Cards for men

One of the tasks we cardmakers struggle with is making cards for men!  It's hopeless!  For girls, you can pick loads of general themes and find a million variations- flowers, dresses, shoes, shopping, hearts, the list is endless.  For man, you can generally choose from sport (only their particular favourite), a hobby (some men don't have very craftable hobbies), wine or beer (if they aren't a tee-totaller) or some sort of geometric pattern!  I always dread June when my Dad and my Stepmum's dad's birthdays come round.  What to make!

 My Dad always used to love sailing when I was young. So I decided to create a boat design. The boat is made out of some felt remnants and the wavy background is some pretty patterned envelop innards.  Apparently, this is what was used in the original Iris-folding, so I am not the only one who likes to recycle envelopes!  This was relatively pain-free to make, if a little simple.

However, my Stepgrandad is hard to make for!!!!

Luckily, the Daring Cardmakers issued a challenge of using the negatives of a punch- i.e. instead of using the little shape you have punched, use the holes you made!! So at my sister's, I borrowed her champagne glass punch and an X-cut border punch device and punched a line of wine-glasses in some grey shiny paper off-cut!  Fast forward to Friday night and needing to leave to get to my little sister's- I grabbed a blue card, some outline sticker lines and some pretty patterned old-envelope inards and came up with this for my Stepmum's Dad.  Quick and pain-free even if not the most inspiring ever (linking up to the Daring Cardmakers weekly challenge: A hole in one!)

Also, linking up to Lakota's Ta da Tuesday! Be careful when you hit the link though.  She mentions the hated M* word!!!!Yay, I've made lots of things this month and there is more to come as my Swap-partners have both received their parcels now so I can finally reveal what I've been beavering away at!!!


Hee hee, I've had a day of extremes:  Year 6 (top of the school: 11 years old) this morning tracking character emotions in Kensuke's kingdom then bisecting lines.  The afternoon:  Nursery:  completely hyper (more so than EVER) 3 year olds.  Apart from music we were making Olympic medals.  4 year olds and scissors: SHUDDER!

*  M.U.S.H.R.O.O.M.S:  Cue hysterical Hammer horror screaming!

Ponderings, a Mohican, a card, a vintage skirt question! Take your pick!

I have a question! 
I was watching Have I got news for you?  just now and someone was asking if anyone had any button anecdotes.  Do you?  I'd love to hear them!
Apparently, it's really hard to get rid of your grandmother's button collection.
I also have another one!
I was just typing up my 400+ comments for all the school's music reports.  And if any of you are parents, how closely do you read and take note of subjects like music, art, geography.  Really I am intrigued to know.  What do you think of reports?  Which bits do you pay closest attention to?  What would you most like to read.  And if you aren't a parent, what's your opinion?

I have a third question:
I am going to karaoke tomorrow and I might have to sing. What would you sing?  I'm thinking of doing a silly mock-Shirley Bassey Diamonds are forever if I HAVE to choose something (cringe!) but I feel silly!

My swap-parcels are sorted so I don't have to stress anymore about those- just school stuff!!  I  am having a lovely time at my sister's this evening despite having to sit and type reports!  
We've just eaten a life-time supply modest amount of  of Chinese and we may make cards as we've BOTH forgotten about a certain family member's birthday!  She thought it was the 8th, I thought the 7th but apparently it's the 4th!  Oops!

 I bought this cute skirt in the charity shop the other day for £2.  I'm presuming it is vintage because of 2 facts:
1) the Windsmoor label looks old
2)  It's a size 10  but I can barely breathe it fits my waist so snuggly so it feels like a size 6 feels on me!
Could you hazard a guess for me on how old it might be? 

 I teamed it with yellow licorice allsorts earrings (no picture) tied my Cath Kidston necklace in a knot

 Oh and my lovely Mummy came over yesterday and taught me how to use a lawn-mower.  She didn't quite trust me to do anything more than do more than mow a little patch.  She said she wanted to get on with it but I know it's because she wanted to cut the grass into a Mohican!  Loook!!!

 I made a card (and MANY other things which have taken 3 days to do for swaps- ahgrh!) late in the evening- this took 5 minutes!  The obligatory recycled element is the rainbow background- an old tissue box!

 And here's something else I was going to make...

How was your day!?

Jubileh? Cards!

Hello!  Not quite sure what has happened but suddenly I can upload so am sneaking these in quickly!
I am linking up to The Daring Cardmakers monthly challenge for June which was to make a card upon the theme of red, white and blue.
I made this card recycling elements as is my habit!  the checkered background is the packaging from our paperchains box, the red card is the inside of my Lindt Easter egg box.  Literally, I made myself a template for the red cross as I went along.  I made the white using plain paper and a Martha Stewart edging punch.  I added white dots to the red with a white gel pen then layered the whole thing up with 3d pads onto a white card blank!  Quite pleased with it!  Also linking up to Annie the Felt-fairy's Make a month for 2012.

Last week's Daring card-maker's challenge was to make a card incorporating keys or locks which I failed to upload in time, not least because I was unhappy with it (it's lacking something, but somehow I am lacking the inspiration to do anything else to it, so here is is until a bright idea comes to me!  The recycling this time was the patterned paper which came from a White-stuff invoice and the spotty card for the house was a bit of a card that it seemed a shame to chuck!  The chiffon ribbon for the key was from a cracker!  I made the key by punching  a circle and then adding a hole-punched smaller circle. The end of the key was just an experiment with cutting!  The house, I just cut a house shape and I made the roof and window detailing by using a paper-pierced to poke holes!  The pink wall-paper in the background was ripped!

Hope you are well and happy!  I had a darling day out at Hylands park yesterday visiting a 'Right royal Knees up!' and then watching the Jubilee concert!  I am still wearing red, blue and er-grey (and soldiers!) in honour of the Jubilee.  Will post when I get a mo to take a picture!  Thanks for kind comments and advice re Picassa!

Also, (YAY at last!) linking up to Lakota's Ta dah Tuesday as I am pleased with the first card and pleased that I actually made something this month!

And, to MishelFlo's crafty challenge! and Craft your days away fortnightly challenge!

(Wow, the most links ever!)

Easter parade

Hello!  Despite the rain and cold, it's been a lovely Easter Sunday thus far!  I was awoken at 6am in order to enable CBC to get to a 110km cycle ride in Kent (AHRGH!), so this meant I was alert and ready at 6.30am to leave the house and pick up 2 buses (oh the joy of living at an intermediary minor station on a route with engineering works, you get the pleasure of not having rail replacement laid on all the way, but fending for yourself for  half the way!) home!

This meant I was able to eat a leisurely breakfast, lots of tea and even do some tidying up before being on time for church!  We sang well this morning which was great and proceeded to eat lots of Easter eggs afterwards!  Then a friend just came round for a cup of tea!

 I ended up wearing a festively Easterish outfit in the end!  The skirt (TKMaxx) I'd worn last night at a barn-dance as I hadn't realised the engineering work began last night!  This is fine though, as it is a skirt that needs much swishing and obviously an evening of barn-dancing wasn't enough!! Worn with a matching pinky cardie (Monsoon) and purple hat (Tescos) and Hush-puppies gunmetal shoes.

 What you don't see in this photo is that seconds before it took, my heel sunk into the mud, I slipped and ended up with one foot out of the shoe!  A good save to meet the timer methinks!

 I kannee resist swishing!  I think it was all that barn-dancing last night that did it! It was so much fun as we did loads of unusual dances that I've never done before including 'The snowball' and the 'Jumpback'!    My friend Anne and I stuck rigorously to the beat as usual and despaired at lesser-mortals who couldn't stay in time and remember the routine,notably stripping the willow!  ;-)

 I suddenly realise this outfit realised went well with this coat which I've had for at least 7 years, but don't wear all that often!  It's a Matthew Williamson Butterfly coat which I love because it's all embroidered and detailed.  That's what I like about eveything Matthew Williamson does- he always uses some lovely vibrant colours on his clothing and embellished details!  Everything seems pretty, feminine and like he's taken a lot of care over it! Most designers I'm really not bothered about, I'd never buy designer, but for Matthew Williamson, I'd consider it if only I were more affluent and not conscious of wasting money and thinking more ethically- the spending ban has really made me think about it!! The Lent leg of it is over, now comes the continuation!

 To keep me warm, I decided this 9 year old M&S collar would go well with it!

 Just a couple of action shots CBC took naughtily last night at the barn-dance! See that grimace!  That comes of being far taller than your partner and having to go under arms- apparently the first time, I dragged her off her feet!

 It was a lovely evening, in aid of the Helen Rollason cancer-charity, lovely folk and it's such a brilliant way of having fun- healthy, being exercise, challenging mentally but utterly hilarious!  I spent most of the evening naughtily laughing when other people couldn't remember the routine!

I just had to share a hilarious simile I heard recently, courtesy of Philip Larkin, which I am STILL chortling about:

As pedestrian as a centipede.

Hope your Easter is beautiful and not as pedestrian as a centipede!
Hugs xx

Mother's day makes!!!

Happy Mother's day to all you mothers! (Is it Mother's as in one mother's day or Mothers' day, as in the day that belongs to all mothers.  Hmmmm...)

 Here's my first Make a month for Annie the Felt Fairy's challenge.  Really not my best!  It includes some recycling- the pink criss-cross card is from some packaging!

 I nipped over with CBC to take my Mummy her card and some pressies (Bath selection pack, Cath Kidston robin pin-badge, Green and Blacks mini bars) but I was really sad not to have been able to take her a posy of flowers which I have done every year for the last 8 years.  At church, a talented yet humble team of ladies decorate the church with the most exquisite of flower displays and then make a myriad of posies for daughters to take and give to their mums.  Somehow, because I was playing the piano today (Les Dawson extraordinaire- sooooo many dodgy wrong notes!!!), I didn't go up to get one and saw that there were one or two left but after the service they'd all gone!!! I also wanted to take photos to show you how amazing they are but I forgot my camera!

My Mum is fab and it was lovely to see her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  She's always done so much for me, sacrificially.
Here she is as a glam teenager (???) dressing up for Amateur dramatics as usual! What a beauty!!!!!!!!

What I did this afternoon:

 My other makes of the day (month) are very basic but since I made them and they took a significant length of time, they shall be recorded here for posterity!  28 leaf head-dresses for my school choir!

We're going to sing at the Royal Albert Hall on Thursday and one of the many props we were asked to provide were head-dresses!

They look rubbish up close as you may have secretly thought as you read this (I agree!) but I'm hopeful they'll look effective from a distance!

I'm not actually turning them into circlets until I can actually staple them to a child's headsize! I'll do that on the day otherwise they'll be mashed by then!

 However, here's a taster (oooooooh dear!!!!)  Dan naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go on, mock me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Merlin fancies you!"

...Possibly the most funny reaction to my telling children that I was Guinevere!

 Yes, it was World Book day today!  After toying with all those ideas that I shared with you, eventually I decided on Guinevere (incidently, if you are asking me which book it is, since most of my kids only knew Merlin , then it is T.H White's The once and future king, a book in the Arthurian series I chose for my GCSE English Open study!).

CBC bought me a beautiful blue cape for my birthday which was brilliant for this costume!

 The dress is vintage, I believe- it was £2.50 in a local charity shop last summer.  It's either 70's or an ex-theatre costume in a regency style.  I decorated it with a strip of gold brocade material that's been kicking around since 2005, it was left over from some trousers I had made!

 The headdress caused me major issues!  I tried to make a Medieval conical hat (you know the ones I mean?) with purple sugar paper but after an hour and a half of failure, I rethought.
I saw headdresses like this one on a costume online so I decided to make one like it.

 (Excuse the NASTY photo!) I took a pair of purple tights- twisted them and secure the ends in the twist shape with hair bands.  Then I took more gold brocade material and wrapped them together.  More hairbands to secure. 
To attach it to my head, I took another black hair-band and attached white organza ribbons to it then I put the purple headdress around my head and caught the ends with the decorated headband

 Finally, I plaited my  in 2 and wrapped gold ribbon in a criss-cross shape around them.

The great-thing about the head-dress is that no pins or sewing was needed so I can just dismantle it and wear the tights as before etc!  (does this count as my first Make a month for March?! Please reassure me!)

Did any of you or your kids dress up?!?!

Valentines buttons: in which Kezzie arranges buttons on train as strangers looks on bemused!

A make a month has taken on a decidedly buttonish (nice word- (C) Kezzie 2012) theme in February!

CBC's valentines card. Hastily thrown together on Saturday night around midnight before departing egregiously early to gay Pareees on Sunday morning. Was a challenge as all my 3d pads and glue seemed to have gone completely AWOL. I tried to do it on the train on the way to CBC's house but as I arranged buttons on the card, to the bemusement of my fellow passengers (not as bad as licking a muffin as a stranger looks on as a certain blogger did recently!), I realised I had no scissors to cut my own adhesive, double sided sticky tape! It had to wait!

The blue background is some sort of packaging from some box or other (always SOME recycling). The buttons are an assortment I obtained from my Mum, whose husband was going to give them away. Spying, I pounced! Apart from the double-sided tape, a cream card blank (from my Christmas swap from Millie) and some outline silver stickets, that was it! (Apart from a blue card heart with a glowing red button topping it inside the card!) Quite quick really!

I can't possibly comment on the card I received as I didn't :-(
although I did get a treasure hunt in Brugues with furry heart keyring as the prize on the 17th which kind of made up for it!  It was a sweet thought!! :-)

Was denken Sie?

(Blog post title, slightly plagiarised from The Chrlog's recent post on muffin licking! Read it, it's hilarious!)

Button button, who's got the button?! A make a month!

AS part of my pledge for 2012, thanks to Annie the Felt Fairy, I have pledged to make something every month!  So far, I am doing well in February!  I've been carrying on with making jewellery after my experiments at Christmas
(I say making- what this really translates as is choosing colour/size combinations, opening jump rings with pliers, shoving on items, closing jumprings and then hoping for the best!  Perhaps I'll become more advanced through the year! So let's call it 'faciliating a meeting of compatible buttons. Speed dating for buttons...?).  I adore buttons so this is pure joy!!!
It all started when I was doing my PGCE and I had to personally go and out and buy the materials for 60 children to make puppets (yes, it gets like this in primary schools- you just go out and buy the stuff yourself from your own money).  I asked in my local charity shop if they had any buttons and rather like Pick and mix,I went out the shop with about 200 beautiful pastel miniatures!!!  Then of couse it grew...

Here's my makes so far...



Flower button earrings!  These cute buttons have been kicking around for ages! I deemed them to nice to waste on a card! Yay for jewellery! They sparkle in the correct light (i.e. if you are not a rubbish photographer like moi)

 This bracelet took aaaaaaaaaages!  I am a little slow at things at first but then got into the swing of it!  It's too big for me so hoping the eventual receipient has bigger wrists! (these were part of the original button haul!)

I HEART buttons!  (these are intended for another crafty endeavour later in the week!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 By the way:
Can you remember WHO says the quote about buttons in what film (saddo that I am!)   Answers on a postcard below!