More jewellery making

This little set is made with pink opal and black rutile quartz, the bracelet is made out of jump rings.

1st Jewellery set

I thought I'd try my hand at making some jewellery and this is one of the first sets I've completed, it is great fun and I think very addictive!

CD Sunday Challenge - Think of a Number

Well it's the last challenge of the year over at CD Sunday and what a year it's been, we've had a change in the design team with Wendy leaving us but we gained a great new member in SueB. We've had some great guests and this week is the last week for Lynn our current guest designer, Lynn has been a fabulous guest and I do hope you will go over to her blog and see how she created this weeks entry.

As it's the last challenge and Carol has chosen Think of a Number I was going to do a New Year card but a couple of the team had already one so I went with a little girls 2nd birthday card. I have used a cd I usually forget about called Cottontail Capers from Cupcake Crafts, I am not sure if it's still available but it's a good standby for the younger peoples cards we have to do.

This card is decoupged and then sprayed with Spray and Sparkle from Crafters Companion, the corners are just punched from a Martha Stewart punch which is one of my favourites.  Sorry the picture isn't wonderful but I had to scan it as the days have been too dark to take decent pictures.

I hope everyone has had a good Christmas and if you celebrate New Year then have a good night on Monday and hope the coming year is good to you.

CD Sunday - All About Birthdays

Good morning all, another week has passed us by and it's time for a brand new challenge on CD Sunday. This week we have given you something that we hope is very easy, as it's All about Birthdays.
I used an image from Joanna Sheen's Enchanted Dreams cd, this is for a January birthday so I've used the Capricorn image from the zodiac section of this cd.  I used a few die cuts to add a bit of texture and interest and used one of the LOTV circular sentiments embossed in silver.

We still have Lynn with us as our guest and the topic was chosen by Christine, I think she was trying to be good to us as we all need birthday cards so this is a fairly open topic.

I do hope you can find the time to come and join us and I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, I hope santa is good to you.

CD Sunday - Teddy Bears

Hello all, it's another Sunday and we have a new challene over on CD Sunday.  This week Wendy has chosen Teddy Bears and the team have made a good variety of cards so I hope you can come over and join us, I have decided to make a Christmas card as I have a few things still to do and as I could fit the challnge around a very special card for my friends 1st grand daughter.

I have used the Do Crafts digital designer and Tatty Teddy Christmas cd for this card, I printed the backing and the bauble straight onto the card then printed the topper which I have cut out with a spellbinder die.  I sprayed the finished card with spray and sparkle iridescent and added a couple of die cut corners.

Please come over and join in with us if you can, the team love to meet you all.

CD Sunday - Oh! Christmas Tree

Over on CD Sunday this week the challenge is a Christmas one titled Oh! Christmas Tree, this was chosen by Caz so I hope you'll all come and join us and give her your support.

My card is made from the Thomas Kinkade cd from Joanna Sheen, I have printed the topper onto matt photo paper and added copious amounts of glitter but it doesn't show too well in the picture. The backing paper comes from the same cd and I have cut around the the large tree at the bottom and tucked my topper behind it, just a little something different. The ribbon was too thick so I have folded it before sticking it round the back of the topper and then used a smaller piece to tie a knot around it.  The greeting was printed on the computer and I used a Distress ink pad to give the edge a bit of colour.

We are being sponsored this week and the prize is a £10 voucher to spend in the shop of The Art of Craft

Go on over and have a look to see what you would choose if you were the one to win, and as usual when we are sponsored anyone can win as it's done by draw and not one of the teams choice.

I am also entering this into the Crafty Calendar Challenge which this month is White Christmas.
Also the Craftymess Challenge which is Vintage Christmas, and the Totally Gorjuss challenge which is Anything Goes with Glitter.

CD Sunday - Inspired by Nature

Good monring all, this week at CD Sunday we are asking you to be inspired by nature, for my card I used the House Mouse cd that comes with the project book.  This is a variation to the card that is shown in the book and I just love that little mouse in the front.

I do hope you can join us and give Pauline a good send off as it is her last week with us, can't quite believe she has been with us for a full month it seems to have flown by so quickly.

I am also entering this into the latest Joanna Sheen challenge which is anything but Christmas.

CD Sunday - Layer it up

The challenge this week over at CD Sunday is 'Layer It Up' now this has quite a wide scope but I chose to use decoupage rather than lots of mats and layers.
This card is made from the Joanna Sheen cd and project book, haven't bought the second one but they are lovely books and I do like to just sit and look at them when I need a bit of a push.

We still have a lovely guest and the teams cards are lovely this week so I do hope you can come over and join us.

CD Sunday - Rainy Days

Over on the CD Sunday Chellenge blog this week it's my turn to choose the theme and I decided on Rainy Days, I had an image in mind and wasn't as quick as some of the other team members have also used the same image so I decided on something a bit different and this is the result.

To be honest I don't think the lady is using her brolly to shelter from the rain but she could be so I've stretched a point a little.  The cd part is the backing paper which comes from the Debbi Moore Venetian collection, a fab set of cd's which I don't use nearly enough. The stamp I used comes from Kanban and the flourishes are dies from Marianne, I've coloured the image in with Promarkers.
I do hope you can come over and join us and see what the rest of the team have done, I'll be choosing a top three and have a little something to send out to the winner so please enter.

Christmas in Pink - CD Sunday

Good morning it's another Sunday and another month so at CD Sunday we not only have a new challenge but we have a new guest and a sponsor so plenty to be having a look at.

Our sponsor this week are a company called Dreamees and they produce cd's and stamps from original artwork, so do go and have a look.

 

This week the team have used a file from the cd Christmas memories and the company have chosen Christmas in Pink as the theme, now any of you who know me will know that pink is not my favourite colour but I had a play with the files in Craft Artist and came up with the design above, the one good thing is that although it looks 3d it is in fact a flat page so no worries about it going in the post.

I do hope you can join us and be in with a chance of a cd of your choice from a company you may not of heard of but who are well worth checking out.

CD Sunday challenge - Beautiful blue

Here is my card for the new challenge over on CD Sunday, this week it's Beautiful Blue.

I had a day out with a friend and we went over to the Kanban factory outlet, this wasn't as successful as I had hoped as the room where you fill a box hadn't been restocked for a couple of months so had very little in it, this was due to them expecting a refurbishment which had been postponed.  I did manage to buy a few bits and pieces and one of the things I bought was a box of 100 cards and envelopes, I was pleased with the quality and when I found this shape of card thought it a little unusual and decided to use it for my Christmas cards. This card is made with some backing paper from the Mulberry Wood cd from Crafters Companion and a House Mouse stamp bought from Joanna Sheen. I have coloured the image in with Promarkers and coloured the background with Pan Pastels which blend beautifully.

I do hope you pop over to the CD Sunday page and join in with us, the rest of the team have come up with some beautiful samples this week.

Digitally Sweet Challenge - Pets

Well this week over on Digitally Sweet the subject is Pets! How could I not enter as my dogs have been a huge part of my life for so long.
This page is one of bitter sweet memories as both of these young dogs are no longer with me.

Willow was the daughter of the first Soft Coated Wheater Terrier we owned and Bronte is the mother of our one remaining dog Pooka who is now 14 years old and a bit wobbly on his legs.
These dogs are a joy to own but also so much hard work as they tend to live life in the fast lane, which can cause a few problems along the way.

24 Peaks Challenge

Earlier in the year the company I work for entered two teams into the Coins Foundation 24 Peaks Challenge.
I went along as part of the support team which included ferrying the teams around and moving the luggage into the rooms so that they didn't have to do anything, after all climbing the 24 peaks in 24 hours is a tough enough challenge so we did all we could to make their lives a bit easier.

The weather was foul with very high winds and driving rain, in fact at one stage it was so bad that it was touch and go if the whole thing was going to be cancelled. I think they did an amazing job and am so glad I was just there as a driver!

I am entering this into the Digitally Sweet challenge which this week is a sketch.

CD Sunday - Poetry Corner

Over on CD Sunday this week we are sitting in the Poetry Corner and  this is my contribution, I found the image on the Patience Strong cd by Joanna Sheen.

I hope you can come over and join us and visit all the team members blogs as they have some stunning work for you to have a peek at.

 It's a beautiful morning here with sunshine and blue skies so hopefully it will continue throughout the day and maybe we can tidy the garden.

CD Sunday - Autumn Splendour

Good morning everyone, it's pretty grim outside today as the fog has come down and it's a bit chilly so it could well be a day in the craft room for me but not making things rather tidying the place up as I'm struggling to get in it at the moment.

Anyway this is my card for the CD Sunday challenge which this week is Autumn Splendour, I have used an image from the Enchanted cd from Card Creations+, the background is made using a stamp set from Personal Impressions I think, and distress inks blended over some pearl card. The flower is one I have had in my stash for quite a while, and a paper lace border coloured with more distress inks.

I hope you will come over and join us and visit my team mates blogs as they have some great stuff for you to see.

I'm also entering this into the Joanna Sheen challenge which this week is Autumn Breeze.

Digitally Sweet - Card Front

I was asked to make a card for someone to take to a baby shower, having never done one I was a bit stuck but started having a play but nothing seemed to work, my initial idea was maybe a stork carrying a baby but didn't like anything I'd done.

This idea came about while looking at one of my digi kits and I found the cloud so I took the words baby shower literally and came up with this. I hope the person it's for doesn't think I've gone mad.

I am entering this in the Digitally Sweet challenge this week which is make a digital card front.

CD Sunday - Christmas

Hello all, it's another Sunday and and another challenge over on CD Sunday, don't know where these weeks are going but it's now time to think about doing Christmas cards.

This week we have been given one of Caroline's digi kits to play with and the card above is what I came up with from the kit I was given. This card is an 8x5 which is an unusual size for me as I seem to be stuck doing square cards so I made an effort to change that this week.

We have said goodbye for now to Kevin who has been a splendid guest over the last month and said hello to Sue and if her first card is anything to go by we are in for another treat this month.

This week is also the final weerk for one of our founder members and we are losing Wendy M, Wendy has decided to call time on her stint as a team member so she will be moving on but hopefully she will still join us with her designs when she has time, I know we are going to miss her.

I do hope you can come over and have a look and join in, the teams samples this week are great and if you can manage to visit their blogs you will see lots a lovely stuff to inspire you.

Wedding Day Wishes

One of our young ladies in work is getting married in Mexico later this month so we have had a little collection for her and this is the card I have made for everyone to sign.  I just need to get on and make another one for me to give her, hope everyone likes this one.

CD Sunday - Tea Time

This week on CD Sunday the theme is Tea Time so I have used the House Mouse project cd, I have never had chamomile tea but if it really does have this effect then I must go out and buy some.
I have found that the print out from the cd is a little pale so you have to use the best quality print to get a stronger image but I do enjoy using this cd and the images are quite easy to cut out apart from all the tales on the mice.
I hope you can pop over and see the things the rest of the team have done and if you can manage to visit their blogs and let them know you've been that would be great.

CD Sunday - Awash with Flowers

Hi everyone, another Sunday so another challenge over on CD Sunday, this week Carol has chosen Awash with Flowers so a nice easy one this week.

I know there are lots of cd's I could have used and Joanna Sheen loves flowers so it could have been quite easy to use one of her cd's but I wanted to try something different so I used The Big One as that has some pages designed to go with the Spellbinders nesties and wonder of wonders I have a couple of the sets so decided to give it a go and see how well they work.

I have also used a Memory Box die which although quite fine the card just falls out of the die, maybe other companies should use the same coated metal. I have sprayed the flowers with Spray and sparkle from Crafters Companion and it's not quite as shiny as it looks in the picture but there was a light shining on it.

I do hope you can come over and join us, we love seeing the wonderful things you come up with and it's a great source of inspiration for us all.

Digitally Sweet - Sketch

Possibly not the most obvious picture to use in a scrapbook page but this is a picture that brings back some good memories. We were walking in the hills in Lancashire and as we came to a gate these two sheep were about to cross a bridge but we appeared, they stopped and looked at us then at each other and waited long enough for me to grap a quick picture.  Once we moved on they carried on their way quite happily.

I have used a couple of kits from Daisytrail for this page and used a texture effect on the flowers and swirls.

Entering this into the sketch challenge over on Digitally Sweet.

A Day out

Here is a very quick page made from a few of the photo's taken while we were on holiday, we had a lovely time and this is a National Trust garden not too far from home.  I took quite a few photo's here but just thought I'd put together a quick page while it is still fresh in my mind.  I'll enter this into the Digitally Sweet challenge this week as it's anything with flowers and there are quite a few in these pics.

CD Sunday - Feline friends

Good morning everyone, it's time for another challenge over on CD Sunday and this week Beryl has chosen Feline Friends, the team has enjoyed doing this one and I think it shows in the standard of the cards they have produced.

We still have Kevin with us and he has made a lovely card with the Joanna Sheen cd Ivory Cats, I was going to use the same cd myself and have the toper and backing paper printed out but decided to use the Moorheads cd instead. This is an A5 card with the front folded back to give it a bit more interest, the backing paper is from a Docrafts pack I bought when it was reduced in The Range a while ago, there are lots of toppers and greetings in the pack so quite useful.

I do hope you can come and join us we love visiting you all and seeing what wonderful creations you have come up with.

-Digitally sweet - Anything goes with Flowers

I knew I wouldn't resist the new CA2 and bought it as soon as it was available on the DT web site, I have always used the pdf images with the old version but now they have added in the availability to import them in so it makes life a little easier.  I do like the the way you can use the colours in your picture to make the colour palette and this is the thing I used with this card front.

I popped all the flowers across the bottom of the card and recoloured them all to match the tones in the picture, I also added all the little swirls around the page and used the same colour for them too, I know I am going to enjoy using this programme now they have made things a bit easier to do.

I am entering this into the Digitally Sweet challenge Anything goes with Flowers, this is their second challenge and hopefully will be one I can follow and take part in on a regular basis.
Also entering into Kaboodle Doodles Challenge of Flowers, Through the Carft Room Door - Anything Goes

More Kanban

I'm hoping that I'll have enough cards to take into work when I go back and these are a few more made over the last day or so. Everything is from the Lavender Rose kit apart from the silver card, pearls, gems and ribbon.

Sketch N Stash - Challenge 96

I'm really enjoying my time off work and when I saw this sketch on the Sketch N Stash blog I thought I'd give it a go. This is an A5 card and made with the Kanban kit I recently purchased, I think it's called Lavender Roses but I could be wrong.

Allsorts Challenge - Layers

Over on the Allsorts Challenge Blog the challenge this week is layers, so I have had a bit of a play with the new Kanban kit I got yesterday.
This is an 8x8 card and all ther foiling is silver although it doesn't show up much in this picture, there is quite a bit in the kit and think I'm going to enjoy using it once I get going.

Ollie

I chose the colours of this page to go with the colour of Ollie's jacket and hat, this is another page for the Digitally Sweet challenge.

CD Sunday - Need for Speed

Good morning all, it's time for another challenge over on CD Sunday, this week it's Need for Speed.
I have got a couple of cards to show you this week, the first one just made me smile when I saw the image so had to make a card with it and the second one I decided not to put on the challenge blog as one of our other team memebrs used the same image so I decided just to show you here.

We had a great turnout last week and as it is still the summer holiday season we were really pleased with the numbers.

I hope you can all join in again and we'll be over to see what you've been up to, almost for got to say the first card is from The Big One and the second card is from Debbi Moore Vintage Travel.

Digitally Sweet challenge- Multiple photo's

There is a brand new challenge started today called Digitally Sweet, their first challenge is an easy one and it's to use more than one photo.

This is the front of a birthday card I've made for a pretty young lady who is turning 13, I used the Butterfly Paradise digi kit from Daisytrail.

CD Sunday - Allsorts

Good morning from a damp Wigan, this week over on CD Sunday the theme is Allsorts, we are being sponsored by Funkyhand and the team have been using their cd's to do some lovely work.

The cd I had was Twelve Crafters Crafting so as the name suggests it is a Christmas themed one, there are things on there that aren't Christmas related but the majority is.

I chose to print some of the backing papers and use one of the toppers I had left from last year when I made my Christmas cards, I used one of my new dies which I have fallen in love with as it is so versatile and the rest just fell into place.

I do hope you can come and join us and maybe win one of the cd's for yourself.

Hunkydory kit makes

I bought the latest kit from Hunkydory which is unusual for me as I don't do kits normally but I thought that I could get ahead with some things and as everything is die cut I could whip up a lot of cards in a very short time and leave my holiday week for having a play with some paints and stuff.
This is a small selection of the ones I have done over the weekend.