A new stitching style - Jacobean embroidery

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Jaboean embroidery workshop run by the West Yorkshire Federation of Women's Institutes at their office in Rodley.

I love these day classes - you get to learn new things alongside fellow crafters and we have lots of fun too.

Well, with all the chatting and faffing about with the wool (I didn't really like working with it!) I didn't get much done, but I finished my piece off over the weekend.



Most of the stitches I had done before, but I learnt some new ones called coral stitch, spiderwebs and pinwheels, which are fab, and practiced my blanket stitch, which I've never been very good at.



The coral stitch is the ling thin stems. It's kind of knotted over itself every cm or so. The little blue flowers are the web and wheel stitches. Very impressed with these two so must remember to use them again in future.



I think the laid trellis work is a lovely effect too, although I did get a bit muddle with the couching down so the pattern went a bit wrong in places!

Lots of French knots for the middle of the flower and the yellow things at the outside that look like caterpillars are called bullion knots.

Don't think I'll be working in wool again anytime soon, but I'm very pleased with the finished piece.

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Carr Manor Craft Fair

Sam and I had a lovely afternoon at the Carr Manor Primary School Craft Fair on Saturday, despite not selling very much.



Here's our stall, doesn't it look pretty? Sam brought the tablecloth and bunting, which is essential for any craft stall!



Here are some of mine and the Buns & Roses goodies - cards, owl bookmarks, bags for life, stitched pictures.



And here are Sam's items - her gorgeous bath products including salts, scrubs and bobmbs. Find out more about her crafty exploits on her Corsets, Crafts and Cupcakes blog.



Don't the jars look fab? Sam invested in a stash of Stampin' Up! goodies so she could make all her packaging. It looks so beautiful all together.

Today I'm at The WI office in Rodley - not on official business but just taking the opportunity to work in a different environment and see some of my best friends at the same time!

This evening I'm off to the Craft Club in Headingley to share something (as of Sunday afternoon when I scheduled this I have no idea what I will be crafting!), then it's a pretty usual week.

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A couple of quickies

I finally managed to find a little time to make some cards the other day, so I did some very quick and easy ones.



Here I've used the Boho Blossoms Punch to make the small flowers in different colours, and added a tiny pearl centre. The sentiment is from the SAB set So Happy For You.



And this features a stamp from the hostess set Cute By The Inch and hearts made from the Brights DSP stack with the Small Hearts Punch.

Quick but effective! I'm at a craft fair in Chapel Allerton today so hoping I sell a few cards!

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Where has my craft time gone?

I seem to have lost a lot of my crafting time recently. Well, I've had some but I don't get round to doing big projects - just bits and pieces for my embroidery certificate or helping other people!

So that's my reason for still not having many photos to share, but once again I'm going to take the opportunity to clear out a few that have been lingering in my "to share" folder for a while. They're not particularly exciting, but I made them, and that's what this blog is all about!



Remember the gift bags Chris showed us at our Julie's Jems training a while back? Here's one in pink.





And here's another mander book. I made this one for Tessa just after I moved in to her lovely house. I used the music pattern from the Newsprint DSP as she's a jazz singer.





Finally, an album I picked up from TK Maxx, with frames in the front for adding some pics to the cover. I just used the Springtime Vintage DSP and some lacey bits and ribbon and Pearls to decorate them.

Actually, I did make some new cards last night, but my BlackBerry broke so I can't take any pics!

My new one should be on its way so hopefully I will be back to instant email and Twitter/Facebook access soon and be able to feel like I'm still in the 21st century!

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As promised, news from the WI

Here goes then with the latest tales from the WI.

As you know I've been getting more and more involved with this wonderful organisation for a few months now and really couldn't wish to be part of a more open, friendly and accepting group of women. And I mean that about Buns & Roses, our West Yorkshire Federation and the National Federation of Women's Institutes.

Remember the early days of Facebook when people would boast about having 100 "friends", hardly any of whom they had ever spoken to, let alone met?! Well, I can safely say that I have 207,000 very good friends in my fellow WI members and although I may not have spoken to or met them either, I know they would be there for me if I needed them and that I would happily return the favour anytime.

This is precisely why I have been getting more involved and am proud to already be the Denman College Rep for West Yorkshire, the Editor of our monthly newsletter (I have my own office and I get to decorate it!) and a member of the Home Economics & Handicrafts Committee.

As of this week, I now also sit on the Executive Committee at West Yorkshire and am so excited to also be President of Buns & Roses WI, as of our meeting last night.

Georgiana felt the time had come for her to step down, and with the approval of the rest of the committee, I have now officially taken on the role.

I don't expect it to be easy, but I know it will be fun and I'm looking forward to it.

Buns & Roses have had another bit of excitement this week as well - we are featured in the current issue of Woman magazine! Please do go out and get a copy (or at least flip through it in the shop - you'll see us on page 19!).

That's all the WI gossip for now! I am sure there will be more very soon and I will return over the weekend with crafty pics!

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Father's Day card and an apology

Firstly, an apology to my big bro, Matthew. It turns out he does read my blog and his wedding anniversary is not until the end of July, so I have spoiled the surprise of the card he will be getting from our mum! Sorry bro! Maybe she will send a different one instead ...

And further apologies for being a bit lax with the blogging recently. I have been super busy with one thing or another, mostly the WI! Having taken on the role of Editor of West Yorkshire News I have been chasing copy, designing layouts and battling with budgets so far this week! There is fun WI stuff happening too - today I am doing a Jacobean embroidery workshop for the day and later this week I will let you in on some super exciting Buns & Roses news!

For now though, male cards.

I was so glad to see the Plane and Simple set in the Stampin' Up! Mini Catalogue. It is ideal for my dad, as he is the treasurer of his local model flying club and loves to build, fly and crash model airplanes! It's also a good alternative to golf and beer!

Now, I'm fairly sure my dad doesn't read my blog, so here goes with the card he'll be receiving for Father's Day! If you see this dad - sorry!



I went with neutral tones and some embossing and distressing to add interest without having to go for the traditional embellishments such as buttons and ribbon. I used the Square Lattice Embossing Folder for the background piece of cardstock.



The splodges were made using the Sprizer Tool and the edges of the card were roughed up with the Cutter Kit. The label (this is one for my stash to sell hence why it says happy birthday and not happy father's day) was attached with a brad for a bit of movement.

Right, time to get busy with a needle and thread!

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Another wedding card (sorry!)

Yet another wedding card I'm afraid, this time an anniversary one for my brother and his missus. I made this for my mum to give to them.

Shamefully, I have no idea when their anniversary is, so I doubt they'll be getting a card from me! I might even have missed it!

Ah well, they get one of my creations via my mum anyway!



I used the Always Elegant here and created the background by repeatedly stamping the big swirly pattern on to Whisper White cardstock in Crum Cake ink. A subtle, beautiful pattern. It was mounted on to a square Crumb Cake card blank.



For the focal element, I used the sentiment from that set in Cherry Cobbler ink. I used te Word Window and Scallop Oval punches for the frame. Then, lots of flowers using the flower stamps from the Punch Potpourri hostess set, punched out with the matching Boho Blossoms Punch.

I made some tiny rose buds from Whisper White 3mm Taffeta Ribbon
and decorated with lots of Pearls.

A very pretty card, and the Cherry Cobbler just gives it that wow factor and brings it to life.

Today I'm off to our Buns & Roses WI 1940s/50s day and I have a very pretty dress to wear and dance around in! I will be back with tales and pics soon.

In the meantime, why not head over to our B&R blog to read all about the national AGM this week.

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Goldwork and The WI AGM

Yesterday I was at the Liverpool Echo Arena for the WI AGM.

I had been asked to attend in case the press wanted to talk to someone about being in the WI. As it happened, it was pretty quiet, but I had a great time anyway.

Being sat up in the VIP boxes was spectacular - I could see the whole arena and all 4,500 fellow members. When we all stood up to sing Jerusalem it was absolutely incredible.

I won't bore you with all the details here, as I'll be putting something up on our WI blog soon, but I will share some pics of my finished goldwork that I took along.

The Picture Framer in Burley did a wonderful job framing it.



And here are each of the four sections close up ...









Now I just have to decide where to hang it!

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Cards for bikers

Just a quickie today as I have muchos to do - pick up my framed goldwork, get my hair dyed, do some work, prep for the WI AGM tomorrow ...

It's my friend Flower's birthday this weekend (he is Hayley's husband) and he's a biker, so of course the new Motorcycle stamp from Stampin' Up! makes an appearance!

I went for simple, as I was quite pushed for time when making this and wanted to do a few in the same design so some could go in my box to sell at craft fairs.



I simply stamped the image on to Whisper White and matted it on to a piece of coloured cardstock. I used the sentiment from Plane and Simple as well as the long patterned stamp from that set - it looks a bit like a tyre track!



Job done! I'm pretty sure he'll appreciate it.

Right, must crack on ...

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Owls and booze

Another card commissioned by my friend Fay for you today!

She needed a good luck card for someone who has just got a new job. "She is going to be a feature writer and likes booze" was the brief!

Here's what I came up with ...



I teamed the Newsprint DSP (embossed using the Vintage Wallpaper folder on my Big Shot) with some patterns from the colour family DSP stacks.

It's fun to make owls using the Two-Step Owl Punch - I used DSP for his waistcoat too.

The banner at the top is a die I got from a blog candy win and the sentiment is from the hostess set Something To Celebrate.



Here's owl enjoying a cocktail from the Cheers To You set!

I like this one as it reminds me of a bar I visited in Minneapolis many years back. It had a newspaper theme with pages all over the walls. And it did great cocktails!

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A bunch of balloons

Today I have a very bright and colourful card to share, so if you're still half-asleep this should wake you up!

On Bank Holiday Monday, Helen came round for a crafting session. She did some more scrapbook pages (she's done loads now and they're fab!) and I made a few cards.

Helen brought with her a request from her mum for a colourful card in which to put some money for a five-month-old girl. She didn't want to go down the typical baby pinks route, so I came up with this.



The balloon is from the Party This Way set. I stamped several in lots of bright colours and used Daffodil Delight card stock for the base. I attached them all in a bunch with Linen Thread.



Hanging off the bottom is a present! This is just a square of the Sweet & Sour DSP, which is also lovely and bright. I added some Old Olive grosgrain ribbon for the bow and used a Rose Red button to hold the thread together. Helen's mum wanted the card to say "A present for Grace" so I wrote this in one of the Four Frames stamps and punched it out with the coordinating Decorative Label Punch.



Inside she wanted somewhere to put money, and once more it was Big Shot to the rescue! The Scallop Envelope Die is a perfect little pocket for a couple of coins or a note and it fits nicely inside the C6-size card. I cut this out from Sweet & Sour DSP to match the present.

I hope baby Grace will appreciate all these bright colours! It was definitely a fun card to make.

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Fascinator making with Buns & Roses

Last night was our fascintaor making workshop at Buns & Roses WI. Hayley very cleverly gave it the title (Sina) Major Tom, sinamay being the scratchy material used to make fascinator bases!

Anyway, seeing as I have made several fascinators now I was there mostly to run the bar and help other members, but I did find time to make a little brooch in the same method.



I used some of the waste sinamay in a rectangle shape. It is also curved at the opposite corners so is quite funky.

I covered it in brown silky material and edged it with orange gingham ribbon.



To decorate I scrunched up some bright orange fabric and orange lace and fastened on with some buttons.



In the opposite top corner I folded a bit of the same gingham ribbon round the edge and added another button.



And here it is in-situ!

You can see some more pics of what we got up to and the creations of our lovely members at the Buns & Roses WI blog.

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Owl punch projects

Yesterday was our monthly training at Julie's and as well as being joined by three of my lovely SU sisters I was delighted to have my SU daughter, Alex, come along too.

As well as business talk, gossip, tea and cake we found time to make a couple of projects.

The focus was the Two-Step Owl Punch, which is a fab item and super cute. Not to mention right on-trend at the moment.



First we made this card. We used the Top Note Die, Little Leaves Sizzlit and Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder on the Big Shot to create the focal area. The sentiment is from Curly Cute.



Here you can see the beautiful, deep embossing a bit clearer.

Then we made a cute little gift pouch to match.



This was made by sticking together two cut-outs of the Scallop Envelope Die. They fold together into a littleholder that would be perfect for those tiny chocolate bars.



It was decorated with a piece of Springtime Vintage DSP, which was also used for the owl's chest, and some Seam Binding Ribbon.

Two great projects that were so quick and easy to do but look amazing.

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