My lovely followers x

Friday 13 December 2013

Christmas crafting with Papermill

Evening all,  I'm back after another busy week....think I'm working harder now than I have in my whole life. Every day seems absolutely manic! ...but hey-ho, it's Christmas soon....eeeeeek!
And......I've just noticed this is my 250th post, whoohoo....
Anyway, tonight I want to tell you about another fab special offer at PAPERMILL....it's a double whammy this week:-
No 1)  FREEPOST for all orders over £25 (and it's soooooooooo very easy to spend £25 on their fab products)
No 2)  Gorgeous platinum coloured pearlescent cardstock This comes in a small box, approximately 70 - 75 A4 sheets for only £7.50.
Here are my DT creations, hope you like them

 ALL cardstock from PAPERMILL
A napkin ring for our Christmas table....now I just need to make another SEVEN....help!
Sizzix Poinsettia die and ivy spray die from Crafters Companion


This is a simple card, made with a Martha Stewart punch and a few jewels from stash....the tiny little holly clusters are from PETAL LU ....they're only 5p each and I LOVE them!




A little close-up of the holly clusters.

This is a favours box, again for our Christmas table....not sure what will be in them yet, mmmmmmm, any ideas??
Well, that's it for tonight, I'll be back over the next couple of days, hopefully.
Have a great weekend.
Barbara x


Friday 6 December 2013

This week's 'Special Offer' at Papermill.......

Evening everyone, hope you're all well and not stressing that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away......who would think we had almost a whole year to prepare for it!
Just a quick post from me tonight to inform you of this week's 'Special Offer' at PAPERMILL.
A4 White Buckram Embossed cardstock - 270 gsm
Mega Box of approx 645 A4 sheets for only £31
(such a fantastic deal....don't miss it!)
This is my DT card, hope you like it.....lots more to show in a day or two.
I used an embossing folder to make the brick wall, then window & tree dies from Spellbinders and Crafters Companion. Sentiment tags are from Lili of the Valley and the gorgeous holly clusters are from 
PETAL LU (so sweet)
I put this card into a little box to send to my lovely nephew and his wife....it cost £2 bloomin' 60p, so hope they liked it!
Catch you all soon.
Barbara
xx
I'm entering this card into the following challenges :-
WINTER WONDERLAND
CRAFTY CATZ
CRAFTY HANDS DEVON
JO'S SCRAP SHACK 






Sunday 1 December 2013

Lavinia Challenge - No 10 - Anything Goes

Evening all, jsut a very quick post from me tonight.....had a bit of a bad day, so just need to go to bed early.
Today sees the start of Challenge No.10 at LAVINIA STAMPS....
the theme is ANYTHING GOES.
As long as you use at least ONE Lavinia stamp, you can enter the challenge....the prize is a whopping £40
I've got a card and a tag to show you tonight, made with the new Zentangle stamps from Lavinia....they are fab! (the stamps, that is! ) LOL


This card was made with a Pan Pastel background onto white linen cardstock from 
and, of course, the new Zentangle mushrooms from Lavinia.










This little tag was made to match the card, but I've used the large Zentangle mushroom. I've also used loads of Glamourdust, but it's hard to see it in these pics. They look much better in 'real life'.


Well, that's all for tonight, I have a batch of Christmas cards to show you in a day or so, made with only ONE stamp. Hope you'll pop back then,
In the meantime, happy crafting.
Barbara
xx

Thursday 21 November 2013

Fab new offer at Papermill......

Hi folks, hope you're all keeping warm on this cold day.....Brrrrrrrrrrrrr, if I wasn't so busy, I might just go into hibernation!
Anyway, another fab offer today from PAPERMILL  to warm you all up....this one is just available until Tuesday, stock permitting, so don't hesitate.
20 x A4 sheets of Purple Cord Embossed paper 117 gsm for £5
Here are my Design Team samples 



ALL cardstock and paper from 

Classic squares & circle from Spellbinders, Memory Box 'frosty' corner die, and the pine tree stamp from 
(with loads of Glamourdust)









This one has been embossed with a wintry embossing folder from Sizzix, and a Memory Box 'frosty' border die.
hope you like them....don't forget to pop over to Papermill to checkout this, and other offers.
Catch you all tomorrow, I have so many cards to blog, just need a few extra hours in each day....stay warm 
xx
Barbara

Thursday 14 November 2013

Massive Special Offers at Papermill.......

Hi everyone, hope you're well, and staying warm. I'm bloomin' freezing me bits off as I write this, helping in Adam's pet shop without heat!
Anyway,  just wanted to tell you that PAPERMILL, have just announced another THREE Special Offers, to warm us all up!
 A4 white felt-embossed MEGA Box - 600 sheets for £29 (amazing value)
A3 white felt-embossed box - 70/75 sheets for only £9
A4 Light Silver pearlised card (double-sided) 300gsm - 70/75 sheets for only £7.50
Fantastic offers, if you've yet to start your Christmas card....(mine are all finished, yay!)
Here are a couple of things I made with the silver pearlised cardstock



I've used a Little Claire stamp, coloured with Promarkers, and various Spellbinder dies. The 'snow' is from Poundland....cost only £1! ;-)





This little silver bauble was made with the Spellbinder Heirloom die and pearlised cardstock, which I ran through a flourish embossing folder. A few beads from my stash and voila!




Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with more creations made from the fabulous cardstock at Papermill....Why not pop over to checkout the Special Offers in more detail?
Barbara xx

Saturday 2 November 2013

New Challenge at Lavinia Stamps....... Bright, Hot Colours

Hi again.....I'm back tonight with my DT cards for the new challenge at 
This month the theme is BRIGHT, HOT COLOURS.....which, if you've been reading my blog for a while, you'll know are my favourites x
Get ya thinking caps on everyone, 'cos the prize is a massive £40 of goodies from Lavinia Stamps....
Here are my DT cards.....

All cardstock is from
PAPERMILL 
The background colours have been done using Colour Chemistry inks from
OAK HOUSE STUDIO  and loads of Cosmic Shimmer. All stamps from Lavinia.






This pine tree stamp is one of my most favourite by Tracey Dutton at Lavinia. I absolutely adore it!
White hammered cardstock from Papermill, Distress Inks from Tim Holtz and a Lavinia sentiment x











This one is for my great-great niece, who is 3 on December 27th......Get me!...being so organised that I had the card made in October, haha

I've coloured the background with Pan Pastels.
All stamps from Lavinia





I really enjoyed making these cards, especially the second one....in fact, I've done it in a few different colours ;-)
Well, that's all for now....I have our little Eva and Nick staying over for a couple of nights, Emma is in Australia for a wedding this weekend, so they're home alone.  I'm gonna relax with a nice glass of vino collapso....catch you all soon xx
I'm entering these cards into the following challenges :-
Hiding In My Craft Room
Little Claire's Monthly Challenge
Pumpkin Spice
So Artful Challenges
Mark's Finest Papers

Ladybug Crafts
Seemacrafts
The Stamping Boutique





Tuesday 29 October 2013

A fabulous new offer from Papermill......

Evening all,  thanks for popping back to checkout today's post.
There is a fab new offer this week from
PAPERMILL
 A4 Buckram Embossed Black Card 270gsm
20 sheets for £5.00
This card has a lovely embossed texture, and is a lovely to work with....here are my Papermill DT cards for this 'Guy Fawkes' offer...



 All cardstock from  
This card was inked with Colour Chemistry from 
OAK HOUSE STUDIO , splodged with Tim Holtz Distress Stain and covered with lashings of Glamourdust ;-)





Although the 'buckram' cardstock looks navy on these pics, it is most definitely BLACK! (think it was just the strange daylight, as I was snapping.)
I made this card for Alan....gave it to him....then said, I've paid for a load of craft stuff on YOUR bankcard, darling!! hahaha

Well, hope you like them,
Catch you all soon with my DT cards for the new Lavinia challenge, which starts on Friday
xx

Monday 28 October 2013

Christmas Project for Half-Term

Hi everyone, I'm back today with a cute little project that would maybe entertain the kids during half-term.

Santa Serviette Rings.
For 6 people you only need 3 x A4 sheets of Papermill cardstock (I used white hammered)




 Fold an A4 sheet of cardstock in half.
 Draw 1 shape for the serviette holder, fold the card then cut through both pieces to get 2 shapes.




Do your pencil marks on the reverse.



Now you need to cut a hole for the eyes.







The first 'hole' can be used as a template for the second



Now you need (for 2 serviette rings)
4 googly eyes,
4 small circles of red. (I rushed mine so they're not very 'round'.... a 1/2" punch would be better)
2 pieces of pink cardstock roughly 1" x 2"
and
2 pieces of white cardstock, slightly smaller than the pink, and 'cut into' to make Santa's moustache.






 Assemble the face, as shown.




Join the edges together at the back with a wet glue (I used Cosmic Shimmer acrylic glue)




Now all you need to do is fold red serviettes into a point, and insert onto the holders.

Hope these instructions are clear enough to follow. 
With care, you should be able to keep them for many years.






A much easier and less time-consuming serviette holder can be made in 5 minutes.





Cut as many circles as you want....1 for every holder needed.



Make a split in the circle about 1/3 down from the top. (If children are making these, you might need to help them with this part)


Assemble faces as previously shown.
I've decorated one a bit further with black 'buttons', a bobble and a piece of white pipe cleaner around the hat.
Well that's it for today, apologies for the long post, hope you're all still awake!
Enjoy half-term ;-)
Barbara xx

Tuesday 22 October 2013

One-Stamp Challenge at Oak House Studios

Evening everyone, I'm back after a week of non-blogging....why is everything so manic at the moment for me (answers on a postcard, please)
Anyway, some of you may know that Lynnda Worsnop of Oak House Studio holds a ONE STAMP EVENT 2 or 3 times a year, when the DT and studio visitors make as many projects as possible, with only ONE stamp...This time, on the 22nd September, it was the beautiful Poinsettia stamp.
I wasn't able to attend the studios, due to being on holiday, but I made a few cards with the stamp.
Hope you like them....


All cardstock is from
PAPERMILL 
thought I'd go a bit 'in ya face' with this one.
Inks from
OAK HOUSE STUDIO


 Poinsettia painted with OHS inks.



The poinsettia has been heat embossed with OHS gold 'fine detail' embossing powder.
I have coloured the image with red & orange ink, and an aqua-brush....really watered down in places.






Well, that's it for tonight,  hope you've enjoyed looking.
Why not pop over to Oak House Studio, and checkout all the fabulous stamps, inks and ep's....?
I'm going to leave you with a couple of new pics of
 our beautiful little Eva, love her to bits xx






Love,














Love,





Love her! xx

Tuesday 15 October 2013

More Papermill Inspiration.....

Morning all, hope you're staying cosy and warm....
.I'm home today and tomorrow, so I'm trying to get loads of crafting done for another Craft Fair on Saturday...... phew, it's all 'go' at the moment. 
I've got a couple more DT card to show you using this weeks Special Offer from
PAPERMILL (click on this link to go directly to the offer)



All cardstock from 
PAPERMILL 
Sentiment was free, from a magazine.....Lili of the Valley image, coloured with promarkers.... die-cut trees from Crafters Companion and a small set of snowflakes that I've had forever! (don't know the company, sorry)




Same image, coloured pink..... a Memory Box corner die....the lattice central die is from Marianne, and the snowflakes are Spellbinders. Same sentiment as above. I've used the forest green cardstock from the special offer and pink.
Loads of Glamourdust too.....
Hope you like them....
Catch you all soon
xx


Sunday 13 October 2013

Christmas Offer from Papermill

Evening all, I'm a bit late with this blog post, but better late than never, I suppose.
I've done a 2-day craft fair this weekend at the little medieval village of Lacock (where all the BBC period drama's are set).....sold almost £180 of cards so I have a big smile on me mush tonight. Only problem is, I have another fair next Saturday, so I'm gonna have to get busy over the next few days, replacing my stock!
Anyway, some of the cards sold this weekend were my DT cards for 
 ......their new 'Special' this week can be found 
HERE
20 A4 sheets of Forest Green 160gsm and 20 A4 sheets of Post Box Red 160gsm all for just £5.00
These are my cards.....




Spellbinders Poinsettia dies, and a sentiment from Dimension 4th.....All cardstock from Papermill.



Sentiment from Inkylicious and holly & ivy dies from Crafters Companion.



Pine branch die from Memory Box, Spellbinders classic circles, stamped with flourishes from Inkadinkado and heat embossed with silver EP from OAK HOUSE STUDIO
The sentiment tags are by Lili of the Valley.

Well, that's it for today, hope you like them. Catch you all soon....
Barbara

Wednesday 9 October 2013

Autumn is still around!

Hello everyone, and a big warm welcome to my new followers.....the fact that I'm freezing as I write doesn't matter. (LOL)
My goodness, where has the last week gone, I can't believe it's 9 days since I blogged......
Anyway, just wanted to show you my 2nd DT card for the Lavinia Stamps AUTUMN challenge
The fabulous designs are available from 
So, this is my Autumn DT card....




Although I don't like Autumn, as I said in my last post....I do love the colours it brings, and I enjoy making Autumnal coloured cards.
I've used the lovely Pine Trees from Lavinia, a leafy mask, and a computer generated sentiment. Inks and ink sprays are from 
(Great choice of colours and cover really well)
All cardstock is from 
PAPERMILL
as usual .....





This is such a handy little stamp. I've just made a batch of Christmas cards with it....nice and easy, just how I like Christmas cards.
Don't forget to enter the Lavinia Challenge, the prize is a mahoooooosive £40 to spend on their website.

Back soon,
Barbara

Tuesday 1 October 2013

Lavinia Challenge No.8.......Autumn

Hi everyone........well Autumn certainly seems to be here, with  leaves turning many colours and falling. I've got to admit, I'm not too keen on the Autumn season, 'cos although I LOVE the colours, I can't help thinking the changing colours only signify DEATH......death of Summer, death of all the gorgeous plants and flowers.....and the migrating birds leave us for warmer climes. Also, my lovely mam  passed away on 6th October, so all in all, I just feel sad, sad, sad! (Sorry)
Anyway, now that I've depressed you all, I'll move onto something NICE.....it's Challenge No.9 at
The theme is AUTUMN and the prize is a WHOPPING £40 to spend at Lavinia Stamps.
Here is one of my DT cards....I'll show another tomorrow.



I heat embossed the tree, fairy and the overhanging foliage onto plain brown cardstock from 
The rest of the card started off as smooth white, also from 
Papermill, of course ;-)




The oak leaf frame is done with a mask from Ali Reeves, using gold embossing powder from
 Oak House Studio
I then inked with pigment inks in various colours, also from OHS



I love this little sentiment......all stamps are from Lavinia Stamps.... 
 HERE




Hope you like this card.....would love you to leave a comment if you've enjoyed looking.
Catch you all tomorrow,
Barbara
xx

Saturday 28 September 2013

Papermill 'Wine'......better than anything you can drink!!

Morning everyone, I'm back!
Had a great holiday in Crete, but couldn't wait to get home to see the family, especially our gorgeous little Eva and of course to get back to crafting. 
We have our lovely Australian friends here too, on their last week of a 4 week tour of the UK, so normal service might not be resumed until next weekend, as I'll be spending some time with them, shopping etc....yeah!
Anyway, this week sees the new 'Special Offer' at
AND IT'S BLOOMIN' FAB!
 A4 Small Box of Wine Linen Embossed Card 270 gsm ONLY £5!!!
You all know how much I LOVE the white 'linen cardstock, yes? Well, I've got me sticky little mitts on some WINE coloured 'linen embossed' and it's fabulous!
I have a load of 'wine' ribbon that I collected when I was trying to match up Nick and Emma's wedding stationery a couple of years ago, thought I'd never get to use it, them wham, the cardstock arrived and it's such a perfect match, phew!
Anyway, enough shizzle, here is my DT card for Papermill. I wanted to show just how lovely the cardstock is, so kept it very simple.



Just look at the fab texture on the wine cardstock.


Think it would look great for Christmas cards too

Well, hope you like my card.
 I'll be back on Monday with a few DT cards for Oak House Studio, from their 'One Stamp' event last week.
Have a great weekend,
Barbara
xx
 I'm entering this card into the following challenge :-
Ladybug Crafts

Thursday 19 September 2013

This Weeks Special Offer from Papermill

Morning all, and welcome to my new followers.....thanks for popping by to see my work, and thanks also for all the lovely comments on previous posts, I appreciate them all.
I'm still on holiday and enjoying doing absolutely nothing...yeah!
I'm showing another 'Special Offer' from 
This week it's plain white cardstock, 250 gms, an A4 MIDI box is just £16 for approx 260 sheets.
I chose just to use a simple stamp by Stampendous,  coloured with Distress Inks, and matted onto more Papermill cardstock.
Very simple....what do you think?
I'll be back soon with a few cards for Oak House Studio.
Hope you will leave a comment if you've enjoyed looking,
xx

Thursday 12 September 2013

Another 'Special Offer' from Papermill.....

Morning everyone, from a very sunny and hot Crete....while you're reading this, I'm lying on the beach, whoohoo!...
Well, here we are again with another Special Offer from
This week the offer is for a gorgeous, 250gsm smooth Sea Green coloured cardstock.....I thought it would be perfect for a Christmas card so that's what I've made.
You can get an A4 small box for £4.50....approx 80 sheets.
Checkout the Papermill 'Special Offer' HERE


I've teamed it with white linen, of course....



A Memory Box die, the small snowflake/star from Lavinia Stamps, a scrap of ribbon and a few 'jewels' from my stash. 
Nothing else needed, the cardstock is so pretty, I wanted to show it off.

Hope you like it.
Catch you all soon, take care,
Barbara xx