A very Happy Christmas

My table for two in 2012. We really had some deep snow that year!

Happy Christmas to all my blog followers and thank you for your support.

Woodware challenge - Thank you

While you are sitting comfortably on the sofa and having eaten your

Christmas dinner, get some white card, Sakura Stardust pens and create some doodly thank you cards. Its a great way to relax!!

If you can't create your own hand draw letters as I have done here then type the

words out on your computer and trace them onto your card.

The Sakura micron pens are perfect for this job. I've used number 08 and 04 to draw

the letter outlines, flowers and dots, all the other doodles are drawn with or

coloured in with Sakura Stardust pens.

Woodware challenge - Inchies

Woodware do a great selection of square punches which all nest together.

The 1" punch which I have used here is yellow.

I have stamped onto white card with black and clear embossed the stamp JGS338 geometric leaves and inked over. Then splattered with thin bleach to give the little white dots. Once dry, I have punched eight squares and inked the edges with a brown ink.

Adding avocado liquid pearls and a greeting to finish it off

using JGS 324 in the frame ditties.

Woodware challenge - sketch 40

The nice thing about circles is that you can tilt them and have the image
in any position unlike a square.

Here I have stamped onto white card using JGS333 cow parsley with green and black inks.
Then with a blue, green and small orange circle punches, punch out your images.
The greeting is from JGS364 mini messages.

The background stamp on the left of the card is from a range by Clearsnap.
This one is called Botanical no 69430

here is the sketch

Crafty Card Makers challenge - distress it!

To make this card begin by creating your own background paper.

Use distress inks over some pale green paper or card and stamp over with a Woodware Rollagraph handle, roller stamp wheel (26135 cherry blossom) and brown ink.

Using brown ink, clear emboss JGS329 teasels stamp.

Use distress inks to colour background over teasel stamp and wipe off excess.

Add a piece of Woodware canvas fabric square (14820)and a little dragon fly brad to finish off.

The greeting comes from JGS322.

So for some distressed inspiration pop over to the Crafty Cardmakers and more.. blog 

Woodware challenge - Speedy Christmas cards

These 8cm square mini cards can be made as quick as a flash!

Pre punch Christmas shapes, stamp and layer up squares ready to assemble.

The addition of self adhesive pearls or liquid pearls add a nice finishing touch.

All shapes on these samples have been done with Woodware punches.

Woodware challenge - Christmas collage

Here's my hanging card made from a hand cut heart shape from packaging

card and covered in strips of paper.

I used my rocket tree stamp as my inspiration to cut card shapes

to form the Christmas tree.

Layer almost anything you want from a rosette created with a

score board to greeting, gems and ribbon.

The heart is about 205mm across and 190mm high.

Woodware challenge - sketch 39

For this weeks challenge I've used a flower from JGS341 mini flowers.

Each has been embossed with white and inked over before punching with a

Woodware blue circle punch.

The verse comes from JGCL575.

here is the sketch

Woodware challenge - White Christmas

I don't think my photo does this card justice! In the flesh it looks very pretty.

I've stamped and used white embossing powder the background words from

Woodware stamp JGS 353 Festive Verse onto white linen card.

I've made a triangle shape from plain white card. Stuck a tree trunk onto it and then rummaged through my ribbon and gems boxes for all things white to stick across the shape.

All the products used here are from Woodware.

The card is 148mm square.

Woodware challenge - Traditional Christmas

For todays card I've used Woodware stamp JGS189 Sprig of Holly.

Stamp and clear emboss the image onto red, green and yellow card and cut each section out.

The scallop and plain circles are die cut and are about 41/4" wide. I've cut the plain circle with deckle scissors to make it looked smaller so you can see more of the scallop circle!

The greeting is from Woodware stamp JGS353 Festive Verse.

Woodware challenge - Christmas decoration

I had planed to show you a lovely glass bauble I had decorated with permanent pens, liquid pearls and punched snowflakes but then I dropped it while taking the photo! It was really pretty.

So instead I made a punched paper bauble.

The finished bauble, its about 4" across.

Using the new Woodware crafty Edger and
cassette that comes with it.

Punch four strips from a 12" piece of scrapbook card.

Cut four 1cm wide strips of the same card.
I cut extra just in case!
Punch a snowflake from same card.

Mark the centre or each strip and make a hole.

Push the brad through the snowflake and make a cross
with the strips, pushing the brad through the holes.

Add the other strips, alternating the punched and plain.

When you turn it over you see the snowflake and brad.

The inside of the bauble showing the secured brad.

Bring up the other ends, overlap and stick with PVA glue. 

All the ends are now stuck to form the bauble shape.
You can always stick another snowflake over this end.

The top of the bauble.

Add some cord to hang the bauble, I wrapped mine under
the brad and wound it round a couple of time.s
Decorate with more punched snowflakes around the bauble.

Woodware challenge - sketch 38

Woodware have a sketch to play with this week

This is a 7" x 5" card. I've used Woodware white linen card for the

background, oval and sentiment.

The trees are from JGS346 Winter Trees set of stamps. They are embossed with crystal embossing powder over black ink and cut out.

Punch or die cut the oval and stick the trees flat except one which can be on foam pads. Add some extra glitter glue for a snowy effect.

The music ribbon is from Woodware and is self adhesive.

Woodware challenge - Christmas is coming...

Here's a pretty quick card that's flat and easy to post!

White card is stamped with black Versafine and embossed with clear the treemendous tree from JGS349. Then taking your brayer and the Caribbean Sea Kaleodacolor ink pad, brayer the ink all over the card. Using thin, cheap bleach and a nylon paint brush, add bleach to parts you want white. Here I've painted it onto the circles, made swirls in the heart and draw a frame around the image.

Stamp the greeting around the edge and finish with glitter glue.

Crafty Cardmakers - Ribbons, lace and pearls

Woodware are sponsoring Crafty CardMakers and More this week why not play along with them?

You can fill the circles and shapes on this Treemendous Dots tree (JGS349) with just about anything. Here I've used seed beads, glitter domes, brads, buttons and liquid pearls.

The image has been stamped onto Woodware Hairy Manilla card and embossed with white embossing powder and the edges of the card has been embossed with Stampendous shabby white embossing enamel.

All the products are available from Woodware including the doily

and wide organza ribbon.

Woodware challenge - punches

This is one of my favourite new Woodware border punches and it can make a very stylish Christmas tree. With some added liquid pearls to dress it up, it looks very contemporary.

The card is 7" x 5". Cut up your coloured card into 2" wide strips and punch one side.

As you punch organise the pattern to alternate and stick the strips so they

overlap each other. Then cut your tree shape.

You might have to stick down some of the design so you don't have too many loose bits.

The border punch used to make the tree

Woodware Craft Canvas

I used my piece of Craft Canvas to make a new lampshade for our guest bedroom.

You will need to make a paper template of the shade shape before cutting the canvas.

The following step by step pictures show you how its created.

I have used two Sizzix dies to make the flowers, the canvas die cuts really well.

Use a Crafters ink pad to stencil and stamp. Its ideal for fabric (and its permanent too!)

The only sewing I did was a simple running stitch along the ribbon to gather it up.

Everything was stuck to the shade with a hot glue gun.

Cutting the canvas shape

Using Crafters brown ink to stencil a background

Stamp an image with the Crafters

A selection of die cut canvas flowers

Edge the die cut flowers with Crafters brown ink

Stick the flowers to the shade with a glue gun adding buttons and beads 

Gather a ribbon and stick with....you guessed it...a glue gun! 

Add some sparkle with Mica Flakes stuck with the glue gun

The finished lampshade

Teddies new friend

Woodware challenge - sketch 37

Here is my take on this weeks Woodware challenge.

I have used my Winter Trees set of clear stamps JGS346, stamped them on smooth white card with black Versafine ink and embossed them with Crystal embossing powder.

Each one is cut out.

I have used a Woodware blue punch to create the black squares and cut

my own white squares from linen finish card.

The greeting is on the stamp set too.

The base card is made from linen finish card and edged in a very pale grey/black ink.

Woodware challenge - Tools I love!

At the moment it's got to be the Creative Palette by Stampendous.

The background to my Christmas card below is made using the

Crafters Ink refills on the palette.

The stamp is new for Christmas 2014 and is called Bubble Bloom - Festive Tree JGS355.

I've used the Christina card candi, key lime liquid pearls and red glitter glue to dress it up.

Drawing in the ink on the palette using bubble wrap and a plastic fork!

Dreamweaver blog hop

Yes! It's that time of year again! The time when we inspire crafters on both sides of the "pond" with a mix of both Dreamweaver and Woodware UK* products for the holidays! Six days, SIX, of beautiful, elegant, merry, cute, artsy, and craftsy projects to have you heading out to your local stores or internet sites to buy these goodies immediately!

Here is my design for this weeks blog hop.....using my favourite stencil design (LG743).

I've paper pieced, paste embossed, blind embossed and metal embossed this image as well as Zentangling it. It's so versatile!

I love metal embossing and the stencil is a simple design which makes it ideal for this technique.

The Mercart tools I used are the cup and ball, wheel and brush, teflon tool and the decorative wheel. Rub over the embossed surface with a black alcohol ink and wipe off the excess rubbing it into nooks and crannies!

The border punch is CP18-02.

I've draw the fine line border with a 01 Micron pen.

A close up of the embossed metal.
The gems on the metal are new Black Rainbow Elements
from Woodware.

Of course, there will be prizes as well. Three prize packages will be given to three commenters during this week's posts on the team's blogs, including five stencils and one nested die set. You can have an opportunity to win these goodies by leaving some holiday sweetness for each team member posting each day, to be one of the three winners for the week. Here are the team members that are inspiring you today:

Dream it Up!

Woodware UK

Louise Healy

Pam Hornschu

Gill Wilson 

Jamie Martin

 Jane the Flower Girl

Crafty Debs

*For a stockist near you contact Woodware Craft Collection in the UK andNotions Marketing in the USA.