Hope all survived?

Well, the big day has been and gone for another year - even though it seems to come around quicker each year!  I hope that everyone enjoyed their day, whatever they were doing - and that those of you facing some of the severe weather we've been having, have come through intact!  We've had terrible gale force winds here in north west UK, but fortunately no loss of power like in so many other places.  Even Tilly the Dog is not impressed and just wants to curl up in her cosy bed and snooze (probably a very wise thing to do!).

Our Christmas Day was a peaceful one, with 5 of us for a meal and a visitor later. Probably had far too much to eat and far too much chocolate - and a few glasses of bubbly stuff!  A big game of Monopoly in the evening when my daughter's boyfriend proved himself something of a ruthless businessman and bankrupted us all!  Then all sprawled out to watch a film together!  So, all in all, a typical Christmas day.  And now lots of leftovers to eat up, before we start preparations for New Year's Eve - and this year we're having some friends round to celebrate with us as I have to confess that my birthday is also on Dec 31st and this year is a 'significant' one.  I finally reach the big '50'!  So my friends have convinced me that we should mark the occasion by having a little celebration.  I'll let you know how it goes!

A little card to share with you today (after all that waffle!) - a friend wanted a 'good luck' card, with a fairly simple design

I've used papers from LOTV, and also a LOTV sentiment stamp.  The panel edges were die cut with a Joanna Sheen 'signature' die, and the butterfly flourish die is also from Joanna Sheen.  I've cut the butterflies twice so I could layer them up with some pearls from stash.  

And just a quick pic to share with you of my two babies on Christmas morning 

Even though it looks like Jack is stood on a box!  He's 15 now and 5'11" tall - and is so pleased to be able to tower over the rest of us!  And my clever daughter Lauren just found out on the night before Christmas eve that she has got a place at University of Brighton to study for a PGCE after she finishes her degree next summer, so that she can be a primary school teacher.  And I know she'll be just brilliant at it!  But boy, am I going to miss her when she moves away :(

Anyway, enough waffling from me. I hope that you enjoy a peaceful weekend.

Back soon,

Kim x 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Just a quick post from me to wish you all a very merry Christmas.  And I hope 2014 is a very happy, healthy and peaceful one for you.  Thank you so much for following my little corner of Blogland and for all your lovely comments and support - they mean so much.

A little pic of the one and only Tilly of 'Tilly's Crafts' as she waits for Father Christmas to come and put some presents in her stocking tonight

She's starting to look a little grey around the muzzle these days (although we don't mention it!) - and apologies for the glare on the photo from the lights & Tilly's eyes! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

A Christmas Candle

Hello all and I hope that you're having a good weekend - and not rushing around too much getting ready for Christmas! Thankfully I finished work yesterday for 2 weeks - and I am so looking forward to getting some r&r time (fingers crossed!).  The usual house full tonight and we're all off to the cinema tomorrow to see the new Hobbit film (have I ever confessed that I am a huge Lord of the Rings fan?  I read the books when I was about 16, got hooked and have re-read them regularly since!).

A short post from me this evening - and then I'm off for a sprawl on the sofa lol!  Another Christmas card - and I think that might be the last Christmassy one for this year (possibly!)

I've used a cute LOTV stamp, coloured with copics and promarkers (with added glamour dust of course!)

The backing papers are from LOTV with some kraft card and I've added some sheer ribbon from Joanna Sheen and a Christmas recipe tag from LOTV

Hope you like it! 

I'll be back before Christmas - hopefully! 

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments - I can't explain how nice it is to be able to share my attempts at various crafting creations and then to read your supportive and positive comments. They really do mean so much.

Take care - and don't work too hard! 

Kim x 

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:-

Allsorts challenge - brown with blue

Aud Sentiments - Christmas

CraftyLittleFairies - anything goes

A&T Emerald Faeries - Christmas

Ladybug crafts - Christmas/winter

Something a bit different!

Hello all and I hope that your week is going well?  I'm looking forward to finishing work on Friday for a break - much as I'm enjoying my job, the last few weeks have been so busy (at home and work) that I'm ready for a break, and hopefully a little relaxation time!  And I apologise if I haven't been round to visit your blogs lately, time has been at a premium but I'm hoping that I'll get chance for a little browsing on the web!

Something a little different to share with you today.  I'd made a couple of these a little while ago and a colleague saw them at work and asked if I could make a couple for her

I've used fabric from Cath Kidston for the bags (which are great as make-up or toiletries bags) 

And then lined them with spotty or gingham fabric.  But please excuse some of the slightly dodgy blanket stitching!  I always enjoy playing with fabrics and just made up these patterns as I went along! 

I was also asked to make a card for a friend's daughter to give to her German teacher who was leaving. She wanted quite a simple card - suitable for a teacher (and a man!), so I came up with this!

I used coloured card to make the German flag for the background, and simply added a sentiment ("Goodbye and Good Luck" in German!) and some starburst flourishes from Joanna Sheen in gold mirri card.  Hope it fits the bill! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

Some sparkle - and some sad news

Hello all and I hope that your weekend is proving to be an enjoyable one!  The usual comings and goings here - but as I had a couple of hours on my own yesterday (a very rare occurrence in this house!) I wrapped some presents for under the tree!  How organised am I?!  Don't be fooled!  The "To do" list in my head is gathering pace even as I'm writing this lol!

Anyway, it's time to share a 'make it sparkle' mid-way inspiration card with you for our month long challenge over at Joanna Sheen.  But before I share that with you, there is some news on the challenge blog from our Team Leader Paula :-

"I do however also have some very sad news that this will be the final challenge from the Joanna Sheen Challenge blog as money for advertising and PR is always in great demand and there are several other ideas that Joanna wants to pursue. I am gutted at this decision as running the challenge blog has been a huge part of my life over the last 2 years and I was so proud when we were named as Craft Beautiful's craft blog of the year 2012."

Needless to say, the Design Team were all gutted when we received this news a little while ago, and I will miss the challenge and the team such a lot.  I was beyond excited when I was asked to join the DT and so feel so sad and disappointed that it's coming to an end - and just want to thank Paula and the rest of the team for having me!  But do pop over to the challenge blog and read more about this, see the fabulous DT inspiration, and leave us a comment to let us know if you've enjoyed the challenge blog over the last 2 years! 

My 'sparkle' card uses a gorgeous image from the Thomas Kinkade Christmas collection -

I hope you can see the sparkle from all the stardust Sprinkles that I used, even though I'm rubbish at catching the 'sparkle' with a camera! 

I've used pearl card on the based and some pearlised coredinations for the embossed panel, and some mirri card added for extra bling! The flower is a Spellbinders die with a pearl centre (from WOC). The lace is from stash. 

So do pop over to the Joanna Sheen challenge and see the gorgeous creations from the DT - and join us for this final challenge (sniff!) with your sparkly creations. 

Back soon,

Kim xx

Full of Christmas Cheer yet?

Hello all and I hope that you've had a good week? I can't believe how fast the days are going at the moment. Do you think it's because we're heading towards the end of the year that it's like rolling downhill lol? Had a Christmas lunch at work yesterday - which was lovely - but then was so full I just felt like having a snooze for the rest of the afternoon!  Today at work is 'Christmas Jumper' day in aid of Save the Children. I confess that I couldn't justify buying a Christmas jumper to wear just for a day - so will have to make do with tinsel, a flashing badge & an Elf hat (complete with pointy ears) - and No, I'm not taking pics!

And with the festive season just about upon us, it's time for the last challenge of the year over at CraftyCatz as all the DT take a little break to recharge crafting batteries. We'll be back in the new year with some fantastic new challenges and sponsors!  But in the meantime our lovely Team Leader Carol (knowing how busy we all are just now) has given us everyone's favourite challenge 'Anything Goes'!

I've used a gorgeous stamp from LOTV

I've coloured this with a mix of copics and promarkers, with some added glamour dust of course (not sure what my Christmas cards would be like without some sparkle....)

The backing papers are from LOTV, and I've added a Spellbinders poinsettia. The little tag is also from LOTV

I must give the recipes on these stamps a try and see if they actually work! 

Hope you like (yet another) Christmas card from me! 

And don't forget to check out the fabulous creations from the DT over at CraftyCatz! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:-

CraftyLittleFairies - let it snow

DelightfulChallenges - red & green

PaperCraftingJourney - it's Christmas time

Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas sparkle

Crafting with Dragonflies - tag

Just for boys!

Hello all and I hope that your week has started well? We're into the last couple of weeks at work now before we break for Christmas for 2 weeks - and I am looking forward to a nice break!  I don't like getting up in the dark and then arriving home from work in the dark lol! But there's a lot going on before we get chance to 'chill out'!  And thankfully we've just about finished the decorating at home - remind me never to start painting and decorating at this time of year again!  But now I can think about putting the Christmas tree up and getting all the fairy lights out lol!

Just a quick card to share with you today (and not a Christmas one for a change!) - one I made for a colleague for her son.

I've used a fabulous image from Mo's Digital Pencil, coloured with copics and pencils. The backing papers are from stash - I think the 'denim' one was from Joanna Sheen!

The birthday sentiment stamp is from Whimsy and I used some rub-on letters to make the 'Son' tag!  Then just added a button and some embroidery thread!

And the inside decorated to match.

Hope you like it!

Back soon,

Kim x 

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:-

Created with love - anything goes

Stamp & Create - anything goes

Here come the boys - anything goes for boys

Allsorts - anything but Christmas

Lets see the die cuts!

Hello all and hope that you've had a good week? And it's the weekend - hurray!  Thankfully my cold is feeling a lot better - thank you for all your good wishes!  I just need to get the painting and decorating finished now - so we'll make a concerted effort this weekend to get it finished and then I can get my house back!  How come when you're doing one area in a house it feels like the whole house ends up being in a mess?  One of the great mysteries of life lol! But it's nearly time to dig out the fairy lights, baubles and tree - and then Christmas will be arriving in the house!

Anyway, it's time for a new challenge today over at Crafty Catz and this week it's yours truly who has picked the challenge of 'Use 2 or more dies' - a nice easy one for everyone!  We're sponsored this week by Kenny K and I've used a great digi

I've coloured Santa's sleigh with promarkers and some added glamour dust. The papers are from K&Co and LOTV.

The present die cut is from Sizzix and the hanging star is from memory box. The sentiment and tag are from LOTV.  

Do have a look at the fantastic inspiration from the DT at CraftyCatz and then join us with your creations and die cuts! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:-

Digi Haven - Merry Christmas

Jellypark Challenges - Christmas

StampinfortheWeekend - use some red

PaperCraftingJourney - it's Christmas time

More Christmas cards....!

Hello all and I hope that your week has been going well?  I can't believe it's Wednesday evening - this week has flown past. And I'm sorely wishing that I hadn't started decorating at this time of year!  Stressed isn't the word!  I've had a grotty cold which hasn't helped, but am now desperately trying to get the painting and decorating done so that I can get my house straight - and then start on getting out the Christmas decorations! Hey ho!  Thankfully I'd got this cute little image coloured up so I was able to put yet another Christmas card together - but I need to find some time to sit and start writing these cards out lol!

I've used the gorgeous image from Mo's Digital pencil and coloured it with copics and promarkers. I've added glossy accents, glamour dust and some white flowersoft.

The backing paper is from K&Co, with a sentiment from Whimsy. The die cut tree is from Memory Box and the banner is LalaLand.  The ribbon, charm and dewdrops are from stash, and I've added some stitching.

Hope you like it! 

I'll make a concerted effort to visit all your wonderful blogs - and apologise for being a very bad blogger at the moment!  There never seems to be enough hours in the day sometimes! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:-

Divas by Design - festive

Fab n Funky - frost

Inky Impressions - winter/snow

Creative Craft Challenges - non-traditional Christmas colours

LEJ Designs - Christmas is coming

Card Mania - fantasy

Created with love - Christmas

I'm late..... again!

I feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland - I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date.....!  Not for the first time though lol! And I can't believe it's December 1st!  Oh my goodness, Christmas isn't just sneaking up anymore - it's rushing towards me at full steam!  The Advent Calendar went up last night.  I made a fabric one many years with little pockets for chocolate treats (and doggy treats - heaven forbid we leave Tilly the Dog out!).  I had thought this year that maybe they wouldn't be bothered about having the Advent calendar being as our two offspring at home are 20 and 15 years old. However, that suggestion was met with a look of horror - so out came the calendar and the chocolate!  Hey ho.  I just have a feeling that I still be getting it out and putting chocolates in even when they've left home and got their own homes....

And apologies for my absence around Blogland - a combination of decorating at home and being full of a stinky cold have somewhat reduced my crafting time or inclination lol!  Roll on holidays...

Anyway, it's time for a new challenge over at Joanna Sheen and this time it's a month-long challenge and all the DT taking part and the fantastic prize of £30 voucher to spend in Joanna's store!  The theme for this special challenge is 'Make it Sparkle'

I've used a sweet image and papers from the House Mouse Christmas projects cd.  I've added some glamour dust to the snow for extra sparkle!  The spotty sheer ribbon is from Joanna's and the glittery heart and snowflake charm are from stash. The snowflakes are made using a Tonic punch. 

So do have a look at the fabulous sparkly inspiration from the DT over at Joanna Sheen! 

Back soon,

Kim x