December Scrapbook Layout No.7

Hello Everyone,

Another day nearer Christmas and another page for the record. 

This one has a photo of our beach taken in one of the few dry days we had in December 2019. The kind of day that, after days of being stuck indoors, makes a walk along the promenade so refreshing. 

Materials:

- Plain white cardstock, Mind The Scrap.

- 'Starry Night' stencil, The Dusty Attic.

- Tim Holtz distress ink, 'Iced Spruce'.

- Patterned paper pad, The Works Make & Create Contemporary Christmas 'Happy Holidays' collection; 'Reach for the Stars' from the Bella BLVD To The Moon collection; scraps of papers left over from previous pages. 

- Cutfile from Peartree Cutfile Designs.

- Snowman fussy cut from a other leftover. 

- The number 7 stamped from an old woodmounted set, origin unknown.

- Shapes: stars die-cut from silver card; circles punched from paper from the same pad as used to make banners. 

- Dies from Docraft's 'Stars' nesting die set.

This layout owes a lot to yet another of Lisa Sikorski's sketches. I think I was lucky to find papers that so matched the photo. It made putting the page together a pleasure. 

Hopefully I'll be back soon with yet another page in this winter album series of posts. 

Take care and stay cosy. 

Bye for now,

Elizabeth

January Rudolph Day Cards

Morning Everyone,

If you've read my previous post you'll know why I'm so late posting these cards for January's Rudolph Day challenge over at Scrappy Mo's Rudolph Days Challenge. I know we are only allowed to submit one for Mo's challenge so it will be the first one but I'm adding two other cards to this post because I like them.

This first one was made using some pretty dies from The Works and stamps from the Winter Woodland stamp set that came with a Craft Beautiful magazine.

The toppers on these two cards are upcycled from cards received two Christmases ago - if I like something I keep it!

For this one I've used a selection of papers from the 6x6 paper Memory Box collection Spiceberry layered on some much treasured light green card - Di from Pixie's Crafty Workshop sent me many moons ago and believe me it's used sparingly.

This last one has such a fun topper - love Rudolph's nose. I think the background paper is from a very old Docrafts Papermania pack and the red card used for layering is from the scrap box mountain.

That's it for this month. The EM is recuperating nicely so all being well, I'll be posting earlier for the February challenge - maybe even on the 25th!

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 442

Good Morning Everyone,

Wednesday again and I couldn't have picked a better day to snoop around other folk's desks, courtesy of Head Desker, Julia, and WOYWW. Why? That is, apart from the vicarious pleasure of seeing what other deskers are up to today. Well, it's a dreich day here in my little patch of Paradise. The hills are only just discernible through the mist and even the little birds have tucked themselves away somewhere out of the rain. So here's what's on my desk this morning.

Fabric. A couple of packs of fat quarters and a Christmas themed panel. All the cut pieces are for a project I'm trying out for the first time. If it is a successful make I plan to do a few more to gift to the ladies who attend the Cake and Craft club with me - we'll see. As it only takes scraps to make I didn't really need the fat quarters but they're just too pretty to put away just yet. I've not yet decided what I'll do with the Christmas panel but inspiration might come while I'm busy doing something else - while I'm snooping around your desk perhaps. As you can see I'm in full on Christmas preparation mode, just as Julia suggested in her post today.

Here's a card, the beginnings of which could be seen on a previous WOYWW post, finished at last.

This is such a simple and easy design. Ideal for making multiples of so I may make a few more. The stamp used is from the Winter Wonderland set mentioned in last week's post and the square dies, which have a very nice 'stitched' detail around the edge, are from a set from The Works.

And finally for this week ...

... the scarf is fringed and finished. Still haven't decided who is going to be the recipient but I'll surely make up my mind before the big day! I bought the yarn, Woolcraft Gateau, at the hobby craft show in Glasgow last month but I see that it can be purchased, in a variety of colour mixes, online at The Little Wool Shop - and for less than I paid too. The scarf took only one cake.

Ah, the sparrows and starlings have decided, despite the unremitting drizzle, to come out and sit on the telephone wire that stretches in front of my window. And there's a couple of seagulls perched on a neighbour's chimney pot. It must be feeding time again. There's rarely a dull moment here at Casa Worthington. :)


Happy WOYWW and here's wishing you a great week ahead.

Birthday Card - Loads of Fun

Hello Everyone,

Another scheduled post for you today. I'm still in the Highlands visiting lots of Scottish Castles so not around for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday. Instead I'm sharing a card made for my little great-grandson who celebrates his second birthday this week.

I found the topper while I was sorting through some scrapbooking stickers and thought it would be just perfect for a little boy who is loads of fun to be with.

Supplies used and how I made the card:

- a pre-made white card base measuring 7" x 5" - landscape orientation
- dark brown cardstock for base layer. It's a piece recycled from a studio photo mount... similar to these pictured here: 

The photo is now in an album so it seemed a shame to waste a such a lovely source of free card.
- a piece of Kraft card I'd already embossed using the Hessian Textures Artist Collection folder (Crafter's Companion) cut to fit the brown card leaving a small margin on three sides only.
- the sticker from BoBunny, matted on to a snippet of yellow textured cardstock (Papermania). I trimmed the yellow card to just a tiny bit larger than the sticker to create the mat. 
- I found the letters already cut and ready in a bag that dates from a year or two ago - so long I don't remember cutting them. I think the die used was this one:

There's no maker's name on it - the only hint as to the font is the word 'Rome' in tiny print top left corner.
- the number two is from this big bag of fun foam numbers from Go Create Essentials (The Works). 

I think I have enough numbers to make cards for my great-grandchildren for many years to come.

Hope you are still having a wonderful week in my absence.

Sunday Snippet Make - A Minnie Mouse Card

Good Evening,

I hope you are having a happy crafty Sunday.  After quite a pleasant morning here - managed a couple of hours gardening - the heavens have now opened and it's pouring down. Not that I'm too bothered because it gave me the perfect excuse to retreat to the craft room and finish the card I'm sharing today.

Have you ever wondered how I go about designing my cards? Well, I often wonder that myself and actually it's pretty hit and miss. I don't make sketches and I certainly don't have a clear idea of where I'm going before I start. They just sort of develop - usually very slowly. In fact, a quick card is something of a rarity.  Instead I start with a person, an occasion or, as in this case, one item I want to use and then go from there. What follows is an illustrated walk-through of how I made this card.

The idea for this card has been brewing for a few days. The starting point was that I wanted to make a card for a Minnie Mouse enthusiast's birthday using a Disney adhesive topper from a set that has been in my stash for quite some time, Frankly, I'm a sucker for anything Minnie and/or polka dots and I blame Disney entirely for this obsession.

So I had the topper but there has to be more than that to a card. Once the topper was decided on a very vague idea of what I wanted to include in it began to develop. A background was essential and I wanted to make it myself but I wasn't at all sure how. It wasn't until I was watching a recording of a craft show - I 'speed watch' these to avoid the sales chatter - where the demonstrator was making the most fabulous background using alcohol inks and glossy paper. Now the background I've made is clearly not made with alcohol inks but that demo was the prompt for me to dig out my tiny set of Brushos instead.

I chose a scrap of white pearlised card - using the reverse (non-pearlised) side, a tip from Sheena Douglass - and on a craft mat spritzed it with water before shaking Brilliant Red Brusho ink dust on to it. I found a second spritzing got the spattered effect I was looking for. After putting the card aside to dry, I mopped up the ink that was left on the craft mat and put that aside too.

While they were drying I cut a sheet of black cardstock - Papermill Direct - to make the matting for the spattered background, which was then adhered to a plain white card base measureing 7"x 5" (The Works Make & Create). Next I die cut the matting and layering for the topper. Dotty paper seemed a must and I was lucky to find a snippet of red/white and a sheet a black/white polka dotted paper in my stash. It's old 6"x 6" paper - Raspberry Road Designs Summer Goodness (2012) and a Crafts-~Too Designer Paper Pack - most probably 2012 too. I used a Chinese die set for this. The packaging has minimal information on it so here's a photo of what it looks like.

And while I was searching through the dies I came across the tiny Interlocking Circles die from Decorette (CLDR 11) which gave me the idea for the embellishments. I cut it twice from leftover black cardstock and attached it to the top right and bottom left corners of the splattered card using liquid glue ... it's so fine any other adhesive wouldn't work.

To make the topper I also die-cut the scrap of card used to mop up the ink and then layered it with the red and black patterned papers before topping it with Minnie. The final touch was to add the greeting which also came with the topper set.

And that is how this card was made. I'm submitting it to the following two challenges:

Di's Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 285 and 286 - where anything goes as long as it includes snippets.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 419 - Use at least two dies

I hope you enjoyed reading this more detailed description of how I made the card. Normally, I simply itemise the steps that go into making a card, making it all seem so quick and easy, but I thought this blow by blow account would give a truer insight into the tortured thinking that goes into the whole process. I suspect that you have a much more organised approach which makes cardmaking easier, simpler and quicker. I truly am the slowest card maker in the World! I'd never be able to make a living at it, that's for sure.

It's going to be a good night tonight. Poldark is back!

I wish you all a lovely evening.

Sunday Snippets & Rudolph Day Cards

Hello Everyone,

It's Sunday so time for my weekly visit to Pixie's Snippets Playground for Week 257 of Di's snippet challenge. It's also another month end and that means another visit to ScrappyMo's Rudolph Day Challenge - the last of the year! Mo has had  a run of bad luck recently, injuring both her hands, so here's wishing her a complete and speedy recovery because, as she says, she needs to be healed for the Christmas baking season.

Here's my cards for both these challenges. 

I have managed to include two stamped sentiments from my bits and bobs box, an old but pretty sheet of patterned paper, more than a few snippets, and the cutest little deer embellishments. 

The little felt reindeer embellishments, a great Make & Create find at The Works, were the inspiration for these cards. 

How they were made:

• Flicking through the basket of Christmas themed 8"x 8" & 6"x 6" paper packs I found the perfect patterned paper, featuring cute little deer in just the right colours, from Trimcraft's 'The Night Before Christmas' 8x8 pack. 
• The two 4¼" x 5¾"card bases were made from dark brown cardstock and then covered with the pattern paper trimmed to size, leaving a narrow margin on all four sides.
• A rummage through the bits and bobs box unearthed the sentiments made from two snippets of white card stamped with the greeting - IndigoBlu's 'I Wish You a Merry Christmas' stamped with Stazon ink, 'Jet Black' - just crying out to be used this year! 
• Another rummage, through the snippet mountain this time, produced scraps of gold, red and brown cardstock which were trimmed for matting and layering the topper which was then glued to the card base.
• The embellishments were made by die-cutting tiny leftover snippets of gold and red card using Spellbinders Sapphire Basic Set A 'Medallion' and 'Circle' dies. They were layered together with the little deer and then adhered to the bottom right corner of the card base. 
• The final touch was the three red gems top left of the topper. 

As well as submitting the cards to Pixie's Snippets Playground and ScrappyMo's Rudolph Day Challenge I'd like to submit them to the following challenges.

CHNC Challenge #309 -  use a sentiment

CHNC Challenge Extra -  for November 2016

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -  November 2016 

A Snowflakes Promise #33 - anything goes

The dreaded common cold has hit Casa Worthington ... the EM has been suffering since Thursday and now I'm starting with it. Not to worry, I've taken some cold & flu tablets - that should ward it off! I live in hope :)

Take care and have a great week.