2 Sketches 4 You - Rae's Bonus Sketch

Rae's bonus sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You was the starting point for this card.

The glittered cardstock is from DCWV, the blue strip was cut from a piece of cardstock and the textured circle and glitter flower is also from there. The only non DCWV item is the bling from Paperchase.

2 Sketches 4 You - Laura # 18

This is te first card that I made at the crafty session with my forum buddies yesterday.

I used Laura's Sketch 18 from 2 Sketches 4 You for the layout of this card. I would NEVER have used a layout like this without a sketch to guide me so it had me expanding my style somewhat.

The red cardstock panel, paisley glittered card and floral glitter card are DCWV, the decoupaged flower was a magazine freebie and the sentiment panel was from Lakeland.

Fantastic day with friends yesterday

Had a brilliant day yesterday meeting up for a crafty session with some cardmaking friends.

Got piccies to up load off my camera and also I made 7 cards which I need to get scanned in and blogged.

It was the second time I had met most of them and the first time I met a new friend and we all had a great time.

It is so much fun meeting up with people you 'know' through the tinterweb. I can't wait for the next one in March

Busy day :)

Wow, what an amazingly busy day I have had today. I've used 1/4 of a tank of petrol running around.

First I went to Dudley and took back my depot keys etc from the job I lost on Wednesday. I then went to Birmingham Rag Market to look for some curtain fabric. I could only get the linings and some nice card making trims so I popped to Perry Barr to get the voile panels I saw yesterday and then went to Beggars Bush to get the wallpaper for the hallway and finally to Erdington to get the curtain fabric. It is a lovely thick chocolate brown suede and I needed 7.5 - 8 metres and there was 8.5 metres on the roll !!! RESULT :) Guess what I will be doing next week ?

I have just finished packing up the crafty items I am taking to Welwyn Bowling Club tomorrow and can't wait to see the girls for a crafty session :)

I am absolutely shattered now so off to beddy bies. Night Night xx

News

Unfortunately I am out of work again !!

I had a phone call yesterday morning to say that they had terminated my contract with the agecny as they've had to make cutbacks and then on the radio today I heard that E'on have had to cut 440 jobs and I was one of them :( Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the best job in the world - it was really frustrating at the best of times, the hours were long but the days went REALLY quick and the money was appalling for the responsibility you had, but if I was going to leave I wanted it to me on my terms and not someone elses !!! It was supposed to be a Temp to Perm contract and I was due to find out in February or March if it had gone permanent, but from very early on I was convinced that when the time came I was going to be told there was no proper job so I am not that surprised really. So that's me job hunting again and with Paul out of work the pressure is on. He doesn't seem to be that bothered and has told me not to worry as something will come up soon.

On a happier note we are in the middle of decorating and the wallpaper man has finished in the lounge and done a fantastic job. We have been to B & Q to get some wallpaper for the Hall Stairs and Landing and we whittled it down to 3, but there wasn't enough rolls in any of them so walked away empty handed. I did however get some fantastic samples so watch out for cards featuring those soon. Think Paul was a but embarrased as he was getting fed up of me ripping bits off the rolls :) He should be pleased, it's free stash LOL

Also went to Allied Carpets where I worked for 11 years until 2002 and it has changed ever such a lot since my last visit 18 months ago. There are only 2 people there who I used to work with, things have changed such a lot and it looked like not for the better. They don't even sell beds any more !!! Where the beloved curtain department I managed was has been completely changed, even Paul was a bit shocked. It was so quiet when I went in there today there is no way I could still work there. I would have been climbing the walls with boredom ! My old colleague Carl said I did right leaving when I did as it's definitely gone downhill and not the same place to work for.

Going into work for last time tomorrow to take back depot keys and phone etc and pick up personal effects and then going into Birmingham rag market to look at fabrics for curtains. Seen a lovely thick chocolate brown suede in Dunelm Mills today and if I cannot find anything similar in Birmingham I will be going to buy that. I was really pleased as Paul liked it too. He also liked the voile panels I saw in Perry Barr (took a photo with my phone....sneaky old me) I would rather buy the fabric if I can and make from scratch but if I can't get it in town tomorrow I will buy the panels and alter them. Either way I will be busy sewing soon. I haven't done any for ages so it will make a change and at least I've got lots of time to do it :)

Card Sketch A Day Designer Card # 151

Today over at Card Sketch a Day I have these 2 cards which I submitted for the sketch challenge.

The first card was for a good friend to wish her luck following a knee operation.

The patterned paper used is from HOTP, as is the shimmer bronze. The terracotta ovals and strip are from a Papermania Vintage shapes caddy. The flowers are Prima baubles and the flower shaped brad is Papermania. The sentiment is recycled from an old greetings card.



The pink one is also HOTP papers. The circles are from a pastel Papermania caddy and these have been edged with a pearlescent Brilliance ink pad to add definition.

The ribbon is from a QVC Brenda Pinnick kit and the flower is a Royal Langnickel domed sticker. The sentiment is again recycled.

These are quite sophisticated for me, probably because of the more subdued colouring in the background paper I think.

Happy Chinese New Year

To celebrate the Chinese New Year Paul and I have just enjoyed a home made Turkey stir fry in Sweet & Sour sauce with noodles. It was very yummy indeed.

I have not had a very good year so far :( I have been plagued by two colds, am just getting over a horrible chest infection and have had blocked drains from the kitchen waste pipe (urgh very smelly)

I have therefore decided that I am celebrating the Chinese New Year as a way of starting MY new year all over again !!

Onwards and upwards :)

2 Sketches 4 You - Kazan # 18

What with holidays and being really busy I have been unable to make cards in time to fit the challenges for 2 Sketches 4 You, but I am happy to report that other than suffering from a stinking cold and chest infection, things are getting back to normal now.

Kazan's sketch 18 was used to form the basis of this card. I have recently subscribed to a magazine and the freebie pack was from Papermania Sweet Nothings collection and it had a pack of printed acetate in it which I have never used before. I have seen many lovely cards made my fellow bloggers and I know the main thing to be careful of was to not make the adhesive used obvious.



The ribbon hides the join where the front of the card is attached to the acetate. The inside of the card was lined with paper from HOTP. The star ribbon is self adhesive from Papermania and the birdy is a freebie digital scrapbook downloadable from Imagine by Fran

Until now, I hadn't appreciated just how awkward these are to photograph as it is difficult to see the design and the colours don't appear as strong so I have also scanned it in.

I have enjoyed the challenge of making this card and have more sheets of acetate to use so will be making other cards. I may need to brush up on my photography skills though LOL

Eyelet Challenge

Chocoholic's Friday Challenge was to make a card using eyelets.

This card is a collage style, the whole idea stemmed from a card I saw on a blog where it was a huge tree with loads of eyelets. I thought it might work with my Sizzix die on a smaller scale and look like apples.

So, the tree and the house are a Doodlebug design Sizzix die, the 'sky' is a printed paper I bought in a sale ages ago. The grass is a handmade paper which has got real grass in it. The butterflies and stickers are various 3d ones from a box I have collated from various packs over the years and the sentiment is a rubber stamp.

I realy enjoyed making this card as it reminded me of making collages from boxes of Fuzzy Felt as a kid. I just loved having a box of tactile shapes and making pretty pictures from it.

Di Hickman December # 2

I made this card for a double challenge, one for a forum challenge set by my great crafty mate Chocoholic and also using a Di Hickman Sketch December #2

The blank is from a LMC pack, the papers are Papermania Scrumptious. The ribbon is a Papermania felt ric-rac. The sentiment is a vellum with gold print from Lakeland and the butterfly is a layered sticker from a magazine freebie. A liberal amount of clear Sakura glitter pen has been applied to the hearts and butterfly.

I haven't made many cards yet this year but looking at the ones I have made I seem to be in a pretty pink phase at the moment.

CPS Sketch #94

Trying to catch up with some of the card sketches and this card is made using CPS 94 as a guide.

The papers are from the Papermania Scrumptious pack which is just yummy :)

I had used my favourite Martha Stewart punch to cut the edge of the card and placed the checked paper inside to provide a contrast. The spotty patterned paper I also trimmed with the punch and used a black gel pen to highlight the punched spots in the top layer.

The sentiment is from a pack of 4 sheets that I had from Lakeland (RIP their crafty section is no longer) Each sheet has loads of sentimens on them in 4 colours and they are a translucent vellum with gold embossed writing on them. I placed this on white card edged with a Marvy Le Plume pen and layered this on the checked paper which was also edged.

I am resisting the urge to put something on either side of the sentiment as it looks like there is too much empty space !!!!

CPS 100 - Pick Your own

Wow, its 100 weeks of CPS sketches and this week we are to pick our favourite from the last 99 so plenty to choose from there!

This card is made using sketch 95 which I was originally going to do for a Christmas card, but this one has worked out really well.

I absolutely love butterflies, I even have one tattooed on my shoulder. This 3d element was a freebie from the latest Docrafts Creativity magazine. How lush are they?

The patterned paper'a are from the new Scrumptious range from Papermania and I have accented the hearts with a clear Sakura glitter pen. The glitter circle and flowers are from Papercellar

Back from the Lakes

I have had a brilliant weekend celebrating the wedding of a very good friend.

He got married at Kendal Registry office an Saturday and we stayed in a wooden lodge in the Lake District with another couple for 2 nights. It was in the middle of 3 acres of woodland and was just so quiet and peaceful. It was so nice we would like to go back when the weather is better as it would be a great base to do a lot of sightseeing in such a lovely part of the country.

On the way back today we popped in to Lancaster and saw a friend of ours who moved up there just over a year ago. It was really nice to see him and I couldn't believe it was over a more than a year since we last saw him.

It's been really nice to get out and about and I am looking forward to doing more of the same during this year.

Card Sketch A Day # 124 & Wedding Card

Tomorrow we are going up to the Lake Distrist as very good friends of ours from Louth are getting married on Saturday at Kendal Registry Office.

I made their card using sketch 124 from Card Sketch a Day as they wanted a 3rd card for it yesterday. However I have just gone to the site to find that I have been beaten to it ! Never mind, it was a perfect layout for the card I needed to make anyhoo.

The base cardstock was covered with a patterned paper from the Dovecraft Wedding pack. 2 tone mirrored card from Kanban was used for the central panel. The cake is a felt embellishment from a themed pack I bought from Poundland. The ribbon is the wonderful bobble trim I like to use at every opportunity. The sentiment is a rub on from DCWV.

The gift envelope is from a wonderful Linda Bernstien box that I got from QVC which has got cards that have been pre-planned for you and all the bits are in bags ready to go. I don't generally make the cards up as they are intended, but they are great for cards in a hurry. I do like to either use the embellishments another way or as in this case embellish the card a little more. I simply placed a pink sticker from MAMBI on the card as a further message and to link it with the pink on the main card.

So I've got a nice drive up th M6 to look forward to tomorrow. I have never been to the Lakes before and I'm looking forward to it very much. Then on the way back down on Sunday we are going to pop and see a friend who has moved to Lancaster and kill 2 birds with one stone.

One of the things I want to do more this year is get out and about in the car so this is a good start!

RIP Beverley Todd

Upon going though a tremendous amount of email on my return I was very, very sad to learn that Beverley was suddenly taken ill on 23rd December and died the following day.

I did not personally know Beverley but we stalked a lot of the same card sketch sites and I was aware of her fab cards and inspired by her creativity.

She will be greatly missed by the crafty community and I know her passing has affected a lot of people, myself included.

Death is never a good thing, but it is a great leveller and makes you look at yourself and your own life. It has made me tremendously grateful for the life I have and made me think long and hard about my happiness and personal fulfilment.

Happy New Year !

Sorry it's a bit late but I've been on holiday and brought back a stinking cold :(

We flew to Spain on the 27th and stopped at a friends timeshare apartment. The place was freezing and took 2 days to get warm. It rained a lot, but when it was sunny it was lovely and about 16 - 18C which was nice.

We went to Gibraltar for a day trip and saw the apes, have got some nice piccies which I need to get off the camera.

The wierdest thing though was celebrating 2 New Years, the Spanish one was at 11pm UK time, and the of course our time. We found the BBC tv station and watched the fireworks in London which were spectacular.

The worst part of the holiday though was how expensive things are to buy. The exchange rate from Euro to the £ was 1:1, we took some money from the bank whilst we were there are at one point got less that £ per euro. The basics were really expensive - £3.85 for a 4 pint carton of milk, £1.50 for a loaf of bread, £0.89 for a tin of beans, just unbelievable really. We spent £750 in a week and I promise you there were no luxuuries in that!

But, it was a rest. We had a nice time with our friends and it was certainly an exciting start to the New Year.

Let's hope 2009 is a better year for us than last year.

Happy Birthday CJ

Our nephew was born on Christmas Day 12 years ago and this is the card I made for his birthday.

I based it on Laura's 15th Sketch at 2 Sketches 4 You . I had some cardstock stickers from Doodlebug which I thought were quite fun for 12 year old lad. The central panel is one of those, the ribbon strips and the circular ones are too, all with liberal smatterings of a Sakura clear glitter pen for a bit of bling.

The patterned paper is HOTP from the Creative Cardmakers Citrus pack. I do love the bright papers in this pack and am going to be gutted when they finally run out.

CSAD Designer Cards #111

Over at Card Sketch a Day it is Christmas Tree week and I have been given a sketch to make 2 cards for.

The first card was made using a blank from a Brenda Pinnick Christmas kit I had from QVC for my birthday thanks to my lovely MIL.

The tree is a Sizzix die with little bells sewn on as the baubles. The design is finished off with Papermania peel offs.






The second design is a LMC blank with a freebie magazine tartan paper on top. The tree is a Dawn Bibby design rubber stamp which was embossed and decoupaged in 5 layers. The pot and trunk were cut from scraps of card and accented with gold pen and a heart shaped gem. Peel offs were used for the sentiment.

These sketches are sure getting me making Christmas cards earlier than I normally would.

CSAD Designer Card #107

Today I have another of my cards featured at Card Sketch A Day.

The patterned paper on this card is from a DCWV Christmas Stack. The candy canes are glittered chipboard shapes from the DCWV 3 drawer set I had from QVC. The hoographic holly leaves are from Kanban, bitton and brads are HOTP and the sentiment is from Lets Make Cards.

Loving how productive these sketches are making me and I'm getting my Christmas Cards done early for a change :)

CPS Sketch #93

This card was made using CPS Sketch 93 for the layout.

The main backing paper is from the DCWV drawer set from QVC, as is the snowflake ribbon. The strip of patterned paper is a wrapping paper from Paperchase. The panels were hand cut from card scraps and the snowflakes are Christmas decorations. The sentiment is a Papermania vellum sticker.

The card is A5 sized.

Happy 40th Birthday Hubby

Happy Birthday to the most wonderful husband in the whole wide world. Sorry girls, he's mine and you can't have him :)

Paul has been so very worried about turning 40, I couldn't resist teasing him even more !

This almost A4 sized card was made using a background paper which I bought forthe hearts on the other side but it was too busy so opted for this side instead.

The numbers were cut from card using templates I had made in Xara. To these I have added rubber stamps from Penny Black and stickers from Papermania's Forever Friends range. The images are coloured using Marvy le plume pens and Sakura glitter.

Inside the card I have used some of the Forever Friends paper and an Anita's peel off, but you can't see that as there are lots of slushy words to my beloved :)

I love this card, it says everything I wanted and the new stamped set is just absolutely perfect for this.

Di Hickman December # 1

Love the sketch over at Di Hickman's this week, I was inspired to make this card as soon as I saw it and KNEW the 3 elements had to be snowflakes, must be because it is so bloody freezing in Birmingham at the moment. The UK is having a very cold spell, goodness me you'd think it was Christmas soon as the weather is doing what it is supposed to at this time of year !

The main paper on the background is a recycled gift bag from last year and the white snowflakes are flocked, it is so very tactile and I thought it was a perfect item to recycle. Best bit is it was a large bag so I've got a nice big piece left !

The ribbon is a sparkly wired edge one I got from Poundland some time ago. The sentiment is a DCWV sticker from the QVC drawer set. I punched holes and set eyelets with my Cropodile Big Bite and used the wire from the ribbon to 'dangle' the snowflakes from which were purchased as Christmas decorations.

I really like this card and think all the elements work well together. Thanks to Di for a great sketch.

Sketches by Tamara # 73

I used the latest sketch from Tamara to make this card.

The card blank was pre-embossed with snowflakes and was from a Crafty Bitz QVC TSV last year. The square panels were a perforated paper layered over blue coloured squares. The shaped panel was hand cut and edged in Brilliance ink pad. The glitter chipboard snowflake was from the DCWV drawer set from QVC. The metal snowflake is from Papermania, the elasticated cord a magazine freebie and the sentiment is a rub on from Royal Langnickel.

Glitter Snowflake

I got absolutely covered in glitter making this card and loved it!

The base card was lilac and I covered the lower half with DCWV glitter cardstock from my QVC kit. The ribbon is also from the same set. The sentiment is a glittered rub on from Dovecraft.

The main focal is the gorgeous glittered snowflake which is a Christmas decoration from ASDA, 10 for £1.97 ! Bloody bargain I say.

This card is proper blinged up and girly and has lots of Christmas twinkle :)

Tis the season (to sparkle)

This card is entirely made from DCWV items from the QVC drawers.

The main backing paper is a glittered cardstock that glistens gently. The pink and black strip is cut from a paper that had several different designs in it. The central panel is a glitteredccardstock sticker which has been adhered onto textured cardstock which I have used the corner rounder on.

This is a really lush glittery card which is just gorgeous in the flesh.

The case of the Armless snowman

Another craft day make, this card was made using Dovecraft backing paper and tag and I stuck the snowman on from the DCWV drawer set, but his twick arms looked silly sticking out so I chopped them off !! I hope I don't get done for cruelty snowmen!

The ribbon and the sentiment are from the Brenda Pinnick kit

Bundle Up

Another card made yesterday.

The backing paper is Dovecraft, the image is a freebie digital image which was matted onto cardstock from DCWV. The sentiment is from the same DCWV QVC drawer set and was also matted onto the icy blue and mounted on 3D foam squares.

The snowflakes are vellum stickers which I have embellished with Paperchase gems.

It is so cold at the moment I think this is appropriate BRRRR

Christmas Stockings

This is one of the cards I made at our crafty day. The central image is what started it all off and this is a freebie digital scrapbooking printable on photo paper. The backing papers are DCWV.

Not your traditional Christmas colours but they don't always have to be do they?

Christmas Bears

This card was made using a pre embossed blank, I have no idea who makes it or where I got it!

The central embossed panel dictated the size of the panel so I chose a recycled image to fit inside and matted it on gold and red cards to add definition. The scanner as usual hasn't picked the gold up well though :(

The sentiment is again from an old card. The flowers and gem are from the Brenda Pinnick QVC kit I had recently. The ribbon along the bottom is from Dovecraft.

I did consider chalking the embossing to bring out the design but was worried that I would ruin it so decided against it !

It's Christmas

This card started from the sentiment panel which was recylcled from an old Christmas card. It is metallic red but the scanner hasn't picked the colour up at all well. The sentiment dictated the choice of the DCWV paper and the 3D stocking was added to lift the card a bit.

Quite a quick card that pulled itself together easily once I'd chosen the paper.

Card Sketch A Day # 54

This card was made using sketch #54 from Card Sketch a Day

The backing papers are DCWV, the stripy one having been punched with my ever faithful Martha Stewart doily punch. The sentiment panel is a freebie scrapbook printable image on photo paper edged with white brilliant ink, the brad is Dovecraft and I have used some more of my new bobble trim that I love so much, even in the green colour!!!!

This is one of the cards I made on the forum day yesterday, proving you can craft, eat and gossip at the same time!

Sketches by Tamara # 58

This card was made using Sketch 58 from Tamara.

The snowflake backing paper is DCWV from the QVC 3 drawer sets, the perforated paper is from Inspire Me and the bobble trim was from the NEC. The snowflakes are Quickutz die cuts fastened with Papermania brads. The sentiment is a DCWV cardstock sticker on 3D foam and the snowflake brad is from DCWV.

I made this card at the crafty forum day and it was one of 7 that I was able to finish.

CPS Sketch #91

I made a few cards last weekend but haven't had time during the week to scan them or blog them.

This first card was based on CPS Sketch #91. I had a look through my circular images recycled from old Christmas cards and have a couple of circular ones so will probably make a few more cards using this sketch.

The sentiment paper is DCWV and the ribbon strips are from the large Brenda Pinnick kit off QVC

Crafty Forum Meet Up

Had an absolutely fantastic day yesterday as I had arranged to visit some of my forum buddies. One of the girls Clare's Mum and Dad are members of a bowling club and we were able to hire their clubhouse for the day for a very reasonable fee. There were 6 of us that went in the end and came from all over the country.

From left to right there is Me, Kerrie, Clare, Helen, Lisa and Becky. All are very talented crafters and lovely people.

Helen made us all a little project bag each which had all the materials needed to make a fab
little tag book/card. Looks really effective and is so easy to put together.










Our mission now is to decorate the inside, not sure whether to put a Christmas message, or photos, or maybe a mixture of both?




Kerrie made us all a little giftbag which has sweeties inside

I drove just over 100 miles there and back again. It is the first time I have driven anywhere long distance on my own and I really enjoyed it. It was foggy all day and I kept driving in and out of it going down and the same back again. My confidence is so much better now on the motorway and I really felt a big sense of freedom on this trip. I even went on the M25 which was a real biggie for me, Lisa said the same thing. Lisa and Helen stopped in a hotel for the night rather than make the trip back again. I have to admit I was so tired that I probably should have done the same. At least I have had today to recuperate :)

All in all, I made 7 cards, spent some quality time with some lovely people and really hope we are able to meet up again. The time flew and we all really enjoyed ourselves.

2 Sketches 4 You - Kristin's Bonus Sketch

This card was made using the bonus sketch from Kristin who is one of the new DT members over at 2 Sketches 4 You.

The backing paper is DCWV, the embossed panels are from a Cuttlebug folder which has had silver inkpad run over to highlight the embossing. The sentiment and central snowflake are from a QVC Brenda Pinnick kit. I think the snowflake is missing something so I might add a bit of bling to it. Christmas isn't chrismas without a bit of sparkle is it ?

2 Sketches 4 You - Laura & Kazan 13

I have been suffering with an awful cold for over a week and haven't made any cards at all! I didn't even manage to do my beloved 2 Sketches 4 You sketch last week so I have done it this week with Laura's.

The blue card is for Laura's 13th sketch.

The patterned papers are from DCWV, the top one I have used my Martha Stewart border punch on. This is trimmed with a bobble trim I got from the NEC last weekend which I absolutely love. I have red and green too and I have a feeling you will see it on a lot of cards this Crimble.

The sentiment is from the QVC Brenda Pinnick kit and is a clear sticker mounted onto white DCWV card.

The snowflake is a Christmas decoration and is very dimensional so it sparkles really nicely. This is mounted onto a piece of a fantastic paper that Inspire Me make which is perforated with holes. I managed to pick up 2 sheets of irridecent blue and silver last weekend. This is then mounted onto a square panel from Brenda Pinnick and then a scrap of Irridescent blue paper which has also had the border punch treatment. I really love how this card turned out and ADORE the bobble trim.

The pink card was made with Kazan's sketch last week. The base card has a mat of a vibrant pink glossy card. The textured card is a Cuttlebug folder which has had 2 inkpads gently rubbed over the surface.

The sentiment strip is a magazine freebie from Crafts Beautiful, the sentiment panel is from Let's Make Cards and the snowflake is a Sizzix emboss and cut folder.

Been to Hobbycrafts at the NEC

I am suffering quite badly with a cold donated by my husband and wasn't sure if I would be able to make it to the NEC today but I was a brave soldier and faced my enemy (traffic jam on M42 queuing to get to the car park at NEC is always bad, but especially today as they had a car show on as well!)

I had a great time and was QUITE good with my purchases, but I couldn't wait to get home as my throat was really sore, and I kept sneezing a lot and was starting to lose my voice.

My legs were really shakey by the time I got home and I haven't even unpacked my bags. Keep feeling sick and as if my head is being squeezed in a vice.

Not got any appetite so going to goto bed and hope I feel better in the morning. I've got new crafty stuff to sort out dontcha know!

CSAD Designer Card #73

The current sketch at Card Sketch a Day features one of my cards in the Guest Designer slot.

I used this design to make a thankyou card for a very special friend Sandra. By the time this post is published she will have received this card, I hope you liked it sweetie!

The patterned paper is from HOTP Ultimate Floral pad, the frame is from a K & Company die cut sheet. The sentiment is from a huge Brenda Pinnick QVC kit, double mounted onto card scraps. The brads are from a Docrafts TSV.

Di Hickman Sketch October #5

Both these cards were made using the last October sketch on Di Hickman's blog.

The stamped images were from a forum swap that we did last year. I had coloured most of them using H20's but Christmas was a bit of a non event last year and I didn't end up making many cards.

I decided I was going to make the 2 cards at the same time using the same sort of things but in different colours.


The holly pattern papers are magazine freebies, the stripy paper is almost the last of the afore mentioned HOTP paper ( I only have a small sliver left!)

The sentiment strips have been cut from a sheet of freebie patterned paper and the sentiment panels are from the latest Lets Make Cards pack.

That's another 2 more Chrismas cards done! YIPPEE!!!!!

2 Sketches 4 You - Laura # 12

This card is based on Laura's latest sketch over at 2 Sketches 4 You.

I have combined patterned papers from Dovecraft and DCWV, with some sparkle paper for the Martha Stewart punched edge. I cut a strip off the card fron and sandwiched the edge between the card and the patterned paper. Thank you to Kerrie for that little tip!

The ribbon is a sparkly one from Dovecraft, the snowflakes are a Quickutz die assembled with Papermania brads. The sentiments is a DCWV cardstock sticker from the 3 drawer set I had from QVC. I used a silver Papermania peeloff to cover the join in the scalloped border but this has scanned in black!

CPS Sketch #38

Are you ready for a golden oldie ? Oldie in the respect that for this card I have used Sketch 38 which was from last Christmas over at CPS.

I am finding that sketches in general have been a major influence in me getting my Christmas card groove on this year and have been using some of the older sketches for inspiration, then pick my materials and run with it. In my defence, this time last year I only knew about sketches via Di Hickman's blog and Becky Flecks Pagemap site, since then I have become aware of so many more sources of fantabulous designs and I can definitely see it has had a good influence on my cards and made me experiment more with placement of elements and the whole less is more principle.

The main image on this card is a stamped image from a forum swap we did last year. I think it is a Whippersnapper design. It is coloured in with H20's and matted onto a scrap of gold card.

The central paper is some more of the HOTP paper I mentioned in an earlier card. I've still got a bit left and it will be used up soon, I promise.

The flowers are some 3D stickers that came free with a Docrafts Creativity magazine a few issues ago. They have a glue dot in the middle of the plastic flower and the petals are left free so you can fold them and manipulate them so they stand away from the card. They have been squashed down in the scanner but look quite good in real life.

2 Sketches 4 You - Joke Bonus Sketch x 2

I have made these 2 cards using Joke's Bonus Sketch on 2 Sketches 4 You.

As I was cutting the patterned papers up I figured I may as well make a second card at the same time.

The text based paper is from the Dove craft Winter Wonderland pack, the tiny snowflake one is from LMC.

For the 1st card I used a glittered chipboard shape from the DCWV dwawer set from QVC. I layered a metal snowflake charm on it from Papermania and a large gem in the centre from Paperchase.

The second card was made using a Papermania flower, a Prima flower, a blue snowflake charm, a white snowflake brad and a small gem all from Papermania.

I edged the cards with a small Versamark ink pad to define the edges.

Kazan Sketch #12

I have used Kazan's Sketch #12 over at 2 Sketches 4 You to make this Christmas card.

The base card is from a DCWV 3 part drawer set I have had from QVC and was pre-printed with the main design on textured card. The glittered tag is from a DCWV chipboard pack to match one of the paper stacks. The brad is from the same range. The tree is from a 3 part glittered chipboard pack from a magazine freebie and the organza ribbon is a scrap from my stash.

The design team at 2 Sketches is changing from next week and the girls have thanked each departing member individually. I think it is really lovely and the personal touch is one of the main reasons why I think their blog is so popular.