Holly shaped vintage tags

I made some holly shaped tags for this week's challenge at The Shabby Tea Room. The challenge is 'Get in Shape' - make a card or project with a shape, no squares or rectangles! I just drew the holly shape free hand and cut out.

I used Spellbinders Impressabilites Snowflake for the background and I rubbed a Tim Holtz Distress Ink pad in Antique Linen over it to get that soft vintage color.

The sentiment is from Christmas Nested Frames and Occasions by JustRite. I love the pretty frames in this set, really versatile. I added some seam binding, red ribbon, some Baker's twine and a little gold bell (love these!).

I also made little quilled candy canes, really quick and simple, just some tight closed coils in red and cream glued together at the edges topped with a twine bow. I love making pretty tags, wrapping a gift in simple brown paper, tying with some red ribbon and adding that unique gift tag. Always looks special.

This week's sponsor at The Shabby Tea Room is Just Rite. Don't forget to check out what the Shabby Girls have created this week, I'm sure you'll be inspired!

Supplies:

Card/Paper: White card, red patterned paper from Retrospect 365 by Quirky Twerp at The Digichick

Stamps: Christmas Nested Sentiments, Christmas Nested Frames and Occasions by Just Rite

Ink: Ink it Up - True Red, VersaMagic - Tea Leaves, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen

Other: Sewing Machine, gold bell, Spellbinders Impressabilites Snowflake, Big Shot, twine, lace, Baker's Twine, seam binding, red ribbon, sticky fixers, Zva Creative crystal, cream quilling paper, deep red quilling paper.

Cardmaking & Papercraft Mag (UK) Issue 86

Cardmaking & Papercraft Magazine (Issue 86) is out now, I have a few projects in it. I made some Christmas Tree place cards with quilled baubles and for the Kids Corner there's a Letter to Santa (tried and tested by the lovely Isabelle!)

Here's the article on how to make the Christmas Tree place cards, with very simple quilling! I made them in three different color schemes. Here's some pics of the place cards I took before I sent them to the magazine.

I kept the lines really clean and simple, each card has colored card on the inside to match the color of the quilled baubles.

This is my favorite color combo, I love gold and cream together, always elegant.

Pink and silver is a little more modern but still pretty. There's a template for the tree shape in the back of the magazine. 

The second project is for the Kids Corner section, I had to come up with something simple that a child could make with the assistance of an adult. I had to let the child try it out and photograph the process! Of course I asked Isabelle (my daughter) would she like to have a go, she was so excited!! I had to make it pretty easy for her, she's only 3!! 

So we made a Letter to Santa card, with space to add your wish list. Isabelle did some simple stamping with a bottle, I attached a foam sticker (snowflake) on to the top of a bottle lid and with some white ink she make her own snowflake paper. I bought some fun foam Christmas stickers and she stuck these around her card. She had so much fun making it and loved having her picture in the magazine!

She's such a pro and at the tender age of 3!! (I'm a very proud mommy!!) 

Vintage Santa

Here's my card for this week's Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge (WMSC25). I found this gorgeous vintage image of Santa in Vintage Christmas Tags by Quirky Twerp at The Digichick, the little bit of holly is from the same set and I just cut it out and layered it on top of some music sheet that I stamped using Musical Backgrounds by Waltzingmouse Stamps. Here's this week's sketch.

The fun dotty paper is from the Christmas Promise Paper Pack by Karen Lewis Designz at The Digichick.

The sentiment is from Around Christmastime by Waltzingmouse stamps, I stamped it in black onto some  text printed paper and distressed the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink. I made a simple rosette from some red patterned paper and popped the sentiment on top.

Don't forget to visit the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge blog and check out the fabulous creations this week from the rest of the Mischief Makers and WMS DT. Have a great day, hope it's not too chilly where you are!

Supplies:


Card/Paper: Cream card, Christmas Promise Paper Pack from the Digichick, text paper from the Conservatory Collection from 7Gypsies, Vintage Christmas Tags by Quirky Twerp at the Digichick
Stamps: Around Christmastime and Musical Backgrounds from Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Black archival ink, VersaMagic Ink Tea Leaves, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen
Other: Sewing machine, red ribbon, red felt cord, cream trim, buttons, lace.

Thank You Kindly (The Color Room CRC#33)

When I saw the fab sketch for this week's Color Room Card (CRC#33) challenge I knew I had to play along!! And the beautiful Color Room Palette #33, sooo pretty!! Here's the sketch.

And the pretty color palette (with sketch for a layout).

I had so much fun making this card, nice to take a break from all the Christmas cards!! I got a chance to use some pretty papers I bought at a craft fair a few weeks ago, Rose Garden from Papermania. It's so feminine and delicate, love it!

I made the flowers using Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die (I can make flowers faster now!) and paper from the Rose Garden pad, I also made some from pale pink tissue paper, a doily and some pink tulle.

I added a little bit of quilling too, the little pink flower and some quilled leaf shapes. The flower is really easy to make, just five tight closed coils glued together on each side with a pearl in the centre. There's a few other bits in there too, including a fabric covered button, lace, some Zva Creative crystals and some more buttons.

The sentiment is from Fancy Phrases by Waltzingmouse Stamps, the border frame is from Vintage Labels No.4 also from Waltzingmouse Stamps. I used Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 4 die for the label.

Hope you have a lovely day! (Especially if you're celebrating Thanksgiving!) It's getting pretty chilly here, don't forget to feed the birds!

Supplies:


Card/Paper: White card, Rose Garden Papermania, green stripe digi paper from Ready For Spring kit from The Digichick
Stamps: Fancy Phrases and Vintage Labels No.4 by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: VersaMagic Sage, Memento Angel Pink
Other: Spellbinders Nestabilites Labels 4 Die, Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die, Big Shot, Pink tissue paper, pale pink quilling strips, pistachio quilling strips, quilling tool, pink tulle, doily, flat packed pearls, Zva Creative crystals, fabric covered button, sticky fixers, sewing machine, selection of lace and ribbon, green and white Baker's twine.

Operation Christmas Child

This week's challenge at The Shabby Tea Room is 'Pick a Cause' - create a card/project in honor of your favorite cause or charity. I picked Operation Christmas Child by Samaritans Purse because the local school (where my daughter attends pre-school) was taking part in the scheme. Operation Christmas Child sends shoeboxes filled with gifts to children in parts of Africa, Central Asia and Eastern Europe for Christmas. You donate by wrapping a shoebox and filling it with the gifts and items recommended on their leaflet, you pick whether it's for a girl or boy and for what age group. They also have an online shoebox facility, where you pick what you want to put in to your box but they pack the box and send it - Shoebox World (A really great idea!) We really enjoyed packing the box and buying some special gifts for a child this Christmas, we'll definitely do it again next year.

So, for my cards this week I wanted them to be fun and cheerful. I thought the color challenge this week at The Play Date Cafe was just perfect, bright and lively! A lovely combination of Red, Olive and Turquoise. I used stamps from Bountiful Baskets Additions from Waltzingmouse Stamps, I thought they were just perfect for these cards!

I used the same papers in the three cards, in different combinations. I used some Creative Inspirations Paint to color the stamped images. I love those little gingerbread people and candy canes, so cute!

The sentiments are from the same stamp set Bountiful Baskets Additions. I added some matching ribbon and some red and white Baker's twine on each of the cards.

I added a little bit of glittery ribbon across the bottom of each card, I don't think you can see it in the photos but it really sparkles!

If you visit The Shabby Tea Room you'll see what wonderful causes and charities the rest of the Design Team have chosen, along with their beautiful creations.

This week's sponsor is June Lanum, her trinket pins are just gorgeous, I couldn't fit them in with my card designs this week but I added them to my card last week. I'll definitely be adding them to some more of my creations.

I'll add my supplies list a bit later, fighting a cold at the moment, need to get a bit of sleep (this is a scheduled post!) Have a great day!

Vintage Christmas Greetings

I'm not usually a big fan of red but I just love it at Christmas time! I think it's the warmth it brings, teamed with a little green and cream it makes the perfect Vintage Christmas card. My card is based on this week's sketch at the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge blog, you have to give this one a go, it's really simple.

The green background paper is from Noel - A Vintage Christmas Paper Pack by MKC at the Digichick.
I embossed some white card using Spellbinders Impressabilities - Snowflake and rubbed it with some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen.

The sentiment is from Compliments of the Season by Waltzingmouse Stamps and the label is from Holiday Labels No.14 stamped in VersaMagic Tea Leaves. The bit of bling is a vintage clip-on earring   (makes an awful earring but the perfect vintage embellishment!!) I layered a bit of lace behind some check ribbon to add to the vintage feel.

I also added some yummy Webster's Pages Bloomers trim in berry along the centre, this stuff is so gorgeous!! I love the decadent feel it adds to this card.

Don't forget to visit the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge blog to see the fabulous creations from the Mischief Makers and WMS DT. Have a great day!! : )

Supplies:


Card/Paper: White card, cream card, Noel - A Vintage Christmas Paper Pack by MKC at The Digichick
Stamps: Compliments of the Season and Holiday Labels No.14 from Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: VersaMagic Tea Leaves, Black Archival Ink, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Antique Linen
Other: Lace, check ribbon, Webster's Pages Bloomers trim in berry, sewing machine, red ribbon, vintage clip-on earring, foam pads, Spellbinders Impressabilites - Snowflake, Spellbinders Nestabilities No.5, Big Shot machine.

Paper Garden Projects - Christmas Foliage

Paper Garden Projects have some gorgeous new digital stamps - Christmas Foliage Digital Stamp Set. I just love the realistic style of these digital stamps and there are some really lovely sentiments in this set too! I used the Holly digital stamp and Be Jolly Text.

I teamed up the digital stamps with some lovely digital papers. The beige scroll pattern paper is from the Retrospect 365 Paper Pack by Quirky Twerp at The Digichick. The gorgeous holly print paper is from Noel - A Vintage Christmas Paper Pack by MKC at The Digichick. I also printed the holly digital image from Paper Garden Projects onto some green patterned paper from the Noel paper pack. The sentiment I printed onto some music sheet paper also from the Noel paper pack. I used some Garnet Creative Inspirations Paint to color the berries on the holly.

I distressed all the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen. I also added a little stitching on the sewing machine.

Do pop over to the Paper Garden Projects Store, they have a sale on at the moment (23% off!!), that includes the Christmas Foliage Digital Stamp Set I used here. Enjoy the rest of your day!

Supplies: 


Card/Paper: Cream card, Noel - A Vintage Christmas Paper Pack by MKC from the Digichick, Retrospect 365 Paper Pack by Quirky Twerp from the Digichick.
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Stamps: Christmas Foliage Digital Stamp Set from Paper Garden Projects
Other: Sewing machine, foam pads, twine, Garnet Creative Inspirations Paint, cream satin ribbon, lace, button.

Make your own Christmas Crackers!!

Today over at The Hybrid Chick I have a tutorial on how to make your own Christmas Crackers!! They're not too hard to make and are lots of fun! You can add your own little gifts inside. I gave mine a vintage feel. Here's a peek!!

The fab holly paper I used is from Noel - A Vintage Christmas Paper Pack by Mari Koegelenberg (MKC) and the lovely tags are from Vintage Christmas Tags by Roben-Marie Designs (RMD).

Head on over to The Hybrid Chick if you want to find out how to make these!! They really are easy!!

Give Thanks

Another week at The Shabby Tearoom, the theme - What are you thankful for? Too many things to put on my card, so I just made a general thank you card. There's also an inspiration photo, that's where I got my colors from. I went for more muted tones of the colors.

The text paper is from the Conservatory Collection by 7Gypsies, there's some Webster's Pages in there too. The fab green digi paper is from A Time of Wonder by Danielle Engebretson at The Digichick.

The sentiment is from the Teeny Trees stamp set by Waltzingmouse Stamps. The flowers I made using Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die, tissue paper and lace. I added one of June Lanum's pretty trinket pins too.

Pop along to The Shabby Tea Room and check out all the lovely creations from the design team, I'm sure you'll be inspired. This week's sponsor is the Stamp Simply Ribbon Store. Here's the lovely prize on offer.

Supplies:


Card/Paper: Cream card, Conservatory Collection by 7Gypsies, Webster's Pages, digi paper A time of wonder by Danielle Engebretson 
Stamps: Teeny Trees by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: VersaMagic Tea Leaves, Tim Holtz Distress Ink 
Other: Sewing Machine, peach seam binding, twine, pearls, tissue paper, lace, trinket pin, Zva Creative Crystals, Tags trio die, Tattered florals die, Big Shot, crystals, Webster's heart embellishment.

Holly & gingham!

A fairly simple sketch this week at the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge. I went with a simple red, green and white color scheme, for some reason when I use white I want to keep the lines clean and simple. This is as clean and simple as I can get! Anyway, here's the sketch!

I was delighted when I received my new stamps in the post yesterday, just in time for the sketch challenge! I love the new stamp set Festive Foliage by Waltzingmouse Stamps, so many great elements and I'm a big fan of holly!

The sentiment is from the Seasons of Love - Tags stamp set. There's also a little bit of Musical Backgrounds in there too. The little rosette I made from some gathered gingham ribbon and a button.

Don't forget to check out the Waltzingmouse Sketch Challenge blog for some inspiration from the Mischief Makers and the WMS Design team.

Oh and don't forget the Friends of Waltzingmouse Stamps Blog Hop on the 17th of November, the theme is Christmas! : )

Supplies:


Card/Paper: White card, red paper
Stamps: Festive Foliage, Musical Backgrounds and Seasons of Love - Tags by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Ink it Up - True Red, Impress Ink - Emerald
Other: Sewing machine, red and white stitched ribbon, gathered gingham ribbon, narrow red ribbon, red and white baker's twine, red button, Spellbinders - Tags Trio, Big Shot.

Yuletide Blessings

Hi, just a quick post today, busy getting some work done. My desk is full of Christmassy papers and embellishments, so here we have a Christmas card with a lot on it!! The sentiment is from Compliments of the Season by Waltzingmouse Stamps, there's also a little Victorian Fripperie border in there too and Fancy Phrases frame.

The lime green paper is a bit of Webster's Pages. The text paper is from the Conservatory Collection by 7Gypsies. The rich red paper is a digital paper from Retrospect 365 Paper Pack by Quirky Twerp (one of my fav sets!) at the Digichick.

Oh yea and I finally got a die cutting machine (decided to go with a Big Shot, it was on sale too!), I used Fancy Tags here, I have a new addiction! Have a lovely day! It's a very wet and windy one here!!

Supplies:
Card/Paper: Cream card, Webster's pages, Retrospect 365 Paper pack by Quirky Twerp, Conservatory Collection by 7Gypsies
Stamps: Compliments of the Season, Victorian Fripperie, Fancy Phrases by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Ink: Black archival ink, VersaMagic Tea Leaves, Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen
Other: red pom pom trim, gold bells, gold glitter glue, lace, red seam binding, sewing machine, foam pads, Fancy Tags by Spellbinders, big shot machine.

Thanksgiving card

I finally got a chance to play with some of the digital stamps from Paper Garden Projects. These lovely oak leaves and acorns caught my eye, they're from the Woodland Whimsy Fall Frames Digital Stamp Set, the sentiment is also from this set.

Sometimes digital stamps can be a little daunting but there's an easy way of giving them a go, try printing  your images onto patterned paper. Here I used patterned paper from Autumn Afternoon - Paper Pack by Karen Lewis Designz at The Digichick. I simply cut out the leaves and acorns, rubbed the edges with a little Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Antique Linen and highlighted some details with Burnt Clay Creative Inspirations Paint. I printed the sentiment onto cream card and distressed the edges.

The piece of fabric across the centre of the card is a piece of gauze I dyed in tea, I made the flower from the same fabric, a simple rolled flower. I wanted to keep the whole look pretty natural and earthy. Hope you like it!

A gorgeous new Christmas digital stamp set has just been added to the Paper Garden Projects Store, it's the Christmas Foliage Digital Stamp Set. There are some fabulous details in these digital images, I can't wait to play with them, especially the Poinsettia (my favorite!) and traditional holly!!


Supplies:


Card/Paper: Digital paper Autumn Afternoon by Karen Lewis Designz at the Digichick, Dotty paper from Tiny Princess by Sugarplum Paperie at the Digichick
Stamps: Woodland Whimsy Fall Frames Digital Stamp Set from Paper Garden Projects
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Antique Linen
Other: Sewing machine, lace, foam pads, gauze fabric, twine, Creative Inspiration Paints in Burnt Clay and Chocolate, button.

The Play Date Cafe - PDCC #54

**** YAY, my card made it into the FAB FOUR at the Play Date Cafe!! ****

I couldn't resist the gorgeous color challenge this week at The Play Date Cafe. I love that shade of green, it's so fresh and that soft orange works so well with it, while the white keeps the combo crisp.... perfect! So, here's what I came up with.

Yes, I am addicted to Holiday Labels No.14 by Waltzingmouse Stamps, particularly this dotty one, I just love it! I used Text-It also by Waltzingmouse Stamps to stamp the background in VersaMagic Persimmon.

The sentiment is from Fancy Phrases by Waltzingmouse Stamps. I'm still having fun playing with felt, I made a simple rolled flower here, I cut out some simple leaves and added a little stitched detail. I also did a bit of uneven stitching on the bottom of the card, for a change!

I actually really enjoyed making this card and it came together quite quickly, I don't usually use much white in my cards but I love how light this card feels. Thanks to The Play Date Cafe for providing such a refreshing color palette, it really did inspire me!! : ) Have a lovely day!

Supplies:


Card/Paper: White card, pale green paper from the Jack n' Jill Collection by Prima Marketing
Ink: VersaMagic Persimmon
Stamps: Fancy Phrases, Text-It and Holiday Labels No.14 by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Other: Sewing machine, white felt, buttons, gauze, narrow white ribbon, foam pads, peach seam binding.