Bright Card for a Dull Day

This is a card made using bits and pieces left over from other projects.  The papers were printed from Funky Hand CDs; the stamp was from Stampin' Up  Apothecary Art set, cut out with a SU Sizzix die and the message was made on the computer and punched out.

Make My Monday Challenge

The challenge this week on Make My Monday is to make something using dies and/or punches and for this card I've incorporated both.  I'm still aiming to use up some of my scraps and also trying to resist buying any new 'stash' and use what I already have although I'm not sure how long this particular aim will last!  Background paper is from my precious hoard of beautiful designs received as part of the ex Graphicus Guild membership (now known as Chocolate Baroque).  The various punched and die cut elements were made using scraps and I even couldn't resist using some of the tiny flowers which were 'waste' from the punched border (Tonic punch). The cameo is a very old Quick Kutz die, popped onto a punched oval (SU) and an embossed oval (Sizzix for SU).  The swirl and butterflies are Marianne dies.  The greeting was produced on the computer and put onto three punched shapes (SU).  Do take a look at the inspiration from the Design Team by following the link above.

Winter Wonderland 2

This is the second of my 'quintiles' for the swap at Chocolate Baroque using the winter wonderland theme.  So far there isn''t a similar scene outside my window although there has been snow in some parts I know - hope it isn't causing anyone too much disruption. Again I've used a background printed from Seasons Greetings CD, then stamped one of the houses from Chocolate Baroque (coloured with Distress inks), cut out with a Nestabilities die, added a piece of Cuttlebug embossed card and stamped words.  Makes me feel quite chilly looking at this - roll on Spring I say!!

New Year - New Swap Idea

Last year I took part in a swap project with Chocolate Baroque members and I now have a beautiful and varied collection of Alpha tags.  This year the idea is to produce 'quintiles' which are defined as pieces of artwork five inches square, obviously using mainly products either made by or sold by Chocolate Baroque. The theme for January is Winter Wonderland - just when I thought I'd be putting my Christmas things away for a while at least although I do aim to make a few seasonal cards throughout the year.  On this one I've used a background printed from their Season's Greetings CD and a stamp which was a special for members of what was Graphicus Guild in times past (now CB).  For the wording I used a CB stamp from Christmas Reflections set but as the words were quite large, I scanned the stamped image into Word and reduced it to a more suitable size for this piece.  The little shaped layer was embossed using a cuttlebug folder.  Colouring of the sky was done with Distress inks, first masking off the snow and using brushes for a light touch.  The snow was glittered using clear rock candy dry glitter by Tim Holtz.

Make My Monday Challenge

I seem to have been out of the house pretty well every day this week but thankfully didn't need to go out this morning because it has been lashing with rain.  I've not made a card for what seems like ages and have nearly forgotten how!  The people at Make My Monday have returned after their short break and this week are challenging us to produce something using dry embossing. I've used a combination of masks and embossing folders to come up with three different sizes of dots for the embossing, also embossed the circle which has a tree stamped on it - Stamp is from Lovely as a Tree set by Stampin' Up and the circle is of course a Nestability die.  Backing paper was a scrap from my oddments box and the sentiment was printed and cut out with a punch.

Beaded Pendant

I spotted this pendant in the last issue of Bead magazine and thought I'd like to make one for myself.  The design is by Diana Fitzgerald and the original also incorporates a tassel which I decided wasn't for me unless it was going to be a handbag charm instead of a necklace.  It is made using size 11 Delica beads and the embellishment in the centre is a pretty button which I spotted in my local shop and seemed just right.  The button is needed because the design is made from 12 tiny beaded triangles joined together which leaves a hole in the centre which is better filled.  My apologies that it isn't hanging nicely but because it has turned into a dreary afternoon I had to resort to scanning it instead of taking a photograph.

I set off this morning in sunshine to meet some friends for lunch and while we were enjoying a lovely lunch complete with plenty of crafty chat the weather turned dull on us but at least it is still dry so not all bad.  I really have to go in search of my card making mojo which seems to have disappeared for the time being and needs to return so that I can get on with using up some of my 'stash'.

And Now for Something Different...

A thoughtful friend spotted this knitting pattern and kindly passed it on to me because she knows how I like quirky things.  Wrist warmers seem to be all the rage at the moment and there are lots of different styles around but the fact that these had cute owls on the backs of them is what appealed here.  They are knitted in chunky yarn on four needles which I found a bit ifddly, mainly because of the small number of stitches and the large size of the needles plus the fact that there is also some cabling to do.  I do like knitting in the round but am more accustomed to knitting socks in 4 ply on fine needles (something else which I've been doing recently as well).  I've done my best to photograph them in the poor light and although the eyes do look different shades they are in fact all the same colour - just a trick of the light.  Again apologies for my lack of blogging but hopefully once the weeks get back to starting on the right day I can catch up!!

Wishing a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to anyone I have missed.