All I Want For Christmas...

Ta Da!!!

My last Christmas card is finished.
:-)
I'm not sure if I can bring myself
to put all that glitter and diamond dust and sparkle,

away in a box.

I am entering this for the

Simon Says challenge,

where the theme is 'Merry Christmas'.
So, if you still have Christmas cards to make,

and you mo-jo is flagging,
pop on over there and check out the
fabulous DT work for some inspiration.
If you can, get your children involved in the challenge
and have some fun.

Recipe:
Digitla Stamp - Pollycraft, Bronson and Beaker Star Gazing,
coloured with Copics and stickles glitter.

Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Signature Christmas
Star charm from the Hobby House

Sentiment made on my comp.

Sticky pearls, ribbon and punched flowers from my stash.
xxx

Pppp... Pick Up A Penguin

Woohoo.... another Christmas card finished...
only 1 more to go :-)
I have followed the sketch over at
Papertake Challenge.

This card is for a family with little kiddies,
so I have used my cute penguin stamp from
Gillian Roberts and added plenty of sparkle.

Recipe :
Stamp - Gillian Roberts, Penguin and Tree,
coloured with Copics and stickles glitter.

I 3D'd the penguin.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist.
Punched snowflakes covered with Diamond Dust.
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
Ribbon from my stash.
xxx

Christmas Bear and Robin

Are you in a panic over your Christmas preparations yet?

I am trying to stay calm,

but I have lists EVERYWHERE.

:-)

Here are 5 cards I made this weekend -
only 3 left to make!
I am entering this card for the

Stamp Something challenge,

where the theme is

Winter Wonderland.

There is a fabulous sponsor this week -

In Style Stamps -
so have a go at the challenge to be in with a chance to win.

Recipe:
Stamp - Forever Friends, Bear and Robin, coloured with Copics.
Design Paper - My Mind's Eye,
Signature Christmas for background and

Wild Asparagus for the folded tree.

Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.

Ribbon and star bead from my stash.

Penguin and Tree

Sorting through my Xmas cards this morning
and I have just 6 more to make :-)

I am so glad that I started them early,
hope that everyone else is getting on ok with theirs.

For this card I followed the fab sketch, by Beatrix,
over at Friday Sketchers.
Check out the great work from the DT
and with entry to the challenge you could win
a coupon for this week's sponsor -
Mo's Digital Pencil.

Recipe:
Stamp - Gillian Roberts, Penguin & Tree.
It's my first time using this stamp,
so I wasn't sure how to colour him,
but I think he turned out ok.
I used my Copics and stickles glitter.
Design Paper - Daisy & Dandelion, A Winter's Tale.
Punched snowflakes.
Prima flowers sprayed with Glimmer Mist, Tattered Rose.
Sticky pearl colored with a copic to match the paper.

Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
xxx

Christmas for Boys

I don't have too many Christmas cards left to make now,
but here is one using the sketch over at

Papertake Weekly.

This is for my teenage nephew,
so I wanted to keep it cute, but simple.

Beside the regular weekly challenge,
Papertake are also looking for some GD'ers,
so pop on over there and check it out.
xxx

Recipe: -
Stamp - Pink Gem, Max & Snowman,
coloured with Copics and stickles glitter.

Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Signature Christmas.
Card candy.

xxx

When You Wish Upon A Star

Back to Christmas cards today,
with Pollycrafts 'Anything Christmas' challenge.
I also made this for a forum that I am in,
where the theme was 'Christmas Songs'.

How is everyone's Christmas shopping going?

I am having a little panic that there is
only 4 weeks to go!!!

Yikes!!
So I forced myself to head into town this morning

and pick up a few presents.
xxx

Card Recipe -
Digital Stamp - Pollycraft Bronson & Beaker,
coloured with Copics and stickles glitter.
Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Signature Christmas.
Flowers were punched from the DP and sprayed with
Glacier Glimmer Mist.
Snowflakes punched from silver glitter card.

Sentiment made on my comp.

Ribbon and sticky gems from my stash.
xxx

My 1st Miss Anya

I have finally got chance to play with my new stamps -

the adorable Miss Anya Dressy set from

the Greeting Farm.

Isn't this one just so cute? -

tricky to color with my Copics though.

I am going to have to practice.

It was nice to take a break from making Christmas cards,
and I have followed the challenge sketch over at

Create4fun.

Guess what?
If you're this week's winner the prize is a cute

Mermaid Anya.

So hop over there and give it a go.

Recipe:

Stamp - Miss Anya Dressy, which I bought from
Bunny Zoe's Crafts
It was my first time using Nikki's online store and
the service was great and delivery was very quick.
Oh, and Nikki has a Christmas Sale on at the moment,
so pop over there and grab yourself a bargain.

Stamp was coloured with Copics.
Design Paper - My Mind's Eye - Bloom & Grow

with flourish from their decoupage pad.
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.

Prima Blooms.
Ribbon and sticky pearls from my stash.
xxx

3D Christmas Tree Card

How gorgeous is this little, 3D Christmas Tree?
I wish you could see it in real life -
it looks fab!
I got the idea from Marianne at StampARTic

If you pop over there,

you can see a couple of her awesome cards
and she has kindly added a step by step
tutorial for making the tree.

This card is my entry for this week's

'Animal Antics' challenge,
over at Simon Says.

I used one of the Penny Black, Christmas Critters stamps,
which I layered up and coloured with Copics and
stickles glitter.
Design Paper is My Mind's Eye -
Signature Christmas for the background,
Bloom & Grow for the tree.
Star Charm - the Hobby House,
Sentiment - Craftwork Cards
Pearl brad and bows from my stash.

Simons Says, would also like us to bear in mind
the struggle that animal charities face right now,
and please donate if you can.
Here in the UK we have
Children in Need this weekend,
so, to anyone that's sitting in a bath of cold jelly,
shaving their head,
or getting involved in the fun,
I hope you raise a ton of money!
xxx

Christmas Notice Board

This year, I think my front room is going to be full
of crafts made with this gorgeous, glittery paper.

I just love it.
Here is a little Christmas notice board that I made for
the Stamp with Fun challenge,
where the theme is calendars or decorations.
Check out the awesome work from the DT -
who made some truly wonderful projects.

For my notice board I used a 12" x 12" canvas that I

'borrowed' from my daughter.

These are easy to find in craft shops, but you could use
an old notice board or something similar.
I covered it with my fav, glitery papers -
My Mind's Eye, Signature Christmas.

I knew that the set of little silver pegs and cord
that I bought the other day, would come in useful for something.
I strung the cord across the box, tied at the back,
and the pegs will be great to hang messages up.

The stamp is Pink Gem, Winter Milly,
coloured with Copics, a sprinkling of stickles glitter
and a heap of Diamond Dust.
:-)

For the 'NOEL' I die cut the small tags and the letters,
and added a little bit of the silver cord to them.
xxx

Christmas Stars

If you're looking for some cute Christmas ideas
check out the challenge at
Pollycraft

where the theme is 'No Cards Allowed'.

I used my fav. Christmas papers to make these
3D stars.
The photo doesn't really do them justice,
they are pretty and glittery
and will make great hanging ornaments.

3D star template, from Jessica, HERE

Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Signature Christmas.
Bloom made with small Xcut punch

Pearl brad and silver thread from my stash.
xxx

Christmas Girls

I used the great sketch over at
Create4fun
to make Christmas cards for my girls.
I couldn't give them exactly the same so

I just changed the papers and colours.

I think they came out pretty cute -
and I am enjoying using 'non-Christmas'
stamps for my Christmas cards.

Recipe:

Stamp - Sugar Nellie, Pen Pal
coloured with Copics and stickles glitter.

Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Signature Christmas.

Bloom and snowflakes were X Cut punches.

Pearl brad and star charm from the Hobby House

Ribbon from my stash
and sentiment made on my comp.
xxx

Box of Baileys Chocolate Truffles

Baileys, Chocolate and Crafting...
what more could a girl want?

This is my entry for the

Simon Says Stamp Challenge,
where the theme is a 'thankyou card'.

OK, so I made a box -
but I hope that will still qualify.
:-)

I already had a white, flat pack box,
which I made up and covered.

Then I just added a simple base and lid from blue card.
I made the 'Thankyou' sentiment on my comp,
and the 'Treat Yourself' is a stamp from
the Simon Says Stamp, Savor Sweet Cupcakes, set.

Design Paper is My Mind's Eye, Magnolia.
I found a great new tip on my blog travels,
you can colour sticky pearls with your copics,
so that they match your project perfectly.

This is a yummy truffle recipe,
which will definitely be going into my 'Sweets' recipe book.
I added Baileys to my truffles,
but you can use any alcohol or flavouring you like.

3-Tiered Christmas Boxes

Last week I bought the most amazing papers.
The kind that you don't want to cut into,
you just want to put them in a drawer
and take them out every so often to look at them.
:-)
Then I came across this idea for these 3 nesting boxes
and new it would be a perfect way to try my papers out.

This is also my entry for this week's
Stampin' For The Weekend challenge,
where the theme is
'Festive Goodie Box'
Check out the great ideas from the DT -
I am going to find this challenge so useful for
boxing up some Christmas goodies.

I have to say a big thankyou to Shannon for this idea,
that you can see on her blog Northern Girl Stamper
She has made some awesome box sets and has also
posted the instructions for making the boxes.

I haven't actually put anything in my boxes -
I am just going to use them as a Christmas decoration.
They look fabulous on my white mantelpiece,
and you might not be able to see from my photos,
but all the papers are glittered.

The Design Paper is My Mind's Eye,
Signature Christmas.
Happy Christmas Stamp from Pink Gem Designs

xxx

Goodies from Wendy

Wow!
Look at this lovely lot of goodies
that just arrived from Wendy.

This is my prize from the Secret Crafter Blogoversary.

Check out Wendy's fab craft store at the
The Secret Crafter
and if you want to join in the challenges
go to the Secret Crafter Challenge Blog
They have a different challenge every Saturday
and all entires go into a monthly prize draw.
xxx

Mr Mechanic

Does anyone else put off making cards for guys?
I never really know quite what to do,

so my stock of guy cards is running really low.

Here's one that I have made for the

Friday Sketchers Challenge.

Check out their fab DT work,
and if you play along,
you could win some awesome digi stamps
from their sponsor
Sassy Studio Designs

Recipe:

Stamp - Personal Impressions, Cute Characters
coloured with copics.
Design Paper - Dovercraft Masculine.
Card Candy and sentiment from Craftwork Cards
Ribbon and buton from my stash.
xxx

Christmas Robin

Have you ever made a card without any backing paper?
That's the challenge over at
Charisma Cardz this week,
and I found it a tough one.
If you want to play along, check out the fab DT work
and don't miss out on the chance to win
one of the Popcorn Bears CD's,
from this week's sponsor
Donna's Den of Crafts

Sorry about the pics,
it's been a dark, rainy day here,
but I hope you can make out all the added sparkle on my card.
I die cut a circle on the front of my card stock
and added stickles glitter all around the edge.
Then I stuck my image to the back of the card,
so it has a little depth.

Recipe:
Stamp - Woodware, Winter's Day,
coloured with copics and stickles glitter.
Snowflakes - Xcut Punch
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
Blooms, ribbon and sticky pearls from my stash.
xxx

Parsnip and Maple Syrup Cake

Yes, you read right... that's PARSNIP!
lol*

I am a regular visitor to the Good Food website,
and they have been having a cake competition.

This Parsnip and Maple Syrup Cake,
by Catherine Marshall,
has reached the top 3 ,
so I had to give it a try.
It's a fab, easy recipe -
if I can make it, anyone can -

and the parsnip keeps the cake lovely and moist.

Ignore the fact that my filling is a bit drippy.

We were so keen to get it filled and try it,
that the cake was still a bit warm.
xxx

Christmas Cupcakes

I am really happy with my first attempt and an 'easel' card.

They are easy to make and I think they look really stylish.

This is for the challenge over at Simon Says,
where the theme is
'All That Sparkles'.

I thought it would be nice to make a Christmas card,
using a stamp that wasn't just for Christmas,
so I had a rummage, and came up with these
cupcakes from Simon Says Stamp.

I paper pieced the cases, with sparkly paper
and added sticky pearls, diamonds and stickles glitter
to the frosting.

Do you like my bow?

It took me 100 attempts to get it like that... lol*

Recipe:
Stamps - Savor Sweet Cupcakes, from Simon Says Stamp.
Design Paper - K & Co, Peppermint Twist
Fancy edge made with Fiskars lace punch
Christmas Cupcakes sentiment made on my comp.
Ribbon and button from my stash.

xxx

Christmas Wilbur

I've had a little panic this morning,
totting up the number of Christmas cards I need.
So, here's another to add to my stash.

I have combined 2 challenges.
The sketch is by Ger, from Sunday Sketch & Stamp
(I just resized the circle,
because this was the largest die I had,
and you do not want to see me cut one out freehand.. lol*)
The theme is 'Furry Friends',
at Allsorts

Recipe:
Digital Stamp - Wilbur, from Pollycraft.
I paper pieced the parcels and coloured Wilbur
with copics.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist
Ribbon, pearls, flower and metallic tape from my stash.
xxx

Cinder Toffee and Winter Wonderland Challenge

Mmmmm.... cinder toffee.
Not only is it delish,
but it makes your kitchen smell gorgeous.
:-)
As soon as I saw that this week's
Winter Wonderland challenge
was an 'open' theme,
I knew what I wanted to make.
I needed a place to keep my Christmas treat recipes
all together,

So I have covered a little notebook.
As you can see, I threw all my sparkle and glitter at it...lol*

The first recipe inside is for the Cinder Toffee -
so easy to make and a real favourite here.
In fact, I had to be quick to take the photo,
as the toffee was disappearing fast!

Recipe.
Small plain notebook.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist.
Die cut 'Bug in a Rug' letters covered with Glossy Accents.
Punched snowflakes covered with stickles glitter.
Adhesive pearls, card candy and ribbon from my stash.
xxx

Winter's Day

Have you seen Elizabeth's images at Softpencil Digital Stamps?
Elizabeth is this week's sponsor at
A Spoon Full Of Sugar.

I haven't seen her work before,

but it is just sooo cute.

I definitely want to be in with a chance of winning some of
her adorable images.
So, here is my entry for their sketch challenge.
Check out the DT work, who have had the chance to play with
some of the images.

Recipe:

Stamp - Woodware, A Winter's Day,
coloured with copics
and sprinkled with Polar White Flower Soft.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist.
Punched snowflakes, covered with Diamond Dust.
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
xxx

Halloween Treats

It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it!
I have had to sample several bags of sweeties this morning,
just to make sure that the quality is good enough
to put them in these jars.
:-)

These little treats are for my girls -
you're never too old for Haribo, are you?
I am entering them for this week's
Stamptacular Sunday challenge,
where the theme is

'Spooktacular'.
Take a look at the amazing work from the DT
and if you enter you could win the fab prize of a
$25 voucher from those lovely people at Simon Says Stamp

Recipe:

2 jars.
Halloween picket fence downloaded from here.
Design Paper - Doodlebug Design Inc.
Digital Stamp from Pollycraft,
coloured with Copics.
Sentiment made on my comp.
xxx

Allsorts Sketch - Edwin

Post number 2 for today -
and it's this card using the sketch at
Allsorts

I can't enter this for the challenge,
as I realised, after I made my card,
that the theme is 'Monochrome Christmas'
Silly me!

I admit too, that I struggled with the sketch.
I wasn't sure what to use for the 5 round embellies.
I persevered though, and came up with the circles
and card candy.
If you want to have a go at the sketch,
and the challenge,
check out the fab work from the DT
for some inspiration.

Recipe:
Magnolia stamp coloured with Copics.
Design Paper - Card Makers Earth Palette.
Card candy from Craftwork Cards.
xxx

Bling It Bear

I can't resist a bit of bling -
so I had to have a go at this week's challenge
over at Stamp Something,

where the theme is 'Bling It'.

There is also an awesome prize this week,
of some Copic Spica markers.
Who wouldn't love to win those?

I don't often make shaped cards,
but thought I would have a go at this simple, 'z-fold' style,
and I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.


I find it hard to photograph glitter,
but I hope you can see that there is plenty of 'bling'
on my card.
The background paper is gorgeous and has a pretty glitter finish.
I also added some stickles glitter to the bear's dressing gown.

Recipe:
Stamp - Forever Friends, coloured with Copics.
Design Paper - K & Co, Peppermint Twist
Ribbon from my stash.
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards
xxx

Caroling Mice

Afternoon everyone.
Hope you are all enjoying what's left of the weekend.

Hands up who has given in and put the heating on!!

Here is my entry for this week's

Friday Sketchers.
There is some amazing talent on the DT over there,
and this week the challenge
is sponsored by
Quixotic Paperie
I have just been having a nosey around their online store,

and they have some gorgeous products.

Recipe:

Stamp - from the Penny Black Christmas Critters Set,
coloured with copics and some added stickles glitter.

Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Peppermint Twist.

Swirls - Die cut with Sizzix Flourish #3

Sentiment from Craftwork Cards. Ribbon from my stash.
xxx

Pretty In Pink

TGI Friday!
Just a quick post this afternoon.

Have you entered the Simon Says Stamp challenge this week?

There's still plenty of time to try the great sketch by Domi.

Here's my entry for the challenge.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
so I made my card pink and substituted the breast cancer ribbon
for one of the flowers.

Recipe:

Stamp - Sugar Nellie with Heart,
coloured with copics.
Design Paper, My Mind's Eye

(deep pink is from Magnolia,
pale Pink is from Bloom & Grow)
Ribbon, brad and pearls from my stash.
xxx

Digi Stamp Folder

Afternoon everyone,
have you headed over to Pollycraft yet,
to take part in their birthday blog hop?

There are lots of prizes on offer
and some fabulous work to see.

They also have their normal challenge running,
and this week it's a colour combo of
Tangerine, Turquoise and Chocolate.

A while ago I covered my rubber stamp folder,
so this time I thought I would do the same for
my digi stamps.
I like to keep a copy of them printed out,
so that I can flick through them to choose
what I want to use.

For the front I combined 2 Pollycraft images -
Background Trees and Cherry Kisses Snowball.
They were coloured with my copics and some stickles glitter.

Design Paper is My Mind's Eye, Magnolia
Text stamped with MSE, Adrienne's letters.

Christmas Bear

I am feeling a bit sniffly today -

so I am going to turn on the heating,
wrap up warm and plonk myself in front of the TV.

But first, here is my entry for this week's

Sunday Sketch & Stamp,
which is a fab sketch from Clare.
Pop over there and check out the fab DT work.

Recipe:

Stamp - Forever Friends, paper pieced and coloured with copics.
Xmas design Paper from last year's stash.

Punched snowflakes sprinkled with Diamond Dust.

Star charm from the Hobby House

Sentiment and card candy from Craftwork Cards.

xxx