Hello Friends,

First of all, thank you all for your lovely comments over on Sam's blog on Tuesday...it was sad for it to be the last one for a while, but family comes first and I know Sam will love having time with her daughter, new baby and husband. It was a very hard decision for her, but not one she's in any danger of regretting I suspect.

I have no idea where the time is going at the moment, all I seem to be thinking about is  our volunteering event on Monday at work, so have had little time to craft and what time I have had has mostly been grabbing some time out in the craft barn or at the sewing machine making decorations for Christmas and Autumn...we also have the second of our August workshops tonight. The groups are making a pop up box  card, but if you recall, no one on either mine or Amy's group actually finished their cards last time.

Box cards can be time consuming, so I have done some of the stamping for them in the hope it helps to speed things up and hopefully we'll have some photos to share tomorrow!

I'm sorry I have been slow to get around your blogs this week and it will no doubt be tomorrow before I get to look at them again, as I have scheduled this post...so apologies!

Today I am sharing another box card that I  have made for a wedding are going to next week, I made a similar one for a wedding Tom's parents went to recently and apparently the couple were thrilled with it..phew! 

I used Sissix dies for the flowers, Spellbinders Classic Hearts,  Spellbinders Papillon and Twisted Hearts M-Bossability folder for the embossing . The 'Wedding Day' stamp is a Creative Expressions stamp and the  Mr & Mrs is from Stamps by Chloe.   I heat embossed them both in silver. To finish I added some tulle and ribbon and a sparkly button.

As with most couples now they want money or gift cards for presents, so I made a gift card/money/cheque holder for the back of the card, with a flap and tulle to hold it together.

That's all for today, thank you so much for stopping by!

Love and Hugs

Carole X

Yuletide round up - Tuesday 26th August 2014

Good Morning Friends,

I hope that those of you who had an extended Bank Holiday weekend enjoyed it. We had one day free of commitments this weekend and that was yesterday, when we had planned a visit to the annual Tree Festival at our local Arboretum and of course it rained...and did it rain!!!

As many of you know, Sam Poole is expecting her second baby very soon and has decided to take maternity leave, to spend some time with her new baby and their daughter Leah. I am sure she has made the right decision and wish her all the best for the safe arrival of her new baby. Because of this she is closing her web shop (check out the sale) and thus no more new stamps and no design team.

I have really enjoyed working on Sam's new designs this year and when she is ready, I am sure she will be back with lots of new ideas and all of us DT members have told her we will be more than happy to start creating again! But that will be a long way off,  so today is my last post for now, over on Sam's blog...I have decided to show all the designs I had already made and didn't get the chance to blog and I will slot them in to my own blog with full descriptions from time to time...plus to be honest, I have so many other ideas in my head for 'makes' with these stamps, so expect some more!

Thank you to all of you how have popped over there every Tuesday and left your comment there, it really is very good of you all...so can I ask you just one more time to pop over for me?

The link is: http://www.creative-studios.co.uk/yule-tide-round-up

Many thanks,

Love and Hugs,

Carole X

Hens on the Block! Friday 22nd August 2014

Hello Friends!

Hope you are all having a good week...we are gearing up for a major volunteering event at work, so preparing for that,is all I seem to be doing at the moment..not a lot of time to craft..or blog... also been feeling a bit 'below par' so when I have had the occasional hour this week, my mojo has completely not wanted to come out of the cupboard!

I will get around all your blogs soon, just bear with me at the moment please :)

I did however make this little project: a little ATB within an ATB and the perfect little place to keep tiny photos of all our hens..ones we've had and sadly lost over the past 7 years, to the ones we have currently scratching about in the garden, Bella an Cara.

To make the ATB I used my Sissix Scoreboards XL die by Eileen Hull, Graphic 45 French Country papers and a hen and cockerel stamp by Crafty Individuals.

 

  I cut out one large and one small box using quite thick card from some packaging I'd saved and painted them  using 'Warm White' Cosmic Shimmer matt chalk paint.I then sanded all the edges to give it a distressed finish; photos can never really show to best effect, but the finished style it like white washed wood.

I cut sunflower paper from the pad and also individual sunflowers to layer and give some depth. I left the white edges because I didn't want it to look too neat and tidy as it's supposed to be quite rustic. I decorated two sides of the box in this way and the other two using labels, which I cut out from the pad. I then tied green ribbon around the large box and added a button, I decorated the smaller box in a similar way.

The stamp was chosen from my collection because it really complemented the papers. After stamping, I gave the chickens a colour wash with distress inks and cut them out, leaving about 2 cms at the base of each. I then slit a hole in the box and threaded them through, they make the 'handle' to lift the lid. To finish the lid I added some raffia just in front of them, as some 'straw bedding' and a ruched ribbon . I also covered the inside of the box and lid to finish off.

 For the smaller box, I again cut a slit and threaded ribbon through for a 'pull'..

Inside the box I have placed lots of little photos (which will be protected in a glassine envelope) of 'our girls'


I would like to enter this project in the following challenges:

Art with a Heart, August- Anything Goes

http://www.eileenhull.com/2014/08/vintage-kitchen-sneak-peek.html

Really Reason Ribbons Challenge #101 Pets & Ribbon

http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/challenges



Love and Hugs,
Carole X 

It's Tuesday, so it's.... - Tuesday 19th August 2014

Good morning Friends!


A quick little post from me here this morning as it's Tuesday and my post is over on Sam Poole's blog...this week a bit of  a change from a card....

This is the link:  http://www.creative-studios.co.uk/hearts-for-christmas



I do hope you'll be able to swing over and have a look and leave your comment there?

Right now, I have to rush off to work!!!

Love and Hugs and Many thanks,
Carole X

Basket of Flowers - Monday 18th August 2014

Hello Friends!

 How are you today? I want to say a massive thank you for all your comments on my last post, I was totally blown away...the card was made for my group at our workshop to base their cards on, but it did turn into a labour of love, not least because that Jofy stamp is one of my very favourite stamps and all they need is  a colour wash, anything else and they would be 'over done'.

Today is a fairly simple 'pop up' card, made in a very short turnaround time! Last week, one of my cousins in Wales contacted me to say it's her Mum's 60th birthday this week (I knew it was her birthday, just not her 60th!) and would I be able to make two cards: one from Jo and her husband and one from their two very young kiddies. I have been turning down commissions lately, especially with less than a month's notice, because I'm too busy. Jo needed to receive the cards within a week, but what could I say, she's family and I have come to the conclusion that most people who aren't crafters think we can conjure up a masterpiece in minutes!

I said I would make them, but explained the usual amount of time I need, so to bear that in mind! This is the card I made for the children to give to her....it had to be quite 'flat' to post..so I just created a simple front, using papers from Pink Petticoat. The flowers and heart are Sissix dies and the scalloped circles are Spellbinders.

 Inside, the flower basket pops up and when the card is 'flattened' out the basket stands upright. For the flowers I used a mixture of Spellbinders and Sissix dies and all the patterned papers are by Pink Petticoat.

I haven't ever made many cards for children to give and it is quite hard to get the balance right, so I hope I've managed it...Jo was thrilled with them anyway, so I hope her Mum will be too!


Did any of you catch Sam Poole's C&C shows on Saturday? We were out all day sorting out new kitchen 'stuff' but I recorded them and when we got home I watched them online - I thought they were super shows and loved Sam's demos...it is such a strange feeling when they hold up your cards and say your name..but I was excited!

Tomorrow is my day for Sam's blog and it will be some sewn Christmas makes...that's all I'm saying! 

Have a good day all!

Love and Hugs
Carole X

Pop Up Flowers (1) - Friday 15th August 2014

Good Morning Friends!

Thank you so very much for all your lovely comments on my post on Sam Poole's blog on Tuesday, it was a card that took ages to make and I wasn't sure about for some reason, but everyone (including Sam) seemed to love it...phew!

I am still deciding which of my projects to post next week, but it could well be a sewn item! I'm really looking forward to Sam's show on Saturday, but I will have to record the 10am one as we have an appointment about tweaking the design for our kitchen, so we'll be out early doors.

Today's card was meant to be posted yesterday...but this week has been so hectic and I got home from work with about an hour to spare before going off to our craft group. This month Amy and I decided to teach a pop up box card, which is why I have made rather a lot of them lately...to be honest, they are quite addictive!

This is the card my group made, well they had a choice of a stamped card and a die cut decorated card. They actually went 'half and half' on the night and I will post the other one in time for our next group in 2 weeks time. I usually post photos of their finished makes, but I think they were more time consuming that we thought they'd be because no one on either group finished! I'm hoping some will bring them along next month and if so I'll take the photos.  

For this card I used a set of stamps by Jofy for Paperartsy. I love Jofy stamps, although don't own that many. I also used a few flowers from a Woodware stamp set. I stamped about 20 flowers and two dragonflies, gave them a colour wash with distress inks and cut them out.

I also used little stamps from the same Jofy set to make the panels and the border.

some of the flowers are double layered and others single layers and all of them are attached with acetate for movement.

I would like to enter these cards in the following challenges:

http://craftybootschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/flowers.html  
- August challenge: Flowers

http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.co.uk   - Challenge #269 Flower Power

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Love and Hugs,

Carole X

Gilded Partridge - Tuesday 12th August 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Well it's Tuesday so my blog post is over on Sam Poole's blog today! I have been messing about with one of my favourite techniques using gilding flakes this week and would be so thrilled if you would click the link and pop over  for a look! It's not a colour I would normally go for at Christmas but it was worth a play and I am really pleased with the actual card, but it was really hard to photograph!

Here it is http://www.creative-studios.co.uk/gilded-partridge

Many thanks as always! I will be back tomorrow,

Love and Hugs

Carole X

Choc bar box - Monday 11th August 2014

Good Morning Friends!

I hope you all had a good weekend and  missed the rain yesterday...it really came down all morning here, but by the afternoon it was lovely again, except very very windy!

We went over to see Tom's family as is quite usual on a Sunday morning and I came back with a bag of lovely buttons that my mother in law had found for me, some of them are quite vintage - lovely! I have jars of buttons - modern that I've collected and vintage from my mum and grandmother, as well as some picked up at Vintage fairs...love them :)

Today I have another chocolate wrapper, that I made a few months ago but haven't shared before...

It's a box rather than a wrapper, made with red card and papers from stash. The rosette is made using a Sissix rosette die; confession - I'm not sure where  the sentiment stamp is from! I have been through my standalone sentiment stamps and it's not amongst them, so must be part of a set.

Before the weather changed at the weekend I went out into the garden and took some photos. We don't have lots of colourful flowers - Tom is the gardener (when he has time) and he likes shrubby plants, plus hens and flowers aren't a good mix when you let them free range.

But the flowers we do have are looking beautiful at the moment and I thought I would scatter my photos across the week rather than all at once and I'm starting off with one of our sunflowers, complete with butterfly...

Thank you so much for stopping by - I hope over the last week I did manage to comment on all your blogs. I had so much trouble with blogger last week, in the end I don't know where I'd even commented and my side-bar was updating on some of your blogs, not all of them.

I'll be back tomorrow, so hopefully see you then!

Love and Hugs

Carole X

Butterfly Butterfly... - Saturday 9th August 2014

Good Morning Friends,

Thank you all for popping over and leaving a comment on Sam's blog on Tuesday, well I think you know how much I appreciate your comments on my posts both here and there! I was feeling guilty that most of you were leaving a comment on Tuesdays both here and on my actual post, which is why I just put the link this week...so thank you! I think that particular card was a real labour of love, I absolutely had so much fun creating it. It had been a while since I had used acetate in that way and I actually wondered why had it been so long... I was quite chuffed when Sam said it had her rushing for the acetate!

All my samples have been packed up and sent to Sam now for her shows on Create & Craft on 16th August.

Have you all had a good week? We have had a 'busy' one...I am very wary that September is looming and for some incredibly mad reason (so mad I don't even know why), I have landed myself with organising three events in the first two weeks of the month at work - what I would do without my wonderful volunteers at the moment I have no idea! It's all very well having this ideas but all the work in publicising  them and then hoping people will come is quite stressful.

We are also on holiday later in the month of September(I think we'll need it as Tom has been working harder than ever!)...not going far this year (to think this time last year I was getting so excited about seeing my family in California again!!): the kitchen is being fitted and I'm sorry, but everyone keeps saying 'ooh lovely, bet your excited about that' - well I'm not, I'm really not!:)

Tom had to go to London for two days this week, so I did some late night crafting, working on designs for our next workshop...more of that today. I also spent a little bit of time out in the craft barn (should call it 'hut' really!) doing a bit more painting. I am so pleased with the way my Halloween Lantern is shaping up, but I am going to hold off until at least mid-September to post it! 

I did actually intend to do a lovely visit to everyone's blog Tuesday night, but I couldn't comment on quite a few, same on Wednesday. I thought it was an internet problem, but other sites were fine, so it must have been blogger...I ended up catching up with Pinterest instead, I hope I am up to date with you all now!

Today's card is a butterfly card I made for Paola, who is a family member and very dear friend (we got on from the first time we met so many years ago), she is just the most lovely person.

 I brayered the card to create the background using Spiced Marmalade, Wild Honey and Ripe Persimmon distress inks. The leaves are a stamp by Clarity, which I coloured with a water brush using mica powders. It is actually so much more shimmery than the photo shows.

The butterfly is by Lavinia and was again coloured with distress inks and micas.

The inside of the card:-

Inside I stamped the butterfly off the card and added a sentiment from a set by Dreamees


Here is a photo of Tom and I with Paola (next to me) and her daughter Ilaria, at Tom's uncle's restaurant in Vicenza, Italy a few years ago

That's it from me today...I have already spent over an hour giving the coop it's weekly 'deep clean' honestly, they are cleaned out every day and get a thorough clean every week...more than the house gets, lol...speaking of which I now need to do that dreaded housework before I can craft!

Love and Hugs
Carole  X

Creative Studios Post - Tuesday 5th August 2014

Good morning Friends,

Thank you for all your birthday wishes for Tom on Saturday...we had a lovely day and lunch in one of our favourite places  - Cirencester- and yesterday we had his family over  for a birthday tea and thankfully the sun shone.

I'm not going to tease you this week - my post is over on the Creative-Studios blog, this week Dasher the reindeer features in a bit of a 'dimensional' forest scene.

I would love you to pop over and have a look and leave your comment there today...thank you!!!

The link is:http://www.creative-studios.co.uk/dasher


Thank you so much for stopping by, I'm off to work now so will catch up with you all later1

Love and Hugs,
Carole X

Fun card today! - Saturday 2nd August 2014

Hello Friends,

Thanks for your comments on the ice skate card Thursday,  sometimes you make a card you are really pleased with and that was one for me. It was only a little card and to be honest, that ice skate stamp is so beautiful, you just can't go wrong with it.

Well where did July go? I didn't get a chance to enter any of the challenges I had earmarked, yet have been crafting in every spare hour!! I've got to say I'm not a huge fan of August, only because it's one month closer to the evenings drawing in...I am one of those people who really does not like winter....I loathe dark mornings and evenings, the wet and cold and the thought that we might even  get a smattering of the white stuff (see I can't even say the 'S' word!

Also, the 1st August...yesterday I had a very bad start...it was my day off, I put the washing machine on and then, because it was  raining, put the clothes in the dryer and went off upstairs to craft. My mobile went off and I'd left it downstairs, so I went back down and as I picked it up there was a tremendous 'bang' in the kitchen! I rushed out to see smoke coming out of the dryer, so I pulled the plug out and opened the door...it was just a burning smell and steam, so I pulled the washing out (all ok) and opened the kitchen door to let the smell out...well, if you open the door and the hens are out in the garden they rush in...so there I was shooing them back out whilst trying to rescue the washing!

Then I realised that the surge had cause the fuse to trip, so I had to go out to the garage to flip the switch..it was a bit scary really at the time, but at least there was no fire!

I shouldn't dwell,  Summer is still here and we have to enjoy it whilst it lasts...and today is my hubby Tom's birthday!!  I don't make him slushy, romantic cards - he would rather have something that will raise a smile and include a nod to our 'ladies'...so as I have been playing around (in my head so far), with Pop Up Box cards for our next workshop...this is what I came up with....

The card folds flat, but I went a bit OTT with the embellishing because I didn't have to put it in an envelope and post it: I just made a little wrap, tied with ribbon.

The papers are all by Pink Petticoat, as are the digi stamp trees, bees and butterflies. The chooks are a stamp by Magnolia and the sentiments, stamps by Dreamees. I fussy cut the grass and made the little coop myself. 

That's all for today, I don't know what the birthday boy wants to do yet and the family are coming over Sunday, so not much crafting for me this weekend!

Have a great weekend, whatever you are doing,

Love and Hugs,
Carole X