Derren Brown !!

Morning all,

Well, another wet and cold day in the south :(

Ah well, nothing else for it, but to craft then :) lol!

Hope you are all O.K.

I have a very different card for you today, it was a request from one of the ladies at DH's work, the brief was a birthday card for someone who missed out on some Derren Brown tickets, he missed out on them to this lady! IYKWIM! Sooo, this is what I came up with...

I used Always Artichoke DSP (from the level 1 hostess pack again, see yesterdays post) some old olive and Always artichoke card, 5/8" old olive ribbon and 1/4" Always Artichoke ribbon with linen thread, Sentiment from Sincere Salutations and the lovely oval punches. Playing cards are old ones we had in a drawer! I am quite pleased with this one as it is difficult to come up with much that's "magic"

I also have a couple of other (non crafting) pics to show you...

This is the view outside my back door, Bamboo and a fence post,

And here she is close up, (but not too close) a lovely lady blackbird has built a nest right outside my patio doors! she sits there warming her eggs looking at us as if we are mad!! We think she has 4 or 5 eggs in there. How sweet, we are all v. excited.
Well that's it for today guys, got to make a card for DH as it's our anniversary on Saturday.

Will be back tomorrow,

Hugs, Sarah-Jane xx

Sketch Saturday and Colour Create

Morning folks,

Well it seems to have brightened up today, thank goodness! I'm so sick of the winter!

I have made a card for today to cover 2 challenges and just 'cause I wanted to! lol!

I am loving these Miss Anyas and have only used them a couple of times, but, I have been very inspired by lots of lovely creations on lots of blogs, so the other evening I sat and stamped and coloured a few in so they were ready to assemble when I had 5 mins! Well I did have 5 mins Mon night and this is what I made...

I used the sketch from this weeks Sketch Saturday and also fitted the colours from this weeks Colour Create which is orange, green and brown (only a bit of brown for her bag, but it's there and that's what counts, right?!)

I used my pro markers to colour the girl and the lovely Haiku papers, old olive ribbon, earth elements buttons with linen thread through them and also the yummy felt flowers from the Accent and Elements pack (p79). Sentiment from Oval all stamp set in old olive and punched with the matching punches.

Well that's it for today, really must do something with my morning but just have no 'get up and go' today (not much change there then!) .

Zack is going to the beach this afternoon with pre-school, and the sun is shining :)

Have a good day,

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

Mojo Monday and SWU

Morning all,

Well thank goodness the rain has finally stopped !!! It's actually quite nice here now as you will see from the photos in a mo, Zack and I are going out in a minute so this will have to be a short post (who am I kidding !?!) We fancy brekkie in IKEA, oh, how I LOVE having an IKEA in Southampton !!! may have a little look round too, well, it would be rude not to wouldn't it? lol!

Anyway this is meant to be short so on with it!!!!

I have made an A4 size (in half) card today for my friends little girl to give to her dad, guess what.......he is a fireman!! I have used fireman George (for the first time in ages) I got him from Charmed cards and crafts and coloured him in with my pro-markers. I made this card following this weeks Mojo sketch and have used Not quite navy DSP (only available as a level 1 hostess gift, contact me for details on getting your sticky mitts on some!) layered it with real red card and the base is also NQNavy card stock .

Here he is a bit closer, I have also followed this weeks recipe challenge at Stamp with Us which is 2 pieces of Designer Paper, 4 Brads and 1 Ribbon. Perfect for this sketch !

Lastly I added Glossy Accents to the water to give it a "real" feel !! lol!

Well, that's it from me. Have a good day wherever you are!

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

We Have 3 winners !!!!

Evening all,

Wow, thanks so much for all of your lovely entries into my candy draw, but I have finally drawn a winner form the 138 people who have entered on the comments section and not forgetting the 3 people who couldn't leave a comment so their entry was by email, a total of 141 comments.

So the random number generator said that the First prize was for............

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number ....... 101 and that is.......Retired Heather (Canada!!)

Second number drawn is..........72 and that belongs to........ Vivi (Brazil!!)

Third and final number is................... 33 and that is................Bulikas (from Ukraine!!)

Wow, we certainly have a global winning pot this time don't we ladies! Well done and if you could please contact me in the next 48 hrs so I can post out to you asap or else I will have to re-draw, Thank-you for entering, my contact details are in the side bar.

Thank-you all so much for visiting and sorry if you didn't win this time but I do hope you will pop back to visit from time to time. I may even have some more candy soon!!!

Hugs Sarah-Jane xxx

FAT FREE CANDY !!!!

Message to scrapcrazy...to find out who the winner was clear your URL at the top to just say this blog address ie; no""" /fat free candy etc...""" then this post will drop to reveal all the others since, including the winners !!!!

This post is pinned to the top, please scroll down for latest posts, Thank-you x

Hello all,

Wow! My counter has just passed 5000 and so I thought I would share a little candy with all you lovely peeps who come to visit my little blog and to say a little thank-you for all the lovely, encouraging comments you leave !

It's not much but I just wanted to show you all how much I appreciate your visits.

Well here it is...

First name drawn will get this little lot :

Second and third names drawn will receive one of these sets :

What do you have to do I hear you ask?

1. Leave me a comment at the bottom of this post,

2. Link the candy on your blog so others can find it (don't worry if you don't have a blog you can still enter!)

3. I would love it if you would become a follower of mine, but you don't have to,

That's it.

The draw will take place on Sunday 26th April at 6pm GMT and I will post this candy worldwide.

Good Luck, and thanks again for visiting.

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

Cupcake challenge for Harrison

Morning Girls,
Lovely here today, may have to do a bit in the garden ?! or just sit in it ! lol!

Got a couple of things to share with you today,

First is: Today is the last day you can enter my candy draw !!! So if you haven't then hurry on up to it!

Second thing to say is Thank-You for all the support for my first class, we had a lovely time and a special Thank-you to Eunice, Bookings now being taken for next month, see side bar,

Lastly I have a card to share with you. I made it following the Cupcake Craft sketch and it was for my friends little boy's 5th birthday, what a great party !!! lol!!!

I used SU! dsp in real Red which is not available to buy, but you can earn it for hosting a Stampin' Up! party, contact me for details, Real Red 1/4" grosgrain ribbon, Scallop edge punch, Cricle of Friendship stamp, Also used Grey card from stash and Billy Stamps coloured with pro markers,

Here is a closer view, I added Glossy Accents to the sword and the loot bag,

Well that's it for today, hope you have a great day,

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

My Kind Friend

Hello for the second time today!

I won't have time to post tomorrow as I have my first workshop and it's my friends little boys birthday get-together in the afternoon.

Right, this has got to be a super quick post as I'm off to work in a mo :(

I have made a card today which qualifies for the Stamp with us challenge which this week was a colour challenge, This was the inspiration:

I have to say I did love these colours but have spent all week thinking about how to interpret it!! I finally decided on this card, which also follows the sketch this week at Friday Sketchers.

I am actually really pleased with the end result. I used Choc Chip dsp, One of a Kind stamps, Friend sentiment from Occasional Greetings, Boho Blossoms Punch, some string from my scrap drawer (which does overfloweth!!!), a bit of choc chip grosgrain ribbon and a button from my stash.

Thanks for looking and any comments you may leave,

Happy weekend and hugs, Sarah-Jane xx

Tea and Crumpets

Morning folks,

It's gone cold here today :( Hope it's better wherever you are.

I have a little card today for a friend to give to her Great Auntie, I have made a spinner style card for this one, thanks to the lovely Julie, my SU! mum. Great tutorial BTW!

I have used Tea and crumpet papers, Pocket Silhouettes, Sincere salutations for the sentiment, Pretty in Pink Taffeta ribbon and a selection of punches all SU!

Here is a little piccie of the inside, thought I would use up some of the punched out "waste"

Well that's it for today, I have GOT to do some tidying ready for tomorrow and my first ever class!!!!

Thanks for stopping by and any comments you may leave,

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

Saturday's class Preview

Afternoon all,

Hope your day has been good, I am a bit later than I thought posting this as I had lots more left to do than I thought!!! lol!!
Well, here are the cards we will be making on Saturday and the pizza style box to keep them in...

I have gone for Pretty in Pink for the base card and used the lovely Sweet Always papers with touches of Choc Chip. All stamped with today's favourite stamp set "Pocket Silhouettes" Trusty Oval and Scalloped Oval punches with matching stamp set.

Choc chip 1/4 grosgrain and Regal Rose 5/8" Grosgrain ribbon, Scallop Border punch,

This picture (top) is the top of the pizza box and a bit of stamping on the envelopes,

Lastly is all the cards, envelopes and the box together.

I still have a couple of places spare if you are interested please contact me ASAP, details in the side bar.

That's all for now ,

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

Just Because I Care

Morning all,

Woo Hoo !! another lovely day here!

I have another flower pot style card to show you today, It is the last one for the lady at hubby's work and she wanted a card for her mum, I made this...

The same measurements as the last one but this time I used my One of a kind stamps to make the flowers and the matching Boho Blossoms punch. It is exactly the same as the flowers in this set, so you stamp then punch them straight out, neat eh?!

Close to cocoa card and embossed with Swiss dots Cuttlebug folder, Certainly celery ribbon, Certainly Celery textured card for the insert,

Inks used were Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery, Bashful Blue and the large flower is in Regal Rose, I covered some of the flowers in glossy accents and used a glue pen to add glitter to others, I also added some little pearls to the middle of some of the flowers. Here is a close up as I popped some onto Foam Pads too! Just realised the sentiment looks really wonky in this piccie above, but I know it isn't IRL ! Honest!

Well, I have to go and hang out the washing now so I hope you all have a good day and I will be back tomorrow with a preview of the card set we are making on Saturday, details in the side bar! Have a good day in the sun,

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

New Home Card

Morning Folks,

Well, it looks like it may just be another lovely day today (fingers crossed).

Today I have a new home card to show you. It was sent to the lovely Ruby who has not long moved, I am just hoping she has received it already, well, I sent it a week ago so I should be O.K. to post on here... (hope you do have it Ruby!)

I have used the Neighbourhood wheel for the houses in the background and water coloured them with ink pads. The little truck is from the Loads of Love set and the furniture in the back is from the Loads of Love accessories. I cut the hole with my nesties and ribbon and card stock is from my stash. Sentiment is computer generated and punched with SU! punches.

If anyone is interested in how I made this and would like me to do a tutorial leave me a comment and I will try to fit one in sometime this week.

Just a quick reminder for anyone reading this who lives near Dibden Purlieu (Southampton/ New Forest) don't forget I am having a card making class this Saturday at my house- details in the side bar- I still have a couple of places left! I would love to see you here x

Have a great day and I hope the sun shines wherever you are too

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

A Card, Two Awards and WOJ Candy !

Morning all!
Hope you are all O.K. and those lovely kiddies are all back at school? I still have Josh off today (inset day !?!) so we are going to Paultons this the afternoon for a couple of hours, once Zack finishes play school.

Now, onto the card! This one was made for my friends partner from her Daughter. I used my lovely "All in the Family" set and the accessory set which goes with it. 1/4 inch grosgrain ribbon.

Rest from stash.

Now I have also been given two awards the first is from the very talented Sarah B in her Card Oasis, Thank-you Sarah xx

and the second from Vicki in her Paperlicious Oasis!, Thank-You Vicki xx

Lastly I have to tell you about the lovely candy Katharina is giving away at Whiff of Joy. It is for two lucky winners to win the new Summer stamp kit which includes: 6 brand new, never before seen, main character stamps, 5 accessory stamps, designed by Elisabeth Bell and 4 text stamps, designed by Katharina (in english). Hop on over to find out all about it.

Well that's all I think, sorry for such a long post, I hope you are still hanging in there and Thanks for all the lovely messages yesterday *mwahhh*

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

I made top 5 faves !!!!!

Helloooo,

Super quick post today just to tell you that I'm so thrilled to have been chosen as one of the top 5 faves on the "Stamp with us" challenge blog for this card. Thank-you so much girls I am truly humbled! I even got to put a blinkie on, (it's the first blinkie I've ever won !!!) . It is so nice to know that other people like your cards, especially when there are so many talented crafters out here in blogland.

Thanks again. Going to sit and watch a film with the kiddies now and quietly smile to myself all afternoon !!!!

That's all for now, back tomorrow with a Birthday card

Hugs, Sarah-Jane xx

Another Wedding Card

Morning,
It's lovely here, just deciding what to do today with our two (Josh is at a friends for a sleepover) before they start WW3 !

Thought I would quickly pop on and post the Wedding card I mentioned yesterday, I used the same Love Stories scrapping kit by SU! (Loving this kit and I've still got loads, woo!)

Sorry it's short and sweet today,

Hope you all have a good day,

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

Wedding card

Afternoon all,
Had to go into town this morning to get shoes for Josh, OMG it was manic !! What do us Brits all do when it's the holidays and it rains? Yes! That's right, Shop!

Anyway I managed to get in and out without spending too much (no craft shops in the town centre that's why! lol!)

Right, here is a wedding card I made yesterday, it is one of two I needed from the same family, this one is for the daughter to give and I'll put the other one on tomorrow, I have seen lots of these around on blogs at the mo including Jo's and Irina's lovely designs. The measurements for this one are: 3.5"x9" piece of card to start, score at 2" and 5.5" , scallop the top edge and then, whilst folded, I trimmed from the top of the card where it folds over to 1" in at the bottom, in a diagonal cut, to make the sides slope , don't cut the top section though. I hope this makes sense, but if you have any questions then please email me or check out SCS for more detailed instructions. Here is the outside...

and here is the inside section, Most things used to make this card are from the SU! Love stories scrap booking kit, not just for scrap booking you know! except the ribbon which is certainly celery 1/4" grosgrain ribbon. The little adhesive pearls, glossy accents and glitter on the hearts are all from my stash. All the decorations are card stock stickers so it was really quick to put this together and of course it all co-ordinated perfectly, one of the most fantastic things about SU! products !!!

The last thing I have to show you today is my calender, Now regular readers of this blog will know that I have had loads of orders this month for cards and have struggled to keep up with much more crafting than these, much appreciated, orders. Sooo Zoe has made this months calender page....

She used my Schoolbook Serif Alphabet to write the title and a bunny stamp we picked up the other day as it was only 99p ! and coloured them in (carefully!!) with mums very special pens (pro-markers) and Gran gave her the die cut chick on her easter egg.

Well that's it for today and I will be back soon with the other wedding card to show you,

Have a good one, Sarah-Jane xx

Strawberry Jam

Hello Folks,
I hope you are all enjoying the holidays, Not sure about you lot, but I know I don't want to go back to the school chaos !!! Anyhow it'll soon be summer *hooray*

Today I have a card which, actually, I've only just finished. I haven't got much crafting done at all this week, I have a couple on order so have knuckled down (not really too much of a chore !)this morning and got on with it. This one is for a friend to give as a birthday card.

I have used SoSaffron cardstock stamped with Polka dot background stamp and versamark ink, Patterned paper is DCWV, oval all sentiments and matching punches, ribbon and button from stash. The image is a Penny Black one and I have decoupaged the spoon.

Not sure if you can really tell, even with this picture...
I am also entering this into the Stamp With Us challenge this week as the theme is Birthdays.

Thought I would also share a couple of piccies with you of my 3 playing with an old shoe box and a ball of string!!! They really had so much fun, who needs expensive toys eh?? lol!

Thanks for looking and have a lovely day,

Hugs Sarah-Jane xx

A Cross Over Card!

Morning all,

Sorry this is going to be a really quick post today as I have loads to be getting on with (non-crafting:( )

Any how this is the last card request from DH's work for a little while, and it was made using this tutorial.

For this card I used Washington Apple papers, Golden Oldies NEW stamps from the mini catalogue, Earth Elements button, Linnen thread (through button), Pumkin Pie grosgrain ribbon on the inside sheet and Bashful blue striped grosgrain for the outside, Tab Punch. All SU! and available through me!

Other supplies include Nesties and die cut numbers,

Thanks for looking and for any comments you may leave,

Have a good one,

Sarah-Jane xx

Cross Over Card Tutorial

Hi Folks,

As a couple of people did request this tutorial, I have made one for you but I think it may be a bit long winded !!! Sorry!!! This is my first tutorial so please be gentle with me !!! Lots of piccies as I'm not very good at explaining when writing.

Equipment needed:

2x Square card blanks

Tombow Glue (or other wet glue)
1x Sheet of 12x12 DSP

SU! Tab punch

Ribbon

Thin and very sticky double sided tape

Decoration

I will let you know which materials I have used as the post goes on.

First of all you need your two cards (mine were from Craftworks Cards and are approx 14.8 cm square (just over 5,3/4 ") facing each other so one opens the wrong way.

Next you need to cut the wrong way round card down the back to leave a lip approx. the width of your DS Tape, DO NOT THROW THIS AWAY as it is your page for the inside! You then cut off half the front of both cards diagonally, as shown, and add your tape,

Using the Designer Paper, you will need to cut:

1x 14cm square for the front which you cut in half diagonally ,

1x 4.5cm x 12" (full length of the paper) strip,

1x approx 14x13cm for layering inside,

1x square of scrap white card (for joining the band),

1x 12x12.5 cm of white card for writing inside and

1x tab of blue card for the top.

I used Washington Apple DSP by SU! and as it is double sided I could have a different pattern on the inside and round the band, to that which is on the front.

Don't forget these measurements are for this size of card blank, please adjust accordingly !

Next I ink all the edges before I stick the paper down, TIP I use a cheap make-up sponge to ink my edges as it is small enough to handle and gives just the right amount of control ! See pic below for inked and non-inked. Remember Less is more when putting ink onto your sponge!

The next step is to glue all the pieces of paper onto your card blank and inside page, whilst the glue dries it's time to make the band. First of all you need to add ribbon to the paper, I use tape for this which I stick over the edges of the paper so I get it straight, as shown, then I stick the ribbon onto the tape again using the grid to apply in a straight line. TIP I use a barely wet brush of clear nail varnish on the ends of all my ribbon to prevent fraying.

I then glue 1/2 the scrap piece of paper to one end of the band and pull tightly around card, then you carefully slide it off and hold until the glue dries with paperclips,

Now the fun part! Whilst the glue is drying I get my decoration ready !

I used Oval all stamps, the Thank-You one for the border and the Best Wishes one for the sentiment on the top, Punched using the oval and scalloped oval SU! punches then it's layered and ready to go onto the band.

On the inside I used the flowers from One of a Kind stamp set inked in Bashful Blue and Pumpkin Pie, to match my papers, Punched with the co-ordinating Boho Blossoms punch,

Phew, Sorry it's such a long post but I think I have covered most things !!! Let me know what you think and remember this is how I make this card not necessarily the right or easiest way !! Although I think it is quite easy like this !!

Thanks for sticking in there and I will be back tomorrow with another crossover card I made for some-body the other day,

Happy Easter

Sarah-Jane xx