Take a breath

I've been making this card for about three weeks. It's not that it's particularly complicated but just that all the nonsense of Christmas got in the way. 
Having fed people and washed up (with help) for two days straight, I now have time to relax. 
I don't know why we tidy up before Christmas as by the end of the day nothing is in the right place and there are piles of presents and paper everywhere. I've just about got it back to normal now. 

This card started as a one layer card but having stamped. coloured and added the greeting I didn't like the layout so I cut out the flower and leaves and started again as you see here. I like this much more.

I masked off the background and stamped a few leaves. The flower cut out is embossed in silver and coloured with Distress Oxide inks and water, Then, as I usually do,  I raised it up with snips of card on the back instead of foam pads. 

The die cut sentiment is coloured with the same ink and then double embossed with clear powder which gives a smart look, I think. 

The stamps are Pink Fresh from a recent Creative Stamping magazine and the sentiment is Creative Expressions. 

I'm nipping into Pixie's Snippets Playground. Pixie, aka Di, is running a bumper prize draw over the holidays but you have to be in it to win it. Do go over and have a look if you haven't already. Thanks Di for doing this when you might understandably feel like having a well earned rest. 
You need to use at least one snippet of paper, card, wool, ribbon or anything else. I've used several scraps of card here. 

I'm pleased to have another birthday card to add to my stash and now a bit of time to work on a few more. 
Thanks for visiting and hoping you all get time to do what you love this holiday. x

Are we there yet?

Welcome to our final challenge of 2019. If you've been following our 52CCT challenges all year and playing along then Well done! Hopefully you now have a good little stash of cards all ready to post. 
Huge thanks for joining in. 😊
Our final challenge of the year runs for the whole of December so there is plenty of time to join in with those final cards. 

You can find all our previous challenges on the tabs at the top of our page. There is plenty of choice and a challenge to suit everyone. 

My card is for 'Embossing Folder Backgrounds' - March but also fits into 'Ribbon' - July

I tried a new technique - partial embossing using a diffuser. The technique leaves you with an un-embossed area to stamp or decorate as you please. 
Never one to buy something if I could make it, I used cardboard to make mine after taking advice from You Tube etc. It's very easy. I just die cut the shape from 2 pieces of cereal packet and glued together. Of course, you are restricted to using die shapes you already own. 

It took a bit of fiddling to get the sandwich right. For my Big Shot I used:
Tab 1
Cutting plate
Embossing folder with card in it. 
Diffuser
Embossing mat

Here is the result:

 I made the first one into a Christmas Card using a Robin stamp and some red ribbon. In like the traditional colours. I used the same shaped dies to make a frame which looks the same white in some lights and different in others. 

Having had so much trouble with the whites, I chose purple for the second frame. It would have been fine without a frame but the first shape was not very well defined. You can see the partial embossing effect better without the frame. 

I wasn't sure if it was worth buying diffusers as I might not use them much. Having tried it, I like the effect so I think it's something I might do quite often. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

Joining in with
CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge - anything goes optional quick and easy. This technique turned out much quicker than I anticipated. 

Merry Little Christmas challenge - anything goes