A Folded Card...

Last week I discovered this blog and was completely inspired by this card. I loved the flaps so thought I would have a go. I used a Hanglar stamp, ProMarkers and lots of lovely papers from the Sweet Shoppe.

I'll definitley be making more of these it was a gorgeous card in real life and I gave it straight to my nursery nurse at school as it was her birthday this week :)

Flower Power ...

I have another shaped card to share today which started out life as a flower shaped digital element. I resized it to the size of my cards, added some patterned paper, printed a couple of copies out which I chopped up to create layers and then adhered to my card blank. I cut round the shape with a very sharp craft knife and added a tag and some ribbons (Papertrey) and hey presto You have a cheerful Best Wishes card.

That tag is made with a Stampin' Up! punch and it is the most used punch I have, I use it on almost every card I make as it's just the right size for adding a sentiment. Quite often I don't actually add sentiment wording to my cards but if I do I tend to use the tag punch

A Happy Birthday Card ...

I think red might be my favourite colour at the moment, especially Pure Poppy red from Papertrey Ink. It's just a perfect colour - not too bright, not too dark, not too dull or with an orangey hue to it - just generally perfect! And I love the stitched grosgrain ribbon!

I've teamed it with papers from the Sweet Shoppe, my other favourite at the moment - the Martha Stewart Loopy punch - and an old computer font that I used to use a lot and recently rediscovered called Waterfalls

A Singing Mouse ...

I couldn't resist buying this cute little singing mouse stamp from DigiStamp Boutique. Isn't she lovely? I coloured her with ProMarkers and used more of the Twinklets to give her fur trim a frosty look and to give her boots a dusting of crunchy, frosty snow.

The papers are a retired set from the Sweet Shoppe which is a shame as they are really lovely in real life.

Snail Mail ...

I love this sweet little snail :) He is a digital stamp from DigiStamp Boutique, coloured with my ProMarkers and the papers are all from The Sweet Shoppe. The sentiment element is a stamp from Papertrey Ink with a punched scalloped circle.

He's going off in the post to say thank you to a friend

Baby Carriage ...

I made this card for a friend, lots of pink which can never be a bad thing! The papers are actually from a Christmas set but they worked fine for this baby card and the baby carriage is a felt embellishment that I've had for ages in my drawer.

A Little Bit Snowy...

It's been so chilly here lately I can almost imagine that it could snow but for today I am happy with a paper snowman :) I discovered this little fella on my hard drive at the weekend. I remembered buying him last year and then never using him but he was so cute I brought him out and gave him an airing for this card. I've added some extra layers of the snowman and his little doggie to give more dimension and of course I had to use the twinklets to make all that snow twinkle and sparkle.

Busy As A Bee ...

Here is another card using this outrageously bright turquoise polka dot paper that I love so much. The bumble bee is a digital stamp from The Digi Stamp Boutique and I have covered his wings with Twinklets that I bought from the Hobby House a few weeks ago and hadn't used. I have to say that now I have opened the pot I'll be using it on everything!

Just a short post today as I am snowed under with school work at the moment. We are completely revamping our classroom and it is taking away all my crafting time. It will be worth it though when it is looking perfect and just how we want it :)

World Card Making Day ...

It's World Card Making Day today. I am celebrating this fact by having a pyjama day, online shopping, making cards, eating chocolate and then settling down tonight to watch Strictly Come Dancing on the television. Haggis is snoozing on the back of the sofa (he thinks he's a cat!) and keeping one eye open watching the leaves fly by the window. It is so very windy here today and as I type this I am watching out of the kitchen window wondering if the fence is going to blow down and listening to the tiles on our roof having a bit of a jiggle around. Perhaps I should move my brand new week old car off the drive incase it gets hit by a tile from the roof.

Anyway, I stayed up very late last night, infact it was almost breakfast time, making cards so have two to share today.

The first is made from a digital kit by Zoe Pearn at Sweet Shoppe Designs and uses the digital version of the My Minds Eye OohLaLa papers. My desk has been covered with the MME papers all week as I was finishing off a big magazine project but I find the patterns on 12x12 papers are often too big for my smaller cards which is why I love to use digital papers that I can easily reduce down to size.

The second card uses a digital stamp that I bought from Mo's Digital Pencil (thanks Jane for the link to this site). I couldn't decide which stamps to buy and eventually settled on 3 but I have a few more on my wish list over there.

Celebrate World Card Making Day ...

I am lucky to have been invited to join in with the World Card Making Day PaperCrafts Magazine blog hop this year. World Card Making Day is celebrated on October 3rd and to kickstart the celebration Papercrafts Magazine has organised a world wide blog hop bringing cardmakers from all over the globe together to celebrate the giving and receiving of handmade cards. During the celebration all cardmakers can upload their creations to the World Card Making Day gallery where they will be eligible to win prizes from both the Papercrafts Connection Blog and the Moxie Fab World blog. There is even a competition where you can have your cards published in Papercrafts Magazine and a blog tour where you can catch up with some talented cardmakers - check out their blogs for a coupon for 25% off PaperCrafts online store.

Leave a comment on this blog post before midnight on October 4th to be in with a chance to win a fab prize worth $200 including Kaiser, WaltzingMouse and ElzyBells stamps.

And visit the Moxie Fab World blog each day during this week to enter even more competitions each day.

Phew! after all that here is my card which I made this week using the gorgeous new Making Memories Christmas papers - just how gorgeous is that glittery paper?

I think it is safe to say that Operation Christmas Card 2009 has begun!!

Quick Post

I've been in York for a girly weekend with the girls I work with but I have a little card to share. Another Hanglar StAnglar stamp and my favourite (at the moment!!) cloud paper from Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Colouring In...

When I was a little girl I used to love spending hours and hours colouring in and now I am a grown up not a lot has changed :) I really want to thank my friend Catrine for being an absolute superstar and helping me to start a new collection of stamps that will make those hours I spend colouring in so much more enjoyable :) I finally have in my hot little paw some Hanglar StAngler stamps all the way from Sweden and I am very happy.

I was so excited when my parcel arrived last week and I couldn't wait to open it up and have a play but I had to wait until the weekend when I had done all my work from my day job! Anyway, I chose this little girl stamp (I love her spotty trousers!), coloured her with my ProMarkers and used some new papers from Sweet Shoppe Designs.

Conquering Dry Skin ...

So, not exactly craft related but I wanted to share my discovery for the horrible sore and itchy elbows I get from spending too long with my elbows on my desk making cards. My elbows are fine in the summer when I am wearing short sleeves but as soon as it starts getting chilly in the evenings and I start to wear long sleeved tops - and I make all my cards during the evenings or late at night - they get really dry, itchy and sore. But I have been using a fantastic product and it is working for me so I thought I would share. This is what I've been using Evolve Plus, it's made from ultra pure lanolin and vitamin E and it has completely taken away the dry skin on my elbows (and also the eczema on my feet, but who wants to talk about feet huh?)

Anyway, I thought I would share my find with other crafty people who a) might visit my blog and b) might suffer from itchy skin conditions like eczema - and the postage is free in the UK too so that is another bonus :)

Spookyness ...

I don't do a lot for Halloween usually, although at school some teachers do go to town with their classes. Because I have always taught little children I started a tradition a few years ago that we would have a 'spider' day when other classes were doing all the 'scary' stuff as Incy Wincy Spider is a lot cuter than skeletons and ghosts. However, I think that this year I may have to make an exception to my tradition because I spotted a lovely Halloween themed kit in the Sweet Shoppe through the week. I took some of the elements and papers and created this cute little 'back pack' with cardstock and ribbon. I have seen these back packs on a few blogs including Becky Robert's and SCS and thought I would have a go - it would have been easier to use the tutorials I have since found but hey ho! there is always something to learn to make life easier :)

Uses Jeepers Creepers by Libby Weifenbach at Sweet Shoppe Designs

A Shaped Card ...

I love to make shaped cards and if they are cute I love them even more. I made this little tortoise with my cricut and added a little tag with a stamped sentiment. I never realised how often I would use that tag punch when I bought it but it is perfect for just about everything :) Some Sweet Shoppe paper, Papertrey ribbon and a Doodlebug dragonfly brad finish it off nicely. Oh, and I gave him a goggle eye too so he could see where he was travelling to.