It’s been a long time…

…since I made a card, and now 2 similar ones come along at once!

It’s Stu’s Dad’s birthday tomorrow and we bought him a ticket to see Ringo Starr in Glasgow (we also got his Mum one as a -very- early birthday present), so I thought it would be nice to make a card each for the tix.  Then I thought it would be nice to make the same card in a male/female version.

Here are the results:

I cut the pockets and arrows using Sizzix dies I bought recently.  The little stars (or should that be Starrs) are also made using a Sizzix washers die and the font is Sizzlits Nouveaux.  The papers are by Making Memories (Avenue Collection and Boho Chic in Olivia), although I’ve had them for so long they probably don’t make them any more!   I used Cats Eye chalk inks to ink the edges.

To keep the surprise factor, I’ve folded the tickets right side in and slotted them into the pockets.  Off to make some banana bread in lieu of a birthday cake shortly.

The dress I was so desperate for arrived on Friday and to be honest I’m really not sure about it.  I thought the skirt would be more A-line but it’s actually quite straight – will make my mind up at the weekend, but in all likelihood I’ll return it, as can’t really justify the money spent on it if I don’t wear it a lot.

I’ve actually already spent some of the returns money on these little beauties

They’re Irregular Choice and this specific pattern is exclusive to Schuh.

No beading the last couple of weeks, but planning on having my beading bum back on in the next couple of days.

Thanks for looking.

Lisa xoxo

A Couple of Cupcakes

It’s been a busy week this week but I managed to make a couple of sets of cupcakes.  Both these recipes are from the Love Bakery book, Cupcakes from the Heart, by Samantha Blears, which I had borrowed but now have been told to keep *skip*.  I can’t recommend this book enough – I have made 3 recipes from it and the two which I tasted were absolutely delicious.

I made these red-nosed pirate ones for Stu to take into work for Red Nose Day.  I know they’re not that piratey but fondant is not my forte!  The cupcake itself is chocolate & marshmallow, topped with chocolate buttercream then a fondant pirate face.

I also made these Whisky Mac ones.  The are so delicious filled with whisky and ginger flavours.  I decided to use a palette knife to add the frosting (obviously this is a skill I need to practice a bit).

The gorgeous dress I wanted arrived, but I’m not 100% sure about it.  It wasn’t cheap, so I need to make a decision on it in the next couple of days.

If I decide it’s not for me, the money is going into my Motorola Xoom fund :D

Better dash, as I’m making a Moroccan dinner for Stu and I tonight, so need to get some of the prep done.

Toodles,

Lisa xoxo

Bookworm

I’m lucky enough to be going to a Bead Retreat in Derbyshire with some of my beady friends in May.  One of the things on the agenda is wire working, which I am completely clueless about – the only thing I’ve ever done was an extremely basic clasp which ended up not being suitable for the piece I was making.

Being a complete bibliophile, especially when it comes to craft books, I treated myself to Weave Wrap Coil: Creating Artisan Wire Jewlery by Jodi Bombardier.

Wow, this book looks fantastic (although I have to say I’ve not tried anything from it yet).  It’s split into 3 sections – Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced and even the Beginners section has some really nice stuff (I normally find that I don’t like any beginner projects in books and end up throwing myself into the deep end).  I’m looking forward to trying some of these out though.  Will be building my meagre wire stock up over the next couple of months.

My fabby hubby also bought me Baking Made Easy by Lorraine Pascale.

There are some really nice looking recipes in this book, although in an ideal world I would have liked a picture of every finished dish, just so I know what it’s meant to look like, but maybe this will let me put my own interpretation on things.  The passion & lime meringue pie on the cover is a definite for me to try, as I adore any type of merinnue pie.

Stu also gave me a condiment set and mini tagine (the red one in the photo) from Lakeland, to match the big stripy tagine I got at Christmas, so I am planning a Moroccan/Middle Eastern feast for next weekend.

What are you up to this week?

Lisa xoxo

http://www.jewels-by-jules.com/

A Bucket of Piña Colada

Well not quite today, but I do have a bucket bag and piña colada cupcakes to show.

I’ve not been very active the past couple of weeks, as I’ve been a wee bit under the weather, although I am on the mend now, hopefully.

Firstly, here’s the reversible bucket bag I was making from Lisa Lam’s fabulous book, The Bag Making Bible (this pattern is also available as a free download here)

Green Side

Pink Side

For this bag I used fabrics for Amy Butler’s new Soul Blossoms range.  The green side is Sari Blooms in moss, the pink side is Disco Flower in Hot Pink and the straps/base are made using Laurel Dots in Cilantro.  The button is a 3mm self coverable metal button.  I purposely used very different fabric pattern styles, one a bit subdued and one wild (although they both had to go okay with the strap/base fabric), as there didn’t seem much point in having a reversible bag that was similar on either side.  The bag isn’t huge, but ideal for picking up a few bits of shopping during the week (and carrying any extra stuff I need for work).

I also made some cupcakes this week.  One of Stu’s colleagues lent us the Love Bakery Cupcakes from the Heart book by Samantha Blears.  I fell in love with quite a few of the recipes in the book and all of the Love Cuptails section, which has cupcakes made around cocktail recipes and tried out the piña colada ones – they are delicious.  This book has now gone on my wishlist!

Thanks for visiting; I hope you pop by again soon.

Lisa xoox

and the winner is….

Remember this cuff I was giving away?

I popped the names into a list generator at Random.org and the name that came out top of the list was Kel.

Well done, Kel – I’ll get your address from you and post it out to you in the next couple of days.

I’ve loved doing this give away, so keep your eyes peeled – I’ll definitely be doing another one sometime in the future.

Lisa xoxo

Fantastic Fabrics

I recently bought The Bag Making Bible by Lisa Lam of u-handbag.com and have decided for my next project I’ll make something from it.

I’ve decided to make the reversible bucket beg on the front cover – it’s a nice size for taking to work and will be ideal for popping any mid-week shopping into (it’s also available free here.  I’ve picked these 3 Amy Butler Soul Blossom fabrics for the bag, the floral ones for the inside/outside and the spotty one for the base, edging and straps.

I’m just waiting for the fabric to arrive, so I can get started – hopefully it will come tomorrow or Wednesday.

On the jewellery front, I’m making a bracelet to wear with this Vinyard Jewel necklace from Laura McCabe’s book, Creating Crystal Jewelry with Swarovski

Hopefully I’ll get it finished this week, but I suppose that will depend on how long the bag takes me.

Remember you can still win my turquoise and brown cuff – just leave me a comment on my UP FOR GRABS give away post.  Good luck!