Hi, Welcome To My Blog

I love various different types of crafts and have had a dabble at most over the years, some with greater success than others. I believe that apart from loving and giving, being creative is the next most important thing to do. There is something about being creative that taps into something deep within us that makes us feel good with the world. But then we were made in the image of God, God The Creator... so I guess being creative will be second nature to us if we allow. The problem is that many people will not have a go because they make the mistake of measuring themselves against others... and that is just not a good thing to do. I create because I like to create, not because I have to impress anyone else or be better than anyone else. I created this blog with a lot of help from my son-in-law, as a personal scrap book that I am happy to share with others if they wish to take a look.... Enjoy <><

Friday 21 December 2012

Jenny's 2012 Christmas Cake

Somewhere underneath this mass of icing is a cake! ha ha...

Jenny looks after my lovely dog when I go out and for this I am extremely grateful.

So this is my thank you cake to Jenny this year.

I told her I had made a cake but hadn't decorated it and she said, "Put a Christmas tree on it"... so I have!

THANK YOU JENNY

Thursday 20 December 2012

Christmas Cake 2012

I was asked if I was making a Christmas cake this year.... I think it was a hint!

Well yes I was so asked how they wanted the cake decorated and Graham said he would like a Father Christmas sitting by the fire in a rocking chair.

Well that wasn't quite enough on its own so came up with the idea of a two-scene cake. The edge of the cake was outside... the path, front door, brickwork, Christmas tree and the reindeer's hooked up to the sledge but taking a rest.

The top of the cake was Father Christmas in his rocking chair, sitting by a fire and on the table was the usual glass of sherry and mince pies.  It was fun to make... I felt like a big kid with my plasticine!

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Embroidery Guild's Anniversary Cake

I was asked to make a cake to celebrate an Embroidery Guilds 35th anniversary.

I did not make the cross stitch band that went around the cake but made the fruit cake, covered it in marzipan, regalice and then made the bits and pieces to decorate the top in a variety of Squires sugar paste and royal icing.

It was fun to make.

Wedding Anniversary Card

I made this card with the help of my sister-in-law using her card making CD to create the background paper and adding a wedding photo on top.

I then layered the card to create a memory of their wedding day for their second anniversary.

Nina's 33rd Birthday Card

Nina would love to own a bag shop selling all the posh bags you can possibly purchase.... of course this is a dream she doesn't expect to realise, but there is nothing wrong with  dreaming.

So with the help of my sister-in-law and her card making CD, she produced the pictures for this card.

I then built the card up using the pictures and peel offs placed onto acetate to create this really effective card. This picture doesn't do the card justice, and you cannot see how all the windows are see-through. When the card was opened you could view the whole of the inside of the shop, rather than just peeking through the windows!

Nina thought it was the best card I had ever made for her so that was good.

September Card Making Day - Sue's Challenge


Well in September 2012 we had another card making session. Four of us met (a different four to last time... no Julie but Sue came along) and we set each other a challenge. Sue started the day by giving us a pack of identical materials and said that we did not need to use everything in the pack, and that we could add two items of our own for variation.

You can see the cards have a similarity because we all used the tree and the teddy... but after that we all did our own thing.

It was a lovely day we spent together, and I liked the way we all came up with such different styles of cards where no two were remotely alike.

What a lovely time of food, fellowship and fun card making. I can strongly recommend it.



September Card Making Day - Pam's Challenge


 So this was my challenge... the second of the day, and I gave everyone a card with an oval hole in the middle... an aperture card it is called... I am told. How lovely to see the different way people tackled it.



September Card Making Day - Mary's Challenge

Mary set us a challenge of making a Christmas card but have to say only Sue and I actually made one.  Chris said it was too early to make Christmas cards and she and Mary busied themselves finishing off other cards.

I really enjoyed this challenge because Mary brought along lots of lovely Christmas die cutters and papers and left us to help ourselves.

It is funny how other people's stuff seems so much more interesting that our own.  I felt a bit like a kid in a sweet shop!

Thursday 6 December 2012

September Card Making Day - Chris's Challenge


This is Chris's challenge.  She gave us a set of papers and a sheet of card in different colours and told us what style of card she wished us to make.

It was lovely to see how we all started off with the same materials and yet we all made it differently.