'O' is for Owl - Wednesday 8th July 2015

Hello Friends,

Well another week has passed and I hope you are still enjoying the fine weather (most of the time) too?

Most of Saturday was spent in the garden, working hard! We were 'helped, by the hens and it was lovely, Sunday we spent with our friends whose daughter's wedding we were at a few weeks ago, catching up on all the post wedding news.

Because I only get certain times for crafting during the week (my choice mostly, I've come to realise there are so many more things to enjoy as well), at least not blogging so much means I have a nice little back log of creations to keep me going for a while!

Today, I want  to share a small project, ahead of a  few bigger ones on the same theme,  which I'll share over the next few  posts.

We only have one craft workshop in July, so Amy and I decided to have a change and get the group to make something other than a card, such as a wall hanging. Tomorrow I will show you my project for them, but for today a little bookmark I made with some left over card.

We've been using the cute owl stamp by Sam Poole this month and I have made quite a few projects with it for ideas, so you will be seeing a lot of him...

I'll explain the stamping technique in my larger project tomorrow, but I drew and cut out the tree free hand. I wanted this project have very much a 'printed' effect, so used block colouring with promarkers and very little inking, just at the edges...more of a 'clean' look.

Mr Owl is paper-pieced.

I placed the bookmark in this book for a reason - other than I'm reading it for the second time - in my last post, I mentioned that I had joined a local volunteer group?

My job is to help people volunteer, I used to volunteer a lot and apart from the occasional one off 'event', always with animals. When I lived close to the centre of Bristol, there was no shortage of animal based volunteering and I spent about 10 years helping at the Riding for the Disabled school, as horses are my big love. Now I live in a small town, surrounded by rural countryside, surprisingly animal groups are virtually zilch. But for a while now I have been thinking about the local Hawk and Owl Trust, goodness knows we've passed quite a few people to them as volunteers.

So last week I put my name down and I'm now waiting for my first trip out... they survey local farmland, working with farmers and local Councils to preserve habitats for mostly kestrels and barn owls. They also take part in local community events, which eventually I'd like to help with. I am so in awe of these beautiful birds and am always reading about them, so I am really looking forward to finding out more.

One of the projects  I made using the  Mr Owl stamp, also features the photos I took at the falconry centre a few weeks ago, I'll be posting that soon.

Many thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate your comments,

Love and Hugs

Carole X

CAS card twofer - Wednesday 15th April 2015

Hello Friends,

Hoping you are all well, it's so much cheerier now that spring is here isn't it? I love waking up to the sound of the birds singing in the trees outside...one little robin is there every day way before daylight, bless him!

Tom has a lot of work commitments at the moment, the Company he works for has just taken on a big new client and they were working late into the night to make sure all the web updates were transferred smoothly, but we managed to have a lovely weekend.

 I'm on the look out for another desk to upcycle with chalk paint. It as to be just the right size and style though, so I'm in no hurry. I am firmly of the belief that just like the last one I did, I'll just stumble upon it! I have smiled to myself a lot lately when looking through magazines. I think it was about 10 years ago I bought my first little pot of Annie Sloan chalk paint, I loved it from the start, use it a lot in crafts and thought no more about it. Then a few years ago chalk paint seemed to be appearing everywhere, made by many craft companies. This year every time  I open a magazine,  suddenly all the celebs are Annie Sloaning - including William and Kate who are apparently having the new nursery painted with it! Ah well, glad it's doing so well.

Anyway, no chalk paint in sight with these two CAS cards I made recently, one for a male cousin and the other a female friend....

Our male friend loves dogs and cakes so this stamp by Alice Palace from Crafty Individuals seemed pretty apt! I simply stamped and heat embossed with clear embossing powder, then gave a quick wash of colour with distress inks.






The second card also used a Crafty Individuals stamp. I stamped using clear embossing ink on to black card and then heat embossed with white powder. I matted and layered on to white card that I'd embossed for another project and was in my left overs box.

Inside both cards I used a "Happy Birthday' die:

I've no work today, but a busy day preparing packs for tomorrow's craft group. I couldn't resist sharing this sneaky peek of one of my projects on tomorrow's post...our youngest hen, Tilda is certainly taking an interest!

Have a lovely day all and thank you for stopping by!

Love and Hugs,

Carole X

Polar Explorer - Tuesday 20th January 2015

Good Evening Friends,

Hoping you are all well and not feeling too cold! Thank you SO much for all your lovely comments about my clock! I have to say I really enjoyed making it and in small snippets of time when I had the chance and yes, I was very pleased with it and smile to myself whenever I walk past it on the window sill because it makes me remember a very happy childhood.

I don't generally get much time to craft on a weekend, but I did grab a couple of hours on Sunday - and I kept a promise I'd made to myself to carry on making Christmas cards! Gosh, isn't it just so much more pleasant when you aren't on a timescale to get them made? I hardly used any of my stamps or dies last Christmas and now I can use them all at my leisure. I got so into it, I made three!

So today, I am sharing this one:

For this one I cut 'hills' from pieces of copy paper to use as masks for the snow and I sponged ink across the layers to give the effect of the snow lying in folds into the distance. I used Dusty Concord distress ink and Manganese Blue Archival. I used a shimmery card, which has a nice smooth surface for the ink.

The Polar Bear is a stamp by Athena Crafts: I stamped him on to the card to place him, but then stamped him again on a spare piece of the shimmer card, heat embossed with clear powder and cut him out, adhering him with a 3D foam pad.

The 'North Pole' sign is part of a set by Marianne. I stamped and heat embossed then cut it out, slightly trimming off the bottom to look like it's in the snow.

I wanted it to look like the bear is on a journey, off to find the North Pole!

This is a tent fold card, with a snowy acetate front and concertina base. You can't see it very well in the photo, but I embossed the top and bottom panels with a snowy folder by Sheena. I then used the "Merry Christmas' die by Memory Box and the 'Frostyville' border die, also from Memory Box, on the sides.

To finish I just added a few gems and ribbon

I would like to enter this card is the following challenges:

Christmas Cards all Year Round -http://christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.co.uk
January Challenge: Anything Goes

ABC Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk

Many thanks for stopping by, as always, I much appreciate it!

Love and Hugs
Carole X

Winter Wishes - Saturday 22nd December

Hello Blog Friends!

Well we all made it through yesterday, so all the effort we've put into making those Christmas cards wasn't for nothing! :)

After the hair salon yesterday, I came home and started making the labels for the family presents I had wrapped on Wednesday (they've all got temporary post its on..that won't do will it?)

I have photographed some of the wrapped gifts and that will  probably be my last pre-Christmas post tomorrow, but today's project is my design team make for the new Emergency Crafters Challenge: Winter Wishes ...just make something wintery - can be Christmas or  not; have a go as there is a prize!

This time I have made a tag (any excuse to make a tag)....

It's a large tag, which I covered in paper from Dovecraft's Back to Basics Vintage Christmas..I aged it a bit more by inking the edges with tea dye distress ink. The image is a stamp by Crafty Individuals, which I stamped on black card with versa mark and heat embossed with snowflake tinsel powder (in the same way as my Sunday Stampers tag this week).

I then added some gold edged satin green ribbon and a  Spellbinders snowflake die cut.

I had decided to take a few days break from any crafts after Christmas - Tom is home anyway, so I doubt there will be much chance to disappear to the craft room! I really do so enjoy making cards and other crafty items for Christmas and because I (like many of you) start in the summer, I do find it hard to adjust back to  non-Christmas makes - but I've already got quite a few commissions for January and Amy (my friend I do the workshops with) arrived last night with a bag full of goodies for me to 'play' with to prepare for our first workshop of the year at the start of February, which will focus on Valentines/love..I've looked at the stamps and stencils but so far my mojo is still seeing Santa's and Reindeer! 

Well we are almost there now friends aren't we? Only a few more sleeps!

Carole X

Wedding Day - 5th March

Good Morning!


No post yesterday, I needed time to catch up a little, plus my craft room needed a bit of a tidy (not that it looks much better now!)


Today's card features a Lilli of the Valley stamp. I always head for my box of their stamps when I want something really cute. I think they are absolutely adorable images.

First of all I stamped the image, coloured with Promarkers and cut it using the Spellbinders Heart Squares die. I shaded the edges with Spun Sugar distress ink. I then cut two of the Spellbinders Layered Flowers. Last week on Create and Craft, Sue Wilson suggested using wax paper with dies  that are intricate and hard to release. This works brilliantly, but the wax paper also has a life of it's own when used with Spellbinders. It has a lovely texture and feel. I don't use vellum much, it's just not something I like using at the moment, but this paper, has the translucent look of vellum, only thicker and I love it.


I layered an 8x8 card with pale pink polka dot paper from my stash box. It has a little motif in the corner, which I allowed to peek through when I matted and layered with plain pink card (edges distressed with Spun Sugar) and then white card, embossed with 'Splendid' M-Bossabilities. The tag is cut from Spellbinders Antique Frames and Accents and a  Spellbinders Ribbon Buckle die cut is used with the bow. I finished the card off with ribbon, flowers and pearls from my stash box and added a little glitter to the bride's head-dress and bouquet.


Hope you have a Happy Monday and thank you for visiting my blog...please leave a comment, I love to read them!


Carole X

Bluebelle Hen - 27th February

Morning Bloggers!

I have posted cards using this little hen stamp before, but I made this one recently for a friend's birthday. Some of you will know that we keep pet hens; our 'old girl', Buffy is 5 years old and a big, beautiful Bluebelle. Her colours vary through her plumage from a soft grey to a deep lavender blue and the reason I tried to emulate the colours in my card is that my friend also keeps a couple of Bluebelles....

This is a 6x6 card and for the base layer I used some pretty vintage 'country style' paper from my stash box. I distressed the edges with Milled Lavender distress ink. I stamped the image on Neneh White card and coloured the hen with a both Promarkers and Flexmarkers. It actually took a while to get the colours and shading as I wanted, despite the image being quite small, but I was very pleased with the end result!


This little stamp was a free gift with Craft Stamper magazine a few months ago and I really like using it. I cut the image using Spellbinders Teardrop Circles and again shaded the edges with Milled Lavender.


I finished off with a little edge of lace to follow through the Vintage theme and made a flower using pages from an old Thomas Hardy novel made with very thin paper, that I picked up for pence in a charity shop. I used the three smallest layers from the Spellbinders Anemone die, held together with a small brad and scrunched together to make a crumpled flower.

Carole X

Happy Valentine's Day! 14th February

Happy St Valentine's and lets hope you are all feeling loved today! Of course today's card has to be themed...so hope you like it! It's the one I made for my husband...

Apologies for the photography! I started with a linen effect gold base layer. I love this particular type of mirror card as it has an elegance about it. I cut the heart on white card from the Spellbinders Classic Hearts die set and then needed a slightly larger heart in gold, so created a faux die. I used a piece of red embossed paper for the next layer and cut it with the Grand Scalloped Rectangles die. The black card was cut with the same die and stamped it using the beautiful Indigo Blu, 'Love is' stamp. I've only just discovered them and this was my first use of the stamp. I stamped it with Perfect Medium and then embossed it in gold. The actual card looks so much better than the picture, which because if the light, doesn't really show up the gorgeous detail in this stamp - but it will be getting lots of use in different ways...so watch this space!


Finally I  shaded the edges of the heart with Worn Lipstick (of course!) distress ink and dotted gold 'pearls' around the edge using Cosmic Shimmer. Finally I added red organza ribbon. The sentiment was typed on to the card before die cutting.


Love to you all, Carole X

Jumping for Joy! 30th January 2012

Today's card is one of my favourite stamping 'treats' - the House Mouse! I love these stamps and am building up quite a collection. I got these from Joanna Sheen's site a few weeks ago and wanted to use them to make a couple of cards for friends birthdays coming up..they are so cute!!! The stamp is from the 'Mice & Crafty' set.

This card was made on 6x6 card stock, which I covered with paper printed from the House Mouse inserts and backing papers cd-rom. I chose this one because it gives the feeling of material/sewing. 
   Using a die from the Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Postage Stamp set I cut the front of the card just over half-way up. I pierced around the outside of the card and across the front using my Tim Holz ruler, and created faux stitches with a white jelly roll pen - but across the front I actually stitched using pink embroidery thread.
The images were stamped and coloured with Promarkers and I cut away the jumping mouse. When Jo Channon was demonstrating these cards on Create and Craft, I briefly caught her showing a card where the mouse was jumping up and down. I only briefly saw it, thought it was a good idea and stored it in my head to decide how I was going to create a similar effect!


I attached the pin cushion to the front of the card with sticky pads so give it some depth, stamped the greeting and cut it with shaped scissors (I thought this would also add the the theme of sewing - my mum had some scissors that cut like this in her sewing box!)
I added a narrow ribbon across the front and  let it run off each side - just because I liked it that way - and added the sentiment, again with sticky pads. I also added Spun Sugar distress ink to the edges of the card, but it doesn't show in the photo at all.


The jumping mouse was created by sticking a narrow strip of thick acetate to the back.
The inside of the card is covered in exactly the same paper as the outside, so I die cut an inner to match the front and stuck it down leaving a channel to feed the acetate into- so that the mouse can be moved up and down at will!


I also photographed the inside of the card to show you the greeting. I typed this and cut it with the Spellbinders Lacey Ovals die...I really like this die, but it's one of the hardest to remove the paper/card from without tearing! Finally I added one more little mouse in a thimble and three little buttons from stash in the top corner.


Love these little guys!
Carole X

Vintage Aloysius - Sunday 29th January 2012

Morning!


Today I am sharing the first of the 'projects' I made this week, when I decided to use my day off work, as also a day off from commissions and have a 'play' with some new stamps...


I just got this stamp from Indigo Blu and I think he is so cute! He is based on the teddy with the same name from Brideshead Revisited and he really has that 'antique' and much loved old teddy look about him. In fact he reminds me of my old teddy, who has been with me since my first Christmas and has the very boring name of Ted!! I digress...

I stamped him with black archival ink and coloured him lightly with tea dye distress ink, using a brush and tiny drop of water. I wanted it to retain the 'shabby' look and because the shadow areas are so heavy and the stamp is such good quality, it's easy to achieve with this image. Next I die cut it using the largest of the Spellbinders Labels Four Small dies and distressed the edge using a mixture of distress inks" antique linen and tea dye. Because I needed a slightly larger die of the same shape to frame it, I cut a faux die from the Spellbinder using some light brown card from stash and I distressed the edge in with the same mix of colours.


To follow through with the antique feel, I covered the base of the card with some scrap booking paper I had in my stash. It was another one of those 12x12 sheets that I really loved, but had never found the right use for. The colour is gorgeous but more than that, it also has a lovely feel to it - a slightly raised effect,almost giving it the feel of linen. Only another crafter will know what I mean by the feel of paper!


I gave it a lace border, again for the vintage look and then I used Vintage Ribbon in a lovely choclatey( if that's a real word!) brown across the top. I added a bow, tied with the ribbon and a wooden heart button from stash to finish it off.


No greeting, I wanted to leave the 'occasion' open to choice...used in different ways this stamp has so many possibilities...male or female, adult or child and I think I will try a baby card next...you could add a blue or pink bow to make the bear in to a boy or girl!


Carole x

July 2011

8th Wonder Art - explained!
Hi there! This is my first 'crafty' blog and I have to say I'm a little nervous...but here goes....before the cards, the introductions (skip this bit if you want!):

I'm Carole and I live in South Gloucestershire with my husband, Tom and our 2 hens, Buffy and Cara. I work locally 3 days a week for a small charity which helps people find volunteer roles; I like my job but I would trade it tomorrow for a chance to create cards full time!
I have been crafting - forever! My dad really got me into it I guess...true, Mum taught me how to sew and knit' but they were always just 'functional' things with which, I am ashamed to say, I was easily bored. Dad was a sign-writer by trade and an artist by nature. Everything I know about art, I learned from him. 

Apart from drawing and painting, my first introduction to paper crafting was scrapbooking. Off and on I have spent quite a bit of time visiting the American side of my family in California and this wonderful way to record your memories has always been second nature to them...I am so pleased that it is now popular over here, although I hardly get any time for it nowadays. Believe me, a day at the beach? Boring. Hours spent in Michaels Craft Store (Their equivalent of Hobbycraft, but bigger). Paradise!

Over the years I have dabbled in different crafts including beaded jewellery and some folksy sewn items, but my road always leads me back to cardmaking/paper crafts. I still enjoy a bit of sewing but only items to sell on my craft stall, such as Primitive style snowmen (watch this space nearer Christmas). Currently I am also dabbling in a bit of knitting, but there are rules...it has to be chunky and fast. I decided last week to try and knit jackets to keep battery hens warm...it's taking forever with dk yarn and smaller needles and I don't have that kind of attention span! I hope the hens aren't too fussy!

My card crafting is quite eclectic and although I'm not a very girly person, my cardmaking style of choice is very girly....ribbons are a must and sparkle and buttons.....although I have been lured by Tim Holz and all the grunge stuff, but my grunge so far is still pretty girly. I am intrigued by  Steam Punk too and aim to give it a go! Some of my Twitter crafty pals (you know who you are) are also enticing me into trying ATC's, so that's another thing on my list.


 I suppose if pressed I would say that I love rubber stamping most, although CD crafting is a close second. I am a Promarker ADDICT! I love the things....give me an image to colour and a selection of promarkers and I'll be happy for hours! But I also love gadgets and tools...I have the 'baby bug' Cricut and the Gypsy, both of which I use every day (my gypsy is usually in my bag..who wants computer games!); I also own a Cuttlebug and a Grand Calibur and again, I use them both all the time. In fact, along with stamps and promarkers, Spellbinders dies are another BIG obsession. If I lost any of the aforementioned items I have no idea what I would do!

Who are my crafting idols? I admire quite a few crafters: Joanna Sheen, Barbara Gray (Clarity Stamps), Nikky Hall(Polkadoodles),Tim Holz (who doesn't?)...but my real inspiration is Sue Wilson from Creative Expressions/Particraft. Every card she makes is absolutely beautiful and so...substantial...nothing flat about them and I think you will see her influence in some of my cards.It would be true to say that I am 'in awe' !


Where do I get my stash? Well Create and Craft is a major source, but we also have an excellent local shop in Chipping Sodbury...Out of the Blue...check it out if you're local...ribbons there are beautiful..and papers...and....also love Polkadoodles and a number of other web based craft sites that I'll mention as I go along...


I do go to Hobby Craft, who doesn't? But usually because I'm in the Mall!

Last year we went to the NEC craft event which was superb...photo...me with Nigel and Leonie from Create and Craft!

What do I do with my cards? Well I sell as many as I can, I have to - to help fund this crazy habit! I make personalised cards to order and am quite busy that way. I do a few craft fairs and would like to do more. The cards I post on here will be a mix of cards made for my stash or to give to friends and family on their birthdays.


8th Wonder Art...that's the tag/name under which I sell my cards...why 8th Wonder Art, you may ask? Simple really, ever since Tom & I holidayed in Egypt, a long while ago, before it was trendy,when you had to have vaccinations for everything heaped on you and exploring the pyramids and tombs was a lot of fun, he started calling me by the name 8th Wonder, if he calls me Carole, something is wrong! Apart from a few of his work colleagues who only know me as that, no one else in the world calls me by that name. I will credit Tom with coming up with this name for my cards, it's been so long, I don't remember!

Well enough chat for now (I will use this as a crafting diary so expect some words) and on to some cards..I have quite a backlog to upload over the next few weeks, but here are a few of my latest to get started. I hope you enjoy looking at them....

Tatty's Sunflower

 I adore the Tatty Button stamp range. This first card is an 8x8 made for the forthcoming Birthday of my very dear friend Janet. The card base is covered with card from the Tim Holz & Ranger Coredinations Distress Collection, Rusty Hinge and after some light sanding I added dies from Spellbinders Parisian set, plus the stamped image on an oval die. All dies were both cut and embossed using the Grand Caliber. Tatty was coloured with promarkers and I stamped the sunflower twice to add  a touch of decoupage. I think the Butterfly from the Spellbinders Flights of Fancy set is amazing. I cannot stop using it. I hand stitched around the edge to give it a 'folksy' look and some extra lift.

You will also notice from most of my cards that there has to be ribbon...oh dear, another obsession...and buttons..oh dear!

Butterfly Floral

The above card is another 8x8 (I love working with this size and most people who order cards from me want large). The rose backing is some paper from my stash and I hand-stitched all around the edge again (I do find this strangely therapeutic). The swirls were freehand using inkessentials enamel accents in black and the leaves were cut from my Cricut Storybook Cartridge, which I have to say is the cartridge that gets the most use. I made the flowers using three sizes of the Spellbinders Anemone die using a technique I saw Sue Wilson demonstrate on Create and Craft (another addiction).

Pink Wellies

I collect Polkadoodles CD's and thanks to Nikky Hall for continually bringing out such amazing artwork. I especially love the digital stamps....because of course...I can colour them with Promarkers!

The above welly boots are from Sharon Armstrong's 'Winnie' digital stamps on the Double Sprinkles of Kraft CD, the polka dot kraft backing paper was printed from the collection on the CD and the flower was again made using some paper from stash, a brad and the anemone die.

Blue Wellies

These wellies make such super cards for anyone who perhaps likes gardening - male or female. They are simple and funky. This time I embossed some card from the Tim Holz/Ranger coredinations range (Blue China) and sprayed it with stick and spray irredescent glitter by Crafters Companion,I coloured the digi stamp with promarkers and tied with a blue ribbon - easy!

'Elegance'

I have had this 'Parisian' shoe stamp several years, it was actually part of a birthday gift from one of my best friends...and I love it! It is so versatile and a good seller at craft fairs. This card is backed with pink card from the coredinations gemstones range and I actually stamped the shoe onto some quite subtle but elegant paper from my stash, which I had die cut with the cricut (same for deckle edge paper that backs it). The shoe was colured very lightly with promarkers (Blush) and then I used extra fine glitter to finish it, plus a few diamantes. The flower was made from Hunky Dory die cut flowers kit and the card was finished off with a big voile bow. The flowers from the Hunky Dory kit are fine, they always deliver good quality, but I prefer to make the flowers myself.

Wedding Cake

This is a 6x6 card and was a bit of experiment! I embossed plain vellum  with polka dots using the cuttlebug and did the same to polar white card, which was die cut from the cricut. The cake was also cut from the cricut using the Paper Doll Dress Up' cartridge, which was then embossed using the cuttlebug. There was a whole lot of embossing and cutting going on with this card! I got a bit carried away! The sentiment was typed onto polar white card and then die cut from a Spellbinders ribbon die. I ruched the silk ribbon at the side and added some faux pearl gems for the finishing touch. I have to say, in real life the dots appear far more subtle, but next time I would probably leave the card on which the cake is mounted, plain.

Gorjuss Girl: My Own Universe

This was a fun card, simple but fun! The image was stamped on to a deckled oval Spellbinders Die, coloured with promarkers and the die was distressed at the sides using a mix of Tim Holz Tattered Rose and Antique Linen distress ink. The card is 6x6 and the front is covered with paper printed from the Polkadoodles 'Wonderland' CD. I simply added a co-ordinating ribbon and sentiment from stash. 

Christmas in July! 

All crafters know that we have to start making cards early, especially if we sell them! The last few years have been really last minute, so I made an early start and already have quite a few made. Below are a few of the designs I'm using this year.

These three cards are all variations on a theme; I can't take total credit for coming up with the original design, it's adapted from a similar idea in a Spellbinders book I own. I have used 6x6 card blanks and on the front I have matted and layered - polar white, berry red, polar white. The centre is a berry red and a white label nestie and the beautiful Spellbinders 2010 snowflake, embossed and with a large bow fixed underneath. I have added different embellishments from stash on the top. The poinsetta above was actually made by a lady who used to do craft fairs and made beaded ornaments. They are gorgeous.

Victorian Bauble

This is the 2010 nestie and  can be used in so many ways. Here I cut and embossed the die on the front of a blank to create a hollow and then did the same with gold card to create a frame. I lined the hollow with red and gold paper from stash. 

The card below was quite simple in comparison:topped with coredinations gemstones card, it's an 8x8 card blank decorated with  a snowflake embossed oval nestie, 2 globe dies and a snowflake die. The greeting is made using one of the dies from the Parisian set. I ruched some ribbon at the side and tied a little through the tops of the ornament.

House Mouse Christmas 


Back to the adorable House Mouse stamps - the first one was stamped on to a deckled nestie and coloured with promarkers. You can't tell from either of the photos, but I have added flowersoft polar white and a touch of glitter to the snow and the image.

 

Usually, I don't work Wednesdays & Fridays, so these are the times I usually devote full days to card making. I have made the following cards today... at the moment I'm trying to make a bundle to give my cousin to sell at a Cancer charity fundraiser she has organised in July, so I'm making an assortment of birthday, baby, wedding and general...

 Baby Girl

The above is a 5x5 baby girl card, it took quite a while to make but I really enjoyed it! The first layer doesn't really show up in the photo, but it's a light brown/white dotty paper printed from the Polkadoodles Wonderland CD, the second layer is a dusky pink coredinations, which I distressed around the edges and the next layer pale yellow coredinations, which I distressed and inked around the edge with a mixture of antique linen and mustard distress inks. The pram is cut from my 'Sampler' cricut cartridge and mounted on label spellbinder dies. Everything else is from stash...the pink ribbon is American Seambinding, which I wetted, scrunched up and dried off with my heat gun.

Baby Girl 2

Having made the first card I made this with all the card I had left over! It's bigger, 6x6 and is made in exactly the same way as the previous card, except I cut out the word 'baby' using the 'Cuttin' Up' cricut cartridge.

That's me up to date, but here are a few more from my archives....

Just Because -  a simple card, which was a bit of a practice when I first got the cricut last Christmas!

 Running Rabbit!
This is from Polkadoodles Wonderland rubber stamp set - I love it and have made quite a few cards from it, but unfortunately most of the photos I took were a bit poor, so it'll have to wait until I've made some more!

 House Mouse Balloon
This is a dear little stamp, I've used it a lot inside a card on an insert, but it's also really cute on a small card or a gift tag

 Gift Bag
This gift bag was made for a friend's daughter's 21st earlier this year and it was a labour of love! The base card is silky and really sumptuous to the touch and apart from the key, I made every element, including the flower

 House Mouse Easel
This was a card made for a customer: the tags, numbers and frames were all made using the cricut and the mice were, of course, coloured with promarkers!

 Dotty House Mouse
Another dear little stamp for a small card - these mice are just so cute!

 Winnie
This is a digi stamp from Polkadoodles 'Double Sprinkes of Kraft' - it's hard to see from this picture but this was a pop up card and this is the inside

 Winnie in the park,Park Bench, Garden Swing, Winnie's Pink Wellies & Winnie's Wellies..
The "Double Sprinkles' CD is made for working with Promarkers and is an absolute delight. These are all 8x8 cards - such fun

 60th Birthday
I was asked to make a 60th card with a gold theme for a lady who likes shoes and fashion...I used the shoe stamp again; this time I didn't colour it at all, just added glitter to the shoe. The gold card was embossed with the cuttlebug and the 60 was cut using the cricut. The base of this easel card has been decorated with another favourite stamp of mine, which I have owned for years: a simple bag and shoe.

 This little piggy...
This was another card made to order for someone who likes piggys. The pig is from the Polkadoodles 'Back to Nature' CD (I think! I have so many & it was a while ago...will check)

That's all for now...hope you like what you see...will update again next week

Carole X

July 20th 2011

Thanks to everyone who has visited so far and sent me such lovely messages via Twitter and Facebook...I'm blushing! Also thanks to those of you who have joined! Please leave a message on the blog...I will be updating with more cards on my August blog starting next week...happy crafting all!