Merry Christmas!

The festive season has finally arrived. I am wishing all of you a lovely, peaceful and enjoyable Christmas time. I hope that you get the chance to spend a lot of quality time with your loved ones.

And yes, we have really got white Christmas. The roads thankfully seem to get better, but we have still got wintery scenes all around us. And how lovely is that at this time of year.

Merry Christmas!

Traditional Christmas cards

I really like cute Christmas cards and projects in white and blue tones. But there is, of course, also demand for more traditional Christmas cards.

For this style I have now worked quite a lot with the poinsettia corner from Little Claire. Coloured in with ProMarkers the stamp provides a lovely focal point. And once it is matted and layered it does not need much more than a sentiment and some embellishments.

Quick Christmas cards with tapestry stamps

Many of us are probably still in full swing making Christmas cards for sale or for our personal use.

For quick, yet effective cards I really appreciate tapestry stamps. Images are quick and easy to create whilst all creations have got a touch of uniqueness. It is a known issue that metallic inks can rub of easily, but I am now combating this with a hint of glitter glue that I apply over the metallic sections.

For the card below I used the poinsettia wreath set from Rubber Stamp Tapestry and a variety of small ink pads.

Break from Christmas cards needed

Apologies for not adding an update for a while, but I have been very busy making Christmas cards.

But now came the time where I really needed a break. So what could be better than a cup of tea and cupcakes? But the low calorie version - a cup of tea for me while I am crafting and the gorgeous Kanban cupcake kit and Dawn Bibby's cupcake stamps for my cards. I really love working with these products, but still need to concentrate on the seasonal cards for a while.

Fun with a Snowman

I am conscious that I have been a bit quiet lately, but I have been very busy making Christmas cards. Yes, it is that time of the year again. And - scary, but true - it is actually not long until the festive season starts ...

At the moment I am having loads of fun with the Snowman decoupage pad from Trimcraft. It is such a joy to work with.

Trimcraft now on scrapbook.com

Trimcraft have now got a brand-new gallery on scrapbook.com, one of the major US sites. I feel honoured that I have been asked to contribute some projects to the new Trimcraft gallery. So, which of the currently featured items are my work?

• Smirk Bookmark
• Smirk Gift Box
• Smirk Notebook
• Think Pink Smirk!

Please pop along and check out for yourself, what the site is like. Staying up-to-date is easy. You will always find a link to this Trimcraft gallery on the right-hand site of my blog.

My first blog award

Thank you so much to Pinkpuppy for choosing me as one of the five to receive this lovely award!

Here are the rules...

One of the conditions of accepting this lovely award is to give away five things about yourself, and then pass it on to five lovely people.

1. I am addicted to crafting - especially card making.
2. Over the years I have tried my hands on many kinds of craft including cross stich, knitting, crochet, creating lino panels for prints, making baskets with a wooden base and many more.
3. I am a Starbucks fan.
4. I love scented candles.
5. I like haggis.

Here are the five lovely people I have chosen. I will leave you all messages to come and collect this beautiful award !

Rozzy
Fiona
Susan
Erin
May

Trimcraft Design Team - Smirk Christmas Collection

As some of you know, I created some projects with the Smirk Christmas collection recently. Two gift boxes are also part of the series. Full instructions and drawing, which show cut and score lines can be found in my Trimcraft gallery (the link is listed on the right-hand side of the blog).

Cards with teabag folding

Over the last days I made quite a cards with teabag folding. I had not used the technique for far too long. Yes, it is a bit more time consuming, but it is perfect for keeping your hands busy while watching TV.

I never use special teabag papers. I simply cut patterned paper into squares and use those. It is just perfect for papers where I like the colours, but not really the pattern. It is amazing how the look of those unwanted papers can be transformed.

Here are two of the cards I made.

Material used:

• Scalloped card blank from Little Claire
• White cardstock
• K & Co papers
• Silk flowers
• Glitter brad
• White pen for the faux stitching
• White organza ribbon
• White peel-off sentiment
• Adhesive

Material used:

• Scalloped card blank from Little Claire
• White cardstock
• Light blue paper
• Tartan paper
• White peel-off sentiment and ornaments
• Glitter brad
• White stranded cotton thread for the stitching
• Insert paper
• Adhesive

And more baby cards ...

There is currently a baby boom all around us with a number of relatives and friends enjoying new additions to their families. So I have been busy making even more baby cards over the last days.

Here are two examples.


Material used:

• Joanna Sheen stamp
• Card blank from the Laura Ashley range (Trimcraft)
• White cardstock
• Silver mirri card
• Laura Ashley 6"x6" papers from the Contemporary collection
• Silver peel-offs
• Pink Woodware 7mm organza ribbon
• ProMarkers
• Adhesive

Material used for the Popcorn card:

• Crafter's Companion Popcorn stamp set
• Embossed card blank from the Laura Ashley range (Trimcraft)
• White cardstock
• Pink pearlescent card
• Silver mirri card
• White insert paper
• Adhesive pearls
• Pink adhesive ribbon
• Pink Woodware 7mm organza ribbon
• Silver peel-offs
• ProMarkers
• Adhesive

Thanks for your interest in my work.

Gender neutral baby cards

Today I prepared some baby cards. But it is not yet known, if the new arrivals will be boys or girls. So I had to look for options to avoid the traditional pinks and blues and go for more gender neutral colour schemes.

Material used for the card in the white and purple:

• Messy Rabbit Baby Bunny stamp set by Joanna Sheen
• Embossed card blank from the Laura Ashley range (Trimcraft)
• White cardstock
• Purple metallic card by Southfield
• Silver mirri card
• White insert paper
• Purple satin ribbon
• ProMarkers
• Adhesive
  

Material used for the card in the yellow colour scheme:

• Messy Rabbit Baby Bunny stamps by Joanna Sheen
• Dovecraft 6x6 Designer Paper Pack 'Baby'
• White cardstock
• Silver mirri card
• Woodware 7mm organza ribbon, white
• ProMarkers
• Adhesive

Trimcraft Design Team - Smirk Christmas Collection

Following the work with the MME Wild Asparagus collection I have developed some projects with the Smirk Christmas products for Trimcraft. Sarah from Trimcraft was so kind to add the creations including the full step-by-by step instructions to the gallery of official Trimcraft projects.

http://www.trimcraft.co.uk/projectgallery.php?u=trimcraft

Trimcraft Design Team Work - My Mind's Eye Wild Asparagus Collection

I have recently completed some projects with the Wild Asparagus collection from My Mind's Eye. Full step-by-step instructions can be found in the gallery of official Trimcraft projects on the Trimcraft website.

http://www.trimcraft.co.uk/projectgallery.php?u=trimcraft

A new blog is born

Welcome to my blog. The site is still in its infancy, but from now on I will regularly update it with news and images of my projects. You are very welcome to follow the development of this blog.


In the meantime you can see samples of my work in my Trimcraft gallery. The link is on the right-hand side of the page.


Thanks for visiting.