Magical Millie......

One of TheGirliezNextDoor had a birthday last Wednesday, and this is the card that I made for her. I pulled out one of my fiddly Disney carts (I try to avoid using them if I can!) and found Flora, one of the cute and cuddly Good Fairies from Cinderella. For the purposes of this card I flipped her to face right (this is something of an obsession- I think it's something to do with being right-handed) Flora was cut from Papermania shimmer cardstock and was adhered to the card with foam pads. The papers are from First Edition's Sweet Owl 8x8 stack. I added a punched border, some swirly ribbon and a polka dot prima flower with a blinged brad centre. I also added a burst of stars to the end of Flora's wand by adhering some glittery punched stars to some very thin strips of acetate. 'Happy Birthday' and 'Millie' were cut from dark pink glittercard and adhered flat.

Carts used:

Flora- Disney's Happily Ever After

Happy Birthday- A Child's Year

Millie- All Mixed Up

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

For life......

We went to a wedding in Reading (that rhymes!!!) on Sunday, the bride was Indian and the groom was English (the bride is the daughter of one of hubby's friends) and I thought that these two beautiful swans were an apt theme for a wedding card, for when swans mate, they mate for life. The card was made with white pearlescent cardstock and silver mirri, with a dash of grey and peach on the swans. The shaped card base was cut twice from white cardstock and silver mirri, then adhered together and hinged from the back. The scalloped oval was embossed with a beautiful swirly dot embossing folder and shadowed with silver mirri. The swans (one of them flipped) were cut from more white pearlescent card with one of the layers cut in grey, and the beak in peach. I curled the edges of the feathers upwards around a paper piercer, which gives a very realistic look to the finished swan. I added some Glamour Dust to the swans for a bit of bling and black gems for the eyes. They were adhered, facing each other, with foam pads. I added some swirly white ribbon,  a sheer ribbon flower with a pearl centre, pearl strands, an embossed heart with silver shadow, and the bride and groom's initials. Four pearl Paper Cellar hearts completes the card.

Carts used:

Shaped card base/scalloped oval/heart- Lacy Labels

Swans- Art Nouveau

'P' & 'D'- Winter Woodland

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Numpty Magic!..........

There's a bit of a story behind this card. My nephew Dan had his 28th birthday on Saturday ( I can't believe he's that old- he was a titch when I met my hubby!) and he has an alter-ego- yes, you guessed it- Numpty!
Now Numpty is a Magician, and a very silly one at that! You can see Dan in all his Numpty glory on YouTube (just type in Numpty Magic). You'll catch glimpses of his two delightful nieces (Chelsea and Holli) who are his willing assistants. He's a lovely bloke, very silly at times, and smashing with kids, Chelsea and Holli adore him. He's marrying his fiancee Sarah next August- now there'll never be a dull moment in THAT marriage! I decided to go with a magic theme for his card and I came up with this! It's a standard C5 card and I used some starry patterned paper and lots of silver mirri/holographic cardstock. The top hat was cut from black mirri and the bunny peeping from the brim was cut from white Bazzil. I also popped a magic wand in there! I added Dan's name and his alter-ego's name cut from holographic cardstock and adhered with foam pads. The starry punched border is an EK Success punch.A smattering of punched stars completes the card.
Carts used:
Top Hat/bunny/wand- Paper Doll Dress Up
Dan/Numpty Magic- Don Juan
Thanks for dropping by, and take a look at Numpty!
Heather xxx

The Magic of Winter #2........

Here's another version of my Magic Of Winter card of a couple of posts ago. This time I made a Z-fold card  from a square card with the front of the card folded back to the fold. I used papers from the same stack as version 1 and added some fab holographic Card Candi. This card can be made with Original bug and the Create, whereas version 1 can only be made on the Expression.

Carts used:

Shaped panel/snowflake frame- Lacy Labels

The Magic of Winter word art- Winter Woodland

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Congratulations Carol.......

This is a card that I made as a commission last week. I had just a week to come up with an idea and make a card, and I'm pleased with the result. So was the lady who ordered it! The recipient is a nursing graduate, who is also a nurse practioner and has decided to 'go the whole hog' and train as a doctor! The card is A4 in size and was made with DCWV Neutral Stack papers. The papers are quite muted but are glittery, and I used aqua cardstock for matting. I added a satin ribbon and bow, a mortarboard (graduate cap) scroll and a clipboard with a patient treatment sheet (computer generated) The sentiment and recipient's name were cut from cream glittercard, shadowed with aqua cardstock and adhered to the card with foam pads. All of the elements were adhered to an embossed panel, also with foam pads.
Carts used:
Mortar board/Congratulations- Everyday Pop-Up Cards
Scroll- Wrap It Up
Clipboard- Fabulous Finds
Carol-Winter Woodland
Thanks for dropping by!
Heather xxx



The magic of winter.......

The main reason that I bought Lacy Labels was to make shaped base cards, as there are so many lovely shapes on it. This card is just as it is in the cartridge handbook (apart from the sentiment) so I literally made a large label and turned it into a card! I cut two label shapes in cardstock, one in silver mirri and one in spotted paper (DCWV Winter Stack). The cardstock pieces were adhered together at the side (hinged at the back), the silver mirri piece adhered on top and the paper one which is slightly smaller (the pieces are cut to nest perfectly) adhered on top of that. The silver mirri snowflake frame was adhered to the front of the card with foam pads. I added white glittercard snowflakes (cut out with the layer function) and some clear gems to the centres of the snowflakes and around the frame. The sentiment was cut from white glittercard shadowed with blue mirri and then a larger silver mirri shadow. It was adhered to the centre of the card with foam pads. To complete the card I added a sheer double bow with a snowflake over the knot.

As the bottom of the card was bowed I cut a sliver off it to make it stand level.

Carts used:

Card base/snowflake frame- Lacy Labels

Magic Of Winter word art-Winter Woodland

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Precious Ones.........

I bought a new cartridge at the beginning of this month, one that I'd been umming and aahing over for ages. I decided to buy it and am I glad that I did! My giddy aunt! This cart is FAB! I bought it just for making shaped card bases with (can you guess which cart it is is?) Crikey! There are tons of shapes on this cart and I've been having a great time making some super shaped cards. I've just finished a wedding card for the weekend- I'll show you that one later- and I'm chuffed at how it turned out. For now though, I've got a couple of baby cards to show you. For the card base I cut two scalloped ovals in card (joined together at the side) and one in paper which was adhered to the scalloped card base. Then I cut a scalloped oval 'doiley' from white card which was adhered to the card front with foam pads. A plain white oval (embossed after cutting) shadowed with a gingham patterned paper oval holds the 'Precious One' sentiment which was cut from Papermania shimmer cardstock. I added a bow, a floral arrangement and a smattering of pearls to complete the card.
Have you guessed which cartridge I used yet?
It was Lacy Labels!!!
Carts used:
Card base, and doiley topper- Lacy Labels
Ovals-Storybook
Precious One- Phrases
Thanks for dropping by!
Heather xxx

Thanks A Ton!........

I've really dug into the murky depths of my card photos for this one! I made this card yonks ago and for some reason haven't posted it. This one was really quick to put together, and I used mostly scraps from my paper offcuts stash. The paisley patterned paper was quite Indian looking (although from the size of the ears that's an African elephant!) but I think it works. The elephant was cut from tan cardstock (don't know of any brown elephants!) and the word art from brown, turquoise and tan cardstock. Both elements were adhered with foam pads. I added some blue and brown Card Candi to finish. No ribbons & flowers on this one so it could be given to a guy.
Cart used:
Elephant & word art- Everyday Pop-Up Cards
Thanks for dropping by!
Heather xxx

Polar bear kisses.......

I have had the cart  with this cute bear on forever,  but have never cut him out. WHY??!!! He's absolutely gorgeous! The fab papers on the front of the card are from a book called Christmas Card Ideas by Papercraft Inspirations that I picked up from W.H.Smith's. There are 149 card ideas, plus 24 A4 double-sided papers (on good quality paper, not cheap shiny stuff) and templates for £7.99. I used two different designs for this card, and the kissing polar bears on the paper above the ribbon are uncannily like the little chap on the scalloped oval. I cut the scarf from a scrap of spotty paper. The polar bear was cut from white glittercard then adhered to the scalloped oval with foam pads. I added a Safmat sentiment, some punched glittercard hearts and a poinsetta and punched holly leaves to finish.

Carts used:

Polar bears-Joys Of The Season

Scalloped oval-A Child's Year

Oval-George

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Amy.......

I hear a collective sharp intake of breath! Surely your eyes are deceiving you? Is that a STAMPED image on one of HEATHER's cards?!!! No you don't need to go to Specsavers, for 'tis true! That IS a stamped image, but I didn't stamp it (although I did colour it!) It was one image from a pack of  LOTV images given free with a mag, and the little cutie looks just like one of the GirliezNext Door, Amy, who was 8 yesterday. I coloured it with Papermania permanent markers (not too badly!) cut around it leaving a narrow white border, then mounted it with foam pads to an embossed circle, which in turn was adhered to a scalloped circle. The card base is what I call a twisted side step easel. These cards are easy to make:
*Fold a piece of A4 cardstock in half (to A5) then cut down to 8"x4"
*With the fold at the top, make a mark at 4" top & bottom
*Open the card out, keeping the fold at the top, then using a craft knife cut down between the marks,   creating two 4x4 panels
*Cut the right hand panel down to 4"x3" , then score across at 1 1/2" creating a 1 1/2"x 4" tent fold easel
*On the left hand panel ,score diagonally from the top left to bottom (centre) right, crease along score line
*Cut a piece of cardstock 4"x4"
*Apply adhesive to the triangular left-hand section and adhere square piece of cardstock
Back to my card, I used Dovecraft Forever Friends papers to cover the base and both the twisted & side- step panels. I created a stop for the two panels with a piece of punched cardstock, decorated with a contrasting strip of paper and ribbon. It was adhered to the base of the card with foam tape. 'AMY' was cut from glitter cardstock, shadowed (by hand) with pink cardstock then adhered to the border with foam pads. The scalloped circle with the LOTV image on it was adhered to the square panel with foam pads, and a scalloped oval holding the 'happy birthday' sentiment was adhered to the side step. A ribbon bow, some punched flowers and a little glitter completes the card.
Carts used:
Scalloped circle- Winter Woodland
Scalloped oval/Happy Birthday- A Child's Year
Circle & Oval- George
AMY-Lyrical Letters (Jumbo font)
Phew!!!
Thanks for dropping by!
Heather xxx

Rhea......

This is the second card that I sent to Australia last week, this time for Rhea, the second daughter of our very good friends. The papers that I used on this one were First Edition Love Letters paper, and the figure was cut from Papermania Shimmer cardstock. I added a strip of sheer satin-edged ribbon running vertically down the front of the card behind the figure. She was adhered to a shaped panel to the front of the card. 'Rhea' was cut from pink shimmer cardstock and adhered vertically on the card with foam pads. A smattering of pearls and a floral arrangement in the top right hand corner of the panel completes the card.

Carts used:

Figure/Rhea- Art Nouveau

Shaped panel-StoryBook

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Kabir Construction......

The adorable son of some friends has his 6th birthday today. Happy Birthday Kabir!! This truck reminds me of  a Tonka Truck (anyone remember them?!) and what little boy doesn't like dumper trucks? This one was so easy to make. I cut and assembled the dumper truck, from Bazzill cardstock and silver mirri. I added a number 6 adhered with foam pads, and 'Kabir' and 'construction' cut from blue & black cardstock and adhered flat. The completed truck was adhered with foam pads to a grey shadow. Then I adhered the shadowed truck to a side folded C5 card placing the front of the truck slightly overlapping the fold in the card, then cut around it leaving a small border. Voila! A dumper truck-shaped card!  Happy Birthday cut from black cardstock was adhered inside the card.

Carts used:

Dumper truck/Kabir Construction/6- Boys Will Be Boys

Happy Birthday (not shown)- A Child's Year

I think I'll be making more of these!

Before I sign off I'd like to thank the ladies who came to the Swarm today. They made some great cards and we had a great time!

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Anniversary Wishes.......

My brother Nick and his wife Lisa celebrated their wedding anniversary yesterday, and this is the card that I sent them. I used a C5 card cut down to a  5" wide tent-fold. Papers were First Edition 'Daydream' 8x8 with the addition of brown glittercard, Bazzill, brown satin ribbon and a Prima bloom. I edged one of the papers with a MS heart punch, wrapped it with satin ribbon, then adhered it to the second piece of paper. This was then adhered flat to the front of the card. Two hearts were cut from purple spotted paper and shadowed with brown Bazzill. The silhouettes were cut from brown glittercard, then adhered to the hearts with foam pads. The completed hearts were then adhered at a slight angle to the card, overlapping the top slightly (when making a card like this always have the envelope to hand so that you can ensude that it will fit) A trio of punched hearts were adhered to the top of the large hearts. The sentiment and names were cut from glittercard and adhered flat. A couple of teeny punched hearts, a bow and lilac Prima bloom completes the card.

Carts used:

Hearts/silhouettes/Happy Anniversary- Sweethearts

Nick & Lisa- Lyrical Letters

I'm hosting a Swarm tomorrow- always a fun time!- so as per usual for all you ladies out there who are attending, here is a list of the carts that I've used for the samples:

Any Christmas carts (including the new Jolly Holiday Lite)

Wild Card

Just Because Cards or any carts with shapes suitable to make a base card i.e Lacy Labels/Elegant Edges

Beyond Birthdays

Art Nouveau *NEW*

Ashlyn's Alphabet

Inspired Heart

George

Heritage

Wedding Solutions

Doodlecharms

As ever, carts will be available to use on the day. If anyone has the Batman cart can you please bring that too!

Thanks Ladies- see you tomorrow!

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Tara.......

This is one of two cards winging their way to Australia..this one is for Tara, our niece who's birthday is tomorrow -Happy Birthday Tara!- the other one is for our friends' daughter, but that is for another day!

For Tara's card I used my fave 'cart of the moment' and First Edition papers. The card is a standard C5 with the front cut down to 3 1/2"  The figure was cut from Papermania shimmer cardstock- by the way, these figures are a dream to put together- then adhered to a shaped panel with foam pads. I added a ribbon trim & bow embellished with a  WOC cherry blossom bloom. 'Tara' was also cut from shimmer cardstock and adhered vertically with foam pads. A smattering of pearls completes the card front. I added a smaller shaped panel inside the card to write a greeting on.

Carts used:

Figure & 'Tara'- Art Nouveau

Shaped panel- Mother's Day Seasonal Cart

Thanks for dropping by!

Heather xxx

Happy Birthday Caroline......

This card was one of three in a commission for a lady who orders lots of cards from us (Jendenink Craftworks). The other two were for her son and daughter-in-law. this one is for her daughter. She asked for a fun card, in shades of blue and with either a cooking or gardening theme. I chose to go with a cooking theme as I had just the right cartridge. The papers are from a 6x6 pad by Melissa Frances called 'Kitchsy Kitchen' from Dunelm Mill. As the card is C5 size I had to piece the papers together to fit the front of the card. I covered the join in the papers with a border cut from a piece of contrasting paper wrapped with ribbon with an added bow. All the elements on the card were cut from blue, white & silver mirri card with a little glittercard thrown in for some bling. The sentiment was adhered to a large panel off-set on the card front, with the recipients name adhered beneath, and the apron, oven glove and retro mixer were adhered around the edge with foam pads.

Carts used:

Mixer, apron & oven gloves- Nifty Fifties

Happy Birthday- Wild Card

50th & Caroline- Lyrical Letters

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy the glorious weather this weekend 'cos it won't last forever!!

Heather xxx