White Flowers

Hi Everyone
I'm back from my trip to London and what a fab time we had.  We went to the NTA's on Wednesday night, to the Ivy for dinner on Thursday night were we bumped into Ronnie wood as we were coming out.  The meal was gorgeous and I'll add my picture below of Ronnie too.  For someone who has been as famous for so long he was soooo lovely.  He stopped and talked to us and even put his arm around me for the picture.  Then Friday we did some sight seeing and shopping, had dinner in the hotel and just chilled out.

So although i have had a fab time i have been having withdrawal symptoms from crafting and so have been busy all day.  This is the only card i can share with you as the others are top secret but i can tell you i have been having fun.  So i decided to have another go at using my new brayer and found a stamp i hadn't even inked up as yet and i know i have had it since at least 2009.  Rather than do black stamping over the top i thought i would used my white embossing powder and see what effect it had when brayered over the top.  This is my result and i really like it.

I've just randomly stamped the flowers, used my versamark ink pad and then white sea foam embossing powder.  I've then brayered with Citrus green and Pool adirondack ink and finished with some green ribbon and some perfectly matching centrua pearl card to mat and layer. I've then kept the sentiment simple and embossed in silver.

Here is my picture below of me and Ronnie and although i took my camera into the NTA's i had difficulty using my sons new camera and none turned out at all, which was very frustrating as last time i had my own camera and managed to achieve quite a few good pictures of the celebs.  Although i have taken a photo from my iphone which I've added below too.

I think i look a bit shell shocked!

Hope you like my photos.

Louise xx

My Tummy Tickles

Hi Everyone

Here's the last of my cards from the recent valentines set from Crafters companion.  Don't forget there is still time to enter, just go over to their news and inspiration blog and follow the instructions.

Brown and pink is a favourite combination of mine so i thought i would repeat it again with this card.  Coloured with speeccies and using the papers from the SWALK CD ROM.

I love colouring in these cute images.  I don't think i will ever tire of them. However yesterday i went back to tesco's to purchase some more of the fab picture frames i bought that i used in my strawberry kisses sample and they don't have them anymore.  I was all set for a massive decoupage session with lots of different stamped images to make some more and swalk are perfect as there is not much detail in them.  Don't know where to look now as ikeas did not have a space between the glass and the place you would put your picture and neither did sainisburys.  Still got asda, m&S and morrisons to go. I'm gutted they were perfect and so cheap.

Hope you like.

Louise xx  

Spring is Back

Hi Everyone

Another Sarah Kay card from me today and this the second one i have coloured for the first time within a week.  I love this image and i really love the way it has turned out.  I've used my speccies  as usual and i thought i would be able to match in some papers from the strawberry kisses CD ROM for crafters companion and i was right.  I have chosen a large checked paper and have lightened it by using the colouriser and then a patterned daisy background paper to contrast.  I love the finished card.  No flowers no ribbons just a sentiment and a few gems.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Thank Heavens for littles girls, and boys.

Hi Everyone

Last week i spent a very productive night with the lovely Claire Lesley Hamer having a crafty night in.  She also cooked me a lovely tea and I'm actually surprised we even got anything done at all.  We usually plan to and then just sit and chat.  However last Monday i got the chance to play with some of her gorgeous papertrey ink ink stamps that she brought back from her recent trip to the US of A.  The stamps and dies don't look very much to begin with just have a look at some of their finished samples and you can see just what you can do with these little stamps sets.  I've copied a link to one area of their ideas gallery but be warned you may regret looking at them as they are fab.   To look at the ideas for each stamp set just go into the stamps and select the range you want to look at and in each set there will be a link to the ideas gallery.  It kept me occupied for hours. They have stamps and dies to match in lots of lovely cute sets.  The sentiments are also fab and i loved using them.

The one above i made and we really just sort of copied from their design team blog but i just loved the simplicity of this card.  Claire managed to make 4 in between tea and chatting and i finished none.  However it wouldn't have taken much more time as i had all the bits prepared and just had to stick them together.  so i've  finished them now and i made boy cards and Claire made the girls.  I talked her into giving me a girl card which i have added below.

Hope you like them both.

Louise xx

Starwberry Kisses - Oh Boy

Hi Everyone

Here's my last DT sample card for the recent Strawberry Kisses range.  I loved working with these and will be making some more cards with them again soon.  However i must put them away for a while as the DT has now lots more items to concentrate on for upcoming shows. I'm soo excited i can't wait to get my hands on the crafty stuff that is winging its way to me.

Coloured in with speccies and using the SK CD ROM with fab papers all the way through.  I'm going to finish a Sarah Kay card i started last week today and I'm sure there will be some checked paper i can use from this CD it's just so versatile.

How cute does pup look with his head turned over one shoulder.  mmmm and very relevant as i need to start and think about packing my own suitcase for my trip to London.  Kevin and i are due to get the 10.40am train to kings cross today and have seats booked at the O2 for the National TV awards tonight with Dermot O'Leary.  If you are watching just remember I'll be sitting in the audience.  I went last year with Grace and she loved it.  She was very disappointed when i said i was taking Grandad instead. i'll maybe take her next time.

While I'm away i have prepared some blogs posts in my drafts so you will still be seeing my cards and if i have any exciting photos to post of my trip i will add them here later but will keep you updated on facebook if i can.  I'm soooooooo excited.

hope you like it.

Louise xx

A Little Kiss

Hi Everyone

Well i thought i was going to have a whole day crafting today but looks like i won't :-(.  I never finished my college work yesterday so have been busy with it this morning but just need a quick 10 break as i am bored stiff with it.

So to cheer me up I thought i would share one of the cards i made for last weeks shows with Sara in C&C.  This card was posted onto the Crafters Companion news blog along with Gemmas as we are both on the DT.

Coloured with speccies and using the the background papers form the swalk cd rom 2.  can you spot the not so deliberate mistake?  i have a habit of getting carried away and i was so careful to ensure all the 3 pieces of background paper went up the right way and i was so pleased with my self that i did it.  However when it came to adding the picture and embellishments i got carried away and stuck them on the wrong way and now the paper is now upside down.  i wonder how many people noticed that when it was shown on the TV?

sorry about the shadows in the picture, i had taking photos at night.

Hope you like it and i may be back with another post later on.  Ok back to the grindstone!

Louise xx

A Fairy Card

Hi Everyone

Well here is my first attempt at brayering with the lovely bits and bobs i picked up from rainton meadows yesterday.  As it was my first time i really just copied what the guy showed us on the stand, as soon as my confidence is built up i will be a bit more adventurous i hope.

I have used a white linen card blank made using my ultimate pro,  black centura pearl to matt and layer and i have sprayed with spray and sparkle iridescent.  I was deliberating what to add after that but decided against ribbons, gems and  a butterfly and went with a plain sentiment. However the sentiment is from the fairyopolis rub ons kit and i love these they are soooo plain and simple but very effective.  I've just checked the webiste out and they are on sale too at £3.49, bargain!

The lavinia stamps i used are as follows, small stars, 3 small dancing fairies and dandeliions.  The inks are adirondack in eggplant and denim for mine and grace used citrus and pool. You can buy these all over the place so just find the cheapest.

If you get time also take a peek at Gracies as hers is amazing for and 8 year old.

I do love this type of card and i will definitely be making some more.  Ok i thought i was going to play all day today but i have some bills to pay and also some homework to do so will maybe get a whole day tomorrow as weds i am off to London.

Hope you like it.

Louise

Humphrey Valentine card

Hi Everyone

Well Humphrey is in the pink today.  I have used my speccies to colour, my ultimate pro to make the pop out card and my eCraft for the daisy's in pots on the front.

A very quick post form me i know but i have finally given in to the temptationof buying a brayer and some Lavinia stamps.  Grace and I went to Rainton Meadow Arena Craft Show this morning and she loved the demos using the brayer.  So we bought some, of course i just had to get a few stamps as well.  So i may be able to show your our first samples later on.

And i am so excited cos no work tomorrow I'm on annual leave for a week.  Yahoooooooooooo!!!!!!!

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Share the Love and Win - Humphrey

Hi Everyone

Today's card is another Humphrey's corners stamp that Sara took to Create & Craft yesterday, i hope you watched the shows.  Today she is on with the fab new Clever Cut Maxi which was at 50% sold out when i last watched this morning.  I think she is demoing it again at 4 and then its planned for the tool shed tomorrow.  Will it last?  Not sure.

Anyway there is still time for you to enter the Share the Love competition on Crafters Companion News Blog.  You need to make a valentines themed card and follow the instructions.  £25 is the prize and it doesn't close until the 29th Jan.

 Today i have chosen the Best of Friends stamp and used some fab backing paper from the Humphrey's Corner Crafting Selection CD ROM.  I have used this 2 CD pack loads of times before and i had never even seen this paper.  Sometimes you focus on the ones you see immediately and catch your eye without really looking at the ones that done.  I have plans for tining this down and maybe using on another wedding card i have been asked to make.

I've used my spectrum noir pens to colour the image and then just added a sentiment form another Humphrey stamp set, then finished off with some ribbon and a few pearls.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Crafters Companion Competition

Hi Everyone

What exciting news for you today!  Pop along to the Crafters Companion blog and take a peek at the competition Meg is launching today.  All you have to do is make a valentines card with Crafters companion products and post it on your blog, then using mr linky on the crafters companion blog page, link back to your blog.  The prize is £25 to spend on the crafters companion website.  Just think what you can buy with that!

Also, dont forget to watch Sara on creat and craft on Friday, show times are 1, 4 and 6pm.  Sara will have special sets available in both SWALK and the humphrey  ranges.

So in preparation i have too been making valentines cards and heres my second one below.

i love pink and green and i love the wording on this image, 'you are my sunshine' .  How happy i would be if i received a card with this sentiment?  It'll never happen though.  Not even a bought one, poor me................

The image is coloured with speccies and i have used some of the left over paper from the cd to make some paper roses and coredinations for the leaves.

 Dont forget to pop over to crafters companion, what have you got to lose and the comeptition doesn't close until  the 29th January so you have pleanty of time.

Hope you like it .

Louise

Valentines Day

Hi Everyone

valentines day is fast approaching and Sara from Crafters Companion will be on create and craft this Friday with special offers on products that could be used for that special someone in your life.  I've added a card below, although i do know that lovely Meg from CC is also going to be running a competition through their blog so watch out as the lucky winner could be you, but only if you enter.

I think you know by now sometimes i like reasonably plain cards and as my last one had lots of Flowers I've gone back to what i know best and reasonably plain and simple.

Coloured with spectrum noirs.

Hope you like it

Louise xx

Sarah Kay

Hi Everyone

Well i was determined to fit a blog in today and i know its late but here it is.  Again this is a stamp i have never used before and i bought it about 5 months ago so i thought i better get round to it.  Its also my first Sarah Kay image coloured and used for a card.

I cant wait for the light nights again this picture is so dark.  Coloured with speccies and k&co paper i think, that I again bought months ago and have being saving it.  The memory box dies i bought at the NEC in Birmingham and its the first time i have used them.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

So Sweet

Hi Everyone

Its nearly a week since i have blogged, how can that have happened?  I've been so busy with work that i really haven't had the energy to come in and start making cards last week.  I think i needed to recharge my batteries.

Then today just as i had some inspiration my PC crashed and i had to start from factory settings so i have lost loads of my stuff.  Never mind i'll just build all my photos back up again and some are on facebook and some on my blog so its ok.

Today i have thought about making a card using my e-craft and i was watching Dawn Bibbys launch of her new range just recently and thought i would like to make an arch shaped card with a fence so i gave it a go today.

The card blank, the aperture, the frames, the grass, the fence and the flowers are all cut with the ecraft.  And i even cut some small clouds out and created a very subtle background of the sky with chalks.  I made the card by welding a circle and square together to get the card shape and then just copied another one and welded those two together. All of the flowers and leaves are on the fundamentals one SD card and the image is lotv and coloured with speccies.

  I bought this stamp at the NEC in November and hadn't even got round to using it yet so thought it was about time. 

The files SVG for the fence, grass and clouds are all from Birds cards but i am having problems with my pc at the minute and it won't go onto her blog so i will have to try again tomorrow.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Strawberry Kisses - Party Invite

Hi Everyone

Well i have recovered from yesterday's demo at Frankies Crafty Touch, Darlington.  What a fab time we all had and many laughs along the way at my expense.  However i have reflected on it since and realise that some really good tips and pointers came out of my bloopers.  I will share one in detail but the others were really just minor hic ups.

Frankie had just received her order of spectrum noirs so i had taken my set along to do some colouring and blending and give lots of tips to be able to achieve really good results.  I started by explaining about the pens, which ink to stamp with and of course which paper is best to use.  So i covered all of the points around using neenah card, ie not wasting your valuable speccy inks, no bleeding across lines and also the blending you can achieve and how it is so different to normal plain white card.  So i stamped an image using rockablocks (and i must say yesterday i was the queen of rockablocks) i stamped loads of images and all of them perfect.  I had 3 ladies also try them out, 1 of which had used them before and not achieved a good result.  So i talked the technique through to get the best result.  All 3 ladies stamped a perfect image each time and they were amazed as was everyone else.  

Then it all went wrong.  I continued to colour and blend (and i did think something was amiss) but i carried on thinking it'll be ok.  Showing everyone the blending and 'how good' the pens are and then passing the image round for everyone to agree. However Debbie Clough who is experienced in using neenah noticed how the colour hadn't come through to the back when i lifted the image up.  Then the penny dropped.  I had mixed up my neenah card with plain card and not noticed the difference.

However what was really good was then i could colour on the neenah and really show the difference in the two.  The blending was different and the pens weren't dragging on the paper.  What a dingbat i am!  Anyway it was a really good learning point for everyone (including me about making sure my prep is done right so i don't get mixed up).  You might have even thought i had planned it to show the difference but anyone who was there would know that i was gobsmacked so i could never had planned it and the look on my face would have given the game away immediately.  I really thought be safe i had only packed neenah but some plain pieces of white card were mixed up in my centura pearl for demoing the ultimate pro.

Ok onto my next sample, this is strawberry kisses and the party girl image.  These are still currently the pick of the week on Create and Craft so pop along to take a look before they sell out and watch the demo's.  If you are a member of the Crafters Companion website then you can purchase them from there too.  And anyone can join at any time.  Isn't Louise McLean doing fab on her debut on Create & Craft.  I missed her yesterday but i caught the show this morning and the ecraft shows on tool shed.  Its doing well again!  I decided to make an invitation using the background papers from the CD ROM.  Of course the image is coloured with Spectrum Noirs onto Neenah Card.

As you can see i have made it out to Leann for next years new years eve party at my house, but I'm not really having one, it was just for effect.  I have used a square piece of card and used my enveloper on my ultimate pro to make the invite.  it is just a 5" square envelope but not taped up. The inside is blank but I'm wishing now i had printed the card on both sides and then there wouldn't be all that white showing, however it still looked ok.

The seal is made from one of the embellishments from the CD to match this image and finishes it off perfect and then just a piece of ribbon to keep it closed.

I then made a separate smaller card and envelope for the RSVP to send back.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Strawberry Kisses - Little miss

Hi Everyone

Have you been watching then?  Well i managed to watch 3/4 of the first show while i was at work.  I took a long lunch and watched on the internet and i loved it.  The cards look fab don't they?

Here's another one of my cards that i have made and i really do like purple and green.

I love little snow. she is adorable.

Need to get ready for my demo in the morning now so another quick post and Gracie is here wanting to colour in snow in the teacup so she has just used the rockablock by herself and inked the stamp up and stamped the image following my instructions.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Strawbery Kisses - Yum

Hi Everyone

Well i have just found out the name of the dog and cat in the strawberry kisses range, kitty is snow and the dog is Pup. how cute.  So this is pup sitting relaxing next to his sundae glass.  So i have changed the sentiment and used relax instead.  This is cut and printed from my ecraft.

i have also cut the frames suing my ecraft as well and i think it was from laina lamb office essentials.  I used it on the ecraft software and was able to manipulate the images to cut a larger and smaller one to make a frame. The tag is also from the same card. I really do get a lot of use from this one.  Again coloured with speccies but didn't make a note of colours sorry.

Okay  a very quick post again, but at least i got in from work at a reasonable time but now have some bills to pay, the Christmas credit card shopping bill just came through the letter box. 

 Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Strawberry Kisses - Together Forever

hi Everyone

Just a really quick post from me tonight as I've just got back home from work and dropping my samples off at Leann's house for the pick of the week shows.   

H

Coloured with speccies and i have used a free svg file and used my e-craft again.  This if from Birds cards blog and she has loads of lovely files for free.  I have only used the one on the card above but i can see there are lots more i will use in the future.  Frames, picket fence, flowers, tags, borders etc etc.

Ok blog done, i need to go and get my tea lovely Kevin has prepared for me.  Pasta!  love it.

Hope you like it.

Louise

Strawberry Kisses - You and Me Babe

Hi Everyone
Well I'm all set to spend another day crafting and I'm so please I arranged an extra days annual leave from work as it is awful outside.  As Ali Watson would say it's blowing a hooley! (i think that's how you spell it?)

Today i have another sneak peek of the Strawberry kisses range from Crafters Companion.  I thought this image and sentiment would perfectly suit a valentines card.  After i finished i showed it to Kevin and said would you like this for a valentines card and he just looked at me as if I'm mad.  We will have been married for 30 years in June this year and as a lot of my family and friends will know we do not do the romance thing very well (but that suits us both so its fine).  So i didn't expect anything other really.

I've used coloured with Spectrum Noir pens and used coredinations to mat with papers from the Strawberry Kisses CD ROM.  I've coloured the image with spectrum noirs and I've also used my e-craft again for the apertures, fundamentals 1 SD card that comes with the machine.  I had 3 heart apertures to make , in the card stock,  the red card and then the patterned paper.  So i just used the same size image on all 3 and then to finish off inside a cut a heart frame to tidy the edges up and then used the heart cut out to mat the image onto.  To enable me to get the heart apertures in exactly the right place i used the collal all purpose glue which has all of the properties of photo glue but is permanent.  So if you get the glue onto the front of the card it rubs away and you have a certain amount of time to move your card around to get it in the right place.

The flowers on the front are form the fundamentals 2 sd card and as they cut all in one go they were so quick to do. Securely glued into place using collal 3d glue gel  The speccies used are :

Reds CR11 (11), Pink PP1 (196) Collar, TB3 (183) & TB1 (185) Dog & Cat EB1 (109) EB2 (169 & IG1 (CG0.5).

Watch out for the shows on Friday on Create & Craft as Leann is there with the launch shows for the Pick of the Week.  I'm so excited.  I can't wait to see all of the cards and creations all together.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Strawberry Kisses Sneak Peek - Oh Boy

Hi Everyone

Ok, I'm sharing another crafty make with you today from the fab new Strawberry Kisses range from Crafters Companion.  This time i have done something slightly different again and made a box using my boxer board and the Oh Boy image.

Well you might say what's different about a box but its got something inside.

If Grace had still been a few years younger she would have loved that i could have made her a jigsaw.  However as she is 8 and growing up fast she has just completed a globe jigsaw with really small pieces for 10 year olds in record speed on boxing day.  So i know she would love this but it would only take her a couple of minutes.   I bought the blank Jigsaws on line.

I didn't use the sentiment from the set as i wanted to keep it quite simple.  However once again my e-craft has come in handy as i have cut the stars out using the fundamentals 1 sd card.  Also used my spectrum noir pens , colours below.
greens,  JG1 (55), CG4 (47),  (59)
yellows CT1 (38), CT3 (37), CT2 (45), GB5 (33)
Dog IG3 (CG2), IG2 (Cg1), IG1 (CG0.5), EB2 (169) & PP1 (196)

So quick and easy to colour!!!!

There's still time to enter the competition from Crafters companion by hopping over their blog .  It'll be drawn on Friday 6th Jan so be quick!!!.

Hope you like it.

Louise xx

Crafters Companion Blog Hop - Strawberry Kisses

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year to you all.

Crafters Companion are starting the  New Year with a bang, launching the first of a new range, with artwork designed by the creator of Humphrey's Corner - Sally Hunter.  The Strawberry Kisses range (including twelve stamps and a co-ordinating CD-ROM) will be the Pick of the Week on Create and Craft from Midday on Friday 6th January!

To celebrate the launch, Crafter's Companion have organised an inspiration 'hop' around some of the 

Design Team's blogs! If you have landed here from Pam's blog then you are hopping in 

the right direction. If not then you can pop over to the Crafters Companion News Blog to start at the 
beginning. To continue the inspiration hop, you need to head over to Gemma's blog.Everyone on

the Design Team had so much fun creating with this new stamp range from Crafter’s Companion and 

to celebrate the launch of these stunning new collections on Friday 6th January Crafter's Companion

are also giving you the chance to win:All twelve new Strawberry Kisses stamps and a co-ordinating

paper crafting CD-ROM! All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning this great prize is visit

the Crafter’s Companion News Views and Inspiration Blog to leave a comment about the range. 

On Friday January 6th, Crafter's Companion will pick one comment at random, to win the prize.
Keep popping back each day this week to see more sneak peeks! 

I've added my fave creation so far below and its the kitten in a flower pot.  Ratgher than make

another card i thought i would do something different.  Coloured in using my speccies and

I've used my ecraft for the oval matting and layering.  The photo frame was very cheap from 

Tescos and i know i will be making more of these.  I've paper pieced the image and used collal

3d gel.  Hope you like it.  I've also added below the whole range of stamps artwork so you can see

them all.  I love them. So many uses for them.

Watch out for more sneak peeks during the week.

Louise xx