Christmas Trees.

Well that was best laid plans up in smoke. I did have these cards ready (six of them) late Saturday night but too  dark to take photos of  so I had thought to take pictures  early Sunday Morning and post asap. Cue  the clocks going forward so bearing in mind  already lost an hour and then I was about  to clear the bits not used from cards away and decided  to make another 2 quick cards  seeings I already had the others to photo anyway. Everything went down hill after that. Got an email from Food  online delivery to say some items not in stock so needed to go  and alter  next weeks delivery to include them. Then the delivery van showed up early and then basically everything stopped!!!!

Anyways here finally are the cards for the Christmas Card Club where a group of us girls make cards to a set theme each fortnight. The current theme was set by Kate who asked for Trees, Christmas Trees or Trees in a scene so plenty of scope.  I had 2 card fronts to reuse from last yrs received shop bought ones so they were easy peasy. 

When we cleared the loft out last month from old christmas decorations and trees no longer used I kept a few items that would be useful for card making. DIL had sent in a card one year  loads of tiny metallic christmas trees (I think you were supposed to sprinkle round card when opened) enclosed  inside  and I now had the brilliant idea of using on said cards!!!  

116 little trees all attached with d.s.tape cut to size later and my enthusiasm was laxing very thin.

 

Card 1 

So I made a tree shape up and had a few little stars  in various colours to use up  so put a red one on top. The sentiment was in with the trees so I guess must have been an odd one and worked well on card.  Gold sticker edging to complete. 

Card 2

I had this die cut red frame lying in my stash and it was just the right size for the tree and followed the theme of the scalloped card base. By spellbinders A2 Floral Ribbon Threads. I used all gold trees this time .Sentiment was a gold sticker from stash with more of the sticker edging. 

 

Card 3

Decided to go with a  sort of wreath design with this next card. I had a precut card circle on my desk and used it as a template for placing/spacing  the trees around the outside edge then removing once trees were stuck in place.  Sentiment sticker from my stash. 

Card 4

Still had loads of the red ones left and had idea to use up  inside a shaker card.  I used two different size Crafts-Too Square dies Scalloped Edge dies to make the frame work up and cut strips of red card stock (layered up 6 deep ) to create the built up sides. Piece of acetate and the red sticker from my stash. 

At this point I was calling it a day ready to take photos the following morning.  Having slept on it I decided to use the remaining gold trees and make a further 2 cards up. 

Card 5.

Card 6.

Drat! I found  the red christmas tree had dropped  on the floor so of course  had to use it. I did the remainder of the rows in alternate right way up/inverted on the next row. This gave the tree a denser look but also squashed it down a bit. Should really have put another row of trees in but I now only had four gold trees left and would have needed 7. I suppose I could have made a Cypress tree instead! (No don't even go down that one).

This just leaves me with Cards 7 and 8 to show that really only  needed a card base cut for them from coloured card stock as the scalloped cards were a tad too small for them to fit onto. Hence me having 2 scalloped cards left over to go with the left over tree shapes above. 

This one has a red card base and the one below is an orange base to pick out the colour of the duffle coat the girl pulling the sled is wearing. 

Apologies  Kate for being so  late. I'm off now to bake the cake I should have made yesterday and send the recipe to Miss Di who is waiting patiently to receive once I have tried and tested it out. 

Good news is I have managed this months quota of cards and still have 2 days left in which to make my Rudolph card depicting the 3rd Day of Christmas. I need to round the 3 french  hens up who are busy gobbling up the bird seed put out for the  birds. Mrs Magpie was spotted this morning in the garden looking very egg bound. 

Keep well.

Just because restrictions have been lifted it is still not safe out there.

Remember tiny steps and see how it goes. 

More Rug Mugs.

Here are a few more of the Rug Mugs that got sent out as part of the Spot The Difference Prizes at the beginning of the year. 

First up is this Patchwork made up of tiny squares no more than 1" to 1.5" big . This one went to Alison C. who loves  playing with Mixed Media.

There is a  story to these squares of fabric as they are all more than 40yrs old! Long, long before the Internet  and shopping on line if you wanted to buy material and sewing items and couldn't travel to the required shops you could request a catalogue and samples to be sent to you in the post, if you sent a stamped self addressed envelope that is and enclosed a £1 coin. Now when I say catalogue do not go thinking of the glossy magazines that you now get that arrive on your doormat enticing you to buy goodies online . These were merely hand typed (typewriter) or dare I even mention produced on a Gestetner machine and the pages stapled together. They were no more than 20 pages at the most. I was very into doll making at the time and so needed material that all had ditsy prints on them and this was an easy way of picking out what I needed to buy. (You paid by sending off a postal order!) I even have the names of the shops I dealt with "The Patchwork Dog" in Lewes which only stopped trading just 5 yrs ago and the "Quilt Room."  in Dorking which is still open and on line. (Will also still send samples to you!!!) As you can see I still have lots of little bags of  samples so me thinks there will be more mug rugs being made before very long. 

I'm showing both the Front and the Back of the next Mug Rug as Hazel has two much loved pets

This is Belle (fathfully depicted)

And Harry (Stripes and all)

Margreet loves Lace,Ribbon , Buttons and I managed to combine all on her rug also using an Oriental fabric as Margreet already has a Japanese themed item I have previously sent her. 

Wilma makes the most amazing cards using embroidered designs incorporated into them so I embroidered round the little bird here on her mug rug. Wilma loves birds too.

Anybody who know Kath (Handmade By Kath) also knows that she and her husband own a Camper Van called Zebedee so it was a total no brainer  as to the design on her mug rug. 

Meet Zebedee. 

Hugs 

Up and Away.

Time for another Butterfly Challenge and we are onto the letter K.

#154 Spin The Butterfly Wheel with K for Kite Fold.

I have two completely different versions to show you and there are tutorials as normal over on the Butterfly Blog on the card shapes page. 

Kilimanjaro = light blue

Kombu green = dark sage

Kobi = pale pink.

Version I is made with a small kite fold which is attached to the front of a normal card base so the card stands up and there is extra room inside the base to add an additional greeting or message. The kite itself opens up to reveal space for a message and closes with a velcro strip.

Using all six elements of the wheel. 

The flower paper is a freebie paper from Simply Homemade. The floral sage from my stash and not  sure from where but had a long time. Oddment of string was out on my desk so I just knotted it in several places and attached the double sidee (SU) punched butterflies in between for the tail piece of the kite. 

Here you can see the kite fold opened up. It closes with the addition of the velcro strip. Below you can see the card standing up as a tent fold. There is no reason why it can't be made as a conventional card opening from the side. I have only just thought of that!!  If you did then the base card would be cut at  9"x 6 with the 9" folded in half to make a 4.5"x 6" card.  

Version II

Using: Kite Fold/Knots/Kilimanjaro/Kobi/Butterfly.   

This is a stand alone Card and uses larger  dimensions for the kite shape. It also has a different construction.

The design paper is again a freebie but this time from Making Cards Mar 2016 Pastel Petals. The ribbon has been tied with a simple knot onto a length of bakers twine.  Pink butterflies are made using a SU punch and the sentiments are all by Julie Hickey.  Below is the card opened up. 

I do hope you will give this card shape a try out  and come and play in the Butterfly Garden with me.

The challenge is running for 2 weeks  and will therefore close on Tuesday 30th March  8pm.(GMT).

 

Hugs 

and continue to Stay Safe. 

Flowers and Foliage.

I have managed  to make another 5 cards (so on par for my March Quota) for this weeks Christmas Card Club Theme set by Zoe which is Christmas Flowers and Foliage. 

Found some suitable card fronts  in my used shop bought card box  and a few bit and bobs left over from the last card session still out on my desk. 

First card.

I had the ivy already die cut out on my desk and it went so well with the card that I teamed it  with die cut berries to match those on the card too. Both the die cuts are by John Next Door.  The sentiment was included on the card front so a bow to attach the spray of berries and ivy was all that was needed to complete. Layered up onto red cardstock and a green base card also made from cardstock.

Second Card. 

Not strictly  a christmas flower but this was a christmas card received and the picture shows the show drops popping through the snow and ice. Christmassy enough by my book.  I found a matching little pop out picture of  a snow drop in my bit and pieces and thought it perfect  to use. Raised up on snippets of card and I matched the gold round the circle with a gold sticker from my stash.  I had to use the flash on my camera  (so sorry for the glare) but without it Th sentiment didn't show up. Backed onto green cardstock and one of the few remaining scalloped cards in my stash. I must purchase some more.

Third Card.

Another card front added to a scalloped card base. In my stash of christmas stamps I found one that was from a Practical Publishing  magazine  2018 . It was a sprig of a fir tree branch which went with the background  so I stamped it out twice, fussy cut  and coloured the same as in the card. I also found a Woodware Stamp  almost identical to the berry branches so I stamped and fusssy cut that out too colouring to match. A matching bow attached them to the top of the card. The sentiment was already part of the card front so nothing else needed. 

Fourth Card.

I had this left over from the last lot of  cards made using the theme Christmas Carols.It is a digital paper from Etsy Store 'Digital Magpie' and you get two song sheets per page. This was the one I hadn't used . The die cut sentiment was already on my desk as well.  Green cardstock for the basecard and then layered up with red card and more of the green. A few gold leaf stickers added from my stash.  I had left it at that but I always leave cards out overnight and come back to in the morning just to make sure I am happy with them. This one needed something extra though in the top corner. I tried a die cut flower, too fussy but sometimes simples is best. It just needed the bow to pull out the colour on the rose petals. 

Fifth Card.

This card is just using up remnants really. The green cardstock was just enough left over to make a card base 4"x 7 and the red strip was left over from the card above.  I had some oddments of sheet music not used so I stamped out the John Next Door poinsettia onto them and then used the matching die cut. Coloured them using my Promarker pens and used silver glitter glue on them. Left to dry and assembled this morning and added to the card. The sentiment was already premade from the strips of paper that I stick on card and then die cut sentiments from. Matched the flowers perfectly so another card in the bag.  

I thought I would struggle making even just 3 cards but once I got started it seemed a shame to stop. Thanks for the challenge Zoe. 

Keep Safe and watch out for your Vaccine invite.

Hugs 

Now for somthing a little different.

When I sent out the Goodie bags to the winners of the Spot the Difference games we played over Christmas I also enclosed a handmade Mug Rug for everyone. Stylised to each person in some way. As the parcels have nearly all (barring 3 just heard another has arrived so 2) reached their destinations I am showing some of the first ones sent out. 

I did stalk all your blogs mercilessly hunting for clues . Worts an all!! 

First to be sent was one for Di who was my guinea pig  and also  helped me set up my Click and Drop on line postal service with the Royal Mail. (Thankyou so much Di) No way was I going down to the local post office with 22 parcels otherwise. Face mask on or not. 

It really was a no brainer to make this in Pink and add a little Dudley for Di.( Actually quite a few cats and dogs found themselves depicted on other mug rugs too.)

It was a toss of the coin with the next mug rug. Sunflowers or Purple.! In the end purple won for Liz as I had some lovely purple materials that  all went well together. 

Whilst stalking Kate's blog I picked up on a photo of hubby wearing  a kilt and as I did have some green tartan in my stash that is how this mug rug and wee little box came about. Had to be Scottie Dogs. Just hope the tartan I used wasn't a rival clan!

I am not going to tell you the name of the next recipient. Lets see if you can guess. I did print a list of the winners here if your  looking  a clue.

I was going down a completely different path for my next recipient but then I spotted a chance remark on one of Viv's posts  (told you I stalked relentlessly) so it really couldn't be anything other than a boat on the ocean waves. 

 

Showing the last one for today for Carol who loves Blues so I chose this ditzy floral print for her. 

Hugs 

New Joy Folds

Spring is certainly in the air. The days are beginning to be sunny and the bulbs are all starting to flower too. The Magpies have finished building their nest in the tree top opposite our back garden and are just tweaking it to their liking. It took them nearly two weeks to construct. They will start to nest shortly. 

In the meantime it is time for a new Butterfly Challenge. 

#153 Spin The Butterfly Wheel with J for Joy Fold 2.

I know that we have already done this shape but I have found a couple of different variations which in my opinion  make re visitng this shape worth while. We made the original version way back in July 2019 in the hazy,lazy days of summer pre Covid. If only we knew then what we know now!!

  Your 6  elements are:

Joy Fold 2/Jade/Jasmine/Japanese Carmine/Jewels

+your Butterfly.

n.b.   Jasmine = a pale hint of yellow

Japanese Carmine = light Burgundy

Jewels  = use your diamonds and pearls.

So here is my first variation for your inspiration.  Instead of the usual Joy Fold Flap you make it into a Buckle Fold closure. Very easy to do. I have made tutorials for both of the cards and you will find them under the Card Shapes Tab over on the Butterfly Blog. 

I am using all six of the elements. 

The Butterfly paper is a freebie from Making Cards July 2015 called Busy Butterflies and the Jade coloured card is from a pad from 'The Works' Su punch for the butterflies and the Thankyou Die cut is by Cheery Lynn Designs.  Here you can see the card slightly open and where  you make a simple slit in the front part of the card to fold the buckle into.

Variation 2 is for a Double Joy Fold which I have also attached together in an unusual way for added interest.

Again I have used all of the 6 elements. 

Not showing very clearly here but the front of the card also folds back on itself. The tutorial explains it more fully.  Butterfly paper is from the same freebie set of papers as the first card. The jade design is from Making Cards Magazine Christmas edition 2016. Sentiment is a stamp by Tonic. 

Well I hope I have whetted your appetite and you will come and give these shapes a go over at the Butterfly Blog. The challenge is running for two weeks and closes on Tuesday 16th Mar at 8pm (GMT).  Gosh the clocks will be going forward shortly. The days are already drawing out. It was warm enough in the Summer House to have our Tea in there.  

                                                 Hugs

and continue to Stay Safe. 

Managed my Quota!

A short month but I managed to make my quota of Christmas cards for this month. Another Bakers Dozen in the bag.  It's time for the girls in the Christmas card club to show our makes and Rita chose the theme of Christmas Carols.

My First Card is a digital background from  Vintage By Me on Etsy. You get two different song sheets per page so I printed off one page and used one for the  background and then stamped and  die cut the poinsettia flower out from the other one  using  John Next Doors Poinsettia set.  Glitter glue and gems were from my stash. The sentiment came in the stamp set. 

Second Card uses another Etsy download from 'Digital Magpie'.  Again you get two song sheets per page and here I have just used one as they are pre coloured. I printed off , trimmed to size and distressed round the edges for a vintage look.  Sentiment as above and gold stickers were from my stash.

Third Card. Trawling around the Web for more inspiration I found this darling  free image on a blog called 'Crafty Moments Card Making' by Vince 'Festive Carol Singing Mice' and just had to colour it up and use. Unfortunately Vince doesn't appear to have blogged since 2014 which is a shame.  I have made into an easel card. and used Tattered Lace Round corner Rectangles dies for the mats.  Setiment by John Next Door.

Fourth Card. I already had this in my stash. It is another free digital image from  Free Dearie Dolls digi stamps called 'Kip and Me Carolers' Coloured with my Graph'it pens/gold gel pen and then die cut using Spellbinders Marvellous squares which I also die cut in red cardstock. Both have been hand stitched round the edges using toning cotton thread for a bit of a rustic look. 

Lastly my card for Mo's Rudolph challenge for February.  Keeping to my theme of depicting the twelve days of christmas  (second day being  2 Turtle Doves ) I have used a dgi image from Beccy's Place which is actually Wedding Doves but by changing the colour of the flowers and printing off several images and decoupaging the same flowers I have managed to cover the non christmas looking ones up.  The Doc says it looks a bit like a  birds nest but I think it works.  The sentiment is a dig cut by Tonic that I have die cut twice and drop shadowed. I have edged the doves with a gold gel pen and then given a shadow round them as they are white on a white cardstock.  Gold edging strips from my stash. 

Keep Safe and watch out for your Vaccine invite.

Hugs