Recycling...

So heartbreaking to take the Christmas cards down and just throw them away or donate them to recycling schemes.  This year, like many other crafters, I'm hanging on to mine and I'm going recycle as many as I can into new cards or parts of cards.  I'm not talking about the gorgeous handmade cards I received as those are way too precious to throw away, but the shop bought ones that are lovely but not keepsake cards.

This card uses a beautiful photo of a robin that was the front of a card sent to my mum.  It already had glitter on it and really only need trimming and then matting and layering on to matching papers to make an 8" x 8" square card.  I used my Fisker's Shapeboss to emboss the holly border and then sanded it to make it pop.  A ribbon, holly die cut and tags with a Merry Christmas sentiment on finish the card.

In addition to my card being featured on Top Tip Tuesday on Bah! Humbug! it is also intended for the following challenges...

• Papertake Weekly - A Cold and Frosty Morning
• Crafty Emma - All Creatures Great and Small
• Crafty Hazel Nut's Christmas Challenge - Recycling
• Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Goes

Have a great day everyone.  I'm off to play with my Cricut machine and try out an idea that I've been toying with this week.  Hope it works.  Fingers crossed.

Love and hugs

Ann xxx

Here come's Santa Claus...

Well Messy Rabbit in Santa suit which is near enough as long as it's craft stuff in those parcels! Wonder why he's delivering presents in a room where the calender says it's only half way through December? I'm got a degree in worrying about tiny details like this!!

Materials used:

• Messy Rabbit Santa by Joanna Sheen
• bedroom room backing paper is from backing paper pad also by Joanna Sheen
• silver mirri card and blue pearlescent
• Fiskars Shapeboss to emboss holly border on card
• rub on white Christmas sentiment
• tag cut using Spellbinder tag die
  
• gem and ribbon from stash

Challenges:

• Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps - Merry Christmas - Happy Winter
• Pile it on - rub ons
• Everybody's Art - Christmas
• Papertake Weekly - Christmas Crackers

and of course Allsorts Challenge Blog (and I have so enjoyed entering cards for this - ends Saturday - what am I going to do?) - Christmas Songs or Carols. Today's song is 'Here comes Santa Claus'.

Have a great weekend everyone - see you on Monday for the Pink Elephant Challenge.

Ann xxx

Happy Anniversary

This is another of the large sized sample cards I did for Joanna Sheen's new Favourite Flowers range of stamps. I just think this rose stamp is so gorgeous and so romantic.

Materials used:

• Joanna Sheen stamp Roses from the Hothouse Flowers set
• pearlescent card in two shades of burgandy
• roses paper by Anna Griffin
• rub on sentiment and organza ribbon from stash
• Fiskars Shapeboss to create heart embossed frame
• tag cut using cuttlebug die
  

Challenges:

• Rainbow Lady's Challenge Blog - Anniversaries
• Fun with shapes - borders and frames

Thanks for looking again and for the wonderful comments I receive each day. It's amazing how they really do make you feel good about yourself.

Only 3 more sleeps to the NEC and I've already got a plan of action involving Just rite stamps and a certain snowflake die. Oooooooooooh so many lovely things it's gonna be tough deciding which to get.

New Baby Boy...

I'm adding this card to my blog today for the challenge at Die Cut Dreams where they are focusing on 'babies' due to this week being "Baby loss awareness week".

People whose lives have been touched by the loss of a baby during pregnancy or just after birth are uniting with others across the UK to show their support for the Baby Loss Awareness campaign 2009, which focuses on International Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day on today, October 15th.

If you would like to find out more please visit the Die Cut Dreams Challenge blog where they are also giving links to the charities concerned.

My new baby card is a large 8"x 8" one with Hoot the owl by Joanna Sheen forming the central image. The border was embossed with hearts using my Shapeboss and then embellished with gems. Unfortunately the embossing is not showing up very clearly in the photo, but it does in real life - honest!

Embossed Special Christmas Card...

Another card using that gorgeous set of silhouette stamps from Stamptivity. I'm really proud of this one as it uses 5 different stamps on the same piece of card and not one blotch or slightly wonky bit of stamping - an amazing feat!!!

The red frame around the central image is embossed with a holly border using the Fiskar's Shapeboss, which I love. You can't see it very well in the photo but in real life it is very effective (honest). The challenge at http://thesecretcraftersaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/ this week is embossing so this card is perfect for that.

I am also entering my card for Suzanne's challenge at http://suzannelily.wordpress.com/. Suzanne is very much aware that most of us are very busy finishing off our preparations for Christmas and so she made her challenge one that most of us might be thinking about anyway. She wanted us to make a card `That has a sentimental thought behind it `.

My card is for my Mum and the sentimental thoughts behind are perhaps too deep to express here. Perhaps the photo of the inside of the card might express some of my thoughts for me.

Day 7 of free stamps... Rabbit day...

As promised here is a card made with my free stamp. Sally at http://bootifulstampz.blogspot.com/ is still running this free stamp give away. All you need to do is post a message on her blog and a link on your own blog to be in with a chance. Good luck.

Think it must be rabbit week at my house because here's another card made with Joanna Sheen's Messy rabbit and that fabulous clip art I bought recently. I'm having so much fun using the clip art and the stamps together.

Materials used on first card:

• white base card
• rabbit from Bootiful Stampz
• Fiskar's Shapeboss template
• pink pearlescent paper
• watercolour shimmer paints
• pink gems from stash

Materials used on second card:

• blue base card
• silver mirri paper for matting and layering
• PC Crafter clipart
• Joanna Sheen Messy Rabbit stamp
• Derwent Inktense pencil crayons
• silver sentiment and corner peel offs
• white organza satin edged ribbon
• silver icycle charm and silver links
  
  

One layer of cardstock...

This card is for the challenge at http://stampchallenges.blogspot.com/ where everyone has been asked to use only one layer of cardstock. A great chance to keep it simple and use my Fiskar's Shapeboss to do some embossing.

I also managed to use Stamp number 5 from the Hampton Arts grab bag - only another 95 to go!! I coloured directly on to the stamp using Marvy Le Plume pens. I found the image looked better kept simple rather than adding anymore colour after stamping.

Materials used:

• unmounted rubber stamp by Hampton Arts
• Marvy Le Plume markers
• water colour white card
• silver sentiment and border peel offs
• lilac bow from stash
• tag die cut

Embossing...

The Tuesday extra at http://www.daringcardmakers.blogspot.com/ is to use embossing on your work. There is a great tutorial there too about different types of embossing - well worth having a look.

My cards were made using the Fiskars Shapeboss and are very simple cards, but very handy ones to have in the card box.

Materials used:

• pink pearlescent double sided card
• white base card
• Fiskars Shapeboss
• hydrangea decoupage
• pale pink organza ribbon
• Hero Arts sentiment stamp

More Great Shapes...

Should have added this card at the same time as my other one, but I had too much reflection on the mirror card on my first photo and decided to try again. I've now discovered that you can get a much better shot by avoiding pointing the camera directly at the card when taking the photo.

Materials used for this version:

* gold mirror card

*Stazon ink and sentiment by Cloud 9 Design

* cream pearlescent card embossed in corners using Fiskars Shapeboss

* cream organza ribbon