Notes On Paper

Hi everyone!!

Hope you are all ok...sorry for my absence in blogland over the last few days...as you all know life at Chez Williams' is never dull and this week has been...manic!!! Wall to wall crafting, it's been non stop and in between it all...a life has to go on too!! Anyway, the "to do" list has had another major job ticked off it today...now, I just need to work through the rest of the it!! Eek...

Anyway, today there is a new challenge over at Sarah Hurley Challenge Blog and the theme is:

DIMENSION AND TEXTURE

...and here's my challenge piece!!

For all the details of this challenge and more inspiration from the DT, click HERE!

I used papers from Sarah's fab new Retro CD to make my tag notebook. I covered a die cut chipboard tag with some of the gorgeous woodgrain papers and then added a notes section, where you can tear off each page once you've used it. I then stacked a couple of rosettes made from more of Sarah's papers, added a wooded embellishment and pins. Finally I tied ribbon and twine through the top to hang the finished tag.

Before I go...if you like these gorgeous papers and would be interested in being a member of this fab and talented design team...then click HERE because there is a Design Team Call happening right now!!! The call closes at midnight on the 25th June, so if you think you fit the description...why not give it a go!!!

I'm off on my blog rounds now to catch up with all your lovely creations...

See you soon with some more of those Clarity shares that I teased you with at the beginning of the week!

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

Christmas Countdown ~ Day One

Morning everyone!!

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!!

Well, here we are...the final countdown, only six days to go until Christmas Day!! My preparation is slowly coming together and after finishing a big magazine project at the weekend, I can now finally relax and think...IT"S CHRISTMAS!!

This week, my adventurous plan is to post every day and have a little Christmas countdown here on the blog!! Lol, hmm, I know...I really don't make life easy for myself and I know that this is a busy time for everyone but I hope you'll be able to pop along to see all my Christmas makes and samples that have been keeping me so busy over the last few months...

...and here's my first share and my favourite ~ I made this over the weekend and I really hope you like it!!

I'd just like to say a big thank you, to the lovely Paula at Which Craft? for these fabulous crackers...as soon as they landed on my doorstep, I was so excited by them because they were something really different to work with and it was so nice to be able to spend a couple of hours doing something for myself, something that was totally ~ me!!!

Once again, and as you can probably see ~ there's a lot of Tim Holtz products going on here, grungepaper, die cuts, tissue tape, etc....etc....etc!! I must admit to get that deer standing proud, all on his own free will, was a real patience tester but it was so worth it in the end!! The designer papers are from My Mind's Eye and the decorative pin, from The Ribbon Girl.

So, that's the first of my Christmas countdown posts...and if all goes to plan, I'll be back tomorrow with another one!

Hope you all have a lovely week.

Bye for now.

Love Emma xxx

Entered in the following challenges:

Charisma Cardz Challenges ~ Last Min Xmas Makes

Drink Me!

Friday already!!! It's been a busy week but I've made it to the weekend and on schedule!! YAY!! It might be all work and no play, at the moment, but the life of a crafter is never a dull one.

Today, I'm having a break from all my Clarity shares but I'll be back over the weekend with the final four and of course, as always, I think I saved some of the best for last...together with the scarecrow set, they were definitely my favourites of the bunch.

But the reason there's no Clarity today is because it's time for the new challenge over at Sarah Hurley's Challenge Blog. The theme for this challenge is VINTAGE and we are very lucky to be sponsored by Altered Expression who will be giving gift certificates to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. So why not join us...all the details are here and we'd love to see your creations.

...and here's mine, I hope you like it!!

I used the Alice images from Altered Expression and just played with all the different ways to use them. I then used one of Tim's dies to make the tag from some cardboard, which I painted with Jenni Bowlin's Ink Dabbers, added all my handmade elements and combined them with some papers from Sarah's Wonderland cd. I finally made the little bottle because no Alice creation is right without the bottle that says..."Drink Me"!!!

Handmade paper rose and bottle top, glazed with Glossy Accents!

Charm made from some more of the images and a Tim Holtz Fragment piece!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, I'm off to Ally Pally tomorrow for the BSSBS...I'm so excited and have a list as long as my arm of goodies that I know I can find a good home for!! Hope my bank manager is prepared!! lol

See you tomorrow with some more Clarity cards, sometime after I come home with my haul of goodies!!

Love and hugs,

Emma

xxx

Little Me!

Hi everyone...hope you are all well and had a great week!

Can you believe it's Friday? I know that I say this every week but they are flying and this week, has been a very busy week for me, lots of crafty action including last minute card makes for Barbara's, Clarity Stamps ~ Pick of the Week which starts today at noon, on Create and Craft ~ I'm well and truly, exhausted and now, looking forward to the weekend!!

But before the weekend starts, there's some more cards to complete and something a bit different to share with you all today...my first scrapbook page!! I hope you like it...

This layout was made using some more of those gorgeous Miss Nelly Kaisercraft papers and chipboard shapes from Merly Impressions and the only extras that I added were some paper flowers from Prima, some seam binding and decorative pins from The Ribbon Girl, some glittered chipboard letters from K & Company and of course, last but not least, the photo!!

Now, lol...in my old age, I've become a little bit camera shy and there are very few photos of me in circulation. I hate my photo taken!!!!!! I'm one of those people that if there's a wedding photo, you'll probably find me hiding at the back of the congregation somewhere but when I was little, it was all very different...my Mum and Dad have got boxes upon boxes of photos of me, posing away for England and this is one of their favourites, so I think it would have been rude not to use it! lol

And as you can see, when it comes to age, in a child's life...that 5 months is very important to quote! hehe...

Well, I'd better have one more cup of motivation...a strong espresso is being made as I type and then get crafty!!

I hope you all have a great day and as I mentioned, earlier...don't forget all the Clarity shows that will be popping up on Create and Craft over the next week!! There's some fab stamps and a DVD to be bought and you will not be disappointed!

I'll be back with the copious amount of samples I made for these shows, together with samples that I made for Kuretake and for QVC. This is when you will start to see all my hard work over the last few weeks and I really hope you'll love what I have to share!

See you soon!

Love and hugs, Emma

xxx

You Can Never Have Too Many...

Hi everyone and hope you've all had a fabulous start to you week.

I'm still beavering away and working hard and at the moment, surrounded by lots of crafting goodies from Craftwork Cards, Graphic 45, Kraftin' Kimmie and of course, Lord Tim and that's just to name but a few and I can't wait to start playing and to share everything I make with you, over the coming months. And speaking of samples, I had my first showing on QVC today and I can't believe that the wonderful Dyan Reaveley was the one showing off my work and said how much she liked them!! *faints* lol

...and speaking about being a little excited, today I'm thrilled to share this little project with you all and I really hope you like it...

If you've checked out the latest edition of Making Cards Magazine, you might have seen my card projects using some gorgeous Kaisercraft papers called Velvet Ensemble. I absolutely adore Kaisercraft products and you can imagine how over the moon I was, when the lovely Chrissy from Merly Impressions asked me to work with some more Kaisercraft goodies on a regular basis and then share them with all my lovely followers and friends. And this is the first of those projects using papers and embellishments from the stunning Miss Nelly collection and a Beyond The Page Handbag Tidy.

To make up the handbag, I painted the MDF with PaperArtsy Fresco paint and adhered all the parts together with Glossy Accents which has done a fab job of holding it all secure and solid. I made some handmade flowers from the gorgeous papers and apart from all the other Kaisercraft Miss Nelly products that I used, I added the gorgeous little Eiffel Tower charm from Primark, together with some decorative pins and vintage seam binding from The Ribbon Girl.

It was so nice to be able to make something a little bit different to all the cards I've been making over the last few weeks and I had so much fun making this up!! I can't wait to hear what you think about it.

I'll be around to see all your creations, asap!! Sorry, if I've missed out on some...it's been a crazy few days but I will catch up!

Have a wonderful evening and don't forget there's more craft on QVC later tonight at 10 p.m.

Bye for now!

Love Emma

xxx

Baby, You Can Drive My Car...

Hello everyone and did I actually spy some sunshine today?? Just as they announce that the UK have had the coldest summer for 20 years, the sun decides to come out and play...well, better late than never, I suppose and it was a pleasure to see you, again!! :)

Well, it's been another eventful week in the life of Emma. To be honest, there isn't a dull moment, every day seems to be bringing another new adventure and I can't wait to share the latest in this long line of exciting new installments!! Just watch this space because I'm so excited and can't wait to tell you all about it!!

But back to here and now and the other two cards that complete the Mabel Lucie Attwell set that I made for Making Cards Magazine...I hope you like them!

Right, it's time for me to settle down for the night with a nice chilled glass of white wine and an evening in front of the TV. Don't forget that "craft gets dimensional" on QVC at 10:00 tonight and that Barbara Gray will be back on our screens and in the classroom tomorrow and again on Sunday!

I'll be back next week with all the samples that I made for the Clarity shows and also be around to comment on all your lovely creations asap!

Have a fab weekend!

Love and hugs, Emma

xxx

"Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world." — Marilyn Monroe

To do list: ✓✓✓

Still to do list: ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

lol ~ Evening everyone and yup, the life of Emma is still a busy one and at the moment, I think I'm crafting for England and there's only two things in life that can help me through the workload...coffee and chocolate and in large amounts!! By the time I've finished, I think I'll resemble the size of a house.

But I've making lots of lovely things and working with lots of gorgeous goodies and I can't wait to show them all to you!

But here's one I made earlier and I hope you like it... 

The stamp is from the Personal Impressions range of Travilla's fashion designs for Marilyn Monroe and I really wanted to try to capture the feel of the house of Travilla, using images from Tim Holtz's Haberdashery set, vintage ribbon, pins and the lovely papers from K & Company.

I stamped the Marilyn image in Stazon and watercoloured it with Kuretake's Art and Graphic Twin pens.

Well, it's time for me to go and collapse on the sofa and start chanting again...keep calm and carry on, keep calm and carry on...you won't believe how many times I say this to myself in a day!! :)

See you soon...

Love Emma

xxx

"No Clouds In The Sky"

Hi everyone, remember me? Well, with all your encouragement and lovely comments on my last post, I can confirm that I'm still breathing but at the same time, chanting..."keep calm and carry on...keep calm and carry on..." lol

Well, I did say that I was going to be flat out over the last few days (and the next few days too), and I was absolutely right but I'm just coming up for air and thought I'd pop on to say hello and of course, show you a card. I hope you like it...

This card features one of the lovely Gorjuss Girl stamps that were recently released by Personal Impressions and some of you might remember from quite a while ago that I absolutely adore Suzanne Woolcott's illustrations and as soon as I saw this one, I just knew that I had to have it.

I wanted to keep the overall look of this card, monochromatic but then add just a pop of colour and I really loved the way it turned out. I stamped the image onto watercolour paper and then hand painted it, using Kuretake's Art and Graphic Twin Pens.

To complete the card, I added one of Tim's messages which I stamped onto a journalling ticket. I crafted a lovely big flower which I made from some of the stripey papers that I had left over from a previous Gorjuss kit and finally added some of those fabulous Floral Flourishes from Spellbinders.

Well, it's time for me to tidy up my workdesk and clear away all my finished projects, ready for another day and another set of new projects.

I'll be around later to comment on all your lovely creations and I'm sorry if I've missed any of them but I promise that I do read everything and always find all of your work inspiring!!

See you soon and I'm still chanting...keep calm and carry on...keep calm and carry on... lol

Love Emma

xxx

Creative Expressions Calling Card Challenge

Hi everyone...hope you all had a lovely weekend and you're now refreshed and ready to start another week, that I'm sure will fly by!

I just wanted to pop on because I wondered if everyone had seen that Creative Expressions are holding a Design Team call? I'm sure that all of you know that Creative Expressions is based in Kettering, UK and are a leading manufacturer and distributors of all the latest crafting products. They also do a fabulous range of rubber stamps, including the wonderful new Tatty Button range and designs by Sam Poole.

If you would like to take part in this challenge you can get all the details, if you click, here...but you'd better be quick as the closing date for submissions, is tomorrow at 5:00pm. For all those who are taking part...the challenge is called "Calling Card" and all you need to do is, include an ATC somewhere within your project. The rest is up to your interpretation...if you do decide to enter ~ good luck!

And this is what I've made for the challenge...I hope you like it!

To make this card, you will need:

Rubber Stamps: Joyful Florals, Flutter Florals by Sam Poole for Creative Expressions

8" x 8" Pre-scored white card blank

Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed, Fired Brick, Broken China, Wild Honey, Brushed Corduroy

Black Archival Ink Pad

Tim Holtz Grungepaper

Papermania 12"x12" Kraft paper stack

Vintage Ribbon

Decorative Tear Drop Pins

Card Candi ~ Craftwork Cards

Inkssentials ATC Manila Cardstock by Ranger

Red Bazzill Cardstock

Kuretake Millenium Writer Pen

Craft Box Tools

1.  Cover the front of your card blank with a piece of red Bazzill card, cut to 18.5cm square, leaving a narrow border of the white card, all around.

2.  Cut a piece of the Kraft cardstock, 18cm square and distress the edges, with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, to give an aged look to the card. Adhere to the front of your card, leaving a 0.5cm border of the red Bazzill card.

3.  Using a fine nibbed marker pen, draw a line onto the blank cardstock, creating a border around your matts and layers.

4.  Using a combination of the flowers, leaves, flourish and butterfly stamps from the set, stamp the images onto Grungepaper, using the black Archival Ink pad. At this point, it's entirely up to you, as to which stamps you choose to use, as there are so many beautiful combinations within these sets...you are the creator of your card, so you decide. Once the images are stamped, carefully cut them out and then with your Distress Inks and a blending tool, apply ink to each cut out piece building up the intensity of colour, as you blend. Shape each of the pieces, to give a realistic look to the petals and leaves.

5.  Stamp your quote from the stamp sheet onto the Manila ATC card, using the Archival Ink. Using a paper piercing tool, pierce a border of small holes around the ATC. Add Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks to the edges.

6.  Arrange and attach your your stamped images to the front of the card, using strong adhesive glue. Using 3D foam pads for height, attach your ATC sized, stamped quote, tucking it under some of the petals and leaves. This is your "Calling Card".

TIP: Always arrange your elements and make sure that you are entirely happy with the look of your card, before sticking anything down.

7.  Add a piece of ribbon across the bottom section of your card and tie into a bow. Attach two of the decorative border pins to the bow, tucking the points into the knot, out of harms way.

 8.  Finally, add a piece of Candi to each of the flower centres.

So, I hope you liked my little creation and I hope you have fun joining in with this challenge.

Have a wonderful day and see you all soon!

Love Emma

xxx