For my lovely Sister-in-Law Marg....

I made these presents for my much-loved Sister-in-law Marg for Christmas but couldn't show them until I'd given them to her and as both of us have been as ill as could be over Christmas, we've only just managed the pressie-swapping thing!

First of all, I drew a pet portrait of her adored and much lamented Wheaten Terrier Bix.  It wasn't as straightforward as usual because Marg and my brother Alan, lost most of their photos in an accident with a fish-tank so I didn't have much to go on.  

I enlisted the help of my nephew Dave and got him to find me a couploe of photos and took the likeness from them. I ran them past Dave first to make sure I'd caught the likeness properly.

Here's the photo I had........

Wheaten Bix

........from which I drew this portrait on canvas.....

...and made this bag...

...and with the other photo, I made this card which is in a tri-fold cover. 

The poem is not mine, but I loved it so much I used it for Marg.  I don't know who the author is - I wish I did as I would give credit to them.

Marg loved her presents and had a little weep!

The materials used for the bag were all purchased from http://www.photopaperdirect.com  and were really easy to use. They weren't expensive either, with plenty of sheets and bags so if I had made a mistake, I could re-try, however, it was so simple to do and the instructions so easy to follow, it was perfect first time.

Hope you like it as much as Marg did!

Hugs Ei x

Happy New Year everyone....!

....now of course, I realize we're well into January, three-quarters though it, truth be told, but I've done nothing worth blogging about for some time - well nothing crafty anyway!

But it's a brand new year and a lot of my life arrangements have dramatically changed now so in effect, a new life too!

One of the big things to change, is I have lost the care of my darling, gorgeous, beautiful grandbabbies (...sniff sniff...) as Ada has started school and Toby, nursery.  I spent eleven hours a day bringing up these lickle angels so hopefully, I might get some time to craft and blog this year!   I just have Toby one day a week now and, to be perfectly honest, at my age, that's quite sufficient thank you very much...! LOL!

I have one more small delay - I'm in hospital for a couple of days soon and I may be out of action for a couple of weeks, but after that, I'll be raring to go and get back to my crafting/blogging/DT's !

You know I don't boast about my grandbabbies (...much...!) but a couple of piccies for the new year and then back to crafting as I finally found a use for those Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen papers I acquired about two years ago and can never find a way to use them!  

I'm afraid I'm not a crafty fashion-follower - I use what I have that suits the project - I don't really care what year it's from - same with stamps & digis.
I'm an artisan not a saleswoman! LOL!

Okay, bragging done - back to crafting! LOL!


This is a card for my neighbour's daughter who was being 18. She wanted something more grown up, Art Deco flavour, with cats and in red!  
Well, I managed all but the red - I'm afraid I have real difficulty making red look classy!  

So I took a chance and remembered my LLB papers! Peacock feathers! And I knew I had a couple of real peacock feathers somewhere too.

It's a large format card, being a tri-folded A3 base-card so I also had to make an envebox for it too. That too took an entire A3 card.

 The Front
I used the LLB peacock feather paper from his 'Viennaissance' Collection and centred it up so the crown was fairly central. (I used gold peel-offs for the number and name purely because a) it was VERY short notice and b) I didn't want to chance messing up with embossing inks and powders for the same reason!

The gold borders are very thin metal adhesive embellishments by Avec called, simply, Adhesive Borders! The only identifying thing on the packet is on the barcode 4.009.220. I'd like to find these again myself as they've been very useful.  That's all that's on the front and why I'm not keen on LLB - it's already all done - not much extra you can do with them.

 The Inner
This is a royalty-free image from a Dover Books cd and the cats I drew myself and both are on printable acetate, for which you mirror your image, print on the 'rough'side and then apply with the 'rough' printed side against the page, giving you a smooth image which won't smudge or get damaged.
I cut out a crown from the LLB paper cut-off and adhered to the top of the mat and four little black gems cover the adhesive dots.

 The Verse
This lovely verse is by a chap called Kyle J Underwood who wrote it for his daughter (lucky girl to have such a loving Daddy) 

She's a soft cool rain on a hot summer’s day.
She makes us laugh with the funny things she has to say.

She's our heart’s delight, and the air that we breathe.
She's the sun and the wind, and autumn’s golden leaves.

She's the pride that we feel when  we know she's done right.
She's that warm feeling we get, when we kiss goodnight.
She is homework and sports, and a busy social life.
She has this beautiful smile that  lights the darkest night.

She is the scared feeling we have when she stays out late.
Or the fear that we are losing her, when she goes on a date.

She's the mixed emotions  as we watch her mature  & grow.
We tell ourselves she will never leave, but know in our hearts  that someday , she will go.

We pray the man that steals her , will treat her like a queen.
Because she deserves so much more, than a man who is mean.

We will always cherish the wonderful times we have had.
The best part of our life was being her Mum & Dad.

So now you know who she is, she's our little girl.
We love her with all our hearts and we always will.

                                                       Kyle J. Underwood

I did change a couple of words to make it from both Mum & Dad for Rachael so apologies to Mr. Underwood - I hope he wouldn't mind.

The Envebox

I had to make a special 'flip top' envebox for this card and it took another A3 sheet of card to make it! When I get time, I'll do a tut on the making of it as it was really easy but looked very impressive.  Once again, the metal borders plus a real peacock feather, an organza bow, with a large amber gem stuck on it and a tassell from the LLB collection and - voila! Done!

I also adhered another mat to the back of the card to make a pocket to take a bookmark, which I made with leftover off-cuts. 

This meant that Rachael's parents could write on the bookmark and not the card and also that Rachael could use the bookmark and remember both her 18th and her parents when she was reading.

Materials (to recap)

1 x sheet of LLB 'Viennaisance' collection Peacock Feather paper.
1 x sheet of teal patterned paper from the same collection
2 x A3 sheets of Centura Pearl card
2 sheets of metallic Adhesive Borders by Avec
1 x A4 sheet of printable acetate
2 x Centura Pearl mats
1 x 'Real' Peacock feather
1 x gold organza bow
1 x large amber gem 
8 x black rhinestone gems
1 x gold tassel from LLB collection

I am pleased to report that my neighbour was delighted with the card and even teared up a little!  Aaaaahh...! Success! I love it when they cry - it means I've done my job properly! LOL!

Hope you enjoy my return to blogworld and hope I can keep it up this time - I'll certainly try!

Hugs
Ei
x

Vintage Christmas card

There's no stopping me now the block has been removed! LOL!  
I made this card for the sketch challenge I co-run on my 'home' forum of Trimcraft and it fits in beautifully with the challenge on One Stop Challenge blog which used to be one of my favourite blogs when I was crafting regularly.

Here it is. I don't often use toppers - I usually stamp my own but I just LOVE this 1950's image of Christmas mini-Santas! 

Hope you like it!
Hugs
Ei
x

Midweek Magnolias - White Christmas

I'm finally starting to get some crafting done - and about time too! LOL!

I fondly imagined that when Ada went off to school that I would instantly get my life back....HAH!
Doesn't seem to work quite like that!  But hey ho! - I seem to be catching up a bit now.

My pal and ex-teamie Suzi Mac has asked me several times where my Maggie cards have gone and my answer is - with all the others I haven't had time to make! LOL!

So with that in mind and with Christmas fast approaching, I pulled my finger out and made one!

It's not a great pic, as it's the middle of the night so the setting I've used has made it a little more yellow than it is in 'the flesh'.  I'll try to take another in daylight although at this time of year, I'd better be quick!

I confess to a little artistic license! The benches and lamp-post aren't Magnolia they're from an Aussie company called 'Make it Crafty'.  and I think they fit really well with the Maggie style!

Hope you like this card - especially the lady who is getting it for Christmas!
I won't link to Midweek Magnolias until I take a better pic - perhaps tomorrow.

                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Well, it's tomorrow and wouldn't you know - the sun cannot seem to decide where or what he's gonna be!  I must have taken ten pix of this darn card and every time, the sun moves or goes in or comes out!  I wouldn't mind but he's not even supposed have his hat on today!  A week's rain in two days is what the weatherman said...!   Right Fred, that's YOU off my birthday card list! LOL!

Here are two, both taken within seconds of each other.....

......but you get the idea!  No clue which one to link to the challenge though!

Hugs Ei x

Also entered for CSAYL #38 - 'To Die 4'
                                  and Tilda's Town  - 'Anything goes'
  

Ada's Yellow Moon Projects

My Ada has started school!  So I don't get to see her nearly enough any more.....  This makes me so sad.....  But when she does come to see me like she did on Monday, we..........CRAFT!  Ada love to make cards and this week she has some super Yellow Moon products to play with again. 

These products are super to use - such fun things as foam flowers and owls and this week - glittery cup-cakes!  The basic card pack is a wonderful rainbow of colours and although it's light enough for Ada to cut happily with scissors, it's also strong enough to stand up happily as a base card. I'm just really sorry i didn't get any photos of her working - my camera charger was mislaid so I couldn't get it to work until after she'd gone home.

Ada's other Nanna, Nanny Carron, had a birthday this week so Ada made her a lovely card with cupcakes on...

The only thing I did for her was cut the silver card for mounting the DP as although she uses scissors like a professional, I don't let her use a craft knife yet..!  Soon though, soon...!

You may well be forming the opinion that Ada's favourite colour for cards is ...RED...and you'd be correct!  She ALWAYS dives for the red card first from the fabulous rainbow pack provided by Yellow Moon.  

This week there were papers there too, so she could make a matching inner and the lovely silver mirri card we used for the mount too!

The cupcakes are self-adhesive foam and come in a multitude of colours in a generous bag.

Not content with making this lovely card for her Nanny Carron, Ada decided, in the same sitting, to make another card, for her new cousin Amelia.

Now, how many of us adults get around to making two cards in two hours...?  I know some of us are very prolific but I also know that some of my pals struggle to make two cards in a week!  Ada made both of these cards from scratch, scoring and folding the base card too, in two hours!

Just wait until she learns to write - there'll be no stopping her!

All items used in both of these cards, with the exception of the patterned papers, are Baker Ross brand from  the lovely peeps at Yellow Moon where you will find a huge selection of wonderful stash for a very reasonable cost!

I hope Ada will be back on Sunday to make some more projects with the rest of her Yellow Moon stash - there's a lovely baby mobile for her to make and some fab rockets too, so please pop back again and see what a four year old can make!

Hugs Ei x

Rememberance....

It's that time of year again when we are remembering not only our wonderful, brave troops presently serving but also those from a previous and increasingly, it seems, forgotten, time. 





These stalwart men and women, most of them not even career soldiers, gave their lives so we could live our lives in freedom and without fear of terror, dictatorship (arguably!) and bigotry and it behoves us all, even (and possibly especially!) our newer members of this wonderful land to give, in unity, remembrance and respect to and for them.

Hugs 
Ei
x

Back to the Blogging! Ada's Yellow Moon work...

Well, it's that day at last, the day my Ada started school...! I felt very confused about today. I felt apprehensive, yet confident for her because I just knew she'd fit right in - she's such an easy child.  But then I saw her photo in her school uniform....

...and I burst into tears.   No longer my baby then.... and another woman to give her all her knowledge and she'll soon realize that Nanna wasn't all that clever after all - teacher knows much more.....

But then, I remembered my own little ones as they went off on their school adventure (that's why I know she'll find me out for the fraud I am...!) - it was still me they cried for when they weren't well, it was still my name they called when they needed practical help and only I would do if they fell and hurt themselves.  I guess this will be the same.  And of course I still have......

....TOBLERONE!  My Toby is still coming to his Nanny on Mondays for the forseeable so I still have lickle hugs and kisses to look forward to.



No doubt he'll be as crafty in his way as his big sister...

...but probably EATING the cakes rather than making them...!

Ada is still craft mad and is now capable (...well actually she INSISTS!..) of making her cards from start to finish with no help at all except for any writing, although she signs her own name on them.

She has made some more projects for Yellow Moon with the fab Baker Ross stash they send her periodically and this time, appropriately for the Olympics, there is a sporting theme.

Here are her two Olympic cards  (she actually uses a bone-folder and scores and folds the card herself.).

This one was inspired by the young gymnasts doing the floor displays. Ada thought they reminded her of 'scattered pearls'.  I really don't know where she gets her expressions from but she sometimes amazes even me!

And this ones sums up her feelings of Team GB winning all the medals they did over the period of the games and the ParaOlympics too!


Keep in mind, she's only just four....  

There are more items but I've not yet photoed them so keep popping back to see Ada's work for Yellow Moon.


Before I sign off, there's one more card she whipped up when I wasn't looking......

I know it's primitive, but I wouldn't have thought of using the butterflies and the leaves in that way - the balance of the composition, I think, is fab, four year old or no!

I don't know about going to school, I reckon she'll be TEACHING there before long! LOL!

Hugs 
Ei
x