Homeward bound ....

... By the time this post goes live, we'll be on the plane on our way back to Michigan. I can't quite get over how fast our visits home go by! We've had a super time seeing my in-laws, my mum, aunt and uncle, and our son Ben. It was really great spending time with them all. It'll be nice to be back in our house and sleep in our bed, but it'll be a while before we get to see everyone again.

One thing I am looking forward to is getting back into my craft room - my family knows me well and I got lots of lovely crafting goodies to play with.

That's all for now. Normal service resumes next week! See you soon.

For Kat .....

.... Hello again! We had a good trip from Leicester to Fleet, and today we get to spend time with my Mum, Aunt and Uncle. We had a lovely Indian dinner last night and a very restful evening. And we are almost at the end of our visit home - time always flies by when we're here. Today, I'm sharing the card that I made for Kat for Christmas:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Magnolia Wreath; Hero Arts - Happy Holly Days
Inks: Gina K - Applemint, Powder Blue, Innocent Pink, Dusty Rose, Black Onyx; Versamark; Delicata - Silvery Shimmer
Dies: Concord & 9th - Magnolia Wreath
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Gina K Card - Applemint, Powder Blue, Innocent Pink, Dusty Rose; Silver Embossing Powder; Shimmer Spritz - Frost

This card was entirely inspired by the colours and pretty wreath photo at the current Your Next Stamps challenge - YNS#79. I had fun making the wreath. I stamped the pale green leaves, heat set the ink and then stamped next layer and embossed with silver powder. I cut out the wreath with the matching die. I stamped the layering leaves in pale blue and silver, cut them out and adhered them to the wreath. I die cut the little flowers, berries and leaves from coloured card and added them to the wreath. Before attaching the wreath to the card, I stamped some pale green fir branches directly on the white card and added a simple greeting in black. After attaching the wreath I spritzed the card with frost shimmer spray. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of pale green card and added a greeting on the white panel along with some holly and berries.

Well, that's Christmas over again for another year. We have one more day here in the UK and then we're heading home. It is not always the easiest time of year, but I do hope you have all had a good time. See you again soon.

For Ben .....

.... Hi! Well that's Christmas over for another year! Our holiday started with our flight from Detroit being delayed by two hours, but the pilot made up some time and we landed only an hour late. The trip on the underground into London was good - it was early on Sunday morning and the tube wasn't too busy. We met up with Ben - so pleased to see him at last. Then we got on the train to Leicester to see the rest of the family. The train was a bit delayed, but not too bad. The weather has been quite mild so far - I've seen some of the photos from Michigan and they've had a really white Christmas, not here in the UK though. We're halfway through our Christmas holiday and today we're heading to Fleet, Hampshire to visit my Mum, Aunt and Uncle. More travelling, but so worth it to see family. Today, I'm sharing the card that I made for Ben. I always miss him so much, and it's been super to be able to see him and catch up with all his news. Here's the card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Christmas Cheer Turnabout, Joyful Noel
Inks: Distress Oxides - Cracked Pistachio, Twisted Citron, Lucky Clover, Peacock Feathers; Gina K - Black Onyx
Dies: Concord & 9th - Joyful Noel
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake, Lemon Lime Twist; White Signo Gel Pen; Copics; Shimmer Spritz - Frost; Nuvo Glitter Drops - Emerald City, Ruby Slippers, Dazzling Blue; Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Brush - Clear; Copics

I used the last of the panels that I made with the Christmas Cheer turnabout stamps. After stamping the outline images, I added some white highlight with a gel pen and also used some of the small solid images to add more colour. I spritzed the whole panel with frost shimmer spray and adhered it to a white card base. I die cut the word 'joy' from bright lime card and covered the J and Y with Nuvo shimmer and added some glitter drops to the wreath O. On the inside I cut a mat layer of kraft card and on the white panel I stamped a Christmas light wreath which I coloured with Copics and added a simple greeting.

I'm submitting this one to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with a Die Challenge - HLSAG#12, and also to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#17 where it's anything goes. That's all for today. Do come back tomorrow to see the card I made for Kat. Bye for now.

For Jonathan ....

... Hi! I'm sharing the card I made for Jonathan today. It's a really clean, simple and fun card:

Stamps: Stamplorations - Yuletide Deer
Inks: Versamark; Gina K - Black Onyx; Delicata - Silver Shimmer
Dies: Memory Box - Cross Stitched Frame Borders #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Washi Tape; SU Card - Emerald Envy; Silver Embossing Powder; Copics; Nuvo Shimmer Brush

I really like this stamp set - the different deer images are just lovely. I think the faceted effect on this one goes really well with the chevron design on the washi tape, and in fact, I used the colours on the tape to colour the image. I die cut the panel with a stitch edge die and added a touch of shading around the coloured image. I also added some sparkle to the stag head. I adhered the washi tape to the card and used dimensional pads to attach the die cut panel. I finished the front with a simple greeting for Jonathan. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of green card and stamped another Christmas message and a silver stag head on the white panel.

I'm submitting this card to the following challenges:

• Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#318
• Inkspirational - INK#150 where the cue word is GIFT - and Jonathan is my gift!!
• Creative with Stamps - CWS#21 where they want Reindeer

That's all for today - see you again soon.

Happy Holidays ....

.... Hello! We're in the UK celebrating Christmas with our family. It's so nice to see everyone. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has visited my blog this year and left such lovely comments - I really do appreciate each and everyone.

I took the photo below just after the really heavy snow we had on 11th December - I love the way the snow has piled up on the Christmas ornaments. It didn't look like that when we left to go to the UK!!!

See you soon - I have a some Christmas cards to share in the next few days - I couldn't share them earlier as they are all for my family!! Bye for now!

Christmas Joy 2 .....

.... Hi! It's turned a bit mild here. Most of the snow has melted away and it was quite nice when I was out earlier! I've not been in my craft room much this week - busy with holiday preparations. The cards I'm sharing here today were actually made last week and based on the one I made for The Paper Players challenge. Here they are:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Christmas Cheer Turnabout; Stampin' Up! - It's a Celebration
Inks: Gina K - Wild Wisteria, Blue Lagoon, Blue Raspberry, Wild Lilac
Dies: Concord & 9th - Joy
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Smoky Slate; Shimmer Spritz - Frost

I stamped several card panels when I had my Christmas Cheer turnabout stamp in my MISTI. For this panel, I used pale grey card and cool coloured inks, and I added lots of shimmer with the Frost Shimmer Spritz. I die cut the word 'JOY' from the stamped panel. I used the panel with the negative space on a plain white card and added the die cut word to a white card onto which I stamped some firework bursts. They were both quick and very easy to make. I left the inside plain for my own message.

I'm submitting the first card - with the die cut word Joy to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAG#12 challenge, and the second card with the negative space to Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - HLSXMAS#12.

Kat has now finished school for a couple of weeks and Jonathan is on his Christmas break too. We are all very much looking forward to going home to the UK to see our family. So excited!! That's all for now. Do drop by soon.

Making Spirits Bright ....

... Morning! I hope you've all had a good weekend. We've had a good one - stayed in for most of the time as it's been really cold, but at least no fresh snow!! I was in my craft room finishing off some much needed Christmas cards. I got this idea from the wonderfully talented Jennifer McGuire - thank you!! I made a card last week for another challenge using the Concord & 9th Christmas Cheer turnabout stamp and I had such fun with it, that I made some more:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Christmas Cheer Turnabout; Altenew - Majestic Mistletoe
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx; Distress Oxide - Salty Ocean, Candied Apple, Lucky Clover, Wilted Violet
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; Shimer Spritz - Frost; Signo White Pen

I used distress oxide inks to stamp the image, using lovely bright colours and lightly spritzed with a shimmer spray. I added a touch of white pen to highlight some areas. I cut the panel into two and adhered on part to the top of a white card, and the other part to the bottom. I finished each card by adding a greeting in black. I have left the inside of these cards blank for my own messages. I'm submitting the cards to a few challenges - Happy Little Stamper Christmas challenge - HLSXMAS#12, City Crafter's Challenge Blog - CCCB#392, and to CAS on Friday - CASOF#123.

It's Kat's last week at school - she's so looking forward to her Christmas break. I've got a busy week to get us all ready for our trip back to the UK. It'll be so nice to see the family. That's all for now! Bye!

Uniko - December Release, DT Blog Hop & Giveaway ...

... Hello! I do hope you've enjoyed my introductions. Today Uniko releases five new stamps sets and some fun stencils too! This is going to be a long post, so grab a coffee, put your feet up and enjoy!

All the snow that has been falling around here gave me the inspiration for this card:

Stamps: Uniko - Big & Bold Hugs, Scattered Polka Dots Lg Bg, Rustic Christmas, Simply Said Christmas
Inks: Versamark; Gina K - Black Onyx; Delicata - Silvery Shimmer
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Smoky Slate; Vellum; Kaleidoscope & Silver Embossing Powders

I stamped the large polka dot background directly onto the card base in Versamark and heat embossed with Kaleidoscope powder for a lovely iridescent sparkle - snow!!! I stamped the tree on white card, embossed it in silver and then carefully cut it out and adhered it to the card. The large 'hugs' sentiment was stamped on vellum, heat embossed in silver and carefully cut out. I used dimensional pads to attach it to the card. I finished the front with the little ampersand in black - the sentiment continues inside the card. I layered the white panel on pale grey card and finished the sentiment with 'Christmas Wishes' and added some sparkly silver snowflakes. I'm submitting this card to CASology - CAS#279, and also to CAS-ual Fridays Challenge - CFC#189 where they want to see a White Christmas.

Next up a soft, delicate spring card:

Stamps: Uniko - Spring Botanicals Snowdrop
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx; Distress - Shabby Shutters, Tumbled Glass
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Uniko Stencil - Doodle Flower; Nuvo Aqua Shimmer - Clear

This is a very simple one-layer card. I stamped the snowdrop onto the front of the card and then masked it off. I taped the stencil to the front of the card and then lightly sponged on pale green and pale blue inks. I removed the mask, stamped the sentiment and added a touch of sparkle to the snowdrop flowers. On the inside I stamped one of the greetings from this set. I'm submitting this card to Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#272 where they want to see us make our mark.

Next I have two cards made using a single stamped panel - I got the idea from Jennifer McGuire:

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals Rose, Happy Succulents,
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx, Kraft; Distress Oxide - Wild Honey; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Die-namics - A2 Stitched Rectangles Stax Set2 #9
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; Shimmer Spritz - Frost; Vellum; Clear Embossing Powder

I cut a panel of kraft card 5½" x 4¼" and stamped the small solid rose randomly over the card. I then lightly spritzed the panel with a frost shimmer spray and dried it. I used a stitch edge die to cut out a corner of the panel. I adhered the bottom part of the panel to a white card base. I used the stitch edge die to cut a white rectangle and made the top part of the card on the left. Before adhering it to the card, I stamped the words 'mother's day' in the bottom corner. I stamped the outline rose on white card, cut it out and attached it to the panel. I stamped the word 'happy' on vellum, cut it out and adhered it flat to the card. I used craft foam behind the white die cut panel to give some dimension. On the inside I cut a mat layer of kraft card, and on the white panel I stamped a greeting and little rose bud.

I made the card on the right with the top portion of the cut out panel which I attached flat to a white card base. I finished the front by adding a simple greeting. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of kraft card and added a greeting to the white panel.

My last card is a thank you card - always needed in my stash:

Stamps: Uniko - So Much (Free with qualifying orders while stocks last)
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx, Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Die-namics - Inside & Outside Stitched Square Stax #6
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU DP - Crumb Cake; Copics; Clear Embossing Powder

I used the colours from Colour Throwdown - CTD#473 and the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#317. I die cut the square and stamped the floral image, coloured it with Copics, restamped with Versafine and then heat embossed with clear powder. I cut a thin strip of kraft design paper and adhered it to the card front. Next I added the stamped panel and finished with a bold thank you. I've not done the inside of this card yet.

As usual, we have our Design Team Blog Hop and a chance for you to win the ENTIRE release - simply comment along as you visit our blogs. Deadline for comments is midnight GMT Saturday 23rd December.

Bev
Carol

Deborah - that's me
Izzy

Jane

Lindsey

Rahmat

Sarah

And now, before I go, here's a chance for you to see all the new stamps and stencils:

Spring Botanicals Snowdrop

Big & Bold Hugs

Large Background Scattered Polka Dots

Large Background Scattered Polka Hearts

Pure Florals Rose 

Stencil - Broken Lines

Stencil - Doodle Flower

Stencil - Lattice

Thanks so much for sticking with me - it's a long post. That's all for now.