Forgotten Funky - Funky Little Christmas

Hi All, Sammylou here and today I am sharing a little make from the world of Funky Hand.

This card was made using Funky Little Christmas papers and extras, some circles, twine and a little stamp I got free from a magazine. A lovely CAS card showcasing the tremendously fun papers.

Why not pop on over to the Get Funky and Craft blog to see what the other Funkettes have made.

Speak to you soon, love Sammylou xxx

Lacy Star

Hello to you all :)

Today it's my turn to share on the Get Funky and Craft blog and I am sharing this with everybody:

 

 

I have wanted to try one of these for ages and am really pleased with the effect. I have used papers from the Sleigh Ride download to create my funky star and it is really quick and simple to make. If you would like to learn more, then head on over for a quick tutorial.

 

See you all soon, Sammylou xxx

Funky Friday

So we're on the cusp of the weekend and a whole week off with the children for me! I'm really looking forward to time off, it might not be a proper holiday but it will be lovely to be away from work; have some time to catch up on some jobs and hopefully get a boatload of crafting in as well...

Today I'm sharing a card I made recently using papers from the Dreams Come True cd rom and the Fairy Happy image from Tiddly Inks.

 I'm not the most confident of colourists and decided I would have a go with watercolour pencils for this. Here she is

So that's it from me for this week and you never know there might be a few more posts from me next week! Love as always, Sammylou xXx

Attention! A card with the military in mind...

 Happy Wednesday to you all x today I am sharing a card I made for an 18th birthday. The chap in question had just passed his Marines exam so the theme army was the brief.

The card I made was from a fabulous designer, Gordon Fraser and his dude designs can be found at Craftsuprint. 

I decoupaged the Dude and hand cut a number 18 using a Union Jack paper. 

Male cards can be a nightmare but a simple brief can sometimes manifest into a card to be proud of! I really enjoyed making this card and will no doubt use the dude again!

See you all on Friday for a Funky Friday share. Love as always, Sammylou xXx

Friday's Forgotten Funkies!!

What an alliteration to get you going on a Friday? Sammylou here and today I am sharing makes from the Shabby Saturday download from Funky Hand.
I just love the colours in this collection and think they are absolutely perfect for all kinds of makes. I have showcased two of my makes over on the Get Funky and Craft blog but wanted to share with you another of my makes using the download:

I have paper pieced the birdie using some of the papers, embossed plain white card to mat the image and cut out one of the fabulous sentiments available as part of the download. A quick card made in minutes using the delicious papers :)

I hope you like him and if you'd like to see more of the makes from the Funkettes, please pop on over to the blog for a lots more inspiration. And, if you love it as much as we do, then pop on over to the website to bagsy your own! And don't forget to share your makes over on the Funky Hand Facebook page!

Speak soon, love Sammylou xxx

A bit of Bot!

Happy Hump day to you all, it's my turn over on the Get Funky and craft blog today and I am sharing a card using the new Boys will be Boys download and the fabulous digi Bot! As you will see, Bot is quite a character and looks like he's up for any adventure.

I have used him to make the card I have shared on the Get Funky blog and also an easel card for my Husband from our son. It's not his birthday until the 3rd of this month so I'm hoping he doesn't see it!

I used pro markers to colour him to match the papers and added the die cut Daddy. The papers themselves just pop with colour and I think my Husband will be really pleased. Our son definitely approved!

I am busy adjusting to my new work hours which have changed to accommodate my son starting school so I have been a little quiet of late. I hope you don't hold it against me and bear with me as I try to figure out how to organise my blogging and card making around this change.

I will be back soon to share some other fun stuff I have been working on. See you all soon, Sammylou xxx

Boys Will Be Boys - New Release Blog Hop

 

Good Morning and a very Happy Monday to you all :)

 

To celebrate the release of the fabulous new papers Boys will be Boys we are having a blog hop to show you just a little taster of what you can do with the new download. Get involved in the blog hop and you could be in with the chance of winning the new Boys will be Boys download set and a Bot digital stamp (a fab, fab prize!).

These papers are fabulous and I have had a wonderful time playing with them. There's also a brilliant new digi character Bot, and while you don't have to use him with the papers, he does work wonderfully with them!

 

The papers and Bot are available to buy in the Funky Hand shop from 9am today.

The hop will be starting over on Anice's Funky Hand Thoughts blog and is open from

 Monday 30th September at 5:00am GMT until 12 midnight GMT Tuesday 1st October. 

The winner will be announced at 8am on Wednesday 2nd October.

So hopefully you have come from Ruth's blog to me but if not, there's a list below for you to follow. And here's what I have made:

 

 

A funky paper-pieced car which is perfect for the little (and big men!) in your life. All of the papers are from the download and you can see how they work so well together and complement one another perfectly. I love this card. It's very simple but fun too. I hope you like it too.

 

So, now you've seen what I've made, it's time to head on over to Tabbatha to see what delights she has created. Good luck with the competition and happy blogging!!

 

I look forward to seeing you all soon, love Sammylou xXx

 

And here's the Hop Order (just in case!):

 

Anice.

Allison.

Debbie.

Kathy.

Lou.

Ruth.

Sam.

Tabbatha.

Get Funky inspiration blog.

Christmas Collections Blog Hop!!!

Hello all and welcome to the Funky Hand Christmas Collections Blog Hop!! How exciting?!

So, the Funkettes are having a blog hop to celebrate the release of the 2013 Christmas downloads from Funky Hand. These beauties aren't officially available until Sunday 8th September 2013 but we'd thought we'd show you all a sneak peek and give one lucky winner the chance to win a download collection of your choice.

As you would expect, the collections have some absolutely fabulous papers, wordbooks and some seasonal digistamps too.  In fact. everything you will need to make your  Christmas cards truly stand out this year!

So here's a couple of cards I have made. Firstly a Christmas tree using the Noel doodleword and papers from the Sleigh Ride collection:

The second card is made using the Merry Christmas doodleword and papers from Silent Night:

 

 

 The blog hop starts on Anice's Funky Hand blog and is open from 8.30am GMT Saturday 7 September to Midnight GMT Sunday 8 September.

 

Each of us will have a letter and you will need to comment, retrieve the letter, solve the anagram and pop the answer (along with your favourite download) on the Get Funky and Craft blog to be in with a chance of winning. 

My letter is I!

I'm hoping that you've come to visit me via Ruth but if  not here's a recap of the blog order:

 

Anice

Allison

Debbie

Kathy

Lou

Ruth

Sam ⇜ You are here

Tabbatha

Get Funky and Craft

 

So head on over to Tabbatha now and I'll see you all soon, Sammylou xxx

 



 

50% Sale at Funky Hand

The wonderful Anice at Funky Hand is having a 50% off Sale. Yes, you heard me right, 50% off EVERYTHING on the site and here's the proof:

 

 

So tell your friends and head on over there, it's far too good to miss. And if you're still not convinced, here's a little selection of the things I have made, note the word little. Now stop reading and get yourself over there. It's okay, I'm not going to be offended.

 



Have a fabulous weekend and I hope you manage to grab yourself some fantastic goodies. See you in the week, love Sammylou xxx

Paper Fetish

Hello :) and a very happy Wednesday to you all! I have begun my holidays with the children and while we are not jetting off anywhere I will be trying to get some quality time with them and hopefully some crafting too!

For those of you who know me, know that I am slightly fanatical about paper, especially the pretty kind. With two children in a rather small house, I am not able to store much so the plethora of digi papers available is an absolute godsend to me. I just love putting papers together and seeing where they take you. I have tried (and failed) to make the kind of handmade cards I fawn over (You know the ones,: gorgeous image, paper flowers, ribbon and lace) and something holds me back. I like to think it's a reverence for the papers.

With this in mind, I have chosen to share this with you today:

I love the simplicity of this. The papers are from one of my favourite places, Pink Petticoat and they are just so lush, I don't think the card needs anything else!

See you Friday for another Funky Friday share.

Love Sammylou xxx

Funky Friday (I know it's Saturday but if we all keep quiet it will be fine!)

A little late I know but things are rather manic here with both vhildren at home and payroll deadlines at work.

Today I want to share with you a card I made using the I Love You Sew downloads from Funky Hand and a Woodware stamp I got free with a magazine.

I just love these papers they are so, so versatile. Here's the card:

 

 

This card is so fun and the papers work wonderfully together. He's such a cute image and so easy to paper piece too.

 

I am off to make the most of my Bank Holiday - enjoy your weekends whatever you are doing and i will see you all next wee, Sammylou xxx

If you're a crafter you won't be offended...

by me mentioning the C word. Yes, in crafty land the season is nearly upon us when we dig out our Christmas stash and think about the cards we'd like to make to send to friends and family, as well as the stock we need to make for others to buy! New ranges are being introduced and I take the time to work out what I need (nothing really!) and what I would like to buy (almost everything!)

I love Christmas, my Mum was fanatical about it and we always had a Christmas grotto in our family home. My Mum always said it was for the children/grandchildren but we all knew it was for her really! After her death, Christmas lost a bit of lustre for me but I am happy to say that my fondness has now returned, thanks to my own children and also the sweet memories I have of my Mum at that time of the year.

So while my fourteen year-old daughter is disgusted with me for having the Christmas stash out I am choosing to revel in it and wanted to share with you one of my favourite cards I created for Christmas:

It's not the greatest photo but unfortunately it's the only I have as these were made for family and I am notoriously rubbish at taking photos of the cards I make for my personal use but am trying hard to improve.

So enjoy your Wednesday and I will see you on Friday for another Funky Friday share. Hopefully my daughter won't have disowned me by then!
Love always, Sammylou xXx

Funky Friday - Mr & Mrs

Happy Friday to you all and I for one am glad to see the back of this week.

Given it's peak Wedding season and my Wedding Anniversary today, I wanted to share with you a card I made using the fantastic Winter Wedding papers from Funky Hand:

For just £2.99 you get the papers, alphas and symbols too! I covered some chipboard hearts I got free from a crafting magazine and backed a 6 x 6 card with the polka dot paper. The alphas were resized in word and printed onto white linen card then stuck down with foam pads.

One of the things I realise as I continue along my card making journey is I'm not really one for faff and would much rather let the papers (as opposed to the embellishments) do the talking.

Enjoy your weekend and I'll hopefully see you for a post on Sunday.
Love as always, Sammylou xXx

Why buy handmade?

Hello :) and a happy Wednesday to you all!

I've recently been thinking about the merits of  handmade cards and why they are so much better than store bought, or even the so called "personalised" efforts you can purchase from sites such as Moonpig.

I am of course a complete convert to the handmade card (shocking I know!) but if I was asked why you should pay a little bit more for a bespoke card when you can get seven for £1 from places like Card Factory, my reasons would be as follows:

1. It's the thought that counts - a handmade card gives the recipient an idea of how much they are loved. You have taken the time and effort to make (or order) a card that truly reflects the recipient.
2. It's so much more than a card - I know I am a tad sentimental but it's always lovely when people who I have given cards to say things like, "I always keep yours." It's not just a card, it's a permanent keepsake
3. They are unique - yes, they might be similar but no two cards are the same.
4. And this may be the most important reason: you are helping to support independent businesses in a difficult economic climate and perpetuating a little creativity in an increasingly faceless retail sector.

And on that note, I would like to show a card I recently made for a 21st. The brief: she loves Pride & Prejudice and Post Secrets. And here's what I created:

And if you can find something that meets the brief in your local Clinton's, I'll eat my hat :)
Love to you all and see you back here on Friday for another Funky Friday share.
Sammylou xXx

Funky Friday - Baby Wordbook

Following on from my last share from Funky Hand I really wanted to share the wordbook below which  I made recently for my sister to welcome a special little girl into the world. Possibly the longest wordbook I have made so far, I decided that I wanted to use chipboard and went through around three scalpel blades just cutting the base out!

 

 

 

The papers I used are from the Wishes and Kisses cd-rom and are just great for a baby girl. My sister was over the moon with it and if the new parents loved it as much as she did then I am a happy bunny!

 

That's it from me and I look forward to seeing you all soon, I am off to make some Christmas cards. Yes, you definitely heard me right and I can tell you that the goodies coming your way from Anice are just superb. Check out the inspiration blog for some sneak peeks...

 

Sammylou xxx

It's a boy!

Now I'm not a huge fan of the Royal family but I do love a baby. Who can resist their gorgeous little faces, all scrunched up and ready to ingest all the world has to offer?

And to welcome Baby Cambridge I would like to share this card with you, made using Funky Hand's Wishes and Kisses CD-ROM

Everything you need to create the above is on the disk. I just cut out a few triangles for bunting and added a couple of pearls to the pram. A carriage fit for a King (or King-to-be in this case!).

So congratulations Will and Kate, here's to the sleepless nights and utter joy that a new baby brings, whatever their lineage.

And if you would like to see what else I've made for Funky Hand, then head on over to the Get Funky and Craft blog for my latest make

See you all soon, Sammylou xx

Funky Friday

While currently under house arrest due to my little man's chicken pox I thought I would take the opportunity to schedule some much needed posts to my poor and neglected blog. And, as I am terrifically lucky to be part of the Funky Hand design team, I thought where better to start than with a new weekly Funky Friday post!

So each Friday I will share with you one of my makes using the wonderful downloads available from their website. And what a plethora of choice there is!

When thinking of this inaugural post, I decided to take you back to one of my favourites: the It's a Girl candle I made for the Create and Craft launch shows for the Wishes and Kisses CD Rom.

Have a fabulous weekend and I'll be back with another post early next.
Love always, Sammylou xXx

Who needs a hug?

Hi :) today I am sharing two cards I made using the fabulous Summer Wedding downloads and Hug in a Mug digi stamp from Funky Hand.

Not content with using them just for Wedding cards I made two cards: one for a birthday and one for a thank you.

I love this digi, it's perfect for so many occasions and I can happily report that both recipients loved their cards!

So here they are:

A quick dusting of perfect pearls and a die cut heart and they were done. I was really pleased with them. They were fairly quick to make (aside from the wait while the pearls dried) and are really effective.

I will see you all soon with some more of my crafty adventures!
Sammylou xXx

Father's Day

Hi all, it's been a while I know but sometimes life gets in the way of the fun things...

And although I may have been quiet with the blog, life has certainly not been that way at all! I am busy making Wedding Invitations for my brother-in-law and his fiancée. They  have truly been a labour of love and have taken up most of my "almost non-existent" free time. It's all worth it though.

So it's the middle of May and all card makers are beginning to think about Father's Day. It's a bittersweet day for me as my Father passed away three and a half years ago but I have a wonderful Father-in-law and a husband who deserves to be spoiled rotten too.

With this in mind, I have created two cards for my guest spot on the Get Funky and Craft blog. Using a sketch taken from the talented Sketch File blog by Kathy's Waffle this is one of the cards I created:

Made using the Steam Punk download available at Funky Hand

If you'd like to see the other one then you'll just have to pop across to the Get Funky and Craft blog to see!

See you all soon, Sammylou xXx

It's all about the babies

It's that time  of the month and I have blogged for FunkyHand :) This month I have showcased one of their new word digi's.

I am so very lucky to be part of such a supportive DT team. As one of the newest members I have been welcomed with open arms. Not only do I have access to the wonderful array of papers and downloads available from the totally talented Anice, I feel blessed that I am able to work with some of the most talented cardmakers out there.

So, I guess you would like to see what I've made? Hope so...

 

 

I absolutely loved making this card. It's a little quirky and one-of-a-kind but I like that! I used the Rainbow Polkadots download and also some alphas from Just for Jen, added on some ribbon and a bit of bling and the card was done.

 

I am really pleased with it, I hope you like it too!

 

Heading off now to tend to my poorly boy and I look forward to catching up with you all soon, Sammylou xxx

Mother's Day

Hello All and sorry I have been away for so long... I truly wish I could blog more and definitely want to try harder.

Today I would like to show you the card I made for my wonderful Mother-in-Law. Mother's Day can be difficult as my own Mum passed away nearly eight years ago and I tend to keep my head down and act like it's just another day. However, I am blessed to have such a wonderful Mother-in-Law and always make an effort for her.

The card is made using the fantastic Hearts and Flowers download from Funky Hand. I love it! Everything on the card is included in the download (and so, so much more!) so it was fairly straightforward to make but I think has great impact.

And my Mother-in-Law loved it and that's what matters.
See you all soon, Sammylou xxx