The begining of the month

It seems to have taken me an age to get these photographs loaded up this time. My poor computer was having a bit of trouble doing what it as told.

Anyway it's Stamp of the month time again and this month I've gone for the 'Gone Fishin' Truck' from Great Impressions. It's a good stamp for Dads Day cards, but also looks really cool for all sorts of occasions. As is the norm here the stamp is available at 15% off of the marked price for the month whilst stocks last.



I did manage to find some time to make some cards despite all the fun and games with the move, but there are only 4 as my fifth was infected by a bug that decided to rest on my 3d glaze and will forever remain. If I get a chance I will have another go.

I've stamped over the acetate with Olive Green Stayz-on, the DAD has been stamped with Adirondack Dabbers.

This one has been stamped using the Brilliance Ink pads and then one of the images has been embossed using copper powder.

I've gone over the image with glass paint outliner and then filed it in with glass paint, cutting around the impression means no fishing rods this time and by sticking it down with 3d foam adds a bit of height.


I distressed some cardstock with a Distress Ink Pad first, stamped the image with Ancient Page and then cut the Cardstock to explode the image. Finished off with a 3d mounted impression.



It's also yarn of the month time, this month I wanted to say a little thank you for supporting us here so I've put three of the Araucania yarns on special.

Pheuen, Quellon and Patagonia are €7.95 per 100g for the month whilst stocks last. I think all of the Araucania yarns work really well knitted up into accessories - bags, gloves and wraps and home furnishings, cushion covers in some of these yarns have total wow factor.





That's everything for now as I need to continue with trying to build the website, I think it's safe to say I've set myself and incredibly time consuming task, particularly when combined with the move.

ARGHHHHH!!!!!!

Where's it all going

I really hope it's not just me that this is happening to? My days are running away from me, it's like I blink and another week has gone, what's going on???????

Anyway, panic attack over (for now at least).

Tuesday nights card/scrap club was good fun, the great weather we've been having meant we could leave the door open all night and craft in the summer breeze.

These are the cards I made for Tuesday.



A paper flower coloured with marker and mounted using a big button from my stash. The buckle is one cut with a Sizzix die and covered in 3d Gloss. The 'congratulations' is one of the small peel-offs.



Another buckle on this card made in the same way, this time used to embellish this handbag card made from pearlescent card adorned with permanent marker 'stitches' and black gems.



This time the lettering was covered in the 3d gloss. The crocodile is one of our new wooden embellishments. Everything in sight was inked a little to add definition.




Lastly, I used the 3g gloss on the wooden embellishment.

As I guessed the handbag card was definitely the most popular, it's a nice quick make but really effective.

I'm off to do more work on the website now.

Stamp of the Month for May is......

Well as per usual I'm a little late updating, no suprises there. Unfortunately the stamp of the month that I was all set for wasn't in stock (yes I did check, was told there were no problems and ......., what can I say, I actually put the phone down on my supplier - very unprofessional of me). So I managed to find a replacement stamp and have shelved my original ideas for another month.

The stamp is from Rayher and as usual there is 15% off tha marked price for May whilsts stocks last.



I stamped the image 6 times in total cutting the frame section out of two (you'll find it much easier if you cut the inside bit out first before cutting the whole image). Cut the heart out of one of your discarded inners, a little 3d foam, a few gems and some matting and layering in cerise and lime green.



Again plain and simple colouring pencil (obviously a favourite technique of mine), this time, I hope it's a little bit 'folky' in style. Stamped twice again in Ancient Page and mounted with 3d foam, the pinking sheered felt and my favourite Kraft cards add to the overall image.



This time I stamped the image on the reverse of silver pearlescent card. Dry embossing the frame part on the reverse, before mounting on 3d foam. Using the 'heart' section I stuck seed beads all over and continued with the bead theme by attaching single beads to some of the 'dots' on the foiled card. A little white gel pen to highlight the embossing and to cover the cut edges of the frame.



Sure to be most peoples favourite, I've stamped and embossed the image in gold and layered it onto some matt gold mirri card. The card blank is wrapped in handmade mulberry paper which is fixed with double-sided tape on the back. The ribbon is stuck to the reverse of my layered image, which I the fixed to the front of the card with 3d foam. Tiny little dots of gold Stickles add the final flourish.

This one is a bit of fun, I've taken one of the sides of the frame part of the stamp and stamped it 5 times in dark green Versacolour ink. Wrapping embroidery cotton backwards and forwards I hope I've achieved a 'screen' effect. Basic matting and layering in strong colours - red for luck and finished with one of the ladies from our new peel-offs, coloured with Marvey le Plume pens.

Before I go, I should quickly mention this months yarn of the month, this month it's

Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino

Usually €5.95 but for May will be €4.95.

As you might expect this favourite yarn is already flying of the shelves and for those of you who haven't seen it, I've uploaded a picture of 2 little tank tops.

I think that's everything for now, I'm off to take Kye to see the new film Speed Racer this afternoon and then Knitting tonight. Those of you that know me will know I'll be knitting in the cinema as well.

Big kisses xxxx

Scrapaholix April 2008

It was our monthly meeting of Scrapaholix on Saturday and it went great!!!

The theme this month was monochromatic/felt and I have to be honest when I saw the kit my heart was in my mouth - I don't do purple.

However, much to my surprise I really enjoyed using the kit once I'd got going and actually went onto make a mini book/card as inspiration to the ladies that came. I 've also got tonnes of bits left, so I'll be able to knock up a good few cards as well.

Next months meeting is on Saturday 24th May, but all the places have already gone. If there are a few people that would still like to attend I'm sure I can fit another class in somewhere. Next months kit is a stamping one, with the stamps having been designed for it especially.

Tonight is knit 'n' knatter, which I'm looking forward to going to as I'm working on Elizabeth Zimmermans hat at the moment on Dpns though rather than circular. I looked at EZ's books when I was younger, but wasn't really interested then. Having gone back to them, I've become obsessed - no surprises there then.

Tomorrow is card/scrap club and I've already got half of my samples done, but am gonna go and do some more now.

Lora

Still not right

For those of you that know me it will come as no surprise to hear me say that I'm just not right. Technically, that could be said of me by way of an introduction however, in this case I'm referring to the virus.

It hasn't completely gone yet and seems to be having great fun toying with me. I think it's gone and there it is, back again. It's not just me that it's treating this way, the dirty rotten thing is two timing me with Kye and to make matters worse it's now visiting Du (he does seem to have it quite bad).

At least it didn't stop knitting on Monday or the card/scrap club on Tuesday.

This week we looked at the new die cuts from Rayher, which I'd love to show you but didn't remember to take a photo of them, no surprises there.

I will take a pic tomorrow, but basically they're in several different themes and are double sided in different styles/colours

There are baby things, alphabet, frames and flowers, in the garden and roses. I chose to use the roses first, assuming they would be the least popular and found myself getting completely carried away with them, that I didn't get round to using any of the others.

This one is your basic bouquet shape, ribbon wrapped, with four of the small rose mounted on 3d foam. A little gold Stickles dabbed in places and mulberry paper.

Same idea, but this time the roses have been turned over to the pink/red side.

This one is the waste from a peel-off.

Card is made by taking a third of a 12x12 page and then wrapped in a piece of card stamped with Mica Magic ink. Roses are decoupaged with 3d foam. Card closes with a Velcro coin.

Scrapaholix tomorrow morning and it's basically a full house - yippee. It's a monochromatic kit with felt, all good fun. All is ready except of course the shop, but that won't take long. If I get a chance I will post up a pic of my layout after.

Before I go, here is the completed jumper that I made for D in the yarn of the month (of which there is not much left). Ideally, I would have liked a photo of her wearing it but that would mean the planets would have to be aligned, no war, etc - it's just not going to happen.

Sickness Bug

Errgh!!! I've been infected.

My lovely seven year old monster has been very, very poorly with the horrible stomach virus that is doing the rounds in the whole of the county (so it seems). He's missed a couple of days at school, seemed better and went back for a day, on his insistence and then got sick again the following day so missed the rest of the week. Not one to miss out on anything I began to notice a curious rumbling early Thursday and by that night I was nursing a bowl and well you don't really need to know the rest.

Safe to say I've had a bit of a time of it, am going out to the local for a bite to eat this evening, more as a way of spending time with the hubby, rather than to eat, must try not to gag.

Anyway getting back to the matter in hand. Before I leave it any longer and before all of the yarn of the month has gone. This is the jumper I made for D from Sirdar Juniper as promised. It's been on show in the shop all week and has really pushed the yarn out of the door.

Oops that's not the right picture is it..... that's because I don't seem to have one on my camera (blast, if I had a brain I'd be deadly). At least this proves I'd finished knitting it and if I remember my camera, brain and to do it (in that order), I'll take a pic of the jumper proper on Tuesday and upload it.

Last Tuesday evening I did my demo using the Papermania Chip-Board Embellishments. Personally, I think most of them are a little flat in colour (not all of them), but for the price they are a bit of a bargain and cover well with acrylic paint.

One of the paisley shapes, covered in gold Adirondack Dabber Paint and then adorned with gems to make what I hope is an Indian inspired card.

This one has been distressed with the Dabbers and mounted on 3d foam, the backing paper is a DCWV one from the Spring Stack add a little ribbon and voila.

This one is pretty much how it came in the pack, tie a little ribbon around it and mount it on 3d foam over some card punched hearts, add co-ordinating card and dots of pink Gel Pen.

This one has been painted again and the background paper is also another from the Spring Stack. The heart in the top left corner is also from the pack and has had a little red ink rubbed round it to tie it in with the colour theme a little better, ribbon again.

Quitting while I'm ahead now, I have some bits and pieces to get ready for Scrapaholix which is this Saturday and I want to try and put a few more rows up on this....

I managed to get the whole front of the wide neck baby pattern from Debbie Bliss (nice quick one), whilst Coni drove us to Clonmel to do the shopping earlier. It's in Rialto Aran and the stripes are improvised.

April Showers?????

Well April has arrived and as per usual the beginning of the month is a busy time for me in the shop.

Last Tuesday's card club was the first of the month and that means Stamp of the Month. I love this one, well I love them all, that's why I pick them, but I really couldn't wait to have a play with them this time.

It's a sheet of un-mounted clear stamps this month and as you can see the farm critters are really cute. I could have made card after card using them.

As usual there is a 15% reduction on the marked price for the rest of the month whilst stocks last.

The stamps lend themselves to decoupage really well and without even realising it, most of my cards are some bit raised.

This one uses ancient page ink and plain old colouring pencils, but you could make so many different cards in this theme.

Can't see this one very clearly in the photo, but it's just been stamped with the baby powder Kaliedacolor ink pad and then distressed and mounted. The cow in the bottom right hand corner is mounted on 3d foam.


Same technique as the first card for my little Gee-Gee and then stamped card blank with the 'neigh' stamp.

This little piggy is stamped in burgundy pigment ink and then embossed in clear over it. A little 3d-ing going on here too. Bacgroung papers are K&Co. distressed with same ink and wrapped with a co-ordinating ribbon. Obligatory gem flowers.

This one hasn't come out too well either, stamped and embossed in white and then brayered with the Kaleidacolor again. Decoupaged and then matted on plain cardstock. Lettering is cut with Sizzix - Girls are Weird font from brayered glossy card.




More to tell of course.
This months yarn of the month is Sirdar Juniper which is €4 per ball for April. I've been busy knitting up a easy jumper to show the yarn off, but still have a bit of sewing up to do. I'll post a picture up when it's complete.

Think that's it for now off to sew.
xxxx

2nd one today

I'm on a roll here, got a little side tracked by oodle noodles and Elizabeth Zimmerman, but that's another story.

Last Tuesday night I decided to show my lovely ladies the good old reliable folded shirt technique. I love this one because it's a great fallback for male cards.

This one is my favourite, it's a little harder to make the shirt from card, but in the case of the Extreme Boy papers it's well worth it.

A real extreme shirt if ever I saw one!

This week it is Stamp of the Month time and I'm actually gonna have a play later. I've also got to complete the neck, block and sew up a jumper I'm knitting to show April's yarn of the month. Once I've got that completed i have to get things ready for the shop window and do a little bit of paperwork, throw in trying to spend time with the kids, walking the dogs, washing, ironing, etc and that's me failing to get everything done already.

Best go I suppose.

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Conspiracies

I'm sure there is something out there trying to prevent me from ever getting a real bash at this blog thing. Even when I finally get myself organised I seem to get scuppered.

This time it's been my cameras memory card, which seemed to give up on me a few weeks ago after trying to print some shots off of it in one of the local chemists. Sadly, it had approximately 200 photos on it, including shots of my friends new born baby and of my dogs beautiful puppies. Happily, I did manage to print some baby pics before the catastrophe ensued.

Long story short - have since managed to purchase new card and have been frantically photographing anything and everything.

Time for a quick catch up on everything -

The Yarn of the month has been Guinco from Laines du Nord and has been on offer at €3 per 50g ball. It's 100% Merino DK and knits up great, we have it in the lovely colours below as modeled by my lovely fella here (knitted by Jill).

The stamp of the month for March is (nearly was) this graphic image of a church, which has been so popular that I only have one left. Amazing, sometimes I worry that the stamp I choose is not as good as I think (as in this case), and I get such a good response it floors me.

As you can see from these cards I could have gone on forever, because it covers just about everything that could ever be church linked.

Chalks, ric rac, tags and K & Co. papers here.

Embossing metal, mica paper and Mirri card here.

Plain old stamping here with some fab new baby papers and more tags.

Lastly, embossed with detail gold powder and foiled vellum.

Feeling much better now I've got that little lot up, must go and sort out some breakfast, or else I might get done for child cruelty. At least Kye's body is telling him it's only quarter past 10, not quarter past 11 yet. Am leaving this on, so I can load up images of cards from this weeks club.

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