Saturday 24 November 2012

Hanging organiser

My sister and I love trying out new ideas when we get together and this was an idea we read about in Creativity magazine.  It is a hanging file with two expanding pockets which we are using in the kitchen to hold receipts and vouchers. 

 
 
It was made using a prefolded card with 5 panels. I then decorated the two end panels as above and then folded it up and used a hole punch to make the holes in the sides.  I then used some thin ribbon to hold it together and to hang it at the top.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Finally back in action!!!

Finally managed to get life sorted to do crafty stuff again :o) Some of the stuff I've been making will be Christmas presents so better not add that yet.  Instead, below are two Christmas cards I thought I had better start making.


Nice and simple to make here. We've just had 'The Range' open a shop near us so I thought it would be rude not to visit and I got these lovely scalloped edge cards in a pack of 50 from there.  The paper is cut out using a scalloped edge hole punch and several embellishments were added from my large stash.  Hopefully I'll be adding more makes soon!
 

Saturday 30 June 2012

B.E.T.H.A.N.Y.

My daughter loves helping with my crafting so I like to do things for her. Recently I wanted to decorate wooden letters for her name but for ages they only had E.T.H.A.N. Finally I managed to get the last two! I painted them all with wall testers and then Bethany helped me decorate them... Some came out better than others but I love them because we made them together.

Thursday 28 June 2012

Sewing fun


My most wonderful husband bought me a new sewing machine recently but been so busy at work I've not had a chance to play with it! Finally had a go and made these 2 zipped purses for my daughter. So easy to do and my straight line sewing is getting better by the day!

Wednesday 27 June 2012

Making biscuits

Agghhh! It's nearly the end of June and I haven't posted for so long!  SOmething a bit different today.  My daughter has been with her grandparents for two days and when she came home this evening she decided she wanted to make cakes.  As I didn't have any eggs that were in date we had to make biscuits instead and here's the finished result:


It got a bit messy when we were adding the decoration but Bethy was happy and the biscuits tasted really good!

Monday 11 June 2012

MDF Scrapbook page 2


Two more pages from my daughter's scrapbook using an mdf blank book.  These pages are showing her on the slide with her favourite toy 'Darf'. I used a lot of ribbon and double sided tape for this one and then kept the next one very simple with two ovals of flower paper.  Am very happy with these pages.


Sunday 10 June 2012

MDF Scrapbook page 1


I have always wanted to try scrapbooking and have had two attempts at it previously with varying degrees of success.  Whilst at the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC, my sister and I came across a stall selling MDF products and I bought an MDF album to try decorating.  I kept trying to decide what large event I should record in it and nothing seemed important enough.  Then we had a day of beautiful sunshine and my daughter spent the day playing outside and she thought our garden was a playground.  I took some brilliant photos (if I do say so myself!) and decided that this day was the day to be recorded in the album.

I painted each page using tester paints of emulsion and then cut the pictures to the right size and shape.  I used different papers and embellishments on each page and did some writing on them to tell the story of the day.  More pages to come...

Friday 25 May 2012

Crafty Ideas Folder



I wanted a folder to store ideas for craft so I went to buy a 'funky' ringbinder.  Once in the shop, I realised I could decorate my own, so I might as well just buy the cheapest one!  I used decopatch papers to cover the front and spine and added black lettering to the front.  I covered the whole thing with a layer of sparkly Mod Podge. Looks better than any I could have bought!

Sunday 20 May 2012

Crayon Rolls


Having started sewing just before last Christmas, I found these online and really wanted to have a go at them.  I finally found time to try them and found them incredibly easy to make!  So good, I made two in one evening. I used a tutorial from 'The Pleated Poppy's' website which was relatively easy to follow.  I used a fat quarter of fabric and made it into quarters to make the size of the rolls.  I used 3 pieces of the same size in differing fabrics.  The pockets were made with one of the pieces folded in half and then stictched to the front piece (and a piece of interacing to add a bit more thickness) in 1 inch sections.  I then added the back piece leaving a small hole to pull it all  the right way round.  I added a length of ribbon to the hole and then stitched the whole way round to seal it alll together.  The ribbon can then be used to tie it up.  I love these things and am planning on making some for Christmas presents for the children and some bigger ones for adults :o)


Wednesday 16 May 2012

More butterfly cards


I haven't made any cards for a while so decided to make a few this evening.  Here's a couple I came up with.  They are very simple designs, but I am a very simple person when it comes to crafting and am not very good at doing complex things.  But at least it proves you can get a good effect with minimal effort :o)

Monday 14 May 2012

More cards


Here's todays selection of random birthday cards I've made.  I love trying out new cards and these were all really easy to make with leftover bits from my craft stash.  I definitely have too much in my collection at the moment so need some more time now to make some more! 

Thursday 10 May 2012

Decopatch Giraffe


My daughter loves giraffes and for the last couple of months, every time we go into our local Hobbycraft, there has been a 5 foot Decopatched giraffe in there.  Last time we went in I finally agreed to buy her a little one and she helped me decorate him.  I used all the different Decopatch papers I have collected over the last few months and have created a very pretty little giraffe.  I'm thinking of adding some little 'googly' eyes as a finishing touch at some point!

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Quick and Easy Cards


Here's a couple more quick cards made with the stickers I got from The Range.  A few shapes cut out with my scalloped square hole punch plus a sentiment from the Works. Simple but pretty!

Monday 7 May 2012

Alphabet Canvas


We've just finished redecorating my daughters room (she's nearly 3) and I decided it would be cheaper if I made a couple of canvases for her wall instead of buying ones with pictures.  I bought the canvas from Home Bargains for £1 and used one of the wallpaper samples from when we were deciding on her wallpaper.  I stapled that down using a staple gun on the back of the canvas.  We then got a pack of puffy alphabet stickers from The Range for £1 and added those. I'm quite pleased with this for a grand total of £2 and my daughter loves it!

Saturday 5 May 2012

Boofle cards


I saw some Boofle cards on another blog and thought how simple yet effective they were. I bought a sheet of Boofle die-cut images and the Boofle small paper pack from Hobbycraft and set to work.  These cards were made with minimal effort but have turned out really well.  I added a few extra embellishments most of which came from The Works to produce a set of fun Boofle cards.

Friday 4 May 2012

My first quilt!


Here is my first attempt at a quilt!  A big thanks to Roxy and Katherine for all the help with this one!  I used pre-cut squares for this and found it really hard to get the seams all straight but am still very pleased with it.  I did a 6 x 5 pattern and then added some strips to the edges.  I put some wadding and a backing on and tacked them down.  I then folded the rough edges over and pinned it round and over the backing and sewed it all down.  It was really hard to get it all stitched evenly round the edges, but for a first attempt I'm happy and as my daughter thinks it's fantastic, I think I'll try another one soon.

Saturday 28 April 2012

A couple of cards


These were a couple more cards I made over last weekend.  I got these butterflies from The Works who have a really good new range at the moment.  The alphabet stickers are Papermania ones I got from Hobbycraft and the squares were cut on my sister's BigShot.


The card below is simply made using a set of robot stickers I got from The Range.  They had some brilliant sets of stickers last time I went in and thought these were great for more boyish cards.


Friday 27 April 2012

Ribbon Memo Board


This was a bit of an experiment! I had seen these 'French Memo Boards' online before and thought I should have a go.  I got a couple of cheap canvases from a pound shop and used a staple gun to attach some wadding and fabric to one of them.  I then bought 3m of ribbon which I cut into strips to go on the board.  I stapled the strips in one direction and then wove the ones for the other direction through the existing ribbons and then stapled them down as well.  I was then able to add some photos to the board which can be changed whenever you want!  I'm actually quite pleased with how this turned out and am thinking of making more if I can find more cheap canvases.

Monday 23 April 2012

Jungle cards

I went to the Range at the weekend with my sister which meant I bought too many stickers again!  I do love the stickers that they sell there.The card above was made using a set of really cute giraffe and tiger stickers and some die cut shapes of paper.  I added some flower embelishments from the same set and then put a silver sentiment on to finish it off.

This card was made using a set of puffy stickers also from the Range which I added to some strips of sticky ribbon.  I wasn't too sure about this one and am still not convinced it works, I finished it with a silver sentiment at the bottom.

Thursday 5 April 2012

Decorated hearts


I made these decorated hearts for two little girls who are friends of my daughter.  I made the pink one by painting an mdf heart with pink wall paint then added some letter stickers I bought from Hobbycraft and then some puffy stickers also from there.  They only sold them for about a month and I really wish I'd bought more!  The other one is decopatched with the same stickers but in pink this time.  I added some pink ribbon through the hole at the top to finish them.

Tuesday 3 April 2012

Easy Cards


Whilst at the NEC show, I bought a pad of paper for £1 because of these brilliant slogans on some of the pages.  I thought they would make great cards for any occassion and so have kept them really simple with just the picture layered on silver and pink backing.  I found it hard to stick the first one straight so went for a different approach with the second one which I think I prefer!

Sunday 1 April 2012

Gift Tags


I had seen some lovely gift tags had been made on another blog and thought they looked really good.  I then saw some brown luggage tags and put the two together to come up with my own idea for them.  These have been made using different papers covering the tags and stuck using double sided tape.  I added a ribbon loop on each to attach them to the gift and lastly added a sentiment tag to each one.  A personal touch to any gift.

Thursday 29 March 2012

Coaster Calendars


These were great little Christmas stocking fillers I made last year.  Again I found the idea on another website and thought it was a really simple idea.  I used old beer mats and covered them with a variety of papers.  I added a tear-off calendar to each one and then used different embellishments to decorate them.  I think they look quite effective!

Sunday 25 March 2012

Name Plaque


I went to the Hobbycrafts show at the NEC yesterday and found this brilliant seller of mdf blanks.  I wanted to buy them all!  Instead, I just bought a few and this name plaque blank was one of them.  I painted this with a wall paint tester pot, added some chipboard letters I bought yesterday and lastly added some butterfly puffy stickers.  This is especially for my daughter.

Friday 23 March 2012

Patchwork cushion


I decided to learn how to use a sewing machine just before Christmas and with the help of a very lovely textiles teacher and her room, I have been able to make this (very) small patchwork cushion for my daughter.  Even though it's a bit crooked, I'm very proud of it! 

Monday 19 March 2012

Butterfly Card


A nice simple card again using a big shot die cut flower paper with a butterfly sticker on top.  Sticky ribbon, a sentiment card and some flower stickers finish the look.

Saturday 17 March 2012

Wall hanging


I saw this design in a magazine and as my sister had just bought a BigShot, we thought we'd give them a go!  The shapes are all cut using the nestabilities dies on the BigShot and using different patterned paper.  I used some embellishments and a photo to make the design and then added ribbon on the back with smaller die cut shapes to hold them in place and give more stability.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Froggy card


A bit of an escape from the norm with a card without butterflies!  I thought these frogs were so cute and so bought a pack of them.  Half have got crowns and the rest bow-ties. I punched three scalloped edge squares and stuck them down and added the frogs and some flower stickers to the central one.  I used some sticky ribbon along the bottom and added a silver sentiment sticker to finish.

Tuesday 13 March 2012

Meal planner


I just had to blog this as I am so excited about it!  I saw these on Pinterest and wanted to make my own and having had the chance this week, here's my finished one!  I used an old picture frame and took the glass out.  I added a piece of scrapbook paper of the right size and used sticky foam letters to write 'menu' down the side.  I used sticky ribbon on some wooden pegs and used glue to attach these to the edge of the photo frame.  I added a sticker to each peg to show the days of the week.  I made the cards on the computer and printed the meals onto yellow paper and laminated each of them.  The box is made from some scraps of patterend card I had which is then stuck down with double sided sticky tape.  And finished! 

Mum card


As its coming up for Mother's day, I've had a go at making some cards for mums.  This card uses 3 scallop edged squares punched from purple spotted paper.  On the middle one I added the word 'Mum' using silver peel-off stickers. The flowers are actually wooden flowers which I have coloured purple using an ink pad and then stuck down.  I'm quite pleased with the simple design.

Monday 12 March 2012

Jars of...

I made several different designs of these for Christmas presents this year.  I made a 'jar of love' with little bits of paper with sentiments on them; a 'jar of treasures' for a little girl with hair clips, bobbles, mini stampers etc; a 'jar of crafts' with crafting embellishments and buttons; and a 'jar of sweets' with the person's favourite sweets in.  I bought the little jars from Asda and added sticky ribbon round the lid and embellishements on top.  For some of them I also added a scalloped circle punched with the name of the jar on it.

Sunday 11 March 2012

Butterfly card


Not the best picture, but one of my favourite layouts.  I've used 3 scalloped squares punched out of patterned paper and added them to my card.  I used sticky ribbon down the left side of the card and added a sentiment I got from The Works.  The butterfly was part of a present from a friend at work who knows I like crafting; it came from Hobbycraft. A couple of embellishments and a finished card.

Saturday 10 March 2012

Pretty Notebooks

I've seen covered notebooks done in various places and here's my take on them.  I bought some cheap, boring notebooks and used a variety of paper to cover them before adding various embellishments to them. Not sure how useful, but they're very pretty!

Friday 9 March 2012

Love Cards

Here are two Valentines cards I made this year.  Not my best theme as I have never 'done' Valentines Day, but I think they turned out okay.  They could easily be used for other occassions anyway!  I rely a lot in my cards on using a scalloped square punch and patterned paper as I really like the look. Sticky ribbon, stickers and embellishments complete the cards.

Thursday 8 March 2012

Tree Mints

I saw this idea in a lot of different blogs and made it my own.  Using Elizabeth Shaw mints which I covered with a circular cut out piece of paper covered with an embellishment. I added some ribbon with double sided sticky tape and put the paper on in the same way.  I used a die cut shape folded in half to make the topper; added some dodgy hand-writing and a matching embellishment.  ready to give away for the Christmas tree.

Wednesday 7 March 2012

Christmas Cards - a little late I know...

Having a sister with a Big Shot turned out to be very useful before Christmas when I was able to cut out these nested squares to make an easy load of Christmas cards.  Add some embellishment and you're done!

Magnetic Pegs

I saw these on another blog and thought I could give it a go!  I made these for Christmas presents last year.  I bought cheap wooden pegs and covered them with sticky ribbon from Hobbycraft. I then added different embellishments to them to co-ordinate and added thin magnetic strip to the back of each.  I put them in a cellophane bag sealed with double sided stickytape and added a matching piece of folded card to the top with more tape. 

Tuesday 6 March 2012

Cute Birthday Cards

I bought a selection of 4" x 4" backing papers from ebay and this one was included which had 4 squares from the 'Naughty but Nice' theme (I think!).  I cut the 4 squares out and added some pretty backing paper to some white cards to produce some cute girly birthday cards.

Monday 5 March 2012

Blackboards for little ones

These are some blackboards I made for my daughter and her friends for Christmas.  They are made using old cork backed placemats which I covered in blackboard paint from Wilkinsons and added some large wooden embellishments from Hobbycraft.  Add some chalk and it's a lovely present for a young child.

Sunday 4 March 2012