Liz Felgate Crafts

Love is in the air!

2012-01-29T07:39:00.000-08:00

It's almost the end of January already and Valentine's day is just aroud the corner. I've been making some fun new cards to help people show their love on February 14th.

Here comes the Bride.....it's wedding season!

2011-06-14T07:27:00.000-07:00

Everywhere I turn I here about upcoming nuptuals, so wedding season must be in full swing! I'm actually working with a bride to be on her wedding stationery and other items for her big day. So far I've made some beautiful wedding invitations, complete with RSVP cards, Thank you cards, place cards, and wine bottle cuffs.

Yesterday I made some new wedding cards to add to my Etsy store, and think I'll be making lots more later this week. Here is a preview of some of the new designs available at my Etsy store.

For every card I sell on my Etsy store in may & June I'll be donating the proceeds to the National Kidney Foundation. On Saturday June 18th I'll be taking part in a 200ft rappel down a building in Baltimore, Maryland and hope to raise $1000 for the charity! By buying a card from ym store, you are not only getting a wonderful hand crafted card, but you will also be supporting a very worthy cause.

Raising Money for the National Kidney Foundation

2011-05-23T18:22:00.000-07:00

On June 18th I'll be going over the edge. Over the edge of a 200ft building in downtown Baltimore to be precise. You may think I'm mad but it's all for a great cause and hopefully will be a bit of fun too. I'm doing a rappell down the Canton Crossing Tower to raise much needed money for the National Kidney Foundation.

My dear father passed away in January 2005, following Kidney disease and so this is a cause that is close to my heart and I hope that I can raise at least $1000 to go towards more research and treatments.

On my quest to raise my goal I am soliciting the support of friends, family and nieghbors and will also be donating all the proceeds from my Etsy store for May & June, so I'm hoping that together we can reach the $1000.

For more information on the event you can visit my fundraising page here .

Please help me to reach my goal and help other people in the world fight Kidney Disease.

April showers bring May flowers, but why wait till May!

2011-04-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Today I have just finished decorating a beautiful birthday cake for a little girl who is turning 4. I love making new cakes and this one was challenging as the little girl can't eat wheat or dairy products! I always want to make sure that my cakes are as delicious to eat as they are to look at so after some research I found a delicious gluten free recipe for the cake and used dairy free butter to make the buttercream.

Once the cake was baked and filled with buttercream, the fun began in decorating it. Like most little girls Cici loves pink and so what better than a huge pink daisy on the top of her cake. I added 7 fondant purple butterflies fluttering around the side of the cake too.

I'll be off to deliver the cake shortly so I'm excited to see Cici and her Mom's face when they see it!

Great American Cake Show

2011-04-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

Last month I was busy making cards everyday for my card challenge and this month it's all been about cake! I've entered the Great American Cake show competition at the end of April and so have been busy preparing my entries.

2010 was my first year to enter and I entered three cakes. One was a pink prada purse cake, the second and babies first gift cake and the last a two tier mothers day cake. I was really pleased to win 3rd place for my baby cake in my category and come home with a little rosette.

I've been thinking about what to enter this year for a while now and have had a sketch drawn out of my wedding cake entry. The theme for the wedding cake category this year is holidays, so I have chosen to do a Christmas theme wedding cake. I finally decided on the cake dummy sizes and shapes and set to work decorating them with fondant last week.

Seeing my design go from paper into fondant is quite amazing and so far I'm really pleased with how the top three tiers have come out. All was going great until today when I ended up getting my finger caught in a dog leash and now it looks like it may be dislocated. I just hope I'll be able to get my cake finished in time for the competition on the 30th April.

Here are some photos of the top three tiers so far. The top tier represents a winter snow scene with a snow bride and snow groom on top. The second tier is a Christmas present, the third represents the Christmas tree and I'm really excited at how that has turned out. Although I'm keeping the cake all white, it has so much texture that it has depth and interest.

Custom order of military theme cards just finished

2011-04-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

I've just finished making a custom order of 30 cards with a military/veteran theme and will be getting them in the mail to the customer today. I got a little carried away and ended up making 40 cards so I'll have afew of them to keep on my Etsy store too.

I made a selection of sizes and styles including Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines, Veterans, Motor Bikes and USA theme cards and love them all.

They are going to be sold at the Rolling Thunder event on Memorial Day in May to raise money for the war veterans, which is a great cause.

And the winner of my March giveaway is..........

2011-04-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

Throughout March I ran a giveaway to win 10 of my handmade cards for people who either liked my facebook fan page or made a purchase on my Etsy store. By the end of March I had reached over 100 fans on my page and made several sales on Etsy too. So on April 1st, I did a drawing to see who the lucky winner would be and it is Laura! Congrats!

Here is a photo of the 10 cards that will be making their way to Laura and I hope she loves them and sends them all out to her friends and family.

Now its time to get started on the 85 wedding invitation sets I have on order so that will keep me busy for a while.

Last day of the March Madness Card challenge - an assortment of cards

2011-03-31T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well here I am on day 31 at the end of my card a day challenge for March. It's been a fun month and I've got lots of lovely cards to show for it too, although it has been hard work to get them made, photographed, uploaded and blogged about, and being sick for a couple of days didn't really help, but I made it through!

Looking back at all the cards I did make, I've counted up them all and actually made 54 different cards, and including multiples of the same design, there were over 100 cards, so quite a productive month. I'll certainly have plenty to take to the Washington International Spring Bazaar on April 17th.

For my last day I've made five new cards. It started off with a first birthday card, then I added an 18th and 21st birthday cards followed by a sweet sixteen, and finally two quick thank you cards to try out a new rubber stamp!

I hope you've enjoyed following my creativity and I'll start thinking about another challenge for later in the year.

Card Challenge Days 28, 29 & 30 - It sucks being sick!

2011-03-30T19:47:00.000-07:00

I guess with the crazy temperature changes this past week it's not suprising that I have caught a cold! I hate feeling ill and I'm not sure whats worse, the symptoms of my sore throat and throbbing head or the side affects of the cold medication that make me feel like I'm high!

With feeling sick, I've just not had the energy or motivation to make any cards for a couple of days, but today I dragged myself into the craft room and got creating, and before I knew it I had made up two new cards and felt alot happier.

It's the last day of my 31 day challenge tomorrow and I hope to get some more cards made and posted, and then reflect on the past 31 days and all of the cards I've made. Its also the last day of my giveaway too, so for all of those that have 'liked' my Liz Felgate Crafts facebook page or made a purchase from my Etsy store, I'll be drawing a name to win 10 of my beautiful cards!

Card Challenge Day 27 - Bassets are like potato chips, you can't just have one!

2011-03-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

My featured card, or should I say cards for today follow on from yesterdays theme of basset hounds. I wanted to try out all three of my new rubber stamps and so ended up creating about 6 different cards in all.

Just by using the stamps in different ways I can create so much more than three different cards. I especially like the smaller of the stamps which is just a clear outline of a basset hound as I'm able to stamp it out four times, and then cut out different 'layers' to build up a 3d basset.

I'm sure I'll be making lots more of these fun cards ready for the BROOD Ramble in September. I attended my first Ramble last year and what an amazing day it was. There were over 150 basset hounds of all shapes, sizes and ages there, along with their owners, all to raise money for the Basset Rescue of Old Dominion (BROOD). I'm hoping to take Daisy with me this year when I have another booth there to sell my cards.

Well here are my first creations using Barnie, Oliver and Sebastian the basset hound stamps (well they have to have names too!).

Collection of basset cards

Card Challenge Day 26 - Bassets Rule!

2011-03-26T09:01:00.000-07:00

Back in January we added to our family by adopting a rescue dog from the Basset Rescue of Old Dominion (BROOD), in the way of Daisy. A cute and fun two year old basset hound mix which was going to make the perfect playmate for our border collie cross Jelly! It was love at first site, for all of us, and so we brought Daisy home.

She's settled in great and made herself at home straight away, taking her position on an armchair like she'd always been meant to sit there. Shortly after we got her I'd taken her to the vets for a check up and was told that she had tested positive for heartworm. this was very worrying as I knew that heartworm could be very dangerous for dogs. We started treatment straight away which meant that Daisy had to stay at the vets for 4 days while they gave her treatment to kill the worms and monitor her for any possible side effects.

Thankfully she has now been given the all clear from the vets and shouldn't have any long term effects because of it. Throughout all of it she's been her playful happy self and we just love her to bits.

BROOD are a fantastic organistaion who help to rehome and take care of hundreds of bassets, they are always looking for fosters and furever homes for their dogs. Check out the available dogs on their website at http://www.brood-va.org/ and see if you can welcome a new dog into your life too.

I've just added some more bassets to our house in the form of some new basset rubber stamps, and so thought I'd try one of them out this morning! so cute!

March Madness Day 25 - Celebrate Adoption days

2011-03-26T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've made hundreds of birthday cards over the years, but believe it or not this is the first adoption day card I have made. I was given the suggestion by a friend and what a great idea it was. Celebrating the day that a child is brought into a family is a very special occassion. I'll be taking this card and a couple of other cards around to Jodye later today!

At last the sun is shining although its still a little chilly with reports of snow in the forecast tonight! what is going on with that!

Card Challenge Day 24 - More mothers day Cards

2011-03-25T07:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I didn't have my camera so wasn't able to take any photos of all the new mothers day cards I made. I was on a roll and made 24 cards in all im=ncluding some fathers day cards and some happy birthday soldier cards too. Some days i have so many ideas that I can just keep going....last night it was nearly midnight when I packed my things up and went to bed.

I'm hoping to make some more as the two stores that buy wholesale from me will be needing some and I also know alot of brits living here that need mothers day cards for the UK date in April, and can' always find them in the shops in time.

Lets hope today is as productive!

March Madness Day 23 - Oh La La Mothers day card

2011-03-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was such a lovely day which I spent most of in the garden doing some spring cleaning, and then today when I woke up its like winter again outside, all gloomy and cold. It's a good day to stay in doors and be creative. I also had a Bride to be calling round to discuss her wedding stationery and she decided on a lovely black and white gatefold design with accents of pink and silver. Now that will keep me busy making 85 sets of invitations, RSVP cards, Thank you cards and place cards.

Looking through my cardstock, I pulled out some toile look card in black and white and some bright sunny yellow card and envelopes and got creating some pretty Mothers Day cards. Mothers Day in the UK is in April, so I need to get going on making quite afew for all the Brits I know living out here.

With the offcuts of card I made up some matching gift cards to go with each of the cards.

March Madness Day 22 - Springtime and Support our Troops

2011-03-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Springtime is really here and now there seems to be so much to be done in the garden. Yesterday I spent a couple of hours clearing away some dead plants and leaves to uncover my spring bulbs which were hidden in the debris. Its lovely to see some fresh green growth back in the borders after what seems like a long winter. It always amazes me how the delicate plants survive the winter with afew feet of heavy snow on top of them.

On a recent trip to Lowes I had to stop myself looking at all the plants as Lowes garden center has the same effect as Michaels does on me and I'll come home with a car full of plants if I'm not supervised!

I think afew more hours of yard work is on the agenda again today, and I've learnt by past experience that a little often goes alot further than a marathon session and not being able to move for a week after! Looks like its going to be a nice day too, so as the saying goes 'make hay while the sun shines'

As for my card for today I've made up afew more support the troops cards and will be making some birthday cards too for the soldiers etc. Every day on the news I hear of yet another war breaking out across the globe and it makes you think about all of the lives lost every day.

March Madness Day 21 - God Bless America

2011-03-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a collection of cards with a military theme, and thought that some patriotic cards would work well too. I created 6 cards in the red, white and blue theme. I used a selection of stickers including some photo stickers and buttons.

I may not be an American, but having lived here for over 10 years now, this is my home and I love living here.

March Madness Day 20 - Easy Rider theme cards

2011-03-21T07:52:00.000-07:00

On another beautiful sunny day the roads are full of motorcycles out enjoying the great riding weather. There's nothing like the feeling of riding on the open road on a motorbike, I just love it. I got my licence back in 2008 and have my own bike too.

My cards today are inspired by motorbikes, and I love the metal look with the Harley color theme of black and orange.

Get on your helmet and go for a ride!

March Madness Day 19 - Baby Girls First Teddy Bear

2011-03-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Today has been a beautiful day and I started it off by taking a new yoga class in town. The class was called 'Rock your core' and it certainly did that! Feeling refresed and ready to make the most of the beautiful day ahead I picked up my gardening tools and headed outside to work on the front garden.

While doing some weeding, I noticed something move by my foot, and when I looked it turned out to be a snake! It was only a rat snake, about 12 inches long, but it sure made me careful of where I put my hands after that!

Now I'm back indoors, starting to feel the effects of the yoga and four hours of gardening, so have sat down to make some cards and come up with this one.

March Madness Day 18 - A special card for a Friends Mum

2011-03-18T16:53:00.000-07:00

Today has been a little less hectic than yesterday but still as productive, as I have worked on some new cards, done some painting, been to the gym and out for several walks with my dogs Jelly & Daisy as it's been such a beautiful day.

One of the cards I made today is a special one for a school friends mother who has been through surgery to remove cancer and I wanted to send her a card to brighten her day. I hope this brings a smile to her face and these flowers are sure to last much longer than fresh ones too.

I've got it all packaged up safely ready to post back to England in the morning.

March Madness Day 17 - One of those crazy busy days!!

2011-03-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today has been one of those crazy days where I have been running around all day. My day started with a trip to the vets with my dog Daisy for her follow up on the heartworm treatment she had in February. Thankfully her tests came back negative and she was given the thumbs up from the vet! It's a huge relief as heartworm in dogs can be very harmful if not treated so it was a good thing we caught it early.

The rest of the day has included taking photos and video of the Georgetown Prep students out on the Ropes Challenge course (http://www.upwardenterprises.com/) which was fun, and with such beautiful weather, it makes for even better photos.

I even managed to fit in a run at Baker park in Frederick tonight with a friend, which is just what I needed.

So now at almost 10pm I've just finished my card for today! Its a simple one, which was quick to make, but I like it alot.

Let me know what you think!

March Madness Day 16 - Time for some Easter Bunnies!

2011-03-16T12:06:00.000-07:00

It's about a month until Easter and the shops are bursting with everything spring and Easter themed so I thought it about time I made some Easter cards.

Back in the UK the shelves of stores will be filled to the brim with all sizes of chocolate eggs from the chocolate manufacturers all doing their part to help the dentists! Oh I do miss a nice bit of Cadbury's chocolate!!

So here is my Easter card creation, made with some spring patterned cardstock and a bunny stamped on the front. I think I'll make up afew more ready to send out to friends and family too.

March Madness Day 15 - Wedding Invitations

2011-03-15T11:16:00.000-07:00

I was so excited after I met with the bride to be last night that I spent the following couple of hours in my craft room creating three invitation sets as samples for her. I love the black, pink and silver colors, and I think they look completely different in just changing out which color goes where.

The sets include a gate fold A7 size invitation, an A2 flat RSVP card, an A2 folded thank you card and a place card. I'm now going to work on the printing side and make up some samples of the text layouts for each, so hopefully by the end of the week I'll have them all finished to present to the bride.

March Madness Day 14 - It's a girl!

2011-03-14T18:02:00.000-07:00

Wow, I'm half way through my challenge which means its half way through March already! I'm having fun with the cards, and thought I may start to run out of inspiration in the next two weeks, but my motivation has been given a jolt today as I met with someone to talk about wedding invitations and so I'm all exited to get in the craft room and come up with some samples for her.

The color scheme for the upcoming wedding is hot pink, black and silver so will have fun experimenting with some combinations and styles.

I had made up a new baby girl card as it seems that everyone is having baby girls at the moment, and with the announcement that the Beckhams will be adding a little girl to their family in August I thought why not!

March Madness Day 13 - Black & White Cards & Yoga

2011-03-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Today I'm feeling super relaxed after my yoga class this morning. I haven't been to a class in a long time so was a little nervous at first, but I really enjoyed it and hope to make it a regular thing.

While my husband is watching England beat Scotland in Rugby I've been creating some more beautiful cards. I wanted to use some black and white patterned card and paper and then just add one pop of color to each. I love the high contrast between the colors. I ended up making eight cards altogther, 2 of each design as I liked them so much.

I think they would make a great wedding card or even invitations for a glam wedding or party. Let me know what you think.

March Madness Day 12 - Music and Weddings

2011-03-12T05:31:00.001-08:00

What a lovely day it was today, still a little chilly first thing but so nice to see the sun and blue skies again after all that rain.

Today I made two new cards, one for a family occassion, the other from a suggestion fro Jodye. One of my neices back in England will be getting married in May and I just got the beautiful invitation in the mail this week, so taking my inspiration from that I made her a lovely card for her wedding day. Her color scheme is a deep purple color, so with that in mind I kept it simple and elegant, with a little bit of bling too.

My second card is a music themed one, suggested by Jodye, and I like the way it turned out. I love the old feel of the music sheet patterned card, with the simple mini card on the front. I wish I could make cards with sound, as this one would be singing 'Happy Birthday' for sure.

Don't forget to put your clocks forward tonight before you go to bed! maybe this means that Spring is officially here and the weather will start to act that way!

March Madness Day 11 - Thanking the Troops

2011-03-11T06:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw a video clip on Facebook that was about a young Army dog handler and his dog who died in Afganistan. It's just one of the heartbreaking stories that we read about on almost a daily basis. All of these members of the armed forces from around the world have sacrificed their lives for the rest of us.

I had been asked to make some cards for the troops by a friend who does alot of charity work for the war veterans, and so I decided to make some cards to thank the troops.

Looking through my old photos I found some great shots that I had taken on a trip to Washington DC. The Korean war memorial is one of the most beautiful and erie monuments on the mall.

Thank you to all of the troops around the world who have sacrificed their time away from their families, their own well fair and ultimately their own lives.

March Madness Day 10 - 80's Roller Disco!

2011-03-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

I grew up in the 80's, the era of big hair and brightly colored clothing, and listening to Madonna and Duran Duran on my cassette player! oh those were the days.

Afew weeks ago I travelled back to the 80's, for just one night to attend my friend Laura's birthday party. The theme was the 80's and the location was the Hagerstown Roller Rink. I had so much fun creating my costume and had my fingers crossed that I wouldn't be stopped by the Police on the way up to Hagerstown, all dressed up in pink and yellow and my face painted with some wild make up. We all had a great night.

Looking at the photos from that night gave me an idea for a new card, and so the roller skate disco theme card was created! The skates I rented were pretty bright green, although they didn't have pretty pink ribbons for laces, or bling on the wheels....maybe they should!

What was your favourite part of the 80's?

March Madness - Day 9 - Friends

2011-03-09T06:05:00.000-08:00

Living in the US is great and I've enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends over the 10 years that I've been here, but I do miss my friends from the UK. I get over to see them and family as much as possible, and we always fall into an easy conversation, no matter how long it's been since we saw each other.

When one of my friends suggested I make her a motivational card to inspire her when she looked at it, I wanted to make something extra special for my special friend. Instead of a card I decided to make a wall hanging that she could hang by her desk and see everyday.

For some inspiration myself I read through a lovely book of poems, called Friends Forever and found the perfect one by Collin McCarty called 'Promise Me'. I paired this beautiful poem with some colorful paper and mounted it onto my board which I had covered in a fun knitted look card that reminded me of a warm hug, and a bright yellow gerbera daisy that would brighten any day.

I made a special little hidden message too, just for my friend and so its hidden beneath the 'Thinking of you makes me smile' stamp. I made the hanging ribbon from some daisy ribbon and tied a big beautiful bow on top.

I hope that my friend loves her new wall hanging and that everytime she looks at it, she thinks of me and it makes her smile.

March Madness - Day 8 - Flock of Song Birds

2011-03-08T07:38:00.000-08:00

Following the day of rain on Sunday, then snow on Monday, today it's looking a bit more like spring with the sun in the sky and birds chirping in the tree's.

With this in mind I decided to make some bird theme cards for todays part of the challenge, and ended up making four cards! Well one on it's own would be kind of lonely so I made a whole flock of bird cards.

I love using bright colorful card and paper, and when I can use the card for the background and also cut out part of it to make the accent, it's even better. I'm quite nifty using a pair of scissors to cut out shapes and for the really tricky bits, like between the birds tiny feet, I use my trusty knife.

I can just hear these cards chirping with the joys of spring!

Remember, for every purchase from my Etsy store, or 'like' on my Facebook page, you'll be entered into a draw to win 10 of my lovely hand made cards!

www.lizfelgatecrafts.etsy.com

March Madness Day 7 - Hearts and Monkeys!

2011-03-07T05:53:00.000-08:00

So today I'm feeling extra inspired and have made two new cards, that are completely different! The first one is a floating hearts card that is very simple, but took a while to make. Punching out all the hearts from different papers, then carefully folding them in half and sticking them on the card, in just the right place! but I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I may even frame this card in a white shadow box frame and hang it on the wall, as its like a little piece of art!

The second card was fun to make and I'd been wanting to use the great leaf patterned paper for ages, and the little monkey stamp went perfectly for the jungle theme. I dug about in my ribbon box and found the giraffe ribbon and also some foam leaves and flowers to add the finishing touch. It's always hard to know where to stop with the decorations or you could end up with something looking like a Mardi Gras float!

Hope you like them, and have enjoyed following my challenge, 1 week down, 3 more to go.

March Madness Day 6 - Inspiration cards!

2011-03-06T06:55:00.001-08:00

What a wet and horrible day it is today, I'm glad I'll be staying indoors doing some work on cards and website. I was up really early this morning (too early for a Sunday), and after a wet walk with the hounds I set to work on some new cards.

Today my inspiration was inspiration itself. A friend had asked if I could create some inspiration cards that she could give to her staff at work, and had given me some of her favourite quotes to work with.

Digging through my stacks of paper I found some great paper that I brought years ago, which has the image of Mount Washington and the Statue of Liberty on, in an old sepia/old photograph kind of way. I thought it would be perfect for the one quote by President Roosevelt.

I printed out the quotes onto plain paper, and then printed out the extra verse onto vellum and overlayed them on the front of the card. Some grosgrain ribbon finished them off along with some little brass brads.

March Madness - Day 5 - An Elephant never forgets!

2011-03-05T05:40:00.000-08:00

So here we are on day five of my card making challenge and today I've been up early as I've got a lot to do today. I had a look through my rubber stamp collection and chose a stamp that I brought a while ago but hadn't got around to using yet (much like some items in my closet!!).

I paired the cute stamp with an elepahnt on it with some chinzy floral paper and cardstock in pink and blue, and just love the red ribbon and bow!

Today I'm off to the Frederick basket Company in downtown Frederick, MD which is a fabulous little store that sells amazing items that are assembled into beautiful gift baskets. They also sell my cards there. Today is a special unvieling of a new mural for the store and so all the local artists that are featured in the store are invited to come in. Would be great to see you there if you can make it!

Here's my creation for today! hope you like it!

March Madness - Day 4 -Woodland Trust Inspired card

2011-03-04T06:52:00.001-08:00

Hooray, I got my first request for a card for my challenge. The suggestion came from Kerry who had the wonderful idea to make a card inspired by the Woodland Trust about saving the woodlands in the UK.

What a great reason to make a card! With this in mind I scoured my crafting supplies for everything 'woodsy' and came up with this beautiful card. As a thank you to Kerry I'll be mailing her the card.

The Woodland Trust has a fabulous website with tons of information on how you can help do your bit to save woodlands, and today March 4th is acyually 'Wear your Wellies' day. A fun event held by the trust. Check it out here

Send me your suggestions for a card and I'll send you the card!

March Madness - Day 3 - Glamour Girl Card

2011-03-03T11:28:00.000-08:00

Day 3 of the challenge and today I decided to make a card inspired by watching the Oscars over the weekend. Seeing all of Hollywood turned out in their most glamorous outfits!

What glamour girl doesn't like a bit of sparkle, so for this card I used some sparkle card, cut into a frame around the fancy stickers. I added some extra bling with more crytals and a filgeree stamp inside and on the envelope.

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions for a card you'd like me to make. If I make a card from your idea, I'll send it to you!

March Madness - Day 2

2011-03-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

I'm having fun making these new cards. I find my heads full of idea's as I go to bed so when I get up in the morning I have to go and create a new card! When I start getting up in the middle of the night to make them, I'll get worried.

So todays card is a special one for my Mum. She loves to garden and I have inherited my green thumb from her and also love to spend time in the garden. For this card I pulled out my embossing tools and lightbox which I haven't used in a while and also used a flower punch and some silk flowers.

I'm not sure if I can wait until Mothers day in the UK on April 3rd to send this card to my Mum!

Do you have any suggestions for cards that you'd like me to make? Send me your ideas and if I choose to make a card using them, I'll send you the card! Time to get your thinking caps on!

So here's my special card for my special Mum!

March Madness - Day one!

2011-03-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

Ok, so here is the first of hopefully 31 cards that I'll make during the month of March. This one was made with a pack of robot stickers that I picked up on a recent visit to Michaels, and loved! I teamed them with an assortment of colored paper & card to complement the colors in them.

I love the way its turned out and am now thinking up ideas for more cards. If you have any suggestions or ideas for cards, color schemes etc then throw them my way, it will add to the challenge and may help me as I get near to the end of the month and my brain starts to hurt!

Let me know what you think!

March Madness - A Card Making Challenge!

2011-02-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to blog more regularly I have come up with a challenge for myself for the month of March. Starting tomorrow on the 1st of the month my goal is to create at least one new card each day for the whole of March, and share my creations on here with everyone. By the end of the month I should have at least 31 cards!

I'm excited to see what I can come up with and whether having a target will have an adverse effect on my creative juices! We'll have to wait and see. Following a recent trip to Michaels craft store and ith my bulging drawers of crafting supplies It will be good to put them all to use and see what I come up with.

Do you fancy joining me on my challenge? you could get all your cards for the year made in one month!

Card Making Class - Pretty Fairy Card

2011-02-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

I thought that I'd share the creative process of making some of my cards and record each of the steps that I take in creating each of my hand made cards.

Today I started off with selecting a packet of stickers that I purchased from Michaels the other day. I took my color pallet from the colors found in the fairy stickers and chose a tangerine orange envelope, powder blue cardstock, shimmering orange paper and a pink and orange check patterned paper.

I started by folding and cutting my blue cardstock to the right size to fit my envelope. I cut the card using a guillotine. I then cut the orange paper, check paper and shimmer paper to size. To attach the layers i use sticky tabs that I cut into three and place along the edge of each piece as shown below. Then the layers of paper are added to the card.

Once the main part of the card was made, I began on the decoration. To mount the fairy stickers onto the card I cut out three small ovals using a creative memories cutting system. I placed the fairies on the larger ovals and the 'I believe in fairies' on the smaller one. To attach them to the card I used 3d foam tape cut into small pieces on the back.

To complete the card I added a tangerine paper insert, using the guillotine to cut the paper to size, and attached it inside the card with some more sticky tabs. I used a rubber stamp and pink ink pad to stamp the sentiment 'Happy Birthday' inside and decorated it with the remaining stickers.

Finally I put a sticker with my website on the back of the card and place it in a cello protective packet to keep it in perfect condition until it gets sold.

I hope you found this useful and that you get some ideas to make your own cards.

New Custom cards

2011-02-24T18:32:00.000-08:00

I love making all kinds of cards, especially when someone asks me to make a custom card for them. this week I've made three custom cards including a beach themed 50th birthday card, a fashionista's 30th birthday card and a dog lovers birthday card.

Here's what I created for each of them.

A fun beach theme card complete with glistening sand and a bright and cheery '50'. A fun polka dot bikini and flipflops complete the card.

What fashionista doesn't love shoes, dresses, purses and pearls? I used stamps to decorate the background of the card and made 3d dresses and shoes to decorate the card.

This Andy Worhol inspired card was made for Brittany who has a Pug and a French Bulldog. I love the way it came out and the 3d images just make them pop from the background colors.

Love is in the air!

2011-01-31T11:16:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't believe its only 14 days until Valentine's day as the stores have been filled with hearts and fluffy teddybears since before Christmas! If you're looking for something better than a heart shaped box of Russel Stover chocolates and a Hallmark card, then feast your eyes on this selection of fine handmade goods.

The Gifts Inn Boonsboro has a beautiful selection of items all created by local artists including fine jewelry, paintings, pottery, glassware, furniture, and my lovely handmade greetings cards. They are holding a Champagne Chocolate Reception on February 10th from 6-8pm so why not drop by and see what they have to offer. The jewelry exhibit will be on from Feb 5th-28th, so plenty of time before and after Valentines day to stop by.

I've designed some new cards for Valentines day that are available for purchase at my Etsy Store aswell as at the Gifts Inn Boonsboro. On Etsy you will find all kinds of marvolous handmade creations for almost any budget and style.

I'm proud to be a member of the Etsy Greetings Team who are a bunch of very talented people all sharing my passion for making beautiful handmade cards. Check out some of their special creations for their special Valentines Day promotion.

A New Year, Some New cards!

2011-01-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

Well now that Christmas and New Year both seem a long time ago, its time to get back in the craft room and create some more cards. Trying to keep organised, I've started to make up the cards for my family and friends birthdays and special occassions in 2011.

So far I have all of January and February's done and will get started on March this weekend.

Here is what I've made so far!

Tiered, Blossoms and Christmas cakes

2010-12-16T12:16:00.000-08:00

Since my last entry I've made afew more cakes and alot more cards. Here are some of the cakes that I made including adding two more layers to my display cake, a birthday cake for my Mum decorated with cherry blossoms, and our fun family Christmas cake decorated with a cute snow family scene.

Striking New Display Cake

2010-11-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

I have lots of ideas for new cakes I want to try and I don't always want to have to eat them, so I decided to make one using a polystyrene 'dummy' cake, so that I can keep my little work of art for a while and save on a few hundred calories too!

I started by covering the 6 inch cake dummy with red fondant. I've just started to use the buttercream fondant made by Ace of Cakes as it is great to work with a tastes really good too. Once the cake was covered and smoothed, I rolled out some black fondant and used 4 different flower cutters to cut out 90 flowers in assorted sizes and shapes.

Using a ball tool and sponge I bagan to shape the flowers by thining out the petals and placing the flowers into curved flower former trays to dry. Once dry I gave them a quick dusting with some sparkle powder and piped a small dot of white icing in the center of each flower.

Using a pair of tweezers I place between one and four pearlescent sugar beads in the middle of each flower and allowed them to dry. To decorate the base of the cake I rolled white fondant into balls and cut in half, placed them in a ziploc pot with some shimmer powder and rolled them around until all coated, then used ising to adhere each to the base of the cake.

To fix the flowers to the cake I used white icing and placed a small dot on each flower, starting with the largest flowers first and working through the other sizes, filling in the gaps on the cake. I ended up using 84 flowers on the cake!

Now I get to enjoy looking at my piece of art!

New Website featuring all of my Custom Cakes!

2010-11-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

I began making and decorating cakes in September 2009 after attending a Wilton class at Michaels. I got the bug and have been baking ever since!

I've created a website to showcase all of my edible art pieces that I have made since then to share with everyone. I have lots of ideas for more cakes so new photos will be added frequently!

If you would like a custom cake for your next special occassion, then just let me know as I'd love to bake it or you!

Check out all my cakes at http://www.lizfelgatecrafts.webs.com/ and leave me some feedback!

New Handy Note Pads

2010-11-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

I love making things, cards, cakes, etc, etc. and so when I picked up a pack of 5 mini notepads in Staples last week, my brain starting thinking of what I could do with them to make them more fun!

I used some colored cardstock to cover the fronts of the cards, and then mounted a cute cut out verse on the front of each! I think I'll be making lots more of these as they'll be perfect stocking fillers for the holidays!

Celebrating 10 years living in the USA

2010-11-07T09:43:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago I moved to the US to start a new job, and here we are still living the American dream! To celebrate I made a special cake that encompasses both my home in the US and my home back in England.

This was a fun two tier cake, made of delicious vanilla and chocolate layered between peach buttercream! It was all covered in fondant to look like the Union Jack and the Star Spangled Banner, and was so much fun to make.

Getting ready for a Fall Craft Festival

2010-10-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

This coming weekend (Oct 16t) I'll be driving down to Owings, Maryland to take part in the Fall Festival which I'm really excited about. I have been busy making up lots more cards for birthdays, babies, weddings, get well, sympathy, Christmas, holidays, Thanksgiving, Halloween and note cards for all occasions.

I'm hoping that its going to be a great success for everyone there and I'm looking forward to meeting the other crafters that will be there too. I'd like to do lots more craft fairs as getting out and meeting people is such fun and also showing them my cards.

Here is a selection of some of the cards that I will be taking to the Festival with me this weekend.

Look forward to seeing you here. 10-4pm, Shore Living, 8015 Southern Maryland Blvd, Owings, MD.

Giant Cup Cakes and Cheese Burgers!

2010-10-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

I've been busy in the kitchen this past couple of weeks and everythings turned out giant size! First I made a fun giant cupcake cake for a friend and then this week I made a giant cheese burger cake for my husbands birthday.

The cupcake cake was made of vanilla sponge and I used my new silicon cupcake cake mold to bake it in, which was so easy. No sculpting needed.

Once the cake had cooled I sliced the bottom part into three and layered it with vanilla buttercream and resticked to form the base. I did the same with the top part and then put everything back together and crumb coated everything with a layer of chocolate buttercream.

To create the paper case I rolled out white fondant into a large circle and then placed the cake in the center of it and carefully pulled up the sides to adhere to the cake. I tied a pretty gold ribbon around the cake to help keep the fondant from falling down.

For the topping I piped chocolate buttercream around the cake and added giant sprinkles made of different colored fondant pieces.

Looks like I need a bigger mug of tea to go with this cupcake!

Next up was to create a birthday cake for my husband. For this cake I divided my carrot cake mixture into three cake pans., two nine inch pans and one 8 inch pan. Once cooled I covered the two nine inch cakes with vanilla cream cheese buttercream and a layer of light brown fondant to resemble the buns!

I rolled out some green, yellow and red fondant and cut them into shapes to represent the cheese, lettuce and tomato and layed them on top of the bottom burger bun.

For the burger, I covered the remaining 8 inch carrot cake with chocolate buttercream as I wanted it to have a rought texture like a burger. This was stacked on top of the bottom layer, with some additional cream cheese butter cream in between each layer to hold everything together. The top 'bun' is added and decorated with little dark brown sesame seeds made of brown fondant.

Lastly I cut out some letters from green fondant to decorate the board. Now all Clive needs is a giant side of french fries and a hearty appetite!

Its been a while since I blogged but here goes!

2010-09-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

I knew this year had flown by but didn't realise just how fast until I logged on here to update my Blog and noticed that it was April when I last posted something! It seems that I must have left my head in the clouds after my skydiving adventure in April.

Well the summer went by in a hot humid flash and I was kept busy working a new job. I was also kept busy making a wedding cake, wedding invitations and decorations for a family wedding back in England.

Here is the cake that I made and transported over the Atlantic for the special day!

I also made a special cake for a friends 60th suprise birthday and had so much fun making it. The birthday boy loved it and was ready to sit down and play a game of Roulette there and then!

When I've not been making cakes, I've made two lots of wedding invitations, both custom made and designed to meet the requests of the Brides and Grooms.

I love to make custom cards and invitations, no matter how small or large an event, I can create something unique that matches your theme perfectly and that no-one else is going to have.

Skydiving for the first time!

2010-04-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Well today was the day that I was going to be able to cross something off my Bucket List, and that was to go Skydiving! It was an early start getting up at 5.45am, to get on the road just after 6am for the 2 hour drive down to Orange, Virginia.

It was a lovely drive down, nice and quiet and I felt completely relaxed and ready for my first jump.

We arrived at the Orange Skydiving center and Airfield about 8.30am and we weren't the only ones there. There were quiet afew other people, alot of seasoned jumpers and some first timers like me. First thing I had to sit and read and sign the biggest waiver I've ever seen, that must have stated about a dozen times, how dangerous Skydiving was and that I could die! After signing my life away and went and paid my fee, (I guess they get that out of the way first incase you don't make it down!).

I was on the 3rd group and so got to hang out in the hanger and watch the first two groups go off for their jumps. The aircraft was a 22 Jumper, aptly named as you can get 22 jumpers in it and I'm not talking the wooly knitted variety!

We sat awestruck watching as the tiny dots leaving the aircraft suddenly burst into color when the parachutes opened and the drifted down to the landing area. Some of the more experienced ones came in pretty fast too.

Then the 25 minute time call was made for my flight. I met my instructor Chuck and got kitted out for the jump. I was given a lovely purple jumpsuit to wear and a equally lovely leather pink helmet and goggles. I got told three key things! The position to get in when we left the aircraft, the position to be in when we were freefalling and what to do with my feet when we came into land. That was it!

We set off towards the plane with the other crazy people and there were only 8 of us onboard for my flight. 4 of them got out at about 6000ft to do low level jumps, and we continued up to 13000 before the others got out. That left me, Chuck and the camera/video guy! (and the pilot).

Chuck and I made our way towards the door of the plane, where the camera man was already hanging out waiting for us. I really had no fear or nerves at all as I stood at the doorway with my toes hanging over the edge. Chuck said after three, one, two, threeeeeeeeeeeeee and we were off!

I had no idea which was we went, but looking at the video after I discovered we went out upside down before ending up the right way around. We freefell for about 60 seconds at 120 mph, which was the most exhilirating thing ever, even better than on a motorbike! The air wooshed past us and the cameraman stayed with us taking shots and filming my crazy experience.

Before I knew it, it was time to delpoy the shoot and all of a sudden it felt like the brakes had gone on. The wooshing sound stopped and the ground slowed befow us and I could focus again! I took off my googles and enjoyed the view. Chuck made some adjustments to the harness while I took the controls and guided us for a few thousand feet.

The view from up there was amazing. I'd seen it before from planes but to be floating underneath and canopy of fabric and take it all in was truely amazing. After about 7 minutes Chuck began to make our descent to the airfield below us. We swerved left and right on the air currents, dropping altitude with every turn aiming for our landing mark. Last instructions to get my feet up and smile for the camera and we landed!

What a rush, I was eurphoric when I landed and just threw my arms around Chuck to give him a grateful hug and a kiss on the cheek for taking me on such an amazing journey! This was the most exciting, amazing, thrilling thing I have ever done......YET!

Now, whats next on my Bucket List?

Working my way through my Bucket List!

2010-03-31T14:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but when I watched the movie, The Bucket List with the greats Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freman in, I was inspired! I began to pen my very own Bucket List of all the things I'd like to do. My theory was to start early (I was only 33 at the time) as why wait till its too late, and also my list is very long!

My list included things like complete a marathon, learn to ride a motor bike, go skydiving, visit Australia, Hike the Manchu Pichu Trail and many more! I've been getting some things crossed off the list already starting with the Marine Corp Marathon that I did in Oct 2008, all 26.2 miles of it! Following that I got my motorcycle license and a bike in Nov 2008. In May 2009 I did a mini Triathlon! and also went White water rafting.

2010 is the year for skydiving, so I'm counting the days until Saturday 3rd April when I'll make my first jump, or should I say when my jump instructor will push me out of the plane! I'm really looking forward to it and can'y even imagine how I'll feel when I'm in the actual plane, let along falling through the air with some strange man attached to me.

Hoping that all goes well this weekend, next on the list is to get a tatoo! Nothing big or flashy and I'm not going to be getting any skulls or anchors either. Its actually been quiet frustrating trying to decide what to get! I have a few ideas, but nothings decided yet.

I have some more sane items on my list which include entering a cake decorating competition! I've been doing some classes and just love making and decorating cakes (as you'll see from my other posts) so I figured it would be fun to enter a competition so I'm I've signed up for one in early May! Gonna be a busy weekend as I'm also doing the Frederick 1/2 marathon on the 2nd so will go from there back to the cake show!

My list just keeps on growing with so many things to try, places to go, and people to meet, but I don't intend to arrive in heaven in a perfectly kept body, I plan to skid in sideways, cheering Yahoo, what a ride!

Cakes, Cakes and More Cakes

2010-03-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

Its been a while since my last blog and I don't know where the time has gone! I've been busy making cards and cakes and all the other mundane stuff that we have to do.

I've just finished my third Wilton cake class and I'm really pleased with the new skills I have learned. In this latest class we worked with royal icing and learned to make beautiful flowers for decoarting cakes with. Over the last three weeks I've been making lots of flowers for my 'homework' and so last night on the final evening of my class I had a nice selection to choose from to decorate my cake with.

Last week I met up with some friends for lunch and I brought the dessert! I used some of the pretty violets I'd made to cover a little oval cake. It didn't last long and was all gone by the end of lunch so I guess it must have tasted pretty good too.

For a friends 50th Birthday I made her a present cake! It was a chocolate and vanilla sponge layered cake with vanilla buttercream and strawberry preserve. Covered in yellow fondant and decorated with fondant polka dots and lovely big bow.

I'm entering my first cake competition in May so I'll be making a few more cakes for that and then I also have some requests for cakes for birthdays including a roulette wheel cake and also a wedding cake in July! pics to follow.

My first wedding cake!

2010-02-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

The finale of my cakes is my first two tiered cake! I was really excited about making this as a test run for a wedding I'll be doing in July. This cake was made using tasty pound cake, filled with delicious peach filling, covered in rolled fondant icing and decorated with beautiful handmade fondant roses!

It tasted pretty good too and it was a good we had it with being snowed in for so many days during the recent 'snowmageddon' storms that came through here.

If you'd like a beautiful cake for your special occasion, I'd love to make it for you!

New Cards too

2010-01-23T06:19:00.000-08:00

I've been busy getting creative with new cards too. I love making all kinds of cards and I'm working on Valentine's cards, UK Mothers Day cards and also some wedding invitations for the summer.

More Cakes

2010-01-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

Its been a while since my last entry. Its flown by since then with a fab trip to Mexico, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the start of a new year.

I've started 2010 with another cake class to continue learning new skills. This course has focused more on fondant work which I really enjoy.

Here are afew pics of cakes I've made with fondant.

Christmas Card Contest

2009-11-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

I love trying out new things so when I came across a Christmas Card Contest hotsed by Sarah Crafts I decided to give it a go. I paid my $2.00 fee to cover costs for postage and supllies and a couple of days later I recieved a little pack including a white card, 2 pieces of patterned paper, 2 scallop shaped cut outs and two circle cutouts.

The rules were that I had to use the white card and one of each of the cut out shapes, so I got my brain cells moving and came up with the following. In addition to the items recieved in the pack I used a piece of fun holiday ribbon and a rubber stamp of a decoration that I added some bling to using tiny crystals.

Its a fun way to go about making cards.

Latest Cake Creation

2009-11-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

Following on from my previous ditto about my cake making I have now completed my first official cake order and I'm so pleased with the results!

The cake was for a friend of a friend who was turning 50 and in his youth had played football for Leeds United in the UK. I used this info to create a cake and also to test my skills and learn a few new skills along the way!

I started by baking off two 9x13 oblong cakes using a vanilla cake mix with some white chocolate pieces thrown in for good measure! Once cooled I leveled the two cake off and filled them with delicious strawberry jam!

I cut down the cake to make a football shirt with short sleeves and then buttercreamed the whole thing before covering it with rolled fondant in white. Now the shirt began to come to life and not look like a lump of cake!

I carefully iced the name and a big 50 on the front of the cake and added a fondant collar and Leeds Utd club badge which I made of fondant and then painted using food color! genius!

To add some color I iced the cake board with green 'grass' and then made a couple of footballs using the left over fondant and a pair of little football boots too!

The cake was delivered on Tuesday and the guy loved it, everyone was very impressed with my handy work and they said it tasted great too.

Now, what to do for my next cake???

Cake, Cake and more Cake!

2009-10-26T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm just loving making cakes at the moment. I think this new hobby may cause me and everyone around me to gain 10lbs, but who cares!

Since my beginners cake decorating class back in September I've been cooking up a storm in the kitchen and having fun trying out new flavours and decorating techniques.

A real crowd pleaser has been my carrot and pineapple cake (Care of the great Ina Garton) which tastes even more delicious when I use almond pie filling to fill between the layers of moist carrot cake. Its yummy, you have to go try it.

I made an early birthday cake for my Mum while she was here visiting and this time I made cheated and used a packet vanilla cake mix, but to change it up a little I added a pack of banana cream pie pudding mix to the batter and presto you have banana flavour cake!! Now what goes great with banana's?....CHOCOLATE! I used Nutella chocolate spread between the layers of sponge, OMG, I'm in heaven!

Now for this cake I had a go at using the rolled fondant and it was easier than I thought it would be. I covered the whole cake in white fondant and then coloured the remaining fondant a nice pink color and cut it into strips, and also some bows. I then used my butter icing and piped out 12 lovely roses. My Mum loved the cake and we all enjoyed eating it too!

Just so my husband didn't feel left out I made him a birthday cake too and as he's such a big golf nut I made him a golf course (well one hole of one!). For this cake I made a red velvet sponge and filled it with buttercream, then iced it using piped buttercream. It was fun icing in the water hazard and sand bunkers as well as the little green.

I'm excited as I've been asked to make a 50th birthday cake for a friends work colleague so I'll post some pics of that when I make it next month. I'm already thinking of ideas for other friends birthdays cakes, so looking forward to making them too.

Happy baking!

Trains, Planes, and Automobiles across Canada

2009-10-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

On the 1st october I took a trip up to Canada with my Mum. She has always wanted to see the Rocky Mountains and so this year she realised her dream and I was there to share it with her.

We had booked a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer Train from Banff to Vancouver and our journey began when we arrived in Calgary. We were collected from our hotel in Calgary and set off towards Lake Louise. On the way we stopped off to take a helicopter ride over the mountains which was fabulous. We then headed into Lake Louise and arrived at the beautiful Chateau Lake Louise hotel in falling snow.

When we woke the following day the lake and surrounding mountains were coated with beautiful white snow which made it look like a winter wonderland. If you have never seen Lake Louise then you should definately go as it is just breath taking.

We boarded our coach again heading towards Banff with another stop to take another helicopter tour which was equally impressive as the day before. Our day ended upon arrival at the Rimrock Resort in Banff where we spent the evening wandering through the town on the hunt for souveniers.

On Sunday our trip on the train began and we boarded the Rocky Mountaineer at Banff train station and took our seats in the Gold Leaf glass domed cabins. The views from our seats were amazing and you could see everywhere. To match the amazing scenery was the amazing food that we were served which added to the whole experience. The first day on the train was a very long one until we reached the town of Kamloops where we would spend the night.

Monday morning we reboarded the train for the final leg into Vancouver and saw the scenery change from heavily wooded to almost desert like and then more green as we approached Vancouver. The second part of our trip began when we arrived in Vancouver and checked into the historic Hotel Vancouver where we would spend three nights.

I now know why Vancouver has been voted the 4th best place in the world to live. It has everything you could ever need from mountains to ski on, sea and rivers to boat & Kayak on, beautiful parks to run and bike in and shops to spend till your wallet was empty!

We took the hop on hop off bus tour to get around the city and enjoyed a couple of fun packed days sightseeing. One of the highlights was the Granville Island Public Market, I could have easily spent all day in here as it was amazing. I wish all markets looked like that as it would make grocery shopping the highlight of my week!

Alas the end of our trip came around too quickly and before we knew it we were heading back home. The trip may be over but we have our memories and about 1000 photos between us to help us reminise our trip to the beautiful Rockies.

Wilton Cake Decorating Class

2009-09-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking to try out new craft projects and I love to bake so what better than to take a Wilton cake decorating class at my local Michaels store. The class was held over 4 weeks, every Monday evening and during the class we decorated two 8 inch round cakes and a dozen cupcakes.

It was great fun and I felt like a kid again, playing with the icing and colors and creating my own unique designs on the cakes. they all tasted really good too. My favourite was this Mondays cake which I baked a delicious carrot and pineapple cake and filed it with a yummy almond pie filling and then covered the whole cake in white buttercream icing. At the class we were shown how to make the beautiful piped roses out of the buttercream icing and off we went.

I'm looking forward to the next class in which we get to work with the rolled fondant and learn to make flowers out of that.

Here are afew photos of the three cakes I decorated in the class.

First Lesson Second lesson

Last Lesson

Wedding Card Cake Box

2009-08-31T08:13:00.000-07:00

I'm always trying out new things and so when I was asked to make a wedding cake card box for an upcoming wedding I jumped at the chance.

After studying similar items on the web I set to work and used three sturdy boxes for my project. I had fun in the fabric store looking for the ideal fabric to cover the boxes and found some beautiful brown velvet fabric and a luxury satin burgundy fabric that matched the wedding theme perfectly.

I enjoy wrapping presents so this was kind of similar although the floaty fabric was a bit harder to handle than paper but with an extra pair of hands I managed to get the job done. I finished the boxes off with some decorative ribbon around the lids and the whole thing is hekd together with a bright gold ribbon. It will have a big bow on top which I have to make yet!

I wonder what project will be next?

Special Cards for Special People

2009-08-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

Since getting back from our trip to the UK I've made quite afew card orders for people wanting to send an extra special card to frineds big birthdays and anniversarys. Its been fun making up new cards using the individuals tastes to decorate them.

Two of the cards I've made are for ladies turning 40 and who both have a thing about shopping, as most women do!

I've also made a 25th wedding anniversary card and a wedding card.

I love making cards for children too so I got to make a cute robot card for a special little boy who's just turned 2 and a cookery themed one for his mum!

Back in the US with a new visa!

2009-08-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

Our trip back to the UK last month was great and we got to see alot of friends and family while we were there as well as most importantly getting our new 3 year visa issued! Its taken a long time to get finished but we are so glad to have it and be able to relax for a few years before we have to go through the process again.

Now we are back home in the US its been busy with the Ropes Challenge Course business and also tackling new DIY projects in the house. I've made some cards since I got back but mostly for private orders and family birthdays so I really need to get back in my studio and make some new cards for my Etsy store.

The next couple of months are going to be busy with lots of visitors coming to stay and its so much fun having friends and family come to stay. I am really looking forward to after they have all been as that is when Clive & I get to go on vacation and we are so looking forward to going to Mexico to a beautiful all inclusive resort by Secrets.

Well I better finish here and go and finish up my painting project upstairs in the living room. Its looking good and I'll post some photos soon.

Finally we are UK bound

2009-07-06T15:44:00.000-07:00

Its been a long old process but finally we are headed back to the UK to sort out our visa's and get to see family and friends too.

The whole process of getting our new visa's has taken up the best part of 2 years with 3 cancelled appointments and lots of frustration. Now we have our new appointment on the 14th July we are busy getting things ready to fly to England on Wednesday. Lots to do and not much time to do it in.

I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone back home as its been over 2 years since I was home last. It will be great to catch up with everyone and also to indulge in a few UK favourites that we don't get out here which include fish and chips and a curry!

Hopefully the heat wave that the UK has been having will continue but just slightly cooler as with no air conditioning its pretty brutal as we've been spoiled with the AC over here.

Going to do some sight seeing in London while we're there so will post some photos on our return. I wonder if the Queen is free for a cup of tea?

Its a Baby Boom, baby Announcements

2009-06-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

So far this week I've heard from three of my friends who are all pregnant and are all due in December and January....spooky. With all this baby talk going on I thought it perfect timing to get creative and make up some baby announcements.

I've made up two sets so far, one for baby boys, one for baby girls and have listed them on my Etsy store. I'm planning on making up a couple other sets and also some Baby Shower invitations and thank you card sets.

Scrapbook Embellishments

2009-06-20T16:50:00.000-07:00

I like to make embellishments for my handmade cards and so I thought I would package some of them up to sell on my Etsy site for other fellow scrapbookers to use on their album and other crafts.

They are made from assorted cardstock and paper using 4 different sized flower paper punches. It was fun coming up with the different color combintations.

I'm hoping to make other items too so check out the store at http://www.lizfelgatecrafts.etsy.com/

Jelly and his friends

2009-06-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was down at my friend Sandra's house as I was helping her to get packed up for a move to Germany in the summer. When I got to her house I always take my dog Jelly along as he is good friends with Sandra's little pack of three Border Collies and they have a great time together.

While Sandra & I were busy getting things packed up all of the dogs were busy wearing each other out playing. There were five dogs in all as a nieghbors dog was being looked after too so it was a real house full. They are all such lovely dogs and I'm really going to miss them when they move to Germany and I know that Jelly will too.

When it came time to leave I opened up the trunk of my car for Jelly to hop into and all of the other dogs decided to hop in too. It was such a funny site and I happened to have my camera on me and captured some photos of the motely crew in the back of my car.

Unfortunately the others had to stay at Sandra's and I brought home a very tired looking Jelly on his own.

It took a couple of shots to get them all looking the same dircetion!

Meet the crew - Taran, Darcy, Jelly, Tess and Mardie

Flowers from my garden

2009-06-15T08:03:00.000-07:00

I love being outside and I love gardening. I get my green fingers from my Mum who also loves to garden and has a beautiful garden back in England. When we moved into our house in 2004 there wasn't much of a garden or 'yard' as its known on this side of the pond.

Once the house had been renovated it was time to get the garden sorted and I've enjoyed designing and developing it over the years and still enjoy changing it and adding new items. I've created wide flowing flower borders and filled them with all my favourite plants like hostas, lillies, daisys, cone flowers, heucheras and lots more.

I'm just making up some containers for the front porch to brighten it up and I'm looking forward to the giant lillies finally opening as they are so beautiful and spectacular.

When my Mum came over for a visit this spring we spent lots of time in the garden and added a new flower bed in the front lawn...just an excuse to go and buy some more plants really!!

In my back garden I have my vegetable garden where I have tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, brocolli, corn, radish, lettuce, beets, onions, beans, peas, spinach, strawberrys, raspberries and blue berries. I'm just about to add some sweet potatoes, water melon and summer squash so I should have a plentiful harvest theoughout the summer of fresh fruit & veg.

Each day there is something new to look at and of course more than one weed to pull out so I can spend a lot of time just 'pottering' in my garden taking in its beauty and seeing the new flowers or plants.

My Jelly Boy

2009-06-12T08:37:00.000-07:00

This is my dog Jelly who is almost three years old now. We got him from an animal rescue in February 2007 and we love him so much. He is a Border Collie and Springer Spaniel cross and certainly has the nutty parts of both breeds in him.

As he has beautiful long hair he just gets so hot in the summer and so its off to the petsmart groomers to have a full doggy pampering and have his hair shaved. He's in there longer than I am in the hair salon and comes out looking all lovely and smelling divine.

The first time I had him shaved it was quite a suprise to see him afterwards and rather amusing too, I must admit as he did look funny.

At least now he'll stay cooler and be easier to keep clean during the summer months, and there will be less hair around the house too which is good too.

Cards for those little boys in our lives

2009-06-08T07:20:00.000-07:00

I love making cards for children as they are so much fun. I've made some new birthday cards for those special little boys which I think are so cute.

Whether they like aeroplanes, trains or cars, these cards will bring a smile to their little faces. I made three special cards for a lady who has triplet boys and personalized each card with their name to make them extra special.

Check them out along with other cards at www.lizfelgatecrafts.etsy.com

Away with the Flower Fairies!

2009-06-04T14:02:00.000-07:00

I love trying out new crafting techniques and today I tried decopaging! It takes a while but I soon got the hang of it and I'm really pleased with the results.

These beautiful flower fairies really come to life when you transform them into a 3D image with the help of a very sharp craft knife, a very steady hand and some foam tape!

I'm now looking at what else I can use this technique with, maybe try it out with some photographs next.

Custom Wedding Invitations

2009-06-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

I'm just finishing up some beautiful wedding invitations for a wedding in September. These were 100% custom to the Bride & Groom and I worked with them to create the exact and unique invitation that they wanted.

They knew what colors they wanted included and the bride wanted to make sure it had some bling so I set to work coming up with samples of different styles and we came down to the chosen design. I then set to work making 70 of these beauties!

Made of a gorgeous deep maroon cardstock that I cut into a petal style card. The insert is a pearl paper printed with chocolate text and highlighted with a tiny crystal on the monogram. This is mounted on a dark chocolate card and attached to the petal card. The invitation is carefully folded and held in place with a custom ribbon made made of stunning woven ribbon in gold, maroon and black and a large oval crystal adorns the center.

The invitation is complemented by a lovely gold envelope. I also wrote the guest names on the invitation and envelopes in beautiful calligraphy.

The Bride and Groom were over the moon with the invitations and I'm looking forward to working with them on the wedding programs and other related items for their special day.

Review from a very happy customer

2009-06-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

Its always nice to hear how happy someone is with their purchase of one of my handmade cards and today I got an awesome review I wanted to share with you.

Check out Maureen's review of the three custom cards I made for her triplet boys birthdays

http://onlineshoppingboutique.blogspot.com/2009/05/get-your-unique-and-beautiful.html

A first timers recollections of a Triathlon!

2009-05-31T12:21:00.000-07:00

Today before the sun got up, I was up and ready for my first Triathlon race. Not having had a very good nights sleep due to pre race nerves, I got up at 4am, fuelled up with a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea before setting off for the drive down to Reston, Virginia.

The heavens had opened as soon as we got on the road and we drove through a thunderstorm wondering if the race would still go ahead due to the weather. We arrived at the race site very early at 5.30am and got our timing chips and numbers written onto our arms, then went and set up our bikes and gear in the transition area.

The race was still going ahead as planned as the weather was due to clear before the start of the race. After setting up our bikes and running shoes to alllow for a speedy change after the swim and bike it was time to chill out.

The start of the race was at 7am with the elite racers heading off first! These racers certainly knew how to move through water and were off on thier bikes within 5 minutes of the start. My start time was 7.57am, so at my alloted time I set off on my 400m swim. I'm not the best of swimmers and with the added nerves I found the first 2 laps tough just trying to get my breathing right. By the 6th lap I got into the swing of things and was just looking for the end.

Out of the pool and a quick run into the transition area to get on my shoes, helmet and grab my bike ready for the next part. The bike course was three 4 mile loops around the surrounding area which included a couple of big hills! The first loop I got my legs in gear and sussed out the course, the 2nd loop was better although the big hill seemed bigger, and by the 3rd loop I think the adrenalin kicked in and I was thinking about the run already.

Now running after biking 12 miles was tough, it took a while for my legs to start to move as I wanted them and the running course was also 'rolling' and saved the biggest up hill for the last 1/2 mile. I managed to summon the last strand of energy to speed up for the last part and through the finish line, and the cheering supporters really helped! I finished in under 2 hours which was my goal, even though the winner finished in 55mins 4 secs, (before I even got in the pool!)

Its amazing that after passing that finish line how all the aches & tiredness just disappear and you're left feeling lifted and so full of pride....'I've just finished a sprint triathlon!!'

We got our gear together and headed over for a much needed Starbucks before heading home. Feeling good so far although I suspect by about 5pm tonight I'll be fast asleep, and wondering what challenge I'll do next......skydiving is on my bucket list so you never know!

Triathlons and Weddings!

2009-05-30T15:41:00.001-07:00

One day to go until my triathlon and I've been down to the race site to collect my race pack up and check out the course too. I'm now not so nervous having seen the layout and I'm excited about it now.

In between getting ready for the race I've been creating some new wedding cards which I'm really pleased with if I say so myself. I've just uploaded them onto Etsy and hope to make some more next week too.

Well I'll finish here and go fix a big pasta meal for dinner and have a chilled out evening as its an early start tomorrow...be in touch after the race to let you know how its gone.

2009-05-30T06:03:00.001-07:00

Stock up and save!

2009-05-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

Save on shipping, in fact get your purchase shipped for FREE! Simply choose one of the three offers available at my store http://www.lizfelgatecrafts.etsy.com/.

There is a pack of 3 cards for $10.00, a pack of 6 cards for $20.00 and a bumper pack of 20 cards which includes pretty much every card you would need throughout the year for $55.00.

All of my cards are carefully made by my afair hands and I take great pride in my work as I want to ensure that you are 110% satisfied with the end result.

Getting ready for my first triathlon!

2009-05-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

The day is getting nearer, only 3 days to go until my first triathlon on Sunday. Its all part of my 'bucket list' which I'm starting to work on early. Last year I did my first 1/2 marathon and full marathon so this year I chose a triathlon...during a moment of madeness I'm sure.

And I thought it would be good fun for my husband Clive to do the Triathlon with me too! he doesn't seem to think the same now though, but I'm sure after we finish on Sunday we'll look back and say 'we did it'.

Its been fun doing the training, and a challenge too as I'm not a great swimmer....why I hear you ask did I sign up for it then? well it wouldn't be a challenge if it was easy, and I've learned how to swim better. I'll never be the next Micheal Phelps, but I'll be able to finish the race without drowning or passing out.

Whats next on my bucket list then? with regards to crazy physical challenges, I'd really like to have a go at skydiving/parachute jump! Last week I got to go rafting for the first time so that was an amazing experience which want to do it again.

So wish me luck and look out for my report after the race on how it all went. Do something to challenge yourself!! just go for it!

Its coming up Strawberrys

2009-05-25T06:45:00.001-07:00

With the beautiful weather this holiday weekend I left the comfort of my craft room and ventured outside to work on my other creation, my garden! This year I've planted up lots of lovely fruit and vegetables to enjoy throughout the summer.

I have tomotoes, cucumbers, onions, brocolli, corn, peppers, butternut squash, radishes, beets, peas, carrots, beans, spinach, strawberries, raspberries and blue berries, and I should have plenty of fresh home grown produce to enjoy and more to share.

Yesterday I enjoyed the first picking of my strawberries, and you can't beat straight off the plant and in your mouth taste!! yum.

I love spending time in my garden and seeing how everything comes to life in the spring and developes over the years. I can spend all day pottering around, doing weeding, planting and pruning and get some fresh air and exercise at the same time! bonus.

Where do I get inspiration from?

2009-05-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

When I'm making cards, sometimes the inspiration comes from the person who is going to receive the card, something they like, a hobby perhaps or the ocassion itself. Sometimes for the other cards I make when there isn't a particular person in mind my inspiration can come from almost anywhere.

For example the other day while doing a spot of 'spring cleaning' I got inspired to make some new home cards based on my lovely red front door. I did a quick sketch of how the card would look, and then went about finding the suitable materials to make the card. I made myself a template which I used to cut out the half moon windows in my 'door' and then used some clear plastic that I've had for ages (you see all those things you keep do come in usefull at some point!) to attach behind the cut out for my 'glass'.

To add some dimension to the door I cut out three rectangles of the same color card and mounted them to the front using foam tape, added a little gold door handle, and you've got a lovely looking little front door card, ideal for new home owners!

Inspiration can come from anywhere and anything, a word, an item, a person, or even a smell. You've just got to keep your senses open and your mind free!

All this networking is a full time job!

2009-05-19T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wow, I never knew you could spend so much time on these soocial network sites promoting your business. My head is in a spin with all the blogs, websites, twitters, facebook things out there.

I've spent the last couple of days creating new sites and doing lots of networking in the hope that its going to drive more traffic to my hand made card site and in turn bring in more sales to my Etsy store. I just need to make sure I leave time to actually make the cards!!

I'm sure once I get my head around it all, it will all become second nature to me, but then there will probably be even more things to do by then.

In Del Trotters own words....'one day we'll be millionaires Rodney!'