Freebie waterfalls

Having started my own Christmas card challenge blog - Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge - I still like to support as many of the other Christmas challenge blogs out there as I can.

A new one that started up at the same time as mine is Jingle Belles and this week the theme is: have yourself a merry LITTLE Christmas - cards that feature inchies or twinchies. Update: oh dear, I've just discovered that the linking for this challenge has already closed (thought it was later today - must remember that in future) - will still add a comment with my cards.

I have to confess that I've had the components for these waterfall cards in my Christmas box for far longer than I care to remember - I should think for at least three years - just right for ECP 29: use only old stash. Originally they were free with a magazine, so they fit my own challenge 2 to use a freebie or something recycled. If you haven't joined in my challenge yet I'd love you to do so - closing time is 22:00 UK time Friday 14 January.

The pieces for the first two cards were totally free with a magazine - they are 4" x 4" cards.


The next two cards are a regular size square, the first card has a freebie background from Quick Cards - Kate Knight Christmas collection paper stack.


These cards all have movement, so they are good for C.R.A.F.T. 85: moving components.

They are also for:

Meljen's 41: square or round shaped card (no rectangles allowed)
Aly's 33: things with wings (the first card)
Stampin' sisters in Christ 71: card which includes wings (the first card)
Bah! humbug 1: holly (the first card)
Christmas cards all year round January: anything goes
ABC Christmas: A for anything Christmas goes
Crazy challenge 49: animals (the first two cards)
CES 18: all creatures great and small (the first two cards)
PaperPlay 2: cutie patootie (the second card)
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Craft your days away 11: anything goes
411 colour inspiration 148: (the first card)

Simply with love

This is for the sketch on C.R.A.F.T. 84:

The background paper is Forever Friends from their 'with love' paper pad. The Forever Friends challenge atm is 'a card for a man or boy' - I think this would be suitable to give to a man for Valentine's Day (yes, a bit soppy, I know, but ...).

The Newton bear stamp was a freebie with a magazine a couple of years ago - a useful, simple stamp, coloured with copics - very therapeutic this evening.

It's also for Colour create 61 which calls for 'pink, red and white' with the option of using hearts. As we're approaching Valentine's day there are a few challenges around that ask for hearts or the theme of love, so I'm linking for:

Ann's creative nook 199: got hearts?
Woodware 9: hearts
One stitch at a time 44: love & Valentine
Lexi 31: say it with love
Going grey (Scrap-creations): love is in the air
Cuttlebug spot: inspired by a song - 'with love from me to you'
Bunny Zoe 8: love is in the air

This is also for:

Aud's sentiments 19: sentiment can only have two words
Stamp n doodle: New year's resolution - one of my resolutions is to use up offcuts - applies to everything except the base background
Simply create 34: I'm the boss - I used a cuttlebug folder for the embossed hearts
Speedy the cat (Mark's finest papers) 37: embossing
Crazy challenge 49: animals
CES 18: all creatures great and small
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Craft your days away 11: anything goes
Let's ink it up 8: anything goes
Top tip Tuesday 17: anything goes

Too good to waste

Challenge 2 on my Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog asks for either a freebie or something recycled to be used.

This year I was quite ruthless in sorting through our Christmas cards. I usually keep quite a few of them to use to make recycled cards to sell for charity. I much prefer, of course, to make my own cards from scratch, but I appreciate that some people wish to buy something cheaper and so I always have some recycled ones available too.

So I've used two cards that we received and mounted them on to paper from BG eskimo kisses, the second card having the image matted on to a piece of smokey grey mirror card (not as dark as it looks in the picture).

Both cards have an embossed look that is lost on the scans.



Thank you to all those who have joined in my challenge 2 so far - there's still time until 22:00 UK time Friday 14 January - so why not rescue some of those lovely pictures on your received Christmas cards and recycle them.

Wednesday comes round so quickly

And it's time for WOYWW 84 - if you haven't a clue what I'm talking about (is there anyone left who doesn't know?) then click on the link and have a nosey! and join in.

Just a little explanation for those who queried the contents of my mug last week - green tea with lemon - and you can see that it's becoming a bit of a regular brew.

The box of papers is out because I wanted to look for retro papers for the card I did last night and also planning to make one for another challenge.

The stamp on the pile on the right has been kindly lent by a crafting friend for me to stamp some images, so I must get those done in the next few days.

I now need to decide what's going to be happening in that empty space in the middle - I certainly need to make some family birthday cards - oh yes, the family birthdays continue thick and fast - right from end of November to April, there are soooo many, not that I'm complaining.

Journaling tickets prize

I was fortunate enough to be randomly picked on Let's craft and create as winner of challenge 9 and have received these fab Tim Holtz journaling tickets - looking forward to using them. And a lovely card from Mandy and Eileen to thank me for taking part in their challenge.

Happy New Year ...

... yes, I know it's a bit late, but better late than never.

It's another New Year card, this time based on Gloria's sketch for the challenge 1 on the new Crop Stop blog.

I used some old retro DCWV stack papers - I must have had these for some years. And the 'clock image' is a Crafty Individuals from 'people and places', not quite so old, but certainly been around in my box for quite some time - so this is good for Cute card Thursday 146: out with the old - use up some old stash, and ECP 29: use only old stash.

Wee memories 38 is 'design with some twine', so I carefully strung some across the left hand corner, making a hole on the edge and threading around to the inside, but then I mostly covered it up - should have put the triangles so that some twine showed in between - d'oh!! And the 'flagging' is for Sew many challenges 39.

I got the idea of using these papers from the photo inspiration for Raise the bar 48: celebrating father time:
and clocks is the theme for this week's One powerful hour.

The colours are also for The Color Dare 91: tempting turquoise, pear pizzazz, tangerine tango, neutrals of choice.


This is also for:

Pear tree 31: circles
Quirky crafts 1: new beginnings
Simon says: new beginnings
Dutch dare 94: new beginnings
Sarah Hurley 24: new beginnings
Prairie fairy Fridays 43: new beginnings
Stamp, scrap & doodle: new beginnings
Crafty calendar 16: new beginnings
Oldie but a goodie 10: bright and cheerful
CCEE 1101: check it out
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Top tip Tuesday 17: anything goes
Craft your days away 11: anything goes

Experimenting ...

I thought I would play some more with my new Caran d'ache water soluble pastels. For the middle chipboard panel I once more coloured with three pastels and carefully blended using a piece of baby wipe.

I chose the colours for Cards and things challenge 60:

I then stamped the middle panel first with Funstamps Paisley background and then with the DB designs flower, which I also used on the base card, colouring in with two of the pastels.


This is also for:

Totally stampalicious: mixed up: use stamps from at least two different sets
Whoopsi daisy: no designer paper
Paperminutes 147: background pattern - main theme
Stampin' B 92: use an old favourite (the two stamps I used) and something brand spankin' new (the pastels)
Crafty purple frog: new goodies and new technique
Sweet stampin': try something different
Inspiration avenue: what inspires you? trying new things, especially if stamping is involved
Flourishes timeless 99: flowers
Papertake: anything goes
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Fab n funky 54: anything goes
Craft your days away 11: anything goes
Let's ink it up 8: anything goes

Totallly Gorjuss hearts

This card is for Net's sketch for Totally Gorjuss 62:

The background is vellum, hence the doodlebug brads in the corners (the vellum was stuck underneath where the main panel would go) - for I did it challenge 37 which is asking us to use vellum.

The brads are good for:

Kort o mania 31: use a charm or metal
Top tip Tuesday 16: metal Mickey
Stamp insanity 41: hardcore hardware
Paper cutz 73: metal

I used a Penny Black stamp that I received for Christmas (I was so fortunate to have so many new stamps) called 'brimming with love', coloured with copics, so I'm entering this into Penny Black 133: new beginnings (using a new stamp) and Penny Black at Allsorts January challenge: all you need is love.

The lovely strip across the bottom is from East of India 'hearts & leaves' paper chain (I bought a pack of these ages ago from John Lewis and occasionally use one - love them).

There are still quite a lot of challenges around asking for new things to be used, so, as I used another new stamp, I'm linking for:

Created by hand: in with the new
Rainbow lady 134: it's all new to me
Paper issues: new
Pollycraft 75: new things
Creative inspirations 50: use something new
Creative cottage 30: something new - new stash
Moving along with the times 80: ring out the old, ring in the new (the old stash is the vellum and the East of India paper chain strip)
My partner in crime 17: something new
Crafty purple frog: new goodies
Our daily bread 43: something new, something old (as above)

There are a few challenges around atm that feature love or hearts (yes, I suppose we are approaching Valentine's Day soon), so I'm linking for:

Ann's creative nook 199: got hearts?
Squigglefly 80: put your hearts into it - I bought the 'I {heart} you digi from Squigglefly
Woodware 9: hearts
One stitch at a time 44: love & Valentine
Lexi 31: say it with love
Bunny Zoe 8: love is in the air

It's also for:

Crazy challenge 49: animals
CES 18: all creatures great and small
Papertake: anything goes
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Fab n funky 54: anything goes
Craft your days away 11: anything goes
Let's ink it up 8: anything goes

Winter fantasy

There are a few challenges around at the moment focusing on 'winter' (not surprising really as we are still in the grip of that season - although, thankfully, no more of the white stuff here, except a little frost in the mornings). So this card is for the following 'winter' related challenges:

Creative stamp friends 16: winter
Cutie stampers 89: a winter scene
Winter wonderland: let's go dotty
Stamp with fun 93: snow
Creative belli 108: snow
The paper variety: snowflakes

As part of my Christmas present John gave me a 'voucher' saying that I could spend £50 - so I decided to by some Caran d'ache pastels - Noecolor I and II. I experimented yesterday with a couple of the Neocolor II, which are watersoluble. I roughly coloured sky and grass on to a piece of chipboard and then used a baby wipe to blend - I think it worked quite well. And I'll be a bit more adventurous next time I use them!

As I've used a new technique (and new stash - the pastels), I'm linking for:

Quirky crafts 1: new beginnings - new pastels and new technique
Created by hand: in with the new
Rainbow lady 134: it's all new to me
Paper issues: new
Pollycraft 75: new things
Creative inspirations 50: use something new
Creative cottage 30: something new - new stash
Moving along with the times 80: ring out the old, ring in the new (the old stash is the foiled paper)
My partner in crime 17: something new
Stampin' B 92: use an old favourite and something brand spankin' new - the old favourite is the PB fantasy stamp and the new is the pastels
Crafty purple frog: new goodies
Our daily bread 43: something new, something old (as above)
Sweet stampin': try something different

I used liquid pearls white opal for the snow on the tree (which is a PB fantasy stamp) and dotted it across the grass which I then smudged with my finger to get a glistening snow coverage. The background paper with silver foiled swirls was part of a Christmas kit from QVC last year and the base card is stardream, which has a bit of a glittery look.

It was difficult to get a photo of the card because of the foiled swirly background reflecting, but you can get some idea - the actual card is a bit in between the two photos.

This is also for:

Ooh-la-la 71: bling it on
By the cute and girly for January: bling it on
The lollipop ladies 11: hey Jube - add some glitter or bling
Secret crafter Saturday 116: tons of texture
Incy wincy 76: go dotty
Papertake: anything goes
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Fab n funky 54: anything goes
Craft your days away 11: anything goes
Let's ink it up 8: anything goes

Hope in winter

This week's challenge on Daring cardmakers is 'snowdrops and carnations' - apparently they are the flowers associated with January.

I've used a digi download I bought from Doodle Pantry, together with one of the sentiments that came with it. I coloured the leaves of the snowdrop with copics and added stickles crystal ice to the petals (I was going to use glossy accents, but it was all gummed up and I couldn't get it to flow).

I've used the sketch for CPS199:

I used a crafts-too square embossing folder to create the embossed dots and rounded the corners of that, the cardbase and the sentiment using my Xcut corner punch.

This is also for:

Tuesday throwdown 30: embossing
Simply create 34: I'm the boss - embossing
Speedy the cat (Mark's finest papers) 37: embossing
Cutie Sunday 125: winter
Lots to do: winter flowers
Karber weekly 19: use flowers
Flourishes timeless 99: flowers
PaperPlay 1: clean and simple
The lollipop ladies 11: hey Jube - add some glitter or bling
Fun at fairy knoll: all that glitters
Pixie cottage 51: punches
Tellen's place: punches
Cupcake 123: white is white
Drunken stampers 49: whiteout
City crafters 38: winter white
Moxie Tuesday trigger: winter white - this is the photo inspiration:

CHNC 2: freebie or recycle

Over on my Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog it's time for challenge 2 which is to use a freebie of some kind or recycle something - of course, the end result must be a Christmas card. You will find all the information here - I would love you to join in my challenge.

I used Bo Bunny 'believe' papers and tag that were free with Scrapbook Magazine. I used the sketch for Techno stamper Monday lunchtime sketch 154:


I used the House Mouse stamp 'Christmas tale' - I had this given to me by Christmas (I was very fortunate - John and my mum both bought rubber stamps for me - I gave them a wishlist - so I've still got more new stamps to use and show). I coloured with copics. The brads are ones that have been in my Christmas stash box for a couple of years.

As I've used a new stamp I'm linking for these challenges:

House mouse 86: new beginnings
Pile it on 1: brand spankin' new
Quirky crafts 1: new beginnings - new stamp
Ann's creative nook 118: use something ne
Woodware 8: something new
Created by hand: in with the new
Rainbow lady 134: it's all new to me - new crafting item
Order of the opus gluei 84: show us what's new
Paper issues: new
Creative inspirations 50: use something new
The crazy challenge 48: all things new
Creative cottage 30: something new - new stash
Moving along with the times 80: ring out the old, ring in the new (the old stash is the brads)
Crafty purple frog: new goodies

This is also for:

Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Anything goes (Craft Den) 30: the letter C - Christmas
ABC Christmas: A for anything Christmas goes
Christmas cards all year round: anything goes
Kort o mania 31: use a charm or metal - the two brads
Top tip Tuesday 16: metal Mickey - the two brads
Stamp insanity 41: hardcore hardware - the two brads
Paper cutz 73: metal - the two brads
CES 18: all creatures great & small
Creative craft: anything goes
One stitch at a time 43: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes
Craft your passion 39: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Fab n funky 54: anything goes
Whoopsi daisy: free and easy
Craft your days away 11: anything goes

Caroling penguins

This week's challenge for Unscripted 88 is to choose a favourite sketch from the past: 'should old sketches (not) be forgot ...', so I've used sketch 80 (I turned it on its side):

This is another card for my challenge 1 on my new Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog. If you haven't joined in yet there's still time to make a card for challenge 1: anything goes as long as it's a Christmas card - the challenge closes at 22:00 UK time tomorrow, Friday 7 January.

I've used a new stamp that I was given for Christmas - yesterday I showed a card with caroling hedgehogs, today's stamp is 'caroling penguins', coloured with copics and stickles crystal ice added to the white parts of the hats.

As I've used a new stamp, I'm linking for these challenges:

Pile it on 1: brand spankin' new
Quirky crafts 1: new beginnings - new stamp
Drunken stampers 48: new - use something new
Ann's creative nook 118: use something new
Sew many challenges 38: new things
Woodware 8: something new
Speedy the cat (Mark's finest papers) 36: use something new
Created by hand: in with the new
Rainbow lady 134: it's all new to me - new crafting item
Order of the opus gluei 84: show us what's new
Paper issues: new
Lots to do: new beginnings
Creative inspirations 50: use something new
The crazy challenge 48: all things new
Creative cottage 30: something new - new stash
Moving along with the times 80: ring out the old, ring in the new (the old stash is the red card and the sentiments)

The background paper is BG jovial. The red card was embossed with a docrafts snowflakes embossing folder and then distressed with fired brick DI. The embossing is good for Sparkle creations Christmas 2011 week 5, Simple doodles 34: I'm the boss, and Tuesday throwdown 30 and the distressing for Gingerloft 8.

I chose red papers for If the shoe fits Fashionista Friday 60, which asks us to predominantly use the colour red.

This is also for:

Spoon full of sugar 133: Christmas card
Anything goes (Craft Den) 30: the letter C - Christmas
ABC Christmas: A for anything Christmas goes
The lollipop ladies 11: hey Jube - add some glitter or bling
Stamp something: something with glitter
Copic creations 41: sparkle
Christmas cards all year round: anything goes
Creative craft: anything goes
One stitch at a time 43: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes
Crafty Emma 17: anything goes
Craft your passion 39: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes
Ladybug 9: anything goes
Creative card world new card challenge: anything goes
Fab n funky 54: anything goes
Whoopsi daisy: free and easy

Salt: pray for holiness

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

My final artwork was nothing like what I first thought of, but the hymn came into my mind more and more and seemed appropriate for this challenge.

I downloaded the royalty free dandelion picture from geekphilosopher, printed the sheet music and then scanned it into the computer to combine the two, playing around with filters to get some graduation in the finished picture, adding my black and white photo in the right hand bottom corner.

These are the words of the hymn, written by Frances Ridley Havergal, who lived from 1836 - 1879, so it's not modern, but is still a great prayer for holiness.

1. Take my life, and let it be
   Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
   Take my moments and my days,
   Let them flow in ceaseless praise,
   Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
2. Take my hands, and let them move
   At the impulse of Thy love;
   Take my feet and let them be
   Swift and beautiful for Thee,
   Swift and beautiful for Thee.
3. Take my voice, and let me sing
   Always, only, for my King;
   Take my lips, and let them be
   Filled with messages from Thee,
   Filled with messages from Thee.
4. Take my silver and my gold;
   Not a mite would I withhold;
   Take my intellect, and use
   Every power as Thou shalt choose,
   Every power as Thou shalt choose.
5. Take my will, and make it Thine;
   It shall be no longer mine.
   Take my heart; it is Thine own;
   It shall be Thy royal throne,
   It shall be Thy royal throne.
6. Take my love; my Lord, I pour
   At Thy feet its treasure-store.
   Take myself, and I will be
   Ever, only, all for Thee,
   Ever, only, all for Thee.

As usual, you can click on the picture to enlarge it, although it isn't that big because I didn't want to lose the resolution.

As a reminder to myself I'm now using this as my desktop wallpaper (I've even hidden the icons and the taskbar so that the image fills the whole screen). As usual I'll also print this out to add to my Salt LO album.

I'm linking this to these challenges:

Ooh-la-la 70: a toast to 2011
Crazy amigo: 2011
Creative craft world: new year resolutions
Creative craft: new year's resolutions
Papercraft star 27: use one of your near year's resolutions as your inspiration
Off the wall craftiness 39, which gives this picture as a prompt:



We would love to see you join in our Salt challenge.

WOYWW

Just scraping in for today's WOYWW. I haven't joined in for the past couple of weeks - it's been a bit hectic what with Christmas and New Year and John being in hospital on Christmas Eve - OK now, thank goodness - and his birthday on 30 December - some people have awkward birthdays, don't they? So many birthdays in our family around Christmas time.

And then I've had some commissioned cards to make which had to take priority - they come along like buses - and also my new Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog started up on Saturday 1 January - I'd love to see you join me there - it's not too late to make a resolution to make Christmas cards throughout the year.

So here is my workspace - the remains of making the latest Christmas card, a few purchases, including some PM precious metals (thought this was a paste and was surprised when I got liquid all over my fingers when I enthusiastically took the lid off one of them!). A little pile of BG paper pads (the rest are in a big box in the cupboard - love those papers.

Apologies for not having got round to visit many WOYWW bloggers - must try harder!

Old, new and recycled

This card uses the sketch for Polka Doodles 51, which also states that there must be an image coloured:
The PB caroling hedgehogs image was coloured with Promarkers, so I'm linking for I love promarkers 47 where the theme is 'recycled' - the red glittered card is recycled from a Christmas cracker.


It's another card for my own challenge 1: anything goes as long as it's a Christmas card, on my new Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge blog - if you haven't visited yet, I'd love to see you there - perhaps you'd like to join me and link up a Christmas card - you know it makes sense to start them early. If you've made new Christmas cards for other challenges, then perhaps you'd like to also link them to mine.

Another new Christmas card challenge blog has started this week called Jingle Belles and their first challenge is asking for us to use something old and something new. The papers I've used - Bo Bunny'tis the season carols' , SEI Christmas mint and Creative imaginations studio basics 101 - are all old (I really should have used them well before now) and the PB stamp is new - it was one of my Christmas presents and I've been itching to use it. This is good for Drunken stampers 48: new - use something new, Stamp n doodle: new, Order of the opus gluei 84: show us what's new, Paper sundaes 50: something new and Paper issues: new.

This is also for ABC Christmas: A for anything Christmas goes and also Christmas cards all year round: anything goes.

Another commissioned card

I was asked to make a 30th birthday card for a friend to give to her son, so I've used the sketch for this week's Going Grey (Scrap-Creations) challenge:

And I used the colours given for Curtain call colour challenge act 63:

The top paper is BG mellow and the bottom one is BG granola. The striped strip is an unknown piece from my offcuts box. The request was for a picture of a BMW sports car, which I mounted on silver, the computer generated sentiment also mounted on silver. The 30 is silver peel offs.
This is also for:

Moving along with the times 79: birthday & circles
Scrappy frogs: sentimental

Aud sentiments 18: anything goes

Crafts and me 20: anything goes
Creative craft: anything goes
One stitch at a time 43: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes
Crafty Emma 17: anything goes
Craft your passion 39: anything goes
Aly's 32: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes

A very special birthday

I was commissioned to make a large A4 card for one of John's blind bowling club, a visually impaired man who was 100 on New Year's Day. We sent him a card for the special day - you can see it here - but this card, which will have the names of the club members inside - will be given to Bill at a surprise afternoon tea party for him next week. I'm safe to put this here because there is no way that Bill will be looking at my blog.

As the card is for a visually impaired gentleman, I needed to keep it quite clean and simple and with some texture, so I opted to use Jolly Nation Bowls Man (Senior) decoupage and matching background paper etc. I created the grass with the bowling mat with Microsoft Digital Image Pro 7.0 - I love that program - so easy to use.

This photo shows the build up of the decoupage:

I'm linking this for the following challenges:

Totally Gorjuss 61: for someone special
Mixed media Monday: size matters - this card is A4, which is normally outside my comfort zone
Pile it on 1: brand spankin' new - the Jolly Nation papers/decoupage were bought specially for this card
Creative inspirations 50: use something new (as above)
Ann's creative nook 118: use something new (as above)
Woodware 8: something new (as above)
Speedy the cat (Mark's finest papers) 36: use something new (as above)
Totally papercrafts 47: time to party
Creative Friday 34: let's have a party
Pixie cottage 50: party celebration
Totally papercrafts 47: time to party
Crazy4challenges 68: celebrate something
Freshly brewed 28: celebrate
Simon says: time to party/celebrate
Anything goes (Craft Den) 30: the letter C - celebration
Stampin' B 91: make a celebration card
Scrappy frogs: sentimental

Aud sentiments 18: anything goes

Crafts and me 20: anything goes
Creative craft: anything goes
One stitch at a time 43: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes
Crafty Emma 17: anything goes
Craft your passion 39: anything goes
Aly's 32: anything goes
Cardmakin mamas 11: anything goes
Papertake: anything goes