So sorry it's late......

You're probably wondering what I'm apologising for......but it's about my latest card which was a "Sorry it's late" card for my friends birthday! Our holidays overlapped and I deliberately decided not to give her her card and pressie before I went.  Why I hear you ask!!  She would've been unable to wait 3 minutes, let alone 3 weeks, before she opened it!  She cannot wait, even when it's not for her so I thought it was for the best to give it to her on  her return to work today!

I used one of my Forever Friends stamps that has not seen ink for a while and coloured it with Copics before cutting out with nestabilities.  The base is a layer of Core'dinations CS and some white card that has been embossed with the D'vine Swirls folder.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, the sentiment from Craftworks Cards and the ribbon from my stash.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Creative Card Crew - Flowers
Forever Friends - Sketch
Oldie but a Goodie - Pink & Girly

I hope you're all having a lovely evening.  Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

Sarah xx :0)

Wish upon a star

Good evening all, I hope you've had a good Monday.

I made a quick card this evening which I wanted to show you all.  For once it doesn't contain a teddy!  I've gone back to my first love, Penny Black. I have so many of these stamps and felt it was time that I started showcasing them again.  I will apologies now though for the dark photos, the one down side of the nights drawing in and crafting later in the day.

I have used the cute Just Wishing You.....stamp by Penny Black and coloured it with copics before cutting out using my nesties.  For the base I have used Centura Pearl CS which has been embossed with the Snow Dots CB folder and the edge punched with my Fiskars snowflake border punch.  I then added a strip of white ribbon before attaching it to my card base.  I have finished off with some punched snowflakes and gems.

 The Glamour Dust has been out in force again!  It looks quite raised here as the photo was taken whilst the glue was still wet and the glitter just added.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:

Colour Create - All White except the image with the option of embossing
Penny Black @ Allsorts - Punch Away

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

Sarah xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #36 - Swirls & Bling

Good morning all, I hope you're having a lovely weekend inspite of the sudden chill in the air.  I know I'm finding it a difficult adjustment after having enjoyed temparatures in the 80's & 90's! It possibly accounts for the slight cold that I've managed to pick up from work too.

Before I mention this weeks Just Cute Bears Challenge, we have a change that you should be aware of.  We are going to a fortnightly challenge as of today so you will have 2 weeks to enter before our next challenge on 10th October.

This week we would like to see Swirls and Bling on your creations - we know everyone likes a bit of bling!

I've used one of my new Lili of the Valley James Bear stamps.  I think this one is so cute with the snow falling all around him. He's been coloured with Copics before being cut out with nesties and mounted onto a scalloped circle. I have added more Glamout Dust to the fur trim on his hat and Stickles on the ground and snowflakes.  The DP is from an old DCWV pad which I'm ashamed to admit I have only just opened!  The embossed panel is courtesy of the Snow Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and I've finished off with some Papermania silver swirl corners and a blinging snowflake.  

I think purple and silver is such a lovely combination and I will definitely use it again.

Please check out the rest of the teams wonderful creations.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:

AiFactory - Anything Goes
A Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
CES Challenge - Animal Antics
Crazy 4 Challenges - Bling
Cute Card Thursday - Sketch
Delightful Challenges - Make it Sparkle
Die Cut Dreams - Furry Things
Lili of the Valley - Untraditional Christmas
One Stop Craft - Snowflakes in September
Papertake Weekly - Animal Magic
Secret Crafter Saturday - Purple & Silver
Totally Gorjuss - Christmas

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Just Cute Bears #35 - Punch It!

Good morning all.  It's my final day before going back to work after 3 weeks off!  So not looking forward to that, but it funds my habit so I can't grumble......(that's my crafting habit before you all start wondering!)

As it's a Sunday, it's time for me to get back into the saddle of Just Cute Bears.  Our challenge this week is Punch It - we want you to get out your punches as we know how much you love them!

This week we're sponspored by:

Wild Rose Studio

Wild Rose Studio are the creators of the adorable Milton & Co range,

and we're delighted to sponsor you this week! If you like bears,

you'll love the Milton & Co range - there are lots of cute designs

that you'll use over and over again. Our first ever Milton Christmas

collection is out now, where Milton and Millie get ready for the

festive season with stockings, winter flowers, poinsettias and more.

So if you'd like to make teddy-themed Christmas cards make sure you

check it out!

Dulcie is offering 1 lucky person 2 stamps.

Some of the DT were lucky enough to be sent one of the new Milton & Millie Christmas images to use for this weeks challenge.  I loved my image and can't wait to get my hands on these gorgeous stamps.

How adorable is little Milton here with his stocking?! You can't see it here, but the fur trim has be covered with Glamour Dust.  This is the first time I've used this and I'm not sure if I've used a tad too much!  The DP is from an old DCWV Christmas stack which I love as it's all traditional colours.  I've used my Fiskars snowflake border punch and my X-Cut snowflake punch for the required element.  The CS is from SU!

You can see the sparkle a lot more in this close-up.  I love how it looks and definitely think I will be using this a lot more in future.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:
Secret Crafter Saturday - Anything Goes
Pixie Dust Studio - Feathers or Fur
Moving Along with the Times - Christmas

Please check out the rest of my teamies amazing cards. 

I hope you will be joining us this week as I've missed seeing all your wonderful creations.

Thank you for stopping by and for any comments you may leave, they are greatly appreciated.

xx :0)

Mini Sewing Machime

I've been thinking of getting a mini sewing machine for a little while as I've seen so many amazing cards that use stitching.

I know the main one is probably the Janome Sew Mini but I was wondering if anyone had the John Lewis own mini machines which can be found here? 

If anyone has any tips or advice I would be extremely grateful.

Thanks to everyone who's commented on my last post about pricing for my bookatrix cards.  For my usual cards, I would normally charge about £2.  The only times the price would be higher is if I have used a larger card (normal size 6x6).

xx :0)

Feeling rested....& cold!

Good evening all. Thank you for the lovely comments you left during my little break, they really do mean a lot.

Jon and I had a fabulous holiday, I never get tired of going back to Skiathos. When you've been somewhere before, it's nice just to be able to relax in the sun with a good book(s) and not worry that you're missing out on things. The guys at the place that we stay are the best and they made our wedding anniversary evening so special. When you have people like that, why go anywhere else? The downside of being back is that I'm now cold!!! I miss my sunny, hot days. I was so cold yesterday that I even did that awful thing of putting the heating on!! Brrr.

Before I went away I was asked my a lovely lady that Jon knows if I could make her a wedding card. She has only seen one of my cards before and loved it, even though I said it was probably the worst I'd made in ages (so bad I didn't dare photograph it for here!). At the moment when I'm asked for special cards, I instinctively reach for my bookatrix board and this time was no exception. With all the beautiful flowers that you can get from Wild Orchid Crafts it makes it so easy to whip up such an elegant card. I tend to stick with the same trusted layout with the flowers but this time I added one of the larger roses in the centre (sorry, don't know the size). I did go for a different colour combo this time, decided that I needed to get away from lilac. The finished article is below.

Pam wasn't around to receive the card before I went away so I have only heard today from my FIL what she thought of it. She loved it! Apparently when Jon next sees her, she has a list of people who would like cards from me having seen it at the wedding! Also, the landlord of our local has also said that if I wanted to leave some cards (business I think) saying what I do, he would happily have them on this bar!! I'm stunned! I don't know what to think or say! I really didn't think people would be that interested in what is just a hobby.

Can I ask you guys one question? What would you charge for a card like this? I make a corresponding box which is decorated as per some of my other cards I have posted. With the exception of one, they've all been made for friends or family occasions from me. The one that I did charge for, I asked £4.50 but my friend paid me £7. My FIL thinks I should be charging at least £6 for them. I really do struggle when it comes to asking for money and never want to put anyone off but then I know that I shouldn't undercharge either. Any advice would be really helpful.

Wow, that's a long post! Thanks for stopping by and for the comments you leave, they mean so much. Please remember to pop back on Sunday when I will be back in the saddle for the Just Cute Bears challenge


XX :0)