About Me

My photo
Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
I have been crafting since May 2008, when in desperation to find an unusual birthday card for my Mum, I gave up looking in the shops and decided to have a go at making my own. I soon realised that crafting is addictive and I haven't brought a card since. In 2011 I completed my certificate in papercrafting as a result of the work I did as part of the course I started entering challenges on line and in magazines. I applied for design teams and also started making samples for Ooh La La Creations for their shows on Create and Craft. I have now completed my Diploma in professional crafting and most recently been runner up in the Papercrafter of the Year 2013 a competition run by Papercraft essentials magazine, I don't have a particular style I like to use elements from lots of styles and techniques, although I do love all things vintage. In 2014 I started to move more towards scrapbooking to take care of the huge family archive of photographs that were stored in my attic. I have continued cardmaking and Scrapbooking through 2015 and 2016 but have also become interested in off the page projects. I hope to be able focus on these in the future.

Thursday 31 January 2013

Mother and Child

To prove that you can recycle loads of bits from a single card this one was made from an image printed on the back of a card. I just used a greeting from another card and matted an layered both the image and the greeting onto scraps of black and gold card before sticking to an A6 card blank. Really easy to do and I still have the full sized image from the front of the card and from the card I used the greeting from to recycle into more cards.

I am actually rather fond of this I love the simplicity.


I am entering this into the following challenges.


http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  The Nativity

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk - Anything Goes

Silent Night

Another of my recycled Christmas cards this time I added peel offs the gold stars and the sentiment.



I will be entering this card into the following challenges


http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/   - Boys - well I guess the most important boy at Christmas is in this image

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  The Nativity

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk - Anything Goes

Wednesday 30 January 2013

Recycled Christmas

As regular readers will know I am recycling Christmas cards to make new card to sell for charity. Here is a really simple one I made, all I added was the background paper a freebie with a magazine. The rest is all recycled including the star shaped sequin and the gem.



I am entering this in the following challenges

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  The Nativity
http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk Anything goes

Spread your wings

I have been asked by my manager at work to  make card for a colleague who is leaving. I wanted something pretty and feminine and didn't want to go down the sorry you're leaving route. I had a hunt through my CD roms and came across one which had come free with a magazine and is titled My Craft Studio a little bit of everything.

I didn't use the toppers on the CD just the backing papers and added lots of embellishments.


I mounted the backing paper onto a lovely pearly white card from hunkydory which is holographic and it has a pink hue to it, I wrapped this with lace and the dark purple ribbon and then stuck it to an 8x8 base card. One of the tags in the top left was one I had left over in my stash from a pack by Melissa Frances and the other one is a freebie from a lets make cards kit which I bought purely for the Paris themed papers in it so this was a left over. 

I die cut two flourishes and a butterfly from the left over piece of the hunkydory card using a memory box die and a creative expressions die respectively. The bird cage is also a creative impressions die and I cut it twice using the matt copper card, and green paper I then snipped the leaves from the green die cut and stuck these down over the copper leaves. I also added 3 punched flower blossoms.
Having put a doily in the bottom right hand corner I set to work cutting the flowers using a s Szzix Tim Holtz Tattered flowers die and the trimmings from the backing paper and the papers inside the card. I then built up the flowers until I had what I wanted adding mother of pearl buttons and flat backed pearls for the centres. Once I had an arrangement I was happy with I stuck them down using pinflair glue gel and also pushed some fern leaves cut using a Kreate die and the purple feather into the back of the arrangement. 

The sentiment says 'Spread your wings and fly' and this was mounted on a disc of the backing card cut using a nestie plain circle die. I stuck this over the tags and added a metallic butterfly from my stash and another small 'tattered' flower. I then tied the top tag to the card using dusky lilac organza ribbon. The die cut butterfly had a body added using flat back pearls and the finishing touches was a line of tiny pink gems along the roof of the birdcage and the two tiny birds.



I lined the inside of the card with more of the backing paper and added a die cut panel with a message.

I am entering this card in the following challenges

http://diecuttindivas.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything goes
http://cdsundaychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Hello Doily - Doily is in bottom right hand corner not sure if this will count as I only used the backing paper from the CD and then made my own embellishments
http://movingalongwiththetimes.blogspot.co.uk/ Bling it on
http://onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ sparkle and bling
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.co.uk/ - linky party
http://incywincydesigns.blogspot.co.uk/ - Pearls and Lace
http://tuesdaythrowdown.blogspot.co.uk/ -Bling it on

Thursday 24 January 2013

Welcome to the World.

Recently a colleague left our team at work to have a baby. She now has a Beautiful daughter and I was asked to make a card fro her that we could all sign as a congratulations. Here is what I came up with.


Unfortunately the light when I took this wasn't very good due to it being such an overcast day. The background is a pink candy stripe paper from a free CD from a magazine. I have to admit to being totally addicted to my Sizzix bigshot so went to town on the die cutting and embossing. The trellis is a Cheery Lynne die. The pram and the frame for the sentiment are from Marianne, the flourishes are from memory box and I used a Nesties plain circle die for the base for the pram.

I decided to keep the background for the pram the same backing paper as for the main card and to make it stand out I edged the circle with a peel off border. I added glittered the pram frame wheels and hood with stickles iridescent glitter glue and added pearls at the centre of the wheels the hinge of the hood and the end of the handle.

The white panel is a piece of plain white card which I have embossed using a triboss folder to give a patchwork effect and this has a piece of white organza ribbon wrapped round it.

I added three pink pearls to the top right hand corner and the pink teddy bear at the bottom left is from my button box it looked a bit lost when I initially rested it on the card so I stuck it to a flat round white button to give it a bit of a lift.

I lined the inside of the card with the same striped backing paper adding a die cut oval message on the right hand side panel.

Everyone at work loved the card and it has generated a few orders for cards for other occasions from colleagues.

I am entering this card into the following challenge
http://celebratetheoccasion.blogspot.co.uk/ - new baby

Love is

Well in the midst of all my Christmas cards that I am making I have found time to make a Valentine's card for a friend to give to her fella - (I really must get a wriggle on and make one for my hubby) I wanted the card to be striking and romantic but not too soppy or fluffy if you get my drift so here is the design I came up with.

The backing papers are from the Skagan range by Vivi Gade. I used the script paper from the range and cut panels of these and matted them onto black card and trimmed them to leave a border. I also used the grey and white striped paper which were matted on to a matt finish silver card and trimmed to leave a border.

The Love Panel is one of the lattice card blanks from the new Vintage Moments range by Papermania and I stuck a red fabric panel behind the word love and used black holographic behind the whole of the front. I backed the holographic card with more of the  script paper so that there is a neat finish when the card is opened. The black flourishes were cut from the trimmings of my matting and layering.


Once the ribbon bow is undone the off centred love panel opens to reveal the following text, these were self adhesive foam letters which I coloured red using a berry red pro marker and once the ink was dry I added black stickles over the top


When the text panel opens it reveals a three panel interior teh left hand panel has two hearts cut using a Celtic heart die from Cheery Lynn. The centre panel is another of the Papermania die-cut card blank fronts with the red fabric behind and a key which I recycled from a necklace I found in a charity shop. The left hand panel has three hearts all cut using the Marianne heart die the outer heart is red mirror card the middle heart is cut from black holographic card and the inner panel is white card and has been left blank for my friend to add her own romantic message.



The card stands up as shown below (red rose optional) I am quite pleased with the overall effect as the red really stands out against the black and grey of the papers I have used.


I am entering this card into the following challenges 

http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.co.uk - Monday challenge Bling it up. I blinged up the letters





http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.co.uk - use ribbon and valentines/love





Wednesday 23 January 2013

Still Snowing

Well in all honesty it is sleeting where I am but the snowy weather seems to have influenced my card making over the past few days. In my recycling project to create cards for charity out of the cards colleagues would normally throw away I have been busy since my last post and here is one I am particularly pleased with.


Made entirely from scraps left over from other projects, recycled elements or freebies with exception of the base card, little greetings tag and the glitter. The backing paper is one from a collection by Swedish designer Vive Gade, and was left over from a Valentines day card I had made for a customer. I matted this onto an off cut of white card and trimmed to leave a narrow edge and then matted this onto an offcut of black card before mounting the panel onto a base card.

The image was cut from one of the cards donated by a work colleague for my craft for charity project. I die cut it from the original card using an x-cut oval die. The image was originally just grey and white and looked a little like a pencil drawing, to give it a bit of a lift I used stickles iridescent glitter glue and highlighted certain areas. Once it was dry I attached it to the base panel using pin flair glue gel to make sure of a strong bond.


I then added the flourish cut using a Memory box die and the flowers cut using a Marianne die from scraps of white card. The netting is a piece of a chocolate coin bag that I had left over from Christmas, and the ribbon bow and gems were a freebie with a magazine I bought years ago and have been languishing in a drawer for years. The centre of the flowers were made by adding a snowflake sequin another freebie form a magazine purchase and by adding a gem to the centre. The little tag is from a pack I picked up in Lakeland a couple of years ago they are great for adding a little interesting touch to cards.


So I am off to do a bit more recycling see you all soon.

I am entering this card into the following challenges.

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/
http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Christmas in January
http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk - Anything Goes
http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.co.uk - Monday challenge Bling it up. 




Tuesday 22 January 2013

Timeless love

The snow here is a great excuse to stay indoors and craft. It also means that I can catch up on my blogging too. I was asked to make a Valentine's card recently for a work colleague for her other half. So nothing too girly but still romantic. Here's the design I cam up with.



I used Kraft card stock as the base and started by decopatching a serviette of a musical score onto the background and left it to one side to dry. I then set to work with my sizzix and embossed a piece of brown paper using the new Papermania chronology triboss clocks folder. I then used Ranger Tim Holtz distress ink in tumbled glass to add colour to the surface I then mounted this onto blue glitter paper and trimmed it to leave a narrow border.. I also die cut the clock face and hands using a Marianne die and the lacty  border to the hearts were cut using a Cheery Lynne Celtic heart die. Finally the letters were cut from blue card stock using a x-cut letters die.

Once my base card was dry I added a panel in blue card stock which was then overlaid using brown glitter card and blue metallic mesh a blue ribbon and mall bow were wrapped around the bottom of this panel.. I also added a small strip if the blue card stock at the top of the card. The embossed panel was added at an angle. and then the clock added. before the words were arranged across the card once stuck down I coated the letters in a layer of stickles iridescent glitter glue.

I added the clock face at the top left and then arranged the three hearts from a topper sheet by Kanban to the right hand side.


I lined the inside of the card with script paper that I had printed from a MCS CD and added more clocks and hearts leaving the large heart on the right side for my colleague to add her own personal message to her loved one.

I am entering this into the following challenge 

http://2sisterschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/ - use brown white and blue the hearts have white on them so I hope this qualifies.

http://audsentimentschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/ bingo challenge die cut/embossing/love


http://craftspotbykimberly.blogspot.co.uk - Monday challenge Bling it up. 






http://reasonableribbon.blogspot.co.uk - use ribbon and valentines/love

Recycle and help a Charity

Hi everyone the title of this post is the same as the header I used on a poster that I put in the kitchen and common room at work just before Christmas. Having spent the last 2 years challenging myself to complete first my certificate in papercraft and them My diploma in professional crafting I needed something new for 2013. So I asked colleagues to bring in old greetings cards wrapping paper, tags and ribbon and I have undertaken to make on average 100 cards per month for donation to various charities throughout the year. I couldn't have asked for a better response, work colleague have donated not just the Christmas cards they would normally throw away, but birthday cards, ribbon and various other bits and pieces I can use to meet my challenge.

Whilst the original plan was just to give the cards to charity shops in our local area to sell, I have been overwhelmed by the number of my colleagues who have asked that I take batches into work and they will buy them so that I can donate the money to local charities who don't have the luxury of a shop front to sell them in.

So having gone through all the cards and trimmed various, images, greetings, and verses from them to reuse (I now have a bag the size of a wheelie bin full of usable bits for crafting) I have also raided my stash for various free gifts of paper pads from magazines that can also be used and I have now started creating the cards.

Here is the first.

I cut the central image off the card using an x-cut oval die and used stickles iridescent glitter glue around the edge. Whilst that dried I cut a piece of glittered vellum paper to fit an A5 card blank and rounded the corners. I cut the large snowflake and flourish from plain white card using Memory box dies and the smaller snowflake flowers were cut using a Marianne die. 


I stuck the vellum down using double sided tape in the centre so it woud be hidden by the oval panel and then used pinflair glue gel to add the panel to add depth. The flourishes and snowflakes were then added. The piece of net behind the flowers is actually part of one of those plastic net bags that chocolate coins come in at Christmas, which I had saved as I always scatter the coins on a table under a small Christmas tree every year for people to help themselves to during the festivities.


So that's the first one made I will regularly be updating my blog with my progress and will let you know how the charity donations go.

I am entering this card into the following challenges,

http://abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/   - Animals I hope the little glittered stag counts.

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/  recycle something or use something that was free - the topper and the plastic net are both recycled.

http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - Christmas in January

http://crimbo-crackers.blogspot.co.uk/ - White on White

http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk - Anything Goes

Monday 21 January 2013

Wheely good - Ooh La La Challenge DT Inspiration Card

Hello all, once again thank you to all those who entered our last Challenge at the Ooh La La creations Challenge blog. Hearty congratulations to the winners - really glad I didn't have to pick them this time as it would have been a really tough Job there were so many gorgeous cards entered. You can see the winning cards and find the latest challenge here.

We have all had a really busy couple of weeks since the start of the new year over at Ooh La La - we have been making samples from the newest CD in the collection 'Yesterday's Memories' which will be featured on Create and Craft on 27th of January. If you like vintage you'll love this new CD.

Anyway back to the current challenge Dawn set the subject matter of 'Wheely Good' - the weather here over the past few weeks has been frightful lots of rain and snow and I found myself longing for warm summer days sitting on the patio, enjoying my garden. So I turned to the 'Watercolour Memories' CD and here is my card.


I found the image and the background paper in the waterfall card folder on the CD. Using My Craft Studio I was able to resize the image and the backing paper to suit an 8x8 card. I then used a cottage cutz small picket fence die and cut several pieces of white card to make the fence. The bicycle is cut from black card using a Memory Box die, the tree branches at the top are actually two Marianne bird on a branch die that I have cut the bird off joined together and coloured using Spectrum Noir pens. I then used the bird and bird box from  the ivy leaf set and coloured these with my markers.

The 'lupins' in the corner are again from a Marianne 'grasses' die and I cut the stalks short and coloured the tops in shaded of coral and light red. before adding the punched flowers at the base.


I used the same backing paper inside the card and used a Martha Stewart punch to create a fancy edge. Adding a scalloped oval for the greeting. On the other side of the card inner I used the main image which I resized to fit and reduced the colour opacity by 50% before printing.  


I hope the card chases the winter blues away it worked for me.

I am entering this card in the following challenges...
http://cupcakecraftchallenges.blogspot.co.uk -Make a scene
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything Goes linky party
http://simplycreatechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything Goes linky party

Monday 7 January 2013

Happy Birthday Ooh La La DT Inspiration card

Hello and A Happy New Year to everyone, welcome to the first inspiration card for 2013. I hope you all had a magical Christmas and got lots of wonderful crafting goodies from Santa. We had some really beautiful entries in the last Challenge and the winners can be found on the Ooh La La Creations Challenge blog.. I wanted to create something with glitz and glamour to kick off the New year so here is my card for the New Challenge the theme is 'Happy Birthday'


 

I decided to use the Femme Fatale CD to create this boxed card for an 18th Birthday. 

I started by making the box and used the Glitter Girls box board to create a plain white box, then left it to one side to dry whilst I got to work on the card.

I used a sheet of 300gsm A4 card to make an A5 card blank. Then printed off the black lace backing paper from the CD. To minimise wastage I used My Craft Studio to access the digital punch function. I printed tow two sheets in landscape one with an oval shape punched out on the right hand side of the page and put this to one side for the insert in the card, the other I punched a circle from the right hand side and then split the sheet  down the middle to give the backing paper for the card and box lid.

The image on the card is from the ATC folder on the Femme Fatale CD and I expanded the image and printed two copies onto white card. I used xcut label dies to cut one and the other image I fussy cut the dress from the image and stuck it over the die cut image this gives the illusion of the dress coming out below the background at the bottom. I also added some red stickles to the bodice and a single red gem over the necklace this particular Femme Fatal was wearing to add to the glamour. 


I cut another 'label' using the x-cut die from mirror card using a larger shape and stuck this to mat black card then trimmed around it with scissors to leave a thin black border. The  image was then mounted on this. 

To make the background I layered the lace paper onto mat black card and trimmed to leave a thin border, then stuck this to the front of the card blank and I trimmed it using a peel off edging strip. I added the image sticking it down with the top point just below the edge of the lace paper. 

On the bottom right of the card I added a key which I had recycled from a charity shop Jewellery find and added a bright red ribbon bow to the top. The floral embellishment was made using poppies and roses from Wild Orchid crafts along with some leaves I had die cut from matt black card. I also added some feathers, and a swirl of red pearls. The sentiment was printed on the computer and tucked into the bottom of the arrangement, before adding the black butterfly, I added red gems to form the body. I then added the happy birthday sentiment at the top right hand corner.


I finished the card off by adding the black lace insert.


Once the card was complete my attention returned to the box, I lined the base with a mirror board panel for the card to sit on. Then went to work on the top. I mounted the lace panel with the circle shape onto red mirror card and trimmed around to leave a narrow border I then edged the lace with silver peel off strips. 
I die cut a large circle from black gloss card and stuck this in the centre of the lid to leave a narrow white border. I edged the black circle with peel off strips. I added a die cut key to the circle  and tied a bright red ribbon into a bow.  The floral arrangement was made using Wild Orchid roses and I had these lovely white daisies in my stash. I added feathers, pearls and gems before finishing off with two punched butterflies.

I have submitted this card for assessment as part of my Diploma in Professional Crafting, I have also used it as part of my entry for Card Designer of the Year, as well as entering the following challenges.

http://paperplaychallenges.blogspot.co.uk - Celebration
http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - use you favourite embellishments - flowers, feathers and the keys
http://simplycreatechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything goes linky party