Tic Tac Toe

Good morning dear friends and fellow bloggers and I hope you are all well.  It is time for another challenge at OSAAT and this time we have had great fun playing Tic Tac Toe.

If you are looking for my Christmas Card Club entry then please 

scroll down to the previous post.

My Card

Sorry it's a bit picture heavy but I wanted you to see the lovely images and all the layers.

Recipe

5 x 7 " easel card made from The Range card stock

digi image - doves and heart frame from Floppy Latte

backing papers - LOTV Petal Fresh

blue pearlescent card - Pennies Worth

classic ovals large - Spellbinders

petite scalloped ovals - Spellbinders

Oval Bliss - Spellbinders.

satin ribbon - local haberdashery

pearls - from stash

sentiment - computer generated

Promarkers to colour

I chose to use  horizontal row one for my card and as you can see I certainly managed more than three layers!  We would love you to join us in our challenge # 254 at OSAAT this time. This is what you have the chance to win from our sponsor Stitchy Bears Digital Stamp Outlet. so go ahead, choose a line and make a card!

That's all for today.  Take care!

Ruby Wedding Gift Box and Card

Good morning friends and fellow bloggers.   One of the ladies at WI asked if I could make her a box to hold money, which was to be the gift to her parents for their ruby wedding.  And of course their had to be a matching card. This is what I came up with.

My Gift Box

The box measures 16 cms x 9cms x 2cms, which is just slightly larger than a £20 note.

Recipe

White double sided centura pearl card - Crafters Companion

Dark red cardstock - from stash

Flowers - Wild Orchid Crafts

Lace with pearls - local haberdashery shop

Flat backed pearl string and  other pearls from stash

Faux Quilled Leaves - Sue Wilson

Diamond Strips and Accents - Spellbinders

My Card

(Never photographs well from this angle but it gives a better view of the diecuts.)

Recipe

Base Card - 7"x 5" stepper card Papermania

Dark red card - from stash

Diamond Strips and Accents - Spellbinders

Resplendent Rectangles - Spellbinders

Marvellous Squares - Spellbinders

Swan diecut - Nellie Snellen Hearts Dies
Pearls from stash
Computer generated sentiment

The card didn't take long to make because it is very similar to one I made a couple of years ago.  The  reason I am showing it is so that you can see how the card and gift box tie in together.

Fortunately the lady concerned loved the matching pair! Phew!  It's always a relief to hear that.

Hope this finds you all well and getting back to some form of normality - whatever that might be!!!!

Entered into :

Stamping Sensations - dies or punches
Scribble and Scrap - anything goes

OSAAT Challenge # 222

Good afternoon to all my friends and fellow crafters. Well it's time for our next challenge at One Stitch at a Time. This time it is "Anything Goes ....... With A Butterfly".   My image is "Fancy Free" by Barb Jenson which you can find  here.  Please click here to see the cards made by the rest of the DT this week. We would love you to join us.

My Card

Recipe

7" x 7" card from Anna Marie Designs

Papers - Pastel Dreams from LOTV

Die - SB Grand Decorative Circles

Butterflies - SB Jewels and Flourishes 

Tiny butterfly - a punch (sorry, no name on it)

Promarkers

Pearls - from stash

Sentiments - Mixed Sentiments from Personal Impressions 

Well, there's a lot of pink here isn't there? Very girly!  If you would like to join us you have the chance to win the October prize pack of digi images and papers. You could also be one of the Top Three chosen by the DT.  So what are you waiting for?

Hope you are all feeling well today, and if not I'm sending you a virtual hug from Oxfordshire.  I've been left with a very irritating cough so I'm hoping it will soon be gone.  Take care everyone!

Retirement

Good morning friends.  Well, I see that I have actually reached my 100 followers so I'll have to think about some candy now!!. Came as a bit of a shock.  When I started my blog I wondered if it was going to be a big mistake and would anybody actually follow me.  However, I have made some wonderful friends in blogland!! Thank you to you all!

This card is for an ex-colleague who has decided to retire and as you will gather it is for a lady.

My Card

click image  to  enlarge

The card is 5" x 7".  The SB folder Diamond Fleur De Lys was still sitting on my desk so I thought I would use it again, this time is landscape rather than portrait. I decided to use what I think is the debossed side this time. I'm really not sure which is which because both sides are embossed. By using a pale yellow ink, Narcissus by Versacolor, to colour the folder it looks so very different. I used the largest die from SB Opulent Ovals and the largest one from Classic Ovals to make a frame for the centre. Being smaller you can actually see a lot more of the embossed design. I computer generated the sentiment and die cut it with SB Fancy Tags. The bow is a Sue Wilson Classic Bow die from Creative Expressions. I sponged all the die cuts whilst still in the dies to get a delicate effect. Then a pearl in each corner finished the card. I think it's amazing how very different two cards can look using the same layout and some of the same embellishments.

Well that's it from me again today.   Hope you are are all well and enjoying the summer now it is finally here.

Pastels, Petals and Pearls

Good morning to all my dear friends and blog buddies, and to any visitors who may have dropped by then welcome, and I hope you like what you see.  I would love it if you could leave a comment so that I can reciprocate and pay you a visit in return.

I have had a few new followers lately whom I have not welcomed, and I apologise for the omission.  Sébastien, my super-observant great nephew, noticed that I am very close to 100 followers.   " So what are you going to do when you get to 100 Auntie Christine?" he said.  I am presuming he meant 100 followers, but you never know!  Maybe he thinks I am getting on in years ....  lol!!  Anyway, I will certainly think about some candy for my faithful followers -  if I get there!

My Card

click to enlarge

My base card is a smidgen over 5" x 7" and cut from some super quality card from Anne-Marie Designs. I used a brayer and Versacolour Petal Pink to colour SB M-Bossabilities "Diamond Fleur de Lys" Design A. I love the border this folder gives. In retrospect it might have been better to use a slightly darker pink, but that's the way it goes. I then die cut the three largest dies from SB "Resplendent Rectangles" together to make a frame which I layered with foam to give a slightly raised appearance. Instead of using flower dies I dragged some daisy punches out of hibernation and used them to punch out a number of flowers. Gosh, you forget how quick it is to use a punch! However I did use Cheery Lynn "Wreath Strip" for the feathery leaves . I positioned the flowers and leaves around the frame and popped pearls into the flower centres and the central frame.

Well that's it for today.  Hope you are well and enjoying our summer days!  Take care.

Entered into:

Petals and Pearls - Crafty Calendar

Male CAS

Hello to you all.  Just a quick post this morning because we will be going out shortly.

My Card

My card is 5" x 7".  I used some white card stock and coloured it Hessian using Pink Petticoat Natural Neutrals. I ran just over half of it through SB M-Bossabilities Bark folder. I added a piece of Hobbycraft jute ribbon to a strip of brown card and glued it to the base card. The stars were punch outs from the same brown card with a brown pearls added, and then Happy birthday was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa.  A nice quick and easy card to add to the box.

Hope you are all well and enjoying the glorious sunshine.  Take care!

Gift For The Bride

Hi

Still cannot find my mojo!

Click on image to enlarge picture

When my nephew was married my sister was looking for something that her grandson could give to the bride. Poor Sébastien was feeling very left out - his dad was best man and his sister was bridesmaid! In his words  he was going to be "the most least important person there"!  We all had a good laugh at his phraseology.  Anyway she looked everywhere but couldn't find anything she really liked, or of a reasonable quality - most of the stuff in the shops seemed to be quite shoddy and she isn't in to technology and doesn't have a computer so wasn't able to go online. She was looking for something other than a horseshoe. So big sister saved the day!

 I bought a cheap wooden spoon and embellished  it. I wound white satin ribbon all round the handle and then added lace, ribbon, flowers and pearls all of which were in my stash, so it was a very cheap but very personal gift.  I decorated both sides and on the reverse put the names of the bridal couple and their wedding date. I computer generated the details onto Letraset Safmat so that when it was applied to the back of the spoon it looked as if it was actually on the spoon itself.  If you haven't tried Safmat it really is excellent.

Again I didn't photograph it but Jeanie did - maybe not not how I would have done it but it does give you an idea of what it was like and at least it was actually captured on film.  Séb then felt very special when he had his photograph taken handing it to the bride!  You've got to keep the children happy !!

I made a box for it and embellished it using Spellbinders Parisian Accents and lined it with batting or wadding or whatever it is called - anyway, it's the stuff you use for quilting. The sentiment was an LOTV stamp. I was actually quite pleased with how the spoon turned out since I really had no idea what I was going to do and just kept adding bits.

Have a good day everybody and hope you find time to fit in some crafting.

Love from Christine xx

Peace And Love At Christmas

Hello dear blog friends. I have been absent for a few days because I wanted to concentrate on finishing my Christmas cards. I am now feeling very smug because I have made 85 (including those I did last month) and no two identical. They all written and stamped ready to pop into the mailbox when John goes down to the village, apart from a handful that need letters included.  I now have only a few special ones to make.

Click on image to enlarge picture.

This is one I have just made this morning. The stamp of the house is from an American company, Petulama, which is one  of the very first ones I bought 11 or so years ago. I heat embossed with detail silver powder and used a purple promarker to add just a hint of colour. I then used glossy accents and diamond dust on the roof and trees and matted on silver mirri and lavender cardstock. I used a Cuttlebug folder to emboss the dotty half of the background and various snowflake stamps at the other side. The snowflakes are Spellbinders Create-a-Flake Four and the greeting is Little Claire Designs Christmas Sentiments.

So that's another one off my remaining list. I'm going great guns here!

Well that's it for now. I'd better get some baking done because all the tins of cakes and biscuits are pretty empty. John is very patient but he does like his little treats!! Hope to see you again tomorrow with another offering. By the way, I may not have added anything to my own blog  over the last few days but I have been visiting whenever I took a break so I have been keeping up to date with all your lovely creations.

Love and hugs from Christine. xx

I am entering this in the Ladybug Crafts Challenge - Christmas and/or Winter: HERE

Clean and Simple

Good morning friends

I bought a new Spellbinders die on Saturday and I have been playing with it.   Many years ago I used to do Lacé work and still have  a number of dies.   I loved the look of it but  it was extremely fiddly and sometimes you'd get right to the end and then your blade would slip!!!    Dis-ars-ter Dahling - as Craig Revel-Horwood would say!!  Anyway, when I saw this Spellbinders Diamond Strips and Accents I just had to have it!!  And it didn't disappoint.  I kept this card very clean and simple to show off the lovely cut and fold corner - but then I used lashings of pearls!!!!

Click on image to enlarge picture.

This is a 6 x 6 card layered with a  pearlised pink card to show off the cut work.  I computer generated the sentiment, using Freehand 591 font , onto Labels 16 die.  I love this font and use it a lot.  The pink flower pearls were from WOC and the other pearls are from Hobbycraft.

I know Clean and Simple is not to everyone's taste but I've never been one who has to fill every little bit of space so I quite like it.  It has been very dark here today but I did my best with the photograph.

Have a good day everybody.

With love from Christine xx

Thank you for visiting my blog today and for all the comments you leave. I really do appreciate each and every one of them.

Santa's New Transport.

Hi friends, I made this card yesterday evening so obviously to late to take a picture and that is why I am off to a late start today. This  is a Christmas card which I think will be very appropriate for a couple of farming friends who have a herd of Friesans.  In fact she actually gave me the stamp a few years ago and  I've not used it till now. All I can say is  -watch out Rudolph!

This is the first year I have used traditional colours for my Christmas cards but I am quite enjoying them. The backing papers are  Home For Christmas from Papermania. I think I shall be going back for more of these now I'm in my red phase. The stamp is Christmas Ride by Penny Black and is such a fun image. I added a bit of glitter to Santas hat and a little punched out sprig of holly to the cow. The poinsettias are Marianne Creatables. The mini card candi down the sides was free in a magazine last month - can't remember which.

Well that's all for today. I hope you all have a good day.

Love from Christine xx

I would like to enter this card into http://christmascardchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ colour combo

Thank you for visiting my blog and for the comments you leave. I appreciate each and everyone of them.

Bird and Butterflies

Good morning blog friends, thanks for stopping by  today.

This card is again a little different for me but I must admit I like it. However, the picture really doesn't do it justice.

Well, as you can see I took to my distressing tool again today. The main cardstock is beautiful and from a pad called Gemsones and has the most gorgeous jewel colours but I wanted to stay very neutral. The distressed cardstock is Core'dinationsWhitewash Collection. The main image is from a freebie I found on the internet by a lady called Astrid McLean and she has the most beautiful  free papers.  If you haven't seen her work you really should take a look. I decided to print out the full page and I cut out a portion of the paper with Spellbinders Labels 8 to make a topper and matted it with  the gemstones cardstock. The rest of the paper I can use on another card.

The butterflies are Marianne Creatables, as are the swirls. The leaves are Spellbinders Foliage.The flowers were bought at Lakeland a few years ago before they stopped selling crafty stuff.  (I think they might be Prima.) I added a little punched sun and a taupe coloured pearl to the centres. The ribbon and cotton lace are from my local haberdashery store. I have deliberately omitted a sentiment because I don't really know who or what it is for and so can add it later.

I thought I would enter this into
Ladybug Crafts Challenge: Anything Goes.
The Poodles Parlour  :  Things With Wings
MAWTT :   Flying High
Allsorts :      Anything But Square

Maybe by doing this it will build up my confidence a little. Thank you to Sue (Bearhouse) where I cribbed these challenges from - hope you don't mind Sue!

Anyway, have a good day everybody and I hope you find a little time to craft.

With love from Christine xx

Sunflower - clean and simple

Hi there blog friends!

The colours of this card looks so springlike it should have a daffodil instead of a sunflower - except that I don't have a daffodil stamp!!

The sunflower stamp is from Papermania and coloured with promarkers. The ribbon and pearls are from my stash.  I wrapped the ribbon round the punched centre strip but it is barely visible. The sentiment is from Craftwork Cards. I decided not to add too many embellishments, but to follow the freshness of the papers and keep it clean and simple.



Well this week has been very busy but hopefully things will ease off next week and I can settle down to do something a bit more challenging. But no matter how simple, it is always nice to do some crafting.

If you have anything  planned for the bank holiday I hope you enjoy them - and let's hope the weather is okay where you are. Dream on eh? Fine bank holiday weekend?  Who am I  trying to kid.  It is pouring down here in Oxfordshire.


Have a good day.

Love from Christine xx