A Small Gift and a Huge Job

Happy Egg day everyone! The Easter bunny came to visit and brought my boys and us mountains of chocolate, even the dairy free stuff for Blake to enjoy. They both demanded the bunny hand over the goods at breakfast so after cereal - choccie egg time in the Jelly household.

So after two whole days n the garden, today I'm inside. I had a bit of a baking disaster earlier but I'll share that with you tomorrow. For now here is a cute little gift and matching card:

 

I've used the Scallop Envelope die to make the box and Four Frames and the matching decorative label punch too. Here's the card:

 

The background texture was made using the Square Lattice Embossing folder. The sentient and flower is actually from Oval All.

 

If you'd like to make this little box amongst others, why not book yourself a place in my Big Shot class on Tuesday 12th July at 7.30pm when we'll be making bags and boxes!

Now then, yesterday I shared with you how we'd started work on the garden building a fence and gate so the boys can play outside safely. Well it's done - with the exception of sanding and staining!

James' Dad even put us a lining in the sand box and we got some kiddy sand and the boys are loving building castles and 'villages with shops' out of sand! Happy we had lots of rain last night as our lawn needs it! Now to really show us up for the poor gardeners we are. Behind the garage we have another garden, which since we moved here we have hoped to turn into a veg plot. Ahem:

I'm too embarassed to show you how it looked before James got started. This is how it ended up by the time he'd had enough for the day:

Still a long, long way to go! James' Dad cleared out the greenhouse for us so hopefully one day we can get growing. Not this weekend though eh?

Better go, I have tons to get done today and I haven't made a dint in my to do list yet.
Hugs
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Vintage Window Sheet

Ooh sunshine's back! Hubby has even been in the garden with the boys and was spotted doing a bit of weeding. It's Saturday which means all eager LIMettes await the latest challenge from Chrissie and Mandi at Less is More. This week they've chosen 'Acetate'. Eeeeek! Here's my take:

Now a couple of things I'm not very good at. 1). Keeping acetate clean and scratch free as I use it. 2). Photographing cards with acetate on. So I got out an piece of thick Window Sheet - previously scratched from last attempt to use it some time ago and thought I now have the tools to fix it! So I ran it through the Big Shot using the Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder and viola - most of the scratches are now hidden from view. I also like the way it's embossed so deeply too, making the window sheet turn white. Here's another photo to show it up a little better:

After my failure last week to stamp bright pink on to black (after reading all your fab tips and trying them, I have to admit I gave up!), I decided to use this as my colour combo this week to make up for it. I've added a strip of Melon Mambo card with a punched scallop trim border, layered with some Basic Black Grosgrain ribbon. Next I stamped the dotty frame from Four Frames and punched it out with the Decorative Label punch, then inked up the sentiment only on this stamp from Oval All using the Basic Black Marker and stamped away. Then once i'd stuck it all down I went and smudged the ink with my thumb!!

Never mind, these things happen. Thanks for all your comments on my entry last week, sorry I didn't return the visit to most of you, we've had a week plagued by ill health but are all now on the mend again. I'm looking forward to some blog hopping this evening.

Hugs
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Pillow Talk

I am sooo loving my new Sizzix Big Shot - what a fabulous toy! I will try to make something this week without using it but I can't promise. Yesterday I had all day to craft - the best mother's day gift I could have been given I think. So I made these:

 

 

Aren't they pretty? I've used papers from the Springtime Vintage pack, shades of Baja Breeze, Pear Pizzaz and River Rock, such a lovely combo. My little cards are made using Pear Pizzaz card with a layer of the pretty paper, it shows both sides of the same sheet here. Then I die cut the little boxes using the Pillow Box die.

On the first card I've used some of the very delicate Baja Breeze Seam Binding ribbon, it's so lovely to use. I've teamed it up with a frame from Four Frames stamped in Pear Pizzaz and then stamped the sentiment stamp from Oval All in Baja Breeze, colouring in the detail in Pear Pizzaz and adding a large Self Adhesive Pearl.

For my second card, I reversed the paper and unforunately I don't yet have the Pear Pizzaz Seam Binding ribbon so I used some Certainly Celery Tafetta instead. The frame is punched out using the new Decorative Label Punch.

I die cut the two boxes from the same paper and then punched the oval aperture using the large oval punch, popped a piece of Window Sheet behind and made a frame using the large oval and scalloped oval punches.

I've finished them off with some Baja Breeze ribbon and a large Springtime Vintage Button. Back tomorrow with a very cute little purse!

Hugs
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Vintage Tea And Some Posh Nosh

Oooh I'm having a lush Mother's Day today. Doing as I please.....crafting! I enjoyedthe last Embellish challenge I joined in with so much that I had to have ago at their latest one too, even though the colours aren't very me at all. Another stipulation is to use fancy trim:

I've used some of the gorgeous new mini catty stuff - Springtime Vintage DSP, the fabulous Four Frames and Itty Bitty Bits Stamps, Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder and a Big Designer Button! My colours are River Rock, Always Artichoke and Certainly Celery. I always, always take poor photos of green shades. I have no idea why!

Once I'd stamped the frames, I cut them in half to make some bunting and stuck them down on dimensionals for lift. I didn't have any of the new seam binding ribbon in Pear Pizzaz which would have looked fab, so I dyed some of the White Organza Ribbon using my River Rock ink pad and once dry, pulled a thread through the centre to ruffle it up. To make my matching thread for the bunting and to attach the button, I cut down the edge of the ribbon as neatly as I could! So cute that the Itty Bitty stamp set have matching punches!

So on to my quite posh lunch out yesterday! The rain stopped - hurrah! My friends took pleasure in planting a massive silver and pink helium balloon on our table with '40' on for the whole world to see (it was more embarassing taking it shopping and then home on the bus with me afterwards to be honest!).

The company was fab and the food was delish. Have to share.......

 

Not convinced I'll be taking tiles off my roof and varnishing them to make plates just yet though. I don't do fish as a rule, I'm allergic to shell fish and anything tasting vaguely fishy generally makes me turn my nose up. But given a choice of fish or brocolli soup, I opted for the fish. Twas OK but couldn't eat a whole one. Next up yummy steak, mash, spring greens and mushroom puree followed by vanilla panacotta with berries and sorbet. The far right pud wasn't mine but it looks yummy doesn't it?

And to help celebrate....

 

 

Ladies wot lunch wouldn't be complete without cocktails would it? Can you guess which is mine? Left to right: negroni, singapore sling and a cosmo.

Well I'm off to play with more goodies from the mini - if you feel tempted to purchase or to have a party or a play, please get in touch and I'll be happy to help.

Hugs

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