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.

MY FIRST BOOK CARD

I love looking at other people's blogs and feel cheated if I cant log on every day to have a look at my favourites. Not so long ago I found a lovely card which was like a book. There are alot of tutorials to choose from out there so I chose one which was the right size and off I went.  I teamed the book card with images from the DM magazine featuring the regency images- very Jane Austen. Finished it off with a little book mark and gave it to my friend Janet for her birthday.