ABC Christmas - V is for..............

ABC Christmas Challenge

Welcome to another ABC Christmas Challenge.


Thanks for all of those entries last week - over 200 - wow! How much 'Unused Stash' did you manage to get through!!!!
Huge thanks to each and everyone of you who joined in - have you checked out the winner yet?




This fortnight's Challenge is...






V for ..............Vintage






Our fab sponsors for this challenge ...

The Ribbon Reel

Vintage Christmas yummi ribbon and lace Prize
 


and

 Crafty Emma's Store

 £10 voucher to spend in store.

I actually found this rather hard this time! 
I binned x2 cards in one day and then decided to try something completely different - and these evolved!

I found these nice chunky pegs stashed in my Christmas box - I obviously put them there for something but can't remember what!


I used UHU to fix Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper to both sides of the pegs. Once that dried I cut around them with a craft knife and sanded the edges. I then added some Antique Linen TH ink to the edges too.
I then decorated each peg with a charm/brad/leaf etc!


I'm not really sure what I will use these for but I'm sure I'll hang something up with them - even if it is the tea-towles!!!




I really look forward to seeing your Vintage Christmas cards this time - After my disasters with this challenge I need the inspiration :)

A challenge or two.....

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes!

Top Tip Tuesday #57....

Good Top Tip Tuesday Morning

It's Tipper Weeeeeeeeeek!!!

This week our Challenge for you is....

Trick or Treat!

Our sponsors this week are....

Stash Books

who is offering our featured tipper an amazing book:

Gift Box Studio® Celebrate

A bit about Stash Books: Stash Books is an imprint of C&T Publishing located in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you’re craving beautiful authenticity in a time of mass-production…Stash Books is for you. Stash Books is a new line of how-to books celebrating fabric arts for a handmade lifestyle. Backed by C&T Publishing’s solid reputation for quality, Stash Books will inspire you with contemporary designs, clear and simple instructions, and engaging photography.

Di's Digi Downloads

1 prize of 5 digi stamps of your choice

I have been drawing since a child and studied graphics at College many years ago, I now work as a Medical photographer part time but my love was always drawing. I started cardmaking about 4yrs ago when I bought my daughter a cardmaking kit which we did together, but I’m afraid I got the bug! My daughter preferred scrapbooking. I then started looking online at other blogs and this then became my passion and I loved sharing my cards with likeminded people. I love stamping and loved finding images, but sometimes I could not find what I wanted so I started to draw myself.

This then has become my second addiction and I have never looked back, I love thinking of new images, and its just fabulous to see others take them and make them into beautiful works of art. Long may it continue.

My Trick or Treat card for this week....

Here's my Top Tip to go with my card...

....Shaker cards don't have to be complicated...here I printed directly onto the card blank, coloured the sweet little fella, cut my desired 'frame' with Nesties, used DST to fix acetate to reverse of frame, cut foam pads into thin strips and stuck around edge of frame (making sure they tightly butted up to each other), put a little pile of glitter strands onto the ghost and stuck the frame over.

I've used a gorgeous image from one of our sponsors this week

 Magician Boo from  Di's Digi Downloads

Pop over to Top Tip Tuesday to see the rest of the DT's fantastic 'Trick or Treat' cards and of course their amazing Top Tips :)

Some Challenges I'd like to enter my card into.....

ABC Challenge - B is for 'Boo!'


Pollycraft Monday - Spooky Goings On!


Divas By Design - Something Spooky!


Truly Scrumptious - Shaker card/box


CAS-ual Fridays - Colour your image


Stamping For The Weekend - Spooky!


Allsorts - Halloween


Cupcake Inspirations - Photo Inspiration


Simon Says Stamp - Nursery Rhyme Inspiration ...'Because It's Halloween' (to the tune of Wheels on the Bus)


Because It’s Halloween

The ghost in the attic says “Boo, boo, boo”

“Boo, boo, boo”

“Boo, boo, boo”

The ghost in the attic says “Boo, boo, boo”

Because it’s Halloween

The witches with a big pot stir, stir, stir

Stir, stir, stir

Stir, stir, stir

The witches with a big pot stir, stir, stir

Because it’s Halloween

The bats in the sky fly zig zag zig

Zig, zag, zig,

Zig, zag, zig

The bats in the sky fly zig, zag, zig

Because it’s Halloween

The pumpkins on the porch all have big grins

Have big grins

Have big grins

The pumpkins on the porch all have big grins

Because it’s Halloween

The children of the town eat lots of treats

Yum, yum, yum

Yum, yum, yum

The children of the town eat lots of treats

Because it’s Halloween

Another one of my Wedding cards......

Another Wedding commission....

The family were asked to provide a photo of the happy couple but they only gave my friend 2 photo's - one of them was of just her, the other one was of both of them but she was looking away from the camera! So I had to use bits of both of them - I still wasn't completely happy as he looks like he has an arm coming out of his ear - but hey-ho, you can only work with the photo's you've got (or some saying similar to that!)

Lots of layers, lots of black, lots of white and a touch of silver - the colour combo I prefer to use when I don't know the Wedding colours!

A couple of challenges I'd like to link my card to......

Craft Room Challenge - Black & White

Creative Inspirations - Monochromatic (don't forget monochromatic doesn't mean Black & White, it means shades of the same colour - although Black & White is widely recognised as mono!)

Am I Cruel???

I've had a few commissions to do this week and will start by showing you one of my favourite ones....

This was made for a friend in work for her mum. I've made a few cards for this lady so have to check back on old photos to make sure I don't use the same images (although I usually have a stash of 'unused' stamps etc so that's never really an issue!) or verse! (I always take a photo of the inside too so I have a record of the verse used)

This card uses a gorgeous Die-cut image from LOTV - I just love these images - and as much as I like to sit and colour images I find colouring to order not as pleasurable, so if I don't have what I want pre-coloured I love to get my file of LOTV die-cuts out.

I've used TH Vintage Shabby papers for the card (and box below), gorgeous flowers, corner detail and lace from WOC, MS Border and leaf punches. Some stunning silver (metal looking) 'gems' (bottom right) and some clear stone gems. And my fav at the moment ....staples!

Here's the box I made for it too - this was made with just 12x12 TH Shabby Chic papers - I did think it wasn't going to be sturdy enough as it's quite big (just under 12x12 actually!!!) but it worked really well and didn't need any additional card inside to stabilise it - which I was pleased about as I wasn't looking forward to having to cover the fab double sided papers!

I did end up tying off the ends of the ribbon into knots just to finish it off and I added a small version of the LOTV Die-cut image as a tag - but they were a bit of an 'after-thought' so I've not photographed them!

Well anyway it was 'mission accomplished' as I had a text off my friend earlier saying I'd made her Mother cry!

Am I a really cruel crafter to measures success in tears????

Some Challenges I worked to with this card.....

Pollycraft - Girls, Girls, Girls.

Sketch'n'Stash - Sketch and this time 'new' stash being the metal gems.

Lili of the Valley - Bingo - Gems, Distressing, Pins.

Crafty Catz - Happy Birthday (with sentiment)

Top Tip Tuesday #56 - Layers

Good Top Tip Tuesday Morning

What gorgeous Designer Papers and Hand Made flowers you all made for us last week - they were all fabulous - thank you for your participation :)


This week we have more gorgeous prizes from more of our amazing sponsors...

Inky Impressions Rubber Stamps

Prize is $10 gift certificate

and

Stitchy Bear Stamps

Prize of a $10 voucher






This week we want to see




LAYERS




and we have another fab tutorial for you...




Bettina is showing us how to make a 'Pop-Up' card!




So 'Pop-Over' and join in :)

ABC Christmas - U is for .................

ABC Christmas Challenge

Welcome to another ABC Christmas Challenge - weren't those Tiny projects gorgeous! Huge thanks to everyone who joined in - have you checked out the winner yet?






This fortnight's Challenge is...

U is for.................Unused!




We want to see your unused stash and please let us know in your post what that unused stash is.






This Weeks Sponsors


 Simon Says Stamp 

are offering one lucky entrant
 $15 voucher to spend in store

AND



Bugaboo

Challenge Blog: http://catchthebugblog.blogspot.com/

My offering for the 'UNUSED' Challenge is ....

Unused papers - that I've had for about 3 years....and they still have the wrapper on!!!

Paired with a gorgeous image from Bugaboo called Cupcake Christmas Lights

I have distressed the edges of the papers, added some sparkle to the image piece and used some gorgeous glitter ribbon too. The sentiment was done on the PC using 'Kayliegh' font.

We really look forward to seeing your Christmas cards this week made with your UNUSED stash - and don't forget to let us know what that is!

Some Challenges I'd like to enter my card into.....

Papertake Weekly - 3 Shapes! ...Square, Rectangle & Circle.

Sentimental Sunday - Anything Goes

Cupcake Inspirations - Inspiration taken from colours


Stamptacular Sunday - So Distressing

Top Tip Tuesday #55

Good Top Tip Tuesday Morning

What an amazing Sketch our wonderful Samantha did for us last week - again HUGE thanks to each and everyone of you that took the time to play along with us - have you checked out who this weeks winners are yet?


This week we have a awesome Tutorial from our fantastic Janette - want to know how to make these.....





Pop over to Top Tip Tuesday now to find out!


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We also have a big announcement this week...

We'd like to

someone to our Team!

If you've been visiting us recently you would have seen the gorgeous creations that our most recent Guest Designer has delighted us all with!

Deneen

We decided she was too good to loose - so we asked her to join Top Tip Tuesday permanently - and she said yes!

We are so happy you are now going to be playing with us every week :)

A cyber bouquet for you Deneen.......

Please pop over to Deneen's blog to see her amazing work and to welcome her into the Top Tip Tuesday family.

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Our Sponsors This Week Are.........

Robyn's Fetish!

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More is proud to sponsor this challenge, and they are offering our lucky winner 4 stamps of their choice!

and

Simon Says Stamp



Simon Says Stamp is offering a $20 gift voucher to spend in their store!!

And this week we want to see you using

~ Designer Papers ~

and as an Optional Extra we'd also like to see some Handmade Flowers.

They don't have to be the same type as Janette shows in her tutorial - but any type of flower you have created yourself.

This week we are also offering a Guest Designer Spot to someone who uses their own flowers on their creation - just add GD after your name to be considered for this spot.

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My card for this week uses Designer Paper, a handmade flower and an image - 'Love Ewe' - from Robyn's Fetish.

My flower was made using something I found in the Craft Show in Cardiff last week - Wire Mesh Ribbon - it's a tubular ribbon 'knitted' with very fine wire. You can pull it and stretch it and do all-sorts of wonderful things with it - it makes stunning jewellery too! I will defiantly be doing a lot with this in the future!
Finished off with some extra 'Bling' in the form of crystal gems in opposing corners.

Some Challenges I'd like to enter my card into.....

Simon Says Stamp - Sparkle & Bling - How sparkly is that flower!

Crafts & Me - Use a Digi

Charmed Cards & Crafts Mega Give-Away!

Wow - Have you seen this............

What an amazing Prize - Over £300 worth!

And to win you have to link up to a card using an image that you've coloured!

If you link to an image from CCC you get x2 entries

So I hunted through my files to find this - My favourite card I've made with the 'Girls About Town' set from Charmed Cards & Crafts.

As you can see I made this card in 2009 - but it's still one of my favourite :)