My Time to Craft - Anything Goes

Today is my daughter's 29th birthday and we've been lucky enough to spend every one of them with her.
This is the card I made for her. She's very fond of a LBD and this image of a cute one is from Unity Stamps. The paper is Clare Curd's Signature range and the border punch is from Fiskars. I printed the sentiment on the computer.
My daughter and her family arrived on Boxing Day and will be staying until Wednesday. Today we went for lunch at an Italian restaurant and my 18th month old granddaughter Daisy did justice to a large amount of spaghetti bolognaise. She feeds herself with a spoon and fork really well. She gives us so much pleasure and makes us very proud.
This is my DT card for this week's My Time to Craft's Anything Goes Challenge. I haven't been sure which day was what over the holiday and nearly forgot to do the posting! Does anyone else suffer from a similar malady?

Penny Black - Christmas Charm

It seems odd to be getting back to making a card after all the rushing around that we seem to have been doing for the last week.
Yesterday was quite eventful, trying to find a farm shop in the snow stricken part of Hampshire, from whence we had ordered a haunch of venison for Boxing Day. The roads were narrow and very slippery and it took us a while to find the location, despite having printed a Google map and directions plus using the added bonus of the sat nav in the car. Anyway we managed it; they had left the meat hanging on the door handle in a poly bag, as we couldn't manage to get there before they closed! There's trust for you!
We picked up the turkey on the way home and now have enough food in the house to feed the whole street for a week!
This card for Penny Black's Christmas Charm challenge is utilising a fairly recently acquired stamp. I masked the star on the stamp so that I could add the charm star instead. It's coloured with Copics, with a little added Glamour Dust to the wings and halo. The sentiment is also Penny Black. This gorgeous backing paper is from Pink Petticoat.
I'm trying out my new camera. Actually it's my Christmas present from my husband, but he doesn't mind me using it now! I wondered whether to get one of those light cube whatsits to take my pictures, but I think that this cardboard box with one side cut out, draped with a tablecloth and lit by my new daylight lamp seems to do the trick!
What do you think?

My Time to Craft - Z Folds

I can't believe that I forgot to do this post yesterday!
We had been to my son's in Bury St Edmunds for the weekend and had a hairy journey in the dreadful weather coming home on Monday. In fact with the help of the internet before we set off and the sat nav in the car, we actually took the best route, although it didn't seem like it at the time. We only took an hour and a half longer than the journey should have taken, which was a lot better than having to abandon the car and find shelter somewhere, as many did in Hampshire that night!
This card uses a Dustin Pike image, coloured with Copics. The snowball shapes are embossed with Cuttlebug Random Dots and the sentiment is a cheapy from Hobbycraft (79p).
As this is a late make Christmas card I thought I would also enter it for the DareU2 Digi Stamp Challenge, 'Last minute Christmas Cards'
I would like to wish all who read this a very Happy Christmas and do take care in this difficult weather!

Penny Black - Red & Gold

I love these colours togther... they always seem so regal.
For the Penny Black element in this card I used the 'Inclinations' stamp which is peeping from behind the Cuttlebug butterfly window. All the stamping has been heat embossed with gold. For the background I used a Hero Arts French Script stamp. The border was made with a Fiskars Border punch. I think that the little butterfly punchies are X Cut. I used Nesties for the squares.
I'm still in my PJs at 10.15am. I'd better go and get in the bath!

I was up early this morning!

I've been waking really early lately! 4.30am seems much to early to be awake, but if I can't get to sleep again, I just come into my craft room and start having a play. Two of these cards are a result of this morning's wakefulness!
Over at One Stop Crafts the challenge is entitled Christmas Love and this card is for my husband. The stamp is a new Penny Black which I bought on sale. When I was colouring him, I realised he doesn't have any front legs... Odd or what! I used the sketch from Friday Sketchers, but as I am experiencing probs viewing some pictures on various blogs, I couldn't see the actual sketch and so I had to take it from the DT examples. I hope it's close enough!
The colours for Colour Create's latest challenge are lilac/purple, aqua, black and white. I made this card with those colours in mind and I really like the combo. The image is Hanglar and the sentiment is Stampin Up.
This anniversary card is for some friends whose anniversary is two days after ours (which is today) and we have been out for a meal with them practically every year for over 20 years. It's a good time to catch up with news of family and friends.
I don't know the make of the clear stamp, which comes from a set of teddies. I made the sentiment on the computer and mounted it using a Cuttlebug tag and a Nesties circle. The border punch is from Martha Stewart. I used the sketch from Mojo Monday.
All three cards have dotty backgrounds so any one might be considered for the challenge at Daring Cardmakers, however to be precise the dots should be evenly spaced so maybe only the first two qualify!

My Time to Craft - Yuletide Wishes

I decided to include a few other challenges with that from My Time to Craft this week. I seem to have had little time for blogging or blog challenges for that matter, as I have been desperately trying to complete all my personal Christmas cards. It would be a defeatist situation as a cardmaker, to have to go out and buy some wouldn't it! Anyway, I have just about got there, so hopefully things should be on a more even keel soon.
The Creative Card Crew required Gold or Silver, and Crazy4 Challenges wanted the theme of Snowmen or Snowflakes. Over at a Spoonful of Sugar the theme is monochrome, so this is for that challenge too!
I used some gold, snowflake patterned vellum, secured with brads to which I added tiny pearls. The image is from Papermania (which I just bought for half price) and is heat embossed with gold. The sentiment was treated similarly and is from Docrafts.
I decorated the punched snowflakes with a little Glamour Dust.
A bit of good news is that I have found both my card cash box and my camera charger! How cool, is that! If I'd had a better memory they wouldn't have been lost in the first place!

My Wedding Anniversary!

It will be my 36th wedding anniversary on Tuesday and this is the card I have made for my husband. (He doesn't look at blogs so I'm perfectly safe in posting this before the day.)
I used the theme of J - for Jigsaws at the ABC Challenge to add a little interest to the backing paper. I cut out the pieces, distressed the edges a little and then put them back together again, numbering the pieces on the back, so that I didn't get into too much of a pickle! As I used ink for this I'm including it in the challenge from Alphabet challenges which this week is ink!
The image is Hanglar and I think it's so cute. I coloured it in Christmassy coloured Copics as our anniversary is so close to Christmas. These colours are also those selected by Charisma cardz this week, together with white, so this is for that challenge too!
The sentiment was done on the computer and both mounts are made from Nesties.
I hope he likes it!
We are off to sing carols at the Christmas Market held a Victorian Farm located nearby. It's great fun but usually very chilly in the farmyard, so we come home to hot mulled wine and soup!

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge

For the past few days I have been glued to my craft chair, madly trying to make my Christmas cards and get them addressed and sent out. Having managed about 80+, I also finished 70 wedding invitations and consequently have had little time for blogging. I still can't find my camera charger but I am getting a new camera for Christmas, so maybe Santa will let me use it a few days early!!!
This image, for the Secret Crafter's challenge of Snow, is by Dustin Pike, I just love his work. It is stamped with Memento ink and coloured with Copics. The sentiment is a fairly cheapy one from Dovecraft, but I really rather like it! Although I cut it out with my trimmer, I used a larger Nestie to emboss the edges by hand using an embossing tool. I think it makes it look a little more finished.
Let it Snow is the challenge from Simon says Stamp this week, so this is for that challenge too.
The paper is from Pink Petticoat and the embossing is Cuttlebug. The snowflake punches were part of some fabulous candy which I won from Sharon.

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday

It's WOYWW again over at Julia's Blog, why don't you pop over there and check out what other desks look like this fine Wednesday!
I've been up since about 5am, madly trying to get Chrissy cards done, particularly those which have to go to foreign parts. I decided on my cheapie 79p Christmas Pud stamp from Hobbycraft, and I love it. I've been making cards by the yard it seems.
If you look closely at this picture you may see something interesting........... I have ALL the Copic Ciao colours and I'm really pleased that I got the extra ones. It makes choosing shades so much easier and I love my Chart which was sent to me by Victoria... colours at a glance.
Sorry about the mess, but at the rate I'm working, maybe you'll forgive me!
I seem to be having lots of senior moments recently, I can't find my card cash box, a necklace I bought in M&S to wear today and the charger for my camera. Talk about frustrating, I hope we didn't leave the charger on the cruise ship!

My Time to Craft - Xmas Foliage

My house is beginning to look a little more festive. The tree, bought in the States when we lived there in the 70's, has emerged from the loft for its 34th Christmas and it looks as good as ever!
I like to buy tree ornaments whenever I see them when we're away. I have snowshoes from Quebec, a Mozart marionette from Vienna, an angel from Barbados, a wooden cat and dog from St Augustine Florida, a cotton flower angel from Atlanta, Georgia... I could go on and on, but each one reminds me of wonderful holidays spent in lots of interesting places.
This card for My Time to Craft, uses a Tim Holtz mistletoe stamp, with Stazon Olive green ink and mounted on Nesties. The punch is from Martha Stewart. I quite like monotones!

Busy, busy, busy!

Yesterday was spent trying to catch up on my Christmas card production and various commissions; it seems that I've had little time for challenges! However, here is a card for several of them.
Penny Black - Christmas for the Girls
Red Bananas - Christmas/ Winter
Creative Card Crew - Christmas
Simon Says Stamp - So Charming
Stamp Something - Glitzy Something
Stampavie & More - Christmas
Pile it on - Tinsel Town (glitter)
Our Creative Corner - Twelve Days of Christmas
The sentiment which my watermark has unfortunately covered, reads 4 Calling birds! A bit of a new twist on the Christmas carol!
Well my Christmas cards still call me to get going, I've got to go for a mammogram later this morning, I hope I don't get too engrossed and end up being late!

Disappearing cards!

Has anyone else noticed card pictures disappearing from blog listings?

Just recently I have noticed that several of my cards have disappeared from my listings and some have not been visible to me on fellow blogger's listings.

What is going on?

Has anyone else noticed this or is it an anomalie on my computer?

I would be glad to know!
Chrissie

A bunch of Christmas Cards

I've been trying to formulate a design for a simple yet effective Christmas Card from which I could produce multiples in a comparatively short time.
So far nothing doing!
I have produced these today, some of which could be for Colour Create - White, Green and Red and Saturday Crafter - Christmas Trees. But as to my personal Christmas cards this year... keep trying Chrissie!
I showed the 'Peas on Earth' Whimsie Doodles free download card to my husband, who couldn't work out what it was all about. I think it's hilarious!
The Christmas Pud stamp I bought yesterday from Hobbycraft for 79p. If they can charge so little for this stamp, how come all their other merchandise is so expensive?
The little Christmas Tree is Dovecraft stamp. All are coloured with Copics.
I'll keep trying!