MAWTT Anything but a Card

 Good morning and hope this finds you well. It is  time for a new challenge at Moving Along With The Times and this time we don't want to see any cards. This leaves a whole range of crafting projects and we're looking forward to seeing yours.

My Project

I am in a Craft and Laugh group which is part of our WI. We have just starting meeting again about a month ago. We are a small group and are able to socially distance in the Village Hall where we meet. Throughout the lockdowns we were obviously unable to meet physically but some of the ladies met on zoom.  Our Village Tea Rooms was obviously closed too so last Christmas we asked if we could decorate the two windows and they were delighted. We were then asked to do an Easter theme and then a summer theme.  We have now been asked to do a Halloween/Autumn theme. The Halloween things will be coming down in the morning and we will be putting up all the autumn stuff.  This is a wreath I made along with other stuff. I used all John Lockwood dies. The community have been rally pleased with our efforts and we have had a lot of lovely feedback. I don't think it will come as a surprise if they ask to do more Christmas windows.

Why not pop over to the blog and check the  diverse projects from the rest of the DT? We would love to see something you have made too.

Take care.

 

 

Autumn Colours at IAAS Challenge # 93

Good morning.  It's time for another challenge at IAAS  and as you see it is to use autumn colours on your project.  Autumn is well and truly here now so it is the perfect challenge.

Please scroll down if you are looking for Christmas Card Club post.

My Card

I made my 7" square base card from cream card stock by Craft UK.  I love their card, it is such good quality and I love that I can make larger cards since it is A3 size.  The kraft card is from Hobbycraft and the hessian is on a pad from DCWV, It is great because it is backed with card stock which makes it so easy to use on cards. I used Presscut circle stitched dies and a Sue Wilson sentiment die. The acorns and leaves  are from dies of the same name by JND. I made the leaves from oddments in my box.

It is my nephew's birthday in a couple of weeks so this will be perfect for him. And for once I'm really ahead with his card - yay!

Why not pop across to the blog  and see the great cards my teamies have made  for the challenge?

Hope you are all well and enjoying your weekend.

Create a Scene at Moving Along With The Times

Good morning.  Gosh I can scarcely believe it is September already.  Where on earth has this year gone? I have heard some people say that time is dragging with lock  down etc, but to me it simply flies by. It is no sooner Monday than suddenly Sunday appears again ... lol. 😉😊

Our challenge at Moving Along With The Times this month is to create a scene.

My Card

Recipe

white card stock -  Ross Papercraft

black card stock - Rymans

tree embossing folder - Nellie Snellen

Finleys Trees dies - John Next Door

deer scene die - John Next Door

sentiment die - Sue Wilson

This 3D card folds flat into a 5" x 7" envelope.  I followed a tutorial from Maxine Payne. I embossed the Nellie Snellen  folder twice and trimmed different side to fit and make a slightly different scene on each side of the card. It is rather difficult to see in real life the folder is lovely. Even though it is not 3D it is very deeply embossed. This card  was so easy to do that I have also made one with flowers which I will show at a later date. Lashings of glitter gives  a very frosty, winter feel to it.

Pop across to the blog to see what the other DT members have made for this challenge.  I don't think you will be disappointed.

Take care and enjoy your day.

Card for my sister

Good morning.  Just a quick post to show another of the cards I have sent to my sister.  I still send them every week or so because she appreciates them so much.  I guess I would probably feel the same if I lived alone.

My Card

 

White and purple card stock from stash. I cut the front down and used a Gemini Edgeable . I then cut  the purple card to the same size as the card back and glued it in place. This is the cornflower die from John Next Door and the leaves are the star flower leaves, also from JND.  I really love the cornflower die.

Take care and enjoy the rest of the day.

Take care.

Card Inspired By a Book for IAAS

Good morning.  I'm a day late with this post. The challenge at International Art and Soul is to make a card inspired by a book.  I chose the Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. We read this in junior school when I was about nine years old and I loved it.

My Card

This is a photograph I took at Packwood House a few years ago. It is a National Trust property in Warwickshire.  Unfortunately it is not coming up very clearly. If you enlarge the picture you will see the gate at the back leading into my secret garden.  I had to wait ages to take this photo because there were always people coming through the gate. 

Pop across to the blog and see what my teamies have come up with this for the challenge,

Sorry for the quick post but I've got rather a busy morning.  And hopefully the engineer will be coming this afternoon to fix our phone.  We have been without it since the bad storms on Wednesday evening. This was the first appointment they had free.  Crazy isn't it?  Thank goodness for mobile phones.

Take care and have a good day.

Snowflakes for the Christmas Card Club.

Good morning.  It's time for another challenge at our little club which is not actually due until Sunday but I have another DT card to post then.

This time the theme was chosen by Gwen  and she wants to see snowflakes on our cards.  I actually have cards to show for two challenges today because I was so busy I was unable to make a card for Rachel's "Humour" challenge last time. I'm sorry for being so late Rachel but is here now.

Card 1

 Recipe 

6 " square base card.

Snowflake frame - John Lockwood

large snowflake - Sweet Dixie

mirri and glitter card - Hobbycraft

glimmer dots - Hobbycraft

Card 2

Recipe

6" square base card

Image - Greeting Card Factory

Pierced Noble rectangles - Sue Wilson

Snowflake Frame - John Lockwood

snowflakes - X Cut Mini Dies

Silver mirri and Glitter card - Hobbycraft

For those of you who love the sun I'm sorry the weather has broken - but for my part I really welcomed the rain.  The gardens needed it and it has filled two of my five water butts.  Still need a lot more but hopefully it will rain overnight instead then we will all be happy.

Enjoy your weekend whatever you plan to do.

Christmas Card Club Challenge #10

Good morning.  I can scarcely believe it's time to post another card for our little club.  It doesn't even seem like a week since the last one and certainly not two.  I know some people are struggling with lock down but I'm finding that time is just whizzing past. I guess there might be some slackening of the rules but it makes me rather nervous. However, being in the over 70's age group we were told from the outset that it would be 12 weeks for us and I don't find that a problem at all. In fact John and I have discussed it and we shall carry on regardless in exactly the way we have been  doing. John hasn't left our property since the problem first started which is about 11 weeks I think. We have plenty of land for him to be outside and he is working really hard with his landscaping project.  He calls it his Corona Virus project.  When he went through more than six months of chemo a few years ago having a project got him through it and he is dealing with this in the same way.  Keeps him from under my feet ... lol! 😃😉

The challenge this time is to show a Christmas door or window, and as you can see I'm showing a window.

My Card 

Recipe

7" x 5" tent fold card

die and e/f - Winter View- Crafters Companion

Pine twig dies - Sue Wilson

Fern dies - Britannia Dies

Sentiment die - John Next Door 

image from my stash

Tonic Nuvo drops

I bought this Crafter's Companion set a couple of years ago when they were extremely reduced in pric so a definite bargain.  It includes the window die, the embossing folder wall and two different tree stamps.  

Well that's it from me today.

Take care and stay safe.

Not Square or Rectangle

Good morning and many apologies to my IAAS teamies for being late in posting this.

I guess my card is basically rectangular but being cut with SB Labels 11 changes it completely - at least that's my hope.

My Card

Recipe

base card made from Grand Labels 11 - Spellbinders

Grand Labels and ordinary Labels 11 to mat and la

patterned paper - Dovecraft 

lavender cardstock - Hobbycraft

Cornflower dies - John Lockwood

Fern dies - John Lockwood

2 sentiment dies - Sue Wilson

I always think that easel cards really make a statement and yet they are so easy to make.

Please pop across to the blog and see what my team mates have produced for the challenge - all much more exciting than mine.

John has had me working as a labourer outside.  His Lock Down Project ( he always has to have a project on the go despite me having a list of other things for him 😏)is to landscape the outside.  The immediate garden is okay but a project earlier this year was to remove a long Leylandii hedge which separates the garden from the field, (hooray!!) and replace it with a gate and fencing. More labouring work for me. I must admit it does look really good but it also now means that the view is very clear at the other side and needs a lot of "tidying up".  He is levelling the ground, adding a paving path though it to give access to the poly tunnel, and then grassing it all. We now have so much lawn he will definitely need a ride on mower! Thankfully the majority of our 3+ acres is open for wild life etc and a small wood.  The bluebells are fabulous at the moment. The fence also means a better view of the deer, muntjac and roe deer,  as they come across the land; always a pleasure to watch. 

We are certainly not being idle in our lockdown.  John is "shielding" because of his health problems and hasn't been out since this whole thing kicked off.We are so very fortunate because our property is also isolated so we can be outside in our personal isolation with no worries at all.

Well I'd better stop waffling on and get this posted.

Take care and stay safe.

Easter Card

Good morning.  I don't usually do Easter cards and I have only one or two LOTV toppers which I think somebody must have given me.  However, I have decided to send my sister a card as often as I can, hopefully weekly, because she lives alone since her husband died suddenly just over a year ago. I think the isolating might start to get to her soon and hopefully this may help. I thought perhaps she would not really appreciate cute bunnies!

My Card

Recipe

6" white base card 

pale yellow cardstock - Lime Tree Crafts

Oakham Lattice dies - JND
Tatty Daisy dies - JND
ribbon from stash
Nuvo drops - Tonic Studios

I think the Oakham might well be my favourite die of all time.  The card makes itself and comes together so quickly that it is ideal for a speedy make.  I added some extra glitter to the Nuvodrops flower centres and that was it.

Well that's it for today.

Take care.

No Focal Image at IAAS

Good morning.  Time for my DT card for IAAS,  I found this quite a difficult challenge because to be honest, I didn't really understand it.   Anyway this is what I came up with. Hopefully my large 70 doesn't count as an image.

My Card

 

Recipe

6" square base card

John Next Door dies

I had to make this quite quickly for a friend and was asked to keep it flat for posting.

She was thrilled with the result - even though I missed adding the embellishments.  Didn't seem quite finished.

Anyway I hope you are all well.

Take care.

Follow The Sketch at IAAS

Good morning and I trust this finds you all well.  I guess we will all be battening the hatches getting ready for Storm Dennis.  There were so many trees down last weekend here so I do hope it's not going to be like that again. I went out on Saturday morning for the newspaper and when John went out in the afternoon there was a tree and a large limb from another one blocking the way out of our property.  Oh the joys of leaving in the country.

Anyway let's get down to business.  This card is not actually due to be posted until Sunday so I am a day early. Our challenge at IAAS, chosen by me, is to follow a sketch.  Sometimes it is good to be pushed out of our comfort zone.

The Sketch

My Card

 

Recipe

5" x 7" white base card. 

all papers - LOTV Bonnets and Bowties (NitWit Collection)

sentiment stamp - John Next Door

felt and button flower - from stash

It was quite fun to make this card.  Hopefully on Sunday you will pop over to the blog and see what the rest of the DT have made and maybe decide to play along with us. 

Well that's all from me today. Keep safe!

Holly and Ivy at Winter Wonderland

Good morning.  We have had a few frosty mornings of late which became bright, sunny and chilly.  Nice to see the sun even though there is no warmth in it.

Today is the penultimate challenge of 2019 for Winter Wonderland and it is my turn to host the challenge and choose the theme. Our sponsor this month is Sheepski Designs and Andrea is offering  three images of choice for the random winner.

My Card

Recipe

6" base card  made from card in stash

lavender pearlescent card - Riverside Craft

white card - as above

Oakham Lattice die set - John Next Door

mini ivy dies - John Next Door

sentiment die - Sue Wilson

image - Holly Angel by Sheepski Designs

coloured with Promarkers

flowers - Hobbycraft

I really love this little angel image and it fits perfectly into the centre of the Oakham die. Please pop over to the blog and check out the lovely creations from the design team and hopfully you will be inspired to join in the challenge with us.

Take care. 

Celebrate Autumn with IAAS

Good morning. Another frosty night again but, like yesterday, it already looks as if it is going to be bright but chilly day.  Nice change from rain.

Apologies to Jane and the team at IAAS because I am late posting my DT card. The theme, as you can see, is to celebrate Autumn.  When I remembered the quote on this image I decided it would be absolutely perfect.

My Card

I made a 7" x 5" base card using kraft card, and matted it with a lovely reddish card from my stash. There is a very subtle glimmer to the card which doesn't come over on the picture. This card is the exact shade of the maple trees in Sainsbury's car park!  There are masses of maple trees here and at this time of year it is a pleasure to drive into the car park. I  found the poem on line sometime ago and downloaded it knowing it would come in useful at some stage. The acorns and leaves are John Next Door "Acorns and Leaves".

Hope everybody is well and that you have a great day planned.

Take care.

Oh Deer - Anything Goes at Christmas Card Club

Good morning, time for another challenge with my Christmas Card Club friends. Actually I'm a day early because the post is not due until Sunday. We have a very simple theme this time which is Anything Goes.  However, since I missed Rachel's challenge in June when her choice was Reindeer I decided to take the opportunity to catch up on that and so have used deer on my cards today.

Card # 1

 

Card # 2 

 

These two cards were made with die cuts from a book of die cuts that I bought from The Works and which cost only £3.  They are ideal if you want to make cards in a hurry or have a lot to make.  The book contains twelve pages of diecuts, with a great many diecuts on each page, to make twelve cards.  I didn't actually use all the die cuts on each page.All I added was the kraft base card and a matting layer. So for 36 pence per card, plus the base card and foam squares, I deem that great value for money.  I have since added glitter to the first card.

Card # 3 

 Recipe

6" square white base card

backing paper - Let It Snow paper pad Hobbycraft

star die -John Next Door

stag die - Precious Marieke

sentiment die - Sue Wilson

This backing paper is so pretty that the card really made it self.  I used the star from JND Sam's Starz together with the sentiment die and stag with  baubles die. If you look closely at the paper you will see white deer hiding away in the bottom corners.  The glitter is not easy to see but in real life it is very pretty.

 Well that's all from me today.

Take care and have a great weekend.

Poinsettias for Christmas Card Club

Good morning.  I hope this finds you well.  After the very unseasonal spring weather earlier in the week winter is about to return with a vengeance.  I hope you are not too badly affected by the storm when it comes.

I have made three cards this time; two are extremely simply but they still build up the numbers.

Card #1

 

Recipe

7" square base card - Crafter's Companion Centura Pearl

(also used for the main dies )

red card - Rymans

Oakham Lattice die - John Next Door

Poinsettia Garland die - Sue Wilson

Sentiment die - Sue Wilson

Card # 2

Card #3

Recipe
Both cards made using toppers from a Hunkydory Little Christmas Book.  These toppers are approximately 5" square so for speed I just used toning card and matted them onto
red 6" square base cards from Hobbycraft. I'll probably add some pearls to the corners too.

There are some lovely poems in here but I actually felt rather cheated.  You are unable to view the images and poems because the books are sealed but on the front cover was a lovely image  of a robin and matching poem so I bought the book based on that.  I automatically assumed that was included in the book - WRONG!!  I was a bit miffed and I certainly won't be buying anymore because although the Christmas ones are pretty good, there are also three or four New Year ones and I don't make New Year cards. Since each image is repeated four times it means I am unable to use about a dozen. Ah well, we live and learn. I need to find somebody who makes New Year cards so I can pass them on, so if that is you please shout out.

Anyway, I've waffled on long enough.

Take care.

Snowflakes for Christmas Card Club

Good morning. The ladies in our Christmas Card Club will be publishing their first card of the year tomorrow.  We make a Christmas card every two weeks and post it on our own blogs.  This is not a challenge just a way of getting ahead with our cards so we are not panicking as Christmas approaches.  If you would like to join us you can contact our leader Margaret (Duchess). I post my card a day early because I post a DT card on the Sunday. We take turns to choose the theme and my choice for this first post of the year is to use snowflakes on your card.

My Card

 

Recipe

7" square base card - Anne Marie Designs

teal pearlescent card - Jelly Bean Crafts

teal non shed glitter card - Hobbycrafts

embossing Folder - John Next Door

sentiment die - Sue Wilson

large snowflake - Create a Flake -Spellbinders

other snowflakes - The Works dies

I made a real flurry of snowflakes on my card; quite a snowstorm in fact!  There are snowflakes all over the embossed background, in the sentiment die and a flurry of mixed dies in the corner. 

If you would like to see what the other club members have made you will find their details in my side bar.

It is only January 5th and I have already made two Christmas cards so I'm ahead of my target ... lol! Here's hoping I keep it up because I have decided to make at least one Christmas card every week.

I hope you all have a good weekend.

Take care.

 

 

Moving Along With The Times - But I Didn't!!

Unfortunately I didn't  move quickly enough and I am two days late with my post! I have no excuse - I just forgot to post it.  I made my card a few weeks ago so I was well prepared!  My apologies to Mrs Duck, our host for this challenge and to Wendy, our long suffering leader at MAWTT!! My head is hung with shame!

My Card

Recipe

6" square white base card

Topper - from a carft magazine (many years ago!)

Violet card - stash

Yellow pearlescent card - Crafters Companion

Embossing folder Vintage Decor - Crafters Companion

Sentiment die - Sue Wilson

Star flower dies - John Next Door

Butterflies - punch 

This card was for my great niece who is missing her two cats now she has left home for uni. Hopefully this will make her smile seeing the kitten trying to catch the butterfly.

Hope you are all well and keeping warm.  We have certainly had some extremely cold weather in my part of Oxfordsire.  The wood burners are earning their keep!

Take care.

Not CAS - Layer It Up for IAAS

Good morning.  I am a day late with my DT card for International Art and Soul.  I did have my card ready on time however I had looked at the wrong challenge number so I had to make another one PDQ.  It does mean I will be on time in four weeks though - always a bonus as my lovely sister would have said.  She was ever the optimist!  My card does have plenty of layers to suit the theme of the challenge.

My Card

Recipe

6" square base 

lavender and cream double sided pearlescent card

window box die - Tonic Studios 

star flowers - John Next Door

star leaves - John Next Door

Oval Bliss die - Spellbinders

Etched Alphabet dies - Spellbinders

The second picture is taken at an odd angle to enable you to see the flowers and pearls behind. 

I was asked to make a special card and this is what I came up with so I hope they think it is special enough.

I'm having  a busy time at the moment with a huge craft project for WI so I'm not finding a great deal of time for my card making unfortunately.

Take care.

The Holly and the Ivy

Good morning.  Good morning and I hope you are all well.  I have to admit to feeling not so good this week because I was  diagnosed with shingles at the beginning of the week.  Fortunately I was able to have anti viral medication and am feeling much better than I was but not totally well.  Still, shouldn't be long hopefully.

Recently I spent a week at my nephew's house in north Yorkshire, near Richmond, dog sitting whilst they went off on holiday.  The weather was lovely and so it was a holiday for me too.  Originally John was coming with me but then he got engrossed in an engineering project so I decided I would go on my own.  In fact it meant I could go off and do my own thing without wondering if John would rather be doing something else.  I was able to visit and spend some time with  my brothers too.

I also visited the Crafter's Companion store in Newton Aycliffe and they had John Lockwood's Christmas collection in stock.  It would have been rude not to buy some of them wouldn't it? I hadn't intended to spend much time in the shop because I had Molly in the car and there wasn't much shade.  However, I hadn't realised they are a pet friendly store and encouraged me to bring Molly inside.  She absolutely loved it!  A huge space for her to wander and sniff (as dogs do!)  and everybody, both customers and staff, made a huge fuss of her.  She's a pretty little Yorkshire terrier who was actually my late sister's dog but Darren "adopted" her after his mum passed away last year. She was in her element and quite reluctant to leave.

My Card

Recipe

A5 base card -  green cardstock from stash
white cardstock - Anna Marie Designs
gold mirri card - Crafter's Companion
gold glitter card - Crafter's Companion
Poinsettia - JND stamps and die set.
Holly Ivy and frame - JND
Falling snow e/f - Creative Expressions

Very easily put together. Inked through the die and then added a little ink to to the leaves in the sentiment die. Unfortunately the photograph is not very good and none of the embossing shows up well.The small ivy sprays are very useful and don't overpower the card.  I have since changed the pearly centres of the poinsettias for larger ones which look much better.

We were hoping for more rain yesterday so that we could test out the new rainwater harvesting system John installed over the summer ( the project I talked about earlier) and check that all the pipes and valves were working okay and not leaking.  As soon as we know that it's okay the insulation can be added and it can be covered over ready for winter. Forecast was for rain, but we had about ten minutes of very light drizzly rain and that was it.

Well I hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Take care.

International Art and Soul

Good morning.  We are a Just For Fun challenge so no prizes but some great badges for your side bar.  This challenge threw me at first. The remit is "Use something you already own".  In the end I took it to mean don't buy something new  and use it in your project.

My Card

Recipe

5"x 7" base card - Anna Marie Designs card stock

Antique Gold Pearl card - Ross Paper Craft

Provence Die set - Creative Expressions

Smallest die from Auverne set - Creative Expressions

Star Flowers and Star Flower Leaves - John Next Door
Heart embossing folder - Crafts Too

Ribbon - from stash

Gold pearls - Meiflower

Sentiment - computer generated.

Apart from John Next Doors Star flowers and leaves which I bought just before Christmas everything else I used has been in my possession for a few years at least. So I think I have fulfilled the remit.

I was bridesmaid for my cousin and I still can't believe it was so long ago! I had just started my nursing career and I was a student nurse of three months standing and my cousin had just taken her finals at the same hospital.  Looking at the photos again brought back some memories I can tell you.

Please pop across to the blog and check out what the rest of the team have made.

I will be back again tomorrow with a card for my Christmas Card Club which unfortunately will be a day late!! See you then hopefully.

Take  care.