Rudolph the sleek black reindeer

Hello crafting friends!

It's time to have a word with myself. Sunshine or no sunshine, if I want to have a lovely big pile of Christmas cards to send out at the end of November, I need to get going! That was my stern voice, so I have gone off meekly and made this:

This card was started by smooshing diliuted Night of Navy and Pool Party inks over a card panel and there is a suggestion of Northern Lights there isn't there! No? Oh, just me and my imagination then! While it was drying, I pulled out a load of my old Stampin' Up Christmas stamps - I had hung on to those in The Great Craft Stash Cull!

Look! I made another fun sentiment combo :) The 'Happy' is actually from a current set - Merry Christmas to All, but the 'Christmas' is from Endless Wishes and all the other stamps I used today are ancient too...

That beautiful reindeer is from Winter Post and the trees are from White Christmas. Love them all! I added some detail to my scene with a Smoky Slate marker on the trees and white craft ink for snow and more of the diluted ink for shadows. The card was finished with a tiny adhesive star that came out of a scrapbooking kit. I would've liked to add a little frost to the trees but I have no glitter or metallic embossing powder... Maybe I'll invest in a Wink of Stella pen! Has anyone else tried one?

So what set me off on this moonlit reindeer scene today? It was the ABC Christmas Challenge! I'm a bit late to this challenge, having arrived when they're at P (for penguin), Q (for quarters) or R (for reindeer), but what I lack in time-keeping, I more than make up for in enthusiasm!

AND IN OTHER NEWS
It's time to drag myself away from reindeer and focus on a pair of pooches who are looking at me with reproachful eyes. My Eva is particularly good at communicating 'I don't want to put myself forward in any way but I have noticed that time is marching on and I've got a bit of a rumbly tummy and USUALLY we'd be in the kitchen now...' with just a pair of melting brown eyes.

Thanks for coming round to see me today. See you soon,

Another of the Endless ways to use Endless Wishes from Stampin' Up

I have mentioned that I LOVE Stampin' Up's Endless Wishes stamp set haven't I? Thought so! Here's another fun way to use this wonderful photopolymer set:

Stamping the snowflakes at the bottom of the front panel so that they rise up into a pointy pile means that you can stamp your greeting at a jaunty angle! There's nothing like a spot of jaunty on a Tuesday morning!

What do you think of the dreamy grey and purple colour scheme? As always, I love the way I don't have to scramble about hunting for card stock to match - Stampin' Up makes card stock, inks, designer papers, embellishments etc in the same delicious colours!


I used Chrissy's sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch for this card. Isn't it fabulous? The ladies are celebrating 100 sketches over there so do go and join the fun!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95	Card Stock A4 Smoky Slate £6.25	Blackberry Bliss Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Wisteria Wonder Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Frosted Sequins £4.50

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

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

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

Are you wondering how it's going on the puppy front? One thing that may not go so well is introducing Eva to the cross old lady that runs our house - no, not me you cheeky lot - Tuppence, our cat! I have tried talking it through gently with her...

... and she has promised to think it over!

See you tomorrow,

Recessed Christmas bauble card using Endless Wishes from Stampin' Up

When I first saw the Stampin' Up autumn/winter catalogue, my family thought I was in pain when they heard my shrieks and squeals! Everything in this catalogue thrills me to bits and now I'm using all the new sets for my Christmas creations, I'm truly in stamping heaven! Today I've come up with something a bit different to do with Endless Wishes. Come and see:

There's nothing complicated about this card but I think it looks rather elegant with its touches of gold and the white space really draws attention to the rich red and gold.

I cut an aperture into the panel with one of my Circles framelits and added a pierced frame. The 'bauble' that fits into the recess was punched out of Cherry Cobbler card stock, stamped with Endless Wishes snowflakes and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.

I really don't think I will ever get tired of combining the sentiments from this gorgeous photopolymer stamp set. I've gone for a simple 'Christmas greetings' here but I'm dying to say 'A little dash of Merry' really! How about you?

The inspiration for this card came from ATCAS where there's a gorgeous photo prompt this week.

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

2-1/2 Inch Circle Punch £15.50	Cherry Cobbler A4 Card Stock £6.25	Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95
Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder £3.95	Gold 1/8" Ribbon £4.50	Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack £7.25

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

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

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

Somehow, we managed to miss all the firework displays this year apart from the ones we saw from the upstairs bedroom window. I suppose it shows how everyone's growing up in our family. Bonfire night used to be part of our family calendar - getting everyone togged up in warm clothing, venturing out into the cold, dark night to meet friends, oohing and aahing over the display, the excitement of sparklers and eventually the return home for hot baked potatoes with buttery ham, cheese and onion filling. I can see I'm going to have to invent some new family rituals!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and I'll see you very soon,

Speedy Christmas card using Endless Wishes from Stampin' Up

Okay, the nights are drawing in, there's a definite nip in the air and I'm ready to pull all my Stampin' Up Christmas sets out and get going with some Christmas makes! Let's start with a card that quite literally took seconds to make:

I used one of Stampin' Ups ready-made notecards and envelopes for this simple one layer card so I didn't even have to cut a card base!

What do you think of this non-traditional colour scheme of Hello Honey, Tangerine Tango and Pacific Point? I got quite excited about it and now I'm amusing myself thinking up other unusual combinations for the festive season! Watch this space...

I'll be linking this card up with Less is More where the challenge is to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colours; and Addicted to Stamps where it's CAS week.

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

Whisper White Note Cards Envelopes £5.50	Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95	Hello Honey Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Tangerine Tango Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Project Life Corner Punch £7.25	Brights Candy Dots £5.50

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

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

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

I really felt for my youngest son who caught a  bit of a bug and was quite poorly for a day or two during half term. I made a nest for him on the sofa so that I could keep an eye on him but I could tell immediately when he was feeling better. I was crafting and came up with a technique I thought he'd like. "Hey!" I said. "I'm going to show you something incredible!" He looked up. "Is it how loud you can burp?!" he asked, hopefully.

See you tomorrow,

Russian Doll card with Stampin' Up's Curvy Keepsake Box

I'm still buzzing after the Stampin' Up Convention last weekend! As well as learning lots and being inspired creatively, my favourite thing is catching up with all my Stampin' Up friends and making new ones. One of the things I love about this company is that you really feel a sense of belonging and everyone is so friendly and supportive.

When we all get together, we like to share ideas so we make things to swap with each other. I've been so excited about the Curvy Keepsake Box thinlits die so I decided to show another use for it that I dreamt up! Come and see:

Chop off the rounded section and you have the perfect shape for a Russian doll! I used the negative as a mask to sponge and stamp into. The stamp set I've used is Endless Wishes, a clear photopolymer stamp set with snowflakes and gorgeous sentiments for you to mix and match.

Doesn't she look serene? (I wish I knew her secret!) Her face is a circle coloured with skin tone blendabilities and markers and I added a bakers twine bow underneath her chin to draw her cloak tightly closed and keep those winter draughts out!

Do you like this frosty little detail? I love sponging Whisper White craft ink onto Crumb Cake card stock and here I went over the sponging with my Stampin' Chalk marker and a ruler. Snowflakes were stamped over the top to add extra layering without bulk.

This is such a fun project and so easy to make - and the best thing is that you can create heaps and heaps of other fab projects with that wonderful die! Need inspiration? Click here to see what I've been making with it!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
(Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!) 

Endless Wishes Photopolymer Stamp Set ...	Curvy Keepsake Box Thinlits Dies £29.95	Crumb Cake A4 Card Stock £6.25	Whisper White Craft Stampin' Pad £6.95
White Stampin Chalk Marker £3.25	Stampin' Blendabilities™ Markers Skin Tone Assortment £20.95	Coastal Cabana Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

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

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

I imagine my Russian doll hadn't just returned from Brussels to find the house looking like a hurricane had passed through it! "Why is the house in such a mess?" I asked. "It isn't!" said my youngest son and "It looks fine to me!" said my eldest. My husband gathered up the newspapers that were spread out all over the coffee table, wandered about with them for a bit, then put them down on the dresser before disappearing with the air of someone who has discharged his duties!

See you tomorrow,