Christmas Card Club "Silver Bells"

Good morning all.

Another two weeks have passed and it's time for the penultimate challenge of the year at our little Christmas Card Club...EEEK! Asha had the job of choosing a theme this time and she's chosen "Silver Bells". I've been going around singing it all weekend...not a pleasant sound I can assure you!

Here is my card:

Base card is made with silver mirri card, apologies as it is a nightmare to photograph. The silver bells are courtesy of a Tattered Lace die which was a magazine freebie, I've cut the die down so I was left with just the two bells and layered four die cuts together to make a nice chunky die. I used that new stick it stuff for the first time and it was great for sticking all the layers together but I did have to add some wet glue to the base after the photo was taken as it wasn't coping well with the embossed surface.

The base layer has been stamped with a Bo Bunny distressed dotty stamp in lavender, the same ink was used for the Bo Bunny music border stamp which I masked in the middle. The sentiment from Clearly Besotted was stamped in versamark and heat embossed with silver detail EP. The line stamps were also from Clearly Besotted and after masking the lines I didn't want I stamped in purple.

The purple star is a recent magazine freebie including stamps and a stencil. I stamped over the top of the dots in purple then realised the stamp has been sitting nestled in a stencil of the same size so I stuck it to the card and embossed it through the Grand Caliber....of course at the half way point it suddenly dawned that the edges of the stencil were going to emboss in funny places all over the card!! I did however manage to deboss them out as by now I was on my third attempt at getting the stamping right!

Card was finished with some gems and a little bow from my stash...and of course my signature insert with the punched snowflake corners (well it's the only Christmas punch I own). Oh how smug I feel now with a box full of cards all with inserts!!

Challenges entered:

Less is More the 200th challenge - celebrations

Addicted To CAS - dots

Delicious Doodles - let's face the music

Sweet Stamps - bordered sentiment

Winter Wonderland - dies and punches

Artist Trading Block 2

Good morning all.

Not sure what's on the agenda today, I really need to finish off my Christmas cards and make some more tags but suspect I will have to do some washing and cooking!

Today's share is another Artist Trading Block. I found some lovely little tin signs at Live Laugh Love and when they arrived thought they'd look nice on wooden blocks. Unfortunately none of the blocks from hubby were big enough to use so I removed one of my rubber stamps from it's wooden back and bingo we were ready to roll.

Block was painted all over with white chalk paint. Backing paper is from my stash and was a magazine freebie, this is layered onto kraft card. The sign is also layered onto several layers of kraft card and is attached with two brads. Block is finished with ribbon, bow and a button.

I've used a second sign on the reverse of the block.

Close up of the button and bow.

Challenges entered:

Brown Sugar - anything goes

Fussy and Fancy - happy holidays

CRAFT - Christmas present

Crafty Ribbons - animals at Christmas plus ribbon

Moving along with the Times - inspired by a song (It's a most Wonderful Time of the Year)

Decorate to Celebrate - anything goes 3D

Inspiration Destination - anything goes

Shopping our Stash - free is good (papers)

Top Tip Tuesday - buttons or bows

TOP TIP - wooden stamp blocks make wonderful bases to decorate, the rubber stamp can be peeled off and remounted on clingy stuff!

Craft-Dee Bowz - anything goes with a hand tied bow

Not Just Cards - anything goes

Altered Eclectics - anything goes but a card

The Mirror Crack'd - Christmas decoration

Shoe Box

Good morning all.

This project has been on the go for a week or two now and I finally got around to finishing it yesterday.

Last Christmas the boys were somewhat dismayed to find Santa hadn't filled a stocking for them! In Santa's defence I don't believe they hung one up before they went to bed and these days their undies and such don't fit very easily in a stocking!

When tidying the craft room a few weeks ago I came across some shoe boxes waiting to be altered and decided to upcycle a couple...here is the first.

The before...

Picked some backing papers from my hoarded stash of 12x12 and decorated the outside of the box...

Painted the inside white, added some recycled ribbon and a bow , lined with hoarded tissue paper and filled...

Challenges entered:

Unstampables - make a box and tell us how you did it

Decorate to Celebrate - anything 3D

Craft Hoarders Anonymous - altered box

Not Just Cards - anything goes

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

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

Recycle, Re-Purpose and Re-Invent - anything goes

Aloha

Good morning all.

Lots of shouting going on last night again when our team (Liverpool) were playing again in Bulgaria in the Champion's League. After conceding a last minute goal we ended with a 2 all draw!

A canvas to share today which I've been working on for a few days. This is really just a practise run before I do some for the weddings.

I've chosen a family photo taken nearly ten years ago on New Year's Eve in The Epcot Centre at Walt Disney World. I started by giving the 8x8 canvas a good coating of gesso. Once dry I used some glass bead glitter gel coloured with Gelato ink to stencil the corners...the stencil is from Imagination Crafts. Then I got inky, as did the craft room and all the tools on my work top! Using my new distress spray inks I gradually built the colour up until I was happy with the effect. I then stencilled the Memory Box dots with texture paste in the other two corners. 

I've used a sketch for the layout design, the papers are from K&Co. The dies I've used are all from Spellbinders and those cut from kraft card along with the chipboard title letters have been sprayed with inks and Cosmic Shimmer. Alphabet stamps are from Anita's Stamps, stamped with versamark and heat embossed with white detail EP. The flowers came from one of the leis we are wearing in the photo, I've added some picket fence and silver Cosmic Shimmer to them. Some pearls finish off the layout.

Challenges entered:

Add a Little Dazzle - anything goes/or use a stencil

Decorate to Celebrate - anything 3D goes

Party Time Tuesdays - anything goes

All Crafts - anything but a card

Not Just Cards - anything goes

Pile it On - recycle/upcycle (flowers)

Scrappy Hands - textures

Altered Eclectics - anything goes but a card

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

Redd's Creative Spirit - anything mixed media

WOW Embossing Powder - mixed media

Lasting Memories - all about the title

Creative Scrappers - sketch #282

Crafting for all Seasons #91 "Tis the Season"

Good morning all.

Today it's time for our next challenge at CFAS and this time the theme is "Tis the Season". We're  looking forward to seeing all your makes. Our sponsor this time Inky Impressions who gave the DT images to work with.

I've used Merry Kiss-mas Penguins and Digijoys from our sponsor and coloured with promarkers using stickles to highlight, before die-cutting. Circle dies and snowflake (an older die) beneath are all from Spellbinders. Create a Card die from Die'sire which I've inked with DI whilst still in the die. Gems from my stash.

Side view showing the layers and all finished inside.

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

Challenges entered:

Clear it Out - winter wishes, use a snowflake

Crafty Sentiments - use die cuts

Everybody Art Challenge - snowflake

Card Mania - use a digi

Craft your Passion - baby it's cold outside

Cutie Pie - festive furry friends

Eureka Stamps - non traditional Christmas colours

Oh La La - Christmas

Perfectly Rustics - embossing

Through the Purple Haze - anything goes

Christmas Present Card

Good morning all.

Had a relaxing morning at the hairdresser's yesterday, although all the girl's were full of cold...hope they haven't passed it on to me! After some lunch and an online shopping trip for groceries I felt really ill and exhausted and ended up in bed for the rest of the afternoon...and I never sleep during the day! Bless eldest when he got home from work and no tea was ready he just got on and made a pan of pasta for himself and the other two.

I was hoping to get some Christmas tags made yesterday but didn't so here's another quick Christmas card to share, you must be getting sick of them by now lol.

Pierced rectangle die from Spellbinders, layered onto gold mirri card. Line stamp is from Clearly Besotted, stamped in versamark and heat embossed with gold detail EP. Sentiment from a Penny Black set which was a magazine freebie. Bow from my stash.

Challenges entered:

Crazy for CAS - presents

Hiding in My Craft Room - any holiday

Allsorts - no DP's

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - paper piercing

  A Little Bit Crafty - CAS

Merry and Bright

Good morning all. Monday again, hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

It was a quiet one here again yesterday...except when Gary and I were cursing the opposition during the football match! Beds changed and all washed and dried...and the laundry barrel is still full...I'm sure the fairies come along here and make work for me!! Things got messy in the craft room after the match when I got my spray inks out...note to self....next time use the kitchen table covered in newspapers instead of the tiny space you craft in!! There's ink sprayed everywhere so I guess I'll have to wash everything down before I can make anything else!!
Off to the hairdresser's this morning so I'll catch up with you all later.

Another simple Christmas card to share today.

I bought this Spellbinders die a little while ago thinking it would be great to use with the fancy labels one dies I already own but as always happens it's too big and I'd need the grand labels set to layer it with.

The main die comes in two parts, the inner which basically cuts an aperture of the scene and an outer which cuts the shape around the aperture scene. I've just used the inner die and backed the card with a blue pearlised scrap, although I think it's a bit dark.

Music stamp is from Clearly Besotted and sentiment stamp is a magazine freebie from Spellbinders. 

Challenges entered:

Dies R Us - Christmas

Die Cut Divas - any holiday

Allsorts - no DP's

Inkspirational - Christmas no red or green

We Do Doobadoo - Christmas

The Stamping Boutique - Christmas non traditional colours

Crafting by Design - Christmas

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge - anything goes

Jingle all the Way

Good morning all.

Yesterday was definitely a lot quieter...the day started with a nice lie in! Eldest's work clothes were to wash but they were quick and easy. By mid afternoon everyone else had gone to Edinburgh (eldest for a tattoo and the rest to the pictures) so I had the house to myself for 4/5 hours and no one to cook tea for :) I managed to make a few simple Christmas cards but it was one of those days when I wasn't really happy with the results!

The theme this week over at Less is More is "Jingle all the Way"

For this we would like to see some reference to any of these things....bells, reindeer, Santa, elves, stockings, presents, decorations, Christmas songs/music/instruments...in fact anything Christmassy!

Plenty of scope there then!

A few weeks ago I made this card for our little Christmas Card Club and liked the result, so decided I would use it for one of the kids and make two similar cards for the other two. This image seemed to shout out for the same treatment...the Humphrey's Corner stamp from Crafter's Companion was a magazine freebie, the sentiment from Spellbinders was also a magazine freebie. I've stamped with versamark and heat embossed with black detail EP. I've coloured the nose, hat and bell with promarkers and added glossy accents to both the coloured parts and the snow.

Topper is simply mounted to the base with foam tape and finished inside.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - jingle all the way

Crafter's Companion - Christmas/winter

Completely Christmas - embossing

Fairy Tale - Christmas with animals

Winter Wonderland - let's get sentimental

Snowflake

Good morning all.

Had a busy day yesterday, house cleaned from top to bottom, six loads of washing done and cooked the tea. By evening I was about dead on my feet! An easy day today me thinks.

Another quick Christmas card to share today which I made on Thursday evening.

Made with a few challenges in mind...I cut the largest Spellbinders snowflake die from the white card and replaced it with a slate one, then cut all the other sizes alternating between slate, blue and white card. I used a silver brad to layer them together. The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted and is stamped with versamark and heat embossed with silver detail EP.

The topper is attached with foam tape to give some dimension...and all finished on the inside.

Challenges entered:

CAS(E) this sketch - sketch #101

CAS Colours and Sketches - colour challenge

Brown Sugar - use two or more colours

Christmas Stampin' all Year Round - anything goes

Polka Doodles - clean and simple

Stamplorations - stamps and layers

Little Red Wagon - layers

Artist Trading Block

Good morning all.

A week or so ago I was trawling around mixed media blogs when I saw some decorated wooden blocks, of course I forgot to bookmark it and can't for the life of me remember where I saw them. Hubby had been playing in the garage so I asked him if he had any spare bits of wood, after being told what I wanted them for he gave me one of those looks...then indulged me with a few various sized and shaped pieces. Here is my first transformation...I chose the smallest piece and a Christmas theme to start off with.

I started by coating the whole piece in gesso, then painted a panel on the front in blue acrylic. Once dry I added snowflakes with texture paste and a Joanna Sheen stencil using some diamond dust whilst it was still wet to make it sparkle. The Christmas sentiment is a Clearly Besotted die cut four times from card and layered up to make it quite chunky and sturdy, this was inked with festive berries DI. The piece was finished with ribbon, a bow, snowflake button, snowman, star, gems and a pearl all from my stash.

The finished piece is about 3" square and 1" deep and I love how it turned out!

This is how it looked originally - a lovely piece of teak, hubby thought I was mad painting over it but when I showed him the finished article he turned round and said "actually it's very good"!!

Challenges entered:

4 Crafty Chicks - make it sparkle

DL Art - Christmas

Crafter's Cafe - anything goes

Decorate to Celebrate - anything 3D

Divas by Design - snow

Inspiration Destination - anything goes

City Crafter - just a word

All Crafts Challenge - anything but a card

Craft-Dee BowZ - anything goes with a handmade bow

Altered Eclectics - anything but a card

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - anything altered art goes

Allsorts - anything but a card

Not Just Cards - anything goes

Christmas Notebook

Good morning all and a big welcome to all my new followers.

We had a mixed batch of weather yesterday but mainly wet and cold, a good day to stay at home and craft....although shopping and housework did scupper some of my plans.

I've a recycled notebook to share today. I had a little charity book sitting on my desk and decided it would be perfect to use to keep a note of Christmas cards sent...I always manage to miss someone!

Coated first with some gesso then sprayed with distress stains and cosmic shimmer gold. The tree is from Clearly Besotted, two die cuts stuck together to give some dimension then stamped in forest pine DI and given a spray of cosmic shimmer.

This is how it started out.

Challenges entered:

Craft Room Challenge - anything 3D

All Crafts Challenge - anything but a card

Not Just Cards - anything goes

Altered Eclectics - anything but a card

Recycle, Re-Purpose and Reuse - recycle

Merry Christmas

Good morning all.

We had a lovely day yesterday, some blue sky and a bit of sunshine and no lights needed in the middle of the day! I spent the day getting ahead with some DT work so I don't get bogged down in the New Year.

Another quick Christmas card to share today.

Apart from the base card everything else came from my bits box. Embossing folder is from Spellbinders...although it is a 5 x 7 folder it looks okay cut 5 x 5 to make a square card. Matted and layered onto silver mirri card, The sentiment is a die from Clearly Besotted and I've used more mirri card. Finished with gems and silver pearls from my stash.

Topper is attached with foam tape but I think it will still be flat enough to post. All finished inside too!

Challenges entered:

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

Clear it Out - anything goes (stash is card snippets)

Holly Jolly Christmas - monochromatic

Just Inspirational - frame it

Party Time Tuesdays - anything goes

Through the Craft Room Door - anything goes

Bunny Zoe's - snow

Perfectly Rustics - embossing

Shabby Chic Paint Technique

Good morning all.

Yesterday was positively miserable weather wise...a good day to stay at home! Got two loads of washing done, whipped around the house with the hoover and made a roast dinner. I managed to finish off a couple of DT projects too but can't show you them yet.

A new technique featured in this month's edition of Craft Stamper magazine...faux shabby chic.

Circles are inked with Seedless Preserves distress ink before being stamped with embossing ink and heat embossed with clear EP. I've used picket fence distress paint to shabby them up. Don't think the technique shows particularly well with this stamp but you live and learn!

The Visible Images Ho stamp was a freebie with the magazine. I've used a scalloped nestie to die cut the top white layer and inset the circles...first time I have tried this and not got them quite straight! Sentiment die is from Clearly Besotted.

All card used was found lurking in my bit boxes...it's quite liberating seeing it put to use instead of cluttering the place up!!

Challenges entered:

Love to Create - Christmas

Sparkle and Sprinkle - anything goes with glitter, EP or flocking

Christmas Cards all Year Round - no patterned paper

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

Dies R Us - Christmas

Die Cut Divas - holiday spirit

The Mixed Media Card Challenge - Christmas

Trees

Good morning all.

Hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend whatever you've been up to. We had the big switch on of the Christmas lights here yesterday combined with a Christmas market...we walked up mid afternoon to see the market but didn't find anything we wanted so after a quick cuppa we walked home again.

Another CAS Christmas card to share today...the Lim ladies want to see more than one tree this week, so I've given them three.

Tree stamps and matching die from Clearly Besotted, stamped with Memento inks. Centre tree has been die cut and layered up with several more diecuts to make it chunky. Sentiment stamp is from Anita's Stamps which I've masked twice to stamp the words separately. Pierced rectangle die is from Spellbinders.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - one than one tree

CHNC - go green

Sweet Stampin - to die for

Muse - muse challenge (inspired by the triangle and the colour)

CASology - festive

Christmas Card Club "Teabag Fold or Origami"

Good morning all.

I hope your weekend is going well. Another quiet one here, yesterday was pretty miserable so I spent an afternoon in the craft room...not that I accomplished very much!

Another fortnight has passed and it's time once again for our little Christmas Card Club to show what we've been up to. The theme this time was chosen by Karen and she asked to see "Teabag Fold or Origami".

I've opted for origami and made a couple of boxes, you can find the tutorial I followed here.

Papers are from Tilda Winter Birds and Christmas House 12x12 paper pads. Dies are from Spellbinders; small decorations on the sides come with the pads; ribbon, flower, button and cord are from my stash.

I've left mine fairly simple again...just my preference.

Challenges entered:

A Crafty Mess - anything goes

Fussy and Fancy - pairs or two of a kind

Creative Moments - anything goes

Decorate to Celebrate - anything goes 3d

Inspiration Destination - anything goes

Not Just Cards - anything goes

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

CHNC Extra - anything Christmas goes

Allsorts - anything but a card