Basic Crochet Square Blanket - Baby Blue

Evening All

 

Well I am happy to report that all of the full time shifts that I was snowed under with since October have now finally come to an end and Part Time hours resume going forward.  This means that I will have loads more time for crafting with all of the lovely things that I have continued to hoard.....I mean collect for the purposes of making lovely things to keep........I mean sell ;)

 

Anyway, the last week has seen me back into the crochet with a lil' blanket for a new baby boy.  It has been a while since I last had the hook out but amazingly just carried on like I had never put it down.  However, I really do need to learn the names of stitches and actually expand on the basic that I continue to do.  I think I will just add it to the many things on my to do list!!

 

This is a wee picture of the finished piece with one of my lovely big Harrods bears that I collect (big kid that I am).

 

 

I have been asked to do one exactly the same but in pink for the beginning of March so best get my skates on.

 

The themes for this months swaps club have been posted and I love them!! Going to try a few new techniques and hope to get these posted over the next week or so.

 

Are you all well? Has the new year is brought you all lots of lovely new crafty ideas to be getting on with? get in touch and let me know, would be nice to chat.

 

Happy crafting my friends,

 

Amanda xx

Postcards - Fairies

Happy Friday!!!

 

Its the weekend..............well nearly, just have to get the next 10 hours out the way first!! 

 

Another quick post to show the Fairy Postcards made again for birthdays that I missed.  This weekend I am planning on getting ahead, this month I have my brothers birthday, a young ladies birthday & my Mum & Dads Anniversary, so I am going to make those cards, and maybe the tags that I should have done for this months swaps, keep thinking about them and its driving me mad!!

 

Anyway these are the two postcards, really simple again but I am happy with them, think its the subject matter, cant make anything that doesn't look nice with any kit from Crafters Companion.

Have a great weekend, I am planning on actually posting everyday so check back to see what I get up to.

 

Much love

 

Amanda xxx

House Mouse - ATC & Postcard

Good Morning Peeps

 

Can you actually believe that it is the last day of the month already?  I am still recovering from running about after Christmas and that was just yesterday.................wasn't it?  Its been a quick month, they say that's a sign of old age when time speeds up, I hope not!!

 

This is just a quick post to show a couple of things I popped together for the girls in the group who's birthdays I missed, yip, at one point in my life I would have been a month in advance, I am now very literally a month behind!! 

 

Both are designs I have used previously except scaled differently, which is a plus of CD crafting.  If you are still trying to resist the Cd's you really shouldn't, go on give them a go, you will LOVE it!!

House Mouse "Lets Celebrate" Postcard

House Mouse "Ice Cream Party" ATC

Would be lovely to see some comments on the blog this year...maybe.....if you have time......even just to say "hi".....or that you are sick of my rubbish lol, anything would be lovely.

 

Happy Crafting my friends,

 

Amanda xx

Postcards - Metallic New Year

Hello Friends

Its that time of the week again "hump day" all downhill till the weekend, yay!!! Hope you all have lovely plans, maybe some crafting on the go?

Well the groups Postcard theme this month is "Metallic New Year". I found this pretty easy, didn't take much thinking but in hindsight probably should have thought about it some more and been a tad more creative. I have since purchased some lovely new metallic pencils & chalks, should this "metallic" theme ever pop up again, and I am sure it will.

These are my two entries, again, both very similar, total cop out but that's OK, next months will be better.

"New Year, New You", sequins, stars & Mirri Card

"New Year, New You", sequins, stars & Mirri Card, a bit less shiny though and the top half is wrapped in metallic silver ribbon just to add another texture.

Another day another Dollar so they say :)

Happy Crafting my lovelies,

Amanda xx

ATC - Fairies

Morning All *yawn*

 

Hope you are all well & creating load of lovely crafty things.  I haven't had a chance to go around some of the crafty blogs but when I do I will be sure to post any that really catch my eye.  I have finally opened my Spectrum Noirs, as you know when I tidied the craft room, but I am still yet to use them.  Its funny as I use Promarkers all the time, not sure why I am so scared of using the Speccies, you would think it would be easier, being as they are all in lovely colour families etc.  I dunno, just gonna have to give it a go, really need to develop my skills as a colourist and that's the only way to do it.

 

Anyway this months ATC swap title was "Anything Goes"  now I probably really should have done something in relation to the film/play but I didn't, I tool it literally and decided on Fairies.  Not only that they are both almost identical, total cope out but hopefully next month its a topic which I can get out the paintbrush or pastels for.

This one I called "do you believe in fairies?"  I was really pleased how both of them turned out, really simple but I like that look.  The paper was from a free pad i had from last year sometime, but felt it really suited the nature feel.  The rub-ons are from the Crafter Companion Fairytopia Kit, the main butterfly is a peel off on Centrura pearl to which i have added some 3D glue gel to the body then covered in ultra fine pink glitter, I also did this for the flower centres.  The heart is wooden and coloured simply with a Rose Pink Promarker & covered with 3D glaze.  Gems added to finish.

 

This one is named "I believe in fairies"

So that's them done.  Next was the Tags with the theme "Wild Winter"  I opted out of this this month again just due to time.  My idea though was to do a lovely red sky in pastel with the silhouette of a tree and to have a lake in front.  The lake would be done using clear ultra think embossing powder, the tree just black Promarker and then the ground and the tree would be covered in a lovely shimmery snow like glitter with snow covering the sky also.  Sound good?  I might sill do a couple & send them to a couple of the girls just because.  Obviously when I have the time though!

 

Anyway peeps, long day at the day job ahead of me, have a good one,

 

Happy crafting,

 

Amanda xx

The Big Knit 2012 - Update

Good Morning Bloggers

 

Just a quick post -

 

You will remember that in September last year I knitted 100 wee hats for their mini smoothies.  These hats were then popped on the smoothies & sold in Boots and Sainsburys stores throughout the UK raising money for the charity Age UK. 

http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/bigknit

This was my little contribution, 100 hats in just 3 weeks.

In the post last week I received the loveliest personalised "thank you" card from the guys at Innocent towers, just showing again why their product & service remain loved so much.

 

Now the question is what to do for charity this year?  Do I just start making hats early and see how many I can get done? Do another 10K or the Shine walk for Cancer Research?

 

I guess whatever I decide to do, it will be rewarding and I would urge anyone to do at least just one thing in 2013 for the greater good.  What are you going to do?

 

Much love to all,

 

Amanda xx

Mum Birthday Card 3 - Hunkydory Flopsy Bunny Kit

Evening All

 

My blogs have been much neglected recently.  After next week I will be moving back to Part Time hours (really mean it this time lol) and so I will have loads of time to craft.  Hoping to do some soap over the next few months using the cold soap process.  Very excited about this as I have loads of lovely new moulds to make, one of which is a dragon!

 

In the meantime I will continue to spend time making cards, keep myself sane. or at least make myself think I am sane.

 

This is the card that I actually made for my mums birthday.  As soon as the Hunkydory Magazine dropped on the front door made it was decided Flopsy would be the star.  A very cute little critter who will also be the star of any Easter cards that I have to make.



This was a lovely design for the card & as it came as a kit there was really not much to do except choose the toppers & enjoy putting it together.  I added some extra glitter highlights and some additional adhesive faux pearls to the toppers, choosing one topper to represent being young, one to represent the present the future, hence "mummy, mum, mother".

 Well That's all for tonight, super early start tomorrow!!

Happy Crafting,

Amanda xx

Mum Birthday Card 2 - Flowers from Hunkydory

Evening All

I know, two blogs in one day, who knew I could be so organised :)

This is just the second card I made for my Mum but this time using a Hunkydory Kit.  It was brilliant to work with, fantastic quality.  This is a design from the actual magazine.

This is an 8x8 card just like the fairy one but has more layers and I also used 3D clear glaze to pop on some dew drops for the flowers.  Its the first time I have used it and now I want to put it on EVERYTHING!!!

This just shows the dimension on the card.  The backing card was cut into nine squares the outside five have been raised up using foam tape.  The butterfly was cut out of the actual packaging for the kit, I drew in the antenna using a fineliner Promarker and added to the card using 3D glue to allow the wings to be free.  Trails added just with adhesive faux pearls.

 

The inside of the card has to be just as pretty.  I used the cut off from the backing card as the base and attached using double-sided tape, then printed a personalised poem which was matted and layered on some contrasting card and added to the centre again using foam tape. 

The butterfly is a small mini topper just added again using foam tape.  Its worth noting that all the toppers that I used were pre-foiled in silver but as all the sentiments that I had were gold, so trimmed this off and re-matted, don't be scared to to that.  Faux adhesive pearls added to finish.

 

The finished card is an 8x8 Hunkydory white card blank.  I used Gold Mirri Card and blue Centura Pearl from the darks collection as matts.  The very lovely card stock was A4 size, which I cut to fit maybe 7 1/4 and this allowed the lovely cut off to be used in the inside. 

I split this into 9 equal squares and put back together the four under the main topper attached with double-sided tape.  the rose on the backing card has been accented using 3D glaze.  It added very lovely and life like dew drops. 

The heart is wood and coloured using a matching colour of Promarker "rose pink" then attached withe the 3D glue.  Topper attached using foam tape, little dew drops & faux pearls added.

 

Happy Crafting guys,

 

Amanda xxx



Mum Birthday Card 1 - Fairyopolis from Crafters Companion

Good Morning

Day 2 of being a very good blogger and sharing my daily dose of crafty inspiration. 

I have finally gotten around to looking at some of my kits that I have.  I have so so many Hunkydory, Dawn Bibby & Crafters Companion kits that I could sell them, honestly!!  I finally took the opportunity to tidy the craft room and sort everything out, I had just been piling it all up and hadn't realised what I actually had.  No more crafty purchases for Amanda at least until next Christmas!!

Anyway, what a good chance to start using them all up, start afresh in 2013 & learn to actually use the products I have at my fingertips.

First thing for this year was birthday cards for my Mum from all the family, so this is the first one -

This just shows the flowers & butterfly popping off the card rather than being stuck down flat.  It also shows the decoupage very clearly.  This is amazing quality and popped out brilliantly.  I used 3D glue gel to attach to the card.

 

This just shows the inside of the card.  This kit actually comes with 6x6 card blanks but as I wanted an 8x8 card, so I simply cut the 6x6 down the centre using half on the front & half here in the centre.  Matted on Gold Mirri Card and a personalised poem added.  The sentiment has been Matted on Gold Mirri also and attached using foam tape.

 

The finished card.  The card blank is Kraft card adding to the natural feel I think?  I used a piece of purple Centura Card matted on Gold Mirri as the background, then just added the card stickers, decoupage, rub-ons, flowers & gems all from the kit.  Having every single thing to hand all co-ordinating, makes it so easy to pop the cards together.

Also shows that you can make bigger cards aswell.

 

This is by far my most favourite card that I have made, I loved using this kit and will definitely be making more, smaller ones though.

 

Well get your kits out crafters and lest see if we can be thrifty and use the products that we already have before we start to buy more.  I know if you are like me and most crafters are, its gonna be tough!!

 

Happy Crafting

 

Amanda xx

The swaps received from my crafty friends.

Hello Blogging Friends

It has been a long time since I have had the time to actually sit down & craft let alone blog, but, I am back!! yip that's right, back to part time hours at my place of employment and so more time for crafting, meaning more time for blogging. 

I have missed it, people who do not craft do not realise the release that you get, the calming effect that it has and the health benefits that can be achieved.  I am always much happier and much more relaxed when I have the time to make things.

As you know i am part of a swap group, only a recent member but at the end of last month I received my second batch of swaps and they are just awesome.

The ATC theme was "Art Deco" -

Christine Stuart

 

Ina Wilkinson

 

The theme for this months postcards was "Christmas", perfect for this time of year as we all had our Christmas stash out anyway -

Abbie Kay

 

Ina Wilkinson

 And finally, the tags were fab, the theme was "the sky is the limit"

 



Pauline Jackson

 

Katrina Polson

 

I loved my swaps.  Its one very talented bunch of ladies at http://www.crazicards.co.uk/

 

Keep visiting the blog for regular crafty updates, I promise to be keeping it up to date and showing my most recent crafty projects.  Remember all comments are very much appreciated.

 

Happy Crafting

 

Amanda xxx

Happy New Year!!

Hello Friends

 

Just a quickie to wish you all a fantastic New Year & all the best for 2013, may this be the year that ALL your dreams come true!!!

 

Much love to you all,

 

Amanda xx

 

Just a tweaked scrapbook layout from Professional Craft Artist.

 

Christmas Card Order

Hey All

 

I did manage a few Christmas Card orders over the festive period but unfortunately I did not take any pictures.  I had a couple of children's ones, baby's first Christmas etc which were my favourites and I am kicking myself for not asking the time to photograph them for the blog. 

 

These photos are courtesy of my sister as I managed to catch her before she wrote & sealed them, she is a star!!

 

All the cards are 8x8 size, due to time I really didn't embellish them as much as I would normally.  Apart from the Boofle one they were all decoupaged using 3D Glue Gel and basically just matt & layered onto linen effect Mirri Card which is a little softer than the shiny stuff, added gems to them all just to give that festive sparkle.  I was actually really happy with them in the end. 

 

They looked & felt like good quality cards with matching inserts using personalised poetry or religious quotes.

 

This was the only card that wasn't decoupaged.  This was a Boofle Christmas stamp set and Christmas paper.  I used Promarkers to colour and the wee Robin is on a spring so bobbed about, definitely one of my faves, loved how it turned out!

 

 

My first actual crafty project for the year will be my January swaps for the group and then I think I will actually open my Spectrum Noirs, yip that's right!!! Had them three months now and they are still in the box they came in, nightmare!!

 

Enjoy the rest of your night peeps,

 

*hugs*

 

Amanda xx

Handmade Christmas!!

Hello Everyone

 

Its been a long time since I last blogged, it has been tough to get a work craft balance over such a busy time of year and unfortunately the craftiness has been the thing that has taken a backseat.

 

I had a few basket orders over the festive period which I have perfected now and wrapping in cello is no longer the chore it once was.  It just never used to do what I wanted it too!!  The website is still ongoing, the jewellery has been taken off as there is an issue with the ordering system for this but will be back later on in the year. 

 

The website address for those who are unsure is www.freshscentsscotland.com, I always advise and email before any order is placed.  All items are individually prices and include post & packing.

 

I do hope you all had a fab Christmas and that Santa was good to you all (if you weren't on the naughty list that is!!). 

 

I only received one handmade card this year and I completely love it.  It was from my lovely friend Pauline, who is part of the ATC swap group.  Handmade cards are just a joy to receive, how many did you get?
 

 

 

The biggest job I will have over the next week will be sorting out the business stock and cleaning out the craft room, it is a complete mess.  I can barely get into the room at the moment eeekkkk!!

 

Well that's me for the afternoon,  much love to you all

 

Amanda x

Dad Card using Paws for Thought CD

Hey Everyone

Hope you are all well, Christmas shopping done and keeping warm in this weather, can you believe the year is nearly done, its been such a quick one!

 

This is a card that I have put together for my Dads birthday.  I find it so hard to do men's cards unless they have a proper interest in something.

 

For this card I have used a Kraft 8x8 Papermania Card Blank, Cupcake Crafting's "Paws for Thought" CD, an A4 sheet of Rainbow Mirri Card, pale blue satin ribbon, silver peel-offs, Sakura Clear Glaze Pen and co-ordinating coloured Sakura Glitter Gel Pens, double sided tape, red line tape and foam pads.

The backing paper and toppers were simply printed from the CD, I cut the backing paper down to fit the card, then traced the line running down the card with the Clear Star Sakura Gel Pen just to give a sparkle, before attaching to the card with double sided tape, I attached a strip of red line tape along the bottom of the card, pinched & stuck down some satin ribbon leaving a flat bit for the mini topper, this just adds a little texture.  I attached the main topper to a piece of Rainbow Mirri Card and added to card with foam pads, the mini topper was also added using foam pads.

This topper needed to be cut out so that it could be decoupaged to add dimension and realism to it.  I simply used tiny foam pads to layer this up, added the silver "Dad" peel-off to the bottom right.  I used the Sakura Clear Glaze Pen to add a wet look to the dogs eyes, mouth & nose.  Co-ordinating Sakura Glitter Gel pens were used to pick out highlights in the grass, flowers, boys hat etc, this just adds some lovely sparkle without getting the glitter out and making a mess!!

The insert was personalised with a poem especially for my dad and printed the exact size for the card.  It co-ordinates perfectly with the main card and gives a great finish.

Thank you for stopping by :o)

Happy Crafting!!

Amanda xx

Tags - The Sky is the Limit?

Happy Friday!!

 

What a quick week it has been this week.  I am working tomorrow so not quite the end of the week for me yet but nearly there.

 

This months Tag Swap theme was "The sky is the limit".  I had thought of doing hot air balloons as this was the first thing that came to mind, however, one of my crafty friend who was super organised posted pictures of their creations and one of them featured hot air balloons!! Great minds think alike!

 

I decided to go along the route of a quote that I am quite fond of and incorporate it as a star sign horoscope.  It was very simple but has worked out OK.

This was simply some black card with an eyelet added to make it into a rectangle tag.  I used a silver Painty Marker to add all the detail and gems for the stars to make the constellation which represents the crab and added the names of the stars.

 

Same as above, just a different shape.

 

Well both very simple but due to time issues I think they are OK and I am sure will find a place in someones collection.

 

Have a great weekend everyone, whatever you get up to.  I have the family Christmas cards to make, I may add a few posts showing some of the generic ones next week.

 

Much love

 

Amanda xx

 

ATC - Art Deco Theme

Hello Friends

Just a quick post to show you this months ATC swaps.  The theme we were given was "Art Deco".  This is not an era that I am particularly fond of and wasn't really looking forward to doing them, in fact, I even thought of giving it a miss!! 

 

Not to be one to let the side down I did a little research on the web and basically used a couple of stain glass deco designs that I came across with free copyright and gave it a go.

 

I actually enjoyed putting my own spin on them and I am please with the outcome, however, it has not made me want to take up doing Deco images in any of my work.

This is a Deco Thistle which is outlined with a Letraset Fine liner, coloured using Metallic Watercolours & Sakura Coloured Glitter Gel Pens.

This was based on a Deco Mantel Clock, the ones that come in three separate pieces.   I used the design, again outlined with fine liner and coloured with Sakura Metallic Glitter Pens.  I cut these out and mounted on card which was coloured with metallic paint.  Before attaching to the backing card I linked together with ribbon and stuck in a couple of feathers.  These were attached using red line tape.

Well nearly the weekend, hope everyone has plans to spend it wisely, definitely the quickest two days of the week!!

 

Happy Crafting.

 

Amanda xx

House Mouse ATC's 2

Mid week, this makes me happy :o)

 

Another couple of ATC's, these ones are shaker style ones though and again using the leftovers from the 40th Card.  I love these, really pleased with them and definitely going to make more!

Art Deco ATC's to come later in the week, I wasn't sure that I would enjoy making them as not really a fan of Deco style but I have done one and it was actually good fun.

 

Happy Crafting

 

Amanda

House Mouse ATC's 1

Hiya!!

 

Back to work for me today but thought I would show you the House Mouse ATC's that I made from the left overs from making the 40th card I made at the weekend.  They will be winging their way to a couple of the ladies from the ATC group for their collections.

This is slightly smaller than usual as I have used the ribbon to make up the size.

I do hope they like them :o)

Much Love

Amanda