My passion

for making boxes continues and there I was merrily making this one the other night: 

when Morag said "that tag would look good on a suitcase" - well of course I just went right off on one and came up with this little beauty:

isn't it fab (even if I say so myself!).  I changed the handmade flower (how addictive are they! have already made about 20 of them!!) for a gorgeous prima flower - stamps are Tim Holtz, Prima, Paper Artsy (my new favourites at the moment) and some travel ones I bought from the Works a while back.  I used kraft cardstock and bazzill cardstock in green and dark brown, distress inks, Stampin Up inks and a bit of string!

Hope everyone is having a great Easter - we are having a day in today after venturing out to Stratford yesterday in the rain and then also visiting Tescos.  So whilst the boys are all entertained either playing with lego or Flat Out on the Xbox360 I am going to do some scrapping!  Have an urge to do a layout or a card at the moment - who knows I might manage both!!

Thanks for looking :) 

Shopping!

oooooh its Hobbycrafts day!  a whole day at the NEC spending money I dont have on things I dont need!!! am sooooooo excited - just got to make my sandwich and pack my shopping list (have no idea why I have written one of those - as if I will stick to it!  no doubt I will have to buy something from the first stall I see and it will all go pear shaped from there!!!!).  What fun :)

Such fun!

Morag and I have put together a beautiful kit and have been having a lovely time creating all sorts of items to showcase it.  Here are some pictures of the kit:

and here are some of the items I have made over the past week:

a vintage butterfly card - arent these new Prima papers lovely!

A cute box to store some stash in

a trifold card - been meaning to make one of these for ages and it was just crying out to be finished with one of the lovely prima flowers included in the kit

A layout of me!!  doesnt happen very often!  must get round to doing some more.....

A beautiful gift bag - trouble is I think I might find it too difficult to give this one away!

The kit costs just £25 saving £5 on the retail value. The optional stamp set (shown on all items apart from the butterfly card) is just £5 as an add-on (RRP £6.99).  We have also compiled our sweet ideas journal (included) which contains pictures of all the projects that Morag and I have made giving you inspiration to help you get the most from your kit.


To reserve your kit or find out more information go to our website http://www.whathousework.co.uk/, use the contact form and we'll send you full details of the contents.  Please be quick though as we already only have a few left.

Thanks for looking and sorry I havent been updating as often recently but now you all know why!

Early Christmas

Hi everyone, have been busy making quite a few things but they have either already been sent (a few birthday cards) without me taking photos as they have been pretty similar to other stuff I have made (5 year old birthday cards and a couple of reflection cards) or are still half finished or "need tweaking" so I only have one picture to show for myself at the moment! I am trying to keep up with the Christmas challenges at http://www.abcchristmaschallenge.blogspot.com/ although my Angel and Decoration cards havent yet been made and my Bell card is still waiting to have the bell attached! However I have made the Elf card and here he is:

Its an easel card with the bottom part being made up of strips of paper so it looks like a roof - the photo doesnt do the card much justice I'm afraid as it looks really cool in real life. Card is made up using nestibility dies and then again I have used the fabulous My Minds Eye Colourful Christmas papers, Chimney and Elf are magnolia stamps, the robin is by Ollyphant, the leaves are sizzix and the greeting is hand written for once! I would like to enter this into their challenge this fortnight which is Elf.

Thanks for looking! :)

Busy, busy, busy

Had a fun day today not only have I managed to get a quick visit in to Stampeezee to stock up on ink and blending foam but I have managed to finish my Mother In Laws card and also have had a lovely play with my new Tim Holtz stuff!

Here is the card:

Its based on the sketch at www.thepinkelephantchallenge.blogspot.com so I would like to enter it into their challenge this week.

And here are some of the little things I have made whilst playing - not sure what they are all going to end up on yet, maybe nothing as they are all experiments but the blending foam is so much better to use than cut and dry foam - gives fabulous results immediately as you can see so I will probably end up using them on something - particularly that skull (you know my love of pirates!!).

On a sad note I have also sold my rocking chair :( it had to go though as we have no room or need for it anymore but its gone to a good home to a lady who is expecting in two months time so hopefully she will have many happy hours nursing the baby on it as I did :)

Thanks for looking and lets all keep our fingers crossed for the Villa tomorrow!

Got mine!!!!

Whoo hoo!! Got to see the book yesterday - fabulous as always! love that little yellow button on qvc too.....

QVC Craft Day

So are we all ready for the big day tomorrow then? I managed to get to speak to Tim today at the Trade Fair at the NEC and he says its well worth waiting up until Midnight for his tsv (even though I was up at 1am this morning unable to sleep - fancy me been awake on the wrong night!!!).

Have had a bit of a panic this afternoon too as I couldnt find my qcut number so I have had to phone QVC to get it so that I dont miss out tomorrow (sad I know!!!!).

Only 6.5 hours to go.......

I couldnt believe it!

yesterday I just had an overwhelming urge to do a scrapbook layout! (first time in about 3 months that I actually fancied making one!) Obviously I jumped right on the case and started this layout, then spent the day out with the boys in Birmingham (we know how to live!) and when I got back managed to finish it off as the glimmered/inked/stamped stuff was all dry by then - am very pleased with myself!

Used some lovely Crate Paper stuff that I bought in a kit in a sale from Stampeezee a few weeks ago.

Have also made another little easel card - this is for Morag.  I fancied playing around with the nestability dies to make an unusual shaped one - here she is:

It's crop day today - whoo hoo - lots of snow though which is not so good but it's not going to stop me - if I stay in one more day I will go stir crazy! so I am off to finish packing (obviously I am already over packed with stuff to take considering I never do anything whilst there but there's always room for a bit more - just in case.....).

Thanks for looking :)

Easter Basket

Hi, last night and today I have been busy making this cute basket:

Cant wait to fill it up with lots of lovely goodies! Have also designed and made a hexagonal shaped one but its not as study as this one and I would hate to lose any chocolates from it so I guess I am sticking with this rectangular one to give my Easter gifts in! Just need to make several more now.......

Thanks for looking :)

My busy half term!

Well this week I have managed to start and complete a whole book! This is to keep my expenses in so it is four envelope pages (to keep receipts in) for the various things I spend money on and need to keep track off. Here it is:

front cover: back cover:

I have kept both of these plain for the time being - might tart them up when I get a spare few hours! but the papers are really quite busy so I might get away with it staying plain too!

Front of crop envelope:

Back of crop envelope - a very fitting stamp this as we always have to sweep up all the bits of paper from the hall floor at the end of every crop! I have also based this on a sketch at http://www.fridaysketchersblog.blogspot.com/ so I would like to enter it into their challenge for this week.

front of workshop envelope:

back of workshop envelope: This is based on the sketch at http://www.stampwithfun.blogspot.com so I would like to enter it into that challenge.

Front of school envelope:

Back of school envelope: This is based on the sketch at http://www.onestopcraftchallenge.blogspot.com/ so I would like to enter it into their challenge this week too.

Front of friends envelope (you know for those receipts and bits and pieces that I buy for other friends or they buy for me when they are out and about somewhere and see something they think I need!)

front of friends envelope:

Back of friends envelope: This is based on my trusty sketch at stamp challenges earlier in the year (you know the tried and trusted one that I seem to keep on using!!!) therefore I cant enter this into anything.

Have also put lots of blank sheets of paper in the back of the book to keep notes etc. on any expenditures.

All papers are from a sassafras lass pack I bought in the States 18 months ago - I managed to do two layouts with them but since then they have sat in my cupboard unused as they are so busy they are quite difficult to use on layouts, so this book was perfect as I do love the papers but only in small doses!

Another very exciting thing I have done is to cut a stamp in two! and not just any old stamp but a new magnolia one!!! had a very worrying two minutes during the cutting process and then the stamping process to check that I hadnt ruined it but the operation all went well and now I have two lovely stamps to position anywhere I like:

Here is what the image looked like before:

(its the set of tins minus the lovely tilda with bee!) and here they are on two separate blocks ready to be moved, layered and put wherever I fancy!

Am really rather pleased with myself as I achieved quite a lot this week - check back tomorrow when I should have chance to upload a new workshop I have planned based on an easter basket at www.justmagnolia.blogspot.com/2010/02/special-monthly-challenge-tutorial-by.html and also have managed to get through almost a whole level of Tomb Raider and now its snowing too! whoo hoo - dont you just love the holidays!

Thanks for looking :)

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 :)