Jingle Bells

Good morning all.

Yesterday's weather didn't turn out to be as bad as forecast but we had a bit of everything in the space of about an hour...Scotland at it's best! Kids loved the house...thankfully! One even gave us a list of modifications needed to his room including a second window and a carpet....kids these days...what's wrong with straw!!

Christmas again today and a cute little CAS card.

Image from Stampendous, part coloured with promarkers with added Glossy Accents to Rudolph's nose. Die from Wplus9 cut twice to give some dimension to the card.

Challenges entered:

Christmas Stampin' all Year Round - Christmas gift

Christmas Card Challenges - anything goes

Addicted to Stamps - make your mark

Simon Says Stamp - anything goes

AAA - anything goes

CAS on Sunday - Christmas

Christmas Card Club "Holly and Ivy"

Good morning all.

I went round all day yesterday thinking it was Sunday, so I guess today is a bonus! The weather forecast for today is appalling...we're off out shortly to take the kids to see the house we're buying so we should see it at it's worst! I think the rest of the day will be spent in the craft room.

Two weeks have fairly flown by  and it's Christmas Card Club time once again. Today Asha set us the theme of "Holly and Ivy".

Topper from Wild Rose Studio; paper from Papermania; ivy die from Joanna Sheen; snowflake, bow and button from my stash. Card and paper all came from my bit box.

If you'd like to see how the other girls interpreted the theme you'll find the list in my sidebar.

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper - anything goes

Jingle Belles - holiday leftovers

DLArt - Christmas

Paper Shelter - Christmas card

Country View Crafts - blue

CHNC - use diecuts or punches

Let it Snow....

Good morning all and welcome to my new followers...I hope you enjoy what you see here.

Well Black Friday was definitely black weatherwise! I did some Christmas shopping and bought some bits to go to New Zealand and enjoyed spending my voucher at Simon Says Stamp which I won this week but certainly didn't manage any bargains of the century.

Another Christmas card to share today, one of the ones I made last weekend.

Image and sentiment from Imagination Crafts. Image is heat embossed with white EP and shaded with a white pencil. Die'sire EF folder from Crafter's Companion used on the base layer. Gem from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Holly Jolly - embossing

A Snowflakes Promise - anything Christmas

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas

Fairy Tale - Christmas, no red or green

Polkadoodles - white + one

CRAFT - winter

Crafting by Design - getting ready for Christmas

Sisterhood of Crafters - snowman

Golden Oldie

Good morning all.

Last night's dinner went down well...after eldest averted a disaster! I was cooking roasted veg and had swapped them from the top to bottom of the oven whilst the potato browned on the pie and left them with the timer on...Gary arrived home and went to dump his bait bag to find smoke bellowing out the vents at the top of the cooker! Not sure whether there was debris on the outside of the roasting tin or it was just too close to the flame but dinner nearly wasn't!! Think I should stay out of the kitchen today....

 I'm off to join Erika to share an oldie, this week I'm sharing a thank you card made for a special friend. In 2009 I had brain surgery to remove a tumour and Chrissie, who I'd met on an online forum went above and beyond to support me from afar.

Decoupage and papers from Crafter's Companions Popcorn CD, dies from Spellbinders....in the days of my trusty Wizard!!

Have a great weekend whatever you're up to.

White on White

Good morning all and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends over the water....have a slice of pumpkin pie for me!

Spent an afternoon in the kitchen yesterday and made a moussaka for dinner and a minced beef and veg pie for today...I hope the pie goes down better than the moussaka did!! Suffice to say it won't appear again on a menu near here anytime soon...you win some, you lose some!

Christmas again today.....

Dies and EF all from Spellbinders. Sentiment from LOTV heat embossed with silver EP. Background has been stamped with snowflakes from STAMPlorations heat embossed with Snow Glitter EP. Gems from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Polka Doodles - white + one (silver)

Simply Create Too - snow (mostly white)

Rudolph Day - Christmas

Work it Wednesday - holiday

Simon Says Stamp -anything goes

Giving Thanks Blog Hop

Good afternoon all.

A lovely afternoon was had yesterday at the spa....wonderful back, shoulder and neck massage and a lovely healthy lunch to follow....well maybe not the bottle of wine we consumed! Also managed to wriggle out of Jury Service until the end of March because of my holidays...although quite why I was selected in the first place when they knew I was going away is anybodies business.

Time for a blog hop...over at STAMPlorations we're "Giving Thanks" today and in light of recent world events I think we can all find something in our lives to be thankful for.

Hoppers must comment on all participating blogs to be eligible to win, commenting ends on Friday, November 27th, 11:55pm Pacific time.

Prize: one 4 x 6 stamp set (winner's choice)

Here is my card:

Background was made on my little gelli plate using ARTplorations Foiled Again and Leaf Bliss stencils, die from Spellbinders. I used copper sparkle medium to stencil the Bloom Silhouettes stencil and added a sentiment from STAMPlorations Holiday Expressions: Thankful for Autumn set. Tag from LOTV, ribbon from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Simon Says Stamp - thankful

Dies R Us - thankful

The Crazy Challenge - everything goes

Dragonfly Journeys - thank you

OSAAT - thanks

Fussy and Fancy - thankful

Let it Snow...

Good morning all.

Off out for a spa afternoon and lunch later....a birthday treat from my eldest which I only just got around to organising.

A Christmas card to share with you, one of several I made at the weekend.

Dies and EF from Spellbinders. Image from Stampendous heat embossed with silver EP. Sentiment and snowflakes from Woodware. Gems from my stash.

Challenges entered:

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - friends and family

The Glory of Christmas - CAS

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas

Cas-ual Chic - metals

Wags 'n Whiskers - embossing

Simon Says Stamp - Christmas

Crafting for all Seasons - embossing

Addicted to Stamps - anything goes

Textured Tag

Good afternoon all.

What a cold wet miserable day it's been so far! Happy to say I made my final Christmas card yesterday though...now to start next years!

My turn today to show a tutorial over on the ARTplorations blog, this month I'm showing how I added texture to this Christmas tag using a stencil.

Challenges entered:

Craft Stamper - take it make it November

Simon Says Stamp - Christmas

Cut it Up - inspired by song, movie or book (Candle in the Wind)

Creative Artiste - anything mixed media optional traditional Christmas colours

Love 2 Create - anything mixed media/creative goes

That Craft Place - anything mixed media

Deck the Halls

Good morning all.

After a very wild Friday night Saturday dawned beautifully here, hop ewe get more of the same today.

Managed an afternoon crafting then a cracking result from my team at teatime...so all in a good day. A Christmas tag to share with you, one of my makes from yesterday.

Mat dies are from Spellbinders...after cutting the fancy one for a card I decided it would be perfect for a tag.  White layer was inked with various DI overstamped with a wet stamp then lightly sprayed with water. Sentiment stamp from HLS; tree die was a magazine freebie; ribbon from my stash.

All card was leftovers from the cards I'd made and the ribbon is recycled :)

Challenges entered:

Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas

A Gem of a Challenge - inspired by song or Carol (Oh Christmas Tree)

Allsorts - at least three die cuts

Daring Cardmakers - anything but a card

Jingle Belles - holiday leftovers

Golden Oldie

Good morning all.

Thankfully we didn't get the forecast winds yesterday and although it was a bright day it was bitterly cold - especially on our high street!

A busy day today, a meeting this morning and a Dr's appointment this afternoon with washing and cleaning thrown in for good measure. I also need to plan next week's menus and do an online shop...I did this last Friday and what a difference it made knowing what you were doing for tea and finding all the ingredients to hand. All quite healthy meals too from the Hairy Bikers Diet books.

For now I'm off to join Erika to share an oldie, this week I'm sharing another of hubby's Christmas cards, this time from 2008.

Image and papers from Joanna Sheen's Enchanted or Victorian Christmas CD, all matted onto gold mirri card. I do love this snow couple image!  Sentiment computer generated in my favourite font "Santa's Sleigh" and die cute with a Spellbinder die. The leaf and berry arrangement was recycled.

Have a great weekend whatever you're up to...I'm hoping to have a crafty one.

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

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it...

Good morning all.

 I started this tag on Friday night and all I had to do today was colour the image and stick it all together...well I finally managed!

The tag was one of my distress paint smooshing ones from last week. Postie had finally arrived Friday (after slapping on a Customs charge) with a parcel of Radiant Gels from ColourArte and I was keen to test them out...stencils from Memory Box. Love the shimmery finish you get. Snow people from Joanna Sheen, coloured with promarkers. Landscape die from Lawn Fawn. Snowflake dies from Spellbinders. Sentiment from Woodware. Gems, stickles and fibres from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas

Allsorts - anything but a card

Crafty Calendar - sparkle, bling and embellish

Sweet Stampin' - wrap up warm

Alphabet Challenge - T for tis the season

Brown Sugar - no patterned paper

Really Reasonable Ribbon - tag you're it

That's Crafty - tag you're it

Craft Stamper - take it make it November

Christmas Card Club "Feature a Postbox"

Good morning all.

Yesterday seemed to be filled with chores but I'm ahead of the game now so time for crafting today.

Mid November and thanks to our little Christmas Card Club I'm not panicking over my cards! Valery  (aka Mrs A) asked us to "Feature a Postbox" this time.

Another one of my specials...image from Wild Rose Studio, papers from Papermania, sentiment from LOTV and dies all from Spellbinders. Finished with nailheads from my stash.

I've quite pleased with myself this year....I've managed to use up lots of backing papers which had been partying in a drawer for a year or two along with my topper collection...I might have to buy some new stuff for next Christmas says she who has enough Christmas stock to last a lifetime!!

If you want to see what the rest  of the girls created you'll find their links in my sidebar.

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

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

CHNC - red and green must be seen (there is a little green!)

Crafting with Dragonflies - let it snow

CRAFT - Christmas

Whimsy Inspiration - Christmas

Golden Oldie

Good morning all.

Hope no one has blown away yet...our forecast for today is pretty miserable and the high winds are to reach here tonight!

Friday once more, they come around like clockwork  don't they....and the thirteenth at that! My Dad was very superstitious and if he could have stayed in bed on Friday 13th he would have done...if something could go wrong it would that day. We weren't allowed to cross our knives and forks either; or cross on the stairs and he never walked under a ladder...despite being a fireman for forty odd years because they all brought bad luck! I've always wanted to buck the trend just to see what happens lol!

You know the script...I'm joining Erika again to share a Golden Oldie.

Made in 2007, this was hubby's Christmas card. Love seeing parchment craft and this is one of only a few pieces I've ever made myself. I think I gave it to hubby so I could keep it lol. I still have all the gear stashed away, perhaps I'll put it to use when it's unearthed during the move...then again!

Not got any plans for the weekend, think we'll see how the weather pans out...could be a good weekend to craft. Have fun and stay safe everyone.

Jingle all the Way

Good morning all.

Gosh it didn't half rain here at teatime yesterday...just as they'd forecast, the rest of the day wasn't too bad. Managed a visit to the craft room too so not a bad day all told.

I enjoyed making this tag.

On Tuesday I'd smooshed a pile of tags with distress paint and left them to dry overnight, this was one of them. I used distress inks in matching colours to the paints to add more colour around the edges.  Houses are from a Clearly Besotted Die; sentiment is from Happy Little Stampers; all other stamps and dies are from Lawn Fawn; ribbon from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas

ABC Christmas - W for wild thing

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas

The Sisterhood of Crafters - it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Crafty Addicts - use a die cut

One Crazy Stamper - Christmas/winter

Where the HeART is - anything goes/winter blues
Craft Stamper - take it make it November

Lest We Forget

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Good morning all.

Well yesterday didn't turn out as wet as expected but it was still pretty miserable! Managed to have a play...made a mess...got messy and not a great deal else...one of those days when nothing quite gelled. I did manage to make a tag though so I'm sharing that with you today.

I started with a manila tag and embossed it with my ARTplorations stencil (Holly Background), I then inked it with evergreen bough DI. After removing the stencil I inked with shabby shutters and twisted citron then replaced the stencil and inked the berries with festive berries. The edges were inked with ground espresso. Reindeer die from Tattered Lace, other dies from Spellbinders. Sentiment stamp was a magazine freebie, ribbons from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas

A Snowflakes Promise - Christmas

Papertake Weekly - Christmas critters

Mixed Media World - anything goes

Virginia's View - textures

Love 2 Create - anything creative/mixed media goes

Sister

Good morning all.

Yesterday was mostly wild and wicked, although quite mild...today is forecast rain and more rain, then rain again!! Hubby is away today so hoping I have the house to myself so I can have a messy play this afternoon.

Sharing today the card I made for my little sister.

Decoupaged image is a Meadow Cottage Bears from Crafter's Companion. Background is a Die'sire Create a Card die. Sister die is from Clearly Besotted. All other dies are from Spellbinders. Sentiment was computer generated. Bows and dotty paper from my stash.

Challenges entered:

The Corrosive Challenge - add a sentiment

The Ribbon Girls - anything goes

Allsorts - ribbons and bows

Bloggers - Happy Birthday

Simply Papercraft - anything goes

Seize the Birthday - anything birthday

Unstampabelles - anything goes, twist use flowers

Artistic Inspirations - anything goes feminine

Get Creative - birthdays

Where the HeART is - anything goes

Stencil Sunday #19

Good evening all.

Gosh this weekend has gone so fast! We had a lovely family meal on Friday night...much to the surprise of my 50 year old sister who had no idea her hubby had been plotting behind her back! Lovely girly day on Saturday at the spa, I enjoyed a wonderful body scrub followed by a full body hot stone massage....bliss! Then it was back home to reality catching up with the "chores"....a more apt word would be hard to come across!

My turn to provide some Stencil Sunday inspiration over at STAMPlorations today. I've got another altered wooden stamp block to share with you today...I finally got around to finishing this for my sister - the baby is only 41/2 months old!! I hope this will inspire you all to get your stencils out.

Backing papers were made a while ago using my gelli plate and Paper Artsy fresco finish paints.

Edges were stamped with Archival ink.

Wording is printed onto tissue paper and attached with glue and seal.  Bow from my stash to finish.

ARTplorations: Hearts all Over, Dots and Dashes, Foiled Again,Gridlocked and Some Birds stencils

STAMPlorations; Trendy Birds and Mixed Media Elements stamps

And don't forget the November Mixed Media Challenge runs until the end of the month! If you want to play, you still have plenty of time left to get messy and share your non-card mixed media projects. It's anything mixed media goes except a card...and you must use a stencil (any brand or even a homemade one!) in your project(s). For the complete challenge info + prizes, click here.

Challenges entered:

Creative Artiste - anything MM goes

Allsorts - ribbons and bows

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - anything MM goes

Altered Eclectics - anything goes

Country View Crafts - the colour blue

Eclectic Ellapu - altered art
Mixed Media World - anything goes
Love 2 Create - anything MM/creative goes
Craft Stamper - take it make it November

HLS Mixed Media Challenge November "Tag"

Good evening all.

Oops...apologies to Kylie and the team, this should have gone live at 8pm last night! I was obviously being senior when I scheduled it....typical it should happen the one weekend I was off line though!

Some happy news tonight...the first Mixed Media challenge goes went live last night at Happy Little Stampers and I'm lucky enough to be on the design team.

Here is mine:

Made for a neighbour's little girl who was 2 recently. The tag was embossed using a Cuttlebug folder then inked with various shades of pink DI's. I then used stamps from the Mix Mash set to add the sentiment and some background stamping before finishing off with some recycled raffia. 

We're being sponsored by Happy Little Stampers and the winner will receive one stamp set.

Do pop over to the challenge blog to see what my teamies have created, you won't be disappointed!

Challenges entered:

Bloggers - happy birthday

Brown Sugar - tag you're it

That's Crafty - tag you're it

Crafting with an Attitude - anything goes

Inspiration Destination - anything goes

Creative Card Crew - off the edge