Wow, I can’t believe the last time I posted here was 3 weeks ago! In case you’re wondering what’s happened – I’ve been away on business. Part of the time I had to stay in a 4* Spa Hotel, the Grosvenor Pulford, just outside of Chester. It’s a hard life but someone’s got to do it!
Anyway the upshot of it all is that I haven’t had much time to blog or make cards. By the time I’ve got in at night I’ve been exhausted. So to get back into the routine again I thought I’d share another of Linda’s cards with you.
This handmade card has been made using the same rubber stamped image as in the previous card.
It really is a beautiful card without being over fussy or complicated. I particularly like the way Linda has used the Martha Stewart punch to create the ribbon border.
Hopefully I’ll be getting my own card making back into full swing, especially as I’ve pledged to make 10 cards for a Promise Auction which is being held in July to help raise funds for our team’s next mission trip to Uganda. These will not be “£1 specials” but more elaborate so I’ll have to get those creative juices flowing again!
Saturday was Fete Day in Longton and along with Anita and Hilary I packed up all the cards we had and off we went to raise funds for our mission work in Uganda.
The weather was glorious, apparently the temperature reached 86 ‘ F (30′C). Luckily we had a gazebo which we set up to protect the cards – and ourselves!
In this photo Anita is on the left and Hilary on the right ( sorry it’s a little dark but the camera was compensating for the bright sunlight).
Unfortunately the Fete has not been well marketed for the past couple of years and this year it was hardly publicised at all. We were told to be on the Memorial Field where it was held at 9.30am with the gates opening at 11.30am, however the start date has
previously been 2pm and that is when most of the people arrived! It was actually very poorly attended which was disappointing and we only sold about 30 cards, whereas other years we’ve more or less sold out. Other stall holders we talked to hadn’t done any better.
Despite the poor results we enjoyed ourselves – we all lead very busy lives so it was good to have the luxury of just sitting and talking for a few hours.
By the time I got home I was exhausted – relaxing is so tiring!
Anyway here are just a couple of photos of 2 of our stands -see what you can spot.
Although the theme is St Patrick’s Day it would be easy to adapt this idea for any other special day. For a birthday you could substitute a more expenisve bar of chocolate and use some of the lovely papers from Cardmaking-Ideas!
I cannot believe how the time has flown since I last made a post here – I’ve been busy getting the March edition of “News and Views” out – this is the free monthly e-mag from Cardmaking-Companion which comes with a set of free background papers or card toppers every month.
If you don’t already get it, and want to sign up for the newsletter then just look down in the right hand sidebar of this blog for the coffe cup and newspaper and fill in your details there (don’t worry – we never share these details with anyone else!).
This month’s freebies focused around Mother’s Day which is on the 14th of March in the UK but differs in the rest of the world, for example in the USA it is the 2nd Sunday in May.
Here is one of the cards which I made from the set – the free printables can be printed in different sizes on your printer but I have kept this one full size and I have used a cream card blank 21cm x 15cm
I layered the large topper onto silver mirror card and fixed it to the card blank. I then decoupaged a single layer over the vase of tulips and added glitter highlights.
The ribbon sentiment was also matt and layered onto silver mirror card and fixed below the topper.
Inside the card I fixed a pale pink insert and punched a row of tulips along the bottom edge. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of the insert and the card sold as soon as it went on display this morning!
My own Mother died from cancer over 22 years ago but this does not take away the joy I still get from making Mother’s Day cards. If you are lucky enough to have your Mother still with you then please don’t forget to make her day special and make that special handmade card just for her.
In an earlier post this month I spoke about the cards I make to support the children’s village. Well it’s coming into the season when our card making is in full swing – Mother’s Day, a Baptism service and Easter are all big sellers.
Now this type of card making is different from making cards for personal use or as a business proposition.
It costs £1 GBP to feed and school one child in Uganda for one day so when we first started this venture that is what we priced the cards at. The dilemma we face is that although we want to make the cards as attractive as possible we cannot make them too elaborate as they would cost more to make than what we sell them for.
The above two Mother’s Day cards are perfect examples of what people get for their £1.
The blank cards are plain white 6″x6″. The front of the card has been covered with embossed wrapping paper. The blue card has been matt and layered onto silver mirror card and the lilac card has been matt and layered onto purple pearlescent card and silver mirror card.
The Mother’s Day sentiments are silver peel-offs stuck to a pearlescent tag mounted onto the silver mirror card. These are fixed to the cards using 3D double sided sticky pads to give some diemnsion to the card.
Finishing card making embellishments are a blue chiffon bow and a lovely lilac spotted fabric butterfly on the respective cards.
I think they are really good value for £1 but would love to hear what you think!
Maybe I’m showing my age her but when I made this card the word “funky” just sprang to mind! Is that a word that’s even in use today? Pprobably not, but it does me fine!
This Home Made Birthday Card would make a great card for a young teenage girl.
The card developed around the rubber embellishment which was another of the ones I got from the Manchester Show.
I decided to glue the embellishment to the inside back of the card – obviously in normal circumstances this wouldn’t be seen but I used a Zig Zag Circle Nestability to cut an aperture in the front of the card.
I’ve had a sheet of pale pink peel offs for absolutely ages and never seem to have found the right card for them but I thought they might be just right for this one.
I used the Happy Birthday sentiment and then decided that the card looked a little bare so I stuck stars from the same peel off sheet around the embellishment on the inside of the card.
In the photgraph on the right you can see what the card looks like when opened up.
Anyway I hope you like this one – it’s easy to make and just that bit different.
Take a look at this video it shows how to use your card makingborder punches to create corners with them. Although the punches shown are a specific brand and design I’m sure with a little practise you could apply these principles to your own border punches.
If you have read the “About Us” page on Cardmaking-Companion you will already know that I make cards which I sell to help support a children’s village in Uganda.
I sell the cards, as part of a team, once a month, at Longton Community Church.
The type of cards which always fly off the stand are the ones with words of encouragement on them, especially when they quote a bible text.
Whilst these cards may not be the most difficult cards to make they are certainly the most appreciated by both those who buy them, and by those who receive them.
This photograph shows some of the latest batch I have made. The card blanks are in a range of pastel shades and have a foiled design on them.
The message has been rubber stamped in black VersaFine ink onto white card, matt and layered onto plain card in a complimentary colour to the card blank.
Most of the cards have no card making embellishments on them, only an occasional jewel as a flower centre.
We as card makers can get carried away with making elaborate creations but sometimes all that someone needs is a simple message of encouragement to help them get through the troubles they are facing.
I leave you with this one thought – could some one you know benefit from a card like this at the moment?
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching here is a rather cuteHandmade Valentine Card. The great thing about this card is that it is also suitable for other occasions when you want to tell someone how much they mean to you.
It could be sent to cheer someone up when they are feeling down. In fact one of my friends is going through a hard time at the moment so I might just send it to them.
I’ve used a 5″ by 7″ white card blank which has been partially covered with a red gingham background paper from the Raggedy-Anne collection at Cardmaking-Ideas.com
The heart border has been cut using the edger heart lace puch from Martha Stewart.
The sentiment is one I got awhile ago fromHero Arts and it has been stamped in a burgundy Versa Color ink.
Finishing touches are the red chiffon bow and a rubber teddy bear card making embellishment. This is one of the embellishments I purchased on my recent trip to the Manchester card show.
I really enjoyed making this card and I have to say I am pleased with the result!
card making embellishments and much more surrounded me yesterday when I had a really great day out visiting the Card Making & Creative Stitching Exhibition at Manchester Central Exhibition Hall.
As you can see from the photgraph it was reallly busy and everyone was busy hunting for either a bargain or something just that little bit different.
I normally go to 3 or 4 exhibitions a year and I really enjoy them. Normally I’m there when the doors open and stay until they close!
Yesterday I wanted to replenish my stock of Card Making Embellishments and especially get some new ribbon.
A great stall which I always look out for at exhibitions is MeiFlower as they have some really different embellishments.
I stocked up on the new ribbon, fabric butterflies, chiffon flowers, metal charms, and rubber moulded images. Now I just can’t wait to get started using them and hopefully you’ll see some of the results on future posts.
By the time I got home, after having got caught in rush hour traffic, I spent the night doing what I’m sure many of the day’s visitors would have been doing – I lovingly unpacked all my items and spread them all around me and gazed at them fondly!
So I’m off to get on with some card making – I’ll let you know how I get on soon.
This handmade card has been made using the same rubber stamped image as in the previous card.
Saturday was Fete Day in Longton and along with Anita and Hilary I packed up all the cards we had and off we went to raise funds for our mission work in Uganda.
Despite the poor results we enjoyed ourselves – we all lead very busy lives so it was good to have the luxury of just sitting and talking for a few hours.
to help support a children’s village in Uganda.
they mean to you.