Under the tree

Hello lovely people,

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones and that you all have a few new crafty toys to play with!
I had a fab and very busy time which is why I haven't been around to visit you much but I'm back into the usual routine now and will be popping by very soon!

Christmas may be over for another year but I still have a few more Christmas cards to share with you!

I know I have already shown you several cards with this image but it really is my favourite as it works on all styles of cards; male/female, fancy/CAS.  Oh, and it is soooo cute!

Card recipe;

Image: from LOTV but discontinued

DP: Vintage frost basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV
Letters: cut on Cricut

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Bunnies: E41/42/43 & R000/00/01 for ears
Mice: W00/1/3
Tree: G40/YG63/G94/G99
Blanket / stocking: B91/3/5/7
Red stockings / blobs on tree: R46/39
Stars on tree: YR30/31

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2015!

Thanks for visiting me and for all the lovely comments left over the past year; I appreciate it so much :-)

Challenges I am playing along with;

1.  Inky Chicks (winter wonderland)

2. Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)

3.  Cute Card Thursday (anything goes)

4.  As You Like It (fave Christmas image, as above)

5.  Sweet Stampin' (anything goes)

Gift box

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme this time is...

MAKE YOUR OWN

So, we want to see something you have created from scratch, maybe an embellishment or special papercraft item - get creative!  And don't forget to tell us what you have handmade in your blog post!

Our sponsor this time is Bugaboo with a fab prize...

I have made my own gift box to present some sweet treats in.

I didn't have a template, I just decided what size box I needed and built up the sides of the box with 2 layers of cardboard to make it really sturdy.

I left some small flaps at the bottom of the box so it could be attached to the base then covered the inside of the base with another piece of card.
I decorated the sides with pretty paper, some die cut corners, lace, twine and flowers.

Then the naughty bit...some salted caramel mocha fudge to go inside...mmmmmm!
If I've tempted you to have a go at making some of this delicious fudge yourself then you can find the recipe here!

Box recipe;

DP: Vintage spring basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Lace: from stash
Die: Filigree corner - La La Land

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulously creative projects from the rest of the team and there are some great tips for you too :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Lots of layers

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this time is...

PINK CHRISTMAS

Ha ha, yes we are soooo predictable but you know you love it!

I've gone to town on the layers here... I just couldn't decide which papers to use so I used them all!

It's been a while since I used an All Dressed Up image but this is one of my favourites especially when a card for a 19 year old 'diva' is requested!

All the usual suspects are on here; the twine, the roses and those little letter stamps again!  I did throw in some extra sheer ribbon and stars as well though :-)

Card recipe;

Image: All dressed up for Christmas - All Dressed Up 

DP: A gift for you & Vintage frost basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Dies: cosmic star set - Memory Box

Ribbon: from stash

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E21/25/29
Tree: G40/YG61/63
Dress / bows / shoes: RV91/93/95
Stars on tree: RV91/93
Balls on tree / bows: RV69/99
Tree stand: W5/6/7

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies.

This challenge is running for 4 weeks so plenty of time to enter with those last minute Christmas makes... it can't just be me still doing stuff surely?!

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am playing along with;

1.  A Creative Romance (anything goes)

2.  Sweet Stampin' (things with wings)

3.  The Ribbon Girl (anything goes)

4.  A Gem of a Challenge (anything Christmas)

5.  ABC (Y is for Yuletide)

Pegs

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme this time is...

INSPIRED BY SOMETHING IN YOUR HOME

This is a really lovely theme as there are so many options; something you love the colours of, an object that is really special to you or maybe just something really really boring that you can make into something much better...

That's what I was thinking when I stumbled upon a big bag of pegs.  Now, I don't have a washing line so haven't used these for about 10 years but I was so excited to rediscover them and had lots of ideas going through my head as to what I could do with them.

I knew exactly what colour I wanted to use (lol!) and I wanted them to have a slightly shabby chic feel with just a little cute embellishment so here's what I came up with;

I took the liberty of creating a little photo tutorial for you as I went along, just in case anyone else wants to have a go at this... and why wouldn't you?!

First I painted the pegs with one coat of white acrylic paint.  I took the pegs apart to do this so I could get into all the cracks.  I didn't worry too much about the flat outside sections as these were going to be covered by paper.

Then I cut little strips of different co-ordinating papers - use up those scraps people!

I trimmed each piece of paper to exactly the right size for each individual peg as I went along and glued them down with tacky PVA.  I put a little glue on the peg like this;

Then I spread it out with my finger so the whole area was covered and pressed the paper strip on top, smoothing it down firmly.

Now, these looked a little too pristine for my liking so I used very fine sandpaper to sand the edges of each paper strip which gives a nice finish and makes the strip kind of 'blend into' the edges of the peg.

I then put the pegs back together and added the finishing touch with a die cut flower and paper rose on each one.

I brushed some Wink of Stella over the roses which gives them a gorgeous subtle sparkle.. too subtle for the camera maybe?!

I think these would be nice with magnets on the back to pop on your fridge or maybe with drawing pins on the back so they could be pushed into a cork board.

Then you can use them to clip up anything you like...

Peg recipe;

Paint: Adirondack acrylic paint dabber (white) - Ranger
DP: Special delivery (girl) - Pebbles

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Dies: Fancy blossoms - Memory box

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out what has inspired the fabulous creations from the rest of the team.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;

1.  A Little Bit Crafty (anything goes but not Christmas)

Snuggle up

Hello lovely people,

Here we go again with a new challenge at Crafty Little Fairies and very sadly, it is our last ever challenge :-(

Our final theme for you is... HOLLY AND/OR IVY

Well, it pretty much had to be another Christmas card with that theme didn't it?! 
I've done a stepper design and there is holly both on my image and the little charm I added.

These stepper designs are great for using up quite small bits of DP and I love adding a little detail to the top of the front step with a border punch.

I always add a strip of card in the centre of my stepper designs so that it can't slip open when standing so I thought I'd show you, just in case you're interested!

And this post wouldn't be complete without a close up of the sweet bunnies all cosy in their stocking.

Card recipe;

Image: from LOTV but now discontinued

DP: Vintage Frost Basics - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Tag: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV
Punched edge: Cherish (punch around the page) - Martha Stewart

Kraft letters: cut with my Cricut

Copic colours;
Bunnies: E40/41/42
Hats: B91/93/95 & T3/4/6 (right) & R39/89/99 (left)
Branch: E43/44/47
Leaves: BG93/96/99
Berries / bow: R39/89/RV99
Fur on stocking/hat bobbles: T0/1/2

If you pop over to Crafty Little Fairies you can check out the beautiful creations from my teamies and details of the four prizes on offer from some fabulous sponsors.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am playing along with;
1.  Papertake Weekly (anything goes)
2.  Simon Says Stamp (Christmas/holidays)
3.  Divas by Design (feeling festive)

Tilda in red

Hello lovely people,

I hope you all had a lovely weekend.  I certainly did although it involved more drinking and dancing with friends than crafting!

I said I had lots of cards to share with you and it will be no surprise that a lot of them are Christmas cards!
This one is using the absolutely stunning new DP collction from Maja Design; I think the red/grey/white colour scheme is so elegant; I have used mainly the white and pale grey papers here.

Yes, that is a new Tilda!  I managed to keep to my resolution of just buying one stamp from the latest collection and this was a stand out favourite for me.

I opted for something a little different to my usual 3D paper flowers to embellish and cut these poinsettias with my Cricut from the lovely red DP.

Card recipe;

Image: Christmas Candle Tilda, from Waiting for Christmas collection

DP: A gift for you - Maja Design (available from Live and Love Crafts)

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Dies: Anja's vintage swirls - Marianne Design

Sentiment: cut from DP, plus free alphabet stamps for names

Copic colours;
Skin: E000/00/21/11/04 & R20
Hair: E50/43/44
Coat - hat: R27/46/39/89
Fur on hat: W00/0/1/2
Glove / boots: W3/4/5/6
Candle: YR30/31 & Y21/23/38
Foliage: YG93/95/97 & R46/39
Ground: W00/0/1/2/3/4

I hope you are all starting to feel festive - has anyone got their tree up yet?!

Challenges I am playing along with;

1. Marvellous Magnolia (anything goes Christmas)

2.  Sweet Magnolia (use a die cut)

3.  Tilda's Town (it's winter)

4.   The Ribbon Girl (Magnolia only - Christmas)

5.  As You Like It (fave Christmas style - I tend to go for a traditional feel as it suits the images I like to use but do enjoy using non-traditional colours to give it my own twist)

6.  Simon Says Stamp (anything goes)

Finishing touches

Hello lovely people,

I seem to have developed a thing recently for having several cards on the go at once.  It was getting a bit silly when I had 7, yes 7, half finished cards on my desk... and I was running out of space to craft in!
So, I have finished 5 of the 7 cards and consequently will have lots to share with you over the next few weeks :-)

First up is my card for our new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this time is...

DIE CUTS AND/OR PUNCHES

I have made a buckle card and if you want more details of how to make one of these, check out my tutorial here.
The die cut swirl I have used is a firm favourite of mine especially as you can cut it up to fit where you want it and create slightly different shapes.

The 'buckle' slides out from under the image panel like so...

The inside is decorated both to look pretty and to hide the buckle mechanism.

I used my fave little bear, sweet James from LOTV, and I'm sorry to say this rubber stamp has now been discontinued :-(

The fishtails for the sentiment were cut by hand and I used foam pads to add some dimension to them.

Card recipe;

DP: Vintage frost basics - Maja Design(available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Dies:Leaf and swirl - Magnolia Doohickey
Tag: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV
Snowflake charm: Snowflake 1 charm - The Ribbon Girl

Copic colours;
Fur: not entirely sure as I coloured his fur a while ago but I usually use E41/42/43 and maybe E44
Hat / scarf: RV91/93/95
Ground / fur on hat: W00/0/1/2

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;

1.  LOTV (Merry Christmas)
2.  Bunny Zoe's Crafts (snow)
3.  A Creative Romance (something old - this is one of my oldest  LOTV stamps but comes out to play every year!)

Jolly holly

Hello lovely people,

Don't fall over in shock that I am posting; I'm here, I'm ok and I have a card to share!  But then of course, it's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme is...

BUTTONS AND/OR BOWS

I had this idea in my head for a little CAS card and what do you know, it actually turned out like I pictured!
I do love Kraft, white and red for Christmas :-)

And since it was so simple, I made a few more, each with a different sentiment on the tag.  I made 6 in total but here's a selection of 3 of them;

Card recipe;

DP: Krafty Christmas - LOTV

Twine: The Ribbon Girl

Tags: Christmas sentiment tags - LOTV
Dies: Holly vine - Memory box

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the team.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am playing along with;

1.  Winter Wonderland (let's get sentimental)
2.  A Gem of a Challenge (Kraft + 1 other colour - I used red)

KISSmas tree

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at In The Pink and our theme this month is...

KISS

(that's Keep It Sweet & Simple!)

I really haven't been making many cards lately that could be considered KISS although it is a style I love.  So, I did something completely different for me and used up lots of scraps of DP as well!

I rolled each paper strip quite tightly so the tree is quite sturdy and popped the star and pot on foam pads then sprinkled on a few pearls and enamel dots.
The teeny letters are from a stamp set that came free with a magazine and they have come in very handy a few times now!

Card recipe;

DP: Lost & Found - Madison Avenue - MME

Bakers twine: The Ribbon Girl
Corrugated card/pearls/enamel dots: from stash

If you haven't already done so then do pop over to In The Pink and check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Pink Ladies.

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am entering;

1. A Little Bit Crafty (CAS)

Champagne and cake

Hello lovely people,

It's time for a new challenge at Top Tip Tuesday and our theme this time is...

3 OR MORE PAPERS

We are sponsored this time by Stamp and Create with a $20 voucher :-)

I do love to layer up my papers although it's a little trickier when you have a really big image, like I did here, to make sure you don't cover all those gorgeous layers up!

I think this might be my fave Stamping Bella image; I just wish I looked as glamorous as this!
I tried to make the bottle look like a champagne bottle... mmmm, lovely bubbly :-)

Card recipe;

Image: Uptown Girls - Felicity and Blair - Stamping Bella, from Quixotic Paperie

DP: Vintage autumn basics - Maja Design(available from Live and Love Crafts)

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

Lace/twine: The Ribbon Girl

Sentiment: mini clear set - Kaisercraft

Copic colours;
to follow

I hope you will pop over to Top Tip Tuesday and check out the fabulous creations and some brilliant tips from the rest of the team PLUS a great guest tutorial :-)

Thanks for visiting and I really appreciate any comments that you leave,

Challenges I am playing along with;
1.  Cute Card Thursday (stripes)
2.  Fab 'n' Funky (3 different embellishments - flowers, lace and twine...and a button... is 4 ok?!)