A few things to share...

Firstly, I must show you the card I received from Annie of Ink'n'Rubba today with my runner up prize of the Whiff of Joy Charlotte with Sleigh - That will get inked very soon - and lots of stamped images that I am going to enjoy colouring. This card not only looks beautiful, the pearly paper feels lovely too and then there's all the stickle dots sticking up. I am a self-confessed paper stroker and this is a very tactile card: You either know what I mean or I am losing the plot (possibly both?)! Annie has a great blog so I recommend a hop in that direction.

Secondly, Sheetload Shortcuts have a 'Frosty Giveaway' candy of 20 frosted card blanks and I can tell you from experience these are great quality! Another place to hop too!

Finally, I am long overdue in following up a PIF I was lucky enough to receive: The first 3 people who leave a comment on this post will receive some stamped images from me: I shall contact those whose comments are received first for their snail mail address so please make there's a contact from your blog/profile or some way to get in touch. I'm not sure how quickly I will get them out to you but I will do it. In turn you have to Pass It Forward (PIF) by posting and doing the same for 3 other people: A nice fun way to share some stash.

Shrink Plastic !

I know I am years behind everyone else with this but I finally got to try shrink plastic: What fun!
I used my Whiff of Joy Charlotte Angel stamp with black Stazon and then wasn't sure what to use for colour so used Whispers permanent markers except for the skin where I used a peach watercolour pencil (dry). Used a heat tool for the magical part and then added it to this bookmark. Need to buy more: It's such fun! This was frosted so I want to get some clear too.

10 minute cards

While I do enjoy taking part in challenges, I have had very little time lately until I saw the Daring Cardmakers' challenge last Friday - 10 min cards! So here is a selection: Those with ribbon were very much influenced by Jozza's DT card, while the one without is one I'd made before seeing the challenge:Above: Using Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing and Ice Crystal die.And a minimal colouring card using Pink Petticoat image with Snow Writer and holographic glitter glue, punched out and mounted on Papermania flocked vellum and blue card with Cuttlebug Ice Crystal.

Friday Sketchers #32

I get to join in with a challenge: hoorah !
This card follows the Friday Sketchers layout with a Penny Black stamp coloured with H2Os and using a felt and paper flower with button from Making Memories Blossoms & Buttons: 'Lemonade' with some silver thread. The image was shaped with my new Nestabilities rounded rectangles. Love them! Yes, I know they were supposed to be for Christmas but....

Iris folding

I can't remember the last time I was so busy! I am running out of Christmas cards and haven't sent mine yet!!!! Order to the Chocolate Shop (post below) was delivered ; Téléthon expo and mini-album workshops were all successful and I was able to donate 105€ as a share of the proceeds to the charity as a result, which was great. Been making soooo many cards I haven't had a chance to blog them. So, after an order for 20 Iris-fold cards on Tuesday, which I'm delivering tomorrow, I thought I'd share some of those:And remember my first attempt at a calendar ? I sold 3 of those at first showing so made another with the result that I was asked to do a workshop on making those this evening so I will go and get all my materials together now. And I have more Christmas markets this weekend and next ! And most of my Christmas shopping still to do! Looking forward to a relaxed Christmas day :)
I shall be back soon with some stamping: I have received some bought and won stamps that I am itching to use and not getting a chance at the moment so I shall be back soon, and with a long overdue PIF too! Hope you are enjoying the holiday preparations :)

It's True !

Given that the Téléthon charity event, which I sold 100++ cards at last year, starts on Friday, and that this year I’m doing 2 workshops as well: Conversation between my husband and I after he returned a few moments ago from the chocolate shop that is going to take some of my cards ...

DH: Just been to see Sylvie...

Me: Oh Yes. What did she say?

DH: She’d like a basket of Joyaux Noël, Bonne Année, Meilleurs Vœux, and Joyeux Anniversaire cards.

Me : Oh, Christmas as well. (More unusual in France). Did you say when we’d take them?

DH(looks sheepish): Yes, tomorrow.

!!!

WoJ Advent Calendar

What fun! Whiff of Joy are having an advent calendar of activities and prizes. It's all happening on Katharina's Blog and first is 'Santa Charlie' stamp candy.

Friday Sketchers 30

The sketch this week's Friday Sketchers is deliberately simple and Carole has invited people to add text and embellishments as wished. I've kept it simple and hopefully let the embossing, Cuttlebug Winter House, steal the show. I've discovered a Cuttlebug Challenge blog too. As I can't use Provocraft's designs for cards I sell via shops, I don't use the bug as often as I might but love it this time of the year for personal use and selling direct. With so many Christmas markets coming up (and I've turned down several !) I've got to keep cards relatively quick at the moment. Big thanks for your comments: They are very cheering among the rainy weather. I shall be blogging more when I can grab some time.Used: glittered dotty vellum, patterned silver card, navy card, and holographic glitter on the shiny blue embossed image.

A Spoon Full of Sugar 27 & Paperminutes 39

Among several cards made today, I have managed a 2 in 1 on this week's challenges from Spoon full of Sugar (Michelle's sketch) and Paperminutes challenge to cut out the image:The vellum base layer and piece of DP are Papermania; the image is Whiff of Joy water-coloured with metallic gel pens: I add colour to the edges and draw it in with a wet/aqua brush, adding more colour or high-lighting as I go.

Some of today's cards

A card just using the Lace Tree Cuttlebug embossing folder, my eazi-score board for the parallel lines, an adhesive gem and peel-off text on pearlescent card. Quick and simple but effective I think.

Voici une carte où j’ai utilisé seulement le classeur de gaufrage Cuttlebug ‘Arbre avec ornements’ (embosser sec) avec une petite pierre et le sticker texte. J’ai utilisé ma planche ‘Eazi-score’ pour les lignes embossé pour le texte.

This is a quick request for a card for twin boys. The inside is lined with the same pearly paper used on the front and stamped in two corners with a bow and 2 bibs.

Voici une commande pour une carte rapide pour deux garçons jumeaux.

Excusez-moi je n’écrit pas en français souvent. Bien sûr c’est plus difficile pour moi et il me prend plus de temps. Tous les marchés de Noël prennent mon temps en ce moment et j’ai besoin de faire plusieurs de cartes et des autres choses. J’ai moins temps pour mon blog.

Si vous êtes dans les environs de Finistère sud, me direz ‘bonjour’ dans un marché. Aussi je ferai deux ateliers de mini-album à St Yvi pour le Téléthon. Si vous avez intérêt m’envoyez mail (voyez mon ‘profile’).

Bootiful Stampz

are STILL having their one-a-day giveaway: Not that I'm greedy or anything but they are lovely stamps! And there's only 5 days left of November now! And Christmas is only a month away!!!

TgiF - Vintage

I had a great weekend at Chateaulin's Artisan'Arts marché de Noël selling lots and seeing the wonderful variety of other people's artistic creations. I like to demo at these events and one of the things I made was this little suitcase with the 'Thank God it's Friday' theme of Vintage in mind. It is from Debbie's Die-cuts and I covered it with K&Co paper, inking the edges with Brilliance Cosmic Copper. I used that to stamp (Inkadinkado's Travel Time) decoration on to the case and to create some charms from brown card. I used a 7 gypsies binding ring to hook everything together with some ribbon and fibres.
Also using some of Debbie's die-cuts I made some favours/ tree decorations: The pyramids are stippled with luminescent paint that shines gold in the light (failed miserably in the photo!) and have Cuttlebug Ice Crystals stuck on. I dabbed Broken China Distress Ink inside the Swirls embossing folder before running the die-cut for the little box through. I love that technique but not sure why this ink pooled to spots?

Bootiful Stampz

are still having their one-a-day giveway and guess who won yesterday? ME!!!! :) Sooooo happy!

Bootiful Stampz

are still having their one-a-day-giveaway!

Sketch Saturday #25

I made a birthday card earlier in the week the Sketch Saturday #25 layout and this card uses the same sketch. I changed it many times as I went along but quite like the tree as the upright piece: The angel seems to be escaping from the top of it!
Used: Backing paper from my own Winter Collection designs, Whiff of Joy 'Angel Charlotte' (I think that's the right name) coloured with H2Os and mounted on 3D foam, handmade paper and die-cut tree and the card edged with Brilliance gold.

Daring Cardmakers & Friday Sketchers

3 posts in 1 day! I'm exhausted! Friday's Daring Cardmakers challenge was to make a card featuring bird(s) and I followed Friday Sketchers' layout #28, provided by Mumur, to create this. I kept the background plain as there are lots of layers and details on the sketch so I didn't want to overload the card. The stamp is a large one so this is an A5 card. At least that gave me plenty of space to work with. I'm just not happy now about the raffia now: Might have to change that.
Main image coloured with H2Os; bird peel-off coloured with markers, mounted on card and coloured with Distress Inks; other inking round edges and sentiment is Brilliance Cosmic Copper.

Pop-up Christmas card

I have had this Craft Robo file from the very talented Erika Philipson since last year but this is the first time I remember using it. I have made 2 today with similar insides but slightly different fronts. I like to keep the fronts quite simple if there's a surprise inside. This one uses red organza fabric as a layer and NOEL is cut in red mirri card with the Cuttlebug Harmony alphabet. The 'wallpaper' inside is K&Co.

Framed decoupage

Not my usual style but one thing I have learned in selling my cards to a wider market is that you have to create a wider range! These decoupage sheets are from Diamond Craft with the framed card having been created on my Eazi-score board.

A Spoon Full of Sugar & Sketch Saturday challenge #25

The ASFoS challenge #25 is to make a card for a child so I used my new Alota 'Sassy with Kitty', which Gayle kindly sent me, coloured with distress inks, to make this card and also followed the Sketch Saturday #25 layout. I have Christmas Craft Fairs the next 3 weekends running so it was nice to do a non-Christmas card. On the otherhand, with time against me, I have had one of those afternoons where little has gone right: Ho Hum! Really like the sketch: May well use that again.

Pink Gem Designs & Bootiful Stampz

Janet has launched a new business on Pink Gem Designs with a range of stamps featuring a gorgeous character, Mimi. She has candy offered to celebrate and also special offers on the stamps and UK/International postage: Well worth a look!

Bootiful Stampz have gone "slightly mad" and are having a 'Stamp a Day Giveaway': Yep, giving away a stamp a day as candy!

Arty Girlz Blog Inspiration challenge

I've made another 2 calendars like the one below and with wire binding instead of rings, and I'm just beginning to catch up on some challenges:
The Arty Girlz challenge was to use a blog as inspiration: Perfect time for me to take inspiration from Jennifer's Sweet Treats: I have wanted to create some cards with the Cuttlebug embossing as the main image, rather than just as background, which I think Jennifer does so well. I have seen several cards on Jennifer's blog using the 'Winter House' embossing so here is my version.Not sure colours are clear in the photo: Card is pearlescent purple and the image is embossed in a pearlescent ice blue paper, highlighted with holographic glitter glue and matted on my own design paper from the Winter Collection and then silver paper.

Floral Calendar

Here's a little experiment: a 'quick' calendar! Unfortunately, even using Publisher to create the calendar, converting it to French and formatting it to fit my punch took ages. However, now I have it saved I know I can reproduce it quickly and easily. I used the flowers from Making Cards magazine Special (which I have as an online purchase) as the focal points and just mixed and matched papers and inks to suit. Happy accident: Quite a few of the backing bits are from accidentally printing the pages on economy setting so waste not! I need to find some jump rings from my stash though as these binding rings are too big. I shall probably now make more in a similar way and use the Bind-It-All to wire-bind: I don't know why I didn't do that in the first place! Incidentally, the ribbon holds it shut and also, if tied the opposite way, stops the open covers sliding apart and allows you to choose the angle you have the pages at: Worth including if you want to make something similar!

Voici mon calendrier « rapide » ! Malheureusement, à trouver un bien model pour mon perforatrice à couper a pris des âges. Cependant, maintenant je l'ai sauvegarde, je peux le reproduire rapidement et facilement. J'ai employé les images fleurées du ’Making Cards Floral Special’ (que j'ai acheté en ligne) comme les points focaux. Credits: Making Cards Magazine Floral Special; Papermania and K&Co papers; 7 Gypsies Binding Rings; SeeDs stamps; Dovecraft mega-size scalloped rectangle punch; Inks: Brilliance gold, Colorbox Q chalk 'Misty Meadow' and Distress 'marmalade'; prima and other paper flowers; Sakura glaze pens; Dylon 3D pearly paint; other papers, coaster covers, ribbon, etc from stash/unknown make.

Mini-album selection

While off-line I created a few mini-albums as examples for a charity workshop I will be doing. The workshop will only be 2 hours and is aimed mainly at beginners with materials included so I have kept the examples quite simple. I had to convince myself that I could have a group following instructions, making and leaving with something they can feel pleased with inside 2 hours. I want them to be able to choose shape, colour and theme while keeping the instructions basically the same for all: These are all either 12x12 or A4, cut, scored, decorated and then stuck together down the spine with DST. Main issue now is that these seem so sterile without photos and journaling so I think I will make a few in the same style with photos; equally I want people to feel they can make them for presents or add their photos and further decoration at home after the workshop. Without showing you every page, here is a selection. What do you think? I am definitely more a card-maker than scrapper but mini-albums are more popular here than card-making. Any other suggestions ?Used: Cardstock mainly Papermania and The Paper Mill Shop; Papers are mainly Papermania, with some bits from Funky Fairy Papercrafts, Making Cards magazine and unknown make of green/blue spotty paper. Also: Docrafts snowflake punch, Cuttlebug ice crystal and Harmony alphabet, Nestabilities Circles, Craft Creation snowflake border peel-off, Aladine Pram & Snowflake stamps, other baby stamps from SeeDs 'Cute Things' set, Brilliance inks, Diamond Craft large alphabet template set, ribbons and fibres from stash.