Bah! Humbug Challenge #7 - Trees

If Blogger is playing nicely, this message should post automatically before I've arrived back in Bonnie Fife after my little adventure with Ann and Irene.
Can't believe we will have survived a whole week without the internet ... but hopefully we 3 'Humbuggers' will have had a fabulous week of fun together and be just about ready to return to normal life, our families and our routines.
That does, of course, mean it's back to our Bah! Humbug! weekly challenges, which thankfully is a nice easy one - TREES.

The wire tree embellishment used on my card was recycled from our Christmas Crackers in 2008 ... I knew I would use it eventually! 
I really wanted to keep the card simple so have just overlaid the wire tree with silicon glue onto one of the larger trees cut from the Dovecraft Christmas Blues background paper.  This was then matted onto silver mirri card and cut around with scallop scissors, before mounting onto square panels of the same background paper, silver mirri card and green cardstock. 
I wasn't sure whether I wanted to add ribbon or a sentiment so have left it 'naked' for the time being.  It will be easy to add either - OR BOTH - before sending.
If you'd like to see what my fellow 'Humbuggers' have been up to for this challenge, then pop over for a look see and please feel free to share your own  Christmas tree card or project with us by leaving a link in our comments section. 
We look forward to being inspired by your fabulous creations.

Happy Birthday Bruv!

Today was my wee brother's birthday - he is a year and 4 days younger than I am - and I have to confess that I count myself very fortunate that he is one of my very best pals.
His card had to convey how special he is but without being too 'mushy' so I chose to combine a selection of funky'ish papers and elements from a craft kit which my son gave me for Christmas.  The orange text paper feels like canvas material, which is slightly weird.

Once the matting and layering of papers and cardstock was completed and I'd added that fabby star ribbon to hide the joins, I got a little bit adventurous with a white gel pen and did some 'doodling'. 

I tucked some 'cally-dosh' into the triangle pocket inside and stamped the sentiment using brown Whispers Ink. 
Hopefully he will treat himself to something nice ... or at least have a birthday drink on us.

Oh ... nearly forgot to tell my 'skeeeeeeery' but important news!
Ann, Irene and myself are going on a wee adventure today.  We are finally going to all meet up for the first time and spend a week together in York - how exciting is that?! 
So there's no challenge this week 'cos we'll not be here ... obviously!  Enjoy the wee break, 'cos we certainly intend to and we'll see you all next week.  Don't pine now!

Ribbons, Tags and Poinsettias

I'm feeling quite chuffed that I managed to get both these cards done for Fab's Big Christmas Card Challenges as it's all been a bit manic at 'Chez Lawson' this week with horses and bowling and birthdays and stuff. 
But I'm now up to date so I can pop over there with my head held high ... well until next week anyway.
Challenge #6 was to use 3 different Ribbons and Tags and without hesitation I reached for my good old faithful HOTP Ultimate Christmas Stack. 
I knew I would find papers and tags in there no problem and it was a simple case of matting and layering with some coffee coloured cardstock onto a cream textured blank to give a good base card. 
The 3 different, (but matching), ribbons were a slightly more difficult challenge, until I remembered that I could colour plain white ribbon with promarkers ... so thank you Burnt Umber and Terracotta ... the gold text ribbon is from Anita's.
Challenge #7 - Poinsettias and White Space, proved more testing - especially the white space bit - I'm afraid I couldn't resist adding some red.

The 3D bird house and poinsettia image comes from a 3D die cut decoupage book that I bought ages ago from C+C, (obviously that was before knowing how much I would dislike doing decoupage), but it comes in handy sometimes.  The images are really glossy and there are loads of layers ...  LOOK!

  ... so it gives great dimension and looks quite impressive on display. 
Now I must rush as I have a birthday card to make for my wee brother before tomorrow and one for my niece for Friday when she becomes a teenager - EEEK!  ALREADY!    Sadly, I'm going to miss the celebrations ... but more about that exciting ... and slightly skeeeeery ... news later!

Welcome To The World

One of my very best friends of all time called me last weekend to announce the long awaited arrival of her first grandchild, so I had to make a card to send to the proud and happy parents.

The little bear is a cute Patchwork Pals die cut character from a QVC Kanban kit, as are the sentiments.  The button background card is a panel from one of the 3 fold aperture cards included in the kit with the circle removed and mounted onto a textured cream card blank, which was embossed with dots. 
I then divided the aperture circle into quarters and used a couple of pieces to decorate inside the card.  Simple but effective and very quick to make.

Keep It Simple is the challenge theme at Cupcake Craft Challenges this week so this is perfect timing and The Pink Elephant Challenge is to use Ribbon.  I know it is only a tiny piece knotted around the side ... but it's ribbon isn't it?  Charisma Cardz are having a Male theme and a baby boy is definitely male so I can join in there too. 
Can I just say how much I appreciate it that so many challenge blogs are now relaxing their rules by allowing us to enter different challenges with one card AND many of them no longer demand that their products must be included.  Makes it so much easier to play along and join in the fun ... and that's what it's supposed to be all about.  

Love Is All Around

We're rapidly approaching that special day when couples can openly celebrate their love for each other without fear of getting embarrassed .... awwwww bless!
Many of the blog challenges have adopted a Love Theme and encouraged us to get out the hearts and flowers this week.   I've taken advantage of this opportunity to enter several challenges with one card - something I usually struggle to do.
Last weekend, I was rather naughty ... slap ... slap ... and treated myself to the new Papermania Honey and Hugs collection so decided to use the cute owl character for my card.

It isn't necessarily a Valentine card - it could work equally well for an Anniversary or even a loved one's birthday ... at a push.
The sentiment is made up partly from alphabet stickers and partly from a wood mounted Penny Black stamp. 
I inked the words separately with a Promarker ... held my breath and hoped I'd judged the placement correctly so that the words would sit on either side of the owls feet.  Almost perfect ... but not quite.  This is a situation where clear stamps have a definite advantage over wooden ones.
The large owl was cut from a different sheet of the Honey and Hugs paper and then mounted on foam pads to brown cardstock which had been cut with a decorative trimmer blade. 
A strip of the leftovers came in handy for a perch - this was the point when I had the bright idea to split the sentiment into sections rather than stamp it the easy way.  Then I finished off with a some punched hearts for the trees - well you've got to have hearts somewhere haven't you?  
Here's the list of challenges that I think this card qualifies for ... you should pop along and join in with them too!
My Graphico ... Brown, Olive Green and Pink
Dutch Dare Challenge ... Valentines
Lots To Do ... Love Is In The Air
Daring Cardmakers ... Have a Heart
Simon says Stamp ... Love
Cute Card Thursday ... In the Name of Love
Pollycraft Monday ... Things with Wings
Lili of the Valley ... Valentines
Creative Card Crew ... Valentines

Bah! Humbug! Challenge #6 - Snowmen

It's been another amazing week for us over at Bah! Humbug!   We've had such fun browsing your blogs admiring all the fabulous cards created for our Holly Challenge.  Thanks to everyone who took the time and made the effort to join in. 
Today's the day we announce the winner of that fabulous Papermania Christmas paper pack and also set the theme for this week's challenge, which is ...  SNOWMEN.

I used this cute Skating Snowman stamp from Serendipity and heat embossed the image with holographic embossing powder before colouring him with Promarkers.  I still haven't quite got the hang of these yet but they do say practice makes perfect so I'll keep at it.

I used a quickie glue pen to add extra holographic embossing powder to his face and body.  If you click on the image you'll see the effect.  Once set with the heat gun it gives a lovely sparkle and thankfully it stays put, unlike glitter.
An X-Cut decorative corner punch was used before matting this cutie onto purple card and layering onto complementary patterned papers. 
Adhesive gems came to the rescue to 'bling' it up a bit and the glittery letters help to add some extra sparkle.
I can't wait to see what beauties will be unveiled for this week's challenge and hope that you will find the time to play along with us and join in the fun. 
I am going to post a link at Fab's Big Christmas Card Challenge because it fits in with his 'Punch It and Bling It' theme, even though I'm more than a week late.  Fortunately Fab is very forgiving.

Valentine Wishes

I decided to try something a little different this year and make my husband's Valentine card using Anna Griffin paper - probably not the most obvious choice for a man, as she is reknowned for very feminine designs. 

However as I decided on a black and white colour scheme, I think it just about works.  Fingers crossed that he likes it although he won't actually see it until 22nd Feb.  Work commitments mean he will miss the Lurrrrve Day altogether.  Shame ... but never mind.
As you can see it is yet another easel card but this time I have made the front upstand section in the shape of a scalloped heart - just to be a bit different and to save you getting bored.
The small hearts are punched from silver mirri card and adhesive gems are added for a little sparkly accent.

I used a cuttlebug embossing border on a strip of black card and then highlighted the text with silver embossing powder.  As you will see if you look closely, there were a few stray flecks that I missed but let's pretend that the spatter effect was deliberate.
The stamped sentiment across the base panel is a Docrafts stamp which was also embossed with silver and it reads ..."From My Heart To Yours".

Sheeesh ... am I a romantic or what?

Talking of romantic ... there are several love themed challenges to choose from in blogland this week, but I decided to enter just a couple ... or three ... or ... hang on ...  make that four!
Challenge #53 over at The Pink Elephant is 'Mushy Gushy Valentine' so although my effort is probably a bit lacking in both the mushy and the gushy stuff, I think it'll do.
Challenge #78 at My Time To Craft is 'Hearts and Kisses' so it definitely qualifies for that one - loads'a hearts.
Our Creative Corner have a Masculine Valentine theme and Creative Card Crew are all 'loved up' with their latest Challenge #44 being Valentines.
That'll do methinks - don't want to overdo it.
Hope you all enjoy sharing a wonderful Valentine's Day with a special someone in your life ... but if you don't have a special someone then just make sure you treat yourself.  You deserve it!

Bah! Humbug! Challenge #5 - Holly

February is always a busy month for crafters in every corner of the globe because, of course, we have Valentine's Day to celebrate on the 14th.
On a personal level, it is also a month jam-packed with birthdays and celebrations for my friends and family, so I'd hoped to be much more organised than I actually am at this point.  Hmmmm ... Do you detect a recurring complaint here LOL?!
Not to worry ... I'm kick-starting my February crafting with this card for our Bah! Humbug! Christmas Challenge #5.

Irene decided on "HOLLY" as the theme and as it's the first challenge of the month, there is a lovely prize on offer for one lucky random entry!  You've got to be "innit to winnit" so get yourself over there sharpish and join in 'cos 
"... it could be YOU!"
Time restrictions has meant that my sample card is very simple this week. 

I used another of my new Cuttlebug Christmas embossing folders, (an exclusive set from Oh My Crafts), on a piece of smooth white card and then cut around the wreath with decoupage snips. 

This was then mounted with foam pads onto 2 layers of pretty white and gold holly background paper matted with gold mirri card. 
The background paper has a lovely soft pearlescent sheen which the camera is just not picking up, but trust me when I say it is quietly luxurious in real life.
A greeting is placed across the centre of the wreath and that's that! 
Job done!
No ribbons ... no gems ... no glitter ... no ink ... no colouring ... no fuss.
If you'd prefer to see something more exciting, then please check out the other samples made by my "Humbugger Buddies" Ann and Irene.  You won't be disappointed I can assure you.