Just A Quick Share...

My entry for the Shabby Tea Room Challenge #46 'Winter Wonderland' received an Honorable Mention!

It's my last Post if you'd like to see and I just managed to complete it in time ...

Very proud to receive and big thanks to the Shabby Tea Room!

Many thanks for looking

Winter Wonderland ~ Shabby Tea Room #46

Last minute entry to the Shabby Tea Room Challenge this week ... The inspirational photo for Challenge #46 Winter Wonderland was so inspiring I just had to play along when I saw it.

I had the little Hero Arts Tree for ages but hadn't actually inked it up so I knew I just had to use it for this challenge.

I've teamed it with my Hero Arts Flourish Background as the swirls just sat so well together.

The Blue is Tumbled Glass Distress Ink ... I've used Versamark for stamping and White Embossing Powder ... Cuttlebug Snowflakes Embossing Folder ... Little Mirror Hearts and Silver Thread Bow ... Spellbinder Wizard Nestie and a Tim Holtz Die Cut.

The Ribbon is a Tesco Christmas special (I keep my Ribbons in their own Yankee Candle used jars ... this one was in a lavender vanilla one and I just had to keep lifting the lid as the smell was divine lol! ... the ribbon now smells of it too!)

I also thought this might make another Valentine option as I accidentally showed Hubby one I had already made .... Whoops!

Many thanks for looking

Just Found This And Had To Share!

Sorry, no Pics but I have added Links!

I had Create & Craft on the other day ... don't usually watch but it was a show on knitting which I haven't done for ages and the presenter was just showing a Patons Knitting Pattern Book with Kids Knitwear and matching toys.

The toys bit caught my eye and I just itched to do some knitting ... it must be years since I picked up some needles and I think I made socks the last time I did lol!

I found this tonight ... A Fab Free Pattern of Easter Chicks and Eggs and wait for it ... Just had to buy the pattern straight away ... I see two Christmas Presents (possibly four as the dogs Shona & Lilly might want one too) Wesley Westie ... Isn't he Fab!

Just had to share ... this is one very talented man!

Thanks for looking

Sweets For My Sweet!

Not a great deal of stamping on this one and no stitching either (Am I feeling okay lol!) but as soon as I saw the inspirational photo for the Tuesday Trigger over a Moxie Fab World I just knew I had to play along ... gives me another option for Hubbies Valentine Card too lol! ... Don't you just love those yummy colours.

I've used the following on this one

My Handmade Heart Fimo Button

Heart Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Spellbinder Square Scallop Nestie

Postage Heart Sizzix Sizzlet Die

Sizzix Scattered Dots Embossing Folder

Pink Core-dinations Card.

Small Square Card (Craftwork Cards)

Corner Rounder Punch

Spun Sugar & Worn Lipstick Distress Ink

Many thanks for looking

Sweet Tooth?

Thought I'd share something different with you!

You know when you get the taste for something you haven't had for ages ... well that happened to me last week (My German Gran always used to refer to it as Yaps or Schmacht and boy did I have it) ... I was strolling through my local Tesco and my eyes fell on some Tesco Brand items ... Rocky Road, Flap-jacks etc and I thought mmmm.... haven't had any Cornflake Crispies for ages ... could I find any! ... I eventually found some at the back of the baked items ... they looked grey and unappetising and the small amount on offer were over a pound.

So, racked my brain and thought ... 'I'm sure I had a recipe cut from the side of a Cornflake packet when I was younger!' ... found it! ... a very tatty piece of card tucked into a recipe book as a bookmark.

So before leaving the store ... I had a rough idea of the ingredients ... I picked up a cheap 75p packet of Cornflakes and a block of Stork Margarine (I had Golden Syrup and Cocoa Powder in the cupboard)

I thought I'd share the Recipe with you!

Cornflake Crispies/Rice Crispy Crispies

1 Tablespoon Golden Syrup (I used 2 Tbsp)

2 ozs Margarine (I used 4 ozs)

4 ozs Caster Sugar (I used 5 ozs of normal sugar)

1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder (I used 2 Tbsp of Bourneville Cocoa Powder)

3 ozs Cornflakes (I used 6 ozs)

I doubled the above when I used the Recipe apart from the sugar (Only used 5 ozs) so that it would fit into a tray instead of Muffin Paper Cases.

Put all your ingredients except your Cornflakes/Rice Crispies in a saucepan.

Allow to dissolve slowly ... Keep stirring and continue stirring until it starts to boil ... Make sure all the sugar has dissolved (it says let it boil for 5 minutes but I just made sure it was bubbling and all the ingredients had dissolved and it was like a thick syrup).

 Pour in your Cornflakes and keep turning until they are all covered with the syrup mixture.

The Original Recipe states use a 7 -8" greased Sponge Tin ... I used a baking tray ... the inside dimensions measure approx 7.5 x 11.5" (Tesco Range) and lined it with greaseproof paper.

I poured the mixture into the greaseproof papered tray and spread it all over ... let it go cold ... then took just the paper and Cornflake mix out of the tray so I could cut into pieces.

You could of course make individual servings by putting the mixture into Paper Muffin Cases ... I just thought nothing to wash up or throw away lol!

We've had two lots so far and still enough for another batch ... even Mum wants the Recipe as she said they weren't too sweet! ... Not always a Recipe you find in a Recipe Book ... Enjoy!

Many thanks for looking

Edited to add .... PDF available to download and share so you don't have to write everything down.

Trying To Think Like A Beginner!

I am happy to call myself a member of the Hero Arts Flickr Family and there was a posting not long ago from an overwhelmed beginner not knowing where to start.

There were some wonderful ideas and suggestions and I tried to put my thinking cap on too!

We all know that this Cardmaking Hobby can be expenisve so to anyone starting out I would recommend the following just to get started before buying things at the start that you never use again (Been there, done that and wish I'd saved myself some money at the beginning)

Essential Equipment

Cutting Mat - Craft Knife - Metal Ruler - Good pair of Craft Scissors.

Versafine Ink Pad - Black and Vintage Sepia - these shouldn't smudge when colouring in.

Versamark Ink Pad - For that watermark effect and to heat emboss with.

Clear Embossing Powder - White Embossing Powder and a Heat Gun.

A Selection of Rubber Stamps ...  Ebays great but shop around as it's not always the cheapest ... you will however find some older discontinued Stamps you can't get anywhere else and also used stamps that people don't want anymore ... If you have visited me before you know I love a bargain lol!

Cardstock - I've found some pre-cut cards from Craftwork Cards where you can also get the plain A4 Card as well ... If you are like me when you are essembling the card you have stamped you want to make sure all you white card matches ... sometimes I find I end up cutting up pre-cut cards

Essential Additional Equipment ... but not needed straight away

 Distress Inks (Collect as you go along) - You can press these onto acetate or a clear acrylic stamp block to use with water to create a watercolour effect or use a blending tool to apply to your card.

Die Cutting Machine - Cuttlebug or Sizzix Bigshot (I'm a Bigshot Girl) To Die Cut and Emboss ... With the Adapter Plate you can use all the Dies on the market ... For the Sizzix Thick Cut Dies and Tim Holtz Alterations you don't need the Adapter Plate just the two clear plates you get with the machine ...  If you love texture like I do you will need to get a Die Cutting Machine to use the Cuttlebug Embossing Folders.

Can't think of anything else at the moment so if anyone has any suggestions on anything I've missed, please let me know and I'll add it to the list.

So, back to the Card ... the lady in question had a Divine Photograph in her Photostream as soon as I saw it I knew what I wanted to do.

I used slightly textured pre-cut Cards from Argos (don't know how long they are available as they are not in the new Cat) ... I stamped with Versamark and HA Large Canvas Stripes and HA Fabulous Flourish ... then used White Embossing Powder over the top ... I then used Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and Blending Tool.

I stamped an extra strip so I could make the flowers ... scored lines so I could fold (Martha Stewart Scoreboard but not essential) ... attached to a hand-cut circle and punched out a Sun shape ... finished with a large Pearl Gem.

My HA Butterfly was again stamped with Versamark and White Embossing Powder ... Brushed with Brushed Corduroy ... Cut out and embellished with Pearl Gems.

So a very simple card so far ... basic techniques but just having fun playing ...

The additional items used that a Beginner may not have ... Die Cutting Machine - To cut the Spellbinder Dies ...

I made a mistake lol! ... I initially stamped the Cherish with Versamark and heat embossed on the card ... It merged with the stripe and couldn't be seen very well so I stamped it again on a Spellbinder Label ... a little stitching and you would never know lol!

Basic Items I used

HA - S5433 Large Canvas Stripe

HA - S5449 Fabulous Flourish

HA - F5158 Heart Winged Butterfly

HA - LL987 Special Words

Versamark Ink Pad - White Embossing Powder

Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink

Pearl Gems

Sun Punch

Additional Items I used

Spellbinder Wizard - Labels & Nesties

Martha Stewart Scoreboard

So what would I say to a Newbie ... As my fellow Flickr Members have mentioned ... Blog Hop for Inspiration ... Use Sketches (but sometimes you have your sketch and are still looking at blank card not knowing what to do) ... Use Photographs (Sometimes elements leap out at you and you have your colour palette) ... The main thing is to just have fun and play.

Hope this helps any Beginner.

Many thanks for looking

Hero Arts Masking & Inspirational Friday!

Just managing to get this Posted before the deadline for this months Masking Challenge over at Hero Arts ... I've also used the Inspirational Friday Colours ... they're so Fab!

Background is Cuttlebug's D'vine Swirl Embossing Folder ... Before I embossed I stamped my Sentiment ... After embossing I added my stitching.

Just had to play with my ebay bargain (Papillion Butterflies Set) ... Unused Perfect Set ... I just had to ink them up straight away ... I stamped some Post-it notes so I could cut the images out and placed these over the stamped images on the card to mask ... Then I stamped with Versamark and HA Dots & Flowers and used clear embossing powder ... The Butterflies were then covered with Glossy Accents and left to dry ...  Then came the Distress Inking (wiped with baby wipe to clean over the clear embossing) ... Stitching ... and last I used my HA Music Background and Brown Versamagic over the top (gave the stitching a distressed look)

I stamped the Butterflies again with the same Versamagic Ink Pad ... Coloured using Peeled Paint Distress Ink and water and used the Glossy Accents again ... Cut them out and applied them over the top of the Butterflies on the Card and fixed with Glossy Accents ... They look as it they are just about to take flight and are stretching their wings!

Many thanks for looking

Still In the 'Thank You' Phase!

Loved the technique I used on Mum's Birthday Bits & Pieces so much I just had to make a 'Thank You' Card as well.

A little bit of Masking Technique on this one and changed to Spellbinder Dies instead of my fab Tim Holtz Dies.

I also used a Quickutz Flourish on my flowers this time just to give some added interest.

Many thanks for looking

Mum's Birthday Bits & Pieces!

Just a warning ... could be a longish Post lol!

I can show you this now ... didn't want to post too early just in case Mum went on the Internet ..

My mother saves all the Cards I have created for her ... Xmas, Easter, Birthday etc (She already has a little pile) ... So I wanted to create something a little special for her.

Here is a close-up of the Flowers ... I inked the large flower with Spun Sugar Distress Ink and then used SU's Rich Razzleberry Marker on the edges.

And here is the little set I created....

I actually started with the Gift Box ... I've had the details on how to create the Box quite a while and there is a fabulous tutorial by Amazing Paper Grace which goes through what you have to do (I used my Martha Stewart Scoreboard instead of the Scorepal)

The Hero Arts Challenge this month is to Mask so I just had to play along and create my own background ... I stamped the flowers first, masked them off and then stamped over the top with my HA Fabulous Background Cling ... The flower centres have been stamped using a stamp from an SU Stamp Set and then I punched using a Sun Punch ... You can't see the top very well but I used one of the stamps (border style) from the same Flower SU Stamp Set to decorate the top (you can just see a little bit of it in the pic of the set)

So what's in it you ask!

Just big enough for 4 Travel Size Sanctuary Goodies!

And just to finish off ... a little Gift Card/Voucher Holder using Tim Holtz's Tag Die.

Recipe List:

Stamps ~ HA Cling Fabulous Background - SU 'Vintage Vogue' - SU 'One of a Kind' Small Flower

Ink ~ Distress Ink - SU Rich Razzleberry Marker & Ink Pad

Cutting Dies ~ Tim Holtz - Tag, Labels, On the Edge Brackets.

Card ~ Bazzill Cream Puff

Many thanks for looking

Edit to add.... Just thought I'd better let you know this was not the only present she received ... Just one of them lol!

Another Challenge!

Last Post of today ... must be a record for me lol! ... and another Challenge!

Don't think I've entered The Shabby Tea Room Challenges before but this was another one that as soon as I saw the picture for inspiration and colour I knew exactly what I wanted to do to enter.

Don't you just love the colour of that fruit (think they're lemons)  .......  I've tried to keep everything simple as you can see  ...... To enter the Shabby Tea Room Challenge #45 you have to follow these rules this week   ...... create a card or project using WHITE AND/OR CREAM PLUS ONLY ONE ADDITIONAL COLOR!  (Additionally, you can use neutral colors for shading, inking, stamping, highlighting)

I've tried to match my Roses to the Lemon Shade .... My Adirondack Slate inking is taken from the plate design and off course I just had to use White.

Stamps ~ HA - CG119 Flourish Background ~ PSX - With Love

Ink ~ Adirondack Slate

Die Cuts ~ Sizzix - Spellbinder Wizard

Punch ~ Leaves

Cuttlebug Embossing Folder

Yellow Card is Bazzill

Many thanks for looking

Edit to add .... I've had a few queries on my Die Cut Roses using my Sizzix Die so thought I'd share the info.

The Die is Sizzix (Bigz) Ref: 656545 - Flowers 3D by Beth Reames

I've included the Sizzix link Here

and there is a PDF to show you how to assemble Here

You can see the shape here if you want to cut them out by hand or on a digi diecutting machine.

I wanted the Bigz Die when I saw it as I also wanted to cut Fabric ... Possibilities lol!

QVC UK had it on waitlist only but it was expensive although you did get another die with it ... Mine was from Cutting Edge Crafts and was half the price.

The PDF shows using a tooth pick to assemble but I hunted through some very old craft bits and pieces for my unused quilling tool ... perfect! ... I used a dab of silicone glue so that the rolled bits glued to the base and didn't expand and finally used a wooden peg which fitted perfectly in the dip of the rose to keep it flat while it dried.

Hope you manage to get hold of this Fab Die if you want it.

You might see me playing with this one a lot ... still have to try fabric.

'Thank You' With SU Fresh Cuts!

Still on the 'Thank You's' ... Very simple style with this one ...

I've used SU's Fresh Cuts Set with Fired Brick and Old Paper Distress Ink on White ... I'm just loving these little 4" Card Blanks I got from Craftwork Cards ... I don't usually do Cards this small but these are great ... Can't believe I've made five Cards in two days ... must be a record for me lol!

This one just seemed to fall together.

Many thanks for looking

Very Quick 'Thank You' Card!

Not sure about this one ... it may grow on me!

Need a very quick 'Thank You' Card so just through a few things together ... I think I've looked at it too long ... not sure if I like it as I was playing and trying something different.

The Thank You sections are SU - Seeing Spots teamed with HA Magical Background ... I've used Distress Inks and SU Inks.

Many thanks for looking

I'm Going Through A 'Thank You' Phase!

I was going through my box of handmade Cards and noticed I didn't have many 'Thank You' Cards ... So including my last post and a few more to follow you will notice I'm going through a phase lol!

This has been sitting on my desk waiting for it's own special box as the roses won't fit in a normal envelope lol! ... Box is now complete but unfortunately due to my delay it's too late to enter the Challenge which originally inspired it ...

I'm just loving this 3D Flower Die I managed to get hold of from Cutting Edge Crafts (QVC's was soooo expensive ... think I only paid £10.99) ... twirled with my Quilling Tool it makes such beautiful Roses ... I've placed a small pearl in the centre of the small ones which you can't see very well and a large one in the centre of the big one.

This was my second inking of my gorgeous HA Lace Background Stamp (Just lovin this one ... Can you tell!) ... The 'Thank You' has been stamped using two pink shades but slightly off so that it creates a shadow.

I tied the chiffon bow once and then tied another bow over the first one with the tails ... it's a really soft pink and just sat with the card perfectly.

Many thanks for looking

Play Date Challenge ~ Challenge #64 ~ Lacy Bird & Flowers!

When I saw the colours for this weeks Play Date Challenge I just had to play along ... still trying to follow my 'New Years Resolution' of entering more Challenges this year ... I just managed to complete this in time to enter.

Used a few Christmas Presents on this one ... HA Lacy Daisy Background & Spellbinder Blossom Dies.

Stamps ~ HA Lace Background - HA Little Messages - SU Hostess Punch Potpourri

Ink ~ Distress Ink - Adirondack Slate

Punches ~ Small Tag - SU Bird Punch - SU Boho Flowers Punch - M/S Border/Corner Punch

Spellbinder Wizard Dies

Many thanks for looking

Feeling Ready For Spring & Summer! ~ Using Up Scraps Again

Yes, this is another 'Using Up Scraps' ... If you follow me you know that one of my New Year's Resolutions is to completing once project before starting another (Keeping me tidy so to speak ... yeah right lol!)

The background was stamped ages ago with my HA Large Plaid Pattern Stamp (1st time I inked it) using Dried Marigold Distress Ink ... I didn't like the result at the time but it's been flying around my desk along with the SU Stamped Image and the two fell on each other and the old light bulb went off.

The Tim Holtz Die Cut panel was also a spare piece which I brushed with Brushed Corduroy and Dried Marigold Distress Ink.

As it sat there on the table I wondered what to was needed to complete the Card and thought about some Quickutz Dies ... A Tag is Born lol! Coloured with Distress Ink and Grey Promarkers ... The Sentiment is SU ... Of course I had to embellish with some stitching ... Unfortunately I didn't have any Chiffon Ribbon to match so coloured with Dried Marigold ... I'm quite pleased with the result.

Right, I'm off to complete a few more bits & pieces and then it's all out playing (Must remember ... One Card at a time and Post as I make so the Cards don't add up lol!)

Many thanks for looking

Fab Flourish & SU ~ Masking Technique!

Where you ask ... well I worked out where I wanted to place my Sentiment before I started so that the hole in the Wreath would have the Sentiment behind it lol!

Have also had a play with  my Tim Holtz 'On The Edge Die' (Xmas Pressie to myself) ... I started by stamping the Card with my HA Flourish Background Stamp using Worn Lipstick Distress Ink (not forgetting to mask before I stamped) ... Then I Die Cut the edge of the Card and added the stitching.

Next came the HA Wreath of Leaves Stamp ... Stamped with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink and Die Cut with the Spellbinder Wizard Dies ... Before adding this to my Card I positioned my Sentiment (HA Little Messages) and Dragonfly (HA Nature Icons) stamping them with Worn Lipstick ... I also added stitching to the Wreath piece and punched holes in the scallops.

To Finish I stamped the Flowers (SU Hostess Set 2010 ... still available now) using Fired Brick for the Outlines and coloured the centres with a Pink Tone SU Marker ... These were then punched out with the matching SU Punch (Still available) ... I then used Rock Candy Stickles with a paintbrush and dried with the heat tool straight away so the colours wouldn't run too much ... Once dry I used an Embossing tool to make them pop!

The MS Butterfly has been coloured with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink with Rock Candy Stickles over the top.

Many thanks for looking