Christmas Messages with a sparkle!

I so nearly missed the Less is More challenge this week, and it's all about sparkle too! Not have sparkle at this time of year? That would be unthinkable! So here I am bringing up the rear (with a rather subtle shimmer but after all, less is more!)  Come and have a look:

How about this for a card for someone special?! It's made by sponging Blushing Bride ink into a mask cut out with Stampin' Up's large Heart punch then quickly, while the ink is still damp, stamping a flourish image over the sponging with versamark and heat embossing with silver embossing powder. When I removed the mask I had this pretty, sparkly heart with a filagree-style pattern. I used my stamp-a-majig to position the sentiments from Christmas Messages. Aren't these fabulous?!

Here's a close up of the heart to show you how shimmery it is. I added rhinestones and piercing to make the heart look like a hanging Christmas ornament.

Here's what you'll need to make this project

Stamps: Christmas Messages, Creative Elements

Ink: Blushing Bride, Cherry Cobbler

Card stock: Very Vanilla

Other: Large Heart punch, Basic rhinestones, silver embossing powder, versamark, heat tool, Essentials piercing template, mat and tool, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

These sentiments do amuse me but they are so true. All I want for Christmas really is my lovely family around me but, with our boiler making strange noises for the last few weeks and the engineers unable to identify why, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for hot water and heating too!

Have a great weekend and enjoy your preparations for Christmas.

Hugs,

Three Minute Christmas preparations with Tag It

Three Minute Thursday really comes into its own at this time of the year when everyone's rushing about like mad loons - so here are a couple of quick designs made with a very special stamp set called Tag It.  Come and see:

I'd previously stamped a load of the little Santa image from the set to make tags. They were quickly cut out with the coordinating Chalk Talk framelit and I punched a hole in them and threaded them with bakers twine.

When it came to a Three Minute Thursday card I spotted the tags and realised they'd make great card toppers. So with a little Seasons of Style designer paper and a touch of sparkle - here's the first one:

And here's the second:

I kept everything red, stamping in Cherry Cobbler and selecting only red papers from my pack. Just one of Stampin' Up's gorgeous sparkly rhinestones was enough to finish the cards off nicely.

So why is Tag It so special?  It's because each time one of these stamp sets is bought, Stampin' Up donates £2 to the Ronald McDonald House Charity which provides accommodation for parents so that they can be with their ill children while they are receiving vital treatment. This really is such a worthwhile service - I believe that no-one should have to go through illness without their loved ones being with them and particularly not children.

There are six fabulous images in the Tag It stamp set. It's available in wood mount £20.95 and cling mount £16.95 and coordinates with the Chalk Talk framelits.

Here's what you'll need to make today's project

Stamps: Tag It

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Card stock: Whisper White

Other: Season of Style designer paper, Basic rhinestones, Cherry Cobbler bakers twine, Chalk Talk framelits, Big Shot

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Yesterday I had a laugh at my own blog! I schedule my posts so each morning I log on to check that Mr Blogger has obeyed my scheduling commands. Life (as I keep repeating in the most tedious way, sorry!) is very busy here and yesterday although I pride myself on my thorough proof reading, a mistake got through: Instead of 'come and see' I'd typed 'come an see' - just as if I was writing in the style of William in the books by Richmal Crompton. Do you remember the books? Here's a list of the short stories in the first book, Just William, with descriptions of each (from Wikipedia) that have set me off again:

• William Goes to the Pictures – William's aunt gives him a shilling, so he buys sweets and goes to the cinema. On his way home he is obsessed with acting out what he has seen, much to the annoyance of the locals.
• William the Intruder – William steals the attentions of his brother's new girlfriend.
• William Below Stairs – William runs away from home after reading a book about a boy who ran away and made a fortune in gold. He gets a job working as a servant in an upper class house, not realising that he doesn't like work.
• The Fall of the Idol – William has a crush on his teacher Miss Drew, but eventually discovers she has "feet of clay".
• The Show – The Outlaws put on an animal show in William's room for money and finally decide to use his sleeping Aunt Emily as an exhibit.
• A Question of Grammar – William's wilful misunderstanding of a double negative leads him to throw a wild party in his parents' absence.
• William Joins the Band of Hope – William is forced to join the Temperance movement along with the other Outlaws, but manages to turn the first meeting into a punch-up.
• The Outlaws – The first ever William story. William is forced to spend his precious half-holiday looking after a baby but decides to kidnap him and bring him to the Outlaws.
• William and White Satin – When William is forced to be a page at his cousin's wedding, he becomes a figure of ridicule. However, he soon finds an ally in an equally reluctant bridesmaid, his cousin.
• William's New Year's Day – William is encouraged to make a New Year's resolution by the sweet shop owner Mr Moss. He decides to be polite for New Years Day and ends up looking after the Sweet Shop.
• The Best Laid Plans – A young man misguidedly enlists William's help in wooing his sister Ethel.
• "Jumble" – The story of how William met his dog Jumble.

I definitely need to read these again so I think it might be take-away for tea tonight! See you tomorrow,

A bit of Mosaic Christmas wrapping

No, I'm not sitting about on a chaise longue with all my Christmas presents bought and beautifully wrapped if that's what you're thinking but I am certainly thinking about gifts! One of my ideas is to print some photos I took during a special day out this year and package them up in a box. Come and see:

This is the box I often make with my trimmer (click here for a tutorial.) I've topped the lid with a piece of card stock the same colour as the box, embossed with the Mosaic embossing folder. The box is tied up with the sumptuous stitched edge grosgrain ribbon - I don't think any ribbon says Christmas quite like this one! I've made quite a few boxes in this style as I love the simplicity of them and the contrast between the embossed card stock and the smooth.

Another favourite is this beautiful label from Chalk Talk which cuts out quickly and efficiently with its coordinating framelit - especially if you use the magnetic platform. I topped it with this sentiment from the same stamp set, cut out with a 3/4" circle punch and popped up on dimensionals. A couple of the sparkly rhinestones finishes the label.

Here's what you'll need to make this project

Stamps: Chalk Talk

Ink: Cherry Cobbler

Card stock: Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

Other: Chalk Talk framelits, 1 3/8" circle punch, Basic rhinestones, Modern Mosaic embossing folder, Big Shot, Cherry Cobbler stitched edge grosgrain ribbon

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Here's a typical conversation between my daughter and I:
Me (grumbling): If you'd got everything ready earlier we wouldn't be late.
She (sarcastically): Well some people have a life you know.
Me: Oh nonsense!
Both of us dissolve into giggles.

See you tomorrow,

Popped up poinsettias with Joyful Christmas

While I was making yesterday's cards with Stampin' Up's Joyful Christmas, I had an idea. Come an have a look:

I stamped my sentiment onto a square of Whisper White card stock and pierced a frame round the edge before mounting it onto a Cherry Cobbler card base.  Then the poinsettias were stamped on a separate piece of card stock, coloured with ink and an aquapainter and cut out out so that I could pop them up.

It's easier to see the nice bit of dimension it gives in this photo. The large poinsettia was decorated with rhinestones that I'd coloured with a permanent marker.

This is a fabulous sentiment isn't it?! I love how the word Christmas looks like a ribbon!

I'll be linking my card up with Make My Monday which has a Christmas Flowers and Foliage theme, and 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown, which is inviting us to Pick a Previous Theme (I've chosen number 1, Christmas flowers.)

Here's what you'll need to make this project

Stamps: Joyful Christmas

Ink: Real Red

Card stock: Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler

Other: Markers, aquapainter, Essentials piercing template, mat and tool, Basic rhinestones, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

I haven't yet succumbed to getting the Christmas tree but I have put up the advent calendar. I had a bright idea this year and instead of wall-to-wall sugar, some of the compartments contain jokes! You may think that my children would complain bitterly about this but they haven't at all. I searched the internet for the jokes that I thought would go down well - like this:
Q: How do you catch a rabbit
A: Hide behind a bush and make noises like a carrot
And yes, they did laugh like plastic bags!

See you tomorrow,

New (and irresistible!) at Stampin' Up

I know I wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow, and I know you're deep into Christmas preparations, but the fresh new releases from Stampin' Up are so fabulous you just have to take a look!

The stars of the show are these fabulous little pre-printed Monster Hugs! They come in little girl monster and little boy monster versions and the arms fold over to hug a treat or a message or whatever else you might want to put there! And they have little bottoms! They are so cute they have turned me into a squishy goo! In each kit you get 18 monsters, 18 googly eyes and 18 self-adhesive hearts - all for £5.50 - perfect for parties or to make nagging notes to your teens much more fun!

How about these beautiful little Sweetheart treat bags? You get 12 bags, 12 pieces of Pool Party bakers twine and 12 die cut labels for £4.50.

I love these Sweet Sayings card bases and coordinating envelopes too - you get 12 of the fabulous printed cards and 12 envelopes (four of each colour) for £5.50.

If you're anything like me you'll be dying to see the new stamps sets - well come on then:

This is my favourite - every single one of these images are definitely going to get heaps of use in the Crafting Square Metre! Love you More is £19.95 wood mount and £15.95 cling mount.

Wow - this is a beauty too! I especially love the banner tag and the sentiments are fabulous and the Eiffel Tower with a heart... LOVE it! Follow My Heart is £13.95 wood mount and £10.95 cling mount.

Look at this elegant image too! Very elegant - you can see how gorgeous it looks stamped on the Sweet Sayings cards in one of the pictures above. Flowerfull is £8.95 and comes in wood mount only.

These gorgeous new stamp sets and kits are available from today until 27th January or until stocks last.

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Really see you tomorrow (unless Stampin' Up suddenly come out with something else!),

Joyful Christmas makes

I've been holding onto my ears because life's gone all hectic again! That means I haven't been able to make anything this weekend but I do have some cards to show you that I made a couple of weeks ago. Come and have a look:

These were very quick to make so I made a couple of them. I used Stampin' Up's wonderful Joyful Christmas stamp set, stamping the poinsettias up the side and top of the front panel and colouring them in quickly with an aquapainter and ink.

Here's one with a Real Red card base sporting a cluster of Daffodil Delight candy dots by way of embellishment...

... and this is the Old Olive version with matching candy dots.

I scribbled colour over the leaves with the aquapainter - it all adds to the arty feel!

I do love the sentiment - there's nothing like a bit of joy at any time of year but especially at Christmas!

Oops, the sentiment on the green version got a little smudged but luckily I enjoy a little fussy cutting!

Here's what you'll need to make this project

Stamps: Joyful Christmas

Ink: Real Red, Old Olive

Card stock: Whisper White, Real Red/Old Olive

Other: Markers, candy dots, corner rounder, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

The poinsettias have appeared in the supermarkets I see. They are amazing but I think I prefer them in their natural state:

I can never understand why man feels he has improved on nature by modifying plants!

See you tomorrow,

Contemporary Merry Minis Christmas trees

Once again the challenge at ColourQ has spurred me into action! The colours gave me the perfect opportunity to whip up a quick contemporary Christmas card. Come and see:

This card relies on that gorgeous textured card stock which gives the punched Christmas trees the perfect subtle background somewhere between smooth and embossed. Core'dinations card stock comes in all the Stampin' Up colours and I love it to bits!

The sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes was stamped onto Whisper White card stock, cut out with the Decorative Label punch and glued under the textured panel.

I was inspired today by this fabulous colour palette (I used Old Olive instead of Kiwi Kiss which has never been available in the UK.)

Here's what you'll need to make this card

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes

Ink: Tangerine Tango

Card stock: Whisper White plus scraps of Tempting Turquoise, Old Olive and Tangerine Tango. Early Espresso core'dinations

Other: Envelope board (for rounding corners), Decorative Label punch, Merry Minis punch pack

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

I'm always fascinated by contemporary Christmas trees like these from Craft Project Central:

Or this fascinating wall tree I saw on Pinterest:

But I'm a traditional girl at heart so our own Christmas tree is always decorated with creams and reds and glowing Christmas lights:

Please don't worry for our sanity, this was last year's tree and although there have been some suggestions that we get one early this year, so far I've resisted!

Have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you very soon.

A Calm Christmas and the chance to win some freebies!

While I was making yesterday's card for Less is More's current 'Make a Christmas card featuring a bird' challenge, I came across lots of other bird stamps I would've liked to use. I really couldn't resist this one, so here's my second entry:

This is the wonderful dove of peace from Stampin' Up's Calm Christmas stamp set. Isn't she beautiful?And she really does make me feel calm so I might need to bring her out more often as the festive season gets under way!

I've heat embossed her in white on Bermuda Bay card stock and cut her out with my sharp paper snips before layering her over the world image from The Open Sea - it's always fun to combine sets! The branch was punched out of Old Olive card stock using the 2 step bird punch.

This lovely sentiment comes from Calm Christmas too and works perfectly with the image. Are you wondering why I think the dove is female? Well she's trying to keep the peace isn't she? Of course she's female!

Now before you start feeling too calm, I've got some exciting news for you!

I would love to be able to give all my customers a gift at Christmas

but since that's not possible, I'm holding a

Christmas prize draw!

Customers placing an order with me between 25th November and 15th December
will have the chance to win one of three fabulous prizes:

The wonderful Gorgeous Grunge stamp set in cling mount (worth £17.95)
The cute Oh Goodie stamp set in cling mount (worth £9.95)
A fabulous Tag-a-Bag accessories kit (worth £7.25)

This is not a Stampin' Up promotion and the prizes are being donated by me personally
The winners will be randomly selected on 16th December
Prizes will be posted out next day in time for Christmas.

Here's what you'll need to make today's card

Stamps: Calm Christmas, The Open Sea

Ink: Bermuda Bay, Early Espresso

Card stock: Whisper White, Bermuda Bay

Other: Versamark, white embossing powder, heat tool, 2 step bird punch, paper snips, stamp-a-majig

You can order from my online shop any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

I love birds and have carved wooden ones dotted about all over my house. The other morning I came downstairs to find that one of them was sporting some interesting new head gear...

Some people have just got too much time on their hands!

See you tomorrow,