MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

I'm going to be sad to say goodbye to some of the lovely Christmas/Holiday stamp sets we have had this year - I do hope some of them continue into next year.  My favourites this year were the Mice, never thought I'd say that, Merriest Wishes and the Merry Tag Framelits and Christmas Magic. I'd love to know what yours were.

I've done a slightly different tutorial on my Youtube Channel today wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas from me.  A big thank you to those of you who have subscribed and left encouraging comments - they are truly appreciated.

 Looking forward to 2017 though I can't wait to start playing with some of the new sets - it will be no surprise which two will be my favourites as I'll be using them lots in the upcoming months. And with Sale-abration on the way there is going to be lots to keep us crafting.

For now though I'm going to sign off until after the big day as I'm going to be busy with the family.

I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and every good wish for 2017.

 



 

SIMPLY SKETCHED SATURDAY CHALLENGE - BEAUTIFUL YOU SNEAK PEEK

Welcome to another Simply Sketched Saturday Challenge - our last for 2016.

Our sketch by the very talented Amanda Charlesworth was a tricky one this month.  Here's an example of her sketch by Amanda herself.



I've been naughty and used one of the up and coming new sets from the 2017 Spring Catalogue.  This is going to be such a well loved set and is called Beautiful You.  It has wonderful images and some lovely word stamps also. 

There is also something special about the way this image was coloured but.... you will have to wait until January til I reveal what I used!!!!

I've also used the Botanical Builder Framelits with this card just to show we can still love our old products. 

 The flower has a touch of our bronze thread behind it and uses some of the Blooms and Bliss Designer Paper.

Pop along on our blog hop to find your next bit of inspiration at Justyna's blog

Or if you are working backwards click on the link below to be taken back to Keila's Blog

HAPPY CRAFTING

 

NO-GLUE ACETATE BOX - CANDY CANE LANE

Blogging has taken a back seat lately as my daughter was poorly and had to have emergency surgery. Thankfully she's on the mend and I can get back to the business of crafting.

I managed to do a YouTube tutorial today - its been a while since I've done one and it was like starting afresh again - lots of mistakes - and at one point I'd done the whole project and realised I hadn't pressed play!

 My little Acetate boxes were inspired by a candle box I'd bought at Sainsburys - it was much larger so I took it apart and resized it.  I'm so pleased how they turned out and the look great for gifting mascaras, lipsticks, Wink of Stella!!!!

As promised in the video - here are the measurements:

 A piece of DSP size 6" x 10" - 25cm x 15 cm

On the 10" side score at 1/2", 1" and 2" - 1.2 cm, 2.5 cm, 5 cm
On the 6" side score at 1/2", 1", 1.5", 2.5", 3.5", 4.5", 5.5" -  1.2 cm, 2.5 cm, 6 cm. 9 cm, 11.5cm, 14.cm


A piece of Acetate 6 3/4" x 3" - 17cm x 7.5 cm

On the long side score at 1/2" x 6 1/4" 1.2cm x 16 cm
On the short side score at 1" and 2" - 2.5cm and 5 cm

Belly Band - 1" and 5" - 2.5 cm and 12 cm

 

CHRISTMAS COME EARLY - STAMPIN UP EXTRAVAGANZA

 And they're off!!!  


Wow - take a look at the fabulous Stampin Up Extravaganza that is happening all this week from 21st November to 28th November.  Up to 40% off some items - but you'll have to be quick - these will fly off the shelves like hot cakes.

Click HERE now to see all the goodies on offer.

And if that's not enough there is more - yes more!  A 24 hour Flash Sale on Monday 21st November and Monday 28th November.

And the 24 Hour Flash Sale is HERE

 

SIMPLY SKETCHED SATURDAY CHALLENGE - DECK THE HALLS WITH MERRY MICE

Welcome to another blog hop with the SSSC crew.  We have a great sketch this month chosen by Anna Krol




I'm a bit late to the party and have only just bought the Merry Mice.  At first I looked at them in the catalogue and tought nope - but now once I've seen all the lovely creations everyone has done with them I love the little creatures.  I've also managed to grab a set of the Stitched Framelits - these are going to be like gold dust!  As I don't have any other framelits these are going to get a lot of use!

 

I've used some of the lovely Blooms and Bliss Designer Series Paper - showing you don't have to use Christmas DSP to make Christmas cards.  The card base is Mint Macaron.

 

There is lots of Wink of Stella over the mouse and the DSP which has made the card really shine and glimmer - not sure it shows up here really. Some Enamel Shapes finish off the card.

 

 I hope you like my project.  As usual all products can be purchased from my online store.  If you are in my area in Hampshire why not pop along to some of my regular classes.

 Please click on the link below to move forward in the blog to Anna's blog

Or if you are going backwards - pop back to Helen Griffin's Blog. 

 HAPPY CRAFTING

 

BANNERS FOR CHRISTMAS #GDP062

I love mistletoe and its one of the three staples of my Christmas decorations along with the Holly and Ivy which I collect from woods near my home.  Its part of my Christmas tradition and the house is festooned with it.  I'm not a lover of plastic or foil decorations - natural for me all the way.

So it makes sense that I love the mistletoe stamp from the Banners for Christmas set but, as I've said before, I've not seen it used much in blogland or Pinterest. 

The challenge over at Global Design Project this week screamed the mistletoe stamp for me.  The challenge is a sketch challenge shown below



 
 and I've turned it on its side and made it portrait instead of landscape.

I've used  Early Espresso for the cardstock and to ink up the mistletoe stamp along with some of the Presents and Pinecones DSP.

 


 I've coloured in the mistletoe with Mint Macaron and added loads of Basic Rhinestones where the berries should be to make it sparkle - I don't think it shows up very well in the photo.  The sentiment is also from Banners for Christmas making this a very versatile set.

Thank you for stopping by my blog.  All products can of course be purchased from my online store.

 

Happy Crafting 

 
 

BRONZE ELITE - WATERCOOLER WEDNESDAY FOXY FRIENDS

It's been an exciting week for me this week as I've been promoted to Bronze Elite.  It's been a hard slog to get my promotion as I have found it difficult to get my SU business off and running but I'm so glad to have made it before my 1st year Anniversary.  Onwards and upwards as they say.

I'm joining in with the Watercooler Wednesday challenge this week which is a colour challenge to use all or some of the following colours : click here to be taken to the website.





 I've used the Foxy Friends set here and the reindeer and the tree.  I love the trees in this set - there are two and they are so versatile.  I'm not sure really that I should have added the toadstools because they really are not winter things but they are so cute.  I've used the Winter sentiment from one of the Project Life sets - Date It and the Merry is from the Sweet Home set. I've used the Banners for Christmas set to make the banner.  The DSP is not from any Christmas papes - shock, horror but is from the Designer Series Paper Stack which just goes to show it can also be used for Christmas Cards.

 Thanks for stopping by. I love to read your comments good or bad.

Happy Crafting

 

YOUTUBE GIVEAWAY - PLAYFUL BACKGROUNDS

Wow - I didn't realise its been so long since I blogged - where did that week go?

And I have a giveaway to offer - I've ended up with two copies of the Playful Backgrounds polymer set so am offering it on my youtube tutorial.  All you need to do is subscribe to my You Tube channel and I will post it out to you, anywhere in the world.  Here's the Set - a selection of four stamps which I have used in my tutorial below.

These are some of the cards made in the tutorial below.

 

 As usual all products can be purchased direct from my store.  If you are in my area why not come along and join some of my fun classes.  Its great to stamp and craft together.

Happy Crafting

 

BANNER'S FOR CHIRSTMAS

I haven't seen a lot of cards made with this wonderful set yet in blog land or Pinterest.  So I thought I'd get my thinking head on and try and do a few.  Yesterday I included it on a card for Less is More challenge blog.

Today I've turned the mistletoe upside down, which is the right way up - do you get me?

I've kept it as a simple card with just a touch of Old Olive.  The Basic Pearls really help to bring this card to l ive.  I've used an embossing folder for the dots on the white backing paper and a touch of the gold ribbon on the stems.  There is a touch of Wink of Stella on the flowers which gives a bit of sparkle.

I really like how this one came out and may even just make a whole load of these for some craft fairs I have booked.  I'm not very good at doing more than one card because I get bored so easily - does anyone else get like that?

 Connie and Mary have a colour challenge happening at the moment which asks you to use Old Olive so I'm going to add this into the challenge.  I'm not sure whether all the colours they've given us have to be included but I'm sure they'll let me know if this one isn't suitable.

 



All supplies are of course Stampin Up..

 Happy Crafting

 
 

LESS IS MORE - 300TH CELEBRATION - BANNER'S FOR CHRISTMAS

I haven't had the time lately to join in with any challenges but this one over at Less is More caught my eye this morning.

I was having one of those Monday's when I had no mojo and couldn't settle to anything.

I took the dogs out for a walk in the country.  It is still beautiful weather here in the UK - one of the warmest October's I can remember - reminds me of warm Houston weather.  So we did a bit of Conker gathering and blew the cobwebs off and I came back and did a bit of crafting.

Some of these conkers and the leaf are actually bronze mixed in with real - can you tell which is which?
 

 Tegan (Welsh Springer red and white) and Bracken (English Springer) enjoying their walk

My card for the Challenge uses two stamp sets and a thinlet.  The mistletoe comes from Banners For Christmas - this isn't a set I've seen used an awful lot yet but I love this mistletoe stamp.  Here I've turned it right way up to represent a bunch of flowers and stamped it with Versamark and our Gold Embossing Powder.   I've used the Celebrate stamp from Here's To Cheers.  I used one of the bauble thinlets from Merry Tags to cut out the bauble shape and then stamped inside it with Versamark and embossed with our Gold Embossing Powder.

A touch of gold Baker's Twine and some Basic Rhinestones finishes off this card - which has a lot of 'white space' - okay red!

 Thanks for coming to see me - do leave a message or come and visit me at my YouTube channel to see some of my tutorials.

Happy Crafting

 

POOTLERS DESIGN TEAM - WEEK FOUR - TOTALLY TREES

It's my final week on the Pootlers Design Team and its been such a treat to be part of this team.  Here's my final card for the wonderful Totally Trees stamp set and, in keeping with my theme for these cards here's my Winter card.

I've used Night of Navy as my background cardstock with Whisper White.  The Trees have been stamped in Night of Navy also and covered in Wink of Stella to make them sparkle.

The snowman is from the Christmas Magic set as is the Sentiment, embossed in some of our Silver Embossing powder.

A touch of Stitched Ribbon in Smoky Slate finishes off the card.

 Good luck to the next Design Team - I can't wait to see what they all come up with for the next month's designs.



 

CHRISTMAS MAGIC - VIDEO TUTORIAL

I've done a purely stamping only video for this week's tutorial.  Not a die or framelit in sight.  I'd read the comment where someone had mentioned there was less stamping being done and more Big Shot cutting out so I thought I would go back to basics.

I've used the Christmas Magic set and, in particular the Train again.  I think its a great one for colouring and as mentioned before reminds me of Polar Express.

The Cherry Cobbler card base was actually 5 3/4" x 4 1/4" (15cm x 10.5 xm)

The DSP was cut at 5 1/2" x 3 6/8" (14cm x 9.5 cm)

The Whisper White was 5 1/4" x 3 1/2" (13.2 cm x 9 cm)

You'll find all the supplies I used below.  All products can of course be purchased from my store.

If you are in the Hampshire area - why not come along to one of my many classes and get creative!

 











Christmas Magic Clear Mount - £18.00











Copper Stampin' Emboss Powder - £4.50









 Cherry  Cobbler - Garden Green Marker Pens £6.50





Real Red - Crumb Cake Marker Pens - £6.50






Wink of Stella - £7.25