CLEAN AND SIMPLE CHRISTMAS CARDS - 2012

Since I've just spent some time sorting out photos from my camera, and thought that I would enter the Christmas Cards that I made for Christmas 2012 into the Clean and Simple on the Allsorts Challenge Blog.

As I had to make of 70 of my main card (50 of which were posted, and because of the jingle bell I put on the cards, then were classed as large letter, and cost me loads to post - grrrr).  Next year's Christmas cards will be flat!

Anyway onto my cards:  the text is a digi stamp from Pink Petticoat, that were part of the 'Handwritten Christmas Sentiments' pack, and all I have done is print them out, cut them into squares with the cuttlebug, and hand tied some organza ribbon and thin thread and added a jingle bell to the middle, and voila, a plain and simple christmas card.

I chose 2 different lots of text to use from the whole sentiment pack, and then used various different colours of the organza ribbon, because I underestimated how much I needed, and everytime I went back to get some more from the shop they had run out of the colours I was using!  So some cards were baby pink; pale blue; white or red with gold or silver thread.  I reckon I got through 50m of ribbon and thread, to make the 70 cards!!  Pricewise, it wasn't to expensive, as I use a local old fashioned haberdashery shop and the ribbon was about 20p a meter and the thread 10p a meter.

The jingle bells were bought from a local art shop, and I thought they were a bargain at 99p for 30.

I was really pleased with the way they turned out and how effective they looked, but have to admit I found it very fiddly to tie all the thin ribbon bows, and make them look good!  I've had some great feedback from lots of people that I gave the card to, so all the effort was definitely worth it.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
clean and simple challenge - Allsorts Challenge Blog
without design papers  - The Crazy Challenge
white + one other - Sweet Stampin' Challenge
ribbons and bows - Crazy 4 Challenge

IT'S NEARLY THE END OF THE YEAR....

so thought that I should blog the last card that I have made for 2012.

Been really busy this year, and blogging and crafting have sort of fallen by the wayside over the last few months.  I did however manage to make 75 Christmas cards to send, plus 9 individual cards for the really special people in my life, but started doing them really late, and almost ran out of time.

This is the card I made for my oldest son Harry, and it sort of just came together. 

I love this card so much that it has to be one of the favourite individual ones I have made this year.
The image is Snowman Bells, from Bugaloo Stamps, and was a doddle to colour.

I've used blue snowball paper and coloured the image with promarkers, and used a metalic pen on the bells. I used a new snowflake cuttlebug folder for the backing piece to the image, and the sentiment is from Cardworks Cards.

I'd like to enter this card into the current challenge at Bugaloo - Holiday/Seasonal Theme (Holiday Winter).

BACK INTO CARD MAKING AND CRAFTING

Oh my goodness I can't believe how long it has been since I added anything to my blog.

Work has been so busy for the past few months - you know what it is like there are never enough hours in the day, so you end up catching up and doing work in the evenings and weekends, and therefore it doesn't leave much time for anything else.

I am determined to now create some 'me time' over the coming months, and get back into crafting in time for Christmas.  I have so many ideas going around in my head, that I want to do, that I need to get my butt into gear and make a start on some of them.

I have been making a few cards, over the last few months but nothing major and only making them as and when I need them, and making them as simple as possible.

I want to get back into card making as I find it so theraputic to do, so thought I would make a start on reviving my blog, and entering a challenge that I have just spotted over at Charisma Cardz - plain and simple, so here are my entries, which ended up being a set as a present for my Mum's birthday in September.

First we have the card:



 

Then came a box, that I put some ES mints in:

 

 

And finally a gift card wallet, that I put some money into, as she is saving up for a new TV:

 

I was really pleased with the way that the 3 things came out, and love the simplicity of the designs.

 

Last year in the States I bought a paper pack by DCWV called the Luxury Stack, because I fell in love with the designs of the papers.

 

I've put off using them really, as I needed an idea that showed off the papers to the full, so came up with this design, of just adding a co-ordinating piece of ribbon, a bow, and a few pearls.

Having mastered tying bows, I have since used the same design on a few more of the papers  The added bonus is that they are fairly quick to make and every time I make one they all look gorgeous!

A CUTE LAZY CAT CARD

I'm still making the cards that I need for the next few weeks, and found this gorgeous image in my stash that was waiting to be coloured, and made into a card.

I'm not sure why but I sometimes completely uncontiously seem to produce cards with this type of layout.  It isn't until I finish the card, and sit and look at it that I realise it is similar to cards I have done before.  Still it works for me, and I bet in future there will be others!

I've coloured the image with promarkers, and added glossy accents to the heart on the flower pot.  The circle and scalloped cirle were cut with nesties on my cuttle bug and the boarder at the bottom is a MS punch.  The sparkly organiser ribbon was from my stash, and the packing paper is yet another of the DCWV paper stacks I bought in the States last summer called 'Nanna's Kitchen Stack'.

I'm not sure that you can see but the backing paper is not only bright and colourful, but also sparkly to go with the ribbon.
 

I'd like to enter this card into the following Challenges:

Creative Belli Blog - animals
Celebrate the Occasion - happy birthday (must use a ribbon)
Creative Craft Challenge - animal antics
Deep Ocean Challenge - use punches and dies
Oldie But A Goodie Challenge - on the farm/in the garden
Promarker Challenge - cut it out

A PRETTY BIRTHDAY CARD

One of the girls I work with has a birthday in a few weeks, and she is a shopaholic, so I think that the image on this card is perfect for her, because most lunchtimes she comes back from town with a armful of bags!  I'm not sure of the designer of the image, as it is one that I have saved to my PC a while ago.

I have gone with a plain and simple design for this card, as the backing paper is gorgeous.  The photo really doesn't do the backing paper justice.  The paper came from a DCWV stack that I bought in the States last year called 'The Luxury Stack', and all the designs are.

I have teamed the backing paper with some plum coloured card to match the paper I have used, and some wide plum ribbon.  I love ribbons and bows and am always so disappointed with my bows but have been a follower of this blog for a while, her cards are amazing, and I have finally mastered tying bows thanks to using Bev's tutorial, and am really happy with the result.

With the bow tied I have added a glue dot to the back of it, and attached it to the ribbon.  The image was coloured with promarkers, and a few pearls and sentiment finish the card off.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Marg's Challenge on MSE - inspired by a film or book (Confessions of a Shopaholic)
Papermakeup Stamps Challenge - birthdays
Love to Create Challenge - anything goes
Crazy Challenge - feminine/girly
Secret Crafty Saturday Challenge - inspired by a film title (Confessions of a Shopaholic)

A LITTLE BOYS CARD

A little while ago it was my friends little boys birthday, and he is mad about trains, so it made this card from him.

As usual the image was a colouring page that I found on the internet, and I have coloured the image with promarkers using the colours of the backing paper.  Before I printed the image, I added 'Lewis is 2' to the smoke coming out of the funnel of the train, using Paintshop Pro.

The backing paper is from the DCWV that I have had for ages, and the little blue punch train boarder, was made with a MS train punch.  It was one of the punches that I bought in the States last summer because my youngest son Jack wanted it.  Needless to say this is the first time it has been used!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Totally Gorjuss Challenge - boys toys
Crafty Ann's Challenge - its a man thing
Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge - stripes or checks

ANNIVERSARY CARD FOR MY OTHER HALF

I have had this image printed out and lying around for a while (not sure where it is from though, but pretty sure it was a free download), and decided last night to colour it in, and make it into an Anniversary card for my OH for our Anniversary in August.  At least by doing it now I won't be having to make anything at the last minute - i'll just have to remember where I put it!

I decided use my promarkers to colour her in black and red as I always think that black and red together goes really well together for anniversary/valentines day cards.  Once coloured I mounted the image on some plain black card.

The bottom mat is again plain black card, and the red card has been designed on the craft robo, and the hearts cut out.  All I have then done, is stick slightly small hearts (the waste of the heart cut sheet from the craft robo) into the middle of the larger cut out hearts, and mounted it onto the plain black card.  I think it is pretty elegant, and am sure my OH will love it!

I'd like to enter this card into the following Challenge:

C.R.A.F.T Challenge - wedding/anniversary
Whimsy Stamps Challenge - punches/die cut (hope cutting on the craft robo counts for this)
Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge - anything goes

A MAN'S CARD

I'm still slowly ploughing through the cards that I need to make, and seeing the image i have used for this card, being used on cards on some of the blogs I follow, I finally succumbed and bought it - there are lots of golfers that I need to make throughout the year, so this digi will be well used.

In making this card I have used what I think is 'golfing' looking backing paper from a hugh paper stack I have that I bought when I started crafting about 4 years ago.  As with most stacks you buy, there are always designs that you don't like and don't know how to use, and I am happy that I have finally been able use this one. 

Not sure of the colour combo of brown and blue, but I am sure it will be well received by the recipient.  The bugaboo image has been coloured with Promarkers, and it was my first time trying to do shading.  The grass could have come out better, but heyho, thats what happens when you decide to leave the bottom of the image white, and then change you mind and want to do more green, and it doesn't blend with the green that has already been coloured.

The layout isn't from anywhere in particular, but I wanted to use the MS zigzag punch and buttons on the card so that is what I came up with.  I love the quote and hope my Uncle does too.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Sentiments Design - use a digi
Incy Wincy Designs - digi's only
Pan Pastel UK Challenge - one for the boys
Make My Monday - male sports and hobbies
Crafty Boots Challenge - no girls allowed
Our Creative Corner - our boys and their toys
Everybody Art Challenge - card for a man
Whoopsidaisy Challenge - anything goes

A VERY GIRLY PINK CARD

I really enjoyed making this girly/pink card for a friends daughter, who was 11 recently.

It is a relatively simple card, as it is just lots of different mats and layers, and I think the stars and dots work really well together. The image was a colouring page I found on google, that was just resized to fit the card and coloured with promarkers to make the image look like Ciara.

The papers and mats were cut offs from my stash, and the sentiment is from Craftwork Cards. I have used a martha stewart punch to make the boarder across the card, and a bit of self adhesive ribbon through the middle.

Ciara loved the card, and couldn't belive that I had coloured the image, as she said it was really beautiful!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Polka Doodles - Pretty in Pink
Belli Challenge - Children

A CARD FOR MOTHER'S DAY

I spent a couple of nights last week, making my mum a mothers day card, and am really pleased with how it turned out. My mum loves the colour green, so whenever I make a card for her, I always try to incorporate this colour.

I am not great at thinking of a nice layout for the different cards I make, so am always checking out blogs for ideas, and if I see a card I like I will save it into an ideas folder I have and when I need to make a card, I have a quick look at some of my favourites I have stored, to get some inspiration, as to what my next card may be like, and it always gives me the inspiration I need.

The image for this card is another colouring page, I found on the internet, and just fell in love with as it is one that could be used for multiple different occasions, and felt it was the the perfect image for my mum.

I've used a mix of backing papers for this card, that I have had for ages in my stash, and some green gemstone card stock for the mats, which gives the card a little more sparkle.

The image was coloured with promarkers, and a little glossy accents added to the flower head. The sentiment was done on the computer. I have also finally used one of the MS punches I bought in the States last summer, and put a strip of daisies underneath the image in the gemstone cardstock.

I liked the above card so much - image and layout, that I made a similar one in pink for my best friends birthday on Friday. I haven't added a sentiment to this one, but a few faux pearls to give it a bit extra bling.


I'd like to enter the green card into the following challenges:

The Crazy Challenge - go green
My Craft Spot - spring scallops
Touch Twin Marker Challenge - spring
Sparkles Challenge - mothers day/spring
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - bit o'green
Love to Create Challenge - anything goes