Winter Blues

Afternoon Everyone,

The mammoth stamp sort out is finally done and the desk is at last clear enough to let me make a couple of cards for Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #160. Hazel has asked for shades of blue this week giving me the perfect excuse to get out loads of snippets of blue card to make these two cards.

Card #1: has an embossed panel that's been lightly sponged with blue ink and a header of trailing stars.

I chose card in a variety of blue shades and finishes - mirror, pearlescent, and matte - from which to cut the stars. Some were given an extra twinkle by covering them in glitter glue.

Inside and back: decorated with trails of the smaller stars.

Card #2: of course I cut way too many stars so had to use them up on this very simple design.

Inside and back: more trailing stars inside and the last large glittered star on the back.

Materials used:

• paper from the In The Meadow, free from simply Cards & Papercraft magazine 2013
• card - snippets of shades of blue; a scrap of white card for embossing
• inks - Ranger DI Tumbled Glass, Memento Dew Drop Danube Blue
• glitter glue - Stickles Baby Blue and Crystal
• Tools: embossing folder - Quickutz Phrases; dies - from Docrafts X-Cut Star set; die cutting machine; punch - Woodware tiny star

Usually Hazel has to remind me of her extra challenge, Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra for January, where anything goes as long as it's Christmas, but not today!!!

I'm also entering both cards into Di's challenge at Pixie's Snippets Playground. I'd like to say that all my blue snippets were used up in these cards but it would be a lie ... there's still a little heap to get through yet! However, nothing but snippets and OGooS went into the making of the cards :)

Edit Note: Sue, a DT member, has very kindly suggested I enter these over at Stampin with the Dragon - the challenge is Winter Blues ... how appropriate is that.

It may be temporary, but I've now got the luxury of a neat desk. My entire stamp collection is put away in a neat and ordered fashion, AND dies, embossing folders and templates, paper and card all filed away too! And, better still, it is all easily accessible. So there's absolutely nothing to stop me tackling my crafting to-do list ... and absolutely no excuses any more either.  Now, as long as my mojo doesn't go walkabout I should be just fine :)

In the meantime, I'm off to watch Pointless and then think about dinner.

Happy crafting,

Little Bird and Ribbon Card

Afternoon Everyone

This is going to be the quickest post in history of this blog.

This card was made for a challenge which called for the use of ribbons, lots of ribbons. Now I like ribbons, that's evident by the hoard I have gracing the craft room, but it's rare for me to use more than one on a card ... could that be because I am so loathe to part with even the tiniest snippet :)  However, as ever, I rose to the challenge and, going completely crazy, picked out some of my most cherished beauties. The unusual colour combination, that is, unusual for me, was taken from the gorgeous embroidered ribbon from Anna Griffin.

No 'how I made it today' ... I desperately need to finish off sorting out the stamps or I'll never see the top of my desk again ... suffice to say there's dry embossing, colouring and stamping with a little bit of silver waxing thrown in for good measure. Oh, and the pink topper mat has a pierced border too.

Materials used:

• card - teal (Papermill Direct), deep pink (Papermania) and white (Neena Solar)
• stamp - Inkadinkado Bird Streamer
• inks - Memento Markers, Rose Bud, Bahama Blue, Bamboo Leaves and Ranger DI, Crushed Olive
• gilding wax - Pebeo Silver
• tools - Cuttlebug; embossing folder - Cuttlebug Cindy Loo; dies - Docraft's X-Cut Squares and Butterflies; Dovecraft piercing ruler, piercing mat and a pokey tool

Because the base is such a strong colour, I created an insert from printer paper stamped up in the same combination of inks as used for the front.

Almost the entire card is made from snippets - the exceptions are the teal card used for the base, the white rose ribbon trim and the embroidered ribbon - even the green velvet ric rac came from the snippet box, so I'm skipping over to Pixie's Snippet Playground - Week 108 - where snippets are the name of the game.

Graveling update: almost done but we've run out of gravel for the driveway - surprisingly, a ton was not enough!

Update on goal to buy no new stuff but to use Only Goodies out of Stash (OGooS) - it's Week 3, 2014, and I've still not succumbed to temptation - so far all materials have been sourced from stash. I know, it's early days but so far, so good :)

Right, time for a quick bit of lunch and then back to the stamp sorting - photos may follow :)

Take care everyone. Happy crafting,

WOYWW 242 - graveling not crafting

Afternoon Everyone,

Wednesday, the day for revealing our desks to Julia, for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday (WOYWW) over at the Stamping Ground, not to mention a hundred or so other interested crafters ... usually. But not today! This morning the weather cleared long enough for the EM and I to do a bit of light gardening ... not!

The driveway, though graveled, had turned into a mud bath over the winter, especially at the entrance, so the EM ordered a ton of gravel, delivered yesterday.

Man at work! The EM preparing to shovel gravel into the wheelbarrow.

Woman at work! A rare sighting of the lesser spotted Silvercrafter in yellow ... my unfavourite colour. However, this yachting jacket, ancient and unloved though it is, is the perfect protection for rainy day gardening.

And here's the abandoned craftdesk. I'm mid sorting out the stamp collection which had got into a right muddled mess over the last few months. This album is for those stamps that are categorised, admitted very roughly, as flora and fauna. An album of Christmas stamps was sorted out yesterday. That still leaves an awful lot of stamps to be sorted and put away but that will be after the driveway graveling is done :)

I hope you are all well and enjoying a wonderful WOYWW. We've been rained off for now so I'm going to take advantage of this unexpected time out and do a bit of blog hopping while I have the chance.

Take care, stay dry, and happy crafting,