Experiments and Angels

My first card is inspired by all the white on white cards I have seen, just using die cuts to make a gorgeous card. Someone came into the shop looking for a card with an angel on it, and I said I had a beautiful angel stamp if they wanted to commission a card, but I can't put cards in the shop using Inkadinkado stamps and I had actually put this one up for sale, but reprieved it. I spent hours stamping angels on different card, and trying different ways of colouring. I have white on black card, and on blue, and Silver on blue metallic - didn't stamp well on that. I have sheets of angels stamped with white Brilliance ink and embossed with pearl powder where I tried several different ways of colouring the background leaving the angel to stand out in white and this is the one I liked the best. I used Distress Ink pads in blue and black to create this with my foam pads and wooden handle, I tried bottles of distress ink but couldn't get the colour I wanted, not enough blue until I used the pads.
 I have mounted it on snowflake embossed card (all the card is pearlescent ivory) and framed it with Spellbinders snow frame, and added bunches and single Spellbinders snowflakes. I also added a few music notes, maybe they should be in blue! I die cut Peace with Sizzix dies, added a little Stickles ice to the snowflakes and stars, and added a satin edged white ribbon.
I hope she likes it, and I think the family will be getting various angel cards this year, I really need to make my family cards!

I have entered this card in the following challenges:
 Incy Wincy challenge - snow (Mondays)
Joanna Sheen - with love at Christmas December
Papertake Weekly Challenges - Snow White (Tuesdays)
Emma's Crafty Challenge - let it snow
The Stamp Man - In the Bleak Midwinter December challenge

This card is also an experiment, I am not happy with it yet but I am going to keep working on it! I used two stamps by Crackerbox Palace that I won in their weekly blog candy giveaway recently. I love the sentiment, I nearly put it inside, but the front was too bare. I used a Sizzix Tim Holtz on the edge die to cut the houses (townscape), and a Grand Nestabilities label 23 to cut out the aperture. I backed this with some Papermania paper from years ago, and tried to paint a moon with Artists Irridescent Medium, then I stamped the Santa with his sleigh and reindeer over the moon and sky, I don't think the reindeers on the moon show up well, so I will work on different moons! Ink used Stazon Vibrant Violet. Ribbon by Papermania, which I found in my Christmas box and it was the perfect colour but was too wide so is doubled over the spine of the card.

 Ok same card but I overstamped the sleigh with Brilliance black ink so it shows up better, the stamps are mounted on cling foam and have the image printed on the back so you can see it through the block, so I could get it close to the same place and it just has a violet shadow now which I am happy with.

I have entered this card in the following challenges:

My Time To Craft - Non traditional colours Christmas card closes 14th Dec

Brrrr it's cold outside!

Here is my next Quirky card using a Doodle Dragon Studio image by Dustin Pike, coloured with Promarkers and with added Polar White Flower Soft. I never felt the need to buy Flower Soft, that was until I saw Polar White which is perfect for snow! Die cut with Nellie Snellen dies, and yes I know there is one snowflake left in but if I take it out the robin's hat will lose a bit of bobble! Sentiment was free on Quick Cards Made Easy, which I bought to get the set. DCWV paper.

I have entered the following challenges:

ABC Christmas - Vibrant colours (Wednesdays)

I [heart] Promarkers - Cute (Wednesdays)

This is my new toy, put together today by Richard and Julie, and ready to go! More toys will be arriving this week, and all of them will join this one in my craft room!

It's Quirky well snowing!

Yes it is! My brother drove here from sunny (for a change) Wales today and there was 4 inches of snow in Bath (10cm) and traffic chaos, so it really is, and my son's girlfriend had snow in Chippenham, brrrr too close for my liking! Today's challenge at Quirky Crafts Challenge blog is Let it Snow and Layer it up, and was set by Lyn who wants to see lots of layers and - SNOW! 

We have three great sponsors for this challenge, The Cutting Cafe, Crafty Ribbons and Doodle Dragon Studios and you know what three sponsors means - three prizes!

The Cutting Cafe kindly provided us with Frosty Da Snowman, Christmas Banners and Snow Globe files, and there is so much in them. I used Frosty Da Snowman for my easel card and I just love the snowman poop sentiments. The backgrounds, snow folk, tag, inside panel and sentiment are all from that file. All ribbon used is from Crafty Ribbons and I used 4 snowflake eyelets from The Eyelet Outlet. Images coloured with Promarkers.

It took me ages to find my "snowman poop" to add to this card. Also the card is a little big for any of my envelopes, and with the poop a little thick, so I will probably make a box for it.

I have entered this card in the following:

 Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Christmas ends 7th Nov

The Crafty Pad - Anything goes (Sundays)

I will be adding more examples later today or tomorrow, and some at least one using Doodle Dragon Studio images which Dustin Pike kindly provided!

Snow brought U.K. to standstill again?

Quirky Crafts Challenge 36 - Sketch by Caro

Challenge 36 started this evening over at Quirky Crafts Challenge blog and  is a sketch by the lovely Caro. As soon as I saw it I thought of my Hero Arts Clings sitting there as yet unused, and thought these would be perfect. The sentiment is a little too large but does it work?  I turned the sketch around as you can see. The snow person is paper pieced and then shaded with Pro-markers. The snow circle and the greeting are stamped with Brilliance in white and embossed with Stampendous pearly white powder. Snow person stamped with Memento ink. Fluffy bobble(on hat), snowflake buttons and starry ribbon from stash. Paper was a freebie last year from Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine. Shapes cut with Nestabilties by Spellbinders, though looking at it now I think I could have made the sentiment a little smaller but I was sure the next size down didn't fit it!

Hop on over to see what the other teamies have done with this sketch and have a go yourself, there is a prize this time and a chance to be a guest DT member and display the winner's badge.

Its snowing again

Will it be enough to make everyone stay home from work I wonder? I have lots I can do, I have to make my Crafty Ribbons Challenge project, sort lots of stamps, photograph and catalogue them and plenty more. I am stocked up with food to last a few days too having been shopping again tonight.
The lovely Ali at Crafty Ribbons told me not to give away my ribbony goodness, Crafty Ribbons are kindly going to sponsor Quirky Crafts forum and provide prizes for a challenge - how kind is that? Ali is so nice and all the people at Crafty Ribbons, really nice people so go over and visit the blog and the shop which is having a great January sale now. Link is in the next post.

Snow boots

You can see how miserable Alfie looks with the snow on his legs, he also hates wearing his coat, different to the happy photo above taken last year!

 Sooty is much more laid back in the last photo, he loves the snow.

 

Snow

It is so cold, I feel sorry for any rough sleepers and the wildlife in this weather. Alfie is not keen on the snow. The birds are hungry, and the local stream is very pretty all captured with my new camera a very welcome Christmas present, it is a Canon EOS500D. I have loads more snow photos, and will bore you with them soon as well as hopefully videos of the craft room horror story and the makeover, but I just need to work out how to edit the video, and I am really struggling to understand the movie editing software.

 

 

 The first fortnightly challenge of 2010 on Quirky Crafts forum begins on Sunday, I will soon be able to show you what I have made for my DT example. We have an exciting new sponsor and a great prize for the winner of the new challenge.

Today I had lots of post, the first since the snow. I had a package of sale goodies from Crafty Devils, and two packages of stamps from the USA, I also had a package of gorgeous ribbons from Crafty Ribbons, and I am to make a challenge project using some of them soon.

Snow

Well lets get it over with, here are some snow pictures.

Do you like my snow boots?