Quilled Poinsettias

 Hi,

I hope you are all well? & if not I'm sending you hugs x

I've been trying out different craft classes, some with success, others not so - why is it the ones you spend the most on, turn out to be a disaster (well in my opinion) !!

Today is the start of my last Challenge of the year, as a design team member & like yourselves I have a lovely collection of Christmas cards - please pop over to the lovely Maureen's blog Rudolph Days Challenge & take part, where there is always a lovely prize too.

Quilled Poinsettia, made at a craft class & decorated with gems from my stash

Papers : Basic Grey - 'Jovial'

Sentiments : Lili Of The Valley - 'Christmas Tags'

            

 

Quilled Poinsettia made at a craft class, pearls from my stash

Paper: American Crafts - 'The Goods'

Poinsettia Edging : Sweet Dixie - 'Festive Floral Frames'

Sentiment: Penny Black - 'Good Friends / 3728J'

Thanks for looking & for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, luv Sam x

Christmas Tree

 Hi,

I hope you are all well ? 

We are all ok, Harrison got his GCSE results yesterday & he did well enough to get into College to do Maths, Chemistry & History A Level, which is good news.

Today is the first day of the lovely Maureen's fabby Rudolph Days Challenge and you only have till 31st August to upload your wonderful Christmas makes and I look forward to viewing them.

Sentiment : 'Christmas Tree Stamp & Die Set' - Hampton Art

I embossed the sentiment with black embossing powder, to make it stand out

Embossing : 'Winter Trees' - Cuttlebug

Papers : 'Holiday Trimmings' - Penny Black

Ribbon : 'Blushing Bride' - Stampin' Up

Thanks for looking & if you would like to leave any comments, I would be most grateful, luv Sam x

Snowman

Hi,

I hope you are all well & if you aren't, I'm sending you virtual hugs & wishes.

Harrison has finally finished his GCSE'S & he has also managed to get himself a job in a pub / restaurant, waiting & he is really enjoying it, especially now he doesn't have to ask Alan & I for money all the time !! We have also been decorating the hallway - new carpet arrives on Tuesday.

Unfortunately due to a busy couple of months, I'm still working off the ipad, sorry.

Today is the start of the lovely Maureen's Christmas Challenge: Rudolph Days Challenge

• Image : Penny Black - 'Snuggles / 1270K / 1998'
• Papers : Lili Of The Valley - 'Woodland Wishes'
• Sentiment : Wild Rose Studio - 'Swirly Greetings'

Thanks for viewing & for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Penguins And Poinsettia

Hi,

I hope you are all well ? Since I lasted posted Alan & I have been on a cruise to 5 ports including Egypt (3 hours to get there & 4 hours 10 mins to get back) & Israel (3 hours late getting into port, so excursion was reduced, which was disappointing). Harrison starts his GCSE'S on 5th May, so it's stressful heaven in our house !!

Unfortunately my computer has gone to electronic heaven and I'm using the ipad, that's why there is no watermark on my cards, hopefully by next time, we'll have a new one.

Today is the start of this wonderful Challenge and it runs until 30th, it gives you a great chance to get ahead of cards for Christmas Rudolph Days Challenge .

Today's first card I found on The Card Grotto / Little Reindeer and I adapted it, as I didn't have the MFT stitched peek a boo window die, so I had to use 'MFT - Stitched Med Square' a single die & cut it 3 times.

Penguins stamped 3 times : Mama Elephant- 'Penguins Waddle'

Sentiment / part of the die : Mama Elephant- 'Penguins Waddle'

Paper : 'Doodlebug - 'Frosty Friends'

Embossing: Cuttlebug - 'Snow'

My second card, was made at a card class I went to, they wanted me to make a voucher wallet, but I preferred to make a card, so l adapted it.

Papers and Image : Stampin' Up - 'Leaves and Boughs of Holly'

Thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, luv Sam x

Snowflake Window

 Hi,

I hope you are all ok ?, if not, then I send you virtual hugs, as Winter can be rough on a lot of people. 

I can't believe it's been 4 months since I last posted and boy lots have happened, I now have a beautiful pergola in my garden, I'll show you the before and after photos after the cards.  Harrison has turned 16 and has been accepted into the college he wants to go to, to study A-levels, pending his GCSE results. Alan is enjoying his new job and me, well I'm busy meeting new friends, volunteering and getting out and about visiting different places.

Today is the start of the fabby Challenge run by the wonderful Maureen Rudolph Days Challenge, it's very short this month, as it ends on the last day of the month and this month it's the 28th !! 

I've based both cards this month on a die - 'Snowflake Window' that I managed to buy 2nd hand from the lovely Jen Nelson (some of you in blogging land with know the name), as soon as I saw it, I knew I would have great fun playing with it -as I had seen several Stampin' Up cards using a die set 'Snowman Magic Bundle' and I wanted to make them, without buying the Stampin' Up set, as I already had a Snowman die - it's amazing what you can create, if you just have a rummage in your craft stash 😁 x

Just to let you know the blue card is smaller - hence why the snowman looks a little bigger 😀

Papers : DCWV - 'The Winter Matstack' a small size 4.5 x 6.5, not normally a size I buy (and have had them a while), but they were perfect for both of these cards

Die : My Favourite Things Die - 'Snowflake Window'

Snowman : My Favourite Things Die - 'Scenic Snow Globe'

Sentiment On Purple card : Cottage Cutz Die - 'Merry Christmas Santa'

Sentiment On Blue card : was one of the sentiments from the DCWV papers, that I was already using

Thanks for looking and for any comments, you would like to leave, would be most grateful, Luv Sam x

Poinsettias

 Hi,

I hope you are all well ? 

Since I last posted, Alan has resigned from his job, as he was headhunted for a new one, so as he put it he resigned at 10.15am and by 10.18am I had given him a list of jobs to do - due to a conflict of interest, he went on gardening leave for 3 months 😂, I did let him have a week off, whilst we went on a fabulous River Cruise from Cologne, going to Koblenz, Strasbourg and Basel. 

This month is my last designer spot for this year on the wonderful Rudolph Days Challenge and after this only 1 more Challenge till Christmas - how scary, especially if you haven't made many cards / gift tags, therefore you have from today till 31st October to enter.

Circle Die : Memory Box - 'Poinsettia Circle Frame'

Large Poinsettia : Spellbinders - 'Layered Poinsettia'

All the leaves have been enhanced with white chalk / VersaMagic 

Sentiment : First Edition - 'Christmas Sentiment Dies'

Paper : A very old Dovecraft one, but I don't know the name of it

Pearls have been gold embossed

Ribbon is from my stash

Thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Stitch A Snowflake

 Hi,

I hope you are all well and enjoying the gorgeous summer weather we have been having here in the UK, I must confess a times it's been a little too hot - that is when I hibernate in the house, although when we had 38C heat here in Cornwall, I wasn't even able to make cards, as the ink was taken an age to dry !!. We managed to get away for a Mediterranean cruise, which was very hot, but at least we had air con, which made such a difference.

Today is the start of the wonderful Christmas card Challenge run by the lovely Maureen Rudolph Days Challenge and as time is quickly catching us up, I thought I had better make 2 cards this time, using the same die, which was kindly given to me, as a present.

Snowflake Die : Penny Black - 'Stitch A Snowflake - 51-376'

The Smaller Snowflake : Spellbinders - 'Snowflake Wonder (one of 5 dies)'

Brad in the middle : Dovecraft 

Sentiment : Penny Black - 'Snow Wishes - 51-082'

Papers : Quick Cards, came free with a magazine

Snowflake Die : Penny Black - 'Stitch A Snowflake - 51-376'

The Smaller Snowflake : Spellbinders - 'Snowflake Wonder'

Brad in the middle - I didn't have a gold one, so found a plain one and embossed it, using gold embossing powder.

Paper : First Edition - 'Gilded Winter' - the paper I picked is already embossed with sparkly gold snowflakes

Sentiments : Lili Of The Valley - 'Christmas Tags'

Gold Thread from stash

Thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Carolling Mice And A Holly Wreath

 Hi,0

Firstly I hope you are all ok ? A lot has happened since I lasted posted - firstly I kept it very quiet but Alan's Dad was in hospital at the time of the last Challenge and sadly he lost his fight on 9th May, he didn't want a funeral and because Alan was really drained and emotional from the last 6 weeks of going up and down to Yorkshire from Cornwall, I decided he needed a break, so we went to Vienna for 3 days and WOW what a city, we had the most amazing time.

Today is the start of Maureen's fabby Rudolph Days Challenge and it lasts until 30th June, remember to leave a comment for a chance to win a great prize and as we are half way through the year it gives you a chance to start on your Christmas cards.

The Mouse Image is : Penny Black - 'Holly Day Critters 30-017'

The Holly Wreath and Sentiment is : Penny Black - 'Christmas Treasures 30-019'

The Door is a die (that I have never used before): Lawn Fawn - 'Shut The Front Door LF1495'

Brick embossing : Marianne Design - 'DF3403'

Thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be mostly appreciated, Luv Sam x

The Light Brigade

Hi,

I hope you are keeping well ? Well since I last posted we have been busy doing our garden and upcycling a bedside table (i'll try and get the photos off of my phone to upload) and being busy in our garden - clearing brambles and ivy and planting new plants (we are no gardeners, but we are giving it a go).

Today is the start of Rudolph Days Challenge and you have until the 30th to upload your Christmas card, don't forget to leave a comment on the Challenge and you will be in with a chance to win a fabby prize.

My card started off with the backing paper that was 5 x 5.5 inches (I think it's Stampin Up), which I cut down by 0.5 inches, I love the brass / copper sparkle.

Image ; Penny Black - 'The Light Brigade / 3916K / 2008'

Sentiment : Art Impressions - 'SC0799', the set with the lady and jumper 

Embossed Strips : Papermania - 'Christmas Borders', bought them years ago for 75p

Paper - I think Stampin Up, but a friend of mine, whose into Stamping Up in a big way, doesn't recognise it ??, but you may

Thanks for looking a for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Xmas Pilgrims and A Snowy Scene

 Hi,

I hope you are all ok ? Well I didn't think it was going to take me 10 months, before I posted again !!, but finding another house to buy in Cornwall proved harder than we first thought - in fact we were technically homeless for 6 months, till we finally moved into our wonderful new home on 11th November and to be honest it's the best of the ones, we viewed - we are now 7 miles from Newquay and 8 miles from Wadebridge on the North coast in a fabulous little market town and our biggest project to deal with is the garden, as it's 30 meters long and up a hill, but hopefully that should be sorted by Easter.

I will always be eternally grateful to Maureen who bared with me for the last 10 months and kept me on her fabby team, so here are a couple of cards for this month's Rudolph Days Challenge, which starts today and finishes on the 28th (a very short month, this time), so you will need to be quick :

Image : Penny Black - 'Xmas Pilgrims / 3543K / 2006'

Sentiment : My Favourite Things - 'Deck The Howls / CS-348'

Papers : Bazzill Basics Paper - 'Countdown To Christmas'

Punched Edge : E K Success

Tree Gems - The Paper Studio - bought in America about 5 years ago

Ribbon is from my stash

Sketch used is one that Jules with a heart designs

I started this card about 8 years ago, when I did a class at The Glitter Pot (that does not exist anymore) and I never got round to finishing it, so my new years resolution is to try and finish some of the half completed projects 😂

Thanks for looking and all comments are much appreciated too, Luv Sam x

Snowmen and Pointsettia

 Hi,

I hope you are all keeping well and that the future is looking rosier, has anybody had the vaccine yet ? I was 'Lucky' enough to have mine in February and the second one in April, as I have Rheumatoid Arthritis, so it's a double edge sword !!  

Whilst in lockdown, I had some spare time, so I decided to make my cards for this month's Challenge - to be honest I was fed up with packing !!, I'd like to report that we are in our new home, but unfortunately we are not, at the last minute the seller refused to exchange contracts, so therefore we broke the chain and have exchanged on our present home and will complete on 18th May, then after that I will technically be 'Homeless' (in the meantime we will be staying in hotels and cottages), we are looking at new houses, but to be honest they have all gone up in price since we first looked in October, but I'm sure something will turn up.

Today is the start of Rudolph Days Challenge and it starts today and ends on the 31st, it's a great Challenge, allowing you to get ahead for Christmas.

The cards I've made this time are both the same design, but look completely different :

Image : Penny Black - 'Snow Very Good Friends / 1996'

Papers : Doodlebug - 'Christmas Cheer' and 

and the plain one is : Lili Of The Valley - 'Solids / Bonnets and Bowties'

Circle Die : MFT - 'Merry Christmas Circle Frame'

Banners made using : Die-namics - 'Fishtail Flags'

Image : Penny Black - 'Pot O' Pointsettia / 188D / 1993'

Papers : Bo Bunny - 'Silver and Gold Collection'

Dies the same as above

Thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Reindeer Wishes And A Stag

 Hi,

Firstly I do apologise if you saw this post in January, as I have my moving head on, I got my months wrong !!.  

Surprise, surprise we haven't moved and right now, it's getting to me (our buyers solicitor is useless, well all 3 of them are / have been !!, they are on the 3rd if you hadn't already twigged)  I hope you are going to make a card for the lovely Maureen's Challenge Rudolph Days Christmas Challenge, especially as I find life so much easier, when it gets to Christmas. 

I thought it was about time I made a couple of Rudolph / Deer cards, so here they are : 

Image : Penny Black - 'Reindeer Warm - Ups / 1242H / 1998'

Papers : Dovecraft - 'Merry Magic'

Mittens : Memory Box - 'Precious Mittens'

Image, Sentiment and Plaque for Stag / Deer to sit on : Came free with a craft magazine, I think it was Cardmaking and Papercraft, but the set is called 'Majestic Moments'

Papers : Prima - 'North Country'

Embossing behind Deer / Stag : Sizzix - 'Flowers, Stars & Swirls Set'

Wooden Deers from stash

Keep well and safe and thanks for looking at my blog and thank you for any comments you leave too, Luv Sam x

Merriest Wishes

 Hi,

I hope you are keeping well, it's been very busy in this house - we have sold our house (subject to contract) and are moving to Cornwall (son is already at school there), so we are frantically house hunting!! 

It's that time again, when today is the start of a new Christmas Challenge Rudolph Days Christmas Challenge and you have from today till 31st October to add your card and given we only have a 2 months left till the big day, it gives you a good excuse to make a card, to put away.

This months cards are using a Die and Stamp set I bought on a 2nd Craft Facebook site, which is a bit different for me to use, as I normally like to stamp and colour 

Not sure if photo shows but in real life, it's very sparkly, as I have used pearlescent papers on the embossing bit and the baubles

Die and Stamp set : 'Merriest Wishes' - Stampin' Up

Embossing : 'Baubles' -Sizzix 

Ribbon and Pearlescent papers from my stash 

Die set : 'Merriest Wishes' - Stampin' Up

Glitttery Designer Card : 'The Christmas Glitter Mat Stack' - DCWV

The Plain Glittery Card : 'Glitzy' - DCWV

Christmas Tree Border Die : 'Christmas Tree Ribbon' - Joanna Sheen 

Gold Pearlescent paper and ribbon from stash

Thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Santa's Hat and Sincere Wishes

Hi, 

I hope you are all ok ? and I can't believe this is Harrison's last weekend of school holidays and as of 2nd September, he will be going back, it will be the first time since Friday 13th March, but we are grateful, that he has been taught every day by his teachers, via Google Hangouts, to be honest I think the only thing he has missed is the sport, as he is sports mad 😃

Today is the start of a new Challenge at https://scrapsoflifebyscrappymo.blogspot.com/ Rudolph Days Challenge, which starts today and ends 31st August and all you have to do, is make a Christmas card

Image : Penny Black - 'Santa's Hat / 4283K / 2012'

Fur round hat : Stampendous - 'Fuzzy Fun Flock'

Paper (an old pack) : DCWV - 'Rose Tinted Christmas'

This one is using the Harlequin design, the lovely Di shared on her blog and sometimes, I don't know about you, but I'm never shaw what to do with a large sentiment, so this design was absolutely perfect

Sentiment : Penny Black - 'Sincere Wishes / 2480H / 2002'

Papers (again a very old set ) : Dovecraft - 'Tis The Season'

Stay safe and well, and thanks for looking and for any comments, you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Bubble Bloom - Samantha

Hi,

I hope you are keeping well ? 

I recently bought a stash of goodies on a Facebook crafty selling site and I've used one of the stamps today to make a thank you card for Harrison's Housemistress 

Image : Woodware - 'Bubble Bloom - Samantha' / which I thought was quite apt for me 😁

I've filled the bubbles with : Pearls - Love To Craft 'A Beautiful Life'

and Craftwork Crafts Card Candy - 'Iced Gems & Chocolate Drops'

Paper : LOTV Nitwits Collection - 'Country Meadow'

Sentiment : Tattered Lace dies - '29 Sentiments  to create over 50 greetings'

Stay well and safe, thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Morris Patchwork Elephant

Hi,

I hope you are all doing well ? 

I have a friend who has just given birth to a baby boy and fortunately while 'Lockdown' was on, she kindly told me, what she was having, so I could make her a card, whilst I had time. 

I have done a couple of 'Harlequin' cards using leftover scraps, but with the scraps I had, I looked around Youtube for a different design and found this one Starburst / Sunburst design : 

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/402650022921081121/ - I must confess though that it completely did my head in, as I did it by hand, where apparently MFT do a die, that cuts each strip of paper perfectly, but my lovely friend Kelly didn't tell me about it until , after I had made it 😏

Image : Woodware - 'Morris Patwork Elephant / decoupaged' from 2005

Papers : a mixture of DCWV, K & Co 

Buttons from stash

Stay safe and well, thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Petal Party

Hi,

I hope you are all well and last night I came back from a week in Cornwall, it was lovely to see a bit of normality and it was something to finally look forward too, we managed to get Harrison booked into 3 sessions of surfing, so he was happy.

Today's card was another Challenge (It's called 'Split Card Trick') set by my lovely friends, whilst in Lockdown and although I didn't have the stamps, shown in the video, I remembered I had these instead : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APaMpg8bK48&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2Th5HKPQ9jUgFnKL52a58ShkzNzFOQ7HaA3ZKK12QIexkRUUMKX0lzLnE

Image : Penny Black - 'Petal Party / 30-113'

Sentiment on Card 1 : Penny Black - 'True Friends / 3852E / 2008'

Sentiment on Card 2 : Penny Black - 'Sentiment Collection /30-350 / 2016'

The Flowers were coloured in with : Tim Holtz - 'Distress Inks - Wild Honey / Dried Marigold / Festive Berries / Bundled Sage / Peeled Paint'

Thanks for looking and for any comments you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Party Animals - Part 2

Hi, 

I hope you are all staying safe and well ? I had to contact 'Quack' during Lockdown as my Menopausal symptons seemed to be accelerating. From yesterday we were allowed to have our hair cut, so a couple of weeks ago I contacted my hairdresser and yipee she has booked me in for Thursday 9th July at 2pm and I so can't wait, as it's not been coloured (as I can't use any bleach on it) or cut for 19 weeks !! 

I loved the Lawn Fawn - 'Party Animals' I purchased at the start of Lockdown so much I decided to use it, to make a couple of my cards : 

My first card is a sketch I followed, a Challenge set by my lovely friend Kay, during Lockdown to keep me sane ;-) ; http://www.cardchallenges.com/2018/02/wednesday-sketch-challenge-sketch-371.html?fbclid=IwAR0n0tTDwahsv7pAK3Grz3CYURM3o7it2Rw7qKD0VrqUfLOT25AMBpfRvlU

 

Dies to make windown : MFT - 'Stitched Mod Rect Stax'

Paper : Basic Grey - 'Cupcake'

Ribbon : DCWV - 'Sports'

Banner Die : Poppystamps - 'Party Lanterns'

Star Border : Marianne Design - LR0134

Sentiment : LOTV - 'Circular Greetings'

The second card was made for Alan's friend of 30 years, to cheer him up, after he came out of hospital, as he got COVID 19 and when Alan found out he was told that they were give him another 24 hours on the ventillator in intensive care and if he didn't improve, he was going to pallative care - fortunately he pulled through 

Paper : Papermania - 'For Him'

Sentiment Die : Penny Black - 'Doodles / 51-128'

Thanks for looking and for any comments, you would like to leave, would be most appreciated, Luv Sam x

Snowmen and Dogs

Hi,

I hope you are all staying well, in these difficult times. I do apologise in advance, if I have made any spelling mistakes, only at the moment I'm working on my son's computer, as our's broke 2 months ago and I have had to use the Ipad !!, which is a pain, when it comes to adding watermarks to photos !!

As today is the 25th June, it means Maureen has a new challenge over at Rudolph Days Christmas Challenge  and it gives you all a good excuse to make a Christmas card or two, before the silly season starts.

The first image is : Penny Black - 'Patchy The Snowman /1996'

The inside image is : Penny Black - 'Snow Delight / 3536H / 2006'

Papers : Doodlebug - 'Frosty Friends'

Dies : Circular one, round image : Memory Box - 'Frostyville Wreath / Style No: 98418'

The die across the top : Penny Black - 'Snow Drops / 51-086 / 2014'

The sentiment : Joanna Sheen - 'Bravo Set Small / SD452'

All dies are covered in glamour dust

A couple of people have asked me, how i made the above card, well here is the back of it, to help you ;

This one was done as part of a Challenge, that I've been doing with 3 other lovely crafty friends and it was a sketch (I don't have that MFT die, so I used Stitched Modern Rectangle Stax by MFT) : http://www.cardchallenges.com/2018/02/wednesday-sketch-challenge-sketch-371.html?fbclid=IwAR3XHr7YFSi1cZNJJgG-a9f3PVFLTDP5lLwi2k461td16efPi6x3W0wA9QA

The image and sentiment is : MFT - 'Deck The Howls'

The papers : Bo Bunny - 'Snowfall Collection'

The snowflake die in the middle : Memory Box - 'New Castle Snowflake'#

Stay safe and thanks for looking, if you would like to leave any comments, they would be must appreciated, Luv Sam x

Father's Day

Hi,

I hope you are all keeping well and that you have managed to meet up with some of your family, unfortunately we haven't been able to, as they live in West Yorkshire and we are in Sussex, which is a trifle frustrating, when all my neighbours have had family round

Anyway today is Father's Day in the UK and here are the cards I made for Alan (the Wallace and Gromit one) and his Dad.

This is the Challenge I was set by my lovely Copic / crafty friends, I chose Blue, Dry Embossing, Male

Image, Sentiment and Paper : Papercraft Essentials magazine 

Embossing Die : Crafts Too - 'Bone and Paw Print'

Another crafty Challenge from my lovely friends, was to use up my scraps !! and whilst having a nose round blog land, I noticed the lovely Di had done this : Pixies Crafty Workshop, Challenge 378, and she was kind enough to add a link, so I followed it and made the above 

I'm sorry about the colour combination, but it's Alan's Dads favourite Rugby League teams colours (Leeds Rhinos)

Image / Word : Papermania - 'Typography Clear Stamp - Dad'

Paper : Penny Black - 'Madison'

Di has asked me to enter her Challenge : http://pixiescraftyworkshop.blogspot.com/2020/06/pixies-snippets-playground-challenge-380.html - Challenge No : 380 (sorry for long link, only I can't seem to work out on new system how to link it, after it's been posted !! )

Stay safe and well my crafty friends and for looking at my cards, if you would like to leave a comment, it would be much appreciated, luv Sam x