Hey Mr Snowman!

 HAPPY CHRISTMAS everyone!

I wish you all a peaceful one and a healthy and Happy New Year.

 Thank you for all your love and support this past year. It is all so very much appreciated and never taken for granted.

Here is my last |Christmas card of the year. 

A special one for my son and future DIL over here in the UK. The other son is basking in 24 degree heat in Brisbane with two very excited children who are hopefully fast asleep waiting to wake their mum and Dad early so they can see if Santa has been!

I sort of cased a sample I have seen for this PInk INk snowman and I was quite pleased how he turned out.I heat embossed the snowman and the branches an used oxides to shade my background. Copics for the actual colouring and a few tiny punched snowflakes to finish. The sentiment of course was computer generated.

All it takes now is to wish each and everyone of my lovely cyber friends, once again a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year. Thank you for stopping by.

See you after the festivities..!!

Crafty Christmas hugs

Carole xx

Happy Christmas

 Hello friends.

I hope this finds you safe, well and ready for Christmas. I won't rabbit on as I know you will be busy...and I really appreciate you taking the time to stop by.

Here is my card all made from Uniko products.

This card apart from the base card is all made from offcuts (large snippets) and from small snippets for the holly, berries and sentiments, so I am whizzing to the playground to see everyone! The background is a Uniko stencil.

Ok friends, take care....not long to go till the big day now!

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Snippets Playground. Challenge 418.............all snippets except base card.

'Thelwell'

 Hello friends! 

I hope you are all well, cosy and safe! Thank you so much for popping by and to those that left me comments on my last post...Thank You...you know you make my day!

NOT a Christmas card this time. It was my future DIL birthday recently and I made her this card as she is horse mad.....she has one called Tilly! ...and she is a qualified riding instructress...so you might see the relevance of the card. She is also a big fan of Thelwell.....I have to admit to not getting all the quips as it were! Riding has never been something I have ever got into.

So here we go......

and the inside...

The images and backing papers are all from an old Crafters Companion magazine CD and I made the small rosette with the same papers using a Tim Holtz die I have had in my stash for ages.The personalised message on the front was done on the PC by taking the mage into a graphics program...are you impressed?...I certainly was...lol!! (took me a while though).

Becky was highly delighted with her card thank goodness.....and as they clip Tilly themselves she thankfully doesn't look like this afterwards....lol

I hope you are all well on with your Christmas preparations and I really do appreciate you taking time to pay me a visit when time is so precious. Thanks again.. Blogland seems a lot quieter these days due to Instagram, Pinterest etc...but I like to feel that bloggers are my friends that take their time to spend with me as I do with them..... 'Mwah.'...... and that's what makes blogging worthwhile!

See you soon..take care of yourself

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

and the rest.....

 NOTE. A few people have reported  receiving error messages in response to a comment. I am receiving these comments in my awaiting moderation box so please ignore the error message ...I don't know the reason for it!

Hi Friends.

 I thought I had better share the rest of the 'down under' collection that has...arrived!...yes already in a couple of weeks!!....makes a change from 4 months! so here they are....

1st up the Christmas card for my Son and DIL...............

A lovely die and stamp set from...yes that's right Crafters Companion...no I don't get paid for using/buying their stuff..lol    The die cuts out what is the red area on my card so you can layer it up etc.I kept it flat for posting. Coloured with Copics.

A while ago I was a lucky winner in a Uniko draw and have only just recently spent my prize...I chose the Alphabet stamps that you colour in and here are a couple of bookmarks that I made for the children. The letters are are the perfect fit !.......

The front.....

The back.....

                   

All done with snippets of card and using  Crafters Companion animal tag dies, Cool how you get the back and front stamps to go with the die and can cut to any length you like!

Coloured again with copics and the spotty card on the back is Anna Marie. I stuck the two layers of white together, one it hides the bleed through from the copics and two, it made them more sturdy.

I am hoping Santa might bring them some books for Christmas and then they can use them.

So that's one tick off my card list...Australia...just the UK and the rest of the world to deal with now.....need to get my skates on!

I also included my DIL birthday card for January (how organised is that) in my packet...but sadly I forgot to photograph it .

Well back to mandatory face masks in shops and on public transport next week for the UK in view of this new variant! Nothing different for me then.....always wear a mask and don't travel on the bus/train. I hope it is not going to spoil Christmas again for a lot of people.

I will be back soon with a birthday card I made for my other DIL to be! Till then stay safe and well and THANK YOU for popping by. Any comments you leave me are valued more than you realise.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Challenges entered:-

Snippets Playground #417 ................everything snippets , even the ribbon!

Wobblers on the way!

 Good Morning friends...its been a while I know, but life has got in the way again as it sometimes does. But I am here now and will visit you all soon.

People seem to have been having issues with blogger recently and getting strange messages. Those of you that got them regarding my blog....your comments came through Thank you very much, regardless of what blogger told you! ...so please continue to leave them, each and every one is so much appreciated, and never taken for granted.

Wobblers?..yes lets get down to why you are here...a card...two even!!...currently en route to Australia for my grandchildren and hoping they get there before Easter! Thomas will be 6 in February and Chloe is 3 and a half now...how time goes, and they grow up!

This one is for Thomas.....

I think the elf on the shelf may have sneaked passed immigration this year! after a negative Covid test of course..lol

.............and for Chloe

I dont suppose that they will be familiar with penguins, snow, scarves and hats...but hey ho...I'm not familiar with shorts and surf boards..lol!

These are both made with Crafters Companion dies and stamps and on springs made from acetate...die included in each set. They all wobble...or did when they left me, but no doubt will be flattened in transit. On arrival they will need pulling to free them again...hope the kids don't pull too hard!

Both cards pretty self explanatory really.

So thats me for today...got some chores to do, Sunday is not a day of rest here! The sun is shining, its dry but turned a lot colder with a sneaky wind so I guess it wont be long till we can say it is winter. I hate closing the curtains in the middle of the afternoon. I am definitely a sunshine and warmth kinda girl.

I hope you are all well , staying safe amid the Covid bugs, and getting your jabs as appropriate. I had my booster last week...no problems,and still wear a mask when out and about.

So take care, I'll see you soon. Love to you all, ad to those celebrating Thanksgiving...have a Happy one! 😊

Must dash. I have a pressing engagement...yes that's right it's the...ironing!!..lol

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Seasons Greetings & Merry Christmas

 Hi Friends

Firstly I must Thank each and every one of you who left me a message on my last post...THANK YOU!

You are the reason that I carry on blogging and your friendship and support is so much appreciated.

Ok time for a card or two even.............

On a sort out in the craft room I unearthed some card blanks that go way back!...so I am a mission to use........... and here are the results using a couple of lovely olive green pearlised ones.

An embossing folder that I think may have come with a Crafters Companion magazine last year (not sure on that one) and an old C C sentiment die cut in mirri card.

I coloured the corner holly leaves with copics and as I had no red pearls for the holly, white ones were treated to the copics too.

.and here is a Merry one in a different colour way! 

I am pleased with how these turned out...batched a couple more to use up the cards (smile) and there we go!

Which do you prefer?

I hope you are all keeping well wherever you are and staying safe amid all these rising cases. I am still wearing my mask when I venture out here in the UK although it is not law..........I think I am very much in the minority though.Awaiting the call for a booster jab very soon!

Wishing a Happy Halloween to those of you who celebrate it.

Catch you all again soon when I have some upcycled Christmas cards to share with you.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Merry Christmas

 Hi Friends...well I hope you still are!..lol. Its been a good while since I blogged but I have kept peeking at yours as you will know if I left you a comment.

I hope this finds you all safe and well.

I have been making a few Christmas cards...sporadically............ and trying to use up some existing stash...I have tons of base cards...but...you guessed it, never the size I have in mind. Antway sorting through I found these very old embossed ones with 'Merry Christmas' ...and here is what I did with them.............

An old but favourite wooden backed stamped from Hobbyart stamped in grey and a liberal amount of Glamour Dust. 

Yeah how quick was that? Yes... quicker than the thought of what to do in the first place...lol......and why didn't I use them before???

Sorry the sparkle doesn't show up well on the photos.

Sunshine here today after lots of rain and its much colder...I hope it is a long while till we see the white stuff on the ground though.

Hopefully I will see you again soon.

Thank you so much if you have popped by . It is good to know you are all still out there, blogland seems quiet, but I so appreciate my cyber friends...love to you all.

Take care.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Congratulations

 Hi Friends ! I hope you are all safe and well.

 Yes here I am at last with a post! 

I made a card for a friends Anniversary ....................

Crafters Companion die and stamp and circle dies from stash. Backing paper oddments from the mountain pile! I put Glossy accents on the glasses after a bit of pale colouring.

While I was running with the idea...(as you know ideas are short on the ground right now.)..I made a couple more ........

Apologies for the poor photos...pearlescent card and light is a difficult one and the light recently has been poor since summer seems to have deserted us....my excuse anyway.

Thank you for stopping by and sticking with me and so many thanks for all your lovely messages of concern, love and support...the crafting community is such a lovely one to be a part of.....even when crafting evades us sometimes.

I hope your week is going well as we hurtle way too fast through another year of ups, downs and uncertainties. I hope to catch you all again soon.

Till then

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

70 plus 70!

 Hi Friends

First I must Thank you ALL so very much for the kind comments and encouraging words that you left me on my last post. each and everyone is appreciated more than you will ever know. June has once again turned into a difficult month for me so I know I will be sporadic in my blogging, but I know you will all understand and hopefully still be around when I surface to surprise you.

In the meantime......At the beginning of June one of my friends celebrated a 70th birthday...and another friend will be celebrating hers at the beginning of July...that's two of my three friends...lol! Glad to say I am not quite as old as them! I know for definate that the second one at least will not be peeking at this, so I can share with you...both cards , on a similar vein.

First the June one...friend aptly named after her birth month......

This is the front of the card

and the inside......

The papers are some old Craftwork Cards (I think) and the 70 die is of course Crafters Companion.

It took some getting my head around did making this and the first one ended up in the bin...but I got there in the end and was quite pleased with the end result.

Here is my Twofer as they say......the front

and the inside...

This time the papers are from a LOTV pad called promises. I love this pad but sadly it is not available anymore.

The dies are once again Crafters Companion including the banner and balloons with coordinating stamps The Happy Birthday I am not sure of the make as I have had it in my stash for a good while (like everything else I have in the craft room...lol)

Once again the first of this one went in the bin too, I seemed to have forgotten what to do from making the first one...and of course how many of us write instructions for ourselves for next time?..you do?...ah well lesson learnt there I guess.

I hope you are all keeping well and have been enjoying the sunshine here in the UK. Thank you for stopping by.

Till next time...take good care of yourselves and keep the inspiration coming...I keep peeking at all your wonderful creativity in the hopes that Mr Mojo will return...perhaps he has emigrated?

Love and crafty hugs to each one of you.

Carole xx

Almost...101

 Hi Friends

Today would have been mums 101st Birthday!..If you read my last post you will know she was in hospital following surgery for a fractured hip. 

Sadly she passed away on Saturday , so she didn't quite make it to the 101 but I still feel I would like to share her card with you though................what better way to celebrate her life.

A new stamp...Pink Frog Chrysanthemum love this stamp. I coloured with Copics. Matt and Layers are cut with Phil Martin nesting dies.

So proud of her, such a great age.

Thank you for stopping by, and for all the lovely comments that you left on my last post...another card she sadly didn't get to see...along with several others.

Anyway that's it for today...short and sweet. We have just have a thunderstorm here! Hope it is sunny where you are. Take care everyone and have a good week.

Catch you all again soon

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Ruby Wedding

 Hi Everyone!...hope you are all well and ready for a long weekend both here and in the US.

Lets hope the weather is kind to us.

Wednesday gone was the Ruby Wedding Anniversary for my mum and Step dad. Here is the card I made for them.

Sadly last weekend mum fell and fractured her hip, so is in hospital and of course due to Covid restrictions we are unable to visit her....so her card remains at home unopened with others no doubt until such time as they can be together to open them. Lets hope it is not too long. She will be celebrating 101 years too in just over a week.

I have decided to share with you as they do not view my blog so no spoilers for them.

The stamp is of course Crafters Companion with a die that cuts out the middle part. I coloured with distress inks on CC watercolour card. I didn't seem to get much movement of the ink though. As the card has a slight texture, I used a plain bit in the middle with a computer generated sentiment, placed behind the aperture. All mounted on red, green and textures white card.

Have a good weekend folks...June is lurking round the corner....and please continue to take care!

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

LOVE with all your heart.

 Hi folks!

Thank you for your visits and comments....I appreciate every single one.

While on the subject of dogs and my sons Labrador (last post) I came across this photo of a present I made for my son at Christmas and never shared. It was difficult to photograph due to reflection.

It is a wooden Inkylicious stamp that I had to peel of the wooden block to enable me to use it in my stamping platform to get a really black image. A bit of effort but worth it in the end.

 The stamp re -stuck nicely back on the wooden block afterwards.

 I cannot bear to make more storage space for myself by permanently removing all my stamps from their wooden blocks. For me there is something about a wooden mounted rubber stamp. Maybe because all those years ago when I started stamping that was all there was! ...........and I'm not that ancient!! Anyone else share that feeling?

Anyway Bentley (sons black labrador) does all those things on the stamp....and I guess so does my son when he walks him!

I hope you are all well wherever you are and coping with lockdown easing in the UK and jabs in your arms. I would personally like to see numbers of infections under 100 not in the thousands still, but maybe that will never happen.

How the weather has changed here in the UK...from a dry April to a wet and stormy June and temperatures still requiring those winter woolies. Fingers crossed for a flaming June!

Till next time take care, be safe and 'Thank you' again so much for stopping  by.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

'Pawsome'

 Hello everyone!

Is it raining where you are? Its like the middle of winter here in wet (West) Yorkshire!!

I can't believe we are in May...soggy blossoms (not bottoms).....not fit to turn a dog out as they say.

Speaking of dogs, today's card features a dog silhouette from...yes you guessed it Crafters Companion.It is the card I have made for my eldest sons birthday today. He has a black labrador.

The die cuts out the silhouette and the heart die is separate and slotted in the gap. I backed it with holographic silver card from the scrap box and I love how the light shows it in different colours

The sentiment was with the die set but the paw prints I found in my stash and stamped them on little circles of card. A white Posca pen was the finishing touch.

No feed back as yet so I am hoping he liked it..

For those of you who have read my last blog post you might be interested to know that Chloes card arrived just before her birthday...3 weeks it has taken this year instead of 3 months last year so an improvement on the postal front.

Tomorrow is my 2nd Covid jab, another thing to cross off the list thank goodness. 

Thank you for stopping by, I hope you are all keeping safe and well. How did we get to May? How far have we come since last May?...and I wonder where we will all be next May? Interesting thought.

Take care and I will catch you again soon.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Chloe is 3!

 Hello friends...hope you are all well and have been enjoying the sunshine and longer days here in the UK.

Today it is my Granddaughter's 3rd Birthday. Sadly of course she lives in Australia and so I am unable to share in her excitement and I have not heard whether the card I am about to show you has reached her yet.

I am not sure what they call this type of card......

All the stamps are Crafters Companion balloon stamps with matching dies and the papers are from an old paper pad in my stash.

I was quite pleased with the result as it is the first time I have done this style and the first time an idea in my head has actually made it to the card without changing it!

Well I mentioned sunshine and as I look out the window now it is drizzling with rain....the gardens need more than a drizzle though I have to say.

Thank you for stopping by and sticking with me as I know my blogging is a bit sporadic at present. I have been and visited you all but blogger seems very hit and miss with its feeds and also sometimes I read a post and then two days later it appears back at the top of the list again as a new post!! Does anyone else have that issue? Very confusing (it doesn't take much)...lol

Have a good week everyone and if you are in the UK and heading for the long bank holiday weekend...enjoy...lets hope the weather gets just a bit warmer for sitting outdoors.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

65 Birthday Wishes

 Hello everyone..time to play catch up here!

I hope you are all well, and if you are in the UK, adjusting cautiously to Lockdown easing. I know I am not finding it easy.

I have done a bit of crafting these past weeks when the mood has allowed me. I had a special card to make for a good friend who celebrated an 'in between big' birthday.......here it is...

I used Uniko .........'Simply Organic Additions' and corresponding dies and 'Simply Said Blocks' for the sentiment. 

The numbers I think may be a tonic set...cut in glitter paper. 

A few dots of glitter to finish off .

Finally got my hair cut yesterday (after over 4 months) as hairdressers here re-opened their doors , so thankfully at last the old long haired grey woman that was stalking me has disapeared..lol 

I'll try not to be so long away next time, so till then, many thanks for popping by and take care of yourselves.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Happy Easter

 Hello blogging friends! I hope this finds you all safe and well.

The lovely sunshine that the UK has been experiencing these past few days has really brought 'spring' on in the garden. It has never the less disappeared today to be replaced by a mist like rain and blanket of cloud, and a bit cooler. I do believe snow is forecast for the weekend too!

 My favourite colours at this time of year are yellow and purple and with that in mind I found two digi images (Uniko I think|) that I had coloured with copic pens a while back and so I made them into Easter cards.

The cards are from my stash which I ran through an old embossing folder for a bit of added interest. Good to be using up some discoveries from the past...speaking of which, I found my wobbler springs the other day! Remember? ....those I needed for the Christmas tree a bit back? 

My mojo is still very lacking (it obviously can't get back from its holiday) but these did spur me on a bit and I have done a bit more creating which I will share later. 

I wish you all a good Easter break and 'Thank You' for popping by and sticking with me. 

Don't eat too much chocolate!

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Mothers Day

 Hello friends. 

I hope this finds you all safe and well and those mums celebrating Mothers Day in the UK are being pampered.

Here is the card that I made for my mum.......

I used pearlescent card and it thus was pretty difficult to photograph.

The rose is once again an edger die from Crafters Companion. Not quite as soul destroying to use as the balloon die was, but I have to say having used both of these dies now I wish they had included another outer edge strip die for them because if you want it to float you have to fussy cut after backing.

So on this occasion I backed the pale pink with a white pearlescent card.The rose had to be cut again in green and a slightly deeper pink for the paper piecing.

The little butterflies are an old Martha Stewart punch (remember them?) which comes with stamps to stamp them that are stored in the punch.I wonder how many of you are now looking for that punch?..lol 

The rest speaks for itself.

Thank you for stopping by and visiting me and if you have taken the time to leave a comment thank you for that too. Your comments keep me going and make me think that blogging is worth continuing with. I have made some lovely friends through blogland and I am so grateful for every one of you.

So enjoy the rest of your weekend, have a good week and take care.

Crafty hugs

Carole xx

Balloons

 Hi Everyone.....yes it is me! I am sorry I have been such a bad blogger this year...in fact this is my first post of 2021!  time seems to be whizzing past and no doubt this will be another year that is gone in the blink of an eye.

Two cards, both pretty much the same, just a subtle difference. Both cards made with a Crafters Companion Edgeable Balloon Die which I have to say I was a bit disappointed in...more on that later.

1) I cut the die on the edge of my card and then I cut several of the die again from bits in different colours to obtain the balloons.

2) I backed the front of the card inside with another piece of white card , paper pieced the colured balloons in place and then cut round the balloon edge .

3) A strip of turquoise card is on the inside back page edge which shows when the card is closed (hope you follow that).

4)The background on the front was stamped with a sprinkles stamp (sorry can't remember where from) using several little inkpads and the Happy Birthday (again sorry don't know origin) was cut twice..once in the turqouise (used the same as the inside strip) and one in the red and layered to give a drop shadow.

Still with me?....good, second card.............

I chose Bazzill Bling this time ......remember that?....for the balloons and backed the inside of the front with black and left it uncut so to speak.

The background on this one is a Uniko Party Confetti background again multi coloured with little pads and stamped.

The reason I am unhappy with this die?

 When cut, the balloons are empty until you fill them, yes you can leave them just cut but they are hollow so to speak. Then you need something behind for the balloon piece (in whatever colour you have chosen) to adhere to when you paper piece it in. .........and then to have to start fussy cutting the edge! Also I only see this as a vertical die and not something you would use across the top edge or fold of a card.

If you have any experience with this die, or any ideas I would value your comments.

OK I've rambled enough. Taking the second card to Uniko's 9th Birthday Party.....I need a drink after all that..lol!

Hopefully see you again soon.

Till then , continue to stay safe and keep well.

Love Carole xx