Cosy Christmas Fireplaces

Well, I've had a little bit of a time out. Time to re-group, and also recover from a huge holiday to Western Canada and the Rockies in June, you can see some of my photos from the holiday here: Canada Photos :)

So, I'm back now with lots more tips, tutorials, and ideas and techniques :)

This one was using a really beautiful kit and it came free in issue 174 of Cardmaking and Papercraft...
With an A6 size embossing folder, stamp set and a stocking die.

The fireplace embossing folder has endless possibilities and of course doesn't have to relate to Christmas, but of course, everywhere we look, we're reminded that there's only 13 weeks to Christmas aaarrrggghhh  LOL

Most of the stamps from this set could also be used year round, just think of a camp fire for a teenage boy's birthday card, and who doesn't love doxies!!! :)  (I have a soft touch for those little sausage dogs, as my brother has a gorgeous chocolate dapple doxie called Pepper - you can see some pics of her by clicking on her name here: Pepper)

But... I decided to be traditional and make a Christmas card using the kit and some basics from my stash... here's what else you'll need:

Die cutting machine
Various coloured card
Patterned backing paper
Scissors
Craft knife
Chalk
Coloured pencils
A6 card blanks
PVA glue, and 3d foam pads


I started by embossing the fireplace in cream, brown and grey card

Next, I stamped out the fire and the logs... and coloured them in:

And then cut them out:

I began assembling my fireplace, cutting out the different parts in grey and brown, and cut a square from black card for the back of the fire, and used 3d foam pads to raise the fire from the background.

From here, I put together the rest of my card.  Folding an A5 card in half to make A6 size, I glued a patterned paper to the top half and a thin strip of brown card over the join.

I then glued on the fireplace and die cut some stockings with the free die and attached those to the top of the mantle piece.

I finished off the card by stamping and cutting out the little dachshund and colouring it in, placing him in the bottom corner (cos they love their heat), and I stamped a sentiment on white card, bordered with brown to look like a picture frame and attached that above the fireplace.

Here are a couple of variations of the fireplace that I'll attach to cards later :)

I used my finger to pick up some white chalk and rub it over the embossed details on the grey one, and I used the same method to apply gold metallic mousse over the cream and brown fireplace.

Hope you have a great day, and thank you for checking out my blog, I'll be back again soon :)

In the meantime, you can follow me on Instagram, or Facebook and I have a website on the way too :)

Simply Cards & Papercraft Issue 161

Hi everyone,

sorry it's been a while since I posted.... I bought a new camera... and got distracted LOL

Anyway, my new issue of Simply Cards & Papercraft arrived last weekend and I loved the free gift this month...  

Also with the magazine this month, there was an option to purchase the matching frame dies for half price from CraftStash. They have some great offers on their website.

So, here are a few cards I made using my free gifts and some of the accessories I already had at home :)

All the cards were made using white 5 inch square card blanks.

This one I've used some patterned paper (cut the same size as my card blank) and placed it in the embossing folder, then die cut the centre.  Then I mounted the embossed frame with double sided sticky foam to raise it up.  

  I stamped a sentiment and added one of my mini cross stitch projects to the middle - isn't that the cutest wedding couple ever? :)

 A little white organza bow to the top corner finished it off nicely :)  You can clearly see the beautiful embossed detail that's created with the folder :)

For this one I used a shiny pearlescent pink paper and and die cut the centre using the second largest frame die, then using a smaller one, I cut the centre from the card blank and stuck a smaller one to the inside of the card, alternating the colours.  Finally I stamped a sentiment from the free stamp set in the middle and attached a butterfly on the front.   

This last one was done by embossing the actual card blank... Then I used my sponge and some purple chalk to highlight the embossed area. 

Then I stamped the decorative corners using some Versamark ink and chalked over that with the same colour.  

I die cut a bird cage and bird (see my last blog Bird Cage Dies) and stuck those in the centre using some silicone glue and I stamped the sentiment at the top... because of the raised pattern, it didn't quite stamp that neatly, but it's still readable LOL

Hope you like my designs, the magazine has loads of ideas and inspirations and this is one of my favourite card making magazines. They do the best free gifts :)

If you want to get hold of any issues, try here MoreMags

Thanks for stopping by...

I got a few new craft dies in the post recently, one very cool one, so I'll let you see them shortly :)

Have a great day :)

Bird Cages - Tutorial

Hi everyone...

Got a really cute tutorial for you today 😊

If you don't mind waiting on your crafty goodies, then Ebay is the way to go.... I bought this gorgeous bird cage die set for £1.99
yes.. £1.99  and free postage
I priced these on a website and they were £12.99

Anyway... with some gold mirri card and a few other little bits and pieces.. you could create this:

Here's what else I used:

The embossing folder is from Craftstash It was in stock last time I checked for £3.99

Die cutting machine.. I use a Sizzix Bigshot

Gold mirri card 
Pearlescent paper
White card blank
Silicon glue - I buy mine in a hardware store because it's a fraction of the cost 😊
PVA glue
Flatbacked pearls
A happy birthday sentiment stamp and black ink
Double sided sticky tape
Cocktail stick

so... first step...

Die cut 2 bird cages from gold card

and a bird from white card and colour it pink (or whatever colour you like)

I went round the edges with a black marker

Next, turn one bird cage over and using a cocktail stick, position little dabs of silicon glue around edges and lines

place the bird in the middle of the other cage and carefully position the siliconed cage on top

Next step..

Using the embossing folder, emboss a piece if pearlescent paper and trim to size to fit your blank card, and stick with double sided sticky tape.

Add some silicon glue to the stand to give it a little dimension and then stick the bird cage above it with pva glue.

Stick some flat backed pearls along the middle embossed circles, I purchased self adhesive pearls in Home Bargains, I think they were £1.

Lastly, stamp a sentiment at the top and card's done!!!

here's another couple I made using these gorgeous bird cage dies 😊

I used some jump rings and pierced a hole in
the card to hang this bird cage from

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.... and if you have trouble finding any of the products I used, please get in touch and I'll try to help 😊😊😊

Have a great day!

Cross Stitch - Can you tell what it is yet?

Hello again....

remember these colours???

I told you that with a few well placed stitches, even boring beige and brown can turn into something adorable....

So here's a series of pictures to see if you can work out what I stitched.... (If the suspense is too much for you... don't panic... you can scroll down to the finished product at the bottom LOL)

Colour One

Colour Two

Colour Three

Know what it is yet?

Colour Four

Colour Five

It's getting there....

Colour Six

Colour Seven

And the final touch....

Wow! doesn't backstitch make all the difference?



what do you think of my cute Lickle Ted?


I'm sorry, I can't give you the chart for this design due to copyright, but lots of these types of images are available in many of the popular cross stitching magazines published these days 😊


I really enjoyed making this sort of blog... so I may do another one again soon, hope you enjoyed it too :-)

Thanks for visiting

New Projects - Cross Stitch

Sorry it's been a while since I posted...
Life kinda gets in the way sometimes, but we persevere :)

Anyway, just to keep you interested, I thought I'd show you some of my latest cross stitch projects... These will be made into card toppers by ironing Vilene to the back and then cutting them out.

These ones took about 2 - 3 hours each and were taken from some of the most popular cross stitch magazines on the market... Cross Stitch Crazy and World of Cross Stitching :)



If anyone is interested in buying one of my cross stitch card toppers... keep a watch out in the next week or so... I'll be posting up a photo of the ones I have for sale :)




These are the colours for my next project....

I know they look quite boring, but check back in a couple of days and see what you can do with a few well placed stitches :)


Have a great day and thanks for stopping by :)

Cloudy Background - Tutorial

Hi everyone,

This is about as easy a tutorial as you can get....

I made this gorgeous cloudy paper background in less than a minute... seriously!!!

I know the last time I went to a craft shop to buy a sheet of cloud background paper, it cost me £1 for a 12 inch x 12 inch square and I would use a lot more of it, if it wasn't so expensive, so I thought it was time I figured out how to make my own!

Here's what you'll need to make yours:

1 sheet of photo copy paper - any sheet of white paper will do..

Light blue chalk - if you don't have chalk, light blue eye shadow will work just as well, and you'll have a nice sheen on your paper afterwards too :)

A sponge, if you don't have a blending sponge, a small make up sponge will work just as well

A pencil and a pair of scissors.


Take your sheet of paper longways and draw some semi circle cloud shape outlines across it randomly.  If you're not confident drawing freehand, you could use several different size bottle lids and draw round those - here's an example:

When you are happy with your outline, just cut it out:

Now for the fun bit....

Place your newly created cloud template over your blank card or paper... if you're not confident about applying the colour directly to your card, then start with a scrap piece and practice.

Apply some chalk to your sponge and starting with your sponge on the template, drag it upwards a little unto your blank card... keep it light and you can always go over it again.. continue the whole way across..

Lift your template and turn it over to the other side (so you're using the front and back) and move it down your card a little and repeat the sponging again.  You can repeat this as far down your card as you want your sky to go.  Remember to start your template at a different section each time so cloud shapes change.


And that's it...

here are a a couple finished cards I've made using my cloudy sky background:

couldn't resist adding a little piece of cross stitch :)

This stamp was a free gift with Simply Cards & Papercraft
Watch out for another tutorial later using more of the free
gifts from this magazine :)

Give it a go, you could even change the colours for a more dramatic sky, and I'd love to see your designs :)

Thanks for stopping by :)