Autumn Treats

 

 

Oh my goodness, where did summer go?  I seem to recall I was walking around work in a sleeveless top just over a week ago.  This morning I hesitated before putting my scarf on!  Hesitated because I don't want to give in to the freezing cold just yet, but sadly, the temperature was below my chill threshold!

 

I have been really excited all week because I have been planning my submission for the Paper Mill Direct DT call.  After all, who wouldn't want to create for such a massive name in the industry we love?  Blogging about their products would be the easiest thing as I have been a customer of theirs for as long as I have been crafting, and I still have boxes and boxes of their cardstock to get through!

 

The theme they have set is Autumn (naturally!) and I wanted to create something different from a card, so out came my trusty "My Time Made Easy" Trendy Tote template and I created another of these yummy treat baskets.  I created the tote using Paper Mill's own white cardstock and made decorative panels from Graphic 45's French Country papers.  My Tote is filled with a bag of mini chocolate bars and a jar of honey from my friend's very first harvest.  I have been dying to open the honey and taste it, but not until I'd finished my project! LOL!  Here is my tote in it's full glory:

 

I used some pumpkin buttons to embellish the side panels.  The apple is something that I created from plaster of paris a few years ago.  I painted it up and loved it so much that I didn't want to use it until the time was right, and I felt that this project was just the thing I've saved it for:



 

Anyway, I am keeping ears, eyes, fingers and toes crossed on this one, so please wish me luck! 

 

Also today I want to show off my Midway Reminder for the current Midweek Magnolias theme which is (coincidentally!) also Autumn Colours.

 

 

Again I created this using my French Country papers and a gorgeous template created by wonderfully talented Inger, who kindly offered this free template on her amazing blog, and granted me permission to use it.  I hope I did it justice!  My fabulous teamies at Midweek Magnolias have also been creating amazing samples and I hope you can find time to visit them all to see for yourself if you haven't already done so.

 

Well that's my all for today.  It would be wonderful if I had some good news to report next time I blog.

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a fabulous week! xxx

Once Upon A Time........

 

Oh I can't believe the summer is almost over.  Any day now I will be clearing my lawn of the Gazebo and furniture, ready to pack away as we wait for the shedding of leaves and changing colours of the season.  I hate dark nights, but I am really looking forward to cosying up to the fire and cooking hot meals again.  I have been living on salads for weeks and weeks now and I'm looking forward to tucking into roast potatoes again!

 

I have done an awful lot of baking this summer and have loved every minute of it - so have my boys!  Yesterday I made a great discovery in a charity shop in town.  I went in on a whim knowing full well that I wouldn't come out empty handed!  And as luck would have it, I found this gorgeous glass plate stand which I picked up for an unbelievable bargain of £2.95:



(PS my windows are not really that grubby, but the angle of the pic has accentuated the cobwebs OUTSIDE my house!  And the moment I spotted them, I quickly whizzed out and cleared them!  Honest! LOL!)

It was a little shabby when I brought it home - it had a brownish/yellowish tinge all over it, but lots of hot soapy water and a good sponge, it scrubbed up a treat and I love it!  But you can't have a cake stand with no cake, so I went and baked this vanilla sponge with amaretto cream to adorn it:

Today is going to be spent getting uniforms and school bags ready for the start of the new academic year.  The holiday seems to have just flown by, but it's been great fun.  We took the tent down to Devon for a week and were rewarded with gorgeous weather, and I have discovered Totnes!

 

I can't believe in all the years we've been going to Devon that we've never visited Totnes!  I loved the place.  It's very 'new-age'y with lots of gorgeous shops, but we went on the Sunday when they had the most amazing market which stretched the entire length of the street! 

 

Summer has gone by so fast and I have had very little time with my precious stash.  I have one or two half finished projects which are very much 'work-in-progress' and hundreds of ideas that I want to try out.

 

One project that I have managed to complete is my card for this week's Midweek Magnolias theme which is Once Upon A Time.  Here it is:





 

 

I used some of my favourite Websters Pages bg paper mixed with scraps from my Graphic 45 Ladies Diary papers.  Tilda was coloured with pencils and everything is finished off with a touch of my homemade frontage.  The butterflies and embossed card are Tim Holtz/Sizzix and the big die cut that Tilda is standing on is Marianne's (my favourite die of all time!).

 

Please go and visit the blog as it will lead you to the many wonderful projects that my fab teamies have created.  There is a wealth of talent and inspiration just waiting for you over there and you go with the promise that you will not be disappointed.

 

Thank you for stopping by and have a great week!

Prima Dolls

OK, anyone who knows me knows that I am always the last to discover stuff in the craft world.  However, I can say with my hand on my heart that I actually discovered Prima Dolls quite some time ago, but in truth I really didn't like them at all.  However, I saw them in my local(ish!) shop, Pink Tulip and I thought "My God, they're HUGE!" and I changed my mind about them, so I got a couple.  However, they've been sitting gathering dust waiting for me to find inspiration, and at last I've got them out and made something - with this one at least.

 

Now I know they don't have faces, but honestly the temptation was too great - I didn't want to go mad and put all the fine detail in, so with my Watercolour Teacher's words ringing in my ears, I put a 'suggestion' of a face in.  She is coloured using pencils and the bg papers are 5th Avenue.  The die cut roses are just vintage clipart images that I printed onto Bazzil and fussy-cut (I love that expression! LOL!).

 

Thanks for stopping by my blog, Have a great week! :o) xx

Fancy Folds and New Lawns

 

My word, the Wednesday's seem to be coming around rather quickly right now.  It was my intention to use some of my holiday time just creating with card and papers, but already a week has passed by and I've only made one thing - this card!  I have however been busying myself around the home and I have singlehandedly ripped up, dug over and am about to turf my entire front garden!  This is one of my rare smug moments and Oh Boy, am I enjoying it, and I feel I completely deserve it!  It was no mean feat let me tell you and I thought my back was going to break at one point, but I have managed to fill 10 - yes 10 garden refuse bags with the old grass, weeds, plants, clay balls and natural debris that was no longer required, making my front garden look beautiful again.  Hubs in the meantime decided to dismantle his man-shed to replace the floor and roof, dumping the entire contents under my gazebo and has turned my back garden upside down!  I've been to neater looking tips than this!

 

It was so depressing!  However, the shed is now repaired and rebuilt, most of the rubbish is sitting in council skips, but I think it will be some time before my lawn is completely over the shock of this gross disruption.  Particularly the part which he scorched with the incinerator while getting rid of the old roof and floor!!!  Boo Hoo!!  He's gone back to work today and I was looking forward to having breakfast in my gazebo again, but I woke up to rain today so it's breakfast with Daybreak for me today!

 



 

So here is my card.  Over at Midweek Magnolias our theme for the next fortnight is Fancy Folds.  This is only the second Z-Card I've ever made but I am really pleased with how it turned out.  My amazing teamies have created some stunning projects which I would urge you to take a look at, if you haven't been there already.

 

I've not been out and about in blogland for a while so I am going to share this card with a couple of other Magnolia challenges to show that I am still alive!  I'm sharing it with Magnolia-licious challenge blog who's theme is Anything Goes and Lovely Hanglar and Sweet Magnolia challenge blog who have a Bingo Board currently running, and I fitted in the bottom line Sparkle, Ribbon and Flowers.

 

Well that's my lot for today.  I have to brace myself for a couple of hours of turfing now so I figure I deserve a cup of tea before I get going.  Thank you for dropping in.  Have a great week! :o) xx

Buttons and Bows

 

 

Well hasn't it been a long time since I was last here?  Just dusting a few cobwebs away whilst I reflect over the last couple of months.  Oh boy, it's been busy!  Having two growing boys takes up a lot of energy and time, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  At last summer is here though and we now have a few glorious weeks to fill with domestic chores and hopefully a few fun days away.  My main objectives this summer is to have a huge craft clearout.  Having done my job for a year now I can safely say that I have too much stash, and too little time to use it so it's a good time to downsize.  My kitchen and utility are in dire need of a makeover, and my garden is desperate for a little TLC!  I am busy filling in the gaps with my pencils, prepping images for future Midweek Magnolia challenges while I have the time.  Here is my offering for the challenge which is currently running until Tuesday.  The theme is Buttons and Bows and this is my card:

 



 

My gorgeous teamies have created some amazing samples for your inspiration also, and it would be fab if you would visit them and send a little love their way.

Whilst I have been typing this, the glue on next week's card has been drying beautifully so I am going to head on back to my next project while the house is quiet and nobody notices that I am not outside with my spade!!

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by! xxx

Summer at last!

 

Happy Wednesday, and thank goodness it's a hot one!  Long may it last, I hear you cry?

 

Over at Midweek Magnolia's this week we are celebrating Summer, whether that be BBQ's, Seaside Trips or just what summer means to you.  Well, we're fast approaching the end of the academic year and it's time that I started making my cards to give out to friends and children at school, so this week I began that process with this card.

This card was borne our of the desire to try out colouring on Kraft card, and I was surprised at how different it is, and how 'forgiving' Kraft card is!  I could quite easily become an addict!  This is one of my most favourite images to colour and I loved watching her come to life on the Kraft.  I decided to go for a clean and simple look because I wanted to see as much of the Kraft card as possible.  Tilda was coloured with my pencils and the bg sun was shaded with Copics.

 

Please pop over to the blog to see what my amazing teamies have created also, you won't be disappointed, I promise!

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great week! :o) xx

A touch of Frantage

 

A very brief post from me today as there is a queue for the computer!  I just wanted to show my DT piece for this week's Midweek Magnolias theme which is Anything Goes, but with the option of adding a Vintage look or Frantage - I went for the Frantage because I'm enjoying a great romance with it at the moment - you could call it a Fr-omance......grooooooaaaan!

 

Anyway, the girls have come up with yet more amazing inspirational samples so please do go check them out.  Here is my offering for this week's theme:

 

I've only ever done one criss-cross card before, but our lovely Teresa makes them a lot and seeing her recent beautiful pieces has inspired me to have another go.  Here's the insert:

 

It's really difficult to see on the photograph but I tried something new this week.  Tilda has been embossed to give her some shape and dimension - you have to trust me when I say this looks more effective in real life.

 

 

I also want to show this off at Magnolia-licious Challenges too as they have a Butterflies theme this week, and this gave me the opportunity to use my newly acquired butterfly edge, a die that I have uuuummed and aaaahhed over for such a long time, then I took the plunge last weekend - expect to see it some more! LOL!

 

Well that's my lot for today.  Thank you so much for stopping by.  If you have time, please pay my lovely teamies a visit too as they have worked their socks off once more!

 

Have a great week and see you soon! :o) xxx