D is for December

Hi

This year, fed up with the same old things in the shops, I decided to make a few of my Christmas presents.  This is one of the things I made, D is the first letter for my sister's name.

I purchased an 8 inch MDF letter from Barry on ebay.  I gave it a coat of Gesso and, once that was dry, I painted it baby blue using acrylic paint.

I also purchased a bag of mixed blue buttons from ebay and used these to cover the painted letter.  Once everything was dry I cleaned any excess glue from the surface and finally, I added a few card flowers and some punched leaves.

This was easy to do and it made a very reasonably priced gift.

Dionne

Snow Storm

Good morning, just one more sleep until Christmas, so excited!

Yesterday saw another exciting challenge starts at Crafty Boots Challenges, however there was a problem with the Challenge site loading and you may have missed it.  Everything is fine now and you should be able to enter your 'Snow and Sparkles' projects.

I have another Snow and Sparkle design to share with you today - and it is my first Christmas card for next year!

I have put extra bling on this design because I love Christmas sparkle.

Everything I used for this project came from Stampin' Up, except the glitter, which is Martha Stewart. The die and stamp set is called Festive Flurry and the paper came from the Winter Frost stack.  I used quite a few different ink pads and I added a few Frosted Finish embellishments.

The base of this card is plain craft box, which I covered it with blue card and DPs.  I then stamped and cut out a lot of snowflakes, which I then glittered.  In order to get the volume of snowflakes, I cut a length of blue card and folded it into a zig zag, so that it filled the box and gave me a platform to start building up layers of snowflakes.

I finished my card by stamping a sentiment and mounting it on the same blue card and I added some silver ribbon and the Frosted Finish embellishments.

I hope that you, and your family, have a wonderful Christmas.  Thank you for all the support you have given me throughout this year, I really appreciate it.

Merry Christmas!

Dionne

I am entering this card in the following Challenges:

Charisma Cardz Challenges!!! - Challenge #49 - Anything Goes

Snow and Sparkles

Good morning

Another exciting challenge starts at Crafty Boots Challenges today.  This will be the last Challenge of 2013, where has this year gone?  The theme of this new Challenge is 'Snow and Sparkles', it was was chosen by the fabulous Sara.

I have made a lot of Christmas cards recently so I wanted to do something different for this Challenge and, as I very recently purchased the Stampin' Up Festive Flurry stamp and die set, I have been looking for an excuse to use them.

I decided to decorate some candles with them.  I used Raspberry Ripple ink to stamp the snowflakes on tissue paper.

I used my heat gun to gently melt the skin of the candle, just enough for the tissue paper to slip beneath the surface of the molten wax.  You have to be careful not to over heat the wax otherwise it runs - it is best to wrap the candle in baking parchment before you start melting the wax, this helps keep the surface flat and gives you something to hold and not burn your fingers.  The wax will quickly set again once you remove the heat.  I finished the candle by adding some red and white, super shiny, ribbon from my stash.

Apologies, there seems to be a technical error and the Crafty Boots page is not updating.  However, once it is, the rest of the Crafty Boots Challenges Design Team has made some inspirational pieces, so please pop by and take a look.

Dionne

Fir-Tree Tip Wreaths

Hi

The big day is getting really close now, are you ready for it, or are you like me, still remembering things you have not done yet?

Every year I promise myself that I will not leave my cards until December and yet I never learn from past mistakes.

A little while ago I made a card that I thought was really special, it had a white wreath with a red butterfly.  I really enjoyed making that card and I thought that I would make some more cards based on the wreath design but playing with the colours.  First I tried a more traditional  green coloured wreath.

This time I added red gems as berries but I just happened to have another chocolate box ribbon to recycle.

The green wreath card seemed to go well so then I tried making a card with a less conventional red wreath and white 'berries'.

And two more .... just for luck.

I hope you have a good day.

Dionne

Three Wise Men Candle

Good morning

I have been busy decorating candles as Christmas gifts and I have another one to share with you today.

This image is from Stampin' Up, I stamped in Midnight Muse ink and then added a pretty red polka dot ribbon to showcase the deep blue.

Dionne

Little Star Tags

Hi

This year I keep running out of Christmas gift tags and I needed to quickly make some more this morning.

My most recent crafting purchase was Stampin' Ups 'Christmas Star' stamp.  It is such a pretty design, I just had to have it after seeing it in action at a recent Stampin' Up Workshop, which was run by Stephanie-Emma.

I stamped it in 'Raspberry Ripple' ink and then sprayed it with Iridescent Spray and Sparkle.   After cutting it out I added some matching baker's twine.

How are your Christmas preparations coming along? 

I had a lovely surprize yesterday, a gorgeous Christmas card from my dear friend and fellow team member, Lisette (know to the rest of the world as Mrs Beez).  Her work is amazing and if you have never seen it, I strongly urge you visit her blog.

Have a great day.

Dionne

Making a List

Good morning

Another busy day today so a quick post before I get on with it.

I have my final card from the Stampin' Up Workshops run by Stephanie-Emma.  I had a wonderful time and I made 60 cards in all, it was hard work but I had such a wonderful time.

Have you noticed that each card seems to be getting more and more complex?  I love this card.  I started by  stamping this really jolly Father Christmas image on to the white card using gold ink.  Next, I cut a circle from it on the Big Shot, I also cut another circle in red card, slightly larger than the white one.

Then I cut a white mat of card and added the chevron of paper, next I stamped the sentiment - using two different colours.  Finally, I stuck the topper onto the card.

When I got home I made two more cards from the left over pieces in my bag.

Right, I must get on.


Dionne

Ho, Ho, Ho

Good morning

I have another of the cards I made at one of Stephanie-Emma's recent Stampin' Up Workshops to show you today.

I started this card by stamping this Father Christmas image in two colours (using pens) onto the white card.  Next, I cut it out using the Big Shot, I also cut a circle in red card.  Then I ran a white mat through the Big Shot in an embossing folder.

Finally, I stamped the 'Ho, ho, ho' sentiment and tucked it behind the red circle, then I used some washi tape and layered it all up.


Dionne

Three Wise Men

Good morning

The current theme at Crafty Boots Challenges is Christmas.  It can be anything to do with Christmas - cards, decorations, gifts you have made, in fact anything, just as long as it is to do with Christmas.

I have a decorated candle to share with you today.

Adding stamped images to candles is so easy to do.   Simply stamp your image onto tissue paper, then, after roughly cutting out the image, place it onto your candle.  Cut a strip of baking parchment to wrap around the candle.  Use your heat gun to gently melt the skin of the candle and watch the tissue disappear into the molten wax.  Take care not to over heat the wax, you do not want it to run.  The wax will quickly set again once you remove the heat.  I finished the candle by adding some navy blue glitter with double sided tape.

An easy, and very quick to make, gift.

Dionne

R is for ...

Hi

This week the Challenge att Crafty Boots Challenges is Christmas, it can be anything to do with Christmas - cards, decorations, presents you have made.

Regular visitors to this place will recall that a couple of weeks ago I posted a letter 'L', which I had decorated with crayons.  Inspired by all the lovely comments I received I decided to do another one, this time for my nephew.  I intend to give both letters as Christmas presents.

They are so easy to make.  I bought an 18 inch (46cm) high MDF letter from a very nice man called Barry on ebay and covered it with crayons.  However, before I started attaching the crayons I fixed a picture hook to the back of the letter so his mum can hang the letter on his bedroom wall.

As you can see, I had to join several crayons together for the longer parts of the letter but I made sure all the crayons in one row were the same colour and I took care not to rip the paper whenever I had to cut the crayons.

Don't forget to visit the Crafty Boots Challenges site and leave your entry.

Good luck.


Dionne

Oh Little Star!

Good morning

I should like to show you another of the cards I made at one of Stephanie-Emma's recent Stampin' Up Workshops.

I made this card on dove grey card.  First I stamped this beautiful star in silver onto white card and then added the smaller snowflakes around the edge - I added some crystal gems to the centre of the snowflakes.  Next, I stamped 'Joy to the World' over the star and, finally, I mounted the design on dark blue card before adding it to the grey card.

I think this was my favourite of all the cards we made that day, it is way more sparkly than it looks in the photograph.

Dionne

Honeycomb Snowflake

Good morning

I am back today to share with you another of the cards I made at one of Stephanie-Emma's recent Stampin' Up Workshops.

I used a snowflake die to punch a snowflake shaped hole in some grey card.  I then embossed a larger snowflake shape around the hole (I am afraid this does not show very well in my photograph).  Next I stamped 'Christmas Wishes' onto the card before tying some silver ribbon around the card.  Before attaching the grey card to the Christmas card, I placed a paper with honeycomb design behind the snowflake shaped hole.

I hope you have a good weekend.


Dionne

Christmas Wreath

Hi

Today I am back with another project featuring butterflies to help my friend Mrs Beez raise awareness of the work of the charity Amy and Friends.  Amy and Friends supports children suffering from Cockayne Syndrome.  The butterfly is the symbol they use to represent those whose lives have been cut short by this illness.  Mrs Beez hopes to raise awareness of the disease and the work of Amy and Friends through her blog.  So please visit her blog and find out more about this important charity.

I created my wreath out of dozens of punched branches using a Martha Stewart punch.  I then added a small red glittered butterfly to the wreath and scored around the card.  Finally I added a big red bow, which was rescued from an empty chocolate box.


Dionne

Jolly Christmas Weath

Hi

I hope that you are well organised and, unlike me, you are not stressing about all you have to do at the moment.

Still, there is one thing I do not have to worry about and that is making my Christmas cards.  As I mentioned yesterday I was very lucky recently to attend one of Stephanie-Emma's Stampin' Up Workshops, where I made my Christmas cards.

This is the next card we made.

As with the last card, I made ten cards of this design.  

We stamped the wreath and added some red glitter glue.  Whilst that was drying I stamped out the Christmas tags and mounted them on red card.  These were tied to a bow made of red seam binding.

Dionne

Three Christmas Trees

Hi

Last year I left making my Christmas cards to the last minute and I struggled to get them done in time to get them in the  post.  So this year, when I heard that we would be making Christmas cards ... a lot of Christmas cards, I jumped at the opportunity to go to one of Stephanie-Emma's Stampin' Up Workshops.

This is the first card we made.

As with all of the cards we made that day, we made ten of this very sweet design.  I punched each tree from card of three different shades of green and then I stamped 'Merry Christmas' under the row of trees.  It is a very simple design but, I think you will agree, it is very effective.

I will share the rest of the cards with you over the next few days.


Dionne

Christmas Tags

Good morning

The current theme at Crafty Boots Challenges is Christmas.  It can be anything to do with Christmas - cards, decorations, presents you have made, just as long as it is to do with Christmas.

Today I have been making some gift tags as I need to start my wrapping.  Now, I know that you will find this fanciful but I actually dreamt about putting this design together.  I got up the next morning and got out my Big Shot and tag dies.

 Next I cut a snowflake from the coloured card using a punch, I have several snowflake punches so I did a selection of each.

I added a spot of glitter to the end of each arm of the snowflake.

I placed a white tag under the coloured tag and finished it with some bakers twine.


Dionne

Merry Christmas

Hi and I should like to take this opportunity to wish all my lovely visitors a very happy Christmas and New Year.  I realise that this is a little premature but there is a reason....

A new Challenge starts today at Crafty Boots Challenges and the theme of the Challenge is CHRISTMAS.  It can be anything to do with Christmas - cards, decorations, presents you have made, just as long as it is to do with Christmas.

I have decorated a birdhouse, I love how this has turned out and I think I have a new favourite Christmas decoration.

I painted it with acrylic paints (the purple paint is a recent discovery for me, it is pearl effect and I loved using it).

I created the wreath around the entrance with green card and the Martha Stuart 'Branches' punch and some red flat backed gems.

The sweet images are from the Polka Doodles CD, Magical Winter.  I added glitter to the 'snow' to give it a bit of twinkle.

I found these fabulous snowflakes with crystal gems in my stash.

The rest of the Design Team have made some amazing projects, please visit the Crafty Boots Challenges site to see them and to leave your entry.

Good luck.


Dionne

Letters in Your Name

Hi

I must apologise for for not posting anything for a while.  I have been busy crafting but, as I have been making Christmas presents, I cannot share them with you until after Christmas.  However, I do not think my 2 year old niece logs onto my blog as a rule so I am taking a chance and sharing this present with you.

I bought an 18 inch (46cm) high MDF letter 'L' from a very nice man called Barry on ebay and covered it with crayons.  However, before I started attaching the crayons I fixed a picture hook to the back of the letter - it took a bit of trial and error to get the balance right.

As you can see I had to join several crayons together for the longer parts of the letter but I made sure all the crayons in one row were the same colour and I took care not to rip the paper when I had to cut them.

This was so much fun to make.

Dionne 

Storybook Characters

Hi

Another exciting challenge starts at Crafty Boots Challenges today and the theme of this new challenge is 'Storybook Characters', it was was chosen by the lovely, and very talented, Sandra.  This is one of my favourite themes as there are so many possibilities.

This little lovely is Princess Peanelope, by Saturated Canary, from the story of the Princess and the Pea.  I coloured her with Promarkers before mounting her on pearlised card.  The ribbon is from Stampin' Up and the sentiment is from Craftwork Cards, everything else is from my stash.

The rest of the Crafty Boots Challenges Design Team have been very busy making some inspirational pieces, please pop by and take a look.

I am off to check my mountain of stamps to find out which other suitable images I have, I am sure there are a lot of them.

Dionne

Butterfly Candle

Hi

Today I am back with another project featuring butterflies to help my friend Mrs Beez raise awareness of the work of the charity Amy and Friends.  Amy and Friends supports children suffering from Cockayne Syndrome.  The butterfly is the symbol they use to represent those whose lives have been cut short by this illness.  Mrs Beez hopes to raise awareness of the disease and the work of Amy and Friends through her blog.  So please visit her blog and find out more about this important charity.

My latest project features the stunning Stampin' Up swallowtail Butterfly on a candle.

It is hard to get the whole butterfly into the picture, so here it is from one side ...

and the other.

Adding stamped images to candles is so easy to do.   Simply stamp your image onto tissue paper, I coloured mine with Promarkers and a white gel pen, then, after roughly cutting out the image, place it onto your candle.  Cut a strip of baking parchment to wrap around the candle.  Use your heat gun to gently melt the skin of the candle and watch the tissue disappear into the molten wax.  Take care not to over heat the wax, you do not want it to run.  The wax will quickly set again once you remove the heat.  I finished the candle by adding some navy blue lace from my stash.




Dionne

Memories

Hi and a big welcome to anyone visiting my blog for the first time.  I am sure you will agree that it is so great to have new visitors to your blog, but it is even better when someone chooses to come back again, so a very big hello to you too.

A new challenge starts at Crafty Boots Challenges today.  The theme of this challenge is 'Remembrance', it was was chosen by the very talented Helen.  My thoughts automatically go to Remembrance Day and those who have given their lives for our freedom.  When I was a little girl I always called it Poppy Day because of the Poppy Appeal adopted by the Royal British Legion.  However, your design can be anything you like, as long as you remember a loved one or an event.

This time last year I made a set of ATC's to commemorate the Poppy Appeal, which regular visitors to my blog may remember ....

However, for my Design Team piece today, I thought I like to make some new memories and, with the help of my friend Lynn, I came up with this mini photo album.

The cover of my mini album is made from scraps of mount board and I chamfered the edges where they met on the spine.  I covered the back and front with some lovely Anna Griffin paper (I think it is Anna Griffin but I have had it a lone time!).  I chose a contrasting paper for the inside cover and the spine.

I then cut a 12" x 12" sheet of paper into three strips and folded them in half.  I joined these together with a zig zag of the contrasting paper and then glued them to the inside cover.

I punched a couple of holes in the cover and some pretty organza ribbon makes the finishing touch.

The rest of the design team have made some stunning Remembrance projects, pop across to the  Crafty Boots Challenges blog and take a look.

Good luck with your entry.

Dionne

Autumn Happiness

Good morning

Regular visitor to my blog will know that the current  Crafty Boots Challenges is Autumn, you can take as your theme anything to do with autumn, the colours, or objects such as pumpkins or bonfires.

I have another card to share with you featuring the Sylvia Zet digital image Autumn Happiness.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and Wink of Stella pens.  I also added some glitter to give the impression of misty mornings.

I then mounted it on some silver mirri and some lush gold glittered card.  I used a a couple of X Cut punches to make my autumn leaves and another Martha Stuart punch to make the green fronds.  I added some red flat backed gems from my stash.  The backing paper is another of the freebies from Bearly Mine.

Dionne

Witchkeys - Take II

Good morning

Thank you for dropping by today, I hope your weekend is going well. I promise, this the last of my Halloween posts for this year.

Regular visitor to this place will know how much I love this Saturated Canary image,  'Witchkeys'.

After colouring the image with Promarkers I mounted it on some silver mirri and muslin.  The backing paper is a freebie from Bearly Mine Deigns.  I also mounted it on some blue glittered card.

I realise that roses may not be the most obvious embellishment for a Halloween card but I tried several things and nothing else seemed to work.  In the end I went with blood red roses, they are from Wild Orchid Crafts.  The pumpkin charm is from my stash.

Dionne

Ghoulish Hands

Hi

I'm almost done with my Halloween posts.

For some time I have been seeing those ghoulish hands on various blogs and I was determined to make some for the family this Halloween.

Clearly they are quick and simple to make and, in particular, the little boys loved them.  There were shrieks of nervous laughter when I laid them on my hands and wiggled my fingers.  Oooooow!!

Dionne

Halloween Strangers - Take II

Good morning

I hope you are having a good weekend.

The card I have to share with you today is  a 'Frame It' image from Bugaboo Digi Stamps featuring Stella called 'Halloween Strangers'.

This image made me smile because for one night a year we throw out all our rules and encourage our children to do just that, in a friendly, fun spirit that encourages neighbourhood togetherness.  Why can't we be like it the rest of the year?

I coloured the image with Promarkers and mounted it on silver mirri and purple pearlised card.  The ribbon and flat backed pearls came from my stash.

Dione

Trick or Treat Boxes

Hi, I am back with my second post of the day.

I made some little trick or treat boxes for my callers last night.  They were quick and very easy to make and made something different for my callers.

Sadly I underestimated the number of callers I would get but I had lots a sweets in reserve.

Have a good weekend.

Dionne