Ready for Christmas

 Relief!  the cards are written and off in the post.  Every year I plan to start making early, but as usual end up doing them all over a couple of weeks.  It's a good job I don't mind batch making.

This is one batch using up some very old papers, some stamping and masking of this vintage Santa and a batch of die cut festive greens.  I didn't plan on adding the pearls, but these ended up being hand delivered, so postage wasn't a problem.

I am going to enter this at Allsorts -  It's Got to Be Christmas

  and another entry for We Love Chocolate Baroque - Anything goes 

  and Country View Challenges - Anything Christmas

Well, now that the Christmas cards are sorted, I'll be able to do some catching up.

Avril xx

Christmas Sparkle at Try it on Tuesday

 Our last challenge of this year at Try it on Tuesday is Christmas Sparkle, well who doesn't like sparkle at Christmas!

I've used a very old Artistic Outpost stamp from the Snowy Woods set and just added a little colour to Santa's clothes. lots of sparkly glitter card die cuts and an embossed background, very sparkly, but as usual these don't always show in photographs.

The rest of the DT have been very creative in their 'sparkles' to please pop over to the main blog to see and you'll also find all the challenge details.

I am entering this at We Love Chocolate Baroque - Anything Goes

                                 Country View Challenges - Anything Christmas

Full of busy here, but at least the Christmas cards are all done and just need posting.  I've also been making some bits and bobs for the nursery - less than a month to go before 'they' arrive, exciting times ahead.

Have a great day,

Avril xx

Anything With Wings at Stamping Sensations

The new challenge at Stamping Sensations this month is Anything with Wings lots of choice there as long as the main stamping follows the theme.

I needed a male birthday card and decided to do humorous with the Crazy Birds .  My background used the AALL & Create Circled Numbers stamp which was heat embossed in white and then colouring with various watercolours and letting them blend before adding my fussy cut birds,  the sentiment is from an Art Impressions set.

We have a fabulous prize from Craft Stash this month

The rest of the DT have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

Avril xxx

Winter Wonderland at Try it on Tuesday

 

The new challenge at Try it on Tuesday this fortnight is Winter Wonderland.   I've used the snowy cabin from Artistic Outpost Mid Winter set, along with one of my favourite Santa's to create my scene, some masking and inking and a couple of tiny trees and a freebie magazine sentiment.

The rest of the DT have some fabulous inspiration, so please pop over to the main blog for all the details.

I am entering this at Allsorts where they want to see Santa, Elves or Angels/ option Christmas, I think I've got that covered here, and at We Love Chocolate Baroque where the theme is Christmas.

I'm also entering at Christmas 24 challenge - Santa

Well that's another for the box, I'm getting there slowly.

Have a great day,

Avril xx

Mid Month Inspiration at Stamping Sensations

The theme at Stamping Sensations this month is Garlands, Wreaths and Christmas Flowers, great for making a start with those Christmas cards.

I've used my neglected Thinlits Poinsettia - neglected because I was never happy with my positioning of the stamp and die, but after watching a Tim Holtz 'live' earlier in the year and he explained (in case you didn't see it) - cutting the die first, placing the 'waste' die cut in the stamp platform, lining up the stamp in the cut out, then, after closing the lid to adhere the stamp, placing the die cut back into the waste for stamping - yay! perfect placing.

I've used the TH Linen background stamp, inked up with gold pigment ink and then heat embossed with gold EP - very sparkly, the greeting was stamped with Versamark and then heat embossed with WOW Red Glitz EP.  I've used a piece of gold handmade paper and mounted the Poinsettia on 3D foam pads.

The DT have some fabulous inspirations for this theme, so please pop over to the main blog and you'll also find all the challenge details there.

Avril xx

Traditional Christmas Colours at Try it on Tuesday

 

The new challenge at try it on Tuesday is Traditional Christmas Colours - a good way to make a start on the Christmas cards.

I've used one of my favourite Santa's from Tim Holtz, he looks such a happy fellow! matting and layering with some 'freebie' papers and a pine cone die cut.  Well - that's a start anyway.

The rest of the Design Team have some great inspirations, so please pop over to the main blog where you will find all the challenge details.

Avril xx

Garlands, Wreaths and Christmas Flowers at Stamping Sensations

 

It's time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month we'd like to see either Garlands, Wreaths and/or Christmas Flowers, so lots of scope and a chance to get ahead with the Christmas cards.

We've got Chocolate Baroque as our sponsors this month and they are offering this fabulous stamp plate as a prize.

I've used a very old Lili of the Valley stamp for my card,  I also stamped extra baubles with gold and heat embossed before adding colour with Twinkling H2O's, adding these with 3D foam pads.  I then matted onto some red mirri card, but this proved to be a nightmare to photograph! and the grey skies we've had didn't help no matter how hard I tried!!  Getting the baubles to sparkle only resulted in a pink card!

The rest of the DT have some fabulous inspiration for you, so please pop over to the main blog, where you will also find all the challenge details.

Avril xx