Carry on Crafting.......

Hello everyone.  It seems such a long time since I have written to you or shared anything with you so here I go again.  I will share with you what I have been doing over the past week or two.  


First of all, I want to thank those of you who pop by and have a read.  This blog is meant to be light-hearted, crafty but thoughtful too, so I hope you all find something worth taking away from it.  After my Birthday celebration weekend I eventually got back to normal.  I had so many cards and comments that people left on Facebook I was really overwhelmed.  I have not yet taken photographs of my cards but I will, and I will share them all with you.  Sad to say, I am in some crafting forums and because the past few months have been pretty shaky for me I have either forgotten or lost the lists from them so if anyone is reading this from those forums.....I truly am sorry.


Time has flown whilst I have been making cards for my little online shop.......which you can find at http:/www.anniescardshop.com 


Please pop into the shop and let me know what your thoughts are about it.  There are only a few cards in it and as I am so new at all this I don't think I have done a bad job so far!


So, on with the cards then:  My first one is quite modern  and all cut using my cuttlebug and cricut expression:

I used a brilliant white, leather effect base card and folded into an A5 size. (8 and 1/4" tall x 5 and 3/4" wide)  Black and white was the order of the day.  Using a die and my culttlebug I cut out the circle and then folded each little triangle under the one beside it until it looked like a sunflower or sun-burst.  I think it is very effective and shows clearly against the white background. I then cut out the flowers, again with a die and my cuttlebug and interlaced them to make the two lovely black and white flowers.  Using my cricut expression, I cut out the flourish from the Home Accents cartridge.  The peel-offs which I added to the centre of the circle and in the middle of the little flowers and flourish are cogs and wheels in sparkly black and silver.

Having all the pieces made, this is what I did:  (I know it is basic stuff, but I have to start somewhere!)

I positioned the large circle and used sticky fixers to adhere it to the card.  I found the right sized peel-offs for the centre and stuck the pieces in place.

The two small flowers are one black and one white, intertwined to give a contrasting effect and in the centre another small peel-off.  

The flourish was stuck down by carefully using some tacky glue and a little pressure put onto it until it began to stick.  

The two flowers were positioned last using double sided foam sticky fixers.

Finally, I added "Just To Say" using black peel-offs.

Where did I get everything from?

White leather effect card ~ The Papetiere (Aberdeen)

Matt black and matt white card ~Craft Creations

Peel-offs ~ Craft Creations

Dies ~ Crafts U Love

Tools used:  Craft knife, Cricut Expression, Cuttlebug, various dies.

This next card is suitable for a man, particularly if he work in the oil industry (as many do where I live).

I just love this card.  I made one similar to this for a special Birthday, and it was really appreciated.  

I used flecked grey base card and on the bottom half I used worl maps which i then overlapped with the silver mirri-card.  On top of that I placed the oil rig image (which was copyright free).  I then put a peel-off across the whole card just beneath the image.  The sentiment was one I already had and it was stuck to grey card and then silver mirri-card.  I found an image of a part of a tool (no idea what it is, but it was in an oil rig section of something)  So I printed it and covered it with clear gloss and when dried I then stuck it to the bottom of the sentiment.

I print all my images on a Kodak printer with Kodak in and Kodak premium photographic paper....... there is no point in skimping if you want something to look as good as it can.  The image is stuck on using double sided foam sticky fixers, as is the sentiment and embellishment.  

The colours all seem to blend well together and I loved the splash of orange with the sunset.  

For the layering of the sentiment I die cut the grey and silver using a die and my cuttlebug.

If you have any comments to make or suggestions or have a question, please fire away.

One thing I have found out about myself when i am crafting.............I forget everything else that is happening around me, which sometimes can be a real blessing.  

Nobody's life is perfect, and mine isn't either, so crafting allows me to forget the things that would bring me down and for that I am truly grateful.

I hope you have enjoyed today's offering to you and I leave you with this thought:

Many Blessing to you all. xx

Busy Weekend

Hello everyone


Last weekend was very busy.  My 60th Birthday arrived and there were celebrations galore.  Out on Saturday night for an intimate dinner for 35 people!!  I will put up pics for all to see and over 30 Birthday cards, which will also be put on display.  We had visitors from England , who are very special people to me, so I was delighted. I have no idea what the future holds, but I do know that I don't feel any different, so getting older must be agreeing with me.


Here I am with my friends, Ian and Sue:

These wonderful people live in Cheshire and traveled up on Saturday and went home on Sunday.  They also made me a beautiful card using an image of my collies in black and white, on a white card.....it is truly stunning.

So, anyway, I was just passing through and thought you might like to know why I have been absent.  There are orders to catch up on and people to visit too, but I will be back with loads of photos.  

So are you ready for the weekend?

Hello everyone


I am having a weekend to remember.  My 60th Birthday is on Sunday, and I am having friends up from England and meeting up with family and all sorts of people over the weekend.  Dinner out tomorrow night...it's all fabulous.


It's at times like this that i think of those I will not see, or who is no longer with us and I know they would enjoy themselves if they were here too, so I am going to make an effort to enjoy myself on their behalf! 


I have been busy making cards for someone and will post them here for you to see.

This is a delicate Birthday card for someone who loves the garden.  I bought the cards with envelopes a while ago, and can't remember where from.  They came in a pack of 25.


I printed the image onto photographic paper, and decoupaged it (which doesn't show that well when photographed!)  I cut out the shape of the gold mirri-card using a cutting die and then ran it through the cuttlebug a second time to emboss it, then using double sided sticky tape I stuck the image onto it.  I then stuck the whole thing onto the card.  Beneath the image you can see a gold diecut strip, through which there is pink and white ribbon threaded and it has a knot on one end. The other end has a beautiful paper rose with gold and silver skeleton leaves all glued together onto the strip.  Beneath the strip is a length of ribbon vine, and down the side is cream lace.  The sentiment just says Happy Birthday and matches in gold and white.  I really hope you like it.  I really hope the person who gets it loves it.  I was asked to leave the insert blank, because a very talented scribe is going to write inside it using calligraphy.  


Size of card: A5 scalloped.
Image:  Fred She Said
Paper rose: Crafts U Love
Gold mirri-card: Craft Creations
Lace: Panduro
Sentiments: and vine ribbon: Mad about Cards




Here is the second card:

Yellow is the theme for this one:


Self embossed white card onto which I stuck on a yellow panel, which I made from card that I had already.  I then put on a white scalloped panel using sticky fixers to raise it from the base slightly.  The gold gems I already had in my stash and the Happy Birthday sentiment is a peel off.  The butterfly is dufex and 3D.  The flower is one I made, using lemon paper and my cricut machine.  The stem is cut from green card using my cricut.  The bow is just for decoration.


So, the flower:


I cut out various sizes of flower heads using my cricut from some good quality yellow paper.  Once I had the flower head pieces I sprayed them with water and scrunched them up and left them to dry.  Then I used a bleaching brush and stroked all the petals and sprayed them again with water, scrunching them a second time.  After they were dried, I carefully opened them up and placed them on top of each other.  I had the green backing flower leaf from another set of ornamental flowers, so I cut off the plastic  centre-piece and put the leafy part behind the flower, fixing it together with a fluffy yellow brad.  I then carefully used a promarker pen to make the colours vary slightly on the petals and put yellow stickles on the petals for effect.


The stem, was cut from green card, which just happened to match the back of the flower, so I glued that to the card and then glued the flower on top of it.  At the base of the stem I glued a little gold bow.


So there you have it.


Card: from stock
Yellow card: Viking Direct
White panel: Fidgity Fingers
Butterfly: Mad About Cards
Green card: Craft Creations
Bow: Fidgity Fingers


Other bits and bobs I already had in my stash.


I hope you have enjoyed your visit today.  Have a wonderful weekend and I will see you next week.