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A very warm welcome to my teeny, tiny part of the huge world of blogging. This is where I share my passion for making hand made greeting cards. So - why "Always with a Heart"? Well this is for two reasons. Firstly, it is because every card I produce carries a heart on it somewhere. This can be big and bold or small and almost hidden - the fun sometimes is just trying to find it! Secondly it is because I put my heart into everything I produce. I hope that any visitors enjoy seeing what I post. If you drop by then please leave me a comment so that I know you called. It would be nice to know that you have found my heart in what I do.

Monday 14 November 2011

HAPPY HANDY HIPPO MONDAY - WEEK 11

Hi Everyone

Happy Handy Hippo Monday to you all.

I hope everyone has had a good weekend. 

A little Christmas inspiration for you this week in some non-traditional colours.





This little creation was made with a clear stamp set .. .. and there is another gorgeous snowman and lots of sentiments and some cute snowflakes in the set too.

The second snowman is super cute and I love him!! .. .. when you see him you will know why .. .. but I decided not to be predictable and use him this time LOL!!!

Below you can find the Handy Hippo magic button .. .. and if you click on it you can see all the lovely goodies I used to make this little creation. Everything I have used has been automatically added to a shopping basket and as always you can remove anything you do not need (or add anything else you can't resist).



I thought this week I would show you how I changed the look of the little wooden snowflakes on today's creation.  The little wooden embellishments are gorgeous as they are .. .. but me being me I always have to try and get lots of different looks out of everything LOL!!

So here is my snowflake make-over .. .. but be careful with your heatgun because these snowflakes are made of wood and I wouldn't want you setting them on fire!!!! 

Here are my basic goodies .. .. no posh heat resistant mat for
me .. .. just non-stick cook sheets from the £1 shop LOL!!
I use these for heating things on and for my distress work.

Start by pressing the snowflake onto the
Versamark inkpad

Next sprinkle the snowflake with the
embossing powder  -  I do this over scrap paper

Working over scrap paper means
I can return the spare powder easily to the pot

Heat the embossing powder that has
stuck to the snowflake with a heatgun.  Holding
the snowflake in place with a pair of very long
tweezers.  Don't forget that the end of your
tweezers will get hot though!!

Press your snowflake back into onto the
versamark ink pad and cover with another layer
of embossing powder and heat it with your
heat gun again.

I have given this snowflake four layers of
embossing powder so that it finishes up super glossy
- but be careful not to touch the embossing
until it is fully dry and cool.  It does get "very" hot
and will stick to your fingers .. .. so don't forget
to use the tweezers !!!



The Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder I used on my card has been a sell out for Handy Hippo recently.  As soon as new stocks are in .. they are gone .. .. so sadly the embossing folder I used isn't available at the moment.  But having said that I have been playing with a lovely new one this week .. .. it is from Sizzix and it will feature on my Happy Handy Hippo post next week.

Here is a little sneaky peep at a section that shows you the embossing folder (and a bit of a clue as to what I did with it LOL!!).



This is just one of four folders in this particular set and you can find the whole collection of them here.  I used the Starry Night set - you will be able to see my full creation next Monday.

In the meantime I will await news from my lovely Handy Hippo playmate Kerry as to who the winner of the fantastic prize draw is .. .. .. I and will announce the lucky winner's name here tomorrow.  Woo hoo!!  Who could it be?!?!?!

Have a good week everyone.

Love


and all the lovely friendly people at Handy Hippo)

36 comments:

Catherine said...

This is fab, love the lilac...

Marie-Louise said...

Your card is really lovely. I love the colours and the image is so cute.

Roma said...

Wow ! gorgeous card beautiful papers ,image snowflakes x

Whisper said...

Superb hun and i'm loving what you did with the snowflakes too, Luv Sam x

Sarn said...

Let it snow, let it snow, let is snow . . . . ahh, I'm feeling all Christmassy now! xxx

Gibmiss said...

Hi Jules
Fabulous card ....thanks for the tut on the snowflake....Fabulous...
Hugs sylvie
xxxx

Little K Smith said...

Oh this is gorgeous Jules, I love the colours and your snowflakes too! I have some chipboard shapes and must give this a go! Thank you for the inspiration :)
Kelly.x

Unknown said...

I love your card Jules and I always enjoy your tutorials! This one is fab!

Sheena
xxx

Denise said...

Pretty card Jules. Love that little snowman and the lilac is gorgeous. Fab snowflakes too.
Hugs
Denise xx

Nikbee said...

A gorgeous card. I love non traditional colours on Christmas cards. The snowman is so cute, too.
Nikki x

Jacee said...

What a smasher Jules, and a great Tut too, very clear and easy to follow, brill!!
Hugs Jacee

Irene said...

Hello Jules

A stunning and gorgeous card. I LOVE your snowman he is so cute and adorable and yhe non traditional colours fook fab.

luv
irene
xxxx

Cynthia said...

I love the wintry colors you used! And that snowman is just adorable!!

Misty's said...

Fantastic card! I love the colour.
Michaela xx

Di said...

Aw such a cute card - love it Jules! And the tutorial is great - think I'm so accident prone I'd have to use cooking tongs though :)) Gonna give it a go when I get home! Love, Di xx

Sally said...

I love it Jules! Nice colour combo & a such a happy looking snowman. Nice sentiment as well. Thanx for the tutorial, it's very easy to follow with great instructions & clear pics. I like this design so much I hope you don't mind if I use it for inspiration.
Sally x

G Peplow said...

Hi Jules, Gorgeous card, Love that sentiment:0) Great tut as well, very professional and a brilliant result, I love the effect on the snowflakes, Gay xxx

Louise said...

Beautiful Christmas card love the soft colours
Hugs louise xx

Wishcraft said...

Fab card Jules :o) Love the image and great sentiment. Love what you've done with the wooden snowflakes too, I'll have to try that with mine. Lisa x

Lynne said...

Gorgeous Jules. Love the snowman and the sentiment. The colours you`ve used fabulous.
Lynne xxx

Anonymous said...

This is gorgeous Jules, beautiful colours. Sue x

Doreen said...

A gorgeous card Jules,love the colours and those fab snowflakes.xxx

Gillian R said...

Love the backing paper to this card. Beautiful
x

pinky said...

This card is absolutely stunning Jules, the colours are beautiful and I am so in love with that stamp and sentiment.

Vicky said...

Just so gorgeous Jules...and I love what you done with the snowflake sweetie...

big hugs Vicky xx

Unknown said...

This is gorgeous Jules, what a fun card, love the image.. and thank you for your tutorial on the snowflake.. what an idea, love it xxx

Anonymous said...

Sooo beautiful Jules! Love the gorgeous colour you've used.
xx

coops said...

gorgeous card jules.i love your lilac colours ans stunning image and details :D

xx coops xx

Wendy said...

This is gorgeous Jules, cute snowman image and love the colour, the snowflakes are fabulous...thanks for the tutorial.
Wendy xx

Lindsay Craftymonster81 said...

Gorgeous, love the colours and the snowflakes and embossed detail look fab
Lindsay xx

SYLVIA-ANNE said...

Super "altered" snowflakes Jules - thank you for sharing the details. Love your snowman card - the sentiment is great - I'm sure lots of us get into a bit of a flurry at this time of year!
Hugs, Sylvia xxx

Sue B said...

Wow! this is stunning Jules!! I really love the colour combo and design. The image is adorable and the ribbon and snowflakes are gorgeous! Love it!!
Thanks for showing us how you did the snowflakes, they look so pretty!
Hugs Sue xx

Anonymous said...

Stunning Jules, love the colours and fab sentiment! Great tutorial too, must give it a go!
Helen x

Debs M said...

ooh love this one too x

Juls said...

love this gorgeous snow man!!! and I love the lilac colours too!!! Hugs Juls

Elizabeth said...

Another cute snowman - can you tell I'm working my way backwards :) The sentiments are brilliant and I do like your snowflakes - BTW, great tutorial - am I to understand that you know that when hot it will stick to your fingers through personal experience!! Elizabeth x