Stepping it up for Christmas!

Well here we are on the last day of November and I am now in to full Christmas card making mode....and as usual I am thinking will I get everything done that I wanted? The answer is of course 'no', but I'll keep on trying anyway!

I have quite a few cards stored up on my blog so I thought it was about time I started to post them, and here is the first, featuring a gorgeous stamp from Wild Rose Studio.

I used my Aqua pens to colour in this image and I have to admit it took a little while but it was really worth it as this is such a cheery little picture once it is all done.

I decided to make a  stepper card for a change and, as luck would have it, I have a great Tattered Lace die to create the base card and all the infills, so all I had to do was decide on my papers,which came from my trusty NitWits digital collection.

How do you like the big sentiment? This is another die form the Sara Davies range. i am honestly not sure if you can still get it, but I am sure there will be something similar in her 2017 collections.

My holly was another die out of my stash and one that i have had for quite a fw years...Marianne Designs I think, and it is topped of with some lovely red Nuvo dots.

So that's my card for today. Hope you like it, and come back and visit again soon!!

Sharon x

Challenges:
http://creataliciouschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-128-anything-goes-with.html
http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/challenge-60-and-winners-of-challenge-59.html
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-55.html

It's time for Christmas at Fab N Funky

It's time for Christmas over at Fab n Funky this week, so we want to see all your lovely Christmas cards makes.

We are sponsored by Digistamps for Joy this week who have kindly allowed us to have this fab image to colour and are providing a lovely prize for our winner this week.

I have printed my image to fit a 6 x 6 card and coloured it with my Spectrum Noir pens, before matching it with some lovely digital papers from the Nit Wits Merry Christmouse set.

I am really looking forward to seeing all your festive makes this week, so don't forget to come and join us over at Fab N Funky.

See you there!

Sharon x

Challenges:

https://digichoosday.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/wk-48-digi-choosday-anything-goes.html
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-55.html
http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chnc-challenge-extra-for-november-2017.html
http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/craftyhazelnuts-patterned-paper.html

Deck the Halls.....

Well it is getting to that time of year, but I have to admit that I was a little surprised to see Xmas decorations up in someone's window already this weekend!

I think it will be a few weeks before I venture in to the loft and drag out my stuff, but in the meantime I have been getting in to the spirit with lots of lovely Christmas images, and this is one of them.

This lovely lady is from All Dressed Up and I printed her out quite large so that I could use her for this A5 sized card.

I coloured her with my Spectrum Noirs and used lashings of glitter for her lovely fairy wings. For once you can actually see the sparkle in the photo!

Of course I had to delve in to my trusty NitWits digital stash for my backing paper and I have paired it with a beautiful Tonic die which created a perfect frame.

I love the font on the sentiment...I only wish i could remember which one of my many stamp sets it came from...how frustrating!!!

I hope you like my card for today....it is the closest thing that you will see to a Christmas tree in my house for a little while yet!

Bye for now.

Sharon x

Challenges :
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-185.html
http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/chnc-challenge-extra-for-november-2017.html
http://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/winner-of-craftyhazelnuts-patterned.html
http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-71-and-winners-of-challenge-70.html
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-55.html
https://digichoosday.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/wk-47-digi-choosday-anything-goes.html
https://polkadoodle.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/wk-47-anything-goes-crafting-challenge.html
http://thepapershelter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-319-christmas-card.html

It's penguin-ing to look a lot like Christmas!

Sad to say , I have been neglecting my blog a little bit lately, but I have been busy with my crafting and now I can start to show you some of my makes without getting told off for mentioning that C word!!

I am totally hooked on Lawn Fawn (amongst others!) at the moment - there is something about the cute but simple images that gives me a little buzz of happiness....especially the winter ones.

So here I am with a sweet little card that I created using some of the penguins and a bunch of dies.

I coloured my penguins in with my spectrum noirs and cut them out with the matching dies, which I love, love love!

I then used a crafters companion dies from the Sara release  last year to create the houses in the background and used another wavy die to create the second layer which I highlighted with tumbled glass distress ink to give it some depth.

For the sky, i used my distress inks and glycerine to get a love blend, and then I sprinkled with water and blotted to get the snowflakes.

Finally, I added the musical note which are part of the stamp set.

Oh - and I nearly forgot to mention the sentiment, which is right up my street, as I do love a bit of word play. It's really simple in style so it doesn't overwhelm the card but it's the perfect finishing touch to bring everything together.

Hope you like my cheery card for today, and thanks very much for visiting.

Sharon x

Challenges:

http://ribbongirls.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/november-any-image-challenge.html

http://addicted-to-stamps-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-157.html

http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-70.html

http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-71-and-winners-of-challenge-70.html

http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/crafty-catz-challenge-393-anything-goes.html

http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-55.html

Whipper Snappers Doggy Pile

Hi there. I am back today with a really old stamp of mine that I love! It dates back to the times when you could only get wood mounted stamps and it comes from Whipper Snappers. Sadly, as this is an American company these stamps are quite card to get hold of, and I am not sure if you can even get them anymore so this really is a little treasure for me.

When I first got this stamp, alcohol markers weren't on the scene so I used Tombows to colour my images, but of course these days we have lots of amazing mediums to use and I managed to get a much more vibrant effect using my Spectrum Noirs.

I don't know if you can tell from the close up but these lovely little chaps are decoupaged. It was a little bit time consuming but so worth it in the end, especially as this was a special card for my dad!

My backing papers are the perfect match and are digital papers from NitWits, in what i would call muted autumnal colours.

Finally, I decided that the background behind the dogs was too white so I dulled it down with a touch of distress ink, and random dots using a Stamps by Judith stubby.

Hope you like my card for today.

Thanks for stoping by!

Sharon x

Challenges:
http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/week-441-colours-of-autumn.html
http://a-step-in-the-darkness.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-68.html
https://polkadoodle.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/wk-45-anything-goes-crafting-challenge.html
http://craftycalendarchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/autumn-colours-november-challenge.htmlhttp://craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/craftyhazelnuts-patterned-paper.html

Colour Crazy sponsored by All Dressed Up

It's time for another challenge over at Colour Crazy, and this week we are sponsored by All Dressed Up.

I have used this little cutie called Christmas Present, but I felt like this didn't have to be restricted to Christmas. so I used her to make a birthday card instead, using some lovely vintage tones.

I found the backing paper in a freebie pack from an old magazine, and I decided to use that as the basis for my colouring. Of course, there are fairy wings, so there HAD to be glitter , but for everything else I have kept it all fairly muted.

My lots of love die is an old favourite from Tattered Lace and my swirly sentiment is from Lili of the Valley, and i am glad to say I am no longer afraid to use this in a finished card due to the fabulous Misti tool!

So that's my card for today...stepping away from Christmas for just a little while.

Hope you like it and that you will come and join us on Colour Crazy.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon x

A little birdie told me that Christmas is coming......

I am back for another DT post today, and this week and this time it is for Cute Card Thursday, where the theme is Anything Goes.

We are sponsored by Whimsy Stamps who have some of the cutest Christmas images so I chose this one which is called Nice Friends 2. And see the little guy with the Christmas hat on? He is a tiny little stamp from Gerda Steiner....I just thought he needed to be there!

I created the background with my distress ink pads - Salty Ocean and Faded Jeans, and coloured the image with my Spectrum Noirs, before adding a finishing spritz of glitter........well you have to don't you??!!

Finally i have mounted the image on to some Red Mirri Card which comes in the Crafters Companion Luxury red cardstock pack. You will see this on a lot of my cards at the moment, as I think it gives the finished card a lovely little lift, that you can only get away with at Christmas.

So that's my card for today. I hope you will come and share your makes at Cute Card Thursday.

Thanks for visiting.

Sharon x

It's all about fashion

Hi there. We have new challenge over at Fab n Funky this week, and our theme is Fashion, sponsored by Lemon Shortbread.

I have decided to use this lovely little lady, called Heart Sunglasses, and coloured her in with my Spectrum Noirs.

I have gone for a very clean and simple card this time, using some old scraps of patterned paper that I found in my stash and a little bit of ribbon.

Thanks for visiting today, and don't forget to come and join us over at Fab n Funky.

Sharon x

Challenges:
http://cardsgalorechallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/46-remember-remember-our-challenge-for.html
http://thepapershelter.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-316-digital-delight.html
http://creativeladybirdscreations.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/challenge-31.html
https://digichoosday.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/wk-44-digi-choosday-anything-goes.html