The Other Side Of Me

I am finally able to pop on with some Christmas cards.  I have been making some every day.  I am NOT going to take such a frantic approach next year and you can hold me to that!  I need about 200 cards a year so I have got  to make some every week next year.  I could easily do it if I gave myself enough time. Anyway, on with the cards: I am finally using up the last of my Holly Berry Bouquet papers, which I must have had for about 3 years.  The colour scheme is real red, wild wasabi (although the ink I've used here is gumball green) cherry cobbler and chocolate chip (with very vanilla obviously!)  I've bought brand new inks recently so I could make lots of cards and the cherry cobbler is stunning to work with.  I kept some silver thread from a gift box earlier in the year knowing I was going to make cards like this with it, so I was very pleased to discover this in my stash. I've used various stamps that I've acquired over the years. ...

So are you doing it?  Huh?   Huh?! Yes I have succumbed to the attraction of December Daily for the first time ever.  Actually I'm throwing myself into it.  I've got my folder, I've got my journaling cards.  Now I just need to take some photos! I'm going to show you the cover, but before I do, I need to tell you I'm not very keen on it, so don't expect a work of art, because you'll be disappointed!! I'm using Simple Stories Cosy Christmas and it's really lovely stuff. The colour scheme is very close to Very Vanilla (used here on the cover), Chocolate Chip, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke, which are the colours I'm using to make my Christmas cards this year, so I ordered some extra cardstock just to be on the safe side. The little postcard is from the Cosy Christmas set and the washi tape is from Hobbycraft, as is the little wooden stag on the post card (wooden embellishments with everything, right?!) I know it's hard to...

Last month I challenged the Card Swap Group to make a card where the wording was the main focus.  This is the card I made for Margaret King at http://makingpapercrafts.blogspot.co.uk/ All the cardstock is Very Vanilla.  I haven't used any of this for ages and had forgotten how beautiful it is, completely different from white.  I cut out the central piece with my framelits dies and held it in place on the base card so I could stamp the wording (from Clarity Stamps) then stuck the top panel in place, raised up on sticky fixers.  The dark ink used throughout is Chocolate Chip. Then I stamped the leaves on some spare pieces of Very Vanilla cs and stamped on them with the Gently Falling stamp set, which I am really in love with.  It's a two step stamp set.  Sometimes I use the stamp-a-ma-jig and sometimes I don't and to be honest, the results are just as good, as it's not something that has to be perfectly lined up to look good. I fussy cut the leaves ...

Hello, sorry I am a bit late with this post, peeps, but April turned out to be a very hectic month, with cardmaking and everything else. Quite early in April I received this fab card from Margaret King, as part of our card swaps: Sorry the photo doesn't do it justice really, you can get a better look at it and see all the details (and the fun Margaret had making it!) here .  She is a very talented crafter and her blog is well worth a perusal.  I love her style, she is the queen of the neutral card! This is a lovely combination of Early Espresso and Pool Party, which I'm definitely going to have to play with very soon.  Thankyou Margaret, it's such a lovely card.   It was also Margaret's birthday in April, so the whole group made her a card.  This is what I came up with: Remember, I'm making this for someone who loves her neutrals, so it was with a sweating brow I pulled this stamp out for the first time.  The stamp is from the Po...

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...

Hello everyone!  It's still a bit nippy, isn't it?  We've had snow all day.  I've been on a course in Nottingham and was worried about getting home, but we've made it. The good thing was, we had a late start so I had a chance to photograph the Valentine card I've made for John while he was out of the house! The other blog challenge I want to keep up with this year is the Cards For Men challenge .  This is challenge no. 3 and they want to see Valentine, Anniversary cards etc, so here is my entry: So many cards on the internet are pink, aren't they?  But as most cards are made by women to give to the important man in their lives, I just wondered if there ought to be more of a focus on masculine cards.  I've seen a few cards like this though, and love this kind of design and just had to have a go. The base is kraft card, followed by very vanilla, which I distressed with Tim Holtz old paper ink and went round the edges with some soft suede ink, befor...

Oh my, I am head over heels in love with a new stamp set.  I made this card last week for a resident: This French Foliage stamp set has got to be one of the most versatile I've ever come across.  There is no limit to what you can do with it. The base card is more mustard. The next layer is very vanilla. I've stamped the script stamp in crumb cake on it, then the leaf in more mustard with early espresso rolled round the edges before stamping, which creates a fabulous effect.  I've made the tag and stamped a small section of very vanilla cardstock again.  I've used the little 'Paris' stamp on this piece and the ink blotch stamp in more mustard.  Every time I stamped something I gasped at how fab it was as it appeared on the paper.  I bet everyone who has this stamp set feels the same way about it.  It's by far the most 'artistic' set I've ever used. The tag has a button and twine at the top and a little butterfly on the sentiment o...

I started off the year making Christmas cards and was doing quite well, but there's no incentive in June and July, is there?  So, let the panic begin! Actually I've decided to make at least 2 cards each time I make something I like, so this is what I made on Tuesday: Again, I seem to have used a cluster of different products, but I really like the end result.  And I do think by the time you've got one the way you like it, you may as well make another one. The base is real red, C6 size.  On top of that is a piece of crumb cake, with white snowflakes on it, from a set that was free with my mag.  On top of that is a piece of very vanilla, with my LOTV music stamp stamped on in crumb cake.  On top of that is this beautiful reindeer in chocolate chip.  I was just playing about with stamping something dark onto something light, and this is what I ended up with. But what I really wanted to  ask today is, "Do you know your stamping style?"...

I am challenging myself to make a scrapbook page once a month, as I am  stacking up photos that I love and not doing anything with them. So without further ado, here's is this month's project: Yes, okay, most people scrapbook their daughter's wedding, or the grandchildren or their exotic holiday, but I, well, I scrapbook my horse.  And if you knew him, you'd know why. I saw this paper, called 'Cambridge' by Bo Bunny, back in 2011 and fell in love with it.  It's taken me all this time to get round to buying it, though, so I'm really glad it was still in stock. I go through a strange process every time I do a layout.  I sit there and get loads of stuff out that either matches or I think fits my theme.  Then I sit and stare at it for two hours (I kid you not!) Then I go to bed and dream about it all night. Then I get up and spend another 2-3 hours putting my dreams on paper (and finding that half of them don't work!)  This is why there is...

I knew  it was Joan's birthday coming up so I decided to ask her about it.  She said she would be 80, which is fine, but later in the conversation she said she was born in 1922.  Now maths is not my strong point, but I lay in bed that night going over and over it and still coming up with 90!  So I went in the next day and my manager asked if I could make a 90th birthday card for Joan.  Phew, my maths isn't that bad then.  I'm already at the stage where I'm beginning to forget how old I am, so I totally understand! I knew straight away what I wanted to make, and here it is: This is the first time I've cut into this beautiful sheet of 12x12" dsp from the Everyday Enchantment set. Technically the red on the paper is Poppy Parade (goodbye sweet love, sob!) but I stamped the image (from Fresh Vintage)  in Real Red and it looks a complete match.  The 'white' is actually Very Vanilla, which is the background for the dsp, so I've carried that through...

I had a wonderful time making this card that I first saw on Cindy Hall's blog.  I was looking through the Splitcoaststampers galleries to see what people had done with the Faith In Nature set and her card leapt out at me.  Here's my version: I stamped the pear image and coloured it in with crumb cake marker pen, just very roughly.  The dsp is from the Spice Cake range and the card is very vanilla and soft suede.  The ribbon is just a spare piece from my stash, which has nearly all gone now.  The stamp is from a set of Teddy Bo stamps that came free with my magazine a couple of months ago.  It's a very handy size and I'll probably use it a lot.  I love how this came together, but looking at it now, I wish I'd just put the square with the image on lower down, but then it might not all have fitted with the ribbon.  This card is the reason I bought some pear pizzazz cardstock and fell in love with it, but, too late, my friend!  Never mind, ...

Hello everyone, I hope you're having a great Bank Holiday weekend (here in the UK), even if it is raining! Now, many of you probably already know Lesley Croghan, owner of the wonderful Always Playing With Paper blog, who runs her Merry Monday challenge from there.  If you don't, you certainly should pop over when you get time. Anyway, she's now hosting a new challenge, called Dynamic Duos, which you can find here : Her first colour choice is Pool Party and Lucky Limeade, and I couldn't resist having a go.  This is what I've made: The base is 5x7" in Very Vanilla.  (Neutrals are allowed, thank goodness!)  Then I've taken a piece of watercolour card, which is very similar to the vanilla, with the addition of a lovely texture.  I've punched out a flower using my Posy Punch, very close to the edge, so it leaves a gap.  I've put dimensionals on the back of the water colour paper and stuck it onto one of the sheets from the Everyday Enchantment ...

Don't you love it when you give your title a post and realise that a whole year has gone by since you last wrote that?  I can't believe how much my style has changed too, since I last made a birthday card for my dear friend Priscilla. I am the proud owner of the Stampin Up! dsp called Spice Cake.  It is the most gorgeous stuff (somehow I knew it would be!) Here's what I've made: The cardstock and ink is Soft Suede but the centre oval is Very Vanilla.  When I was playing I tried this first on white and can hardly believe what a huge difference it makes just changing from white to Very Vanilla.  But you want to know what makes this card different, right?  Check this out: Yes!  What a cool idea!  So easy to make, too.  You can follow a fantastic tutorial by Dawn Griffith here.   I expect my dimensions are slightly different to hers as I wanted it to fit into a C6 envelope.  Here is a shot of the inside: Are you anything like me...

Hello all! Hope you're well and not too cold.  Thankfully we haven't had any snow yet.  I think because it was so bad last year all my horsey friends are dreading it, but so far, it's just really cold, which I can live with (indoors, hot choc, card making, you get the idea!) And so it's time for today's card. Do you remember a couple of week's ago I splashed out and bought my first Martha Stewart punch?  This was my first go with it, to make the heart shaped border along the bottom. I have a thing about apertures so thoroughly enjoyed making this.  The card base is Cherry Cobbler. I stamped my letter stamp on the top sheet, which is Very Vanilla, then cut the heart shape out.  I drew inside it onto the CC base, so I could see where I had to stamp.  The floral stamp is actually heart shaped anyway (from Penny Black) which I stamped in gold ink and heat embossed with gold ep.  I added CC polka dot ribbon around the top sheet, then stuc...