Christmas Card Club - "Magical and Mystical"

Good morning all.
Huge apologies for not being around, I'll catch up with you all soon hopefully.

Wedding is all over...it went really well and we had a lovely day. Hubby and I are off this week to drive the North Coast 500,looking forward to some time away from home after all the wedding prep and building works of the last few months.

I'm late, I'm late.....

This should have been posted yesterday (and two weeks ago) but my computer packed in straight after the wedding and isn't fixed yet. What a struggle to use DD's laptop which doesn't take a memory card to upload photos from my camera!

I've got two cards to share today... Rachel set us the theme of  "Magical and Mystical" for our latest challenge. I struggled a little with this as my mojo has gone astray and I was short on time to get inky...this is what I came up with.

Combining old with new....backing card from Kanban and new dies from Crafter's Companion and a sentiment from Penny Black.

Two weeks ago Christine set us the theme of "The True Meaning of Christmas", I'm playing catch up so here is my card.

Same card from Kanban used with a stencil from STAMPlorations and a sentiment from Clearly Besotted.

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

Christmas Card Club "Red Berries"

Good morning all.....and huge apologies for my prolonged absence!

I can't believe it's a month since I last blogged....it's been a fraught four weeks! The new house is still ongoing although it is now being pieced back together...the dining room is almost finished and the new kitchen will be fitted this week and we have new wardrobes being fitted as we speak. It's been a long haul to get this far but I'm sure it will be worth it in the end.

To top this I've had a few health problems, mainly side effects of the medication I was on. I'm now off everything for two weeks and hopefully my blood pressure and cholesterol will still be at acceptable levels when I'm tested in two weeks time.

I finally made it into the craft room last night and managed a very quick card as today is Christmas Card Club day....I still haven't made one for my own challenge two weeks ago but I'll catch up someday! Apologies girls as I still haven't commented on your cards but promise I'll get there. Mrs A has asked to see "Red Berries" this time, here is my offering:

Another of my general cards made...Joanna Sheen decoupage (although I'll admit the layers haven't yet been added), dies from Spellbinders and Wplus9 and some more of that Kanban card I'm trying to work my way through. Apologies for the poor quality photo but my camera took poorly whilst we were in New Zealand and I've only just got around to getting it picked up to be repaired, so using my old camera for now.

You'll find a list of the other girls on my sidebar if you'd like to see their take on the challenge.

Now I need to grovel.....huge, huge apologies to my candy winners for not getting your prizes out to you. I have everything ready to pack up to post but just haven't managed to do so yet. I'm hoping over the next few days my energy levels will return somewhat to normal and I may be able to function for a whole day instead of intermittently! Hoping to do some blog hopping soon too to catch up with you all...it's been too long and I need a crafty fix!

Happy Birthday

Good morning all.

Slowly getting back to normal here after a fabulous trip (minus the unscheduled visit to hospital!). New Zealand was just so beautiful and the people so friendly. No rest for the wicked though as we get the keys for our new house tomorrow...luckily there's no rush to move.

It's my sister in laws birthday tomorrow, I managed to make her card before we left for New Zealand.

More Kanban cardstock used up. Stitched square from Lawn Fawn. Sentiment die and stamp from Whimsy Stamps. Border stamp from STAMPlorations, corner stamp from Happy Little Stampers. Gems from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Happy Birthday

Good morning all. Hope everyone is well.

I was discharged from hospital earlier this week, so taking things easy for the rest of our stay. 

 Driving over to near Hamilton today for a three night stay, hoping I'm up to a trip to Hobbiton tomorrow.

My nephew's girlfriend has a birthday tomorrow, here is the card I made.

Card from Kanban...the stash is slowly disappearing! Square stitched die from Lawn Fawn. Happy die from Whimsy stamps. Stamps and sentiment from Happy Little Stampers. Sequins from my stash.

Christmas Card Club "Sleigh"

Good morning all.

Headed to Milford Sound today for an overnight stay and a boat trip tomorrow morning before all the day trippers arrive.

Maureen has set the 2nd challenge of the year for our little Christmas Card Club and asked to see a "Sleigh", here is my card:

Decoupage from Joanna Sheen cut with a Spellbinders die. Fancy mat die from Wplus9 and card from Kanban.

I have a pile of these vintage Christmas decoupage sheets from Joanna Sheen which are sized to fit A5 cards or larger which I have used for family in the past...I've decided they had to be put to good use this year along with the Kanban cardstock so I've been cutting them down to fit this Wplus9 die...I cut out all the pieces and layered them up with reusable tape before die cutting so all the layers were the correct size. Also managed to use up half a sheet of Kanban card on this one too so making headway...but there is some way to go yet before the box empties!!

You'll find links for all the girls in my sidebar if you'd like to see what they've been up to.

Christmas Card Club "Festive Food and Drink"

Good morning all.

Hopefully I'm 30,000 feet up in the air as you read this enroute to New Zealand...very excited for the trip ahead but no doubt a little anxious at leaving the kids behind!

Our first meet of the year at the Christmas Card Club and the lovely Margaret has asked to see some "Festive Food and Drink" on our creations. If you're like me you'll be all festive food and drinked out by now and happy to see it on a card rather than your plate!

Topper and sentiment tags from LOTV; dies from Spellbinders; backing card from Kanban and silver thread from my stash. A very simple card to make but this year I'm determined to make a dent in the Kanban cardstock pile I have!

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

Challenges entered:

CHNC - red

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas

ABC Christmas - A for anything goes

HLS Mixed Media Challenge January "Stencil"

Good evening all.

Time once again to inspire you for this month's Mixed Media Challenge at Happy Little Stampers. Our theme for January is:

This challenge is sponsored by

Winner will receive one stamp set from HLS.

Here is my card, made for a nephew who has a birthday this month.

Background made with 2 stencils from Memory Box inked with blueprint sketch and hickory smoke DI. Backing card from Kanban. Happy die from Whimsy Stamps. Birthday (heat embossed with EP), dots and circles from Mix Mash stamp set.

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

Challenges entered:

More Mixed Media - blue

Where the HeART is - anything goes

ABC Challenge - Y for your choice

The Sisters of Craft - anything goes

Seize the Birthday - anything goes

Happy Birthday

Good morning all. It seems to have been a short week...not sure I'm ready for the New Year yet! We're off out to the neighbours for drinks and nibbles this afternoon.

Hope everyone is well and dry...my heart goes out to those affected by all the flooding. 

I've been having a break from blogging and spent the time getting organised for our trip to New Zealand. The last couple of days have been spent trying to get ahead with the cards needed whilst we're away. This one is for hubby's cousins daughter who is 18 next month.

Still using up my stock of Kanban card. Stitched square die from Lawn Fawn, I got two sets of these for Christmas! Happy die and stamps are from Whimsy Stamps.

Challenges entered:

Crafty Creations - anything goes

Crafty Gals Corner - anything goes

The Crafty Addicts - anything goes/celebration

Creative Card Crew - anything goes

Deep Ocean - anything goes

Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes

Wishing you all a happy and safe Hogmanay. May 2016 bring health and happiness...and lots of crafting to you all. xx

Happy Everything

Good morning all.

Managed to beat the migraine into submission overnight on Sunday, so yesterday I had a trip to the hairdressers followed by a crafty evening. Off out for a girly lunch and some pampering today.

Sharing a female version of the birthday card I made last week for my nephew....this was one of my makes at the weekend.

The coloured card is from Kanban....a very old Christmas pack (I've got loads of it so there may be a few cards made like this!). Die and stamps are from Whimsy Stamps. Sequins from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Addicted to CAS - sparkle

Allsorts - all sentimental

Polkadoodles - use a die cut

Addicted to Stamps - anything goes

Vintage Stamping - use dies

Eclectic Ellapu "By the Sea"

Good morning all.

A new month and a year older...wonder what this year has in store for me!

With the new month comes a new challenge at Eclectic Ellapu. Yvonne has picked the theme of "By the Sea" for the Pink Team this time.

I started with a canvas board which hadn't turned out as planned and covered it with a napkin before painting with white gesso. The texture paste stencilling  was still evident so I positioned the canvas with this in the bottom right corner to give the sand some texture. Once dry I used antique linen crackled paint and two shades of blue chalk frescoes from Paper Artsy to paint my background. My image is a Paintbox Poppet decoupage from Crafter's Companion which I've framed with my die from Wplus9; the sentiment, cloud and sunshine die are also from the same set. The seagull and compass stamps are from Kanban and I've stamped onto tissue paper. I've used some dark blue ink to stamp around the edges with a stamp from The Mixed Media set from STAMPlorations.

This  was one of those pieces which had no plan and just evolved as I went along...I love how it turned out....and my canvas didn't go to waste :)

Do pop over to the challenge blog to see the inspiration from the other girls, you won't be disappointed. The Purple Team have a recipe for this month - 3 dies, 2 stencils and 1 sentiment.

Challenges entered:

Stamps and Stencils - happy holidays

Simon Says Stamp - anything goes

Die Cuttin Divas - the great outdoors

Crafty Cardmakers - anything but a card

Simon says Stamp - not ordinary paper (used a napkin)

Altered Eclectics - anything MM goes

Rhedd's Creative Challenge - anything MM goes

Sparkles Monthly - sun, sea and sand

The Mirror Crack'd - canvas

Anything but a Card - anything goes

Eclectic Ellapu "Anything Goes"

Good morning all.

Another quiet weekend apart from hubby hammering and banging whilst making a garden shed! Saturday was glorious so I ended up sitting in the garden with my new Craft Stamper magazine which postie had delivered. After an evening stroll with hubby and the dog I managed some craft time. Yesterday was spent catching up on a few things followed by another crafty evening.

Another month passed...can't believe how fast this year is going! Today sees the start of a new challenge at Electic Ellapu and the challenge for the Pink Team is "Anything Goes".

I've done some journalling for my inspiration project.

Stencils are all from Memory Box. Stamps from Crafter's Companion, Unity Stamps, STAMPlorations, Kanban and Personal Impressions. The gorgeous die cuts were a RAK all the way from sunny Mauritius and were the inspiration for these pages.

Do pop over to the blog to see the inspiration from the other girls, you won't be disappointed and if Steam Punk is your thing then you can join in with the Purple Team.

Challenges entered:

The Artistic Stamper - summer is on it's way

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - anything goes

Mixed Media Monthly - a year of challenges

I've used January's new to you prompt...the majority of the stamps and stencils used are new or being used for the first time.

Lulupu - summer splash

Christmas Card Club - "Penguins"

Good afternoon everyone!

I'm running late today....again! Our next challenge over at the Christmas Card Club is due today and this time it was my turn to choose  the theme and I chose "Penguins" since they're my favourite.

Image is a very old Kanban die cut, backing paper was a blog candy win, dies are both from Memory Box, gem, tag and cord are from my stash.

Insert completed too!

You'll find the rest of the girls listed on my sidebar if you'd like to pop over and see their creations.

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

CHN Patterned Paper - anything goes

CHNC - include gold/silver or both

Holly Jolly Christmas - winter birds

Crimbo Crackers - anything Christmas goes

Happy Birthday

Good morning all.

Christmas Card Club "Oh Christmas Tree"

Good morning all.

Had a very pleasant day out yesterday which included bumping into a very old school friend who I hadn't seen for some years although we do keep in touch with Christmas and Birthday cards.

It's time for our next challenge over at the Christmas Card Club, Dawn choose the theme this time "Oh Christmas Tree".  Here is my card:

I've used some more of my vast stock of Kanban foiled card, which I've put through an embossing folder along with a Kanban topper left over from a QVC Christmas POTD. The white card has been embossed with a Cuttlebug folder (I think!) and I've added twine to finish off.

You'll find the rest of the girls listed on my sidebar if you'd like to pop over and see their creations.

Challenges entered:

Christmas Card Challenges - no stamping

Little Claire's - Christmas

Bastel-traum - Christmas

Creatalicious - Christmas

Unstampabelles - Christmas

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

Carol x

Merry Christmas (again)

Good morning all. Hope your weekend has started well. We've had gorgeous weather all week, I hope it lasts.

Another Christmas card to share today.

Using my Merry Christmas die again from Memory Box, this one was supposed to be straight but isn't quite! Backing card from Kanban. Snowflake die from Spellbinders. Reindeer is a magazine freebie...I thought it was a die but it is a stencil so I embossed it then cut it out. Gems and fibre from my stash.

Challenges entered:

A Creative Romance - winter blues

Brown Sugar - anything goes

Charisma Cards - anything goes

ABC Christmas - reindeer

CRAFT - Christmas

Ribbon Carousel - holidays and celebrations

CHNC Extra - anything goes

CHNC - outdoors

Carol x

Christmas Card Club - "Religious Theme"

Good morning all.

It's time for our next challenge over at the Christmas Card Club, it was Christine's turn to choose the theme this time and she's asked us for "A Religious Theme".  Here is my card:

Decoupage image is from Joanna Sheen. Backing card is from Kanban. Die is from Spellbinders. Ribbon from my stash. I used to make all my cards this size but rarely do one now but I do like how this one has turned out.

You'll find the rest of the girls listed on my sidebar if you'd like to pop over and see their creations.

Challenges entered:
CHNC Extra - anything goes
Craftyhands Challenge - anything goes
Polkadoodles - anything Christmas goes
Scrapping4fun Challenges - Christmas
Aud Sentiments - Christmas sentiment
Moving along with the Times - no designer paper
My Heart Pieces - Christmas
Crafty Calendar - all things Christmas

Carol x

Merry Christmas

Good evening all...and no I'm not sending you Yuletide greetings just yet. It's been wet and miserable here most of the day!

Sorry I've not been around much this week.....could I ask the person who pinched my week to put it back please, I've looked all over for it and am quite sure I didn't mislay it and I most certainly haven't used it all!!

I decided to crack on with some Christmas cards this afternoon.

When I saw this Merry Christmas die from Memory Box being used by the lovely Jules several weeks ago I just had to treat myself...it did cost me £1.06 to pick it up from the post office though - after I'd already paid p&p as the envelope although flat was too big for the standard slot. I did email the company concerned and they couldn't even be bothered to reply....suffice to say I won't be buying from them again!! I should have asked the post office to send it back and let them pay to pick it up and pay again to resend it to me!

At the time of it's arrival I was in the middle of making wedding invites and had lots of ivory offcuts sitting on my desk so I had a trial run which slipped in the sandwich before I cut it...it's been lying on my desk ever since! Today I decided I quite liked the angle and set to making a card

Hunting for something to use as a background I came across a box of Kanban stuff...matching card, acetate and foil sheets all A4 with two designs per sheet...perfect!

I used the acetate on the background then picked the contrasting foil to die cut my tree and snowflake. The tree was a recent magazine freebie...I managed to cut the shape outline out in ivory card to use as a backing. The snowflake die is from Spellbinders. The card is finished with brads, gems and a bow from my stash. 

I made a second one using the Kanban components the opposite way around...and I so liked the angled wording I did it deliberately this time!

Challenges entered:

CHNC - bling

CHNC Extra - anything goes

Polkadoodles - anything Christmas goes

Aud Sentiments - Christmas sentiment

Die Cuttin Divas - anything goes

The Crafting Cafe - winter blues

A Little Bit Crafty - sparkle and shine

Cards and Scrap - make a Christmas card

Christmas Cards all Year Round - winter wonderland

Get Creative - Christmas card (Evdokia's card challenge)

Carol x

Christmas Card Club - Baubles

Good morning all. Sorry I've not been around much but it's been a busy week with birthdays and I'm still up to my eyes in wedding stuff and trying to get ahead ready for my holidays next month. I'll try to pop in to see you in the next day or two though and catch up with you all.

We had a lovely meal on Wednesday for Mark's 21st and yesterday both him and hubby had their birthday treat of a Super Car Day at a local racetrack. They each got to drive 3 laps in 3 cars....a Lotus Elite, a Porsche and an Aston Martin. They also had an Ariel Atom there been driven by a racing driver friend of ours so me and Hubby each had a ride in it.......speeds of up to 100 miles an hour in under a 100 yards....absolutely fabulous!!

We're off down home today to deliver a card to FIL and hopefully have lunch out somewhere.

It's time for our next challenge over at the Christmas Card Club, Kerry has chosen "Baubles".  Here's a very quick card I made last night:

Using Spellbinders dies, snowflake card from Kanban and some peel offs, a bow and clear gems from my stash. I have used foam pads to lift up the baubles but the card is still very flat for posting.

Challenges entered:

CHNC extra - anything goes

Hiding in my Craft Room - die cuts

Aud Sentiments - anything goes

CRAFT - Christmas

Southern Girls - punches or die cuts

Holly Jolly Christmas - ornaments

Totally PaperCrafts - feeling blue

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - ornaments

Carol x

Christmas Card Club - Father Christmas

Good evening all. I hope you're all enjoying the same gorgeous weather we've had here the last few days....too nice to stay inside and craft!!

It's time for our next challenge over at the Christmas Card Club......apologies girls I'm running a day late here due to the good weather...... Margaret has chosen "Father Christmas".  Here's my card:

The decoupage image is from Joanna Sheen which I bought years ago and I'm just getting around to using. The patterned backing is card from Kanban which I've had for years too!! Snowflake die from Spellbinders. Ribbon and sentiment from my stash. Bell recycled from a certain chocolate reindeer.

You'll find the links to the other girls in my sidebar if you'd like to pop over and see their creations.

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything goes

ABC Challenge - O is for open

Christmas Cards all Year Round - vintage Christmas

The Ribbon Girl - use a die cut

CHNC - use favourite embellishments (ribbon and snowflakes)

Crafts 4 Eternity - the same letter ( B for bow, brad and blue)

Jingle Belles - tie a holiday ribbon

Winter Wonderland - photo inspiration ( colour and vintage feel)

Divas by Design - tie a ribbon

Carol x

Christmas Card Club - Feature a Creature

Good morning all.

I had a very wet day in Edinburgh yesterday with my sister in law and I think I'm all shopped out now! I was supposed to be going back today to an antique fair but decided hubby could go alone and I'd stay home and get on with the wedding stationery and some DT work.

It's time for our next challenge over at the Christmas Card Club, Hazel has chosen "Feature a Creature".  Here's my card:

Using a decoupage sheet from Kanban and a sentiment from my stash....a very simple card for posting although I think I'll add some red gems to the top right before sending as it looks quite bland in the photo!!

You'll find the links to the other girls in my sidebar if you'd like to pop over and see their creations.

Challenges entered:

My Time to Craft - Christmas in May

One Stop Craft - anything goes

Kreativeinkauf - things that fly

Natalie and Amy's challenge - things with wings

CRAFT - Christmas

CHNC Extra - anything goes

Carol x