Victorian Christmas card for my Dad

Didn't quite turn out as I'd expected, but my Dad likes it and that's what counts :) ...

I made the window using Marianne Design Snowy Window die, but I didn't use it as a die just as a template as I wanted to make a bay window that was complete but just needed to be folded. The wood grain effect was coloured by me using Derwents coloursoft pencils and ultrafine felt tip pen.
The branches and pine bough in the rooftop embellishment and inside the card are Craft Dies by Sue Wilson. The scroll and sentiments are computer generated.
Take care & keep smiling :)

Victorian / Vintage Christmas card

Saw these papers by Kaiser Crafts - Turtle Dove Collection  and fell in love with them ...

Take care and keep smiling :o)

Vintage Card - Gift set - Part 2

Hello again, and as promised here is the second part to my gift set. I bought a mug from the store that I work at because it was in a tin. Didn't want the mug but I had an idea for the tin, and as it was only £2 it was worth buying just for that :o) This was also my first attempt at altering, and I was very happy with the result ...

All the papers used for inside and outside the tin are by Graphics 45. The lable is computer generated, distressed with Tim Holtz inks and stamp with Basic Grey flourish stamp. The bead trim was first sewn onto the ribbon before being attached to the tin (I hate sewing LOL) The foliage was made with Martha Stewart and L-Em punches.

And here they are together. Just wish I'd have bought more of those tins, I really enjoyed decorating it, oh well maybe they'll have more in another time :o) Thank you for looking.

Take care & keep smiling

Heart of Gold – My Time To Craft Challenge & ALOTA4 - Valentines Challenge

Hi di hi folks,
Here’s my entry into the My Time To Craft Challenge and The alota rubber Stamp Valentine challenge over on Paper Craft Planet. I really enjoyed making this card, mainly because I’d had this idea using the alota Ruffled Heart stamp and with this challenge I was able to try my idea out…

1. Base card is Stardream pearlescent
2. DP – K & Co Vintage Collage Flat Paper
3. The heart was made using alota Ruffled Heart stamp – First I stamped the inner heart onto vellum with Encore Metallic Gold ink pad and heat embossed with Stamp-n-Stuff Detail Gold EP. Then cut it out and then stamped it with Rubber Stampede Signature Background stamp using the same inkpad and EP. I found it easier to ink up the stamp, lie it face up on the table then put the cut out heart onto the stamp. This way I could choose which part of the stamp I wanted to use (it’s a large stamp) and because it’s vellum I could see that the image stamped properly. Second I stamped up the inner heart with the lacy border using a white inkpad (ColorBox cats eye ink pad) and heat embossed with Stamp-n-Stuff White Detail EP, again cut it out. Lastly I stamped the whole stamp with the same gold inkpad and EP as before. After cutting this one out it was then glued together. I started with the inner heart, making sure I only put glue where the embossed image was, so as not to have glue showing. Then I glued up the white heart making sure not to glue the lacy bit as I wanted to lift that part a little to make it look like a lace. Then last but not least when I glued the whole heart to stick to the DP, again I didn’t put glue on the ruffle bit.
4. The photo comes from Joanna Sheen’s Fashion Boutique CD ROM, and was printed on Ilford Gallerie smooth pearl photo paper. I cut it out with a small border to make it look like a real photo and then mounted it onto brown Bazzil cardstock with just a 1mm border just to “lift” the photo so as it didn’t get “lost” on the DP. The picture is one of those that have had colour added but through my graphics program I change it first to B&W then added a brown tint.
5. The gold swirl/flourish was made using Sizzlets Decorative Strip die and gold silk Mirri card.
6. The embellishments used where – cream cotton lace, cream lace flowers with yellow jeweled brads in the middle, white mulberry roses, a gold butterfly charm that I bent the wings back slightly and photo corners that where made with a Sizzlits die. The flower part of the die cut can be removed if you want to, but I left it in.
I LOVE the alota heart stamp, it turned out just as I wanted it to (makes a change for me) and I bought an extra one to put in a nice package I’m putting together, which I’ll be giving away on my birthday. OOOoooops didn’t mean to tell you that :P Forget I mentioned it, my birthday isn’t until April and I’m not just going to give it away to a left comment, NO NO NO, you’re going to have to earn it. HE HE HE, (evil laugh), but I’ll let you know more nearer the time. Thanks for taking a peek.
Take care & keep smiling

Happy Christmas to my Dad :)

Hello and I apologise for not replying to all the lovely comments left for my HM card, but as you know it's that time of year and I've been a little bit busy. I made all those cards for my Dad to send out and I hadn't made any for myself !!! What a dope, so as you can imagine I've been frantically making cards for friends, and no I'm not going to show you them as they are what I am going to make for my Dad to send out next Christmas, so you'll see them then. Any way here's the card I made to give to my Dad...




































From the base up...
1. Stardream copper pearlescent card
2. K&Co Amelia Blocks Flat paper, with basic grey flourish stamp stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.
3. Raspberry Ribbons Gold organza ribbon from their new December kit.
4. Silent night rubber stamp from Magnolia, stamped onto K& Co Antiquity Tan Parchment flat paper and the edges were distressed with my very own finger nail :)
5. The main image is from Joanna Sheen's Victorian Christmas CD Rom that was mounted onto gold silk mirri card. The label is one I bought, which was just cream to begin with but I printed the merry Christmas back ground onto it from Joanna Sheen's CD Rom again and sponged the edges with Versafine vintage sepia ink. The Cherub/Angel is from Dress It Up.
6. The swirl/flourish is a Tim Holtz grunge board element that I heat embossed with gold EP. I don't think Grunge board is really made for heat embossing (it feels like it has rubber in it), but I though I'd give it a go. All I can say is you're OK doing it as long as you keep the heat gun at quite a distance away. It takes longer for the EP to melt, but if you hold the heat gun to close the Grunge board starts to curl (I think it might melt if left on to long) but I liked the end result so it was worth the extra time.
7. Dress It Up snowflakes.
Inside the card I printed onto K&Co Antiquity Tan Parchment flat paper, the following poem
Sitting under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
One last candle burning low,
All the sleepy dancers gone,
Just one candle burning on,
Shadows lurking everywhere:
Some one came, and kissed me there.
Tired I was; my head would go
Nodding under the mistletoe
(Pale-green, fairy mistletoe),
No footsteps came, no voice,but only,
Just as I sat there, sleepy, lonely,
Stooped in the still and shadowy air
Lips unseen - and kissed me there.
~ Walter de la Mere ~
I like the poem, and my Dad likes ghost stories, so I thought it apt. I like the way this card turned out, and as you can see I'm getting a bit more adventurous with the embellishments.
Got to go now, got to make a card for my Son.
Take care & keep smiling

O come let us adore Him

Well I've done no end of Santa's so it was about time I did a card depicting the reason why we celebrate Christmas...

1. Copper Stardream pearlescent card

2. DP is a small square picture I found on the web. Tiled it together in my graphics program to make a bigger picture then printed onto plain white card.

3. I didn't have any fancy copper corner peel offs so I made my own up by layering two different widths of border peel offs, mitred the ends and the corners and then cut some Cuttlebug decorative corners using copper Mirri card but only used the waste parts (scroll and teardrop) to add a bit more interest.

4. The main picture I've had for a while was mounted first on to silk copper Mirri card then onto ordinary copper Mirri card, which was then double edged with thin copper border peel offs.

5. The sentiment is computer generated, mounted onto the same Mirri card and again edged with peel offs.

I wanted to get a Victorian Gothic look, but without it being to over ornate.

Thanks for looking

TK & KS

Gathering Holly

1. White pearlescent white card

2. DP from Artylicious Seasons Greetings CD (colour changed to suit)

3. Main image mounted on to white pearlescent card that was double edged with thin silver border peel offs.

4. Corners made with Cuttlebug die from white glitter paper and rhinestones added.

5. Blue organza ribbon with a Dress It Up crystal snowflake.

6.The sentiment is a rubber stamp from Kodomo Inc, stamped using Brilliance Mediterranean Blue ink pad.

Kept it simple as the picture is so delicate I didn't want to overwhelm it. Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekend.

TK & KS

PS. I've got another card scheduled for later (17:00 GMT)

Green Santa ???

While I'm waiting for the glue to dry on my next card I thought I'd show you a card I made on Tuesday. Yes I know, it's that Santa again and it's that Raspberry Ribbons sketch again, but I really am struggling to come up with anything new and I'm dying to get my HM and Magnolia stamps out again, but until I finish my Dads cards I can't, so you'll just have to bear with my repeats...

Santa looks blue in the picture but he's actually green. Oh well, from the base up, here goes...

1. Stardream Pearlescent green card

2. DP is from DaisyD, it's called Antique Blue Wild Flowers, but trust me it's not blue, it's green. I was most miffed when it came and it was green, but it's a nice paper, so I'll forgive them for being colour blind!

3. Main image is mounted onto dark green linen paper and then silver silk Mirri card.

4. Dark green silk ribbon threaded down each side and some silver snowflake border peel offs and some thin silver border peel offs.

5. Prima flowers, the larger has a pearl brad and the smaller flowers silver brads. The leaves are from syntego.

6. The seal stamp is from Magnolia, stamped onto white pearlescent card with Brilliance pearlescent ivy ink pad.

The card I'm working on at the moment is an image I've not used before and it's lovely. Other than that I'm saying nothing else, other than you'll have to wait :)

Take care & keep smiling

Cupcake Challenge 16 - Chocolate Christmas

Hello people,
that cold I thought I was coming down with on Sunday hit with a vengeance Monday. I've ached in places I didn't know you could ache, I've been hot, I've been so tired it was untrue and now I've got a sore throat and am losing my voice, but apart from that I feel great! When I haven't been asleep I have made some cards the first of which I decided to enter into the Cupcake Challenge, which calls for a vintage card. You will notice that the main image, the DP and the sentiment stamp are ones I've used recently on other cards, my excuse is my brain has been too tired to come up with anything original, plus I like them...

OK from the base up...
1. Stardream bronze pearlescent card
2. DP is from Artylicous Seasons Greetings CD Rom, again I change the colour and coloured the berries in with Sakura gold stardust gelly roll pen, then sponged the edges with Versafine Vintage Sepia and Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pads.
3. The label/tag was just plain but I found a picture of some Christmas sheet music and printed it on to the tag, again went round the edges the same as I did with the DP and added a gold organza bow and loop.
4. The main image is from Joanna Sheen's Victorian Christmas CD Rom, mounted onto a gold silk Mirri card die cut Nestabilites.
5. Prima flowers that were sponged with Brilliance gold galaxy ink pad. The red stamens came from my Blooms to Go set, they were yellow, but I rolled them around a Brilliance Rocket Red ink pad (as you do) and then added the sentiment to the largest flower. The sentiment seal is from Magnolia Rubber Stamps. Last but not least some little leaves that I actually left alone.
Not sure about the flowers, I could do with some holly leaves, but I haven't found any I like...yet.
Thank you for popping by and I'll be seeing you again real soon.
Take care & keep smiling

Little Victorian Snowball Fun

Howdy doody y'all,

Sorry about that appalling American accent, but today when I went into work one of the girls there showed me a "review" of a show I went to see last week at our theatre. It was an amatuer production of "The littlest whorehouse in Texas". IT WAS FABULOUS, it was funny, the singing was superb and the acting was excellent, well it was that good I went to see it twice. But this so called critic did nothing but moan about the scantily clad women and the excess use of swear words when children could have been in the audience!!! Excuse me, but what parent would take their child to see a show with a title like that, and anyway on both the nights I went the youngest people there were probably at least 16-17 and they probably swear a whole lot worse. And as for scantily clad, you see more flesh on the TV. Hmmmph, I think that "critic" should stick to reviewing children's programmes. So all day now I've been singing songs from the show, with the Texan accent, not out loud though, everyone thinks I'm mad enough without proving them right :) But now I've had my moan I'll show you my card...

So here's the list of ingredients from the base up:

1 Mars red Stardream pearlescent card

2 Hessian textured gold paper

3 DP from Artylicious Seasons Greetings CD Rom. This is the first one I printed off for my red Christmas card yesterday, but it wasn't red enough so I saved it and used it for this card. It was printed onto hessian card. I went round the edges with a Krylon Red Shimmer leafing pen, and the berries where coloured in with my Sakura Gellyroll Stardust clear pen

4 The Christmas wishes paper was a free paper I found on the web last year, but this is the first time I've used it. This was mounted onto the same gold hessian paper.

5 The little girl image is from Joanna Sheen's Victorian Christmas CD Rom. Cut with my nestabilities and mounted onto, yes you guessed it gold hessian paper again cut with my petite oval nestabilities.

6 Then to finish off I used - Prima flowers, some leaves I found in my stash (YEAH LEAVES), gold rhinestones, red ribbon and finally the corners where cut from a Cuttlebug die from the same gold hessian paper.

I wasn't quite sure about the little girl image when I first printed it out, I think because of the white background, but now it's all put together it looks quite nice. Right I'm off to go blog hopping.

Take care & keep smiling

Little Holly - Raspberry Ribbon Challenge 9

Hello and welcome to another of my Dad's cards...

I LIKE this card, it turned out better than I expected. I made it for the Raspberry Ribbons Challenge. I've been following this challenge since it first started, but never got round to entering for one reason and another, but I finally got round to it and I'm very happy.

The little girl image is from Joanna Sheen's Victorian Christmas CD ROM, which was mounted onto gold Mirri card and then edged with gold border peel offs. The DP is from Creative Imaginations, and the Christmas seal is from Magnolia's new Christmas stamps. The flowers are Prima that I highlighted with Sakura Gelly roll Stardust pens, as I thought they looked a little dull and secured with copper brads in the smaller flowers and a gem brad in the larger. Finished off with some Hunter Green organza ribbon and gold border peel offs and all mounted onto Stardream pearlescent card. Well I'd better go add it to the challenge. Thank you for looking.

Take care & keep smiling

Winter Wishes

Hallo, hier ist meine Karte für heute - German for Hello here is my card for today.

I used a sketch from Magnolia vs Stampavie, it's a nice easy sketch to follow. The background paper was made by me on the computer with some snowflake pictures I found on the web, and the half circle is white glitter card. The main image is from Joanna Sheen's Dancing With Shadows CD ROM, which had some glitter added to it, and some silver border peel offs. To finish off I used two white poinsettias, Bosscut snowflake dies, white organza ribbon,some rhinestones and two Dress It Up snowflake buttons. The sentiment was a freebie rubber stamp I got from Whiff Of Joy that was stamped onto vellum/parchment with Brilliance Graphite Black. And all mounted onto Stardream white pearlesent card. I'm quite pleased with this card, mainly because I managed to finish it in one day LOL. I AM the worlds slowest card maker. There another one done for my Dad, and on to the next one...

Take care & keep smiling

Jolly Santa

Hello again,
what a miserable day (well it was here), rain, rain ,rain, rain and a bit more rain. I feel like a duck. Well yesterday saw me starting on my Dads cards (the ones he'll be sending out). He doesn't do cute, so no Tildas or house mouses....

Well the Santa image is from Joanna Sheens Victorian Christmas CD ROM ans I was going to mount it on a Nestabilities die cut oval but decided to use the waste bit instead. I layered the DP die cut waste onto some gold Silk Mirri card (sorry before doing that I put the ribbon round the DP) and then put the image into the oval. I cut the Mirri card a mm wider than the DP so as there would be a border running down the sides. That was then layered onto some more DP and then some gold snowflake border peel offs down the sides. The sentiment is from Crafty Secrets vintage die cuts "Christmas Time". You can't see it but I did triple emboss it, not with the ultra thick stuff, just normal clear embossing powder. I never seem to get a nice smooth finish with the thick stuff, I mainly use that if I'm going to stamp into it. Anyway that's the finished card, I'm now going to attempt a silhouette Christmas card. I saw a scrapbook page on Emilies blog that was just black and white, and it reminded me of a monochrome card I'd done a while back and how difficult it was, well not difficult but black and white can be a bit boring if you don't do it right.
So take care, keep smiling and stay dry and if you can't stay dry, waddle :)


DP's used - Creative Imaginations and Prima

Santas' Work Shop - WHAT, another Christmas Card!

Good Morning,

Yes I'm afraid it's another Christmas card. Well it is that time of year :) ...

This was a quick card for me, but only because I'd done the decoupage topper earlier in the week. I do like these decoupage images, they're from Joanna Sheens' Craft site, and she does post/ship internationally apart from her card stock (to expensive). The green holly card was made with my Artylicious Season's Greetings CD Rom, printed onto some hessian card.

Card Ingredients:

Base Card - Green Linen - from stash

Poinsettia DP - Carolee's Creations, Christmas Poinsettias

Gold hessian paper (topper mounted onto) - from eBay

Poinsettia flower - Blooms to go... Christmas - from Poppicrafts

Gold border peel offs ( edged the gold hessian paper)

Sakura Gell Roll Stardust pens (on the poinsettia flower)

Gold ribbon - from stash

Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pad (sponged edges of card and paper)

Thank you for looking and take care & keep smiling

Green Santa!

Good Morning,

Sun's shining, birds are singing and I've finished my card I started yesterday(see post below). So until I go to give Mitzi a haircut later all is well in my little world :) This card I took my inspiration from a card that Els made. It's all green, very unusual, so I thought I'd have a go at something similar...

The base card is Stardream pearlescent green card, and the backing paper is another of my computer manipulated designs. It started life as a free paper I got from a craft magazine. It was green to begin with, but not the shade of green I wanted (in real life it is darker than shown). So into the trusty graphics program it went. After it was printed I sponged the edges with Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pad. The DP band along the middle is Prima Marketing Urban Cosmos “Colony” that I punched with a Friskars holly border punch. Then just added some greeny gold ribbon and some brass brads from We R Memory Keepers. Thank you to Els for her fabulous card, and thank you all for looking.

Take care & keep smiling