This one somehow slipped through the net. I made this for my daughter’s birthday in January. I finally got to use my Tattered Lace Retail Therapy dies and CD Rom. I chose the Florist shop as my daughter loves gardening and enjoys her greenhouse where she grows lots of vegetables from seed. I did think this would be a quick make as I was using the CD Rom to print out all of the elements including the shop. How wrong was I. I had endless problems getting it to print complete sheets and don’t know if that was a fault with my printer or a problem with the Cd. The colour choices were also a little disappointing, so I’m probably not going to use the CD again. Next time I use this set I will probably cut most of the elements from coloured card stock and colour in the flowers or other elements with markers to get nicer and more realistic colour tones. All the same, it did make for a pretty impressive card, the small items are a tad fiddly but I think the end result is worth the fiddle. I did mount mine onto a card base as I felt it stood more securely and would be less likely to fall over.

I was asked to make some rainbow & bee cards to cheer up friends and relatives through the latest lock down. I used the same design as I used previously for fridge magnets and made them into cards and then added this verse;

I’m sending you a rainbow

To brighten up your day

In lockdown things aren’t easy

So this is just to say.

The sky will soon get brighter,

Our troubles will soon be few

But until we turn that corner,

I’m here to help you through.

I am delighted to say I am an expectant Grandma. Our eldest Daughter and her hubby are expecting their home to be enlarged by two feet in mid July. What better excuse to make something cute. So it was out with the sewing machine, knitting needles and crochet hooks. It’s so great making baby things, they are are so quick to make up (apart from my current project, a blanket). When I started on my mini makes we didn’t know the gender of the baby but we now know it’s going to be a little boy, so future makes can be a little more gender specific.

I was asked to make a special birthday card for a special Mum. Pop up box cards are always popular and this large version was just the ticket. I used my newest set of Altenew layered flower dies along with a few others to create a birthday bouquet fit for a queen, complete with Queen bees. If you click on any of the pictures you’ll find a list of all the dies I used to make this. The ‘Mum’ in question was delighted with it and I have to say, I was quite pleased myself. I just love layering dies, you get all the effect of dimension without added bulk, this card folded flat to go into an 8″ x 8″ envelope.

Sometimes my crafty stash comes in for non-cardmaking projects. My daughter has a favourite and much loved teddy who’s nose was looking a bit worse for wear after millions of cuddles. So it was out with the felt and a needle for a quick repair. Am happy to report that ‘Chester’ the bear has made a full recover from his ‘Nose Job’.

Lots of people are celebrating special birthdays during lock down and I’ve had quite a few requests for 30th birthday cards. Here are two recent makes, one masculine and one feminine, each reflecting the likes/interests of the recipients. Foe details of dies used on each one just click on any of the images.