'cookieOptions = {...};'

Follow this blog with bloglovin

Follow on Bloglovin

About Me

Nottinghamshire, United Kingdom
My name is Clare I live in Nottinghamshire and work in education supporting students as my full time job but like to make cards, craft and plan as a hobby. I have recently taken up arigurumi crochet, the perfect autumn/winter hobby. I have also decided after a number of years off to pick up my guitar and learn to play again so due to metal strings and crochet hooks the ends of my fingers are slowly toughening up.

Sunday 15 December 2013

It's Chriiiisssstmas!

Apologies for the state of the cutting board, I will have a nice background in future. Couple more family cards. Spritz from Krista at Sarurated Canary and Dreamees Recipe of Christmas stamp. Both layered simply. I actually added a button and butchers twine to the recipe one as it needed a bit of something 😊


Hope you like. 

Love n light and have a fabulous Christmas everyone. 

Clare x

Winter Fairy

Love this Mo Manning image, have made a few cards with it but all in different colour ways. Silver n pink, pale turquoise n grey for instance. I think it's so sweet had to share x

Ola

Been really busy last few months, joined a roller derby team and also been making lots of presents and cards. Here are a few hope the kids like their door hangers. 

Saturday 19 October 2013

Special Friend

A friend asked me to make this card for her best friend, so haven't been able to put it on til now, and I love it.  I made it using Dreamees papers from the Christmas Extravaganza cd in pink.

I used simple matt n layering techniques using three different papers although I realise it looks like four. I used the same papers to make the flowers. The sentiment was created using 'curlz' font in word on my computer as was the name circle. 

A little glamour dust was added for sparkle. 

I used one of the papers again to decorate the inside of the card. Really happy with this one.

Thursday 3 October 2013

Ugly Jumper

This card has been made using a Saturated Canary digi stamp "Ugly Christmas Sweater" and I love her! I love the massive glasses.


I went for a monotone style with this one so I coloured her in EB1&7 and then popped the stocking and candy canes with CR8.

I layered her onto a piece of brown card which I'd embossed with a Dreamees snowflake. This was in turn layered onto a strip of music score (from a Dreamees cd) and gold lacey stuff and finally layered onto a natural wood chip style paper xx

The little sentiment says "Oh. This isn't the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party?" and comes with the digi stamp. I made a double bow with red butchers string to add to the top of the tag.

I'm entering her into Divas by Design CAS challenge this month.

Hope you like her. 

Love n Light

Clare x

Oopsy


Sorry folks, been ages since I was last here, a month anyway.  Been busy making cards but just got round to updating here...lol

I am hoping to stand on the 14th November at a ladies pamper evening at the school I work to help raise funds for some of our students going on a trip to India to visit an orphanage in Machilipatnam.


 I've made bookmarks too for something a little different.  The image on this one was "Ratatouille" which I've used by Krista at Saturated Canary before but shrunk down quite a bit, I also did a few other images of hers too. I will make some more Christmassy ones too as we will be getting into the season then...



 

I've also made little present boxes, these are more birthday really but plan on doing some more seasonal ones for the pamper evening too.

I've also attended a Dreamees workshop since I last blogged, where we made a beautiful Christmas card, a decoration and a lovely tag and hope to be able to use what I've learned to make some similar products. You'll see those in a later post x


Love n Light, thanks for popping by.

Clare x

Sunday 25 August 2013

Tea Time

This card is made using some freebie downloads from Dreamees fb page https://www.facebook.com/Dreamees within the photo album. 

I made it to say "Thanks for having me" to my step mum. I've left it til I got home to post so she wouldn't see it before she got it so to speak :-)

I love doing swirly roses x and love the colours xx lovely card for a lovely lady 

Spritz

I'm a little behind on my blogs altho my fb page is up to date...tut tut, so here goes. I'm also on holiday so cant do proper links but will try. This image is a Saturated Canary image called Spritz. I love Krista's images. I've coloured him in a number of colours, this one being the more traditional one. I used my usual FS1&3 for his skin, TN1&2 for his hair, LG1&2 for his wings, pants and boots. The hat and candy stick were

CR8.

The Recipe of Christmas stamp is from Dreamees, a local company I purchase from quite regularly. I believe they have deal where tou can purchase a bundle of different 'recipe' stamps too at the moment.

The background star paper and green n white card were in my stash. I made this card A5 landscape my other Spritz's I've made 5 x 5 square xx





Sunday 18 August 2013

Congratulations

Here's a recent card made for some friends who had a little boy last Tuesday morning.

I used blue heart paper from my stash and coloured in a stamped image by The Inky Printy Stamp Company (www.justinklined.com) which I'd purchased at Summer Crafting earlier this year. I coloured it using spectrum noir pens. I made rolled roses from the same blue paper and added a nice deep blue button from my button pot! 

I forgot to take a final photo but I tied red butchers twine through the button and added a "congratulations" sentiment in the circle xx 

Inside I used the same blue heart paper and die cut a scalloped circle so I could write in my message. 

Mummy was very happy, if tired 😊 

Monday 12 August 2013

Stockings

I love this Saturated Canary image she is so sweet. 

I started layering the card with some natural paper and a little gold lacey stuff then added a piece of red glitter card and a couple of homemade crochet flowers in glittery red and green cotton. I added a button to finish the flower off. 
The image was coloured in spectrum noir pens: FS1&3 for her skin, EB1 and CR8 LG1&2 for her pj's and the stockings. 

I decided to give her a dotty background on advice from another crafty lady as I thought there was too much white showing behind the image. Above I had used FS1,2&3 and the LG1&2 but it needed to pop. I added a few CR8 and here's the result. Hope you like it. 

Thanks for calling by

Love n Light
 
 
 
 
 
Clare x

Sunday 11 August 2013

Pink Christmas

Another beautiful Christmas card made entirely from Dreamees products. All from my freebies which I get every month as a member of their website. £5/yr bargain.

Anyway... I layered pink and cream first as a background and then decided to half and half the card with a snowflake border across the middle. I then added the Christmas baubles image. 

I added some cream stars and made some pink flowers and some rolled roses to embellish and finished it all off my layering a Happy Christmas sentiment stamp and sticking that on with foam pads. 

Finished result, may not be traditional Christmas but I like it. 

Thanks for dropping in

Love n Light

Clare x

Saturday 10 August 2013

Magical Christmas

Made this card using the Berry Wreath from Dreamees and a selection of Dreamees papers. I layered them all up and included a little doily then added lots of flowers and some buttons for extra detail.

I finished it off by adding glitter glue for a bit of sparkle xx 

Hope you like. Comments appreciated

Thanks for calling by

Love n Light 

Clare x

Friday 2 August 2013

Steam Punk 2

Another go at a Steam Punk Card.
 
I embossed a piece of grey card using a Darice embossing folder and my Spellbinder Grand Caliber and did the same with a piece of gold mirror card so that I had the cogs.
 
I stamped a pocket watch and compass using my Dreamees stamps and distressed them in Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.
 
To make the card up, I started off with a brown background and layered the two embossed pieces at angles with a piece of lace which I had purchased from Dreamees a little while ago in between and a Tim Holtz tag through which I tied a small piece of velvet ribbon. I slotted the watch and the compass behind the card.
 
The mannequin is from a die cut set Delphine Card Toppers by Kanban which I purchased from the Craftstation in Kirkby in Ashfield.
 
I'm really quite pleased with the result. Thanks for calling by, please feel free to comment.
 
Love n Light
 
Clare x

Steam Punk

 
Love this Kenny Kiernan image "Lady Victoria" and decided to have a go at a Steam Punk card.

The card itself is just short of 6" square. I then used a Darice embossing folder to create the cogs on the dark grey piece of card and layered both it and a piece of lilac corrugated card at angles. Using the embossing folder I created some white cogs, I cut them out and distressed them with spun sugar distress ink.

I coloured the image with Spectrum Noir pens PP1 and LV1 for the dress and cape and used BGR2 for the boots and cane. I added a Tim Holtz tag which I'd purchased from one of my favourite suppliers Dreamees to finish the card off.

Thanks for calling by

Love n Light

Clare

Christmas

Been missing for a little while again, trying to organise my craft room so it works better, especially as it doubles up from time to time as a massage room... :-)

I decided I needed to make a start on my Christmas cards and here are a couple. 
They were both made layering some gold mirror card, green checked and plain green paper and red glitter card I had in stock with the addition of a doily and some crispy lace ribbon from Dreamees. The centre pieces, the Recipe of Christmas and the Berry Wreath are Dreamees stamps too.

I'm really happy with the way these two turned out plenty on them but still look quite simple and elegant.

Tuesday 23 July 2013

Teal n Pink

Beautiful little notebook. Created for the sister of a friend.

Layered in teal and pink using an image from card making magazine which my friend chose from a selection I had. 

I attached a piece of broderie anglais ribbon round one of the layers and added a couple of flowers from a Dreamees cd (Templates and More I think) and some handmade roses both rolled and petalled! X 


I am told her sister loved it which is what I like to hear xx



Thanks for calling by.  x

Love n Light 

Clare xx 😊


Monday 22 July 2013

Pearl Anniversary Card

This card was for a pearl anniversary card a work colleague asked me to make after she'd seen another one I'd made but she specifically requested peach not pink.

The papers were printed from Dreamees CDs as were the flowers. I think Simply Sweet. 


I decorated the inside too using the same papers and a verse chosen from a selection by the purchaser. 

I used liquid pearls in the centre of the flowers. 

All in all very happy with the result x

Love n Light xx

Tuesday 25 June 2013

Starla

Hello folks

Been a good few weeks since I popped in. Been rather busy, have had a few commissions to do and haven't watermarked my photos yet.  I would love to just load straight up to my blog or my facebook page but unfortunately there are people out there that like to claim your work as their own and I prefer to have my watermark on my work when possible.

I've had father's day cards which I made but forgot to photograph before. I made a beautiful simple peacock card using a free embossing folder that came with a magazine and forgot to photograh that too.... Shame it was lovely. I gave that to our receptionist at work for her birthday.

I've made a mini display cupboard using an idea from Dreamees, a Graze box and their Templates & More cd which I think looks brilliant (even if I do say so myself).  In fact here's the photo for that one...
 The image on here is Starla from Krista at Saturated Canary (as you will know by now one of my favourite ladies).

The paper and the flowers and everything else on the front here are from the Dreamees cd.


I decided as I had a lock on the front I should also have the hole on the inside and the key (also Dreamees)
The inside here I've filled with a variety of bits and pieces. Top left October Calendar (with my birthday highlighted) from Dreamees, a few little hearts and a glass vial full of fairy dust, I believe Dreamees also sell empty vials ready for you to fill as you wish.

Top right a few flowers from my stash and "kiss the stars" from Regan Kubecek available from Queen Kats Stamps another of my favourite ladies.

Bottom left (more flowers from my stash) a wee bicycle, a butterfly and "Bianca Bouquet" from the Gorgeous Girls cd from Dreamees.

Bottom right all Dreamees except my flowers again. You may notice a few pearls dotted about all over the place, these are liquid pearls also available from Dreamees. (I think I should get commission here....lol) xx

I love it! Thanks Hayley for the idea.  I'm entering this one into the Inky Chicks Anything Goes Challenge x






I also made a batch of what I class my simple cards (basic matt & layering) to restock for a charity event this coming Sunday afternoon.


I've also got a moneybox and couple of hangers required so I'll be cracking on with those between now and then.

Thanks for calling by

Love n Light

Clare x

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Ratatouille Kitchen Hanger

I'm quite liking these MDF projects.... Decided that it was time for something for me instead of others. The first job was to paint the back and edges of the hanger as I felt it would make the piece look 'finished' once done.... My other half was good enough to do this for me whilst I was at work, bless him.

The image is called "Ratatouille" and is a piece by Krista Smith of Saturated Canary. I love it, mind I love all Krista's images... I coloured her FS1/3, TN1/2, CR8 and some BGR but can't remember which  off the top of my head (sorry). I coloured her eyes grey originally but decided to add a touch of TB1 blue too..





I used some Creative Memories tulip paper I had in my stash to cover the front of the piece and added a strip of red gingham card across with a piece of red grosgrain ribbon. I felt that the image needed a plain background to make it stand out so used a piece of red card to do so. I also cut a red heart out of the same card and added a white one, to which I added my own sentiment "Heart of the Home" because that is what the kitchen is :-)








I made three rolled flowers with the papers, two gingham and one tulip so that they blended with the piece and added a white paper rose from my stash in the top right corner also adding a 'spoon' charm.










I wrapped the stem of a paper rose around a small glass jar which I filled with spaghetti and stuck it in the bottom corner and also made another gingham flower (which I'd used a Dreamees stamp to create the template) to sit against it and threaded another paper rose through it's centre.








All in all, pretty happy with the result. Would love comments please xx

Love n Light

Clare x










Sunday 26 May 2013

Book Worm - Reading Rosie

Here's my final blog for tonight.... I purchased four beech box frames recently and decided that I wished to frame four cards/pictures created from my favourite four (craft) artists at the moment. They are Saturated Canary (I have one of these already courtesy of Rebecca of Berrylicious Cards and it is framed now), Kenny Kiernan, Regan Kubecek and Hayley at Dreamees.

This one is by Hayley at Dreamees and is called Reading Rosie. She's from the Gorgeous Girls cd. I've used spectrum noir pens LV's I think and TB1 for her jeans... The tags come with her and I coloured them to match.


I layered her using card from my stash. It's a plain lilac, a pale sage linen effect card and a pastel pink. I used some paper straw to layer the image square onto the rest of the card. I had purchased a number of flowers from Sally Twinkle's in Mansfield. The buttons however came from my mum's button box which I think I may now have to permanently acquire...lol.

Hope you like her, I do and she'll be going on my wall in the morning (bit late to be knocking picture tacks into the wall).

Love n Light

Clare x

Cosy Night!

Think this should be "Cosy Lap" but you get the idea :-)

You will already have seen this image on a previous blog but it's been waiting for me to convert into a card.  I've used a Sketch for the layout of this card and really pleased with the result here.  The cards were from my card stash and the scrolls were from Dreamees. The fringing is actually paper straw from The Works in Mansfield. I edged one end using a lace cutter.

The card has actually been created for a friend that fell in love with the image when I coloured her and wants it for herself. Hoping she likes it.... (Lucy Hayes).

I will be entering this card into the CLP Sketch Challenge 58 for May.

Love n Light

Clare x

30 card

My niece asked me to make this for a friend after she'd seen my Daisy Dancer card but instead of the dancer (as she didn't look like that!) "30" was required instead. The white leafed scroll was cut using a die I have and I added tags and created the black flower using a cd from Dreamees. One of my favourite companies you will notice....lol


The white square has an original piece of Zentangle (R) on it in Tim Holtz Spun Sugar Distress Pen. I coloured the tags using the same pen.

I love pink and black, I think it's a really effective card.

Love n Light

Clare x

CAS - Clean and Simple

This card was made to go with the door hanger and birdhouse money box previously blogged. The request was just for a card that went with them.  I decided that I would create a very simple card using a leafed scroll die I have which was cut from some Dreamees paper which I printed from one of my cd's and also a flower created using template. The actual card shape was also a template.


Not much to say about this one other than I think the simpleness of it is really effective. What do you think?

Love n Light

Clare x

Collecting Hearts


Hi, sorry been missing for a while. Just realised I hadn't added this image to my blog.  The image is called "Collecting Hearts" and is by Regan Kubecek. You can buy her images at Queen Kat's stamps. They sell a number of rubber stamps and a few of them can also be purchased as digital stamps.  I really do love her work.


I coloured this in spectrum noir pens and matt and layered with card and a heart doily from my stash.  As the image was called "Collecting Hearts" I added a few more to complete the card.

I also created a notebook using the same image and most of the same colours but having mushroom coloured toadstools and used this colour as the base for my layering colour along with a mottled Creative Memories paper which had the same sand colour in it.  I also added a little broderie anglaise ribbon and some bias binding to edge that off.



Hope you like

Love n Light

Clare x

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Nikki Nature


Another card completed yesterday, using Dreamees products which I am so loving at the moment. This one is made using backing paper from the Simply Sweet Double CD from the pastel blue and pastel pink ranges. The design was from the Sketch n Stash Challenge 113.

The image is "Nikki Nature" and I think she looks a sweetie in her spotty wellies... I've used Spectrum Noir pens FS1 & 3 for her skin, TN1, 2 and EB1 for her hair. PP1 for her t-shirt and TB1 (I think) for her dungarees and the ticket. The tickets are part of the image set and I coloured them to match. The flower is also on the cd as an accessory. The scrolls and heart tag also came from Dreamees (told you I liked them) and I distressed them both with Tim Holtz "Spun Sugar" distress ink. I decided it was a little fox sat with her so coloured him in TN2 leaving a little white tip on his brush.

I added a little bit of bias ribbon from my stash threaded through the heart tag just to finish it off.


I will be entering this card into the Sketch and Stash fortnightly challenge.

Hope you like it, would love feedback either in the form of comments or ticking of boxes.... :-)

Love n Light

Clare x

Money Box & Door Hanger

This project was something different for me. I'd made a door hanger at a workshop I attended which I really enjoyed. It was seen my by sister in law who asked me to do her these for a friends birthday, so here you go, what do you think?






Everything apart from the heart banner on these is courtesy of Dreamees, a really friendly family business who are massively enthusiastic about crafting (you can tell I'm a fan....lol).

The papers are on a double cd called "Simply Sweet" and it's full of various coloured backing papers, accessories, card templates, sentiments (it's packed). I used papers from the cd to craft the green and teal flowers and their white rose kit to make my roses.  The mdf birdhouse money box and door hanger were also from them.

The heart banner die is by La La Land and I purchased it from Bunny Zoe's Crafts and it's my favourite die at the moment...

I will be making myself a hanger shortly to go in my kitchen but it'll be along the lines of the kitchen being heart of the home with maybe a Saturated Canary image included.

Please feel free to comment either by ticking boxes or leaving me a comment. Thanks for calling by

I am entering these into the Cute & Girly mid way challenge

Love n Light

Clare x

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Daisy Dancer

I made this card a little while ago but forgot to blog her.

I used black card from my stash and spun sugar card from Tim Holtz purchased at Gemini Crafts, Sutton-in-Ashfield.  to layer up and the white patterned layer I actually Zentangled (R) myself with my spun sugar distress ink pen as I wanted it to match colourwise. I also coloured her dress with this and used my spectrum noir pens for her skin (FS1 & 3) and hair (TN1, 2 and EB1).

The image herself was from the collection "Girls" from Dreamees as were the tags, scrolls and templates for the flowers which I made as per instructions from Carol at Dreamees. The card template shape was also from one of their cd's.

Really enjoyed making this one and hope you like her too.

Please feel free to leave a comment or tick a box. It's always a pleasure to get feedback from other crafters.

Thanks for dropping in

Love n Light

Clare x


Tuesday 7 May 2013

Be so Happy

Made this for a very special Grandma's 80th birthday. Words were more important than images or numbers so here's what I created:

This first image is obviously in the box. Everything on this card apart from the die-cut scrolls came from Dreamees a company run by Hayley Bignall (an ex-student at the school I work in) and her Mum, Carol Bignall. Hayley is a designer of original artwork cd's, stamps and accessories.

I printed papers in pastel green and pastel pink from her Simply Sweet CD for this card. The flowers are made using printed templates and I think look fab!! I decided to cut the flowers leaving a white border (a tip from Hayley) as it really makes the flower pop when it's completed.









 I've taken this photo so you can see the 3D effect of the flowers.











As this card is a wordy one, thought I'd let you see the verse.


I will be entering the card into Totally Gorjuss - Anything Goes with Swirls Challenge
and Pink Gem Designs - Make It Sentimental Challenge
and Divas By Design -Anything Goes Challenge




Thanks for calling by, please let me know what you think of my card either by ticking boxes or leaving a comment.

Love n Light

Clare xx






Sunday 5 May 2013

Me, My Cat & The Moon

Have done a couple of versions of this little beauty and they look totally different. This one was completed and sold virtually on the same day. The other image has yet to be converted into a card but has been reserved already, I promise Lucy I'm on it...

On the completed card I used Spectrum Noir pens as always. FS1 & 3 for the skin LV1 & IB1 for the dress, hat n gloves. Her hair was BG4 and a blender to get the white streaks.

I blended BG1 & 2 for the sky and did the tree in EB1, 2 & 7 trying to get where the moon had highlighted the branches. The cat was coloured in BG8.

I used some stock CM card and papers to matt and layer the image and added a couple of wee pearls in the corners. Really happy with the result.

The second version I've included the photo I took when I'd finished her which shows the colours I used.

Thanks for calling by. Hope you like them. All cards like this are one offs but something similar can be created on request.

Love n Light

Clare xx



Tuesday 23 April 2013

Ladies Pamper Evening

The school I work at is holding a Ladies Pamper Evening on the 2nd May to raise funds for a local hospital teenage cancer unit so they can create a chill out room and I've been asked to stand with my cards, so my weekend has been spent making lots of cards. Here are just a few of them, these are what I'd call my basic card stock and will all sell at £1.50. They are all simple matting and layering with a few ribbons and bows and flowers added.








Prima Ballerina - Strawberries and clotted cream inspired colours - I do love the lacey edges





 

Birthday Cake- Spring colours and lacey edges again with with some added ribbon.







 


Spring Wedding - I just love the ribbon and had to add a couple of mulberry flowers the same as her bouquet.









Gone Fishing! - Actually want to find a nice brown button to finish this off!!








Quite enjoyed doing these and there were quite a few more - but I do like my colouring, so this week I'll be making more cards but with coloured images.

Thanks for dropping by

Love n Light

Clare xx














Wednesday 17 April 2013

Alice in Chains

I decided some time ago to have a little notebook as I make cards so that I can note down the colours of pens and card I've used on different cards along with the suppliers of different embellishments in case I run out.  The only problem for me was it was looking rather boring as it was just a plain black spiral bound book.  As I had just purchased an A4 embossing folder called Garden Lattice from Gemini Crafts - Sutton in-Ashfield  and a Raspberry plate for my Grand Calliber, I embossed a piece of plain white card and used "Spun Sugar" distress ink and a cosmetic sponge to emphasise the pattern.

I had also purchased some "Tim Holtz- Spun Sugar" cardstock also at Gemini and used this to layer the image I'd chosen.




The image I chose was a Kenny Kiernan called "Alice in Chains".  I coloured her using FS1 & 2 for her skin. A Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pen "Spun Sugar" to colour her dress and shoes and .layered the olour to get the depth.  I used another Distress Ink pen "Pumice Stone" for the chain.  Her hair I coloured in TN1 & 2 and EB1 & 2. My partner said I should've coloured her hair black as it would've looked better. I actually did a card in the same colours but did her hair EB7 and I must admit the depth of colour looks great against the "spun sugar" although for my notebook I am happy to have her hair this colour :-)

I had a strip of card left when I layered the image so uing a small embossing folder that had been included in the Crafters Companion Spring Edition magazine I made myself a bookmark too.

Thanks for dropping by

Love n Light

Clare x