A New Year

 Hi Friends

So, I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and got loads of crafting goodies? I know I did :).

So today is the last day of the most disastrous year I've ever known. Who would have thought a year ago we would be talking about going into the roaring 20's and now, what the h@ll happened! So lockdown came, people stockpiling toilet paper, restaurants giving 50% off, England in another lockdown and now another strain of the blooming virus that seems worse and we've been put into tiers. So here in Southend we went straight to tier 4, Christmas plans changed at the last minute, not being able to see loved ones at the most wonderful time of the year. It's been so hard on a lot of people and some not being able to cope, it's rather a sad outcome for 2020. So let's hope that 2021 is an improvement with virus busting medicine and that we can get some normality back.

Anyway enough of doom and gloom, I'm sharing some of my crafty haul I got for Christmas. You've got to love an Amazon list!!

So, the man in red got me a new Sizzix glue gun, I'm assured it doesn't leak, water colouring pens by Arteza, a Darice embossing folder and a tray to use glitter/embossing powder and then funnel into the pots. I can't wait to use them!

So, I'm wishing everyone a happy new year, please stay safe and let's hope 2021 is a big improvement.

Debbie x

Christmas Makes

 Hi all

Well it's one week until the big man arrives... yikes! I still haven't posted a Christmas card. Anyway, I have a couple of last minute Christmas makes to share with you.

These are made using Glitter subway tiles and using my Cricut Maker. The top one is for my MIL and the other is for my SIL.

I have also made some Christmas baubles, these were a bit of an experiment, so far I have made four, this is one of my great niece.

It's not perfect, but again used my Cricut machine to make this. I used Cricut sticker paper and then print and cut the image, once done I adhered it to an acrylic shaped bauble. I added the year so that I can update again either next year or every couple of years.

Thank you for taking the time to look. Now I must crack on with Christmas cards.... Please stay safe regardless of what tier you are in.

Debbie x

Novelty Christmas Present

 Hi all

I hope you are all well? I must admit I'm nowhere ready for the big day. I keep getting asked to make things for friends and family. It's good to be busy, it helps my mental health, but not my blood pressure!

Anyway, I did manage to make some novelty Christmas presents and I love them. Here is a picture of them.

These are potholders and are quite hard to get hold off. I bought these from a Facebook group for £1 each, a bargain. I decorated them using heat transfer vinyl with my Cricut Maker. They have a pocket, so I'm going to put a cookie mix and some baking utensil in them. They are just for fun, but totally useable.

Thank you for taking the time to visit. Have a good weekend and please stay safe.

Debbie x

Christmas Card

 Good evening friends.

So it's the first day of December, not long till the big man arrives! I'm so behind on Christmas cards this year, I can see myself sending bought cards out... yikes!

Anyway, I have made a start and this is my first one. Hope you like it.

The image is an old Lili of the Valley topper, sadly I can't find this in their Etsy store or outlet store. The paper I've had for a while, sentiment is unbranded and cut in glitter card as is the snowflake which is a punch, the ribbon is from my stash. 

If you would like to see some great LOTV Christmas cards or others, then you can join the Facebook group set up by the design team which you can find here. Where you can find some great inspiration.

For those in England enjoy your freedom tomorrow (2nd Dec), but still stay safe.

Debbie x

In Memory!

 Hi Folks

Well can you believe it's the last Saturday of November, where has the year gone? So those of us in England, lockdown finishes on the 2nd December, yay... I really need to get the Christmas shopping done. I do like to support my local shops. 

I have some creations to share with you today, a friend of mine lost her mum recently, she was a lovely lady. I used to take her to her medical appointments and as she didn't get out much, I always took the coast road home. She loved it and she used to talk about the past. I'm so pleased that I brought some remembrance into her life! Anyway, I made the following for her daughter, my friend to remember. I gave them to her last night and there were a few tears. So here they are...

I used to my Cricut Maker to make them. The frame is from Ikea, the heart slate and LED candle are from Poundland.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and please stay safe.

Debbie x

Good News!

 Hi friends

I am happy to say that my Covid-19 test turned out negative... yay. However, it would seem I just had a good old common cold! Mind you the cold did knock me for six and so not done much in the last week. I'm feeling much better today and may venture out with a short walk.

Anyway, on to what I have to show you. I've finally made a start on Christmas cards and here is one of them.

A nice simple one using an old die sheet image from Lili of the Valley, which you can find in their Etsy shop here. This is such a sweet image. I just used an unbranded scalloped square die, the papers are so old I haven't a clue where from, ribbon and gems from stash.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and thank you to those that commented on my Christmas plate.

Stay safe and have a good week!

Debbie x

Christmas Bits!

 Hi all

A big thank you to Sarah and Jules for taking the time to comment on my last post, they were lovely to read. The problems I had with blogger have sorted themselves out, which tells me that it was a Blogger problem!

Other news is that today I went and had a Covid-19 test, as a house I go to everyday to walk the dog and do some cleaning, one of the household has tested positive. So as a precaution I am self isolating until the results are in. Good news it does give me time to craft during daylight!

So this week I have made a plate and milk bottle for Santa for my friends granddaughter, I love making these.

I used my Cricut Maker to cut the vinyl, the image I purchased a few years ago, the plate was a cheap one from Wilkinson's and the milk bottle was from a set I purchased from Asda. I added the ribbon and bell to the milk bottle. These are great to use up odd bits of vinyl I had. I also add a letter from Santa to be placed once the great man has been! Apologies for the unprofessional photo.

Have a great week ahead and please stay safe!

Debbie x

Rememberance

 Hi Friends

So here in England we are in to a four week lockdown at the moment so roll on the 2nd December. 

If anyone reading this can help, I would be most grateful. I am having trouble opening and reading some Blog posts, it's stopped all of a sudden. Most I can open and read, but the few that I can't I get a message saying timed out and one say's it's too dangerous to open. I haven't a clue about these things and it's so annoying!

Anyway on to my creation today. My partner is pretty gutted as he can't march past the Cenotaph in London this year. This he has done for as long as I can remember. So I made a remembrance candle for him and his friend, they are both ex RAF. So let us remember those that sacrificed their lives and gave up so much for us to be free. So here it is...

I used a LED candle from Poundland, image I found on Google and the poppy and font I found in Cricut Design Space. I then printed on to Cricut clear sticky paper and then placed on the candle. The candle is very effective as it flickers when on. The partner loved it!

So friends have a good week and please stay safe.

Debbie x

Happy Halloween!

 Hi all,

Happy Halloween to those that celebrate it, personally it's not something I do, but I have really enjoyed looking a some great creations that have been made.

Well it's a wet and windy day here in Southend, so a day of crafting me thinks! I've got quite of bit of Christmas bits to do still, plus I need to crack on with Christmas cards.

Anyway, today I am sharing some Christmas countdown boards I have made for friends and families children. I've really enjoyed making these.

So far I have made seven and here is one of them. I used a chalkboard from Home Bargains which was £1.19 and then used my Cricut Maker to cut the vinyl. I designed this using Cricut's design space and used Oracle 641 vinyl. It's not perfect, but I love it. Unfortunately, you can't see the shine on the name, it looks much better in the flesh!

Have a great week ahead, but I fear I can see another lockdown coming to the UK... oh well!

Stay safe!

Debbie x

Hello!

 Hi Friends

Sorry that I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, I've been so busy with Christmas commissions and I will show these at a later date. We're now in GMT in the UK with the clocks going back, I hate the dark nights coming early! 

Anyway,  I have a card to share with you using a Mo Manning stamp, I love this old girl :)

 

I've had this stamp for so long it's by Stampavie and it's Mo Manning's Mummu, I've coloured the image with Promarkers, the papers are First Edition, the flowers are from a Hunkydory die and everything else is from my stash.

Have a great week ahead and those that are in the UK that are under Tier 3 lockdown or Firebreak in Wales please stay safe.

Debbie x

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Mo's Digital Pencil #296 Anything Goes - http://mosdigitalchallenge.blogspot.com/2020/10/challenge-296-anything-mo-goes.html

Papercraft Challenges #36 Autumn Colours - https://papercraft-challenges.blogspot.com/2020/10/challenge-63-herbstfarben-autumn-colours.html

Crafty Creations Challenges #414 Anything Goes - http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.com/2020/10/october-challenge-414-anything-goes.html

Another Saturday Comes Around!

 Hello friends,

I hope you're all keeping well? No rain so far in sunny Southend, but I'm sure we will get sometime today! I've had a busy couple of weeks designing, making and finishing a few things. Still got loads to do. I have managed to find all my Christmas stash and I must start on my cards.

Anyway, I'm sharing a card today I made for my friends daughter who was 2 years old and horse mad already! Here it is another cute image from Lili of the Valley.

The image is a simply print and you can find it here, I do love using the simply prints as I can make a quick card when needed. The oval die, embossing folder, number and sentiment are all unbranded, ribbon, flowers and buttons from my stash.

Have a good week ahead and please stay safe in these uncertain times.

Debbie x

Happy Saturday

 Hi friends,

So sunny Southend is not so sunny anymore, Autumn has truly arrived, the wind has been awful here!

I'd like to say thank you to those that have left comments recently, they are much appreciated. So I'm sharing something a bit different today. I have used Lili of the Valley flower alphabet letters. I must admit it was a labour of love as a few thing were a bit disastrous and I started it a couple of times and did some changes once finished. There are a few pics to show....

So this is the first one and I foiled the letters by using my laser printer, placed foil over the top in rose gold and then run it through my laminator a few times to make sure that the foil adhered to the letters. This is the first time I had tried this. I followed a YouTube video by Crifty Crafty which you can find here and used I the same foil and laser printer in the video, my laminator is a Fellowes. You can see the foiling on this one.

Then disaster struck, as you can see I used my Promarkers to colour the letters and then this happened...

A blooming blob which I couldn't repair so had to start again. The next picture is a finished version, but I wasn't too happy with the pink paper...

So this is the finished version, the frame I've had for a while and came from Poundland and yes it cost a whole £1.

I so prefer it with the white background. Here is what I used to make the frame...Image Lili of the Valley, Promarkers, Deco Foil, Samsung laser printer, Poundland frame, Trimcraft flowers and bling from stash.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and please stay safe.

Debbie x

Tulip Card

Good evening.

So I have just got back from a short break away, firstly my partner and I stopped off in York for a couple of days. What a lovely city, we took in some of the sights. Then stopped off in Scunthorpe to visit friends and then Sunday we went to Newark to visit more friends and to remember the Battle of Britain at their memorial. The Battle of Britain was 80 years ago today (Tuesday 15th September). Here are a couple of photos (my partner is on the right of the first picture).

Anyway I do have a card I made just before I went away. I really enjoyed making this. The tulips have been coloured with Hunkydory Prisms. Hope you all like it!

To make this card I used an embossing folder from Docrafts, Marianne Designs Petra triangle and everything else is unbranded.

Have a great week, I'm having a crafting day tomorrow and will share what I make at a later date.

Debbie x

OMG We're in September!

 Hello
Well August went too fast! I've been away for a week house sitting so not much crafting done apart from some knitting. I'm making a basket weave blanket in multi colour yarn, I will share this with you once I have finished.
I have a card to share with you that I made using watercolour pencils, I must admit I like using them as I find them easier to use than my Promarkers!  I used a wooden Penny Black stamp that I've had for years. I'm going to enter this into some challenges, I've not done this for so long. Anyway here is my card...

To make this card I have used the following items:
Penny Black 'Jungle Tulip' wooden stamp, Cuttlebug Embossing folder, Unbranded cutting die, Sprinkles, Lili of the Valley sentiment stamps, ribbon from stash and Hunkydory Prism watercolour pencils.
Thank you for taking the time to visit and have a great week, see you soon. Please stay safe.
Debbie x
I would like to enter this in the following challenges: 

Love to Craft Challenge Blog #50 - https://lovetocraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2020/09/ltccb-50-september-anything-goes.html

Penny Black Saturday Challenge, Anything goes with optional colour, I chose pink. http://pennybfriendssaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/2020/09/pbsc-september-anything-goesoptional.html

Crafty Challenge Calendar,Anything Goes http://craftycalendarchallenge.blogspot.com/2020/09/september-challenge-anything-goes.html

Where has the week gone?

 Hi Peeps

I hope you have all had a good week. I've had a busyish one. Tuesday finally got an injection in my painful shoulder (can't tell the difference yet 😏). Wednesday, myself and a friend plus her toddler took advantage of the governments initiative to save and eat out. The queues for this were horrendous, but we did manage to get into Pizza Express and the food was lovely, we saved £30 off our food bill, bargain! Saturday, I went to a family BBQ, which was so lovely to see everyone.

I do have a card to share with you that I made earlier in the year. Hope you like it?

[

So I used a simply print image and sentiment stamp from Lili of the Valley, the image you can find here another cute image, haven't a clue where the papers are from, the number was cut on my Cricut Maker, the die is a Spellbinder and everything else is from my stash.

This is the first time using the new blogger, not sure about it, somethings are a bit long winded, oh well that's progress!

Have a good week and stay safe.

Debbie x

Happy Sunday!

Hello everyone,

Well it's been two weeks since my last post. I had a last minute getaway to look after my friends dog Dora while they went to Devon house hunting. I decided not to take my laptop with me. The sun was shining and it was way too hot for me and Dora. So meet Dora, she is very needy as she lost her friend a couple of months ago. She wouldn't leave my side and slept on the end of the bed with me... bless her. So here she is.

Anyway, I'm home now and have made a card to share with you. All the dies are unbranded apart from the 'happy birthday' die which is Lawn Fawn and I have cut some bits off it. Hope you like it.

Have a good week and please stay safe...

Debbie x

Too Hot for Me!

A quickie!!

Hi peeps, a schedule post from me today as I have such a busy Saturday. So Friday here in Sunny Southend the temperature reached 33C, way too hot for me. I had three fans on and still it was uncomfortable. I know I shouldn't complain, but...  So I spent the afternoon making a quick card and cutting vinyl with my Cricut to put names on bits and bobs. So here is my card...

I used a simply print image from Lili of the Valley which you can find here, these are brilliant for quick cards! The embossing folder is from Crafters Companion and all the dies are unbranded.

Have a great weekend and thank you for taking the time to visit.

Debbie x

Promarker Storage

Good Evening!

It's been a dull and drizzly day today, but it's very muggy. So the saga of my shoulder still continues and I spoke to my GP this week and he has asked me to look up exercises for my injury on YouTube and to try some of those, if no improvement in three weeks then he said he will give me a steroid injection, roll on three weeks, I'm so not an exercise person!!

As I haven't done much crafting recently, I have been trying to sort some of my craft bits out and one of the things that needed doing was my Promarkers. I needed to put them in some sort of order and to find some storage for them. So I trolled Ebay and found some made from MDF. I was pleased with them and when putting the markers in I realised I had more markers than I thought so had to buy another one which you can get from here. The service was great, but I wish it came with instructions. I got there in the end so here they are...

I haven't painted them, but I might in the future. My only gripe is that I wish I could put them in the other way, but the holes are not big enough, as I put coloured dots on the other end so I can see the colour, oh well. I've just got to fill the other one which I will do tomorrow.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Debbie x

The Dreaded Boy Card!

Hello and it's Another Saturday!

So where has the last week gone, I'm still suffering from shoulder problems, not good at all, but hey ho. So it's really hot here in sunny Southend today and I went and sat in a friends garden for an hour or so until I was starting to fry! 

I made a card a few weeks ago for a male/boy, I really hate making them, I do like a nice girly card... So here it is and was really quick to make.

I do love this colourful simply print image from Lili of the Valley which you can find here, the papers I've had for so long I'm not sure where they came from.. sorry, the punch is  Martha Stewart and I used Spellbinder dies.

Have a great week, and thanks for passing by.

Debbie x

Hi

Hair Bows

Hello friends, I hope you've all had a good week? I'm still suffering with my shoulder and I can see another call to my doctor. So again I am sharing something I made earlier...  Hair bows made for my friends daughter.

How cute are they? I made them using Hobbycraft glitter felt and cut on my Cricut Maker, I added the embellishments to the centre and they have a hair loop on the back... Simples.

Anyway I hope you like and see you all next week, have a good one.

Debbie x

Here's One I Made Earlier!

Another Happy Saturday

Hi all, I'd like to wish any American friends who visit the blog a happy 4th of July, enjoy your holiday weekend. 

I know I've been quiet this week, but I do have an excuse! I've damaged my shoulder apparently its a 'Rotator Cuff' injury. I woke up with it and it's blooming painful. This means crafting went out the window! However, I do have lots of things I have made that I can post and I will show one today for you, it's one of the biggest crafting items I have ever made. So here it is...

I made this selfie frame for my friends baby shower back in 2018! To make this I purchased the poster board from The Range and I cut out the middle using a Stanley knife, then I made all the decorations using my Cricut machine and all the designs are from their Design Space.

I hope you like it, have a good week and stay safe, especially those in England as it's a day where we can now visit pubs and restaurants!

Debbie x

Happy Saturday

Good Morning

Hi all, I hope you've had a good week and got some crafting done in this extremely hot weather we are having in the UK. It's been too hot for me and to be honest I haven't done much. As a diabetic I have noticed that my sugar levels have been a touch higher than normal and this makes me tired! Anyway,  I have loads of bits to do, so this weekend I will be crafting.

So I am showing a quick card I made for a birthday, I have loads coming up.

I love this stamp from Lili of the Valley you can find the digi image here, it's so sweet. I have coloured it with Hunkydory Prisms, the papers I've have had for ages and I don't know where they came from... sorry. The stitched square die is unbranded, flowers and ribbon from stash.

I'm having a crafty de-stash you can find the bits for sale here.

Thanks for passing by and stay safe.

Debbie x

Bildmalarna - Who Remember's these Stamps?

Hello Again

So, where has the week gone let alone the weekend. It's been lovely here in Southend and I do wish I had a garden to sit in. So I have been following the free classes on Kit and Clowder and more practice is still needed. It's where to put the shading that puzzles me. I know I will get there in the end!!

Anyway, I have a couple of cards to share with you today. They are cards using mini Bildmalarna stamps. Sadly Bildmalarna closed down, I loved their stamps. I've coloured them both using watercolour pencils from Hunkydory (Prisms). I found them easy to use considering I am a novice at colouring with this medium. 

How cute are they?

Have a good week, if you're passing by my blog, please say hello, it's not compulsory. 

Take care and stay safe.
Debbie x

A Wedding No More!

Hello Friends

Well who would have thought that the amount of rain that fell overnight here in Southend. I know a lot of gardens needed the downfall! Glad it's a bit brighter now, I can get on with some colouring. I'm following the free tutorial from Kit and Clowder. I've learnt about shading and it's a mind field!

Anyway on to my creation. I made this for a wedding for friends who unfortunately, due to lockdown and Covid 19 had their wedding cancelled. All those preparations. They're now getting married in 2021. So here is what I made them....

I made this using a frame I bought from Poundland, it had a black butterfly on it and I managed to take it off. I created the design in Cricut Design Space and cut the vinyl with my Cricut using a holographic vinyl, I changed the ribbon to a bright gold and added the bow. I've put a piece of white card at the back to take the photo so you can see the image better. Luckily I can take off the date and change it for the new one.

Anyway, thank you for looking and stopping by and enjoy the rest of your week.

Stay safe.
Debbie x

My Fav - Daisy

Good Afternoon

So what a beautiful day we have here in Southend, after getting soaked yesterday queuing for my shopping!

Anyway on to my card, it's one of my favourite stamps from Elisabeth Bell - Daisy, I think she is so sweet. My colouring is still pants, so I have decided to sign up for some colouring classes with Kit and Clowder so I can improve! So for the time being I wont be entering into any challenges. I will still update my blog as it is good therapy for me. So here is my card...

I've coloured her with Promarkers, the sentiment is Lili of the Valley all other items are from my stash drawer.

Have a good week and thanks for passing by. Stay safe.

Debbie x

A Clock I Made!

Good Morning Friends

I hope you've all had a good weekend. I've spent mine crafting and practising new techniques, which I will share at another time. 

Anyway, I needed a new clock for my kitchen and I decided to make one as I had some clock hands in a drawer which I had for ages. So here it is...

I created this using my Cricut Maker and I purchased the design from here. It would seem layered mandalas are all the rage at the moment especially on the Facebook pages for Cricut. The clock hands had a red second hand and I really didn't like the colour and thought how can I change this, so I used silver embossing powder and heated it and used loads of layers to build the colour up until I was happy and it worked really well.

I hope you all have a good week and hope the weather improves too!

Take and stay safe.

Debbie x

I used the following ingredients to make this.

Cricut Maker from Hochanda

Clock hands from The Works

Paper is from Hobbycraft

The frame is from B&M's

Mandala from Etsy

Hi Again

Hello

Good evening friends, I hope you are all well. So what's happened with the weather? Oh my it's really cold this evening, great excuse to craft!

Anyway on to my card. This is something out of my comfort zone... While I've been isolating I have been trying different techniques. I bought some watercolour pencils and thought I would give it a try colouring with them, I must admit I really enjoyed it. So here it is...

I have used a stamp from Lili of the Valley, Kraft card and card blank, watercolour pencils and Tim Holtz ink pads. ribbon and gems from stash.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and stay safe.

Debbie x

A Quick Card!

Hello Again

It's been a beautiful, but a windy day here in sunny Southend. I've been on a bit of a roll making cards and looking out for my Amazon deliveries! I had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and got some vouchers to spend at Amazon, so I added to my Promarker collection, bought some new cutting dies and different types of card. I also purchased some watercolour pencils to have a try at that type of colouring, which I have been doing this afternoon, I really liked it, so may need to add to the collection.

Anyway I have a lot of birthdays coming up and so I need to add to my box ready to send out. So here is a quick birthday card I made using a pre-coloured image. Here it is....

The image is 'Time for you Girl' - Floral by Lili of the Valley which you can purchase from here, the sentiment tags are also Lili of the Valley which you can also find in their Etsy Shop. The paper is from an old pad I had, the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, the dies are Spellbinders, ribbon from my local haberdashery shop and the bling is from my stash.

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and stay safe everyone.

Debbie x

My Colouring is Pants

Good Evening

So my first proper post with a card that I have made and I must say my colouring is pants! I didn't realise how bad it was, just goes to show that when you don't make things constantly you tend to forget how it's done, so more practice is needed!

So here is my really bad attempt....

This is such a cute stamp from Lili of the Valley called 'Dressed Up' which you can buy from the LOTV outlet shop on Etsy here. Other items I have used are Promarkers, Make & Create 'Sweet Garden Roses' paper pad, the die is a Marianne Creatables, Hunkydory Moonstone 'fabulous flowers, Lawn Fawn sentiment die and the ribbon is from my local haberdashery shop. 

Thank you for passing by and stay safe.

Debbie x

I would like to enter this in to the following challenge:

I love Promarkers - Anything goes with option of circles.

Passion for Promarkers - Week 544 It's a summer thing.

Hello

Hi, it's definitely been a while since we all last met! Nearly 3 years have passed, which seems a lifetime. So a bit about what has been going on in my life. I gave up cardmaking for a couple of years, I had lost my mojo. I was still crafting, but doing and trying other things. I purchased a Cricut machine and was making things with that, I also bought a new sewing machine too, So have been sewing things. 

Anyway back last October I broke my ankle quite badly and ended up in plaster for 6 weeks. As I live in a tower block I had to have a risk assessment by my landlord just in case there was a fire and how would I get out. One of the things that came out of this was that I own too many crafty things 😊. So I decided to see if I had my mojo back with the cardmaking. It's coming back slowly, but I'm getting there. So I will blog some of the cards I have made recently.

So another thing on my list to do was to reactivate my blog and give it a makeover and a new name. Which is what I have been doing today. I'm not sure if this will be the final version, but the new name won't change. I just need to figure out how to change the blogspot.com link.

So I will be blogging some of my crafts and not just cards here to give inspiration. 

Stay safe and thanks for passing by.

Debbie x