Christmas is coming....

Hi Susan here....

I have a few more Christmas cards to show you that I have been working on...hope you like them.

I have tried to use a few different shapes for my cards this time, as I usually make my cards square, but couldn't resist having a change. So for this particular card I have used a 5x7 inch size which I think best suited the images and layout.

I have used a set of stamps from Chocolate Baroque for this one. I inked around the edges of the squares after trimming them with Tim Holtz distressing inks in sage green and then slightly inked the birds breasts.

The beautiful swirls are a die from Marianne Designs. 

I have used base card from Paper Mill Direct.

The flowers in this most gorgeous deep red colour are from Hobby Craft.

The magical sentiment is a stamp from Prima, I love this text stamp.

My backing paper is from my stash, it is originally from a 12x12 scrapbooking pad.

I have grouped a few cards for you to see on this post, so for my second card I have used a 4x8 inch size of card and set it up in a traditional tent style.

My backing paper was from an 8x10 scrapbooking/cardmaking pad from Papermania, it already had a fabulous design of baubles, snowflakes and the sentiment so I didn't want to cover this too much.

The flowers and berries matched my colour scheme really well, these are from Hobby Craft. I didn't want to use a solid block of colour for the flowers this time with the backing paper being really strong, these flowers matched perfectly and seemed to lighten the whole thing.

I have used an old favourite punch, for my snowflakes I have had this little punch for such a long time and use it such a lot that if it had a name on it well it isn't there now, so sorry I can't tell you who the maker is, I have used Tim Holtz distressing inks called china blue and then added some stickles and a tiny blue gem in the centre.

The beautiful china house button I bought on a trip to USA, I treasure these little china gems, I love them so much, I have tied some silk ribbon into the buttonholes.

This stamp is so adorable, it is from and I love it.

I have used chalks to colour it, then I added stickles to the dress shoes and wand, well you can't have a Christmas card without glitter can you.

The little gems falling from her wand are from my local market. I bought a little box of them, all different colours, they are a pain to work with because of their size but well worth the effort.

My next and last card for this particular post is again using this rectangular shape.

I had a lot of fun making this one, I have used several dies.

The backing paper is from a set of papers that was free on a magazine and the sad thing about this is I only have a small amount of this left over, I love the way it looks like traditional tartan fabric with stitches going through it, I have used a base Kraft card from Paper Mill Direct.

The snowman is from Tim Holtz, I used his distressing inks all around the edges using sage green and tea dye,  I stamped all over the die cut shape using tea dye distressing ink and one of my favourite text stamps.

The flowers are from Hobby Craft.

The beautiful ivy leaves are an embossing die from Marianne Designs, I have added glitter to the veins to give a bit of sparkle.

The snowflakes are a beautiful die from Memory Box, after cutting this out I glittered the whole thing using stickles.

I recently bought some small wooden embellishments and this little house was one of them, I painted it using white acrylic paints and distressed the edges with a tea dye distressing ink, then added stickles here and there.

The fence is a die from Marianne Designs I cut two of these out of Kraft card and joined them in the centre, using white acrylic paint I painted 'snow' onto the fence then added stickles to make snow glitter.

Well that's it, I hope you have enjoyed looking at my cards as much as I had making them. Funny thing about making Christmas cards, once I start I can't seem to stop, I think it has something to do with it being one of my favourite times of the year and I love to give everyone I know a card to celebrate. Now you know why I have to make so many!!

Anyway thank you so much for taking this time to look and if you would like to leave any comments I appreciate it very much.

Love and hugs

Susan xxx

A few simple notebook presents....

Hi Susan here...

I have made a few more notebooks and thought you would like to see them. Keeping my notebooks very simple this year was hard, I usually do very fancy over the top ones, but I found the more I made of these simple ones the more I liked them. I hope my daughters will like them at Christmas time.

This is the side view of my first notebook.....I have used similar colours for the notepaper as I did for the cover. I like to do this then the notebook looks more finished off and professional.

This is the notebook cover....I used a new method for constructing the notebook, I have glued the backing paper onto the stiff card then distressed the edges with a pair of scissors. This made the book covers really easy to make. I of course cover the inside of the covers as well as the front, they look quite good, but I did have to make sure that the covers were glued right to the very edges or the paper started to lift.

My backing paper is from a 12x12 scrapbooking pad that I have had for ages. It is two sided and I have used both sides of the paper for this book.

The lace and fine Georgette ribbon is from our local market.

The lettering 'EM' is a die cut from an old Sizzix die, I then coloured the letters with Promarkers and then added stickles. You can tell this notebook is for my daughter Emma!

This is a closeup of the beautiful stamp set from Chocolate Baroque. I have used Promarkers to colour the images, I cut very close to the image for the tulip bunch before sticking it in place.

My second notebook  was made very simply, using one of Emma's favourite owl stamps.

I took the colours from the backing paper on this notebook to determine what colours I should use for the notepaper.

The backing paper was from a 12x12 scrapbooking pad that has been in my stash for ages.

The lettering for the word 'Notes' is a die cut from Tim Holtz.

I added Glossy Accents to the paper after I had cut the letters out.

The ribbon is from the East of India Collection.

This little stamp of an owl is an old wooden stamp that has been in our stash for ages...The name of the manufacturer of the stamp is Funstamps, it was designed by Lindsay Mason and is called Fluffy Owl.

The leaves are also a wooden stamp that I cut close to the stamped image and then coloured with Distress Inks.

I hope you have enjoyed looking and many thanks for your comments

Love and hugs

Susan xxx

A couple of notebooks...

Hi Susan here...

I always make notebooks for presents, especially for my girls, we are all big note takers and have several notebooks for different things on the go all the time.

Here are just a couple that I have made just lately.....

This is the side view of the notebook, I always try to use similar colours for the paper that I used in the main book cover.

This is a closeup of the front cover. I use a firm card for the covers then use backing paper that I glue in place to cover the card before I start decorating.

I wanted to make my notebooks quite flat this year, they are usually very highly decorated, but sometimes you couldn't carry them in your handbags without a cover in case some of the embellishments got damaged.

My backing paper was from an old 12x12 scrapbooking pad that I have had for ages, I then used a tiny strip of vellum down the side.

The beautiful heart die cut is from Marianne Designs and I love it, it is so special and looks amazing.

The ribbon is from our local market.

This is a close up of the stamp image, it is part of a set from Chocolate Baroque. It is a new buy, and is gorgeous, My favourite spring flowers are tulips and I fell in love with this stamp set the moment I saw it.

I have used chalks to colour the image then used a nestability for the backer and I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks for the edges.

My second notebook uses the other part of the stamp set from Chocolate Baroque.

I used a plain white paper for the inside of this notebook.

I made this book slightly different than normal, I glued the backing paper onto the card and then distressed the edges using a pair of scissors.

I know this one is slightly more delicate in design than the previous one with the butterflies, but hey so this notebook is not carried in a handbag, I will probably make many more that can be.

The backing paper is from my stash, it is a gorgeous warm brown with a pink design. This is what gave me the inspiration for my colour scheme. Papers can do this to you, you can look at a piece of paper and instantly a design comes into your head, I wasn't sure I would make a card or a notebook, but I have a bit more so a card is not out of the question.

The butterflies are a die, I have used distress inks to colour them and then added pearls that we buy from our local market for the bodies.

The ribbon is from our local market. It is a beautiful woven ribbon with a little scalloped edge.

As I told you before this image is the second part of the stamp set from Chocolate Baroque. I used Promarkers to colour this image and then inked the edges with Distress Inks.

I hope you have enjoyed looking and many thanks for your comments.
Love and hugs
Susan xxx

Love at Christmas Time

Hi Susan here....

I had some spare time on my hands this last week and decided to make a Christmas card that was different than anything I usually make.

Hope you like it!.....

I had some gorgeous brown silk finish card from Paper Mill Direct, this is a lovely weight of card and has a gorgeous sheen that makes it feel and look very special.

I used a new stamp set from Chocolate Baroque these beautiful trees are so different and I found my mind working in overtime with ideas of how to use them. I stamped them using Tim Holtz Distress Inks, I used the ink in different colours for the shading and then I added glitter to the tops.

I used an edge die from .....for the pale green card and added distress inks and glitter to make it extra special.

The sentiment is one of my own, and cut out using a Nestabilitie Die, then distressed with inks.

The brown satin ribbon is from our local market.

I used a stamp for the leaves, I stamped the design onto a brown card then used distress inks after I had embossed the veins, the little red berries are from Hobby Craft.

The paper lace down the side I have had in my stash for ages, I only use it every so often because I love it and I only have a small amount.

Hope you like the effect as much as I do!

Thank you for taking the time to look and for all your lovely comments

Love and hugs

Susan xxx