Friday Die Day

Hello friends

By the magic of Blogger scheduling here is FDD!
Today featuring Blooms Four.
There are three die templates to this Die D-Lites™ set and this is how they look cut/embossed.

I've chosen to make a card.

To the bottom long edge I'm using A2 Bracket Borders One.

Stamped a sentiment and used A2 Matting Basics A to create a label.

Now rummage down your scrap box for lots of pretty coloured card.

Cut/emboss lots of Blooms Four - I've used the smallest and medium size dies.

Then start to adhere around your sentiment label, just stick the middle of the flowers down so

you can lift the petals.

Keep going until you feel there is enough...

and then add one more!

It is a simple but effective design and a great way to use up scraps of coloured card -

also looks superb in white with pearls/gems to the middle of each bloom.

Today is our last full day in Devon - we have had a great time and would
like to stay longer, equally though it will be nice to get home to Bella!

Some more holiday pics tomorrow.
Have a brilliant weekend - weather looks like it is going to last!
Take care friends.

Captivating Box Frame

Hello friends

Thank you for all the comments yesterday, really interesting to read your 

favourite dies.  Still time to enter the giveaway....

Today sharing with you a project that has just appeared on the 

Spellbinders Idea Gallery.

I've used the Square Petal Top Box to create the base of the box frame,

I then cut off the flaps and overlaid on the top Captivating Squares and Classic Squares LG.

Inside is further Captivating Squares die cuts and the lovely Bitty Blossoms

(that die cropped up as a definite favourite yesterday).

For further details on this project please visit the Spellbinders website -

all the details are here.

Still having a lovely time at the seaside...

we visited Paignton - love the pastel coloured houses.

 And the blue sea and sky!

Today we are venturing to a rare breeds farm - if we arrive by 10am we get to 

cuddle piglets!  Not so sure they are rare but should prove interesting....

Take care friends and back tomorrow...

oh yes I couldn't miss FDD!

Giveaway!

Hello friends

Having a wonderful time in Devon...

 I feel like sharing my happiness and what better way than having a giveaway today!

How about Spellbinders Little Leaf Set ...

So often I hear that the foliage dies are the most used and this set is very handy indeed.

To be in with a chance of owning these just leave a comment and tell me what Spellbinders
die you use the most.  Once home Elliott will pick out a winner.

Talking of Elliott - he's enjoying himself immensely, we've visited otters, butterflies,

been hat shopping....

bowling... (I'm not so good at that - definitely sticking to craft!)

Photos appear on Facebook regularly so apologies if you are seeing these again!

Mitchell is having fun too but doesn't always pose for photos!

Managed to catch him here though!

Did I mention it is a little bit 'hilly' in Torquay!?

We are staying behind those houses on the hill....

we will return home fit or ...fit to drop!

The apartment is on a very aptly named road...

To answer some questions from yesterday - I do have The Tool n' One in stock - 

just two left!  The details are here.  More on their way.

The flower used on yesterday's tag is Bauble Blossoms.

Have a great day friends and don't forget to leave a comment for the giveaway.

Back tomorrow.

Crafty Tuesday Tip!

Hello friends

I'm blogging from Torquay and I've been going back through some of my 2012 

blog posts and seeking out crafty tips and reminders!

I thought it would be good today to mention the stencilling use of your dies -

it does get forgotten! 

Virtually all the Spellbinders dies allow you to stencil through while the die cut is still in place,

this truly enhances your piece and is especially effective with Foliage.

I tend to use Distress Ink - Forest Moss a lot!

Another technique is to use your Glimmer Mists.

Position your die on your project.

Spritz away!  Allow to dry before removing the die.  Your die is easily cleaned with a baby wipe.

You then have an effective background.

It is great to make optimum use of your dies and I will continue to bring you

as many ideas as possible.

Tomorrow the Tool n One is going to be on Home Shopping Network.

We can view HSN here in the UK via their website - www.hsn.com
there is a link at the top of their home screen that says 'watch'.
Unsure of times at the moment but they will update their listings.

Take care friends - another holiday update on its way!

Having a brilliant time.

Feeling lucky and blessed!

Hello friends

A holiday update today - we arrived safely on Saturday afternoon having driven

through torrential rain and bright sunshine!

The only traffic delay was driving past Stonehenge because everyone drives slower to look...

and we did too!

We had one pit stop...guess where!  

No doubt the first of many McDonalds if Elliott gets to decide the menu.

Upon arrival we were greeted with huge hampers of goodies and a fridge stacked full of treats.

We have been really spoilt by the owners of the holiday apartments.

 Zero calorie holiday cup cakes!

This is the view from our apartment... gorgeous.

We ventured out into the rain and realised that we are a steep hill away from Torquay town centre.

That's why the cakes will be zero calories - all that hill walking!

Within half an hour I had made a purchase for the shop!

We are going to have an amazing week, it will recharge our batteries and Elliott

is one very happy young man right now.

Other news: Ronald McDonald House, Camberwell wrote a lovely article on Facebook about 

our fundraising...

Christine and Elliott Emberson secure 48 nights accommodation for other families with children in hospital; The remarkable family spent time in our House last May and have gone on to raise an amazing £1,200 in various ways,including Charity Craft Kits sold at Hope & Chances Creativity hopeandchances.co.uk/ Massive Team Camberwell "Thanks" for your passion and continued support 

The Charity Kits will continue and it is so rewarding to know that the money raised is

helping families who are in the same position we were a year ago.

And here is the latest kit made up by Christine Collins.

 Christine chose to change the embellishments so they would match her daughter's home decor

and she will later use the die cuts on other projects.

That is the beauty of these kits - they can a starting point, you can mix and match etc.

I will be back again soon, in between a lot of photos crop up on Facebook!

Take care friends and thank you so much for all your holiday wishes.

I would like to introduce....

Hello friends

Today while I'm sunning myself (hopefully) in Torquay, 

I would like to introduce you to the extremely talented Clare Willcocks.

Clare is a guest on my blog today and showing us the incredible world of paper cutting.

Here is her guest blog post...

Hello everyone! My name’s Clare and I can normally be found drawing, crafting and paper cutting over on my blog www.clarewillcocks.blogspot.co.uk.

I’m thrilled to be featured here on the lovely Hope and Chances Creativity blog today and hope you enjoy the following paper cutting tutorial.

Paper cutting has been a popular craft throughout history, thought to have begun in China as early as the 6^th century. Nowadays it’s embraced by artists from all over the world, with styles and techniques varying to produce everything from tiny intricate patterns to 3D masterpieces.

So, if you’re ready to give it go, let’s begin!

 Tools and Materials

It’s easy and inexpensive to get started, you’ll just need the following:

·        Self-healing cutting mat

·        Craft knife (this one from Hope and Chances Creative is perfect)

·        Good quality paper or thin card for cutting

·        Coloured background paper or card

I’ve designed a free template which you can simply download and print onto the thin card or paper of your choice. I’ve used Papermilldirect card which is available from Hope and Chances Creativity. It’s a great choice because it’s lightly textured which adds a little more interest to the finished paper cut.

 Click here for the free template.

You can enlarge the template or reduce it to as small as you feel you can cut! For this tutorial, I’ve resized it to approximately 12cm in diameter.

Ready, steady, go!

Begin by cutting out the grey sections inside each leaf. Always cut away from points and corners. Try to apply even pressure and work slowly.

Then move on to the centres of the flowers. Follow the edges of the grey shapes as closely as possible.

When you’ve cut out all of the centres, it should look something like this from the right side.

Continue cutting out the petals of the flowers and the inner sections of the butterfly. This may be a little tricky, especially if you’ve scaled the template down, but just go slowly and remember to cut outwards from corners.

Once all the middle sections are cut out of each shape, you can start on the in between bits. Work from one side of the circle to the other as the card keeps its strength better this way.

And there you go, your first paper cut!

Now for another fun bit – deciding on a background colour. Look at this lovely selection of Papermilldirect card I had to choose from!

After much deliberation, I finally decided on bright pink!

If you feel you need to, you can stick the paper cut down before you frame it. Use a cotton bud to dab PVA glue on the back - Cosmic Shimmer works brilliantly. Take care not to apply too much, otherwise it’ll squish out to the front of the paper cut.

I hope you’ve found this tutorial useful, if you’ve got any questions, just pop by my blog 

and I’ll be happy to help!  You can also find me on Facebook here.

Thank you Clare - it has been lovely having you as a guest on my blog.

Don't forget I stock the Papermilldirect card that Clare has used in the shop. 

I will be back soon friends with more posts - until then take care.