Mosaics and Moody Blues

I gave you a glimpse of a card design I was working on last week and today I have the finished article to share.

Easy to put together with the matching stamps and punch. I stamped a selection of mosaic “tiles”, punched them out and layered onto the embossed background. It’s the type of card I tend to make up in advance, ready to add a sentiment when I need it. I made another in navy blue which could be seen in the previous post.

I was very lucky to win a blog giveaway last week and this gorgeous stack of Fat Quarters arrived in the post a few days ago. Eight fabrics from the new Cloud 9 Moody Blues collection, courtesy of Dragonfly fabrics and Handmade Jane.

Now here’s a funny thing. I’ve followed Jane’s blog for quite a while, with no idea that we had a connection, other than our shared interest in sewing. It turns out that we have several mutual friends and lived in the same town at the same time, studying at the same college, yet we never met. What are the chances?

Have a lovely weekend.

Me on Monday ~ The Whitsun Edition

A day late waving to Sian after the long weekend. It started on Friday.

It was a shirt signing, face painting.....

.....sunshine enjoying, curry simmering.....

.....new t-shirt wearing, beach walking, ice cream eating.....

.....shower dodging, board game playing sort of weekend.

Hope yours was a good one too.

PS I have been trying to publish this post since yesterday lunch time to no avail. I have given up with Live Writer as I think that is where the problem lies. I've been blogging with its help for so many years now that I've forgotten how to use Blogger. I have no clue how this will look. Hoping for the best as I hit publish.

WOYWW ~ The 6th Anniversary Crop

This time last week I was on my way to spend the day with these lovely ladies.

From L to R, standing: Dolores, Julia, Helen, Me, Kyla, Morti, Mary Anne, Sam, Fiona, Lisa, Cindy, Debbie, Chris, Jan, Margaret. Front row: Lisa-Jane and Zoe

I travelled light. Taking only my hexies kit.

Well I needed room for all the cake.

Zoe was celebrating her 40th birthday weekend with us. Her football team were on the verge of promotion and she’d coloured her hair, ready for Wembley the following day. All proceeds from the crop went to the charity she is fundraising for.

There was fun and laughter, a fabulous lunch, more cake…..

…..and even some crafting.

Thanks go to Jan for all her hard work in organising the day, cooking up a storm and serving that lunch. To Julia for bringing us all together in the first place, keeping us in drinks and being such a charming host. To everyone that came along and made it the wonderful day it was. A special mention to Shaz and Janet who weren’t able to stay for the whole day and didn’t make an appearance in the group photo.

Some images shamelessly stolen borrowed from Jan and Zoe. Thank you.

Pairs ~ First and Last

Today seems like a good day to share a pair of photos for Helena’s meme.

My boy, dressed as one of Starfleet’s finest, on his last day of secondary school.

And here he is on his first.

Blink and you’ll miss it.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #311

And just like that it’s Wednesday again…..

This is what my kitchen table looked like yesterday. The little mosaic stamps are retiring so they are having a last hurrah in class today. The panel I’m assembling here is for a monochrome card. The ink pads at the top were used in a more colourful version. I’ll miss those colours, but look forward to some new ones.

I finished the commissioned feather cards. Sorry to see these stamps go. They are a big favourite of mine. You may have noticed!

On Saturday it was the WOYWW 6th Anniversary crop and I’ll be back with more on that at the end of the week. Linking up with Julia. Happy Wednesday.

Me on Monday ~ The Sixteen Candles Edition

My sweet girl turned sixteen today…..

….which meant you’d have found me baking a chocolate cake.

Today is also the beginning of the last full week of school for both children. Half Term next week, followed by Study Leave, during which they will only go in for exams. All change around here.

Waving to Sian and happy to see that the zippy bag has arrived safely. I wonder if any of you guessed where it might end up?

Sewing on Saturday ~ Little Houses

Remember that little project I started earlier in the week? Ta dah! I finished it.

It took three sessions. One to cut the fabric and interface the pieces. One *slightly* longer session to put in (and take out!) the zip. A final one to sew it all together and turn the right way round. Ideal for little windows of creative time during the week.

All the zippy bags I’ve sewn, up until now, have followed pretty much the same method as the first one I did. This time I did a few things differently.

Used interfacing that didn’t make the fabric feel like cardboard, once I’d ironed it on. Held the zip in place with Wonder clips. That worked well. Avoiding the slight distortion of pins in the zip tape, while cutting out the extra step of gluing it in place. Added end covers to the zip. I think they give a lovely professional finish.

The thing I find the trickiest, when putting in zips, is keeping an even distance away from the zip teeth. Ideally the width of yellow zip tape on show would be the same all the way along. It wasn’t! I unpicked it and tried again. The result was much the same. I’ve got a new zip foot now so no excuses.

I start close to the teeth and then worry that I’m too close and veer away from them as I head towards the other end. A fact which those lovely zip covers highlight all too well. Did you notice that all my photos show one end or the other and not both in the same shot? Creative cropping! I’m counting on the cute fabric to divert attention away from this flaw. Of course I’ve pointed it out now. Shh! Don’t tell.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #310

Hello and welcome to our weekly hop around the desks of the crafting world.

Yesterday afternoon I decided to squeeze in another little project, with a zip, between prom dress sewing sessions.

This time I’m trying out end covers to see if I can get a better finish. I decided I didn’t like the red zip after all…..

…..and changed it (along with the lining fabric) to sunny yellow.

What’s happening in your work space this week?

Me on Monday ~ The Meat Free Edition

After a very gloomy end to the week, I had to pick myself up, dust myself off and find a project to focus my energies on.

On Saturday I took a detailed set of measurements and tried to fathom out which size to cut. A welcome break from revision for my girl. A bit of a puzzle for me. Maths was never my strong point, but 3 1/2” of ease seems like far too much in a close fitting princess seamed bodice. I’ll figure it out, I’m sure.

I didn’t feel like cooking a roast on Sunday. The weather turned a bit dismal mid afternoon and a comforting cottage pie seemed like a good choice. This is my Quorn mince version. I was never really one for fake meat when I actually was a vegetarian, but this goes down well with the horde of carnivores in my house.

As for me on Monday? Still feeling a bit fragile. Spent the afternoon prepping lots of veg. Mushroom stroganoff for dinner tonight and a big pot of pasta sauce to split and freeze. Very satisfying. Waving to Sian on this sunny afternoon.

One Photo & Twenty Words

I took this snap with my phone just now, to document my prom dress progress and thought it would be ideal for Abi’s simple monthly exercise. Choose a picture and tell its story in twenty words or less.

The decision has been made. Sometimes you need to ignore the pattern envelope photo and look at the line drawing.

PS If you are wondering, my girl’s choice is Simplicity 1606, view B, which can be seen in the previous post.

Prom Dress Planning

I shared the fabric my girl chose for her prom dress, a couple of weeks ago and we’ve been hashing out a few ideas together since then.

Her only stipulations were a swishy skirt and it had to be purple or lavender. It’s quite a tricky path to tread. Wanting something grown up, but age appropriate. Something dressy enough, but not over dressed. Something with a full skirt that doesn’t swamp my tiny girl. Something comfortable to wear.

We looked through the pattern books to get some ideas, but nothing was exactly what she had in mind. I ordered a couple of Simplicity patterns, that I thought could be adapted to suit, while they were half price. I had a couple more contenders in my own, ever increasing, collection, including the Ava dress from Victory patterns.

The next job is to take a detailed set of measurements and make a decision. Only six weeks to go until the prom. Not that I’m panicking.

What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday #309

Here we are again, sharing our desks midweek. There was a fifth Wednesday in April and I teach on the first and third so it seems like ages since I held a class.

Yes, it’s those feathers again. I can’t get enough of them and it’s not just me, it seems. One of the staff at the Arts Centre popped in, while my ladies were having coffee, and bought my class sample! He’s commissioned me to make five more. That’s never happened to me before. I don’t think I’ve stopped smiling yet.

I can’t show you the card in question as I hadn’t taken a photo of it. I usually line them up on the bookshelf, once I’ve got home and had my lunch. You’ll have to make do with this one instead.

If you fancy a nose around some other work spaces (or maybe you’d like to share your own) head over to Julia’s place and read all about it.

PS If you’re going to the WOYWW crop and would like any Stampin’ Up goodies to pick up from me there, I’ll be placing an order tomorrow ~ Thursday 7th. All profits to be donated to Zoe’s charity. Just leave me a comment or send me a message at angelfishcrafts {at} gmail {dot} com

Me on Monday ~ The Smoothie Edition

An unexpected consequence of beginning a me made wardrobe, is a greater awareness of my numbers. They can’t be ignored when you’re measuring yourself to get a good fit!

Today you’ll find me ditching the afternoon tea and biscuits…..

…..in favour of a healthy and delicious smoothie.

Waving to Sian and anyone else sharing today. Have a great week.

Stampin’ on Saturday ~ DIY Project Life Cards

Happy National Scrapbooking Day!

As you may know, I’ve moved away from traditional scrapbook layouts over the past couple of years and into the Project Life style of memory keeping. I still have piles of 12 x 12 paper (who doesn't?!) and it seems a shame to let it gather dust.

Instead, I've been chopping it up and making my own cards to fit the pocket pages. The set below were made from a matching paper collection and a few index cards. I realise the latter is unlikely to be acid free, but that sort of thing doesn't really worry me. If you’re only writing on them and they are in separate pockets, away from your photos, I don’t think it’s much of an issue anyway. That’s a personal choice.

My index cards were 6 x 4”. I cut them in half and added a strip of paper. Washi tape would work well too. That’s all you need, if you have a lot to say. Lighter coloured papers with small patterns also work well for journalling. This is about as simple as it gets. I tend to have a stack of these cut, ready to add photos and embellish further, when I’m putting the pages together.

With the busier patterns and darker colours, I had to get a little more creative. By adding strips and circles punched from the index cards, I’ve made them suitable for journalling. They work as photo mats without. I punched banners and fussy cut the hexagon pattern to add a bit of interest to the plain 3 x 4 cards.

Of course, you don't need to cut up whole sheets of paper, like I have, scraps work perfectly for this. You can stamp on them and add embellishments to your heart’s content. They would come in handy as journalling spots on full size pages, if you are not into pocket page scrapping. Why not have a go?

I set this as a challenge for NSD on For the Love of Pretty Paper, which is a UK based paper crafting group on Facebook. Pop over, if you fancy joining in.

Have a lovely weekend, whatever you are doing.