New Year cards

Here are the 3 New Year cards that a French neighbour asked me to make for her. Unfortunately she didn't supply the design!!! I wanted to get away from the usual cliche type card so did a teabag design in miniature. Hope she likes them!

One day too late!

I just love a white Christmas and have been disappointed for a few years now. However, this year we just missed it by 24 hours and here's a photo to prove it!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Just wanted to wish all my blog followers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. Cheers, dear friends!

Fun birthday card

You've seen it before, but here is a variation on the theme for a sexy lady's birthday in December.............

Christmas card 2008

It was a long time in the design phase but finally this card came to fruition and was sent to my very special craft friends to wish them a Happy Christmas.

Henriette's 90th birthday!

Here's the card I made for my dear neighbour who will be 90 years young on Christmas Day. She is as bright as a button with a sharp mind and a wonderful memory. She is such a joy to chat to (even if I don't always understand what she says!) No, despite our language differences, we are never at a loss for something to say and I hope to have the enjoyment of her company for many more years to come.

Gosh, it's weeks since I posted anything here. I've been busy running workshops, getting ready for Christmas and trying to cope with having pharyngitis. My conscience has now got the better of me and so here are my very first efforts at tag making for my favourite craft forum. If one should find its way through your letter-box, I hope you like it.

Teddy in his teddy bag

Teddy hurt his back leg last night and I thought we would have to take him to the vet but thankfully he seems to be OK now as you can see!

Richard's paintings

Here's another look at OH's paintings. I posted a photo yesterday but some nasty person posted a strange message and has really messed up my visitors counter with countries from all over the world. At least now I can filter the posts so hopefully, it won't happen again. Richard actually sold 2 of his paintings at the end of the exhibition so very satisfying for both of us!

My exhibition

Here's a couple of photos taken just before the opening, hence the lack of people! The lighting wasn't very favourable for taking photos but it will give you an idea of what it was like. We reckon we had almost 300 visitors over the 2 days thanks to the glorious weather which brought them out to walk by the lake. The setting was magnificent with the snow covered Pyrenees reflected in the lake and all the trees dressed in their autumn finery. I sold quite a few cards but better still I had a lot of interest in my various workshops so now I have to begin planning for those next month!

Twas the night before Christmas

This should definitely be the last card I am making before the expo (unless I can't sleep of course then I'll be crafting through the night!). I love the "book" effect and it can be used for so many occasions. It is especially good for people's milestone birthdays as you can pretend it is their "yearbook". I made one for a friend's Dad who was 70 and a keen gardener so I titled it the Gardeners' Yearbook by ............. 70th Edition and covered the front with pics of veg and gardening tools. He loved it!

Autumn window card

A certain person's birthday is now past so at last I can post this card because I sent her one identical and didn't want her to see it in advance! It is just about the most complicated card I make with many layers and little windows to cut out but so very satisfying when it is done. Just 2 days left until the exhibition so I'm into the "headless chicken" mode, wanting to make still more cards but fast running out of time!

Fancy dress!

Here's a naughty little number that I did for a friend's 60th birthday recently. I'll do a similar one tomorrow for the expo. It is Wendy Stenton's bodice template, stamped with a silver embossed design and a white feather skirt added.

Japanese fan

Gosh, is it really 16 days since I last posted? Sorry folks, but I've been working hard to build up my stocks for the exhibition which is now a mere 7 days away!

This is a fairly complicated card composed of 3 embossed fan sections which are then cut out and backed by this scrummy Japanese paper. A tassle is added to hold it all together I usually only do it for VERY special friends' birthdays!

Don't forget to click on the photo for a closer look.

Cards for exhibition

Here's a couple of Christmas cards that I made from the wonderful free CD that came with the magazine "Simply Cards & Papercraft this month. It's fantastic and so easy to use......... Think I might put them in the exhibition.

Just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has left such lovely comments on my blog. I really appreciate them.

The Exhibition!

Hi folks, well, it is now for real, that I am taking part in an exhibition of my cards! I can hardly believe it but here is the proof - the poster which I was given today my Monsieur le Mayor!

Caught in Crystal

I had so much fun creating these two cards for my exhibition. I used Sam's technique "caught in crystal" and although I didn't have any suitable inks, I used acrylic paints instead which seem to have worked well. On the card with the 3 trees, I embossed a "frame" around each element. There is also a little gold glitter on each card with looks lovely in the right light. Unfortunately my skills with the camera need a little more work! Thanks to Sam, my mentor for sharing this great technique!

More exhibition news!

This morning I met with Monsieur le Mayor and had a tour of the exhibition room. I have a whopping area at my disposal so I had better get working! I plan to have 2 tables, one for me to work on and another for any visitors who would like to try any of the techniques on offer (paper embossing, rubber stamping, 3D decoupage etc). The Mayor himself, is going to look for a system that will allow me to attach my cards without damaging them. Here are two cards that I will probably exhibit but I need to make lots more and some with French messages on them (even though the French are not a nation of card-senders! Who knows maybe I can change their attitude?!)

Thanks to all who left very kind comments and encouragement.

Exciting news!!!

The Mayor of my village has invited me to take part in an exhibition of art with only two other participants (one a photographer and the other an artist) over the weekend 24/25 October. The venue is in a stunning setting overlooking our lake with the Pyrenees as the backdrop. I am very excited about displaying my cards and would welcome any advice anyone has to offer regarding how best to show them. I thought perhaps on some black velvet wall covering and attached, within their cello bags to avoid spoiling, by blu-tack or similar. Could this be fame at last?!! Obviously I have to show a diversity of techniques and here is a very basic card using rubber stamping and a Chinese lady in the foreground.

Bling, bling!

I went a bit mad here playing with Bondaweb and embedding glitter, feathers, gold threads and jewels. Truly OTT but echoed the sentiments of the card which reads "Have a Fun Day"!

Computer Problems

Hi everyone. Just to let you know that I have been having computer problems and so haven't been able to make any new postings recently. However, all is now resolved and I hope to put up a photo of my latest card creation soon.
Thanks for your patience!

This aperture card was made by inserting glitter inside an A5 cello bag then ironing it between baking parchment to seal in the glitter. A peel off, joggle eye and hand painted seaweed completed the card. Don't forget to click on the picture to have a better view.

It's so nice to be home after my holiday in Scotland seeing family. My SO and Teddy seemed to have survived my absence though it was touch and go at times! Thanks for your visit and I really appreciate your comments. Keep 'em coming!

Thank you card

This card was made using a red plastic string bag that some oranges were packaged in from the supermarket. I simply placed a piece between some baking parchment and ironed it quickly on a medium "non steam" setting. Then I embedded it on a Bondaweb painted background and added a couple of embellishments. A very quick, easy, inexpensive thank you card that doesn't look cheap!

I'm off on holiday to Scotland tomorrow morning for 2 weeks where I hope to trawl around the craft shops in Glasgow and Ayr. Do I need any more crafting materials?! Do I need a migraine?!

Sorry to be leaving my little crafting companion behind but my Significant Other will take good care of him. I know because I have put velcro on each of them!

Happy crafting while I'm gone!

My Constant Crafting Companion

Just had to share this photo with you of Sir Edward (Teddy to his friends). He is my little 4 year old Bichon Frisee who spends his days glued to my side or chasing lizards! It's great to have company in my craft room. I bounce ideas of him and he never says they're stupid! So I take that as a "yes" and continue on my merry way.

Tyvek

Here are three examples of painted Tyvek which has then been "sandwiched" between baking parchment and ironed. The blue, green and red piece (painted with watered down acrylics) and the brown/gold piece have been ironed on both sides to create a "holey" effect, while the turquoise/blue piece (which was painted with irridescent watercolour paints) was ironed on one side only leaving a more 3D effect. You can further distress your Tyvek with a heat gun, something I have yet to try!

By the way, many thanks to those kind crafters who left complimentary comments recently.

Embedded birthday card

Sorry that the picture doesn't do this justice. This is a new technique that I discovered whilst visiting the Craft and Stitiches Exhibition at the Glasgow SECC in March. In my last hour of a 2 day visit, I stumbled in the Stitches Hall and was blown away by the enthusiasm and imagination of Kim Thittichai (http://www.nid-noi.com/). She does the most wonderful things with materials such as Tyvek and Bondaweb aka Wondaweb or Vilene). This card was made by painting Bondaweb in 3 similar colours then, when dry, it was ironed onto card. (Make sure you sandwich it all between backing parchment so that the iron doesn't stick). The backing was then removed and a small skeleton leaf, snippets of gold thread and a little gold glitter were added and again it was "sandwiched" and ironed to embed the objects into the card. Tyvek can also be painted (on both sides), left to dry then "sandwiched and ironed whereupon it will distort and distress. Little "pebbles" like Sugar Puffs will appear on the back and if they are also ironed, will turn into a lovely lacy effect (but very quickly!) I am having lots of fun experimenting with these techniques at the moment. Why don't you give it a try too?

Welcome!

Being a complete computer dinosaur, I am feeling quite pleased with myself having created my first ever blog! I hope you will bear with me while I tinker around with it (this could take some time!) Anyway just wanted to say welcome to you, my first ever visitor of whom I hope there will be many more.
A la prochaine!