Get your skates on

Hello, crafting friends!

Almost five months of 2021 have whizzed by already and we all know what that means for a crafter: If we are going to be posting out handmade cards towards the end of the year, we really need to get our skates on!

And talking of skates, it was a real pleasure to play with Avery Elle's Holida Skates set again! I stamped my skate with mink coloured ink and sponged pink ink over it to colour it. The blade was coloured with a silvery grey pencil which is so pretty and shimmery! The skate was fussy cut, laces added with black fineliner and a die cut bow attached.

The background was made by masking most of the cardbase and sponging pink ink below it. I topped that with a strip of blue designer paper gifted to me by my lovely Stampin' Up demonstrator Lesley - thanks again my friend! I thought one side looked suitably icy and the dotty side worked well for the circle background feature.

To finish the card I filled my skate with stamped greenery and a little candy cane, then used a stamping platform to add the sentiment which curves nicely round the circle of designer paper. 

CHALLENGES

Jaydee's sketch at The Paper Players this week was the perfect starting point for this card so I'm linking up there; I chose my unconventional colours from Color My Heart Color Dare challenge 445 - New England Ivy/Flamingo /Bluebelle/Mink. I'm also joining in at the Rudolph Day Challenge as usual - this is a challenge where from the 25th of the month onwards we link up one Christmas card. I've just been pointed in the direction of the Fab 'n' Funky Challenge, which is always about Christmas cards on the last Wednesday of the month, so I shall link up there too :)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've been chastising myself for leaving a pot out with last years dried up lobelia stems in it - very untidy! But yesterday I saw a busy pair of blackbirds strip the pot of the hay-like contents. It was perfect for building a cosy nest and I felt pleased that I'd left it there. Are this pair the owners of the destroyed nest I found the other day I wonder, ready to try again? I know that they can raise several lots of young in a season but they'd use the same nest I would guess.

Sending hugs,

A little something on ice

Hello crafting friends!

It is scorchio-and-a-half today and I can't believe I'm posting this card on such a blazing day. If you're as hot as I am it might cool you down at least!

The snowflake frame die I used for the background was a find on ebay. It's by Stamps By Chloe and was a freebie in Diecutting Essentials magazine in November 2018, so no longer available but exactly what I was looking for. I layered a frame over it, cut from textured card stock using a Heffy Doodles stitched rectangle die.

I topped my frosty background with a skate from Avery Elle's Holiday Skates, which I stamped with grey ink and coloured with alcohol markers before fussy cutting. For a bit of fun, I pierced the eyelets with a piercing tool and threaded them with bakers twine, finishing with a festive bow.

The sentiment is from WPlus9's Silver Bells, stamped onto an offcut of white card stock and sandwiched between the snowflakes and the frame. I added a few gems for an icy feel too *mops brow and fans self*

CHALLENGES
I'm linking this card up with 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where the theme is Snowflakes; also The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and the Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog where Anything Christmas Goes. It being the 25th of the month, I'm also joining in with the Rudolph Day celebrations :)

AND IN OTHER NEWS
Current status:

How about you?

Hugs,