Almost at the end.....

....of the Presidential year! 3 more events to go - but none now until the 2 in January and then the final one at the end of February so a nice long rest time in-between for me!

Time to write those cards that I have made (and bought!! LOL) and maybe now I'll be able to get back into making messy.

Have done only a few fussy/fancy Christmas cards to date - concentrated on CAS this year mainly because of time.
Quite liked how this one turned out even though it was a bit fiddly!

I don't have separate star dies - this is one that has the 3 stars on it so it took a bit of working out about the positioning but got there in the end.

The gold glitter card behind is really subtle and gives a lovely muted sparkle which the pic doesn't really show.

I used a gold gel pen for the strings and stamped the sentiment in gold mettallic ink.
Job done.

Joining in at -
LIM - Let it Shine
AAA- CAS Christmas
CHC - A/thing Christmas
Jingle Bells - Baby it's Gold Outside

And speaking of gold - I had a wonderful night at the Ladies National Presentation Dinner last Saturday in Coventry! Was as nervous as anything having to give my speech but got through it without any hiccups or anything.

I had a full length dress - why do long dresses always come in lengths only for 6' tall women!
I ended up having to buy shoes with MASSIVE heels so it didn't trail the floor - thankfully I managed not to fall off them when presenting the trophies!
Kept them on too for almost 6 hours!!!

Thanks for visiting today. A cold wet and windy day here - hope you are all having a nice day whatever you're doing. x

Star

A bit of using up the paper mountain here!

I have had these heavyweight papers for ages - I bought them at a local fair several years ago - in fact I bought a pack with pastel colours and a lady who I have never met bought a pack of dark colours and we sat on the floor (no seats -  the place was packed) and divided up the two packs as neither of us wanted the whole one!

Needless to say as is usual with me, I used a couple of them and then the rest got packed away.
Found them whilst looking for pale blue card!

The star is from SU. I have used it a lot and is probably one of my more sensible Christmas Stamp buys.

I used Versa Magic 'Aquatic Splash' ink - it was a great colour match with the papers - and clear embossed.

I didn't buy the dies that matched the stamp set as I thought they were very expensive - and after all even I couldn't mess up cutting round a star shape.... (the second layer hides the bit I took out of the bottom star)
A little bit of glitter round the edges and dotted here and there and assembled when dry.
The script die was another indulgence - first time of use.......
Another card finished!
Challenges -
Crafting w/Dragonflies - Non Trad card with bling
Sweet Stampers - Christmas
Monochrome Magic - Anything Goes

I finished my round of County Presentations last Saturday. I have taken the battery out of the bathroom scales after all the food I have eaten at these lunches and dinners.
I only have 4 more duties left before I hand over the chain of office at the end of February. My year has almost finished!
There is one more event for me before Christmas - the Ladies National Presentation this weekend. The BIG ONE! Long frock, high heels and gold nails! Oh and yes - the speech to millions present - eek!!
Looking forward to having a bit of 'me' time in December!
Enjoy your week whatever you're doing and thanks for visiting! x

Golden

Carrying on with the Christmas makes whilst I have been able to. Production now halted as I have two more Presentations in the next few days!
Another quickie card really -

Stamp is from the Wonder Collection by Penny Black.
This card was the second attempt and was inspired by Pinterest.

I originally stamped with metallic ink onto the dark grey base card.
The result was a rather pale and sad looking tree which could hardly be seen.

By the time I had decided it needed embossing I had already removed the stamp from the Misti so didn't chance trying to position it in the exact same place on the grid - mainly cos I couldn't remember where exactly it was in the first place!

So - another piece of card used (not that it made any difference to the paper mountain).
Stamped the middle tree first then gold embossed, repositioned the stamp twice more and gold embossed.
This time you can actually see the trees!
A Simple embossed sentiment, matted onto gold mirri card and a gold thread bow finished it off.

This is a card that I can't quite make my mind up about. Am unsure about the flat background - this dark grey is not a favourite!
Might try on a blue background with silver... or might even buy some black pearlised paper (cos there's none of that in the paper mountain) and redo in gold.
Hoping that you all are happy in your own little part of blogland - will see you all later in the week! x
Challenges -
CCC - Anything Christmas
Crafty Catz - No Patterned Papers
Cardz 4 Guyz - Oh Christmas Tree

Quick Christmas 2

Getting on with some Christmas cards and made a few using leftover card.
I often am inspired by my blogging buddy Loll who makes simply beautiful cards and once again this one comes from Loll's ideas.
Loll also provides the tutorial for making the background!

Yupo paper and Alcohol inks in Sail Boat Blue and Stream with a teeny bit of silver additive. I used a large piece of Yupo and made a few cards like this and another which will be revealed in the New Year.

Simple dies cuts for the trees and the stitched frame and I ran a silver gel pen round the outline of the trees as I thought they needed to stand out more!
Dabbed a white gel pen on the background (not sure it looks like snow.... LOL) and added the sentiment in Silver Ink.

Another one which isn't too bulky to post and another few made for my stash - although am a long way off from the number I need......
I can feel a visit to the supermarket may be necessary!

Linking up to
ATSM - Make your Mark
Xmas@SS - Anything Goes
Cardz 4 Guyz - O Christmas Tree
Hope you are all having a good day. Thanks for visiting! x
  

One layer Christmas

Christmas will soon be here (and as usual I have done not a lot in the way of cards!) - so this month at Stamping Sensations we have a Christmas Challenge for you - if you're like me you need a push to get going!
Just one teeny point - the challenge is ONE LAYER CHRISTMAS! So not fussy and fancy millions of layers, cost a fortune to post cards - just one single layer!

There is a great prize on offer this month from Tattered Lace  - who wouldn't want this lot of goodies before Christmas?
Please remember though - WE ARE A STAMPING CHALLENGE - .
So must see a stamped image, sentiment or quote as the focal element of your artwork , this means:

Stamping must be the central point of attention and interest

I managed to get a little free time and do my card - sadly the weather was terrible when I came to take the pic so it's not the best but my little winter scene looks OK in real life.

I used a £2 coin (for the moon) and brushed Stormy Sky and Victorian Velvet DI's for the sky. I didn't want the moon outline too sharp so applied much less ink near the coin!
Tumbled Glass DI sponged  along the top edge of a hills template for the shading of snow.
The trees stamp is an old one (it must have been wood backed at one time - sadly no more so no idea where it came from).

I randomly stamped the trees using Stormy Sky DI.
Then I made the mistake with the sentiment by using the same DI - which didn't give a good crisp impression - but hey ho I've just gone with it!
Finished it all off with a white Gel pen and some glittery stuff!
Linking up to
AAA - Ink Blending
Crafty Friends - Christmas
Hoping that you will join in this month  - my teamies have once again come up with some great inspiration for you - please pop across to the blog and take a look!
As for me - well I'm still on the road attending End of Season Presentation Dinners. But am home a little bit in between so promise to pop along and visit you all when I can.
Hope all is well with you all in your part of blogland! x