A quick card

Hi Everybody - first of all I wish to say Thank You to the lovely people who e-mailed to ask if I was ok since I had not been around for a while.  I was feeling most unwell.  I had picked up a virus and it left me unable to do very much.  I am feeling much better but still very tired and the awful cough has almost gone.  Today is the first  day that I have ventured into the craft room and I put together this little card for a friend whose birthday is coming up.  I had bought these little Nellie Snellen corner dies  and I do like the effect.  The die on the middle is a Cheery Lynn and the card is of course Centura Pearl.  I am hoping now to get back to commenting on all your lovely cards as I have missed that.  Hope that you all are safe from the dreadful flooding and n0body has sustained any damage to your homes.

                                           

                                       

A commission

Good morning everybody from a dark and wet Northern Ireland.  This card is a commission.  I was asked for something  "special" - so there was no pressure there!!  On the few occasions that I have made up this card it has always been very well received.  I do try not to make it exactly the same every time and this is today's version.  My good friend Jeannie (who has every die known to man) gave me a loan of  the die for the pages and so the rest  made up very quickly.  As I knew the lady very well  who ordered the card and also the recipient I decorated the box a little more than normal.

                                       

                               
The card is made of centura pearl as always but because the light is so poor this morning it does not really show up.   I have to say that I do read all of your comments and appreciate every one of them.  By the way if I have missed commenting on any of your blogs recently it is nothing to do with your cards it is because my husband is not well again - he had another stroke and I have been running back and forth to the hospital.  He is home now so I should  be able to keep up with you all.

Thank you for taking a look.

                                           

In a previous life.

Good evening everybody and I certainly hope that the weather was better where you are.  Today it rained non stop and was so dark that I had the light on all day.

Before I started to make cards I used to do cross stitch and there is only one piece that I ever bothered to put into a frame and hang up.  This picture of the Taj Mahal hangs in my craft room.  I'm afraid the photograph is very poor as it was difficult to  do as the light was so bad today and I kept getting my reflection in the glass.  I visited the Taj Mahal in 1979 and it left a very lasting impression on me and I am very fond of this picture.  Thank you for taking a look.

                                             

                                       

Card stand

Good morning everybody.  Thank you all so much for your very kind comments on yesterday's card.  Some of you have enquired about the little stand that I use.  It is a die from Joy craft.  There are 3 different designs.  My cards are all 6 inches x 6 inches and it holds them with no problem.  It will also hold an A5 landscape but not portrait.  I cut these stands out of Centura Pearl which is 300 gsm - but if your card is heavy then you would need to cut 2 and glue them together.  For these little cards that I am doing  I do not need to cut 2.   I have also made the little stand out of  gold mirror card and it is really lovely.

Mouse update:  No further sounds - so maybe I won't have to move house after all.

                                             

A quick make

Good afternoon everybody.  First of all I want to say Welcome to my new followers and Thank You for adding your name to my blog.  I started too play around with some new dies that I had received and was happlily playing when I heard the unmistakeable sound of a mouse.  Hence the fact that the card was made quickly.  I have since installed three " pest stops" and there has been no more noise - so far.

                                         
I have taken the photo from a side view as otherwise the gold mirror card looked grey and it is also difficult to photograph without getting your own reflection.  Thank you for having a look.

                                                 

Twins

Hi everybody.  It's a beautiful day here and hope that it is the same where you are.  I want to say a very warm welcome to my newest followers and Thank You so much for adding your name to my blog.  The card I have done today is a commission and the request was two images and pink.  I do not know whether I am all that pleased with it but it is difficult when you have been given definite instructions.  Anyway I do hope that the lady likes it.  Thank you all for taking a look.

                                                           

The famous folder

Good morning everyone from a very unsettled looking N. Ireland.  One minute it looks like rain and the next minute there is a glimpse of the sun.  I have two cards today which I made using the Spellbinders Grand M- bossabilities Folder ( the one that would not go through my GC without removing the plate).  It is called Garden Lattice and has two really lovely deep designs and is a full A4 size.  On this first card I used a Marianne Basket Die and the "twigs" in the basket are actually the Memory Box Madera Corner die which I cut twice out of Mirror card.  

                                             

My second card is the reverse side of the embossing folder and again is very pretty.  Like yesterday I did another Mauve/lilac background and used a new Marianne Die that I bought last week.  I cannot make my mind up about this Marianne Die - I cannot decide whether I like it or not.  Anyway - Thank You for taking a look.  Have a lovely week-end.

                                           

                                                 

Two of a kind

Hi everybody - and a very warm welcome to all my new followers and a big Thank You for adding your name to my blog.  Lately I have been quite busy with commissions and they all seem to have had photos on them of the people receiving the cards so I could not post them.  This card however is another request for a lady's 89 year old Grand mother.  She asked  for the colour mauve or lilac and for the addition of pearls.  I have made these two cards and she can take her pick - the other one I will just keep in my stock box.  On both of them I am using my new spellbinders Garden lattice die.  It is expandable  which is good but it definitely needs shims or the cuttlehug plate to cut it right through.  Of course I do use Centura Pearl card so maybe if you used lighter card it might cut first time.

While Spellbinders is in my head - the other day I received my new grand embossibilities folder - its the Garden lattice (or trellis)  I am not sure of the name off hand BUT it did not go through my Grand Calibur - it was too big.  Now I did not see a warning anywhere about this.  My G.C. is the one with the pull out shelf - it is about 2 years old.  Fortunately  Gerry was able to remove the shelf (it did not come out easily) and now the machine will take the embossing folder.  I cannot believe that a company as large as Spellbinders did not test these folders before marketing them.  There are warnings out there about the raspberry plate and I was careful to get the one that would fit but nothing about the folders.  Spellbinders sold thousands of these machines with that pull out shelf and then made a folder that was a fraction too large - seems odd to me.

Well - that's my rant for today.  Hope you like my card.  Thank you for taking a look.

                                     

                                       

                                                 

An experiment

Hi everybody - this post is in the form of an experiment as I have never scheduled a post before and wanted to try.  The card is another simple card I made using a rose stamp which I embossed in gold.  I loved this stamp when I saw it on my friend Jacqui's blog  (jacqui's little piece of england)  and Gerry bought the set for me.  All the stamps in the set are beautiful and there is one very large one with leaves and tendrils which is gorgeous.  Again  I have kept the card very  plain.  Thank you for taking a look and hopefully this schedule will work.

                                           

                                                               

Playing with Vellum

Good morning everybody and a really beautiful morning it is here.  Actually the last few days were supposed to be very wet but it did not happen (at least where I live) so hopefully it will remain dry for the next few days as Gerry and I are going over to Donegal until Thursday for a little break.   Anyway - my card today is the result of playing around with some vellum.  Every time I have made a card with vellum it has ended up in the bin as I was not happy with the results - but I was quite happy with this simple little card and even Gerry liked it.  All I have used is the Fleur de Lis squares from Spellbinders and one of their classic edges along with a little Marianne die which was just part of a set and of course finished off with a few pearls from Wild Orchid.  I don't suppose you could call it clean and simple but it's not too far off.  Thank you for taking a look and have a lovely day.

                                                         

Clean and Simple

Good morning everybody.  Hope it's drier with you than it is here.  I want to show you my attempt at clean and simple - no ribbons, bows, flowers or butterflies - just two dies.  The large oval is a new die from Marianne Dies and the ladies profile is from a set that I bought  from Kameo Cards which is no longer in business.  As always I have used Centura pearl card.  Again with each card I enclose a little stand which was a die from Joy crafts.  As most of my cards are not flat I make enveloboxes and emboss a rose in the corner.
I want to say a huge Thank You for all the lovely comments that each of you leave - I appreciate every one of them.

                                       

                                       

                                                             

More dies

Hi everybody.  Hope you are all having a good day.  I just wanted to show you a card I made this morning using a stamp from Kanban and embossed with wow embossing powder.  I used the Spellbinders rectangles to cut it out and as always I used Centura Pearl card.  I like this die but have very great difficulty releasing the card from the die after it is cut.  Quite often I end up tearing the edges.   Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.  I have tried wax paper already with only limited success.  The background card I scored with my Hougie board, marianne dies on the front and pearls from Wild Orchid.  Little stand from Joy craft.

                       

                                       

                                                                 

A card for my sister-in-law

Good morning everybody.  I hope the weather is as nice with you as it is here.  Today we have bright sunshine and it is very warm.  Really lovely after all the torrential rain that we had.  Today I have made a card for my sister-in-law Mary.  Unfortunately the picture does not show the lovely pearls down each side of the black and white paper.  I printed this paper off a Debbie Moore cd. and  put it on centura pearl card. The oval in the centre is Floral Ovals by Spellbinders and the baby's breath is from Wild Orchid as are the pearls.  The die cut on the outside of the card is a  Marianne die.  Now with each card that I make I put a little card stand cut from some centura pearl cardstock with a die by Joy crafts.  Since this card is half an inch in depth I put it in an envelobox made from centura pearl cardstock using the envelobox board from Crafters Companion  and I emboss a gold rose in the left hand corner.  The overall card measures 6" x 6".  I hope you all have a lovely day and thank you so much for taking a look    .  

                                                                 

A card for Leo

Hi everybody.  First of all I want to welcome my new follower Juraci - thank you for adding your name to my blog.  Today  I have made a card for my neighbour Leo.   He has lived here for many years but is originally from Holland.  Leo's birthday is on Sunday and as he lives on his own I thought I would make him a card.  I wanted to do something in the Dutch colours and this is what I have come up with.  I looked up Google Translate for a greeting and I hope it is correct.  I hope some of my Dutch followers will be kind enough to correct me if it is wrong.  I wanted to say  Happy Birthday.  Have a lovely day.  Thank you for taking a look.

                                             

                                                           

Elizabeth's garden

Hi Everybody.  A few days ago my lovely neighbour Elizabeth asked me to make a card for her daughter Louise who lives in Australia.  I thought that since she lives so far away Louise might like a really personal card so I decided to do one of her mum  in her garden at the front of her house and this is the final result.  Elizabeth has "green fingers" and her garden is always a riot of colour with all sorts of beautiful flowers.  Thank you for taking a look.  Marie-Louise

Hi

Hi everybody - I want to say a very warm Welcome to Olga and Sarah.  Again I have been beavering away in the background with commissions but I have also been trying to build up a little stock but that is difficult as these little 6x6 cards have proved very popular.  I wanted to post a  couple but also to say Thank You to the lovely people who leave very kind comments - I really do appreciate every one.  My husband had been most unwell for the last month but he is feeling much better now so I can get back to having a little more time to make cards.  Thank you so much for taking a look.  Marie-Louise

Bits 'n Pieces

Hi everybody.  First of all I want to apologise to Pam who I welcomed in a previous post as Pat - sorry Pam - a senior moment and I want to welcome Rita - and I definitely got that right.  Rita is new to blogland and although she has signed up she has not yet posted any of her lovely cards.  We all know how difficult it is to make the first post - so Rita - come on  there is a whole network of friendly crafters who are ready to say Hi.

I have been working away on little cards and gift boxes.  I have been asked to do a display at a woman's group in November and I wanted to build up quite a few bits 'n pieces.  The little boxes are an idea for the times when you need some small gift to say Thank You or Get Well etc.  They are big enough for 4 scented tea lights or a nice bar of soap or some bath pearls - that sort of thing.  

Hope that none of you have suffered from the flooding.

Marie-Louise

For my daughter-in-law

My daughter-in-law's birthday is on Friday and I had made a card much like this for her but yesterday a lady wanted a few cards and I showed her the card I had done for Maggie (of course she did not know that it was for Maggie) and she immediately said "oh! I'll have that" so I'm afraid business comes first - so she took that and the two pink/white ones that I have just shown plus another that I still had from a little while back - so I was very pleased as I sell all my cards for cancer.  This is the latest edition of the card for Maggie.  The image is a digi stamp which I got from Crafts and Me and the background is a stamp which I have recently bought from Waltzingmouse stamps, the pearls are from Wild Orchid and ribbon from my stash.

Variation on a theme

After seeing the romantic rectangles being used on Amazing Paper Grace by Becca Feeken I just had to try this card.   Becca makes the most beautiful feminine cards and when I saw this on her blog for 6th February I had to try it with the dies that I owned.  Do take a look on her blog  www.amazingpapergrace.com it is a treat.

A card for family

Hi everybody and a very warm welcome to Pat.  I only remembered yesterday that one of my relatives will be 82 tomorrow - so I had to come up with something fairly quickly and this is the card that is winging it's way right now.  The only dies I used were the Anja corner from Marianne and the large floral oval from spellbinders the little black corners were cut off an ironworks motif die cut.  The lovely paper was part of a candy I won and I have to say I really love it.