Shabby Blogs

Friday 31 May 2013

A commission and a new addition

Woo hoo it's Friday!!!! It has been a long week even though I've only worked two days. These bank holidays really throw me out of whack!

I'm still not getting in the craft cave very much.  In fact apart from Izzy's birthday cards I haven't done anything all week.  What I did do was commission a piece from Jen for Joe.

When he moves into his house his car is going with him so I wanted a new key ring.  This is what Jen came up with.


I love it and hope you do too.

The other big news is the arrival of the newest member of the family earlier today.  Please say a big hello to Ronnie.


His pedigree name is Lazy Boy Blue but Ronnie suits him better lol!  The other dogs weren't really sure what to make of him.  Jackson wanted him to play, Rosie stood all over him and Molly kept out of the way after her initial sniff.  The next few weeks are going to be interesting lol.

TTFN Jude xx

Thursday 30 May 2013

Better late than never!

Good morning, hope you are all well today. I finally have pics of Dad's birthday cards from last week so I can share them with you. They are all very simple but different too. Dad liked them all so hope you do too.
 
This one is made with Kanban Toppers and borders.
 
 
 
This one is an old favourite Wellington...
 
 
...and the inside.
 
 
I still love Boofle, he really is great for men's cards.
 
 
This one is Hot Diggity, all of these 3 ranges are made by Docrafts.
 
 
 
And finally a Kanban postcard and topper with a small clock face charm.
 
 
 
Like I said, all really simple cards, but sometimes I think that's the best way lol.
 
Thanks for stopping by today, see you soon.
 
xxx
 

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Special K

Happy Wednesday! 

Hope the weather is better with you than here in not so sunny Sheffield. It was lovely at the weekend but yesterday was grey and rainy. A total contrast to the same date last year which was a lovely 25C. I remember that as it was a gloriously hot day for Izzy Lou's birth. 

I'm still waiting a decision on the funding for Joe's care so no closer than last week but fingers crossed we hear something today!

Today's project to share is a cardboard letter I started decorating for Keira. The basic letter was painted with several coats of white acrylic to provide a base for the stamping. 


I took a tissue and stamped on my chosen design with pigment ink. The layers of tissue are then separated and the design torn out of the sheet. A layer of pva was applied to the letter and the tissue laid on top. Another cost of glue seals the image to the base. 



I used several different stamps and coloured inks to cover the letter base. 





I also added Keira's name. 



This technique works on any surface, particularly those that aren't flat like a bottle or vase. I think it's very easy but effective. What do you think?

TTFN Jude x







Tuesday 28 May 2013

Happy 1st Birthday Izzy Lou.....

Good morning all. It's my youngest granddaughters first birthday today, she is a gorgeous little girl and a really cheeky monkey all rolled in to one. We had a birthday tea for her yesterday, she loved all her presents and was an absolute little star. We are hoping that the weather stays fine today as both her mum and dad are off work, and I have managed to get the day off. So we would like to go out somewhere, but if the rain comes we will have to find somewhere indoors to go.
 
Anyway, today I thought I would share with you the card I made for Izzy's birthday from me and her grandad. It is a little bit different for me but I do like it.
 
 
I started with the image and coloured it in using some distress ink and a water brush along with promarkers and flexmarkers. I also used a white gel pen to give a few highlights in her hair. The image is a Saturated Canary, I think this one is called Ava.
 
 
I found some co-ordinating papers in my stash and decided to use a stepper card blank for a change.
 
I cut all of the paper pieces to size and stuck them on using DST. I cut around the image leaving a small white border and then inked around it with Old Paper Distress Ink. Next I added the image to a piece of deep red Core-dinations card and then added this to the front of the card base.
 
 
 
I used a new die to cut the Happy Birthday sentiment. It's a Cheery Lyn designs die from my local craft shop. I matted this on to a die cut circle and glued it to the back of the stepper card.
 
 
I found a little tag in my stash so I cut her name using my small alphabet punches and glued them to the tag.
 
 
I coloured a silver number 1 sticker with distress ink and used this on the back left.
 
 
All it need to finish it off were a few flowers and embellishments and to ink the edges of the card with Old Paper DI.

 
What do you think? hope you like it too.
 
Thanks for stopping by today, see you soon.
 
xxx
 

Monday 27 May 2013

Back to the beginning

Good morning and happy bank holiday Monday. Yes it's a public holiday here in the UK so no work for me today. Now you would think that I'd have time for some crafting - alas no! 

I'm still packing and decluttering ready for the big move. Then later we are having a family BBQ to celebrate Izzy Lou's first birthday which is tomorrow. 

This is birthday season for us. Starting from May we have a celebration every week or so through to mid July. In one 2 day period at the end of June there are 3 birthdays! As you can imagine it gets quite expensive lol. 

All that leads up to my saying I haven't any new cards to share yet. I can't show Izzy's cards to you until she has seen them!! Instead I thought you might be interested in one of the very first cards I ever made. 

This is a Tulip topper very simply layered on to a hand cut oval and added to a DL card blank covered with a pink paper from my stash. 


A simple sentiment, a few blitters with gem centres and a piece of ribbon complete the card. My style hasn't changed that much really but hope you like seeing where I started. 

TTFN Jude x

Sunday 26 May 2013

Lazy Sunday...

I wish lol. One of these weeks you never know :o)) but good morning all. Hope you are having a great weekend. I'm trying to get some time in the craft room today as its been on really short supply lately! Life just seems to get in the way ;o) lol. 

Anyway seen as how I haven't been able to do much this week and I still haven't got pics of all dad's cards! I will have to share some more jewellery today. Hope you don't mind. I love it so I just hope others do too.

These are a few quick makes using some beads and pearls that I bought at the NEC back in march. But I'm only just getting round to using them. Dead simple but really pretty.
 




 
What do you think? Hope you like them.
 
Thanks for stopping by today. See you soon. 

xxx

Saturday 25 May 2013

When I'm 65!?

Morning all. Happy Saturday!

As Jen said yesterday our dad celebrated (!) a big birthday. Mum follows in less than three weeks. 

I didn't get to much crafting this week so these are very simple and quick cards again using the Hunkydory toppers. 

Hope you like them.






TTFN Jude x




Friday 24 May 2013

Happy Birthday Dad...

Yes today is our daddy's 65th birthday! He's not one for big celebrations so we had a family tea last night and we are going out for some lunch today :o)) We are saving the party for when it's mum's birthday in a few weeks lol.
 
I did make quite a few cards for different members of the family to send him, but, like a numpty I forgot to photograph them before we gave them to him! so I can't show you any of his cards lol. I will try and get a couple of photo's later so I can add them on though.
 
So just for today I thought I'd put a pic on of Mum and Dad - this is them on their wedding anniversary (New Years Eve!) last year. They have been married for 46 years!
 

 
Mum will shout at me for this but never mind lol.
 
Anyway thanks for stopping by today
 
See you soon.
 
xxx
 

Thursday 23 May 2013

Canvas part one

Morning all. Sorry we're a bit late today - life has a habit of getting in the way!  I'm waiting for news from the funding panel for Joe's care package when he moves into his bungalow. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

As a moving in present I am making a large canvas for the hallway. I took a standard prestretched canvas and painted it black. 



I then took pieces from the Docrafts Chronology 6x6 paper pad and cut different sized pieces to cover the whole canvas. 



The nest step was to paint a thin layer of antique white acrylic lightly over the papers. I then took a soft black pencil and outlined the edges of the papers. 



A top coat of matte medium seals the papers ready for the next stages. But like any good saga that's where I will leave it for today lol. 

I'm off shopping for my dads birthday tea this evening, so probably won't get anymore done on my canvas today. I'll catch you all soon. 

TTFN Jude xx





Wednesday 22 May 2013

Anniversary card

Good morning all. Hope you are having a good week. It's Wednesday, so half way through the week before a nice long bank holiday weekend (if you live in the UK) :o)) I can't wait lol.
 
Anyway today I thought I would share with you a card I made for an anniversary last month. It's really simple but still quite pretty.
 
 
The topper and decorations are from the Docrafts vintage notes collection.

 
I just added them with a doily to a 6x6 scalloped edge card blank.

 
Then to finish I added a couple of little charms with a ribbon bow.

 
What do you think? Hope you like it.
 
Thanks for stopping by today.
 
See you soon
 
xxx
 
 
 


Tuesday 21 May 2013

Bon matin

That's the extent of my French skills unfortunately. I did live with a French family for 6 months when I was 18 but everything I learnt has now disappeared lol. I'd like to be able to speak a couple of languages but I haven't the discipline to learn. I'll stick with my crafting. 

Today's card was made a while ago but not posted. 


The Eiffel Tower and skyline were cut from a different paper and layered over the word background. I made the rosette using my Tim Holtz die and cut the centre from a fourth paper. 





The bow and rolled roses are strips of organza held under the rosette with lots of silicone. 



Hope you like it. TTFN Jude xx


Monday 20 May 2013

Weekend report...

Good morning everyone. Hope you have all had a good weekend. Alan and I had a lovely time away. It made a really nice change for us to get to spend some time together. We stayed in a very nice hotel where all the staff were lovely, and we had an absolutely gorgeous meal at a Spanish tapas restaurant. All in all a very happy anniversary xxx
 
I also got the opportunity to visit a very lovely craft shop while we were away :o)) and of course the odd thing just happened to fall in to my basket (ahem) lol. If you haven't been before I can highly recommend, Fred Aldous in Manchester city centre. The shop is spread over 3 floors and is home to lots of wonderful craft and art supplies.
 
These are some of the bits I picked up :o))




I think I must have been a Magpie in a former life! as anything bright and shiny always catches my eye lol.
 
 
Anyway that's enough rambling from me today, It's back to work and hopefully I will get some time this week to have a play with my new toys ;o)
 
Thanks for stopping by today, see you soon.
 
xxx
 
 
 
 



Two Crafty Sisters, Two Crafty Styles, One Crafty Blog!