Under a creative spell

Teatime Reflections - quintessentially English layout

2013-05-18T17:14:00.000+01:00

Hello Crafty Friends!

This week in Stampendous world we're all about teapots. You can check some truly gorgeous inspiration projects on the blog here.

When I first saw these cuuuuute teapot stamps I squealed with joy. I adore vintage teapots and tea cups, all the fine china designs which make the experience of 'cream tea' so quintessentially English... Whether it's the Afternoon Tea at the Savoy, cream tea at Bettys Tea Rooms or simply a girls' afternoon in in your own garden, the whole experience has got something really magical about it...

I just 'happen' to have a small collection of vintage teapots and tea cups which became the theme behind this project. And I also happen to have beautiful teatime themed napkins, which I just HAD to include. Mix it all with a touch of Fran-tage... pure delight my friends! So today I'd like to share my Teatime Reflections layout.

I was recently inspired by beautiful work you can see on Rachelle's blog. Rachelle's layouts often feature beautifully distressed layers and I simply fell in love with this look. So my scrapbook page has lots of layers, distressing shabby chic-ing, Fran-taging and of course - stamping!

Starting from the bunting in the top corner we have Royal and Queen Teapots. Below, a journaling card with Kettle On sentiment and some elements from Crafty Emblies altered with Shabby White, Vintage Lilac and Aged Wine enamels.

Here I have a secret journaling tag die cut from a souvenir postcard I kept from our stay in the charming Hotel Estherea in Amsterdam. On the reverse I sponged some Rusty Hinge distress ink, stamped the King Teapot in the same ink, added a stamped label from the Luggage Labels set and spritzed some coffee for a mottled effect.

The sentiment quote (my all time favourite) is computer generated. You can find some lovely teatime quotes here. Or you can have a look at the beautiful Stampendous WordArt digital downloads here.

Above, metal ornate corners from Happy Daze shop were embossed with Shabby White enamel. Below, the gold embossed flower Ruffled Bloom was decorated with gems from Create & Craft and Champagne & Lavender glass glitters. On both photos you can also see some of my napkin art.

If you'd like to see the full tutorial for this scrapbook page, click on the picture below.

Thank you so much for popping in today and for all your heart-warming comments. I really appreciate them all!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Country View Crafts #3 - How does your garden grow
Live and Love Crafts #11 - 50 shades of Lilac
Simon Says Stamp & Show - A little paper
Sion Says Stamp - Flower Power
Our Creative Corner #1 - Anything Goes

New Elements and Project Life

2013-05-12T12:05:00.000+01:00

First of all I'd like to say a big thank you for all your beautiful comments on my Garden Journal project. I always love reading your thoughts. And a big welcome to my new followers and subscribers - I hope you will enjoy sharing this creative journey with me.

Today I am playing with Becky Higgins' Project Life. Project Life is all about celebrating your every day stuff so I decided to scrap about the thing that 'happens' to me every day....(except the weekends! lol) - my job.

One of the cool things about Project Life is that it's a great way to get into scrapbooking, if you've never tried it before. The page protectors used for this type of scrapbooking have separate little compartments that you can fill in with photos or simple journaling cards. They also come in various layouts/designs, allowing youto mix the pages to your heart's content. So if you feel a bit 'intimidated' by the big 12"x12" format, this post is for you!

One of the things I love about crafting is that it's a way of recharging my batteries after a challenging day. Crafting helps me 'leave' my work behind, if you know what I mean. So you might say that scrapping about my work would defeat the object lol :).

That's why in my page I wanted to focus on the 'little' things I enjoy about my work place, like beautiful aubretias trailing down the wall nearby, sipping coffee from my 'Best Wife in the World' mug (given to me by my hubby, just to clarify!) or shopping in the new Polish deli shop at lunch time. But most importantly - all the lovely people I work with whose optimism and sense of humour really brighten my days :).

Here is my supply list:

Stamps: Cling Typing Elements, Cling Phone Elements, Cling Blossom Spray, Perfectly Clear Smashing Notes, Perfectly Clear Big Top Type, Perfectly Clear Vintage Lowercase, Perfectly Clear Vintage Uppercase.

Essentials: Aged Wine Embossing Enamel, Aged Ivory Embossing Enamel, Stamp N Bond powder, Sunflower Micro Glitter, White Detail Embossing Powder.

Other: Project Life page protector - Design A

If you'd like to see the step-by-step photos for this project, be sure to hop over to my post on the Stampendous blog.

My main feature images are part of the collection of Elements stamps from the new Stampendous April 2013 Catalogue. Below you can see the Typing Elements and Phone Elements. They are absolutely fab!

I stamped the word 'office' in Google colours and added a 'Google maps' pin to my photo.

As you can see, these Elements stamps are just perfect for everyday life scrapbooking, especially documenting your office/working endeavours. Their vintage look adds a really quirky contrast against their modern 'equivalents' :).

Thank you for popping in here today and I hope you enjoyed reading about this project. As always, I'd love to know what you think!

Happy crafting!

Big crafty hugs

Challenges for this project:
Live and Love Crafts May - Lilac/Purple
Whimsy Stamps Challenge #59 - Anything goes
Our Creative Corner May - Anything goes

Peruvian Lilies, Stampendous and FSC #47 - all in My Garden Journal

2013-05-05T00:01:00.000+01:00

Re-edited - yay! My garden journal is one of the Spotlights at City Crafter Challenge Blog!

Happy (Inter)National Scrapbooking Day to all my crafty friends! I hope I'll get a chance to celebrate it with some crafting but first I'd like to share what I have been up to this week.

Before I tell you about my new project, here's heads up that a new Fashionable Stamping Challenge is officially open! And the theme this fortnight could not be better as this time Anything goes! All the Fashionettes have prepared a real eye candy inspiration for you so be sure to check all the beautiful samples.

Those who know me personally would certify that my garden has always been a kind of a project that gets put off forever... But not this year! We've finally got our new patio sorted and we're now ready to plan & plant the borders. Yay! It only took us 6 years to gear up for it so not too long really lol :).

No surprises then that I wanted to seize the opportunity to 'document' how our garden grows. That's why I started my very own garden journal, where I can clip plant labels, photos and play with creative journaling at the same time.

In keeping with the 'nature friendly theme' I've decided to up-cycle an old diary for that purpose. To kick start my creative gardening adventure I decorated the cover using my old time fave technique - decoupaging with napkins. This technique was perfect for this project as my cover was quite squishy and leather like, so covering it with paper would not be as successful.

For my project I used some really gorgeous Stampendous stamps from the new April release. I had a real trouble deciding which ones to choose as this release is full of real gems. But I finally decided on the Jumbo Cling Peruvian Lily set which I stamped onto the front cover with clear embossing ink. Then I heat embossed them with Detail Gold Embossing Powder from Stampendous.

To add dimension to my flowers I stamped the lilies again onto white card, heat embossed them with Black Detail Powder and cut them out. All my colouring was done with Inktense pencils.

Then I layered all my embellishments and lace. I also added fabric flowers from Prima and wooden embellishments from Crafty Emblies, which altered with Shabby Blue and Shabby Pink embossing enamels. To do that you simply swipe the Boss Gloss over, sprinkle the powders, tap off the excess and heat with the heat gun.

I also added one of my shabby enamelled flowers. To adhere my embellishments I used Beacon's 3in1 Advanced Craft Glue.

I decorate the flower centres with gems, Champagne and Fuchsia crushed glass glitter, sprinkled over Beacon's 3in1 adhesive.

Now, my garden journal could not be left without a proper country cottage bunting :). So I stamped in black the word 'garden' onto white vellum with Stampendous Big Top Type clear stamps and cut out the flags. Then I stamped the word 'journal' directly onto the journal cover with Vintage Lowercase clear stamps.

To finish my cover I added final touches with embossing the edges with Shabby Blue enamel.

I've also prepared a full step-by-step tutorial on this project which you will soon be able to see on Stampendous blog. In case you're worried you might miss it, just subscribe to the updates here :).

Over to you now - share your lovely stamped projects with us here.

Thank you so much for visiting today and for your lovely comments. Have a fabulous crafty weekend!

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Country View Crafts Challenge #3 - How does your garden grow
Top Tip Tuesday #100 - Moving parts (bunting flags)
Sugar Creek Hollow #60 - Spring Flowers
Our Creative Corner #1 - Anything goes
Whimsy Stamps Challenges #24 - Pretty in pink
City Crafter Challenge Blog #157 - Spring has sprung (inspiration photo below)

The Shabby Tea Room #164 - Beautiful Spring (inspiration photo below)

Creative Cauldron supplies for UK crafters:

See-through Flower Power

2013-04-24T22:08:00.000+01:00

Guess what? The Spring is finally here! I can't believe it's almost the end of April and the trees are only starting to grow leaves.

But I am really excited - we've just had a new patio done in our garden and I can't wait to start planting colourful flowers and shrubs. And then enjoy lovely warm evenings in the garden... I might be getting slightly carried away, you can never rely on the English weather. And if last year is anything to go by, we won't get to spend much time outside in the summer...

I am sharing a scrapbook page again :). Some of you might remember this project from Create and Craft TV - I made this page for Stampendous demos back in February.

And today I'd also like to share a couple of tips with you. First, how to use Stampendous Fran-tage 'blinkies' to embellish your layouts and second, printing your photos on a transparency for a cool 3D effect.

For my layout I stamped several images from the cling Jumbo Spring Bouquet, Violets and Single Butterfly sets. Some were heat embossed with the Gold Detail Embossing Powder and Aged Rose Embossing Enamel. After colouring the images with Inktense pencils I fussy cut them along the flowers from my K&Co patterned papers.

I wanted my photo to have a 3D look, as if 'blending' me and my sweet niece amongst all the flowers. To achieve that I printed the photo onto a printable acetate. Printing on transparencies has endless possibilities - just remember to print on the correct, rough side though lol :). I then matted my photo with a patterned paper before adhering it to the page on raised foam pads.

On my layout you can see a few different ways of using Fran-tage products for scrapbooking. Fran-tage beauties do not have to be limited to the encrusted jewel technique. On my page I incorporated them in the following ways:
1. Using Leaf Green Colour Fragments and double sided sticky tape I created a border around one of the paper panels.
2. Next I swiped Boss Gloss sparingly over the green colour fragments and heat embossed it with Aged Rose Embossing Enamel.
3. I sprinkled layers of Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter and Rose Colour Fragments over Beacon's 3in1 Adhesive to create a frame for the photo and decorative corners.

Thank you for visiting today and I look forward to seeing what you have been up to lately!

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Live & Love Crafts April - Bingo (pink, two designer papers, pearls)
Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp & Show - Colour
Country View Crafts Challenge #2 - Butterflies

Hop, hop - Stampendous & Project Life Blog play

2013-04-19T22:33:00.000+01:00

No need to adjust your monitors! Yes, I do have a new (blog) look. A girl needs a change sometimes :).

I've been a bit MIA lately, struck with all kinds of disasters (some of my own doing so I can't blame anyone...shish...) and my mojo has deserted me, too. But I hope to get back into my normal productive mode really soon.

For now, I just wanted to let you know about this awesome Blog Hop at Stampendous! We've teamed up with Becky Higgins to play with Project Life which is all about scrapping your 'every day life' moments. My PL page protectors have only just arrived so I didn't get a chance to join the Inspiration Hop. But I really can't wait to play with the new stuff!

On that note, are YOU ready to HOP?? Until Sunday night you can comment on the blogs of the participating Design Team Members and Stampendous blog here. Each comment counts as one entry to win the Project Life/Stampendous prize package!

The prize includes 12 assorted Project Life Page Protectors, and BRAND NEW (available on the website from Monday) Stampendous Vintage Alphabet Upper Case and Lower Case Perfectly Clear Stamp Sets. These stamps are perfect for journalling titles. This prize is a $50 retail value and Stampendous is giving away 3 of them! How cool is that?! So get hopping and commenting!

Now leave a comment below THIS POST then HOP on over to these other blogs and leave a comment there as well. The names of the winners will be announced on Stampendous blog on Monday.

Janelle Stollfus

Kristine Fossmeyer

Leadonna Kimmel

Kristine Reynolds

Cyndi Bundy

Tobi Crawford

Jamie Martin

And have you joined our April Micro Glitter Challenge yet? You can link up your glittered creations HERE!

Good luck in the hop and big hugs

Fashionable Journaling with Jumbo Daisies - FSC #45 and a quick tutorial

2013-04-07T18:19:00.000+01:00

Guess what? The sun is finally shining and who knows, maybe Spring is finally on its way? But if Mother Nature is still unsure whether it's time then I hope this project will make it absolutely clear - yes, it IS time! LOL.

And it's also time for another Fashionable Stamping Challenge :). This fortnight we are challenging ourselves and you lovely stampers with (Art) Journaling! But we could not let this challenge go without some inspiration from a professional Art Journaling artist so we have a very special guest playing with us - the one and only - Kate Crane from The Kathryn Wheel. How exciting is that?

I am a big fan of Kate's art and I love her Art Journaling DVDs. So what a better way to join this challenge than with a project inspired by Kate's all year long challenge of journalled calendars - here you can link up your April pages.

For almost a year now I've been trying to make a journalled calendar to keep track of all important dates, anniversaries, birthdays etc. But so far I only made June, July and October ha ha ha! It will probably be another year before I finish it (and that's quite optimistic). But since my dear friend Ruby recently told me to get on with the calendar, I decided to....errr...get on with it! :).

Without further ado, here's my April page.

For my April page I reused parts from an old calendar. I kept it because it was so pretty and I knew that one day I would find another use for it.

My background was created with acrylic paints, Inktense pencils, Colour Wash, Glimmer Mist and Cosmic Shimmer Mist sprays. I used a brickwork stencil to add gessoed texture and to add some colour highlights.

Those fabulous flowers are stamped with Stampendous Jumbo Daisy with a free template.

And I thought I would share a quick tutorial how to use the free templates from the new Stampendous Jumbo flower stamps.

I hope you can join us for this challenge, there is fabulous prize waiting for one lucky stamper - $20 voucher to spend at Flonz Craft store. Be sure to check out all the gorgeous Journalled projects my talented DT Sisters have created - and of course the magical pages created by our lovely Guest!

Have a fabulous week!

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything goes
Sunday Stamper #252 - Squares
Pan Pastel UK #14 - Use a stamped image
The Kathryn's Wheel - April calendar
Blogger's Challenge - Backgrounds
Inspiration Journal - Masks and Stencils

Anchors aweigh - I'm pushing the boat out onto Stampendoulicious waters...

2013-03-30T20:56:00.000Z

Ahoy my stamping Friends! I hope you are all well and enjoying your Spring/Easter break. Time for another Stampendoulicious inspiration.

The project I'm sharing today is not perhaps immediately Spring related when you first come to think of it. But somehow it makes me want to wake up from my winter sleep, take a deep breath and fill my lungs with fresh sea air, have the wind blowing in 'my' sails, then explore and live life to the full! And if that's not a Spring-like feeling, then I don't know what is :).

You know that feeling of seeing something that ignites your creative flair, makes you visualise your next project, its theme, colour palette, textures...?

That's exactly how I felt when came across this photo of a ship in a bottle. I actually have one at home myself but when you get used to things around you, after a while you just stop 'seeing' them. Do you know what I mean?

Inspiration photo credit

That photo immediately made me want to create something to reflect the look of a ship in a bottle, with seaside breeze, colours and textures, water bubbles and glass pebbles... And I truly hope I managed to capture it all in my mixed media canvas. The full instructions will soon be posted on the Stampendous blog near you :).

As it happened I had some perfect materials to play with: beautiful nautical set of napkins, stamps and embellishments. Another happy occasion that inspired my piece was this challenge on the Craft Stamper's blog which is all about the Faux Airbrushing technique featured in the March 2013 issue.

I used the Faux Airbrushing technique to create a 'cloud' of water bubbles that feature all over my canvas, in the background, sides and on the main foreground panel. For my bubbles I used a combination of Faded Jeans, Broken China, Shaded Lilac and Pumice Stone distress inks. I had a great time playing with this technique and I am sure I will play with it again quite soon! :).

The small bubbles were made with touches of Glossy Accents.

The stamps I used are Cling Navigateur, 'diamond like' border from Perfectly Clear Air Travel, beautiful sentiment Better Travel (all from Stampendous) and the bunting was a free stamp from July 2012 issue of the Craft Stamper.

I also couldn't leave my project without a touch of Frantage and I really pushed the boat out this time lol :). The main panel was sprinkled with Shabby White Embossing Enamel and the edges of the canvas embossed with Shabby Blue and Aged Marine Embossing Enamels. To add texture of golden sands and blue waves sparkling in the sun I added layers of Champagne, Steel Blue and Royal Blue crushed glass glitters and Powder Blue Colour Fragments.

The sentiment was heat embossed with Black Detail embossing powder onto acetate.

Thank you so much for popping in - I hope you like this instalment of my Stampendoulicious inspiration. I'm off to see what you have been up to and catch up on leaving some love :). And if you'd like to let me know you've visited - it would just make my day! :)

Big Easter hugs to all

Challenges for this project:
Simon Says Challenge - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Quotable
Crafty Emblies - Anything goes
Craft Stamper Challenge - Faux Airbrushing
2 Sisters Challenge blog #137 - Sparkle N Shine
Totally Gorjuss #177 - Something Blue
Creative Corner Challenges #12 - Anything goes
Hotshot Craft Challenge #15 - Anything but a card
Tuesday Throwdown #140 - Something dimensional
WordArt Wednesday #73 - Anything goes

My 'Four Seasons' of Stampendous - part 2

2013-03-28T15:41:00.000Z

Hello Friends!

Are you ready for part 2 of my Four Seasons concerto? If you missed part 1 with the close up pictures of my project, you can check it out here.

The full step by step instructions are now available on the Stampendous blog so hop over there and enjoy! :)

Big hugs

Tattered Florals and a Winner!

2013-03-22T23:29:00.000Z

Hello Friends!
I've been really busy since last week and I hardly spent any time at home :(. As a result I had very little time for crafting and visiting your magical blogs (I promise to catch up on both soon!).

But I really wanted to join in with Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals challenge so I played a little with my Tattered Florals die, distress inks, stamps and my beloved melt pot. I created some faux porcelain roses by giving my flowers a nice hot bath in clear UTEE :). I am sure these will feature on a project in a very near future!

And I would also like to take this opportunity to announce the winner of this lovely Violets stamp from Stampendous.

To date I've had 4710 beautiful comments from my dear blogging friends. Mr Random.org kindly assisted me with choosing the winner. Without any further ado, the winning commenter of my blog is....

Congratulations Janny! Please email me your address so I can send the stamp your way :)).

Thank you again for all your lovely comments - they are truly appreciated. And please, keep them coming - you never know, there might be a new surprise brewing for another lucky commenter! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful and crafty weekend!

Big hugs

My 'Four Seasons' of Stampendous

2013-03-16T10:00:00.000Z

Hello my talented Friends! I am back to share another sample I created for the Create & Craft shows featuring Stampendous products.

But before I tell you all about it, I'd like to say a big and warm welcome to my new followers and a big thank you to all my blogging friends who joined to share my creative journey with me. Having so many crafty friends 'near me' really fills my heart with joy and I feel very privileged to have captured your hearts :).

A 'Thank You' Giveaway!

That's right, as a way of 'thank you' I am giving away this gorgeous Violets stamp from Stampendous for one lucky commenter who's left some love on my blog. Whether it's a comment on this post or on any other post in the past - you all are in a chance of winning! You don't have to be a follower of my blog, although I would love it if you were. So all I can say, please keep those lovely comments coming as the more love you leave for My Creative Spell, the higher your chance of winning! :) The winner will be announced next week.

OK, onto my project then. Last week I finally felt that Spring was on its way to the UK. Blankets of snowdrops and first shy daffodils were trying very hard to send Winter home :). And whilst talking about seasons, I thought I would share this little beauty with you today. Just like the famous composer Antonio Vivaldi, I wanted to compose a concerto of the four seasons - in my own way :).

I didn't want this post to be too picture heavy, so I am going to break it down into two parts. Today I will share the individual pages of my Four Seasons accordion book and next week I will show you the 'technical' steps. Well then, let's start with...

Winter!

I started off by waving my baton, errr... the heat gun that is, got the orchestra of Fran-tage powders tune their instruments, I mean particles, and before I knew it, the music was filling in my craft room... For my frosty season I used the cling Old World Map and the Suitcase World sentiment stamp. The map was first heat embossed with Silver Detail embossing powder and coloured with Inktense pencils. The sentiment was heat embossed with Black Detail embossing powder. The snowflakes were adorned with Teal Mica fragments and Sky Blue embossing powder. Then I 'framed' the sentiment panel with Detail Capri embossing powder and the background panel was Fran-taged with the Aged Teal Embossing Enamel. All these beauties can be found in one magical place - Fran-tage Encrusted Jewel Kit in Teal. Now... let's cheer for...

Spring!

And with Spring I bring you a handful of Fresh and Ruffled Blooms, heat embossed with Black (for the foreground) and White Detail (for the background) embossing powders. The flower centres are all bathed in Champagne Glass glitter and Pearlised Mica Fragments. The background panel has been embellished with the same Mica Fragments and a generous sprinkle of Aged Rose Embossing Enamel. These gorgeous jewels can be found in the Pink Encrusted Jewel Kit. Now, let's get ready for...

Summer!

Oh, I so love Summer evenings in a garden full of wonderful flowers. Sadly my garden is not very inspiring (yet!), so perhaps this gorgeous Seed Catalogue stamp will inspire me to fill my garden with beautiful blooms. Just so I can see the world that will be Beautiful :). With the Summer season in mind, I 'seasoned' my page with Aged Hunter and Aged Rose embossing enamels and added Champagne glass glitter and Rose Colour Fragments. And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you...

Autumn! Or Fall, depending on your point of view :D.

My Autumnal page is swept with a gentle brush of the Ruffled Butterfly's wings and the leaves falling off the trees, dancing in the wind. Can you see all those golds, coppers and bronzes sparkling in the Autumnal sun That's the sparkle of the Vintage Mahogany embossing tinsel, Bronze Glass Glitter, Golden Sand embossing powder and Aged Copper embossing enamel - from the Bronze Encrusted Kit.

And in case you've missed it, this is what my Teamies Rhea and Tobi were up to this week:

Colouring with Copics - great tutorial by Tobi:

Beautiful '30 minute wonder' by Rhea:

I hope you enjoyed my Stampendoulicious seasonal symphony :). Stay tuned for the 2nd part with the step by step assembling instructions for the accordion book.

Until then...

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Chic to be Shabby
Country View Crafts #1 - Pick and Mix
Inspiration Journal - Make it POP
Stamping Sensations March - The Great Outdoors
Heck of a Challenge - Spring/Butterflies and Pearls
Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge #68 - Flowers and Ribbon
Happy Campers #12 - Flutterby Butterfly
Moving Along with The Times - Spring is in the Air

Bird songs and swirls

2013-03-10T00:01:00.000Z

It's been a while since I played with a Fashionable Challenge so I am really glad I could play again today. But first things first :). We've got a big announcement - the challenge blog now has a new website address! You can now find us at:

http://www.fashionablestampingchallenges.com

Please make sure to update your shortcuts :). So, onto the new challenge - this time we'd like to see your beautiful stamped creations featuring swirls. You've got two weeks to join and the winner will get a really lovely surprise from our new sponsor Flonzcraft!

For my card I used a some really gorgeous stamps: Minuet Bird & A Bird Sings and a Jumbo Spring Bouquet (all Stampendous). The flowers and the sentiment were embossed with the Gold Detail Embossing powder. I coloured the flowers and the bird with Inktense pencils. And I also added a touch of Shabby Blue Frantage. The papers are K&Co and DCWV Mariposa.

My card has been inspired by a little floral fantasy, just like the name of the blog from the lovely and talented Brenda, who's got a fabulous candy on her blog at the moment :).

My Fashionable DT Sisters have prepared a big treat for you - be sure to check out all the projects! And this week we also have a Guest Designer playing with us - a very talented lady Astrid Maclean!

Thank you for all your lovely comments on My Dream Day LO :). Have a fabulous Sunday!

Big hugs

Challenges for this card:
Debbie's Blog Candy Challenge - new card
Countryview Crafts Challenges #1 - Pick and Mix
Vintage Stamping Challenges #6 - Spring is in the air
Top Tip Tuesday #96 - Up, Up and Away
Crafty Ribbon Challenge #40 - Anything goes
DL.ART Linky Party Challenge March - Anything goes
7Kids College Fund #68 - Anything Goes

My Dream Day

2013-03-06T22:52:00.000Z

I am so glad you popped in today! It is quite a special day because not only I'm sharing a scrapbook page but it's a layout of my Dream Day - my Wedding Day that is! Yay! No special occasion, no anniversary - just the joy of sharing :).

I had so much fun making this scrapbook page - I should really play with layouts more often. But they can feel a bit 'intimidating' sometimes, can't they? So to all scrapbook pros out there - what are your best tips to get you started working on a page? Do you build your page around a photo you want to scrap? Or do you look for a suitable photograph once you have the design in mind? Or perhaps you start with a template/sketch first and just build your page to suit the layout? I found these quick tips for making a balanced page quite helpful.

The inspiration for this LO was the beautiful stamp as well as one of my favourite photos from my wedding day. Here's the photo itself - taken by one of my dear friends Przemyslaw Pietruszewski who was our photographer for the day :).

This page was another sample I made for the Create & Craft shows. The first time I set my eyes on this beautiful Cling Ruffled Corset stamp (UK peeps click here), I immediately knew I had to make a project with it to compliment this photo. And I am so glad I finally had the opportunity to do it :).

Here a few key details about this project but be sure to check out the full instructions on the Stampendous blog.

Here's the list of supplies I used.
Stampendous: Cling Ruffled Corset stamp (UK peeps click here), Shabby White Embossing Enamel (UK crafters click here), Champagne and Fresh Green glitters from the Glass Glitter kit.

Other:
White Opal Liquid Pearls, Viva Decor Transparent Croco, Inktense pencils (or alcohol markers), decorative card from leftover packaging (Prima flowers), Beacon's 3 in 1 Advanced Craft Glue, Lettuce Colour Wash, Gold Cosmic Shimmer Mist, selection of lace, ribbons and fabric flowers, burlap.

Oh I just love the lace up detail on this stamp - and it's such a gorgeous feminine design!

The flower cluster in the photo below is made from the fabric blooms and moulded enamel flowers (you can watch my moulded flowers tutorial here).

Would you like some more fabulous inspiration? Check out what my lovely Stampendous BlogStar teammies have been up to recently:

Rhea's Botanical Blooms - with a stunning grid-like card and a tutorial for a dry colour washing using Distress Inks.

Tobi's Life is Art canvas - an absolutely stunning and beautifully textured mixed media piece.

Rhea's Violets - gorgeous card with a great water colouring technique using Copics.

Tobi's Warmest wishes - featuring a very Happy Couple and fab airbrush technique.

I hope you enjoyed sharing my Dream Day with me! What would be/has been your dream day? Let me know in the comment below :).

Thanks for popping in! Have a fabulous week!

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Countryview Crafts Challenges #1 - Pick & Mix (Anything goes)
Simon Says Challenge - A bit O'Green
Simon Says Stamp and Show - By the numbers (trios of elements)
Sugar Creek Hollow #51 - Lovely Lace
Vintage Stamping Challenges #6 - Spring is in the air
Pan Pastel UK challenge #9 - Alter it (altered letters)
Flying Unicorn March - Lace it up

Craft Hobby + Stitch - 'The Stitches'

2013-03-05T22:42:00.001Z

Hello crafty friends and I'm so happy you stopped by today :). Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my previous post with the travel suitcase. Your comments really mean so much to me - thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

I've finally found a moment to share a few pictures from the Craft Hobby and Stitch International trade show (also fondly known as 'the Stitches') I went to recently.

I was super excited to support and cheer for the fabulous Woodware UK crew and while I was at it, I did some demoing of the new FRANtastic products from Stampendous alongside the one and only Jill Tuck from The Stamp Man shop :). Here are the Stampendous Power Girls:

And I've also finally met my super talented blogland friend Pam Hornshu - the Stampendous DT Alumni :).

And here I am playing with the new Fran-tage kits and the encrusted jewel technique :).

And whilst having a walk around the show, this is what caught my special attention - a liquid sculpting medium for fabric called Powertex. This is definitely going on the top of my wish list - just take a look at the beauties you can create with this! My brain cogs are already working overtime (as my friend Ruby would say lol) and I can see endless possibilities with this stuff :). So watch this space!

And while I'm writing - let me just quickly invite you to the beautiful new DT Intro page on the Stampendous blog. You can 'meet' the whole Design Team and learn some funky little secrets that make the designers' styles and talents so Stampendouliciously unique :).

Have a fabulous week!

Big hugs

How to fit a whole world into a suitcase

2013-02-25T22:28:00.000Z

Re-edited: My project received an 'honourable mention' at the JUGS! Yay!

Hello friends! First of all I have a small announcement to make. We've recently had some changes within the Stampendous Design Team and I have been invited to take up the post of the permanent Foreign Correspondent BlogStar alongside my talented Teammies Rhea and Tobi. Each of us will be providing you with weekly delicious & Stampendoulicious inspiration on our blogs and on the main Stampendous blog as well. Yay!

Today I am taking you for for a trip around the world. And all you need is one suitcase :). In this post I will mention all the key goodies I've used, but if you'd like to see the full step by step instructions, be sure to visit the Stampendous blog.

Some of you may remember this project from this week's show on Create and Craft TV, with the lovely Jill Tuck from the Stamp Man as the guest artist demoing some fabulous techniques.

As you know I haven't been blogging much recently as I was very busy crafting instead :). And all my efforts were focused on making the samples for all last week's shows on Create and Craft TV featuring Stampendous products.

There is something really thrilling and super exciting about seeing your work featured in media, albeit in a paper publication or an online magazine. So I'm sure you can imagine this loud squeal when I saw my projects on the box! For the next few weeks I will be sharing the projects I made - and hopefully by the time I shared the last one my tired Muse will be ready for new action again lol :).

I made my suitcase from a 4 mm thick foam board and decorated it with tissue paper (for texture), acrylic paints and the Encrusted Jewel Kit - in Turquoise. To make the suitcase follow the tutorial that you can find here.

The stamps used are my brand new Old World Map, Suitcase World, Beautiful Life, Ruffled Bloom and Fresh Bloom stamped onto pearlescent cardstock/paper with embossing ink. The images were heat embossed with the powders from the Detail Basic Embossing Kit. I coloured the images with Inktense pencils.

To adorn the centres of the flowers and the suitcase compartments I used a selection of pretty brads, Teal Mica Flakes, Teal Colour Fragments and Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter. I added generous layers and blobs of Beacon's 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue and sprinkled all the sparkly jewels over the glue.

The hinges, keys and the lock plate were cut from Tim Holtz Hardware Findings die and PaperArtsy Harware #1 and heat embossed with Shabby White and Aged Teal Embossing Enamels. I also added a paper fold inside over the compartments to hold them securely together.

The trims were embossed with Sizzix Texture Fades Cracked set and heat embossed with detail clear embossing powder to create a faux leather effect.

The links above will direct you to my favourite UK's retailer for Stampendous products - The Stamp Man. But don't forget that you can also browse and shop for all the lovely goodies directly on the Stampendous website.

I have to say I really love this selection of the stamps and the Suitcase World sentiment is simply fabulous. If you could pack your suitcase tomorrow and start your travels around the world, what would be your first place you'd like to visit? What crafty item you would not leave without?

My first stop would be hmm... Rome, I think. And I would definitely have to take a Frantage kit with me :). I could carve stamps out of potatoes, use mud to stamp with and pine resin as glue. I would light a fire with wooden sticks to heat my embossing powders but I would never be able to find a substitute for my beloved Frantage beauties :)).

Thank you so much for visiting and for your lovely comments and emails regarding the Create & Craft shows. And I would also like to welcome my new followers and email subscribers - I hope you will enjoy sharing this creative journey with me :)).

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Eclectic Paperie - Folded paper
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Stamp you love (but haven't used yet)
Vintage Stamping Challenges #5 - Blues, Browns and Beige
Frilly and Funkie - Layer it on and Share a Word
Just Us Girls Challenge #177 - Photo Inspiration (below)

Look out for Stampendous on Create and Craft TV!

2013-02-19T21:19:00.000Z

Hello my Crafty Friends!

I can finally reveal what I have been up to recently. I have been very busy making samples for the upcoming shows on Create and Craft TV featuring new fantastic products from Stampendous! :)).

But wait - there's more! Not only you will get a chance to buy some fabulous products, you will also get a real treat of watching fabulous demos presented by the lovely Jill Tuck from the Stamp Man! I really can't wait to see the shows and I sure will set my recorder to work overtime. Make sure you set yours too and here are the show times for you:

Wednesday 20 February 10:00am - 11:00am

Thursday 21 February 06:00pm - 07:00pm

Friday 22 February 02:00pm - 03:00pm

You can also watch the shows live online - just follow the links here.

The picture above is a quick sneak peak of one of my designs - my Four Seasons :). I wonder if you will recognise my other ones while watching the shows - I would love to know if you do! :) And you never know, I might have a small surprise hidden up my sleeve to celebrate this! :)

I have also been really lucky to attend the infamous Stitches show at NEC Birmingham on Sunday. I will tell you all about it later this week!

Have fun watching the shows!

Big hugs

Let's have some Create Time with CR8TIME!

2013-02-10T21:06:00.000Z

Hello my dear Friends! I've been so busy for the last few weeks (busy with crafting - lucky me!) that I've had no time left for blogging (not good!)... I will be able to share what I have been up to very soon :).
And I'm really sorry I haven't been visiting your fabulous blogs as often as I would like - I promise my visiting and commenting will go back to normal soon, too!

Have you heard of CR8TIME? It's a new movement driven by the CHA Foundation and supporting partners, promoting the idea of getting your family, friends, neighbours, colleagues to spend quality time through creative activities. You can find out more about it HERE. I absolutely love and support this initiative.

As it happens, my boss is a volunteer in the local Youth Club. So when she asked me to do some crafting with the kids, I immediately said yes! Not because she's my boss and stuff, but because I really really loved the idea :).

But first and foremost, this month's challenge at Stampendous is all about love. To join the challenge create a project with a love theme, a wedding or anniversary card or maybe a Valentine's card for your secret crush - all heartfelt projects welcome! I'm joining the challenge with the projects I made for the Youth Club activity.

Since Valentine's Day is just round the corner, Valentine's cards seemed like a great theme to get the kids involved. We were playing with patterned papers, card and some stamping using Stampendous stamps (Vintage Typewriter and Rose Thoughts sets).

Here are a couple of the kids' projects :).

Birdie and her card.

This card was made by Jack for his Mum - see the message inside - how sweet was that???

And here are the samples I made for this event :).

Apologies the pictures are not that great but they were taken with my phone :). Stampendous are one of the partners in the CR8TIME project so I was really excited to use their stamps during this creative playtime.

That's all for now! I'd love to see your heartfelt projects and if you host or join an invent in the spirit of CR8TIME, I'd love to hear all about it!

Thank you for popping in and your sweet comments. I promise to share some love on your blogs very soon!

Big hugs

The mirror of my heart and soul - frame(d) by Mrs Ikea :)

2013-01-22T21:52:00.001Z

Hello my Blogging Friends! It's me again. Today I am sharing an altered mirror frame, courtesy of a certain Swedish brand :). I've made this frame for the Stampendous booth at the January CHA. As I couldn't be there myself, I wanted to inject as much of my heart, style and soul into this little item as possible. This way it's almost like I was there, too, you see?

The frame was inspired by this video. It is a 'showcase' of some of the gorgeous January release stamps from Stampendous. You will be able to see them here at the end of the month and in your local craft shops hopefully shortly after. Make sure to let them know how much you love the new stuff and that they need to get them to their shops asap lol ;).

The stamps I used on my frame are: CRN255 (ornate swirls), CRW085 (Rose Bloom), CRR160 (Luggage Labels), CRW088 Seed Background and CRV273 (Beautiful Life sentiment).

I started by painting my frame with a couple of coats of matt emulsion. Then I stamped the roses and coloured them with Inktense pencils. The ornate swirl was stamped and heat embossed. Then I dry brushed some more paint and sanded in places for a vintage feel.

Next I stamped the Luggage Labels and Seed Background collages onto patterned paper and cut to size of my ice cubes moulds. I layered the squares in the moulds with a mixture of Burgundy Colour Fragments and Lavender Crushed Glass Glitter around the edges. To create the tiles I melted Clear Embossing Enamel in the melting pot and poured it into the moulds over the images.

To add texture to the frame I 'framed' the frame with a generous offering of Aged Scarlett Embossing Enamel and Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter. I also created some diamond shaped lovelies with texture paste and a sprinkle of Champagne Glass Glitter.

The sentiment was stamped on both sides of the card (Top Tip - attach the card slightly over the glass so you can see the reflection of the back in the mirror - quite a cool effect) and I also added some napkins flowers (I couldn't leave my frame without some napkin art, could I?).

To finish the mirror I added some wire ribbon (recovered some time ago from a flower bouquet) which I encrusted with some pearl brads, moulded flowers and crushed glass glitter over Beacon's 3in1 Advanced Craft Glue. To seal my encrusted jewels I added a coat of Beacon's Fast Finish. After final touches with gold acrylic paint the 'mirror of my soul' was complete :).

My frame made its way to the CHA with the lovely Dorothy from Woodware UK (thank you so much Dorothy!). And here are some more of the lovely Stampendous highlights from the January CHA:

My frame :)

More frames from the Design Team :)

My Teammies have also been busy with their Sneak Peeks of the new release so be sure to check out all the fantastic projects they shared here!

I hope you enjoyed this little photo story and that I managed to get you all excited about all the lovely Stampendoulicious goodies coming soon to the store near you. Do you think I managed to put a little bit of 'me' in the frame? :).

Thank you so much for popping in and for your lovely comments. Have a great week!

Big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - What are you known for?
Happy Daze Design Team challenge January - Recycle It (wire ribbon)
Live and Love Crafts January - Something Old
Pan Pastel UK #3 - Nature
Vintage Stamping Challenges #4 - Vintage
Through The Craftroom Door 22-28th Jan - Anything Goes
Tip Top Tuesday #94 - Lavishly Luscious Layers

Make It Monday Jan 21st - Anything goes

It's precious - handle with care...

2013-01-15T22:28:00.000Z

Oh my goodness! I can't believe how quickly the time has flown since I last blogged! It was a year ago! It appears that this is my first post for 2013 so HAPPY NEW YEAR MY BLOGGING FRIENDS! :). I have been very busy crafting but I cannot show you the fruits of my creative labour yet.

But I have a little teaser for you on what's happening in the Stampendous world very soon! This is a little pendant I made for my best friend for Christmas. I used some Tim Holtz metal goodies and a generous amount of gorgeous Stampendous crushed glass glitters (Royal Purple, Champagne and Lavender) sprinkled over Beacon's 3in1 Adhesive. That's my new take on the encrusted jewel technique lol.

The sentiment is from a fantastic stamp set (one of many) that will be released and available in shops very soon (I will certainly let you know when so watch this space!). My friend has recently suffered from a bit of a heart ache so the message on the pendant has got a very important meaning. She's a very special lady and she deserves all the best in the world.

Do you recognise the flowers? I made them using Stampendous embossing enamels (click here to watch my video tutorial). And the beautiful encrusted gem on the right is from my friend's old broken jewellery piece. She gave it to me a while back to use in my art - so I did :). And I think it looks gorgeous there.

And for those who have been anxiously waiting to hear some updates from the CHA, here are a few exciting sneak peaks...

Lovin' these as much as I do? How about a Micro Glitter rainbow to brighten your day?

And if that hasn't put a smile on your face, then this certainly will - Leonie and Nigel from Create and Craft TV rockin' the new Jumbo Daisy!

Want to see more? Well, then - have a look at these beauties crafted by my super talented Teamies :).

More to follow!

Thanks for popping in and big hugs

Challenges for this project:
Tuesday Throwdown #130 - Frame it
Whimsy Stamps Inspiration Challenge #55 - Fancy edges
Live and Love Crafts #7 - Something Old
Pan Pastel UK #2 - New technique
Vintage Stamping Challenges #4 - Vintage
Bunny Zoe Crafts January - Anything goes
Creative Creations Challenges #1 - Anything goes

Crafty-Emblies Design Team Call and my 2012 highlights

2012-12-31T18:29:00.000Z

Hello Friends!

I've just come across this DT call and would love to give it a try :). Please wish me luck! And if you join in, I wish you luck, too! And if you don't want to take part in the Call, why don't you share your favourite project for 2012 here to be in a chance of winning a £10 goody box!

The call is for the Crafty-Emblies Challenge Blog which is a home for all altered art enthusiasts :). To take part in the Call we are asked to share our three favourite projects. Oh boy, this is not an easy task for me as I love playing with altered items and find it almost impossible to choose one project over another... But hey, here we go with my picks (after hours spent on deciding which ones to choose...) lol.

The projects I decided to go with are the most important makes of 2012 for me. They brought me lots of fun but also a lot of pride :).

First project to share is my Paris in Spring time altered frame. It was the first item I decorated using printed napkins and I instantly fell in love with this technique. This is also my first project that captured the hearts of the Stampendous HQ team which started my super exciting Stampendous adventure later on. I was also extremely honoured to have my frame accepted for publication in UK's Scrap365 Magazine :).

The second sample is a set of wooden coasters I played with for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Craft Competition in my town. I was very proud to be presented with the First Prize by Her Majesty Herself ;). You can read all about it in this post.

My third item for the DT call is the altered papier mache frame which I shared with you here. With this project I am saying 'goodbye' to the year 2012 and all its crafty adventures and I'm greeting the New Year 2013. This item will also soon find a new loving home. I made it for one Very Special Lady - one of my Teammies at the Fashionable Stamping Challenges as my Secret Santa gift.

I would also like to share a couple of more projects, to take part in Debby's Favourite Five of 2012 Linky Party and a lovely Giveaway :).

The first one is a card for my lovely friend Ruby from Ruby2Shoes, who was getting married in May :). You can see my original post here.

The final item is my lovely 'A for Asia', which is now proudly displayed in my craft room. This was also one of the samples I originally submitted for the Stampendous BlogStars Call :).

My other favourite highlights were the introduction of my Blog Candy Cauldron, attending my first ever craft show (where I finally got to meet Joanna, Shirley & Brenda in person and I also found out that I had been published in Scrap365!), the invitation to join the Stampendous gang permanently and meeting Fran Seiford (the founder and owner of Stampendous! Impressions), taking part in the Queen's Diamon Jubilee celebrations and the London 2012 Olympics, November Guest Design Spot at The Artistic Stamper and having so much fun playing at the Fashionable Stamping Challenges :).

But I have enjoyed and treasured most is sharing projects and stories behind them with all my 'old' and 'new' blogging friends - thank you for being part of my creative journey!

Big New Year Squeezes!

Also linking to:
Anything But a Card Challenges #9 - Favourite Project from 2012

Are you up for a surprise? FSC #39

2012-12-30T00:01:00.000Z

Re-edited: Hurray! My project has been chosen as one of the top picks at Live and Love Crafts challenge! Yay!!

Ho ho ho! Merry After Christmas to you all! :)

It's time for another Fashionable Stamping Challenge and this time we ask you to SURPRISE US!. Yep, that's right. Whatever theme, project, occasion you'd like to share, we'll be delighted to see it - anything goes folks! But remember, we're big fans of traditional stamping so keep those digi images at bay! lol :).

In the spirit of a big surprise party, the Fashionettes are having a some fun too! We've decided to play a little Secret Santa game, making a project for a fellow Teamie. The trick is that no one knows who's making their gift. They will have to wait until Mr Postie delivers their package to find out (errr well, except Santa's Little Helper who drew the names from the Hat. And Yours Truly, that is!).

So without further ado, here's the project I made for this lovely and super talented lady and her name is...

.......

Ha ha! Got ya! Did you really think I was going to tell you? Nope. You'll all have to wait for the Big Names Reveal until all Fashionettes have received their gifts :). Anyway, the project I made is an altered papier mache frame which...

...was first covered with printed napkins and then toned down with lovely pastel coloured matt emulsion paints. Then, the frame was generously treated with some lovely stamping using stamps from Prima Documentary script, Creative Expressions Swirls, Stampendous Leaf Sprig and Stempleglede Grunge Collection. Next, I added some accents with texture paste through a stencil and while the paste was still wet I sprinkled some Fresh Green crushed glass glitter (I must confess, I absolutely adore all crushed glass glitters from Stampendous!). Once the paste diamonds were dry I added some shading around them with a chalk pencil.

The edges of the recess were decorated with Stampendous Burgundy and Powder Blue colour fragments. The recess itself was first lined with layers of cheese cloth and lace for a shabby chic look. Then, I added a couple of patterned paper panels stamped with Paperbag Studios Dress Up stamp, Tattered Angels Clock and the lovely sentiment from the Stampendous Rose Thought plate. The girl was coloured using my brand spankin' new Spectrum Noir markers :).

To embellish the frame is used a handful of lovely flowers (Prima Belle Fleur and others) and first treated them with white acrylic paint. I wanted to keep my frame in a wintery colour palette and white paint touches are an easy trick for a delicate 'frosty' look. I also added some punched snowflakes covered with Shaved Ice and some handmade moulded flowers from Frantage embossing enamels. If you'd like to know how I made them, make sure to check out my video tutorial here.

Well, I hope you like this SURPRISE inspiration from me. But most importantly I truly hope the recipient of my gift likes it, too! It can be quite 'nerve-wracking' making a handmade gift for another crafter, especially such a talented one :). And I cannot wait to receive the pressie from my Secret Santa - oh this is sooooo exciting!

So what are you going to surprise us with? Are you stuck for ideas? Hop over to see what my DT Sistas have created and your head will be spinning with new ideas!

May I also take this opportunity to thank you all my blogging friends for being so wonderfully supportive and for all the encouraging and beautiful comments you always leave. I'd like to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year 2013, full of laughter, health and creative flair. Let's make this New Year super special - to show the World it was worth carrying on! :)

Big hugs

I am entering the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes
Live & Love Crafts #6 - Anything but a card
Vintage Stamping Challenges #3 - Pocket full of posies
Stampin' For the Weekend #24 - Anything goes
Crafty Ribbons Challenge #35 - Blue and Green
DL.ART Thankful Thursday Challenge - Anything goes
It's All About The Vintage #34 - Lace Dream
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything goes
Divas By Design #66 - Anything Goes

Favourite Five Christmas Cards of 2012 blog candy

2012-12-27T22:24:00.001Z

Hello Friends!

I hope you all had a lovely, peaceful and magical Christmas and that Santa found you without any problems lol ;). Did you get (m)any crafty prassies? :). I got some lovely stamps and beautiful crafty books.

Just wanted to let you know about this fabulous candy on Debby's blog. To be in a chance of winning you need to share your fave five Christmas cards you've made in 2012 :).

So here are my choices:

If you'd like to browse through my various Christmas makes, click here.

And if you fancy more of the sweet candy, hop over to my Blog Candy Cauldron and take your pick!

Are you ready to celebrate the beginning of the New Year? What are your plans for waving the 2012 goodbye?

Big hugs

Season's Greetings for boys and girls :)

2012-12-23T23:40:00.000Z

For all the crafty Girls and Boys our there! A quick message from me:

The cards above are my final pre-Christmas CAS Stampendous inspiration for you. They are featuring the lovely Shaved Ice background and the great sentiment from the Cling Jumbo Holly Season Set.

And now I would just like to share these few words, for a peaceful and magical Christmas for you and your loved ones...

Big (Seasonal) hugs

Gloria in Excelsis Deo and vintage Angels

2012-12-20T21:52:00.000Z

Prompted by Alison's post I am sharing today a couple of more Christmas cards which I would like to enter into the MoneySupermarket Christmas Card Craft off :). Who knows, maybe luck will be on my side this Christmas - I could do with a mini I-Pad. Or a HobbyCraft voucher :). Definitely worth a try - so go ahead and join as well!

My cards again are fitting in with this month's challenge at Stampendous - CAS Christmas. For my cards I used some Christmassy papers and this gorgeous clear stamp set Excelsis Deo. I really love it and this is really the closest stamp/image I have, that reflects the true spirit of Christmas. The stamped panel was sprayed with Heirloom Gold Glimmer Mist for an aged look.

My top tip for quick and easy Xmas card makes - last year I saved all the scraps and precut pieces of Xmas papers from my card making agenda in a separate box. It took me virtually a couple of minutes to find, select, cut, distress, ink up and adhere all those lovely flags in the top banner. Usually 95% of my time is spent on finding/choosing/cutting and arranging the papers so having all those little strips of paper already cut was sooooo handy!

I hope all your preparations are going well. I can't believe there are only five sleeps left till Santa... And there is still soooooooooo much to do! And still so many of you to visit to see what you've been up to and to wish you happy Christmas...:))

Well, time to go back to my chores and errants... I promise to visit you soon!

Ps. If you'd like another chance for an early Christmas pressie, make sure to check out my previous post :).

Lots of Xmas love and hugs

Entering the following Challenges:
MoneySupermarket - Christmas Card Craft Off
The Stamp Man challenge - In the bleak Midwinter
Happy Daze shop - In the Deep Midwinter
Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Christmassy
Simon Says - Merry Christmas!
Whimsy Stamps Challenge #54 - Anything Christmassy
Pan Pastel UK #49 - Christmas Time

Who wants an early Christmas pressie?

2012-12-18T23:31:00.000Z

I was hoping the post title would get your attention ;). I just wanted to let you know that my sweet Blog Candy Cauldron is just bursting with sweetness of crafty stash!

Head over to the collection, let your heart guide you to the sweetest of candies, make new friends and share the Christmas love!

How's that for an early Christmas pressie? But wait - there's more to come so watch this space!

Lots of mid-week hugs!

More CAS Christmas inspiration

2012-12-15T12:24:00.001Z

Hello, it's me again! I thought I would pop in and share some more CAS inspiration for Christmas cards. I Still have so many to make that I am really starting to panic now lol ;). Well, here are some more examples of quick makes with a background made using the Stampendous Shaved Ice (my favourite product for Xmas makes ever!). I shared this technique in the post here.

The stamps (all from Stampendous) I used are:
Kiddo Snow Globe SSC1148 (UK crafters click here)
Cling Jumbo Holly Season Set CRS5023 (UK crafters click here)
Tis The Season SSC1147 (UK crafters click here)

Other materials:
Craft, pink, white and blue cardstock
White vellum
Ribbons, buttons and Stampendous crushed glass glitter

Don't forget there is still time to enter our monthly CAS Christmas challenge at Stampendous! Make sure to join us (click on the Kitty Button below) and who knows, you might be the lucky Christmas winner!

Have a lovely crafty weekend and thank you so much for visiting!

Big hugs

I would also like to enter the following challenges:
Happy Daze Design Team December - In the bleak Midwinter
Make It Monday #119 - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - What's your favourite
Cards Galore December - Christmas
Cardabilities #65 - Sketch
Cupcake Craftroom December - Christmas
Whimsy Stamps Inspiration Challenge Dec #54 - Festive Anything Goes
Pretty Little Ribbon Shop #17 - Christmas
Really Reasonable Ribbon #62 - Anything goes
Sparkles Monthly Challenges #39 - Anything goes
Sparkles Christmas Challenges #23 - Button or a Bow
The Cupboard Trilogy #6 - Frosty winter
Unique Crafters December - Anything Christmas