Busy, Busy, Busy!

It's been a very busy few weeks for me, so I apologise for the lack of posts lately! There has been a lot going on, particulary over this Jubilee weekend, so I have a few bits to show you!

First of all, Thursday was my Father-in-law's birthday. We bought him some presents with a bit of a jubilee theme, so I thought it would be fun to make him a card to match. I was quite pleased with how it turned out - It has a bit of a vintage feel too, which I love at the moment.

On Saturday, it was my cousin Joanne's wedding. We travelled up to Yorkshire to share in her special day with her. I made an easel card in Stampin Up colour Pear Pizazz and I used the En Francais background stamp on Very Vanilla with a velum overlay. The flower was made with Blushing Bride cardstock and embellished with tiny tags and pearls.

It was a really lovely day in a beautiful venue, and the Bride looked stunning (and her new husband was very handsome too!) - I was very proud, and it was so lovely to spend some time catching up with family we dont see often enough.

And finally, on Sunday, it was my brother's girlfriend's birthday. We spent some time visiting them in their new house in Derbyshire and a lovely walk (in the rain!) around their town. I made a birthday card in Crumb Cake and Poppy Parade.

 

It was a long weekend with lots of travelling which was  exhausting, but it was so great to catch up with my family from "Up North" that I wish we could see more often.

One last thing I'd like to share is a picture of my beautiful old man, Bodie. Just before we went away for the weekend, we made the very difficult decision to have him put to sleep. He had been suffering with a nasal tumour for a few months which was quite distressing for us all, and especially Bodie, who had not been his usual happy self for a few weeks. So after much soul searching, we decided it was best to let him go. We will certainly miss him.

Pretty patchwork

I seem to have a thing at the moment for all things patchwork. I love the vintage/shabby chic theme and enjoy making cards and gifts that reflect this.

My daughter Lily is off to a birthday party today, so I have been busy with a little gift and a card for the birthday girl. I made her this little door hanger to put on her bedroom door handle using the decopatch papers I had left from the Christening present I made last week. That's the great thing about decopatch - you can reuse all the little scraps you have left so you can get every penny's worth!

It's such a simple technique, but looks so effective. I work two days a week in a secondary school as a Teaching Assistant, and once a fortnight, I get to have a lovely lesson with a Year 11 girl, where we get to do arty/crafty things. I've had her making all sorts of fabulous things, and so today she made one of these door hangers too! And I seem to have started something, because now my daughter wants one too...

Of course, I couldn't possibly send Lily off to her party without a handmade card. I made the patchwork paper by cutting out little squares of Designer Patterned Paper from Stampin Up and sticking them on to card stock. I used my Top Note die in my Big Shot to cut out the shape to match the door hanger, and embellished with a couple of tiny eyelets, a scrap of ribbon and a Happy Birthday sentiment from the Stampin Up Elementary Elegance stamp set.

Baby Blessings!

Yesterday, we travelled down to the New Forest for the Christening of one of my best friend's baby daughter.

I made her this card with a little pink butterfly stamped on the front, with just a couple of jewels to give it a bit of sparkle. I really like the clean and simple colours of Blushing Bride and Very Vanilla, they are so pretty and girly! And I thought the little alphabet within the butterfly stamp was perfect for a baby.

I also wanted to get her a present that she could keep, but wanted something a little different to the usual money box/bangle/crockery set that are given so frequently for Christenings. I also thought it would be lovely to give her something homemade. I'd seen a new papercraft that looked perfect, but I had never tried it - it is called Decopatch, and is done by cutting little pieces of thin patterned paper, almost like tissue, and gluing them onto your chosen item. It dries to a lovely clear, slightly shiny finish and I added a touch of glitter to my gift to give it a little sparkle!

Spring Birthday

I love Spring. I love sunny days and new shoots on the trees and I especially love the bright red tulips that pop up each year in my garden. I love fresh, cool mornings and warm sunny afternoons and light evenings that are still chilly enough to snuggle under a blanket!

In my crafting, I have a few favourite colours that I turn to time after time. One of these is a colour called Old Olive, by Stampin Up. It seems to go with anything, for all occasions. At Christmas time, it is perfect for classic cards and gift wrap alongside deep red or scarlet, and at this time of year, goes beautifully with spring yellows, oranges and pinks!

This is a little Birthday card I made in Old Olive, with a sweet little pink rose. I don't usually make cards in advance. I normally make them for people specifically when it is their birthday, but I don't have a recipient in mind for this one yet - it was something that just happened when I was fiddling about in my craft room with my Big Shot and my new 3D Flowers die! 

Thinking of You!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for a little while, and today seemed like a good day. I cant promise that I'll be witty and amusing, but what I would like to do is share a little of what makes me happy!

I had the idea of starting a blog to showcase some of my cards and crafts. I usually post pictures of my work on Facebook, but realise that not everyone is interested in my artistic endeavours! I've been crafting for just over a year. I was introduced to papercraft and card making by my friend Karen, who had recently become a Stampin' Up! Demo. I was immediately hooked, and my passion (and rubber stamp collection!) has grown steadily ever since.

Recently, one of my work colleagues, (and good friend!) Sarah, has been off work for a few weeks for an operation to repair a very badly damaged shoulder. She has a long and uncomfortable recovery ahead of her, so I made her this card from everyone in our department at work to let her know that we are thinking of her and wishing her a speedy recovery!