My Mum's Day Card

Hello friends

I can share with you today the card I made for my very special Mum
and I'm pleased to report she loved it!
It features the new Marisa's Bouquet dies.

I took inspiration from the die packaging that features a beautiful card
using an assortment of the flowers.

Little flecks of ink enhance the background...more ink was on my craft desk than on the card!

And of course you have to love those butterflies.



All the flowers are created from my card scraps so that's handy.
Marisa's Bouquet is available on the website here.

I was treated very well on Mother's Day, I received beautiful flowers and cards...

 and then this bounty of goodies!

I think my boys know me well!

Take care friends.

International Ambassadors In'spire Blog Hop

Hello friends

The Spellbinders International Ambassadors are having an informal blog hop again
and this time we are using In'spire dies.
We have been having so much fun with these blog hops and delighted at how many of you
visit, play along and leave such lovely comments.  
I hope you are getting to know us and seeing our different styles,
each one of us is unique in our creative styles - so there is something for everyone!

The In'spire dies are such fun to create with - and can be used singularly or combined
with others as you will see along the way.
Here are a few photos of my card using Around The World and International Luggage.

 

The travel themed papers are Fancy Pants - As You Wish.

I adorned the suitcase with lots of stickers so it looks well travelled!

 

Here is the list of blogs to visit, have fun looking at the all the different projects.

Linda Lucas

Yvonne van de Grijp

Ursula Langhammer (not partaking this time)

Christine Emberson (You are here)

Christina Griffiths

Thanks so much for stopping by - we hope you enjoy your time with us.

We will be back with more!

And Happy Mother's Day! 
I can share the card I made for my Mum tomorrow - she will have received it by then.
 

And off I go...!

Hello friends

Speedy blog post today as I'm off to Milton Keynes and returning 

tomorrow.  I'm going to wake up on Mother's Day in a Premier Inn

without Bella and the boys so that will feel a little strange.

I will soon drive home though, I like going away but it's always nice to

return home.

And...I mentioned Mother's Day. 

Well, I cannot share my mum's card just yet as she reads my blog

but I thought it would be nice to share a previous Mother's Day card I made.

The papers are Graphic 45 - Secret Garden and the dies are

Sprigs and Blooms Four - both available on the website.

I don't think I will ever tire of Sprigs! 

I also used Ivory Photo Corners for a nice finishing touch,

these ink up so well.

More 99p bargains have been added to the website here,

lots of good quality ribbon and more.

Take care friends and enjoy your Saturday.

Friday Die Day

Hello friends

I'm ignoring yet again that it is Friday the 13th!
Didn't we have one a little while ago..?

For this week's Friday Die Day I'm featuring Out On A Limb.
It consists of 5 template pieces, branch, sign, birdhouse, leaves and birds.
This is how it looks cut/embossed.
(Apologies my photos are a little dark, it's been a busy week and
things were getting left to the last minute...night-time!)

Chocolate wrapper time!  Well it is nearly Easter.

I removed the original wrapper and used this as a template for brown cardstock

to wrap around the chocolate bar.

A rectangular piece of gingham card then placed over the top.

The branch and sign glued into place.

And then adding all the additional die cuts,

extra leaves, kissing birdies, the hearts from the birdhouse are so sweet.

Stamped message on the inner sign die cut and affixed with 3D Foam Squares.

A little while ago I also used the same set to create this card.

It's a very cute die set and available on the website here.

Take care friends and wishing you all a lovely weekend.
I'm off to visit a very good friend of mine in Milton Keynes and we are crafting!
 

And the winners are:

Hello friends

Announcing today the winners of the two sets of pre-loved

Labels Thirty Eight.

Drum roll......

Teresa Doyle

and

Toni

Congratulations to you both and please send me your address details to

hope-chances@live.co.uk

I will then get your dies straight out in the post to you.

Glad so many of you are already aware of the wonderful Tool n'One.

It has already saved you many hours of removing paper pieces from your dies!

I noticed a couple of you had a few problems with your Tool n'One -

don't forget you can always get in touch with me or Spellbinders direct,

their customer service is superb thanks to a lovely lady called Karen :)

And here's another little tip (and it's not even a Tuesday!)

I was shopping in Wilkinsons and noticed that they have spray bottles for only 50p.

These are great for when using your M-Bossabilities folders.

Fill with water and lightly spritz your cardstock before placing it in the folder.

It releases the fibres of the card and you obtain a much better impression.

Works particularly well when using the 3D M-Bossabilities folders.

Of course, the bottles are useful for other things too, spraying inks,

spritzing the dog - Bella thinks this is a fun game along with watching You Tube videos!

Take care friends.

Tuesday Tip/Technique

Hello friends

Tuesday Tip/Technique!

Today I thought I would talk about the Spellbinders® Tool n’ One™.

I know many of you may already have this nifty little device but recently

at the Make It Show in Farnborough I was surprised that many did not realise

all the little extra uses it has.

First off it is a portable tool, mine fits perfectly in my little craft bag.

It has multiple uses but the favourite has to be that it removes paper pieces from your dies! 

Saves hours and hours.

It can also be used as a piercing/pokey tool.

Within the pack is the Tool n'One and a little spatula.

The brush end is to remove the paper pieces from your dies - I've found the most effective way 

is to brush on the reverse side of the die, fairy firmly.

There are an occasional stubborn pieces left in the die - but the pokey tool end

is perfect for this. 

Also, I've discovered that the brush is brilliant for removing any wispy bits

of card from my die cuts - sometimes when you die cut there are tiny 'threads' 

and it sweeps these away perfectly.

 At both ends of the tool it is possible to pull down a section - this enables to you to 

remove/reinsert the brush/pokey tool.

To reinsert - ensure the little 'ball' (marked with the lowest arrow) aligns with one of the 

round indentations in the attachment. 

 Within the main body there is a compartment where you can store your spatula tool,

just unscrew and two storage slots inside are revealed.

 The spatula tool is great for easing out your die cuts, saves using your finger nail!

Also I've been known to use it as glue spreader and it cleans up perfectly.

It is worth mentioning that more attachments are going to be available for the 

Tool n'One which are going to be super handy!

The Tool n'One is available on the website here.

Take care friends.