Icicles

Icicles is the theme set by Lorraine  for the Christmas Card girls to show out next cards. I already had this card made from a work shop I had attended so I am  hoping that the snowflakes are going to count as icicles otherwise I will use the trump card of  Anything Goes. My shoulder is still painful so am finding it quite a task to craft for long periods or to use the big laptop. I try to get myself comfy in a chair and use my ipad instead.

Card uses  all stamps by Woodware. The plaid background has been made using an embossing folder from Creative Expressions called Distressed lines. You ink up the folder with your chosen colour and place paper between the folder and emboss as normal. Re ink the folder and turn your paper 90 degrees to get the checkered pattern. The distressed effect is quite striking. I stamped an icicle stamp over the top in a random pattern. The wreath was inked using an oxide ink pad and then the red accent was added using a distress marker pen.

Entering into the following challenges.
Scraps of life By Scrappy Mo # September Rudolph Day.
Merry Little Christmas #14 Anything goes.
The Holly and Ivy challenge #56 Anything goes.

Charmed

Already into the second week of the Butterfly Challenge which is
#129  Spin The Butterfly Wheel with M for Magic Window Card. 
The challenge is running for 4 weeks this time round so there is plenty of time to enter.

Here is my inspiration card for you.
This time I have chosen the following from the wheel.
Magnolia/Mint/Mandarin/Marker pens/Metal charm/ Butterflies.

The digi image is Cherry Blossom Cluster from A Day for Daisies coloured using Marker pens. (I actually coloured this up August of  last yr and it has been sitting in my images to use box waiting for just the right moment to come along). I have teamed it up for this card with a digi paper from Computer Scrapbook.Com by Correen Silke and called Sunday Gardens. Backed onto mandarin card stock and then onto a Magnolia cardbase.  The small butterflies were in my outcuts pile (from a circle die cut) and the pearls from my stash. The metal heart charm came from by stash of charms.
I decorated the inside of the card using  the left overs and an SU punch for the larger butterflies.

Ship Ahoy.

It was our Son in Law's  Birthday recently and this is the card I made for him.  The ship stamp is by Inkylicious from their Twinchies stamp range.  I stamped onto a piece of design paper which looked a bit like sea water which was in my stash. I was trying to give the effect of looking out to sea from a porthole. Not  turned out quite as I had it planned in my head but I was pleased  with the end result.
The papers are all from The Works. The black dots on the port hole are glossy stickers from my stash.  Sentiment die cut is by Xcut which I mounted onto a snippet of black card.

 I found this perfect ships anchor paper in my stash so used it to decorate the inside of the card along with the remaining piece of green design paper that I had used for the ship.

 Side ways view of card.

Magic Window Card.

It is a new challenge over on the Butterfly Blog. The letter is M and the card shape is Magic Window Card.
As usual there is a tutorial for you over on the blog and you will find it under the card shapes tab at the top of the page.
The challenge is running again for 4 weeks so this gives plenty of time. I hope you will give the card shape a try as it is not as difficult as it appears.

My card for your inspiration uses:
Magic Window Card/Mandarin/Magnolia/Mint/Butterfly.

 I have used a paper from my stash to decorate the front of the card. The small orange butterflies are the waste from a circle butterfly die( which I use for making up  the butterfly wheel for each challenge). Larger butterflies are an SU punch. Pearls were from my stash.

 Here you can see the card opening up to reveal the sentiment behind the magic window.  The sentiment is from a stamp set by Julie Hickey called circle Sentiments.

I bought loads of bulbs yesterday at the garden centre so before my enthusiasm runs out I need to start getting them planted.
 Hope you will come and have a play with the new challenge.

Pocket card

Our theme this time with the Christmas Club Girls is Anything Goes. I recently went to a workshop run by the fabulous Jane Gill from Woodware and this is one of the cards we made. I didn't manage to get all my cards finished so I brought them home and spent time afterwards just adding the finishing touches.

This card uses a card shape folded from only one piece of square card stock which then becomes  a double pocket card. A simple but ingenious fold.
Here is the front of the card.
The woodware stamp used is called Garland and the sentiment is included in the stamp set. We used a variety of oxide ink pads to create the backgrounds and then spritized with water afterwards.  The garland was then stamped using distress ink along with the sentiment. I added the red stickles glue at home as I thought it needed a bit of glitz.

 The inside showing the pocket flaps. Stamp used here is called Berry Sprays which was stamped using a grey ink pad. Again when home I added glossy accents to the berries which you can't see very clearly here but they really do shine IRL.

 Jane provided us with all the cardstock and tag shapes so we only had to stamp and assemble but as we had to share the tools/stamp sets quite a lot of nattering went on between getting our cards made.

Of course I couldn't come away without buying the stamp sets we used  in making our cards. I will show the other two cards on another post later in the month.
Off to see what the other girls have come up with as we didn't have a set theme this time round.

Lattice Works

I don't know how time does it but it gets shorter and shorter. It is week two already of the current Butterfly Challenge.
Here is my next inspiration card to show you.

I have used all the elements of the Butterfly Wheel.
Lattice Card/Layers/Lace/Lapis Lazuli/Languid Lavender/Laser Lemon/Butterflies.

I have made a square lattice design this time but still using my Crafts -Too Stitched Hole Rectangle die cut for the framework. Done is white card stock.The design paper behind the lattice is a freebie from Making Cards Magazine May 2015 called 'Wonderful Watercolours'. I thought it looked so pretty with the three colours of  butterflies using my SU Punch. The lace is a silver filigree design from my stash along with the pearls. Happy Birthday Sentiment was also found in my stash.  I used white cardstock for the base card which I edged round with a dauber using 'Stormy Skies' Distress ink. I also attached the lattice frame to another piece of white card slightly bigger than the frame and used the dauber around that too.
Hope you will come and join in the fun. Challenge runs for another week.

It has been a hectic past week here with a builder who were supposed to turn up to give a quote  for a concrete base never showing up so I had to do a quick search around for another builder. Fortunately I found one who came round within the hour, gave me a quote 2 hrs later and did the work 2 days after that. The base is now drying out and  awaiting the arrival of the new shed (which has now morphed into a summer house) to be made and then installed hopefully in a couple of weeks time. (We are 50th in the queue when I checked on Monday!)

Lattice Butterflies.

It is a new challenge over on the Butterfly Blog. The letter is L and the card shape is Lattice card.
As usual there is a tutorial for you over on the blog and you will find it under the card shapes tab at the top of the page.

My card for your inspiration uses:
Lattice card/Lapis Lazuli/Laser Lemon/ Languid Lavender/Layers/Butterfly.

I have used a die cut by Crafts-Too 'Stitched Rectangle'  for the lattice frame. The tutorial shows you in detail how to apply the strips to make the lattice design.  The flowers have been die cut from cardstock (that I had coloured using dioxide inks whilst at a work shop earlier in the yr).The die is by Spellbinders 'Blooming  Rose. I used both of the flower shapes and the double and single leaves.
The pearls are from my stash.  Sentiment is by Creative Expressions. I die cut three times and layered up for dimension. Butterfly is by Memory box  'Isabella/Pippi'.

My foot is back down to it's normal size now. Thank You for all your kind comments.

I hope that you will come and have a play using the new challenge  which is running for two weeks.

Lots of Snowmen.

It is time once again for the girls in the christmas Card club  to show our next cards. It was my turn to choose the theme and I went with Snowman/Snowmen.
Apologies for being late getting this posted up but I do have a sick note!. Got bitten on the foot during the week and reacted badly as I always do. Picture at bottom of post.

Anyways back to my cards. Woefully behind with my christmas card numbers so decided to make as many as I could. Managed seven in total.  Here they all are. The  digi images I have used are pre coloured and are by Sassy Cheryl from the Paper Creator.

Card1.

Uses Decked out for the Holidays and the stamped sentiment is by Inkylicious. I have used my John Next Door small scallop card die to create the base card which is made from a design paper pad  from The Works. Stitched die is by Julie Hickey from the set Layers,frames and banners rectangle dies. I like to further enhance the stitched holes by using a toning thread to go around the edges. Takes time but I like the effect it gives.

Card 2.

Uses Smooth  Move. (I definitely needed the first aid kit ). Gold stickers from my stash. The papers are by LOTV from their Krafty Christmas pad. Stitched rectangle dies are by Crafts-Too. I fussy cut the snowman's head and boots out again and layered on top of the image using 3d pads. You can just see the layers in the second picture.

Card 3.

Uses Twiggy the Snowman and again a paper by LOTV. Sentiment is by Stephanie Weightman from Tattered Lace.  Gold tree stickers from my stash.

Card 4.

Uses Once Upon A Star and the brown spotty paper  by LOTV. Red spotty paper an oddment in my stash. Image has been cut out using Spellbinders Marvelous squares die cut and agin I have used toning thread to stitch around the edges. I like to leave a few threads hanging for interest. (Just in case you thought I had forgotten about them).  Gold sentiment from my stash.

Card 5.

Uses Hanging stars and again I used the same papers as card 1. I have made the card a free standing  design so the signed greeting will go on the back. Again used the Julie Hickey  stitched die and contrasting thread around the edges.  Sentiment came on a freebie sheet of stamps from Practical Publishing 2018.

Card 6.

 Uses one of my favourite images by Cheryl called  Snowmen Selfie. I have used my Xcut nesting rectangle dies to cut into the image and then layer each one with LOTV paper and then re  assembled.
I love the effect this gives. Red spotty paper from my stash along with the golde sticker stars and sentiment.

Last card No 7. 

I really couldn't leave this chappie out. He is called Just Chillin and was how I felt last night when I had finished (totally creamcrakered) so I left them on my desk to take the photos this morning.  Had a bright idea of taking photos outside but didn't realise how windy it was until the white card I had propped up behind them kept blowing down onto the card just as I took the snap so  The Doc obligingly held the card up for me. Cards are not looking at their best but time was of the essence.
Sentiment and icicle stamp by  Stephanie Weightman and the black ribbon was on my desk from a shop bought garment tag. (Waste not ,want not).  Again I  fussy cut his head and boots out again and layered up.

And finally not one to be kept for the family album. It took till yesterday for me to be able to get a shoe on my foot. Apparently I am in the blood group that the mossies particularly like and they will bite you even through thick socks and leggings. The redness and swelling  is not from the bite itself but my own  bodies alergic reaction rushing to repel the invader and has a medical term  Skeeter  Syndrome.   Perhaps I need to wear a space suit whilst outside!!

Off to see what the girls have come up with and don a space suit!!!!