And panic is beginning to set in.......!

Well, there are about seven weeks to go until Christmas, and I have made the grand total of TWO Christmas cards! Don't know where the time has gone this year, but I can now understand why retired people say they wonder how they ever had time to go to work! I seem to be busier than ever, not that I'm complaining! Much better than having nothing to do!

Anyway, one of the cards I have managed to produce so far is for our November Challenge at Stamping Sensations, where our theme is

* * * * *  ONE LAYER CHRISTMAS * * * * *

We would like to see Christmas designs which are one layer only, ie. stamped directly on the base card, with no matting or layering and no die cuts or embellishments. Also, may I remind you that we are a stamping challenge, so we must see a stamped image, sentiment or quote as the focal element of your artwork. This means that stamping must be the central point of attention and interest.

For our main winner, we have a fabulous prize, this super storage collection by Tattered Lace!

I made my robin card with Hobby Art stamps. The robin, branch and leaves are from the gorgeous new "Robins" Set, which has been designed by the wonderfully talented Janie Burnett-Bleach. The little background scene uses stamps from various Hobby Art Scene-it sets.

NB. The black edge around my photo is not part of the card! It is definitely one layer, I promise! I tend to photograph my cards against a dark surface so that they stand out better and the background of the photo doesn't detract from the card.

To build up the picture I used no less than 18 masks! The robin was stamped and masked first, followed by the branch, then the background scene and finally the leaves, with each mask left in place until the final leaf was stamped. Then the nerve-wracking bit - removing all the masks to reveal the finished picture. That's when you find out if it has worked or not!

Fortunately, I think it did! A fiddly technique (lots of cutting out of masks!) but worth it. I completed the design by adding some shading with pencils around the various elements to define them, and giving the berries highlights with a white gel pen.

If you've never tried one layer cards  before, don't be afraid to have a go. They can be as simple or as complicated as you wish! Masking does not have to be involved! A clean and simple design would work equally well. You could add some subtle colouring or go for a monochrome effect.

My teamies have risen magnificently to the challenge, and you can see their beautiful results on the Challenge Blog. I look forward to seeing yours!

Winter Wonderland

No, we haven't had any snow yet, although the weather forecast is saying we might get a bit this coming week! In case the post title has misled you, let me hasten to explain that

* * * * * WINTER WONDERLAND * * * * *

is our December Challenge theme at Stamping Sensations!

We have a cracker of a prize for you this month! Once again we are sponsored by Chloe of Chloe's Creative Cards (Stamps by Chloe), who has generously donated a bumper bundle of her gorgeous stamps and accessories, and our lucky winner will also receive a bonus prize of beautiful ribbons from Crafty Ribbons.

I like this month's theme so much that I've made two cards for it! 

The first one uses a stamp from Chloe's "Snowflake Cluster" set for the background, along with a sentiment from her "Christmas Mini Messages" set.  Country Landscape die is by Memory Box, Santa's sleigh stamp by Crafty Individuals, and the snowflake die, which is by X-Cut, was a magazine freebie. The snow is made with Fluffy Puffy Stuff (love the name!) from Inkylicious, to which I've added some glitter. The background snowflakes are also glittered.

My second card is an easel card. All stamps are by Inkylicious. The tree scene (Treescape 1) in the oval is, I think, my new favourite stamp! It reminds me very much of the countryside around where I live, and it could be used to create a scene for any time of year, as it wouldn't be difficult to add some greenery to the bare branches for spring and summer, or suitable colours for autumn. However, it certainly makes a gorgeous winter scene too. 

I used my ink dusters to colour the sky, having masked off the lower part of the picture, and a moon, and added a touch of glitter glue on the snowy fields.

. 

The deer and rabbit were stamped and cut out, and mounted with foam pads, as was the sentiment. The oval was cut with a Spellbinders die, and I cut out the sentiment panel by hand, having first punched out the little snowflakes with a Fiskars corner punch. Background papers were a freebie from Making Cards Magazine.

Here's a side view.

I think the tree scene will be featuring on many of my Christmas cards this year. And probably some spring, summer and autumn ones too!

Well, I'm really looking forward to seeing lots of  lovely Winter Wonderland scenes. Last month we had a phenomenal number of entries, over 300! Can we better that this month, I wonder?! If you should need any inspiration, have a look at the DT's stunning examples on the Challenge Blog. My terrific teamies have really outdone themselves this time, and I know they would really appreciate it if you were to visit their individual blogs too.

Thanks for looking!

Christmas? No, it's ages away yet! Isn't it??

After a brief chilly spell a couple of weeks ago, the weather has turned so unseaonably mild again that it doesn't seem possible that Christmas is just around the corner. But it really is only a few weeks away! So to get us in the mood, the November Challenge at Stamping Sensations is simply

CHRISTMAS!

If, like me, you've hardly even thought about making any cards yet, now's the time to get going and show us your festive creations. Our lovely sponsors for November are the wonderful Little Claire Designs, who have generously donated a £35 voucher for the lucky winner to spend in their store.

Now of course, I don't do cute, but I make exception for some of the gorgeous Little Claire stamps, especially their Owl designs, one of which I've used for my card. This is the Christmas Owl Tree.

I stamped the owl tree, coloured it with Promarkers, cut it out with a Spellbinders die and sponged green pigment ink around the edge while the card was still in the die. 

The base card was stamped with the Classic Holly (Hero Arts) and the sentiment (freebie from Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine). The Owl Tree was matted on to patterned paper (Hot Off The Press) with foam pads and adhered to the base card. Oh, and the photo bombing (or should I say card bombing!) character in the corner who couldn't resist getting in on the act (and who for undisclosed reasons I'm calling Steve!) is from another Little Claire owl stamp, the Little Owl Family!

As always there is plenty of gorgeous inspiration over on the Challenge Blog, so do go and have a look. For more details of each project, click the name link above the relevant photo to go to my teamies' individual blogs. I look forward to seeing all your Christmas creations!

A Free and Easy end to our Challenge year

Well, it's time for our final challenge of 2013 at Stamping Sensations. If you're like me, you'll be frantically trying to get the Christmas preparations sorted at the same time as keeping up with all the regular stuff. Anyone who has finished making all their Christmas cards by now has my ardent admiration! The rest of you will, I'm sure, be grateful that our December Challenge has the theme of

***** FREE AND EASY *****

so anything goes! If you're still on with the Christmas cards (like me!), you could show us those. If not, we'd love to see what else you've been working on lately.

As usual we've got a fabulous sponsor to help us round off the year, Visible Image, an all-British company with a fantastic range of stamps, no less than 5 sets of which have been very generously donated by them for our prize.

Anyway, on to my card. It's a Christmas one, of course, 40 down, about another 30 still to go!

I treated myself to an early Christmas present of a couple of Memory Box dies which I've had my eye on for quite some time. The one I've used here is called Tessatina Border. I cut it out of both red and green card, and then inserted the green cut-out into the space left in the red card. It was then framed with the X-cut Poinsettia Border punch. That was another new buy! I was delighted recently when The Range opened a new branch not 10 miles away from me, a small oasis in the crafting desert in which I live! Had to go and check it out, of course, and couldn't resist the Poinsettia punch. So pretty, and needn't be confined to Christmas cards!

The card was finished with some flowers cut with the Marianne Design Mini Poinsettia die set, a Spellbinders bauble diecut overstamped with a Waltzing Mouse stamp, and a sentiment also by Waltzing Mouse. The background paper was a freebie from Making Cards Magazine.

My amazing teamies have some stunning samples to inspire you with. Do go and have a look at them on the Challenge Blog. We had a brilliant response to our Christmas theme last month, and I'm sure you'll all do us proud with your entries for December. Can't wait to see them!

Now, back to the Christmas card production line.......

Christmas is coming!

Well, it's still a few weeks away yet (thank goodness!), but as far as Stamping Sensations Challenge is concerned, it's already here! We know this is a busy time of year for everyone, and most people will be well into Christmas card making mode now, so our theme for November is simply

*****   CHRISTMAS   *****

We would love to see your Christmas projects, whether cards, layouts, decorations, hand crafted gifts, or even creative wrapping.

I have made a simple card using a lovely stamp from this month's sponsor, Stamp Addicts.

The picture, having had a bit of shading added with a Promarker and some glitter glue, was cut out with a Spellbinders die. The background papers were part of a freebie from Making Cards magazine, and the top border was made with a Dovecraft corner punch with the corner guide removed. Here's a closer look.

The lovely people at Stamp Addicts have generously donated a whopping £35 voucher for this month's prize! That will cover a fair bit of crafty Christmas shopping! Should you need any inspiration for your entries, just take a look at the gorgeous projects my talented teamies are showing off on the Challenge Blog. We look forward to seeing yours!

More Christmas Inspiration!

Our Traditional Christmas challenge at Stamping Sensations seems to be going down well, as we have lots of gorgeous entries already, but there is still time to add one (or two, or three - see our new rules, details on the Challenge Blog!) if you haven't already.

I made another card, again using one of my all time favourite Christmas stamps - the Hero Arts holly - but this time as a background, coloured with Distress Markers. The wreath pictures are from the "Christmas" miniatures book by Crafty Individuals, and the sentiment is computer generated and cut out with a Nestabilities label.

Don't forget our lovely sponsors this month, IndigoBlu, are offering a 10% discount until December 15th. You will need this discount code SSNOV12 to order.

Stampalot December Challenge

Here we are with the first Sunday in December, and so it's time for the last Stampalot Challenge of the year. This month we're playing Bingo and here's your Bingo Card!

The idea is to select one line (in any direction) from the grid and use those items on your creation and tell us in your post which line you have followed.


For a change, I decided to make a criss-cross card, and I've followed the bottom line : Punch - Tags - Ribbon.

The papers are part of a freebie from Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine. I've used a Fiskars border punch, an unidentified large snowflake and tiny Tonic Studios snowflake punches. The sentiment was also a freebie, from Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine, and I've stamped it on a Nestie Ribbon Tag.

This just happens to be the first Christmas card I've made this year! And so far, the only one! We're still busy sorting out the new house, but slowly getting organised.

Anyway, I'm sure you want to know all about this month's prize! Well, it's a cracker! Who wouldn't want to find these goodies in their Christmas stocking? Janice & Andy have really surpassed themselves this time.

To be in with a chance of winning, just get playing Bingo, and if you need any inspiration, pop over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at the gorgeous creations the DT have made for you. I look forward to seeing yours!

Feasting on Phonemes!

Or, to put it another way, eating my words! I said I wouldn't be making any Christmas cards before December. I hate the fact that Christmas is so commercialised these days, with stuff in the shops before we've even got the summer holidays over with. And starting the preparations too soon seems to be wishing time away. It goes fast enough as it is.

However, the ladies who come to my card class wanted to do some Christmas cards sooner rather than later, so I thought that since I had to make samples for them, I might as well carry on and get more done for myself  while I was at it. They asked for quick and easy, which was fine by me. I don't have much time to spend on making cards at this time of year. It's my busiest time at school, with all the Christmas concerts to prepare for. When we're back next week, after half term, we'll be starting rehearsals, with the first concert only five weeks away! Maybe next year I should start making the cards in January!

Anyway, here are some I've done so far. Plain and simple, and certainly quick and easy. I don't like doing "production line" cards, but needs must, and by using different papers I've managed to get a bit of variety. I bought the Holly Frame embossing folder by Crafts Too, which I embossed straight on to the card blank. It made adding texture very quick, and only needed a stamp in the centre to finish it off.  It's a bit hard to see in the photo, but I also used the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder on some of the cards.

Stamps by Crafty Individuals, Hero Arts, Elusive Images, PSX, Inkadinkado. Other items used: Nestabilities dies, Promarkers, Dovecraft papers, various inks.

I'm sorry I haven't been getting round everyone's blogs lately. My grandsons came to stay (with parents, though plenty of babysitting was involved!). We had a great time, even though I also had to go to work as unfortunately our half term didn't coincide with theirs this year. Then I went up to stay with them for a few days. The weather was mixed, but one day was absolutely gorgeous, so we went for a walk by the loch close to where they live, and got some photos.

And one other I can't resist sharing, my elder grandson puddle jumping! The joys of being 5! (The carrier bag was to collect fallen leaves in, with which he and his mum made a mobile.)

Anyway, I will try to catch up with the blogs soon. Hope everyone is having a good week.



Bowing to the inevitable

Well, I've been a bit out of touch lately, having been away for the best part of two weeks, so I decided that now I'm back I'd better show willing & get on with some Christmas cards. I really don't know why the prospect doesn't fill me with enthusiasm. Maybe it's because I'd rather not start thinking of Christmas before December and then don't have enough time to spend on them and end up with rushed designs that I'm not happy with.

However, whatever the reason, I've managed to make a start. I've continued with the colour removal technique using Distress Inks as in my recent posts, with brass stencils this time to produce the backgrounds.

The teddy & cat stamp was free with a magazine, so I thought I might as well try it. It's a bit too cute for my liking, but that's okay because I won't be sending it to myself. I cut it out with one of my new Nestabilities Labels 8 set and coloured it with Promarkers. I wanted a border around it, but the next size up Nestie was too big, so I went around the edge with a Promarker instead. The greeting is from Craftwork Cards. The snowflake stencil was also a magazine freebie.

The poinsettia on the second card is made from a couple of Craftwork Cards flowers, originally white but coloured with Promarkers. Likewise the greeting. I couldn't avoid the gold lettering with the Promarker, but I found that I could remove the ink from it afterwards with the Promarker blender pen.The all-over holly stencil is one I've had for several years, and I'm afraid I can't remember where it was from. The scalloped border around the Cuttlebug-embossed circle, and the outer red border, were coloured with Promarkers to match the flower. Can you guess I'm really into Promarkers at the moment?! I love being able to co-ordinate everything with them. I nearly got carried away and coloured some ribbon to match as well, but then I found some paper lace hiding at the back of a drawer and decided to use that instead. Of course, I could have coloured that too, but I thought I'd leave it as it was to go with the white circle.



Well, that's two done. I feel better now!

Post-Christmas blues (& sneezes!)

Well, after a relaxed & enjoyable Christmas up in Dumfriesshire, I've been stuck inside for the past three days with the worst cold I've had in years. Must be a Scottish bug. After 25 years working in Nottinghamshire schools I reckon I've built up immunity to most of those down here.

Anyway, at least I've managed to use the time productively and made a nature themed calendar. I made an A-frame out of thickish card for the base and decorated the pages with stamps from various companies, mainly Crafty Individuals and Graphicus. Most of the Graphicus stamps are from their new "Nature Table" and "Autumn Hedgerow" themeplates, which are simply gorgeous. The month names and numbers were a set from Hampton Art's Creative Cafe collection. I then used my Bind-It-All to assemble the calendar.