Merry Christmas To All, And To All A Good Night!

Well, here we are - Christmas Eve and time to begin the celebrations.  I'm sorry for my absence of late - I've been having trouble with my arthritis and it has made it very difficult for me to craft this time.  But I've had some good news today - I shall be getting new drugs in January and we are very hopeful for their success.

But I couldn't let the evening pass without saying a Very Merry Christmas to all my wonderful followers and to all those in Crafty Blogland who pass by.  Thank you all for your support and encouragement throughout the year - it has meant so much to me and has spurred me on to keep creating.

I shall be back as soon as I am able in the New Year, refreshed, renewed and ready to go. 

In the meantime, I hope your holidays are peaceful and happy and that 2011 brings you much joy.

Happy crafting.
Hugs
xx

Mo's Dream Team Project of the Month Blog Hop!

Whoooo-hoooo! It's time for another Mo's Dream Team blog hop and guess what?!  I'm hosting this month's hop and I'm very excited! 

Because we've recently had such beautiful weather here in the UK (not!) and because we're in for another spell of the same, this month I have chosen the theme 'Let It Snow'.  Yup, I wanted my teamies to come up with some snowy creations and I'm sure they've done me proud!  There's certainly been plenty of the white stuff to inspire us over this side of the Pond!

So, kicking off this month is my project:

Image: Mo's Digital Pencil, 'Snowman'

Papers: October Afternoon, Good Cheer collection

Could there be a more perfect image for this theme?  Here's Mr Snowman, his snowy buddies and some snowflakes for good measure!

This is my very first shaker card and I'm quite pleased with the results.  The shaker dome is actually the packaging from one of my rolls of double-sided tape, which is a perfect size for my largest circle Nestie - how cool is that!?  After covering the front of my card with my chosen papers, I cut out the circle and pushed the 'dome' through.  Then I filled it a little with .... stain removing powder! Yup! It was the only snow-like substance in the house and, actually, it's perfect.  Slight draw back in that it has made the dome a little dusty but, hey, it's snowing!

This closeup shows you just how fine the powder is and there's Mr Snowman in his warm hat and gloves, happily surrounded by snow.  No wonder he's smiling - the weather in there is perfect for him!  He was coloured with my Copics and, this time, the 'glow' (difficult to see but definitely there) was added with pale blue pearlised chalk.

Right, on with the hop and next stop is the very talented Debbie and I know there'll be something snowy and gorgeous waiting for you.

Just in case you should get lost along the way, here's the full hop order:

Peri (me!)

Debbie 

Heidy
Mina
Elaine 
Arielle
Lori
Kerttu
Shirly
Jak
Happy Hopping!



xx

Oldies But Goodies at Karen's Doodles

Oooh, it's Thursday again (would you believe it) and time for another Oldies But Goodies showcase over at the Karen's Doodles Challenge Blog.  My OBG Teamies and I have been digging through our Karen's Doodles images and have found some old favourites to inspire you.

If you've read back a couple of posts you'll know I'm very, very tired at the moment and could sleep almost anywhere during the day, although not in my bed at night!!!  Maybe I should take a leaf out of Bigsby's book:

Image: Karen's Doodles, 'Bigsby Wreath'

Papers:  October Afternoon, 'Good Cheer' collection (you guessed right! - These have been my favourite Christmas papers this year!)

Doesn't Bigsby look all warm and cosy?  I kept the card itself quite simple because of the vibrant colours I've used for Bigsby - so there's no matting and only a little layering and some simple embellishments.

All the colouring, even the 'glow' this time, was done with my Copics.  I wanted a really warm glow in the centre of the wreath and I'm quite pleased with the result.  I applied some highlights with a white gel pen, just to lift it a bit but there are no Prismas here this week.

I wonder what Bigsby will be up to next week?  You'll have to pop back and see.

Don't forget to check out the Challenge Blog and see what my Teamies have been working on.  While you're there, why not enter our challenge, which is 'Silver and Gold' this week (one or both) - we love to see what you create.  And don't forget, by entering you're in with a chance of winning up to three Karen's Doodles images of your choice.

Happy crafting.
xx

Do I Know It's Christmastime?

Whew! What a week!  I've been suffering big time with the old RA - bloomin' thing is active again and causing havoc!  So I've been a bit slow in making stuff and slower still in my (yet to happen) Christmas preparations.  Oh dear! You'd think I didn't know it was all happening in 9 days (eeeek!). 

Thankfully, tonight's project killed three birds with one stone, so to speak.  You know how it is - three siblings, got to have the same but different so no-one feels left out.  So, with this in mind, I set to and made these three cute little stockings, as tags/money holders for my three nieces:

I'm so pleased with how they turned out.  Three the same but very different, a bit like my nieces in fact!  (No, they're not triplets but they are all my brother's children!)

This one's for the eldest - a bit more sophisticated than the others, perfect for a 20-year old.

This one's for the middle one, who's almost 19.

And this one's for the youngest - 15 years old and still in her pink phase!

The pink one above is also a gift holder - a universal gift voucher, shall we say? (Yup, money!)

So, two tags and a gift done - that just leaves the rest of the gift shopping, the food and the decorations.  Wish me luck!

This is my entry for the following challenges:

Paperplay - 'Holiday Tags'
Scrap-Creations Challenge ' 'Make It a Tag'
Everybody Art Challenge - 'A gift'
City Crafter - 'Use Kraft card'

I'm going to eat, make lists and then fall asleep - perhaps if I dream hard enough, the dream fairies will come and finish everything off for me? 

Happy crafting.
xx

Oldies But Goodies at Karen's Doodles

Thursday again, Crafty Bloglanders - and another week closer to Christmas!  At some point I should really give some thought to buying presents but the weather is so cold and the ground so slippery that I can't contemplate venturing out on a shopping trip at the moment!  I shall be making plenty of money wallets, just in case!

And Thursday means another 'Oldies But Goodies' showcase over at the Karen's Doodles Challenge Blog, where my Teamies and I bring out some of our favourite but older Karen's Doodles images to inspire you.

The snow is still with us, although it is gradually thawing a little.  However, the nights are so cold that the melting snow is simply turning to ice and it's like a skating rink outside.  Bet this little one wouldn't mind though:

Image:  Karen's Doodles, 'Skating Fun'

Papers: October Afternoon, 'Good Cheer' and 'Very Merry' collection

What a great image this is for a cold winter's day!  I love the movement - and with the little dog running out of the frame, I get the feeling she's moving quickly!  The DPs were chosen because they were some of the last scraps I had of these favourite papers and I wanted to use them up together.  I might just have to buy some more, even though Christmas is almost upon us and they won't be needed for another 12 months. 

I coloured her up with my Copics and added a little extra shading and background with my Prismas.  I appear to have made the dog cross-eyed though! Poor thing!

So, pop over to Karen's Doodles Challenge Blog and see what my talented Teamies have created for you this week - don't forget to leave them some love.  And while you're over there, why not check out this week's challenge, which is really simple this week: Christmas!  Show us your Christmas creations and you could be in with a chance of winning up to three Karen's Doodles images of your choice.

Happy crafting.
xx