Challenge 5 - Butterflies

Oh I do love butterflies!!

I've used Heartfelt Creations paper for my card (a wonderful gift from my sister in law, thanks Linda!).

~A

Challenge 4 - Flag

For this challenge I made a birthday card for my daughter's friend.  I made two little pompoms:

All the stars and letters/numbers were cut on the Cricut.

~A

Challenge 3 - Monogram

I had fun with this one!!  I got to try my hand at quilling and thoroughly enjoyed it!

I sealed all the quilled bits with ModPodge which really helps to keep everything in place.

~A

Challenge 2 - Love

This is my card for the Love challenge

The rose paper was an advertisement in a magazine.  I added the chipboard 'love', butterfly and pearls and washi tape calender. 

~A

Card Challenge Begins Again! Challenge 1 - 2014

Our family card challenge took a break over the festive season but has begun again!

For those new to my blog, the family card challenge came about because two of my sisters in law also enjoy making cards and we thought it would be fun to start a weekly card making challenge.  Last year another sister in law joined the group.  Only one sister in law has a blog, you can see her beautiful work here.

So back to the first challenge of the year.  Sister in law M sent us each this lovely paper

And this ribbon

And what did I do with it??

Can you tell that I'm ready for a holiday?!!


~A

Initial Heart Swap!

I got a lovely surprise in the mail today

My heart swap gift arrived!!!  All beautifully wrapped up!

Look at all the beautiful goodies Melanie at The Patchwork Robin sent me! The handmade hanging hearts with my initial on is absolutely stunning

Thank you so much Melanie everything is just perfect, I love it all!!  It's especially meaningful as today is my wedding anniversary.

This Initial Heart Swap has been my first real interaction with others in the blog world and it has been a fantastic experience, thank you Cheryll, Lynn and Melanie for making it so.  If you are reading this and contemplating doing a swap, my advice is go for it!!  There are some wonderful people out there!

~A

Initial Heart Swap

Every year around this time I read on blogs about heart swaps and I always wish that I had taken part in something like that.  This year (actually towards the end of last year) I decided to Google and find a heart swap to take part in.  That's when I came across Cheryll's lovely blog and her Initial Heart Swap. I signed up and awaited details of my secret partner - Lynn from Happiness Is Cross Stitching.

As Lynn has now received her swap, I can reveal what I made.

I knew from the start that I wanted to make a crochet heart as I love to crochet (not that I do that much of it but see here and here).

Now as it was an 'Initial' Heart Swap I had to add my partner's initial to it.  I first thought about using an initialled bead but didn't really know where I would put it.  Then I realised that Lynn was a cross stitcher and so decided to x stitch her initial onto ribbon and use that as the leaves. Lynn, I hope you approve of my x stitch skills!

All packaged up with a hand made label! You'll notice in later pics that I decided to stamp Lynn's name onto the tag.

Another requirement of the swap was to send your partner a chocolate/a sweet.  I bought a bag of chocolate hearts and repackaged them, sealing the bag with a hand made tag.  I sealed it shut with row of zig zag stitching that I wanted to look like grass but look closely, I had stitched it with the zig zags pointing down!!

I just couldn't leave it like that so I redid it - much better!

 I was having so much fun with my swap that I decided to add a couple of extras - one of them was an idea I had had for a while but had never gotten around to doing.  I painted an empty little honey jar lid green and stuck on a hand made rose and filled the jar with pink, white and green buttons.
 

 

And since I enjoy making cards, I made a card to go with it

Finally I packaged it all up and sent it off to Lynn

Lynn, I'm so glad you liked it! It was an absolute pleasure putting it together for you.

~A

Fill Your Own Christmas Crackers

This Christmas I decided to fill my own crackers again.  See my previous attempt here.

I found some nice, part assembled fill your own crackers at John Lewis

But when they arrived I felt they were a little too plain

So while filling them with some carefully selected chocolates,  I decided to add a little sparkle with glittery snowflakes, shiny ribbon and some glitter glue

The result

Lots of sparkle in colours matching the decorations on our Christmas tree

What do you think? An improvement?

Next year I fancy something like this

I'd better get started soon on those gingerbread men!!

~A

Challenge 27 - Black & white with a splash of colour

Unfortunately my splash of colour wasn't much of a splash!  I put Glossy Accents over the butterfly and that seemed to fade the colour even more.

~A

Challenge 26 - Sport

Anyone for some beach volleyball?!

The stamp is Volleyball Tilda.  I've used Flowersoft for the sand and added punched butterflies.

~A