Some Christmas Cards to Share

Hope you all had a happy Christmas with your loved ones.  

During the last week I've hardly had the time to take photos, let alone blog any of my creations.   

The template for this 3 Kings Box was free - courtesy of the wonderfully talented and extremely generous Claire Brennan of Waltzing Mouse Stamps.   No time for stamping here or dressing them up, I was literally finishing these off 10 minutes before we sat down for Christmas dinner.  Inside I placed a small bottle of Baileys Liquer, a bag of fudge and a small gift.   I didn't open mine and was therefore able to take some photos today.   Dinky little thing isn't it !

This first card features the exquisite Sizzix Princess Dress and the Sizzix Layered Angel Wings, and the Spellbinders Poinsettia and Marianne D Creatables LR0106.

This next card features  WMS Sewing Box Hugs, WMS Country Labels 4, WMS Cabin Plaid Backgrounder, and WMS Compact Sentiments.

Thanks for stopping by, and I can't tell you how much your comments brighten my day.

Alpine Christmas Wishes

While trawling blog land for inspiration yesterday, this neat sketch at Mojo Monday caught my eye. 

I thought I could use it to showcase the new Alpine Christmas set from WMS.  I had to rejig it a bit because the sentiment wouldn't fit where it should have but I was quite happy with the end result.

The sentiment is also from this set.  The chalet was embossed with WOW Earthtone Blueberry embossing Powder - first time I've used it and I have to say I'm hooked.  Most embossing powders have a glossy shine but this has a lovely matte finish. 

The tartan background was stamped with the WMS Cabin Plaid Backgrounder.  

The designer paper was from the Papermania Persimmon Collection. 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Christmas Cards

Despite my good intentions in January, I didn't get many cards made through the year, so here I am at the last minute racking my brain for simple ideas for Christmas Cards.
The first card features the beautiful Spellbinders Poinsettia with a sentiment from WMS Alpine Christmas.

The next card features the city skyline from WMS USA 1776 Cut Files, a fussy cut sentiment from WMS Santa's Coming to Town and the silhouette image of Santa is from WMS 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.

The night sky was created with Shabby Shutters, Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks.

Thanks for stopping by

A Snappy Lookin' Croc

A quick card for Simon's friend Tim who had his party today.  The crocodile is a Sizzix Bigz die which was embossed (back to front) using the Cuttlebug Mesh embossing Folder.  The sunglasses were a Sizzlit die.  Grass by was cut using a Martha Stewart edge punch.  The sentiment was computer generated and the speech bubble was cut using my Cameo.  The clouds were created by cutting some clouds using a Memorybox die and using it as a mask with some Broken China DI.
Thanks for stopping by :)

A Little After Dinner Box

Getting used to my Cameo machine, I have made 30 + of these dinky little boxes for the Christmas Bazaar next weekend.  There is a little packet of after dinner mints included in the box and plenty of space to add something personal as well.  They could just be gift boxes, but I'm intending to make some as mini hampers/place settings for my Christmas dining table to be enjoyed after the meal.  I'll probably include a small gift as well.  My sister has already put in an order for some for her table.

Here's the box closed with a Waltzing Mouse Stamps Vintage Ornament Tag, cut with one of the Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments die.  The 3D Artian expanding box is from the Silhouette Store.  

I just made this box up as a sample, don't think I'll be giving my 9-year old son a bottle of Cointreau in his box - probably a toy car.

Tag You're It - Celtic Christmas Tags

If there are two things that Claire Brennan of Waltzing Mouse Stamps does better than anyone else in the world, it has to be Christmas and Celtic.  So I've combined both here in these beautiful celtic tags made using images from Waltzing Mouse Celtic Heritage.

I'm hoping these will help sell the many boxes of Baileys truffles and chocolate bars which I have lovingly wrapped for the local Krëschtmart next weekend.  I sure hope it works or everyone I know will be getting boxes or bars of Baileys chocolates this Christmas (or packets of Scottish Shortbread but that's another story).

I'm entering this in the Tag You're It category for this month's Pyjama Party, and hoping that these little treasures tickle Claire's Fancy.

Thanks Matey

As you may already know from my previous post, I had a bunch of perfectly cut images from the Ocean Bound set using the cut files that Claire practically gives away at Waltzing Mouse Stamps.  After being helped out of a small hole yesterday by the very busy lady herself I decided to make a thank you card.  I am frantically trying to make enough cards to donate to my local Krëschtmart next weekend and this will join the pile.   Male cards are always hard to come by and this set is perfect.  Fortunately there are enough English speakers in our commune who will appreciate Claire's humour.

Another reason for making a thank you card is that I can join in the first category of this month's Pyjama Party, which is always great fun and let's face it who wouldn't want the chance to win a credit to spend in Claire's wonderful store.   There are 5 categories/chances to win so do check out the wonderful inspiration over there - you don't need Waltzing Mouse stamps to enter, but be quick the first 4 categories close at midnight UK time tonight.

Thanks for stopping by :) and if you leave a comment I can't tell you how much it will brighten my day !!!

A Beautifully Clipped Clipper

Notice how beautifully trimmed this clipper image from WMS Ocean Bound is.  This is my first serious attempt with stamping on images cut with my Cameo, using the matching cut files for this set.  I AM SMITTEN !!!!  I now have a desk full of nautical images just waiting to be put to use.  It was so easy to line up the images perfectly and I'm pretty fussy !!!

I added a sentiment from WMS Safe Harbour Sentiments and used the WMS Zig Zag Backgrounder to create a background and added some "waves" cut with a WPUS9 scallop die. I also added a little light blue gem to the lantern to tie in with the light blue wave.  Et voila !!! 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Easel Does It !!!

I absolutely love the level of detail in this Simple Sprig set from WMS.  What I love most about the set is that the flowers have been cleverly designed so they can be punched out with a circular punch, or cut with a Spellbinders Circle.

I had cut this card using the Sizzix XL Princess Dress and Deckled Card die, carefully lining up the DP paper so as to make the best use of the patterned paper.  I overstamped the DP with the simple sprig with Versamagic Tea Leaves and stamped and cut several roses to form a border on the dress, decorate the bow and as a top layer on the easel stopper.  The bottom layer of the stopper was cut using a Cuttlebug die.  The "necklace" was made from pieces cut out from this flower.  The beautify bow comes with the die.

Such a pretty die, and the cards are a doddle to make and decorate. I made three of these cards for birthday cards for some of Simon's friends - including two Monster High themed ones now which i unfortunately didn't get around to taking photos of.  This more elegant one is being donated to the local Christmas market.  I've left off any sentiment, partly because of the language, and partly because it's more versatile - it could be a birthday card, a graduation card or just to let some special woman in your life know you care - leastways that's the spiel I'll be using to sell them.  Wish me luck !!!

Bravo

My friend Jaine let me know about a great chance to win some Ranger goodies, and let's face it who doesn't like Ranger goodies.  Check out her blog here for details but be quick as it closes tonight.

I made this card with the Sizzix Style is Eternal Framelits set and the Sizzix Postage and Frame set.  The sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse Stamps Fancy Phrases.  The corners were cut from black glitter card using the Sizzix ATC & Corners die.  The envelope is stamped with Katzelkraft Mini09.  

Thanks for stopping by :)

A Haunting Birthday Card

Hi, everyone all ready for halloween ?  We don't really celebrate it here nor did we in Australia, however it is a fun time and whenever one of my children go to a birthday party at this time of the year. I do try and make a Halloween themed birthday card.

Simon is going to a birthday party for one of his class mates today and I've made a Halloween themed  flip-it card for his friend.  I thought to take some construction photos of this flip-it card, so I've posted them here.

Fig 1 : Score and fold your card so that the front of the card is folded back on itself.  Then open the card up again and lay it on your cutting pad as above, with the midpoint of your die laying on the fold line.  Keep in place with temporary tape or a post-it note.

Fig 2 : Place the bottom edge of the top cutting plate so that it lays on the fold line and run it through your machine.

Fig 3 and 4 : Only the upper or left half of the label has been cut.

I embossed a small piece of black magic card using a Cuttlebug spiderweb embossing folder, and cut another Label 2.  I sanded the label to reveal the purple underneath the surface of the black magic card, added a black spider (cut from black glitter card using the Sizzix medium die Spider #2) and the word "Party" (cut from white card using the Sizzix Decorative Strip die Wingo Zingo and distressed with Dusty Concorde Distress Ink).  This became my card front image. 

I then cut another black Label 2 added the word "sweet", a skeleton and a pair of bony hands, all cut using the Sizzix Bigz die Sweet w/Skull.  These were all distressed with Dusty Concorde, Chipped Sapphire and Mustard Seed Distress Inks.  I chose Labels 2 because I wanted to make something that looked like a gravestone, and I tried to make my skeleton look as if he was clawing his way out of the grave.  Love those hands - well there was only 1 hand included with the die but I cut 2 of them and reversed one - could just as well be playing the piano don't ya think.

I dressed up the inside with some DP from Papermania, on which I printed "Schei Ge-BOO-ertstag" (shéi Gebuertstag is luxembourgish for Happy Birthday) and a cobweb border from EK success.

I'm quite liking these flip-it cards.  They're not difficult and they stand open like an easel card but they're much more effective when opened.  One word of advice, make sure you go over that fold line with your bone folder to make it really crisp.  This will ensure you card lies flat when closed.

Hope you liked this Haunting Birthday Card.  As Make My Monday has a Halloween theme this week I'm entering it their challenge.  Lots of great halloween inspiration over there !!!

Thanks for stopping by, and Happy Haunting !!!

Graduation

This was a super easy graduation card I made for my god-daughter.  The background was stamped with the Sizzix/Hero Arts Postage Stamp and Frame set which comes with a matching Textured Impressions embossing Folder.  The girl is from the Sizzix/Hero Arts Stamp & Die-cut set Style is Eternal.  She was stamped in Versamark and embossed with black embossing powder.  I also die cut her from black card and laid this flat on the background and then laid the stamped pink one slightly off to the right using mounting squares.
The Congratulations was from the WMS Celtic Heritage set.  The corners were cut from black glitter card using the Tim Holtz die ATC and Corners (I think it kind of resembles a passport or maybe a battered and well-travelled suitcase with those corners).  For the envelope I chose Katzelkraft mini 09 - a montage of cities of the world.
Thanks for stopping by,
Kate

Black and White and Pop

Quick post for the WMS PJ Party.  Got the dates wrong and I only realised an hour ago that tonight was the night so a really quick card here using the new WMS Putting on the Ritz and background sets.

Feathery Note

I fell in love with this funky feathers set from WMS when I first saw it but as I already owned a set of feathers I hesitated a bit.  However when I saw all the possibilities in the first WMS Pyjama Party I realised I did need it after all.  Yes I had feathers but I didn't have all the beautifully scripted sentiments, plus it helped bump up the order to get free postage (LOL). 

I've used one of the more traditional feathers on this card, because this is for my MIL (the calligrapher) and I wanted a feather which resembled a plume.  The feather panel was first stamped with the WMS Mini Crackle background to give it that aged marble look - antique linen DI and the feather and sentiment were stamped with Versafine Smokey Gray (more of a brown than a grey really).  I couldn't resist the pun on note by including some musical score background as well - Stempel Winkel's Musical Score Background also stamped in Versafine Smokey Gray.  I bought the background paper from La Blanche at Wiesbaden some years ago, it's from the Calambour Postcards Collection.  These were loose 6 x6 sheets for 10c each so I bought quite a few in as many different motifs as possible - they're from Milan Italy.  The Wiesbaden craft fair is coming up soon so hopefully there will be other little gems like this there.

When I had finished I thought it needed a little gold so I sprayed some gold glimmer mist over the finished card - unfortunately this hasn't really showed up very well in the photo because it's not that sunny outside.  Oh well at least it stopped raining long enough to get an outside pic.

Inspiration for this card is Mojo Monday sketch 315 by the very talented Julee Tilman.

Flipping Flapper

I just bought a Sizzix Flip-it die and I have to admit it was a bit disappointing - so glad I didn't pay full price for it or I would have been really flipping out.  Anyway while searching on the internet how to use it I realised you don't actually need it to make flip it cards - you can get the same effect from your normal thin cut dies. So I thought I'd try this technique out with the fabulous Waltzing Mouse Opera Tags set which I think co-ordinate perfectly with this Flapper Girl image from Waltzing Mouse Putting on the Ritz set (which I could absolutely not say no to when it came out last month - it took every ounce of resolve to wait 5 days so it would go on the next month's Master Card bill).

This is the most basic of the flip it cards so a good one to start with and works with any size card that will fit through your machine.  I've used an A6 card here which was pre scored.  I just created another score line half way between the middle fold and the left end of the card (or just fold the front of the card back on itself if your card stock is not too stiff).  With the two folds on your left (mountain and valley) place your die so that it's centred on the left fold line (this is only really necessary if your die has a centre line like the one I've used here does) and position the bottom edge of your cutting pad on this line as well.  Send it through your cutting machine so you only get a cut on the left half of the die.  You will have a fold line through your flipping section but this is easily hidden behind complete die cuts added to the front and back of this flipping section.  And that's all there is to it, seriously how easy is this and if like me you have a couple of Spellbinders sets in your stash the possibilities are huge.  And such a fun interactive card.

The sentiment on the back of the flip it section is also from the Puttin' on the Ritz set.  

I just decorated the card with some pretty paper, a bit of bling and a WPLUS9 scalloped border in black glitter.  Don't forget to stamp before you assemble - you'll find it tricker afterwards.

I'm entering this is card in the Make My Monday Challenge, where the theme this week is Elegant Ladies.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hope you have fun with this technique.

Full Pint Hero

18 is the legal age for a driver's licence in Luxembourg so when my good friend Maggie said she needed an 18th birthday card for her son I immediately thought of this guy and his cool convertible from WMS Half Pint Heroes.  Of course at 18 her son is hardly half pint, but nevertheless I thought it might make a cute but not too cute birthday card for an 18 year old boy young man.

This set is so much fun to use - you can select from a few different heads so as to best resemble your hero, and I just love the story-telling sentiments that come with the WMS Half Pint Hero additions set.   The inside of the card reads "and he was amazing".   The clouds are from the female equivalent set WMS Half Pint Heroines.

I wonder if Claire would consider adding another addition to this delightful collection of sets with the sentiment "and he/she grew up too fast" - I'm feeling pretty nostalgic at the moment with my eldest about to strike out on his own and my 2nd son not far behind him.  Even my youngest will turn double figures next birthday.  Luckily I haven't had the time to age at all LOL !!!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Fair Winds

After last month's Waltzing Mouse Pyjama Party I decided I could not live without the WMS Ocean Bound set any longer - and can you blame me.  Not only is it chock full of lovely images but the sentiment are just fabulous too.

I started thinking about this card last Saturday as soon as the first Waltzing Mouse Fanatics Challenge was announced - I was desperate to play along as I've really missed the weekly challenges and think it's wonderful that Tara and Deborah have started up these challenges.

Initially I just had the idea of merging the two different coloured Zig Zag Stripe backgrounds together with no real purpose for the card.  My plan was to break open the new Ocean Bound set which had arrived the day before and experiment.

I had the Tim Holtz Gear cut out from a previous project and I thought it kind of resembled a ship's wheel and would make a good mount for this image from the set.  After cutting out the image with a Spellbinders Circle I covered it with Versamark and UTEE'd it.  I loved the effect - especially mounted on the "ship's wheel".

Next I went searching for a sentiment and my eye settled upon this Fair Winds sentiment again from Ocean Bound.  I used a really old Spellbinders nestability die to cut it out so that it resembled a ship's sail.  Now the card had a purpose - my son leaves to study in London soon and this sentiment sums up all my anxieties about this move of his.

I wanted to make it an easel card so I cut 6 die cut Sizzlit anchors and layered them together so I had a stopper for the easel card, stamped a WMS Pinstriped Background (I stamped off once so it wasn't too heavy) and a couple of images and another sentiment from WMS Tying the Knot.  Naturally I couldn't leave the envelope bare and stamped this gorgeously detailed anchor from Ocean Bound.

I like to think that when Gavin is settled in London he'll have this card in pride of place in his digs and think about his old mum from time to time, 'cause I'll be thinking of (and worrying about) him.

The World at Her Feet

I made this card for the daughter of a friend of mine who is turning 21 soon.  This funky chick is from a Framelit set I ordered a few weeks ago from Sizzix.   When Ruth told me her daughter is into 60s fashion it seemed the obvious choice.  This set is a doddle to use.  I had my doubts about the Sizzix framelit dies at first as I am a big fan of Spellbinders, but I have to say I'm impressed.  The cutting edge is on the inside edge so there's no more guess work when it comes to cutting your stamped image - what you see is what you cut.

The city icons of the world stamp is from Katzelkraft, and the affirmation stamps are from a Sizzix set (Wish You Were Here) and a Kaiser Scrapbook set (Live Out Loud)

The key was cut from felt and card using a Tim Holtz movers and shapers die.   I had toyed with the idea of hanging the key from her wrist but in the end decided on an easel card and used the key as the prop.

This gorgeous sentiment on the inside is from the WMS Big Day Today set.  Can't wait until I can use this set again - all of the sentiments are sooo beautiful.
Thanks for stopping by !!!

Desperate for a date !!!

The WMS pyjama party ended up going on for another day (I think Claire and the Mr Linky Gadget had a difference of opinion over the definition of midnight) so you still have a few more hours to play along.

If you were here a few days ago, you will remember I wasn't completely happy with the Golden Anniversary Card from this post.  I played around with the pennants a little and ended up overstamping them with the new WMS Mini Pinstripe Stamp - they looked a little plain as they were.  I had to stamp off once on the middle pennant so the dates were legible through the overstamping.

Computer generating personalised items like dates is okay most of the time but sometimes you just need to emboss, and I think those dates on the middle pennant need to be embossed in gold.

I know Just-Rite have systems for printing monograms and custom messages, does anyone know if there is something for creating dates ?  I'm pathetic at lining up small characters like this, so it would need to be fairly idiot proof !!!   I suppose one of those rotary date stamps you find in office supply stores might be adequate at a pinch.