Bujo overview 2017

This was my "Hello 2017 intro
page at the start of the bujo"

Not many hours left in 2017. This would be the time to look back and evaluate things. To be honest, I think my theme for 2018 will be "The best is yet to come" and I will leave 2017 behind without too much introspection. 

Dear 2017, we had some good times, we had some bad times. We had some fun times, we had some sad times. I don't expect 2018 to be anything different - Life is a rollercoaster, you just have to ride it. 

One thing I did was I managed to keep a bujo through the whole year, and I also managed to create an intro page for each month in my bujo. Many of them are a bit more mixed media than I usually do, so I had fun experimenting with them. They are all below, warts and all. Next year's bujo will be unicorn themed. Fancy that? 

 

In January I was inspired by night skies and tried to paint some northern lights in watercolour.  Let's just call it an experiment and leave it there. February was my first and I think so far only attempt at using Distress crayons. I discovered they are not my medium of choice although others seem to get some really great results with them. 

  

March was a bit of a mess. Not sure what look I was really going for there. April turned out quite pretty, lots of stamping and masking using STAMPlorations floral stamps followed by watercolours.

 

May was fun, well anything with rainbows is fun isn't it. Distress inks and a STAMPlorations stencil and die. June was one of my first plays with my new Distress Oxides. They blend so beautifully.

 

July was all about colouring outside the lines - a big mess with watercolours really. August is a page from the STAMPlorations Bloomtangled colouring book. I treated the page with clear gesso and then coloured with watercolours. That was super fun.

September and October are also pages from the Bloomtangled colouring book, both coloured with Sharpies. September was supposed to be grunge but it's more of a mess. October is the first time I dared to try my new lettering skill. Let's just call that a work in progress, eh?

 November was Distress inks through a stencil and a bunch of die cut leaves I had left over from another project. December I have to admit I didn't have any time between manic work and preparing for Christmas to really do anything other than using an old card front from a card I didn't find any recipient for. Thought I might as well get some use out of it.

Now it's time to say goodbye to the old year and the old bujo. I managed to finish with 2 pages left in the notebook. I have a pink Rhodia Goalbook for next year, I can't wait to tuck into that. See you next year, and wishing you a lovely New Year's Eve, whatever you decide to do. I think we will do a repeat our last year and fall asleep on the sofa at 10pm.

4 Crafty Chicks - Glitter

It's time for my last post as the December Guest Designer at 4 Crafty Chicks. Thank you so much for having me, Dear Chicks, it's been a blast! This week we are challenging you with a Glitter theme. 

I decided to create a glittery scene with some super cute Lawn Fawn penguins. I started by inking up white card with pink, purple and blue Distress Inks. Then I die cut the background using the Snowy Backdrop die and the Stitched Rectangle dies. I also die cut the mountains and snowy hillside borders. Then I stamped the adorable penguins and coloured them with Copics. Last, I attached everything to create the scene. I adhered the background onto silver glitter card, and die cut the sentiment to up the glitter factor.

Thank you again to the ladies from 4 Crafty Chicks for the chance to design for you. I'll see you around, and I can't wait to see what challenges you have in store for 2018!

I'm linking up with the following challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations - North Pole

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Party 

Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Card: 250 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 190 gsm white card, grey card, silver glitter card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Snow Cool, Winter Penguin and matching dies

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Inks Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Dusty Concord, Broken China, Blueprint Sketch

Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Mountain Borer, Stitched Rectangles, Snowy Backdrop, Stitched Hillside borders, Scripty Merry 

December STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Mid-Month Inspiration

And so this is Christmas. Well, only a few sleeps away. We made it here once again, through the whole year. I hope you and your loved ones will have a wonderful and relaxing time, and enjoy your time in whatever way you are planning to spend it. And if you are one of the many people working your way through the holidays, thank you for doing that as you have one of those jobs which is vital in keeping the rest of us healthy, safe or happy. 

This is the mid-month reminder for the STAMPlorations December CAS challenge, the last reminder for the last challenge. Of the year that is, we will be with you bright and early in the new year on January 4th with a brand new challenge. But for now you can enjoy our gold theme for a few more weeks, maybe squeeze in those last Christmas cards you need. Or are you one of those super organised people who have a stack of cards bigger than you need? Congratulations in that case, and can you please tell me your secret (yes, yes, I know, it's all about getting started early... maybe I'll try having a January Christmas card crafting session to start the stash for next year to avoid the madness of the December crafting rush). Thank you for crafting with us this year and for sharing your gorgeous creations in the gallery, hope you will continue to do so next year.

For my card, I started by stamping the beautiful wreath from Joyful onto Neenah Solar white card in Memento black ink and coloured with Copics. I then stamped the beautiful sentiment from Delight in the Joys - Typografia Christmas in Versamark onto vellum and heat embossed in gold. Last, I die cut the vellum using the smallest die from Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies and attached to the card using micro glue dots for vellum.

Card: Neenah Solar white card, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum

Stamps: STAMPlorations Joyful, Delight in the Joys - Typografia Christmas
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Copics
Dies: Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies
Other: Gold embossing powder, vellum micro glue dots

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes.

4 Crafty Chicks - Tags

Time for those last minute Christmas presents. And nothing completes a beautiful hand wrapped present like a handmade tag. This week's challenge over at 4 Crafty Chicks is Tags so we would love it if you shared your tags with us if you are making any this week!

I created a big batch of tags using my favourite Lawn Fawn stamp sets. I started by stamping the snowy background from Snow Cool in Versamark and heat embossed it in clear powder onto tags I die cut using the Tag You're It die. Then I inked the background using distress inks. I stamped lots of cute little critters and coloured them in the same colour scheme as the background using Copics. Last, I stamped the sentiment in black ink and added some pink and blue twine from my stash.

I'm linking up with the current challenge over at Lawn Fawnatics where the theme is to use your favourite stamp set. I'm slightly cheating as I couldn't choose whether I like Winter Alpaca or Winter Unicorn more - so I'm linking up both tags!

Card: 200 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 190 gsm white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Alpaca, Winter Unicorn, Critters in the Snow, Toboggan Together, Critters in the Arctic, Winter Penguin, Snow Cool and matching dies

Ink and Colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Inks Blueprint Sketch, Broken China, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Tag You're It dies, Ranger Clear embossing powder, Signo White Gel pen 

Polar Bear and Northern Lights

Our living room has transformed into Christmas lights central. I decided this year to go minimal with Christmas decorations - no tree, no tinsel. Instead lots of warm white Christmas lights, poinsettias and candles. I'm loving it (although I had to let the BF put his blue Christmas lights somewhere, and he chose the bedroom... oh well, as long as they are not in the living room, eh?). But the presents are wrapped, food prep is done as much as it can and tomorrow I'll deliver the last of my Christmas cards and presents to my colleagues after which I'll start focussing more on winding down and relaxing than anything else. Every month I set myself one task for the following month, and the task I set myself at the end of November was to spend some time in December sipping some mulled wine or hot cocoa and reading a book, or maybe just enjoying all the Christmas lights in the house.

I haven't had much time for creative crafting - at best I've managed a few batches of really simple Christmas cards and gift tags. But the other night, inspired by the most amazing Northern Lights we saw when we spent a week in Finnish Lapland a few weeks ago, I wanted to create a card inspired by the most magical lights in the sky. I used watercolours to create the sky, splattering it with white acrylic paint for stars. Then I stamped and coloured the cute polar bear from Lawn Fawn Critters in the Snow.

I'm linking up with the following challenges:
CAS on Friday - Christmas 
CAS Mixup - Stamping + 2 of your choice (watercolour marbling and die cutting)
CAS Watercolour - ATG
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Stitch It

Card: 250 gsm white card, scrap of red card, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm watercolour paper
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters in the Snow, Hats Off and matching dies
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Gansai Tambi watercolours
Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Circles, Scripty Merry
Other: Ranger Ice Stickles

4 Crafty Chicks - Christmas Winter Critters

It's my second week guest designing for 4 Crafty Chicks. This week the theme is Christmas Winter Critters. Hop over to the blog to see what the talented ladies of the DT have created for your inspiration. 

I couldn't imagine using anything but Lawn Fawn stamps for a Christmas Winter Critters theme. I used paper from Let's Bokeh in the Snow for the background, then built up a scene using mountains and snowy hills inhabited by some happy Christmas Critters. 

Card: 260 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 190 gsm white card, light grey card from my stash
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters in the Snow, Toboggan Together, Hats Off and matching dies
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Mountain Borders, Stitched Hillside Borders, Stitched Square Frames
Other: Lawn Fawn Let's Bokeh in the Snow paper

December STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Anything Goes With Gold

And here we are, starting off the last month of 2017. And that also means starting off our last STAMPlorations CAS challenge of the year. Our optional colour twist is gold, so a perfect chance to get those remaining Christmas cards finished. 

I created a very quick CAS Christmas card, perfect for mass production (which is quite important this time of year...). I started by masking off a rectangle, sprinkled very lightly with Brushos and sprayed with water. After the background had dried, I used my embossing buddy on the background before stamping the beautiful Merry Little Christmas Typografia Christmas and heat embossing it in gold.

Hopefully you will get inspired to join us over at the STAMPlorations CAS challenge. 

Card: 300 gsm Daler & Rowney watercolour paper
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versamark, Brushos
Stamps: STAMPlorations Merry Little Christmas Typografia Christmas
Other: Gold embossing powder

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes.

4 Crafty Chicks - Monochrome

I'm very excited to be guesting over at 4 Crafty Chicks for the month of December - thank you very much for having me, ladies! The challenge this week is Monochrome.

I've seen some awesome cards and tags out there in blogland lately with pink skies, and felt I wanted to try this gorgeous look for my monochrome card, so I inked up some card with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Spun Sugar and Worn Lipstick, and cut a starry, snowy sky using the Lawn Fawn Snowy Backdrop die. Then  I created some snowy hills and stamped and coloured the cute critters. Last, I added a sentiment and scalloped background using Perfectly Plaid Winter paper. 

Hope you will come and play with us, I can't wait to see what you make inspired by the monochrome theme.

Card: 250 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 190 gsm white card, scrap of pink card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Unicorn, Winter Alpaca, Critters in the Arctic, Joy to the Woods and matching dies
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Copics
Dies: Lawn Fawn Scalloped Rectangles, Stitched Rectangles, Hillside Border, Forest Border, Snowy Backdrop, Merry Christmas Border
Other: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Winter

ARTplorations Stencil Hop Reminder

Just popping in to remind you that the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop is still in full swing. You can find all the info in the main ARTplorations Blog Hop post.

I used the new Christmas Tree 1 stencil to create this year's batch of mass-produced cards. I feel like it's always good to have a big pile to use for neighbours, colleagues etc. I like the cards to be something simple enough to produce in a large quantity and I also want them to be something quite unique and a bit artsy, and suitable for all types of winter celebrations.

Initially, when I started working with the Christmas tree stencil, I wasn't quite sure what to do with it. Then I thought of layering the stencil multiple times and inking it up with different colours and all of a sudden I just fell in love with it completely and decided the artsy trees were the perfect background for this years' card. And it's so easy to extend the pattern, so I covered a whole A4 sheet with the background pattern, perfect for cutting the squares for the card backgrounds. Then I all I needed was to die cut the Christmas trees in gold mirri card. I also die cut some baubles and stars for the inside of the cards and finished off with a sentiment in black ink. Got a whole bunch of these finished already, and a few more in the making.

Card: Stampin' Up Real Red card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card, gold mirri card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Homespun Christmas

Stencil: ARTplorations Christmas Tree 1

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Twisted Citron

Dies: CUTplorations Christmas Icons - Christmas Tree 1, Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Nesting dies, Joy to the Woods matching dies

ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop

Today there is a special treat over at the STAMPlorations blog as we are celebrating the annual ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop. This year we are showcasing the brand new gorgeous stencils from the talented Sanna Lippert of Papierstau. Please come and hop along with us, pretty much everyone on the STAMPlorations DT are featuring these gorgeous stencils today! And of course, there is a little something in it for you as well. You have the chance to win either a gift certificate to the STAMPlorations store or some of Sanna's yummy stencils. Prizes are randomly drawn from everyone commenting on the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop and the participating designer's blog posts. The full list of participating designers can be found over at the ARTplorations Stencil Blog Hop.

For my first card I wanted to let the super fun Evolution stencil shine as the star of the card, so I masked off a rectangle and inked Distress Inks in Twisted Citron, Mustard Seed, Abandoned Coral, Wilted Violet and Mermaid Lagoon. Then I stamped the sentiment from Noteworthy 2. I was going to leave it at that but inspired by the sentiment I doodled a frame around the image and added a few black pearls.

For my second card I die cut a piece of watercolour paper using the medium-sized Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting die inked three shades of green Distress Ink (Pine Needles, Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron) through the Christmas Tree 1 stencil, moving the stencil for every shade of green I used. I left the die on while I inked to create the white border around the edges. Then I sprinkled different green shades of Brushos onto a scrap piece of Watercolour card, spritzing with water from a Mini Mister. Then I die cut the shape using Christmas Icons - Christmas tree 1. I used the stencil to add some Christmas tree shapes to the die cut in Pine Needles ink, and added some adhesive pearls as decoration. Last, I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment from Homespun Christmas onto red card, cut a thin strip and added it to the card.

I'm linking up my Christmas card over at AAA Cards where the theme is Christmas and over at Daring Cardmakers where the theme is Trim the Tree.

I'm also linking up the card I made with the Evolution stencil over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where Anything Goes this week.

Card: 300 gsm white card, 300 gsm Daler&Rowney watercolour paper, scrap of red card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Homespun Christmas, Noteworthy 2

Stencils: ARTplorations Evolution, Christmas Tree 1

Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting die, Christmas Icons - Christmas tree 1

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Inks Abandoned Coral, Mermaid Lagoon, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Twisted Citron, Wilted Violet, Brushos

Other: Adhesive pearls from my stash

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes.

Keep Calm and Freak Out!!

Today I realised that I have exactly one more weekend left to prepare for Christmas. No, I haven't lost my capability to interpret a calendar, but next weekend we are going to Sheffield to my Sister's as my Mum will come and see us before Christmas. I can't wait to see her, and we are planning to take her to Chatsworth Christmas Market. I love Christmas markets, although instead of buying presents I end up buying a lot of yummy delicacies for myself instead! Then the next two weekends we will be in Finland to celebrate the 100th independence day with friends. We will be staying in a log cabin in the mountains, and will spend the week skiing and enjoying the Northern Lights from our heated outdoor pool! Including travel, that will eat up two whole weekends, which means there is only one more left before the big C. 

So I reacted like any sensible human being would to the news of having only one weekend to plan for hosting six people for three days. I freaked out, and started making lists. Well, first I made a list of all the lists I needed. Please tell me I'm not the only one?

In addition to freaking out about lists, I also realised that I don't have nearly enough cards to send to everyone. I've been a very bad card maker this year and completely failed to prepare for the biggest holiday in the card-making calendar. But this year, instead of feeling guilty I will accept that some people will end up with store bought cards. Oh well, we live to see another day. There are people with bigger problems in the world and I should stop being a drama queen.

However, all is not yet lost. I may be able to conjure up a few more cards and therefore spent a small part of today (in between freaking out) to give you four ideas of how you can quickly create last minute cards. I picked my favourite ever big Christmas sentiment - STAMPlorations Typografia Christmas Merry Little Christmas - but you could pick any big sentiment stamp you love (if you are still looking for your one true Christmas sentiment love, you should have a look in the STAMPlorations Typografia range, and even better if you find one you like, use code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout for 20% off!). I then created four different quick and easy backgrounds in warm colours and then heat embossed the gorgeous stamp in copper onto the backgrounds. 

My first background was made using Distress markers. I scribbled various yellow, orange and red marker pens onto a piece of acetate, spritzed generously with water and then smooched against watercolour paper. I dried with a heating tool, die cut using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies and patted with my Embossing Buddy to remove any background static and ensure that the embossing powder would only stick to the stamped image. Then I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed with Papermania Copper embossing powder.

My second background was created using Distress ink pads, I used a foam applicator to randomly apply inks, using the rectangle die as a mask. When I was happy with the background, I splattered some water on it before die cutting and heat embossing.

My third background was again created using Distress Markers. I used the markers directly onto watercolour card, colouring an ombre effect with the reds at the bottom, then oranges and yellows at the top. Then I used a very wet brush to blend the colours and dried with a heat tool before die cutting and heat embossing.

I used Brushos for my fourth background. I sprinkled the colour pigments very lightly onto the background and then spritzed generously with water before drying, die cutting and heat embossing. 

It actually didn't take very long to create these four cards, I think the quickest background to create was the first one which only takes the flashest of flashes.

Unfortunately we are way beyond the time when I manage to photograph my cards in daylight so you will have to put up with the bad photos, but hopefully I have been able to inspire you to create some quick cards in case you have been struggling with inspiration to get going with your cards, or realised that your stash isn't large enough yet.

I'm linking up my Brusho card over at CAS Watercolour where the theme is Holiday. I'm also linking up over at Just Add Ink where the challenge is to Just Add R (R for red) and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is Stitch Up (add stitching). Last, but not least I'm linking up with Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge where the optional twist is Christmas.

Card: Stampin' Up Real Red card, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm watercolour paper
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress Ink pads and markers Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Festive Berries, Barn Door
Stamps: STAMPlorations Typografia Christmas Merry Little Christmas
Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting Dies

November STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Mid-Month Inspiration

Weeks are just flying by, I can't believe we are already in mid-November. Have you been playing along with our brown challenge this month? If not, you still have a few weeks to join in on the fun.  If you need some inspiration to get your mojo going, pop over to the see the mid-month reminder for the STAMPlorations November CAS challenge.

For my card, I decided to go for a one layer card with a coffee theme. I used markers in three shades of brown to colour up stamps from What's Brewing and Scribbly Splattery Grunge to create an ombre look. 

Card: 300 gsm white card

Stamps: STAMPlorations What's Brewing, Scribbly Splattery Grunge

Ink and colouring: Stampin' Up Crumb Cake, Chocolate Chip, Early Espresso

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes.