Set myself a challenge

OK, not a really a hard one, but more of a common sense one really...

This year I am going to make all my Christmas cards using stash that I already have and not buy anything...

I've got off to a flying start, as so far have managed to make 50 out of an Dawn Bibby Christmas kit I found in the wardrobe, while tidying the Christmas stash up last year, (not bad seeing as it's still only August, lol)...



I've also managed to use up card blanks that I already had, so quite chuffed with myself...

OK I didn't quite keep to the challenge, as needed a corner punch for the corners of my inserts and I had nothing Christmassy, so ended up buying a Martha Stewart 'snowflake furry' punch, as I hold my head down in shame.

But on the upside I also managed to make some curtains for my 'Arty Attic' from a couple of tablecloths...



Why you ask?

Well I bought the tablecloths for our dinning room table, (very cheap from asda) to find that when I washed them, they were very creased and there is nothing more having to iron, let alone iron a very creased tablecloth... yikes, makes me shiver just the thought of it, lol...

OH... and they also shrank, so was a little too small for the table when extended... but the colour and size was just right for some curtains, so at least they weren't wasted and were a lot cheaper than buying some curtains as were only a couple of pounds...

Yet more cards...

Am still catching up with blogging and showing my crafty makes over the last month or so...

Sam's Birthday card is a little over the top for my liking, not sure why, think it should have been smaller flowers...


I used the cuttlebug embossing folder at the bottom with sizzix 'daisy' dies and added a sizzix 'fern'. Glitter down the side, sizzix decorative strip 'slobbery kiss' writing and finished off with some butterfly stickers.

Steven made up one from his box of Brenda Pinnick cards for her...



For hubbies Anniversary card, I used a die that gina sent me (having found out she had 2, lol) the peel off's were from the forever friends freebies from a docraft magazine, OK last of the big spenders on hubbies card, lol...



Lastly my niece was the BIG 40, but she didn't want to admit it so I sent her a simple card, but had to still remind her she was 'getting old' (not as old as me though, lol)... The bird and sentiment on the front of the card were an old Dawn Bibby kit I forgot I had, until it fell out of a box I was sorting the other day, hehehe, the added words were using a 3d Dymo tape...





As I said in a post last week, Sam and I had popped along to Basingstoke to have a look at centre pieces for her wedding next year. Well she did settle on them, very pretty, but will not describe them to you though, as not sure if she wants people knowing things just yet, also I've now started her wedding invites...

On the way back we stopped off at Port Solent for some lunch and had a mooch is Paver's again, but this time it was me that ended up buying a bag, lol... I loved the brightness of it and the compartments inside, just hope I don't loose things in there, as rather a bigger bag than I usually have, hehehe



(I nearly came home with the colourful zipped one too, but it didn't sit on my shoulders right, well it has to feel comfy, lol)...

Saying of the week...

Dust is a sign of an active mind.

Christmas is coming...

the geese is getting fat...

and Steven's Christmas list is getting fat too...

OK that is Steven's Christmas list for others, I think we've done very well over the last few weeks and hopefully it will carry on in that direction.

First of all, I've managed to make another 2 'countdown to Christmas' blackboards, but this time I've put 'sleeps' on the tag and not 'days' as they are for Alfie and Orlando's families and they tend to count sleeps.


Steven has been busy adding his personal touch to some 'post it' books for his Out of Town centre...


The letters used were cut from the sizzix decorative strip 'Neon Mini'


...and his been doing his art work on some more mugs. This time using the pots of paint rather than the paint pens which he used for the mugs for his teachers last year.


I tend to hold the mugs and turn them around while Steven is doing the painting. Slight problem with using paint pots though, is that they get covered in lots of paint, which means I cannot add the names to them like I did to the ones Steven done last year. So have wrote the name under the mug so sort of personalizes it for the person receiving it, lol... I still think they are very unique though...

Few more cards....

Sorry not been around, have had a busy month with babies being born, birthdays, my wedding anniversary, having hubby home and been out with my daughter looking at wedding centre pieces...

I have tried to catch up on blogs today, so hopefully I've visited yours, even if it was only for a quick nose, (sorry), but on the bright side have done a little crafting in between the running around, mainly cards...

This card was for my great nephew Orlando, (again very simple, lol).


The '2' was hand cut and used Tim Holtz ink to give it some shading, OK you cannot really see it, lol.. Then I printed off a Thomas the tank and 3d it for the corner and peel offs for the stars, name and greeting and finally balloons sticker...

And the other week I got another little great nephew, he's called Finley and was 6lb 6oz and lives in Bristol, so not seen him yet, but have seen lots of photos on face book, he's so dinky and cute.


This card was for one of Steven's carers, he weighed in at 8lb 3oz and is so cute and cuddly as managed to see and get a cuddle with him, a week after he was born. Anyway because of both Caelan and Finley arriving within 24 hours of each other I did the same card, but forgot to take a photo of Finley's card before I popped it into the post...

I put stickles round the edge of the scallop circle and gems on the wheels (thanks sue). The duck is a coloured peel off, as is the wording...

and because we've got another 2 babies due in the next couple of months and a few more friends of Sam about to leave to have babies, I decided to make a quick batch of 'mum to be' and a few extra baby cards in both pink and blue...

So all I have to finish them is personalize them now, like I've already done Kat's (her baby girl is due in October)...

Saying of the week...

Homework - something teenagers do between phone calls.

Saying of the week...

Know the true value of time:

snatch, seize and enjoy every minute of it.

Saying of the week...

True friends are like diamonds - very precious and very rare

Few cards....

I've been busy decorating the last month or so, it was through necessity not through wanting to, but have managed to do some quick cards that were needed...


With Emma card, I used the cord'nation card with a embossing folder, matt and layered and prima flowers finished off with some stickles... Happy was a peel off, 40th was sizzix 'lollipop' and emma was sizzix 'Alphabars'


The 60th card was using a Dawn Bibby's oil and foil kit, which I must admit is very pretty, with peel offs writing...


Tattered teddy is a decoupage and was matt and layered onto a card that has been embossed. Trouble with that, it didn't emboss right to the fold, so I put some double sided tape and glitter down the side, then to finish it, I used peel off greeting...


The 50 was cut by hand and 3d onto backing paper that has been matt and layered onto the card. The wording is peel offs...



Oh yes and this was the greeting inside the card, lol...