Saturday 29 October 2011

Spooky Halloween Stuff!

Hello again!! I just love this time of year, creating daft Halloween cards and things for my nephews and niece. This year apart from making them a Halloween card I bought a blank MDF shaped skull and crossbones and brought it to life. I really hope they like it. At least it will last for years to come, unlike the loads of sweeties they will no doubt be getting (the skull is healthier too). What my Sis will make of it, I don't know!

Here is a pic of the spooky card I did for my Mum & Dad. My Mum loves it, especially the googly eyes. The BOO! is from a Halloween themed sticker sheet from K & Company and the paper is from the American Crafts Boo collection.


For this card, I made a coffin template and cut out a card base in purple card. The paper is from the Bo Bunny Boo Crew collection, the stamp is Hero arts, and the ghost, gravestone and Boo! are Sizzix Sizzlits dies. I attached the ghost with a length of acetate so that he looks like he floating in the air.


Tomorrow I'm going to carve out a couple of pumpkins and have them sitting by the stable door at the front. I'll take some piccies of them and post them next time. With what I scoop out, I think I'll make some soup and some home-made bread rolls, mmmm! Just what you need on a cold Autumn night.
Happy Halloween!!

Friday 21 October 2011

Almost finished!

Hi all! After reading Suzannes post on ugly cards, I've picked one of mine. I had to choose the tall pale blue card. Bleughhh! What the hell was I thinking. I know I hadn't been doing my blog for very long, but why chose this monstrosity for the whole world to see? The card is awful and the photography isn't any better.
Thankfully I think I've come on with the ol' photo side of things now. The worst thing is, I sent it to my sister for her birthday - sorry Yvonne. No offence. I've never been happy with it on my blog, but I'm going to leave it there as a reminder of how not to make a card :o)
Have a good laugh, I did - with a bit of cringing too.
Colette xx
Hello again.

I can't believe it's nearly a week since my Mum went home. We had a lovely time and such a good laugh (we have the same mad sense of humour) and I'm missing her terribly.

I'm almost finished my latest project for Crafts Beautiful. Can't say any more, you'll have to wait to see it in the magazine. For more crafting ideas visit Crafts Beautiful.

It's been a challenge. Why is it you have an idea in your head, and despite all the beautiful papers etc. you have, you never seem to have the one that is just right. So, then you have to have a re-think, so annoying.

In between the magazine projects, I've got Christmas cards, general friends and family Birthday cards, plus a Halloween project for my nephews and niece, Thomas, William and Emily. I'll take a piccy of it when it's finished and post it on here.

Talking of piccies, here are few more of my recent creations. Hope you like.


Take a pale blue tall card blank, round the top right hand corner. Stamp some swirls in brown ink and a sentiment on the lower left hand side. Die cut two flowers, layer up and attach a button and fix to the card over the swirls, add a few pearls to finish. I used the Prima 'Madeline' papers for the flowers.


Trim 3cm from the edge of a black 15cm square card blank. With the fold at the top, cover 3/4 of the top right hand side with patterned paper and the bottom edge with a co-ordinating paper. Tie a ribbon around the join. Stamp and heat emboss a cat, shade in with Promarkers and attach to the card above the knot. Finish with 'purrr-fect' using rub-on alphabet letters and a few hot fix crystals. The cat is from the 'Pampered Pets' stamp collection by docrafts and the papers are from the Anna Griffin 'Fifi & Fido' collection and are just too scrummy for words.

Well, I'm off to make a coffee and crack on with my commission. Have a lovely weekend, until next time. Ta ta.

Friday 14 October 2011

My Mum and an enormous apple pie!

Hi all! It's been a busy week. I've had my Mum visiting from Yorkshire since last Friday. My Dad was supposed to visit but he chickened out at the last minute, so it ended up just Mum. We've had a fab week, spent lots of money and had plenty of laughs.

I thought I'd post a pic of a recent Christmas card I made. Something quite different. I bought the stamp in the sales earlier in the year and have been dying to use it. It is Egg & Nog 5 by Paper Artsy. I stamped and heat embossed the images, shaded in with the old faithful Promarkers and then mounted onto a black card blank and finished with a simple tied ribbon. I'm really pleased with the result.

I also made a felt brooch for my sister, Yvonne. Mum and I clubbed together and bought her a Cuttlebug for her birthday, but I wanted to make her something extra. The photo doesn't really do it justice, it turned out really well, she nearly never got it!
Something else I made this week was an apple pie, it was enormous. We decided to call it 'The Blob'. I went a bit mad with the apples and I nearly didn't get it in the oven it was so huge. It wasn't the prettiest pie I've ever made, but it tasted really yummy. Definitely no pics of that creation!

I'll sign off for now, I have another commission to start for Crafts Beautiful. Ta ta.


Tuesday 4 October 2011

Poppies Project - Crafts Beautiful

Hello again! Another lovely day here in Norfolk, though slightly cooler than of late. I went into Norwich yesterday, not ideal trying on clothes when it's hot. I'm enjoying this unexpected warm spell though.
Here is a sneak peak of my Poppies project in the Nov 2011 issue of Crafts Beautiful (on sale 14th Oct). The magazine is packed with projects, ideas, hints, tips and useful information plus a free gift with every issue! For more crafting ideas visit Crafts Beautiful


On Sunday I had quite a productive day on the Christmas card front. Some I made in the same colour-way I used in this months Crafts Beautiful (Xmas Special 2011) using the Bo Bunny papers. I also designed some using Cosmo Cricket papers. I'll post some piccies up in the near future.

I'm excitedly waiting for a paper stack to come from the US. It's from the Carolyn Gavin 'Greenhouse' collection by K&Company. VERY hard to get hold of. I have the punch out flower pad from the same collection and it is just scrummy.

I'm off now to do some more Christmas cards - ideas are just buzzing around in my head. Ta ta for now!

Saturday 1 October 2011

Simple Anniversary Card

Hi there, it's a lovely day here in sunny Norfolk. I can't believe it's the 1st October, it's like July out there! It's Simon's Mum and Dad's Anniversary today. This is the card I made for them. They are not into the lovey-dovey, slushy style, so I did this simple, chic card. Definitely my style! They are having a little get together later on, so hope they like the card. Off now to have a coffee and maybe a bit of cake, yummy yum.


What you need to make this card:

1 x 14.5cm square card blank (with fold at the top, trim 3cm from one side), Basic Grey 'Hopscotch' papers, Paper Artsy Grunge Flower dies,Tim Holtz Scallop On The Edge die, American Crafts Dear Lizzy 'Whistle' stamps,1" circle punch, dark brown card,  brown ink, metal button, white cord, pale yellow ribbon
Layer top two thirds of card with Hopscotch paper. Cut out a wide strip of brown card, edge with the scallop die and lightly distress. Fix under the paper punch a circle and hand cut 3 leaves in contrasting papers. Distress lightly, assemble and stitch a button in the centre. Arrange and attach to the left of the card, above the ribbon. Finish with the stamped sentiment in brown on the bottom right of the card.