Happy Christmas!

Hi all! Hope you are having a lovely Christmas! We had the usual fabulous feast in Mum's (and back today for the leftovers yummmm) so we're well stuffed!!! Can hardly believe that's it done and dusted for another year, though I'm off work now till the 5th so a nice long and much needed break from work!

I managed to get all my cards made in time (and hopefully posted in time too!) Didn't get a pic of all the variations but they were all from a Penny Black set, and all done on a production line - some evenings I'd be stamping, some colouring, some making backgrounds and then finally sticking them all together! 

Addicted to Stamps #507 - Christmas 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - add a sentiment 

Penny Black Saturday December 

Christmas Kickstart #105 - I wasn't organised enough to play with Jo's challenge all year so I'm glad to be able to join in with her last one of the year! 

And finally, here's a wee pic of Molly with her prize Christmas present - I'm sure the squeak can be heard across the Atlantic so the sooner she 'kills' it the better!

50 Christmas cards

 I was asked to make a stack of 50 Christmas cards for our volunteers in work so that has kept me busy these past few weeks!  I had a bit of a production line going...some evenings prepping my card bases, some evenings stencilling and adding snowy silver splatters, some evenings sticking them all together, and most evenings with my pencils out! I can't deny that I'm glad to have them all finished. 

I mostly used these stamps from Gerda Steiner, with a few Penny Black carolers to mix it up a bit.  I made a few in our company colours of purple and green, but I'm 100% sure nobody will notice but me LOL.  I added chunky glitter to all their hats so they're nice and sparkly, as a Christmas card should be!

I made maybe half a dozen of each design, only took a few photos but they will give the gist of what I made...

Just add ink #774 - stencils/ dies

Fab n Funky #626 - all that glitters

Addicted to Stamps #506 - make your mark

Stamping Sensations November - Christmas 

Sparkles Christmas challenge #178 - festive wear

Birthday card for Aunt Cilla

 Hi all, I've taken another break from my Christmas card order to make a card for my mum to her sister.  Mum has a beautiful rose garden with every colour of bloom, so I thought I'd send Cilla some roses from her garden!  

This Penny Black image does take a while to colour but it's worth it, though I'm never entirely happy with how I colour the vase, some day I'll take some time and learn how to do it LOL.  I happily found some DP which kinda matched the roses, I've added some metallic gold splatters to the background and then some pink, red and gold gems to pull it all together. 

Layout from Freshly Made Sketches #712

As You Like it - favourite embellishment - mine is definitely these little gemstones which I use on a lot of my cards for just a wee bit of sparkle 

Penny Black Saturday November - anything goes 

Word Art Wednesday #724/725 - anything goes 

Cards for Sandra, Betty and Ryan

 Hi all, I've been missing in action again ... but I've been flat out making an order for 50 Christmas cards. Thankfully I'm on the homeward stretch now, so hopefully I'll be sharing them soon.  (And then I need to get a shift on with my own Christmas cards!!) I've also squeezed in a few birthday cards too so I apologise for not having any blogging time!!... 

This one is for my friend in work, my buddy for almost 35 years! I've used this tasty looking image from Lili of the Valley, coloured with polychromos and clear gloss added to the cherries.  I got my gold metallic paint out for the splatters in the background, spots on the wrapper and then touched up my die cut flowers too. 

Word Art Wednesday #724/725 - anything goes 

Seize the Birthday #316 - birthday+ fall treat (well a cupcake is a treat any time of the year LOL)

Just Us Girls #800 - anything goes 

This one is for my sister in law with this Gina K stamp - I love it, but it does take me an absolute age to colour...

This one is for my nephew (who works for an aerospace company) - I would have liked a more grown up image but this was all I had LOL 

Think Pink!

 We've had a wild couple of days with Storm Amy passing by, but thankfully it wasn't as bad as Storm Eowyn earlier this year - still plenty of trees down and flooding in parts but I think the worst of the rain missed us.  i love how storms are named nowadays, it certainly makes them more memorable!

I'm back with another one of my little carolers, this time in pink. I hadn't intended to add the tag in the corner but it's covering an oops from my ink pad and the snowflakes are covering a splodge from my sparkle pen too!  They do kinda hide the circular stencil I used though. 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - think Pink

Simon Says Stamp Monday - trees

Addicted to Stamps #502 - Christmas 

As You Like It - square or not - I used to make A6 sized cards but always struggled to cut my base layers straight, so getting some square dies and going down the square card size was a godsend for me! 

Sparkles Christmas challenge #177 - non traditional Christmas colours

Here's a wee pic of Molly post-walk, not looking too impressed with getting caught in the rain! 

First Christmas card

 I am sooooo behind with my Christmas cards, but hoping this sweet set from Penny Black will give me the oomph to get going!  I reckon you'll be seeing a lot more of these carolers! 

I had a good root round my stash and found this old holly die and a wee sentiment to match.  Coloured with polychromos; clear gloss and glitter added to the bauble on her hat and the bells (?) on her top. A few red gems on the holly to finish. I used a snowfall stencil for my blue card and just coloured through the holes with a white gel pen.

Addicted to Stamps #502 - Christmas 

Simon Says Stamp - anything goes 

Just Us Girls #794 - use a stencil 

Layout inspired by AAA Cards #300

Penny Black Saturday September - spots or stripes 

Autumnal mushroom

 I'm back! Can't believe the end of September is in sight - we had a lovely dry summer (not much sun though!) and are not long back from a fab holiday to Spain with day trips to Barcelona and Gerona.

 I've had a bit of time off from blogging and haven't made too many cards this past couple of months but the darker evenings are here and it's time to knuckle down!  With the damp run of weather here there are lots of wild mushrooms sprouting up everywhere, so I thought I'd colour up this cutie from Creative Depot... I did have an unfortunate placement of my sentiment when it had a run in with a splatter of metallic paint! 

Layout inspired by CAS on Friday #318

Stamping Sensations September - CAS or anything goes

Make My Monday #261 - autumnal fall

Here's a wee pic of me on my jollies in Malgrat de Mar - my sister says this mural looks like it would belong on one of my cards!  There's even a Molly dog lying in front of the fire! 

And one of us in Barcelona, just off Las Ramblas...

A three-fer!

 Here's 3 cards for the price of one LOL!

I made a card for my Aunt Jean, liked how it turned out, so amended it for my card to my sister, and then Mum was looking one for her friend (also called Ruth) for her 80th.  It's not very often I'll make cards virtually the same but figured I'd get away with it as none of them were likely to see the other's cards! 

My image is an LOTV stamp, coloured with polychromo pencils and then popped up on foam pads.  I've also added some splatters to the background with silver metallic paint.  For the numbers, I stuck an extra set together to make them a bit stronger and then covered them with gloss and lots of glitter. 

 

AAA Birthday #75 - summer birthday 

Word Art Wednesday #706/707 - anything goes 

Let's Craft & Create #221 - use a die

Seize the birthday #309 - food or drink

We've had a glorious few days with wall to wall sunshine and temps kicking 30 degrees - a nice change as we're usually on the wrong side of the Jetstream and miss all the sunny weather!  Molly was a nightmare though, no matter how much shade we created in the garden she'd find the sunniest hottest spot and cook there until we chased her into the house! Here's a rare moment of her in the shade... Back to normality tomorrow though as it looks back to usual and rain due. 

Ruth's birthday card #1

So this is card #1 for my sister's BIG birthday, requested by my BIL. 

I thought for ages and ages what I could make and then the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches made me think of birthday candles.  I knew I had some digital images of candles from Lili of the Valley, so all I had to do was print some out. Easypeasy. Right? WRONG!!! Every time I printed them they were too small.  I must have printed them maybe 7 or 8 times - each time I'd start colouring and cutting them, only to realize they were still too small, so I'd have to go back and edit the images to make them longer. Of course I turned my laptop and printer off every time in between LOL.  I think I spent 8+ hours making this, good job I don't charge by the hour! 

Ah well it was good exercise climbing the stairs to the printer and it's done now and I do like how it turned out. 

Freshly Made Sketches #693

Snippets Playground #510 - my little stars were cut from some leftover sparkly card that I cut my numbers from

Word Art Wednesday #706/707 - anything goes 

Haven't shared a pic of Miss Molly for a while, so here she is on a recent trip up the beautiful Antrim Coast road.  She absolutely LOVES the beach, the more smelly seaweed on it the better! 

Leaving card for Laura

 Hi all. I was asked to make a card for a student in work who has been with us these past few weeks.  Luckily I had already coloured up this cutie I'd bought from Creative Depot and the card just kinda made itself!

 I printed off my sentiment in a paintbrushy font, added some brick stencilling and some die cut flowers.  Oh and some metallic paint splatters too, though I maybe got a bit carried away with my splattering! The little tiny daisies are from a cheap nail art set that I bought on Amazon. 

Addicted to Stamps #495 - dies/stencils 

Word Art Wednesday #704/705 - anything goes 

As you like it - sentiment? - I almost always add a sentiment and the only time I don't is if I think it would be a useful one for my stash and might be suitable for several different 'occasions'

Stamping Sensations - furry friends 

Cards for Renee, Andrea, Edmond and Shona!

Hi all! I'm caught out every year with all my June birthdays, you'd think I'd know better by now and not have such a mad rush every year!  Anyway, apologies in advance for the long post....

First up is this one for my Aunt using this Gina K stamp, which I love but it does take me an age to colour.  I hadn't intended to have sparkly butterflies but I lifted clear gloss instead of glue (they're decanted into the same design bottles), made a mess so just went for it and got my glitter out instead! 

• Allsorts # 825 - what makes you happy - I find 90% of my pleasure in making cards comes from colouring the images
• Addicted to Stamps #494 - any occasion 

Next up is for my Uncle's 80th birthday, using a Penny Black yacht, a couple of stencils and some sparkly silver die cuts.

• Just Us Girls #779 - word week - number 
• Cut it up #332 - masculine 

Third is this Whipper Snapper cutie for my sister-in-law with a few die cut flowers to finish it off...

• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - fur, feathers +/ or flowers
• Fab'n Funky #618 - use die cuts
• Word Art Wednesday #702 - anything goes 

And lastly some Gerda Steiner chickens for my friend.  The dude in the middle is popped up and a few clear sequins to finish.  Not adding it to any challenges as it was inspired by one I saw on Gerda Steiners blog, but wanted to post it for my own record.

Embossing 2 ways

 Hi all!  I seem to be in a blue phase at the minute, I need to get a different colour palette going LOL

First up is this little sailing boat from Penny Black - coloured with polychromos and popped up on foam pads. I've used a new slimline embossing folder that I thought would kinda work as the sea and added a few metallic paint splatters to give a splashy feel.

Penny Black Saturday challenge May - monochrome or anything goes

AAA Birthday #73 - any birthday 

Cardz for Guys #371 - body of water

This one is similar to one I made a while back, using this pretty Altenew flower stamp. I used the same embossing folder in the background along with a few white dies to use up some leftover white card.

Cut it Up #329 - so sorry

As You Like It - - soft or bold colours? - well, it depends what I'm making! For sympathy cards I definitely think more subtle colours work best

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - beautiful blooms 

And just for some brighter colour!... Here's a wee photo of my lovely Rhododendron - it usually gets hit by the frost or rain, but we're enjoying a lovely sunny dry spell this past couple of weeks so it's looking fabulous this year!! 

Blue Sympathy

 Hi all!  Happy first of the month! I can't believe it's May already, though I absolutely LOVE this time of year with all the lovely fresh leaves on the trees and all the hedgerows in bloom.  So much nicer than the dark days of winter.

So I've a wee sympathy card for my stash to share  .  I hadn't quite planned on cutting the flower there but I thought I was scribbling on a scrap piece of card and turned out it wasn't.  Grrr.  Then I got myself tangled up with the layout, chose that corner die , stuck it down, and then wished I hadn't! Ah well, it is what it is, and the flower took soooo long to colour I definitely wasn't going to waste it.

Addicted to Stamps #491 - make your mark

Simon Says Stamp - anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #696 - anything goes 

And here's a wee photo of the fields all around our daily walk, a real sea of yellow dandelions!  

Happy Easter

Woops I kinda fell off radar there, can't believe I haven't posted since mid-February!! I have made a few cards but forgot to take pics, but I'm determined to do better and get back into the swing of blogging! 

So here's my Easter card, just made them all the same.  Hard luck if you love that little bunny - he's an oldie from Eat Cake Graphics and no longer available.  Coloured with polychromos and clear gloss and glitter added to the egg.  Wouldn't it be fab to get an Easter egg half your size ... closest I've seen is this one from Hotel Chocolat but finances didn't permit LOL 

inspired By ... Bunnies 

Fab'n Funky #614 - Think Spring

Sweet Stamping - Easter

Snippets Playground #504 - I've lots of snippets on this card - my bunny was small enough to stamp on a wee scrap and the white flowers and sentiment were cut from the leftover bit after cutting my base to size.

And just because it's been a while, here's a pic of Molly just back from the groomers, all fresh and white and lovely. Doesn't stay that way for long!

Greg's valentine and a wee birthday card

Hi all. Here to share Greg's valentine card, a wee quickie as Valentine's Day just kinda snuck up on me! I think it took maybe 45 minutes to make!  I used a wee LOTV digi, coloured with polychromos and then went over the white bit with my sparkle pen.  I thought it maybe needed something so die cut a few wee hearts for the background.  We didn't do very much to celebrate the day , other than Greg cooking us some lovely steaks for our tea! 

CAS on Friday #302 - valentine

Little Red Wagon #794 - red alert

My Time to Craft #553 - hearts

It is great to finally have some mojo and actually have another card to share this evening, just a wee birthday card for my stash, using a LOTV stamp.  When I first stuck it together it was totally wonky and had to pull it apart, ripping the coloured card slightly at the bottom, so needed a rescue, thus the flower die cuts! Clear gloss added to the flowers and clear gloss + glitter to the spots on the vase. 

Snippets Playground are celebrating their 500th challenge so I'm delighted to play along.  My snippets are my flowers which I cut from a scrap after cutting my square base.

Alexandra's birthday card

 How can it be the middle of February already, and how can my niece be turning 15!!!! It really is no time at all since she was a wee tot!  

Her card was a bit of a rush job, so I used one of the Lili of the Valley images that came as part of a bundle offer.  Coloured with polychromos; stencilled clouds; clear gloss added to the flowers.  (I usually put some hearts on her card somewhere as she's a Valentine's baby, don't always remember to though!)

Next job is to make a Valentine card for Greg, a bit lastminute.com so it's not going to be too fancy LOL!! 

Seize the Birthday #299 - add a heart

As You Like It - stamps or digis - I know I've used a digi here, but I'm definitely a Stamp girl!  It just seems a lot less faff to get the inkpad out rather than trip upstairs to my 'office' where the printer lives! 

Word Art Wednesday #687.688 - anything goes 

Addicted to Stamps #486 - make your mark

Greg's birthday card (and Chris and David's too!)

 Hi all! I struggle with masculine birthday cards, and thought this Gerda Steiner stamp would be a useful one to have.  My brother and brother-in-law and Greg all have birthdays pretty close to each other so they all got variations of this card!  I hadn't quite intended to add the clouds originally, but had made a rubbish attempt to draw some 'go faster' lines in the sky to give the car some movement, and the clouds and stars were a good cover up LOL

Coloured with polychromos; clear gloss added to the window and their glasses.

My Time to Craft #552 - masculine 

Snippets Playground #499 - my clouds were cut from leftover white card after cutting my card base

Sparkles challenge #184 - monochrome blue

Addicted to Stamps #485 - dies/stencils 

We survived Storm Eowyn unscathed, but it brought down a LOT of trees round the country.  I guess it was a good job they didn't have their leaves yet or it would have been a whole lot worse!  We have a lovely walk down through our estate that we do most days so it was very sad to see 10 trees down in the one spot, they would have been 50+ years old.  I wonder if it was the same gust of wind felled them all at the same time. It was definitely a good call for the government to request that folk stayed home that day!