Meet Claudine and Cecile...

Two very girly bunnies, Claudine and Cecile, will be hopping off to pastures new tomorrow. They are going to two very special sisters and are very excited about their adventure.

Tomorrow is also the launch day of our secret that we've been dying to tell you all about but were sworn to secrecy. It's going to be super fantastic and only 1 sleep!!

Work In Progress...

Even more developments down in the bunny burrow, these three should be finished today and on their way to new homes. In other news we are all very excited as tomorrow sees the launch of our new project. I am feeling very privileged to be working with such a talented bunch of girls. Check back tomorrow to find out what it has all been about.

News from the burrow...

Bunny production has been cranked up again this week and the outcome is two sweet bunnies for two sweet little girls. These bunnies are very special as their dresses are made from fabric brought back from Hawaii. So we thought that if they have Hawaiin dresses then they should have Hawaiin names. So meet Nani ( which means beautiful) and Mohala (which means blossom). Mohala will be jetting off for an adventure in Canada and Nani will be snail mailing her way to Southern England courtesy of the Royal Mail. (The photographs aren't fantastic as they had to be taken indoors)

Such a busy weekend...

Not only have I made the lovely creatures from previous posts but I've been busy making cards too. It's just as well it is half term as my brain is overflowing with creative-ness. The first card is for the latest challenge on the CPS blog, a sketch and a prompt to use sparkle and bling. My photograph hasn't shown the sparkly diamonds up the side very well - but they are there! I used a combination of digi papers from The Shabby Princess and some of the gorgeous Basic Grey papers and their mini monograms too.

Second card is another thank you card made with those lovely Anne Langpap digi papers (from 2 peas) and my favourite tools at the moment - EK Success retro flower punch and corner punch to make a scalloped border.
The third picture is a sneek-a-peek of another card but you'll have to wait to see it next week after the launch of our fab project on Friday.

Introducing Barty...

The sweetest little sheep (well actuallly he's about 13 inches tall), made from snow white fleece with pink spotted ears and a mint sauce green patterned scarf. I am really enjoying making creations from the Tilda book but must stop now as I have orders to fill for my French Bunnies.

Meet Bella...

My latest creation - Bella the Bunny. Another item made from the Tilda pattern book I bought on Saturday. She has a sweet little sun hat to protect her long ears from the sun and is dressed all in pink with floral dungarees embellished with pink flower shaped buttons.

Meet Gregory...

After my visit to the Fat Quarters yesterday I dashed straight home and got my sewing machine out straight away and spent a happy evening creating 'Gregory'. He is an absolutley gorgeous goose made from the spring Tilda book. If you like bunnies and ducks etc. and you have a sewing machine you need to buy this book and it was only £7.99.

My lovely Mam has started a blog about her garden, the plan is to keep a record through photographs so that we can look back and see how it has changed. It would make her day if some of you cared to visit her and possibly leave her a comment. Her blog is here Big World Small Garden

Last thing - there are now only 5 sleeps to go until our new project is launced, keep watching this space!!

Ooh, found a fab shop...

Today I visited a lovely fabric crafting shop about 15 minutes drive from where I live called The Fat Quarters. I've come home with a huge bundle of lovliness to play with and I met a really nice lady who I think is called Kim? Luckily for me it's pouring down with rain and it's forecast to rain for the whole bank holiday weekend which means that I get to play until Tuesday :) Hooray!!

By the way, June 1st - something special is happening :)

6 more sleeps...

Until the launch of something fabulous!

You'll have to keep looking if you want to know!

7 more sleeps...

There is excitement in the air.

Only 7 more sleeps until a really exciting thing happens.

You want to know what?

You'll have to check back soon then 'cos i ain't giving anything away!!

Wedding Card...

There is no stopping me now with all these card making challenges and dares! This one is the 'Little Extra Challenge' from the Daring Card Makers. I adapted the sketch to suit my need and created a wedding card for my nursery nurse at work as she is getting married this summer. The papers are yet more digi papers from the Shabby Princess. I do seem to be drawn to her colours and designs and tonight I have purchased two more of her kits to play with. I should really have saved taking a photograph until daylight tomorrow but I am always too impatient.

Playing with transparancy...

In 2Peas creating garden there are some little tags made from transparencies. I've taken inspiration from those to make some tags using my big sizzix die and my sewing machine. I used one I had made for a card tonight:

I cut 2 tags from the transparency, sewed down both sides and along the bottom to make a pocket and popped the photograph in. Blue paint gave a background for the 'hello!' stamp and some spotty ribbon finished it off. The papers are all Anne Langpap digi papers and I used my corner punch to create the scalloped edge to the spotty paper

Another Challenge...

Clare gave me a link to CPS card making inspiration blog. Lots of links to lovely cards and a competition that I thought I would enter. They give you a sketch and the guidelines of fall colours which I've taken as Autumn. Here is my card entry with a lovely quote

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower" (A Camus)

Papers are all continuing the challenge from Daring Card Makers to start from scratch and are digi papers from the Shabby Princess.

Do You Dare?

I have been visiting the Daring Cardmakers blog for a little while and this weekend I decided to join in with the fun and take on the dare. This weeks dare was to:

For this weeks dare, I dare you to "start from scratch" I want to you design a
card with NO purchased/pre-assembled embellishments - that means no blooms
unless you cut them yourself, no buttons, brads etc etc. I guess how easy this
is depends on your usual style

As I was taking up a challenge I thought I would give myself a mini challenge and use some of the digital kits I have acquired recently. I have had such good fun today. My room looks like a bomb has gone off and every inch or desk is covered but I have been productive and enjoyed my challenges.

The first card I made using digi papers bought from The Shabby Princess (sweet sprinkles), flowers punched with my whale of a punch flower shape and decorated with jewelled brads which started life adorning a belt bought in Primark for £1 last summer, ink, a 'hello' stamp bought from the PaperMill shop last week and my sewing machine.

My second card was an order for someones wife on their Ruby wedding anniversary. Papers came from The Shabby Princess (sweet sprinkles and Bella collection), more punched flowers and jewelled brads, Scenic Route chipboard numbers painted and inked, words stamped with Pixie alphabet stamps, ink and sewing machine.

I've done more cards too and I've been experimenting with odds and ends but that's for a secret project so will have to wait for another day.

Filling the shelves...

...of my shoppie shop, I've put 2 bunnies in tonight, a girl and a boy.

Another one flies the nest...

Or should that be burrow?

Aimee is currently travelling to Exeter courtesy of Royal Mail to make a new home there. I hope her new owner loves her as I do.

Tonight, when I should have been cooking the tea I was actually taking photographs of it instead. We went to Waitrose in Hexham last week and I couldn't resist this packet of pasta made of very very long twirly-wirly pasta. It tasted nice too and I invented a new meal made of left over slices of ham, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes, garlic and low fat cheese (the diet has begun again!)

Etsy shopping...

Have you heard of Etsy? The online shop for all things handmade. Tonight I signed up and opened the doors of Birdhouse Creations selling my handmade felt gift bags and eventually other handcrafted items.

Message for Shauna:

This morning I met a lovely lady who wants to begin scrapbooking. This is the link to The Scrapbook shop near Durham and an online forum for people who scrapbook in the UK called UKScrappers. Hobbycraft on the Team Valley next to Homebase have some bits and bobs and there are other shops on the right hand side of this blog, just scroll down. If you are looking for inspiration you could check out some of the blog listings too.

Here Comes the Bride...

Dum dum de dum .........

Meet Jeanne, the little bunny I've made for a friends wedding present. It's not the greatest photograph in the world and the detail of the lace hasn't really come out too well but you get the idea!

More shopping ...

I've been back in Newcastle today buying a new sewing machine after mine died on me last night just as I had almost finished my bride bunny. I found a lovely one in John Lewis, hello to the lady who helped me choose, she said she might pop in for a spot of blog browsing. Off to have a play now!

New beads...

Today I visited a bead shop in Newcastle to buy a lovely bead for a birthday present for someone and of course I had to buy one for myself too! It's lovely, turquoise and lime green. I also chose new fabric to make my bunnies and have begun to make a bunny bride for a friend who is getting married this summer.

A Mini Adventure...

Yesterday Clare and I finally managed to meet in person (after about 2 years of 'knowing' each other on line) and we went off for an adventure in my little red mini.

First stop Ikea for a little browsing and of course refreshments, mmmmmmm strawberry tart! Then onto Ilva which is next door and into the Metro Centre to look for rubber stamps. By this time we were feeling quite peckish so we stopped off at Frankie and Benny's for lunch and more chat before heading up country to Wallington Hall, National Trust property in Northumberland. We may have taken the wrong turning somewhere along the way but decided to keep going and see where we ended up. Eventually we managed to get back on the right road, but oh my goodness the roads became narrower and narrower and we had to pull in to let a few tractors and huge lorry squeeze past. We stopped in a gateway to get out and take photographs of the lovely yellow fields, I didn't realise the rape was so high!

Wallington was lovely and the sun shone and the skies were blue so we had a really lovely walk though the woods to the walled garden, very peaceful and tranquil. I really must take my Mam up there again, the flowers were gorgeous.

Thank you Clare, I had a really lovely day!