Favourite Five Christmas Cards

Hi guys

As I've now shared all my Christmas cards made this year I thought I would join in the fun over at Debby's blog and choose my five favourites created in 2015.

So, here goes...


This is my absolute fave and I'm so glad I purchased Distress Inks this year.

I love how this one turned out and it took a lot of planning to get the sentiments in the right place and to do the separate embossing.

Paper piecing is something I've done very little of so I was really happy with this one.

The ghosting technique using Distress Inks and stencils with water is my favourite (new to me) technique this year, I just love the effects you can create.

My last minute batch of Christmas cards.  Once I'd settled on the design they were easy to replicate, I made ten of each colour.

So there you have it, all very CAS, Distress Inks featuring quite a lot and who knew a one layer card would be my favourite?!

Thanks as always for joining me today.

Cuties in Snow Globes

Hi there

Today I'm sharing the final two Christmas cards I made this year, one for my boyfriend and one for my bestie.

Stephanie at Clearly Besotted sneakily shared some new dies on her blog a couple of weeks ago and of course, I'm so weak I had to go and buy them there and then!  One of the new dies was the fab little snow globe I used on these two cards.


This one I made for my boyfriend...

And this one I made for my bestie...

I stamped the snowflakes on the card bases using two colours that co-ordinated with the patterned paper.  I cut out two snow globes from white cardstock and two from patterned paper and adhered these onto the card bases, inserting the patterned paper as the centre pieces.  Next I did a bit of stamping and masking with the hats and animals, coloured them with ProMarkers and fussy cut them out before mounting on 3D foam.  The sentiments were then stamped directly onto the card bases - the 'squishy' was purposely placed this way - my bestie understands! ;)

Materials used:

• Die: Clearly Besotted - Snow Globe Die
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Let's Bokeh in the Snow
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Arctic Animals, Petite Plushies (sentiment), Little Elves (sentiment); Uniko - Stunning Snowflakes
• Ink: Versa Color - Celadon, Seafoam; Versafine - Onyx Black

Challenge entries:

My Time to Craft - Challenge #311 - Last Minute Christmas Makes

Dream Valley - Challenge #122 - Christmas

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Winter Wonderland

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #154 - Snow

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #261 - Anything Goes Christmas

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for December - Anything Goes Christmas

The Male Room - Challenge #25 - Theme

Thanks so much as always for visiting.  I've not had time for any crafting since before Christmas but I'll hopefully be getting my craft essentials back out tomorrow and might find time for a little play or organisation.  

I hope you're all having a nice Christmas break.  I have to go to work on Thursday which is a bit of a pain right in the middle of the Christmas/New Year hols but I've certainly enjoyed the rest I've had so far.

Hope to be back soon with more to share.

Christmas Card Multiples - Same Design / Five Ways

Hi there

**WARNING**

Picture heavy post - you might want to make yourself a cosy brew!

Well, a week into December I counted up all the Christmas cards I'd made throughout the year and realised I was 60+ short of what I needed!  After panicking (!!!) I sat down and came up with a design I thought would be fairly easy to reproduce whilst also incorporating a few techniques.

Once the rough design was in my head I thought I'd make a few versions of the same design, and settled on ten of each, changing the sentiment and colours for each version.  So this gave me 50 cards to add to my stash.

Here's the complete set of five variations, I was really pleased with the finished results...

I die cut a circle from a spare piece of cardstock and blended Distress Inks through the aperture onto the card base, using a new template for each colour.  I tried to vary the intensity of the ink to make the circle look like a sphere, some came out better than others.  I then stamped the bauble hangers in silver together with the dotty script part of each sentiment, and the rest of the sentiments were stamped in black.  To finish I used a few more circle templates and a snowflake stencil through which I applied pearlescent embossing paste onto the baubles.  These were nice and flat to send through the mail although at one point I did have lots of cards around the room waiting for the embossing paste to dry.  Lots of patience was required!

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Inks (colours detailed below); Versa Color - Silver; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Ornamental Style (bauble hanger), Be Merry and Joyeux Noel (sentiments)
• Stencil: Memory Box - Winter Tiny Snowflakes
• Embossing Paste: Dreamweaver - Pearlescent

For the following set I used Distress Ink in Cracked Pistachio:

For this next set I used Distress Ink in Salty Ocean:

For the next set I used Distress Ink in Shaded Lilac:

For the following set I used Distress Ink in Abandoned Coral:

And for the final set I used Distress Ink in Picked Raspberry:

I like how all these turned out and find it really hard to choose a favourite.  I'd love to know which version(s) you like best.


I'm going to link up at the following challenge blogs:

CASology - Week 178 - Merry (I am entering the Picked Raspberry version here)

My Time to Craft - Challenge #311 - Last Minute Christmas Makes
Dream Valley - Challenge #122 - Christmas
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Fave Challenge/Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #261 - Anything Goes Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for December - Anything Goes Christmas
The Male Room - Challenge #25 - Theme (I am entering the Salty Ocean version here)

Phew!

If you've made it to the end, thanks so much for sticking with me.  Thanks so much for your visit and I would love to hear your comments.

I have a few more cards to share but I might have a little break and grab a brew myself now!

Simple Rudolph Multiples

Hi there

I'm back again today to share more of the last minute cards I made before Christmas.

I made four of these super quick CAS cards using two sets from Clearly Besotted.

The fingerprint head, the eyes, ears and antlers, and the sentiment were all stamped straight onto the card bases.  I then added some red liquid pearls for the noses, topped with some superfine red glitter.  The red glitter was really bright but I couldn't seem to capture this in the photos.  A little time was put aside for the noses to dry and these were ready to go.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - In Print and Santa Baby
• Ink: Versa Color - Sand Beige and Pinecone; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Accents: Liquid Pearls - Ruby Red; Superfine red glitter from stash

Challenge entries:

My Time to Craft - Challenge #311 - Last Minute Christmas Makes

Creative Inspirations - Challenge #341 - Anything Goes

Creative Card Crew - Challenge #103 - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Fave Challenge/Anything Goes

Crafty Creations - Challenge #305 - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #405 - Anything Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #261 - Anything Goes Christmas

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for December - Anything Goes Christmas

That was a fairly quick post.  Beware, the next one will be a bit picture heavy so if you do have time to pop back for a look you might want to boil that kettle and make a nice cosy brew!

A Yummy Christmas Selection

Hi there

I'm back to share another little batch of cards I made earlier in the month to add to my Christmas card stock.

These use a lovely little set of images from Pink Petticoat called Merry Christmas Sweetie.  Pink Petticoat is due to close but it seems digis can still be bought at the moment so it's worth a look as you can grab some wonderful images and papers at knock down prices.

These were super simple to make.  I printed the images onto an A4 sheet of card, cut each one out with a stitched rectangle die and coloured them in with my ProMarkers.  The image panels were then adhered to card bases using 3D foam, the berries were accented with Glossy Accents and some Wink of Stella was also added to give some festive sparkle.

Materials used:

• Digis: Pink Petticoat - Merry Christmas Sweetie
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accents: Glossy Accents; Wink of Stella - Clear

Challenge entries:

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Food and Drink
My Time to Craft - Challenge #311 - Last Minute Christmas Makes
Craft Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #261 - Anything Goes Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for December - Anything Goes Christmas
Brown Sugar - Challenge #178 - Christmas
CASology - Week 178 - Merry (I was going to enter the previous 'Pie' challenge with the Merry Mince Pie but missed the deadline)

Thanks for popping by.  I have more Christmas cards to share but may share these with you tomorrow as there's a bottle with my name on it calling from the kitchen! :)

Have a lovely evening whatever you're up to.

A Brusho Duo

Hi there

It's great to be back after a few days away and I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and are enjoying the well-earned break.

A week into December I realised I had nowhere near enough the number of Christmas cards I needed to send this year so I made quite a few more which I haven't yet shared with you so I'll be sharing these with you over the next few posts.

So, first up I decided to have a play with my Brushos and made two cards of the same design.  I decided to go with non-traditional Christmas colours for these.

So for these I started with two pieces of watercolour card, slightly smaller than my card bases.  I sprinkled a tiny amount of Brusho crystals onto the card, and I mean tiny, in two different colours and them misted with some water and let the magic happen.  The pigment contained in these crystals is unbelievable!  Once dry I mounted onto my card bases using 3D foam strips.  I die cut two snowflakes and adhered flat to the panels and added some Wink of Stella for subtle sparkle.  I then stamped the sentiment banners and die cut using the co-ordinating die before adhering over the snowflakes.

Materials used:

• Brushos: Turquoise and Purple
• Dies: Uniko - Designer Dies Snowflakes; Clearly Besotted - Mini Basic Banners
• Stamp: Clearly Besotted - Mini Basic Banners
• Ink: Versa Color - Boysenberry
• Accents: Wink of Stella - Clear

Challenge entries:

My Time to Craft - Challenge 311 - Last Minute Christmas Makes

Dream Valley - Challenge #122 - Christmas

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes

Brown Sugar - Challenge #178 - Christmas

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #261 - Anything Goes Christmas

Crafty Hazelnut's Challenge Extra for December - Anything Goes Christmas

CASology - Week 178 - Merry

Color Throwdown - Challenge #373 - Any Christmas, Any Colours

Freshly Made Sketches - Challenge #217

I think I'll be playing with my Brushos a lot more next year, I just love how every creation is unique in the way the pigment crystals disperse.  

Thanks for popping by, I'll be back soon with more of my last minutes makes!

Less is More - Two-Weeker!

Good morning crafters

There is a new challenge just starting over at Less is More.  This challenge will run for two weeks to cover the Christmas/New Year break.  We've worked our way around our usual sequence and we're back with a Theme challenge which is....

Homespun

Not an easy challenge for me but I've got two sample cards for you today showing how I interpreted the theme.  Here they are...

I stamped four different stitch designs on a white cardstock panel and topped with a faux stitched heart, stamped and die cut from some patterned paper.  I tied some twine in a bow to the back of a button, adhered this with a glue dot and stamped the sentiment to co-ordinate with the button.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Hot Off The Press - Stamped Stitches; Clearly Besotted - Love Hearts (and co-ordinating die)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Celadon
• Patterned paper from stash
• Accents: Twine - Hemptique - Ruby Collection; Button - Stampin' Up - Subtles

And my second card...

I embossed a white cardstock panel with a patchwork quilt design.  I then stamped the sentiment onto a strip of white cardstock and the image onto some gingham patterned paper.  I swirled some jute twine and anchored it in place when adhering the image on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Embossing folder: DoCrafts - Boofle
• Stamps: Woodware - Home Sweet Home
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Patterned Paper: DoCrafts - Boofle
• Accents: Jute twine from stash

We'd love to see how you interpret this theme.  And don't forget, this challenge will run for a fortnight, with the next challenge starting on Saturday 2 January 2016.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Less is More Week 254

Good morning

Can you believe we've whipped around to another Saturday, I seriously need December to slow down as I still have soooo much to do before Christmas.

Well, as it's Saturday it's new challenge time over at Less is More and, oh yes, it's One Layer Card week again!  This week we would like you to create one layer cards with the following theme...

What's In My Stocking

We would love to see where this theme takes you but as I don't have a stocking anymore *sobs*, I created two cards simply featuring stockings.  Here they are...

This has to be CAS at it's simplest!  I stamped the stocking and the sentiment, coloured the image with ProMarkers and added some Wink of Stella to the white parts of the stocking.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Santa Baby
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accent: Wink of Stella - Clear

Challenge entries:

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #403 - Add Some Glitter
Fantasy Stampers - Challenge #51 - CAS Christmas


And my second card...

I stamped this gorgeous image and sketchily coloured it in with coloured pencils, I think pencils were a good choice for this style of image.  Oh, to be a child again with the excitement of hanging up our stockings waiting for Santa.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Lili of the Valley - Hanging the Stockings; Happy Little Stampers - Mixed Christmas Sentiments
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Coloured with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils

Challenge entries:

Creative Card Crew - Challenge #102 - Holiday Season
Without Words - December Challenge - Feeling Festive
A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #159 - Anything Goes Christmas
Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #153 - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas



My teamies have more inspiration for you over at their personal blogs, we would love to see your creations this week and how you interpret the theme.

That's all from me today, I'm off to try to catch up with present buying and card writing.  And probably more card making as I'm sure I still don't have enough!

Have a great Saturday x

Addicted to Stamps and More #174

Hi guys

There is a brand new challenge just starting over at Addicted to Stamps and More.  This is our last challenge for 2015, with the next one scheduled for the new year to give the team a little break over Christmas.

So, on to this latest challenge and we're back with one of our regular themes and my personal favourite...

CAS (Clean and Simple)

The challenge guidelines can be found here

Our sponsor for this challenge is Bugaboo Digi Stamps and the prize for one lucky winner will be

I decided to go super simple for my DT card this week, using a new stamp set which I LOVE!

I cut a white cardstock panel slightly smaller than my card base and stamped two balloons directly onto it.  I then added the 'strings' as well as a string for a third balloon which was stamped and die cut using it's co-ordinating die.  The sentiment was then stamped underneath the strings and the die cut balloon popped up on 3D foam, as was the cardstock panel.  That was it, so simple :)

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Got Your Number (balloons with matching die), It's a Celebration (sentiment)
• Ink: Versa Color - Royal Blue, Grape, Opera Pink; Versafine - Onyx Black

My teamies have created some fantastic projects this week and I'm sure they too would love a visit from you.  And we hope to see you in the ATSM gallery this week.

Thanks so much for popping by, I love to know you've visited.