A change of days....

Hello friends

I'm going to feel totally confused today as I'm working in London.

I've switched my working days so that I can take Elliott to the hospital tomorrow.  

It will be a case of constantly reminding myself what day it is!

Huge progress has been made with the mask and Bob the Board.

I'm so proud of how Elliott has battled with his anxiety and fears.

I hope you are all okay following the storm?  

Just some very minor damage to the VT, 

back gate didn't quite withstand the gusts but amazingly the fence

remained standing - it is leaning but still sort of upright!

I've been going through some of my earlier projects and it has been nice

to revisit them.  I don't think my style and tastes have altered a great deal so I remain

true to my inner-craftiness!

This is a festive card that I've featured before.  

I wanted to show that there isn't one Christmas die used here - 

it is Ironwork Motifs, Labels Twenty-Two and Classic Petal Edgeabilities.  

It is a good idea as soon as you buy a die to cut/emboss

just a plain piece of paper or cardstock - you can then see so many shape possibilities.

Please stop by at the end of the week because the 

next Charity Add-On Kit will be revealed.

A little tease picture....

or two.....!

Take care friends.

Blown away??

Hello friends

Have you battened down the hatches? 

In light of the gusts that are hurtling towards us here in the south east I

have taken a few precautions - removed my garden umbrella from the love seat,

grouped my garden pots in a sheltered place and severely told cats and dog

that we are staying indoors all day!  

There will be no dog walking today .... do not want Bella looking like

this little pooch!

Oh yes, made sure the boys are safe too! 

Perfect excuse to stay indoors and craft or in my case...cook!

I'm having a baking day, firstly the cake for the next add-on kit 

(yes that is being announced soon) - it is a tried and tested recipe but

wanted to take photos.  I am also batch cooking for when we are to and fro the 

hospital every day, as much as Elliott would like I just cannot do McDonald every day!

If you are crafting today - perhaps a day to start Christmas cards?

Here is one that I made a while back, I used this design when I needed to make 

quite a few, I found it easier to pre-die cut all the elements one day and then 

assemble them all later, not quite so daunting then. 

The card base is lightly inked around the edges with Antique Linen distress ink. 

The squares are Graphic 45 paper and the dies are Postage Stamps 

but any square design and festive paper would work.

Layered Poinsettia (of course!) - I used up any spare paper I had and spritzed it

with some red glimmer mist. A stamped Labels Twenty-Two and

clear rhinestones and twine finish off the card.

For those of you who have to venture out - keep safe.

I will be back soon.

An even quicker hello!

Hello friends

Just wanted to stop by and say big big thanks for 

all your lovely comments regarding Bob the Board! 

We've been back again to the Royal Marsden and Elliott's mask has been

modified and it is SO much better, things are definitely moving forward now.

While I'm here I thought I would share a scrapbook page that has just

appeared in Scrapbook Magazine. 

The papers are Fancy Pants - Park Bench Collection and I've splashed

yellow, white and dotty flowers from the Jewel Flower and Flourishes die set

randomly around the page.  Dark green Foliage makes a little appearance too.

Not a colour palette I would normally go for but I liked it once I had finished!

The quote on the page is Enjoy life's little journey's....

Mmm, not sure about little journey's??

I feel like life has recently chosen to send us on a world tour!

My special crafty news may just have to wait a little bit longer... I think I got a 

little over-excited and jumped the gun a little...!

Take care friends and have a wonderful weekend.

A Quick Hello

Hello friends

Just wanted to stop by and say a quick hello.

I've been very distracted this week, we travelled to hospital on Monday to collect a 

special piece of equipment - a radiotherapy board.

The Royal Marsden have allowed us to borrow this so that Elliott can get used

to his mask being locked down - you see those white spots at the top, 

that is where the mask clips onto.  He has done so well at home familiarising 

himself with wearing the mask but now the next step is the clipping down.

Not nice but we are taking little steps and we should get there.

(Apologies - terrible photos, taken on a phone late last night!)

I've chosen to call the board Bob - Bob the Board!

This is our makeshift Bob the Board area, 

cushions from the sofa on the lounge rug....

with an investigative dog....

and my boy before we put the mask on...didn't photo him wearing his mask, 

we decided it was a bit too scary even with Halloween around the corner! 

Sorry I haven't blogged properly for a day or two but I am planning 

a special blog post very soon with some news...exciting good crafty news!

Take care friends.

You are my Sunshine

Hello friends

Today a card that mentions sunshine...what is that?  

Rain, rain and more rain here at the moment!

I've teamed brown, cream and teal for this card.  The dies are 

Delightful Circles, the background is created with Diamond Fleur de Lis M-Bossabilities™ 

folder and I've added a cute little hatpin above the bow. 

I inserted a tiny silver charm inside the hatpin to emulate the die design.

Lots of thanks to those of you who purchased the Autumn kit,

they are all now sold and winging their way to their owners.

For anyone who would like to make the project at home, I used a 7 inch embroidery

hoop, the felt was a little thicker than normal so I used a metal shim 

when die cutting them all.  

I do have the instructions if you would like a copy, 

just drop me an email christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk
and I will happily email a PDF version through.

Take care friends - I will be back soon.

The class that never was!

Hello friends

Just stopping by to say all the kits have now sold and huge thanks to
those who have purchased.
I'm back tomorrow :)

As you all know my life has taken a very different turn these last

few months, many things I had planned simply had to be put on hold,

cancelled or forgotten.

One of the cancelled items was a class that I intended to do at my studio/shop.

An Autumnal project - a burlap and felt wall hanging.

This project was inspired by fellow design team member

Tina McDonald and in fact she was with me in Arizona when I was buying

the supplies so I had professional advice, literally on hand!

I decided that rather than package up all the craft goodies till next year I would offer 

it as a kit and add the proceeds to our ongoing charity fund raising
for Ronald McDonald House, Camberwell.
There is only 7 kits available as I purchased just enough supplies for one class.  

The project is created with Grand Peony Creations, Foliage, Font One Uppercase,

felt, buttons, burlap, ribbon and more.

  The kit has everything you need, pre-cut and with full instructions.

You just need a large sewing needle and adhesive,
I would recommend a fabric glue, Fabri-Tac is good. 

Some close up pictures of those lovely flowers.

 Buttons look sweet finished off with a 'X' of embroidery thread.

The price of the kit including postage and packing is £16.50.

I do only have the 7 kits available at the moment so it would be first come first served.
If you would like to purchase one please email -
christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk

(I was going to insert a PayPal button but got in a right pickle organising the
inventory section of PayPal - why do they make things so complicated?!)

Before the end of the year I do plan to do a class, I really want to open up my
little studio shop at least once so it will be a very festive one!
More details coming soon.

Take care friends and as always thank you so much for your support.

Dotcomgiftshop!

Hello friends

I received a nice surprise yesterday, my blog has been featured

on '15 beautiful crafting blogs' by dotcomgiftshop.

They chose to display the picture of my advent frame...

(it's not just me that is getting Christmassy!)

All the details are here.

In case you haven't heard of dotcomgiftshop - it is a brilliant website

for pretty and unusual gifts.  

I am currently trying to convince the boys we need one of the cake stands,

they are gorgeous! 

Because I've already mentioned Christmas I'm going to share another festive favourite 

project of mine.  I'm itching to display this again at home. 

Graphic 45 papers adhered to chipboard and a Bind it All to create the spine.

The flip over numbers are created from Labels Twenty-Two, Classic Petal Edgeabilities

under the lace and a lovely big stencilled Layered Poinsettia. 

Another batch of Charity Add-On Kits are going out today, I've been at my London job 

but Elliott has been helping out - closely supervised by Bella!

Take care friends - have a wonderful weekend.

I'm back soon.

LOVE, LOVE....

Hello friends

All you need is love, all you need is love

All you need is love, love. 

Love is all you need 

Feel free to sing along...!  

No I haven't gone totally mad but I recall humming

that popular little tune while making this project....

A little covered notebook and matching cotton bag. 

By using the new Spellbinders® metal shims cutting thick felts, fabrics, leather 

and more is now an absolute breeze. 

The shims are available in Junior size for the Grand Calibur™ and a 

slimmer version for the Artisan X-Plorer™ .
I have both sizes available in my Amazon shop :)

If you need any advice regarding these please feel free to get in touch.

The only paper I've used is to cover the notebook - everything else is fabric and felt.

The dies are the very lovely new Die D-Lite™  Swirled Heart and Font One - Uppercase.

More details regarding these projects can be found here - they've just appeared in the 

Spellbinders Idea Gallery.  

I will let you into a little secret...those heart shaped 'buttons' I've used are actually

pins from the British Heart Foundation.

 If you visit any of their charity shops they have them by the tills, for a small

donation you can purchase a sparkly pin, 

I thought they were lovely and finished my projects perfectly - just nipped off the 

pin section with pliers and popped a 3D Foam Square on the back.

Yesterday was a hospital day and Elliott is making fantastic progress with the special mask,

everyone at the hospital is really pleased and hopefully we are starting 

treatment very soon.  

I will keep you posted - thank you, as always for your kindness, it really keeps us going.

Take care friends.

Featured Tutorials

Hello friends

Did you all have your wellies on at the weekend?

The rain did not let up here - it was very soggy indeed!

Thank you so much for liking the October Add-On Kit

and special thanks to those who have ordered. 

They are on their way to you now - all packaged up and labelled :)

In fact here is the worker sorting the wooden bunting!

All the kits are available from the original Tag Book right up to this October Add-On Kit,

 so if you perhaps haven't started there is still the 

opportunity to start your Recipe/Notebook. I know many of you are 

creating them as Christmas gifts and yes, there will be another Add-On Kit next 

month and a special one in December.

Now something crafty.....

This month three of my projects are appearing in the Featured Tutorials

section of the Spellbinders® website.

I was asked to create three projects, easy, intermediate and advanced 

all using the same die set - Gold Ovals One.

It is a really good way of exploring one set of dies and the different projects

you can achieve.  This is my favourite out of the three.

 No doubt because it features Bitty Blossoms too!

All the details can be found here.

Thank you again and I will be back soon.

Take care friends.

It's here! October's Charity Add-On Kit

Hello friends

It is finally here - the October Charity Add-On Kit for your Recipe/Notebook.

First of all huge thanks to my mum who has die cut all the flowers and leaves,

she is a whizz with an Artisan X-plorer™!

I've gone for some wooden bunting this month for the cover,
can't beat a little bit of bunting and in wood it looks nice and natural and
will match any cover.

So what do you get? 

10 components in total.

Recipe - gone chocolatey this month :)

Plastic wallet

Chalkboard notice

Die cuts - flowers and leaves

Wooden bunting flags

Oven temperature conversion - this is durable, wipe-able and magnetic so you can pop
it into your book or on your fridge!
3D Foam Squares
Twine
Instruction sheet
Lucky number

Again this month hold on to your lucky number!
The very nice Claire at Waltzing Mouse Stamps is giving away 6 stamps sets,
if you are the winner you select exactly the ones you want!

The cost is £6.50 (a teeny weeny increase due to the magnetic printing).
Price includes postage and packing.
A PayPal button is listed below but, as always, feel free to email me if
you prefer to purchase direct.

Elliott is at the ready to pack the kits, he's a good worker - I may keep him!

I should mention if you are on Facebook there is a page specifically for
Ronald McDonald House, Camberwell - Elliott pops up on there from time to time,
(honestly, he's getting more media attention than Bella now!)

Take care friends and thank you so much for your amazing support.

Friendship

Hello friends

Today a little card of mine has appeared in the Spellbinders™ Gallery 

featuring one of the Die D-Lites™ - Medallion Nine.

These Medallion dies are brilliant, I like to create a coloured background

with the border die and then highlight it with the inset.

I'm thinking cut with foils against a deep red for Christmas....

All the details are here - I got a bit carried away with layering!

Just to let you know the very lovely Spellbinders Die Carry Cases

are now back in stock - available in my Amazon shop or feel free to contact me direct.

I've got more new Christmas products in my Amazon shop too including 2013 Heirloom Ornaments, Build A Wreath and lovely stamp sets that match Heirloom Ornaments...
I think I've mentioned Christmas quite a bit today - well, it is only 74 days away...!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Take care friends - I'm back soon.

Big Smile and Paper!

Hello friends

Thank you for your kindness and good wishes for hospital yesterday.
 Elliott is being well looked after and we are further forward in discussing and developing
ways for him to cope with wearing his mask for radiotherapy.
What also helped was a certificate arriving and here he is - one very proud boy!

It costs £25 per night for a family to stay in a Ronald McDonald House so we have
already enabled 40 nights of accommodation.
We have raised a little more than the £1,000 with the September Add-On Kit
and I will be launching the October one very soon.
We intend to keep going as this is a wonderful cause and a very
good distraction for Elliott.

VERY grateful to you all.

Talking of keeping Elliott busy....

 I've received some enquiries with regard to some additional insert paper for your Charity Recipe/Notebook.  Elliott is able to supply this paper pre-die cut in cream or white in

either the Grand Rectangle 

or Grand Large Labels shape

(so it matches your design of Recipe/Notebook perfectly).

This is Elliott's project - (very soon I will have every single member of my family die-cutting!)

You will notice the paper is slightly thicker than regular paper - always nicer for writing.

Each pack contains 20 sheets and the price is £2.50 - postage and packing is included in the price.

We had tried to list PayPal buttons for each design but they were misbehaving!
Instead, if you would like to purchase any additional paper, please email:
christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk
with your choice (cream/white, Grand Rectangles/Grand Large Labels)
and we can send a PayPal invoice or making arrangements if you would
prefer to pay by cheque. 

Take care friends, again HUGE, BIG, MASSIVE thanks to you all!

Magazine Winner

Hello friends

Today announcing the winner of the Make Christmas Cards magazine

(with those 279 pieces!)

The winner is......

Jane Willis

Congratulations Jane, please drop me an email - christine.emberson@blueyonder.co.uk 

with your address details and I will get it sent straight out to you.

It seems appropriate I should share another festive project made using papers

from the magazine.  A treat bag, I've used a glassine bag (these are super cheap on eBay).

To create a texture, I embossed it with Snowflake Impressabilities.

Added strips of the free papers to the bottom section and cut/embossed a Standard Circle,

folded it in half, secured at the back and the front flap is kept closed with a mini peg.

A tag and snowflake (Create A Flake Three) finishes the design.

Although it is not technically finished...it needs something yummy inside!

Today heading off to The Royal Marsden, still in the preparation stages for 

radiotherapy but good progress at home with Elliott wearing his mask so fingers crossed.

Thank you everyone for all your kindness and good wishes - truly helps.

First Aid!

Hello friends

Glad you liked the sneak peek of the October Charity Add-on Kit -

the chalkboard item seems popular.  I'm rather proud of it as I designed

it completely.  I downloaded fonts and a chalkboard background and spent

a fair amount of time at my computer creating it!   

(Elliott kept laughing at me!)

The big reveal will be soon....

Today, something a little different - I'm doing a crafty First Aid blog post.

I am always happy to answer any Spellbinders® questions and I thought I would post

some of the more frequently asked questions and the answers.

I have gleaned some new tips from some craft forums and thought it would be

good to pass this knowledge on. 

Q: My die isn't cutting on all the edges:

Move your die around your base plate, the Grand Calibur™ cuts more deeply at the outer 

edges as opposed to the middle.  Also, try placing your die at an angle. 

Q: My die is cutting the edges but not the area in the middle:

Again, try moving your die around the base plate. 

If that doesn't work, place a piece of masking tape on the back of the die on the problem area.  This helps to shim just that area and will hopefully add a little bulk to cut that 

area without having to shim the whole die.

Q: My die cut is stuck inside the die:

Spellbinders dies have little holes that you can use to insert a pokey tool through to help release the die.  If this doesn't work, try cutting with a piece of waxed paper first and then leaving that waxed paper inside the die and continue cutting.  It acts as a release layer.

Q: My A4 M-Bossabilities™  folder will not run through the Grand Calibur :

As you create your sandwich insert hinged section of the folder so that it overhangs the end of the plates, this should allow it to run through more smoothly.

A diagram to explain:

Q: The embossing seems a little faint:

Try misting the cardstock/paper with water in a misting sprayer.  

This helps loosen the fibres in the paper so they accept embossing a little better.  

Do not over-mist - you don't want soggy!  

It was suggested that opposed to water you can use vodka!

Yes vodka!! I think I may have other uses for that.... :)

I hope that helps, as mentioned - always feel free to contact me with Spellbinders questions.

I do my best to find the answer and if not I can direct you to the right people :)

Take care friends.

Winning Charity Kit Number and Sneak Peek

Hello friends

Today I am announcing the winning number for the September Add-On Charity Kit!

It is a yellow ticket and the number is......

If you are the winner first of all...congratulations!

I then need you to rush over to Waltzing Mouse Stamps -

click here and select 6 stamp sets - WOW - how brilliant is that!

(please ensure you select the ones that are in stock -
you don't want to be waiting for these lovelies!)

Jot the stamp names and numbers down and pop them on an email to me, don't forget your postal details and I will contact the lovely Claire at Waltzing Mouse
and she will dispatch them directly to you.

Now how about a little sneaky look at the October Add-On Charity Kit.....??
Something with a chalkboard theme... (all the trend right now).

 Wooden bunting and natural twine...

That's it for now, I'm not going to show any more just yet - I am a tease!
I will be revealing the October Charity Add-On Kit very soon, my family is working
super hard doing all this while Elliott and I go to and fro hospitals.
Again, with each kit a lucky number will be enclosed with another chance to win
6 stamp sets from Waltzing Mouse Stamps.

Finally, ...goodness I'm waffling on today!
 Oh yes, the Spellbinders® die cases - more are due in stock as
they have proved popular.  They are lovely, the suede is very stroke-able!

Inside it works like a clip folder and comes with plastic pocketed inserts. 

It can hold quite a lot - there are 2 inside cover pockets measuring 8 x 5". One page of small die template pockets (10 per page) measuring 2-7/8 x 1.5". One page of medium die template pockets (4 per page) measuring 2-7/8 x 4.5". Four pages of large die template pockets (2 per page) measuring 5-7/8 x 4.25".

It is possible to purchase more of the inserts, I am tracking 

them down and I will let you know as soon as they are also available.

Have a wonderful Sunday friends.
Take care.

A Little Giveaway!

Hello friends

A quick injection of Christmas today and a little giveaway!

This is another card from Make Christmas Cards.

It was the final card I made when I was working on this commission

and realised I had lots of scraps of paper left over.  

I then recalled a design that fellow design member Michelle Woerner had made

and was inspired - thank you Michelle!  

I cut the paper pieces into strips, adhered them to cardstock using an Adhesive Sheet 

and then cut/embossed with Stars Five.  

Tied some red twine around one star point and finished the card with one of the 

sentiments also free in the magazine.

Easy, quick and effective! 

I have a new sealed copy of the magazine to give away - 

it comes with all the papers, stamps, toppers and more - in fact it has 279 pieces -

(what an odd number, you think they would have rounded it up!)

If you haven't started thinking about Christmas cards and projects it might just be 

the little bump start you need or perhaps you are already in the throws of 

Christmas creating and would like more!

Either way - really simple, just leave me a comment today and I will

ask Elliott to pick out a winner.  

Thank you for all your kind comments on my crafty space yesterday,
remember to look up the Crafty Storage blog from time to time,
there are some great ideas.  Talking of storage - did you know Spellbinders have
a gorgeous raspberry coloured micro fibre suede die case available...

I have managed to get my hands on some of these and I'm stocking them in my Amazon shop.
Ooops! They have sold out! But I have placed an order for some more so
if you would like one I'm very happy to reserve one for you - just drop me an email.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend, I'm planning to have a lay-in at some point,

if you knew me you would laugh, I think I last managed to lay-in circa 1995!

Always been an early riser!  

Take care friends.