Wishing you a cosy Christmas

Hello there,

Happy Wednesday - what's that I see.....yes, we're on the downward slope to the weekend! Woo hoo!

We're back with a new challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin - another chance for you to get ahead with your 2016 Christmas cards! Our theme this month is snowflakes.....and I don't know about you, but when I think I snow I tend to think of the cold and want to be wrapped up!

So, I decided to combine snowflakes with a cosy jumper for my card....

I've stamped my cute jumper image and coloured it with my Promarkers, I have then added a little sparkle to my snowman's nose with my Stickles. I realise now why this image looks so odd to me (it's been bugging me all day!) - I've used red to colour his nose, but I usually always default to an orange! Funny how a small change can leave you perplexed!

I've used plain coloured papers, along with the gorgeous snowflakes patterned paper......

For more snowflake inspiration, pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at the gorgeous DT cards that have been created this month. While you're there, take a peek at our fab prize!

Thank you for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Merry Christmas!

Hello All,

I hope you are well and have had a great week.

I am pleased to say I am officially finished work for 2015 and I'm in full on Christmas mode now! The house is decorated, my pressies have been bought or made.....the house smells of freshly baked mince pies and I've made all my Christmas cards! I can now relax and enjoy the festive season.

In keeping with the Christmas spirit we have a "Merry Christmas" theme over at Sweet Stampin this week....and the design I used for a batch of my Christmas cards this year was just perfect....

This little cutie was from a set of stamps I bought in the January sales earlier this year.....and promptly forgot about! Whoops!

I rediscovered him a couple of weeks ago and decided to use him in this paper piecing project. The set includes frosty the snowman and several different accessories.

I have stamped my snowman onto white card and stamped the various hats and scarf onto pretty patterned papers. I then cut out snowmen and hats and scarves and created my little characters. I added a little colour to his face with my pens and some sparkly "coal" with my Stickles. Finally I added my sentiment by hand and also a little faux stitching to finish the card.

I ended up with several different snowmen....

For more Christmas inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin Challenge blog and take a peek at the fab DT cards that have been created this week. While you're there you can also read about our lovely sponsor this week....

If you'd like to drool over some sweet Christmas treats as well, why not pop by my afternoon tea blog...

Tea With Me and Friends

Thank you for popping by today.

I hope you and your family enjoy the festive season.

Wedgie xxx

Something New....

Hello there,

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and that your new year has started well. I have to say I have enjoyed the laziest Christmas I have had in ages....I celebrated with Joe, my friends and family...watched lots of Christmas movies, ate and drank far too much and generally had a rest! It was wonderful!

Now, I'm back with a lovely new challenge for you from Sweet Stampin....to start the new year off we have a "something new" challenge for you. Your project can feature anything new...whether that be a new home, a new baby or maybe like me some new stash!

I love sending letters and cards and so after Christmas love to make thank you cards for the gifts I have received. While looking in the Digi Stamp Boutique online store I came across a lovely collection of thank you images that I thought were perfect for my thank you cards.

As well as the new stamps I have also used new papers to create my cards. The images have been coloured with my Promarkers and I have of course added a little bit of sparkle with my Stickles.

For more "new" inspiration pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog to see the gorgeous DT cards that have been created this week. While you are there you can find out about our fab sponsor this week.....

Wild Orchid Crafts

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Brrr....can I get my Christmas jumper out yet?

Hello there,

Happy Hump Day! I hope you are having a lovely week - I am wishing mine away slightly as this weekend is Rhythm Riot in Camber Sands....our annual visit to the 1950s complete with lots of live music, dancing and cars! This is our third year at the event and I can't wait to get my petticoat out and put my hair in victory rolls!

Talking of clothes....as some of you may know I am a bit of a fan of Christmas time....I love everything about it...especially the fact that I get to wear my Christmas jumpers! Now can you imagine my joy when I found the stamp that features in my card today......

Hee, hee! I found this stamp just before Christmas last year and I have used it on so many Christmas cards since! I love the happy looking snowman.

This card has been made with our new challenge over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin in mind...can you guess what our theme is this month? We'd like to see your projects featuring snowpeople!

I have coloured my snowman jumper with my Promarkers and have added a tiny bit of sparkle to his hat and nose with my Stickles. I have continued the snow theme with some pretty snowflake backing paper and framed with a combination of light and dark blue plain papers. Finally I have added my stamped sentiment and some faux white stitching.

I'm really pleased with my snowperson card.....for more snowpeople inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog and take a peek at all the gorgeous DT cards that have been created this month. While you're there you can find out about our fab prize this month!

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

All White Festive Greetings!

Hello there - its me again, I am back with my second DT card today!

This time I have my card for our fab festive challenge over at My Time to Craft and this week we'd like to see your white on white Christmas cards. Now I know how much I struggle with WoW cards and so I was pleased to see that we're allowed coloured images on our cards....making it a bit easier!

I've used one of my favourite new digi stamps sending people warm winter wishes....

I have used a white card blank, which has been topped with some pretty embossed white card. Finally I printed my image and added a little colour with my Promarkers and a little sparkle with my Stickles. My sentiment has been produced on my laptop.

I'm pleased with how this WoW card turned out - simple but festive! For more inspiration pop by the My Time to Craft challenge blog and see all the gorgeous DT cards that have been created. We've got a short break ahead of us now.....our next challenge will go live in January.

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

Let it Snow!

Hello there!

Well, I am here with the last challenge of 2013 for Christmas at Sweet Stampin....I can't believe that this year has already flown by....at least I have a fab stash of Christmas cards to send to friends and family!

Our challenge this month is "Let it Snow"....we want to see your frosty inspired cards! I decided I had to feature a cute snowman on my card.....

 

He looks like he's enjoying his winter wonderland in the snow! I have printed my digi image and coloured it with my Promarkers. I have then added a little sparkle with my Stickles. I've gone with a blue colour scheme for this card, including some fab snowflake backing paper.

 

For more inspiration pop by the Christmas at Sweet Stampin challenge blog, while you are there you can also read all about our fab sponsor this month

 

 

I'd also like to enter this card at:

Make it Monday

Di's Digi Designs - non traditional Christmas colours

Glitter n Sparkle - show us some blue

 

Thank you for popping by today,

Wedgie xxx

 

Christmas in July.....yes really!

Hello there!

Happy Saturday! I hope you are well today and had a fab week! Isn't this sunshine in the UK wonderful.....or are you too hot??

If you are feeling the heat then maybe our new challenge over at Sweet Stampin would be good for you...this week we are asking to see your Christmas in July creations! I decided to feature a frosty friend......

 

Isn't the image cute? Its from StampArt Design by Kathryne, and is part of a recent card challenge win I had. You can see more of Kathryne's lovely designs over at Whimsy Stamps - they're all so cute!

 

I've coloured my image with my Promarkers, adding a little Sparkle to the snowflake with my Stickles. I have also added some sparkle to my pencil doodling around the edge!

 

Pop by the Sweet Stampin challenge blog to see what the rest of the lovely Team Abi ladies have created this week. You can also find out about our fab sponsors for this challenge

 

 

You can also meet our fab new Teamies while you're there!

 

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

 

Make it Monday

Tuesday Throwdown - anything goes

I love Promarkers - anything goes

 

Pop by these challenge blogs if you get the chance - there are some fab DT cards there!

 

One last thing that I wanted to share with you today.....last weekend I visited beautiful Bath with my best friend Becca and we had a wonderful time! We spent time in the roof top pool of the Thermale Spa, we explored the Roman Baths and gazed at the gorgeous dresses in the Fashion Museum. And of course we also made time for a spot of afternoon tea while we were there! We visited Bea's Vintage Tea Rooms....a beautiful place inspired by the 1930s/1940s. Here is the tea that we ate.....

 

 

Look at those huge slabs of cake!! One was Victoria sponge filled with fresh cream and summer berries and the other is lemon meringue filled with yummy lemon curd! Find out more about the tea rooms on my new afternoon tea blog!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

its lovely to see you!

Wedgie xxx

Lets see your dies and punches!

Hello there!

Happy Saturday! Hope you've had a fab week!

Sooo....did you see that we launched a fab new challenge blog this week as part of Sweet Stampin?? We will now celebrate Christmas every month of the year with our fab challenge blog ....Christmas at Sweet Stampin! Launching officially in 2013, this will be a monthly Christmas challenge blog and we wanted to start the fun a little early with an anything goes challenge! Pop over to the blog to meet the team and join the fun!

We also have a new challenge for you over at Sweet Stampin this week....we'd like to see your projects which features dies and/or punches this week. Here is my card....

 

Its a bit of a shame really as you can't really see my punches...but I promise they are there!! I have gone with a simple colour scheme for this cute card...colouring my image with my Promarkers and adding some sparkle to the snow with my Stickles. I have then added some punched snowflakes that have been coated liberally with more glitter!!

 

Pop by the Sweet Stampin blog to see the fab DT cards that Team Abi have created this week!

 

I'd also like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Sentiments - snowmen or ladies

Tuesday Throwdown - White Christmas

 Oldie But A Goodie - Let it Snow (my oldie is the paper which I bought last Christmas!)

Simon Says Stamp - Snowflakes!

 

Thanks for popping by today,

Wedgie xx

A little bit of Christmas...

...hello everyone, hope you're all keeping well and staying warm. I'm trying to fight off a cold at the moment and so I'm not feeling 100%. Roll on the weekend (thats not a good thing to be saying on a Monday evening!).

I haven't really made any Christmas cards in ages so I thought I'd make a couple....first of all I have something a little bit different to show you....

I like girlie cards, so I decided to try and make a girlie Christmas card! I've used gold card, along with my favourite black and white polka dot card. I used my trusty stencil to create my glam shoes. This card is perfect for two challenges that I've found in the last couple of days:

Crafty Catz - colour challenge - black and white and one other colour

Bah! Humbug! - Elegance

The second card is slightly more traditional, and it features a frosty friend:

I've used silver card and some more polka dot card for the backing, I then created my little snowman out of white card. I've accessorised with some stripey paper for his hat and scarf. This card fits in with the challenge over at Allsorts, where they are calling for projects that feature spots and stripes!

Right, now I'm off to bed...hopefully I'll be feeling better in the morning!

Thanks for stopping by today,
Wedgie xxx

Frosty the Snowman!

Evening All,

What miserable weather! Autumn is on its way...time to get cosy! I'm really not a fan of the colder weather...I really should move somewhere warmer! Still, if its starting to get colder that means that winter is on its way!

While I'm in a festive mood, here is a little Christmas card for you

Ok, I know this picture is a little on the large side, but I wanted you to see all the detail....I've used gorgeous blues and whites for this card to complement my "frosty the snowman" theme, but these gorgeous colours do not show up very well!

This card fits in with three different challenges this week:

Sweet Sketch Wednesday - the lovely sketch

Bah Humbug - a Christmas carol or song

Winter Wonderland - a recipe - 4 papers, 3 snowflakes and one snowman (or woman)

The various DT have come up with some gorgeous cards, pop along to the blogs to see them!

I should be moaning about the weather really......on Sunday afternoon I'm flying out to Teneriffe with Becca for 5 days in the sunshine! I know I've had lots of mini breaks this year, but I'm really looking forward to going somewhere hot and just sitting and reading for a while!

Right, I'd better get going....I'm working on a Penny Black card for another challenge, plus I have a 4 year old custom Birthday card to make.

Thanks for stopping by,

Wedgie xxx

Christmas Fun!

Afternoon all - don't you just love half days at work!

Today's challenge over at Bah! Humbug! is brilliant, it's called A Child's Christmas and they want projects for the little ones. It doesn't have to be a card, it could be a game or an advent calendar...but I decided to go with the card option. I started thinking about Christmas and children and what makes that time of year lots of fun, and one think sprung to mind straight away....snow and building snowmen! When I was little didn't really snow that often so when it did it was so exciting...I remember we made snowballs one year that we made mum put in the freezer so they would last! Ha, ha!

However annoying snow can be to the delicate transport system in England, it's still great fun, especially for children! I missed out on the snowmen and snowballs this year thanks to my dodgy knee - in fact I got stranded at one end of a train station platform because there was so much ice and snow....Joe had to come and rescue me! So, I decided to dedicate my card to the art of building snowmen....

This was such a difficult card to photograph because of the ultra shiny mirror card! After several attempts I finally managed this shot! I've used a bright blue backing, topped with the shiny card and a light blue paper. I made my sentiment on the computer and added my snowman which is actually part of a decoupage kit. Finally I added a little more sparkle along the bottom of the card - you can beat a bit of sparkle!

The ladies at Bah! Humbug! Have created some gorgeous cards this week, take a peek here to see them!

Right, I'm off now...heading to Joe's to get ready for tomorrow's drifting competition. I hope you all have a lovely weekend and I'll see you all next week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Wedgie xxx

Pretty Borders!

Evening All! Hope you've had a fab Friday!

I spent my Friday at the Mandarin Oriental in London again - work this time though! I had a pretty rubbish start to my day...by 8:30am I had already ruined two pairs of tights and turned up in the foyer of the hotel with toothpaste all over my cheek.....why oh why did I not look at myself in the mirror before?!? The day got much better however and my event went well. Woo hoo!

This evening I came home to a rare Friday at home (I'm usually at Joe's by now) and decided some crafting was in order...that and a large glass of wine! I decided to check out the challenge over on Bah! Humbug! this week.....they want to see punched borders....I recently got my new border punch and so think this is a fab challenge! I set to work and came up with this cheeky little chappie.....

The DT cards are all gorgeous, take a peek here!

I love making this little snowman, he's so simple to make and looks so cute! He's featured in my Christmas collection over the last two years! He is simply cut from white card, I make him a hat and scarf and a carrot nose out of scrap paper and give him googly eyes because that always makes me smile!

I used my new martha stewart punch for the borders - I love this pattern as it suits so many cards...a very good find! I have to say I also love making Christmas cards so I am pleased I found the Bah! Humbug challenge blog to get me started early this year!

Right, I'm off to make some beaded bookmarks now and maybe another easel card or two!

Thanks for stopping by,

Wedgie Xxx

PS - have you stopped sniggering about me and my toothpaste cheek yet?!?

Let it snow!

Well, it is frosty outside at the moment.....I have to say that I really don't like all this cold weather...I'm much happier in the sunshine! One good thing about the cold weather I suppose is that it makes you want to snuggle up in a big fluffy cover with a mug of hot chocolate and either a film or a good book! Everyone enjoys a good snuggle!! Have you seen those new blankets that have been designed? They have sleeves for your arms, so you can be under a blanket and read a book without your arms and shoulders getting cold! Genius idea! Was thinking of investing in one for my craft desk!

Anyway, this week's challenge over at the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge is all about...you guessed it...snow! They want to see any project containing snow. The DT have come up with some lovely designs this week, all so cute...take a peek here: http://thesecretcraftersaturdaychallenge.blogspot.com/2009/12/challenge-62.html

Introducing - Frosty the very pink snowlady!

For my entry I decided to use an old design which I came up with last year......not being a fan of the cold Iwanted to make my frosty card cute and appealing...and what better way is there.....lets add lots of pink!

I've used a lovely pink spotty backing paper, with little punched out snowflakes on top as the background to my unconvential snow card. My cute little snowman topper is wrapped up warm in a hat and scarf made out of scraps of pink patterned paper. To complete my snowman I have given him sticks for arms, a carrot nose and googly eyes!

Right, I'm off to play with some fabric this morning I think....I want to try making some more of those little fabric dresses that I showed you in my last blog...been to my local fabric shop and have lots of pretty fabrics and embellishments to play with!

Enjoy,
Wedgie xxx

Ding Dong! Christmas is coming!

Afternoon all....I used to despite those people who started thinking about Christmas as early as September...they always seem so organised (and to be honest I was probably jealous!). But look what has happened...somehow I have become one of them! On Friday evening I spent a lovely couple of hours creating designs for this Christmas.....I didn't go as far as digging out my Christmas CDs...but I did have fun going through my Christmas stash!

Anyway, as you'll see I've decided to stick with what I know best and my first Christmas cards are just as girlie as all my other cards.....here are the first four that I came up with....what do you think?

I've never really used ribbon on cards before, but I like how it looks on these cards, so I might try adding it to more. I also like the glitter highlighting on the berries....again, another technique that I haven't really used much. I think Santa needs to put in an appearance somewhere, and of course Rudolph...not forgetting penguins, candy canes and of course piles of pressies!

Anyway, hope you enjoy......

Wedgie xx