I'm moving!!

Just to let you know that I probably won't be posting very much at all here now (although I may do occasionally, as I have a new Blog Home. It's here on the Do Crafts website. So, I'll see you there!!

love,

Didn't we have a lovely time...

The day I went to Kirsty's!

It was so wonderful to see my lovely friend Kirsty Wiseman. I went to have a one to one photography lesson with her using my new DSLR and new lens. I thought she would be in for a rough old time (and I think she did too!), but I think I managed to pick it up fairly quickly, once I understood what all the jargon meant! We went to a lovley place near where Kirsty lives, called the three sisters (or something) and took photo's of flowers, ourselves, landscapes and whatever else we liked, trying out different settings on the camera. I really love it! I'll share some photos from our little jaunt with you.

We had a fantastic lunch at a lovely bar, and desserts (naughty!), then it was back to Kirsty's house (and her fantasic craft room where I was tempted to tuck into her button stash) to learn the basics of photoshop elements. What a great day!!

Now I've got sooo far to go to catch up with kirsty (if I got on a plane I still wouldn't catch her up), but I think I understand the basics. Now, to practice!

Whilst at Kirsty's I went to see my best friend and fellow Do Crafts designer Sheila Halliwell (she only lives two coughs and a whistle away from Kirsty, as she puts it). It was a bit of a surprise for her as we'd kept it a secret, and I walked into her craft club. She looked sooo surprised, and we had a great big hug. Then down to card making and gossiping, the things we like to do best. The theme of the prjects we were creating was music. Sheila does a card and makes up packs so people can make the same card, or they can make a card using the same products this is what I did. I really enjoyed making it!

We also went to 'Country Baskets' which is the most amazing trade warehouse for almost everything you can think of , and it's sooo cheap- I love it there!

Have a great day, whatever, you're doing!

We Have a New Winner!

Good Morning everyone!

We have a new 'Challenge of the Week' winner over on the Do Crafts website. It's Alexandra aka Eisbaerin! Congratulations Alexandra! Why not check out Alexandra's gallery here? This weeks challenge involves using something new in your crafting stash. Pop over to Do Crafts for more information.

Calling all the heroes!

Gosh, that takes me back! Can you remember that song - by 'It Bites'? I'm singing it in my head as I type!

Just wanted to share this little quartet of heroes with you that I've been working on. There is one for Joseph's friend, Matthew (it's his fourth birthday on Saturday, and the other three are for father's day for my dad, David's dad and David. I have a confession to make though. I started making the cards, then realised I'd completely forgotten about David! I suppose it's because he's not MY dad! Anyway, I've made up for it now!
This is the card for Matthew. I really hope he likes it. I used a stamp set by Pink cat Studio which is called Billy (plate one). I bought them because when I saw it, it immediately reminded me of Joseph. My mum is always calling him 'her little super boy'. I used some PP which I picked up from Farnborough craft show, and doodled around some of the stars. I just love doing that! the red cardstock is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder and sanded. I coloured him in with H2O's. I had a brain wave and thought a demin jeans button would look great on the card, so I popped out on Sunday and got some from Dunelm. The star is cut with my Cricut. Materials: stamps:Billy from the pink cat studio, Impression Obsession text. Embellishments:Papermania adhesive stones, Demin jeans button, brads, star cut from George and basic shapes cartridge for Cricut. Cardstock: In white, burgundy and black, Miscellaneous: cuttlebug numbers embossing folder, white gel pen, H2o's in various colours. black pigment ink,cosmetic sponge.

This card was done much the same way, and I was going to do them all the same, but I always feel as if I'm cheating if I do that (unless the occasion calls for it of course, like wedding invitations!). So I changed the colours and moved the layout around a little bit. I coloured this little chappie with mica powders, as I had bought these at Ally Pally, and had not had a chance to use them. I cut the tag with my new tag punch from Stampin'up, and again I had a doodle!

I just lurrve this lightening embellishment I found on the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge for the Cricut machine. I cut it out, then mounted it onto blue paper, then a circle of black card. I think it works really well.

Materials: Stamps:Pink cat studio, Billy (plate 1); Impression Obsession text. Embellishments: papermania adhesive stones, gold star eyelet, lightening bolt from Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge from Cricut. Cardstock: white, black, deep orange, light blue. Miscellaneous: Mica powders, Black satin ribbon, thin sheer ribbon, Whispers strokes fine black pen, thin sheer ribbon, Black pigment ink pad, cosmetic sponge.

The card above is again another colour scheme and layout. I used glaze pens to colour in the Super Hero. I twisted two lengths of ribbon ( I got this free from the front of a magazine, and I think this is the first ever freebie I have used!) and attached them separately to my card, then tied them together at the right-hand side using a separate piece of the same ribbon.

I created this little embellishment in much the same way as the others, but then remembered that I had some fantastic bottle tops that I got from Wilkinson's. I flattened it and fixed the star to it. I think it looks really great!

Materials: Stamps:Pink cat studio, Billy (plate 1); Impression Obsession text. Embellishments: papermania adhesive stones, Demin jeans button, brads, star cut from George and basic shapes cartridge for Cricut,Bottle top from home brewing dept. at Wilkinson's. Cardstock: White, black and bright red. Miscellaneous: Cuttlebug embossing folder, Blue shee

r ribbon, white gel pen, Whispers strokes black watercolour pen, black pigment ink.

This is the last little cutie I have to show you, and I think he's my favourite (ssh, don't tell the others!). I coloured him with my fav Whispers strokes watercolour pens from Do Crafts. (I coloured all the super heroes hair with these super-luscious pens.) One of my favourite techniques at the moment is paper piercing to create a frams or accent. it really brings a new level of interest to your projects. Again, doodling has not got away on this card either!

And finally, here is a close-up of my little super boy. Don't you think he looks a bit like Joseph? Maybe that's why I like him the best!

Materials: Stamps:Pink cat studio, Billy (plate 1); Impression Obsession text. Embellishments: Papermania adhesive stones, Demin jeans button,star brads, star cut from George and basic shapes cartridge for Cricut. Cardstock: White, black andwarm yellow and burgundy. Miscellaneous: Cuttlebug embossing folder, whispers strokes black watercolour pen, white gel pen, black pigment ink.

Thanks for taking the time to have a peek! Have a great night, whatever you do!

Thinking of You All!

Good afternoon!

I've just put a new project onto the Do Crafts website and I thought I would post it here too. I made it with an occasion which calls for a sympathy card, but the colour and greeting could be changed, and it would turn into a sophisticated wedding card. I hope you like it. Please find the instructions to make it here.

Also, whilst I'm here I just wanted to remind you about the blog candy. All you have to do is make a card with your favourite colour and post a link to your blog. Scroll down for the picture of blog candy.

Finally, I might have some sneek peeks and piccy of cards I've made for Father's Day later! If not today, tomorrow! And, can you tell I've found the 'change font colour' button!!

The First Lick is the Sweetest...

I forgot to share these pictures with you from the weekend. We went as a family to the annual Barton Beer Festival. The weather was gorgeous, so we decided to go in the early afternoon.

Now, these pictures mean a lot to us, as up until February of this year, Joseph was diagnosed with a lactose and milk protein intolerance and therefore was unable to have dairy products, and consequently anything containing whey powder or lactose. Would you believe that even some tomato ketchups contain milk! Of course, we were very lucky that Joe didn’t have anything more serious, as all it meant was we had to avoid the foodstuff.

I really shouldn’t be complaining as there are many children more seriously affected by the intolerance, but eating out and staying away from home was a nightmare, except for at Disney World. Here, they bent over backward to help us, and would cook things especially for Joe so he could share the same experiences as we. For example, the chef of a self-service eatery came out to us one day, and said he could make Joseph a Mickey Mouse shaped pancake with Soya milk! How cool is that! Compare this to England where in a hotel (that was part of a large chain). The chef commented that ‘he wouldn’t like to say whether milk was present in any of the foods that provided’! I know that they couldn’t guarantee any transference of milk, but you would think they could have informed me which food items contained milk, as surely they would have an ingredients listing. Combine this with the fact that milk protein intolerance is the most common children’s allergy, and it’s pathetic. Anyway, that’s another story.

So, in February he had a milk intolerance test (as 90% of children over the age of 5 grow out of the intolerance), and lo and behold, Joseph had outgrown it early!! This is the FIRST ‘99 cone that Joseph has ever had, and it looks as though it was worth the wait! I love you ,Chuckles!

Talking about ice cream, look what landed on my table in a gorgeous little cafe yesterday! It would have been rude to say no, and anyway, a figure like mine doesn't keep itself, you know. He he!!

Sweet like chocolate...

Well, chocolate is candy in America!

Here is my offering of blog candy for all you craft addicts out there. Do crafts have very kindly said that I can give away some of their goodies so here they are. These will be sent to one lucky participant. All you have to do is make a project using your favourite colour - something nice and easy, I told you it would be! Just leave me a link to your creation! You have a week from today, which will make the 12th the closing date. The lucky participant will be chosen by a random number generator, so get cracking!

Because you're Gorgeous...la la la!

Have you spotted what will be the BIGGEST news that will take the crafting world by the crown jewels and shake it up? Just take a look at this, the delicious NEW logo, completely girlie and funky; the NEW products, including textured cardstock in NEW colours, printed acetate (12 x 12) to co-ordiate with the NEW papers in 12 x 12 and 6 x 6, ribbon, chipboard embellishments and cardstock stickers. the paper gsm has increased from 120 to 160gsm, so it is much more robust and easy to work with. Oh, and did I mention the 6 NEW sets of Clear Stamps, again co-ordinating with the everything available.

Another great feature is that even though the pastel paper packs feature cup cakes (yu-mmy), and spots and swirls, there also papers that will suit masculine projects. Also, the christmas ranges of papers have deen designed so that most of the papers included can be used all year round, making paper for life, not just for Christmas *groan*!

I had the pleasure of using all these NEW products on the DO Crafts roadshows, and it really is gorgeous stuff. It was so easy to work with, as everything to-ordinates to make your projects look great!

Watch out for these scrummy NEW products hitting Do crafts stockists in July 2008! Ssh, did I mention something NEW!

Nee Nah Nee Nah

Last night, three gorgeous firefighters came a-knocking at our door to give our house a full fire saftey check-up. The hiss of the hydraulic brakes must have woken Joseph from his slumber, as before long I could see his little head poking around the wall at the top of the stairs. So I called him down, and the fire fighters very kindly took our little man around the fire engine. Now, to this little munchkin, it is a big deal. He ABSOLUTELY loves Fireman Sam and anything to do with fire fighters and fire engines. I really wish I had the forethought to take some snaps with my camera. Joe's eyes were as wide as saucers as he looked around the engine, and saw the helmet, axe, the Jaws of life, the hoses and the ladders. The driver even put on the flashing lights and the siren for a couple of seconds. Joe's comment was "It doesn't have a Simon Snorkel like Fireman Sam's fire engine!" Oh well, you can't win 'em all! Today, he's gone to school with his Fireman Sam fire engine in hand, bursting to tell all his school chums about his magical visitors last night. Bless Him!

Blog candy is on it's way!

Good morning all!

Just thought I'd get your crafting radars buzzing at the thought of the offer of FREE blog candy. I will post a picture later of what's on offer, thanks to the fantastic bods at Do Crafts! I haven't decided what you will have to do to get your mits on the goodies, but, I promise it won't be too hard! See you later!

'Wicked' is Wicked!

Have you heard or even seen the new musical 'Wicked'? well, if you haven't and you like new style musicals then your ears are really missing out! I bought the CD which accompanies the show a few weeks ago, and I just love it. I crank it up loud, and have a good warble!! I haven't had the privilege of seeing it on stage yet, but when I do, they'll have to drag me from the stage. If you get a chance to have a listen, then do, I'm sure you'll love it!

We have a winner!!!

Good Morning All!

We have a new worthy winner of Clare's Challenge of the Week over at Do Crafts. It's Audrey, aka Big Aud. Well done Audrey, your prizes are on their way to you! This weeks challenge is all about using just left overs to create your project. Why not hop on over to the Challenge page to find out more. Remember, the challenge is open to all, and the winner is randomly picked, so everyone has a chance of winning! What have you got to lose?

Gorgeous Lushiousness!

I have had the wink wink, nudge nudge to be able to show you the cover of the long-awaited and completely scrummy Creativity Life Magazine!! This fantabulous slab of georgeousness will be available for all you avid crafters from July 1st. It will feature brands such as BasicGrey, Doodlebug, Core-dinations, and Clearsnap (home of the cat's eye ink pads!). OMG - I'm slavering at the thought if it all. So enjoy this little piccy, and I know we shouldn't wish our lives away, but roll on July 1st!

Rain Rain...

...Please stay! I just love the rain! Not the flooding rain amounts ( I wouldn't wish that on anybody), but the kind of rain that makes you feel snug and safe at home. Now, if I was out in it that would be a different matter - but I'm not, so I like it!





Did a silly thing last night. I was stamping all my new clear stamps onto cardstock before putting them in labelled CD cases - sad, but I love knowing where everything is, then went to bed. When I got up this moring and went into my craft studio, I realised that i had left the lid off the ink pad all night - DISASTER! Or so I thought. When I went and stuck my finger on top of the pad, it was still lovely and wet! So foiled again, fresh air - you will never win...mwhaaaa!

Today I have a card which I made a while ago. It's using the Papermania Creative Tones papers in Caspberry Champagne, and gorgeous pearlescent outline stickers. Go and check out Do crafts now for all the info! Have a great day! I'm singing in the rain.....

What a wonderful Surprise!

On Friday I received this lovely card from Carole Keeble through the letter box. What a wonderful surprise that was. As you can see, the image of me is very glamorous, and Anita, Sian, and Kirsty don't look half bad too! carole won one of the Do Crafts prize draws for tickets to the craft show at Olympia, and an overnight stay in a hotle, and she was our VIP guest on the day of the show. She went to the card making and scrapbooking workshop and joined me on stage at my demo, and showed me a crafty trick or too. She also helped me with the card I was demoing. Thanks, Carole, it was a lovely suprise - I will tresure it always!

Girlie dresses and sunny days

Here's a couple of cards that are featured over on the Do Crafts website. Girlie dresses and Sunny days. Sunny days was made using the Impress machine in conjunction with felt and vellum. The Girlie Dress uses the vellum stickers which I love! Nip over to the Do Crafts website for more details about these cards. They are under new projects on the left side address bar. Have a great day!