Don't leave out your Smash Book!

Told hubby he could have a page of the Smash Book to list the Christmas pressies he wanted me to buy. This is his efforts. Not bad, I like his hand drawn doodles. But he should stick to his day job! Have hidden the Smash Book in case he decides to become a closet crafter!
 

Christmas Mix

Before I tell you about tonights card I want to say a huge thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post about my magazine work. I truly appreciate each one.

So, tonight I have used a Penny Black stamp 'Christmas Mix' that was new last year and I thought I had better use it at least once this year!  I coloured with watercolour pencils - my favourite way to colour Penny Blacks and the papers are Madison also by Penny Black. A little bit of twine and a snowflake charm are a perfect finishing touch.

My layout follows the fab sketch over on this weeks Sunday Sketch and Stamp Challenge.
 

I'm a cover girl!

 It's been a busy few months doing commissions for the craft magazines. But it's great to see them published. It's especially cool this month because my cards feature on three front covers!

Simply Cards & Papercraft

Complete Cardmaking

Papercraft Essentials

 

 

 

I am well pleased!

 

Christmas Wishes

Hey! Guess what! My favourite digi company - The DigiStamp Boutique now stocks a cool range of digital papers. I have put together a little card using some of the new papers, a cute reindeer from the pre-coloured reindeer set and one of the Boutique's simply Christmas greeting. Not so sure about the colour of my ribbon tho'. I'm sure my camera lies!! 

 

Merry Christmas Arthur

Just popping on a quick, clean and simple card this morning. The cute little Christmas mouse is Arthur from The DigiStamp Boutique. I coloured with copics and the papers are Madison by Penny Black.

I am entering two challenges...
Digital Tuesday...blue, kraft and white
CAS-ual Fridays...winter blues

Edited to add - I've had a few emails about the sentiment. It's from a clear stamp set by 'Clearly Besotted Stamps' called 'Signature Christmas'. Note to self - do better about listing my stash!
 

Mum 80

Hello out there! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I remembered I hadn't shared the card I made for my lovely Mum's eightieth birthday, so here it is now! I inked and stamped a bird cage card blank from Craftwork Cards then cheated a bit with die cut flowers and stickers!

I am entering the Papertake Challenge....flower power

Must dash, two magazine commissions and one Kuretake commission are awaiting my attention!

 

Merry Christmas

This little bear was one of the first Penny Black stamps I ever bought. And I still think he is super cute! I coloured him with water colour pencils and kept it all quite clean and simple.

I am entering this month's Ready-Teddy-Go Challenge which is 'don't be square'.
 

so cute

Good morning everyone. I am absolutely delighted to share some news this morning. I am now on the ABC Challenge design team. Woohoo! The challenge is on the 1st and 15th of every month so it suits me (and my magazine work) down to a T! And look....

...a lovely new badge for my sidebar!

Right then, we're at the letter B. And it's....

 B for Butterflies

The challenge is sponsored by Bunny Zoe's Crafts who have kindly offered a £10 gift certificate for one lucky winner. They have a huge selection of crafty goodies, including the Bild Malarna stamp I used for my card. 

So, for loads more inspiration from my teamies and all the info' on how to enter visit the ABC Challenge.

See you there!

 

Christmas Wishes

There's a cute little reindeer set just new in at The DigiStamp Boutique, pre-coloured so great for those quick makes and it's on special offer! Oh, and don't forget that if you make a card using any of the Boutique's images you can enter the customer competition to win a £15 voucher. All the details are here.

I am entering two challenges...
Sweet Stampin'...anything goes
Allsorts...young at heart
 

HoHo!

Here's a fun project using the little box that wooden embellishments come in, some plain copy paper, Kurecolor pens and some buttons! 

First I painted the box with white acrylic and gave it a sprinkle of glamour dust. Then doodled some patterns onto the plain paper, trimmed to fit the spaces and glued down. Attach any sort of small embellishments you have in your stash. Job done - really quick and easy. Make one to match your own colour scheme, the pens come in a huge variety of colours! Remember there's £50 worth of Kuretake goodies to be won in the current competition, all the details are here.
 

Christmas Kiss

It's a lovely blue sky day here today and I'm off out this afternoon to meet my friend for coffee and a blether (and, who knows, maybe the first mince pie of the year).  For todays card I have used an adorable digi from TeddyBo called 'eskimo kiss'. I just added a hint of colour with a distress pen and a touch of stickles. 

I am entering the Papertake Challenge..anything goes.
 

Birthday Wishes

Today I have taken a wee break from the Christmas cards. I have used a Jellypark digi image (a freebie that is available here). I coloured with prismacolour pencils and added a little bling to her wings - cos' every fairy should have bling!

I am entering the Jellypark Challenge which is 'Back to Nature' (I am hoping daisies and butterflies count as nature).
 

Joy

Guess which challenge this is for. Yep! It's 'In the Pink'. The challenge is 'clean and simple with lots of pink space'. I think it's safe to say I have lots of very, very pink space!!

This is the first time I have used my Memory Box 'Joy' die on a card. I have played around with it loads but nothing seemed to work - until I covered it with glamour dust! The robins are from a Penny Black set and I used watercolour pencils to colour. There's a link over there on my side bar to a little video I did on using watercolour pencils, have a peek! 

 

Kuretake Kristmas

Fancy winning £50.00 worth of Kuretake goodies? Think how many gorgeous pens that would be! The challenge is...

Create a Homemade Christmas Gift

All the info' about the challenge and how to enter is here.

I have made a couple of gifts that will hopefully inspire you to join in. For the Christmas wallhanging above I firstly painted the frame with Distress Crackle Paint 'Picket Fence'. Then using Kuretake Zig art & graphic twin pen 83 (waterbased) I gave my background a wash of colour. Then, using the same pen, I randomly stamped the flowers/snowflakes. I diecut a couple of doiles and snowflakes and again, coloured with the pen. Added card candi and brads to finish.

For my little mini wreath I covered a polystyrene ring with rafia. This time I used the Kurecolor alcohol based pens to colour my diecut tattered pinecones and leaves. I used the Zig Emboss Writer to heat emboss some white powder to give the effect of snow. A little sentiment and some twine to finish. 

The closing date to enter is 25th November. So there's plenty time to join in!

 

a little winter magic

Whew! Three back to back magazine commissions have kept me very busy. They have now been shipped off to magazine HQ and the articles, step by steps and top tips have all been typed up and emailed. I do love my magazine work but my poor blog feels very neglected!

Anyhoo, here is this evenings little creation. I stamped, heat embossed and inked the background. The stamp is 'sweet snowman' by Penny Black and I coloured with my distress pens.

I am entering two challenges...

Sweet Stampin'...all that glitters (there is glitter on his scarf - honest)
Simon Says Stamp...get in shape
 

Christmas Sparkle

Yay, another one for the Christmas box. This is the most organised (Christmas card wise) I have ever been! Perhaps getting the glitter out in August is not such a bad idea after all!

I used Percy and Simply Christmas Greetings, both from The DigiStamp Boutique. The papers are 'Home for Christmas' by Docrafts.

I am entering this weeks challenge over on Papertake which is a fabby sketch.