Ernest's 80th Guest Book

Good evening - I hope you are all enjoying the festive season, especially if like me you are lucky to be enjoying time off work!

There's no card today even though I'm itching to start playing with my Christmas pressies and the crafty bargains I've acquired in the sales. Instead I'm sharing the Guest Book Cover I have made for my friend's father-in-law's 80th Birthday celebrations this weekend...

The scrapbook was  plain kraft coloured 12x12 and I was given a 'classic car' theme to play with. The car images are from a Kanban decoupage sheet and I've echoed the colours for the large die-cut number. The background is quite subtle - a beige dogs-tooth check patterned paper.

I'm entering this creation into the challenges at:

Brown Sugar - anything but a card
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #448 - anything goes
Watercooler Wednesday - anything masculine - ROCKSTAR!
Crafty Gals Corner #155 - anything goes
Craftaholics R Us #51 - birthday 

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Black Reindeer

Today's card is for a friend to give to her brother and brother-in-law - she finds it very difficult to find cards for a gay couple that aren't too risque/smutty.

I bought some fab black die cut reindeer heads at a recent Max Papercraft fair and I knew I had some perfect patterned paper to match !

I've mounted the die cut on a oval frame and added a red pearl for the nose and a Memory Box bauble die dangling from an antler.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Water Cooler Wednesday #150 - masculine 
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #447 - anything goes
Creative Knockouts #225 - 'Tis the Season
Crimbo Crackers #148 - anything goes
Crafty Cardmakers #202 - Christmas
The Merry Christmas Challenge - anything goes
Die Cuttin' Divas - holiday

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Snowman Family

How fast is this month going - I can't believe it's a week since I posted! All my Christmas card orders are now complete and I can pack away my Christmas stuff until at least March!

Today's card was an order for a friend who wanted something special for the ladies who look after her elderly Mam in her Care Home.

I wanted an image showing a group of snow people and came across this old digi in my files which I believe is by DillyBeans. The image was coloured with Pro-markers, fussy cut ten mounted on some polka-dot patterned paper to represent snow. Finally, I've added a die-cut snowflake with a coordinating red gem. By accident, the oval shape of the image and the greeting give the appearance of a snow-globe!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Cards and More #199 - snowmen
The Sisterhood of Christmas - all about Christmas
Addicted To Stamps #272 - make your mark
Cards 4 Galz #62 - show me a snowman
Sparkles Christmas Challenge #83 - snowmen
CCC Digi Creations #87 - Happy Christmas
Hiding In My Craftroom #331 - use a digi


Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Cute Christmas Bear

Today's card is for my friend's Nanna (female grandparent for those not familiar with our strange British words!)

It was made using a cute die cut decoupage image in a Trimcraft/Dovecraft kit from The Range

Very pink and glittery!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

613 Avenue Create #204 - anything goes/Christmas
Through The Purple Haze #139 - more than 3 layers
Dragonfly Dreams - non-traditional Christmas colours
In The Pink #128 - pink Christmas - Perfect Pinkie!
Allsorts Challenge #445 - snowflakes
Creative Friday #194 - untypical colours

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Retro Bauble

Today's card has a very retro feel to it - I used some funky bauble patterned paper that came in one of the large patterned paper books from Crelando available at Aldi/Lidl...

I'm still loving that bauble die from my last post!

Although red is a very popular Christmas colour the combination of red, turquoise, cream and dark purple is very unusual! I added coordinating gems and pearls and used a cream linen card base.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Paper Minutes - Christmas tree balls (baubles!)
Dream Valley Challenges #169 - Christmas
Come and Get It - Christmas challenge
Pile It On #137 - non-traditional colours
Scrap and Craft Challenge #10 - Christmas time
Card Mania Challenge #99 - Christmas

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Green Bauble

I'm now making my final few Christmas cards after a week's break visiting the Christmas Markets in Germany and France. What a wonderful trip this was - very Christmassy and we experienced some real snow - not just the 5 cm that usually brings this country to a halt!

We stayed in a lovely village called Elzach Oberprechtal in the Black Forest - when it snowed it was like being in a Christmas card setting...

Anyway - back to today's card! It's for a friend to give to her sister and she requested something traditional but with a bit of girly sparkle...

I used a Sweet Dixie bauble die, mounted on my favourite fancy backing die.This was matted onto some dark red card, then matted again on some subtly patterned green paper. To add some sparkle I used some green square gems.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Winter Wonderland - red and green
Crafting with Dragonflies - Christmas all glammed up
Fab 'n' Funky #373 - Christmas
Merry Christmas Challenge #45 - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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White Deer

Today's card is a little bit girly, almost white on white and was very quick to make as I'm quickly running out of time in the Christmas card marathon...

This deer die is soooo pretty! I used foiled patterned paper for the die-cut ring and added even more bling in the form of gold pearls on the antlers. The final touch was a red pearl for the nose!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Craftaholics R Us #46 - girly
Crafty Gals Corner #150 - to die for
The Paper Shelter #319 - a Christmas card
Crafting By Designs - get ready for Christmas (November)
Jingle Belles - baby it's gold outside
Moving Along With The Times - Christmas animals

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Tartan Trees

I'm still making cards with those lovely Alley Way trees...

I lined up the tree digi stamps in Publisher then re-formatted the images and changed the colour of the stamps from black to a rich dark red. I then coloured using a dark red/burgundy pro marker, and added various stars and a punched heart.

The backing dp is a lovely tartan from my stash and I've matted using burgundy and gold papers.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Addicted to Stamps and More #268 - holiday
The Merry Christmas Challenge #43 - anything goes Christmas - TOP PICK!!
Sweet Stampin' Christmas - November anything goes
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #19 - anything goes
Crimbo Crackers #145 - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Winter Wedding

Today's card is for a wedding at the end of the month...

I've used a Lili Of The Valley topper from one of the art pads they used to make - I wish they still did these pads! The image was cut using an oval die then matted on coordinating pink card. It was then mounted using foam pads onto the background fancy die. I've added some flat back pearls and some flowers and fancy scroll dies in the corner. The greeting was made using Formal 436 BT font.

Here's another photo is a different light, though I do like how the photo above show off the textured card.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Dream Valley Challenge #167 - add a sentiment

Scrap and Craft Inspirations #9 - winter wedding TOP 3!

Crafting With An Attitude #33 - anything goes

Crazy 4 Challenges #410 - layer it up

Aud Sentiments #192 - bingo (pink, digi image, dies)

Thanks for looking

Sharon

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Cute Crimbo Couple

Another five 'quick cards' (read basic layout) made this afternoon. I've used a cute topper I found in my Christmas stash - it may have been cut from an old shop-bought card...

I mounted the image on gold mirri-card and used some pretty gold star patterned paper as a backing. The greeting was printed using Formal 436 font and I've added a tiny holly branch in the corner with gold pearl 'berries'.

I'm entering this into the challenges at:

Crafty Friends #70 - Christmas
Creative Fingers #140 - anything goes
Crimbo Crackers #144 - quick and easy
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #358- anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #502 - anything goes
As You Like It - Christmas or non-Christmas and why. Definitely Christmas - I love playing with shiny and glittery papers that can look tacky at other times of the year. You can never be too blingy on a Christmas card!

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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The CAS-est of CAS Christmas Cards

Today's card was ever so simple to make!. I got this lovely tree digi stamp  from The Alley Way Stamps website a number of years ago (it was free!)...

I printed the image twice (it has 3 trees) and coloured then fussy-cut five of the individual trees. I mounted the trees on the base card using foam pads and added a tiny glittery heart sticker for a bit of bling. The greeting was done in Hobo Std font.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

The Holly and Ivy Challenge #18- anything goes
Crafting By Designs - November anything goes
The Merry Christmas Challenge #41 - anything goes
Sweet Stampin' Christmas - October anything goes
The Crafty Addicts #42 - Christmas

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Krafty Stag

I've had a lovely crafty afternoon trying to make some 'masculine' Christmas cards...

Kraft card base with corrugated kraft card matted on white. A square of brown tartan patterned paper then a white die-cut stag mounted with foam pads. The greeting is in Copperplate Gothic font and I've added a tiny red pearl for the nose.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at: 

Christmas Cards All Year Round - monochromatic browns - TOP 3!
Allsorts Challenge - Christmas creatures
Hiding In My Craft Room - any holiday
Jingle Belles - not a creature was stirring
Through The Purple Haze - non traditional Christmas colours

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Sparkling Baubles

I thought I'd make a sparkly card today - it's so dull and overcast in the North East today.

So out came the mirri card...

After making a base card from line-embossed card, I used a Memory Box bauble die and cut baubles in two sizes. I added a punched snowflake to the larger bauble and embellished with dull gold pearls. The patterned area along the bottom of the card was made using strips of gold star patterned washi tape and the greeting was printed in Hobo Std font. 

Very CAS but super sparkly!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Fab 'n' Funky #368 - Christmas
Sunny Day Crafting #58 - Q is for Quick and Easy
Challenge Up Your Life #78 - die cuts
Crafting By Designs - Get ready for Christmas (October)
Merry Christmas Challenge #40 - anything goes

Thanks for popping in

Sharon
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Lewis Turns 10

Today's card was an order for a young boy - Lewis - who is about to turn 10...

 

I've used a pre-coloured image from an old art pad from Lili of the Valley - I do wish they still sold these pads! The papers are from my stash and I've added a die cut banner and peel-off letters to spell his name. The age is also coloured peel-offs on die-cut circles.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Crafty Sentiments - anything goes
Hiding In My Craftroom #323 - lots of layers 
Through The Craftroom Door - AG 24-31 October
Dream Valley Challenges #166 - birthdays
Crafty Gals Corner #146 - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Little Black Dress

Today's card is an order for a friend at work who requested something girly with cocktails. I did think of using my favourite Stampin Bella - Victoria and Juliette's night out, but after searching my digis I found the wonderful Party Rach from Digistamp Boutique...

I've 'dressed' her in a little black cocktail dress using Promarkers and used glittery patterned papers from a pad from The Range.

The greeting was done in hobo font and I've added a couple of die-cut mini leaf flourishes and some pink flat-backed pearls as embellishments. Finally I created a blingy necklace using a sparkly gem.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

 I ♥ ProMarkers #345 - birthday
Seize The Birthday - anything goes
Passion for Promarkers #417 - anything goes 
Craft Rocket Challenge #42 - birthday/pretty pinks
As You Like It Challenge - people or animals - always people. I struggle colouring 'fur' and making it look real. There's so much more variety with people, deciding what colour their outfit and hair should be and I often try to make the image look like the person it is intended for. But I don't like images with big eyes and heads - a big no no!!.

Thanks for reading my waffle!

Sharon
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Green Wreath

I'm trying to get my mojo back after a lovely long break in London so I've spent this afternoon printing off images to colour for Christmas cards. This card was made with an old Ladybug Crafts image I found...

I printed the image twice so that I could layer the bow and coloured with pro-markers. I've then matted the image on dark green card and added a simple ribbon. Finally I've added a few green gems on the wreath to add a touch of sparkle. Result - a simple Christmas card  which is easy to bulk produce.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Sweet Stampin' Christmas - October anything goes 
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - anything goes
The Merry Christmas Challenge #38 - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by today

Sharon
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Suzanne's Wedding

Just  a quick post to share a card made for a wedding on Friday just gone...

The lovely textured patterned paper is from my 'special' stash of stuff I like to look at rather than use!  I die cut a circle in the middle to frame the personalised details and decorated around the frame with die-cut leaf  scrolls and flowers. I used flat-backed silver pearls for the flower centres and underneath the sentiment.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

My Time To Craft #355 - die-cuts only
Crafting With Friends #51- anything goes
Creative Fridays #189 - dies and punches
Creative Fingers #137 - anything goes
Sisterhood of Crafters - use your dies


Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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P P P P Penguin!

Happy Friday everyone!


There's a new challenge over at Simply Papercraft today...

As usual the challenge is 'Anything Goes' which makes it so much easier to join in. Today's sponsor is Crafty Sentiments a lovely store to pick up some seriously cute digital stamps...

This is what I have created using a lovely penguin digi kindly supplied by the company:

He's been coloured using pro-markers and the patterned papers are from my ever-growing box of 'Christmas stuff'!

I'm also entering this card into the challenges at:

Watercooler Wednesdays - it's all about Christmas
Merry Christmas Challenge #36 - anything goes
Christmas with the Cuties - Christmas animals
Crafting by Designs - let's get ready for Christmas
Sunny Day Crafting #54 - M is for male
Merry Monday #258 - penguins


So get yourselves over to Simply Papercraft and join in the fun - it's only a click away!

Thanks for visiting
Sharon
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