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Monday 31 December 2012

Favourite 5 Christmas Cards


Debby has given us the opportunity to link up our favourite 5 Christmas cards of 2012. I missed out on the draw for the prize but as it it New Years Eve it felt appropriate to have a 'year in review' anyway

My absolute favourite is this one made using a digi from Delicious Doodles. I gave it to my Father in Law who very rarely comments on his handmade cards but said he really liked this one. My original post is here for more details.


This saucy little number I made for my husband. It is not a Christmas image but felt it could be if coloured up appropriately. My original post is here for more details.


Through making this card I did some research on the Nutcracker ended up going to my first ballet performance which was a fantastic experience. Who knew cardmaking could lead to such delights? My original post is here for more details.



Technically this is the one I am most proud of as it had so may layers and was very fiddly. I was just so glad my idea came into fruition. My original post is here for more details.



I loves little snowmen so this one really had to feature :) My original post is here for more details.


Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and I wish each and every one of you a very Happy New Year with Good Health, Happiness, Love and Laughter for 2013 and always.

Favourite 5 of 2012


Debby is running a little end of year challenge on her blog and for a chance to win some crafty goodies you need to link up your favourite 5 cards of 2012.

This card is my absolute favourite. I still cannot believe it was me who coloured this image from Delicious Doodles. See original blog post here for details.


My second favourite is this from Hope Jacare. I was totally flummoxed when I was challenged to use this image. Ironically I think that is what has made me so proud of my colouring on it. My original blog post is here for more details.


This card and inside were make for my Sister's Wedding. I made it to co-incide with her wedding colours and she absolutely loved it. My blog post for more details is here



I absolutely adore this little fella Mr Potts, I love the brightess of the colours and loved the little character and made him into a plant stick. I made him in May and he is still perched in my palm tree and has lasted well. The blog post is here for more details


Last but by no means least there is this purple fairy. Now I have to admit I used to hate fairies, I had absolutely none in my collection but over the last year I have embraced different images and styles. This combines some of my favourites - butterflies, sparkle, purple, pretty papers and recycling a leather swatch from work. My blog post can be found here


Thanks Debby for giving us the opportunity to review our favourite cards of the year

Sunday 30 December 2012

Sympathy

We have a blog hop at One Stitch At A Time until 6th January.
Jump to my post here OSAAT #144 Blog Hop



As 2012 comes to an end it seems an appropriate time to blog this card which was made to support Hazel, a much loved team mate at OSAAT who lost her husband. We all clubbed together to make cards which our Leader Choccy made into a condolence book for her. It was a marvellous thing to do and when she needed us we demonstrated that she is part of our family and that we care.

I used a digi image from Stitchy Stamps called Sympathy which has a very graphic cross on the background which immediately inspired me to create a layered card. I cut the base of the cross out in cardstock, the second layer in gold card and the 3rd layer in damask paper.



The dove is in 2 layers, the 1st is to show the back wing and then the final layer is the ‘front’ of the bird. I used the paper and card on the backing panel to match the cross. The image below shows the decoupage layering at a different angle



Probably one of my most sedate and sophisticated cards for a very classy lady. I do hope that 2013 will bring you peace and happiness Hazel J

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It is quite befitting that I blog this today as yesterday we met the Bishop who will be presiding over the ceremony for Uncle Roy’s Funeral. We were making arrangements with him and discussing the order of service. I have never been involved to this extent with a funeral and it is a very sobering thing to have to do. I am going to be putting together the booklet for the service and will do the catering, the funeral will be on Friday 11th January so I’ve got a little while to get it all sorted out.

The good thing that has come out of his death is that it really makes you take our own life in hand. Makes you re-assess how you want to live your life. It makes me want to life my life to the full and enjoy every moment. The financial mess he has left us to sort out has also given me the impetus to sort out a will and put my final wishes somewhere accessible. I have come to realise that not doing so is incredibly selfish and until now I had never really given a thought to my own mortality, I mean no-one really wants to thinks about the day we will leave this mortal coil do they?

All I will say is that as we use more and more technology, more of our lives become tied up in computers. As Uncle Roy was disabled almost all his dealings were by computer and he didn’t give anyone his password………….. My tech genius husband was able to run program that cracked his password in only a very scary 89 seconds!!! It was an obscure word too so let that be 2 lessons to you. Please make sure your loved one has access to your password for when the time comes and also make sure it is secure so it is harder to hack.

Materials Used in this card are as follows:-

Card Size – A5
Image – Sympathy by Stitchy Stamps
Sentiment – Computer Generated
Paper – Capsule Collection by Papermania
Tools – Scissors, 3d foam,
Techniques – Decoupage

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-


Saturday 29 December 2012

Winter Philip


This is the last of my Christmas cards from my last minute cramming session.

This Pink Gem Designs image is called Winter Philip. I used a Nestabilities die to cut out the image and I have used scraps of cardstock for matting. The paper is a magazine freebie from Crafters Companion. I added a second layer to the hat and decoupaged with 3d foam.

I used a scrap of wrapping paper from Paperchase for the lower part of the card. The snowflakes are a mixture or metal brads and a die cut glitter one with a gem which has been recycled from a shop bought card.

I finished off the image with loads of glitter glue and a die cut sentiment from Hunky Dory.

Materials Used in this card are as follows:-
Card Size – A5
Sentiment – Hunky Dory
Paper – wrapping paper from Paperchase & Freebie from Crafter’s Companion
Embellishments – Metal snowflake brads by Papermania, Stickles Glitter glue, recycled gliter snowflake from a card
Tools – 3d foam, Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, Nestabilities dies
Techniques – Decoupage, Die Cutting

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-


Ice Skating Hoot


Another of my Christmas cards from my last minute cramming session.
I’d got 2 images from Pink Gem Designs already coloured up from a long while ago. This one is called Ice Skating Hoot. I’m not entirely sure if this should be an Owl or a Penguin but as you can see I have coloured it like a penguin with my Promarkers.

I have used scraps of cardstock for matting and the paper is an offcut of wrapping paper from Paperchase. I added a second layer to the scarf and decoupaged with 3d foam.

The snowflakes on the image have been glittered using Stickles glitter glue and I use loads on the pom pom and fur trim on the hat. I used some peel offs snowflakes on the base of the card. The sentiment is a digi from Jacquie’s Creative Word Art and I have chopped off the corners with my corner rounder punch.

Materials Used in this card are as follows:-

Card Size – A5
Paper – wrapping paper from Paperchase
Embellishments – peel off stickers, Stickles Glitter glue
Tools – 3d foam, Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, Corner rounding punch



Gingerbread Boys


Another of my mad dash panic Christmas cards. This was made using a digi from SSBS called Girl With Ginger Boys. This was from one of the early CDAC progressive challenges so I have had this coloured up for ages….

Most of the papers are from First Edition and have lots of lovely gingerbread men and hearts. They are already glittered and just needed cutting out with my fine pointed Fiskars scissors. The checked paper is a magazine freebie. I have used lots of scraps of card from my matting & layering and added some glitter to the icing on my coloured in gingerbread boys. Finally I added some Glossy Accents to the eyes and buttons on the gingerbread boys J

Materials Used in this card are as follows:-

Card Size – A5
Image – Girl with Ginger Boys by SSBS
Sentiment – recycled from Christmas Card
Paper – First Edition Festive Treats by Dovecraft & Magazine Freebie
Embellishments – Stickles glitter glue
Tools – Scissors, 3d foam, Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers,

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-




Friday 28 December 2012

Little Snowman


Another of my Christmas cards from my last minute cramming session. Will someone please remind me that next year I need to be more pro-active and make them more consistently throughout the year…. Maybe I need to be on a Christmas challenge DT too J

I ADORE snowmen and this cute smiley one is from Birdie Brown and is called Little Snowman. He is coloured with Promarkers & Flexmarkers and I added some glossy accents to his coal eyes and mouth. A smattering of Stickles glitter glue has been added to his pom pom and scarf trim. He is matted onto a scrap of blue card from my oddments box and I added some Papermania star gems around the main image.

I am rather proud of this card as it is all from scraps J The paper is the last of a sheet of Imaginisce iridescent paper which has a lovely sheen to it. There is even an offcut of blue card that had been embossed with a Cutlebug folder and I used a silver waxy rub-on to highlight the pattern. To finish I added a sentiment from my stash with 2 more of the little gems.

Well with all the wet weather and flooding we are having in the UK there is absolutely no chance of us building a snowman, however on the other side of the Atlantic I see there are massive snowstorms so I do hope my American pals stay safe!
Materials Used in this card are as follows:-

Card Size – A6
Image – Little Snowman by Birdie Brown
Sentiment – from stash
Paper – Imaginisce
Embellishments – Gold wax, star gems by Papermania, Glossy Accents, Stickles glitter glue
Tools – 3d foam, Letraset Promarkers & Flexmarkers, Embossing Folder
Techniques – Embossing

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-