Believe ......

Happy Sunday!

It's a bit wet and wild again over here this morning ..... I hope it's not like this next weekend, me and the girls on the ferry (hopefully) !!!!

I was on Grandma duties last night .... we had the little man overnight ...... so I've been up since the crack of dawn this morning.   Alex still hasn't discovered the beauty of a lie-in on a Sunday morning .... unfortunately!  Never mind .... at least it gave me the chance to finish this week's festive make for the latest Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenge ...... yes I was actually in the old craft room before 8am ....... it wasn't even daylight!!!!

This week it's all about using Greens, Pine Cones and the word 'Believe'

I love the inspiration photo ..... what a beautiful, festive decoration ...... but I must admit this was a tough one for me.   Mr Mojo is on his way back ...... albeit kicking and screaming!!!  In the end, this is what I came up with ......

I know ...... not very traditional.  My greens are white, and the colour isn't even the traditional Christmas 'green' .... but it is green!

I used Cracked Pistachio Distress Spray for the background, along with Dylusions White Linen and a hint of Perfect Pearls in there to give the shimmer.

I masked of the bottom of a piece of white cardstock, and then spritzed each of the inks .... the green, the white and finally the Perfect Pearls.  I then covered the card with a piece of cling film, scrunching it in places, and left it to dry.
Once the ink was dry I removed the cling film leaving this gorgeous, shimmery background.

The mica from the Perfect Pearls settles in the creases of the cling film and dries giving that frosty looking effect .... cool eh!!
(Sorry for the picture quality ..... I still haven't found a good place to take my photos, plus the lighting this morning is dreadful ..... I will get there, just bear with me!!)

I stamped the pine branch from the Stampin Up set Ornamental Pine ...... using Versamark ink and embossed with a white powder.

Using the pine cone from the same set, I stamped it a couple of times, in different shades of Brown Archival ink, onto the coloured background.  I then stamped and fussy cut another pine cone from plain white card stock and attached it onto my card using foam pads to add a little dimension

To finish off, I stamped the required word across the bottom (also from Stampin Up!) ...... (this is what I need to do this afternoon!)

and I added a little decoration to the inside

Well ...... that's my 'To Do' list done for today.
There's a major football match going on at lunchtime which I shall be watching ....... my Chelsea boys are taking on Crystal Palace .... at home .... and if we win .... the title is ours!!!!!  If that's the case ...... you can guarantee there will be much merriment going on .....with just the odd glass of something bubbly!  Come on Chelsea!!

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

I've a busy week coming up ...... out tomorrow, coffee on Tuesday, a crafty session on Friday and then a day out next Saturday ..... it's Port Sunlight .... whoo hoo!!!!  Fingers crossed the weather gets a little nicer ..... I don't like the sea when it's bumpy!!

Cheerio until next time

Linda

xx

I nearly didn't get this done ......

Happy Sunday evening,

Where have the last few days gone ........ I can't believe the weekend is over!   And it's December 1st tomorrow ...... eeek!!!  The big countdown begins.

It's the last day of the month so that can only mean one thing ...... yep .... my Tim Tag!  I'd sort of resigned myself to thinking that I wasn't going to get this done this month ........ I'd actually come to terms with the fact that I was going to miss one ....... my first one!!! (sob!)
But ...... after being told 'don't be a wimp', and that I couldn't possibly miss a month (daughter and other half ganging up on me) I locked myself in the old craft room and got it done!  Not easy when time is against you ...... I'm glad the US is a few hours behind us!!!

Anyhow .... here's Tim's fabulous Autumnal tag ......

Look at the colours in that ...... gorgeous!

And here's mine .......

Same ..... but different! Not quite as vibrant.

I won't go into all the details, you can find all the techniques etc., over on Tim's Blog, and I followed it almost to the letter (didn't have time to do anything else!)

I inked and sprayed .....

Embossed and foiled ...... (actually it's IndigoBlu Mega-flakes ..... the yummy new Chocolate Box)

And finally embellished ......

Job done!!  I'd have been like a bear with a sore head if I'd have missed one!

It's been a bit of a busy weekend ..... getting the house ready for the Christmas decorations.  The first tree is up .... in the little man's room, and preparations are under way to make space for the big one!
Train tracks are being dismantled and moved as we speak (Lego one's that is) and more decorations were bought yesterday ..... just in case I haven't got enough!!

We took some time off from all the festive fun today though and walked through one of the many glens on the island ...... Bishopscourt Glen.
The tress were a little bare, and it was a touch on the chilly side but we had a nice stroll.

Apparently it was originally part of the garden for the Bishop of Sodor and Man ....... alright for some!

We didn't walk the whole glen but we climbed Mount Aeolus .... the mound at the start of the glen, which resembles Tynwald Hill

We found the cave, where it's believed that Bishop Murray took refuge from angry locals, during the 1825 Potato (Tithe) Riots

And we made friends with the locals ......

I think the bread we had with us helped there ....... 

Back to the 'To Do' list now ...... I'm off to soak some fruit, overnight in whisky (hic!) then it's time to get the Christmas cake started tomorrow.

Thanks for popping by ..... enjoy your Sunday evening (what's left of it)

Cheerio until next time.

Linda

xx