Good news and One for the stash!

Hello, crafting friends!

 

As the 25th of the month approached, I thought of how I used to always make a Christmas card thanks to the encouragement of the Rudolph Days challenge. We all thought it would have to close as Maureen, who ran it brilliantly for years, was unable to continue, but today I discovered that the amazing Helen has taken over the reins of the sleigh. Hurrah! Do spread the word won't you, follow the Rudolph Days blog and share the challenge badge. And come and join in - you have until the last day of the month to link up and it's Anything Christmas Goes!

 

I was a bit short on time but I found a little topper I made last year with Altenew's Clasic Pine Cones embossing folder, coloured with inks and daubers and trimmed with a Crimped Frame die from the Greetery. I had added lots of 'snow' with my trusty Posca white acrylic paint pen. To show it off, I made a Faux Book Binding card using three washi tapes that coordinated with my topper.

 

 

To finish, I added a banner-style sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks Christmas using a couple of tiny staples, and added two enamel dots for berries.

 

And there we go - back on track with my festive stash for the end of the year! Thanks Helen!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Rudolph Days but have also been inspired by these challenges: Christmas Craft Creations where the challenge is to use Stencils or Embossing Folders; Christmas Kickstart where the theme is Out on a Limb (things you might find on a Christmas tree!); and Addicted to Stamps and More where the theme this time is Christmas.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I found a new walk yesterday. Normally there's livestock in these fields, so I've avoided them, but there hasn't been anything for ages and the grass is not under water and is clean and dry... my heart sang I can tell you! However, it is with deep regret that I must tell you that golden retrievers are equipped with a special inner mud divining device and, as we frolicked along, both of the Beige Beasts discovered exciting ditches and puddles and turned into Mud Monsters. They did redeem themselves though... there was a cattle trough in the last field as we returned and the pups discovered that it was full to the brim with water from all the recent rain. Lulu mistook it for a spa bath to rinse off her mud masque and jumped in for a full immersion; I was quite firm in encouraging Eva to follow suit!!

Sending hugs,

Slimline pine

Hello, crafting friends!

 

A quick post today to try to catch a few challenges I've been mulling over!

 

 

I recently took delivery of this absolutely stunning 3D slimline embossing folder from Altenew - Classic Pine Cones. It ran through my Bigshot like a dream and was so easy to colour: I just sponged colour all over the background and then added the brown ink to the pine cones with a dauber - simple! All that was needed was a sprinkling of 'snow' courtesy of a Posca white acrylic paint marker.

 

The panel was cut to size with my trimmer and I sponged some more brown ink round the edges to add dimension. After mounting the panel onto a slimline card base, I added a simple sentiment from an older Stampin' Up set, stamped in dark brown ink on a white offcut, cut out with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and glued to the card front.  This was a quick card that could be good for batches!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Jingle Belles where Stephanie and Lauren are Keeping it Neutral; also Can You Handle The Pressure where embossing is required and there's an optional theme of Nautical (that I obviously didn't go for!); I'm joining in with challenge 618 at Try Stamping on Tuesday where the  Technique is Slimline; the Group of Seven technique this month is Colouring Dry Embossed images and I'm linking up there too; Also, this embossing folder is having it's first whirl so I'm sharing at Darnell's NBUS Challenge!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Thank you to all who asked after Eva's 'poor paw'. It turned out to be a fungal infection in her nailbed which disappeared after just a few days of treatment and she is now romping about as usual! I did give the pups a bit of a pep talk about Being Careful with their paws and they cocked their heads to one side, tails wagging, wolfed down a treat or two and shot off into the undergrowth!

 

 

Sending hugs,