Sunday 8 October 2017

Christmas Tea Sachet Holders


Hi!  I have a Christmas make to share with you today!  Some tea bag sachet holders - I think these will make lovely stocking filler presents or teachers gifts, and they are very easy to make.

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Merry Little Labels, Labels to Love
Designer Series Paper - Quilted Christmas
Punches - Everyday Label Punch, Project Life corner punch
Ink - Real Red, Garden Green
Card - Whisper White
Ribbon - gold 1/8"
Other - scoring tool, hole punch 

Friday 1 September 2017

Happy Cats Bag


Hi!  Today's make is a bag - and don't you just love that cat fabric, its so much fun!  I've made this for someone special (though she doesn't know it yet!), and will be putting it in the post in the next couple of days, but I just could not wait to share it here with you!

Materials Used:
Timeless Treasures Fabric of Soho -  Happy Cats by Gail Cadden
Purple star fabric - unknown as it does not have a printed selvedge with any details (sorry), but I bought it from Hometown in Rochester

Tuesday 29 August 2017

Have a Tinker Bell Christmas!


Yes, it's a Christmas card for you today, and made using the super cute Disney Tinker Bell dies and paper.  There have been a ton of Disney papercraft collections released over the last year or so, and I just could not resist getting a few bits from the Tinkerbell collection!

The Tinker Bell image was die cut from the Colourful Creations pad, which was teamed up with the sentiment in the same die set cut in red and green and layered up onto some backing paper.  As I stuck the sentiment and character image down flat on the card, I thought it was a little lost on that busy paper so I used a pale grey Graph'It marker to give an outline and make them stand out a bit.
 
Materials Used:
Disney / Create & Craft - Tinker Bell Season of Sparkle die set, Colourful Creations paper pad, Backing paper pad
Hunkydory - white A6 card blank, 3mm gemstones
Stampin' Up! - Real Red card, Lemon Lime Twist card
Graph'It - marker 9501 

Thursday 24 August 2017

Cheers!


Goodness - where have the last couple of weeks gone?!  I've had a busy couple of weeks at work and home, but I have managed to squeeze in a little bit of crafting!

So, the card I am sharing with you today is for the men in your life (or anyone that likes drinking beer).  It is based on a couple of cards I saw on Facebook (sorry I did not make a note of the designers), and this is my take on it.

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamps - Mixed Drinks, Playful Backgrounds, Sassy Salutations (retired)
Designer Series Paper - Urban Underground (retired), Neutrals (retired)
Ink - Basic Black, Crushed Curry, Smoky Slate
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Stampin' Trimmer, Stampin' Dimensionals, Fast Fuse

Sunday 6 August 2017

Santa Suit Gift Tags

I have some fun Santa Suit gift tags to share with you today - I seem to have a bit of a thing for making tags at the moment - they are quick to make and fun too!  I made these for the craft fair that I did recently, and even though it was in July I did sell a few of these Christmas tags all packaged up! You can also find them in my Etsy Shop.

I have used the retired Tag Topper punch for these tags, but you could also use the Scalloped Tag Topper punch in the current annual catalogue if you don't have this one.

Each tag was cut to 4.9cm x 8.3cm, and I added the white strips before using the tag punch - that way you get the hole in both layers.  I cut out the buckle from silver foil card using by Brother Scan n Cut - I created the shape in Canvas using a square and two rectangles - then threaded a strip of black card through each buckle before adding to the tag.  The buttons were stamped using an image from the Sweet Home stamp set.
 
Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Sweet Home, Forever Evergreen (for the packaging)
Card - Real Red, Whisper White, Basic Black, Silver foil
Ink - Basic Black, Real Red
Punch - Angled Tag Topper

Sunday 30 July 2017

Beach Hug Tags

Hi!  Something a little different to share with you today - some beach huts tags which were inspired by a trip to the Whitstable Oyster Festival last weekend.  It was a bit of a gloomy day and we did get a rather sudden downpour of rain at one point - but you know us Brits, it never puts us off being outside!  

To make these tags I used the Home Sweet Home dies, designed to make a  treat box, to cut the shape of the hut, as well as the door and bunting.  The roof of the hut was made using a stamp from the co-ordinating stamp set, which I then cut out on my ScanNCut.  You could cut this out by hand, but as I was making rather a lot of them I decided on the electric cutting option!

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp Sets - Sweet Home, Diagonal Stripe background
Dies - Home Sweet Home 
Ink - Real Red, Pacific Point, Flirty Flamingo, Pool Party
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Ribbon - Pacific Point 1/4" stitched edge ribbon, red & white ribbon from stash
Other - liquid multi-purpose glue, BigShot
Other materials: Brother ScanNCut

Saturday 29 July 2017

Daisy Delight


Sometimes our crafty mojo just gets up and walks away - I think I often see mine running!  So where do you look for your inspiration?  I can spend hours on Pinterest, I look on Facebook, at magazines and also product catalogues!

So this card is my take on the sample in the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue - a great place to start when you are looking for your mojo!!

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Daisy Delight, Soft Sayings kit stamps
Designer Series Paper - Delightful Daisy, Color Theory
Ink - Old Olive, Night of Navy, Daffodil Delight
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - gold faceted gems, Stampin' Trimmer, Fast Fuse adhesive, multipurpose liquid glue  

Wednesday 26 July 2017

Thank You Anna Griffin!


Today's card is a thank you to Anna for coming back to the UK!  I just love these pinky/red poppies and tend to keep them for special cards, so I hope you like this one!

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, All Occasion card kit, metallic card & paper layers, Spring seasonal dies, perfect bows
Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank
Pinflair - glue gel
Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive 

Tuesday 25 July 2017

Crocodile or Unicorn - which is your bag?


So, I had a bit of fun at the weekend, screen printing some tote bags and drawstring bags with the Cool Croc and Unicorn Wishes screens from Screen Sensation.  I ended up using two colours of ink on each image which I think you will agree looks fab - you can see the difference using just one colour makes on the middle crocodile bag in this photo - that was the first one i printed which made me decide to use two colours to add some depth to the colours/image.

Materials Used:
Screen Sensation: Screen Sensation system, fixing tape, Cool Croc screen, Unicorn Wishes screen, Raspberry, Turquoise, Key Lime & Green inks
Tote bags & drawstring bags

Anna Griffin Good Luck card


Well today is the day - Anna Griffin is back on our screens here in the UK on QVC!  So I'd thought I would share this card with you today to wish Anna good luck on her first shows back with us.  Not that she will need it as she is a total pro, and a lovely lady too!

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - All Heart die collection, Vintage Collage Toppers 2, So Smitten card kit, metallic card & paper layers, perfect bows
Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank
Pinflair - glue gel
Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive 

Thursday 20 July 2017

Anna Griffin Thank You Roses


Do you love all the beautiful Anna Griffin vintage flowers?  Yes, I do too - and I am sure that you will have noticed from the cards that I have been sharing recently that I particularly like the pink and red ones!

This card was really quick to make as all of the flowers and the swirly embellishments were all precut.  I love making my own embellishments, stamping and die cutting etc.  but sometimes I think we all like to be able to put some quick cards together - you know those times when you want to be creative, but maybe don't have a lot of time!

Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, All Occasion card kit, holiday metallic cardstock layers
Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank
Pinflair - glue gel
Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive 

Wednesday 19 July 2017

From My Kitchen Gift Tags


I thought I would share the "from my kitchen" gift tags that I made recently to take along to the craft fair last weekend.  Happy to say that I did sell a few packs of these, and I think I will also be  making some more to add to Christmas gifts that I will be making!


Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Label Me Pretty, Brushstrokes, Fresh Fruit (retired) 
Punches - Pretty Label, Starburst, Angled Tag Topper (retired) 
Dies - Stitched Shape Framelits
Ink pads - Pool Party, Bermuda Bay, Flirty Flamingo, Sweet Sugarplum, Real Red 
Card - Lemon Lime Twist, Flirty Flamingo, Bermuda Bay, Sweet Sugarplum, Real Red, Whisper White, Whisper White Thick card 
Other - Fast Fuse, Stampin' Dimensionals

Ightham Mote Summer Fete - My First Craft Fair!

 

I thought I would share some photos from the craft fair that I did last weekend with some friends.  It's the first time I've been brave enough to get out there and sell my handcrafted papercrafts like this - only ever sold a few cards to friends and colleagues before!

Even though the weather was not as good as it has been of late (the sides of the gazebo went on and off to cope with the spitting rain several times!) there was still a reasonable turn out at Ightham Mote for the summer fete with entertainment and acitivities. Best of all - we had fun, and all sold some of our crafting goodies!

 

Thursday 13 July 2017

Anna Griffin Warmest Wishes


Another quick card to share with you today using some gorgeous Anna Griffin goodies.  Are you looking forward to seeing her back on TV later this month?  I know I am, and its not long to go now!  So make a date in your diaries - 25th July on QVC UK!

Materials Used: Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, metallic card & paper layers, Fretwork die sets 1 & 2, perfect bows Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank Pinflair - glue gel Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive

Tuesday 4 July 2017

Tranquil Tulips Happy Birthday


Yes, if you visited my blog yesterday (thank you) you will recognise this card... though I have changed the sentiment to Happy Birthday!  Still lovely!

I made quite a lot of the thank you cards that I shared with you yesterday, but so far only one birthday card, and I know exactly who I am going to send it to!  

Stampin' Up! materials used: Stamp sets - Tranquil Tulips, Rose Wonder
Ink - Old Olive, Rose Red,Basic Black
Card - Whisper White thick card
Other - Stampin' Trimmer, bone folder 

Monday 3 July 2017

Tranquil Tulips Thank You


I just love this Tranquil Tulips Stampin' Up! set, it's so easy to make some quick and easy cards which are also very pretty!

Most images in the set are two step images, so you have a large image then a smaller image which you stamp on top to make up the flower.  For these cards I stamped off the ink onto a piece of scrap card, and used the second generation ink for the larger layer of each flower, then used the full colour of the ink on the smaller layer.

As well as being very pretty images, you can make these flowers any colour you like - I think some purple and blue flowers might be next for me!

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Tranquil Tulips, One Big Meaning
Ink - Lemon Lime Twist, Old Olive, Rose Red, Berry Burst, Daffodil Delight, Basic Black
Card - Whisper White thick card
Other - Stampin' Trimmer, bone folder 


 

Sunday 2 July 2017

Anna Griffin Special Day!


Well there has been some VERY exciting news in the crafting world this week - Anna Griffin will be back on our TV screens this month!!!  Yay!  We will be able to see her and some of her yummy goodies on QVC on the 25th July!  I can't wait!

Knowing that she will be back makes it slightly easier to use some AG crafty stash - I know you know what I mean!  So I've been making some cards and will be sharing them with you here!
 
Materials Used:
Anna Griffin - So Smitten card kit, Vintage Collage Toppers 2, metallic card & paper layers
Hunkydory - 5"x7" card blank
Pinflair - glue gel
Stampin' Up! - tear & tape adhesive

Thursday 22 June 2017

Sensational Butterflies


Today I am excited to share with you some more of my makes using the fabulous Screen Sensation system!  At the weekend I did some butterfly prints onto card as well as a tshirt, and yesterday I had some time to make some cards using the butterflies. 


 
To make the matching strips of colour I added a little water to a couple of small blobs of ink and painted with it onto a piece of card which I then die cut.


On the smaller card you can see some small dots as a background - I did this with a rubber stamp. I put a very small amount of ink onto a wet baby wipe and used that as an ink pad - though I'm thinking that if you can get empty ink pads that might be even better!


Materials Used:
Screen Sensation - Screen Sensation system, fixing tape, Kaleidoscope screen, harbour blue and raspberry inks
Stampin' Up! - Rose Wonder, Gorgeous Grunge, Milestone Moments stamp sets, Whisper White cardstock, Basic Black ink
Die-namics - fish tail flag stax dies

Wednesday 14 June 2017

Do Something Creative Everyday!



I love this sentiment and crafty images in the Stampin' Up! Crafting Forever stamp set, and thought it would be perfect with the new Color Theory Designer Series Paper (DSP) from the Color Theory Suite (and yes it is called Color Theory as Stampin' Up! is an American company).  I had fun making these, so made a bunch of these cards to send crafty friends around the world!


The DSP is double sided with strips of colour, or solid ombre on one side and different sizes of crackle on the other.  I am sure that we can all see those DIY paint chips/strips that you can get as samples on the paper I have used here!  However I have also used some of the crackle design to stamp the paint pots onto and paper pieced them onto the full image, adding a little colour from the markers with a blender pen.

I really like the colour range here in this suite -  Berry Burst, Crushed Curry, Dapper Denim, Old Olive - and strangely enough even though pink is normally my go to colour for crafting and I do not particularly like yellow (probably because it is a colour I cannot wear), my favourite in these cards are the yellow ones!  Don't ask me why, as I simply do
not know! LOL! 

 
Materials used - all Stampin' Up!:
Stamp set - Crafting Forever
Designer Series Paper - Color Theory
Ink - Basic Black
Markers - Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Berry Burst, Dapper Denim, blender pen
Card - Whisper White thick card
Punch - Pretty Label punch
Embellishments - Glitter enamel dots
Other - Stampin' Trimmer, Fast Fuse, Stampin' Dimensionals

Monday 12 June 2017

Screen Sensation Tshirt and Bag - and they match too!



Hi again!  Today I want to share a project that I am very excited about - a matching tshirt and bag that I have made using the Screen Sensation system, using the gorgeous mask screen.


I printed the fabric that I used for the bag at the Screen Sensation masterclass that I attended a few days ago - all I needed to do once I got home was to heat set the ink by ironing it for 3-4 minutes (on the back first and then the front).  I decided to wash it before using it as it had become rather creased, so I gave it a whizz around the washing
machine on a normal wash at 30 degrees.  Then a quick iron and it was all ready to be cut and made up into a bag.



Then I thought I would have a go at printing onto a tshirt, and as a few of you  had asked how I did the two colour print I thought I would make this quick video to show you.  It's my first video and voiceover - so please excuse the odd wobbly bit!


Materials Used:
Screen Sensation -  starter kit, Mask screen, red and black inks
Bag Pattern - Sally Shopper by Owl and Sewing Cat
Other - white tshirt, white Egyptian cotton fabric, Rose & Hubble red/white spotty and black/white spotty fabric

Friday 9 June 2017

Screen Printing Workshop? Yes Please!!


Have you ever entered a competition on Facebook and thought "I'll never win" - yep me too!  But this one time, I did take the time to enter, and YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I did win!  A place on a Screen Sensation masterclass as well as the basic kit, some inks and a screen to get me started!  SO excited!!!

To go to the workshop meant a weekend away from home on my own, with the chance to meet some new like minded crafty friends.  Nervous - a little... Excited... much.... I was not disappointed!  I met some lovely people, all so excited to learn new crafty stuff and make friends, and had a great time "playing" with lots of Screen Sensation goodies! Oh - and there may have been the opportunity to do a bit of crafty goodness shopping in some of the local craft stores... (why don't we have any of those near where I live?!)

The masterclass was run by Wendy Hunter, the brand ambassador for Screen Sensation (lots of her amazing artwork has also been on Create and Craft and the packaging of the fabulous screens - so if you love the lion on the "Pride" screen and have seen some coloured images - yes that is Wendy's work!  Isn't she amazing!!!)


We also had a little treat -  the lovely Hels Sheridan coming along to join in - if you have been watching the Screen Sensation shows on Create and Craft you will have seen her, Sarah Payne and some other lovely crafters demoing.  She is just as lovely, and probably even funnier in real life - and don't you just love it when us crafters get excited about products, get together and just want to share what we love!  Oh and I still want to meet the lovely Sarah Payne so that we can share our love of anything fabric!!!

Anyway, it looks like I have rambled on enough, and still not shown you much of what I printed at the workshop, so enjoy the photos, and please get in touch if you have any questions about the Screen Sensation system - it really is easy and fun to use!! 

I have a few bits n bobs from the class that I will be using in future projects, as well as taking some time to try some new things and sharing projects with you.  Also hoping to share a video or two, so please watch this space!

Please do let me know what you think of the projects I am sharing with you, and also what you would like to see.

So, for today... happy crafting!!!
Mandy x