Monochrome Christmas

Good evening,

Help, my holidays are finished it's back to work for me tomorrow and back to school for Iona too!  She is excited, I'm less so but at least it will be a shortish week.  We had a lovely afternoon at the swimming pool today to round off our holiday.  It was a bit more of a leisurely day than yesterday.  We made an early start then travelled down to Royal Deeside and got there in time to see the Queen and Royal Family going to church at Crathie.  Iona was made up and waved her little saltire flag, bless.  We covered a lot of ground yesterday and I must say although I enjoyed the drive I was shattered afterwards and had an early night.  By the way for those that read my last post the weather was kind to us on Saturday so we went along to the Highland Games in Nairn and had a fantastic afternoon.  We didn't see an awful lot of the field events as we spent most of the time at the massive funfair.  Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera with me so I've only got some photos on my phone which aren't the best :(

Anyway, tonight's card is one I've made following a black and white theme.

The capsule collection papers and stamp are all from Papermania, the sentiment is a freebie from Netty.  The corner die is by Memory Box and the snowflake dies are by Die'sire.  I've also used a punch for the smaller snowflakes.  Some gems and pearls finish it off.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Divas by Design – Christmas in August
Crafting by Designs – Anything Goes
CHNC Challenge Extra – August
CCAYR – August, Fussy & Fancy

Somebunny Thank You

Hello again,

Yes second post from me today.  I'm filling my boots so to speak before I go back to work nest week.  Only three more days before I have to return boohoo.  Anyways, for those who read my blog earlier I'm happy to say I now have an oven on order, it won't be with us until the week after next but I don't mind I'm just pleased to get one that will fit where the old one will come out of :)  This afternoon we visited Loch Insh by Aviemore, unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side this time and it was wet and a little cold so we just had a short walk around the loch side then cheered ourselves up with cake and hot chocolate!  Fingers crossed the weather will be better tomorrow as we are planning going to Nairn Games, a nearby Highland Games with a big funfair.

Ok, onto my card.  Both the papers and stamp were freebies from Quick Cards Made Easy, both of which are excellent quality for being freebies.  Apologies for the poor lighting in the photograph, I normally take my photos in the kitchen as it has good light with minimal shadow but unfortunately my kitchen lighting has blown (everything is packing in just now) so I experimented in different rooms and this is the best I could come up with.

I've coloured the stamped image with Promarkers and die cut it with an X-cut scalloped circle die, mounted on a lacey circle Spellbinders die cut, I've used one from the same set for the sentiment which is a freebie from Netty.  The leaves have been cut with a Sizzlits die from Stampin' Up and I've used a mix of paper and resin flowers.  The little heart shaped brad was part of a challenge prize as was the card candi.  The mesh strip and lace were both purchases from my Elgin trip.  An adhesive felt shape, button, pearls and gems finish off my card.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Cutie Pie Challenge - #50 Thank You
Fussy & Fancy Challenge - #95 Bingo Board (I used button/lace/die-cut)
Crafty Sentiments Challenge - Dies and Punches
Robyn's Fetish Challenge - #172 Lots of Layers
Sister Act Challenge - #20 Anything Goes
Creative Corner Challenges - Anything Goes
Penny's Paper-crafty Challenge - #140 Ribbon and/or lace

Good Luck

Good morning,

I'm going to so miss the almost daily blogging when I go back to work next Tuesday.  I'll also miss being with Iona and getting the opportunity to get out and about and do things together.  Yesterday we didn't venture off anywhere but we met a friend and her daughter for lunch then I set the wheels in motion to get a new built in oven sorted out.  The old one is past it's economic life now having had several new elements recently.  Who knew it would prove so difficult in somewhere the size of Inverness but a lot of places will only supply and fit as part of a whole kitchen, and one very well know retail chain lost a sale as the member of staff that dealt with me was virtually clueless.  I've found somewhere now though and I'm confident we'll get a solution soon.  I miss my oven soooo much!

Anyway enough waffle!  Today's card is one I made for Lesley who is the manageress in The Craft Shop at Howden's Inverness (hubby works in the garden centre part of the shop).  Today is her last day as she's leaving for pastures new, she is going to be the area demonstrator for Personal Impressions which I'm sure she will make a great success of.

 

 

This is a teeny wee card for a change and I've just used 3 colours, green, black and white.  The papers are all from the Chelsea Green capsule collection from Papermania and I've added faux stitching using a Letraset fine tipped pen and my pokey tool.  The four leaf clover was made using a tiny X-cut scalloped heart die and I've doodled some hearts on it then added a button tied with paper cord to the middle.  A couple of gems and letter stickers from Carole's Crafts finish it off.

 

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

 

Crafting By Designs Challenge – Anything Goes

Aud Sentiments Challenge – #87 Anything but a Birthday Card

Allsorts Challenge - #219 Stitching

Bearly Mine Challenge – #99 Anything Goes

Whoopsi Daisy Challenge – Show us Stitching

Challenges for Everybody - #26 Anything Goes

Crafty Ribbons Challenge - #57 Use 3 of Something (I used 3 papers and 3 colours)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



A Quick Cupcake Card...

Hello!

Yesterday was another good day weatherwise.  We had a few things to do in the morning but after lunch we headed East to the coastal village of Findhorn on the Moray Firth which has a lovely beach.  Iona was rather disappointed that all the beaches we saw around Ullapool the previous day were stoney rather than sandy so I thought it would make her day.  I wasn't wrong and she had a whale of a time as you can see!  We obviously had the best of the weather as when we came home you could see it had been raining.

Todays card is a quick one I made a week or so ago for a birthday, I didn't so much forget about it but it crept up on me quicker than expected if that makes sense. 

The topper and sentiment are by Kanban and are from a sale bargain set I picked up in my local craft shop.  I have matched the colours and spots in the photo to the papers which are all Me To You Spring Chic.  These have been layered with gold textured cardstock, again to match up with the topper.  I've finished off the card with a big bloomer from the Papermania Parkstone Pink Capsule Collection topped with a heart-shaped button, some spotty organza ribbon, capsule collection buttons and various gems and pearls.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Crafting By Designs Challenge – Anything Goes
Creative Corner Challenges – Eat, drink and be merry!
The Paper Shelter Challenge - #124 Use that ribbon!
Sister Act Challenge - #19 Anything Goes

A Red and White Christmas One...

Hi folks,

What a fantastic day out we had yesterday.  It was hubby's day off and this is the last week of the school holidays up here so we decided to make the most of it and get out and about.  We wrote down 4 locations and then checked out the weather forecast for all of them and plumped for Ullapool, a harbour village, in the North West surrounded by hills and mountains.  It was a good choice, the sun was shining and the scenery was stunning.  On the way home we opted for a different route that meant going a bit further North then coming inland through Sutherland on single track roads.  I really enjoy driving so it was good fun for me!

Today's card is another Christmas one I put together a couple of days ago and was quick to do as it's mostly die-cutting, I find with cards like this that getting the cardstock out of the intricate die is the most time consuming bit of it!

The papers used are Papermania Home For Christmas 12x12's, which I got as a present last Christmas from one of my pals.  The scalloped heart die and border punch are by X-cut and the other is Winter Birds by Marianne.  Some gingham ribbon, card candi and gems and that's about it.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

CHNC Challenge - #137 Picture Inspiration
CHNC Challenge Extra – August
Crafting By Designs Challenge – Anything Goes
CCAYR Challenge – August, Fussy & Fancy

Stripes

Hi folks,

It's another showery day here in the North of Scotland so a day for indoor pursuits including cardmaking yippee!  I've finished two of the cards I was working on and did some die-cutting for another few in the pipeline.  I've also been trying to have a clear out of my ever expanding collection of craft magazines (I can't resist the freebies) so I have masses of crafty ideas swirling round in my head just now lol.

Todays card is very CAS, even by my standards, with only one backing paper! 

The paper is from the Papermania Spots and Stripes Brights capsule collection as is the yellow button.  The circles and star have all been die cut using X-cut dies and the star has also been embossed with dots.  The sentiment was made using plastic letter stickers from Carole's Crafts and the image is from clipart.  A couple of card candi and some paper cord finishes off my card.

Funnily enough my daughter Iona loves this one and would like me to make something similar for her birthday.  And there was me thinking pink and girly with a mermaid or something equally feminine but hey I'm just her mum what do I know!

I wish to enter my card into the following challenges:

The Paper Shelter - #123 Punches & Dies
Sister Act Challenge - #19 Anything Goes
The Crazy challenge - #151 Anything Goes
Penny’s Paper Crafty Challenge - #139 Dry Embossing
Challenges for Everybody - #26 Anything Goes

Sundae Service

Hi folks,

Another late night post from me but I have a few things on tomorrow so thought I'd get ahead by doing this now.  Rab and I have just been watching The Last Boy Scout.  I can't believe it's around 20 years old and this is the first time I've seen it, it's not my usual kind of film but I quite enjoyed it and I did some colouring while it was on too!  Tonight's card is one of about four I had under way but this is the only one that's come to fruition so far!!!

The image is 'Sundae Service' from Sugar Nellie (yes again!!!) and has been coloured in with Promarkers to match the Kaisercraft 'Butterfly Kisses' papers.  The heart-shaped doily is by Dovecraft and I've added some of my daughter Iona's star stickers by Kars (I did ask first!).  The sentiment is a freebie by Netty that you can download from her blog.  The card is finished with pink cotton lace and gems.  All dies are by X-cut.

I wish to enter my card into the following challenges:

Sugar Bowl Challenge - #106 August 2013
C is for Challenge - #3 Fresh & Bright (I used bright colours and refreshing ice cream)
I Love Promarkers - #180 Use a Doily
Gem of a Challenge - #92 Summer
Sister Act Challenge - #19 Anything Goes
Allsorts Challenge - #219 Stitching

Winter Wonderland

Hi folks,

Well the rain eventually went off yesterday and I got most of my ironing done in dribs and drabs but best of all we had a surprise last visit from my friend and her daughter who were heading back to Bahrain after being home for a few weeks.  I can't believe how quickly their holiday went in but it was lovely to see them and it will probably be around a year until we see them again.

I didn't manage to do any crafting last night :( and don't think I'll have any opportunity tonight :( :( as we have a friend's son staying for a sleepover as they have no childcare arrangements for the morning.  Iona is very excited about it so I doubt if there will be much sleeping going on!

Here's a quick wee card I made a couple of nights ago...

I don't often go for DL cards but I thought it would look good with the elongated topper.  The topper, papers and sentiment sticker are all Me To You Winter Wonderland and have been layered with matching Coredinations cardstock.  I've also used the same cardstock for the die cut snowflake which was made with a Die-sire set.  I've added a charm from Hobby House tied with American Crafts twine.  An organza ribbon bow, pearls and gems finish off my card.

I wish to enter my card into the following challenges:

Crafty Catz Challenge - #194 Pastel Colours
Christmas Cards All Year Round – August Challenge, Fussy & Fancy
Robyn’s Fetish Challenge - #171 Add a Charm
Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge Extra – August
Creative Craft Challenges 2 - #16 Tic-Tac-Toe (Green/Gems/Charm)
Crafty Ribbons Challenge – #56 Anything Goes With Ribbon

Poinsettia Girl

Good Morning,

It's an extremely wet morning here in the North of Scotland so that means a day indoors doing housework and maybe a spot of baking.  I have a huge pile of ironing so just as well it's not good enough weather for an outing!

Today's card is made using another of my Sugar Nellie purchases from the weekend, this time the stamp is 'Poinsettia Girl'.

I've coloured the image with Promarkers then given it a spritz of Spray & Sparkle for a bit of subtle glitter.  The papers I've used are freebies from Quick Cards Made Easy a while back, they haven't photographed very well, in real life they match the image better.  The sentiment is from a Paula Pascual set and the large flower die is from a set by Sizzix from Stampin' Up.  The Poinsettia die is by Spellbinders.  Gems, pearls and two kinds of ribbon finish the card off.

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge Extra – August
Sugar Bowl Challenge - #106 August 2013
Christmas Cards All Year Round – August, Fussy & Fancy
Sister Act Challenge - #18 Anything Goes
The Crazy Challenge - #151 Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter Challenge - #123 Punches & Dies

Blue for a Boy...

Hi folks,

An unusual daytime post from me - can you tell I'm on holiday woop woop!  I'm still mainly crafting at night so we can make the best of the days.  Unfortunately Rab isn't on holiday so we are just having trips out here and there.  On Saturday we went East and visited Brodie Castle which has a fantastic play park that Iona loves.  We then carried on to Elgin to Papercrafts Boutique where I purchased not one but 3 Sugar Nellie stamps one of which, called 'Callum', I've used on this card for Iona's Cheerleading Coach who recently had a little boy.

I've coloured in the image with Promarkers as usual then sprayed it with Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle for a little glitter.  I've then die-cut the image and a mount from blue pearlised card using X-cut nesting dies.  The gingham cardstock is just from a single sheet from the local craft shop and the patchwork paper was part of a challenge prize.  The sentiment is by LOTV and was stamped using Versamagic chalk ink.  The card is finished off simply with die cut nappy (diaper) pins made with a Sizzlits set, buttons and a mesh/net band (I never know what this is called lol).

If the weather stays dry we are planning visiting Nairn beach this afternoon for a walk, sandcastles and shell collecting and maybe some ice cream and crazy golf!

I wish to enter my card into the following challenges:

Inky Impressions Challenge - #119 Button It
Sugar Bowl Challenge - #106 August 2013
Crafty Catz Challenge - #194 Pastel Colours
Sister Act Challenge - #18 Anything Goes
The Crazy Challenge - #151 Anything Goes

Snow Angel

Hi folks,

I'm rather late posting on here again tonight.  I've been running around all evening getting my OH ready for Belladrum  which is a music festival held near to Inverness.  He was semi organised but the weather has taken a turn for the worse so we had to track down wellies as well as the beer, water, etc he had planned on taking!!!  Fingers crossed the weather improves for the weekend or it will be a bit of a wash out.

Tonight's card is another Christmas one.  I actually made it a couple of evenings ago but I hadn't got around to uploading the photo.  The digi stamp is from The Paper Shelter and is part of a challenge prize I won a wee while back.  Iona and I both had a copy to colour in which we did while watching Beethoven the 5th!

I hadn't realised I'd made the image so large until I tried to fit it on a card, it didn't leave much room for anything else!  Anyway, the rather large image has been coloured with promarkers and then sprayed lightly with glitter spray for a slightly shimmery finish.  The papers I've used are all Boofle by Docrafts and everything has been layered up with kraft cardstock.  I've also used kraft for the Paula Pascual sentiment and the punched snowflakes.  The snowflake corner die is by Memory Box.  The card is finished off with various buttons tied with paper cord and some pale blue gems.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Creative Craft Challenges 2 - #15 Colour Challenge Blue & Brown
Sister Act Card Challenge - #17 Anything Goes
Crafting For All Seasons - #57 Christmas in July
The Paper Shelter - #122 Anything Goes
Inky Impressions Challenge - #119 Button It
Allsorts Challenge - #217 Kraft It
Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge Extra - August