Happy New Year!!

I'd like to wish you all a very happy New Year! I am so grateful to all my followers and commenters. I really appreciate you taking the time to drop a line now and then and I want to thank you,too for all the inspiration you've given me over the last year.

I had intended to make a lovely card for this post but things have not gone smoothly, to say the least, this week .

I'll not bore you with all the details but the latest trip to A&E today was with my husband who ,we now know, has a broken bone in his foot.  Unfortunately he has not been able to put his foot to the ground for 4 days.  We thought it was a bad sprain and didn't got to hospital until today so now we know the reason for all the pain

Rest has been ordered and is definitely needed so we'll not be up to see the New Year in - hopefully we'll be fast asleep by then.

I have a card to share with you tomorrow for the Stampalot Challenge...thankfully I made it a couple of weeks ago!!

Happy New Year , one and all!!

A very Happy Christmas to all my readers!!

I just want to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy Christmas! I hope you enjoy a lovely time with friends and family.

Many things have happened to us all over the past year but let's not forget what Christmas is all about and remember to thank God for the wonderful gift of His Son. As I wrote on some of my cards...

"Unto you is born this day...a Saviour which is Christ the Lord"

and the reason He was sent;

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life"

Love and best wishes , Ruth x

Last few Christmas cards

 This is the last of my Christmas cards...I can't wait to move on now!! Anyhow, I thought I'd like to try a bright image on a black and white background, so I chose DCWV paper, Marianne Creatables die cut ,Sunray embossing folder, "icicle" scissors and black glitter paper. The image is,of course,Holly,
 from A Passion for Stamps

 

This card was one of the quickest I've made. I used my Papermania  Christmas Stocking embossing folder and cut out two extra stockings. Some glitter , a little matting behind the image and c'est fini!

Challenges

Try it on Tuesday ...anything goes

Passion for Promarkers ...Celebrations

Everybody Art ..anything goes

It Takes Two...

Good morning! What a week....anyhow, I didn't see the time passing and almost forgot to add the card I'd made. This was a commissioned card for "a 21 year old fashion student called "Jodi" so this is what I came up with. It's also my Guest DT card for Allsorts this week where the theme is "It takes two" and that means you've to use just two colours along with a white base if you like.
 
I'm also sponsoring Allsorts this week so come on over and join in - you could win 4 of my digis from A Passion for Stamps !!

I've used my Mannequin digi image which you can find HERE at A Passion for Stamps and I've edged the image with my Tonic Studios  Daisy Border punch  and I think it looks like black lace. There are tiny dots of Stickles around the image and it is a lovely effect in real life.

Back to the week I've had... my brother, who had major surgery last year had a further operation last week and had a massive bleed the following day and was rushed back to theatre again. He has been very ill but thankfully is on the mend now but is very weak and tired.
Our younger son has had a terrible cold and was only able to get out of bed to go for exams.
Snow meant that we had to hurriedly change our work plans and then I got the awful cold myself. I had a day in bed (unheard of!!) and still feel terrible. It's only a bad cold but it has made me feel rotten.

Anyhow, it's Saturday again so I had a lie in and ,as usual, my lovely husband brought me poached egg and toast to bed for breakfast....I love Saturday mornings!!!

Oh, two more little things!
I was featured in last month's Cardmaking and Papercraft mag and got my super prize and a copy of the mag this week..

I won a lovely prize from Docrafts this week too and was really pleased with it....where am I going to put all the stuff??

Tonic Studios Multi Detail Snowflake Punch uses

I've made a couple of cards etc showing the different ways I use the Tonic Studios Multi Detail Snowflake punch as I mentioned yesterday.

In the card above you can see that I've used the outside part just snipped from the paper to form a lovely frame around the circle.
The Robin and Holly digi image is one of my drawings avaliable from A Passion for Stamps and I've overlapped the snowflakes behind the circles.
I've then used the snowflakes as flowers and leaves and, if you look closely, you'll see I have snipped them again and used them as corners.

For this card I have used the inner snowflake as a frame around the centre of the card. The image on this one is Christmas Rose also from A Passion for Stamps with a little of the greenery removed to suit the card.

Last, but not least....I have used the punch again along with the Tonic Studios Flower Head punch to make some pretty little flowers which can be used at any time of the year and (like a dog!) not just for Christmas!! I've embossed the centre flowers too and added a flat backed pearl but the possibilities are endless.......

In case you missed any of the other flowers I made with these punches in earlier posts , here they are again..

Hope you like....if you come up with any more please let me know!

I may as well join in a couple of challenges while I'm at it!

Alphabet Challenge ..  White Christmas (snowflake and Christmas rose card)

Crafty Catz. .. Anything goes

Stampin for the Weekend ...Christmas

Cute Card Thursday ...anything goes

Colour Create Red, white and Green

Christmas Stocking

Another Christmas card made, but I've so many still to do!
Each year I promise myself I'll be organised but it hasn't happened. Here I am again making cards and writing them as the glue dries!
This one was fairly quickly put together using Christmas Stocking digi image from A Passion for Stamps, coloured with Promarkers (as usual!) a gold gel pen,Stickles and Glossy Accents.
The stocking is matted on a Marianne Creatables die cut and I've added Christmas ribbon to the top of the stocking .
The border punch is one of my "new favourites" -  Tonic Studios Stars border and the Snowflakes are 2 layers of a Tonic Studios Multi Detail Snowflake punch. I've got great use from this punch and hope to add a separate post showing all the different ways I use it (if I get time!). I love the way it has 2 parts and can be used in so many different ways to make flowers and not just Christmas ideas.

Challenges
Moving along with the times ... ...last minute Christmas
Creative Card Crew ...Tis the Season
For Fun Challenges ...Christmas Sparkle

Mountain Ash - Berries and Snowflakes

 

I've been meaning to use this image ( Mountain Ash) for ages and had it all coloured up. I added lots of glitter to the berries and then wanted it to really "shine" so I added Glossy Accents on top of the glitter but only on alternate berries and left it to dry. Then I added it to the rest of the berries, and that way the Glossy Accents stayed looking like berries and didn't run into one big "pool".

The snowflakes are from a Tonic Studio Multi Detail Punch and I've used 2 layers and added Stickles all round the edges. In the centre I drew a little berry and gave it the same "treatment" as the berries in the image.

You can see the effect in more detail in the close up below.

Challenges.

Addicted to Stamps ...... Christmas Card

Craft Your Passion ....anything goes + glitter     

Christmas Lantern

Hello....would you believe it - it's time for another challenge at Sir Stampalot!!
Thanks to all who joined in last month's challenge, it was great to have the excuse to check out all your lovely cards.
This month the theme is Bingo..is pick any 3 items in a row and use them on your card -

and just look at the fabulous prize which is up for grabs this month!!!!  Someone will be very happy to win this lot!!

The three elements I've chosen are Flowers, Punches and Pearls.....right up my street!
I have made another Christmas card ( knocking them off my list )and have used my new Christmas Lantern digi image from my collection at A Passion for Stamps.
I have coloured it with Promarkers and added lots of Stickles on the glass and love the effect in real life.
I freely admit to getting carried away with my Tonic Studios punches - I've used 5 different ones on this card!

Because the lantern has a Poinsettia on the top I thought I'd make some punched flowers to match (I quite liked this when I made the Christmas roses to match the image on THIS card).

The Poinsettias were made using 2 layers of the Flower Head punch pinched in the middle of the petals and I drew little veins on. I then glued these to part of the Multi Detail Snowflake punch and added a pearl to the centre.
The outside corners of the embossed red card were punched with a Royal Fleur  2 - in- 1 corner punch ; the white card of the image has little leaves from the Flora and Fauna Birdy punch and I've added a couple of
Furled Leaf punches to the sides.

Christmas Lantern and Christmas Stocking digi images

Good morning!
Just showing you 2 new digi images which I added to the Christmas collection at A Passion for Stamps if you'd like to nip over and have a look..

Christmas Lantern; £1.70

Christmas Stocking; £1.50

Christmas Roses

It's been 2 long weeks since I've posted card to my blog and in the meantime I've added 3 more digi images to the collection at A Passion for Stamps.
This new card features one of them ....Christmas Rose.
I've used Promarkers and Stickles along with some Glossy Accents.To complement the image I've made some flowers with Tonic Studios Flower Head, layered and "pinched"  and then set on a Snowflake . I added a little pen detail to the centre and finished with Stickles.
The gorgeous borders at the top and bottom of the card were made using Tonic Studios Stars Border punch. I think I'll be using this a lot on my Christmas cards!

Challenge

ABC  ....Dazzle

During the week I was working in Belfast and when I went out to bring something in from the car someone called me and asked if I'd like a kitten as he had 4 needing a home. Now, I don't have pets at the moment and wouldn't really have the time to commit to looking after one properly but I just had  to have a look...
When I went home that evening I spoke to a friend who was able to offer 2 of the kitties a home on a farm -
so the following day I collected the two little balls of fluff and brought them home after work.
I thought I'd share some photos of the pair of them in my living room before I took them to their new owner.
How stupid was I to think that they would sit at peace on the floor!!! Just look at the pair of them scaling my sofa and looking down!!

Great fun while it lasted but I'm sure they've got a better home now than I could have offered them!!

Wedding card

Another little tip for using the Tonic Studios  Daisy Simplicity Geared Punch is to create a doily shape with it. This can then be used on its own or to complement the border pattern as in the wedding card above.

1. Cut a circle 11cm in diameter.

2. Place circle into punch as shown above.

3.Turn punch over so that you can see it form underneath. Start your next punch exactly on top of the last hole on the left of the previous punch. This is a lot easier than it sounds -you can see the hole clearly marked by the arrow.

4. Continue right round in this way until the last pattern. This time you just have to line up both sides as shown above.It fits exactly and you can even "feel" the punch resting in the correct place.

 Challenges

Allsorts...anything but square

Craftycatz...anything goes

One Stop Craft...3 of something (circles)

The Cuttlebug Spot ....anything goes

Truly Scrumptious ...Bingo (lace, flowers and ribbon)

Stampalot November Challenge/Blue and Green

It was a real "treat" to see all the entries to last month's "food" themed challenge at  Stampalot Challenge and I certainly got plenty of inspiration for future cards.
This month the theme is "Blue and Green" and I'm looking forward too seeing what you all come up with for this one! Don't forget to check out the DT creations - but, best of all, have a look at the prize...

Now, a little about my card:
The image is Scabious - a digi from my collection at A Passion for Stamps - coloured with Promarkers and matted onto a Nellie Snellen die cut.
The little butterfly edging is from a Tonic Studios punch called Butterfly Strip which you can also see HERE used to create a delicate circle.

Holly and Snowflakes

After I posted the photo of the Poinsettia card yesterday, I got several requests from other crafters asking how I had created the punched effect around the image so I decided to make a similar card and show how I did it.

The image I've used this time is Holly from A Passion for Stamps, coloured with Promarkers and highlighted with Glossy Accents.

1. Cut a square of card/paper to fit as a mat on your card front,then cut a circle 15cm from the centre of this.

2. Insert card /paper into the Mini Holly punch, so that the punch rests on the edge of the circle

3. Line up punch as shown and repeat till the circle is filled.It's as simple as that!!

On this card I've embellished the corners with the inside part of the Tonic Studios Snowflake punch
to which I've added some glitter

Poinsettia and holly

I really wanted to add this card with my new Poinsettia digi image but the light here is awful today - it's been raining for "months" now (well, it feels like that anyhow!)

The punches used are Tonic Studios Mini Paper punch Holly and Floral Border

There is actually quite a bit of glitter on the centre of the flower but it's not being picked up by the light - and I've fiddled around with a candle for so long trying to highlight it that I's afraid of setting the whole thing on fire!!


This is just one of the digi images which you could win..the details are HERE

Challenges

Craft Your Passion  ..Bingo(Flower, bling, punch)

Creative Inspirations ..lots of sparkle.

Cupcake Craft ..leaves (holly)

I Love Promarkers ..glitter and glitz

One Stop Craft ..no sentiment

Paper Playtime anything goes

Papertake Weekly anything goes

The Cuttlebug Spot anything goes

 I've added  a couple fo Christmas images to my digi collection at A Passion for Stamps and thought I'd point you to them from here..
There are more Christmas digis to come and I hope you like them.....

Poinsettia; £1.50

Holly; £1.50

Sarah; £1.70

Don't forget to have a look at my digi giveaway HERE

Changes to the dates of Sir Stampalot Challenge

Oops! I was meant to post this a week ago but better late than never!! 

 

 This is a copy from Brenda at the Sir Stampalot challenge blog

"Hello peeps, I'm popping in mid month to give you a heads up about a change to our challenge.

As from November the starting date of challenges will be the first Sunday of the month which means that most months, our challenge will run until the end of the month................unless the first Sunday falls on the first of the month...............but rather than complicate things here I will be putting a list of exact dates on the sidebar to make life easier for us all.

Apart from that everything remains the same, fun themes, great prizes from Sir Stampalot, our monthly Top 3 and of course inspiration from the Design Team.

This months challenge will run until midnight GMT on 31st October and the next challenge will start on Sunday 6th November."

Tonic Studios butterfly punches

I've had another idea for using the Tonic Studios Butterfly Strip punch ....actually I've used the same idea to create doilies etc with some of the other new border punches and I'll show you those soon too.

The image used on the card is Butterfly 1 from my digi collection at A Passion for Stamps.

This "strip" punch creates such a beautiful delicate pattern that I thought it would be lovely used as the centrepiece so I have chosen contrasting colours for the card and matted the butterfly circle on white for impact.

The butterfly border strip looks great used as a straight border but I wanted to share this circle idea with you.

1. You'll need a circle of cardstock measuring 11.5cm diameter

2. Place the circle into the punch as shown in the photo above.

3. Turn the punch and card over together and line up the punch with the edge of the last punched shape on the top left corner leaving about 1mm of card showing.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO TURN THE CARD AND PAPER TOGETHER TO KEEP THE PATTERN CORRECT!!

4. Continue right round the circle in this way

5. The last piece to be punched will have a "space" at the top on both sides -  this is correct for lining up.

6. This is the shape you'll be left with and you can use it like this or snip the butterfly circle from the scallops as I have done for my card.

7. I then added the Accent corner wings to my Accents Butterfly punch to decorate the corners of my background.

8. I added some contrasting cardstock behind the butterflies .

 

DON'T FORGET TO SEE THIS POST FOR DETAILS OF MY DIGI GIVEAWAY.

Challenges

My Time to Craft ...punches and dies

Top Tip Tuesday ...layers