It might as well be Christmas...

You'd have been forgiven for thinking that it was nearer Christmas time than summer time here this morning.  What on earth is going on with our weather?  Having said that, as I type this the sun has come out and the clouds are clearing away to reveal lovely blue sky - such a lovely change from the grey that we've had for most of this year.

Anyway, here I am with a quick post to show a card I've made for a couple of challenges. 

I used a Tilda from last year's Christmas collection, which I stamped onto watercolour card and painted with DIs and markers.  The pretty paper is from a Magnolia collection from a few years ago and I still love it.  It goes well with Kraft card, I think, which is why I've chosen Kraft for my card base, the sentiment and the fancy circle (Spellbinders) behind the image.

There's a good dollop of sparkle on my card: frantage (my latest addiction) here and there and Glimmer Mist on the flowers.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Ribbon Girl (Magnolia Only) - Sparkle
Midweek Magnolias - Sparkle
Tilda's Town - Christmas

Nearly the weekend!  Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Tracey xx

LhoSM - Vintage or Shabby Chic

It's new challenge time at Lovely hAnglar or Sweet Magnolia!  Our theme this fortnight is Shabby Chic or Vintage - here's my DT card:

I've used Princess Tilda again - she's lovely to colour.  She's been coloured with Copics and I've added Liquid Pearls, Stickles on her crown and Shabby Pink frantage here and there.

The papers are Maja Design from the Vintage Summer collection; they've all been inked with Walnut Stain DI, matted onto vanilla Bazzill and stitched.  I've used a selection of WOC flowers, with pink seam binding for the ribbon and bow.  The chipboard corner has been painted with Picket Fence paint and the pearl centre for the bow made with goodies from the Ribbon Girl.

I do hope you can join us at LhoSM - my teamies have made some beautiful creations to inspire you, so do go and check them out!    We're being sponsored by Live and Love Crafts:

Live and Love Crafts is a UK based online store that specializes in vintage and shabby chic craft materials. We ship WORLDWIDE.We stock the unique and beautiful vintage inspired scrapbooking papers from the Scandinavian vendors Maja Design, Pion Design, Inkido, Landstoken, and Riddersholm Design.
Live & Love Crafts also carries gorgeous laces, trims, pins, broaches, buttons, flowers, resin pieces, vintage trinkets and other craft embellishments from vintage specialists such as Prima, Melissa Frances, and Maya Road.
Further products that are part of Live & Love Crafts’ portfolio are flowers from Kort og Godt, rubber stamps, cutting dies and embellishments from Magnolia,Bildmalarna and Vilda Stamps, distress inks, paints, glitter and other innovative craft products from Ranger.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Tracey x

Doilies and Dies

Good morning!  It's a beautiful (very early) morning here in Scotland - at last! Clear blue sky, sun is shinining ... a bit nippy, but you can't have everything!

Here's my DT card for our new challenge at Sweet Stampin', which is Doilies and Dies.  I loved making this card! 

I stamped this Bildmalarna cutie onto a fancy oval Nestie and coloured her with Copics.  There are Stickles on her wings and a good few blobs of frantage here and there, plus Liquid Pearls in the centre of the flowers.

The papers are from the beautiful Maja Designs Spring collection and they've been cut with large dies from Go Kreate.  I've edged the papers with Walnut Stain DI and topped them with a couple of doilies and some lace.  The butterfly was cut out in white Bazzill with a Cheery Lynn die, dunked in embossing in and sprinkled with a mixture of Aged Wine, Shabby White and Shabby Pink frantage. The flowers are a mixture from the Ribbon Girl, WOC and Live and Love Crafts.

The Sweet Stampin' challenge this week is sponsored by Cuddly Buddly and our monthly prize draw is courtesy of the Ribbon Girl.  Do hop on over to Sweet Stampin' to check out the fabby creations my Team Abi Teamies have made!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

The Ribbon Girl - Lilac and Lavender
Cupcake Craft Challenges - Lavender and Lace
Deep Ocean Challenges - Ribbon or Lace
Live and Love Crafts - Shades of Lilac


I'm up early so that I can get the dreaded h****work done and out of the way - then I can get outside while, hopefully, the sun is still shining.  There is a patio in serious need of attention and the rest of the garden is desperate for a good tidy-up.

Have a lovely day!

Tracey x

Lots of layers

Back with the second card I managed to finish this week. I had a play with my lovely (probably favouritest ever) Maja papers for this one:

How many layers?  Four of Maja DP, all distressed with the Timmy Thingy and edged with Walnut Stain.  I added some purple seam binding and a layer of lace, too.  The Sentiment is a Whimsy stamp which I inked up with more Walnut Stain.  Tilda was stamped onto a Spellbinders fancy oval and coloured with DIs and markers. I added some Crackle Glaze to the jam jar and went slightly loopy with the Frantage. Love that stuff, but can someone tell me how I can avoid the card buckling when I heat it from underneath?

I frantaged a metal butterfly, too and in the opposite corner put a selection of WOC flowers - a trellis rose, 20cm roses and 10cm roses.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Cupcake Craft Challenges - Lots of Layers
Songbird Challenge - Bloom and Grow
Wild Orchid Crafts - Use 3 or more different flowers.

By the way, the challenge at Sweet Stampin' this week is doodling, so why not hop over and see the inspiration projects the Sweeties have made.

Have a lovely day!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Pretty in Pink

Another mad week at work, but I managed to finish a couple of cards I'd started while the Boy Wonder was away on his school trip.  This one is for the challenge at Totally Tilda, which is all about Pink and Princesses.

I made a criss cross card using Bazzill and Magnolia papers.  The pretty border die is by Cheery Lynn and the tabs were cut with a Spellbinders die.  I coloured Tilda with Copics and added a bit of frantage here and there. And there you have it!

Short and sweet from me tonight - I'll be back tomorrow with another card.

Hugs

Tracey xx

Wot? No Embellies?

Hello from a very chilly, wet, grey and windy Scotland! It looks like November outside, but never mind - once the h****work is done I might just get some crafty time!

It's time for a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin' and our challenge theme will either make you do the happy dance or fill your heart with fear - yes, it's CAS week!

I love the CAS look, but find it pretty scary to do.  Thank goodness, then for the new Lili of the Valley stamps.  This one is a great size and I felt it wouldn't look lost among all the white space.

The white space left me with another problem - where to take the photo! I couldn't use my usual spot as the card just disappeared into the light background!

So what can I say - the image was coloured with Copics and the sentiment is a rub-on.  That's it!

Our sponsor this week is Lili of the Valley who have a £10 voucher up for grabs.  The Ribbon Girl are sponsoring the monthly prize draw with a voucher, so there's lots to play for!

Hope you can play along at Sweet Stampin' this week. So grab a cuppa and hop on over to check out what the Sweeties have made to inspire you!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Moving Along with the Times - CAS


Have a great day!

Tracey xx

Winter Sports

I'll be honest, winter sports aren't really something you'll hear me discussing.  I'm not a sporty person in any season, but winter for me is a time to be indoors and cosy, not out and about being sporty.  In front of the fire watching the Winter Olympics is about my limit, although I'll confess that the notion of après-ski appeals to me (but only if I don't have to do the ski part).

So why am I even mentioning winter sports?  Because today we start a new challenge over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' and the theme is ... Winter Sports!  

I stamped Edwin sitting flat on his bottom in the snow and masked/stamped the winter church image over the top to make a little scene. 

I used Copics for what little colouring there is and added a liberal sprinkling of Glamour Dust for some sparkle.  I also a little bit a Frantage here and there - unintentionally, as it was meant to be in the top corners of the image mat but, as I've discovered, that stuff can move about if you're not careful!  I managed to get some Shabby White Frantage on a metal corner embellishment once I'd figured out how not to set the house on fire or melt my fingers (heating small things from underneath- tried using a sheet of paper - seemed like a good idea at the time).

The paper is Basic Grey (Dasher) and the snowflake border is a Martha Stewart PATP punch.  I've had the big snowflake in my stash for ages and the sentiment is by Craftwork Cards.

So that's me card.  I do hope you can play along at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' this month. We have a £10 voucher from Quixotic Paperie to give away, so why not join in the fun?

Hugs

Tracey xx

Keeping Busy

The Boy Wonder is away on a school trip.  It's one of those adventure type, outward bound things. And it's in France.  The South of France.  For 8 days. 

I know that the BW will be having a fabulous time and I've got loads to do to keep me busy.  It doesn't stop me counting the days until he gets back, though.

I haven't made a card for a challenge for what seems like ages, so I cut into some of my favourite Maja papers and came up with this:

I followed the sketch at Magnolia Down Under Challenges and got the Distress Markers out to colour this little cutie.  As you can see, I've discovered Frantage (and the inevitable extra hoovering that seems to accompany it) and I've chucked this about randomly using a mixture of Shabby White and Aged Wine (no prizes for guessing why I like that one).  The tags were cut with a Doohickey die and the ribbon and lace were in my stash.

I thought I'd enter this card into the following challenges:

Magnolia Down Under Challenges - Sketch
Tilda's Town - Anything Goes
Midweek Magnolias - Lovely Lace

Hugs

Tracey xx