Happy New Year and Favourite Cards of 2018

Hello there,

I do hope that you've all enjoyed your Christmas and that Santa brought you lots of lovely crafting supplies.

As another year is drawing to it's close, I'd like to share with you some of my favourite cards of the year:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Wow, it's only as I'm scrolling through that I've realised how many cards I've made throughout the year.  I've had a great year of crafting and I'm looking forward to seeing what's in store for 2019.

All that remains is for me to thank you all for your friendship and support over the last year and to wish you the very best of everything in 2019.  May it be a happy and healthy one for you.  I look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing more of your crafty creations.

  Happy New Year

xxxxxxx

Peaceful Christmas Wishes

Hello there,

Well it's almost time for the big day to be upon us.  The shopping is done, the presents are wrapped and children all over the world are filled with wonder and excitement.  Christmas Eve is such a special time and I love the anticipation that it holds.  Having three young Grandchildren, my heart is filled with joy each time I hear them talk about the magic of Christmas and I can see the excitement in their eyes, especially when Santa is mentioned!  That's what it's all about for me and I really wish that innocence could last forever.

Having lost my own Dad at Christmas, many year ago, I am also very aware that Christmas isn't always a happy time for everyone and my heart goes out to all of you that may be bereaved, or sad and lonely at this time.

I'd like to share this Christmas card with you that I've made for all of my friends and followers in blog land:

All stamps used here are by Crafty Individuals

I've made some amazing crafty friends over the last few years and I've even been lucky enough to meet some of you in person.  I guess nobody understands a crafter like another crafter!  I just want to say thank you to you all for your continued friendship.  I really do appreciate your visits and the lovely comments that you leave as I know that your time is precious.  I feel truly blessed xx

All that remains is for me to wish you all 'A Very Merry Christmas' and all the very best of everything in 2019.  

Crafty Christmas Hugs,

Sandra 

xxx

Mid-Month Inspiration - December 18

Hello there,

Well, we're getting pretty close to the big day aren't we with just a week to go.  I hope that your preparations are going well and that you're still managing to find a little time to relax amongst all surrounding the chaos.

It's time for some mid-month inspiration over at Stamping Sensations and here's the card that I'd like to share with you:

The background was made using a Gelli Plate. The snowflakes and main focal stamp are all by Crafty Individuals.  As you can see, I've heat embossed the main stamp with a gold sparkle embossing powder.  The die cut Deer at the base of the card are by Memory Box.

We are very generously sponsored this month by Be Creative, who are kindly offering the lucky winner a £25 voucher to spend at their online store.

That's all from me for now, so I'll wish you a happy and peaceful day x

Festive Wreath

Hello there,

I hope that you're enjoying your weekend and that the Christmas preparations aren't stressing you out too much.  We do tend to put an awful lot of pressure on ourselves at this time of year, and yet everything gets done doesn't it.

I'd like to share with you the last of my Crafty Individuals samples made for their last Hochanda show:

It's such a pretty wreath stamp and it's a lovely one to colour.  

That's all from me today but I'll be back with you on Tuesday xx

Festive Bookmark Cards

Hello there,

We're well and truly on the road to Christmas now, so I'd like to share a couple

more samples that I made for Crafty Individuals using their new festive stamps:

Just a couple more left now, so I'll share them at them weekend x

Time For Tea

Hello there on this Sunday morning.

I'm sure that your Christmas preparations are in full swing now.  I know that I say this every year but I just can't believe how quickly it's all flown round again.  I'm going to put the marzipan on my cakes today so that it has time to harden a little before I ice them.  Whatever you're doing, I hope you have a lovely day x

I'd like to share with you a few more of the samples that I made for Crafty Individuals:

Thank you for your visit today and I'll be back with you shortly to share the last of my samples which are all Christmas themed and feature the two newest stamps by Crafty Individuals.

Take care and enjoy the rest of your day x

Stamping on Fabric

Hello there,

Thank you so much for your kind wishes left on my last post.   I'm pleased to say that I'm feeling pretty much back to my old self now.  I feel blessed to have so many kind and thoughtful friends and followers.

I'm here today a little earlier than expected as I have some free time today, so I'd like to share with you a bag that I made as a sample for Crafty Individuals' Hocanda shows on Monday.  Now, I've never stamped or painted onto fabric before, so I have to admit that I was a little apprehensive when Jean said what she had planned.  When the pieces of printed fabric arrived with me, I wasn't sure what I would do with them but here's the bag that I made:

I started by painting the printed CI fabric piece using Koh -I- Noor water colours and acrylic paint.  I don't have any fabric paints or some of the special mediums that you need, so I just went with what I had.  I used masking tape to divide the bag into sections. Next,  I used a couple of CI stencils and then sponged in the colour using a make up sponge.  I decided to use a bolder colour in each corner, so I chose red.  As you can see from the central image, I picked up the colours that I'd used in that.  I used VersaFine Clair to stamp in my tea pots as I wanted to keep the theme of tea at three, which is the sentiment stamped on the main image.

Now, I have to say that I grew very attached to this little bag before I had to package it up and send it off to Jean.  I enjoyed the experience of it all so much that I've just ordered 10 more bags to play with.  I guess that this just goes to show that It's good to move out of your comfort zone every now and again.

Thank you for your visit today and I'll be back with you again over the weekend with a few more samples.  Until then, take care and be happy x

Just A Few Cards

Hello there my crafty friends,

I hope that you're all keeping well and happy.  Before I start my post, I'll apologise for my lack of blogging and commenting over the last week or so but I've not been too well, so thank you for your patience and for not deserting me.  I'll try to catch up with you all over the next couple of days.

My post today is just to share a few of my cards with you that I made as samples for the two Crafty Individuals'' shows that were on Hochanda yesterday.  Jean and Lesley did some lovely demos and there were some new fabric panels on too.  If you missed the shows, then you can always watch them on Catch Up for the next couple of weeks:

Hope you like them and I'll post a couple more at the weekend.

That's all from me for today, so take care and be happy x

'Winter Sparkle' at Stamping Sensations

Hello there my crafting buddies,

Well, there's no stopping Christmas now, so the theme for our new challenge at Stamping Sensations is 'Winter Sparkle'  Who doesn't love a touch of glitter, especially at this time of year so why not join us in this festive challenge.  Here's the card that I've made:

The stamps that I've used on my card are all by Be Creative  and my touch of sparkle are the Christmas trees which I've cut with a Tim Holtz die.  I've coloured the sentiment with a gold gel pen and the snowflakes have been made with a small punch.

That's all from me for now, so I'll wish you a happy and peaceful day x