Christmas Crackers...

Well it's Bah! Humbug! day again and this week sees us going CRACKERS at Humbug Hall.  LOL, yes our theme is Christmas crackers.  To be truthful this one nearly sent me crackers as I just couldn't believe it, that when I trawled through my vast collection of rubber stamps there was not one stamp with a cracker on!  How strange is that?  
Anyway, all was not lost, it just meant that the grey cells had to do a bit more thinking this week before starting on my card.   With no stamp, stencil or even patterned paper with crackers on I decided that perhaps I should work on the idea of a cracker shaped card with maybe a cutie sitting on top of the cracker.
In the end I made and decorated a cracker shape and attached it to the front of a piece of A5 acetate folded in half.  Then I sat Santa Emma by C. C. Designs on top.  The card will still fit in an C5 envelope, but unfortunately the bobble on the Santa's hat is going to mean yet another large letter size expensive stamp.  I don't know about anyone else, but I can't believe that from April it's going to cost 75p to post a card.  Sheesh, better start saving up now!

Materials used ...

• C.C. Designs digi stamp
• DCWV paper and plain red card
• Heavy weight acetate
• gold border, corner and sentiment peel offs
• gold and white ribbon
• Promarkers combined with paper piecing to colour image
• pompom from kid's craft set trimmed to size (trimmings used to add fluff to edge Santa hat)

Additional Challenges...

• Stamptacular - Anything but square
• My Time to Craft - Spots and Dots

Have a great Friday and weekend everyone and if you have chance do pop over to Bah! Humbug! and take a look at the fab designs by our Guest Designer Carole.  It would be nice if you could leave a 'big hug' over there for Max too as she has had to have an operation on her wrist this week and is banned from using her craft stash for a little while.

Tea's brewed...

Here's a card using one of the gorgeous LOTV stamps that my dear friend Irene bought me for Christmas.  Isn't it a real cutie of a stamp?  Having said that are there any LOTV stamps that aren't just adorable?  I don't think so!

Other materials used...

• Papers from one the many craft mags I bought cheaply at the NEC
• Cuttlebug button embossing border
• 'with love' sentiment' sticker from stash
• mock brads made using Japenese hole punch
• Promarkers for colouring, Sakura white glaze on teacup and dots on teapot plus a touch of glitter on tablecloth.

Challenges...

• The Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge - fantastic sketch with embossing twist.  Had to leave some of the detail from the sketch out as my design just didn't work with the flowers on.
• Stamp Something - stamp something (anything goes)
• Secret Crafter - with love

Hope everyone is having a good week.  Take care and if you happen to be having an operation on your wrist tomorrow remember to get some sleep tonight.  Then remember Rest followed by even more Rest is essential if you want to get fit fast.  Nurse Laura says so!

You know who you are!!!

Hedgie Thank you card...

The sketch at the Sketch and Stash Challenge blog this time is such an inspiring one (and easy which is always good) that I just had to give it a go.  It also gave me the chance to use my new gadget bought with the last of my Christmas present cash - a Xyron Design Runner, which I used to print the sentiment on this card.

Initially I was a bit miffed that it doesn't actually do the things they said it could when it was being aired as Pick of the Day on Create and Craft.  I was so excited about it printing on acetate and was gutted to find that like any printer it won't unless you use the special printable acetate.  However, having played lots I do like what it can do and don't regret buying it.

Additional materials...

• Penny Black Hedgie stamp - from a T for Transparent set - I was very naughty and cut some of the flowers off the main image so that I could stamp them where I wanted them in the circle.  
• Flower punch and matching embossing punch
• Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder
• Pearl gem stones
• Embossed purple card and matching designer paper - unknown make
• Scalloped and matching circle nestability dies
• Lace

Challenges.,.

• Sketch and Stash - sketch - new stash = Design Runner - neglected stash = flower punch not used for ages
• Crazy 4 Challenges - a thank you sentiment
• Penny Black Challenge - Choose 4 items from a card buffet (really brill idea for a challenge - I chose patterned paper, 3 flowers, 3 gems and ribbon - please use your imagination for the ribbon.  Imagine it on the embossed band on the card.  Somebody around here forgot to stick it on - whoops!)
• Crafty Ann's Challenge - Ring in the new, but don't ring out the old.  See above.

Whoops, nearly forgot to say if you pop over to Bah! Humbug! today there is a Top Tip Tuesday all about economising on paper and card.
Double whoops - no wonder I forgot the ribbon -check out the date on the photo - 18th Jan and I'm still putting 2010 on my cards.  Sheesh what am I like?

Have a good day everyone.

Love and hugs.

Ann xxx