Monday 29 June 2009

Mixed emotion day...

I made it into the top 20 for Gallery Idol! :)
This is the card which was made using Hero Arts stamps, the bunting was a simple sentiment stamped onto ribbon....

Thanks again for all the positive thoughts and well wishes...........keep em coming please as the next round is weddings!! LOL

The not so good now....... poor little hamster, Jessica, died of wet tail. Its a stress condition and we got up this morning to the poor little mite not moving etc. Jake has broken his heart and drawn her a picture and placed some treats next to where shes burried. He keeps going out and crying and asking why she had to die. Guess where we are heading off too tomorrow - apparently we NEED a new Jessica!

Sunday 28 June 2009

Fab Night!

Last night was the big fundraiser at mums and wow what a night! Everyone was so warm, welcoming and lovely. They all joined in, brought their own tables, chairs and alcohol etc - mum and all her friends made the food so it was buffet style. There was a raffle, silent auction, quiz, donation bucket and mum sold her cards.

The total raised was £1700!! How great is that! So proud of mum and all of her friends, it was an honor to help out and it was just lovely to see her with a smile on her face again :)Mum is the one with the bouquet ;)
I even managed to nab someone to take a picture of me and BOTH sisters - believe me this is rare and never happens so you know what, im going to share! :)Me, Lisa and Kelly :)
Please dont laugh at how brown/red i look - ive started to peel and its not pretty! LOL

Thursday 25 June 2009

Yawnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn and Yummmmmmmmmmmm!

Sorry no template today ive been run off my feet with deadlines and sportsdays etc! I think the sunshine has knocked me out as im yawning like its going out of fashion and could sleep for a fortnight! I did however knock up a banoffee pie to go with the BBQ.......yummmmmm!! :D

Will be back later for the Papertrey Blog hop - go check out the site and participate! :)

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Sketch challenge catchup...

I havent managed to do all the ones i wanted to this week what with one thing and another! Here are a couple of the challenges ive done....

This one is for Card Positioning Systems The card is cut out using a Sizzix big die, patterned paper, star stamps and ink all from Papertrey Ink.

The next card is my take on a sketch from a couple of blogs. I have been asked to make save the date notelets for my cousin who is getting married next year. While i had the stamps out i incorporated the sketch from Sunday Sketch & Stamp , the pull out tag with all the info on is to complete the Cute Card Thursday challenge of using a tag somewhere on your project and the fact its a wedding theme covers me for the Spoonfull Of Sugar challenge :) Phew! Click on the names to visit the sites...
The next is made for the Sketch Saturday challenge blog. I love the design of it but im not sure as it looks a little washed out - its really shabby chic irl! :)
Hope you have enjoyed the sun today, its been beautiful here!

Im off to get my hair cut tomorrow in time for the big charity bash at the weekend. A while ago mum made a suggestion to hold an event where all proceeds went to Cancer research. We would hold a raffle, dance, buffet and silent auction. Originally we thought there would be around 30/40 guests..............it took on a life of its own and is now over 100! Poor mum is run ragged, im in all hands on deck mode and since its all happening Saturday night and we arent arriving until Saturday morning, well, lets just say it may be a little manic! LOL I wouldnt have it any other way! :D

Tuesday 23 June 2009

Jam Tarts and plastic surgery!!

Ive been working on lots of design team stuff which i cant share just yet but having just ordered 98 photos from Photobox im sure as heck going to be busy - that little peek wont harm will it?! ;)

Gallery idol closed yesterday so good luck to everyone!! :) Heres another card i made for the competition, simple embossing, some bling (of course) and Sizzix happy birthday sign.

Jake is off school again, he has an open pore on his ear which he has had from birth. Now and again it flairs up with infection and this time they have said he will have to go for plastic surgery to get it removed. He isnt happy!! Anyways, we made some jam tarts to cheer him up - food is the only sure fire way to this kids heart!! :D (lol yes i cheated with the ready rolled pastry!)

Sunday 21 June 2009

Our other girlies.....

Since i shared pictures of our chickens i thought it only fair to share pics of our other little girls too......Jessica and Charlotte.

We have had Jessica for around a year now and shes gorgeous! She loves climbing and messing around so we wanted to upgrade her accomodation ;) I went out with my sister on Saturday and we popped into Pets at Home, there was this fab Pink Princess Palace in the sale so i nabbed it and we looked around at the pets for sale. We came across a section for adoption and there was this one little lonely hamster by itself with a sign saying,

Owners were frightened, needs new home.

She looked teeny but when they lifted the lid on her home she was around 3 times the size of Jessica and just a complete little ball of fluff, so friendly and cuddly. Apparently it was the size that made the owners scared of her!! LOL We paid an adoption fee of £5 and didnt need to buy anything else as she was moving into Jess's old house! :DHow cute is this!Hope you all had a fab weekend - catch you soon with more makes and goodies since i received a lovely huge rak of Papertrey goodies from Catherine! :)

Saturday 20 June 2009

Friday Sketchers and random ramblings!

Here is my card based on the new sketch from Friday Sketches - i love the Wishing You stamp set from Papertrey so I stamped just the tops of the tulips to make the dragonfly the main focus. Thanks for the inspiration girls and the design team cards are gorgeous - go check them out!

Now the rambling bit - please feel free to sleep during the following section... ;)

On the 15th of September last year i posted the following on my blog (it was amongst the stuff that got lost when i switched some settings so im reposting it) ....

*************************************************************************
When i first decided, a couple of weeks ago, to make positive steps in my life i knew i needed to do things for me, more cardmaking, scrapbooking, these things make ME happy I found a tin of Rhonna Farrah rub ons that i have had for years but never used.

I rifled through the tin and 3 jumped out at me - Faith, Hope and Love.

I had the perfect place to put them and just knew the overhang of the stairs was one of the first places i would see every morning without doubt as i headed downstairs to start a new day. That night i finished another chapter of Manifest Your Destiny and the closing words were But Faith, Hope and Love never fail. *that was a warm cosy moment i tell you*

I carried on making my cards and doing the challenges and got an email from the girls at SBS18 to let me know i had won a prize for my Relax accordian folder. The stamps arrived in an envelope that had been stuck down with sticky tape that read.....

But Faith, Hope and Love never fail.

*************************************************************************

Spooky eh! :D Well, a couple of weeks ago i called into the Scrapbook Shop to pick up some goodies to make my next class with. I was given some of the sticky decorative tape etc and also asked if i would like to make some show goods for the shop - i came home and popped the class bag away and worked on the shop stuff.

Last week i received an email saying i had been chosen as part of the new Scrapbookmate Design Teamwhich was so unexpected as i had forgotten i had even applied! :) Other good things are happening right now too and everything seems to be falling into place without too much worry etc.

Fast forward to when i was preparing my class on Thursday. I opened the packs of tape and guess what one of them said..........
....how cool is that!!

It reminded me to stop stressing about things and go with the flow a little more, life has a plan and everything will be fine :) xxx

Friday 19 June 2009

Weekly roundup....

Its been a busy one this week!

The chickens have been on fine form producing between 3 and 4 eggs per day - ive even had to write the date on them so we use them in order theyre coming in that fast! (the 3 at the back on the bottom are wood - dont worry it didnt hurt the chickens as they originally came with the box but are now relegated to the cupboard!) DH used them (the real ones!) for scrambled eggs last night and since i was out teaching a class i didnt even get to try them! lol The girls are settling in really well, their feathers are coming back in and they now cluck like mad when you approach them! :)

I took part in a couple of the sketch challenges this week, first up being the Papertrake Weekly sketch... I love how it looks like a little envelope on a card, such a cute idea. Thanks girls xxx

Next up was Passion for Papertrey - the task this time was to use a minimum of 2 flowers. Instead of paper flowers i stamped the background with the flower from the Anniversary set in Raspberry Fizz, combining it with the smaller flower from the same set in Aqua Mist.(sorry about the blury pic - it was early hours of this morning when i took the pic!)

The next one was the Sketch and Stash Challenge Blog and the Cuttlebug challenge combined .....This one has special meaning as most of you know we lost my dad to cancer so i stamped the little ties around the elephants trunks to show i will never forget. Thank you to the girls on both blogs for the inspiration xxx

I also picked up some bargains this week! How cute are these, a soap dispenser and soap dish originally from Heathcote & Ivory. I found them in a local Scope charity shop for £1 each! They will fit in perfectly when we manage to get the bathroom sorted - imagine white wood panneling and lots of shabby chic touches! yum!!

Like most scrappers too i struggle for storage and these buttons from Papertrey have been in jars, bowls, boxes......nothing was easy to use and the all needed emptying out to find the perfect ones. Not any more!! Look at these fab little clear boxes - set of 4 for £1 from the Poundstore! I bought 3 sets so plenty of storage and the little (very colourful) basket was 50p from Scope :)

Thursday 18 June 2009

Tutorial Thursday no 3.... **picture heavy!**

I love this little box! Ive worked on it all day perfecting the measurements so that its the perfect size for any treat! The fact i managed to fit in 3 mini chocolate rolls was just sweet! :)

Instructions are done so that those who have the Crafters Companion can follow the pictures too. The instructions for using a ruler and score pen will be marked * at the end of each paragraph :)

First Section.

Take an A4 sheet of paper and hold it facing landscape. With the edge against the first score line of the board, score down the second line (gatefold A5). *First score mark is at 1 1/4inches from the right hand side*
Move the paper so its touching the handle section and score down the 3rd line (Gatefold A4). *Next score mark is 3 inches from the edge of the card*
Keeping the card in the same position then score at the Half Fold A5 line. *This scoreline is 4 inches from the edge of the paper*
Turn and repeat for the other side.
Turn the card so its portrait and score down the first and second lines of your CC. *Score at 3/4 inch mark and 2inch mark - both working from the edge* Rotate and do the other side too.
Fold and score all of the lines so that they fold perfectly.
Turn the card over and cut out the sections shown below.
Place double sided tape onto the side reinforcements and the top lip of the side section. (If you have done any of my other templates you will know how to do this section)
Bring the sides up and fold the top lip over to secure.
Make sure the handles meet in the middle and thats the first section almost done!
Using a small circle punch, punch it as far into the top section of the hand at both the left and right side....

Line up the holes using a ruler and knife, cut away the central piece to leave an oval. (please excuse the rusty knife - honestly a new one is on my list of must haves!)
Trim if necessary.
Second Section.

You need to make the outer slip for your box. Depending how you have scored and folded your initial box will determine how wide you need the slip to be. Hold the box against your patterened paper and line it up with the trimmer so you get the right width.
Cut this piece from a 12inch strip down to 11.5 inches.

Line up against the handle edge of your CC and score at both the Gatefold A4 and Half fold A5 lines. *From the right hand side score the paper at 3inches and 4 1/4 inches*
Turn the paper round and butt up against the handle again. Score at the gatefold A5 mark. *2 inch from the end for those using ruler and score tool too*
Now move the score line you just created over to the gatefold A4 line and score on the half fold A5 line. * Score 1 1/4 inches from the line you just scored towards the centre of the paper - 3 1/4 inches from the edge*
Make sure it folds and fits around the box securely.
Trim the corners of your handles. This will make it easier to slip through the section you are about to cut.
Lay the outer slip facing down and measure and mark down the middle of the centre section. Cut either side of this line to create a little slit for the handle to pop through.
Ink the edges of the outer slip and the box.
Pop in the treats you are giving....
Place a strip of double sided tape down one edge of the outer slip.
This can then be fastened around the box and secured at the bottom. Decorate as you wish and take the opportunity to use up some of that older stash! I never thought i would use these stickers and cardstock again but they came in handy and matched the newer paper perfectly!


Hope you enjoyed this template - it really is a sturdy little box once made up and will hold a multitude of pressies :) Let me know how you get on!