My Top 5 of 2014

Good morning! Still plenty of the crisp and even stuff here. Hope you are managing to stay warm. I am joining in again with Debby's Top 5  for the year. I had to go back through very carefully and had completely forgotten some! It was so hard! I think my choices are based on the reaction of the people who received them more than anything. Here goes then. My first card was inspired by a photo and stamped with Inkylicious stamps- the post about it (and the photo) is here.

 My second card was for a dear friend and colleague. Softy that I am, the sentiment on this card was so pertinent that I it made me cry. All stamps on this one are from Inkylicious and the original post is here

 My third card, using Inky Doodles stamps, was for another dear friend who loves foxes.

 My fourth card was the one I gave Steve for our Silver wedding Anniversary

 My fifth card was Steve's Birthday card

I couldn't just choose 5 though, so I have three runners up!

 First is Meg's birthday card using a mixture of Inkylicious and Crafty Individuals stamps. Find out more here. I was pretty pleased with the realistic shadows and waves breaking on the shore!

Next is one of the cards that I produced as a part of my third video tutorial

and finally a play with my dylusions, treasure gold, distress markers and Crafty individuals stamps which was a DT card for Stamping Sensations. More details here. Do pop over to Debby's blog and take a look at her lovely top 5 (+)!
Welcome to my latest followers Joey, Desire, Rita,Barbara and Viv. Sorry it has taken a while to welcome you! It is great to have you here. Thanks for looking and I will see you on Sunday for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations!

A bit of an adventure and my favourite 5 Christmas cards

Well, Boxing Day didn't finish the way we expected it to! It is the day we host family and cook our proper Christmas Dinner. We had a lovely day and were just enjoying our tea when Steve decided to check on the weather, only to discover that it was starting to snow. We quickly got both Dads organised and then set off to take them home. Steve's dad (now 94) was safely delivered home, but after a 3 hour 11 mile round trip we arrived back home with my dad still with us. Steve was a hero, pushing six cars up a hill with two other complete strangers so we could all get back home. It was a much improved picture this morning as you can see from the photo above and we did get Dad home safely and in time for his next medication. After a bit of slipping and sliding on our road we finally got home too. I think I will stay at home tomorrow!
I wanted to join in with Debby and share my favourite five Christmas cards with you for 2014. Several of these are getting their first airing today as I didn't get round to posting them before Christmas.
First is the card I made for Meg using all Inkylicious stamps.

My second was the card I made for Steve, using Inky Doodles stamps (including the background).

My third was my Dad's Christmas card, using Card-io stamps. When I saw this set I just had to buy it - love the bird feeders, tables and boxes.

 

My next card was made with Inkylicious stamps and a Chocolate Baroque sentiment

I am struggling to decide on my fifth card. It is another scene using the Inkylicious stamps, but I can't choose between these two:
The card I made for Lynne, using the thistle stamp to make a wreath...

 or Deer in the snow

some of these are quite similar and use the same colour inks and stickles etc, but I loved the variety I managed with just a few stamps.
Do pop over to Debby's blog and take a look at her favourites too.
Thanks for looking and stay warm xxx

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Just a quick visit to blogland before I start baking. I wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas and say a huge thank you for all the wonderful support and comments you have left me this year. I can't put into words how much I appreciate them. I will be taking a short break, then I will be back before new year. Many many thanks xxx

A couple of cards and a little bit of News!

My first card is the one that I sent to Lynne this year. As it was heading to Scotland I used the Inkylicious thistle stamp, curved onto the acrylic block, to make the wreath. The stag (silhouette deer) and trees (create a scene - trees) are also from Inkylicious. These stamps are not on the website yet, but you can always ring Deby in the new year and ask for them. I will be making some less Christmassy cards with these stamps soon! Here is a close up of the snow effect acheived with a clear stardust gellyroll pen and a waterbrush.

 It has been a crazy couple of weeks for me with School Panto, parties, trips (58 children to see Santa and learn about Victorian Christmas traditions)  and Christmas fair, and I also have about 7 colleagues with birthdays in December!!! I needed a card quickly, so got out some favourite ink colours, ink dusters and some inkylicious stamps (Summer Morn) and made this.

The flowers are actually two shades of purple (memento grape jelly and Elderberry) rather than the brown they look in the photo. Even my daylight lamp doesn't seem to show the true colours.
On to my news. A couple of months ago I was contacted by the editor of Creative Stamping and Creative Card making magazines to see if I would complete some commissions for them. It fell perfectly during half term and so I said yes! My first set of cards will be featured in issue 22 of creative Stamping (on sale 16th January) and the second lot in issue 23 (on sale 27th February). I will show you a sneaky peek nearer the release date and a few of the cards I made.
Spare a thought for Santa this year. I witnessed children asking for a wand that does real magic and a real life unicorn, not to mention the real rainbow pony and a gerbil that can talk!!! Not a single child asked for anything electronic, and there were the very modest requests too, such as a snakes and ladders game, a pink teddy and some football socks. It was magical the way that Santa appeared on the roof of Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire, and every child believed (and maybe one or two adults too, lol)!!!

Right, I am off to enjoy the first evening of my two week holiday.
Thanks for looking! 

Snippet Birthday Card

I made this card for a friend using lots of snippets. The leaves and framed parts were stamped onto snippets of white card before colouring with promarkers and cutting out. The pale green snippet at the bottom was run through my cuttlebug with a stencil and my no shims mat before dusting with crushed olive Distress ink and stamping with the tiny acorn in the same ink. the faux stitching was drawn with a distress marker. All stamps are from Inky Doodles using the Woodland Walk set. 
I am popping over to Miss Di's snippet playground with it, and hope Parsnip has something warming stashed in the tree house ;). I think I have finished the Christmas shopping apart from food, so I'm ready for a hot toddy x
Thanks for looking!

Winter Wonderland at Stamping Sensations

It is the first Sunday of the month and time for a new challenge at Stamping Sensations. Our theme this month is Winter Wonderland - perfect for any last minute Christmas cards, or winter birthdays. I have made a couple of scenic cards - no surprise there, lol! This month we are being sponsored by Chloe's Creative cards. I have used their Starry wreath, embossed in holographic silver, as a frame for my little scene (Deer -Stampscapes, Tree- Making Tracks, Inc.). I used my ink dusters to make the sunset with Memento inks.
I used the same colours (Grape Jelly, Dandelion, Tangelo) to make the little scene below.

 All stamps except the sentiment are from Inkylicious for this one.

 Here is a different angle so you can see the glittery snow.
The prize is this lovely lot of stash and stamps!

 

Do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at all the fabulous creations that the DT have made this month. There are so many beautiful creations! It has been a whirlwind weekend for us. Megan had her black belt grading yesterday. I am delighted to say she passed and here is a photo of her sporting her shiny new belt alongside two other successful students, Heidi and Stuart, who are also from GKR region 30.

Here is an action shot or two!

 

Our form of Karate practices minimum contact, so Megan didn't land a punch on this young man's chin, but it was definitely on target! I would be scared, lol! In a couple of hours we are off out to celebrate Steve's Dad's 94th birthday with some of the family.
Thanks for looking and I hope to pop over and see you soon!