FESTIVE SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a good weekend.  

I was determined to pull in a bit of crafty time as it has been very lacking again this last week .. .. .. and lots of cards are desperately needed .. .. especially of the festive variety.

So I came up with this creation today and will be taking it over to the Snippets Playground where we are encouraged to use up those leftover pieces that we can't bear to throw away.  Be these paper, card, ribbon, fabric, wool .. .. the list is endless really.  (I wonder if grated cheese and diced onion mixed into leftover mash potato and oven baked counts?!?!?  I love that! LOL!!)

So here we go:

This used:

Sentiment:  Woodware Sentiment Stamp Set "JGS457" Hand Drawn Greetings (pre-loved from Ebay)
ProMarkers
Corner Rounding Punch
My Trusty Sewing Machine
Ribbon
Xmas Red Stickles
Papers from my Christmas Snippet leftover box .. .. Pink Petticoat, an old design pad from The Works
and the kraft with Christmas trees was part of an old Christmas Carrier Bag that a present came in during Christmas 2024, which I cut up for crafty re-cycling (and I still have more to play with 😊).

I hope the coming week is good for everyone.

SNOWY THE SNOWMAN IS OUT OF STORAGE

Hi Everyone

I am back again with my next little Christmas make which is for taking over this time to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where the current theme is to "use a die" (or there is always the option of "anything goes") - but your creation does need to include Penny Black goodies.

So I decided it was time for the lovely "Snowy" to come out of hibernation .. .. .. .. . he comes out early in the proceedings every year LOL!!  

Christmas stash always feels special because it doesn't get used as much as it should be for too many months of the year.  

So here we go:

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "Snowy" 2521K and corresponding die

Sentiment:  Unbranded sentiment die (no idea where it came from - it lives in my Christmas sentiment box unpackaged - the heart isn't part of the sentiment die)
Backing Paper:  Snippet from an old 12 x 12 design pad from The Works
Trees:  Unbranded dies from Temu
ProMarkers
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today.

Enjoy your weekend when it arrives!

CHRISTMAS 2026 IS UNDERWAY

Hi Everyone

Apologies once again for my lack of posting .. .. .. still lots going on in my little world, but I have been crafting whenever time allows.  I have been working on trying to perfect something I have never tried before .. .. .. .. but more about that another time as it will culminate into quite a long and picture heavy blog post I think  LOL!!!

But as I need to get my head into very serious Christmas mode what better place to take the decision of where to start than the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they would like to see our reindeers.

So here I am with this lovely little cutie (I quite like it when an image includes a sentiment too)

This used:

Image:  Whimsical Funny Reindeer Clipart from NesaDesignCo (via Etsy)
Backing Paper:  Dovecraft 12x12 Christmas Basics (very old and still very loved but not much of it left)
Red Foil thick paper

Corner Rounding Punch
Spellbinders Circle & Scalloped Circle Dies

Ribbon
Glossy Accents for the shiny nose
Tea Tree ProMarker to ground the reindeer
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and this starts my serious Christmas journey for 2026!

Apologies if anyone found my previous post to be too much for a crafting blog, and thank you so much to everyone who left such lovely comments. I must admit my blog has also slowly turned into quite a journal of personal life events too.  Special happenings quite often get a mention and then with the use of the search button at the bottom of my blog I can backtrack.  You wouldn't believe how useful my blog has been over the years when folks say "what year did such and such happen" or "when did we go to such and such a place".

I love my blog and would be really gutted if I ever lost it.  I often backtrack and use it to go down memory lane.

Anyway, back to more Christmas makes and I will hopefully be catching up with everyone soon, though my reading list hasn't up-dated in over a week!  Is anyone else having problems still?

SHARING THE LOVE

Hi Everyone

Does anyone else remember these lovely characters from way back when?  They are Bo and Bea from when TeddyBo were up and running.

I thought the image would work well for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme is "Friendship".  I am pretty sure Bo and Bea are good friends because there is also another lovely image where they get married. 

This image was actually part of a tab set but I cropped it and enlarged it to use here:

This used:

Image:  TeddyBoBeaTabs (Teddy Bo are sadly no longer trading, but they might be lurking in your download file  -  my file was originally downloaded in 2011 would you believe !!!!)

Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Backing Paper:  A Snippet from Pink Petticoat (also sadly no longer trading)
ProMarkers
Chalk for the rosy cheeks
My Trusty Sewing Machine

This was one of my favourites of their images along with the one where Bo and Bea had got married.  I might use that image next as it will work with that paper stack I am currently trying to cull.

Off to link up and will hopefully catch you again soon.

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a lovely weekend.  

Still no rain here to report . . . . but we really do need some.

My creation today started out as just a quick play to see if an idea would work for me and by the time I had finished I was quite pleased with the finished result.  

Perhaps a little tweaking needed but nearly there.

I used an idea I had played with on a previous post here and finished up with this:

This used:

Just bits bits of paper and card that were still sitting on my desk from my previous post  
Unbranded triangle and star die 
Ribbons from "the ribbon offcut box" 
Sentiment:  Kaisercraft "North Pole"
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I am going to take this over to the snippets playground as everything on this card is a snippet of one kind or another but sadly no "before" picture as I wasn't expecting to end up with a finished project.

Enjoy your sparkly new week.

CUPCAKES FOR CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

Hope your day has been a good one.

Mine has been a rare one at home so I have been getting on top of the dreaded household chores and have also been trying to make more headway with Christmas designs for this year, and today this was my favourite .. .. .. . 

This used:

Image:  Another gorgeous download from NesaDesignCo - Christmas Cupcake (the only difficult part was deciding which of the 12 cupcake images I wanted to use as I love them  all !!!!
Backing Paper:  Pink Petticoat - sadly no longer trading
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Corner Rounding Punch
Ribbon
Glossy Accents and Crystal Glamour Dust .. .. which as usual the camera never picks up
My Trusty Sewing

and that is me for today.

Still a few more chores to do but hopefully I will get chance for a bit of blog hopping later to see what everyone has been up to.

SUNDAY SNIPPETS

Hi Everyone

Hope your weekend is going well.

Here with my homework for taking over to the Snippets Playground where we are encouraged to use up some of those mountains of snippets we all squirrel away.

Following on from my last post .. .. the design pad I am currently emptying has had another hammering, and this time I used up the "part used" pages that were stored in the back.  In fact there are probably only a couple of full pages left now.

So I used a Sizzix die to cut the background from a scrap of white card and then lots of the infill shapes from various scraps in the pad, along with a toning metallic snippet.

I ended up with this:

This used:

Image and die Set:  MFT Polar Bear Pals
Sentiment:  Penny Black Clear Stamp Set 30-316 - Season's Gifts
KaiserCraft Frosted Design Papers
ProMarkers
Sizzix Thinlits Die "Moroccan Card Front"
My Trusty Sewing Machine

But now look what I am left with .. .. ..  yet another box of useful bits for future cards LOL!!

Enjoy your Sunday!  Hope you manage a bit of crafty time.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

Hi Everyone

Many thanks for your comments on my previous post.  Very much appreciated.

Today I am playing along with the Little Red Wagon Challenge who want to see Christmas in July .. .. and as the more Christmas makes I can get under my belt the better .. .. .. .. I came up with this:

This used:

Image:  Winter Teddy Bear Clipart Bundle from NesaDesignCo .. via Etsy (just one of 23 cute images in the set so plenty of Christmas options to play with there)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Corner Rounding Punch
Ribbon
My Trusty Sewing Machine 
and the next Design Pad I am going to completely empty after it lurking in my Christmas Paper Pad collection for a very long time   .. .. .. 

Although the collection is called "Frosted" not all of the pages and bits and pieces I have left are necessarily Christmas /Winter related so I am not totally limited as to what I can do with it.

Catch you again soon .. .. hopefully.

FESTIVE FRIDAY

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a good day in the run up to "yet another" weekend.  Where are the days and weeks disappearing to?

Today I decided that as my year is disappearing so very fast I need to make a start on a few Christmas makes to avoid the panic that November normally brings.

So today my crafty playtime began by me intending to make a fun Christmas card using a super cute digital image and this is what I made:

I loved my make so much that I decided to shrink it down and create a little teeny tiny one too

but not satisfied with stopping there I reduced it still further and made a little collection of matching Christmas gift tags .. .. .. that is the joy of a digital stamp.  It can be made as big or small as you would like it to be, and as this image has a transparent background I was able to print it onto Christmassy backing paper.

So these used:

Image:  Quirky Christmas Bird - Pixel Popsicles
Backing Paper:  Pink Petticoat (Sadly no longer trading)  
Snippet of holly paper from my Christmas snippet box (think it was from LOTV)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Corner Rounding Punch
Circle Die
WeRMemory Keepers Envelope Punch Board
Cuttlebug Embossing Folder
Stampin Up - tag topper punch

Ribbon
Hot Fix Nail Heads

My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today.  No linking to any challenges .. .. .. just made for the fun of adding to my Christmas stockbox.

Enjoy your weekend when it arrives.

CHRISTMAS CARD NUMBER 2

Hi Everyone

Sorry about the break .. .. but I am back again now .. .. hyperactive, with itchy fingers and full of too many bright ideas I want to put to good use.  I could just do with a few more hours in my days, and days in my week .. .. .. which I guess we could all do with.  

I may not have been able to physically craft these last few days but it doesn't stop my brain planning and designing.

Anyway, Christmas card number two is now under my belt .. .. .. 

This used:

Snowflake die:  A very old and favourite Cuttlebug die.
Sentiment:  LOTV tag stamp (but also available as a download via Etsy))
Hot Fix Nail Head
Ribbon
My Trusty Sewing Machine
and of course lots of very small snippets (as long as I can cut a 4.2 x 6.4cm rectangle from any leftovers they go into a little box where they all stand on end like soldiers and eventually get cut in half diagonally. I really love the mix and matching of the patterns and colours and get a little sewing fix into the bargain.  

So Christmas card number two is making its way over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where the theme is "Snow Day".

Enjoy your day everyone, and the weekend that is following close behind.

PATCHWORK CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

Thursday already!!

Who is stealing the days this week that's what I want to know?  Time seems to be flying by super fast.  I clearly must be having far too much fun because school weeks when I was a kid used to last forever in comparison.

Today's card is a Christmas version of a card I posted here .. .. and truth be told I am a little obsessed with making them.  Firstly because it uses up the smallest pieces of backing paper and lengths of ribbon and secondly because I really enjoy doing all the stitching .. .. so a "win" on two counts.  Well three counts actually if you count having a finished card at the end.

So here is my patchwork Christmas card

This used:

Papers:  Nitwits Collection "Yuletide Cheer"
Sentiment:  Julie Hickey "DS-HE-1020 Christmas Border A6 Stamp Set
White Embossing Powder
Spellbinders:  Classic Circle and Scalloped Circle Dies
Ribbon
Fabric Puffy Metallic Snowflake Embellishment
My Trusty Sewing Machine

I'm not sure where the puffy metallic snowflake came from originally .. .. .. I have had a collection of them for quite a while because I used to use them as decorations at the wedding fayres alongside my Christmas themed wedding stationery.  

But weddings are no longer part of my life .. .. ..  that boat has now had to sail of into the sunset as I cannot commit to them any longer.  

All of my weddings are now finished .. .. .. with venue stationery for the very last one being completed by a lovely fellow exhibitor who I met at the wedding fayres.  We hit it off straight away and became good friends and she was my first port of call .. .. .. .. doing a brilliant job for me "and" the happy couple.

So the remainder of my wedding stash is available for general use now, which gives me even more card, ribbon, lace, gems and embellishments to play with!   Unless I open a little on-line shop?  Now there's a thought! 

Not sure how I am going to store everything when we move .. .. .. but bless him Mr Heart hasn't once said "exactly how much stuff have you got?"  LOL!!!

Enjoy the rest of today and I will hopefully catch you again soon.  

TEENY TINY POLAR BEARS

Hi Everyone

I hope your Tuesday has been a good one.

I am here with my Teeny Tiny creation for today .. .. ..  a card that is a whole 9cms square.

This used:

Image and Die Set:  MFT Polar Bear Pals
Sentiment:  Clearly Besotted "Speaking Out"
Background Word Stamp:  Julie Hickey "JH1061" Christmas Background Stamp Set
Design Paper inside the frame:  "Snow & Ice" The Works
Christmas Tree:  Cut and Make  - Mini Christmas Dies (very old)
Frame:  MFT-926 Stitch Round Square Frame
ProMarkers
Small Star Punch
Glitter Paper
Chalk (for those little rosy cheeks)
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and whilst making one I actually made three .. ..

I will hopefully catch you again soon but in the meantime many thanks for your visits and lovely comments .. .. I am enjoying being back in blogland so very much and am not looking forward to having to pack away all my crafty goodies when we finally move!  My little craft pod will be the last room to be boxed up and emptied!  LOL!!

ACROSS THE MILES

Hi Everyone

I hope your week is off to a good start.

The weather is definitely very Autumnal here with the wind swirling a multitude of different coloured leaves all along the roads!  Not my most favourite season I must admit.  I love the colours but not the dark evenings or the thought of worrying winter weather looming.  

My share for today is a Christmas card which uses another of the cute images from the download I purchased on Friday .. .. .. I just knew this was the next character I "needed" to use.  I love the outfit so much that I would love a jumper just like it!  LOL!! 

This used:

Image and Sentiment:  Amanda Jayne Designs "Ultimate Christmas Bundle"

Backing Papers:  Buddly Craft - Kim MacFarlane - Silent Night Digi Papers
Memory Box Die:  Snowflake Heart
ProMarkers
Diamond Stickles

Glossy Accents

My Trusty Sewing Machine

I am trying really hard to make "at least" one card every day and will hopefully be here again tomorrow with a Teeny Tiny Tuesday creation.

But each card needs to be created alongside us working on what we are calling "project downsize" .. .. .. .. where we are sorting out our house ready for moving to pastures new.   Not an easy project!  We have lived here for 32 years and have accumulated far too much. We are all sold and have found our next nest .. .. .. but can't take everything with us! 

Various local charities are doing well out of us, and anything that we don't need which will help someone else is being passed along.  I just wish I could be given £1 for each time one or other of us has said "why on earth did we keep this?" LOL!!!

We have moved house a few times during our very happy marriage, and a couple of times the saying "new house, new baby" has turned out to be true .. .. .. but there is no chance of that anymore (unfortunately).  Those days are long gone.

Anyway, enjoy what is left of today and I hope the week is a good one for you.

TREE OF LIFE

Hi Everyone

Back to Christmas here in the House of Hearts and today’s share features a lovely stamp set from Julie Hickey that is new to my collection .. ..

This used:

Image:  Julie Hickey Designs "JH1075" Tree of Life
Sentiment:  Dovecraft "Christmas Basics" (very old)
ProMarkers
DecoArt Gold Glamour Dust
Gold Cord
Nail Heads
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today!

Have a good one everyone.

TIME TO THINK (PANIC) ABOUT CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

I hope the weather hasn't been causing you any problems.  

There has certainly been plenty of rain in my neck of the woods .. .. .. which means we must remember to check the water butts at the bottom of the garden tomorrow because I have a feeling they will be full to overflowing!

Anyway .. ..  I am pleased to report that the Christmas stash has been brought out of  hiding and this is my first Christmas card of 2023.

This used:

My Favorite Things MFT-1008 Polar Bear Pals stamp and die set
Nitwit Collections:  Yuletide Cheer
ProMarkers
Penny Black Snowflake Die
Dashed Circle, Sentiment and Tree Dies - Unbranded from Ebay/Amazon
My Trusty Sewing Machine

Quite a few of you liked the look of my new sewing machine, and I was asked what the things were I particularly liked and didn't like about it.

My likes are:

I can alter the speed I want the machine to stitch at.  So no matter how hard I press on the foot control it will never go any faster than I set it to do.  So no chance of my machine running away with me. 

When stitching something intricate you can make the machine produce just one stitch at a time.  So each time you press the foot control you will only ever get one stitch (until you cancel the command of course).   

The needle threader works .. .. yay!!!  My old machine stopped doing that many years ago!!

It will produce three different types of buttonholes.  That feels like quite a luxury .. .. .. I have only been able to machine stitch one type up until now (unless I have worked them by hand).

Lots of new stitches for me to play with.
  

My dislikes are quite minor things really:

There are no storage compartments for the additional feet/spare shuttles etc

I have been spoilt by having a metal encased machine previously, so the plastic casing I now have doesn't feel as sturdy/strong and I can't help but feel that it will eventually go a yucky yellow colour.     

My old machine had a solid cover that I could put over it when it wasn't in use, but my new one just has a flimsy plastic fabric type cover. 

But all that said I am very happy with my purchase and am looking forward to putting my machine to good use. 

Take care everyone.  I will hopefully catch you again soon.

BRING ON THE PUD

Hi Everyone

I hope your Thursday has been a good one.

I certainly can't say I am a fan of the nights getting darker so early.  I don't like crafting by electric light.

More Christmas from me today:

This used:

Image:  LOTV Digital Image "Christmouse Pudding"
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Backing Paper:  Make & Create "Merry and Bright"
Corner Rounding Punch

ProMarkers
Ribbon

My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is another Christmas card added to the box.

Many thanks for all the comments and emails regarding my Mum.  You are all so very kind.

It is certainly good to see her more like her old self again .. .. .. just in time to be treated to a flu jab on Saturday!! 

Catch you again soon

WONDERFUL

Hi Everyone

I hope your week is progressing well.

I am super happy to report that Mum seems back on track again after a worrying week or so  .. .. .. thankfully life is feeling more normal again and I have been able to visit my little craft pod a little more frequently.

This is one little creation I have put together which uses a "new to me" stamp set which I acquired from Ebay.  I bought it because I wanted the image I have used here .. .. but there are some other beauties in the set that will be getting an airing too.

This used:

Image:  Penny Black Clear Stamp Set "30-143" Joy to the World
Sentiment:  Digistamp Boutique (sadly no longer trading)
Backing Papers:  From Snippet Mountain
ProMarkers
Snowflakes: Memory Box Die "99031" Snowflake Heart
Crystal Glamour Dust (not that you can see it in the photographs)
My Trusty Sewing Machine

As everything but the card base has come from snippet mountain, I am running over to Pixie's Snippets Challenge where we are encouraged to use up any leftovers we may have.  Be these card, paper, fabric, ribbon .. .. in fact anything you can create something else from.

I really don't think I will ever see the back of my snippets as hard as I try .. .. .. ..  or even feel I have them under control .. .. .. .. but I am going to keep up the fight anyway.  

Enjoy the rest of your day everyone.

CHRISTMAS TREES

Hi Everyone

I hope this week has been a good one for you.  We actually saw some lovely sunshine here yesterday afternoon .. .. .. but today we are back to rain again.

Yet another Christmas card from me today (apologies to anyone who thinks September is too early but I really do want to have them all finished with by the time December gets here .. .. .. which would be a world first for me!).

This used:

Image and Sentiment:  A very old Woodware Clear Stamp Set "FRS292" Christmas Trees 
Tree colouring was paper-pieced using Wow! "Stamp Set 65" Scrunch

Distress Inks:  Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron and Shabby Shutters
White Embossing Powder

Red Marker
Christmas Red Stickles

.. .. .. and nothing seems complete anymore without a bit of stitching .. .. .. even if it is only eight stiches!

So another Christmas card into the box, and a nice pile prepped ready for just putting together.

PROBABLY AN IMPOSSIBLE HEART

Hi Everyone

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.

It has been a scorcher here today and I have spent quite a bit of time colouring on the patio table under the shade of the umbrella.  Happy times and so relaxing!!

The current "As You See It" challenge is a sketch with a focal point.  Well we all know how much I love a sketch .. .. .. so I decided to make a Christmas Card .. .. .. to cool me down LOL!!!

This was the final result:

This used:

Cuttlebug Snowflake Die .. .. .. probably has antique value now as it is years old
DoCrafts Embossing Folder:  Snowflakes
Distress Ink Pad:  Chipped Sapphire

Spellbinder Circle Die
Ribbon

Crystal Glamour Dust (for adding to the snowflake)
DoCrafts Glitter Dome
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and the sketch for following

So that is me for today .. .. with another Christmas card in my stock box and lots of images coloured!

I am hoping that tomorrow is going to as productive as today .. .. .. with lots of colouring done in readiness for future cards!

Enjoy tomorrow whatever you have planned and apologies if the heart isn't showing up too well on the photographs.  But I promise there is one there.