About Me

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Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
I have been crafting since May 2008, when in desperation to find an unusual birthday card for my Mum, I gave up looking in the shops and decided to have a go at making my own. I soon realised that crafting is addictive and I haven't brought a card since. In 2011 I completed my certificate in papercrafting as a result of the work I did as part of the course I started entering challenges on line and in magazines. I applied for design teams and also started making samples for Ooh La La Creations for their shows on Create and Craft. I have now completed my Diploma in professional crafting and most recently been runner up in the Papercrafter of the Year 2013 a competition run by Papercraft essentials magazine, I don't have a particular style I like to use elements from lots of styles and techniques, although I do love all things vintage. In 2014 I started to move more towards scrapbooking to take care of the huge family archive of photographs that were stored in my attic. I have continued cardmaking and Scrapbooking through 2015 and 2016 but have also become interested in off the page projects. I hope to be able focus on these in the future.

Monday 30 April 2012

OLL Design Team Make it Manly

Firstly congratulations to winners of the Bold and Bright Challenge at Ooh La La Creations. we had some fabulous entries this week and I can only say that I am pleased that I wasn't choosing the winner this week. I am also delighted to say that Anne has asked me to stay on with the DT when my initial 6 months as a guest DT member runs out in June and I have very willingly accepted. I really do love using all the fabulous images on the CDs. Now onto this weeks challenge....Make It Manly.

I know that a large number of crafters say they struggle with designs for men, but it is something I had to get over really quickly as well as my dad and my husband to make cards fro each year there are my four brothers-in-law and a friend always asks me t come up with designs for her Dad and her two nephews, and that's without my male friends. Any way enough of that here is the card I came up with for the Challenge Inspiration.


I kept the design simple using a plain 8X8 card as the base. The main backing paper is a paper weave pattern from the Toronto 1940's folder on the 'Boys to Men' CD. I also used a strip of another paper from the range as a contrast down the card and offset to the left. The topper was printed directly from the CD and having cut it out I mounted it on deep red card and trimmed to leave a narrow border. The Car is the result of three different pieces of card, the same dark red, a piece of grey card and a piece of black card being put through the sizzix using the Tim Holtz 'Old Jalopy' die. I then cut the sentiment using an e-craft electronic die cutter.

I added depth to the car by sticking the red image on top of the grey die cut but off centre to give the impression of a shadow behind the car, then I used the small pieces from the black cut out to highlight the wheels and the running board. This card is one of my husband's favourites he says that the car looks just like Guilia - his 1938 Austin Ruby which lives in our garage and he laughingly calls his other woman.

I hope you like the card and don't forget to pop over to Ooh La La creations Challenge Blog to see what my fellow DT members have come up with and to enter this fortnight's challenge.

I am entering this card in the following challenges
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything goes
http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ - Happy Birthday

Thursday 26 April 2012

Punk Wedding

I have recently started to become more and more addicted to the Steam Punk style so I decided to try something a bit different, a wedding card featuring Steam Punk, here's what I came up with


The backing paper, main image and flowers are all elements of the Crafty Catz CD 'A Touch of Steampunk'
The gold card was embossed using a Tim Holtz clocks embossing folder. The hearts and doily were just something I had in my stash.

Having cut the main image out I edged it using a gold leafing pen and I did this on the edges of all the flower petals too. From the sheet of flowers I printed I layered several different sizes up to form each flower and used a crop-o-dile to add a gold coloured eyelet to the centre of each.

I finished it off with an organza bow and two little heart charms.

I'd be interested what anyone out there thinks so please leave a comment for me.

Now off to the Creative Stitch and Hobbycraft fair at Aintree racecourse. No doubt I will come back feeling totally inspired, and will have some more new creations up soon.

Monday 16 April 2012

Bold and Bright Ooh La La Creations DT

Firstly a huge thank you to all those who entered the Vintage Challenge with Ooh La La Creations there were some truly amazing projects submitted and I am really glad I wasn't the one picking the winners this time, as it was a really difficult job. Congratulations to the winners.

So in keeping with the glorious sunshine we have been experiencing for the past few days our latest challenge is 'Bold and Bright'. You can check out the details and see the Design Team's inspirational cards over on The Ooh La La Challenge blog. Here is my offering


As soon as I saw this lovely topper on the new Fairies and Blooms CD I just knew she was the perfect starting point for my card. I printed her onto glossy card and I also printed off two of the matching backing papers to use in the design.

I started used a 8x8 card blank and cut a piece of bright turquoise embossed mirror card as the main background. The topper was mounted on an off cut of the same card and the two backing papers were mounted onto bright pink mirror card which I had in my stash. Once the design was layered up and I was happy with it I stuck the backing using double sided tape. The topper was added using glue gel to give it a bit of height.



All the flowers and leaves were punched from white paper and then coloured using promarkers. I added small pearl centres which came as part of blog candy I won recently at inky impressions. the butterflies were again punched out of plain white paper and coloured to match the flowers with pearl bodies added. I added a small organza bow tied from some ribbon in my stash and as a finishing touch I added some glitter to the fairy's dress and wings using stickles.

I am also entering the card into the following challenges
http://inkyimpressionschallenges.blogspot.co.uk - create your own embellishment
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.co.uk - anything goes
http://paperplaychallenges.blogspot.co.uk - things with winds (fairy and butterflies)

Monday 2 April 2012

OLL Design Team - Vintage

Firstly thank to everyone who entered last weeks challenge at Ooh La La Creations there were some gorgeous Thank You projects. Congratulations to the winners well deserved. This week we have a particular favourite of mine as a theme 'Vintage'. Here is the card I have created, remember to check out the rest of the design team's projects, and good luck to all those who enter the challenge.


I started off with the gorgeous 'Sepia Lady' image from the Ooh La La Creations 'Passion for Fashion' CD. This slightly naughty Victorian Beauty just cried out to be embellished. Having cut the image into an oval using a plain oval nesting die from x-cut I used a tartan paper also from the passion for fashion CD cut using a larger oval die as the mat behind the image.

I wanted to make an easel card but wanted it to be slightly different so I cut the fancy shaped card using a template from my stash. I covered the background with the sepia lady backing paper. The large green lace effect rose I fussy cut from the lace background bonus paper on the 'Femme Fatale' CD and the paper on the base of the easel is from the Beautiful Baby selection of papers on the 'Kidiwinks CD' Finally I used a sentiment from the 'Carnival of Colour' CD, it just goes to show how well all the Ooh La La Creations CD's work together as well as standing alone.

I just roughened the edges of the paper by rubbing against scissors and then inked them using a Momento ink pad in brown. The doily and paper flower embellishments were all from Wild Orchid Crafts and the doily was aged using an antique linen ink pad from the Ranger Tim Holtz distress range.

The feathers, pearls and die cut hearts were from my stash and the finishing touch was using a pearl paint applicator to add pearls to her head band and a tiny punched flower.

You can check out all the CD's used in this design at Ooh La La Creations.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges
http://thesecretcraftersaturdaychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/ - a shaped card
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.co.uk/ - Anything goes