Freebie template...

I finished my template that I mentioned in my previous post and I used it to make this hybrid card for It's A Creative World. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and you can download it by clicking here. (some people don't seem to be able to download it so perhaps try here: http://www.4shared.com/file/36751057/32ef09e7/February_Template_1_Andrea.html
(Paper and elements - Corina Nielsen at Prima Hybrid, Atomic Cupcake inked edge action, Beresfords ribbon))

I used the same kit to make this little hybrid project and I was really pleased that it made it onto the recent PrimaHybrid newsletter.

Other things to catch up on are Kates new doodles over at the Lily Pad, gorgeous stuff!!

(credits here)

(Credits here)

Have you checked out NitWit Collections recently? NitWit and Kay Miller Designs have joined forces and have a joint gallery now, it seemed to make sense seeing as they have a joint design team. This is my latest card made with NitWit's gorgeous kit Above and Beyond

Friday Already...

The week has flown by and it appears to be Friday evening already. I am pleased to say that I think my back is improving. I don't know if it is beginning to heal or if it is the new painkillers that I am forcing myself to take regularly (I'm not so good at regular), but today I haven't had as much pain.

I've been invited to be a guest Design Team member for Crafty Templates and I spent a happy hour this afternoon playing with some of their templates, I can't share yet but will do as soon as I can.

What I can share though, is the card I posted on the Creative World blog this week. I used one of the sweet little Sugar Nellies stamps from Funky Kits and a digi kit from The Shabby Princess to make a hybrid card.

I've got more exciting news to share but I'll save it for a few days until it's all official and of course I am still counting down the days until I can reveal my big secret - not long to wait now.

A Flying Visit...

I'm just dashing out the door to go to work but wanted to remind everyone that there is still time to donate to Breast Cancer Awareness over at It's A Creative World via our Just Giving page and today is extra special as there are loads of prizes being given away during the day and everyone is able to download these fantastic pink doodled flowers by the talented Kate Hadfield.

I'm hoping to use them to make a few cards tonight :)

A Quick Catch Up...

Just catching up quickly on a few things from this week. It's been great being on holiday but I've still been super busy and my shoulder is aching from sitting at my desk for too long.

First is the little extra challenge over at DCM, I was completely inspired to open up my new packet of cuttlebug mini embossing folders.

This one was for the CPS sketch and I finally managed to use some of the lovely black and white papers from Pink Petticoat that I got a while ago.

The final one was for the Sketch This (cards) blog and I think it's my favourite out of the three. I'd forgotten I had a whole pack of these papers in 6x6 size but I found them when I was hunting for something else.

This little gingerbread man was one of the posts over on It's A Creative World with step by step pictures if anyone wants to have a go, it's easy peasy and needs no sewing.

This very pink card was over there too last week, I like it because it's so simple and I emailed the photograph to my lovely Mommy to tell her that I love her.

Lots more to share but that can wait for another day xx

Weekend Away...

I'm going away tomorrow for the weekend to spend time with friends making cards, scrapbooking, crafting and chatting! We're going to Scotland and I'm so looking forward to my little adventure.

There are exciting things going on at It's A creative World this month as we try and raise money for Breast Cancer Research please go and visit and perhaps leave a small donation via our just giving page - we have set a target to raise £310 - just £10 a day, we hope you'll join in with the fun and possibly a few prizes during the month.

No crafting to share today as I've been busy making things for the Creative World blog and getting organised for my weekend away but I don't think I shared my Baby card that was on the blog last week.

Have fun this weekend, I'll be back next week and if the post ever gets back to normal after the current strikes I might just get my new Christmas and Winter Magnolia stamps

You'll never guess...

I've moved into my new workshop :) Nothing is organised and sorted as yet but at least everything is in the same room instead of being distributed around the house.

Of course I haven't had time to craft as I've been 'managing' the build - giving orders and making the tea etc.!! but I did make this card for a forum friend who is poorly in hospital and I needed it at just the right time as Patsy has a challenge on her blog to make a get well soon card.

Tonight I have been printing papers off to take with me at the weekend and beginning to collect everything I will need - I bought lots of chocolate this afternoon and I'm trying to get my cotton wool brain into gear to be organised.

I also placed an order for 4 more Magnolia stamps and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my new stamp order arrives in time to take them away with me.

I also wanted to say have you been over to It's A Creative World this week to see how we are raising money for Breast Cancer Awareness and the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer, we have a challenge to 'scrap your boobs', I hope you'll join in.

ATCs

I haven't been up to much as I've got a cold and my head feels like it's full of cotton wool so my brain which struggles to work at the best of times is on go-slow.

I did manage to get around to photographing the ATCs that I made for a Halloween swap with some pals. You might have guessed that those Magnolia stamps would make another appearance! Heather and I swapped a few stamped images and she sent me this very cute witchy so of course I just had to use it and you can't tell on the photographs but I used the new mock twinkling H20 paints that I got this week on the orange background.

Have you seen what some of the girls over on It's A Creative World have been up to with some Bella Stamps? They have a prize draw on the go too, shame I can't enter :lol:

Perhaps I'll get around to some more craftyness tomorrow.

It's the weekend...

Another week has flown by with the 'inconvenience' of having to go to work which gets in the way of being crafty!

It's been all systems go here as my brother has moved back out of my workshop and into his own rented flat and we've started to remodel our workshop room before I move all my craftyness back in. Last night was spent between IKEA and B&Q looking and measuring and planning and measuring some more and then making the plan on paper. It all seems to fit in and now we just need to get the work done. Luckily little brother has only moved to the other side of our estate as he is the handy one and he's coming this afternoon to fit a new radiator and then start ripping out the old carpet and laying my new wooden floor. Dad has already stripped the walls and we were really pleased to find that the walls are in quite a good condition so won't need plastering, just a touch of TLC.

So not a lot of craftyness going on here in my temporary workshop in the utility room. I've made a set of tags all about me for a swap with my ScrapPad friends when we go away in a couple of weeks and started another set of birthday tags for a swap with other friends. The only card I have to show you is one that was on It's A Creative World last week - I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone and make a card for a teenage boy.

I used The Shabby Princess digi bits and bobs, Making Memories chipboard button, Pink Petticoat black and white stripes and my PSX alphabet stamps.

I'm off today to a craft exhibition at Harrogate today so hopefully I shall come back this afternoon loaded with new purchases to play with and tomorrow I have planned to get stuck into my new Design Team kit from GoGoGreetings and use the new Magnolia stamps that got delivered this week.

Love Andrea xx

Gosh - it's quiet in here...

First week back at school after the long summer holidays, most of my new class don't start until this week coming as they are only tiddlers, but we had a few in and they kept us on our toes. I've spent most nights sorting out the million things that need to be sorted when you get a new class, new classroom and new job all at the same time.

But today I have been playing, making cards :)

Lots of lovely Magnolia cards using digi papers from The Shabby Princess, Pink Petticoat and the Digi Shoppe and basic grey - get me I actually used some real life strokable papers for the Christmas card - scraps of ric rac, Kate Hadfield doodles, lovely lovely lovely chipboard buttons from Making Memories and bits and bobs of other things including glitter :)

I've also been busy doing work for It's A Creative World, I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone, I thought I could share a sneakie-peek but sshhhhh, don't tell anyone.

And as I am being generous I thought I would show you a little sneakie-peek of the September GoGoGreetings kit.

The kit sold out almost as soon as it was released so good news for everyone who managed to get one before it was a sell out, for anyone who didn't get one you can subscribe for future months kits by visiting the GoGoGreetings site. I can't wait to show you what I made with this months kit and get my hands on next months!!

Friday morning and the sun is shining, the birds are tweeting and that squirrel has eaten all the nuts!...

... and I'm off out for the day to the RHS garden at Harrogate. I'm taking my camera and my Mam and we're having a picnic and we're going to have such a fab day :)

So no cardmaking or forum chatting (I seem to do more of that than anything else!!) until later on but I have more cards to share with you all - more Magnolia stamps and the Bella and the Tilda boat are recent Creative World projects.

If anyone has a cricut and would like to recomend any cartridges I would love to hear what you think as I am dithering over buying one.

Happy Friday...

The sun is shining, it's Friday and whoohoo - it's payday :) Lots of reasons to be happy today.

Yesterday I spent a lovely day with some girl pals and I was meant to be having a girly pizza night with another girl pal but she's been sick so we had a family pizza night instead and watched Rick Stein exploring Corfu on the television. I've never been there but it did look like lovely.

I've been busy making cards and this week I had two pieces of very exciting news which I can't share yet but I am almost bursting with not being able to tell anyone.

I'm just off to get ready to have a mini adventure to Hexham this afternoon with my Mam, my camera and of course my little red mini cooper! So will leave you with some of the cards that have been up on the Creative World blog (if your child has been getting crafty this holiday why don't you enter their work in the kids art prize draw over at Creative World).

Sunday again...

Stop the world - I need to get off!!! Or at least can someone slow it down. I can't believe that there are only 3 weeks left until the schools break up for the holidays - where did this year go to?? I am meant to be working my socks off this weekend writing reports and end of year assessments but instead have been playing in my workshop again :)

First off I've made a card for both the Daring Cardmakers blog and also Di Hickman's sketch. The DCM dare was to use beads, but me being a simple kind of a girl hasn't got loads of fiddly stuff like beads and sequins so after a lot of thought and even more searching I tracked down a bag of little alphabet beads that I've had for donkeys years and used these to spell out the word for the sentiment on the card by threading them onto wire.

(Papers from The Digi Shoppe, button from FooFaLa, metal photograph corner by American Crafts)

Next up is a challenge from Melissa Francis' blog. The card has to incorporate

the colour red, a star, something food related and some bling (my bling is a diamond

used on the dot of the 'i' on the word birthday)

(Papers from the Digi Shoppe, plastic star by Heidi Swapp, cupcake stamp by Tilda at Panduro)

Yesterday I downloaded some fab new digital kits and paper packs so these got an outing next. I just love the colours of this circle paper so I printed it in two sizes and used the smaller size to punch a flower for the centre.

(Papers from the Digi Shoppe, chipboard letter a by Maya Road, alphabet stamps by PSX, button by Adrienne Looman, flower punch by EK Success)

(Papers from the Digi Shoppe, PSX alphabet stamps, button by Adrienne Looman)

Lastly are the jars that I made for It's A Creative World for today's post. They are to make thank you gifts and the info is all over there so why not pop over for a peep.

Well, I suppose I should go and make a start on that school work!

Going around in circles...

I went back to work today and spent most of it catching up on what I'd missed after spending two days off sick. There was lots to catch up on and I seemed to spend the whole day going around in circles! - and there is a seamless link if ever I heard one to a card challenge from the Caardvarks blog all about circles. This card is for my friend Clare whose birthday it is the day we break up for the summer holidays from school. I've used paper with small circles on it cut into a circle shape, a yellow bloom in the shape of a circle, a chipboard letter in the shape of a circle, circle buttons to make the flower stem and the 'birthday girl' sentiment along the right hand side is made with circle letter stickers.

(papers from Anne Langpap at 2peas, buttons from the button company, bloom from dunelm, alphabet stickers by Sue Dreamer (I think) and chipboard from Heidii Swapp)

Last night my lovely friend telephoned to ask if I could please make her a card - for in the morning! for her Mam's birthday off Ela. Luckily I had this one which I'd started and it was quick to adapt for her.

Final photograph today is the card I made for todays post over on It's A Creative World Blog, the papers are from Kirsty Wiseman's blog, I love her bright and funky colours.

Making the most of a sick day...

I've spent the day in my pyjamas with a nasty cold, yucky chest and sore ears. I phoned in sick to work and my Mam has rubbed by back and chest with vapour-rub. Not a girl to miss any crafty oportunities I've spent the day in my 'workshop' playing with paper and making cards and making myself feel better.

I've mooched around a few blogs today and found Melissa Phillips blog which in turn led me to Linda Aalbrecht's blog which in turn gave me a lovely 'scraplift' idea for a friendship quilt swap with friends. The friendship quilt will be made of 4x4inch squares each with a quote or saying based on the theme of friendship. They needed to be finished for this weekend so time was running out and I wasn't too sure what I was going to do until I saw Linda's card she's made for Melissa's challenge (are you still with me!). The whole quilt thing was Clare's idea and we've adapted it to use paper, I think I'll turn mine into a little mini book when I get them all back.

I used the quote that Linda had used on her card "The road to a friends house is never too long" and I borrowed her idea for the little houses too. These are now winging their way to our organiser and hopefully by next week I shall have 12 little pieces of art back.

Next up was a challenge on Daring Cardmakers blog to 'add a little love'. I made this sweet little card for my Mam who looks after me when I'm feeling poorly. I sent my Dad to the Post Office so that she'll get a nice suprise in the post tomorrow morning.

(digi papers from the shabby princess, gingham paper from costco paperstack, chipboard heart frame by making memories)

Third job was a sketch challenge that I found on CPS blog, and I made a card for my Uncle's birthday later in the week.

(digi papers from the shabby princess, chipboard star by making memories, chipboard letters by maya road)

Next up was a card sketch challenge from Di Hickman and this time I finally managed to make a birthday card for my friend Sue - WhoooHoooooooooo she's visiting from New Zealand in a few weeks and I can't wait to see her!

(digi papers from the shabby princess, chipboard letters by maya road, chipboard photograph corners by making memories, staples and ric rac)

That's not all either. I've been busy creating for A Creative World too so check back there soon to see what I've been up to.

edited to add: I found another one! - sketch this (cards) and have just made another quickie. I'm still trying to use up some of my old stash, I think I've had that green striped paper for about 5 years!

(striped paper by making memories, spotty paper from costco paper stack, alphabet stamps by sassafrasslass, buttons by foofala and flower punch by ek success)

My Workshop...

Over on It's A Creative World Cath has made a smashing post all about craft spaces with photographs of some amazing craft spaces from around the world that will make your ears turn green and shrek-like with envy!



I do have my own crafty room, well I share it with my dad, but at the moment my brother is living in it(it's the small bedroom). So, I have set up shop in the utility room in our house. Luckily for me we had only just finished converting the garage into a big utility room when my brother moved back home. We are busy painting the cupboard fronts at the moment so that's why they look different colours - they are all at different stages of the painting process.


We've got one long bench right down one wall and on this we've got both mine and Dad's computer and two printers and this is where I work. My crafting stash is spread out around the house but I have the necessities and the basics in three sets of drawers from IKEA that sit under the work bench and I have some of my 'can't work without' jars on the bench top. They hold my ric rac, lace, sewing machine threads and chalk ink. All my pencils and pens and small tools and my scissors are in metal pots that sit on either side of my monitor. It's very cosy in here but I can't wait until I can move back into my proper workshop room and I can have everything on hand, when I'm busy working away in here I never know what I'll be sharing the bench with - laundry, wine rack, ironing pile etc.

It can be difficult to get motivated when you have to fetch 4 different boxes of resources from four different rooms of the house before you can even decide what you want to do. I like to get everything out and mooch around it all before deciding what I'm going to make, create, do, alter etc.