Not quite a wedding towel cake.

I'm going to a wedding on Saturday and didn't really fancy anything on the wedding list so with my normal disregard for whether I actually have time to do it or not, I decided I would make my own gift.  This started off as a very vague idea - it was going to be a towel cake but then I spotted these bargain scrapbooks in Home Bargains (where else) for £3.99 I think but they might have even been £2.99 and I just couldn't resist.

So I decided to make a scrapbook for the couple to use to put their informal photos, etc in.  Again, this remained a vague thought until I had a panic last week and realised I had less than 2 weeks to go.  YIKES!!!! I arranged to go to my friends house for a crafty morning on Sunday and didn't actully do any making but this is the result of some serious planning - helped along by the fact that she has oodles and oodles of beautiful stash to inspire me.  So a big thanks upfront to Emma G for the teeny tiny buttons and the flower punches used on this project.  I'm going to give it with a pack of photo corners and sticky squares to help them along.

The front is coverd with Basic Grey - Blush :Cherish

Pastel pearls to give a bit of a lift

Glossy accents on all the hearts - well it is for a wedding

The button heart is in an aperture - more accurate rendering of the colours here

Inside page showing through the aperture is here....

The wording is cut from the Storybook cartridge on my cricut as is the fram which is cut from a sheet of coredinations jewel.  The backing paper is bazzill dotted swia.  Letter shadowns cut from KI Memories 1821 - Posh Word Play and the letters themselves from some paper from my stash pile.

I made the little flowers from all the offcuts with the middle from a viva pearl pen bought from the craft den.

And finally a few close-ups for those not already asleep ;-)

I'd like to enter this in the Creative Craft World Challenge - Weddings

Get Well Soon!

My good pal Rusty from the MSE card forum has been in a great deal of pain recently and has, thankfully I think, been taken into hspital to try and help her a bit.  I've made this card to try and cheer her up using a freebie digi from "Meljens designs".  Life seems to have been throwing her a lot of lemons recently ;-)

The background papers are from basic grey - cupcake, the ribbon, flowers, sentiment and snaps from my stash.  I made my own ribbon slider using a nestie cut oval and some judicious slits with my craft knife.

Whilst I was in the middle of that my Mum called to say my Granny has been taken into hospital with a suspected stroke.  She was due to go on holiday tomorrow poor love  but hopefully they'll be able to get her back on her feet in time for her birthday party in July.
I couldn't resist using my new cricut cartridge - paisley - for this one.  I love Russian dolls - you'll be seeing many more of these on my creations!

Get well wishes to anyone else who needs them - I'm hoping I won't have to make any more get well cards for a long while.

Button Necklaces

 I've finally knuckled down and got those button necklaces completed - one for my cousins 18th which wa sSaturday and one for my Mum for Mothers Day

Aimee's card and necklace

Background Paper - Basic Grey Blush
Numbers cut from coredinations gemstones
Ribbon and charm from stash

I made the gift box as well using my costco paper

Mum's necklace was made more for the colours she already has in her wardrobe

Again the paper for the box was from Costco

And her Mothers day card -

background paper Crate Paper Blue Sky

Letters cut from coredinations gemstones and embossed with daisies on the cuttlebug.

Ribbon and card candy flower from stash

Christmas Catch Up Part 2 - Shadow Frames & Clocks

I'm glad I waited to blog these because at the time I was just too frazzled to enjoy it.  I gave myself too much to do and kept beating myself up about 'not being as organised as last year'.  It was nearly Christmas before it clicked that 'last year' I'd been signed off sick for most of December so had plenty of time to do lots of crafty things.  It's not so easy when you're working late, taking kids to Christmas parties etc etc etc.  Some of these went to the wire - I was up at 2 in the morning on Christmas eve finishing off one of the clocks but, in hindsight, they seem to have been worth the effort.

I bought the kits from home bargains (where else?) a while ago and they were ridiculously cheap.  From memory the clock ones were £3.99  and the plain shadow boxes were £1.99.  They came with paper, etc but I used my stash instead

First up - for my sister Jane.
this uses Crate Paper 'lil sprout

This one was for Mum and Dad using a mini-kit that my lovely friend Emma G gave me containing the letters, ribbon and bling.  The background paper is by Cosmo Cricket.  The bling by basic grey.

Next up, my other sister, Ruth's clock - she's moved to Germany now so she'll have this in her new flat as reminder of her darling nephew

The polka dot paper  and charm came with the box on this one, The other paper is MME - Bloom & Grow

And finally

A picture of my godson for his Mum, my best friend from Uni.  Crate paper again but Orbit range this time.

how many ways can you tie a teabag card?

After making my first teabag crad on Thursday, I've made 2 mote today as am trying to finf the best way of tying them off

The first card - I used a brad and a loop. 

The second, I used ribbon and velcro.  Paper and embellishments from MME Bloom & Grow)

The third I tied the ribbon using the lovely Basic Grey Boxer papers I got from my Granny for Christmas.  This card id for her so it seemed apt.

But which one is best?  There's only one way to find out...........

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FIGHT!!!
or I could ask you lot.  What do you hink?  How do you close yours?

Clearing the decks part1

Aaarrrgghhh!!!!!
Who's been messing with the calendars? 
It CAN'T be December already! 
How did that happen? 
This was going to be theChristmas that I was really organised. 
Never mind, there's always next year.

After I'd civen myself up to panic for a while I thought I'd better clear the decks of a few things that have been hanging around my desk waiting to be finished so that I can get cracking on Christmas in earnest tomorrow (honest!)

So,  the fist thing I needed to do was get my sisters parcel out of the way - she's home for Christmas in a couple of weeks so this should be the last one I have to send out for a while.  In addition to the 'yellow submarine' scrapbook LO I've already blogged there's this page too.  All papers and embellishments from basic grey (cupcake) I opened my scalloped oval nesties that are for Christmas just to make sure they worked.

Was I right to confess in my letter that the boys' diet may have been up to 25% ice-cream some days on holiday?

 I like to send her something hand-made in her package too so I've made a little coaster calendar.  Thanks paddington for the calendar tabs! and also thanks to rainmac for the inspiration.

I've put a little magnet on the back just in case they don;t have nails in the wall (I'm assuming she has walls - her office is in a portacabin but she sleeps in a tent so I thought I'd give her more options. )

And finally I made a card to send with her package which also includes sherbert fountains, sherbert dip dabs, minstrels and some fake snow .  It's not her Christmas card but I thought I'd do something a bit Christmassy to get her in the mood

Oh no! Not another pocket card

These poscket cards are "all the rage" over on the MSE cards forum so I thought I'd have a go with a slight twist. I wanted to say thanks to my friend Emma for letting me 'look after' her cricut for her whilst she was on holiday and also for buying me some embossing folders for my cuttlebug whilst she was out there. So I've made a thank you pocket card but instead of putting the inner card in I've done her a few embossed pieces of card and card blanks (as she doesn't have cuttlebug). Papers are basic grey - Infuse;Spice (foreground) and purify (background. Lettters are also basic grey - sugared.

Thanks to Crafts by Carolyn for the template.

The other card is a goodbye card for a colleague who is leaving work to start a phd - one of those tricky male cards but I think its ok. Main paper is Crate Paper; Static-Reaction

It's done! (and only just in time)

Mum and Dad are travelling down to Granny's tomorrow so I had to finish the album tonight. Her's the final 3 pages

Fisrt up is my favourite of them all - it's photos of me and my sisters when we were little. Photos from this era seem to be a bit thin on the ground. The papers are so beautiful that I really didn't want to do too much to them in case I spoiled them. They're from Cosmo Cricket; Gretel. The background paper is called Butterflies, the frames 'Woodland'. Lettering from Basig Grey - sugared.

Secondly 'Mum'

The first photo is from Granny and Grandad's 40th wedding anniversary celebration in 1998. The second one is of the family on holiday with Grandads trusty Standar 8 car by the side. Papers are by Crate Paper. Went a bit wild with the embossing on this one - have just treated myself to a cuttlebug as an early birthday present and embossing everything in sight!

Last one - 'Great Granny'. Photos of my Granny nowadays are few and far between - she's really not keen on having them taken but I managed to find 3 photos that between them have pictures of all 3 of her great- grandsons. Paper by Chatterbox: Paper Walls. Background paper is called Pebble Stripe, Frames are cut from 'Sunny Pinwheels.

I've posted the album in its entirety on my 'pics only' blog here