It's that time of year!

Groan..... I hate it when all the Christmas decorations have to come down and everything goes back to 'normal'.  However, it has to happen so today I've made a start.  Once all the decorations are put away, I usually like to throw myself into a project to take my mind off Christmas and get back into the crafting spirit.  So when Ru at My SVG Hut sent me the file for this gorgeous Cuckoo Clock, I was thrilled.  There's quite a lot of pieces to cut, but it was incredibly simple to assemble (psssst.... don't tell Ru, but I only looked at the instructions just the once, when I got a bit stuck with the little box section at the top!)  I thought it was that easy, and pretty self-explanatory to put together.  I did envisage spending several days making this though, but in fact I managed to get it finished this morning.  

I didn't however have a clock mechanism, so while I was out shopping this afternoon, I had a brainwave.  I decided to buy a cheap clock from a 99p shop which I pulled apart when I got home and used the mechanism in this!

It was a lot bigger than I expected it to be too - I thought it would be about 6-8" high; it is in fact just short of an A4 card size.  Here's another pic of it with my prize for completing it, to show you how big it actually is:

The decorative panels are Graphic 45's French Country papers.  The little cavity in the top is just perfect for hiding a couple of truffles if you are giving it as a gift.  This little beaut is staying here with me though - at least until I've made another, which I may be tempted to give away - watch this space!

Thanks for stopping by, and I would love it if you would leave some feedback, or if you have any questions you'd like to ask about it, and I'll definitely get back to answer them.

Have a great day! xxx

Happy 2015!!

Just putting my feather duster away after brushing off the cobwebs on my blog.  It's been a while since I visited here with anything to share, but I have found my way back, cleaned up the blog a little, and I have great news to share which will see me visiting my blog much more regularly in 2015. Yesterday I received some very exciting news.  Ru at My SVG Hut posted on Facebook that she was looking for a couple of people to join her Creative Team.  I only discovered My SVG Hut just a couple of weeks ago, but am already besotted with her files, so I put my application in, and was delighted when she congratulated me and offered me a place!  Ru's cutting files are so simple to assemble and look stunningly effective once completed.  This is one of the many luminaire box cards that were introduced to the shop before Christmas.  I made a couple of these for friends and myself and they were well received.

Doesn't it just conjure up a picture of serenity?  As you can see from this picture, there is a space at the top of the box which houses 5 holes.  This is so that you can drop in a battery operated tealight and direct the light wherever you want it to shine on your scene.

After the success of my Luminaire's, I was really keen to try out another of Ru's files, so I went ahead and bought Secret Garden within about an hour of her releasing it in the store.  I really love this one

I was instantly drawn to this one by it's air of mystery.  Ru's own photo had a ghostly ethereal look about it that made it look so exciting, and it reminded me of a picture I used to look at in a book I had as a child, that always made me wish that I could open those gates and walk around and explore it's overgrown and unkempt gardens without being seen by whoever it was that lived in that ramshackled old house behind it.

This picture tells it better!

Well, much as I would love to sit here rambling on and on, I have to go and get myself ready to share a New Years Eve coffee with friends, and hopefully get back in time to go for New Years Eve lunch with other friends.  A family meeting was called earlier this week to discuss NYE celebrations and the vote was overwhelming.  Tonight we are going to order a big Chinese buffet, and sit around the table, me and my gorgeous boys, and we will toast the New Year in together, just the family, just the way we like it!

I would like to say a huge Thank You to everyone who has popped in here and taken the time to leave feedback.  It is so greatly appreciated, and it not only keeps me motivated, but it shows the people who's creativity I am showcasing how much loved their products are, so please go and see for yourself what other goodies are on offer after you've been here.

HAPPY 2015 TO ALL OF YOU,

WISHING YOU LOVE, LUCK, PROSPERITY AND HAPPINESS!

There's a wee nip in the air....

Happy Tuesday all, and brrrr..... are you feeling a bit of a chill where you are?  There's a smell of Autumn in the air which I love but it feels a bit too soon for it to arrive.  I do love this time of year because it gives me the chance to go foraging for 'Free Food'.  I seriously believe it is (wo)man's natural instinct to gather and preserve food for the winter months as soon as the temperature begins to drop.  This week I have gathered Blackberries and Cob nuts, along with Elderberries.  The blackberries, I have noticed, are not as good quality this year for some reason.  There have been a lot of grubs among them too which has been a bit off-putting.  But I have begun the process of preserving as for the first time ever I made Chilli Jam.  OMG, why have I never done this before?  I LOVE chilli jam with a nice chunk of cheddar cheese and freshly baked crusty bread - mmmmm comfort food at it's best.  So began the process.  I followed Nigella's recipe online and it was so unbelievably simple that I cursed myself for not having made it sooner.

I need to experiment with different chilli's now.  These were just standard red chilli's from Morrisons, but I think I need to seek out other types and see what happens.  Also this week I have made and bottled crystalised rose petals, and dried other rose petals (they shrink so much!!) for cake decoration.  I am also trying to get hold of some damsons, as I used to be pretty adept at making pickled damsons and I have a penchant to do it again.  I have also promised my boys that I will make my own tomato ketchup. Oh yes, I am looking forward to the autumn!

However, the coming of autumn does mean saying goodbye to the summer, and that's why there was a tinge of sadness in my heart as I made this piece for the current Midweek Magnolias challenge, which is to decorate a gift bag or box.  I chose to make a Pocketful of Memories of Summer 2014:

Friends/colleagues beware because I feel a few more of these coming on to give away as end of term gifts as they can be adapted for each season.  I created the pocket not really knowing where I was going with this.  I knew I wanted to not do a standard bag or box, but certainly something that held a gift.  After a rummage through my box of images that I've coloured up but not used yet, the idea suddenly came to me.  I made the entire project using my Silhouette (my BFF!!).  Once the pocket had been created and decorated I had the idea to make a tag saying "A souvenir of my holiday" but as we haven't been away this summer it seemed a little sad.  However, it has been an eventful summer and I suddenly hit upon the idea of creating journal cards so I could remember the details of my summer and smile about them once the frost begins to fall!

Here is the project in it's entirety - I think it's really cute and I'm going to go and make a couple of Christmas one's now!  My frugality has extended to Christmas cards and I have gotten into the habit of buying mine in the post-Christmas sales, so there will be very few handmade cards from me, but I do intend to make as many gifts myself as possible.

I am sharing this also with Stamp and Create with Magnolia for their For a Teacher challenge as a copy of this and future ones will be given to my colleagues at school.

Enjoy the rest of the week and thank you for stopping by! xxx

A birthday card

Just a quick pop in here to share my card with you for the Less is More challenge which this month was a colour themed challenge.

I actually stumbled upon this blog by accident on my travels yesterday while I was looking for a 'proper' challenge, and not just a theme.  These are not colours that I would normally work with - I would go so far as to say probably never work with, so for me this was a 'proper' challenge.  I had to make a card for a friend's birthday so I chose this challenge as my inspiration.  Here is the card:

Clean and simple is also something that I tend to struggle with and as much as I love it when others do it, that huge white area is screaming to me "FILL ME!!"  It's possible my friend will never receive this card in it's current state! LOL!

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the sunshine! :o) xx

Post Early for Christmas!

Well lookie here, 2 cards for one challenge - there's a first for me!  I am just loving the summer holidays, even though I'm not going to get away this year (violins out!!).  Any day now I am going to start doing what I'm meant to be doing - having a clearout and makeover and NOT sit with paper, glue and scissors!!  I have been feeling a little Christmassy this last few days though.  It always happens to me during the summer holidays, I get the urge to start Christmas Crafting.  So I've chosen Midweek Magnolias Easel Card theme again to get me in the mood.  I saw a card in cyberland that had used some of a Nitwitville collection and immediately this idea sprang to mind

The card in my head was just chocca with embellishments though, but once I'd begun assembling, I found it didn't really need anything more than the gorgeous pieces that came with the digi kit!  And Edwin sporting his parcel was just the most perfect thing to take to my Post Office!

You can't really tell from my photography, but the ground that Edwin is walking on is actually a photograph of real footprints in the snow.  I used one that I'd taken along the footpath that runs alongside my house and cropped it down to size.  The sign above the door did say Nitwitville Post Office and I wasn't too keen on that, so I made my own.  Unfortunately, the glossy accents I used hadn't quite set when I began pressing out the seams and posing it, hence the bleurgh! in the middle of the word! T'uh!!!

That's me done for today.  Thanks for stopping by and have a great week! xx

Time for tea...

I soooo love the summer.  This year it is especially gorgeous because, unlike last summer, I have a garden that I have been able to sit out in and enjoy the gorgeous sunshine we've been having.  I have planted new roses and a grape vine, and I've enjoyed a bumper crop of raspberries and blackcurrants this year.

My favourite thing though has been sitting out in the garden early in the morning enjoying my breakfast and cup(s) of tea in the warmth of the sun, listening to the bees buzzing and frogs croaking while the pungent aroma of honesuckle has wafted all around my garden.  Heaven!

All this has inspired the card that I have made for the current Midweek Magnolia challenge, who's theme is Easel Cards.  

I also want to share this card with Totally Tilda challenges who have an Anything Goes theme, so I hope they like it!

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Hope you have a good week. :o) xx

I'm back!

Blimey, it's a while since I was last here!  So long in fact that I had forgotten my password and had to reset the whole thing!  And now that I'm here, I'm trying to remember how to post something on blogger!!!

I haven't been idle - I have been playing around with many different crafts, mainly baking, but recently have rediscovered papercrafting thanks to my lovely boys buying me a Silhouette Portrait machine for Mothers Day.  I just love it so much and it's re-awoken my lust for cutting and sticking!

Despite many attempts at getting my pencils out and playing with my Maggies again, I have finally managed to do it.  I'm suffering with a lousy, stinking cold at the moment and feeling sorry for myself, I tucked myself up on the settee last night and began colouring.  I created this card which I am sharing with two Magnolia challenge blogs.  First up is my lovely 'old' buddies at Midweek Magnolias who's theme is Shaped Cards only,  and also with a brand new Magnolia blog Magnolia Forever who's theme is Anything Goes.

The card shape is one that I created using my Silhouette studio, as is the frame and bow.  The roses were printed onto Core'dinations and "fussy cut" (I need to work out how to do this on my Silhouette!!). I used my old favourite Faber Castell pencils to colour Tilda, but I need to get practising again I think!

I hope you like my card, and I would like to say Thank you for stopping by.  See you soon!
Editing Slightly here - Thank you Sue  for pointing me in the direction of Diva's by Design.  I am going to share my card with them also!