May Peace Be Your Gift At Christmas

Good morning everyone...

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and your Christmas preparations are coming along nicely. I braved the crowds on Saturday morning to try and do some shopping but all I can say is, there's a lot to be said for online shopping!!! I always say never again but I suppose I'll be going back for a second helping at sometime in the next two weeks...

Todays post features a very special card that I made and was featured on the cover of the November issue of Making Cards Magazine. Some of you might've seen it but as always, and for those of you who can't get to see the magazine, I thought I'd share it here on my blog today. 

When this card was in the magazine, I had a really lovely email passed onto me by Sally, the Editor of the magazine. Catherine, one of the lovely readers, had actually made this card and wanted to share it with the magazine and thank me for the inspiration. I was absolutely thrilled to receive the email and it made my day to see Catherine's gorgeous card...my little heart skipped a beat and it really does make all the hard work so worthwhile to know that you're inspiring others with your creations!! So, enough of my waffling and ta~dah...as always, I hope you love it!

The card is created using Kaisercraft papers, Craftwork Cards kraft card, which incidentally is the best card to use for projects such as this, and of course, the star of the show...Tim Holtz's Festive Greenery and Tattered Poinsettia die from Sizzix. I think you've probably already noticed just how much I love these gorgeous dies. All the poinsettias, are coloured with Festive Berries Distress Ink and spritzed with a little Perfect Pearls mist.

If you carry on scrolling down, you'll see that this card has a little hidden surprise and isn't what it first seems...

Yep, the inside slides out of the flower pot, to reveal a hidden message.

The message is stamped in red Archival ink and is from Clarity Stamp.

For all instructions and a full tutorial and template of how to make this card, then you can buy back issues of the magazine, HERE.

  

As always, thank you so much for stopping by today and I can't wait to hear what you think about this card!!

I'll see you later this week but until then, have a fabulous day!!

Bye for now...love Em xxx

Play Time

Hi everyone!!

Well, today has definitely been "one of those days"...I've been running around resembling a headless chicken with the Mission Impossible theme tune playing in my head...yup, that's how bad it's been!! LOL.

But today, I thought I'd just pop on and share a recent magazine editorial that I did for Making Cards Magazine. The theme was "Boys" and here are the set of cards that I made...I hope you like them!!

What I love about creating for all the people I work with...and for, is that I get to do so many different styles. You all know that my heart lies with Lord Tim but sometimes it's nice to get a challenge and do something different for a change and even if it isn't something that I would normally do...I think it always has that little touch of "Emma" going on somewhere!! hee hee...

Right, I am off to become a domestic goddess for the next hour or so and cook up a storm in the kitchen!

I'll be round to visit all your blogs later tonight and thank you for all the lovely comments you left on my last card...I was blown away by them all!!

See you soon and bye for now!!

Love Emma xxx

Draw Back Your Bow...

Well, once again the weekend has flown by and apart from our car breaking down yesterday, it was a relatively uneventful and quiet time...maybe, this is just the calm before another crafty storm?? hee hee...

I hope you all had lovely weekends and a big hello to all my new followers who joined my little blog over the weekend. It's always great to see new faces and please, come and say hello...I'm really looking forward to getting to know you all really well.

So, I'm sure the romantic amongst us haven't forgotten that tomorrow is Valentine's Day and I hope you like what I've made for this occasion.

Some of you might remember my Christmas cracker project and I thought it would be nice to use these fabulous "Paula's Crackers" from Which Craft?, to make a series of them for all the special occasions this year. So, ta-dah...I proudly present my Valentine's Day Cracker.

Of course, all the die cuts that I used to make this project are from Lord Tim Holtz and I just spent the afternoon, inking them, moulding, embossing...the list goes on, until I got exactly the look I wanted and believe me, it took a long time to get that cupid to stand of it's own free will. LOL. I used the Tim Holtz music score stamp and stamped onto some card and then layered that onto the sides of the cracker.

Right, it's time for me to go...things to do and lists to try and tick off!

Thank you for stopping by to take a look at what I've made today and I will be coming round to see all your blogs, asap!!

See you soon and bye for now.

Love Emma xxx

Entered in the following challenges:

The Stamp Man ~ Texture

Simon Says Stamp and Show ~ Anything Goes

Grungy Monday 36 ~ Who Loves Ya, Baby sponsored by Simon Says Stamp

Driving Home For Christmas

Hi everyone!!

Another quick post from me, today...but "Happy December 1st" to you all and seeing as I still haven't got any preparations under way for Christmas, can I panic NOW?? lol.

Anyway, today is the start of a brand new challenge over on The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog and this month it's all about CHRISTMAS!!

I hope you will try and join in and if you need any inspiration, then click here to see what the DT have been making to give you some inspiration.

...and this is what I made ~ I hope you like it!

All the products and stamps that I've used to make this card, including the fab new Tattered Pine Cone die, are all available to buy from The Artistic Stamper and this month you get the wonderful snowflakes stamps that I've used on the background, FREE with any order. Click here for details.

Time for me to go but I'll be visiting your blogs later tonight, to catch up on all your creations.

Bye for now and enjoy the rest of the day!

Love Emma

xxx

Some Like It Hot

Happy Monday, everyone!!

Hope you all had a fabulous weekend and I hope all those wonderful Dads out there got spoilt rotten on their special day! I think I've mentioned before that my Dad reads my blog and is definitely the proud father, so after seeing all my creations day in, day out there was no way that I couldn't make him a card for Father's Day, no matter how busy I was and this is the card I made...and he LOVED it!

It might not be a typical man's card but my Dad doesn't like golf, football, gardening, fishing but he does like movies and he does like Marilyn Monroe and that, is why I made this card. I don't know how many times we've laughed and smiled as we've watched one of his favourite films, Some Like It Hot. I think we both know the script off by heart and it doesn't stop there...The Seven Year Itch, Niagara, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes...you name it, we've watched them together. As long as I can remember, Saturday afternoon was always BBC2 and an afternoon film. And this is why this card was perfect for him...hope you like it too!

The papers are from my K & Company paper stack and the Marilyn stamps are from Personal Impressions and are showing the original costume designs by Travilla. I coloured the images in with Promarkers and some shimmery highlights to her dress, using Kuretake's, Wink Of Stella pens. I added some rosettes which I die cut with a Tim Holtz Alterations die and some more of those gorgeous pins from The Ribbon Girl. The final touch was one of Tim's Adage tickets and voila....

Anyway, it going to be another very busy week for me and I know when I last blogged I think I was in the middle of a mini breakdown with an AWOL mojo...lol but today is a new day and a new week. My Clarity DT work is done and now, I can start work on my next big project and I'm so excited!!! It was announced last week over on Craftwork Cards' Blog that they have have been invited to join Spellbinders in their Cross Promotional Partnership and together with my fellow DT members we are the lucky ladies who are going to have get creative and make some fabulous projects to show off what you can do with Spellbinders. Craftwork Cards products and last but not least...CANDI and I can't wait for my box of goodies to arrive!

And last but definitely not least, have you seen the latest Project of the Month, Sweet Meadow from Craftwork Cards!!!

WOW!! If you haven't bought it yet, then why not? hehe... It is absolutely stunning and I must admit, there were a lot of oohs and aahs as I opened my pack of goodies!! It's gorgeous and you will all fall in love with it, the minute you see it!!

Well, I'd better go and get my morning coffee and await the arrival of the postman and when you hear the squeals from the London area...that will be me opening my box!!

See you soon and thanks for stopping by to look at my little creations!

Love Emma

xxx

It's All Perspective

Another Bank Holiday weekend has come and gone and I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend and you saw some blue skies and sunshine!

So, as I look at my diary for this week, it's already starting to look like "one of those" ker-razy weeks for me. I'm going to be as busy as a little bee, lots of crafting to be done, fingers to get inky, paper to be cut, shaped and stuck and all this will culminate with my birthday on Friday. Shh, don't tell anyone but I'll be 21 again...

But before any of that happens, here's todays card that I wanted to share with you all...

As you've probably noticed, it's the same stamp and same watercolour technique as in my previous post and I did actually make this card at the same time but I decided to go with the other one for the challenge. Saying that I do love the colours on this one, which were a mixture of Jenni Bowlin's ink pads and together with a Tim Holtz quote, they just work so well with this particular image. I used K & Company papers on the background, added a tattered banner and adage ticket and finally...last but never least, I made a handmade flower using the Spellbinders Peony Nestabilities.

Well, I'd better go and do some work but before I go, thank you for all your lovely comments on the last card and I can't wait to hear what you think of this one!

Ta~Ta for now and see you soon!

Love Emma

xxx

Bliss

Not often do you see me here on the blog on a Saturday...but as soon as I saw the Grungy Monday challenge 08 over on the Studio L3 blog, I just knew I had to have a go!!

And this is my entry...I hope you like it!

I used the Agapanthus Cluster stamp from Stampendous, together with Jenni Bowlin ink pads to create the watercolour effect. I then flicked paint over the background, used Distress Ink around the edge and finally stamped Tim's quote.

I used some corrugated Kraft card for my card blank and covered the front with some designer papers from my crafty stash, distressing the edges for an aged look. As the finishing touch, I added some rosettes and a tattered banner, together with one of Tim's Adage Tickets!

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment...I love reading them all and you really do make me laugh and smile with your kind words!! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend, so far and I'll see you next week!

Love Emma

xxx

To see this technique done by the "king of all things arty"...please click here for the link to Tim's blog post!

Isn't It A Lovely Day?

Such a beautiful sunny day...the sun is shining through the window onto my craft area and it really helps me plough through all my work! And I really can't wait to show you all the samples that I've been working on for the next Clarity shows...there's some fabulous stamps and I've made lots of cards for you all to see...*fingers crossed* ;)

In the meantime, this was the card that I made for my Mum to give to my Dad on his birthday and yes, it uses some more of those fabulous Graphic 45, Curtain Call papers!! If you haven't notice already...I just, love...love...LOVE these papers!!

When I was growing up and still to this very day, jazz has always been played in my parents house. My Dad is a huge jazz fan and one of his all time favourite singers, is Billie Holliday. So when I originally saw this collection I just knew that I would have to have them...I wasn't sure I would ever want to use them because these are strokable papers...you can't craft with them! These are to look at! lol

But I did bring myself to use them and it took me a while to think of what I wanted to do but then the penny dropped and I just knew that....Billie Holliday + Jazz = vinyl!! So, I made my own vinyl record, complete with sleeve and all out of paper!!! I hope you like it...

Hope you all enjoy the sunshine and once again, I just wanted to thank you, for all your lovely comments on my last post!!!

They make me smile, laugh and I just love sharing my lil creations with you all!!

See you soon!

Love Emma

xxx