Strength and Hope set and Arguing!

Hey! I’m sheltering from the scorching heat in the safety of my cool craft room and thought I’d show you the projects that we did on Friday at the Strength and Hope event. It was a bit of a first for me as I really don’t do the matchy matchy stuff but, I thought I’d at least one in my lifetime so here it is! We all had a great night- (at least that’s what they said!) and despite traditional Breast cancer colours and logos using the pink colours, I thought we’d have a change. To be honest, the entire colour scheme was based upon the packaging of the soaps so I didn’t have to remove the paper and people not know what kind of soap it was; -simples…yes, the soap was ‘Simple’ soap!!

I’ll be producing the templates for the tissue holder and note cover, as I’ve already been asked about it. Just need to schedule a session with Photoshop!!!

On Saturday I went to a craft fair with my daughter to sell off a load of craft gear that I just wasn’t using. I made just over £50 which is going towards a great cause. It was good fun chatting to the other stall holders; as we were all crafters there was a fair bit of buying each others stuff!! Fortunately I was pretty disciplined and only came away with some brilliant Sizzix storage for all my lovely new Stampin’Up! dies.My daughter had a great time keeping tally of our sales and had a good wander round the stalls coming back with some pretty earrings and an amazing drawing done by a very talented illustrator. It’s inspiring being around people who share your loves- these women all had different talents and styles and it made me want to go home and get making something! It can also be inspiring being around people who you love …but sometimes it’s just plain hard work!!

Trying to get my girls to appreciate the differences in each other is quite an up-hill battle. They enjoy sparring with each other in their own unique language. Steve likes to adopt some of their phrases into his conversations partly to wind them up. He has been over-using the phrase ‘epic’ quite a lot recently!

 I saw a different method of language this morning on the way to school; a son and father arguing in sign-language. I couldn’t stop looking ahead into their car which was in front (ok, I was stopped at the traffic lights and was entirely safe!!) True, I couldn’t hear them and it could have been an animated discussion, but the fathers body language did make him look decidedly rattled! I don’t mind most of the girls’ banter; it seems to be the way that they talk with some of their friends but I wouldn’t mind a few more signs of mutual appreciation! Am I asking too much?!!

I need to go and rescue Jamie’s shin pad from Will, who’s using it as a ‘fighter thing’ on his arm. Hope you’re not all melting too much today!

Don’t forget to book for my Christmas in July event on Sat July 23rd 9:30-1:30. Cost £25 with a goody bag and Dasher stamp free! I’ve got 8 people confirmed with 3 more maybe’s! I can always get a bigger room- oooh.. then I’ll need a bigger Christmas tree!!!

xx

Project recipe: contact me if you want details or to purchase the templates ( kerenjb@hotmail.co.uk ). Colour combo is Pear Pizzazz, Basic Black, whisper white and Crumb Cake!

Paper Flowers Box & Inspirations!

Hey! The sunshine is out and I’m feeling pretty good to say it’s a Monday morning! This little project was the result of  messing about with a scoring tool, making a box and prettying it up a little. I’ve wanted to do these curled flowers for ages. They’re SO easy. Just punch out a circle, cut a spiral into it (remember those spiral snakes you made as a kid?!!) and curl up from the middle. I secured my middles with a spot of glue so it made curling the rest a little simpler. Paper would be easier still- I used cardstock. I’ve left it unstamped- couldn’t decide where to put a sentiment. I’ll probably hang a mini tag of the bow with some linen thread when I’ve a few spare minutes. I quite like the pastel look and added a bold splash of Pacific Point blue to make it ‘pop’ at you. I haven’t decided what to put in it. If I made it 1/4″ wider it would fit After Eights snuggled side-by-side. Maybe not too snuggly or they’d melt and bend and leak all over the place!

I do feel pretty inspired today. I have been around some pretty special people this weekend. Let me tell you about them (anonymously of course- but I think at least one of them will recognise herself). The first is a newish friend who popped round for a coffee and is having a pretty tough old time. She is one of those beautifully gracious people who is a joy to spend time with. If you heard her story, it would make you weep for her- but this is a woman made of tough stuff. Despite all that has happened (and is happening) to her, she exudes an inner beauty that is inspirational. She would credit her strength to her faith in God and would rebuff your compliments as to how well she’s surviving.

 Another person I spent time with was a family member who’s frail and old and again is struggling. Even talking is an effort. He didn’t say much while we sat with him, that is, until we asked him about the time when he built Lancaster bombers during the war. Then, he suddenly became alive. I learned a great deal about him as he animatedly recounted what he did and who he worked with and how there are only two of these bombers left in the world. Here is a man who has worked hard all his life and built some amazing things with his hands. One of his wagons is available to visit in Orlando, Florida. Wow- to look at him, you just see the ravages of old age- you can’t find the real man until you dig deeper- and then you find mountains of treasures!

Two heroes; in fact, I was in fact  with 4 this weekend. 4 unsung heroes. The other two were a family member fighting a battle with her health and doing it in such a brave and dignified way. The last hero is someone at a crossroads in her life, and trying to work out the way ahead so she can be more of a blessing for others. These are the people that newspaper columns should be filled with. I don’t buy mags such as Hello!. Ok! etc etc. I mean- some of these people in the tabloids do worthy things, but an awful lot are just famous because of a gift they were born with. I’d rather read about people who are leaving the world a better place just by being here. Give me half an hour with any of my heroes rather than a day with some celeb.

Me? I’m inspired…to look past people’s appearances and find out both what makes them tick and how they’re doing right now. I’m also inspired to look at what I’m doing and make some adjustments. A bit of reflection and introspection is a good thing!! Who can you inspire today?!!

xx

PS- there are still places left for this Friday’s Strength and Hope stamping event at 8pm. Price is £20 and you get your own Strength and Hope stamp set (worth £12.95).

Also filling up is the Christmas in July event on Sat July 23rd 9:30am -1:30. Price is £25, you get a Dasher stamp and a goody bag. It’s gonna be a lotta fun!! x

 

Box supplies; Cardstock; Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, So Saffron, Pacific Point and Pear Pizzazz. In-colour designer paper series, Basic pearls and Very Vanilla satin ribbon. Bird Punch(for the leaves)

Silhouette Card & Being Predictable!

Silhouettes of faces are very ‘on-trend’ right now and I don’t actually have any of those images- so can’t be accused of being trendy. Instead I continue my theme of simple cards- but to be honest if I make them any more simple, I’ll simply be showing you a piece of card in the next blog post!!

Sometimes you kinda see the inner workings of people’s minds when you’re chatting. Reading their cerebral  sub-text it can go something like this;

Me; ‘this really is a simple card’

You;’ (thinking ) Are you kidding I wouldn’t know where to start’.

Me; ‘it doesn’t need much to create this look- using whatever craft gear you have to make something similar’

You; (thinking) ‘all the craft gear I own could be fitted into a shoe box with room to spare. There is no way I could create that at home’

All the while, you are smiling and nodding sweetly whilst I try and to convince you to have a go and you are secretly thinking’ no way’!!! Well- here’s something that you only need 4 products (plus a bit of any colour card- you’ll defintely have that- won’t you!!) for plus a heat gun (or paint stripper gun which is what I used for a very long time!!- or failing that,  holding above a toaster, which is how I started out!- please operate the paint stripper and toaster with much caution!- I have been there; trust me!! Better still, just purchase a heat gun!!)

Here’s the products- Stamp set (this one’s a freebie you could earn  if you host  a party)

                                          Versamark ink pad

                                           White embossing powder

                                           Pearls

you just ink the stamps with the Versamark, next sprinkle over the embossing powder (the ink is slightly sticky which helps the powder stick ), heat it up until the powder ‘melts’ and becomes shiny and slightly raised and then add your pearls. See- no ribbon (I know, it did nearly kill me being quite that minimal)- and you don’t have to have lots of supplies to make a card. Give it a go- go and hunt out that dusty box containing all that craft stuff that you promised yourself you’d use one day, and make something simple. I’d love to see what you come up with!

 

I’m sadly fairly readable.. Will arrived to greet me this morning with these words “Mum, you’re so predictable.” Aside from the fact that he absolutely no idea of what that phrase means- he is not far off the mark with that comment. I did pause and reflect on what made me so obvious. I came up with the following list;

1. Slightly vacant look- due to late nights and not enough thinking time.

2. High heels. My friends daughter asked me this weekend ‘Do you ever wear flat shoes?”- erm not if I can help it.

3. Most likely to be caught eating something sweet- yep- seriously sweet tooth.

4. Slight twitchiness if I haven’t created something in a day or two? Absolutely- being creative is one of my main outlets for survival. Forget alcohol, movies, clothes- I just love to make things!!!

5. Submerged silliness. I’m less predictable here, as this part of me remains ‘sat on’ for most of the time. There are a few people (you know who you are) who tap into this side of me and are known for encouraging my more loopy side. I do have comic sparring partners and others who send me into fits of giggles. I nearly lost it completely giggling during something on Friday night. My older kids were unimpressed. You could see them wondering who the adult was in that situation!!! Please encourage this in me- I do spend much of my life wondering quite how I became this dull!!

I could go on- but then I’d be predictably using superfluous words when being more economical would suffice completely (yep, managed to get my love of longer words in there too!!!)

What are you predictable for?

See you soon- or maybe not- maybe I should surprise you all and never return!!!xx

Simple Card & Just Call Me She-Ra!!

Here’s a stupidly simple and uber-quick offering. Sometimes, the scraps are your friend and I’m not talking about dinner left-overs (although they came in very handy tonight!). This was cobbled together using the odd strips of cardstock left from another creation, my good mate The Signo Gel Pen and a pricking tool. I still love the fact that the stamp sets are often accompanied by a matching punch to take all the fiddliness out of a card. The colouring (please don’t zoom in on it;- not a particularly pretty sight but fine from a distance) was literally a scribble here and there (like pretending I’m an artist for a moment) and a quick hole and tie the ribbon on. That reminds me that some time I must investigate Colouring  in lessons! Maybe my kids school could oblige!!

I went a little mad with the dashed lines- I must have been feeling rather hurried that day!

I have been reflecting on the fact that I was play-fighting with a 4 year old on the pavement this morning with absolutely no thought for my reputation! (whatever that may be). One of Will’s best friends has a penchant for wandering around in character. Recently it has been Rameses, Woody, Slinky Dog and this morning it was He-Man. I’ll explain shortly (for you non-80′s kids) what He-Man is, but in response to He-Man, I decided to become She-Ra (his sister and part-time heroine). Yes, I did have a stick (sword) and I did utter words like ‘I have the power’ (which in fact was actually He-Man’s line but I couldn’t remember any of hers. !). I brandished the sword-stick from out of behind my neck (as you do) and together, me and the 4 year helped fight off all of the baddies. I pause here to mention that they are/were characters from an 80′s cartoon series called ‘Masters of the Universe’. Why were you watching that? I hear you ask.. well I had a younger brother…enough said.

There are many similarities between this character and many of us women.. here’s a few courtesy of Wikipedia (I know, I shouldn’t be quoting Wiki!)

“She-Ra is often shown successfully attempting feats deemed impossible by other characters.”- sound familiar ?

 Here’s another..”He-Man & She-Ra were not allowed to use their swords as offensive weapons, nor were they allowed to directly punch or kick anyone. She-Ra was only allowed to destroy robotic enemies, which were her primary foes”. - I often feel that way about my iron and washing machine!

And lastly “Whether there is a limit to the length of time she can remain in her heroic form before she reverts back to her original form.. is unknown, however there have been occasions in which she has been forcibly transformed back.., implying that her powers do have limits to them”;- a fact we’re all too painfully aware of! I reached some limits today when one of my children set their alarm clock for 4am. Her justfication? Well I keep switching my snooze button off so I needed plenty of time to come round!!! I haven’t been in any heroic form today as a result and am in fact quite glad I don’t have to prance around in a white leotard a-la She-Ra (white is sooo draining don’t you find!).

I’ll go now, I need to practice my lines ‘For the honour of Grayskull..I am She-Ra’ specially for my second duel tomorrow morning. I actually might look forward to the school run now!

Card recipe; Cardstock Early Espresso, Crumb Cake, Rose Red, Pear Pizzazz and Whisper White. Inks- Basic Black, Pear Pizazz and Rose Red. Rose Red seam binding ribbon, Linen thread, Decorative Label Punch, white Signo Gel Pen. Corner rounder punch. Stamp sets- Four Frames & Tiny Tags (sentiment)

Little Bags & Computer Love!

 Here’s another project from my last craft class. Using the Party This Way set and the matching Quick Accents and Celebrations Designer paper. I used the Button Embosslits instead of buttons and we did some mitreing with the sticky strips in the Quick Accents set. My next class is Wednesday June 15th at 8pm and I’ll post a sneak peek later this week. It’s going to be a male inspired night- Cards for men. Just in time for Fathers Day- but without a golf club in sight!!!

I keep thinking it’s Saturday. Nearly panicked at tea thinking I’d got peopel coming for Sunday lunch and had forgoten to get food in!! All this sun must be going to my head. I’m preparing for several events;

The first is a Charity event called ‘Stamp out Breast Cancer’ on Friday June 24th  at 8pm. It’s using the ‘Strength and Hope’ set and the evening will cost £20. This includes your very own Strength and Hope stamp set and some special make and takes. For every set bought, Stampin’Up! will donate £1 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I will match that amount and will have some prizes too. Please come with your friends and support this worthwhile cause whilst having fun too. I do need you to book with a deposit of £5  by Monday 13th June at the latest.  

I will also be doing a special ‘Christmas in July’ event. I’ll be announcing details shortly but it will be on Saturday 23rd July from 10 until 2pm. Save that date- and come and see why I do Christmas in July every year!!! 

 I’ve just updated my etsy shop ‘Kerenbags  with some little boys bags. My shop has been seriously neglected so I intend to start filling the virtual shelves. I love the fact that I can do so much on the computer. I can order my kids school uniform, do the weekly shop and set my shop in order without having to traipse all over the place. I’m no tecchie but I do love technology and try to keep up with what’s happening. I’d hate for my kids to get really exasperated because I didn’t understand what they were doing. Ok. let me clarify that- my kids do and will get fed up with me, but hopefully not because I’m still in the previous century!! If you know of anyone needing a special one-off bag or with ideas on a specific type- you know where to come. I’m getting out a load of girly fabric out, so keep your eyes peeled. I’ll let you know when the sewing machine is finished! Now, if only I could program my sewing machine too ( and the dishwasher, washing machine etc etc)!!!

Off to sit down and have a drink (and attempt to drink all of it uninterrupted!) xx

Card recipe; Cardstock- pacific point, pear pizzazz, real red and bashful blue and whisper white. Inks in the same colours. Other supplies as already listed 

Craft Fair Makes & Too many in the bed!

I thought I’d post a couple of simple makes that would be perfect for a craft fair/fayre (!) I know you’ve seen a fair few of these- I really love their simplicity and versatility. You can put anything in (as long as its tiny!). I must have cut out over 50 now. This one has been embossed after it was cut out and so the little score lines have suffered a little. At a workshop on Friday, some of the girls experimented with embossing a piece of card first and then putting it onto the pillowbox die. You will get  slightly flattened embossing but it puts less strain on the scored edges. Used the Baby Blossoms set for the stamping.

The second make is using the Beautiful Butterflies die and some felt offcuts. My girls loved pretty hairslides and these were so easy to make. No sewing for the butterflies, just run a piece of felt straight through the Big Shot. I did sew the buttons on and sew them to the hair slides.  I used the Word window punch to create the hole to put the slides through. I rounded the edges of the crumbcake cardstock, just using an offcut. These are perfect for using those ibts left over from other projects. I added the little handcrafted stamp from the ‘Tiny Tags’ stamp set and thats another quick make. I have an event coming up, that I’ll be selling lots of these at. I just need to come up with a fair price. Any ideas anyone?!!

My kids are all crafting in the dining room, some are scrapbooking, others are making cards that ‘magically’ appear through the post addressed to me with no stamp on; a true mystery- I look amazed every time!! I am nursing a slightly sore back this morning due to having extra littlies in my bed. For some reason I’m the one that they gravitate to in the morning. It’s normally about 3/4 hour before getting up time, but just enough that I doze a little but do so in a really awkard position and so my back kills when I try to get up. I think we may need to dig the stair gates out again- and put them up in their room. The only problem will be if they need to visit the little room and get stuck trying to open the gate- that’ll mean I have to get up and let them out! Early morning or bad back?- how am I going to decide!

I was up late last night chatting to a great friend who I haven’t seen in years. We both reckon a visit is overdue. I think it may be 14 years overdue! We’re not sure her kids will cope with seeing their Mum act differently as when we get together, it is bound to be a funny experience. I think her hubby may go out a lot and I just might get banned from visiting for another 14 years. There are some things we never quite got around to in 6th Form- like a picnic in a car parking space (having paid for the space of course). We may even try to recreate the now infamous carol singing incident where a group of us sang carols in  pretty decent harmony but came back with less than £2!!  I think our jaws may hurt from laughing and I doubt we’ll get much sleep. 14 years is a long time to catch up on. I’m looking forward to it already…. (does this need to reminisce mean I’m old?!)

For any of the supplies to recreate the projects- get in touch and I can order you any of them- doesn’t matter where you live in the UK either!!

Project recipes; Pillow box; pillow box die, Rose red and whisper white cardstock. Baby Blossoms stamp set. Inks in Rose red, Pretty in pink, Pear Pizzazz and Always Artichoke, Marina Mist. Rose red satin binding ribbon and Vintage Wallpaper embossing folder. 

Butterfly clips- Beautiful butterflies die, white felt, Designer buttons in Brights. Hair clips. Cotton thread