My favourite cards of 2010

I joined in with Debby's challenge to show her our favourite five Christmas cards of 2010 last week...and loved hopping round to see what everyone else had chosen...so I thought I'd join her again and show you my five favourite cards of 2010...there's yummy candy on offer...and plenty of inspiration to be had...so do pop over and join in.

After looking through all this year's blog posts, I had 12 cards...but managed to get it down to 5 in the end...so here goes:

Lots of my favourite things on this card...cute Penny Black image...My Mind's Eye papers...Cuttlebug emboossing...distressing and faux stitching...lovely! :0)

This card is special to me, because I made it for a special crafting friend's wedding...and I love white on white cards...

I had to include a Lili of the Valley card...and this one also uses one of my favourite colour combos...and more distressing and faux stitching ;0)

This easel card/calendar was quite a recent make...but I just love the image and soft colours on it.

My final card is not a card at all...it's a box that I filled with Penny Black cards I made as a birthday present for my Nan...I love the colours & papers on it...I've had that Kioshi pad for months...but still find it hard to cut into the papers! lol

Bumble Bee

It's been ages since I joined in with the Sugar Bowl Challenge...but I had a little play this afternoon...and made a card using their sketch. The image is 'Bumble Bee' by Sugar Nellie which I coloured with watercolour pencils, adding some sparkle with a Sakura Stardust pen and cut out using a craft knife. The papers are from the 'Kioshi' pad by BasicGrey, and I embossed the plainer ones using my 'Kassie's Brocade', 'Victoria' and 'Floral Fantasy' folders...sanding over the raised areas to reveal the detail. The sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly, and the lace is from Hobbycraft.

Challenges for this card:

• Sugar Bowl - Sketch & optional extra of embossing
• Charisma Cardz - Pearls & Lace
• Die Cut Dreams - How girlie can you get?
• Paper Sundaes - Cut it out
• Sew Many - Anything Goes

Birthday Dog

This card uses one of my most favourite Penny Black stamps...'Birthday Dog'...he was one of the first ones I bought, but he still gets inked up regularly. The papers are all from the 'Max & Whiskers' pad by BasicGrey, and I distressed the edges using my distressing tool. The 'bone' ribbon is from Hobbycraft, the little bone charm was from a seller on Ebay, the sentiments are from a little Studio G set, and I used my EK Success 'Scalloped Diamonds' punch for the border.

Challenges for this card:

• Sweet Stop - Sketch
• Crazy Challenge - Punch It!
• Creative Card Crew - Birthdays
• Incy Wincy - Distressing
• Penny Black Saturday - 3 Papers, 1 Ribbon & a Charm
• Simon Says - Time to Party/Celebrate

Thank You Notes

I made a few quick 'Thank you' notes this afternoon...really very simple...I cut the shaped cards using the largest of my scalloped square Nesties, then added a panel embossed with a Cuttlebug folder (I used 'Floral Fantasy', 'Textile', 'Kassie's Brocade', 'Victoria', 'D'Vine Swirls' & 'Perfect Paisley') and a sentiment cut using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet.

Challenges for thses cards:

• Cupcake Craft - Thank You
• Papertake Weekly - Thank You
• Winter Wonderland - Thank You

2011 Calendar

This is one of the presents I made for my Mum...it's one of the 'Create a Calendars' from the Papermill Shop. As there are rather a lot of photos...I've made them into a slideshow:

The images are mainly Penny Black, but there's also some Lili of the Valley and Toodles & Binks images. The papers are a mixture of all the usual suspects: My Mind's Eye; BasicGrey; and Pink Paislee. There's not too much else on there...just a little bit of Cuttlebug embossing...I tried to keep them really simple, and made all of the 'pictures' A6 sized...for easy recycling into cards when the calendar's finished with. I did a couple of the slim calendars too this year...but forgot to photograph them before I wrapped them...doh!...but they were pretty similar to this one...all different images & papers...but set out in portrait, rather than landscape to fit the calendar.

I'm going to enter this into my lovely friend Samantha's Christmas Candy Challenge.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

The lovely Debby from A Scrapjourney has challenged us to show her our favourite 5 Christmas cards of 2010 in return for the chance to win some yummy candy...

I made so many cards this year...and started back on Boxing Day last year...lol...so I found it really difficult to remember what I'd made...but after a little look back through my blog posts for this year...(all 380 of them!)...here are the ones that I've chosen:

These little Whiff of Joy 'Love Birds' are so sweet...and the colours are one of my favourite combos too...a bit of distressing and faux stitching...lovely...the image was a RAK from my lovely friend Samantha...so I turned it into a card...and sent it back to her for Christmas! lol

I love little James the Bear by Lili of the Valley...I have a few stamps of him, and I've used them loads this year...but what I like about this card in particular are the bold colours...even though I don't like pink, I really like this card! lol

This card is so over the top I just had to include it...it also has a few of my favourite things on: a Penny Black stamp (this is from the 'Holly Jolly' set; gorgeous glittery My Mind's Eye 'Wonderful Winter' papers (I love these...and have used them loads this year...and there are still loads left!); and the Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' snowflake. And I couldn't resist adding little fairy lights to the tree:

I love the colours of the BasicGrey 'Figgy Pudding' papers on this one...not traditionally festive, but they still look wintry...and that Prairie Fairy 'Snow Friends' image is so cute!

And I just had to include an 'All White' card as I've made quite a few of those this year...great for showing off all the fabulous Cuttlebug folders...and I love this cute Rachelle Ann Miller 'Teddy Bear' stamp.

I'll be back on Boxing Day with one of the gifts I made for my Mum, Merry Christmas everyone!

In the shed!

I've made this easel card calendar for my Dad...and the image I chose to use is 'In the shed' by Lili of the Valley...as my Dad is rather fond of his shed! I coloured the image with watercolour pencils, and added '2011' to the little sign. The papers are all from the 'Max & Whiskers' pad by BasicGrey...and I distressed the edges with my distressing tool, before adding some faux stitching with my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The calendar tab is by Anita's.

Here's a better view of the 'easel card' shape:

And one showing the front:

Challenges for this card:

• Crafts & Me - Anything Goes
• Creative Craft - Anything Gooes
• Digi Doodles - Anything Goes
• Moving Along with the Times - Anything Goes (NO Christmas Cards)
• Scrapbook Sisters - It's a Man's World
• Stamp Fairy - Anything Goes
• Stamp with Fun - Sketch
• Totally Stampalicious - It's all faux fun! (I've used faux stitching)

All wrapped up!

Phew...I've finally finished making all my Christmas presents...woo-hoo!!! I do have photos of some of them to show you, but today it's all about the wrapping. I like to wrap my presents in ordinary brown paper...and I use kraft bags & tags to match. The bags were bought on form a seller on Ebay, and the tags are from WHSmith. I decorated the bags with a few snowflakes cut using Cuttlebug & Marianne Creatables dies. The tags were simply stamped with a Lili of the Valley sentiment, and decorated with a piece of My Mind's Eye 'Wonderful Winter' or 'Colourful Christmas' paper, and the images are a mixture of Penny Black (from the 'Christmas Critters' & 'Holly Jolly' sets) and there's also a Stamp Fairy snowman. I didn't bother to photograph them separately, but you should be able to get a better view by clicking on the photo.

I'm going to enter these into the following challenges:

• Pink Elephant - Tags
• Prairie Fairy - Use Kraft Card
• Stamp Something - Something with a Tag or Pocket
• The Stamp Man - Anything Goes Tags
• Winter Wonderland - Wrapping

Rudolph Noses

It's not a card today...but a quick and easy last minute gift idea. I bought these little glass jars from Ikea ages ago...can't remember what I thought I'd put in them...but I decided to fill them with little chocolates for a little gift. I made the tags using a Sizzix die, then added a scrap of My Mind's Eye 'Wonderful Winter' paper, and a mat cut using my 'Lacey Circles' Nesties, with computer generated wording.

And on the top, I've used a Penny Black stamp 'Deer in Skates'...although I had to cut him up to fit on the top...he's coloured with watercolour pencils, and (although it doesn't really show up in the photo) I added some Glossy Accents to his nose.

Challenges for these:

• Fab'n'Funky - Quick & Easy
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Simon Says - Anything Goes
• Stampavie & More - Red

Xmas Pilgrims

This is the card I've made for me to give to my Dad...I was inspired to used this fabby stamp ('Xmas Pilgrims' by Penny Black) by my lovely ABC Christmas Challenge DT buddy Lols...who sent a gorgeous Christmas card with it on. I coloured the image with watercolour pencils to match the 'Wonderful Winter' papers by My Mind's Eye. The sentiment stamps are from a Lili of the Valley set, the snowflakes are a mixture of Mariane Creatables, and Cuttlebug, and the card candy (originally white, but dyed with inks to match the papers) is by Craftwork Cards.

Challenges for this card:

• Creative Stamp Friends - Traditional Christmas Colours
• Critter - Anything Christmas
• For Fun - Merry Christmas
• Sweet Stampin' - Celebrations

Puppy Post!

This card is for my Dad...though it's from my Mum, not me...I'll show you the one I'll be giving him another day. I've used 'Puppy Post' by Lili of the Valley, colouring him with watercolour pencils, and adding some Polar White Flowersoft for 'snow'. The papers are Bo Bunny 'Tis the Season', and I distressed the edges with inks and my distressing tool. The snowflakes are a mixture of Marianne Designs Creatables, and Cuttlebug, and the sentiment is a Cuddly Buddly stamp.

 Here's a better view of the Flowersoft 'snow':

Challenges for this card:

• Crafty Catz - Your choice (I chose challenge #45 - Animals)
• Fussy & Fancy - Show us some snow
• Lili of the Valley - Sketch
• Moving Along with the Times - Let it snow
• Sew Many - Winter
• Totally Gorjuss - For someone special

Elegant Christmas

Today's card is a little bit different for me...no cute image...no colouring...and lots of pearlised card. This is the Christmas card I've made for my Mum...look away now Mum if you're reading this! She has a bit of a thing for Christmas trees, so I thought I'd use this rather elegant 'Swirl Tree' by Hero Arts...as I haven't used it at all this year! I embossed it with silver powder on white pearlised card, and did the same with the Paper Makeup sentiment. For the background I embossed more of the same card with my 'Snowflakes' Cuttlebug folder. I matted everything on to pearl blue card, and added a few snowflakes cut with Marrianne Designs Creatables, and Cuttlebug dies, and an organza ribbon bow.

Here's a view from the side which shows the embossing a little clearer:

Challenges for this card:

• Allsorts - Anything Goes
• Crafty Ann's - Anything Goes
• Critter - No patterned paper
• Creative Inspirations (Sundays) - Anything Christmas
• Simon Says - Silver, Blue & White
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Christmas
• Stamptacular Sunday - TREEmendous

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - In the Farmyard

This week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge is set by Wendy, and she has chosen the theme of:

'In the Farmyard'

This is our last challenge of 2010, and will run for 2 weeks, and we are using images from our December sponsor Stitchy Bear Stamps on our cards this week. The image I'm using is called 'Under the weather'...and the way I feel today, I think I should probably send this card to myself! I coloured him with watercolour pencils to match the My Mind's Eye 'Ooh La La (for him)' papers, and cut out the image and mat using Nesties (available here at the Secret Crafter). The sentiment is from the CCSR set by Papermania, and the flowers are by Prima.

I'm also going to enter this card into the following challnges:

• Corrosive - Sketch
• Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
• Creative Card Crew - Anything Goes

For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations by my lovely Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge DT buddies.

Brown paper packages...tied up with string...

 ...well actually they're tied up with ribbon...but you know what I mean.

So...what's inside???

They're post-it note covers...just a little something for some special crafty friends, to go with their Christmas cards. I've used Penny Black images on them all from various clear sets...the smaller stamps are just perfect for this kind of thing, and the spotty papers are all from the 'Wild Asparagus' collection by My Mind's Eye. I cut the images out using Nesties, and then inked around the edges using chalk inkpads. I always wrap my presents with brown paper...I prefer to 'pretty them up' with ribbon or tags...that way everything coordinates and you don't need different papers for different occasions...the ribbons I've used on these are a mixture from Tescos, Dovecraft, Poppicrafts & Anita's.

I'm going to enter these into the following challenges:

• CES - Anything but a Christmas card
• Craft Your Days Away - Puches & Dies
• Paperplay - Anything but a card
• Stampavie & More - Make a gift

ABC Christmas Challenge - Z is for...

Wow...I can't believe it's been a whole year since my lovely friend Samantha came up with the mad idea of the ABC Christmas Challenge...but you know what they say...and it's true...time really does fly when you're having fun...and we've certainly had lots of that over the course of the last 25 challenges! But...we've been saving the best 'til last...not only do we have a fabulous challenge for you as your get all your final preparations done for the big day...with two fabulous sponsors...but we're having a blog hop with some special guests and candy hidden along the way!

So...you should have reached my blog from the lovely Dorte's blog...if not...you might want to go back to the ABC Christmas Challenge and follow the hop to make sure you don't miss out on any of the letters or hidden candies.

Who, but Samantha could host this very special challenge? She's feeling very generous this week, and the theme she has chosen is:

'Z is for Zero Time Left'

We know that time is tight, and even the best organised amongst us still have masses to do before Christmas, so we're giving you free reign to use any of the themes from our previous challenges this year...you can use one...or two...or combine as many as you can...it's up to you! You can find a full list of this year's challenge themes is the sidebar on the ABC Christmas Challenge blog.

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

 
Their prize is a $15 shopping spree in their fabby store.

and

They have very generously donated prizes for 3 lucky winners:
1st - 3 images
2nd - 2 images
3rd - 1 image

Ok...on to my projects...I've revisited a few of our challenges, and made several items. The first two are gifts...a snowglobe and a photo frame:

The snowglobe is from Hobbycraft...but instead of putting photos inside, I added a stamped Penny Black image (from the 'Christmas Critters' set) and a sentiment (from a set by Paper Makeup):

Challenges for the snowglobe: D for Decoration, O for Ornaments & U for Under the Tree.

I also bought the photo frame in Hobbycraft (sorry...I forgot to take a photo of it 'naked')...and I painted it with bronze paint, then added pieces of bronze metal, embossed with various Cuttlebug folders ('Floral Fatasy', 'Victoria' & 'Kassie's Brocade'):

Challenges for the Photo Frame: U for Under the Tree.

For my final project...I've used a cute little snowman digi image from our lovely sponsor the Stamp Fairy to make a couple of little gift tags for when I wrap these presents. I coloured the wee chap with watercolour pencils, and added some 'Crystal' Stickles to the snow. The blank tags are from WHSmiths, and the sentiment is a Lili of the Valley stamp:

Challenges for the tags: F for Frosty & X for Xmas.

I'm also going to enter some of these items into some other challenges:

• Allsorts - Last minute Christmas
• Charisma Cardz - Christmas Gifts
• Cupcake Craft - Non-traditional Christmas Colours (the tags)
• Everybody Art - Handmade Gifts
• Incy Wincy - Non-traditional Christmas Colours (the tags)
• Paperplay - Holiday Tag
• Paper Sundaes - Anything but square or rectangular (the tags & snowglobe)
• Penny Black Saturday - The Holly & the Ivy (the snowglobe)
• Scrapbook Sisters - Non-traditional Christmas Colours (the tags)
• Stamp Fairy - Use glitter or Stickles (on the tags)
• Stamp Something - December Digi Day (the tags)
• Stamp with Fun - Christmas
• Top Tip Tuesday - Christmas Inspired
• Totally Stampalicious - Clean & Simple (the tags)

Ok...the letter you need to collect from my blog is M...so now it's time for you to 'hop' on over to the next blog...which is one of our lovely sponsors...The Stamp Fairy...but don't forget to leave me a comment before you go...I may have some hidden candy!