BBQ and Christmas!

Today was our company BBQ and we were so lucky with the weather! Yesterday it hammered down with rain but today was lovely, warm & sunny.

Lots of yummy food and good company, and a rounders match that I cheered on mightily from the comfort of my garden chair lol!! 

So yesterday was yukky weather, it meant guilt free time in the craft room! I wanted to challenge myself to use up some of my oldest, gaudy sparkly snippets to make some Christmas cards. 

So I stamped lots of pressies, cut them out and mounted them on the snowy embossed card that the lovely Bonnie sent me. But I was mean and cut each embossed piece in half so I had more left! Then I mounted on offcuts of mirri card, some gold & some silver. 

I don't normally batch-make cards, but I ended up with 8, each a little different...

So this means that I can link to both pixies snippets playground, and Sarn's Rudolph challenge!

Then it occurred to me that the same design (minus snowy background) would work quite well for birthdays, so I see more stamping & snipping in the near future!! This colour way would work for birthdays, don't you think??

Anyway, off to soak up more sun! Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Lovely day out

Had a really fun day yesterday meeting up with some crafty friends from blog land. From L to R we have: Sam (Hettie), Di (Pixies Snippets), me, and Sarn (Stamping for Pleasure)

We all met up in my home town of Southampton so I did taxi service for Sam (Hettie) & Sarn who travelled from Wales (!) & West Sussex (that's dedication for you!) then we met up with Di for a very nice lunch. 

Lots of giggles, some lovely gifts exchanged, hints & tips flying across the table, a mini tutorial from Di on bows & charms, and lots of yummy food :-)

It was a lovely day, and there are plans afoot for a repeat performance, next time with a visit to a duck pond :-)

Debs x

Pop up flower boxes and Hobbycraft demo

I'm off to Southampton Hobbycraft this afternoon to demo pop up flower boxes....

Bad planning as it looks like its going to be a scorcher today! 

These boxes are deceptively easy to make and I will be showing how to decorate them for different occasions. 

Step by step:

Lay A4 card landscape position, 

mark horizontal line across centre of card at 10.5cm from lower edge. 

mark vertical lines at 7, 14, 21 & 28 cm. 

Score across horizontal centre line from left edge across to 21cm vertical line (across 3 panels but leave 4th unscored - this 4th panel will be stand up back panel)

Score all lower vertical lines up to centre line, cut upper vertical lines above centre line to top edge. 

At 28cm line, cut away small panel above centre horizontal line, and on lower small panel cut a diagonal line from centre horizontal line to outer right edge approx 1.5cm down from centre line to create flap. 

Fold along all creases & fix flap to inside of box with strong glue or tape. Fold flaps out

Cut 2 - 3 strips of card 2cn x 10cm. Mark on the long edge at 1.5cm & 8.5cm & score on these lines, folding the 2 end flaps in opposite directions to create a 'Z' shape. Fix these strips inside the top edge of the box, just below the upper edge, a few cm apart. 

Cut small strips of acetate, fix upright to the cross pieces at different heights & fix embellishment to acetate strips 

 

Decorative paper panels are 6.5 cm x 9cm

Enjoy!

 

Debs x

Simple stories scrapbook

Warning - photo heavy post!!

I recently saw the Simple Stories 8x8 scrapbooks on special offer on C&C. I've seen the Project Life version, which was MUCH more expensive. I've never been quite sure about the 'slot it in' scrapbook style - my scrapbook pages tend to have quite a few embellishments!

Anyhoo, the deciding factor for me was that they had a version for a cat album, so I bought it. I have been having a blast completing my album, so I though I'd show it off!

You buy the basic album with page protectors, you get a mix of different styles, plus some co-ordinating patterned pages. 

The great thing is that you can still play and add your own touches! The page above I took a leftover piece of orange spotty 12x12 and made a flip page. I've also used lots of snippets for embellishments & small pocket inserts. 

You get a lot of fun inserts and embellishments with the kit, and I haven't used them all as there were tons! They are great fun and really add to the finished effect. 

Also a great opportunity to use up lots of snippets as some of the pockets are so diddy! So I'm linking to Pixies playground and I'll try to get round to see more of the playmates later :-)

So, has anyone else ventured into the Simple Stories kits? I would love to see what others have done. 

Thank for stopping by

Debs x

Another baby card!

So excited! Am off to the O2 arena to see  The Eagles! One of my fave bands - think I'm a rock- chick at heart lol! Have seen them play live lots of times and they're always great - cant wait :-)

Another baby card from me. Must have been something in the water 9 months ago cos there are SO many people having babies right now!

I just love these stamps from Crafters Companion, they are so cute, and lovely to colour 

I was really pleased with the colour scheme, as I wanted less traditional colours and this one worked out really well. Papers are all LOTV Nitwit Collection 'Promises'. I used a whole sheet to cover the card and then loads of snippets for die cuts and flourishes etc. 

The die cuts are Spellbinders, Labels 4 & Elegant Labels4, with the backing layer being Curved Rectangles - I use this one a lot as its a really good size!!

A Martha Stewart punch for the border, and a LOTV sentiment & some flourishes flowers & card candi to finish. 

Hopping over to Pixies Snippets Playground to check out what other crafty playmates have been up to. 

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x 

Double zig zag card

I've been wanting to try this one for a while, and finally got around to teaching it at today's class!

There is quite a lot of measuring, but the card is fairly straightforward to make. The hardest thing is slotting it all together!!

I was really pleased with the finished card, and my lovely ladies really enjoyed making it, so hopefully tomorrow nights class will enjoy it just as much!!

I was able to use lots I snippets for these projects. I spent ages sorting thru my snippets box to put colour schemes together, and we used lots of different punches and dies to decorate, so I'm linking this to pixies snippets playground. 

Also linking to Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge, which I've only just found via Pixies blog!

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Pop up squash card

This was the project for my last class, and it was great fun to make and surprisingly easy!

The outside looks like a regular gatefold card, but when you open it there's a pop up surprise ....

I saw this Demo'd on a CraftworkCards show on C&C. They were selling it in ready made kit form, so I went away & played until I created my own version :-)

This folds flat to go in an envelope, something I've paid more attention to for recent classes! And it uses less than half a sheet of 12x12 plus some toning snippets from my stash, and flowers punched from snippets, so I'm linking this to Pixies Snippets Playground

Thanks for stopping by

Debs

Knitters birthday

Today is my Mother in Law's birthday, and she loves to knit, so this image seemed perfect for her card.

The house mouse images were very kindly given to me by a friend, Kim. I've added a backing layer cut from a leftover piece of lilac card using a spellbinders die - regal rectangles?

The ribbon was a couple of scraps from my ribbon box. I didn't have a big enough piece to go all the way across the card so had to use 2 pieces & cover the join with a Lili of The valley birthday greeting!

Then i used lots of snippets to cut flowers with Tim Holtz tattered florals die ( definitely a desert island must have!) and flower punches. Finished with lots of lilac gems. 

Linking this to pixies snippets playground cos I used lots of snippets :-)

Thanks for stopping by 

Debs x

Spring is in the air!

Gosh, it's been ages since my last post! Been very busy with work, classes & making lots of new baby cards! Spring is in the air & all the babies are arriving at once!

This card was made for a work colleague - love the colours in this. 

The image is Penny Black, from a wooden stamp belonging to a friend. It

was stamped on a scrap of card when round her house for a crafty evening & sat in a box for ages, and now I love it and will have to buy my own! Linking this to Penny Black Saturday Challenge

The papers are First Edition & I managed to use up lots of snippets for flowers, flourishes & mini die cuts. That's why I'm linking this to Pixies Snippets Playground. 

Off to make Mother in Laws birthday card :-)

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Flap box for Mother's Day

I saw these on Create & Craft last week, they were selling pre-cut kits so I decided to work it out for myself! They're actually far easier than they look & I was thrilled with the end result :-)

The box folds flat & fits into a C5 envelope for posting - perfect!

The basic box is really quick to assemble - its the decoration that takes a while! I used lots of snippets from the Nitwits Collection 'Promises. 8x8 paper pad & my snippets box, a couple of punches & die cuts & some card candi  to finish. I enjoyed making it so much, I made a second, more sophisticated version using Craftwork Cards Vogue Collection papers......

I'm linking this to Pixies crafty playground, since I used so many snippets, and I haven't visited for a while, so might need to sneak quietly through the gate and hide behind the roundabout!

EDIT:

Basic instructions:

Lay A4 card landscape position, mark vertical lines at 7, 14, 21 & 28 cm.  mark horizontal line across centre of card at 10.5cm from lower edge. 

Score across horizontal centre line from left edge across to 21cm vertical line (across 3 panels but leave 4th unescorted - this 4th panel will be stand up back panel)

Score all lower vertical lines up to centre line, cut upper vertical lines above centre line to top edge. 

At 28cm line, cut away small panel above centre horizontal line, and onlower small panel cut a diagonal line from centre horizontal line to outer right edge approx 1.5cm down to create flap. 

Fold along all creases & fix flap to inside of box with strong glue or tape. 

Cut 2 strips of card 2cn x 10cm. Mark on the long edge at 1.5cm & 8.5cm & score on these lines, folding the 2 end flaps in opposite directions to create a 'Z' shape. Fix these strips inside the top edge of the box, just below the upper edge, a few cm apart. 

Cut small strips of acetate, fix upright to the cross pieces at different heights & fix embellishment to acetate strips 

Enjoy!

Stencilling

This is my new favourite technique since I taught it at a class last week. The ladies had so much fun learning the techniques & were thrilled with their finished artwork. So I wanted to show them what they can do with the stencilled panels they created, and a bit of matting & layering......

The main panel was coloured using duster brushes, then stencilled and glittered. The panel was matted & layered on contrasting papers and then I added a handmade tea bag folded butterfly in the same paper, with a beaded body. 

And these are some of the samples I made for the class....

You can see the in mounted panel lower left in the pic. 

Looking forward to seeing what others create with their panels!

Thank for stopping by

Debs 

Surfing & sunshine

How I wish for some lovely sunshine! We had a brief respite on Sunday here in the south, with a lovely clear sunny day, but then straight back to rain & gloom :-(

Anyhoo - this card was made for a friend who likes nothing better than taking her camper van out so her sons can surf & kayak - and she has a doggy too - perfect!

This was a very simple card made using snippets leftover from LOTV Country Gent & First Edition New Leaf pads, plus a decoupaged topper from the lovely Hot Diggity Dog Papermania collection. It was a big hit!

Linking this to Pixies Snippet Playground as I used.....snippets :-)

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Karaoke card

Couldn't sleep so was in the craft room at 7 this morning making this card for a male friend who loves karaoke. Bit hard to photograph under my table lamp!

Men's cards can be a real challenge, but this one came together really quickly :-)

At a craft fair ages ago I bought some die cut toppers which were seconds, because the silver foiling had been cut off one edge of the sheet. The headphones Image in the centre was one of these, think I managed to disguise it quite well!

Background is stamped, 3 black panels embossed, dusted with mica & mounted on mirri - all from my snippets box - was finally able to use the sheet of mirri with a big crack in it. Then the die cuts & a few card candi to finish. 

Linking this to Pixies Snippets Playground & will hopefully manage to visit more playground pals than last week!

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Grandpa card

I was asked recently to make something for a Grandpa, not too fussy, and when I asked about what he likes to do the answer was 'not a lot!' Lol :-). So I decided this cute little guy would fit the bill!

The striped background is an offcuts of a 12x12 sheet, and the border at the bottom was rescued from another project that was destined for the bin! He is stamped on a snippet of watercolour card and painted with distress Inks.

It's been a bit gloomy here lately, but today I see (drum roll please) SUNSHINE!! Ta da! May have to leave the craft projects & get out there. Maybe not quite dancing around the garden cos its still pretty soggy, but a lovely walk would be nice :-)

As I used lots of snippets for this one I'm linking to Pixies Snippets Playground - haven't visited for a while cos crafting has not been happening at the Willis house. Must try harder!

Have a lovely weekend everyone, & thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Craftwork Cards Vogue collection

I just fell in love with this collection when I saw it, couldn't wait for it to arrive so that I could play! Then, when it finally arrived I sat & stared at it & couldn't decide what to do with it!

Several cups of tea later........

Couldn't resist using the mannequins, and that gorgeous peacock was just crying out for gilding flakes!

Then the second card just fell into place

More mannequins, more gilding flakes,aren't those flowers lovely! These are my project in Feb issue of Making Cards. 

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Quick makes

These were made using a lovely kit called Tilly Daydreams Ultimate Papercrafting - includes fancy card blanks & envelopes, decoupage, ribbons & pearls. All the images are adorable & I had a lot of fun working with them. 

They are featured in January issue of Making Cards Magazine, as a 'Make in Minutes' feature, and they literally take 10 mins or less each - great for super quick cards! And this one is my favourite!

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Air dry clay

Hi everyone, No posts from me since before Christmas, so Happy New Year to you! Life's been very hectic, starting back at work in Dec, lots of Christmas activities but not much crafting got done. 

These are pics of projects featured in the January issue of Making Cards magazine. They were submitted last summer, so I'd almost forgotten about them!

They are both made using Martha Stewart air dry clay - lovely to work with. The first sample has hand rolled roses, with the leaves & butterflies made using moulds. The second sample all the embellishments were made using moulds. Everything was painted with Cosmic Shimmer watercolours, also used for stamping the background and central panels. 

The curls are tiny strips of vellum curled over the scissors & fixed in place with Pinflair. 

I really enjoyed working with the clay, it's easy to mould & add colour, either during the creation process or after it dries. And unlike other clays, it is feather light when it dries, a great plus for postage!! 

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

White layered Christmas card

Life's been very hectic the last few weeks, so no blog posts from me. I wanted to share the Christmas card we made at the last class of the year. This was really popular, and was made from lots of leftover bits of white card for the poinsettia & flourishes

The card was inspired by this photo from the lovely Bonnie. Do go and check out her blog as she makes gorgeous cards ....... and takes much better photos than I do lol!

And because I used lots of snippets - tons in fact, cos I cut all the class die cuts from my snippets box, I'm linking this to Pixies Snippets playground. 

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Yet more snippets!!

If you are a regular reader if my blog you'll know that I often join in with fun at Pixies Snippets Playground & that I'm on a mission to help Di reach 100 posts for her 100th blogaversary!

This is my 3rd entry for this week - I spent a happy few hours yesterday making my Christmas puds & turning a pile of snippets into Christmas cards :-)

Just need to add some glitter (Christmas card rules dontcha know!!) & I'm done. 

Happy blogaversary Di!

Debs xx

More snippets!

Over at Pixies Snippets Playground Di is celebrating 100 posts since she took over the  keys to the Playground. I'm on a mission to help her reach 100 snippet posts for her 100th birthday (she doesn't look a day over 90!)

So these are 2 diddy 4" cards made from snippets of Neenah card (always cut my waste into small die cuts for later stamping & colouring cos it's just so good for pro markers!) and leftovers from a pack of Papermania Christmas paper used in my last class.  

Aren't they cute? If you have a few minutes, do pop over to the Snippets Playground and check out all the other entries, there are some lovely crafty pieces on display. 

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x