First attempt Chan Luu inspired wrap bracelet!

Day 3 of the school holidays and I am still sane....well as sane as I was beforehand! Jack and Amelia have been bickering as usual but I am trying not to let it get to me. Yesterday Jack went to a Pool Party and today he went Go Karting, rather him than me, he must have been boiling in that race suit! LOL 

This afternoon it has just been too hot to do much at all so I sat down and attempted to make a wrap bracelet that I have been wanting to try out for a little while. I have SO MANY beads in my Ebay wist list but I thought I'd be a good girl and make up a trial bracelet using a rather mish mash, random selection of beads from my beady boxes. I am quite pleased with my first effort. Pleased enough to order some more smaller beads! Wink, wink!

x X x

More Shamballa Style bracelets!

I have been busy trying to get all my Key Children's work records up to date and reports done, at last I am nearly done, just a few odds and ends to do before the end of term now!

Today I have cut a few lables and die cut shape to pop on ebay as I have been using up my Paypal funds on some new goodies. A few used stamps, some of which turned up today...but mainly beady stuff! I cannot wait to try out some of my lovely new beads.

I have made up a few more Shamballa style bracelets and I am "test driving" one of the first bracelets I made, well, I need to make sure they are wearable! I have my eye on some lovely beads that will also need test driving too!

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Playing catch up blogging - Wedding pics!

I haven't got any crafting to show you today SO, I thought I'd play a bit of catch up and share some of the pics from the family wedding we went to a few weeks back!

Amelia trying to be all sweet and girly!!!!

Chris closely watching while Amelia does Bugsy eyes at Jack!

Jack helping out- love Amelia's hair in this one!

Jack looks far too grwon up in this one for my liking!

My darling.

"Cool dude!"

Catching Amelia on the dance floor!

Amelia in action!

Still Daddy's little girl!

EEK! I HATE my pic being taken!

Up to mischief!

It was a fab, fab day. Thank you to Steve ansd Sandra for letting us share your special day!

x X x



An altered clipboard for my Shamballa's!

I did promise you that I would try to add a few more examples of work for the challenge I set for this month's Time to Create Challenge over on Carolyn's!  I didn't really plan for this one...it just sort of materialised. It all started when I got my dad a new clipboard and he showed me the tatty, ancient one he had been using for years. Now not being one who likes to see waste, this clipboard had plenty of life left in it...in my rose tinted spectacle opinion! Take a look, can you see the potential?

Well, apparently my dad didn't. He said to my mum that I would never be organised with all the clutter I picked up. (I will not publish his exact words, too much bleeping out!)

Now, what with my very recent attempts at making Shamballa bracelets I felt the need of a bit of customising so I got ripping up that old book again for a bit of very random decoupatch. Several layers later I decided to cut and stick a ruler strip of BG paper down one side to help me gauge the sizings of the bracelets as I make them.

Finished with a light dusting of flowers, butterflies, ribbon and a bit of ink....voila!

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"More than words!"



A few months back I put my name down to set one of the Time to Create Challenges over on Crafts by Carolyns.  This actually really did me a favour as at that point I had hardly been crafting at all. (Not that I get much time now!) I had just started venturing into the dusty depths of my cluttered craft room and I was starting an attempt to organise and "pretty up" my little space!

Armed with a very old, faded book from Chris's Quality Management days, I got tearing and sticking. I knew it was just the excuse I needed to use one of the little mannequines I had stashed in a cardboard box for a year or so! (blush)  "SHE" now sits on my craft room window ledge!

My small but growing collection of "wordy" tat!

SO, lets get on with the challenge!

You have a few options to use in your creations.

 You can use just 1 or mix and match as you wish!

1. Use script or wording as a main part of your work, not just a sentiment.

2. Use a mannequine or doll in your creation. This could be a die cut, stamped image,

patterned paper, download image...etc.....

3. Create some altered art, take something old, unloved and unused and give it a new lease of life.

Remember you don't have to use all 3 options on the same piece of work. I hope to create a few things throughout the month that will meet the criteria...JUST HAVE FUN and come over to Carolyn's and show us your creations!

x X x

First attempt at making Shamballa Bracelets

I was inspired to have a go at making these by the lovely Kath over at Crafts by Carolyn's forum. I love this style of jewellery but had no idea what these were called until Kath showed us some of her wonderful creations.

SO, last night I dusted off my small, unused and unloved bead box and tried my hand at making one. I will admit, these aren't my very first attempt...that was using an old bit of embroidery silk and some multi-coloured, plastic kiddies beads.....but the knotting was quite straight forward so this morning I sat in the conservatory (watching Chris cut the grass LOL) and beading to my little heart's content.

Since making these I have some how aquired a very long wish list of beads and thread! Oops!LOL

It's my offering of a challenge over at Carolyn's for the month of July so I may "see you again" shortly with my next crafty offerings!

Have a wonderful weekend!

x X x



Blooming Garden!

Last Summer our garden looked like this! Total chaos! I know it's not a big garden but we have been in this house for 14 years now and we have always given priority to the house. The time, effort and money spent on the garden was a luxury, snatching a bit of time to do a few things on a make-shaft basis!

After the outlay of replacing the fencing last year, we had left ourselves we borders that were practically bare and lost several really large shrubs that we'd had for years! BUT, bit by bit we have been pottering around the garden and it is still far from being perfect or finished. We are dallying over the idea of a very small veg patch...but dallying is as far as we have got so far!

We are one step closer to being able to just potter around the garden rather than having to carry out major, hard labour.....we may even get the opportunity to light the chimnea and sip the occasion bottle of wine or a large jug of Pimms....who know what, perhaps with the unpredictable weather it may be a mug of hot chocoalate!

(Waiting impatiently for my hydrangea to flower, this poor specimen has been stuck,unloved in a pot for years and now being planted out it is full of bloom and tones of a lovely dark pink are starting to emerge.....how sad am I! LOL)



Another man's card!

Trying desperately to catch up with life after a hectic week or so, I can't see things improving much until the end of term. Counting the days until I finish work and the children finish yet another school year! Jack has one more week doing his Key Stage 3 subjects then starts his GCSE timetable the first week in July. I can't believe it, he is growing up so fast- only a few more months and then I will be the mother of a teenager! EEEEK!

Anyway, this week we celebrated Chris's birthday and as usual I left everything to the very last minute to make him a card! (Shame on me!) I keep on promising myself I will change and be more organised, but there are always so many hurdles to jump I so often faulter!

I eventually decided on a fairly quick card using one of the freebie stamps I got on the front of a mag. I did a bit of paper piecing to make up a little checked shirt which I then inked a bit to give a bit of shadow and dimension. Coloured with my Prismas again and added a few touches of Glossy Accents for detail.

I chose this paper and colour scheme to match the challenge over at Crafts by Carolyn's where your creation needs to include red, white and blue with a bit of bling. Now I don't really do bling but as a "blingish" addition to the metallic mesh and a bit of gloss I did include a tiny little crystal heart!

Got LOADS of cards to make for forth coming events, some how I just need to find the time to make them!

x X x

A Wedding Card to match my exploding box!

As usual, everything has got to pot here, all getting prepared for the Wedding at the weekend and Amelia came home from school yesterday afternoon with a really bad upset tummy! SO, I lost another day's work today(and pay) and my "schedule" has gone out the window. Jack's stomach came out in sympathy this morning so I have two very grumpy, irratable children at home to "HELP" me catch up on everything!

Luckily I had prepared most of the Wedding card yesterday, it just needed inking, sticking, and attacking with metallic rub-ons etc......so thankfully, it is now done and sitting on the side with it's little matching exploding box as the Liquid pearl flower centres on the inside of the card dries out!

A very simple card- I replicated the basic design on the inside to include a personalised greeting.

I took added inspiration from the latest challenge over at BasicGrey Challenges- Clean and Simple.

I used scraps of Basic Grey to cut layers of the Tattered Flower, then backed more BG paper onto card and cut the little hearts using a Sizzix die. I believe the papers to be scraps of BG Two Scoops- Dreamsicle???? Perhaps someone could confirm if you can still see the paper design underneath all the ink and metallic rub-ons I have used!!

Well, it's time for a light lunch with my fragile tummied children, then I may TRY to make the most of an unplaned, unpaid day off by making another card...or two!!







Exploding Box for Wedding Keepsake!

About one month after I first started this, today I eventally got around to finishing the inside of my exploding box. I have kept most of the inside pretty basic, using Nesties I made up little frames ready for the bride and groom to slip in their keepsake pics and memories.

I really had fun making this, I do hope the Happy Couple like it.

Hopefully I'll blog again soon with another card....as I have several I MUST make! LOL, nothing like leaving things to the last minute is there?

x X x

My first Teddy Bo in Prismacolor!

It's not very often I treat myself to craft magazines but last week, during a very wet and windy half term, I was swayed by several mags with freebies! (Alongside a few other crafty purchases....but sshhh, let's not mention those!)

With Father's Day almost upon us I took the opportunity to play with a few of my new goodies. I use my first ever Teddy Bo image, alongside some of the free sentiments stamps and papers. Whilst making this card up, I had a bit of a dilema; some of my fav brown toned Copics are running low so I dusted off my box of Prismacolor pencils! OH, goodness, I really do need to refresh my memory on the best way to use them again, it's been so long. I don't think I have looked at them since my trying out my first Copic marker!!

Still, not 100% happy with the colour blending but enjoyed making the card.







My card meets the following challenges;

Crafts by Carolyns- Red, White & Blue
Cards for Men - Father's Day
Scrapbook Sisters - Red, White & Blue

Hopefully see you again with some more crafting!

x X x

An Exploding Box Wedding Gift

Now a little while ago Carolyn, from Crafts by Carolyn's asked if anyone had made an exploding box recently. You can find the instructions to make these on the page I have just linked!

Now, I have never tried one of these before but her question got those old cogs working and I thought I might attempt one to give at a Wedding we are going to next month. The instructions are quite simple, I start this yesterday afternoon and have so far, managed to finish decorating the outside of the box.

I inked up an embossong folder with pink ink, then attacked the edges with Brilliance Coffee Bean, followed by Metallic rub ons to give it a distress "vintage" look....well that was the idea anyhow!

Spot my flower made with scraps of pink papers using Tattered Flowers Decorative Strip and two of my little heart tags that I made yesterday were put to use too.

Now I have to decided what to do inside!!!!!!!!! Now I want to leave it pretty basic so that the happy couple can put in pictures of their special day, so just a few basic embellies and some personalisation I am thinking at the moment....but we shall see. I normally just go with the flow.



My litte box meets the challenges from;

Just keep on creating - Anything Goes

Creative Craft Challenges2 - Distressing

Right, have about 30 minutes creative time left before my peace and calm are broken!

Hopefully I'll be back again soon to show the inside of the box.

x X x