To have and to hold..

Still Juggling!!!!

A friend asked  to see some wedding cards. Instant panic! The last wedding cards I had made were given to her from myself and other friends for her own wedding last summer.  So I went into overdrive.  

I made some of my white on white cards that I have shown here previously - slight variations of course. Then I came across a Prim Poppy Memory Box die that I bought at the NECC back in November last year. Unused of course.

This is the first card that I made.  

 I used old gold card for the base and to cut the die.  The text was printed on to pearlised gold cream card which I line embossed around the edges.

I am so happy with it that I will make some more so that I am not caught short again.  I'm on a roll.

My stash of cards is now much depleted because I took about 80 to the local Shelter shop last week.  To be honest, they were mostly cards that I had made in previous years and not representative of the card that I produce now. My only hope is that they will raise some money for a very worthy cause.

Silhouette Comes to the Rescue

I was asked to help with the place names for the upcoming wedding.  As a continuation to the kraft / recycled theme, the request was for labels with the guests names printed on them. These will have ribbon and twine threaded through them which will be tied around the table napkins. I have a Sizzix die that would do the trick but the complication of getting text position aligned would take ages.

So, out came the Silhouette digital die cutter.  A quick look at the help files and off I went. I purchased and downloaded a set of tags from Silhouette America and used one of these. ( the licence is for personal use and, as I am not using it for commercial purposes, I assume that this is allowed)

I managed to position 12 tags on one sheet before inserting the guest names. The trick is to select text , use the fill tool and then just select do not cut feature.  This is sent to the printer first when only the text is printed.  The sheet is placed on the cutting mat, and then cut as normal.


Here are the tags as they were cut on the Silhouette.  

I used a spare one to see what a finished one would look like.   They will need a wider ribbon that this, though.  We might add a punched or stamped and embossed heart.

I really need to dedicate some serious time to get to know the Silhouette. It is obviously a very versatile machine and, up to now, I have only used a tiny percentage of its potential.

Preoccupied with Weddings

I have had the pleasure of helping with crafty end of things for a friend's daughter's wedding which will take place towards the end of the month.  I printed the invitations which the bride to be and her sister then added embellishments....then there was the sewing of 27 metres of bunting. I forgot to photograph the end result (too tired) but I will wait and get a pic when it is insitu.  At the moment, I am nearly finished making pearl bracelets for the bride and bridesmaids and also a bracelet and necklace for the mother of the bride.  When this is done, I will use my Silhouette to cut the place names for the tables.  I am always grateful when my friends involve me in the wedding preparations of their offspring. It is a great opportunity to get the creative juices flowing.  

Still on the subject of weddings, this is a card that I made for the friend mentioned in the previous post.  

I CASED it from one that I saw on Pinterest for an engagement card. It was made using  material and stitching.  I used vellum with a roses pattern and a fine line pen.  The sentiment was printed from the computer.  ( I will try to find the card that I cased this from to give credit.... I get so lost on Pinterest....hours pass me by without noticing... my latest addiction)..

Wedding Congrats

Well, will this weather ever improve?   The garden is wet,wet,wet. My annuals and peas, beans, carrots, strawberries, onions etc seem to be suspended in time. 

 In contrast, these two cabbages appear  to be determined to be become" best in show"!  I have no explanation for their hugeness. The slugs and snails are colluding with them by giving them a wide berth.

Cabbage soup anyone?








And so to cardmaking.  I was asked to make a card for a friend to give another friend for her wedding. This will take place on a beach on the island of Harris (north west Scotland) next week.  I hope that there is a break in the weather for them.  I had intended getting out the brayer and creating landscape sccene but time got in the way. So this is the card that I came up with. I'm sure that dandelions are as rampart on Harris as they are here!

The sentiment was produced on the computer using my Rennie Mackintosh font.

White on White

I was asked to make a wedding card at short notice so I quickly put together this one using dies, a punch and an embossing folder and my Big Shot ( which I would not part with for the world.....  and it's not even the black one!!!!)

 I stuck to white (actually off white) textured card throughout -just to keep it simple and not to tax my brain with matching papers and colours.The sentiment was printed on the computer then I cut it with a Nestability die.

 I'm sure that you recognise the Cuttlebug folder, the Sizzix die and the Martha Stewart punch that I also used to complete this project.

Next????