Beat the blues

The challenge this week on Cute Card Thursday is titled "beat the blues" - interpret as you wish and the DT have come up with several different interpretations.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Katharina at Whiff of Joy with a choice of stamp for the winner.

Now in my opinion, the best pick me up when I'm feeling blue is a nice cuppa and a slice of cake, or even a cupcake will do!  I've used the cute stamp from Lili of the Valley and coloured in shades of blue with touches of pink to lighten the mood.

I'm still having to load my pictures in the HTML mode and it takes an age, but at least I am managing to get by - I really don't want to have to switch my internet package in order to 'fix' things as suggested by blogger .. .. surely with so many people experiencing the problem they can sort it out.

Anyway, this is my card, another scrap of digi paper matted with blue textured card for the base.  I've cut the large Marianne scallop circle from white then 3d mounted it on top of the patterned paper with the image in the centre.  I had to take the picture with my daylight lamp so the embossing isn't showing up clearly, and the colours are looking washed out too - roll on longer days and some sunshine, please!  As I used an open scallop circle design I thought I'd use the open flower die, but it didn't look right being able to see through so I backed it with a white flower and then could hide the snips of swirls in behind without worrying about ends showing!  A couple of little butterflies, the text greeting and little pink gems finish off my girly card.  I hope it cheers you up!

The Marianne dies I used are:
scallop circle, blue open flowers and swirl from LR0112
additional swirl from LR0111
white flowers from LR0105
butterflies from LR0158
white mat behind text from LR0235

I'd also like to enter my card into the Everybody Art challenge for pastel colours, and the Stamp with Fun challenge for Tea - well you can't have a cup of tea without a cake, or two!

Review of 2012

I owe the idea for this post to my dear blogging friend Kelly, who got it from Coops .. .. and as I've not got a card to share with you at the moment I thought it might be a fun thing to do.  You go look at the stats on your post listings and show the card or project that has the highest views and/or comments for each month in the previous year.  I'll just stick with the views next to each post for now and I'm guessing it's the total over all, even if the numbers seem to change in the overall stat listings ... who knows how blogger works these things out!



In January I made this card for the Lili of the Valley challenge for something new - it has been the second most popular card of all time on my blog with 276 views so far - and I must admit is one of my all time favourites too.

In February I made a baby boy card for the Marianne Design Diva's challenge with a cute image and papers by Eline - its had 184 views so far

 

In March I created a spring card for the Less Is More challenge for a one layer card with script - I used my old Elusive Images tulip script stamp and kraft card to stamp and colour my design, but I didn't like it even though it's had 114 views.  I went and tweaked it for this card, which has only had 21 views, but imo is much nicer!

 

I only posted 4 cards in April as we were at the beginning of the building work and things were all upside down, plus the garden was taking up a lot of my time too.  This simple card was made for the Less Is More challenge for a charm - it's had 49 views



 

In May I played along with the Less Is More colour challenge for a touch of yellow and created this daisy card with a simple background daisy stamp from Elusive Images.  It has had 207 views so far!



I only posted once in June, with this card for the Lili of the Valley anything goes challenge - it's had 98 views

I had a complete break from crafting during the summer months and only posted in July with an update on the building work.  Finally, come October I was sorted out and my stash unpacked, well mostly anyway.  Although my craft area is in the conservatory, it's not heated so I tend to work at the dining room table in the evenings .. .. and a down side is that my card and paper stash is getting damp out there so I may have to rethink some of my storage options this year.

I eased back into blogging with this card for the silver Less is More colour Challenge, and it ended up with 197 views! I used one of my very old stamps from Elusive Images and found the heat gun and embossing powders!

 

 

November's card has had 176 views and was my fantasy Charistmas card made for the Marianne challenge - and I won!

 

 

December's top card has had 101 views - a red and green Christmas card with an adorable stamp by Lili of the Valley

 



I hope you have enjoyed looking at my top view cards for 2012 - and should you choose to share yours, please let me know so I can come take a look .. .. I like being nosy!

Something New

This is the card I made for the Totally Papercrafts Something New challenge that unfortunately I couldn't share with you on time. We have two sponsors this week, Meljen and Bearly Mine - please stop by the TPC blog for the links and info about the prizes. The internet connection is down to just 2 bars today meaning it's agony trying to get around or do the link ups .. .. ..

I have used another of my old vintage rubber stamps from ebay so I have no idea who made it, but it is one that I have used a few times for a classic design of card.  I've coloured with Copics and inked the edges with a soft pink chalk ink to take off the stark white.  Again I've used up a couple of digi patterned papers from the enormous stash pile, one on the background and one cut with my new Anja trellis design Marianne die with it's matching plain background die cut from white card. After layering up the two pieces I cut them in half to peek out either side of my image.  A strip of lace and more Marianne diecuts to decorate then a final sprinkling of gems finished things off.  This is the first time I've cut the big flower dies and scored them to create the dimension - the finished flower reminds me of a magnolia blossom, what do you think?  I don't usually go for such big blooms on my cards when I have an image for the main focus, so just kept to the single flower with the filigree sprays.

These are the Marianne dies I used:
LR0236 Anja's Large Ovals for the trellis and the swirly spray
LR0192 for the spiky sprays
LR0168 & LR0169 for the flower
LR0111 for the stamens

When and if I can, I shall come back and link my card to the Craft Catz blog challenge and Stampin' For the Weekend where it's anything goes for both.  Over on the Our Creative Corner blog the theme is for aqua + pink + a flower, so fits my card perfectly!

Sweet Dreams

At last I am able to share my card with you .. .. after browsing the blogger forum it seems that lots of folks are having the same problem as me trying to upload pictures.  I tried various 'solutions' until eventually I came across a post from someone called Katney who said to try switching to HTML version for my post .. .. and it worked! once you come back into the compose version you can see your picture and make it bigger or smaller as normal.

So, better late than never, this week the theme on Cute Card Thursday is Something New - new home, new job, new baby etc.  Our sponsor for the challenge is Nikki at Bunny Zoe's Crafts with a £10 gift certificate for our winner.  I have made a new baby card with a very old stamp from my collection, it was a naked rubber ebay purchase several years ago and I've no idea who it is by, but it's certainly a sweet image.  I've coloured with my Copics then cut out with one of my new Marianne dies.  The patterned papers are from my large digi stash that I am determined to shrink .. .. at least not having easy access to a printer at the moment means I shan't be adding to it!  I've added a doodle stitch edge to the base layer, and looking at it perhaps I should have added the stitching to the cicular blue layer behind the image, not that much of it is left on show .. .. needless to say my embellishements are cut with various Marianne dies then finished off with a pretty organza bow and blue pearl accents.

Marianne dies I used:
LR0235 to cut out image
LR0112 for large scallop doily and swirls with pearls
LR0111 for swirl without peals (bottom right)
LR0106 for daisies

The For Fun challenge is also for something new, and the Papertake Weekly challenge is an anything goes theme so I can link up with them too.

I'll eeek out my posts until I catch up with the days .. .. fingers crossed the solution works for the next one!

Normal Service Suspended!

Update #2 - to fix the problem you need to be in the HTML screen then click the picture icon and upload your picture from your pc.  When you go back to Compose screen you will see the photo and can resize as usual.  Hope this helps as it seems to be a problem across blogger today.

Update - I have a good connection to the internet and seem to be able to get around quite easily.  BUT - the blogger 'insert image' isn't working - at least it's not giving me the option to add a picture from my pc .. .. .. anyone have a sugestion?  I have looked at the blog help pages but they don't tell me anything - according to them I should be getting the option to click and select from my pc's files. Just in case it was a problem with having too many pictures on my blog I went and deleted 2007 posts, I might do the same for 2008 but honestly, I don't think that is going to be the solution.

SO HELP NEEDED PLEASE!

We have been without internet for most of today - the reason we were given was that they are carrying out 'routine servicing'.  Although I can now get connected, I can't upload any pictures so my DT card for Cute Card Thursday is still not showing on the challenge blog, and needless to say it's not here either .. ..  I can't leave comments on any blogs either, although I can sometimes see them, but it's taking an age to load especially on the blogs with lots of extras in the side bars or the followers icons.

I'm not sure how long it will be before normal service is resumed.  Until then, poor me a large one!

Favourite Five from 2012

I'll start by wishing you all a very Happy New Year!  My year has not started particularly well with car troubles and a few lingering family worries, but I am determined to stay more positive in 2013 and look after myself a little better.  After all, if I'm not well I can't look after anyone else!  My granddaughter is still with us so I'm not getting much crafting done, but hubby has had to leave and go back to work, thankfully it's a short week and he should be back at the weekend.  It does mean I can sit at the computer late at night without worrying that my tapping away is keeping him awake .. .. so here I am!

Debby is doing her Fabulous Favourite Fives again - I missed the Christmas Card selection but will join in with the main event .. ..

My first favourite is a card I made last January with one of the beautiful Lili of the Valley baby stamps, and it seemed to be popular with my blog followers too as it's had over 230 views!  If you want to take another look at the post, it's here


My second card is another baby creation, this time for a little girl, and uses another beautiful Lili of the Valley stamp.  You can read the post about this card here



You can see from both of these that I have been developing my passion for adding embellishments cut with Marianne's dies, and the third card is no different!  I've used the same gorgeous Lili of the Valley image as my first favourite card only this time I've gone for a lavender pink colour and made a pillow box and decorated the back as well - if you'd like to see more then please look here

With building work going on I was unable to craft for several months during the summer and when I did get back into the swing of things it was mostly Christmas creations I was making.  However, after treating myself to yet more Marianne dies I started entering the challenges and this is my fourth favourite card - more of a challenge as it couldn't be a square or rectangle!  You can read more about it here

And finally, my last favourite would be the last card I posted in 2012, the Wiebelkaart - but that's an easy one to find .. .. just scroll down one post!  Instead I'll share a black and white card I made with some of the fabulous Marianne products - it's here

I hope you enjoyed seeing my favourites as much as I did making them.  I'm sure you can tell that my favourite stamps are by Lili of the Valley and my favourite dies are from Marianne.  I am sure that's not going to change very much in 2013 .. .. but we will see!

Happy New Year and thank you for all your support during the last year.

Love and Hugs,

Annie x

Wiebelkaart!

Hello again! I am back after my festive break with the family and running late for my DT card for this week's anything goes challenge on Cute Card Thursday.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Heather's Hobbie Heaven with a $10 gift certificate for our winner. 

I started working on this creation in odd moments over the past few days as my entry to the Marianne Design Challenge for a wiebelkaart .. ... My translator wasn't too sure about that word, but after looking at the fabulous examples from the design team I sussed that it was some kind of semi circle card .. .. remember the Weebles - they wobbled but didn't fall down .. .. the boys had them for Christmas 30 years or so ago!  I kept it simple, although some of the examples are far more complicated with different cuts and layers, I drew around a plate to get my circle then simply folded it in half and covered the front with MD paper and a lace trim.  I got to use some of my new dies, Christmas pressies from the boys and Mum, along with some of the old favourites. These are the Marianne Design products I've used on this card:

patterned paper - Eline's Warm Winter Wishes bloc PB7039
stamp - Snoejes HM9439
large flower - LR0105
centre of large flower, small flowers and tiny leaves - CR1210
skeleton leaves - LR0156
butterflies - LR0158
hearts - LR0159
pretty scallop background and text layers - LR0180

I've stamped the image with brown Momento then coloured with Copics, mostly E40s as I didn't want any one particular part of the card to outshine another.  To finish things off I've made the ivory pearls with the Wacco pearl maker pen although I got them a little too close together on the butterflies and some have joined up, but I think it works ok as they look like the abdomen. The text is by LOTV, again stamped with brown Momento and I've bent the petals on the large main flower to give a little extra dimension, the flowers are cut from Coredinations card and it's a bit thick for bending but just about works ok.

I have a lot of catching up to do, but I have to share what I've just seen on the Anja Design blog .. .. if you love the detailed lace/trellis dies that Anja has designed for Marianne, then you are going to adore her new dies coming out soon - just go and drool over the fabulous samples and see if you agree with me .. .. that little sunshade is so cute!

The Fussy and Fancy Friday challenge is to show your furry friends so as my card has a little dog in the image I can enter with them.

I'm not sure if I will get around to blogging again for a day or two as my granddaughter is still with us and I'm not getting much free time.  Plus my style is leaning towards more detailed cards with pretty diecut layers and I find it takes me longer to put something together - so you may not see so many creations from me in the next year but hopefully I can make them worth seeing once I finally get around to blogging!

Here's to us then, Have a Very Happy New Year - and a fabulous, fun and crafty 2013.

Vintage Merry Christmas

The eagle eyed amoungst you might recognise this creation from my desk a couple of week's back .. .. I'd almost forgotten about it!  It's a pocket card, well not a actually a card in the sense that it opens and stands up but, I might fix it to a tent fold card base and use it for next year - once I get back to my craft stash again that is.  After taking off half the front of what was a kraft square card for something else, I was left with a short flap so used a pretty Marianne lace edge die on it and inked the embossed areas with Walnut DI to make them stand out.  I took a piece of Marianne paper and cut the scallp to fit under the lace edge then used the plain 'knitted' print on the back flap before sticking the edges down to create the pocket.

The tag is more of the Marianne knitted paper and cut out label from the pack.  I stamped the Marianne little border and text with brown Momento then added my diecut embellishments and the pearls to finish things off.

The Marianne dies I used are:

Anja's lace - LR0201
mini poinsettia - LR0142
swirl - LR0116

The Holly Jolly Christmas challenge is for vintage creations and the Fab 'n' Funky challenge is to add a little ribbon or lace - I just have the pretty lace loop on my Christmas tag but hopefully it's enough. The girls over at Fussy and Fancy Friday are looking for tags or banners, so I'll link up with them too.

Christmas Dinner

This week on Cute Card Thursday our theme is to eat, drink and be merry! and our sponsor is Whimsy Stamps.

I coloured up this cute LOTV image with my Copics and then got stuck with finding papers to match so kept to a predominately white look with just a little blue in the background paper and mat. Fingers crossed my turkey turns out looking that lovely golden colour!

A relatively simple card with the pretty white mat cut from Marianne die LR0234 then embellished with the holly sprigs LR0244 and mini poinsettia flowers LR0142 plus the pretty AB gems.

Creative Inspirations have an anything goes theme running, and the Papertake Weekly challenge is for your pick of the year - and I've picked the anything goes theme again!  Stampavie and More have a Christmas theme and so do the Stamptacular Sunday challenge.

And an additional exciting piece of news - I've been asked to join the Stampavie and More challenge blog team!  It used to be called Stamping with Sarah Kay, and I love my older SK stamps so must get them inky again next year, although now the blog is open for any stamped image.  The weather has turned nasty here, again, so I am just holding my breath for the electricity to last .. .. better press the publish button quick!

WOYWW - Merry Christmas!

Well it has been busy and eventful here and I've not got much crafting done. As you can see the table and sideboard have been cleared and my stash is neatly put away, so not much to show to Julia at the Stamping Ground and the WOYWW girls. I even sorted out my SU! cardstock into the appropriate colour collections so I would know which red is what red, if you get me! The tree is up and decorated, I went for a £25 artificial one from Tesco and just used my clear and gold decorations on it, plus a couple of new clear and white ones as that was going to be my colour scheme - maybe in a year or two I will have collected enough. My sister paid us a flying visit yesterday and thankfully we had electric so I could cook lunch. We have had 2 power failures since Friday last - the problem is the water getting into an underground cable joint and now we have to wait for it to go 'pop' - a technical term I'm told! They have replaced the big fuses in the sub-station twice, and next time they may do something to make it go 'pop'. Strange as it may seam I am hoping we get lots of rain today so it goes again and can be fixed before Christmas .. .. the last thing I want is for it to 'pop' half way through cooking the turkey!
 

I wanted to enter a card in the Marianne Design Challenge again, but with a theme of red, white and green I was struggling as all my Marianne papers are vintage/muted in style.  The challenge ends in just a bit so I must rush to finish this post and get linked up.  On Saturday we went to Truro and called in at Hobby Craft where they have a small selection of Marianne dies.  This scallop rectangle set LR0111 has been on my wish list for a while and when I saw it on the stand it kinda jumped in to my basket!  I've used the flowers and swirls from the set and it's twin LR0112 to create my card, along with a stamp from the Stampfairy set of greetings - simple but hopefully effective.  There's a candy offer on the blog too, so why not stop by.

I'll come back to link up with some other challenges once I get a chance to catch up and go down my blog list .. ..

Die Cuttin Divas challenge theme is Holiday Spirit so I can enter with them

Totally Papercrafts Sketch

This week on Totally Papercrafts Lisa has designed a sketch for the challenge, and our sponsor is the Digi Stamp Boutique.  This is our last challenge before the Festive Holiday begins in earnest and we take a little break, so here's wishing you all a Happy Christmas.

My card is looking rather washed out as I had to take it under my daylight lamp.  The papers are all from an old Papermania Christmas pad and I've matted with green and ivory card.  The text is a Serendipity Cling stamp inked up with Sahara Sand Versamagic chalk ink, and perhaps I should have gone a little darker but I was keeping to the same ink that I've used to distress the edges of my layers and to colour the embossed areas on my circle die cut.  Anyway, it's a simple little card, a little strip of cotton lace across the join and then the various Marianne die cuts, finally finishing off with the cream pearls made with the Wacco pearlmaker pen.

The Marianne dies I used for this card:
flowers and skeleton leaves - LR0156
stamens from - LR0122
Anya's skeleton leaves - LR0228
spiky spray - LR0192
circle - LR0112

The Cupcake Craft challenge is for a Merry Christmas, while the Anything Goes challenge blog are looking for traditional Christmas colours - I've gone for the traditional red and the green combi!

We are having internet problems again - last night nothing at all and this morning I keep getting the 'no connection to the internet' message.  I'm not sure if it is the weather (howling and torrential rain again) or, perhaps hopefully they are working on the promised upgrade .. .. ..  If you have left me a comment I will try to reciprocate, but please be patient - eventually I'll get back to you!

Simply Charming

The theme this week on Cute Card Thursday is 'Simply Charming' - to add a charm to your creation.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Katherina from Whiff of Joy who is offering the winner a choice of stamp from her collection.

As I wasn't able to do much detailed colouring on Tuesday when I was putting this card together, it's primarily a mix of paper and diecuts.  The one little extra is the little stamped deer from Eline's winter stamp set that I fussy cut out yesterday to add in the bottom corner.  The red background paper is from Eline's winter huis pretty paper bloc and I've matted with ivory and green card, added a length of red lace and green gross grain ribbon, then cut a circle out of an old Papermania Xmas pad that had the greeting and fixed to the doily circle die cut. The little holly sprig charm I've had for years so that's finally come in useful! and to embellish I've used what is probably my favourite Marianne die - the mini poinsettias, with a close runner up being the holly sprig.

Here's the list of Marianne dies:
mini poinsettia - LR0142
holly sprig - LR0244
snowflake - CR1225
round doily - LR0168

It just so happens that Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas challenge this week is 'deer, deer' so I hope that my one little fawn will be enough to let me join in.  The Christmas Card challenge is to use diecuts, and the ABC Christmas challenge are on to Y - for your favourite die .. .. the mini poinsettias of course!  And the Divas by Design challenge is for red on your creation this week - so here's mine.

WOYWW - a mess!

I am trying to get tidied up and cleared away so the table can be used over Christmas for eating meals .. .. but hey ho!  I've missed Julia's What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday for a few weeks but as I've nothing else to share with you today I thought I'd snap the mess.  There's a couple of cards on top of the Copics that you'll see in detail over the next couple of days.  And a couple of coloured images there in front that just didn't want to work for me .. .. and a SK over the back that I coloured ages ago and still haven't done anything with.  I really am a messy crafter!

Unfortunately, one of the reasons I've not been blogging the past couple of days is because I had a bit of an allergic reaction to mushrooms that caused my eyes to swell, even my eyeballs!  I've had it before but never could pin down the cause, and thankfully never so bad.  However, Monday night we had quite a few mushrooms that needed using up so there was a pile on my plate, and before I'd finished my meal my eyes were itching and swelling shut.  Thankfully we had anti-histamine in the house so one of those calmed the itch, but my eyes were just about swollen shut and yesterday morning they were still quite sore, so I wasn't able to do much crafting.  Today I've been playing catch up and getting nowhere fast.  The two coloured images were meant to be for my DT cards this week but I just couldn't get them to look right so they will have to be turned into something else.

Now I had better try and catch up with my DT commenting and see what's going on with other WOYWW desks - back tomorrow with my CCT card.

Ice Skating Don

We had no internet access again yesterday and it's a little bit iffy today, fingers crossed I don't loose you before I can press the publish button!  This is another Marianne card with the skates die that I recently won and the freebie Skating Don stamp from the Papercrafts Essential magazine.  In addition I've used papers from Eline's Scandinavian Winter paper bloc and diecut the snowflakes from scraps of blue card.  Then I've stamped the little red snowflakes that came on the Eline's Owls clear set of stamps across the cream paper layer and finished off with the little red gems. This card is a lot less fussy than some I've made recently but hopefully still works ok.  The Marianne dies on this card then are the skates LR0247, and snowflakes LR0123 amd CR1227.

I don't tend to do much on the inside of my cards, a little stamped text and maybe a stamped image that doesn't need colouring in.  This time I had a tiny scrap of the paper left after I trimmed for the card so rather than bin it, I stuck it inside under the text that originally I'd planned for the front, but it didn't look right, and finally added the stamped snowflakes along the bottom edge.

The Winter Wonderland blog have a red and blue colour theme so I can enter with them this week, and the My Time To Craft blog as well as the Fab 'n' Funky blog both have a non traditional Christmas colours theme, hopefully red and blue is on the mark for them.  And I just saw on Squirrel's blog that By The Cute and Girly also have a red, white and blue colour challenge for December!  Then there's also the Marianne Design Divas challenge that's still got a few more days left to run with the theme of a card for a gentleman, and seeing as you can enter more than once this will be my second go with them.

It's a miserable day here in Cornwall, and I thought we were supposed to be having a break from all this 'weather' .. .. I need to get a couple of DT cards made for the run up to Christmas then I'll have to start thinking about clearing the table and tidying up the dining area before my guests arrive for the holiday - I'm cooking for 10 this year .. .. that's a lot of veggies to peel and a big turkey to go in the oven!  Sometime this week I'll have to start thinking about a tree .. .. not sure if a real one or go buy a fake one .. .. I do like the real ones but they are getting so expensive and the fake ones are getting better looking and cheaper each year - decisions, decisions!

One for the boys!

This week on the Totally Paper Crafts blog our theme is "one for the boys" and the sponsor for this challenge is Simon Says Stamps.

I've made a simple card for DH with one of my old High Hopes stamps, Santa Fishing, and coloured with Copics before cutting out to fit my frame and inking the edges.

Here it is, a slightly different picture to the one on the TPC blog as I've now added a sprinkling of glitter to his hat and the fish.  The festive patterned paper is from a very old Papermania pack matted with Cherry Cobbler card from SU!  I diecut the Marianne frame (LR0234) and Mistletoe sprays (LR0189) from the same kraft card as my base and inked the embossed areas and the edges with Walnut DI.  I've added the berries with my Wacco cream pearl maker pen, a little text, a button tied with string and a tiny heart finish things off.

The One Stop Craft theme is Christmas for the boys, and Everybody Art also have a Christmas theme and for the first challenge on the new Christmas at Sweet Stampin' blog they are just looking for Christmas creations, then over on the High Hopes challenge it's an anything goes theme so I'd like to enter all of their challenges with my card.

Red and Green

This week's theme on Cute Card Thursday is "Red and Green", and you don't have to make a Christmas card, but I expect most of us will!  Our sponsor for this challenge is Love To Stamp, the home of Little Darlings Rubber stamps.

For my DT card I've inked up my LOTV trimming the tree stamp and coloured with my Copics keeping to as many red and green tones as I could .. .. but the dog had to be something else!  Little touches of sparkle on the Santa hat and baubles then the faux embossed stitches around the edge before inking with Walnut DI for a vintage touch.

 

My paper is from Eline's winter huis pretty paper bloc from Marianne, backed with Cherry Cobbler card from SU! and again I've inked all the edges.  To embellish I cut Marianne's mini poinsettias (LR0142) and holly branches (LR0244) from Cherry Cobbler and Old Olive cardstock then finished with Burgundy Stickles and a little burgundy and green ribbon tied in a bow.

 

I'd like to enter these challenges with my red and green card: The Fussy and Fancy Friday challenge is for Christmas, and Addicted to Stamps also have a Christmas Time theme, then there's an anything goes theme at Papertake Weekly.  Over at Lili's Little Fairies today the theme is to punch it, or die cut, using at least 3 different dies/punches.  Hopefully I can get away with my entry as the poinsettia's are created with 3 different dies (2 different sizes of petals plus the stamen die) and the holly boughs are made with 2 different dies as well so that's 5 dies total.

Tea for Two

I'm back!  My weekends are busy with family just now, it's the only time I get to see DH, so crafting takes a back seat.  I did manage to finish this card in odd moments, although I'm not too sure about the greeting .. .. it's just fixed with little 3d foam pads so I could with a bit of luck and care replace it with something else.  Anyway, having won the 2nd prize on the Marianne Design Challenge blog last month, I thought I'd enter again this month.  My translation read to create a card that wasn't square or rectangular, so I came up with this circular design.  I cut the base card with a very old Sizzix die then added the pretty Marianne circles and embellishments cut from Eline's Scandinavian Winter paper pack and scraps of red and soft blue card.  The stamped image is called Daisiy's Birthday and I've coloured with my Copics before fussy cutting out and 3d fixing to the inner blue circle.  I've inked the embossed layers on the outer circle with chalk ink, and finished off with blue pearls.

The Marianne products I used on this card are:
Eline's Scandinavian Winter paper bloc - PB7040
Daisy's Birthday stamp - DDS3308
Eline's Scandinavian woven hearts die - CR1228
Flower and stamens - LR0112
Double Frame Circles LR0141
Butterfly - LR0158
Leaf sprays - LR0192
Text from clear stamp sheet - SF1118

The Stampavie and More challenge is anything but square so I'm entering with them too.

Christmas Box

This is my first proper DT entry for the Totally Papercrafts blog, and this week the theme is to create something for Christmas, but not a card.  Our sponsor for this challenge is Wild Rose Studio.

I have made a pizza box from a sheet of SU! Cherry Cobbler cardstock and decorated with papers from a Milton & Co paper pack that came free with a magazine ages ago, matted with SU! Cookie Crumb card.  I've inked all the edges with Walnut DI, then made a ribbon slide to keep the box closed.  I like to make my closure this way, it can easily be slid off and any join is hidden under the 'plate' that the embellishments are fixed on.  I hope I've explained that ok.  I've taken the pictures under my daylight lamp so the colours are looking washed out again - not sure how to fix it.

Here's a close up view of the embellishment, all cut with various Marianne dies.  The 'plate' that everything is fixed on is cut from the Cookie Crumb with the embossed areas inked with Walnut DI then fixed to the ribbon with red line tape.  I've cut the poinsettia and holly leaves from SU! Cherry Cobbler and Always Artichoke and again inked the embossed areas.  The ribbon is looking a bit pink in the picture, it's not quite that colour in real life, and is recycled from a box of chocs.  I finished with a little tag that I can write the recipient's name on, little red gems, and a sprinkling of hearts from my die cut waste jar.

This is the list of Marianne dies I used:
base plate - LR0240
poinsettia - LR0122
mini poinsettia (on front edge of the box) - LR0142
holly spray - LR0244

I'd also like to enter my box into the Corrosive challenge where it's an anything goes week, Creative Inspirations for traditional Christmas colours,  and the Crafty Catz challenge to recycle/upcycle something - the ribbon.

Let it Snow!

Our theme this week on Cute Card Thursday is snowflakes, and our sponsor is the Pretty Little Ribbon Shop . 

I've used the Marianne stamp that is free with issue #88 of the Papercraft Essentials magazine and a piece of the freebie paper that comes with it too.  In addition I stamped the snowflake border from the set in Lavender pearlescent Brilliance ink and added a couple of subtle snowflakes to the image layer with matching chalk ink.  I've coloured Ice Skating Don with my Copic pens and added the chalk inked embossed stitched edge to tie it in with the pretty kraft mat, mind you I've covered most of it up!  The snowflakes are all various Marianne dies and I created a flower embellishment too.  The text is an old Serendipity Cling stamp, inked up with the Lavender Brilliance.  I'll list the Marianne dies I used in just a bit, first here's the other challenges that I'd like to enter with my card: Stamp with Fun have a winter theme, and the Totally Stampalicious theme is Let It Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

These are the Marianne dies I used on this card:
snowflakes - LR0123, LR0124, CR1226, CR1227
frame and flower - CR1202
skeleton leaves and spray - LR0228

Sorry to be MIA for a few days.  I had to do quite a bit of travelling what with Mark's van being in the garage to fix the missing wheel, but at least I had a lovely time visiting my friend Wynneth.  It has taken me a while to get my breath back, but hopefully I'll be able to get back to crafting and sharing my creations with you again very soon.

Gentlemen's Card

The current theme on the Marianne Design Divas challenge blog is to create something for a gentleman using your Marianne Design products.  After seeing a few twisted easel cards on blogs, I thought I'd have a go at making one - easier than it is to photograph one!  I just took a small square cream card and scored the top half diagonally from the bottom left corner on the card spine to the top right corner then folded it in to create this version.  I've used paper from the Eline's Warm Winter Wishes pack and used one of the tags to create the stop to keep the card open.  I was careful to make sure that everything would still fit in the envelope when the card was closed - the star is fixed with a brad so you can turn it to fit in the envelope.

Here's the base of the card so you can see the stop I created.  I've inked the edges of my paper and card with Walnut Distress ink and used it to stamp the holly spray in the corners.  I've embellished with various Marianne dies - list in a bit.

And this is the easel part of the card.  I stamped the reindeer with the same DI and fussy cut him out, stamped the mistletoe on to the star, and diecut the trees, finishing off with cream pearls made with my Wacco pearl maker pen.  All the stamps are on the Eline's Winter Huis clear stamp sheet.  I had to take the picture with the daylight lamp again as the light is dreadful here in Cornwall, along with the weather, the colours are a little washed out.  Anyway, here's the list of Marianne dies I used:

trees -LR0136
star - CR1226
mini poinsettia - LR0142
fronds - LR0107
swirl - LR0116

I'm also entering my card for the Christmas Stamping All Year challenge to use lots of dies, the One Stop Craft challenge for a Vintage Christmas, and the Dutch Dare card challenge for fancy folds.

I am sat here a nervous wreck at the moment.  Hubby got a call out a few hours ago, unfortunately he's had an accident .. .. he's ok, the van isn't though having lost a wheel.  He rang to say the police were with him as he was blocking the road and they felt he might cause another accident .. .. anyway, it seems unlikely that he will make it back here tonight and he doesn't want me to drive out to get him as the weather is so bad.  Normally Mathew would help out and bring Mark back here, but he's a tree surgeon and back on standby to clear any fallen trees from the roads .. .. he worked well after dark yesterday and no doubt will be called out again tonight/tomorrow. Fortunately the dogs are here with me, but that means I will have to get soaking wet taking them out for wees etc this evening and in the morning .. .. .. not something I'm looking forward to.  The internet connection keeps disappearing today but I saw the BT van 100 yards up the road at one of the junction boxes so I guess they are working on a fault somewhere, hopefully by now it is fixed and I might get around to visiting you.

Happy Holidays

Today I have a little card to share with you that is also being shown in the Marianne Design card gallery, along with a couple of others.  And I am excited to tell you that my Fantasy Christmas card won 2nd prize in the Marianne Design challenge blog! I have made this card for my granddaughter who told me back in the summer that she likes owls.  Hopefully she is going to spend Christmas with us so I am looking forward to taking her to the Screech Owl Sanctuary near here.  The cute owl image is by Eline Pellinkof for Marianne Designs, coloured with my Copics then cut to fit the centre of the square doily die and with the edges inked with red chalk ink.

I've used a small square scallop card for my base and added a piece of paper from the Scandinavian Winter paper bloc matted with a soft red cardstock, and I inked the edges of the paper first with red chalk ink to take off the white edge.  The text is from Eline's Winter Huis stamp sheet and to finish off I've added the green holly boughs, red stickles for berries, and a little star charm tied onto fine red ribbon.

Marianne dies on this card include: square doily - LR0169, and holly branches - LR0244.

Just a couple of challenges for this card: Crafty Creations challenge is for Christmas, and at the Creative Card Crew it's anything goes.

Girls only allowed!

This week on Cute Card Thursday we are going all girlie!  Our sponsor for this challenge is Heather's Hobbie Heaven. I have inked up one of my old Sarah Kay stamps, coloured her with Copics then added a light dusting of loose sparkly glitter for snow, although I haven't necessarily made a Christmas card.  Seeing her in close up I am not happy with those boots, but my poor E43 has all but run out so I must order a refill or blending between E44 and E42 will get rather difficult!  For the creamy tones I've used E30, 31 & E55, the Winter hare is R0000 & R000, and her quilted jacket is R20, 32, 35 & 37.  The fence she is sat on I coloured with BG90, 93 & 96.

My greeting is from a Marianne Christmas set but could be used at any time, I am thinking this would make a pretty Winter birthday card.  The papers are also by Marianne, matted with SU! Soft Suede card and with the edges of both layers inked with Victorian Velvet DI (not showing up on the SS card).  To embellish I've added a bow tied with crochet ribbon and cut various Marianne dies, list below, finally finishing off with cream pearls made with my Wacco pearl maker pen.

Marianne dies for this card:
rosebud corner - LR0215
mini poinsettias - LR0142
sprays - LR0192

I'd like to enter my card into the Crafty Catz challenge for sparkle, and the Papertake challenge for ribbon and pearls.

LIM Hardware

I wasn't sure about this week's hardware challenge on the Less Is More blog, then I found the bells! A light bulb moment as I knew the Jingle Bells text was on the Eline's Winter Huis set from Marianne Design.  I took one of my C6 Kraft cards, although in the picture it looks grey as well as out of focus - my daylight lamp must need dusting as well as my specs .. .. .. I've done the embossed stitching around the edge of the card and my text piece then inked with Walnut DI.  I mounted the text with 3d pads for a little dimension, and also the Snowflake, added the bells and the ribbon, then to balance things I stuck 3 tiny star gems in the bottom right corner of the text. Ta dah!

That's it folks!  I'll try and do a little blog visiting later on.  At the moment Jason is playing some war beat 'em up game and I've already been told off for killing off half the regiment when uploading my picture!

My Fantasy Christmas Scene

When you are battling with the after effects of a migraine, the brain can do strange things .. .. and here is the result!  A fantasy Christmas card in blue and red created at the last minute for the Marianne Design blog challenge to make a DL card - not a size I use that often so a little lateral thinking was required .. .. get it .. .. lateral = DL/sideways  .. .. ok! You also had to use a stamp or picture from Marianne, I have chosen the cute little bird stamps from Eline's Merry Little Christmas set and coloured them with my Copics before fussy cutting them.  I've just learnt that fussy cutting means just that, fussy cutting around the image - I like that term!

Here's the full card, taken with my daylight lamp again as it's been dull in Cornwall all day.  The background paper from the Scandinavian Winter bloc is matted with dark red card then I've added a little faux stitching around the edge.  I cut the trees from another pattern in the block and stamped the stars with red Brilliance before fussy cutting them out (they come on the set with the birds) and adding tiny blue gems.  The text is from Eline's Winter House stamp set and I've stamped it in red Brilliance on to the little tag which has been inked in blue Brilliance first.  I've also cut the ivy leaves and inked them in blue too, and the fence from blue card inked with red chalk ink.  So here's the list of Marianne products I've used:

Scandinavian Winter paper bloc, stamps from Eline's Winter House and Eline's Merry Little Christmas.  Fence - LR0205, Ivy - LR0206, text tag - LR0240, Trees - CR1227.

Divas by Design challenge is an anything goes theme so I'm entering with them at the last minute too!

CAS Black and White

Fabulous news yesterday .. .. I've been asked to join the DT on the Totally Papercrafts Challenge blog!  So, I thought it was only right that I make a card for this week's challenge, although I'm not sure if I can enter it or not .. .. .. The theme is for a CAS style in black and white.  Mmmmm - I was going to give this one a miss but thought surely I could come up with something easy, especially as I'm not feeling 100% at the moment. Well after a few false starts and changes of direction I created this card - I've deliberately omitted a sentiment so I can use it for anything, plus it keeps things a little simpler.  I had to have a play with my new crafty goodies, they are older Marianne dies designed by Anja van Laar, and if you haven't seen her blog do take a look .. .. after several visits I've got more of her dies on my list for Santa!  The musical score is a stamp from the Marianne Christmas set designed by Eline Pellinkhof called Eline's Winter Huis, and she also has a fabulous inspirational blog here.  Apart from a few sparkly gems in the centre of the flowers that's it for this card, hopefully it fits the bill .. .. I sat on my hands and avoided adding faux stitching on the white layers and also from cutting out any more pretty twiddly bits!

The Marianne dies I used are:
square lacy black doily - LR0169
flower from - LR0169 (small black) and LR0168 (large white)
sprays - LR0192

Totally Gorjuss want something plain and simple this week so hopefully they will like this card - it's a lot simpler than some I've been making!