A Black & wite Froggy Christmas

Hi all
Time to deliver a project of the day over at the Lily pad again. Some super simple but stylish black and white Christmas cards


As ever a more detailed post can be found on the Banana Frog blog.

Well it’s time for this froglet to hop off the lily pad I’m afraid. After much soul searching and juggling of time I have decided with great sadness after 2 ad 1/2 years it is time for me to step down from the Banana Frog DT and have said my fond farewells over at the Lilypad today.

Thanks for stopping by and hopping over to the Lily pad, I hope you're well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting
Love
M x

A spooky twist with Banana Frog

Hi all

Just a quicky to drop this off


My project of the day on the Banana Frog blog. A little spooky twist using the fairytale princess castle ... yes really :) Pop on over to the Lilly pad for my project.

I hope you're well and happy, see you Friday with 2 posts and until then Happy Crafting!
Love
M x

Simply Clear scrapbook stamping

Hi all
Today is my turn to share a project of the day over on the Banana Frog blog and as promised I expanded on the card idea I created for the Frog hop last Saturday


I've taken it large on a scrap page! As ever the step by steps for the poject can be found at the Lily pad.

I hope you're all well and happy, life at Mogford towers is still super busy but very exciting (and keeps me out of mischief LOL) I have so much I need to catch you all up on and one of these days I will be true to my word and get back on track with this blogging malarkey!!

Until then nice to *see you*, stay safe and Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Happy Scrappy stamping!

Hi all.

I cannot believe how fast time is going again and that we are already in July! I've also been rubbish at keeping in touch with you all I know, life is super busy but very exciting though. I WILL get into a better routine and pop into my little corner of blogdom a bit more often .... honest :)

Ok, so today is my project of the day over at Banana Frog, inspired by a glorious summer morning I made a 'happy card'


As ever the step by steps are over on the Lily pad and all the stamps I have used are in the sale so why not grab yourself a bargain treat or two while you visit!

Talking of projects of the day I had a lovely email from a lovely lady from across the pond the other day. She owns a FAB website called All free Holiday crafts, there are loads of great projects over there and lots of inspiration for all manner of holidays and celebrations and all free! (I spent far too long having a happy trawl around over there!) Go and check it out, and while you're there see if you can spot this


My Project of the day that went live on the Lily pad on Xmas day last year. I was thrilled skinny (oh there's a dream way to lose weight LOL) and very flattered when she asked permission to use my project on the site, maybe some more will pop up :)

Things are good at Mogford towers, busy as I said and full of craftiness that I hope to share soon!

The boys are good too


It's been a while since they made an appearance here hasn't it, haven't they grown!

Plans are afoot to take my website off line soon to give it a much needed face lift and update and I really want to re decorate here too .... now if only my old nemesis Mr time would slow down a little maybe I'll actually get there!!!

Thanks for popping by, I hope you're all well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting

Love
M x

July Craft stamper

Hi all

Just dropping by to let you know that the fabulous craft stamper magazine July issue is available now


It is packed with some lovely projects and loads of inspiration and oh yes a little project from me!!


It's an altered book special and is well worth getting hold of... happy reading :)

Lots of painty, doodly things going on in the art tart studio at the moment, plans are a foot and I can't wait to share them all with you, needless to say (while I keep you all in suspenders) I'm having a super, jolly, crafty time :)

I hope you're all well and happy, I'll be back soon, until then happy crafting
Love M x

Glue stick embossing!

Hi all, today it's my turn to share a project over on the Banana Frog Lilypad.


It's a technique based project using a glue stick for that distressed embossing look. Step by step photos are on the frog blog, so why not hop on over and take a peak and get creating with your glue stick!!

I hope you're well and happy, life has been busy in Mogford towers as usual but hopefully one of these days I will keep my promise to come back and have a chat ... you never know stranger things have happened :)

Until soon Happy Crafting
Love
M x

{happy birthday} froggity blog hop

Hi all
Well that's another month gone and time for another Banana Frog blog hop, can you believe we're nearly half way through the year!! Anyway this months blog hop is a special one .... it's the little green guys birthday and what's a birthday without some cake?


And better still this one is calorie free :) and doubles up as a great gift box! I have used a veritable feast of Frog stamps for this project Charming prince, Tropical garden, Build a daisy, Simple greetings, That takes the cake and It's all about elegance (psssst all these stamps are on sale, go on treat yourself ;))


1st up I cut a strip of white card for the lid and stamped along the bottom edge with the lace trim from It's all about elegance and trimmed to the pattern. Then added the greeting from simple greetings along some ribbon with permanent ink sticking it along the strip above the stamped lace trim.


Next thing was, what else but, the cute little frog from Charming prince, again stamped with permanent ink so I could colour them in with my pro markers.


I cut a wider strip of white card for the base of the box and added a purple trim to the bottom of it and along the top of the top strip of card using a stapler to pleat it as I went to give a look of piped icing.


I then added some bling to the crowns with glitter glue.


Cutting a circle with dragons teeth for the top and bottom of the box I added pretty sprinkles to the top from the stamp in that takes the cake and inked the edges.


Using the totally tropical stamp set I stamped some leaves and flowers mixing the ink on the stamps to create shaded colouring. I used one of the petals from build a daisy to create the candle and one of the leaves stamped in yellow for the flame.


To make the candle stand up on the cake I cut it with some tabs on the bottom of the petal that were stuck to the underside of the top when it was in position.


The flowers and leaves were added with silicon glue and curled before sticking in place to add dimension.


And that's it a unique froggy birthday gift box :)

Thanks for hopping by today, your next stop on the hop is the fabulous Francine (I love her style) and don't forget to comment as you go there may be birthday prizes!! Enjoy the rest of the hop and I'll see you soon. Until then Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Old Techniques and favourite stamps!

Hi all
It's my turn to share a project over at the Lily pad. A revisit to an old chalky technique and some of my favourite Banana Frog stamps


As ever the step by step instructions are over on the frog blog so why not hop on over and check it out, and while you're there snag a bargain, there's an AMAZING sale on stamps in the shop!!!

I hope you're well and happy, I'll *see you* soon, until then Happy Crafting
Love
M x

A {Tweet} Froggity Blog hop!

Hi all

Well another month of 2011 gone and it means it's the Banana Frog blog hop time once again! With Spring in the air the theme for this month is birds and I hope you've been enjoying the {tweet} offerings from all the other froglets :) If you're here without hopping why not hop on over to the Lilly pad and start at the beginning to be inspired!

So without further ado here is my feathery offering for March ...


Is it a piece of wall art? is it an embellishment? or is it a bespoke brooch? ... the answer I think is all of the above! It's small and cute and oh so easy to make.

I used the Hiya Chick stamp set and the shake your tail feathers tadpole stamp set alongside some chipboard, music paper, gesso, distress inks, blonde moments embossing powder, small flowers and bling, some scrap paper and some craft wire. (by the way both stamp sets are on sale at the moment go grab a bargain!!)


Using the transparent image sheet in with the stamps I was able to draw out a template big enough to accommodate the bird on the branch and then cut this from a piece of chipboard.


I covered it in strips of music paper..


.... then trimmed it to shape and painted it with gesso.


I coloured it with distress inks ..


... and then stamped the end of the branch around the outside for a decorative pattern and embossed the bird. Some of the embossing powder stuck to the pattern I had stamped, a happy accident as I like the way it fills the branch out :)


Stamping the sentiment from the tadpole set ...


.... I then cut it up, inked it and added it to my collage along with some tiny paper flowers.


Leaving my collage aside to dry I made a wire cage to go over the top of my compositon. A little fiddly but worth the 'slightly' blue air in my studio LOL


I slipped the cage over the top of my chipboard collage...


...and attached the craft wire at the back with masking tape.


To finish off the back I glued some scrap paper onto it, trimming away excess with a craft knife and sanding any rough bits with a nail file


et voila, a cute little birdcage that could be used for anything you like!


I like it as a little wall plaque and think it would look great as a set of 3 but also think it would look great as an embellishment on a special card or scrap page and would look cool as a brooch by just adding a brooch pin to the back .... why not have a go and show me what you do with yours?

Thankyou for visiting my little corner of the lilly pad today your next hop stop is with the lovely and oh so talented Jo Firth Young and don't forget to leave comments where ever you go there may be prizes!

I hope you're well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting
Love
M x

PS My limited edition Art Tart DIY project CD's are available on my website see the post under this one for details and links ... why not try something different today :)

Springing into Spring

Hi all,
Today I am springing into Spring with my project of the day over at Banana Frog with this layout ....


Hop on over to the Lilypad for the step by step instructions AND to bag a bargain ... there's a sale on!!!

I hope you're all well and happy, I have been a crafting fool with deadlines, trade shows, magazine submissions and TV and I'm now prepping for my workshops at Olympia for the Stitch and Craft show however I will endeavour to get back soon to fill you in on my life in general, crafty goings on and of course those boys :)

Stay safe and until soon Happy Crafting!
Love
M x

Craft Stamper and painted backgrounds

Hi all

Have you got the March issue of Craft stamper magazine?


If not why not? It is full of inspiring techniques to use in all your crafting plus it has an article by a certain someone on creating your own painted and stamped scrapping paper :) so go grab it while you can before the new issue hits the shelves on the 4th of March .... Run .... Run like the wind LOL

I hope you're well and happy, I'll be back soon with a Banana Frog project of the day funnily enough on the 4th so until then as ever Happy Crafting
Love
M x

PS Are you going to the stitch and craft show at Olympia later in the month? Would you like to join me for a scrapbooking workshop? Book up a class (a unique class with my own, one off scrapping paper) and come see me I'll be there and I will have a stand ... I'll let you know the number soon and may even have that elusive carousel DIY project for sale :) Love M x

A {loving} Froggity Blog hop

Hi all

Well can you believe it is a month since the last frog hop with the talented froglets from Banana Frog? That means it's a month since I was in Mexico realising all the pictures had mysteriously disappeared from last months post! More on that later for now let's get on with this month ....

The theme for February is hearts being the month of love so I thought I would see what else I could create from the many choices of heart shape stamps from Banana Frog and came up with this...


A {Heartfelt} Butterfly

A very simple but effective idea for an embellishment, a brooch, a mobile etc etc using the I heart you stamp set and a Big and Juicy ink pad with a few beads, a bit of wire and some stickles for added sparkle


I simply stamped one of the hearts 4 times, joining two of them. I used the big and juicy ink pad so I could get a rainbow of colour


I cut these out and curled them adding a layer of stickles to the surface with my finger tip (do this gently so as not to smudge the ink, although that could be quite a cool effect!)


I made a simple wire body, threaded with random beads and stuck my butterfly together adhering the single hearts as the top wings so I could space them out.


Just look at all the possibilities for different size butterflies and different shapes with just this one set. They could be stamped onto vellum, book pages, felt .. the possibilities are endless and only limited by your imagination. So why not grab some lovely heart stamps and look at them in a new light, you never know what you may find and I think these heart felt butterflies would work perfectly with my heartfelt blooms posted on the frog blog a while ago!

And so to last months blog hop post and those missing photos, it has taken me a while to get them on line due to a whole host of reasons with demming at the stitches trade show, tv, dropping my hard drive (yep my whole life is on it eek!) and being poorly sick but I'll stop making excuses and say they are now in their rightful places in this post here and this is what it looks like finally!


Ok whittering over, thanks for dropping by and your next stop is with the oh so talented Jo. Have fun on the hop, leave a comment, a little froggy mentioned prizes :) and I'll see you soon
Until then as ever I hope you are well and happy and Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Lets get messy!

Hi all
Over at the Lily pad today I'm getting messy with this project


Lots of alcohol ink and super dreamy stamping, with full instructions on the Banana Frog blog of course so hop on over and fill your boots .... enjoy!

I hope you're all well and happy, until soon, as ever, Happy Crafting
Love
M x

Froggity Blog hop

Hi all
And welcome if you are here via the Banana Frog blog hop, but you're also welcome, ofcourse, if you have just arrived here in passing! If you'd like to join in the hop it's not too late just hop on over to the Lilypad and start at the top of the list I know you will find loads of inspiration along the way from the oh so talented froglets!

At this point I am adding in that this post is late (sorry) as I have holiday brain and have gained a day somehow .... hmm margueritas?? I am also now saying a HUGE sorry as now this post is publishred all my photos seemed to have disappeared from my post!!! I'll post the lovely photos (such a shame I love this project!)when I get home next week as I don't have them with me :( I also prepared this post before I flew off from blighty and before the winter theme for the hop was decided ...oops! Going well so far LOL ok enough extra waffle let's move on :)

So here's my project for today, with valentines on the way I thought I would share some Lurve!


Love Tokens


The ingredients
This project uses the aptly named It's all about love stamp set and the DeLouisville tadpole set. I have also used some Bubblegum Canford card, white card, colorbox archival ink in Firebird, red devil and dark cherry, Embossing ink, cosmic shimmer ruby blush blaze embossing powder and a pink doodle pen.


Stamp the large heart from the set on to some white card and draw a line around it larger than the image, cutting it out to create a template for the top and bottom of the box.


Draw around the template onto the pink card and once again draw around the image creating a margin to snip so that it can be folded over and create the anchor for the sides of the box.


Fold up the snipped sections and adhere a strip of card around the hearts. Before adhering the strip around the top of the box, stamp it with the small dangling hearts fronm the samp set. NB you need to make the top heart the merest fraction bigger than the bottom so the lid fits on the box snuggly


Stamp the large heart onto some white card and cut out following the scallops, then stamp the large heart again on to some pink card this time cutting just inside the line of the inside heart to create a mat for the box top.


Emboss the smaller heart onto some white card and cut it out to create an embellishment for the centre of the box top.


The box could contain any treasure for your loved one to enjoy but I think these love tokens are fun, personal and in expensive as they can carry such promises as breakfast in bed and a day of sport on the telly! Stamp the large heart onto some white card and cut out following the scallops. Use the Tadpole set of DeLouisville to write the word and doodle around the heart with a pink pen. The 'claim' for the token can be written on the back.


Add some tissue paper in the bottom of the box, maybe some chocoates and a few love tokens and enjoy that specal squidgy feeling when you give it to your loved one and they admire the effort you've made to say 'I love you'

I hope you feel inspired, and talking of inspiration your next stop is the talented
Lory and I know she will be better organised than me :)
Enjoy the rest of the hop and thanks for stopping by my little section of the Lilypad :)
I hope you're well and happy and until soon Happy Crafting
Love
M x