Ho Ho Ho!

Happy Christmas everyone!

A bear is for Christmas and not just birthdays...

Before I get to today's card I just want to say a big, and truly heartfelt, 'thank you' for all your supportive comments on the post where I talked about my problems with atypical face pain. You are all so kind.

I'm sorry this isn't the best photograph but I literally grabbed the camera and started clicking as soon as a teeny, tiny ray of sunshine hit my desk!

I knew I wanted to try a 'no colouring' style card after seeing some great inspiration dotted around blogland. I had a few ideas floating around in my head but needed this post on Maureen Merritt's stunning blog, Mama Mo, to give me my light-bulb moment!

The background was created very speedily using Hero Arts' beautiful Star Galaxy coloured with Distress Inks, which I blended on the stamp using sponge. The bears are from MFT Birthday Bears and the sentiment from Mama Elephant Merry Greetings both of which were purchased from Make the Day Special... Or as I like to think of it: Make the Jo Poor! Seriously people, I have noooo willpower when it comes to stamp shopping. The gifts were paper pieced from some pretty little scraps and then the ribbons and bows received a Wink or two of Stella.

I like the fact that there are three bears and that the sentiment has three words!

Now, I'm off to take a look at Day 5 of Taheerah's Advent Caledar Extravaganza, which I am loving!

November CCC Reveal

It's Card Chain Reveal time again and what a gorgeous reveal it is!

I sent this little friendship card to Carol in Scotland...

And received this simply stunning card (and a beautiful bookmaker) from the very talented Nathalie in Quebec.

As you can see I'm still playing with Charmed from Mama Elephant. I love all the different elements that you get with this set.

This time I've combined the little fox and a sentiment banner with the wreath... Lots of fussy-cutting-fun for this make! I wanted a very simple background and was intending to do some watercolouring but at the last minute I opted for this Memory Box stencil instead.

The Card Chain Challenge takes a break over the Festive Season and returns in January. Should you be tempted to become a link in a chain of friendship and creativity that criss-crosses the globe you can find all the details over on Deborah's blog.

Naughty or Nice Challenge #22 - Show us some Wing!

Hi everyone, can you believe that it's actually December???

Over at Naughty or Nice we're looking for things with wings so why not break out your birds, insects, fairies and angel stamps and play along with us. We'd love it if you did!

I've combined two sweet stamp sets from Mama Elephant to make my card. I've used Charmed for the images and I Like You for the sentiment. Both sets were purchased from one of my most favourite online shops: Make the Day Special. You can also see two Hero Arts stamps Winter Tree Patterns and Flourish which appear on my cards again and again... Oldies but goodies. There's plenty of layers and dimension on this little card and I used silicone for the first time as the pieces were too small to use dimensional tape or dots.

I made this card for my husband. To say we've had a difficult few weeks would be an understatement. A little over a month ago I had what I thought was toothache and had some dental work done. To cut a long story short; three trips to A&E, five trips to my Dental Practitioner and five trips to my GP later it turns out I probably have something called Atypical Face Pain or Persistent Idiopathic Facial Pain. Hubby has been with me every step of the way and has truly been my rock over the last few weeks. The medication can take about three months to have an effect so life is slightly on-hold at the moment while I learn how to live with the pain and discomfort... so please forgive me if I'm not dropping by or posting as much as usual.

To check out my fellow Troublemakers delightful 'wing-ed' cards you can head over to the Naughty and Nice Challenge Blog and take a look at their glorious creations...

House of Cards - End of Term Blog Hop and Prizes

Hi everyone, are you ready for some blog hopping fun?

Welcome to the end of term hop from House of Cards, if you're following the hop you'll have just landed here from the blog of my talented teamie Donna T.

Did you know that this blog hop is also a DT Call?

The House of Cards Team are looking for crafters comfortable in any card making style and it might just be YOU!  You'll be contacted after the challenge closes to let you know if you've made the team. Each DT member will just be in charge of one or two cards/projects per month plus commenting.  If you're interested in working with us a HOC for a six month term from January - June 2016, please email our leader, Mynn at onastampageATgmailDOTcom with the following information:   

• A link to your blog.
• Attached cards showing your style - 3 maximum.
• A brief description as to why you'd like to join the team at House of Cards.
• Any major life happenings you KNOW you have coming up in your life from January-June 2016 that might interfere with your DT responsibilities.

(Please email Mynn at onastampageATgmailDOTcom if you have any other questions!)    

I can hardly believe that I've come to the end of my 1st term at HOC. For many of the girls this is their third term on the team and Mynn and the gang are saying a fond farewell to some of DT members and feeling grateful to those staying on. 

So, to say goodbye and thank you, we're celebrating with a blog hop! 

This hop will run from 1st December through to 15th December... Any card style is welcome. Here's a gorgeous inspiration photo to get you feeling all Christmasy!

For my offering I've used a very traditional image from Mynn's Etsy shop MHK Designs. I loved the red candles in the inspiration picture and made sure that Santa's tree glowed with gorgeous red candles too. I also love the touches of gold in the picture so searched my stash for some gold card to use as a mount.

                                      

  

You can check-out the sponsor details on the HOC blog and also find that all important information about applying to join the Design Team. Make sure you leave a comment at each person's blog along the way because the prizes are hidden and we'll be doing random draws at the blogs where they're hiding! After you're done, make a creation to share with us over on the HOC blog, too, for another chance to win! Prize winners from the Blog Hop will be announced on 20th December and card winners will be announced next month on the 15th.

Your next stop on the hop is Em. 

Don't forget to link up a project with us after completing the hop for an extra chance to win a mystery prize from one of our fabulous sponsors, too!  

October Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Due to some serious work commitments our Card Chain Challenge hostess, Deborah, was forced to push back the October Reveal for a few days. Things are back on track for her now, so the October reveal is good to go in all it's glory!

I was truly blessed to be the recipient of this gorgeous card from Mimi in California. Love that shabby chic look sooooooooo much.

Just like Mimi, I went with Deborah's suggested theme of cats. As as you can see we interpreted it in very different ways! Unusually, my card didn't have too far to travel this month to reach my recipient: just a short hop across the Irish Sea to Julie in Ireland.

I. LOVE. THIS. CAT! I'm sorry to shout but isn't she just so funny sat on her piece of cheese? I couldn't resist CASE-ing Mo's colouring of this gorgeous moggy for my CCC card as I think she looks adorable. 

This super yummy colour combo meant that I had extra fun with the October Challenge: these are colours I love but don't use very often. If you are wondering where the Juicy Currant colour is on my creation let's just say it's very, very subtle and takes the form of a sequin tucked in the bottom-right of the card! You can't really tell from the photographs but there's plenty of layering and sparkle going on here.

You can take a look at all the other participants cards by visiting Deborah's blog here and if you're tempted to become a link in the January chain (we skip December) you can click here to find out all the details.

House of Cards November Challenge - Stamped and Cut Window Technique

The House of Cards team have done themselves proud this month!

It's technique time for the November Challenge and the girls have created a beautiful selection of cards using the stamped and cut window technique.

To be honest I wasn't at all sure what this technique entailed but after watching the video featured on today's post and made by our leader, Mynn-the-Marvel, I felt filled with confidence to try this for myself.

I stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed as I wanted to give this technique a CAS twist. I then used the finished panel as a background for SOG Mae and her mistletoe.

There's plenty of gorgeous inspiration for you over at House of Cards. I think this is a lovely technique and one that really lends itself to Christmas/Holiday cards. Why not head-over, take a peek at what the HOC DT have created this month and join us for our November Challenge.

Naughty or Nice Challenge #21 - Monochromatic with a thanks twist.

Do you love monochrome as much as I love monochrome?
If the answer is 'yes' then why not join in the fun as this month's challenge over at Naughty or Nice.

The Troublemakers would like to see marvellous monochromatic cards... With a 'thanks' twist.

My card is only a little bit naughty. I had such fun pulling together all the different elements for this one and hope it shows in the finished result.

Unfortunately, the picture is slightly washed-out due to the poor light levels today. 

The quote is attributed to Victorian Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. For me, Disraeli has always had one of the more interesting hair styles of British political history but that's a whole other blogpost! Having said that I still can't help but wonder just how did he manage to create that kiss-curl without the benefit of modern styling products?

Anyhoo, as soon as I saw his quote I knew I'd partner it with the lovely 'Crown' from AI for a super fun thank you card. 

The gorgeous stamp in the background is from Purple Onion Designs. It's a beauty but not one I've found easy to use due to it's dimensions. However, I think it works perfectly for this card and looks lovely heat embossed in white and then sponged with Distress Inks.

My fellow Troublemakers also had plenty of fun with their monochromatic-marvels so why not take a look and join in our challenge for November...

Happy birthday, Shirley!

So, you decide to send a birthday card to a fellow card maker... Well, not just any card maker but the super-talented Shirley B. You feel a little nervous because Shirley is so talented and you are not. You carefully select an image you hope Shirley will like and you start colouring with your Promarkers.

Everything seems to go pretty well with your colour-work so you die-cut and layer and then you decide to add some Wink of Stella from your newly purchased pen. You shake and squeeze: nothing happens. You try again but the fluid won't flow into the barrel. You undo the pen and suddenly you are engulfed in what will go down in the annals of history as 'The Great Wink of Stella Disaster of 2015'.  You print out a second image...

Yes, it's fellow blogger Shirley B's birthday today. As I am sure many of you are aware, Shirley is one very talented lady and not only does she make cards she also designs her own stamps!
Earlier this year Shirley shared a gorgeous card for a 50th birthday which I admired in the comment I left for her. Before I knew it I had a stunning card made just for me to celebrate my half-century!

So, (eventually) here's the card I sent to Shirley to celebrate her birthday. Don't you just love this sweet girl with her birthday tiara?

Happy birthday, Shirley, I hope you have a wonderful day!

A Little Bit Naugh-tea!

After seeing my previous card a work colleague asked if I could make a tea-themed version for her daughter... And here's the result!

I was struggling to decide on a colour combo until I found this lovely palette of colours over at The Card Concept. 

I've seen other card-makers link to this blog on many occasions but I've never actually visited The Card Concept until now. I have to say that I love what I've found as this is a great little blog with some very talented ladies on the design team.

The DT inspiration comes in a variety of styles CAS, Clean and Graphic, Clean and Layered, Shabby Chic, Freestyle Collage, Classy and Elegant or Mixed Media and you can choose a style for your card from one of these. I guess my card is best described as Clean and Layered as there are a few layers going on here but the overall design is still very simple. I love the colour inspiration as these are colours I would never have chosen without seeing them together. 

I was also very taken with this simple request:

'Comment on the card ahead of you and behind you in the linky.'

What a nice way of doing things to guarantee some additional blog traffic for everyone taking part in the challenge. I know this'll be the first of many visits I'll make to this lovely challenge blog and would urge you to take a look if you've not already done so yourself.

I'm also going to link-up over at Kathy's current 30 Day Colouring Challenge. Once again, she's doing an amazing job of bringing us inspiration and colouring fun on a daily basis throughout the month!

Love you a latte!

In an attempt to wean myself off SOG images, and get a good colouring workout, I headed over to Mo's and bought a couple of her beautiful digis. Isn't this one a beauty? I love her sweet, winsome expression.

I had planned to play along with Amy's Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop but couldn't find time to finish my colouring until this morning. 

However, I am still in good time to link-up with Kathy's 30 Day Colour Challenge...

And also Virginia's current challenge, where Kathy appears as Guest Designer for the month.

Two seriously talented ladies who know a thing or two about colour: what a combination!

For a little added interest I made some cute coffee-themed embellishments using Lawn Fawn's Love You A Latte set. I even added some Frosted Lace Stickles to the spoon to look like sugar!

Hubby's off to the football in a while... Ooooo, might just manage to squeeze in a little more colouring while I have the house to myself! Well, it is World Card Making Day after all!

Have a great day!

September Card Chain Challenge Reveal

It's time for another Card Chain Challenge reveal over at Deborah's: my goodness, doesn't time fly!

Here's the card I sent to my recipient and, yes, you guessed it, it's another SOG image.

Isn't Wavy Mae adorable? Perfect with that large sentiment stamp and such fun to colour. 

I promise to stop colouring SOG images... Eventually!

I was lucky enough to receive a super spooky card from the lovely Arlene, which you can see here along with all the other September creations.

If you'd like to join the October Chain there are still a few days before the link-up closes.

House of Cards - October Challenge

We've got a lovely colour and texture challenge to share with you over at House of Cards this month.

Just look at this beautiful autumn colour palette: isn't this a season when Mother Nature simply out does herself??! 

I made my card for my friend and colleague, Jayne. She's our Dance/PE teacher and if there's ever laughter to be heard in the school where I work she is usually close by. Here's Jayne celebrating her birthday on Roald Dahl Dress-up day being a fantastic Fantastic Mr Fox and coordinating beautifully with her HOC card. 

Doesn't she look great? Jayne roared with laughter when she opened her card and enjoyed this Art Impressions Inc. stamp and sentiment combo every bit as much as I hoped she would.

Paula for you to enjoy.

Naughty or Nice Challenge #20 - Feeling Witchy!

Something Witchy comes this way! 

Yes, we're celebrating all things Halloweeny, Spooky and Witch-related this month over at Naughty or Nice Challenges. Unbelievably this is our 20th challenge ( I know!) and once again Danielle has created a fun graphic that you are welcome to include with your entry.

Here in the UK when we're not obsessed with the fake tans and sequins of Strictly Come Dancing we're indulging our love of cakes, loaves and all things baked with the Great British Bake-Off.          With this in mind I couldn't resist a little punning to go with this sweet Some Odd Girl witch and the contents of her cauldron.

I really enjoyed colouring this digi and am quite pleased with both the look of the cauldron and the reflected glow of the potion on her face.

I enjoyed this challenge so much that I made a second card which you can see over at the Naughty or Nice blog. Once again, my fellow Troublemakers had a blast with this fun challenge and I know you'll love their fabulous witchy creations. And just to spice things up a little the lovely and very talented Danielle has created some gorgeous flair buttons as prizes for our winners.

So break out those witch stamps and/or witch-y sayings and come join us!

Mom's birthday card...

Shhhh, don't tell my Mom but I'm sharing her card ahead of her birthday on Monday!

I've got so much to do during the week plus my regular DT posts will be up in the next few days, that I thought I'd share this card today.

I can't stop colouring Some Odd Girl images at the moment. They are so cute and quirky and beautifully drawn and I love 'em! I was delighted to discover this little card appearing on the September Spotlight post over at the SOG blog... What a great way to start the weekend!

The MFT Cityscape was a gift from a Card Chain Challenge friend. I was delighted to receive this die-cut but wasn't sure how to use it. Then I remembered a card I'd seen over at Donna's blog and knew I'd be 'borrowing' her colouring technique for my card.

The sentiment was generated on my PC and the banner was cut using a combination of rectangular and square dies to achieve the pennant shape. The card base looked too plain when I began to assemble the card so I randomly stamped with the beautiful Hero Arts Winter Tree Pattern and embossed with WOW embossing powder to achieve some texture and interest. I have to say this gives a brilliant look to the card and I know I'll be using this technique again to give some added 'ooomph' to future cards.

This week the toppings at Seize the Birthday are Border Punches or Die-cuts so I'll do a little happy dance and link-up up with their current challenge!

Have a great weekend everyone!

August Card Chain Challenge Reveal

It was back down to earth with a bump today as I returned to work after the Summer break. Six weeks of crafting, relaxing and holidaying... All gone by too fast. So it's been a real pick-me-up to come home, turn on the PC and take a look at another truly lovely Card Chain Challenge round-up.

I sent this card to LesLee in California:

I have to say I really enjoyed using Deborah's suggested colour palette with my little Bella stamp as I'd have never picked these colours myself.

I was blown-away to receive this card from the amazingly talented Kelly 'Lovin the life I colour' Booth.
I loved the outside...

And fairly whooped with cardmaking joy when I saw this pop-up wonder on the inside.

I know: laces and glitter and inking... Oh, my! If you love fabulous cards with a little pop-up fun just take a look at Kelly's blog and get the lowdown on how she created this card. No wonder this lady is one of my long-term cardmaking idols.

To see the rest of the reveal you can go here and to sign-up to play along with the September CCC go here.

House of Cards September Challenge - Stitch it up!

We've a brand new challenge over at HOC and it's all about sewing... Faux, hand or machine sewn its all good and we're looking forward to seeing some bewitching stitching on your creations this month!

As you can see I went the machine stitched route for my simple little card with my current favourite flower image from Wplus9. I appear to have set myself a mini-challenge to see how many different ways I can use this pretty stamp! It really is so versitile. The beautiful sentiment is from Reverse Confetti purchased from Make the Day Special.

I was trying for a feminine and fairly homespun look with this card and am pleased with how pretty the white embossing looks against the kraft cardstock. I coloured with my water brush and Distress Inks.

Yet again the HOC girls have created some beautiful projects so why not head on over, take a look and join in...

Naughty or Nice Challenge #19: Ribbons and Bows

It's all about ribbons and bibbons and bows this month over at Naughty or Nice Challenges!

We thought it would be fun to pull out one of our favorite embellishments and feature it on our cards. You can go big and tie it up with a huge bow or go small and just add a bit of ribbon as an embellishment or a flag. 

Once again, I've worked with this gorgeous Wplus9 stamp called Botanical Bunch: isn't it a beauty? I love how many different card styles it's possible to achieve with this stamp. This look is fairly sophisticated and was great fun to make as its so different from my usual style. I've another card using this stamp on my workdesk but I'll leave it a few days before sharing it.

I wasn't sure if I had any ribbons for this challenge and was amazed, when I opened my ribbon tin, at just how many ribbons and lengths of lace I actually possess. The design was already in my head and all the elements chosen before I even put ink to paper and so the card was finished in record time.

My fellow Troublemakers have worked their usual creative magic, so why not drop by over at the NON blog and take a look at how they have interpreted this theme.

Heartsy Mae/Heartsy Julie.

Its my sister-in-law's birthday next month... So of course I've made her a card! 

I'm really enjoying working with Some Odd Girl stamps at the moment and have spent a few pounds/dollars picking up one or two of the newer digital images over the last few weeks.

One of the things I enjoy most about making cards is that you can personalise them. I often try to make the image look a little bit like the person I'm sending it to and when I saw Heartsy Mae I knew she would make a great Julie!

Here she is with my beautiful niece enjoying some summer sunshine.  What a likeness! LOL. I wonder if Julie will realise I've included her trademark pink lipstick?

The pretty papers are from Echo Park's 6x6 paper pad Head Over Heels; which seems appropriate seeing as I've just realised the paper on the lower portion of the card is upside down! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. 

I'm linking-up with the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge crew as they have an Anything Goes week showcasing Hero Arts products. The 'happy birthday' sentiment is from Hero Arts so this seemed like too good an opportunity to miss.

Happy crafting everyone!