Mini Gorjuss

I have been a fan of the gorjuss range since before they had stamps, this is my favourite design and I like both version one (red dress) and version two equally, ok so not equally but almost lol.

I wasn't sure if the mini version would be difficult to colour but with pencils it was easy. I have used a combo of crayola, prisma, spectrum noir and derwent on this image. I have the full set of prismas but they are at my US home, I did find a set of 24 for less than $15 in Walmart so of course I bought them. I also bought the crayola set of 100, I thought it would be 100 different colours but it's not, it's still fab though and the colours are really gorgeous. So now I have a few different options to choose from. Maybe I should have just brought my prismas back to the UK lol.

Ingredients
Image : "found my family in a book" mini gorjuss stamp
Dies: blueprints 29 and , paper doll border all Mft
Paper: "" Ki Memories
Card : "smokey shadow" papertrey ink

Pineapple Paradise

Pineapples seem to be just about everywhere at the moment and stamp companies are releasing them left, right and centre. Does anyone else notice that all companies seem to have the same ideas around the same time frame, it's like a collective hive mind lol.

This particular set was free with a magazine and I wasn't sure I liked the whole pineapple thing until I stamped a random background and started colouring. It was lovely to loose myself in the art of colouring for a while, ok more than a while lol.

Ingredients
Image: Free set with craft magazine
Sentiment : keep it simple birthday from papertrey ink, gold simon says embossing powder
Card : dark chocolate from papertrey ink
Dies : blueprints 2, 13 and washi tape all MFT

Copics
Large pineapple - YR24, 23, Y15, YG97, 95, 93
Small pineapples - YR23, Y15, YG93
Background - BG11, 10

Golfing Tom

I've tried to recreate this look of Alice's before and although it looked ok it wasn't the same, this time however it definitely feels a little closer. This is a huge image and I wasn't sure how on earth I was going to get it on a card when I had the brainwave, make it all about the image and woohoo it worked.

Ingredients
Image : "golfing tom" robertos rascals from CC Designs
Sentiment: creative stamping set 32
Paper : fancy pants from a Simon Says Stamp kit
Dies : simple stitched hillside borders from lawn fawn

Copics
Skin - E13, 11, 09, 000
Hair - E57, 59
Trousers - T8, 7, 6, 5
Shoes - B04, 02, 00
Grass - YG97, 95, 93
Shirt - T4, 2, blender
Jumper - B02, 01, 00, T5, 4, 2, YG97, 95

Happy Birthday to 2 Crafty Buddies

Today is the birthday of two of my crafty friends, we found out last year that they not only share the same day but the same year too, talk about flabbergasted. I have added the card I sent to my UK friend below and I hope that the one I made for my US friend has also arrived.

I discovered that my friends favourite ice cream was mint choc chip so thats what I have tried to recreate here, although to be fair it looks like the ice cream has measles lol. Still I hope it brings a smile to her lips anyway.

Ingredients
Image: "edna loves ice cream" From Stamping Bella
Dies: blueprints 13 and 2 both Mft and inside out stitched circles from crealies
Stencil: "chunky herringbone" from MFT
Ink : Cracked pistachio and gathered twigs both distress
Card: "dark chocolate" from paper trey Ink
Sentiment : "happy birthday" from xcut.

Starry Watercolour

This was such a fun and fast card to create. What took the longest time and was the hardest was the masking and embossing. I kind of wish I had mass produced it as I am not sure I will be in a rush to recreate all that masking and embossing lol.

Once all the embossing was cool I started by mixing the colours in the palette, I used a concentrated colour around the petals and then added more water to my brush and simply spread the colour out. I was astounded by how easy it was and how quickly it dried. Which is why I wished I had created more as the colouring took less than five minutes but the stamping much, much more.

Ingredients
Image and Sentiment: "Beautiful Day" Altenew
Dies: "funky stitched rectangles" MFT
Card: "true black" paper trey ink, random gold textured
Dots: Forever friends gold dome border
Embossing: "gold" simon says stamp

Little Emotions

I coloured all these images in one sitting and then thought I have no idea how to use them lol. I had a brain wave that the speech bubbles from the "small talk" set would be the perfect size and then the idea came to me to make it a conversation. I tried to match the emotion to the sentiment and I hope the person I made it for gets it lol.

I don't think this will be a set I reach for often and I still have loads to use up but I did enjoy this one.

Ingredients
Image: "little emotions" Mama Elephant
Sentiment: "small talk" Mama Elephant
Dies: Blueprints 20
Stencil: "say it" create a smile with cracked pistachio, squeezed lemonade and twisted citroen distress inks

Copics
Background - BG10
Emotions - Y17, 15, 13, R24, BG000

New Craftroom

Well actually that should say  - new craft room almost lol.

A few months ago we decided that my room just wasn't working for me, I had too much stuff, not enough space and I was so disorganised, it didn't seem to matter what system I put in place I was struggling with furniture I inherited with the room that was just too big. So my lovely hubby said lets look at it and see what we could put in there, he designed the space to allow two large desks, a bookcase and three under desk cupboards. My job was to pare down the number of supplies I was going to put back in, stuff I haven't used in years, stuff I bought when I first started and have never used all needed to find new homes, luckily for me I attend two fabulous craft sessions and both have fairly new crafters in them so I was able to find good homes for my unloved stash.

There will be more to get rid of and as most of the stuff left is stamps I might set up a page on here to sell them. I say that with conviction but my hoarding tendencies might get the better of me.

Anyway enough waffle you didn't come here for the conversation you came for the pictures, I apologise that the before pictures are from a while ago I was too embarrassed to show the right before ones.

I inherited my room in 2010, just as I started blogging and I was a digi stamper only, my stamp obsession didn't start until I attended the Bristol Playday lol.

The next pictures are from 2012 when I painted the room and moved a few things around, it worked for a while but not long.

So if you have made it this far I applaud you lol and as your reward here are the pictures of my craft room as it is now. I have been in this new layout for about three months and I think I have made more cards just for fun than ever before. I can't believe what a difference it has made and it is also the only room in the house that is tidy lol.

The wall under the window, where I had originally hoped to create now houses my machines and lots of supplies.

The bookcase is behind my chair and although there isn't much room I am able to grab a basket and pop it onto my desk as I am crafting and then pop it back once I've finished. This has helped me keep it tidy more than I could have hoped.

My desk has to be clean every night, the green must be clean is the motto. I was a very messy crafter previously and it tended to sap my mojo so this unwritten rule is one I strictly adhere to and one I hope will continue for many years to come.

My copics are close to hand as are my cutters and my most used crafty tools. My mini reisenthel basket (from lidl kids section years ago) houses my spare copic card and a few bits and bobs.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my new room, I am loving it and I feel so much more creative now. Everything is accessible and easy to put away afterwards, I would never have believed anyone if they said my craft room would be the tidiest room in the house lol.

Thank you for looking x

Super sized Birthday

This was a super quick card that looks exactly like I imagined. That almost never happens and it being quick is also a minor miracle.

I bought this stamp set after seeing Jennifer McGuire make cute kids cards it was specifically bought to make those type of cards but so far it's not been used for that. So far it's been used for those difficult guys who don't have a hobby, last time it had a face but I thought this time it would be plainer. I kind of wish I'd made multiples of this as its a good one to have in the birthday stash.

Ingredients
Image and Sentiment : "happy meal" your next stamp
Dies: blueprints 29 from MFT
Background: checkerboard stencil and electric red hybrid ink both MFT

Copics
Fry box - R29, 27, 24, 14
Fries - Y38, 35, 32
Bun - E35, 34, 31
Burger - E49, 59, 57
Lettuce - YG17, 23, 21
Ketchup - R08, 05
Cheese - Y38, 35

1st Birthday Boy - Train

This is the second 1st Birthday card I've made recently, I won't have anymore to make until next year and they are both girls so it was nice to bust out the red, green, orange blue bright colours for these cards. This one is not much different to the one posted a few days ago, I was going to use the same image but I remembered the train one and as his Grandad has a model railway (which I'm sure little hands will find fascinating) I thought the train was a better fit.

Ingredients
Image : "i love it" Mo's Digital Pencil
Paper : "toy shop" nit wit
Card : " real red" stampin up and "new leaf" papertrey ink
Dies: crealies xxl stitched square, square stax and zig zag stax both Mft
Punch: "train" Martha Stewart
Name: "robotz" cart cut on cricut

Copics
Skin - E11, 21, 00, 000
Hair - E33, 35, 37, 39
Train - Y15, 13, YG17, 23, B26, 23, R08, 05, W4
Onesie - R24, 27, 29
Ground - E44, 43, 42, 41

1st Birthday Boy - Teddy

This is my go to 1st Birthday card, its a 6 x 6 square card and a Mo Manning image, sometimes if somethings not broke there is no point in fixing it. I try to add the name of the little one, especially if their name is more unusual. My god daughter has an unusual spelling of her name and she was always disappointed that we could buy mugs, keyring etc for her brothers but never for her. She would have loved a card with her name on and that is what sticks with me when I'm making cards for kiddos.

We went from no little ones to lots of little ones so Ive had lots of practice at making kiddie cards recently, they are my second favourite cards to make after male cards, I know I'm unusual lol.

Ingredients
Image: "Bertie" mos digital pencil
Paper: "party animal" nit wit
Card: "orange jest" and "spring rain" both papertrey ink
Name: "robotz" cart cut on cricut
Dies: notched border, zig zag stax and square stax all Mft, crealies xxl stitched square

Copics
Skin - E11, 21, 00, 000
Hair - E34, 31, 30
Top - YR07, 04, 02
Trousers - B02, 01, 00, 000
Bear - E47, 44, 43, 42, 41, 40
Ground - W2, 1

Hero arts succulents

Lately even though my mojo seems to be present I'm making more and more cards that are inspired by others. I'm liking this more than I expected as some of the styles, techniques are way out of my comfort zone but I'm enjoying them immensely.

I made a list of all the birthday, baby, anniversary and wedding cards I need before January and the number shocked me a bit. I want to start my (don't say the word) end of December cards at the beginning of September if I have any hope of getting them all made. I need to get myself organised if I stand any chance of not having to buy cards, so over the next few weeks there will be lots of birthday cards appearing in my blog, hopefully lol.

This card was inspired by Stephanie Klauk, she made a video using MFT items and I thought I have stuff to do that. I do wish that my sentiment was smaller as my succulent hung off the edge and had to be trimmed. I think I might give this another shot but choose a smaller sentiment.

Ingredients
Image: "succulents" Hero Arts
Sentiment: "keep it simple - birthday basics 2" Papertrey Ink
Paper: "dolled up" MME

Copics
Pot - E99, 97, 13
Large Succulent - BG90, 93, 96, 99
Small Succulent - YG97, 95, 93