Let it Snow Twinchie

Here's my latest Twinchie.

I was experimenting using various  colours of embossing powders.

I used White, Silver and then Pewter - not sure if you can tell which is the silver from the pewter.

I think that I quite like the lacy look.

The stamp is from Snowflake Soiree stampset (Stampin' Up)

I would like to enter this in the

Show us your Twinchies Challenge# 12 - Let it snow

http://twinchie-twinchiehotmaillive.blogspot.co.uk/

Simon and Kerry's Anniversary

Well I have had a weeks break from blogging and am now raring to go (lol!).

Tomorrow it is my son's 12th Wedding Anniversary, they are celebrating it in Portugal - lucky things!!

- and here is the card that I have made for him and Kerry

Colour combo is Baja Breeze, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake on Very Vanilla card stock.

Stamp sets are En Francais and Papaya Collage - really love this set (as you can see!!)

Sentiment punched using the Modern Label Punch then layered onto

an extended Modern Label punched in Baja Breeze cardstock

Happy Anniversary Simon and Kerry!

Celebrating 200 followers!!

Today is my Wedding Anniversary, so I have not been doing too much!  I have commented on a few blogs, watched a film on TV - currently watching Home Alone 2 and thought that I would check out my blog - and guess what - I have now reached 200 followers!  To celebrate, I will send a little something to the lady who is my 200th follower : Elizabeth Sanderson.
So Elizabeth - if you would like to email me your home address I'll post out something to you after the holiday.
To everyone else - here's wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.  Thanks for all your support throughout the year and I look forward to sharing my blog with you in the future - God Bless xx

Last Christmas card for 2012

This is my very last card for this year -phew am I glad that I can say They are all done now!

this card is for Janice - Barry's younger sister, who is coming to stay with us for Christmas.

Barry will be fetching her tomorrow morning so it's a good job that I finished it!!

The poinsettia is made using Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke card stock

punched with the Blossom Petals Builder punch.

The bracts in the centre are made with yellow card shredded into "knots".

A gift box from Mavis

One of my Stampers 10 Ladies called today and brought me this little handmade gift box -

complete with a well known chocolate inside.  Isn't it great!

Front view

side view

top view

Thank you Mavis - will have to have a go at this one!!

Another Chris's birthday

On Tuesday (18th), it was the birthday of another of my friends called Christine (Chris H)!

Chris is in my Ladies Wot Lunch group and we meet for lunch every month.

As I have been so busy with making the Christmas  cards I had to delve into my stash of

birthday cards that I have made earlier - and this one seemed appropriate as Chris is a very good friend.

Colour Combo is Pretty in Pink and Soft Suede.

The tags are made using the Tiny tags stamp set tied with Bakers Twine.

The main stamp set used is Vintage Vogue which I am sad to say has now retired, but nonetheless,

I am sure that Chris enjoyed receiving this.

Barry's card

Here's the card that I have made for my darling husband Barry.

I am so pleased with it - I hope he will like it!

I have used a colour combo of Cherry Cobbler (fancy that!), Old Olive and Early Espresso.

Stamp sets:- En Francais, Papaya Collage and Pines and Poinsettias (now retired.

The greeting around the card is computer generated

and for the final touch a generous spritzing of .glimmer spray

Hope that you can see this as it really does finish it off.

Winter Post

Here is a card that I have made - cased from an old Convention swap that I have kept

 as I liked it so much, just never got round to making myself.

I have changed the colours round a little.

My colour combo is Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake and Soft Suede on Very Vanilla.

Stamp sets are En Francais and Winter Post (sadly now retired!)

Snowdrop centres are Basic Rhinestones.

All supplies are Stampin' Up.

Calendar wallet

I happened across this idea for a Calendar/Note Wallet the other day on 

Kathy's kards Blog 

and I just had to have a go - here's my first attempt.

Wallet Closed

Wallet open

Stampin Up Products used:-
Cherry Cobbler card stock
Snow Festival DSP - for front cover
Candlelight Christmas DSP - for inside wallet
Broadsheet Alphabet stamp set used for the "K"
Cheery Cobbler ink.

Calendar and Post it notes from stash.

Thank you Kathy for the inspiration - I think this is a fabulous project for little stocking fillers,
or for  Christmas table gifts, or maybe for fund raising.

Lexie's Father Christmas

This is the father Christmas that Lexie made when we went to the Library the other Saturday.

Lexie helped the children to make the faces for their Santas. 

3 quick cards

Well I am way behind with my Christmas cards, so I am concentrating on the ones that have to be posted.

Because of the price of stamps, I am having to make all my cards for posting flat - 

so they can't have ribbons and bows and jewels so I try to make them just as pretty,

usually by sprinkling with Dazzling Diamonds or shimmer spritzing them!

Here are three I have just finished.

As it has been so foggy and dark today I am afraid that the photos aren't very good

and you can't see the glitter on them - never mind, the recipients will!

Products used (all Stampin'Up) :-

The backround paper used is Snow festival DSP.

Stamp sets are Delightful Decorations and Greetings of the Season.

Riding Hood Red card stock and ink, plus Whisper White card stock.

Dazzling diamonds Glitter.

Gold and Silver Embossing

Today I have been trying to get a few more cards done so I decided to do a batch

of cards using the same stamps, but different coloured card stock and Embossing powder.

On all the cards, the flourish stamp is from Everything Eleanor.

and the sentiment is from Greetings of the Season stamp set.

All the cards have been generously shimmer spritzed - think you can just see this.

Night of Navy card stock and Contempo Christmas stamp set  bauble (now retired)
Silver embossing powder

Garden Green card stock, bauble from Delightful Decorations stamp set
Silver embossing powder.

Garden Green card stock, bauble from Delightful Decorations stamp set
Gold embossing powder.

Night of Navy card stock, bauble from Delightful Decorations stamp set
Silver embossing powder.

All products are Stampin' Up

White on White

Today I have tried a white on white card and am quite pleased with the result.

Colour combo - white with a smidge of Silver

Sentiment from Greetings of the Season,

Northern Flurry Embossing Folder

Dazzling Diamond Glitter

(All products Stampin' UP)

Can you guess who this card is for??

Merry Minis

The inspiration for this card came from one that I received from an ex-work colleague

 - Liz L - who used to come to my Wednesday class.

I have not done much with the Merry Minis stamp set and punches,

so this was just what I needed!

The colour combo is Crumb Cake, Cherry Cobbler, Baja Breeze and Lucky Limeade

For the background I have stamped snowflakes from the Snowflake Soiree stamp set in Whisper White.

I used a strip of paper from the Festival of Prints DSP paper stack.

The sentiments are from Petite Pairs

I used a Designer Naturals button, and tied a Cherry Cobbler

Bakers Twine Bow through it to finish this off.

Rosemary's birthday

Tomorrow is my golfing friend and Tuesday Crafting  lady - Rosemary's birthday.

Here's the card that I am giving her.

Colour combo is Melon Mambo and Whisper White.

The background is done using my favourite Creative Elements Stampset.

I cut a Sizzlits Large  Paper Doily in Shimmer White (but I don't think you can tell from this photo!)

Then I used the Fancy Flower punch for the outside petals 

and made a ribbon rose for the flower centre.

I spritzed the rose liberally with shimmer (but don't think this shows up either!)

Used the modern label punch to frame the sentiment (from Teeny Tiny Wishes)

which was stamped and punched using the Word Window punch.

Happy Birthfday Rosemary!!

Celebrate a year of daily blogs!!

Today I am congratulating myself on blogging every day without fail for a full year.

I thought that if I did this, people night actually put comments on my postings.

On the 9th December last year I made a resolution to myself that I would blog every day for a year.

And I have actually managed to do this - no mean feat I can tell you!

I had to schedule posts for when I was on holiday or weekends and awaydays golfing.

I also had contingency posts that I kept for when I wasn't feeling well.

I actually get comments on my blog most days now and I have nearly 200 followers.

It has been a struggle at times, but so worth it!

So I am giving myself a pat on the back.

If you want to check that I am telling you the truth - check from here and you will see!

So what I am doing for you all now is sending you the Christmas card that I sent to all
my blog followers last year (that didn't get any comments) to see if I get a few comments today!!

What I will also do in the New Year is sort out some card candy for all my faithful followers,
so keep watching this space.
Merry Christmas to you all.

Not a Christmas card!

Came across an interesting challenge the other day and decided to have a go at it.

Using the colours red and green, make a non-Christmas card!

So here's my attempt.

Colour combo is Cherry Cobbler and  Garden Green with very Vanilla

The background is stamped in Cherry Cobbler using the Creative Elements stamp set.

Used the Lattice Bigz die and then used all the leaf shapes cut out of it

to make the leaves for the 4 points of the trellis and the corners.

Sentiment is from Tiny Tags.

Flowers are made using the 1.1/4" Scallop punch, centres are diagonal fringed flowers in Very Vanilla

and the corner flowers are cut with the Itty Bitty flower punch and VV "knots" in the centres.

With the exception of the red pearls (which are from my stash)

all products used are Stampin' Up.

I would like to enter this in the
Docraft Challenge - Using the colours red and green, make a non-Christmas card!

http://docraftsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/card-makers-challenge-3.html?spref=fb

Val's Birthday

Here's the card that i have made for a golfing friend - Val - who's birthday is the day after tomorrow.

The lighting is not very good so apologies for the bad photo.

All supplies are Stampin'Up

Colour Combo is Basic Black Whisper White and Brushed Silver

Large Paper Doily Sizzlit and Fun Flowers Bigz L Dieused

Sentiment and personalisation are computer generated..

Val is neither a crafter nor a blogger, so I can safely post this today!

Vintage Christmas

Here's my attempt at a Vintage Christmas card.

All products are Stampin ' Up unless stated otherwise.

Colour combo Cherry Cobbler, Always Artichoke, Soft Suede and Early Espresso.

Stamp sets Papaya Collage (again!) and Pines and Poinsettias (retired)

I think that I am converted - I love this vintage

Rosemary's Card

Here's another card made by one of my Tuesday Crafting ladies - Rosemary.

She chose to make this card having been inspired by another card that

I received as a swap at Quarterly Training - this one by Barb Pyner from Canada no less!

(All products are Stampin' Up unless otherwise stated)

Colour Combo is Gumball Green, Very Vanilla and Cherry Cobbler.

Stamp sets Ornament Keepsakes and Greetings of the Season.

Framelets Holiday Ornaments Die used to cut out bauble.

1" circle punch for centre of bauble.

Be of Good Cheer DSP cut with Decorative Label Punch.

Vintage Wallpaper Embossing Folder

Cherry Cobbler bakers Twine.

Basic Pearl.

The finished card was spritzed with Champagne Mist Shimmer.

Come to Bethleham

I received a swap from Sally- Jo at quarterly training that inspired me to buy the stamp set 

and make this card

Stamp set is Come to Bethlehem

Colour combo is Midnight Muse, Bashful Blue and Whisper White

Snowflakes stamped with Champagne Mist Shimmer paint and dazzling diamonds sprinkled on top.

A generous helping of spritzed Champagne mist to finish it off.

Show us your Twinchies challenge#11

Here's my latest Twinchie

 I would like to enter into

Show us your Twinchies
Challenge#11 - Traditional Christmas Colours
http://twinchie-twinchiehotmaillive.blogspot.co.uk/

Liz's Wreath

On Tuesday, one of my crafting ladies - Liz G - was inspired to make this card after seeing one of the convention swaps that I received. I can't give credit to the person who made this as it has no details on the back.  (If it's yours, please let me know and I will link this post to your blog)

Liz used some of my retired SU Christmas DSP and the Bird Builder punch 

(the wing was used) to make the beautiful wreath. 

A snowflake from Snowflake Soiree was used for the centre, stamped in Real Red ink.

The sentiment is from Tiny Tags stamp set, punched into a tag shape

using the Jewelry Punch.

A little 3/8" Real Red taffeta ribbon bow finishes it off.

Great job!

Variation on a theme

Here's my  birthday version of the same card using the Papaya Collage set again.

The colour combo this time is Pretty in Pink, Soft Suede and Crumb Cake, 

with a touch of Old Olive for the leaves

Chris's Christmas card

Went to Chris's (sis-in-law's) yesterday, and showed her my Papaya Collage card.  

Chris decided that she would like to try a Christmas card using the same set,

Here's the result

Colour combo is Cherry Cobbler. Lucky Limeade and Chocolate Chip

I think it looks quite Christmassy, even though it's not a Christmas stamp set!

Well done Chris!

Maggie's retiring!!

Today is my lil sister Maggie's last day at work.  I hasten to add that she is retiring early,

as she is 5 years younger than me- and she would kill me if I didn't mention that!

We are all going out for a Chinese meal tomorrow evening to celebrate.

Here is the card that I have made for her.

I have used a different colour combination and style to my usual ones.

I have used Soft Suede, Crumb Cake and Baja Breeze on Whisper White.

The Stamp Sets used are Papaya Collage and En Francais.

The Sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.

The photograph really doesn't do the card justice, but I am sure you can get the effect!

Here's wishing you a long and happy retirement Maggie!!

Love ya!

Evelyn's birthday

Today is Evelyn's birthday - (another one of Julies' Jems team) - my SU sister.

We have such a big family now!!

Here's the card that I have made for her.

I have used one of the stamp sets that we received FREE at Convention - Summer Silhouettes

I have used the newest In Colours on this card :- Gumball Green, Summer Starfruit and

Primrose Petals.  The sentiment is from Curly cute and the ribbon is 3/8"Stitched Satin in Gumball Green.

Happy Birthday Evelyn!!  Have a great day.

A little something for Anna

Today I have posted a little something to one of my downlines - Anna, it is something that I bought from memento Mall at Convention.  With not being too well, I had completely forgotten about it, so I hope that Anna will forgive me for taking this long to send it off to her.

Here is the card that I have made to accompany the little gift.

The bird and leaf are from Betsy's Blossoms stamp set.  

The wing is stamped again then decoupaged on top of original.  The background on the Midnight Muse

 layer is done using Betsy's Blooms wheel. The sentiment is from My Friend stamp set.

Colour Combo is Midnight Muse, Gumball Green and Whisper White.

The ribbon is the 3/8" Stitched Satin ribbon in Gumball Green.

Enjoy Anna!!

New home card

As you know, baby sis has been in the process of moving house.  Yesterday, she managed to get

everything moved from the old house to the new one, so today I have taken her shopping for paint etc,

 then went home to make her this card.

I have used the Neighbourhood Wheel which is sadly retired, 

but I won't part with it as it is so useful for New Home cards.

Don't look too closely as my colouring in as it leaves a lot to be desired - 

nonetheless I do like this card and I am sure that they will like it too.

Twinchie - two colours

I missed the opportunity of entering the last Twinchie challenge (or perhaps even two!)

as I was busy making swaps for Convention, then when I got home I have been under

the weather with this hacking cough that has persisted now that the cold/flu symptoms have gone.

So this afternoon I thought that I would make one for the latest challenge.

Now I know that this looks like black and white, but it's actually Early Espresso and Very Vanilla.

The stamp set used is Betsy's blossoms, the background and the blossoms have all been embossed.

The leaves have been punched using the Bird Builder punch.

Finishing touches are the flower centres which are tiny Basic Pearls.

I would like to enter this in

Show Us Your Twinchies Challenge#10 - Use two colours

http://twinchie-twinchiehotmaillive.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/challenge-10-use-two-colours_15.html

Reflection technique

At my Saturday morning monthly workshop this month I showed the ladies the reflection technique.

Several of the ladies had asked how it was done.

The way that I do it is by using Stazon ink on acetate and transferring the image,

in reverse below the original stamping, making the "mirror image.

I think that it works quite well and was pleased with the finished result-

what do you think??

Princess's castle

As promised yesterday, here is the inside of yesterday's card.

Its a pop-up castle for the princess!

I am really pleased with this and I think that Eva Lily will love it!!

If you would like the instructions for this beautiful card they are available  from

Paper Punch designs by Kim Score

Eva's birthday.

Chris (sis-in-law) has been over today for our crafting get-together and boy have we been busy.

Only one coffee break and a quick break for lunch!!

Chris has been making a card for her Grand-daughter Eva Lily who will be 2 on the 30th 

whilst I have been making the same card for my Great Niece (Sister Maggie's Grand-daughter)

who is also called Eva Lily and who is 2 on the 29th!!

We couldn't believe the coincidence when they were born a day apart and to be given the same names -

what are the chances of that??

Anyway - here is the outside of my card.

I can't decide whether to personalise it and put a 2 on it at the moment -

I think that it's busy enough.  What do you think?

Chris and I have thoroughly enjoyed making this card -

it's all punch art, although some bits are cut free hand.

We used a pattern from the internet and I will pop back later and put a link in here

 to the place where you can buy the pattern from, if you wish to have a go yourself.

Come back tomorrow, and I may just have finished the inside by then,

so you will be able to see what that looks like - it's certainly worth a return visit, believe me!

Sympathy card for Dale

My baby Sis's partner, Dale, lost his Mum at the weekend and  I have been kept busy trying to help them

 as they are also in the process of moving house.  

(There's never a good time for anything stressful to happen is there!)

 Today was the first opportunity that I had to make a sympathy card for him and his family, and here it is.

A very CAS card - colour combo Basic Gray and Whisper White.

A circular stencil was cut in a sheet of acetate and the shape was ink dusted in Basic Gray Ink.

The branch was then stamped in the circle in Basic Grey as was the sentiment -

 both from the Hopeful Thoughts stamp set.

A tiny pearl was then stuck in the centre of each little flower.

More Altered Dictionary Pages

Have been busy golfing with Barry and our friend Alan earlier today, then when baby sis 

(Anne-Marie) finished work this evening, 

I have been over to hers, to help move some of her furniture and a carpet or two!!

All I have had time to do since is a couple of Altered Art Dictionary pages.

Penguin

Reindeer

Hope that you like them!!

Paper Bauble Tutorial

As promised here are the instructions for making the paper bauble.

You will need:

Bakers Twine

2 small brads

Snowflake or other paper ornament to hang in the centre of the bauble.

2 scraps of double sided patterned paper (min size 6cm wide x approx 15cm length)

Cut each 6cm wide piece into 4 strips each measuring 1.5 cm .

Place the strips on top of each other, alternating the patterns.

Make a hole at the top and bottom of the strips.

insert a brad into one end .

Thread the ornament /snowflake onto the Bakers Twine, 

then thread 

both ends of the twine through the other hole.

(Make sure that the thread isn't too long - you want your ornament to dangle inside the bauble!)

Insert the brad through the centre point of your length of ribbon, then through the hole and fasten.

Tie the ribbon into a bow, then fan out each strip until you get your bauble shape.

Make sure that you have the ornament on the INSIDE of your bauble when you start to fan it out

- it doesn't look right on the outside!!

There you have it - baubles at minimum cost from scraps of DSP!