CCC # 19 Something Beginning With "S"

Hello to all my dear friends and fellow bloggers. I apologise from my heart for my absence from my own blog and not visiting your blogs either.  John has been rather unwell for a few weeks now and this last week had some surgery which has all taken up my time.  My offering for the Christmas Card Club is extremely simple - but it was either something simple or missing a session, which I didn't want to do.  It was Hazel's turn to choose and as you can see she asked us to make Something Beginning With "S".  In my simplicity I went for snowflakes and sentiment, which I know is pretty boring and I'm sure I should have been able to think up something better!!  But for better or worse it's done.

This car post is not actually due until tomorrow but I also have an OSAAT DT card to post then so I decided to post this one today and I hope my fellow CCC  friends won't mind.  Fortunately, tomorrow's card was done a few weeks ago otherwise I would have been really up the creek without a paddle!

My Cards

Being so simple I was able to make four cards in less time than it would normally take to even work out what I was going to do ... lol!

My cards are 6" x 4" cut from white card stock. The sentiments are Snowy Sentiments from Pink Petticoat. After adding the sentiments I ran them through the GC with SB Dainty Dots folder.  I trimmed them down and then attached them to the base card. The large snowflakes are Marianne Swedish Snowflakes and the smaller ones were made using an XCut punch. Unfortunately, the navy background I took the pictures against make it look as if they are very badly matted onto navy card.  Sorry about that - they are definitely just white cards!!

Because they are so simple they are ideal for batch making, so I will probably make some more of these for my Christmas Card Box to boost the numbers.  There are also more sentiments to ring the changes too.

I hope this finds you all keeping well and I send some love to those who need it! It's probably going to be a few more weeks before I can get back to regular blogging but I can hopefully start to check out some of your blogs soon.

Dream

Good morning to you all and thanks for popping in.  Well we have had three days of wind and rain so I'm hoping things will improve now.  I can't complain my well is running dry ... lol!

My Card

My card today is 6" x 6" made from white cardstock.  It is matted with peach pearlescent paper which I have had for many years and I think was from Crafters Companion.  I then matted one of the papers from Papermania's Oyster Blush to that.  I used the same peach paper to diecut  Cheery Lynn's French Pastry Doily which I cut in half and added it to  half of a paper doily.  The sentiment is from Kaisercraft Life's Sentiments and die cut with SB Fancy Tags. The ribbon, lace and pearls are from my stash.

I'm having a day in Cheltenham today with a friend which will be a nice change.  I used to work in Cheltenham before I retired and it is a lovely town.  The journey from here is about 40 miles over very twisty, hilly, country roads.  A joy to go to work in the summer - but an absolute nightmare come winter!  I don't miss that 80 mile round trip I can tell you.

Hope you are all well and finding time for some crafting in your busy lives.

Christmas Card Club # 18 - Cardinal

Good morning friends and fellow bloggers.  It is once again time to produce a card for our little Christmas Card Club. It is Mary's turn to choose the theme and she asked us to make a card using the cardinal - or another Christmas bird.  Well,  Mary is from  South Carolina and I think that  the cardinal is a symbol of their state so I wanted to use a cardinal if possible. (I'm sure you will correct me if I'm wrong Mary, because now that I think about it I think it is the symbol of North Carolina!!!)  I was running short of time -and  ideas - but luckily I found this image on the internet and made a CAS card.  I think my mojo is sulking because I didn't do  any crafting for a couple of weeks whilst I was up north with my sister and he is not making an appearance at the moment!

My Card

I used red cardstock to make a 4" x 6" card.  This was matted with a white layer which I had trimmed with an Xcut border punch.  I bought this punch thinking it was snowflakes - I can't have been wearing my glasses because when I got it home it turns out to be poinsettias, but it still looks like snowflakes so I think I can get away with using it for either.  I then matted the red layer which had been embossed with SB M-Bossabiliies Dainty Dots. The fronds in the corner are Cheery Lynn Wreath Strip and a red pearl from my stash finished it.  I have not yet added a sentiment because I think I might possibly use it for a Christmas card for a friend who has a birthday on Christmas Eve.  Unfairly he rarely gets a birthday card because people tend to just say Happy Birthday on his Christmas card. 

Hope everybody is fit and well.  The sun is shining today although it is still quite chilly.  Typical summer day ... lol! 

Strength

Good afternoon.  Sorry I have been missing for so long. As I said in my last post I went north to give my sister some support whilst her husband was in hospital. They have both had a tough year.

This card was made very quickly on my return so that I could get it off in the post to her when I went into town today to do some much needed shopping.

My Card

Sorry, it's a bit wonky!!

My card is slightly more than 5 x 7" but it because it is flat it just fits into the envelope.

I used SB Framed Labels 18 3D embossing folder which I have had for quite some time and not used. I used the letter press technique and Spun Sugar distress ink to colour the folder. It makes for such a quick, but very pretty, card. The sentiment is from Quietfire Designs and I felt was very appropriate to the situation because there is still some way to go. I stamped it onto pink pearlescent card stock and die cut it with SB Labels 18 to fit. I used the same pink card stock to die cut some SB  butterflies from Jewel Flowers and Flourishes.  I even added some little pink "blobs (as "Ollies Mam" calls them) to the butterflies, flowers and the Labels 18 shape.

My BF Mollie

Whenever I visit my sister I have a bedroom companion.  Mollie always sleeps under my bed and has done since she was a couple of months old. She abandons her "parents" and becomes my constant companion! I came from the bathroom after my shower one morning and she was enjoying the comfort of my bed!!  Poor little thing doesn't quite know what is going on at the moment with her "dad" missing and her "mum" in and out of the house all the time.  

Well that's it for today.  Hope you have all been keeping well over the last couple of weeks.  Hopefully I shall now have some time to to do some blog visiting and see what you have all been up to in my absence.

Take care.

Artist Trading Cards

Hello to you all.  Had a wonderful time at Stoneleigh Park on Sunday and met up with Ang (Mrs Duck) and John (John Next Door) for lunch and a long long chat!  Spent far too much, but it's only money.....

This is a scheduled post because I am actually up north visiting my sister because her husband is in hospital

I have never made ATC's before but the DT of OSAAT have started a monthly ATC swap and I am really enjoying it.  Thought I would just show the ones I have made so far, and in  a later post I will show the ones I have received -  some beauties!!

My ATC's

My sister doesn't have internet access so I won't be able to check in at all until I get back.  Hope you all keep well.

Take care.  

Christmas Card Club # 17 - Anything But A Card

Good morning to all  my friends and fellow bloggers. Hope you are all doing okay and feeling well.  If not then please take care and I hope you feel better soon.

 Goodness me, I cannot believe just how quickly these two weeks fly by.  This time it was Lizzie's choice and she asked us to make anything but a card!  Well, I initially thought I would make a couple of gift tags but then decided on a Christmas candle.  So now I have one less card than I thought I would - but I have my first Christmas present instead!   Yay!!  Now that is definitely a first for me to have a Christmas present so early in the year.  I have heard that some people buy their gifts in the January sales but I'm not that organised.  I dislike shopping at the best of times so the thought of battling the sales crowds makes me shudder.  Ugh!

My Project

(It's weird because the sentiment looks very wonky in the picture but it doesn't on the actual candle!)

I bought quite a few candles a few months ago,  from Asda I think, so that I would have some available if I decided to decorate one, so that was a good thing.  I also bought the little glass stands at the same time so I am certainly well prepared.  I should have been a Boy Scout!

 I used Little Ivy stamp from LOTV and coloured the image with Promarkers.   The sentiment is from JustRite Elegant Christmas Swirls which is by my guru Becca from Amazing Paper Grace.  The gorgeous red border is from Beautiful Borders by Our Daily Bread Designs and the little poinsettias are from Wild Orchid Crafts. They were finished with green pearls from Hobby House. Last year when I made these I fastened them up with cellophane and ribbon.  This time I think I will make a box for it so watch out for that in the not too distant future.

I am off to the Great British Craft Festival at Stoneleigh Park  this morning where I will be meeting up with Ang - Mrs Duck - and hopefully John Next Door.  Should be fun!  I was going to say that if anybody else is going to be there just  follow the noise and you will find us - but I forgot that Planet Susie and Ollie's Mam will not be there and  they are  the ones that make the noise, definitely not Ang and I!  No sir! (Sorry Sue's - you know I love you really!!)

I will pop round your blogs this evening and see what everybody has been up to.

Entered into:
All Crafts Challenge - anything but a card

CAS Birds

Hello dear friends.  I know I am quite a stranger lately but there is so much going on.  I was also asked if I would make some simple cards to sell on the Women's Institute stall at the village show next week.  It was the last thing I needed but I didn't feel I could say no. I made a dozen cards and a dozen little shopping note pads.  Our president was delighted so it was all worth it.  However, in my rush to get them done and off to her  I forgot to take pictures!  Typical!  These are two that I did initially and I did remember to photograph them.

My Cards

These are A6 size cards.  The grey card and the green card which I used for matting and layering and to die cut the birds were pieces from my bit box. The white card is some linen card which again was from my box.   I made the green one first and stamped the sentiment, which is from Kaiser Craft Friendship Sentiments, but unfortunately it wasn't really successful because of the textured card stock.   For the grey one I decided to computer generate the image instead.   The Birds On A Wire are from Spellbinders.  The pearls and gems were from my stash.  Very simple cards but quite effective.

Well that's all from me.  Hope this finds you all well.  I have tried to pop into some blogs when I have had time but Blogger has been playing up I think and sometimes my comments disappear!  It can be such a pain at times.

Take care.