Out with the old, and in with the new .......

Goodbye 2022 ..... your were great!

Hello to 2023!! ...... it's time to start another amazing chapter.

Wishing you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year!

I hope 2023 is a good one!

XX

Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Christmas Eve .......

The big day is almost here ..... are you all ready?

It's become a bit of a festive tradition for us, to get our Christmas started with a trip to the Panto in Douglas ...... Oh no it's not!  Oh yes it is!!!  Sorry!

We had a great night last night ....... we followed the yellow brick road and went to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz

What a great night.  We started the evening with a lovely meal out,  then it was off to the theatre for lots of panto fun! 

I wonder how many more years we'll get Alex at the panto with Grandma and Grandad!!  Hopefully next year we'll be taking Arthur too!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your Christmas Eve, and have a wonderful festive weekend.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

xxx

 

Just one week to go .......

Happy weekend! ........

I hope you're all well, and that you've had a good week.  It's been a bit of a chilly one here.   

We've had freezing temperatures all week, wintry showers with snow here and there, but that's mostly been up on the mountain, and lots of ice around. Thankfully we didn't have to go too far, and hubby is still working from home so we could stay off the roads pretty much.

I wonder if we'll have a white Christmas ..... now that would be nice!

Speaking of the big day ...... this time next week it will be Christmas Eve!!!!!  Are you all ready?

The food prep has started here (yum!), and the gift wrapping has begun. (Note to self ..... next year make a list of where you've hidden everything you've bought!!!!) 

And guess what ...... the Christmas cards are all done ..... whoo hoo!!!  (I don't think I've forgotten anyone!)

I finished off with another quick and easy design, and look, I'm using up more of my coloured cardstock

Tall and slim this time, using the Gina K stamps again, from this years Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember ..... I do love a nice snowflake!

I stamped the large snowflake with Versamark ink, and then heat embossed in white ...... so pretty!

I then took an ink pad that was a similar shade to my cardstock (I think it was Peacock Feathers Distress ink) and inked top and bottom of the card to give a sort of spotlight effect around the snowflake.

I splashed a little water over the ink, let it sit for a few seconds and then mopped up the excess with a paper towel to give a touch of extra detail to the background before splattering white paint over the top to give a snowy look

To finish off, I added just a tiny touch of glitter to the snowflake and then drew a line with a Stardust Gel Pen to make it look as though the snowflake was hanging from the top of the card

Really simple to do, and perfect for slim cards.

Well that's the last of my Christmas cards for 2022 ....... made, written and posted!

I know I say this every year but, I am going to start early next year!!

Thanks for popping by ...... have a lovely weekend.  

Now, what's next on the list!

Cheerio until next time ....... 

More quick and easy Christmas cards .........

Happy Tuesday .........

I'm on a mission this week, to get all my Christmas cards finished, written, and posted, and then fingers crossed they get to where they're going before Christmas!  The postal strikes in the UK are not making things easy this festive season but, I suppose that is their intention!!!

Anyway ...... another quick and easy idea for you today, using a large sentiment stamp as my main focal point ....... I do love a large sentiment!

I'm also using up some of that gorgeous deep purple cardstock too!

I simply stamped my sentiment in the centre of my card and heat embossed in gold ..... this one is from the Savvy Sentiments - Merry Everything stamp set by Colorado Craft Company.  (there's four large sentiment to choose from and I love the font!)

I then had some fun splattering gold, silver and white inks around the sentiment and cvered the background ..... easy!

I added a few tiny gemstones here and there to finish off and give a little extra Christmas sparkle.

That's another batch done!

How are your festive preparations going?

It's all about the food and drink here this week.  

Shopping lists have been made, the oven is getting cleaned on Friday, and the Christmas cook book is out and ready ...... time to get the gravy started!

We've just had the Christmas wine delivered too so that's all sorted ......... cheers!  Just need to put it away somewhere then we don't drink it before the big day!!!

Hubby and I also took some time out yesterday, did a spot of Christmas shopping and went for a lovely festive lunch. Well, he's had a dentist appointment today, and I think the next few days are not going to be pleasant.  I won't go into all the gorey details ........ I'll just say rather him than me!!  

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

Cheerio until next time .......

On the second day of December ........

Happy Friday!

I hope you've had a good week.  

What's everyone got planned for the weekend?  I think I might make a start on the Christmas gift wrapping tomorrow ..... one of my favourite festive tasks.  

I finally made time to start writing some Christmas cards today ....... yeah!!   

The posting dates may have had something to do with it, as I have a few overseas cards to send.  And, it's our crafty Christmas lunch on Sunday so I had to get those ready ....... Secret Santa gifts too  (I do love this time of year!)

My Christmas cards this year have all been very CAS, and made in batches  

The gorgeous Sparkling Season stamp set by Gina K Designs, from this years Simon Says Stamp STAMPtember,  is perfect for creating elegant looking Christmas cards with minimum fuss.

These were done using one of the stamps from the set, along with one of the sentiments ......... couldn't be more simple.  And, if you use a stamping platform, then everything can be done at once.

I stamped in Versamark, heat embossed in gold, and then added some gold ink splatters onto the background ....... (the coloured card is actually a gorgeous deep purple which isn't really coming across in the photos.  With the gold embossing, it does look quite regal)

I added another sentiment from the same stamp set inside the card, along with the baubles again.

This time I stamped with a metallic gold ink ...... how pretty is that!

Our weekend is starting early, we're off out for dinner this evening.  We're trying out a new restaurant that opened recently ...... La Villa Perrilla.  It's a South American place, and the menu looks amazing.  The cocktail bar doesn't look too bad either 🍸

We're not eating until 8 so, we might have a pre-dinner drink before we go ..... well it would be rude not to open todays advent calendar windows now wouldn't it ......

Chris and Myra came yesterday with these ......... mine's the gin one and hubby's is the rum.  

It's years since I've had an advent calendar ......... these are so much better than the chocolate ones!!!!

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy the rest of your day and have a lovely weekend.

Cheerio until next time ......

PS  Don't forget about the 12 Days of Christmas over on the Sweet Poppy website.  One fabulous product, available for 24 hours, at an amazing price.

Todays offer is .......... the gorgeous Floral Dahlia stencil 

Pinch and a punch for the first of the month ......

It's December!!!!!!!

Happy Thursday to you ...... the first day of December and the big countdown begins.

The advent calendars have been opened, Mr. Buble is playing in the background, and there's mince pies in the kitchen (yum!).  Lists have been made, cards are almost done and .......... the trees are up! 

There's the one in the hallway which you've already seen ....... very traditional

There's one in the dining room ......... frosty blue, silver and white

And the main tree in the lounge (my favourite) ...... which is all white and gold

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Speaking of which, if you're a fan of Sweet Poppy Stencils then today is the first day of their 12 Days of Christmas 

Each day there will be a Sweet Poppy product available at a very special price and it will last for 24 hours only or while stocks last.

They've started with something festive so, if your love your baubles check out the Sweet Poppy website, you won't want to miss todays special offer. 

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

Cheerio until next time ......... 

The final Simply Sweet Poppy Facebook Challenge ..........

Happy Thursday ..........

I hope you're all well. It's very wet and blowing a hoolie here, not the weather we wanted for the Christmas Lights switch on in Douglas this evening.  Think we'll give it a miss if it stays like this, and I might just switch on my own Christmas lights and decorate another tree ....... a bit early I know but there's already one up in the hall!! 

If you're a fan of the Simply Sweet Poppy Stencils Facebook Challenge then time is running out to get your entry in for this, the final challenge .......... The Magic of Christmas!.  

As always, there's a £40 voucher for the winner to spend on the Sweet Poppy website.  Just follow the simple rules .........  use only Sweet Poppy stencils, keep any stamping to a minimum, and stick to the challenge theme ...... easy!

So, what makes Christmas magic for you?  

It's got to be family and friends for me, and I love all the trees and decorations .........

For this card, I used the Sweet Poppy Snowflake Tree (at least I think that's what its called ...... I can't find it on the website so unfortunately I think it may have been retired, which is a shame as it's a lovely tree.  There are other gorgeous designs on there that you could use instead)

I used Pearlescent White Stencil Medium onto black cardstock, sitting the stencil off the edge of my card

Once the paste was dry, I used a blue Stardust gel pen to add colour to the ribbon.

I also used a glue pen to add glitter to the snowflakes ...... looks so pretty and sparkly in real life.

I finished off with white paint splatters on the background and a simple heat embossed sentiment

Next up, baubles!  You can never have enough baubles on your tree!

I'm so sorry but, I think this stencil is also retired, or it may just be out of stock, because I couldn't see this on the website either ........ maybe I should check the website first, before I make my cards!!!!!

Anyway ...... I used the paste again, this time when it was dry I added some rainbow coloured foil over the stenciled design, and then ran it through my laminator

I added some crytal glitter to give sparkly highlights (and also disguise where the foil hadn't quite covered completely!) 

And I finished off with some white paint spatters and a festive sentiment 

The challenge is open until the 29th of the month so there's only a few days left to get those entries in.

Happy stenciling!

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

We might have another tree up this evening, we'll see how things go today.

I've got my crafty bunch coming at the weekend and the deal was, I had to have a tree up as it's probably our last crafty get together before Christmas.

Well ....... I did it.  There is a tree up, only took me five and a half hours!    

It still needs a few more baubles on it though.  I'm sure it grows every year!!!  I'll have to see what I can do before weekend!

Cheerio until next time .......

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree ........

Happy Tuesday ..........

I've been at it again, batch making Christmas cards that is ...... well there are only 40 days to go before the big day!!!!!

Now you know me, I do love a nice Christmas tree and yes, it is almost time to get those baubles out and start decorating! (Carol, if you're reading this, there will be a Christmas tree up for our crafty get together next weekend ........ fingers crossed!) 

Anyway ......... speaking of Christmas trees, here's a beauty.  One of the latest stencil designs from Sweet Poppy ...... the gorgeous new Fir Tree

It is a large stencil but, as I always say, you don't have to make large cards.  These are 7x5 inches (my go to card size), and I think it looks great.

This was the sample I did for the TV show last month ...... I love it!  So CAS, I just had to make more. 

I used the Sweet Poppy Stencil Medium in the Pearlescent White through the stencil and then sprinkled over with Fine Crystal glitters whilst the paste was wet, and left them to dry naturally.

A few little sparkly gems added here and there, and a star on the top ......

All finished off with embossed sentiments.

Here are a few more ideas done last month for the TV show, using this fab stencil .......

Here's the tree full size ..... it's so pretty!

I used the stencil medium again, this time sprinkled with green glitter and then I fussy cut the tree once it was dry, and used fom pads to attach it to my card

A few gold and silver ink splatters on the background, dots of glitter glue for the baubles to decorate the tree, and a tub for it to sit in on the bottom ..... very festive!

Same stencil ..... used this time to create a little winter scene.

Just by using a little bit of masking you can alter the size of the tree, and create a little forest scene in the background .........

 adding the full size tree in the centre

Large trees not your thing? ....... then just mask off the bottom of the stencil ....... make the tree a size to suit you

This looks so cute ....... and it's one layer, so perfect for posting!

I simply used a bit of masking tape to cover the bottom the part of the stencil, before using the stencil medium.  I left it overnight to dry completely, then I used foil over the stenciled design and ran it through a laminator.  

Quick tip - if you're using foil on your stenciled designs, before you apply the foil, carefully dust around the edges of your design with an anti-static bag, being a bit careful not to get the dust on the stencil medium.  This avoids the foil sticking where you don't want it.    If  this does happen though, you can remove the foil by gently using a sand eraser (check them out on Amazon, they're not expensive)

A simple gem on the top of the tree, and a sentiment stamped underneath ...... done!

I love it when it's time to put the Christmas tree up, and it's almost here ...... whoo hoo!! 

A few new baubles have already been bought, and I'm already thinking of where to put the trees.  

I am a little nervous though ...... this year we have a little one who is now very mobile, and is into everything.  Christmas is going to be fun this year! 

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

Cheerio until next time .......