Christmas Banner

This is something i finished last week. Its for my friend Jae. We haven't met up that often this year - we met during a difficult part of our lives and have been the emotional crutch for each other. Shes a fabulous person and so honest with me - she doesn't pussy foot around and just tells me it as it is and I love that honesty - even if its not what I want to hear. I think the fact we haven't met up much this year is an indication that our lives have been more positive in 2009 although we are still very much there for each other. However because I haven't physically seen her I'm not sure what to get her for Christmas. We are meeting up on Thursday so I wanted to be prepared.
This is one of the presents I have made. A Happy Christmas Banner that hopefully she will like enough to reuse for a few years. It was difficult to photograph as its so big! Each letter is on a 4"x5" piece of mountboard so its a lot to get in so Ive taken pictures in sections



The kit I have used is a K&Co past TSV so had the papers, stickers, rub ons and letter all to match. I have also added some craftwork cards poinsettias in places too.


It was fun to make as well as being (I hope) pleasing to the eye.

I hope she likes it - she has always been very positive about my card making even if she doesn't understand the passion for doing it!

although she has begun to cross stitch so maybe she will be joining me sooner than she thinks!

Really looking forward to meeting up for lunch on Thursday. We are going to Salts Mill in Saltaire. Jae has been before but its my first visit!

So about the weekend? Will be sharing my projects over the coming week - It was a FANTASTIC time with the most fabulous people and a very special beginning to Christmas so thanks ladies and you know how special you are to me xx Janet

Going AWOL and early Christmas

Am off to the last craft retreat this year and we are celebrating Christmas with some of the most fabby people I know. Arrive today craft and get the place Christmassy, Saturday stay in our Jim Jams all day and craft, chat and giggle - maybe sing a long to christmas music then hit the mulled wine! Sunday craft till 1 then have Christmas dinner, secret santa, crackers and fun before heading back home by 6.

Hopefully I will have lots to show when I get back. Hope your weekend is as good as I know mine to be :0)

Happy Christmas! Janet

and so they are wrapped

Here is the first Christmas gift I have wrapped this year. Most of my pressies will get this treatment that is of course if they will fit in a bag lol. I just bought some paper bags from ebay so i could decorate and stamp on them to my hearts content after all the pleasure is all in the giving and in this case the presentation! Stamp is by Stampers anonymous, ribbon and buttons from stash, flowers craft work cards and tag is by K and Co.
Hope your day has been great x Janet

Another pressie

This used to be a tin which had parmesan cheese in it! Yuk how smelly I can hear you gasp! But honestly after a few rounds in the dishwasher it doesnt smell at all! a fab size for this and perfect with a red plastic lid!

Ive used k&Co papers to decorate. Yummy stamp is from stampin up and the candy cane and holly are from a sissix die.

Filled with yummy chocs and ready for wrapping. Will show you that tomorrow.
Now I borrowed this idea from Suzanne who kindly said I could use it to make something - so here it is! Thanks for sharing and inspiring me x
Right am off to the land of nod before my head hits the keyboard - team meeting day tomorrow with 2 lots of training in it - think my head will hurt by 5pm???
Have fab day whatever you are doing x Janet

Tuesday Taggers - Celebration of light

This week we are celebrating light with the coming of Advent it is a really exciting time in the Christian calendar and for all those lovers of Christmas but many people of other faiths celebrate at this time of year the beauty of light as the nights are so long and dark. I decided to make aLuminaria and found a tutorial on splitcoast stampers that was just right. I have made mine Christmassy but it could just as easily be an all year round design.



This week we are sponsored by the craft barn who sell this cute little cat stamp from High hopes - he is called Meowy Christmas and is a gorgeous litle thing. Ive also used another high hopes stamp and placed them on opposite sides of the luminaria. The papers Ive used are from last years basic grey wassail collection. The apertures cut with my scalloped oval nesties - swirly vellum, buttons and poinsettas from stash.

Of course it would be far too dangerous to use a real tealight in this so i have a battery operated one inside - but it looks like candlelight.
This is part of a craft pressie so i cannot say any more. It was fun to do and I like the effect.
So If you like little Meowy cat hop on over to The Craft Barn and search under Christmas :0) Pop on over to Tuesday Taggers to see the beauties my fellow teamies have produced too x
I hope this has schedules fine as Im at work and hope you have a great day x
Janet

The matchbox advent calendar

This is what I made last year for my niece and nephew. Its a wooden sleigh which has been decorated with Blonde Moments papers (painted first - I used emulsion) and filled with different sized boxes with chocs in. Sorry pic is so small I pinched it from my docraft gallery!


So I wanted the advent calendar to match.

I began by painting the inside drawers of the matchboxes. Then stuck them together in stacks.

I then covered them with paper. The top and bottom are mountboard covered with the paper too.

Ive cut pictures from the blonde moments papers to add to the sides. Used Vellum stickers - by Brenda Pinnock to add a little interest. Then punched holes in the drawers and added ribbon knotted to give a little handle.

Shock horror another use of peels offs for the numbers! Then a chipboard tree triple embossed and stamped with a BM tree stamp and swished with silver pearl pigment powder for the top.

I hope they like it!
Now this next bit i can take no credit for. My craft buddy Averil made 2 last year for her own children whilst we were at the craft retreat at Malham. Her idea - as the drawers are small - was to put inside a little clue or instruction for each child which over the 24 days would lead to the house being trimmed up for Christmas. How cool is that? No reward except the pleasure of decorating your home for the excitement ahead. I really liked this idea so asked SIL if she would be up for it before I made the advent calendar and I think she is keen as she bought the matchboxes! So I have some tiny envelopes from Kanban that she can pop a message inside for them.


Bless my nephew said - so tactfully the other day when I said I was making an advent calendar for them - "Auntie Janet - you might be a little disappointed when I tell you this but Gran always buys me a lego advent calendar but we can have 2 you know" How sweet. I reaasurred him I knew about Grans calendar but this would be very different.
So that along with the santa easel card was my crafting on Tuesday at Embsay. Im back again on Saturday this time making a banner for friend. So watch this space x
HAGD Janet

Colour create red, green and white

Heres another Kanban quickie which is perfect for the colour create challenge this week. Papers by K&Co, Image Kanban cut out with nesties, ribbon from stash, ticket stamp from Magnolia x

My first Easel card

A really simple card for the Winter Wonderland theme this week of St Nicholas. Ive used this image before as I stamped some at the local shop a month or so back. I think hes a stamps happen stamp. Coloured with promarkers, Polar white flower soft on his hat and Ive just realised I had meant to glitter his beard a bit so I will have to do that when Ive finished. Edges smudged with distress ink then simple matting and layering with green mirri card. The believe stamp is by Stampers anonymous embossed in gold then the brad I think is a papermania one.
I was quite pleased with the result although it is such a simple card.
Hope you are avoiding floods where you are x
Janet

Just fancied a change

So have gone all Christmassy :0)
Id love to be a Gal who got her tree up on Dec 1st but alas with my boys away at Uni and we NEVER trim the tree without them I have to wait until nearer Christmas when they are home - so heres my little Christmas extravagance - A Christmassy blog background.

Hope it makes you feel festive :0)
Janet

A new theme Red, Gold and Green

Wow you really loved the no patterned papers theme last week - some truly stunning entires too!

This week we are staying with a gentler theme and have some colours for you to work with Red, Gold and Green. My teamies have come up with some fab projects this week! Here's my take on it.

Its a chipboard bauble that Ive decorated then added ribbon so I can wear it like a necklace! In 2 weeks time I am heading off to Claxby again for another Craft retreat - These weekend jaunts have become my annual holiday the last couple of years and I just love them! This time at Claxby the theme is Christmas and we are having a pajama day but with a twist we have to decorate out PJs to be christmassy so this is my first bit of decoration.
The green papers are by Brenda Pinnock, The cute cat is a stamp from High Hopes and wait for it i have actually used peel offs for the Santas little helper bit! Those who know me will now need picking up off the floor in shock as Im def not a lover of peel offs but hey it seemed to work at the time LOL. The edges I have done using a glue stick then putting embossing powder on and heating. I love the un even texture it has produced.
hop on over to Tuesday Taggers and check out the rest of the DTs work for more inspiration.
Today im off to the local craft shop for a day with fabulous people - I plan to make a matchbox advent calendar so i may have it to show tomorrow - watch this space!

HAGD x Janet

Tuesday Taggers - No Patterned papers

hopefully this has scheduled to post beautifully - if not - sorry folks! Im at work so have no blog access its a banned site you know!
So how much of a challenge is this? Well I find I use less and less patterned papers these days so it wasnt too tough. Im still dreaming of finally doing Mr Holtz's 12 tags of Christmas 2007 and 2008 this is quite close I have to say. I made a Christmas card last year along these lines too and love how the background is different each time its done. Ive used alcohol inks for the background then stamped the tree and Believe with Rangers archival ink - the only one I have found which works well with the alcohol inks. The snowflake is from a long forgotten QVC tsv kit but I love how it works on this tag. All mounted onto black card to frame it - Im quite pleased with the result. Thanks as ever to Mr tim Holtz for oodles of design inspiration :0)
Hop on over to see what my fellow teamies at Tuesday Taggers have done - some brilliant work and sooo creative. HAGD xx Janet

Some Kanban quickies

Im lucky to live near enough to the Kanban outlet to stock up on good quality card (when I can get a lift with my craft buddies that is!) I picked up this sheet of santa images. I think they are usually foiled and die cut but this was just a sheet to cut out. Ive used the nestabilities to cut them out and k&Co papers for matting and layering. Quick cards but I do like the images very much. ive added the Christmas ticket sentiment which is a magnolia stamp - really like ticket stamps although i dont think Im that brilliant at using them.


Think thats my creativity for today LOL
Have a brilliant Saturday x Janet

and another

This was my first stamper anonymous set. I bought it at GNPE on the Katys corner stand , I think about 2 years ago, which sadly is no longer in business. I adore that word - Believe - how magical this world would be if ony we could all believe :0)

Feeling pretty down today. I have finally heard from the DVLA who want me to return my driving license. So thats it - Its official I am no longer a driver until I am free from this awful menieres which has taken over my life. So life feels a bit pants today.
I am however a naturally half full not half empty person and know from experience worse things could happen so I will pick myself up and dust myself down and get on with it as i usually do. Just not today x
Janet

More of those stamps

From another of the stampers anonoymous sets - this is another jolly Santa. Again much use of distress inks and archival inks to get a collaged, layered feel and stickles for the holly berries for a touch of sparkle. Havent made this into a card as Im working on an idea of a festive banner so maybe it will end up with that!

Another sleepy day for me - think Im catching up on all I missed last week when i couldnt sleep as I couldnt breathe properly! Off for a hair cut tomorrow see if my mop can be tamed - Its sure to be wet and windy though so I will still look like a walking hay stack by the time I get home LOL

Janet xx

Stampers Anonymous stamps

I Love these stamps and bought quite a few sets in different sales after last Christmas. This is one of my favourite sets. All coloured using promarkers and distress inks finished off with a gold spritz made with blonde moments pearl pigment powders. Think there will be more of this to come!
Feeling a lot better though I have slept all day today. Got thrush in my mouth and ulcers all over my uvela but it feels tons better than it was. Heading off to bed to sleep some more!
Have a great evening x Janet

Tuesday Taggers - Handbags and Gladrags

This week we are getting ready for the party season so want to see all your glammed up projects! Mines an atc - just black card stamped with the new stampin up white pigment ink - stamps by woodware - then added papermania gems to bling it all up ! Hope you like it.
Hop on over and see my fab teamies work

Janet xx

Ive been sooo poorly

Been missing this week due to being ill. Doc thinks I began with swine flu but then got a throat infection - It was so swollen I couldn't breathe properly at night so hardly slept for 4 nights until it calmed down. I feel like Im rattling from all the pills I have to take and am still with no energy and really washed out. My mouth is getting really sore so now Im wondering If I have oral thrush to add to the list of ailments so another doctors visit tomorrow me thinks.

Anyway here are a series of cards i have made for a colleague at work who gives her nieces money for Christmas. The brief was a money wallet with the child name on so they all have a pocket inside the card!


Papers by sandylion and image from Pink gem stamps coloured with promarkrs.

super cute images - the other stamps Ive used are by kelly paccini. This is my favourite from the set below

This ones a high hopes one!

Hope she likes them xx Janet