Happy Christmas To Everyone

I just want to wish everyone in Blogland a very Happy Christmas and Healthy  & Prosperous New Year!  I shall be away at my Mum's (weather and train service permitting - if I'd been going today, I wouldn't have, if you see what I mean, lol, as they stopped the trains on part of my route!) from tomorrow for a few days and out of touch with my computer - gulp! I am having withdrawal symptons already!

I hope you all stay safe with your loved ones and if you have to get anywhere for the holidays, get there in good time and without incident!

This is one of the Christmas cards I made this year, Tim's reindeer is stamped on pearl metal and lightly sponged to match the tag on the card.

(Edit) Sorry, I should have also said, a huge thank you to all the comments and messages left since I started my blog.  It really does mean a lot.

Lots of love, see you all soon. xxx

Stay Safe!

Well, I hope you are all safe and well and not stuck in some awful traffic jam!  I had a bad day yesterday - slipped on the ice on my way TO work - cut lip where I tried to bounce off the pavement!!  and a big bruise is developing nicely on one thigh!!  And yes, I WAS wearing sensible boots!

Then the journey home was bad - it started to snow (having rained earlier) around 4 so they said we could leave work early -around 4.30 - I got a bus almost straight away and then it crawled through horrendous traffic (it had at leasted stopped snowing) for 2 and a half hours (a 20 minute journey, mind you....) back to Sutton.  If I hadn't fallen in the morning, I'd have got off and walked, but I have to admit, I was scared!!

I was going to get a taxi back from the train station home so I didn't fall again - of course everyone else had the same idea, so I braved it and walked - lots of slushy wet snow but luckily enough grip this time, made it home at 7.40... (I did have to do some grocery shopping on the way so I could eat!!)
The journey back to work this morning - in my wellies this time - was 15 minutes on the bus - think everyone is staying inside!

So I hope you are all safe and well and not having too much trouble with your journeys here there and everywhere!  Take care, all.

Play Date Cafe Challenge 09

The latest  Play Date Cafe Challenge is Blue, Gold and Cream.  I have coloured a piece of Maya Road chipboard with Claudine Hellmuth paint in Traditional Tan which is really a pale cream, stamped Tim Holtz "Rock Star" with a gold dabber and the "Life" quote is Wendy Vecchi. The flowers are prima, the leaves are Wendy Vecchi on grungepaper.  I have added picket fence distress stickles to the flower and rock candy distress stickles to the centre of the heart and its banner, and added some blue fibres to finish.

I Believe

Hel's Sunday Stamper challenge for this and next week - is "Believe" - to use the word believe and stamping, in a project.  I had a Santa background prepared but it was very similar to Hel's own entry, so have done another one with scattered straw and dusty concord distress, then used "wine and roses" glimmer mist which I toned down with "marshmallow".  I stamped "believe" from the Tim Holtz Mini Holidays set (where Santa comes from too) on a piece of metal I had left over from my Day 10 tag and decorated it with a couple of Ten Second Studio wheels. The "Christmas Carols" from the same Tim stamp set was stamped on a piece of music background paper and spritzed with various perfect pearl/reinker mixes.

Finally, because Santa wasn't looking very Christmassy, I added some fired brick distress ink round his edges, and a green gel pen on his holly leaves on his hat, which I've covered in rock candy distress stickles., as I don't have a green distress stickles.

There is some great blog candy to one lucky entrant to this challenge - so go take a look!

2nd post of the day - Play Date Cafe Challenge

When I saw this week's colours on the Play Date Cafe Challenge, I didn't think I could do it - they are not colours I would normally put together.  However I was sitting looking at the piles of stash all over my living room floor and my eye alighted on this handbag shape (Craftwork Cards) and my imagination started to hum... slowly!! In fact apart from the ribbons (they're from Paperartsy), everything is Craftwork Cards.

There won't be any more - Liverpool are playing and on TV!

Don't Stop - Tagging

To borrow a song title from Fleetwood Mac (one of my fave bands) - Don't Stop!!  Following Hel's Sunday Stampers Challenge "Christmas" I decided also to have another go at one of Tim's 12 Day Tags - this one is Day 7 which I was least happy with first time round.

This time I was able to use the Santa from my Mini Holidays plate that I ordered from The Stamp Attic (psst, there is a special offer on today)  when I saw Day 7 go up! (well, I have to buy myself a present don't I!!) and also the small snowflakes on it.  Because I used the snowflakes with the Snow Cap dabber (used more paint this time, so although it looked a mess when I stamped them, when it was dry and finished, it works!!) I didn't overstamp the tag with black snowflakes but used the small pine branch from the same set of stamps (see how useful it is!!)  in Pine Needles and added some Picket Fence distress stickles - I thought it may look like the branches were frosty.

I also had a piece of the music stamped on vellum left from Day 8 that I didn't use - it looked too dark - so I rolled this up to make a scroll to add to continue the music theme on the tag, I tied it with some glittery fibre and stuck it on with glossy accents (none on my fingers this time!)

As I have used all sorts of ink here, I am also putting this in the Alphabet Challenge - I is for Ink challenge this week.

Day 12 - Grunge Roses

Well, I am just waiting for the roses to dry (I am so messy!) I have NO idea how I am going to post them - I am sure they won't go in the scanner....

Ok, well the red rose kept falling apart and I had to cover the scanner because the lid woudn't shut properly, but here it is!  And the red rose has fallen apart again as I took it off the scanner. hey ho, get the glossy accents out again, good job my fingers are still filthy!

I did do the Christmas shopping though - in just under 2 hours. (I didn't have that much to get, to be honest, but I had NO ideas before I went out, what I was getting for whom....) Now just need to get them wrapped so the ones that need to, can go in the post... at least I posted my cards this morning; so am feeling quite smug at the moment!