Happy Christmas! 

Wishing you a very happy, jolly festive season

from The Ragbag Badger

x x x x x

Seven Years of Co-Badgering

Mr Badger loves his classic cars, so I was delighted to be able to pre-order the Classic Garage Suite in time for our anniversary.  I'm not really into cars myself (my eight year old Citroen Picasso gets me from A to B, and that ticks all my boxes), but even I can appreciate how gorgeous this suite is.  Papers: love the colours!  Dies: the cogs are beautifully steampunky!  Stamps: will be a favourite for years to come!

My favourites, though, are the embellishments: how cute and retro is that tiny little key? I'm in love 😍

Wreathing Around

I'm so happy that the Wishing You Well stamp set will not be retiring with the end of the Autumn/Winter catalogue.  It's perfect for Christmas, as you can see, but it's so versatile I've also used it for birthday, anniversary and get well soon cards.  I can't wait to get stuck in to using it to create some fresh, spring projects, but for now I'm loving these muted classic winter wreaths.

I Can Sing a Bauble!

Who doesn't love colouring?  I haven't seen the Great Joy stamps featured much, but I love them for their simple, classic designs, and the fact that you can give them so many different looks just by using colour in different ways.  Here I have used normal, children's pencil crayons on the left, and the Stampin'Blends markers on the right. 

It's amazing to me how two versions of the same design can look so different. I love it!

Keeping it Simple

Sometimes it's the simplest things that are the most effective.  Usually in a class I offer one more complicated, in-depth project alongside one or two simpler ones, and I would definitely include something like this simple decoration in a future class!  I've made eight of these, using up retired items and touch of shimmer ink, and I think they will look rather marvellous on my tree this year.

In Praise of Festive DSP

It's not just cards!  Designer Series Paper can be used for all sorts of projects, from cards to scrapbooking, from decorations to gift packaging and more.  So much more!

This wreath is made up of two layers of folded DSP strips with matching DSP rosettes.  One of the things that sets Stampin'Up!'s DSP apart is that both sides feature stunning designs, so I have cut the strips on an angle, allowing both sides of every single strip to be seen in all their festive glory.

I'm looking forward to making these in class this week!

#simplestamping

One of the challenges we have been set by Stampin'Up! for the coming year is to ensure we cater for all levels of stampers at our classes, whether they be avid crafters, casual crafters, or complete beginners.

Part of this is the launch of the #simplestamping movement - projects using just ink, paper and stamps.  No frilly bits, no need for special equipment, just the joy of a simple, professionally finished design at your fingertips.

As you can see, simple doesn't have to be boring!  Some stunning designs can be achieved with just these simple tools, and as a beginner stamping experience what could be better than taking something so pretty home with you?

I will be re-jigging some of my classes in the new year, so look out for more #simplestamping coming very soon...

 

Oh, I do tend to get a little bit overexcited about Christmas!  The Stampin'Up! Autumn/Winter Catalogue is my favourite of the year (and I incorrectly but unfailingly refer to it as the "Christmas Catalogue" from the moment I get my sticky mitts on it, which probably says everything you need to know about me and Christmas crafting!) and it is jam-packed full of gorgeously festive stamps, colours, embellishments, papers... you name it. 

But the really lovely thing is that most of the sets are incredibly versatile and can be used all year round.  Take Flourish Filigree, for example: this card could just as easily be a birthday card, or even a wedding or christening card.  I've used this so much since I got it, and it's definitely a keeper, especially as I "just had to" buy Label Me Pretty too, so I had both sets to coordinate with the Pretty Label Punch... 😂

How Lovely Are Your (Pink) Branches!

Does anyone else enjoy using non-traditional colours for Christmas Cards? 

These were part of my monster charity drive, and were really based around using up some retired colours of cardstock, but I've had so many positive comments about them by sharing this photo on Facebook!  I think doing something a bit different sometimes stands out from the crowd a bit, and I have to say, I do like the results. 

Will my own Christmas cards be pink this year?  Well, no, I've already designed them for this year, but who knows what 2019 might hold...?

In This We Make A Difference

It's time!  You can expect a slew of Christmas projects from here on in!

You may remember that I am part of a group that supplies greetings cards to charites, either for them to use or to sell for fundraising.  This year I decided to have a mammoth push to send as many as I could by using up some of my retired stash of DSP, embellishments, cardstock and Memories & More cards. 

To date I have sent off just shy of 200 Christmas cards, and I hope to do a few more before the end of this year, but I've had to tell myself very firmly that I am not to do any more charity cards until I have sorted out my own Christmas cards! I'm a hard taskmaster, I tell you...

Sunset Waterfront

I have only recently discovered the Impossible Card design - I know, where have I been, right?  I have two ladies who come to my classes who are sisters and have their birthdays very close together, and I umm-ed and ahh-ed over what kinds of cards to make them, but plumped for making a pair. 

The paper I've used is retired, but it's an old favourite, so I paired it with a slightly unusual colouring for the Waterfront stamp set, and I was pleased with the results.  I think my ladies liked them too which is, of course, what counts!

Birthday Expedition

A birthday card!  Not a colour challenge, but a bit of a challenge for me nonetheless because I actually cut into my Animal Expedition DSP - shock horror! 

I think it was worth it, though.  I love these papers, and they are my current go-to for children's cards - not to mention that I'm threatening to frame full sheets and display them in my house!  I think the designs are both artistically gorgeous and fun, and really do appeal to all ages.  It's no coincidence that this is my best-selling paper from the Annual Catalogue. 

It's worth mentioning the Leaf Ribbon too - it was right at the top of my wishlist when we got our sneak preview of the catalogue, but this is the first time I've actually used it.  Maybe I was scared to cut into that, too 😂

Ghoulies and Ghosties and Wee Running Beasties

 

Scrappin' Up!

I have to include a scrapbook page in this blog every now and then, because scrapbooking is my craft therapy - it's my selfish crafting that I do just for me.  It's creative, it's nostalgic, and it's a chance to share memories with my family which is an experience I treasure in itself.  The Badger Cub loves to look at scrapbooks (I think this is mainly based on the narcissistic thrill he gets from most of the pictures being of him!), and I love that this is something we can share. 

Below is some of our trip to London, pictured because I actually remembered to keep a ticket to include!

Au Revoir, Colour Challenge!

Shall we catch up on the colour challenges?  This is actually the last lot for this year's In Colour Challenge, and I'm proud to say that I have completed every challenge!  Yay!  It was nice to remember near the end of the challenge that it isn't just cards that can be made - I love this little tin, and I will be doing a class on tins in November, where we will be making different shapes and sizes of tin just in time for gift packaging for Christmas.  Handy, eh?

The final card below is actually not a colour challenge, but made with colours that I THOUGHT were included in the colour challenge.  I'm a muppet.  But I liked it anyway, so thought I'd include it!

The Longest Birthday Card Ever (possibly)

Ever made a concertina card?  I have, a few times, but never one this long!  Yep, that's the whole alphabet on there, colours in rainbow order, with "Happy 6th Birthday Freddie!" on the reverse. 

It folded up to about 3cm thick - that's not a box in the gold bow, it's just the card folded up, believe it or not!  Although I tried to pick it up off the floor and fold it up a number of times over Fred's birthday week it always ended up out again in a matter of minutes, so it's now been turned into an alphabet frieze on his wall.  Which is a better fate than I had expected it to have 😂

Badger vs Bear

Oh, this bear and I... We've had issues in the past, but he behaved reasonably well for this card, so I won't go into that just now.

I have been so taken with Hancrafted Creations' mini albums that I decided to try to come up with a smaller, quicker version that could be made in a class but still look really special.  This is what I came up with.  Each fold-out stage is shown in the pictures below, and I love the little extra details that the doilies add - they go really well with Mr Bear, I think!  The Share What You Love DSP also gives a vintage, slightly distressed look, which I think combines with the other elements to make a lovely shabby chic card for someone special.  And all those blank spaces?  Just right for little photos, messages, memories or mementos - just as long as they're reasonably flat, of course!

Autumn Days...

It's definitely autumn now, and I just can't get enough of these leaf skeleton stamps from the Rooted in Nature set.  They are just beautiful - so detailed and delicate, and perfect for adding either a motif or just a hint of texture.  They certainly don't shy away from anything in these colours, mind - layered over a Bokeh Dot background I think they really pop, and the sentiment and slightly distressed edges to the card set them off really nicely.

Oooh, I think a hot chocolate and a fuzzy jumper might be in order...

Sun, Sand and Scrapbooking

Another scrapbook page today, this time using up some old (but treasured!) DSP.  How sunny does this look?  Although I'll let you in on a secret - the weekend these pictures were taken was the weekend the heatwave finally broke, so we were lucky to get pics like this - but at the time I think we felt even luckier to get the rain.

Some people have Paris, but Mr Badger and I will always have Cleethorpes... 😆

Throwback... oh, wait...

Is it Thursday?  No?  OK, we'll scrap Throwback Thursday and do a Memory Monday instead.

This came up in my Facebook memories and it made me smile, because this is the card I designed for my very first ever class! Aw!  It's funny, but I look back on most of the cards I made early on and I cringe, but I actually really like this design, even though it was one of the first.  I guess the sentiment turned out to be a lucky charm for me: more than three years later I'm still here, still demonstrating, and still loving the stampin!

Stampy the Elephant Packed His Trunk...

Let's talk elephants.  And why wouldn't we?- they're amazing creatures, both strong and adorable, and instantly recognisable even when simply designed, as demonstrated here.  I sometimes struggle with baby cards, because I don't really like to do the whole pink/blue thing, so usually head for neutrals.  Likewise with the usual new baby images: bears, prams, nappies, etc don't really do it for me.  But an elephant?  Yep.  Which is why this bundle was at the top of my list when the new Annual Catalogue was released.

The two cards below are a new baby card in Coastal Cabana, and a birthday card for a very special big little girl who has just turned two.  These elephants made the trip all the way to Australia, but it's OK, because they packed their trunks, and I'm sure they'll never forget where they came from 😂🐘

The Badger Family

Scrapbooking.  It's my personal crafting go-to when I need some downtime.  It's like cardmaking, but you get to keep everything! I'm very lucky in that the Badger Cub loves looking back at photographs, so I have the added bonus that I'm making something that we will look at again and again as a family, and enjoy the pictures together.

This layout was something a bit different for me.  I sometimes collage my photos before I order prints, so that I can have 74mmx102mm prints ready for the Memories&More pockets, but a couple of months ago I made one of these collages into a two-frame "comic strip" (with the help of the stickers from PicCollage) and gave it to Mr Badger for his birthday.  When it came to scrapbooking my copy of the print I ended up adding in more around it, and I think it looks really fun and summery!  Certainly a good one to look back on as we head into Autumn, especially as it features my little five year old... who will soon be gone forever because he turns six tomorrow!  Gulp!

Colour Challenge: Part II

Well, due to some kind of computational nonsensery that is beyond my humble under-standing, my post is sideways today.  Wow, I'm a luddite, I know!

Maybe multiple pics are a bit much for my poor PC, but I thought I'd show you my latest collection of Colour Challenges.  The thing I love most about these is that they are all colour combos that I would never have picked off the shelf, and yet they all work.  Colour theory and design principles fascinate me, and I love that the Stampin'Up! colour suites fit so well with these principles so that well chosen colours always look like they belong together: even when they contrast, they contrast beautifully.

I wouldn't, for example, have chosen colours almost bordering on neon for a Christmas stocking, but how fab and funky do they look?  The swirl in the background, by the way, is from Stylish Christmas, and is one of my current very favourite stamps.

I wouldn't have gone with dark, muted colours for a baby card either, but again, it works well.  I love the more earthy tones, and it makes a lovely change from my usual yellow or turquoise for a baby card.

Speaking of yellow, I don't think I'd have been brave enough to pair Pineapple Punch with
Lovely Lipstick if I hadn't been prompted, but

used judiciously it has really brought this flower card to life.  I'm also very much in love with the Tin Tile embossing folder at the moment - definitely my folder of the month!

And finally, another current favourite, the Rooted in Nature stamp set, which I have only just purchased and I'm genuinely wondering how I managed without it in my life until now.  These leaf skeleton stamps are so delicate and precise that I think I have (yet another) contender for my "Favourite Stamp Ever" award.

I hope I may have inspired you to have a go with some colour combos you perhaps wouldn't have tried before, and I'd love to see your results!

Reflections on a Winter Woodland

I know I've posted this before, but wanted to say a bit more about it.  As with so many of my designs at the moment this was made for a Colour Challenge (Grapefruit Grove, Merry Merlot and Pool Party).  And this was very difficult for me to do, although I am pleased with the results.

See, my name is Sarah, and I'm white-space-phobic 😄  I accepted this many years, and there's no shame in it.  There are plenty of others out there like me - perhaps you are one of them?

One of my favourite quotes is by Helena Bonham-Carter, who when asked about her personal fashion style said that she just doesn't quite know when to stop getting dressed.  I'm a bit like that with cards.  If there is space, it looks unfinished, at least while I'm sitting there making it.  If someone else made exactly the same thing I wouldn't have the slightest problem with it, but it's perhaps a sign of lack of confidence in certain styles of design, or perhaps that my simpler designs can't stand on their own merit.

So the above was very brave of me.  Two layers of stamped trees, one of Bokeh Dots, one greeting.  One matted layer.  That's all.  Nothing else.

And I've left it like that.  There was a time when I would have scowled at it and covered it in ribbons and diamante, textured the proverbial out of it and run it through the BigShot in an embossing folder.  And there is definitely a place for all that, but not on this card.  This one is teaching me something about my crafting, and also, maybe, about myself.

Ruby Tuesday

This was a last minute Ruby Wedding Anniversary card.  I'm having one of those "Yes, I like it, hm, no I don't" kinds of relationships with this one, but I do like that I was finally able to play with colouring the Delightfully Detailed DSP, and I had a return to the embossed speckling in the background, which I used to do a lot but haven't for a while.

Given more time I think I would have come up with something very different, but I think on balance this was an OK design.  I haven't heard that it made the recipients cry, or anything, so hopefully they thought so too!

Tricky First Album (Feat. Stampin'Badger B)

I can't take credit for this, but wanted to share because I think it looks absolutely stunning.  This is the brainchild of Hannah at HanCrafted Creations, and it took a good while, but I think the results are well worth the effort I put in.

As this was my first attempt I decided to use some retired papers, of which I have, ahem, one or two sheets knocking around (for "one or two sheets" read "one or two boxes full").  I have had these papers for a while but never quite managed to do anything with them: I bought them because, well, they're gorgeous, you can see that, but they aren't my usual style so they never quite came to the front of my mind until now.

The album has just three "pages", but so many fold-outs and flaps and pockets that it will comfortably hold around 20 6"x4" photos, and lots and lots of smaller bits besides.

One of my favourite elements of this album is the concealed magnetic fastners, which mean everything closes up really nicely.  That's the Badger Cub above, and Mama Badger below, incidentally.

Of course, it doesn't have to be photos that go in - tags, bookmarks, small cards, journalling cards, etc are all perfect additions too.

Another brilliant feature of this design (thanks Hannah!) is that the cards, pockets, etc aren't specific sizes: they can be made with the offcuts you have from the larger pieces, which is such a clever way to use your treasured papers economically.  

In fact, I may have gone a bit overboard with the additional cards, but I realised later that I have made most of them almost exactly Memories&More-sized, and what perfect designs these will be for scrapbooking autumn, which is just around the corner.

I See Your True Colours Shining Through

I really, reeeally, REALLY like the new Uninked Spectrum Ink Pads.  Anyone who knows me knows that I'm ever so slightly partial to a rainbow, so it was a bit of a no-brainer what I'd do with my first one, and I'm still in awe of it!  I ran a class a few weeks ago and we had a good old play with lots of ways to use them, and I have to say, I am very happy with the results.

I'm now waiting for my second one to arrive, and wondering what colours I will use it for?  Something Christmassy, maybe... I still haven't decided what I'm doing for my Christmas Cards, after all...

Green-fingered Badger... and Hedgehog

Do you get that little rush when you use a product in a slightly different way?  I know I do, and I'm a little bit smitten with this messy fern.  I've been making quite a lot of cards with the Tropical Chic set, but haven't been terribly adventurous with it, sticking mostly to nice traditional floral arrangements like in the card on the left.

But with a bit of unfettered stamping, some twine, some faceted gems and a cut down Pretty Label Punch cutout, I'm quite pleased to have something a bit different.  This is exactly the kind of plant I would own: slightly out of control, best left to its own devices, and covered in fairy lights.  I think I'll call it the Badger Fern.

And something else I discovered when playing with the Tropical Thinlets was this little guy... I think he might be quite happy living in that fern...

Challenging Colours

I've been doing some colour challenges based on the Colour Coach recently (thank you Uma for giving us all a prod when needed!).  I love these challenges because they really take me out of my comfort zone and make me think about different ways of doing things.

Like (I suspect) most people, I tend to choose the stamp set first and then colours which "go", but having to do it the other way around has made me look at things in a different way.  Sometimes I choose the set before I look at what the colours are going to be for that week and force myself to use that combination - this is what I did for the Beautiful You card and the Lift Me Up one.

For others I have combined sets - the big flower on the Tropical Chic card is actually the poinsettia from Stylish Christmas, but I think it goes really well!  Other colour combos have kind of taken care of themselves: for the Waterfront card with the mountains, the colours really made me think of a sunset, so that's what I went with.

In short, I love the colour challenges, and I'm just off to do another one!  I'll let you know what I come up with.