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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 19 December 2011

HAPPY HANDY HIPPO DAY - WEEK 16

Good Morning Everyone

The last Handy Hippo Monday before Christmas!!!  Panic!!!!  LOL!!!

How near are you with all of those Christmas preparations?  Are all your presents bought and wrapped and your cards written and wending their way to where they should be going?

I have just got a few parcels still to wrap and a few special cards to hand deliver and then we will be ready for the celebrations to begin .. .. and hopefully this year there will be a bit of "chill time" .. .. which is a bit of a rare occurence in the House of Hearts as I find it very difficult to just sit still and do nothing!! 

So what has been happening over at Handy Hippo?   Well some gorgeous new stamps have come in stock and my creation today shows off one of the lovely stamp sets.  I just knew I would love using this set as soon as I saw it. 

I used it to create my background and decorate the flower on my project today.   It stamps beautifully.  Love it!!






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 stamped my background onto white and coloured card for my project and also onto the front and back of my flower before curling it up. 




and here I have embossed one of the stamps in silver embossing powder .. .. how scrummy does this look?



I then used my embossed piece of card to make the flower for the following little 4" x 4" thank you card.  The first layer of my flower I simply punched out of the card above and the second layer used the embossed card after it has been distressed with Ranger Distress Ink Pads.




Mmm....  I am seeing lots of possibilities for this gorgeous set!!

Next Monday will be Boxing Day so I won't be here with a Happy Handy Hippo make as we are having a Christmas break until the 9th January .. .. but I will  be here with the chance for you to win a special prize .. courtesy of all the lovely people at Handy Hippo!!  Woo hoo!!  One that I can imagine "everyone" wanting to win!!!

See you on Boxing Day . .. .. but in the meantime have a good Christmas.

Love




and all the lovely friendly people at Handy Hippo

29 comments:

Di said...

Oh Jules - you bad girl! I've just hopped over to HH and ordered the stamp set and a couple of other things. Absolutely gorgeous and your cards are stunning as always. The first one, so beautiful, reminds me of those lacy stockings/tights that were all the rage in the 70s :)) Not that you'll remember then of course. Have a great day! Di xx

Marie-Louise said...

Two beautiful cards - but the simplicity of the pink one is just outstanding. They really are fabulous.

Doreen said...

Two gorgeous cards Jules,I love the background on the first one.xxx

Pop's Cards said...

Morning sweetie this is really gorgeous, love the colours, hugs pops x x x

Sarn said...

Ooooh Jules . . . those cards are sensational. xxx

Netty said...

Just popped in to wish you a Happy Christmas Jules and then I saw your two beautiful cards, totally yummy.

Sue B said...

WoW! this is stunning! I love, love the papers and the flower is gorgeous!! really beautiful card!
Love your Thank You card too! The embossed card is delish and makes that flower look So pretty!!!
Ooh the Handy Hippo prize sounds exciting!! can't wait….
Hope you and your family have a Wonderful Christmas and New Year Jules! All the Best for a Very Happy and Relaxing Holiday!!
Love Sue xx

Cynthia said...

Love that background stamp!!! And the silver embossing is just gorgeous! It's perfect for flower petals. :-)

Happy Christmas, Jules! Thank you so much for sharing your creations with us!!

brenda said...

A rare visit Jules, but really wanted to wish you an official 'blogland' wonderful Christmas and thank you for yourfriendship in 2011 which I really do appreciate.

And very pretty cards here as well.

B x

G Peplow said...

Hi Jules, I have missed so much of your lovely crafty makes, :{ I have scrolled down and love them all, Hubbies birthday card's brilliant and the beer can & butterfly very clever:0) and all the others, well your usual wonderful creations! Thank you so much for the inspiration:0) Happy Christmas to you and your family and a happy new year to you too, hugs Gay xxx

Juls said...

utterly stunning makes! Hugs Juls

Irene said...

Hello Jules

I love, love your cards. The first one is stunning and the embossed backgrounds fabulous.
I love the simplicity and gorgeous flower of your second card.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

luv
irene
xxxx

Janice said...

These cards are just stunning, really love them. Have a great Christmas, Jx

M said...

Gorgeous! Have a lovely Christmas. M x

Kasey ~ in Oz said...

Hi Jules,

Wishing the House of Hearts a loving and warm Christmas.

Love your cards and the creative way you've used the background stamp to creat the flowers.

Cheers,
Kasey ~ in Oz
PS. Thank you for your comments on my blog.

Lynsey said...

Beautiful cards Jules!
Hugs Lynsey x

Misty's said...

Both cards are stunners! I am loving it.
Michaela xx

Wendy said...

Absolutely stunning Jules...Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Wendy xx

coops said...

these are gorgeous jules.really elegant designs and your flowers are stunning ;D

xx coops xx

Anonymous said...

Wow, this is stunning Jules, just gorgeous in every way!
Helen x

Sally said...

Hi Jules, two beautiful cards with fantastic flowers. I do like the background stamp & the idea to emboss it in silver was brilliant. The little pink thank you card is soooo sweet.
Sally x

Marjorie said...

Oh!!Wow!!hun, these are two really stunning cards. I just love the way you have embossed the card, and used the stamp to make backing paper, it looks really lacy and elegant..really gorgeous!!
Wishing you and all at the house of hearts a really fantastic Christmas..and Thank you for all your lovely comments on my blog through out the year..enjoy your holidays :)
Big hugs,
Marjorie
xx

Unknown said...

Wow you have been busy. That silver embossing is scrummy. Merry Xmas to you & your family x

Jenny said...

Really really pretty Jules, love how you've used the embossed image to make the flowers and that sentiment is brilliant :)
Jenny x

Anonymous said...

another stunning card! gorgeous! xx

Anonymous said...

that is really gorgeous, the lacey look is so beautiful!!!

coldwaters2 said...

Wow Jules this is so very beautiful, the design is awesome, you have done a truly wonderful job with the new stamps, the flower is perfect, superb card.
Hugs
Lorraine x

Elizabeth said...

I think this is simply gorgeous - love the lace effect. Elizabeth x

Grenouille Greetings said...

See. I told you I'd be back. I didn't expect to be back quite so late but I couldn't go to bed before commenting on these masterpieces. The first card here is particularly STUNNING. I absolutely love it and it's defo one I would like to "case"! Hugs, Lesley