CVC: Christmas

Hello there! Well its my second post for the current challenge at Countryview Challenges this month - its an easy one ... the theme is Christmas ....have you got any last minute makes you can share with us? There's a chance to win  £20 spend in the wonderful shop!!!

Here's my make - the card I made for my lovely mum for Christmas - and I'm glad to be able to report that she loved it!!!

There's quite a lot going on here but basically this is what I did - sorry no step x step today - in the rush to make this I forgot!!!

Firstly I made the poinsettias by cutting them out using tattered poinsettia die. Next I coloured them with candied apple distress ink and used and indigo blu stamp to stamp the words. Then I curled them and layered them up.

Next I made the background using a combination of distress inks, stains and brushos! I stamped the Indigo blu dinkie stamp the arranged it all...

I also added some berries and pine cones....

I hope you like it! There's still a day or two left to enter here

Hugs

Rachel xx

winter - a cool picture for chocolate baroque

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you had an excellent time at Christmas! We made the best of things - the girls enjoyed themselves so thats all that matters really!

Today I have an offering for you that is over on the chocolate baroque blog. Its using one of the seasons stamps - this time winter.

The frame started life as a a card frame which I altered with decoart and indigo blu painty products.

The image was stamped in blue and coloured in blues for a real frosty feel.

Here's the closest picture i have of this icy queen! I think she's a real beauty!

Hope you continue enjoying the festive season!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Tims tags December

Hello there! Well here I am with my entry to Tims tags this month. I loved doing this - I decided to go pink and purple so its not really like tims but I did follow most of the techniques here. Here's Tims ....


I love the remix that Tim has done this year and am looking forward to seeing whats going to happen next year.

Here's mine....

and a few close ups ...

I used the punched leaves differently but I like what I did!!

Love how these colours came out - beautiful for hair methinks! Its spun sugar and wilted violet!!! 

I'd like to enter this into timholtz 12-tags-of-2016-december

Have a really happy Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful time and manage to enjoy all the time with whomever you choose to spend it with!

Hugs

Rachel x

snow snow snow at Indigo Blu

Hello there! Well how are you today? My second post already - but this one is all about Indigo Blu! There is a new challenge starting today at Indigo Blu blog and the theme is 'Snow, snow, snow'. We have lots of inspiration for you over at the site and here's my make plus details of how I made it.

I have used three different indigo blu stamps ....

twinkle-star-a6-red-rubber-stamp-by-kay-halliwell-sutton

dinkies-c4/christmas-word-block-a7-red-rubber-stamp

/here-comes-santa-a5-red-rubber-stamp

I stamped the images on black card using flitter-glu on a foam square. I then put the stamps into water so as not to ruin them. Next I added megaflake-winter-dawn and rubbed off the excess before using a piece of scooshi foam to get the other excess flakes off and then polishing with a piece of kitchen roll. I stamped two of the stars and superimposed them.

This is what it looks like. I think the snowflakes came out really well!

If you feel inspired why not join our challenge - all you need to do is follow the theme and use indigo blu stamps! The prizes are awesome!

Looking forward to seeing what you make!

Hugs

Rachel x

bright elephants

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you're doing well and are almost ready for the big day. I have a card on the chocolate baroque blog today - I used the stamp set indian-elephant to make a non christmassy card to brighten your day!

I started the card by stamping, colouring and masking the two elephants. 

Next I coloured the background with mustard seed distress ink. Then I overstamped in archival inks.

Finally I stamped in the sentiment which came from another CB stamp set!

I hope you have a great day!

Hugs

Rachel x

Teacher gifts

Hello there! How are you? I do hope you are well! I am good as are the girls - we have been getting into the Christmas spirit having been on the first session of the village Carol singing last night and to the school carol service tonight. Back to village Christmas carol singing tomorrow night but before that we have the pinocchio play to go and see tomorrow morning. The girls are going with school and my mum and I are going independently!Looking forward to that. We will also be giving out the teachers Christmas present s tomorrow - its been a labour of love and we have all played a role - including mum!

We made 12 altogether - 4 of each colour blue, purple and green/yellow.

Here's one of the yellow ones. The stamps are from paperartsy. I used crackle medium from paperartsy also to create the crackle. I do hope the teachers enjoy these!

Lastly a picture from my night out last Friday with my friends Michelle and Danielle - my new grown up hairdo - its short at the back!!!!

Hope you're having a good run up to Christmas!

Big hugs

Rachel x

Masculine Make for Fiskars

Hello there! How are you? I hope you are fine. We are certainly hurtling headlong towards Christmas now aren't we? It was our village ladies Christmas do last night - at a local pub - it was all very nice - I did enjoy myself. We were supposed to be out again tonight but that has sadly had to be cancelled. Still it does mean that we get to watch the strictly final so its not all bad!!!

When I was a guest designer for Fiskars I made a masculine card. I haven't seen it on their page yet so I'm not sure if I should be blogging it - but I am afraid I will forget it if I don't - and I really like it!!!

I made the background using the Fiskars big star mixed media punch plus some textured surfaces from Tim Holtz. I also used a cog stencil and some texture paste.

Once dry I added some raven black paint from indigoblu all over the card and when dry I highlighted parts with blue gilding wax. The topper is a stamp from Tim Holtz.

I do hope you have a good saturday.

Big hugs

Rachel x

quick makes at Chocolate Baroque

Hello there! How are you today? I hope you are well. The month is already slipping away - I can hardly believe it.

Today I have a card on the Chocolate Baroque blog that features quick makes. This is a simple card that was stamped and coloured and took less than 15 minutes to make.

The main stamp is the beautiful image Serena that I coloured in spectrum noir pencils. The sides have been stamped usingone of  the christmas-edges stamps.

I hope this has given you an idea for a quick Christmas card if you need to make any still.

Big hugs 

Rachel x

May the lights be with you!

Good morning all! How are you? I hope you are okay! I am lucky enough to be the guest designer at Chocolate baroque this month and for the first piece I have used a stamp set from chocolate baroque that appears to be out of stock at present.

I stamped the main penguin and snowmen stamp plus two other penguins - one of them twice. I masked them.

Next I used distress inks to add the background. i wanted to create the feel of northern lights... not sure if its quite there but you get the idea.

That was it really - then unmasked and coloured the penguins beaks and feet and the snowmans nose and scarf!

I do hope you like this cute card!

Hugs

Rachel x

star card

Hello there! How are you? I'm feeling a bit more positive - thanks for your kind comments about Missy - I really do miss her - the kids want us to have another pet but I'm not ready for any such thing - and won't be for a long time! They will just have to wait!

Our visit to santa was lovely - we went to some nearby caves and saw him there - here's some pictures ...

      

Oh I love my girls - they are a real tonic - even if they do drive me crackers!!!!

Onto todays card - this is one from my 3 months at Fiskars....

I used a circle punch and made a mask that I inked through. I also added the small punched stars/ The larger circle was cut using the fiskars shape cutter. The stamps on it were from Birgit koopson and Indigo Blu.

I am off to the girls nativity tomorrow - I look forward to it!

Have a good evening!

Hugs

Rachel x

winter scene at Christmas card club

Morning all! I am chasing my tail at the moment - far too much to do for the number of hours in the day. I just raced up the ladder and made this card as I am behind! Its a quick make using Indigo Blu stamps and adirondack inks.

I masked the card first top and bottom then stamped and embossed the trees. Then I used torn paper and stencil brushes and adirondack inks to create the scene having first masked the moon. Finally I stamped the deer and the sentiment..

I've had a bit of a week this week - I had to have my poor puss put to sleep. She wasn't eating at all and was walking around the house mewling all the time.  The vets couldn't find anything specific and thought that given her age and the tumours on the tail earlier in the year that even if they did more tests the results would have been incurable. I don't have insurance and having spent £517 on tests and rehydration earlier in the week I took the heart breaking decision that this was the end of the road. Its something that I will never know if it was the right thing to do - and I would never want to make  a decision like that again. I just feel really rubbish about it all.

Anyway - we're off to see santa shortly so I had better put my big girl pants on and get on with it!

Big hugs!

Rachel x

Mondays coffeepot

Hello there! I am hoping you are well. I am ok - sore back and tired but the most difficult thing just now is my poor Mischief - she's going through it - she refused to eat for a while and it appears to be something to do with anaemia. The vets don't know why she's anaemic and think something is going on inside that we can't pin down. I am now regretting not having insurance as I just cannot afford for her to have more tests that may not even solve the issue. Todays bill was over £500 for blood tests, an overnight stay and drips, specialist food and they suggested if she went off to a referral centre it would be around £2000 in costs. What a nightmare! Anyway she is home now but doesn't seem right yet to me - she hasn't eaten the food I put down for her yet. Fingers crossed she'll eat it overnight.

Anyway - coffeepot on Monday I was in charge - I used a few different TH blueprint christmas stamps....

A closer look ...

All cards were created on a distressed background. The trees are decoupaged up and the soldier and gingerbread man are just flat.

The ladies enjoyed making these - some used the gingerbread house whilst others used the snowman ...sorry I don't have pictures of these!!!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Coffee pot with diana

Hello there! How are you today? I hope you are well and happy. If not sending hugs! Did you have a good Sunday? We did - Penny had her first gymnastics certification and Lucy and I went to a Christmas Market at Kirkby Lonsdale. That was lovely. We didn't buy anything but the atmosphere was lovely!

After lunch at my mums we all came home so I could make my coffeepot card for tomorrow. Thats when I realised I hadn't blogged last weeks make from Diana. Here's my version - using distress inks and blending with a tool - the stamp was from the company that was in place before it changed to chocolate baroque.

Such a pretty stamp ...

I used some pens to colour the image.

The star around the outside was stamped in gold ink and the central star was done on shrink plastic.

I love this card - so pretty in colours. In dianas version which looked beautiful she brayered the background and stamped the image over the top and left it as line art. Very effective too.

Have a good monday!

Hugs Rachel xx

Clarity Cumbria on Saturday

Hello there - how are you today? I hope you are well. We are all good and managed to buy and put up our christmas tree on Thursday - well it only fell down once so hopefully thats it up now! I am useless!!!

Today I want to post about our last Saturday trip to Clarity Cumbria. It was our festive trip and was lovely. A really lovely day - thanks to our host Jo Rice and the lovely ladies at Clarity Cumbria.

We all made a house.... here's mine...

I used some art parts and clarity stamps and lots of bits and pieces on this.....

I used weathered wood on the flower to get the crackle....

And I added some pretty lights given to me by the lovely Kezzy over a year ago!!!!

My girls had fun too - as did my mum ...some pics....

It was such a lovely day - thanks all!!!!

We had a great night last night too - we had the official opening of the Shaun Fisher room at our village Institute and had our drama group Christmas play.

They performed a Sid Rivers play called 'Christmas ...why do we do that?' I think it went down well - very short but fun. After that we had a buffet followed by an open mic session and I got my first acting experience - it only lasted 50 seconds but was lots of fun!!!!

Big hugs

Rachel xx

Christmas wishes at stamps and stencils

Good morning to you all! Second post already today - and its another new challenge - at stamps and stencils we would like to see Christmas wishes ... here's what Toni has to say ....

- Christmas Wishes! - Ahhhh! Christmas, like it or lump it, it rolls around every year and seems to arrive faster than ever. If you celebrate Christmas, it's likely that you'll be making cards, gift tags, decorations or even creating your own wrapping paper. My Christmas Wish is to see some of the creative things you make, in order to spread a little seasonal love to your families and friends. My only request is that you include some stamping or stenciling or even both!

So here's what I did: 

Two cards - both made using TH dies and a masterboard I made up. 

There is stamping and stencilling in the background and on the decoupaged baubles.

More of the same but a different die! 

I hope you'll be able to join us as we all try to finish our preparations for Christmas.

Big hugs

Rachel x

Christmas at Countryview Challenges

Good morning! My first of two posts today! We have a new challenge starting at countryviewchallenges today where the theme is Christmas - shouldn't be too difficult then! Here's my quick and simple make using leftover masterboard that I made here.

I added to this the wonderful santa claus from stampers-anonymous-tim-holtz set---festive-sketch

The sentiment came from the same set!

I hope you can join us!

Big hugs

Rachel xx