When recycling becomes fun

It's been a random and busy week. I finished teaching again, at least for a while but will carry on tutoring through the summer. I have to wait until the middle of September for my summer holiday but this gives me ample crafting time :). This week I have managed to have a go at a card every week day.

My mum is a huge fan of iris folding and I have generally steered clear, not needing yet another reason to part with even more money. But on my last visit to the parentals mum showed me how recycling the insides of envelopes can generate a big pile of interesting free papers. So I searched for some templates on the wonderful WWW and I am proud of the results.

The cat has been highlighted using a promarker cornflower and the butterfly was stamped using the Martha Stewart stamp and punch butterfly. The dinosaur was decorated using lovely Lavinia stamps and Adirondack stonewashed.

Hope you've all had a good week.

2 different ways with poppies

One set of stamps that I really love to play with our Lavinia stamps. I had an idea kicking round in my head as I knew one of my best friends was expecting a baby in May and loves poppies. Having had one go I then came across shaker cards in one of my many magazine subscriptions and felt inspired to have a go. So here they are:

1. A baby is born - Using a selection of the poppy stamps, the baby fairy and leaf trail. After a little trial and error my final technique was to stamp up the poppy images with versa mark watermark stamp pad, then ink up the poppies using Versafine - spanish moss / satin red or olympia green / crimson red. Once I was happy with my poppies I then sprinkled with clear embossing powder and heated. I then used the leaf trail and imperial purple to frame the top of the card. Finally I stamped the baby fairy in the middle and also created a mask on a post it note. I then used a brayer and inked Adirondack stonewashed over the bottom half and sunshine yellow / red pepper over the top. I finished off with some stars in Versafine smokey grey.

2. Poppy shaker card.

I used the same technique as for the previous card. Stamping and clear embossing to poppies onto the corner of a portrait piece of A4 card. I liked the shiney effect it gives the flowers :). I then did the same for the background and ink using the brayer and stonewashed. A couple of lavinia stamp butterflies in imperial purple hid stray ink marks. Having assembled the card I then finished off with a Martha Stewart butterfly stam and punch, using Versafine Black for the stamp and amethyst promarker to colour in. I may need to work on my photography skills however - Enjoy :)

A cake a day keeps the cleaning still not done

Well i started at 9 this morning with the made cakes and finished at 4 with a break to go to the hairdressers. They may not be perfect but they are mine :)

I am womble, watch me craft ;)

I'm new to all this blogging malarky but as I have been crafting here and there it seemed a good idea to find somewhere to make a record. So far I have had a bash at the odd cake, lots of cardmaking, the odd present and some scrapbooking memories.

I have been busy making a sponge and chocolate cake this evening, tomorrow I need to transform the sponge into a rocket ship and the chocolate cake into a pirate ship - watch this space................