Friday

Friday with Christmas Gleaming

 Good morning,  I cant believe it is Friday already, the weeks are speeding along.

So after the announcements yesterday, Derby is now in the highest tier possible.  So we still cant visit friends and family and we still cant fly out to Cyprus.  But we can stay safe and hopefully enjoy many more Christmases with lots of folk in the future.  I can go out to Cyprus next year when the weather is warmer and it is safer to do so and that is something to look forward to.

I have had a very busy week in the Craft Room.  A very talented Stesha Bloodhart created a baubled card using Christmas Gleaming stamp set from Stampin' Up! that I had to try my hand at and this is the result.

I adore them so much.  They feel so posh and modern that I had to try in a different colour.

This is pretty peacock and I have a just jade card on the go now, which I hope to finish later today.

To make the cards 

  • I started by stamping out the holly and berries, two ornements and the words on Shimmery White card in versamark ink, sprinkling with black embossing powder and heating them all up.
  • I punched out the baubles.
  • I cut out the holly with a small border and I cut out the sentiment.
  • I prepared a base card in Basic Black A4 card.  I timmed a coloured mat to 3 1/4" x 5"
  • I cut out a piece of Very Vanilla card to the same size 3 1/4" x 5" and put this through my die cutting machine inside the Subtles embossing folder which makes the Very Vanilla look as though it is very textured.
  • I stuck the coloured mat and the Very Vanilla on an angle to to card base.  I tried doing this not at a jaunty angle (and trimmed the Very Vanilla down to fit) but didnt like it as much.
  • I squoze the coloured ink pad so that I had ink in the lid and picked this up very lightly, with the water painter.  I started off at the edge of my bauble and worked my way to the middle.  Trying to be sure that the outer edge was a lot darker than the middle.  
  • I squoze the Basic Gray ink pad and coloured the holly leaves in, the same way.  
  • I scribbled a black stamp n write marker on to the lid of the ink pad and used that just at the inner points of the holly leaves.
  • The berries were coloured the same as the Baubles.
  • I stuck the baubles onto the card using 3d pads (dimensionals).
  • I used retired black pearls to decorate but you can make these yourself by colouring in the basic pearls with basic black Blendabilities.  You must leave them to dry though before handling.

If you have any queries about these cards, please do let me know.  I am always happy to help.  If you would like to purchase any of the products to create your own cards, just click on the item and it will take you to the Stampin' Up! shop and you can find out a few more details.

I have also added lots of inserts to my cards, something that I totally forgot to do.  It is also a job that a lot of crafters hate doing, including myself but, I have done them and now all our Christmas cards (apart from the one from me to Paul) are ready to be written.

 The gold mirror is now a silver mirror after been painted a thin layer each day. We put it back up on the wall yesterday and it is just perfect.  I am so pleased that we did this, not only saving a lot of money but the satisfaction of knowing that we did it is great.  

 


However, I do need another silver mirror for the hallway that is due to be decorated in the new year mmmm.

I am doing everything that the hospital have told me to do for my Rhumatoid Arthritis and to loose weight but the weight is still going on, half a pound every couple of days which I really cant understand. I am walking lots, eating at lunch time instead of tea time, eating fruit and veg but it doesnt seem to work so today I am starting a calorie controlled diet.  I have done lots of research, have book and pen and Alexa and am following an app on the ipad.  Lets see what happens over the next 4 weeks.

I wanted to share that the postman delivered our very first Christmas card today.

It is made by Susie, thank you so much.  I shall add this to the Christmas page on my blog too.  It is lovely and really appreciated. 

Well it is nearly lunch time so I will go and make a start on the chores.  Thank you for having a read and if you need any help with anything crafty, get in touch.  Have a fantastic Friday x




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Monday

Merry Monday wishes with Heartwarming Hugs papers

 

Good morning.  I was up extremely early today and the temperture was -1 outside.  A very cold start to the day.  I will certainly have to wrap up warm for my morning walk.

I have been having a play with some designer series papers from Stampin' Up! as well as some very very old dies from my stash.


These were created instead of buying the usual christmas selection boxes.  I like to look at a selection box before I purchase it, see what is inside compare the chocolate weights etc.  but this year I cant get to a shop to do this so with some clever little measurements from my friend Colette, I made these.  The papers are from a pack called Heartwarming Hugs from Stampin' Up! and they have wonderful festive designs.  And what is even better is that they will be on offer from this evening for a 24 hours sale


There will be 10% discount off the majority of all products from Stampin' Up! starting tonight at 11pm for just 24 hours.  You can click on the shopping basket below which will take you straight to my Stampin' Up! shop.  Have a browse through the items and please get in touch if you need any help.  The discounted prices wont show until 11pm this evening though.

 


 If you do purchase direct and have your order delivered straight to your door, please add the Hostess Code as I would love to send you a Thank You card out in the post.

 


 

If you would prefer to get in touch with me, please give me a call and I can help you place your order.


Today I shall have to catch up with a few chores in the house before going back into the craft room.  I have this idea that I just want to try and we all know how many hours that can take.

Thank you so much for having a read today.  I hope you have a very Merry Monday, Tracey x


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Thursday

Happy Birthday Nephew

 Morning and a wet one too.  It really is rather damp out there, must have had quite a bit of rain in the night.  The forecast is for a cold day today so I will wrap up warm.

It was our Nephews 40th yesterday but no celebrations this year.  This was the card I made.  Not my usual style but its so nice to have a bit of a change.


 

I am sure he had a lovely day and one to remember.  He was due to spend the day in New York with his wife, Sister and Brother in law as well as another couple.  Obviously that got cancelled.  Then they had booked a trip to Bath to celebrate, same story....cancelled.  Finally arranged to have champage breakfast and other treats delivered and again, all cancelled.  But by looking at the photographs and chatting, he has had a smashing day, which is what it is all about. 

There were a few of us chatting last night for an hour on Rooms, a part of Facebook.  Lovely to be able to have a cuppa with friends old and new (I dont mean in age).

We are working on THE mirror and this is what we have so far.  

 




The frame is gold and we want it to be silver coloured however, there are lots of dark areas that we would like to retain.  I really do hope it will turn out silver in the end, just a little bit of work on it each day.

Finished a few more calendars yesterday and just about to gift wrap them today.  Will show you the results once that is done.

Thank you for having a read today,  I hope that you are managing to stay well during this time.  Speaking of time, I could do with a Time Management course for retirees, I am either taking on far too much to be able to cope with or I am doing everything at a snail pace.  Not enough hours in the day.  Tracey x

Wednesday

Stampin' Up! Christmastime papers and the mini Curvy Keepsake

Good morning.  It feels quite mild out there today but who knows what will happen weatherwise?  I have seen daffodils growing, I am being told that bulbs are coming up, crocus are out and our roses have buds all over them, so strange.

I am slowly working through all the photographs I take on my telephone, putting them in files on the computer and sorting them out.  It is such a mamouth task but I think that half an hour a day will work, breaking it all into little bite size pieces.  Then of course, the girls in Cyprus send me photos each day which need to put away.....gone are the days where we just took the reel into town and got them printed and what a surprise when we picked them up.  I wonder how many of you remember that?

So today I am working down a short list which will keep me quite busy.  I want to finish some boxes off that I have started for which contain Christmas presents.

 


I have used the Christmastime papers as well as the Mini Curvy Keepsake.  

This evening I am hoping to have a crafty chat with a cuppa with some lovely people in The Craft Room, Derby - Craft Forum which is on Facebook.  I do hope that goes well, I will let you know next time.

Thank you for having a read today and, if you want any information about the box, the favours or anything else related to Stampin' Up! or crafting, please do get in touch.  Tracey x


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Monday

A Merry little Christmas with Snow Front

 Good morning. It is feeling rather cold this morning brrrr.

We had a lovely time on Zoom last weekend and here are the cards that we all had a go at making, one way or another.



 



I used Stampin' Up! Snow Front stamp set to creat all of these with some blues, greens, grays and browns.  If you would like to know how to make them I will be very happy to show you.  

Thank you for having a read today and I hope you have a great start to the week.  Tracey x



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