Christmas Card Club Catch Up

Good morning all.
Yesterday was wicked...weatherwise but I  did get visitors which was nice. Also some good news, I'm to be a Great Aunt twice next year...my youngest sister will be a Nannie 3 x over and the rest of us are nowhere near!

Eldest may be returning home next week...they're in Sydney at the moment and he doesn't like it! Just as well his bedroom is ready for him!!

I've been very tardy with my Christmas Card Club posts this year...many apologies girls but I think I may have caught up finally!

3rd April...my own choice of "Stencil"

21st August, Maureen asked for "Lots of Layers"

Made this for my daughter, the little fella is decoupaged too.

4th September - Rachel gave us "A Winter Scene"

It's difficult to see the reindeer pulling the sleigh below the sentiment on this...but it's there!

18th September - Kate asked for "Woolie Hats and Gloves"

Errm I didn't quite make the remit for this one but you would need to wear them if you went out in the snow!

2nd October - Mrs A wanted "Festive Birds"

Not your average festive bird admittedly but this was going down under with my eldest so thought it appropriate! Not sure whether it's the hat or the sun causing the pinkness...

27th November - Mary set us "Mixed Media and Trees"

The middle tree is die cut from a piece of waste "Faux Pearl", this is for my younger son and his partner.

11th December and Rita gave us the theme of "Snow Scene"

The embossing does show up better on the white card.

I made four similar cards for my brother and three sisters, used up lots of backing papers from Papermania too. I've had a paper buying amnesty for two years now and still haven't made a dent in my supplies :(

Thank you ladies for your friendship throughout the year and I look forward to Christmas crafting with you again next year.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas however you may be spending it.

Little Boxes, Little Boxes...

Good morning all....

....bet you're all singing now - just be glad you can't hear my tone deaf version at this end!

Did someone mention Christmas?? Actually I'm about ready - pressies are all wrapped and under the tree; most of the cleaning is done and the nice people from Tesco are delivering my food shopping later. Just need a card for hubby and don't tell but I might do my recycling trick again...he'll never notice!

Needed some boxes for little gifts of Molton Brown travel size bottles, so went to my go to tutorial and made these last night. These are made with 12x12 papers from Tilda and the finished size is about 41/2" square by a little over 2" high..

Each box is two-tone...the papers are double sided and I've used opposite sides for the bases and lids. These are very sturdy boxes and can be made with any size of square paper...I tend to use the thicker scrap booking papers (partly because I have loads of them lol), just make sure you use a bone folder to get the creases neat.

I'll be round to catch up with you all again very soon :)

Stencil Sunday #77

Good evening all.

This time next week it will be all over...best get my butt into gear and get ready! Had planned to get so much done yesterday but I had an allergic reaction to the contrast agent they injected me with when I went for a routine MRI scan on Friday and it knocked me for seven...just what I needed...NOT!

My turn once more to inspire you to use your stencils over at STAMPlorations. This is our final Stencil Sunday post of this year, we'll be back mid January after a well-earned rest.

I have an upcycled jam jar to share...a very simple transformation!

I painted the outside with some leftover chalky paint, which was a bit messy so I used gesso for the second coat. Once dry I sprayed each side and the lid through the Snowflakes all Over stencil with DecoArt Media Misters. To finish I added some ribbon and beads around the neck and a few gems...et voila.

Could be used to hold sweet treats, flowers, herbs etc...I've added a battery operated night light to mine to make a festive ornament.

Our Mixed Media challenge runs until the end of the month, remember it's anything goes except a card.

Stencil Blog Hop - Day Two

Good afternoon all.

Day two of our week long Stencil Hop over at STAMPlorations...we'd love you to join us! There will be lots of prizes and plenty of inspiration from all the teams.

I've used the Merry Tree stencil today, simply inked up with DI and embossed to define it, then matted and layered. Sentiment is from Holiday Artsy stamp set and star is from my stash.

Stencil Blog Hop - Day One

Good afternoon all.

Throat is feeling much better today...think the champers a friend and I quaffed yesterday when out for Christmas lunch made a great lubricant!

We're having a week long Stencil Hop over at STAMPlorations starting today...we'd love you to join us! There will be lots of prizes and plenty of inspiration from all the teams.

Today's project is a card made using a piece of leftover background from my tutorial last week which used the Snowflakes all Over stencil. Simply matted and layered with dies from WPlus9 and Spellbinders, then I added a snowflake and a label for the sentiment from Holiday Artsy.

Christmas Card Club - "Snowscene"

Good afternoon all.
The kids have kindly passed on some of their bugs and I woke feeling like I've swallowed a cup of razors, just what I need before Christmas...not!

What lovely weather we've had this last few days...we had a stunning sunset yesterday. On Friday the sale went through for our old house...poor bloke was camped out on the drive for several hours whilst the monies were sorted as he was in the middle of a chain, so glad we were the top!

Gary and his friends are travelling across Australia from Perth to Sydney at the moment, following the coast road. They've just crossed the Nullarbor Plains and have arrived in Ceduna...not sure whether they're sticking to the coast or heading inland from here, don't think they know themselves!

I've been very neglectful of the Christmas Card Club of late...and my stash of cards is wearisome as a result. However I have managed to make one for today when Rita asked for a "Snowscene". This is our last challenge of the year and next year I must try harder! I have got some catch up makes made but need to sort out the photos.

Made with a freebie from a magazine I bought last week which included the embossing folder, stamps and dies. I added some stickles to finish it off.

Yesterday's sunset!

Must get my cards written this afternoon so I can get them in the post....plus start making any extras I need!

Snowflake Tag - Tutorial

Good evening all.

Sorry I'm still being such an awful blogger, I just can't seem to get in my stride at the minute!

The two kids and I enjoyed our time in Vienna...it was exceedingly chilly but very sunny weather and we had a great time wandering around the city visiting the Christmas Markets, going to the zoo and seeing the Natural History Museum.

My turn to produce a tutorial over at STAMPlorations today and since it will soon be Christmas (just thought I'd remind you all) I've produced a tag.

I hope you like the tutorial and find it inspirational.

STAMPlorations Holiday TAGplorations

Good afternoon all.

Huge excitement over at STAMPlorations today as we host our very first Holiday TAGplorations event, I hope you can join in the fun. You have three weeks to join in...so get making those holiday tags (any holiday) and link up on the STAMPlorations blog here.

I started by cutting a tag using the largest of the Luggage Tags nesting dies from a piece of sticky back linen...a failed gelli plate piece which I knew would come in useful for something!

I then coated the tag with Distress Crackle Paint...I have several jars and this is the first outing!

Once dry I stuck the linen to another tag cut from Kraft cardstock then used Radiant Gel through the Christmas Reindeer stencil.

To finish I used gilding wax around the outside of the tag, inked some stars using a Sharpie pen and the Oh My Stars stencil and added my sentiment from the Holiday Artsy stamp set. Ribbons and pearls were upcycled from a cracker. I love how this turned out and must have another play soon with the crackle paints.

*Commenting and linking up is from November 4 to November 25, 11:55 p.m. Pacific (3 weeks)

*Winners announced on December 9 in the November Challenges & Hops winners post

*Prizes:
10 prizes (with a value of $178+) will be distributed among randomly drawn winners:
- (3) randomly drawn winners from all comments left on the STAMP blog and participating designers blog will each receive a $15 gift certificate to the store
- (3) randomly drawn participants to the TAGplorations linky party will each receive the Luggage Tag Dies
- (3) randomly drawn participants to the TAGplorations linky party will each receive the ATC Tag Builder Dies
- (1) randomly drawn participant to the TAGplorations linky party will receive a $25 gift certificate to the store

Please come and join us either by hopping and commenting or making a tag or two yourself (or both!). You'll find tons of inspiration from the other girls too.

Christmas Tag Tutorial

Good evening all.(Oops...note to self use GMT not PDT when scheduling your posts!!)
{Tutorial will be live at 8pm tonight...Monday 24th}

My turn once more to share a tutorial over at STAMPlorations...I'm in full on Christmas mode this month, I hope you like what I've done.

Christmas Card Club - Sentiment as Focus

Good morning all.

Sorry I'm being such a bad blogger, life seems to be getting in the way at the moment plus the computer is in the wrong place and that can't be changed until sometime next year when we rebuild the conservatory :( I just can't seem to use my IPad for blogging, it just seems needlessly complicated!

It's time once more for our little Christmas Card Club to strut their stuff and this time it was my turn to pick the theme and I chose "Sentiment as Focus". I've missed the last four challenges (sorry ladies) but need to catch up to get my cards finished on time! I got some new stamps a few weeks ago and managed to put them to good use....and made six cards!

Sentiment stamp is from Woodware; simply stamped and fussy cut before matting and layering, then adding a bow to finish.

Two in green..and two in red!

Was going to say if you'd like to see what the other girls have produced you'll find the links in my sidebar....but blogger ate them and I haven't had time to redo them yet!!! Has anyone else had that problem??

Christmas Card Club "Baubles"

Good morning all.

It's been a tad windy here, thankfully no damage though...although the forecast for the rest of the week looks lousy!! Supposed to have stonemasons here today replacing coping stones on the roof but it may prove too windy to put the scaffolding up..we'll see!

Yesterday was our fortnightly Christmas Card Club reveal day...so I'm late!! Margaret set us the theme of "Baubles". I remembered Saturday evening after spending the afternoon out for a meal to celebrate my nephew's 21st...not a great combination.

Apologies for the photo..I haven't found the ideal place to take them yet. When rifling through my Christmas drawer I came across this kit which was a magazine freebie...perfect for the job. The papers, chipboard bauble and the sentiment stamp were all part of the kit. I added a ribbon from my stash and heat embossed the sentiments.

If you'd like to see what the other girls made you'll find the list in my sidebar.

Christmas Card Club "Star of Wonder"

Good morning all. Hope you're well.
(Note to self when scheduling posts...get the date right!!!)

Had a very busy week cleaning up behind all the workmen, ironing and hanging curtains etc. The house is now beginning to look like a home...thank goodness! Planning a little me time this week to catch up with everyone and relax a little before the final move takes place.

Don't know where the last fortnight went to but it's time once again for the Christmas Card Club to strut their stuff. Zoe has given us the theme of "Star of Wonder".

I remembered about 8pm last night that this was due, so it was a mad scramble through what little stash I have at home to come up with something relevant. Luckily this stamp from The Artistic Stamper was lurking in my box and the greeting came from Clearly Besotted. Dies from Wplus9. Finished with a wee gem from my stash. The mat is actually plum coloured to match the ink but looks rather black!

If you'd like to check out how the rest of the girls did you'll find their links on my sidebar.

HLS Christmas June Challenge "Twine"

Good evening all.

A day spent cleaning and dressing rooms at the new house, thought I'd get the utility finished then found out I'd ordered two blinds for the same window instead of one for each....luckily the spare will fit another window as they were made to measure!!

Sadly my last post for HLS Christmas Challenge, life is getting in the way of crafting at the moment so I'm taking a step back. Many thanks to Kylie for having me this past year. Our challenge this month is to use "Twine" somewhere on your creation.

The joys of having most of my crafting stash in the other house means I'm very limited to what I can use to craft at the moment...it took me nearly two weeks to remember to hunt out some twine!

Stamp from Crafty Impressions, coloured with Whisper pens and a gold Gel pen...all found lurking in a pencil case! Dies from Spellbinders and Lawn Fawn. Sentiment from HLS.

Do hope you can join us this month and get ahead for the silly season. Pop over to the challenge blog to see how my teamies interpreted the theme.

Christmas Card Club "Christmas Carol"

Good morning all. I hope you're all enjoying the bank holiday weekend, don't think Monday is actually a holiday here though.

Any way today is Christmas Card Club day and Rita has challenged us all to use a "Christmas Carol" in our projects. I remembered last night and with limited amounts of stash available this is what I came up with:

Loosely based on "The Holly and the Ivy" although I believe the ivy may be covered over. I thought I would make a distress paint background for the stamp but this didn't work very well so this is plan B! Simply stamped, die cut and matted....sometimes simple is best!

I can't for the life of me remember who the stamp is by, I won it and it was de-packeted to post...if you recognise it please let me know :) Dies are from Spellbinders and Lawn Fawn.

If you'd like to see what the other girls have made you'll find the list in my sidebar.

Much cleaning going on at the new house and things are gradually taking shape, we've agreed carpets for the rest of the house so will order them next week. My craft room isn't progressing too well, I ordered a little bookcase from Ikea to store boxes of stamps and stuff on and it arrived damaged so it will be Thursday before I get it replaced....this week has been 2 steps forward, 1 back all week! Next week can only be better :) Meanwhile the garden is blooming...a few pictures taken this last week or so.

We also have a pair of turtle doves nesting in a tree...the tree got a reprieve from the axe!

Hoping to find some time this week to pop round and see you all, meanwhile thanks for all the comments you're leaving - they're much appreciated.