Happy Gnomeness!

Thank you so much for visiting me!  I have a Christmas card today - in fact it is the Christmas card I made for my husband, Darren.

The gnomes are from Two Jay's Stamp Company and were stamped and embossed on snippets of white card, coloured with Sentimentally Yours watercolour pens, fussy cut out then glued inside the wonderful Lavinia wreath which was stamped in nocturn Versafine Clair in first and second generation ink.  The additional little stamps are from the same Lavinia set except the snowflakes which are a separate Lavinia set of just snowflakes.  The Heart is from a Sizzix  die set and is cut from a snippet of red card and the hanger is a snippet of white card cut to fit. then coloured in.  There is Glossy Accents on the darker berries on the wreath, the heart, the hats, the buttons and the boots.  Red stickles in the centre of the snowflakes and glitter everywhere!  The fur on the gnomes hats is actually dries white glue with added glitter.  The card is a 7 x 7 inch with mats cut with dies.  I was pleased how this turned out and Darren loves it!

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixies Snippets Playground - Use Snippets

We Love Chocolate Baroque - Anything Goes

Allsorts Challange Blog - Sparkle and Shine.

Country View Challenges - Anything Christmas.

Darnell's NBUS - Never Before Used Schtuff - Mine is the Gnomes.

Thank you again for visiting me and whatever you do this Christmas/holidays - have the best time you  possibly can.  For those of you who are sad this year - I send you extra special thoughts and hugs.  

Take care and stay safe. Hugs.  Christine xxxxxx

Advent Calendars!

Hello and thank you for visiting me!  It's not a card from me today - its advent calendars I made for my Granddaughters Freya and Millie.  Well, I said made I actually decorated the 25 drawer wooden units that I bought quite cheaply from The Works.

I left the actual units in the plain wood.  I sanded the finger holes just to make sure there were no sharp edges for little fingers to catch on then I primed with Gesso and painted with different colour acrylic paints.  Then I used a few ready made embellishments but mostly lots and lots of snippets of card and  paper die cut from all the smaller sized Christmas dies I have together with numbers and scalloped circles. I glued everything on with matt medium going over everything with matt medium to give it extra strength.  Then oodles of Stickles glitter glue was added to every drawer for lots of sparkle.  When everything was good and dry, I topped it all off with a coat of Glossy Mod Podge to seal and protect.  I want them to last year after year.  I filled the drawers with chocolates, gifts, large Christmas sequins and other bits and bobs all wrapped up in tissue paper.

I have to say, they are going down really well!

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Country View Challenges - Anything Christmas.

Christmas Crafts All Year Round -  Gifts or something to put gifts in.

Allsorts Challenge Blog - Sparkle and Shine.

Thank you again for visiting me.  Take care and stay safe! Hugs  - Christine xxx

Birthday Birds!

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog.  Sorry I haven't been around much lately - I always seem to be apologising don't I?

A birthday card today - next time will be back to Christmas.  I made this for my friend's son - apparently he was very pleased with it!

The background was cut from a piece of card I had used for cleaning my brayer.  The birds are stamped on snippets of white card using Versafine Clair nocturn embossed with clear powder.  I then coloured with Sentimentally Yours watercolour pens, fussy cut them out then glued them in a tower to the panel.

The little stars were die cut from a snippet of red card and the words from another snippet of white card.  The stamp set I used is Aall and Create 346 For The Birds - I can't remember off hand which set the words came from.  I made the green card base - its DL size.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixies's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets.

Darnell's NBUS Challenge - Never Before Used Schtuff - Mine is the For The Birds stamp set.

We Love Chocolate Baroque - Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations - Anything with Wings.

Time Out Challenges - Its all about the words - I chose Wings.

I hope you are coping ok with Covid and Christmas however it is being handled in whatever part of the world you are in.  We are still staying in and not seeing anyone except for the odd garden visit.  We are happy to stay that way until we get the vaccine which will hopefully be in the not too distant future!

Thank you again for visiting me. Take care and stay safe. Hugs. Christine xxx

Oh Christmas Tree!

 Hello and thank you so much for visiting me!  I have a Christmas card today and it is the first one I have made this year.  The time has gone by so quickly  I can hardly believe its December next month.

I used a clear stamp set called O Christmas Tree by Creative Expressions.  I bought it in an online sale very cheaply recently and I love it!  It cried out for snippets of left over patterned paper and fussy cutting.  I stamped the trees and pots in Nocturne Versafine Clair on leftover pieces of patterned paper - the starry paper is Lily of the Valley - I treasure my pads of their paper and keep every snippet as they only do digital paper now.  The pots I am not sure which paper pad the snippets are from.  The tree stumps are stamped on snippets of white card and stamped with Distress Oxide - I think I used Frayed Burlap. When they were all stamped, I fussy cut them out and glued them onto a white panel then used my Misti to stamp the stars and sentiment in the correct places, I used Versafine Clair Glamorous. Everything is from the same stamp set. Then I got my quickie glue pen and glitter and added oodles of sparkle to the whole card - well it is a  Christmas card!  The panel was then added to a card base.  I was going to make a coloured card base but changed my mind and went with white.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets

Darnell's NBUS Challenge - Never Before Used Schtuff

Time Out Challenges - Quick - I can't believe how quickly December and Christmas have come around!

Thank you again for visiting me.

Take care and stay safe!  Hugs Christine xxx

Orange Flowers!

 Hello and thank you for visiting me!  A bright and cheerful card today.

The flower and butterfly stamps are from Sentimentally Yours and were stamped in black Versafine Clair and embossed with clear powder.  The butterfly is stamped on a snippet of card as well as the panel then glued on top of the stamped image.  The colouring is done with Sentimentally Yours Watercolour brush pens and the die which looks like wood along with the 'Hi', are from a set by Waffle Flower called Message Boards.  They were cut from snippets of card.  I added lots of stickles for sparkle.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixies's Snippets playground - Use Snippets.

Darnell's NBUS Challenge - Never Before Used Schtuff - Mine are the flower, butterfly and  Message Board die set.

The Flower Challenge - Circle/Circles - There are circles in my flowers.

We Love Chocolate Baroque - Anything Goes.

Make my Monday Challenge - Orange as dominant colour.

Well, it looks like the Covid numbers are going up here in the UK.  Not good at all!  They are not as high here in the Bournemouth area as in some other parts of the country but are the highest in the South.  Hopefully they will remain under control.  I am still staying firmly indoors and staying safe!  Although I am off to have a flu jab tomorrow and had  to go to the dentist earlier in the week but apart from that not going anywhere.  

Anyway, please look after yourselves - take care and stay safe!  Hugs Christine xxx

Who's For A Cocktail?

Hello and thank you so much for visiting me! I think at the moment we could all do with a little tipple the way things are going with the virus!  Here is a card I made for a friend's 60th birthday earlier in the year.

I began by making the background by blending Distress Oxides and added a bit of stamping too.  The glasses and contents were all cut with snippets of white card from a die set by Sue Wilson.  The '60' is from a die set from The Works and I cannot remember the make of the Cheers die.  I embossed my inked 'drinks' with a folder called Waterfall by Couture Creations and added Stickles glitter glue for sparkle.  I think the effect looks like bubbles.  

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Everything except the base card and large panel are snippets.

Darnell's NBUS - Never Before Used Schtuff - mine is the cocktail die set.

Time Out Challenges - Inspired by words.

I am very behind with commenting on your lovely blogs again, I am so sorry!  I am pretty slow at most things - I haven't made one Christmas card yet and I am decorating wooden advent calendars for my two Granddaughters - you guessed it, I haven't started those either!  I need the energy or a normal person instead of an ME/CFS sufferer!  Sorry. I shouldn't moan!  

Anyway, I am loving the darker evenings, they are so cosy!  I am a real autumn/winter/lover.  Curled up on the sofa, under a blanket watching tv with a cuppa - lovely!  I know how to party!

Thank you again for visiting me.  Take care and stay safe.  Hugs Christine xxx 

All Hearts!

 A really quick post again as I have a few minutes to catch a very important post!  Its to celebrate Allsorts Challenge Blog birthday!   The theme is 'I Love' .  So my husband's anniversary card from earlier this year is perfect!  I love my husband, I love hearts and I love the Clarity stamps I used to make it!

The stamps are so fun and I stamped them on Clarity design paper which I glued to card to make thicker, then embossed with clear powder and cut out with Clarity heart dies.  The background is a Sue Wilson embossing folder and the sentiment is HobbyArt.

Would like to enter the following challenges:

Allsorts - 'I Love'

Pixies Snippet's Playground - Use Snippets - mine are the sentiment and the smaller hearts.

Have to go to catch challenge.  Thank you so much for visiting me.  Take care and stay safe.

Hugs Chris xxxxxxx

50th Flower!

 Hello and thank you for visiting me.  This is a very quick post as I am not feeling too good today and want to enter Pixies's Snippets Playground which ends in the morning.

All stamps are Aall and Create, inks are Oxides and Versafine Claire.  The '50' is a die set from the works.  I used snippets for the flower, leaf and sentiment.  Lots of fussy cutting and doodled edge.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixies Snippets Playground - Use Snippets.

Darnell's NBUS Challenge - Never Before Used Schtuff. Mine is the Flower.

Thank you again for visiting me, I am off to bed now.  Take care and stay safe!  Christine xxx

Be Happy Always!

Hello and thank you so much for visiting me!  My card today has a very important sentiment - be happy always!

The background is a Uniko background stamp inked with various shades of pink Distress Oxides stamped on a piece of white card.  On a snippet of white card I stamped the flower image, again Uniko, coloured with Promarkers then added different colours of Stickles.  When dry, I glued to panel then to pink card base.  The sentiment which is from Pinkfresh Studio and is taken from a large background stamp, has been stamped on another snippet of white card.  Finally, I added the three black gems.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixies's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets.

Penny Black and More - Say it With Flowers.

Time Out Challenges - Photo Challenge.

Darnell's NBUS Challenge - Never Before Used Schtuff - Mine is the background stamp and the sentiment stamp.

Thank you again for visiting me.  I had a nice week this week as it was my birthday on Wednesday.  I had a really lovely day with cakes, the odd tipple and lots of gorgeous cards and pressies! 

Take care of yourselves and stay safe!  Hugs Christine xxx

Twofer Butterflies!

Hello and welcome to my blog, thank you so much for visiting me.  My cards today are for Darnell's fabulous Twofer Challenge.  

I used Darkroom Door Butterfly Garden border stamp for both my cards.

For the first card I used a left over piece of inked card and stamped the border stamp on it with black Versafine Clair.  I backed it with black card then attached it to a pink card base which I made myself.  The sentiment is from Hobbyart and stamped on another snippet of pre inked card which I edged with ink and popped up on double sided foam tape.

For the second card I stamped and clear embossed the border stamp on white card and used a Clarity die to cut it into circles.  I coloured the images in with Sentimentally Yours watercolour pens.  I popped a piece of black card through a Sheena Douglas embossing folder and added to a white card blank then glued the circles, stones, glitter and sentiment (cut from snippets) to the embossed mat and it was done.

I like the Twofer Challenge as it makes you think how to use your stamps in different ways, thank you Darnell!

I would also like to enter the following challenges too!

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets.

Darnell's NBUS - Never Before Used Schtuff.

People are going out a lot more, especially with the new rules regarding wearing face masks here in England.  I, however, am still not going out!  I am waiting to see how thing go.  Luckily I have very good and kind neighbours to help.

Take care and stay safe.  Christine xxxxxx

Butterfly and Bulbs!

Hello and thank you visiting me.  I have a card today which I made for my Brother in Law last month. He is an electrician so thought this was appropriate!

I used the awesome butterfly from Aall and Create stamp set No 322, stamped in black Versafine Clair and embossed with clear powder.  The colouring is done with Sentimentally Yours watercolour pens then, when dry, I added Glossy Accents to the light bulbs.  I was going to add a sentiment to the card front but decided I liked it just as it is.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge Blog: Something beginning with 'B'. 

Darnell's NBUS Challenge  Never Before Used Schtuff - Its the first outing of this awesome stamp set.

Thank you again for visiting me.

Take care and stay safe!  Christine xxxxxxx

Fab Son!

Hello and thank you for visiting my blog.  Today's card is one I actually made for my son's birthday back in May.  I am pleased to say he loved it!

Unfortunately the photograph doesn't really do it justice.  The background is really black and embossed with a jungle leaf folder by Sheena Douglas I believe.  The gorgeous lion is by Crafty Individuals which I stamped on a snippet of white card in Versafine Clair Nocturne and embossed with clear powder then coloured with Sentimentally Yours Watercolour Pens..  The background mat is inked with Distress Oxides and the sentiment strip is a snippet inked with the same colours then I cut the letters out of a snippet of black card using a die set from The Works.  I really wish the photo had come out better, I don't seem to be able to do very well with my photo's at the mo.  The colours of the lion are so bright and the image beautifully clear in real life.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets.

Stamping Sensations - All Creatures Great and Small.

Darnell's NBUS - Never Before Used Schtuff.  Mine is the lovely Lion.

Thank you again for visiting me.  Not much news here. still staying safely indoors!

Take care and stay safe. Christine xxx

What's Good For Your Soul!

Hello and thank you so much for visiting me!  I have a cute card today using some fabulous quirky stamps from Aall and Create.  There is a whole set of these gorgeous little characters and this is the first time I have used them.  Its a birthday card for a friend of mine who, luckily, doesn't know about my blog as her birthday isn't until next week.

Firstly I inked the background with Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Fossilised Amber Distress Oxides then I laid a stencil by Aall and Create - No. 95, over the background and sprayed with water, dabbed with kitchen roll and removed the stencil which left a lovely ghost image where the inks lift with the water.  I stamped the girls and flowers on snippets of white card, embossed with clear powder, then fussy cut out and coloured with a mixture of Phil Martin's watercolour pens and Promarkers.  I stamped the grass from another set several times across the bottom and coloured in then added the fussy cut images along with the sentiment, again from Aall and Create.  The stamp set Nos are 255.

297 and 359 all designed by the fabulous Janet Klein - the stencil too. 

I am not very good at colouring in but these quirky images are such fun that I really enjoyed it and have several more of these girls and some cool birds Janet designed too, so will be making more of these fun cards.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Use Snippets - My girls, flowers and words are all snippets.

Penny Black and More - Favourite Stamps - These cute girl stamps are my favourites at the moment.

Stamping Sensations - Make it Colourful.

Time Out Challenges - Proust Quote.

NBUS - Never Before Used Schtuff - All the Stamps and the Stencil are used for the first time.

Thank you again for visiting me, I wonder if you are venturing out to the shops or back to work now lockdowns are easing everywhere?  We are staying firmly indoors and away from everyone/  Way too scared to venture into the wider world just yet.  Mind you, with both our medical conditions, we can't go out much anyway so really is no hardship there although miss seeing family and friends.

Take care and stay safe.  Hugs Christine xxx

1st Birthday Card

Hello and thank you so much for visiting.  My card today is one I made for a little boy across the road who was one year old on Saturday.  His Mum and Dad have been so kind to us during this Covid 19 nightmare. Picking up our prescriptions and odd bits of shopping and surprising us with lovely cakes and treats and last weekend a yummy steak pie!  All homemade!  People are just so kind.

I stamped the gorgeous image from a fab stamp set by Clearly Besotted called Balloon Bunch Buddies.  The set contains the balloon and lots of different cuties to float on it and some little sentiments too.  I embossed the image in clear powder then watercoloured the background using Distress Oxides and water.  The image is coloured using Promarkers with a little white Posca Pen on the balloon with a die cut number 1.  The sentiment is from a Stamplorations clear set Party Time and I added 2 colours of little die cut stars using a die from Mama Elephant.  The main and yellow panels are cut with a Stamplorations die set but I can't remember what it is called. 

I would like to enter the following challenges.

Time Out Challenges - Free - I think I would feel very free floating from a balloon!
Pixie's Snippets Playground - I used snippets for my sentiment, number and stars.
Darnell's NBUS Challenge - My Never Before Used Schtuff is the stamp set I used for my main image.

Thank you again for visiting me.  I hope you are all coping ok with everything that is going on in these strange times.  Take care and stay safe!  Christine xxx

Twofer Card Challenge 27

Hello and thank you for stopping by my blog.  Its nearly a month since I last posted and that was the last Twofer Challenge.  So here I am with Darnell's fabulous May Twofer Challenge which this time is Flowers. 

Here are my two cards - the stamped images used on both are three quirky flowers from Aall & Create stamp set Thankful Petals designed by the fabulous Tracy Evans.  I used them traditionally as flowers on the right hand card and changed them into rocks on the left hand card to make a nice pile high enough for Lavinia Stamps Pipin to sit upon and gaze into the sky.

For the first one I stamped the flowers on a piece of yellow card in  Nocturne , Versafine Clair
then stamped just the flower heads again on snippets of patterned paper, cut out and adhered to the stamped heads.  The foliage is from a Hobby Art set and is stamped in black and green ink using 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation ink for depth.  The butterflies are cut from a snippet of same patterned paper using a Sizzix die, glued on then I added some glitter for sparkle and adhered panel to a black card base.  The sentiment is from another Tracy Evans stamp set and I stamped it on calico.

I made an inky background for this one using Distress Oxides.  I stamped the flower heads only on top of one another in coffee Archival ink then coloured in with Phill Martin watercolour pens.  Pippin the hare by Lavinia Stamps is stamped in Versafine Clair Nocturne and the foliage, which is also Lavinia Stamps, was stamped in Versafine Clair Monarch.  I inked around a mask to create the spotlight/moon and added glitter for sparkle.  The sentiment is a Sizzix die and the card base is purple.

I would also like to enter the fabulous Di's Pixies Snippets Playground  - I have used lots of Snippets on the first card and the word 'hello' on the second.

Thank you again for visiting me.  I hope you are keeping well and staying safe in these very strange times.  Take care! Christine xxx

Twofer Card Challenge 26!

Hello there!  A very quick post tonight as I made these cards specially for Darnell's fantastic
Twofer Card Challenge which I haven't entered for ages, and I really can't spend long on the computer tonight, so sorry.

Here are my two cards both made with Lawn Fawn Stitched Umbrella die.

The one on the right, used as intended, on an inked background embossed with a waterfall embossing folder, which I think looks like rain, then glittered for added sparkle.

With the one on the left I cut the umbrella out of Kraft card and embossed it with a basket weave embossing folder and trimmed the point off the umbrella off so it looked like a basket.  I then filled it with flowers and leaves which I die cut using a couple of different sets of  Sizzix dies.

I would also like to enter Di's fabulous Snippets Playground - Just about everything on both  of these  is die cut from snippets of card from my bits box.

Thank you so much for visiting me and please take care and stay safe!  Christine xxx

Butterfly!

Hello there and thank you for visiting me!  Sorry I haven't been around for ages - its so good to be back! 

I made this card using the fabulous AALL and Create stamps designed by the wonderful 

Tracy Evans - stamp numbers 267 and 304.  I also used stencil number 39 and Distress Oxides in the backgrounds.  The Butterfly and the large word are stamped again on scraps of white card, embossed with clear powder and coloured with Phill Martin's Watercolour Blending Brush Pens.  The colours are really vivid in real life and the pens make watercolouring an absolute breeze!  The pen nib is covered with glossy accents and shines beautifully as  does the embossing.  I used a watercolour pencil to add shading to the background circles and added white paint splatters to the whole card along with purple ink around the edge.  I used a lot of Tracy Evan's techniques - she is so inspiring!

I would like to enter the following blog challenges:

Pixies Snippets Playground - Use Snippets - mine are the card used for the butterfly and the word 'butterfly'.

Allsorts Challenge Blog - Anything with Wings.

Craft Stamper Take it Make it Challenge - Anything Goes.
Butterfly Challenge - I have Ultra pink. unbleached silk and a butterfly on my card.

Thank you again for visiting me, I  really appreciate it especially as I haven't been around much.

Take care and have a great weekend.  Christine xxx