Christmas is Coming at LhSM!

It's that time of year when making Christmas cards seems to be top of the crafty to-do list for all but the most organised of us.  I wish I could say that I'm on schedule, but I never am, and this year is no different.  However, I've been able add one more to the "done" box as our challenge over at Lovely hAnglar or Sweet Magnolia is Christmas is Coming!

I used one of the much older Magnolia stamps for this card.  I love the quirkiness of them and they're very easy to colour. I put Crackle Accents on the bauble and a tiny bit of glitter; Tilda's wings have also had the sparkle treatment with some Glamour Dust.

The ribbons are from the Ribbon Girl (our lovely sponsors this fortnight) and the flowers were in my stash. The papers are Basic Grey and the snowflake borders were made with a Joy Crafts die.  I've been making more flat Christmas cards this year to save on postage costs, so it was great to be able to add my usual flowers and embellies on this one!

As I mentioned, we are being sponsored this fortnight by The Ribbon Girl

 

Lifelong crafters Mother and Daughter, Mary and Andrea were tired of having to buy full rolls of ribbon and lace when they only needed one metre.  Because they love ribbons and all things pretty, they decided to open their own online shop in 2010 and make small quantities of beautiful products easily available to all crafters. Mary owns the shop and runs it on a day to day basis as well as keeping the website updated while Andrea looks after the social side,  The Ribbon Girl Blog and the Design Team. They specialise in supplying small (or large) quantities of ribbon, twine, gorgeous vintage style lace and seam binding ribbon, tiny pom-pom and ric-rac trim, all sorts of buttons, fancy pins, a multitude of charms, pearl and crystal flourishes, wool felt squares, seasonal and unusual embellishments, mulberry flowers, sticky tape and accessories to card makers, crafters, scrapbookers and cake decorators. They stock only the best quality products and only offer for sale goods that they would personally buy and use themselves.

 

I hope you can join in this challenge with us.  Do hop over to LhSM to check out the fabulous designs my teamies have made to inspire you.

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

 

Hugs,

 

Tracey xx

Happy Birthday to Us!

Yay! Sweet Stampin' is celebrating its 4th birthday and we're inviting you to join in the fun!  We have host of fabulous prizes on offer this week and our challenge theme is an easy one: Cause for Celebration!

The Sweeties from both Team Abi and Team Fi have made inspiration projects this week, so there are plenty of gorgeous ideas to help you get started here.  Here's what I made:

I used my fabulous Cheery Lynn stepper card die to make the card base. The paper is Basic Grey Green at Heart, my favourite design in that particular collection.  Sadly this my last sheet :(  but it's worth it for such a special birthday!

The stamp is from Sugar Nellie and has been coloured with Copics.  I've added quite a lot of Glamour Dust for some birthday sparkle.  The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley and the pearls are from Wild Orchid Crafts.

We have not one, not two but THREE prizes up for grabs this week, plus all eligible entries go into the monthly prize draw.  Our monthly sponsor is our good friend the Ribbon Girl and the weekly prizes are as follows:

£10 voucher from Wild Orchid Crafts

£10 voucher from Crafters Companion

£10 voucher from Bunny Zoe Crafts

Plenty of reasons to play along, don't you think?  Remember to stamp, though!

Hugs,

Tracey xx

W-O-W!

Can you believe that another month has gone by?  Christmas is just a few weeks away - good job that Christmas at Sweet Stampin' is doing its bit to help you get those Christmas cards made!

We have a new challenge for you this month: White on White.  You can opt for an all-white card or a white background with a coloured image.  You'll see examples of both over at CaSS as my lovely teamies have made some stunning projects to inspire you.

Here's what I did (apologies for the dodgy photo)

I went for the all-white option and boy, did it take me out of my comfort zone!  I used various Magnolia dies to cut poinsettias, mistletoe and leaves and I added some glittery stamens from my stash for extra berries.  The poinsettia centres are glittered brads.  I punched a lacy layer using a Martha Stewart PATP and stamped a Lili of the Valley sentiment directly on the card in Versamark, then embossed it in silver.  I added a few clear rhinestones for a bit of bling and gave a big sigh of relief when it was done - this one really made me think!

We'd love to see your White on White creations and we've got a special goodie bag waiting for our winner, so come on over to CaSS and join in the fun!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Christmas Cutie

I managed to finish another Christmas card over the weekend so I though I'd share it with you.

 

This Tilda wasn't in the Stampclub set but I as soon as I saw her I knew that I needed to have her in my collection.  She was a joy to colour with my Distress Markers as she suits the soft tones you can create with them.  I simply added some Picket Fence Distress Stickles to the pompom on her hat and just sprinkled the lightest touch of Frantage around her to look like it is snowing (OK, so some of the snow is gold, but you can call it artistic license).

I used Basic Grey Piccadilly papers which I sewed and distressed with the Timmy Thingy and some Walnut Stain ink. The ribbon, flowers and lace were in my stash and the corner (complete with Frantage) was bought from Live and Love Crafts.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Tilda's Town - Christmas
Simply Magnolia - Anything Goes
Deep Ocean Challenge - Winter
Live and Love Crafts - Christmas photo inspiration (Christmas and the gnomes' hats!)

Hugs

Tracey xx

Shabby Chic or Vintage at LhoSM

It's been a beautiful day here today: bright sunshine until about an hour ago, but bitterly cold - the car is still covered with frost from last night.  I've been hurling logs into the log-store this afternoon (it's way too cold to stack them neatly!) so I feel quite virtuous. Plus the house always feels more cosy when you come in from the cold, doesn't it?

We've got a new challenge starting over at Lovely hAnglar or Sweet Magnolia.  This fortnight our theme is

Shabby Chic or Vintage

 

I went for my hAnglar stamps for my DT card:

 

 

 

 

I also broke out the DIs again and really enjoyed painting these two cuties. The papers are from my stash but I think they're from a Glitz paper pad.  I stitched them around the edges in my usual fashion (ie. never knowing stitiched in a straight line!) and I used a mixture of flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.  The sentiment is by Magnolia and is stamped using Weathered Wood DI.   I've added Glamour Dust, Stickles and Frantage for sparkle and more sparkle.  The corners, from Live and Love Crafts, were also given the Frantage treatment.

 

 

I do hope you can join in at LhoSM this fortnight. We are being sponsored by the fantastic

If the words vintage and shabby chic makes your heart beat faster, you will find your haven at Live & Love Crafts!
Live & Love Crafts is a UK based online store that ships WORLDWIDE. The store is owned and operated by Sandra Mathis, a crafter who is as passionate about the vintage style as she is about customer service and providing a good shopping experience. Live & Love Crafts prides itself on having a website that is easy to navigate with excellent product images. Orders are dispatched fast; usually on the same day received.

Live & Love Crafts stocks a wide range of products from well-loved vintage brands such as Maja Design, Pion Design, Magnolia, Wild Orchid Crafts, Kort & Godt, Prima, Melissa Frances, Maya Road, and the Tim Holtz/Ranger product lines.

The store has a vast selection of laces, ribbons and trims, an assortment of over 200 charms and metal decorations, as well as many other unique embellishments that you can't find elsewhere. To help you save on costs, the charms/metal decos can be purchased singularly and all trims and ribbons are sold by the yard/meter. If you’re looking for products that will inspire and a one stop paper & embellishment shop, look no further than Live & Love Crafts!

and look what you can win

 

I wouldn't mind that prize myself!

 

Hugs

 

Tracey x

A Quick Christmas Post

Back again! I've got a really busy week at work coming up, so I thought I'd better get a wiggle on with my Christmas cards/posts as I won't have much in the way of free time before next weekend.

I coloured up this little Tilda from last year's Christmas collection using my Copics and added some postmark and ivy stamps, also by Magnolia.  The papers are Maja Design and I've layered them up with white Bazzill, adding some silver Liquid Pearls here and there.  Some flowers from WOC  and a sprinkling of Glamour Dust and there you have it - reasonably quick and not too bulky for the Post Office.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Totally Tilda - Going Postal
Ribbon Girl - Stripes (Tilda's Tights!)

Hugs

Tracey xx

Christmas is Coming!

Just in case you hadn't noticed, Christmas isn't too far away.  Living where I do, away from department stores and busy high streets, we don't get the sense that Christmas is around the corner until a couple of weeks before the big event.  But I love Christmas preparations and, of course, making Christmas cards!  Our latest challenge at Sweet Stampin' - Christmas is Coming - is one of my favourites.

Here's my DT card:

It's getting harder to photograph my cards now that there isn't so much daylight, but this is essentially a white-plus-brown/taupe colour scheme.  A bit different for Christmas, but I kinda like it.

I used two Magnolia stamps; the Edwin stamp is actually quite a bit smaller that the Tilda one, so a stamped Tilda first, masked her off and stamped Edwin so that he looks like he's standing ever so slightly behind her.  They have been coloured with Copics and I've added Stickles for some Christmas sparkle.  The sentiment is from a Lili of the Valley set - I love the font as it's pretty while still being easy to read.

The papers are all by Maja and I've used a square doily (behind the image) and a punched lacy square made with a Martha Stewart PATP.  The flowers are pearls are a mixture from my stash - some from Wild Orchid Crafts, some from the Ribbon Girl.

This week's Sweet Stampin' challenge is being sponsored by Cuddly Buddly, who are giving away a £10 voucher to one lucky winner.  The Ribbon Girl continue to sponsor our monthly prize draw, so every has 2 chances to win, as all entries are automatically entered into the monthly competition.

Do grab a cuppa and check out what my teamies have made to inspire you here - they are such a talented and lovely bunch!

Have a great Saturday!

Tracey xx