Get well card

Good morning 

Isn't it lovely having the longer evenings and sunshine at last?  Even though it is still a bit nippy!

Today I thought I'd show you a 'get well card' I made for a friend of mine who is recovering from an operation.  I'd been sorting out some of my stamps (how did I manage to have so many?) and came across a Michael Powell Urban stamp from Docrafts which I hadn't used before (much to my shame!).  I thought it would be cheery and summery and quite appropriate for my card.    

I used a 6 x 6 white card and used a bright stripy backing paper which I think, was a freebie and matted it onto blue first and then red.

The seagull stamp I thought was so cute was also a freebie, but I thought it just added to the fun!  I slightly coloured him in but not to much detail.  He was also matted and layered.

The stamp was coloured in using my usual watercolour pencils and also some Spectrum Noir Aqua Markers.  I'm not very confident with these yet, but as I've bought them, I must persevere!

Please excuse both the lack of clarity on the pictures (I don't know why they're not coming up clearer) and also my foot at the bottom of this picture.  Not a pretty sight!!

Thank you for looking.

Liz x

Sparkly flower cards

Hello

I thought I'd show you some cards I made taking inspiration from Sara Davies' blog.

The base of the card is plain white which I have distressed using Tim Holtz Distress Inks.    On top of that I added a plain white card.

Then using a Cuttlebug embossing folder I embossed some white card which I cut into four equal squares.  I then distressed the edges of the four squares with matching distress ink.

Die cut some flowers - I used Crafters Companion flower dies and leaves (sorry but I can't remember the name of them!) and Memory Box Serafina Heart and Elegant Scrollwork  onto plain white card.

Again using the matching distress ink rub the colour onto the card, through the die.  The scrollwork and heart dies I sparkled using CC Stick and Stay spray glue and then sprinkled some crystal glitter onto them.

To assemble the card, place the four squares onto the card, keeping them aligned.  Then add the heart and scrollwork onto the card, positioning them so you can see them when the flowers are added.  Using silicone glue, put the flowers on the top wherever you want.  I also add a little bit of sparkle in the centre of the flowers.  I then cut a little label, distressed it and then stamped the message on, using the matching ink.

And there you have it.  I have shown them to quite a few people and they have been very well received.

Thank you for looking.

Liz x

And sew to bed

Hello again

I thought you might like to see this sewing project using a pattern from Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine, issue 28 which I thought would suit both my younger grand-daughters for a present, as I had made the coveralls for their siblings.

The pattern consists of two larger mice, two smaller mice and their bed.  I thought the mice might be tricky but not the bed - how wrong was I!!

I matched the mummy and daddy mice's ears to their baby son and daughter and they all have a little string tail!  I made the mice from felt and used matching fabric for the ears.  The mice were unbelievably easy and the instructions were very good.

However, the bed!!  Oh my word I could not get my head around the pattern.  I showed it to several sewing people but they were stumped, like me.  In the end I emailed them at Love Patchwork & Quilting and explained my problem.  They were very helpful and sent me a bit more detail.  Unfortunately I still couldn't get my head around it.  Eventually I took it with me to Sharon Gammon at WhoopsieDaisyDesigns to see if she could see what I was doing wrong.  It took Sharon quite a while, but she eventually managed it!  Hurray! and you can see the finished project.  

For the bed I made some little patchwork squares and quilted them for the front of the bed, which had some padding on it.  The pillow I made it from some white minky material I had in my stash and then padded it out with some toy wadding.  The rest of the bed is made up by doing some 'fabric origami' (hence my problems!  You use some cotton fabric for both the lining and the bed backing. 

I'm still not sure I can work it out again, but I shall make some notes to add to the instructions so I can do it again if necessary.  

I really do love it and I hope my grand-daughters will love it too.

Thank you for looking.

Liz x

Children's coveralls

Hello

Today I'd like to show you some coveralls I made for my four grandsons.  I hope they will be ideal for them to paint, draw or even eat in.  

I made these using a pattern from Sharon Gammon, WhoopsieDaisyDesigns and fell in love with them.

I bought some Super Heroes cotton material from the Pumpkin Patch in Hailsham, East Sussex and lined it in plain yellow cotton with a green pocket.  

I cut out a character from the material and appliquéd it onto the pocket.

The back has two sets of ties one by the neck and one by the waist.

The second coverall I made using pirate material which I already had in my stash, on sale from Dunhelm Mills a couple of years ago!

This time I cut out the treasure chest and the pirates' galleon and appliquéd them onto the pocket before I put the pocket on the main fabric.

As you can see I lined it in red cotton and used plain blue cotton for the pocket.  

Again I put two sets of ties on the back.

These two will be winging their way to Australia together with a present for my grand-daughter, which I shall blog about soon.

I also made a spiderman one and a woodland one for my other two grandsons, but I forgot to take photos of them!  

My grandsons range from 16 months to 6 years old and I have made the same size for them all.  The beauty of this pattern is that it will fit all sizes around the neck and waist and all that changes is the length.  I must say it is quite long on my 16 month old grandson but he is probably likely to  make more mess than the others!  (possibly!)

Thank you for looking.

Liz x

Easter cards

Hello, me again

Sorry I've been missing for a few days, but I've still been making bits and pieces!

I don't send many cards at Easter, but I do like to send one or two.  

This one I sent to my sister-in-law.  It was a bit out of my comfort zone, but I think it came out quite well.

I used Sheena Douglass' A Little Bit Sketchy 'Happiness' stamp and coloured it in using my watercolour pencils.

I matted the card onto gold and then used Crafter's Companion Verity Rose Starlet embossing folder onto black card.  I then rubbed Pebeo gold gilding wax over the embossed area, making it look like sun rays. 

I stamped the whole stamp on the card and then used the corner stamp on the right hand part of the card.

The other cards I made were a lot quicker to make.  I used the Clarity daffodil stamp and again coloured it in with my watercolour pencils.  I used my Crafter's Companion nested circle die and I can't remember where I got the paper from.  I think it was printed from one of the CC CDs, but don't ask me which one!!

I made several of these cards as they were so simple to do.

The Happy Easter stamp I used for all the cards was from Jayne Nestorenko's Cute Companions Romance set.

Thank you for looking.

Liz x