A Spring baby....

These two cards are special orders for a teacher at school. Baby Reece is her new nephew.

One of the cards is from her and one is from her mum.

I thought... as it's nearly Easter.... that spring bunnies and lambs should feature on one of them.

I went back to my Sizzix dies and the text boy paper is DCWV.

I have such a busy week this week!

Yesterday I managed to do these orders and another baby card and met up for lunch with a friend down by the sea..and Today I am doing more baby cards.

At school Wednesday and organising an Easter themed Staff Appreciation morning.

At school Thursday, making Easter cards and meeting with my NVQ assessor.

Friday is the Easter Raffle at school and Easter Village Market in the morning and Crafty Chicks Barn sale in the afternoon.

Saturday..in the Barn all day again.

I will take some photos to show you..those of you who are on Craftbubble can view my Christmas in the Barn in my gallery.

Spreader of Love Award...

Another Easter card for you today...trying to get my stock up for my market stall on Friday!

Thank you so much to Bridgette-A stamp for all Seasons...who has passed this 'Spreader of Love' Award on to me. I feel very honoured.

Now is the bit where you have to pass it on...and it's difficult to just pick out just a few people to pass it on to.

I have chosen a few people whose blogs I visit most and who have been very kind either in word or deed recently and who deserve the 'spreader of love' title.....

Mandy - A little space of my own

Louisa - Stamperlous place

Sharon -Fairy Dust Bag

Nikki -Nikki cards and creations

Jacky -Scrappyjacky

Caroline -Pretty pink cards

Tab -Tabby Craft designs

Thank you ladies for the love and inspiration! All of their blogs are linked on my side bar so if you haven't seen them I advise you go visit them today!

Colourcreate Challenge-Lilac and Blue

The Colourcreate Challenge this week is...Lilac and Blue with the added mission (if you wished to take it) of adding swirls and ribbon.

The paper at the top of the card has swirls on it but I also used some swirly scissors to cut a frame and added a bit of swirly doodling, and my lilac spotty ribbon got another outing.

I have had a lazy Sunday with all of us at home (makes a change)having a Roast dinner and general t.v watching, reading, colouring etc..... Perfect!

Raspberry Ribbons sketch 18..

If you like using ribbons on your cards then pop over to Raspberry Ribbons blog( scroll down and you can find the link in my blog list)

You can check out a new sketch to try, along with some great DT ideas.....here is my DT offering.

The new range is red and white and has some gorgeous spotty ribbon...my favourite!

Wild Rose Bunny is back again...

Last night I sampled a lovely Chicken and courgette pie and some chocolate buns in a cookery demo at The Pampered Chef party. All very nice. I ended up ordering a Cupcake icing set as I have been inspired by 'Trudi' on Mistresses. Did you see the naughty DD cupcakes on it a few weeks ago!?

The sunny weather has got me back in the spring mood and amongst a big stash of leftover papers laying in a pile, I suddenly saw these 2 green papers together with a small piece of lilac card. I liked the colour combo so ......

I used my 'bunny and egg' stamp and the' scalloped circle' stamp both from Wild Rose Studio and linked it altogether with some lilac spotty ribbon. I added a white Sizzix picket fence and used foam pads to lift bunny away slightly.

I've got some baby card commissions waiting to be done now, so catch up with me later.

A Handbag!!!!

I don't know how many Easter Cards I can keep showing you...It's all I seem to be making at the moment. So I'm going to give you a little break from those and show you a few more Die cut cards in my files!

This card was for a regular customer's daughter to give to her daughter. I had to make 3 cards for Louise from her mum, her sister and her Nan!

I'm off out tonight to a pampered chef party so I will be sampling some nice recipes and maybe buy some cooking equipment?

Jont's Vegetable garden......

No Cardmaking for me today so I'm posting an old favourite.

This was a card I made for my neighbour for one of his friends birthdays.

It ended up being a real hit with customers in the book that I take around to craft Fairs etc and I have had many orders from it in slight variations. Dads Shed, Dads Allotment etc...

I flit and fly...just like a butterfly.

So...after the dilly- dallying of yesterday morning, I did actually have a very productive afternoon and finished 3 commissions. Two I can't show as they are for Beautiful Cards Magazine but this one I can.

The lady who ordered this is a mum from school and it is for her niece who gets married on Saturday. She chose to have Butterflies as it was the Theme and she gave me the turquoise card! She is very artistic and designed all the invitations but I think she has had enough now so asked me to do the card.

I am just on lunch break from school so I am going back for the afternoon session in an hour!

So off to grab a bite to eat....

Papertake weekly sketch...

I have been very easily distracted today.

I had no intention of doing another challenge card but I saw this sketch last night.... and then this morning I saw my Wild Rose Studio Cat .....and then I saw my yellow gingham paper..... and then I began to think of my yellow buttons......and my wooden bee...and before you know it......... Voila!!

Now I really must get on with some commissions that are going to bring in some pennies!

Colourcreate Challenge- Navy, Turquoise and Lime

Well...Navy is just one of those colours I would never use, but saying that I did have this spotty ribbon...and I had a blue layering block that had a few bits of Navy card in it.

The added challenge was not to use a designer paper so I added a row of flowers with some doodling similar to the ones on the Wild Rose Studio stamp.

To Mums everywhere....

Happy Mothers day to all of us! I hope that those of you will young children are receiving some lovely handmade cards from school.

Here are the cards I designed for the little ones in 1/2 B. The first two photos are the ones I took in as samples and then they chose the colour card they wanted and had a wonderful time creating........
So I am off shopping this morning and who knows where we will end up later.

I've kept some old bread as I quite fancy a walk around Arundel and feeding the ducks.

Hope you all have a wonderful day whatever you do.

Boo Bear Mothers day....

This mothers day card was an order for my mentor teacher at school , Miss Beer.
She wanted ladybirds and bees as we have been having a bee and ladybird theme at the moment.

Today we have been at the Chichester Music Festival , the choir category was today!
Our school won last year, but I'm afraid we were beaten this year by a better choir......
They sang better songs..but our girls and boys were brilliant!

Music mum...

This was another Mothers day order. It came from one of my neighbours who I get a lot of work from. They have a running tab and always pop in for cards on the way home.

The brief was simply 'anything to do with Music..she plays the piano' ....so I used my Music and glamour set of toppers and background card that I got from QVC about 18 months ago.

I added a feminine touch with silver butterflies and a white Orchid.

They loved it so I was very pleased....only a few more Mothers day cards to show you....

Love those Ladybirds....

I've had these wooden ladybirds for a while and thought that a Mothers day card would be a perfect time to use the different sizes.
The blue and red brads were a 'Thank you' gift from Sarah Bostock from 'Quick cards made easy' as I sent her a money saving tip for this months mag.
The background paper was a free download from Nikki, which has been so useful!

I was in school today making Mothers day cards with my little year 1/2 class.I took in card and my flower punches to show them. I will show you my prototypes and then all their cards later. They were brilliant and really enjoyed it.

Portchester Castle today...

Thought I would share a few piccies of my day today at Portchester Castle near Portsmouth down on the South Coast. We went all the way to the top of the Keep and had a fantastic view of the Solent. It was a beautiful sunny spring day where we were able to lunch and sketch outside.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

I've done this weeks challenge..hurray. It was a sketch to follow this week, which was a lovely one. I love the scallop circle look...and any excuse to use my signature bees somewhere....

Spring Cleaning......

This Wild Rose Studio cat is just perfect for a Mothers Day Card....and I'm still getting orders coming in so guess what I am doing today. I had just enough pink gingham which is just so spring like.... and I love this pink and lime combo.

Hubby is off this week and doing lots of jobs in the house.... He is Spring cleaning today.
Hoovering and re-arranging the living room as I type.
We live in a three story townhouse with our livingroom on the second floor and have two sets of double doors that open. The 'Summer' arrangement is the sofa corner unit away from the windows so they open fully and the 'Winter' arrangement is sofa in front of windows. We have deep red curtains and cushions in winter and pale gold in summer.
So today is changing seasons! This is all his idea by the way... yesterday he made chocolate chip muffins for the cake sale at school. He does the food shopping (as I spend too much) and the washing as well.
Does anyone else have a husband like this?

The Unfinished Challenge....

This little Horse didn't make it to the finishing line.

He was still on the table just waiting for the flower finishing touches for the Penny Black (3 brads -2 ribbons -1 flower) Challenge last week when the computer went down. He was an order for my friend Sophie to give to her mum who is a horse trainer and lives on the family farm in Derby.

So he has been sold on now and will spend the rest of his days on the farm.....but I had to give him his spotlight anyway....

STILL doing Mothers day cards..last few days of making today and tomorrow.

My other little bunny cards are making their debut on the wildrosestudio blog (which you can link to from my side bar) and I have another cute Cat stamp to play with so keep an eye out for those coming soon..

I am starting my NVQ file so I have something to show the assessor next time she visits.

I have not officially started the course with college but am putting together evidence of units that I think I have covered. One of the units is about supervising and supporting learning on an Educational Visit .... This could be covered when I go to Portchester Castle on Wednesday so I am keen to have this included.....

The weather is great here..very mild. Hope you all have a good day today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ........

DARREN who is Stamping Caz's hubbie. He is having a special birthday today. Hope you all have a lovely day...I had my 40th last year and the celebrations went on for months!

and to my friend Julies's little JESSICA who is 2 this weekend.

These are the cards I sent, hope you like them.

I'm off to do some shopping today in Chichester with the family...very unusual for us all to go but Hubbies football didn't go ahead so as it looks a lovely day we can get a few jobs done.

Later today I shall be reading through lots of paperwork to select the units I want to cover for my NVQ3 in Teaching and Learning in schools. There are 9 pages with 43 different units. I have to do 10 in total and I can choose 4 myself. I have found the 'Display Design' so that's a tick straightaway.

Still doing Mothers Day Commissions and Magazine work, so must fit all that in before

Dancing on Ice... Wild at Heart...Larkrise to Candleford and Lost. It's a busy evenings viewing on a Sunday!

Raspberry Ribbons Sketch Design Team...

I'm so pleased to be able to post up this card for you today.
Caroline asked me to join the Raspberry Ribbons Sketch team a couple of weeks ago and I was delighted to be able to join in the fun.
Just after I sent her the card this week our computer went bananas and has been to the techno-Doctor for some repairs.
Happy to say he has sorted it out and I am back just in time....but it has been a nail biting time wondering what you have all been doing!
As you can see, bunny is still bouncing around my craft table..just love him with my Easter egg ribbon. Back soon to show you what else I have been up to....

Wild Rose Studio Bunny and Egg...

As promised..here is the first of my 'Bunny and Egg' DT cards for Wild Rose Studio.

Dulcie is going to be showing some on her blog very soon, so watch out for some beige and brown ones hopping around...

Busy day at school today and in all day again tomorrow so no daylight cardmaking for me.

I have been using modelling clay today and making castles with year 1/2 and making their role play areas into Castles. Next week we go on a school trip to Portchester Castle in Hampshire.

Once girls are in bed I hope to rustle up a few things in preparation for some cardmaking on Saturday. Do some stamping and colouring and make a couple of cards for me to send out.

Mothers Day commissions..

I got asked to do this Mothers Day card by the Headteacher at school for her mum.

'Something pretty with a gardening theme'...so as the pastel spotty paper is my favourite at the moment I just had to include it.

I stamped the whole set of gardening stamps and coloured in with my promarkers...(the' bad boys' as they get called by Willow Sharon).

Once I had cut them all out I loved them so much I couldn't leave any out so its' a bit busy but I like it and she was very happy so........job done!

Other Mothers Day commissions are Music and Horses. So I will be starting on those next.

Parents Evening tonight!... I have Angel 'V 'Little Devil at the moment with my two girls.

Eldest was in Dancetime at Worthing Pavillion last night and danced like a dream..so beautiful, elegant, ladylike...then monster face is the little one, who is soo cute but is a bit like the little girl in the Haribo advert. (Sign the confession...look into my eyes).

Off to the hairdressers at 11am for a few inches off the bottom, as I am looking a bit witch like.

Let you know if I like it!

Wedding bells...

The Wedding season has begun...
This card is for two teachers at school who get married next month.
The sizzix doll is still one of my most ordered personalised cards especially for weddings.

I managed to do this and some Easter bunny cards yesterday, which I will show later.
Just taken 2 Mothers Day card orders this morning, and I'm half way through some 'Beautiful Cards' commissions.
The list of jobs is getting longer so I am off to do some work.

Weekend News...

Well, the weather in Oxford was cold and wet but we had a lovely time visiting our friends.

We arrived to home-made veggie soup on Saturday lunchtime then we went for a stroll around Witney..a little bit of shopping..bought some great trainers...and took the kids to the park. Once they were all in bed it was a Thai take-away, wine and beer and lots of chat.

On Sunday we managed a little nature walk before the heavens opened and we had to head off to Bicester Shopping Village for coffee and sandwiches and some more retail therapy. I just had to buy a red floral Cath Kidston bag and the girls got some Puma trainers.

Back home at 9 ish last night and now I am washing and unpacking bags away..the horrible bit.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge

I'm leaving it a bit late I know but I've just finished my card for the Penny Black saturday Challenge, which was to to do a card with something to eat on it.

What better to do than a chocolate cake!

Walberton Village Indoor Market

The first Friday of every month I have a table at a local Indoor Market from 10.30am-midday.

It's full of lovely home grown/home-made produce and has a little sit down tea and cake area.

It's set in a playing field in the cricket Pavillion in a lovely little sussex Village.

Sounds very 'Midsomer Murders' doesn't it? Everyone is very friendly...honest.

This morning was the first one of the year and next months will be a special Easter Themed eggstravaganza!

It's a nice chance to have a chat, face to face with customers, sell some stock and eat chocolate fudge. Fiona who co-runs 'The incredible Edible Gingerbread company' makes the best chocolate truffle Fudge in the world. It has a touch of alcohol in it.

I took some photos today to show you some of the stalls.

Busy Thursdays....

I'm still playing with the green promarkers and this little dragon stamp from Lily of the Valley is just perfect. I've coloured a few in to make a birthday card for a 2 year old boy. This one with the butterflies went well with this spotty paper so I made up one for my stock.

Thursday is my busiest day of the week. I was in school all day and then we have gym class and swimming lessons. We went to McDonalds for tea so everyone is quite tired and in bed now.

I have my market stall in the morning so it will be interesting to see what sells!

We are away this weekend staying with friends who live on the Oxford/Cotswold border. They are great hosts and always have lots of activities planned for us and the kids. I went to Art college with my friend Georgina so we have known each other since we were 17!

Not going to think about how long that is!