Christmas Tree

I must start this post with a "Hello" and "Welcome" to my new followers, Linby and Kym, Thanks for joining my Followers and I hope you like some of what I do.

Anyway, again this week has been busy, on Tuesday at Jacqueline's, I started a card for Nathans 4th birthday, but as usual more chatting than crafting was done as another friend, Louise joined us. I will show you the card when it's finished.

Meanwhile, I made a card for the Simply Stampin challenge #25 where they have this sketch to follow.

As I'm still making some Christmas cards for my friend, I thought I'd make this card in that theme.

I started with a white square card and layered it with some bright green card that I had stamped snowflakes on in Versamark and heat embossed them in white. I then cut a strip of dark green card and did the same with the snowflakes. I cut 2 strips of red card and randomly stamped them with a fir cone sprig in dark green, and all 3 were stuck down staggering each other. I then cut white, red , and dark green labels in the Big Shot, layering the white on the red, and then on just the bottom of the green. The large fir tree was then stamped in dark green on the white label and cosmic twinkles added to the branches and centers of the snowflakes. Two smaller labels with the sentiment on were added on 3D pads for dimension, and finally a thin green bow was placed on the green label.

This is how it ended up



You cant really see the Cosmic Twinkles, so here is a close up ( which still isn't brilliant, but my RA is really bad today and my hands are shaking terribly so I hope you can forgive the poor quality pictures.)


Recipe : Card = SU Whisper White, Green Galore, Real Red, Garden Green, and white square card from my stash
Inks = Always Artichoke and Versamark
Stamps = Lovely as a Tree, Woodware, and Snowflakes ( I think came in a kit from Argos?)
Tools = Big Shot, Nestabilities Labels, and Heat Gun
Extras = White embossing powder, Cosmic Twinkles, Thin green ribbon, and 3D pads

 All my family have gone down with a flu bug, and I am desperately trying to avoid it, but after playing with Nathan and Sophie yesterday, I cannot stop sneezing and blowing my streaming nose today, so I am drinking hot honey and lemon by the bucket load. Sadly though it is not stopping me from doing the housework and washing.........if only it was "Man Flu" then I could take to my bed for a few days!!!

This post was supposed to be issued hours ago, but I've been dealing with a medical emergency nextdoor, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you can come back again soon.

OLW Christmas

This afternoon I've got nice and dirty with inks and embossing powder making a Christmas card.

I'm entering into One Layer Wednesday challenge #64 where the theme is "Colour it", where you stamp/draw an image and colour it however you like!!

And also at Less is More 1000 challenge the LIMettes are still trying for the record of 1000 entries.

So most importantly here is the card

First I stamped the words in Versamark and then added gold embossing powder, and melted it with a heat gun. Then I stamped the 2 deers either side of the text in black and covered them with a Post It mask. Another "Joy" was stamped on scrap paper and the center of the "O" cut out and placed over the embossed word. I then tore some paper and added a small circle of a Post It in the upper part of  the "O", and sponged above the torn edge with blue inks. The circle and torn paper were then removed to leave a snowy hill under the moon. I then stamped some fir trees in the foreground of the "O" and the top of one behind the hill. ( I'm sorry this is very long winded, and I am trying to keep the words down to a minimum, Honestly!) I then masked a square area over the words with Post Its, and continued to sponge above torn paper to make it look like the hills continued behind the text. I then stamped the fir trees behind the deers and hills, and sponged underneath them for shadows before unmasking the deers. The deers were then coloured in with brown pencils and felt tip pens. The finishing touch was to draw a wobbly line square around the words in gold Pilot marker.

Phew!. I hope that all makes sense to you. It's amazing that after all that work, the card is created still in only one layer!!

Recipe : Card = white card from stash

Stamps = Clarity, and pine trees I got off eBay years ago.

Inks = Versamark, SU Bashful Blue, Brilliant Blue, and Adirondack Black

Tools = Heat gun and Post Its

Extras = Gold embossing powder, brown pencils and felt tip pens.

Tomorrow I'm off for a crafting/coffee morning with my friend, so I may or may not, have anything to show you.

Thanks for stopping by today and hope you can come back another time.



Butterfly Kisses

Here is the second card I've made today. Thank goodness for the clean and simple genres.

It uses the sketch from Clean and Simple challenge #FTL158.

I started with a white card from my stash and rounded the corners. I then ruched a lilac ribbon across the front and added a pink ribbon bow. Some lilac card was then cut into a label nestabilities and put through the BS in a Butterfly Kisses embossing folder ( this was in the candy I won at Make my Monday challenge last week), before being stuck with 3D pads on the left hand side. A smaller label was cut in pink card and the flowers stamped on it in darker pink, and the sentiment added in the same colour. A lilac butterfly was cut from the remnants of the large label and added to the small label.

This is the end result, what do you think?

You cant see the embossed butterflies very well, even with the close up, but they are there I can assure you. The butterfly on the small label is one of the large ones from the embossing folder, and it's stuck down along its body so the wings are free and can add some dimension.

Recipe : Card = SU Orchid Opulence, Lilac and White from my stash.

Ink : Rich Razzelberry

Stamps : Just Believe and Verve

Tools : Big Shot and SB nestabilities labels

Extras : Lilac and pink ribbon from my stash

I will also be adding this to the Less is More challenge so they can meet 1000 entries for their challenge this week.

Thanks for looking at my blog, I hope you saw something you liked.



Bermuda bird

Hi, thanks for looking at my blog, I hope you see something you like.

What a funny day it is again, one minute rain, the next brilliant sunshine. I think Autumn is taking a firm hold now thank goodness ( the hot weather is not good for my RA!). I have made the most of it and made 2 cards this afternoon.

The first is for Cas-ual Friday challenge where the card has to no larger than 4 x 4.

So I started with a white square card that was 4" x 4", rounded the corners, and layered it with a label nestabilitie in a green, and matted it with a white label on which I stamped the bird and flowers. I then stamped the bird onto white card and cut out the wing which was added to the card on 3D pads.
The finishing touches were the sentiment in green and gems on the flower and birds eye.


Here it is. I love this little bird and I like to add the big flourish as his tail instead of the long feather.

This is so different from the busy Steam Punk card yesterday, though each have their places in card makers hearts, this Clean and Simple is more my style.

I will also be entering this card in the Simply Less is More challenge where they are trying to get 1000 "Anything Goes" entries this week.


Recipe : Card = SU Whisper White and green from my stash
Stamps = Whimsical Wings and Verve
Inks = Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, and Certainly Celery
Tools = Big Shot and Labels nestabilities
Extras = 3D pads and gems from my stash


Thanks for looking today, and I would love to read what you think if you have time to leave a comment.

I'll show you the other card later.

Monotone Steam Punk

Well its the weekend again, and in between chores I've sat and done a little bit of crafting.

I've been pondering over the theme of Steam Punk again for the Make My Monday Challege. I'm not sure why my brain goes blank at the thought, but it does!!!! Anyway, this week it was Monotone aswell, so off I went surfing the net for some downloadables, and after picking through some weird pictures I found some images that I could play with.

After getting covered in black ink and embossing powder, this is what I came up with.

So I started with a white square card and sponged the edges with black ink. Then I tore a square out of the engineering instructions that I'd printed from the net and sponged the egdes again. On another peice of card I printed some cogs, a bird, a hot air balloon, and a man with a tank on his back???, and some cogs. All of these images were sponged, and the cogs were covered in Versamark and heat embossed to make them look more metalic, take a closer look at them

The balloon was raised on 3D pads, and the words 'inspire' and 'wonder' were heat embossed. The word 'discover' was also treated the same way, but it was cut out and placed over the background and the man. A metal washer was coloured black and stuck in the birds beak, and the finishing touch was a cut out cog placed in the bottom left corner and in the middle of the card front.



Recipe : Card = white from my stash
Ink : Adirondack black and Versamark
Stamps = Fiskars
Tools = Heat gun
Extras = 3D pads, Internet downloads, washer, and black embossing powder

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you've liked what you've seen

Make a Wish

I am absolutely exhausted today as I've been doing the gardening since 9.30am. It desperately needed the weeding done and the lawns had started to grow again after all the rain we've had. So 3 full bin bags later I've crashed out on the sofa in agony. My RA doesn't like gardening so my entire body is screaming with pain, even blinking hurts!!

After lying here stifly on the sofa for several hours ( watching things I've Sky +'d  and not watched ) my joints have started to move again, so this afternoon I have made a quick card for the Less is More challenge

Their theme is a One Layer Card entitled "Seeing Double" where there needs to be 2 of something.

This is what I came up with

The first dandelion was stamped with Versamark off center on a black square card and then I heat embossed it with white powder, and covered with a Post It. The second one was stamped to the right of the first and slightly lower down ( so it looks like it's behind the first), and again heat embossed. The sentiment was added at the bottom and treated the same as the dandelions.

Recipe : Card = Black from my stash
Ink = Versamark
Stamp = Personal Impressions
Extras = White embossing powder

I love dandelions and have wanted a stamp of one for ages, so I couldn't leave it at just one and tried a different colour combo. Here it was stamped in black on a cream card and green sponged around it to give depth. I think I prefer the white and black one, what about you??

Recipe: Card = from my stash
Stamps = Personal Impressions
Inks = SU Certainly Celery and Adirondack Black

While I was at my sister Cassy's on Sunday we went to the Market Harborough Arts Festival. There were lots to see and do, from circus type acts, to a drumming band ( which Cassy was part of ) , children's fairground rides, and Bric-a-Brac and craft stalls.

As I had had such a bad week Cassy treated me to the dandelion stamp and some Papermania clear 'Relations' stamps. So Thank You Cass, I hope you like what I've done with them.

I hope I will have more energy tomorrow and get back at the craft table creating something.

Thanks for stopping by and hope you can come back again soon.

Snowy Shaker card

Today at our craft club workshop we were making Shaker Cards, and as my friend has asked me to make her several Christmas cards for her special friends, I decided to make her one today.

Here it is in icy blue colours

I started with a white square card and masked off the area in the center with a Post It and stamped around the edges with a spotty flourish, sentiment, and several snowflakes. I then cut a smaller square out of white card and cut out the center to leave a frame, and stamped it as the base card had. Some acetate was then stuck on the reverse side of the frame and a pine tree stamped on the plain center of the card, and a small snowflake on the acetate itself. Double sided foam tape was placed around the inside edge of the frame in a double thickness layer. White beads and Mother of Pearl star sequins were placed in the center of the card over the tree, and the frame was lowered into place trapping them within the foam tape around the acetate window. A die cut snowman was added to the front of the frame to give the window scene some depth.


Here is a close up of the window so you can see the pine tree on the backing card, and a small snowflake on the inner face of the acetate window ( very feint ). When the card is stood up the beads and sequins fall to the bottom like snow would pile up under a tree.

Recipe : Card = from my stash
Ink = SU Bashful Blue and Pro markers
Stamps = Lovely as a Tree and snowflake stamps that I had in a kit from Argos years ago
Tools = Big Shot
Extras = Acetate, 3D foam tape, Sizzix snowman die, white beads, and MoP star sequins


I'm trying not to think about Christmas, but it'll soon be upon us so I'll have to get on with my cards before I run out of time.

The Wasp man is coming back this afternoon to spray the nest again as there are a few survivers of the first treatment. I hope he gets them all this time!!!!

Thanks for dropping by today, I hope you liked what you saw.