TIME FOR A NEW SKETCH

Hi Everyone

Hopefully your week has been going well and you have seen some sunshine .. .. nearly time for another weekend .. .. can you believe it?!?!?  

Some of my week has involved sorting out dreaded computer problems I have experienced recently, which have thankfully now been rectified by a computer technician who actually knows what he is doing .. .. .. the only part we haven't been able to return to its former glory is the old beloved Serif Craft Artist download I purchased years ago.  So the time has finally come for me to be "forced" into getting my head around the Affinity Designer programme. I know I will love it .. .. eventually .. .. but it is a serious step up for me from Serif Craft Artist and I feel like I am learning a whole new language.  

But I am determined that I will master it and get there eventually.

It took me quite a while, but I have finally managed to create "something" worth looking at .. .. a new sketch for my rectangular collection.  Yay!!!

I am now keeping my fingers crossed that I can remember how I did it, and also how I eventually managed to get it onto my blog (because that took me ages too LOL!!!).  

There will be lots of fun to be had with the new programme, and thankfully there is lots of help on the old 'tinternet, so I am looking forward to delving in deeper once the pressures of life allow.  My overactive brain is thinking I could perhaps even design some digital backing papers of my own!! 

But for now this was my first successful creation, and I went to bed last night feeling quite chuffed that I had at last mastered something that I have tried to do so many times. Baby steps I know - but at least steps in the right direction.

As the saying goes "if at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again" .. .. .. .. .. but it has taken a lot of trying for me to create something that looks as simple and basic as this .. .. .. LOL!!! 

and this is how it looks when put into action:

This used:

Backing Papers:  Isabelline from Pink Petticoat/The Lovely Studio (very sadly no longer trading) 

Sizzix Die "664164" Wildflower Stems"

LOTV Digital "Stamp Block Sentiment"

Spellbinders:  Circle and Scalloped Circle Die
X-Cut Corner Rounding Punch

Nail Heads
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Hopefully it won't be so long before another sketch appears!  Have fun if you decide to have a play with it and please let me know if you do, so that I can pop along and have a look at what you did with it.

Enjoy your weekend when it arrives. 

SNIPPETS PLAYGROUND CHALLENGE #501

Hi Everyone

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and got to see some beautiful sunshine.  

It wasn't "hot" sunshine here but still beautiful to see in a lovely clear blue sky!  Let's hope it is a sign of things to come.

A play in my craft pod yesterday created a card for Challenge #501 over in the Snippets Playground. This challenge encourages us to use up papers and card that have been leftover from other projects.

I started out with an image which I coloured with ProMarkers and then grabbed a wallet of snippet papers which I knew would work beautifully alongside. 

Whenever I purchase a set of digital papers I print off the ones that appeal to me the most, and once used I store any leftovers in their own labelled wallet ready for the next time I want to use them, knowing everything will match beautifully without needing to search through my large collection of random snippets.  Anything in these type of wallets in my craftroom started life as an A4 printed sheet. 

Below is my finished offering .. .. ..

This used:

Image: Amanda Jayne Designs (via Etsy) - Bee With Balloon
Design Papers:  Nitwits Collection "Beelightful"
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
ProMarkers
X-Cut Flower Die (very, very, very old)
X-Cut Corner Rounding Punch
Nail Heads
Crystal Glamour Dust
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Have a good week everyone.  

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

.. .. .. so now in the blink of an eye another week disappeared and a shiny new one appeared yesterday.  I wonder what this one is going to hold?

I am seriously hoping that the whole of this year isn't going to disappear at this fast a pace!  I can remember a week at school lasting way way longer. 

There was a chance for me to have a stint in my little craft pod today.. .. .. and below is one of the creations I made.  A whole 9cm square, these little cards are popular with customers and recipients alike.  I usually just add a blank insert inside so that they can be used for a variety of occasions. Some have sentiments on the front but not all. 

I find it surprising how many folk like the teeny tiny cards, and when I query why they invariably say "because they are just so cute and small and get to stand in front of any other cards" people might receive.  Some folk attach them to gifts they are giving instead of a label.

This used:

Image:  Artcult .. .. a great source of images, but sadly I can no longer see the one I used here in the store - it was called Sweet Bird Cages.  I can see it as a collection of circular images but no longer a square set.  (They re-size beautifully too).
Backing Papers from Snippet Mountain
Lace
My Trusty Sewing Machine
We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

I must admit I don't really like to see birds in cages .. .. in real life or in pictures .. .. but this one looks like he has a little escape hatch so he is free to fly to his hearts content .. .. which I feel all birds should be able to do .. .. otherwise what is the point of having wings?!?!?!?

Hopefully catch you again soon.

SUNDAY SNIPPETS ON A MONDAY!

Hi Playmates

A mountain of cards are needed here and I have an extra busy week ahead of me with Mum, so I installed myself nice and early into my little craft pod yesterday to see what miracles I could perform over the course of the day.

I don't know about you but I always start my day full of excitement and ideas of what I want to achieve, thinking I have all the time in the world (especially if it is a day I get to just stay at home).  But for some reason the time just whizzes by in the blink of an eye and I don't manage even half of what I thought I would achieve.

But never mind.  I got some things crossed off that never-ending list yesterday, one of them being my homework for taking over to the Snippets Playground Challenge, where we are encouraged to make the most of all those offcuts that we squirrel away.

I did actually make my card yesterday but the light wasn't good enough to photograph it until today.  We actually have a bit of sunshine today!  Woo hoo!!

I must admit that I am good and use my snippets on a regular basis, but I also add to them regularly too .. .. which doesn't help in the never ending fight to reduce them (but at least I am trying).

Anyway, this week Challenge #500 has arrived in the playground .. .. a very special landmark!  Well done Di and Sarn on reaching such dizzy heights.

There is a mandatory theme this time of "celebration" .. .. .. but that isn't too hard a challenge is it .. .. and we all have snippets to raid . .. and here is my offering:

This used:

A cute little bird die - unbranded from Amazon (which I know I am going to have lots of fun with)
Sentiment:  Penny Black "30-297" Sprinkles and Smiles
Altenew Leaf Canopy Stamp and Die Set
Scalloped Rectangle Die:  Julie Hickey SKU: JHD-CUT-1003 Layers, Frames & Banners
Distress Oxide Inks
Flower Punch
Nail Heads
and of course My Trusty Sewing Machine

These were the snippets I started off with .. .. some of which may look a little strange because to make use of what was still going to be leftover I cut out more little tags for taking to the charity shop .. .. and it looks like I might be able to cut a few more small ones from around that square aperture LOL!!

The two very pale blue strips were cut off from a snippet rectangle I started off with, and the large piece of white card had already had a white square cut out of it from a previous project.

Must admit I am quite chuffed with how this has turned out.

I hope you get chance to dig out some snippets and play along.

Have a good day.  I am off to Mum's next and am hoping to have a good old blog catch up whilst I am there (if she disappears into the land of nod at any stage).

THANK YOU JAN

Hi Playmates

Just calling by quickly to let you know that there is a star who visits my blog .. .. .. Jan R .. .. .. who knew exactly where my image came from in my previous post .. .. the one I used for Mr Heart's valentine card this year.

Thank you so much Jan - you are a star!!!

If you get chance to visit Jan then please do, she is such a fun blogger and her posts always make me smile .. .. and we all need smiles in our lives don't we.

The image is called "I love u bear".

and he is actually on sale at the moment and you can find him here from "Little Scraps of Heaven" and can be used for more than just valentine makes.

Lots of others sale offers too .. .. just saying .. .. LOL!!!

So that is me for today.  No pictures because there have been no crafty makes this last few days, as I have been too busy with valentine fun and Mum.  But I will be back tomorrow, I hope, with a new post.

I had a lovely valentine's day and received a very special gift from Mr Heart .. .. .. a heart shaped hot water bottle!!  Never seen one before, but somehow my special someone managed to stumble across one. 

Catch you again soon.

NEARLY TIME TO HAVE VALENTINE'S AT THE READY

Hi Everyone

I hope that all is well with you all.

We are celebrating here in the new home of hearts because our final carpet has been fitted and we have, at very long last, unpacked the very last box following the move to our new home.  It has only taken nearly 10 months to renovate everywhere and find a place for everything!!  Phew!!

Part of what appeared during this final unpacking/organising session was a box which contained things I had packed away last minute from around my old craft room .. .. .. mainly lots of images/sentiments.  Some digital and others stamped, and some which were already coloured and ready to use (I sometimes take images and a few ProMarkers to Mum's with me do do a bit of colouring if we don't have anything else planned).  

My offering here uses an image I had already coloured:

This used:

Image:  No clues I'm afraid.  I know it was a digital image but that is all and so far I haven't located it in my image folders. (But if anyone recognises it I would love to know please).

Sentiment:  Computer generated
Backing Papers and Ribbon:  From Snippet Mountain
ProMarkers
Corner Rounding Punch

My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me.

Hopefully catch you again soon .. .. .. now I have ran out of boxes to unpack .. .. .. Woo Hoo!!!

TEENY TINY TUESDAY .. .. AGAIN, ALREADY!!

 Hi Everyone

Gosh I can hardly believe it .. .. another week has flown by and I haven't had chance to share anything with you since my last teeny tiny make.  

I can't even believe that January is done and dusted.

Anyway, a quick play late this evening produced this little 9cm square creation using another of my favourite Penny Black Stamps.

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2082E" Dressed Up!
Sentiment:  My Favorite Things "LJD-23" Birthday Greetings
Frame:  My Favorite Things "MFT-926" Stitched Round Square Frame 
Spellbinders Circle and Scalloped Circle Dies
Papers and card from Snippet Mountain
ProMarkers
Glossy Accents for that shiny wet nose!!
We Are Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

Hopefully I will be back here again soon, before another week disappears!!

In the meantime I hope that everyone is well and your local roads aren't as full of roadworks as most of our town and surrounding areas seem to be at the moment.  Lots of roads closed off and diversions to be had .. .. but fingers crossed it will mean a lot fewer potholes once they have finished.

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Hope your Tuesday has been a good one.  I have had a day at home and got a few things crossed off my list, and managed some time in the craft pod.

A teeny tiny creation to share from me today which measures a whole 9cm square.  It used up a few more of my snippets (obviously not many - but every little helps).

This used:

Penny Black 51-095 :  Hearts in a Circle Die
Snippets from The Mountain

Corner Rounding Punch

Sentiment: LOTV Digital "Stamp Block Sentiment"

Spellbinders Dies:  Circle and Scalloped Circle

My Trusty Sewing Machine

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

So a teeny tiny card, and a teeny tiny blog post.  Plenty of hearts left over for future use too,

Hopefully catch you again soon.

ANYONE FOR CAKE?

Hi Everyone

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend.

I am happy to report that all of my Penny Black stamps are now unpacked (yay) .. .. so I have started putting them to good use:

This used:

Image:  Penny Black “4320H” Prize Cupcake

Sentiment:  Debbie Moore "Birthday Definition" (a very old wooden stamp)

Papers from snippet mountain (the happy birthday paper is from Buddly Crafts but I am not sure where the grey patterned paper came from)

ProMarkers

Spellbinders Circle and Scalloped Circle dies

Corner Rounding Punch

Snippet of ribbon

My Trusty Sewing Machine

and Glossy Accents which I added to the cherry on the cake!

Really hoping I can make a big dent in my snippet mountain this year.  It seems to be growing more quickly than I can use it! LOL!!!

Take care everyone .. .. catch you again soon.

SNIPPETS FOR TEENY TINY TUESDAY

 Hi Everyone

Tuesday already!!  I can see this is going to be another week that flies by in the blink of an eye!

Here with my teeny tiny card for this week (which measures a whole 9cms square).

I made something using my snippets, which I might regret doing, because I enjoyed making it so much that it might become another obsession.

I purchased (many years ago) some small patterned paper pads from The Works.  Beautiful papers .. .. but that is exactly what the pages are .. .. paper!  But actually using them hasn't been easy because it is so flimsy that lines from double-sided tape or glue would show through, or crinkle the paper.  But I loved the designs and colours so much I simply kept them, whilst wishing the designs were made from paper that was the same thickness as their 12 x 12 design pads. 

Anyway, this is what I made

This used:

Snippets of paper from a small paper pad from The Works (which probably now has antique value because it is very old, but the papers were too lovely for them not to move home with me)

X-Cut Butterfly Punch (another antique)

Wooden Embellishment
MFT Die Set:  Stitched Flowers
Gems and Pearl Embellishments
White Gel Pen
My Trusty Sewing Machine

WeRMemory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

To build up my creation, I cut and ripped the flimsy paper into various shapes and simply stitched them randomly to a base of patterned paper which measured 9cm square.  I added just a very, very tiny bit of glue where I wouldn't be stitching to hold each piece in place.  

Working by attaching and overlapping one snippet at a time, each were stitched in place, which left me with a decent weight of paper for attaching to my card base .. .. and I didn't think it turned out too badly for a first effort. I feel this style of design will work best with the lighter weight design papers and card in my snippet collection.  The majority of my plain coloured card snippets would be too thick, other than for the topmost layers or embellishments as I did on this trial make.

There were quite a few snippets left from where I had tried to use the papers in the past (tucked in the back of the pad to keep them flat) and alongside some plain card .. .. .. these are what I started with .. ..

I am running over to the Snippets Playground to show my little creation off as everything (including the paper I used for the envelope) was a snippet - even the card base which I had created earlier.

Looking forward to trying this technique again sometime in the future.

A PURR...FECT BIRTHDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all keeping well and have had a good weekend.

Here this evening with a card I made earlier but haven't had chance to post, due to work finally starting on clearing the last of the boxes that remained packed in the hallway, in readiness for getting the old carpet up and a new one down - so excited that we are nearly finished renovating and can simply live in and enjoy our new home .. .. it is going to be sheer heaven!

But I am here at last with this little creation:

This used: 

Image: "In Love With Cats Clip Art" by Fantasy Digitals via Etsy (one of ten images that are in the download)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Corner Rounding Punch

Backing papers from snippet mountain (have been working hard to try and reduce the volume this week - perhaps if I do the same for the next five years I might find some improvement LOL!!)
Ribbon

My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me.

Wishing everyone a good week ahead.

THE RETURN OF TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope all is well with you all.

I am definitely enjoying getting some of my crafty time back again and feel like a kid in a sweet shop at the moment now that I get to play with all the goodies that have been packed away for months and months on end with no chance or time to make use of them!  

Today sees the return of my Teeny Tiny makes, which for anyone new to my blog, measure a whole 9cm square .. .. and just to be extra good I have even used some of the snippets I had left over after Sunday's creation.

So here we go:

This used:

One of the images from an old "Backgrounds" clear stamp set from Kanban stamped onto white paper and coloured with ProMarkers.  Only a small stamp but perfect for what I needed
Then Julie Hickey goodies:
Sweet Daisy Stamp Set and corresponding Die Set
Hazel's Sentiment Medley Die Set SKU: DS-HE-1063 (loving this smaller version of some of Julie's larger statement dies).
Glamour Dust
My Trusty Sewing Machine
WeRMemory Keepers Envelope Punch Board

and that is me for today.

I will hopefully catch you again soon.

SNIPPETS PLAYGROUND ANNIVERSARY

Hi Everyone

I can hardly believe that it is a whole 13 years since I handed the snippet playground keys over to the ever wonderful Miss Di .. .. .. she has done a fantastic job in helping us to keep our snippets under control over the years.

I dread to think how many tonnes of paper/card and ribbon we have turned into little works of art over the years between us all.

The number 13 is supposed to be "unlucky for some".. .. .. .. but for us it is "super lucky" because we have definitely enjoyed many years of fun with Di and also more recently Sarn too .. .. who between them do a brilliant job of trying to keep us all from being buried under piles of snippets.  

Thank you ladies, long may the fun continue.

So to celebrate this landmark occasion I have used "just a few" of my many snippets to create an anniversary card:

This used:

Random Snippets, acetate, and a snippet of ribbon
Spellbinders Heart Die
Sentiment:  Polkadoodles PD8024 All About the Girls Sentiments (love this stamp set, it matches with others that are available for creating your own sentiments).
My Trusty Sewing Machine

These were the snippets I selected to work with (but not all made it to the final card):

As you may already know Di very kindly, and very bravely, took over the snippet challenge from me which all began in January 2011 as a way to use up some of my leftovers and I made it a one year mission to use as many of them as possible.  This is the post where it all began and it was at that stage just a personal mission .. .. it was something I did on a Sunday and I called it my Sunday Scrap Day.  A title I later abandoned for the word snippets .. .. .. .. because our snippets definitely aren't scrap are they?  

Lots of other folk seemed to have the same problem as me and were becoming overrun with snippets, so they joined in and enjoyed sending me links to what they had made and I would share them the following week by simply linking to people's blogpost.

Then once my year mission was complete this was the point at which the lovely Di took over and turned everything into a proper challenge blog, which has provided us with lots of fun, friendships and fantastic prizes too.  Many thanks Di.  You truly are a star.

So here we are all these years later .. .. .. .. and I can remember the day it all started like it was yesterday.  I still have as many snippets as I had at the beginning - but I have had lots of fun along the way and my mission to reduce them still continues!

I  hope you enjoyed my links to "memory lane" and that you get chance to break out some of your snippets to celebrate this special occasion and join in the fun at The Snippets Playground Challenge.

Take care everyone and I hope you find yourself some crafty time. 

MAKE NEW FRIENDS - BUT KEEP THE OLD

Hi Everyone

I hope your New Year has got off to a good start.

I am quite pleased with mine so far .. .. .. apart from the rather unpredictable weather!

Crafting has taken a nice little up-turn now that home renovations have slowed down, and that is making me feel super happy and creative 😊.

As part of my organisation mission I have been sorting out my image and design paper downloads and it has been quite exciting to re-visit and fall in love again with lots of digital goodies - some of which are now very, very old .. .. .. but still very, very beautiful and of course there are the sparkly new ones that are still waiting to get an airing too!

Hence the title of this post.  For as exciting as it is to come across new digital designers and their work .. .. .. I still love and miss my favourite designers from the past .. .. .. especially Pink Petticoat, who morphed into The Lovely Studio but are now nowhere to be found .. .. and of course the ever lovely DigiStamp Boutique who had the most gorgeous images but sadly stopped trading.  

But all of their hard work and images / sentiments and design papers I have accumulated over the years are timeless and I just know I will be using them always.

So as the old saying goes "make new friends, but keep the old, the new are silver but the old are gold" and today I am sharing a bit of the old:

This used:

Dandelion Clocks - Pink Petticoat (as with most things from Pink Petticoat the design came in lots of colourways which matched their patterned and plain design colour range)
Sentiment:  LOTV Embossed Labels
Corner Rounding Punch
Ribbon
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Nail Heads
Diamond Stickles

No snow here yet .. .. and hopefully it stays that way.  

ALL THE VERY BEST

 Hi Everyone

Just flying by to wish everyone "all the very best of everything" for 2025.  A little late as I spent the day with my Mum yesterday

I am very aware that quite a few people are going through some very tough times at the moment so I don't want to go overboard talking about the excitement that a new year brings, because for a lot of folk they probably can't imagine being excited or happy about anything ever again.  But I do wish them strength to battle through what they are going through.

No rash promises from me this year because I failed miserably with those over last two years after quite a short period of time .. .. but with all we have had going on I have forgiven myself LOL!!!

I have set myself some goals though and am hoping I do better with those.  A goal feels like it is less pressure than a promise!

Anyway, I am here today sharing a card I made yesterday using a Nitwits download I bought whilst it was on offer at the end of last year and I love it very much.  

This used:

Design Papers and Image:  Nitwits Well Read Collection (love the colours very much)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated (there are lots of sentiments in the download but I created my own for a book collector who is retiring)
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I have had lots of requests to share my new craft room now that is finished and in use .. .. .. .. .. so here we go (not that it is this tidy at this point in time .. .. today is "clear up day" and "putting Christmas craft goodies away for a little while".   

I am really pleased with how it has come together and am looking forward to spending many happy hours (but really I mean "years") playing in there, and I also intend using my trusty sewing machine for some actual fabric sewing projects too - but that is likely to be quite a way into the future.  It is good to dream though.  

There is also a large set of white drawers on the wall I couldn't get into the picture where I store my wooden stamps and part of my ribbon collection.  On top of the drawers is my Big Shot Pro.

I could really do with another work surface but space doesn't allow it as a permanent feature so I do have a small collapsible table that I use when I am really struggling.

Those empty wooden crates are what I used to display my wedding work in .. .. back in the days of wedding work.  A local chappie made lots of them for me and they were great for making interesting displays of my work (I miss designing and doing the wedding fayres very much, and the lovely couples I got to meet, but not all the work and pressure wedding stationery involves).

The crates are no longer empty, but full of craft goodies, along with another stack of five crates which stand on the floor next to the set of drawers on the wall you are having to imagine.

So that is me.  You can now picture where I escape to whenever other responsibilities allow it.

Take care everyone and I hope 2025 is kind to you all.