Two for Tuesday ...... and it's the last Merry Monday of the year

Happy Tuesday folks!

WOW! what a busy weekend that was!!
We had hubby's office party here last Thursday night .....  I spent all day in the kitchen, with help from Lauren (it is good having a chef in the family!) There was a roast ham, turkey and all the trimmings, a side of salmon. There were salads and dips, and quiche.  Pasta, continental meats, a cheese board, prawn cocktails and freshly made sushi ..... yum ...... and I made desserts!!!

It was worth it though, everyone enjoyed the food ..... well it all went anyway!  The champagne cocktails flowed as did the mulled wine, so you can imagine my head on Friday morning!!!  

Friday evening we had the little one's Nativity ...... he was an angel bless him .....

I think his halo's slipped a little there ..... takes after his Grandma!!

Saturday was spent Christmas shopping with lunch out (again), and then I finished the weekend with a Christmas/birthday lunch on Sunday with some special friends.
Things are a little quieter this week ..... so far..... which means I have chance to actually spend some time in the old craft room .... whoo hoo!!

I can't believe we've got to the last Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge of 2014 ........ and I'm proud to say I've done every one (I think!)  Some may have been a little late (like last weeks!!) but they've all been done eventually.  All those lovely, festive cards made, and each one different.  The only problem I have now is to decide who gets what!!!

After this week, the Merry Monday team are taking a well earned rest ...... but they'll be back on January 5th 2015 to do it all over again ..... can't wait!  Why not join in the fun and get your Christmas cards done early!

So ...... the final challenge of the year is all about Winter themed Christmas cards ..... a Winter Wonderland!

Oh no!  Not those Clarity trees again .........
I did think about them but, in the end I went for snowflakes instead (phew!)  Only because the background was on my desk, left over from another project .......

All I did was mat and layer with some white cardstock .....

Stamped my greeting onto a piece of vellum, using Versamark and then heat embossed with a white powder ......

I tore the edges and attached the vellum across the centre of the snowflake background (IndigoBlu's Snowflake Lace by the way, stamped and embossed in white, then coloured using Distress inks)

To finish off I added a few tiny gemstones here and there and a pretty metal embellishment from my stash

Inside I used those pretty snowflakes again,embossed in white then inked over the top with Distress inks ..... simple!

Now who am I going to send this one too ......... ?????

I'm also entering this into the Christmas Card Challenge hosted by the lovely Kylie (from Kylie is Addicted to Stamps)
This is a blog I've recently found thanks to one of my lovely blog buddies ..... Loll Thompson.  Check it out, there's lots of good stuff on there and ....... Kylie has just started up her own business designing personalised watermarks, signatures and blog headers.

The prize for the winner of the challenge is their very own watermark and signature for their blog (worth $40) ...... oooohhh!!
The challenge is open until December 21st so there's still time to give it a go!

I missed the deadline for last week's Merry Monday challenge ..... too much going on!  I still made the card though.
The challenge was to use Gold, Silver, White and another colour of our choice.  I went for a CAS design, with a touch of festive red!

Not sure the silver and gold come across well, trust me though they're both on there.

The white part is my card (obviously), the gold and silver make up the Christmas lights (Penny Black's Sparkle String die cut from mirri card)

And the red ...... my 4th colour ...... is the sentiment on the front

The colours also follow through onto the inside .....

Better late than never eh!  I also made a batch for the little man to give to his nursery buddies using the same die ..... how cute are these!

Well, that should be it for Christmas cards I think, most of mine are written now, I just need to take out that small second mortgage to cover the postage!!

It's the Christmas party over at Ballaugh this afternoon (another one!) ...... followed by the last workshop of the year.  More festive food and drink ...... the non-alcoholic stuff this time though, well, some people are driving!

Thanks for popping by .... enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio until next time 

Linda

xx