Shabby Shambles

Do all things with LOVE

2012-01-23T22:55:00.000Z

This is my first challenge for 2012 and it’s for CAS-ual Fridays who are celebrating Penguin Awareness Day which landed on January 20th.

In honour of Penguins everywhere, they have a special challenge that they hope will inspire you….all you have to do is create a clean and simple project that is only black and white.

For my card I took a white card base and added a black border, that I dotted with white pearl gems….die-cut a paper heart using Crush from the yours truly collection by Echo Park then stamped the sentiment from Unity Stamps.
I beginning to love the simplicity of using just a few elements to produce a card, I think I could get used to this!
Thanks for looking.x

40 Years Together

2011-10-29T23:27:00.000+01:00

Apologies for ignoring my blog, well that’s not entirely true I visit most days to look at what my favourite crafters have been up too!
So what have I been up to you ask?
Well very sadly my father in law died suddenly on the 31st August on my mother in law’s birthday, how sad is that? So I’ve been with family in the north doing what you do at this sad time.
I’ve been on a wonderful canal holiday with Dave and Tilly which gave him time and space to put his thoughts in order about his Dad….working….taking people from work on holiday….joint winning the cookery section at the Melplash Agricultural show and if any of you have watched the first episode of Kirstie Allsopp’s new TV series ‘Handmade Britain’ you will understand what I went through.
Anyway tomorrow my sister will have been married for 40 years and here is the card I made for her and my brother in law.

The paper used I think is from a Pink Paislee collection but I can’t remember which one, then all the die cut’s and stamped images are from PTI….the bell and gingham ribbon is from my stash.

It’s a shame you can see that big dollop of glue behind the bell! Never mind.

Thanks for looking. x

Fly Away With Me

2011-08-11T07:57:00.027+01:00

Hopefully this month I can catch up with my blog and share the cards I’ve made but didn’t actually get round to publishing.

Over at 'The Play Date Cafe' this week the colours to base your card around are:

Fudge...Goldenrod...Teal

I have five birthdays to celebrate this month! and the colours from the Play Date Cafe are a perfect colour combo for my cards which are for the men in my life and as the cards are going to different people I have made them all the same! Cheating, I don’t think so, no one will be any the wiser and it makes my life a lot easier.

I have used this lovely masculine paper from the Stella & Rose collection by MME, I love the Argyle pattern and on the reverse there is this warm mustard polka dot.

The stamp set used is Up, Up & away by PTI and I have also used the coordinating dies….usual softening of the edges with antique linen and foam pads used on the clouds to give some dimension.

Thanks for looking. x

Blast Off

2011-06-11T08:28:00.000+01:00

I created this card for my friend’s son Dylan, who is a fanatical Lego collector and when I saw free Lego sets in a daily tabloid costing only 30p I started collecting him the set.

For only six years old he has a very grown up attitude and a great sense of humour, it’s great spending time with him he’s such an inquisitive little boy!

For my card the CS, paper, die-cuts, button and bakers twine are all goodies from PTI the only thing not is the gingham ribbon!

Thanks for looking. x

Warm Wishes

2011-06-07T23:35:00.000+01:00

Over at CAS-ual Fridays they have a sketch this week for you to follow, so for my card I have used Pink Paislee products and as luck would have it I found this semi-circle punch-out that fits the sketch perfectly! The shape reminds me of a snow globe….now there’s an idea for a Christmas card!!

I used Stampin’Up’s scalloped border punch for the border at the top of my card and tied some bakers twine round it before attaching a PTI tiny tag and button….I hope I haven’t gone too over the top? I’m still coming to terms with this clean and simple look.

Thanks for looking. x

Sweet Baby

2011-05-23T06:40:00.000+01:00

I have the pleasure of being this week’s Guest Designer for the one and only, the fabulous, The Shabby Tea Room challenge!
This week the challenge is called ‘Sweet Baby’ and to help you with this challenge is this adorable photo as inspiration.

For my card I used a selection of papers from Girl’s Paperie, Pink Paislee and PTI before adorned my card with lots of shabby goodness….crochet lace, my hand dyed seam binding, beaded trim and vintage buttons.

The die-cuts have been created using dies from PTI….apart from the little duck, I used my Cricut machine for that.

I hope to see you in The Shabby Tea Room this week.

Thanks for looking. x

HOME

2011-05-22T17:34:00.000+01:00

Over at CAS-ual Fridays the challenge this week is ‘Bring on the Bling’ you can use any of the following: Rhinestones, Pearls, Glitter or Stickles but the rules are to keep your card clean and simple.

I can’t believe I’ve done this and I really enjoyed it!! Usually I’ve got all sorts of paraphernalia crammed on my card, but not this time.
I have made this card for my daughter who is moving to a new house next weekend….so it’s all hands on deck helping her with the move.

The little house is die-cut from the cardboard box my new sandals came in, and I teamed it up with some old music paper, which I just had to stitch in place before applying Melissa Frances pearls and the HOME rub-on.

Thanks for looking. x

Thoughts of You

2011-05-21T16:23:00.000+01:00

This is my first time with you guys over at Case Study challenge!!
This month’s guest designer is Sarah Martina Parker who produces some beautiful works of vintage creativity….so I thought I’d give it a go and play along.

Here is the inspiration to be creative!

To make my card I used papers from the Vintage Whimsy collection by Girl’s Paperie, added some pale blue trim, which I purchased from the vintage market held in Bridport on the last Sunday of every month during the summer….some pretty floral trim and my hand dyed pink seam binding.

The tag is a die-cut from Tim Holtz Alterations Tiny Tabs and Tags and the heart is also a die-cut from Tiny Tags by PTI….I added a couple of buttons and a pink gem stone along with my sentiment before attaching the tag to my card.

To finish I placed a couple of trinket pins along with my flower and dotted some of the gem stones round the doily.

Thanks for looking. x

Beautiful Day

2011-05-20T08:57:00.001+01:00

Over at CR84FN this week they have another fabulous colour pallet for you to follow

….the colours remind me of lazy summer days, alfresco dining, cream teas, meadow flowers and spending time with friends soaking up the sun.

I found some Cosmo Cricket papers that matched the colour pallet perfectly in my scrap box and teamed them up with Home Town Summer punch outs by Pink Paislee….I punched a hole in the centre of the sun so I could accent the word pedal!

Usual stitching done! Along with the addition of ribbon, bloom, buttons and beaded trim.

Thanks for looking. x

Love You

2011-05-19T23:29:00.000+01:00

Oh haven’t I got a lot of catching up to do with my blog!

So I am going to start with this week’s sketch over at Card Patterns who once again have another fun sketch for you to follow.

I have been itching to use this beautiful paper from the Kitch collection by Girl’s Paperie, it’s so pretty….I used both sides of the paper and made a tiny banner, which I attached to some bakers twine before adding the letters LOVE, the LOVE stickers are from the Vintage Whimsy sticker market also by Girl’s Paperie.

For the tag I used the Tiny Tags die from PTI along with the ‘Love You’ sentiment from the Tiny Tags stamp set….attached the tag to some seam binding along with a button and a heart trinket pin….usual stitching and only a teeny weenie bit of inking!

Thanks for looking. x

Easter Blessings

2011-04-25T16:09:00.001+01:00

Here are a couple of Easter cards I made for my Mum, Sister and Mother in law. I was hoping to have them on my blog before yesterday but I’ve got visitors and what with working as well, you can’t always achieve what you hoped!
Anyway I have entered these cards for ‘My Time To Craft’ who have an Easter Wishes challenge this week.

All the papers have come from the Pink Paislee Butterfly collection....I have also used Glimmer Chips by Tattered Angles and a mixture of hand dyed seam binding, lace, vintage buttons, Prima flowers, beaded trim and a darling little bird egg, imitation of course.

Sorry for the poor lighting on some of the cards I was in a hurry to meet the post before it was too late and I didn’t have time to view my cards.
Thanks for looking. x

Berry Sweet

2011-04-15T16:59:00.000+01:00

My card today is for the CRN78F colour challenge!!

The colour pallet this week uses some of my favourite colours and I have only just made my submission, what have I been doing? Dithering is what I’ve been doing!! Does this go with this? Do I like that? I could SCREAM. Some weeks I manage to flow gracefully along the creative path and other weeks there seams to be this huge barrier in the way blocking my imagination!

Anyway on with my card I have used a selection of papers from Girl’s Paperie, Crate Paper and teamed them up with doilies that I distressed with Spun Sugar, hand dyed seam binding, cotton lace, a wild card that I stitched, buttons, black beaded trim and some pearls that I coloured with copic’s….the tag and border have been die-cut using PTI dies.

Thanks for looking. x

Thanks to YOU

2011-04-06T22:55:00.000+01:00

My card today is for the lovely Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge and this week is all about making little bitty mini cards.

The set of mini cards I have made are perfect for when I need to convey a special ‘Thank You’ to someone.
To form the base of my card I used the scalloped square nesties and the paper I chose to use is from the Baby to Bride collection by Graphic 45.

I layered my card with a doily then a PTI die-cut from their Doily Details collection before using another nestie for my sentiment, which comes from the Fancy Phrases stamp set by WMS and of course I had to add some seam binding and flowers just to finish off my creation!

Thanks for looking. x

Birhtday Boy

2011-04-04T18:38:00.001+01:00

My card today is for two challenges!! The first is for CR84FN colour challenge

that has another set of fabulous colours for you to be creative with and the second is for Card Patterns, who have a lovely sketch for you to follow.

I thought I’d try and be a little more organised than normal for this creative challenge, and sort my papers and pick out what I thought would be suitable first, along with buttons, seam binding, bakers twine, dies, ink, stamps and anything else I thought might come in handy.
For my card I have used Kraft CS for the base and a selection of PTI, October Afternoon and Jenni Bowlin papers.

I changed the oval part of the sketch for the October Afternoon Bingo Wild Card as I want this to be a birthday card and it says Happy and it’s in green!! I had to search through my stamp collection to find a small enough stamp for the star tag, the only one I could find that would fit was from enjoy the ride collection, I really wanted just Birthday but had to settle for Birthday Boy.

Usual inking to soften the edges and stitching!

Thanks for looking. x

How Many Mother's!

2011-04-02T09:39:00.000+01:00

Here is another Mother’s Day card that I’ve made for a friend of mine to give to his mother this Sunday and it meets the criteria for the ‘Anything Goes Challenge’ who would like you to make your own embellishments.

Over at Melissa Bickford’s blog she has made the cutest flower arrangements using felt and her latest flower fusion #2 die, which I received in the post from PTI yesterday.
I thought her card was so beautiful I’d try and create one the same….how fiddly are those flowers to make? I’m not entirely happy with the centre of the flowers; I need more practice to get the curl more curly!

The other technique I was impressed with was how the scalloped borders stood up, just by scoring a thin line; I will definitely be using that idea again.

The papers used for my card are from the Madeline collection by Prima and Pacific Vineyard by PTI.

Thanks for looking. x

Happy Mother's Day

2011-04-01T00:11:00.000+01:00

Talk about just making it by the skin of my teeth! Anyway I have and here it is my card for this week’s Card Patterns sketch....I was hoping to submit my card a lot earlier, but got caught up doing other things.

Here in the United Kingdom this Sunday we are celebrating Mother’s Day so I have made two identical cards, one for Dave’s mum and one for mine.

The papers I have used are the new Prima Botanical, Conservatory by 7 Gypsies and Pacific Vineyard by PTI….I framed the sentiment with one of those beautiful frames by Tattered Angles and did nothing to it apart from attaching a tiny butterfly, I wanted a clean natural look as they are so nicely embossed. The flower is also by prima and it highlights the soft peach colour in the background paper beautifully and of course I had to use some seam binding with a couple of added buttons.

My card for Dave’s mum will be posted 1st class tomorrow, I already ordered her flowers for delivery on Saturday, but sadly we can’t be with her as we are both working on Sunday!! I will be visiting my mum on Saturday with her card and flowers; also my sister is visiting this weekend from London so I get to see her as well.

Thanks for looking. x

Missing You

2011-03-28T19:55:00.013+01:00

Over at CR84FN colour challenge this week they have the most divine colour palette for you to be creative with!

For my card I have used papers from Emma’s Shoppe collection by crate paper and Once Upon a Springtime by Graphic 45, which I edged with PTI edger No.2 die before inking the edges with antique linen and holding it in place with some zig-zag stitching.

I used Simply Chartreuse ink with Waltzingmouse Very Vintage labels No.10 stamp set and matching nestie for my prima flower to sit on….added some Scarlet Jewel buttons either side….

....stitched the crochet lace to the Scarlet Jewel ribbon then attached it to my card along with some seam binding tied in a double bow

added the Missing You sentiment to the oval tag and the final touch was to add the Melissa Frances pearl to the tag.

Thanks for looking. x

Vintage Market

2011-03-27T23:21:00.000+01:00

This afternoon Dave (husband) and I took a stroll round the Vintage Market which is held in Bridport on the last Sunday of the month from March through to October and is open from 12 mid-day to 4pm….situated within the historic art and antiques quarter, you will find local Artist Studios, a large Antique Centre, shops and lot’s of stalls selling all things Vintage along with live music and refreshments!!
There were a couple of things I thought of purchasing….a beautifully decorated old jug, just perfect for spring flowers, I might go back and get that tomorrow as it was for sell in one of the permanent shops that open daily…. some Vintage wooden shoe lasts that would make a lovely hall display, but my favourite stall of all was the one selling all the scrumptious Vintage buttons, lace, trim, fabric, old cotton reels, needle cases and sewing kits.
I just couldn’t resist these beautiful buttons and this trim!

Thanks for looking. x

A Very Shabby Birthday!!

2011-03-19T18:02:00.000Z

I was hoping to make the celebrations over at The Shabby Tea Room a lot earlier that today!

They have been celebrating their 1st Birthday all this week with prizes galore!!

Clare is the host this week and she has chosen the theme of 'Party Time' for us to design with along with this fun inspiration photo....(you need not use the colours in the inspiration photo.)
Clare asks that you design a Card, Banner and/or Gift with a BIRTHDAY OR CELEBRATION THEME!

In celebration of their 1st Birthday I have made a very girly birthday card all pink and frilly with crochet lace, hand dyed seam binding, doilies, die-cuts, flowers and stitching.

I fell in love with the new Emma’s Shoppe collection by Crate paper so I had to use it for my card….I used two of PTI stamp sets ‘Tea for Two’ and ‘Just the Ticket’ along with Maya Road resin blossoms and a Prima flower.

Thanks for looking. x

Hello!

2011-03-16T20:53:00.000Z

I couldn’t let another week past by and not participate in this week’s fun sketch over at Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge!

I‘m also combining my card with this weeks CR84FN Colour challenge….

....as I don’t have any of the Grand Nestabilities, I’ve had to opt for the largest of the regular sized dies!

I used the Lacey Circle die to form the base of my card then layered it with papers from October Afternoon and Graphic 45….I used a Tim Holtz Postcard 7 stamp inked with smoky grey ink at the top of the card just to give it a more vintage look and to meet one of the required colours for the colour challenge, unfortunately you can’t see it very well, perhaps I should of used a black ink? I then dyed some seam binding with the smoky grey ink and dotted it with broken china distress ink, tied a double bow and stitch some more seam binding to form a flower which I placed in the middle of the bow and popped a couple of pin heads in the centre.
I purchased a small zip on Monday while I was out shopping as I wanted to have a go at making the popular zip flowers you see a lot of now….I think next time I will use a longer zip, but for the purpose of this card I think the size is just right.

The sentiment is from the Fancy Phrases collection and I used the double ended banner die from PTI for the sentiment to sit on and stitched a button on the die-cut for added dimension.
I’m now going to get ready to go to work as I’m on night duty for two nights….I feel sooooo tired….I just can’t get to sleep during the day so come tomorrow morning I will have been awake for over 24 HOURS!!

Anyway that’s enough feeling sorry for myself, off to work I go!

Thanks for looking. x

It's Your Lucky Day

2011-03-10T16:00:00.000Z

My card today is for two challenges….the first is for the fabulous ‘The Shabby Tea Room’ and this week Cathy is the creative host and she has chosen the theme of ‘Luck of the Irish’ and has provided a beautiful inspiration photo ...

... also Cathy asks that you design your card or project using the colour GREEN!....the papers used are a selection from MME, Girls Paperie, PTI and Prima, along with my trusted music paper!

I stitched the banner borders in place with zig-zag stitch before embellishing with green sparkly gem stones, crinkle ribbon, rustic twine and buttons….I’ve even put a tiny gem stone on the tag to highlight the sentiment....The second is for the delightful Waltzingmouse Sketch challenge....

....I have used circles instead of squares and topped the four layers with a shamrock made out of die-cut hearts which I stitched down the middle before scoring and folding to give a more dimensional look.

Thanks for looking. x

Hello There

2011-03-08T08:53:00.000Z

My card today is for a work colleague who dislocated her knee and has been signed off work for 8 weeks….hopefully my card will cheer her up and let her know I’m thinking of her. As her mobility is not very good at the moment and she is unable to get around as normal….I decided to package her up a couple of goodies to stop her becoming bored.

I have based my card on this weeks sketch over at Unscripted Sketches.

….the beautiful vintage image comes from the Graphic Fairy and I have combined her with paper and stamps from PTI

….the small plastic flower with the pearl centre is a birthday candle holder, don’t you think it has a vintage look?

Thanks for looking. x

Sensational Years

2011-02-23T23:04:00.000Z

Hooray!! I don’t have to do my night duties this week as I’m needed to cover the day shifts, due to too many staff being off work sick. So as I didn’t have to worry about feeling tired all day today, I made a card instead for the Tuesday Morning Sketches. (I was due to start my nights tonight)

Papers used for my card are Ginger and Garbo by Cosmo Cricket’s Circa 1934 collection and One of a Kind from October Afternoon’s, The Thrift Shop collection….to make the rosette look more decorative, I punched a border using the Martha Stewart Deco Fan punch and inked the edges before layering it with CS die-cuts and the number four….behind the tea stain twill, is a scalloped border decorated with black lace and mocha brown pom-pom fringe which has been zig-zag stitched in place, although it’s a little hard to see!!

The sentiment is from the Big Birthday Wishes collection by PTI….I used black embossing powder to make the sentiment more visible and dotted a few brads about.
The card will be used for my nephew and his wife who will be celebrating their 4th wedding anniversary soon.

Thanks for looking. x

Sweet Perfection

2011-02-22T16:50:00.000Z

I was so inspired by the DT at Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge this week that I just had to have a go at creating my own star card! I enjoyed the challenge so much I can see I shall be making more of these cards!

....the other thing that inspired me was the glorious colours of the spring flowers presiding in my kitchen this week, although they are nearing the end of their days now.

I found the last scraps of this beautiful Cabbage Rose paper by The Girl’s Paperie with its lovely vibrant spring colours, just like the daffodils and tulips in my kitchen….I used both sides of the paper to create my star card before adding a little bit stitching and of course my usual inking to soften the edges.

The stamped focal point was created with spellbinders classic and beaded ovals along with the Sweet Confections stamp from the Rescue Remedies collection, as you can see I have only used the centre part of the stamp

….the card has been embellished with crinkle ribbon, a prima leave and the sweetest little old fashioned Forget Me Not millinery flowers, a button, a glittery star and a $1 circle tag to complement my finished look.

Thanks for looking. x

You are Missed

2011-02-17T14:07:00.000Z

I was over the moon to find that my card received a Top Mouse Award by Waltzingmouse sketch challenge last week, thank you very much.

This week my card has a more distress look about it….I have chosen to use this beautiful paper from the conservatory collection by 7 Gypsies, I love the business of their papers and with this particular one I fell in love with the speckled bird eggs….

the paper flowers are handmade using some pages taken from an old book I purchase from a local charity shop and distressed using antique linen and vintage photo ink, the cream seam binding has also had the same treatment before placing a Vintage speckled egg in the centre to keep the theme running with my card.

The frame is by Tattered Angels….the butterfly die-cut is by PTI and off course the sentiment I’ve used (You are Missed) is from the Fancy Phrases collection.

Thanks for looking. x