Those Crazy Ol' Birds #1 - Sunday 3rd May 2015

Hello Friends,

Thank you for stopping by! I'm was so pleased with your comments for the Sneakers card, which was a really fun card to make. 

I think I finally got around all your blogs yesterday....I'm sorry my visits are sporadic with quick comments lately, my valued (but too little!) craft time seems to be increasingly spent on time-consuming projects at the moment...and it be honest, I'm loving it. I just really enjoy taking a lot of time over something. The projects I made for the Eileen Hull post recently really brought that home to me.

This week I have made just one 'card' in three craft sessions, one of which was almost a whole day! Yes you did read that correctly... in truth it's not exactly a card - more a musical exploding box card, made for a wedding we are going to next month.

The bride is the eldest daughter of very good friends and they are a lovely couple, so I wanted to create something extra special...we are seeing her parents today and as it is virtually impossible to post, I wanted to hand it over to them. I will share it with you soon....

I've also been working on a couple of cards for other people; I  still keep getting asked for commissions, but I made the decision last year to not accept any more: I've been doing them for so many years and they take a lot of time, when I would rather be making projects that I really want to make. I used to tell myself that they were good for me because I was designing cards that were, well not exactly out of my comfort zone, but not what I would otherwise have made, but in truth I was finding that I was making so many cards for other people, that my own cards for birthdays etc ended up being very rushed. 

I do have a couple of 'customers' who have always given me a list of cards for the year and I agreed to carry on making for them, otherwise I have strangely found it very empowering to be true to myself and say sorry, but I can't do it!

Fun with Crazy Birds....

Last weekend I received a belated birthday present: Tim Holz's Crazy Birds stamps -  and before I started on the wedding project I made some craft time to play with them, so I made a card with each of the stamps in the set and here is the  first one...they are so quirky and funny, I love them!

 This is a shaker card...I used some lilac/mauve card for the base and inked the edges using Seedless Preserves distress ink. I then took some purple (with a hint of turquoise) patterned paper from stash. The paper was given free with a magazine quite some time ago and was in my 'must use up' box! I tore the edges and added this to the base card. I made the shaker from the same card as the base card and die cut using Spellbinders Classic Rectangles. I used little pink seed beads for the fill.

The flower is made using Spellbinders Carnation Creations, multi-layered and with a button and white twine for the centre. The edges were dusted with Seedless Preserves.

I coloured the bird with a mixture of Chameleon pens and Promarkers and decorated the envelope to match. To finish I die-cut 'Hello' with a Spellbinders D-Lite die.

 That's all for today, I hope you are all having a super Bank Holiday weekend(if you are in UK of course, but a super weekend to all!)...we had Friday off so spent the day in Cirencester, yesterday we had a mooch around Tetbury...the fields around here are all carpeted in yellow from the rapeseed plants, absolutely beautiful! Today we are seeing our friends and tomorrow, may be a trip to Bath, I am still looking for something to wear to the wedding!

Love and Hugs,
Carole X 

Baby Girl - Wednesday 14th May 2014

Good Morning Friends!

It's a beautiful morning here  and I hope it is where you are too! First of all, can I say another massive thank you for your comments yesterday on my Creative-Studios post and to those of you who hopped over to Sam's blog and left a comment  -  thank you so much, it really really meant a lot to me!

I have a busy craft day ahead, but before that can really begin I have to pop down to the local Council  offices for one of those meetings. You know, the ones I really don't want to go to! I have told them that it is my day off and I'm very busy, so I am literally going to just 'show my face' and rush back to get on with my work here!

Today's card is a baby girl card I made earlier this year and never posted before...I've posted so many guy cards lately that I thought I would go a bit 'girly' today!

This is a small card, about 5x5 and pre-shaped. I used some papers from a little pad that had come free with a magazine: the banners were also cut from a paper sheet. The stamp is by LOTV, coloured with promarkers and the greeting is computer generated.

A simple little card for today! Thanks for stopping by!

Love and Hugs,

Carole Z X

Cluckety-Cluck! - Tuesday 28th May

Good Morning Friends!

I hope you all had  a super sunny Bank Holiday weekend and if you weren't crafting, you were out enjoying it! We had lovely sunshine until yesterday afternoon when the chilly wind picked up and Mr Sunshine made his exit behind some dark clouds.

After  getting out early to do the usual food shop and stock up on food for the hens Saturday, we headed back home. Tom had the car to wash (he loves that weekly task, it's his 'gym') and I decided to tackle the craft room..did I ever wish that I'd decided just to craft or enjoy the sun instead? YES!!

I'd reconciled myself some weeks back to the fact that my desire to move the furniture wasn't going to happen; no matter what configuration I tried on paper, the desks and shelves just wouldn't fit any other way. It's a medium-to-small spare room and I'm lucky to have it all to myself, so I'm not going to complain, but when I went into melt down having taken everything out and not finding places for some of it to go back again, Tom was quite right when he said "well you just have too much stuff'. I couldn't argue, us crafters accumulate don't we? I have boxes of stamps and shelves of card and paper, plus all those art parts..oh dear!

I don't suppose it helps that I don't just stop at making cards - I enjoy mixed media art, so there's paints and all that goes with that... and I also have my sewing machine in the room (on a  shelf doing nothing most of time, as when I sew I much prefer to do so by hand) plus my GC..and then there's those stamps!

Anyway, as we were out visiting or pottering with the hens Sunday and Monday, this morning (as I return to work) my art parts and papers are still on the floor in the other spare room, waiting for me to find them somewhere to live..I sense I will be moving things about today at some point again!

The one thing I did achieve was re-organising my workspace - check on my WOYWW report tomorrow and I'll give you a peek!

Now, sorry if I've bored you with my 'interior design' problems and on to the card!

I made this card last week, for my friend Trish, who also has some pet hens and she has told me she really liked it. I just thought it would be a bit of fun!

The stamp is by Penny Black, coloured with Promarkers, I love these hen cards, they never fail to raise a smile. The card is  A5 blank matted and layered in pink/raspberry card and paper, all from stash scraps.

I made another chicken related card this week -totally different so look out for it later this week!

Bye for now and thank you so much for stopping by my little piece of blogland, I really do appreciate your visits!

Love and Hugs,
Carole X

PS I may have started to remodel the craft room, but no changes to my blog as yet!

Little Miss Make-Up - Sunday 21st April

Good Evening Friends,

I'm very late with my post tonight, but it has been a lovely weekend though...the sun shone yesterday as we headed to Bristol for the car show..not that cars are my idea of fun, but my brother in law loves them and has every right to be proud of the work he has done on his, that attending the annual Italian Car Show has become an annual family event - we even bumped into some of our neighbours there!

As for Priscilla Queen of the Desert, what a wonderful evening for flamboyant fun, the costumes were amazing and so was the whole cast (loved Jason Donavan).

Today Tom had some work to do in the garden, the trouble is that with four hens trying to help it was a slow process...and I got to have an extra day of crafting, finishing some projects that have been on the 'burner' for a while now and experimenting with a few other things!

However after my large eyed gal yesterday, today I have returned to cute images that appeal to me much more..LOTV.

I do like this image of the little girl at her(or more likely) her mum's dressing table applying her make-up, often I find the LOTV artwork evokes memories from my childhood that I had quite forgotten and this is one of them.

I stamped her with Memento ink and coloured her with a mix of Promarkers and Flexmarkers, then die cut on Spellbinders Classic Rectangles and layered this on a die cut with Spellbinders Labels Seventeen. I inked the edges with distress ink.

The card blank is a 6x6, which I covered with some rose paper from stash. I then added flowers cut from Spellbinders dies and added lace, ribbon, a little cosmic sparkle and a  butterfly to finish.

I have decided to enter this card in the  current 'I Love Promarkers' challenge, the topic of which is pastels.

Thanks for stopping by, I'll be back tomorrow after work!

Love,

Carole X

Baby Boy - Friday 9th November

Hello Friends!

Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving your comments...and of course following me! I still have that candy to give away when I get to 50, but at the moment, seem to be stuck at 32! Lol....I'm not sponsored or anything like that, so have been buying bits and pieces as I go along and am itching to send it to one of you! So please tell your friends!

Today's card is another of my recent commissions, made using an LOTV stamp...

This is an 8x8 card, the usual size for my commissioned cards: I matted and layered alternating blue and white, finishing with polka dot coredinations card, which I sanded back to raise the dots.

I stamped the cute little bear with memento ink and coloured with Promarkers, then I die cut with Spellbinders Labels One Small and softened the edges with Broken China  and Peacock Feathers distress ink.

The bunting I made myself using a plain bunting digital stamp and typing the letters over the top, then I inked all over with the same mix of inks, finishing off with bakers twine and little punched stars. Again with the  sentiment, it was stamped with the LOTV stamp from the same set and cut into the flag shape by hand, then distressed. I finished off with paper flowers from stash and little polka dot buttons.

Hope you like and thanks for stopping by...over the weekend I will probably be uploading a new Design Team card for Emergency Crafters and Sunday, I have a special Remembrance Sunday card coming up..but I have been working on the Dreamweaver tutorial I promised and that will be posted next week.

Thanks and have a great crafting day,
Carole X

Design Team Card, Emergency Crafters- Saturday 15th September

Hello Blog Friends,

We have a new, rainbow inspired challenge over at Emergency Crafters, so hope you will join in for the chance of winning a set of Christmas Promarkers!

The theme is colours of the rainbow, you can use the link above to hop over and see the inspiration from all the lovely DT members and here is mine...

I used a 6x6 card and created an aperture using Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Rectangles; as it is aimed at a teenager (as well as creating this as my DT card, I am sending it to my friend's daughter for her 13th birthday, the age was added afterwards), I wanted to make it as colourful and 'streetwise' as possible, hence the very bold use of Dusty Concord distress ink around the front of the card.

The Kenny K image was stamped on the die cut from the card and coloured with Promarkers. I have made so many projects with simply inking or using shimmer sprays and micas of late, that my lovely Promarkers have been ignored a little, never mind, I will soon pick up on my Christmas cards again and they will come into their own!

To keep with the rainbow theme, I made some paper bunting and again used my Promarkers to colour it in rainbow hues, matching this as close as possible with the ribbons. The final touch was a little touch of stickles glitter.

Thanks for stopping by, why not create your own rainbow card, scrapbook page or other paper craft project and join in with our challenge at Emergency Crafters ?

The prize this time is a set of Classic Christmas Promarkers

Carole Z X

Get Well Soon HMFMC126 - Saturday 18th August

Good Morning Blog Friends,

I hope you are all have a super weekend and the sun is shining where you are! Today's card was made for the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge and the theme this time is 'Double Trouble' - to make a card featuring two of the House Mouse and Friends family.

The stamp I used is from the 'Feeling Poorly' set, they are all so cute it was hard to decide, but I haven't used this stamp a lot, so thought I would take this opportunity. I stamped the image with Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers. I made the card blank using Spellbinders Grand  Labels 23 and coredinations card, which once cut and embossed I sanded to reveal the core. 

The largest background die looks brown in the photo, but it is the same green card, which I coloured with Fired Brick Promarker, laid a floral mask over the top (That Special Touch...) and then spritzed with  Vintage Marigold Cosmic Shimmer Mist, you can just see the copper sheen.

I matted and layered the image using Spellbinders Grand Scalloped Ovals with the coredinations and some floral card from stash and I stamped the sentiment with archival ink, added embossing powder and heat embossed.

To finish off I added coordinating paper roses, ribbon and a heart button.

Thanks for stopping by!
Carole X

I wish to enter this card in the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge HMFMC126

Christmas Fairy - Friday June 29th

Morning log Friends,

I'm holding back the big project I completed earlier this week for a few days so I'm afraid it's another Christmas card and I really do promise not to bombard this blog with them just yet, just a smattering over the weeks ahead (maybe one a week?)

This is another LOTV stamp, which I think is adorable. Last weekend I stamped some Christmas designs from LOTV, House Mouse and coloured them with my promarkers ready to make into cards when I get the chance!

 This is a small card, I always make large 8x8's for commissions, but I really love little cards with lots on them and I think this type of layout really suits stamps like LOTV's.

You can add just the right amount of ribbon, lace, die-cuts and somehow the image tells you when to stop - am I making sense? :)

I started with a white 5x5 card blank, which is matted and layered with red card and a grey/gold paper from a pad in my Christmas stash box. I coloured the fairy/angel (I know you can tell by the wings, so someone will have to remind me!) with promarkers and used Cosmic twinkles to highlight the wings and the snow. I die cut her on Spellbinders Labels One Small and also die cut a larger size in red. I also used my favourite poinsettia die again, but unlike the previous card where I used felt, this time I used card. The Christmas tree is cut in glitter card using a die from Spellbinders Fanciful Holiday and the  gems, beads and sentiment are all from stash. It's actually quite exciting to open the Christmas stash boxes again to see what delights I'd forgotten were there!

The ribbon was in my Christmas ribbon box, yes I do keep a separate one for all those lovely ribbons most suited to Christmas and I do love this one! 

Hope you like my second Christmas card...thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting everyone!

Carole X

First Christmas card 2012 - Monday 25th June

Hi Blog Friends,


Well I had to get started this month didn't I? So inspired by some of you, and all the Christmas Craftyness on Create and Craft this week, I dug deep under my desk, pulled out the boxes of Christmas stash, dusted off the Christmas Spellbinders and stamps and got to work. The first ones aren't going to be quick ones..I need the more involved, 'lots going on' cards before I decide on the design for my card that is going to be made many times over!

 This card was made with a Lilli of the Valley stamp, which I coloured with Promarkers and then added some Pinflair Iced Diamond for the snow and on the hats.


I cut the image on a  Spellbinders Grand Labels 23 and then cut a faux nestie in red. The base card is white, matted and layered with green and red card and finally a sage green polka dot card, which I pin pricked and using white jellyroll pen created faux stitching.


The snow flakes are from this year's Spellbinders Christmas dies and the poinsettias are from last year. I love these dies, they are by far my favourite! For this card I cut the petals using red glitter felt and the foliage, dark green card.


I stamped an LOTV stamp on to white card and die cut using  a lacey oval die...final touches were pearl gems a button and ribbon from stash.


Thanks for stopping by, I'll try to space our Christmas cards for now...we haven't had summer yet, have we!!!?


Carole X

House Mouse DT card - Monday 18th June

Good Morning Bloggers!


Today's card is my second and last as guest designer for June's House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge and what a pleasure it  has been to create these cards. The theme for the current challenge is 'Cool drinks for hot summer days' and this is my contribution...

Having made it, I of course realised how hard it was going to be to photograph...oops!


I got it into my head early on that I wanted to create a bottle shaped card (never again!), so I drew a template and cut out one bottle from white card  and attached card that I had printed with backing paper from the House Mouse CD, then I cut a second bottle.I wanted to use acetate, but didn't have any heavy enough to support the card, so I used packaging from a Spellbinders Grand die set (I always keep the packaging for this type of project). I joined the two together by leaving a flap on the acetate which I stuck between the backing paper and card, so that it doesn't show.


For the design I merged two House Mouse stamps, coloured them with Promarkers and cut them out. Although it doesn't show in the photo, the image with the pink parasol is slightly in front and I made an extra parasol. I added some cosmic twinkles to the drinks and the ice and a few extra touches of  sunglasses and a star fish embellishment from stash.


Thanks for stopping by...you can enter this challenge at

http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/

Carole X

House Mouse - Tuesday 5th June

Hello Blog Friends,


I hope you have all been enjoying the Jubilee Weekend....our garden party fundraiser yesterday was brilliant and the sun actually came out to allow us to actually have a garden party! Our family, friends and neighbours were all so generous with their donations of both money and cakes, we all had a lot of fun and even some catching up with friends we hadn't seen in ages. We also raised £152, which for a small number of people was amazing.


Today I have a special card....as a recent prize-winner in the House Mouse Monday Challenge, I was invited to be a guest design teamie for June..how exciting because I love House Mouse, so it has been an honour to be asked to design two cards for them this month.


This is the first one is for the current challenge 'Here Comes the Sun'...

I chose the 'Parasol' stamp for my main image and made a frame card using linen textured aquamarine. I started off making it in a lighter coloured card but then decided this gave more of an effect of our little mice being by the sea! I coloured the stamp with Promarkers and cut out and coloured an additional parasol to add a layer and give it even more dimension. I cut the image and the aperture using Spellbinders labels 24 and although the photo doesn't really show it, I distressed all the edges of the card and aperture with shabby shutters distress ink.  The little mouse lying down is from the same stamp set, but the one with the flower 'sun hat' is from the `Spring' collection: Daffodil and the greeting is from another summer set: Drinks. The jumping mouse is from 'Sew Mice' and I just added the flower.


To finish off I added a strip of  Coredinations polka dot paper, which I sanded and three little gems. The greeting is stamped with Perfect Medium and embossed with 'Carnival' embossing powder by Papermania. I die cut it using Spellbinders Lacey Ovals.


Hope you like it! This challenge runs until.....


Hop over  to    http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/    to take part and Good Luck! I'll stop by and look at some of your creations (I'm told as a guest teamie I'm allowed!)


Thanks for stopping by,
Carole X

House Mouse Bookmark - Thursday 17th May

Morning Blog Friends!

Today I'm sharing the second of the corner bookmarks I made a few days ago...

  .

Using one of the tiny House Mouse Worker Stamps, coloured with Promarkers, I die cut this using Spellbinders Heart Squares. The base of the book mark is covered with purple card, which had been cut with Grand Scalloped Rectangles and  embossed with one of my M-Bossabilities dies. This was then decorated with ribbon and bordered with card cut from a Martha Steward border punch. 

I am really fond of this little stamp, these worker stamps are really handy parts of stamp sets.

Is it possible to have a day when you are 'crafted out'? I think I might have come almost close yesterday! I work three days a week, which means that I usually get Wednesdays and Firdays to craft (and theoretically do housework!). Yesterday, I had 5 large commission cards to make and I started at 7am, then  I had an early work meeting at home with some colleagues, that lasted just under 2 hours...then back to cards. I did actually get the cards made, which amazed me - usually with commissions I ponder over design for days, then take hours just to make one, whether it was because it was urgent and there was a deadline or they were almost all for the same person who has regularly ordered cards for a number of years so I was feeling more confident, I just don't know....but that's not the end of the story...

After preparing and cooking our evening meal I had to head off to a friend from the library's house ( I work for a charity based in the local library) as she was hosting a Stampin' Up party...so more card making! I think by then  my mind was just not feeling very arty, so just as well it was all quite basic! But also a very social, fun evening with friends from my workplace.


 I don't drive (I know! Awful isn't it? Passed when I was 18 but just never took to it, scares the heebie jeebies out of me and I have have tried to break my fear several times), so Tom had to pick  me up (that's the worst thing relying on husband and friends for lifts, the guilt aspect can even stop me doing things!). As he has a big thing on at work today and I was...wait for it...having to come home and finish a card I'd started for a friend, I left at 9.30pm, which was a shame but couldn't be helped.

So at 11pm last night I was just finishing a card and no kidding, I dreamt card designs last night....shame I can't remember them this morning! Now I have to go get ready for work...have  good day all!

Thanks for stopping by,
Carole X

Pirate of Penzance - Saturday 12th May

Morning Blogger friends,


If you follow my blog, you'll know it's not been a good week, so when Tom came home from work Tuesday and asked me to make a 40th Birthday card for a colleague's 40th - that they could pass around and sign - by Thursday(last Thursday),  I wasn't amused. I was caring for a very poorly hen and already had a pile of commissions. But he does sell my cards at work and gets me lots of commissions, so who am I to complain?


As it happened, Wednesday was the day we found Buffy had passed away during the night in the basket we had brought her into inside, so I actually didn't feel like making the cards I had planned to make anyway. The theme for the requested card was a Pirate/Cornish theme. So still wiping away the tears from losing our hen, I searched the digi stamp sites I use for a suitable image and this is what I found...

I got this image from  http://www.makeitcrafty.com/ an Australian site, with some super art work and to be honest the request for this card was fortunate in the end because if I'm feeling low or stressed then time spent with my Promarkers just takes my mind off all the things that are upsetting me, well nothing was going to take my mind of losing Buffy, but it helped. This is a big card and a big image, so it took a while to colour and I put another in the insert as well!


Having coloured her, I cut her out using Grand Labels 23 and printed the greeting, cutting it out with Labels 24. Both the die cuts' edges were shaded with Vintage Photo distress ink. I also typed the 'Ooh Argh' and coloured the card with Vintage Photo before tearing the edges. I then cut a buckle from Ribbon Buckles with gold mirror card. The skull and crossbones backing paper is from a download from http://www.craftsuprint.com - Little Monkeys Pirate Paper Pack, I got this some time ago and have found it very useful.

This is the inside of the card...just thought it added a bit of humour and wanted to do more colouring!


Thanks for stopping by,
Carole X