Christmas Wishes

Hi everyone,

It's me, the absent blogger :0)  Just popping in to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  Hope you all have a relaxing festive break - I'm certainly going to and hopefully I'll be re-energised to get back into my blogging and crafting.

Here is a Christmas Angel to watch over you.

courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

Merry Christmas everyone!

Suze xx

If you could save time in a bottle ..

If I could capture time in a bottle, I'd love to go back in time and meet my ancestors and get a glimpse of what their lives were like.  I find the past fascinating and before I caught the crafting bug I spent a few years doing my family tree.  I'd love to get back into it but unfortunately there are only 24 hours in a day!

Anyway, the reason I'm asking is that the new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers is to use the song "Time In A Bottle" by Jim Croce as inspiration for your piece.

Originally my idea was to make a collage of old family photographs but I don't have many really old photos and I just ran out of time to dig them out and scan them in, so instead I sat down in front of the telly with my small journal and did a sketch ...

I just drew it freehand with pencil then coloured in with Promarkers and outlined it with a fine black pen. I wasn't too picky about which colours I used, I just went with the flow! Pretty basic I know, but I wasn't going to stress myself out about producing a masterpiece! :0)

This was quite a tricky challenge but if you need a little inspiration, please pop on over to the CC blog where you will find the complete lyrics of the song and see everyone has done a totally different interpretation.

We're sponsored this time by Kim who has kindly donated this bunch of goodies
and also Milk Coffee Digital Stamps have donated 5 digi images


 and the challenge will be open for a month.






Thanks for coming to visit - I hope to resume normal blogging duties very soon - life has just taken over the last few weeks - I so admire all you talented folks who manage to keep up with challenges AND real life at this time of year!!

Be back soon,

Take care
Suze xx

Origami Christmas Tree

Hi Bloggers,

It's time again for a  new challenge (#80) over at Crafty Cardmakers.

Fiona is our hostess and the challenge is to make a card or project inspired by this photograph.  You can take inspiration from any part of it, be it the actual image or from the colours.










Our sponsors are Di's Digi Downloads who are offering a $10 gift voucher

and Crop Stop who have kindly donated a $15 voucher.

I've taken inspiration from the colour combo and the Christmas tree and make a tag ...

I made an origami Christmas tree (you can find plenty of tutorials online) from one sheet of 6x6" paper and glitzed it up with some glitter, gems and a chipboard star.  I mounted the tree onto an oval (die cut from embossed DP) then onto a Stampin Up die cut (using Co-ordination card) which I again edged with glitter.

Challenges I'd like to enter:
Artful Times - Anything Goes
Craft Room Challenge - Punches & Die-cuts

Sorry I've been a bit thin on the ground the last few weeks, I've been busy making stuff for a couple of local Christmas fairs.  Here's some other Christmas trees I made ...

Chocolate Brownie Christmas Trees

Okay dokes, thanks for popping in, hope you can join us this time over at Crafty Cardmakers.

Take care

Suze xx

Christmas Felt Decorations

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas .....

Hi bloggers, I've been busy this past week or so making felt Christmas decorations. First time I've had a go at these and it's not often I say this, but I'm rather pleased at how they've turned out.

I had to refresh my memory for doing blanket stitch.  The actual stitch is easy enough, it was joining the thread that was tricky.  After trying various ways, I found that tying the threads together, then hiding the knot in between the layers of felt worked best. (Sorry, if you don't follow what I mean, I never thought to take a photo but I'll add one in later).

They're all handstitched - no gluing - and all cut using various dies ...

         

I'd like to enter these into the following challenges ...

Addicted to Stamps & More - Red and White
Anything But a Card - A Stitch in Time
Let's Craft & Create - Getting Ready for Christmas
Out of a Hat Creations - Use some of your stash (I have so much felt!)

Okay, that's me for today, thanks for popping and I'd just like to send good wishes and hugs to those of you who are feeling a bit under the weather at the moment.

Take good care

Suze xx

Santa's Magic Key

Hi All,

It's time for another challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers. Challenge #79 is being hosted by BettyC  and she would like to see MORE THAN ONE PUNCH OR DIECUT.

You can have a combination such as 1 punch and 1 diecut as that equals two, or two punches, or two diecuts.  You can use more if you wish as long as there is at least two in combination or two of either on your creation.

There are super prizes on offer from our sponsors Hobby Art and Milk Coffee Digital Stamps 

Ages ago I bought a necklace from Primark which had a load of lovely keys on it - I knew I would use it for something one day - and today was the day ....

I'm doing a couple of school fairs in the next couple of weeks so with kiddies in mind, I've made a "Magic Santa Key" (if your house doesn't have a chimney, Santa can use the key to creep into your house to deliver your pressies!)

First I die cut a Tim Holtz label then stamped the Kanban Santa and house stamps with black Archival. The sentiment  on the front is computer generated, which I punched out with an oval punch and mounted onto a circle punch of red miri.  I then mounted this onto some red SU card which I'd silver embossed with little snowflakes.

Back of the tag

The back of the label is made with some christmas DP, the stamped sentiment is from American Crafts, which I again punched out.

I then laminated the whole thing to make it waterproof.

I used my Crop-a-dile to punch a hole top and bottom and then I attached the key and a little bell with some sparkly string and Christmas ribbon.


I'd like to enter my little Christmas hanging into the following challenges ...

Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything Goes
Out of a Hat Challenge - Locks and Keys
Pretty Little Ribbon Shop - Diecuts/Punches, Ribbon and Charms
Stampotique Designers Challenge- SDC73 Hanging Decoration

Sorry if I haven't been round to visit you all as much as usual the last couple of weeks, I'm trying to focus on getting my stock ready for the fairs - I've got stuff piled up everywhere, my problem is I keep jumping from job to job - everything is only half done! Oh well, no doubt it'll be alright on the night!

Thanks for coming to visit, hope you can join in with us over at Crafty Cardmakers. 

See you all soon,
Suze xx

More Calendar Catchups

Hi all,

Hope I find you all well today. 

I'm doing another quick catchup with The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge ...

Week 5 - Paper Tape

I covered some card with Tim Holtz tissue tape then die cut the TH snowman. Added some colour with Promarkers and Distress Ink.  Added Glossy Accents to the hat & arms and added a touch of tartan for Hogmany. Made a snowy background with Stormy Sky DI and Glimmer Mist and added a little chipboard robin.

Week 6 - Felt

I silver embossed a Hero Arts background stamp, bought two Christmases ago and has never been used! Die cut two Sizzix Gingerbread Men with felt and added seed beed eyes and pearl 'buttons'.

Okay Dokey, must dash, see y'all later.

Suze xx

Anyone for tea?

Hi All,

Hope this evening finds you all well and hope that not too many of you have been affected by the appalling weather conditions in the states.  We holidayed in New York in the summer and it's awful to see the devastation that's been caused there.

I've just a quickie card for you tonight, when I saw this week's cue card over at CASology, I was initially struck dumb. Honestly, you ladies certainly know how to get our brain cells working.





Anyhows, I had a quick flash of inspiration and here's my card ...

Teacup stamp was a freebie with Craft Stamper mag, stamped onto DP paper. Embossed 'tablecloth' is Stampin Up Holiday Frame EF.  Sentiment is computer generated.

Thanks for popping in, I'm gasping for a cuppa myself, so see you all soon.

Take care

Suze xx

Winter Wonderland

Hi lovely bloggers, 

I'm here today with the next Crafty Cardmakers Challenge (#78)  - which is "A Shaped Card featuring a Reindeer or two". (No squares or rectangles please).

This challenge is being hosted by Tracey.

Our sponsors are The Stamp Man who are kindly donating a £10 voucher, and 


Di's Digi Downloads who are also kindly donating a £10 voucher.








I've had another go at using my Silhouette machine and here's the result ...

I cut the sentiment card base with my Silhouette machine but you could just as easily print out the word and then handcut it.

I inked with Stormy Sky DI then overstamped with a Hero Arts snowflake stamp.  Postal mark is also Hero Arts, inked with SU Real Red.  I stamped the Tim Holtz trees onto some DP with Versafine Olympia Green and clear embossed. The reindeer is a Tim Holtz die, cut from DP. I then finished off with some sparkly red twine.

Thanks for popping in to visit today, hope to see you all over at Crafty Cardmakers.

Suze xx

Calendar Catch Up

Hi All,

Here I am playing catch up with The Craft Barn Calendar Challenge ...


Week 3 - White, Yellow & Green

All stamps are PaperArtsy, stamped in Versamark and clear embossed, then inked over with Squeezed Lemonade, Crushed Olive, Bundled Sage and Evergreen Bough DI's.

Week 4 - Doodles

For this one I drew an outline using a diecut heart - then just doodled inside.  I added some colour with Promarkers.

I'm also entering this one into the current Addicted to Stamps and More challenge which is to use markers.

Now all I have to do is Week 5 which was posted this morning - ever felt like a dog chasing it's tail!

Thanks for popping in, 

Suze xx

Felt Fungi

Hi All,

I haven't been doing much crafting of late - I think my mojo has already gone into hibernation for the winter!  However, despite it snowing here last night, it was a lovely sunny morning when I woke and I felt more in the mood for spending some time in my little crafty room.

I've been pondering over the CASology challenge this week - the cue card being "WILD". It's really had me stumped but for some reason 'wild mushrooms' popped into my head today, and as I had already dug out my felt stash earlier in the week - with the intention of making some felt christmas decorations - I've made a little felt mushroom.



I free hand cut everything so it was very quick to put together.  The sentiment is by Woodware.  I think the felt looks good against a Kraft card background, so I'm also entering this into the CAS-ual Fridays challenge which is to use Kraft.

Thanks for popping in, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Suze xx

Autumn Quilt

Hi everyone,

Each October our schools have a two week holiday - this break is know locally as "the tattie holidays", traditionally this time off school was for the children to help with the harvesting of potatoes, now of course it's all done by machinery but the kids still get their "tattie holidays".  

They've been off a week already and we are all totally in 'holiday mode' (never in a million years would my two get out of bed at 6 o'clock to go and pick tatties!) and living with two teenagers has also turned me into a lazy, lethargic lump - my get up and go has got up and went.  I'm doing some school fairs in the run up to Christmas and I had full intention of using these two weeks to get cracking on my stock - but I can't be bothered!!

I have however finished my charity strip quilt, made up of 21 two and a half inch strips.  The back of the quilt is one whole piece and it was put together using the 'quilt as you go' method.

showing the back

Have to say I'm quite pleased with it ('cause I'm not a quilter!) and as I've used autumnal colours I'm making this a second submission for the Anything But a Card Challenge.



Thanks for coming to visit, see you all soon.

Suze xx

Poppy Heart

Hi Bloggers,

I was in a local craft shop the other day (The Papeterie), I just wanted to get some coloured card, but I saw this lovely Poppy Heart stamp by Indigo Blue.  Inspired by Sharon from Crafty Cardmakers fabulous Remembrance Day card, I just had to have it.

Showing the dimension

Indigo Blu Poppy Heart stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, then coloured with Promarkers (Poppy, Berry Red, Red, Holly, Lush Green & Sky Blue). I added a touch of sparkle to the poppy centres with Sakura Black Sparkle pen.  Popped up onto Stampin Up Real Red card (hope this qualifies as 'dimension'). The label dies are also Stampin Up. The card base is 6x6".

I'd like to enter into three challenges:

Cas-ual Fridays CFC 74 - Put your {Heart} into it
Let's Create & Craft #56 - Dimension
I Love Promarkers #139 - Anything Goes 


I'm going to send this card to a friend I haven't seen in ages. We met whilst I was researching my family tree, she is a volunteer at the local Family History Society and has a passion for WWI. To date I think she has collated the details of around 11,000 casualties from the North East of Scotland.  I'm sure she'll appreciate it, just as I appreciate all of you popping in to spend a few moments with me.

Thanks again, take care

Suze xx

The nights are fair drawing in ...

Hi Bloggers,

Well, we are now mid October and as we say in my little part of the world - "The nights are fair drawing in".  It is now dark before 7pm and when the clocks change at the end of the month, the nights are going to be longer than the days.  Roll on the spring, is all I can say!

With this thought in mind, I've created a fun little hanging for two challenges ...

Anything But a Card - Challenge 4 - Fall or Halloween or Fall Colours
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Challenge 32 - Shades of Autumn/Fall

The background is made with distress inks. Autumn leaf and owl stamps are Stampin Up, I used alphabet peg stamps for the sentiment, all inked in Verafine Vintage Sepia. Tim Holtz diecut leaves, and some sparkly autumn ribbon to finish.

Thanks for coming to visit. Time for lunch now but first I need to get my teenage son out of his bed!!

See you soon.

Suze xx

Diwali for Crafty Cardmakers

Hi All,

I'm here today with a little something for this fortnight's Crafty Cardmakers Challenge.

Our hostess this time is  Josephine and she's chosen the theme "Autumn or Autumn Festivals - NOT Halloween.

Josephine says 'There are always so many Hallowe'en challenges around! So instead of creating a Hallowe'en card I would like to see something that depicts the Season of Autumn, or maybe Harvest Festival, Guy Fawkes, Diwali or some other festival that happens in the Autumn. If your theme is a lesser-known festival, please tell us about it in your post! But remember, this is not a Hallowe'en challenge!'

We are sponsored by Milk n' Coffee Digital Stamps,

            

When my children were younger, we lived for 2 years in Kuala Lumpur. The children went to an International school where all cultures were celebrated, so I've chosen to make a little Diwali/Deepavali hanging.

I used some Marks & Spencer's Indian food packaging for the base, a large dangly earring (bought specifically for crafting, not for wearing!) and a colouring page I found on the internet.


Image is coloured with Promarkers, the gold miri card is punched with an EK Success punch, the sentiment is Sizzix 'Cute as a Button' die and all the little gold sparkly bits are waste from the punch.

The finished hanging ...

and here's a photo of my two little angels in 2004, dressed up to celebrate Deepavali. (My daughter is now 13 and is going to freak when she sees this!)

Thanks for taking the time to drop in, please pop on over to Crafty Cardmakers if you fancy joining in - but remember - no halloween!.

TTFN

Suze xx

All Things Bright and Beautiful

Evening bloggers,

Hope you're all wearing your shades, cause this week's calendar challenge over at The Craft Barn is to use "Bright Colours".  

My first idea was to do some colourful summer flowers, but I felt they weren't really bright enough, so I cut the card down and turned it into a twinchie for the Show us your Twinchies Challenge, which this time is "Anything Goes".

Stamps are Kaisercraft, stamped in various Brilliance inks.

Back to my calendar, I don't use bright colours much but for my second attempt, I decided just to "go for it" and I've used one of my new stamps - a quirky house by Suzi Blu ....

Image stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with Promarkers.  I also coloured some card to make a 'landscape' which I embossed with a sunburst EF.  I then punched out some little flowers.

Okay that's me for tonight, latest update on my crumpled car is that it'll be in the garage for at least two weeks and also my strip quilt has been sewn, I've just to put the binding on. 

Thanks for dropping in, see you soon

Take care

Suze xx

Trying to stay calm

Good morning bloggers,

Well I hope it's a good one for all of you - for me it's a stressed one.

I was out yesterday doing some crafty shopping with my mother.  We had just left one shop and were on our way to another, when CCCCRRRUNCH .... a big white van crumpled my backside .....(well, not me personally, but you know what I mean)

Thankfully, no-one was hurt and the insurance company are sorting it all out - but not a good day!!

So today I have to stay at home and wait for the garage and car hire company to call me, so I thought I'd make a start on a 'strip' quilt for my sewing group.  We're doing them for charity, they'll be donated to care homes so it will help keep some old biddy's lap nice and cosy ....

Well, better go and thread up the old machine, thanks for popping in and listening to my troubles.

Wishing you all a lovely day.

Suze xx

A Panda

Good evening bloggers,

I'm supposed to be ironing (I've even got it switched on) but just wanted to take a couple of minutes to post this.

I've just made a quickie card for 2 challenges ...






CASology and            Retro Sketches

Back in August we had a family trip to Edinburgh Zoo to see the Pandas, so I've used this as my inspiration - well that and the fact this is the only zoo animal stamp I have!

Stamps are Inkadinkado Asian Influences and Asian Characters. Bamboo is stamped in Memento Bamboo Leaves and Panda & Sentiment are black embossed.  Coloured some linen thread with a Promarker and matted onto red card.

Okay dokes, thanks for popping in, see you all later.

Suze xx

Spring?

Yes folks, it may be autumn for a lot of us but for our friends down under, it's springtime.

Using the theme of spring, I've made a calendar page with 3 challenges in mind ...

Addicted to Stamps and More - Spring
Anything but a Card - Shiny, Sparkly, Blingy
Craft Barn Calendar Challenge - Vellum

Springtime is when our birdy friends are singing their hearts out and building nests, so I've used a lovely Stampendous stamp - gold embossed, then inked over with bright blue and green.

showing the shine!

The leaves and large yellow flowers are punched from vellum which I'd coloured using Promarkers. The smaller flowers are punched from card inked with DIs.

I then mounted the image onto a piece of torn vellum and added some bling.

Thanks for popping in by today, hoping your are enjoying the season wherever you are.

Suze xx

Indian Summer

Hi Bloggers,

Okay, where did September go, how can it be the first of October already!

Anyways, it's time for a new challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and this fortnight our hostess is Mynette and she has chosen the theme "Indian Summer".


Mynnette would like to see a created scene using any nature themed stamps you have, digis welcome. Examples of nature themed stamps are leaves, grasses, wildflowers, etc. Anything nature and autumn! Plus use only oranges, yellows, and reds for colors (black/brown and white/cream are allowed as well). Perhaps a sentiment of gratitude or autumn would also be appropriate!

Our sponsor is Di's Digi Downloads



I  have made a card using a variation of the "triple layer stamping" technique.

I assembled the three layers of card then stamped the PaperArtsy flowerhead in Versamark and clear embossed. I then inked with Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door and Fired Brick Distress Inks. I then matted onto black cardstock.  The border punch is EK Success. It was still looking a bit plain so rather than add a sentiment I added the strip of ribbon.

Thanks for joining me again today, hope to see you over at Crafty Cardmakers.

Suze xx