Christmas Gift Bags

Happy Saturday dear friends, I hope you've survived the wonderful festive craziness - all that fabulous food and time with family and friends for many of us.  I always spare a thought for those less fortunate, who may be spending Christmas alone, sick or homeless and give thanks for the Blessing of my family and friends - and not just for the holiday season.

The sun is shining in my little part of Cornwall at the moment, such a welcome change after the last couple of days of rain and dark skies, we are luckier than many parts of the UK who have had snow overnight - stay safe if you are affected by snow and ice in your part of the World.

The project I'm sharing with you today is a set of gift bags I created to give to some of my pals as wee Christmas gifts.

Here they are nestled under my mini tree

and a close up shot of a couple of them

I sewed the bags using some Christmas fabric I had in my stash and added silky red cord for a tie.

The gift tags were created using the large tag die from the Stampin'Up! 'Chalk Talk' stamp and die bundle.  The sentiment and snowflake were from a set of Sizzix HeroArt stamps and dies, stamped with SU! white ink and heat embossed with clear embossing powder.  The bags contained some yummy chocolates for the festive season.

I'm looking forward to getting my new (Christmas Pressie) sewing machine onto the table today and having a lovely play and 'get to know you' session with it.  I have a project in mind for today, again using up some fabric scraps.... watch this space.

Have a great day, whatever you have planned. 

Thinking of you

I'd like to wish all my Followers and everyone that has taken the time and effort to visit Stamping Grandma during the year and to wish you all

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND A HAPPY, HEALTHY

AND PROSPEROUS

NEW YEAR

 

 

It's Christmas Day but it's also Thursday so we have a new challenge starting over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog.  This week our theme is 'Anything Goes' and our prize is sponsored by Rick St Dennis.  



For my DT card I decided to made a 'Thinking of You' card.  I'm sure most of you have someone who is not with you to celebrate Christmas or maybe they are going through a difficult time.  Just sending a card to them somehow makes them feel closer and lets them know they are in our thoughts.

So, here's my card

 

The image is a Lili of the Valley stamp, coloured with Copics.  Glossy Accents over her hair ribbon and boa with a very generous sprinkle of Glamour Dust over the top.  I used a clear Wink of Stella pen on her shoes to add even more twinkle.

The background papers were magazine freebies which have been lurking in my stash for waaay too long and I found the little wooden heart when I was rummaging through my stash looking for something else ! 

Finally, the sentiment was stamped using the Inkyliscious Ikebana stamp set.

Thanks for taking the time to visit, if the Big Day has already passed before you dropped by, I hope you have had a wonderful time.

Not a Christmas Card !

Happy Christmas Eve eve my friends, I hope you're almost ready for the Big Day.  I'm just about done, will be cooking my ham and making soup later today and this evening I have lovely pals coming round for a little crafting and relaxing.

I thought you might be a bit sick of seeing Christmas cards, so today I'm sharing a birthday card I made for my nephew who celebrates his birthday very close to Christmas.

I created a background using Brusho paints then overstamped using stamps by Ryn.  After stamping I added small highlights using a white gel pen then Glossy Accents over each droplet.

Here's a close up shot

Using a Sizzix die I cut out the man with brolly from black cardstock and attached over the background, then added this layer over a slightly larger piece of black cardstock.  Finally attaching it to the left of centre on the base card, leaving room to stamp the sentiment down the right hand side.

I added the sentiment using a set of PaperArtsy JOFY stamps - this set of words is so versatile, great for many different occasions depending on which ones you use.

Thanks for taking the time to visit today, I hope you have a great day whatever you have planned.

Sparkles

Hi Folks it's Thursday again and I have something different for you this week for my Cute Card Thursday DT project.  No card from me this week but a festive home décor project. 

This week our theme for the CCT challenge is 'Sparkles' and our prize sponsor is Whimsy Stamps.

 Side view

 

 

close up showing the glitter/sparkles a little more clearly

 

I used a chipboard birdhouse kit from Tando Creative - which I purchased from a craft store at Barleylands in Essex on a day out with my lovely crafting pal Lauren.  I painted the components with PaperArtsy chalk paints before assembling.

Using Aleene's Glitter Snow (I love this product) I added lots of  'snow' and whilst it was still wet dusted the whole thing with lots of Glamour Dust for maximum sparkle.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing today's project, do check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT over on the CCT Blog.

Thanks so much for finding time to visit Stamping Grandma, I'm sure you're at least as busy as I am right now and I really appreciate you dropping by.  It soothes my soul to spend time creating and is my little oasis in the craziness that is the festive season !

Have a great day.

Bells and Bows

Happy Thursday, got all your Festive preparations finished ?  Gifts all wrapped ?  Cards all sent ? Christmas deccies up ?  Christmas dinner food shopping done ?  No ?  me neither !   Well, some of these things have been completed in the 'House of Happer' but mostly due to the fact that I'm meeting up with my family on Sunday and, as they all live far from me, we'll be doing a gift and card exchange meet up half way between us.  So, this has concentrated my mind somewhat.

Anyway I digress, I'm sure you've dropped by today to see my latest DT project for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge.  This week our theme is 'Bells and Bows' and our prize is sponsored by Whiff of Joy Stamps.

To create my card I used some snippets of lovely rich looking Christmas papers, which I found in my box of 'all things Christmas'.    The NOEL image was already stamped and in the box also, so I coloured it then added Glossy Accents over the top to give the letters dimension.

The central die cut element was made using a Marianne's corner die and I found a scrap of cardstock which was a perfect colour match to the papers. I mounted the NOEL onto another scrap of card and punched out a poinsettia using a Nellie Snellen punch and emboss set using the same cardstock. 

Jingle Bells were also from my Christmas bits box and I attached them using a little red cord, joined just at the top so that they can move around.  The little red ribbon bow was added at the top of the cord to finish it off.

A little red Stickles added over the join between the different papers and a generous scattering of red gems completed the design.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing today's project, I'm hoping to get back to more regular posting on here once I get all the Festive preparations completed.

Have a great day, whatever you have planned.

Gold and Gems

Hi there Crafters, I have just a quick post for you today as I'm up to my elbows in wrapping paper !

I created a base card from gold cardstock just a small 4.5 x 3 inch size - not so good for sending through Royal Mail but fine for hand delivery. 

Using Memory Box dies I cut two layers from gold mirri board and layered them up.  The scrap of pretty gold ribbon was from my stash and the gorgeous gold gem added over the top was also from my stash.

I heat embossed the Merry Christmas sentiment using black sparkle embossing powder.

That's it from me today, short and sweet - I hope you like today's card.

Little Angels

Another Thursday has rolled around again, how the weeks are flying by right now - always way more things being added to the 'To Do' list than the items being crossed off I'm afraid.

We have a new challenge starting today over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog and our theme this week is 'Little Angels' with the prize sponsored by Bunny Zoe Crafts.

Here's my DT card

I decided on a simple layout for my design, making this sweet Angel trio the focal point.  The stamp is from Lilli of the Valley and stamped using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Just a little colour added to the image using my Copics and a sentiment from a set of stamps by Clearly Besotted stamped under the angel image. 

Clear Wink of Stella pen added over their dresses and wings and Stardust Stickles added to the stars in their 'halos' and on the clouds below their feet to give a little sparkle.

Here's a close up shot showing the sparkle a little more clearly

The image was layered over a scrap of gold mirror card then attached to a 5 x 5 black base card.

Thanks for dropping by to check out today's project, I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a great Thursday Everyone.

Merry and Bright Candy Canes

I've been playing with my scrummy Glitzcraft Glitter Paste again

For the elements on this card I used a Christmas theme stencil from Glitzcraft which contained these two candy canes, a sprig of mistletoe and a bell and holly corner. 

Once the Glitter Paste was dry, I fussy cut out the candy canes.  I then embossed the front of a 6 x 6 base card using the Snowstorm embossing folder by Sheena Douglas - this folder is one of my favourites.

I then attached the canes to the front, stamped the pennant shaped sentiment from a set by Stampendous using SU! Raspberry Ripple ink before cutting out and attaching.

A simple design, but I am pleased with the finished card.

Thanks for checking out today's project.

Is a Bird in a Wreath Worth Two in the Hand ?

Hi Folks, how's the weather with you on this Black Friday ?  Well, that's exactly what it is here in my little bit of Cornwall.  Dark, dank, damp and horrid.  I soooo hate these dark days and I'm guessing we'll be getting wet in a short time judging by the black clouds which are gathering overhead.  Time to turn on the lights, turn up the heating and Craft I think - yay !

I've been busy making lots of Christmas cards in the past few days, most of them in small batches of five or ten and the card I'm sharing today is one of my designs which creates a flat and lightweight card.  These are ideal for sending through the mail - postage costs are so high these days, we have to think about how many layers we put on our cards, well I do anyway !

 

I used a C6 base card, the bird in a wreath stamp was a freebie on the Craft Stamper Magazine recently and the square sentiment below is from a set of stamps by Lilli of the Valley.

 

All images were stamped using SU! Raspberry Ripple ink.  The stamped panel way matted over a slightly larger layer of red cardstock then attached to the front of the card.   I've decorated a matching envelope which you can just see at bottom left of the pic above.

 

I'm sharing a table with a lovely pal at a local church Table Top Sale tomorrow, this batch of cards will be up for sale, although if I do sell them I'll need to make more for my own use !  Either way I'll be happy.



I hope you've enjoyed your visit here today, thanks for taking the time to see what Stamping Grandmas has been getting up to.  Thanks in advance if you have the time to leave me a little feedback.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Gingerspice !

Happy Thursday dear Crafters, I'm a little late with my regular Thursday posting, we had a plumber here at the 'crack of dawn' to fix a problem with our heating/hot water system so the house was in uproar first thing !  A new part was needed in the heating pump, all fixed now so we should be cosy and warm once again thank goodness.

Now, on to the business of the day !  This week's challenge over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog has the theme 'Gingerspice' and our prize sponsor is Sunflower Field.

Here's my DT card for the challenge

My interpretation of the theme was to use ginger/orange colours for my card.  Once again I've been playing with my yummy Glizcraft Glitter Pastes, this time applied through a PaperArtsy JOFY stencil - I love these poppy seed heads.  I mixed a couple of colours of green for the stems and green, red and gold to achieve the bronze/ginger colour on the seed heads.  Now you may think me a little strange, but once I'd applied the paste through the stencil, the first thing that sprang to mind was "We three Kings" - are you still with me ?  Can YOU see the three crowns ?  Oh well, I'm happy in my little world anyway Ha Ha !

I'm not sure who the sentiment is manufactured by, it was loose in my box of Christmas stamps.  I stamped it using Rich Cocoa Memento ink.

This panel was then layered over the gorgeous orange mirri board and attached to a scalloped edge 6 x 6 base card.

Do pop over to the CCT blog to check out the fabulous creations from the rest of the DT if you get the chance.  Thanks for visiting here today, I hope you enjoyed seeing my latest project.

Have a great day



Edited :  Apologies if anyone dropped by a short while ago, my computer had a 'wobbly' and published my half-finished posting Ooopsie !

Snow and Sparkle

Hi Folks, sorry I haven't shared many projects with you lately, it's that busy, busy, busy time of year and I'm sure many of you are as pressed for time as I am !

Anyway, I wanted to ink up one of the lovely Lavinia stamps I bought at the NEC recently and as their current challenge has the theme of 'Snow and Sparkle' I thought I'd enter this card.

I wasn't quite sure whether to share this one or not, I was very happy with how the centre circle design had turned out...... until I sprayed on some Crafters' Companion silver Spray and Sparkle ! 
It looks fine IRL but the sparkle is reflecting so much light in the photographs that it's a little difficult to see the stamped image.

I used a Memory Box die to cut the centre circles element and then attached a piece of white cardstock behind the cut out section.  Using Distress Inks I coloured the background of the centre circle and then stamped the seed pod image twice using Archival black ink.

Using a water brush, I removed some of the DIs on parts of the image to create lighter areas.  I also added some highlights using a white pen.  I wanted to create the effect of a snowstorm and I certainly have added lots of sparkle !

The circle was then attached back into the centre, a little glue dropped into each of the holes cut around the central circle and a little Lavinia glitter added over it for even more sparkle.

Stars

Good morning Folks, apologies for being a little late with my regular Thursday posting.  This week's challenge theme over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog is 'Stars' and our prize sponsor is Whimsy Stamps.

Here's my DT card for this week

Since my visit to the NEC Hobbycraft show I've been playing with the Glitzcraft Glitter Frosting Paste and stencils I bought there.  I'm loving the sparkly texture I get with this paste and it's great that it dries so quickly and I don't have to wait a long time before I can continue with my project.

Here's a close up shot showing the texture and the glittery finish a little more clearly

 

I used light gold and black glitter frosting paste applied through the 'Profile' stencil.  I applied the gold over the 'hair' first then added touches of the black - one of the great things about this paste is the ability to mix colours by adding one or more coats of a different colour.  As the paste dries so quickly it's easy to achieve the shaded effects.

 

The hanging hearts were cut using a Memory Box die set and the words were cut using a Spellbinders die.

 

That's it, a quick and simple design but I think the use of gold and black cardstock to layer up the main image makes the card elegant and classic looking.

 

Thanks for dropping by to see today's project, I hope you have a wonderful day.



More Than One Tree

Happy Tuesday dear Readers, the sun is currently shining on my piece of Cornwall, however there are nasty black clouds floating around, so I'm guessing we are in for a drenching later !

The project I'm sharing with you today was inspired by this week's theme over on the Simply Less is More Blog - 'more than one tree'

I am quite a fan of black and white as a colour combo for Christmas cards and as I had black Imagination Crafts sparkle paste and this lovely Memory Box trees stencil these were my inspiration.

After using the sparkle paste through the stencil onto white cardstock I used a Sizzix Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers 'PEACE' die and a scrap of white cardstock to create the simple sentiment.  I used an oval punch to make it a little smaller then attached it over a scrap of black cardstock cut using the same punch.

The holly border embossing folder was a magazine freebie and I embossed a strip of white card with it and attached next to the rectangular trees panel on the 6 x 6 base card.

I do hope the 'SLIM Ladies' will feel my card is CAS enough for their challenge !

I've been playing around with stencils and texture paste recently and am really enjoying myself, so be warned, you will see a few more projects using this method in the coming days - not all of them Christmas themed you may be pleased to hear !

Have a great day, whatever you have planned.

A Winter Scene

Hi folks, yet another Christmas card to share with you today, this is one of another small batch I made recently.

I've used another of my stash of festive embossing folders, I love this little Winter scene.  I embossed the front of a C6 card with the folder which left enough room at the bottom for a sentiment.

The sentiment is from a set of stamps and dies by Sizzix as is the snowflake stamp.  I cut out the sentiment layer using a SU! scallop circle punch. 

Finally adding a few touches of Stardust Stickles over the snowflakes for a bit of sparkle. 

Another CAS style card, a style which I'm still loving and, as I send a lot of my cards through the post, these need only a standard price postage stamp and there are no lumps or bumps to upset the machines in the sorting office.

Thanks for dropping by to check on today's project.  I haven't done a lot of card making in the past couple of weeks as I've been staying with my Dad, but I have been busy knitting - can't have idle hands after all !

Red and Green

Hi Folks, I think you may have guessed from the title of today's post that I'm sharing a Christmas card with you today.

Today's project is my DT card for the new challenge starting today over on the Cute Card Thursday Blog.  This week's theme is 'Red and Green' and our prize is sponsored by Whiff of Joy Stamps.

To create my card I used a festive design fabric square, which I adhered to a square of cardstock and attached over a larger layer of green cardstock.   This was then added towards the top of a rectangle of red cardstock.

Using Washi Tape and a snippet of red Christmas ribbon over white cardstock I created the layer attached underneath the fabric square over the red cardstock layer.

I added 'baubles' to the tree in the fabric square using a gold Waco Pearlmaker pen.  The poinsettia flowers were from my stash and I attached them using PinFlair glue.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing today's project, the creations from the rest of the DT are posted up on the CCT Blog, do check them out they are so inspirational.

Bye for now, hope to see you here again real soon.

A Birthday Card, a Birthday Boy and a Visit to the NEC

Hi there folks, it's been a little quiet on here for a few days as I've been busy spending time with my Dad and helping him celebrate his Birthday.

Here's the card I made for him

I used a scallop edge 8 x 8 base card and created a background using a Memory Box hexagon stencil and Distress Inks.

The cute bees were a free digi from Uprintables by Rebecca B - there are some great images on her site for free download (check her terms and conditions before using).  I fussy cut all the bees and attached them with PinFlair Glue to give them different levels.

The sentiment is a stamp from a set by Stampin'Up! which I stamped using black Archival Ink then cut out using an oval punch.

Dad's birthday started by opening cards and gifts - helped by Miss Tilly, who loves nothing more than opening parcels as you can see !

The day finished off with a family dinner at a local restaurant and more card and gift opening

The birthday celebrations didn't end there, however.  The following day saw us heading off to the Craft Exhibition at the NEC where Dad was a huge hit with the presenters on the Create and Craft stand.  Stephanie Weightman very kindly spent a lovely long time speaking to him - I tell you he was a very happy chappie

Stephanie then gave him a signed photo and asked him to send her some of his cards, being most impressed that at 88 years young he was still an avid crafter.

I did add to my stash, even though I was sure there was nothing I needed !  I went a bit crazy on the Lavinia Stamps stand, but I know I will use my new stash often as I do love there stamps and dies.  I also picked up two great goody bags, the one from Create and Craft was particularly impressive and great value for just £10.   Containing dies, embossing folders, templates and punches plus loads more.

I think this post is about long enough, so I'll save my latest project for posting at a later date.  I hope you've enjoyed this little window into our family celebrations, thanks for visiting.

Stripes

Happy Thursday dear readers, hope you've got something nice planned for today, if not I hope my post today will inspire you to get busy on your table of craftiness creating an entry for this week's new challenge for Cute Card Thursday.  Our challenge theme this week is 'Stripes' and we have a prize sponsored by Bunny Zoe Crafts.

Here's my DT card, hope you like it

I decided to dig out my Snowman Blueprint stamp and die set by Sizzix Time Holtz Alterations.  He's such a fun image and great for stamped decoupage.  This time I decided to use a single stamped background image with the whole Snowman layered over the background.  The dies in the set mean you can easily cut out the various elements and layer them up if you wish to make a multi-layer decoupaged image.

I found some sheets from an old Do Crafts Christmas paper/card pack which have stripes on one side and are plain on the other and were just perfect for my design.  The blueprint snowman image was stamped on the plain side using Tuxedo Black Memento ink, then cut out using a deckle edge rectangle nestie.

For the next layer I turned the card over to use the striped side and cut out using a larger nestie die and used the leftover scraps and a snowflake die from a set of framelits from Stampin'Up!.  I punched out some smaller snowflakes from white card and then tiny snowflakes from the scraps of striped card, then just layered them all up.

The white embossed panel on the right was created by cutting out with a deckle edge large rectangle nestie then using a snow embossing folder by Sheena Douglas.

The Snowman was coloured using my ProMarker pens, just his hat and scarf to highlight them, then I added Glossy Accents over the highlighted areas to give them dimension. 

Finally I added a sentiment using a Little Claire's stamp, which I popped up on PinFlair Glue, then added a few touches of Stardust Stickles for a bit of sparkle.

Thanks for dropping by today to check out my project.

Have a Jolly Holiday

I thought I'd share another of my recently made batches of Christmas cards with you today. 

This one is a very simple design using C6 white base card, holly sprig embossing folder and a sentiment from a Sizzix stamp and die set, stamped using green ink - job done !

I was thinking of adding a little 'bling' with touches of Stickles, but decided my design needed nothing else, do you agree ? 

Thanks for dropping by to check my latest project, I hope you like it.

Special Remembrance

This day each year is always bitter sweet for myself and my family as it's the anniversary of the day my lovely Mom received her wings and left us to continue our lives without her. 

As I begin to see all the decorations and costumes for Halloween Trick or Treat appearing in the shops as we progress through Autumn, it always brings to mind the sad journey I took to see my Mom for the last time.

Love You Mom and always will
RIP
xx


Yesterday, I went along to a South West Arty Crafters workshop with Bernie Simmons.  We had lots of fun, got inky fingers and I came home with two partly completed projects.  Thanks Bernie.

First up are the covers from my Art Journal which I decorated using gesso, Distress Inks, texture paste, stencils, stamps and various embellishments.  It's still a WiP as I have a few items to add etc.

Secondly, we worked on some MDF Christmas bauble,s painted using Mica Powders. 

I selected a tree shaped bauble which I covered with gesso then stamped on both sides - using some Hobby Art stamps - and started to colour using the MPs.  Again, a WiP and I will share pix of both these projects at a later date once they are completed.  I'll be adding more colours and lots of sparkle and bling using glitter and gems etc.

Thanks for dropping by to check out my blog today, I love receiving visitors !