A Month full of Birthdays...

The first two cards are very girly - spotty frocks! I love making frock cards and they go down very well with ladies of all ages. For the first one, I got the template from an old Doodlebug sticker kit. Once I had used the original sticker, I traced the 'remains' for the outline of the frock. The spotty paper is gift wrap, the brads are paper fasteners painted with black nail varnish and the ribbon cut out of a black top.



The template for the second frock appeared a few months ago in Papercraft Inspirations and I love the shape - I would wear this myself!


Rachel is my work colleague's 11 year old daughter who is horse mad. I made her a similar card last year using JollyNation's other horse girl decoupage which she had framed so she can make a matching pair of pictures using this one.



I am absolutely useless at stamping - you'd think I had two left hands so I love the concept of downloads. Pink Petticoat is one of my fave places for downloads - they are so cute and sassy. The paper came free with a magazine and the turquoise flowers are from a local market haberdashery stall.

Easter Greetings

Easter, like Halloween, has become a popular time to send cards. I got a request from a work colleague to make half a dozen non-religious Easter cards and here's the results...


The first one is a cute little download from Pink Petticoat, coloured with brush markers and mounted on PaperMania spotty paper from the Spring Burst pack.

I love this stripy paper with the eggs on it. Another Papermania paper which perfectly matched the cute cake sticker.
Decoupaged daffodils... a sure sign of Easter when the gardens are full of yellow flowers. This card took the longest to make - about 40 minutes cos of all the cutting.


I love this quirky chicken. He was cut from the same paper that I used on the background. Cards like this only take minutes to make and I use this layout time and time again.
The only card with a slightly religious theme - there are tiny crosses on the checked backing paper! The Easter bunny came from a Papermania sticker pack.


Cute chick and paper from last year's PaperMania Easter pack of papers.

Belated Mother's Day cards...

It's taken a while to get these posted - I've just come back from a lovely week in Tenerife and everything has been upside down for the last few days. Here's a selection of the cards I made before I went away...

These first two were made with some stickers from Penny Black - Stickeroos I think they are called. Burgundy isn't a colour I often use and I thought I would struggle to get papers to match the stickers but I found loads. The top card was made using paper from a pack by the English Papar Company.I used some paper from a very old pack of Papermania papers (Rich Red) on this second Stickeroo card. The 'Mam' lettering is rubbed onto punched circles of card and highlighted with burgundy card - I often use this trick as a greeting.


These next two cards were made using La Pashe's Flippin' Women decoupage sheets. The card above is A4 size and the image is stuck onto acetate in a large aperture card. There is also a reverse to the image which can't be seen here.


I've used the same decoupage image here but just the front this time. The paper is from the Colossal flowery pack from PaperMania.


This card is for two little boys to send their beloved Nanna. I got the forever Friends sticker in a free pack from Papercraft Inspirations and the spotty paper is again PaperMania. I should have shares in that company! I stuck the hearts on the ends of the ribbon cos it wouldn't stop fraying and i rather like the effect it has made.

I got this tulip decoupage sheet with Making Cards magazine ages ago. It was quick to cut out even though it looks intricate and I love the colours.

These three are made with my favourite flower stamp. I hate stamping - I can never seem to stamp the image evenly - yet this stamp works every time for me. I'm really into doodling on cards at the minute and I've done faux stitching around the image and the greeting which can't be seen very well here!

As with most of my cards there's ribbon used on these. I love the way ribbon adds texture to a card and makes you want to touch it.

This red flower card is my favourite. There's more faux stitching around the images and the ribbon tied perfectly first time.

Decoupage Birthdays

I'm getting really into decoupage at the moment - there's so many great designs now available and it doesn't have that old-fashioned feel about it any more. two of my favourite ranges are the Jolly Nation figures and the new Flippin' men/women ranges that have recently been issued.

These Flippin' Men images are great. like most people I find male cards a nightmare to make cos I'm basically pink and fluffy at heart. These make life so easy. They are mostly sport's based but I'm thinking of suggesting a new range to them called Flippin' Workmen covering various occupations. I think it'll work! The images are designed to have a front and a reverse view but so far i have only used the front views.


I love Jolly Nation - the company has really revolutionised decoupage and the images cover every circumstance imagionable! They have even made pre-cut images for those times when an emergency card is required. I cut the cocktail images from a sheet from one of the Trimcraft value packs

Three Weddings, A Baby and a Birthday!

A mixed bag of cards required for this week....

First up is a selection of Wedding acceptance cards - you know the sort of thing that costs a fortune in Clintons!


This one was so quick to make - 3 punched hearts with diamantes, a piece of ribbon and a printed greeting. It honestly took about 15 minutes tops to make and most of that time was waiting for glue to dry.


I love these cuttlebug hearts - they are the most versatile dies I have after my Nesties. At first I thought these designs were a bit TOO simplistic but after extensive research (popping into Clinton's) most acceptance cards are very similar.


More cuttlebug hearts - this time in silver. I got a bit carried away with the glitter but the customer loved it.


I would have loved this card when I was eight and loved all things pink. All the shop cards for this age group seemed a wee bit 'old' for my liking - loads of them had shoes and handbag images which I felt were really more suitable for teens. Therefore my big number templates were used again...
My mojo was flagging by the time I got to this one but I was still pleased that I had made all five cards in one night. There's a lot of white space on this card cos I didn't want any patterned paper clashing with the glittery stork sticker. There's something missing from it but I didn't really know what else to add.

More Strange Requests..

Two quite unusual requests for cards this week...

This first one is for the friend of a work colleague who is emigrating to Australia in the next couple of weeks. I was at a total loss initially, thinking along the lines of kangaroos and boomerangs, but after playing Geo Challenge on Facebook I came up with the flag idea (strange what inspires us cardmakers isn't it!). The actual card was huge - nearly A4 size - and was fastened together with tape and ribbons. The flag itself was surprisingly easy - I found a website where you can print off pictures of flags for kids to colour - and then used good old tracing paper (Smart price greaseproof paper!)

The second card was for an 18 year old lad who is into paint-balling. I made the splats bigger than I should have and they wouldn't all fit onto any conventional card sizes so I folded an A4 sheet of card in half length ways rather than to A5. This unusual size worked well but I did have to make an envelope to fit. If I could get readymade envelopes in this size I would use this size a lot because everyone commented on how unusual it was.

I do think that using different sizes of cards can make a great impact. I can't remember the last time I used the basic A6 size card blank - it just got so boring. Most of my cards nowadays are either 6x6 square or A5. I only wish I could get 8x8 envelopes cos the possibilities with that size of card are endless!

Cards For Men

My heart always sinks when I have to make cards for men.... unless I have a specific request such as a football shirt or something alcohol related, I tend to over girlify them.

My mam wanted me to do her a card for my step-dad Brian's 70th Birthday... and I tried to make this card more manly by using these wonderful Papermania For Him papers. I love doing age specific cards cos you can't go wrong using the numbers as the main embellishment. I often wander round Clinton's (for research purposes you understand) and once you get above a certain age the choice of cards available is atrocious. Hopefully this will stand out amongst the generic shop-bought efforts.



This card was for a work colleague who wanted a Valentine card for her fiance but didn't want slop and slushyness everywhere. I cut the hearts on my bug, inked them and joined them with a remnant of black ribbon. The paper along the bottom I got from a bumper pack of patterned papers - it's roses but with a lot of black in with gives a more gothic look. I thought it looked a bit too plain but she was over the moon with it so as long as the customer is happy then so am I.

Cute Chicks

I downloaded these images from the Pink Petticoat site ages ago but have only recently had time to play with them. They are so cute and are ideal for girly birthdays in springtime and probably good for easter cards as well.
I started by cutting out the images with my Nestabilities and giving each image a different coloured scallopped border. The red border went well with this red and pink spotty paper I got free with a magazine .This purple stripey one is the only one I wasn't really pleased with - I just couldn't get the look I wanted with that ribbon. Paper is from papermania Rich Blue pack.

This pink and green spotty paper is actually from a pack of Christmas papers I got with Papercraft Essentials but I didn't think they were very Christmassy.

Good old Doodlebug - I love this pink and orange stripey paper and wish I had a roll of it!
More spotty paper from Papermania Rich Blue pack. At first I thought these papers were too dark and masculine but I guess with the righ products anything can look girly.

I am going to have to get some proper grown up pens though - these were coloured in with bog standard felt-tips from a multi pack. I have been admiring the Marvy le Plume pens but they will probably have to wait until my birthday. And I would also love some pens in very light pastel colours but I can't find any - reccommendations please!

Bargains galore!

I've had such a successful morning shopping in Sunderland. I was mooching round my favourite craft shop, The City Art Store in Vine Place and imagine how overjoyed I was when I was told that the Cuttlebug dies were all half price. BARGAIN!!

This is a really great shop - an Aladdin's cave of all things crafty! The owner/manageress? Liz and her staff cannot do enough to help you and best of all they stock all the gorgeous Remember When.. and Flippin' Men La Pashe decoupage range.

I get loads of 'bits' from here - there's baskets everywhere full of things that you just 'need'.

So if you're in Sunderland pop in and see for yourself - City Art Store Website

Monochrome Moods

I can't believe it's a month since I last posted - a little thing called christmas got in the way! My order book is already filling up with the usual - cards for weddings, christenings etc etc.

I sorted my stash over Chrismas and found loads of stuff I forgot I had. Spent a lovely couple of nights sorting all my bits into colour order (Very theraputic and you can eat chocolates at the same time!) and that's where the influence came for the next two cards - I seemed to have an awful lot of black and white stuff.

Very simple 21st card for some one who hates pink! Background paper is from Doodlebug and the numbers were created in Word Art. I got a bumper bag of diamante things from one of the pound shops - they are meant for decorating mobile phones I think. Look much better decorating my cards!
Everybody seems to love 'dress' cards. I got the template for the dress from this month's Papercraft Inspirations and I think it looks great made with the spotty paper - I would wear this dress myself. As a kid I always loved the cut out dolls on the back of comics and would spend hours dressing them... making theses dresses always takes me back to that.

Last Two Cards!

These are just two of the more unusual requests I get for cards... a Christmas card with a 'horse' theme and something for a couple of rock fans!


The horse one had me really stumped - I started thinking along the lines of 'Little Donkey' but it just wasn't working. Then I saw a hobbyhorse card on someone's ETSY site and I'm afraid I blatently stole the outline for my horse's head!


I knew straight away what I would do for the 'rock' card. I do like the thought of snowmen playing the guitar and what better than a bright red Flying V? The background paper was made by using the words from 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' and printing them in green over and over again.

Happy Christmas everybody!

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday...

My living room is looking like the production line in Santa's factory at the moment. I have all my boxes of 'stuff' stacked in the corner and in the right light I can see glitter stars in the rug. Ginger Boy also managed to get some glitter in his fur (whilst helping me of course) which will do nothing for his reputation as the gayest cat in the street!

Here's a few of the selection I made for a friend at work..


I love the simplicity of this one and considering it's just made from a peel-off, some stick on diamantes and a scrap of silver ribbon (cut from the shoulders of a silver vest!) I am pleased with the result. I hate those dangly things in tops that go around the clothes hanger and I always cut them out and hoard them in my ribbon stash. I once had really bad thoughts when I was looking for some ribbon in a particular colour... why not find the right coloured blouse/top in a shop then cut the ribbons out while in the dressing room? Luckily I found the colour I wanted in a department store and was saved from a life of crime...


These two are made in the style I tend to use when my cardmaking mojo isn't working. Amazing how a different colour scheme can make them look like totally different cards. Red/green paper is from one of the Dovecraft packs and the blue/turquoise paper came free with Making Cards mag last Christmas. The stickers are from the good old Pound Shop.

This card is for my friend's Newcastle United loving partner...much as it pains me to make it as I am a Mackem through and through! Still, one suffers for one's art. I traced the snowman from a Christmas designs book I got free with a magazine... the black and white 'snow' paper is from Doodlebug.

My mam is the world's greatest knitter and while I drool over cardmaking blogs, she is having craftigasms downloading American knitting and crochet patterns. I nicked a ball of white fluffy wool from her some time ago thinking it would come in handy for Christmas cards and I am pleased with the result I got by wrapping it around a triangle of corrugated card. Everybody at work who saw this wanted to touch it!

I got really excited today when I saw that I have people who follow my blog! What a great compliment - you've made my day!

Christmas Card Frenzy....continued..

The Christmas cards are being produced at an alarming rate...



Like most people I have trouble with cards for men - my comfort zone is definately more pink and bling rather than masculine. I've tried to keep this card plain but cute. The sticker started life as a gift tag from the Pound Shop but I carefully scraped the 'to' and 'from' off it to use as a topper!
These Golden Oldie decoupage sheets are really sweet... not too awkward to cut either.

These nestabilities are proving to be a Godsend! This very simple card was knocked up in minutes using glittery peel-offs and a ribbon.

I saw a card in a similar style on someone's Etsy site and I couldn't resist having a go at my own version. I traced the snowman from a Christmas designs book and just outlined it with a fineliner pen to add emphasis. The backing paper is actually double-sided wrapping paper from Paperchase - very useful for a snow effect!

Christmas Card Frenzy....

I seem to be spending all of my waking hours surrounded by all things Christmas and it's only the 2nd of December! Some really strange requests this year.....someone has asked me to make a 'horse themed' Christmas card and I have seen the perfect one on someone's Etsy site to copy.


This Rudolph card seems to go down quite well. I got the template from a patchwork magazine years ago and just reduced it to a suitable size. The eyes come from the Early Learning Centre

This is probably one of the easiest cards to make - it's just circles! I usually add texture to the pudding bit by glueing on brown beads which I have in abundance after snapping an old necklace!
This is recycled from one of last year's cards. Before throwing away any type of greetings card I always pull off useful 'bits' - this ready cut snowman was ideal to use as a topper.