I was honoured today to take part in a service of remembrance at Loscoe. My grandson is a member of the cubs and took part in the procession. Our local W.I. also attended and laid a wreath. I wanted to share the photos taken there of this very special occasion.
My grandson Elliot. (A member of the cubs at Loscoe)
My granddaughter Amelia who has just joined Heanor Rainbows and wanted her photo taking too!
Decided on prick and stitch for my first Xmas card this year. It's actually an embroidery pattern but I think it turned out rather well!
The berries are all french knots but they could be beads. It's an 8 inch by 8 inch card with peel off corners and greeting. I embellished it with peel off dots.
I created this card to share with a friend who wanted to use this image.
It's a long time since I last made a simular card and I really enjoyed it. The old ones are definately the best and no gimmicks!
I'm not a lover of quilling myself (although I've seen some lovely examples by other people)
Occasionally though I want to us a 12 x 12 paper for some. I pass it through a shredder and use it for a project. This is how I made these toadstools. The technique is a form of 3d quilling.
For anyone to stay married for 50 years nowadays is a real achievement so I wanted to make a special card for someone I know who has.
I pricked out the pattern first then coloured it before doing the stitching. I added a few gems and peel offs to complete. Hope they'll like it!
I wanted to try a concept card so I collected 3 papers together from a paper pack. I arranged them onto my card blank and added a decoupage topper. I also turned some of the flowers into 3d images.
Although it's quite busy I was pleased with the finished result!
Having practised round tea bag folding and completing a mandala I thought I'd create some designs of my own.
Each one of these cards is made using the tiles created in the dahlia fold but re- arranged to make different flowers. I think they look quite effective!
I made this card for my daughters second anniversary. (Its cotton) Its a prick n stitch design.
I created the pattern using a pricking tool and used a double thread throughout. The greeting and flowers were peel offs and the picture was apllied to a dark brown deckle edged mount.
Recently our youngest granddaughter Alice turned 1 so I wanted to make a card just for her.
I made a recess card and put all of the decoupage inside the aperture. I then punched out some daisies to decorate the surround. I tried to limit the colours so that the over all effect was subtle.
Today my eldest daughter Sam, is 36 and I think back to how different things were 36 years ago!
Using my favourite media (and because Sam always liked strawberries) I made this card specially for her. Hope she liked it and really enjoyed her day!
Someone gave me a pattern for a rocker card some time ago but this is the first time I've made one up.
The papers are from Hunky Dory. I fussy cut the design to separate the flowers and leaves. I rearranged then on the card then stuck half of the frame on the back. I added a few gems and a gold greeting.
I was pleased with the finished effect and couldn't stop playing with it!
I thought I'd do some cards that weren't on white card stock for a change.
I made these designs from bottle green card. I also die cut the corners from the same colour. Then I cut a circle and an oval in black ( one for each card) and applied the decoupage to each one. I mounted the toppers onto a bright colour to add a frame. I think it's nice to ring the changes now and again.
I recently made this card for a friend who's nephew has taken up golf.
I've had a few insert cards recently but have found that once they're made up, the taller ones fall over so I decided to use this design to make a recess card instead.
Putting the decoupage in the centre was a bit fiddly but added to the 3d perspective. I sketched in a few clouds for sky and a bit of grass in pencil crayon which I think gave a bit of detail without detracting from the original image.
I made these 2 recess cards to give the designs a bit more of a perspective.
The design had its own border which I stuck around the recess. The teddy part of the pattern which sat over this aperture had 3 layers of 3d pads to bring it level with the card front. The rest of the decoupage was made up in the usual way. I embellished the recess with daisies and peel offs.
The second design was mounted onto blue card and an aperture cut from the centre to fit the recess. The rest of the card was made up in the same way as the first.
Here's a shaped card based on something I saw on the net some time ago.
The card itself is the brown part. The shapes at the top (or icing) have been embossed, and the butterfly is a die cut. I tried to limit the colours so that they went well together. It took longer than expected but well worth the effort!
Really enjoyed making this card for my friend Iris. She's a wonderful woman with a fabulous sense of humour. Hope she'll have a laugh at this one!
The papers are from le pashe by the way!
I've always loved toreads and was really pleased when my daughter Emily bought some for me!
I made this card using a background paper from a magazine. I stuck the decoupage onto a strip of acetate so it would look as though it was flying! Then I rendered it in 3d. The number 4 was die cut twice to give it a slight shadow. This helped it to show up and match with colours in the backing paper. I also die cut a few leaves and applied them top left to add a bit of texture.
I wanted to make a baby card for a forthcoming event...
The parents to be have decided not to find out the sex of the baby so no pink or blue this time. I found a forever friends design that I thought would be appropriate.
It's come around to Elliot and Amelias birthday again and its difficult to know what to put on their birthday cards. So I used some dressing up photos for a concertina card each.
They were a bit fiddly to make but they're worth it! The party went well too!
Had a day paper folding today.
The card is made using a dahlia fold which can be found on the net. I've made them before and am always pleased with the finished result!
The bookmark is an origami flower. These became popular some time ago and have been used for all sorts of decorative purposes. Again, the instructions for these can be found on the net.
I think I had a really productive afternoon and it was nice to make something a bit different.
Over the last few years I've indulged in a bit of rock painting. Its a really peaceful process. I draw on my character then use acrylic paint to add colour.
These are my latest creations. Some of them are inspired by simular designs on pinterest and some are my own ideas.
Once the painting has dried I add a plain colour at the back and write "FB Derbyshire rocks keep or re-hide " in permanent marker. Then I varnish the back first in clear yacht varnish.It's important to do it sparingly so that it doesn't run. I apply 2 coats. Once these are dry I apply 2 coats to the front of the rock so that both sides are protected from damage.
Here are some earlier attempts
It's always lovely when someone finds one and puts it on Facebook but it rarely happens. It's just nice to know that a little bit of you is out there and that it hopefully made someone smile!
During the lock down if 2020 I went mad for cross stitching. One of the patterns I'd been wanting to complete for ages lay in wait for me and I finally managed to finish it!
I really love the combination of the colours and can't wait to get it properly framed...its on my to do list!
Every year in Belper (Derbyshire) they hold a knitting festival which decorates the local woods. This years event was slightly different because of the restrictions but here are some of the exhibits...
So, if you're ever in the area in May have a look for yourself (Check dates first of course! They're on facebook)
I was asked to make a fathers day card for a friend of mine who's dad likes gardening. This is the card I've come up with...
The decoupage paper came from splash crafts. It's quite straight forward to make too! I mounted the design onto the card on a black matt added a greeting and little fussy cut ladybird. My friend loved it!
For this card I used a Marij Rader paper. It should be able to move but I wanted it not to so that it fitted more easily onto my card blank.
I fussy cut the decoupage but fused the movable parts together with split pins ( or brads as they're called nowadays) I layered the design onto a silver matt which fitted an 8 x 8 inch card.
When working on a card design its handy to get as many possibilities as you can. This is a variation on an easel card set to the side.
I took a 6 x 6 inch card blank and scored between the bottom left and top right corners. This was bent backwards to form the flap. I covered the 2 front sections in complimentary papers then repeated the same design in reverse on the inside of the card.
I die cut some circles ( they look like ovals here because of the angle of the card) and matt and layered them together. I rendered the decoupage in 3d and attached it to the topper. I made a small stopper from part of the decoupage design and added a birthday greeting.
I chose Reddy due cut decoupage for this silver anniversary card.
I matt and layered the card blank then added the decoupage topper rendered in 3d. Then I used silver peel offs for the greeting. I really loved the design on this card as it was almost a horse shoe shape.
I'm not a massive fan of ordinary quilling but love the 3d sort.
This little dish is 1 of my first attempts. I used the whole of a 12 x 12 inch paper which was run through a paper shredder to form the strips. I quilled a large peg, glued the end then gently pushed the centre forward to form a dome. You need to take it slowly or it all comes unravelled!
Next I coated it inside and out with p.v.a. glue and let it dry. That's it! Create your own pretty little pot.
Feeling encouraged by my success i went on to create these toadstools from domes pegs and fringing. (Both of these images have been taken from my pinterest page)
The fields have been full of dandelions and today the air was full of seed heads. ( we used to call them fairies and make a wish on them) they reminded me of a card I made some time ago so Ive taken it from my pinterest page to share it on here!
Firstly I created a pattern to help me decide where to prick out the design on my card. Then I transfered it to my topper. I coloured in the centre point with pencil and stitched the rest. I added French knots to the design and stalks to the seed heads. Then I stamped out 2 sizes of butterfly and stuck one on top of the other. I used this as an embellishment on the card. The topper was mounted onto a brown matt before it was added to the card blank. Peel off dots were put at each corner and the greeting added.
As long as you can add dots around a centre one then keep adding them in between it would be eash to create your OWN dandelion! Why not have a go!
I'm lucky to still have some flippin men papers but don't have the ready made cards for them. So I've made my own!
I cut an aperture into a 6 x 6 inch card blank using an oval die. I cut a slightly larger oval in acetate and stuck it over the aperture at the front of the card. Then I drew around another slightly larger oval and cut around that with deckle edged scissors. I cut an aperture into the last piece that matched the original and glued it on top of the acetate to form a frame.
Next I cut out the decoupage on the sheet. I drew a thick line on the wrong side of the revers image then stuck it to the acetate on the inside I stuck the forward facing image on the front of the acetate matching it up with the one inside. (The black line made any overhanging white bits invisible). I rendered it in 3d.
Finally I put the backing image inside the card so that it would show through the front when it was closed.
I think these papers are great fun and its a shame that they aren't so easy to buy any more.
I thought this stamp that I bought some time ago (think it was from amazon but not sure) would lend itself well to a shadowbox.
I've taken the image from my pinterest page so that I can share it with you. Instructions on how to make a view box can be found on the internet.
I stamped out the images and coloured them to match the backing paper. I stuck the bee and medium sized toadstools inside the box. The tiny toadstools were fixed inside the aperture, and the larger ones on the outside.
One handy thing I've found with the biggest of these stamps is that they can be bent slightly to form a curved stalk and to fit more easily around a circle.
Love this neat little card. Its just a simple bit of stamping and the sizes can be adjusted.
A while ago I adapted a string art pattern into one I could use for a prick and stitch card and this is the result!
There were 3 layers of stitching in different colours which I worked separately one over the other. Later I shrunk the pattern down so that I could make coasters for my daughters 2nd wedding anniversary. (cotton)
Although it was quite a challenge, I enjoyed both projects equally and now I have a pattern I could do it again sometime!
