Tea Bag Holder

My Granny is in hospital as she's been having heart problems, so i've taken a half day tomorrow and am going to give her a suprise visit (she lives an hour and a half away). I've brought her a big bouquet of flowers and made her this little tea bag holder as she is always so chuffed when I give her handmade gifts. I made the measurements up and used a poem I found online.

Green Winter Flip-Flop Card

Again I first got introduced to flip-flop cards (aka swing cards) over on CraftyPlace. It was a bit fiddly working out the measurements and then cutting the central square but makes an awesome effect. This card is for my brother and on the flipped side has a die cut Merry Christmas in green mirri card. The cute stamped image is from the lovely Rusty.

Hidden Message Card

This is the Christmas card i've made for my boyfriend. It's a hidden message card so when you pull the ribbon either side it flattens out revealing the message in the middle. That's the idea anyway but the matted layers seem to stop this working so well and it needs a little persuasion but it's the thought that counts! I found the instructions for it here if anyone fancies trying their own - they're really easy to make.

Christmas Fairy Tri-Fold Card

This tri-fold card is for my Gran and I got the idea (along with links to instructions) from one of the CraftyPlace card swaps a few months ago. I love how this turned out but almost seriously harmed myself when trying to get a photograph of it to put on here! I managed to knock a huge painting off the wall which smashed over my head - luckily I only cut my hands though.

Fairy Cracker Card

I came up with this great idea of making a card shaped like a Christmas cracker but it turned out slightly harder than I thought (always seems to be the case lol)! This is what I came up with and it pulls apart revealing the message in the centre. It turned out better than I thought and the girly pastel colours make a nice change - I love the backing paper.

Teddy Carrying Presents Card

This was a reasonably quick make using Forever Friends Christmas decoupage, the matching backing paper and a die-cut sentiment from the same pack. I've added some ribbon and some little punched holly leaves with berry gems coloured with ProMarkers. I love the Forever Friends teddies as they're so cute and these kits make it so easy to do great cards.

Customised Photo Baubles

I found this pack of plastic photo baubles for £6.99 in Boots and brought them to make a keepsake Christmas present to give to my Granny. I've used four photos of me, my brother and Mum in black and white then decorated with sequins and glitter. I think they look great but was disappointed to see that my Granny has only put up a small fibre optic tree this year...

Lilac Teddy Kisses Card

I had lots of fun playing with my ProMarkers to colour this free digital image I found online. It's really cute and because it's quite a big picture the card didn't really need much else apart from some matching pearlescent card and card candy (again coloured with ProMarkers). This card is co-ordinated to go with a purple themed present I'm doing!


For those that want it, the freebie image is from here.

Santa Collage Card

I really love this image - it's absolutely gorgeous. I have seen quite a few of the girls on MSE use it before but haven't been able to find the stamp myself, so the lovely Jennie aka TheWife kindly sent me some stamped images. I'll definitely look for it for next year though. Somehow I managed to stick everything on upside down first time round so had to peel it off and start again!

Fishing Easel Card

I am soo pleased with how this card turned out. This is my first ever easel card and I was inspired to make one after receiving a cute one from Mrs Bs Blog. This is for my Dad's friend who loves fishing so i've used a stamped image coloured with ProMarkers. The little pond is loads of colours blended together covered in clear glaze and the effect is perfect.

Fold-Flat Nose Reindeer Card

I've made this card using one of the templates in Papercraft Inspirations for Rudolph. It's really cute and I love the effect of the nose! I inked the edges then layered the reindeer onto a window complete with acetate for the glass. The snowflake paper is Daisy & Dandelion and santa with his sleigh is a peel off (coloured with ProMarkers of course).

Santa Window Card

Yay i'm now the proud owner of the 92 original ProMarkers! Once I'd finished playing with them (including doing a colour chart) I figured I could use them to create a stained glass window effect on acetate so this is what I came up with. It's a bit plain and I wasn't where I could squeeze a sentiment but i've now got loads more ideas for using acetate windows...

Neon Manga Birthday Card

It's my friend's 23rd birthday this week and she's obsessed with everything starry, so i've made this bright funky card using a stamped image from CraftyGranny. I've coloured her with gel pens and gone embellishment crazy on the background. I love this little Manga girl she's so cute but has attitude - I shall definitely be buying the stamp!

18th Birthday Card

My brother asked me to make a birthday card for one of his friends who is going to be 18. I thought it would the perfect chance to use my new Basic Grey papers, which are soo pretty - I think I am officially addicted! I've used my new Miss Anya stamps coloured with Whispers pens (wish I had my ProMarkers as it was hard to colour match to the background).

Christmas Dog Card

This card uses a freebie stamp that came with DoCrafts magazine. I stamped it with Distress Inks but it went a bit blotchy, so I blended the colour over the whole image with a bit of water then added a bit of gold shimmer chalk. I don't think it turned out too bad and just adds to the charm of the dog. I've matted the image, added eyelets and drawn a few faux gold stitches.

Chalked Snowmen Card

I came up with this idea but then didn't have the right coloured ink to stamp the image in so it co-ordinated with the backing paper. Instead i've stamped it in clear ink then chalked it with a pastel blue. I haven't done this before but love the really soft effect it gives. To finish it off i've added a few punched snowflakes, a couple of which i've covered with Glamour Dust.

Dressy Miss Anya Card

I've recently treated myself to lots of new stash (Circle & Scalloped Circle Nestabilites, Greeting Farm Dressy Miss Anya stamps, Martha Stewart Doily Lace border punch, Papermania Brad Making Kit), most of which i've used on this card lol! This card is going to Cards for Alicia and i'm hoping to make a few more as it's such a good cause. I don't have a particular style but I think this is quite different to all the cards i've made so far...

Forever Friends Fairy Card

I've made this using a Forever Friends decoupage set, which included the pretty backing papers and greeting. I've inked everything, added a few snowflake brads in the corners then added glitter to the wings and halo. To be honest i'm not 100% happy with this card but it was quick to make and I know the person i'm planning to give it to will like it.

Christmas Pudding Card

Last week I treated myself to a Tim Holtz Distress Ink and the blending tool. I absolutely love it - the effect you can get is amazing and I've already ordered another one. This is the card I made when I was playing with it for the first time and I think inking the edges has given it more depth. The christmas pudding was cut out using my Nestabilities.

Jingle Beans

I've finally finished all 40 tubes of Jingle Beans, complete with the added touch of mini bells. I've made them to give to all my family, friends and colleagues along with a handmade card. This a sample of two of them showing the front and back of the tags. Martin's contribution was to fill the tubes and eat the beans lol. I got the idea from here - her blog is fantastic and has loads of great ideas so definitely check it out.

Origami Trinket Box

My aunt absolutely loved the blue iris folded card I made for her birthday and now has it framed in her hall. It's nice to know all that your effort is appreciated, so I've made this origami box for her for Christmas (she's been hinting she'd like a trinket box in the colours of her bedroom). I've used my new bargain double sided cardstock from Costco then finished with a ribbon.

Bauble Wreath Card

I saw this idea somewhere online and thought it was the perfect excuse to play with my new circle Nestabilities. It's sad because I was so excited about getting them but they make life so much easier and they'll definitely be put to good use! Anyway I think this card looks quite classy but can't decide whether or not it needs greeting in the centre maybe? Thoughts please...


Big thank you to Jennie aka The Wife for her suggestion - i've now added some die cut holly leaves and it's definitely improved the card along with making it more Christmassy.

3 Wise Men Card

I saw this Jolly Nation three wise men decoupage and thought it would make a great traditional card and I know exactly who to give it to. I've teamed it up with some starry paper (no idea what it's called) and then obviously I had to include the North Star so hand drew and cut out my own from gold mirror card. The torn affect adds some character to it I think!

Pink Christmas Tree Card

I love this stamp as it's a modern take of the standard Christmas tree, so I just had to use modern colours and what could be better then hot pink! The gems were freebies with a magazine and fitted perfectly as the baubles. Lots of matting and a Daisy & Dandelion stamped greeting et voila - a fab girly Christmas card for one of my friends.

Snowy Bear Card

This is an extremely quick card I made with decoupage I picked up at a market - it was soo cute I just couldn't resist. Originally I just assembled it but felt something was missing so stuck on a few gems and i'm definitely happier with it now. Kinda feels like cheating though as it was too easy to make and required next to no effort!

Reindeer Gatefold Card

This card is 100% handmade including the card blank and the backing paper, which i've hand stamped (making good use of my Poundland stamps again)! The blue colour scheme makes a nice change from the usual Christmas reds and greens. I've used a Daisy & Dandelion die-cut greeting, silver card candy and snowflake brads to finish the card off.

Gingerbread Man Card

I couldn't decide what to do with this fun Christmas paper, then found some great sheets of foam stamps in Poundland that I thought would go perfectly! The greeting is cut from mirror card using my Banana Split alphabet, which i've been using on everything recently. I think this would be a perfect card for a child so am entering it into Lily of the Valley Challenge 38.

Anniversary Card

Here's a card I've made for Martin's parents' anniversary next week. His Mum is the one who originally got me into cardmaking so i'm interested to see what she thinks! The textured cardstock i've used is really lovely quality and i'll definitely be treating myself to more. I'm also addicted to card candy at the moment and have got quite a few different colours, which i've mixed altogether in a big glass jar.

Elegant Angel Card

I've been busy making cards this week as someone told me it's 13 weeks until Christmas, which is going to be a push with work and Martin's new obsession with Top Golf! I really like this card and thinks it looks simple and elegant. I've used the embossing trick from Ikki's Cuttlebug Cupboard - anyone with a Cuttlebug should definitely check it out for inspiration.

Christmas Pressie Card

This is my first Christmas card of the year and i've tried to make it look like a present by making good use of ribbon! I wasn't going to make Christmas cards originally, as I thought it may be a bit too much pressure to get them all finished in time, but then couldn't resist all the gorgeous Christmas stamps, papers, etc in The Range. 1 down, 29 to go...

Teen Starry Card

This is a card for my Dad to give his friend's granddaughter who will be 14 this weekend and has been really ill lately. I was stuck for ideas to begin with but found the star paper in my stash and thought it was perfect! I've only added a decoupage girl and some metal word brads, so it doesn't distract from the pattern.

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First Commissioned Card

Here is my first ever commissioned card for my Mum's work colleague, giving me £2.50 towards stash. She wanted an anniversary card for her parents with a mole on it as their surname is Moles, so I turned an image found online into decoupage! I've also used my fab new Quickutz Banana Split Skinni Mini alphabet that I got for the bargain price of £12 from an American seller on eBay.

Diamond Fold Template

Here's a template i've created with the measurements I used to make my diamond fold card in the previous post. You need to cut out the card twice and then score the four lines i've marked and cut off the corners of one end to make a diamond on both. Use double sided tape to attach the diamonds together and then fold it up to make a 5" x 7" card with a twist.

Diamond Fold Card

My Mum asked me to make a beach scene card for a work colleague who has breast cancer as everyone is giving her a card so she gets one every day. I saw this diamond fold card (thanks rainmac for telling me it's name!) made in a demonstration on Create and Craft last week. It looks really tropical and I hope it puts a smile on her face...

MSE Troops Challenge

I've made this card for the challenge over on MSE. All the cards are going to a charity who send cards to troops based overseas for them to send home to their families, which I think is a great idea - I just wish i'd had time to make a few more! I wasn't planning to make Christmas cards this year but saw cute stamps at The Range and couldn't resist.

La Pashe Flippin Card

Another birthday card for my aunt, this time for my Mum to give her. I brought the La Pashe decoupage and matching aperture card, but wasn't sure what to do with the large white space around the outside! I impressed myself with my stamping but unfortunately managed to wash a few of my letter stamps down the sink somehow...

Stripey Tri-Fold Card

At the moment I've been experimenting with different techniques and card shapes to make my cards more interesting. This is a birthday card for my boyfriend's sister who's bravely doing a parachute jump for charity on her birthday! I've used teddy decoupage and my funky new DCWV papers with a transparent sentiment.

Blue Iris Folded Card

My aunt brought me a card making book for my birthday, so I decided to experiment with one of the techniques in it, called iris folding, to make her a birthday card in her favourite pearly sea colours. It took me ages and was a little bit fiddly but so worth it for the final effect!

Floral Granny Card

This is a floral card I made for my Granny's birthday in the same colours as her living room. I also made her a sunflower themed exploding box (embossed with my Cuttlebug of course!) but forgot to get a photo of it. She absolutely loved both and said she's going to treasure them forever bless...

Burnt Orange Bday Card

This is another card for my Mum's birthday, this time for my brother to give to her. I've used my new Cuttlebug (love it!!!) to emboss the background then rubbed over it with gold ink then added some eyelets with my new Crop-o-Dile. I think this card looks kind of Arabian with the colour scheme!

Flowery Purple Card

My Mum's birthday is on the 1st August but i've made her card early so I can enter it into Crafty Place's July Challenge! I've cut the windows out and stamped the Smirk images onto the inside of the card, which I think makes it looks quite professional! Hopefully she likes it, as her favourite colour is purple.

Bunny Thank You Card

I've just spent the week with my boyfriend Martin on holiday in the New Forest, where I dragged him along to Hobbycraft and The Range multiple times! I brought lots of new bits so decided to make his Mum this thank you card as she sorted everything out for us (including letting us use their caravan for the week).

Football Leaving Card

This is a card I made for my Mum as her boss is leaving. I based it on his favourite football team and used Wordle for the first time - I'm hooked as it's quick and simple but creates a great effect! You can't see properly but I made my own decoupage for the badge.

Crafty Place Card Swap

Here's the pink card that I made for the June Swap over at Crafty Place. I love the Gorjuss Girl image (thank you Rusty!) and it meant I got to play with my fab Whispers pens. I'm also obsessed with the X-Cut flower border punch - it's soo pretty.



My swapee Mrs Tidge sent me a really gorgeous pink and brown card with very appropriate chocolate quotes ;-P You can see it here.

Crafty Place ATC Swap

I made my first ever ATC for the June ATC swap over at Crafty Place. The theme was 'Feeling Blue' and i'm really pleased with how it turned out (very cute!), as the size can be a bit daunting at first. I'm really into butterflies at the moment and every time I look at this it makes me smile!



I received a lovely ATC with great detail and co-ordination from Jennie in the swap. You can see it here.

Exploding Box Card

I started embossing years ago but only recently got properly into cardmaking after I had an operation and was bored at home so made my boyfriend this exploding box card - I enjoyed myself so much that I've now decided to handmake all my cards, hence this blog! I didn't use a template but if anyone wants to know the measurements or how I made it, then let me know...