Christmas Card Club - "Christmas Flowers"

Good morning all.
Hopefully Blogger is behaving as this is a scheduled post...I'm spending a few days with my Mum with limited internet.

I set the girls the theme of "Christmas Flowers" over at the Christmas Card Club this time. Poinsettias have to be my all time favourite Christmas flowers although I usually manage to kill them off pretty easily!

This one uses dies from Lil'Inker Designs for the background and Marianne Designs for the poinsettia. Finished with some twine and gold stickles.

This second card uses a stamp from Imagination Crafts, stamped and heat embossed with gold EP then die cut and mounted onto a gold mat. Some vellum from my stash to finish it off.

If you'd like to see what the other girls have made you'll find their links on my sidebar.

I'll be back later with some a mixed media project for our monthly challenge at STAMPlorations.

Christmas Card Club - "Anything Goes"

Good morning all and wishing you all a very happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. If everything has gone to plan I'll hopefully be sunning myself on a beach in the Canaries now 😎. A sneaky week away before I have to turn up for Jury Duty.

I know last Christmas is just over with but if I don't start my cards now I'll never be ready for next Christmas!! It's so much less hassle and stress making them throughout the year and since adding the inserts as I make them has become second nature I don't have that "groan" day just before writing all the cards in December.

Margaret has given us an easy "Anything Goes" for our first Christmas Card Club theme and here is my offering.

Topper from LOTV, die cut and matted; backing paper from Papermania; icicle die from Marianne Design and sentiment die is from the new CUTplorations range at STAMPlorations.

If you'd like to see what the other girls made you'll find the list on my side bar.

I'll be back later with my inspiration for the Mixed Media Challenge at STAMPlorations.

Christmas Card Club "Texture"

Good morning all.

We should have moved towards Picton for our final two nights on South Island if all has gone to plan, we're spoiling ourselves in a luxury lodge overlooking the Sound.

It was Rachel's turn to pick the theme for challenge 3 at the Christmas Card Club ad she asked to see some "Texture".

My texture comes from this EF folder from Marianne Designs which hasn't seen the light of day for many a while, other dies all from Spellbinders. Sentiment from LOTV; raffia and gems from my stash. This is definitely one of my favourite colour combos for Christmas....just wish I'd cut the red card larger so it actually matted the white layer as I feel the colours aren't balanced!

You'll find the ladies in my sidebar if you'd like to see their creations too. I'll be back later with my post for the February Stencil Sunday challenge.

First Christmas

Good morning all.

It's been a wild and wicked night here, the forecast is sunny today but to stay windy....better keep the hatches battened down!

I've finally made something I can share with you....I've been beavering away in the craft room getting ahead of myself. I'm down to my last 8 Christmas cards and I need an Anniversary card and December will be done and I can then make a start on next year's DT commitments which are due whilst I'm away. Also been called up for Jury service mid December which is also going to put a spanner in the works!!

I sorted all my Christmas cards yesterday to see what sort I still needed to make...this was top of the list to do for my nephew and his family. Penguin die from Marianne Design; accessories from the Tim Holz Crazy Birds set (coloured with promarkers); holly sprig from Poppy Stamps; snow landscape dies from Lawn Fawn; other dies all from Spellbinders. Background has been stamped with snowflakes from STAMPlorations with versamark, then inked with DI. Sentiment stamp from Clearly Besotted, googly eyes from my stash.

Challenges entered:

A Snowflakes Promise - anything Christmas goes

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

CHNC - red and green must be seen

ABC Christmas - w for wild thing

I Love Promarkers - traditional Christmas

Simon Says Stamp - Christmas

Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas

Inky Chicks - Christmas

Pile it On - any holiday/celebration

A Gem of a Challenge - Christmas critters

Christmas Card Club "Lots of Layers"

Good morning all.

I was brave yesterday and updated to Windows 10...it downloaded no problems and so far I like what I see - once I'd worked out where all my files were stored that is!!

Another two weeks have flown past and it's time for our little Christmas Card club reveal. Lorraine set us the challenge of using lots of layers this time.

I finally managed to make a start on my special cards. Topper is from Wild Rose Studios; papers are from DoCraft; circle and square dies are from Spellbinders; snowflakes are from Paper Smooches; poinsettias and fir from Marianne Designs; sentiment from LOTV. I've added some stickles to finish things off.

This one will be hand delivered so didn't need to be flat.

You'll find a list of the girls on my sidebar if you'd like to see their take on the theme...you won't be disappointed.

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

CHNC - something beginning with S (stripes, snowflakes, snow, scarf, sentiment)

Jingle Belles - photo inpiration...I used the colours

ABC Christmas Challenge - P for polka dots

Christmas Cards all Year Round - snowflakes

A Gem of a Challenge - animals or birds

Brown Sugar - anything goes

Sister Act Card Challenge - anything goes

Moving along with the Times - snow in summer

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Papers - anything goes

Crafting for all Seasons #92 "Anything Christmas but a Card"

Good morning all.

Going out this morning to view a property...forecast wet, windy and snow...think I'll need the winter woollies and welly boots!

Not yet heard any further news on my cousin but must try to remember to ring home today. Lora's guinea pig died of old age on Monday so there was a burial yesterday, thus ends the era of small furry pets - we've had rabbits, hamsters and guinea pigs over the years. All my Christmas cards are written, a large batch went in the post yesterday, those with letters in will go today and I think the rest will all be hand delivered.

It's time for our final challenge of the year at CFAS and this time the theme is "Anything Christmas but a Card". We're  looking forward to seeing all your makes. As this is a month long challenge we have three sponsors this time Lacy Sunshine, Stitchy Bear Digi Outlet and Bugaboo who all gave the DT images to work with.

I've chosen to decorate a bag for this challenge.

I've used Scene it - Winter Friends from Bugaboo coloured with promarkers with added stickles then die cut with a Spellbinders rectangle. Papers from Bearly Mine Christmas Wishes which I've layered up digitally. Icicle and scene dies from Marianne Designs. Snowflake die from Memory Box. Sentiment from Stitchy Bear Stamps- Christmas Day Tiny Tickets. Ribbon and gems from my stash.

Do pop over to the challenge blog to see the rest of the girls inspiration, you won't be disappointed.

Challenges entered:
Scrap it Girl - wrap it up
Bearly Mine - Christmas decoration
Come and Get It - merry Christmas
CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes with patterned paper
Die Cut Divas - snow and winter holidays
A Gem of a Challenge - anything Christmas
We Do Doobadoo - get festive
Cutie Pie Challenge - anything but a card
Not Just Cards - anything goes

Make a Wish

Good morning all.

Think I've finally caught up with the washing...just a huge basket of ironing to get through now!! Had a new Dyson (other vacuums are available!) delivered at the weekend whilst we were away so I got it built yesterday and put it to good use...I can't believe how much the old one wasn't picking up from the carpets!!!

Another quick Flower Fairy make to share today.

Dies from Marianne Design. Flower Fairy decoupage and sentiment from my stash.

Challenges entered:

OSAAT - anything goes with orange

Pile it On - autumn

Scribble and Scrap - anything goes

Allsorts - autumn

Crafters Cafe - punches/die cuts

The Craft Garden - photo inspired

Candi Circus Little Abi

Good morning all.

No problems at the dentist yesterday thank goodness but if the new nurse had shoved the squirty, sucky thing any further down my throat during the scale and polish I swear it would have come out the other end!! On the other hand it was nice to find a helpful receptionist who happily checked up to see if eldest had any pending appointments and then changed his details to include his phone no for a reminder....the usual receptionist would have sat very smugly and told me she couldn't divulge any information due to date protection!!

A birthday card to share today, for our neighbour's little girl who will soon be one.

Image is from PPinky Dolls Art, coloured with promarkers. Sentiment from LOTV. Oval dies and circle die are from Spellbinders. All other dies from Marianne Design....the doily die and flower shape have been in my stash for ages and this must be the first time I've used them!  Border punch from Martha Stewart which I've edged with distress ink. Backing paper from Crafty Individuals. Flowers from Petal Lu.

Challenges entered:

Crafter's Cafe - card for a child

Crafting by Designs - pretty in pink

Digi Sketch Challenge - sketch and/or girly

Incy Wincy Designs - girly

PPinky Dolls Challenge - anything goes/add flowers

Use Your Stuff - border punch

Whoopsi Daisy - flowers

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes

Lia Stampz - girly

Marianne Design Divas - anything goes with min 3 products (used 6 dies)

Wags n Whiskers - for the girls

Seasons Greetings

Good morning all.

I've got a quick trip to the dentist this afternoon for my six monthly check, hopefully there won't be any problems.

A Christmas card to share today.

The stamps are by Tiddly Inks and were a recent magazine freebie. I've stamped onto Neenah Desert Storm kraft card and coloured with promarkers. Papers are from Bo Bunny. Tree die was a magazine freebie; poinsettia die is from Marianne Design; all other dies are from Spellbinders. Sentiment stamp from Anita's. Ribbons from my stash.

All finished inside too :)

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes

CHNC - do you hear what I hear

Completely Christmas - anything goes

The Glory of Christmas - bingo (red, stamp, tree)

Holly Jolly Christmas - RED (red, ribbon, emboss, dies)

ABC Christmas - R for red poinsettia

Addicted to Stamps - make your mark

Christmas at Sweet Stampin - Christmas critters

CRAFT - Christmas

Reward

Good morning all.

Thank you for all the good wishes yesterday...a quiet day was spent at home as I was a bit under the weather after eating sausages for tea on Tuesday which had gluten in them. Hubby had bought two packs - one with and one without...note to self always check yourself rather than taking someone else's word for it!!!

A birthday card for a brother in law to share today. I was toiling for ideas this year and leafing through my box of stamps came across this reward stamp amongst a set of male stamps which were a magazine freebie...brain cells started ticking after remembering his ice bucket challenge stint on Facebook!

Image was stamped with Memento and coloured with promarkers before being fussy cut. I captured a photo from my computer screen using the snips tool and printed it out to fit the aperture. The backing paper is a freebie from Bearly Mine. Sentiment from LOTV. The lamp and bracket dies are from Marianne Design, fence die is from Magnolia and circle dies are from Spellbinders. I've die cut everything from Kraft card and painted with stone acrylic paint, added a crackle glaze then painted with black acrylic before adding a bit of gold gilding wax. Card is finished with a couple of black gems to which I've also added gilding wax.

Challenges entered:

Craft-room Challenge - something old (sentiment), something new (backing paper)

Through the Craft Room Door - anything goes

Artisitc Imspirations - anything goes or round

Crafting from the Heart - anything goes

Crafty Bloggers - anything goes

Melonheadz - 2 or more dies

Not Just Cards - anything goes

Aud Sentiments - for the men in our life

Two Tubs

Good morning all.

Another lovely day here yesterday, so washing all done and after putting the tea on I managed to get ahead with some DT work. I did have to say goodbye to my trusty old bone folder which snapped in two :( I have had nearly 8 years service from it so it didn't owe me anything!

Another male card today. 

The image is called "Two Tubs" and is from Digi Stamps 4 Joy and comes complete with the sentiment...when I saw Annie showcasing it last week I knew the image would be perfect for a card needed this week. I've coloured with promarkers. Backing paper is a freebie from Bearly Mine. Lamp die cut is from Marianne Design.

Challenges entered:

Digistamps4Joy - celebrations

Hobby Cutz - for the boys

The Corrosive Challenges - let's hear it for the boys

The Squirrel and the Fox - male

Crafting from the Heart - anything goes

Muriel

Good morning all.

I hope you're all enjoying the same lovely weather we're having this weekend.

Another birthday card to share today for another sister who has a birthday in November.

Another rocker card using Muriel from Saturated Canary, coloured with promarkers , then die cut. Backing papers from Wild Rose Studio's Bella pack. Butterfly and fern dies from Marianne Design, all other dies from Spellbinders. Sentiment from LOTV. Flowers from Petal Lu. Ribbons and charm from my stash. Card is finished with some stickles.

(Promarkers used: lilac, amethyst and purple; soft lime, lemon and canary; forest, pine and meadow greens) 

Challenges entered:

A Gem of a Challenge - it's summertime

Hiding in my Craft Room - freestyle

Brown Sugar - anything goes

Stemplesonnen - anything goes

Sweet Pea Stampers - lots of layers

Crafting by Design - dog days of summer

Little Red Wagon - girl power

Wonderful Wednesday - anything goes

That Craft Place - summery colours

Ava

Good morning all.

Thank you for your comments on my makes over the last few days...Lora definitely wouldn't appreciate the new look to her empty bottle so it's destined for my bedroom or bathroom me thinks!

Well the rain has held off most of the week here so far, though I think it is forecast for this afternoon. Thank goodness the temperature has gone up a little though!

A birthday card to share today for one of my sisters who has a birthday in November.

I've made a rocker card using my favourite grand fancy circles dies, which I haven't used for a while. Card is centura pearl from Crafter's Companion. My image is called  Ava from Saturated Canary and I've coloured her with promarkers and fussy cut. Papers are from KandCo (a several year old 12 x 12 pad) and First Edition. Fern and butterfly die are from Marianne Design, all other dies from Spellbinders. Sentiment from LOTV. Ribbons, flowers, gems and charm are mostly very old stash.

(Promarkers used: Cornflower and China Blue; Honeycomb, Saffron and Vanilla; Oatmeal, Mustard Buttercup and Eggnog)

Challenges entered:

Crafty Ribbon - birthday with ribbon

Delightful Challenges - layer it

Crafters Cafe - punches and dies

Digi Stamps 4 Joy - circles

Divas by Design - happy birthday

The House that Stamps Built - birthday

Inky Impressions - anything goes

Paper Pretties Wednesday - birthday

Loves Rubber Stamps - 2 or more patterned papers

Shopping our Stash - ABC (Ava, blue, circles)

Card Mania - butterflies and bows

Craft-Dee Bowz - anything goes with a handmade bow

Creative Corner - anything goes

Happy Birthday

Good morning all.

Yesterday turned out quite a nice day albeit a bit breezy. The house has lost it's heat though and it's beginning to get very cool of an evening...I refuse to put the heating back on in August though!!

I did my first gluten free bake yesterday and made some cherry buns with polenta and ground almonds, they seemed to go down well with the natives as they had all gone by bedtime.

I've quite a few birthdays between now and Christmas so am trying to get ahead of myself as I'm way behind with Christmas cards. Here's one I made yesterday.

Using Lilith again from PPinkyDollsArt, coloured with promarkers before diecutting. I've coloured her hair blue...although it looks quite black/grey in the photo. Papers are from Echo Park. Oval and round dies are Spellbinders. Buttons and fern are from Marianne Design. Lace from Crafty Ribbons. Ribbon, twine, charm and crochet doilies are from my stash. Sentiment is a Snag em Stamp.

(Promarkers used: Midnight, Cornflower Blue, Powder Blue, Burnt Sienna, Caramel and Sandstone)

Challenges entered:

Ppinky Dolls - anything goes

Craft-Dee Bowz - anything goes with a bow

Crafting from the Heart - anything goes

Cutie Pie - buttons and bows

My Craft Creations - anything goes

Whoopsi Daisy - girly

Kit and Clowder - hair techniques

Brown Sugar - let's get krafty

CCC Digi Creations - charms or pins

Oddball Art Stamp - non traditional hair colour (blue)

Live Laugh Love

Good morning all.

A quiet day at home was had yesterday with a little bit of crafting and a lot of being lazy!!

A project to share today which I started ages ago but has been lying in my craft room waiting to be finished...you know the type!!

I was lucky enough to win this Imagination Craft's MDF kit from Linda. I started by painting all the MDF with acrylic paint. Once dry I added paper to the front from Prima's Fairy Belles collection. I used the cutout from the middle, reverse side up, beneath the aperture and stamped the sentiment which was a recent magazine freebie. I cut images from another sheet of paper to layer up the fairy, butterflies and flowers then added butterfly die cut from Marianne Design to finish. I even remembered to sandwich my recycled ribbon hanger between the two sheets of MDF before glueing them together!

I just need to find somewhere to hang it now.

Challenges entered:

Creative Corner - girly

A Girl who Crafts - anything goes

Altered Eclectics - anything goes

Country View Challenges - word play

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes

Red's Creative Spirit - anything goes

TokBobok - mixed media

Moving along with the Times - feeling a little vintage

Inky Chicks - fairies or angels

Loves Rubber Stamps - wings

All Crafts Challenge - anything but a card

Christmas Card Club "Cardinal or some other Christmas Bird"

Good morning all.

The weather was a bit showery yesterday so I had a day colouring....tried the skin colouring class again from Kit and Clowder and it just doesn't work for me, don't know whether I'm just over thinking the whole thing or what but it's very frustrating! I did manage to colour a couple of DT images satisfactorily so will get them made into their relevant projects today hopefully.

It's time for our next challenge over at the Christmas Card Club, it was Mary's turn to choose the theme this week and she's asked us for a "A Cardinal or other Christmas Bird". 

The image and sentiment are "Winter Song Birdies" from the Doodle Pantry. I've coloured with promarkers before cutting with a nestie die....I thoroughly enjoyed colouring this in and was very pleased with the outcome. Backing papers are from Tilda and Papermania. Round dies are all Spellbinders; foliage dies are from Marianne Design. Red lacy seambinding is from Crafty Ribbons. Card is finished with stickles and pearls.

Inside all finished too! Probably not flat enough to post but it's good for hand delivering.

Do pop round and see what the other girls have made for this challenge, you'll find the links on my sidebar.

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes with patterned paper

Polkadoodles - Christmas

Winter Wonderland - anything goes

Crafty Little Fairies - cute and cuddly

Creative Moments - animals

Deep Ocean Challenge - Christmas in August

CHNC - merry and bright

Miracle

Good morning all.

Well it's been sunshine and showers for the last few days, wonder what the weekend is going to bring! Not a Bank Holiday weekend up here in Scotland but since I don't work I'll maybe pop down home for the day on Monday and go to the local agricultural show.

The smelly silicon glue seems to have struck me again!! I used Collal the other day to stick my calendar together and whilst it didn't smell at the time it does now it's dry!! I opened a new tube for this card to stick the flower arrangement and again no smell from the tube but I can smell it now it's dry...not as bad as the Pinflair glue did but it's rather off putting to say the least....grrrr.

A card to share today using another of the gorgeous PPinkyDollsArt images, this one is called Miracle.

(The one I used on my calendar earlier in the week is called Lilith not Gigi in case you go looking!).

I've coloured the image with promarkers before diecutting with an oval nestie and layering onto a co-ordinating scalloped oval. Backing papers are from Prima. Lacy die is a Tattered Lace magazine freebie, butterfly is from Marianne Design an all other dies are Spellbinders. Flowers are from Petal Lu; lace from Creative Expressions; ribbon from Crafty Ribbons; leaves and bling from my stash. Sentiments are from LOTV and a magazine freebie.

Challenges entered:

Artbymiran -anything goes

Sister Act Card Challenge - anything goes

Stempelsonnen - anything goes

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes

Crafty Ribbons - celebration with ribbons

Seize the Birthday - anything goes Birthday

Crafter's Cafe - square cards only

Paper Shelter - lace

Fan-Tastic Tuesday - anything square or rectangular

Tattered Lace - decadence