Showing posts with label DT - ABC Xmas Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DT - ABC Xmas Challenge. Show all posts

Wednesday, 17 September 2014

Snow Family

The theme this week at ABC Christmas Challenge is Something Festive (so that's effectively an 'anything goes' for a Xmas challenge!).  

I've made a 2 layer card which is totally flat (great for mailing!!!).  I stamped and coloured my image onto white card, and die cut the top with a Frostyville border before sticking it directly onto a festive red card base.  

The sentiment is a strip of text ribbon which is wrapped around the white layer and tucked under before it was stuck down.

Simples!


This is also my final challenge designing for the ABC Christmas Challenge.  I've been on this fabulous team since July 2012 but I'm in need of a change to rejuvenate my mojo.  I have had a wonderful time with a great bunch of designers.  Thanks for letting me play along for the last couple of years girls.  It's been a blast !

Card Recipe:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx

   

Wednesday, 3 September 2014

Red Poinsettia

I don't usual make a card without a stamped image, but today's an exception.  It's an uber C&S card in a festive monochrome red.  I've also managed to christen my new Merry Christmas die from Simon Says Stamp.  Unfortunately I can't remember where I got the poinsettia die from.  :0(  but it's actually to support the challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge where the theme is R for Red Poinsettias.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 20 August 2014

A Quick and Simple Merry Christmas (or two)

I've been making some C&S style Chrimbo cards to sneak in some quick makes.  These two are slight variations on a theme.

Well, in truth the main difference is the snowflake and the base shape, so it's very 'slight'.

Oh and I trimmed the white panel on the second one so that the red backing card framed it a bit.  But otherwise, it's just a die cut sentiment, some twine, a snowflake and a pearl.

There's nothing remotely cute in sight, so even hubby approved for once!  It's so rare that he likes my creations, that it's probably safe to say that he'll be receiving one of these himself for Christmas this year! :0)

This project is to support the Q for Quick challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge.  Even making 2 of these was quicker than one of my usual coloured creations, so it definitely qualifies for the theme, although I do feel like I cheated a bit by not colouring an image!





Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting.
Annette
xx

Wednesday, 6 August 2014

Penguin Nap

I know it's August, and still pretty warm and humid, but I've got something to cool you down today!  I bought this Whipper Snapper image a while ago and this is the first time I've inked him up.  The challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge is P for Penguins so it's perfect for the theme.  I love their cute faces.  The image was quite large so I've not added any embellishments, other than some stitching to frame the image panel.

Not even a pearl in sight.

Wow, I'm getting quite into this CAS malarkey!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Thursday, 24 July 2014

Pocket Card

The theme at ABC Christmas Challenge this week is to have a hidden element, so I've created a pocket card in the style of a criss-cross card, with a pull-out tag.

I've used my lovely Silent Night papers which have a hint of green in them, and so I followed that colour them into my image.

The gorgeous green organza ribbon I've used doesn't bulk up as much as satin does when it is tied in a bow which is great on this card because it's already fairly thick with all the layers I created for the criss cross and the tag.

I've just bought a tonne (well almost) of organza ribbon from Fantastic Ribbons, so you may well be seeing a bit more of it in various colours for quite a while.




Here's a close up with the tag removed from the pocket:




Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Advent House

I bought a wooden advent house months ago with great intentions, but have only now finally got around to decorating it.  I have visions of filling the little drawers with my favourite Lindor truffle milk chocolates!  :0)

I painted the whole house using white paint, and painted the drawer fronts with pale green paint.  I then stamped mini snowflakes in red and green ink on the fronts and stuck on the wooden numbers. They actually had stickers on the backs, but I soon found out they didn't stick very well to the paint, so I added some glue and now they're well and truly stuck (whether they are where I want them or not!).  I used brick paper for the roof and added a snowflake die cut to the front.

I pondered on whether to have the drawers in numerical order or random, but I decided :
  1. I could always mix them up later if I wanted to by switching the drawers around a bit,
  2. In the mornings, when it's likely that I'll be ferreting about for my Lindor (still wishfully thinking that's what they'll contain) I won't have time to hunt for the relevant date!, and
  3. Having them in the right order satisfied my 'OCD' !

I made a box from scratch in red spotty cardstock to fit the largest space at the bottom.   I measured up the hole and made it slightly smaller so it could easily be pushed in and out.  It's still quite a large box, so I figured maybe 3 or 4 Lindors for that day!!  :0)

I may have to pop in some mini Mars bars or Snickers for hubby so that he doesn't eat my truffles!

This project is to support the N for Numbers challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge.







Card Recipe:
  • Artemio 24 Drawer Wooden Advent House
  • Wooden Numbers
  • Green paint for drawers
  • White paint for house base
  • Cardio Majestix mini snowflake stamps
  • Red and green inkpads
  • Green organza ribbon
  • Scrapping paper (made into a box for the large pigeon hole
  • Quickutz tag die
  • Snowflake die
  • Pearl
  • Bearly Mine brick digi paper
  • Lindor truffles
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 25 June 2014

Mail Sizer

I've been doing some recycling and made something quite useful out of an old ring binder.  I wanted to make a mail sizer to help determine when packages will be classified as large letters when I get to the post office.

Unfortunately the post office don't sell the sizers that they use.  I have seen some on eBay, but I thought I'd have a go at making one myself.  I cut one side off an old ring binder, and then cut it to a rectangle shape, but only cut through the board, being careful not to cut through to the vinyl covering, so that I could then wrap the vinyl  around the raw edge to make it neat.

I then carefully measured and cut two slots, one for standard letters, and one for large letters.  If the package passes through the slot, then I know it will be sized accordingly.  Because the card is from a ring binder, the board is really thick, and so it doesn't bend when I am holding it in one hand to push parcels through it with the other!

I've also printed out some handy information, with an area for the last posting dates before Christmas, and also the current prices for UK mail.  I'm guessing that this will need to be updated frequently though, as our prices seem to change fairly often, but I can create a new panel and either cover up the old one, or replace the whole panel and use a new image each year for variety!  Unfortunately I can't yet find the 2014 last posting dates, so I've left these blank so that I can add the dates in pencil, and then change them each year if necessary.

This project is to support the M for Mail challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge.



Here's a sneaky peek at the reverse of the board, where you can see how I wrapped the vinyl around the back to hide the cut edge.  I was going to do the same for the slots, but it turned out to be too fiddly, so I didn't bother.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Simon's Monday Challenge - Use this more (to stop me being shocked when I get to the post office and get told that it is gonna cost as much to post my creations as it did to make them!)
  • Fab 'n' Funky - Christmas, we're half way there
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Little Gifts

I don't think I've used today's image before.  I found him in my stamp folder, and thought I'd get him inked up as he was looking a bit forgotten!  He's a real sweetie and was actually quite quick to colour, even though I water-coloured him (which takes me far longer than using Copics).

I have tried to keep the colours and layout simple so he may suit a male recipient (or at least a male who doesn't mind cute bunnies - hmmm, I may have missed the point there!)

Anyway, this project is to support the challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge where the theme is L for Little Gifts.  Hopefully a little gift box containing a bunny on a spring will suffice.  'Cos we can never have too many bunnies on a spring now can we.  :0)



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 28 May 2014

Hogs and Kisses

Today's card is to support the K for Kiss Sentiment challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge, and I must admit that I was initially a bit stumped by the theme.

I was initially going to use 'Happy Kiss-mass', but nooooo, that would've been far too obvious!  So, like a numpty, I opted for something a bit more challenging!!

I thought of 'hogs and kisses', although I quickly realised that would only really work with a piggie image.  And therein lay the next problem.  I'm not sure if pigs hibernate for the winter, or perhaps they just don't celebrate Christmas much, but there seemed to be a distinct shortage of festive themed piggy images in my stash!

Luckily I stumbled across a freebie by the talented digi artist Angelique at Sliekje Stamps.  With a birdie which could pass as a robin on the fence, and drops in the air which could be snow, it seemed to fit.  I'm not sure if the rough ground was meant to be mud, but with a sprinkling of glamour dust glitter hopefully it can pass as snow!

Linking up the materials that I've used at the bottom of this post, I've also just realised that, by sheer coincidence, not only was the image a freebie, so were the papers.  Bargain-tastic!


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • Deep Ocean Challenge - Wings (he may be tiny, but there is a robin perched on the fence!)
  • Papertake - Sketch #88
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 14 May 2014

That candy cane looks like an 'elf hazard!

The theme today at ABC Christmas Challenge is J for Jolly Old Elf, so I've using an image of Tommy dressed as an elf, although I'm a bit worried about the size of that candy cane.  He's going to put his back out lifting that 'cos it's bigger than he is!  I hope he knows that you should always lift from your knees!

I spent quite a while getting the shading right on the candy cane, but then afterwards am not sure I achieved much as the the photo has lost some of the pale grey shadows that I put on the white bits.  Hmph!



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 30 April 2014

Pingu Igloo

It's nearly May, and the days are getting longer, so I've got an, erm, well, Christmas card to share with you today!  :0)   There's a new 'I for Ice' challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge starting today, so it's a c-c-c-c-cold coloured card to match the icy theme.



Card Recipe, featuring items from The Stamp Basket:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 16 April 2014

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas

I've got a pile of chipboard shapes and other items that I've bought with an intention to decorate, but all they seem to do is get stashed away in a cupboard, and I forget about them.  Until I buy another one (or two) and open the cupboard again to find I already have one very similar.  Hmm!

Well today I've decided to decorate an oval hanger, and have created a really simple Christmas decoration.  I typed the sentiment, then printed it on cream paper, stuck it onto the hanger and cut around the edges.  I created tiny red card 'reinforcers' for around the holes where the ribbon is threaded but using two tiny red circle dies to create a polo or ring shape for each hole.

The little birdies are from Purple Onion Designs, and the snowflake stamps are from Card-io.  Finally I popped some stickles around the whole edge of the hanger for some sparkle.

This project is to support the H for Home challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge which starts today.



Project Recipe:
  • Images - Perch and Star & Sky from Purple Onion Designs
  • Typed Sentiment
  • Colouring - Copics
  • Stazon ink pad
  • Card-io Winter Flurry snowflake stamps
  • Versa Color ink pads in various colours
  • Ribbon (recycled from a box of Thornton's chocolates!)
  • Liquid Pearls
  • Black pen (faux stitching)
  • Circle nesting dies (to make red 'reinforcers' to outline the holes)
  • Chipboard hanger
  • Stickles
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 2 April 2014

The 'Polar' opposite of my usual style

There's a glitter challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge this week.  I've chosen to not only use glitter on my image, but also used glittery papers.  Otherwise, it's a very C&S kind of card, with just a spot of stitching, some gingham ribbon and a few pearls. I love the little pingu!


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting.
Annette
xx

Wednesday, 19 March 2014

Festive Robins

I'm not actually sure if I've used this stamp before.  I've had it for months (I think I got it last Easter), and had my eye on it for a while before then.  But, like most of the stamps I buy, it went on the pile of 'to be used' before more were popped on top, and it moved down the pile out of sight.

But I saw it there in my catalogue and decided it would be perfect for today's theme of "Friends and Family" at ABC Christmas Challenge.  It's a versatile image that I decided was ideal for a couple, because it's not too feminine, and is quite traditional rather than cute.

I've kept the embellishments fairly light too, just a spot of lace, and a button tied with some red twine.



Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Karma in a Box

I recently went on a 3 day break to North Devon, and even though I wasn't able to do any crafting while I was away, I still managed to get in a bit of crafty shopping!

And if you don't believe in Karma, then this little anecdote might change your mind ...  We were wondering round a little town, and it was tipping down with rain so we were looking for a cafe.  Hubby was in a strop trying to find a cafe on an app on his phone, with no phone signal.  And so I was stroppy because I was getting soaked while he kept saying "hold on, I'm seeing where we are".   So, he told me to take shelter from the rain while he tried to get a signal.  So, I nipped in the shop he'd stopped outside, mumbling to him that I was 'taking shelter, just as he'd asked'.   Guess what type of shop it just happened to be!  Karma at it's best!   :0)

Ok, it was only a small shop, but had lots of lovely crafting stuff; a few stamps, papers and embroidery threads, but also some lovely little trinket boxes to decorate.  Well if there's one thing I like, it's boxes!  So I was in heaven.

I picked out a small little wooden box, with a magnetic fastening, just begging to be decorated.  And today I am sharing what I did with it.  It's also perfect for the new "E for Enclosed" challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge.

It's quite a small box, so I've used one of my new Purple Onion Designs stamps called Snowy (Winter Owl).  He's quite a small image, but is perfect for this dinky box.  I've distressed the edges of all the papers I've used to decorate the sides and lid with, and added some italic script washi tape around the sides and across the top panel.  Finally I added some white pearls to the lid, and the front, which provides a bit of grip to lift the top up.





Project Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Dashing Though the Snow

I'm such a sucker for these cute little James bears, and this is one of my newbies, inked up for the first time. I've kept the layout of the card quite simple, and used some gorgeous coffee coloured satin ribbon.  The pearls are also coffee coloured, but the pearl brad holding on the ribbon was originally a white pearl, so I coloured it with a E33 copic to match it to the other pearls.  The papers that I used are from my trust Silent Night pad, layered onto coffee coloured shimmer paper.

All that talk of coffee has got my taste buds going, so I'm off to make myself a frothy latte!  :0)

I might have to have a chocolate chip cookie to dunk in it too.  Well, it would be crime not to, right?

This project is to support the 'D for Dies' challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge which starts today.  I used a circle nestie die to cut the circular image panel and the trees were cut using Dohickey Slender Fir die.



Card Recipe, featuring items from The Stamp Basket:
I've been inspired by:
  • LOTV Challenge - Name That Tune (Dashing through the Snow / Jingle Bells)
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 5 February 2014

Chocolate and Cream

Today's project is to support the C for Chocolate and Cream challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge.  The chocolate part is the drinking chocolate that Henry the mouse is warming his paws on, and the creams are the papers (yup, I've got my Silent Night pad out again - sorry!)


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting
Annette
xx



Wednesday, 22 January 2014

Peek-a-boo

It's B for Bare Essentials at the ABC Christmas Challenge this fortnight.  I had actually read it as bear, rather than bare, and so thought it wanted a teddy image, but when I read it correctly, I realised it actually means don't overdress your card, and keep it to the bare minimum of embellishments!!  D'oh.

Luckily, I've covered both bases (by sheer chance, rather than intention!)

I've used one of my favourite LOTV images from their 2013 Christmas releases (although to be fair there were a few favourites from LOTV in 2013!).  I've teamed it with a simple 'Merry Christmas' ribbon, and frostyville border die.

I made a few of these C&S design Christmas cards last year, and quite liked the style.  It was quite quick to make and really showcased the image.  I also liked the cheat way of including a sentiment by using the pre-printed ribbon!



See my cards available to buy on eBay

eBay


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
  • LOTV Challenge - Anything Goes
  • Sweet Stampin' - Your Style (this is pretty much my one and only C&S style. I love the simplicity of it, and the focus on the main image.  I made LOADS of these for xmas last year, and already made a springtime version since then)
Happy crafting
Annette
xx

   

Wednesday, 8 January 2014

A Shameless 'Case'

Today's card is a shameless 'case' of a card I adore by the lovely Sarah of Mallows Crafty Bits.  I loved it when I saw it on her blog; she'd used my favourite colour, my favourite brand of digi papers, and one of my favourite image brands.  So I couldn't believe my luck when her gorgeous creation ended up adorning my sideboard after arriving in the post a week before Christmas!!! Thank you Sarah.  :0)

And just to prove how much I love it, I bought the papers (as opposed to the proverbial t-shirt!), and have shamelessly cased her sketch, but I've used the blue version of the papers for a frosty feel.

This project is to support the "A for Anything Christmas" challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge. I hope you join us. We're sponsored by Bugaboo, so there's a great reason to play along.



See my cards available to buy on eBay

eBay


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy crafting.
Annette
xx

Wednesday, 25 December 2013

The charge of the light brigade


Merry Christmas Everyone

Well the big day is here, and I hope that you woke up to some crafty treats in your stocking this morning.

By coincidence Christmas day is also our final challenge of 2013 at ABC Christmas Challenge, so I have another festive card for you.  Our theme this fortnight is Z for Zany, although I think my card is more 'W' for Wry smile, rather than full on zany!

Still, I'm hoping hubby will like it because it's his Christmas card this year!  He's interested in military history, so I thought he might like the theme of the card being a bit of a nod to the original 'charge of the light brigade'.  Plus, his birthday card had the same layout and he said that he really liked it, so I hope that he wasn't just being polite, because he's got a matching Christmas card now!  ;0)

Anyhoo, I won't keep you today as you should be spending time with your families, but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's visited my blog this year, and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

Enjoy some time with your loved ones, and try not to eat too many mince pies.  Ok, just one more then!



See my cards available to buy on eBay

eBay


Card Recipe:
I've been inspired by:
Happy Christmas!!!
Annette
xx