Hello Stranger...

I am still alive just to let you all know. It's a pretty manic time at the Flutterby household. Lots of exciting things going on...


I just wanted to share my excitement with you of something I just read on my blogger news feed.


Pink Petticoat is back! YES!


I discovered this amazing website a couple of years ago and since have bought nearly every release.  I love the simplicity of Liz's designs - clean and so easy to use.  She has just released these amazing papers and "blooming" sentiments.

This is where it all started for me! Maybe it'll give some of my readers some inspiration to give it all a try...I warn you, its extremely addictive!!


Hope you all have an amazing day! I will hopefully be back tomorrow to show you something!


Kate
xx

Sweet Thing...

Afternoon Everyone.


How is everyones Bank Holiday weekend going?  Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday, I got carried away making things and by the time I realised what the time was it was time for me to get ready and go out.  Feeling slightly delicate today, one to many last night me thinks!


Anyway, I wanted to share with you two cards today, just to make it up to you.  Theres a theme running in todays cards. Can you guess what it is?

So for my first card, I used a newish set from Papertrey Ink.  Just looking at this card makes me want to eat lots of ice cream! Shame its not really the weather for it.  I stamped the cone onto a tall white card, which I had layered with a gorgeous butter yellow border.  I was trying to think how I could add the ice cream with out stamping it, just to add a bit of a 3D effect.  Then I remember my lovely stack of felt samples I'd bought from Paper and String - perfect.  I cut two scoops using the co ordinating die and layered them onto the card.  What would an ice cream be without a cherry on top?  I stamped the sentiment using two different colour inks to highlight the "sweetness" and finished it all off with some 3mm satin ribbon.  What do you think? Good enough to eat right?


I couldn't stop there.  It got me thinking about yummy cherries, so I then made this card.

 I love cherries lots!  I made this card using a A6 base and used a cherry red border.  Im so in love with my new sewing machine, it would be a crime not to stitch everything! I stamped the storks using a lime green and then die cut the cherries from some felt spot red card that I bought from The Glitter Pot yonks ago. I sort of got the bug yesterday to add a bit of dimension to my card so instead of just stamping the leaves I decided to use up some scrap ribbon.  I love the dots!  To finish it off I stamped the sentiment and used some 3mm adhesive gems over the dots of the i's!

Thats it from me today! I have the whole day to myself tomorrow so i'm looking forward to sitting down and getting lots done inbetween "Save the Dates".

Just one more thing I wanted to show you before I leave.  My new stickers arrived yesterday!! So now I can stick them to each card I make so that people know that I made them!! Exciting hey? Well it is for me!

Hope you enjoy the rest of your long weekend.


Take Care


Kate
xx

Bare with me..

Evening  all,


What a dull and miserable day :(


This is a really quick post, I feel i've been neglecting you all recently.  I shall be back tomorrow with something new, I promise.  But in the mean time, please enjoy this.

Chunky cream freshwater pearls with a silver plated daisy! Simple but classic!


See you all tomorrow.


Enjoy your Friday evening.


Kate
xx

Swarovski Treats...

Evening Lovely Readers


How are you?


Sorry for no blog post yesterday! I have been so busy with preparing some "Save the Dates" for my Auntie to be's wedding.


I wanted to share with you something that I have made in preparation for the website going live which hopefully will be in a couple of weeks. I absolutely love these bracelets, they are so versatile and most importantly one size fits all as they stretch.

These bracelets are silver plated, the beads used are genuine Swarovski Crystals.  This bracelet will be available in pink mix, purple mix, amber mix, green mix, blue mix, red mix, black mix and crystal mix at £14.00 plus p&p. If  you are interested, please contact me flutterbycreations@hotmail.co.uk.


Sorry for the short post tonight.  I shall be back shortly with more creations and exciting news.


Take Care


Kate xxx

Tag it...

Evening Everyone!

How was everyone's Monday?

Mine wasn't to bad, busy at work, but the day went quite quickly which was good.

Just a quick post tonight i'm afraid.  I wanted to share with you a tag I made for my friends Birthday at the weekend.  Oh and would you look at that, its kraft card again.  I promise this week I am going to try my best not to use it...well I promise not to use it as much.  In my defence I only used it to match the bag I'd put all the presents in.

Ok so I cut out a rectangle from kraft card using my die from Spellbinbers great Nestabilities range just cut two of the corners off to give it a tag shape.  I had previously made another stacked flower shape using a Crealies die from Joanna Sheen. These flowers are great for using up scrap bits of paper you have laying around.  I stapled the various flowers together and used some adhesive gems to create the centre.  Then I stamped a sentiment from the set Up, Up and Away and attached a few more gems (you can never have too much sparkle) I finished the tag off by punching a hole and threading through some gorgeous organza ribbon with silky edges.  Then I attached it to the bag and added a bit of raffia ribbon!  A perfect girly bag full of goodies!

What do you think?

Creating this made me start thinking about the dreaded C word!! I think this design would be so easy to do in bulk.  Maybe a few poinsettias and a touch of holly!

Thats all for me today.  Hope you have a good rest of evening.

Check back tomorrow for something new.

Kate
xx

Home Sweet Home...

Evening,

Hope everyone has had a nice weekend.

Sorry for the late post, I have spent most of the day recovering from a very late night/early morning.  I think i'm getting a bit old for this going out until the early hours malarky.

I haven't done much today, it's been one of those days where I have the intention of getting lots of jobs done but I have no motivation.  I managed to create a couple of bits to share with you after a little nap (two hour sleep) 

So I started this card on Thursday, I had an idea in my head of how I wanted it to look and went to finish it today but I messed it up beyond repair. There was only one thing for it...start again.  Surprise Surprise, another card using my new kraft card, but in my defence the black ink and red card really make this card "pop"!

I used Papertrey Ink - Congrats All Ways, I love this curly "congrats" and then the simpleness of the rest of the sentiment.  I finished this card off with a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, I absolutely adore this punch, its so simple but really pretty.  I used 3mm adhesive gems from Wild Orchid Crafts along the body of the butterfly to add a bit of sparkle.  I did contemplate using some ribbon but I just really liked the fact that it was such a clean layout and I didn't want to take the focus away from the butterfly.

So thats it from me today.  I shall be back tomorrow with something slightly different.

Kate
xx

You are a star...

Good Morning!


I say "good morning" today because once again it's FRIDAY! I feel that this week has gone quite quick, maybe it had something to do with having yesterday off. Or maybe because I have my new toy to play with the world seems a better place!!


As I said before I had a great chance to create a few cards yesterday, and I couldn't resist making this for my very clever cousin.  We received news yesterday that he had done really well in his A levels and got the place he wanted at University. After hearing this amazing news I got to work straight away on creating this card for him.

I know what you're thinking -  3 man cards in one month! I know! I used yellow and green as he's a massive Norwich City fan - I used the fab card stock from Papertrey, I just can't get enough of this stuff at the moment! I thought the only image suitable for this card was a star! So I stamped this using versacolour "fresh green" and finished it off with a new stamp set, Simple Sentiments.  In my eyes nothing is complete with out some bakers twine, I used yellow and green to match the colour scheme.


That's it for me today.  Just wanted to say a HUGE congratulations to everyone that did well with their results yesterday! And for those that didn't do as well as they hoped just remember there are lots of options and help out there for you.


Hope everyone has a lovely sunny day.


Check back tomorrow for a new home card.


Kate
xx

Fancy Dress...

Evening...


What a busy day! I am completely and utterly in love with my new sewing machine.  It's so quick and so much quieter than my other one.  Also it works which is a big difference from my singer.  So i've been busy today, making a few cards.  I started making a birthday card for my friend and whilst rummaging through all my bits and bobs I found lots of things in the wrong places, stamps that needed cleaning and just general rubbish, so what was supposed a pure card making day turned into a bit of a tidy up as well.


Ok so my card for today, is a bit of a theme card.  It seems as my group of friends have gotten older, when we celebrate any occasion we always do it with fancy dress.  It always turns into such a giggle, everyone makes an effort and always look great.  I wanted to make a card to represent the theme of this Saturday's shinanagans, so heres what I made.  

I have been planning this card for a little while now, just sketching it out.  I like to sketch things down as soon as I get an idea, otherwise I forget them and they never seem to be as good the second time round.  I used crimson pinstripe digital download from Pink Petticoat, and it wouldn't have been one of my cards without kraft card.  I have fallen in love all over again, I ordered some kraft card from Papertrey ink which arrived in my recent parcel.  Its such a good quality cardstock, thick and smooth and makes stamping on it really easy.  I completely obsessed with this Crealies cutting die.  Its great for creating layered flowers which  can be used for all different types of cards.  I made this flower using off cut off of the pinstripe paper and some felt from my paper and string order, finished off with a stripy button and some button twine.  The sentiment I used on this card is from the Hero Arts set Essential Messages.


So can anyone guess what were dressing up as on Saturday? 


Have a good evening.


I will be back with some else new!


Kate
xx

New Logo and Background...

Afternoon Everyone.


What a miserable day! :(


Just  I'd show you all my new logo and background.


What do you think?


It was created by my very talented friend, who I owe lots of chocolate too now!


I wanted a really fresh, vibrant design that I could use on my website too!


I would love to know what you think.


I shall be back in a bit to show you something I've made using my new machine!!!


Don't get too wet in the mean time.


Kate
xx

Master Chef!

Good Morning!


Hope everyone is ok.


Ok, so today is the day - YAY! I pick my new sewing machine up today. I am so excited.  It seems such a stupid thing to get excited about but I cannot wait.  I have missed stitching so much I can't wait to start again.


As you may know I haven't felt like making any cards since the breakdown of Sonny the Singer so I don't have any paper craft to show you today.  But... I am still trying to blog everyday, so I had a think about what I could show you.  Something I didn't mention before is that I love cooking.  I think this stemmed from my mum.  She was such a brilliant cook until she was diagnosed with MS and she lost the use of her arms and legs. She used to make the most amazing desserts - I always remember on a Friday night the kitchen would be full of yummy smells and the work top laden with roulades, pavalovas, cheesecakes, tortes of various kinds and then on Saturday morning I would go with her to deliver them to a local pub where they would serve them on their menu. Sadly I have to admit that cakes have never really been my strong point, I can bake a decent looking tray-bake, but nothing like mum used to make.  What I love cooking are dinners.  I also love hosting dinner parties, there is nothing I like more than having friends over, have a glass of wine, a good old chin wig and a scrummy meal.


So last night we had our friends over for dinner, and this is what I made.

Chicken Pesto Crumble.  This is one of my favourite dinners because it is so easy to make.


I thought id share the recipe with you.


2 garlic cloves
1 jar of pesto
700g new potatoes
5 chicken breasts
1 red onion , finely chopped
550g chopped tomatoes
1-2tbsp tomato puree
250g mozzerella, diced
a couple of splashes of tabasco.
100g white breadcrumbs

1. Dice the new potatoes and cook until soft. The stir in the pesto until fully coated in the pesto.
2. Cut the chicken into bite size chunks and fry with the onion and crush garlic. 
3. Once cooked through add the tinned tomatoes and cook for 6-7 minutes and then add the puree to taste.
4. Stir in the potatoes into the chicken and add the tabasco.
5. Spoon the mixture into a ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the mozzerella (lots of it) and then cover with the breadcrumbs.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 190c/Gas Mark 5 for 20-25 minutes until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

You can serve this with almost anything.  I serve mine with a tomato, mozzerella and rocket salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices! Oh and don't forget a nice glass of red wine! YUM!

Hope I haven't made you too hungry this morning!! I shall be back tomorrow with a themed card!

Have a great day!

Kate 

xx

Getting a head start...

Good Morning

I thought I'd surprise everyone with a morning post.  I haven’t done one of these for a few days.  I learnt that I can write my blog post and then set a time for it to be uploaded and it will do it automatically so I don’t actually have to do it myself which is good because I’m at work J

So how was everyone’s evening?

Mine was very busy.  I do hate Mondays.  Especially yesterday.  It was extremely busy and Mondays always drag and I always feel more tired than any other day.  Of course the main reason why I don’t like Mondays is because it’s the furthest day away from the weekend.  The only Mondays I like are Bank Holidays!

So I’ve been busy beavering away trying to work on 3 or 4 different projects all at once, website, card collections, sorting jewellery out and organising all my craft bits and bobs.  I haven’t really made any cards for a few days now, but that is all about to change as I get my new sewing machine tomorrow – you can’t see it but I am grinning from ear to ear. I can’t wait to create some more cards for you – I have so many ideas.

But for today you will have to make do with this…

I made this necklace using a selection of beads from a really cute little bead shop in Cambridge called The Beaderie.  They have a lovely range of beads that you can buy singular or on strings. I used a mixture of freshwater pearls, foil lined glass heart, seed beads and czech glass beads.  Its so nice to have a bead shop right on my doorstep – probably not so nice on my bank balance but nevermind.  I think I might save this necklace for someones Christmas present – got to start somewhere I suppose.

What do you think?

Hope you all have a lovely day.

Check back for more creations soon.

Kate

xx

Girly Thanks...

Evening Everyone!

How  has everyones day been?

I firstly wanted to apologise for not coming back to you yesturday.  I did have quite a productive day in the end.  I fixed a little pile of jewellery people had given me to mend and alter for them, that I had been putting off for ages.  I made a few cards, a necklace and started sketching the layout for my website.

I want to share with you a "Thank you" card with you tonight.  I managed to stitch this base before my sewing machine broke.  I made it using one of my new stamp sets from Papertrey Ink- Gracious Vases.  I think the only reason I bought this set was the orchid stem- so simple but so versitile.  I cut a white piece of card from a mat stack die cut and stamped on my orchid sprig and vase using black in.  I then attached some small pink adhevsive crystals from Wild Orchid Crafts  and stamped my sentiment using matching pink ink and finished it off with some organza pink ribbon from The Ribbon Girls.

I really like this perfect girly thank you card.  Hope the recepient likes it too.

After a very hectic Monday I'm looking forward to a far more chilled out Tuesday.

I shall be back tomorrow with something else pink and girly.


Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.


Kate
xx

My Wish List...

Afternoon Everyone,


How is everybody's Sunday so far?


I feel a little bit lost today.  I had decided that today was completely free for being creative. I was looking forward to sitting down and making lots of things for the new website as the launch won't  be long away.  But I sat down and nothing came to mind.  Nothing.  I think it might have something to do with the fact my sewing machine is completely broken, no amount of fiddling by me is going to fix the little blighter.  Although I know I can create without stitching I don't seem to have the energy! Hopefully after a few cups of tea and a slice of cake I shall be back on track.  


I was thinking what I could blog about today, and as I have nothing to show you at the moment I thought I would share my wish list with you.  My wish list is a list (obviously) of things I really want, but haven't got round to getting yet.  


So first item on my list is this...

A brand new, sparkly sewing machine (that actually works) I was struggling to decide which one to get, but after talking to Vicki about which one she uses I have set my eye on this model from Janome.  I hopefully should be getting it later this week! YAY! I don't think i've been this excited for a while - well not since my Papertrey Ink parcel arrived.

Second on my list is...

I currently have the original Spellbinders Wizard, but I have had my eye on this new improved "Grand Calibur" for a while.  It not only cuts the normal size dies but also bigger ones which are perfect for scrapbooking and making your own card bases.  I'm just waiting for it to drop slightly in price before I get my grubby little hands on it!

They are they biggest and most expensive things on my wish list although there are always little things on there too like these stamp sets from Hero Arts, Oceans of Joy and Say Hello .

As you know I am completely obsessed with any releases from Pink Petticoat.  I have been waiting with baited breath for the very talented Liz to release something new and she just has. I have to say it has definitely been worth the wait.  Look at these gorgeous papers - Cherries and Brocade they come in 52 colours and for only £1.99 for each set,  I am going to have to download these asap.

I am always trawling through The Ribbon Girls website looking for new pretty ribbon.  As I believe you can NEVER have too much ribbon.  I love this Gingham stretch ribbon at the moment, I going to put in an order this week - I can't put it off any longer!

I just love storage, I mentioned in an earlier post that i'd stumbled across a gorgeous website called Paper and String.  Sarah has an amazing website and I have fallen completely head over heels with these storage buckets.  They are all handmade using bright fabrics and felt and just look amazing.  When I finally get some more craft space I will definitely be ordering some of these.

As well as looking for things to buy I also like looking in ore at other peoples craft rooms and storage ideas. I came across a blog www.craftystorage.blogspot.com that I could just look at all day and be completely jealous of some peoples crafting areas.

I have several sets of Spellbinders Nestabilities and I am always trying to think of a better way to store them and then I came across this - WOW!

What a brilliant idea.  Not sure my dad would be happy with me sticking a massive magnet to the wall but I think it is such a great idea.  I'll have to save this for when I get my own craft room!!!

Ok so I'm sure I have bored you all enough for now, I am going to try and create something to show you all later.  So check back this evening to see what I accomplished.  Hope you all have a nice afternoon and if you're lucky enough to have sunshine - enjoy!

Kate 

xx

A little bit Cocky...

Good Evening Everyone!


How has everyones Friday been? I love that feeling when you know you have come to the end of the week and the next two days are just for you - where you can do anything you want (apart from anyone who works at the weekend, which I am tomorrow! :( )


Ok I want to show you something today that I am so pleased with.  I mean not slightly chuffed with,  amazed actually that I have created something so simple but also so beautiful.  I am in total ore of this. Hope you will be too.

I bought this Hero Arts stamp from the Glitter Pot- I've had my eye on it for sometime.  I don't know what it is but I love Peacocks, I know they can be pretty nasty but they are also so beautiful.  I wanted to create a really simple card but something that still stood out.  I used a 6x6 white card base and added a teal border and then white on top and stitched round both frames.  I stamped the peacock using black ink and left to dry.  I didn't want to colour the image in but I wanted to add some colour so I decided to use simple stick on gems in various colours.  The sentiment is one of my new ones from Papertrey Ink- Ribbon Tails.  I umm'd and arr'd over which sentiment to use, I don't have a use for this card yet so I wanted to leave my options open so opted for "Best Wishes". What do you think?


So that's it from me tonight, sorry it was short and sweet.  Hope you like it, I look forward to reading your comments.


Check back tomorrow for something nice and shiny.


Have a good evening.


Kate 
xx

Wishing on a star...

Good Afternoon/Evening

Sorry for the extremely late post.  I have been off today with the most awful headache- it was one of those that gets right behind your eyes and causes your vision to go blurry.  So I have spent most of today dosed up on nurofen and trying to sleep it off.  I think for now I can say (touching wood) that it is much better than it was.

So anyway I was hoping to get a good head start on my new stash yesterday afternoon but as things never run very smoothly with me it didn't quite go to plan.  As you might have already noticed I like to use a lot of stitching in my designs, I find it a nicer way for attaching things - paper, embellishments etc to cards.  So I started off quite happily cutting paper to size and using my new super duper card stock from Papertrey and getting everything ready so I could do a big batch of sewing all in one go and then disaster struck.  My sewing machine decided to play up.  It does this a lot which saddens me - I get all excited about things to make and then boom- all ideas are blown out of the water.  I was so frustrated yesterday I did try tinkling with it, but you know when you are so annoyed and I think I would have just made it worse.  So I left it, and my crafting and went off to sulk.  I think i'm going to start saving for a Janome Excel 5024, i've heard that they are more reliable.  

Unfortunately this was the only card I managed to make before the minor disaster.  It's another man card.  I know two in one month - still don't enjoy making them half as much as girly ones but I think I could maybe start getting the hang of them.  So for this one I used a tall white card base with some Echo Park plaid paper.  I used a new toy that I bought recently- a paper distresser for a slight bit of shabby chic! The star stamp is a new one from my Papertrey delivery and the sentiment is also one of theres.  I decided to emboss the star just to give it a bit of dimension and then finished it off with - yes you've guessed it bakers twine in cherry, lime and navy.

What do you think?

Also in other exiting news - I met up with my friend who is designing me a logo and web banners for my blog last night and lets just say we are definitely making progress! Hopefully we should have in the next week or so!

Thats all from me today - sorry there wasn't much to show you! Check back tomorrow and hopefully there will be something a little better to share with you all.

Have a great evening.

Kate

xx

And we have a winner...

Good Morning!

Hope everyone is safe and well and the rioting hasn’t affected anyone. It is so frightening what is happening to our country, hopefully it will be over soon.

Anyway on a lighter note, we have a winner *DRUM ROLL PLEASE*

The winner is Mixitupclaire!! Congratulations.

(please could you email me with your address and preference of necklace or bracelet, so I can get that posted to you this week)

Thank you all very much for your lovely comments. I hope you continue to read my blog and comment on future posts.  Please look out for future give aways.

So I am extra happy today.  There are a few reasons I suppose – I got home from work last night after a rather long day to be greeted by a gorgeous bunch of sunflowers and bright pink gerberas (which are my favourite) and also the invitation to dinner out! I have to say this made me smile like a Cheshire cat, but then I spotted something that was far more exciting.

I noticed this package on the sofa.

My Papertrey Ink parcel has arrived! YAY! I have been looking forward to its arrival for the last 2 weeks knowing it was jam packed of craft supplies. My month is always spent preparing myself for a new release which is the 15^th of every month – I look forward to seeing what amazing new products they have come up with and every month they never fail to disappoint.  I can’t wait to get started making things with my new stash and show you all.

So I took a few pictures to show you all what arrived.

I got slightly carried away with unwrapping everything and covered poor little Flo with tissue paper! Oops!

Sorry for no creations today- but fear not I shall be back tomorrow to show you something extra special.

Hope you all have a great day. Stay Safe.

Kate

xx

Flower Power...

Hello!

How is everyone today?

Just a quick reminder to let everyone know that today is the last day to comment to be in with a chance of winning some handmade jewellery! Just leave a comment on any of my posts and you will automatically be entered into the draw!

So anyway enough with me plugging that – onwards and upwards!  Last night I had a very rare evening to myself, although I was taxi for the evening I did have a good few hours by myself to indulge in the things I like best.  August is always a busy month on my calendar but it’s the month I always seem to forget about. I am one of those people that love sending handmade cards but they always seem to be sent at least a week late! So last night I sat down needing a quick fix of a card to send for my friends birthday which is today (Happy Birthday Lorna) I wanted something simple and not too fussy but bright and colourful to represent her personality.  I was trawling through all my supplies, of which there are a lot and I came across the felt flowers I ordered from Kitties Closet.  The cogs in my mind started turning and vibrant images of how the finish card came to light. So I got to work straight away.

I stamped the stem and leaves using Flower Fusion #1 by Papertrey Ink (who else!) with fresh green in by Versacolour onto a black white A6 card.  I did consider having a border and stitching but decided I wanted a really simple clean design just for a change.  I then attached the felt flower using glue dots and the same with the button.  To finish it off I stamped a sentiment from the same Flower Fusion set using simple black ink.  One of my cards wouldn’t be complete without a touch of bakers twine – on this card I used yellow bakers twine with pale button twine. What do you think?

I was so pleased with the outcome I decided to make one more.  Whenever I go anywhere I always make sure I buy a little pressie for my number one fan! So after our resent visit to the coast I needed something to put in with her gift! I used the same stem and leaf stamp and just chose a different colour felt flower and button! I used another sentiment from the flower stamp set – I thought this one was very appropriate as I do indeed Miss Her!

That’s all from me today – I’m very eager to get home today as my Papertrey Ink parcel is being delivered! I will share with you all tomorrow.

Thank you for reading and hope you have a lovely day.

Kate

xx