65th Birthday card

Morning Everyone,

Not the best morning as its windy and pouring with rain, and spring was supposed to start at the weekend, today its more like winter. My single daff that is just beginning to open must be feeling like closing up again. Roll on the real summer and lovely warm sunny days. Going by yesterday and today its a long way off.

Now the card today is for a friend who is 65 on Sunday, they are not on the Internet or own a computer so she wont see it before the postman walks with it and puts if thought her letter box. We have already left her present when we saw them at the weekend.

I also made this card for our daughter in law her birthday is next week and I thought she would love this image of the owls

Both cards is from a lovely kit which I brought from QVC, I don't buy many kits and I have put my own spin on it, I love the images in this kit and they are all sweet and will make some lovely cards, but I wont be following their ideas I will be trying to do my own thing with the kit.

They are both easel cards, I love this shape and its nice to do different shapes making a nice range of cards on a craft table.

Thanks for looking at my blog, Have a nice day

Hugs Margaret

Tatted Bookmarks

Hi

Today I thought I would show you some of my latest tatting projects,

These tatted bookmarks are flowers, sewn onto wide ribbon with a piece of card at the back to hide the stitches and then laminated with the corners rounded off.

The red bookmark has a trail of green chains and rings to represent leaves and red daisy like flowers. there was also some separate red flowers and gold beads in the middle when sewn on the ribbon

There is also a red butterfly, my own design of one large ring and and one small ring put together.

These yellow flowers were a chain of large loops then as the chain grew the loops get smaller and smaller. then when sewn onto the ribbon they are sewn with the large loops at the bottom and then the smaller loops are put in a round and keep going round, making a chrysanthemum

Plus chains in green with green rings representing leaves and yellow rings for buds. plus large green rings for large leaves all sewn onto the ribbon.

They are fiddly but when finished they are unusual and although I say it myself something different on my craft table.

I hope you found this interesting many thanks for coming and visiting my blog and I look forward to you visiting it again.

Until next time, take care

Hugs Margaret

My music

Afternoon Everyone

After a lot of playing around I finally hope that the music will work, thanks to Peter (man alone from dc site) he gave he a lot of help. I have finally got a set of songs that I hope will continue to work. They are not my first choice of music, as my husband is a country fan and according to him the only music is country........ well that's his opinion. Me although I like country music I am also a Carpenters and Elton John Fan and have been for many years.

When I had my own business a florist shop I had Elton Johns mother as a customer, she was a lovely lady and it was not until a few years ago and I saw a documentary on Elton John that I found out that his Aunt and Nan had come into my shop. It was about then that I got into his music and now since I got married I listen to his Cd's when I am on my own sorry husband is not an Elton John fan although he will let me listen to some of his music occasionally.

Well I hope you like my choice of music and enjoy listening to it while you read my blog.
Have a lovely weekend
Hugs Margaret

Cards for new Grand parents

Hi,

A couple of months ago I was commissioned for a card for someone who had just become grandparents. They chose one of my baby cards with the knitted jacket on.

So I made the card with the knitted jacket on the knitting needles. The needles are tooth picks with a small bead on the end so the stitches don't fall off.

This got me thinking, it might be useful to have a card on my stall, so after making two cards, one blue and one pink, i put them on my stall. One thing I like is to have something for every occasion, it is very difficult and even if is only two cards for the unusual occasion's at least there is something on the table for that one off customer.

Since I made these two cards, I sold one last month and I have therefore have made another one to replace the sold card. If they want great grandparents on it, I can put the great on it as I have left enough space for it.

The knitted jacket is only about 15 stitches and about 15 rows then I cast on five stitches each end for the sleeves, depending on the thickness of the wool, this one was knitted in four ply, I leave a long end and then roll it up so it looks as if there is a ball of wool attached. Place on tooth picks and add a bead on the each end. The whole thing is then glued to the card.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and thanks for visiting my blog

hugs

Margaret

Something different - my Message Frames and Keepsake Purse Key rings

Evening All

Welcome to my blog

I thought tonight I would show you something different, I make them out of plastic canvas, there are 12 altogether, including the original which I pinched from someone else at a craft fair. They were selling like hot cakes and I brought one for my husband. It was a HUG, with a simple message, "I wanted to send you something special but how in the world do I send you a" on the canvas the word HUG was written in a different wool. Well that was it I looked at it at home and thought I could do that, now it has grown into 12, from Friends with two flowers in two corners, Mum, Sister, Aunt, Dad in the shape of a car, Brother, Uncle, Son, Daughter and one that reads "I love you" the love word is missing and a heart in its place. They sell well and I also do some for a local shop, so keeping her supplied and my table it is continuous work. I do different colours and matching ribbon, some have a bow and the words are printed out on the computer in different colours to tone in with the wool.

The keepsake purse key rings are made from the middles of the message frames, so nothing is wasted, they are made that they can be opened and are larger enough to hole a Pound coin, they have a bead and tied with ribbon and a bow. The shop also has some of these to sell again keeping her supplied and my table its hard work but I enjoy it. Again I make then in different colours in a range of metallic thread and match the ribbon to the colour of metallic thread.

I hope you enjoy seeing something different on my blog, I have a few more items to add to keep my blog interesting.

Have a nice day tomorrow.

Thanks for reading my blog, any comments are always welcomed.

Hugs Margaret

Commissioned card and a few male brithday cards

Hi

I hope you are all well and having a nice day.

Well the weather has changed and now its sunshine and showers for us here in somerset, the gardens could do with the rain as so far its been a very dry month, but I would prefer more sunshine and warmth, cant have it all!

Today I am showing you my commissioned card, I was ask for a birthday card with a bus on, an old type of bus with a side cab. I could not find any 3d sheets anywhere so I got an image from Google and made my own. I hope you like it.

I found I was very short of male cards on my table so the next couple of designs were made for my table

The peel off plane was put onto an acetate strip and then place so it looks as if it is flying.

This card I made from an image from the paper-craft-tutor.co.uk

I placed it on silver pattern card and then on a silver card

I was very pleased how this worked out and how the elephant came alive with the silver backing.

I wanted something for a young boy and this teddy bear with a fishing line and the dolphins hopefully will appear to someone looking for a boys card.

For today that's all I have to add to my blog, but I have some different things to add during the week so hopefully if you have enjoyed today's blog you might come back again.

Thanks for looking at my blog today

Hugs

Margaret

Friendship card for March

Hi,

What a lovely weekend, the sun is quite warm and today has been even better, long may this weather continue.

I had a great surprise yesterday our daughter in law well we called her that, she is our step sons partner, only we don't us the step in our family as they are all step one way or another. She sent me a text wishing me a happy mothers day, never before has anyone wished me that, and as I have never had any children I never thought anyone would. I had a little cry and felt a lump in my body.

This is today's card it is the friendship card for my friendship swap partner on the do crafts forum this month, I have not heard if she liked it and I do hope she does.

On Saturday morning I looked out of our kitchen window, oh I do wish I had taken a picture as there was about 8 sheep in our back garden, Vernon herded them out, I thought he will really well and when he came back I said so, only to be told that he used to work on a farm and of course hes herded sheep before, well all I can say whatever he shouted at them they understood and marched out of the garden. They did a round trip landing up in the front garden, Vernon went out again, the sheep took one look and walked off, the look one of then gave him said it all "Its him again better go".

Thanks for reading my blog today

take care

Hugs Margaret

Knitted Lace

Hi

Today I thought I would show you some of my Knitted lace pictures on for you.

Having learnt to knit from the age of three it seemed only natural to progress into knitted lace. I saw a pattern in a wool shop when I was in my twenties and thought I would have a go, the pattern had a doily, coffee mat and then a tablecloth Well I brought enough cotton for the doily and liked it so much went back to the shop for some more cotton and thought I would continue the pattern and make the coffee mat, when I got so far, I went back to the shop and had to order more cotton and then went on it finished up as the tablecloth. Its in my draw and I must get it out and photo it for one day. Yes I still use it on special days, My husband thinks its a total waste of time as tablecloths are not used but I still have it and it was last used at Christmas. He thinks I should sell them but I made it for me to use and as far as I am concerned its going to be kept and used. One day it might be an heirloom.

The pictures are of three mats that are on my craft table, I don't sell very many but its makes the table different and gives the table a something different to sell.

These are simple to make and I must confess they are from a pattern.

I used to take the magazine called "Anne" they used print it in English but a couple of years ago they finished saying it was costing too much money. I started collecting the magazines in 1972/3 and have every copy since then until they stopped printing them. The German patterns for knitted lace are not written out like the English pattern, they are on graph and are followed line by line, in fact although it sounds hard they are quite easy once you have master it and done a few items.

They also have a lot of tatting patterns, tatting patterns in this country are very difficult to get so they were the main source for me to get new patterns from. I am going to take some photos of my tatting for you to have a look at. but that is for another day.

I hope you enjoyed reading today's blog.

Take care

Hugs Margaret

Golden Wedding card

Hi,

Its another lovely morning, I better not say anything to much knowing our weather it can easily change, we have had a lovely week in all with some sunshine, Amazing we have had the sun for so long without rain, although it has been very cold and a frost every morning.

Today I went swimming I am learning to swim, well I am trying I really want to learn to swim because when we go aboard and sit by the lovely pools watching everyone else get in and enjoy the water in the heat of the day.

The photo is a card that was commissioned for a golden wedding anniversary, the lace border in coffee with a gold under and a gold panel on the top makes this card stand out, The yellow rose is off the Roses CD I have not used the background of the rose, just using the rose on its own, I must say this CD have some lovely roses on and they really look real and as if they are popping off the card, I am really pleased that I brought this CD. I have added gold ribbon in the corner, and peel offs down the side and gold words. I hope she likes the card.

I have to thank Janette for all her help and for pushing me into doing my own blog, I would also like to thank Suzanne for all her help as well, both have their own blogs which are great and well worth having a look little-boscraftyplace.blogspot.com and suzannescards.blogspot.com I would also like to thank them both for their friendship.

I am getting the hang of them now and have some more interesting things to add to my blog, so I hope you are enjoying reading my blog will come back and see my blog again.

Take care

Hugs Margaret

Butterfly card

Hi

What a lovely day we are having in somerset today, its been a real spring day. I hope you all had a lovely weekend and enjoy looking at my blog today

This is my latest card which I made for a dc member as a friendship card swap, I hope you like it, I like to make cards that are different and unusual.

I did my usual Craft table on Saturday in Cheese and Grain, not a bad day, seeing that it rained heavy on and off all morning, of course you hope that every fair will be good, but you have to take the rough with the smooth and go with the flow. If its a good day then that is better than a day when you feel you are wasting your time.

The picture was taken back in November at the request of Suzanne who wanted to see what my table might look like, Of course over the months things change and as with the time of year, items come and go so its always undergoing changes, this time we had Mother day cards and next month there will be Easter cards.

This picture shows some new ideas which I added this month, they are small notebooks which I hope will be a success, its a Constant battle to find new ideas and things for the stall.

Well that's all I have time to write today, I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog today and I hope to add a few more as the week goes on,

Hugs Margaret