Piggy Tag

How is it December already? Every year I think I'm ahead of the game and then suddenly it's all upon us and the time races away.

Here is a piggy wrapped up warmly with his woolly hat on. He is a very cute Hero Arts stamp and is going on a present for my friend's daughter. She is very fond of pigs indeed. The tag is folded so that it has its own integrated chocolate coin :-)

My winter pig was inspired by Day 26 of the 25 Days of Christmas Tags 2019. There were lots of lovely reindeer, penguins, foxes, bears and mice all wearing their hats and scarves! I loved all the tags, but I was particularly inspired by these tags by Eloise Blue!

I'm also sending festive hugs to Di, Dudley and Parsnip over at Pixie's Snippets Playground. Tags are super snippety aren't they? Particularly when they involve chocolate coins...

Happy crafting! April x

More Tags

 

 



Another couple of tags today. These are for Day 12 of The 25 Days of Christmas Tags 2019. They were inspired by this stunning stag tag made by Kim for Stamplorations. I loved the contrast of the paper at the top and the detail of the linen thread tied round the tag. My die-cut is a Marianne one. I am being super-organised and wrapping the present that goes with the tag at the same time (not sure how long that will last!)

 

 

Happy crafting! April x

 

 

 

 



Stencilled Tag

 

 

Hello! I made these Christmas tags to take part in The 25 Days of Christmas Tags 2019.

 

I was inspired by this lovely creation by Liliya for Studio Katia. It is Day 11 and you can find the post here. I love the white stencilling, the slightly off-set die cut sentiment and the little bow at the top. My Falala die is Stampin' Up, the tiny bow is Waffle Flower and the stencil is Tim Holtz.

 

The floral 'accessories' in the background of the photo used to be really nice until the cats decided to bite the plastic stalks off them. Now they balance on very short stubs in their vase and the cats make a point of knocking them out every single time they walk past them. Just why??

 

 



 

 I am also sending my tags off to Di, Dudley and Parsnip at Pixie's Snippets Playground. Di, you will be happy to hear that the horrible old lino floor in the bathroom - scene of my gold embossing paste horror - has finally been replaced. Of course, it goes without saying that I am banned from the careless use of embossing paste whilst wearing slippers...

 

Happy crafting, April xx

 

 

 

 

 



Lil'fishie

Hello! Soap-making has been keeping me away from the cards, but I did make this today. Stamp alignment is everything here. This isn't perfect by any means, but in the first attempt, I managed to make the grumpiest fish ever! I often avoid these multiple step stamps because whether I use blocks or a stamping platform, I do find them a bit tricky.

This card uses a snippet of retired SU paper with a fish that is a combo of Peekaboo Peach and Pumpkin Pie. The cute stamp set is Colour Layering Goldfish from Hero Arts.

It has poured with rain all day here, so the sentiment feels quite apt!

I am snippeting over at Pixie's Snippets Playground.

Much love, April x

Huge Gift Bag

 

 

 

Hello! Once again my blog posting has been woeful... However, today I felt inspired to make this huge gift bag, after finding a great tutorial here.

This bag takes up two pieces of 12" dsp, which is fabulous when you are trying to work your way through a paper mountain like I am. The lovely black and white paper is retired SU, but I have added a tag made with the Merry Moose bundle. It all looked a bit dark and miserable until I dotted the trees with a white Gelly Roll pen. I'm really pleased with the end result and I am determined to not buy gift bags in the future!!

Moose coloured snippets and old cord were deployed, so I am saying a big hello to Di, Parsnip and lovely Dudley over at Pixie's Snippets Playground.

April xx

52CCT Technique Challenge

Hello! Oh my goodness, I mulled over whether to post this! All I can say in its defence is that it is much prettier and very sparkly in real life, but isn't a great photo at all. I saw this interesting technique over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown called the Eraser Technique. It involves a piece of sand paper, a pencil and a rubber. There are a couple of links to show you how! I think Lucinda may have said that success depends on your eraser. I ended up raiding my daughter's exam pencil case because I couldn't really get it white. I'd reconciled myself to a silvery grey reindeer and he is much nicer in real life because he's covered in clear Wink of Stella. The background was made with a Tim Holtz burlap stencil.

There are some stunning examples of this technique. Sadly, this isn't one of them (ha ha!) It's difficult to resist a technique that uses sandpaper and is potentially messy though! Lots of fun!

Happy crafting, April xx

First Christmas Card

Oh dear, I've been awol again! I have made my first Christmas card of the year though! I was inspired by this week's challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown where the colour combo is...

 

There are some lovely design team examples there. Well worth a look!

 

This cute moose wearing his Christmas hat is from SU's Jolly Friends and the dies are Tim Holtz's Garden Greenery. The card is super snippety and the vellum is rescued from a card that went wrong a while back! So that means (of course) a hug and a wave to Di, Parsnip and Dudley over at Pixie's Snippets Playground where there are also wonderful hedgehog photos!

 

Happy crafting! April x