HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Happy New Year everybody. Hic!!!!

Wishing you much  Health, Happiness and Craftyness for 2013.

Items used.

Bugaboo Digi

Distress Marker Pens

Pearlescent Chalks

Entering the following challenges:

Cute Cards Thursdays: Anything Goes.

The Squirrel and The Fox: Party Time.

Less is More: Dinks.

Everybody Art: Anything Goes.

Glitter n Sparkle: Favourite Colour  (Pink!)

Disclaimer. This card bears no resemblence to anyone that I know even though I do own a pair of pink boots! Hic!





A Bakers Dozen.

On the Thireenth Day of Christmas my True Love said to me....................................

Well I had to have a Bakers Dozen didn't I !!!!!!

This card came about because I was going to use the base design paper on the post below but decided after I had cut it that the horizontal lines were too fussy for the christmas tree brads. 
It lay discarded on my desk along with the check border and as the two papers looked good together I used them for this. I would normally make my own flowers but these roses were sent as a gift from America so it would have been rude not to use them especially as they went so well with the papers.



I gave the roses a dusting of pearlescent chalk which you can just about see in the close up below.





Entering into the following challenges:
Pixie's Crafty Workshop: Use your snippets. #53  (Red check paper and rose leaves).
Crafty Hazel Nuts: Make a Christmas Card for next Yr.
Make it Monday: #121 Anything goes.

Now as I will be running around like a headless chicken next December looking for the 13 cards I just know that I made in readness last December, I will tell you were I'm putting them. They are in the Christmas Drawer!!! Someone please tell me when I ask!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas.

Day 12 of the Frosted Designs 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. Beat you to it Mr Linky!

On the Twelfth day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 12 Brads.

I have had these cute little Christmas Tree brads in my stash for at least forever. (Fluff gave them to me.) Joy of joys when I counted them out I had twelve + two over for spares!!
How to display them to their advantage was the question. Looking through my pile of design paper I found this Holly Hobbie one that I thought would work well. Strategically  cutting the paper to give me three bars and four vertical lines (can you  tell I'm an Accountant by trade and worked with figures !) I came up with the following card.



The red check backing paper is also by Holly Hobbie and both came free in a magazine.
Close up below showing the Brads.

 



Entering into the following challenges
Frosted Designs: On The Twelfth day of Christmas.
Simply Create: Linky party #15

On The Eleventh Day of Christmas.

Day 11 of the Frosted Designs 12 Days of Christmas challenge. Nearly there.

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 11 Banner flags.

I imediately thought of using these lamposts that my lovely blogging buddy Nicola of  Sunshine Reflections sent me back in the summer. I had mentioned on my blog I was having dificulty locating a sizzix flower die and she very kindly sent me some cut outs and these grunge board lampposts were included.  (I knew I would have a use for them! Thanks Nicola.)
I have given them a coat of brown and then black Jo Sonja acrylic paints and when dry a quick going over with my beloved Inka Gold. The flags are cut from Holly Hobbie Christmas Joy paper collection and the design backing paper is by Kaiser Craft. The banners are strung between the two lampposts using red/white Bakers Twine which I found  a small length of when having a rummage for the  red cord I just know is somwhere round here..



I did take a slightly better photo than this but the overhead lighting is casting a slight shaddow on this one which I think makes the lamps look as if the gas lights are on..
Close up picture below of the banners and twine.

Entering into the following challenges:
Frosted Designs: On The Eleventh Day of Christmas.
Pixie's Crafty Workshop: Use you snippets #53
Hiding in My Craft Room. Freestyle.


Keep up Mr Linky!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas.

Day 10 of the Frosted Designs12 Days of Christmas.  Am I going to make it in time for all 12 cards or is Mr Linky going to pull the plug on me? Place your bets here!!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 10 buttons.

Ok. I can do this. Easy Peasy. A few weeks back I decided that  I should be using my Scor-Pal for more than just scoring the centre line down the cardstock to make a card base. I had seen a book recommended on another blog  called Score, Fold,Create! The ultimate guide to crafting with Scor-Pal so I bought myself another wee Christmas prezzie. (Expect to see a lot more  projects as I work through the book). My design below is not from the book  though, just something that popped into my head to use the 10 buttons to their advantage.
Do I ever make things easy for myself ! Instead of creating the sentiment wizardry first in word I drew the door  in pencil on the reverse side of the card and then spent ages getting the wording in just the right place to not only print off above and below the door but also be centralised.  Eek. Don't try this  one at home! 



The trick is to  spuddle with  computer paper first and then hold over your cardstock until you get the positioning right and then and only then put your card stock through the printer. Finally using the pencil marks as a guide I used my Scor-Pal to creat the door.
The buttons have been in  my stash for ages (at least well over a year) and the door knob is the centre that gets punched out when you use a flower die (you don't throw those bits away do you?  Shame on you!) coloured with a red promarker to match the bow.
Close up of the button wreath.

 

Entering into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs: On The Tenth day of Christmas.

Whoopsidaisy challenge: Celebrate.

Paper Minutes: Happy New Year.

Paper Pretties: Happy New Year.

ATC's and Cards with Attitude: Anything Goes/Celebrate.

Hotshot craft: Clean and Simple.

Use it Tuesday: Use and tell New Year.

 

I'm late I'm late for a very important date. The time on Mr Linky now says  2d 9hr 53m so see you again shortly. Toodle pip.



On The Ninth Day of Christmas.

Day 9 of the Frosted Designs 12 days of Christmas Challenge.

On the Ninth Day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 9 Pearls or Sparkles.

Now a little birdie in blogland muted just before the festivities that the Memory Box Christmas Dies were being withdrawn. I had seen and fallen in love with this Flowering Christmas Tree Die on Miss Di's blog so I thought I would treat myself to a little prezzie indulgence. I looked on the web and found several shops still stocking it so I found the cheapest with free P& P (one still has to watch the pennies even if it is a present) and it sort of fell into my basket. Not only that it arrived on Christmas Eve!! Having counted the little flowers on the tree to be nine in total I realised it would fit this challenge perfectly. How fortuitous was that!! The green for the tree was a snippet left over from the Turkey card.



Not quite so fortuitous are my camera skills as the light kept bouncing back on the silver embossing around the tree which is supposed to replicate snow. Oh well win some loose some.
A  close up showing the border made with my Scor- Pal and the sparkly Gems.

Entering into the following challenges:
Frosted Designs: The Ninth Day of  Christmas.
Crafty Ribbons: Blue & Green.
Pixies Crafty workshop:  Use your snippets #52.

On The Eighth Day of Christmas.

Day 8 of the Frosted Designs 12 Days of Christmas Challenge.

On the Eighth day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 8 brands/products.

Here is the list of brand items that I used. Easier to put together than I expected after Washi
Tape!

Papermania:               Green cardstock.
XCut Die:                    Nesting die Ornate Frame.
Versamarker:              Watermark Pen. (embossing on flower swirls)
Ranger:                       Distress Markers.
Little Claire Designs:   Poinsettia Digi.
Pebbles Inc:                Pearlescent Chalks.
Holly Hobbie:              Christmas Joy paper collection Poinsettias.
Wow:                           Metalic Gold Embossing Powder.

This is the card I made from the above ingredients.

I layered the cardstock and design paper onto a white base card and then printed the digi onto 140gsm cartridge paper. I then fed this back into the printer and generated the sentiment in word so that it would super impose over the digi. (A little  fidly but  with a  bit of trial and error on printer paper first  to get the correct possitioning  not impossible to do.)

A close up showing the lovely effect you can get by layering the pearlescent  chalks over the distress markers.  You can also see a little of the gold embossed swirls.

 

Entering into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs: On the Eighth Day of Christmas.

Tuesday Alchemy: Anything Goes.

Simon Says Stamps: Anything Goes.

 

 

 

 



 



On The Seventh day of Christmas.

Day 7 of the Frosted Designs 12 days of Christmas Challenge.
On the Seventh Day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 7 Sparkly Snowflakes.

I used a  plain blue card for the  base and then a darker slightly textured cardstock fpr the front. Snowflakes were cut using Sizzix Snowflakes die  655628 from thin cardboard packaging and painted with Jo Sonja  acrylic paint. I then gave them a coating of Glossy Accents  and a sprinkling of turquoise glitter whilst still wet. The sentiment is a freebie stamp from a magazine stamped onto white card and then cut  using Sizzix Decorative Label set 656322.

A close up showing the sparkle on the snowflakes. I kept the card simple and let the flakes do the talking!!

Entering into the following challenges:
Frosted Designs: On the Seventh Day of Christmas.
That Craft Place: Snowy Christmas.
Card Craft Mania: Snow Flakes.
Craft us Crazy: Christmas/New Year.Altered 3D.
Aud Sentiments: Anything with a Sentiment.
Die Cuttin Divas: More Holiday spirit.
The Cupboard Trilogy: Frosty Winter.
Charisma Cardz: Anything Goes.

On The sixth Day of Christmas

Day 6 of the Frosted Designs 12 Days of Christmas Challenge.
On The Sixth Day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 6 strips of Washi Tape.

Washi Tape!! I don't have any Washi tape and it's Christmas Eve, the shops are shut. what to do? Make your own of course. Silly me. A quick surf of the net produced several make your own Washi Tape tutorials so the day was saved. Next I needed baubles for the card I had in mind  to make. 
I don't have a bauble die or a bauble stamp and the Digi Shops are all shut!! What to do?
Make your own so I did and here is the card complete with washi tape and baubles. Do I ever make life easy for myself.

 

Enterinmg into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs: 6 strips of Washi  Tape.

Make it Monday Party: Anything goes. #120.

The ABC Challenge:  D for Deck the Halls.

Artistic Inspirations: Anything Goes.

 

 



On The Fifth Day of Christmas.

Day 5 of the Frosted Designs 12 days of Christmas Challenge.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas my True Love said please use 5 gold items.
I had a good rummage in my stash and found a total of ten  goodies that I could possibly use.

After playing aroundf for a while I selected the following:
Gold Star design paper
Gold cord
Wow Metalic Gold Embossing powder
Gold charmn
Gold Metal Christmas tree self adhesive

I also used the gold base card for the card itself. I like to take basic die cut shapes and make patterns with them (as with the card on my  previous post). I thought this card had a sort of Eastern style to it.

The sentiment and swirls were created using clear stamps and then embossed with the Wow powder.

Entering into the following challenges:
Frosted Designs: Use five gold items.
Simon says Stamps: Merry Christmas.Anything  Christmassy.
Pile it On: Pile on the embellishments.
Pixie's Crafty workshop. Use up your snippets #52  (Design paper was a left over snippet)

 

 

On The Fourth Day of Christmas.

Here we are on day 4 of the Frosted Designs 12 days of Christmas challenge.


On the Fourth day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use 4 different patterned papers on your project. So I did and here they are.

 

Papers are from the Forever Christmas Cards Paper Stack which was free in a magazine and has  been in my stash  for ages. Cardbase, cream card and bow are also from my stash. The concept of the card was quick but choosing the combinations  and then sticking them altogether took a lot lot  longer!.

 





 

Entering into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs: Use 4 different patterned papers.

The Squirrel and The Fox: Christmas.

Challenges 4 Everybody: Anything Goes.

Glitter n Sparkle: Christmas/New year or use a digi.

Celebrate the Occasion: Christmas anything goes.

 



On The Third Day of Christmas.

Day 3 of the Frosted Designs 12 days of Chritmas challenge. So thats 3 cards made  for Next year already. Yep I'm on a roll.!

On the Third day of Christmas my True Love said to me please use

3 inks/mists/ paints on your project. The diserning amongst you will probably notice that my stars have 6 points. In my defence the packet does say star punch but then it also says Made in China!



I chose to use Distress Ink in Stormy Sky and Chipped Sapphire to make the background on my card. These I stamped onto my craft sheet, spritzed with water to  mix and smootched the card stock around to cover.  I used the lighter blue first and then the darker on top to give the feel  of night time. The stars were made by stamping the punch out several times on  a spare piece of card stock and using as a mask on top of the background. I used

Adironadack in Silver which I spritzed onto a sponge dauber . Trees were stamped with the  Chipped Sapphire. So there you have my 3 inks used misted/painted.

I used dark blue craft card for the card itself and mirror card to sandwich the scene in between. Added a blue beaded pin and bow for decoration.

Entering into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs: The Third Day of Christmsas.

Christmas at Sweet Stampin: Anything goes as long as it is Christmassy.

Crafty Hazel Nuts: Anything Goes for Christmas.

Crafts & Me challenges: Winter Wonderland .

Stamping Sensations: Treemendous.

On The Second Day of Christmas.

Continuing on from the post below with the 12 Days of Christmas challenge by

Frosted Designs.

 

On the Second Day of Christmas my true love said to me please use 2 Stamps.



 

 

I looked through my Christmas stamps and what was left in my Christmas stash and came up with this  card. Papers are by Kaiser Craft and have a distnct vintage feel to them so  I went with a  shabby chic theme and colour scheme. The two stamps ( Reindeer and  lacy edge ) are part of  a freebie set  from a magazine. I have stamped them in Dusky Concord distress ink. Bow was made from a left over piece of ribbon.



Entering into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs: Second Day of Christmas. 2 stamps.

Simply Create: Linky Party #15.

Stamping for the Weekend: Anything Goes.

Creative Belli: Christmas.

A Gem of a Challenge: Lavender & Lace.

Pixies Crafty Workshop: Snippets #51



On The First Day of Christmas.

For the entire month  of December Frosted Designs are running a challenge called

The Twelve Days of Christmas. 12 challenges. For each challenge you will be given a product that you must use on your project. Depending on the day the challenge is given you will have to use the product that many times.

Now as there is still a 'D' in the month if I make 12 cards then I will be 12 'C'  cards up for next year! I like the  way my brain works sometimes!

So without further ado

 

On the First Day of Christmas my true love said to me  please use 1 Bird.



 

 

 

In my stash I have this digi by Bugaboo Stamps. He cracks me up every time I see him so I just had to have him on this card. Sentiments are generated in word. and then downloaded onto card stock which was then reput through printer for the image.Coloured using promarkers and distress markers. I have given him googly eyes. Here is a close up of him.

 

 

Can I just stress that no Turkey's were harmed in the making of this card!!!

 

Entering into the following challenges:

Frosted Designs: Use 1 bird on your project.

Creative Inspirations: Anytjhing Goes.

Divas By Design: Anything Goes.

Delightfull Challenges: Anything Goes.

Simply Create: Linky party #15.

 

 



 

Christmas House.

The image on this card is a clear stamp by Woodware and as soon as I saw it I had to have it!! I knew who it was going to be for too.Step forward Miss Di.( Gotta keep the teacher happy. Don't want playground detention.)

I have stamped it using Versamark and then sprinkled over with 'Wow' Metalic Silver embossing powder.(My new toy along with the corner punch). 

 

 

Highlighted  just a few sections  for impact using my Distress Markers.The red cardstock has been die cut using  The XCut called Square Parenthesis. The wording is a stamp that came free in a magazine and has had the embossing treatment. White card, green paper and bow are from my stash.





Entering into the following challenges:
Allsorts: Oh Christmas Tree. (Fir Tree either side of door.)
Whoopsiedaisy: Traditional Christmas Cards. (Used traditonal colours.)
Stamping Sensations: A tree on your project.
Crafting for all Seasons: Green & red + glitter & sparkle.
LadybugCrafts: Anything Goes.
Penny's paper-crafty: Merry Christmas.

A Christmas Birthday.

I wanted to make a card for the The Doc's Aunt whose Birthday falls at christmas time that had an element of  Christmas to it but was still distinctly a Birthday card. She loves Poinsettias so I kept the rest of the card  CAS  with  no added sparkle or glitter. Hope I have pulled it off.

 



 I used plain white card stock that I embossed using my Scor - Pal to create the lines. (A little Pixie taught me this! Thanks Di.) The sentiment is from a stamp set that I gave the same embossed line treatment to. The die used is called Blooming Poinsettia by Poppystamps and is a complete joy to use. The flowers and leaf cut cleanly and are not left sticking to your cutting plates.  Below is a close up of just the flowers.

 

 

Entering into the following:

Seize the Birthday: Linky Party #1

 



 

Bunny Zoe's Crafts: Celebration.

Less is More: Anniversary.

Make it Monday Party: Linky party #120

Bearly Mine: Winter Birthdays

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Gerry.

Another vintage style card. This time for my friend Gerry. We share a bond that cannot be broken. We were born on the same day and also our hubby's share the same first name!!

Just another of my silly billion to one chances. Gerry is a Fashion Diva so this stamp by Rogue Redhead Designs (free with Jan 2013 issue of Craft Stamper) is just the job to use on my Christmas card to her.



 



 I have used red cardstock for the base and the same backing paper by Kaisercraft as my previous card. I think I have found my happy medium. Distress Markers and Pearescent chalks. The close up of the stamp below shows the lovely shimmer effect on her hat and coat. Red bow and the other papers I have used  are from my stash. 

 

Entering into the following challenges:

ATC's with Attitude: Anything Goes.

Totally Gorjuss: For someone Special.

Electric Ellapu: Anything Goes.

Challenges 4 Everybody: Anything Goes.

Come & Get It Challenges: Merry Christmas.

Gingerloft:  Christmas or Winter.

Pan Pastels: Christmas Time.

Use it Tuesdays: All about Christmas.

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

Mystery/Crime reading challenge.

A very different type of challenge for me . Have just found this Mystery/Crime book reading challenge which starts 1st January 2013 and continues throughout the year. Full details can be found here on Amy's blog.

 

 

 

I'm known as something of a bookworm and have been since an early age. I very soon discarded the Janet & John books at school and was straight into Enid Blyton's ' Famous Five'  and 'The Secret Seven.' Always had a book in my school satchel and used every minute available to take it out and read. Got left on the bus one morning though.  I was so absorbed in the book I was reading that I only looked up when the bus had gone very very quite and dark. I found myself in the bus depot in the cleaning bay with the bus being hosed down before its next turn around.  I had some explaining to do that day as to why I turned up so late for school assembly!!  

If there are any other avid readers out there like me why not join in. It should be fun and at least I can't get left on the bus this time round!

 

 

 

 



 

Vintage Christmas.

 

My back is holding up and so is the Internet at the moment so I'm good to go.

Nearly finished all of my 'C' cards for his year. Here is the one that I have made for my Mum &  Dad. I wanted to send them a vintage/old style type card as I felt Dad would enjoy that the most. 



 

 

I have used red card stock for the base and then a Kaiser Craft Christmas paper which came free with a magazine. I adhered this to cardboard and distressed the edges for an old look. The picture is from an old card (found in a drawer at FIL's house) and the rest from my stash. I have kept the red rose flat  (die cut using Fancy Blossoms by Memory Box) as this needs to be posted. I used just a sprinkling of metalic gold embossing powder on the picture and rose before gently wafting my heat gun over to set. The edges of the card have been rubbed with Inka Gold.





Close up showing the rose detail and embossing.

entering into the following challenges:
Dream Valley: Christmas.
Cupcake Crafts: Merry Christmas.
The Crazy Challenge: Christmas Time.
LEJ Designs: Sentimental.
Anything Goes: Traditional Christmas colours.
Divas By Design: Use some Red.
Fab 'N' Funky: A Vintage Christmas.
Aud Sentiments: Anything Goes with sentiment relevant to the holidays.
Charisma Cardz: Christmas Makes.
Crafty Mess: Vintage Christmas.

Lets Shop.

Having Internet connection problems again this morning.

 

 

I was contacted by Love to Create challenges and asked if I would like to do a GDT spot with them. Well one nano second to think and less than a nano second later to respond and

I said 'Yes Please'! Not only that but I was let loose to choose which ever fabulous  Digi

I liked from Sassy Studio Designs. That took a considerable time longer but finally I chose Flapper Femme and here she is.













Never one to make life easier for myself I also decided to make a centre fold step card. I have used Distress Marker pens and Pearescent chalks to colour her in.

 

You can't really see from the pictures but the fringe really sparkles as she twists and turns!

The backing papers are all from this lovely freebie site here. The dog stamp is also a freebie from a magazine. Everything else used is from my stash.



Finally just a side view showing the step card.

Many thanks lady's for inviting me to join you this week. Please pop on over to Love to Create and see the other cards on show and maybe join in yourself.

 

Would like to join in the following challenges:

Digi's Galore: anything Goes.

The Crafty Bloggers Network: Anything  Goes.

Make It Monday Party:  Your Paper craft creations.

Wags n Whiskers: Anything Goes.

Simply Create:  Linky Party #13

Whoopsiedaisy Challenge: Use up your Stash (dress forms, beads, fringing, flowers),



 

 

 

 

 

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

 

This is a little Advent  banner that I have made using watercolour card(300GSM) cut to ATC size.

I saw this Christmas idea in a recent Craft Stamper magazine and have adapted it here for the nursery rhyme Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. (Are you all singing and humming the tune as you read?)

 

 

 

I have used distress inks in two shads of blue which I have dripped onto my craft sheet and then spritzed with water. The card was simply dropped onto the top and smootched around to cover. Turned over and smootched again. A quick drying off in the airing cupboard and then the star stamp (freebie from the above mag) inked in dark blue over the top. The moons were made using a sponge dauber for stenciling. The wording was created on my computer and stuck onto thin card and then die cut out. Lots of glitter added to make it sparkle and catch the light.

 







 

All joined together with ribbon knotted between and a length left either end for hanging.

This is now with my swap partner Bee who I have exchanged 24 advent prezzies with.

All the gifts are christmas orientated or made using details from the profile we received

from our partner. Bee loves blue and this was her day No6. gift. (Can  you guess which colour  I said was my favourite!!!).

 





Would like to enter into the following challenges:
Pixies Crafty Workshop. Snippets #50 (used card and ribbon bits up).
Sarah Hurley Challenge. Christmas.
Tuesday Alchemy. Anything but a card.
Paper Pretties. Christmas Inspired.
Scrap Creations. Anything but a card.
Ruby's Rainbow. Christmas with non tradiotional colours.
Penny's Paper - Crafty. Anything goes.
Charisma Cardz. Christmas.
Simply Create. Linky party #13.
ATC's with Attitude. Anything Goes.