Happy Birthday Lynn

I made this little birthday card for my friend Lynn's birthday this week. I used a Craftwork Cards scallop edge card and papers from a 'Me to You' paper pad. The image is a Lili of the Valley Die Cut image, the organza flowers and lace are from Mei Flowers and the pearls from The Hobby House.  

I actually think I may have slipped up with this card. As I was making it I suddenly thought 'I'm sure I've used these flowers with a similar image before' and when I checked I realised when I made Lynn's card last year I used a Lili of the Valley image and the very same flowers. Sorry Lynn. I'll try and come up with something more original next year. 

Medieval Make Believe

Last month whist at the retreat I put together this layout using photos of my daughter taken a few years ago at Framlingham Castle in Suffolk. Well, I put about 90% of the layout together and have been tinkering with it ever since.

I used papers from My Minds Eye (Wood), Crate Paper (Pink) and October Afternoon (Music). I also used more scraps of My Minds Eye paper to make the bunting and the concertina/rosette  flowers. The flags were made by gluing some of the bunting to wooden cocktail sticks which were topped with a pearl bead. I added some flat back pearls and perfect pearls to add extra detail.

The hardest part about this layout was the title. My crafty friends had many suggestions for titles but in the end I settled for 'Medieval Make Believe' which I cut on the Craft Robo. 


Oops, just realised one of the pearls from the top of the flags is missing. Must have fallen off during photographing the layout. Off to find another. 

Scrapology - May Card Challenge

Today a new card challenge has been set on Scrapology. The challenge has been set by design team member Sue and the challenge is to create a card featuring a Mythical Creature. I chose to create my card using a pre-coloured digital stamp called Dragon's Birthday from The Paper Shelter.

I used papers from a DCWV stack and Echo Park, sentiment from Craftwork Cards, Bakers Twine and some felt stars bought ages ago from Paperchase. 

Please do pop on over to Scrapology and join in the challenge - there's a lovely prize up for grabs! 

Diamond Jubilee Cake

Every weekend Lara brings a piece of homework home to complete before the following Wednesday, but this term in the lead up to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics the format has changed. The whole school are learning instead about London and have been given a whole list of homework tasks from which each child can choose one to complete each week. For example one week Lara chose to make a model of something to do with London (she made a red double decker bus), the next week she did a PowerPoint presentation about Buckingham Palace and last week she created a London word search. This week she decided to 'bake a cake to celebrate the Jubilee'.


I wonder whether when the teachers set that task they were anticipating the number of children who would rise to the challenge and just how many cakes would be taken into school! Every week it seems that at least two children have taken in a cake - which the teacher has cut up and to the children's delight let them eat.


Inspired by the Rainbow Cake I made last month for Christopher's birthday, Lara decided to make a red, white and blue Jubilee Cake. Apart from putting the cake tins in and out of the oven and tipping the cake out of the tins she made it all herself with me just telling her what to do. She can even recite the recipe from memory now!


Here's the finished cake complete with flags printed from the internet........

......... and here's the portion that came home after the class had had their fill.

It certainly was a VERY BRIGHT cake and we may have to make another one in a few weeks time for the Jubilee Weekend!

Scrapology Layout Challenge - C is for Charms

 Yesterday was new challenge day on Scrapology and this month the challenge is to use Charms in your layout and also take inspiration from a lovely layout by Karola Witczak.

For my layout I decided to rescrap a photo of Lara taken in 2005.

I used papers from Scenic Route and My Little Shoebox and made some handmade flowers inspired by a Pinterest pin.

The flowers were made by layering varying sizes of die cut flowers (cut on the Craft Robo) with 3D foam. Before layering them I sanded the edged slightly and curled them. A button was glued in the centre of each layered flower

My charms were Doodlebug acrylic charms.

Here's Karola's original layout ...........

.............. and Lynn's sketch.

Pop on over to Scrapology to have a look at all the design team layouts and perhaps take part int he challenge yourself.

Carry on Nursing

A slightly unusual layout from me today. Apart from a tiny little strip of patterned paper at the bottom of this layout I only used card stock. I really love patterned paper and so to use so little on this layout is quite rare for me.

The photo collage was made in Picasa and I cut various nursing bits and pieces on the Craft Robo as embelishments. The title was made from BasicGrey stickers and the strip of stripe paper at the bottom was, I think, from Bella Press.