Christmas Wreath Tag

Just popping in quickly to show the tag I made today as I was procrastinating on some work stuff. Crafting truly is the best form of procrastinating, and now I have another tag ready for Christmas. And I got to use my NBUS Lawn Fawn Knit Picky paper and Mini Wreath die, both of which are super adorable.

I'm linking up with a couple of challenges:
House of Cards - holiday and/or colours

Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes, optional twist tags

Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With dies

Paper: Lawn Fawn Knit Picky paper, scraps of green and red card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Christmas Unicorn

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black

Dies: Lawn Fawn Tag You're It, Mini Wreath, Scripty Merry Christmas Die, Extra Sentiment Banners

Other: Red adhesive pearls from my stash

Cozy Autumn Cuppa

Today was the first morning this season I had to scrape the windscreen of my car. Or to be perfectly honest, the boo did it for me. I'm a feminist, but I have to say I love it when the boo does the stuff that involves getting cold hands... And what a heart-warming gesture to realise when you get your car that the windscreen has been scraped! He has his moments.

We need a hot cup or two when the weather turns icy, don't we? I had to wait for a train for quite a long while out in the cold this morning, and would not have managed without my huge vat of hot latte to keep me warm. Today's card was inspired by that steaming mug of comfort as well as the cozy image over at Inspired by All The Little Things and the sketch over at Fusion Card Challenge. I'm also linking up over at Shopping Our Stash where the theme is to use a sketch and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes this week.

Card and paper: 250 gsm brown card, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Christmas, Perfectly Plaid Chill, Knock on Wood, Neenah Solar white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Love You a Latte and matching dies

Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress marker, Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Dies: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle Nesting dies, Stitched Leaves, Tag You're It, Big Scripty Words, Everyday Banners

Smile A Latte

All good things must come to an end, including my lovely autumn annual leave. Many pairs of socks have been knitted, many cards made and even more lettering practice has been done. But now it's over and I have to face going back to the coal mines... 

Before that, I wanted to link up one more card over at the Fall Coffee Lover's Blog Hop - it's already the last day of the hop! Time goes so quickly. I'm also linking up with the new fall inspiration board challenge over at Lawn Fawnatics. I was inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I'm also linking up with the "Autumn Colours" challenge over at Make My Monday and the "Pop It Up"challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge (the tag is attached using 3D foam dots).

Card: kraft card, scraps of yellow, orange and red card, Neenah Solar white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Love You A Latte and matching dies

Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid

Ink and colouring: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

Dies: Lawn Fawn Tag You're It, Stitched Leaves

Sunday Stamping

I can't believe this Sunday I woke up to a (relatively) clean house so instead of my usual frantic Sunday morning cleaning frenzy, I just lazily made my way to the craft room instead! Most certainly the best way of starting what turned out to be a very lazy Sunday indeed, involving nothing useful but instead important things like napping on the sofa. 

Yesterday we visited a friend for a summer BBQ which was wonderful despite a few showers that forced us to evacuate indoors temporarily. But as a consequence I'm struggling to come off a sugar high - my friend served the most delicious chocolate cake. After almost no added sugar for a month I have to say one night of sugary goodness has kicked off the most horrible cravings to get more of the white stuff. I can't believe how addictive sugar really is, I'm glad I did a kitchen cupboard purge a while ago, as nothing would have been safe in there today.

Anyhow, on to today's card which was inspired by a number of challenges. First of all it was inspired by the colours over at ColourQ and the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I was also inspired by the tag theme over at AAA cards and the theme of stamping, markers and your choice (die cutting, masking) over at the CAS Mixup. Last but not least I'm linking up with Shopping Our Stash where the theme is How Does Your Garden Grow and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

I started by creating a rectangular mask by die cutting a rectangle from a piece of scrap paper the same size as my card. I also die cut a tag from white card. I then stamped the flower stamps through my rectangular mask onto the tag and background in black ink before colouring the flowers on the tag using Copics. Then I die cut the sentiment using a Lawn Fawn die and adhered everything onto the card base.

Card: 300 gsm smooth white card, Neenah solar white card, scrap of Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay card

Stamps: Stampin' Up 

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento, Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Tag You're It die and Scripty Thanks die

Thank you, you are so sweet!

Someone recently helped me with a big thing. Actually, it's already quite a few weeks ago. I wanted to get a little something for them as a thank you, but as usual, it has taken me an eternity to actually manage to complete the complicated task of buying a box of chocolates. I know, for a project manager, I suck at managing anything outside of work (whether or not I manage to do it at work is currently debatable also...). Anyhow, to make up for the delay in getting the thank you to the person, I thought at least I can make it look nice. After all, isn't that the whole justification of buying tons and tons of crafting supplies? So not only did I make a thank you card with some sweets on (I don't have a stamp with Ferrero Rochers, so I thought I would just go with something else sweet I happened to have a stamp for), but also a tag to go on the box of chocs. 

Today's card and tag were inspired by the wonderful inspiration image over at The Challenge.  I loved everything about the image - the colours, the macaroons of course and the woodgrain of the table. The layout was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I'm also linking up with the Thank You themed challenges over at Shopping Our Stash and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. 

I started by die cutting a panel using the Stitched Rectangle dies from watercolour paper. I stamped the gorgeous macarons in archival ink and watercoloured with Distress inks. I stamped the sentiments in Marina Mist, and matted the front panel on Marina Mist cardstock before attaching to kraft card stamped with the Hardwood stamp. For the tag, I die cut the tag from Marina Mist card using a die from Tag Your're It. I stamped the matching stamp in black onto kraft card, and fussy cut the inside panel for the tag. I stamped macarons in Vintage Photo and partly watercoloured them. Last, I stamped and die cut the banner, and smudged some Marina Mist ink onto it before stamping the sentiment, also from Tag You're It. Last, I added some Tim Holtz paper twine.

Card: 300 gsm watercolour paper, Stampin' Up Marina Mist card, kraft card
Ink: Stampin' Up Marina Mist, Tsukineko Staz-On Jet Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Ground Espresso
Stamps: STAMPlorations Sugar Rush, Stampin' Up Hardwood, Lawn Fawn Scripty Sayings, Tag Your're It and matching dies
Other: Tim Holtz Paper Twine

Detachable tag Christmas card

I have been reading a book called The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I might have mentioned it some previous blog posts. It's quite interesting, and as opposed to many other books that talk more about the mindset and very elusive and abstract, this book has a lot of very practical and hands on ideas of increasing happiness in your life. One of the ones I have really taken to is reducing clutter and "stuff" in general. I have been going through my wardrobes, my random cupboards and trying to let go of things. Another idea I have read about in blogs relating to the same line of thinking is that we hold on to a lot of things just because we think we ought to. I'm not saying we shouldn't hold on to things that truly have sentimental value, of course we should, but I'm questioning whether we need to hold onto every single card we get sent for example. I have it in the back of my mind that it's somehow an obligation to hang on to them, and I have gone through a lot of my old birthday and Christmas cards, hanging on to those that I really find I have a sentimental connection to but getting rid of those that I feel I only keep "because I'm supposed to". This is such an interesting idea, I could go on about it for pages and pages. Particularly as this house is inhabited by another person who is very sentimentally attached to even the smallest things. It's quite interesting that my Mum is very minimalist, and she works hard to get rid of clutter, whereas the family of my dearest are very much sentimentally attached to a lot of things, so I think our attitude to how to connect with material possessions is strongly linked to the behaviour of our parents.

Anyhow, this got me thinking of my Christmas cards. Are people hanging onto them just because they feel they have to? Is there anything I can do to help them enjoy the thought that I have put into the cards, but then let go of them? Maybe there would be a way to get people to recycle the cards? And then the current, very ingenious sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch gave me an idea (I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of this, but I can't point to any specific inspiration where I would have seen this done). What if I make the tag detachable, and encourage people to use it for a gift. Then the remains are much easier to dispose of, as it's no longer a "proper" card. Plus there is the added benefit of recycling some of the materials, and hopefully bringing some joy to yet another person as well. 

The card without the tag and the reverse side of the tag.

For this card, I started by die cutting the tag using a die from Lawn Fawn Tag You're It from the purple paper from Let's Polka in the Dark. I stamped the matching tag onto red paper from the same collection, and fussy cut it to match the tag. Then I stamped the adorable little reindeer from Party Animal and added the gingerbread man and christmas hat from Holiday Party Animal, die cut with the matching dies and coloured with Copics. I die cut the Merry using the Merry Christmas border die from gold mirri card and stamped the smallest "Christmas" I could find in my stamp stash (it's from Stampin' Up Endless Wishes). I also stamped a greeting and some small images on the back of the tag in case the recipient of the card chooses to use it as intended.

I think next time I will edit the text to start "I would love it if
you wanted to recycle the tag" instead.

For the background, I brushed water onto watercolour cardstock I had cut using the Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies. Then I added Tim Holtz Festive Berries and Seedless Preserves ink and blended them together. I also flicked some colour splotches using my watercolour brush. I really love playing with these watercolour backgrounds lately. I also heat embossed some gold speckles onto the background, although unfortunately it doesn't show very well in the picture. Then all that was needed was to attach the tag using a few small glue dots which I had "de-stickyfied" between my fingers so that the tag will pop off easily. I also added some twine, again it's detachable so it can be used to tie the tag to a present. I absolutely love this idea, and feel a bit bummed I have already created more cards than I need for Christmas. Oh well, next Christmas everyone is getting a detachable tag card from me, be pre-warned!

In addition to linking up with CAS(E) This Sketch, I would like to enter the Christmas Challenge over at Happy Little Stampers where the theme is Tag. I'm also playing along over at Time Out where the theme is Christmas Card with purple or pink. Last but not least there are a few Christmas themed blogs that inspired today's card, so I would like to link up with Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge where the theme is Bright Colours, the lovely Jingle Belles where the theme is Holiday food (talking about Gingerbread as it's my chosen Christmas food... did I tell you I got an alpaca cookie cutter when we went to the alpaca show last weekend? Can anyone say alpaca gingerbread for Christmas? Yaaay!!! To be honest, I really like reindeer as well, although given the cute fellow on the card, that's probably a bit morbid. If you haven't tried it, I would warmly recommend if you ever get a chance, but maybe not at Christmas...) and ABC Christmas Challenges where the theme is V is for Very Cute.  

Card: 300 gsm white card, 300 gsm watercolour paper, Stampin' Up Whisper White card, gold mirri card

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Dark

Stamps: Lawn Faw Party Animal, Holiday Party Animal, Thank You Tags, (&matching dies for all Lawn Fawn stamp sets), Stampin' Up Gorgeous Grunge and Endless Wishes

Ink: Tsukineko Versamark and Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz distress inks Seedless Preserves, Festive Berries

Colouring: Copics

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies, Merry Christmas border die, Tag You're It dies, red and white bakers twine from my stash

Holly Jolly - Feathered Friends

The last two weeks have just flown by, and it's already time for a new challenge over at Holly Jolly. Thank you to everyone for sharing your gorgeous Christmas Carol inspired creations, we love to see what you are creating, and it's good to see there are already lots of people getting prepared for Christmas. I chatted with a friend the other day and she said she can't even bring herself to use the "C-word" yet, but still she was already getting a head start with her C-cards. Crafters, eh? Lol.

Anyways our new challenge over at Holly Jolly is Feathered Friends. So get your crafty on with some Christmas themed Feathered Friends and link up with us. In addition to comments from our DT you will be in the running for some great prices from our sponsors who this week are Bugaboo, All Dressed Up, Stamp&Create and Crafty Sentiments.

 

This time I got to play with the Bugaboo stamp Winter Penguin Trio. I have to say, I love the challenges where Bugaboo is a sponsor as I absolutely love their cute digi stamps. I had so much fun colouring the Penguin buddies playing in the snow. I used Tim Holtz distress markers, and for the sky I blended the markers with some water for a watercolour effect. For the background I used Stampin' Up Irresistibly Yours Speciality Designer Series Paper. It comes with various resist embossed patterns, and you can colour it to your liking. In my case, I got to try out two of my new Tim Holtz inks on it, BluePrint Sketch the July colour and Twisted Citron, the new May colour. I used Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies to cut the images and the Lawn Fawn Tag You're It die for the banner. To finish, I added a bit of paper twine to the tag. I love the deep blue starry sky behind the Penguin buddies, I really love this new colour from the great Tim Holtz.

I am linking up with the following challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra - Anything Goes
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything Goes
A Gem of a challenge - Animals or birds
Crafty Friends Challenge - Inspired by a movie (Madagascar, the penguins are my favourites! Cute and cuddly!)
Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge - Things with wings
Crafting From the Heart - Anything Goes 
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Make a Plan (planning for Christmas!)
Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card, Stampin' Up Irresistibly Yours Speciality Designer Series Paper
Inks: Tim Holtz distress markers, ink pads Blueprint Sketch, Twisted Citron, Tsukineko Staz-on Jet Black
Stamps: Bugaboo Winter Penguin Trio, Dovecraft Clear S'Jingle TTS
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies and Tag You're it dies, Tim Holtz paper twine