confused crafter

Let crafting commence.

2012-01-14T13:16:00.002Z

Well I've not crafted for soooooooooooo long, I finally dug some things out from under my bed last weekend and made some christmas cards.........I like to be prepared. It feels good to be crafting again even if it is just basic cards at the minute!

Selection of 60s

2009-10-24T13:26:00.007+01:00

I was asked to make a 60th birthday card for a teacher at work. It was my first order for cards and admittedly my only order for cards other than from family members but hey ho! I tried various designs and here are the selection I made.

The first card simply involved a Sugar Nellie stamp coloured in but I thought she was quite sweet.

My second card involved the same number templates as the first and a simple anita's flower stamp.

I loved this card because it involved my favourite birthday stamp, this was my first Sugar Nellie stamp and I love her. She's just so useful.

For my final card I used my trusty Addison papers and Dawn Bibby rubber stamps.

All of the cards were simple but I was so proud that I'd actually managed to make something!!

Card for a special lady

2009-10-24T13:14:00.002+01:00

This is a card I made for a friend of mine who had just found out she had cancer. Thankfully she is now free of the big C.

She is a pigeon fancier so I got this photo from google images and printed it out 3 times so I could decoupage the image. I was really pleased with the effect. I did the same with images of fireman for the same friend as a card to send before her big op.

Both cards went down a storm!!

Christening Gifts

2008-12-31T11:18:00.006Z

Well I thought I'd better add something on here, it's been such a long while since I last came on. Here's a bit of scrapbooking for a change. This first page is one I made for my great-nephew Henley for his christening, when I found this paper in a DCWV kit from QVC I knew it was just what I wanted. I'd already made a page for Henley's big sister a few years ago and my niece was so pleased with it I thought I'd do another and the added bonus is you know your gift is completely unique.

This second page I made for my great-niece, Henley's cousin, Lilly-Mai. I kept telling Lilly's mum Louise that she had to give birth on my birthday because I had my daughter on Louise's birthday, but she was a couple of days too late! I think of the two pages I like Henley's the best, I went a bit overboard on embellishments on Lilly's page.

My Baby Girl

2008-09-25T22:53:00.003+01:00

Here's my daughter all ready for her first day at secondary school, she went off with no problems but I was a bit tearful!

Long time no post

2008-09-25T22:48:00.001+01:00

Well it's absolutely ages since I've posted anything. Had an eventful last few months, my brother suffered a stroke which came as a huge shock to us all but thankfully now he's on the road to recovery. Also the school I worked at merged and we had a huge task trying to move everything within our school into another building, and lastly I gave up my job at Tesco to work full time at school which is very tiring, I work in foundation stage and to say they're lively would be a huge understatement! hopefully things should settle down a bit more now :-)

Scarlet Woman

2008-05-01T23:45:00.002+01:00

Here is my ATC for this months Paper Paradise swap, the theme is "My Favourite Colour". I used my new lady stamp bought from Paper Paradise after I'd given up all hope of ever finding it. I stamped in red Versafine ink added glossy accents to the mouth, a red rose sticker and some adhesive gems for a finishing touch.

2nd Insert

2008-05-01T23:36:00.002+01:00

Here is my second insert for the Craftswap birthday challenge, I love the colours on this one.

The Newest Member of The Family

2008-05-01T23:31:00.003+01:00

This is my great-niece Lilly-Mai she was born on Sunday and weighed 7lbs 14ozs and I've got to say I fell in love with her straight away, especially her dimples!

Birthday Photo

2008-05-01T23:19:00.002+01:00

As promised here is a photo of all my fab birthday cards, ATCs and fat book pages, thankyou to everyone who sent me a fab work of art xxx

2008-04-24T23:59:00.002+01:00

It's my birthday YAY!!!! Once I've opened my birthday cards I'll take a photo of them and pop it on here, because oh happy days I found my camera round at my sisters house, double YAY!

Envelope Take 2

2008-04-24T23:15:00.006+01:00

I made the insert for my Craftswap birthday challenge but it didn't go with my envelope at all, so I decided to decorate another envelope to go with my insert. So that I don't waste my first attempt I have decided to make a second insert that will co-ordinate with envelope number 1. Here is my second attempt, I've used various stamps and versafine inkpads as well as a few butterfly stickers and a cigarette card to embellish. Can you spot my deliberate mistake? I thought I'd used the letter I but I had in fact used the letter J. Ooops!

I made my insert in the same way but also used a quote from a HOTP collage book, some adhesive stones, glitter glue which hasn't shown up in the scan and country garden shapes which I'd forgotten I had. I think this combination of envelpoe and insert go together much better.

Bit of Bling

2008-04-24T23:07:00.002+01:00

I'm joining in an ATC swap arranged through Paper Paradise, the theme this month is Bling, I've found this quite tricky as I'm not 100% sure what counts as bling. I used some Hero Arts lady stamps and added some adhesive stones as jewellry. I also added a DaisyD flower attatched with a Dovecraft gem brad. I made an extra ATC to swap with a friend in my local craft shop.

Back of envelope

2008-04-17T22:11:00.002+01:00

I've finally got my scanner working again so here is my envelope back

Craftswap Forum 2nd Birthday Challenge

2008-04-15T16:19:00.003+01:00

I can't believe the Craftswap has been going for 2 years, once again we are celebrating the birthday with a challenge set by Simon. We have been separated into teams and each team has to produce and envelope book with inserts on their given topic, these will be auctioned off and all proceeds will go to the forum charity. As one of the lucky people to acquire one of last years books I can recommend putting a bid in!

The team I am in is called Seventh Heaven and our theme is bugs & critters. Here is the front of the envelope I have decorated, I tried to scan the back but my scanner went a bit wobbly. I used my Blonde Moments rubber stamps with a versa mark inkpad and clear embossed the images, i then used my mini versacolor ink pads to tap all over the envelope and used a tissue to wipe the excess off my stamped images. I then used my Sakura Gelly Roll pens to add a bit of colour to my images. I now need to make an insert but don't really have an idea of what to do yet!

Not too sure?!?

2008-04-07T20:51:00.004+01:00

I'd really appreciate your comments on this one as I'm not sure whether I like it or not. I used a Stampbord ATC as my base which I coloured with alcohol inks, I used stream, red pepper and either raisin or cranberry, I can remember which! I then used another of my new Tim Holtz collage stamps which I stamped in blue Stazon ink, I then clear embossed the entire ATC a few times. I'm definately in two minds about this one.

Sunday Stampers Challenge-Week 11

2008-04-07T20:42:00.004+01:00

This weeks theme for the Sunday Stampers challenge is A Ticket to Ride, so basically any form of transport. So I merrily got out my new Tim Holtz collage stamps and set to work. I used a Stampbord ATC which i coloured with alcohol inks, I used pitch black, slate and mushroom with a touch of pearl mixative but as you see the finished result went a bit green! I stamped my image with a black Stazon pad and then inked the entire ATC up with Versamark ink and added a few layers of clear embossing powder, I then edged with a silver Krylon pen. It's totally different to what I usually do but I don't think it's turned out too badly.

It's Here in black And White

2008-04-07T20:30:00.005+01:00

Here are a couple of examples of the fat book pages I've made for the black and white list on Craftswap. The first page was made by stamping a flourish stamp from Dimensions Fourth

onto white hammered card, I then clear embossed the image. I added the wording with my Dymo then popped on a few clear adhesive stones. The second page has a Hampton Arts face stamped onto the hammered card then the word art stamped and clear embossed, I finished the page off with some Prima flowers in the corner. Both pages were stamped with black Versafine ink pads. They're simple which i think works well for this list.

She's a Lady

2008-04-07T20:08:00.005+01:00

This is one of the pages I made for the ladies fat book list on Craftswap, I stamped my Hero Arts lady in Versafine vintage sepia onto some cream hammered card and matted it onto some cream/bronze checked paper then popped it all onto a cream hammered card page. I added some Prima flowers that I attached with brads as I love Prima, they're just so useful. All my pages were made in the same way for this list but I used a few different Hero Arts ladies on them.

Hey Mona!

2008-04-05T21:10:00.005+01:00

Well I've impressed myself with this one, I think it's definately one of my better attempts at an inky project. This is for this weeks Sunday Stamper challenge, the theme is green. I inked a plain white card with Adirondack ink pads in lettuce and meadow and smudged the colours in with a baby wipe. I the used a green Versafine inkpad to stamp Mona and the creativity saying. I then cut a piece of acetate to fit the front of the card and coloured it with alcohol inks in meadow, lettuce, oregano and a touch of silver. I used the green Versafine pad to add my final Tim Holtz stamp onto the acetate and clear embossed the image. I attached the acetate with two green brads. I really like the effect.

Party on

2008-04-05T21:04:00.002+01:00

Last weeks theme for The Sunday Stampers challenge was party hats, I used my new Sugar Nellie stamp which I coloured in with Sakura pens, I stamped a party hat and coloured that in too then matted it all onto a flower embossed card, it's simple but I quite like it.

Food Glorious Food

2008-03-21T09:59:00.005Z

This week I was asked to set the theme for the fat book challenge and seeing as this will be a weekend of over indulgence I decided on using food as the theme. Mine are both really simple, the first on I used spotty paper edged with a spotty ribbon, drew a cupcake on the paper and coloured it in with my Sakura Glaze pens and added my wording with the Dymo.

The second I used an image cut out of a food magaizine as my main feature, added some K&Co Neopolitan stripe paper and some omre spotty ribbon, the words are simply peel off stickers and I added a few pink and chocolate coloured brads to make the background a bit spottier.

Ladette To Lady

2008-03-16T22:48:00.003Z

I joined in The Sunday Stampers challenge for the first time today, the theme is Laydees so I decided to use my new lady stamps and went all out and dug out my Stampbord ATCs. The ladette ATC I wanted to look a bit rough around the edges unfortunately it was a bit rougher than I intended. The background is a little too dark and I think I singed my embossing powder!! However I'm really pleased with my Lady ATC it's much softer. On both ATCs I used Gold mixative and Caramel, Ginger and Latte alcohol inks to colour the stampbord and edged them with a Pale Gold Krylon pen. I stamped the Rubber Stampede images with a Vintage Sepia Versafine inkpad and clear embossed, they both had Dymo words added and the Lady ATC was finished off with a red Sakura Glaze pen. I loved this challenge and hope to join in more in the future.

Across The Counter Swap

2008-03-16T22:37:00.007Z

At my local craft shop, The Craft Room, a few of us decided we'd like to swap ATCs. We call ourselves Across The Counter and have a different theme each month. This month's was butterflies so I've had a play with my new flower stamp and an old butterfly one. I inked the images in black Versafine and coloured them in with my Sakura Glaze pens (can't believe I've never used them before now) and inked round the edges with a pink Brilliance ink pad. It's simple but I quite like it.

Easter Fat Book Challenge

2008-03-16T17:29:00.007Z

As well as the ATC challenge I also managed to join in the Fat Book challenge, this fortnight's theme is Easter. I inked my page with a Brilliance sunflower yellow ink pad, I then stamped my chick and flower, they are from Imaginisce, they are very inexpensive but I did struggle to get a perfect image with them, however once they're coloured in they look great. I used my Sakura Glaze pens to colour the images and am really pleased with the result.

I also used my new stamps to make some ATCs for Lesley's 3 for 3 stamped ATC swap. On this ATC I used my glitter Sakura pens. I've never used Sakura pens before and I was really impressed. I made another 2 versions of this ATC using the Glaze pens and also the Souffle pens.

Florrie's Challenge Week 99

2008-03-16T17:24:00.004Z

Well for the first time in ages I joined in Florrie's ATC Challenge, the theme this week is purple so I dug out my purple versafine inkpad and got to work. I used my lady in a hat stamp added a Prima flower, inked the edges of the ATC and decorated with purple sticky ribbon and some purple adhesive gems. Hey presto!

It's been a while

2008-03-13T20:46:00.002Z

I've not updated my blog in ages although I have been busy crafting. Unfortunately I've managed to lose my new digital camera and now my scanner has stopped working too so I can't add any new images, it's a real pain but hopefully I can fix my scanner soon, as for the camera I continue to search high and low!

90th Birthday Book

2008-01-17T21:03:00.001Z

My Mum asked if I could make her friend Georgie a 90th birthday card and after seeing the book I'd made then decided that was what she wanted instead, because obviously I can knock them up in a flash! It's very similar to my previous book but this time I used my Hannah papers by K-Ology, I also rooted out all my Hannah stickers to compliment and finally got round to using some bits from the K&Co TSV that QVC had ages ago.

For my front cover I used a chipboard letters and greeting from the TSV kit and also some Prima Christmas flowers attached with a brad. On the inside cover I used my Crafty Individuals hope stamp just because I love it and on the first page I popped a tag on from the TSV kit, the super useful Hannah chipboard letter and used a Dawn Bibby flower stamp with an adhesive stone in the middle.

I used my velacetate quotes, Hero Arts etched flower stamp, Dawn Bibby stamp and Hannah words stickers on these pages as well as my chipboard letters.

I've used my dragonfly brads again, also some adhesive stones but otherwise it's all pretty much K-Ology stuff again.

The last page is very similar to my first book with a K&Co quote added from the TSV. The inside of the back cover had a simple die cut added and a flower sticker. On the back cover I thought I'd best make some reference to the fact it was a 90th birthday present and the only numbers I had were peel-offs so I finally managed to use some of my considerable peel-off stash! I added a few ribbons to the binding wires and hey presto it's done. Not sure I like it as much as my first but Mum was really pleased with it and hopefully Georgie will be too :-)

My First Bind-It All Project

2008-01-12T22:23:00.001Z

Well I finally got round to using my BIA and I've been really impressed with the results. My first project was a book for a friend of mine who's birthday I am very late for. I decided to use my K-Ology Addison papers as I has plenty of bits to co-ordinate. For my front cover I added Prima flowers and a chipboard initial.

Inside the front cover I used my Crafty Individuals hope stamp for the first time and used my Dawn Bibby stamps and a velacetate (what an awful word) sentiment on my first page.

For my second page I use an Addison Grand Adhesion and chipboard letter and some of my favourite dragonfly brads. For my third I added more Prima flowers.

For my fourth and fifth pages I used some new stamps I'd bought, as you can see I substituted the R in art for an Addison chipboard letter, and I must say I'm loving my Hero Arts etched flower stamps!

More Dawn Bibby stamps on page 6 and another gorgeous dragonfly brad and then a chipboard flower on page 7 which has been coloured with my Adirondack paint dabbers

My final page has another of the quotes I've been using and also a stunning face stamp which is another new buy of mine. On the inside of the back cover I used a Beach Bum stamp to add a quote from Picasso!

My back cover is similar to my front with another quote used. I'm really pleased with the way this book turned out and I hope the recipient likes it. You may have noticed her name spelt out in the pages of my book! I'd love to hear your comments on my first BIA project and I hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoyed making it xXx

P.S. I apologise if the pictures are in the wrong order or if the page looks a bit wonky but it looked fine on preview and goes belly up when I publish!!!

B is for Bailey

2008-01-05T20:59:00.001Z

I bought some large letters to alter a while ago and I've finally got round to titivating one. First of all I covered the letter with Blonde Moments papers, I then applied embossing powder to all of the edges to camouflage the slightly rough edges. I used some Blonde Moments stamps to decorate the front of the B and also some Blonde Moment buttons and Prima flowers. Down the spine of my letter I used chipboard letters covered in acrylic paint to spell out Bailey's name. I'm really pleased with my first attempt it's just a shame my pictures haven't come out too clearly!

I've discovered if you click on the pictures you see the image in a lot more detail!

Autumn Leaves Are Falling!

2007-10-21T21:18:00.002+01:00

I've finally managed to make something decent using Stampbord which up until now has been an extremely difficult product for me to work with. I used my alcohol inks to colour the perspex ATC and the Stampbord and then stamped using my Lavinia Stamps bare tree. I finished off with a few buttons and added an eyelet using the amazing Crop-A-Dile. Et voila!

Walk like an Egyptian

2007-10-19T23:47:00.002+01:00

I have recently discovered the wonders of Egypt and Tim Holtz's alcohol inks so I thought I'd try them both together. I made this fat book page using Adirondack ink dabbers on the background and added an Egyptian stamped image on alcohol inked gloss paper. For once I was quite impressed with my own efforts!!