Woolly Jumper

I'm still trying to make at least one Christmas card a week. This one uses the sketch from Christmas Challenges {with sketches}, and their challenge this week has the proviso that we use some kraft. I have used kraft for the base card. The pattern paper is from a cover-less pad so I can't attribute it. I used the sewing machine to make the zigzag stitch holes, but sewed it by hand. The cream strips were recycled from a birthday card and embossed in the bug. The sentiment is a peel-off, and the image is an old favourite from Whippersnapper, coloured with pencils.

I would like to enter this for:

Christmas Challenges (with sketches) #19 - use sketch and kraft

Crimbo Crackers #8 - no people or animals

One Stop Craft Challenge #167 - use stitching

Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Christmas Inspirations #40 - Anything Goes

Blog Candy

Visiting some of the people playing along with the 365+1 photo challenge, I came across Hazel, and she just happens to have a card challenge blog as well! Why not pop over and have a peep? I might just have time to make a card in the morning and post it before the deadline tomorrow night.

I'm not too sure how many people will be reading this as I haven't been posting this past year and I expect my readers will have passed on to

pastures new...new blogging pastures that is, not the fields of heaven!

Edit: a card left over from this year's batch...Pink Petticoat papers and Edwin coloured to match using Derwent watercolour pencils. I often cut of his wings, but as it was Christmas I left them and added some sparkle

A Little Bit Over the Top...

...but what the commissioner wanted... fancy Christmas cards to make up for the fact that they are getting M&S hampers rather than individual presents....She told me exactly what she wanted to say, and where, so the labels have computer generated messages in a dark colour picked from the backing papers. It doesn't show so well in the photo, but the ribbons are brown, coffee and cream on this one, and there is a discrete amount of glitter dabbed onto the backgrounds.



The second card has the same papers in a different colour-way, and a different type of ribbon. The papers are from Artylicious. These are both Easel cards, in case you are thinking that they look a little strange; the camera angle doesn't make it obvious. As usual, I can't do a job without making a mistake; I got the gold labels mixed up and the yellowy gold ended up on the red card instead of the gold card. As you can see, it doesn't match the peel-off colour like the other one would have done...

Just in case...

....you are wondering why I haven't posted much this week, it is because I have had my head down batch making Christmas cards. Those for the Craft Club girls were handed out at our lunch on Thursday, before I thought to scan one, but were assorted colours of Tracey (Fredshesaid)'s freebie medallion liberally adorned with coloured glitter glue.

The Bowling Club dinner saw me distributing variations on a theme of Joanna Sheen's Elf Sleigh silhouette. Some on a restrained dark green card, some on aqua, some on cream and some, like this one, on a vivid yellow that matched, more or less, the yellow of the halo. The backing paper is the one from the JS disk, but the greeting was made by C&P-ing a rectangle of the picture, deleting the sky and substituting the yellow picked up from the halo. If I was being pernickity, I would have tweaked the yellow to match the yellow of the card, but as these will be in the bin in a fortnight I didn't waste my time. The toppers come on a mixed size sheet, so the larger ones didn't have the backing paper, but had stamped swirls instead.



I have posted an wide assortment of hand made cards to the CardScraps girls, and friends and family abroad; as usual, not scanning in my haste to get them on their way. There now only remains Spanish mainland cards to make and post, and I have until Tuesday to rustle up a batch for the Winter Club.....next year I think I shall just design something simple in Photoshop and print, fold and stuff.....but then I say that every year, and because I know I won't blog tomorrow, I'm writing this on Sunday and scheduling it.

Christmas Cards...

...are arriving, but so are birthday cards and anniversary cards as the Teabag family like to get these things dealt with in one fell swoop, and they all fall in the one week...

People in the know make things easy by writing Birthday , Anniversary or Christmas on the back of the envelope, and these are some of those marked Christmas. Those unmarked can wait until Wednesday, my birthday, so I shall have a satisfying pile to open. These are all from CardScraps friends, who know the ropes!


This is from Carol; the red gems haven't scanned as well as I would have liked, but it is an elegant card. This next one is from Marion. She loves her Cuttlebug, and is an absolute perfectionist when it comes to finishing her cards. I wish I hadn't got it slightly skewiff in the scanner, but I have never claimed to be perfect...

Another simple and elegant card. This one is from Jane.

The next card is a beauty. Bron wanted to try something other than traditional Christmas colours, and she thought I would like them. Well she is perfectly correct; I am all for breaking the bounds...that doesn't stop me being jealous of her stamps, though!

Funky Fairy Challenge #42

Funky Fairy's Papercraft have opened a Forum for their Challenges. This is my card for their Sketch Challenge #42. Papers used are Funky Fairy's Blue Christmas download. Dove stamp is by Uptown Rubber Stamps, coloured with two shades of blue felt tip and a waterbrush. Swirl is Inkakdinkadoo, and the sentiment is from an unbranded box of Christmas stamps.

Cute Card Thursday Challenge #37

The challenge this week is to use snow or snowflakes. Papers are Funky Fairy's Blue Xmas. The frames were either too big or too small for the card, so I used the inside of one as a pattern and drew the shape with felt tip. I didn't have a blue closer to the background colour, but IRL it is a good match for the base card. The punched snowflakes have pale blue gems. Tilda looks very pale and cold, but that is the fault of the scanner; I can't figure out how to correct this. I should really have a play with the settings...

Cute Card Thursday Challenge #36

This week's Challenge is to use green and red in a card. I still had the green and red Shabby Princess paper out, so I used that to make this card. The trees are part of the same free download. I don't know if it is still available, because it was from Christmas 2006! At this stage there was not a lot of cute about it, so I drew, painted and cut out the tiny elves; I hope they are cute enough for you...

Sketch Saturday #25 & DCM

The challenge at Sketch Saturday this week is to make a Christmas card following this sketch. I have pricked holes down the sides of the card to add a little interest. The holly paper is from an Artylicious CD, the vertical vine is recycled from a card, and I drew the little robin and coloured it with oil pastels and a stencil brush.
Daring Card Makers Challenge is to feature a bird, so this little robin qualifies, I think...

Sketch Saturday challenge #24

I can't stop coughing, and I feel like crap, but I am trying to keep myself occupied so I don't sleep all day. I borrowed a couple of the stamps from the Craft Club box, thinking I would make a couple of cards, but my stamping skills are pretty amateur, and I usually end up with missed bits that have to be filled in with pencil, or messy splodges where my inky fingers have hit the paper before the stamp. So it was with the post box image; there was a large black smudge in the top right corner....then I came across Sketch Saturday...the stamp is Anita's, coloured with watercolour pencils, the papers are scraps of Pink Petticoat, and the snowflake is made of wood and came from Casa.

Better late than never...

I suppose if I was really fussed about preparing for Christmas, I wouldn't choose to go on holiday at a time when more organised souls were decorating, shopping and wrapping. Well now that I'm back, I have made a small effort; I have trimmed a tiny tree and filled a large glass bowl on the coffee table with tinsel, berries, leaves and rather dusty candle.....I must get some new specs in the New Year. Himself has gone to town as usual downstairs in the apartment where we shall be serving Christmas dinner to nine. He made a special request for turkey this year, so a fresh bird is sitting in the fridge. A goodly sized piece of salmon fillet is marinating in salt, sugar, pepper and dill, the Saturday market yielded carrots, turnips, parsnips, squash, sprouts and fresh and dried chestnuts. The fresh chestnuts are for afternoon snacks, roasted on the cast iron Melior grill. The dried ones are to soak overnight and cook with the sprouts. Blanching and peeling chestnuts on Christmas morning is not my idea of fun, and anyway, I wouldn't be able to resist eating most of them. I was planning on making the stuffing today, but it is heaving it down outside and I don't fancy getting wet going to pick sage. Hopefully the sun will shine tomorrow, and the heat will bring out all the essential oils, and it will taste that little bit better. Tomorrow I might look for sausages to roll in bacon, or I might not. I might buy some lard and some belly and leg pork and make himself a large raised pork pie, but on the other hand I might leave that until Boxing Day; one of the joys of living here is that Christmas Day and New Years Day are Fiesta Days, but on all the days in between, life goes on as normal!

My poinsettias are not strictly Christmas decorations, but are presents for my recent birthday. They are a jolly sight, grouped together by the kitchen door. I particularly like this cream painted variety.

This is supposed to be my crafting Blog, and I have been busy making things for presents, but I seem to have forgotten to take pictures before wrapping them up. I did knit two pairs of mittens while off on my jollydays, but they were snapped up by family members who just happened to be in the vicinity, and didn't listen to the grey-haired wise old crone when she said "Bring warm clothing. It snows in the Balearics in December..."