School Days

This is the final card from the school collection, I love the little wooden own - which is actually a wooden laser carved button. I've also used the 7gypsies book tape which I love with the alphabet all across them.


This then inspired the following layout about my school days:

Again I've used the Karen Foster rub-ons and patterned paper and the 7gypsies book tape. I kept it very simple with tags pointing in different directions and some coloured paper clips. I love the fact that I found this card a year or two ago in a drawer - I still remember making it for my mum when I was in infant school and I'd completely filled the aperture of the card with kisses, then decided I only wanted them around the outside of my photo so I painstakingly sat and rubbed them all out again! I loved being creative back then but some things never change as the drawings are supposed to be chocolates and flowers and its clear I still can't draw, even today!

Teacher Thank You Cards - Part Three

A couple more thank you teacher cards using Karen Foster patterned papers and rub-ons, I hope you aren't bored of them yet but as so many cardmakers make them this time of year, it's nice to have a choice of inspiration.

A few more random embellishments such as the letter tiles and the tag, anything waiting to be used up really went onto these cards with the Karen Foster products. Next I'll have the scrapbook page that I was inspired to make after completing these cards as a project!

Teacher Thank You Cards Part Two

Here are a couple more of the thank you cards for teachers, that I made for a magazine project some time ago. They are made using Karen Foster rub-ons and patterned papers with a few extra little bits. The wavy ric rak on this card is actually a brad paper fastener, but you can't tell from this photograph.

These mini books are from The Dolls House Shop and make great little embellishments for cards for teachers, students, graduation cards, good luck in your exams etc - plenty to choose from!

Cards for teachers

As it's coming to that time of year, I thought I'd share some 'thank you teacher' cards that I made for a magazine project some time back. These are made using Karen Foster patterned papers and rub-on transfers, but you could use your own teacher image stamps, stickers or downloaded pictures. I've also used random letter tiles, staples, ribbon etc from my old collections which you can find any to match your projects.

You'll have to excuse the American spelling on the rub-ons but I love the ruler, especially how it coordinates with the coloured paper clips, taken from my normal stationery. I've also used an Autumn Leaves flourish stamp on the second card here, that stamp never tires. I have more in this collection so will share them over the coming days. (Does anyone know why blogger sometimes rotates your images for no reason? When it does, I can't seem to get it back, even if I rotate the original!).

Don't forget to check back here for my cardmaking and scrapbooking classes in Essex coming soon!

Celebrity spotting

This is a very simple card but one that I really love! I really enjoy using 3d materials in my craft work, particularly buttons, and the textured cards seem to attract people too. The blue of these buttons stand out really well against the white background and the stitching adds an extra element of texture which finishes off the card nicely. The only thing I find hard is letting go of so many buttons from my button jars on one card!

We’ve just enjoyed a lovely weekend in East Sussex with the Souza’s and were very lucky with the weather! That meant we were able to enjoy being outside with crazy golf, the beach, nice meals and fun card games. We went into a lovely little backstreet gift shop in Rye which was tiny, and who should we find as our only other company in there - Paul McCartney and his daughter! What an unexpected addition to our day.

New cardmaking classes in Essex - dates announced

Are you looking for some craft classes to attend in Essex? If so, you’ll be pleased to hear that I am now holding new craft classes for both cardmaking and scrapbooking. The dates for my first cardmaking classes are as follows:

Mon 26 July – evening class
Thurs 19 Aug – evening class
Mon 6th Sept – evening class

We will be using Stampin’ Up products in these classes and they will be suitable for all levels of crafters including those new to the hobby. If you are interested in more information about these classes email me (my address is to the right) and I will let you know further information when it is available. Scrapbooking dates will be announced soon!

So I've shared the birthday book in my previous post, and here are the stamping cards that finish off the project for Crafts Beautiful magazine.

Continuing with the stitching theme on the BasicGrey papers, I've again inked the edges and layered the patterned papers. I've used cake themed stamps that are so worn out they now barely work, lol!

This slim card has glitter added to the cake for a bit of sparkle. Still love this project, and haven't lost my love of pink and brown as a colour combination yet!

**New cardmaking and scrapbooking classes coming soon**

I am going to be holding new cardmaking and scrapbooking classes from July, so if you live in Essex and are interested in finding out more information please email me for details at

They will be held in Barking, so easily accessible for anyone in Romford/Gidea Park/Goodmayes/Ilford etc.

I have shared this project before but I just came across the photographs again and realised how much I just loved, loved, loved this project - so thought I'd share it again! I think I have different blog readers to what I used to, so it might be new for many of you.

This was a project I created for Crafts Beautiful magazine, using a blank brown Paperchase album. I used BasicGrey papers and fibres, and some chipboard letters for the title.

Each double page spread has patterned papers and a month of dates printed from the computer, all with inked edges. The right hand page of each spread has a stitched pocket to hold birthday cards for those marked on the left page. I just love this range of papers, so gorgeously girly. The letters for each month were die-cut on the Big Shot machine.

The final page has a page for notes and any general cards that might be needed throughout the year. The pages all come out of the spiral bound book, which enabled me to stitch onto each one. I'll share some cards that I made to coordinate with this book in my next post.

Wedding Invitations

This weekend I've taken the time to finish some wedding invitations - hoorah! Another job well done. I was happy that the chosen design was a very simple and quick to make design - the details printed and punched out with a Stampin' Up! oval punch, then a Stampin' Up! scalloped oval of silver card, layered together and raised onto the card using 3D pads. Then some simple silver organza ribbon and the corners rounded with a punch. Easy peasy!

Scrapbooking - The Return!

I haven't scrapbooked a single page for about two years, without a lie. I don't know what happened, well actually I do, it was the discovery of photobooks.
I create these wonderful books of all of the year's photos, and it instantly takes away the desperate **need** to scrapbook all of my photographs, and the guilt of feeling 'behind' on my scrapbooking and never being able to keep up with recording all of life's events as they happen. Do you know what I mean?

Many scrapbookers have that feeling, that you can take so many photos, how can you possibly get them down into a scrapbook album fast enough, and the truth of the matter is, you can't. But the great thing is, that I don't feel the 'need' to anymore!

Now that has resulted in a revolt from me, hence why I haven't scrapbooked a single page in two years. But like with everything, you have a break and then you begin to miss it a little. So ta da - a scrapbook page, just because I can! Not for a magazine deadline, not for a class, just for me.

So thanks to the photobooks, I can now document all of my year's stories in a fast and easy way (which everyone seems to love by the way, so if you haven't created a photobook for yourself or especially for a gift, give it a try!) which leaves me to scrap just the special photographs. Hooray!

I hope the sun is shining for you this bank holiday where you are, it's a bit chilly here!