I came up with.

We're obviously gettin in the mood for summer with these bright, fun papers featuring glittery strawberries and all kinds of sweetness. They're double sided which makes them perfect for this diaper fold pocket project and they work well with splashes of green and pretty pinks too.

I used two sheets of paper - one for the pocket that had a bright pink side to it so I could bring this colour in as an accent - and a second which was full of glittered text and embellishments and had this fab pink polka dot on the reverse. I used nestabilities to cut out the smaller squares and also the circles. It meant I could get right into the paper to get at these circle embellishments. They were perfect for adding to the card.

Since I already had my heart nesties out I knew I could make some super cute strawberries using these. I simply rounded off the tip with scissors to soften them, inked the edges and used a flower punch for the stem part.

Even though this might make a cute gift for a little girl I can also see it full of strawberry bath salts or something along those lines for an 'older' girly too. For now I have filled my bag with pink shredded paper. I usually buy real goodies but I never get to eat them so I gotta quit doin that. It just ain't FAIR!

I am still scheduled for surgery real soon so I'm just tryin to get ahead of the game right now. My hospital appointment on Friday went real well. As long as my bloods come back ok I'm good to go so not long now. I plan on countin down days startin Monday! I will still be able to craft at some point in my recovery - I just may not be able to get back to teaching for several weeks but think of all the cool stuff I can come up with while I have time to PLAY! Don't worry I'll share it here on the blog and some of it may end up in future classes who knows?

Supplies Used: Nestabilities - circles, squares & hearts, MS border punch, green & pink ink, Sizzix - Texture Boutique, Big Shot, tags die, Designer Paper - Best Creation Inc, Misc - ribbon, thread, flower punch, foam pads.

Why Not Yellow?

Today I hung out at YTOC and crafted for some upcoming classes. Dave was out all day with the church youth group and I was only gonna craft at home so it was nice to have the company and hang out with the girlies. The shop was buzzin' with crafters up for the Donna Downey weekend and there was plenty to eat throughout the day.

When I asked Kay what colour she'd like for the class she decided maybe yellow would be nice. We haven't used yellow since the all day workshop which was a while ago. She chose a really bright 'lime green' and I chose the spotty yellow paper from American Crafts. We threw in a yellow embossed cardstock, some black, some white and played around with several nestability dies.

I used 2 floral sets, a circle set and just for fun I created the leaves using the heart set. A little bit of inking, some doodling with white gel pen and black fine liner and there you have it. I love to outline things so they 'pop' out even more.

This was the finished product - a cute card holder filled with 4 matching cards. Everyone should have fun making up this set. I like to have everyone use equipment like the nestabilities and big shot - A. because for some it's the first time they've experienced them and hands on is always the best way - especially if you're trying to make important craft purchasing decisions and B. because even the gals who have them need to learn ways to use them, to mix them up and have fun with them. There are so many ways to make your own embellishments with crafting supplies so the investment more than pays for itself in no time at all. I'm NOT on commission - honest!

Once I had done this set I had enough scraps left over to create a square card. I know this might seem like a LOT of yellow on top of yellow but up close and for real the plain yellow has some pretty embossed details that just didn't want to photograph in the light in the store. For this card I added a larger circle and scalloped circle behind the flower.

All in all this is what today's playing at crafting produced - very bright - VERY yellow but somewhat different to what I'd normally choose. It's good to do something different isn't it - so why not YELLOW?

Project Tuesday April 6th

Well this week our project was a diaper fold pocket. I had actually made one of these before but never quite so big or so detailed. You can check out the 'how to' and the other design team efforts for inspiration here. For this week here is my effort.

It turned out very bright and colourful again this week but this time it was thanks to the sheet of paper I chose from Imaginesce - one of the ones my daughter Jessica gave me a while back. I know we have had Mother's day here in the UK but we still have the US one to celebrate so this will be on it's way to mom sometime soon.

I decorated it up with die-cut flowers and leaves using an old Sizzix die - one that I've probably only ever used about once! I had the sewing machine out and was hankering to sew a bit of paper so I made the paper lace with a MS border punch and stitched it in place. I also stitched around the circle embellishment too. OOPS! I just noticed I missed out a button on one of the red flowers - or did it fall off? Got a memory like a sieve!

I used my trusty computer for the text - I do this when I'm in a hurry since it's quicker than digging for just the right stamps and ink and I used my nesty dies to cut out the hearts and circles.

Since I made it using a 12" x 12" piece of paper it turned out a pretty good size so I decided to fill it with a card making kit. I don't know if mom makes these up but I love to send these 'handmade' kits as gifts especially since I know she crafts. For extra fun I stitched on the patterned paper strips so mom could have a stitched effect on her finished cards. I also plan to make a Mother's Day card using the same supplies to provide inspiration for her by way of a sample.

These are some of the contents (I am still compiling the kit). I have included card blanks, envelopes, ribbon, patterned paper strips, paper lace, die-cut circles, flowers and leaves, buttons and text. If I can find some small foam pads I'll include those as well plus anything else I think might be nice to add. If she's lucky I might even squeeze a bit if chocolate in there - who knows.

It's always hard trying to think of something that will survive posting overseas but I think in a padded envelope this will do just fine.

Hope you join us for some crafting fun this week. I will be working on next week's project on Wednesday - my day off this week. Since joining the PT design team it has become my regular crafting day and I'm really enjoying that fact.

Project Tuesday Altered Frame

I had several things in mind for this week's PT project but I ended up using something completely different when the time came. I settled on a frame that I purchased last summer at a car boot sale (yard sale) for about .50p. In fact I think I paid about £1 for 3 of these frames altogether. They were Ikea frames and brand new so they were a bargain. I love a good rummage through a car boot sale (yard sale) or charity shop (thrift store) knick knack shelves - you just never know what you're gonna find.

Anyhow I decided not to paint up the wooden frame but to leave it as it was and this was my finished project.

I had a whole bunch of things come together to inspire this week's project including the scripture stamp from Verve that was in my package this week. Of course I am always inspired by this set of stamps from Waltzing Mouse - one of my favourites and then there were the delicious Cosmo Cricket papers. What's not to be inspired by?

The frame I used lent itself beautifully to a 'blocks' theme and the houses fit perfectly inside each block as did the text. I love anything kind of 'patchwork' so I knew piecing the blocks together and mixing and matching up the stitched pieces would be real fun. I cut the squares using my nestabilities dies and fit a smaller square inside the larger one to create a frame - much easier and the I was just lucky the sizing was perfect!





This was the 'naked' frame so you can see the 4 blocks just waitin to be decorated.





Here is a closer shot showing the cute 'homespun' flowers from the WM stamp set that I used to decorate the outer corners of the frame. I had such fun just sittin there and cutting away all these houses so I could mix and match the different elements up. I am really pleased with how this one turned out.




I'm not too sure what I'll do with it now that I have it. The colours don't seem to go with anything here in my house (way too bright) but I have another frame left so I might do one up for my craft room sometime. I had such fun doing this weeks project cos this is something I probably wouldn't have done otherwise.

I'm real glad I did. Hope if you play along over at Project Tuesday that you have fun too. I took a heads up from Sarah and decided to enter this along for the Allsorts challenge this week same as her.

Clean & Simple

Today after my PT project was finally done I was still in the mood to craft so I played just a little bit more and joined in the card challenge over at Clean & Simple.

This was the latest sketch for the week.

And this was my initial take on it.

I had been playing around with some WM stamps for my PT project (can hardly wait to share it!) and had some left over so I grabbed it to go.

I couldn't make the sentiment fit so I had to snip it into 3 and stack it to get it on the card but that's fine. I also didn't have a large scallop punch so I used sections of a nestability oval which I probably wouldn't do again since I'm not too crazy about how it turned out. I only added the ribbon to hide the joins a bit more otherwise I could've left it off.

After I photographed my card I went back and 'tweaked' some more with it adding buttons and white pen dots to the scallops. Either way it's a cute card and took minutes to make. I used my Cosmo Cricket papers since everything I have done today has been bright, colourful, full of polka dots and pretty stamps and it was all still out on the table so why not?

I am about to go clean it all away since I have muesli bars to make for Dave's lunches next week and then dinner by the time that's done. Tonight it's a restful evening too hopefully with the next installment of 'Larkrise to Candleford' to watch. Just LOVE a good period drama!

Robotic Papers

I stopped in at YTOC earlier this week and fell in love with these robotic paper designs as soon as I saw them. Kay was makin up a display board and I nabbed the other half of each 12 x 12 sheet to play with.

I probably should be makin cards I know but even tho it's a few years old I have been hankering over this photo of Kaleb lately (isn't he just too cute?) and wantin to do a page of him for a while now. Seems like ages since I did so it was about time. I knew as soon as I saw these papers they would make a cute page of him so that's what I did first - sorry Kay. I promise I will do a couple cards too. It's amazing just how much you can do with half a sheet of 12 x 12 !

I dragged a few old alphabet stamps out of the cupboard and played on the words on the paper. There were also rows of little red hearts and even a heartline so that was my inspiration for the text.

I used those 'faux brads' in red and blue and played around with my nestabilities a bit. I still have room in the lower right hand corner to add some strips of text which I'll do just as soon as I figure out what I want to say. This page would make a cute class too. I may get some of these papers and make a mini album for his b'day in August. I think he'd like that.

Anyhow I still have a bit of crafting to do so will post more later. Kay I know you'll read this so I'll try and stop by the store to drop these off either Thursday or Friday after work. I should have a card or two as well by then.

Packages!

Anyone who knows me, knows I just LURVE gettin packages (love sending em too) and today I sent one AND got one!

I sent Claire's package finally after a bit of a false start. I took it to the post office, had it all weighed and postage paid, packaged up and ready to go until I realised I'd forgotten to put the address on it. To make things worse I'd left the address at home so I had to bring it all the way back with me but it has DEFINATELY gone now.

I hope if Claire reads this she won't mind me sharing what's in it. I finished the card I started and made a handy little note book to go with it. I love these little notebooks and keep a handy supply on hand ready to decorate when I need a gift. I love the thought of giving any gift that can be used as well as enjoyed.

Of course I HAD to use Claire's stamps for my projects. How cool must it be to see your creations used all over the web on loads of blogs - must blow your mind! And I've seen some fab stuff out there using WM stamps.

I decorated up the inside of the card too. Wouldn't have done to leave it plain and boring. Loved these papers from My Minds Eye. I'm gettin really hooked on mini packs - perfect for card making and little projects too. I used my tab punch from Stampin Up! which is ideal for ading to pages as markers and I left a bit of ribbon long enough to act as as bookmark to save a place.

My package came from mom in the states and had my Christmas purchases in it. I have been waiting a long time to get my hands on these but I was in no hurry and I had to be sure I wasn't gonna order any more before she sent them. Jess gave me money for Mother's Day but I want some more WM stamps this time around.

I picked up the Cosmo Cricket 'material girl' a while back so I am super excited about these crafting stamps. I have links to beoth Papertrey Ink and Waltzing Mouse stamps here on my blog (right hand side) if you want to check any of these out.

So, so can't wait to use these but I have my next PT project to do tomorrow on my day of plus I have the cutest robot papers to design with for YTOC.

Guess I may have to wait just a little bit longer. Soooooo many lovely things to play with and soooooo little time. AAARRRGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!

PT Flower Pot Card

Just a super quick post to get my latest PT project on site. Went out to dinner with youngest daughter last night till late and have to get to work this morning! Apologies!

Will be back later to explain 'how to's' and add links. In meantime you can click on Project Tuesday image on my site for directions and more samples. The DT have done a fab job this week so check em out!

Kooky Carrots for Easter

It seems like I have a hundred and one things to do right now but this morning I let myself be delightfully distracted by a super easy project for Easter. I'm calling mine 'Kooky' carrots cos that's how they turned out - kinda kooky - I think it's the bunny that made me do it.!

I thought I'd share them with you and also share the link so you can make some yourself.

When I found out how easy they were to do I decided to cut several so I could maybe make a whole bunch. I got this little bunny guy from MSWord clip art. He looks a bit like he's just stepped out in front of a cars headlights but I LIKE him. I thought since he had a carrot in his hand this image was perfect.

I also used my computer to create the text that says 'hop, hop. hoppy easter'.

I stamped up the base carrot using tone on tone before assembling. I love the dots, spots and rings around spots that kinda match bunny's eyes. I dragged an old set of stamps out of the cupboard and mixed and matched them up on my block to make stamping several even quicker. I can't believe it only takes 1 strip of sticky tape and the whole thing is done! This is the perfect kind of 'sit in front of the telly' crafting project.

I picked up this ribbon from YTOC yesterday cos I knew it would be perfect as soon as I saw it. See even the ribbon with it's ruffled edges is kinda kooky too.

I dragged my CM circle cutter out of the cupboard to cut the circles so I could 'bump out' the bunny ears but it meant that I didn't have a nestability scallop to fit. They were either way too big or just slightly too small. I decided to cut a larger circle and trimmed it up with deckle edged scissors. Haven't used these in a while either but the edge kinda mimicked the ruffled edge on the ribbon. Luckily I had green cardstock on hand that matched the ribbon.

I plan to fill em with Cadbury's mini eggs but I can't decide how to present them. I have some lovely baskets but I don't want to give em away so they'd have to be returned. I usually only do this with family or close friends. I might have to see what else is lurking in the back of my craft cupboards.

To make one yourself check out Julia's version here (that's where I first saw it) and the link for the instructions can be found here. Hope you have fun with it.

As for my other crafting, well my package is finally ready to post, the next PT project is done and uploaded and I'm hoping to craft around babysitting Maddycakes this afternoon if I can to get a few more things finished. Right now she's watching a movie but I may just take time out and go watch it with her - I can hear her laughing so it sounds like a good one. I can always craft this evening after dinner.

How TWEET is This?

I am running way behind today and American Idol is about to come on so I'm gonna make this a quick post. Call me sad, weird or whatever but it's one of the few TV shows I watch year after year and I simply can't miss it.

Jilly came today to have lunch and some crafting fun so I thought it might be neat to see if she wanted to join me in this week's PT project - a cute little bird house - I've wanted to make one for a while now but just never got around to it. Thanks PT!

This was my finished effort. I knew I wanted to add acetate so you could see the contents inside as I plan to put Cadbury's mini eggs in mine - if there are any left that is since Jilly and I already munched our way through one bag while we crafted.

I was amazed at just how many 'bird' stamps I managed to find so we had a good choice. I used scalloped scissors on the ends of the roof and added a strip of punched lace using a MS border punch. It reminds me of a thatched roof - something we see alot of here in good ol' Suffolk, England.

Doing this week's project meant I was able to dig out some small punches to create the flowers and leaves. I have collected so many over the years and just when I think I could get rid of a few along comes an opportunity to use them and then I'm really glad I didn't.

Since I had lots of supplies Jilly played right along with me, same colours, same patterns except she chose a duck stamp for her bird.

It was definately a duck but she liked it better! I guess that's what it's all about - showcasing our individual tastes and styles in our projects.

Despite being busy today was a pretty good day off work. Back to the grind stone tomorrow I guess, still the weekend is only around the corner. I have sooooo much crafting I want to do, finish Claire's thank you gift, make something nice for my doc for next week, do the new SCS egg basket - so simple but cute plus a few things for the weekend and I still don't know how busy I'm gonna be on the PT DT yet?