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