Rudolph for Rudolph Days!

Here is my Rudolph card for the January Rudolph Days challenge - I'm just making it on the last day!

The image is another of Sylvia's designs at Wee Stamps and isn't he cute!  I've coloured with my Copic pens and added touches of glaze pen.

Here's the card:

It's a C6 blank with a simple layout using up a piece of old Nitwits paper.  I've added my embossed faux stitching around the edge sof the image and paper and inked with Sahara Sand chalk ink to bring the stitches out.

For embellishment I've added a length of pretty pearl trim over lace from my bit box.

Thanks for stopping by, I'm scheduling this post so fingers crossed you get to see it, and hopefully I will have time to come back and add it to the Rudolph Days link.

Ladies Only at CCT

Sorry I am late again sharing my DT card with you for the Ladies Only theme at Cute Card Thursday.  It has been a tough couple of days with Mum, and both of us seem worn out this morning so whilst she is sleeping I have a chance to blog!

This little darling is Dyanne drawn by Sylvia Zett for Wee Stamps - I have the digi version, thankfully they are available again.  I've coloured her with my Copic pens and added touches of glaze and glitter, although it is difficult to see in the picture.  Here is the card:

It's another of my big 7" square blanks, and as most of my newer papers are either A5 or 6" square, I had to go rummaging in my old 12" box.  These are pretty designs from several years ago by Imaginice (think that's how it's spelt), and I have mostly bits left so made the most of them.  The die cuts are by Marianne Design and I've finished off with a little bow and more of the liquid pearl blobs. 

These are the Marianne Design dies I used:

Birthday die plus stamp 'Girl' COL1349

heart with waste hearts CR1256

flowers COL1323

leaves LR0226

mini butterflies CR1354

Thank you for stopping by to take a look.  I will try and link up to some challenges if I have time to go look for them, do let me know of any that you think might be suitable for me to enter with this card.

Thank you to Sarah for telling me about the As You Like It Challenge - I'm entering my card with all the layers because, like Sarah, I have lots of papers to use up!

Just Boys!

So sorry I am late sharing my DT card with you for Cute Card Thursday's Just Boys challenge. Our sponsor for this one is Di's Digi stamps, please stop by the blog to read all about it and see what the rest of the team made.

My friend Blankina kindly sent me this stamped image to colour, he's called Snoesjes 'Goal!'  Also, if you like colouring with Copic pens, like me, stop by her blog for a fabulous colour chart! It's unusual but shows the colour families, with numbers, in an ingenious but easy to see way.

And here is my card:

Another simple one with old papers from my stash, punched red stars, a little red trim and the Marianne Design die cut Birthday greeting, oh and the little metal gem too!

Finally, Mum is home from the hospital.  It has been a stressful time with several unexpected medical problems I wasn't expecting .. .. but hopefully with some tweaking of her meds and the help of the Community Nurses it should be a short set back.  She is confined to bed at the moment so I am having to do absolutely everything for her .. .. .. but she is eating well so I'm cook as well!  It does mean I'll not be around much so sorry for not leaving comments or getting around to visit.

Vintage style at Marianne Design Divas

The new challenge over on the Marianne Design Divas blog is to create something with a vintage style and at least 3 products by Marianne Design. Our sponsors for this challenge are Buddly Crafts and Marianne Design.  The DT have produced beautiful examples for your inspiration so why not pop over and take a peek!

I have taken a picture from the Matties Beautiful Flowers sheet to make a Spring card - I do hope it's not so far away, I'm tired of all the rain! I've die cut the oval image then inked the edges before fixing to the beautiful oval die cut frame, where I've used the same ink to highlight the embossed areas.

Here's the card, I've had to photo enhance as the colours were looking too pale and washed out, so perhaps it's not quite this bright in real life and what looks like a layer of kraft coloured card is actually more caramel in colour, the card is much warmer in real life with soft caramel tones and chalk inked highlights and edges with Sahara Sand:



I've added the sparkly edging with the Viva Decor 3d snow pen and fine pale golden glitter from my stash, and also added the caramel coloured pearl dots in places on the paper too.  The pretty lace is by MD and is much creamer also.  I've die cut the flowers from Mulberry paper then inked with yellow chalk ink, spritzed, scrunched and then when dry teased them out.  The leaves I've die cut from the caramel and green card and inked the edges for the vintage style.

Here's a close up of the corner embellishment.

Marianne Design products I used for this card:

Mattie's Beautiful Flowers sheet

Victorian Vintage paper bloc PK9092

Mulberry paper

Vintage lace JU0898

banner and text COL1324

flowers COL1323

leaves CR1336

leaves LR0226

oval frame LR0240

Marrakesh trellis die DF3416

On the We Love Vintage blog the current challenge is for vintage style with lace - I hope that's how it's translated anyway.  So I will enter my card with them as I do have vintage lace and think I might have got the style sussed at last!

A bit of fun at CCT

This week at Cute Card Thursday our challenge is to show us some fun times!  Our sponsor for this challenge is All Dressed Up, please stop by the CCT blog to read about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have made.

I have made a little 5" square card with various Marianne Design goodies, and being for a boy I stayed clear of the flowers!  The image is skateboard Don coloured with my Copics and cut out with a die in set CR1223, and I used a die in the same set to cut the edge of the paper scrap down the side.  The papers are from the Garden Party pack, and I've inked and distressed the edges. I die cut the star behind my image from cordinations cardstock so I could distress with an emery board, using the biggest die from the set CR1226.  The text I die cut with the new Charming Alphabet dies COL1397 then finished of with the narrow cream ric rac and MD domed metallic gems.

It's been a busy few days here with meetings to try and arrange for Mum to come home from the hospital.  Most have gone well, but a few hiccups in getting support for me to help with showering etc and a granny sitter for when I need to be away for more than an hour or so.  She is doing much better and actually starting to become more mobile so I will have to take over her physio too as the waiting list for home physio visits is long .. .. ..  Next week I should be taking delivery of a hospital bed and other equipment, then fingers crossed.  She sleeps more nowadays so I should be able to find time to craft, once we settle into a routine.  So, I am still an infrequent blogger and am sorry for not visiting/commenting very much, but I do appreciate all the visits you make to see what I've been making.

Wee Lullaby

I have made a card with one of the Wee Stamps digi designs I recently managed to get printed out.  She is called Lullaby, and I coloured her with my Copic pens and then added lots of Stardust Stickles.

I also found an old tiny rubber stamp in my stash that echoed the sprays in the design so I've stamped around the edges of the design, at the bottom in dark ink then along the top and sides in a softer chalk ink .. .. difficult to see but it is there!

Here's the card:

I'm still playing with the vintage/shabby style and distressing the edges of all my layers.  The papers are from the Marianne Design Sweet Baby bloc, I'm not sure if it is still available, but I still have some to use up!  I've created floral embellishments with die cut flowers from mulberry paper that I've inked, spritzed and scrunched up, then teased out and fixed pearls in the middle.  I used flower dies COL1323 and the smallest die in CR1204 as well as a few tiny left over leaves from CR1336, little pink sparkly sprays from LR0106 and the swirly leaves in LR0271.

And as the new butterfly punch die CR1354 came today I just had to cut out some to finish things off - aren't they sweet! I really like those punch dies with the tiny die cuts.  A few blobs of liquid pearls here and there and I was done, hope you like it.

The challenge at the In The Pink blog is anything goes, so I can enter my pink lullaby card with them.

Christmas Romance

I was looking through my card album and came across this little one that I hadn't got around to blogging - so here it is as my first Christmas card for 2016!

The new Don and Daisy Christmas Romance stamp from Marianne Design is coloured with my Copic pens, then a sprinkling of frosty snow added.

Here's the card:

It's on a 5" square base card and the papers are a patchwork from the MD Scandinavian Winter pack with narrow white ric-rac braid covering the joins, I've loved the designs in this pack but now I just have oddments left and this was a good way of using up some of them.  I've used a selection of Marianne Design die cuts to embellish, finishing off with white pearl pen and more glitter frosting. 

These are the MD dies I used:

red flowers from Mulberry paper with flower set COL1323

pale blue flowers and centres of red flowers with flower set CR1323

leaves from set CR1245

snowflake from set LRO327

banner from set COL1325

The Jingle Belles blog challenge is for something old (my papers) and something new (the new Don and Daisy Christmas stamp).  And, over at Crafty Catz the theme is for flowers so with my sprinkling of red and white festive blooms, plus little blue ones to the side, I can enter with them too.

Enjoy your weekend - I'm stalking the postman for some new crafty stash .. .. .. fingers crossed my packages arrive tomorrow then I have the weekend to play!

Hey! what's new at CCT

The new theme at Cute Card Thursday is Hey! what's new .. .. interpret as you like.  Our challenge is being sponsored by Bunny Zoe's Crafts, please stop by the CCT blog to read all about the prize and see what the rest of the DT have created.

For my DT card I used a new Wee Stamps digi image called Jillian that Sylvia Zett gave away as a freebie on her blog just before Christmas.  I've managed to print her off and colour with my Copic pens.

Here is my card:

I've taken one of the 7" square cards I recently got and paper from my stash - no idea who made it as it's a single 12x12 sheet I picked up at a craft store years ago.  I've inked the edges of the mat card layer and paper with soft pink chalk ink, and also the die cut image and mat too.  Then it was lace, pearls and die cuts to finish things off.  I kept it quite simple, and left off a text as I'm not sure what occasion it will be used for yet.  The die cuts are all Marianne Design - these ones:

heart circle doily CR1251

Anya's fancy oval (cut in half) behind image LR0236

leaves from CR1245

butterflies from LR0261

flowers COL1323

Creative Inspirations challenge is for flowers, so I can enter my card with them.

Short and sweet from me tonight as it's been a tiring day.  Izzy is all smooth and sleek from the doggy groomers, but feeling the cold especially as we are getting stormy hail showers!  Either we stay indoors or I'll have to buy him a warm rain coat!  I risked visiting Mum and didn't cough too badly, she is very down in the dumps but cheered up chatting to me.  Unfortunately her short term memory is virtually non-existent so I have to keep repeating conversations over and over, and she is not too good physically although is brighter now that her iron levels are back up.  There is going to be a meeting next Tuesday afternoon with family and health careers to decide what and where is best for her - the family think she will do better back home in familiar surroundings, but we will need support from the community doctors, nurses and careers.  We will have to wait and see .. ..

Sarah Kay Kiss

I have had this cute Sarah Kay stamped image in my UFO box for quite some time .. .. having run out of the pale denim blue Copic colour I had to order a refill, and then I couldn't decide what style to go for .. ..

Well, I'm having a go again at the shabby chic style, with perhaps a hint of vintage - I'm not sure what the difference is apart from the cards I've seen where vintage seems darker and shabby chic has tons of lace embellishments and lots of rough edges.  So, this is my version of a combination of both.

Here it is:

The picture is rather wishy washy as I've had to take it under the cooker hood lights again - when will it stop raining!  The actual card is more beige/brown in real life and the lace is cream, ah well!

I've distressed the layers and added little bits of embellishment.  The papers and die cuts are all Marianne Design, as is the lace. The flowers are cut from mulberry paper then inked, spritzed, scrunched up and when dry, teased out to give the shabby look.  The little hearts are waste that I saved from cutting out doily LR0185 for another project.

These are the Marianne Design dies I used:

image cut with die in set LR0235

flowers COL1323

mini leaves CR1336

birds LR0290

I'm joining in a new to me challenge at Stamping Sensations, where the theme is to include some die cut elements along with a stamped focal point.  I hope they like my card.

That's all for now dear friends, I will back soon as I've been playing today .. .. the cold is still with me but hopefully on the way out.  Mum is still in the hospital and not doing so well, but once I am up and about again I'm hopeful the family will be able to arrange for her to come home with visits from the district nurse etc to help with her care.  I will have to put my nursing cap back on - it's been a while though, around 40 years since I trained and worked in a hospital.  Back in those days once you married and started a family it was difficult to continue which is why I changed careers.  But some basic skills you never forget and I would like to care for Mum in her own home for whatever time she has left.

CCT Anything Goes!

Sorry I'm late posting my DT card for the Cute Card Thursday challenge - anything goes.  I've been rather under the weather the last few days with a horrid cold that's dragging on .. and on.  But at last, here it is:

I've coloured up another of the cute Wee digi images that I got off my printer, this is Oak Tree Girl.  I didn't want to go with the trad Christmas colours as I thought with the oak leaves this was more of a birthday type of card - what do you think?

Anyway, she's coloured with my Copics and with a touch of glaze to the ladybug and her buttons.  Here's the card:

Soft blues and greens with ivory/cream/beige - inspiration taken from the Nitwits papers I've had forever in my stash.  I've added the 3d snow and glitter again on this one, this time going for a light glitter mix.  The die cut embellishment on top of the scrap of hessian is created with Marianne Design dies:  Oak leaves LR0373, and swirls LR0112 with inking to bring out the design and a string bow to finish things off.

As I'm late posting, I'm not linking up to any challenges with this one .. .. but I hope you like it.

See you again soon when I'm feeling better .. ..