It's that time of year again .......

Happy Thursday ........

How are you?  Full of the festive spirit yet?  

We're getting there.  This bug is still hanging on by a thread but, it will not beat me!!

Lists have been made (lots of lists!)  The shopping has started (note to self ..... I need to buy wrapping paper). 

I think I've eaten my body weight in mince pies (the diet starts in January ..... again!). I've tried the odd Christmas cocktail (or two ...... hic!) And,  I'm still making Christmas cards!

I guess he had to come out at some point now didn't he ...... my favourite little snowman.  I'm not even sure he's still available to buy.  He's an old wooden stamp from Inkadinkadoo, and every year I have to use him on at least one card ....... he always makes me smile 😊

I stamped the snowman onto a piece of white cardstock.  Masked around the edges to create a frame, and then slowly blended shades of blue Distress Inks inside to create my night sky

Once I was happy with the colour, I splattered the ink with a little bit of clean water and let it sit for a few seconds.

I mopped up the excess with a paper towel and then added a few dots of white Enamel Accents here and there, sprinkled with a touch of fine crystal glitter, to give it a snowy look

The snowman was coloured using brush markers ..... he's so cute!

And I finished off with a heat embossed sentiment and a touch more 'snow'

Speaking of snow, I've loved seeing all the pictures on Facebook of the snow across in the UK at the moment.  We might have even been in some of it had we gone on our trip ........ brrrrr!

If you're snowed in at the moment, stay safe and warm.

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

Cheerio until next time ........

It's the 1st of December!!!! .......

Happy Friday .....

And welcome to December.  Let the countdown begin!

I've written, and posted my first lot of Christmas cards.  The first door on the advent calendar is open .... well it's Alex's advent calendar really but, we all got a little bit giddy this morning!  And one of the tasks for this afternoon is to hang a festive wreath on the front door.  I love this time of year ..... can you tell!

I've got another Christmas card for you today, and guess what? It's another tree ........ there's definitely a theme going on with my cards this year.

This was done using a cute little die from Simon Says Stamp called Corbel Tree Collage.  Not sure how long it's been in my die folder but I think this is the first time I've used it to make a card ....... isn't it pretty!

I used to the die to cut the design into a piece of white cardstock, then cut it again from green and red glitter foam from Spellbinders (I'm loving this stuff, and the good thing is the glitter doesn't shed)

I then inlaid the glitter pieces into the white card.  It was a little bit fiddly but I just took my time.  I love how it's given a raised effect, very touchy feely.  And just look at that sparkle!

A festive sentiment stamped underneath, and of course I had to splatter a little bit of gold ink here and there!

As it's the first time I've used this pretty little die I'm linking up to December's NBUS Challenge

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

It's time for a coffee I think,  now where did I put the Christmas mugs?

Cheerio until next time .....

Simply Less is More ........

Happy Thursday ........

Well, here we are on the last day of November. Just a little over three weeks until Christmas ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

We would have been heading for the Cotswolds today if our little festive trip had gone according to plan, and we might have even had some snow on our travels.  I believe there's a little bit of it about in the UK at the moment.  Thankfully there's none here (yet!).  The sun is shining but it is very cold!❄

We did make the right decision to cancel the trip though.  This flippin' cold bug has been brutal, and it's still hanging on.  We are slowly beginning to feel a little better though, so it's not all bad!

Today I'm playing along with the Simply Less is More Blog challenge ..... it's the last one for 2023!

The theme is 'D' is for ..... Deck The Halls (since we didn't go away, there's been quite a bit of that here recently!)

Very clean and simple (CAS), and really quick and easy once all the die cutting had been done.

I got the idea from Spellbinders, and the lovely Yana Smakula's blog.  At the time, I didn't have the actual die that she used but, I did have the Spellbinders Be Bold Alphabet die set which is the same font, just a little bit smaller.

I die cut all the letters from festive coloured cardstock and glitter foam sheets (Spellbinders) and then mixed and matched them to create my tree shape

A die cut star on the top, a simple stamped sentiment underneath, and a few gold ink splatters give the finishing touches.

Decorating for Christmas always starts with the tree/trees in our house.  The first one went up a few weeks ago .......... I know, it was a little early but, we were supposed to be going away and I didn't want it all to do when we got back!

I love it when these come out of the box! .......

 And because we didn't go away, I had a date with Mr Buble, and this happened over the weekend ........

It took ages to get finished but ......... it's done!

I think I'd better get writing some of those Christmas cards now.

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

Stay cosy and warm.

Cheerio until next time ....... 

Red and gold for Color Hues ......

Happy Wednesday .........

I hope you're enjoying your week.

We should have been going across to the UK today, starting our trip around some lovely Christmas Markets but, this cold I've got had other plans ........ yes, I'm still sneezing for England!  So, we've decided to cancel the trip (sigh!)

Hubby started with the same thing over the weekend and we've both been really bad ..... this thing is brutal!  I am starting to feel a little better today but hubby is about 24hours behind me so he's still quite bad.  We thought that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to set off in the van, so, we moved the ferry to early next year (we still haven't been on the new boat yet!!!) and cancelled all the campsite bookings.  We're disappointed but, it was the right decision.  There's always next year! 

So, today I'm playing along with the latest Color Hues Challenge.

Challenge #76 is all about Red and Metallic Gold ...... one of my favourite colour combinations, especially for Christmas cards (yes, I'm still making mine)

I used the pretty stamp set ....... Slimline Poinsettias from the Big & Bold range by the Colarado Craft Company.  

I stamped one of the images onto red cardstock and heat embossed with WOW's Metallic Gold Embossing Powder

  

I added a few gold ink splatters around the edges ......

and finished off with a sentiment and a little gold thread tied around the bottom ..... very festive!

Another one for the Christmas box!

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

Lauren is currently putting up her Christmas tree so the dining room is beginning to look festive (sorry if it's still too early for some you!) 

And of course because we haven't gone away, maybe by the end of this week I'll have the tree in the lounge done.

Cheerio until next time ........

More CAS Christmas cards .......

Happy Sunday .......

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.  

I'm full of a cold! ....... just what I need when we're off on our travels again next week!! 

I am supposed to be getting the van ready today, but instead it's time to curl up on the sofa with a hot drink and try to shake this thing off!  We don't leave until Wednesday so I've got a little bit of time.

I've been busy making more Christmas cards, pretty CAS designs again. 

Same card, two colourways ..... you can't go wrong with a bit of festive sparkle.

And, seeing as the theme is Anything Goes over at Less is More I thought I'd link these up to their latest challenge

I simply stamped and heat embossed the tree (Penny Black's all things evergreen) using WOW's Gold and Silver Sparkle Embossing Powders

I added a few ink splatters around the trees 

and finished off with dots of White Enamel accents.

A simple sentiment stamped in festive red adds just a tiny pop of colour.

EDITED  ....... well I was going to link up to the Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - Challenge #53.  The theme is Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas, so these definitely fit the bill but, unfortunately it's proving a little difficult to get my link on there.  It's probably me, something I'm doing or not doing,  but I'll have to come back to it later!

I'm not planning on taking any craft bits with me in the van this time, but I will be taking the box of finished Christmas cards, in the hope that some of them will actually find their way in the post!

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

Now where did I leave that box of tissues!

Cheerio until next time ......

Simply Less is More Challenge ........

Happy Thursday! .......

We're fast approaching the weekend again, and we've got a busy few days coming up.

I have been back in the craft room, I'm trying to get some more Christmas cards done before we go off on our adventure in the motorhome next week.  It's proving to be a rather slow process but, I think I'm getting there, with a little help from Blog Challenges  and Pnterest!

One such Blog challenge is ....... Simply Less is More. 

Their latest challenge is ........ Anything Goes (keeping it CAS of course)

Now I do love a CAS design, they're great when you're batch making for Christmas.

I used a brand new stamp set (the only Christmas one I've bought this year, so far!).  It's called Mod & Merry and it's from MFT (My Favourite Things). It's a lovely set with lots of stamps, floral designs, pine branches, stars and snowflakes but, what sold it for me were these cute little baubles.

I stamped them using Distress Oxide inks ...... Kitsch Flamingo, Tumbled Glass and Spun Sugar.  I did use my MISTI, and stamped each one a few times to make sure I got full ink coverage.

I then added a few ink splatters to the background, a touch of glitter to highlight the baubles and finished off with a few dots of white Enamel Accents and a simple sentiment.

I do have a confession to make ...... this card was actually made for the last LIM challenge (the Colour challenge .... use Blue, Pink and White) but, I was too slow and missed the deadline ..... ooops!

When I saw the new challenge theme was Anything Goes ..... I though bingo!  I hope this still fits the bill.   At least I'm in time for this one!

I've also finished decorating the first of our Christmas trees.   Well, when I say 'finished', it's done for now.  All the baubles are on but, there's definitely room for more.

Maybe a little something from the Christmas markets next week will find its way home with me.

We're off out this evening.   It's Beaujolais Nouveau Day! THE international event in the month of November .... apparently! 

 

Every year, on the 3rd Thursday in November the new Beaujolais Nouveau is released.  

I'm quite partial to a nice glass of Beaujolais, and as it doesn't stay around too long I don't want to miss out.  So, we're off to Wine Down this evening to try this years release ..... you never know, we may just bring a bottle or two home with us if it's nice ....... Cheers! or should I say Sante!

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

Cheerio until next time .......

Pastel colours for Christmas .......

Happy Sunday .........

How is everyone?  I hope you're all enjoying your weekend.  The weather here is not very nice at all today but, it is November so I suppose its to be expected.

Speaking of November, I can't believe that we're heading for the middle of the month already ........ how did that happen!!!?  Christmas is only six weeks away (eeek!!) and all I've done so far is order the turkey, the wine.  I do have lots of lists though, and we are off to the Christmas markets soon so I'm sure that we'll be full of the festive spirit by then. 

I've also made a start on my Christmas cards ..... finally!  Last weekend was one of our crafty get togethers so it was the perfect opportunity.  More about those later.

Today, I'm playing along with the Color Hues Challenge

As you can see, the colours for this challenge are Light Blue & Purple ..... such a pretty combo.  And as I'm now in Christmas card mode then it had to be festive

I blended the blue and purple inks around the edges of my card ....... Tumbled Glass and Villainous Potion Distress Oxides, then splattered water over the top and let it sit for a few seconds, before mopping up the excess with a paper towel.

An old and simple technique that I never get tired of using!

I then stamped and heat embossed my sentiment across the centre of the card ...... Merry embossed in WOW's Gold Sparkle Embossing Powder

and then the extra words simply stamped using Versafine Clair Monarch (purple) ink

I stamped a few tiny accents around the sentiment using the Blue Oxide Ink, and finished off with dots of fine crystal glitter here and there for a little added sparkle.

I love large word stamps and this set was from Simon Says Stamp, last year I think.  It's called Holiday Sparkle Greetings ...... 4 large words (perfect for DL cards), along with lots of cute little accent stamps to create backgrounds and add sparkle. I believe there's also a matching set of dies which I don't have, maybe I'll have to  change that at some point!

As it's the first time this stamp set has been used (shame on me!), I'm also linking up to the NBUS Challenge

Thanks for popping by, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

I'm off now to decorate a Christmas tree ........ too early??   

We're away in a little over a weeks time, and we don't get home until December 5th, so I don't really want to leave them until then.

So, everywhere's been cleaned, furniture moved, and then last night all the decorations came out (the house looks like the day we moved in, there's boxes everywhere!) 

The first tree is up, the lights are on, and the angel is on the top.  Time to get those baubles out!

'Alexa, get the Christmas music on'

Cheerio until next time,