Floral Congratulations Card

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? Ours is going to get a whole lot better tomorrow we are off to Sorrento in Italy. We are hoping to visit Vesuvius and Pompeii.  It will be so good to be away for a short time and not at the other end of the constant phone calls. The care package for my parents  is in place and seems to be working. This seems like a good time to go.

I found I had a free afternoon this week so I decided to make a card. It took a while to come up with an idea. Here is what I made.

I think I might have need of a congratulations card soon so I thought I would make a pretty one. In the background I used the lattice die from the Sandwich Box set by John Next Door.  

The flowers were cut with the Gerbera die set from John Next Door. I do love how you can cut so many flowers at the same time. I only used the smaller flowers on this card I still have the larger flowers to use on another project. The leaves were cut with the Star Flower leaves I wanted something more delicate than the Gerbera leaves. 

This is a Tattered lace die one that I got when I was on their design team. It has been the die I have used the most of all of the ones I was sent. 

There is it just waiting to be sent to someone. I will catch up with everything and everyone when I get back. 

Happy Crafting

I would like to enter the following challenges: 

Challenge 418 at the 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge blog

Challenge 373 at the Crafty Creations Challenge blog

Challenge 173 at the Crafty Girls Corner Challenge blog

Challenge 395 at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge blog

Challenge 51 at the Crafty Addicts Challenge blog

Challenge 151 at the Creative Moments Challenge blog

Hugs Jackie

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Forever Friends Christmas card

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends

How is your week going? Did you have a good weekend? It was certainly good having the extra day. It is a shame it rained so much on Sunday. A quick update on my parents there has been no further talk of stopping the carers going in. This is a huge relief I am sure there will be more hurdles to overcome. My parents can no longer cope on their own they really do need the help. I don't want to find my dad like he was back in the summer.

I would like to say thank you for the messages of support that I have received about my parents. I know so many of you understand.

I have been looking through my files for cards to share. As you know I stepped down from a few design teams and I am having a break from two others. I am struggling to make anything at the moment. I hope things will be a bit more settled when we get back from a short break.

Before everything happened with my parents I was getting on well with making my Christmas cards. I found the image in my stash I have had it for ages. I added trees cut with the Winter Tree dies from Creative Expressions. 

I do like the Forever Friends bears they are very cute. 

This is a Creative Expressions Santa die it comes with two reindeer. I just cut extra and add them. 

I found the sentiment in my stash too. Some of my stash I have had for ages. At the moment while I am not really crafting I am trying not to buy any new crafty bits.  

Here is the finished card. The papers I used were in my stash too. One of these days I will have a proper tidy up. 

Enjoy the rest of the week. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Challenge 35 at the Holly and the Ivy Challenge blog

Challenge 333 at Pixie's Snippets Playground

Hugs Jackie

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Rudolph Days Challenge - Monochromatic Christmas Card

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

Happy Saturday. We have a busy weekend ahead. Our daughter and son-in-law are coming for lunch on Sunday which should be fun. Then on Monday we are seeing my parents. We will take them out for a meal and probably do some cleaning. I hope we will be able to visit my husband's parents as well.

At the beginning of the year I set myself the target of entering the Rudolph Days challenge every month up until Christmas. Unfortunately I missed the July Challenge as the date shifted and although I had time to enter when we got back from Malta with everything going on I forgot. This is the card I would have entered click HERE. 

This is quite a tiny card. I needed to make a monochrome card and I was thrilled when I found this image in my stash. I used a Snowflake embossing folder and the Winter Trees dies from Sue Wilson. 

It is a cute little white and grey image. 

This is a Tattered Lace die it is great for sentiments on small cards. 

There it is another Christmas  card for my stash. 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

The August Rudolph Days Challenge 

The 15th August - 14th September Challenge at the Merry Christmas Challenge blog

Challenge 34 at the Holly and the Ivy Challenge blog

Challenge 165 at the Crimbo Crackers Challenge blog

Challenge 110 at the Creative Craft Cottage Challenge blog

Challenge 378 at the My time to Craft Challenge blog

Challenge 400 at Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge

Crafter's Castle Challenge 8

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Beccy's Place - First day at School card

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I am sorry I have been so quiet. I am really struggling with my parents. We got a care package in place for both of them so that my dad could come out of hospital. It has been running for a week and now my mum is saying they can cope on their own. I am sure some of you will be able to identify with these struggles. I don't think anything will be resolved quickly. We are seeing them at the weekend so maybe we can talk them round. It is really not a good idea for them to be left on their own.

I haven't been crafting much but today I have managed to finish a wedding card that I was asked to make by a dear friend. I can't show you yet but I thought I would share another card I made for a challenge blog that I am no longer part of.

I made an easel card I created  the backgrounds in Publisher. 

Onto my background I placed a composite of images and a sentiment from the First Day Jitters image set from Beccy's Place. 

The sentiment was made with a die.

I made the card but  I have no one to send it to. If anyone has any use for it I would be happy to send it to them. 

Enjoy the rest of the week

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Challenge 480 at the CRAFT Challenge Blog

Challenge 417 Back to School at the 4 Crafty Chicks Challenge Blog

The August Challenge at Beccy's Place

Challenge 51 at the Craft Rocket Challenge blog

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Moving Along with the Times (MAWTT) - Texture

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I am so sorry that I have not been around much. The situation with my parents has really taken it out of me. Yesterday a private care package was put in place so that my dad could come home from hospital. Time will tell if this was the right choice. I do think it was best to try and keep them in their own home for as long as possible. I haven't crafted for weeks and I am missing it a lot. You do need head space to be able to create and I just don't have that at the moment.

Back to business. This is my card for the current challenge on the Moving Along with the Times challenge blog (MAWTT) the theme that has been set is Texture. 

I have in my stash some of the 3D embossing folders from Crafter's Companion and this seemed like the right time to use one of them. I am trying to make Christmas cards where I can. I suspect this year that I will be buying cards for the first time in ages.

This is the Silent Night 3D Embossing Folder from Crafter's Companion. I used black card and two shades of Pebeo Gilding Wax. I am still a bit heavy handed with this. The ribbon was in my stash. I did find the embossing a bit tricky all my plates were too think so I ended up using sheets of card. I just had to experiment to get it right. 

Why not join in with our latest challenge click on the logo and you will be taken there. 

Another Christmas card for my stash and nice and flat for posting.

Enjoy the rest of the week. 

I would like to enter challenge 34 at the Holly and the Ivy Challenge blog. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Not Just Cards Challenge Blog - August Challenge - Anything Goes

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? We are still busy trying to sort out care for my parents. We have a meeting at the hospital today. I hope that things will move forward then.

On the 11th of the month the new challenge starts on the Not Just Cards Challenge blog and the theme is always Anything Goes. 

This is the card that I made for the couple who got married in Malta. Unfortunately they never received it as it got badly damaged which was a shame and I don't have time to make another one. The die is from the Crafter's Companion Rustic Wedding collections. I printed the background on the computer. The die was cut three times, twice in black and once in white just for the couple so they stand out and look a bit more bridal.  

To highlight the detail on the trees I used Pebeo gilding wax that I am very impressed with but I am  still a bit heavy handed with it. 

This is a Tattered Lace die that has been very useful. 

It is a shame they never received this card I did make them a frame of the invitation design. Her brother had drawn the images to use. I had to put them together. As it is not my artwork I don't feel I can share the frame. 

Have a great weekend

We are going out with our daughter and son-in-law and our new in-laws. It is to celebrate both dad's birthday's as they come close together. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

A Maltese wedding in the scorching heat

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I am sorry that I have been so quiet. Life has been truly hectic. My dad is still in hospital he is now having physio so he can go home. I am frantically trying to sort out care for them both so they can stay in their home. My sister did come down so we could go to the wedding in Malta and she is still there for a few days. This takes the pressure off us for all the visiting though I do have a meeting tomorrow.

I thought I would show you the table plan that gave me so much concern and and anxiety as well as some photos from the wedding.

There were a few constraints: it had to fit in our case and it had to be rigid  so that it could go on the easel. My husband found a collage frame. When I took the glass out it was much lighter. Then I used the card, and images to match the invitations and the table cards. We were given five weeks notice to make this so it was a bit of a rush job and I finished it while we were visiting my dad daily. I don't think the couple had any idea how much pressure they put us under and there was no public thanks for what we had done, 

This is the happy couple with his parents my husband's brother and sister-in-law. 

Here they are at the table you can see the flowers and one of the table cards. 

There was a huge waterfall in the grounds which was stunning. It was just so hot. 

We are planning to go back to Malta we loved it and managed to see much more that we thought we would. We would just go back when it is a lot cooler.

I hope you are all well. 

Happy Crafting 

Hugs Jackie

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Crafts Galore Encore Challenge blog - August Challenge - Anything Goes

Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How are you all getting on? If all has gone to plan we are in Malta and the wedding is tomorrow.

Being the first of the month the new challenge starts on the Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog the theme is always Anything Goes. This time the sponsor is Fred She Said Designs.

The embossing folder I used is called Falling Snow and is by Creative Expressions. 

There are many wonderful images in the store if you click on the logo you will be taken there 

This is the Nuthatch image and it is available HERE.  I used the pre-coloured image and printed it three times. I used one for the background and the other two to decoupage the image. I used the Double Pierced circles from Creative Expressions to make the frame. 

I have the Sizzix Bigz Pine Cone die and this is the first time I have been happy with the pine cones I made with it. 

This is a Creative Expressions die. 

I like this image a lot and I think I will be using it on a few Christmas cards this year. 

Enjoy the rest of the week 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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