A quick Hello

Hello
I have been away for a couple of days whilst they youngest was away on a school trip.

We cycled around Derwent reservoir................only 5miles..........ouch!!
Thankfully we had found a fabulous B&B in the village of Hope called Woodbine B&B, yes quite an apt name considering I quit smoking LOL
The weather wasn't brilliant but it was ok. We've suffered far worse over the years when we've been up in the High Peak.

It's always worth the effort when you get to sit and eat your pack-up whislt enjoying a view like this. This was at the far end, about 3 miles from where we started. That might not sound to far but it feels a lot further when you haven't cycled in a while...
We actually got quite lucky on our last day

The sun came out and lifted the lovely autumn colours.

We definately need to get away from Derby more often.

I shall return real soon with cards and crocheting

Hugs

Buffy xx

Anything Goes

Good evening,
the One Stop Craft Challenge are having an anythings goes week so thought I would enter this little card I made.

It's a bit of a mix. Cream card blank, Clarity Stamps sets - Birdcage and Letterbox, Not quite Navy Ink, and SU backing paper (forgotten which set sorry), and a small strip of kraft card.

Back soon

Hugs

Buffy xx

Card tutorial PLUS Hire a stall?? Oh Help

Good Morning All.
I'm having a bit a a dilema, Mawgan (my youngest) wants me to hire a stall at her schools xmas fair.
But I've never done something like that!! Some of the money you make goes to the school, which is great.
I just don't know if I'm capable of doing it, I've made a start on cards, but how many might I need, how should I package them.......etc,etc,etc.

Anyway enough about dilemas, lets get back to what we all do best.....Papercraft!!
I am writing this in tutorial style. Please excuse me for jumping between imperial and metric.
Here are a batch of xmas cards I've whipped up (in case I do get a stall)

They are fairly simple to make, it's the background stamping that's the pain part. I have only done Blue and Red as I did try green but it really didn't look right.

What you'll need;

•  A Ruler, preferable with inches one side and cm/mm the other (I've always worked with both, sorry)

• CARDSTOCK - 12x12 kraft, A4 cream, 2cm wide strips of both Riding hood Red and Not quite Nav
• INK - SU Riding hood Red, Not quite Navy and Always Artichoke
• STAMPS - Waltzing Mouse sets: Nordic Winter, 2011 Holiday Ornaments and Say It With Style
• ADHESIVES - Foam tape/pads, doublesided tape/gluemouse
• White Pigment Ink Pen
• A4 Cream paper (cut into 3 3/4 inch strips)
• Scissors, Guilotine, Babywipes(mainly for fingers) and various stamping blocks (gridded ones best)

Please remeber you can substitute the colours and stamps for your favourites.

You start with a 12x12 sheet of krat card. Mark at 4 & 8 inches and cut. (I personally find a large guilotine best for this) and fold in half. (No I didn't stamp it before I folded, but if you mark it at 6 inch you could stamp before you fold)

I stamped straight onto the kraft card to create a partial background, using a stamping block with a grid which helps when lining up you rows/coloumns.
Using the Nordic Winter stamp I found 8 coloumns to be perfect.
Using a 2cm strip of card (Riding Hood Red Or Not Quite Navy OR alternative) lay it half over the last stamped coloumn.
This creates your quiet space.
Take the white pigment ink pen and place a dot in each of the star shapes and drag it down the outer edge of the strip.
On cream card stamp your baubles, again in the colours mentioned OR alternative, with the greeting stamped in Always Artichoke.
Curl your bauble round your finger just enough to give it some shape, add foam tape and position on front of card at a slight angle.

Now you card is ready for it's insert.

Using the 3 3/4 inch strips of cream paper, fold in half. Position inside card and adhere the front of the insert to the inside front of the card.

Now grab your sentiment and stamp in centre . Then using the colour that matches the outside, stamp a small bauble in the bottom right corner.

HEY PRESTO!! A lovely simple xmas card.

 

Back real soon

 

Hugs

Buffy xx

 

Pretty pink flower

Good morning all,
I hope everyone is well. This morning I am bringing you a 2 challenge card.

• CR84FN Colour Challenge
• Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge

These two wonderful challenges gave me the perfect excuse to create something with my new ability I have just acquired....

 

Yes it's a crochet flower!

But more importantly I've attached a broach clip on the back of it. So it not just a greetings card but also a gift. It is held in place by a paper tag that can easily be ripped off without destroying the card.

• Card - Cream, Pink and Kraft(closest thing I had to Tan)
• Stamps - WMS Dainty Doillies 2 and Compact sentiments
• Ink - S.U. Pretty in Pink and Crumb Cake
• Pearls from stash
• Crochet flower Broach - 3cm broach clip, 1.75mm crochet hook, DMC Petra 5149(flower) and DMC Pearlescent E966(leaf) PLUS Mom of 5 Daughters how to video (see previous post - crochet how to video)

I aged the edges a little as it just felt right.
I've almost always believed in doing what feels right.

I shall endevour not to bore you all to death with my crocheting escapades....but I can't promise :-)

Hugs

Buffy xx

Holy Crochet Batman....

Hello my lovelies
I have had a brilliant weekend and achieved one of my bucket-list goals......ready?

I CAN CROCHET!!!

Yes you heard me correctly...........ok, so I'm not going to win any prizes with it but I did it and it only took me 2 days to learn how.

Fisrt came a bog standard dishcloth.....well that what I'm going to use it for as it's better that those soft shop jobs.

I've used your basic parcel string......It ain't going to win a beauty award but by gum it's good and strong.

After this first little success, the scientist in me took over slighty......I had the basics now it was time to EXPERIMENT.....wahahaha

Graham (my husband) thinks it looks like a coaster.....DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT MATE!!!
I was just trying different stitches/chains to see what could be done.

BUT THEN!!!!!

I discovered the most wonderful woman on the planet........................and her youtube videos

Mom of 5 Daughters

And she could make crochet flowers................aaaaaahhhhhhhhh.................I love this woman!

Well you can guess what happened next

My first crochet flower

Yes yes it's made fromthe string but Mawgan had a brilliant idea.......shower flower. So several of my closest friends will be getting a shower flower and pretty soap. (You would have gotten a home made soap but I've been banned from experimenting in the house....spoil-sport.)

I have nearly finished my second flower....much smaller and pink and not parcel string!

Back super soon with a few cards and my new flower

Hugs

Buffy xx

A little Waltz

Good morning all,
a quick card for you this morning. This one is for the lovely Waltzing Mouse Sketch challenge

It's a very interesting sketch. I decided that this was a playtime challenge. So out came the stamp set and ink and I just went a little crazy.

I used 3 WMS sets in total, Celtic Heritage, French Country and Say it with Style.
The Hearts (celtic heritage) are stacked up using different thicknesses of foam pads.
The background was quick and simple the Tulip (french country) was just stamped in a light green then the gaps filled with a softish yellow.
I cut out the centre of the border stamp (french country) to give a bit of extra shape.
The green backer is stamped with the teardrop shaped stamp (french country), the cut around them to give the wave.
In the bottom corner is the sentiment With Love (say it with style), sorry it's a little difficult to see.
The huge wooden button was in my sewing box, it must have fallen off something but I just can't figure out what.

Hope you find it interesting
Back soon

Hugs

Buffy xx

Hope when you're down

Just a quick note to all my followers and those visiting

I had almost forgotten about this story a dear friend had sent me.

Donkey Logic

Please take a minute to have a read, it is wonderful advice.
Although I get the feeling he would slap my wrist for not following it better LOL

 A little bit of inspirational photography. Even when things appear dark....you can photoshop them

Big Hugs to All

Buffy xx

feelin Blue and Mowed down till you Yelled me

Hello again,
yes another bizarre title, but did you work out the colours? Well Blue was the obvious one, did you get Yellow from yelled? and what about the last colour Mowed...grass...Green? I know it's weird but being out of work I'm trying desparately to keep the old grey matter as active as possible.
I won't always include a bizarre title people so don't panic.

Today is all about colours. This is my second colour challenge of the day and I have to admit I have followed CR84FN for quite some time now. I may not have always joined in with the challenges but that was more to do with my lack of confidence than anything else.

So without further ado, here is this weeks colour challenge colours CR84FN64

I think my post title goes well with the quote on this weeks challenge. I think I probably come under the different way thing.

I have gone for the layered approach. The card and backing layers are yellow, the faint flower are in a very light green the the main image is in a lightish blue with green foliage.

• Card - S.U. Daffodil delight and whisper white
• Inks - S.U. Marine mist, Lucky limeade, Certain celery
• Stamp - S.U. Faith in Nature and Fresh vintage sets.

I shall be back soon, but for the moment I'm just finishing the shrinking of all the fabrics so I can make my new quilt cover. Have to make it, I couldn't find a single thing I liked in the shops.

Hugs

Buffy xx

Royaly stampin away

Good day Ladies and Gents,
my first offering of the day is a colour challenge

• Stampin Royalty - colour challenge

I have gone for a very simple and clean design for this one

I delicate "Thank You" card. The card itself is made of Rose Red card, the flower stamp and sentiment are from the Faith in Nature set and are Rose Red ink. The strip is Tangerine Tango left-overs and the pearls were in my stash and just happened to match the tangerine beautifully.

The problem is.....once I got stated on this simple card I had to have a little mad session...and here is the result

I happened upon this fab leaf die the other week and was not sure what I would do with it....found something to do with it :-) Again using the challenge colours and different set of stamps (Happiest birthday wishes 1 and Fresh vintage). The twine was plain white so I used the inks to bring it into speck. Four eyelets to string it through. There is a hint of green only because I could not justify foliage in one of the challenge colours.
That is why this isn't the card I submitted to the challenge.

Back soon

Hugs

Buffy xx

WMS Thank Q

I know, I know, another weird title,

but hey..........being normal is soooo overated!!!! :)

So to explain the title, two challenges that almost begged me to be put them together...

• WM Sketch challenge #117
• Colour Q challenge #156

Interesting combination I thought, although I've never heard of Dusty Durango, so substituted in Cajun Craze.
Rather than add a die-cut shape to the card I decided to take it away, by using it purely as a inking template. I then used a marker to highlight the shape.

 

The sentiment and half the flags are stamped in S.U. Soft Suede, top left corner is S.U. Rich Razzleberry, bottom right corner S.U. Pumpkin Pie and the champagne flute and rest of the flags are in S.U. Cajun Craze (seemed closest to the colour)

The stamps are from Waltzing Mouse Join Us stamp set.

Hope you like my little creation

Hugs

Buffy xx