52 CCT Technique Challenge

Over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week our technique challenge hosted by Fabiola is to make a Christmas card with real stitching incorporated in some way. How exciting!

 

I love stitching in all its many forms. For my DT card, I used an Amy Tangerine Accent Embroidery Stencil Kit (the Hello one). This comes with a little mat, a piercing tool and four stencils with a total of twelve designs. I then used two strands of embroidery thread in beige, green and pink to stitch the design on my card. I then added the sentiment, some gold spatters, stars and sequins.

 

I hope that you will feel inspired by the DT's sewn festive creations and share your cards with us. Happy stitching! April x

 

I would also like to enter my card in the challenge over at Quirky Crafts - Sewn with Love.

Mr Sweets the Fox

How cute? This is Mr Sweets the Fox, a digi from the Oddball Art Company. I couldn't resist him. I'm not sure what happened to his left hip. Either I was over-zealous with the fussy cutting, or he needs a hip replacement. Let's just draw a veil over that shall we and focus on his pretty face...

 

I started off by embossing a piece of card with a leafy embossing folder by Sheena Douglass. I rubbed over the design with a mixture of Daffodil Delight, Pumpkin Pie and Delightful Dijon inks, which I then spritzed with a pearlescent spray. Mr Sweets is coloured with Promarkers and the patterned paper is appropriately called "A Fox's Tale".

 

He is nosing around for chocolate at Pixie's Snippets Playground where he'll fit right in with Spike and his lady friend!

 

I would also like him to trot into the following challenges:

 

Oddball Stamps Challenge - Fall is in the air.

 

Sunday Stamps - using this great sketch for inspiration -

 



Cards in Envy - the Colours of Fall.

Happy crafting! April x

Sparkly Seasons Workshop

Join us for a relaxing evening on Friday, 2nd October at 7pm, as we make a start on our Christmas cards! We will be using Stampin' Up's gorgeous stamp set - Sparkly Seasons to make two greetings cards and a choice of Christmas or Hallowe'en mini treat bag.

All card, inks, embellishments and the use of stamps are included in the cost of £10. Please bring your own adhesive.

Please let me know at the time of booking whether you would like to make the Hallowe'en or Christmas treat bag. If you would like to make both, please add an additional £2 to the cost of your workshop.

 You will need a strong glue and may wish to use dimensionals. Please let me know when you book your place on the workshop if you would like to pre-order adhesive. Multi-purpose liquid glue is £3.75. Stampin' Dimensionals (300) also cost £3.75. Snail Adhesive is available at a cost of £6.25 (refills are £4.00) and Mini Glue Dots (300) cost £4.75.

All bookings are non-refundable. In the event of being unable to attend the workshop, you will of course receive the materials and instructions required to make all the items that we make during the evening.

Please contact me for any further information and for Bebington venue directions. Hope you can join us!

Merry Christmas Deer

Happy Monday! This could just be my most extreme snippets card ever. The stamp is from Papermania's Festive Frolics and I have had it for ages without ever opening it!

 I have done some paper piecing with an old, bent piece of Baked Brown Sugar dsp. It was languishing in a plastic wallet where the old snippets go. The deer's pink ear was even better. That was made from a snippet that had already gone to Binbag Heaven, but I dug it right out! The snippet of blue card stencilled with stars had been put to one side because it had been wrong in some way. The sequins weren't snippets of course, but they took on a kind of honorary snippetdom when I dropped the whole pot on the craft room floor...

My deer is trotting through the gates of Pixie's Snippets Playground. Her nose is in the air because she's sniffing out where the hidden whisky still is :-)

She's also off to Animal Friends Challenge - Woodland Animals, and my second visit of the week to CHNC#247 - P is for paper piecing! I'd also like to enter CHNC Extra - September.

There are some gorgeous DT cards over at CCNS#103 where the theme is deer season - a whole herd there to trot off with!

Happy Crafting! April x

Water Lily Lady

Hello! We went to see the Sound of Music with Danielle Hope as Maria last night. It was amazing! Here is an elegant vintage lady from A Day for Daisies. I love the details of the water lilies on her dress and hair.

I've embossed the grey panel of card with silver ink brushed on the embossing folder. I've then cut snippets of patterned paper with the SU Lots of Labels die. I've added some enamel dots and rhinestones too.

So whilst humming a Lonely Goatherd, I'd like to send my lady though the gates at Pixie's Snippets Playground.

I'd also to enter A Day for Daisies Challenge.

Have a great weekend! April x

52 CCT Theme Challenge

Hello! Here is my DT card for this week's challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, where the theme this week is to make a card for a man. All the men I know have been happy with girly, glittery cards, so I am trying to imagine a rugged, action man here, with his jumble of skis, sledge and snow shoes!

 I have used SU's Winter Wishes stamp set with a colour combo of Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Smoky Slate, Tip Top Taupe, Crumb Cake, Sahara Sand and Early Expresso. There is also a silver spattering, courtesy of Gorgeous Grunge and some Old Olive baker's twine.

We do have a plastic sledge in the garage, but it hasn't ever really snowed enough to use it properly. I live in hope though!

I do hope that you will join us in our theme challenge this week, April x

I would like to enter my card in CHNC#247 - Something beginning with P...pinecones!

Snail Mail

Hello! This sweet little snail with her garland of roses is a cute digi from A Day for Daisies. I would like to enter her in ADFD Challenge - Frame It! She started off in the frame... (really, she did!)

She's also off to adorn Parsnip with a rose headdress, so she's slithering off to Pixie's Snippets Playground. If she starts off now, she may make it there by the weekend :-)

She is also off to Incy Wincy.

A snippet of gold card was embossed to make the frame, along with a dsp snippet. Mrs Snail herself was coloured with Copics and Promarkers and she is on a Pistachio Pudding cardstock base.

I like how she is shedding roses as she goes! (wish our cats did that!) :-)

Have a happy crafting week, April x

52 CCT Colour Challenge

At 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week, we have a colour challenge for you.

 

 

 Now this was quite challenging for me, as I realised lots of my stamps have twiggy green branches, holly leaves etc., so I decided to make a card with this lovely sentiment from SU's Cozy Christmas. I have opted for Real Red combined with Lost Lagoon.

 

This is a simple and quick card this week because I am (whisper it very quietly) going for a run with a friend. I have suggested to her she may want to bring oxygen on a trolley and attach a barrel of brandy to her dog's collar...

 

I do hope that you will join us in our colour challenge, hosted by the lovely Fabiola.

 

Have a lovely weekend, April x

 





Pretty in Plaid

 

Hello! This rather glam digi is from A Day for Daisies. I love it! I really like how the little dog has a matching hair do with its owner. I have added a red plaid dress for the challenge over at A Day for Daisies - add some plaid.

 

I am also walking the dog into the playground (but not wearing those heels, even though they are lovely!!) and saying hi to Di, Sarn and Parsnip at Pixie's Snippets Playground.

 

Finally, I would like to enter my card at Cards in Envy. The challenge is 'Inspired by a song', so I am going with the traditional Scottish song  'The Tartan':

 

'There are hundreds of tartans so lovely to see,

And many a famous has graced the bare knee

And the kilt that I wear is both ancient and braw,

It's the pride o' my heart and the dearest of a'.

Disclaimer: I'm not Scottish, so not sure if the SU dsp I have used is actually a tartan as such! It's also not a kilt, but I hope you get the general idea! :-) April x

 



52 CCT Sketch Challenge

 



I can't believe it is September! At least I am amassing a hefty pile of Christmas cards though! If you trot over to 52 Christmas Card Throwdown you can also start on that pile (if you haven't already!) We would love to see your festive cards.

Our sketch this week has been chosen by our lovely hostess, Fabiola.

 

 

I have opted for a gorgeous Stampendous stamp - Forest Santa, that I have coloured with Promarkers. I also added some details to the tree with a white chalk marker and brushed some Cosmic Shimmer beneath Santa's feet. If you google images of this stamp, you can see lots of amazing colour combos for his robes. I decided to keep it very simple, because I was making a pesto, tomato and mozzarella tart at the time (same colours you see!) The lovely snowflake embellishment can be found in the SU Christmas catalogue.

 

Look forward to you joining us at 52CCT! Have a great weekend, April x

I am squeezing Santa through the gates at Pixie's Snippets Playground because he has a smaller tree for Parsnip to climb up the next time I decide to send the dinosaurs in! :-)


Sparkly Seasons

How cute is this little chap? I love snowglobes, so I was really pleased to see Sparkly Seasons and its co-ordinating framelits in the new Stampin' Up Christmas catalogue. This card will be making an appearance at one of my festive workshops, but for now he is throwing his little twiggy arms open wide and saying, "Hello Di and Parsnip!" at Pixie's Snippets Playground. He is also going to CHNC - Add some silver and CHNC Extra for September. Have a great weekend, April x