come join me....

Hello Dear Reader,
I hope that you are well? I am just popping by to say hello and invite you to come join me over on my my new blog
http://craftroomdiary.wordpress.com/
I am posting on Monday's and Friday's and hopefully on Wednesday's when i can join in with WOYWW.

I hope that you will join me there soon

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

A Change…..

Hello Dear Reader, i hope that you are well?  It is very gloomy here today on Valentines Day, Happy Valentines i hope that you are spending it with your loved ones :)
So a change my title says……yes i have made a change in my life. (well my crafting life)
I am no longer a Stampin’ Up! Demo, for no other reason then it just does not fit in with my life at the current moment.
Due to ill health i could not provide the level of commitment that it deserves and i could not keep up the quarterly minimums myself as i just cant use that much stuff!
I have nothing against the company and still think that they are second to none for red rubber and their line of co-ordinating products, i love that my ink, card, ribbon all matches without hours spent searching in stores for a match, so i will still be a customer just not be selling the items myself.
I also have another blog, as i no longer exclusively use SU!’s products i thought i would leave this blog as is and continue on another blog that i started for myself; initially to document the building of my new craft room.
I would love it if you could join me there also.
The address is craftroomdiary.blogspot.com
I would like to say thank you for all my readers i have loved blogging and the friendships that have come from this lovely community of crafters.
I can still not believe that anyone even wanted to read my posts let alone pin my work on pinterest :)
I never say never so this blog may get some use in the future but for now
Ttfn
Charlie.x

Up and Away……

Hello Dear Reader, i hope that you are well?

Just a quick post to let you know that i will be taking a break from my blog for a while, you may have noticed my absence and due to ill health that absence will unfortunately have to continue for a while longer.

I can not craft as much as i want to or even that i used to at the moment and i dont have the time or energy to edit photos and write posts for a while.  I will be back but at the moment i can not be sure of when that will be.

I would like to say thank you to all my readers for stopping by and for all the comments on my posts i have loved being a ‘blogger’ and the interaction that gives and the opening to a community that that brings.

And now i shall leave you with a photo of a card that i had made a few weeks back for a friend of H’s for their birthday party, can you guess what film was H’s favourite that week??

Inspired by a card that i saw on pinterest but changed slightly to get the balloons a bit more in proportion with the house :)

Take Care Dear Reader

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Sympathy Swaps part two…

Hello Dear Reader, today i am going to share with you part two of the swap that i hosted.  In these swaps everyone sends in 5 swaps and then i send them back 1 of each of the 5 different ones sent in.

Aren’t they fabulous? I love that they’re not traditional colours for a sympathy card which are usually in blacks.

I will be back with the final instalment very soon
Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie.x

Project Life……

Morning Dear Reader, today i am going to share with you a new craft that i have picked up lately.  I have been a stamper for 20years now and scrapped for about 5years but i dont have a lot of time to do the involved pages that i enjoy doing when it comes to traditional scrapbooking so i find that i end up falling behind and then the photos either sit on the side or dont get printed at all.  Step in Project life by Stampin’ Up!

Now i could have used any of the many Project life kits that are out there but i wanted it to match the colours that i have so when SU brought out their version in their colours thats when i thought i would give it a go, as i wouldnt need to go shopping to find colour matches as they where already in my stash

This was my first layout of an art exhibition i went to at Kew Gardens, in 2005, i started by slipping in the photos and cutting the ones that needed cropping to fit, then filling in the gaps with some of the cards from the kit.  I think this one is the everyday adventure kit. 

I added the journaling after i took the photo, so quick and easy.  It wont replace the way i scrapbook but it will certainly work alongside so that i can get our memories into books rather than just on facebook!

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Hey There……

Hello Dear Reader, i hope that this finds you well?  Now i know the next question will be where have you been?? I took a little blogging break with the end of school term and H’s birthday i had so much to do that something had to slip and this time it was blogging.  Now that the girls are on the last week of summer holidays i can start to get back to some normality.

In July i made a load of dairy free cupcakes with tiny bumble bees and flowers on top, a huge beehive birthday cakes again covered in bumble bees and an Elsa tutu dress {Frozen} as well as a bumble bee tutu dress, a set of invites, decorations and party games.

So lots of different crafts in July, but i have been stamping as always and have a card to share with you today

Its a very simple card that could be for anyone at any occasion, using the gorgeous grunge set and the word bubbly set {cant remember the names} from Stampin’ Up! Takes a few mins to knock a whole batch of these so you can keep them on hand in your card box.

Well until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

How to cover a journal {tutorial}

Happy Monday Dear Reader, hope you are well? Today our town is going to have a part of the Tour de France coming through, we will be taking our girls to see the spectacle today as its probably the only time it will ever come to us, hopefully it won’t rain like the day the Olympic touch visited us!

Yesterday i shared a This and That book that i had covered with DSP today i am sharing how to do this;

It’s very simple you just need to take your time, but i like how easy it is to change the cover.

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

This and That… Dad Book

Good Morning Dear Reader; I am looking forward to a lazy Sunday morning, pottering around cooking and making the rooms ready as we have family staying as tomorrow we have the Tour de France coming through our town and we are all planning to go together to see it come through.

Today i am sharing another This and That book with you, i love these books they are along the same lines as a smash book and are really good for on the go scrapbooking, I often take them with me when we go out and a roll of washi tape and then i can stick bits in that we picked up along the day.

This book was for my husband from the girls for Fathers’ Day.

I have used the retro fresh T+T from SU but instead of inking the grey front cover, i covered it with DSP also from the retro fresh range.  I took the binding off in order to fully cover the book cover.

Tomorrow i will share with you a picture tutorial of how to cover the book.

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Saturday Share…..Sympathy Swaps

Good Morning Dear Reader, hope this post finds you well? I will be up starting a batch of fresh bread when this posts ready for a big family dinner after the carnival procession, i love making bread from scratch its a soothing activity.

Today i am sharing some of the swaps from last months swap that i host on ILWS, the theme was Sympathy i shared my swap with you last month in a tutorial.

These swaps were made by Julie and Christa, aren’t they gorgeous?

I love that they have a lovely serene feeling with the muted colours and that they are not dark and miserable, i feel like they would really lift the spirits of someone in the worst moments of their life.

I will share some more of the swaps next Saturday

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie. x

Festive Friday….Holy Night {Week One}

Good Morning Dear Reader, thank goodness its Friday!! It has been a hectic week here, and the weekend is going to be even busier as it is Carnival Week {yes i said week!! we have an 8day carnival in this town!} and my Eldest is in the float procession tomorrow for the first time so we will be dotted around the route so that she sees one of her family at every point.
Well on to today’s project, i am sharing a festive project {see i didn’t use the C-word lol} I like to start my festive projects in July so that hopefully it doesn’t get overwhelming when we get into the winter.
So here is today’s card;

This card is lovely and quick so great for big batches, roll stamp notes over the back and then stamp the text stamp and layer up with the punched elements and voilà!
Until next time
Ttfn
Charlie x

Journaling….

Morning Dear Reader, now does the title of the blog strike fear in to you or are you okay with the whole Journaling thing?

I think a lot of the time we over think the whole journaling thing.  Its personal preference really, but i do think its nice that in years to come our great grandchildren will know what our handwriting looks like.  Even if you only write the date and place where the photo was taken, that IS journaling.

A friend of mine had an upsetting incident at a crop day where she was berated by another scrapper, because she choses not to journal on her pages and doesn’t always add a title either.  Now not only do i feel for my friend a public telling off doesn’t help anyone but no one should tell you how you should preserve your memories. 

I am in two camps with my journaling on my traditional pages i rarely journal, i like the photos to do the talking.  But in my mini books and journals i tend to journal a bit more. 

Here are some examples of my journaling.  This is the inside of my Star This and That.  I don’t plan it to any degree i just collect together the photos from that day and any extra bits like tickets, postcards etc.

Then i just start with adding the date on the photos, including the location. And any bits you can remember about the day, such as funny things that were said or something that went wrong.

That is why i like the journals because they are quick to put together i tend to do them either the day after or even the day of the event {depends on if Boots are open ; ) }

My quick tips are the same as when we had to do comprehension at primary school :)

When, Where, Who and What.

very simple but gives you enough details to create a great page.

I hope that helps, or maybe it was just me waffling again.

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Star This and That Book

Good Morning Dear Reader, i hope that this post finds you well?  I think i am doing pretty well with blogging all month.  So last week i said that i had had two this and that books that had sat unloved until inspiration struck, and once i had done the first one i had to do the other for my girls and all the days out that we have planned this year.

Now like most small people my girls are slightly obsessed with the film Frozen so maybe i was channelling the film a little with my colour scheme. 

 

But of course i didn’t want to cover it with snowflakes so i went with Stars, some of these stars are from the simply stars stamp set, another is from the perfect pennants stamp set, I also punched some stars and inked through with versamark ink. I heat embossed the stars using silver and pewter embossing powder and also in iridescent powder.  I used gorgeous grunge and some of the SU light blues to build the background again over a white craft ink base.

Here are some close up’s

 

I love how the different powders catch the light in different ways.

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie.x

Pssst….

Good Morning Dear Reader, thank goodness its Friday i am so ready for the weekend, and another Friday means its nearer to Summer and no school runs!!

So on to todays card, i am showing a card today which uses a sentiment that is in the retirement list form Stampin’ Up! Watercolour Wonder.

Pssst…. i just love that! It could be used for so many different occasions in this case to say happy birthday to my younger brother, who would have thought that a floral set would be used on a male birthday card?! I have pared it with the Word Bubbles framelit dies.  How did i get the borders on the speech bubbles surely i didn’t draw them freehand?! Well what i did was once i had cut the shapes instead of pushing them out straight away i drew round the inside of the dies thus creating the perfectly sized border.

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

WOYWW June 25th 2014

Morning Dear Reader, just a quick one from me this morning to partake in the huge worldwide desk snoop that is WOYWW

here’s my desk last night…….nothing has changed this morning

and nothing will all day as we have a new fridge coming…..hence the fridge in my rough and ready craft room …. and then family over for dinner so the room of craft will be empty today. sniff.

My craft room is in the process of being built the walls have been prepped but as we have a party next month we not moving on to the next very messy stage of insulation so that it is tidy and usable for the party.

I hope to get around the other blogs this evening

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Love and Sympathy {Tutorial}

Happy Monday Dear Reader, I hope that the new week finds you well?  I am looking forward to a day crafting with my lovely friend Sue.

Today i am sharing the tutorial for the sympathy card that i shared yesterday, It is not a picture heavy post as it is quite a simple card.

So to create your background matt for your image use a clear block as your stamp, this is a great way to add a layer of colour without adding an extra layer of cardstock.

I hope you liked the tutorial, i would appreciate any feedback on my tutorials if you would like  to send me feedback then please comment below or email me at craftylittlemoo@hotmail.co.uk

Many thanks

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Love and Sympathy …..

Hello Dear Reader, i hope you are having a good weekend?

We are having a quiet one this weekend as next month we have something planned for every weekend, with carnivals, birthdays and the Tour du France coming through the town, we are going to be busy busy busy!

Now onto todays card, the swap that i host on ILWS had the theme of Sympathy this month.

It is a horrible subject but unfortunately we all have to deal with sadness and loss at some point in our lives, so it stands that at some point we will need a sympathy card. I don’t enjoy the reason for needing the card so i make them in advance and have a small selection scurried away, however i actually like making a card that will need to go to someone at the most horrible time in their lives to let them know i am thinking of them.

I tend to make my sympathy cards in muted colours and pare down the ‘fussiness’ so that the thought behind the card is what is the main focus.

I used the Love and Laughter stamp set for this and i will post the tutorial of how to make it tomorrow.

Until next time

ttfn

Charlie x

My Friday Night Plans………

Good Morning Dear Reader; i do hope that you are well? I thought i would share a quick post of my Friday night plans….

Football is on {again!} tonight so my Friday night plans are the same as my Tuesday night plans……cos i’m so glamorous! lol I have borrowed my daughters mini dvd player the last few nights so that i can watch what i like while Mr.C watches the football. {this photo was taken on Tuesday}
What are your plans for tonight, are you watching the football or avoiding it like i am?
Until next time
Ttfn
Charlie.x

Papaya Collage This and That Book

Morning Dear Reader, i hope that this post finds you well?

A few weeks ago me and Mr.C went on a trip to London, a mini break if you will {how grown up!} and we took lots of photos, we couldn’t believe our luck a night away just the two of us for the first time since our honeymoon!  Anyway i needed some thing to put my photos into, so i turned to my this and that book.  Now i have had two this and that books since they come out and i kept looking at them and inspiration didn’t strike but all of a sudden i had a plan for this one!

And here it is

I wanted it to have a romantic feel so i went for grungey – vintage.  I did a lot of work on this cover and i didn’t plan things too strictly i just went with the flow. Starting with the cover, I covered it in white craft ink to give me a good base then i started sponging with various brown inks before getting out the stamps. I layered image over image and some i even heat embossed.

It took time but i really love it, i finished off the spine by tying knots of ribbon around the binding.

I hope you like it now i just have to fill it : )

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie.x

Blended Bloom {tutorial}

Morning Dear Reader, hope the start of this new week finds you well? Today i am sharing with you a photo tutorial of the card that i shared yesterday.

So here we go…..

This is the card that we are doing today, it uses the new blended blooms stamp from Stampin’ Up! which will be available when the new catalogue launches in July, but you could substitute with any large flower. First i stamped the image in staz on 6 times on Whisper White cardstock.

I like to watercolour but without the mess; the easiest way to do this is to squeeze your inkpad when its closed so that some of the ink goes on to the lid and when you open it this is your pallet.

Watercolour the flowers; but you don’t need to watercolour all of the flowers completely.  On the lowest layer just watercolour all of the furthest out petals, then just colour the next layer in, and so on and so forth.

I hope you liked the tutorial

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Blended Bloom

Morning Dear Reader, i hope you are having a good weekend? Sunday’s for me mean PJ’s i love my PJ’s and to be comfy and warm.

So as you may know Stampin’ Up! have a new catalogue coming launching next month, and a very dear friend let me play with one of the new stamps that are on the way.

This card also has a sneak peak of another new product, can you guess what it is?

Tomorrow i will be back with a tutorial of how i put this card together

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie x

Card Candy–Zoo Babies

Happy Friday Dear Reader, are you like me very much in need of the weekend? We have had a hectic few days with my birthday yesterday and lots of the girls bits so i am looking forward to not doing much over the weekend.

Its Friday the 13th today do you go in for all the suppositious stuff that comes along with today? I think that its worrying about it makes mistakes happen and it has nothing to do with the date.

Any way on to today’s project,

 

Recently i took part in a swap for card candy organised on the forum ILWS, card candy are small toppers that focus on one stamp set in my case i chose Zoo Babies.

I also used the gorgeous Hardwood stamp-set as my background.  Zoo Babies is one of my favourite sets and i use it so much it is very versatile for baby cards and children’s cards.

Until next time

Ttfn

Charlie.xx

Baroque Thank You Notecard {Photo Tutorial}

Hello Dear Reader, i am back today with the photo tutorial for the card that i shared yesterday.  This will be picture heavy so grab a cup of something yummy, for me todays its Fortnum’s Darjeeling Bop.  Here we go ….

Now as this is a one layer card and we want to use only half of some of the images we need to make a mask on the card.  The easiest way to do this is with post it notes.  Place the post its along the crease of the notecard.

Finish off with a little bling, i just randomly popped some rhinestones on there was no grand plan just where they looked right.

I hope that you enjoyed that tutorial, it is a very quick card i managed to knock up 8 in about half an hour.

Well until next time

ttfn

Charlie. x

Baroque Thank You Notecard

Good morning Dear Reader, do hope that you are well. A few weeks ago i needed a load of thank you cards, so i used the notecards and envelopes from Stampin’ Up! i like to have these on standby for when i need thank you cards as they’re a nice size and lovely smooth cardstock.

 

This is a one layer card i like doing these multi layered stamping cards they have lots of depth created by the different stamps but none of the bulk of traditional layers so they are perfect for posting.

The colour scheme is Sahara Sand, Baked Brown Sugar, Costal Cabana, and Bermuda Bay. The stamp sets used are gorgeous grunge {one of my favourites!} off the grid, beautifully baroque and lots of thanks for the sentiments.

I hope you like this card i will be back tomorrow with a photo tutorial showing just how to create it.

Until next time

ttfn

Charlie.xx

Burlap and Blooms Wreath

Good Morning Dear Reader; Hope that you are well?

Today i am sharing something a little different with you, its a wreath made with the kit from the Stampin’ Up! seasonal catalogue, but i have made a few tweaks to it.

I wrapped my burlap ribbon around a foam wreath from the craft store, the kit comes with a cardboard one but i wanted a more dimensional wreath than that.  I also stretched the flowers out a bit more by not layering them up quiet so much.  I also used pins to attach the flowers to the wreath, pin heads that would be showing as the centre of a flower i used pearl headed pins.  I also added more pearls to the centres of some of the flowers. It was really enjoyable to do as i could just switch off and glue it together.

Until Next time

Ttfn

Charlie. x