Happy New Year

Thankfully, I am now back at home recovering well from my operation and would like to say a huge thank you for all your kind messages, cards, gifts and phone calls over the last couple of weeks.

Also, many thanks for your great comments over the past year or so since I started blogging. You have inspired me more than I can ever say. I hope you will return in the New Year with more comments, ideas and inspirations.

To all my wonderful blogging friends I hope you all have a Happy, Safe and Peaceful New Year.

Happy Hogmanay, love and hugs Cynthia xx

Another Award

I have just been given this lovely award by Beryl - thank you so much.
Having just returned home from hospital after my operation it is indeed a pleasure to accept it.

Now then five things that I am addicted to (only some of which I could live without) are in no particular order :-

Rubber Stamping (of course)
Marmalade
OPI nail lacquer, the more the better
Water as in oceans, rivers, streams, trickling, still, flowing, (well I am Pisces)
Anything magical, mysterious and celestial
Anything and everything PURPLE
and I must add my wonderful husband too.

I should be passing this onto five more people but as everyone I know has a wonderful blog that would be really difficult so if you don't already have this award please do feel free to add it to your blog.

Thank you again Beryl and all my fellow bloggers who have supported me through this year and over the last week whilst I was in Hospital. I hope to be back soon with more creations but until then

Happy Christmas and A Peaceful and Safe New Year to all.

xx

My New Forum

Anyone who likes the stamps of Wendie Rhodes and stamping in general is welcome to join in my new forum at

http://creatingrainbows.yuku.com/

Wendie is closing her forum down so I have started up a new one which is for members only - so you will have to register to join.

xx

Butterfly Award

As you will see I have been given this beautiful Butterfly award by both Beryl and Beryl. Thanks so much ladies it is much appreciated. Please do check out both their blogs as they both make fabulous creations.

Had I more time I would pass this on to 10 people but alas time has passed me by today and I am away tomorrow very early. So if you don't already have this award please feel free to help yourselves.

Have a good Christmas and New Year all and please try to behave whilst I am away.

xx

Twisted Pyramaged Dancers

A couple more dancers done using the twisted pyramage format.

Strictly Card Dancers

A small selection of birthday cards made from the Strictly Card Dancers cd. Decoupage, decoupage and pyramage from the top down. I love this new cd.

Christmas Cuttlebugs

Just a few of the Cuttlebugged Christmas cards I have made. I just love these embossing folders especially on mirri card. Very simple with just a couple of ribbons, jewels and sticker embellishments

Two More Awards Today

Today I need to say a huge thank you to Lorraine, Ann and Beryl for giving me the Proximity award and also to Denise and Leann for the Kreativ Bloggers award. I am honoured and pleased to accept ladies - thank you.

The Kreativ award is simply just that an award for Creativitiy.

The Proximity award has such a great sentiment behind it and here is what it says. 'This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind blogger’s aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these
writers! '
Deliver this award to eight blogger’s who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.

As there are so many people who enter my challenges on a regular basis I would like these awards to go to them if they have not already received it, so please help yourself to the icons, and many thanks for doing my challenges each week and giving me inspiration and ideas.

Salty the Snowman

Here is my snowman card made whilst on my recent course with Audrey and Wendie. I stamped the snowman with blue inks and watercoloured out the edges adding some green and red for the holly and orange for the carrot nose. The background was made using Starburst Stains and sprinkling with coloured salt whilst still wet. When the inks dry brushed off the salt to leave the little coloured indentations - a new technique for me and very effective I think. This is my entry for the My Time to Craft 'Snowman' challenge this week.

Old Footballers Never Die

One of my husband's Managers has a birthday on Friday so of course I was asked to make his card. Using Joanna's 'Victorian Companion' I have simply decoupaged the images on top of plaid paper from Sue Smith's 'Festive' cd and added a few peel offs. The insert reads 'Old Footballers Never Die' as Brian is apparently an ex player.

A Card on a Card

Here is one I made today not only for my own challenge tomorrow but also for Wednesday Stamper 'Open' theme this week. I used some lovely panda Oriental paper for the background on the large green card with some edging ribbon down the side. I then took the Oriental screen card from Arts and Crafts Direct, and stamped with various English Stamp Company stamps,and coloured the backs with inks and added a couple of decoupage pictures and stickers. Then I tied the card together with orange velvet ribbon and decoupaged the front. I used some of the same panda paper to edge the inside of the main card and cut some fancy corners with scissors. The back of the main card was covered with Oriental green card but did not want to bore you with another picture lol.

Leaves ATC

Here is a little atc made for a recent swap that I thought I could enter for

Tanda Teaser 'Leaves' challenge this week. I stamped in black and green inks, various leaves onto pale green vellum and placed this over the top of the stamped atc card underneath. I stamped a large leaf onto gold foil and cut it out and embossed the back and attached to the card together with a small square of mountboard coloured and stamped then covered with glossy accents.

Cuttlebugged Metallic

The Cuttlebug challenge this week is to 'Emboss on Metal' so I have embossed a sheet of copper metal and used this as my background matted onto orange card and placed on a cream pearlized card. I created the yellow background using alcohol inks and overstamping with black Stazon. A few wooden embellishments and a peel off sentiment complete the card.

Cuttlebugged Christmas Village

I created this card using Glimmer Mists for the background, stamping with Black Stazon using Glenda's stamps (I love this stamp) then placing the whole card thru the Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder to give a nice raised effect. I added a little of Sue Smith's Plaid papers from her cd to the visible edge of the main dark blue card, and mounted the white card onto this. The glitter I added does not, of course, show up well on the scan but it is there I promise.

'White Christmas' cards

A trio of cards which were made using Robert Adam's White Christmas cd together with the Festive Plaid and Co cd by Sue Smith. I have, of course, added some Cuttlebug backgrounds too, which, mixed with the plaids, some matting and layering and a generous sprinkle of glitter complete the cards.

Celestial Swap

Here is another card made for a Celestial swap using Wendie's new templates.I stamped and coloured the wonderful celestial lady with watercolours and Cosmic shimmers then attached over some lovely background paper onto the card itself inside the envelope. I think I like these cards now although I did find them difficult at first.

Russian Doll

Here is another card made on my course last week which will be good for entry to Saturday Workout challenge this week. This is a from a new set of Russian Doll templates by the lovely Wendie Rhodes. There are lots of smaller baby dolls to go inside or to stack on the front. The card was cut from the template and the tummy stamped onto glossy card using the Bandana Technique and decoupaged. The head was cut out of cream card and painted with Lyra crayons and the red ribbon scarf added with glossy stick on gems for buttons. A very different type of card which is nice for a change.

Blooming Envelopments from Wendie's section of the course

This card and envelope was made from a new set of Wendie's templates that will she will reveal at the NEC. We were lucky enough to get a go with them before the public launch.
The template was used to cut, score and fold the envelope part and with patience I managed to get the folds to do what I wanted and close up into the flower like envelope. I added red spotted ribbon held together with a flower cut from the Cuttlebug, with a couple of eyelets to thread the ribbon through.

The card in the centre was edged with red ink. The red background created using the Cuttlebug snowflake folder and the various flowers also cut from dies and raised on foam pads. The centre brad was made using a button with the shank cut off, covered in material and sewed over the button with the brad legs added. An easy way to make your own brads if you can sew. I have to be honest and say Wendie's lovely Mum did mine for me - lol - as I don't sew well.

These new templates are superb and I bought a set, so expect more of this type of card and envelope later.

I have more cards yet to be finished off and posted but the course was well worth the trip and very enjoyable. Met some lovely people too - as always crafters are great fun to be with.

More from Audrey's course

This pink background was created using Starburst Stains overlayed with a layer of clingfilm to get the wrinkled effect and edged with a silver pen.
The snowman image was stamped with black Stazon onto Fancy Fibres and Film and ironed - yes ironed (I don't do ironing lol) - then glittered with Stickles of course.

The adorable penguins from a Wendie Rhodes set were stamped then glittered using clear Stickles and mounted onto a torn background of burgundy card sprayed with a couple of Starburst stains to get the mottled effect. This was then mounted onto a background created using a multi coloured ink pad and a brayer.

Cards from Audrey's course

Here are a couple of cards made whilst away on my course with Audrey and Wendie. For the first one I stamped the tree onto blue card then cut it out and added silver Stickles . The letters were cut using the Cuttlebug with a touch of Stickles. I matted and layered the images onto black card over silver foiled card to create a very simple card.

The wonderful snowman was stamped onto watercolour card using a Blue ink pad then the edges were smoothed out using a watercolour brush with a little added colour in places. I added some Stickles to the holly on his hat and for the holly berries and his nose. The background was created using Twinkling H2Os softly watercoloured, then a layer of coloured salt was added whilst still wet. When dry the salt was brushed off to leave the different coloured spots on the background. This gives a nice textured effect.

Don't worry, Bee Happy

Here is card full of little stamped ladybirds, butterflies, bees and a lovely orange wooden bee for Sunday Stampers challenge this week. Copper Cuttlebugged mirri card onto a cream pearlised card forms the background for the insect stamped and alochol inked main image. I added a wooden flower, a ladybird and a butterfly as well as the little wooden bee and attached the peeloff sentiment.

Another Winter Village

A new challenge site this week is Cuttlebug Challenges and here is my first entry. The aim was to use three different Cuttlebug embossing folders so I have used the Snowflakes, Swiss Dots and Divine Swirls here. I stamped the image using various Art Impressions and Stampscapes stamps then coloured using Watercolour pearlised paints. I attached the scene to a background of silver snowflakes and white dots then popped the acetate with the Divine Swirls over the top and attached with a gold brad.

Do you like my Red Nose???

This is another of the new large Christmas stamps from Hampton Art. Stamped in black Stazon, coloured with watercolour crayons then used thick clear embossing powder heated till bubbly to give the raised effect. On a background of printed vellum on a white card.

A Winter Village

A few Scene it and Stampscapes stamps together with a couple of Jayne Nesterenko Cute Companion stamps make up this little village scene. Simply coloured with Watercolour crayons and a little added sparkle on a different shaped white card.