Team Training...

A good many Passionettes and Demo's from around the country will be getting together today for a day of crafting and business training being run by the lovely Monica and Bekka. I am so excited to be part of the day and this will be my first training as a Passionette!

Whenever Demo's get together we swap projects which gives us all inspiration as well as a myriad of display items. We all have different styles so it is always good to see someone else's take on the items in our Catalogue.

My swap for today is designed to be a topper so that it can be mounted onto a card, scrapbook page or 3D item by the recipient.

 I used the Apothecary Accents dies to create the two shapes. I spritzed the Night of Navy cardstock with Platinum Shimmer Mist. On the Naturals Ivory centre panel I stamped the birds on a branch image from the Serene Silhouettes stamp set in Night of Navy before using the Spritzer Tool and Soft Suede Marker Pen to add some interest. I finished off with a sentiment from the Elements Of Style stamp set in Night of Navy punched out using the Designer Label punch. A little piece of Crochet Trim adds the final detail.

I hope you like my swap and I will be back tomorrow to share some of the lovliness I received in return.

Till next time - Happy Crafting

Late night crafter...

I've had this little piece of yumminess sitting on my desk for a few days after I rejected it as my swap for a team training day tomorrow. It was too cute to leave lying there so after finishing all my swaps I just had to create a little home for it. 

The image and flourish are part of the gorgeous Established Elegance stamp set in our current catty which I fell in love with straight away. 

 I stamped the image in Soft Suede onto Naturals Ivory cardstock and them embossed with one of the frames from the Designer Frames folders. I added a tiny sentiment from Lovely Little Labels and punched out using the matching punch pack. The flowers were punched out from Night Of Navy using the little flower from the  Itty Bitty Punch Pack.
Below is a close up of the Seam Binding in Very Vanilla which adds a elegant yet soft detail. It also shows the layers of Designer Series Papers from the Neutrals and Regals collections to co-ordinate with the colours chosen. A little faux stitching using a Night Of Navy Marker Pen adds the final detail on this tiny but perfectly formed little card.

 Here is the completed card... As you can see it has been distressed slightly to keep with the vintage feel of the overall look. A trio of pearls just finishes the flowers nicely.

I hope you enjoyed this card and I will be back tomorrow with my swap for the training day.

Till next time - Happy Crafting

Cyber Crafting with the Passionettes...

A few of the Passionettes got together virtually on Sun for a fun eve of crafting and what better way to spend a cold Autumn eve...

Monica had sent us all a little 'kit' which consisted of 4 die cut pieces using DSP and the Labels Framelits plus a strip of Speciality DSP called Natural Composition. We were all eager to see what they would become but first the challenges....

Our first challenge was to use 2 Colours plus a Neutral, 2 Ribbons, 2 Pearls or Rhinestones, 1 Brad and 1 Punch. We had 45 mins to create, photograph and upload our pics to the Passionettes only site (more info on this exclusive site can be found on my Join My Team page). 

 This was my finished card and I have to tell you the crafting was a doddle compared to the uploading lol. I am probably the most tecnically challenged person there is and so I had to make sure I finished in plenty of time to do the technical stuff. I was really pleased with my card and several others must have liked it too as I won round one along with Debbie.

 The second challenge was to use the colour Blue and 2 different DSP's. I chose to do a 8x8 scrapbook page this time and took a pic of my Dad with my sister and I for the main image. I also had time to whip up this little card to go with it.

The last part of our eve was to make this GORGEOUS little bird house using the bits Monica had sent us. We were supplied with instructions to put it together but the decoration was up to us. I chose to stick as close to the original as was possible... after all "if it ain't broke dont fix it".

I will be back tomorrow with more in depth detail about each project and the materials used.

Till then - Happy Crafting

Back to scrapping...

My focus has been well and truely on cards for a while so I thought it time to get back to some scrapping. I have been inspired by some lovely layouts on my friend Cal's blog. 

It's been a couple of years (yes really that long!) since I last did a layout so looking at the 12 x12 page this morning gave me quite a fright I can tell you.

I have had some old photo booth photos of my Dad and I on my desk for quite a while so decided to give them a proper home today.

 This is the finished page. I found a basic page layout and added my own twist. The colours are Basic Black and Naturals Ivory for the main panels with Bravo Burgundy, Baja Breeze and River Rock as the accents. The Colour Coach came in handy when looking for colours to go with Bravo Burgundy.

 A close up of the circles. Punched from 3 different sized circle punches in the accent colours and placed randomly in the top right corner.

 I'm not a lover of 'white' space so the Spritzer Tool came in handy to add a bit of interest to the page. Do this before you stick the circles down so they stay clean of 'splodges which helps them to stand out even more.

 I used the larger of the tags to tuck behind the page for some hidden journalling. To stop the tag getting lost I tucked the page into the tag. I also created a little pocket using double sided tape to stop it slipping down completely which you can see below.

  I hope you enjoyed peeking at my foray back into scrapping and hopefully I will have lots more to show you soon.

WOYWW #174

When is a desk not a desk???

When its a dumping ground for all the lovely new goodies you have. I know all of you who comment are amazed by the neatness of my desk and when I'm working it has to be that way or my brain can't function.

However (and here's the confession) it isn't always that way!

This was my desk last week... Why am I showing you last weeks desk I hear you ask? Well it's simply because whats on my desk this week needs to remain a secret for a couple more days and I thought you might like to see I can be messy too lol.

The red bag was on our desk at the retreat weekend I recently attended and was FULL of crafty goodies we would use over the weekend. Bags and boxes full of more crafty goodness from the shopping trips I took the crazy American on (well I couldn't let her get all the yumminess could I) and an old project from a retreat weekend I held here at home.

So as you can see it was a busy desk last week but I have to confess it didn't stay that way for long and I hope to be able to show you what I'm working on in the next couple of days.

Enjoy looking at the rest of the desks this week over at WOYWW

Till next time - Happy Crafting

Where did the years go.....

16 years ago today I was in a hospital room holding my brand new baby girl... Now I sit here while she enjoys an Indian with her best mate. Caitlin has grown into a lovely young woman (with the odd hiccup!) and I am very proud to call her my daughter.

Caitlin isn't one for a big fuss so  I kept the decorations low key and in her favourite colours of Red, Cream and Black (she never has been a girly girl lol)

A group shot showing banner, decor and gift card. I love the elegance that you get when everything co-ordinates and no one does that better than Stampin' Up!

 A banner thats less girly but still has that elegant edge thanks to the butterfly die from Stampin Up!

 Thanks to the lovely Monica for the decor idea. The sundae glass is a take on the table decorations from a recent retreat weekend put on by Monica. I used the Butterfly Embosslit and the Build a Bird punch to decorate these rosettes.

 This was the card I made from us which doubled up as a gift card. I started out with the idea from another of our projects from the retreat and adapted it into a 4 pocket gatefold card.

The first pocket had a voucher for a store, the second our birthday message, the third her first lottery ticket (something she has been going on about and seems to be the highlight of turning 16 for her) and the last pocket held another voucher for shopping.

I hope you have enjoyed looking at these as much as I have enjoyed making them.

I have to go so the girls can hog the living room watching DVD's and eating sweets.... I have a nice cuppa and some TV in bed to look forward too!

Till next time - Happy Crafting

Another week , Another WOYWW

 Good Morning to all you lovely bloggers. It's promising to be another lovely Autumn day by the sea today. I don't know about you but this is my favourite time of the year.

I love the muted colours Autumn brings. I always find my mojo is much inspired by the colours around me at this time of the year and the suny but cool days are perfect for hiding away in my' room of craft'.

Talking of which its time to take a virtual peek at the creative desks out there with the lovely people who join in with WOYWW

 My desk this week is a busy place.On the left is a pile of goodies with my name on the top. This is my name badge for a retreat weekend I'm going on this weekend. We were sent very minimal supplies and had to create our own badge. I will show you a closer pic next week. In the middle is a Christmas decoration that my next class will be making and to the right of that a pile of instructions I am typing up also for the class.

I just had to show you a close up of this little cutie who hangs on my ribbon rack. It was sent by the crazy American and is a sign to put on my door when I want the kids to stay out and let mummy craft in peace.Too cute hey?
Tomorrow I get to thank the crazy American in person as she is coming to England for a few days ans is going to the retreat with me! Whats better than a weekend crafting? A weekend crafting with fabulous friends thats what!!!

Have a wonderful day and whatever you are doing this weekend may you find time to craft.