October Rudolf Days

I've made a few busy cards recently so I felt the need for extreme simplicity today. 

I'm entering this into the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown for this week which is:

I love embossing and don't need to be asked twice. I've used three kinds on here. 
I stamped the bauble on white card in Versamark and then embossed with clear powder and filled in with Brusho colour. 
Cut it out and covered the whole thing in Versamark by pressing it onto the pad. The I covered it in clear powder and heated. Rinse and repeat. (Actually, don't rinse that probably wouldn't improve it). You get a more glossy finish with a second or even a third coat.
Just before heating I sprinkled a little glitter onto the embossing powder so it sets into it as it heats.

Then I dry embossed the hanger for the bauble using an old Keepsake embossing board and stamped on the sentiment. I used a small bow as anything larger overwhelmed the bauble.

If my photos had loaded this morning as planned, I'd have forgotten is was Rudolf day but now I can add my link to Scrappy Mo's October Rudolf days challenge.
First the photos wouldn't load and now my computer can't find the internet. I've even tried standing in front of the router and pointing it out, how hard can it be?
Wishing you lots of crafty time, I'm off to visits the wonderful cards you've all been making. 
x

Prancer and Dancer

I'm taking a quick break from the ongoing decoration of our kitchen. I've been painting today which feels good, it would feel better if I hadn't spent some of the time repainting a wall I'd done the wrong colour. Long story, but in brief I'd painted a kitchen wall in the bathroom colour instead of the dining room colour. I'm not saying the colours are similar or anything, but it's given my family a good laugh. No doubt it won't be the last I hear of it. 
I managed to sneak outside and plant up a couple of pots with violas for winter as well. It was a lovely day, but nippy, it seemed a shame to stay in painting. 
So I've made a card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. 

 Now I don't have any cute bears or penguins so I've opted for Prancer and Dancer.

I broke out my brayer and inked the sky. I'd planned it to be all dark but then had the idea of the yellow light. It's quite indigo at the top.
I find that brayering either works or it doesn't and that day it was working.  I inked two skies as I was sure I would smudge the stamping. I spritzed water over to give a starry 
look. 

I stamped the reindeer and the houses and filled the houses and the trees with black. The sleigh is a die cut which I glued on then trimmed. I sewed the silver thread through the card so no danger of it falling off. 
As I didn't smudge the stamping, I was able to make two cards. I wish I'd moved one reindeer slightly lower but I like the movement on this one. 

I added some glitter and it stuck to Prancer and Dancer by mistake but that was fine with me. 

The glitter looks better in real life. 
So, unlike the last one, this card turned out pretty much as expected. All the stamps used have been from the magazines I've got into the very bad habit of buying recently. Oh, and JustRite oval dies.
I'm just running over to Pixie's Snippets Playground with this as well as I've used quite a few snippets. The yellow I've used for matting is actually an old school certificate of my daughters (no nothing important) and she left school 7 years ago! Yes, my name is Alison and I am a hoarder!

(I must just tell you - I just called to one of my (adult) boys to turn on the extractor fan in the bathroom and he said "There's a fan in the bathroom?" Turns out neither of them knew and we've been here a year and a half!)


 

Hanging bauble

The plan for this card was a leafy wreath around a cut out and then a leaping deer in the centre. I'm really not sure how we got to here:

The colour challenge this week at 52CCT is:

I have struggled with this for several reasons. I don't have the right colour ink pads (I know however many you have there is just one missing) and I found it very difficult to make the colours Christmassy. 

So I got round the colour issue by stamping off the ink and using the second generation. This can be hairy as I'll get so far then forget to stamp off -aaah!
I've used Inky Doodles Primitive Angel set to stamp the plaid background.  These are long stamps which you criss cross to form the fabric pattern. You can vary the width and spacing. 

The bauble is cut twice and glued onto thread so it's the same on both sides. It's fixed under the blue paper. This is patterned paper which I've enhanced with a little twinkly stamp. I added some extra stamping to the inside.

So there it is. I'm not sure how much I like it so let me know what you think. Other people seemed to have managed just fine so have a look at the lovely gallery.
xx

Simple wreath

So the heating has gone on, the nights are drawing in and it must be time to start on those Christmas cards. 

Ha, no! Not if you've been playing along with a Christmas Card Challenge, you'll already have a nice little stack. I have about three quarters of the number I need. (Insert smug, smiley face here!)

Here is a lovely, simple sketch from 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. 

                                                            

                                                    

  I've stamped the wreath using 3 Stamplorations stamps from Frames and Florals. They are not Christmas stamps but look very pretty stamped like this. Then  I used strips of paper for each side. To give a bit more interest  I cut the fancy corners of the same paper with a JustRite die. 

I wanted a bit more of a focal point so I embossed the holly, coloured with Brusho and then cut out. The berries are coloured with pen and then Glossied over for shine. The Brusho gives lovely tones to the green. 

While embossing the sentiment I dropped the stamp bang in the middle but I managed to brush the extra powder off before heating as it was quite a big image. Imagine how cross I was. 

There is also gold embossing along the edges of the white card and the green strips and finally some glitter on the wreath for that all important Christmas sparkle.

I remember trying to photograph this green paper before and it always looks washed out, imagine an apple green.  

Enjoy your weekend, I hope you have some time for crafting.  x

I've used:

Stamplorations leaf stamps. Frames and florals

Stamps from Creative Stamping (last month) for words and Holly 

Just Rite die.  

Dove craft paper

White on white with wire

I've managed to make a card for Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge, after failing miserably for several weeks. 

Don't miss the fancy new look in the butterfly garden!
The challenge is W for white on white and/or wire. 
As usual the plan didn't quite work out as I expected. I had various components and switched them back and forward and finished up with two cards. 

Each flower has two layers of die cut card petals and then a toplayer cut from greaseproof paper. I embossed the frame using a board I've had since I first started making cards. I'd never heard of die cutting machines and never imagined I'd have one.
This card was supposed to have the wire on it. I'd planned that it would go behind the flowers but it didn't really work so I made another card:

This one has a purple wire swirl and wire holding the beads on the butterfly antennae. Now I wish I 'd used the other butterflies, with the gems, on here but it is all firmly stuck down. 

I'm not sure if you can see but I've used a strip of greasproof paper across the embossed butterflies. It is also embossed and layered exactly in line with the base. 
I found the scrap of purple frame already cut. I'd used the middle for something else so that made me happy. 
I used Glossy Accents to glue the beads onto the wire and also stick down the butterflies. It seems to be very strong and I didn't want the wire dropping out.
I've  used:
Leanecreatif daisy die
Darice butterfly embossing folder
Justrite small butterfly dies and oval die
Hobby Art sentiment stamps 

I'm also jumping over to Pixie's Snippets playground for a run in the sun. I've used lots of card snippets and the purple wire was also snippet. 

Finally I managed to capture some lovely butterflies a few weeks ago. I'm pleased to report that I think I've seen more butterflies this year (and not just the ubiquitous white ones, I know they are pretty but they cause such devastation in my garden). It's not  a scientific study, just my feeling.

I've also seen lots of tortoiseshell on a buddlejia growing by accident!
Anyway, back out to the garden and the butterflies now. Lots to do. 
Happy crafting.

Two for one

I have a couple of Christmas cards today. 
The first is a non-traditional pink:

I am more comfortable with red and green but who can resist pink?
I embossed this bauble in silver and then coloured it with pink ink and water on an acrylic block. The I covered it in Glossy Accents and waited and waited for it to dry. I searched through my threads feeling sure I'd have the right pink but no. So I had the bright idea of colouring it with the ink. I just dipped it into the wet ink on the acrylic block and it dried much more quickly than the Glossy Accents. 

Then I bravely embossed the sentiment and then even more bravely added splatters!
I've never done this before, being sure that I'd ruin the card. (I did practise on another piece of paper first). I'm really pleased with the result. 
The bauble and sentiment are stamps which came with stamping magazines. I was feeling rather low a couple of weeks ago and succumbed. I'd like to say they were better for me than chocolate but I probably bought that too!
The pattern up the side is a Stamplorations stamp. 
I'd like to enter this into:
Merry Monday - shades of pink and grey or silver. 

Rudolf Days September Challenge and 
Stamploratons CAS challenge. I always forget to enter but this month the optional colour is Pink. 

Here is another card which I am less keen on. 

 
I used an oval mask and sponged the blue through it and then removed it to add the trees. Then I ran a ball tool round the edge to define it. (I may have done that first, I can't remember. That would probably make more sense). 
I've used a bit of design paper which I've been hoarding for ages, which is not Christmassy but I don't think that matters,  and also a snippet of tartan which is only a snippet as I keep cutting the sheet but never actually using it! Also very old.
The holly is from the magazine set and the little house is Polka Doodles. 
I'm linking this to 52CCT where the technique is Masking

and I think I'll drop into the Snippets Playground as I've used lots of snippets and also old stash which is nearly as good.
I'm really not very good at layering, some people do it so beautifully. I'll have to do more observation!
Take care and have fun. x
 

My snippets quilt

I've made a quilt using a few snippets.

The story of my quilt - Before we move, a year and a half ago, I decided to use up many of my fabric scraps and make them into quilts rather than moving boxes and bags of bits. (Yes, I do have quite a lot). I did try. I tried to make 12x12 inch patchwork blocks using different quilting patterns but sticking to a few colours. Turned out I was REALLY bad at it. Each block turned out a different size and the seams and joins were rarely precise. I still don't know how I got the measuring so wrong even when following instructions
I take my hat off to anyone who can do that kind of patchwork. 

No quilts were made before I moved and I gave up on the blocks. Somehow it came to light that my youngest son felt neglected that I'd never made him a quilt. My daughter has two, a baby quilt and a single tumbling blocks one sewn by hand when I had more time and younger hands. (My older son doesn't have one and doesn't mind).
So of course I said I'd make one. Having had so much trouble with lines and joins, I decided not to use straight lines so all the scraps for the blocks are cut on diagonals. Each square is 6x6 inches. I did have to sew in the green squares and some of the joins leave much to be desired. I got better as I went along but don't peer too closely! Anyway he likes it and that is what matters.

 

James chose the green and the random nature of the layout.
 

The actual blocks were not hard to make and sewing it all together wasn't too bad but the hardest thing was getting the backing on and finishing off the edges. They are by no means straight but no one is measuring.

So I'll be skipping into Pixie's Snippets Playground as all the coloured patches are snippets. Let's not mention all the green fabric, backing, wadding and edging I had to buy to finish it off!
I still have loads of scraps so will now have to make one for other son, so he doesn't feel left out and then a full size quilt for daughter. Maybe not this week though. 
Happy crafting! x