A favourite thing...

I love making little altered note books especially for my daughter as she uses one all the time at work and I couldn't believe how much she was paying for them at stationery shops.  This one was made especially for her and then I had to do a duplicate for her to pop in a present for a friend as an extra surprise.
These little books are just perfect for using snippets of papers up and you can buy the basic notepad so cheaply too.  Mine were from Poundland and I think I got about 6 in a pack or maybe more.
On the inside front cover I like to add something to personalise the book so in this one I popped in some nursing quotes.

I can't remember who the stamp is by, but isn't she sweet? 

Challenges...

• Pixie's Snippets Playground  use your snippets
• Little Claire's Challenge  make a gift (only just found this challenge and I love their stamps- have become a follower now)
• Alphabet Challenge  whatever you wish

Have a good day all.

Thank you everyone for such fabulous comments and Mary for reminding me that this stamp is by My Favourite Things.  I've actually found the packet now so the stamp has been returned to it's rightful place.  Such a cutie - bought for making Nurse's Day cards as since my daughter qualified she insists on that extra celebration.  Can't blame her - I keep trying for two Mother's Days but it's not worked so far.
Ann xxx

No more sleeps...

Happy Christmas to my friends and all the best for the New Year.
Ann xxx

Something a little different...

I saw a couple of altered art dictionary pages on Pinterest and just had to give it a try.  I had so much fun doing this and can't wait to do more pages.  There are plenty to go at!  After ransacking the house for a good dictionary to work on this small English/Italian one seemed the best I had so as a bonus along the way I will be extending my Italian vocabulary.

Today's page features 'La Renna' or 'Reindeer' - done very quickly in my excitement to make a start so plenty of smudges and perhaps not so straight stamping, but hey I had fun.

Challenges...

•  Craft my life  Anything but a card 
• Artistic Inspirations  anything goes
• Crafting from the heart  anything goes

Okay time to actually do something to get ready for the big day.  Hope everyone is far more organised than me and may your Christmas celebrations be wonderful ones.
Ann xxx

Happy Christmas one and all...

My very last Christmas card - yeah thank goodness.  I really must be more organised next year.  
Materials...

• large circle die cut folded in half and overlaid with a white doily
• Lilli of the Valley angels stamp
• die cut tag and scalloped circle in mirri card
• peel off sentiment
• Promarkers

Have a fabulous Christmas everyone.
Ann xxx

Dinosaurs have to celebrate too!

My grandson is obcessed by dinosaurs so his Christmas card just had to have at least one on it.  I meant to give the dino a Santa hat, but couldn't find my stamp.  Not to worry he won't mind I'm sure.
Card created with Poundland stickers and a couple of die cut trees all mounted up on an inked background. A really super fast creation.

Challenges...

• Feeling Crafty Challenge Christmas
• Just for fun  Christmas

Have a fab day.
Ann xxx

So much fun playing...

I couldn't resist the amazing subscription offer in Simply Cards and Papercraft.  Three stamps and all the stuff needed to start playing with guilding flakes.  Wow what a treat!  Anyway to begin with I've used the deer stamp and remembering a demo that Kay did on one of her shows created a background for the deer and then mounted my image up on some of my best Christmas papers.  Oooooooooh it was quite a decision cutting into these 12" by 12" specials I can tell you, but I'm glad I did.
The version above uses some gorgeous holly paper with gold pattern and below the same design but the silver holly pattern is printed on vellum.  How gorgeous is that?  Wish I had bought more of it.  It's been in my stash so long I can't even remember where it originated, but I love it.

and finally using gold vellum!

I don't usually do batch card making, but someone wanted two cards for their Mum and Dad at both sides of the family so it seemed like a good idea.  I did the same thing making the cards for the grandparents - see my post below.

Challenges...

• All that stickles  Happy Holidays ( stickles used to highlight tree and bushes - tried glitter first and it was too much - Stickles perfect)
• CraftyHazlenut's Christmas Challenge  anything that is urgent to make ( these were ordered so definitely a necessity!)
• Time4Scrap  Holly

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend.
Annie xxx

More last minute Christmas cards...

Last minute cards ordered by one of my daughter's workmates - one for each of the grandparents.  Thought it would be nice to do the same card (don't want any fighting), but just slightly different so did one in silver and one in gold.
Very quick to make as the background was taken from some cardstock I won many years ago and the bauble is a Marianne die.  I thought about mounting it on vellum, but while I was searching for white vellum I found some gorgeous sheets of opaque plastic and I love the effect.  The baubles are very solid, but have a love semi see through quality to them too.  Little things make me happy!  Ribbon, a crystal and cuttlebug tag dies complete the cards.

Challenges ...

• Pixe's Snippet Playground  use your snippets - the bauble and tags were cut from bits of mirri card.  I never ever throw those away.
• Crafty Sentiments  Christmas
• Creative Card Crew  Holly (background is subtle holly embossed and glittered)

Off for a glass of wine now celebrating that I've almost finished all my cards.
Have a good evening everyone.
Annie xxx

Port Sunlight...

Seems like ages ago now, but what a fabulous weekend it was with such fantastic friends.

Great memories scrapped using Craft Artist and a digi kit which I can't remember the name of - sorry.  I do remember the quote was a freebie from a very talented lady at Word Art World.

Page one...

and two...

Challenges...

• Craft my life  anything but a card
• Crafting from the heart  anything goes
• Make it Monday   anything goes

Have a great day all.

Window stickers...

Well I've had a lovely time this morning using that amazing bargain I found at the charity shop.  The DECAdry printable window film works a treat.  I used Craft Artist to plan the character stickers and filled the gaps on the sheet with loads of snowflakes to cut out seperately to adorn the glass too.
I wouldn't want to pay a lot for the window film, but for the price I paid it was fun to do and I'm sure my grandchild will love them.
Can't miss entering my handiwork into a few challenges...

• Crafting by designs  penguins
• Papertake Weekly  anything goes

Have a fabulous weekend everyone.
Annie xxx

Joy to the World...

Using the tiniest scrap of blue left from my lastest cards I created this small Christmas card.  I can't remember the size of the scrap, but I do know I had to cut the sentiment and the snowflakes out the centre before mat and layering the white onto the blue gutted frame that was left.  It was not a big snippet!
Usually I put my snippets into kiddy bags to sell for charity, but I'm becoming obcessed with joining the challenge at Pixie Snippet's Playground so I just had to use up the last of this blue so that I could join in again this week.
Materials used...

• sentiment die included in Christmas Cracker die set
• snowflake die
• Swiss Dots folder
• silver mirri paper
• gems and ribbon

Other Challenges...

• C.R.A.F.T. Challenge  Christmas
• Ladybug Crafts  blue and white

More Downton Abbey...

A really good friend of mine was raving about a new die she had bought and was sort of struggling to describe it properly so she brought me a couple of the die cuts.  Aren't they cool?  The Downton Abbey effect in a die cut!!  

Such easy and quick cards - although I did spend some time on the snowflakes as they are multilayer, but it doesn't really show in the photo.

Challenges...

• Christmas Card Challenges  no stamping
• Allsorts Challenge  a winter song ( We wish you a Merry Christmas)
• Crafty Calender Challenge  all things Christmas

Hope everyone is having a good week.  I'm feeling very smug as I've just returned from shopping and had a great find at the local charity shop...

Boxes of Decadry speciality papers for only 99p - yeah I love a bargain.  Each box has 3 sheets of creative plastic (think they mean shrink plastic), 3 sheets of Tshirt printing material, 2 sheets of decorate your window stuff and 2 sheets of print on material glitter effect stuff.  Yeah and I got a pack of Santa and Rudolf pegs that will also work well in crafting.  I'm a happy bunny today. 

I think some people are really wondering what I mean by the Downton Abbey effect.  It's the title screen for Downton where they use black lettering on white and white lettering on the black - I think it's really effective.  Here's a photo of what I mean...

It's looks very dramatic on screen - honest.
Annie xxx

First Christmas Card...

But no need to panic as it's not even December yet!!  I can't take credit for the idea of using upturned hearts to create a Christmas tree.  I think I saw someone use this idea either in a magazine or maybe on Pinterest.  Anyway this is my version which I created using a tiny scrap (3 by 2 inch) of lime green glitter card from my scrap box and a small hearts die by Spellbinders.  
The pot I cut out free hand, embossed and then added a touch of the green from the tiny bit that was left and a small bow. Silver peel off and some mat and layering on silver mirri card complete the card.  Yeah only a few more to make now - LOL!

The challenge that inspired me to make this was Pixie Snippets Playground - I wanted to help out in reaching the challenge of 60 entries, but it's taking me so long to get the time to create my card that she doesn't need my entry anymore as there are already 73 entries.  Wow maybe the challenge will hit the 100 mark - I sure hope it does.
Additional Challenges...

• Charisma Cards  Christmas
• Use it Tuesday  anything goes (die used to cut the hearts came in box with my very first Wizard die cutting machine and green glitter card has been in scrap box for an eternity)

Off to create some more cards - I'm on a roll.
Annie xxx

Downton Abbey...

Everytime the title came up while I was watching this series the dramatic title page with black and white lettering on contrasting background blew me away.  I kept thinking I'd love to try that on a card or a scrapbook page and then one day while meandering around Pinterest I saw someone had given it a try.  I loved what they had done and was even more determined to have a go myself.
Apologies for the not so good photo - had to take it at night before my daughter ran off with the card to send to her sister on her first wedding anniversary.
I'm not usually good at 'clean and simple', but I'm quite happy with this card even though I say so myself.  

Materials...

• heart die cuts from a tiny die that came with my original Wizard machine
• sentiment dies by Britannia 
• black and white card 
• a single gemstone

 Challenges...

• Crafty Cardmakers  Clean and simple
• Simon Says Stamp   Anything Goes
• Party Time Tuesdays   Anything Goes

Hope everyone is enjoying Thanksgiving and having a wonderful time with your friends and family.

Annie xxx

Variations on a theme...

Sometimes it so easy to spend ages planning out a design it seems such a shame to do only one version so today I'm show casing two versions of a very similar card.  One made for my own mum's birthday and one done for an order.

 

Both use items that have been in my stash for an eternity.  The Storybook cartridge by Cricut, a flower and leaf punch from the archives and a brand new sentiment die by Britannia. Oh the butterfly dies are new too - eeeeeeeeeeek seem to have bought a lot of stash lately.  Love these butterflies by Joanna Sheene though - so delicate.  If anyone knows a good way of sticking the Britannia sentiment die cuts on projects please let me know as I am still experimenting.

Challenges...

• Use it Tuesday  anything goes - old stash Cricut Cartridge and punches
• Crafting from the heart  anything goes

 and probaby a thousand more challenges but as I am newly returned to blogging two is enough - so wish we could go back to the days when it was possible to enter every challenge each week.

Have a good day tomorrow everyone.
Annie xxx

Fabulous Frou Frou...

Tiny photos from now folks, but at least they can be clicked to enlarge and in any case it's so long since I did any posts most of my followers probably fell asleep last year. 
I actually had two comments on my last post.  Thank you Abi for your very kind offer of help I may be heading your way soon if things don't work.

My first card on my return to blogging is one made a week or so ago using the Crafter's Companion CD Frou Frou and planned using Serif Craft Artist before printing out the bits needed to make up the card.

I think it's perfect for the challenge at CD Sunday where their theme is F is for ....Frou Frou !

and ...

Allsorts . Bring on the Bling

Have a good day all.

Annie xxx

To blog or not to blog that is the question?!!!

Should I trawl though all my pictures making them small enough so I have space to carry on - maybe I should.  It would be nice to be in Blogland again - I seem to have lost touch with so many creative people.  Watch this space - I'm off to delete some posts and shrink some others!!