Wednesday 28 November 2012

Happy Christmas - dangly bauble!

Whatcha peeps!

It's manic at the moment. I'm in the middle of another Crafts Beautiful commission, so I've not been around much this week.

Well, this Christmas card I want to show you, I made a couple of weeks ago. So glad I did now. This is another very quick simple card, again perfect for those last minuters (is that a word? minuters? - will have to check the 'ol Oxford later).

Righto, on to the card...



What I used...

Stamps: Joyful Greetings - Paper Smooches
Paper: Soda Fountain Dots & Stripes - Echo Park
Card stock: white
Die cut: 12 Days of Christmas Accessory Sheet - My Mind's Eye
Ink: Onyx Black - Versafine
Gems: black, red
Ribbon: red
Punch: corner rounder
Adhesives

What I did...

Create an A6 top fold blank and round the bottom corners. Cut a slightly smaller piece of turquoise stripe paper, round off the bottom corners and attach centrally to the blank. Repeat with white card.

Stamp the sentiment about 1" from the top of the white card. Add a row of black gems leading down from between the 'a' and 's' on the Christmas.

Attach the red bauble from the accessory sheet to the end of the black gems with foam tape, embellish with red gems. Wrap ribbon around the top of the card and tie in a knot on the right. Add a red gem over the dot on the 'i' to finish.

Having a large size sentiment means you don't have to go too mad on filling the rest of the card. These sentiments from Paper Smooches lend themselves very well to having things 'dangling' from them.

Well, that's me for the nonce.

Don't forget you can enter my blog candy giveaway, with a chance to get hold of some fab K & Company papers (rules of entry are in the post dated 21st November 2012). Just a little thank you to those of you who follow, read my waffle and leave fab comments; or to my new followers a thank you for joining :)

Take care, until next time. xx


Sunday 25 November 2012

Magic of the Season

Mewnin' peeps!
Hope you are surviving this horrid weather - not good :(
Just a reminder before I show you my card, don't forget to enter to win some fabulous blog candy, 65 (yes, 65!) sheets of K and Company 12" x 12" paper. The rules of entry are in the previous post.
Anyway, here is today's card, very simple and cute.
Photos edited with Xara Photo & Graphic Designer 2013
  
What I used...

Stamps: Joyful Greetings - Paper Smooches
Papers: Snow Day Collection 6" x 6" Pad - Crate Paper
Die: Tim Holtz Washer Border (657826) - Sizzix
Card stock: white
Ink: Onyx Black - Versafine
Baker's Twine: Purple Plum - Divine Twine
Adhesive gems: Iridescent Shimmering Dots - Papermania

How I did it...

Cover the top three quarters of a white A6 blank with snowman paper. Die cut a piece of the large scallop paper with the Washer Border and adhere below the snowman paper. Wrap twine around the card a couple of times (to cover the join) and tie in a bow at the left.

Stamp a sentiment onto white card, cut into a banner shape, mat onto red diamond paper and trim. Attach to the right of the card, over the twine with foam tape. Embellish the card and sentiment with a few shimmer dots.

There you have it! A very quick and simple card. Perfect for last minute makes as the Christmas season quickly approaches.

Off now to finish a design I'm doing for a charity organisation - I will tell you more about it soon....

Thanks for dropping in. Tatty bye for now. xxx

Wednesday 21 November 2012

K & Company Blog Candy!

Afternoon Peeps!

Well, this is something new for me - my first blog candy giveaway! (I hope it works).

I'm giving away a selection of 12" x 12" K & Company papers. There are 65 sheets in total, each one with a different design. There are a lot of vintage and muted designs in pinks, blues, greens and browns, there are a few bright ones too.

It's quite hard to find a lot of the designs as they are now discontinued, some of them you would just want to frame!

To have a chance of winning this fab candy:-

1. Be a follower either through Blogger, Google or email (see sidebar to follow by email)
2. Post a piccy of the candy with a link to this post in your sidebar (if you have a blog)
3. Leave me a comment (with your blog address if you have one) ta da! You are entered!
It will be great to have a look at all your blogs too :)

This candy will close on 21st December 2012, I will then use RANDOM.ORG to choose a winner!

Good luck!




Monday 19 November 2012

Blue Bird of Happiness

Evenin' friends!
Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Not sure where mine went to really...
It is my friend Stephen's birthday on Friday. He has a brilliant sense of humour and I know he will smile when he sees this card I've created, the look on the bird's face just says it all. The stamp set is another one from the excellent Art Impressions Zoo Crew Collection.
So here it is....




Ingredients...

Stamps: Buzzard Set (4194) - Art Impressions
Paper: Doodle Deux 6"x6" Paper Stack - Prima
Ink: Onyx Black - Versafine
Cardstock: black, white
Embossing powder: Detail Clear - Stampendous
Promarkers
Button: black
Ribbon: black

Method...

Stamp and emboss the bird and sentiment, trim and mat onto black card. Colour in the bird. Cut strips of patterned paper and adhere (at angles) onto a top fold A6 blank. Attach the bird to the top right corner and the sentiment at the bottom left, lining up each with the card edge.

Wrap ribbon around the card between the image and sentiment, thread through a black button and secure on the left, trim the ends. There you have it!

This card is so funny. It lends itself very well to a male card, though I can think of a few ladies who would like it. I also tried to pick papers that complimented the colour of the bird, without taking over. This collection from Prima was just perfect.

I'm signing off for now, thanks for calling and I'll post again soon with another Christmas card. Happy evening all! xx


Sunday 18 November 2012

Crafts Beautiful December 2012 - Pt 3

Aft'noon all!
It's lovely, bright, if chilly day here in Norfolk. Simon is out raking all the leaves up. I just love the smell of leaves on the ground. Last Thursday I washed all the bird feeders and refilled them, and I must say I had great fun kicking my way through all the leaves. Felt like a 5 year old again (quite often feel like a 5 year old actually).
Right, onto the my last instalment from the December issue of Crafts Beautiful.


There is a lovely feature about creating handmade gifts, decorations and centrepieces. It also includes the finishing touches such as wrapping and gift tags. That is where I come in. I was asked to produce five handmade tags with a country/shabby chic feel to them.

As you can see in the next piccy, I did the tags on the jar and the basket.


This next section gives you instructions on the purple and strawberry tags.

 


To download the tag (plus many more) templates and  for more crafting ideas visit Crafts Beautiful.

You could wrap gifts in plain white or kraft paper and make a bold statement with ribbon and a large decorative tag, like the ones featured. It means you don't have to worry about clashing patterns and motifs, just let the tag do the talking!

So that's it for my contribution to this issue. Mind you, keep your eyes peeled for the next one, I will say no more.......

Take care and enjoy the rest of your Sunday. xx

Saturday 17 November 2012

Rejoice!

Mornin' Peeps!
I've not caught up with any house work...yet. Simon's at the NEC with dad, Bazoo is asleep, it's VERY quiet here and it feels like I'm the only person on the planet. Weird.
Here's another Christmas card for you to peruse.



Ingredients...

Stamps: Christmas Sampler - Paper Smooches
Paper: Aspen Frost - Basic Grey
Ink: Onyx Black - Versafine; Walnut Stain - Tim Holtz
Punch: corner rounder
Card: white
Buttons
Wood star button
Garden twine
White crochet cotton
Parcel String
Adhesives

Recipe...

Stamp six sentiments in Onyx Black onto white card and cut into banners. Mat onto various patterned papers and trim following the shape of the banner. Add a co-ordinating button tied with white cotton to each banner.

Round the bottom corners of an A6 top fold (portrait) blank and mount the banners on the left side with foam tape.

Wrap garden twine around the bottom of the blank and tie in a knot at the right. Cover a wood star with patterned paper, sand and ink the edges with Walnut Stain. Secure a red button to the star with parcel string, tie and fray the ends. Glue to the blank over the garden twine knot.

And there you have it. I love doing these little embellishments. The wood stars are nice enough on their own, but it's fun to cover them with patterned paper so they really co-ordinate with your card.

Hope you like this little creation. Just shows you don't always need an image on a card, lots of words work really well. You could do this layout for many occasions, mixing and matching words from different stamp sets...cool!

Now, time for a coffee I think.

I need to make a birthday card for a friend, so I'll take a piccy and do a post when I've finished it, until then......thanks for stopping by. Ta ta  xx

Friday 16 November 2012

Holiday Cheer

Hi Chums!

Well I can't believe it's Friday already. Where has the week gone?
Simon is off to the NEC tomorrow. It is the Footman James Classic Car Show and he is taking his dad. It was his dad's birthday last Saturday and it is so difficult knowing what to get him. Anyway, he is a bit of a classic car fan like Simon, so we thought we would buy his ticket and treat him to a day out. He was well chuffed when we told him, hope they have a great day. It will give me chance to catch up on some housework (boring - yawn).

Anyhoo, after finishing and posting off two commissions, I managed to find time to create another couple of Christmas cards. One if which I'd like to show you today.



What I used...

Stamps: Warm Hearts - Paper Smooches
Stamps: Christmas Sampler - Paper Smooches
Ink: Onyx Black - Versafine
Embossing powder: clear - Stampendous
Card: aqua, white
Embossing folder: Swiss Dots - Cuttlebug
Dies: Framelits Circles - Sizzix
Promarkers
Flat backed pearls: red, white
Glitter glue: Stickles Frosted Lace - Ranger

Die cut a circle of aqua card and attach to the bottom of a kraft blank 11cm x 12.5cm. Stamp, heat emboss and colour in the trees, cut out and stick to the circle. For the snow, emboss Swiss Dots onto white card, cut into wavy sections, cover the bottom of the card with one section securing with double sided tape, then overlay with another section using foam tape.

Stamp the sentiment onto white card, trim into a banner and attach to the top left corner. Finish with a couple of pearls and glitter glue on the snow.

Ta da! A very cute card indeed. Makes you go all warm and cosy inside. I just adore Paper Smooches stamps, they are so versatile and you can mix and match the sets, brilliant!

Well, must get on, hopefully I can post you the other card tomorrow,  Paper Smooches have been used on that one as well. Plus, it also has a cute little hand made embellishment...watch this space.

Until then chums, ta ta! xx



Monday 12 November 2012

Crafts Beautiful December 2012 - Pt 2

Heevnin all!
 
Hope you all had a lovely weekend. We had quite a busy weekend, with a lot of socialising (and wine - nuff said).
 
I want to show you the second part of my projects in the December issue of Crafts Beautiful. These are shabby chic Christmas cards, I've gone bright and bold and put my own style to what can be a very pale, muted and vintage look. They are definitely bright, with lace, buttons, wire and doilies.

 
 
I had great fun creating these, it also gave me a chance to purchase some of the new Sizzix Bigz dies with bonus embossing folder. The holly and star have endless possibilities and are great on their own or embossed with the folder (as I did in the projects). Sanding the embossed shapes really gives them that worn, distressed look.
 
I also used some coloured doilies that I found in Tesco, but as I mentioned in the feature, you can make your own by rubbing a dye ink pad over a plain white doily.
 
This is the last issue with Christmas makes, so get a copy whilst you still can! For more crafting ideas visit Crafts Beautiful
 
I'm going to sign off for now, I'll be back soon with the last instalment of my CB extravaganza!
 
Thanks for dropping in. xx

Saturday 10 November 2012

Crafts Beautiful December 2012 - Pt 1

Hello Peeps!
Hope you are all well! It's dark and wet here today, perfect excuse to have a hot cuppa and a lovely piece of ginger cake...so that's what Simon & I have just done. It was scrummy. He's now gone out to the garage to have a tinker with Molly the MG and I thought I'd pop on t'internet and write another post:) I've noticed that it smells very Christmassy outside today. Got to be careful or I'll be getting excited. It's not long before I'll be getting out the Advent calendar and filling it with loads of choccies, woo hoo!
Yesterday saw the December 2012 issue of Crafts Beautiful go on sale. I have three projects in this issue. I thought I would show you a sneeky peek at the first one.





They have a fantastic feature every month called Card School, where you are guided by photos in six stages on how to create a card using certain techniques (they are not my hands - good job, mine are not looking their best at the moment, they always go dry at this time of year). The tutorial is on shaped cards, focusing on a cupcake shaped card for the actual instructions, but you can apply the same techniques to other shapes. There is also a party hat and present for you to try.

To download the templates for the cards and for more crafting ideas visit Crafts Beautiful
Again, CB has come up trumps, the issue is packed with wonderful projects and features and comes with a fab free embellishment kit!

That's it from me for the mo, I'll go and light the fire, close the curtains and put the lamps on ready to cosy on down.

I will post my next project later. Take care and thanks for visiting. xx

Friday 9 November 2012

Merry Birdy

Afternoon chumleys!
Hope you are all fine and well this bright Friday afternoon. The leaves are nearly all off the trees now. I'm keeping an eye on the ash tree out the front, I've read up on what symptoms to look out for, it seems okay at the moment, fingers crossed. It would be such a shame to lose it :( 
I'm currently in between commissions, but I'd like to show you a card I made last week.



Adorable isn't he?

What I used...

Home for Christmas 6x6 Paper Pad - Fancy Pants Designs
Home for Christmas Clear Stamps  - Fancy Pants Designs
Home for Christmas Stickers - Fancy Pants Designs
Home for Christmas Banners - Fancy Pants Designs
Ink - Burgundy, Split Pea - Versacolor
Card stock - cream
Punch - corner rounder
Button - red
Garden twine
Pearls - ivory

I rounded the top right corner of an A6 landscape Kraft blank and a smaller piece of cream card. The bird and snowflakes were stamped in the bottom right corner of the cream piece; this was mounted to the left of the blank.

I attached a spotty banner to the top left corner with foam tape and a red button tied with twine.  To finish, I wrapped and tied twine around the bottom of the blank and pearls were adhered to the bird and snowflakes.

I love the colours in this collection. Even though it follows the traditional red and green Christmas colours, they are quite vintage. The whole scrummy collection is based around red, green, ochre and brown, with whimsical and traditional designs. Gorgeous!

My only complaint is why do these companies release such beautiful and must have collections? I mean... I want them all!

Righty-hoo. Must get on. Thanks for popping in. xxxx





Tuesday 6 November 2012

Frosty!

Heevnin chums!
Hope you are all well! It's been a frantic couple of days but here I am.
This card I want to show you doesn't use stamps, just dry embossing and paper piecing.
So, I'd like you to meet Frosty!



What I used...

Winter Joy 12x12 Collection - Bo Bunny
Card stock - white, green, orange, black
Circle punches - various sizes
Snowflake punches - various sizes, styles
Alphabet stickers - black
Fine liner pens - white, black
Black Soot Distress Ink - Ranger
D'Vine Swirl embossing folder - Cuttlebug
Glitter dots

Emboss a square of white card, cover the top left corner with a curved piece of dotty paper.  Cut a piece of green card for the hat brim, ink the edges and adhere to the bottom of the dotty piece. Ink and draw faux stitching around the edges and mount onto black card.

Punch two black circles for the eyes, ten smaller ones for the mouth and a carrot shape out of orange card (ink the edge). Arrange and stick to the embossed panel, highlight in white.

Use alphabet stickers to spell 'Brrr!' in the bottom right hand corner of a white square blank. Punch snowflakes in different papers, arrange and adhere around the sentiment. Attach the panel to the top left of the blank, finish with a few glitter dots.

I think he's really cute. I based him on a Santa card I posted 6th January. There is something really satisfying about creating your own motifs and card toppers.

Okay, Simon's just brought me a brew, so I'll sign off and have a slurp. Thanks for calling in. Night night all! xx




Saturday 3 November 2012

Merry Tree

Wassup peeps?
I'll send a bright and cheery hello on this wet and windy Saturday :)
Today I have another Christmas card for you. I've used another fab stamp from the wonderful Octopode Factory.


I didn't really notice the face on the star until I started to colour it in. It's so cute! He doesn't look too happy though (then again, I don't think I would be with the top of a spiky tree stuck up my bum).



What I used...

Christmas Tree stamp - The Octopode Factory
12 Days of Christmas 6x6 paper pad - My Mind's Eye
12 Days of Christmas accessory sheet - My Mind's Eye
Black ink - Versafine
Clear embossing powder - Stampendous
Merry Christmas rub-ons - Kaisercraft
Promarkers
Baker's twine, red - Divine Twine
Button, red
Flat back pearls, white

I stamped, heat embossed and coloured in the tree image, then trimmed and mounted it onto a piece of patterned paper. I cut up one of the journaling spots from the accessory sheet and attached it to the top left side of the image and mounted the whole thing onto the front of a white blank.

I fixed a length of the scallop border along the bottom, with a 'peppermint' swirl and a button tied with twine at the right hand side. To finish, I applied a 'Merry' rub-on and three pearls onto the journaling spot.

I wasn't too sure about this card at first. Sometimes you can spend ages on a card and not be too happy with it. If you walk away and go back to it the next day, you seem to see it in a completely different light. I love it now :D

The thing is with me, is that I am my own worst critic. Tsk tsk.

Anyhoo, off to make a coffee, take one out to his nibs (playing in the garage), ring my Mum and start creating another masterpiece. I have to break off a little later, a friend is coming round to borrow my Morticia outfit for a fancy dress get together tonight. It's going to be fun getting her ready!!

Call in again soon! xx

Thursday 1 November 2012

Birdy Bauble

Mornin' all!
Hope you all had a fearfully, frightful Halloween. I live in a little tiny village and there aren't really many children (plus we don't have street lights), so we had a very quiet night last night. I did watch the 'Come Dine With Me' Halloween special - Robert Englund (aka Freddy Kreuger) was brilliant, he even brought his 'glove' along.
Come Dine With Me is one of the VERY few TV programmes I watch. The concept is so clever, it's even better if one of the peeps is really obnoxious.
Ok, now onto today's card, another Christmas one!

What I used...
Winter Wonderland 6x6 paper pad - My Mind's Eye
Pattern Play Holiday stamp set - Inkadinkado
Cardstock - white, green
Black ink - Versafine
Clear embossing powder - Stampendous
Promarkers
Punch - corner
Baker's twine - red
Button - red
Stickles Christmas Red glitter glue - Ranger
Rub-on - black, Merry Christmas - Pebbles Inc.
Adhere a panel of green card centrally to a square blank. Trim four lengths of different patterned paper and attach to the left hand side of the panel, rounding the top left corner of the top strip.
Stamp, heat emboss and colour in the bird bauble. Stamp a swirl above and embellish with glitter glue. When dry, trim and round off the bottom right corner, wrap and tie baker's twine around the panel and mount onto the blank with foam tape, overlapping the patterned strips.
Finish with a button and a sentiment - and there you have it!
This card layout was inspired by Retrosketch #32. This and many more fantastic sketches, challenges, samples and cool ideas can be found at http://retrosketches.blogspot.co.uk/ or you can find a direct link to the site in the 'Brilliant blogs I follow' section. Please check this site out, it is wonderful for inspiration if you know what you want to put on a card but have lost your layout mojo. There is a new sketch posted every Saturday.
Well, that's me for the nonce. Thanks for stopping by. xx