Easter Bliss

Sunday 30 March 2014

Scribble & Scrap Challenge #15

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post about my house renovation. I'm really pleased to have had so many compliments, it makes the hard work worthwhile. After only ever having a corner of a tiny kitchen to craft in, I now have a whole craft room. But, I didn't realise just how much crafty stash I had accumulated over the years and it is taking a while to sort out. I did, however, manage to make some cards this week. The first was my DT card for Scribble & Scrap.
Thank you to all who joined in with challenge #14. We had so many fabulous entries. The winners have been announced on the Scribble & Scrap Blog. Even the Top Three have won a prize. Don't forget to sign up as a follower to be eligible to win.
The theme for the Scribble & Scrap challenges is always "Anything Goes" The winner will win a generous £15 voucher to spend in the Scribble & Scrap shop. Or a £20 voucher if they've used a Scribble & Scrap digi. The Top Three will will earn a £5 voucher to spend in the shop. If you'd like to be considered for a Guest Design Team slot, then add GDT after your name on your entry. A full set of all the rules can be found on the Challenge blog. We hope you will all play along with the challenge but, please note, that there is a maximum of three entries per challenge.

In the UK today it's Mothering Sunday, so, Happy Mother's Day to all mums out there. Here is one of the cards I've made for the occasion.


I used three papers from the Fabulous Florals 2 and matted each one onto white linen card. I also used the plain matting layer from the set and typed the sentiment on the computer. The flowers are Delicate Aster die-cuts from Heartfelt Creations.


The photo is from  Vintage Photo Sheet #17  I printed the photo onto matt card and backed it onto white linen card. Isn't it an adorable image?
I finished the card with pearls and hearts.

Now please visit the Scribble & Scrap Blog and Challenge to see what the other fabulously talented DT members have created for your inspiration. Also visit the Scribble & Scrap shop to see the many lovely papers for sale. There are new ones being added all the time. Don't forget to ask to join the Scribble & Scrap Facebook group to make sure you don't miss out on any of the news.
I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Thursday 27 March 2014

Our House Renovation

This is a personal post and not craft related. Unless you count renovating a house as being crafty. If you want a crafty post you'd better come back on Sunday.
We, that's hubby and I, have just moved into a house that we bought at auction 4 years, 8 months and 3 weeks ago. It's a 4 storey Victorian terraced house and, if truth be told, it looks nothing from outside but is typical of the architecture in Pembroke Dock, South West Wales, in the UK.
The first time we saw the house we were almost bowled over by the stench of damp and sight of black mould on the walls. The wallpaper was peeling, plaster was falling off and there were cracks in the walls big enough to fit your hand into. But we saw beyond all that and noticed the original features and charm of the house. We fell in love with it.
We had a full structural survey done which showed just about every type of rot and damp, and the list of recommendations to make the house sound was endless. We were undeterred and headed to the auction. We set a maximum price we would bid to and fought off the developers. We 'won' the house with £500 to spare.
I have nearly 1000 photos of the renovation but I have chosen just three rooms to show (out of the thirteen) plus the rear of the house. Trust me, it's a lot prettier than the front.


The first job was to dig the basement out in order for it to be tanked to prevent the damp seeping back in from the ground. The solid walls were taken back to bare rock and all the original lath and plaster walls crumbled and had to be rebuilt.


This is the same area now. It's the front room of the basement and, as you can probably tell from the bags and boxes, is now my craft room. The original fire surround didn't survive the damp but we managed to salvage one from another room.


The bathroom is at the rear of the house, halfway between the ground floor and bedroom floor, and had a separate toilet and a landing. We knocked it all into one room and blocked up one of the windows. The roof needed to be redone as well.


Now we have a lovely, bright, big bathroom with a bath and walk in shower. It's even big enough to have a chandelier. An indulgent touch we thought worthy of the room.


What is now a long kitchen-diner was, when we bought the house, a kitchen, a scullery, a lean-to conservatory and the outside toilet. We knocked down all the different walls and rebuilt on the original footprint. The diner area, at the rear, is wider than the kitchen section.


We wanted to keep the décor simple and stuck to black, white and light wood. We installed big windows along the back wall and round the side to make the most of the west facing aspect.


Our house was one of the few that hadn't had the original red bricks rendered over. We asked the builders to save and reuse the bricks so they carefully dismantled the rear elevation of the house, literally brick by brick. 


The outside walls of the kitchen-diner and bathroom were built and the roof redone. We are really pleased with the finished look.

I could go on and on about this renovation and it's still not finished. There is the garden to be done and still some finishing touches inside including the restoration of the original fireplaces. But it's finally liveable now. Why has it taken so long, you might ask? Well, apart from the rear of the house being rebuilt and the electrics, gas and plumbing, all the work has been done by us and a helpful friend. I like to think of this as the biggest altered art project I'm ever likely to do.
I hope you've enjoyed the brief tour of my house and a glimpse at the past four plus years of my life.

Sunday 16 March 2014

Scribble & Scrap Challenge # 14

Thank you to all who joined in with challenge #13. The fabulous winners have been announced on the Scribble & Scrap Blog. Even the Top Three have won a prize. Don't forget to sign up as a follower to be eligible to win.
The theme for the Scribble & Scrap challenges is always "Anything Goes" The winner will win a generous £15 voucher to spend in the Scribble & Scrap shop. Or a £20 voucher if they've used a Scribble & Scrap digi. The Top Three will will earn a £5 voucher to spend in the shop. If you'd like to be considered for a Guest Design Team slot, then add GDT after your name on your entry. A full set of all the rules can be found on the Challenge blog. We hope you will all play along with the challenge but, please note, that there is a maximum of three entries per challenge.

I used the digi Vintage Beauty 3 and papers from In the Pink set 1 for my card.  I added a braided trim to mimic the braid in the hair and some flowers and pearls from my stash.

I coloured the image with my Promarkers and cut round it before mounting it on the card with foam pads.

Now please visit the Scribble & Scrap Blog and Challenge to see what the other fabulously talented DT members have created for your inspiration and to meet the new DT members. Also visit the Scribble & Scrap shop to see the many lovely new papers for sale. There are new ones being added all the time. Don't forget to ask to join the Scribble & Scrap Facebook group to make sure you don't miss out on any of the news.
I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Monday 10 March 2014

Kraftyhands Teacup Zoo CD

A new CD from Kraftyhands launches today. It's called Teacup Zoo and features some of the cutest artwork you've ever seen. It's a delightful collection of zoo and cuddly animals posing in vintage style teacups.





There is a fabulous array of toppers, papers and more to suit everyone so make sure you head over to the Kraftyhands webshop to pick up your copy.

Friday 7 March 2014

March 2014 Docrafts Demo

I have been quiet again this week because I've been playing with the new collections from Docrafts. I've still not figured out how to add those extra hours to the day so, it's been a bit manic as, due to family commitments, I didn't have as long as I would have liked to prepare my samples. I have a demonstration on Saturday at The Range in Carmarthen. Please come along if you're in the area.


Have you seen the aptly named Bellisima collection? The artwork is so pretty and feminine. Just perfect for Mother's Day later this month. Look out for the new embossing folders and dies as well.


There are decoupage images, papers, pin wheels, notelets and silk ribbon.


The muted pastel colours are perfect for using with the new Oyster Blush Capsule collection. There are gorgeous papers and embellishments in a subtle colourway of white and pearl which are perfect for your vintage and shabby chic creations.


The third new collection this month is the very popular Gorjuss. There is a wealth of new artwork, stamps, papers and embellishments including bottle tops and fabric tags.


The inside of  most of the packaging contains images, tags and decorative elements. 


Check out the new Gorjuss stamps. Each one comes with a selection of fabulous embellishments.

If any of you are in the Carmarthen area this Saturday please pop in to The Range to say Hello. I shall be there from 10am until 4pm.  I'll be back next week to show you some projects made from these wonderful new collections.

Kraftyhands March Challenge

Welcome to the March challenge at Kraftyhands. Thank you to all of you who joined in with February's challenge. The winners have been posted on the blog. This challenge is just for fun. The theme is:
"Easy Easter"
We would love you to use a Kraftyhands product somewhere on your card, but it's not necessary. We do ask though that you follow the challenge blog.


I have used the Cute Kittens and Puppies double CD for my card. There are two CDs packed with adorable images and fabulous papers. there are also inserts, money wallets and bonus Christmas toppers.


I used a pyramage image and paper ribbon from one of the card making sets and teamed them with a couple of matching papers from the Cute Kittens CD. I matted the papers onto pale yellow card and added a strip of lace.


Using some of the leftover elements from the page I created a little Easter bonnet to mimic the image. I added a flower and finished the card with some pearls.

Please visit the  Kraftyhands Challenge Blog for a full set of the challenge rules - you have to be a follower to qualify for entry - and to view the fabulous creations from the talented DT. You can also keep up to date with all the latest Kraftyhands news and see sneak peeks on the Kraftyhands Blog.

Sunday 2 March 2014

Feeling Crafty Challenge # 26

Welcome to challenge # 26 at Feeling Crafty and thank you to everyone who entered the previous challenge - Dies and Punches. We were overwhelmed with the entries, both in the quality and numbers. The winners are announced on the Feeling Crafty Challenge blog.
This month the theme is:
"Use a Digi and Bling"
and is being sponsored by the talented Teri Sherman from Delicious Doodles. She will offer four digis of the winner's choice to the lucky winner.


The papers I've used on my card are all from Scribble & Scrap, the Grungy Florals - Naturals collection and I matted them onto lilac Adorable Scorable. I die cut and coloured two butterflies and added a bow and three flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.


The Delicious Doodles image I chose to work with is called Butterfly Bliss. I coloured it with Promarkers and then added a touch of glitter to the butterfly wings. I didn't want shiny bling so I chose purple pearls from my stash and dotted them in the corners around the card.

Please visit the Feeling Crafty Challenge blog to see the fabulous creations from the other talented DT members. And check out the wonderful cards by the lovely Stephen Nicholls who is joining us this month as our GDT. Don't forget to sign up to follow the challenge blog so you can enter your crafty makes using a digi and bling.
I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:
craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/anything-goes-challenge-220.html
sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/challenge-46.html
ttcrd.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ttcrd-feb-25-mar3.html  AG
jellyparkchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/things-with-wings-new-challenge-and-new.htmlButterflies
thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/new-challenge-anything-goes.html
abc-challenge.blogspot.com.au/
cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/using-stamp-or-digi-stamp-anywhere-on.html
craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/craftyhazelnuts-patterned-paper-march.html

Scribble & Scrap Challenge # 13

Thank you to all who joined in with challenge #12. The fabulous winners have been announced on the Scribble & Scrap Blog. Even the Top Three have won a prize. Don't forget to sign up as a follower to be eligible to win.
The theme for the Scribble & Scrap challenges is always "Anything Goes" The winner will be chosen by Random.org and win a generous £15 voucher to spend in the Scribble & Scrap shopBut, if the lucky winner has used a Scribble & Scrap digi that will be upgraded to a £20 voucher. The Top Three will be selected by a DT vote and will earn a £5 voucher to spend in the shop. If you'd like to be considered for a Guest Design Team slot, then add GDT after your name on your entry. A full set of all the rules can be found on the Challenge blog. We hope you will all play along with the challenge but, please note, that there is a maximum of three entries per challenge.


There are some wonderful new paper sets in the Scribble & Scrap shop. Here I have used Mint Chocolate Set 1. I chose the heart pattern in the two colour ways and matted them onto the contrasting colour card. I added a strip of lace before fixing to an 8"x 8" card blank. The frame was cut using a Spellbinders die.


I chose this gorgeous free digi image by Mitzi Sato-Wiuff  from Aurora Wings to colour. It is called Sisterhood. I thought the colours I wanted to use would look good with the papers. I used my trusty Promarkers.
To finish the card I added three flowers from my stash and some pearls in the corners.

Now please visit the Scribble & Scrap Blog and Challenge to see what the other fabulously talented DT members have created for your inspiration and to meet the new DT members. Also visit the Scribble & Scrap shop to see the many lovely new papers for sale. There are new ones being added all the time. Don't forget to ask to join the Scribble & Scrap Facebook group to make sure you don't miss out on any of the news.
I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:
craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/anything-goes-challenge-220.html
sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/challenge-46.html
ttcrd.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/ttcrd-feb-25-mar3.html  AG
jellyparkchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/things-with-wings-new-challenge-and-new.html
thatcraftplaceblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/new-challenge-anything-goes.html
cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/using-stamp-or-digi-stamp-anywhere-on.html
craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/craftyhazelnuts-patterned-paper-march.html