Christmas Post (It)

Coming up to Christmas it can help to have some ideas for stocking stuffers and Secret Santas, and this is one such idea. This little book is made from scratch and holds enough post it notes to keep even the most scheduled of people happy for at least a couple of months! I've personalised this one with an initial, but you could add any kind of decoration, and there is room inside to add a plain piece of card with a special message on it as well.

Punching for the Stars

This is another make from Julie Wade's retreat - this 3D star is made from punched baubles, and it's so pretty! I plan to make a lot more of these to decorate gifts this Christmas, and I might also make one for the top of the Christmas Tree, because a certain small Cub has been bemoaning the fact that we don't have a "proper" star at present. It might be fun to suprise him with one when we put the tree up 💚🦡⭐🎄💚

Stampin' Snow Front

I have wanted the Snow Front set since I first saw the Autumn/Winter Catalogue back in July, but I have been ever so good and waited until Julie Wade's retreat where I knew it would be included in my pack, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. Here are some of the cards we made - all Julie's design, I take no credit for these - aren't they stunning? I love that they are so subtle, and can be put together into loads of different combinations. It's a big set too - 17 stamps, and it coordinates with the Waterfront set too, so the possibilities are almost endless.

Experimenting Again

Ooh, look at me all floral! I love my watercolour pencils, and have been wanting to do more with them for ages, and I finally had a go at this multi-layer technique which I think is quite effective and I'm quite pleased with it as a first attempt! It's definitely something I'll be playing with more, and I might mix it up a bit with inks as well, to see if I can get some bolder colours going as well.

All in the Detail

You know those products you buy and can't bring yourself to use? Well, I just did! Go me! The laser-cut speciality DSP just became an anniversary card for my parents-in-law, and it's easy to see why it's so popular - it makes for a beautiful card with very little effort, except for keeping a steady hand with the Tombow. I even found a bit of shiny thread to match the colour scheme, which made me feel very artistic 😂

All in all, a quick card that looks like it took a lot longer than it actually did. Win.

Northern Lights

I recently came across the beautiful Northern Lights Technique by Denise McCabe (ably demonstrated in her video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBnTpF5obaQ  ) and I couldn't wait to have a go. As I'm mostly focused on Christmas - let's face it, I have been since July! - I ended up using it for a couple of festive designs.

The first is a simple 3D fold using the trees from the Rooted in Nature stamp set and the deer from the Snow Globe Scenes die set. The little greeting is from Itty Bitty Christmas. I've deliberately made this card small-ish so it can fit in a C6 envelope when it folds flat - perfect for posting.

The second card uses the Northern Lights effect as a background for the snowglobe, and obviously I used those dies here too. I love these bears - don't they look happy in that snow? I think if I did it again I would make the snow on the ground deeper, but I like the effect of the background within here - I think it gives it a little extra something.

 

Family Portraits

I loved making these little thank you cards for the ladies who came to my Halloween fundraiser for the Meningitis Research Foundation - a little concertina booklet of portraits, with the scariest saved for last!

In total I have raised precisely £300 so far, and I'm pretty chuffed with that, considering I wasn't actually going to do a fundraiser this year. Thank you for all your support - it really does mean a lot.