Pennies from Heaven

As you may have seen, I haven't been here for a while.  I've been so busy with my new venture with my husband Daren, Pennies from Heaven.  It's a wedding stationery business.  During the recession, which for us lasted over 5 years and was a very trying and traumatic time, we tried so hard to keep our heads above water.  It wasn't until well into the recession that I literally woke up one morning and shouted "WEDDING STATIONERY" at the top of my voice!  It was so obvious and had been staring us in the face!  I had been papercrafting for just over 10 years at the time and Daren had over 25 years graphic design/artwork experience working for some very prestigious companies throughout his career, so with his skills of layout and mine of cutting and sticking (!) I knew it would work.  He, however, was much more hesitant.  He didn't think for one minute we could find the custom we needed to make it work.  So I put my research plans into action!  That was at the end of October 2012.  And our baby, PENNIES FROM HEAVEN was born on 1st January 2013!  We set our objectives to have one customer in January, two in February, four in March and so on.  We realised all our objectives at that time and a little bit more!  By the summer, we couldn't believe how well it was going.  We did our first wedding fair in September 2013 and have now done three all in all.  We are now just about to reach our 100th bride and groom!  Our orders are flooding in and we can create virtually anything for our lovely couples.  We've done an array of colours from cerise pink to cadbury purple, from a pink and peach mix to aubergine and cream.  We've created cheque book invitations, laser, pocketfolds, semi pocketfolds and our latest creation is petalfolds (see pic) with butterflies.  We are so pleased and later this year/early next year we have even more to look forward to!  If you know someone who would like to get in touch, please ask them to email (penniesfromheaven@virginmedia.com) and we will point them in the right direction to see our samples.

Thank you for reading.  I hope to pop back very soon.  

It's certainly been a while ...

At the start of this blog many years ago, I was very behind. All my crafty friends had started blogs years before me and I wasn't going to give in and write one as I knew I wouldn't keep it up. And here I am, years later, having not kept it up!

However, I have kept my crafting up, unlike a lot of my friends whose lives have often taken them in another direction.  That's almost the same for me although my new life involves crafting.  Along with my husband Daren, on 1st January 2013 we started our new business.  He has been a graphic designer/Artworker since he left school many moons ago and he's good at it.  As I am a papercrafter, the obvious business to start at the height of the recession was Wedding Stationery.  So because of lack of work from both  sides (I was at that time audio transcribing TV and radio programmes) after  me sitting upright in bed one morning and trying to convince him that I'd finally 'got a great idea' Pennies from Heaven was born!

And here we are over two years later, 83 couples down the line and many more in the pipeline, we are going great guns with our wedding stationery business.  Daren already had an office at home and after our eldest moved out, we decided to turn another larger bedroom into my very own craft/production office so exit the remaining furniture, in come the in-laws, paint brushes along with  all the decorating accessories you could wish for to create the perfectly decorated room, and in a matter of days I had a very light lime green and pinky purpley room to match the purple carpet that had been left behind!  It was fantastic and I was so pleased with it.  In went the furniture, most of what we already had from my little old craft room, although a cupboard and a couple of desks were added.  In came the Mac for my emails and sourcing materials and I was perfectly set up.

So here we are two years later enjoying meeting engaged couples and making their beautiful stationery of their choice.   If you know anyone that is getting married and may need wedding stationery, find us at www.facebook.com/penniesfromheavendesigns Come and say hello!

Another competition entry for The Cupboard Trilogy

This is my second entry into The Cupboard Trilogy/Sarah Lawrence heart stamp competition. I like the mix of brown and pink so decided to stamp her hearts in pearlescent brown dew drops. I also used a Leanne Ellis stamp for the first time and coloured it in with matching promarkers. I have mat and layered the card onto pink glittery card and edged it with cream cotton lace and matted it onto cream bazill. Finished off with pink card candi. This card took me quite a while as I knew I wanted it to be 8" x 8" but couldn't quite decide how to finish it off to show the beautiful stamp in the best light. I hope you like it.

The Cupboard Trilogy: Valentines Day ....

The Cupboard Trilogy: Valentines Day ....

The Cupboard Trilogy Valentines Day challenge

So here I am as promised! Back with my latest creation. It's one of my entries into The Cupboard Trilogy Valentine's Day challenge, as a tribute to Sarah Lawrence who died suddenly in December 2011. Sarah was the owner of Craftynotions and was a well known and respected mixed media and texture artist and author and designed the stamp that came free attached to February's Craft Stamper. I have stamped and embossed the stamp 8 times in black and once in pink to make the heart stand out. I have mounted on pink card and then black card and stamped black floral swirls on the actual card before mounting the hearts. I finished off with a black grosgrain ribbon and bow. I hope you like my creation in memory of Sarah Lawrence.

.... As I was saying .....

Oh it's been a long time since I've been here. Nearly 2 years and I cannot believe I've got 6 more followers than I had when I was last here!!! Watch this space ... I may surprise you in the not so distant future ......

Birthdays, birthdays ....

I was so pleased with this notelet, I actually made two of them as I'd inked a whole A4 paper. The intention was to send it to my gorgeous Godmother, Janet who lives in Shrewsbury. She recently felt quite ill suddenly and this was her get well card. I hope I made her day as I stuffed it full of photos and good wishes. In case you read this, get well soon Janet, thinking of you always. x

As I was saying, I was so pleased with it I couldn't resist making the other one for my lovely friend Tina, whose birthday was this week. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA!!!! I hope you had a brilliant day. x The card was made with three distress inks, milled lavendar, broken china and shabby shutters. I was quite recently taught better ways with inks and stuff by Linda Elbourne, www.acraftingjourney.blogspot.com who is brilliant at all that and I decided to spray mist my white pearly glimmer mist onto my swirly stamp and subsequently onto the blended inks to complete the background. It worked a treat so I am going to try different colours on some new cards in the next few weeks. I completed the card by ripping a rectangle and twice wrapping it with white organza ribbon, stamping a tree branch and birdy in black staz-on. To be honest I think it would have looked better in brown but you live and learn .....! I inked shabby shutters around the very outside of the card, stuck it all together and was pleased with the result. I hope you like it.

Over the next couple of months, I should be blogging a few more cards than usual: A friend of mine is having a charity day at her salon to raise money for children who are born with cleft palates in third world countries so she is going to sell some of my cards on the day too ... of course, all proceeds will go to her charity. She is hoping to raise £500 which will help 4 children to get much needed operations to correct them. So, it's busy busy busy for me ... watch this space!!!

It was Alison's birthday ... that came round quick again! Yes, yes, I know it was in February but I've only just managed to take photos of one of her birthday presents. I made her a tissue box to match her lounge. She was so pleased with it and I was so thrilled that when the girls and I went there for dinner recently, it was full of tissues and she was actually using it!!!! Isn't it brill, when a plan comes together like that?! I used some delicious papers bought from www.scrapbooksisters.co.uk especially for that use, covered it in full, went over the patter in glossy accents to brighten it up a little, added some ink to the edges, some minky coloured pearly stones and minky coloured ribbon. Et voila, one tissue box and a very happy friend!

Birthdays, birthdays ....

Congratulations to my dear friend

Yes YOU!!!!! Lisa!!! Many congratulations on making the huge decision to purchase your new home. This is the card I made for Lisa. She has very classic taste and I thought my new stamps bought for me by one of my lovely crafting friends for my birthday (thank you :-) ) would suit her perfectly. She loved it. I used background papers, walnut stain ink for the chair and chandelier and used gold glimmer mist. A brown ribbon in the corner and clear stones finish it off nicely. Good luck Lisa - I know you'll be very happy in your new home. x This is Louise's birthday card. Louise is the owner of Riley who is my Border Collie (Cassey's) husband!!! As many of you know, they both parented a litter of 9 pups on 5th November last year and all are doing very well. It is also lovely that we have made new friends with Louise and her lovely family. So thank you Louise and Happy Birthday. x The style of this card is similar to that I am choosing to make at the moment. Once I get my teeth into a style, I don't let go for a little while as the compliments keep coming!!!! Thank you for taking a sneaky peek at my blog.

Cards, cards & more cards!

My oh my what a busy bee I've been. I've had a little more time on my hands due to lack of sleep at the moment and I've been making a few cards and keeping my new year's resolution in check. I cannot believe how good I've been. Making them on time, posting them on time and the happy recipients have been receiving them on time!!! Wow, it's just not like me!! Have I turned over a new leaf? Not yet I don't think ... wait til this time next year and if I've stuck to my guns then the 'good' habit will be well and truly affirmed. Here is a sneaky peak at what I've been doing. This is an 18th birthday card for one of my best friend's daughters. I have known Lisa since we were 11 so that was .... well, so many I've lost count!!! So her daughter, Rebecca and mine, Nathalie, although miles apart and don't see each other, have grown up in parallel worlds. I cannot believe where the time goes. Life seems to just fly by so quickly, there's no time to take it all in. Just goes to show, we must cherish every moment we are rewarded with. Anyway the card was made with the beautiful Pretty Please, another collection from My Mind's Eye. I punched out some large squares, laid them next to each other on the card and used a grey Marvy LePlume to draw (yes I cheated and drew ...!) the faux stitches. I used my Cricut for the 18, used double sided to lay some lovely matching ribbon and made a fan flower again with one of the papers. I siliconed a button on to the top and used a quickie glue pen and glamour dust round the edges of the 18. Et voila, an 18th birthday card. Simples!!!

Hayley's card: made with My Mind's Eye papers Pretty Please, Cricut, glossy accents and ribbon. Amy's patchwork card: My Mind's Eye - Pretty Please papers, large and small square hole punch, black pen (faux stitching), cricut, glossy accents, ribbon. Hello fellow bloggers! Well well ... I am totally sticking to my new year's resolution - making sure my friends and family not only get their birthday cards but get them ON TIME too!!!! It's brilliant! I feel chuffed with myself as I have done just that so far and made 99.9% of them. The 0.1% is for the humorous cards I have taken to ordering off moonpig.com and boy, do they do some funny cards! New for 2010 I have something in the pipeline that may be good for all those people emigrating abroad, especially Spain and the Med where there are no card shops. Watch this space!!! Daren is also doing well with his newly formed website www.smartcarz.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk where he is transforming every day ordinary cars to personalised modified fantasy cars. He is really working hard and has some great ideas for 2010. Well here are a few cards I have made for this week: Firstly, it was my second cousin's 18th birthday and the girls' fellow dancer, Hayley's 16th birthday so here are their cards. I am also going to give you a little peek of my lovely friend and fellow crafter, Andrea's birthday card but have patience, that will come after her birthday which is Wednesday of this week. So it's party time .... my lovely craft friends are coming for a buffet lunch on Friday for mine and Andrea's birthdays and I am really looking forward to seeing them all :-))))) The birthday hats and balloons will be out and hopefully nothing will spoil the day - not even a drift of snow!!!! Cross fingers, touch wood etc etc ......!!!! So I'll bid you all farewell and leave you with the piccies I promised.

New Year's Resolutions ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Better late than never as I always say ...! A new year's resolution of mine is to definitely craft more but to actually make my cards on time and for the recipients to actually receive them on time also (whoops!) I am so terrible at remembering birthdays, I usually remember them weeks before and then the date comes and goes and I forget thinking that when I did remember them weeks before, it was far far too early. It just goes out of my mind. So I suppose this is an apology really to all my friends and family who have had their birthday cards late in the past (and that's probably 99.9% of them) and hopefully, I will stick to my guns and make and send well in time for 2010.

An 80th birthday card

At last I'm back! As you can see I haven't posted in a while. It's been a very busy summer for us .... I thought I was going to have to work all summer but we have been up north visiting relatives in the first part of the summer hols, we have just returned (sadly) back to Kent from the most loveliest place in Cornwall where we stayed in a cottage for a week and next week, we are off again to West Sussex to dog and house-sit for relatives. Cornwall was lovely though. It was just minutes from the gorgeous Daymer Bay where we laid on the beach every other day. Aaaaah bliss .... how I wish we were back there. There's always next year! :-) We visited lots of nice places in Cornwall, places we have been before but we cannot resist another visit .... Port Isaac, Padstow, Boscastle, we went in some lovely shops and ate in some brilliant restaurants.

When we went up north, we stayed just outside Uttoxeter in a converted barn, for bed and breakfast. We were made to feel very welcome, the rooms were gorgeously decorated, the beds were very comfortable, I would definitely go back again. It was a great place http://www.bandbthegrangestaffs.co.uk/and just a couple of miles from Alton Towers with all the stunning countryside.

Before I went to Cornwall, I was asked if I would make a 'wine' card for a male 80th birthday. Mmmmm .... I was challenged on this one. I remember one of my girls used wine papers for her French project last year but thought she didn't have any left. I was stumped. So off I went to visit my lovely friends in http://www.scrapbooksisters.co.uk/ for inspiration and a helping hand and I wasn't disappointed. There was nothing to be had at that time in the form of 'wine' in the shop, but the most beautiful new papers in, with colours you would like to eat so of course I had to spend a little whilst I was there ..... how could I possibly resist???!!!! One of the girls so kindly gave me a wine card from which I took my inspiration for this card. A million thank yous girls ...... I will return the card very soon when no doubt, I will find even more lovely things to buy!!!!

Luckily, after a little search when I got home, I managed to find the rest of the 'wine' paper that Lianne had used for her project so I set to work. The card is made with a Basic Grey background and the bottle and glass is decoupaged, although it is not clear in the photo. I marked faux stiches round the edge of the card and printed the greeting on my computer, then inked it in a matching green color box ink. I finished off with some green gro-grain ribbon.

My first Magnolia!

I never have enough time for crafting. A year ago, I purchased quite a few Magnolia stamps after having seen Andrea's stamps and the lovely cards she made with them. http://www.inkingfeeling.blogspot.com/. So this is my first Magnolia card. June is a very busy month for me in the way of birthdays and this is for my second cousin Emily. I have to say a huge thank you to Andrea - she has been absent from crafting for a while and she kindly lent me her cuttlebug and bits and bobs to go with it. Thank you Andrea! And this is the first result, hopefully of many.

Happy Birthday Hels!

I cannot believe a year has passed since I made the last card for Hels, but it certainly has - HAPPY BIRTHDAY HELS! I know I am a day late but I really wanted to blog your card. I love it, cupcakes, iced cakes and any cakes are just my kind of thing, I am sure you will find it easy to agree with me ;-) Yet again I have used my beloved Joanna Sheen cupcake stamp with cake stand. I coloured them all in using sakuras but used them as water colours, so they weren't so vivid. Some of the cakes are also covered in glossy accents to give them a bit of a sheen. I matted on candy pink glitter card, matted again on gorgeous striped paper by doodlebug designs and wrapped an organza ribbon underneath before laying the cakes on top. I printed out a greeting on the computer, matted it on candy pink and placed. I added a few lilac glittered bubble circles and edged in white glamour dust to finish it off. Yummy scrummy!!!

I am sorry the card doesn't photograph very well, the splatterings of glitter have reflected back from the flash.

Wishing the very best of luck to Andrea & Sophie!!!

It's the 26 mile Moonwalk, Walk the Walk on Saturday from midnight and my friend Andrea, who has, in the past 10 months, lost a staggering 5 stone, is going to take part with her daughter Sophie. Nathalie and I decorated the said bras as a gesture as they are doing it for a very good cause and together have been sponsored for nearly £2,500. We wish them very best of luck and cross fingers it does not rain. xxx

Happy Birthday Mummy!!!

My beautiful dear ole Mum will be ** on Sunday! Better not reveal her age, but I am sure some of you remember her special birthday :-) Anyway, this is her card from us .... the most used stamp in my collection, a Joanna Sheen stamp. I love cupcakes yummy and I just love the whole theme of cupcakes, cake stands, scones & cream on white linen table cloths with a nice cup of earl grey! It's that time of year again and it reminds me of my holidays spent in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. I've spent many a summer eating Clotted cream, homemade jam and scones in a cosy little tea shop not far from the sea, among my favourite places being Lyme Regis, Polperro, Padstow, Port Isaac and Mevagissey. Oh gosh ... my imagination is wandering - if only I could be there now, come rain or shine.

Well that's your mind wandering as well by now ....! I haven't blogged for a while so I thought I would blog my Mum's Birthday card. I've used K & Co Sparkly Sweet papers with Sakura pens, water-coloured onto the cupcakes themselves. I printed out a greeting on my computer and inked round the edges with chalk inks. Hope Mum likes my card. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUM!

Happy Birthday Linda!

This is a picture of my friend Linda's birthday card. Her birthday is early next week but tomorrow there are a few of us going out for lunch to celebrate. The card was made with My Mind's Eye - Bloom & Grow. It is a lovely collection with flowers, stems and a little damask all in greens and oranges. I cut the flowers from the middle sized pattern and secured them with eyelets. I stamped a small butterfly in green ink. Hope Linda likes her card. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDA!!!