Quick Butterfly Card

This card took me all of 10minutes to make!

I used Nestabilities Small Scalled Circle Die to cut the card blank and the pink mat.
The Butterfly is cut using Marianne Design Creatables Buttefly #3, from some stunning paper I picked up at a local craft shop, It is Iridescent and feels like plastic vellum. Very thick but cuts and embosses beautifully.

The flower centre is from a White Christmas bead chain decoration

 Its tricky to get the light to catch the Pearly Iridescent, they have to be seen to be appreciated

The Butterflies also make stunning Glass Decorations!

If you would like to buy some Die Cut Butterflies, they are available in my Ebay Store, by clicking the icon on the Top Right.

Resin Embellishments (and coffee Beans)

I love making my own embellishments and a while ago bought a resin kit with good intent. I didnt know where to start, had so many ideas, so the box got put in a drawer and forgotten about. Until we took the Boys out to a coffee shop.
Upon delivery of our drinks to the table, our oldest who is 6 noticed a stragler on the tray. A coffee bean! He instantly called it "Ben Bean" and became quit attached to it!
He wanted to keep it forever, didnt want it to go mouldy or rot over time, then I remembered Resin! Such a great way to experiment.

This is the resin kit I bought which is easy to use and has very clear instructions.

The mould I used are Silicone chocolate moulds I found in Poundland

This is what I made with the left over resin, thin embellishments ready to be used as they are, or painted with Glass paints, or stuck on top of other items/papers

And here is Ben Bean! Ben Bean is in the Heart Shaped Resin, on the left.

(We had to go and buy a pack of beans so our other 2 sons didnt feel left out)

PDSA Charity Shop find

Last week I went shopping around a part of the city that I tend to drive through often, but never stop in. It appeared to be a charity shop haven! It was full of them! (I love charity shops as you can get some really fab bargains)

I came across this in the PDSA Charity shop for 99p.

 Its meant to be a belt, but I love the Diamonte charms? Beads? Spacers? Not really sure what they are called, but I plan to take it apart and use them in some way on cards and charms and possibly other jewellery.

Marianne Design Creatables Ribbon Flower 2

Marianne D Creatables Ribbon Flowers Die cutters are just stunning, and so much fun to make!
Here are some Cards I made using the Ribbon Flower 2 Die in my Big Shot, along with Cuttlebug Embossing Folders and a Sizzix Swirl Die.

I added Distress inks the the die cut edges before assembling

Paper was used to make the "ribbon" on my Christmas cards. It was quite fiddly, but once mastered, it was quick and easy.

I sprayed each flower with Gold Maya Road Mist to add some Christmas Sparkle

Altered Box of Thorntons Chocolates

Thorntons chocolates are very tasty, but also come with a high price tag. I found some Festive Chocolates in the Thorntons shop the other day, reduced from £9.99 to £4.99. The box contains 28 chocolates.

I plan to give these chocolates away to a Chocolate loving friend who has just had a baby.

I used a sheet of 12"X12" paper to cover the patterns on the box. (I dont know the make of this paper, it came as part of a kit and was a left over sheet)

The cut out pieces

The finished box. It looks a thousand better in real life, the photo really does not do it justice

Paper Mache Spider

My 4 year olds school homework this week was to make something to do with their favourite Nursery Rhyme.
He said he wanted to make an Incy Wincy Spider, os we blew up a balloon, got out the PVA glue and Kitchen Roll and got covering the balloon in 3 layers.
I found some very long Black pipe cleaners in a local Craft Store which we cut in half, poked into the Spiders body and covered the join with more PVA and Kitchen Roll.

Once fully dry, we painted the body with Black Acrylic paint, and here he is!

My Son then got excited as he was allowed to use Mummy's glue gun to stick on Googley eyes, and paint a smiley mouth so it looked more friendly.

Easel Flower Card

This card is probably my Best ever Handmade Card. It was time consuming, but also a learning curve for me.
I made this for my Mums Birthday.

Remember these flowers I made previously? Well, This is what I was making them for!

I stamped some pink organza Ribbon to get a delicate swirl pattern.

I stamped Swirls to the corners

A butterfly was also needed!

The Fisnished card in a Box that I specially made, and wrapped it in tissue paper

The Top of the handmade Box

My Mum loved the card so much, she took it into work to show to her collegues, and keeps it opened up on her display cabinet at all times.

Handmade Necklace and Bacelet

I love necklaces and Bracelets and rarely a day passes where I am not wearing one or the other. Over my many years of Crafting I have also become fairly good at Jewellery making and always make my own Jewellery if I cant find anything to match my outfit in the shops, or I fancy something new.

This is one of my most recent Jewellery makes. I made the set to go with a Dark Pink dress and couldnt find a delicate Pink necklace in the shops.

The beads used are Glass and Silver coated Plastic. All bought from John Lewis in huge boxes for about £4.50 a box. and the wire and fastenings I bought from my Local Bead shop.

Wedding Card Magic Box Exploding Box

Since making the Magic Box for my Friends 40th Birthday, I wanted to make more. I love them as a keepsake gift aswell as a card.
New Years Eve was my Brother-in-laws Wedding, I handmade all their wedding invitations for them, and with the few leftovers I had, I made this Magic Exploding Box. Would you believe everything, (except the flowers and leaves) including the lid and the embossed panels were made from just 1 sheet of A4 card!

The Ribbon on top of the lid is concealing a Flap where the greeting is written

If you want a tutorial on how to make your own Magic Box, The lovely lady who designed it has provided one here at www.magic-boxes.com

Last trip to Hobbycraft

Today I visited Hobbycraft again, for the final time this Sale period. The Sale ends at the Weekend apparently but new stuff is being added everyday.

I picked up some rather good bargains, and also picked up some bits to give to my Mum. Im making her up a shoe box of bits and pieces as a starter set for Card Making. She wants to start Card making but doesnt know where to start and is abit overwhelmed by it all I think!

Sorry for any photos that are sideways. My Camera is a Canon and apparently Canon and Blogger dont mix well so until I can figure how to stop rotated photos, Im a litte stuck.

I have some plans for these that are not Christmas related

I Love Brads and still cant believe I got 200 mini brads for 49P

Lots and Lots of peel-offs! I use loads of these on my cards

I really like the Laura Ashley Flocked 12X12 papers

These are like mini sequin/tags. I plan to add peel-offs to them or stamp onto them and turn them into mini tags

These are some Balloons my 6 Year old asked me to buy last time I went into Hobbycraft for 99p! Cant really say no at 29p can I?

These are the bits I plan to put into my Mums Shoe Box

Wedding Card

This wedding card I made for my Friend mentioed on an earlier post for whom I made the acceptance card.

This card was very easy to make using Cuttlebug Embossing folders on my Big Shot, layering onto a plain white card blank, adding knotted ribbon and some handmade Satin flowers. I used Heart Shaped Brads which I re-coloured using permanant markers.

Cuttlebug Embossed Birthday Cards

Here are some very similar Birthday Cards I created.
I used a White card blank and some white card which I embossed using Cuttlebug Folders on my Big Shot. This was then inked using cut n dry foam and Tim Holtz Distress Inks to the raised areas.

The Flowers I made using Organza that had little sequins stuck onto the top and added a brad for the centre.

Hobbycraft Sale January 2011

Another visit to the Hobbycraft sale was in order when I discovered loads more stock had been added in.

When I walked into the shop, there were bargin boxes everywhere, and shelves were piled high with sale stuff. I have no idea how long I spent in there, but it certainly was not less than 1hour!

This is what I picked up on this trip:

 2 packs of Envelopes, (C6 and Square)

Wedding cake boxes and Favour boxes with lids.

Card Blanks, A5, A6 and Square. 10 in each pack!

 20 sheets of Shrinkles Shrink plastic, A pack of 10 pearlised Kanban tall cards and a book on Twenty to make Charms.

Raffia. I LOVE this Raffia, I recently picked up a few rolls of it on sale in John Lewis at £2 a roll as it was a bargain, but 49p a roll!! Each roll has 10m.

Oriental Bamboo Paintbrushes, 5 sheets of peeloffs for 99p, Reverse Tweezers for £1.99, and a Hero Arts Cupake cling stamp for £1.49