Monochrome Christmas

Good morning, peeps!

Well it's Friday again and as much as I'm trying to get out of this habit, a week seems to pass by before I manage another posting - scary really, especially when this post is another Christmas card!

Anyhoo, here is my card for the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge this week, which is 'Christmas in July', a great opportunity for you to make a start on your Christmas cards and enter our challenge! Here's my sample card:



I'm in a bit of a black and white phase at the moment and rather enjoying it and I think it's quite striking for a Christmas theme, as here. All the stamps used in this card are from Clarity Stamps and the design is just stamped on to white card with Adirondack Pitch Black ink. I sponged the sky over a Post-it Note mask to create the moon and Embossed the 'Peace on Earth' words with gold detail embossing powder. The black layer that's behing the gold mat is cut from a Go Kreate die.

Well, things are going to be a bit chaotic here at Whitehouse Towers this week because the kitchen is being partially refitted and you can imagine how much I'm looking forward to that process!! However, I'm really looking forward to the finished result and all the improved facilites it's going to provide.

Do join in with our challenge this time- there are some great prizes on offer from Bugaboo Stamps and Inspired Stamps our joint, generous sponsors.

Thank you for visiting today and I'll see you again soon I hope whenever I surface from the kitchen!

Hugs

A prototype

Good afternoon, peeps!

Well it's Friday again and blogging seems to be developing into a Friday habit recently. I do try to blog more frequently but I often don't have anything new I can show to you because the Clarity work is secret until after it's aired on Create and Craft TV.

Anyhoo, who'd like a tasty cupcake to have with their cup of tea? Me please, me please!! The good thing about this one is that it's totally calorie free - the only snag is that it probably doesn't taste too good the main ingredients being polystyrene, ribbon, cardboard and glue! I hope it looks better than it would taste!



You've probably seen a few of these around Blogland and I've been wanting to make one for some time. They're designed to hold one of those gift cards that looks like a plastic credit card so you lift up the chocolate flake and there it is, attached by means of a paper clip that's glued into the folds of the cardboard chocolate flake. I bought some instructions at the last show at Harrogate and they were from The Hobby House. There's also a video on You Tube here, which is very good.



As my heading says, this is my prototype and I'm certainly glad I had a trial run because I leaned a lot from it and the next one will definitely be better and it will also have a box to live in. I think that will make it a much nicer or perhaps a more complete gift.

Well my cup of tea is now finished - without a tasty, sugar topped cupcake (makes sad face!) but I guess it's better for my figure.

Enjoy your weekend be it with or without cupcakes!

Hugs

Here comes Summer!

Good morning, peeps! Well it's Friday again and I said I'd be back with another card and here I am, cup of tea at the ready, to tell you all about the new challenge over at Fussy and Fancy and the topic for this one is 'Summer'. By the way, it is rumoured that we're having one but there haven't been too many signs so far!! Anyhoo, here's me card:



My main image is the delightfully cute Molly Blooms (my new favourite!) but the background is 'Beach Umbrella' kindly donated by Meljens Designs who are one of our sponsors for this challenge. The second sponsor is Love to Stamp and both are offering wonderful prizes so I do hope you'll join in this lovely challenge! Do hop over to the challenge blog and see what my talented teamies have created.

I did find this card great fun to make and I just love all the bright summery colours. I also used a different embellishment for the very first time - that's the twig supporting the 'Fun in the Sun' message. There I was yesterday, hunting around the gardens outside our apartment looking for just the right twig! If any of my neighbours was looking out of the window, they'll now be convinced that I've totally lost it!

Well, it's the Summer Crafting show at Doncaster Racecourse this weekend and I'll be there tomorrow adding to my small stash. (yeah, right!) If my friend, Barbara Gray from Clarity Stamps is swamped with customers (not an unusual situation for Barbara!) I will be helping out on her stand so if you see me, please stop and say hello.

I'm also going to enter this card into The Paperlane Challenge, which this month is 'Anything but square'.

Recipe:

Stamps: Molly Blooms and Meljens Designs (digi)
DPs: Bo Bunny (words) and Echo Park 'Sweet Summertime'
Embellishments: Twig from my garden and starfish from my stash
Copics:
Skin: E000, E00, E01, E21, R11, R20, R30
Hair: E25, E27, E29
Molly's playsuit & hat: BG11, BG13, BG15, BG18, YG01, YG03, YG05
Rubber ring: R01, R02, R05, E19, YR12, YR14, YR16, YR18 finished with Glassy Accents
Umbrella: all the colours used in the above 2 items + E42, E43, E44
Glass: C00, C1
Lemon slice: Y02, Y06, Y08
Orange Juice: YR12, YR14, YR16

Well, that's all from me for now but, whatever you're doing for the weekend, have a great one!

Hugs

A fold with no name?

Good afternoon, peeps!

OK, who locked up the sun, then? Is anyone going to 'fess up? I just wish that someone would set him free so that he could put his hat on and come out to play!

Anyhoo, here is a card that's another class sample and I've been having fun with Molly Blooms this time:



I just think these images from Clare are wonderful and here I've teamed Sitting Molly with some Magnolia images, all of which are coloured with Copics and a touch of Prisma pencil.



In the photograph above, you can see how the card stands and I'm wondering if this fold has a name so, if you know it, please leave me a comment and tell me. I don't feel I can call it a gate fold card although it does start off a little like that but then you stick a 6" square front and back on the left-hand 'gate'.



You can see here that the inside 'extension' has a collection of Christmas trees on it and the short right-hand fold has a journaling space.



Now you can see that on the outside of that same flap, there are some poinsettias to finish it off.

I messed for ages with this card but I'm quite pleased with it. The only bad spot is that, on the photographs, the white edges of the images where they've been cut out look far more obvious than they do in real life. A little touching up with a black pencil may be about to happen!

Well, if you're local and you fancy making a replica of this card, I shall be teaching a class at Samuel Taylor in Roseville Street, Leeds next Tuesday morning and I'd love to see you there! You can also buy all the Molly Blooms stamps from their mail order department here.

Recipe

Stamps: Molly Blooms, Magnolia and Rubber Stampede (the stocking)
DPs: An assortment from Craft Creations, Bo Bunny and a couple of anonymous ones from my stash
Dies: Marianne (Christmas trees, poinsettias & leaves), Nesties and I think the corner is a Quikcutz die.
Ribbon: From my stash as is the hemp string
Distressing: Antique Linen DI
Copics:
Skin: E000, E00, E01, E21, R11, R20, R30
Hair & wooden bench: E55, E57, E59 and Dark Brown Prisma pencil
Dress, socks, shoes & holly berries: R22, R24, R27, R29, E19 & Tuscan red Prisma pencil
Sash,bow & holly leaves: YG93, YG95, YG97, YG99
Bloomers & lace: E50, E51, E53 & Burnt Ochre Prisma pencil
Stocking: A combination of the above colours + BG72, BG75, BG78

Right that's all from me for today. I hope your fingers aren't aching from all the scrolling through the photos but if you've stayed with me this far, thank you for looking! I'm on to some more DT work now so I'll see you with that on Friday.

Hugs

Sketch Challenge

Good morning, peeps and happy Friday to you! The start of the weekend, yay!!!
I'm a little late with this morning's post so I'm sorry if you've visited before wondering what happened to my card for the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge but here it is!



This time we have a wonderful sketch from Cheri AKA Graphicat and a great sketch it was to follow:



I love adding tickets to cards by way of a greeting and the tickets that are partly covered by the bow say 'Love' and 'Hugs'. I may be just an old romantic but I like the idea of having a ticket for some love or some hugs!

Do come and join us for this challenge. Our sponsor this time is Simply Betty Stamps, and she is offering our random winner 6 digi's from the new Jude and the Rockers line and some of my talented new teamies have used these images in their sample cards, which are just bound to inspire you! While you're visiting the challenge blog, you'll be impressed by our brand new look - it's fabulous and you can collect a brand new blinkie to display in your sidebar!

Whatever you have planned for the weekend, I hope the sun shines on you, which it isn't doing here at the moment but tomorrow's a brand new day!

Recipe

Stamps: Magnolia 'Sweetie Tilda' & Magnolia Branch, LOTV Additions Grunge Tickets & Words for Tickets
Pearls: The Hobby House
Rafia ribbon: Wild Orchis Crafts
DPs: Basic Grey 'Sweet Threads'
Punch: Fiskars 'Threading Water'
Copics:
Skin: E000, E00, E01, E21, R11, R30, R30
Hair: E50, E51, E53, E55, E33 & Sandbar Brown Prisma pencil
Dress & hair bows: R81, R83, R85 & Raspberry Prisma pencil
Grass & leaves: YG61, YG63, YG67, G70
Tree brach: E70, E71, E77
Flowers: RV0000, RV000, RV00
Sky: Tumbled Glass Distress Ink
Distressing: Pumice Stone Distress Ink

Thank you for looking today and please leave me a comment so I can come and visit you!

Hugs

It's a steal!

Good morning, peeps!

Well I finally made it back to my blog to show you the promised second card, the techniques for which I'll be teaching at Samuel Taylor's in Leeds tomorrow. It seems rather appropriate to post this to my blog today because it was only on Wednesday that I posted off my Design Team cards to Barbara at Clarity Stamps ready for the TV show on Sunday, so now it's a deep breath and on with the next task!



I really love this 'Joy to the World' stamp and I've used it here to create a card that is basically a copy of something that Barbara created last year. I don't normally copy other artists' work but I find, when I'm teaching Barbara's techniques, that people just want to make cards like Barbara herself makes so that's what I've done here and, hopefully, I can pass on the method to the ladies in my class tomorrow. So, forgive me, Barbara but copying you is all in a good cause!

I hope you all have something really good planned for the weekend. According to the weather man, Sunday is set to be a gorgeous day but I'll be in a seminar all day. Well, I have to work to fund this habit of mine! We'll also be mainly living at my son's house for two days to look after his gorgeous dog and the chickens that provide us with tasty eggs! Whatver you're doing, have a great weekend, peeps and I'll be back soon with something completely different!

The Recipe for this card is really simple, Clarity Stamps - Joy to the World, Small Larch Tree and Small grasses, a Versamark pad, silver detail embossing powder and an Adirondack Denim ink pad - oh, and don't forget the brayer!

Hugs