Happy 1st Birthday Freddie

I can't believe it's been a year since I sent a 'Welcome to the world baby Freddie' card to Freddie's parents, but here we are on birthday number 1!

 

 

 

Again I found this fab and fun scrapbooking paper at my local craft store Sparkledreams, and picked out the rocket from the original design as a handstamped rocket on kraft. I cut the '1' out by hand.

 

 

I've refined the design a little and a similar card is now available in my ETSY SHOP :)

 

Mother's day cards

Admittedly this post is a few weeks late, but here is a look at the two variations of Mother's Day cards I did this year. Both where designed around my new Bigz Birdhouse die from Sizzix.

 

 

The cards are a admittedly little on the 'twee' side of my usual work but I like to think the use of old book pages and distress inks help give it a more vintage look.

Captain America to the rescue!

Yet another mask completed using designs from Jessica over at Cutesy Crafts :) In fact I think we have the whole set (must post them soon). This time it's Captain America, and Josh likes this one much better than the mask that came with the costume!

 

 

The only changes I made to the original were a little bit of backstitch detail on the feathers and I used xcut's Leaf die to cut the eyes (smallest die), the rest is handsewn and blanket stitched all around the edge.

 

Red Nose Day 2013 :) A quick way to make a design into a t-shirt...

J's nursery where having a 'wear red and donate £1' day for Comic Relief day and he wanted to dress up. He didn't like the official t-shirts at Tkmaxx but loved the red noses (we ended up with one of each nose, two plush toys and several pez dispensers.)

If you want to recreate an image onto a t-shirt here is a rough guide of what I did. Do beware of using images that are copyright, and keep in mind that felt does not wash or wear well in the long run, so for projects that need to last perhaps use fabric and overlock or hem the edges.

Mojo Monday #282: Baby Arrival Card

Seems like forever since I headed over to MojoMonday for a bit of a crafty challenge. I've been soo busy with the kids and I've been helping a dear friend of mine with her wedding invitations, and when I do need to make a card my brain has been a little scattered lately, so what better way to top up my crafty mojo than a Mojomonday challenge? Mojo Monday 282 to be precised. It's the last Monday in the Month so it's circle or square time :) This week's sketch was designed by Julee, and it is both simple yet striking.

 

 

 Isn't it a nice to have someone else worry about the layout while you just need to experiment with colours, patterns and textures? Often I get the colours and a vague idea about composition and have to spend the majority of my time experimenting with layout. I needed a card for a family friend I grew up with in Hong Kong who has just had a baby, and had this fab paper just waiting for the next little bundle of joy to appear.

 

 

I used the fab alphabet scrapbook paper (can't remember who it's by, might be MME) as my main feature and the added kraft card and the reverse of the gears card I used in my last post. I stamped the little feet image using Ranger Archival ink in coffee and aged the edges with Distress Inks: Broken China and Vintage Photo.

 

Please excuse the quick photoshop job on the latter half of the name, I always like to include the baby's full name as a keepsake and so I've obscured it for the family's privacy.

 



Colourful gears Card: Happy Birthday Granddad-in-law

I found this fab MME paper in my local craft shop Sparkle Dreams a few weeks ago and I've been dying to it but other projects are taking up a lot of my time at the moment.

 

 

Mr S' Granddad's Birthday is on Saturday and as this was the first masculine paper I came across in my paper stash I thought it was a good excuse as any to use it :)

 

I was inspired by the gear-like background to use my Donna Salazar dies, and added two labels. I used both 'Grandad' and 'Great Grandpa' to represent both the kids and our relationship to him, and tied them on with my trademark twine.

 

Inside the main gear I stamped a 'happy birthday' message and accented with little red gems. I think I may try another version of this card aimed more at boys, given the gears I almost want to try a robot, or maybe something simpler.



Apologies for the mess, craft room under construction

After 2 years of my expanding craft supplies, tools and paraphernalia being housed in the study/junk/guest room we've finally had a sort out!

 

Now the "junk" is less (or at least better organised) the guest sofa bed is visible and everything had been moved around to allow for my new "husband-built" desk. Here is a photo of the desk going in and my daughter with hands over her ears in case the drilling states again.

 

On a side note this is also a demo post to test the new blogger app, for updates on the go.