Another Christmas Card

Grey skies equal bad photos!
Not the sharpest or the brightest but you get the general idea!
Another card made for my own stash.
Simple and quick too, so may make a couple more.....

Rudolph stamped in Adirondack 'Latte' ink then clear embossed.

Snowflake flurry embossing folder.

Wrapped some red and white twine round the bottom to break up the expanse of white (which I had to leave cos I wanted it to fit onto a 7 x 5 inch card base!)  and stamped a small sentiment onto a tag shape and tied to the twine.

Stuck it onto red card then layered it with foam pads onto the white base.

Added a larger red sparkly for Rudolph's nose and three of the tiniest red sparklies you have ever seen in your life which were at the bottom of the gem jar - I spent ten minutes chasing them round the bottom of the glass jar to get them out and then another 20 minutes trying to pick them up off the craft mat to stick them on!

Challenges -
Crafty Catz - Anything Goes
Fussy and Fancy - Happy Holidays
Crafty Little Fairies - Not Square
MAWTT - Inspired by a Song (a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer - very original!!!)
Time Out - Embossing

Thanks for taking the time to visit - we have quite a nice day here so am away to the Club to play in the 'Frostbite' League (suitably wrapped up of course!). Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

One month away...

I have had a real nice few days - was at the Ladies National Presentation Dinner in the Midlands on Saturday night and yesterday spent a few hours in the North in the company of Sylvia and her friends making Christmas cards round Sylvia's kitchen table!
Two long drives but both worth it!
 In my crafting time on my own I have been busy getting on with some Christmas cards too...

I bought this PB stamp last year and used it once! This year I have made a batch of cards with it, using distress markers in Festive Berries (for the flower) and Shabby Shutter for the greenery.
I stamped one image straight away after applying the markers and then lightly spritzed the stamp for the second.
Simply layered each onto co-ordinating card then into white base card, a sentiment in the same inks and added a few tiny pearls to the centre of each flower.
It is the final Rudolph's Day challenge of the year -and also Sarn's final time as host so thought she might as well spend the rest of the time towards Christmas in shock that I have managed two challenges on the trot!

Other Challenges -
Love 2 Scrap - Sentiment stamped in colour
Merry Monday - Red/Green/White
Ooh La La - Christmas
C C A Y R - No Patterned Paper
PB & More - Anything Goes
Thanks for visiting. x

It's been a strange week!
Lots of places to book for overnight stays during May to September, trying to juggle a few home commitments amongst all the travelling and visiting across the country and generally just trying to get my head round the enormity of what is actually happening to me!

I spent a quiet day yesterday making a few Christmas cards for my own stash -
Made a couple like this - (had terrible bother taking a decent photo!) and just used up some odd leftovers for the die cuts and the embossed background. So I will be paying a visit to the much missed Playground this week.

I was going to put the birdie on the branch but changed my mind at the last minute and popped him on what was intended to be a snowy floor - not sure it works but hey ho - too late now!!

Snow embossing folder used then an oddment of white card just randomly cut with sharp scissors, sentiment stamped with Versafine Crimson Ink and layered over background with 3d pads. Teeny bit of sparkle on the edge.

Some sparkle added to the branches and a few tiny red gems (note to self  a great idea if you have loads of time to chase the tiniest sparkly bits round the craft table..... not so good if you're in a hurry!) 

Birdie stuck where his feet will get cold and a tiny red gem on the 'i' of the sentiment.

Layered the whole lot on white base card.

Challenges -
4 Crafty Chicks - Make it Sparkle
As You Like It - fave Christmas Style - Modern and CAS - cos I love White on White and think it's perfect for Christmas!
Aud Sentiments - Sentiment for December Holiday
Divas by Design - Snow
Delightful Challenges - You're a gem (Bling)
Crafting by Design - Christmas

I suspect I shall be getting a lot of practice at making a lot of CAS cards during the summer months over the next four years as crafting time will be at a premium!
Thanks for visiting and if you've left a comment I appreciate it. I am going to spend this evening trawling through blogland and catching up with all I have missed this last week! x

Lows and Highs

What a week!  Some desperate news over a 48 hour period last weekend, one not unexpected but the other a huge terrible shock and then on Tuesday morning whilst standing on a very cold and windy Railway Station I received a phone call with some amazing news which has now thrown me (and likely the other half) into a wonderful adventure over the next few years!

I don't want to bore you with all the details but I have been elected as Junior Vice President of Bowls England - so the succession means JVP in 2015, Senior VP in 2016, culminating in the Presidency in 2017. I am honoured, excited and maybe a little scared(!!) at the enormity of it all.

(The press release can be viewed a little way down the page here -  https://www.bowlsengland.com/news/page/1/presidential-and-selector-election-results or here  a little way down the page on the Clubs facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bolton-Flat-Green-Bowling-Club/504991522857091)

Anyway that's enough of all that - after all the excitement of the Club of the Year win and now the President thing I need some time out and I am going to spend today making messy - I have promised myself!
 About the card - a commission for a young lady's 3rd Birthday.
Image from All Dressed Up, coloured with promarkers and fussy cut. A wee bit of Frosted Lace stickles on the cake top.
Sentiment computer generated then cut with nesties, papers, lace, ribbon and pearls all from my stash.
Challenges -
In the Pink - KISS with lots of Pink
Crafting for all seasons - Birthdays
Creative Moments - Anything Goes - Celebrate
Fab n Funky - Birthday
Cuttlebug Mania - Girlie
Passion for Promarkers  - Lace
Fantastic Tuesday - Anything Goes with ribbon
Am away to blogland now for a catch up, thanks for coming to see me today. have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Angel

Since my last post I have had a weekend of shocks and bad news so haven't really felt like doing much but had to get the last of the commissioned cards finished today.
I managed to finish the order and take some pics (now all stored away for future use) and decided to post one today.

Just did a plain cream colour scheme - backing paper from my stash distressed and stitched. Added some cream lace and ric rac braid and a paper doily.
The angel image is from LOTV highlighted with a bit of sparkly. I distressed the edges, took the cotton out of the machine and just ran round the edges with an empty needle.
A piece of cream organza ribbon tied into a bow and added some stamped and gold embossed stars.
Challenges -
Alphabet - T - Traditional Christmas
Christmas S.A.Y.L - #36 Anything Goes
Crafts 4 Eternity - Ribbon & Lace
Crafty Catz - Ribbon & Lace
Creative Corner - Christmas
RRR - Winter Holiday with Ribbon
Crafty Calendar - All About Christmas

Thanks for looking today and if you've left me a comment I appreciate it very much. x

Been getting on a bit with the commissioned cards the last couple of days although I think that today I might have to do something else as I am beginning to get irritated with Christmas!

This is another one of Mo's images I have had for a long time but rarely coloured. Opted for a pink and blue theme as something a little bit different from the normal red and greens.

The papers are from my stash and I added a little bit of spiders webby sparkly fabric stuff (no idea what it's real name is....) on top of the base layer before layering up everything else.

The stamp was coloured with promarkers.

Some blingy in the form of dies cut from sparkly paper and a few dabs of Stickles.

Another one off the ordered list!

Challenges -
Milk Coffee - Hand Coloured Image
Delightful Challenges - Patterned paper
Bearly Mine - Christmas Cards
C.R.A.F.T - Winter
I love Promarkers - Cute Christmas
Papertake Weekly - A/goes with sparkle/glitter

Am sat here listening to the rain lashing down - perfect excuse not to venture away from the craft room - (as if I even needed an excuse! LOL).
Thanks for visiting - have a lovely day whatever you're doing. x

Bird House

I had a mass clear out when we moved house last year - and amongst the things that went to the Charity Shop were lots of Christmas ornaments and decorations so I took the opportunity of the challenge to make something which I will hang on a wall somewhere!

I had a devil of a job taking a pic of this.

The birdie house is a wooden template - part of a set of 2. This was the smaller one and it measures  just over 5".
I used up odds and ends of paper scraps and rescued a torn die cut - so entering this into Pixies Playground too.

I painted the wooden base with a white gesso wash then used up an oddment of woodgrain paper (had to join it in the middle but simply ran down the join with a grey promarker to hide it) as the background.
Used modelling paste on the roof and in the hole in the centre, just slapped this on and once dry painted over it again with white acrylic paint and while the paint was still wet threw some glamour dust over it - instant bling!!

The snowflake die was the rescued piece - I had cut it from some thick sparkly paper when making this card here but it hadn't cut all the way through and I ripped it - but thankfully it was just the right size for this.

The holly die was a new buy. Once cut, embossed the berries with red and then ran over 'Mowed Lawn' DI.

The rolled roses were just done from oddments of paper and randomly embossed with silver and the white fibres were from my stash. I stamped a tiny sentiment and embossed in red.

And here is my little robin ready to be placed strategically (!!) when I decide where I'm going to hang his house! 

Challenges - 
Pixies Snippets Playground - week 149
Completely Christmas - Anything Goes /Twist add a robin
MAWTT - Winter is Coming
Fab n Funky - Christmas
Glitter n Sparkle - Anything but Square
CHNC - Anything Christmas Goes
The Crafting Cafe - Not a Card
  Thanks for looking in today Have a great day whatever you're doing. x