Coming out of hiding ...

I am conscious that I have not made much of an appearance lately. A decorating break caused chaos at home, tested my nerves and accounted for serious 'cold turkey' when it comes to crafting.

Despite the necessary, but not voluntary break I have already managed to fall in love with three crafting products:

• Dovecraft Funky Vintage papers
• Card candy from Craftwork Cards and
• The mask template by WS Designs

And I have had already a good play with the mask template this week. Here are two examples.

The first card is made using black pearlescent card, Funky Vintage papers, the Dovecraft ribbon border punch, silver mirri card, card candy and paper flowers. I used silicone glue to attach the mask, so that I could slightly shape it and give it a more natural bend. The card candy on the mask is stuck down with 3D foam. The pieces in the centre of the flowers with silicone glue, as I wanted this to sit directly on the flowers and not as raised as the card candy on the mask.

For the second card I used black pearlescent card, papers from the Making Cards January issue, card candy and a black feather that I enhanced with a hint of Spray and Sparkle Silver Glitter Varnish from Crafter's Companion.

Trimcraft Projects for a US Show

I am conscious that it has been very quiet on this blog over the last weeks. But I had in fact a very busy time.

At the moment the Trimcraft team is exhibiting a number of their collections at the CHA 2010 Winter Convention & Trade Show in the US. I had the great honour to create samples for Trimcraft, which are being displayed at their stand.

Here is a selection of cards I made for the CHA. The full range of my projects and more details regarding the products can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

Eastern Blossom:

Fantasy:

Funky Vintage:

Hint of Pink:

Pepper & Friends:

Pepper & Friends in combination with Hint of Pink:

Smirk:

Wild Blossom:

Front and inside view of a tag card:

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.