I always try and make a card for a little ones first christmas and even though this little one was due last christmas eve he didn't decide to join us until January lol.
I went with a very simple design as I was running out of time to create this card and stick to my december 1st deadline lol. I do think this is something I will continue next year as it made december so much more enjoyable even though we couldn't go anywhere.
As soon as I saw this set from Heffy Doodle I knew I needed/wanted it. Now of course when I saw it is was a free set and not available for purchase separately, I stalked the blog for a release date and once I saw it I checked with my local craft store and as she said she was ordering it I collected it from her. I do like to purchase locally whenever possible as I love this store and want to support them going forward. Of course this wasn't the only thing I purchased whilst I was in there, its a very tempting store lol.
Of course the macarons needed to be rainbow colours and at the time I created this I was on a very high rainbow kick lol.
This card was inspired by one I saw and although it looks nothing like the original it was still my inspiration. I just wish I could remember where I saw it lol.
This stamp has a bit of a funny story attached to it, my friend Jane and myself were shopping in florida about two years ago when she spotted a huge set of penguin stamps, it was the only set and we both loved it. However it was quite expensive so after carrying it around for a while Jane put it back and I decided to check the price and asked the lady in the store who proceeded to tell me that it was in the half price section, well before I could grab it Jane had it back in her basket lol. I asked her if I could stamp the penguin wreath (my favourite image) and she said yes and I have finally coloured it in and used it. Before I posted this I asked Jane if she had ever used the set and she said "nope lol" and I replied "well at least one of us has now"
Sentiment: Creative Stamping
Card: kraft by recollections from Michaels
Stencil: falling snow from Simon says stamp
Another large card for my Mum and I am so pleased Lili of the Valley now do Digi stamps as I can make them whatever size I need to fill a card. I went with a simple design and was originally going to draw and colour a fireplace but I totally forgot to do that before I did the eclipse letters and afterwards it was too late. Maybe next year.
I don't know about anyone else but I am turkeyed out lol, I think I have enough left for a week but I can't face another bite lol.
Ingredients
Image: mice stocking from Lili of the Valley
Papers: nit Wit
Dies: crealies XXl stitched square, spellbinders alphabet, merry christmas from MFT
At the same time that I made the cottage cards from the creative stamping magazine I made this card, well I had the magazine and inks on my desk so it seemed wrong to not do something with the reason I bought the magazine lol.
I went very simple with this one and as its for my uncles I knew there was no point in adding fuss lol.
I hope you all enjoyed the big day yesterday and that you aren't suffering any food hangovers today. I actually think boxing day leftover lunch is my favourite as there is no running around preparing thirteen different vegetables, gravy, stuffing and turkey so you get to eat the lovely food without having to get hot and bothered making it lol.
Ingredients
Image and sentiment: creative stamping
Dies: blueprints 20 from MFT
Inks: faded jeans, chipped sapphire and black soot distress inks
Just a quick post to wish everyone a
"Very Merry Christmas"
I hope that you are all getting to spend the day with your nearest and dearest even if that looks like a zoom call rather than sitting around one big table.
This year has certainly been one for the history books and I am hoping that next year looks very different.
So thank you to all my blog readers for everything this year and hoping you all have a safe and happy day xx
Now this never normally happens but I am so pleased it did, I bought the newest Creative stamping (new one is out tomorrow so this is still available) and the day it arrived I created these cards. I used a card in the magazine as inspiration but put my own spin on it. There was a lot of masking and inking but I really like how these have turned out.
Only two days to go until the big day and I am finally ready, all the food is bought, the turkey has been delivered and I am relaxing watching "arthur christmas" and drinking a hot chocolate.
I hope that whatever your celebration looks like this year you are all safe and well.
Here comes santa jaws, here comes santa jaws..... I now have that stuck in my head and can hear myself humming the song as I am typing this lol.
I had an idea for the background and one I used earlier in the year, however I could not find the alcohol ink paper in my disaster of a craftroom so I used good old fashioned glossy photo paper and I love how it turned out. Sometimes a disaster turns into a revelation lol.
I am writing this post at the end of November and I am hoping by the time it publishes that the virus numbers have started to fall and the tiers have been lowered and we can spread some christmas cheer.
Edited : as this published I was surprised by the optimism of my post and realised hindsight is a wonderful thing, sending big hugs to everyone affected by the situation here in the UK and the rest of the world too
Ingredients
Image: santa jaws from Avery Elle
Dies: mft blueprints
Inks: peacock feathers, blueprint sketch, salty ocean, tumbled glass
The only stamp sets I have bought this year have come from Clearly Besotted and I have loved them all and strangely enough used them all.....well that is certainly different to normal years.
You may or may not know but I am a Welsh lady living in England and I love anything with sheep on it.I bought this set to make cards for my fellow welsh people but instead made them to send to Florida lol. Oh well there is always next year lol. Maybe I could get a headstart on those cards.....don't worry I almost fell off my chair laughing at that one too.
Simple cards following a design I made last year, I do seem to have said that a lot this year but if it ain't broke don't fix it ( my self proclaimed motto lol)
Ingredients
Image: "bah humbug" from Clearly Besotted
Sentiment: creative stamping
Dies: Lawn fawn snow globe, bleuprints 20 and 29 from MFT stamps
Card: red by recollections at Michaels
Stencil: falling snow from simon says stamp using Bobunny paste.
This santa was too cute to not get used this year and hopefully he will get used many more times in the years to come. This is the digital version but for those that prefer stamps then CC Designs carries this ladies fabulous creations.
Not much else to say except I have used the same layout as the monster cards and its a great layout for clean and simple designs. It might be a go to for future years too.
I'm hoping that as you read this post that you are almost ready for the big day, its going to be a very different christmas for a lot of us and I never thought I would be eating my christmas lunch via zoom with my family, but here we are making the most of it.
I saw a card on Michelle Short's blog and I knew I wanted to make something similar. Michelle used a stencil and cut the window panels by hand but I thought I would use my cricut maker and make a version I could cut multiple times to create dimension. Each card has three layers and the acetate is sandwiched between the layers to look like glass, now I could have created shaker cards but I didn't want to hide the images.
I used oxide inks to create a night sky then used the mini cloud stencil to add clouds in the same colours of ink over the top, this idea was my Hubbie's and I will agree its very effective.
Once I had made one I was on a roll and created four in one evening. You might think the cat ones are the same card but they aren't I have two friends with cats (one grey and one black) and I hope I mimicked those here.
The sentiments were created on my computer as I wanted the look of white heat embossing on black but I didn't have any sentiments the right size or with the right words, I must remember to do this more often as its very easy and effective.
Those wondering what "nadolig llawen" means its merry christmas in Welsh.
I made an almost identical card last year and I decided if it ain't broke why fix it and do the same again. I did change the sentiment and added the scalloped die but that was all.
The big day is getting closer and I am so pleased I decided to have all my cards made by the 1st December. Normally I am rushing to finish all my cards but this year I am just rushing to do everything else lol.
Ingredients
Image: christmas jumper from Art Impressions (Ai)
Dies: bluepints 29 from MFT
Ink: peacock feathers distress oxide
I was printing my Mums birthday image and had room left on the sheet so I popped a monster from Goebie Designs on it. When I started colouring this image I had no idea that I would fall in love with it and make a quite a few more. I went with a design I used a long time ago but liked and I am pleased with the result, of course now the sentiment looks crooked but it didn't in real life.
Ingredients
Image: Goebie Designs
Paper: Doodlebug and pink petticoat
Sentiment: creative stamping
Dies: basic stitched edges from MFT
I had this image already stamped in my images draw so I decided it needed to be coloured and used. I was hoping to use more of the images I had already either stamped or coloured but yet again that didn't happen lol. I was going to throw away any unused images but I have decided to just start in January and continue making christmas cards, I have enjoyed it this year and I suppose that is what it should be all about
Ingredients
Image: Stampin up
Dies: oval and blueprints 2 both from MFT
embossing folder: plaid from sizzix
Card: Cranberry by recollections for Michaels
The final set of these snowflake cards and I am torn on my favourite colour, these were a pleasure to make and I ended up making 20 of them. Sometimes a simple design is all you need to spark creativity.
Ingredients
Embossing folder: Sizzix
Dies: The Works
Sentiment: Altenew freebie from SImply cards and papercraft
After I had finished the last set of cards I decided to be organised and start writing them out which was when I decided I needed more of this design, I’ve used three new inks for these and I like them a lot but the mint is still my favourite lol.
Pixie Dust from Catherine Pooler
Ingredients
Sentiment: simply cards and papercraft altenew freebie
Embossing folder: sizzix
Snowflakes: The Works
Gems: Studio G
One of my friends attended the Taylored Expressions Stamp Joy online event and they showed their creations during a zoom call, I was really taken with one of the designs and decided if I could make something similar with supplies I already had and this is the result.
Ingredients
Embossing folder: sizzix
Dies: Dovecraft
Sentiment: free from simply cards and papercraft designed by Altenew
Card: silver from snippets and glitter from The Works
Gems: from papermania
Now I was about to make an identical card to the other joy one when I thought about using the paper pad I already had on my desk. I have had this paper pad for year and years and I absolutely love it and will be so sad when it is eventually all gone.
Image: hello bluebird
Card: red by recollections from Michaels
Paper: Doodlebug
Dies: blueprints 20 and 29 from MFT, stitched hillside from Lawn fawn, alphabet from Stampin Up
As soon as I saw this image from Sweet November stamps I knew I wanted to make a card for my Mum. I haven't been able to see her since March and although we have chatted on the phone and video call it is not the same. I am just glad that her big birthday was last year and she was able to have the party she wanted.
This is a simple card as I wanted the image and sentiment to take centre stage, its also a huge card as my mum really likes large cards which is something I struggle with.
So before I show you the card I just wanted to say "Happy Birthday Mum, love you"
Ingredients
Image and sentiment: Hug from Sweet November Stamps
Paper:lemons from nit wit
I needed two quick and easy new home cards and I remembered this paper pack I got free from the Making cards magazine blog, the cards came together really quickly and they were in the post straight away.
It does seem off to be moving in the middle of a pandemic but life must still move on and I am wishing the two people a lifetime of happiness in their new homes.
Now this might seem weird to be popping into my feed in December but I remembered I hadn't posted it and I will forget I made it if I don't see it on my blog lol.
I used non halloween images to create my first ever halloween card. I have been chatting weekly with my friends in Florida since the beginning of March and I wanted to send them a card and what better one to send than halloween, of course then the dilemma hit as I don't have any halloween images ( i have since discovered that I do lol). I used the clearly besotted alphabet and splat stencil and I was done. Hopefully they liked them too.
Ingredients
Images: Easy as ABC set 1 and 2 from Clearly Besotted
Sentiment: sweet sentiments from clearly besotted
Stencil: splat from clearly besotted and mowed lawn distress ink
The ingredient list for this card is so small its hardly worth writing lol. I visited Florida in February (just before the virus hit) and whilst there I happened upon a Hobby Lobby clearance section where I found this die for under $4. I had met my friends for lunch and I asked them did they want to join me in hobby lobby and they all said no and then I found the clearance section and they all wished they had said yes lol.
I left off the sentiment because everywhere i put it looked wrong so I thought they know its for christmas so why do I need to add it on the outside.
Ingredients
Dies: house cover plate from Spellbinders
Inka: chipped sapphire, salty ocean and wilted violet distress oxides
So this card is a little different to my normal way of doing things and a hark back to my first days of crafting. I saw the MFT lightbulb kit and thought OMG i need that and then I remembered I had bought the lawn fawn light bulbs when they first came out and never used them, ok but what about the sentiment.... I had bought some spellbinders christmas words from Hobby Lobby clearance but it didn't have the ampersand so I was making another card using a retired MFT set with bottle cap letters and I spotted the perfect sized ampersand and the rest is history. I loved making this card and I made 4 during this sitting but I think it is one I will make more off as it was so much fun.
This card has been an idea in my head for a few years and every year I run out of time to implement it so I decided this year to make it first lol. It was one of the first cards I made for christmas and hopefully the recipients will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it
Images: "white christmas" stampin up
Dies: blueprints 2 and 13 from MFT and bauble shaker from Papertrey Ink
Card: white and red both recollections from Michaels
Embossing folder: snowflakes by Darice
This card and the following one where ideas I have had as long as I have had the dies (a long, long time lol)
I am hoping by the time this post goes live that life isn't the same as it is in September and we are able to move around again. This year has certainly been very different to previous ones and I think it's been reflected in my cardmaking too.
Ingredients
Dies: blueprints 13 and 2 from MFT, tree shaker and sparkle sentiment from Papertrey Ink
Paper: doodlebug
Card: white and green from recollections at Michaels
Embossing Folder: tim holtz at sizzix
This card was inspired by one my friend Mary was making on a Zoom call, I thought I have an alphabet that I can use and images that would work and I even completed the card whilst on the call, ok the call lasted three hours but still lol.
I have an idea to make one that spells "snow" I wonder if I will get to make that one too.
Ingredeints
Image: Hello Bluebird
Alpabet: retired stampin Up
Dies: mft blueprints 20 and 29 and lawn fawn stitched hillside
Paper: doodlebug
Card: recollections from Michaels and red glitter from The Works
This card is probably my favourite I have made for this years christmas so far, I love the simplicity of it and also the fact that none of the elements used on it are intended for christmas cards.
I was at my friends crafting and she had a new book binding die and I immediately saw a belt buckle for a santa/elf suit and I cut a few out and brought them home. I had no idea what to do other than that and they sat in a bag for seven months unloved and uninspired. Then whilst cutting something else I noticed the mft cloud stax looked like a beard and that was enough for me to pull out the belts and create this card.
I do love it when something happens and you end up exactly where you wanted to be lol.
Woohoo my first christmas card of 2020 and its the first of December too. Now I wrote this post way back in August and I was trying to decide on designs for this years cards and although I love this one I can't see me making loads as it was a lot of colouring. I am hoping I have made another one at least though as I want to create at least two of each design.
The digital image is a new to me company called Power Poppy who I discovered through the lovely Jules blog. This isn't intended as a christmas image but it screamed christmas colours to me lol.
