Love is in the air

Here is my valentine card to my other half - very plain and simple as he doesnt go in for lots of fuss on cards - shame really cause I could really go to town on them! Still he loved it and thats the main thing. I would like to enter this into a variety of challenges - mainly because they all seem to have the theme of love this week - have no idea why!!

So, in no particular order, I would like to enter the card into:

http://www.crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/

http://www.cardpatterns.blogspot.com/ (whose sketch I have based this on)

http://www.stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.com/

http://www.stampchallenges.blogspot.com/

http://www.daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/

http://www.delightfulsketches.blogspot.com/

http://www.creativecardcrew.blogspot.com/

http://www.doubledutchchallenges.blogspot.com/

http://www.everybody-art-challenge.blogspot.com/

http://www.mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/

I am also going to enter it into http://www.pileitonchallenge.blogspot.com/ as their theme is flowers and I have entered the card into numerous challenges too.

Then yesterday I was busy spending the day making this:

see we are not romantic in our house at all! This little book is for me to write all my class and workshop notes in. For the past two years I have been writing class instructions on bits of A4 paper (or whatever paper was at hand!) and then promptly mislaying them so that I would have to spend about 2 hours looking for the said notes or redoing the whole project so that I could redo the instructions - but no more!!! my notes will be kept in the one place - this book - which is obviously a lot harder to lose than bits of paper! Today I am hoping to make another little book to keep all my expense receipts in (not that I lose those that easily!!) but I have the mojo for books at the moment. I can feel a birthday book coming soon too. Whoo hooo for half term holidays!!!!

Thanks for looking :)

Time to reflect

Just done another reflection card for my Great Auntie whose birthday is this week - I am getting really addicted to these!




Took me ages, getting the sun in the right place for the reflection is really quite tricky! Love this horse drawn carriage stamp though - I seem to be using it a lot lately!

Thanks for looking :)

C is for Candy

I have been following the ABC Christmas challenges - just not uploading them as they are half finished and still need tweeking. However today I have had a brainwave about "C is for Candy" I was thinking of giving this one a miss as I don't have any stamps with candy on but then I thought about a quick Christmas gift I gave out last year which was 4 candy canes tied with ribbon and completed with a lovely tag and I thought I could make another one ready to do the same with this year.


Here she is:

Have stamped out tilda and coloured her in with promarkers and added some white flower soft, then cut her out with a nestibility and mounted her onto the scallop nestibility, she is then tied onto the candy canes with a piece of netting. A sizzix tag was then used along with a sizzix holly diecut, handmade heart, eyelet candy cane and a stamped message, this has then been tied to the candy canes with a red ribbon. As usual lots of distress ink has also been used!


Hope you like it! I would like to enter this into the http://www.abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.com/ challenge.

Thanks for looking :)

Another animal one!

I just cant resist the challenge at Passion for Promarkers so I have done yet another animal card - this time purely for the enjoyment of playing rather than having someone in mind to send it to - let's hope my addiction for card making doesn't return whereby I have a pile of cards made up and then when it's someone's birthday non of them are suitable so I have to go into a mad panic and make one anyway! Still I can't think of a more harmless addiction really so I guess it's not too bad!

This card has taken me hours - firstly getting the reflection in the water right - that took three attempts, then getting the brayering right that took another two attempts - thankfully the colouring of the mice was ok as, let's be honest, I am well practised with colouring in! Then I couldn't find the right coloured string to use as ties so I have had to die some with distress inks - that took all night as it had to dry. But I have to admit I had a fun weekend with this! Hope you like it!



I would like to enter this card into the www.promarkerchallenge.blogspot.com challenge - this is again my second entry into this challenge - these girls just keep coming up with such fun ideas I can't resist! And I want to enter it into the challenge at www.papercraftplanet.com as it's their fabulous sketch I have used.

Thanks for looking!

all creatures great and small

I have made this card for a friend of my Sons whose birthday is on Valentine's Day - how cute is that!

here's the front view:

and the side view: as its one of those tiered cards - not sure what they are called! I would like to enter this into the Passion for Promarkers challenge www.promarkerchallenge.blogspot.com whose theme this week is "all creatures great and small". Thanks for looking :)

February/March classes and workshops

Here are some of the projects I have been working on lately:

The first is an address book - this is for a workshop next week Thursday 11th February 10.00am -1.00pm at Cheswick Green Village Hall - cost for this is £15 and you can either make the address book or have plain paper inside instead and have a notebook.


In this workshop you will be making a reflection card - here you will be shown how to produce a mirror image useful for many types of cards and layouts - this will be held on Thursday 4th March again at Cheswick Green Village Hall from 9.30am - 11.30am. The cost for this workshop is £10.


In the following workshop you be making a beautiful box card set - this would be ideal to give as a gift or to treat yourself to! Class will be held on Wednesday 17th March at Cheswick Green Village Hall from 9.30am - 11.30am and the cost for this is £10.

apologies for the poor picture but it was a rainy day!

As always please book via our website www.whathousework.co.uk

Here is the class layout that I will be doing at our next crop on Sunday 21st February. You will be shown how to cut the paper to fit around a photograph and also produce a little book held together by a simple paper fastening so you can put some hidden journalling on the layout.

Thanks for looking and hope you can join me at one or all of the workshops!

Proud Mommy Moment

I need to give a big football toot to my son who came home from football last night with a trophy for "Most Improved Player" he is very pleased with himself - he trains for a very tough academy and only two trophies were given out in each year group so we are very proud of him for his lastest addition to his ever growing collection of items to dust!

Here he is holding it high:

Showing it proudly:

and telling the good news to both sets of Grandparents:

its now got pride of place on top of the sky box for all to see!

Thanks for looking :)

Purple Challenge

This card is for my sister in law who's birthday it is on Thursday - she adores anything and everything purple so this challenge was very fitting! I want it enter into the http://www.fridaysketchersblog.blogspot.com/ challenge as its their sketch I have used and also into the http://www.thesecretcraftersaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ who have the purple theme:

Papers are from a Hot of the Press 8x8 book of scrapping papers, stamp is from Hero Arts, flowers from Hobbycraft and the green flowers and ovals are cut using nestabilities.

Thanks for looking :)

A punched card

I have made this card just for the http://www.simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.com/ challenge as they are also offering the fantastic opportunity for a place on their design team for a whole year - how exciting is that! The challenge is "Punch it". The punches I have used are a Make It Corner punch to create the circle mat, a leaf punch, a Stampin' Up border punch and a six petal flower punch was used to make the roses. The papers/cardstock are Magnolia, Stampin' Up and Bazzill and the Magnolia image was coloured in with the following promarkers: blush, saffron, ivory, sunkissed pink, buttercup, tan, ginger, spice, red, berry red, soft green, mint green, sky blue, cyan and I also used an At You Spica red pen to add a bit of glitter. The leaves were coloured with a grass promarker. I also used black soot and worn lipstick distress inks, stickles, and some gemstones.

The card is based on a sketch at http://delightfulsketches.blogspot.com/



Again - thanks for looking :)

Jane's present

Ok, so I bought some little folders from Asda about 2 years ago - I made myself a pirate one to keep scrapping notes, quotes, my things to do list in and another one for my friend Louise who has 7 children - in hers I made 9 dividers and stamped on each one to suit her, her husband and each of her children. I know that she loves this little folder and uses it to keep all bits and pieces of information for each person such as phone numbers, school numbers, vaccination dates etc. Well for the past 2 years she has had to hide it from our other sewing buddy Jane as Jane's has been a work in progress..... Well I am pleased to say that today I have finished it!! its only taken me a weekend too!! Obviously all the bits and pieces that I had in it before have now been redone and replaced with Magnolia's coloured in with Promarkers and, yet again, I have used the papers from the My Minds Eye Colourful Christmas set - honestly I have made so much out of this pack of paper its unbelievable - makes it such good value for money and I will definately buy packs like this again in the future as they are so easy to put together as it all coordinates. Anyway here are the pictures of her folder book:

The front cover:
Jane and Marks dividers:
Hannah and Cassie's dividers:
The back cover:
The folder is just a simple ring binder with lined paper - useful for all sorts of things. Anyway am off to wrap it up now ready for her birthday tomorrow - just need to make a tag - its all go isn't it!

Thanks for looking :)

Girl on a Swing

Just had to play with two of my new stamps! I would like to enter this card in to the following challenges:

http://www.abc-challenge.blogspot.com/ M is for Masking

http://www.stampwithfun.blogspot.com/ whose sketch I have followed

http://www.creativeinspirationschallenge.blogspot.com/ distressing

http://www.promarkerchallenge.blogspot.com/ Girls, Girls, Girls - my second entry into this challenge - whoo hooo!


The promarkers used are ivory, saffron, blush, yellow, pastel yellow, tan, sunkissed pink, tea green, cool aqua, pastel green, apple, cinnamon, spice, grass, grey green, terracotta, ginger, cocoa, duck egg and berry red.

As always thank you so much for looking :)

So excited!

I made the top 5 in the abc-challenge and have a blinkie!! Its for the blue and brown card under the post "More Challenges" - this has been sent to my other half's cousin for her birthday last week - cant wait to tell her when she gets back from her Caribbean cruise (its alright for some isnt it!!). Whoo hoo this has spurred me on now and I am going to spend the day making some more cards - dont tell the other half as he thinks I am doing the housework! tee hee to be fair though my car is off the road and I have a man coming round sometime today to fit a new battery for me so I have to stay in, honest.

Have just found a competition to name two cute boy stamps - entries have to be in by the 26th - see link on the sidebar ---->

Card for Jane

I would now like to enter another card for two more challenges (yes its true I am officially addicted!) - I made this one yesterday for my friend Jane who's birthday it is next week - then this morning I finished it off with white pen and then suddenly realised, shock horror, that all the cards I have made recently havent been finished with white pen! oh well - its because I have moved where I store the white pen (its now in a pocket in my bucket rather than my little desktop pen holder) but I cant believe I have forgotten - the white lines really make all the difference as the images "pop" more. Anyway I am waffling..... The first challenge I would like to enter is http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.com/ which is a sketch - I had to elongate the sketch in order to fit it onto a square card and I changed the ribbon for a flower as the colour matched so perfectly I just couldn't resist using it (plus I haven't used any of these flowers since I bought them last May in California!). The second challenge is at http://www.pollycraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/ - challenge 32 which is Fire and Ice.




Am now off to find another challenge to make my sister-in-laws card - whoo hoo! Also I have updated the crop website www.whathousework.co.uk with our latest workshops - please pop over to have a look!

Thanks for looking :)

Angelina's card

Hi, again I have been working on a sketch and have come up with this card for my cousin:


The sketch is from www.stampinfortheweekend.blogspot.com. I would also like to enter it into a few other challenges, these are: www.pileitonchallenge.blogspot.com - this challenge is to use 3 ribbons on your card - I don't know why but as soon as I saw that I thought of a plait - so I have plaited my 3 ribbons - bearing in mind I have never made a plait before I think I have done quite a good job! shame my two boys have such short hair tee hee!

The next challenge is www.promarkerchallenge.blogspot.com which is for something girly, girly, girly and this card is very girly for me!

The next is www.creativecardcrew.blogspot.com - this challenge is to use a punch on your card - on this card I have used a Martha Stewart punch (courtesy of Julie - thanks Julie *waves madly*) and my corner rounder.

I was also going to enter it for creative inspirations but then I have reread the rules and you need to have bought something new since New Year and used that on the card - all of this was bought before New Year although it is the first time I have used most of it! Still I did buy 5 new Magnolia's last week so I still have time to enter this with another card! The link for that challenge is www.cinspirations.blogspot.com.

Thanks for looking :)

And there is more!

Here are the other cards I have been working on this week - you can tell I have been treating myself to a week of crafting cant you! considering each card takes me on average about 5 hours to make I am not sure myself how I have fitted it all in and the house is clean too! (although it probably could be tidier but with 2 little children you cant have everything can you!).

First off I would like to enter this card into the http://www.liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ challenge which is for a thank you card - again I have used a Christmas theme for these next two (my last two Christmas thank you cards which are from my children to Grandma and Grandad and also to Great Grandma for all their lovely presents) as I just love the My Minds Eye Christmas papers and I am getting so many cards out of the one pack - what a bargain investment that was!

Grandma and Grandads card is again based on a sketch from stampchallenges that I am too late to enter!

and here is the inside:

and Great Grandmas card based on the other sketch I keep on using at the moment for thank you cards which is from charismacardz:

and the inside:

then again using the sketch from stamp challenges here is the card I made for my goddaughter (the one who got the handmade doll on the previous post) who's birthday it is today!! Whoo hooo Happy Birthday Jessica

I actually made the other card (the cool aqua and cocoa one that was entered into passion for promarkers challenge) for her initially but decided it was a bit too old for a 5 year old so I made this one in a similar fashion using Basic Grey Cupcake papers.

And also last but certainly not least here is the class layout that I have prepared for my crop tomorrow - more details can be found here: www.whathousework.co.uk

Thanks for looking :)

What a busy week!

Have spent most of the week crafting! how lovely! have prepared a couple of classes for my crop on Sunday and also some new workshops for the next couple of months - and I have done some more challenges too - the first one is:
which I want to enter for http://www.promarkerchallenge.blogspot.com/ which is to use the colours cool aqua and cocoa. I used this sketch: http://www.stampchallenges.blogspot.com/ which I was going to enter the card for but have just realised that it should have been in by yesterday - bit annoying since I have had the card sitting on my craft table for 3 days! ho hum lesson learnt though and I will now put due dates on all my challenges!! I would also like to enter this card into the challenge at http://charismacardz.blogspot.com/ which is for "Anything New" the anything new on this card is the lovely prima painterly petal which I bought at Hobbycrafts at the NEC in November - so see I can use "new" stash within two months!!!

For all those interested the lovely booty used from my treasure chest of stash is:
Promarkers:- blush, saffron, sunkissed pink, pastel yellow, ginger, cocoa, cool aqua, duck egg, turquoise, almond, soft peach and ivory.
Frayed burlap distress ink, vanilla breeze glimmer mist, prima painterly petals morning silk #524159, My Minds Eye Colourful Christmas papers, card from Craftwork Cards, brown bazzill, blue cardstock, white cardstock from Stampin Up, coffee bean brilliance ink, studio g alphabet, bling, flower centres (cant remember what they are called!), some leaves and my lovely new stampin up border punch. Phew am worn out now!!

Another card I have made is: for a little boy who's party my little boy is going to on Sunday. Quick and simple card using Cosmo Cricket Cogsmo papers and diecuts.

Have made more cards but they are on my main pc which I cant access at the moment so will have to post again later!

Thanks for looking :)

More challenges!

I actually have quite a lot of birthdays to make cards for in January so I am doing some sketches and entering challenges at the same time! Much easier than normal as I usually end up leaving the cards until the day before, rushing them and then, even though everyone I send to are different ages (ranging from 5 to 50ish this month) they are all basically the same as I am normally so worn out after Christmas I lose my mojo - anyway now I have finally "clicked" with sketches I am well away and making lots of different cards and really enjoying myself in the process - which lets face it is the main thing!

Here are my first two for the month:

This one is based on an old sketch from Lili of the valley - I liked it so much I keep on using it! however I want to enter the card into the My Time to Craft challenge - link is: http://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/01/challenge-73-blue-brown.html

Their theme is blue and brown - my favourites! I would also like to enter it into two other challenges - they are: http://abc-challenge.blogspot.com/ whose challenge is L is for Layering and I have used quite a bit on this card and also for the challenge at http://creativecardcrew.blogspot.com/2010/01/challenge-42-distressing.html - but lets face it I love layering and distressing so why wouldnt I!

The other card I have made is for a bloke so I have kept it quite plain and simple, again I have based it on an old sketch that I had a note of but I have lost my slip of paper and cant find what challenge its from - if I find it I will update the post. Here's the card:

Even though its a bit plain I would like to enter this card into the randomly drawn challenge at http://cutecardthursday.blogspot.com/ after all you have to be in it to win it!

Thanks for looking and hope you all have a nice day - apparently its going to snow loads later today again so maybe we might have a couple more snow days this week! Anyway off now to create my next two cards for two five year olds - always fun!

Happy New Year everyone

Hi, sorry I havent been blogging but my pc has broken :( am writing this on my laptop (which is really slow compared to my main pc) just so that I can enter the competition over on Just Magnolia. Have made lots of cards and things recently but havent uploaded them onto this pc as soon as other half finishes building my new one I will!

Here are my latest two cards though:

This one is based on the sketch at http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com/2009/12/week-38-sketch-for-you.html which I have entered for their competition and I would also like to enter it for the competition at magnolia down under as its a card using Christmas images for a Thank You card - the link for that one is: http://www.kelliewinnell.com.au/magnolia/?p=1034

Here is the other Thank You card I have made:

Just need to make another two and I am done. Anyway must dash now as its a snow day here - yippee! - and we are off to go tobaggoning in the park. Thanks for looking :)

She's done!

Took me a little bit longer than I thought (almost a whole day more!) but I managed to have her finished and wrapped up for my lovely little goddaughter who came over for lunch today - and here she is - I am proud to introduce you to Jessica:



Now I just need to finish both my Mom and Nan's calendars and make 9 Christmas crackers -what fun!

New challenge

Ok here is my challenge card for lily of thevalley - it makes a nice change for me to do a card in pinks! think I will be giving this one to my Grandma on Christmas Day too.

Have made a few other cards but havent got time to upload them at the moment - need to finish the wrapping and table decorations whilst children are at school - its all go isnt it!

Thanks for looking.

What a busy few weeks!

Sorry I havent blogged for awhile - I helped organise a school Christmas Fayre a week ago, helped out at one last week and had DS1's 9th Birthday yesterday so its all been a bit hectic!

I have actually done a layout though! I know my first in about 3 months!

Thanks Julie for the inspiration at the last crop - as we both said "oval" and then "a planet" at the same time meant this just had to be done using lovely crate papers and some creative colour sprays I treated myself to at Hobbycraft (as you do!). Have also made quite a few cards recently too - might enter one into this http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/. Am off to have a little play today as I need to catch up with craft things for Christmas and my crop on Sunday and as I have a cold I have decided to put my feet up rather than go out and about running around as usual! I will be back soon I promise!

I've done some challenges!

For the first time I have decided to enter two challenges - how exciting are these! both cards are based on sketches and for the first time ever its finally "clicked" with me! I found them fun and easy to do not like scrapbook sketches whereby I seem to spend hours and hours on sketches and then never like the end result as they are never really "me" but these two cards fell straight into place, were quick and fun to do and, most importantly, I love the end results!! Hope you like them too.

Heres the first for

http://trulyscrumptiouschallenges.blogspot.com/2009/11/challenge-20.html

Ok so I know Halloween was three weeks ago but when I saw the sketch with five lines down it I just straight away imagined five spiders hanging down a card - dont know why but there it was and the image just wouldnt go away so it had to be done! plus I also used the new Edwin stamp that I bought about a month ago and still hadnt used!!

Card uses imaginesce Halloween papers, quickutz spiders, making memories ribbon and pumpkin sticker and, of course, the lovely Magnolia stamp! Texture is added by using ribbons and mounting all spiders on 3d foam.

The second is for

http://liliofthevalleythursdaychallenge.blogspot.com/2009/11/challenge-41.html and uses some lovely My Minds Eye Colourful Christmas papers and diecuts and the lovely Magnolia Tilda stamp.

I have so enjoyed making these - am off to look for more challenges to enter after little one has been to a friends Wacky Warehouse party this afternoon (wish me luck - Saturday afternoon in a crowded room full of 4 and 5 year olds!!).

Its been a busy few days - not least because Hobbycrafts has been at the NEC - yes I went twice and yes I spent a small fortune! Have been busy playing today not with all new goodies though but trying to catch up with some bits and pieces (such as the thank you cards for B's birthday presents which were received 5 weeks ago! oops, and they still arent finished - double oops!).

Anyway here are the other bits and pieces:

A lovely little boy I know is one soon so this is for him:

Here I just had to have a play with a new magnolia I discovered - Edwin with Mushrooms!!! I so had to have him didnt I!!

Here is the front:

and here is the inside - apologies for poor photograph!

A very quick 50th Wedding Annivesary card - I say quick its still taken me hours to do despite been quite simple - but this uses a new spray I bought yesterday - its a Crafty Notions one and really rather lovely! Rest of card is just cardstock cut from nesties and then sizzixed numbers finished with a bouquet of flowers - as I said very simple - have no idea why it took so long....

And then this is for a workshop I am teaching in a couple of weeks time - its called Tildas Garden:

The Edwin is another option if students want to do a boy instead - but I bet they dont!! tee hee.

Thanks for looking!