Sing a Song of Christmas

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

to all my American friends!

Just a quick post from me today. I meant to show this to you yesterday but I fell asleep editing the photo.

Woke up this morning in bed....and I have no idea how I got there. As a single young woman I was naturally freaked out...I wanted to scream. Then I heard a familiar snore beside me and I realised; I am neither single nor young....and it's his turn to make breakfast. Life is good!

Several hours before that frightening visit form the ghost of Christmas past, I made this card.

Background: Pine Green CS, snowflakes from Chocolate Baroque Family Christmas and Versacolor Sage Green.
Music panel: Cream CS, torn music sheet from Chocolate Baroque Music Fanfare, Memento Rich Cocoa.
Embellishment: Red gingham ribbon.

Bird: Chocolate Baroque Family Christmas, Memento Tuxedo Black, Promarkers Lipstick Red & Berry Red
Sentiment: Chocolate Baroque Christmas Song, Memento Tuxedo Black, TH Vintage Photo, SB Circle and Scalloped Circle
Leaf: Clearly Besotted Leafy Accents, Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy, CBS Leafy Accents dies.

Some challenges for you to play along too:

Tuesday Morning Sketches #226 - sketch
I Love Promarkers #196 - AG with Promarkers
Addicted to Stamps and More #73 - Holidays
Divas By Design - Use Some Red
Crafty Ribbons #72 - AG with Ribbon
Cute Card Thursday #297 - AG
Word Art Wednesday #108 - AG Inspirational
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - AG
4 Crafty Chicks #170 - Christmas


That's all from me today. I have a gazillion things to do and my nose is completely blocked! That is especially annoying to me because (on a day like this) I crave the smell of coffee. An allergy or the start of a winter cold...too busy to care, really. I hope you have a great day. Stay warm. Thanks for stopping by.

Beijinhos!

Double Mojo

Can you believe that we're at the final furlong of November. That also means Christmas is less than a month a way and the last posting date for Christmas cards is about fortnight away. Are you ready. Me? Not by a long shot. My doggie pile didn't increase much over the weekend and I still seem to be short on cards for family and friends. Which begs the question: what have I been doing all year? Ok, maybe it's time to panic.

I made 2 cards today. Same sketch and same colours but 2 styles: my usual and CAS ...well, sort of. I'm also using the same stamps: Clearly Besotted's Pretty Poinsettia.

Sketch: Mojo Monday

Colours: CAS Colours & Sketches 

Which one's your favourite? Please don't say neither...I'm feeling a little fragile today! ;-)

Card 1:

Background: embossed with Swiss Dots. Patternes Papers: Back To Basics Vintage Christmas. Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black,  Memento Rhubarb Stalk, TH Vintage Photo and TH Antique Linen. Embellishments: Ribbon, Yellow Bling.  

And plenty of foam tape!

Challenges for this card:
Mojo Monday #321 - sketch
Make It Monday #168 - Anything Goes
Amusing Challenges #11 - Anything Goes
Corrosive Challenge #188 - Happy Holidays
A Creative Romance - Vintage Style


Card 2:

Background: embossed with Swiss Dots. Other stamps: CBS Geometric Style, CBS Tag Along and CBS Leafy Accents. Inks: Memento Rich Cocoa, Memento Bamboo Leaves, TH Antique Linen. Embellishments: Bakers' Twine and Liquid Pearls. 

And plenty of foam tape. In fact there's a tiny bit of the foam tape backing piece stuck behind the poinsettia. Can you spot it?

Challenges for this card:

CAS Colours & Sketches #52 - colours
Addicted to Stamps #70 - Embossing
Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 - Christmas
Shabby Tea Room #194 - Christmas is Coming + red,white & brown


That's my lot for today. I hope you're having a creative Monday too. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon!

Beijinhos!

Paper Bauble - Tutorial

IHello again, my friends! As promised, I'm going to show you how to make this fun paper bauble which I posted on Friday for my DT project for PolkaDoodle Challenge "Inspired By A Christmas Carol".


1. Cut out 20 circles out of patterned paper of the same design or a combination. You can use a die or a punch to cut out the circles but make sure they are all the same size. For my sample, I used a 2" die. Also, cut / punch 1 extra circle out of plain paper which will serve as a template.

2. Make a triangle template. Take the plain circle and fold it in half horizontally and vertically so that the circle is creased into quarters (circle 1 below). Fold each side to meet the centre starting at the bottom (circle 2 below).  Next fold down the top right, followed by the top left, each time meeting at the centre. (circle 3 below). Cut along the crease lines and you will end up with an equilateral triangle. This is your template (circle 4 below)

3. Place the template on the circle, with the pattern facing up, and fold up the circle along the sides of the triangle. Make sure you get a good crease on the circle to match the triangle template.

 4. Repeat this on all the remaining circles.

5. Start by glueing 5 circles at the folded flaps, as shown below. This will form the "lid" of the bauble.

6. Cut some twine or thin ribbon, fold in half and tie a knot to make a loop.

7. Carefully pass the loop through the middle of the "lid". Use a needle or pokey tool to help you push. Pull the loop through until it stops at the knot ...

... and the "lid" is now ready.

8.  Next, glue 10 circles together in a strip - this will form the body of the bauble. Then, glue the remaining 5 circles in the same way as for the "lid" to make the bottom.

 9. Finally, assemble the bauble by gluing the top 5 flaps of the strip to the 5 free flaps of the "lid". This will leave you with 5 free flaps (see below) which you will glue to the free flaps of the bottom piece, thereby closing the bauble and completing the sphere.

10. Your bauble is now ready! If you are a math buff, you'll probably recognise this as an icosahedron-based geodesic sphere. (Yes! I just spoilt the magic by dragging geometry into the equation. My bad!)

So there you have it my friends! Once you make the first, it gets easier to make the rest. The time consuming part of this project is the prep work: cutting and folding 20 circles. Cheap labour is the only solution! So get those kids "gainfully" employed, while you give them a lesson in complex geometry. Win-win situation! Yes I know...I'm a natural with kids! LOL

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed Sunday.

Beijinhos!

Polka Doodles #47: Christmas Ornament

Wheeeee...... it's Friday and the weekend is nigh. And here's another reason to be chipper...it's time for new PolkaDoodles challenge. This week we're doing Christmas and we want you make Anything Christmas and if you are feeling particularly crafty, why not be Inspired by A Carol ... or any other of your fave festive tune.  

In our home, Bing Crosby takes centre stage as we haul down our box of Christmas decorations and struggle to keep up with him. To put it plainly: Bing = Baubles

So I decided to make these paper beauties using some fabulous papers from 2 Christmas CDs by Polka Doodles: Angelberry and Home For Christmas.  And you know what? I believe "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"!  

I'm doing traditional Christmas colours here. Made of paper, it weighs next to nothing and is perfect for hanging just about anywhere.

I know pink is big this Christmas so I've incorporated it into this pastel bauble.Love the delicate snowflakes on the polkadot papers.

Here they are together. I've made them plain, no embellishment for you to have an idea what they look like. I think these babies look fab as they are...but of course feel free to accidentally tip your glitter pot over them. I'm sure they won't mind a little sparkle.  

These baubles are so pretty and versatile you can make it for any occasion. For example, use pastel colours for baby showers, bright cheerful papers for birthdays, delicate shimmery papers for weddings.... the possibilities are endless. And the good news is all of PolkaDoodles' CD collections include really pretty papers that are perfect for this project.

Want to know how I made this? Well, I'll be posting a tutorial over at the PolkaDoodles Challenge blog on Sunday. Make sure you swing by and we'll have you making baubles all year 'round!

In the meantime, why not check out the rest of the DT and be inspired by their gorgeous creations. Remember, there are some pretty awesome prizes up for grabs. You don't want to miss out on that, do you? Of course not!

I'll be dangling my baubles to there challenges. Join me?

As You Like It #15 - Spots or Stripes? - Spots because they go with everything and don't make me look fat! LOL
Cute Card Thursday #296 - Anything But A Card
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
Crimbo Crackers #55 - Anything But A Card
Delightful Challenges - Anything But A Card
Creative Knockout #12 - Snowflakes - on the pink and green bauble
Moving Along With The Times - Music Inspired - "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"

That's all from me. Be sure to drop in on Sunday for the tutorial. In the meantime, have  a sing-along with Mr Crosby.

It's been a nippy few days. Keep those fingers and toes warm....while you craft on! Thanks for stopping by!

Beijinhos!

Update: Tutorial for the Paper Bauble is here.

Another Christmas card

Regular readers will know that I am making Christmas cards to help raise funds for our local doggie shelter. I promised a dozen but I want to make as many as possible. It's been a slow process because I am rubbish at CAS, my usual stuff are not suited to mass production and boredom sets in after 3 cards. Miraculously, last weekend I managed to produce 5 of these... before I gave in to "creative fatigue".

Still playing with Clearly Besotted stamps. Partly because my craft table is a mess and I haven't put away these stamps. But more importantly, they are my training wheels while I struggle to demystify CAS. Here I'm using the Signature Christmas stamps and coordinating dies.    

Inks: Memento Bamboo Leaves and Versacolor Scarlet. For the background I embossed some grey CS with Checkered EF by Darice. To finish, 1 red bling.

Challenges:

Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 - Christmas
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
4 Crafty Chicks #169 - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments #94 - Any Sentiment
Southern Girls - Round Round Baby Right Round - circles, round dots
My Heart Pieces - Red, Green and Another colour - grey
Charisma Cardz #46 - Christmas

That's all from me today. Thank you so much for stopping by. Don't forget to drop in tomorrow for my Polka Doodles post. I've got an easy little project to show you. So until then - stay warm, my friends!

Beijinhos!

Geometric Poinsettia

Hello, friends. Avery quick post from me this morning just to share a little something I made over the weekend with some new toys. I made this poinsettia with 2 stamps from one of Clearly Besotted's November Releases called Geometric Style.    

I stamped the outer leaves using the triangle stamp and Memento Cottage Ivy. For the petals I used the diamond stamp with Memento Rhubarb Stalk and Versacolor Scarlet. To cut I used the Geometric Style Coordinating Die Collection. The greeting is from Clearly Besotted's Tag Along, stamped with Memento Cottage Ivy. Using pop dots I mounted this layer on some dark green CS and adhered the lot on my 4-1/2" square card base. 

Embellishments: yellow bling and some twine. I'm still not used to white space. So I fixed that problem with little dots of Liquid Pearls. 

That was a quick and easy card to make.... 3 more for my doggie-shelter stack. I'm building up the pile...slowly, three at a time! The strong clean lines also make this card perfect for men. Who says you can't send men flowers?!

Taking my festive flower to the following challenges:

Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 -Christmas
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter #138 - Christmas Is Coming
Cards For Men #23 - Merry Christmas
Crafty Creations #249 - American Thanksgiving / Christmas - Christmas
Twisted Tuesday #62 - Pop Dots and Polka Dots
Bearly Mine #113 - Traditional Christmas Colours and Die Cuts

Thank you so much for stopping by. Must dash...another hectic day ahead. I can't wait to retire and move to somewhere warm......(Dream on, Asha!)  Have a lovely day, my friends!

Beijinhos!

Christmas Itch!

Nooooo! It's not what you think!

After my week-long tumultuous affair with CAS, I'm itchin' for some stitchin'. Back in my comfort zone,  I made this Christmas card using all my fave toys.  It felt good....I needed a good ol' scratch! Aaah!

The papers are by Papermania "Lincoln Linen". The stamp is from Chocolate Baroque's "Christmas Song" set, stamped with Memento Espresso Truffle.

I coloured the bird with Promarkers and Caran d'Ache pencils. Actually, I stamped him twice and did some decoupaging.  Then I applied lashing of Startdust Stickles on the branches ... and dotted Liquid Pearls all over....and some bling on those ornaments. Not to forget, I stitched and inked the edges of all layers with TH's Vintage Photo. PS - Sheer ribbon tied in a bow .... Yesssss, I'm back, baby! 

More stitching and inking on the inside. The greeting is from WMS's Compliments of the Season set.

And now I'm ready for these challenges:

Mojo Monday #320 - sketch
Christmas Card Challenge #51 - Bling
Ribbon Girls November Colour Challenge
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #106 - Uplifting Sentiment
One Stitch At A Time #190 - Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss #210 - 3 Patterned Paper
365 Cards Day 320 - Stamping & Stitching
Fashionista Challenge - Christmas Bling

That's from me today. Thank you so much for stopping by. It's going to be another cold night, so stay warm, my friends!

Beijinhos!

Christmas Card Club #22: Pretty In Pink

'Tis time for the CCC lot to get crafty again! This is our 22nd challenge for the year and we only have a couple more challenges before we break for Christmas.

This week, Carol has gone all girlie on us and decreed that our projects should be "Pretty in Pink". Truth be told, I don't take too kindly to pink on the best of days and to use it on a Christmas card???!!! Eeeeek! Having said that, pink has been cropping up a fair bit on Christmas card this year and I loath to admit it but, maybe, just maybe, a little pink isn't that bad.

Anyways, I was inspired by this perfectly pink Christmas card by Jessi Fogan. Here's my "prudently pink" version. It's all the pink I can safely digest ... for now!

(Sorry for the bad pictures. White is not an easy colour for me to photograph. 

I hope the black background helps tone down the reflection.)   

I'm playing with Clearly Besotted stamps ... again. It's turning into quite an obsession! Here I'm using the Pretty Poinsettia stamps.  I used a Silver Metallic Sharpie to draw the lines for the horizontal band and the dots inside it.

The greeting is stamped with Memento Rose Bud. 

Stamped the outlines of the poinsettias with Memento RoseBud and the, stamped over with the solid poinsettia using TH's Spun Sugar. To finish - some bling in 2 shades of pink. 

Here's a full frontal for ya!

Let's take little pinky here to these challenges:

Clearly Besotted Challenge #6: Christmas
Nonni's Christmas Challenge #1: Focus on Stamping
Curtain Call Challenge: CAS-ual Christmas
CAS-ual Friday: Christmas
Treasured Times #6: Non-trad Christmas Colours
Totally Papercrafts #193: CAS
Chocolate Coffee Cards #52: Monochromatic
Bearlymine Challenges #112: Christmas in Pink
Make It Monday #167: Anything Goes
52 Christmas Card Challenge #23: November Recipe - one layer card, hint of colour (pink) and bling


That's all from me today. Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed Sunday... and a crafty one too!

Beijinhos!

From our home to yours

Just a quick show and tell from me today, folks. No chit-chat, no prattle. Just something from our house to yours, which I made at 1am this morning. Why? Long story and  I did say no gibber-jabber, so here's the synopsis: Christmas, fund-raising, animal shelter.  And here are the cards:

Once again mass production came to a grinding halt after 3. I promised at least dozen cards to help keep our furry friends keep warm this winter. Off to a slow start...

The stamps are by Clearly Besotted from the set called "Christmas Cheer", cut out with coordinating dies.

Trying to keep it CAS. I used twine, Stickles and bling to jazz things up. And some wood grain embossing for texture. Inks used in this project: Memento Tuxedo Black, Cottage Ivy, Morroco, Rhubarb Stalk, Rich Cocoa, Desert Sand and Versacolor Scarlet.

And plenty of low-rise foam tape for dimension.

On the inside I stamped a sentiment from WMS Compliments of the Season.

You might want to join me in these challenges:

Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 "Christmas"
Jingle Belles "Holiday Traditions" - stockings for our pets
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long "Winter Warmth"
Christmas Card Challenge #50 - sketch, rotated 180º
ABC Christmas Challenge "W - Winter Wishes"
Addicted To Stamps #71 "Anything Goes"
Crafting By Designs "AG With a Twist of Christmas"
Nonni's Christmas Card Challenge #2 "Scraps / Old Stash" - all bits of CS are form my scrap pile and most have been stamped before on the reverse ... oops!
Make It Monday #166 "Anything Goes"

Thank you so much for stopping by. I'm going to catch up on some blog visits ... soooo behind on those, yikes! Y'all have a lovely evening and I dare say I'll be seeing some of you later!

Beijinhos!

Tuesday Throwdown #173: Gratitude

Here we are, my friends! Time for another Tuesday Throwdown challenge.  This week, being so close to Thanksgiving and all, our theme is Gratitude. Our sponsor is none other than Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps and they have the cutest stamps - clear and digi - for all occassions. Well worth a nose around their one-line store.

I'm a glass half full kinda gal, and so no matter how bad things get I always remind myself it could be worse. And that is reason enough to be thankful.

For example, we were hit by a nasty case of food poisoning over the weekend. And I still don't feel 100% ok but I am thankful that the culprit was sushi. It could have been worse...  it could have been chocolate! So yeah! As I unwrap another Ferrero Roche, I am filled with gratitude. :-)

Here's a card I made with one person in mind. Someone I am blessed to have in my life. Someone I am eternally grateful to call my sister.

The background paper is from First Edition's New Leaf 8x8 pad. The digi image and sentiments are by Sweet and Sassy called "One of a Kind"

Here's a close up of the image. I coloured it with Graph It and Promarkers. (Is it me or does that birdy in the middle look stunned?) 

A little peek on the inside...plenty of room for me to get mushy, which is so NOT  my sister's style! Hahaha!

Why don't you join me at these challenges:

Make it Monday #166 "Anything Goes"
Word Art Wednesday #105 "Anything Goes" - uplifting sentiment
Digi Makeover Challenge #114 "Stitching" - on background paper
Craft Deebowz November "Anything Goes w/ Handmade Bow"
Digi Sketch "All For Animals" - birds
Kaboodle Doodles #197 "Bountiful Harvest / Blessings" - blessings
Parade Your Crafts #8 "Grateful"

That's all from me today. Thank you for stopping by. I look forward to seeing your projects over at the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge Blog. Happy crafting, y'all!

Beijinhos!

Joy To The World

Hello my friends! Before I show you my Mojo Monday card, I want to apologise for not returning your visits over the weekend. Saturday we were busy helping a friend move into her new home and Sunday after lunch both of us were knocked out by a decidedly nasty tummy bug. I'm officially off sushi for the next 5 years! But I promise I will get 'round to seeing your projects.

For today I have a quick card. I'm still experimenting with CAS, at the same time trying to get my Christmas mass production scheme off the ground...three is still my limit...oh bother!

Here's my latest venture - a square card measuring 4-1/2":

I'm playing with with Clearly Besotted's Merry Little Christmas. No patterned papers or multiple layerings. The background is some green CS embossed with the Swiss Dots folder.  I did some stitching to help me keep true to the sketch. The snowflake is by Spellbinders, dressed up with Liquid Pearls, Cosmic Shimmer and a rhinestone. 

I coloured the robin with Graph It markers and addeed more glitter and sparkle to his wee hat. I also inked the edges of the banners with TH Peeled Paint.

On the inside is a greeting from the Merry Little Christmas set. I used Memento Tuxedo Black and Bamboo Leaves ink.

I'm linking my card to the following challenges:

Mojo Monday #319 - sketch
Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 "Christmas"
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge "Got Ink?"
Make It Monday #166 "Anything Goes"
Hobby Cutz #24 "Glitter & Sparkle"

Thank you for stopping by today. I'll try and catch up on my visits. And don't forget to swing by (again!) tomorrow for a beautiful Tuesday Throwdown challenge. Y'all have a lovely evening and stay warm.

Beijinhos!