Another Try!

I gave the photo upload another try and here's the third notepad. Behave yourself in future, Blogger!!

Chilled Out - or maybe not!

I decided to give myself a wee treat today because I had a pamper voucher for a mini back/shoulder massage at my local beauty salon. It was only a wee fifteen-minute treatment but it was very pleasant and, along with my yoga session this morning (at home, I don't go to a class although I'd like to!!), I should be feeling really chilled out! And I am - I think! Whatever effect it had, I felt inspired to do a whole load of housework when I came home - which is most unlike me!!

Luckily, I've been inspired to make things as well, so here are some new cupcake tag embellishments:

And three new decorated notepads:

Except I'm only able to show you two of them because something's broken in Blogger and I can't upload any more photos!! This is just another of several problems my blog has experienced lately - grrrr! Maybe I'm not so chilled out any more!!! :(

Money Wallets

I recently bought some plain brown money wallets in the hope of jazzing them up a bit and today I finally got round to it!

The cute animals were punched from some patterned papers from my stash and of course I used up lots of scrappy strips!!

It was a quick but fun project for today!

Whirlwind Weekend!

I'm just chilling out this evening, after a hectic, but enjoyable few days. On Friday night my friend Michelle and I went to see this at the Playhouse:

As longtime fans of Mr Pellow, we like to indulge ourselves in his vocal talents (and his yummy, devilish grin!)whenever possible! The previous time it was the Witches of Eastwick; these dark, sexy roles suit him very well! So we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves; the cast all had fab voices and the music and effects were superb. Wibble!

From time to time I help out Himself's mum and her friend on their stall where they sell handbags, jewellery and scarves. Yesterday we were at a school gala day which was good fun, and today I did a stint at the Royal Highland Show! I've never been to this massive event before
so it was great to be involved and to soak up the atmosphere in between being very busy selling things! I couldn't believe how many people were there, and this was just one day out of four! I've gained some valuable insights into running your own business and the buzz of selling has got me itching for more!!!

So this next week, with a craft fair coming up, I'll be working my fingers to the bone, getting stock ready. Which means lots of paper-clipped bundles!

These ones are going to be bookmarks!!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, folks!

Bunty's Birthday

I love receiving specific commissions for cards, and a favourite one recently was to make a birthday card for an 88-year-old lady who has a fondness for a waggy-tailed dalmatian-type dog called Keira!

It's great to see the sun shining today; I've had my hair cut so my head feels about 100kg lighter, I've got some new library books to look forward to and I'm assembling paper-clipped piles of scraps again! Bliss!!!

Re-jigging

Every so often when I'm stuck for a project, I take a look around at items I've had hanging around my craft room for yonks, and decide whether a transformation from one thing into another might do them good!

For instance, these mini notecards were looking for a good home but just weren't finding one...

So I dug out a template I'd made, for a teabag-holder card:

(If you can't read my horrendous scrawl, the base card is 10" x 3 1/4". Score at 3 1/4", 3 1/2" and 6 3/4" and crease the folds. Cut the third panel in half as shown.)

And soon I had some nice wee teabag gift cards!

Maybe they'll find a home now!!

You Know It's Summer When....

.... your town holds it's gala day parade and your neighbours have a barbecue - all in the rain! It's admirable that we don't let the dismal weather put us off, but I'm hopeful there is drier, warmer weather round the corner so I can stop wearing jumpers and carrying my hot water bottle around!

I might even be able to wear my flip flops!! These tags are just about to be listed on Folksy!

Flip Flop Fun!

I had a couple of holiday-related "thank you" cards to make, so it was the ideal chance to road-test my new flip flop design!!

I've already picked out loads of pretty paper scraps so I can make a plethora of these tags!!!

Components

After my holiday, I had lots of Eastenders episodes to catch up on, so I've multitasked and been preparing the "bits" which will go together to make a bulk order of baby gift tags.

Lots of bear heads:

Tags with pretty baby colours on them:

And baby wording strips:

Now I'm off to undertake the main part of the assembly process, bows will be added in the morning and - voila! I love doing things like this!

Good Old Blogger!

I'm just back from a week away on holiday (sun, sea and sand - yay!) and I'm glad to see that scheduled blogging worked a treat! I had a great time away, but it's fab to be back, with orders to work on and all your blogs to catch up with! I'm looking forward to getting down to some intensive crafting; it feels like forever since I brandished a pen and a pair of scissors!

The parrot's not my creation - he came with a sparkler in Himself's pudding at a restaurant - but it has put me in mind of some summery, holiday-themed designs so watch this space!

Daniel's Dinosaur!

I've mocked up one of my dinosuar cards to show that they can be personalised.

It's a pity I don't actually know anyone called Daniel who's six!

If you do, please let me know!

Piles of Scrap!

I was still having a dilemma over my scrap box so I decided to start grouping random bits together:

Once I had several groups I cut the bits into strips and stuck them down:





Then I used yet more scraps to make rosette-style greeting tags:

Once assembled, I had a set of scrap-friendly cards for general use!

Result: A slightly emptier scrap box!

Bundles of Joy

I love prepping lots of little projects to take with me to the weekly craft group I attend. I like to have little bundles of things ready-cut and folded thus:

So that on the night I don't have to think too much, I can just sit and listen to everyone discussing their medical conditions (!) whilst assembling the contents of my paper-clipped bundles!

It's good fun! (apart from the medical conditions!!)

Scrap Box Distress Call!

Last night, whilst searching fruitlessly for a particular shade of patterned paper, I felt suddenly overwhelmed by the contents of my scrapbox. In fact, I could have wept. So many bits of paper building up, spilling over the top, drowning me in scraps (slight exaggeration here), with no planned use for any of them. I was distraught (again, a slight exag). I had to do something.

So I set about choosing some random pieces and turning them from this:

Into this:

And finally this:

Phew!

My mission in life, more than ever, is to work my way through that box until it is nearly empty (I say "nearly", as I don't think it will ever be completely scrap-free!).

Wish me luck!!

Productive Day

Last night I decided to go with the mini paper piecings and made some embellishments which can then be used to make mini cards, gift tags or bookmarks...

And, yes, the original designs were made using teeny tiny bits of paper! I'm sure making them brought on a bout of severe eye strain!!

And, continuing with the doggy theme, I've created some bookmarks and gift tags:

Normally I have something tasty to nibble at my craft desk but I'm trying to be a bit healthy at the moment so there are no cakes and only a very tiny amount of chocolate in my treat cupboard - aaarrggh! I'll just have to make up for the lack of sweeties by keeping extra busy!!!