Paper Obsession

All set for Christmas?

We've certainly had the weather for it this week..

Apart from the snow, a couple of fantastic TV programmes have really been getting me in the mood for Christmas. I caught three episodes of Kirsty's Home-Made Christmas (Channel 4) on Friday afternoon and was just smitten with all her amazing creations... you MUST check out the website for instructions and information.

Then yesterday I had the pleasure of watching 'Grow Your Own Drugs for Christmas' (BBC 2) with James Wong, an ethno-botanist who used traditional Christmas herbs and plants to make hangover remedies, gorgeous decorations and tasty gifts. Wonderful viewing while I conquered my ironing mountain!

I'm sorry to report that journaling my Christmas has made way for actually getting organised for Christmas this last week or so. Despite a lack of JYC pages to show, I have been crafting like crazy...

• Christmas cards - made and sent (apart from a few last-minute ones to be posted tomorrow)

As you can possibly tell, I am LOVING this little 'Merry Christmas' stamp! It was part of a set of clear stamps, including the dashed line Christmas tree outline, from Willow Tree Crafts. The first batch of cards were made with scraps of Doodlebug papers and red ribbon. The second one was made using my Cuttlebug Snowflakes #2 die. The third card is part of a big set of cards I made following instructions from The Craft Stamper magazine - details are in my Flickr photostream!

• Wreath for front door - fashioned from a faux-evergreen candle ring found in a charity shop, along with a cute flowerpot man from my mum:

I took off some plasticky gold flowers and added my own glass baubles, gold ribbon and flowerpot man.

• Christmas cards strung up on mini-washing lines with tiny pegs above the fireplace

• Gingerbread biscuits made (although a bad egg meant they actually tasted foul - but I still made them!)

• Christmas presents bought and wrapped - I have gone for a red and kraft theme in my wrappings, with a hint of silver and stars..

I don't know if I'm ever going to 'catch up' with JYC but at least I can honestly say I am NOT stressing about it.. Enjoy your Christmas!

It's 'Journal Your Christmas' time again!

This year it's going to be different.

This year I will be better organised, I will have my album and all my pages prepared in advance.

This year I will keep it simple and I will keep up!

I guess that just about covers Prompt One... my aim is to try my best to write, blog and {I hope} craft a little something every day... whether it is 'on-prompt' (ugh, what a horrible phrase!) or just notes on the day's activities and my progress towards getting ready for Christmas and the New Year.

....

Well, I am slightly better organised than I was last year.

At least this year I know what I'm doing and what the prompts are likely to be!

I have quite a few pages more-or-less prepared so it should be a relatively simple matter to add photos and words (in theory at least...).

....

Meanwhile.. On Saturday I attended my first every all-day crop, organised by Pat of Bromley Scrapaholics. It was a fantastic day, Pat kept everyone happy with cups of tea and choccie biscuits and had even organised a raffle and a prize for the best layout. I managed to complete my Karen Foster Countdown Calendar, using Love Elsie 'Noel' papers, and got a fair bit of my Christmas planner done too.

Here is the evidence...

The boys were thrilled to find a Malteser and a Cadbury's Snow Bite each in drawer no. 1 this morning. The rest of the drawers will be filled on a day-by-day basis for obvious reasons...

Here's my Christmas Planner as it is so far:

(Why, oh why, could I not see that 'Christmas' would not fit into that space?!)

These fab calendar pages - by Jane Dean - were downloaded from the Papercraft Inspirations website. The colouring-in was laborious but I do like the effect!

I made the 'To Do' list myself, totally inspired by Jane Dean's Christmas Planner!

I made these pages too - drew the outlines with a black fineliner pen and photocopied, then coloured in using pencils.

I hope it'll be a useful tool to keep me organised in the run-up to Christmas. Other sections will have pages for recording Internet purchases, holding receipts, Christmas menu ideas and recipes... and anything else I think of.

.....

Just to finish off, here are a couple of cards I made using my new Cuttlebug Snowflake die:

Think I might add a stamped 'Merry Christmas' on the bottom one, but I'm scared I'll mess it up (which is highly likely - I'm not the neatest stamper..).

.....

Time to get Harry out of bed and pick up Charlie from nursery... I'll be back later (I hope) with my first JYC page to share!

Six Flickr Favourites

Here's a little mosaic of some of my favourite photos on Flickr.

1: 'Thinking of You' by kiaraleestudio

2: 'Eyes up' by PlanetCoco

3: '20090916_Port_Lympne_Wildarena_0119' by Darren's

4: 'Scooterin'' by Stitchy Wishes

5: 'Banished' by Nabview

6: 'EXIT' by petervanallen

If you click on any of the links above, you will be taken to the photo in Flickr, where you can explore the artists' other photos - which of course I heartily recommend!

Thanks to Kirsty Neale's post, "Glorious Technicolour", for inspiring me to try out this mosaic feature by BigHugeLabs.com - I have been struggling for days to find a good way of getting some Flickr pictures into my blog and this is perfect!

Two cards in one day - it's a record!

This morning I realised TODAY is my sister-in-law's birthday and TOMORROW is my nephew's seventh birthday. One day late is better than never - and on time is better still - so I set myself the task of getting two cards in the post by this afternoon.

Here is what I came up with for Eve:

The flower stamps are by Lavinia Stamps, not sure of their name. I stamped them using my new Distress Inks (Peeled Paint and Dusty Concorde) and then sprayed the paper with diluted purple acylic paint from a mini-mister. I cut out the picture with a Nestabilities Labels 1 die (the second biggest), then cut out a bigger one in green BasicGrey paper. The papers are both from BasicGrey's Eva range.

I then stamped my favourite Hero Arts stamp, Heart-winged butterfly, on to some more purple-splattered paper and added dots of pink glitter and Hero Arts black accent pearls before cutting out and mounting onto the flower panel with a foam pad.

The 'Happy Birthday' greeting is one of a set I found in 'The Works' - they are really handy when you're in a hurry!

And here is my card for Kieran:

I stamped the Hero Arts owls onto scraps of BasicGrey Scarlet's Letter paper and also on to white card, cut them out and pieced on the wings of the largest owl and the eyes of all three. I stamped the branch in white ink but it wasn't clear so I went over it using Souffle pens. Finally I stamped 'You hoo!' on to white paper, drew a speech bubble round it and cut it out.

The owls are mounted on BasicGrey papers (what else?!) - the woodgrain is from the Granola range and the purple and green are Granola and Eva respectively. I couldn't resist adding some glittery stars - in the photo they look a bit big and blobby - it was a mad dash to finish the card, wake Harry up and get to nursery to pick up Charlie, all in about ten minutes. We just made it on time, and the card is in the post. RESULT!!

Charlie starts nursery.. and LSNED catch-up

This week I've been rather preoccupied with Charlie starting nursery. It was his first day on Monday - or, at least, his introductory hour. On Tuesday Harry and I stayed with Charlie the whole time - one of his teachers suggested I leave him for a while but Charlie overheard and clung to me in horror.

On Wednesday I managed to persuade Charlie that I needed to take Harry next-door to the Children's Centre for Stay & Play. He just about accepted that, although we did have a bit of a battle at the door. I was able to 'spy' on him outside in the garden scooting around on the bikes and bouncing on the trampoline. But then I spotted him sitting forlornly on one end of a see-saw for ages, all on his own, and my heart wept for him.

I left him there for an hour and a half yesterday - and it was probably as hard for me as it was for Charlie. Today I told him I would take Harry home for his nap, and when I pick him up we'd go to the park. He took this pretty well - and gave me a big wave when I left with Harry. So now I'm sitting here with the radio for background noise, Harry asleep and Charlie not here. It's a strange feeling.

The upshot of all this is that LSNED has taken a back seat.. I've been learning plenty but just haven't had the time or inclination to scrap it. But I can share a couple of pages I made last week.

Here's last Monday's page, celebrating a little outing with friends we haven't seen for ages. Charlie and Zac got on so well, it was lovely to see him having such fun with a friend.

And here is last Wednesday's page - documenting my revelation that it WAS possible to go shopping with the boys AND come back with a significant amount of new clothes. This spur-of-the-moment shopping spree was prompted by a glance at my Autumn/Winter wardrobe which has barely seen a new addition in the last three years.

And finally, here is a card I made for a friend, Kate, who is thirty today. I was inspired by a card I saw on Flickr in the Hero Arts Group by the wonderfully talented Lucy Abrams.. although in the end I think it turned out quite different.

A very shiny anniversary card

Here's another card I made using Shari's Sketch #1 on the Hero Arts challenge blog. This time I have used my favourite stamp, Heart-winged Butterfly, so I can enter it for the challenge! I love the HA blog community, there is such a buzz on both the blog and the Flickr group, with hundreds of fantastic creations being posted online each week in response to the challenges set by the HA team.

I made this card for my DH's aunty and uncle who celebrate their Silver wedding anniversary on Sunday.

And here is a close-up of that glittery butterfly:

Supplies:

Silver mirri card
BasicGrey Scarlet's Letter paper
White card
Silver glitter and gemstones
Cuttlebug and Script embossing folder
Nestabilities - Scalloped Circles
Hero Arts 'Heart-winged Butterfly' F5158
Banana Frog 'Simple Greetings'
Silver, red and black ink-pads

First I cut scalloped circles out of BG paper and silver card. I embossed the BG paper with the Script folder and inked the script with silver and the edges with red ink.

I cut squares from silver card and BG paper, rounded the corners of these and the white base card and layered them up. I stuck the scalloped circles to the base card with foam pads to raise them up.

I stamped the greeting on to white card and cut into a strip, adding some tiny heart-shaped gems and inking the edges in silver before sticking to the card with sticky dots.

Finally, I stamped the butterfly on to more BG paper with black Versafine ink, cut it out and added fine silver glitter using Art Glitter Designer Adhesive. This was stuck to the card using a sticky dot.

The photo doesn't really show how shiny the silver card is - it is actually quite dazzling!

ETA: Well, I am chuffed to bits - my card won second place - hurray!!! Thank you Hero Arts.

A very flowery wedding card

A friend of mine is getting married on Friday and unfortunately we can't be there - but I've just spent a happy hour or two making them a pretty card. It was inspired by this week's sketch challenge on the Hero Arts blog but as I haven't managed to shoehorn in any HA stamps, I can't enter it for the challenge.. shame! Once my prize shopping voucher reaches me, I'll be able to extend my HA stamp collection but I'm still waiting as yet..

Anyway, here is the card I made:

I started by embossing the square white card blank with the Cuttlebug Swiss dots embossing folder. I had to put it through twice to cover the whole card (I wish they'd make them bigger... in fact I think the new range are going to be slightly bigger, which is good news). I then inked the edges and some of the dots with pink ink.

Next I cut a scalloped circle of BasicGrey Urban Prairie/Meadow paper to include the two birds in the middle, adding a few pink pearly gems to the flowers under the birds. I matted this on to a bigger scalloped circle of pink Urban Prairie paper. To make the petally surroundings, I cut up a few pink paper flowers and stuck them underneath.

I inked and stuck down a Doodlebug paper frill about a third of the way up the base card, then added the flowery centre piece. Finally I added the Congratulations sentiment to another bit of papeer frill and stuck this on the top, slighly off-centre to avoid it looking too symmetrical.

I've never done anything quite so pink and frilly before.. and I rather like it!

Two New Baby Cards

Here are a couple of cards I made today, really quick and simple.

Supplies:
White square card blank
Patterned papers, free with a card-making magazine
Pink/blue card
White card
Giraffe stamp by Imaginisce
Black Versafine ink
Chalks
Nestabilities - Scalloped Circles
Circle punch
Cuttlebug
Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder
Sakura souffle pens - pink and blue
Metal 'New Baby' plaques by Card Candy
Adhesives - glue stick, sticky-dots, foam tape

How to make:
1. Stamp giraffe with black ink on to white card.
2. Colour with chalks.
3. Cut out image using a large circle punch (2 inch).
4. Cut a larger scalloped circle from pink/blue card using Nestabilities set and Cuttlebug.
5. Emboss scalloped circle with Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder.
6. Cut patterned paper to a 10.5cm square and stick centrally to base card.
7. Stick the circle to the scalloped circle using sticky-dots, then stick the scalloped circle to the patterned paper using foam tape. I stuck mine slightly higher than the middle.
8. Stick the metal New Baby plaque under the scalloped circle using foam pads or tape.
9. Draw on 'stitches' with Sakura souffle pen around edge of patterned paper so it looks as if it is sewn on to the card.

I needed the blue card in a hurry and it was very quick to make. I took a little more time over the pink one and chalked around the edges of the circle and the patterned paper to give it more of a distressed look.

A 'green' card for Father's Day

I spotted some lovely little napkins on a recent trip to IKEA which I thought had definite card-making/scrapping potential. The patterns are great and each packet was about 50p!

I decided to try out the napkins by making a Father's Day card. Here's what I did:

I separated the layers and glued the patterned (elephant) layer to some thick kraft paper using Mod Podge. I also glued one of the white patterned napkins to a square white base card. I left them to dry and squashed them under some heavy books to flatten them for a few days.

I then embossed a rectangle scrap of kraft paper with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and stuck it on to the base card.

Next I cut a square out of the elephant piece, to include my favourite of the elephants, and stuck this on foam dots onto the card, partially over the dotted piece of kraft.

To make the DAD letters, I stamped on to a Dulux paint chart using Banana Frog Pharmacy stamps and cut them into small tiles. I stuck these on to the card with more pop dots for a bit more dimension.

And that's it. Dad liked the card, by the way.

The butterfly obsession continues...

I am still in love with butterflies on my cards.. they seem to be putting in an appearance on virtually every card I make at the moment. Here are a few more:

This one (above) I made for Charlie's friend Phoebe's birthday which was last week. I used some really pretty papers I got free with Scrapbook Magazine, along with the Cuttlebug Butterfly cut & emboss set. Love it so much!

This one was inspired by a tutorial on Two Peas in a Bucket about stamping with bleach. It sort-of worked! I also used Bazzill Swiss Dots cardstock (blue), Kraft cardstock and green Core'dinations card, which I sanded to show the lighter core underneath.

For this card I cut scalloped circles using my new Nestabilities dies and stamped the butterfly on to BasicGrey Scarlet's Letter paper. I also embossed the smaller circle using the Cuttlebug Script embossing folder and inked it with brown ink.

Finally, this really simple card was made using butterflies cut from Basic Grey papers, layered on to black card on a white card blank. I'm not keen on peel-offs but hey, I need to use them up! I coloured the Happy Birthday peel-off in yellow.

I think this butterfly obsession will continue for a while yet, be warned..