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,

Stenciled Greetings

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I spotted a couple of fun challenges today that made me immediately reach for some inks and rummage about in the stencil drawer! I've made a quick Christmas card to get a head start on this year's stash.

 

The  stencil is the Holly Wreath by Funky Fossil and I positioned it just off the edge of a 4" square card base and sponged in some green and red inks. I added a little detail with coloured pencils, a Blackberry Bliss marker and a white acrylic paint pen. 

 

The card was finished with a block sentiment from Uniko, stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink, snipped out and positioned on the edge of the card.

CHALLENGES

I'm playing along at the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the challenge is Masks and Stencils; the colours I've used are from CAS Colours and Sketches where the challenges are now every two weeks - and I'm delighted as I love this challenge and should now be able to join in more often :)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The wind and rain and mud continues here. I trudge through the mud with heavy wellies dreaming of spring, but golden retrievers were bred in the highlands of Scotland and are unphased by these conditions.

 

Swimming is still on the menu and... hang on! Is that a golden retriever? Or an arctic otter?!!

Sending hugs,

Not just merry but also bright

Hello, crafting friends!

 

We all love those frosty winter days with bright blue skies don't we but not so much the grim grey ones we've had for the last couple of days here in the heart of England. I thought a nice bright Christmas card might cheer us all up!

To make this card I sponged a card panel with splodges of bright colours and trimmed it to size with a Crimped Frame die from the Greetery. 

Next I scribbled on some scrap card using bright alcohol marker pens and cut Christmas lights out of them with a long-ago-retired mini punch from Stampin' Up. After adding black tops to the lights, I arranged them over the corresponding colours on my background panel and doodled in the wires with a black fineliner pen.

To finish, I glued the lights in place and heat embossed a red sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks. The panel was then mounted onto a piece of red card and attached to a card base.

CHALLENGES

I was inspired by Jo's Rainbow Christmas theme at Christmas Kickstart so I'm joining in there; I'm also linking up with Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge where Anything Christmas Goes; the ABC Christmas Challenge where A is for Any Christmas Goes and B is for Baubles; and the Rudolph Day Challenge where Anything Christmas Goes.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We used to have coloured Christmas lights like these when I was a child and I loved the shape of the bulbs and how colourful they were. Every year they had to be brought out and tested with to see which bulbs had blown because if one blew, the whole string wouldn't work. I never knew how it worked - it was just one of those mysteries of Christmas. These days I have a string of clear lights that I've had for years and which work every time! I suppose that's progress.

Sending hugs,

Quick winter foliage

Hello, crafting friends!

Like many of you, I have been up to my ears in gift-wrapping, card-writing and Christmas decorations and organisation - as well as trying to keep on top of the rest of life! But crafting really is a de-stresser, and I've been getting withdrawal symptoms, so today I took some time off to catch up with some favourite challenges.

For this quick card, I masked off the top and the left hand edges of a card base and sponged pink ink over it, blending out to a fade. Next I got out one of my favourite ever stamp sets - Winter Foliage by Uniko - and stamped the holly leaves in two shades of green ink.

I added holly berries from the set in a bright red, giving them highlights with a Posca white paint pen and stalks with a fineliner. The card was finished with a sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks Christmas, stamped in black ink and given a shine with clear heat embossing before being snipped out and mounted on dimensionals.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Uniko where there's a Christmas party going on - and it's the kind we all love with crafting and fabulous prizes! I was totally inspired by the fabulous graphic at Inspired By - and whaddya know, there's a generous prize for the lucky winner there too! I'm also joining in with this week's Allsorts where Christmas is the theme and yes, they also have a beautiful prize for the winner!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We're not the only ones putting forth our best efforts on the tree decorating front. Out on one of our walks, I noticed the spiders have been busy too!

All they need now is a touch of sparkle courtesy of Jack Frost!

Sending hugs,

Exciting news and a Christmas ornament

Hello, crafting friends!

I don't know how I've been able to keep this one quiet but today I can reveal some very exciting news: I have been lucky enough to be invited to join the fabulous design team at one of my favourite challenges, CAS Colours and Sketches! How brilliant is that?! I shall become a regular in the new year but am guesting there today. Let's have a look at the challenge:

The idea is to take a sketch or colour palette from 2020 and give it a seasonal twist. Just go to the challenge site and click on the archives on the top bar and you'll be able to see all the past challenges. I've chosen the sketch from February's challenge number 359 and really enjoyed creating a Christmas card with it!

The shapes immediately suggested a Christmas tree ornament to me so I pulled out my Ornamental stencil by Funky Fossil. I watercoloured a 'ground' first, then stencilled two shades of red ink into the stencil. When it was dry, I used alcohol markers to colour the rest of the bauble, adding the cap with a silver marker and the highlight with a  Posca white paint pen.

The 'Merry' part of the sentiment was die cut from red card stock using a bargain die I picked up from Hobbycraft. I added a little silver embossed Christmas tag I made using a Uniko block stamp, and allowed the 'y' to curl around it. The card was finished with a few red gems on the bauble.

Here's the sketch I used - which one will inspire you? To celebrate the milestone of 400 challenges and the last challenge of 2020, there'll be a prize for the winner this week from the wonderful Uniko!  Click here to go to the challenge site for details, have a look at the handy archives of sketches and colours past, and use the Linky tool to join in. I can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with The Paper Players where they want to see our Christmas makes; I'm also linking up with Jingle Belles' last hurrah :)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

It's been pretty hectic here as it became clear that Christmas was going ahead! The tree went up at the weekend and I've been up to my ears in baubles. Eva is very excited to see all the decorations come out again and has been sniffing at everything and wagging gently. She has a decoration of her own that my daughter gave me one year - a beautiful sparkly golden retriever!

I love decorating the house at Christmas, partly because bringing out all the ornaments is like meeting up with old friends, with all the memories they bring :)

Sending hugs,

Christmas snippets patchwork

Hello, crafting friends!

There have been some of what my youngest son describes as 'Sad boy hours' here at Crafting Clare Towers, but I'm just about managing to squeak in with a quick Christmas card before the end of the month! Come and see:

The Optical Illusion set of Spellbinders dies I won at the Snippets playground are proving to be VERY useful for using up my snippets! For this quick and simple card, I used the hexagons to cut out bits of left-over designer paper in similar colours and arranged them patchwork style over a good thick card base.

I spent ages trying to find the right sentiment and ended up with this one from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks. I expect if you're a Patcher, any time of year is the season to be patching!! I experimented with embossing it in gold, then in black, but the breakthrough was stamping it in brown ink and then, when it was dry, pressing it into a versamark pad and clear embossing it.

Sorry about the bad photo but I wanted you to see yow deliciously shiny it is!

CHALLENGES

The card was a CASE of this gorgeous one of Stephanie's from last year, as per this fortnight's challenge at Jingle Belles. Ann's tic tac toe board at The Paper Players was helpful too - I chose the diagonal line Die cuts, Embossing and Patterned Paper. I'm also linking up at the Snippets Playground and joining in with The Rudolph Day Challenge.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I was absolutely delighted to have my daughter and her partner to stay last week but sadly I suffered excrutiating toothache for most of the time. I managed to get an emergency dental appointment in the end and my dentist found the offending tooth had split vertically and had to be extracted. No wonder it had been so painful!

I was well looked after at any rate, but now Nurse Eva has taken over and the only treatments she recommends are brisk walks and golden cuddles! 

Sending hugs,

High days and snow days

Hello crafting pals!

I've cheered up today. This is quite possibly because I've spent ages staring at the word 'JOY' whilst fussy cutting the letters out of card stock! Subliminal brain training! Come and see what I've been making:

CARD ONE

Here's a Christmas card to add to my stash *gives self a pat on the back*. The snowflake is from Stampin' Up's Festive Flurry (retired) and I've given it an ombre look by inking it up with three shades of blue ink. The word Joy comes from another retired Stampin' Up set, Welcome Christmas, and I've always thought it would make a great alphabet set - although preferably with dies!

It was easy cutting the 'j' and the 'y' but the centre of the 'O' was the tricky bit and I had to cut through from the outside. But hey, what are bows for?!! This bit of twine has covered the join rather neatly I think! The letters are popped up on bits of dimensionals, which was quite fiddly, but I like the effect.

CARD TWO

Yes, you get two for the price of one today! While the stamp was out, I made another ombre snowflake. This time, I embellished it simply, with silver liquid pearls and one large gem in the centre.

It's nice and shiny! To offset the shimmer of the snowflake I added a blocky sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks Christmas, again popped up on dimensionals.

CHALLENGES
I took inspiration from some of my favourite challenges today:

The CAS Christmas Challenge is asking for cards featuring the word JOY and Just Us Girls have challenged us to add a bow to our cards, so I'm playing along there with Card One.
I'm linking both cards up with Addicted to CAS, where the code word is Ombre and got me quite excited! I'm also entering both at Addicted to Stamps and More, which is looking for clean and simple cards. Edited to add: Actually, I'm not linking up with ATSAM as the list is closed! Aargh!

AND IN OTHER NEWS
I grew up on the middle of a moor in south west England and we were snowed in every winter. One year, we were snowed in for so long, we had to have food parcels dropped by helicopter! Usually, a landrover would collect all the children from the farms on the moor and take us to a village three miles away from our farm, where a coach would be waiting to take us to school 13 miles further on. If there had been a heavy snowfall, the landrover wouldn't be able to get through, so my father would put chains on the tractor tyres and make every effort to get us to the village. My brother, sister and I would all be perched in the semi-open tractor cab, wearing our school uniforms, being thrown around by the motion of the tractor as it negotiated huge snowdrifts. My goodness, can you imagine what 'Health and Safety' would have to say about it now!!!

Did you have an unusual journey to school? I'd love to hear about it!

Hugs,

(Don't) let it snow!

Hello crafting friends!

I know it's not Christmas again for another few months (!) but you know, while it's so wintery outside, and you have your things out, and an idea pops into your head, it just seems like a good idea to make a quick festive card! Come and see:

My distress inks have turned up and I LOVE them to bits! Here, I inked up the top third of my card panel in Tumbled Glass using a piece of sponge and let it fade out.

I made a tag from an snippet of white card stock and stamped a sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks Christmas three times with the aid of my stamp positioner. I love how the red ink pops with the blue and white :) The top of the tag was pierced with a pokey tool and I sewed some cotton thread through it and secured the ends at the back.

The final touch is the die cut snowflakes. Aren't they beautiful? So delicate! They were on a stunning Christmas card I received from my friend and Stampin' Up demo Jan Malcolm, and I carefully removed them so I could re-use them. If they had been from one die or a punch, I'd have bought them like a shot, but they're from two large die sets Christmas Layers (still available) and Frosted Frames (discontinued) so I shall have to continue my perfect snowflake search!

CHALLENGES
I shall be linking this card up with 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, where there is a beautiful sketch that has been calling me; also Just Us Girls, where the theme is Snowflakes; and last but not least, CAS Christmas, where the challenge is to use a tag on a Christmas card.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
Snow IS lovely isn't it. On a card. Or out of a window. Eva doesn't agree - she is dead keen on snow and likes to be as close as possible to it!

Here she is having a rootle around in some, in a photo taken a couple of years ago :)

What do you think? Do you already have loads of snow? Are you hoping for some? Or would you rather not?

Hugs,

One layer of Purple Snow

Hello crafting pals!

You know when you're thinking up ideas for a card and a song comes on the radio and all becomes clear? Well no, not usually me either... but today, I give you Purple Snow by Prince! Come and see:

I love these folksy little snowflakes from Stampin' Up's Endless Wishes (retired) and it's always fun to stamp a snowflake in unexpected colours! Thanks to His Royal Purpleness, I've pulled out Highland Heather ink today as well as Mint Macaron and Balmy Blue!

This is a one layer card so I stamped the snowflakes directly onto the card base. I spent a little time embellishing with silver Liquid Pearls before adding an appropriate sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks Christmas.

CHALLENGES
I'd been wondering what to do with Less is More's Pick a Triangle challenge this fortnight and the snowflakes lent themselves happily to the top triangle in this sketch.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
There's no sign of snow around here. It's been so wet that the fields by the river have been flooded and the farmer has had to move the sheep to higher ground. I bet he's not happy about that but at least a certain floofy someone is enjoying the watery new world!

Eva has discovered a beautiful Golden Retriever living at the bottom of the water but she just can't get her to play!

Thanks for coming to visit me today. I'll be back soon with more inky fun :)

Hugs,