Painted Love Heart

Hi everyone.

I hope you're not suffering too much with the weather. We've had some snow but it hasn't hung around, thank goodness.

I've been having a play about in my craft room this week as I wanted to enter the current challenge at Use Your Stuff. The theme is to use some paint on your project. I chose to spray a heart shape, which I recycled from a card someone bought me a couple of years ago, using spray lacquer. I've also painted some chipboard letters with acrylic paint before coating them with pinflair glaze and addind a gem to each letter. I finished off with some flowers and a ribbon...

Here's the before picture of the letters...

I just need to find somewhere to hang it now.

I really enjoyed making this. Thanks for visiting.

I hope to see you again soon.

Happy crafting

Helen x

Make it masculine for Ruby's Rainbow

Hi everyone.

There's a new challenge over at Ruby's Rainbow.

Our theme for the next fortnight is 'Make it masculine'.

Here's my little bit of inspiration...

I've used a retro paper which has been in my stash for years and used dies and co-ordinating card to layer it up. The sentiment is a Spellbinder die. It's a simple design but effective all the same. I hope you like it.

I would like to enter this for the following:-

Use your stuff - geometric shapes

Gem of a challenge - birthday card for a boy

Paper creators - anything goes

Thanks for visiting. I hope you'll check out the challenge at Ruby's.

See you soon.

Hugs Helen x

Anniversary butterflies

Hi everyone.

I hope you're all staying warm during this cold snap.

I thought I'd share the card I made for my in-laws' for their anniversary earlier this month...

It's built up in layers using most of the Tonic Studios Butterfly Circle Doily set. I've stamped a LOTV sentiment which I cut out using a Spellbinder die for the centre of the card. I've also added a few hot fix pearls to the corners and the small butterflies on the cream inner circle.  The colours haven't come out very well in the photo as the main panel is actually dusky pink but looks rusty brown!

I would like to enter this for the following:-

Crafty Boots Challenges - Butterflies

Scrappy Hands - Layers

Thanks for visiting. I hope to see you again soon.

Helen x

Happy Birthday Susie

Hi everyone.

I'd like to share a card I made for my best friend Sue for her birthday, which was a couple of days ago. 

I've used one of my favourite LOTV images (James - Butterflies), which I've coloured using Copics. I added some piercing to the right hand side of the image panel and some lace and ribbon to the left, before adding acetate to form a dome over the image. I then found a couple of tiny butterfly stamps to make the butterflies attached on top of the acetate. It's not easy to see in this photo but hopefully it'll be clearer in a later piccie.

I've used some First Edition paper for the backing, distressing the edges with a Tim Holtz tool. We have a bit of a joke between us about doilies, as I use then quite a bit, so I had to add one behind the image. Sue also adores butterflies - "You can never have too many!" - hence the butterfly flourish. I cut it in cream and also dark pink, cutting the butterflies from the dark pink one to add separately. I've added pearls to the butterflies , added a LOTV sentiment  and also added the word Friend on a small die cut which I think is Spellbinder, attached to the acetate.

To finish I added a 'bunch' of flowers and a couple of pearl and crystal accents. 

I'm really pleased how this turned out. I think I may have found my mojo again...

I would like to enter this for the following:-

Crafting by designs - Anything goes

4 crafty chicks - flowers

Addicted to stamps - make your mark

Crafting for all seasons - ribbon, lace and pearls

Fresh brewed challenge - Favourites (Image)

The Paper Shelter - Punches and/or dies

Penny's Paper Crafting - anything goes

Cards und more - use a doily

Inky Chicks - anything goes

Through the craft room door - anything goes

Sir Stampalot - dies and punches

Fantasy Stampers - Happy Birthday

Thank you so much for visiting. I hope to see you again soon.

Helen x

Raise a glass with Sparkles

Hi everyone.

I hope you're all well.

It's time for a new challenge over at

Sparkles Monthly Challenges.

Our theme for this month is Raise a glass. We'd like to see 'drink' related projects. For my card I've been playing with a Bugaboo image and Adobe Photoshop to make this card for my Sister-in-law's 50th birthday...

I coloured the image using Photoshop before matting and layering with black and silver Mirri. I've added some die cut details to the corners. These were actually some bits of waste left over from a previous project. I finished off with a die cut scalloped circle and silver peel off numbers.

Now it's over to you. We have 2 sponsors this month...

A $10 voucher from Di's Digis.

A £10 voucher from Crafty Bren

Thanks for visiting, I hope I'll see you again soon.

Helen x

Let your dreams take flight

Hi everyone.

I'm here to share a card which I made for one of my daughter's friends. We needed to be able to post it so I kept it quite flat. I've used a couple of items which were free with magazines in the last week or so. HOTP Feather die - Simply cards & Papercraft and the sentiment is from the matching stamp set free with Simply Homemade. Here's my card...

The card is A6 in size. I stamped the sentiment onto a white piece of card and matted with Blue card, the same colour as one of the feathers. I cut two more feathers and spaced them equally. Simple yet effective I thought. Hope you agree.

I would like to enter this for the following:-

Crafting by designs - Anything goes

Crazy 4 Challenges - Clean & Simple

Suzy Bee - Anything goes Clean & Simple

Quirky Crafts - Clean & Simple

Papertake Weekly - Anything goes

Thanks for looking. I hope to see you again soon.

Happy crafting.

Helen x

Show Ruby what Santa brought you

Hi everyone.

I hope you're all well.

There's a new challenge at Ruby's Rainbow.

We'd love to see what crafty goodies Santa brought you. I got some fab LOTV stamps, including this one...

He's called 'Party Pup - Christmas Card'. I've coloured him with Copics and used glitter pen on the streamers. He's matted on a Tonic scalloped circle and finished off with a message tag sentiment. The card blank is 4x4.

Now it's your turn. I hope you'll pop over and visit my very talented team mates too. We look forward to seeing your fabulous projects.

I would like to enter this for the following:-
Crafters Cafe - Something new
ABC Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas
Crafting by designs - Anything goes
Loves Rubber Stamps - Anything goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Challenge Extra - January

I'm off to make an anniversary card for my in-laws now. 

See you soon.

Helen x

A Christmas Critter with Sparkles

Hi everyone.

Happy New Year!

I hope you've all had a great Christmas and New Year. Now it's time for a new challenge at Sparkles Monthly Challenges

I got to choose the theme and picked A Christmas Critter with a splash of glitter.

Here's my little piece of inspiration...

The image started life as a small Christmas card...one of those really thin ones. I cut out the image and matted it with green card before matting and layering a couple of co-ordinating papers. I've added glitter to the die cut stars using double sided adhesive sheets. 

I also added a strip of green glitter using the red really sticky double sided tape. 

Here's the before and after...

I've still got quite a few of these small cards so I might have to get them used up for next Christmas.

Now it's your turn. You could win a fabulous prize. This month we are very lucky to have 2 great sponsors...

7 digis from 

A £10 voucher from

Thank you so much for visiting. I'm hoping to get back to crafting and blogging properly again as it seems to have taken a bit of a back seat recently. Hope to see you again soon.

Happy crafting

Helen xx