Two more cards

Blogging Without Obligation

Written in November:

A post from a fellow blogger about not feeling obligated to blog hit a chord so I am not going to comment on the long gap since I last wrote.  My crafty mojo has gone on his holidays at the moment which is a shame as I needed him to help me with making my Christmas cards- havent made a single one yet and I promised myself that I wouldn't stress myself by making cards in December. So what is not done by the end of November will have to be a bought.

Here are a few cards made in the last few weeks.

THANK GOODNESS FOR UPS

I  can make the cards in plenty of time but getting them in the post to ensure they get there for the day always lets me down especially for cards which need to be sent abroad. This week I failed miserably with two US cards and had to resort to letting the cards hitch a ride in a company courier pack going by UPS.

First there is a card for my penfriend of more than 45 years in Pennsylvania USA. I was inspired by a card made by one of my favourite bloggers, Bev Rochester, so copied the layout and used some images from my favourite fallback Cds from Debbi Moore. Just love the Art Deco ladies.

For my friend Barbara in company HQ I made a quick card using an LOTV image.

MORE STEAMPUNK

Young men's cards are the ones I find the most difficult so for nephew Iain's 20th this week I went for Steampunk again (I've done sports and music to death over the years).  I used the Graphic 45 pad again and this time I embellished with the new die cuts I bought.  It's got a Monty Python vibe going on and I like the result.

STEAMPUNK

I hit on the idea of doing a card for my SIL Jaci's big birthday using the Steampunk style. As usual the favourite part of the project was gathering my supplies (i.e. buying more craft supplies).  I found a great paper pad from Graphic 45 which I just had to have and then I decided I need some embossing folders so treated myself to the Tim Holtz ones with clocks and machine parts. Downloaded some new fonts and then away I went. I knew what I wanted on the front but I let the rest of the design grow organically so the card took ages to do.  (Photographs dont do it justice but that's sometimes the case with busy cards).

This promises to be the first of many using these papers as they are equally good for men and women.

ANYTHING BUT PINK OR PEACH

I noticed that all my cards recently have been either pink or peachy tones so I set myself a challenge to use other colours. Only just noticed that there is some pink in the Nitwits background paper but otherwise I managed to comply with the challenge I set myself. The LOTV printed cards are a welcome addition to my stash when a quick card is needed. This one went to my friend Ellie shortly after we had been to a fab afternoon tea party at Carol and Mark's.

VINTAGE FOR A QUILTER

Here is the card I made for my quilting friend Anne.  I remember my first adventures on the sewing machine were using a hand cranked Singer sewing machine. Really showing my age now.  Didnt over do it with embelishments as it had to go in the post.  Instead of flowers I used some antique lace and a sewing machine charm.

Why cant I throw anything away?

I have a real problem with throwing things away..... even shopping bags would you believe.  I recently bought a designer top in the sales and they put it in a beautiful carrier bag which I couldnt bear to part with.  I decided to make a card and as it was made with double sided paper I decided to use a cross- between an envelope and an easel card. Gave this to Sophie for her birthday.

Hexie with a cheat

I am not 100% comfortable with the hand-sewing but I am getting there. I used to hand sew all the time but I am out of practice and my fingers and eyes are 15 years older.   Until I am really in the swing of it again I thought I would cut out some of the small hand-stitching within the larger shapes by machining some pieces of fabrics together. I have done several strip combinations and this is one of the finished hexies.

 

 I have also tried a couple of more adventurous foundation pieced combinations like this one.

As I have marked out my shapes on the 60' triangle paper then it will be easy to line up the machined combination to ensure it comes out right.  Fingers crossed.

VINTAGE AGAIN

I'm in vintage mode at the moment. Here's another card I made using a Magic Moonlight image. This one is for my lovely friend Anne's birthday.  Just realised what alot of cards I make in pink/peachy tones.  I think I will have to vary my palette. Still loving the CB.

ENVELOPE CARD FOR EVA

Thanks to Anne-Kristine for the inspiration for this card.  Her tutorial for an envelope card can be found here on the Wild Orchid blog.  This is the card I made for Eva in Denmark- all lace and bows and the exact opposite to Danish simplicity. Would like to have added more flowers but didnt because it is going in the post.  I used K&Company double sided paper and card and the lovely vintage image is from Magic Moonlight Free Images. I am definitely going to do this style of card again and next time I will incorporate some stamping.

Less is More

Arranged at short notice to see friends and realised it was their 35th wedding anniversary this weekend. As I had very little time to make a card and even less time to plan I decided to go with a green theme (35th is Jade or Coral). They have a lovely big garden with bird feeders so I decided to use this shabby chique digital image I recently downloaded from Chocolate Baroque.  In retrospect it isnt a good image for the occasion- I really needed 2 birds, but as I say I didnt have much time. Will definitely use the download again.

The ever difficult 'Man's card'

Was inspired by one of the blogs I follow to do some decoupage on a card for Aaron.  I havent looked at any of Joanna Sheen's CDs for ages so I decided to dig them out and take a look- my first thought being that there might be something that lends itself for use with Cuttlebug dies.  Fixed on the Cottage Garden CD and did this card with some decoupage and some stick on grass (bought to make Easter decorations that I never got round to). Also did a matching book mark as the recipient is a very keen reader.

Saw a funny card on the web and did my own take on it for Lee's birthday card.  Have to admit this was one of the quickest cards ever.

Card catch up

There is a flurry of cards to be made at the end of July and beginning of August so I have been busy.  Even managed to get the two for my US friends there on the day.  First there was a vintage card for Adrienne using lavender tones.  The image came from one of my favourite sites- Magic Moonlight which generously gives free downloads of beautiful vintage photos.

Then a card for Ilona who has recently lost her mother. I didnt know but it turns out that Ilona's mother had hydrangeas  in her garden in Hungary which made the card very special for Ilona.  The image came from a free digi download from a fab site called Far Far Hill.

Should have gone to Specsavers

I've now officially started on the Hexalong and made my first hexagon.  As I was hand sewing them together it all came flooding back to me why I stopped cross-stitching - which for many years was my favourite hobby.  The reason was my Varifocals- as my eyesight deteriorated and I needed long and near distance correction I could never find a comfortable head position for hand sewing.  I am not going to let this stop my with my hexies so I will be making an opticians appointment tomorrow and in the meantime I have found a magnifying glass that sits on my ample bosom.

Here is hexagon number 1- hope my whip stitching improves when I can see what I am doing!

HEXALONG

I am a Follower of a very talented quilter who has a blog called Lily's Quilts. Two weeks ago I read on her blog about a summer project for hand-stitching and I was immediately interested, I thought I would join in with the Hexalong and make something using fabrics from my stash.  It's years since I did any English paper piecing and was amazed about the variety of quilts which can be made which are not the traditional hexagons in flower shapes.

First of all I had to sort out the fabrics. I chose some fabrics which I dyed in plastic bags at a workshop and some patterned fabric that I bought ages ago.  I may add some modern fabrics from a stash pack I bought recently - I will see how it goes.

Next I joined the Hexalong Flickr group and learned something about Flickr as I was a complete newbie. (I'm a Picasa fan myself).

Next I needed a bag for the project. I decided to customise an old canvas bag I had and at the same time get used to drawing and using large hexagons as I have decided to go with hexagons with 3 inch sides for my project.

In for a penny... I decided to make pretty box for threads and needles etc.  I might even get round to some sewing soon.  So far its been all Bondaweb and glue.

For details of the Hexalong click HERE

WHERE DOES THE TIME FLY?

I cant believe how quickly the time flies by. Not found time to blog about my crafty weekend last weekend- not that I was doing any crafting. It is my Mum, Sister and Brother-in-Law who are doing all the creating.  First of all my Mum is working like a demon.  She has all her friends making knitted dolls for a local charity from her area called Realaid.  The dolls are made all in one piece and the arms and legs are sewn into place.  Mum reckons they have made nearly 200 dolls and some teddies so far.

Mum sells her lovely craft items in two craft shops so last weekend we went to the shops to take some new items and pick up takings.  Here is Mum's section of the shop in Filey called Robinsons.  At the moment she is making jewellery bags, sticky note books with fabric covers, stress busters, Bridal stress busters, luxury lavendar bags and bunting.

BIL Phil is making some interesting pieces with drift wood and shells.  Really like the mirrors and his candleholders. Him and my sister are in the first stages of setting up their own business 'That's Nice Crafts' - I really hope it works out for them.

To top off the weekend. Mum and I went to Summer Crafting at Doncaster race course. Didnt go too mad but still bought some nice things and got some inspiration.

A RUSH OF ACTIVITY

Mr Mojo turned up unexpectedly and I made two cards in record quick time- everything just fell into place.

The first was a 30th Wedding Anniversary card for some dear friends.  The original idea was to cover the numbers 3 & 0 with lots of pearl buttons but when it came down to it I didnt like the effect. Instead I used a card blank I bought as part of a Create and Craft kit I bought in their recent sale.  I used one of my favourite poems, the Art of Marriage, inside as I know my friends will appreciate it. My patience was sorely tried when my trusty ink jet printer ran out of ink and for the first time I used non-HP cartridges and thought the printer was on its last legs. Turns out it was the colour cartridge which was faulty and after 2 returns to the shop I got a good one.

The second card I made on Sunday was for friend Sue.  I used my tried and trusted DM Glamour and Glitz CDs to print off a decoupage sheet and then used one of the papers from a DM magazine for the background.