Birthday owl

These owl stamps were a magazine freebie and to be honest I didn't really care for them  .I thought they were a bit too big so I put them away and decided I probably wouldn't use them. Fast forward 6 months and I am totally hooked - Couldn't resist this mug - too cute.

Kissmas loving

I love being able to change the size of a digital  image -  easy to use and easy to store-

Creative Craft Cottage -Use a digital image.
Papertake Weekly challenge -  a chance to get in the last Christmas card
Southern Girls  -  Christmas wishes

Happy Holidays

I hope you enjoy this little song by Mary Ellen Smith .This talented lady writes the cutest poetry and most days posts a free sketch on her blog .

SCROLL DOWN FOR POSTS -

a card for my MIL

My MIL has a birthday in December and each year I faithfully make a card . I don't know if she likes the cards or if she thinks a shop bought card would be better . I never speak to her so I just get a 'thank you ' passed on via facebook.
I made the card at the top thinking delicate soft colours ,perfect for an older person . My DH said it was drab .
A bit of decoupage was next on my list but no DH didn't like that one either.
I did stitched  flowers and leaves in oranges and greens ,that never got even got made into a card as DH didn't like the colours.
I went really bold with the pink ,black and gold - teacups on foam pads - a bit tacky -DH quite liked this .

First place went to the owl and it's now winging it's way to the UK.Have I strangled him yet - no  - given the choice I would love to know which card my MIL would have picked ,if any.
Perhaps I should start now on the choice for next year.

birthday blooms

A welcome change from Christmas cards.

Let's Craft and Create- challenge 84 - Say it with flowers

happy christmouse or should that be christmice

As you can see my little mice are a work in progress 2 are complete just 4 more to go.I used lots of coloured pencils and rubbed very hard with my fingers - the small amount of natural oil in the skin is enough to blend the colours. Start with the pale colours first -

Winter Wonderland - A Christmas Mouse
Beccy's Place - November Christmas challenge - Glitter - red and white

Embossed Ornament

I don't have an embossing machine so I taped my die to the window.

This is the end result ,if you are going to add colour put the die or stencil back over your design ,I added ink using a sponge ,gold marker pen and some very tiny gold stars.

Creative Craft Cottage -  challenge 10 - texture .
Beccy's Place- November Christmas challenge- day 24 - Emboss till you drop .
Crafty Cardmakers - challenge 105 - clean and simple
Southern Girls -  Embrace your bumps and lumps -  texture

Hoot -- it's your birthday

This card was driven by the paper which I love -trouble is it's very busy . Once  the little owl was all coloured in I laid the stamp on top and used a sponge and some chalk to fill in the background giving this nice clean edge. Her eyes have glossy accents .

Crafting with Dragonflies  - challenge  - things with wings and stickpins - I did such a good job matching the colours my pin disappears on the card . I popped a bit of white card behind on the top pic to show off my pin.

Another wreath

I've never quite understood vellum ,I picked up a mixed pack years ago thinking it was regular DP .I've added some extra purple ink  and punched out 7 snowflakes and 7 more in silver paper.Dark purple stars and bling .

The Squirrel and The Fox- challenge 57 -Use Violet - They have some lovely prizes ,pop along and play.

UnstampaBelles - challenge 29 - Use Vellum -I suppose I've taken the easy way out punching a few snowflakes.

Gift Tag

The front and back of my tag -

Crimson Cloud Card Making - Christmas Tag.

Snowflakes

Apologies for the shadows on the pic - the weather is so gloomy today ,I haven't been able to turn off the lights . We never have such awful weather ,even in the winter it may be cold and frosty but the sky is sunny and bright.

This is my second pic taken in the bathroom -slightly better light , at least the shadows are much smaller. The stars are punched on shimmer paper but the camera can't pick up in the poor light.

I used a snowflake punch and a star punch with lots of bling. Two shades of blue with white.

Beccy's Place - Day 18 Wreaths - If you haven't made your Christmas cards yet  then Beccy has a card a day for November all full of Christmas cheer with great ideas and did I mention prizes as well.

City Crafter - challenge 186 - Decorate it -  make a wreath

Clear It Out - challenge  -anything goes with a  snowflake and old stash - The charm in the middle I've had about 10 years- I buy all these bits n bobs and then can't bear to part with them.The two punches are also very old but every year I bring them out for a wreath card.

bakers twine

 A quick shout out to Angie at Whimsy Farm Twine for this lovely bakers twine . This  is just a very very small sample of the colours on offer . I love the cute cow on the paper band  ,if you want the whole story about the packaging then pop on to the shop site and have a read. If you've never used twine for anything other then threading  buttons here are a few ideas

http://darlenedesign.com/wordpress/?p=5853
http://darlenedesign.com/wordpress/?p=5697
http://darlenedesign.com/wordpress/?p=5641

Sweet cupcake

This is my kinda cupcake , oozing with cream and frosting. The cupcake stamp is from Abi's. I used Liquid Applique for the cream which was quite inspirational for me. I was so very pleased when the glitter went back in the drawer ,I usually end up knocking it over and it takes a very long time to get rid of.I bought a lot of my glitter when I lived in Saudi Arabia and it always came in large quantities so I've stored mine in empty spice jars.

Let's Craft and Create - challenge 83 - Glitter -
Southern Girls -  challenge - Sweets  for my Sweet -cakes,lollies etc.

Thank You card

I'm having a day off from Christmas cards and instead did a little stenciling.I did the pale petals first then moved the stencil round and did the darker colour . I added a few dots for details and a bow.I picked a very pale and subdued background paper to start with and then thought what the hell go bold .

Tuesday Morning Sketches - sketch  224 - shown above with an added 'Thank You'.
Creative Craft Cottage - challenge 9 -Say It With Flowers - I've already entered a little decorated box so my second entry is a card.
Tuesday Throwdown - Gratitude

Non traditional colours

Another simple tree.

Beccy's Place - November challenge- Christmas Cards - Day 7- Non traditional colours
Holly Jolly Christmas - O'Christmas Tree -

red and green

I popped into my local craft store on Saturday and saw a couple of cards similar in design to this one . The good old aperture card ,I have trimmed off some bits near the bottom layer that didn't look quite right .I'm just making another one in shades of purple and grey ,this time I've sponged the card base very pale grey, .much improved on the stark white of this card.

Let's Craft and Create - challenge 82 - Clean and Simple
Beccy's Place - November challenge - Christmas cards -styles ,colours and techniques. DAY 9 TREES

Just to say

A few weeks ago I came across Trudy's blog and she commented her only mail was ever bills.Trudy included her name and address and said she would love to hear from people via good old snail mail .  With this in mind inside the card it says HELLO and it's on it's way to Victoria .

Daring Cardmakers - Other reasons to send a card - not birthdays or christmas.
Feeling Sketchy - challenge 73 - shown above.

Wedding Cake

Tuesday Morning Sketches - Sketch 223 -shown above.
City Crafter -  challenge 180 - Photo above for inspiration .I didn't add the beige colour ,I don't think it would have worked on this card.

I can't decide if I should add my 'Congratulations' sentiment across the bottom ,would it be too much . I think a tiny edge of black around the oval might have  been a good option. The image is from Birdie Brown.

chipboard trees

TO THE LADIES I MET IN REGAL CRAFT CARDS ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON.

As you can see my cards look nothing like the one on the counter .We all interpret things differently which is what makes all our cards unique.
You will need some chipboard or thick card and paper of your choice . My shapes are 1cm at the widest end and  a 1/2cm at the narrow end ,cut them in lengths of 5cm , 4.5 , 3.5 , 3 ,2.5 . I cut an extra shape at 2.5 for the trunk. Cover all the pieces with paper and decorate .

Bling on a box

 The temperature hits 24 today so I guess it's time to put away my boots .My feet are quite ugly and I hate sandal season but it has to be done. I was very patient yesterday and gave myself a pedicure then I watched a very old episode of Midsomer Murders until the varnish had dried.I carried on with my legs and they are now exfoliated and smooth ready for some fake tan ( much to my husbands horror).

I had quite a girly day in all and covered this box with flowers , lace ,buttons and lots of bling .This little box hold the spare needles for my sewing machine. The glue gun was out in full force for this one.
My pampering continues today with a trip to the hairdresser for a little beautyfying. I'm not usually so self indulgent but last week was horrid -a trip to the dentist -lots of drilling for crown preparation ,an injection in my foot for an inflamed tendon (too much exercise is bad) and finally a trip to the cancer specialist about a lump on my back which is cancerous and will be removed next week ,I'm hoping it hasn't spread.

On the plus side I won prizes from Tuesday Morning Sketches , Southern Girls and top three at Incy Wincy.

Crafting with Dragonflies - challenge 14 - Make your own flowers - I hand cut 12 petal shapes for each flower and inked the ends. Some are on plain white card and others on swiss dots card.
Creative Craft Cottage - challenge 9 - Say it with Flowers
All Crafts challenge  -Anything but a card -A little box with recycled curtain lace ,shirt buttons ,old pearls from a necklace and lots of other bits.

Christmas Reindeer

I'm still in Christmas mode after yesterdays Christmas Pud .

Incy Wincy - Red and White challenge .
Tuesday Morning Sketches -  222 shown above -
ABC Christmas challenge - Add a Reindeer

Plum Pudding

Crafting With Dragonflies- challenge 13 - Card with Nature/ Trees or Leaves -With Christmas just around the corner I couldn't resist a festive feel with holly leaves.
Creative Craft Cottage - challenge 8 - Anything goes.
Christmas Cards All Year Round- October challenge - Getting Ready For Christmas - Making the pud.

Teacup just for you

I'm always surprised that people ask if I have any cross stitch cards - the answer is usually no so I've been busy in the evenings and this is the first one made up and ready to go.

Monday quick post

After last weeks disaster with the glass paint I thought I'd have another go with this little bird . I left him overnight to dry so no mistakes this time.

A happy accident

Disaster averted -I spent some time carefully adding glass paint onto acetate -the finished results were like shiny fruit drops -not an air bubble in sight . Being my usual impatient self I decide to clean the acetate with a baby wipe and accidentally touched the paint on the pink flower removing the top layer which had almost set. Trying to add a second layer of paint is not a good idea so I used the baby wipe to dab over the surface on all 3 flowers. Once it was dry and this time I did wait I added a coat of gloss to bring back the shine.The colours may not have the depth but I'm still happy with end result.I cut out the panel myself on the base card and on  a second piece so that the acetate is sandwiched between.

Southern Girls -  challenge - Shine

A Krafty Christmas

                                                           

I quite like Kraft and red together . I covered the whole card first and then using 3 snowflake stamps and one star stamp I did  a  random pattern on a separate piece of paper. I used silver peel off stickers coloured red with a Promarker pen for the edges and then added a little bling . Merry Christmas stamp from Kaisercraft .Very Nordic.

Feeling Sketchy - challenge 72 - sketch above
Perfectly Rustics - challenge  - Use Patterned paper -