Sun -v- snow

I've been away for a while on my hols. I must be one of the only people I know who leave UK in a heat wave, to holiday in the Arctic!

I kid you not, we cruised to the land of the midnight sun, which is in the Arctic Circle - and yes, the sun stays up for 24 hours - thank goodness for blackout curtains!  We had snow, sleet, rain and a force 10 gale, all the time knowing family & friends were bbq'ing in the sun!! 

Still had a lovely time, seeing real live wild reindeer in their natural habitat was amazing. And the Norwegian fjords are gorgeous. 

So no crafting for a few weeks, and have to say its been so hot in my craft room I couldn't summon up much enthusiasm. But today made this stepper card

I'm hoping it qualifies as a snippets make to enter the challenge over at pixies playground, as the whole thing is made from a leftover aperture card. I bought loads of these in my early crafting days, but struggle to use pre-printed cards now, I prefer to stamp & decorate myself. These were too pretty to get rid of, with glittered butterflies, so I set to with the scissors & this is all that's left of the original card!

Going in the snippets folder for another day! And the centre stepper card will be the basis of my classes next week - a twofer!! :-) 

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend, whatever you're doing. 

Thanks for stopping by

Debs xx

Seashells

I had a snippet of my embossed water droplets card left, and was racking my brains how to use it. Then I remembered this lovely sea shells set from Crafty individuals! And an off cut of 'wavy' paper from a First Edition pad.

You can just about see the droplets behind the seahorses. The original plan was to have just the seahorses, but then I decided to add a few seashells, so raided the white card snippets, stamped, coloured & cut out. 

Then I decided that I needed a second panel with a verse, and then more seashells!  Then I decided they needed to be glazed with Glossy Accents. So what was to be a quick snippets make ended up taking most of an afternoon lol!

Linking this to Pixies Snippets playground cos I used a ton of snippets!

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Ryn Tanaka Droplets stamp

I just had to show you the effects you can achieve with this amazing stamp!

The background behind my little hedgie (Hobby Art) is stamped with Versamark and embossed with WOW Blue pearl embossing powder, which gives this gorgeous 2-tone water effect! 

The papers are from a discontinued Dovecraft set 'Back to Basics II' - I picked up a set if 12x12 with matching buttons & gems for £2.99 at the NEC in feb. 

With mahoosive thanks to Di at Pixies Snippets  Playground, where I won the Ryn Tanaka droplets stamp, and as I used so many snippets, I'll enter this in the playground too!

 :-)

Thanks for stopping by

Debs xx

Steampunk snippets!

This card came about following a Cuttlebug 'how to' class that I ran earlier this year, and the card is featured in this months (July) Making Cards magazine.

In the class I demonstrated how to squash & cut loo roll tubes to get great cheap'Kraft Kard' - check out the large cogs. Also brown parcel wrapping paper - check out the embossed centre panel. And finally, used drinks cans - the silver embossed butterfly, and the silver and black cogs (can of  Guinness, anyone ;-))

Scraps of black card, embossed, torn and brushed with metallic mica powders. And the card was finished with a few flourish and butterfly die cuts from black card & parcel paper, and a few screw top brads with legs chopped off.  In fact, the only bit of this card that came from 'proper' stash is the printed background, also artfully torn  lol!! 

Cos of all the household bits n bobs used, I'm linking this to Pixies Snippets playground

Thanks for stopping by and have a lovely weekend

Debs xx

WOYWW

This was my desk this morning, part way thru some landscapes in prep for a future class. Then I remembered a sample I'd seen at a recent show, I think it was the Lavinia Stamps stand, and a set of stamps from inkylicious that I've been wanting to play with, and I saw Deb Pen Pot use at the Crop ......

I love this image! Background blended with Inkylicious duster brushes using Spun  Sugar, Tumbled Glass, dusty Concord, and Black Soot Distress inks. Stamped in black soot & dusty concord, then added glitter with quickie glue pen. Then......the Tesco delivery man rang the doorbell & I spilled the glitter !!

Off to link this to Julia's WOYWW desk hop and will spend the next few days (ok, all week!!) visiting other crafters around the globe - see previous post for WOYWW crop homework sketch card!

Thanks for all the kind thoughts about my poorly knee - wearing a knee brace for now, waiting for referral to Ortho specialist. GP thinks maybe cartilage damaged :-(

Thanks for stopping by

Debs xx

Crop homework

This card is made from a kit included in the goody bag from the WOYWW crop - finally got around to making something with it!

The kit included a sketch, the card blank, snippet of pink & black paper & buttons. I made the backing paper from a scrap of cream hammered paper that matched the card. I stamped the background with brushed corduroy & Victorian velvet distress inks using a script stamp & Papermania urban stamps I picked up ages ago in the sale and this is first time I've used them - they're fab! 

And I couldn't resist adding yet more of the lovely Tattered florals (obsessed, Moi???!) from Shaz, plus a few card candi. 

Entering this in Pixies Snippets challenge, where last week I won the fabulous Water droplets stamp - cant wait to play with that when it arrives!!

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Thank you cards

 

These were made as Thank You cards for the lovely Julia and Jan for organising the crop on Saturday - should be safe to post now assuming mr postie has delivered on Time!

They were made using leftovers from various K&Co papers, the lovely Tattered Florals that were a gift from Shaz, and my HOTP layering Tool Kit. - great fun! The butterfly in the first pic was found languishing at the bottom of a box, from another K&Co kit (I am rather partial!!)  On the second card, I didn't have quite enough of the teal to make a full size layer as all the pieces were pre-creased down the centre from a previous class, so I had to improvise, and made a border, then there wasn't quite enough of the floral layer, so had to make the top layer shorter than the base layer, and hide the crease with a judicious butterfly, but it looks ok I think

Linking them to Pixies Snippets Playground  cos of copious use of leftovers, snippets and rummage bitz!

Thanks ladies, I had a ball at the Crop!!

Debs x

WOYWW

So this is my desk today, on the left a pile of roses & leaves made of air dry clay & painted with cosmic shimmer watercolours. Hiding (not very well!) behind the spotty caddy is my latest DT project using the lovely Beautiful Shoes stamps from Katy Sue & some shrink plastic. And on my cutting mat the project that will use the clay flowers. 

And the WOYWW crop....oh my! (See Mondays post for details) What a great time was had by all. I didn't get much crafting done but had a ball just the same :-) Met lots of lovely deskers and brought home this lovely pile of goodies.....

And a close up of those gorgeous ATC's....

And finally...... The Mötley Crop Crew in all their glory :-)) (Thanks to Gordon Mr LLJ for the fab pics)

Thanks to Julia the keeper of the desks, and Lunch Lady Jan for a lovely day out, I will be linking to Julia's Stamping Ground and travelling the world of desks over the next few days 

PS - for those who asked about the HOTP layering tools you can find them here - there are 2 different sets imaginatively title set 1 and set 2!! 

thanks for stopping by

Debs xx

Snippets and HOTP layering tools

So this is another snippets make using the lovely tattered florals donated by Shaz - this one uses some leftovers from the Sweet Owl collection by First Edition, and the new Design Tool Kit from Hot off The Press (available here)   - didn't think I would use this as I love my Cuttlebug and dies, but as I have been crafting on my lap, they have been invaluable! Covered the back of the card in a sheet that had a small shape die cut form it, and managed to cover that with the stripey off cut, shaped and cut out using the layering Tool Kit.  butterflies and tag also from snippets using the layering Tool Kit, and the wispy bits are the tiny trimmings from the backing sheet, curled over my scissors - I really like this look, so there will be more of these loL!

this is my second entry in the Snippets challenge this week - I am in love with both sets of stamps on offer, so will be making a third entry too!!

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

WOYWW Crop

What a lovely day it was on Saturday - meeting up with so many WOYWW'ers! Thanks so much to Julia and Jan for organising the day - I didn't get much crafting done - but a lot of laughing and chatting :-)

I got to meet so many people - apologies if I didn't get a chance to chat with you -there  just weren't enough hours lol!! I saw Mary Anne's beautiful quilts, Zoe's amazing colouring (she's way too modest!) Saw Debs cute kitten with wool card - great idea! Made a button stem for mortis bouquet, found out Janet lives just down the road (coffee & cake soon!) met the famous Fergus who takes Hettie everywhere :-) Showed Dolores how to make air clay roses, cut myself some die cuts (with a lot of help from Julia!!) and received some lovely ready cut tattered florals from the amazingly generous Shaz - they must have taken ages to cut so many! Saw Helen's beautiful journal and so much more......!

And we ate loads, laughed loads, made some money for a good cause and returned home absolutely shattered .-)) thanks to everyone who helped me with the mobility issues - hopefully next time we get together I will be able to walk, talk and hold a plate - oooh such a goal to have lol!!!

The lovely tattered florals from Shaz inspired me, and took Janet's advice and  gathered lots of goodies together to be carted downstairs. Spent a happy few hours crafting on my lap tray with the die cuts whilst also using up snippets to create this.....the wispy bits around the flower are the teeny little strips cut off from the backing panel to fit the card, then curled with the edge of the scissors and glued under the flower with the amazing 'glues anything' Pinflair :-)

Then I had a load of teeny snippets left from that one, so I made this one with leftover snippets from my snippets make! Still with me?? I glued the triangles cut from the ends of the banner strips on the previous card to the flower petals - was quite chuffed with the resulting co-ordinated flower! So I am entering them in Pixies Playground Snippets 

Ok, this post is way too long, and I have work to do, but have more snippets makes to share later in the week :-)

Happy crafting

Debs xx

Make in minutes

Hi everyone, hope you're having a good week. 

These cards are featured in this months Making Cards magazine, and were all made from the Papermania Hot Diggity Dog collection, which is so much fun to use!

They're all really easy to make, and the background papers are all yummy candy colours that work brilliantly with the toppers. And the kits have loads in them so great value for money. 

My favourite has to be the little dog in a jumper, who's saying 'does my bum look big in this!' I can so relate lol!!!

Thanks to all those kind bloggers who wished me luck with the house move - its daunting! My craft room is the only one that hasn't been de-cluttered, my argument is I know where everything is and I still need to use it lol!!! 

Also thanks for the kind thoughts about my poorly knee - got to get it x-rayed to see what's going on. Probable ligament damage and maybe some arthritis - obviously reached that age when it all starts falling apart :-)). Main problem is stairs - and my craft room is upstairs - doh!

Have a great holiday weekend

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

WOYWW

I've been away from blogland for the last couple of weeks, as I've been spending all

My time getting out house up together ready to go on the market for sale. 14 years of accumulated clutter had to be sorted (still not finished!!!)

Told Agents not to bother photographing my craft room lol!! But here it is for my WOYWW friends :-)  If you want to join in the desk hop, check out Julia's blog here

I;m in the middle of sorting materials and kits for a class next week (trying to keep ahead of myself for a change!) so you can see a pile of papers, stamps and card candi in the little boxes. At the bottom of the pic is a cute little butterfly notebook given to me by my sis-in-law.

I will be checking out desks later, but realistically it will probably be the weekend before I get to see them - in the meantime, to anyone affected by the Oklahoma tornado, know that there are many of us thinking of you and hoping that you and your families are safe - the devastation this caused is heart-wrenching, and you are in our thoughts

thanks for stopping by

Debs xx

WOYWW & a tidy desk!

This was my desk for a brief moment in time earlier today......

but then I sat down and started playing with my Martha Stewart air dry clay! 

This is in preparation for next weeks classes when we will be making lotsof  different embellishments, using clay, shrink plastic, angelina fibres, UTEE, ribbon roses and paper flowers! And I'm having a lot of fun making the samples :-)

I wasn't able to join in WOYWW last week, so hope to catch up with quite a few of you over the next few days via Julia's wonderful blog hop

Happy crafting!

Debs x

Birthday cat & spring cleaning!

Not much crafting happening in the Willis house this week as it's been pretty busy. And I've even started a bit of a spring clean! Unheard of in this house :-)

Only had time to make a quick card for a cat-loving friend from a lovely Kanban kit I bought last summer

Hope you're enjoying the holiday weekend, and that you see some spring sunshine wherever you are
:-)

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Spinner card

I made One of these cards recently as a Thank You for a friend & stupidly forgot to take a photo! So I made another one from the leftovers!

All the papers are from K&Co - I think it's Bailey - but I only have bits and pieces left, so I'm entering this for the snippets playground make. The flower spins and I think Di had a lot of fun playing with it lol!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Debs

WOYWW 203

So this is my desk today, a big old mess! In need of a major sort out, but not today.

 

Front and centre are my latest toys, a couple of sets of silicone moulds and some Martha Stewart air dry clay. Will be trying ultra thick embossing powder In these too! Must say I'm not impressed with the small packet of clay - hope it goes  long way! And on the windowsill you can see my new glass jars from the lovely Di over at Pixies Playground - already got a couple filled with buttons! Di hosts a weekly snippets challenge and these jars were a giveaway on her blog.

We had a beautiful sunny day here yesterday, and Barney decided to reclaim the lawn as 'his' by spending most if the day slap bang in the centre :-)

In case you're wondering why I'm sharing my messy desk, click here to visit Julia's world wide desk hop

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Inkylicious colour blending

Hi everyone, and welcome to my new followers, Mary Mac and Crafty Debs - I appreciate you adding me to your blog favourites!

This card is one of my designs featured in this months (May '13) edition of Making Cards.  Poor pic, I know - really need to work on the photography skills!

The base card is 8" square, the panel dies used are Spellbinders Mega Curved Rectangles, decorated with Joy crafts flourishes 6002/0020 & 6002/0033 and memory Box Butterfly dies Vivienne & Darla.  The stamp set used is my current favourite, 'Oriental Awakenings' from Inkylicious.

All the inks used are Distress Inks, applied with Inklyicious Ink Dusters to give a lovely soft finish.

The colours are actually much softer than they look in this pic, but my rubbish photography has flattened and darkened the colours - must try harder lol!!

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

Flowerpot thank you card

This is based on a Split Coast Stampers tutorial I saw on you tube, and I've wanted to try it for a while but not had the time (you know how that goes, right??)  It's a basic fold with aperture at the top, trimmed diagonally at the sides to the shape of a flowerpot, then add a punched border and a tag inside plus tons of flowers - very therapeutic all that cutting and sticking :-)

And I got to use up lots of snippets from my First Edition New Leaf pad, so entering this in Pixies Snippets Challenge!

 

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x

WOYWW and the trials of colour matching!

This is my desk yesterday. Not changed as I had a class yesterday afternoon

On the right you can see a selection of 12x 12  papers, getting ready for my class. I then needed to find a contrast paper for each, toning ribbon and card. If you've ever sat and spent ages matching up colours for a card, multiply this x 16, and you'll have some idea of how long this process can take when prepping a class! LOL! And this is what we made.......

The envelope is folded from one 12 x 12 sheet into a DL sized envelope with 2 outer flap envelope openings and 1 inner 'secret' compartment.......









and we made 3 tag cards with stamped panels to decorate - I was really pleased with the vintage style finished project









So I'm off to hop around crafty desks around the world, where crafters share their desks and inspiration via Julia's woyww page.

Thanks for stopping by

Debs xx

Scrapping the good...and the not so good!

I've been a bit busy for the last week and not much crafting was done. But there was a Grand Prix this weekend, which means hours of crafty pleasure for me :-)

So I finished another couple of scrapbook pages from last years holiday. And in the spirit of scrapping the whole experience, one of these pages is about our noisy cabin and my seasick day :-(

Thanks for stopping by

Debs x