CHRISTMAS GIRAFFE

Hello.
Here I am with my last Christmas card of the year.
I needed to make a card for my hubby,
but I also really wanted to play with my new giraffe die.
Ha! ha!
Say hello to the Christmas giraffe :-)

I really couldn't resist this cute giraffe.
And for that Christmas touch, I've wrapped him in fairy lights,
and popped him up on a snowy background :o)

Challenge

Happy to be entering the last challenge of the year by

Watercooler Wednesday
Thanks for a fabulous challenge blog this year
and for all the amazing inspiration from the DT

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.
CRAFTING HAS KEPT ME GOING THIS YEAR,
SO THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR VISITS,
KINDS WORDS AND SUPPORT.
I HOPE 2021 IS A BETTER YEAR FOR ALL OF US.

mft - joyful giraffe, with fairy lights from happy pawlidays
sentiment - clearly besotted
distress ink - tumbled glass
zig clean color real brush markers

SENDING BEAR HUGS

Who doesn't need a bear hug right now?

I wanted this to look like my bear was outside in the snow, looking in at a window,
but, he looked a little lonely on his own, so I ended up adding the tree, and the present, and the hat, and the sentiment.... well, you get the picture.

Inkspirational Challenge

pinkfresh studio - simply hexagons

sugarpea designs - hey winter

copics

HOMES FOR CHRISTMAS

Hello.
Today I'm sharing the cards I made for my daughters'.
They only live 12 miles away, but they're both in a Tier 3 and we are Tier 2,
so no visiting is allowed!
We are hoping we can at least get together for a few days over Christmas.

In my ideal world, we would all live next door to each other, so the pooches can run around from house to house :-)
So I created our street, with a house for each of us, wreaths on the door, snow on the roof, and, of course, dogs at the door!

That's my little monster Buster the Border Terrier in the middle,
with Indie the Staffy, and Ollie the Puggle.

It was fun trying to create 3 different houses from the stamp set, and irl the porches and trees are all popped up for a 3d effect.
I also changed up the colours for the second card.

Challenge

WaterCooler Wednesday

wplus9 - neighbors coloured with copics
trees - mft beast friends
wreaths - stampendous holiday home
sentiment - altenew hug me
distress ink tumbled glass
glamour dust

 

Christmas Blooms

Hello.
Today I'm sharing the Christmas card I made for my mum.
I bit the bullet and included the 2 things I struggle with the most - flowers and watercolouring.

The flowers bit was made easy, by using this gorgeous cover plate die,
the watercolouring was a challenge!

I was aiming for a red poinsettia look, but the colours ended up being more pink and they're not quite as washed out as they look in the photo.
All things considered, I'm happy with how it turned out.

Challenge

The Flower Challenge

ADD EMBELLISHMENTS

I've added some sparkly gems to the flower centres,
and some glamour dust on the petals.

pinkfresh studios - simply blooms
zig clean colour real brush pens
sentiment - mft, snow globe sentiments
altenew ink - turquoise

FROM OUR HOUSE

Hello.
Picture the scene  - it's the night before Christmas,
everyone is tucked up warm indoors,
the streets are quiet and the snow is softly falling.
Sounds pretty damn perfect to me.

I used copic markers here, for my sky background, which was much easier and quicker than I thought it would be, but I did miss the trick of adding in a bright, winter moon.
Ah well! Next time.

Challenge
Christmas Kickstart

clearly besotted - scene it more

copic markers  glamour dust

IN STITCHES

Hello.
My first foray into crafting, when dinosaurs roamed the earth,
was with cross stitching.
Back then, I used Aida cloth, that was stitched, starched, and then stuck into trifold cards, with a front aperture.
So, it was nice to go back to a bit of stitching for this card - albeit in a more modern die-cut way.

This was a simple pattern to stitch, so it's a nice little project that you can have on the go whilst watching TV.

Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday

mama elephant - pegworks
mft - snowglobe sentiments

BEAR IN THE WOODS

Hello.
Have I mentioned that I LOVE this little bear?
He's taking a break from Christmas today,
for this 'Bear in the Woods' birthday card.

Me and my four legged pal spend a lot of time in the woods,
and, at this time of year, they are a riot of different colours.
I don't have too many green inks, so I simply die cut my trees from cardstock - no stamping involved. Nice and quick too!

Challenge

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge

Anything Goes

sugarpea designs - hey winter
sentiment - mft woof pack
distress ink - tumbled glass / crushed olive
copic markers

OH CHRISTMAS TREE

Hello.
I am that person who has had their Christmas tree up for the last 2 weeks.
And this year, I've gone retro, with lots of brightly coloured lights.
So, when I came to make this card I reached for a rainbow of inks.

I love this big sentiment, it was an absolute bargain that I picked up at The Works a few months ago.
(Christmas Vellum Pad - £1.50 for 12 assorted sheets)
The only slight problem is that some of the sentiments are a little close together, so cutting them out with a die can be tricky.
 Also, I wasn't sure how to stick it to the card without the adhesive being seen.
In the end I went for good old Pritt Stick.

Inspired By Challenge

I was inspired by the colourful trees

mft - oh christmas tree

altenew inks - lime, velvet, sea breeze, turquoise, honey drizzle, fresh leaf, dark chocolate

the works christmas vellum pad sentiment.

CUTE BEAR WISHES

Hello.
One good thing about moving you craft room, is that you unearth all sorts of thing that have been consigned to the bottom of boxes and forgotten about.
I've just re-discovered a large box of designer paper pads.
When did patterned paper go out of fashion?
I've added a panel to this card, but at this rate it's gonna take me about 10 years to use it all up!!

I stamped the simple wreath,
and then masked off the bottom so I could pop in my favourite bear.

Challenge

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Christmas or Winter/Festive

sugarpea designs, hey winter - coloured with copics

wplus9, heartfelt holidays stamped in distress ink cracked pistachio and festive berries

WINTER FLOWERS

Hello.
This stamped and coloured panel has been sitting on my desk for weeks.
I just thought it was a bit flat.
So, today I went to town on it with a white gel pen - and couldn't stop!   :o)

When I finally put the white pen down, I added a plain sentiment and blue frame.

Challenge

Inkspirational

simon says stamp winter flowers, coloured with copics
mft - snow globe sentiments, scallop edge rectangle die

HAPPY ROBINS

Hello.
I've been stretching my stash today and using these non Christmassy Happy Birds
for a holiday card.
With a patch of deep red I've, hopefully, transformed them into robins.

To keep things simple I've opted for no shading, just adding a few highlights with a white gel pen, and a grey shadow.
Also, the birds have been stamped rather than my usual die-cutting to keep the card postage friendly.

Challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

wplus9 -  happy birds
small leaf and sentiment - lawn fawn, winter sparrows
red dots - winnie and walter, big bang confetti, stamped in distress ink festive berries

copics

HELLO DEER

Hello.
I dug deep into my stash for this card,
and came up with this neglected deer.

Despite the simple look of this card, it does have a few easy techniques in there:

stamping and heat embossing for the snow,
paper-piecing on the reindeer,
and an inlaid die (yes, I forgot to use blue background in the e,y and a !)

Challenge

Inspired By...

Hero Arts Reindeer
Mft Merry Christmas Die
Winnie & Walter Big Bang Confetti
Wow White Embossing Powder
Copics

BOKEH CHRISTMAS

Hello.
I had fun today playing with my inks,
trying to create a bokeh effect.

I started by inking up a piece of card with Distress Ink tumbled glass, then I used small round stamps to add some different blues.
The white and silver didn't stamp too well, so for them, I created a stencil using a hole punch.

My first attempt was the 'sweet winter wishes' one.
It didn't really turn out like I wanted - I kept adding too many dots   :-)
For the second card I reined it in a bit, and I think the effect looks better.
IRL the silver adds a lovely shimmer.

Challenge

Less Is More - 

Sentiment - mft snow globe sentiments
circle stamps - winnie & walter, big bang confetti

MERRY AND BRIGHT

Hello.
I am soooo behind with my Christmas cards this year.
I honestly don't know where the time has gone.
Here's a very quick and simple one, to add to the pile.

The hardest thing about this card was stepping away
and forcing myself not to add anything else to it   :-)

Inspired By

I was inspired by the colours, and the bold sentiment

mft - stitched alpha dies

IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE?

Yes, there is a doctor in the house.
We've always called her the doctor, but now it's official
Our daughter, Maria, a cardiac physiologist at Leeds Hospital,
has just completed her PhD.
We are all so proud of her.

The freebie image from MFT stamps was just perfect for her card and
I  managed to add a little echo graph to her clipboard.
The background is embossed with white powder and then inked with distress blue ink.

Challenge
Watercooler Wednesday

Occasion - Graduation

mft stamps - free image, coloured with copics and stitched square die
congrats from lawn fawn, penelope's blossoms
distress ink - tumbled glass

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Yay! I'm back.
I've had a disaster of a month with technology.
First my phone died, and the stupid backup didn't work, so I've been starting from scratch with a phone my dd donated (far better then the one that I had though, so a bonus there) 
Then my computer failed to re-start after an update. All my photos/programmes/favourites etc gone for good 😢
Anyhoo, new laptop now, so fingers crossed it will be ok.
Just getting to grips with it all.
Technology is great when its working ok, isn't it?

Here's a little cross-stitch card I made for Halloween.

This was a nice little project to sit and do whilst watching the TV.
I adapted the pattern from a fabulous free sampler at The World In Stitches

Challenge

Anything Goes

Mama Elephant Pegworks Die
Embroidery thread

NOTE
This new laptop seems to have a really bright monitor, so all my previous cards look a little washed out and not as bright as they really are.
It's just dawned on me that everyone will see the colours according to their own settings. 
If you leave a comment would you let me know if the colours show up ok for you.

xxx

FLOWER HUGS

Hello.
It's no secret that flowers are my nemesis.
But I do love them.

Here I've tried something different - to avoid colouring them  :o)
I have stamped and embossed these blooms and leaves onto coloured card.

I've used a touch of copic marker, in similar colours to my card, for a little bit of shading.
Then I simply layered up the blooms around my sentiment.

Inspired By Challenge

• mft - brilliant blooms
• neat and tangled - journaling alphas
• wow - white embossing powder  

HAVE A COOL YULE

Hello.

Nope...    still not tired of these bear stamps :o)
(Is it possible, do you think, to use the same stamp for ALL your cards?)

I masked off a rectangle on my card base, and inked it up with some distress ink - fading it out towards the bottom.
My next step is usually to drop or smudge the sentiment, but I avoided that by using my stamping platform for a nice, crisp image.

The bear was coloured with copics and popped up on foam tape, and I added some white pen 'snow' and a few crystals for a bit of bling :o)

Challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

• sugarpea designs - hey winter coloured with copics
• stampendous sentiment - yule penguins
• distress ink - tumbled glass
• 
  

SNOW BEAR

Hello.
Did you know there's a new challenge on the block?
Color Hues the Color Challenge
Pop by to see them and check out the fabulous work from the DT.

This fortnight they want to see Navy & Turquoise

Just having 2 colours to play with (plus the allowed neutrals) really helped me to keep my card clean and simple.
My snowy background was die cut in dark navy, and I coloured my bear and trees with some BG copics for the turquoise. 
Turquoise is definitely a tricky colour - it does look a bit blue on the photo - but irl it's slightly greener.

Color Hues

• sugarpea designs - hey winter
• avery elle falling snow die
• spellbinders nested circle die
• mft - snow globe sentiments
• copics

BEARS IN THE HILLS

Hello.
Today I've been playing with distress inks and some circle dies, for the

                         Inspired By Challenge.

Whilst pottering about on Pinterest I came across a gorgeous embroidery project by Wendi Gratz - here -  called 'Bears in the Hills', and I used this as inspiration for my card design.

I inked up some card and die cut my circles. (This would have been a whole lot quicker with a circle punch!).

The circles were then taped together in rows, and these rows were attached to a square die cut, starting from the top and adding in my bears as I went along.

I coloured the bears and trimmed the circles down around the square base, and then attached it all with foam tape to my card blank.

Inspired By Challenge

• sugar pea designs - hey winter
• sentiment from mft stamps, four legged friends
• distress inks      copics

SWEET WINTER BEAR

Hello.
Do you use ALL the stamps in a stamp set?

When I bought the 'hey winter' set I was really focused on the big bear and didn't think I would use this little guy.
But, I've just inked and coloured him up...  how cute is he?

With all that snow in the background I've kept my scene very simple.
The little bear and the trees are coloured with copics and popped up with foam tape.

Challenge

AAA Cards

• sugarpea designs - hey winter
• sentiment from wplus9 - heartfelt holiday
• avery elle - falling snow die
• copic makers

WINTER BEAR BIRTHDAY

Hello.
This week's Less is More Challenge is 'shades of purple'
and I just happened to have this bear, all coloured up, on my work space.
Serendipity!

To follow the challenge theme, I created a simple background, in shades of purple. 
More haste, less speed!
Some of my 'letters' were a bit messy, so I covered up the worst ones by attaching a die-cut over the top. 
My bear was popped up on foam tape and  I went to town with the white gel pen!

(I wanted to use the birthday sentiment that came with this set, but by the time I prised it out of the dog's mouth it said 
'py birthday to you' 😬)

Less Is More 

sugarpea designs - hey winter
mft - oh christmas tree (stars) and party animals (sentiment)
altenew inks - wisteria, hydrangea, ultraviolet
copic markers

HEY WINTER

Hello.

Do you know there's only 110 day till Christmas?

Time to make a start on this season's cards.

My budget has only allowed for one stamp set this year, so I chose this winter bear from SugarPea Designs.

I think it's gonna be a winner.

This design was easy to put together, so I have a feeling, a close variation on it, is going to crop up quite few times.
The 'snowy' background is die cut and then the elements coloured with Copics and popped up on foam tape.

Challenge

Merry Little Christmas

• sugarpea designs - hey winter
• mft - scalloped basic edges, snow globe sentiments
• avery elle - falling snow die
• copic markers

GIVE A DOG A BONE

 Hello.
How could I resist this week's theme at the
Inspired By Challenge

I am definitely an autumn/winter person, and I'm excited that the weather is starting to turn cooler. I can't wait for drizzly, misty walks in the woods with my furry pal.

So, with autumn in mind, I created a little pile of leaves for my pooch to play in, with a few swirling about in the wind :o)

Inspired By Challenge

(inspiration source)

• mft - woof pack, four legged friends, grassy edges stencil
• wplus9  - friends for all seasons fall
• distress ink - mowed lawn
• copic markers