Make Mine A Pint Birthday Card

Two very quick cards for the gentlemen today.  The bottles and glasses are cut from a sheet of gift wrap.  To add extra dimension and texture I have used Anita’s glossy white 3D Dimensional Paint to the lager and beer froth and dome stickers over the bottle labels.

A few stars here and there finish off the design.

Diamond Wedding Anniversary Card.

This is a card design I use quite a lot for the more “mature” recipient,  using punched flowers.
 

I made it for a colleague whose parents were celebrating their diamond wedding anniversary, so added a few extra clear flat backed gems here and there, as well as in the flower centres, for extra sparkle

Her father was in the RAF and flew spitfires, I wanted to add a small plane to the front of the card, but it just didn’t look right so I  added one to the insert of the card, re-colouring the image I found in sepia tones to match the card and insert.

Leaving Card

It’s sad, but at there are several people leaving the school where I work at the end of the summer term, and I have been asked to make a couple of cards for them.

To make it more personal and special, I have taken a photo of the front entrance of the school and used it to make a very simple decoupaged newspaper card.

Lady Bird Card

My intention was for this to be a Good Luck card, but no matter where I tried to put the sentiment it just looked pants …. so I left it off.

The paper is My Minds Eye, Jack and Jill “Be Happy” range.

The leaf is embossed and punched using a large Woodware punch I got at the NEC Hobbycrafts in March.

Looking at the pictures now of the finished card …. I think  I should have used a bigger ladybird, the proportions don’t seem quite right. …… hmmmmm back to the drawing board!

Little Monsters

Something for the boys today, using my 9 square template which is ideal for using up small puffy stickers from Accessorize and Paperchase.

 

These stickers are from Paperchase and there are enough in one packet (cost £1) to make at least 4 cards, which is pretty good value for money.  I have used silver card as the background which helps make the monsters stand out as well as adding a bit of bling.

My Sister's Shopping List

I covered a long Asda notebook to make this shopping list for my sister.

I used American Crafts paper from their “Kids” range and then doodled faux stitching using a fine liner pen. The lettering is an assortment of self adhesive alphabet stickers and the bees are wooden embellishments to which I have added googly eyes. I’ve also added a few clear flat back gems for added sparkle.

I used bees because my sister is a very very busy bee!

Three Decoupage Cards – Pepper and Friends

I don’t usually do decoupage but now and again I relent, especially when they are a bargain. These cards were made using a Pepper and Friends pad (Trimcraft) that I got from the Range, the pad had come apart and to be honest I think there was another part of a pad mixed up with it as well…..

I’ve used a pale gingham card for the background mat and layered on silver and then added small flat backed gems here and there for extra sparkle.

To me, it feels a little bit like cheating, but the proof is in the pudding, and they flew out of my box!

A Mini Book for Angela

Sorry this is a long one!

The end of the school year is always tinged with sadness as staff retire or move on, and I have been busy making a couple of little books for the very special people in my departments who are leaving.

This book is for my Line Manager, Angela, who was there at my interview and who I loved straight away. We have cooked together twice a week with our lovely girls ever since and when Year 11 leave to do their exams we have sewn t-shirts together.

I tried to give the impression that I was taking pictures for the girls, but I was really trying to get silly little pictures of the special things in the classroom that made me think of Angela and the happy times we have had.

Now I’ll let the rest of the pictures tell the story ………

And hope they give you as little insight of how I adored working with the kindest, sweetest lady ever.

There were another couple of pages but they are a bit too special for here.

Wooden Spoon Table Decorations

Following on from yesterday this has to be ‘Fiddle Farting’ at its finest!  I made six of these table decorations  using wooden spoons (4 for £1 from Poundland) and old sweet corn tins – as I said yesterday, I love to have a theme!

 
I have used my Cropadile to put holes around the top of the tin to thread the ribbons through.
 

The spoons are held in place with huge blobs of glue gun glue, I had to sit  holding the spoons in place until the glue had set hard. The flowers and  leaves  are made using Quickutz Silhouette digital downloads, layered and with a flat back gem centre.

The butterflies were made using my Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly punch.  I glued two together with a piece of fine pink wire between them.  The other end of the wire was glued behind the flowers. Because they were quite light the butterflies “fluttered” a bit if there was any movement around them .

Table Decorations with a Cookery Theme

These have got to be the biggest table sprinkles ever, but they are such fun, I've put a paperclip in the picture so that you can guage their size.  I cut them out using a kitchen digital download set  from Quickutz Silhouette – I just love them.

Cookery Apron Place Cards

I made these place cards for a colleagues retirement “do”. She was the Food Tech teacher and girls wear red and white striped aprons  – so I just had to go with the theme ….

The card was cut using a digital design template, downloaded from Quickutz Silhouette, including the fish slice, how cute is that?  I drew on the stripes using a white gel pen and added the buttons.

Continuing with the cookery theme, I got some wooden spoons (4 for £1 from Poundland) and added a ribbon and tag, (the opposite side says “ A small gift …..”), these were put on the top table where her invited guests were seated.

Tomorrow, I will show you the table decorations and table sprinkles I made to complete the theme.

Holiday Rock Favor

I'm sorry if my posts have been a bit "so so" for the past few weeks - a lot has been happening at work and home ..... but please bear with me ..... the summer holidays will soon be here and I have a huge list of ideas I want to get started on.

You know I have been dithering about my end of term tiny weenie presents …..  and I really thought I was happy with my bars of chocolate wrapped in a map of the world, well….. I have sort of changed my mine, because I say this box of mini packets of rock in TK Maxx on Friday …..

And it was really what I had in my minds eye all along, but couldn’t find … so I bought them …. £12.99 for 25 packets (ouch!) – it sounds a lot – but it works out at 51p each – and the designs are so cute ….. I just love the bees!

I know I am quite mad - but I just love the idea of using rock as a start to the summer holidays type gift.

The chocolate won’t be wasted …… I have other ideas up my sleeve for them!

Gingham Rosette Flower Card.

I got these gingham rosette flowers from NEC Hobbycrafts a couple of years ago, I haven’t used them much as they are not flat on the back and so are a bit awkward to glue on.

I’ve added  a small flat backed pearl to the centre of each of them.

I think perhaps the flowers would be better used as the centre of a bigger flower …… hmmmmm back to the drawing board!

Machine Sewn Engagement Card

This card was made using papers and embellishments from a Cosmo Cricket set I had from QVC.  The sentiment is my own design, printed and mat and layered on gold card.

Because the papers have a vintage feel,  I decided to sew round the card blank and centre with my old Singer sewing machine with burgundy thread for a shabby chic effect. The lines are a bit wibbly wobbly and I have left the thread ends to continue the effect.

Little Princess Birthday Card

I’ve used the Little Princess stickers I got from Poundland in Bristol a little while back.

I tried backing her on patterned paper but it was too much.  So I’ve kept it very simple, putting her on a white background with a thin backing of purple and faux stitching.  All I have added after that is a few tiny nail deco gems (also from Poundland) for an extra bit of sparkle.