Christening Papercut

Oh dear!  I've done it again - almost a whole month with no blog post.  I just can't get it together at the moment!

Today, I wanted to do a little show-and-tell about a special christening present I made.

A few weekends ago, we flew back to England for a couple of days.  We had a VERY important (and VERY lovely) job to do..... Our best friends had asked us to be Godparents to their beautiful baby daughter. 

So we had to come up with an idea for a christening gift idea and - of course - it was going to have to be something 'Crafted by Carly'.

I'd already made little Amelia a quilt (which you can see here), a couple of dresses (here and here), a hat (here), and a soft toy (which I forgot to post about).  So what to make for this occasion???

In the end, I decided to make a papercut.  And here it is.....

It took a long time to draw and cut, but I was really pleased with how it turned out.  

Well, that's it for today.  

I've finished off (and photographed) a few baby bits and bobs for our own little one lately.  So, hopefully, it won't be too long before I post again.  Well, that's my intention anyway!  We'll see.....

Carly

x

Our Fairytale Forest Bedroom

A few months ago, we decided to redecorate our bedroom.  We saw this amazing wallpaper, and HAD to have it.  And it was the wallpaper that inspired the rest.

Simon did all the decorating, and I contributed by sewing some patchwork cushion covers and making some papercuts for the walls (and by doing a bit of shopping, of course).....

I LOVE:

• papercutting
• making parchwork cushions
• shopping in IKEA
• red paired with bright blue
• Russian dolls
• little wooden ladybirds
• magical, glowing bunny rabbits

But I DON'T love:

• visiting DIY stores
• getting covered in paint
• hanging pictures
• hemming curtains

Luckily, we BOTH LOVE our new bedroom!!!

Carly

x

My Handmade Wedding Gift

As promised last time, today's post is going to be about the wedding pressie I made for my friend.   

I’ve mentioned in a few older posts that I’ve tried a bit of papercutting before – and that’s what I decided to do for the wedding gift. 

My previous attempts at papercutting had all been from pre-prepared outlines.  But, for this one, I wanted to design something myself.  What a job that was!!!  I’d seen some pretty things online, and got some ideas from here and there.  But I wanted to add some personal touches.

Drawing is definitely NOT one of my strong points, and I think I must have drawn it out at least 25 times before I was reasonably happy with what I had.  I found a picture of the gatehouse of the venue, and tried to incorporate it into the design.  I’d heard that the gardens were a special feature of the place too, so I put in a tree and some grass and flowers.  I also knew that the mother of the bride had been busy making lots of bunting for the occasion – so I put in some of that too! And, of course, I included a bride and groom.

The cutting out took AGES as well – and was extremely fiddly!  But that was the fun bit!!!  Here it is as a work-in progress.

  

And here’s the finished thing.

I have to say that I was pretty pleased with how it turned out. And, luckily, the bride loved it.  PHEW!!!

Now I need to get sorting through photos to show you what else we did in the holidays.....  See you soon!

Carly

x

Santa, you know me so well!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  I hope you all had a happy Christmas, and that you celebrated the start on 2013 in style!  We had a wonderful Christmas with my family (being spoilt, eating lots, and playing games), managed to meet up with lots of UK-based friends, and had a fantastic New Year's Eve (with my parents and some friends) at a hotel in Cheltenham.  

Santa Claus is SUCH a clever fellow!  How DID he know what I was hoping to find in my stocking this year?!?  And he's SO generous too!  I think I must have been very, very good last year!!!

I thought I'd do a little show-and-tell of some of the crafty pressies I received.....

[look out, books - here comes the scalpel...]

[a little bobbin corking dolly]

[a bit of CK, of course]

[another papercutting book]

[my new 'Mollie' subscription - with freebee book]

[a new camera lens - to snap some birdies and other creatures]

[a lovely, colourful, small-project crafty book]

[and last but not least... some cute fabrics]

I'm CAN'T WAIT to get started on some new crafty projects.....  Thank you SO much for all my wonderful Christmas gifts, dear family and friends!!!  

Next time, I'll do a show-and-tell of some of the pressies I MADE for people this Christmas.  So, see you soon.....

Carly

x