Joy

 Here's a card for the challenge at ABC Christmas where the letters this time are W for White and X for eXtra special.

The embossing folder is by Sizzix, treated with the Eclipse technique, using a die set by Poppy Stamps. The edges of the letters are twinkled with some Glamour Dust. The poinsettia is by Britannia dies with a few tiny gems added to the centre.

I seem to have been AWOL from my blog for quite a while, but I have been spending lots of time making videos. It would be great if you could check out my channel.

https://www.youtube.com/@Chrissieannie/videos

Here's a video of the eclipse technique.

Clean and Simple on Friday  - Greeting card

Cozy

I was looking though some blog challenges today and spotted that CASology had the cue word COZY

Actually I wouldn't spell it like that, as in the UK we tend to use an 's' instead of a 'z' for lots of words... but we all know what we mean!

The first stamp which came to mind with this word was this old one from Hero Arts. I have another with Santa's jacket and another with his boots...and I have always loved them. I coloured it with Copic markers and added some fun flock for the fur. I cut two additional squares and mounted them all on foam tape.  Job Done!

 

Gnoel

Today, I spotted that the challenge over at ABC Christmas was U for Unusual Christmas colours.

Just Us Girls has a CAS challenge this week which is just up my street!

Here is a gnome by Simon Says Stamp and I used non-traditional colours…. Lime green and deep teal. I think that die-cutting is a good way of using up the backing papers that I no longer use as layers. The noel is by Clearly Besotted and the G from Papertrey ink. The snow background embossing is by Sheena Douglass but sadly is no longer available. 

His beard has been gently shaded with alcohol markers.

If GNOME can be spelled with a G, why not GNOEL?

 

Noel

Today I spotted this challenge at AAA Cards 

and remembered a little die set from Charlie and Paulchen so I thought I would have a go. 

I selected the centre rectangle for my image which I coloured with a variety of marker pens. I think he's such  cute chap!

I made this video on how I did the colouring!

I made a slight faux pas with adding the image to my card and stuck him on the back of the card, but a simple bit of cutting had made it a panel to be mounted onto the front of a new card base!

 

Pine Trees

The challenge at CAS Christmas 

This month it's PINE!

I'm not really sure where the die for the trees came from but it's only about 1in across!

The background is a print from a Gelli plate background. I use dies from Presscut for the squares and the circle aperture. The pine tree die is just a frame die,  so I cut the circle aperture in the square just a tad smaller so I could attach it.

I think I must get out my Gelli plate again, this background has been sculling away in a drawer for a while!

Merry Christmas

Recently I was fortunate enough to win a challenge at 52 Christmas Card throwdown, which came together with the invitation to be a Guest Designer for them. So here I am with a card for their colour challenge which this time is 

The red in my version is minimal to say the least. but where would \Rudolph be without his red nose! The deer die is by Gummiapan, I don't recall the origin of the tress, but they were coloured with Distress Oxide Inks.

I made a video on how I colour die-cuts here. https://youtu.be/_fv0SL4-2B4

The sentiment is a foil plate from Spellbinders... I couldn't resist playing with my new toy... a Glimmer Hot Foil machine!

 

Stille Nacht

Recently I have discovered quite a few new (to me) craft store websites in Europe and love the purchases I have made. The trouble is I get them muddled as to what came from where... so the sentiment and church  fall into that category. 

I prefer to sing this carol in the original German, it just seems more evocative somehow, so I was delighted to get the die of it. Many years ago we visited the little chapel in Austria commemorating the composing of this carol and although not exactly like it, (I believe that one has a domed roof,) the image on the bauble is to represent it.

Christmas Card Throwdown

Colours and Sketches

Addicted to stamps and More

 

JOY

I really love making Christmas cards as I know that they are one of the few designs that I make which I know will find a recipient! |For this one I began by using some snowflake embossing dies from Creative-depot and then adding the layered snowflake by Birch Press in gold, silver and twinkled white card. I simply cut out the word JOY from an alphabet set and added some tiny gems.

ABC Christmas C ~ Clean and Simple

Addicted to CAS  - Snowflake

Christmas card Throwdown - Masculine

Happy Little Stampers  Anything Goes with Dies

 

Joy to the world

Recently I discovered a site in Germany where they produce the most enchanting dies. The company is called Charlie and Paulchen and this little chap is one of theirs. I coloured him with Copics and assembled him to stand before the little scene comprised of dies by various manufacturers, but I quite like the combo. It's like white on white with a splash of colour, which I thought went quite well for the challenge at AAA Cards which is for Black and White plus one.

The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp.

I think Christmas cards are one of my favourite themes to make!

 

Snowflakes

I love to follow a good simple sketch and there is one such at CAS Colours and Sketches this week. Here is it!.

I couldn't decide whether I liked it better with or without the sentiment.

I began by embossing a Kaisercraft background stamp onto black card and embossing in white EP. Then I cut around the edge of the design at the bottom and die cut the top to fit my card panel. Next was to inlay the lower snowflake into the embossed card. There is a plain snowflake on the top,  a more elaborate snowflake which is stacked and then embellished with a few pearls.

 

May Your Christmas Dreams Come True

Here we are in my final week as Guest Designer at Just Us Girls. It has been such fun, with terrific challenges each week. Those who know me of old, know that my style is extremely Clean and Simple and this week's is no exception. The theme is to use PLAID, and as usual I have used just a very little of it, I think this came from a free pull-out of papers from a craft magazine.

I chose lots of star embossing dies for the background from Creative-Depot.de and added the scrap of plaid to a hanging star, with more stars and a touch of ivy... something that is used to decorate homes at Christmas time in the UK... so with the the (wishing) stars and the Christmas foliage, I chose the sentiment to combine the two, from Simon Says Stamp.

 

Noel

 I just received another package of goodies from Simply Graphic and this little chap was in the mix! I think he's really rather splendid! I cut one in kraft card and one in white and coloured his hat and his nose with Copics. I began with the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and went on from there.

I cut the square window and  added some dry embossed snow from a retired Sheena Douglass folder as a backdrop, and added a stand of die cut trees, popped the gnome in front as used a sentiment from Clearly Besotted. I love the mix of these colours!

Christmas WISHES

I was having a little fun with embossing powders for this card. It's a background stamp by Kaisercraft, which I embossed with a mix of Gold and Silver embossing powders. The WISHES is part of an extremely old die whose origin has long since escaped me, the rest of the dies are by Alexandra Renke. I stacked the words three times, but on looking at it I think that I should have used black instead of white card for the lower layers.

I made it with the challenge at CAS Christmas in mind as it requests Silver and Gold!

 

 

Time Out Guest Designer

Some time ago I was fortunate enough to have a card selected as the winner at Time Out Challenge and I was subsequently invited to do a Guest Designer Spot and here it is!

The theme of the challenge this time is NEW

Anyone who knows me, knows that my card style is Clean And Simple, although the kinds of technique I use tend to be somewhat eclectic. Having said that a real favourite of mine is using dies... I must have thousands of them and yet I still seem to be acquiring more. The one by Memory Box used here is getting its first outing and so that is my NEW thing for this challenge. I used it in a different orientation to that on the packet, because I wanted to put the sentiment in that particular corner. The background was made by smooshing some card into a little Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink and water on my glass mat and just dabbing with a paper towel. (It's supposed to look a little like sky!)

I don't remember the make of the sentiment, although I have a feeling that that may be Memory Box too!. The berries were made from pearls which I had coloured with a Copic marker.

This challenge is being sponsored by Uniko, so with a stamp set of your choice, plus a chance to be a Guest Designer for the winner, that's a really good reason to join in the fun as their products are awesome.

I don't do New Year's resolutions any more, but my husband and I have both returned to Slimming World as lockdown inactivity has taken its toll. SO far I have lost 10lbs, so we are heading in the right direction!

 

Be Merry

This is my last session as Guest Designer at Stamps & Fun = Creativity

The theme for my last session is Colour of Christmas.

To me Christmas is Red and Green.... and white of course. 

Red for lots of reasons... Rudolph's nose, Santa's suit, the robin's breast (because he stays with us all through the winter), poinsettias and berries from lots of plants which see the birds and other creatures through the winter.

Green for the Christmas tree and other evergreens which we bring indoors to decorate our homes. 

Anyway, enough waxing lyrical, here is my card with a couple of jolly polar bears (from MFT) wearing their warm woolly scarves in Christmas colours.

The 'merry' is from Papertrey Ink and the 'be' separate letters from a Memory Box alphabet.

 

Let it snow

Sometimes you make a card and it pleases you... this is one of those. I've had it in my mind for some time and had cut the two snowbanks, but didn't get any further. Today I saw that the challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown was to use any previous challenge and as one such was Winter Sledges, I went ahead and finished the card. The dies are by Memory Box. I added the cord, which in fact is supposed to be thread for a needle, but I have used it for so many purposes! The snow EF is retired, but by Sheena Douglass, 

AAA Cards 

CAS on Friday - Christmas

 

Merry Christmas Ribbon

For this card I took the layout from Freshly Made Sketches and the colour theme from The Card Concept

I used a card made made from ivory hopsack weave cardstock.

The poinsettia die is from  Britannia Dies and I don't remember where the ivy came from. I coloured the flower with alcohol pens and the leaves with Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment is from My Favorite Things. The ribbon is by East of India.

 

Merry Christmas

Here is a card for the reminder post for the challenge at Christmas Craft Creations where I am doing a Guest Designer spot. The theme is Fun Folds

I kinda made this one up!

I just fancied something a little different. I made  gatefold cards for my daughter's wedding invitations, and they fastened with a ribbon, this one fastens by the fact that I made a double edge so that the right hand flap slots into the left hand edge.

I simply cut a second scalloped strip which I aligned and adhered behind the front one, leaving a gap for the right flap to slot into.

The little fox is from Create a Smile, the sentiment from Poppy Stamps and the tiny sprig of holly an old favourite stamp by Stampendous.

Be Merry

Another week, another Guest Designer card for the challenge at Stamps & Fun = Creativity

You might guess from this card that the theme is SNOWFLAKES. I am quite partial to White on White cards, but the problem arises when it comes to trying to photograph them. I tried various backdrops, but couldn't seem to find anything to enhance the image. I hope you can see it! I triple stacked each snowflake and double stacked the sentiment. Each flake has a pearl in the centre.

TIME OUT Challenges

Simplicity is what I love!

 

Noel

Today I made a card following the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with dies

I use a couple of strips of water-coloured paper, a sentiment and a few stars. The edges of the stars and the sentiment are gently twinkled with Glamour Dust. I don't tend to make Christmas cards with non-trad colours, but I seemed to have done a few this year!