HOORAY! It worked this time

Just a simple CAS card in my favourite sepia colours

I used beige card from PDA for the basecard. Stamped the agapanthus straight onto HOTP paper from the wedding collection, then cut with nesties and matted onto brown card from stash. Added some sticky pearls and that's all there is to it :o)

Jackie xx

I had intended uploading a card...

...but Blogger obviously doesn't want me to grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Oh well never mind, I will try again later.

It's good to see the sunshine again after such a miserable day yesterday.

I have broken up from work now until next Monday so I mean to have at least one crafting session, hopefully more :o)

See you later

Jackie xx

Brilliant day, a moan and a few recycled cards

Good morning Bloggers, grab yourselves a cuppa and relax for a little while, becuz this is a long post :o)

What is Blogger playing at, will it ever be right? I even have to sign in again to be able to upload pics from my own PC now Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I wonder it it will let me leave comments on your cards today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had a brilliant day out with my daughter yesterday. We set off at 8.30am for the delightful little county of Rutland - about an hour or so from home - and went to Barnsdale gardens. Some of you will remember the days when the BBCs Gardener's World used to come from there with Geoff Hamilton presenting.

 What a lovely place it is, with no less than 38 small gardens to wander around and filch ideas from. We had luch there before going on to Rutland Water, which is virtually just across the road. The wind was blowing so strong but it didn't stop us having a stroll and then a bit of a spend in the gift shop/information centre. We finally arrived home around 5pm very tired and weary but what a great day it was :o)

Anyway, onto my cards!

They are all made using images from last year's non handcrafted cards and they are for the Ilkeston Hospital League of Friends. They have a card and second hand bookshop in the foyer of the hospital so I hope these will make then at least a few pennies!

Did I hear someone snoring?  :o)

Jackie xx

 

I just had to share this with you

Good morning everyone, and a beautiful sunny morning it is too with wall to wall blue sky

I am off out today to meet up with 2 Docrafters at Wollaton Hall but I wanted to share these first. Why am I so excited about a bluetit? It's the first time I have ever seen one in my garden and it's been back several times since I took these photographs on Saturday.

Have a great day everyone, I know I will :o)

Jackie xx

Commissioned wedding card

Good morning bloggers. it's very cool and windy here at the moment but dry. I hope you are all well or nearly there.

I was asked to make a green and white wedding card. What kind of green, says I. It's about the colour of the handle on that Morrison's bag, says she :o)

This is about the nearest I could get to it, I hope it's okay!

I used pearlised card from stash for the base card and dry embossed it using a brass stencil. I only had half a sheet of the green so had to get it right first time, gulp! Sentiment is heat embossed - thank goodness I had the right colour embossing powder - and cut out with Nesties. Punches used are Martha Stewart, Woodware and McGill with a scrap of ribbon from stash added.

 

The verse inside was printed in MS Word :o)

Jackie xx

Wonderful day at Sudbury...

...with my friend Jean.
Before I proceed I would just like to welcome another new follower. Hi Brenda, could you please leave a comment so I can get to your blog :o)
A few of you wanted to see some of my photographs taken on the day's photoshoot, so first off here is a potted background of why we take the pics.

Jean, like me, is a family historian and she also transcribes Derbyshire parish records because some of the old ones - 400 years and more - are deteriorating badly. She has orders from family historians all over the world for the CDs she produces so they can trace their roots. Jean's eyesight is not what it was for driving nowadays so I do the driving and the petrol and she pays for lunch :o)

The photgraphs below are just a few of the kind of pics - I took around 150 - that go onto the CDs so that researchers can get a feel for what the place of their forefathers is like.

For any of you that are family rersearchers, and have ancestry in Derbyshire, here is a link to Jean's website. 

Sudbury Hall

Sudbury parish church

Sudbury post office

Sudbury infant's school

These two I converted to B&W for me because they appeal to me

I was lucky enough to catch sight of these house martin nests and managed -  with a lot of patience -  to get one of them as she/he came back to feed the chicks.

I hope I haven't bored you but I just wanted to show you some of what I love to do when I'm not making cards :o)

Jackie xx

Just a quickie.....

.....as I am off out on a photoshoot day with my friend Jean.

I just wanted to say welcome to HunnyBunnycards, follower No.101

I will have to catch up with blogging later as I have to get showered and

ready to go now :o)

Jackie xx

I finally made some cards

I have spent a couple of hours in my craftroom this morning, the first time in a week or more! Couldn't find my mojo for designing any cards so started rummaging around and found these snowmen  which I printed out 3 or 4 years ago. Trouble is I can't remember where from! It may have been Corel Draw.

This is a set of 4x4 minicards and as you can see I have used various embossing folders from Sizzix and Cuttlebug plus nesties.

I had printed him out in several different sizes so this card is 5x5

I used my new large nesties for this 7x5 card. At least that's another 6 Christmas cards to add to my box :o)

Jackie xx

What a bad blogger I am.....

..... I cannot believe it is 5 days since I last posted. Unfortunately I have no cards to show you but I do have some photographs.

I would like to welcome follower 100, Hi Margie. Sorry to say I cannot get to your blog so if you could please leave a comment then I can follow the link :o)

Anyway, get yourself a nice cuppa and sit back and relax for a while.

I had a wonderful day out with my daughter yesterday. We went to Byrkley Park in the morning where I found a new craft shop. New to me anyway but it's only been open since November. Of course I had to spend didn't I LOL. So between buying craft goodies and wild bird food I am skint once again!!!!!!!!!!!! I can recommend the hot roast meat baguettes but be warned, the baguette is huge, and they serve it with enough pork for a mansize dinner, roast potatoes, stuffing and side salad so 1 portion would be enough for 2. We wrapped half ours and took it to our 2nd location of the day which was Foremark reservoir.

Onto my photographs before you all nod off :o)

These goslings looked so cute and fluffy

This cheeky  jackdaw was determined to eat all the goats food

These gorgeous piglets were running riot around mum and through the grass and generally having a whale of a time

It was lovely sitting in the warm car, eating the other half of our baguettes and watching these hardy souls struggling with the very cold gale that was blowing.

I do hope that I haven't put you all to sleep but I am making up for lost time :o)

Jackie xx

cards from my latest Attenborough photographs

Well my little car didn't pass it's MOT boo hoo, but thank goodness is was only the brakes so new pads it is for them! I also decided that they may as well replace the clapped out radiator so I am still confined to the house. Hopefully I will have it back by teatime today - fingers crossed.

Onto my cards. In each case - apart from the magpie one - I used the colours from the photograph to make the papers in PSP. Punches used are Martha Stewart, McGill and Xcut. Used nesties too and embossing folders from Cuttlebug and Craft Concepts.

Now I am just waiting for the call to tell me my car is ready!  :o)

Jackie xx

Bleached daisy and a few photographs

Nothing for ages then along comes several pics :o)

I have just got back from the garage after taking my little car for it's MOT. Please keep everything crossed for it!

This is the only card I've made in a week!!!!!!!!!!!!! It doesn't really need any explanation other than I stamped and heat embossed onto red card with gold heat embossing powder then applied neat bleach with a fine paintbrush to the petals.

I had a lovely stroll yesterday afternoon ( I don't walk very well so strolling is all I can manage - in parts of Elvaston Castle Country Park that I have never seen before!

These are just a few of the 50+ photographs I took.

I have a few days off this week so it was great to be wandering around when I am normally at work, I felt freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :o)

Jackie xx

Commissioned cards

Good morning bloggers, looks like the first grey morning for a while in this neck of the woods. Not frosty though like it was yesterday!

I was asked to make a card for a lady allotment enthusiast so I hope this fits the bill okay. I had no images of allotments so I popped into the village and took some photographs of the ones there to use for the backing.

The wellies are from a photograph by my good friend Pat and I added the daisies and leaves from a couple of my own photographs, then hi-lited the flower centres with stickles. They are popped with foam pads but it doesn't show here! Martha Stewart border and SU sentiment finish it off.

I was also asked to make one for a football and computer enthusiast so once again I used my own photographs. The laptop (my old one now deceased) is popped with foam pads. I took the footie pics at a local Sunday league event. Just 3 brads and no further embellies as it's a man card :o)

Jackie xx

A day to remember

I am a day late posting this because blogger wouldn't cooperate yesterday!

I was out carfting with friends for the day on Sunday and what a great day it was too

 with good food, good company and a great crafting session. 

I learned how to use bleach on a card and I must say that I love the effect on this sunflower card, I will be using this technique again.

The other three cards I made using my own photographs 

It was a day I won't forget in a hurry :o)

Jackie xx