Butterfly Thank Yous

I made these two cards for two friends who took me out to afternoon tea at a posh hotel on my birthday. I used a Memory Box die: Floral Square, Ref: 98284 (3” x 3”), and a Memory Box Darla Butterfly die, Ref: 98264, with string bows and stamped 'Thank You's. 

Birthday Packages

Made for my brother one year. The colour isn't quite right.. the Bazzill cardstock wasn't quite as dark as this.. it was a closer brown to the colour of the parcels here. I mounted the paper onto gold mirri card, with a narrow margin showing top and bottom. I decoupaged the buttons and the parcels, added a glittery gold bow on the centre one, stamped and heat-embossed the greeting, and completed the card with a strip of ridged gold ribbon.

Bluewater Sailing

With apologies, the stamps I used are buried in a box somewhere, so I am unable to tell you at the moment what they were, other than a map and a boat! What I can say is that it's not difficult to find rubber stamps with maps and yachts on them, so you would be able to produce something inspired by this, if you are moved to do so! I think I produced the 'rope' by twisting together some string, and tying it together. I secured it to the dark blue card with wire. The yacht was stamped onto blue vellum and heat embossed with silver. Not sure I like it any more, but I've made worse! A reasonable card for a man, possibly. Or Tracey Edwards. Or me, even! I loved sailing when I was younger.

Wedding Card

Made a while ago, as you see! Brief was Scottish, yellow roses.. so I used tartan ribbon with a glittery silver stripe, yellow beaded rosebuds tied with a glittery silver thread bow, two Sizzix hearts (the centres of), and a scattering of tiny sequin hearts, and finally, stamped corners.

Blue Stripe Florals

This one is also fresh from my craft desk, made for a Sketch/Layout Challenge on a Facebook group I belong to. Here is the sketch layout ( ©Maureen Merritt):

And here is my interpretation:

I made a splattery paint and ink background, cut it into strips and inked the edges in Chalk Eyes Blue Iris ink, glued them to embossed silver card and cut that into strips as well, embossed around the edges with a large ball tool to smooth them down. I stuck them at a deliberately random, wonky angle on the card panel, deliberately also hanging over the edges. The panel was then 3D'd to the main A5 card (UK size). The floral die is from Memory Box, 'Fresh Picked Flowers', ref: 99910, cut in silver mirror card (obvs), and just stuck down with random dabs of glue, so that it's not fully attached to give a kind of 'blowing in the wind' effect! I haven't added a sentiment, as you see, because it could be used for just about anything feminine, but if I were going to right now, it would probably be 'Friendship' or 'Blossom'.

First Birthday Teddy

This is fresh from my craft desk for a friend's baby's 1st birthday this coming Friday. It also meets the criteria for a Shaped Card challenge (circle) on a Facebook group I belong to. Handy, that. ;-)

My first circular card, so quite an undertaking for me, but I'm pleased with how it came out. I used a large circle die to cut the base card, and then Tonic's Intrica Butterfly Circle Doily die set, ref: 581E to cut the second layer. I was planning to use a layer of kraft card, as well, but that didn't work out, so I coloured the outer rim of the base card with Chalk Eyes Creamy Brown ink, so that it would show through and complement the colour scheme provided by the Hunkydory images.

I used a circle die to cut out the Hunkydory background image, and stole a gold circle from another HD die-cut. The figure '1' is computer-generated using Wordart in the Garamond font, printed on card, the edges inked and then embossed with a Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. I tied a bow around it in cream satin ribbon and then 3D'd it to the card at an angle. The teddy bear is fussy-cut from the same Hunkydory background and also 3D'd to the card. I finished the design with three little faux gems, and trimmed across the bottom to help keep it upright! I've sent it in a box, wrapped in tissue, so I hope it will be a keepsake.

Rosy Bookmark

My mum was an avid reader, and I made this for her. The embossed rosebud panel can be slid out from its glittery silver binding to use as a bookmark.

This was made with a metal embossing plate, before the days of embossing folders, using an embossing tool and a lightbox, and then coloured using chalk, and decorated with sequin hearts. The background is a glittered piece of printed vellum by K&Co.

Sweet Thing

Made for the Funky Hand design team when I was a member, using their digital papers, alphabet and flowers. Some doodling, faux stitching, brads and grosgrain ribbon tags complete the design.

Summer Blooms Tag Book

This was made a decade or so ago for a challenge on the Trimcraft forum. I had never made anything like it before, and haven't since. Only because life is too short, and I struggle to find the time/energy to make plain cards, let alone something intricate. The photos that follow show the individual pages. If you have any questions, I'd love to hear from you. x

Brain of Britain

A card made for a friend on their graduation. Computer-generated text and a matted/layered copyright-free image, decorated with some silver square brads for texture.

Scrapping Dad

My dad when he was a Wing-Commander, taken in the courtyard at Buckingham Palace, just after he received his OBE from the Queen for his service in the RAF. (He later retired as a Group Captain.)

Next is another layout I did for the Funky Hand design team, using their digital papers, some Making Memories rub-on lettering and their cabochon letters, too. He was a good-looking chap, my dad. Mum said she fancied him because he reminded her of Clark Gable! The car in the photo was his around the time I was born in the late fifties.

Bon Voyage Australia

Do you come from a land downunder? The person I made this for was going there, anyway! I loved covering Australia in geography at school, and used to draw endless maps of Australia, freehand, and colour a blue coastline, so I loved this map when I saw it and immediately cut around it so that the blue coastline would show. Mounted on kraft card, mounted in turn on feathered turquoise mulberry paper, embellished with fussy-cut koala and kangaroo and tags. Wish I hadn't used handwriting on the tag, but this was made before I cottoned on to computer-generating my own sentiments.

A Farewell Gift - Part 5

This one (above) shows the Polish friends of our group, and the one below includes my page. (The man with the tache had been my boyfriend for a lot of the time that Anne-Marie & Arie were leading our group, so although we had split up by the time I was making this, I included him.)

Rucksack Card

I thought this image of the little girl with a rucksack almost as big as she is was so cute! I hand-cut and doodled the white scallops on the side of the pic to echo the scallops on the decorative paper, and mounted the focal image onto a panel of silver mirri card. I punched daisies across the bottom and used the punched daisies as embellishments. The colourful paper is Basic Grey. I've used ribbon crossed under the focal image, and I've used various other embellishments.. flowers, stars, and a metal heart charm.

A Farewell Gift - Part 4

Udi's note to Anne-Marie and Arie was also not in keeping with the theme of the album, but that doesn't matter, given the purpose of the book. Corrina's was hidden behind her picture, like Winnie's was, with a red ribbon tag to pull it out from its secret hiding place.

The men were not great at providing notes for our departing leaders, but no surprise there, eh? So what you see is what you get on these two pages.

Miaow

My mum was not overly fond of cats, and she took a dim view of my Tigger affectionately clawing her legs once when he was on her knee. You might say they had a kind of love-hate relationship. So I made her this birthday card kind of tongue-in-cheek. Tigger posed right on cue...  

Inside, the card reads '... Happy Birthday!'

Here's a better picture of my handsome boy... love of my life..

Goodbye, Tornado

This is a card I made for my dad back in 2004. He retired as a Group Captain in the RAF. My mother also served in the 1950s. They met when they were representing the RAF in rifle shooting at Bisley, now the National Shooting Centre, in Surrey.

The iconic Tornado retires now after 40 years service, and I remembered this card. It doesn't show the Tornado.. it shows the Harrier, the Nimrod and the Jaguar, but all military aircraft that tug at my nostalgic heart strings. My salute, in a way.

Here's my dad at Buckingham Palace when he was a Wing-Commander, after collecting his OBE, and my mum showing the special plaque she was given to recognise her being the first woman to be selected to shoot for the main RAF rifle team. You can probably tell, I'm very proud!

A Farewell Gift - Pt 3

If I remember correctly, the rosebud panel flips up to reveal Deborah's note for Anne-Marie & Arie.

The page on the right below shows our Paul (Pawel, pronounced Pavel), a lovely guy from Poland. He got around with the ladies, as you can see! ;-)

Take A Chance

This was made for a sketch challenge for the Basic Grey Challenge design team, using the Euphoria papers. The heart is a Hero Arts stamp and I've used Cuttlebug Swiss Dots and Fantasy Flowers embossing folders.

A Farewell Gift - Part 2

We wanted to start the pages with our new group leaders, John and Jenny, who were taking over from Arie and Anne-Marie. I'm afraid the photos are not very good. They were taken as a bit of an after-thought and in a bit of a hurry, sadly!

I asked people to contribute some thoughts/words or notes to be included in the album. John and Jenny gave me a card, which is why there are teddy bears on their page that don't really go with the design theme! But the front of the card flips up.

By the way, I should say that if you have any questions as to the workings, please feel free to ask.

On the next page, Winnie's note is tucked behind her photo, with a red ribbon tag showing, so you can pull out the secret note inside. Isobel didn't provide a note, but she was very frail and elderly, so no pressure there!

The consistent theme was using co-ordinating decorative paper from the same pack, Sizzix 'Garden Greens' leaves die-cuts in green and silver, lots of roses, both die-cut and stamped rosebuds. I used my favourite Cezanne font. A lot of the photos and panels were matted onto silver, and I used silver accents.. borders and such.

Two more pages tomorrow..

Blue Butterfly

I think I must have made this originally for a sketch challenge. It doesn't look like 'me', if you know what I mean. It doesn't show clearly in the photo, but the butterfly and the punched hearts are embossed. The sentiment is stamped, and the flourishes are from Rhonna Farrer's 'Elegant Flourishes' stamp set. The scalloped border is hand-cut, and doodled with white spots. The design is completed with faux gems, a layered flower and a waxed cord bow.

A Farewell Gift - Pt 1

This book was made as a parting gift for this beautiful couple, Arie & Anne-Marie, who led my church small group (aka house group, cell group, etc.. different churches call them by different names). They were wonderful, and we all loved them very much, but Arie was serving in the UK for the Dutch air force, and when he retired, they moved back to Holland to be closer to their own family.

I made the book, in collaboration with other members of our group, and I will share it with you in a series of posts in the coming days.

To Anne-Marie & Arie

with love from your small group from

KingsGate Community Church.

We will miss you very much,

but this is farewell and not goodbye.

May God bless you everywhere you go,

and in everything you do.

Red Hat

My mother wanted to find this poem but she didn't know what it was called, so I looked for it and when I found it, I printed it on the insert inside the card. The hat is fussy-cut from a photo, mounted on 3D foam pads on top of the purple frame, which is decorated with organza bows and punched flowers with brad centres. The text is computer-generated, and then swiped with a purple ink pad, direct to paper.

The poem is called 'Warning', and is by Jenny Joseph.

WARNING

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple,
With a red hat that doesn’t go and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin candles, and say we’ve no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired,
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells..
And run my stick along the public railings,
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain,
And pick the flowers in other people’s gardens,
And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat,
And eat three pounds of sausages at a go..
Or only bread and pickles for a week,
And hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry,
And pay our rent and not swear in the street,
And set a good example for the children..
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

Jenny Joseph 

Summer Bloom

A scrapbook layout, with a picture of my daughter at Ascot in 2004. I fussy-cut around two of the flowers in the paper to tuck the photo behind. I used some ribbon for the bow, a flourish stamp (Elegant Flourishes by Rhonna Farrer), some black ric-rac, and the words were computer-generated using my favourite Cezanne font and cut out.

Peach Daughter

Soft focus, peach-toned photo of my daughter's face inspired the choice of decorative paper and feathered mulberry paper, mounted on 3D foam pads for some extra dimension and embellished with a beaded peach rosebud, glittery silver thread, rub-on 'Daughter', silver dragonfly brad and handwritten 'Well done!'.

Golden Hearts wedding invitation

This is one of my favourites from the range of wedding stationery I've been showing, and it will be the last for a while. I hope you have enjoyed them, given that they can be used for so many different things.. not just weddings.

The backing panel is just butter yellow paper, and the hearts are punched out of embossed gold card. The 'wedding invitation' words are computer-generated, and mounted over a strip of cream satin ribbon. The cream paper rose completes the design.

Two Souls

It's a little late for Valentine's Day, but people are celebrating their love every day! Maybe this would work for an engagement card. It doesn't get much simpler than this. If I remember correctly, the holes in the corners were achieved with a punch and enhanced with little square red gems. The flourishes are an Inkadinkado stamp, the verse is a stamp (Penny Black, possibly), and with punched silver hearts, rosebuds and a waxed cord bow, the design is complete.

More Snowflake wedding invitations

These are all very similar, all using Kaleidopunch snowflake punches, so I thought I would group them together. They are all pretty simple and obvious, so I'll not insult you with a description. If you do have any questions, I'd love to hear from you.