Merry Christmas

 Snatching a minute for a quick post to wish all my lovely friends, team mates and followers a very happy Christmas. I intended to do this much earlier today but it's been a bit hectic here so I thought I'd do it now before anything else happens or any more visitors turn up! Thank you all so much for all your lovely comments, support and friendship, it means a lot and you're much appreciated.

 This is the card I made for Marvin's best buddy's family. Watson is also a Red Fox Lab.  he's just a few months older than Marv and they look like two peas in a pod...they have the most wonderful walks together...or rather galloping, leaping, bundling runs- not a lot of walking goes on , a joy to watch.

I tried very hard to get Marvin to wear a Santa hat and pose for a photo to use on the card...but no chance- that hat will never be the same again. So I drew a dog (cheated a bit, drew my own version of an image I found online) scanned it and added a hat (Mo Manning digi), copied and flipped it so I had 2 dogs then coloured using my markers. Watson's owner loves it! 

I'm totally recovered from the Covid now, my O?H is nearly there- he managed to get a man-cold on top and we all know what THAT means! daughter and son in law much better- and no longer infectious ,so fingers crossed we will be having our family Christmas as planned.

Whatever you are doing, and with whom I hope you have a wonderful time. Merry Christmas!

Hugs

Chris

xx

Favourite colour...

 Good morning, a quick post from me with a mid-month reminder for our current challenge at

Stamping Sensations,

 the optional theme for this month is favourite colours.

 I stuck with green and used a stencil and some Lavinia stamps to make my card. Please visit the main challenge blog for details of how to play along, the fabulous prize on offer and some beautiful inspiration makes from the rest of the Design Team.

I'm feeling a lot better now, it's a week today since the  Covid symptoms first appeared so I'll take another test to see if I'm clear to go out yet, I'm going stir- crazy...and there's a lot to catch up on.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a good week.

Chris

x

The best laid plans...

 I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself today,  I had a busy week of Christmas celebrations all planned , then BAM- Covid!! Missed little Charlotte's Nativity play yesterday, totally gutted about that! I have been promised a private performance as soon as I'm not infectious- she'll wear her angel costume and sing for me, so some consolation, bless her.

At least I'm not dreadfully ill, symptoms of a heavy cold, coughing and headache and a brain that feels as if it's made of cotton wool plus my glowing red nose puts Rudolph in the shade, on the bright side I should be over it before Christmas gets here!

Today sees the start of our last challenge of the year at Fab 'n' Funky, our lovely Sue has picked the theme of Christmas, so we're hoping you'll be able to join in and show off your last minute Christmas creations. I used my inks and Lavinia stamps to make a magical snow scene, I blinged up the tree with tiny gems.

Thanks for visiting today,

take care...and try to steer clear of germs!!

Chris

x

It's Christmas!...at Sweet Stampin' Challenges

 Good morning. Are you all in Christmas mode yet? It's been a busy week for me one way or another and a bit stressful but things are looking up now and I'm looking ahead to Christmas. We're off out this morning to choose a tree, for me it has to be a real one! Not worried about Marvin this year as he was so good with the tree last year- after all he's a big boy now and knows how to behave (he doesn't always do it but he knows how!). Most of my Christmas shopping finished, just a couple of gifts left to buy so feeling more relaxed about that. Our hallway is finally finished- carpets cleaned, dust all gone and the new doors looking very smart, I can't tell you how happy I am that it's finally over :)

Anyway, enough of me waffling on! My card today is for our Christmas Challenge at

  Sweet Stampin'- this challenge will run for 4 weeks and anything Christmas themed is welcome- as long as there is some stamping include.

I gave in to temptation and bought this fabulous pre- loved stamp from ebay. It's a fairly large wood backed stamp so I kept the design simple. Stamped and masked the bear and used distress inks and splashes of water to create the background, coloured up the image and added the stamped embossed sentiment and a few die cut snowflakes. I'll definitely be using this stamp again, he's so cute!

Lots to see over at Sweet Stampin' so do hop over for some fabulous inspiration from the rest of the DT.

Thanks for visiting,

have a great weekend whatever you are doing

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

allsorts #758 Bear, blue

alohafriday #5

kraftychicks #693

MAWTT #161

PFM #719

crittercrazy #81

sparklesforum #170

Double D Christmas animals

A Christmas fairy

 Good morning, it's time for a new challenge at Crafty Catz, our last one before the Christmas break. 

There's no twist this week, and no sponsor- it's an Anything Goes Just For Fun week! 

I made a joy fold card featuring a sweet little fairy digi from Funky Kits, another company which sadly no longer exists. The image is coloured with Copics, lots of glitter on her wings. Various papers from stash. To keep the card closed I covered a chipboard circle with a piece of the robin paper and added some die cut leaves and berries to the back of it.

Please be sure to hop over and see the beautiful creations from  the rest of the DT, it would be great to have you join us for this last challenge of 2023.

thanks for visiting 

Chris

x

digichoosday #48

aperfecttimetocraft #12

classicdesign #11

crafterscafe #303

thecraftingchallenge December Challenge

christmaswiththecuties #76

dragonflydreams December

TFATU December Challenge

 

Favourite colour...

 Good morning,  my card today is my DT make for our December challenge at 

Stamping Sensations, 

the optional theme for this month is Favourite Colours. 

Our sponsor for this challenge is 

HighLight Crafts

2 lucky winners will receive 2 sets each

There aren't many colours that I don't like but my favourite is green, so green it is! I used mainly Lavinia stamps ( everything except the sentiment) and various shades of green ink to create my card, green Elements and Distress inks for the wreath and dark green Versafine Clair for the fairies and sentiment. The wings are covered in Wink of Stella for some lovely festive sparkle.

There is plenty of inspiration to enjoy over at Stamping Sensations so please do hop over for a visit.

Thanks for stopping by

have a lovely day

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

welovestamping December Challenge

thefairyandtheunicorn December Challenge

kraftychicks #692

abcchristmas W for Wreath

December Challenge at Crafty Calendar

 Good morning, our last challenge for this year starts today at Crafty Calendar. 

We are sponsored by ALL DRESSED UP stamps-

 the theme is Christmas.

I made a card for one of my granddaughter using a cute sponsor image given to the team, it's called Christmas Skate and is available here. These lovely digis are so good to colour, which I did using my trusty Copics. The background is coloured with pastels and I added some glitter to the 'ice'. The DP is from the works , I stamped and embossed the sentiment  to the top right corner

Emily loves glitter and sparkle, like most little girls, so glittery die cut trees and snowflakes were a must! 

Some lovely Christmas cards, made by my super teamies, to be enjoyed over at the challenge blog, so if you're still making your Christmas cards and need some inspiration head on over for a look. 

I'm feeling pleased with myself today as yesterday I wrote and addressed all my Christmas cards- they're ready to post next week. I usually end up putting it off until mid December then it's a terrible rush to get them done. Just a couple more to make....they will be hand delivered and I'm all done for this year.

Thanks for stopping by,

hope you have a happy weekend

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

allsorts #757 

polkadoodle #48

thepapershelter. #578

christmaswiththecuties #76

cutiepie#188

alldressedup November Challenge

worldwidecrafters November Challenge

More snowmen...

 Good morning, well December has arrived! Not long to go now before Christmas is here- I can't believe how busy the shops have got already- so many people in our local shopping mall yesterday! I'm definitely not going anywhere near shops this weekend and I'm going to do my best to finish my present shopping next week before things get even more manic!

Today's card is my DT make for this week's challenge at Crafty Catz, sponsored by the fabulous

SheepSkiDesigns

The optional theme chosen by our lovely Ginny is 'Make them Smile'

The DT were given some of Andrea's lovely digis to play with but I chose to use one I already had, Snowman Selfie, this one always makes me smile! I've coloured the snowmen with my markers, papers from stash, just added a few die cut snowflakes and a die cut sentiment banner.

There's plenty more inspiration from the rest of my teamies over on the challenge blog so do pop over for a visit, remember the theme is always optional so please do join the fun with one of your own lovely creations.

Thanks for visiting

have a great weekend (best wrap up warm if you live in the UK!)

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

CRAFT #700

creativeknockouts #509

ilovepromarkers #548

PFM #718

sheepski #81

Believe in the Magic...

 Good morning, it's a chilly one today! Have to say I prefer cold and sunny to wet and miserable, I hate it when it's dark all day, I can understand why so many people struggle during the winter months.

There's a new challenge starting today over at Fab'n' Funky, Pat  has chosen the lovely theme of Snowmen, perfect for this time of year! 

Back in the summer I treated myself to this beautiful bauble stencil from Sweet Poppy, it was on my wish list for ages and I saw it at the only craft fair I've managed to get to this year. The snowman is a tiny wooden stamp, I've had him for years and he makes an appearance every Christmas, he's so cute and happy and he fits perfectly inside the bauble! I stamped and white embossed the tiny snowflakes above him. The sentiment is also embossed. 

Please pop over to Fab'n' Funky to see the lovely creations from my teamies, then why not dig out your own favourite snowfolk  digis,  stamps and dies and create something fabulous to share with us.

Thanks for stopping by

Chris

x

Challenge entries :

stencilfun. November (atg option)

hollyandivy #153

craftingfromtheheart #8

peaceonearthchristmas #52

inkspirational #303

christmasbingo #4 B- Free/Stamped Image/Ink Blending

Beccy' s 11th Annual Christmas Challenge- S for Snowman

You're invited...

 ...to Sweet Stampin's 14th Birthday Celebrations! Yes, Sweet Stampin' Challenge is 14 years old today! You're all invited to join in with the celebrations- just create something with a birthday theme, make sure there is stamping included and click here to join the party!

This is the card I made for my 17 year old niece- who loves pink and girly...and chocolate cake! The image is a Krista Smith digi, coloured with markers. I masked strips of the panel  and applied Picked Raspberry Distress Oxide Ink  to create the pink triangles, then added the dots through a stencil.

Thanks for visiting- hope to see you at the party!

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

polkadoodle #47

kraftychicks #691

alohafriday #4

craftygalscorner #249

Double D- stripes or dots

crafterscafe #303

creationsinpink #64

Celebrate the season

 Good morning- once again Friday is upon us so it's time for a new challenge at Crafty Catz.

 the days are just flying by now - in just 4 weeks time it will be Christmas Eve so the optional theme I chose for this week is Christmas or Winter.

Our lovely sponsor for this challenge is

Hetty Clare Art

Prize 2 images from store

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HettyClare

Who kindly gave the DT some sweet images to use.

My circle card features an adorable mouse couple who are celebrating in style with a glass or two of bubbly, they're mega excited as it's a white Christmas and they haven't seen one of those for a while! 

Image coloured with copics, DP is from The Works, die cut foliage  and a bow. I bought a bag of fake snow from Ebay, this was the first time I used it on a card, has a nice snowy texture...and a mind of it's own (a little goes a long way!)

Lots of lovely inspiration from the rest of the Crafty Catz ladies to be seen here, so please pop over for a visit. I know it's a busy time of year but if you can find the time to join in we'd be delighted to see you.

Thanks for visiting my blog today, hope your day is a happy one.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

ilovepromarkers #547

classicdesign #11

craftinghappiness #149

pearlysparkles #90

digichoosday #46

cutiepie #188

It's getting closer...

 Good morning, I'm here today with a reminder that our November challenge at 

Stamping Sensations

is over half way through. The theme for this month is

 Getting Ready For Christmas. 

our sponsor this time is 

PENNY BLACK

To make my card I die cut a square of white cardstock and stamped the little dog using a PB wood backed stamp I've had for years, coloured him with Copic markers. I die cut a circle aperture, first cutting around the dog's head.  I used a  Christmas tree mask and green Distress Ink to create the border, the stamped the little holly sprigs.

 Using the same colour ink I sponged another offcut of white card , then stamped and embossed the sentiment (another PB wood mounted stamp). I placed a piece of snow printed acetate in the aperture over the sentiment using foam tape for a little dimension. (Not sure if I'm making any sense here....) 

Another Christmas card done!

Please check out the main challenge blog for details of how to enter and the lovely prize on offer.

Thanks for stopping by,

have a good day

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

MTCC #521

CRAFT #698

MAWTT #160

Critter Crazy #80

allsorts #755

PBSC- Anything Goes

welovestamping November Challenge

A cup of Christmas cheer!

 Good morning, another Christmas card from me today! This is my DT card for this week's challenge at Crafty Catz,

 the optional twist this time is to use 3 of your favourite colours. 

We are sponsored for this challenge by the fabulous

DR DIGI'S HOUSE OF STAMPS

I made a stepper card featuring handsome Derek Dunderton with his favourite drink- a cup of tea!  

The digi is available HERE.

I used my favourite festive colours of red, green and white and my Copic markers to colour. This card is for my brother- his  bottomless capacity for drinking tea is legendary! 

I am not exaggerating.

There's plenty more inspiration over at Crafty Catz, so why not grab yourself a cuppa and head on over for a visit. 

Thanks for visiting.

Happy Weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

thepapershelter #576

PFM#716

unicorn #93

PIP #2345

christmasbingo #4 G red/die cut/fancy fold

Creative Creases #70

Blue hues at Fab'n' Funky

 Good morning, time for a new challenge at Fab'n' Funky-

 Buffy is hosting this fortnight, her chosen theme is 

ALL BLUE HUES, lots of different shades of blue on your projects.

I used a mixture of Card-io stamps to create the wreath and little scene on my card, stamping the images in various shades of blue Versafine ink and adding touches of white embossing powder to give a snowy effect. The background is stencilled using blue Distress inks. 

There are some beautiful creations from my lovely teamies over at the challenge blog, plenty of ideas to inspire you, so please hop over for a visit, I'm looking forward to seeing what you create for this lovely theme so please don't be shy, you have two weeks to join in!

Thanks for stopping by

Chris

x

Challenge entries

Cardz4guyz #335

hollyandivy #152

TIOT Baby it's cold outside

dreamvalley #305

useyourstuff #479

daisychain #80

FQCCCB #2

avenue613- Embossing

Red poppies

 Good morning, it's time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin', the theme for this fortnight is

 'Use Red'

As it's Remembrance Day it seemed appropriate to use  a poppy image, a lovely digi from Morgan's Artworld. As usual  I've used my Copic markers to colour.

To make the background panel I used a Lavinia stencil and red Pan Pastels, fading the colour towards the top of the panel, the sentiment is stamped and embossed with black EP.

There's more inspiration over at Sweet Stampin' from the rest of the team so please do take a look! It would be great to see your take on the theme too, so why not play along- hope to see you there!

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

ellibelle November Wednesday Challenge

simonsaysstamp Wednesday Challenge

stencilfun November Challenge

beautifulblossoms #10 Anything Goes

colorfuloptions November Challenge

morgansartworld #11

tripleb November Challenge

Make it sparkle...

 Good morning, a new challenge starts today over at Crafty Catz,

our sponsor this week is

 Last Minute Manda 

and

 the optional twist is 

Make it Sparkle,

I made a simple layered card featuring a cute sponsor image from the Pipsqueak Little Snowman set.

I've used my Copic markers to colour, and added loads of white glitter to Pipsqueak's hat, a touch of red glitter on the snowman's stars. I've added some artificial snow which has a sparkle too. The DP is matted onto red glitter cardstock. 

It's been a busy week here- we're replacing the internal doors in our bungalow, so chaos everywhere. I never imagined it would entail so much upheaval! Marvin has been so good....interesting items belonging to the carpenter all around the house... so far he's only nicked one thingy (not sure what it was) and he gave it back without any teeth marks in it... 

Thanks for visiting

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

kraftychicks #689

abcchristmas -X hugs and kisses

crittercrazy #80

christmas-craft-creations

Get ready for Christmas

 Good morning,  first Sunday of the month and time for a new challenge at 

Stamping Sensations.

The theme is GET READY FOR CHRISTMAS

This month we are sponsored by Penny Black

with 2 fabulous prizes to be won.

My card features a beautiful Penny Black stamp called Leaping Deer(3057K),  it's a wood backed stamp I've had for many years, it remains a firm favourite and gets used every year, usually for Christmas cards but not exclusively.

I used a combination of Lavinia and Card-io stamps to create the wreath and on the background which is Distress Ink spattered with white paint. I've added tiny amounts of glamour dust to the wreath and gel pens to colour the holly berries.

From this month the entry rules at Stamping Sensations have been relaxed a little to make it more inclusive, you can now enter our challenges as long as there is at least one stamped element on your card. Please check out the Challenge blog for a full explanation.

Thanks for visiting 

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

PBSC November Challenge

creativeinspiration #8

kraftychicks #688

MAWTT #160

thesisterhoodofcrafters -get inky

Beccy's November Challenge. Day 4 D-deer, Distress Ink

craftyanimals #78

Double d

November Challenge at Crafty Calendar

 Good morning, it's time for our November Challenge over at

  Crafty Calendar.

This month we are sponsored by the fabulous

POLKADOODLES

and our theme is 'Anything Goes'

I've been making quite a lot of Christmas cards lately and fancied a break from them, I had this cute little image, Maddie Twirling Curls, that I won in a challenge some time ago and never got around to using, so I coloured her up with my Copics using my favourite blue/brown colour combo, and used my dies and scraps of DP  to cut my background panels.

Unfortunately I can't find the image in the shop so cannot add a link. I should have checked before I made the card! 

Please hop over to Crafty Calendar Challenges to check out the fabulous inspiration from my lovely teamies, then why not play along? We'd love to see you there!

Thanks for visiting

have a good weekend- hope the weather is kind to you!

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

digichoosday #43

aperfecttimetocraft #11

polkadoodle #43

worldwidecrafters #10

Christmas Skates

 Good morning, it's time once again  for a new challenge at Crafty Catz- this week we're sponsored by 

                                                    Jan’s Digital Stamps

the optional twist, chosen by Rhoda, our host for this week, is

Show some flowers.

I have used  Christmas Skates a beautiful image, courtesy of our generous sponsor. I've used Copic markers to colour, papers are from The Works, die cut foliage and sentiment . The poinsettia is cut from the same paper pad - I used a gel pen to add a little sparkle to the flower and white glitter to add 'frost' to the foliage- neither of which show in the photo.

There's plenty more inspiration from the lovely ladies at Crafty Catz So please do head on over to take a look, then it's your turn to inspire us with your own fabulous creations.

Thanks for visiting,

hope your weekend is a pleasant one.

Chris

x 

Challenge entries:

asyoulikeit - I like both but tend to steer towards the traditional reds and greens.

CRAFT #696

hollyandivy #151

jansdigistamps # October Challenge

christmasbingo #4 - G- red/die cuts/free

classicdesign #10

sheepski #80

crafterscafe #302

pearlysparkles #90

A bit fishy...

 Good morning, the 1st of November, I'm sure that each year time flies by faster than it did the year before...probably a sign of my advanced age. 

My card today is for our new challenge at Fab'n' Funky, hosted this week by our lovely Sue. The theme she has chosen is 

MASCULINE.

I used a fun Mo Manning image, it was a  Patreon  freebie, don't think it's in the shop. I've coloured the Red Herring with markers and used a stencil for the background. The sentiment is composed with die cut letters (a Tim Holtz Sizzix strip die I've had for years.) This card was made for a good friend- he loves reading and detective novels.

As always there's some wonderful inspiration to be enjoyed over at Fab'n' Funky so please do stop by to see what my lovely teamies have created.

Thanks for visiting today

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

digichoosday. #42

mmmchallenge #212

crittercrazy #80

seizethebirthday #272 

Fa La La La Laa

 Good morning, well here we are, Friday again and time for a new challenge at 

Crafty Catz, 

this week we are sponsored by 

ALL DRESSED UP

it's Nana Connie's turn to host , her optional twist is 

Any Critters with 4 legs.

I used a cute sponsor image, Tra La La, which I've coloured with markers, the background is sponged Distress Ink, wish I'd chosen a softer blue, but too late to change my mind!  The snow is white chunky embossing powder. I used a Dutch Doobadoo template to cut the card shape and a die to cut the aperture. I added some glittery die cuts and a stamped sentiment.

It seems very quiet in our house, we had our big girls to stay for a couple days, which was lovely as we don't see them so much now, their lives are too busy with school, homework, Saturday job, football, dancing, boyfriend, socialising with their friends...etc, which is just as it should be! I'm really missing them now they've gone to stay with their other grandparents - we do share nicely!! Marvin is missing his fun playmates too, they're very good at playing ball! I'm looking forward to the next school holidays!

Do hop over to Crafty Catz for some fabulous inspiration from the rest of the team, and remember, our challenges are always anything goes so hope you choose to play along this week.

Thanks for visiting,

enjoy your weekend.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

hollyandivy #150

jinglebelles Not a creature was stirring

alldressedup - October Challenge

It's Wally

 Good morning, it's time for our weekly challenge over at Crafty Catz, this time we are sponsored by 

BECCYS PLACE 

and the optional theme chosen by Janet is

LOTS OF LAYERS.

I was given this wonderful image to use (thanks Becky) his name is Wally and he's a part of this fabulous set, Snow Time.

This is one of those cards that just happened, not at all what I had in mind when I started out. I printed wally onto white cardstock and used a tag die to cut him out. it was a bit  too long to fit on my card base so I chopped it shorter and cut the fish tail bit. I coloured Wally and the sky with Copics, leaving the stars white and added some bakers twine. I cut another tag in red, making it slightly shorter and layered them together, placing a die cut circle frame between them. I added die cut snowflakes and stars, the sentiment is stamped. 

I'm having a busy week as it was my beautiful daughter's birthday yesterday and it's her daughter, Ruby's birthday tomorrow, I'm finding it hard to believe that our little Rubes will be 14! She may be taller than me (by quite a bit!) but in my head she's still a little curly- headed moppet who loved to be cuddled (and still does!). 

Thank you for visiting today, hope you have a good weekend.

It sounds as if we're in for quite a storm so I hope you all stay safe and dry.

Chris

x

Challenges:

asyoulikeit- Santa or snowman

I like both but looking through my stamps and digis there are far more snowmen than santas, so it's a snowman for me!

hollyandivy #150

beccyschallenges October

peaceonearth #50

Make it feminine at Fab 'n' Funky

 Hi, back again, this time it's with my DT make for this fortnight's challenge at Fab'n' Funky

Lovely N'Eva has chosen the theme of 'Make it Feminine' so I thought I would share the card I made for my granddaughter Ruby's 14th birthday, which is on Saturday- lucky girl, the first day of the 2 week school break! 

I made her a tuxedo pop up card,  I've stamped her name, birthday sentiment and the numerals onto the same raspberry coloured cardstock of the card base, and embossed with white EP. The rabbit and balloons embossed onto white cardstock and coloured with Copics, stars and hearts die cut and coloured with markers to match the balloon colours. When Ruby was small she was totally obsessed with toy rabbits- the smaller (and harder to find when she left it somewhere !!!) the better! I can still hear the wail of 'I can't find my teeny tiny rabbit' to this day!!

Please do hop over to F'n'F to check out the lovely creations from my teamies, hope you choose to join in this fortnight.

Thanks for stopping by today

Chris

x

Challenges:

PFM #712

classicdesign #10

craftyanimals #77

creativecrafters #69

pearlysparkles #89

aplacetostart October Challenge

dreamvalley #303

Creative Creases #68

Mice and pumpkins

 Good morning, I'm here today with a little reminder of our October Challenge

 at Stamping Sensations,

the optional theme for this month is Autumn Colours but of course you can join in with any stamped creation. 

I've used Lavinia Stamps and Distress inks to create my card, I think these joyful little mice are my favourites, they always make me smile! I treated myself to some of the new pumpkin stamps so had to use them too!

There's plenty of lovely creations from the rest of the DT over at the main challenge blog, just click here to enjoy them.

Stamping Sensations will be announcing some challenge changes so please be sure to check the new challenge post on 5th November.

Thanks for visiting, will be back later today with another card.

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

unicorn #92

daisychain #79

mmmchallenge #211

craftrocket #108

inspirationstation #54 (inspired by, colours, pumpkins, joy!)

thefourseasons October Challenge

avenue613 # October

welovestamping October