Ali's card making blog

Well it's that time of the week again, comes around quick doesn't it?! I'm writing this very early on Wednesday morning (well, very early for me, 7.40am, others tell me this isn't very early at all!) as I have a bit more time this morning. Unfortunately the reason for having a bit more time is not that fantastic, I'm going to the dentist :-( Only for a check up but I hate going due to my overly sensitive stupid teeth! So, what's on my desk this week? Not that much has changed since last week really as what with hubby getting a new toy (Mazda MX5) and me going away to visit a friend at the weekend, I haven't had that much time for crafting. I managed to do an hour or so last night so took the photos then. On the desk you can see a couple of Craftrak cards, one is an 'England' themed card for the World Cup - better get it sent before we get knocked out (please don't lynch me, my theory is if I am very sceptical and negative then maybe I will b...

I'm getting into this challenge thing now, especially as I now (as of yesterday afternoon) have my craft area set up in the conservatory! No more tidying everything away, hurrah!! So, I came across the Allsorts Challenge Blog and decided to enter their challenge this week, which is 'black, white and one other'. You can visit their blog and this week's challenge here My card used a gold decoupage flower I have had for a while and have been waiting for some inspiration to use. The white backgound is embossed and cut using my favourite new(ish) toy, the Cuttlebug. The black and white background is from my funky hand CD, I love all the different patterns and colours you can print out from that range. Topped off with a bow and a simple greeting. More about my craft room later :-)

I have a confession to make about this week's photos - yes, you might have spotted that the Congratulations on passing your driving test card which is on the table was actually made on Sunday and not on Wednesday! I've been rumbled! I took the photo on Sunday this week knowing that my work desk would actually be completely empty this Wednesday as with one thing and another I haven't had any time to craft this week :-) Having had the opportunity to look (nosey) at all your desks over the last few weeks, I am keen to find somewhere in the house where I can have a permanent crafting area set up so I don't keep having to move everything! We have a four bedroom house and only the two of us, so you wouldn't think this would be too difficult?! Well, we sleep in one room, the other big room is full of clothes so no space in there, the smallest room my hubby uses for his ebay empire (he sells computer games) and this also takes up half of the final room! I also have my PC i...

I took this photo when we were at Centerparcs the other week. It isn't of real blue bells unfortunately but is of the very nice canvas which was hanging on the bedroom wall in the lodge. I love the colours and I am thinking I could print off the photograph and use it to make a card. I love it when inspiration strikes upon seeing a photo, a picture or something on my travels! I have been making quite a few floral cards recently, it must be because of all the lovely flowers which are finally coming into bloom after that long cold winter ;-) I didn't manage to fix my broken camera unfortunately, so I went to Argos at the weekend and bought a little Kodak number. Seems to work well, still experimenting with it at the moment. Here are a couple of photos of my newly renovated garden. The clematis is so happy it has room to stretch out now, it was completely choked before! The bed by the fence was completely overgrown so we had everything ripped out (with the exception of the clemati...

I was having a virtual chat with a fellow crafter yesterday about creativity. Now, I have never considered myself as a very creative person at all. At school I was always bottom of the art class and dropped it as soon as I could. I did, however always enjoy other ways of being creative, but had never really thought of them as being 'creative'. I suppose I always had the opinion that you had to be able to draw or paint to be truly creative. My school age self was however good at creative writing (seem to have lost that skill now however, or maybe not, maybe it will return as I add more blog posts lol..) knitting and cookery. The knitting has now gone as things seemed to get baggier as I got older for some reason, but I still love cooking and messing about with recipes and different ingredients in the kitchen. Last night I cooked dinner for some friends and was very proud of my pudding, tweaked from a recipe in the TV chef Jamie Oliver's book. It is meringue with peaches, cre...

Well after all the comments about my very tidy workspace last time I thought I would take a picture of it in full crafting flow this time! Still looks a bit tidy though! Basically I have to share my craft space with the dining room table so have to clear everything away whenever we want to eat which is a bit of a pain! Items you can see on the table therefore include vinegar bottle, brown sauce and salt and pepper, lol! So, one of my favourite items is on my table this week, my Sakura glaze pens, I love them they are so shiny and versatile. I've used them here on acetate with some glittery outline stickers which I had in my stash. Then I've cut them out and layered them up - here is the finished result. The card also incorporates the use of my Cuttlebug which you can see near the tv. Still a new item for me and I am loving it! I've just got some new nestabilities (labels) delivered and I was going to take a photo of them too but unfortunately I had a bit of a disaster with ...

I just love daffodils, they are such a welcome sight in Spring I think. Here is a lovely vase full on my mantelpiece next to a Spring themed card which I received from my friend Kathleen on Craftrak. I love the sheep stamp, very cute :-)

Well I haven't had nearly as much time as I had hoped to get stuck into card making this weekend. We had the garden re-turfed and the overgrown shrubs dug out this week, so hubby and I set to pressure washing the patio yesterday morning. Just need to regravel the gravelled bit and plant some new plants now, photos to follow once it is finished! So, after that and also a 2 hour stint in the hairdressers yesterday there was no time left. Today I've been busy packing for our trip to Centerparcs and also took time to visit the local farmers market, yummy roast pork for tea as a result ;-) I did manage to do a couple of cards this afternoon - I've used the bunny stamp which was in my WOYWW last week to do a baby girl first birthday card for a colleague at work. I've also been playing with my nestibilities, they are great, I can't wait to own the whole set! I also saw some Spellbinders pendant dies on Create and Craft this morning, they look fabulous, but I refuse t...

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I do really need to stop buying so much stash! Buying card making related items has replaced my previous passion for buying lots of clothes that I never wear, now I just buy craft stuff that I don't have time to use ;-) New items this week included some rectangular nestabilities and some scalloped circle nestabilities for my (new earlier in month!) Cuttlebug! I didn't pay full price though, they are soooo expensive aren't they?! Got them on ebay for around £14 a set, bargain! I've also got a stamp on order and a butterfly embossing folder. I also got a set of stamps last weekend at a craft shop I discovered in Whitby. 3 of them are Smirk Stamps so I'm enjoying playing with those! Anyhow, I was supposed to be going to a card making class yesterday to get some inspiration for what to do with all my new stuff. However, I was streaming with cold so thought I wouldn't go and infect everyone but would stay in and use the internet for inspiration instead. It wa...

I rescued this flower fairy decoupage today from down the back of my craft drawers! The sheets come in sets of 3 and I must have done the other two then shoved the third unceromoniously into the drawer! My drawer got stuck and when I peered into the back, there was this little fairy waiting to be rescued! Luckily she was still in perfect condition and waiting to be turned into something pretty ;-)