Fusion Card Challenge - Grey Christmas...

Hey,

Welcome to the last Fusion Card Challenge of 2021! How quickly did that go?!

This time we have 'Grey Christmas' for you! As always both the sketch and the inspiration image are awesome.

Which will you try?

This time I just went with the sketch.

The background stamp is by Studio Calico 'Scandinavian Christmas' and is one of my all-time fave stamps. It's always fun to colour and worked really well with the scalloped die. I added a sentiment and the bow to finish it off and match the sketch.

This super fun card got added to my stash :) and will be heading out to someone soon.

Make sure you check out all the rest of the inspiration by the DT over at the Fusion challenge blog, and play along with your own creation! When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo to inspire your makes. OR, if you are feeling adventurous, you can fuse them together (see what I did there!).

Can't wait to see your makes. 

Challenge ends on December 7th.

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving today, Happy Thanksgiving to you, remember to take some time and tell your loved ones how grateful you are to have them in your life.

See you in January 2022.

Cx

Weird Piggies...

Hey,

Happy Black Friday to you!

If you are in America, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

I had a great day, hanging with Hubby - basically watching him cook :) He is the best ever. I made a chocolate cake which is fave and there ends my contribution to the full Turkey dinner. We also watched all the NFL on offer and caught up with my parents and gave Boscat a mini Turkey dinner treat - which she LOVED.

Today, I am showing you a few little panels I made a few weeks ago. They did actually become fun cards, but guess what..I forgot to take photos of them before I sent them out! UGH.

Anyway...

The stamp is awesome and by Paper Artsy and was a gift from Cheiron. The minute she gave it to me I knew it would work really well with my current fave thing - Andy Skinner dots stencil.

I stamped the winged piggy and then masked him off and used distress oxides through the stencil over him.

I totally love the bright, fun, slightly weird end result and I'm going to mimic it, in my art journal.

Have fun today if you are shopping. I did most of mine in Vegas (which was so much crazy fun, I can't even begin to explain) and online. Today I will be just hitting a couple of local stores that I like to go to.

It's been a great week of vacay, sad to go back to work on Monday, but it will be nice to catch-up with the ladies.

Cx

CAS(E) this Sketch - Colour Pop Birthday..

Hey,

Happy Friday!!

Hubby and I are leaving for Vegas tonight - WHOOP!! And then we are off all of next week, partly in Vegas and partly at home celebrating Thanksgiving.

I loved the sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch this week -

So before the NFL last night I had a quick play with it,

The minute I saw the sketch I knew I wanted to use the Avery Elle 'Brushed' set to create the two 'stripes'. I stamped all three brushstrokes from the set in navy blue ink.

I embossed the non-stamped part using a new Becky Higgins folder and then I die-cut the whole panel using a stitched rectangle die.

I found a random square of navy polka dot paper, so die-cut a circle from it and because I wanted the sentiment to pop, I die-cut it in red.  The rest of the sentiment is by MFT from their 'Label Maker Love' set.

A super quick and easy card, love, love, love this sketch and how my card came out.

Have a great weekend, bar a couple of scheduled posts, you probably won't hear from me until after Thanksgiving!

Cx

Unicorns, Balloons and Clouds...

Hey,

Happy Black Friday!

I have been 'crafty' shopping all week, so today I am off to the gym (working of Hubby's delicious Thanksgiving dinner) and then going to do some Christmas gift shopping.

We had a really nice relaxed Thanksgiving and dinner was amazing, actually a dual effort by Hubby and I. We had a friend join us for dinner and it was just really nice and simple.

Today's card is for a friend's Daughter who turns one next week.

I created the background first using a cloud stencil by DutchDoobaDoo and Broken China Distress Oxide ink.

The Unicorn and Balloons are from different Mama Elephant and Hampton Arts sets I got at Michael's on my recent jaunts around America (Tampa/Doylestown).

I used the sentiment from the Unicorn set..not sure I love 'eternal happiness' but it is what it is now.

I added a tiny number one, I like to make number card for the toddler years..

Pretty pleased with the end result, the balloons actually look like they are lifting the Unicorn.

Cx

Freshly Made Sketches: Give Thanks..

Hey,

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I had oodles of playtime at my desk last night, I thought I would play along with Freshly Made Sketches this week.

I decided I would dig out a very rarely used star wreath die by Fiskars, I love it, but before I got my metal shim it was painful to cut. I chose my fave and ancient sparkly silver paper for the wreath.

I used washi tape and a scrap of glittery paper for my strips and the smaller circle I die-cut from a scrap.

The 'thanks' die is by Lawn Fawn and it is one of my fave sentiment dies.

I love the happy sparkly end result. 

As it's Thanksgiving I can't leave without saying how thankful I am for my Husband, Family and Friends (new and old) that have been by my side this year through all kinds of ups and downs. They have remained my constant loving, caring, amazing support system. I'm also super thankful that I opened my mind and decided to exercise...it's a thing now and I love it.

Have a great Thanksgiving wherever you are.

Cx

Keeping it simple..

Hey,

Happy Thanksgiving Eve to you!!

I am actually quite excited about our mini Thanksgiving (Hubby, Me, a friend)..I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

I make calendars every year as a small gift, but they are actually a lot of work! 12 months of stamping and colouring...

So this year I decided to make them a bit easier.

I created smooshed backgrounds, stamped the year and an image over the background and added the ready made calendar piece. Boom!

Super simple and actually quite pretty.

I think my fave so far is the Dog and he has been earmarked for a specific person. I think I will have to make more of those ones!

If you are celebrating, have a great Thanksgiving and try not to spend too much on Black Friday (yeah right..)

Cx

Wakely Girl....

Hey,

So I did some serious craft damage over Thanksgiving / Black Friday...

Among my haul of plenty was this gorgeous stamp by Unity Stamp Co. I LOVE the Angie girls.

This one is called Wakely girl and I fell in love with her over the knee boots.

They are always such a pleasure to colour and I spent a quiet 20mins or so last week colouring her, using distress inks, zigs and an aquabrush.

I love the soft tones of her outfit, with a bright pop of colour for her bag!

The vertical sentiment is by Stampin' Up and I love the vertical stamp set, because sometimes your sentiment just needs to work that way!

Cx

CASology..Soft...

Hey,

So it's the last day of the Thanksgiving break (that went quick).

My good friend and her boyfriend are in town this week and so I am excited to be spending some time with them, starting today with brunch.

My Ma arrives tomorrow, along with our Goddaughter, her boyfriend her Mum and other family members to celebrate her 21st birthday. So this week is going to be cray cray.

So let's have a bit of calm first shall we :)

I have been playing along with CASology challenges - I really like the cue cards, they have been really inspiring my creative juices and I have been lucky enough to get two honorable mentions..isn't that lovely.

Here is this week's cue -

I decided to use a great stamp (MFT Knit Happens) given to me recently by a friend. I felt inspired to use it because I am in the midst of crocheting the world's ugliest blanket LOL, but it is also the softest thing ever.

It's ugly because the wool is 'borrowed' from everyone I know who has spare wool, so it doesn't match..I fly a lot for work and I hate to fly and crocheting de-stresses me.

I love wool or yarn as my American friends call it :)

Anyway..back to my card. I coloured the stamp using Distress Inks and an aquabrush and stuck with 'soft' colours. I added a bit of sparkle using Stickles on her hat.

The sentiment is by The Alley Way Stamps..

Cx

Sketch Saturday #440

Hey,

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

Hubby and I had an awesome time with Cheiron and her family..so grateful for friends that welcome us into their homes.

I'm back with another great challenge from the Sketch Saturday team.

This week's Sketch Saturday challenge sponsor is The Paper Shelter

I decided to use the great 26 December stamp..I like the idea of Santa having a snooze after all that hard work!

I printed him onto watercolour paper and then coloured him with distress inks and an aquabrush, I added the sentiment from an Avery Elle stamp set.

I found a great piece of patterned present paper in my Christmas stash and thought that worked well here. Instead of banners I used ribbon, wrapped around 3 times to match the sketch.

I used one of my fave glittery stars to complete the card.

I like how it's come out and another great addition to my Christmas card pile.

Your turn to join in the fun - go over to Sketch Saturday and be inspired by the rest of the DT makes.

The challenge ends 2nd December 7pm GMT / 5pm EST.

Cx

Concord & 9th Flower Christmas...

Hey,

Happy Black Friday!!

Obvs. I am a total consumer and so will be shopping today, mainly online, but I might venture out, the City is always quiet over Thanksgiving weekend.

There are only 5 more days left of the current The Daily Marker Colouring Challenge (boo) and today I am showing you cards I made using my colouring from a week ago.

The stamp is a new-ish one by Concord & 9th..I was SO tempted to buy the entire November release, but resisted..

I bought this set and these dies. Restraint exercised.

I love this stamp, it's huge and amazing to colour.

I broke out distress inks and an aquabrush and I am so pleased with the shading, especially on the main card. The bigger green leaves were done with just one colour of ink - yay!

I also went to town with the Nuvo Crystal drops..they are pretty damn awesome.

Both of the cards are going to be Christmas cards, but the one below hasn't had the sentiment added yet.

Because the image is so full of colour, I kept the background mats plain.

Really beautiful cards that I am super pleased with, they will be going to special peeps.

Cx

Happy Thanksgiving...

Hi,

So today is totally a time to give thanks, not just to eat and figure out what to buy on Black Friday.
Although I do confess the eating and the shopping are pretty awesome too..

This year Cheiron has invited Hubby and I to spend Thanksgiving with her and her family - so very kind.

We love being adopted by people over Thanksgiving and we have spent two very awesome Thanksgivings with the Nixon family and friends.

I am so very thankful and grateful for all the awesome people I have in my life, way to many to mention, but today I am going to give special thanks for the recipient of my card (Lawn Fawn and Prima Marketing Stamps).

JT..she is really special, she keeps allowing me to gatecrash her life (The Nixon's are her parents, she helped me get my job, you see where this is going..). I am not sure what I did before her and I know I am never letting her get away!

Some of the funniest, craziest moments of the last 6 years of my life involve her and I wouldn't change a minute of it.

She was also the first person I met that shared my craft love and it continues to be a very special part of our friendship.

So today whilst I am eating Turkey with new friends, I will be raising my glass to her.

Love you man. And super thankful for you.

Cx

Bugaboo Thanksgiving...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Hope you had a good weekend, can't believe it is nearly Thanksgiving already!!

I really want to enter Bugaboo challenges more, but I always forget!!

This weekend I saw the Bugaboo Catch The Bug November Bingo Challenge and I really liked the bingo card -

I went with the embossing, thanksgiving theme and bugaboo image line.

I started by importing my image (Autumn Jar) into my Silhouette Portrait, so I could cut around it. There were a few Bugaboo images that I wanted to do this with, so did them all at once. I'm fine with fussy cutting, but sometimes it is nice to do it with the Silhouette.

I coloured it using Promarkers and Nuvo Crystal Drops.

The embossing folder is a basketweave one by Sizzix and is one of my faves, I used the reverse side here, as I wanted it to be a bit flatter.

I heat embossed the sentiment onto a coordinating piece of the brown paper, I love this sentiment stamp, it's so detailed and heat embosses really well. So that it had a bit of stand out from the brown, I added a small strip of glitter paper underneath it before affixing it to my card.

I also added a piece of twine under the main image, again to make it pop a bit more.

So glad I played along, this is a fun card and I know where it's heading!

Cx

Retro Rubber #51...Colour Challenge..Be Thankful

Hey,

It's time for another superb challenge over at Retro Rubber. 

We have another colour challenge for you - use the photo as inspiration..

I thought it would be nice to make a CAS card for this challenge, as the colours are so rich.

I used a great stamp set by Simon Says Stamp, that I got with the November 2015 cardkit.

I started by die-cutting a stitched white panel and I stamped the sentiment onto this using an Autumn Leaves Kaleidacolor ink pad.

Then I masked off the sentiment and stamped the leaves around two edges of the sentiment, I used 3 different green distress inks for this.

Super simple, but effective card, that I will be adding to my Thanksgiving stash.

Your turn to show us your interpretation of the photo, but first go over to Retro Rubber and view the great makes by my teammates.

Challenge ends on November 18th. Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it that's part of the fun. Also, please limit your entries to 10 challenges including ours.

This week I'm also entering my card into the current The Paper Players challenge -

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

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

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

WOYWW #287...Post Thanksgiving blues...

Hey,

Hope everyone is good.

It's that time of the week where we swing by and visit Julia at her blog Stamping Ground, so we can nose at everyone's desks..join in why don't you...

I am feeling a bit blah after Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed the time off spent with Hubby and work is a bit serious right now :(

Anyway the 4 day break gave me the opportunity to have a serious play at my desk, so what you can see is what's left from a couple of epic sessions! On my craft mat you can see a new SSS stamp set (Dec card kit) and a heat embossed item (done using the card kit embossing powder and a BF Heidi Swapp stencil)..I am making a card for my Parents...

There is also sheet of coloured sticky dots..more about them next week :)

To the left of my photo you can see this -

Its for a work colleague based in Cleveland, we have just finished working on a huge project together and she was truly amazing to work with and I wanted to send her a little something. I made the card a bespoke size and made a matching envelope too. The stamp is by Hero Arts and was on my desk last week. I die cut it using a Spellbinders label die.

Elegant and simple. Perfect for my colleague.

Cx

Layered Christmas Card...

Hi,

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I most certainly did.

I am making the most of the break by entering a few challenges - as I have plenty of time to spend at my desk and very few commitments - let playtime commence!

I loved the Color Throwdown palette this week -

It feels really Christmassy and all the DT makes, made me really want to have a play.

As I have just finished making my personal Christmas cards, there are a few nesting die sets on my desk.. so I decided to use the Xcut square parenthesis dies as my focal point.

I settled on a square silver card base, as it fit the colour scheme and added a bit of shimmer to my card. I cut 2 different sizes and one keyhole version using the dies - in white, red and white spots and pale blue. I mounted the 2 smaller ones using foam tape. I stamped my sentiment onto a light grey EK Success label punch out that I found in my box of ''already punched'' things..

Leftover from my Christmas cards I had the pale blue stars and the kraft star (still on my desk), so I added these and put teeny tiny little red bling in the centre of the blue stars.

Love this card and I have a recipient in mind..

Once again, all the papers were scraps - I am making some serious headway now - organising them really helped.

Cx