The Other Side Of Me

Morning all!  I had planned to go swimming, but it's looking a bit rough out there, so I think I might have to try again tomorrow. I'm popping in to show you a card I made for one of the Card Swap Group members earlier in the month.  I saw something similar on Pinterest (as always!) and decided to make my own version: Just after Christmas I decided to buy some packs of ready made cards in various sizes, and I'm so glad I did because it saves the hassle of having to cut my own from A4 and there's no waste. The bicycle is a stamp I've had for years and truly love.  It comes from Little Claire's Designs.  The butterflies are all from my Stampin Up die,  I have a stack of these in different colours in a drawer. This turned out to be very easy to make, but as usual, quite nerve wracking when you're stamping directly onto the card base, especially when I decided to add the sentiment after I'd attached all the butterflies!   Well I'm off to continue...

I've had very little time to make Christmas cards this year, something I intend to rectify in 2014, but I thoroughly enjoyed making this one for my card swap group recipient for December, Zoe Tant. There is a total mix of products on this card. The card base and the ribbon are from Stampin Up, in Baja Breeze.  The dsp is called Winter Wishes by Echo Park and I absolutely love it.  I had to wait for it to come from America a few years ago and it didn't arrive until the middle of January! I've used the Marianne doily die to cut the white shape behind the jar.  The jar itself is a Sizzix stamp and die set.  I've had it for months and this is it's first outing.  The actual snowman in the jar is from Little Claire's Designs and was the perfect size.  The sentiment and the snow in the jar are from my new magazine Get Stamping.  John has bought me a subscription for this for Christmas, which I am very excited about.  The lid of the jar and the backg...

I can't believe it's been a year since I made the first card for the residents at work, and now I'm back at the beginning again.  This is a card for a lady who is 91!  I was a bit stumped at first, but remembered her love for cats, and knew exactly where to go for what I was looking for.  Here's the card: This is a digi stamp from Little Claire's Designs, and it's very, very sweet.  I printed it out on paper, because of course, the beauty of digi stamps is that you can make it any size you like.  I just started playing and chose grey for the cats and it all came together from there.  The cardstock is basic grey and the paper is an old colour set from Papermania.  It took a while for me to twig that the sentiment is already on there, so I decided to keep it simple and left it at that. Oh yes, one more thing.  I decided to add a dash of another colour and plumped for red.  Then I coloured the fish in red and wondered what on earth I was ...

You may recall me saying in a previous post that I have a thing about bicycles.  Well it's true, and sadly I can prove it!  Check this out:  I saw this card on Pinterest a while ago and immediately recognised the papers, as I have these.  They are Thrift Shop by October Afternoon.  I couldn't resist the opportunity to use some of them up, as I'm on a mission to use up as much dsp as possible this year.  The original card has stitching on the sections, but I felt this didn't really need it as I wanted to keep the focus on the stamped image.  I did like the touch of paper piecing the bike basket though, I've never done that before. I've stamped the bike in Basic Gray ink, just to make it slightly softer and coloured it with a grey Promarker.  I haven't used those for ages, I'd forgotten what fun they are. The cardstock is Very Vanilla, but I've gone over it with my Tim Holtz old paper distress ink. I've popped some black checked ribbon whi...

Good morning everyone!  After the bizaare weather yesterday we have sunshine so I am popping on with a quick post before I go and ride The Boy (more about him in a post coming soon). This year I have decided to make a birthday card for all of my work colleagues as well as the residents, so here is the card I made for Ana: I saw a similar card on Pinterest, by a lady called Cathy ( Maine Mountain Stamper ) and decided to have a go. When I look at a card I want to make the first thing I do is ask myself what it is about the card that appeals to me.  Why do I want to CASE it?  In this 'case' (!) it was the colour combination, which turned out to be Calypso Coral and Pool Party, but I loved the whole 'flowers in a row' thing, and the use of the squares. So my next job is to work out how I can replicate this style, especially if I don't have the stamps or dies used on the original card.  My flowers are from a set by Little Claire Designs, which worked perfe...

I've recently made another card for one of the residents.  She is 91 tomorrow.  This card caused me some problems.  The first problem is that the recipient is blind.  So my first instinct was to just go and buy a musical card.  Except that this lady is also deaf.  So that's no good. So then I thought: She needs a card that's interesting to touch.  So this is what I made: It's a 6x6" white card base.  The second layer is some Pretty In Pink cardstock, embossed using a flowery embossing folder.  Next is a layer of white textured card.  Then there is the top square which is glossy card.  I've embossed the flower (from Little Claire's Designs) in white (kraft) ink, then added white embossing powder and heated it.  Then I've gone over it with Pretty In Pink ink, straight from the little cube.  I am thrilled that it worked.  I added a little smudge of a darker pink in the centre with a sponge dauber. The shape of th...

Hello folks!  We have finally moved in and I am able to start blogging again.  I am thrilled to say I have a craft room, and will show you some photos as soon as it's a little more organised.  I've been playing creating in there this afternoon, and it's been fabulous. But that isn't why I've titled this post 'Blissful'.  It's because that's the title of the stamp I've used on this card: This was given to me by my dear friend Margaret , and it's such a sweet image (from Little Claire Designs).  I've coloured her in So Saffron to match the cardstock, but the dsp is Holly Berry Bouquet by Stampin Up!  It's part of the Christmas papers, but not all of them are very Christmassy, and this one is very versatile, with little bits of Real Red and Wild Wasabi thrown in.  It's so lovely to be able to craft again.  I didn't realise how much it had become an essential part of my life now. I've recently decided to start another bl...

For some reason Fridays always seem to be a good time to get involved with a Christmas card.  Finally I'm able to join in with a challenge I've followed for a little while.  It's at Lesley Croghan's blog called Always Playing With Paper where she gives us a new sketch each week.  This is the latest one: After a great deal of planning with regard to size and dimension, this is my card entry: I've had this stamp for quite a while now.  She was packaged as a birthday stamp, but she suits Christmas so well.  The colours, cardstock and dsp are all SU.  The Chocolate Chip piece has been embossed with a snowflake embossing folder and then punched along the bottom with a scallop punch.  I had a dither with placement of the sentiment as I didn't want to cover the robin up, he's so sweet.  The card base is only C6 and it's made it a really sweet little card, like a little package, you almost want to use it as a cover for a bag of sweets or somet...

Hello blog friends!  Is it still freezing where you are?  It's really cold here and we still have some snow, but hubby hasn't had any problems driving to work, which means I'll be able to get to craft group tonight, thank goodness.  Is it wrong to be so excited about something like that?! So let me tell you what happened last week.  Over on the Little Claire Designs blog, they've showcased their latest stamp release, and very nice they are too, all very 'summer in the garden' (something I think we're all looking forward to!) All you had to do was leave a comment on the stamp of the day to be in with a chance of being picked to win the stamp.  And guess what?  I won!  There were 61 comments on the day I was picked, so I was thrilled, as you can imagine. The moment the stamp arrived, I inked it up and had a play, then yesterday made what I am sure will be the first of many cards with this beautiful stamp: When I get a new stamp I stamp it into my ske...

I have actually made a couple of Christmas cards, but this is the first chance I've had to post one on here.  I have found a couple of challenge blogs to keep me motivated throughout the year. The first one is the ABC Christmas Challenge .  They set a new challenge every two weeks, so by the end of the year I'll have quite a batch of cards ready for various people. The challenge this time round is to use Bears and some other things beginning with B.  So here's my card: I've used this cute James the Bear image from LOTV.  I didn't use him at all for the Christmas just gone, so it's been nice to have him out and about!  I think he really suits pale colours like lilac and blue, so this is the first time I've done him in traditional Christmas colours, and I think I've pulled it off because it goes so well with the backing paper.  The other 'B's I've used are 'bling' for his hat, which I've glittered, and 'buttons' as you ca...

Happy New Year, everyone!  I hope you're all coping with this windy weather.  It's been horrendous here, with the roof of the horses' field shelter hanging off! Anyway, something quite exciting to tell you, that revolves around this card: I made this for my friend Michelle, as I know she loves lilac and purple and thought it went really well with this stamp called Cold Crisp Kisses from Little Claire Designs .  It's beautiful to colour in, it fascinated me in all sorts of colours.  The sentiment is from Little Claire's, too. Then, on the Little Claire's blog, just before Christmas, they asked for people to send in cards they'd made using LC stamps, so I sent in this one and this one: I got some lovely comments on their blog, and then, to top it all, yesterday I read that they are going to give a prize to everyone whose cards were shown, so I get to pick a stamp!  What a great way to start the New Year.  I am so thrilled.  I've actually had a look...

Hi there!  I've decided to make this my last  post before Christmas, as the chores are mounting up and, frankly, if I don't do them, no one else will!  This is the card I sent to my dear friend Margaret .  I just think the sweet simplicity of it sums up the true meaning of Christmas. (And I hope she liked it!) I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all the joy of the season, and to thank you so much for all the kind and uplifting comments that you've left me this year - they've meant a great deal.  The friendship of the crafting community in blogland has become very special to me. Watch this space, though, as I will be back some time between Christmas and the New Year, to do a little awards ceremony of my very own.  See you then. Best wishes, everyone! Jane xx

When it comes to cardmaking, I'm not really a glitter girl at heart.  I have a lot of glitter card but I haven't ever used it.  Then all of a sudden, this happened! All of last year I wanted a snowflake die, and now I've finally got one, and I'm having a lot of fun with it.  I've also used my new holly leaf punch on here and my Nellie Snellen leaf punch, which cuts out the really delicate leaves you see here.  I stamped the sentiment in the middle in Marina Mist ink and then added the snowman that I'd actually made for a different card but ended up not using it.  I popped him on here and decided he looked right at home. Some of the snowflakes are just plain card, but on others I've added either embossing powder or glamour dust  and it's that contrast that seems to make the card quite pretty.  It's appropriate as we've had snow here this week.  Well I am off to completely rearrange my sitting room, as we have just co...

After a great deal of dithering, I have finally made a card for my BFF.  I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this, which is a good job, as I definitely don't want her to see this before I send it. When I'm making a card that I know will have to be posted, I tend to be a bit cautious, so I love an opportunity to make a card for someone I know I'm going to hand over in person and so can be a bit more lavish.  I'm prepared to go OTT and make a box for it if it doesn't fit in an envelope.  I was surprised to find this easily fits in, though. If you're going to make one of these, you'll need two 6x6" card blanks.  Cut the tops off the outside flaps diagonally and stick the card backs together, one inside the other.  Cover the two triangular sections with your chosen DSP and a border using your favourite border punch, then stick one down on top of the other.  Stamp your image and back it with a scalloped border (square works just as well as round) and s...

Good afternoon blog friends!  How cheerful am I, considering I have raging toothache?!  I am going to have to phone the dentist as soon as I've done this, which is not something I'm looking forward to.  Maybe I'll linger in blogland a while first! Anyway, I did say yesterday that I had a card to show you that was very quick to make.  As soon as you see it, you'll see why! I was gazing lovingly at the Less Is More challenge this week, which is to use silhouettes, when I realised I had this stamp (from Little Claire Designs) and hadn't even used it yet.  I am so excited to be able to enter a card on my favourite challenge blog! I've used the Labels 1 die from Nestabilities to cut the shape and stamp the image on it, then drew round the die on the red card to make the frame.  I do appreciate the irony of buying a set of dies only to draw round one and cut it out by hand, but it's a really easy shape to cut neatly and well worth the effort.  Although ...

Helloooo! Hope you are all well.  It's been an extremely busy week and will be now throughout the winter as the horses are in at night, which makes a lot more work for me.  I won't be making a card a day like I have through the summer, it'll only be 2 or 3 cards a week now, especially with no craft class either for the next few weeks. BUT I have made a card for this week's Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge , which has a lovely sketch for us to use.  Here is my card: You probably all know this image called 'Dropping The Shopping' by LOTV.  I saw it in a magazine last Christmas and absolutely fell in love with it.  The papers are Henbury Lane and the sentiment is by Little Claire's Designs.  I've added glitter to the little girl's hat and coat, and used white embossing powder at their feet, which I find perfect for snow.  I tried some fluffy stuff last year but didn't get on very well with it at all.  Embossing powder really does the trick for m...

I really liked the sketch over at Sketch Saturday this week, and again I've decided to use it to get a Christmas card done.  Here we are: The sketch is quite unusual and I really had to think about how to do the bit in the middle that's in red.  In the end I cut it out with a little tiny join in the middle which you can't see as it's under the stamped image.  I followed the sketch very closely and instead of getting things ready beforehand I just decided to go with the flow.  Each time I saw an element on the sketch I decided to add something to my card to represent it, hence the snowflakes and the two little tags with stockings stamped on.  I just felt it worked really well that the little girl is looking at a robin and the backing papers have robins on.  My favourite bit was making the snowflakes.  I wiped a Versamark ink pad all over a big section of card, then sprinkled white embossing powder all over it.  I heated the powder until it set, ...

Hello folks!  It feels truly bizzare to be making Christmas cards in this last bit of heat, but needs must.  Here is a card I've been working on for some friends at church: This little image (from Little Claire Designs) is going to be perfect for all my church cards this year.  I'm challenging myself to see how many different ways I can use it.  I do love an opportunity to get the embossing gun out and I was curious to see what this would look like without being coloured in.  I'm very pleased with the result.  Working from the base upwards, I've used kraft card, which you can't see until you open it, then a sheet of dark blue from a set which has something to do with Forever Friends, but I can't remember the name of it.  Next I've taken some white card stock and stamped on it with the music stamp from LOTV in green ink.  Then I've torn the sheet with the holly on at an angle in two corners and stuck that on, and finished off with the stampe...

I've been busy, peeps.  (I'm sure you have, too!)  I am keeping on with the Christmas cards, here's the latest: I've often seen cards like this and have really wanted to have a go.  Then, earlier in the week I found a template on a fabulous blog here .  Thanks so much, Connie Babbert.  Don't be alarmed if you make it and think it's really small, as it's only 4 1/2 inches across the bottom.  Connie's card looks big in her photo.  You'll need to look at her photo to work out which are valley and which are mountain folds.  I played about with it on a piece of scrap paper first, just to make sure I'd got it right.  It's a lot easier than you think.  The permutations are endless.  You can use a tall, slim stamp or just use the rectangular section to put a topper in any shape you like, as I've done here with the snowman on an oval base.  You could put a narrow sentiment all the way along the bottom, you could put a tag in the...

Hello there!  Isn't it windy?  We are certainly feeling the side effects of Hurricane Katia here!  It's the perfect opportunity to batten down the hatches, grab a stash of coffee and biscuits and huddle up at the crafting table.  Here's what I've been working on: This card makes me realise how far I've come, as it was last Christmas that I really started to get to grips with card making and started to understand what could be done.  But I didn't have kraft card back then, I didn't have this stamp and I didn't even have my Bigshot so I couldn't have cut out the circles with the letters on.  But one year later, I am able to put a card like this together, completely from my own imagination, and I am thrilled! I started out with the red/green/brown colour combo in my head, which was something I fell in love with last year.  The reindeer is by Little Claire's Designs and I love him.  I bought him at the Summer Crafting event I went to and have been ...