A Couple More Quick Christmas Makes

Good morning everyone - my work project has been so demanding over the past six months that I ended up with a lot of  holidays left to take before the end of the year ... so I've finished work yesterday for Christmas ... no more work til 2nd January - YIPPEE!!

One down side of this was that I had to have all my cards made and written for my colleagues in good time; so I had a couple more focussed card-making sessions earlier in this week, going on late into the evening to get them all finished.

Here are a couple of fairly simple ones I made - I'm quite pleased with this pared-down look though.

Card 1:

Stamps: LotV "Teddy & Robin"; Stempendous sentiment;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; Stickles on the snow;

Supplies: wooden snowflake from Hobbycraft; ribbon from my stash.

Challenges:

Forever Friends (December) - Christmas

Forever Friends #51 (fortnightly) - Christmas

One Stop Craft Challenge #208 - Christmas Friends

Incy Wincy - Christmas With Snowflakes

Dutch Dare#195 - Snowflakes

Crazy 4 Challenges #166 - Favourite Holiday Stamps

Crimbo Crackers #30 - Wooden

Simon Says - Favourites (LotV stamps, ribbon)

Card 2:

Card details as above + twine from The Ribbon Girl

Challenges:

Stamp With Stampavie #183 - Christmas

DYSU #102 - Christmas

Charisma #49 - Christmas Makes

I ♥ Promarkers # 147 - One For The Boys

Crafts & Me #114 - No Blues Allowed

Papertake Weekly - Snow White

Ready-Teddy-Go #17 - Clean & Simple

Sparkles Christmas #23 - Button Or Bow (2nd entry)

I'm off now to have lunch, and then a totally relaxing afternoon getting ready for my works Christmas party :-) Hope you're all keeping safe and warm.

Hugs,

Blue Christmas

Back today with examples from another mini batch of Christmas cards I made (just the 4 this time) when I was at home last Friday. these ones are a very cool colour scheme - pretty much in keeping with the extremely cool (ie perishing) weather we are experiencing here at the moment ... when I poked my nose outside this morning it was -3 degrees centigrade - wow!

Anyhoo here are my cards ...

These are actually just a variation on a design I made using kraft card back in the summer - here.

Stamps: LotV Christmas sentiment circle;

Papers: LotV "Frosty Christmas";

Supplies: ribbon and gems from my stash;

Tools: Memory  Box "Flowering Christmas Tree" die; Martha Stewart "Eyelet lace" edge punch.

Challenges:

Crafty Boots - Christmas

Dream Valley #47 - Christmas

Cupcake #222 - Merry Christmas

Everybody-Art #217 - Anything Goes

Bearly Miine #65 - Anything Goes

Challenges4Everybody #9 - Anything Goes

Hope you are all keeping safe and warm.

Hugs

Batch Cookin'

I'm currently trying to use up some of my holidays from work, so I had a day off on Friday specifically to try to catch up on some cardmaking .. and catch up I sure did!! I finally got to grips with the harsh reality that I have no way enough Chrimbo cards in my stash, so I made a couple of batches. All day long I laboured and at the end of it I had made 22 cards - that has more than doubled the total of Chrimbo cards I had made all year - yay!

Here's a poorly lit pic of them all standing on the cupboard in our study ...

Today I'm focussing on the kraft card batch I made - back tomorrow with a post about the blue ones :-)

All these cards were fundamentally the same design, with the only differences being different colour card and buttons, and slightly different papers from the same pad. For the red ones I also made some using some over-sized red gems I had found in my stash and never really knew what to do with until now!

This was actually a great way of using up some card scraps, although I had bought a reel of yummy ribbon last week specifically to go with my kraft papers, and I used it all up in one go! (That explains why a couple of the cards do actually have some different ribbon on them!)

Stamps: Penny Black sentiment

Papers: LotV "Krafty Chrstmas";

Supplies: ribbon from Hobbycraft; gems from the Hobby House, Papermania (tan and champagne gems - perfect for kraft card) and my stash; twine from The Ribbon Girl; buttons from The Hobby House (green), The Ribbon Girl and my stash;

Tools: Cuttlebug "Ice Crystal" die; Martha Stewart "Arctic Snowflake" punch.

Challenges:

I've pictured 7 cards above of the 18 kraft cards I made - but I'm listing all the challenge entries together ... so for challenges with a maximum number of entries please assume I'm entering my second, third etc. card down! :-) )

CRAFT #184 - Christmas

Charisma #48 - Christmas

Papercrafting Journey - Christmas

Pretty Little Ribbon #17 - It's Christmas!

Paper Pretties Wednesday #235 - Christmas Inspired

Paperplay #49 - Christmas is Coming

Craft Us Crazy #32 - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like ...

Totally Gorjuss #161 - Oh No, Snow!

Simon Says - Snowflakes (2nd entry)

Dutch Dare #194 - Non-Traditional Christmas Colours

Paper Pretties Monday #68 - Use Ribbon

Christmas Card Challenges #2 - Die Cuts

MAWTT - Clean And Simple

Penny's Paper Crafty #105 - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

That's all for today - back with my second batch tomorrow! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Lili's Little Fairies team B Challenge - At Least 3 Punches / Dies

Hi everyone, and welcome to the latest Lili's Little Fairies Challenge. I didn't take part in the last challenge as I was over my head with work; and now things are calming down and I can't help but think wow! Christmas is sooo nearly here! In fact this is the last "Team B" challenge for 2012 - the final "Team A" challenge of the year will be next week, and then the little fairies will be fluttering home for Christmas so that we can rest our wings before fluttering into the New Year!!

Anyhoo to business - what we would like to see for this week's challenge is for you to use

Three (or more) punches / dies

... and of course a LotV image on your project if you want to be eligible for this week's yummy prize, which is

The other ladies have produced some fabulous samples to inspire you - here is my effort this week.

I stamped out this darling penguin scene a while ago, but hadn't got round to colouring it in until now - I think it's completely adorable!

This isn't a colour combo I normally go with, but this year I have really enjoyed using red ribbon nd embellishments both with the blue and the kraft Christmas pads ... I think it gives it a fresh and contemporary look :-)

Stamps: LotV "???" (sorry this stamp seems to be missing off the LotV website so I can't look up its name! :-(  ) and Christmas sentiment circle;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers, glamour dust for sparkle;

Papers: LotV "Frosty Christmas";

Supplies: flowers mostly from Wild orchid Crafts; berries from the Ribbon Girl; ribbon from Hobbycraft; gems by the Hobby House and papermania;

Tools: small, large and lacy circle nestabilities; Memory Box "Frostyville Border" and "Snowflake Corner" dies; Whimsy snowflake die.

I also decorated the inside ...

The photos aren't the best I'm afraid, but the weather is so dull and wintry i think that's going to be a common problem for the forseeable future!

Challenges:

By The Cute & Girly (December) - Red, White &  Blue

Everybody Art #216 - Christmas

Top Tip Tuesday #91 - Christmas

Fab 'n' Funky #150 - Non-Traditional Christmas

Incy Wincy - Non-Traditional Christmas Colours

Deep Ocean #40 - So This Is Christmas

Divas By Design #64 - Let It Snow

Simon Says - Snowflakes

Craft Your Passion #139 - Snow

Passion For Promarkers Mega Christmas Challenge - "Happy" Sentiment

Kaboodle #148 - Circles

Pile It On #49 - Pile On The Embellishments

Whimsy #54 - Anything Festive Goes

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

I ♥ Promarkers #146 - Anything Goes

Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes

Christmas At Sweet Stampin' #1 - Anything Goes

Penny Black & More At Allsorts (December) - It's Your Choice

that's all from me for today - hope you're keeping warm in this freezing cold spell we're having, and look forward to seeing your creations.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Glitter & Sparkle

Good morning Penny Black fans, and welcome to another Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Wow - December already ... where did the year go to?? Christmas will soon be upon us ready or not, and you've clearly been making your best efforts to get ready judging by the fabulous entries to last month's Christmas challenge - don't forget to check the challenge blog to see if you're a winner.

I'm running a little late this morning, partly because I only got my card done last minute yesterday (but not photographed!)  due to the horrendous workload I've had on the past 2 weeks, and partly 'cos we've also got 'pooter problems again and I couldn't get online this morning .... so straight to business!

This month we have the perfect challenge for if you're still embroiled in those Christmas makes, but equally lovely if you're one of those annoyingly organised people who've got that all done and dusted by now ... we would like to see

Glitter & Sparkle

To help get your creative juices flowing we've got the usual assortment of yummy prizes for randomly chosen winners ...

From

this gorgeous festive stamp

From The Ribbon Girl

From J&C Creations

From

a $20 online store voucher.

Pretty good eh??

As you may have guessed by now, I'm one of those people who is still very much embroiled in my Christmas makes ... I'm wayyyy behind and I have to confess I have even bought a box in case of last minute emergencies (oh the shame of it!). So you don't have to be Einstein to work out the direction I went in with glitter and sparkle .. here it is.

It doesn't seem to matter how many new stamps I buy (and goodness knows I do enough of that!), I still keep coming back to dear old Snowy at Christmas time.  This year I've been dressing him up with my new LotV papers and some new dies - I think this Whimsy snowflake is going to be a particular favourite, and I was lucky enough to win the greeting die set so I thought I may as well use it!!

I have actually used a number of glittery and sparkly effects on this card ... glamour dust on Snowy's hat, sparkly white ribbon, whtie glitter card for my snowflake boder, silver holographic card for my snowflake and greeting, and teeny blue gems ... so I'm pretty confident it qualifies for the challenge theme!!

Stamp: Penny Black "Snowy";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; glamour dust on hat;

Papers: LotV "Frosty Christmas";

Supplies: sparkly ribbon and gems from Hobbycraft; button and twine form my stash;

Tools: large classic circle snd scalloped circle nestabilities; memory Box "Frostyville Border" die; Whimsy snowflake die; Marianne Design greeting die.

Challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Sketch

Fussy & Fancy #77 - I Love Christmas!

Cute Card Thursday #245 - Snowflakes

Sweet Stampin' - Ribbons & Snowflakes

Oldie But A Goodie - Let It Snow

Crazy 4 Challenges #165 - Snowman

Divas By Design #63 - Glitter & Sparkle

Bearly Mine #63 - Blues & Silver

Ooh La La #119 - Seeing Spots & Dots

Sparkles Christmas #23 - Button or Bow

Crafty Catz #161 - Recycle

(my holographic silver card is from an Asda tissue box!)

Jingle Belles - December To Remember (Anything Goes)

Simon Says - Anything Goes

I ♥ Promarkers #145 - Anything Goes

Crafty Boots - Anything Goes

Hope you can join in with our last challenge for 2012 - look forward to seeing all your creations.

Teddy With Robin

Hi there ... hope everyone is keeping warm and dry - the weather has turned so absolutely shocking here in the UK! I do so hope if you're reading this you haven't been affected by the floods .... I think we will all be needing galoshes if the weather doesn't turn soon!

Anyhoo, here is the last of the cards I managed to knock together on Saturday.

I really enjoy making Chrimbo cards, and indeed I haven't even inked up all my Christmas stamps yet; but I'm also itching to get onto some other cards as I have today received my order of some of the new release LotV stamps - ooh they look lovely!! Very little chance of me getting to play with them in the immediate future though, as I am wayyy behind on my Christmas makes (as usual!!)

For some reason I always have problems getting a true-colour photo of the colour red ..my poinsetta card and ribbon are  both a dark red but they look so much lighter in these pictures!

Stamps: LotV "Teddy With Robin"; "Christmas grungy messages";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers + Stickles on the snow;

Papers: LotV "Krafty Christmas";

Supplies: brown and champagne gems by Papermania, red gems and spacer from The Hobby House; button and twine from The Ribbon Girl; ribbon from my stash;

Tools: classic large squares and large scalloped squares nestabilities; Marianne Design "Poinsetta" die (LR0122); Cheery Lynn "Holly Flourish" die.

Challenges:

Dies To Die For (November) - Christmas

Penny Black & More At Allsorts (November) - Any Die Will Do (3rd Entry)

Sweet Stampin' - Flowers

Party Time Tuesdays #96 - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting - take care.

Hugs,

Lavender and Lace Christmas

Good morning everyone - I'm back today with another of my weekend makes. Today's card has been primarily inspired by the Ribbon Girl Colour Challenge of shades of lavender - ooh I do love lavender, lilac and purple, and I managed to find some really pretty Chrimbo paper in my stash to suit :-).  I also managed to incorporate my gorgeous new Whimsy Snowflake die - I've been looking for a new snowflake die for ages and this one is just sooo pretty!

Stamps: LotV "Shine A Light" and "Grungy Christmas messages":

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers, LOTS of glamour dust :-) ;

Papers: Crafter's Companion "The Snowman";

Supplies: pure silk ribbons from The Ribbon Box; pearls, gems and large pearl brad from The Hobby House; charm from Bunny Zoe's Crafts; sparkly lace from my stash;

Tools: Whiumsy Snowflake die; Martha Stewart snowflake punch.

Challenges:

Sketch Saturday #235 - Sketch

Ribbon Girl Colour Challenge  (November) - Shades of Lavender

Crafter's Companion (November) - Favourite Colour Combination

Sparkles #38 - Christmas Is Coming

Dream Valley #46 - Non-Traditional Christmas

Challenge Up Your Life #83 - First Snow

Bunny Zoe's (November) - Winter

Creatalicious #40 - Winter

Stamp With Fun #189 - Winter
CSAYL #37 - To Die For

Crafty Ribbons #33 - Use At Least Two Ribbons

Papertake Weekly - Ribbons & Pearls

Try It On Tuesday - Christmas Sparkle

Crafty Pad #198 - Add Some Glitter

Cute Card Thursday #244 - Girls Only

Corrosive #163 - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for visiting today.

Hugs,

Watch the birdie!

Happy Sunday everyone - hope you are enjoying your weekend. For me it's the end of another frantic working week so no crafting until I managed to get a sesh in yesterday, so at least now I have three cards to show you over the coming days :-)

No surprise I'm now focussing pretty much exclusively on Christmas cards, and here's one of the ones I made yesterday.

Stamps: LotV "Teddy and Robin"; Christmas Grungy Messages";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: LotV "Krafty Christmas";

Supplies: Papermania browna nd champagne coloured gems; red gems from The Hobby house; chipboard snowflake from Hobbycraft; ribbons and lace from my stash;

Tools: Cuttlebug "Snowflakes" embossing folder.

Challenges:

Crafty Creations #197 - Christmas Is Coming

Bearly Mine #62 - Snowflakes

Allsorts #182 - Bring on The Bling!

Stampin' For The Weekend #22 - Use Some Texture

Divas By Design #62 - Two or More Patterned Papers

Party Time Tuesdays #95 - Chocolate Brown, Red & Kraft

Totally Papercrafts #144 - All Stitched Up

My Mum's #85 - Inspiration For A Song (Red, Red Robin)

Creative Card Crew #24 - Anything Goes

Crimbo Crackers #29 - Anything Goes

Simon Says - Dawny's Sketch

That's all for today - back tomorrow with another Christmas card :-) Enjoy the rest of your weekend, whatever you're doing.