Catch Up

You might notice that in yesterday's post, I said it was going to be a catch up post, well, after all the waffling I did I though that I would keep yesterday's post to just the card for the Cards for Men 2nd Challenge, so here is the rest of the stuff I made over Christmas.
As always, click on the images to enlarge.

Firstly is a cheque/money holder I made for our nephew, James.

The front.

Inside, complete with moolah.

And the back.
See the recipe at the bottom of the post.

Two tags that I made using one of 'The Snowman' stamps that I got for Christmas (early).

A faerie christmas tag. I made a few of these for my own pressies lol
There was loads more tags, and a really nice one using another 'The Snowman' stamp and sentiment, but I forgot to take a picture of it lol I'll have a look through my scrap box later to see if I remembered to save them!

And finally, a cheque/money holder that I made for my brother, which I haven't even mailed out yet!! Sorry Steven, it will be in the post soon, I promise!

The front. Love this digital stamp!

The middle, complete with cheque.

And the back.


Recipes:


Money Holder:

• Pale Blue Card Stock
• White Card Stock
  
• Christmas Paper from Papermania {front}
  
• Claire Curd's Signiture Range, The Big One {inside & back}
  
• Stamp Letters from See-D's
• Embellishments from stash
• Sentiment computer generated
• Christmas Tree and Pressie Stamp from a papermania's duo set
• Whispers Brush Marker Pen {Black}
• ProMarkers
• Embossing Powder
  
• £20 ;)

Tags:

• White Card Stock
• The Snowman Wooden Rubber Stamps: Joyful
• Fairy Stamp {Create & Craft I THINK!}
  
• ProMarkers
• Embossing Powder
• Silver Twine

Cheque Holder:

• Red Card Stock
• White Card Stock
• All papers from PaperMania
  
• Simples Christmas Digital Stamps {details in an earlier post}
• Christmas Tree and Pressie Stamp from a papermania's duo set
• ProMarkers
• Stickles
• White Gel Pen
• Anita's 3D Gloss Finish
• 1 Cheque ;)
  

It's Christmas. Simples!

Here is the card I have just finished making, and I thoroughly enjoyed colouring him in with my new ProMarkers!

This card will be intended for my son this year, and it also fits the bill for the first Challenge at Cards for Men.

As always, click on the image to enlarge and view in better detail.
You might not be able to tell but that little lighter colour on his nose is dusky pink! Also I coloured him in twice and popped him up onto foam pads to make him stand out some more!
It looks a lot better in real life!

Recipe:

• Red Cardstock
• Christmas Simples Digital Stamp from Sandra Dry
• ProMarkers (I will edit the colours in later)
• La Pashe Acetate & Peel-off pens
• Laura Ashley Designer Paper
• S O N silver stickers (coloured in green La Pashe pens)
  
• Whispers Brush Pens
• Diamond Stickles
  
• Scrap Card
• Computer Generated Sentiments
• Double sided sticky tape
  

Calendars, Stockings and Trees

Well, here are the other items I finished making a few days ago, but I didn't want to post them just incase any of the recipients saw them here first!
All have been sent out now, and most of them got them today, so it should be safe to post them!
As always, click on the images to view in better detail!

I bought the calendar tabs in March or April and since then I was struggling to decide how to use them, at first I thought maybe my son could make Christmas cards with them, then I saw the easel card and the lightbulb went off, perfect for desk calendars!
It wasn't until a few days ago that I saw quite a few other people have made them too!
Great minds think alike huh!

On the left is the first one I made ages ago, it wasn't until I got around to finishing them all off that I added the handmade flower. My son has claimed this one as 'that thing in the middle is cool!'
The middle one, maybe went to my brother and his girlfriend?
The one on the right went to William's teacher.

I think the one on the left went off to the states, and I *think* the middle one went to another Aunt. I know for certain that the one on the right was sent to my Mum.

I think the left one was reserved for my sister-in-law, and i know for certain that the one on the right was sent to my Uncle, and in his words 'they are great!'

Once again I am not 100% sure who got the one on the left, maybe my Aunt.
And the other one is sat on my desk as a spare!

I will post each one individually over the next few days with what goodies I used on each one, otherwise this post would be really huge!

All of the calendars together, laid down flat.
I think the first three on the bottom row are my favourites! But then again, I like the Smirk ones also!

My son was given this at school, to decorate at home. He had a whole week to do it, but we only managed to get it finished on Saturday night.
And here is the end result.....

I'll post the details in later as I have to go and finish off making a very special card right now!

Ooops, almost forgot.....

The tree was put up at the end of November! It is a new tree, (well, we got it in January when the sales were on), as out last tree would have been 12 this year (older than our son!), and was starting to look a bit threadbare. This tree is full of (fake) life and is nice and bushy and has no unsightly gaps between the three sections!
It is not fully decorated yet, but I will post a pic as soon as it is done and there is a little story surrounding the lights!

"It's Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas.....

On every blog you looooooooooook"

If any of my family or friends are reading this, please look away now, as there might be a card that is on here that will be in the post to you shortly!

Every year I choose a theme/style of Christmas card that I am going to send to my family and friends.
Earlier this year I bought some waterfall cards in Christmas colours.
They were LOTS of fun to make and really easier too! So much so, I will probably have a go at make my own in the future.

I have already decided what next year's Christmas cards theme/style will be too, so I will start work on then in January, as I hope to have more time to craft and to be able to join in with more blogs and challenges!

As always, click on the images to enlarge and view in further detail.

The first four cards.

And the final 4 cards! I guess I am lucky that I don't have make 20 or 30 cards lol As I choose to only send hand made ones to close family and friends. Plus I have 8 green and 8 white waterfall cards left over for another year ;)

A close up of one of the cards.

A side view with the waterfall effect in place.

And again from a different angle.


Whilst we are on the subject of cards, here are the ones my son made for family and friends also. These were bought as kits. The funny thing is, you see the green ones? Well today we received a Christmas card from my Aunt, and it is from the same kit LOL But in red! What are the odds of that?

William's cards. He made 5 of each design, though he did mess 1 of each up as he put the stuff on upside down lol

I am going to leave it there for now, I have some other stuff to show but will post them in a new post as I don't want to clutter this post up too much!


Recipe for Waterfall Cards:

• Kit from local store
• Mini Christmas stamps from 2 different sets and both from different places
• Gel pens
• Glitter Pen
  
• ProMarkers
• Pieces of scrap card
• Red stock paper
• Designer paper is 'Tis the Season' by Dove Craft
• Double sided tape
• Gold Snowflake Outline Stickers
• Gold Border Sticker
  
• Black Ink
  

Old Cards Part IV

A few more old cards for you, I think this will be the last post for oldies, thankfully.
I have two birthdays coming up in February and then it is my Brother's 21st in March also and I am making him a special card!

It will also be my friend Lizzy's birthday is March. I did send her card with her Christmas card (it seemed pointless sending two lots of cards), and though I have pics of the card I am not going to post them yet because she reads this blog, and I don't want to spoil the surprise for her!

As always, click on the images to make them bigger :)

First up are my man cards. I always have trouble making cards for men, as there doesn't really seem to be that much men stuff out there. So when I found these wonderful pre-made shirt cards I knew I had to have them, plus I kept one back to use as a template for future cards! My Step-Dad and two of my uncles received one of these in 2008 for their birthday. My son also gave one to his Dad for Father's Day 2008.

Another decoupage cards. This time for my Mum's birthday 2008

I made this one for my son's 10th birthday 2008. The 7 shirt could have been used for a 7th Birthday Card, but it was an embellishment set, plus #7 is his favourite football player anyways, so it's all good!

And finally we have one of the many pains-in-my-neck Christmas Shaker Cards that I made for last years cards. I am not going to post them all, because I really do not want to look at them! They were such a pain to make! NEVER again. The brad looks a little off center because of the angle of the card. *Represses her thoughts on those cards*


Recipes:


Shirt Cards from left to right:

• Shirt 1 - Backing Paper is Multi Stripes Blue from printableheaven.co.uk Inner Backing Paper and Pocket is Leatherette Aqua which is FREE from printableheaven.co.uk (first item on the page). You can also get it in the matching pack which you can buy from the same page. Tie is made from white cardstock. Stars from a Confetti - Stardust Multi pack from madaboutcards.co.uk Gems from 5mm Round Coloured Gems pack from madaboutcards.co.uk (Often out of stock, gotta be quick to get these!)
• Shirt 2 - Backing Paper is from an 8x8 Flowery Papermania pad from ecreations.co.uk Inner Backing Paper, Pocket, Tie and Trim is also from the Flowery Papermania pad. Gems from the same as above.
• Shirt 3 - Backing Paper is from a 12x12 Rich Red Papermania pad. I bought from a local craft store, but you can find it from many places, including themarketgallery.com though you can find it cheaper elsewhere I am sure. (It might be listed as Rich Purple). Inner Backing Paper, Pocket and Tie is made from some purple stock paper. Ribbon Trim is from a pack of Anita's Wavy Pastel Sticky Ribbon from firststopstationers.co.uk Gems from same as above.
• Shirt 4 - Backing Paper is from an 8x8 Love Papermania pad from firststopstationers.co.uk Inner Backing Paper, Pocket, Tie and Trim from a different sheet also from the Love pad. Gems from same as above.
• Shirt 5 - Backing Paper is Blue Swirls from printableheaven.co.uk it can be purchased as a single download or in a pack. Inner Backing Paper, Pocket and Tie is Leatherette Aqua which is FREE. See Card 1 for details. Ribbon Trim is from a pack of Papermania's Springtime Ribbon Stickers from firststopstationers.co.uk Gems from same as above.
• Shirt 6 - Backing Paper is Ouline Flowers - Yellow which is FREE from printableheaven.co.uk (first item on the page). You can also get it in the matching pack which you can buy from the same page. Inner Backing Paper, Pocket, Tie and Trim is from an 8x8 Flowery Papermania pad from ecreations.co.uk Gems from same as above.
• Shirt 7 - Backing Paper is from an 8x8 Flowery Papermania pad from ecreations.co.uk Inner Backing Paper, Pocket, Tie and Trim is also from the Flowery Papermania pad. Gems from the same as above.
• Shirt Card Blanks I forgot where I got mine from and I cannot find any online, sorry. I am sure I have seen some free templates out there though :)
• Pocket and Tie template was made by me.
• Anita's Tacky Glue from madaboutcards.co.uk though they only seem to stock the smaller bottle these days.

Card Two:

• Luxury Felt 7x5 blank card from cardmakingcrafts.co.uk
• Die Cut Yellow Daisies from a tri-pack (with two other different flowers) decoupage Sheet, from the 'Viola' sheet from madaboutcards.co.uk
• Panel was made by me with some yellow and orange chalks mixed and blended together on some white stock card. I used Faber-Castell Creative Studio Soft Pastel Set
• Flower Stickers are from Anita's Mothers Day Butterflies Stickers, from madaboutcards.co.uk though they no longer stock it. You can get it from firststopstationers.co.uk
• Mum wording is from a sheet of sentiment peel offs from a local craft store.
• Peel-off Stickers Borders, Straight, from madaboutcards.co.uk
• Anita's Tacky Glue from madaboutcards.co.uk though they only seem to stock the smaller bottle these days.
• Foam pads from local craft store.

Card Three:

• Blank Card, pack of 50 from a local craft store. Similar can be found at madaboutcards.co.uk
• Backing Paper is Green Football Goal Netting from printableheaven.co.uk
• Bright Green Paper stock for the lower part of the card.
• Card Topper embellishments was a pack that is no longer available at the place I got it from and I cannot remember the name of the manufacturer. I will look in my stash later :)
• Both ribbons are from a pack of Papermania's Springtime Ribbon Stickers from firststopstationers.co.uk
• Anita's Tacky Glue from madaboutcards.co.uk though they only seem to stock the smaller bottle these days.
• Foam pads from local craft store.

Card Four:

• Shaker card kit (card blank with plastic shaker) from a local craft store.
• Backing paper is from an 8x8 Dovecraft 'Tis the Season' Designer Paper Pack along with a matching brad. Paper can be bought from ArtyMiss.co.uk (Other Sizes available. I cannot find the brads to match, sorry).
• Santa and Gold Christmas Trees from an embellishment pack that I bought a while ago and cannot remember where from, sorry.
• The string and flower embellishments, were again, from another pack that I cannot remember where from, sorry! But you can get it from alanandbarryscrafts.com You can also get it in a Red/Green pack also. I chose the Contemporary Pack though :)
• Anita's Tacky Glue from madaboutcards.co.uk though they only seem to stock the smaller bottle these days.
• Foam pads from local craft store.

Freebie Cross-Stitching Kits Part II

As you can tell I am on a blogging spree. I am trying to post as many as my old projects as possible so I can start blogging properly!

So, as promised here are some more free cross-stitching kits that I got with magazines and completed!
We are sticking with the Disney theme and some of my favourite cross-stitches from Pooh Bear & Friends!

As always, blogger cuts the images off a little, so click on them to see them in their entirety.

Santa Pooh

My favourite Pooh character, the wonderful Eeyore keeping warm for winter.

A very cute Roo all ready for Christmas.

The adorable Piglet, having fun in the snow. This is actually a mini card.

Pooh and Piglet in a wonderful sketch-type cross-stitch friendship hanger. I love this one.


Recipe:

• Double sided sticky tape to attach the aida to the frames.

Sources:

• Christmas Pooh - Cross Stitch Crazy Issue #? (Month & Year Unknown)
• Christmas Eeyore - CrossStitcher Magazine Issue #? (Month & Year Unknown)
• Christmas Roo - Quick&Easy CrossStitch Issue #? (Month & Year Unknown)
• Christmas Piglet Card - Cross Stitch Card Shop Issue #33
• Pooh and Piglet Friendship Hanger - CrossStitcher Issue #159 (April 2005)

Coming up next; more cards :)

Old Cards Part II

As promised, here is another bunch of old cards. And as you may have noted in the previous Old Cards blog, I am not posting them in chronicle order. I am posting them in the order that my camera has named the pictures in my folder :)
However, these five cards are all from Christmas 2007. I did many of them, on the same theme, but I am only going to post four of them, plus a group shot ;)

You can, as always, click on the images to see them in their full glory.

Excuse the messy desk! LOL

Recipes:

All cards followed the same recipe:

• Luxury Felt 7x5 blank card from cardmakingcrafts.co.uk
• Bottle Capz from cardmakingcrafts.co.uk though no longer in stock!
• Frames from cardmakingcrafts.co.uk
• Die cut Merry Christmas embellishments from cardmakingcrafts.co.uk
• Anita's Outline Stickers - Gold Stars from a local craft store.
• I can't remember what glue I used. Sorry
  
  

I may upload the other cards, just so you can see all the different ones I made.
I really enjoyed making these cards as they were so quick and easy to do, each one took less than 5 minutes, and that is my kinda card, especially at Christmas when you have to make several of them!

Coming up next; more Cross-Stitching :)


*All links take you either to the page the product is on, or to the singular product, if the site allows clickables for more information.