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 ........

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, 

Simply less is More .........

Happy Wednesday ........

What's this, blogging two days in a row! What can I say, I'm really enjoying playing along with some blog challenges again.

Todays challenge is ..... Simply Less is More.  

This was the first ever blog challenge that I played along with all those years ago, when Life in the Craft Lane was started.

I've always loved the LIM (Less Is More) approach,  CAS (Clean and Simple) cards, lots of white space, minimal layers and minimal embellishments.  They're not always the easiest cards to make, but lots of fun to do.

The current challenge - #493, has a Theme to follow ....... and not forgetting to keep things CAS

So, I've made a start on my Christmas cards, with some cute little carol singing mice from an old Penny Black clear stamp set ......... Holly Day Critters

How cute are these guys!

I simply stamped the image onto white cardstock using Black Versafine Clair ink (Nocturne), and then loosely coloured it using Distress Inks and a water brush, building up the depth of colour slowly

I added a little touch of sky to the background, some glittery snow underfoot, and stamped my Christmas sentiment underneath ..... very quick and easy, and all one layer!!

I finished it all off with a few dots of white gel pen to give the look of falling snow.

Well, that's one for the festive box!

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 

Time to make a start on the Christmas cards .........

Happy Monday ........

Welcome to November ....... and dare I say it ......... the run up to Christmas!!

I hope you're all well.  Did you have a lovely Halloween?  It was very quiet here, we didn't even bother with Trick or Treat!!

 

It's still a little quiet on here too .... sorry!  I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with my time but, I don't seem to have had much spare recently.  And, with not having to do the Blog Challenges each month my cardmaking has taken a back seat for now.

I have made a start on some Christmas cards though, which is not bad going for me.   As you all know I'm usually on the last minute, still making them in December!!    This year though,  I thought I'd try and get them out of the way early so,  I've spent the last two crafty get togethers with the girls in a festive mood.  I prepped everything during the week and then on the day all I had to do was put everything together ...... easy!  And look, a whole batch done .........

Nothing too fancy ..... festive red and gold, and very CAS.

I used the beautiful new Big & Bold Joy Ornaments from the Colorado Craft Company.  A gorgeous stamp set with pretty detailed baubles, two sentiments, and the letters to create the word JOY

I simply stamped onto red cardstock, and then heat embossed in gold ......

I did the letters with plain gold embossing powder and the bauble in the centre using a sparkly gold

I stamped and embossed the rest of my sentiment onto a seperate strip of red card, and attached this underneath with foam pads ..... simple to do, but a very classic look I think.

I also had a play with my version of a technique I saw on Katrina Werner's blog a while ago ..... using Distress Re-Inkers to create a sort of ombre effect background ...... what do you think?

I really like the effect, and again it's another great way to create a whole batch of fabulous Christmas cards in no time at all.  Just paint your background cards, leave overnight to dry (that's what I did anyway) and then use large Christmas sentiments to add your greetings.

I used Festive Berries Distress Re-inker and Hot Pressed Watercolour cardstock (the smooth stuff!) 

I mixed the re-inker with some water, and used a paintbrush to add the colour across the card, starting at the top working my way down the card adding more water as I went along to get the ombre effect.  I repeated the process a few times until I got the colour, and the blend, that I was happy with and then left the card to air dry.

Once it was completely dry, I used an anti-static bag over the whole piece and then stamped and heat embossed my sentiment in gold

Another stamp set from the Colorado Craft Company ....... Quick Holiday Cards Savvy Sentiments .... I do like a large sentiment stamp!

To finish off I sprinkled on a little Chunky White Embossing Enamel and heat set this from underneath

Well, that's another one for the festive box!

This technique was so much fun to do, I might just give it a try using some different colours!  Gets me using those Distress Re-inkers too!

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

We're off out for tea this evening, first time in a while.  No special occasion, I just didn't feel like cooking!

Cheerio until next time .......