A Very Busy December

Hello everyone,

Well here I am back at last. This month has been so busy.

It started off with a request to make some samples for Linda at Personal Impressions who made her debut on Hochanda a lovely fairly new craft channel. So along with Christmas shopping, making samples and of course the obligatory Christmas parties I am afraid I have neglected my blog again!!

I can now show you the samples though using all the following goodies from Personal Impressions:

• Goldring pen with built in 'with love' stamp
• Eleganza Craft Stickers
• Crafty Impressions crystal stickers
• Sentiment Stamps from Marion Emberson and Personal Impressions 
• Alphabet stencils
• MDF letters
• Diecut letters
• Craft UK Ltd card blanks
• Crafty Impressions organza flowers
• Peel off alphabets

I used the stamp in the Goldring pen to make a with love panel, inked it in Memento inks and used this as an accent on a belated birthday card

A teachers gift

Using some vintage tissues papers I stenciled mine and my husbands initials and the word love before heating the paper on a candle and adding some sparkle

A little door hanger for a nursery

I drew these little aliens myself before using inks and stamps 

A simple sympathy card to show off the beautiful sentiment

There is this lovely flourish in with the sentiments and it makes a gorgeous background

A sparkly book marker with my granddaughters name on it

Another door hanger for a lovely lady using the alphabet peel-off stickers

Oh and this is another thing that has kept really busy a fab mannequin tree.

If I do say so myself I am rather proud of this

So that is me for today. I am making some more PI samples for the trade show in Frankfurt in February so if I don't manage another blog have a wonderful Christmas.

Take care

Gill xxxxx

Busy Bee

Hi Everyone,

Well have I been a busy bee or what. All the samples for Linda's first show on the Craft Channel have been delivered. Check out her first show which will be aired on Tuesday 8th December 2015 at 9am and 9pm. Not only will you see Linda's lovely creations but hopefully mine will be on show as well as my fellow design team members. Once to show has been aired I should be able to post my creations on here for you. I was taken out of my comfort zone with a lot of stamping but I loved it

Anyway let me share some other creations I have made in the past 10 days with you

These lovely Wall Art pieces are proving popular at the moment. This one is for a baby girls bedroom

I have discovered Graphic 45 and love the images and paper here is one of three

This one is a little more manly 

And number three

More Wall Art this time for the sister of my wonderful friend Carol for the living room

Picture number two just love the clean lines and bling on these

That is me for tonight I still have Christmas cards I need to make but I'm a Celebrity calls

I'll be back soon

Love

Gill xx

My New Creative Craft Area

Hi Everyone,

Well what a busy week making lots of cards Personal Impressions and the lovely Linda who will make her debut on The Craft Channel this week with some fabulous stamps.

As well as all this I have had my craft area refurbished and can't tell you how happy I am with it. Take a look..........how envious are you?

I am still waiting for the drawer unit to be delivered. Have to say I am not impressed with the company I bought the units from as the drawers they delivered look like they are a return due to a fault so they palmed them off on me.

Moan over and back to the new area. I have bought matching boxes from Ikea and labelled everything so all my stash is at arms length. The test now is keeping it tidy. My son and husband are taking bets so I will have to prove them wrong.

Before finishing this I dropped my grandsons off at 08;30 and then went to my Mother in Laws to decorate her living room. Eight hours later I am exhausted so once I have published this post I will be putting my feet up waiting for Homeland to start and then off to the land of nod as I am in work at 7 in the morning.

So that's me I would love to hear what you think of my craft area.

Take care

Gill xx

My Craft Area

Hi Everyone,

I have had a lovely few days away with my husband, Paul in the Last Drop Village and even managed to get most of our Christmas shopping done. Now I am home to the upheaval of updating my craft area so I thought I would share with you what it looks like now. Of course as soon as it is all done and gorgeous I will post some pics to make you all jealous!

Rather than be cut off in the spare room I have set up under the stairs in our living room. It is a great little area but looks a tip most of the time so I am having some lovely cupboards put in with a large L shaped working area and shelving above. I am going to treat myself to stacks of matching storage boxes so it all looks lovely and tidy. (I am taking bets on how long it will look tidy for)

I also want to share something I love making nearly as much as cards and I have had the pleasure of making two in the past week.

Nappy Cakes, I think these are lovely presents for the new baby. As well as nappies they have a full layette, burp cloths, blanket and toys.

That's me for tonight folks, off to start the mammoth sort out....wish me luck

Take care

Gill xxxx

New Home

Hi Everyone,

Just dropping in to share a New Home card with you tonight before Linda Simpson from Personal Impressions arrives with her lovey husband Rick for a meal and a good old catch up. If you haven't seen the Personal Impression blog pop over you will see more from me and the lovely design team.

So this is a card I made for a friend who has just moved in to her new home with her partner. As with most of my cards I have used a digi image from Bugaboo stamps and coloured myself with my trusty Promarkers (my husband calls them felt tips - How very rude!). The papers came free on a magazine. As you know I am a great fan of freebies from magazines.

Hope you like it

I would like to enter this in to the following challenges

Creative Moments - Anything goes

Crafting by Designs - Anything goes

Take Care

Gill xx

A Little Robin

Hi everyone,

Well that has been a weekend and a half. We have had our two grandsons staying since Thursday so things have been a little manic and not a lot of crafting has been done.

Tonight though I have manged to do two more samples for Personal Impressions to be used in craft exhibitions. That is a total of five, all using new Sweet Dixie Die's. They cut beautifully and make such gorgeous cards. Hopefully once I have the go ahead I will be able to share them with you. For now though I am sharing a couple of my own creations made with the Robin and Poinsettia die from Tattered Lace.

As you can see the two cards are very different which shows the versatility of the die's 

I met with my lovely friend Linda, from Linda's Crafty Piece of Heaven today and she has encouraged me to start posting my makes on other craft blogs so I am going to have a go this week. Wish me luck ....... I'll keep you posted.

Take care

Gill xx

Get Well Soon

Hi Everyone,

I know I have been a rubbish blogger again and it is 12 days since I checked in.

I haven't been idle though and have been making Christmas cards. No I am not going to flood your senses with them already as it is a bit early. Happy to share if you want to as you never know there may be a bit of inspiration there.

Tonight I am going to share a Get Well Card with you. A lovely colleague is battling the big C at the moment and we are all thinking of him and missing him so I made this card to let him know.

The nurse image is a digi image I bought ages ago and guess what I can't remember where from, I know I am hopeless. The papers are from my enormous stash as are the letters on the card.

A few people in work say the image is modeled on me.......they are not far off actually.

That's it for now I will be back soon I promise

Take care

Gill xx

Bits and Bobs Box

Hi Everyone,

My goodness what a busy few days it has been, I have barely crafted and am now getting withdrawal symptoms so I have sat here all evening making a retirement card and submitting my samples for the Personal Impressions Blog. I do hope you get a chance to pop over there and have a look at our samples.

Tonight I am going to share a bits and bobs box my lovely friend Paula asked me to make her for her dressing table.

The photo's are not great I have to admit but hopefully you get the idea.

The products I used for this are:

Box from Hobby Craft
Wallpaper sample from B&Q (which covered the box beautifully)
Flowers from Tim Holtz Alterations Die - Tattered Flower Garland
Butterfly die - sorry can't remember the make as it is no longer in it's packaging and I have had it for ages

This is so easy to make and looks really pretty.

I am off to make a few Christmas cards now so will be back soon with more makes to share. xxxx

Little Fortune Teller

Hello Everyone,

Tonight I am going to share a birthday card using the Little Darlings Fortune Teller stamp I featured on the Personal Impressions blog some time ago. As with all the Little Darlings stamps the clarity is amazing and you get a perfect print every time.

Ingredients for the card

Little Darlings - Fortune Teller and sentiment stamps

Lattice Flourish Die from Diesire

Country Charm Papers from Craftwork Cards

12cm x 12cm card blank

Kraft Card from my stash

Paper roses 

Die cut ribbon

1. I used the flourish die down the right hand side of the card
2. Using the die as a template I mat and layered a patchwork design paper from the paperpack on to kraft card
3. I stamped the image, coloured with Promarkers and carefully cut round her. I used sticky pads to give her a little dimension on the card
4. I finished off with some paper roses, a little die cut ribbon and a sentiment.

I hope you like the finished result.

Take care

Gill xx

A Little Bit of Steampunk

Hi Everyone from a lovely sunny Liverpool Sunday.

I had a lovely surprise parcel from my Design Team manager at Personal Impressions this week full of goodies to make samples for the Personal Impressions Blog. I'm afraid you will have to wait to see them but as soon as the are published I will let you know.

I did manage to make a little tag for this blog though.

I used a digi image I have had for ages but have never had the inspiration for it until now.
I had a play with my new Tin Holtz burlap stencil and inks and finally a clock embossing folder. All of this is available from Tim Holtz suppliers as well as ebay.

I am so enjoying making these little tags and can't wait for an excuse to use them on a gift

I will be back soon

Take care

Gill x

Movember is Coming

Hi there,

Wow what a busy few days I have had and not a lot of time to craft....booo hoooo I hate not being able to craft every day.

A few years ago my husband took part in Movember. Even though it was for a good cause I hated him having a mustache and have begged him ever since not to do it again.
With this in mind I used some stamps I have had for ages and some new papers and came up with these two cards

The papers I used were from Craftwork Cards - Suits You Sir - mini paper pad.
I picked the stamps up in a little shop in Cheltenham a few years ago and as you can see they are not the best quality but I kind of like the shaby chic look.
I also used some Die-namics fishtail flags on the first one

I mat and layered the papers and fishtails before adding the stamps and a Little Darlings stamped birthday sentiment

As always I hope you like them. I would love to start entering some blog challenges with my cards but need to learn how........

Enjoy what is left of the weekend

Take Care

Gill x

I'm So Excited

Hi Everyone,

After an awful day being stuck on delayed trains on the way to and from a meeting in York I am so happy to be able to come home and share my exciting news.

I have been chosen to be on the sample making team at Personal Impressions. Here is my introduction . I was asked a few weeks ago but had to keep it under my hat so as you can imagine I have been bursting to tell you all.

I love working with the samples, they are really top quality and the Little Darlings stamps are amazing. I have struggled getting clear images in the past so started using digi stamps, but now I have discovered the Little Darlings I will certainly be adding to my collection the clarity is stunning. You can get the stamps from Personal Impressions

I am going to share another custom made card with you tonight. I was asked to make four cards that would be given at different times but would all fit together as one when the last card was received.

Card one was for Valentines Day

The second was to tell the recipient she was a wonderful mum to her two children

The third was for Mothers Day

The fourth a Birthday Card

Here they are all together

And displayed separately

I hope you like the concept. I can't take the praise for the idea but I was pleased with my interpretation. Hope you like then too

Take care

Gill xx

Nuclear Retirement Card

Hi there,

I am a little late posting tonight as I have been concentrating on some Design Team samples. I will tell you all about that as soon as I can but for now I will have to keep you in suspenders!!

I work in the Office For Nuclear Regulation and am often asked to create retirement cards using all the interests of the recipient, I am therefore sharing one with you tonight using copyright free images from the Net

There is lots of layers to this. The brief was the area in which the inspector worked and his love of the guitar and music. I cut out the nuclear symbol and backed with a bright yellow music sheet, added a picture of the site and of course a guitar.

The cards are usually very random but I am happy to report they always go down well as they relate to the recipient.

Well that's me for tonight it is 10:40 and I am up at 05:30 in the morning so must get my beauty sleep.

Take care

Gill xx

Gypsy Rosalie

Hi there,

I have been out most of the day at Soroptimist International of South Lancashire's new members lunch and awards and before that had a fabulous Saturday evening looking after our two grandsons. They are such a joy and proper little comedians, they are the only thing that stops me crafting.

As there has been no crafting done today I am going to share with you a card I made a couple of months ago for the Personal Impressions Blog. I was so proud to get something published on the world wide web and it was all thanks to the fabulous Linda Simpson who has supported and encouraged me get this blog up and running again.

Together with the stamp and lace borders shown I used a card blank and papers from my stash and coloured the image with my faithful Promarkers. To finish I added a die cut leaf and some pretty organza flowers.

Enjoy your Sunday evening I am going to do a bit of crafting while X Factor is on and then settle down to the new series of Downton Abbey

Take care

Gill xx

Believe in Magic

Hi All,

Another busy weekend here.
The S Factor concert I told you about was last night and if I do say so myself we were one of the best acts. It was a great night and we all had such a laugh. The main point of the night though was to raise money towards rebuilding Napal and over £1000 was raised.

Anyway now my grandsons are in bed I have had a chance to make a card using the free stamps from Inspiration Magazine. Simple but I like it!!

For this card I used:

• Hammered white and plain navy card stock
• Tim Holz inks around the edge of Inkylicious Satin Silk ArtCard in shaded lilac and chipped sapphire 
• The stamps were stamped with StazOn jet black
• I mat and layered with an embossed snowflake card

That's me for today. Enjoy what is left of the weekend

Take care

Gillxx

Bags of Tags

Hi there

After reading Personal Impressions Blog yesterday I was inspired by Kath to have a little play myself and see if I could come up with some tags.

I have used bits and bobs from my stash including Tim Holtz inks, embossing folders, Promarkers for the stamped images and ribbon, flowers and wire.

I hope you like them, I think my favourite is the pink one.

Tonight I am rehearsing for the Soroptimist International of South Lancashire 'S' Factor but am also going to try my freebies from Crafters Inspiration Magazine.

Until tomorrow - Take care

Gill xx

Beaches and Baby Showers

Well it is back to reality today with a pile of washing to do after a fantastic week in Crete with my BFF and our husbands.
We went to celebrate the wedding anniversary of their son and daughter-in-law following our visit there 2 years ago for their wedding. This time we celebrated the impending birth of their son with a baby shower.
It was such a gorgeous day at the Blue Boat Beach Bar with 14 ladies playing games like guess the circumference of the bump and pin the dummy on the baby and of course there were lots of balloons and banners.

Tonight I am going to share some Christmas cards with you made using some Tattered Lace Dies.

I cut the dies from scraps of card

The backing paper is from Debbie Moore on a card blank from my stash

For this one I used the same dies and a square scalloped die

I embossed the smallest layer with a holly embossing folder

I was going white on white but felt the edges of the mat and layers needed highlighting a little so I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Weathered Wood

I can't decide whether the traditional Robin or the Contemporary Robin is my favourite. What do you think?

Well that's me for today but I will be back tomorrow

Take care

Gill xx