With our local evening paper on Friday evening, we received a brochure from Hobbycraft. A new store opened in Cardiff yesterday, and in the brochure was a voucher for £3 off if you spent £15. After a busy family day yesterday (see my other blog for pics and info) we trundled down there this afternoon. Enjoyable to have a good browse, although I was very shocked at the number of seemingly unattended small children that were roaming around. I bought some nice things which I am looking forward to using. One of the things that caught my eye was a pretty little kit of 15 blank pre-printed Christmas cards with a selection of co-ordinating embellishments, vellums, gems, diecuts, cord etc. In lovely silver and blue tones, it looked cool and elegant. For £6.99 I decided to treat myself and now I have made all 15 cards and bagged them for the GRW shop. So, a productive afternoon. The kit was by Papermania, and they had them in different colour ways e.g. red and gold if you wanted a more classic look. I have a box for cards for the GRW shop and it's now nearly full, so it will be sent off this week, I think.

A post today on ATCs. But first, I should say that we had a wonderful time with my great aunt on the weekend and she loved her sampler. She's going to ask my dad to put up a picture hook for her next time he's round there, so it can be hung up besides where she sits to do her knitting. She also liked the little book I made her.

The ATCs illustrated are a set I made for a Docrafts swap on the theme of the rainbow. Each participant is requested to provide seven cards, one in each colour of the rainbow, to be decorated as desired. I love rainbows, and can remember my grandfather teaching me the colours of it when I was a little girl. Fortunately I was off to a good start with plenty of coloured blank cards and my trusty Twinkling H2Os. Each card was painted in the corresponding Twinkle, just to give it a good base. I love the subtle shimmer they produce. Then I decided to go with an oriental theme - no particular reason, just felt right. I used a variety of stickers, some backing papers covering half a card on some colours (green and violet) and plenty of adhesive gemstones (ah, bling, who can resist?). I also had some very pretty mini postcards and illustrations that I'd got ages ago that were just right for some of these. Photos attached and the cards were posted off this afternoon.

My next project will be for our nephews. They recently sent us some great cards for Andrew's birthday and for Booty's - as we don't know her actual date of birth, we celebrate it on the same day as her master. She also received a wonderful rabbit toy that she and Andy have been playing with enthusiastically. I decided to send the boys a couple of snaps of the dogs, and after printing them out, decided that as I had a couple of little minibooks still available, one of these would be perfect, and allow me to put in a couple of extra pics and maybe some funny text and a thank you note from Booty. So, I'll be starting that tomorrow.

Photos illustrate latest ATC swap, from the monthly colour swap on Do crafts forum. This month it is Lavender and Lace. I made three cards for this. Using pale lavender base card, I painted two with a very pretty Twinkling h2o - virtually the same colour, but gives it a lovely shimmer effect. On one, I applied lavender vellum,attached with mini brads, and a lace effect adhesive border. On top is a very small picture I downloaded from the internet, matted on some purple card, and then glossed with 3D gloss and left to dry for several hours. The second one is again painted, with a self adhesive ribbon across one corner. On the base is a stuck purple patterned tag, from a K & Co kit, with another ribbon sparkling across on the join. In the middle is another image, again matted and glossed. The third card is left plain, with a velvet ribbon across it. Over this, I attached a tag from the same K & Co kit, which features a pattern of lavender coloured lace (perfect!), with a brad at the top. I also added another strip of sparkly adhesive ribbon at the bottom. These were posted today, and I can't wait to see what I receive back.

Thought I'd do two separate posts tonight, rather than one massive one. After making the sampler and taking it to be framed, I got thinking. My great aunt had a special family birthday party about a week before the actual big day, as she was then going away for a fortnights holiday in Porthcawl. We went to the party and it was great fun, and she had the most amazing cake, made in a special knitting theme, with balls of wool and needles decorating the top of the cake, absolutely fantastic and beautifully made. Anyway, I took lots of photos and then decided to make a little mini-book of the party to go with the present.

I recently bought a Brenda Pinnick kit from QVC, which is the sister kit to one I already own, which is a Christmas themed kit. This one is a more general one and adaptable for lots of different occasions. It contains a large scrapbook and three smaller ones - and that's what I decided to use. A small kit, which you make up yourself of a paper pleated bound book, with covers and ten pages, perfect for this type of small project. The kit also contains lots of chipboard letters, shapes, stickers, card etc, so I had lots of fun making it up. I left the last page blank and when the sampler came back from the framer yesterday, I put the photo in the back with suitable embellishments. Some pictures attached. I really enjoyed making this little book, and I hope my aunty likes it too, as a special reminder of her party and her fabulous cake. I am going to wrap both the picture and the book tomorrow morning, and will probably do a quick photo of them then. Again from QVC (yes, I know this is turning into a commercial) I recently purchased a little set of twelve different themed gift wrap sets for only £14. This was wonderful value, as in each set, there is a gorgeous gift bag, lots of tags, tissues, gift wrap, ribbon, certificate holders, etc etc. All are top quality and most attractive, so I will be using the Blue Hydrangea set tomorrow morning to create an inviting gift. I'll report back on how it goes.

Lots to write about and show tonight. A much loved great aunt was 90 very recently. I dithered for some time about what to get her. Apart from being a very keen knitter, she leads a very simple life. She'd already told my mother that she had drawers full of gift toiletries, doesn't particularly like plants and as she's very mildly diabetic, isn't supposed to have chocolates etc (not that that stops her very much!). Some relatives were getting her M & S vouchers - she does enjoy shopping, but I recalled that she loves receiving cross stitched and handmade cards. Quite often when we go to visit, the cards will be up for a while as she enjoys looking at them, and as she knits, appreciates the craft behind them so to speak. She had previously given me some embroidery threads, so it was a choice between something cross stitched or a home made quilt. In the end, I decided to make a pretty sampler, that I had quite fancied myself, from a design by the late Sheila Hudson. I've stitched several of her pieces over the years - she mainly did floral pieces and nearly all without any backstitch, and usually without fractionals, which although I can do, I really am not too keen on. The pattern was from Cross Stitcher April 2004.

The sampler is stitched on a pale lavender aida fabric, and I used a variegated pink thread for the lettering on the bottom. When it was finished, it was washed and pressed and then I took it to the framer. Picked it up yesterday and am very pleased with it. The frame is a light simple one, with a limewash finish. I wanted to go with a light, almost rustic feel. Anything more complex would have looked fussy, I think. The glass is non-reflective.

On a side note, I try and always wash all but the very smallest pieces of cross-stitch before pressing and finishing. This ensures the removal of any oils or grease from my hands. I use a product from Lakeland, a lavender scented wash for delicates, that does not require rinsing. It's perfect for the light hand wash in warm water I give to my stitching. The fabric is then gently squeezed and placed to dry on a soft white towel. I then iron it gently to remove any creases. Going through this ritual ensures the fabric and stitches look, smell and feel at their best. The fragrance is very delicate and pleasant. Stitching this sampler was very enjoyable, and I really hope my auntie likes it when we give it to her tomorrow.

I'm appalled that it's been so long since I posted. Apologies. A short one tonight. A greyhound friend asked me to make an 18th birthday card for a young man. I don't know anything about his tastes, hobbies or preferences, so went for something simple. I used a single piece of square card from DCWV, from a new box (along with lots of scalloped and ric rac cards) as the base. On the front, I applied some self adhesive ribbon with a fleur de lys design, and on top a small rectangle of green crackled paper, topped with a die cut and glittered key (traditional coming of age symbol). Above that, I simply applied die cut figures to show 18, and edged the card with a gold inkpad. On the reverse, I cut out a square of Anna Griffin paper, mounted it, then matted a smaller square of plain cream paper and stamped Happy Birthday using a multi coloured inkpad. A green ribbon was attached to the top of the card in case the recipient wants to hang it up.

Photos attached.