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