Christmas Card Club #23: Oh Christmas Tree and another

Hello my friends! It's official - Christmas has begun, the anticipation, the excitement and with all that comes anxiety and panic! Busy times ahead, my friends! LOL.

I owe a huge apology to all my loyal blog-buds for your continued custom, especially since I have been errantly absent. We've had a hectic few days in the Martins household: Church, Family, Friends, and our customary Advent trip to the Sanctuary of Fátima. It's only an couple of hours drive away but we got home late last night / early this morning...it's all a sleepy blur.  And today is another long long long day. We have Mass, Advent fair and Choral recitation. I'm hoping we can be back by 9pm tonight. Beauty sleep is imperative. I'm beginning to look like the old hag who lives in the woods.

Speaking of woods, the theme this fortnight for the Christmas Card Club is Oh Christmas Tree. I made half a dozen of this card for my doggie shelter pile. Definitely one of my favourite Christmas stamps. It reminds me of our dearly departed kitty Xiara and our ageing doggie André.  

Red card base. The stamp is from Chocolate Baroque's The Gift of Christmas. The greeting is from Chocolate Baroque's Warm Christmas Greetings. Embellishment: Gold Liquid Pearls, Crystal Stickles, Red Bling and baker's twine by Doodlebug.

I heat embossed the image in black and some colour on the tree using Promarkers. There is also some dry embossing with the Swiss Dots folder on the cream panel.

This sentiment is also from Chocolate Baroque's Warm Christmas Greetings.

Challenges for this card:


Make It Monday #169 - AG
CHNC Extra Christmas Challenge - December - AG
Come And Get It - Christmas Challenge
52 Christmas Card Throwdown November Theme - Pick a Previous Theme - Challenge #21 Christmas Tree
Inspired by #98 - photo
An Inky Situation #19 - Trees

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I've got another card to show which I meant to post yesterday. This one's for our Church's Advent Sale to feed and clothe the less fortunate members of our parish. I made half a dozen of these...which itself is a miracle!

I embossed the green panel using Checkered folder and the white vellum using the Swiss Dots folder. Embellishments: sheer white ribbon, clear bling and white Liquid Pearls. The image and greeting are from Chocolate Baroque's Christmas Cheer.

I heat embossed the bell on some light grey CS using Silver Holographic EP,  fussy cut it and adhered to the image. I coloured the leaves with Promarkers and applied white Liquid Pearls on the mistletoe berries. I also inked the edges with TH's Vintage Photo.   

Challenges for this card:

Deconstructed Sketch #128
Colour Throwdown #270
Crafty Ribbons #72 - AG with Ribbon

That's all from me today. Thank you so much for sticking with me. I have to rush off and get ready for Church but will try and drop my later today. Have a blessed Advent Sunday, my friends. Stay safe, stay warm.

Beijinhos!

Sing a Song of Christmas

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

to all my American friends!

Just a quick post from me today. I meant to show this to you yesterday but I fell asleep editing the photo.

Woke up this morning in bed....and I have no idea how I got there. As a single young woman I was naturally freaked out...I wanted to scream. Then I heard a familiar snore beside me and I realised; I am neither single nor young....and it's his turn to make breakfast. Life is good!

Several hours before that frightening visit form the ghost of Christmas past, I made this card.

Background: Pine Green CS, snowflakes from Chocolate Baroque Family Christmas and Versacolor Sage Green.
Music panel: Cream CS, torn music sheet from Chocolate Baroque Music Fanfare, Memento Rich Cocoa.
Embellishment: Red gingham ribbon.

Bird: Chocolate Baroque Family Christmas, Memento Tuxedo Black, Promarkers Lipstick Red & Berry Red
Sentiment: Chocolate Baroque Christmas Song, Memento Tuxedo Black, TH Vintage Photo, SB Circle and Scalloped Circle
Leaf: Clearly Besotted Leafy Accents, Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy, CBS Leafy Accents dies.

Some challenges for you to play along too:

Tuesday Morning Sketches #226 - sketch
I Love Promarkers #196 - AG with Promarkers
Addicted to Stamps and More #73 - Holidays
Divas By Design - Use Some Red
Crafty Ribbons #72 - AG with Ribbon
Cute Card Thursday #297 - AG
Word Art Wednesday #108 - AG Inspirational
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - AG
4 Crafty Chicks #170 - Christmas


That's all from me today. I have a gazillion things to do and my nose is completely blocked! That is especially annoying to me because (on a day like this) I crave the smell of coffee. An allergy or the start of a winter cold...too busy to care, really. I hope you have a great day. Stay warm. Thanks for stopping by.

Beijinhos!

Double Mojo

Can you believe that we're at the final furlong of November. That also means Christmas is less than a month a way and the last posting date for Christmas cards is about fortnight away. Are you ready. Me? Not by a long shot. My doggie pile didn't increase much over the weekend and I still seem to be short on cards for family and friends. Which begs the question: what have I been doing all year? Ok, maybe it's time to panic.

I made 2 cards today. Same sketch and same colours but 2 styles: my usual and CAS ...well, sort of. I'm also using the same stamps: Clearly Besotted's Pretty Poinsettia.

Sketch: Mojo Monday

Colours: CAS Colours & Sketches 

Which one's your favourite? Please don't say neither...I'm feeling a little fragile today! ;-)

Card 1:

Background: embossed with Swiss Dots. Patternes Papers: Back To Basics Vintage Christmas. Inks: Memento Tuxedo Black,  Memento Rhubarb Stalk, TH Vintage Photo and TH Antique Linen. Embellishments: Ribbon, Yellow Bling.  

And plenty of foam tape!

Challenges for this card:
Mojo Monday #321 - sketch
Make It Monday #168 - Anything Goes
Amusing Challenges #11 - Anything Goes
Corrosive Challenge #188 - Happy Holidays
A Creative Romance - Vintage Style


Card 2:

Background: embossed with Swiss Dots. Other stamps: CBS Geometric Style, CBS Tag Along and CBS Leafy Accents. Inks: Memento Rich Cocoa, Memento Bamboo Leaves, TH Antique Linen. Embellishments: Bakers' Twine and Liquid Pearls. 

And plenty of foam tape. In fact there's a tiny bit of the foam tape backing piece stuck behind the poinsettia. Can you spot it?

Challenges for this card:

CAS Colours & Sketches #52 - colours
Addicted to Stamps #70 - Embossing
Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 - Christmas
Shabby Tea Room #194 - Christmas is Coming + red,white & brown


That's my lot for today. I hope you're having a creative Monday too. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you soon!

Beijinhos!

Paper Bauble - Tutorial

IHello again, my friends! As promised, I'm going to show you how to make this fun paper bauble which I posted on Friday for my DT project for PolkaDoodle Challenge "Inspired By A Christmas Carol".


1. Cut out 20 circles out of patterned paper of the same design or a combination. You can use a die or a punch to cut out the circles but make sure they are all the same size. For my sample, I used a 2" die. Also, cut / punch 1 extra circle out of plain paper which will serve as a template.

2. Make a triangle template. Take the plain circle and fold it in half horizontally and vertically so that the circle is creased into quarters (circle 1 below). Fold each side to meet the centre starting at the bottom (circle 2 below).  Next fold down the top right, followed by the top left, each time meeting at the centre. (circle 3 below). Cut along the crease lines and you will end up with an equilateral triangle. This is your template (circle 4 below)

3. Place the template on the circle, with the pattern facing up, and fold up the circle along the sides of the triangle. Make sure you get a good crease on the circle to match the triangle template.

 4. Repeat this on all the remaining circles.

5. Start by glueing 5 circles at the folded flaps, as shown below. This will form the "lid" of the bauble.

6. Cut some twine or thin ribbon, fold in half and tie a knot to make a loop.

7. Carefully pass the loop through the middle of the "lid". Use a needle or pokey tool to help you push. Pull the loop through until it stops at the knot ...

... and the "lid" is now ready.

8.  Next, glue 10 circles together in a strip - this will form the body of the bauble. Then, glue the remaining 5 circles in the same way as for the "lid" to make the bottom.

 9. Finally, assemble the bauble by gluing the top 5 flaps of the strip to the 5 free flaps of the "lid". This will leave you with 5 free flaps (see below) which you will glue to the free flaps of the bottom piece, thereby closing the bauble and completing the sphere.

10. Your bauble is now ready! If you are a math buff, you'll probably recognise this as an icosahedron-based geodesic sphere. (Yes! I just spoilt the magic by dragging geometry into the equation. My bad!)

So there you have it my friends! Once you make the first, it gets easier to make the rest. The time consuming part of this project is the prep work: cutting and folding 20 circles. Cheap labour is the only solution! So get those kids "gainfully" employed, while you give them a lesson in complex geometry. Win-win situation! Yes I know...I'm a natural with kids! LOL

Thank you for stopping by and have a blessed Sunday.

Beijinhos!

Polka Doodles #47: Christmas Ornament

Wheeeee...... it's Friday and the weekend is nigh. And here's another reason to be chipper...it's time for new PolkaDoodles challenge. This week we're doing Christmas and we want you make Anything Christmas and if you are feeling particularly crafty, why not be Inspired by A Carol ... or any other of your fave festive tune.  

In our home, Bing Crosby takes centre stage as we haul down our box of Christmas decorations and struggle to keep up with him. To put it plainly: Bing = Baubles

So I decided to make these paper beauties using some fabulous papers from 2 Christmas CDs by Polka Doodles: Angelberry and Home For Christmas.  And you know what? I believe "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"!  

I'm doing traditional Christmas colours here. Made of paper, it weighs next to nothing and is perfect for hanging just about anywhere.

I know pink is big this Christmas so I've incorporated it into this pastel bauble.Love the delicate snowflakes on the polkadot papers.

Here they are together. I've made them plain, no embellishment for you to have an idea what they look like. I think these babies look fab as they are...but of course feel free to accidentally tip your glitter pot over them. I'm sure they won't mind a little sparkle.  

These baubles are so pretty and versatile you can make it for any occasion. For example, use pastel colours for baby showers, bright cheerful papers for birthdays, delicate shimmery papers for weddings.... the possibilities are endless. And the good news is all of PolkaDoodles' CD collections include really pretty papers that are perfect for this project.

Want to know how I made this? Well, I'll be posting a tutorial over at the PolkaDoodles Challenge blog on Sunday. Make sure you swing by and we'll have you making baubles all year 'round!

In the meantime, why not check out the rest of the DT and be inspired by their gorgeous creations. Remember, there are some pretty awesome prizes up for grabs. You don't want to miss out on that, do you? Of course not!

I'll be dangling my baubles to there challenges. Join me?

As You Like It #15 - Spots or Stripes? - Spots because they go with everything and don't make me look fat! LOL
Cute Card Thursday #296 - Anything But A Card
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
Crimbo Crackers #55 - Anything But A Card
Delightful Challenges - Anything But A Card
Creative Knockout #12 - Snowflakes - on the pink and green bauble
Moving Along With The Times - Music Inspired - "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas"

That's all from me. Be sure to drop in on Sunday for the tutorial. In the meantime, have  a sing-along with Mr Crosby.

It's been a nippy few days. Keep those fingers and toes warm....while you craft on! Thanks for stopping by!

Beijinhos!

Update: Tutorial for the Paper Bauble is here.

Another Christmas card

Regular readers will know that I am making Christmas cards to help raise funds for our local doggie shelter. I promised a dozen but I want to make as many as possible. It's been a slow process because I am rubbish at CAS, my usual stuff are not suited to mass production and boredom sets in after 3 cards. Miraculously, last weekend I managed to produce 5 of these... before I gave in to "creative fatigue".

Still playing with Clearly Besotted stamps. Partly because my craft table is a mess and I haven't put away these stamps. But more importantly, they are my training wheels while I struggle to demystify CAS. Here I'm using the Signature Christmas stamps and coordinating dies.    

Inks: Memento Bamboo Leaves and Versacolor Scarlet. For the background I embossed some grey CS with Checkered EF by Darice. To finish, 1 red bling.

Challenges:

Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 - Christmas
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
4 Crafty Chicks #169 - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments #94 - Any Sentiment
Southern Girls - Round Round Baby Right Round - circles, round dots
My Heart Pieces - Red, Green and Another colour - grey
Charisma Cardz #46 - Christmas

That's all from me today. Thank you so much for stopping by. Don't forget to drop in tomorrow for my Polka Doodles post. I've got an easy little project to show you. So until then - stay warm, my friends!

Beijinhos!

Geometric Poinsettia

Hello, friends. Avery quick post from me this morning just to share a little something I made over the weekend with some new toys. I made this poinsettia with 2 stamps from one of Clearly Besotted's November Releases called Geometric Style.    

I stamped the outer leaves using the triangle stamp and Memento Cottage Ivy. For the petals I used the diamond stamp with Memento Rhubarb Stalk and Versacolor Scarlet. To cut I used the Geometric Style Coordinating Die Collection. The greeting is from Clearly Besotted's Tag Along, stamped with Memento Cottage Ivy. Using pop dots I mounted this layer on some dark green CS and adhered the lot on my 4-1/2" square card base. 

Embellishments: yellow bling and some twine. I'm still not used to white space. So I fixed that problem with little dots of Liquid Pearls. 

That was a quick and easy card to make.... 3 more for my doggie-shelter stack. I'm building up the pile...slowly, three at a time! The strong clean lines also make this card perfect for men. Who says you can't send men flowers?!

Taking my festive flower to the following challenges:

Clearly Besotted Challenge #6 -Christmas
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter #138 - Christmas Is Coming
Cards For Men #23 - Merry Christmas
Crafty Creations #249 - American Thanksgiving / Christmas - Christmas
Twisted Tuesday #62 - Pop Dots and Polka Dots
Bearly Mine #113 - Traditional Christmas Colours and Die Cuts

Thank you so much for stopping by. Must dash...another hectic day ahead. I can't wait to retire and move to somewhere warm......(Dream on, Asha!)  Have a lovely day, my friends!

Beijinhos!

Christmas Itch!

Nooooo! It's not what you think!

After my week-long tumultuous affair with CAS, I'm itchin' for some stitchin'. Back in my comfort zone,  I made this Christmas card using all my fave toys.  It felt good....I needed a good ol' scratch! Aaah!

The papers are by Papermania "Lincoln Linen". The stamp is from Chocolate Baroque's "Christmas Song" set, stamped with Memento Espresso Truffle.

I coloured the bird with Promarkers and Caran d'Ache pencils. Actually, I stamped him twice and did some decoupaging.  Then I applied lashing of Startdust Stickles on the branches ... and dotted Liquid Pearls all over....and some bling on those ornaments. Not to forget, I stitched and inked the edges of all layers with TH's Vintage Photo. PS - Sheer ribbon tied in a bow .... Yesssss, I'm back, baby! 

More stitching and inking on the inside. The greeting is from WMS's Compliments of the Season set.

And now I'm ready for these challenges:

Mojo Monday #320 - sketch
Christmas Card Challenge #51 - Bling
Ribbon Girls November Colour Challenge
Make It Monday #167 - Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #106 - Uplifting Sentiment
One Stitch At A Time #190 - Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss #210 - 3 Patterned Paper
365 Cards Day 320 - Stamping & Stitching
Fashionista Challenge - Christmas Bling

That's from me today. Thank you so much for stopping by. It's going to be another cold night, so stay warm, my friends!

Beijinhos!