Scrap Cards

I can't believe it is 2 months since I have put anything on this blog. Christmas takes over. My New Years resolution is to free-up space in my calender and so "no" to certain requests, because I just ran out of time in 2009.

Another NYR, is to use up as much of the paper and cardstock I buy for a project and stop hording the left-over in another box which will never see the light of day again. So yesterday I did just that.

This was the first project. 1 12x12 patterned paper and 2 12x12 card stock - all used and actually made into 5 cards. Two I have sent and these three, which I can keep in my card box to send at a later date.


A new baby boy, little Freddy, was born in December, so I made the centre card which has a little pocket inside where we put a gift card. The pocket was made using the pale blue card with a strip of four little pictures of the rabbit and duck with the and topped with four pearl card candy's, the same as those in each corner on the front. I embossed "Its A Boy" with my Cuttlebug and added to each card which gave it a message.



These three were so simple. All made from left overs. left over chipboard letters I had bought, used a few and had the rest just sitting there. The clever bit is to make up a word with what is left - it's a bit like playing scrabble. But these words are right for young peoples birthday cards. For the middle card I found a acrylic butterfly that I had cut and embossed again using my cuttlebug and had stuck it in a box for later. Now with a bit of glitter makes a birthday card.

So there we are girls, all made with left overs.........just like the turkey soup we are having today.

Sprinkles of love

More Cabbage Flowers.

Sugar and Spice have some BIG boy punches in stock.........and I bought one. Its lovely. I have the woodware scalloped circle. So, going on from the birthday card with the cabbage flower, I made some big flowers and popped them into the shop for the girls to pin on their aprons.

These are so easy. I used a low grade paper as it screws up better.

I punched 4 scalloped circles.

Then screwed each piece into a tight ball.









Open out each piece.

Stick the four pieces together.

I used a tacky glue, but double sided tape would work just as well.

Now at this point, it's up to you. You can leave them as they are or spray them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

Leave them to dry over night or heat them with a heat gun. The heat shrinks the paper slightly and screws them back up.

I put a lager dollop of glue in the centre of the flower and sprinkled seed beads and a tiny bit of glamour dust.

But a fancy button looks good to.

These are your designs. How about stamping each piece of paper with a flourish stamp and stazeon ink before glimmer misting.
Have a go, and pop your take on these flowers into the shop to show Marion your take on these flowers.

Sprinkles of Love.

x

Cabbage Flower Card

I love cabbage flowers for cards. The lovely Nina from Sugar and Spice introduced these to a class many moons ago now and I use them a lot on birthday cards.

These flowers were punches out of three contrasting shades of pink card stack. I used a 1.5 inch and 1 inch scolloped circular punch. I then screwed up each circle. The more screwed up the better. A bit of glamour dust on the edge and mounted together using a brad.

This card was made for an Aunt's birthday, so I wanted the flowers to look neat. But the best way is to tear the circles giving a raw edge which can be inked instead of glittered. You can spray the whole flower with glimmer mist which also looks fab.

Have a go. Mount three or four circles together to give a rose like look. Remember that when you tear your circles they won't be a proper round. But this is the beauty of a cabbage flower.

Sprinkles of Love

Auntie Fairy

x

Fa La La Ho Ho Ho

I am meant to be posting these cards on the Sugar and Spice blog.......but sadly I can't. Marion has deleted the blog due to the hacker getting his kicks :/ I am not sure when our projects will be back on their blog, so I am posting my DT project here while they sort out their problems.

Fa La La and Ho Ho Ho.

I know, I can hear you all shouting its too early for Christmas Cards ...... but its not. Before you know it, you will be egg nogging, mince pieing, wrapping pressies and decorating.

So here are three little cards that are easy to make. I love the Kraft paper, as I said once before, they are natural and raw looking.

I used the snowflakes from the Sugar and Spice Clear Christmas Stamps and the watermark ink pad and randomly stamped the card.

Again using the Christmas Stamps and a green ink, I stamped and cut out three Christmas Trees. I thought this card needed just a little high-light. So I using a nice white gel pen and penned a running stitch around the paper squares finishing it with a little bow. I then drew around the Christmas Trees to make them pop from the background.

For this card, I stamp Ho Ho Ho on cream twill ribbon with red ink. I frayed the edge of the ribbon to keep that raw feel.

All these cards are so simple and use scraps of papers, ribbon and lace. But most of all, they are all made with the lovely Crimbo stamps from Sugar and Spice. Good luck with the Blog Marion.

Sprinkles of Love

Auntie Fairy

Sugar and Spice DT

Black and White

I love Black and White for card's with just a little hint of colour. I used the scribble flower stamps from Sugar and Spice, stamped with Versafine black ink on white card, cut out and mounted on black card stock and stuck a small pink gem in each centre for a touch of colour.


I have to admit that I am not the best at tying bows. So instead, I have wrapped white ribbon around the black card stock and tied it together with pink embroidery floss to match the pink gems.

The happy birthday is heat embossed with white embossing powder.

Sprinkle of Love
Auntie Fairy
x

Yes......It's Raining

Hooray it's raining. Don't moan, for me this is great. I can stay in and play with paper ribbons and glitter rather than tackling my garden.

I've been to Portugal, a weekend at Ally Pally, Mum was ill with pleurisy, extra day's to cover at work, a 70th Birthday to get ready for and and and.................... we're here in October and I can't remember the last time I stroked my paper and card stock. I have all this stash from Ally Pally and new stamps from Sugar and Spice to design with.

So yes, sorry I have not blogged, but watch this space. Cos there will be a posting tonight.

Sprinkles of Love
Auntie Fairy
x

Two Special Celebrations

There were two special celebrations this week; a 25th Wedding Anniversary and a 50th Birthday and again people wanted these concertina cards.

I must admit that I love making these. Each one is a challenge as they are for special events. But I love a challenge.

And with all the fantastic papers in my fave shop, Sugar and Spice the job is easy.

Love

Auntie Fairy

x

Quickie Kraft Cards

Just a quickie,

I'm in love with the Kraft papers that are out at the moment. It kind of natural and raw and it goes with anything.
Stapled ribbons, buttons, and embroidery thread wrapped around card stock and tied in a bow.

Love
Auntie Fairy
x

Little Gem Jar's

I collect little jam jar's where ever I go. I nab them of the tray before the waitress comes and clears the table. I use them for so many things. But they needed prettying up. So with a thin ribbon stuck with the strong toupee tape around the edge of the lid and buttons, beads, sequins ans small flowers, I have turned my little jars into gem pot's. I keep brads, pins, mini buttons and really anything little that you need to keep and see clearly where you have put them safely.

I used glossy accents to stick the bits and bobs on the top of the lids. I then coated the seed bead one's with a layer of glossy accents to make sure they were stuck fast.

Laura loves my pots, so I am making some for a tree present for her for Christmas. I like simple gifts.

Love

Auntie Fairy

x

Baby's Baby's Everywhere

Where is the time going. August is such a busy month. Just when you think you have a day to yourself, up come an invitation and Saturday has been and gone. The Bank Holiday is whizzing past to. A 70 Birthday, a trip to Go Ape and a BBQ....................... I need to play with paper and glue and ribbon and stamps and glamour dust and buttons and double sided tape and ......and...........and......... oops, sorry girls, a little withdrawal hypo there.

Anyway, the family have been busy creating. Two baby girls and a baby boy. Amber and Eddy and just last Wednesday little Poppy burst into our lives. So cards where needed.

This was for Amber. I love the Cricut. Embossing is so easy with this little machine and soooooo many lovely embossing plates. Marion has the machines in Sugar and Spice at very competitive prices. Embossing makes such lovely touchy feely cards.

This is Eddy's. I tore two pieces of card stock and mounted one on top of the other leaving a rough edge that you can curl. This shows just a hint of coordinating colour from the first piece of card under the white.

Aren't these the cutes embossing plates?

Don't you just want to tickle these little toes?

I'm going to work on Poppy's card now. There will have to be a little red flower there somewhere. Ho Hum.

Happy Birthday Auntie Jayne

It's ages since I've blogged. Since coming home from Blaxhall, my rear has not been on a seat. The family BBQ at Rawreth, getting my next two projects for the Sugar and Spice DT, the opening of my niece's Studio for Glass Cutting and............................. my Birthday last Sunday.

Now, my family have a great sense of humour and this is coming out in Jamie and Laura, my nephew and niece.

They came round Sunday morning, singing Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you and each presented me with little rounded presents. "We chose them our selves" said Laura excitedly as she helped me open her gift. "He's soooooooooo cute isn't he", "yes I said with a giggle. " Jamie chose his one too". "We thought they would be lovely in your Garden".

As I place my gifts on the table and started to read my cards, Jamie pipes in "bet you never thought you'd have a Red Breast and a Fat Tit for your birthday did you?"

And that is how I am going to remember my 51st.

Two Fat Ladies and Isabella

Day two of the Blaxhall trip and we have to nip home. Lyn had left her medication at home. Now ............... she said she would be OK ................... mmmmm I could tell if we didn't go I could be found dead in me bed on Friday morning ................. So we decided to nip home at 09:00. We estimated we'd be back in Blaxhall by 14:00. Wrong.

Just to bring you up to date, Isabella is Lyn's new Italian baby. Her brand spanking new Fiat 500 with 50 miles on the clock.

Things go well and we decide to have a cream tea at Tiptree and take a few pics at Flatford Mill on the way back. Lovely jublee, all jams, cream and scones diabetic and calorie free ................ well in our world anyway. Then its time to head back.

Can I say that Manningtree, Dedham, Harwich, Dovercourt, Manningtree again, look lovely as the sun is going down. At one stage, cos we were deep in conversation as to how the *x~# did we get back on the seafront again, we totally missed all the signs of the sleeping policeman and hit him at 60mph. We took off ............. Lyn apologising to Isabella. #@+* Isabella, she now has a sun roof where my head hit it during take off.

Oh yes, we go back around 20:00 .................................... six hours behind schedule, a couple of hundred miles on the Isabella's clock and one fat lady bandaged in viniger and brown paper.

Sprinkles of Love.

x

The Blaxhall Garden

We're in Blaxhall; "SUFFOLK", Lyn is shouting over my right shoulder, cos I keep getting the county wrong.

The garden where we are staying has two Buddliea's and they are covered with butterflies. I feel there's a layout coming here and I can hear Martha Stewart yelling "use my butterfly punch", so I will. I can't get over how many butterflies there are in the garden. If I said there are 100 I would not be lying. They are stunning.

We are trying to find out all their names and are looking through next door's Butterfly books. We've found a Harry, a Tom and two Georges, a Miriam, a Fred and a Mabel.

Sprinkles of Love x

So Many Birthdays This Week

I'm having a paper weekend. Yesterday we were with the lovely Nina at Sugar and Spice for the June page of the Complete Book project, then home to make a start on the family cards. Sorry Lyn but yes these are all pink. It was nice to see Sam, a fellow DT girl, stocking up for future projects.

This is Tilly's. Love the Cuttlebug for embossing, a few jeweled hearts and a bit of ribbon and glamour dust for my Great Niece.

It's Sharon and Dave's 10th Wedding Anniversary this coming weekend so a soft lavender card for them.

This card is Craftwork papers topped with a cuttlebug embossed heart and butterflies using my new Martha Stewart punch. Again a bit of glamour dust and ribbon makes a simple pretty card.

My Sister-in-Law Pam's card. Again simple, just nine scallop circles in various shades of pink, topped with a few embellishments that you have and never use.

This also looks great with every circle a different colour and squares instead of circles, blue instead of pink for a guy, or pink if he prefers....................

Last but not least Auntie Jean's birthday card.

The flower is Glimmer Mist sprayed over a negative of a chipboard flower. So don't throw away the negatives when you push out the flowers girls, because there is always a use for it at some time or other.

Sprinkles of Love

Auntie Fairy x

Happy 50th Keith

I love my friend Vicky from work. She makes me laugh. You don't need to talk when she's around, she does all the talking for you. You just sit and breath for her. Anyway, her partner is 50 this week and there is a big family bash for him. And a card. All on a West Ham theme.

This was quite simple but effective; a blue K, a claret 50 and accented with Happy birthday stamped on all four sides using the Sugar and Spice Scribble Sentiments stamps. Men don't do glamour dust......................well some might......................but this one doesn't, so I used a Sakura Clear Star pen and went over the four Happy Birthday's with it, just to give it a shimmer.

Happy Birthday Keith

Rock Chick

I have a friend who's daughter is trying out her style................black make-up..............rags in her hair............weird combination of clothes............ Now I think she looks great. She is a scrapbooker's dream, but her Mum just cant get her head around her daughters experiments.

Anyway this is her birthday card. I couldn't do ribbons and bows, so this is my rock chick type card. Again something for nothing, made out of scraps.

I used a baby wipe dabbed in gold ink and rubbed it over the white card and the edges of both the pink card stock and spotty paper. I found a packet of BBP "Just the Edge" strips, that I had picked up at my fave Craft Shop Sugar and Spice and chose the scroll strip from the pack. Snipped off the length needed and wiped this also with the gold ink.

I love a torn edge for effect and this time ripped into the centre of the pink card in 3 area's . I stamped a sentiment from the Sugar and Spice Sentiments clear stamps on a piece of white card that had been rubbed over with gold ink the cut it out using a scollop edge circular punch, the cut a straight line above and below the sentiment to make it an oval shape. Then I mounted it on a piece of gathered white netting.

So there you have it, I can't use the word "pretty" cos its not in Charlie's (christened Charlotte) vocabulary, but a nice little Rock Chick type card.

Sprinkles of Love
Auntie Fairy x

Laura

A little example of something for nothing. We all have the little pigment ink pads which work as water colours. So away you go. Scribble cartoon type flowers on a piece of white card stock with a fine permanent marker and colour wash. Don't try to be "perfic". The more child like the better. And don't worry about the colour going over the lines, again this adds to it.

Cut out a few flowers and use as embellishments. Frame your picture with a lacy border.

Look at children's story books for inspiration.

Go on ......................have a go.

Sprinkles of love
Auntie Fairy
x

A Big Thank You to Marion & Bev

Please put your hands together for Marion at Sugar & Spice and Bev of Banana Frog for a brilliant Banana Frog Day yesterday at Barleylands. Such hard work went into this and it showed. Putting a day together for 18 people and run a shop, well done. It was was extremely good value for money. Not only was the stash for the day supplied but a gift from Banana Frog as well. Thank you ladies.

Not forgetting Polly and Barb in the shop because without them Marion could not have made the tea and coffee; more importantly brought up the chocky biscuits for Lyn.

I loved it. Please lets have more.

Sprinkles of Love

Auntie Fairy

The Most Dangerous Cake In The World

I very nice lady sent this to me today

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE!!

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract and your favourite tipple
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to your largest mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips (if using), vanilla extract and a drop or two of your favourite tipple, then mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high). The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. EAT! (this can serve 2 if you want to feel slightly more virtuous).

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now you are only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night! :-)

A Quicky Birthday Card

This was a quickie birthday card using scraps of paper, card embroidery silk and a button.

I stamped a large flower using a contrasting ink on a scrap of paper. I think this stamp was one from the Banana Frog ranges of clear stamps. Then carefully cut out the flower and stitched a co-ordinating button to the centre. Using the same ink pad, I inked around the four sides of the white birthday card. I cut a piece of green card stock to the exact size of the birthday card and tore the edges to give it a rough finish. Using the same embroidery thread I stitched a line of running stitches up the centre of the green card and mounted the flower using foam pads. Using the same coloured ink pad I stamped a sentiment from Sugar and Spice Happy Birthday Flower clear stamps on a piece of white card stock and cut it into a Tag. I inked the edges again using the same ink pad and tied it to the stem of the flower.

Alfie

I did at class with Nina at my fave shop, Sugar and Spice, about a year ago and we made a concertina card entitled "House" which sits proudly in my craft room. The girls at work then asked me to design a card that five of us could sign, for a mutual friend who was having a special birthday. It spelt the name, Sharon and apart from the S each page was designed around a tag so that we could each sign it with our own sentiment. The last page was designed as a pocket so that we could put money in it for cruise.

Well things have taken off and everyone at work has had one of the cards for special birthdays. And I do love making them.

This is Alfie's. A card for a freinds little man. The papers I used were from the Kaisercraft's Little Man range. You don't need to buy lots of embelishment for something like this. Choose a range of papers that is reversable and has two or three designs from the same range. That is your starter for ten. Look at your paper from all angles. A stripe is good because the stripes can run verticale, horizontal or on the bias. I chose a spotty ribon for the Tag and to add a border at the side of the "l" page. I also added mini buttons for the props on the planes and some letter beads that I have had for ages.

The lettering is cut from Chip Board. Sugar and Spice will sell these or cut them along with the 8" ones for you. Or why not join their Die Cutters Club and do it yourself. There are bonuses if you join. The letters are then painted with a crafters acrylic paint. But you may choose to cover the letters with a contrasting paper.

Have a go. I am sure the Sugar and Spice Team would love to see your take on this card.

Sprinkles of Love

Auntie Fairy x

Sugar and Spice Design Team

Drum roll please. The Sugar and Spice Design Team have been named, and I have to say, what a talented, lovely bunch they are. I don't need to harp on, just look at their Blogs. Yes I am one of that team. And yes I will be putting pics on this space this weekend.

We met for the first time last Wednesday; sorry that Nic could not be there, but her ears must have been burning.

My head was filled with new words bantered around the table. Blog speak I think is the best way to describe it. A whole new language. And all I could do is sit with a look of horror on my face thinking "what are they talking about". So I will be looking to make a phrase book....hint hint of forthcoming design.

Good luck to all the team for the year ahead.

Sprinkles of Love
Auntie Fairy x

I name that cloud George

Did anyone notice the beautiful cloud formation last night about 7 ish. The sky was a vivid blue and the clouds were soft and fluffy and formed a line around Rayleigh like a soft billowing sleeves cuddling the town. Thinking that my neice might know the name of the formation, as they had been learning about clouds at school, I asked her what the name of the cloud was. "George" she said munching on her chocolate bar. Ummmmmm

Well I am up and running..............well sort of. Everyone tells me this is easy to run a blog and I know loads of people do, but I think this will take me a couple of days to get used to. So yes, whatch this space. I'm quite excited at the prospect of having my own blog and letting you see things about me that make me happy. x