Crafts Galore Encore November 2025

This weekend I am attending a craft workshop with three amazing tutors. They are the same three talented tutors who featured at a crafty weekend I did back in January. Finnabair, Olga Heldwein and Nuneka Box. We had so much fun in January that we wanted to do it again. With different projects though.

Meanwhile .....

.... there is a new challenge starting today at

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge Blog. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in with last month's challenge. The winners have been announced on the challenge blog. This is a month long challenge and you can enter up to three times. There is a full list of rules on the challenge blog.

Our theme every month is the popular

"Anything Goes"

We do not have a sponsor this month so this challenge is 

'Just for Fun'

The design team were allowed to create anything we liked, the same as you!

I created a card to welcome a newborn baby boy.

A lovely family member gave birth to a little boy recently. I created an 8"x 8" (20 x 20cm) card to celebrate.

My card is layered with two blue cards from Limetree Crafts. The next layer is a mottled blue card I bought at a craft show a few years ago. I wrapped a wide blue ribbon around the card layers before fixing them to the card base.

The sweet image is from a printable decoupage sheet from  La Pashe. I cut the four layers and mounted them with foam pads. 

I mounted the decoupaged image onto pale blue card and wrapped a seam binding ribbon around the layers before adding a triple bow.

I finished the card with some gorgeous flowers from Katy Sue Designs and the randomly placed blue gems.

I also added the two sentiments from the decoupage sheet.

Now please visit the  Crafts Galore Encore challenge blog where you can see the wonderful projects and cards created by our talented team.

Grab some inspiration while you're there and enter your "Anything Goes" creations in this month's challenge.

I have entered this in the following challenges:

https://classicdesignchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/10/classic-design-challenge-10-2025-octnov.html

https://morgansartworld.blogspot.com/2025/11/morgans-artworld-challenge-94.html

https://aperfecttimetocraft.blogspot.com/2025/11/a-perfect-time-to-craft-open-challenge.html

Baby Album

It's taken me longer than anticipated to show you another of the projects that I made for my new grandson's nursery as I've been kept very busy helping out while his mum recovers from her operation. I'm sorry I haven't been a regular visitor to your blogs recently but I've also been having problems with Blogger, hopefully they are now sorted.

I have seen some beautiful albums created by crafty friends and thought the new baby's arrival was the perfect opportunity to have a go at one myself.

I made the album itself from greyboard. The pages are slightly smaller than the covers and I added a flap to each of the four pages. This gave me twenty 'sides' to decorate including the covers.

I started by joining the flaps to the pages before painting the greyboard with a light blue acrylic paint.

I then decorated the pages using papers from Graphic 45's Precious Memories and Prima's Bedtime Story.

I printed some postcards on the computer for journalling and recording key events. Every couple of  pages there is a pocket to store photos or mementos.

When all the pages were finished I cut strips of linen card, and edged them with a scallop punch, to join the pages.

On the back cover I used a gorgeous vintage pram image from La Pashe. I've used it a few times inside the album too.

Once assembled, the album was bound with linen card to which I added papers, lace and ribbon. The album is just over 2" (5 cm) wide.

I'd like to say a big thank you to the talented crafters that I have taken inspiration from to create this keepsake. I hope, in turn, that I have managed to inspire someone else to create an album. It really is great fun.

Fuchsia Anniversary

I had a request late on Monday night for an Anniversary card for today, Wednesday. The lady likes fuchsias, and quite frankly, after 43 years of marriage the lady is entitled to get what she likes. I didn't get the card finished until late last night so the photograph didn't turn out as well as I would've liked.

I started with the image from The Big One cd from La Pashe. I used a nestie to cut the shape and decoupaged the image. I die cut the frame from silver mirri (despite what it looks like in the photo). The backing paper is from Paintbox Poppets. I just love the colours and pattern of this paper and thought it matched really well. I layered that onto silver mirri and matted them onto an 8" x 8" blank. The sentiment was created in MCS and printed three times so I could decoupage it. The silver mirri scrolls are a Memory Box die and the three white baby's breath flowers are from my stash. I tied a bow from lace and made two hat pins from silver wire and beads to finish off. I was quite pleased with the result.