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.

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!

Christmas Joy ....

.... Hi! It's snowing again! It's fun and pretty the first time, but I'm fed up already and want it to stop. Anyway, I managed to make a card for this week's Paper Players - PP#374 - they have super colours and perfect for this card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Christmas Cheer Turnabout
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Melon Mambo, Lemon Lime Twist, Powder Pink; Gina K - Grass Green, Onyx Black
Dies: Concord & 9th - Joy
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Melon Mambo; Nuvo Aqua Shimmer - Clera

There are four colours in this week's Paper Players challenge and they work perfectly with this fun Turnabout stamp from Concord & 9th. Here's a link to Jennifer McGuire's blog showing how to use the stamp. Once stamped, I lightly sponged the edge of the panel and adhered it to the card base. I die cut the word 'joy' from bold pink card and adhered it flat to the card. I used my clear Aqua Shimmer brush to add lots of festive sparkle to the die cut word. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of pink card and on the white panel added a Christmas greeting, and one impression of the turnabout stamp. I'm also submitting this card to Cupcake Inspirations Challenge - CIC#435 where they want to see Holiday cards.

I'm going to make a few more cards using this stamps - it's so easy to change up simply by changing the colours!! See you soon.