Winter window scene

Hopefully this arrived where it should be by now - a little late for last Christmas or a little early for next Christmas  - which ever way you like to look at it :)...

Anyhow, I have a couple of more Spring/ Summer versions of this to upload but thought I'd post this one first. I cut the top of the Domed Window die and placed it over one of the stamps from the coordinating Through the Window stamps which I had coloured with Promarkers and glitter.Then I made curtains and a pelmet using the Dotty Border punch.

The borders at the top and bottom of the card were made using the Tonic Studios Star border punch and I've added 3 little mini snowflakes to the top right and bottom left.

Just by colouring the fields green and leaving out the glitter you can create a summer scene..

My cards in Cardmaking and Papercraft

Have you got your latest copy of Cardmaking and Papercraft yet? I'm really delighted to see my cards for the January issue are on the cover!!

The feature is on pages 64 and 65 and I must say they editorial team has done a superb job  - the photographs are brilliant!

The cards were made using one of my newest dies designed for Tonic Studios - the Domed Window. The brickwork arch and corners along with the topiary trees are from my new Country Cottage stamp set and the little scene inside the window is one of the stamps from the Through the Window stamp set. Both of these sets were designed to be used with the Domed Window die and the Trellis Wall die.

There are so many gorgeous cards this month from lots of fantastic designers I've hardly left my mag down since it came in the post.There's also a 2 page feature on Pinterest...I don't know about you but I love this site. I resisted the temptation to create an account for a few months but I've finally given in. It's very new and in need of more pins but have a look HERE and I'd love you to follow my pinboard...:)

Happy Christmas

I suppose lots of us have got up this morning and realised "It's Christmas Eve!".......so much to do! If you are anything like our family, there is so much going on healthwise, workwise, etc, you'll be exhausted and just wanting some rest.

Well, I just stopped briefly this morning again to take a deep breath and recharge my batteries and try to remember what it's really all about. I'm so humbled to think that the God of the Universe sent His Son "to be the Saviour of the world".

I love John 3 v 16 in the Bible because it reminds me of God's love and why He sent His Son....

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

Happy Christmas from me to you..!

Buzzing around..

As the blog title says, I've been buzzing around like a busy bee! No boring details save to say that I've spent a lot of time in hospitals (A&E etc) over the past week and have had no time or inclination to make cards  - or even do my Christmas shopping! 

However, as someone has asked about the Lily Window die which I designed for Tonic Studios I just realised that I had never blogged the photos of 3 of the sample cards using this die which I had made for Create and Craft. Thankfully I did remember to take photos of them before I posted them over.

These should show the different ways this die and the Clear Stamp Die Toppers can be used.

In the top card I've cut the window out in white and stamped the lilies and bee and embossed the whole die cut to add detail. I have removed the inside of the frame and added a greeting on a smaller diecut.

For this card I've diecut the frame in gold card and another in white, then stamped and embossed it before adding glitter and gems.

The little black and white ivy leaves are die cute from the Window Basket die set and the white background is made up of 4 Vine Square dies

For this card I've diecut the frame in black and another in white, then cut off the lily and bee part from the white frame. Then I stamped, coloured and embossed those parts and added glitter and gems. The dimensional flowers at the edges are Petal Pairs with gems in the centres and the silver strips at the top and bottom were created with the Tonic Studios Butterfly strip punch

The card above is one which I did blog earlier but before the details were available. The silver lattice behind the Lily Window diecut is made from 2 Trellis Wall dies trimmed to fit and the silver ivy "outlines" in the corners were snipped from the Peony Window die

Another box card - door and window

I really loved the effect of the little box card I made a couple of weeks ago and wanted to try a bigger one to fit my Domed Window die and Window Basket die into. 

I made this one 17.5cm x 19.5cm  and got to work using the stamps from the Topper Stamps to give the Basket weave effect on the window basket and the Country Cottage stamps to make the brick arch over the window. 

The view inside the window is one of the "Through the Window" stamps and I have paperpieced the curtains. 

The background is the CReative Expressions Brick Wall embossing folder and I have inked the folder before running it through the Big Shot.

I have added lots of the ivy leaves from the Window Basket die at different levels and 2 of the die cut rows of flowers at different levels along the bottom ...

 The front of the card has a door made from the waste left over from the same Domed window die

(you can see how to make it HERE)

The inside left  "pouch" has been decorated with the Tonic Studios Dotty Border punch

The tag was made with my Trellis Wall die to which I have added a strip of the Dotty Border punch to keep it coordinated, a couple of Butterflies and 3 of the little flowers from the Window basket die

DON'T FORGET THE TONIC STUDIOS PICK OF THE WEEK ON CREATE AND CRAFT  - FEATURING LOVELY NEW DESIGNS

Silver Fuchsia

Good morning. I should really be doing some Christmas shopping today but just can't get motivated - I just don't like any type of shopping. I'd much rather make cards!

This card is another of my recent samples for Create and Craft showing another idea for the Tonic Studios Fuchsia Window die . Instead of using the stamp I have embossed the ivy and fuchsia patterns and left them silver. I've added a couple of Daisy 2 circle dies and Petal Pairs to complete the card.

The complete set of dies and the coordinating stamps will be on sale in retail outlets from Dec 12th.

There is also a chance to win a set HERE..what are you waiting for?!

This is the last Fuchsia Window frame card I blogged showing a different way to use the same die.

                           

                             

Hope you like....and enjoy your day whatever you are doing!

Die Giveaway...Tonic Studios Facebook

To add your name go to the Tonic Studios FB page HERE

Die giveaway on Facebook

Have a look at the Tonic Studios Facebook page for a chance to win a set of the Pick of the Bunch dies...

Make sure you go to THIS post

Peony Book Card

This is the first time I've made one of these book cards and it was great fun. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it but took a little while fiddling about to get the sizes right.This one is quite small - 11cm x 12.5cm x 2cm but although it works well with the dies and stamps I've used, I think I'll be making the next one bigger.

I've made this one to show how all the different elements of the Pick of the Bunch range by Tonic Studios can be used together to complement  each other..... 

On the front of the card you can see how I've used the Peony Window die with the coordinating topper stamp .

The big flower inside the card is the main stamp from the Peony set  and I've used the topper stamp again on the bottom left. The border around the "pages" was made with the Dotty Border punch and I've used some diecut leaves in gingham from the Window Basket die set. The butterflies are made with the Classic Butterfly punch.

On the inside left of the card I have added a little pocket with a tag inside and the image on it is the Peony bud.

Just for a little "extra" on the back cover, I've stamped, coloured and cut out the little snail from the same stamp set.

This is just one of the ways I envisaged the Pick of the Bunch set working together when I designed it  - look out for more ideas on the blog soon.

Stamping Sensations DT card

Hello. December already, can you believe it? I haven't made any Christmas cards for myself or even thought about buying presents yet....must try to get organised!

Anyhow, this card is my DT offering for Stamping Sensations where the theme for the December challenge is Treemendous. You really should pay a visit to the blogs of the other team members as there are some gorgeous ideas, many with inking, which is something I have never mastered. Our sponsor this month is Visible Image and the prize is a collection of lovely stamps - check out the challenge blog.

The trees on my card are from one of my newest stamps designs for Tonic Studios. The set is called Country Cottage and contains some lovely brickwork stamps as well as this topiary tree. It will be available to buy from retailers from December 12th.

The Trellis Wall die behind the main tree image is another new Pick of the Bunch die forTonic Studios, as is the ivy around the top. The ivy is part of a die combination called Window Basket which contains a window basket die (!) , leaf sprig, ivy and also some flowers to fit in the window basket.

The paper is DCWV  First Edition New Leaf - lovely stuff.