Inky Impressions - Animals

Good afternoon!! This is my last week as guest designer for Inky Impressions and I want to say a big thanks to the ladies for having me -  it was fun!! This week's challenge is Animals so we would like to see ... erm... ANIMALS on your projects, lol.

Just when you thought the Christmas cards were done with up pops another one ;) But this IS my very last Christmas card (for 2010!!)

My image is called Sophia's Sweet Snowman isn't she cute? lol. I've coloured her with copic markers and added some stickles to her bow. 

My papers are by Papermania, and they are from last year. I matted them with dark green carstock. The border was punched out using MS deep edge trellis punch. I added some cream and red roses, along with some white poinsettias. The snowman charm is attached to the raffia using a fine link chain. To finish off I added a couple of pearl topped pins.

A couple of close-ups

Challenges:

Mad for Markers - Anything Goes

Dutch Dare Card - Winter
Allsorts Challenge - Free and Easy - Anything Goes
Copic Creations - Sparkle
Sew Many Challenges - Anything Goes
Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - Snow Much Fun
The Character Cafe Challenge - Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle
The Corrosive Challenge - Bling it On
Stamping Vacation Challenge - Snowman

Thanks for driving by, don't forget to hop over to my teamies' blogs to see their wonderful creations. Have a fun filled Wednesday!!

Sandie

xXx

The Sugar Bowl - A Sketch

Hi everyone! Well it's pretty darn cold here and I know you all are dealing with the same temps PLUS a lot more snow than we got. I hope you're all staying safe and warm :)

I made this card for the WOW competition on the Sugar Nellie blog but didn't have any Sassy images, which were required, so I couldn't enter.. however, this is the first time I've ever done a WHITE ON WHITE card and I just love how it turned out. I followed the sketch over on The Sugar Bowl.

It's hard to see but there is a layer of white vellum covering the background on the card. I painted the edges of the vellum with white acrylic paint and stitched it on. Then I embossed another piece of white card to use as a matt for my image. You can just about see the white lace peeking out from behind the flowers/image.

I kept my image monochromatic by using all Earth tone copics. I added some tiny pearls for the buttons on her shirt and then covered the whole image in glossy accents.

Both the grungeboard heart and hinge have been painted white and sprinkled with snowflake glitter. Once the glitter was dry I added a white threaded button to the heart. I punched out two different types of leaves from white cardstock. Then I added some star dust stickles to them all. I painted the curled stem of my cherry blossom to keep the card as white as possible.

The pearls swirls are by Prima and I've just cut pieces off as I needed them so that I could add the swirls to suit the card.

To complete the card I added two tiny tags, one with a sentiment and the other with some more pearls. I've also glittered up the edges of the tags. So I reckon this card glitters enough to enter it into Copic Creations challenge. It also happens to fit the iCopic Lover colour combo challenge and Totally Gorjuss with their challenge " For Someone Special" as I gave this to my daughter today for her birthday. She's been eyeing it up since I made it so I figured she'd love it as her bday card :D 

Other challenges are:

Allsorts - Anything Goes
Crafty Pad - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz - Your Choice
OSAAT - Anything Goes

Well that's it from me for today and possibly for the week. I cannot believe the Christmas day is only 5 days away!! I don't have a single gift wrapped and I still have a couple of people to buy gifts for. The kids are finished in school on Thursday until Jan 10th, let's hope they don't get too bored eh?! 

Have a wonderful day, and if I don't get to blog before then, have a WONDERFUL HOLIDAY SEASON!!!

Sandie

xXx

Whiff of Joy Blog Hop & Stampin' for the Weekend

Good morning!! Welcome to Whiff of Joy's Blog Hop. The whole team have come together to showcase some wonderful Christmas creations. If you have arrived here from Karen's blog then you are on the right track, if not then you may want to jump back to Katharina's blog which is where the hop begins. 

The hop will end on December 24th and one lucky commenter will win €30 to spend @ Whiff of Joy.  What a great Christmas gift!!

*Don't forget that you can get 20% off your entire order in the Whiff of Joy store when you use the coupon code below. This coupon is valid until December 24th.*

I have to confess that I combined my blog hop card with my Stampin' for the Weekend DT card.. naughty me, but it is the season of long queues and marathon shopping, so crafty time is at a premium, lol. 

Don't you just LOVE Henry Mouse and his cheeky little smile??!! I've coloured him using copic markers and then added some glossy accents to the trim on his Santa hat, the berries and bow on the wreath. 

My papers are BG Jovial, love love love them!! I broke out the sewing machine and stitched the card... had to blow the dust off of the machine first, haha!! Then I added some white & red poinsettias along with some punched out pine leaves, white roses and red pearl top pins. 

I've used 2 red ribbons, one organza and one sateen. I made the bow from the sateen and {with a lot of effort} pushed a pearl/gold brad through. This was no easy task, but I think it turned out pretty nice. 

To complete my card I added a Christmas tree charm on some silver fine link chain. 

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog today, your next stop on the hop is Nana's blog and I'm sure she has created something wondeful for you to feast your eyes on. 

Please also don't forget to leave my Stampin' for the Weekend teamies a little love on their blogs, they work so hard to bring you some inspirational creations.

Challenges I am entering this card into:
Stamp With Fun – Xmas
A Spoon Full of Sugar – Christmas Card

Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend!! 

Sandie

xXx

Inky Impressions - Black & White +1

Good afternoon!! I hope you are all having a wonderful day. We have a new challenge for you today on the Inky Impressions Challenge blog... 

Black & White +1 colour of your choice.

My colour of choice is BLUE.

I used the fabulously beautiful Winter Fashion Marlee again this week, she is sooooo nice to colour. I trimmed her out and mounted her on 3D foam dots, then I 'sat' her on the black polka dot ribbon.

 My papers are My Mind's Eye "Meadow Lark". I made the double border on the bottom of the dotty panel using Martha Stewart's Victorian Lace punch. I curled down the paper in the top right hand corner and added pearls that I coloured in black using my copics - I only had white left, lol.

Then I added some flowers, which have also been coloured to co-ordinate with my image,  using my copics - buying plain white flowers and colouring them is a great way to always have the colour you need :) To finish I added a little bling in the form of some gorgeous blue crystal drops, and Star Dust Stickles on the flowers and the trim on Marlee's clothes.

I am also entering my card into a few Challenges

iCopic Lover Challenge - Dark Blue, Light Blue & White

Copic Creations - Sparkle
ABC DT Challenges - Non Traditional Colours

Thank you so much for visiting me today. I really appreciate it :) Be sure to visit my teamies' blogs, I would hate for you to miss their wonderful creations. I do hope you can join  with us this week on Inky Impressions Challenges.

12 Days of Christmas Waltzing Mouse Style

It's day 9 of our 12 Days of Christmas Waltzing Mouse Style and today I would like to share a 'how to' on making some holiday tags. I love to make my own gift tags and they are so quick and easy to do. 

Usually at this time of the month we would be previewing the new stamp releases,  however Claire is taking a break from releasing new stamps to relax and enjoy the holidays with family and friends, as well as letting her focus on some exciting behind-the-scenes work! So please bear with us, it will be sooooooo worth it :D 

In lieu of a release this month we bring you the Twelve Days of Christmas Waltzingmouse Style! Every day, through to Dec 17th one of the DT members will host a tutorial on their blog. Be sure to check the  WMS Blog  for the links.

Materials I have used:

Nestabilities - Labels 2, Ornaments, Classic Circle, Tags

Stamps - Very Vintage Labels 2, Vintage Ornaments, Around Christmastime, Festive Foliage, Compliments of the Season, Pic-Nic Patterns
White Cardstock

Selection of Distress Inks

Selection of co-ordinating ribbons

Ink Blenders

 Step 1 - Stamp out a selection of sentiments and designs using various distress inks. I used Fired Brick, Pine Needles & Bundled Sage.

Step 2 -  Ocne you have finished stamping cut out each design using the co-ordinating die.

 Step 3 - Distress the tags with an ink blender and antique linen distress ink. For my 2 sentiment tags I leave the die cut on until I have finished distressing and it leaves a white border all around. If you prefer not to have the white border remove the die before distressing.

Step4 -  Once you have finished distressing to you liking remove the dies and taking a crop-a-dile, or other hole punch, make a hole on the top of each tag.

Step 5 -Thread co-ordinating ribbon through the hole leaving a good length in case you want to tie onto gifts/around bottles. Embellish the tags as desired. 

And there you have it. Simple tags that add a personal touch to your gifts. I've also made some co-ordinating gift wrap using plain white paper, fired brick distress inks and the Pic-Nic stamp set.

 

Thanks for popping in today!
Sandie
xXx

Tent Card Tutorial for Whiff of Joy Inspiration Blog

Hi everyone. I've just posted my first tutorial on Whiff of Joy's Tutorial & Inspiration blog. I made a Tent Card using the new release stamp Ben & Nora - New Year Couple.

Check out the Whiff of Joy blog for all the details :)

Sandie

xXx

Music Saves My Soul Saturday

Sorry I'm so late with this. I went Christmas shopping first thing this morning - before the stampede really got going - and then we had a birthday party this afternoon. I could really do with a foot spa right about now..

My choice of song this week is .. yes.. a CHRISTMAS song!! My all time favourite Christmas song at that! When I hear this I KNOW it's time to get festive :D

You know the drill by now.. if you want to play along, post your song and link up on Marcea's blog :)

Enjoy!!
Sandie

CES Challenges - Anything but a Christmas Card

Happy Saturday!! 

So, who's got their Christmas shopping done?? I only started it yesterday and have quite a bit to go - lastminute.com, that's me, lol!! 

This week on CES Challenges we want to see anything but a Christmas card. I know I've made so many xmas cards that I'll be putting some up for next year!! haha. 

Here is my take on it... 

I've used another new release from Whiff of Joy, called Happy New Year Ben. My papers are Basic Grey Marjolaine and they are matted with dark brown and green card.

I've coloured Ben using copic markers

Skin: E51, 21, 00, 000 & E02{cheeks}

Hair/Shoes: E53, 51, 50

Suit/Top hat: E44, 43, 42

Sash and hat trim: Y28, 26, 21

All of my papers have been distressed using Brushed Cordoroy and I've added some luscious brads and pearls to 2 of the corners. The sentiment is also from Whiff of Joy. I did the border work using the Nostalgia border die.

Thanks for popping in today, be sure to visit my teamies' blogs to see what they've created. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Sandie

xXx

PaperPlay Challenges - Holiday Tags

Good morning everyone!! I just love waking up to the winter wonderland outside my window. Sadly it's not to last much longer :( 

This week on PaperPlay Challenges we would like to see your Holiday Tags - tags that you are going to add to your gifts.

I haven't even started my tags yet *gulp* but am mostly done with my Christmas cards, so it's not so bad. 

I went a little bit "T!m" on my tag today... of course nowhere near his standard of excellence.. lol... I'd need a full year to make all my tags as detailed as his. 

hmm.. it's too hard to get a decent photo of the Santa, but I have him covered with glossy accents so that he pops up from the tag. I also used glossy accents, and red ink, to highlight the "25"

The holly leaf stamp is from Waltzing Mouse's Around Christmastime set. I added a JOY charm that I bought in the NEC this year and secured it to the seam binding using a dark green scrappers floss. 

I hope you like :) Don't forget to visit my teamies' blogs, they have come up with some wonderful tags to inspire you!

Dutch Dare Card - Christmas Tag or Ornament

Crafty Cardmakers - Spotlight on Tags

Stamp Something - Christmas Colours

********************************

I made a card for a challenge recently, and only after I had it made did I realise that I had to use a specific image, which I hadn't used, so the card couldn't be entered. It's not often that upon finishing a card that I can honestly say that I'm 100% happy with it.. but OF COURSE this one I love!! I haven't decided what to do with it yet so I can't post the whole card but here's a little peeky.... 

Have a great day!

Sandie

xXx

Inky Impressions - Blog Hop!!

Hi everyone! Welcome to The Inky Impressions blog hop. Today we are showcasing the new release winter stamps and I think you'll agree that they are just FABULOUS!! 

If you've come here from Vicki's  blog then you're on the right track, if not, then you might want to jump back to the Inky Impressions  Blog and follow the links. We don't want you missing out on the fabulous creations prepared by the DT and the guest DT :)

The image I am showcasing is Winter Fashion Marlee, and she's absolutely beautiful!! Such a joy to stamp and to colour.

 I have coloured her with copic sketch markers, listed below. My papers are Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses, they've been layered and matted with pink cardstock. 

The pretty inky dinky drop crystals are also available from Inky Impressions store, as is the sentiment stamp, ribbon and mittens charm.

Well I do hope my card inspires you :) The next and final step on the hop is The Inky Impressions Challenge Blog. Don't forget to leave comment all the Inky DT blogs for the chance to win a bag of goodies from Nicole. 

Copics:

Skin: E21, 51, 00, 000 & 02

Pinks: RV23, 25

Blues: B91, 93, 95

Brown: E44, 43, 42

Hair: E53, 51, 50

I hope you've had fun!! And just in case you lose your way I've listed the hop blogs in order for you :)

Inky Impressions Blog

Tanya 

Marley
Lorraine
Joey

Sammi

Giovanna

 Annette

Alberto

Ria

 Sonja

 Vicki

Sandie {you're here!!}

Inky Impressions Challenge Blog

Have a wonderful day

Sandie

xXx

Ben and Nora - All Dressed Up

Good morning! The kids are finally back in school for the most part, we still have some schools closed in more rural areas, so it's back to routine for me. Today I would like to share another new release from Whiff of Joy.

This fun image is called "Ben and Nora - New Year couple" but could be used for weddings, wedding anniversaries, graduations.. etc, etc.

I went all out with distressing, inking and layering on my papers, which are Kaisercraft 'Seaside', for this card. I also wanted to use bold, fun colours. 

The  border work is done using the French Lilies - Border Die and the swirl peeking out from behind the flower is from Romantic Swirls 2

I also punched some holes using my crop-o-dile and laced some scrappers floss though them.

My flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts - they've been inked and stickled,  the leaves are from Prima and the brads are from Whiff of Joy. 

Thanks for popping in!
Have a wonderful Tuesday
Sandie
xXx

Music Saves My Soul Saturday

MSMS is baaaack!! This week I have chosen a song that has become a favourite for my daughter. Thanks Dee2, we luv it!! :D

Hope you enjoy!!

Don't forget to link up on Marcea's Blog if you play along :)

Sandie

xXx

Stampin' for the Weekend and Whiff of Joy Challenges

Good morning. Today I would like to share a card I made to cover two challenges - Stampin' for the Weekend with a recipe and Whiff of Joy with Christmas, but not red/green. 

I used one of my very favourite Elizabeth Bell Christmas stamps from Whiff of Joy - Willow with Lantern, and coloured her using copic markers.

I am just loving these Annalee papers by Prima. This card is just over 6x6 as I just couldn't cut the paper. I stitched a 4.5 x 4.5" panel into the middle. I distressed a white doily and slipped it behind the image. 

My embellishment are made up of Prima & Wild Orchid Crafts flowers, buttons threaded with scrappers floss, leaves cut from Whiff of Joy's leaves die and luxurious brads.

The sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse's "Compliments of the Season" set.

I am entering this into the ABC DT Challenge - Non Traditional Colours

Copics - 

Skin: E21, 51, 00, 000 & 02

Dress/Shoes: R30, 20, 12, 01

Top/Ribbon/Trim: Y28, 26, 21

Hair: E53, 51, 50

Leaves: G85, 82

Berries: R24

Thanks for popping in. Have a great day

Sandie

xXx

Whiff of Joy - New Releases

Hi everyone!! Well it's still snowing here and the country has descended into chaos. The kids are off school since last Monday, airports are closed and our mail is being delivered on foot, lol. You can tell we are used to this weather, cant you? haha. The big thaw is supposed to happen this weekend so I guess we'd better make the most it. 

Anyhoooo.. have you seen the new releases from Whiff of Joy yet?? Well if you haven't you are in for a treat with their Time for Celebrations stamps. These stamps are so versatile and can be used for any occasion from birthday's to graduations to weddings!! 

On my card today I used Nora with Rose - such a cutie and a joy to colour

My papers are Prima's Annalee collection, just love them!! I coloured Nora using copic markers {listed below}. 

I've added some sparkle in the form of Diamonds glimmer mist and stickles on my flowers. The lace and pin are from my stash. The brads are also by Whiff of Joy and come in such wonderful colours. The pack I've taken these ones from is called Magic Dreams.

Copics:

Skin: E51, 21, 00, 000 & E02{cheeks}

Hair: E44, 43, 42

Dress: R85, 83, 81

Scarf: Y28, 26, 21

Eyes: B14, B0000

Hope you like! 

Have a great weekend

Sandie

xXx

Inky Impressions Challenge - Christmas!!!

Hi!! Today marks my first challenge as a Guest Inkette on Inky Impressions. I am delighted to be on this fabulous team and hope I can provide a little inspiration for my term. 

For the first challenge - Christmas - all of the DT are using the digi "Rachel's Gingerbread Christmas".

I used last year's BG Eskimo Kisses papers  with both red and green cardstock. I coloured my image using copic markers - too many to list, lol. All of my flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. 

I used MS cornice punch to do the border on along the side of my image. The doily, which is slipped behind the image has been inked with distress ink and stickled with star dust -  I love how the stickles takes in the colour of the distress ink.

The ribbon is by East of India, the reindeer charm is one I picked up at the NEC and as always, I've added some pearls :)

This challenge will run for 2 weeks, so you have until noon (eastern time) on December 14th to play along HERE.

I am entering this card into the ABC Christmas Challenge - Yuletide.

Have a wonderful day!

Stay warm

Sandie

xXx

Anyone for Anya and Friends? - A Sketch for You

Morning!! It's another beautiful crisp day out.. so 'crisp' that the dogs eyebrows froze over while out with hubby for a walk this morning, lol. We're at -4.5C at the moment so I'm sensing another crafty day.. or it could be another "stop the kids from killing one another out of boredom" day!!

There are some changes afoot over on the Anyone for Anya? challenge blog, all will be revealed later .. but for now the new challenge is up and we have a great sketch for you to follow. 

My papers are Cosmo Cricket "Mitten Weather" - aren't they just gorgeous??!! I'm really enjoying all the christmas papers this year. I coloured Anya with copic sketch markers and used my trustee star dust stickles for the fur on her clothes. All of my flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and they have been inked with Antique Linen - they've also been stickled to death, just how I like them :D

Copics:

Coat/Boots: BG13, 15, 18

Scarf/Tights: R24, 27, 19

Hair: E44, 43, 42

Skin: E51, 21, 00, 000 & E02{cheeks}

Shading: W1, 3

We are sponsored this week by Harlekino and the prize is this beautiful stamp

Well that's it from me for now. I may be back later with a late Music Saves My Soul choice - if we're going ahead with it this week ;) 

Have a wonderful Sunday

Stay warm!!

Sandie

xXx