And FINALLY ...

... the hardest card of the season to make ... Greg's!  No idea why, but I always find his most difficult to make!  Maybe its because I want it to be special, but by the time I get the inspiration to make it I'm all Christmas-carded-out!  But I got some inspiration from the Stamp TV video on the faux window technique - dead easy but very effective!  I had intended to colour my sky, but then completely forgot ... Doh! 
I found this fab silver starry card when I was having a tidy up, but its so shiney its impossible to photograph - die cut the snowflake from the same c/s.

Colour combo of silver, blue and white from Simon Says Stamp
ABC Christmas challenge Z=Zero time left - I reused the F=Frosty challenge
Critter Sketch Challenge #45 - Anything Christmas
CES Challenge #17 - Anything goes
Stamping Vacation - Fountain of Youth challenge - use a snowman
Stampin for the Weekend #53 - Christmas
Fussy and Fancy Friday - snow

And I know I promised not to moan about the weather, but its past ridiculous now!  It's soooooo cooooold!  I don't think the temperature got above minus4 today and this afternoon on the way home from work it was minus10!  No sign of our snow melting anytime soon, so if you fancy a bucket or two shipped over just give me a shout ... you're more than welcome to it!!
Here's another couple of pics just in case you're somewhere nice and sunny and warm, and thinking you might like a wee bit of snow...!  (Trust me, you don't!!)

You'd never guess from this pic that it was Ruby's idea to go for a walk! 

I was quite happy to stay at home in the warmth with my toes in my cosy slippers!

My first Card Box

Well we're still snowed in here, got another couple of inches last night, think we're up to about 9 or 10 inches, and it's snowing again! It was good fun (not!) digging the car out and digging a path for Ruby so she could get up the garden - even she didn't venture into the deep stuff, must have had enough snowball legs yesterday!

I forgot to take my camera with me when we went for a walk earlier, so here's a pic of my crazy neighbours' houses instead (taken pre-snow) They have a bit of a grudge match going on and every year they try to outdo each other, its hilarious! ...and no, my house doesn't look like this!!

 I thought I'd have a go at making a little box for some cards as a Christmas pressie and found a great tutorial on Splitcoaststampers ... I hadn't realised it would be so easy!

I used a little tag I'd made a few weeks ago as my topper and then added some papers to the box lid to match. 

(The white dots on the kraft BG are splodges of Arleens True Snow)

The sketch on the top of the box was taken from Crazy for Challenges #67

Stamp with Fun #89 - Christmas

Top Tip Tuesday #14 - Christmas inspired - my top tip is to look at the resources page on Splitcoaststampers for loads of project ideas and tutorials!

Winter Wonderland - Wrap it Up

Work mates' Christmas cards

Just a quick post as its the X-factor final tonight (at last ... it seems to drag on for aaaaaaaages!)
Got loads of cards made for my work mates this afternoon which was great as there was no crafting done yesterday at all ... it was my work's X-mas Do on Friday night, so lets just say I was feeling a tad delicate yesterday!!  hee hee!  But thankfully I got my energy back today, got all these cards made, the house cleaned AND the Christmas deccies put up!  Oh, and the other good news is that our snow has melted , hooray!

This card was inspired by this weeks Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper - Lisa - HERE's her fab original, so it was perfect for mass production.

Your Next Stamp #31 - CAS Christmas

Allsorts challenge #82 - Last minute Christmas

Crafty Creations #97 - have a bear on your project

A Spoon Full of Sugar #133 - Christmas card

Stamping Vacation - NO NO Challenge ... No punches


And as these cards are for both male and female co-workers, I'm also entering it into Cards For Men #25 - Christmas

Xmas card #49

Ahhhh, Saturday evening ... time to put my feet up and watch I'm a Celebrity and X-factor ... though Ruby's giving me THE LOOK that she wants to go for a walk ... will someone tell her its minus 4 out there!!

Sketch from Papertake Weekly #51

Daring Cardmakers - Turquoise.  Daring Cardmakers are sponsored this week by Flourish with a Bling, a gorgeous blingy prize!

Stamp Something - use your favourite Christmas colour combo -  these gorgeous Dovecraft Christmas papers kinda make their own colour combo of blue, pink and green which I love

Cute Card Thursday #141 - The Blues

Supplies
Stamp: Lili of the Valley image; sentiment from Elzybells
Paper: Dovecraft
Accessories: copic markers; martha stewart edge punch; turqoise stickles and gems; Sizzlits star die with a wee mini brad; sewing machine

Xmas card #48

OMGosh its such a cold evening here ... was out there with a walk with Ruby (wish I had the inclination to roll in the snow too!)  The snow still has no notion of melting, and its really rubbish snow too ... it fell as wee balls of snow and then froze solid so its no good for making snowmen! 

But I have to share the fabulousness that is my new sheepskin slippers ... best investment of the winter, my cold toes always have something to look forward to now! (and Greg's delighted too, now that he doesn't have cold feet stuck to him in bed!!)

Sketch from A Gem of  a Challenge #10 - but I forgot about their optional extra of no red or green, and then I ran out of room so had to move the position of the sentiment!

Pink Elephant #89 - blue, green and red

Stamp with Fun #87 - Advent

Copic Creations #40 - Light Source ... mine is coming from just off centre

Supplies
Stamp: High Hopes snowman; whimsy ticket die and sentiment
Papers: oldies from Dovecraft I think
Accessories: copic and promarkers; ranger glossy accents; martha stewart edge punch; blue gems; smooch illuminate on his jumper/hat; Aleenes True Snow

Xmas Tag

Apologies in advance for the blogger overload this evening ... I've a couple of days off work so spent it Christmas shopping (got loads sorted!) and making cards!
Really Reasonable Ribbon challenge #13 is to make anything but a card with a Winter theme, so I combined it with a couple of tag challenges this week.

Papercraft Star #23 is to Create a Holiday Gift Tag Using...

• Cardstock
• Patterned Paper
• Stamp and/or Die Cut (Cricut or Other)
• Ribbon or Twine
• Gems or Pearls

I used a plain white scrap of ribbon and then a wee pink scrap knotted over the top of it.  Added clear gloss and glitter to the snowflake (marianne creatible die) and the white strip at the bottom, and one of my new ticket stamps as the sentiment.

 

Splitcoaststampers Technique Tuesday TTSCS9 - Terrific Tags

 

Little Red Wagon #57 - Christmas Tag or Bag

 

Our Creative Corner - Tag you're it!

Xmas card #47

I bought this little puppy last year in the January sales, isn't he a cutie!  Added loads of stickles to the dog's scarf and to the big snowflake, and used clear gloss topped with stickles for the ice.

Sketch from Mojo Monday #166

ABC Challenge - I is for Ice

Craft your Days Away #9 - texture

Stamping Vacation - Start Here Challenge ... Red Glitter

Xmas card #46

ETA: I won the High Hopes sketch challenge with this card!

Wowee, just back from a walk with Ruby there and its soooooooo coooooold!  The wind is coming straight from Siberia!

Almost missed the High Hopes challenge #98 - this week its a sketch, though I misjudged the size of my sentiment and had to stick it to the bottom instead of to the side.
Don't forget there's a new release this week from HH ... link in my sidebar.

Stampin for the Weekend #51 - Winter

One Stop Craft Challenge #108 - Christmas Cuties

Die Cut Dreams Xmas Club #45 - use a die cut

SUPPLIES
Stamp: Snowman from High Hopes; sentiment from Stampin Up
Paper: oldies from DCWV
Accessories: marianne creatible snowflake die; snowflake punch; frosted lace stickles on snowballs; lime green stickles on jumper; red gems 

And finally, just to make you go 'Awwwww' here's some wee pics of Ruby, exhausted after her day playing and rolling in the snow!

Xmas card #45

Ooops, this image was kinda too big for the sketch - I managed to cover up most of my papers and stitching with it!

Sketch from Sketch and Stash #49 (my stash is these little pink brad thingys that I rediscovered when I tidied my goodies last week and they were just perfect for this sketch!)

ABC Christmas: X is for Xmas

Fussy and Fancy - Christmas with no red or green

Totally Papercrafts - untraditional Christmas

Crazy4Challenges C4C65 - use script paper (though I managed to cover most of mine up LOL!)

Stamping Vacation - name that card challenge - Snowy Christmas Wishes

SUPPLIES
Stamp: Snowman from High Hopes; sentiment stamp from Stampin Up
Paper: Dovecraft
Accessories: copic markers; Tonic Studios snowflake punch; marianne creatible snowflake die; ranger glossy accents; smooch illuminate on the panels on his jumper; gold peel off sentiment; martha stewart border punch; blue gems; sewing machine

Simon Says ... Let it Snow

I'd actually forgotten I had this little snowman stamp that I bought last year until I was looking through my Christmas card stash!  Don't ya just love his little hot water bottle!  He'd definately need it this evening as its really BRRRR ... the grass was crunchy when we took Ruby for a walk earlier and there's talk of snow this weekend!

Coloured with copics and added some gloss and glitter, and there's some silver peel offs for a bit of added shine too.

Sketch from 2 sketches 4 you #66

An Oldie but a Goodie #6 - glitter

Simon Says Stamp - Let It Snow

SUPPLIES

Stamp: Little Claire Designs

Paper: Dovecraft

Accessories: copic markers; Ranger Glossy Accents; Diamond Glamour Dust; silver peel off lines and sentiment strip; tim holtz border die; pink gems

What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday #77

I haven't been by the What's on Your Workdesk stop for a while, so I just thought I'd share the mess that is my kitchen table!  It usually ends up totally covered in crafty stuff and I end up working in about 4 square inches!  My favourite goodies on the table are the little Pritt glue roller (the last time I tried a roller glue it was rubbish, but this one's really good) and the tub of Aleene's true snow, fabulous stuff!

So this is the wee card I was working on....

Your Next Stamp #30 is to CASE one of their DT members, so I chose this card by Sylvia. 

I kept the red/green colour combo, her gorgeous layout and the little mousey themed stamp.

Easy Craft Projects #26 - snow

Die Cut Dreams Christmas #44 - Christmas anything goes

Marks Finest Papers #30 - have a circle on your card

Xmas card #42

This is the first inking of this little snow dude ... I won all these fabulous High Hopes stamps a while back in a new release candy and its totally sorted my Christmas cards for the year!
Coloured him with copic markers and added frosted ice stickles to his jumper and hat, clear gloss to his skates and loads of glitter to the red snowflakes.

Sketch from Create4Fun #47

One Stitch at a time #40 is to choose a season or event

Stamping Vacation Embellish It challenge - use a corner adornment

Cards for men #24 - Christmas card

Colour combo from SPCC #75

SUPPLIES
Stamp: snowman from High Hopes; sentiment from Stampin Up
Paper: Dovecraft
Accessories: copic markers; ranger glossy accents; Diamond Glamour Dust; marianne creatibles snowflake die; red gems; blue button with coloured dental floss to tie it on; frosted lace stickles

Xmas card #41

Whoo hoo.. my Christmas card count is in the 40's!  No mad panic this year for me!  (...do I sound very smug ... sorry!)
Paper pieced my snowman's hat and used loads of Smooch Illuminate on his scarf and the red snowflakes. 

Took this unusual colour combo from SPCC #74 - its not one I would ever have thought of using but I love it!

Little Paper Shop #94 is to use a die cut

Wee Memories Saturday challenge #32 - use a little bit of pink

Stamp with Fun #85 - Square

Totally Paper Crafts #43 - snow / snowflakes

Sketch from 2 Sketches for You #66

One Stop Craft #107 - snow people

SUPPLIES
Stamp: High Hopes
Paper: Dovecraft
Accessories: copic markers; marianne creatibles snowflake die; Tonic Studios snowflake punch; martha stewart edge punch; Smooch Illuminate; silver gems.

Xmas card #40

I love this little snow dude from High Hopes, but as per usual my copics aren't co-operating and my mid grey ran out in the middle of this ... grrrrr!  I wish there was a big red warning light on them when they're about to go, so I can get another one ordered in advance!
Added loads of Smooch Illuminate to his scarf and ribbon (?) on his hat and his little scarf is popped up on dimensionals but doesn't show in pic.

Sketch from Stamptacular Sunday

High Hopes #97 - one for the guys

Really Reasonable Ribbon #12 is a winter theme + ribbon

Stampin' for the Weekend #51 - Winter

Kaboodle Doodle #44 is a recipe:
1 solid paper
2 patterned papers
3 embellishments (I've used ribbon, gold peel offs and little snowflakes)

SUPPLIES
Stamp: High Hopes
Papers: Dovecraft
Accessories: Ranger Glossy Accents; copic markers; gold peel off sentiment, 'snow' and stars; blue ribbon; smooch illuminate; Tonic Studios snowflake punch

Simon Says .... Sparkle! (Xmas card #39)

I hope my sparkle shows up in this card but its such a yeuchy, dark, wet and windy day here I've no chance of getting a decent photo!  On my snowflakes, stars and the little carol book I've added clear gloss and dropped loads of diamond glamour dust into it so its really lovely and sparkly!

Simon Says ... Sparkle

Penny Black at Allsorts November challenge is to make something for Christmas

CES Challenge #12 - Think Pink

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #127 - is to use your favourite things ... so I've used my cuttlebug, my gorgeous snowflake dies, plenty of glitter and my copic markers

Sketch from Sunday Sketch and Stamp #41 (though I tilted my image panel the other direction)

Critter Sketch Challenge #40 - texture

SUPPLIES
Stamp: Carolling duck from Penny Black
Paper: Dovecraft
Accessories: cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder; marianne creatibles snowflake dies; ranger glossy accents; diamond glamour dust; white flowersoft; little stars cut with a wee sizzlits die; Aleenes True Snow

Tag ... You're next!

Stamping Vacation have a brilliant inspiration challenge on till 5th December.  The way it works is that I've made my card based on elements from Denise's card at Stamping Vacation ... I chose her general layout, the buttons, pearls and a border punch. 

Now you have to pick 2 or 3 elements from my card, upload it to your blog saying which elements you used and then link your new card up at Stamping Vacation HERE.  You could pick maybe the colour combo, the snowman, use a tag, snowflake, etc, etc.  Then someone tags you and so it goes on .. at least I think that's the gist of it anyway!
So... tag, you're next! 
(BTW Stamping Vacation have a $25 prize to the store of your choice up for grabs for this challenge)

Other challenges:

Mark's Finest Papers challenge #29 - add a snowflake

Top Tip Tuesday #10 is to use buttons.  My top tip with buttons is one I learnt from Gina K (I think!) and that's to use dental floss to tie your buttons on, and its easy to colour the floss with your copic marker to match your colour theme

One Stitch at a Time #39 is to use your favourite colour ... so I used a load of my favourites here - the turquoise blue, that gorgeous lime green and pink

Crafty Creations #93 - buttons

SUPPLIES
Stamp: Snowman from High Hopes
Papers: Dovecraft
Accessories: martha stewart border punch; marianne creatible snowflake die; copic markers; blue pearls; clear gloss on his nose; silver peel off sentiment

X-mas card #37

I'm still off work but boredom got the better of me this morning so thought I'd have a go at a white-based card.    This cute lil' mousie was one of my purchases at Elzybells, coloured him with copic markers and added some frosted lace stickles at the base to look like ice ... I did have some flower soft there but the black showed through and it just looked like dirty slush so I scraped it off and just went for the glitter look instead!

Sketch from Splitcoaststampers SC306

ABC Xmas - W is for Winter Wonderland, with the added option of a white theme

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C63 - Christmas Card

Die Cut Dreams Christmas Challenge #43 - snowflakes

SUPPLIES
Stamp: Elzybells (now closed)
Accessories: Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder; snowflake ribbon brad; circular nestabilities; gold peel off sentiment; copic markers; diamond ice stickles

Xmas card #36

This wee card was inspired by Winter Wonderland's challenge of Winter Sports and by Stamp TV's colour combo STVCSP1 of red, turquoise and white.  I won this little skiing dude a while back at High Hopes blog so he was just perfect!  Coloured him with copic markers, added some sparkle and gloss, and a bit of smooch illuminate to his scarf. 

A Spoonfull of Sugar #129 - snow / snowflake

Sketch from Helen's Friday challenge #2

Paper Sundaes challenge #44 - pick your sundae toppings from punches, ribbon, embossing and the colour blue ... I've used ribbon and blue

Wee Memories Saturday challenge #31 is to use up some of your old designer papers ... my DP is definately at least a year old (possibly two!)

SUPPLIES
Stamps: 'Ski Bum Snowy' from High Hopes; sentiment from Stampin Up
Paper: Dovecraft
Accessories: Aleenes True Snow; copic markers; Ranger Glossy Accents; Diamond Glamour Dust; blue gems; nestabilities; stars from little sizzlits die cuts; black stickles on his nose; snowflake sticker from stash

Xmas card #35

ETA: This card was spotlight of the week at the Sweet Stampin Challenge!

I'm still feeling yeuch today, but managed to get this card finished that I'd started earlier in the week.  Coloured my little snowman with copics and added some smooch illuminate for a bit of shine.

Caardvarks November challenge - use holiday die cuts (I used the marianne creatible snowflake dies)

Stamp and Create #7 - Tis the Season

Sweet Stampin - snowflakes

SUPPLIES
Stamp: High Hopes
Paper: Dovecraft
Accessories: copic markers; smooch illuminate; circular nestabilities; marianne creatibles snowflake die; gold peel off sentiment; blue gems; martha stewart border punch

Sweet'n Sassy Blog Hop

Happy 3rd Birthday Sweet'n Sassy Stamps!

Thanks for joining us on Sweet 'n Sassy Stamp's Birthday Blog Hop! 3 years ago today Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps "opened for business" with just 4 clear stamp sets being sold on a simple blog. Since then SNSS has grown to over 100 clear stamp sets and hundreds of digital stamps!  Congratulations Korin and everyone at Sweet'n Sassy ... here's to many, many more successful years!

I was a member of the SNSS digi DT back at the start of this year and I'm so pleased that Korin's celebration hop includes past and present members of the DT (.... there's over 30 amazingly talented ladies participating in today's hop!)

You should have hopped to me from Roxie, but if you didn't start at the beginning (or if you get lost),  hop back to the Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps Blog and pick up from where you left off.... there's a prize at EVERY stop on the hop so you really won't want to miss anyone!

Your next stop is Christi, but before you go, would you like to win this gorgeous Poinsettia digi I've used? - just leave me a comment and I'll pick a random winner on Friday 12th Nov.  [giveaway now closed]

Enjoy the rest of the hop!  (...only a couple more stops to go!)

-------------------------------------------------

Card details:

sketch from Cheri at Stamptacular Sunday #84

Colour combo from Fab'n'Funky challenge #47 - kraft, lime and pink

Sir Stampalot's November challenge - Christmas Traditions

Image: December Poinsettia Digital Stamp from Sweet'n Sassy
Papers: Dovecraft
Accessories: loads of pink gems; snowflake eyelet; copic markers; gold peel off sentiment; martha stewart border punch