Sending Prayers

Hello :-)

Today's card is a difficult one to get right. It is a sympathy card,for a dear friend.

I wanted to use Paper Smooches,as this is not often thought of for the bumps and rocks life throws at you-it is such a happy bubbly range of stamps,but it can be turned to for the other types of cards you sadly sometimes need to make.

I originally wanted to make it monotone white,but it didn't quite look right,so I used the stamps and the corresponding dies of Flap Happy (Ironic,I know). I die cut the butterflies in music sheet paper,then again in thick white card,using Jenny's technique from a few blogs back,to stamp and cut perfectly. The solid colour butterflies are embossed in white.They are all mounted onto the music sheet die cuts and focusing around a Prima bulb. 

The aim of the card is to symbolize that in times of crisis,family and friends come from all over to be together,to support and love each other,and there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

 

Just prawn happy

Hello!

I felt like a bit of a change from my normal stuff today,so I reached for Paper Smooches Surf n Turf-I just LOVE that prawn! 

I started by cutting the top in an approximation of waves,and inked the edges. I used Tim Holtz embossing powders for the sand,as they are quite sand-like when they set. I glued the sentiment onto a cocktail stick,and popped it in his hands (he looks like he is holding something :-))

I hope you like it!

Lou 

Embrace your inner funky

Hello!

It feels like it has been forever since I posted a blog! So in celebration,I have stepped way out of my comfort zone and drawn huge  inspiration from the other girls in the Design Team and have tried to keep this card really simple and clean...ish! ;-)

I used the gorgeously retro Unity Melody Ross set 'one of a kind'-I've had this in my collection for a while now and have been itching to use the plain-Jane girls :-) I left the girls very simple,with no depth(well,just a touch in their hair) I backed the image with some gorgeous Lawn Fawn petite pack paper and some of their teal twine with a vintage orange flower button from my stash. Very unusual for me-I actually cut up some paper! Shock horror! I am a massive paper hoarder-a real fire hazard. I collect it then stash it away,occasionally stroking it,but NEVER cutting into it,lol. Aaaaand I didn't distress or ink any edges! I'm feeling very proud of the 

plain white I managed not to stain ;-)

So,it is goodbye from me for this week,hope you like the card and the new look website ;-)

Spring Greens!

Hellooooo!

Today I have made an almost  monochromatic card,using Paper Smooches A Magical Spring set,which at first glance may look like just a St Patrick's Day set,but you can use it in so many ways,it can be used throughout the year.
I have an awesome friend who is going through a tough spot at the moment,but she is not one for soppy sentiments,so this little greeny will be winging its way to her.

I used the rather handy W Plus 9 Clear Hearts Stacker to make the shamrocks,both the large and the small,inked the edges to add a little depth (and I cant seem to go past a project without inking it SOMEWHERE),coloured the leprechaun and his best mate birdie,and backed them on white so they didn't get lost,ran the main body of the card through swiss dots embossing folder-again to help differentiate the different areas of the monotone card,blinged the centers (well,you just have to don't you?!)and attached the smaller shamrock with a very fine gauge piece of wire. It sproinged around too much,so I had to anchor it down with a pop dot.

I hope you are having an awesome start to Spring (despite the random snow!)There are lots of lovely Spring inspired sets in the shop at the moment,with more on the way,so go check them out when you have a few moments :-)

Circle Journal Blast off!

Hello!

A while ago I was invited to take part in a small Circle Journal group on FaceBook. This,bizarrely, is my first ever swap here in England,lol. We could choose our theme and size and any rules we wanted to encourage,and initially I chose Altered Birds for my theme,as I love these and it gives quite a wide margin on what can be done. Unfortunately the making of the journal took place exactly when I took over Make The Day Special,so I got off to a veeeeery slow start,plus at that time,my eldest daughter was having a tough time on chemo,so I had to put a halt on a few extra curricular activities. When I tried to make the covers,I was struggling so much to get inspiration that in the end I thought  'You know what,life's too short to be doing something you don't enjoy-I am doing this bad boy on something I really love and makes me happy! Something I am always inspired to craft on;Halloween. (and Autumn,if one of the ladies doesn't celebrate Halloween).' Thus,the new improved CJ was born! I lobbed 3 inches off the covers to make them 6x6" and gathered some bits and bobs together for my theme; 

***

I made a flower using my favorite technique that I used for the Shabby Chic Swap,with a Halloween bottle top that I got in a Swap last year for the center,and I FINALLY tucked in to my stupidly hard to get over here Ravenhead Manor paper and embellishments that was so kindly sent to me in a RAK (You know who you are,and I still love you madly for that ;-) ) Slowly a front cover emerged. I got the sewing machine down and covered the covers in old black silk (there is a LOT of machine work on this journal! lol It is more fabric than paper )

The inside cover and next page:

***

My double page effort: (I wanted a sort of creepy vintage childhood diary feel to these-pinned insects,moths in jars,old hairclips,precious personal ephemera.)

 I tried to replicate the hair clip from the photo,but with an old feel. Like it had been in there for a while-precious,documented,kept.

***

And the sign in pages at the back:

 And the back cover:

It has now been sent off to catch up with the others :-) I cant wait to get it back in a year and see what everyone has done :-D

A very vintage cupcake card

Hello!

The card I made this week was for my gorgeous cousin,who turned 16 on Wednesday. She is a skilled baker for her age,and loves cupcakes and Cath Kidston,so I had a think,and used the gorgeously versatile new Paper Smooches Cupcake die and a few pages from the new Lawn Fawn petite pad,Daphne's Closet(which,by the way,makes awesome cupcake pieces!) I set the whole cake on a little doily,inked the edges black to make the cakes separate bits stand out,added a bit of ribbon and tule and voila! Really really simple to make,and loads of room left on the paper for many other things-what a great die!

Bon appétit!

A shabby Prim swap catch up

Bonjour!

I am slightly rubbish at remembering to blog-I'm sure I will get better (I AM getting better-my new job is ensuring that :-))So,I found these pics on my computer from a swap I took part in over at Your Paper Pantry,waaaay back in March. I signed up for the Shabby Chic Grab Bag Embellie swap and also,as I am completely obsessed with all things Primitive and Folk Art-y,I joined the new Prim swap over there. 

I took the stamped tags and flowers spots,which require five of each. I had seen a flower technique a while ago (I cant remember where)using strips of scalloped fabric to make shabby flowers. I LOVE the way these look! For mine I used bits of vintage linen,tulle,vintage pillowcases,burlap,antique doilies,and some very old Cath Kidston PJ's I had in my fabric stash forever,paper...I got so into it I just grabbed anything that I thought would look good,lol. I made the centers from some pearl earrings I picked up at a broken jewellery sale  

 This is how my five came out...

And a couple closer up

I had good feed back from the girls that received them,so I think they went down well :-)

Next up was the Stamped Tag swap-I always struggle with this one,as I find it very hard to JUST do stamping,lol. I used a few stamps from my fresh-through-the-door Unity KOTM and the script from a stamp I have had for a long time. I embossed the script over the rose stamp with clear semi mat powder,which I like the effect of on here and finished the tags using some of the seam binding I dyed whilst on a seam binding dying frenzy(I get gripped by these occasionally, frequently) and put some vintage glass beads onto the ends to add some weight.

And finally,onto the Primitive Swap. This was a one-on-one for a candle mat and we had to use thick felt and Prim colours,leaving a 4x4" space in the center for the candle to go on. I love embroidering,so jumped on this to use some of the designs buzzing around my head that I had seen on a Google search. It is made from a very old woolen blanket that had got felted,and again,has been loitering in my rather ominous looking fabric stash cupboard. I backed it with coarse burlap,for a truly feed-sack rustic look ;-)

The lovely Alease got mine,and sent me such a lovely message of gratitude :-) 

And I got a gorgeous one from Linda :-)

Back for more catch-ups soon!