Christmas is Coming...

... the Goose is Getting Fat; Please Put a Penny In The Old Man's Hat;

If You Haven't Got A Penny; A Ha'penny Will Do;

If You Haven't Got a Ha'penny; Then God Bless You.

This for me is how we should celebrate Christmas... excited and happy,

whilst sparing a thought for others!

 

 

 

Now on with the crafting... I have finished my Christmas cards, yes I have!  Each year I make cards (all the same) for friends with the aim of sending them out by 1st December - sometimes it works ~ sometimes it doesn't (last year it didn't,).

 

So this years card... I decided to make a one layer card (the post is SO expensive now), BUT (yes there's always a but) I didn't want it to be boring.  So, since it was to be a one layer card I would make it duel purpose.  My card also turns into a bookmark, clever huh?

 

I used a different blade on my paper trimmer to make the ------------ lines (sorry, minds gone blank), oh yeah, 'perforating' blade. Really cool little gadget, but remember to put your ordinary blade back in!  (NOTE TO SELF: follow ones own advise!)

 

The white base cards were cut with the CRICUT and the 'Elegant Edges' cartridge, I used HUNKYDORY Christmas CS because it is such a good weight.  The patterned side would be the back.  The trees are also cut using the CRICUT, this time with my GYPSY and the 'Cricut Craft Room Basics'.  The card was perforated, to make the middle section into a bookmark (I hope my friends appreciate my thoughtfulness LOL).   My computer generated the sentiment (such a clever little laptop) and put arrows and "tear" at the bottom (I didn't want them missing my bookmark, after all!). I decorated the front of the card, making sure things were stuck only to their own sections, thereby not ruining or interfering with the 'tear off' middle section.  I had a little mass production going on for a while. 1. do all CRICUT cutting, 2. ink all edges, 3. perforate all card bases, 4. cut all other embellishments, 5. emboss using CUTTLEBUG and a CRAFTS-TOO folder called 'dots' and CUTTLEBUG folder 'D'vine Swirls', 6. generate sentiment, 7. get sticking...

Most of the papers used are from the PAPERMANIA 'Festive Frolics' stack, it is rather old, so I'm glad I've used nearly all of it up now.  I could of done more embellishing to the back, but decided not to... the idea was to reduce postage, if I made it any thicker it would defeat the object of a one layer card!

 

 I made a bit of a boob, I realise I wanted to add a 'snowy curtain' along the top, but I had already done the perforating, if I then put anything over the top it wouldn't pull apart (oh, woe is me!).  I got around this by cutting my strips of white to size, stamped the sentiment from a set by Mary at CARDZ.TV, I then punched a border with my MARTHA STEWART 'drippy goo' punch (this formed the 'curtain', with some glitter forming the 'snow').  I then perforated these strips BEFORE adding them to the card (yeap, I had to do it the long way 'round... but hey ho, that's what crafting's all about... no mistakes, just opportunities to get creative!).  After adhereing all my little Christmas trees to the front and adding some red organza ribbon and some more glitter, oh and a load of gems for added bling... finally, they are ready to post.  Now all I have to do is find my ancient address book and hope no-on has moved!  Take a look...

 

Challenges:-

 

FANTABULOUS CRICUT CHALLENGE BLOG - FCCB #188 - 'Sparkle and Bling'

 

CHNC - Challenge Extra for November

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

 

 

 

Blah... blah... blah...

 

 

 

S Card

I'm sorry folks, I haven't been around lately, I have actually been busy!

 

Busy crafting, that is!  I've started 'Project Life' but more on that another time.  Today I wanted to share an 'S' card with you. 

 

As the Americans say... I had some 'happy mail'.  That is my CRICUT Artiste cartridge arrived (so expensive! But SO worth it) and I immediately started to explore this lovely, lovely cartridge.

 

My happy mail...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And my first 'Artiste' card...

 

The card is cut at 5 1/2", and I used 'TERESA COLLINS' 'Fabrication' papers, I don't what I'm going to do when these run out, I use them all the time!  I used them for this project because they are a really good weight and are double sided.  I cut out the matching 'accent' shape (p. 33) in varying sizes and adhered these to the front and inside.  The stamp is from the CLOSE TO MY HEART stamp set 'D1529', which comes as part of the 'Artiste' bundle.  The button and flowers are from my stash.

 

The nice thing about this cut is that at, 5 1/2 inches you can get two cards from one sheet of 12" x 12".  Love these colours!

Challenges, yeah... why not!

CRAFTY GIRLS CHALLENGES - Ch #6 - 'Anything Goes'

BROWN SUGAR CHALLENGE BLOG - Ch #69 - 'Anything Goes'

CREATIVE CRAFT CHALLENGES 2 - Ch #23 - 'A Recipe For You'

CHALLENGES 4 EVERYBODY - Ch #33 - 'Anything Goes'

ONE STITCH AT A TIME - Ch #190 - 'Anything Goes'

THROUGH THE CRAFT ROOM DOOR CHALLENGE BLOG - Nov 19th - 25th - Anything Goes'

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING


Have a great evening, be thankful, stay safe and be good (feel free to ignore that last one LOL)!

Blah... blah... blah...

 

Artbooking

I've been a VERY naughty crafter!

My mother always tells me (around October time), "Now, remember Christmas is coming, so don't buy yourself anything.  Just put it on your Christmas List."  She's said this to me for the past thirty years, and usually I'm a very good little (size is relative) girl (as is age).  This year?  Oops.

 

I think I can be forgiven, however, because...

 

My lovely family just don't understand crafting!  They don't see the need; they don't understand my paper fetish; they are not sympathetic to my creative wants AND they do not understand the terminology.   What I mean is...

 

"CRICUT", my son thinks he'll need an insect net!

"FISKARS", my mum thinks I'm swearing!

"ATG" ... "What's wrong with your tyres?"  ~  "No, mum not ATS... my sticky stuff"  ~  "Karen, behave yourself!"  "WHAT?"

 

You get the drift, if I was to ask them for some of the crafting supplies I purchase, they'd either get it wrong or ask me to order it anyway,  ("What do you want for Christmas" "I want... oh forget it").  With this philosophy in the back of my mind, I've been on a spending spree (I'll be paying my overdraft back for the next six months but, oh what a buzz!).

 

For a start I found the CRICUT 'Artbooking' cartridge on eBay (such a rarity to find any CLOSE TO MY HEART cartridges outside of the US, that I couldn't resist).  Once I started, I just couldn't seem to stop!  Next I ordered the CRICUT 'Artiste' cartridge (from US, at great expense, but I'm on a roll), I hit the internet next, I got some more supplies, a couple of digi's and more paper (yes, more!  There is no such thing as 'too much paper'), then I did the ultimate in crafting financial stupidity... I watched the shopping channel!  Silly, silly me... oops indeed.

 

So now I'm skint... and owe the bank part of my soul, but you know what?  I'm very, very happy!

 

Back to the artbooking... WOW! I am now seriously addicted to mini albums...

 

 

My first attempt using the CRICUT 'Artbooking' cartridge...  LOVE IT.  I do believe the book rings are a little too big, so I'll be changing those and then putting more ribbons and fibres on the smaller ones.  This mini album is destined to be a Christmas present for my mum, I think its good enough (this little cutie is my niece, her granddaughter), the envelope page (page three) is also perfect for housing the gift card that I'm also planning on giving my mother for Christmas.

 

 

All the little embellishment, like the flowers, hearts and wording are also from the 'Artbooking' cartridge, as is the heart overlay.

 

 

The papers I've used are all from the 'TERESA COLLINS' 'Fabrication' papers along with the matching brads and word stickers.

 

 

Love that envelope page!  Great for holding lots more photos and/or gift cards, oohh my mum's a lucky lady!

 

 

 

The back of the envelope page was a little bit plain, so after I'd put another heart overlay onto it, I decided to stamp it.  I've had this pack of 'Candi' stamps for a VERY long time (they were free), and had long since disappeared into my jungle of goodies (even after a good clear out!).  But for some reason I'd kept the mini 'Candi's' on my desk (probably in the hope of using them up).  Since I liked the colours I decided to use them on this page (now, where have I put the stamps?).  After I'd found the matching stamp set, I used my 'quickie' glue pen (another seldom used item) to adhere them down. 

arhh... there you are!

 

 

A little pocket with tags.

 

 

Very pleased how this turned out, so pleased, in fact that I think its good enough to be a Christmas present (after I change those book rings)!

 

 

 Challenges:-

 

COME AND GET IT CHALLENGES - 'Gift Card Holder'

 

THROUGH THE CRAFT ROOM DOOR - TTCRD November 12 - 18 - 'Anything Goes'

 

THE CUTIE PIE CHALLENGE - Ch #57 - 'Little Cuties'

 

SHOPPING OUT STASH - SOS #127 - 'Use Something Already Out On Your Desk' - 'Candi'

 

USE IT TUESDAY - ch #67 - 'Stick It!' - Quickie Glue Pen

 

CHALLENGES 4 EVERYBODY - Ch #33 - 'Anything Goes'

 

JELLYPARK FRIENDS FRIDAY CHALLENGE - New Challenge - 'ABC - Anything But A Card'    (I missed the 2pm deadline[twit]! GO VISIT THE BLOG THOUGH, it's worth it for the inspiration!)

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

 

 

 

 Blah... blah... blah...

  

 

 

Feeling Blue?

I seem to have a blue theme going on!  I wonder why?  I'm not blue, I don't feel blue, blue is not my favourite colour.  Oh well, my crafting vibe is obviously in charge and dictating all the shots... so I'll just go with the flow...

 

Base card is made from an A4 patterned holographic card cut to 8 1/4" x 8" and scored at 4" then folded in half.  To this... I followed a sketch (see below) to create a dark blue layer, that had been embossed and then a smaller light blue layer, that has some glitter dotted on it.

 

 

 

The "Get Well Soon" is cut from the 'Phrases' CRICUT cartridge (at 3") and adhered using foam pads.

 

 

 The sentiment is computer generated and mounted onto some black CS, then adhered with... yes, you've guessed it - foam pads.

 

I found this cute little button in my stash, and managed to thread some of the same ribbon through it (I don't know how!) as I used on the blue mats.

 

 

Challenges:-

 

SKETCH SATURDAY - wk #284

 

NATALIE AND AMY'S CHALLENGE - Ch #14 - 'For The Boys'

 

FANTABULOUS CRICUT CHALLENGE BLOG - Ch #186 - 'Ribbons and Buttons'

 

DARING CARDMAKERS - 'The Other Occasions and Reasons'

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

 

 

 

 

Blah... blah... blah...

 

 

 

 

 

Bruised Winston?

...that is he's black and blue (ha ha ha)!

FUSSY AND FANCY Challenge - Ch # 101 - 'Black and Blue'

I had such fun thinking of something black and blue with 'Yes Master', that I decided to have another go!  This time with non-traditional Christmas colours...

 

I used a blue scalloped card blank and layered a black sparkly mat on to it.  The mat is from a stack by DCWV (Die Cuts With a View) called 'All Dressed Up', some lovely, lovely CS in this stack.  I used my CRICUT Expression to cut out the frame and it's shadow in black and blue (the black frame has been embossed using my CUTTLEBUG and a SIZZIX folder called 'woodgrain') the cartridge I used was -  'Elegant Edges'.  The sentiment stamp is from Mary at CARDZ TV, and the coloured image (I used my PROMARKERS) is from Digi Stamp Boutique called 'WINSTON'.

 

 

 

 

The banner is just some left-over white CS, the ends were squeezed together and cut at an angle to create the points, after doing this to both ends and stamping it, it was mounted using foam pads and adhered to the bottom of the card.  I added some glitter to the baubles and...

 

all done!

 

 

Also entering into the following challenges:-

 

 

CHALLENGES 4 EVERYBODY - Ch #33 - 'Anything Goes'

 

ONE STITCH AT A TIME - Ch #189 - 'Holidays'

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

 

 

 

Blah... blah... blah...

 



Christmas Recipe

I'm busy getting my Christmas cards done... I've done the prototype; tested the template; discarded numerous pieces of paper and even vacuumed my craft room, good eh?  Last year I made cards with bars of chocolate inside, this year I will NOT.  The postage is far too high!  I will be sharing, in the very near future... but not today! 

 

Today, I would like to share a little traditional number I quickly put together for a couple of challenges.  The nice thing about HUNKYDORY kits is that they make it SO easy to get a lovely result.

 

Here's my latest Christmas easel card...

 

 

I managed to re-use a green card blank that had been scheduled for disposal (it had previously been covered with patterned paper... which I then decided against... as you do!  But it had left behind rather a lot of unsightly white fibres).  With some left-over oddments from my scrap pile and some mirri card... I must say I'm rather pleased with the result of my bit of recycling!

 

Challenges:-

 

A GEM OF A CHALLENGE - Ch. #104 - 'Christmas Is Coming'

 

ALLSORTS CHALLENGE BLOG - Wk. 231 - 'Christmas Cheer'

 

POLKA DOODLES - Wk.44 - 'Anything Goes Christmas'

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

 

 

Blah... blah... blah...

 

 

 

 

Deer'est

Good Afternoon all...

I'm having a bit of a challenge day... can I combine a few challenges into one card?  That would be a yes!  So I have a sketch challenge, a colour challenge, a couple of 'anything goes' challenges and a specific element challenge (Christmas and Reindeer), here we go...

 

A white scalloped card base with a couple of patterned mats, the blue (x2 on the bottom) is from a stack by MY MIND'S EYE called 'Blink Of An Eye', the brown patterned mat (top) is from CRATE PAPER called 'Portrait Collection'.  I have used my CRICUT Expression to cut the shaped mat using the 'Elegant Edges' cartridge p.39 'oblong' feature key <Swirl2> in cream and the brown layer is cut using the 'shadow' feature key <Swirl2-s> all cut at 3 1/4". 

 

 

The CRICUT was also used to cut out the reindeer, it is from the 'Paper Doll Dress Up' cartridge  p. 74 ('accessories 3' feature key <elf-s>) and is cut at 3 1/4".  I have used a white gel pen to colour in his hooves and to make some highlights.

 

 

 

This sentiment was computer generated and mounted onto some brown CS to match the first base mat.  With a few red gems and some  ribbon et voila!

 

 

 

This is the sketch I used (DIE CUTTIN DIVAS)

 

 

 

 

The colour requirement (DARING CARDMAKERS)

 

 

Challenges:-

 

FANTABULOUS CRICUT CHALLENGE BLOG - Ch #185 - 'FCCB Anything Goes Cricut Crawl'

 

DARING CARDMAKERS - November Colour Combination - 'Blue/Brown'

 

DIE CUTTIN DIVAS - Ch #140 - 'Sketch'

 

ABC CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - V For Vixen - 'Use a Reindeer'

 

CRAFTIN DESERT DIVAS - Craft it up, Link it up , Linky Party #18 - 'Anything Goes'

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

 

 

 

 

Blah... blah... blah...

 

 

Yes, Master

... like that's ever gonna happen!

I saw this digi image at Lacy Sunshine Stamps and I just couldn't resist... all these sarcastic comments kept entering my head!

 

The embossing is from a CUTTLEBUG all-in-one folder 'True Love'

 

Coloured with promarkers, the black ribbon and silver corners are all from my stash,

as was the blue card blank

 

 

Inside the insert reads "In Your Dreams" sorry to spoil your fun boys, I couldn't resist!

 

 

Challenges:-

 

LACY SUNSHINE CHALLENGE BLOG - Ch #20- 'Anything Goes'

 

FUSSY AND FANCY FRIDAY CHALLENGE - Ch #101 - 'Black and Blue'

 

NATALIE AND AMY'S CHALLENGE - Ch #14 -'For the Boys!'

 

CHALLENGES 4 EVERYBODY - Ch #32 - 'Anything Goes'

 

CATCH THE BUG CHALLENGE BLOG - November - 'Anything Goes'

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

 

 

 

 

Blah... blah... blah...

 

 

 

Jelly Park

...what a lovely name, it conjures up thoughts of sweets and sunshine!  This is the name of the digital stamp company that the image below is from...

 

There are some beautiful designs here, its a British company and there are lots of extras on the website that you'll find REALLY, REALLY interesting, so pop over and have a look see!

 

I'm trying to think of something really witty and interesting to say, but I'm afraid my mind is blank!  I'm still recovering from our Halloween disco (on Saturday), which was a huge success and was attended by some great customers and friends, who made an incredible effort in terms of costumes and 'fright night' make-up that I'm truly grateful to be part of this amazing holiday park, so grateful in fact, that I'm lost for word (but not for long!). 

 

We started off with the 'Witches of Eastwick', which very quickly developed into a coven of epic proportions, our version of the 'Munsters' was something to behold, and even the men (we all know, they'd rather leave the make-up to the women and children, and prop up the bar!) got in on the act with 'fright night' wigs, blood and gore (not literally, thank goodness!).  Our resident DJ (AKA Danny 'From Across The Road') was great as usual, managing to get everyone up to dance (yes, even the bar props) ~ funniest thing ever ~ watching us all do the 'Macarena' and 'The Birdie Song' (yes, we did!) I'm afraid my hips wouldn't quite allow me to participate in 'gangnam style' but my mum had a go! The raffle was outstanding, and for once the big 'teddies' didn't go first, although the wonderfully generous people who did win them... promptly donated them to the nearest child with tears in their eyes and a quivering bottom lip! Yes, truly a great night.

 

My card creation for today is following the Christmas theme, but with a twist. Can I make a Christmas card and following 2nd week of Cheerful stamp pad challenge 72: purple and yellow? You decide...

 

 

This cute image is from Jellypark  'girl and Christmas stocking', has been coloured in the required yellow and purple and mounted onto a piece of yellow CS, which is mounted onto a piece of purple star holographic CS, which has been mounted onto (I've got a theme going on here!) a gold card blank. Ribbon and glitter for bling and voila.

 

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this set of sentiment stamps from Mary at CARDZ TV

 



Challenges:-

 

THE CHEERFUL STAMP PAD - Ch #72 - 'Colour Challenge - Yellow and Purple'

 

ONE STITCH AT A TIME - Ch #188 - 'Use A Digi'

 

A CARD A DAY BLOGGING

... also decided to enter (after some advice, thanks Hazel) CRAFTY HAZELNUT'S CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE EXTRA - November 

 

 

 

Blah... blah... blah...