Happy Christmas!

Just got 5 minutes to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas.  And I've got one last Christmas card to show you before the big day!

I used one of my new Magnolia Christmas stamps and a 6"x6" piece of Magnolia DP.  I coloured Tilda with Copics and added Glamour Dust to her clothes and the snow heart.  The ribbons are from my stash (apologies for the wonky bow) and the gorgeous border die is a Memory Box one from Oyster Stamps.  The sentiment is a Pebbles rub on and the little flower is from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

Papertake Weekly - Last Christmas Card of the Year
Magnolia Stamp Lovers - Winter
Just Magnolia - White plus One (hope it's not too pink!!)

I had hoped to get some crafting time today but these things never go according to plan, do they?  I'll be back as soon as I can as there are a few challenges of the holiday that I like the look of!

Thank you for coming to visit my blog and for your lovely comments - they mean so much to me. Have a wonderful time of the Christmas break - hope Santa is good to you!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Snowed in!!

Yes, we're snowed in! The postman made it down the hill - just!  I think he just shut his eyes and slid most of the way. The main roads aren't too bad, apparently but little country lanes like ours are no-go areas.  My postie was going to have to try to make it all the way to the end of our road (about 3 miles) as there's no way he can get back up the hill!

Never mind, the Boy Wonder and I are well prepared - we made bread and biscuits yesterday and there is plenty in the freezer, so we're not going to starve.  The downside is that I can't get to Marianne's as planned.  They have hardly any snow - she's about 5 miles away - so friends who live nearer to her have been able to go over, fortunately. 

Anyway, time for a card.  I used another of my Christmas 2011 Magnolia stamps - they are oh so lovely to colour!

I went for purple Copics on this one to match the lovely Magnolia DP.  I put a strip of punched Bazzill along the top and everything has had a doing with the Timmy thingy and some Frayed Burlap DI.  I finished it all off with a sprinkling of Glamour Dust, some lovely ribbon from the Ribbon Girl and roses from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I didn't do too much to the inside - just a Nestie circle, Bazzill rub on and another bow with the same gorgeous ribbon.  I thought I would enter this in the Papertake Weekly challenge, "I'm Dreaming of a (Favourite Colour) Christmas"!  And purple is my colour of the day!

If you get the chance in between Christmas shopping, cooking and wrapping, do have a look at our last challenge of 2011 over at Sweet Stampin'.  We're looking for Glitter, Sparkle and Bling - it doesn't have to be Christmassy, as long as it's stamped.  Team Fi have made some gorgeous cards for you to see and our wonderful Guest Designer, the lovely Donna, has done us proud.  If you haven't already seen it, her blog is well worth a look!

Have a fabby weekend!

Hugs,

Tracey xx



A Traditional Tilda

Counting the days to the holidays now!  The Boy Wonder has a rotten cold but needs to be at school tomorrow for a maths test unfortunately.  He's had a French test and a science test already this week.  Why do kids have to do tests at the end of term when they're all so tired?  It doesn't make any sense to me at all!

Once we'd got to grips with Gregor's algebra homework we were able to snuggle up in front of the fire and to be honest I don't know how we both stayed awake! There's a lovely burning log smell in the house now - one of the advantages of living in the middle of the countryside is that we get the best logs for the fire.  I've got lots all piled up outside - a log fire and a gin and tonic and that's me sorted for Christmas!!

Anyway, I'm rattling on when I should be showing you a card. I've made this for one of my goddaughter; I'm so proud of her - she's just back from climbing to the top of Kilimanjaro! 

I used Magnolia papers and Tilda stamps, coloured with Copics.  The sentiment is a K&Co rub on and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts - they've been covered with Twinklets to make them look a bit frosty.

And finally a close up of Tilda

 I've managed to finish a couple more cards this week so I'll do my best to upload them over the next couple of days.  I still haven't written a single card, although I did get my sister's card and presents off to New Zealand in time.  Most of the shopping is done - just a couple of stocking fillers for some of Gregor's pals and that will be the presents taken care of. 

The plan this weekend is to go over to see my lovely Marianne on Saturday.  She's doing much better now after a rotten couple of months in and out of hospital.  She's finished her chemo and just has to go for her Herceptin every 3 weeks for the next few months.  It's such a relief to see her looking so much brighter although she never complains - the most she's said is "I'm fed up with this now"!  This is the girl who, when her second baby decided to make an appearance earlier than expected, asked her hubby to call the midwife because it was "a bit sore"!

I thought I'd enter this card in the CES Challenge - A Traditional Christmas. 

See you soon!

Hugs,

Tracey x

Probably the quickest post in the world..!

Why am I always so last minute with entries for challenges?  This is a real quickie as I would like to enter this card in the TOMIC challenge, which is a Christmas Shaker project and which closes in a few minutes!

Papers are Basic Grey, stamps are Magnolia coloured with C and W coloured Copics.  Lots of glittery bits and bobs inside the shaker part.

Got less than 5 minute to enter - see you soon!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Things with Wings

Well we survived a very windy week here in Scotland.  To be honest I think we got off quite lightly compared to some areas further north.  It's still really cold and it keeps snowing, thawing and snowing again so the roads are a bit tricky, but it could be so much worse.

Over at Sweet Stampin' we have a lovely new challenge for you - "Things with Wings".  Our sponsor this week is Pollycraft and the DT were given some lovely images to use. Do hop on over to take a look at Team Abi's designs.

I used Powder Blue Bazzill and Echo Park DP, which I punched with a Martha Stewart PATP.  The stars were cut with an old Sizzix Originals die and the clouds are Magnolia Doohickeys.  I can't remember where I got the pale blue bobble trim but it's been in my stash for a while.

Sorry about the awful photo but I know I'm not the only one who is struggling to get decent pictures.  The Stickles look dark grey in this picture but irl they're silver and sparkly! More of my Tesco ribbon has been used - there isn't too much left now, but I'm amazed how far it has gone!

I'm scheduling this post as I'm on a course tomorrow morning (yuk!) but at least with Christmas round the corner I haven't had to bring home too much in the way of work. 

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Here comes the snow!

Yes, it's here - as I look out of my kitchen window I can see the snow on the hills. It's been trying to snow here on and off all day but because it's been so wet it isn't sticking.  The problem will be tomorrow morning if it gets any colder - I hope they send the gritter out tonight!

Snow is also the new challenge theme over at Sweet Stampin'. We don't mind whether it's a snowman, snowflakes, snow drift... anything as long as it's snowy (and stamped)!

No snow on my card today, though.  Instead I opted for one of my older, but favourite, Christmas Tildas.  I love this one because she's so lovely to colour and she looks good in soft colours.

I cut out the stamped image with a Nestie and coloured her with Copics (Es and Ws). I used Magnolia papers and added a Cheery Lynn doiley die cut which, like all of the edges, I distressed and coloured with some Frayed Burlap DI.

I added some Diamond stickles to Tilda's ribbons, dress and tinsel for a bit of sparkle.  The lace is from Wild Orchid Crafts and the seam binding is from the Ribbon Girl.  I used a Basic Grey Capella brad in the centre of the bow.

The sentiment panel is cut out with a Nellies die and I added Kaisercraft rub on. The pearls are from my stash and the flowers, which have been sprayed with Glimmer Mist, are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I thought I would enter this card in the following challenges:

TOMIC - Vintage and Lace
Just Magnolia - Anything Goes with Sparkle 

Have a lovely week!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Red and White

Just a quick post to show you a card I made for the Red and White challenge at Magnolia Stamp Lovers.

I used one of the Tildas from this year's Christmas collection and coloured her with Copics.  I used Glamour Dust to add some sparkle to her dress and the chain of hearts.

The DP is also by Magnolia and I've splodged some Picket Fence paint around the edges. I cut a white border from Bazzill using my favourite Doohickey die and added some red ribbon from my stash (this is years old, Making Memories, I think).  The flowers have been spritzed with Glimmer Mist and are, of course, from Wild Orchid Crafts.

The inside has been very simply decorated to match the front. 

Just one last bit of internet shopping to do now and that's all my pressies organised. Wish I could say the same about my Christmas cards! I'm afraid my colleagues at school will be getting John Lewis rather than handmade!

Hugs

Tracey xx