Three of a Kind, well, sort of!

Hi there

I've been using the November LO from the Sketch File to make another little set of Christmas cards.  

I've some more poinsettias made and the other bits cut out ready to make a few more on this theme.  I don't get on very well making the same card over and over, so I tend to stick to a basic design and the ring the changes.

Info

Various card pieces, gold, turquoise, red and green

Red and gold satin ribbon

Tiny yellow gems

Dies:

Layered Poinsettia Spellbinders Shapeabilities  Etched Dies

Reflection  Spellbinders Die D-Lites Etched Dies

Ho Ho Ho Holiday 2017  Die D Lites Etched Dies 
 

This is the LO from the Sketch File

 Two more cards on the same theme

I hope you like them.

It would be great to hear from you :)

Thank you for visiting, It's Friday tomorrow, so I'll be back theno with a new project for The Daring Cardmakers

Purple Prose Notebook for Bubbly Funk TTL

Hi there

The Time Thief is visiting this week. 

I had a post half written yesterday, but it will have to wait until tomorrow until I get it finished now - something to look forward to, maybe.....?

Anyway I'll be quick today and get this one done before the Time Thief sees me

I've a project over on the Bubbly Funk Through the Letterbox Inspiration blog today.  It's a decorated notebook, which may, or may not be a Christmas present.  That depends on how much I want to keep it for myself.😊😉

Info:

From the November Letterbox Box I used:

One of the feathers

Strip cut from the blue and white spot fabric

Small Beads and Sequins for bead strings and extra decorations

Large Bead and large Sequin for rosette centre

Shaped Sequins

 Gems

From stash; card, glitter card, silver thread

See more ideas and information here about: Bubbly Funk Through the Letterbox

The November box that we've been using for the last couple of weeks is available to order and will be shipping on 17th  November, so not long to wait!

Thank you very much for coming by,
 I hope you'll leave a message for me, I'd love to hear from you 🙂

Bit of Catching Up

Hi there

It's a lovely sunny morning here - really bright blue sky....but oh my, its chilly!  The Autumn seems to have lasted for so long this year - September was so grotty that the leaves started changing colour really early - but then the weather improved and the leaves decided to stay put.  In our garden there are still lots of leaves determinedly hanging on, which means it looks beautiful on mornings like this, even well into November.

I thought I'd do a quick photo post this morning as I've missed blogging quite a few of the cards I've been making.  So here goes:

This one is the first card made using the November LO from the Sketch File blog

 Info:

Stars cut using a lovely EK Success large punch which cuts several sizes and shapes of stars in one go (I love it!)

Twine, sequins and gorgeous snowflake charm are from the November Bubbly Funk Through the Letterbox box (order soon as they ship later this week!)

Believe (by Spellbinders)  is cut in silver glitter card

This is the Sketch:

 

 Next, a batch of cards made using Gilded Ornaments Holiday 2017 

Shapeabilities  Etched Dies

I just used the three different filigree dies to cut directly through the card fronts, then put them through the machine again to emboss the shapes.  I added squares of glitter card, mirror card and other fancy finished cards to the inside of the card blank to show through the designs, then gold twine loops and bows to finish

the greeting words are from Naughty or Nice Holiday 2017   and  Ho Ho Ho Holiday 2017  - both Die D Lites Etched Dies 

My next 'batch' makes were these

I used a text stamp and my stamping platform for these.

I made masks to stamp through from spare paper, die cutting the shapes; bauble, rectangle, star from the paper

I had to tape the card blank and mask down as there was no room to use the magnets with this large script stamp fro Darkroom Door

Once secure I stamped in black ink and the shapes worked quite well.  I'm no stamper, so a stamping tool like this really  helps a lot, meaning I can re-ink and re-stamp in exactly the same place if I don't manage to get a good print the first time!

 I just die cut lots of different snowflakes, stars and bauble shapes from different kinds of card and papers to add colour and interest.  I quite liked how they turned out, and I didn't get bored making them as each is finished differently

You can probably just about make out that the sentiments I've added are a mix of die cuts, stamped sentiments and ones printed from the pc

Here's a close up of one in a different colour combo with an extra bit of gold twine

So that's it for this time, I hope you like this little lot - do please leave a comment to tell me which style of design you like best -I'd love to know"

Poppies for Remembrance - Spellblogger for Spellbinders

Hello! 

I'm back with another Spellblogging post for Spellbinders
and I've  a card to share with you this time, chosen especially to mark Remembrance Day

Today is Armistice Day, or Remembrance Day or informally "Poppy Day", when we remember all those who have given their lives in conflict and the quest for peace around the world

. 

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

 The poppy has a particular significance at this time, and most of us will wear one to show that we care, and appreciate the sacrifices made. 

Plus of course, the poppy is such a bright and hopeful flower, fiercely determined to grow and bloom, wherever!

Spellbinders recently released a lovely range of poppy dies, and I knew I needed at least one of them in my collection.  

 

 Materials
White cardc blank
Pearlised pale aqua card
Red Glitter card
Aqua Satin  ribbon
Tiny Black gems, Red Pearls

Here's a run-down of the Spellbinders die sets used this time


Poppies 

Shapeabilities Etched Dies

Vintage Elegance  Filigree Booklet 
 Amazing Paper Grace Becca Feeken
Shapeabilities  Etched Dies

I also used:

Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing Machine

 
That's it for this time, I love this beautiful die, its so easy customise and layer up for tots of extra dimension.

  Thank you for visiting, if you click on This Link  you'll find yourself at the Spellbinders store where you will be tempted by lots of lovely dies, stamps and much much more!

Happy Crafting

Warm Wishes

Morning Friends!

How is your Friday going?  We had torrential rain here at about 8am, but within the hour the sun had come out and it was so bright that I had to close the blinds just so I could actually see my computer screen!

It's definitely grown chillier in the last week or so, though - so this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge is spot on. 

 At least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.

Warm Woollen Mittens

We'd like you to make a card featuring some Winter Clothing - it doesn't have to be mittens, it could be Boots, Gloves, Scarves etc.  And if you are in the Southern Hemisphere and just stepping into Summer, maybe you'll be thinking more along the lines of swimsuits as we draw closer to Christmas!

I struggled so much with this card. I know it doesn't look like it.  If I'  had time I'd have started over, but this was already my second attempt and I'd run out of crafting time.  Might have helped if I hadn't left it till Thursday, I suppose!

There's embossing and lots of glittery snowflakes and an ancient Bosskutz mitten die, which is cute, but I'd rather have made a larger mitten - I thought I had a bigger die that this one.but apparently not!

 

 Info

White card blank, Silver paper, Pale blue card stock

Patterned paper for mittens by Echo Parl

White and Silver glitter card

Silver twine

Blue and Silver gems, Metal Snowflake charm

Pale blue card embossed with a Crafter's Companion folder

Snowflake dies from Creative Expressions and Memory Box

Mitten die from Bosskutz

Sentiment is pc generated

That gorgeous metal snowflake charm is from the November Bubbly Funk Through the Letterbox box.  The boxes are available to order now, ahead of the send-our date of 17the November.  Stocks are limited though so its worth ordering now.

You can see more things made using items from this box HERE

Order from  Bubbly Funk HERE

We would really love to see what you can make on this theme - do have a look and see what our Designers have made; you can see their cards HERE

Thank you for coming over for a visit.

Have a great weekend

Upcycling!

Hello!

It's a lovely sunny morning here -  I've not been outside to check yet, but I suspect its chilly! 

I've another gift box project to share  with you today, but this time I've not made a box from scratch but done a bit of up-cycling instead.

The new and fun Bubbly Funk Through the Letterbox goody boxes do exactly as it says on the tin (or should that be 'box'?) and are the right size so that even if you are out when the Postman comes by, your box will go safely through your letterbox and be waiting on your doormat when you get home!
 You'll also be amazed at just how much stash you'll find inside, all packaged in cute paper bags, with plastic bags only being used if really necessary.  You'll also find an extra bag with some special surprise 'extras' in it - a lovely little gift every time!

Anyway. because the boxes are so cute, and because the contents work so well with your existing stash I challenged myself to show this when I made my first project with the November box!

Here's how my project started

A couple of sheets of paper plus some inking, cutting, threading, sticking and generally lots of fun  later it looked like this.  All ready to pop a gift inside and go under my Christmas tree.  I mightd even buy something nice and add a tag that says "to Kathy" 

As I said, the contents of these boxes are intended to work alongside your own stash.  They will inspire you to find and use the things you already have and maybe look at your stash in a whole new creative way.  If you CLICK HERE you will be able to visit the Through the Letterbox blog and see the ways our Design Team have done just that.  It's a showcase blog, we're not asking for comments, we just want to inspire you and show off our projects!. There's also a Facebook Page you can join in with - we'd love to see you there.

Here's a close up of the topper I created for my gift box using lots of bits and bobs from the November box alongside die cuts, papers and bits from my existing stash

Hope you like it!

I'm looking forward to hearing what you think about my little bit of up-cycling!

Bubbly Funk Through the Letterbox craft boxes

Through the Letterbox Showcase Blog

Vintage Elegance Gift Box - Spellblogger post for Spellbinders

Hello! 

I'm back with another Spellblogging post for Spellbinders
and I've another box to share with you this time

I do enjoy making boxes - can you tell?  

This box is a little beauty - I think you could probably fit about 6 chocolate truffles into this one, so it's a really nice size for making a gift look extra special.  The die I've used makes the basic box, so you can just tie it up with some ribbon or go the whole hog and decorate, decorate, decorate!

The box is the Vintage Elegance Gift Box from Amazing Paper Grace by Becca Feeken

You need to cut 2 of each of the two pieces and then it's easy to put together.  I just used my favourite wet glue, but you could use tape if that's what you prefer.

To decorate the top of my box I cut a rectangle of  the same cardstock and then positioned one of the filigree dies from Vintage Elegance  Filigree Booklet from the same range of dies into the centre for cutting.  This gorgeous piece was then adhered to a piece of glitter card with narrow pieces of 3D foam  between the layers, then glued to the lid of the box.

For the front 'wall' I used elements from the Cinch and Go Flowers set 1 

To finish I made a triple bow from organza ribbon and a large sparkly brad for the top, and added another of the brads to the centre of the flower

 Materials
Patterned card 350gsm
'Old Gold' Glitter card
'Old Gold' organza ribbon
2x large jewelled brads

Here's a run-down of the Spellbinders die sets used this time

  Vintage Elegance Gift Box 
from Amazing Paper Grace by Becca Feeken 
Shapeabilities  Etched Dies

Vintage Elegance  Filigree Booklet 
 Amazing Paper Grace Becca Feeken
Shapeabilities  Etched Dies

 Cinch and Go Flowers set 1  

Amazing Paper Grace by Becca Feeken 

Shapeabilities Etched Dies 

 

I also used:

Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing Machine

That's it for this time, I love this die, its so easy to use and can make a box as simple or as decorative as you fancy! Anyway, I hope you like it too.
  Thank you for visiting, if you click on This Link  you'll find yourself at the Spellbinders store where you will be tempted by lots of lovely dies, stamps and much much more!

Happy Crafting

November Elemental Inspiration

Hello 

Friday again! - How was your week?  

Last weekend my OH and I went out shopping and bought lots of little goodies to put in the shoe boxes we fill for the Operation Christmas Child scheme.  We've been taking part for a few years now and it's become one of our favourite pre-Christmas activities. I think what makes it so special is the knowledge that what you put in those boxes will be really appreciated by the children who receive them.  There are children living in such dreadful, sorry contritions all over the world and they have so little to call their own, don't they?

I've also taken the plunge and started my other Christmas shopping this week!  Thank goodness for On-line shopping, I say!  

This week on the Daring Cardmakers its an Elemental Inspiration challenge, all you have to do is look at the photo and choose a minimum of three elements from it to use when you make your own card.

Here's the photo, there's so much lovely inspiration in there, its more about what to leave out! 

CLICK HERE to visit the blog and see what the design team came up with this week:

My Christmas card box isn't getting much fuller, so this was another opportunity to add at least one more card to it.   Here's the card I've made, using the foliage, candles berries and the green ribbon from the crackers

Info:
Lots of different green card, plus red and a little brown, some Gold card and . Glitter card in red and gold, Green organza ribbon
I've used a lot of dies for this one so I won't list them all individually.
There are dies from Spellbinders, Memory Box, Joanna Sheen and Creative Impressions and more

I hope you like it, I had great fun with it this as its one of those 'keep bunging things on until it looks right' sort of cards!
Thank you for visiting, please leave a message before you go 😉

Sparkly Art Deco Box - Spellblogger post for Spellbinders

Hello! 

I'm back with another Spellblogging post for Spellbinders
and this time I've a box to share with you

I do enjoy making boxes! For this project I made my own box and luid, then used a beautiful Art Deco inspired die set to decorate it. The beauty of this die set is that you can use these dies in various ways, including making a background for your project, rather like that on last week's Spellblogger card.

There is a Spellbinders Steel Rule die which cuts a beautiful box to use with this and a few other 'inserts', but I don't have it (yet!), so I made this box myself using a strip of folded card (there is a join as my card wasn't long enough for the full length I needed) for the 'walls' then separate pieces for the base and the lid.

I cut squares from each face of the box before I folded it up, then cut 2 each of a couple of the Art Deco inserts (you get three) and the plain rounded square piece in gold card to fit over the apertures.

Next the glitter card panels were glued on the inside, and the box folded and glued together.

I cut a plain square into the lid piece (before forming it into shape, and added a square of the glitter card to the reverse.  I cut a smaller square of geld card, with an even smaller square cut from it on the diagonal to decorate the top of the lid. the feather shapes were created from the third of the insert panel dies. The gold ribbon was slotted through a slit made in the centre and th messy bits covered with another square of blue card on the inside of the lid

 Materials
Blue card for main box and lid
Gold card
Turquoise Glitter card

Gold Lurex ribbon

Here's the Spellbinders die set I've used this time

Art Deco Divine Deco Shapeabilities Etched Dies

I also used:

Platinum Die Cutting and Embossing Machine

And this is the Art Deco Box Forte Contour Steel Rule Die that is now on my Wish List.  It cuts up to 8 layers on each pass!

That's it for this time, I hope you like it and would love to hear what you think.  Thank you for visiting, if you click on This Link  you'll find yourself at the Spellbinders store where you will be tempted by lots of lovely dies, stamps and much much more!

Happy Crafting