Debbie Moore Stamps Winner

Thanks to those who shared your fond childhood Christmas memories.

Your names went in the hat and the first one drawn

to win these Debbie Moore Noel Silhouette Stamps is 

Clarky J

Please e-mail : maxinelawson@hotmail.co.uk 

with your snail mail details and I shall get them in the post to you ASAP.

Quick and Easy Elegance

Today is my sister-in-law's birthday and the card I made for her uses a QVC Kanban kit bought earlier this year.  The quality of these kits is second to none, and the contents include highly reflective, metallic embossed cardstock in various beautiful colours, matching glittered acetate, ribbons, toppers and frames.   The only thing missing was a pack of envelopes, but as plain white A5 envelopes are readily available in all supermarkets and stationers it's only a little niggle and not worth making a fuss about.  

Whilst I feel slightly extravagant having used a whole A4 sheet folded in half for the base card, I must admit it makes a very elegant and expensive looking card.   Just check out the reflective finish ... it's blinding!

The matching toppers and frames are just as beautifully embossed as the cardstock so a few foam pads are all that's needed to complete a gorgeous card.  
Quick ... Easy ... and Oh So Elegant.
Hopefully my card qualifies for the following challenges ... 
Totally Papercrafts 18 - Monochromatic
My Time To Craft 93 - Vivid Greetings Cards
A Spoonful of Sugar 105 - Celebrations
Tanda Stamps - Go Large

Willow Shopping

Well organised Willow, has already started her Christmas shopping and as you see, it looks like she has a very healthy spending habit - definitely my kind've girl!  She was one of 3 lovely Whiff of Joy Willow stamps I recently won - how lucky am I?  At least ... I'm pretty sure she's a Whiff of Joy stamp.

Quick Question: 

Does anyone else get mixed up over which of Elizabeth Bell's stamps are Whiff of Joy, Sugar Nellie, and Belles and Whistles or am I the only numpty?  I tend to avoid joining in with any of their blog challenges in case I use the wrong image.  How do you tell which is which?

Anyway ... I stamped Willow using Memento black ink and then paper-pieced her clothes and shopping bags before using Sakura glitter pens for the tissue paper.
Promarkers were used to colour her hair, skin and boots before adding an adhesive gem to her necklace for a little bitta' bling.

The square card blank was cut diagonally down the front and then papers from English Paper Company were cut to match the triangle shapes, matted onto textured cardstock leaving a narrow border and then added to the main card with double-sided tape.
The poinsettia flower was created by cutting simple petal shapes from red card and folding them in half before sticking onto a gold snowflake embellishment and adding some amber adhesive gems.
Willow is going to be submitted into the following challenges ...
Passion for Promarkers 53 - Anything Goes
Fab's Big Christmas Card Challenge 21 - Poinsettia and Diagonal Cut/Modern

Bah! Humbug! 20 - Silhouettes

Simple Silhouettes is our challenge for you this week at Bah! Humbug!  I have always loved silhouettes and remember having fun as a child making shadow shapes on the bedroom wall with a torch and my hands.
When I went looking for a stamp for my card this week, I was pleased to see I have accumulated several sets of Christmas silhouette stamps over the last year or so, which meant I had plenty to choose from - the only difficulty was deciding which one to use.  
Finally, I settled on this lovely image of Santa and his reindeer flying across the sky which is from a set by Debbie Moore Designs.  

The line of trees below was embossed straight onto the card front using one of the embossing folders bought as a set from Oh My Crafts several months ago.  I do believe they are now available elsewhere so are no longer exclusive.
Adding some holographic embossing powder gives a touch of sparkle to some of the trees, which unfortunately isn't really showing in this photo.
Santa and the greeting, (from the same set of stamps), were stamped with black pigment ink and then cut with Oval Nestabilities before being treated to some holographic sparkle and matted onto a Scalloped Oval cut from black card given the same treatment.  
Oh Yesssssssss ... we are sparkling good style!
The card should've been completed at this stage but I felt it needed something else ... and yes you've guessed ... MORE SPARKLE!

A leftover strip of black card was cut with scalloped edged trimmer blade and then embossed within an inch of it's life, before being folded in half and attached down the fold.   Now I'm a happy bunny!
I just realised that Winter Wonderland Challenge this week is to use images or colours of "Christmas Sweets" so will enter this Mint Humbug colour combination of black and white and will take my chances at the following challenges too ... 
PaperPlay Challenges - Up In The Air
Cute Card Thursday - No Designer Papers
Delightful Sketches and Challenges - Texture

  

***Pssssssssttttt ...***

Just before you disappear to see what my fellow "Bah! Humbugger! Buddies" have been up to, leave a message in the comment box relating  

a fond childhood Christmas memory 

and I will select one person to win a set of the  

Debbie Moore Silhouette Stamps 

YEP!  I have somehow acquired 2 sets ... whoops!  

That's just plain greedy!  

You don't need to do anything else ... no linking back ... no blog candy posts on your blog ... no jumping through hoops or doing double somersaults ... 

Just leave me a memory message 

before midnight on Sunday 30th May - UK time

and your name will go into the draw.

Good Luck!

Winner will be announced on Monday

***

Challenges Met and Deadlines Missed

Don't you just hate it when you miss challenge deadlines?  
Well unbelievably I've done that twice this week - on Monday with the vintage car for Polka Doodles, (see earlier post), and yesterday with this card which was supposed to be for Moving Along With The Times Sketch Challenge. but unfortunately it closed at 8pm last night - poop!  

Since I had been lucky enough to win the prize the previous week I really wanted to join in again - besides which, it was my pal Hazel's sketch and it would've been nice to show my support for her too.   In my defence our internet has been down so I wasn't actually able to go online until later this morning ... but even so ... GRRRRRRR!   S'annoying 'innit?
AND
As if that wasn't bad enough ... I also missed out on winning some cute stamps Blog Candy at Tasha's blog ... so double poop!!
Will need to make sure I'm organised for the new challenge tomorrow over at Bah! Humbug! or I'll be in the naughty corner.  GULP

On a more positive note I have managed the deadline for Simon Says Challenge this week which asks for Pink or Blue with Green and Brown with the option of Penny Black images.   As you see I played safe by using them all.  The pretty floral paper is by K.& Co. and the cute image is Penny Black - Cupful of Love.

Promarkers were used for colouring in and as Passion For Promarkers have Anything Goes as their theme this week to celebrate their 1st birthday I can submit it as my entry.  You absolutely DON'T want to see what prizes they have on offer.  SERIOUSLY I'm begging you not to go! -  'cos then you'll want to play too and that'll reduce my chances of winning considerably LOL!

Because I've entered at Simon Says Stamp, I can also play along at Lorraine's Loft where she has an adorable Happy Hopper stamp up for grabs ... my finger's are well crossed for that one too. 
 
So at least I'm ending on a happier note than I started and that's gotta' be good.

Pink Wedding

Had time for a quick browse after Naomi and I returned from bowling and happened to notice I'd almost missed Paperplay Challenges deadline - which simply wouldn't do at all, especially as I made this easel card especially to join in.

The image is from a Debbi Moore wedding silhouette stamp set which was embossed with silver embossing powder and die cut with the cuttlebug using Nestabilities Labels One.  
I randomly stamped a leafy swirl around the edge, (whilst it was still in the die cut frame), silver embossed it and then swept over it all with a Pearlescent Pink Brilliance Dew Drop ink pad, before polishing off the excess to reveal the embossed image again.  This was then matted onto a larger die cut from silver mirri card.

Using A4 white linen effect cardstock I scored and folded an easel card before decorating with pink heart patterned paper from Papermania - Scrumptious pack, some white organza ribbon and a few feathers.  

The greeting is one of my recent purchases from Waltzing Mouse Stamps (who coincidentally are sponsoring this challenge), and as you see Claire has designed it to perfectly complement the Spellbinders Fancy Tags Shape-abilities.   Brilliant!   Can't quite make up my mind whether to add flowers or not.  Will sleep on it.  Right - off to beddy-byes now ... Sweet Dreams All.

Vintage Car

Bet you all enjoyed the lovely weather over the weekend - no doubt the parks and beaches throughout the UK were absolutely buzzing ... with people as well as bees!
It's still warm here today but grey clouds are hovering overhead so no need for sunglasses at the moment.
Made this card on Saturday night as there was nothing appealing on the box and I needed a something for my brother-in-law's birthday today.

The vintage car image is from a Kanban kit and the papers were downloaded from Polka Doodles with the intention of entering their Challenge 19 - Dimension and Texture, but as the internet was playing silly beggars yesterday, I couldn't upload anything, so I've missed the deadline.    Bummer!
Ah well ... maybe the nice sunshiney weather brought the gremlins out to play too.

I can still join in with some other challenges out there in blogland though so all is not lost.
Crafty Cardmakers - Inside Out
The Pixie Cottage 19 - Sketch
One Stop Craft Challenge 81 - Birthstones (May is Emerald)

Creative Cottage 11 - One For The Boys
Hope you all enjoy a marvellous Monday, wherever you are and whatever you are doing.

Bah! Humbug! Challenge 19 - Ribbons Galore

This week's Bah! Humbug! Challenge to use Ribbons gave me the opportunity to finally use up some of the scraps of ribbon that we all have in our stash.  Y'know ... the bits that aren't long enough to tie bows with but which you can't bear to throw away.  Hands up 'cos I know you're all guilty of the same thing.
Last Christmas I used ribbon strips folded in half to create a Ribbon Tree Card which was a very planned project - using the same ribbon throughout, all placed in graduated tiers from the bottom upwards - and although, I was pleased with the finished result, I didn't want to repeat it again.  
This time I wanted a more random mix'n'match effect ... and I have to say I really like how it turned out. 

Yesssss ... I know it's not a tree, but in my opinion, the wreath worked better because the strips I was using were all different widths and lengths ... and well ... more random!  I simply made loops and than applied them randomly to a card ring using a tiny blob of silicon glue.   Cool huh?

Hope you like my effort this week but if it doesn't quite 'do it for you' then I'm sure the Bah! Humbug! DT will be able to inspire you with their wonderful projects.  Pop over for a peek and if you fancy joining in with our ribbon challenge then I can guarantee you'll be given a very warm welcome. 
Fortunately the dimension created using this technique qualifies entry to Charisma Cardz Challenge 20 - 3D this week and it is also a VERY belated submission to Fab's Big Christmas Card Challenge from a couple of weeks ago when the theme was wreaths.
Every now and then I manage to get there on time but I think Fab now expects that I will be late.

Tiger Cub

"Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright ..."
This card is heading to the very proud and happy parents of a beautiful baby girl born yesterday at 10.30am.   I selected this particular image from my My Graphico freebies folder, because in the oriental calender, 2010 is the Year of the Tiger - the perfect way to depict the birth of a little tigress.  
I coloured with Promarkers, using the blending pen to try to achieve the soft tones I wanted.  

Panels of pretty pastel papers matted onto plain cardstock, a strip of pink ribbon and a trio of buttons help to enhance this new baby card with the lovely verse inside as the finishing touch. 
It is clear that her arrival has already had a huge impact on the lives of the new parents and I absolutely guarantee that the flame of parental love is going to burn brightly in their hearts forever. 
Welcome to the World Ella.

I scouted around in the hope of finding a couple of challenges that would be appropriate and managed to track these down ... just hope my entry is eligible for them all.
A Spoonful of Sugar - Cute and Girly 
Crafty Cardmakers - Inside Out
Stamp Something - Celebrate
Moving Along With The Times #46 - Sketch
Cute Card Thursday #112 - Someone Special

Bah! Humbug! 18 - Punched Borders

This week our challenge is Punched Borders and I must confess I wondered what on earth I was going to do as the only border punch I own shows a trail of baby feet.    Hmmmmm ... not exactly appropriate for this challenge really.
Then I remembered my Bah! Humbugger! Buddy Ann had posted a tutorial some months ago,  showing how to use Papermania Ornate Punches differently.  I remembered enough to have a play around with some scrap paper and managed to create a decorative border using this ornate punch.   If you'l like to try Ann's tutorial then click this link: Ann's Punched Frame Tutorial

Anyway ... here's the finished card with not one, but two decorative borders.

As you will see, I sliced off about an inch from the front of the red card blank before adding a strip of gold mirri card down the edge at the back so that the decorative pattern would show up a little better against it.
I punched 2 strips of leafy patterned paper and then inked on the reverse with Pearl Ivy Dew Drop ink pad to colour the white side.  When dry they were attached with double sided tape to the card front, overhanging where the portion of card had been removed on the right.   A panel of red textured card with a central strip of gold mirri was then placed over the top to secure them in place and also served to neaten up any (not so tidy) edges.

The Christmas wreath was embossed with the cuttlebug onto another piece of leafy patterned paper and then cut out before adding it to a ring of white card for extra stability.   Some red glitter holly berries were added with a gold ribbon bow at the top and this was then added to the gold panel with foam pads, along with a wee greeting.  I may ... or may not ... add some snowy highlights at a later date.
So ... don't think you can't play along this time just because you haven't got a border punch.  Take a look at what punches you have got and improvise - you may surprise yourself with how inventive you can be!
For more inspiration and ideas, check out the other DT projects at Bah! Humbug! including another lovely card from Steph, our May Guest Designer.  We'd love to see your projects too so don't forget to leave us a link.

*Ronnie Relaxing* and Challenges

I'll be the first to admit that my supply of digi-images is limited and those that I do have on my PC are for the most part, blog challenge prizes.  This is partly because I prefer the process of physically inking up and stamping my choice of images, but to be honest there are so many digi-images online that are free to download, I haven't seen any reason to dip into my purse to purchase any.  Until now that is!
After seeing Emma's charity appeal to raise funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance following the tragic loss of her dad last September,  it would've been mean not to help her achieve her target.    

Although I missed the deadline of 5th May for her challenge, her fundraising is ongoing and she is currently offering 4 Alota Rubberstamps as tempting blog candy.  CLICK HERE for the details.
I did want to show the card I made using her 'Relaxing Ronnie' image and highlight her appeal to any who may have missed it and want to help.  For further details of Emma's YAA appeal CLICK HERE or alternatively click on the image on my sidebar.
I coloured him with Promarkers and used coordinating patterned papers from Papermania Pad - The Big One matted onto card in various brown shades and gold mirri leaving a narrow border each time.   

I'll be entering this card into the following challenges:
Crafter's Companion Challenge 9 - Monotone
Stampin' for the Weekend - Card for a Male
Paperplay Challenges - Brown and ?

Oriental Happy Birthday

As one of six children, there are very few months in the year that are free from birthdays and today it's the turn of my baby sister Debbie. 
The oriental card I made uses a selection of Waltzing Mouse Stamps from Claire Brennan's recently released Asian Garden collection,  which were stamped onto red card and embossed with a combination of black and gold embossing powders.    A smidgeon heavy with the gold I feel, but just check out that shine!

The panels were then matted onto black card, followed by gold mirri card, leaving narrow borders before layering onto a white DL card blank.

The sentiment was stamped onto red card,  embossed in black and then lightly rubbed over with a Brilliance Dew Drop gold ink pad before die cutting with Nestabilities - Labels One.  

I matted it onto black card, embossed the edge with gold powder and then placed it over the background strip with foam pads.   The 'Birthday Wishes' part of the sentiment is from WMS Asian Garden, but 'Sister' is one of Papermania's Relations clear stamps, which I know will become a favourite to have close at hand.
Simon Says Stamp are celebrating their 1st Blogaversary and are having an awesome party which includes a Blog Hop and you'd better believe there are loads of fabulous prizes on offer, so I'm going to gatecrash and enter this card into their Birthday/Celebrations Challenge.   Hope there's some red wine on offer as blog-hopping is thirsty work!
A few other challenges are ...
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Shiny and/or Sparkly
Stamp Something - Birthday
Rainbow Lady - Make Your Own Background Paper

Birthday Blessings

Today my good friend and fellow Bah! Humbugger Irene celebrates her birthday.  Happy Birthday Irene!
I really wanted to make her something special as a gift and as she loves vintage,  this was the obvious theme to follow, despite it not being something I feel particularly competent at.
I had some beautiful ivory cardstock with a wonderful pearlescent sheen so that was cut to DL size and used for the base card.   

The vintage lady was a free image downloaded from Craft Stamper website and I simply colourised it in Paint Shop Pro before printing.  This was then trimmed and matted onto cream card before placing over a similar sized piece of vintage paper from a K. & Co. collection.   A narrow strip of paper from the same pack was torn and inked along one edge and then wrapped with brown ribbon, before placing horizontally across the card front. 
The image was then placed at an angle over the top before adding a few prima flowers and a peel off greeting.
Then I got adventurous and went one stage further by making a matching notebook with my recently acquired Bind It All - a fabulous secondhand bargain bundle which included the Zutter DreamKuts.

More of the pearlescent card provided the covers and once they were bound together with the paper pages, I decorated, inside and out, with coordinating K. & Co. papers, embellishments and a vellum friendship quote. 

I really enjoyed putting it all together but kind've wish I'd added some lace for the full vintage effect.   That's definitely something to remember for the next time. 
Hopefully Irene liked her gift and will think of me whenever she uses her wee notebook.   Ooooo'errrr ... How scary is that?
My project fits in with a couple of challenges this week as listed below.
Lots To Do 18 - Friendship
Crafty Cardmakers 20 - Distressing
Creative Card Crew - April Showers Bring May Flowers

Hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend ... wherever you are and whatever you are doing and thank you for visiting.

Bah! Humbug! Challenge 17 - Christmas Food

I decided to do something completely different for the challenge at Bah! Humbug! this week and the theme of 'Christmas Food' gave me the perfect opportunity to have a wee play with a template I bought recently from Claire Brennan at Waltzing Mouse Stamps.    
I wasn't sure whether the printer would choke if I tried to print directly onto the cardstock 'cos it's a bit old and slightly temperamental like me, so I printed onto normal copier paper and then drew round it onto my chosen card before cutting out with a craft knife and scissors.  Obviously this method is a little more time consuming and I'm not the most patient of people, but it was worth it on this occasion to avoid the risk of killing the printer.
So here is the result of my efforts - a lovely slice of Christmas Cake, complete with Jingly Bells and snowflake decoration, which will probably be filled with some gorgeous treats for a special someone when the time comes.  

Had I had more patience - more time - sufficient quantities of the same paper and cardstock, then I may have been tempted to make a whole cake.  But I didn't ... so a slice is all I managed this time.

However, I thought it would be a cool idea to have a complete cake as a centrepiece on the table so that your Christmas Day dinner guests could help themselves to a slice.  Wouldn't that be a nice alternative to crackers ... especially if you popped a wee gift inside?  

Or you could make smaller versions and personalise them to use as place markers instead.  

I can see this template being used for a multitude of different occasions.  Imagine how impressed your kids friends would be if they received a slice of beautifully decorated cake as an alternative to a goodie bag after a birthday party.  In fact this template could be useful for any special occasion and by varying the print size you could create multi-tiered versions too for weddings.

Hope my project has got the creative juices going for you and will tempt you into joining in with our Bah! Humbug! Challenge.  If not ... then maybe the fabby monthly prize on offer will sway you into having a go.  
Pop over and have a gander at what my fellow Bah! Humbuggers! Ann and Irene have been up to this week and also give a warm welcome to our very first Monthly Guest Designer Steph who has a delicious card and recipe to share with everyone.  
Just realised that Rosie D's current challenge is 'So Yummy' so I reckon this scrummy cake is worth entering.