Gorjuss Girls.... I Am Sorry.....

Ohhhh guys... i am so sorry... you know i feel awful....I'm not poorly this time... although I've just this last week started taking a new drug called Gabapentin which is making my husband make rather funny comments....... well actually Mark thinks I'm hilarious...they're making me fuzzy headed and i said they make me feel dopey... Mark says "that's no different to what i normally am" very funny darling... Anyway.. life is just really hectic at the moment and i keep desperately trying to find time to blog but real life just keeps getting in the way at the moment.. plus I'm back at work... which although i love my job.. there are problems there at the moment and there is lots to do with Ashley going off to Gloucester Uni at the end of the summer...You know in a way although I've always said it would take me getting an awful lot worse before i give up work.. at the moment i think i would.... then again wouldn't we all...if we could afford to...maybe when i win that lottery.... seriously I really do want to thank all of the friends who have been mailing and leaving messages.. thank you so much guys you'll never know how much it means to me... well enough of me being completely soppy.. and no I'm not dopey at the moment..LOL....

I thought I'd show you the folder i created for Lydia the winner of my candy a few weeks ago... I've added notes to the photographs on this one so you can see how i created this little paper bag folder.....I took a flat bottomed paper bag to create this folder... you could do this without the aid of a sewing machine, all you need to do is fold the flat bottomed paper bag in half and on or just before the fold place a piece of double sided sticky tape to the inside of the bag to seal it.. this will create the pocket and enable you to create one without the use of a sewing machine.. you could also hand stitch using a running stitch down the center of the folder...either of these these three methods will work... i used the sewing machine option.. obviously... I then created all of the panels for this folder... and as usual went a little crazy with my Janome Mini Sewing Machine... i did an awful lot of stitching on this one... but you don't need to.. I coloured my image using Copic and Pro Markers.. and paper pieced the dress using the same MME DP I've used for the panels on the folder... The first panel to be stitched to the paper bag was the front panel.. i attached a piece of ribbon approx ten inches, half way down my panel before stitching it to the box bottom end of the folded bag.. you can see the opposite side in the first picture above.. the stitching i used to attach the panel actually created my pocket again you can see this in the first picture.. i neglected to tell you i didn't add the lace flowers until I'd attached all of the panels to this folder.. it would have made it far too difficult to use the sewing machine... i then went ahead and attached all of the other completed panels to the paper bag folder, they were all stitched prior to attaching and when attaching the back panel i again took a ten inch piece of the same ribbon and attached it half way down the back panel to create my closure. You can see on the picture above where the ribbon is attached on the back panel.. I finally attached the lace flowers to the front of the folder... They were created by taking a twelve inch piece of lace ribbon and stitching down the straight edge using a large running stitch.. the stitches were very loose.. so that i could pull on the cotton to create the folds needed to make the lace flower.. i then used a few tacking stitches to attach both ends to each other... then i took a prima flower and a bead end cap (the bead end cap was used the wrong way around to create an extra dimension to the flowers) i pushed a brad through the lace flower I'd created and through both the prima flower and the bead end cap to complete the flower... then attached a piece of the same ribbon I'd used for the closure to the bottom of the completed flower to act as a leaf.. i created two of these and attached them to the front of my folder to finish it off... (i know three's and odd numbers are best but three would have been too much on this folder..) You can see a better view of the lace flowers to left here... i added one of my little home made pins and two crystal pins to finish the folder... Well i hope you like my little paper bag folder... it's the same way I've created paper bag albums in the past.. only i stitched lots of folded bags together with the opening being used for extra large tags that have photographs attached to them.. I'll show one i created three years ago in the near future.. pity I've not created one recently.. another thing for my long list of To Do's..

I hope you all have a wonderful week... even if like me you have work.... boohoo.... and once again thank you so much for all of your lovely mail and comments.. i can't tell you how much they mean to me....

Night Night Sleep Tight...

Ingredients... Block Bottomed Paper Bag ~ Bazzill CS ~ MME CS ~ Gorjuss Girl Stamp (Sugar Nellie) ~ Copic And Pro Markers ~ Ribbon, Lace, Brads, Bead End Caps From Stash ~ Nestabilities ~ SU Top Note Die ~ Hand Crafted Pin & Crystal Pins From Stash ~ Old Faithful Janome Mini Sewing Machine..

Yummy Scrummy Gift Packaging.. & Winners..

Hi guys i am sorry i just don't know where the time is going at the moment... i am i have to say sleeping an awful lot but the rest of the time, I'm just run off my feet so to speak.... you know what i mean.. i know i can hear you saying life is busy for all of us.. i just don't cope real well with it when it gets too hectic.. hence the sleeping a lot...

I am sorry i haven't been visiting of late too.. I'm going to try desperately hard to find time this week. I just have two more mails to catch up on.. and if you've had one of my mails you'll know they're like a book.. as i always say to Ila.. grab a coffee it's a book..hehehe... and i need to sort out my PIF for this week too.. it's a nice little die-cut easel so come take a look later this week....

On to my little quickie today...There is a lovely lady called Val who works within the same offices as me for the Courts Service here in Nottingham.. she's always been incredibly supportive and is always telling me to keep going even when others are encouraging me to retire.. she also brings me little crafty gems every now and again you'll see more over the next couple of weeks.. It was her birthday a little while ago and i knew exactly what to get for her.. she's an avid Gardener so i got a Clematis and some Viola bedding plants... it turned out Val had an Obelisk that was just crying out for a climber so i definitely did the right thing..
I also wanted to show you that gifts don't have to be expensive to be beautiful and that with a little hand crafted packaging, it can mean more than something that cost £50...I created these little containers using just a basic box shape later this week I'll try to create a tutorial to show how i did it... I used SU Old Olive and Pumpkin Pie CS for the box shapes and Certainly Celery for the Scallops and So Many Scallops Stamp set...along with an Old Olive Craft Ink pad. I used Nestabilities to create the circles and scalloped circles and just a little ribbon and twine from my stash..Every body commented on them saying it looked like I'd gone to an expensive flower shop... i was chuffed that so many made positive comments at work, now I'm going to create packaging for all the gifts i buy... it shows you've thought that little bit more about it all.... and Stampin Up is just perfect for creating gift packaging as well as cards and scrapbooks.. On to more happy news.. thank you so much to the girls who wanted to create one of the little trinket boxes there weren't many of you but that's ok.. Mark picked out two from the list and here they are.. Ladies let me have your details and I'll get the boxes and little bits and pieces into the post this week..

Jacilynn said...
Your box is just darling. So beautiful and elegant. I'd love to give this a try. My daughter loves treasure boxes and I think I'd decorate one up for her to keep her treasures in. Have a great day!
March 20, 2009 10:53 PM

Karen said...
I get the feedblitz email from your blog and dived straight over from seeing what you have done: It is a beautiful box and I would love to have a go. I'm trying to stretch myself to other things than just cards and this would be a wonderful project for me at the moment.So glad you are on the mend and that Gizmo is still giving you the run around!
March 16, 2009 8:39 AM

Ladies thank you so much for playing along.. i hope you'll come back later this week and see if you'd like to play along with the Pass it Forward i have to offer..

Before i forget my dear friend Ila has some yummy candy on offer i hope that you'll go take a look and play along..

Have a great Monday ladies and gentlemen.....

A Trinket For A Dear Friend......Would You Like To Make One Read This Post!!!!!

Well it really does feel like it's been an age not two weeks.. Thank you so much for all of the lovely get well wishes I've been receiving.. i can't tell you how much it warms my heart.. it really does make me feel so much better.. As some of you know i have two diseases that cause problems from time to time, this time it was our chemist who scared the life out of us.... He thought my immune system was failing because of the symptoms i had and the meds i take.. well it turned out to be a simple case of sinusitis (sorry if I've spelt that wrong..) and a virus in my throat which caused me to loose my voice and my darling hubby thought that was hilarious.. thank you darling..Gosh it really does feel like ages...

I'm not going to be posting any new creations for a couple of weeks but thought i could share some of the things I've created recently with you... i have some catching up to do with e-mails and blurfing..so if i show you things i already did i can take my time and not over do it...at least then Mark doesn't moan at me...hehehe..I have a couple of little give aways this week.. one PIF and one that will open with this post. It starts by me telling you about this little trinket box i created for my dear dear friend Moni.. who i am very happy to say loved it... I've had these little box frames for about four years.. yes i know... crazy but as a crafter you'll know that you get stash and sometimes it takes a while to use it.... Well these little boxes are more like little box frames and i have eight well seven now and i thought that after I've shown this one, I'd give two or three sets away so read on and you can find out how to get one..I stared with a box frame, if you push ever so slightly on the glass it will come out (only do this if you want to fix it back in) and laid four pieces of clunny lace around the top of the box.. the actual frame edge.. and a paper doily inside the box.. i then mixed some gesso with Ranger Ink i used Lettuce and painted over the whole box including over the lace and doily.. i think i actually did this three times just to make sure the lace was covered enough.. I then reattached the glass into the frame using some silicone glue, i thought it was safest to use this but you can use what you feel appropriate.. Then i started to decorate it...I used an SU Certainly Celery Ink Pad and my favourite flourish set by Basic Grey Flourish Edges to stamp all over the outside of the box... then lots of lovely hydrangea flowers that were layered with some tulle and of course the obligatory spacers and brads...some tea roses and a couple of strategically placed crystal pins.. I then took some little alphabet embellishments I've had for six years...i know..I'm terrible for putting things away and not wanting to use them... and spelt out my friends name on the top of the box..My trinket box was filled with goodies for Moni..which included lots of pins and some yummy SU Hodge Podge... Well that's it.. one trinket box.. Would you like to have a go.....? you don't have to do what i did.. you can cover it with yummy papers in fact that's my next project with one.. i would love to give two or three of these away.. depending on how may requests i get that is.hehehe.. I'm going to include one of the box frames which incidentally looks like this when you get it... and I'll pop a few little bits in just in case you want to try to recreate what i did... I'll pop in white hydrangeas that you can ink or dye.. white tea roses, a couple of crystal pins and some tulle, spacers and brads.. how does that sound..?

Well here's what you need to do.. leave a message under this post stating you'd like to try and create a trinket box..simple.. all i ask in return is that you do just that... don't ask for one and then not use it.. it wouldn't be fair to others who really wanted to give it a go.. I'll pick two or three from the list next Sunday 22nd March.. I'll post worldwide so you are all welcome to leave a comment... and if you like pass it on by leaving a link on your blog.. although it's not necessary.. I don't think I've forgotten anything but if i have will someone remind me please... my brain is a little slow from not creating for a while..LOL....

One last thing before i go... it's been a while and i thought you might like to see Gizmo and know how he's doing now... as you know he lost both eyes last year.. well he's doing ok but we don't know yet if he's now going deaf but he's definitely taking every thing in his stride.. He falls asleep in the funniest positions... just look at this... then he wakes up and wonders where he is.. bless his little cotton socks...and before you say "how do you know he's asleep" he's snores like an old man..hehehe... he just snores away while i click away on the laptop...he's a wonderfully amazingly resilient little chap and being blind has not made him any the less mischievous... he's still a little rascal only now he has Mum and Dad wrapped round his little paws....as does Pika too....

Well that's all folks..

Night Night Sleep Tight.. Don't Let The Bed Bugs Bite...

WOJ Spring Fling Friends.....

Sorry guys I'm not blog hopping tonight...i had a little sleep this afternoon and now I'm feeling rotten again... sore throat... yuck and my nose is all stuffy... why can't i be normal and not get ill so often???? for those of you that don't know.. I'm immune suppressed because of the Methotrexate dose I've been taking weekly for the last seven years to help control the Rheumatoid Arthritis i have... this drug unfortunately suppresses my immune system so i get ill really easy and pick up lots of bugs.. but it also slows down the damage the disease is doing to my joints so a necessary evil... this time i only just got over a really nasty cold virus... and now it looks like I'm getting another...yuck yuck yuck... anyway enough of that...

Here is my very first Yayyyyyyyyyyy Guest Designer Creation for Ribbon Mad... i am so happy i got a spot as a guest designer so if any body else wants me...hehehehehehe.....I hope you will all pop on over to Ribbon Mad, and take a look at the gorgeous March Kit Emma the lovely owner has put together this month... you might even want to subscribe to the kit yourself you never know..go on take a look..I used my wonderful WOJ Spring Kit that came two days ago.. I took a piece of chip board.. i think these were Maya Road 12x12 boards originally but i cut them down for another project and was left with these long strips 4 inches by 12 inches.. I covered this one with Scenic Route Lynden Springview Drive Striped DP.. then stitched together a plain piece of Turquoise CS and a strip from Lynden Scrap Strip that were distressed first, these were then place into the middle of the plaque.. i cut a plate using my SU Top Note Die coloured it with SU ink just so that it wasn't white, then stamped around the outer edge with a little flower stamp from my stash.. i then stamped the new Tree Stump from the WOJ Spring Collection and coloured it using SU Inks.. I then cut around the perforated edge to reduce it down a little and distressed the edges this was attached to the two pieces i had previously placed in the middle of the plaque.. I then attached a piece of what i now know is Clunny Lace to each side of the center section. I cut two more strips of turquoise CS and stitched two more strips of Scenic Route Lynden Scrap Strip to it, i then punched the edge with a MS punch and backed it again with a lime green CS, these sections were attached to the ends of the plaque, one each side of the center piece.. I then took some flowers from my stash, I'm not sure how long I've had these little yellow beauties, but they're nice and thick, i took some Cherry Blossom flowers which incidentally are just so yummy.... they're from eBay..i cut the stems leaving about an inch of the stem to poke through the center of the yellow flowers then took some green and white spotted ribbon from the New March Kit I'd received from Ribbon Mad and cut about two inches, folded it in half created a whole to poke the stem through so that it looked like leaves.. i did this eight times, four were attached to each side of the center piece using crafters silicone glue, i also added a single cherry blossom to the gathering of flowers each side just to balance it out.. i was always told to bunch things in odd numbers.. looks better.. i do it every where, even at home on the tables.. I measured three inches in from both sides of the plaque and punched two holes using my big bite at the top of the plaque then threaded two lamp work beads onto some silver.. yes silver.. it was the only wire i had thick enough, it came from my jewelery making stash.., the wire was threaded through the holes and wound back around its self to form a hanger then decorated by tying ribbons again from the March Ribbon Mad Kit about one third of the way up the wire on both sides..

I then attached these gorgeous WOJ images.. i coloured them using my original copics, I'm really enjoying these now... although a little worried i wont' want to use anything else ever again.. finally this piece was finished off by adding three cute buttons also a part of the beautiful Ribbon Mad March Kit that have been threaded with ribbon from the same kit.. and three pins from my every growing stash of treasure... i added a simple wire word with a butterfly charm attached Friends... i think that says it all.. they look like friends.....

Well that's me for tonight guys.. I'm off to bed.... feeling really rough now... hopefully a good nights sleep and I'll feel lots better in the morning.. i know i said i would today but i just didn't feel like doing much tonight.. so I'll check in on all you lovely guys joining my candy tomorrow after work... I'm sorry guys the only reason i posted this was because most of it was already done.... thank the lord for Scheduling...

Ingredients: Maya Road Chipboard ~ Scenic Route DP Lyden ~ Generic CS ~ Ribbon & Buttons Ribbon Mad March Kit ~ Stamps WOJ Spring Kit ~ Copics ~ SU Inks ~ SU Top Note Die ~ Charm, Lampwork Beads, Sterling Silver Wire, Pins, Yellow Flowers & Wire Word From Stash ~ Cherry Blossom Flowers & Clunny Lace From Ebay

Treasure Chest....

Guys i am so sorry, i've finally lost my marbles... i created this for Friday evening but saved it rather than posting it... i think i need a brain transplant...

Finally i can show you the chest or rather jewellery box i altered, well decorated, i think it's supposed to be a huge jewellery chest, i spoke to Liz ( the friend who gave me the chest ) and asked her if it was ok to do this, it was very beautiful to begin with but, i decided to use it for treasure, as i don't really wear much jewelery because of swelling up.... she said she thought that was what I'd use it for and do to it, which was why she got it for me... Wow... what a friend... she is a little gem... she's not even a crafter..

I started by rubbing Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Latte into the sides and moulding on the chest and allowing it to dry... I used Basic Grey Edges Stamps and Sepia Versa Fine on the sides of the chest, then smudged around the edges with the same ink pad just to soften it..

For the DP i used HOTP Flea Market Fabrics Papers, these are gorgeous, they look very textured which is what i was looking for..i covered just the strip on the lid and down the front of the chest, then added some yummy lace I'd got from Hobby Craft ages ago... I Stamped the (i wouldn't say sentiment) verse which reads Life Isn't About Finding Yourself Life Is About Creating Yourself Don't you just think that is so perfect for crafters, it is a Unity Stamp, i have a huge collection of these.. you'll be seeing a lot of them from now on.... I coloured the card i stamped onto using the same Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Latte... then added it to the top of the chest and started to decorate around the out side using Hydrangeas, brads and Tibetan spacers..i added tulle that had been coloured using the same glimmer mist and frayed at the edges to give the flowers a little more depth...then i finished the top by adding charms and pins..

I then coloured two of my favourite but unused Magnolias, and added them to the front of the drawer, so that they looked like they were sitting on there.. In the summer last year i found a lovely lady called Michelle who cuts shapes from wooden board and also burns shading into the shapes, the heart shaped lock and key are her designs and i think finished the chest perfectly with a little of the same lace which has been cut and shredded and some more tulle........ I am positive this was meant to be a jewellery chest, but as i don't really wear jewellery because of swelling up, i decided it would make a great treasure chest, so this is now the new hiding place for my little treasure pieces... Yes this one is for me.... i do love creating for others and it's not often i do it for myself so to speak....but this one is definitely staying with me...hehehe

One last creation I'd like to show you today... My dear friend Claudia sent me this adorable Valentines card with some yummy stamps.... isn't it just the cutest image, i love these little puddy cats...Thank you so much my friend you are an angel...there can't be many crafters out there who don't know of Claudia's talent, but just in case you have been living on the moon, i hope that you'll pay Claudia a visit, you'll find inspiration in bucket loads..hehehe

Don't forget to check out my Candy on the link... it's a good one....