Star of wonder

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I looked at the calendar today and realised that it was the 27th of September already and I hadn't made my usual Christmas card on the 25th! I do this each month to help get a good stash together ready for posting out at the end of November. Anyone that knows me is probably sniggering at this so moving swiftly on...!

 

Here's this month's effort: On an offcut of navy card, I stamped a skyline of houses and trees with versamark ink and heat embossed in white. The stamp is an old magazine freebie. I used white acrylic paint to create a snowy foreground under the skyline, then diluted the paint, daubed in a shadow behind the trees and buildings, then splattered above them with ink to create a snowy/starry sky. 

 

When my scene was dry, I used a handheld punch to punch a 'star' in the sky, then mounted the panel onto a slightly larger piece of silver card. I finished the card with a die cut sentiment from Hobbycraft, trimmed and glued to the corner, before attaching the scene to the front of a 4" square card base.

 

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge where Anything Goes with the option of using Metallics; also Retro Rubber where I've chosen the bottom row of the Tic Tac Toe board Stars/Die Cut or Punch/Blue - don't know how old the stamp is but Ancient probably covers it!! I'm also joining in at ABC Christmas where S is for Snow and T is for Trees and I've incorporated both on my card! And last but not least I'm entering the Rudolph Day challenge - create a Christmas card each month, and link up between 25th and the end of the month.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I was SO proud of my Eva this week. We were walking in the fields behind our house and were startled by a deer leaping out in front of us. Eva's eyes were on stalks of course and she immediately gave chase. The deer squeezed through a tiny gap in the hedge and shot across the road (not a main one but busy enough.) My heart was in my mouth but I gave our emergency recall command 'Eva, STOP!!!' and guess what? She did. She remembered that command that we practised over and over again when she was a puppy but that I confess we have not used in training for a long time. So, so proud of my girl and gave her chicken jelly later!

Here she is gazing adoringly at me (but only because I am The Mistress of the Chicken Jelly!)

Sending hugs,

A thrifty Christmas

Hello, crafting friends!

Does anyone else like to root about in second-hand and thrift shops, antique emporiums and boot sales? They're good for books and for decorative items for the home, and I love the idea of recycling items and the thrill of hunting for something unique. These shops are not usually the place to find crafting supplies but the other day, I spotted an unopened Christmas stamp set. I'm sure you can imagine the excitement - not just a new stamp set but also a bargain!

I used the snowflake image for this card, using my stamping platform to stamp it evenly four times across a card panel in various shades of aqua ink.

I added a little colour to the snowflakes with metallic coloured pencils and embellished with silver liquid pearls. When the panel was dry, I trimmed it and attached it to a card base.

The  card was finished with a bright red die-cut sentiment from Hobbycraft and some lovely sparkly silver sequins.

Here's a photo of the stamp set for anyone who's interested. I did a little sleuthing and it's a Christmas set, designed by Jennifer Ellory, which came free with Papercrafting Inspirations magazzine in 2017. There are some beautiful images in the set and I'll certainly enjoy using them :)

CHALLENGES

Kim's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches set me off making this card so I'm linking up there; I'm also joining in at Rudolph Day where the challenge is to make a festive card between the 25th and the end of each month; and also Merry Little Christmas where Anything Christmas Goes.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I was walking Eva on the fields behind our house last night and on our way back up to the house I saw two shadowy creatures running across the field away from us, one large and one small. Eva didn't spot them but I wondered what they were. I saw them in daylight today - it's a  Muntjac deer and her baby. Eva, who would have given chase when she was younger, totally ignored them!

Enjoy your weekend,