More Christmas and a challenge...

Hey,

Hope you all had a great weekend and if you were celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you had a wonderful time with your family and friends..I most certainly did.

Do you remember the Snazzymoose I created a few weeks ago?

Well here are 2 cards I made with some of the remaining moose...

I used Papermania wooden frames and mounted them onto Lawn Fawn card blanks, then added my Snazzymoose. Simple.

I couldn't stamp onto the blue card, so used a peel-off. 

Here is a red version - 

I love the simplicity of these and I thought they would make a great entry into the PDE Linky Party challenge -

Happy Monday to you all.

Cx

Happy Times...

Hi,

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving however you spent it.

We had so much fun with JT's parents and godparents..it was an absolute blast (great company) and the food was simply amazing.

My collage show us all on Thanksgiving morning in our pjs, the dinner table - looking gorgeous, Sally and Gregory (the most amazing chef ever!) with the beautiful and tasty Turkey, the mini doughnuts I made and finally Sally and I out having some girl-time.

I managed to do a fair amount of Black Friday online and actual shopping, in the rare eating and drinking pauses. Some of my bargains were awesome!! I also finished off the Annual $20 challenge that JT and I play..

We also made it to the casino and I won a fair bit of money, so I got a new handbag..it's almost as bad as my craft obsession..

Hubby and I are home now and we are going to have a quiet Sunday in the house before we go back to work on Monday.

I am very thankful for the amazing time that I got to spend with my Hubby and these amazing friends - thank you JT for sharing.

Cx

Playdate Typewriters..

Hi,

Happy Friday!

As this is a scheduled post, I can't tell you how amazing my Thanksgiving was :) That will have to wait for Sunday..I hope you and yours had a nice day.

Today's cards are ones I made with JT on Sunday during our playdate.

She wanted to give our new Stampin' Up Tap Tap Tap a spin...

I've used it already, but love it so much, that I was more than happy to have a play and ended up with 2 really nice cards for my stash..

All the stamps are from the set and I fussy cut the typewriter for both cards..needs a die..

Have a great day, I'm going to be doing some Black Friday shopping with the Nixons and heading to a Casino for some afternoon amusement..

Cx

Moving Along With The Times..Happy Turkey Day...

Hello!

Welcome to another great Moving Along With The Times challenge from Team B.

This week I am your hostess and it seemed only right - as today is Thanksgiving here in the US - that I chose a team of Thanks / Thanksgiving..

There are 2 things that I want to share before I talk about my card..

I am giving thanks for my amazing friend and craft buddy JT, she is also on the MAWTT team and she's the reason why I am going to be having an amazing Thanksgiving this year. Because she was kind enough to hook us up with her Parents when we moved to the US..they are awesome, cool and super fun..just like my girl JT.

Because it is Thanksgiving, I have been going through my stash and I have a lot of things that are unused..so I have made a fun grabbag, which will be full of fun surprises for the first number that I pick out of a hat! One of the things in the bag will be these awesome dies -

Now onto my card..

I kept it simple, I used a Penny Black spotted background stamp in a soft yellow for the oval piece. I die cut the Lawn Fawn Scripty Thanks in gold and the Turkey, I coloured with Promarkers - he is by Lawn Fawn and it has a die too..

Inside it says 'Happy Turkey Day' LOL..

Very simple and already with friends to wish them a Happy Turkey Day.

Now it's your turn to show us your projects, but first go to MAWTT and see the fun things my talented teammates have created.

If you are in the US and celebrating Thanksgiving, have a great day and remember to give thanks for something..that's kind of the point :)

Cx

Eat, Drink and Be Merry...

Hi,

I'll be heading to D-Town later on today to Celebrate Thanksgiving with JT's amazing parents and her godparents..

Today I am showing some more of my Christmas card makes.

I have been a bit obsessed with 'Eat, Drink and be Merry' as a greeting..

So I bought a couple of stamp sets that had good Christmas sentiments and included 'Eat, Drink and be Merry'

For the headline card, I stamped the sentiment by Papermania and used a spotty stamp by Crate Paper for the cupcake background. The cupcake is by Crate Paper and I stamped it, fussy cut it and then added liquid applique for the icing - yums...

Icing close-up

 Liquid applique is the BOMB..if you haven't used it try it out.

The second version of the card uses the same sentiment, but by Crafter's Companion. I love this version, its so modern. I added some wine / martini glasses by Studio G and a snowflake.

Both versions are on stitched die-cuts (Simon Says Stamp and MFT) and are mounted onto American Craft patterned card blanks.

Again super simple, but effective Christmas makes.

Cx

Retro Rubber #28 Anything Goes..

Hey,

It is time for everyone's fave theme this time over at Retro Rubber.

Time to get settled in at your desk and have a play - that is what anything goes means to me..

I decided to dig out some NBUS that is old..I have had the main Art Impressions stamp for nearly 18mths and I am ashamed to say I have never used it!!

So I dug it out here and decided it would make a fun watercoloured anniversary card for my friends, who are a little quirky.

I watercoloured the stamp using an aquabrush and distress inks. The sentiment was a freebie and I have had it for about 4 years..it is one of my go to anniversary stamps!

What anything goes project will you create? Link up over at Retro Rubber whilst checking out the great creations from the ladies.

Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it. Challenge ends on Dec. 4th

Cx

Playdate Pinterest CASE...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a good weekend, I had a very relaxing one, mainly spent at my desk..

I also managed to have a playdate with JT yesterday..we had a fun date and cracked out some impressive cards.

One of the things we used as inspiration was this card from my Pinterest board -

It was actually made using a border die, but I thought I could make it work with the myriad of border stamps I have!!

The first card today uses a Simon Says Stamp border triangle stamp and the sentiment is by Technique Tuesday.

I used the same sentiment stamps for this next version, but dug out an ancient Papermania border stamp, that has not been shown a lot of love ever..

Simple cards, that I think can have any sentiment added to them, I might make a whole blank batch...

Cx

Runway inspired playdate...

Hey,

So my day has got off to a great start, as I had a Skype Playdate with JT.

We had discussed playing together to make a card for the Runway Inspired Challenge this week -

I am super happy with my card. I was determined that I was going to use the Stampin' Up Flower Shop punch and stamps for this card, they felt like such a natural fit for the inspiration image.

I stamped one of the flowers from the set onto Purple, Lilac and Navy blue cardstock (all by Recollections) and then punched them out using the co-ordinating punch.

The sentiment is by Unity Stamp Co and felt like a natural fit for the flowers. I added some purple bling for the flower centres and dotted around the card.

There are a few more cards from this playdate, that I will show you later in the week.

Cx

Metallic CAS Hearts...

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you all, hope you are having a good weekend so far..I am nursing a slight hangover...

I was inspired by JT's CAS-ual Friday entry to have a go myself...

The CAS-ual Friday theme this time is precious metals..

As JT used Silver, I opted for Gold..in part because of the superb Tsukineko gold ink that I have...

I found a random pack of chipboard hearts recently, so I dug one of those out and painted it with metallic gold acrylic paint..I stamped a few different Simon Says Stamp hearts around, mounted the chipboard hearts and added a Tim Holtz small talk sticker - that I cut to size.

Simple, CAS and it's going to be an anniversary card for some friends...Wins all round in my book..

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cx

Double Challenge Turkey..

Hey,

Happy Friday!!

It has been a busy week this week, work wise and craft wise.

I have been beavering away at my desk making things for Thanksgiving, wrapping JT's Christmas gifts (so I can leave them with her folks next week) and making 20 cards to share with my craft buddies as part of #sharehandmadekindness (check it out on instagram).

I also found time to make a card for 2 challenges I wanted to join in with this week -

Shopping Our Stash #228 - Thank You or Thanksgiving and Freshly Made Sketches #213

I combined all kinds of things from my stash and it was a fun card to make.

I used Simon Says Stamp November cardkit paper, Unity Stamp Co Turkey stamp and the sentiment is by Avocado Arts.

I used Promarkers to colour the Turkey and the orange papers are scraps.

I like Thanksgiving, I am going to miss this holiday when we finally move back to the UK, but for now, I will continue to spend it with JT's parents and gorge myself silly :)

The card has already left my desk and is heading to a friend.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

RSVP..

Hey,

Today I have another card that features a stamp by Unity Stamp Co.

This one was a freebie!! Isn't he gorgeous.

I thought it would make a really sweet and unusual R.S.V.P card for a wedding Hubby and I have been invited to.

I stamped the Penguin (?) onto Ranger watercolour paper and used distress inks to colour the hearts and his beak. I then used my brush to add teeny tiny little red dots all over.

To finish it off, I added a glittery paper strip and red bling..bling always completes a card in my humble opinion.

I'm super pleased with the end result and I love my new stamp, even better that he is a freebie.

Cx

Cup of tea...

Hi,

When my friend Denise was in town last month, we saw a great stamp by Unity Stamp Co.

But I didn't buy it, then it kind of weighed on my mind and so during their recent sale, I bought it!

My card today is for Denise, I figured the first card I made with this stamp should go to her.

I kept it super simple and used Distress inks and an aquabrush to colour the teabag. Die cut using a MFT stitched rectangle die and then mounted it onto a Lawn Fawn card blank.

Simple.

I think this stamp would make great notecards..

Cx

Retro Rubber #27..Colour Challenge..Still time to play along..

Hey,

There is still time for you to join in the current awesome challenge over at Retro Rubber.

A fab fall inspired colour challenge..just the thing to get you all inspired.

Your turn now to show us what you can do with these fab colours - link up over at Retro Rubber whilst checking out the great creations from the ladies.

Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it. Challenge ends on Nov. 20th

Cx

Macho Man cards....

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I am back in NYC - whoop whoop..I love going to London, but I miss Hubby and my desk..

So essentially, no-one is exempt from my year round snailmail bombing...

Not even the totally uninterested in receiving a card boys / men in my life :)

So every now and then I have to sit down and focus on male cards.. 

I decided that stencils would make a nice background for the cards. I used 3 different stencils x2 Heidi Swapp ones (spots and stripes) and a Simon Says Stamp grid one.

I used distress inks to stencil with and I really like the slight variations in colour where I didn't quite blend properly..

I dug out 2 fave stamps, the balloon is by Teresa Collins and the car was a freebie last year. 

I love how they look against the backgrounds, they really pop out.

The sentiments are by Hero Arts and Clearly Besotted.

I mounted them onto co-ordinating coloured card and then mounted the entire thing onto a white card blank.

Here are the other 2 cards that I made - 

Pretty pleased with these bad boys..I think I've found myself a super simple 'male card' formula LOL.

Cx

Critter Christmas..

Hey,

I head back to NYC later today - looking forward to seeing Hubby and my furchildren..

So continuing from my last 2 posts here is another Christmas card variant for you..

I made these when I was colouring for the 3rd Daily Marker colouring challenge..I miss it.

Once again because these Mama Elephant critters have banners, I figured they would work for Christmas.

I coloured them and die-cut them, but initially I thought they were not Christmassy enough and so made them a hat...hated that idea (or perhaps it was poor execution..), scrapped that and this is what I ended up with -

I used a Lawn Fawn stitched square die to cut all the Christmas papers..that are ancient and from my stash.

I also did something I have NEVER EVER DONE before..I cut a stamp in half (falls off chair) yep, I couldn't find a stamp that fit the banner..I am not buying anymore Christmas stash, so needs must. As you can tell, I am still alive and survived this traumatic experience..

Super simple cards that made good use of my stash.

Cx

Crafty Christmas...

Hey,

Hope you are having a good weekend so far. 

Today I am at the Science Museum with my Niece, Nephew, SIL and MIL - family time - yay!

Now from the title of my post, you might think I was referring to 'getting crafty' - nope. I'm actually talking about 'being crafty / sly'.

I HATE making Christmas cards, I find it utterly boring...so last year I decided to try and figure out why I feel this way..

I realised it's making them ALL the same that bores me.

So last year, I started making cards around Sept in batches of 2-4 - by the time I got to the end of Nov, I 'accidentally' had all the cards I needed - genius move.

This year I have applied the same logic, along with a new ethos - everything in my stash is fair game to become Christmas cards..

As I write this post, I have 70 cards ready to go (I know bonkers large list..but I love sending cards and every time I try and 'clean' my list I end up adding more people LOL..) + 5 special makes for the Chosen Ones..

Today, I am showing you 3 of the cards I have made.

The main photo is a shaker (yay! for Fuse pouches) and is one of the 'special makes' - I used a Lawn Fawn stamp and cut him out, so the sequins and beads in the shaker look like snow. The sentiment is a new die (it was on sale...honest)

The next card (also a 'special make') uses a piece of texture paste stencilling that I made a while ago and thought it would make a great backdrop for my Reindeer.

The die is a freebie and I die-cut it in Vellum, but then it didn't really show up, so I heat embossed it! Still not popping out as I wanted, so I added the thread and it worked...that is a new thing for me and it made me very nervous..

The stamp was a freebie too.

My final card uses a Stampin' Up Critter stamp and because she is holding a banner, I decided she would work for Christmas. 

I die cut the oval using MFT stitched oval dies and stamped it using the amazing Tsukineko gold ink that came in my Oct SSS cardkit.

The sparkly tape is by My Mind's Eye.

3 very different cards, but they were fun to make and I have actually been enjoying Christmas Cards!! 

Goal achieved!

Cx

Snazzymoose continues on..

Hey,

Happy Friday..

This is my last work day in London..this weekend I am hanging with my extended family, before heading home on Sunday.

As you are probably aware since we first started crafting together JT and I have had an 'in' joke about a Snazzymoose...

Cue many, many moose related gifts.

I got some Amazon vouchers for my bday and decided to splurge on the EK Success Moose punch that has been in my basket forever...

I LOVE HIM!!

Before we get to my actual card, lets look at where I started..

I punched the moose out of plain white cardstock -

Then, I smooshed them into my Versamark embossing inkpad and then added different powders and voila! Beautiful Snazzymoose..

I used Ranger metallic embossing powder for the Moose you can see on my card.

I kept the card simple with an American Crafts patterned card blank and an SSS die cut banner, sorry my photo is a tad fuzzy!

So easy to make and I've made a few fun variants using the punch since I made today's card..

Have a great weekend.

Cx

Ahoy Captain!

Hey,

I love Simon Says Stamp cardkits, the best thing I ever did was signing up for them.

If I am ever stuck for inspiration, I turn to the folder that houses all of the kit overview sheets and papers and voila! Inspired.

I had to make some male cards for a friend and I turned to the July 2015 cardkit, all the papers and boat stamps are from the kit. 

The dies are MFT and Lawn Fawn and the HB sentiment is by Clearly Besotted. I added a white enamel dot to the main card, it was supposed to be a brad..but that's what happens when you stick things down too soon.

Here's the other card - 

Again, really easy cards to make..I am really happy with my new Lawn Fawn stitched curvy border dies, they make excellent, Sea, Snow, Grass and many more things :)

Cx

Sparkle at Christmas...

Hey,

Last time I was home JT had these big square cards and I loved them. 

So my Ma kindly came up with these scalloped ones. 

Perfect for a full 6x6 stencil... 

I used my new fave stencil.. My Favorite Things.. I love their stencils. 

I obeyed Jenn and Cheiron and started with the light and worked my way out with the darker colours. 

I used a fingertip ink dauber and Distress Inks in Mustard Seed,  Festive Berries and Worn Lipstick. 

I used a Stampers Anonymous stamp for the sentiment,  which then sparked an idea. 

So I broke out the mini Versamark embossing ink pad and put the stencil back down and dabbed the ink in randomly. Then I added some Judikins sparkle powder, heated it up and voila! sparkle just like the sentiment says. 

Here's a close-up... 

Awesome right? 

I love it and it is a special Christmas card for a special person. 

I make special cards for my family. Do you do that too? 

Tonight I am going to dinner with one of my girl tribe and I can't wait to see her. 

Cx

p.s On Sunday JT gave me my very own pack of large square cards - yay!

Retro Rubber #27 Colour Challenge..

Hey,

It is time for another awesome challenge over at Retro Rubber.

Colour challenge..just the thing to get you all inspired.

I like colour challenges and I tend to be a bit subtle about how I introduce the colours..

The whole focus of my card is a stamp that is a couple of years old and is by Lucy Cromwell for Papermania. It's so simple.

I die-cut my white panel using my fave MFT stitched rectangle dies and mounted it onto a textured American Crafts card. I used some new Lawn Fawn stitched leaves dies and die cut them in 2 sizes and colours. I added the little heart punch in the old olive..

For the final touch and colour I added a self-adhesive pearl..

I like the simplicity of it all..

Your turn now to show us what you can do with these fab colours - link up over at Retro Rubber whilst checking out the great creations from the ladies.

Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it. Challenge ends on Nov. 20th

Cx

Simon Says Thanksgiving..

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I'm in London, I had a great weekend with my folks and hanging with JT and Olly and of course my dog Zippy (he's actually JT's but I am convinced he's actually mine!)

The November Simon Says Stamp cardkit, really made me want to join in the Weds challenge - theme is Thanksgiving..

The DT cards are awesome and lots of them featured elements from the kit.

I kept my card simple. I used one of the amazing papers, stamps and one of the apple stickers.

I used my latest Kaleidacolor ink pad in Autumn Leaves and I love how it tones with the paper.

I think this would be a great thank you card for my Thanksgiving hosts (JT's parents).

Cx

Bicycle birthday..

Hey,

Happy Sunday to you!

I am in London, hanging with my folks today, before heading to Richmond.

I made some cards for my Husband's Great Aunt and I wanted to add some Male birthdays.

So I broke out a fave very old bike from my stash - by Hero Arts - I love travel / transport related stamps..I have tons of them.

The sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp.

The background paper is ancient and I think it came from Michael's

They were very simple to make here are a few more, including one I made using kaleidacolor ink -

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I hope to catch-up with JT later.

Cx

Cheiron's Ranger Christmas Class..

Hey,

So I am now in London hanging with my folks. So for the next week my posts will be scheduled.

Finally I am showing you my makes from the class I did with Denise at The Inkpadnyc. 

Cheiron was our teacher and as ever the cards we made were gorgeous and fun times were had by all - even my non-crafty Denise had a blast.

My cards aren't in order of make!

The main photo is my fave, partly because of my amazing bow (yep praising myself). The white void at the top is because I messed up the red stamping, but I liked it so left it as it is.

We heat embossed the die-cut Believe and in real life its really shiny and lovely.

The next card, took the longest, but is so beautiful I actually don't know if I can bear to give it to anyone...

It was technique crazy and really stretched us all. We had to fussy cut the Deer, so you can imagine how long that took. The trees are this awesome technique of stamping in white first, then in green, but dropping the stamp down slightly.
We were supposed to tear the white snow, but I wasn't feeling that..not precise enough :) Yes I got teased for that..so I cut mini snow hills instead!

The card above was the easiest one of all and believe it or not that gingham background was a stamp!!!

I love the simplicity of it and I have used the layout a lot in the last 2 weeks to make more Christmas cards.

Our final card is a beauty, again I might have to keep it, so I can gaze at its beauty..

The silver background Cheiron had already embossed for us, same with the blue background, but we spritzed it and dried it. All our colours were so different, I really like using mists, but I get so messy, I need to fashion a spray booth..

The snowflake we heat embossed and the greeny/blue bling, we created that colour using some alcohol ink..

It was such a fun night - as always, I love hanging with the girls (Anna, Cheiron, Lisette, Jamey, Ava, et al) at The Inkpad classes..finally some NYC craft buddies, how nice is that!

Happy weekend everyone.

Cx