TEENY TINY CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a good day .. .. I am just flying in quickly with this week's Christmas make .. .. or should I say makes .. .. some little teeny tiny ones!

I must admit my teeny tiny makes are high up the list of being my favourite ones to make, and being just 3.5 inches square they are just perfect for using up some of my huge stocks of snippets.

So here we go .. ..

These used:

Image:  Whipper Snapper "BY802" Let it Snow Snowmen (just part of the image was used)
Sentiment:  Penny Black "3535F" Snowflakes
Distress Inks:  Tumbled Glass, Iced Spruce and Faded Jeans
ProMarkers
White Embossing Powder
Diamond Stickles
Waste Dots from a Silver Peel Off Sheet

I am taking my little makes over to "Pixie's Snippets Playground" where we are encouraged to use up our "leftovers" and also to the "Christmas Kickstart Challenge #8" where the theme this fortnight is "Frosty and his friends".  Not sure which of my snowmen is Frosty .. .. but he certainly has lots of friends!!

So that is me for today with a total number of 23 Christmas cards in my box now!  Woo hoo!!  At this rate I might be looking at a much less stressful run up to the big day this year. What a lovely thought.  It does encourage me to keep going with them that's for sure.

Take care everyone and I will catch you again soon.

CHRISTMAS FORFEIT

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well and your week has got off to a good start.

All super busy here .. .. which seems to be a regular thing at the moment.  Invitations sitting waiting for pick up and other work packaged up and ready for the postman tomorrow.

Something that isn't for the post yet though are these little creations that I have been working on in little stages all week  .. .. my forfeit for not managing to keep up with my weekly Christmas card new years resolution.

This little influx means I am actually a bit ahead of the game now:

These used:

Sizzix Alterations Stamp and Die Set "65937" Holiday Joy"

Sentiment  "Docrafts" Urban Stamps " Christmas in the Country Tags

Backing Paper: Pink Petticoat

Tiny Snowflakes from my snowflake box

My Trust Sewing Machine

Sparkly Gems

and that is it.

Flying over very quickly now to share these with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are looking to see Christmas dies used on your work .. .. .. and I need to get there before the challenge closes .. .. which will be very, very soon!!  Eeeekk!!  Poor show when you have the work done but no time to photograph it and post it to your blog.  

So my forfeit has given my Christmas box a nice little treat and my total is now up to nineteen. Woo hoo!

Catch you again soon .. .. I hope .. .. as that will mean things are calming down a little.  But for now the ironing board is calling!  Oh I know how to "live it up" on a Monday evening.

Thank you for all your lovely comments regarding my Mum on my previous post.  You are all  so very kind!

UNLUCKY FOR SOME .. .. 13

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a good week and not had any problems caused by the awful weather we have been enduring recently.

Can't believe another week has passed since I was last here.  But to be fair this week has been a real manic one and I haven't known if I was coming or going.  Every morning I have woken up and struggled to know what day it was .. .. .. let alone what the date was!!  Thank goodness for "diaries" and "do lists".

The London Kids are coming to stay with us for a few days next weekend so some of today has been spent starting to try and find the spare bedroom for them to sleep in .. .. there is still plenty to do but  I am nearer than I was.  Last time they came to stay they joked and said "why don't you just fix up a big hammock in there" .. .. now that is so tempting!! LOL!!

Anyway, I am here once again with my festive make for this week .. .. at this rate my blog could be re-named "always with a Christmas card" because that is what my blog appears to be showing most at the moment .. .. but never mind .. .. it does make me happy that my Christmas stock box is filling up and I am now on number 13!!  Unlucky for some .. .. but not for me!!

So this little creation is for taking over to Jo's Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme for this fortnight is "moves on hooves"

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "4203K" Snowscape

Sentiment:  Hobby Art "Winter Wishes" (I took the holly from one sentiment and added it to another)

Backing Papers:  out of the Christmas Paper box and sorry I don't know where it came from

Distress Inks added with Duster Brushes

ProMarker for the holly leaves

Tiny pearls

Ribbon

My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Hopefully it won't take me a whole week to be here again!!

FOR THE SERIOUS HEART SEARCHERS

Hi Everyone

Happy Saturday!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend .. .. a real mixed bag of weather here but a nice day for crafting.

My card is my festive make for this week and is for taking over to Jo's "Christmas Kickstart Challenge #5" and is one for the serious heart searchers.  Its not quite so easy to spot today .. .. or am I wrong?!!?.

The theme for Jo's challenge this fortnight is "Have a Very Bear-y Christmas" and there are still two days left to enter.  I was running out of time for my make this week so went for a lovely pre-coloured image from Polkadoodles.  

I always feel I am cheating when I use a pre-coloured image but need to stop feeling like that because everything in this collection was of such a high quality that it was a real pleasure to play with.  The backing papers in the set and the sentiments are gorgeous!!  They are so lovely I am going to have to investigate what else is available.  There was no needing to print in "high quality" either .. .. they printed perfectly just on a standard setting.

So this is my offering:

This used:

Image, Sentiment and Backing Paper is all from Polkadoodles "Winne Winterland - Big Kahuna" digital download.  I bought mine whilst it was on offer just after Christmas. 

Crystal Glamour Dust

Memory Box Die "Snowflake Heart" 

Ribbon

My Trusty Sewing Machine

Many thanks for all your lovely comments yesterday regarding the stitching on my cards.  You are all very kind. 

These days no card feels right without some form of stitching on it .. .. and it has even crept into my wedding work now .. .. and is proving to be very popular.  I have just finished a wedding where all the place names, table names and even the table plan was stitched.  I was really pleased with it .. .. as was the bride and her Mum (I never did meet the groom LOL!!).

Anyway, best go and link my card up and put Christmas Card number 12 into my stock box.

So did you find the heart?  I do think there have been harder ones to find!

SNIPPETS & RUDOLPH DAY CHALLENGE

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday .. .. I hope you are all making the most of the lovely sunshine .. .. after all who knows how long it will last?  

On Saturday I shared a Christmas card I had made and mentioned at the time that it would be good to make the same card but in different colours .. .. so that is what I did on Sunday and I finally have chance to post them here .. .. 

These used:

Images:  Hero Arts "K5620" and "H5629"

Sentiment:  Penny Black "30316" Season's Gifts

Memento Dew Drop Ink Pads:  Rose Bud, Teal Zeal, Toffee Crunch, Pear Tart & Pistachio (the green card ended up with two colours on it for some reason)

X-Cut Heart Punch

Pearls

My Trusty Sewing Machine

Not sure which colour I like the most.

So I thought I would share my makes in the Rudolph Day Challenge and also in Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge where we are encouraged to use up our leftovers.  I was able to use up some of the white card snippet mountain and a few glitter card snippets so I was well chuffed.

The Rudolph Day Challenge is a great prompt for us to get ahead of our Christmas makes.  You know .. .. those cards we end up making in a last minute panic and flurry come November/December (well I say "we" .. .. but I definitely mean "me").  But this year it is going to be VERY different!!  I am going to be super organised .. .. she says with her fingers tightly crossed!!.

These four cards have bumped my Christmas card total up into double figures .. .. woo hoo!! .. ..  and I now have a grand total of 11 cards sitting waiting in my Christmas stock box.  Not a huge amount I know, but better than I have manged in previous years .. .. and it is still early days!

Anyway . . . off to go and cross some work of that "crafty do list" next.

Catch you soon

THIS WEEK'S FESTIVE MAKE

Hi Everyone

I hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend.

Isn't the lovely burst of sunshine we have been treated to a welcome sight?  Well apart from making the windows look a bit like they haven't seen any TLC in a while!!  Eeekkk!

Certainly my brides who got married last week were treated to lovely sunshine on their wedding days.  Who would have thought February weddings could be blessed with such beautiful weather.

Apologies for my quiet blog.  It has been all work and no play this week .. .. but I hadn't made my Christmas make for this week so decided I had better crack on and get one done .. .. and here it is:

This used:

Images:  Hero Arts "K5620" and "H5629"

Sentiment:  Penny Black "30316" Season's Gifts

Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad "Sweet Plum"

X-Cut Heart Punch

Pearls

My Trusty Sewing Machine

I really enjoyed making this card and now want to make it in lots of different colours! But for now this is Christmas Card number 7 into my stock box.

I am hopeful that this week is going to be a bit less pressured and that I will have chance to do a bit more posting.  We shall see!

GUEST DESIGNER FOR CHRISTMAS KICKSTART CHALLENGE #4

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!

Here super bright and early today with a scheduled post .. .. .. and wearing a little elf costume if you will!!

Yes, the lovely Jo, owner of the Christmas Kickstart Challenge, asked me a few weeks ago if I would be a guest designer this fortnight .. .. for the theme "Have a Heart".  Luckily there are quite a few hearts in various guises in my craft pod, so I was more than happy to accept Jo's kind offer.

This is the creation I have put together in the hope of inspiring others to take part:

This used:  Image:  Penny Black "2754H" Xmas Kiss

Sentiment:  Hobby Art Clear Stamp Set "CS059D" Winter Wishes

Backing Papers:  First Edition Papers "All That Glitters"
Poppy Stamps Die Set:  Stitched Market Tag

ProMarkers

Chalk

Ribbon

Pearls

My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it!

If you fancy playing along and adding  to your Christmas Card box nice and early, then head over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge and remember to "Have a Heart".

It will make a change for me to me looking for your hearts LOL!!

Jo has also included the option of you using Sketch Number 30 from my collection .. .. which looks like this:

but this isn't compulsory.  It is just an added option.

So there we go.  I hope you get chance to take part .. .. and thank you Jo for asking me to be an Elf for the next fortnight. 

I am so pleased your challenge is proving to be so popular.

Have fun everyone .. .. and in the meantime that is Christmas card number 6 into my stock box!

CHRISTMAS KICKSTART CHALLENGE

Hi Everyone

Happy Friday!

Another week has disappeared super fast .. .. .. and it has been wedding work all the way!  Hence no time to make anything for my blog unfortunately.

But I had better get my Christmas make for this week done smartish .. .. otherwise the week will be gone and a new years resolution will be broken .. .. and we can't have that happening so early into the new year can we?!?!?

So here it is .. .. .. all ready for taking over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme for this fortnight is "Festive Felines" .. .. ..

This used:

Image:  Digistamp Boutique "Large Christmas Cats" (very sadly no longer trading boo hoo!!!)

Sentiment:  Computer generated using font "Zipty Do"

Distress Inks:  Faded Jeans and Weathered Wood for a watercoloured sky
ProMarkers
White Embossing Powder
Crystal Glamour Dust
Gems
Snowflake stamp with no name .. .. but a favourite that never gets put away.  It has sat on my desk for years being a Christmas present that my Nieces bought me 

and that is it!  Christmas card number 5 into the box. Woo hoo!  I must admit I am really enjoying making Christmas cards in a more relaxed manner.

Hoping to catch you again over the weekend ... have a good one everyone!!

TEENY TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well .. .. pretty cold no-doubt if you are a UK resident!  Brrrr!!!

A really quick post from me .. .. which to be fair I should have posted earlier today .. .. but life is super busy at the moment and each day seems to be lasting about an hour!!  Where is time going?!?!?

I was looking at the calendar and suddenly thought how come I only have two cards in the Christmas box if January is just about over!  So to make sure I am track I added more to the box using one of my favourite techniques .. .. the inlaid die technique .. .. and the die I love to use to do it!

So here we go .. .. just one picture because two teeny tiny 3.5" cards were misbehaving and didn't want to pose nicely and there was no time for messing about today .. .. but Christmas cards 3 & 4 are in the box!   They might be tiny but they still count .. ..

These used:

Memory Box Die "Pine Border Outline" Die
X-Cut Mini Sentiment Die:  Merry & Bright
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Green with black flock paper to make lovely textured trees
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today .. .. super late and wondering if we are going to wake up to snow!!

CHRISTMAS KICKSTART - CHALLENGE #2

Hi Everyone

Happy Thursday!

As you can probably tell from my lack of posts this week the weddings for this year (and next) are already getting underway and I have been busy making samples for couples I met at the fayre the other Sunday .. .. as well as getting a batch of invites finished ready for collecting at the weekend.

Is it just me or does Christmas feel like a lifetime ago already? 

But busy or not, I am determined to keep my Christmas card promise going and have made a creation this week for entering into the next Christmas Kickstart Challenge.  

The theme for this fortnight is "Bundle Up" .. .. to keep those winter chills at bay .. .. and straight away I knew which image I would be using .. .. .. my cute and lovely "snowy" stamp! 

So here we go:

 This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2521K" Snowy and the matching die for cutting.

Sentiment:  Penny Black "30-316" Season's Gifts

Backing Papers:  First Edition Paper Pad "All hat Glistens
Little Holly Sprig comes alongside:  X-Cut Merry Christmas Die
Dashed Die for snow - unbranded from Ebay
Christmas Tree Die .. .. think it was"Cut and Make" from the Range .. .. a whole £1 and I love it!!!
ProMarkers
Crystal Glamour Dust
Gems and Pearls
White Gel Pen
Snowflakes from my snowflake box

I am also entering my card into the Penny Black Saturday Challenge for January.  The theme is always "anything goes" but with an optional theme of "something new" if you want to bring that into the equation too.  The backing paper is my "new" element.

and also

The Winter Wonderland Challenge where the theme for January is "It's Snowtime" so you need to have snowmen or snowflakes on your creation.

So that is me for today.  Definitely a day for getting bundled up here!!  The ice still hasn't melted from my car yet .. .. so I will need to make sure Mum is wrapped up well today .. .. certainly a lot more than Snowy snowman is!!

Hopefully catch you again soon .. .. but in the meantime that is Christmas card number 2 into the box!!  Yay!!!

CHRISTMAS ?!?!?!?

Hi Everyone

I hope you had a good weekend and a happy Monday!  Our wedding fayre was another good one and we met some lovely new happy couples.  

Today "some" of my new year resolutions have come into play (there are sooooo many of them!! LOL!!!)

I have told myself that this year I want November and December to be much calmer than last year .. .. there was so much wedding work that I just didn't have enough time to make as many cards as my customers and I wanted .. .. .. and I have to admit that I actually missed playing with all of my Christmas crafting goodies.

So today I took a bit of colouring with me to my Mum's and then when I got home tonight made the following:

This used:

Image and Sentiment:  Hampton Art Stamps "4611" Rudolph

Backing Papers: My Minds Eye "Joyous"

ProMarkers

Crystal Glamour Dust

Metallic Ribbon

So this little make has covered a few new years resolutions .. .. 

1.  Make Christmas cards ALL year

2.  Use up old paper stacks

3.  Enter more Challenges 

This card was made especially for a brand new fortnightly challenge called "Christmas Kickstart Challenge" which has been started by one of my lovely blog buddies "Dotty Jo"

and the theme for the first challenge is "Rudolph and Friends".

Christmas card number 1 in the box!!!  Yay!!!

LET'S BE MERRY

Hi Everyone

Happy Wednesday!

A really nippy and blustery autumn day here and one where rain keeps getting added into the mix as well .. .. a good day for being snuggled in the craft room!

Here I am with another Christmas card today as promised.  

So here we go:

This used:

Background Image:  WOW! Clear Stamp:  "Vintage Wallpaper"
Sentiment:  Penny Black Clear Stamp Set:  "30-316 - Season's Gifts"
Sizzix Stamps and Dies:  "659376 - Holiday Joy"
Memento Ink Pads:  Toffee Crunch, Rich Cocoa, Pistachio and London Fog
Personal Impressions:  White and Silver Super Sparkle Embossing Powder
Josy Rose:  Nail Heads
Ribbon
White Gel Pen
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Un-branded Dashed wavy line die from Ebay

As always a lot of what I use on my cards has been in my possession for years .. .. so apologies if some of the supplies I used are no longer available.

So that is my share for today .. .. back to work now that my rather late lunch break is over.

Many thanks for your lovely comments yesterday .. .. hoping to have another Christmas make to share tomorrow.