Prize from Italy on Sunday

Postman brought me a lovely package today - a prize for winning challenge week 55 on Italy on Sunday - you can read about it and see my card here.


These are lovely - thank you, IOS!

Stylish blogger award

I've been given this award on my new Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog by Iris - you can read about it here.

If you haven't yet visited my new blog, please hop on over there - there is a candy draw until midnight UK time 23 December - you can read about it here. You've got to be in it to win it.

And challenges start on 1 January 2011 - hope to see you there! Why not make a New Year's resolution to get ahead with Christmas cards in 2011?!

Napkin rings

Having decided to have a bit of a silver and red 'theme' for Christmas this year, I went into M & S yesterday because I remembered they had had some rather nice red napkin rings, but, of course, they had sold out and only one left online.

So I decided I would make some of my own (not as posh as M & S, but I think they will do).

First of all I tried cutting through the cardboard tube from a kitchen towel, but the edges were too ragged, so I cut some thick card, covered with mirror card and stuck to form the ring - had to be careful not to crack the card because it didn't bend that well.

The wide silver ribbon is to cover up the joins and then a piece of the red flowery/beady ribbon around that - I've had this for ages, but had never found a use for it till now.

The bobbly glittery bits were cut from a spray. I'm hoping to use the rest of these with candles to make a table centre - but won't be making this tonight.




I'm linking these for:

Creative inspirations 49: anything goes Christmas
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Top tip Tuesday 14: Christmas inspired - and my tip is to save money and make some napkin rings instead of buying fancy M & S ones!
For fun: Christmas
Freshly brewed 27: merry Christmas
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
Penny's 44: merry ChristmasFun at fairy knoll: Christmas
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Mixed media Monday: December: 'tis the season
Totally papercrafts 47: time to party
Bunny Zoe 7: sparkle & shine
Character cafe: shiny/foil
Some odd girl: bling times two (or more) - mirror card, shiny beaded flower ribbon, silver glittery ribbon
Other lovelies thoughtful Thursday 37: N - napkin rings
There she goes 85: use your stash - the ribbons I used are definitely much older than six months
Scrappy frogs: holiday decor
PaperPlay 50: anything but a card
One stitch at a time 43: anything goes
Creative card crew: anything goes
Crafty Ann 30: anything goes
Crafty catz 63: your choice
Order of the opus gluei 83: if you made it, we will come - part of Christmas dinner setting
Critter 44: no pattern paper

A winning streak!!

I've received a couple of prizes in the post.

Firstly, these lovely pins for winning

Back in September I won a challenge on Papertake weekly - you can read about it here - I won a $25 voucher to spend at Simon Says. I must add that it was my fault that it's only just been dealt with, not SS. I was really spoiled for choice, because SS sell such a wide variety of crafting goodies, but in the end I chose 4 BG paper pads - these will add to my collection (I've now got over 40 delicious BG 6 x 6 pads, apart from a host of 12 x 12 papers). I chose jovial, cappella, pyrus and marjolaine. Simon Says also added a pack of rhinestones as an extra gift.

I've also won a few more awards recently - you can see them in my sidebar.

And I'm awaiting two or three prizes in the post - will show them when they arrive.

I've also won some digi images recently, including a lovely lion cubs one from stamp n doodle for winning one of their challenges.

I was very tempted yesterday when I was asked to be on a DT for a challenge blog that I love. With starting my own Christmas challenge blog in the new year and with my health not being brilliant (nor John's) I felt I couldn't commit myself to joining the DT - but I admit I was tempted and it was nice to be asked.

Please don't forget that there is candy to be won of my Christmas challenge blog - you've got to be in it to win it - it ends at midnight UK time on 23 December. And challenges start on New Year's day - such a good opportunity to make a resolution to make Christmas cards throughout the year so it doesn't become a rush towards the end of the year - I really would recommend it.

Bubbly Funk swaps catch up

During the last few days more post has been filtering through at last and so I've received swaps from the girls on BF forum. Thanks to everyone for their lovely crafting and for the hosts for organising.

November 'thanksgiving' inchies:

November 'black and white' twinchies:

December 'S' ATCs (sorry, terrible photo because of reflection - where it looks black it is silver mirror):

Commissioned birthday card

A friend asked if I would make a card for her granddaughter - she loves cakes and sweet things.

I used card, scalloped circles, cupcakes, etc from the DB cupcakes kit, just adding the computer generated sentiment and a plain chipboard 5 coloured with a copic pen with stickles crystal ice added (it's still wet, so I must be careful!).

This is an A5 size card.

I'm linking this for:

Hodge Podge 5: birthday cards
Flourishes timeless 97: food or drink
Cutie Sunday 122: anything except Christmas
Crafty Emma 16: anything but a Christmas card
One stitch at a time 43: anything goes
Order of the opus gluei 83: if you made it, we will come (especially if it's food, yum!)
Creative card crew: anything goes
Gingersnap GC82 spicy supply challenge: glitter
Alphabet: G for glitter
Character cafe: glitter, glitter, glitter
Freshly brewed 26: sparkle and shine
Pixie cottage 48: sparkle and shine
Lots to do: glitz
The paper variety13: the little ones - card for a child
Anything goes 28: all the colours of the rainbow (nearly all - certainly at least 2)
Fun with shapes and more 72: scalloped

Nativity scene

Today there is a new challene on Ooh-la-la: 'nativity scene'.

I am so enjoying my time as a Guest Designer on OLL - just one more slot to fill at the end of December.

For this card I used a Happy Christmas paper from the Christmas Presence CD, cutting the corners with Fiskars nostalgia corner edgers. put on to some gold matt foiled card.

The stamp is Penny Black 'the manger' coloured with copics.

This is also for:

Die cut dreams Christmas 47: a Christmas carol - Away in a manger
Creative Friday: Christmas cards to match your favourite Christmas song
Allsorts 82: last minute Christmas
Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
ECP 27: Christmas
Stampavie: Christmas
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
Stamping royalty 49: winter holidays
Penny's 44: Merry Christmas
Creative inspirations 49: anything goes Christmas
One stitch at a time: anything goes
Inspiration Avenue: believe
Pear tree 30: Christmas
Stamp with fun: Xmas
Totally stampalicious: Stampaliciously simple
CCEE 1049: song: do you hear what I hear - the verse:

The Child, the Child sleeping in the night
He will bring us goodness and light
He will bring us goodness and light.

White Christmas

This is for Little paper shop 97 sketch by Pam:

The papers are all white (with a little hint of silver) - the base one being embossed with a flock finish. The stamps are the Crafty Pad Little Ted baubles with Merry Christmas set, stamped and heat embossed with detail silver.

The embossed snowflake band near the bottom and the scalloped edging further down were made with embossing folder borders using my cuttlebug.

So I've used both dry and heat embossing, which is the theme of challenge 101 on the Crafty Pad, using some of their stamps as well. It's also for Delightful: embossing, and Southern girls 7: it's heating up - heat embossing

As I've used white papers this is for Stamp dreams 61: white, Creative inspirations 90: white design papers only and Pals paper arts 72: winter whites, with this inspiration picture:

Because the card is white with silver embossing it was difficult to get a photo:

This one gives some idea of the silver embossing better:

This is also for:

Town scrapper: nestabilities - the sentiment stamp was cut with a nestie
Winter wonderland: Christmas baubles

Simply the holly and the ivy

This is for the sketch on CPS 196:

I used a textured linen base card, stamping the holly directly on it (part of Tanda holly doodles by Sheila Oliver). The Whispers ivy stamp was stamped on to a piece of BG paper before colouring in. The gold parts of the holly swirls was coloured with sakura metallic gold; the rest of the colour with promarkers and copics, using a promarker blender to show a bit of variation on the ivy leaves.

Christmas song: The Holly and the Ivy

This is for:

I love promarkers 44: A Christmas carol/song
Passion for promarkers 80: mega Christmas challenge
Ooh-la-la 68: Christmas song
Creative Friday: Christmas cards to match your favourite Christmas song
Die cut dreams Christmas 47: a Christmas carol
Ann's creative nook 115: the colours of Christmas - red, green, gold
Stamp man 11: take any 3 colours, Christmas theme - green, red, gold
Meljen 37: red, green, gold
Cutie Sunday 121: red & green
Allsorts 82: last minute Christmas
Cards for men: Christmas card
Let's ink it up 7: Christmas - twist: add sparkle/bling
Sunday stamper 132: wonderful Christmas time
Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Annabelle: say it with ... green & red
ABC Christmas: Y for yuletide - holly & berries, red & green
There she goes 84: bring on the bling
Moxie Tuesday trigger: all that glitters
Stamping with the dragon 16: make it sparkle
Pixie cottage 48: sparkle and shine
Freshly brewed 26: sparkle and shine
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
ECP 27: Christmas
Stampavie: Christmas
Ellephantastic 21: Christmas/winter
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
Stamping royalty 49: winter holidays
Penny's 44: Merry Christmas
Cupcake inspirations 88:

PB Fantasy tree

This card is for Card Patterns sketch 93:

It's also for Penny Black Saturday challenge week 130: stamping on anything but white card. I used one of my favourite PB stamps 'fantasy' - heat embossed with detail silver.

It's one of those 'difficult to photo' cards because of the reflection of the silver mirror card and the embossing.

In the first picture you can't really see the scalloped edge of silver mirror foil down the side of the scalloped embroidered ribbon - it's a bit clearer here:


I used a piece of sparkly silver and navy blue ribbon across the middle; the base card is stardream, so it has a sparkly sheen to it.

It's also for:

Oldie but goodie 7: Christmas birthday - the stamp is older than six months
Hodge Podge 5: birthday cards
There she goes 84: bring on the bling
Moxie Tuesday trigger: all that glitters
Pixie cottage 48: sparkle and shine
Freshly brewed 26: sparkle and shine
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Papertake: red & green must NOT be seen
Sundays with Crissy 12: winter is here
Pear tree designs 29: winter wonderland
Iris' spot 11: winter
Stamping royalty 49: winter holidays
Frosted designs: ribbon
Lexi 28: blue & silver
Crafts and me 19: moody blues
Dottie: anything goes - blue
Fun with shapes and more 72: scalloped
Delightful: embossing
Southern girls 7: it's heating up - heat embossing
365 cards day 285: super six: the paper with swirls, the stamped image, the silver mirror mat for the image, the silver and blue ribbon across the middle, the silver mirror card scallop and the scalloped embroidered ribbon

Winter birthday

This is for the sketch on Totally Gorjuss 59:

The image is White lady from Art Freebies. The background paper is BG wisteria. The strip of green, grey, white and silver paper is an unknown piece that was in my offcuts box - wish I could identify it because I would like some more. The image and the surrounding silver mirror die cut were cut with deckle edged nesties.


This is also for:

Pals paper 72: winter whites - fashion inspiration picture:

Colour create 59: grey, green and white, with the option of using silver
Bee crafty 44: winter but NOT Christmas (the image is a digi download)
Oldie but goodie 7: Christmas birthday (the image is one that I've had for a long time)
Hodge Podge 5: birthday cards
Cute card Thursday 142: floral frenzy
Little red wagon 58: use a die cut (the nesties)
There she goes 84: bring on the bling
Town scrapper: bling
Moxie Tuesday trigger: all that glitters
Gingersnap GC82 spicy supply challenge: glitter
Pixie cottage 48: sparkle and shine
Freshly brewed 26: sparkle and shine
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Digital Tuesday 88: baby it's cold outside (the image is a digi download)
Papertake: red & green must NOT be seen

It's all about the turquoise sentiment

I've based this card on the sketch for Fairy tale challenge 3:
It's for this week's Daring Cardmakers 'turquoise is December's birthstone'. I love turquoise, but have to admit I don't use it that often in crafting - think I should use more of it.

The snowflake background paper is Kate Knight from her Christmas collection. The sentiment panel was part of a QVC kit. It has a grey looking background, so I used chalk ink to colour it. As the sentiment is the focal point of the card I'm linking for Polka doodles 48: all about the sentiment.

It says: Christmas waves a Magic wand over this world and behold, everything is stofter and more beautiful.

The larger star top right was from my Christmas stash from long ago, but the other three stars were punched from a textured matt silver card - this is for Totally Papercrafts 45, which asks us to use Xmas punches, Paper prettties: 'punches' and Prairie fairy 41: use a star.


It's also for:

Simon says: Christmas but no red or green
Glitterbabe's 24: Christmas with no green and red - glittered ribbon, silver foiling and turquoise gems
Papertake weekly: red & green must NOT be seen
Sparkle creations Christmas 2011 week 1: monochromatic

Christmas baubles

This is another card made with Anna Griffin papers and 3D stickers, with just the addition of ribbon bows. The baubles are very glittered (can't really see that here).

This is for:

Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Secret crafter Saturday 112: Christmas
ECP 27: Christmas
Sew many challenges 34: snowflakes
Paper playtime 28: snowflakes
Stamp n doodle: anything goes winter challenge
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
There she goes 84: bring on the bling
Town scrapper: bling
Frosted designs: glitter
Moxie Tuesday trigger: all that glitters
2 sisters 16: sparkly Christmas
Gingersnap GC82 spicy supply challenge: glitter
Pixie cottage 48: sparkle and shine
Freshly brewed 26: sparkle and shine
Craft your days away 9: texture
Everything but the kitchen sink 28: texture
Cooking it up with Katie 41: layer me a red Christmas - red, layers, Christmas
Penny's 44: Merry Christmas
Paper cutz 70: Christmas using 2 kinds of patterned paper and any colours
Creative belli 106: Christmas embellishments/papers
Hanna and friends 74: Christmas in red
S2G Twisted Thursday: holiday - add plenty of glitter and bling
Annabell say it with ... Christmas scene baubles
Whoopsi Daisy: ribbons and bows
Top tip Tuesday 13: ribbon
Gingerloft 7: bows

Salt: believe

It was Stacy's turn to choose the topic for today's Salt challenge - you can read what she wrote here and see the lovely crafting of other team members.

For my LO I used Bo Bunny papers - the base paper is My Darling Clementine and I used the reverse side of My Darling Dots for the pink word strips that were generated by the computer and printed. The added circles, strip and journalling piece etc were from My Darling Cutout paper. Because the papers are so vibrant I decided not to add any pictures to the LO, but let the papers and the words speak for themselves.

I based my simple LO on Psalm 28:7 'The Lord is my strength and my shield; my hearts trusts in him, and he helps me.'

A Christmas prayer

It can be difficult choosing a card to send to someone who you know is going to have a sad Christmas , so this card was made with such a person in mind. This kind of card calls for something simple and thoughtful - it's not appropriate to put lots of 'fanciness' on the card.

The image was taken from an old card, so this is another card for Papercraft star 24: green holidays using recycled or repurposed items. I just mounted the image on to a foiled frame.


This is for these challenges:

Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Secret crafter Saturday 112: Christmas
ECP 27: Christmas
Stamp n doodle: anything goes winter challenge
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Kort o mania 29: Christmas card
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
Penny's 44: Merry Christmas

Clean and simple red and white

Another quick and simple card using Anna Griffin papers, a red and gold foiled frame and a couple of sentiments.

This is for these challenges:

Corrosive 93: red and white for Christmas
Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Secret crafter Saturday 112: Christmas
ECP 27: Christmas
Stamp n doodle: anything goes winter challenge
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Kort o mania 29: Christmas card
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
Cooking it up with Katie 41: layer me a red Christmas - red, layers, Christmas
Penny's 44: Merry Christmas

Red, cream, black and green

The colours called for this week on Loonie 121 are:

which are on this Craft Creations paper and also the holly tag. I love this paper (you can also get it in a mainly red colour) but I seem to be almost running out of it now.

This is also for:

Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Secret crafter Saturday 112: Christmas
ECP 27: Christmas
Stamp n doodle: anything goes winter challenge
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
Penny's 44: Merry Christmas
Tuesday taggers: deck the halls (with boughs of holly)
Ooh la la 68: Christmas song - Deck the halls with boughts of holly - and The holly bears a berry

Glittered snowflakes

It's so easy to make quick, effective cards with Anna Griffin papers and 3D stickers.

This is for these challenges:

Corrosive 93: red and white for Christmas
Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Secret crafter Saturday 112: Christmas
ECP 27: Christmas
Alota 48: snowflakes
Sew many challenges 34: snowflakes
Paper playtime 28: snowflakes
Stamp n doodle: anything goes winter challenge
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Kort o mania 29: Christmas card
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
There she goes 84: bring on the bling
Town scrapper: bling
Frosted designs: glitter
Moxie Tuesday trigger: all that glitters
2 sisters 16: sparkly Christmas
Gingersnap GC82 spicy supply challenge: glitter
Pixie cottage 48: sparkle and shine
Freshly brewed 26: sparkle and shine
Craft your days away 9: texture
Everything but the kitchen sink 28: texture
Cooking it up with Katie 41: layer me a red Christmas - red, layers, Christmas
Penny's 44: Merry Christmas
Paper cutz 70: Christmas using 2 kinds of patterned paper and any colours
Creative belli 106: Christmas embellishments/papers

Christmas Candles for condolence

This is a card I made to send to a friend who was recently bereaved. I couldn't get a decent photo of it so I resorted to a scan, but, unfortunately, the stamped sentiment by Hampton Art doesn't show as it does irl. It says: 'with thoughts and prayers at Christmas'.

The candles image was rescued from an old card mounted on to a frame, so I'm linking this for Papercraft star 24: green holidays using recycled or repurposed items.

It's also for:

Allsorts 81: light up the night - use a candle
ABC Christmas: Y for yuletide - candles
Dollies elements challenge: this little light of mine - candles
Corrosive 93: red and white for Christmas
Wednesday stamper: red and white
Your next stamp 31: it's a CAS Christmas
Tuesday throwdown 28: clean & simple
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Secret crafter Saturday 112: Christmas
ECP 27: Christmas
Stamp n doodle: anything goes winter challenge
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sunday stamper: wonderful Christmas time
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Kort o mania 29: Christmas card
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Let's craft and create 8: it's Christmas
Stampavie 120: Christmas
Stamping royalty 49: winter holidays

WOYWW 79

It's Wednesday again and time for WOYWW 79 - if you've no idea what that is then pop along and have a look and join in.

I have to confess that today's pictures are a bit of a cheat. Regular visitors to my blog will know that I like to tidy up, but I thought I'd show you that my workspace does get messy and cluttered - yes, it really does. Having crafted yesterday, this is how my workspace ended up last night:



But before I went to bed I cleared some of it and a bit more this morning so that I'm ready to start afresh. Mind you, the boxes of ribbons that are overflowing and tangled up (how do they get like that when they are supposed to be individually bagged or banded so that they don't get in a muddle) have been moved to the sitting room - sorting them can be an armchair job while watching TV later.

So this is what my workspace looks like this morning:


Happy Wednesday to all WOYWWers!

Angelic singing

This is another card for Ooh-la-la 68 Christmas song. I'm privileged to be a Guest Designer on OLL for November and December and am enjoying it very much.

Once again I used one of the digi papers from the OLL Joyeux Noel angelic singing CD as the background (I changed it to 'antique' digitally and then slightly made it more pink).

The stamped image is Lost Coast - stamped with memento rich cocoa - I tore the edges and distressed lightly with brushed corduroy. Just the addition of the strip across the bottom and a bow of glittered ribbon at the top.



This is also for:

Flutter by Wednesday 133: open - I've included angels
Soartful: angels
Wednesday stamper: heavenly creatures
Gingerloft 7: bows
Whoopsi daisy: ribbons and bows
Let's ink it up 7: Christmas - twist: add sparkle/bling
There she goes 84: bring on the bling
Mixed media Monday: 'tis the season
Iris' spot 11: holidays/winter
2 sisters 16: sparkly Christmas
Challenge up your life 33: Christmas
Secret crafter Saturday 112: Christmas
ECP 27: Christmas
I did it 32: vintage Christmas
Fiskarettes: vintage Christmas
Stamp n doodle: anything goes winter challenge
Let's craft and create 7: anything goes
Craft yout passion 35: anything goes
Sunday stamper: wonderful Christmas time
Sundays with Crissy 12: Christmas is coming
Kort o mania 29: Christmas card
Stamp dreams 60: Christmas card in abnormal colours
Crafty Hos theme challenge: a card for any religious holiday
Frosted designs: glitter
Moxie Tuesday trigger: all that glitters
Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Top tip Tuesday 13: ribbon
Wee memories 34: holiday music inspiration