EXHAUSTED!

Well I have now done 52 pages of THE scrapbook and never want to see another scrapbook page in my life!  I will be so glad when I can get back to doing my individual bits and pieces.  I have used loads of die cuts in the scrapbook, and also a bit of stamping, with a lot of digital stamps (thankyou Dee!).  I have recently discovered Heartfelt Creations stamps and dies which I really enjoy working with although I havent produced anything like the beautiful stuff in their gallery.  The only problem that I am finding is that you buy one set, and then discover that you need a bit of another set to finish it if that makes sense ..... very clever marketing on their part I have to say but I still like them!!!

I will get back to posting creations when I have finished the scrapbook, and slept for a year!

Have a wonderful day,

Mandi xx

GOTTA LAUGH!

Not a picture today as I have been working hard on the scrapbook, although I was a bit naughty this morning and got a couple of bits from one of my favourite shops *Dies to Die For*.  I just wish Tracy would not keep putting temptation in my way by adding new stock all the time!  I am a sucker for butterflies and dragonflies, all things natural really so I am in die-heaven on the DtoDfor site!

Anyhow, back to the title of *Gotta Laugh*.  No.1 Daughter works as a Teaching Assistant ..... a jammy job (NOT!) where she gets long holidays off whilst being paid!  Yesterday to celebrate the end of term, she and a few other TA mates had a party!!!  Various slurred phonecalls later we were vaguely assured that she had *3 very shober friends who are looking after me*.  When we went to rescue her from the pub her 3 *very shober friends* had probably drowned as much vodka as she had and they were all looking after each other!  She has just surfaced from her sleep this morning and assures us that she does not remember anything after 9pm!  She should hook up with Miranda and do a comedy duo, it was definitely worth watching!

Off to Bury St Edmunds today to see Mum (who is a QVC/Create & Craft Queen!!!) so probably won't be blogging over the weekend. 

Have a good one!

Mandi xx

TAKING TIME TO PLAY!

I suddenly decided last night to take time to play with my new Heartfelt Creations (Spellbinders) lace die.  It is gorgeous in its own right but I thought I would do something a little different as I have been experimenting with making rosettes out of various items.  I was so pleased with how this turned out, but it doesnt fit on a 6x6 card, or in an envelope!  I decided to tie some net ribbon round the rosette before mounting it on contrasting 6x6 paper and then placing it on an *easel* shaped base card so it can be displayed.  The whole thing has come out to fit an 8x8 card.  A while ago I decided that I would *bulk order* some plain white pizza boxes for this sort of thing so it will be given to someone *gift boxed* lol. 

TFL!  Mandi xx



BEING ELUSIVE

It's been a few days since I posted, mainly because I was given a rather mammoth task to do.  There is a fella in church who is part of the Careforce Team (a team of volunteers from overseas placed within churches to do the donkey work lol) who is leaving after 2 years hard graft to go to Bible College.  Yours truly has been given the task of doing a scrapbook page for each and every member of the church to give to him as a leaving gift .... in about 2 weeks time!  Ho humm, needless to say it has kept me more than fully occupied, exasperated, bald and with an increased vocabulary of bad language as there have been mishaps along the way.  I am nearly finished on my first lot of pages (making something out of mostly not so good photos and better messages!) but it has meant that everything else including housework has been neglected!  Alongside all that there have been birthdays and hospital appointments to fit in (NOT in that order!)

Anyhow, I am now getting round to posting the card that I made for  eldest daughter's birthday which has come out really well and she loved.

TFL!  Mandi

EVER HAVE ONE OF THOSE DAYS?

Did you ever have one of those days when you are still in your PJ's at 2.40pm, the hoover has not touched the floor and the washing up hasn't been done never mind the ironing pile?  I have and I am!!!!  The reason for this is that I have been highly industrious and made a birthday card for my daughter (which I can't post until Friday when she opens it as I think she might look at this blog occasionally!!!).

It took forever, much longer than expected but I am sooooo pleased with the result and really hope that she loves it!  (If she doesnt then I will personally tell her to spend all Saturday making ME a card for MY birthday which just happens to be two days later on Sunday!!!)  She is pretty good at making cards, in lots of ways much better than I am as she has the patience to sit for hours and cut out her stamped images.  I can't be doing with that a)because my eyesight isn't as good as hers b)because I am not particularly knife happy when it comes to crafting and c)why cut out when you have nestabilities??!!!!!

So ... until the time comes when I can post the picture (and for once the scanner behaved!) I will have to keep everyone in suspense.  Now for the hoovering!!!

TODAY'S OFFERING!

I have itchy fingers - the kind that needs to play with paper!  I had a *little* package arrive from Dies to Die for which contained some *confetti* in my beautifully wrapped parcel of dies.  This was one of the *confetti* bits which I played around with a bit and embossed.  At Newbury last week I was so pleased to be shown a way round of using the TH distress inks without the foam as I had not had much success with that previously and kept getting lines when inking.  There was a demo going on using Dreamweavers stencil brushes instead of the foam and that is now keeping me happy!  I then decided to use a brush to apply clear embossing ink before the powder and I will be using that method from now on!

The colours from the scanner have come out a bit dodgy on this for some reason, as the background is on navy coloured card.  The swirl and small butterflies are also from Dies to Die for.  Metal charm was from Mei Flower (I think!) at Ally Pally.



LAST ONE FOR TODAY!

I have just been having fun playing with two *quickie* cards.  These are simple for me ... very little bling involved (just a bit of glitter in the papers as I have to get it in somewhere!)  The butterflies were from Dies to Die For (I am just a little bit hooked on Tracy's stuff!) and the tulle netting from Hobbycraft.  I have finally managed to work out a sandwich that cuts first time with these dies, using my Grand Calibur.  I still havent worked out the combination for the Big Shot.  I have used a magnetic sheet as a shim and have rubbed over the dies with tumble-dryer sheets before use as it seems to wax them a bit and the cuts just *fall out*! 

Thats all from me today!  I feel like I have posted a week's worth so I might have a day off tomorrow!!!

 Mandi x

HERE GOES!

Please excuse some of the colours on these, I decided to scan the cards in rather than take numerous photos which normally turn out wonky anyhow!  I am hoping that these will show up ok on this post especially since they are in the ubiquitous cellophane bags!! From now on I will attempt to keep up to date.

Many of my more current *messy creations* will not scan because they have bulky items on them.  If anyone could let me know the best way of displaying such things (eg the fabby flowers from Wild Orchid) please shout!

Mandi x

Mixed Media card ... using pre-cut floral decoupage on embossed chipboard (Tim's movers and shapers dies) and rubbed over with Inka Gold.

One of my earlier creations .. with lots of things thrown on for good measure!



Pocket card.  Image coloured in with watercolours and irridescent medium. 

Dreamweaver stencil on black card with metal flakes.  The stencil was then removed and the *bare* areas filled in with black flocking powder.

Another mixed-media type of card using a digi-image.  Flowers from Wild Orchid crafts.

Another of the same, this time with flowers from HobbyCraft and a fiskars combination border/corner punch using just the corners by accident!!!

Waltzing Mouse stamp used with corresponding Nesties Labels 4 (gotta love the WM designs!!).  Used some lush new petaloo flowers that I got from Newbury last week.

This was a fairly recent card, and the first Easel Card that I have made.  I used a purchased Digi Image and then cut it using a print and cut technique on the cricut which worked fairly well.  I combined the image with a pre-cut decoupage flower.  I have to say that I love this card as it is quite touchy feely!

New Baby Card.  Die cut decoupage set from Dunelm of all places!  I also experimented with the little peg dies to make the border which turned out ok (much better IRL).  The babygro and lettering was a sizzlets die.

Another of my favourites.  Footprints poem stamped onto tissue paper and then placed on to canvas chipobard.  Painted with watercolours, added shells and glitter and some more stamped images of shells.

And finally .......

Wedding card created for BIL .... Easel Card using Digi Image and lots of Bling.  Nestabilities labels 4 used with Nestabling.  Right up my street!!!

Phew!  Thats it for now!

TFL!

Mandi x

 

PLAYING CATCH-UP

I started this blog a long time ago, and did not get any further than the first page, mainly because in many ways I am not that technically minded, and had not found all the editing functions of the blog!!!  Now I will need to play catch-up and post piccies of some of the cards that are sitting in my *hand-made to die for* pile waiting for some poor unsuspecting person to receive such a wonderful creation through their letterbox!!

Ever since childhood I can remember loving the feel of paper and pencils, despite not being able to draw even a stick person, and flunking spectacularly at art through school.  The now eclectic mess of paper, pens, paints, glitter, chipboard, glue, clay, paper-mache objects and a LOT of other stuff demonstrates the different routes that I have been down in trying to discover a particular style.  7 years ago I *found* scrapbooking, in the run-up to my wedding.  My poor unsuspecting hubby-to-be found himself coming home to a sea of half-cut bits of paper, glue sticks, photos and peel-offs. I swore that I would never be able to do anything except for 12x12's but how the mighty have fallen!  Now, 4 full scrapbooks later, I have evolved and *found myself*!!  I havent done a scrapbook page for 18 months and have now settled in to various forms of altered art and cardmaking.  At least these get to be displayed or posted .... and I am doing my bit in keeping Royal Mail in business.

Now to attempt to scan in the various creations that are sitting around in those little cello-bags and to prove that I do actually do something other than drink coffee and eat chocolate whilst creating an indignified, glittery mess.

Mandi x

WHY THE TITLE?

Why the title? Because there are some things that I simply cannot do without! Coffee and glitter being just two of them. Chocolate is probably a third. Not being the tidiest and most organised of crafters, there are generally numerous coffee cups, scraps of paper, little squares from double sided sticky dots and half a pot of glitter liberally thrown over the table at the beginning, middle and end of a creative session (not to mention hubby going off to work in a posh suit with bits of glitter glistening from his nose and occasionally resembling something of a pearly king). All this usually leads to a decent result .... and a lot of head-scratching when I see people put up proud pictures of a totally spotless, organised craft space in the midst of making something wonderful.

So what is my style in the midst of all this chaos?? A sort of strange mixture of vintagy, grungy, lacy, glittery stuff, with lots of die cuts and a bit of digital work thrown in for good measure. I have yet to make a very simple *clean* creation but keep promising myself that one day I will try. Until then, I will throw everything possible on to one piece of paper and hope for the best.

Happy Following!
Mandi xx