Festive 48 - Week 1 - Get Smug for Christmas 2014

My  New Year’s resolution is to do better and get my Christmas cards done in advance this year.

As nothing motivates me better than a deadline I will commit to posting a new Christmas card here every Sunday morning .I should end up with 48 cards by the time I need to send them out.

Will you join me?  I have an Inklinz sub so I might as well use it!

For the first of my 48 cards, I made a fat robin out of circle punches. I had the usual photography problems – the glitter doesn’t sparkle and I’m reflected in the snowfall acetate!

Feel free to link up a Christmas card (just one a week) and we can both feel smug by December.

 I’d like to enter these challenges:

City Crafter snowbirds

Cute Card Thursday  Cold and frosty 

QKR Stampede Snowflakes and sparkle 

ABC Christmas Challenge Anything Christmas 

Red Carpet Studio Snow buddies 

Using a Mood Board

This is a layout I made using a kit I put together using the January mood board at Two Peas in a Bucket. 

 I've never used a mood board before and I'd had a quick look at it and moved on. Later on I was looking through my photos and this one reminded me of the picture in the bottom left of the board. I then decided to enter into Glitter Girl's challenge to put together a kit. Here it is:

In the end, I didn't use the browns and woodgrain - maybe I'll use them on another project.

I'd like to enter:
Kaboodle Doodles  Winter Wonderland (hope my back garden qualifies as a wonderland!)
Cuttin and Stampin Challeges AG with winter
Delightful Sketches  Brrr

Glow

I wasn't able to go to my scrapbooking group yesterday, so I did some scrapping at home this evening.

The paper is by Tim Holtz (I actually won it at my Scrapbook group). The strip of washi tape is My Mind's Eye. The 'make a wish' is unknown - think very old Crate Paper. I cut the word 'glow' and the arrows on the Silhouette and , with the chipboard 6, heat embossed them in a mix of copper and gold powders. Date stamp is by company unknown.

Actually I'm struggling to remember brand names today because I want to enter the challenge at Twisted Tuesday , more than 3 manufacturers and an arrow. I wish I would stop throwing the packaging away. All I can promise is that nothing on my LO was made to go together (except by me!) .
As well as Twisted Tuesday, I'd like to enter:
The Paper Girls  Wishful thinking
Sparkles Anything but a card

Pink Makes the Boys Wink

My sister, who loves to enter competitions, won a small prize recently but was unable to use it because of a skin condition. How delighted was I to receive in the post yesterday, two jars of Elemis face creams?! I get the fabulous skin (hopefully);she gets this card.

The image is from an old CD, Kirsty Wiseman Burst of Colour and I turned it into a 'print and cut' and cut it out with my Silhouette Cameo. This just gives it a bit of dimension. I used paper from a freebie paper pack, die-cut labels, a ribbon threader punch and black organza ribbon and an X-cut border punch. The sentiment is a Stampin Up stamp.

I'd like to enter:
CD Sunday - Pretty in Pink
Craft your Passion  Fancy boders/edges
Brown Sugar Use ribbon or twine
Crafty Catz Thank you
Natalie and Amy  Girly
Pink Elephant Thank you

Pinspirational Challenge 89 - Hot Drink

"How organised she is!", I hear you cry, when you see I have made a Christmas card already. But no, we get the themes for Pinspirational Challenges  well in advance, so this card was actually for the Christmas just gone, not the next one.

Here's this week's Pinspirational picture:

Our sponsor , Sami Stamps , provided digis for the Design Team, but in fact, I already had this perfect one of hers in my collection. I used Promarkers, paper-piecing and liquid pearl. 

How does this picture inspire you? Please join us at Pinspirational Challenges! 

I'd also like to enter:

Crafting when we can  Outside

Love to Scrap Anything Goes 

Crafty Boots anything goes

C is for Challenge Cheers

Sami Stamps Anything Goes

Real Gentlemen

I had a really productive day yesterday, as my partner took our son for most of the day.

This is the first time I've used this Paper Artsy stamp that I bought, at 'sale' price , just before Christmas.

I made the background using a mix of blue inks and spraying with water. The number border is by Hampton Art. I added some twine - I agonised for a while over whether I should grunge it up but decided I wanted to keep a 'clean' look to the card. After all, even vintage things were clean when they were new!

I'd like to enter:
Artful Times Blue
Less is More Winter blues
Pink Gem  Something new (stamp)
Come and Get it  Something new (stamp)
Open Minded Crafting  New toys or technique ( new stamp) 

Valentine, Already

It may seem early but my daughter asked me if she could have some cards to sell for charity at a fundraising event at her uni . I feel very nervous about this as I have no idea what might sell but as it will be nearer to Valentine's Day, I thought I would try a contemporary style Valentine's card.

I digitally welded the 'toilet sign' people together, cut them out on the Silhouette Cameo and inked them with Raspberry Distress Ink. I cut the heart and stamped it with a Hero Arts woodgrain stamp and the sentiment is by Stampin Up.

I'd like to enter:

Fashionable Stamping Challenges   raspberry chocolate and cream

Curtain Call Smitten

Allsorts   Free and Easy 

Addicted to CAS  Die cuts 

Inkspirational Challenge 47 - Brown and Yellow

Inkspirational is back for a new year of challenges, and this time it's a colour challenge:

For my card , I created a background using yellow, mustard and brown inks with stamps by Kaiesercraft and Prima, and a brick pattern stencil.  I stamped an image by A Day for Daisies (this was with one of their acrylic stamps)  and coloured it with Promarkers. I used ink and a Kanban stamp to create the dress' that I paper pieced onto the image.

Take a look at the DT projects to see how different shades and proportions of the colours can create very different projects.

Please join us at Inkspirational and share your brown and yellow project.

I'd also like to enter:
Stamplorations  Stamps and feathers
A Day for Daisies Anything Goes
Crafty Catz  Thank You
Moving Along with the Times  Thank You

Road to Happiness

This card was requested by my daughter , at short notice as usual, for a wedding she's going to tomorrow.  I used papers from October Afternoon Travel Girl, stamps by Stampin Up, a border punch and a flag die.

I'd like to enter:
Little Red Wagon New Beginnings
Totally Papercrafts New Beginnings
Jellypark Challenges  New Beginnings
Crafty Hands  Anything Goes

2014 - The Time is Now

Happy New Year to you all - followers, visitors, fellow DT members.

The idea of this card was to try to show time moving (or dancing!) forward, mixing vintage papers with the more modern look of the badge.  The papers are by Prima and I cut the clock, numbers and dancer on my Silhouettte Cameo. The badge is by Stash Panache and is one of two sets I bought just before Christmas - one was used for a Secret Santa and the other was a gift to myself!

I used this sketch from 365 Cards

I'd also like to enter:
Red Carpet Studio New Year's Eve ( new item is the badge)
Craft your Passion Something New
Twisted Tuesday  New Beginnings