Christmas crafting goodies

I've had some lovely Christmas presents - I thought as this is a crafting blog that I'd show the crafting presents I've received.

The sentiments and flowers in the left corner were from Annmarie, a friend on CBC - thank you, Ann. The rest were given to me by mum and John - what a lovely lot of goodies to play with (you can see a bit clearer if you click on the picture).

Then John gave me another card and this was inside it - bless him, he didn't know how to spell cricut - he knows I'd like to get 'sure cuts a lot'.

I was going to have a play with one of my new stamps while John had a snooze after lunch, but I felt so full and lethargic that I didn't get round to it - perhaps a bit later (if he has another snooze!)

Taylored and tailored

This card is for sketch 95 on Taylored expressions:

I'm also linking for Pixie cottage 6: 'button it' and Little red wagon 8: 'man cards'

I used BG June bug papers. The scalloped strip is an East of India paper chain 'hearts and leaves' - I won't be using these for paper chains, but think they are quite handy used in this way.

White + a little colour

This card is for Fun with shapes and more 34: 'white + little bit of colour' and also for today on 365 cards (day 299): 'Keep it to yourself': holiday card - 'So, create a card with a Holiday theme, making it clear on the front what you wish to convey without actually saying it with words.'

It's also for Crazy Amigo: 'winter'

Clean and Simple blast from the past

It's been a busy day (as, no doubt, it has been for most people) - although not with any hassle. I've mainly been baking - sausage rolls, cookies, scones, chocolate cake ... and preparing for tomorrow.

So, now I'm having a little crafting time to myself - I don't want to do anything involved or that takes too much effort, so I remembered Clean and Simple and thought I'd do something for this week's 'blast from the past', which is this sketch (FTL73):



Sometimes I buy papers without thinking what I'm going to use them for - I like the look of them, but when it comes to it I sometimes get stumped as to what to do with some papers.

I had this 3 bugs in a rug 12 x 12 tickled pink dream which I'd had for ages, waiting for inspiration as to how to use it. It fitted this sketch perfectly, without too much thought or effort, just the addition of the sentiment. So I decided to make two out of the same sheet and, because the front of the card is so simple, I decided to continue the dotty paper on to the back of the card, which makes quite a nice change to the normal plain back.

Sorry, the scans are a bit crooked, but the cards aren't.

Wishing all my blogging friends a very Happy Christmas

It's impossible to send you all a handcrafted card, but please accept this digital card with my love and good wishes. Update: sorry, I've just noticed that I missed out 'a' in the sentiment - sorry, but I'm going to leave it like this - can't do all that again!


If you're a regular visitor, you'll know that I do quite a lot of challenges, so you won't be surprised that I'm linking this card for some:

365 day 294: 'imagine this: fire (the candle)
Stampin' B 38: 'happy holidays - use a candle on a card'
Paperminutes 93: 'candles'
Art creations Friday 54: the picture of the girls bottom right
Created by hand: 'snowflakes' - in the Art creations picture
Digital Tuesday 38: 'let it snow' - it has to include a digi image - well, the whole card is digi, the background is from Funky Fairy and the nativity scene is a Charmed download
Tuesday taggers: 'let it snow'
In the cottage studio rumble: 'let it snow'
Our creative corner: 'let it snow'
Dare U 2 digi 28: 'last minute Christmas cards' - use a digi image - well, it's last minute because I wanted to blog it today especially near to Christmas
Bee crafty 20: 'circles'

Handcrafted cards received

We received another gorgeous handcrafted card this morning:



And here are all the wonderful cards that have been made by crafting friends:



and a close up shot of part of our tree:

Salt: Jesus joy!

It was Ruth's turn to choose the topic for today's Salt challenge and you can read what she wrote here.

I've based my A5 landscape card on an old hymn that outlines the reasons for Christ's coming to earth - not just the joy experienced at Christmas when celebrating the birth of the child at Bethlehem, but our rejoicing at the forgiveness we receive and the way that He shares our hopes and fears, whether in joy or sorrow.

I jused a simple picture of Mary with the baby Jesus, changing it a bit in Picture It and using it as a backdrop for the hymn. The 'joy' is chipboard (another pieefrom one of the packs of festive 3D decorations from Poundland).

If you click on the picture you can read the words of the hymn.


During the next fortnight we would love you to visit the Salt blog and perhaps make something for this theme - if you do, please leave us a comment so that we can come and look at your crafting.

I apologise to anyone who visited earlier - I prepared this post in advance, but hadn't put the link in to get to what Ruth said - all done now!

ABC Christmas challenge blog

ABC challenge blog is launching a sister blog: ABC Christmas challenge blog and it starts today with a blog hop, designed to help us ensure Christmas 2010 isn't too much of a rush. I'd already made up my mind that during the coming year I would keep my Christmas stash available and make cards throughout the year, so this is just right as an added incentive.

Here's a little extract from the new blog:

"..........Welcome to ABC Christmas Challenge Blog! After speaking to many people it seems to be a common problem that Christmas creeps up on us every year! So this challenge will run on a fortnightly basis, on alternate weeks to our Sister blog ABC Challenge. The Idea is to have fun and create 25 cards or Projects in time for Christmas 2010 your projects will be based on a theme or technique using the letters of the alphabet in turn. ................................. We hope you enjoy this new challenge and have fun creating those projects you promised yourself you would get done for this year and did not have time.

..........................We have been busy organising this exciting new challenge blog to share with you all, and we are hoping you will want to help us spread the word......that ABC CHALLENGE has a new sister blog!

..........................Be sure to leave comments on the project that they [the 7 DT Members] have been busy making to help inspire you, to be in with chances of winning their great prizes... some of the DT gang have Mr Linky set up and others a comment system...either way you have 7 chances of winning a brilliant prize! "

The blog hop is open until midnight 29th December and if you collect the letters along the way up for grabs is the gorgeous Popcorn Christmas stamp set - so go on... get hopping!!!!

Happy Birthday Friend

This card is for the sketch this week on Design Dollies:



It also uses the 'Christmas arrangement' digi image given on There's magic in the air for Magical Monday 'glitz it up' (i'm a bit behind with this, but I'd already downloaded the image intending to take part in the challenge, so thought I would still do so, so that I hadn't got the image under false pretences) - here is the digi:

I coloured with copics. The paper with circles is Chloe's closet Derby days and the plain pink paper is My mind's eye Bella Bella Bellezo.

The card is also for these challenges:

Colour create 34: 'pink, burgundy and ivory'
One stop craft 60: 'recycled' - the 'friend' was rescued from a card received long ago
Bee crafty 20: 'circles' (I've included a digi image as required)
365 day 298: 'running in circles' - 'Put a minimum of TEN circles on your card and try to avoid overlap as much as possible' - they're all there on the paper
Incy wincy 23: 'inspiration picture' - inspired by the circles
Copic creations 18: 'pine tree branches'
If the shoe fits Fashionista Friday 15: 'Colour your world' - favourite colouring medium (copics) and colour (burgundy pink)
Get sketchy: 'colour challenge - use your favourite colour'

New Year Faith Hope Love

This card is based on a download digi from Scrapping with angel. The pearls are Prima.

There are a few challenges around atm calling for a New Year card, which is just as well because I need to make one or two.

So this is good for:

Stampavie 75: 'Happy new year 2010' (I hope using a digi stamp is OK)
Paper cutz 22: 'New Year'
Doodle palace: 'New Year card' (I've included a 'digi' as stated)
Everybody art 71: 'Happy New Year'
Penny's challenges: 'Monochromatic New Year'
Corrosive 43: 'blingy' (the Prima pearls)
Try it out Tuesday 48: 'bling it out'
Paperplay 46: 'new beginnings'
Daring cardmakers: 'new beginnings'
Alphabet: 'J for jewels' (the pearls)

It's WOYWW day again!

This last week seems to have gone quickly, although in some respects it has dragged a bit because I haven't been able to get out because of the snow and ice.

Anyway, it's WOYWW day again - so without further ado, here are my photos for today - not much different to last week, other than that they are difference boxes:

BF December twinchies received

Postie brought me the Christmas twinchies from the group on BF organised by Nicky - thanks, Nicky. They are so lovely:



Thanks, everyone.

And here's another two handcrafted card I received this morning:

Rugby birthday card

It's John's birthday on 30 December (we have so many family birthdays around Christmas, including two others on the same day as John's), so this card is for mum to give to John (haven't made mine yet ... still, there's plenty of time yet!

The card is based on the sketch for challenge 5 on the pixie cottage:


This is another card for Magical crafts 4: 'special birthday' and, with the addition of those tiny buttons, it's another for this week's Dollies elements: 'buttons, lots ot ...'

Little red wagon 7 is 'sewing' - this can be 'faux stitching', so I think this ribbon is OK - it's real stitching within it (but I didn't do it!) - likewise Crafty pad 51 says 'We would like to see some ---------Stitching----Real----or----Faux'.

I've used BG lime rickey papers (well, the pad was out and it seemed just right for this. The Create & Craft rugby stamp was coloured with copics, and a 3D rugby ball sticker added. Because of John's lack of vision, it's good to use strong, contrasting colours as well as some texture.

Dreaming of spring

This card is for Flutter by Wednesday 88, with this sketch, which, of course, as usual, needed to include a butterfly, an angel or a fairy.


Today (day 297) on 365 cards the challenge is 'bring back spring' - a spring or summer theme, so this card is also for that, as well as the current Cute Daisy May challenge 'gold and green'.

As this is not a Christmas card, it's good for Charisma cardz 50: 'anything but Christmas'.

The papers are BG lime rickey, the fairy is a Royal & Langnickel rub on; I added a touch of golden rod stickles on to the flowers and wings.

Oh so yummy

A few days ago I showed the contents of a package sent to me by the lovely Gez - and now the purple package has been undone and the delicious chocolate has been opened and sampled - oh, delicious - Gez knows that I love dark chocolate and this is absolutely superb.

And the calendar bookmarks is such a lovely idea - something I'll be able to use throughout the year - a new bookmark for each month.

Thank you, Gez.



Oh, and I love the ribbon (haven't seen or got any quite like that), so I'm sure you'll be seeing that used soon.

Blue, white and silver trees

This card is for the sketch on Jacksonbelle Tuesday this week:

The background paper is from a pad that came with a magazine. The white background card with silver trees and trails was stamped with an Elzybells texture rubber stamp using a blue chalk ink. The triangle at the bottom left is a highly reflective foiled card, but it doesn't show up here as 'blingy' as it is irl .

This is good for:

Elzybells 34: 'winter wonderland' - only use blue, white and silver - and I used a compulsory Elzybells stamp
Fiskarettes: 'blue, silver and white'
Crazy Amigo: 'Christmas tree'
2 red bananas: 'inspiration - a tree'
Wednesday stamper: 'blue and white'
Corrosive 43: 'blingy' (plenty of blingy shimmer and shine on the triangle and the foiled trees - will try to get a better photo in daylight)


This is the card taken in daylight - you can get the idea of the reflective card a bit better:

A winter warming cuppa

This card is for the sketch for Paperminutes 92:


Creatalicious challenge 5 for this month calls for 'something old, something new, something torn and something blue - then 'old' is BG lime rickey papers that I've had for some time now, the new is the large blue chippie tag, another one from the Poundland festive 3D decorations, the torn is the piece of paper across the bottom and the blue is the tag and some of the paper.

I've used the colours of SPCC 28: 'pumpkin pie, bordering blue, always artichoke'.

There she goes 34: 'baby it's cold outside' asks for a non-holiday winter card, with the bonus of added sparkle (the chipboard tag has quite a bit of sparkle on it) and Stampin' B 37 is 'use a beverage on a card', although I apologise that it's a chipboard tag and not stamped.

The elements required for Design dollies this week are 'buttons' and the colours for the fianl challenge of 2009 on Dollies are: 'kraft, light blue and orange'.

This is also another for Crafty Ann 4: 'any colours except red or green', Whimsy 33: 'chip off the block' and Kaboodle 20: 'sparkling winter'.

Jolly holidays

Why is it that, although I've done all my Christmas cards for this year - and I have quite a lot of Christmas stash over, ready to make cards for next year - that a couple of weeks ago when I was in Poundland and saw some 'festive 3D decorations' - chippie for cards to you and me - that I bought them - and I'm now beginning to use them on cards that will now be for next year?!

Anyway, this card uses two of those chipboard pieces for the sketch for Truly Scrumptious challenge 22:

Truly Scumptious 22 also called for the use of some vellum, so I've used a piece of white vellum with pale blue snowflakes here and there, to overlay a piece of BG figgy paper, securing at the top with two snowflake brads. The 'Jolly' and 'Holidays' chippie pieces then help stick the vellum down - and, hey presto, a quick card!

There are a fair number of Christmas, snow, winter challenges around and a few others that this card fits:

Another one for Irit Shalom designs royal challenge 2, which calls for lots of other challenges to be included:

In the cottage studio: 'let it snow' rumble
No time to stamp? 118: 'CAS snow' - to include some sparkle, which is on the chippie pieces
Crazy4challenges 15: 'snowmen and/or snowflakes'
Our creative corner: 'let it snow'
Secret crafter Saturday challenge 62: 'snow' (sorry, a bit late for this one)
Ann's creative nook 70: non-traditional Christmas colours
Another one for Sophisticat 15: 'Christmas theme' - anything goes
And another one for Simon says: 'merry Christmas'
Crafty Ann 4: 'any colours except red or green'
Another for Cafe mojo: 'wishes for the holidays!
And another for One powerful hour: 'holiday music - a holiday song' - this time: 'Let it snow!'
And also for Twisted Thursday: 'share your holiday cards
Another for Creative card crew 41: 'anything goes'
Whimsy 33: 'chip off the block'
Kraftin' Kimmie 10: 'sparkle, baby' (lots of sparkle on the chippie pieces)
And also Crafty calendar 3: 'winter with option of sparkle and bling'
Kaboodle 20: 'sparkling winter'
Pals paper arts 21: 'theme challenge - winter wonderland'
ColourQ 11: 'basic gray, bashful blue, very vanilla, whisper white'
Cupcake 71: 'a time for celebration'
Mixed media Monday: 'frosty'
My time to craft 70: 'Yuletide wishes'
Another on for C.R.A.F.T.: 'free for all' and Polka doodles 31: 'free theme'

A stocking full of toys

This is for sketch 18 on Peachy Keen:



It's also good for:

Pile it on 28: 'chip chip' (the 'toys' tag is made of chipboard) - which asks for lots of other challenges, as does:
Irit Shalom designs royal challenge 2: 'celebrate holidays',

so here are the rest:

Color dare 47: 'really green chocolate' - green galore, chocolate chip (the teddy), real red
Color throwdown 73: 'kiwi kiss, real read, always artichoke, cool Caribeean (a little blue on this card)'
Crafty creations 46: 'traditional Christmas' - red, green, gold
Divine Diva inspiration 18: 'be inspired by beautiful soaps by Mistral' (red, green, white)
Hand full of stamps 9: 'it's all about the red' (hope the digi stamp is OK)
Just us girls 12: ' a colour challenge' - raspberry, kraft (the teddy), green, red
Sparkle creations Christmas 2010 2: 'red and green'
Fiskarettes: 'red, gold and green'
Hope stamps eternal cupcake inspiration 38
Kelly Jo color chef 32: 'red, green, white or cream'
Diva coffee break designs 158: 'rich razzleberry, chocolate chip (hope the teddy counts as this), rose red, old olive'
Dottie's world: 'Christmas stocking' (the pile of presents is a Charmed download, coloured with copics)
Tuesday taggers: 'jolly old St Nick' - he is on here at the bottom right and plenty of evidence that he's been!
Stamp with fun 37: 'little presents' (hope a 'digi stamp' is OK)
Polka doodles 31: 'free theme'
365 cards 292: 'ad inspired' - picture of hanging Christmas stockings
Cards for men: 'Christmas' - this card is suitable for a little boy
Simon says: 'merry Christmas'
Theme Thursday: 'legs' (they go into stockings! and the toys have legs)
Cooking it up with Katie 7: 'use a Christmas theme, add ribbon, use any current sketch challenge'
Crafty catz 13: 'fairy tale of New York' - the night before Christmas
Dare U 2 digi 28: 'last minute Christmas cards' (the digi image is the Charmed presents download coloured with copics)
One stop craft 59: 'Christmas love'
Magical crafts 4: special Christmas or birthday' - special card for a little boy
Incy wincy 22: 'father/mother Christmas'
Pink elephant 45: 'winter and/or Christmas'
Sophisticat 15: 'Christmas theme' - anything goes
Cafe mojo: 'wishes for the holidays!!'
One powerful hour: 'holiday music' - song: 'Here comes Santa Claus' (this week the card was made within the hour)
Twisted Thursday: 'share your holiday cards'
Stamp something: 'holiday somethings' (hope it's OK that the stamp is a 'digi')
Saturday surprise: 'home for the holidays' (definitely a magical homely scene when the stocking's been hung and filled)
Lots to do 51: 'free theme'
Caardvarks: 'use a digital element' (the Charmed presents download coloured with copics)
Creative card crew 41: 'anything goes'
Creative craft 4: 'waiting for Santa'
Die cuts R us 20: 'naughty or nice' (a stocking full of toys is definitely nice - but not for naughty ones!)
C.R.A.F.T. 30: 'free for all'
Bee crafty 20: 'circles' (the three at the bottom right - and the coloured in presents are a Charmed digi download)
Susie's sassy 4: 'a touch of gold' - I used a Sakura gold metallic pen to colour the ribbon on one of the presents on the digi stamp - there's also gold foiling on the stocking
ECP 2: stocking project
Etsy inspired 67: 'kindly noted' - I chose this item:

So here is the card - I used DCWV background paper (I've had this for ages); the chipboard and the little circles are Brenda Pinnick, the ribbon across the top is a PM rub on.

BF December inchies received

These are the lovely inchies I received today from the group on BF, organised again by Leigh - thanks, Leigh:



And they are even better irl!

Prize for Irit Shalom's Royal Challenge 1

I took part in Irit Shalom's Royal Challenge 1 and won the prize. I received a package this morning, containing all these stamps:



What a fantastic prize - thank you so much.