More Cupcakes

Not more cupcakes I here you say! A little calorie free taster does you no harm...


Well it's difficult not to get carried away once you start punching...


Tomorrow this cupcake takes on a simpler look?


As usual I've added glitter, fluffy stuff and clear glaze to add a bit of fun.                                                                                       

Cupcake heaven

As promised here are some more variations of yesterday's cupcake.


Some tips for sticking very small dot or circles:
You need :
Scissors or poky tool, PVA glue in a bottle with a fine tip applicator and plenty of dots!


 1. Use the fine tip glue applicator to put a tiny dot of glue where the circle is going to go.

 2. Dip the tip of your scissor blade or poky tool into the glue.


3. Gently press the tip of your scissor blade or poky tool down on the circle you want to use. There will be just enough glue to pick it up.


4. Place the dot over the glue dot. Press the dot down with your finger tip to secure.

Have some fun and use items such as Glaze pens, Puffy Stuff and Stickles glitter glue to enhance and decorate your cupcake.


Warning: Don't create whilst hungry as it could make your cravings even worst!


More variations tomorrow...

Woodware Design team Challenge - Birthday Wishes

Apologies for a lack of posts over the last few days but I have been really busy cleaning up the single Woodware Christmas images.


For the 'Birthday Wishes' challenge I though I would showcase the rather large cupcake punch that I have designed  for Woodware.


Below is a picture of the punch and the bits it punches out. As well as the punch I've used my favourite greetings set: FRCL154 Salutations and another punch in the shape of a large tag.

 To make up the cupcake I've used two tops punched from pale yellow and pink card. The casing is punched from craft card. All the bits are sponged. 


I've used the clear Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pen to highlight the cherry, heart, candles and little sprinkles.


For the candles you need a yellow candle and white candle. Use the yellow one as a base. Chop off the flame from the white candle and stick directly over the yellow candle. Add some detail with a white pen and yellow Glaze pen.

 This the super large Cupcake punch. I like the fact it punches out individual pieces and that when it's made up your cupcake is big enough to be the centre piece of the card.


The code for the punch is Cupcake 840-11

These are the individual pieces punched out of brown card. You do not have to punch every item from the same card each time. You can slide a 5 cm strip across the bottom to punch out just the casing.
It's also easy to punch out different tops individually.

Finally this is my collection of dots that I punched out to decorated the cupcake. You can see a collection of tops and cases ready to go.


Pop back tomorrow to see a selection of cupcakes fresh from my crafting oven!


I think the cupcake looks yummy enough to eat!

Fun with 'Chippies'

For a change I thought I would post a card that uses 'Chippies' as the main focus of the card.
'Chippies' are pre-cut shapes made from Chipboard. I have designed quite a few sheets for Woodware ranging from Butterflies, Swirls, Tags, Alphabets to Bracketed Frames and more besides.
The Chippies are white and you can decorate them in various ways such as with ink, paint, embossing powder or by covering them with paper as I have done with the shapes on this card.
A large nail file and smaller ones are useful to tidy up the edges of the 'Chippies' after you have stuck the paper and cut the shapes out.

DIY too

This is a card we made in a workshop a while back at The Craft Barn. If you don't already know I'm coming back to the barn to do workshops again!
My first one is on Saturday 27th of August. Really looking forwards to it.


I've used Clear Magic set FRCL039 Mr Fix It


The house started life has a rectangle and we cut one end into a point. We used the plank from the set for the border and roof edge. The window is made up of punched squares. The door has a doorknob made from a brad. The big tools are Quickutz dies [Lifestyle crafts]. 


It's quite a different look to my previous DIY card! but some younger men like a more modern look...

Woodware Design team Challenge - Black and white

As I am really into Peel Off's at the moment and I love my new collection I decided to use the following items for the challenge

94088 Large Blooms with Leaves in silver and black

94090 Blooms in black

90724 Tiny Messages in black

I made a square folded card from acetate 14.5cm by 14.5cm.

I've use Magi-film to pick up the waste of two small small blooms and some leaves, which are on  the front of the acetate card.

I used the waste from the silver blooms to fill alternate sections in the petals of the large black blooms. The blooms were constructed on white card and then cut out. I added some 3mm and 5mm pearls.

The back panel is made up of white card and black card. The white card is inside but the black is stuck on the outside making a sandwich with the acetate in the middle. That way you hide the adhesive.

Using a leaf from the Peel off's sheet as a stencil, I have sponged some leaves on the white card with a sponge Dauber and some Brilliance Starlite Silver ink.

Funky flower windows too

I'm really into Peel Off's as you will see from my  Woodware Design challenge card tomorrow. I love black embossing but it has to be done with black powder on black ink to get really good depth and you always get little black specks! So black Peel Off's give you the effect without the specks... so much better.


These are variations on a card I posted back in May coloured on green pearlescent card. This time I've worked on pink pearlescent card.


Both these cards are made using '94091 Funky Flower Windows' black Peel Off's and of course Sakura Glaze pens. I like the simplicity of these cards but you need to make sure you work with clean hands and good card!!

Get well too

This card was made using this set: 
FRCL081 Get Well Soon
'Ted' makes his first appearance on the stamping scene in this set. 
In the set Ted is also in bed with a temperature.... ah..
I love the hot water bottle!


I also used him on his own for a Mother's day card as he is carrying flowers.


I used a Woodware 'Chippy' for the frame which I covered with paper.

Workshop at Authors and Artists

Yesterday was a day spent over at Authors and Artists in Fleet.


I was asked to do a workshop using my new flower  Peel off's and Sakura pens. 


I kept the colour scheme to one colour and black but obviously had variations of the green and purple.I used Gelly Roll Glaze pens and Souffle Pens.


We also tackled picking up the waste of the flower to use as part of the design.

I used a large corner rounder punch on all four corners of this card but punched a single corner on the card above.


Rounding all four corners does change the shape of the card quite a bit.

We used gems, pearls and Metals to decorate the centre of the flowers. 

On the sheets of Peel Off's you get three large blooms, leaves and spare dots and circles. If you use the waste you actually have six flowers to work with.


I always enjoy these workshops as I've been teaching at A & A for over 11 years and it's more like a gathering of good friends!

Away Playing

Today I'm away from my desk teaching a workshop at Authors & Artists in Fleet. You can see the cards that we are going to make on my blog tomorrow. So pop by to take a look!

Lily Pond

This card was shown on the Woodware blog a couple of weeks ago but I didn't showcase it on mine.


It's one of my favourite cards at the moment. I made three with slight variations in the layout and this is the last one I still have...


I've used vellum on the wings to give them a wispy quality.


The water was done using a pale blue Gelly Roll Glaze pen.

Woodware Design team Challenge -A bunch of flowers

 I really enjoyed this challenge. There is a bit of everything I like in terms of techniques;

Paper piecing [flowers], Faux stitching, sponging and colouring.

I've used the following sets:

FRCL134 Flowers and Stems

FRCL129 Garden Greetings

Garden greetings is another of my favourite greeting sets as I do make quite a lot of flower related cards.

The vase is punched using 2'' vase.

The papers are from the 'Bremen' collection of papers stocked by Woodware

I glued the buttons into place before actually stitching them to the card. I do like some threads in my buttons!

The little butterfly is in the greetings set.

The clear Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pen came out to play once again over the flowers, tiny flower centers, butterfly body and petals.

I used the Sky Blue Brilliance ink pad for the sponging. If you have never tried them use some Sponge Daubers. They are still my preferred option for sponging.

A little detail to show the greeting and shinny glaze on the flowers!

Why not Pop along to the Woodware Blog to see what the other members of the design team have created for 'A bunch of flowers'

Baby too

I made this card at the same time as the previous baby card I posted a few weeks back.


I've used white Peel off's as in bottle, romper suit, pin and tiny words. Sakura Souffle pens for colouring.


The larger letters are die cut but you could always use stickers.


I have to say that working within a square is my favourite card shape as it is so versatile.

Flowers in a vase

I like working with a limited colour scheme. If you pick out your backing paper before you start to colour you can adjust the scheme to match. Much easier than trying to pick out papers later on! This is one of my favourite colour schemes.


I have water coloured the stamped image [FRV011 Round Vase Daises]. I scribbled some brush markers onto a white tile. I then used a fine brush to add water and pick up the colour. The colour from a brush marker is far more intense then that from water colour paints or pencils.

The little tag is made from shrink plastic. I stamped the greeting on the plastic, let it dry and then punched it out. I then punch a hole in the tag - 1/4" before shrinking it with a heat gun. I added some wire which I've twisted around a cocktail stick. Wordings are really sweet when you shrink them.


This was stamped with a wood mounted stamp which I designed approx 6 years ago. If you like it, it is still available and there are two other flower stamps in that style also.

Master Builder

Thought I would show you what I built on Saturday afternoon![and evening].


I did say this blog would be purely for cards but I was so pleased with the results of my hard labour... that I had to share with fellow pen lovers.


You need two A1 sheets of 5 mm foam board approximately [some spare for any mistakes], good strong PVA, craft knife with a nice sharp blade and a long ruler.


Each cubby hole is about 4" by 4" and 15 cm deep. Don't ask me why I mix inches and cms when I work... it just gives a bigger range of measurements... I think!


I cannot take credit for the idea as I saw and spoke to Alexandra Kamann at The Glitter Pot and she had built one. So I had to give it a go. I was fed up with the plastic boxes. In the USA you can get units similar to this... well I didn't want to pay the money to ship + taxes either... so here you are. Please don't count the pens!! Watch out for a ribbon reel holder....

More 'Micey'

While I had the stamps out to do the Woodware Sketch challenge I couldn't resist stamping a few more.


The mouse in the cup fits perfectly in a 3" circle and onto 3 1/4" scalloped circle. 
I couldn't resist getting my Copic Markers out.... for a change


It's the first time I've made a 3D flower!

I like the small easel card from a change of large cards which I do not often do anyway...


I liked the half circle on the base which mirrors the full one.


The papers are from the new 6 by 6 Echo Park papers


I did use the Sakura clear glaze pen on the heart and flower centres. For a bit of sparkle I used Diamond Stickles over the blue in the background around Micey.

Pop Circle

I'm not too sure if my photography skills have done this card justice!

The folded card is made from acetate and as you probably know the tricky part is hiding the adhesive used for mounting. So I  used various circles to mount the 'Pop Circle' on the front panel. On the back panel I have sandwiched the acetate between two pieces of card. I did punch some circles in the pale green card panel before sticking it down.

On the Peel Off's sheet - It's a Peel Off's I hear you say! - there are spare flowers that you can use to enhance your design.

I have used Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pens to colour the Pop circle and the smaller flower centers as the pens work beautifully on acetate!

The greeting is a Peel Off's also. I cannot take credit for that as it is a Stampendous design. However it matches really well with my 'Pop Circle'.

One little tip is that you do not always have to work on white or cream card. I've used pale green pearlescent card, which is great for the pens as it is less absorbent and you then already have a background colour so not all spaces need to be filled.

I was really pleased with the result. That's me hooked on acetate!!

Woodware Design Team Challenge - Sketch

When your not feeling well or just under the weather it's quite nice to get a card that is cheery and makes you smile.

So I chose to use my 'Micey' set for this sketch challenge: FRCL192 Micey Mice

I know I go on about the Sakura Glaze pens but they do a grey pen that is just the right colour for the mice!

To colour the rest of the image I have use Sakura Gelly Roll Moonlight pens. They are quite bright but you can mix them to tone down the colours and extend the range. They are fab to use on black card.

The greeting is from my favourite greetings set:

FRCL154 Salutation

If you like that set there is another set using the same fonts/design called:

FRCL171 All Through The Year. 

I used the clear Glaze pen to make the punched hearts shinny. Added little dots to the greetings using a Black Sakura Micron pen.

If you have enjoyed this card and would like to see the original sketch layout pop along to the Woodware Blog: www.woodware.co.uk/blog/ and see what my design team members have created using the same sketch. Jane follows me on Saturday

Doggy too

Another doggy card made using set 'FRCL032 A dog's life'


Woodware wholesale these great little curly paper clips in gold or silver. I've used it to attach the dog/basket to the strip bellow.


The tag was cut using a sizzix die. I used some of the paper to make a faux ribbon for the tag. Stick the paper on some card to re-enforce it. Trim to size, fold over and cut the ends off at an angle.


Watch out for my card for the Woodware design challenge tomorrow.

A Dog's Life

This card was made using one of my really early Clear Magic sets;
FRCL032 A Dog's Life


I do love this cheeky little dog!


I've done all the colouring using Brush markers [so they are water soluble].


The tag and postage frame are Sizzix dies. 


Papers are from old 'Magenta' collections.


A dog's life isn't so bad after all!!

Dragonfly too

As promised a variation on the green/blue dragonfly.


I've used Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pens once again. They are perfect to use with loose glitter. You could always use the clear Glaze pen and add different coloured glitters.


Dragonflies come in quite a few different colours so you can easily vary this design.


As a Peel Off's it also comes in gold, silver and white.

A BIG thank you

I would like to thank everyone who came to see me at The Craft Barn special weekend. It was lovely to see so many of you and to hear all your wonderful comments, which were much appreciated! 

Also a BIG thank you for all the very nice comments being left on my blog and for visiting. Hope lots of you will keep coming back!

I thought I would share one of the cards on display on my demo table as a reminder of this special weekend.

I have used Black Peel Off's: A large dragonfly and two small blooms. 

The dragonfly itself is coloured in using Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pens. While the colour was still wet I sprinkled some really fine holographic glitter over the surface.

The circles or bubbles have been coloured in using a mix of other Sakura pens: Stardust, Metallic and Souffle.

I've added Gems, Metals and some of the Peel Off's extra bubbles and waste dots. I coloured two gold Metals black for the eyes on the dragonfly.

A useful tip when using this large dragonfly Peel Off's:

1. Lift the Dragonfly carefully off the backing sheet and place it sticky side up on your work surface.

2. Take your card and hold the edge against the table at a 45 degree angle next to the dragonfly. Slowly bring the card down to lie on top of the dragonfly. Press gently to make the dragonfly stick to the card.

3. Now the dragonfly is on the card you can trim it down to size. If you are using a Nestabilty you can place it on the card, centre the dragonfly, hold it down with some tape so it does not move when going through the machine. 

So much easier than trying to place directly on the circle!!!

Come back to see a variation tomorrow....

Mr Fix It - Woodware Design team challenge

Since I have quite a few sets suitable for Men's cards I found it hard to choose which one to use!

So in the end I went for those brave men who put up our shelves, plumb the washing machine, make holes that have to be filled...

I'm very pleased with the result.


I've combined three sets:

FRCL039 MR Fix It

FRCL079 Male Relatives

FRCL122 DIY

The frame is made using the wood plank in FRCL039. It would make an ideal frame for a fishing or gardening theme also.

I used the VersaMark pen to add some variation in the wood which was stamped on craft card.

I made the plumb line from string and the weight is the small tag punch upside down with the fancy bits trimmed.

I've used Sakura Gelly Roll Glaze pens for the colouring of the tools. For the rusty bits I used the dark orange Stardust pen. 

[Sakura Glaze pens for the colouring. It's all shinny!]


Torn paper for the background to add to the DIY theme.


Make sure to visit the Woodware blog to see what the other design team members have created for the Men's card challenge.

Flora too

Another card made with sets FRCL153 Flora and FRCL154 Salutations.

In the 'Flora' set there is a single stem with leaves and you can put any flower head at the top.

I punched the flower out of white card. That way you can colour the petals to suit. Best to sponge the colour that way you can get variation. 

I have used Craftwork Cards 'Candi' in dark brown for the centre and covered it with Diamond Stickles glitter glue.