CSF#31~HANDMADE BACKGROUND

here we are MONDAY morning again and time for a new challenge on CREATIVE STAMP FRIENDS.... we are upto challenge #31 ~ HANDMADE BACKGROUND.....oh a difficult one for me..but got me thinking ..about time i thought about my "bulk" christmas cards to send in the post (bought mine last year..and had complaints i hadn`t made them)..think flat, light and easy to post!! anyway on to my card!!

i would like to enter this card for the following challenges:~

ALL SORTS#115~RED

CHRISTMAS CARDS#36 ~RECYCLE

CHRISTMAS BLOG ~WHITE ON WHITE (hope two images are ok??)

CRAFTY HAZEL NUTS#32 ~BLACK/WHITE/ONE OTHER COLOUR (red)

STAMPTACULAR SUNDAY#123 ~PHOTO INSPIRATION ~black/white/swirls and leaves~elegant xmas)

(links on my left side bar)

used pre~cut craftwork cards and circle words , nestabilities label dies, molly blooms post box stamp , magnolia swirl stamp , also a free bauble stamp with a magazine..finish with lots and lots of glitter!!

below is the many attempts with a card..glittered , heat embossing in many colours~swirl, embossed frame etc , etc..think my final card may need a few tweaks!!..only 50+ more to make!!~then i can make my other xmas cards for family and friends!!

what is more xmassy than a red royal mail post box..who knows how much longer we will have them on our streets????? to think HENRY VIII started the THE ROYAL MAIL in 1516 and CHARLES I opened up his ROYAL MAIL to the public in 1635.....such history , soon (if this government have their way) to be thrown away!!:~(

warm~winter~wishes

well i have had some time to make another christmas card ~just love these new sugar nellies!!

used another fab sketch over on ~

SWEET SKETCH WEDNESDAY#113

COOKING IT UP #69~SHOW ME YOUR NEW FAVOURITE OLD THING ~(new stamp, old nestibilities dies, and favourite thing/technique is coluring with promarkers)

HANNA AND FRIENDS#105~SPOTS OR STRIPES

PAPERPLAY 11~WEEK 31 ~CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST

SIMON SAYS....CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST

THE PLAY DATE CAFE PDCC93~ WATERMELON, SORBET AND LIME

used kars and crate papers, sugarnellie~sweet sassy stamp, coloured with promarkers, see~d`s wording stamp, oval nestabilities dies, sizzix coner swirl die, card candy..and no glitter

what a day yesteday!! woke to rain, rain, rain ~ so the boys were happy to stay in and i found some creating time!! ~however the sun came out later and i could do some gardening.....

christmas wishes, just for you

oh my gosh , having the boys home just means no crafting or blogging time..did manage to make my first christmas card.......and isn`t it so hot???? trying everything to keep cool!! anyway onto the card used the amazing sketch by KIKI over on :~

THE SUGAR BOWL#64 (OPTION LACE)

CRAFTY CATZ WEEKLY#93~ CHRISTMAS IN JULY

FUSSY AND FANCY#42 ~CHRISTMAS IN JULY

SPARKLES FORUM#17 ~ONE FOR THE GIRLS

SWEET STAMPIN` CHALLENGE~IT`S CHRSITMAS IN JULY

ALLSORTS#114~FREE AND EASY

used crate snowday papers, sugar nellie simply sassy stamp, coloured with promarkers, cute companions word stamp, lace doyley from my stash and finished with stickles glitter.

well Lewis and myself had a wonderful day at Lewis`s "bestfriends" house yesterday and we (lewis,aaron and myself) are having a day with my parents today..no real plans what we are going to do..see how the day pans out....just wish it would cool down..i`m just not a big fan of the heat..and i get hayfever....

a magical birthday

well at last, i have found time for some crafting..boys have no school and DH paul has a week`s holiday..so we have been out and about..and enjoying family time and the weather has been so good too!!
so have made this birthday card, using the wonderful sketch over on:~
SWEET SKETCH WEDNESDAY#112

ANYTHING GOES CHALLENGE~46 ~PICK OF THE BUNCH (FLOWERS)

FAB `N` FUNKY#83 ~~CLASH OF THE COLOURS (bold/cool and warm)

FLUTTER BY WEDNESDAY#164~STRIPES

I LOVE PROMARKERS#76~ANYTHING GOES

STAMPAVIE AND MORE#148~SUMMER

STAMPS R US~HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TRULY SCRUMTIOUS#62~BUTTONS AND BOWS

365 CARDS#DAY 151~FRIDAY BACKGROUND,MINIMUM OF 3 LAYERS

PAPERPLAY CHALLENGES#11, WEEK30~IN THE GARDEN

used prima papers, sugarnellie sassy stamp, magnolia fence/flower and butterfly stamps, coloured with promarkers, nestabilities oval dies, quickutz flower circle dies/photo corner/butterfly dies, lili of the valley circle word stamp, stampin`up scalloped edged punch,~flowers, thread, ribbon and buttons from my stash, finished with glitter.

hope you have had a fab week and looking forward to the weekend..still two days of holiday left, so a few trips to complete ,but we are planning watching F1 motor racing ..while it is still on the BBC..as it is going to SKY over the next few years and will not give the murdochs a penny of my money!!~rant over!!

CSF#30~MONOCHROME

here we are monday morning again and time for another challenge on CREATIVE STAMP FRIENDS~ today we would like to see MONOCHROME...... i have made a photo frame for a baby ~ my mum has asked me to make for a friend of hers!

before i go further i would like to send my hugs to my norwiegen family and friends (who i know are safe and well)~ and today especially the few friends i have made here on my blog i hope you have had no sad news....such a terrible tragedy.

for this challenge i also followed:~

FLUTTERBY WEDNESDAY#163~ OPEN (4 butterflies)

LOTV#106~FUN AND GAMES ~ i know my year old niece just plays for hours with her dolls pram, going round and round the room, taking dolls/teddies etc in and out#chatting away all the time.

ALL SORTS#113 ~FREE AND EASY

THE SECRET CRAFTER#144 ~NUMBERS ( hope my special day calender is ok!!)

used kanban paper, lili of the valley baby stamp, coloured with promarkers, marianne flower and swirl dies, sizzix corner dies, quickutz ~flourish, butterfly, nameplate, photo corner, flower and Eliza alphabet dies, lili of the valley circle word stamp, card candy and finished with glitter.

well my boys have started their school summer holidays and my husband paul has this week off work....so hope the sun continues to shine..and we can enjoy our week.

handpicked just for you

i am showing a birthday card i have made for my aunt in the USA ( a GI bride) ~just loving these new stamps!!
used the fab sketch over on:~
SWEET SKETCH WEDNESDAY#111

PAPERTAKE WEEKLY~GETTING CUTE

STAMPAVIE AND MORE#147 ~ BIRTHDAY

CHARISMA CARDZ#29 ~SUNSHINE COLOURS

HANNA AND FRIENDS#103 ~SUMMER

365 CARDS~DAY 143 ~ HEATWAVE (inspiration from card on challenge ~even in a heatwave you may need your wellies and sun hat!!)

FUSSY AND FANCY ~SUMMER

used crafty individuals paper, adorables various stamps, coloured with promarkers, nestabilities rectangle dies, sizzix corner die,quickutz leaf die, doodlebug flower paper frills, card candy~flowers from my stash and finished with glitter.

...just to say my heart and thoughts are with everyone in Norway today..... i`m so glad to hear my young nephew ~maki~is safe (visiting his mum for the summer in Norway)..and also friends i have there too!!~as many of you may know my brother lived in Norway for over 15 years most of that time in Oslo..such a shock. such a beautiful country and friendly people... what more can i say???

a little note ..thankyou

well today i am showing you a thankyou card for Lewis`s dinner lady ~well when i say dinner lady~ the children take packed lunches at his school, no dining hall. so she looks after the children to open packets etc and make sure they eat their lunches, loving made by their mums/and dads!!

used the wonderful sketch over on

SKETCH & STASH#66 ~tilda i have never inked up from last year (or was it the year before?)~other magnolia stamps,~found in my stash pearl hearts and pearl brad

JUST MAGNOLIAAND HANGLAR&STANGLAR#115~PINK/PURPLE/PEARLS

MAGNOLIA DOWN UNDER#105~CREATE A SCENE

MAGNOLIA STAMP LOVERS~SUMMER COLOURS ~don`t know about your garden~but mine is full of purple and pink flowers

CREATIVE CRAFT~LETS 3D IT ~decoupage, plenty of layers to this card!!

used crafty individauls papers again (sorry just loving these at the moment), magnolia ~tilda, school desk, towel and new year clock hook stamps, coloured with promarkers, stampin`up circle word stamp, nestabilities circle dies, quickutz photo corner dies,~ flowers, pearl brad and heart shaped pearls from my stash ~finished with glitter (don`t know what happened but my glitter has shown up green when it is a shade of lilac!!???

well have been head down making gift boxes to hold my post it note easel cards (see older posts) ~and guess what????? forgot to take pictures of them to show you ~duh!!! ~gosh they were hard work and hurt my brain cells working out measurements..... all done now, so can relax..... and think about christmas cards next!!!!!

thanks

i promise this is the last post it note easel card for a while using these two sweet molly blooms stamps, made for each of the teaching assistants in Lewis`s year group.(see older posts)

used the fab sketch by VAL at:~

ONESTOP CRAFT#140

STAMPIN`BS~119~BLING (gems and glitter)

ALLSORTS#112~FREE & EASY JULY

CRAFT YOUR DAYS AWAY#24~FANCY FOLDS

links on left side bar

used crafty inspirations paper, molly bloom children stamps, magnolia fence stamp,adorables butterfly stamp, coloured with promarkers,studio g thanks stamp, paper makeup "saying" stamp, nestabilities oval and label dies, quickutz photo and flower dies, stamin`up scalloped edged punch, finished with gems from my stash and stickles glitter.

my post it note easel card from the side ~used a small post it note (mine from tesco`s about 49p) cover with folded card and card strip placed under to keep the front (of card) upright.

wording below on post it note cover. ~have been asked for a tutorial, but think you can see what i have done!!???

well last week at school for my two boys ~Lewis will be going into year 3 in september and Aaron year 10~ both go back on my birthday ~7th sept~Lewis has commented " oh no mum how we celebrate your birthday??".......guess when you get older it isn`t so exciting especially as my 50th is zooming on the horizon (still a couple of years to go)..sometimes i still feel 18 until i glance at myself in the mirror ~what a shock!!

have a great day.. i`m out wallpaper hunting once the school run is complete!!

just for you...

it may feel like deja vu, but this is a different card i am showing today (from my last post) ~yes another TA post it note holder.

used the wonderful sketch over on:~

SWEET SKETCH WEDNESDAY#110~32

SIMON SAYS STAMP ~ANYTHING GOES

ANYTHING GOES#45~MOR THAN ONE FOLD

I LOVE PROMARKERS#74~RECIPE~1 RIBBON/2 DESIGN PAPERS/2 BUTTONS (or gems/brads)

CUTIE~STAMPERS#107~TEXT (bit cheeky but have text on my post it note cover, see below)

used crafty individuals papers, molly blooms children stamps, magnolia wall stamp , colured with promarkers, kanban word stamp, paper makeup quote stamp,nestabilities circle and label dies, quickutz leaf and photo corner die,stampin` up scalloped edged punch,basic grey buttons, felt flowers, satin ribbon and finished with stickles glitter

close~up of the wording above and side view of my easel card (notelet holder) below

do you like the felt flowers?? fab~ bought from ~www.sewsweet.co.uk~ so many colours too!!

~ Lewis had his school sports day this morning ~ came 3rd in his running race~ he also had an amazing school report (so we had a trip to toys~r~us and got him a scooter) ~he is one happy little boy~can see a few grazed knees coming up soon!!!
whatever you may be doing ~hope you have a wonderful weekend....

teach our children

well another notelet holder for one of the TA`s in lewis`s year group!!..have two more to make...

used the fab sketch over on :~

STAMPTACULAR SUNDAY#119

CUP CAKE CHALLENGE#150 ~ PICK YOUR FAVOUTIRE CHALLENGE ~~#138~LOTS OF LAYERS.

links on left side bar

used crafty individuals papers, molly blooms school children stamps, magnolia chair stamp, coloured with promarkers , sizzix corner dies, nestabilities label die, buttons and thread from my stash ~finished with stickles glitter.

side view of my easel card (above) and words on notet (below)

hope you are having a good day ~sun is shining ~shall i paint our new garden gate or some crafting?????mmmmmmmmmmm, get the washing out onto the line first, cup of milky coffee and cake then i`ll decide!!!

CSF#29~ SUMMER

here we are again another monday morning and time for a new challenge on CREATIVE STAMP FRIENDS(link on my side bar)..what amazing numbers of entries for our last challenge!!!

the challenge for the next two weeks is ~SUMMER ~nice and easy..plenty of summer colours, images and flowers!!

used the wonderful sketch by donalda over on:~

LILI OF THE VALLEY#104

CHARISMA CARDZ#27 ~ALL ABOUT FLOWERS

CUTE CARD THURSDAY#172 ~LACE

CRAZY 4 CHALLENGES~C4C95~SUMMER THEMED CARD

ONE STOP CRAFT#139 ~SUMMERTIME

used prima papers, LOTV stamp, magnolia flower stamp, snag`em flower stamp, coloured with promarkers, LOTV word circle, nestabilities circle dies, lakeland lace (coloured with promarkers), flowers from my stash, finished with stickles glitter.

so where is the summer?? guess it is a very British summer ~ sunshine and showers~thats what makes us the green and pleasant land!!!?..and why we are always talking about the weather!!

whatever the weather i hope you enjoy your day!

be all you can be

so where has the summer gone ??~should be lewis`s sports day today ~me thinks not!!
anyway have a nice summery card to show today, used the fab sketch over on :~

SWEET SKETCH WEDNESDAY#109

OLDIE BUT A GOODIE#22 ~ANYTHING GOES ( forgotten magnolia stamp)

PAPERTAKE WEEKLY ~ANYTHING GOES (OPTION BUTTONS)~used three

PASSION FOR PROMARKERS#107~THEME~TIE A YELLOW RIBBON

ANYTHING GOES~LETTER D#44 ~DANCE (second entry ~1st was drink)

ABC (BIRTHDAY BLOG HOP) ~Y IS FOR YESTERDAY ~(used this old magnolia stamp ~also as a child i had dance/ballet lessons for 5 years, from the age of seven)

used crafty individuals papers, magnolia ballet dancing tilda stamp, county companions flower and leaf stamps, coloured with promarkers, elzybells word stamp, quickutz photo corner die, ribbon, buttons and thread from stash ~finished with stickles glitter.

whatever you are doing today ~enjoy!!

full of happiness

what beautiful weather we have been having ~and today some much needed showers ~well our garden so needs some rain!! (getting the water hose out each evening does make me feel a little guilty!!)

used the simple sketch by kristy over on :~
MAGNOLIA DOWN UNDER

MAGNOLIA STAMP LOVERS~SUMMER FLOWERS

JUST MAGNOLIA & HANGLAR AND STANGLAR#113 ~ANYTHING GOES (SHABBY CHIC)

TOTALLY TILDA#26 ~DISTRESSING (used tim holtz distressing tool and inks, can see better if click picture)

STAMPS R US ~ "THERE WAS A LITTLE GIRL WHO........LOVE HER GARDEN"

CREATIVE CRAFT ~PRETTY BLOSSOMS

used pinkpaislee paper, magnolia stamps ~ sitting tilda, watering can, flowers and grass, butterflies, various rose and hanging lanters, coloured with promarkers, lilli of the valley circle word stamp, nestabilities circle dies, marianne leaf die,finished with stickles glitter.

mmmm now must get on with the mountain of ironing.....

day filled with flowers

what a glorious weekend...not much crafting/blogging time (blogger seems to be working again)... so i thought a nice summer card to show (for my mother to give to her sister)

used the wonderful sketch over on:~

FUSSY& FANCY#40

ALPHABET CHALLENGE~ I FOR INSECT (butterflies, bees, ladybirds and an ant)

CHARISMA CARDZ#26 ~ICE CREAM COLOURS ~ (chocolate,mint, strawberry and vanilla)

LILLI OF THE VALLEY#103~CELEBRATE ~birthday (sister)

SECRET CRAFTER#141 ~HERE COMES SUMMER

used american crafts papers, LOTV girl stamp, american crafts branch stamp, magnolia flower, bee and ant stamps , coloured in promarkers, nestabilities label dies, quickutz tag die, elzybells stamps to decorate tags, 3 roses by wild orchid crafts,ribbon and glitter from stash.

well paul and myself finished laying our patio ~ perfect place as it catches the sun all day ~so a very hot place to work.......but now it is done , we can sit out with our table and chairs ~even plan to have our lunch out there today...... just need to get someone to fit a new lockable garden gate and we can just sit and relax in the garden...then some more decorating inside..........mmm that can wait!!