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Boz Towers, Essex, United Kingdom
I'm a Red Hat Society member with a love of crafting of all sorts. A very proud mum to four fabulous children and Nan to six gorgeous grandchildren. I started work as a milliner and now have an abiding love of scrapbooking and card making.

The lovely people that drop by ~ thank you.

Monday 31 May 2010

A House Mouse Birthday Card.


I've fallen in love with these little creatures.  This birthday card is for my beautiful daughter-in-law over in Canada. I know I'm going to use this particular stamp, Exciting Celebration, quite a lot.  They stamp so beautifully.  The background paper is from Pink Petticoat, the image fitted perfectly onto a Nestability large oval scallop.  I used a MS border punch for the white trim and decorated it with pearls and lavender real silk ribbon.  The flourish is a Mariannes Designs I bought recently from Crafts U Love and I cut it out on some pistachio card printed from the same set as the gingham.  Most of the papers from Pink Petticoat do compliment each other.  Promarkers for the image and a Craftworks Card's sentiment mounted onto the ovals from the trusty SU punches and pearls and guipure lace leaves from my stash.  Just got to make a sturdy box for travelling now.  Thank you, Sarah, for these beautiful flowers.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges
 One Stop Craft Challenge # 82 Swirls and Pearls
Quirky Crafts Challenge Girly Girl
Passion for Promarkers Challenge - Week 53
Stampavie and More Challenge # 96

Sunday 30 May 2010

Julie's swap card


Just have to show you this cute little card I received from Julie (Crafty JuJu) on MSE,  sunflowers are a real favourite of mine.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

My Grandson's Birthday


Our eldest grandchild and only grandson, Joe, now lives in Canada and we miss him a lot.  He loves his PS3 and would plays for hours if his parents let him.  He's always loved  purple so I coloured this image of Video Boy from Mo Mannnings Digital Pencil in a shade of amethyst.  I printed out the Pink Petticoat Kraft background paper and distressed with scissors the purple Bazzill card stock, a strip of shiny black card, a couple of buttons, some petersham ribbon and some card cardy to finish it off.  I hope he likes it.

I'd like to enter this is in the following challenge

Paper Cutz Challenge #42

Sunday 23 May 2010

Magical Crafts Fortnightly Challenge #15


Over at Magical Crafts, where the fab rainmac is a DT member, their challenge this current fornight is black and white and one other colour. I had to make a 'Thinking of You' card for a good friend who has just lost her Dad.

I chose a mint green colour.  The image is a freebie from Chris at Sketching Stamper Digi Stamps. and is coloured with Promarkers Mint Green.  It matches perfectly the die cuts from Creative Card Works. The card and the card candy is CCW too.  I printed the background  from Pink Petticoat Fairy Dots directly onto the card. Unfortunately the gorgeous black moire silk ribbon doesn't show up that well in a small photo.  I made a double fold at each side of the large black mat.  My trusty scallop and oval punch from Monica at My Many Many Passions

I would like to enter the card into the
Magical Crafts Fortnighly Challenge #15

May Birthday Cards

A couple of my Red Hat Society friends have birthdays this month. I reached for the Memory Lane Kit by Hunkydory and found a couple of vintage images. I printed a couple of backgrounds from Pink Petticoat and a quick bow with some lovely mocha silky type ribbon that ties beautifully. It's great to be able to take photos in the natural light again.

Saturday 22 May 2010

Two Challenges in One

Our monthly card swap challenge set by Rainmac over at the Crafty Place was entitled 'Here Comes the Sun' and ScattyJan at the MSE set her challenge as something musical.  Well, the song 'I Can See Clearly Now' by Johnny Nash had been rattling around in the (fairly empty) brainbox for a couple of days so I've combined the two challenges into one card.

I fell in love with this House Mouse image stamped by Rusty for me and I adore sunflowers in all the gorgeous yellow and oranges and reds that are grown now.  I hope Julie likes it.  The paper and the punches used on the flower are by Stampin' Up supplied by Monica and I used some Bazzill cardstock from my stash. 

Thursday 13 May 2010

Get Well Card


This little card is for Rusty from MSE who has really really been suffering with her back.  I've used  a sweet little House Mouse stamp called 'Monica with Blankey' but it will forever be 'Tams with Blankey'.

I am loving the Kraft card from SU and I made a bow with some real silk ribbon  that is the softest I've ever had and ties so easily.  Card candy from Craftwork Cards.  I printed the sentiment  from Pink Petticoat first and them stamped the image over the top so that I didn't have too many pieces to put on the front.

Monday 10 May 2010

DT Cards

Now that they are on show over on the fab Creative Craft World Challenge Blog I can show the two cards I made.

 This image is called 'flower fairy' by Lil Diva Stamps from Stitchy Bear Stamps .  It's been created for a special friend who is a Goth and a Lady of the Black Hats.  Minimal colours but lots of sparkle.  I inked the edges of a Craftworks card and then added a paper that I had sprayed myself. My fairy is coloured with shades of grey Copic markers.   I cut the image with my Nestie circles, printed my own greeting and punched it out with my trusty SU oval and scalloped oval punches.  Then, to give it height, I mounted the greeting onto a gold Nestie cut oval.  The corners were cut with an MS Stewart punch and I painted the white roses to match, the bow was tied with a Boweasy.  I have had an email from my friend who loved it.

The second card I used the flower fairy again but added a lot more sparkle to her, I used ribbon threaded through punched holes to soften the edge.  I coloured her with a mixture of Copic Ciaou and Promarkers to co-ordinate with the background papers from Papermania's Rose Garden.  Another greeting from Craftwork Cards mounted on a scalloped circle punched by another trusty SU punch.  Card candy by Craftwork Cards as well.


I like to enter my pink and green fairy in the

Wednesday 5 May 2010

The Padster's challenge

I hope this card will fit the Padster's challenge on MSE.  It has a Blue background, a Blue Bow and some Bling.  (I also en-Bossed the cottage !!)  I made this for my good friend who would shudder at the thought of a country cottage, she's a townie through and through.  I printed a Pink Petticoat paper straight onto a Craftworks Craft's scalloped card, the cottage stamp is from Clarity Stamps and the gold card is from a Hunkydory kit.  The silky ribbon is tied with a Bowmaker  and there is a SCS blog that sells this type of ribbon and Sharon has it in some pretty gorgeous colours.  The rose is from Wild Orchid Crafts and the letters are from a Spellbinders alphabet cut on my Wizard.

I would like to enter this card in the

Sunday 2 May 2010

The Shabby Tea Rooms Challenge Week # 7

Over on  The Shabby Tea Rooms Blog the challenge was to find inspiration from this gorgeous photo.

The colours and fabrics are very Cath Kidston and Laura Ashley and are the sort of things I love.  Couldn't you just snuggle under one of those quilts on such an awful constant rainy Bank Holiday that we have experienced here in the Essex backwaters.  I did and had an afternoon nap with the sound of the rain pelting at the windows.   Tea and cake at four o'clock as well!  Lovely!

There was only one choice for me and that was to reach for the trusty DCWV Linen Closet.  I used one of the sheets that reminded me of quilting blocks as the background paper.  I stamped one of the stamps from  Justrite Stampers 'Stitched with Love' set for the centre and coloured it with Promarker pens.  The final Nestabilities large oval was cut with another sheet from the Linen Closet.  The folded ribbon, button and pearl are from my stash and the tiny flowers I coloured with the same Promarker pen used on the centre image.  Both flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.  I've had to take this photo during the evening so that I can enter the challenge so its very bright with the flash.  If we have some proper sun tomorrow I'll try again.  A little better today with natural daylight.




I would like to enter this in The Shabby Tea Rooms Challenge Week #7