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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.

Wednesday 30 June 2010

A card for a Guardian Angel!

I'm having a wonderful week just crafting, shopping, crafting, strawberry picking, crafting, and tomorrow...jam making and cupcake baking, something I haven't done in years.  I've been lucky enough to spend this week in the company of both my fab sister in laws.  Sue wanted to make a birthday card for a special friend she regards as her very own Guardian Angel.  She used Promarkers to colour the digi image from Chris Dark of a vase of Stargazer Lillies.  I printed off a Pink Petticoat Washed Out image in sage green onto a Craftworks card and all three of us finished off the matting and layering in pink and green Bazzill card.  We used the trusty SU punches and layered up a Craftworks sentiment and used a Martha Stewart butterfly punch in the sage and vellum to finish.

Wedding Card Challenge


There is a wonderful wedding blog I've been following for a few months now called This Charming Wedding.  Danielle and Carl were married on June 26th and what beautiful weather they had.  This the card I made to celebrate their very special day.  Inside there is a wonderful poem called the Best is Yet to Be.  Their colour theme was red and white and some of their ideas were amazing and so unusual especially the pew ends and the bridal bouquets. Danielle wore a gorgeous pair of Vivienne Westwood shoes with beautiful red hearts on the toes hence the red heart on the card.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenge: Creative Craft World Challenge

Tuesday 29 June 2010

MSE Challenge Purple/Lilac


Over on the MSE forum Melissa set this months challenge of a card of purple/lilac  Here's my attempt.

I used a Craftworks card and coloured the edges with a Promarker and topped with a printed Pink Petticoat image.  I love this House Mouse image and this is a real piece of Lavender Stoechas Papillon from my fab sister-in-laws beautiful garden.

Friday 25 June 2010

Positive Thoughts


One of the founding members of our Red Hat chapter is unwell again and is due to have an operation very soon so this little image kindly sent by Sarah seems very appropriate.

The paper and card are from Craftwork Cards and the sentiment is self generated and punched out with the trusty SU puches from Monica.  Ribbon from my stash.

Friday 18 June 2010

A Card from Margaret

Look at this absolute cutie! What a fabulous card Marg has sent me as we were swappee's in the recent card swap on Crafty Place.  The pictures of the Highland Terrier are gorgeous and it's eyes are so alive.
Thank you, Margaret.

Thursday 17 June 2010

The Shabby Tea Rooms Challenge Week # 14 and a Card Swap too!

This month our theme over at the Crafty Place that has been set by the fab rainmac is 'animals'.  Rusty kindly and generously sent me a Gruffie image to colour and I just couldn't resist the call of the Promarkers.  I've used a sheet of DCWV Linen Closet and some Kraft card,  Basic Grey buttons, ribbon from my stash and a sentiment I printed myself and mounted on an oval cut from my trusty SU punch.  The sunflower is from the Dollar Store in Canada (I miss those places!)  I hope my swappee likes it.  Jest move over, bear, I wanna take over the hammock!

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenge
The Shabby Tea Room Challenge #14 - Summer Fun

Tuesday 15 June 2010

US Card Swap - June 2010


It's that time of the month when I make all the cards for my swap with other Red Hatters in the USA.  Our theme this month was creating an invitation for the summer.  I made a Pool Part invite for perhaps a lot later in the summer, too darn cold at the moment.

I love the vintage images over on The Sum of All Crafts blog, some SU pumpkin ribbon and punches from Monica and a centre sentiment stamped with a Justrite stamp.  It's such a shame that the postage cost are getting so high to send overseas as I have to weigh my cards before adding any extra embellishments and mostly print direct to the card.  The background is from Pink Petticoats Gingham download.

Truth or Fibs - You tell me??


The fab Ali sent me this little bit of fun, I have to list 7 statements about myself and let you work out if there are 6 truths and one fib or 6 fibs and one truth.



1. I am a health food freak.
2. I don't really like cake.
3. I am paranoid about doing the washing
4. I adore ironing
5. I always leave my craft space tidy
6. I don't give to charity
7. I'm just breaking in my third husband

Wednesday 9 June 2010

A Birthday Card for Tams


Over on MSE it was Rusty's birthday so, of course, out came the trusty house mouse birthday cake stamp.  After all, it was her good self that started me on buying them.

I coloured the edge of the card from Craft Works Card in the same blue as the cake candles and also the edge of the Nesties scallop rectangle.  The sentiment I printed myself and its cut with a Spellbinders Tag.  A pure silk Ivory bow and Voila!

Tuesday 8 June 2010

My Dad, the quiet man.


I've had the photo of my Dad since he died.  I hadn't seen it before, it was hidden away in his personal items.  Dad was a very quiet man, calm and reassuring in times of trouble.  He always wore a tie even going to work in the timber yard he owned by Sidcup station.  You would rarely see him with his shirt unbuttoned even on the hottest of days.  He was a very private man and I don't remember him talking about his own childhood to me as I do to my own children.  Perhaps it was the way of life at that time.  He served during the war but would never talk about it but would have tears in his eyes on Remembrance Sunday.  He was in Holland most of the war and I was named after a little Dutch girl in the family he was billeted with.  I have learned more about him and his family since I started to research my family history.  I've kept the layout very simple to reflect my memories of my Dad, the quiet man.  The paper is from SU and silver card and ribbon from my stash.  I forgot to say that the lettering is a Spellbinders alphabet.

I would like to enter this in the following challenge:
Creative Craft World - Fathers Day

Saturday 5 June 2010

Get Well Card

A Get Well card for a fellow Red Hatter.  I love this stamp that I call 'Tams with Blankie'.  I've used a page from DCVW Linen Closet to tone with the mouse's blankie. The image mounted on Nestie die cuts with a Mariannes Designs flourish.

Thursday 3 June 2010

Butterfly Kisses


A good friend ask me to make a card for her grandaughter who will soon be six. Aimee has the most amazing eyelashes that are to die for. (For us girls it would take half a tube of mascara to get them the length hers are.) Whenever I see her she gives me 'butterfly kisses' with her eyelashes.  I never knew that's what a butterfly kiss is!

I've coloured this beautiful Butterfly Fairy by Chris Dark of Sketching Stamper Digi Stamps with a mixture of Copic Ciao and Promarker pens.  The paper is from the beautiful DCWV Linen Closet and the swirl is from Marianne Designs, pearls from my stash.  The card is 8" x 8" from Create and Craft tv

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges

Creative Card Crew Challenge # 51 - A Colour Combo
Tanda Stamps Tanda-teaser-147 Extra-large

The challenge over on 365 Cards was to make a card that is a reflection of yourself.  Well, I flutter around like a fairy when making my cards and I am definitely a bit of a butterfly flitting from one card to another, usually about four or five on the go at anyone time.

365 Cards Its-So-you
Gingersnap Creations - GC57: Chestnut Theme - Wings