Snow Cute Choccy Bags

I wanted to give my workmates a little Christmas gift each so I made these little gift bags using red card and covered them in this gorgeous snowy paper from Lili of the Valley's 8" x 8" Frosty Christmas paper pad.  The penguin stamp is the Snow Cute stamp also by Lili of the Valley and the little tag was stamped using one of the little tag stamps from Lili of the Valley's Christmas Sentiment Tags set (set 32).  I coloured the images with Pro-Markers and added some glitter glue and pearls, punched the images out using a circle punch and made matching scalloped circles to mount the image on.  I added these to the front of the gift bags on foam pads and filled the bags with chocolate coins then tied the tops with some oddments of ribbon.  My workmates loved them, the chocolate didn't last long but they all took the bags home to hang from their Christmas trees.

Journal Your Christmas Part 2

 

 

I have managed to keep going with my Journal Your Christmas project, a different card each day, I have managed to include Christmas trees, Christmas hats, Christmas wreaths, wrapping paper, Christmas cards, Christmas movies and Christmas gifts etc. The lovely big card with the Magnolia girl on it was created by my friend Val and I loved it that much that it just had to go in my album, rather than sitting on the shelf.  The photography is a bit dodgy due to the poor Winter lighting, couldn't get outside to take a decent shot as it has been chucking it down all day.  These are the cards for days 14 and 15, haven't finished the full page yet as I have to decide which is my favourite Christmas carol and favourite Christmas song as it's a musical card.

 

 

Journal Your Christmas

This week I have been journaling each day.  I mix some of the prompts from the wonderful Shimelle Laine's Journal Your Christmas class with whatever the day throws at me, rather than focusing on memories from the past. This week I have started a new family tradition in buying everyone Christmas jumpers, my daughter started the Christmas countdown by starting her chocolate advent calendar (so much for Weight Watchers), I wrote a "to do" list and part of our roof flew off in high winds.  I wanted to keep things simple so I decided on using up some divided page protectors and making each layout a 4" x 6" journal card with minimum decoration rather than doing something difficult and long winded that I would give up on after the first week.   Fingers crossed I can keep going right through to the new year.

Oops, where has day 2 gone?

Christmas Money Gift Wallet

 

My friend Sally asked me if I would make her a couple of gift wallets to put some money in for some relatives for Christmas so never one to dodge a challenge I set to with my ruler and made these two cash wallets.  I cut the width of the card to about 6.5 inches, which is just slightly wider than a £20 note, allowing for some thin, red line tape down each edge and I cut the length to 10.5 inches.  I scored down the 10.5 inch length at 3.5 inch and 7 inch so that I had two sections at 3.5 inch and one 3 1/4 inch section for the pocket and then I folded the two outer sections into the middle and ran my bone folder down the edges to make them crisp.  On the  3 1/4 inch section I marked 1 inch up from the fold on the left hand edge and then put the piece into my guilloteen and cut from the 1 inch mark on the left to the top right corner so it cut the piece at an angle.  I added the red line tape to both edges of this cut piece and stuck it down to make a pocket then set to decorating the front of the wallet and the front flap of the pocket section.

 

For the decoration I used some scraps of Christmas papers and odds of ribbon from my stash and I used two Lili of the Valley stamped images which I coloured with Pro-Markers.  I added a greeting tag to the ribbon, the little tag stamp is also from Lili of the Valley and on the inside of each wallet I used another stamped image from one of the James the Bear stamps from Lili of the Valley, but I just used the sign, not the bear part.  I added lots of glitter glue and some cash, for display purposes only. I really must remember to remove that before I hand them over.  I used my WRMK Envelope Punch Board to make envelopes for the gift wallets and put some Lick N Stick on the open flaps of the envelopes to Sally can seal the envelopes if she wishes.  Done, next challenge please!!!

Three Boxes Full of James.

These are three of the 3D cube cards I have just finished.  The bears are all James bears from Lili of the Valley, coloured with Pro markers and then cut out to decorate the cubes along with shiny trees, die cut from green glitter card and snowy grass, die cut fro white glitter card.

3D Cube Card Santa Stop Here

Today I have been finishing off some of the 3D cube cards I started last month, whilst watching Twilight films.  This card has a front layer of snowy grass, a Santa Stop Here sign layer, a lovely James the Bear layer and the stand up piece at the back has a sparkly Christmas tree on it.  All stamps are from Lili of The Valley, who else would it be?  I have made five different ones and still not bored with making them yet. 

File Folder Christmas Ideas

It's my regular day off today and I usually sleep in till about 9 am but not today.  Far too many crafting ideas going around in my head for that so I was up and working away in my craft room by 6.30 am.  Last night, whilst browsing through Pinterest I came across a post with measurements for a variety of file folder cards made using the Envelope Punch Board and you can find this at http://www.debbiesdesignsblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/file-folder-cards.html.

I used Debbie's  measurements to make the bases for this gatefold card and gift card.  I added a matching card blank to the back of the gift card so I could put a greeting inside and so it would stand up.  Then I went to town decorating them.  

The gift card I have decorated with papers from Lili of the Valley's Classic Christmas 8" x 8" paper pad, which I inked before sticking down.  The stamp is another stunner from Lili of the Valley, called Penguin Presents which I coloured with pro markers and attached to the card with foam pads on the bottom half of the image only so that the gift voucher (or cash) would slide easily into the pocket.  I added some polka dot ribbon from my stash and a little glitter glue and the greeting, which was from a My Minds Eye sticker sheet.

The gatefold card I decorated with some leftover scraps of paper and a sticker from My Minds Eye's Winter Wonderland range, all of which I inked first.  I added some polka dot ribbon from my stash and added a couple of bell beads to the ribbon.  The round Happy Holidays sticker I mounted on cardstock then used a Martha Stewart punch to cut out snow flakes which I stuck behind the circle the mounted it on the card.  To finish I stamped and coloured the image using the stunning Christmas Goodies stamp from Lili of The Valley and pro markers, adding a little crystal Glamour Dust to the trims on the girls hat, collar and cuffs.  

Pink and White File Folder Card

Had the day off work today but hubby was at home till lunchtime so I had a lie in then I pretended to be busy with housework till he left then everything stopped and I headed up to my little craft room.  My favourite stamp manufacturer/retailer Lili of the Valley is having a monthly challenge themed Pink and White so I thought I would have a go making a pink and white card using their super cute Rosie With Cake stamp which is one of my favourites and shape the card like a file folder as I still can't stop playing with my Envelope Punch Board.  I coloured the image with Pro Markers and added some glitter glue and used papers from Lili of the Valley's Antebellum 8" x 8" paper pad.  The base cardstock was ivory so I made it all a bit grungy by edging with my favourite distress ink, Brushed Corduroy.  I added some pink striped washi tape to the back folder tab before punching the tab and also added some to the tag on the front then die cut a little banner and hand cut and rolled tiny flowers.  I am not a lover of peel offs but the happy birthday greeting fit perfectly on the tab so I coloured it black and added it along with some pearls and bling and an odd piece of pink thread that just happened to be sitting on my desk.  I am a little concerned about the card spontaneously compusting as the flame on the cake is dangerously close to the bunting but I think it will be okay, lol!

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punchboard Crackers

Still loving my We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  They have four new punch boards about to be released, one of which makes a cracker but I found that you could make a cracker just using the envelope one as you can make the holes in the end sections to make the section for the ribbon, so here is my first attempt using one sheet of 12" x 12" double sided paper.   I have left one piece of ribbon too long so I can open it to pop a small gift inside and then I will shorten the ribbon.  Off to make another one but going to take a bit more time and add a stamped and coloured Lili of the Valley image.

Mini Christmas File Folder

I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos this week and mooching through Pinterest looking at some of the wonderful ways of using the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board.  Of course you can make envelopes with it to use up lots of hoarded patterned and plain papers and cardstock but there are so many other fabulous ways to use it and my favourite at the moment is to make file folders, large or small.  I had put this board on my Christmas list but I just couldn't wait another eight weeks and this is the first little project I made.  The little file folder is 4" x 3" and I decorated it with some papers and embellishments from My Minds Eye.  I haven't decided yet whether to pop it on a Christmas card as a decoration, pop it on a card and use it as a gift wallet or to add it to a Christmas layout.  Whatever I decide, I love it all the same.  If you haven't got this punch board go get one they are fabulous and there are four new ones out shortly that make fancy boxes and treat bags.  P.S. I know this sounds like an advert for the company, which it isn't, I am just blown away by this inexpensive, amazing little board, it's well worth the £16 price tag.

Snowball Fight Cube Card

Kathy and I have been making 3D cube cards this week and sending each other pictures of our creations.  I love it when we do this as it really inspires me to get crafting.  I like the variety of ways the card design can be used to create lovely cards for all occasions.  

I made this card using the gorgeous Snowball Fight stamp from Lili of The Valley and their Krafty Christmas and Classic Christmas 8" x 8" paper pads.  I die cut a Christmas tree and some white grass and went mad with the glitter glue.  I stamped the greetings using Lili of The Valley's Christmas Sentiment Tags and added them to some raffia along with some little bell beads and tied a little bow.  

The photos below show the card upright, the card half folded and the card folded closed ready to pop in an envelope. 

Lili of the Valley Bunnies

Here are two cards I made using Lili of the Valley's Umbrella Bunny stamp.  It is one of my favourite LOTV stamps as it can be feminine or masculine and can be used for everything from baby cards, birthday cards to congratulations cards.  So cute.  The papers are from a Papermania paper pack.

Lili of the Valley Christmas Open Day

Yesterday I went to an all day workshop at Lili of the Valley in Leeds with my friend Kathy.  It was a fabulous day of shopping, crafting and socialising with like minded ladies.  We started the day with a little shopping, then the first class was making the Christmas window hanger then we moved onto the Christmas cracker then we stopped for lunch and some more shopping.  After lunch we made a huge 8" x 8" male themed Christmas card.  I liked the class project which included lots of pennant strips but I had a couple of their lovely Christmas paper pads from my lunchtime shopping so I wanted to use them so I did my own thing.  Then next project was a female themed Christmas card which I love and the final project of the day was a gift bag and we did this in non Christmas colours just in case anyone was getting bored with the colours, I love it but it might have been better maintaining the colour theme.  I have some bags so I might make another to match the other projects.  We layered up a flower and and added a jewel effect embellishment and there were some holly leaves so we could either make it Christmassy or leave off the holly leaves.  The day cost £40 and included drinks and biscuits at morning and afternoon breaks, all the materials and use of adhesives, tools etc.  they really couldn't do enough for you and compared to some craft days that can cost up to £100 I thought this was amazing value for money.

Old Lady Card

This is a similar card to the one in my last post, using up some old Stampin' Up! papers and using a Marianne thin metal die set that cuts the loopy circle and the flowers and leaves.  Thought about giving my mother this one for her birthday but thought she might batter me I'd I imply she is wrinkly or old!

Mum's Birthday 2013

I had a mad crafting day a few days ago and made a stack of birthday cards.  This is one I made for my Mother's birthday this coming weekend.  I used up some old Stamping Up designer papers and some matching cardstock and used my current favourite Marianne metal die set to cut the loopy circular piece and the flowers and leaves.  The die set is amazing as it is almost makes a complete card all on its own.  I love the way it perforates the flowers and leaves and around the circular piece.  The stamp, I believe, is a Lili of The Valley one and I coloured the image with pro-markers.

Cup Crazy

Today I went cup crazy.  I wanted to make some simple, small cards for workmates, lots of whom seem to have birthdays in September.  Now and again I like to make a batch of basic cards to use up left over scraps of paper and when I do I usually add a generic topper.  This take out coffee cup from Stampin Up was easy to stamp and colour and I used a glue stick lid and some watery distress ink to make the coffee cup stains on the patterned paper.  I now have a stash of cards ready to go and a bit of empty space in my scraps box.

Little Angel

Another card today using a gorgeous stamp from Lili of the Valley's Christmas release (part one).  I think this is one of my favourite stamps cos it is a doddle to colour in and it is such a pretty image and sums Christmas up nicely.....dress up like an angel and you too can nick the church candle sticks!!! Ha ha!

Snowmen In August

I had a couple of free hours this afternoon so I started assembling some Christmas cards.  A couple of weeks ago I stamped some images using the gorgeous new Lili of the Valley Christmas stamps and coloured them in with Promarkers and Prisma pencils ready to go onto cards.  I used some old Stamping Up Christmas papers and added some old music paper from my stash.  I added a variety of die cut embellishments and bling and glitter and used a Stamping Up greeting on a tag on the front and a lovely verse from the same stamp set inside.  Right that's one done, about thirty more to go.

London Eye

My friend Kathy and I have been following the projects on Shimelle Laine's blog www.shimelle.com.  

This one was supposed to be about layering up lots of punched pieces of paper.   I didn't use punched pieces as I had lots of scrappy bits left from a previous project so I used them instead.  This layout is about our first time on the London Eye earlier this year.  When we walked past it in the morning the sky was blue, the sun was shining and I bet you could see for miles from the top.  Phil had booked us on it at 3pm, by which time it the sky was grey, the fog was rolling in and it was chucking it down.  The view was still fabulous but it would have been better earlier in the day.

Engagement Card

I made this engagement card for a lovely workmate of mine who was whisked off to France by her boyfriend last week where he popped the question.  I used a Lili of the Valley pre-coloured image because I found it already made up into a topper, can't remember doing it but I am sure it didn't do itself.  The papers and embellishments are from Stampin Up and because the image and the red cardstock behind it were already die cut it only took about ten minutes to put the card together and make a little white box for it as the embellishments were too big to go in the envelope that came with the card blank. 

Mixed Media Bear Canvas

I spent last Friday at my friend Kathy's house getting all crafty with a small canvas, some handmade clay embellishments and lots of modelling paste, gesso, mists and inks.  We had seen a YouTube video for a romantic mixed media canvas and wanted to have a go at making something similar.  Kathy painted over her flowers with gesso then went all pink and purple.  I sprayed then added my flowers afterwards as I liked the colours as I was going for a slightly masculine look as my hubby (annoyingly) collects teddy bears so I wanted to do this for him.  I added his favourite saying "The world would be a much better place if everyone had a teddy bear" to the canvas to finish it off.  Hubby loves it and wants  me to make another one to match so watch this space.

Hairballs

This is a card I made using the new Giggle Greetings stamp set from Stampin' Up!  I used a birthday embossing folder and some bright cardstock which I sanded after embossing.  The background papers are just scraps from my scraps box and I added a piece of hessian from a "small" piece I bought from eBay at Christmas which I thought would be about the size of a couple of sheets of 

12 x 12 cardstock but arrived Via UPS in a huge box and which will cover the floor of my living room and dining room - oops!  The Happy Birthday stamp is from a Personal Impressions set and I punched the label with a Stampin' Up! Punch and edged it with their Calypso Coral ink and matching ribbon.

Dainty Dancing

We are still decorating at ours and hubby was sanding today so I was once again sent up to my craft room to keep out of the way of the dust, hurrah!  Sometimes there are advantages to being asthmatic!  

I had coloured this Lili Of The Valley, Dainty Dancing image with Pro-markers earlier in the week so I set to making a card with it for a work friend who attends weekly ballet exercise classes.  I used a variety of Memory Box, La La Land and Sizzix dies for the frame, fence, flowers and bunting.  The papers are from a paper pad that came free with a card magazine and I have used a Stampin Up text background stamp on one sheet to change the look of the papers slightly.  Trouble is I like the card so much I am not sure I want to part with it, perhaps I should make another, less embellished one for my friend, lol!

Scrap Whispers - Cool Dude

In May I took part in a scrap lift challenge over on www.scrapwhispers.com.  The challenge is based on the old Chinese Whispers game and you ask to join, get allocated to a team and pick a week from a list to be the week you do your scrap lift layout.  Your allocated team leader sends you an email just before its your allotted week, or earlier if the person before you finishes early and this email contains the layout created by the person before you in the challenge.  You then have to create your own layout lifting the design from the previous persons layout but using your own photos and papers etc.  When you have finished, you email a photo of your layout back to your team leader and she forwards it to the next person on the list.  You haven't to post your layout anywhere until the challenge is up a couple of months later and all the layouts are revealed, showing how the layouts change as they pass from person to person.  Fascinating to see how much the final layout for each team varies from the starting layout.

This was my submission and after completing it it went off to my friend as the final page in her son's first year baby album.

Mix It And Make It

I was browsing some Google images a week or two back looking for some inspiration and I saw a gorgeous pudding bowl card using the Mix It and Make It stamp from Lili Of The Valley on Crafty Lou's Small World blog (louisemolesworth.blogspot.com).  I rushed onto eBay and managed to find the old red Sizzix Pudding Bowl die which I won and which arrived really quickly and off I went creating this card using some old pink paper from my stash.  I used Pro-markers and Prisma pencils to colour the image and used some paper roses and florists tape to make the little floral vines at the top and bottom. The wooden table effect is a Hero Art wood grain stamp stamped with some Brushed Corduroy distress ink and I covered the egg in glossy accents to make it look more...eggy!  I have prepared a few  of the card bases so that once I have coloured some more images I can put a few cards together quickly ready for friends birthdays.

Like Father, Like Son

Another scrapbook page for my friend's baby album.  The page is mostly decorated with small pieces of washi tape from my stash.  It's amazing how much washi tape you acquire and it lasts ages.  I used a Prima stencil to add a few areas of colour on the white cardstock and I die cut the birds using a Sizzix die, one from canvas and one from paper (as I had run out of canvas).  The baby is a baby no more as he has just had his first birthday so the album, complete with all the layouts is now in the possession of my his mum and dad and I am looking forward to doing his year two album.  

School Nativity Accordion Card

My friend Kathy and I are totally in love with Karen Burniston's amazing accordion die.  All of Karen's dies are really hot and very much in demand at the moment and I think Kathy probably bought the last one in stock in the UK and I had to buy mine from a lovely lady in America via EBay.  Kathy is really creative and mentioned making a Christmas nativity themed card using the gorgeous stamps from Lili of The Valley.  We joked about having a race to see who could finish one first.  Kathy is brilliant at colouring with her Pro-markers and always seems to know which colours will work the best but it always takes me ages to chose my colours so naturally Kathy finished her card whilst I was still dithering over which shade of green to use!  Anyway, colours picked, four hours of colouring, some shading with Prisma pencils and a little bit of glitter glue and this is my finished card. I could have further embellished the card but I think the design is the main focal point so I don't want lots of embellishments to detract from that, perhaps I might do more embellishing on my next card.  I have to say they are a nightmare to photograph but so amazingly different to normal cards and I can't wait to make some more.