CHRISTMAS CRAFT CREATIONS - SNIPPETS

Welcome to our January challenge over at Christmas Craft Creations.  I am on the Reminder Team which pops up half way through the monthly challenge to give you all a little bit of extra inspiration.  

I started my card by using the wonderful stamp set from Sunny Studio called Holiday Style.  It has the most wonderful realistic bell with the set which I've used before in projects.  This card uses the bough stamp and the ornament hangers.  I used Distress Inks for my boughs adding a touch of brown for the stems.  For my snippets I collaged a variety of old papers and then used a stitched circle to cut them out.  I love that tree paper in the middle.  I added a touch of silver thread to give the impression of hanging the ornament and used one of the sentiments from the same set.

This would be a great card to batch make with different papers for the ornament.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Scraps of Life Rudolph Days 

Snippets Playground - the snippets are the papers on my bauble

ABC Christmas Challenge - both A anything Christmas goes and B for Bauble 

12  months of Christmas - AG 

Fiona 

TRY IT ON TUESDAY - GUEST DESIGNER

I was delighted to be asked to be a Guest Designer at Try It On Tuesday for this week's challenge of Winter Blues.  Personally I'm not feeling the January blues as I've just become a grandma for the second time - my darling daughter had a bouncing baby boy on Wednesday amidst all the snow we had in the UK.  His name is Rowan Luke and completes her family now with her daughter Hazel.  Considering my daughter, like me, was told she would not have any children she has done marvellously.  

Anyway on to my card.  I masked off a space on some cardstock and used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink in Salty Ocean.  I spritzed it with some water to allow some of the white to show through.  I used the Poppy Seedheads stamp from Tracy Evans stamping it in Versafine Clair Medieval Blue.  I edged the card with some blue and layered it on to a white background.  The sentiments are from a Creative Expressions set Missy Mouse - I love that Oh Hi sentiment - I can see a lot of use for that.  I added some silver thread behind the Happy Birthday and popped it up on dimensionals.  A touch of sequins from my stash finished off the card.

Fiona 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS # IC406

We are all about the hearts at Hand Stamped Sentiments for this challenge.  My eye was drawn to that wonderful black cat  - being a bit of a cat lady.  I rummaged among my supplies as I knew I had a wonderful cat stamp I hadn't used in years made by Cherry Pie Art Stamps.  Yep there it was - keep a thing for 20 years and it comes in useful!  

I started by stamping the cat stamp and added the border around it.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink in Spun Sugar and then added some hearts and a stencil in Picked Raspberry.  I added a touch of script with some stamped off black ink.  The love hearts are from a very old Stampin Up set called Sweet Talk from 2004!  Very nearly 20 years old.  I stamped them and used a heart die to cut them out.  I added a touch of Nuovo Drops at the top and bottom.  The little added sentiment is from Tim Holtz Ideaology - hubby will be getting this Valentine's.

I'm adding this into the following:

Crazy for Cats - AG 

Crafty Animals - AG Animals 

SUYPG - AG 

Colour Hues - pink and red 

Papercraft Challenges - AG 

Fiona 

SNARKY CATS

One of my craft gifts was a set of Snarky Cats and stencils from Tim Holtz.  I'm joining in with the challenge over at Make My Monday - they've asked us to choose our favourite theme from last year - what a great challenge - I ended up doing two challenges in one - Friendship from September and Washi Tape from April.

I started my card off with the stencil that looked like string all tangled up.  I used three Distress Oxide Colours Peacock Feathers, Rusty Hinge and Saltwater Taffy to create the background.  I stamped the cat on top and coloured him in with some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and some Luminarte paint for his eyes.  There is a touch of Spectrum Noir glitter pen on the ball of wool and through the string.

I added some touches of Washi tape from Aallandcreate - I like to tear little bits off the tape and use it just here and there.  This tape had the same blues I'd used which was a bonus.

I added the quirky sentiment with Versafine Clair ink in Warm Breeze - now who should I give this card to? lol! It will most probably go as a RAK card on my Facebook Group the Joy of Sets.  RAK stands for Random Act of Kindness and we send cards we make out to each other -it's lovely as a crafter to receive as well as give.

I'm also adding this into the following:

Just Add Ink - Favourite - cats are my favourite animals 

Crazy for Cats - AG 

As you like it - favourite reason to send a card - as mentioned above as a RAK for my group members 

The sisterhood of crafters - something new - my stamps and stencil

Fiona 

Creativity.....

I was inspired to join in with Inspiration Station today on seeing their image above.  The cat spoke to me as my daughter had to put one of her fur babies down yesterday, an emotional time when you  have to say goodbye to them.

I found a background I had done on my gel press and I liked the colours, just adding a bit more Tim Holtz Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink to bring out the blues.  I used a tree branch stencil from my stash with Black Soot and stamped the cat image from Visible Image Curious Cats over the top.  I added some background stamping also from Visible Image and the sentiment is from their Brighten the World set.  The little bird is from a Tracy Evans stamp set.  I also added some Washi Tape from Tracy Evans.  I found some very old Luminart inks in my stash when sorting out and the green was just perfect for the cat's eyes.  I added a splatter of white paint just to finish it off.

I'm also adding this into the following challenge

SUYP - AG

Fiona 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS -#cc405 HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to another year of fun with Hand Stamped Sentiments.  We hope you continue to be inspired by our challenge.  We have a colour challenge for you to start us off - and such spring like colours will really help us during the depths of winter.

I started off by using some Petal Pink ink and adding it to some white texture paste then I spread this through an old SU stencil to create the background.  My little mouse is a delightful little set called Missy Mouse from Creative Expressions which is one of the new stamps I received for Christmas.  I stamped her in Versafine Ink in Acorn and coloured her in with Mango Melody and Pool Party with a touch of the Petal Pink also. I added a touch of Nuovo drops to the insides of the flowers in Wedgewood Blue.  I layered it onto some Pool Party cardstock and added a little tag with an old SU brad.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge Blog - something new - my little stamp

Try it on Tuesday - Something New

Make My Monday - Something new

COLOR MY HEART COLOR DARE AND DOUBLE TROUBLE CHALLENGE

Welcome back to another Color Dare Challenge but wait! Before you start your project, we are partnering with the Double Trouble Challenge "Cuddle Up" and you will want to start off with their 3-2-1 Recipe and our Colour Board gives you the first ingredient. All you need to do is add the other ingredients from recipe under Double Trouble Kitchen Clipart and end up with a warm and cuddly project, share with Double Trouble and be eligible for three chances at their random draw prize.

A lot of friends and family, including myself, have sadly been poorly over the Festive Season with Covid and flu so I seemed to be drawn to make a Get Well Soon card inspired also by our choice of colours.  

I grabbed a Clearly Besotted set I haven't used in a long while called Pawly Pals and stamped the little images and coloured round them and parts of them in the peach colour.  I edged the card stock with some of the Sage and added a piece of embossed card stock behind.  The embossing folder is a cable knit - just perfect for feeling cosy.  I then layered it onto some Desert Rose card stock and added a few drops of Nuovo drops.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Krafty chicks - Stamps 

HAPPY NEW YEAR - THE MALE ROOM CHALLENGE

Happy New Year Everyone - I hope 2023 is a good year for you all.

We are back with a new challenge for  January for The Male Room Challenge. 

I chose to use the lovely set Stargazers from Anita Jeram for my card.  I used Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot and Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Inks for my sky.  I stamped the image and masked it and used Bundled Sage Distress Oxide and Crushed Olive distress ink for the grass.  I left the little bunnies white.  I added extra details with some old grass stamps I have in my stash.   I used a star die to cut out the little stars and layered it on to some white glitter paper to have the stars shining through.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Paper Funday Challenge - AG optional - Starry Night 

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CREATIONS DESIGN TEAM

Happy Christmas everyone!  

I'm delighted to be part of the Design Team at Christmas Craft Creations - one of the great advantages of being on a Christmas Design Team is that by the time Christmas comes round you have at least 12 cards all ready to go!

So my first challenge was a real challenge as it is Gnomes - I do not have any gnome related crafting items at all. Luckily one of the ladies I follow on Instagram recently did a video tutorial on how to draw a gnome so I thought I'd have a go!  Eventually I was quite happy with the little image that I created.

I wanted him to be more of a woodland gnome so created a wintery scene for him using some stamps from Tracy Evans and Lavinia stamps.  I think he needed a little playmate too so I drew a smaller one.  I finished the card off with a sentiment from Stampin Up from years ago and some Nuovo drops in that gorgeous neptune colour.

COLOR MY HEART COLOR DARE - #528

Well give yourselves a clap on the back if you are still crafting along with us at this very busy time of the year - we are glad to have you with us here at Color My Heart.  As a treat we are giving you carte blanch on choosing any colour you like for your project.

I really love how this card turned out - do you ever find you make something and really don't want to give it away?  That's how I felt with this card.  I have made a few of these wreath cards over the Christmas but this was the first one I made and it really got me hooked.  

I started off by pencilling around a roll of tape for my circle as I don't have a circle big enough for what I wanted.  I used Tracy Evan's stamp set Pinecone for my card.  I used the smaller stamps to create the wreath using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Iced Spruce, Evergreen Bough and Rustic Wilderness.  I stamped the Pinecone branch at the top and cut out two extra pine cones to add on top to give a bit of dimension.  I used Tim Holtz foliage dies and a branch die from Stampin Up for the top of the pine cone.  The little bird is from Tracy Evans set Wire Birds and the stars in the background are the same set.

I cut out and added the words Pine Cone and added embellishments and a layer of Dazzling Diamonds glitter all around the outer edge of the cards.  I just used Versamark clear ink and added the glitter to it.  Much less messier than trying to use glue.

Wot no Christmas card?

I'm taking a break from Christmas themes to join in with the As You See It Challenge which is offering up this lovely image to inspire us.  

I've spent the last 10 days recovering from my first bout of Covid - I'm really disappointed as I had so many lovely Christmas festivities to go to including singing a solo in our little local 12th Century church.  Luckily I  had already made my Christmas cards but there again a tale - here in the UK our postal workers have gone on strike on odd days.  Two weeks ago I sent all my cards out and I know a lot of them haven't been received - especially the special one to my son and his girlfriend.  It's not like we just bought them out of a packet is it when we hand make things. So a disappointing lead up to Christmas all round.

It was therefore a nice break to get back into my craft room finally today and make something not Christmas related.  I have this lovely little stamp from B P Bipasha for Aallandcreate which I hadn't inked up.  I actually ended up buying two mistakenly so one is going to be offered soon as a freebie.

I used an old Tim Holtz music stamp for the background and then added some distress inks in Brushed Corduroy and Fossilized Amber.  The little image was stamped in Versafine Clair and coloured in with Distress inks - Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade and Fossilized Amber.  I used some deckle scissors to cut around the edges and aded some Black Soot - ther eis some sparkle twine behind and a touch of Spectrum Noir glitter just to give it a bit more life.

This is their image and here is my card:

I'm delighted to have been chosen as the winner for this challenge

Fiona's card definitely has a medieval vibe going here with her neutral tones and the antiquing that she has done. The music background picks up on the music theme from our inspiration photo and manages to look like a medieval music score as well. The main image of the vase with the flowers and the bird also picks up on a theme from the photo as well as colours in the photo, but keeping the colours muted adds to the overall antique look of the whole card. Just lovely!

IT'S ALL ABOUT SANTA

I love this image of Santa by Tim Holtz  I managed to get a hold of this set which included some stamps and some stencils by Stampers Anonymous.  I created my background and added Christmas sayings from the Tim Holtz Tiny Text set around the outside.  Santa was coloured in with Distress Inks and I used an old pair of deckle scissors to cut out the shape.  The added little bits are from the same set but I also think you can get them in Tim Holtz Christmas Ideaology sets.

When my children were little and we left out the sherry, mincemeat shortbread and carrots for Santa and his helpers I used to leave a little note for  my children from Santa - I even went to the bother of singing the edges to make it look as though the letter had been burnt coming down the chimney. My children are now 31 and 28 and I am now seeing Santa again through the eyes of my granddaughter who is 3 and this year she is really excited.  Christmas is a time for memories.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Try it on Tuesday - All about Santa 

Moving along with the times - Christmas 

Paper Funday Challenge - Holiday 

Allsorts - Anything Goes with option of Trees - Santa is holding a tree

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Santa 

Christmas Tags

I love to make my own tags at Christmas - and most of them go on family gifts.  I must admit I tend to save them too after the recipient has opened their present - I would hate to see them get put out with the waste paper so I'm building up quite a collection of old tags to re-use - how's that for recyling.  I don't even think they've ever noticed either!

This one though is a new one this year.  I used one of Tim Holtz dies to cut out the tag out of some cardboard and added a layer of gesso on top and then some Antique Linen Distress Oxides.  I  used one of Tim Holtz stencils for the background and some embossing paste.  When the paste was dry I went over it with some Distress ink to add the various colours of green, brown and red.  The wreath is one of Tim Holtz Ideaology pieces and I added the baubles and some cut out holly pieces.  The deer is a little wooden one from my stash and I inked him up.  I added some glitter, some Tim Holtz velvet ribbon, a sentiment from Tim Holtz Tiny Text and some added glitter around the outer edges  of the tag - finishing off with some ribbons.

Im adding this into the following challenges:

Just Add Ink #634 - Anything but a card

Creative Moments - Christmas 

Mixed Media Place - Mood Board - I've used Distress Inks 

Creative Crafters - AG 

Papercraft Challengers - Deck the Halls 

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Trad Red and Green 

Creative inspirastions Festive Foliage 

Tag Tuesday - Winter Holiday

Christmas Kick Start - Christmassy

Simon Says Monday - Tag 

My second tag was made for the Snippets challenge - where you are to use snippets or paper or similar for your project.    I had some pieces of Christmas paper left over from another project and began by gluing them to a piece of cardstock.  I then too a Christmas Tree die and cut out the image - it's so effective.  I added a shiny white star to the top.  The tag is another made with a Tim Holtz Die - I used a branches stencil for the background using Iced Spruce Distress Oxide Ink and then added some background stars and snow from a Tim Holtz stamp set.  The extra pieces are from Ideaology - and the little presents are a very old Stampin Up stamp.

Hand Stamped Sentiments SC 404

A sketch challenge again for you this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I look forward to seeing what you all do with this one.  This was perfect for me as I have been making a lot of wreath cards lately using some small stamps from Tim Holtz and Stampin Up to create my wreath.

I start off by drawing around a circle with a pencil.  I have a roll of masking tape that is just the right size.  I start at the top with my small stamps using Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Iced Spruce.  I then in fill with some smaller stamps - I use the tiny stamps from Stampin Up Merry Patterns which is just perfect for this.  The fir cones are from Tim Holtz.

The Bow is a sizzix die and I added a bit of white sparkle paper to the inside.  The Deck the Halls sentiment is from Sunny Studios Holiday Style and is white embossed on red card stock cut out with an old SU die.  I added the white pencil marks around the edge.  The Boughs of Holly sentiment is from Tim Holtz Tiny Text.

I used a Versamark pad around the edges of the card and added some Dazzling Diamonds to the edge and kept it simple by layering onto white card stock. 

This is our last challenge for 2022 - I would like to thank all of you who have played along with us during the year and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas - we will see you again on January 10 2023.

COLOR MY HEART COLOR DARE #526

Welcome back to another challenge from Color Dare.  Shh,, don't tell hubby but this is actually his Christmas card.  I'm safe to show it as he never reads my blog and I'm not even sure he really understands blogland!  

I used Toffee Sage and Periwinkle style colours for my card and I'm really pleased how it turned out as they aren't my usual colours for christmas.

I used Tim Holtz CMS313 Carved Christmas for my main image of the stocking. I kept it simple with that soft blue colour.  The background behind has the same stamp which has been stamped in the toffee colour, spritzed with water then added to water colour card stock to give a soft impression of the same stocking.  I used the same blue to add colour to that layer.  The layer behind that was simply stamped with a stamp from Tim Holtz CMS 142 Mini Holidays - using the holly stamp just around the edges.

The foliage has all been made with Tim Holtz thinlets Holiday Greetings Mini.  I added a bow made from Sizzix and a piece of Ideaology to finish off the card.

I'm adding this into the following:

Inspiration Station - Stockings 

We love 2 create - AG

We Love Stamping - I love my husband, Christmas and Tim Holtz stamps  in that order lol!

THE MALE ROOM CHALLENGE - DECEMBER 2022

Welcome to another challenge at The Male Room Challenge.  This month we are looking for your Transportation inspiration.  Well I'm still in Christmas mode and had a rummage through my stamps - I have the usual car train stamps etc but my eyes lit up when I spotted this stamp by Tim Holtz from his CMS 142 Mini Holidays collection.  I just had to use those camels lol!

I started my card off by using versamark ink and stamping the Three Wise Men and their camels, the star and the sentiments.  The sentiments are all Tim Holtz. The star is from Stampin Up. I used white embossing powder for the star and the words and black for the camels.

I then went over it all with Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Chipped Sapphire, some Black Soot and Fossilised amber around the star.  I wiped off the excess on the embossed bits to make them shine again.  I used a Tim Holtz star stencil and just lifted off some of the ink.

I'd like to wish you all a very happy and peaceful Season and thank you for playing along with us all year.  See you next year.

I'm adding this into the following :

Peace on Earth Christmas - Nativity

CREATIVE ARTISTE #189 - GUEST DESIGNER

I am delighted to be a Guest Designer at Creative Artiste this month joining their talented team of Designers.  The challenge theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I'm loving my art journey into Mixed Media and always find this challenge blog inspiring with all the lovely entries and inspiration.  I'm finding it harder to make projects now that don't include some sort of mixed media.  I find it very relaxing.

I really wanted to make a piece of Christmas decor and use these delightful Tim Holtz hangers I bought last year.

I started off with a Christmas word embossing folder from my stash and added some Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium in Vintage and then added some Walnut Stain Distress Crayon.  It gives it a lovely waxy finish.

The Robin bird is from Tracy Evans set called Robin and Nuthatch and I added it to some circles to create a bauble.  It's a great robin stamp to colour with it's fluffy feel and I've already tried to colour it many different ways.  The Joy bauble is from Tim Holtz dies Circle Words Christmas.  I added some foliage also from Tim Holtz Holiday Greetings Mini and added Grit Paste Snowfall also from TH.  The Sentiment is from Tm Holtz Tiny Texts Christmas.  

HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS WATERCOLOUR - DECEMBER 2022

It had to be a wintry card for our December challenge over at Happy Little Stampers.  Although this doesn't actually mention Christmas it would still make a lovely Christmas card.  The lovely images are from Anita Jeram for Colorado Craft Company - this set is a few years old ow but I just love her images. This one is called Snow Happy.

I stamped the images first with Versafine Clair in Acorn and then coloured them in with Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  I then did a colour wash of a background in Salty Ocean behind the images.  There is some of Tim Holtz Grit Paste snowfall behind the animals to create the snow and also on his little snowball.  

I'm adding this into the following challenges

Krafty Chicks - Stamping 

Time Out - Winter 

Critter Crazy - 

Four Seasons Challenge - Winter 

SS Stamp - Wednesday - AG 

The sisterhood of Crafters - winter 

Try it on Tuesday - Winter Wonderland 

Proud to have been chosen as a Golden Egg at Krafty Chicks 

ONCE UPON A TIME - DECEMBER 2022

Welcome back to another challenge from Once Upon a Time.  Our cover for your inspiration is The Legend of the Poinsettia - another book I don't know and I was really interested to learn about this plant.

I used a lovely poinsettia from a stamp set by Creative Expressions called Winter Flowers and Foliage.  It's actually a set I'd forgotten I had so I was happy to find it just at the right time of year.  I used Versafine Clair ink in Shady Lane to stamp the flowers and then used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Festive Berries and Candied Apple to colour in the flowers.  I then stamped some of the green foliage in the background and gently covered it with a a layer of Old Paper Distress Oxide Ink with Walnut Stain on the edges. 

The bauble cut outs are from a set of dies from Tim Holtz called Circle Words, Christmas.  I stamped another poinsettia behind the words and cut them out and added a touch of glitter pen.