About Me

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dudley, west midlands, United Kingdom
hi i'm Michelle, I am 39 years old. I'm married to matt, with 2 children. William 13 yrs old and Isobel aged 7. I started making cards in 2010 as a way to relax after suffering with postnatal depression. Unfortunately with working life and having our second child, Isobel. who has additional needs, my crafting got pushed to one side. Having recently renovated our new house I've been able to have my own crafty space again. I'm loving unboxing all my old supplies, and buying new of course. Its mainly card making I'm enjoying, but also had a little dabble in crochet and sewing over lockdown. I've decided to keep using my blog as a place to record all my makes, if only for myself. it was a real trip down memory lane when I found this again after 8 years!!! Of course id love to share my makes with others and learn from you all along the way.

Thursday 22 December 2011

bugaboo digital stamp

this is the first time ive used a digital stamp on a card. i prefer to use 'proper' stamps, but did find it useful being able to resize the stamp to fit my design.

ingredients:
bugaboo digital stamp
copic ciao & spectrum noir pens
backing paper from my stash (from a froever friends card kit, i believe)
pink textured backing card.
used an xcut lace border bunch to add detail
plain card candi coloured with copic
new year sentiment was added digitally in sefif craft artist.

challenges:
 craft you passion blog hop - holiday havoc

the sugar bowl challenge - sketch

cutie pie - use a sentiment

pollycraft - punch it

Tuesday 20 December 2011

popcorn xmas card


I have made this card using the free members gift from create and craft, taste of popcorn. its a really nice little cd with samples of all the popcorn ranges. i already have the popcorn original and platinum disk sets but think i may have to invest in the christmas set now.

Ingredients:
taste of popcorn cd rom
CC centura pearl paper.
sentimemnt from humphrey christmas cd rom
names - xcut alphabet die.
marianne creatables die - poinsetta
ribbon - i won in blog candy!

challenges:
marianne's design divas - christmas
http://mariannedesigndivas.blogspot.com/

Sunday 18 December 2011

humphrey anniversary card

Its my mom and dads wedding anniversary today (30 something years). They have been round ours for a lovely cooked sunday lunch, yum yum.




Ingredients:
Card base from beatrix potter- a winters tale card kit.
Main image is humphrey stamped onto neenah card, coloured with speccies and copics
Image border made with xcut fancy square die
Sentiment is LOTV, cut with xcut circle die, backed onto xcut scalloped circle.
Ribbon from my stash, was white but coloured it in with a copic
Spellbinders die - foliage - used for leaves, flowers from stash coloured with copics.
Silver peel offs to finish.



Thursday 15 December 2011

swalk xmas - blue theme

ingredients:
swlak winter cheer stamps
copic ciao pens
centura pearl cardstock - brights & christmas
grand nestabilities - labels four

swalk winter cheer - little kiss!



Ingredients:
swalk winter cheer stamp - love you snow much.
copic ciao pens
centura pearl card stock - pastels, darks & christmas.
xcut die - scalloped hearts
mariane craetables - poinettas
xcut alphabet die - rome.

Sunday 11 December 2011

cute companions

Ingrediants:
grand calibur - grand nestabilities - labels
CC centura pearl card (christmas)
cute companions cd rom - printed backing image
cute companions stamp - coloured with speccies (really pleased with this colouring)
marianne creatables - poinsettas dies

Challenges:
Crafty ribbons challenge - traditional colours for christmas

swalk - i love mince pies!

Ingredients:
grand calibur - grand nestabilities labels
spellbinders - twisted tags
CC centura pearl card (christmas)
swalk winter cheer stamp - speccies and copics
humphries corner christmas - sentiment stamp
xcut aphabet die - rome

Challenges:
Joanna Sheen - its beginning to look a lot like christmas. (http://joannasheenchallenge.blogspot.com/)

swalk winter cheer - pink/silver

Ingredients ;
grand calibur - grand nestabilities big scalloped circles
crafters companion pearlescent card (christmas & brights)
swalk winter cheer stamp, coloured with speccies and copics
xcut alphabet die - rome.
mariannne creatables poinsettas dies.
glitter to finish.

Challenges:
Craft your passion - anything goes + glitter (http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.com/)

Saturday 10 December 2011

humprey christmas

ingredients:
grand calibur & grand nesties labels
crafters companion centura pearl card (christmas & brights)
humpreys christmas stamp, coloured with copics and speccies.
swalk winter cheep stamps - sentiment and snowman
xcut althabetic die - rome.
glitter and stickles to finish.

Challenges:
Joanna sheen - its beginning to look a lot like christmas (http://joannasheenchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/12/its-beginning-to-look-lot-like.html)
polly craft - christmas fun
(http://pollycraftchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/challenge-120-christmas-fun-4-week-long.html)

Tuesday 6 December 2011

WBA

http://www.expressandstar.com/news/2011/12/06/west-brom-players-visit-youngsters-in-hospital/albionvisit-09-tt-05-jpg/#midbar

had a very exciting day at work yesterday, when west bromwich albion football players visited our childrens ward to hand out presents to the poorly kiddies. im pictured here up close with the goaly, middle. very nice eye candy i must say, lol.
it was really nice to see how excied the kids got when the players arrived and they all got presents and autographs too. thanks WBA!

Saturday 3 December 2011

swalk winter cheer - love to shop

ingredients:
swalk winter cheer - love to shop
copic ciao pens & glitter
CC xmas centura pearl card
grand dies - big scalloped circles, spellbinders - twisted tags & marianne creatables (poinsettas).

swalk - i love mince pies


ingredients:
swalk winter cheer - mince pies
copic ciao & speccie pens
coordinations card
xmas paper pack (magazine freebie)
xcut dies & edgeabilities.

new copic ciao pens (while my speccies are sorted)

ive had problems with my beloved spectrum noir pens lately, in that many have run out and i am unable to get refils or the rest of the set until the end of this month. Therefore i have invested in some copic ciao pens. They are very different to colour with, having a larger, more brush like nib, but i think im getting the hang of them.

Sunday 27 November 2011

christmas heart garland!

We have put our christmas decorations up today and its got me feeling all christmassy! I decided to make a garland for the firplace to hang my 'special' christmas cards. It was very simple to make actually. I used 2 sized xcut scalloped heart dies to cut out decorative papers, mounted onto some thick cardstock. I then attached cheap wooden pegs to the backs. used the fiskars tool to punch holes and then threaded them all through some rustic string! Im very pleased with the results!

handmade note / memo pads.


Fancied a change from card making today, so had a look through my stash for inspiration. I came across these cheap notepads i brought a while back and decided to make them more appealing. I covered some stiff board with decorative papers and ribbons and then attached the notepad, leaving space for a matching pen. I used fiskars eyelets and tools to attach the ribbon hanger and pen hook. I have also attached magnetic strips to the back so it can be mounted on frige/freezer.

bautrix potter - a winters tale.

I haven't felt very well this week, so cheered myself up with a play with this card kit from crafters companion, to create some lovely christmas cards.






ingredients:
winters tale card kit (crafters companion)
die's - marianne creatables, xcut, edgeabilities, & doily die.
ribbon & gems from my own stash.

challenges:
the last card was designed for the willow sketchie challenge 24

Sunday 20 November 2011

swalk - let it snow!




Ingredients:
swalk winter cheer stamp, coloured with spectrum noirs
white 7x7inch card blank
silver mirror card, spellbinders edgabilites used to create scalloped edges.
coredinations card stock, embossed with snowflakes folder and sanded, cut into scalloped squares with xcut die.
star border with marianne creatables die and ribbon from my stash.
main image scalloped circle cut with xcut die and backing shape with marianne creatables die.
embossing glitter power and snowflake embelishments used on main image.
crafters companion shine and spray and shine and sparkle sprays used to finish.
insert created with craft artist platinum software.

challenges:
crafters companion - let it snow
willow sketchie challenge - sketch

Friday 18 November 2011

First project with cricut imagine!

This is the first card ive made with my new cricut imagine machine. Everything on the card except the swalk image and sentiment has been printed and cut with the imagine. Its not the best card ive ever made but im very pleased with it overall. Watch out for many more
ingredients:
cricut imagine
swalk stamp & sentiment
spectrum noir pens



 

Tuesday 15 November 2011

kenny k - colouring.


Ive had a gorgeous kenny kiernan stamp today and couldnt resist a little play. coloured in with my spectrum noir pens. Happy with the clothing and skin tone, hair ok (needs work) but wasnt to sure what to do with the trainers?

popcorn pals


Ingredients:
popcorn pals stamp image & sentiment - coloured with spectrum noir pens.
main card created with crafters companion pastels 12x12 card, grand nesties and grand calibur
heart doilies created with nesting dies.

challenges:
cuddly buddly challenge - double trouble
pollycraft monday challenge 119 - friends.

penny black stamp - new baby


Ingredients:
penny black stamp, coloured with spectrum noir pens.
(Its the first time ive ever done dark skin, its for my friend whos indian, im very pleased with it)
crafters companion pastel card stock
LOTV sentiment stamp.

beatrix potter - a winters tale!


Ingredients:
A winters tale card kit (crafters companion) - card base, the bottom scalloped border, the corner embelishments and both main images and sentiments.
The scalloped circles are glitter card cut with xcut dies, the purple glitter border is from a pack of glittered ribbons ive had a while. the snowflakes are a marianne creatable die.
Challenges :
crafty bloggers network - all the two's

Monday 14 November 2011

humphrey christmas card!

Ingrediants:
humphreys corner stamp & spectrum noir pens.
centura pearl card 'christmas' red base and green layers. (all crafters companion)
grand calibre (CC) with edgeabilities and xcut scalloped circle die.
papers from freebies paper pads (quick cards & cardmaking and papercraft)
edges stitched with green thread with my sewing machine.

Challenges:
a gem of a challenge 34 - sketch with a twist
secret crafter sat challenge 160 - spots and stripes
dream valley challenges - stitching.

my new grand calibur - box template


ive recently bought the grand calibur and love it! Today ive had a grand template petal box so had a little play with it.

 
You can just make a simple box, or use these fancy dies (included) to make patterns in the box directly or can cut them separately to be stuck on afterwards. i sellotaped them in place so they didnt move.

i then used my ultimate to score the lines.


You could line the box with contrasting card to show off the detail better.

 ive added ribbon to finish the box's. they also come with matching tag die cuts too.

craft exposion!

This used to be my kitchen/diner. dining table was chucked out to make room for my desk, now im slowly taking over the kitchen. roll on this builing work to get my craft room built, or we may all starve through lack of a kitchen, lol!





Sunday 13 November 2011

sewing project!

Well im really pleased with this, considering ive only owned a sewing machine a few months and have no sewing experience. made for a friends new baby!Ingrediants:
fabric off cuts. rolled wadding, baby girl ribon. sewing machine.

challenges:
squiggles and giggles - anything but a card.

Friday 11 November 2011

Swalk - after the rain!

Ingrediants:
Swalk image, coloured with speccies. Tim holts card. Decorative edge created with my new grand calibre & edgeabilities dies.

Swalk - best friends!


Ingrediants:
Swalk image, coloured with speccies. Coordinations card, backing paper from stash. x-cut nesties used with grand calibre. various punches for flowers and leaf embelishments.

Thursday 10 November 2011

swalk - little kiss

Ingrediants:
Swalk image, coloured with speccies. Sakura glaze/glitter pens for details, finished with crafters companion spray and shine.

swalk - for the boys!


ingrediants:
swalk stamped images, coloured with spectrum noir pens, finished with crafters companion spray and shine.

challenges:
craft your passion challenge - anything goes + brown.