Christmas in the pink!

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I got to have a teeny bit of crafty fun today and made a fun and super quick Christmas card! Come and see:

 

It's always fun to think outside the colour box for festive cards isn't it, so I thought I'd go for a pink snow scene :) I made a stencil out of an offcut of thick vellum, cut with a rectangle aperture and then fortified with masking tape. This was positioned over the front of a thick card base and taped into place. Over that, I placed Uniko's Tiger Print stencil and sponged into it with Spun Sugar distress oxide ink. This produced a graphic snowdrift effect which practically made me jump up and down with happiness!! At the top I sponged solid pink for a sky before removing the stencils.

 

The trees are just one little die from Tonic Studios' Staggered Stage Winter Village, a die set I was lucky enough to win at The Snippets Playground. I gathered together a bunch of pink snippets of card and cut lots of the trees out. These were arranged at the top of my 'hill' at different levels and I popped one of them up and finished with a single clear gem...

 

 

and a die cut sentiment from Hobbycraft. This was an impulse purchase while I was browsing for something else and it has had a lot of use. You can't beat a bricks and mortar store!

Here are the pink snippets I used. I may make a whole bunch of these in different colours - that would certainly use up a few of those small snippets!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at The Snippets Playground (thanks again for that amazing die set ladies - I'm getting lots of use out of it!) Stephanie and Lauren at Jingle Belles are doing their breast cancer research challenge again this year and you can help by entering a pink Christmas card as they are donating for each one entered. Carol and the team at ABC Christmas are challenging us with U is for Unusual Colours (as well as V is for Velvet) so I'm linking up there too.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I am giving away a golden retriever called Mucky McRoll-A-Lot. Any takers?

I had climbed to the top of a hill and was dreamily enjoying the view while the dogs (as I thought) scampered about. Young Madam WAS scampering about, however Senior Madam had discovered a pile of fox poo and was busy rolling it all over herself. We returned home in short order, I keeping a terse silence; Lulu looking smug while sniggering to herself; and Eva wagging away and congratulating herself on a job well done.

Sending hugs (and reaching for the brandy),

Peaceful village

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It was the 25th of the month on Saturday and I rolled up my sleeves to make a festive card ready for that 25th later at the end of the year! 

 

I started with an arch, cut from an offcut of white card with one of the nesting Arch dies from the Greetery. I blended ink over it (Misty Moonlight from Stampin' Up) then wet my hands with water and clapped them over the panel, blotting with a paper towel to create a subtle starry sky.

 

The Winter Village dies from Tonic (that I won as a prize draw at the Snippets Playground) were still out on my table, and I used the line of houses and church from it to create a village scene. I cut one from watercolour card, one from yellow card and several from black card - all snippets! The watercolour die cut was coloured with ink and water and I added snow with a white acrylic pen when it was dry; the yellow die cut was used to replace some of the windows on the watercolour scene to make them look lit up; one of the black die cuts was used to back the whole scene to give it some dimension; the remaining black versions were cut up and used to create the illusion of houses behind the main street.

 

The sentiment is from The Best Gift of All by Reverse Confetti, stamped in versamark ink and heat embossed with white embossing powder. I added a crescent moon, cut from the yellow card with a circle punch.

CHALLENGES

I'm linking up with Rudolph Days which has instilled into me the habit of making a Christmas card on the 25th of every month! I took my colour palette from Peace on Earth's lovely mood board so I'm joining in there too. And of course this is a snippety card so I shall romp over to the Snippets Playground and actually remember to link it up this time!!!

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

This aristicratic lady, who lives in the neighbourhood, is currently occupying some of my time.

 

Her interests include having her furs brushed, plaintively ordering rich dishes (such as Dover sole with a prawn cream sauce) and telling me long and complicated stories about hunting exploits in her distant youth!

When I return home after attending to her requirements, the golden girls sniff me suspiciously!

Sending hugs,

A truck load of birthday wishes

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another Tic Tac Toe challenge! Felicita has created the board for this fortnight and she has come up with ideas that will hopefully inspire you to get a masculine card or two under your belt! 

 

I was inspired by the diagonal from bottom left, but realised that the top row fits as well!

 

Earlier on this year when the days were dark and the rain never seemed to stop, I won a bumper prize from The Snippets Playground that really brightened my day :) Included in the parcel was a large Christmas die set from Tonic Studios which included a truck. The moment I saw that I wanted to play with it - and now is the perfect opportunity!

 

I cut my truck out of snippets of white card and sponged and watercoloured with distress oxide inks, trying to give it a 'seen some action' look! The tyres were cut with a circle punch and the whole thing put together and glued onto the shadow die which came with it.

 

For the background, I cut a rectangle out of a white offcut using a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle and cut across it with one of Lawn Fawn's Puffy Cloud border dies. The bottom of the rectangle was masked and sponged with green distress oxide ink. The sentiment is the Lawn Fawn Giant Happy Birthday To You die which I used with a yellow offcut of card. I trimmed off the 'to you' part with paper snips and glued the sentiment over the clouds, allowing it to burst out of the scene. To finish, I added the truck and a Clearly Besotted sentiment in a surprise pop of red.

Okay, so now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog and check out the amazing inspiration from my team mates. To play, choose a row, column or diagonal on the board and make a card using the ideas; when you're ready to share it with us, use the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post. Have fun!

CHALLENGES

I’m vroooming over to the Snippets Playground in my truck - anyone fancy a ride? The snippets I used were all white except a yellow offcut for the sentiment and a tiny piece of black for the tyres. I’m also joining in with The Sisterhood of Crafters where the challenge is All About the Men and The Male Room where the theme is Planes Trains and Automobiles. The Winter Village die set is making its debut so I shall stop to refuel and then motor on over to Darnell's NBUS Challenge :)

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I love taking my golden girls out for walks in weather which is dry and warm, but not TOO warm - like today. We can go out and play in the countryside then and don't need a river to cool Eva down with her thick coat (although if there's any water around, she will find it, no matter what colour it is and what it smells like!) If the girls aren't on a tantalising scent or chasing a cheeky bird or rabbit, they can always play Dens.

Here's a cosy little place that Lulu has discovered in a hedge. The perfect place to bring up a litter of puppies and welcome Bubba Dog home after his long day hunting!

I tell her that boy dogs and puppies are a lot of work and that Meaty Chunks twice a day plus extra treats, plenty of walks and snuggles on the sofa isn't such a bad life!

Sending hugs,