Time flies!

Hi crafty friends!
Wow! but time really does fly when you've got your head down and your hands are super busy creating lots of projects ! Considering we are all still in lockdown, there's no reason to do much of anything else really!
Saying that though, this week I've finally caved in and jumped onto the baking bandwagon and I've made a few tasty cakes (lemon cupcakes and mini Victoria sponges!) I know! Super Eeeeek as I've not done any baking for years. It all must've gone down well enough tho because there was nothing left over! I've also baked rhubarb tarts and savoury tartlets too. Go me!!!
Here are my savoury tarts , before and after!

Jeez, I'm hungry now!

Anyhoo, getting away from my greediness for now I have a couple of cards to share with you which I made for Crafters Companions QVC show in Germany the other day! I used these gorgeous sentiment stamps and  even though they're in German, they are amusing and fun and, if you want a translation pop a request in the comments below and I'll get back to you. 

Hope your weekend will be as sunny as mine and I'll be back soon with some more goodies.

TTFN

Lesley xxx

NHS Heroes

Hi everyone.
I hope your week has gone well and you're staying as safe as possible during these uncertain times.
I've got to admit it, I'm TOTALLY fed up of this lockdown now! I can't wait for everything to be normal again. But, isn't this all becoming our new normal though?  Keeping a distance from other people? Queuing to go into a store and avoiding people when in there? Face masks and quieter roads? Seeing people actually going out for walks as opposed to doing it grudgingly? I really think that the majority of us have become so used to this new way of doing things that it's going to be harder going back to our old ways!
I guess only time will tell.
Anyhow, away from my rambling and back to the NHS Heroes, for whom we all clap on a Thursday night - this includes the carers and key workers too.  The point of my post is to showcase some fantastic stamps, by Crafters Companion which are available to purchase on 18th May from the website HERE.
A portion of each sale will go to the World Health Organisation in order to help fund the research to find a vaccine for Covid-19.

This is my image, coloured with my Spectrum Noir markers and now on display in my window.

I hope you like it and maybe it will inspire you to pop over to the Crafters Companion site to purchase your own. 

If you do, just tell them Lesley sent you! 😄😄😄

TTFN

Lesley xxx

Crafters Companion DT

Hi everyone
I was so pleased to be chosen recently for the Design Team at Crafter's Companion  and  to work alongside some amazing crafters!
CC is an international company and very active in the crafty community as they're always on trend with their products and constantly moving forward with design and style so it's going to be a really fun year keeping up with it all!!
Unfortunately,  we've all been affected by COVID-19, and this has even had an impact on the crafting community! I know! Fancy that!
As soon as the products we need are made available I'm sure I'll be sharing lots of makes with you all.

For now though, I'm following Sara Davies and Joe Remblance on Crafters TV as much as possible with their awesome projects and products for sale and I hope you will too just by following this link HERE!

Have a great week 😊

TTFN
Lesley xxx

I'm a Dream Team member!

Hi all!
I was recently invited to join The Dream Team over at Julia McNeill Crafts and I absolutely love it!
Julia's designs are just so quirky and fun and really simple to play with! They make crafting fun, honestly.
You can also jump into her group,  JMC's Crazy Craft Hive, on Facebook for lots of inspiration.

Today I'm sharing a couple of makes which I created by using some of the super fab Mini Melodies collection.
If you want to use these images too, you can purchase them from HERE!

My cards are quite simple but they pack a punch with these lovelies  -
                   

MAZIE MELODY 

MAGGIE MELODY 

I coloured them using my Spectrum Noir markers and added some papers from my stash.  The musical notes and keyboard are also from the collection.

Have a great evening and thanks for popping by .

TTFN

Lesley xxx

Here I go again!

Well, I really have inundated you all with so many blog posts these last few days!
I did mention I've been very busy so you were warned!!!

These last 2 cards are my final makes .................for now!!!

I saw an Easter card challenge on Craftworld hosted by Christina Griffiths of Flowers ribbons and pearls so I decided to enter it with this little cutie!

I've had these birdbrains in my digi collection for a few years now but you can't buy them any more as the owner of the store sadly passed away about 3 years ago now.

Still, as they're digi's I'll always keep them as they are so much fun!

The background is created from distress oxides and a little paint here and there and they're layered onto an acetate circle for depth,

My next, and final card is again using images by the wonderful Julia McNeill.

If you'd like to find her online, just search her name on Facebook and here! for You Tube.

This is using a collection she called "Toadstool Tots"! the cutest and sweetest girls in Toadstool dresses around!!!

I've added a distress oxide background and, after fussy cutting some extra elements, I coloured everything with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers then layered it all up into a centre step card with dimension.

Hope you like them both :)

Have a happy day and I'll be back soon with more stuff !!!

TTFN

Lesley x

Happy 80th birthday!

Last week was the occasion of my Mum in Laws 80th birthday and she doesn't look a day over 79.....
I am so going to pay for that one!!!
She is the most lovely lady I know. She's kind, thoughtful, wise and compassionate even when she nags me!!! Which she does!!! I love her so much and I just had to make her a fab card to celebrate her special day, even though everyone is on lockdown and we couldn't go and see her (30 miles away).
If you haven't already found her in the crafty community, it could be worth your while to look up Sam Calcott - Mixed up Craft , as she does share some fab tutorials online and on You Tube and this card is from one of them.

It's a shaker card - one of my favourite projects - and it's 8 x 8, which is bigger than my normal cards.
I've used First Editions Floral Fusion paper pad too :)

I forgot to check if she received it in the post! I hope so as it was a labour of love.

My next cards were made using Julia McNeill Crafts cute digi image "Bibbles".

What a fun elephant! I made 3 cards each with a different background .

Isn't he just the sweetest?

Pop over to etsy and you can have him too, along with all the other JMC designs I use.

Have a great day and, again, stay safe x

TTFN

Lesley x

A.W.O.L

Hi everyone.
I'm sorry I've been AWOL again for a couple of weeks but it really has been a trying time for us all hasn't it. (rhetorical question!)
If you've been living under a rock, or just had your head in a bucket for a few weeks now, you'll not know that the whole world has become a danger zone with the Covid-19 Coronavirus so prevalent right now.
As we are all under global (practically) lockdown, I have had an enormous amount of time to craft to my hearts' content - and I have!
I've not rushed into anything but I've just been having fun "making" things that I like! Indulging myself before I become super busy again - more about that later!

Anyhoo, here's a little project I made using Julia McNeill Crafts goodies - Curious Wonder A4 paper pad. I had a little wooden fairy door in my stash which I bought from The Works for £2 and It screamed out to be covered in this fun paper! I loved making this as it really did bring a smile to my face!

Following this, I went ahead and joined the #G45Offthepage challenge over at Graphic 45!

This began life as a mini wooden wheelbarrow (bought at the same time as the fairy door I might add) and I turned it into a pretty wheelbarrow using the collection "Faerie Dust" by Graphic 45 and a few odds and sods from my stash.

I do have a few more to share with you but I'll save that until tomorrow as I'm pretty certain you'll be bored enough by now!!!

I almost forgot - I did mention earlier about a little news that I have - I am joining a new Design Team but I'm not yet at liberty to say who so I'll keep you all updated as soon as I can.

Ok, so, have a safe and peaceful weekend and please look after your loved ones and everyone in your community by following Government guidelines xxx

TTFN
Lesley x

Bright and Cheerful

Hi again.
This weekend I've been visiting family so the card I began making at the last minute before we left just didn't get finished!  It's not a huge problem though as it will now go into the ready made card box for another occasion! Phew!
I chose to make a shaker card and thought a bright and cheery card would be great for a change so I picked paper from Julia McNeill Crafts "Curious Wonders" pack and also used a fussy cut image from the collection too.

I hope you like it! It makes me smile 😊

Have a great day

TTFN

Lesley x

Nova Metallics again!

Hi there.
I'm really enjoying using these Nova Metallic markers which Trimcraft sent me to play with! I've already created a couple of posts showing these smooth and creamy Metallics in all their glory and today's post is about another one!
I created this dream catcher by stamping a mandala image  onto black card and heat embossing with black embossing powder. I added a watercolour background and stamped some feathers before adding my image to the card front.
It's a simple make and the metallic sheen is lovely to see but it isn't quite so obvious in the photo!

If you'd like to purchase these markers, they're currently exclusive to Amazon and you can get them Here!

Have a fun and crafty day .
Lesley x

Catch up!

Morning all!
Well, the year is just flying by isn't it?
March already and it feels like I've only just put the Christmas decorations away !
The next holiday is Easter so I think I'll get into my Easter crafting as soon as I've finished EVERYTHING else!!!
I have a baby boy photo memory album on the desk at the minute and I need to have it done by Thursday...............Oooer! Followed by several birthday cards , one of which is for an 80th so it must be super special, and then another wedding poem in a frame (see post from a couple of weeks ago :) ) as my sister in law wants one for a....Wedding!!! lol x

As I'm now on the Trimcraft Maker team, I've been given some fab metallic markers to play with and decided on colouring a Millie Marotta Secret Garden page then adding my own twist to it and I created a lovely wall hanging/picture ready for framing :-

I also made a little keyring from a dinky wood slice and by creating a little picture over some gesso as the marker ink would sink into the wood so it's better to prime it first.

I'm now going to make like a genie and disappear as I really must get down to finishing this little album even though my mojo is hiding from me today!!!       

Here's hoping you have a great week

TTFN

Lesley xxx

                                                          

Another birthday!

As I mentioned in my last post, it really was a busy birthday weekend as my Sister-in-law also had a birthday on the same day......but not a milestone one, thankfully!

I created another card for her using this wonderful image from my magazine, Making Cards and papercraft.
As I subscribe to the mag, it was delivered just in time for me to gain inspiration and make this perfect card for her! The image is just as nutty as she is and I know she won't mind my saying that as she would totally agree!!!

The floral and spotty paper I used for the background was already in my stash and I do like the clash of patterns here!

So, another busy week ahead as I've another mini album commission to start on!

TTFN
Lesley xxx

Busy Birthday Weekend!

Hi all!
Well, I've had such a busy craftroom lately - making and creating for the Son-in-Laws 40th birthday party lunch.
The idea to make all the table decorations and guest gifts came to me when I must have had nothing else to do as all the making and preparing seems to have taken over my life for the past couple of weeks!!!
I decided to purchase those huge helium balloons (numbers 4 and 0 and a rocket.........) along with a helium tank. This maybe wasn't the best idea as the tank literally filled those 3 huge balloons and 3 small ones!!!
Oh well, lesson learned!

I think everyone really loved the tables but I didn't take a photo of everything laid out before everyone turned up for the lunch - held at a lovely restaurant just half an hour from where we live - but I do have pics which I'd taken before I boxed everything up (minus the balloons!!!)

I created little labels for the mini bottles and as there were 2 children at the lunch, I made 2 separate bottle labels and filled the bottle with Pepsi max instead of Rum, which the adults had. There were napkins to match (no pics :(   ) , handmade personalised chocolates (bought online) and my own handmade place settings.

The jars were filled with rice for weight then various sweets in the top halves! I made the rosettes using good quality gold and silver heavyweight paper and I used sparkly tinsel for the others.

On top of all that, I made his birthday card too!!!

I used a Julia McNeill crafts A4 paper from her Curious Wonders collection (new!) and the awesome Lili of the Valley digital image of a racing car.

Looking back, it doesn't seem as though I did very much but...................Honestly, I did!!!

It was a successful birthday and the only downside was I stubbed my toe that evening and broke it!!! But never mind, I have another 9 to hobble on!!!

TTFN

Lesley xxx

Boxed surprise!

Hey all.
I recently had a mooch online and found a little box with a surprise inside, but I can't remember where I saw it. If the original creator is out there, then thanks for this idea!

I made the box and the base from mountboard.
Before I got to the decorating bit I had to die cut the words and hang them in the correct position by punching 2 holes through the lid.
Everything was then decorated with paper from my stash. I made air-dry clay wings and a crown and painted all three in gold liquid buff-it.
I have some antique gold gilding wax which I rubbed onto the box edges .
Finished it all by edging with vintage photo distress ink .
I'm currently making another one for Valentine's Day buyt I'll post about that when it's done.

Heres a little video.
Hope you like it x

Thanks for looking.

TTFN,
Lesley xxx

Oooer!

Hi crafty peeps.
Sorry I've been MIA for a couple of weeks but I've been a little bit poorly.
What seemed like a sniffy cold turned out to be a chest infection . Still unsure if it's bronchitis or pneumonia but I'm now on antibiotics to kill those nasty bugs which are lurking in my tubes and making me sound like a strangled donkey whenever I speak!
So, with all that and being bed ridden for practically 2 weeks, I've not managed any crafting at all.
In fact, this morning I actually went into my craftroom to apologise to all my stash for leaving them alone for so long! Thankfully they were very understanding and trust me to pop in as soon a I can and start creating again!

I did make a little card, just before I was poorly, using a new Lili of the valley digi stamp from the "Love Launch" collection  and I've entered it into their online competition to win some lovely images.

I hope you like this! 

I printed and coloured the image before masking it  with another fussy cut image then created a heart stencil to which I added brusho powders spritzed with water. I doodled around the edge of the heart in black pen  to make it stand out from the white background. 

And there we have it. 

I hope to be back soon with some more loveliness.

Take care

Lesley xxx

....Over on the Trimcraft blog.....

Good day everyone.
As I posted a while ago, I've  been invited by Trimcraft to join their Maker Team and I'm still excited to learn, share, make and create projects over the next 12 months for and with them.
There is a fabulous post on the blog now which introduces myself and all my Maker colleagues, including their social media site details, so it might be worth your while having a browse through their amazing sites as there is SO MUCH GOOD STUFF to browse through!

Follow this link here and it will take you directly to the exciting stuff.

While you're there, maybe you could subscribe to the site too as there's so much going on from Inspiration to competitions and give aways!

Anyhoo, I hope you all have a great day

Lesley xxx

Finished!!!

Hi there!
As I mentioned in my last post, I was hoping to post my homemade jewellery box this afternoon and.........DRUM ROLL PLEASE!...............here it is!

I'm quietly pleased with it! It's just the right size - 13.25" h x 6"d x 9"w (33.5cms x 15.25cms x 22.75cms)

Here is a picture of the supplies I used to make it apart from black card and a black posca paint pen.

Fancypants Design papers

Sparkly black cardstock

White 5mm foamboard

Dies - NO IDEA where they're from as I don't keep the packaging and I've had these years!

Wooden mini drawer pulls.

That's about it I guess!

I've enjoyed creating this box and now I must pop all my valuables (!!!) into the drawers and get rid of the other 3 jewellery boxes cluttering my shelf.....................but then again, I could always alter them into something else. Who knows? Lmho!

Have a good day

Lesley xxx

Storage solution

Hi everyone.

 This week I've been trying to have a little tidy up of my bedroom drawers and I found, much to my amusement, that I have 3 jewellery boxes on the go with all my precious gems (yeah right!, nothing expensive,  unfortunately 😏) tumbling out of them and collecting dust. So, the answer is to buy a bigger box or, if you're me, MAKE one!

I decided that as I love using foam board for sturdier pieces, then this is the way to go so, out came the board, pencil, ruler and knife and off I went!

First I had to work out  the measurements of a 5 drawer unit then try and cut the board as neatly as possible . These 2 piccies show the process underway with panels and drawers being put together.

.......

Once I'd managed this part, I hot glued the unit together and left it overnight to completely dry and to tend to my hot glue burnt finger 😂😂!

Now it's time to decorate it and put it to use and I will show this step in my next post,  hopefully later today!

TTFN 

Lesley xxx

HAPPY 2020!

Hey everybody, Happy New Year to you all!

This might be a little belated but better late than never I say!

I do hope everybody has some interesting goals this year. I honestly have decided to use all the stash that I currently own and NOT purchase anything else unless it's the basics (white/black card and glue!).
To be fair I have sold oodles of stash this last couple of weeks as I just couldn't move for the excess so now that I have de-stashed, I've found it's time to use what I do have so.........

....this first card is made using the free stamps from Making Cards and Papercraft magazine (Feb 2020) and the backing paper is from an old pack by Docrafts.
The stamps are just too cute! I would love a dog but my daughter is allergic to pet hair and I just don't think I'd be able to walk and exercise a dog as much as it would need so I'm not getting one! Lol!
(That's the reason I always had a cat knocking around - no walkies!)

My second card for today is from a card featured in the same magazine by creator Keren Baker (I love her stuff!). She featured a tutorial for this and I had to tweak it a little as I don't have exactly the same kit and caboodle as she's used so this is my take and I think it's just fine.

As it's Friday I'm hoping this weekend brings some fun as I don't know if  His Nibs is working.

We shall wait and see!!!

Have a great weekend

Lesley x