Texture and sparkle wreath

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Thursday has come around again and with it comes a whole bunch of inspiration courtesy o the Tic Tac Toe challenge! Felicita had Thanksgiving on her mind when coming up with this board but, as usual, the suggestions work brilliantly for other occasions too.

 

I chose the right hand column for my Christmas card - Any Shape Die/Wreath/Gold Foil or Glitter. This card was created mostly from embossing and die cuts with only the sentiment being stamped.

I partially embossed a square panel with a Honeycomb embossing folder from Hobbycraft, then layered a die cut wreath from Stampin' Up over the top.

 

The wreath was decorated with glittery gold baubles and red berries cut from snippets of paper and I added a die cut bow from a cocktail set by MFT.

 

 

The card was finished with touches of gold glitter glue, white highlights on the berries and a stamped sentiment from Uniko.

 

Right! It's over to you :) Which row or column will you choose this week? Or will you go for one of the diagonals? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge site and check out all the fabulous inspiration from my team mates. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to link up your own creation. Have fun - we can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at the Snippets Playground where we are invited to make cards with snippets: m card panel was from a spoilt card base,  and all the die-cut and punched items were cut from off-cuts. I'm also joining in with Let's Squash It where the challenge is Make a Christmas Card, and Can Yyou Handle The Pressure where Anything Embossed Goes with optional theme of Wreaths. The challenge at Sparkles Monthly Challenge is to Use Dies and Punches so I'm joining in there, and I'm also playing along at Happy Little Stampers Die challenge where Anything Using Dies Goes.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I love a wreath and my whole world was rocked when my sister showed me how to make one with just bits and pieces from the garden! Here's one of my favourite photos of my youngest son admiring my (slightly wonky) creation a few years ago!

 

My sister and I enjoyed making wreaths together so much we decided to make it a regular run-up to Christmas event :) Do you have any annual rituals as the festive season draws nearer? Do share in the comments below!

Sending hugs,

Celebrate with a pun

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Despite the fact that I'm late making my Christmas cards this year, there ARE other occasions that need to be covered too ;)

This bright card was made to celebrate the birthday of my lovely daughter who often saw parakeets in the trees where she used to live in London! Apparently these birds were brought to London as exotic pets in the past, and some either escaped or were released and have thrived and multiplied.

 

For the background of my card, I used a circle punch to make a stencil, positioned it on the edge of a panel and sponged in an ink blend of yellows and oranges. The panel was trimmed to size with a stitched rectangle die.

 

The perch for the parrot was the 'string' for a balloon on Uniko's Balloon Bash stencil - so useful! I stamped the parrot from Lawn Fawn's Year Twelve, coloured it with alcohol markers, fussy cut it and glued it to its perch. Finally, I added the punning sentiment and three different enamel shapes.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Just Add Ink where the challenge is to Just Add Wings; also Less is More where there's a colour challenge - Use two or more colours from the colour wheel.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

M daughter had a day off work on her birthday so I jaunted off to London to shower her with love and gifts! We wandered about Kings Cross' posh new canal-side development in the late autumn sunshine, window shopping and pausing for a rest and a coffee. Later we traveled South of the river where we were booked for lunch at a place called Badger Badger on Deptford High Street (I've linked to it just in case you find yourself in the area - and I would highly recommend finding yourself in the area!!) It describes itself as a pub/kitchen/workspace, which doesn't sound remotely special, but I can tell you that I nearly fainted with pleasure when I tasted the food! We had a cheeky little glass of fizz too :)

Sending hugs,

Double stenciled gift

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Happy Saturday and welcome to another fun challenge at Addicted to CAS - and our last challenge of the year! Raga is in charge of the code word this time and if you're anything like me and have heaps more festive cards to make, you'll be glad to see the word she has chosen!

 

Just the thing to get a bit of inspiration going!

 

I started by sponging a pale turquoise ink into the arch from Funky Fossil's Arched Window stencil turned on its side. Next, the present from Stampin' Up's retired Holiday Haul was stamped in red ink and covered with a mask made from a sticky note. I added a sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Sing It's Christmas in dark brown ink.

 

 

To create the patterned background, I replaced the Arched Window stencil and added Funky Fossil's Snow Flurry stencil over the top and sponged the same turquoise ink into that. When I removed both stencils and the mask over the gift, I was left with a pattern that looks as if it's behind the present and the sentiment :) I added a gem to make the gift look special :)

So now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to  CAS challenge blog to drool over the beautiful samples my teamies have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us. Don't forget we are a clean and simple challenge so we love seeing lots of lovely clear space on cards, but above all have fun!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where Anything Stenciled Goes.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Are you wondering what's in that gift? Perhaps it's an unusual pair of earrings...

 

... like these, modeled by the handsome Murph!

Sending hugs,

Sparkle berries

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another Thursday of Tic Tac Toe fun! Elizabeth has come up with a wonderful board to inspire you this week:

 

Lots of options there - especially if, like me, you are frantically trying to get a whole stash of festive cards made! I've chosen the middle column Red/Sparkle/Hollyy to create this one.

 

I started by trimming a card panel so that it was slightly smaller than my card base, then cutting the centre out with a decorative stitched label die and replacing it to create a stitched frame. The pine branch from Uniko's Winter Foliage stamp set was stamped directly onto the panel and I added holly from the same set, stamped and cut out.

 

The sentiment is put together from different sets from The Greetery and from Stampin' Up and I stamped it in a dark red and a pink for an illusion of dimension. The berries were the final addition, cut out of lovely, sparkly, bright red paper using two sizes of circle punch.

So now it's your turn! Which column or row will you choose? Or will you opt for one of the diagonals? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge site to check out the fab samples Team X has made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I thought I'd pop a second entry in at Allsorts where they team is celebrating the 700th challenge with the theme Let's Celebrate Any Special Occasion! I'm also linking up at Peace on Earth where they always have such inspiring mood boards; I'm also joining in with Merry Little Christmas and The Holly and the Ivy where Anything Christmas Goes.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Well halloween is over thank goodness and hopefully all the horrible decorations will be cleared away soon! My fluffy girl had a bit of a scare on one of our river walks. Back in the summer, a group of lads were cooling of with a swim in the river and one of them left his t shirt behind. Someone hung it on the fence so that they'd see it if they returned and it's been there ever since. Every time we come near it, I notice Eva's body language stiffening and I'm sure she thinks it's a person...

 

 

only a weird person that isn't moving like a real person - aaaargh!  She always relaxes when we come closer and she realises it's just a shirt hanging on the fence!

Sending hugs,

The Wedding arch

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I am continuing to be besotted with my Mistletoe Arches layered stencil set from The Greetery and after making a birthday card, a Christmas card and a sympathy card with them, have turned my attention to weddings! We went to a wedding this weekend, and the invitation we received for it used these gorgeous colours!

 

I started by stenciling the leaves onto a panel and trimming it to size. Then, after positioning the arch mask in the middle with temporary glue, I sponged the dark purple ink very lightly in from the edges. I replaced the arch mask with the arch stencil and sponged a light purple ink into it. When the stencil was removed, I was left with a paler purple arch with a thin white line around it, which really adds to the impression of dimension but without any bulk.

 

I stamped one of the sentiments from The Greetery's Arched Sentiments set inside the arch and added a stamped, gold-embossed and die cut sentiment from the same set. Finally I added the berries using the stencil and a gold pencil, then shaded with a gold marker and added white dots for extra detail.

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with the 700th challenge at Allsorts Huge congratulations to Brenda and the team there. Such an impressive milestone! The theme is Let's Celebrate - Any Special Occasion, and there are prizes so do join in!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Everyone seems to be gearing up for halloween in my neighbourhood. I do not enjoy this 'celebration' in the slightest but I did see some things in a shop window that gave me a good chuckle:

 

Click on the pic to get the details! I hope they give you a laugh too!

Sending hugs,

An arch of sympathy

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I hope you're having a great weekend and are ready to join in with another clean and simple challenge at Addicted to CAS :) Vicki is hosting this week and she has chosen Sympathy as her code word. 

 

If you've visited my blog any time this week, you may have noticed that I'm completely obsessed with my new Mistletoe Arches stencil set from The Greetery... and yes, I'm still using it today!

 

The full arch is a bit full on for a CAS card, so I just taped over the lower parts of the stencil and just inked in the top of the arch (if you try this, use low tack tape and be very careful when removing it so that you don't damage your stencil.)

 

I chose blue and grey inks and stamped the beautiful sentiment from Waffleflower's Lighthouse stamp set in black. Finally, I stenciled the berries using a silver pencil and added details with markers.

Okay, it's over to you! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge blog to check out the gorgeous samples my teamies have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation when you're ready. Don't forget to keep your card nice and clean and simple with lots of nice clear space - but above all, have fun!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up at the Happy Little Stampers challenge where Anything Stenciled Goes; and also Less is More where there's a Recipe challenge and the theme is Use a Stencil.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I love it when people add seasonal touches to their shops and cafés. This little door mat appeared outside one of my favourite cafés this week.

Sending hugs,

Singing under the mistletoe arches

Hello, crafting friends!

 

If you were here yesterday, you'll know that I have developed a mad passion for a new stencil set! I've already used it for an autumn birthday card HERE, and today it's taking an outing as it was intended - on a Christmas card!

 

I'm using the Mistletoe Arches stencil set from The Greetery and this time I wondered if I could stencil the arch using coloured pencils. I can tell you that it IS possible but NOT recommended; the the pencils need to be sharp but they wear down really quickly in the stencil. It also takes a lot longer than using ink and dauber! I do quite like the look though.

 

The stencil set includes an arch and I used it to sponge in a pale blue background in the centre of the leafy arch. I layered over a die cut musical stave and notes, added a die cut 'joy' above it and a stamped sentiment under it following the curve of the stave. These new dies and sentiment stamps are going to get loads of use - I love the movement they create on a card front.

 

Snippets were used in the making of this card and I have a tip for you:

 

You can die cut bits from the centre of panels you want to use for matting and when you place the smaller panel on top, no-one would ever know! Double the snippets! Cunning eh?!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Rudolph Days where we make a Christmas card on the 25th of each month; I'm also joining in with the Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where Anything Stenciled Goes; The theme at Addicted to Stamps and More has come round to Die Cuts and/or Stencils so I shall link up there; I'm off to The Snippets Playground too where we share cards made with snippets; The Noted die set and the curved song title sentiment set are being aired for the first time so I shall nip over to Darnell's NBUS challenge to share them there!

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I am lavishing attention on this beautiful lady this week.

 

Shhhh! Don't tell Eva!

Sending hugs,

Autumnal leafy arches

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Isn't it wonderful when a craft item arrives in your craft room and the ideas for using it come flooding at you? All I need is a bit of extra time to get them onto paper! The item in this case is a layering stencil from The Greetery called Mistletoe Arches. It's designed to  be used for Christmas cards but...

 

... I saw no reason that it shouldn't turn up on an autumn birthday card! I started this card by masking off the edges of a card base with low tack tape, stamping a background with a woodgrain background stamp and sponging yellow ink over the whole thing before removing the tape.

 

The next step was stenciling the arch over the background in layers using autumn coloured inks and adding detail with markers. The sentiment was made with two stamp sets from Uniko.

 

I added a little bird from The Greetery's Robin and Wren stamp set, stamped and fussy cut and attached to  the card front.

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with Brenda's Colours of Autumn challenge at Allsorts; also Four Seasons challenge where the theme is Anything Goes Fall; I'm delighted that Darlene and Diane have also started their new Stencil Fun Challenge and am linking up there too; I'm playing along at Happy Little Stampers Birthday Challenge too where Anything Goes; This is the first outing for the Mistletoe Arches stencils so I'm playing at Darnell's NBUS challenge where we show off our Never Before Used Schtuff.

 

Also, a heads up: Allsorts are celebrating their 700th challenge this Saturday 29th October and there are prizes aplenty to be won! See you there :)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

On Saturday, OH decided it was time to curb the enthusiasm of some ivy in our back garden and Eva was delighted when she saw him getting out ladders and tarpaulin. She sees her role as general helper in the garden and this is exactly the kind of job she feels is her forté.

 

Here she is shredding some bits of woody stem - but wait, it appears to be raining leaves and Eva is quickly becoming the Incredible Disappearing Dog!

 

Sending hugs,

Oh deer

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another Thursday round of Tic Tac Toe! It's Joanne's turn to get us inspired with a brand new board and as usual there are all sorts of ways you could go with it!

 

 

I'm loving the autumn season but a little voice has been getting ever louder in my head and I have responded by getting a bit more serious about making Christmas cards!! I chose the left hand column Foliage/Berries/Trees.

 

 

The scene was made with a retired Stampin' Up set called Snow Front. I used a torn sticky note to create a simple snowy background, then stamped trees and snow drifts and deer, adding details with markers and coloured pencils. The scene was trimmed to size and attached to the centre of a frame, hand drawn with a gold pencil directly onto a card base.

 

The sentiment is from a retired Uniko set called Pure Florals Poinsettia, stamped in red ink and heat embossed for a bit of shine (hard to see that here.) The holly and berries are from The Greetery's Budding Beauties Winter, stamped and fussy cut and positioned to tie everything together.

Okay, so it's your turn! You can choose any row, column or diagonal from the board and do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge blog to see the amazing samples the design team have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Winter Wonderland where the theme is Let It Snow; I think this card would be a good card for a man, and it's a CAS design which is the challenge at the The Male Room.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I met up for coffee (and, in his case, an enormous bacon sandwich!) with my youngest son. We went to a place near the train station that had been recommended to me by a friend who grew up up in the area. It's always fun to go to a cafe where you need to be careful not to run over any stray birds in the car park...

 

and when you visit the Ladies Room, there are peacocks on the roof!! Thank goodness we didn't bring Eva!

Sending hugs,