The Crafty Blogger

Shoes, Bags and a Bit Of Dressmaking

2011-02-05T17:44:00.001Z

Well I'm not really a girly girl but this post will probably make me look like one!

As most men will tell you women have a thing for handbags and I must admit I have a bit of a bag problem. Not ordinary handbags though, I love camera bags! I even use a non-padded Crumpler bag as my work handbag.

The problem I have with my camera bags is they are not always suited to just carrying about without advertising the fact that I have a camera with me, and in addition to that I usually end up taking another handbag with me. That was until this morning when this came into my life:

a Jill-e for Pentax ladies camera bag.

Jill-e make bags, but like all ladies camera bags they are quite expensive and aren't widely available in the UK so when I saw this brand new on e-bay for £40 I knew I had to have it. (It's not from the Jill-e range it's one they designed for Pentax cameras.)

It's padded and has compartments inside so I can fit my camera, lenses, flash and also my day to day stuff in there like my phone, purse etc (which I often struggle with in my other bags):

I also had another parcel to collect this morning, which totally reinforces the female stereotype; new shoes.

I stumbled across Afeitar's blog when I was looking for cupcake recipes and have been following it ever since. As well as posting about food and baking she also blogs about the cute outfits she wears. One of her entries was about some lovely shoes she had bought in Duo.

When I failed to find some new shoes in town I decided to check out Duo online and I'm so glad I did because I found these in the sale:

They were reduced from £80 to £20 so I couldn't resist.

A girly post wouldn't be complete without a frock so in true Blue Peter style here's one I made earlier:

It's a dress I made (and blogged about earlier in January). This is the final finished version with the zip in and hemmed. It's from a Vogue pattern (ref v8470).

I wore it to a vintage dancehall event last weekend and I am pleased to report it survived the evening and remained intact. I also used the event to practise my photography skills and I managed to get a few decent shots. This is one of my favourites which is of the dance teachers in action:

I also have this event to blame for me going hunting a camera [hand]bag as at one point in the evening I managed to velcro my camera bag to the netting on my underskirt. Well that's my excuse for needing a bag and I'm sticking to it.

Thanks for looking.

Ruthie x

Birthday Card and A Bit Of Beading

2011-01-23T19:01:00.000Z

Here's a couple of recently completed crafty projects. First up is a birthday card I made for my friend:

Please excuse the poor photos. They were taken in my kitchen after it had gone dark (roll on summer!)

Ingredients:

Dies: Cuttlebug butterfly and alphabet; Sizzix ticket: Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle.

Felt and button from Paper and String

Mini bulldog clip from Wilkinsons

Ribbon, flower and brad from stash

Papermania birthday stamp

Papers from GCD studios (Homespun Chic)

I've also done a tiny bit of beading and made a couple of these:

One has gone to a fellow crafter/blogger and mine is going to be attached to my camera bag.

As well as making camera themed charms I have been using my real camera and keeping up with my project 365, although I am a bit behind with updating my 365 blog! I must admit its a bit of a struggle to get pictures with the dark evenings but I'm hanging in there (and learning a lot about using flash).

Yesterday I got the chance to get out and about with my camera and I went for a walk with a friend and her very cute dog. Despite thick fog and frost I managed to get a few reasonable shots. My favourite, and therefore my 365 for yesterday is this one:

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Work In Progress: The Sewing Machine's Out Again!

2011-01-09T12:27:00.000Z

After the (reasonable) success of my races dress last year (here), I decided to get the sewing machine out again. The Vogue pattern I made the dress from has a number of variations on it so I've decided to have a go at the halterneck style. It's not going too badly and all it needs now is a bit of finishing and the zip going in:

The spots are actually red, but I was messing with effects in Vignette so they've come out pink on the pic.

I must confess there is a big underskirt on the mannequin which I didn't make. It's one I bought with another 1950s style dress.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Happy New Year

2011-01-05T17:53:00.000Z

Happy New Year to all of you. Hope you had a lovely time over the festive season.

I've no excuse for my recent absence, except for being a bad blogger! It has to be said I've also been quite a bad crafter and my mojo had very much left the building! Even Christmas card production was very limited this year. Why do you always get the urge to do Christmas cards in August and then it evaporates by mid October?

Anyway, it's a New Year and I will craft. To prove it here's my first card of 2011. Nothing spectacular, but hey I made it!

Ingredients: Scruffy teddy die cut from ebay, K&CO paper, Cuttlebug red tag sale alphabet dies.

As well as venturing into my craftroom (briefly), I've also started another project and blog. I've finally jumped on the bandwagon and started a photography 365 (photo a day) project. If you are interested in photography take a look here The Crafty Blogger's 365. If you are doing a 365 yourself please leave a comment over there as I'd love to take a look.

Hallowe'en Pumpkin Crafting

2010-10-30T11:22:00.022+01:00

Just a quick post to show that i've not been totally neglecting my crafting.

I am rather obsessed with the Rocky Horror Show, and Rocky Horror Picture Show so when I saw a new Dr Frank-N-Furter pumpkin pattern on Zombie Pumpkins I knew I just had to have a go. So here is he is:

And for those of you who aren't familiar with him in the flesh:

Not a bad likeness, even if I do say so myself!

Have a good weekend!

Ruthie x

A Hallowe'en Challenge (and more baking!)

2010-10-17T19:01:00.001+01:00

Craft Fairy (Lisa) has launched a new die cutting challenge over on her blog to create a Hallowe'en themed card or project using a die-cutting machine. There are not a lot of challenges geared-up towards die-cutting specifically so it makes a nice change.

Here's my card:

To fit in with the challenge I used Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies and used a Cuttlebug embossing folder on the background paper. I also used a digital stamp from here, Fiskars edge punch, ribbon from my local market and a bit of pen stitching.

Get over to Lisa's blog and check out the dare!

As I said in the post title I have done a bit more baking. Yes my cupcake baking addiction has not yet subsided!. After watching Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall making rhubarb compote this week I started thinking about rhubarb and custard and how it would make a lovely cupcake. So yesterday I got busy in the kitchen and came up with my take on rhubarb and custard cupcakes:

It's a vanilla cupcake with a portion of rhubarb and ginger compote inside and topped with custard buttercream icing.

The reason there is a tub of Bird's custard powder in the background is because that's what I used in the 'custard' buttercream icing. Yes I am a child of the 1970s and absolutely LOVE Bird's custard (particularly on Jamaica Ginger Cake).

Also as a child of the 1970s Rhubarb (or should I say Roobarb) and Custard also has another meaning:

Thanks for looking.

Ruthie x

Birthday Boy Card and Cupcakes

2010-10-10T17:03:00.000+01:00

Yesterday was Mr Crafty Blogger's birthday. I was tempted to buy a card due to my love of making men's cards, but I resisted temptation and made this instead:

Ingredients: Kraft card stock, Basic Grey Offbeat papers, Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies, lettering and tag cut using Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale alphabet set, garden twine from Wilko, eyelet and peel-off from stash, Tigerfrogg image, pen stitching.

Mr Crafty Blogger's favourite chocolates are Thornton's Alpinis which are are hazelnut and almond praline. Following the success of last week's cookie dough cupcakes (particularly with Mr Crafty Blogger) I decided to try and make some Alpini cupcakes as a birthday treat.

I went in search of suitable recipes and came across this one for chocolate and hazelnut cupcakes on Afeitar's blog, which is originally from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. I figured that it wouldn't be that difficult to work in a bit of almond, particularly as I had some almond flavouring in the cupboard. I'm pleased to report they worked and here's the finished cakes:

I didn't follow the recipe for the sponge cakes, I just used my basic cupcake recipe, but the filling and topping is basically the same as the original, with just a bit of almond flavour added.

If anyone fancies trying them, here's my full version of the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
(Makes 12 standard size cupcakes)

For the cakes:
100g self raising flour
125g caster sugar
125g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
2 large eggs
25g cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tbsp milk
120g Nutella spread (or other chocolate hazelnut spread)
Few drops of almond extract

For the buttercream icing:
250g icing sugar (sifted)
80g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
25 ml milk
80g Nutella (or other chocolate hazelnut spread)

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

To decorate:

Alpini chocolates, or other pralines of your choice.

METHOD:

Cupcakes:

- Preheat the oven to Gas 6/200c (180c fan)

- Sift the flour and cocoa together

- Cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy

- Beat in the vanilla extract

- Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of flour/cocoa after each one

- Fold in the remaining flour/cocoa

- Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of milk (just enough to make the batter loose enough so it drops off a spoon)

- Line a 12 cup muffin/cupcake pan with papers and fill each one 2/3 full with batter and bake for 15-18 mins, until the cakes are cooked. (To test, stick a cocktail stick into the centre, if it comes out clean they are done.)

- While the cakes are baking, mix a few drops of almond extract into the Nutella.

- When the cupcakes are cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool on wire rack. Once completely cooled cut a little circle out of each one and pop a small amount of Nutella/almond mix in. Replace the cut piece of cake to reseal the top of the cakes (you will be left with something like this):

(I found it easier to scoop a tiny bit of cake out once I had cut a 'lid' as this left more room for the filling.)

Buttercream icing:

- Mix all the ingredients together in a free standing mixer, or with a hand held electric whisk until light and fluffy.

- Pipe or spread onto the top of each cake

- Add a chocolate on top to finish.

NOTES and VARIATIONS

I have specified using almond extract in the recipe. If possible avoid using almond flavouring. I only had almond flavouring in and I've found it gives a bit of an artificial boozy taste.

I have specified the recipe makes 12 cakes. I actually got 15 out of the batter but it will depend on your cupcake sizes.

For a variation omit the almond flavour and top with a Ferreo Rocher chocolate in place of the Alpinis. (It's worth noting that you only get 9 chocolates in the standard Thornton's bags so you either need to buy 2 bags or 3 extra loose chocolates).

Thanks for looking and happy Sunday,

Ruthie x

More Baking

2010-10-02T18:31:00.000+01:00

I've had the house to myself today so I made the most of it by making a lot of mess in the kitchen! I've made another Christmas cake (destined for my Mum and Dad) and these:

Cookie Dough Cupcakes

I saw the recipe on KevinandAmanda.com and knew I had to give them a try. Mine aren't as perfect as Amanda's, and I need to tweak the cookie dough to cake mix ratio, but I am quite pleased with them as a first attempt. I've not tasted the finished article as yet, but hopefully the cookie dough will still be nice and soft in the middle.

I'm off now to catch up with Strictly Come Dancing.

Enjoy your weekend,

Ruthie x

Work In Progress

2010-09-29T19:14:00.000+01:00

The weather is getting colder and damper and I can definitely tell I am back on my winter schedule. My 'winter schedule' is nothing exciting, it mainly revolves around eating soup from one of the local bakeries for my lunch and spending my evenings attempting to knit.

I am by no means an experienced knitter, but I try. Last year I managed a hat and this year I have decided on big chunky scarves. The idea is that I will knit some as Christmas presents, but I need to do a prototype first (quality control and all that). Last week I made a start and here's a quick pic of the prototype in progress:

The pattern is a free download from Ravelry and the finished product should look a little something like this.

I will still be card making over the winter but I sometimes find it hard work in the evenings with the lack of light. Knitting is something I can do curled up on the sofa with the TV on. Choice of viewing for knitting will most probably be Mad Men on DVD. I was a latecomer to the MM phenomenon but now I am obsessed! I'll also be throwing in a bit of Strictly Come Dancing for good measure. (As you can imagine Mr Crafty Blogger is delighted "that thing" starts again this week!)

Cheers

Ruthie x

It Worked!

2010-09-26T11:58:00.001+01:00

Last night the christmas cake (from my last post) finally emerged from it's Jack Daniels sauna and here it is:

(not the best pic as it was taken last night in my kitchen so no natural light whatsoever)

It's a little lighter coloured than I expected but I think that's because there's no treacle in the recipe. I am used to the ones my mum makes which I seem to recall use treacle.

Now I just need to wait until Christmas to see how it tastes!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,

Ruthie x

A Hallowe'en Challenge Card

2010-09-25T16:50:00.000+01:00

I've recently started following the Ribbon Girl blog and they have recently launched their first challenge:

I'm probably a little bit predictable with this one, but I opted for a Hallowe'en theme:

Ingredients: Vintage canned pumpkin label from the Graphics fairy, Basic Grey paper, Nellie Snellen frame die, hand cut pumpkin, ribbon from local market, pen stitching, studio G alphabet stamps.

In addition to finishing this card today, I also had a very productive morning and made my first ever Christmas cake! It's currently what can only be described as sweating in tin foil and Jack Daniels but here's a few shots of the work in progress from this morning:

Getting to grips with the recipe (from Feast by Nigella Lawson):

Well on the way:

Mmmm, ready for the tin (I love raw cake mix!)

Ready for the oven:

I have to say I wasn't convinced with the instruction to put a large collar of brown paper around the tin, I was sure it would set on fire in the oven. Thankfully it didn't.

After I had finished scraping the bowl I offered Mr Crafty Blogger the chance to 'lick the bowl'. His reply was "err no, it's got raw egg in it hasn't it?". I was very surprised at his response, particularly as he was brought up in NW England during the 1970s where 'bowl licking' was practically a sport and one which most children could reach an olympic standard at! He then proceeded to ask if I had eaten any of the mixture. My reply "of course"!

Due to my cake mix eating activities this may be my last blog post (or so Mr Crafty Blogger intimated), if not I'll be back soon with a pic of the finished cake. I can't post one now as the recipe instructs you to soak it with more booze and wrap in foil to cool, which is what it's currently doing.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Butterflies and Bunting

2010-09-19T17:39:00.002+01:00

I've just come back from a week's holiday to hideous weather up here in NW England and so all I want to do is hole myself up in my craft room and play.

With this in mind, this morning I went on the hunt for a challenge to inspire me and this week's challenge on Daring Card Makers fit the bill perfectly:

This week it's me (Kathy) here to set the new dare and I'd like you to

Come Fly With Me

My theme is All Up in the Air, really ;-) - I'd like to see the main elements of your card being things that fly, flutter, hover or waft about "up there" in the sky.

The hideous weather I've come back from holiday to has made me crave sunny days and afternoon tea parties with bunting flapping in the wind and butterflies hovering over head. So this is what I came up with:

It's a card for a friend whose birthday is not until late October, by which time I think we will all be craving sunny days and blue skies!

Ingredients: Papers October Afternoon (Fly a Kite range - even that fits the dare!), Quickutz alphabet dies, Cuttlebug cake die, Nellie Snellen frame die, American Crafts ribbon, pen stitching, garden twine from Wilko, punched butterflies.

Just a note on the 'stitching'. One of the comments on my last post asked if it was real stitching on my cards. It isn't! After thinking I had broken my sewing machine the only time I tried to stitch a card I always stick with my pen stitching method: piercing the card/paper with a map pin and then drawing in the 'thread' with a fineliner pen. (It's much less stressful.)

As I said at the start of this post I've just come back from holiday and I can say there where we were there was no shortage of sunny days and blue skies as Mr Crafty Blogger and I spent a fantastic week on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini. I don't want to bore you all with the hundreds of pics I took so here's a storyboard of just a few of them:

(storyboard created using a template from Coffee Shop)

We stopped at THIS fantastic hotel in the capital Fira (or Thira). Not only were the facilities excellent we also had amazing views of the Caldera (volcano) and the sunsets which Santorini is famous for. (I took the photo on the top right of the storyboard from our balcony!)

Although we stopped in Fira, we managed to get around the island very easily by bus, including a number of trips to the beautiful (and very photogenic) village of Oia which is where three of the storyboard photos were taken.

I promised not to bore you with the photos, but before I sign-off I just want to share one of my favourite shots from the week:

If you are interested I have put a few more shots on my Flickr.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

A Nice Surprise

2010-09-05T18:29:00.000+01:00

I popped over to Lisa Craft Fairy's blog this morning to check out this week's die cut challenge and was very surprised and delighted to learn my card from last week was awarded card of the week. If you read this Lisa, thank you, I'm glad you liked the card.

Anyway on to this week's challenge which Lisa has set which is to make a card featuring a scalloped square die cut. I wanted to do a card using the scalloped square as a frame but I don't have any large Nestabilities square dies or punches. As a substitute I modified a Nellie Snellen rectangle into a square and came up with this:

Ingredients: Nellen Snellen die, Cuttlebug cake die and embossing folder, My Minds Eye papers, Nestabilities oval dies, Quickutz number dies, ribbons and pins from stash and finally pen stitching.

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday and so I had to venture into my least favourite card making genre: Men's cards!

Thankfully The Graphics Fairy came up trumps with a suitable image and here's the finished card:

I added 'Dad' to the Graphics Fairy image in Photoshop and printed it onto some canvas printer paper to give it a more vintage feel.

The other ingredients: October afternoon papers, Sizzix tag die stamped with a Papermania stamp, circle clip from stash, inking and pen stitching.

Thanks for looking.

Ruthie x

A New Challenge

2010-09-01T22:03:00.000+01:00

Lisa (Crafty Fairy) has launched a new challenge over on her blog.

Welcome to Shape of the Week Sunday!

I decided to set a Die Cutting based challenge on my blog every week, as there does not seem to be many die cutting challenges about so i thought this may inspire people!!

So my challenge to you is to make a card using a die of a scalloped circle - there are tons out there and i think it is a popular die!!

This challenge gave me the kick up the bum I need on Bank Holiday Monday to make my Mum's birthday card:

Ingredients: Scalloped circle dies (large one is Nestabilities and small one under the button is a Cuttlebug die), October Afternoon papers, Cuttlebug butterfly die, home-made journalling spot (made in Photoshop), Cuttlebug letters dies, mini bulldog clip from Paperchase, button from stash, pen stitching.

After I finished the card on Monday we headed out to Morecambe for a walk along the prom and to make most of the unusually nice weather. It was also a good opportunity for me to practice my photography. Here's a shot I took when we walked down the Stone Jetty looking back towards the Midland Hotel:

Of course a trip to Morecambe wouldn't be complete for me without my favourite ice-cream treat, a Snowball Topper. Although this has featured on my blog before I still had to take a photo of the 2010 version!

While I was queueing for my ice cream I managed to get another shot of the fabulously retro Sunset Ices ice-cream van:

(The composition isn't brilliant on this one, but I was limited as I was in the queue!)

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Cameras, Chester and a Card

2010-08-28T19:23:00.003+01:00

***Warning, picture heavy post***

Last Sunday was my birthday and as a present Mr Crafty Blogger paid for me to do a 1:1 photo course with the photographer and crafter extraordinaire the wonderful Kirsty Wiseman.

So last Friday I headed off to meet Kirsty. I had a fantastic day and learnt loads about portrait photography and editing which enhances rather than destroys photos. Although I could already shoot semi-auto and manual Kirsty managed to increase my confidence and prove that with a few tweaks I can get some great shots from my camera. Here's a couple of shots from the day:

First this is me taken by Kirsty with my camera (pic from Kirsty's blog):

and here's one I took of Kirsty:

If you have a DSLR camera I cannot recommend the course highly enough! If you are a beginner to DSLR photography it will save you months of reading manuals, tutorials and books. If you know a bit more about it like I did it will increase your confidence and teach you lots of invaluable tips and tricks.

On Saturday I celebrated my birthday with friends and a trip to Chester Races. A while ago I blogged about my intention to make a dress and I am pleased to report that I did make one and wore it to the races. (It nearly didn't make it as I was still hemming it at 12.30am on Friday morning).

Here's a pic of me (on the left) and a friend waiting for the train to Liverpool. It has to be said we got some funny looks when we boarded.

Once we got to Lime Street station there were a lot more race-goers knocking about so we blended in a bit more. By the time we got to Chester we looked normal and after a lovely pub lunch we joined the hoardes of people heading to the course:

I had never been to the races before and my previous betting experience was limited to an annual flutter on the Grand National. However I did manage to pick one winner (out of 8 races) and I did finish 'up' by £2.50. Mr Crafty Blogger did significantly better, backing 4 of the 8 winners. Here he is "studying the form" or whatever you do when you don't pick horses by their name or the jockey's silks:

(photo was taken on my mobile. If you have an Android phone download Vignette, it's great fun)

Fortunately Mr Crafty Blogger's success meant the drinks were on him!

Finally as this is a craft blog I thought I had better share a card. This is the thank you I made for Kirsty following the photo course:

Ingredients: Basic Grey Offbeat paper, Quickutz and Cuttlebug alphabet dies, mini bulldog clip from Paperchase, Fiskars threading water punch.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

It's Tree-mendous.............

2010-08-14T09:52:00.001+01:00

...... I've made a Christmas card, and it's only August!

It's all Jo's fault over at Daring Card Makers:

Tree-mendous!

I would like to see cards this week featuring a tree! Some of the Daring Cardmakers may have groaned slightly when I mentioned Christmas trees(Kathy!) but it doesn't have to be a festive tree, green trees, apple trees, stamped trees, sticker trees, paper pieced trees - anything goes, as long as it is a tree!

I recently bought the Basic Grey Offbeat papers which put me in mind of Christmas decorations in a very retro 1970s way. Perfect, I could make a Christmas card without having to delve into anything too snow covered and festive:

Ingredients: Paper - Basic Grey Offbeat, Nestabilities labels, circles and scalloped circle dies, Sizzix Sizzlits Tree die, pom poms from Aberkan, ribbon and brads from stash.

The layout of the card was based on another card I made earlier this week which has a much more summery feel!:

Ingredients: Papers - My Minds Eye (magazine freebie!), paper-pieced ice cream made with a mixture of hand cutting and Nestabilities dies, Nellie Snellen frame die, pom poms from Aberkan, ribbon from stash, inking and pen stitching.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Sculpted Paper Roses

2010-08-08T12:36:00.001+01:00

You will have probably noticed that sculpted paper roses are everywhere at the moment. Prima do them and YouTube is full of tutorials on how to make them.

I started having a go at making them a couple of weeks ago with very limited success (by "limited" I actually mean NO success). However, yesterday I had a bit of a breakthrough and managed to make this:

Most tutorials rely on using a 6 petal flower punch or die which I didn't own so my early (failed) attempts involved hand cutting the flowers. This works well if you are very good with scissors, but unfortunately mine looked like I done them blindfolded with blunt scissors!

After trying and failing with the scissors I went punch/die hunting. I ruled out getting a punch as they cost about £10 and I find their use quite limited. A die seemed a more sensible option as I have a Cuttlebug so next stop was the Sizzix range.

I decided that the new Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals die was what I needed. Unfortunately these dies seem to be in pretty short supply and are going for silly money on Ebay so no luck there.

Luckily during my Sizzix hunt I stumbled across this die set from Marianne D:

Not only is it perfect for making paper roses but I will also get loads of other uses out of it as a normal die.

Anyway, enough of my shopping, back to the paper roses. As you may have gathered I cut the petals and leaves using the die. Both are cut from My Minds Eye paper which I stuck together to make double sided. The method for assembling the rose was based on a hybrid the following tutorials:

Splitcoast Stampers Tutorial (this one uses the elusive Tim Holtz Die)

YouTube Video

To finish the leaves I curled them round a pencil like the flower petals.

Thanks for looking and sorry for the slightly arty pics. Can you tell my latest obsession is my new Android phone and the Vignette app!

Ruthie x

A Twihard Birthday

2010-07-11T18:51:00.000+01:00

Well Twilight mania has well and truly passed me by. I've not read any of the books or seen the films (I'm much more of a True Blood girl). However, I happen to know a young lady who is Twilight mad and has a birthday coming up so it calls for a suitable birthday card.

As I said, I'm not that well up on the adventures of Edward, Jacob or Bella so a bit of interweb research was required. One of the first things I found was THIS amazing cake, inspired by the Twilight series book covers.

The cake provided suitable inspiration and this is what I came up with:

Ingredients: Hand cut and paper-pieced chess pieces and apple; Nestabilities labels die; Cuttlebug embossing folder and corner die; ticket made from a Sizzix ticket die and text printed in Photoshop; flower and ribbon from stash, heart pin from local market, Poundland self adhesive gem, patterned paper download from Summertime Designs and a bit of inking to finish.

After reading all the stuff on the interweb I am tempted to give the books a go!

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Boys, Boys, Boys!

2010-06-23T20:56:00.000+01:00

All I seem to be doing at the moment is male cards which is driving me mad!

Last weekend was Father's Day so here's the cards I made for my dad and father in-law

My dad:

Ingredients: All papers are October afternoon, faux chipboard letters made with scrap cardboard and Cuttlebug dies, hand-cut and paper-pieced boat.

My father in-law:

Ingredients: All papers are October afternoon and I dug out the old male standby of the Quickutz beer mug die.

Even new babies did not provide any escape from the male card making with two new baby boys putting in an appearance in the last few weeks. It's a good job I recently invested in the cuttlebug aeroplane die!

Papers are October afternoon (just for a change!), Cuttlebug aeroplane die, Making Memories trim, hand written greeting, buttons from stash and a bit of pen stitching.

Ingredients: Paper is from an old DCWV pack, background embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, felt plane cut with the Cuttlebug die, pom-poms from Aberkhan and gingham ribbon from stash.

Thanks for looking. I'm off now to make another card, and yes it's for a bloke!

Ruthie x

Strawberry Fields Forever

2010-05-12T19:56:00.001+01:00

My recent crafting has accidently taken on a strawberry theme. I've found my recent craft related purchases all involve strawberries in some way or another. This was totally unplanned, but so far I've got strawberry print paper, fabric (for dressmaking) and a strawberry themed pin cushion (to use when dress making, but it also inspired a card).

More of the dressmaking later, but first a strawberry themed card:

Ingredients: Paper - October Afternoon, felt from stash, Dovecraft brads, ribbon from stash, Fiskars punch, Nestabilities, Cuttlebug and Quickutz dies, pen stitching.

As I said, the card was inspired by my fab new pin cushion which I bought from NicolaLuke on Etsy:

It looks cute in the photo, but it is even better in real life. The detail is amazing and I feel guilty sticking pins in it. (Nicola also has a blog with details of her fab creations - check it out here.)

As I said on my last post, I have acquired a sewing machine with the intention of making a dress. I am happy to say there has been significant progress on this, and not just buying the aforementioned pin cushion. I have infact made a 'practise' dress!

I am going to the races this summer and decided I wanted to make my own dress. With my very limited sewing and dress making experience I knew I would need a pattern so I picked this one from Vogue Easy Options:

I also decided it might be an idea to buy some cheap fabric to practise on, which just so happened to have a strawberry print. I set to work with my 'practise' fabric and this is the [nearly] finished dress:

It looks a bit odd on the hanger, but I can say it looks very nice on. In this photo it's not been hemmed and there is no zip in it, but I was very pleased to get this far without major incident. I even managed to do the lining. My vanity meant that I cut the pattern a size smaller than I should have done, but that's why I chose to do a practise dress before the real thing.

Finally, here's a shot of all my strawberry items together:

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

A Two Challenge Combo, and A New Toy

2010-04-28T19:45:00.001+01:00

This week I've managed to combine two challenges into one card.
Keryn set the dare over on Daring Card Makers...

It's Keryn here this week and I've been lucky enough to get my hands on a 'Big Shot' die cut machine and I'm loving it. I want any excuse I can find to make cards, well anything really using die cuts. This week I want you to play with me. Dig out your dies and your die cut machine. Cut shapes of any size and theme you please and use at least one on your card for this week.

I combined it with Kazan's sketch over on 2 Sketches For You and came up with this:

Ingredients:
Dies (as per Keryn's dare): Nellie Snellen frame (painted with acrylic and sanded); flowers made with Cuttlebug asterisks; Sizzix flower pot; Quickutz grass
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Poundland gems
Ribbon from stash
Papermania paper
Pen stitching

As well as card making, I'm trying to expand my crafty repertoire and this week I acquired this..

..Mum's old sewing machine. It's older than me, but still works a treat (and weighs a ton).

No more pen stitching on cards for me, I'm going for the real deal. I've even bought some separate needles to use on paper.

I've not just got the machine for my paper crafts, I am attempting to make a dress! It may take some time as the last time I did any sort of dressmaking/machine sewing was at school in about 1987, and I think my Mum ended up finishing it off!

Cheers

Ruthie x

Card Positioning Systems Sketch #161

2010-04-05T15:13:00.000+01:00

Yes the weather is rubbish again today so here's another sketch based card.

I used this week's sketch on Card Positioning Systems blog:

Here's my take on it:

Ingredients:
Papers - Bo Bunny
Chipboard fancy brackets cut using Nestabilities label dies
Cuttlebug alphabet dies
Buttons from Paper-and-String
Ribbon from Aberkan
Papermania Scrabble tile
Pen stitching

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T19:26:00.001+01:00

Just stopping by to wish everyone a very happy Easter. I've no crafting to share today, just a few photographs, so navigate away now if you are looking for cards :-).

First up, I decided to take an Easter/Spring inspired photo for my blog, so earlier today I ventured into the garden to get a pic of the daffodils which are currenltly flowering. Unfortunately today was very windy so it proved a little difficult, but I eventually got a pic:

Yesterday (in preparation for much chocolate eating) Mr Crafty Blogger and I headed out for a walk up Rivington Pike to burn a few calories:

Neither of us had ever been up there, (despite both growing up relatively locally) and we had a lovely surprise when we found the ruins of the Rivington Terraced Gardens. No it wasn't like an edition of Time Team, they are a well known local attraction which somehow neither of us had ever heard of! The gardens were built at the turn of the 20th Century for Lord Leverhulme. The site covers 45 acres and originally included Lord Leverhulme's house and numerous ornamental gardens and structures inspired by his trips abroad.

Here's a few pics:

The Pigeon Tower:

This was built as a summer house. The top floor was used as a sewing room by Lady Leverhulme.

One of the ornamental lakes:

One of the summer shelters (there are numerous ones on the site):

Finally a pic of one of the many ornamental arches which remain.

If you are interested in knowing more about the site (as I was) there is a clip from a local cable news program on YouTube which is far more informative than I could ever be HERE.

Happy Easter once again,

Ruthie x

DCM Diamond Dare

2010-04-03T10:02:00.000+01:00

I made the most of the awful weather yesterday and joined in with this week's DCM dare:

Well, as you know we're looking to each month's birthstone for inspiration for the first dare of that month. This month is a bit of a tricky one (well we found it tricky anyway...) The birthstone for April is the

Diamond

so we'd like you to come up with cards which relate in some way to diamonds.

How you decide to use the birthstone is up to you, it may be a card for someone who has a birthday during this month, featuring "diamonds. or it may be a card that refers to the meaning or mythology surrounding the stone - anything goes, really as long as somehow the birthstone is hinted at.

So here's my card:

Ingredients:

Papers - My Mind's Eye

Vintage image from the Graphics Fairy (found the link via Jo Kill's blog - thanks for sharing Jo)

Scalloped frame made from scrap cardboard and a Nellie Snellen die

Ribbon - Making Memories

Assorted diamonte jems from stash

Scrunched paper flower (tutorial here)

Cuttlebug embossing folder and swirl die

Vintage ticket designed in Photoshop and cut using a Sizzix die

Quickutz button die

Fiskars scalloped lace punch

Pen stitching

I also made another card using this week's 2Sketches4You sketch:

Ingredients:
Papers - Bo Bunny
Vintage ticket as before
Boss Kuts bird die
Nestabilities ovals and circles dies
Fiskars scalloped lace punch
Jute string from Wilko (garden dept)
Pins from local market
Pen stitching

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Another Sketch Card!

2010-03-31T19:13:00.000+01:00

I thought my last card was a one-off, but I am finally getting the hang of this sketch card thing!

Once again I've used a sketch from 2Sketches4You

Ingredients:

Papers - My Mind's Eye (not sure what I am going to do when it runs out)

Recycled kraft card

Papermania stamp (heat embossed)

Quickutz button die

Pom pom trim - Making Memories

Pink ribbon from stash

Nestabilities label dies

Pen stitching

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie

My First Sketch Based Card!

2010-03-29T22:40:00.001+01:00

I had booked the day off work today and the plan was to go walking in the Lakes, that was until we checked the weather forecast! So instead I've had a day of catching up with a few cards which I needed to make.

I often visit sketch sites for inspiration, but really struggle when it comes to actually making a card from them. Today however I stumbled across this SKETCH on 2Sketches for you and actually managed (for the first time ever) to turn it into a card I was happy with!

Ingredients: Papers Basic Grey Infuse; scalloped edges cut with a Nellie Snellen die; Nestabilties ovals and scalloped ovals dies; Cuttlebug flourish die; ribbon, plain card, brads and roses from stash.

I was on a bit of roll with the sketch and adapted it slightly and came up with this:

Ingredients: Patterned paper -DCWV (very old stash); plain card from Partners; Kraft card from HERE; Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle die; Fiskars threading water/scalloped lace punch; lace, ribbon, pins from local market; metal pram embellishment from stash; Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder.

I think this may be a record, but here is another card I made yesterday. Three in a weekend must be some kind of personal best!

Ingredients: Paper - My Mind's Eye; Cuttlebug Asterisk dies and Swiss Dots embossing folder; chipboard frame made with a Nellie Snellen die; mini bulldog clip from Wilkinsons; Poundland gems; Quickutz Metro alpha dies; ribbon from Aberkan.

Even though Mr Crafty Blogger and I had to abandon plans for walking in the lakes today, we did manage to get out on Saturday.

We set off from the reservoir I posted last week and ended up here:

It looks nice and sunny on the photo, but trust me, it was very windy and exposed on top of the moor. We did go up the tower, but it was so windy it was difficult to hold the camera still to get a decent shot.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Another Milk Carton Sweetie Box

2010-03-27T11:32:00.001Z

I am really enjoy making the milk carton gift boxes. They are not a new idea in the crafting world, but as with everything else I am usually a few steps behind being 'bang on trend'.

Here's my latest creation, a cheeky monkey themed sweetie box:

I was inspired by Go Ape, as I am planning a trip with Mr Crafty Blogger's God-daughter to a new course which opened near us last year. I thought the sweetie box would make a nice treat as part of the visit.

The box is filled with foam banana sweets. Anyone who has done a Go Ape course will appreciate you need some nice sugary energy at the end of it :)

Ingredients:

Milk carton made from reycled kraft card-stock (available here)

Coloured card from stash
Nestabilities dies

Cuttlebug monkey and tag dies

Cuttlebug swiss dots embossing folder
Fiskars scalloped lace/threading water punch
Ribbon from Abakan
Mini bulldog clip from Wilkinsons

This isn't the first time the monkey die has been used on a Go Ape projects. He also made an appearance on one of my early blog posts way back in 2007 (here).

***EDIT*** I have been asked via my Flickr pic if I have a tutorial for the milk carton box. I used THIS ONE from Split Coast Stampers. I altered the dimensions slightly so the carton is slightly larger and uses a full sheet of A4 card rather than trimming it down.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

With Love Card

2010-03-21T23:25:00.000Z

A couple of pics of a card I made today:

Ingredients:

Paper - My Mind's Eye (magazine freebie :-) )

Cuttlebug embossing folder
Quickutz leaf die
Paper roses made using Cuttlebug scalloped circle dies and Papermania brads

Vintage ticket designed in Photoshop and cut with a Sizzix die

Ribbon from stash

Pins from local market

I think Spring may have finally sprung. Mr Crafty Blogger and I took advantage of the lovely sunny weather we had a lunchtime today and went out for a walk.

As always I took loads of photos and thought I would share this one:

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Easter Gift Project

2010-03-20T13:59:00.002Z

My latest confectionery based craft project, a 'milk carton' gift box filled with chocolate easter eggs:

Ingredients:

Milk carton box made from recyled kraft card stock with an aperture cut using Nestabilities.

Border punch - Fiskars Threading Water/Scalloped Laced
Printed paper - Papermania
Quickutz die (bunny and tag)

Nestabilities circles an ovals dies

Mini bulldog clip from Wilkinsons (Right Price range - 20 for 80p, bargain!!!!!)

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Vintage Style Card

2010-03-05T16:53:00.001Z

I saw a fab tutorial for making paper roses on Monica Gayle's blog and just had to have at making some, even though I had no idea what I was going to use them on! After they had been kicking round on my desk for a few days inspiration finally struck and I came up with this:

Ingredients: Vintage image from here, Daisy D's papers, brown parcel paper, Nestabilities circle and scalloped circle dies, faux chipboard mat/frame*, Quickutz leaf die, paper roses made with Cuttlebug dies (Monica's tutorial here), twill tape and pin from my local market.

* The chipboard mat/frame was made by cutting a piece of scrap cardboard with a Nellie Snellen die which was then painted with acrylic and distressed using an emery board.

Following on from the Easter chick sweetie bags on my last post, I couldn't resist having a go at the bunny tails bags which Craft Fairy featured on her blog. Here's my take on them:

The bunnies are made from a Quickutz die matted on Nestabilities circles.

Toffee bon bons always go down well in the office so hopefully my colleagues will like them.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Easter Sweetie Gift Bag {Inspired by Craft Fairy}

2010-03-03T18:26:00.000Z

I was blog hopping the other day and stopped by Craft Fairy's blog. She makes fab cards, and also fantastic gifts including sweetie gift bags. (I paticularly like her Bunny Tails bags, they are very cute.)

I decided to have a go at making some myself to give as Easter gifts for my team members at work. I popped into my local Aldi and managed to get some chocolate eggs and here's some of the finished products:

Ingredients: Chocolate eggs from Aldi, Boss Kuts little bird die, Nestabilties ovals dies and a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

Thanks for looking and thanks to Lisa Craft Fairy for blogging her sweetie bags.

A Few Recent Projects

2010-02-27T13:10:00.001Z

Here's some pics of my recent projects:

Free Standing Pop-up Card:

Ingredients: Papers - My Minds Eye (freebie with February's Card Making and Papercraft magazine), Cuttlebug, Quickutz and Nestabilities dies, Poundland stick on gems, Hobbycraft ribbons, Fiskars scalloped lace punch and finally a dreaded peel off!

The tutorial for the pop-up card is from Splitcoast Stampers HERE.

Easel Birthday Card:

This was a card I made for my mother in law's birthday.

Ingredients: Papers - My Minds Eye (freebie with February's Card Making and Papercraft magazine), Nestabilities dies, Cuttlebug embossing folders, butterfly punches, Fiskars scalloped lace punch, scrabble tile letters (Papermania I think), paper flowers from Sarah's Cards, Papermania pearl brad, lace from my local market and Making Memories pom-pom ribbon.

The easel card tutorial is also from Splitcoast Stampers HERE

Mother's Day Card:

Ingredients: Papers - My Minds Eye (freebie with February's Card Making and Papercraft magazine), Nestabilities and Quickutz dies, Cuttlebug embossing folders, paper flowers from Sarah's Cards LTD, Papermania pearl brads, Hobbycraft ribbon and heart pin from my local market.

Valentine's Day Projects:
For Mr Crafty Blogger's valentines card I decided to get my camera out and do a photocard.

The first challenge was where to find Love Hearts sweets following the demise of our beloved Woolworths. Fortunately Wilkinsons have stepped into the breach and I was able to get a few packets to set up my photo shoot:

About 500 photos later I managed to get this picture:

I cropped the picture down and printed it onto canvas paper (Aldi special buy a few weeks ago) to produce the final card:

The photo was post processed using Coffee Shop's Butterscotch vintage action followed by a bit of my own tweaking. If you use Photoshop Elements (as I do), you really need to visit Rita at the Coffee Shop blog, as her actions are FREE and they all work in PSE!!!!

Mr Crafty Blogger did not fully escape my paper crafting. I filled a Kilner jar with is favourite chocolates and made a little tag.

Ingredients: Cuttlebug and Quickutz dies, scrap paper and cardboard, Papermania stamp, ribbons and button from stash.

Mountain Rescuer's Birthday Card:

If in doubt with a man's birthday card, go back to the old faithful Sizzix doll dies!

Ingredients: Sizzix doll and winter clothes dies, Quickutz tools and toolbox dies, Dymo tape, Cuttlebug embossing folder, embroidery floss.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

She crafts, she types.............

2010-01-28T19:03:00.000Z

...... very occasionally!

A very belated happy new year to you all. Yes I'm back and I've even done some crafting so I thought I would share it with you.

First is a card for a friend's birthday:

Ingredients: kraft/parcel paper embossed with a cuttlebug folder, MMI paper, Nestabilities dies, Making Memories ribbon, prima flowers, mini clip from Paperchase, wordart freebie download from here.

I have also made a gift bag for her present out of a C4 envelope:

Ingredients: C4 Envelope, K&CO Amy Butler paper, dymo tape, Nestabilities dies, Quickutz alphabet dies, Prima Flowers, string from local market, twill ribbon, scalloped lace punch, heart shaped brad from stash, button from here.

As well as crafting I did enjoy the snow we had at Chritsmas and just after new year, here's a few pics of what it was like up here in Lancashire:

Thanks for looking.

Ruthie x

A bit of a departure.......to decoupage

2009-11-09T21:30:00.001Z

Mr Crafty Blogger's God son is 7 this week so my card making skills have been tested. A bit of a double whammy for me a male child card! As you know I struggle with male cards; but I also find children's cards challenging.

After spending ages looking through my stash for male and child friendly papers and embellishments I was begining to think that buying a card would be a favourable option. However, last night I remembered watching the birthday boy playing on his DS and inspiration struck. I came up with this:

I was originally going to use the Mario picture as a flat embellishment but then I looked at it and thought it would work layered up in decoupage style. (That idea also had the added bonus that I did not have to try and match suitable papers and embellishments to match the picture.)

Ingredients: Mario image from here; assorted coloured card from stash; Cuttlebug (number), Sizzix (star) and Quickutz (alphabet dies); lots of foam pads!

Sorry for the poor photos, I had to take them under a daylight lamp.

Cheers,

Ruthie x

3rd Week of DCM Dares!

2009-11-08T17:52:00.000Z

I think this must be some kind of record for me, completing DCM dares 3 weeks in a row.

This week is was Jo's turn to Dare:

Using Kraft cardstock :) Either as a card base or somewhere on the card - if you don't have any you could use some card board such as corrugated or even a brown kraft envelope...

Well, this dare was right up my street as I have been using a lot of kraft card and paper on my cards recently. So much so I came up with two cards:

First up is another addition to my Christmas pile:

Ingredients:

Brown kraft (parcel) paper; Basic Grey Fruitcake and Wassail papers; coffee cup liner cut with a Nestabilities die; burgundy twill ribbon from local habadashery; tree cut from felt using a Sizzix die; string and brads from stash; calendar designed in Photoshop; Fiskars scalloped lace punch; inking and stitching.

The second card is one of the always difficult 'Man' cards:

Ingredients:
Kraft card base; patterned paper downloaded from SummerTime Designs (fathers and fedoras kit), coffee cup liner; lettering cut from my old jeans using Cuttlebug alphabet and Sizzix Star dies; screw head brad from stash; stramped greeting and inking and pen stitching.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

A Quick Card from Yesterday

2009-11-02T19:17:00.001Z

I haven't bought a card/craft mag in ages as I was finding them all a bit samey and I was getting more inspiration from designer's/contributers own blogs. However last month I stumbled across 'Cards' in WHSmiths. I have to say it's not cheap (nearly £6!!) but it's more of a design resource rather than your usual card mag as it's just full of beautifully photographed 3/4 page pictures of cards and minimal descriptions. I promised myself last month I would not buy it every month but somehow I seem to have this month's edition too! I think it's a newish UK version of a US mag.

As the weather was rubbish yesterday I spent some time flicking through the afforementioned magazine. I was inspired in particular by a couple of cards and as a result I came up with this birthday card:

(Sorry for the poor pic - it was very dark here yesterday)

Ingredients: Paper - My Mind's Eye (Bloom and Grow) and lined paper from a notebook; buttons from Paper and String; eyelets - Making Memories; string from a local hardware shop, die cuts - Nestabilities labels, Sizzix butterfly and Quickutz metro alphabet; inking and pen stitching to finish!

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Getting Punched at DCM!

2009-11-01T11:46:00.001Z

This week Keryn set the dare over on DCM:

I love punches and use them on almost every card I make. This week I want you to join with me and make a card, any type, any theme but it needs to use your latest craft punch purchase. If you haven't bought any punches for a while or don't own any at all your latest craft purchase will be quite acceptable.

Well I don't really buy many punches, I tend to opt for basic shape dies as I like to cut heavier card and mount board. I did however recently buy the Fiskars Scalloped Lace/Threading Water punch and I seem to be using it on every card I make!

For dare I used the Scalloped Lace punch (obviously) but also added my most recent die purchases (Sizzix Snowflake and Nestabilities Labels):

Other ingredients: Paper - Basic Grey Wassail (another recent purchase), twill ribbon from Abakan fabrics, Calendar designed in photoshop, snowflake and mini brads from stash, coffee cup liner, brown parcel/kraft paper, inking and pen stitching (of course!)

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street (for Hallowe'en)

2009-10-30T19:13:00.000Z

As a child of the 70s I thought I would imoratilise one of my favourite children's TV characters in a Hallowe'en pumpkin.

Zombie Pumpkins did the honours pattern wise and on Wednesday night I set to work with an ice cream scoop and scalpel to create my Count Von Count 2009 pumpkin:

and here's one in the dark for the full effect:

For those of you who are little younger than me here's the man himself in action :-)

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

DCM Dare - Favourite Things

2009-10-26T18:54:00.001Z

This weekend I managed to catch up with the goings on at Daring Card Makers and I even joined in with the dare set by Kathy:

"These are a Few of My Favourite Things"

This is a chance to go mad with the papers, embellishments, tools and styles you really love to use.

I'd like you to use at least 5 of your own personal favourite things on your card this week - if you can make it 10 then you can claim our DCM Gold Star - virtual, of course lol.

If you can't bear to give it away when it's full of all those treasured goodies, then make the card for yourself - you can always stick it up on your wall and enjoy seeing it every day!

So I took my five favourite ingredients: felt; my cuttlebug machine (to cut nestabilities and quickutz dies); buttons; coffee cup liner and a bit of pen stitching and came up with this:

Other credits: paper - My Mind's Eye, stamp - papermania, pom pom trim - Making Memories.

Cheers

Ruthie x

An Autumn Walk

2009-10-18T16:14:00.001+01:00

I have been neglecting my camera a bit recently so I decided I needed to get out today and get a few photos. Here's a sample of them:

I had a little play in photoshop to a fake lomo effect on this one:

It makes me realise how lucky I am to have such beautiful countryside right on my doorstep.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Another Christmas Card

2009-10-17T18:24:00.000+01:00

I made this card during the week but now it's getting dark early there hasn't been enough light to get a decent photo until today.

Ingredients: brown craft paper from stash, patterned paper - Basic Grey Wassail, mini clipboard made from scrap card and a Paperchase mini bulldog clip, mini calendar designed in Photoshop, Sizzix stocking die, recycled coffee cup liner punched with Fiskars scalloped lace punch, brads and ribbon from stash, inking and pen stitching.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

A Week of Cards

2009-10-11T18:50:00.000+01:00

I spent last Saturday tidying my craft room and it's obviously had the desired effect as I have managed to make a few cards this week:

A Get Well Card:

Ingredients: Paper -Daisy D's (I think!); chipboard frame cut from scrap mountboard using nestabilities dies; lace from local market; fabric flowers - WH Smiths; flower with pearl centre from local market; satin ribbon - The Range; Pearl brads - Papermania; greeting designed in PhotoShop; pen stitching.

A couple of Christmas cards (yes I am scared that a I made Chritsmas cards in October):

Ingredients: Paper - Basic Grey and K& Co; Fiskars scalloped lace punch; chipboard frame cut from mountboard using Nestabilities dies and painted with white acrylic paint; chipboard snowflake cut from mountboard using a Sizziz die and triple embossed with holographic powder; flower with pearl spray from local market; ribbon - hobbycraft; pin from local market; sentiment designed in Photoshop; pen stitching.

Ingredients: Paper - Basic Grey; chipboard trees cut from scrap cardboard using a Cuttlebug die: ribbons and button from stash; Fiskars scalloped lace punch; inking and pen stitching.

An autumnal birthday card:

Ingredients: Paper - My Mind's Eye; Flowers and button from stash; Stamp - Papermania; assorted die cut shapes (Cuttlebug, Nestabilities and Sizzix); Brads - Dovecraft; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; Fiskars scalloped lace punch; inking and pen stitching.

And last but not least, Mr Crafty Blogger celebrated a big birthday this week:

Ingredients: Paper - American Crafts, Chipboard letters cut from mountboard using Cuttlebug dies; Brads - Dovecraft; Alphabet - Quickutz Metro; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder; inking and pen stitching.

Thanks for looking,

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Summer Crafting

2009-09-30T18:36:00.000+01:00

I haven't really done much crafting over the summer but here's a quick round-up of a few bits I did:

Eighth wedding anniversary card from Mr Crafty blogger:

Vegas/Casino themed 21st card:

Birthday card for my Dad:

Bridesmaid's hairclip and matching necklace:

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Tomorrow never happened - so here's a summer catch-up!

2009-09-27T16:16:00.001+01:00

Well, on my last post, which I think I wrote sometime in the Ice Age I promised to come back with photos from my holiday to San Francisco which was way back in May/June!

In place of the post which never happened here are the pics, along with a few more which comprise my summer catch-up

Warning, lots of photos, not of crafting. Navigate away now if you want craft pics - perhaps to HERE my new favourite card blog.

First up, a few from San Francisco.

We had a fantastic time which included, biking across here and around the Marin Headlands:

When we had enough of cycling we caught the ferry back (along with quite a few other cyclists):

Of course you can't go to San Franciso without visiting 'The Rock':

and having your photo taken in a cell:

(here I am modelling my Bagladee custom camera strap)

We also saw the sealions at Pier 39:

and stopped and shopped here (Union Square):

Spent a lot of time riding around town on these:

and spent a day exploring the Yosemite National Park:

We did tons of other stuff too, but that was the edited highlights.

Now onto June and the 2009 Blackpool Mini Run:

Over 200 cars made the journey from Liverpool, Penrith,and Skipton via Preston to Blackpool's South Pier raising money for Breakthrough Breast Cancer:

Here's a couple of my car parked up (I am second from the right on the 1st pic):

We left Preston in lovely sunshine, but by the time we returned later in the day we we confronted by this:

In July, Mr Crafty Blogger and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary at the Midland Hotel in Morecambe (subject of many a previous blog posts). As I've always wanted to stop at the Midland I splashed out on one of the roof-top suites and wasn't disapointed:

View from the front of the balcony:

View from inside the room, looking out over Morecambe Bay:

The biggest bathroom I have ever seen:

and finally, we even got a rainbow:

At the end of August we went down to Cornwall for a week and camped in a Yurt:

We did some walking and cycling which quite often involved battling with the elements. Fortunately the stove came in very handy for drying trainers:

We did get some sunshine and it managed to stay (mostly) fine when we visited one of my favourite places, The Lost Gardens of Helligan:

Well I am exhausted now, it has taken ages to get this post done due to mainly wrestling with blogger and uploading pics. (I still don't know why some of them are not centred!)

Thanks for looking. I hope you didn't fall asleep!

Ruthie x

Completing the Statement of Intent...Part 1

2009-07-01T22:15:00.005+01:00

Well, in my last post I promised an update of what I've been up to recently and so here goes.

First up, as it's a craft blog, I'd better show the few bits of crafting I've done recently.

I was asked by a friend at work if I would make some personalised gift tags for her daughter's school leaver's prom, and here they are:

While we were chatting about the prom, my friend was saying how here daughter wanted personalised cupcakes for all her friends at their pre-prom tea. She had phoned round various cake shops and couldn't find anywhere which would do cakes with individual names on.

I suggested I could make cupcake flags and she could add them to shop bought cupcakes* (M & S do very nice pink ones!). Each flag had the guest's name on the front and the prom date and venue on the back:

*Please note - this is a felt stunt cupcake, used for the purposes of photography, not one of the nice M & S edible ones!

June is also the month of father's day and that means making the dreaded men's cards. After much paper shuffling and muttering I came up with two basic and not very original cards:

For my father-in-law:

and for my Dad:

I also finished the invites for my sister's hen party. In the end we used the design I showed on a blog post here way back in March!

Thanks for looking. I'll be back tomorrow with the next installment of my statement of intent featuring my San Francisco pics.

Cheers

Ruthie x

Statement of Intent

2009-06-28T07:57:00.003+01:00

I have been neglecting my blog and for once I actually have stuff to share. This post will not contain any of that, but it serves as my 'to do list'. Here goes.......

I will, in the next couple of days, blog the following:

My recent crafing ie: Father's day cards, cupcakes flags and gift tags
Very edited highlights of my holiday photos from my trip to San Francisco
They need to be very heavily edited as I have over 600. Yes, there is Alcatraz from every conceivable angle, except perhaps under water!
Photos from THIS which I am doing today

See you later.

Ruthie x

A Special Birthday

2009-05-08T19:22:00.004+01:00

I've neglected my blog, and to some extent my crafting over the last couple of weeks. I have to say this post is also craft free, but I had to stop by and wish a very special

Happy 50th Birthday

to my first love:

The original Mini!

Here are some mini facts for you (courtesy of the British Motor Heritage website):

Built from 1959 to 2000,
The largest production total of any British car, at 5.4 million
The longest production run of any mass produced British car at 41 years

I've had four since I passed my driving test and have never owned (and rarely driven) any other sort of car.

Here's a couple of pics of my current one:

Both these photos were taken on the Blackpool Mini Run, which I have entered again this year. It's now in it's 6th year and raises money for Breast Cancer Care, and usually coincides with the worst day of summer weather since records began (60mph gales last year!).

If you are in the Penrith, Liverpool, Skipton, Preston or Blackpool area on the 28 June give us a wave, we always wave back. Even better, if you have a Mini; enter!

Cheers (and Happy Birthday Mini),

Ruthie x

Bloomin 'eck!

2009-04-27T18:57:00.004+01:00

This week it's Lythan's turn to set the dare over on Daring Card Makers:

SUPERSIZE ME!I have loads of enormous paper flowers that I have bought and never used. So I want to see some really big embellishments on your cards. Bonus points for outsize blooms!

I have loads of big blooms so I had to join in with this one. Here's the finished card:

Ingredients:
Flowers from Dunelm Mill

K&Co Amy Butler Paper

Felt ric rac from Paper-and-string

Ticket made using Photoshop and a sizzix die

Lace and pin from my local market

I also made another flowery card:

Ingredients:
Basic Grey paper
Coffee cup liner
Ticket as before
Papermania flowers
Dovecraft brads
Ribbon from stash

And finally, I've finished my felt purse from the pattern Sarah kindly shared over at Paper-and-String's blog:

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Amazing Blog Candy Give Away

2009-04-15T19:26:00.002+01:00

I've had to stop by and give a mention to the fantastic blog candy giveaway which Emma (Bagladee) is giving away to celebrate her first blog birthday.

Check out here blog HERE for the chance to win one of these:

If you don't win I can recommend her custom camera straps :-)

Cheers

Ruthie x

The Snowball Topper

2009-04-12T16:44:00.006+01:00

Well we made the most of the unusual bank-holiday sunshine yesterday and headed out to Morecambe for some sea air. The weather was lovely so we had a walk along the prom and one of the famous 'Snowball Toppers' courtesy of Kate at Sunset Ices and her lovely Bedford CF ice cream van.

I first read about the snowball topper (a Tunnock's snowball added to ice cream) on the fantastic I Like blog and having recently overcome a fear of dessicated coconut I knew it was time to try one!

Here's mine shortly before I demolished it:

I can confirm that a Tunnock's Snowball does make an excellent addition to an ice cream!

It was nice to see Morecambe busy with people enjoying the sunshine. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

While we were there we took the opportunity to visit the Winter Gardens. The theatre closed in 1977 and is now maintained by a charitable trust whose long term goal is to reopen it for public use.

We had a walk round the foyer and the main part of the auditorium. Unfortunately you are not allowed to take photographs inside but trust me it is stunning. (There are some pics on the Winter Garden's website.) Mr Crafty Blogger and I have agreed we need to go back and take the full guided tour which is run to raise money towards the renovations.

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Hide n Seek Dare

2009-04-11T12:17:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I amazed myself and actually made a card!

I was inspired by Jozza's dare over at Daring Card Makers:

This week, the dare is hide and seek. I would like to see a hidden message or element on your cards. For a double dare, include both!

I started off making a Thank You card in my usual style but after much shuffling of card, managed to incorporate the dare.

Here is the finished result:

Ingredients:
K&CO Amy Butler papers
Papermania flowers
Felt flower cut using a Sizzix die
Coffee cup liner
Dovecraft brad
Quickutz metro lettering
Papermania photo anchor
Felt ric-rac from Paper-and-string
Dymo tape
Inking and pen stitching.

Have a good bank holiday weekend!

Ruthie x

The Postman came calling....

2009-04-09T19:19:00.002+01:00

...with these fantastic covers for my camera strap:

A couple of weeks ago I contacted Emma (aka Bagladee) to ask if she had considered adding camera straps to her website. She came back to me and said she would do me a couple of slip-on covers as a custom order/trial and asked me what fabrics/colours I liked. I plumped for the miami pink and miami orange which she makes the most wonderful bags from and the rest as they is history.

So today a parcel landed on my doormat containing the camera straps, with the added bonus of a cute Bagladee button badge (which is now on my camera strap) and a yummy packet of Haribo.

Thank you Emma, they are fantastic!!!!

If you like them too, contact Emma and see what she can rustle up for you.

Happy Easter,

Ruthie x

'99' Cupcake Adventures

2009-04-03T18:50:00.007+01:00

I've recently become obsessed with the idea of baking cupcakes in ice cream cones and I decided that as I had an afternoon off work I would have a go at making some. So here's the story of my '99' cupcake adventure.

First, take some ice cream cones and fill with fairy cake mixture (recipe courtesy of the goddess of all things domestic, Nigella, with added cocoa for a nice choccy flavour):

Next, make note to self to make mixture a bit runnier next time so it goes in the cones easier, and then bake.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and convince self that they will look nice once the top is covered by buttercream:Mix buttercream and pipe onto the cones in true 'Mr Whippy' style, and finish with a '99' flake. Sit back and admire your handy work for, ooh, at least 30 seconds before tasting:

Finally, savour the flavour whilst wondering how long it will take to come down off the sugar rush!

Cheers,

Ruthie x

More of a Collage Than a Card

2009-04-01T16:40:00.006+01:00

Yesterday I received a lovely parcel of ribbons and flowers from Tracy at Creative Treasures and I couldn't wait to have a play so I came up with this new home card:

The original idea was to do a simple card using some of the flowers Tracy sent, but I got carried away and it did end up more of a collage than a card!

Ingredients:
Paper - Basic Grey Blush
Flowers from a selection available at Creative Treasures (plus a few tiny Primas from stash)
Mini buttons from stash
Felt birds cut using a Boss Kuts die
Grass cut using a Quickutz die
Green felt ric-rac from Paper-and-String
Pink Papermania felt ric-rac

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Just a Couple of Cards

2009-03-30T19:10:00.004+01:00

This is just a flying visit with a couple of cards I did over the weekend.

The first one is for a colleague who is leaving our office for a job in another department:

Ingredients:
Making Memories paper
Papermania flowers with added layers cut using a Cuttlebug die
Lace from local market
Hobbycraft ribbon
Dovecraft brads
Felt leaves cut with Quickutz die
Pin from local market
Personalised ticket made using a Sizzix die

The second one is a birthday card for my sister. I have downloaded this fabby template/tutorial from the wonderful paper and string blog to make a purse, but I couldn't resist making one of the cupcake embellishments to use on the card I was making for my sister:

Ingredients:

Cupcake make from the paper and string pattern
K&CO Amy Butler papers
Ribbon and pin from local market
Felt lettering cut using Cuttlebug dies
Personalised ticket made using a Sizzix die
Papermania pearl brad
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Papermania paper flowers
Felt flower cut using a Sizzix die.

I will post the purse soon, I just need to get a zip then I can start making it up.

Cheers,

Ruthie x

A Lovely and Productive Day

2009-03-16T17:58:00.009Z

Well it's been lovely and sunny here all day and I've had the day of work which makes it even better.

So far today I have cycled to the gym; done some washing; started a beading project (more of that later) and made the most of the sunshine by having my lunch in the garden! A nice way to spend a day off I think.

As you may have gathered from earlier posts my sister is getting married this year. Like all 'proper' girls I have been consumed by thoughts of which shoes to wear, pretty much since the engagement was announced! (The dress is taken care of as I am one of the bridesmaids).

Both my sister and I agree that these are the perfect bridesmaid shoes:

but as they cost more than my first car, perhaps a little excessive!

So yesterday we decided to hit the Trafford Centre (or the gates of hell as I prefer to call it) in search of some 'nearly perfect' bridesmaid shoes. We knew we were safe from temptation as Selfridges don't stock Manolo Blahnik!

We trawled every shoe shop and shoe concession in the place, including a long and lingering look at the Jimmy Choo bridal range in Selfridges, but finally settled on these in Debenhams:

which were a much more reasonable £18, with the idea that I would do a bit of 'shoe customisation' for a bit of Manolo inspired bling!

So here is today's beading project aka 'pimp my shoes':

My dress has a clear and purple crystal brooch on the front which provided the inspiration for the design.

This is only the first attempt and needs a bit of fine tuning but I am pleased with progress so far.

Cheers,

Ruthie x

A Patchy Dare and More Burlesque

2009-03-07T16:18:00.007Z

I haven't played along in a while, but this morning I popped over to Daring Card Makers to check out this week's dare, set by Jane, to be inspired by patchwork or to make a patchwork looking card.

I decided to have a go and use the dare to make a Mother's Day card for my MIL. This is what I came up with:

The papers are a digital download from a new company in the US. Check them out here, and I finally got creative with the felt ric-rac I bought a few weeks ago.

Other ingredients:
Felt ric-rac from the fantastic paper-and-string
Felt flowers cut using a Sizzix die
Dovecraft brad
Coffee cup sleeve
Inking and pen stitching
Ticket made using Photoshop and a Sizzix die

This week I have also been playing with some more designs for my Sister's burlesque themed hen party. This is the latest design I have done for her:

I've had the basque stamp for years and this style has been doing the rounds for what seems like forever. I used to do quite a few birthday and valentines cards with it using feathers or net for skirts but I haven't done one for a very long time. In fact I nearly sold the stamp on ebay.

It's a good job I didn't as my sis is very taken with the basque idea. To me it just seems a bit dated, but as card makers/crafters I think we are always looking for new styles and ideas. That and I probably overdosed on basque stamping at some point!

Have a good weekend,

Cheers

Ruthie x

Fabric Not Felt

2009-03-02T18:33:00.006Z

Just a quick post to show you a card I made for a colleague who had her first baby last week.

A bit of a departure for me as I didn't use any patterned paper or felt, just plain cardstock and some gingham fabric. I also dug out my Quickutz Bunny die, which is my usual standby item for new baby cards.

Ingredients:
Pink gingham fabric
Quickutz bunny die
Nestabilities oval dies
Safety pin from a pound shop pack
Ribbon from stash
Inking and pen stitching

Hope your Monday is going OK,

Ruthie x

I'm Still Here and Crafting

2009-02-28T14:16:00.006Z

Well it seems like ages since I last blogged although it's only a couple of weeks really. Most of my crafting time has been taken up with finishing my Sister's wedding invites. They are all now done and have been sent to the guests so I can show the full finished product:

I am a bridesmaid so they know I'll be there but I decided to still make an acceptance card from me and Mr Crafty Blogger:

I have noticed that a few scrapbook manufacturers seem to be doing ticket embellishments at the moment and I decided I wanted to have a go at making my own personalised ones. I decided that hand cutting would be too difficult so decided to look for a punch or die and found this.

I then designed the ticket in photoshop, printed on card and then cut it out using the die. I really like the effect and now need to come up with a few more designs.

Ingredients:
Paper from stash (DaisyD I think)
Cuttlebug embossing folder
Papermania ribbon
Pearl topped pin
Personalised 'Sizzix' ticket
Inking and pen stitching

Off crafting and onto other stuff, as you know I am a bit of a Morecambe and Midland Hotel obsessive, so I was delighted to read this post on the I Like blog which is one of my favourite sites. Check out I like, it really is a fantastic read.

Cheers,
Ruthie x

A Challenge That's Right Up My Street

2009-02-16T13:16:00.007Z

This week I discovered the Cardalicious challenge blog and as fate would have it their latest challenge was right up my street:

this weeks challenge--make a thank you card using something felt, some sort of stitching and use the color pink.

Could this be more perfect for me? I think not! So here is what I came up with:

Ingredients:
Felt birdie cut using a Boss Cut die
Oval and scalloped oval cut from fabric and felt using Nestabilities
Stitched using embroidery thread from a pound shop
Flowers cut using a Cuttlebug die with added Primas and mini buttons from Crafts By Carolyn
Felt ric-rac from Paper and String
Basic Grey Phoebe paper
Bazzill Basics Card
Hand written greeting
Inking and pen-stitching to finish

Also, as I have a day off work I can join in with the prompts over on HerSpace:MySpace:HisSpace. (It's usually too dark when I get home). Today's prompt is 'Herb' and here's my not very original take on it:

Cheers,

Ruthie x

A Sneaky Peek....

2009-02-15T17:12:00.005Z

..of my sister's wedding invites.

I have spent the afternoon with my sister finalising the design for her wedding invitations and she has agreed that I can share a sneaky peek with my blog readers so here you are:

The background mat for the flowers was made using one of the cuttlebug vintage corner dies. I've had the set for ages and never used that particular die. It was only when my sister sent me a web link to the set that I thought about using it. I have nearly ebayed it in the past thinking I would never use it (you see hoarding is a good thing!).

I'm off now to play with more felt. I enjoyed making this card, but as you can see it does not include the lovely wooly stuff!

Cheers,
Ruthie x

A Fab Parcel

2009-02-14T14:17:00.008Z

Well. I've not really done much crafting since my last post, but I did get a fantastic crafty parcel this week. As soon as I saw the felt ric-rac over on Sarah's Paper-and-String Blog I knew I had to place an order and here it is:

and it arrived in a really cute paper bag:

I can also now share one of my recent cards; Mr Crafty Blogger's Valentine's card. He reads my blog so I can only show it now he has received it:

Ingredients:

Heart wrapping paper from Paperchase
Mini bulldog clip from Paperchase
Felt letters cut using Cuttlebug red tag sale

Pen stitching

Finally I just wanted to share the lovely Valentine's card and present I received from Mr Crafty Blogger:

The book is book six of Wainright's 'A Pictoral Guide to the Lakeland Fells'. I had mentioned that I would like to do some of the Wainright walks this summer so he bought me the book. Proof apparently (according to himself) that men do listen.

Have a good weekend,

Ruthie x

Still no snow, so I made cards!

2009-02-07T13:53:00.005Z

Well snow is completely absent at Crafty Blogger HQ so no opportunity to make snowmen so I've made a couple of cards to amuse myself instead. I've got a couple of male friends birthdays coming up so I've had to do the dreaded men cards instead of lovely girly ones.

First one is for a friend who is restoring his MG Midget. I googled the pic, which is an advert from the late 1970s, and used photoshop to add the faces of him and his wife, but I left him with the nice original 1970s Kevin Keegan style perm.

The second one is a pretty standard male beer card:

Ingredients:

MG Card
Googled pic
Orange Basic grey paper (the one from Gypsy I think)
Dymo tape
Spiral clip from Crafts by Carolyn
Brads from an old stash of Queen & Co ones
Inking and stitching to finish

Beer Card
Felt pint cut with QK Beer Mug die
AMM Patterned paper
Bazzil card
Brown ribbon and string from stash
More old Queen & Co brads
Tag cut using a cuttlebug die
Inking and pen stitching
and dare I say it....................peel off greeting

Cheers,

Ruthie x

It's Not So Grim Up North

2009-02-02T18:27:00.008Z

Well I woke up this morning and switched the news on to be confronted by the fact the whole of Britain has ground to a halt because of snow. Well maybe it had in London, but it certainly hadn't here! I looked out of the window and yes there was evidence of snow, but certainly not of the epic proportions the people on BBC breakfast were on about. There wasn't even enough to make a snowman so I had to go to work instead!

Here is a pic of my garden before I headed to work this morning (note the lack of world stopping snow):
Cheers,

Ruthie x

Don't Craft...........

2009-02-01T16:44:00.005Z

...after over indulging the night before, or if you do be prepared for the fact that it will take you hours to come up with one basic card.

I have spent most of the afternoon holed-up in my craft room shuffling bits of paper round trying to make a cards, and a the same time recover from last night.

After much paper shuffling and brew drinking I finally came up with this:

It's a fairly basic card, but you wouldn't think so if you knew the amount of time it took me to make it.

Ingredients:
Paper - K&CO Amy Butler
Spotty ribbon from local market
Papermania brad
Bulldog clip and Primas from stash
Stamped greeting (framed with nestabilities die cuts)
Pearl topped pin from local market
Inking and pen stitching

Last night's over indulgence was due to a friend's birthday (the one I made the recipe binder for). A few of us went into town for a meal and a few drinks. A good time was had by all and I also bumped into a group of old friends I haven't seen for years. We had a bit of a catch-up, well as much as you can in a very loud 80's theme bar!

Off now to watch some Jonathon Creek I think. I found the DVDs of the two old Christmas specials cheap on the interweb the other day so treated myself.

Cheers
Ruthie x

A Couple of Cards & A Bit Of Girly Indulgence!

2009-01-31T15:17:00.015Z

Well, my get ahead of myself campaign is continuing and I've done another couple of cards ahead of time. First is this one which is my Mum's Mother's Day card for this year. I'm so far ahead I don't even know what date Mother's Day is this year!

Of course there is felt on there, and some of it is thanks to my Mum. She found a load of pieces in a cupboard at home and gave them to me to use on my cards. Free felt, love it!

The pearl topped pin is from a new addition to my crafty stash. I've been meaning to get some for ages and found some on one of the haberdashery stalls on my local market. (Much cheaper than buying the 'Scrapbooking' ones). I also picked up some nice ribbons at the same time but I've not used those yet.

Ingredients:
Paper - Basic Grey 'Gypsy'
Felt flowers cut using Cuttlebug, Quickutz and Sizzix dies
Dovecraft brads
Coffee cup sleeve
American Crafts ribbon
Pearl topped pin
Inking and pen stitching

Yesterday was Daring Card Makers Challenge Day, and it was Lythan's turn to set the Dare:

I just love, love, love patterned paper so this week I dare you to join me in
Patterned Paper Passion
I want to see 3 different patterned papers on your card.And to be extra daring, why not see if you can use 3 different lines of paper!

Well I wimped out on using three different lines of paper and stuck with three from the Basic Grey 'Infuse' range:

It's another Mum card, but this time it's for my MIL's birthday next month; you see I am really getting ahead. My sister is getting married in August, at this rate I'll be making the wedding card next week!

Ingredients:
Paper - Basic Grey 'Infuse'
Felt flowers cut using Cuttlebug dies (leaves also cut with a Cuttlebug die)
Papermania brads
Papermania felt ribbon
Tag - Cuttlebug die
Scalloped and plain oval nestabilities dies
Lettering - Quickutz Katie Skinni Mini dies
Pearl topped pin
Inking and pen stitching

Now for the bit of girl indulgence - new SHOES!!!! Contrary to what Mr Crafty Blogger will say, I am not really a shoe mad girly girl, but when I saw these babies I just had to have them:

I have got them to go with a cocktail dress I am wearing for a black tie ball in a couple of weeks. The planned ensemble may end up looking hideous, and I may end up looking like I've gone in fancy dress at Dorien from Birds of A Feather (as Mr Crafty Blogger suggested when I told him about the shoes), but I 'll take a chance.

Just to prove I'm really not a girly shoe girl, this is a pic of how my feet are usually attired (when I'm not at work). Forget Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo, Dr Marten knows a thing or two about shoes!

Finally, I have moved my new DAB radio/I-Pod dock to it's permanent home in my craft room so here's a pic.

Have a good weekend,

Cheers

Ruthie x

And Hear Old Triton Blow His Wreathed Horn

2009-01-27T19:30:00.009Z

How's that for a post title!

It's a link to today's prompt on HerSpace:MySpace:HisSpace photo challenge blog to find 'Carve' in your space.

My 'carve' is the relief which is on the ceiling above the main staircase of the Midland Hotel in Morecambe. It was carved by the artist Eric Gill and bears the inscription I used in the post title.

It's not a particularly brilliant shot, but it fits the prompt. I am hoping to get some better ones when me and Mr Crafty Blogger go to the Midland for our wedding anniversary, If not before. I am feeling the need to get the sea air in my lungs, and a Brucianni's milky coffee in my tummy so a trip to Morecambe could be in order sooner rather than later.

Eric Gill carved a number of pieces for the Midland and you can read more about them HERE. I also used a photograph of one of the others for another HS:MS:HS prompt (see HERE).

Nothing much else to report here at Crafty Blogger HQ, although I have treated myself today to a new DAB radio and I-pod dock to go in my craft room. Since we moved house the one I got last Christmas has found a new home in the kitchen so I decided I needed a little one for upstairs. I will post a pic when I set it up in it's new home. (At the moment it's still in the kitchen where I tested it when I got home, but I can report it's currently doing a sterling job with a bit of Rick Astley!)

Cheers

Ruthie x

A Productive Day

2009-01-25T12:15:00.016Z

Yesterday was a very productive crafty day. I holed myself up in my craft room to finish my friends recipe binder (based on THIS fab tutorial), and here it is:

Front cover:

Side/inside view:

Dividers:

Close-up of the dividers:

I just need to print off the cards to go inside and then it's good to go.

Ingredients:

Based on Cathy Zielski tutorial (get it HERE)

American Crafts Modern album and page dividers from HERE

K&CO Amy Butler Sola 12x12 papers

Letters cut from funky foam using the Cuttlebug Red Tag Sale alphabet

While I was waiting for the bits of my binder to dry I decided to make a couple of cards with the off-cuts of paper which were left.

As some of the paper was stripey I thought it would tie in with a challenge over on Crafts By Carolyn's forum to create a card featuring stars and stripes. The star is very subtle as I used it for the brown petals of the flower, but it's there!

and a close up:

Ingredients:

K&CO Amy Butler Sola Papers
Bazzill brown card

Papermania felt ribbon
Lettering cut with Quickutz Katie Skinni Mini alphabet
Flower cut from felt and homemade chipboard using Sizzix star and cuttlebug scalloped circles/flowers die

Dovecraft brad

I carried on playing with the off-cuts and came up with another birthday card:

Ingredients:

K&CO Amy Butler Sola papers
Coffee cup sleeve
Flower cut from felt and a coffee cup sleeve using Cuttlebug asterisk and scalloped circles/flower dies

Cuttlebug swirl border

Greeting created using Dymo tape

Yesterday was also a productive day because while in my craft room I listened to an album I hadn't heard in ages (possibly even years) and realised I love it:

A bit of a controversial favourite as it was absolutely panned by the critics when it came out, but I'm not afraid to admit I like it, but it does make me feel old as it was released nearly 15 years ago. It also reminds me of the scene in the film Shaun of The Dead where they are killing zombies using old vinyl records and the Second Coming gets saved as Shaun liked to too. (Love that film, might have to watch it tonight :) )

I ended up listening to the album as I was reading a discussion on Crafts By Carolyn's forum about what kind of art people like. I remembered I read in the paper last week that the artist John Squire (former Stone Roses guitarist) has a new exhibition of his work starting shortly in London. For some reason this made me want to listen to the track Begging You from the Second Coming, so that's how I ended up crafting and listening to the album (twice through).

All in all a very productive day: recipe binder done; an album rediscovered and cards made. Excellent!

Cheers

Ruthie x

I 'Felt' The Need For A Challenge

2009-01-24T12:54:00.008Z

I feel that I have been neglecting my felt fancying duties of late as most of my recent cards and projects have not included it. So yesterday I decided to join in with this week's Daring Card Makers challenge and add my own personal challenge that it must include felt.

Keryn had set the DCM challenge:

My dare for this one is the predictable, someone had to do it, theme of Valentines. Although I don't want you to feel you just have to make Valentines Day cards, feel free to make a card fitting any theme you like as long as it has a heart somewhere on it. Stamped hearts, punched hearts, diecut hearts, heart embellishments, cut from patterned paper, whatever, whenever as long as it has the right shape.

So here is my take on hearts (and felt):

Ingredients:
SEI Paper
Papermania felt ric-rac (isn't it fab!)
Felt hearts cut using Cuttlebug dies
Bulldog clip and buttons from stash
A bit of inking to finish

Cheers

Ruthie x

HS:MS: HS and Mid-week Catch-Up

2009-01-22T20:14:00.012Z

I thought I would just check in with a quick catch-up.

I am a regular reader of the HerSpace:MySpace:HisSpace photo challenge blog but I don't get to play along as often as I would like, particularly at the moment when it's dark when I get in from work.

Anyway I popped in today and the prompt was 'Tip'. I could have taken a photo of my craft room which is mostly a complete tip, however I opted for the tip of one of my new set of fineliner pens.

As you know I love doing fake stitching on my cards and so I have been on the look out for suitable fineliner pens so I can stitch in colours other than black, so I was delighted when I found a set of 10 0.3mm ones in my local Sainsbury's. They are in a really clever pack which means you can stand them up on your desk as I demonstrated here (can you tell I love stationery?)

My crafty mojo seems to be in residence at the moment and last night I set down to have a go with my new Sizzlits owl die. I only intended cutting one to see what it was like, but I ended up making a full card!

Ingredients:
Sizzix Sizzlits owl die
Ovals cuts using Nestabilities
Basic Grey 'Infuse' paper
Coffee cup sleeve
Papermania brads
Inking and pen stitching (using one of my new pens)

The lovely Ellen commented on my last post, asking about the recipe binder. Yes, I have started it, but it's still a work in progress. I decided to start the one for my friend's birthday first (as I am on a deadline with that one). Here's a quick pic of it as it is at the moment:

I have done the cover, and one of the dividers but I still need to do the rest of them and design and print the recipe cards themselves. I will post full details and more pics (taken in better light) when it's finished.

I found the idea for it here: http://cathyzielske.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/09/if-you-like-foo.html

I almost forgot, Ellen gave me an award too:

It's the Marie Antoinette Award, but Ellen if you read this can you let me know what it's for :)

Cheers

Ruthie x

Bring On the Burlesque and Other Crafty Projects

2009-01-17T14:24:00.013Z

Well I never thought I would be doing party invites inspired by those tassels which Burlesque dancers wear, but there is a first time for everything. My sister is getting married this year and we are going for a Burlesque dance lesson at the Ministry Of Burlesque for her hen party. She has asked me to come up with some hen party invite designs, and so far I've come up with this one:

I took inspiration from the email my sister sent informing me she has found sequined heart nipple tassels on ebay. She assures me they will be stuck to t-shirts for the event!

All the hens have also been tasked with coming up with Burlesque names which will be printed on the t-shirts, so I am now going by the alter-ego of:

What do you think?

I've got quite a few other crafty projects I need to start this weekend too. I am going to attempt to make a recipe binder so I can get myself organised. If it goes to plan I am also making one for a friend so fingers crossed. I've also got some cards to do and I am going try and continue to be organised and make Mr Crafty Blogger's valentines card.

Obviously you need inspiration to complete all these projects and last night I found myself in hobbycraft and inspiration just jumped into my basket, including this fab 12x12 K&CO pad:

I already have the 6x4 mat pad, but decided this pad would be perfect for doing my recipe binders. I also purchased some felt to co-ordinate with it :)

Have a good weekend.

Cheers

Ruthie

Getting Ahead of Myself

2009-01-11T15:13:00.014Z

This morning I've managed to make a card in plenty of time, wonders will never cease. I think it may be some kind of subconscious New Year's resolution! It's a birthday card for a friend. Her birthday is not until the end of the month but I can post it here as she doesn't read my blog.

It also fits in nicely with this week's dare over on Daring Card Makers:

We'd like you to do your bit for the planet and make a card using some recycled items.Yes, we know we've done similar challenges in the past, but some things are good to revisit and this is one of them - it gets us looking at stuff we might be throwing away and asking ourselves if there's some card-making mileage to be had from it.And besides, it's FREE! If you can use something rescued from Christmas rubbish (scraps from cards, decorations etc) - then you get double points! lol

Here is a couple of shots of the finished card:

As you may now from previous posts I am an avid collector of coffee cup sleeves, so they quite often find there way onto my cards. In addition to this I printed the greeting onto a scrap of card which was lying on my craft desk, and the chipboard flower was made using a scrap of mount board which was also lying around.

Non-recycled items on the card are K and Co Amy Butler papers, Dovecraft brad, and Papermania felt ribbon, felt flower cut using a cuttlebug die, with inking and pen stitching to finish.

Yesterday morning I ventured out in the freezing cold with my camera hoping to get some nice frosty shots in the garden. I didn't find anything frosty worth shooting, but I did find some fungus on a tree stump:

After seeing these shots Mr Crafty Blogger declined my offer of a mushroom risotto for tea. I can't think why!

In the afternoon I ventured out with Mr Crafty Blogger to the East Lancashire Railway to take photos of trains and ride on them. (It's a Mr Crafty Blogger thing, although he has said if I come along then he doesn't need to worry about the photo bit as I take care of that, and he can presumably concentrate on riding on the train, which obviously takes a lot of concentration.)

It wasn't a brilliant afternoon for photographing, but we still stood in a field in temperatures hovering around zero and I did get one shot of the afore mentioned train:

There was method in my madness for venturing to the East Lancashire Railway as there is a craft shop right opposite the train station at Ramsbottom. So on the return journey I left Mr Crafty Blogger and his friend on the train so I could have a look round the craft shop. Everyone's a winner - he gets to stay on the train for another 15 mins and I get a peaceful mooch round the craft shop.

I did make some purchases, the felt ribbon used on the card above, and some friendly plastic. I have to say the friendly plastic seems to be harder than it looks and we are not quite getting on at the moment! More practise needed I think.

Cheers

Ruthie x

Back To Normal

2009-01-05T18:07:00.009Z

Well the holidays are over and things are back to normal for me. The trees came down yesterday and it was back to work this morning. I can't complain really after two weeks off.

I have managed one quick card since my last post. I am not really happy with it, but I needed to do something quickly on Friday night so I could get it in the post.

Cartoon image is a download from Tigerfrogg, paper is Basic Grey and the ovals are cut using nestability dies.

The reason I was in a rush on Friday night was because we went to Edinburgh for the day on Saturday. I did take the camera but most of the shots I came back with were quite rubbish it has to be said. However, I am prepared to share this one, just for the name of the shop:

I have to say that I was amazed at the amount of souvenir (or tourist tat) shops Edinburgh has, it seems like every other shop was one, but the name of this one did make it stand out. I really should have gone in here to add to my fridge magnet collection, but I didn't think at the time.

We didn't have that long in the City, but we did manage to wander down the Royal Mile; debate who would actually pay to go in the '3D Loch Ness Experience' and walk up to the castle and admire the view:

We also went to the pub for a very nice haggis lunch (no pic of that though).

All in all a very nice place to spend a crisp winter Saturday. Id like to go again when I have more time to look round, and I will remember to buy a fridge magnet too.

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Happy New Year from the Crafty Blogger

2009-01-01T17:44:00.025Z

First things first:
Hope you all had a good one. We celebrated with a few friends, quite a few drinks and a lot of bad singing courtesy of the new(ish) Singstar Abba. If you've seen Mama Mia and thought Pierce Brosnan was bad, he's got nothing on me!

Well I've had an excellent start to the New Year, my first ever blog award. The lovely Sarah has awarded me this !

Sarah makes fantastic cards so I was honoured she picked my blog to forward the award to. Check out her blog and cards here.

Now the rules of the award are that you have to name 5 addictions and 5 fave blogs. So here goes:

My 5 addictions:

1) Making cards and papercraft projects
2) Felt (to go with no. 1)

3) Trying to get better with my camera, and posting my efforts on Flickr

4) Morecambe Bay Potted shrimps

5) Rubbish chick flick movies - the cheesier the better!

Now my five favourite blogs (in no particular order), who I've chosen to pass the award on to:

1) Jo Kill's brilliant card making blog - Jo is the queen of cards for me.

2) Paper-and-String - Fab blog for all felt fans out there.

3) Emma Bagladee - Fab bag designer and blogger

4) Artfartymacs crafty news space - You are never short of inspiration on Claire's blog as I think she produces on average 1 card an hour, compared with my 1 every 8 weeks!

5) Jen's Journey - I don't scrap but I love looking at what Jen comes up with on her blog.

I did intend to blog after Christmas but somehow never got round to it so I will have to combine it in this post.

We had a lovely time a Craftyblogger HQ, and were lucky enough to receive some fab presents. The man in the big red suit was particulary kind to me this year and I got this BEAUTY:
I am now a fully fledged Nigella wannabe as I have my own KitchenAid mixer. It also goes very well with the bright pink apron my friend bought me with 'Kitchen Goddess' embroidered on the front.

And here's a rare shot of me proving that I do actually use the mixer, rather than just photographing and stroking it. (I was making Nigella's Norweigan Cinnamon Buns - highly recommended)

I can't finish my post without mentioning my TV highlight of the Christmas period. I know a lot of you out there love Dr Who, and in particular Mr Tennant (well who wouldn't), but the thing which got me most excited was the new Jonathon Creek Christmas Special.

I love that programme so much. I was like a child on Christmas Eve waiting for it to start. Mr Crafty Blogger and I settled down with a nice bottle of red and some Christmas chocolates to watch it. A perfect night and JC and his new assistant didn't dissapoint.

Not quite a good as the Black Canary Christmas special but still excellent entertainment. As a friend of mine once said, 'it's like Scooby Doo with real people' and who can argue with that! Here's a clip courtesy of the Beeb.

I really hope they make some more.

Finally I have managed to sneak in a bit of crafting, a quick mum to be card.

Image is Pink Petticoat, Basic Grey paper, and of course felt flowers!

Must dash, card to make and domestic goddess type things to do!

Cheers

Ruthie x

Happy Christmas

2008-12-24T13:38:00.010Z

Happy Christmas to everyone who reads this. Hope you all have a good one and Santa brings you lots of lovely things off your list.

All the shopping is done, just got a couple of pressies to wrap and then it's time to chill.

As I said yesterday I was still doing cards. They are all now finished so here are the last pics of this year's Christmas cards:

Mr Crafty Blogger's:

One for my Mum and Dad:

One for my Sister and boyfriend:

And finally a little message from me:

Cheers Everyone, Ruthie x

Still Got Stuff To Do

2008-12-23T17:56:00.009Z

Well, it's the 23rd of December and I am still making Christmas cards! I did Mr Crafty Blogger's and my sister's this afternoon and I've got to finish my Mum and Dad's. I also did a couple on Sunday for friend's two daughters. It was a bit of a rush job to get them finished before they arrived for a visit and they were barely dry before I put them in the envelope. I still managed to get a quick pic of one of them though:

The die cut teddies and suits are from ebay, papers are from an old DCWV Christmas pad.

My Christmas celebrations officially began on Saturday when I went to 'Christmas With The Lancashire Hotpots' at 53 Degrees in Preston. For those of you who don't know The Lancashire Hotpots are a modern folk band. Or as they put it - '21st century folk, for 21st century folk!'

It was a brilliant gig, and they did all their old favourites such are 'He's Turned EMO', and ' Chippy Tea', and my favourite from their new album, a track called 'The Girl From Bargain Booze'.

One of the friends we went with filmed Chippy Tea (warning it does contain the use of the F word, just the once, don't press play if easily offended)

A cracking night was had by all!

Also on my last post I promised pics of my other Christmas tree, so here it is.

And here is one of my funky little owls.

Thanks for looking. I should be back tomorrow with the pics of all my final cards.

Cheers

Ruthie x

Tree's Up

2008-12-17T19:13:00.004Z

Well I have finally caught the traditional Christmas cold and I am in the middle of a very sore-nosed snot fest. At least I've managed to do all my Christmas shopping, but I still have cards to make and write and I think my crafty-mojo has disappeared into one of many snotty tissues!

Anyway at weekend I did manage to put up the Christmas trees. As we moved house earlier this year I thought I would treat us to a bigger tree, and here it is :

I don't really like the wall behind it, but hopefully the new year will bring about a spot of decorating!

Another shot, this time a close-up of one of my favourite decs:

The little tree we had at the old Crafty Blogger HQ has also been put up but I've not got any pics yet. Will post some soon, along with some shots of the fab jewelled owl decs I bought for it.

Cheers

Ruthie x

Jug of Tea - R.I.P

2008-12-14T13:30:00.007Z

Anyone who has popped over to my Flickr photostream will have seen that I rather like taking photos in Morecambe. I was minding my own business this morning (well afternoon really, it was a bit of late one last night) mooching round Flickr when I stumbled across the news that Morecambe's most photographed landmark, the Jug of Tea cafe is no more.

The Jug of Tea Flickr group has been renamed accordingly, and now contains photographic evidence of what remains - a pile of bricks! Tributes are flying in and all 23 group members (me included) are officially in mourning.

A tribute has also been posted on the fantastic I Like blog.

I will miss the old place, not to mention the fact that I have forked out good money for a room at the Midland which HAD a cracking view of the JOT. I was looking forward to celebrating my wedding anniversary looking out over Morecambe bay and the Jug of Tea. I might ring them to see if I can get some money off.

Here's a couple of shots I took of the old place: And finally, my last ever shot of the Jug of Tea.

It has been good to many photographers and passing tourists over the years and will be sadly missed. I think at one point it served jugs of tea as well!

Cheers,

Ruthie (off to drown her sorrows in a Jug of Tea!)

An Unconventional Christmas Wreath

2008-12-12T12:37:00.005Z

As I said yesterday I have another Christmas crafty project to blog and here it is, my slightly unconventional Christmas Wreath:

It was inspired by THIS fantastic creation.

I used new bottlecaps as I find used ones don't flatten as easily (about 80p a bag from Wilko's home brewing dept) and the papers are all Basic Grey. The circles are cut using the large red sizzix circles die and stuck to the caps using transparent bathroom sealant (ie cheap silicone glue). I attached the caps to a cardboard base using more bathroom sealant.

Thanks for looking,

Ruthie x

Christmas is Coming....

2008-12-10T21:25:00.009Z

... a bit too fast if you ask me!

I've hardly made any cards and still have loads of stuff to sort, but never mind.

I have however done some Christmas crafting. One of the girls at work had bought a little pre-decorated tree for her desk but she thought it was a little bare and needed a few extra bits adding so I offered to make her a fairy to go on the top. I remembered that a few weeks ago the fantastic Maddy posted a tutorial/challenge on the Crafts By Carolyn forum to make peg fairies and I decided one of these would make the perfect tree topper. So here she is, Julie the Peg Fairy: (She is named after her new owner).

I took her into the office this morning and she went down a storm.

I've also got another crafty christmas project to finish which will hopefully be on here by the weekend.

On the subject of Christmas crafting, my sister has recently taken up cake decorating and sugarcraft. She has decorated the most fantastic cake for us at Crafty Blogger HQ and I thought I would share a couple of pics:

It's not all Christmas crafting at Crafty Blogger HQ, a couple of birthday cards have also gone out recently.

The Christmas tree goes up this weekend too, so Christmas really is nearly here, better get cracking!

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Die Cut Felt Christmas Gift Tag

2008-11-26T17:51:00.008Z

This year I've decided to wrap my Christmas pressies in plain brown parcel paper and then tart them up with some nice ribbon or raffia. According to a recent interview I read, Nigella [Lawson], queen of all things domesticated is also a fan of wrapping presents in brown paper so I am in good company! She also said she uses Italian broadsheet newspapers, however I don't think the Lancashire Evening Post or Chorley Guardian would have the same artistic effect.

As part of the present tarting up I've decided to add some homemade tags. I started playing with a few ideas last night while watching CSI (double episodes on Tuesday, love it). Here is the first one I did:

Last year I did some cards with paper puddings on so I decided to try and recreate them in felt. I cut brown and white circles using the red sizzix die and then cut a wavy line in the white one to make the sauce. The holly leaves are a quickutz die and the raisins are mini brads. I didn't have any black ones so I painted some gold ones with black nail varnish. To make the tag stiffer I glued another brown circle on the back. It also hides the back of my very primitive stitching and traps the ribbon. To make the bit for the message I just cut one of the smaller sizzix circles from card and glued it on.

Now I just need to buy some presents to wrap. Urgh Christmas shopping!

Cheers,

Ruthie x

Why do men have birthdays?

2008-11-25T18:12:00.005Z

Well I know why, but it's really hard work making men's cards. (Well I think it is!)

Anyway today is my FIL's birthday so I can't really get away with not doing a card. I opted for the easy option of the word 'Dad' and a beer. A winning combination in my book when it comes to Dad cards (unless the dad is teetotal of course).

Here is the finished item (poor light strikes again):

Ingredients:
Basic Grey 'Infuse' papers
recyled coffee cup liner
Chipboard letters cut using the Cuttlebug red tag sale alpha
Quickutz beer mug die
Screw head brads from Crafts By Carolyn
Inking and stitching

Also just a quick thank you to everyone who has left comments on my blog, I love reading them. It's also nice to know that people appreciate my attempts at crafting and rambling.

Got to go and make tea, I've promised Mr Crafty Blogger a chicken pie (his favourite). Oh what a domestic goddess I am :)

Cheers

Ruthie x

New Header and A Bit of Scottish Refreshment

2008-11-24T18:23:00.006Z

Well, I've finally managed to design myself a proper header. I'm quite pleased with the result although I did spend far too long on it! The black background paper is part of the 'Love Me Forever' kit from 'Sweet Blossom Designs'. It's a great kit, so pop over there and get it. I am determined to do some more stuff with it. I found the link from another fab blog here.

I also found some time (in between faffing on Photoshop and going to the gym) to join in with today's HerSpace:MySpace:HisSpace prompt which is 'Scottish'. I resisted the temptation to pop off to Spar and but some Tunnocks tea cakes, and raided my bottle cap collection instead. So here's my take on 'Scottish' courtesy of the Calendonia Brewery.

(I'm saving the bottlecaps to make one of these fab Crimbo decs)

Cheers

Ruthie x

More Adventures in Felt

2008-11-23T16:55:00.004Z

Having got the Boss Kuts die a mentioned earlier in the week, I was determined to make some felt Christmas Robins with it. I struggled at first to get the die to cut felt, although I had it on good authority from the girls over on Crafts By Carolyn's forum that it does work. So I messed about with some scraps and realised the felt I had tried originally was not nice soft stuff, it was cheapo kids stuff which is much stiffer. I stocked up on some nicer stuff yesterday so I was able to get the die to work.

I decided to combine my felt robin idea with this week's DCM Dare, set by Vanessa:

Cafe Chic!
Good morning everyone, my name is Vanessa, aka Ellepiggo, I've been cardmaking for several years now and I'm delighted to be part of the Daring Cardmakers team. This is my first time at setting the dare and as we're on "firsts" I thought about the first thing that springs to my mind every morning - Coffee!! LOL!

Yes, I'm a bit of a cappuccino/latte macchiato girl, so I want to see lots of cards inspired by coffee!! Coffee colours, cup shaped cards, card inspired by a coffee jar label, using coffee beans on your card, coffee shop logos on your cards etc etc.....

I always have loads of the corrugated cup holders that you get with takeaway coffee stashed away to use on cards and decided one would make a nice border against my robin topper. So here's my (very loose) take on Coffee:

I also realised I hadn't blogged my felt tree card toppers which I made ages ago, so here they are. Although they still have to find their way on to cards!

Sorry about the poor photos again today - the light was really against me, even in the middle of the day.

Cheers

Ruthie x

My Spanish Space

2008-11-20T19:12:00.006Z

I'm still checking the prompts on HerSpace:MySpace:HisSpace, although not playing as much as I would like. However today's prompt has allowed me to revisit my photos of our summer trip to Madrid. So here is 'Spanish':
I can vouch for the fact that this really is a fantastic 'space' to while away a few hours.

I've also found another shot from the weekend which fits the 'Italian' prompt thanks to the 'Italian Inspiration' scooter:

Cheers

Ruthie x

Bluebird Birthday and a lovely surprise.

2008-11-19T18:52:00.004Z

I am member of the forum over at Crafts By Carolyn, which means that other members regularly put temptation in your path in the form of crafty items that you REALLY NEED :) :) The latest was on a discussion about dies. It was the new little bird die from Boss Kuts, so a click flick of a browser tab later, and one had flown into my ebay purchases!

At least I can say I used it the same day it arrived and I made this:

I'm not totally sure about the card, but I had to do a birthday card v.quickly.

It also ties in nicely with this weeks dare over on Daring Card Makers, which is good.

Ingredients: papers are basic grey (pheobe???), boss kut bird and nestabilities die, raffia, inking and pen stitching - v.simple really.

On Monday I got a lovely surprise. I am a regular reader of the Paper and String Blog as it's full of felt lovelyness. Last week, Sarah who runs the blog was offering her monthly freebie, and as part of the draw you had to link to a crafty project on your website or blog. I wasn't really sure that card making counted, but I linked to my felt birthday card. Anyway on Monday I popped over to Paper and String and found my card featured on day one of their handmade gift inspiration week I was really chuffed to say the least. You should check out the blog, it's great and this week there are some fab ideas on there.

Cheers

Ruthie x

Always check your card photos..............

2008-11-16T18:10:00.017Z

... before you pass the card to the recipient, or you will end up with this as the only permanent record for your blog.

(And this was the best shot out of 4. They were so bad, they were even beyond help in photoshop)

Never mind, the six year old birthday boy thought the card was great.

Another card which I hadn't blogged is this engagement one. I did it ages ago but had to wait to pass it on to the happy couple before I blogged.

Again it's got felt on it (cut with cuttlebug dies), the paper is K&CO Amy Butler, and the stamp is Papermania.

Apart from discovering what stunning card photos I have taken recently, this weekend hasn't been at all bad. Yesterday the weather was quite nice so I decided to get some sea air in my lungs and head off to Morecambe for the day.

I had a fantastic day wandering along the front, drinking coffee in Brucianni's cafe, mooching round the shops, and of course taking photos. My visit also coincided with a scooter rally which was good. (I have to say I blended in quite well as I was wearing my parka, although I did arrive by train.)

Amongst the shops I had a mooch round was this fantastic place:

I treated myself to 'Join Me' by Danny Wallace, and found this for Mr Crafty Blogger:

(which I started reading on the train home :)

To work up an appetite for a toastie and a lovely milky coffee (or Latte as they call em now) in Brucianni's, I decided to have a wander up to the site of the old Pleasure Beach/Frontierland theme park. I spent many happy days there as a kid so I wanted to see what is now left of it. The answer is not much, other than the track for the log flume. However the frontage is still there and a managed to get this shot, which was accesorised by a few participants from the scooter rally.

Of course a visit to Morecambe would not be complete without a visit to its number one tourist attraction the (now derelict) Jug of Tea Cafe, which as you can see is now living on borrowed time. It is however immortalised with its own Flickr group.

Here are a few more shots I took.

And finally, a trip to Morecambe would not be complete without potted shrimps so guess what I'm having for my tea.

OH is not convinced, but that just means more for me.

Cheers

Ruthie x