How many weeks until Christmas?

Well, we've had our extra hour and, just like every year, the weekend flew by regardless. Anyway, I made this card a couple of days ago and it fits the Just Magnolia "Merry Christmas" challenge perfectly! I'm trying to get my Christmas cards done but I've already given in and ordered cards from John Lewis (oh the joys of the internet!) as I just know I'm not going to have time to make all that I need.  

As you can see, I've been shopping (again) and I have to say, the new Magnolia Christmas stamps are possibly the best collection ever - certainly the best in a wee while.  I bought a few stamps and - forgive me, my friends, for I have sinned - I ordered a couple more the other day!  They are just so lovely and a dream to colour.

So this is a new Tilda, coloured with Copics and sprinkled with Glamour Dust.  The papers are Basic Grey and the sentiment is years old - an All My Memories sticker from the days before I knew what a stamp was!  I cut out a Sizzix heart from some chipboard and painted it with Picket Fence paint before dabbing it with Walnut Stain ink.  I quite like the effect and will make a few more like this when I get the chance.  The ribbon is from my stash (Making Memories, I think) and I've noticed that in the photo it looks like it's coming unstuck!  Will need to remedy this before I send it to someone!

I sprayed some Wild Orchid Crafts roses with French Vanilla Chalkboard Glimmer Mist to get a good match with my papers.  I usually put my flowers inside an eggbox to spray them and my hens' eggs go into very posh-looking boxes as a result!

It's going to be another busy week - Gregor is going to be 12 on Wednesday (eek! what happened to my baby!) and we're full-on at school as my Higher class have their first NABS.  I'll do my best to do another post before the weekend but apologies in advance if life gets in the way!

Have a lovely week - I do appreciate you coming to visit me and your lovely comments do wonders for my morale!

Big hugs

Tracey xx

Sweet Stampin' - Anything Goes!

Good morning! Don't know about you, but I am SO glad it's the weekend. The first week back at school has been exhausting and I'm really looking forward to that extra hour on Sunday!

We've got a new challenge starting today over at Sweet Stampin' Towers and it's always a popular one - Anything Goes!  Yes, you can make whatever you like, as long as it's stamped! How easy is that?

Here's my little creation

Now you know that I like my hAnglars and my Maggies, but this little Sugar Nellie cutie has stolen my heart! She's been coloured with really pale copics and I've added lots of Stickles and Glamour Dust, together with some glitter that was free with a magazine.  Sadly the old photographic skills have let me down again as there appears to be some stray glitter on her chin.  I wanted to keep everything very pale and frosty looking so I stuck to palest pink and a little pale grey to lift the white.

The papers are Magnolia; the bottom layer is from the new Christmas collection and the top square is from a year or two ago.  I distressed the edges with Lord Timmy's distressing thingy and added Walnut Stain around the edges. A doily from Joanna Sheen, a glittery Doodlebug brad and some Wild Orchid Crafts pink roses (sprayed with Pearl Glimmer Mist) were the only other additions.

Dodgy glitter aside, I'm (unusually for me) rather pleased with this.  Wish I could look that serene!

Oh and a quickie from school this week.  We were asking visiting primary school children about their skills and talents.  "Football!" said most of the boys.  "Fishing" said another.  "Taming wild animals" said a tiny wee girl.  "Taming wild animals? Really?  Do you know how to do that?" we enquired.  And she confidently replied that yes, indeed, she really, really knew how to do that.  "How did you learn to tame wild animals?" I asked.  "I've got a Rotweiler!" was the reply.

Have a lovely Saturday!

Hugs,

Tracey xx

Boo!

Thought I'd do a very quick post to show you my one and only Halloween card this year! We don't do Halloween although when he was younger sometimes the Boy Wonder's friends would come over for an impromptu visit to show us their costumes and see whether we had any sweets!

I've kept the card fairly simple in terms of layout. Unfortunately I must have taken the photo at a funny angle as looking at the picture now it seems as if the MS PATP border is wonky!  I used Apothecary paper and cut a black Cheery Lynn doily die to sit behind the image.  The spiders are from a much older MME collection.  The image I've had for ages and she's a joy to colour.  I used Copics but added a bit of Antique Linen distress ink and a small Stempelglede stamp to try to make "mouldy" marks around the edge of the oval.  I added some black gems to the corners and went a bit mad with the bright orange Basic Grey fibre, but it's such nice stuff to play with!

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:-

Stampin' for the Weekend - Spooky!

Paperplay Challenges - Halloween/Witches

See you tomorrow with a new Sweet Stampin' challenge!

Hugs,

Tracey x



I'm Still Here!

This is just a quick post to prove that I haven't disappeared!  The Boy Wonder and I have had such a busy time and I don't know what happened to the last week of our holiday.  I have managed to make some cards, though and thought I'd show you this one which I thought I'd enter in this week's Just Magnolia challenge.

This week Just Magnolia would like to see Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness.  Some of you will know that my lovely friend Marianne is battling breast cancer at the moment; she's had a very tough time lately as she's developed one infection after another and they've had difficulty getting the drugs through her system properly.  Last week she had to have a Hickman line put in - it's just at the base of her throat, bless her, so must be quite uncomfortable.  But if it helps the chemo and Herceptin to go round, it will be worth it.

Anyway, here's my Pink Christmas card

I used Tilda Wants a Hug as I thought it was so appropriate! She's been coloured with Copics and cut out with a Nestie.  I wrapped some Basic Grey fibres around a MS punched square and sat Tilda on top.  The papers are also Basic Grey and I found some Wild Orchid Crafts pale pink wild roses in my ever-growing stash of flowers! The tag is a Magnolia Doohickey - it's such a useful size, this one and I use it quite a lot, in case you hadn't noticed!

Hope to be back again this week with another card.  I got my new Tildas the other day and have been trying to get some coloured.  I think this is one of the best collections for some time - I bought four stamps but could easily have bought four or five more!

Have a lovely week.

Hugs,

Tracey xx

Sweet Stampin' - Masculine!

It's Saturday and that means a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin'!  This week's theme is Masculine.

Now many of you will know that I dread making cards for boys/men.  I like my flowers and ribbons and girlie stuff too much.  Thank goodness, then, for this Mo Manning image.  Not too butch/manly but masculine nonetheless!

I also decided that rather than make a card, I'd make a gift bag for a change.  I'd bought some Papermania bags from the Glitterpot a little while ago and thought they would be a good way to use up the leftovers in some of my 12"x12" paper pads.  The glitter paper is from a Christmas MME pad and the newspaper printed DP is a more recent a very strokeable purchase, also MME.  The ribbons are from my stash.

Finally, I added a miniature image to a gift tag to go with the bag.

As ever, the Sweeties have some gorgeous creations to inspire you, so do hop over to Sweet Stampin' and check them out!

Have a lovely weekend,

Tracey xx

It's definitely Autumn

Today's card seems particularly appropriate; the heavy rain has turned to drizzle, the leaves are coming down and the sky is just grey.  The challenge theme over at Magnolia Stamp Lovers is Fall and although I'm addicted to buying new papers, at this time of year I always go back to Pink Paislee's Queen Bee pad for my autumn colours.

Tilda has been coloured with Copics and cut out with a large Go Kreate oval die.  I stamped the leaves twice - once over the masked Tilda and the log and then on a separate piece of card.  I cut out the extra leaves and used decoupage glue to stick them on for some dimension.  The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the ribbon is from my stash.

I've pre-ordered my stamps from the new Magnolia Christmas collection.  They look so cute - I hope they arrive before I go back to school!

Hugs

Tracey x

Sweet Stampin' - In Stitches

Hop over to Sweet Stampin' this morning to see our new challenge and the lovely DT cards the Team Fi Sweeties have made for you. 

We are so lucky this month to have the wonderful Marilyn Webb guest designing for us and we have some great prizes for our randomly chosen weekly and monthly winners.

So what are you waiting for?!

Hugs

Tracey x

Yay! It's the holidays!

After only 6 weeks at school we're on holiday for a fortnight.  I know the time is going to go by in a blink as I've got so much to do.  In spite of trying to be organised enough not to have to do any school work over the break the last week has been mad and I've picked up more work than I'd expected.  I'll just have to be very disciplined and make myself set aside a couple of days to get it done.

Anyway, an autumnal hAnglar today.  I made this with the Lovely hAnglar Only challenge in mind - the theme is round and I used a circular Go Kreate die to cut out this sweet image. I coloured her with Copics and splodged around the edges with a Stempelglede grunge stamp and some Antique Linen distress ink.

The image is mounted on a doily I cut with my new Cheery Lynn  die.  I'm smitten - what a joy this was to use, as it cut perfectly first time using the Grand Calibur.  I used the Timmy thingy to scruff up the edges of my DP (the paper with the writing on it is Prima, the other is either MME or Bo Bunny, not sure). The pearls and flowers are from WOC and the ribbon is from my stash.

As well as getting ready for Christmas over the next couple of weeks (!) I am determined to get me some crafting time.  I'm waiting for the new Tildas to be released as I'm quite taken by the sneak peaks I've seen.  Does anyone know if there will be any new hAnglars this Christmas?

See you in the morning with the latest Sweet Stampin' news.

Hugs,

Tracey

Sweet Stampin' Lilac and Lace

No comments about the weather please - I must live in the only place in the UK where it's been cloudy and wet!

Anyway, it's Team Abi's turn over at Sweet Stampin' this week and we're looking for your interpretations of our Lilac and Lace theme.  As usual my lovely teamies have worked their socks off on their scrummy projects.  AND I've got some new teamies, too - you'll meet them over the coming two weeks and I think you'll find there are one or two familiar faces.

I made an easel card to show off this gorgeous paper which is part of the K&Co Watercolour pad. I used my Martha Stewart PATP to get the lacy border.  The Tilda image is one of my faves - I love the ribbon on her dress and it's lovely to colour.  I cut her out with a Go Kreate circle which I then inked with Walnut Stain. 

I had a complete mare getting the lace to stick around the circle but once it was done I put some little lilac roses and rose buds from Wild Orchid Crafts around the edge.  I used lilac and cream flowers from WOC on the card base.  Finally I added a Doohickey tag which I had inked with Walnut Stain.  I love this tag - it cuts beautifully and as it comes in two pieces you get some dimension with it.  Do hop over to Sweet Stampin' and join in if you can.

Before I go can I just say a big "Welcome Back" to the loveliness that is Claire, who has had a wee break from her blog but is now back.  I missed you sweetie!

Hugs,

Tracey xx