A little girl for a big sister

Who says you get too old for cards like this:

My big sister, and I won't give away her age, loved it!  Especially as I parted with some of my most favourite Basic Grey Sultry papers  for her and she knows they are usually just for stroking and not cutting. The Gorjuss girl has been coloured in Promarkers and Flexmarkers and I was really pleased to have got a more washed out/subtle effect this time, much as it would be if she was being exposed to the typical Manchester drizzle that I grew up with.

Glad she liked it and hope you do too!

P.S. Sorry the photos are a bit fuzzy. Will try harder next time ;-) 

Slate Coasters

I was very sad to remove the beautiful snowdrops picture from the top of my blog, but I can't never post again can I?!  This is just a quick post with some more Welsh slate creations.  We've just moved into a new office and it is fabulous - all bright colours and funky designs (I was very happy to get on the design team and certainly got to put my stamp on our working space).  In reception we have a slate grey leather sofa and needed some new coasters.  So I summoned my brother-in-law to the rescue, and he has created these:

I used my large circle nestie die to cut out felt for the backings, and they look great. Perfect fit for the office. Simple but stylish.  He's also created a slate score board for the table tennis table - must remember to take a photo so I can highlight more of his creativity. I think living with my sister has rubbed off on him! Thanks R&R :-)

More of my own designs soon.

Snowdrops and Chocolates - two of my favourite things

I love birthdays for being able to connect with family and friends from all over the world and to indulge in a few of my favourite things.  I've been a very lucky girl again this year, and I never really have favourites but do you know what present I can't stop looking at, or smelling, or touching?  Take a luck at these beauties:

What makes them more special is that they were handpicked for me.  Snowdrops encompass that perfect blend of delicacy and strength, surviving in the freezing cold but looking so pretty.  I can't believe I'm going to get poetic here, but I guess poetry is another (great!) form of creativity, but the words of Ted Hughes still ring in my head about snowdrops "Her pale head heavy as metal" - that little flower pushing up through the icy ground but heralding spring and assuring us that all is not dead in the frozen earth. And look at these little flowers; who'd have thought they could achieve so much:

 

Getting back to craft, instead of Thank You cards this year I decided to make little boxes of suprises.  And coincidentally I ended up keeping the snowdrop colour theme! 

Following along with my usual nature theme, don't you just love the little birdies?  I stamped the images using some Inkadinkado stamps, and a little thank you stamp from a Dawn Bibby set my nephew bought me, both from Topaz Crafts.  The boxes are constructed on my very clever boxer board out of Stampin Up Very Vanilla and Certainly Celery card.  The green is just the scrummiest shade.  And take a quick look at the even scrummier contents...

Like I say, don't you just love birthdays?!  And snowdrops!

Some Christmas Crackers from the Crafty Girls

We had a great Christmas party night at craft group this week.  Those girls know how to put on a good spread as well as making super cards! Some of us decided to join in a Christmas bookmark swap to share ideas. I was amazed at how different all our styles were.  I'm sure they won't mind me showing you some of their creations, along with the handmade Christmas cards given to me. I won't put the names on them just in case.

And here are the cards:

Beautiful aren't they and so different?

And finally this was my bookmark contribution:

Hope you like them, and if I don't get on here again before the hols, a very Happy Christmas to you!  Helen x

Long time no post

I know it has been an absolute age since I've been on here and posted a picture.  Mainly it has been because I've been struggling with illness on top of an office move and lots of other things.  No time or energy for blogging is not good though (I've even not had time to keep up with reading all the other lovely blogs out there).  So here we go!

First off some cards (well this is what the blog it is supposed to be about!). This card I finished at craft group a while ago.  Another one using a Gorjuss girl image (thank you Karen for the loan of the stamp!) coloured in with pro-markers, this time trying to match the colours to the patterned paper I had found in my off-cuts pile. Pretty colours aren't they?

And here are a couple of close up. I just love ribbons and pins!

Then a couple of other quick cards I've also managed to complete recently.

Secondly, I've been overwhelmed to redress the balance and show you a picture of the scrumptious Meg.  So here is the little muffin after she had made herself a nest out of all the cushions on the sofa.

Hopefully the next post won't be as long in coming!  Must get some Christmas cards done so they might be making an appearance soon...

What a view!

Well my recent card creation really fitted with my experience this weekend!  But we'll get there in a minute.  I love this stamp from Sheena Douglas.  It reminds me of the beautiful Lakes and North Pennines. I've used it in the past to create a 'Rainbow Bridge' card using subtle pastel colours.  This time I've used my Aquamarkers to create a more autumnal look. Couldn't resist photographing it on my bench with some real autumn leaves! The leaves on the card are more Sheena stamps and I've intensified the colour with Distress Inks (Rusty Hinge is just perfect with a bit of Shabby Shutters!).

So getting back to the weekend.  Well I went with my family to visit a barn conversion my sister and brother-in-law are working on in the North Pennines. And guess what, it rained and it rained and it rained.  All the way they were pointing out of the window and saying things like 'this is the fabulous view of Crossfell, this cafe looks over the Eden Valley, the view of the hills from here is stunning' etc, but in reality all we could see was a bank of cloud through the steamed up windows! You had to laugh really... I've just seen a quote online that the Hartside Pass on the way to Alston is a route named as one of the World's Top Ten Most Scenic drives by the AA. If only... So I had to imagine what it might look like and thankfully I had this card fresh in my mind. But seeing the barn and spending time with family made it all worth while!

On taking the picture above I was interrupted by a little visitor - my furry buddy Thomas.

He was obviously protecting the card from any intruders (OK he was yawning!). Couldn't resist showing you...

A Gorjuss Girly Card

This is an unashamedly pink and girly card!  It was made especially for one of the ladies at the craft group. I am loving the Gorjuss Girl Stamps, especially as it helps me to perfect the ProMarker colouring techniques. I made it into an easel card using a craftwork cards blank and layered the image using my scalloped nesties.

Here's a close up of the little girl:

She reminds me a bit of my middle sister when she was a little girl - with lots of unruly hair!  She'll kill me for saying that if she reads this... Oops!