Kool Kitty Musings

52 Cards Challenge: Week 51

The end is almost nigh for this year's card challenge.

The good news is that weekly card prompts will continue next year and will be inspired by both the prompt jar (for random prompts), my Papercrafts 365 cards book... and well, perhaps the odd pinterest pin!

But on with this week's prompt:

So I wasn't quite done making Christmas cards, I had detached some sticky chipboard from the sheet last week and never ended up using it, so this was a good excuse to get it stuck down to something other than random objects on my desk!

Paper: Crate Paper
Chipboard: MME
Dies: PTI
Stamps: PTI
Twine: The Ribbon Reel

So there goes my homage to the Sound of Music, not quite a brown paper package tied up with string... but the I couldn't help humming the rest of the tune while I was making this!

Anyway, see you next week for the last prompt of the year - I shall be working on my card in advance as I somehow think it'll be a tad busy this time next Monday. ;o)

Sweetest festive treats...

Wow, my oven has had a bit of a work out this weekend.

Yesterday afternoon ma and I got a few baking tasks completed/prepped.

This primarily involved baking up 1 loaf, 6 mini-bunts and 4 heart-shaped pierniki (Polish gingerbread cake):

The heart-shaped ones were left in my care as the chocolate glaze was still setting by the time ma had to get home and well... I have no idea how I am to transport these back to her in one piece!

We also made the dough for sugar biscuits:

They will need icing one evening this week, but I have half the dough in the freezer and a small ball still in the fridge to do another tray now that I know to take them out before there are any signs of golden-browning! I really think I need an oven thermometer as although I reduce the temp by 20 to 40 degrees from the recipe we still had some volcanic action with the gingerbread. And the biscuits were done almost instantly... :o\

But today I have been trying out some of my new flavourings to do some festive cupcakes:

My IKEA cake stand has also been drafted into use.

Red and green, doesn't get much more festive than that eh?

And under the dome are 6 red cherry cupcakes, and 6 green pistachio cupcakes. The frosting is vanilla for both and I have to say the cherry flavouring is fab.

Now I wonder if you can guess what flavour these mini and full-sized cupcakes are?

Bubblegum blue....

Finished off with bubblegum pink flavoured icing and...

bubblegum glitter, I had a fair bit of frosting left over so decorated one of the almond sugar biscuits for someone who really likes bubblegum flavour!

Spots, stripes and all things nice

This week's dare on the DCM blog is from Keilly and on the theme of spots and stripes.

A wonderful design combination!

I have combined the two on my card, but it was quite easy really since there are so many stripes to choose from at the moment with all the peppermint-themed papers out for Christmas.

I have loved my Crate Peppermint papers more than I ever thought I would and really wish I'd gone for the collection pack now, but never fear there are many more chipboard accents still for me to use. :D

Paper: Crate Paper, MME
Chipboard: Crate Paper
Stamps: PTI
Dies: Memory Box Dies, Spellbinders, MFT, PTI
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Other: Distress Stickles, Stickles, sanding file, 3D foam, sewing machine

Have to say I am slightly addicted to making snow globes now that I've used up the snow globe chipboard piece from my Peppermint set, so that Memory Box die and the library tab from MFT dienamics make good substitutes.

Also in other news I have had a couple of card projects published in the current issue (#92)of Simply Cards and Papercraft. :D It was nice to see the mag drop through the letterbox the other day and have a good flick through at all the projects including some fab ones from fellow DCM teamies. :)

And on that note, make sure you go check out the cards from the rest of the team!

Time for some more baubles I think!

So I was flicking through a few recent pics and thought it time to share some more festive shots:

My knitted angel of JYC fame in her new spot on the tree this year.

I also took some pics at my mum and dad's when we were putting the real tree up (a fine specimen it is indeed) and ma and I have decorated it with just lights, vintage baubles that have been in the family since the 50s/60s (both English and Polish ones that have survived a couple of cat climbing expeditions over the years) and the glass baubles we have been collecting over the past few years, oh and of course the odd sentimental childhood item!

And for once all the pics here are straight out of the camera - got to love cranking up the ISO for bauble pics on green trees! Silver ones are another matter. ;o)

The gorgeous white/silver church ornament my mum bought for my dad this year - it is quite a stonker!

Ma's Gisella Graham winter trees bauble - her favourite, so you know where I get my love of winter scenes from!

The clip on mushroom ornament I bought for ma this year. Mushrooms are big in our house.

One of the oldest baubles in the collection.

My favourite snowflake bauble with my favourite Polish bauble in the background. I love those swirl baubles that have a prismatic opening with lots of pretty colours of glass inside.

Yep, I totally love that snowflake bauble... {sigh}

This little one is simply lovely.

And finally the new addition my mum bought for my brother - a very sweet candy house.

It resides very close to the ornament he made back in primary school that never fails to make it on the tree. :)

52 Cards challenge: Week 50

Things have been rather hectic here to say the least so I wasn't sure I'd manage to get a prompt AND card up today... but I had some time spare Friday evening and got the paper and glue out to just have some creative me time. :)

So on with the prompt:

Here's what I made to fit the brief (and for plaid I think anything with checks/gingham fits that bill!):

Paper and chipboard: Crate Paper
Stamps: Waltzing Mouse Stamps
Dies: Memory Box Dies, PTI, Marianne
Other: Felt, ribbon, 3D foam, Distress Stickles, circle punch

Now this particular card is an homage to the Austrian Tirol and will be going to my friends Kelly and Andreas since I am pretty sure they wish they were in Austria this Christmas again, but hopefully it'll bring back some happy Tirol memories. :)

Happy creating!

Nordic inspired

We have a lovely dare over on the DCM blog from Fran this week, just perfect for getting you in the festive spirit.

It's all about Nordic inspiration, style trends, colours and well reindeer! Fran's even provided wonderful photo inspiration to get you in the mood:

I'm offering up two cards this week, here's the more traditional Nordic look complete with a Swedish greeting:

Paper: KI Memories
Stamps: Waltzing Mouse Stamps
Velvet Thickers: American Crafts
Dies: Marianne, Spellbinders
Seam binding: The Ribbon Reel
Ribbon: The Ribbon Girl
Other: Acrylic paint, embossing powder, sewing machine, felt, button, twine, 3D foam

It's a bit difficult to pick out the white felt scallop around the heart but it's there. I love how the white embossing with the WMS stamps has come out on the red cardstock, looks like it actually has been knitted. LOL And that zigzag stitch on my little sewing machine, I will be using that more often!

Oh and I actually cut into some old KI frosty papers, but dry brushed cream paint on it to make it more subtle and less frosty for this background. And I did say I'd be using that Marianne bough die a lot more!

And the other card, well it's a more modern colour twist:

Stamps: Waltzing Mouse
Dies: Spellbinders
Paper: American Crafts
Other: Stickles, white gel pen, twine, 3D foam

And if you need more inspiration, here are some twinkly shots of a few old and new additions to my tree this year:

This is one from last year, but I think it fits today's prompt rather nicely!

The festive mushroom is a new addition this year.

As is this gorgeous church ornament my mum bought me. Not quite Nordic, but very glam!

And can I just say I totally love RadLab for these bauble shots, soooo fab to be able to save your own recipe and just apply it quickly to a bunch of photos.

A few more makes...

Here are a couple more cards from the weekend when I was trying out my lovely winter landscape die!

Die: Memory Box Dies
Stamps: PTI

Got to admit, it is a keeper, and I think will be very handy for simple yet elegant emergency cards! ;o) But I think it'll add a very nice note to more complex ones too.

Paper: American Crafts
Die: Memory Box Dies
Stamps: PTI
Pearls: Kaisercraft

Difficult to see on the metallic AC paper, but there is a snowflake behind the greeting too.

Right, I'd best get my skates on and have some tea. :)

52 Cards Challenge: Week 49

Hi everyone!

The weeks seem to be flying by right now, so here we are with another prompt to get stuck into. :)

This is what I came up with during a cardmaking session at the weekend:

Paper: Crate Paper
Chipboard: Crate Paper
Dies: Marianne, PTI
Stamps: PTI
Other: Felt, Distress Stickles

And another card on the same theme:

Paper: Crate Paper
Chipboard: Crate Paper
Dies: Marianne
Stamps: Waltzing Mouse Stamps
Other: Felt, Distress Stickles, button twine, corner chomper

Happy crafting!

A few more entries

So here are some more entries from past journals.

This is how it all began...

On the 2nd the theme was the weather, and it looks like snowmen were a common sight, with snow actually being a reality last year!

I love snow, as long as I don't need to get anywhere in it!

The prompt for the 3rd looks at Christmas cards. It's interesting to see how my Christmas cardmaking tastes and style changed:

From flat cards with plenty of KI...

To more ribbon and layers and pop-up bits.

Alas I am not quite at the "all made" stage this year!

Today's prompt looks at what would make a perfect Christmas:

Christmas wouldn't be the same without that essential ingredient - the brussel sprout.

And last year with all snow we were having I was hoping that it would at least be a White Christmas for once. For some reason it is all the more magical.

Holly Jolly Christmas

We've reached the end of our year of flowers series on the Daring Cardmakers' Blog - with the option of Holly or Narcissus for December.

Well, it was an easy choice for me this week, plenty of holly-inspired items to choose from. :)

Papers: MME
Stamps: PTI
Dies: Spellbinders, PTI
Tag and glittery brad: Making Memories
Other: Distress Stickles, buttons, twine, 3D foam, corner chomper

Have to say I am really glad I bought Picket Fence Distress Stickles, they are just lovely and really frosty when they dry out.

Don't forget to pop on over to the blog and check out the fab cards from the design team, plus our lovely new guest designer, Gez. :D

The Christmas countdown starts here!

So it's the first of December and the start of my retrospective look at the two Journal Your Christmas projects I completed from start to finish. ;o)

Although I'm not making a new journal this year I am hoping to really get in the festive spirit by keeping up with those who are playing along with JYC and other December daily projects.

And of course enjoy the daily prompts from Shimelle over my cereal on the morning.

Usually the first prompt we see is the manifesto page, but as I am writing this over breakfast while about to depart for some Christmas shopping, I think it's nice to look back at last year's manifesto. :)

A fine way to start the season right?

But for some pics from the past, here's how JYC started for me in years gone by:

With the ATC spinner from 7Gypsies.

And an A5 kraft binder from Paperchase which quickly expanded into two binders. ;)

Looking forward to seeing the first prompt when I get back from the shopping expedition.

Oh, and with it being the first of December, my blog has switched to Christmas mode! :D

52 Cards Challenge: Week 48

Welcome to the last prompt of the month.

This week's elements are:

Rub-ons: If you are like me there will be a whole stack of these in the bottom of a box somewhere dating back quite a few years! I've not used rub-ons in ages, so a good excuse to check through the stash pile.

Pearls: My favourite little addition to card projects. Especially the teeny tiny ones from kaisercraft.

Vintage: Well you can go with any interpretation for this. Old era papers, ephemera, printables, or just plain old distressing.

And yep, it's another Christmas offering from me!

I made two cards to fit this challenge, but wasn't so happy with how the first one turned out:

Paper: Basic Grey
Sticker: Basic Grey
Label: Basic Grey
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Glitter rub-on: Making Memories
Other: Stickles, 3D foam, chalk ink

The reason I'm not so happy with how it turned out is the way the glitter rub-on appears in most light, it doesn't photograph that well and looks rather blurry and not so glittery...  Bit of a shame...

As for the second card, well the Distress Stickles were still drying when I had to take the photos as I was almost out of daylight, so the glittery border will look a lot better once it dries:

Paper: Basic Grey
Chipboard: Basic Grey
Rub-ons: Luxe designs (stitches)
Felt: PTI
Stamp: Waltzing Mouse Stamps
Dies: Spellbinders
Pearl: Kaisercraft

The Stickles are Shabby Shutters so should be a nice compliment to the moss green ink of the greeting once dry and flat. :)

Happy creating!

Continuing with the snowman theme....

Here's my Christmas card for today. :o)

Paper: Basic Grey
Label: Basic Grey
Stamps: PTI
Chipboard: Basic Grey
Seam binding: The Ribbon Reel
Other: 3D foam, sewing machine

So yep, keeping it simple seems to be working OK for me at the moment.

I have quite a lot of these labels and bits from BG's Jovial range to use up, but alas haven't got much in the way of paper left that goes with them.

Oh well, I am sure there will be something in my stash that will fit the bill. ;o)

Hard to believe

that this time last year it was non-stop snow... today it has been full of blustery gales and dark, dark clouds.

Hence the reason I kind of got caught up in this all day instead of getting anything productive done:

A fantastic read, and a new author to add to my chick-lit arsenal, witty and warm and I admit to shedding a few tears... I am really glad I got her other books out of the library along with this one, now I just need to NOT crack open the next book since I need to make more things along these lines:

Paper: Crate Paper
Die cut and sticker: Crate Paper
Stamp: PTI
Die: PTI
Other: 3D foam

I used the current sketch #245 over on the Card Positioning Systems blog to get me started. Think I shall be needing more sketches to get me going with my Christmas cards at this rate... and yes, I think clean and simple Christmas cards might be the way to go at this late stage in the game!

52 Cards Challenge: Week 47

I cannot believe how quickly the 52 week mark is almost upon us! Scary right!?

Well, I am happy to report that the prompts for this week are at least slightly on track with the time of year. :)

• Foam pads - such an essential item in my stash, that this element is always a nice one to see
• Christmas - if you don't celebrate it or don't need to make anything Christmas-themed, you can always go with Winter or another seasonal idea
• Red - ahhh a very apt colour at the moment. I don't think I use it enough!

Here's the card sample I made for this week:

Cardblank: DCWV
Paper: Echo Park
Dies: Spellbinders, PTI
Stickers: Echo Park
Rub-ons: Crate Paper
Stamp: PTI
Snowman: Basic Grey
Other: 3D foam, string, glitter paper, cardstock

I seriously love that little felt snowman.

I am a bit bummed at the moment that none of my cards are coming out anywhere near what I planned. I wonder if my mojo is needing a little recharging. I just don't feel I am doing justice to my stash, or indeed managing to "use" the really nice stash I have. Time and time again I have reached for my nordic WMS stamps only to end up changing my mind and making something else. :o\

Oh well, there is always next week, right?

In the meantime I hope my creative mojo makes a reappearance as I really could do with making nice cards again! hehe

This week I have mostly been shopping...

So like I said the other day, my Christmas shopping has so far been a bit of a failure. For other people.

But not for myself and the house.

I finally got my little Sheep-deer from TK Maxx. The first time I saw him I thought he was a reindeer, but on closer inspection when I went back to TK Maxx this week, he is in fact... more of a sheep. I may yet make him antlers...

 

I managed to stock up on some nice baking items. Some fab baking cases plus accessories, including mini cases which needed a mini muffin tin. Some silicone jelly like baking moulds in Ikea, some nice sized silicone hearts that can either make 4 separate heart cakes, or 2 heart sandwich cakes... festive jelly beans for decrating, and some Christmas sprinkles in Lidl that looked just perfect.

I also finally have a domed cake stand - for £9.99 from IKEA. Hurrah.

More seasonal tableware was purchased in M&S with these red felt coasters and matching placemat.

Keeping on the red theme, I now have a lovely little slow cooker to get me through the winter months and free up the hob and soup pan for other things. :)

I finally managed to find a long and wide scarf in Zara... and didn't break the bank on it. To date all others were too short for wrapping round a few times and creative knotting...

Yesterday the delight that was Boundary Mills yielded a nice shoe shopping experience - so many pretty Hush Puppy shoes in one place. I bought the above in purple, plus:

...in dark brown, and these:

Which are a little bigger than the others, but I think will be fine with an insole or even thicker winter tights. :)

And finally, thanks to Jean, I have been reunited with a good-sized bag of Candy Corn M&Ms:

In addition to the shopping, there has been some making:

It started last weekend with our "annual" gingerbread house-making afternoon... which included an emergency dash for new gingerbread cabins when the IKEA gingerbread houses were opened up and all broken, but will make great cheesecake bases! So as we got to work on these little houses, complete with the white gunky icing included, it was a real fight to keep all the walls and roofs attached...

Lola just watched on hoping to hoover up any victims of the gingerbread house collapse...

Wednesday night I went with Becky to a craft night at her church and we made:

This lovely little flowerpot snowman, who I am sure will appear in many upcoming Christmas-themed snaps.

And this lovely felt heart ornament, in which I finally learnt to blanket stitch - it could have been tidier, but I am sure I could make some more of these with different felts, especially in nordic colours... and cut the hearts with my nestabilities. :)

And although not made by me, had a lovely lunch out in Tynemouth yesterday with my friend Kel, hot chocolate dessert for her:

And the most delicious cherry and almond scone for me:

I loved the chintzy decor in the shop and it was like a real Christmas shabby glam grotto. :D

And speaking of making, I had best get on and get a few projects done while we still have daylight available!

52 Cards Challenge: Week 46

Welcome to another Monday morning prompt, this week's elements are:

I am really wanting to concentrate on my Christmas cards now, so I may not manage to get all the elements on my cards for upcoming prompts, but I think I've ticked all the boxes this week. Including glitter galore for the glitz and glam aspect.

Paper: Cosmo Cricket
Stamps: PTI
Dies: Spellbinders, PTI
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Other: Chalk ink, Distress Stickles, Stickles, glitter paper, 3D foam, satin ribbon

It's been a while since I used this stamp set, and I forgot how nice the branch and leaves work together. No doubt will be using it more in the upcoming weeks!

Have a creative week!

52 Cards Challenge: Week 45

Welcome to a rather frosty Monday morning prompt for this weekly challenge. It is rather frightening how close we are getting to week 50! Never mind 52!

This week's elements are:

I made a rather simple Christmas card for my offering that looks a lot nicer in real life than it photos:

Stamps: PTI
Other: Stickles, Prima grey chalk inks, Versamagic white chalk ink, Versacolor pigment inks

I am really liking how the Prima chalk inks stamp on kraft and on that white ink - very lush, I had to order the rest!

Happy crafting!

Happy birthday daring cardmakers

It's a rather special milestone this week for the DCM blog, hard to believe but this week's dare marks a special anniversary for the DCM dares!

Also it's the first Friday of November, so this week's dare is a return to our flowers of the month series.

November's flower is the chrysanthemum and since I need all the help I can get with my Christmas card product right now, I've gone for a festive number...

Card blank: Kraft from Papermania
Paper: Basic Grey
Stamp: Waltzing Mouse Stamps
Felt: PTI
Dies: Marianne, PTI, Spellbinders
Brad: Crate Paper
Other: 3D foam pads, White chalk ink, Distress Stickles, white brilliance ink, Versacolor Celadon

I think you can only just see in this pic that the felt is indeed a dark green, and not black! That would make for a rather spooky Christmas card... ;o) I love the branch die from Marianne, great with felt through the Cuttlebug.

Also making the flower was a doddle. You need 3 sizes of flower die or punch, cut 2 each of the large and medium flowers, and 3 of the centre flower. Then ink the edges and cut into the petal dents, crumple them up a bit and assemble with a brad. I really like how the blue of the reverse side of the paper shows through as well.

And those Waltzing Mouse festive label stamps are lovely to use and so yum with a bit of Rock Candy Stickles for vintage sparkle.

Roll on the next Christmas card when I can try out my new Spellbinders tags from yesterday's little trip to the Hobbycraft sale. ;o)

52 Cards Challenge: Week 44

Welcome to another prompt on this spooky Monday!

This week's elements are:

I felt this called for a festive number... ;o)

Paper and die cuts: My Mind's Eye
Other: 3D foam pads, Corner Chomper

A really simple one just using elements from the collection pack, oh and my nice new 5x7 Papermania kraft card blanks. Finally in stock at The Range!

Happy crafting!

52 Cards Challenge: Week 43

Welcome to another prompt on this rather dark Monday morning!

This week's elements are...

And here's what I went with (excuse the garish photo - how I miss daylight for taking pics).

Paper: Crate Paper
Stamps: Waltzing Mouse
Dies: Spellbinders, Dienamics, PTI
Twine: The Ribbon Reel
Brad: Basic Grey
Other: Stickles, Distress Stickles, Copics, Distress Inks

Happy crafting!

52 Cards Challenge: Week 41

Welcome to another Monday and another prompt - I am not liking these dark and cool morning starts...

This week we're playing with the following three elements:

 

And for my take on these I had to go with something Christmas-themed:

 

Paper: Crate Paper
Chipboard: Crate Paper
Stamp: PTI
Ribbon: East of India
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Other: Stickles, buttons, embroidery thread

 

A nice mix of vintage buttons, ribbon and style with those Peppermint Collection papers and chipboard from Crate Paper, a little chipboard house Stickled to the max and home in the greeting, and yummy grey gingham ribbon. :)

Wintry wishes...

Well, that's the theme for my cardmaking activities at yesterday's crop. :) Had a lovely time, but wasn't as productive as I'd hoped. Mind you it was a nice change to start on some Christmas cards...

First up, something a little bright and mod...

 

Paper: Crate
Stamps: MFT, PTI
Dies: MFT, PTI
Other: Button, 3D foam, embroidery thread, Stickles

 

Oh yes, I knew I could work my typewriter die and stamp set into Christmas cards some how!

 

Papers: Basic Grey
Chipboard: Basic Grey
Other: 3D foam, Glossy Accents, white ink

Re-loving last year's Basic Grey Christmas line. I love that mistletoe paper so much!

And finally, something using the new Christmas stash...

Paper: MME
Stamps: PTI
Dies: PTI
Pearls: Kaisercraft
Felt: PTI
Other: Stickles, 3D foam, Promarkers

 

I totally love that red MME herringbone paper - it's just so vibrant! Nothing quite like a dash of Stickles either... ;o)

Right, well since it is starting to feel wintry around here I am wondering if today is the today my heating finally needs to go on... I have managed to abstain so far.

You're a mean one, Mr Grinch!

Well, I hadn't quite planned on starting on my Christmas cards just yet, but this week's Dare over on the DCM blog, set by the über-talented Jo Kill, was the perfect excuse.

Because this week we're visiting Seussville - aka the land of Dr Seuss.

And for my Dr Seuss inspiration I used a printable from the Seussville site that included that most grumbly of characters - the Grinch.

 

Paper: Crate Paper - Peppermint Collection
Chipboard elements: Crate Paper
Stickers: Crate Paper
Speech bubble: MME
Die: PTI
Punch: Marvy
Twine: The Ribbon Girl
Other: Stickles, Distress Stickles, 3D foam, Distress ink, white pen

 

There isn't much that didn't get Stickled on that card, but it all adds the frosty grinchness. I wanted to create a little Grinchy scene and the fireplace was the perfect starting point. It's hard to see in the photos but the little rug I punched out has 3D foam dots under it at the bottom to make it pop out so the floor looks less flat. Looks much more effective in real life.

Anyway, I much as I loved breaking into my lovely new Christmas stash, I am not sure that I'm quite read to go into full Christmas card mode... however it it stays this cold I may just have to rethink that. The Christmas playlist will soon be on!

Christmas Journal: The End

 

OK, so it might be over a month late... but I have finally finished my Christmas journal!

Hurrah!

And it has meant that I have at long last been able to put my Christmas stash away. :o)

So, it was just the January entries left to go - obviously my resolution #2 to stop procrastinating requires some work...

 

And resolution #1 isn't doing so well either... but hey.

 

Some nice fluffy Thickers to start the month, and since it's a tradition to watch the NY's Day concert from Vienna this had to be a wintry/snowy inspired page.

 

The prompt for the second was all about childhood and innocence... well, I cracked open my white chocolate orange... and it made me realise that when we were little, our chocolate selection boxes never lasted into January!

 

Lots of vintage KI on this one...

 

The 3rd was about looking back at Christmas and favourite memories from the season... well I had to get in one of the only family pics to come out ok (oh and a bit of that lovely real tree!).

 

Got to love a bit of Love Elsie "Noel".

 

The 4th was about reminders for next year. Well, I never got a chance to try the Baked Alaska recipe from Sainsbury's this year. I really wanted to try it as I have never ever had Baked Alaska, and well... it sounds very delish!

 

KI Festive and a cute little snow person from MME. :o)

 

The 5th was about packing up and putting things away... All my decorations went back in their boxes, plus a gorgeous Christmas card that arrived in Jan will be coming out next year for maximum festive enjoyment. :o)

 

Crate galore here, and my favourite set of foam Thickers - only have a few numbers left from that set. But I love the font!

 

And the last day of Christmas... well, my Christmas journal is finished for this year, but the stash is ready to come out for Christmas 2011!

 

I went to town a bit with Basic Grey's Eskimo Kisses stash! But what better reason to use it?

 

I had one page left to round off the journal... and used my yummy AC Moxie stickers and glitter MM stickers.

 

So there it is, the whole journal finished. It has had to move out of the 2 Paperchase binders it was living in and is now held together with book rings and I made some acrylic covers... but I just wish my Paperchase binder could hold it all!

Christmas Journal December 31st

 

I know... it's mid-January and yet I am still plugging away with my journal!

But last night I managed to get my retrospective page for 2010 made...

 

Better late than never though, eh? And a chance to use up loads of those KI Festive party/boozy embellishments!

Oh and Stickles galore of course - hence the reason this was still drying last night!

 

Right, I am off to plonk myself in front of the telly and catch up with some of my recorded shows.

Christmas Journal December 24th - December 30th

 

Here I am back with some more pages I made yesterday. So sad the Christmas break is almost over... and it's back to work tomorrow - the time has certainly flown by!

Anyway, the other day I got up to Christmas Eve, and here's my entry for that date with a photo of the dining table before our Wigilia dinner - thankfully it's more small-scale than the ultra-traditional array of dishes served in Poland. We've narrowed it down to just 4 or 5 family favourites and that is more than enough! LOL

 

I had some people photos I wanted to use but in each shot one person's face was either blurred, surly looking, or looking the wrong way. {sigh}

 

And here's the glittery Christmas dinner table (you'd think it was all about food in our house! lol)

 

A happy coincidence that the little plate in the photo matched the background I'd already made for this page - phew!

 

I just had to wheel out the glittery MM letters for this page!

Boxing day was fun - we went over to family friends for lunch (or should that say a feast) followed by some action on the Wii, followed by a buffet, followed by some lounging in front of the TV trying to recover. LOL

 

I managed to quickly snap a photo between one meal and time on the Wii!

 

The 27th was all about lounging about and having a "nothing" day. Which meant that the Monopoly sets got dusted off and we started with the Washington version:

 

My dad joined in and the "rules" got rewritten and more complicated, however it was most entertaining and I think 2011 will see some more Monopoly matches, we certainly have enough sets to play with - next up the Polish version!

 

On the 28th it was time for some indulgence, I think I may have had a PJ day...

 

But I could have done with a nice festive Starbucks!

 

On the 29th I was back at home and played catch-up with my journal, plus I did some investigating in my lovely new books to see what I had in my kitchen cupboards that would work nicely for a certain birthday...

 

They are truly yummy books and far too tempting!

 

And lastly, the end result I made on the 30th using my new Bosch mixer... I had a bit of an overdose with the gel food colouring, but I was just using up the bit on the lid, future cupcakes will be less lurid! LOL

 

They were regular Vanilla cupcakes in the end and went down very well.

 

Right, I'd best go get my 30 mins of this in before I have my tea:

 

Happy New Year & Christmas Journal catch-up

 

Well, I've had a nice rest over the Christmas break and haven't done much else other than enjoy some family time, catch up on my reading, eat, drink and be merry, suffer the return of the Monopoly wars chez the homestead, have a lovely Boxing day spent with family friends (followed by an acute need to purchase Samba de Amigo for the Wii asap), get to grips with my lovely new food processor/mixer, leaf through a stack of new baking books I received for Christmas, dash out to buy Just Dance 2 for the Wii (excellent purchase - much better than the first one!) and... catch up with my Christmas journal a bit.

So on that note, here are the entries I've caught up on.

 

The new addition to my festive playlist this year was Pink Martini's new album - Joy to the World. Excellent tracks for all sorts of moods.

 

Lots of KI Good Tidings on this page.

 

This page is all about gifts... I at least managed to wrap up the items that had arrived...

 

I made the gift bow from scraps of Jolly by Golly.

 

This entry regarding visitors is an homage to the "annual" tradition of driving up to Zoe's to build the gingerbread house with the girls. Well, this tradition has only taken place once so far, the last two years snow has hampered the event... Maybe we'll have more luck next year!

 

October Afternoon had some perfect Gingerbread themed items for this entry... and looking at that photo I now feel a bit peckish - think I'll have to go unearth my stash of Lebküchen!

 

The entry for the 16th was all about being thankful... well I was just happy to have a few evenings where I could relax in front of the telly with just the fairy lights on and a peppermint candy cane to munch on.

 

Jolly by Golly strikes again for this entry.

 

So onto the 17th, and the theme for this prompt was the perfect gift. On my wishlist this year as a compact yet versatile food processor that could be mainly used as a food mixer but also had a blender. Well lo and behold one was found - a nice Bosch model that even had a stainless steel bowl and wasn't overly expensive. It went straight to the top of my letter to Santa!

 

Crate Snow Days on this page in abundance.

 

The prompt for the 18th was supposed to be about Christmas dinner... well, before you get to Christmas dinner in our house, you first have a lovely Polish Christmas breakfast... and become very mellow soon after! ;o)

 

Basic Grey on this page, went great with that little plate from John Lewis - shame they don't still sell them as I'd love a set.

 

The 19th was all about letters to Santa, well.... technically I don't write letters to him any more as I think he generally knows what I'd like what with the hints I drop.... but that doesn't mean Santa doesn't deserve his Mince pie... or cupcake for that matter!

 

Lots of Jolly by Golly on this page plus some KI stickers.

 

The 20th was about unexpected surprises... and yes, the unexpected surprise was that due to the snow some gifts had not yet materialised. In fact one gift still has not turned up and I've had no response from the seller... but that meant I had to write a few IOU notes to make up for the lack of present!

 

Yep, a bit garish as I just wanted to use up as much of my KI Festive stash as I could. LOL

 

On the 21st I went with the to-do list prompt as the colours of my photo were a better fit for the background... so here was my list!

 

American Crafts with a hint of Basic Grey for good measure.

 

On the 22nd I used a photo of "right now" - another relaxing evening with the fire on, my festive candles lit, and the tree and lights providing the only illumination. Quite lovely.

 

Echo Park and glittery KI alpha stickers, plus some Crate chipboard.

 

The 23rd was all about Stockings. Well, I don't actually have a stocking, but I do purchase the odd stocking filler, and the obvious choice is the good old chocolate orange.

 

Plenty of Crate here!

So that's it so far, I have photos printed through to New Year's Eve so will work on those entries tomorrow - off to the homestead this afternoon for dinner, and no doubt more Monopoly - probably the Polish set this time!

Been busy...

And not in a creative way!

Well, aside from this batch of lemon cupcakes I made Monday evening as soon as I got in from work:

I tried another Magnolia recipe - and of course had to try one Monday night before boxing them up to take to work and hand over some after dinner out with a friend.

The one cupcake I had was rather delicious.... ;)

So tonight has been the first evening where I've had a little time to spare, so I have finally written all my cards to post tomorrow, and I'm just having a browse through some photos I took at the weekend of my mum and dad's tree.

 

Here's my mum's crystal scene bauble with an angel inside - very difficult to photograph but it looks just lovely on the tree.

 

The holly bauble - I love how the needles on the tree have come out on this photo too - you forget how nice a real tree is when you're used to having a silver sparkly one!

 

One of the leafy baubles we got in the set from Poland this summer.

 

And I love the viney pattern on this bauble...

Hopefully will get some better shots over Christmas, impossible to get a full length shot of the tree as I would need to be through the wall into next door's to get it all in even on wide angle!

Hopefully to get some more photos sorted for my Christmas journal before the weekend and play catch up a bit...

Christmas journal catch-up: December 10th, 11th & 12th

 

It's been a funny old day. I woke up very early so started reading a new book, then didn't get up until I'd finished it.

After that I went out to try and clear more ice off the street. We currently have excellent conditions for speed skating down the street - 3 to 4 solid inches of ice. And I mean solid! I managed to clear a bit more from the pavement and area around my car but heaven knows how it will be in the morning and if I will get out OK for work. Fingers crossed as I really need to get into the office this week.

And when it started raining I came in to get on with my Christmas journal. Progress would have been much better had I not been watching Glorious 39 at the same time, I ended up abandoning my stash pile and just watching the film. Despite my reservations about whether it would be for me or not, it was actually really good (a bit gruesome at times) but much better than I'd imagined.

However, I need some light relief now! LOL

So back to the festive spirit and some journal entries to bring me up-to-date.

 

The entry for the 10th is all about this year's gift wrapping plans. Well, I have the paper (kraft and a nice white pattern from Ikea) at the ready, just need the gifts to wrap!

Also have some of my most prized American Crafts gift wrap that I clandestinely brought over from Florida a few years back. Oh and the American Crafts gift bows... Too nice to give away! LOL

 

A mix of Crate and Echo Park on this page.

Next up for the 11th, all about the Christmas tree...

 

I can never get a full length shot of my tree that doesn't make it look ugly. It's silver, very shiny, and fibre optic - it sounds dreadful when you try to describe it, but it's very pretty in real life, and looks lovely  lit up.

 

However I had the joy of decorating a real tree at my mum and dad's last night - and it is very gorgeous - just needs more lights!

For the 12th, it's all about Christmas Past...

 

And for this page, I took a photo of my oldest ornament on my tree. It's a little knitted angel I remember my mum buying us (I got the angel and my brother got a felt panda - go figure!) at a Christmas fayre at one of the local primary schools when I was little. She's been on the tree ever since and now has since moved to my own tree. She's looking pretty good for a twenty-something.

 

So that's it until another Christmas Journal update...

Feeling mallow

Last night I set about de-stressing after a tidy-up by trying a new baking recipe.

Namely the Magnolia Bakery Marshmallow cupcakes...

 

The whole melting marshmallows bit was a bit hit and miss with these snowman marshmallows:

 

But the end result was rather tasty - and extravagant!

 

Think these will make a good addition to the building Christmas party at work. :o)

It's a blizzard

Not outside, thankfully! As the snow is thawing, and after a rude awakening this morning at 5 when there was an almighty whoosh sound as next door's roof snow/ice fell to the ground I have been wondering when the same fate would arrive for my roof snow/ice!

Have tried to stay clear of the front of my house that's for sure...

But the blizzard for today is in card form - namely this week's snowy dare for the DCM blog:

 

Papers: Cosmo Cricket
Lace cardstock: KI Memories
Stamps: Papertrey Ink, Waltzing Mouse
Dies: Papertrey Ink, Nestabilities
Ribbon and twine: The Ribbon Girl
Other: 3D glitter paint, button, Stickles

 

All festive red and creamy-ness...

Right, I am off to do something creative of another kind - hopefully before Strictly starts!

Christmas Journal - December 9th

 

Evening all!

Well, here I am with today's prompt - and it has been one of the pages in this album I've been most looking forward to finishing...

I opened up my pack of Basic Grey journaling overlay sheets and it covered almost the whole page, so thankfully the photo for today has fit in it quite nicely...

 

A bit difficult to photograph without glarey reflections of me trying to snap the photo... but I think it has turned out quite nice considering.

So on the topic of traditions, it has become a serious tradition for me to add to my bauble collection each year. At least one bauble needs to be purchased... however, this was not a problem this year as about a dozen plus baubles were acquired (and have since found a festive new home) when I was out shopping with my partner in bauble acquisition crime, my mother. It was just too difficult to leave these beautiful new additions sitting there on the shelves waiting for a new owner... much better that they end up on my tree and mantelpiece...

It's a bit difficult to see in the pic that the background under the overlay for the houses is frosty glittery cardstock - I also used some co-ordinating Eskimo Kisses dimensional stickers and a KI glittery snowflake.

 

All in all, I'm rather happy with how this one turned out. :o) But my little Paperchase binder is getting rather full - and it's only the 9th!

Something tells me that by the end of this album there will be some giant book rings making an appearance to hold it all together.

Christmas Journal - December 8th

 

Here's my entry for today's prompt - all about the sights of the season.

 

When I was in town on Saturday I took a few snaps of the shop displays, including this one at the florist's - complete with baskets of decorations, lovely looking wreaths and bulbs planted ready to give away as gifts... very rustic and charming - and out of my price range! But pretty to look at nonetheless.

 

Some vintage KI Festive on this page with a dash of Cosmo Cricket.

 

Not bad for an evening's work. :o)

Christmas Journal - December 7th

 

Just playing catch up with yesterday's prompt.

All about to-do lists. And my current non-work-related to-do list has essentially one item on it.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!

Before the snow hit, I hadn't made much progress - couldn't find just the right thing in the shops... but was hoping come December I'd have everything sorted.

Not so.

Online shopping may be the only option soon... :o(

 

Lots of October Afternoon goodness on this page - and if Santa would make the snow and ice melt, then I could get my shopping done. ;o)

 

Also, just a reminder for this week's DCM dare - there is a very bling-y prize up for grabs!

 

Happy creating!

Been clicking away and action-ing...

Thought I'd share a few pics I took the other day - ok so I clicked away and took 179 (many of those didn't turn out so well as I'd not realised I'd left my SLR in manual mode after a play!)...

  

This one was inspired by a photo shared on the JYC forum, I had candy canes so leapt out with my camera into the snow-ice to try and take a shot... with, er, manual on by accident.

 

Pioneer Woman's Lovely and Ethereal action is very good for getting some nice effects on photos that were originally dark and very red (due to fairy lights).

 

I had the fire on last night for full effect plus countless candles...

 

Here's a shot of some of this year's new baubles... I love that red and white one - and it really works so nicely on the mantelpiece.

 

Thew mantelpiece looks quite nice and dreamy in this pic - the joy of actions!

 

I tried some Bokeh as per one of Shimelle's prompts - the original photo was pretty dark, but it lightened up nicely. Difficult to make out but this is another new bauble - the nativity scene in cut crystal inside the bauble...

 

I also tried it on my little mug of candy canes.

 

Here's the new nativity bauble on the tree - nestled in those silver branches.

 

A shot of the tree - can't get a decent full length photo - so this will have to do. ;o)

 

Here's another new bauble - the snowy house...

 

And a snowy scene on a flat bauble - it's very unusual.

 

And lastly - my giant Polish bauble (bought in a heat wave in August in Poland!).

I'll be using a few of these pics in my journal - speaking of, have some catching up to do tonight!

Christmas Journal - December 6th

 

So today's prompt was all about a tale of two Christmases.

And for me, every Christmas is a tale of two Christmases as we celebrate both Polish and British traditions. And boy do we celebrate Christmas morning over breakfast... anyway... on with the pics!

 

This photo of my wintry Matryoshka collection sums it up best - East meets West in Matryoshka form!

 

This page was brought to you in close association with my BG Jovial stash pile! Oh and there is some KI and Crate mixed in there too. ;o)

Christmas Journal - December 5th

What are the odds? I'm up-to-date with my Christmas Journal - here's the entry for the 5th - the countdown to Christmas!

 

A photo of my lovely new M&S advent calendar chalk board.... Shame about the glare from the window onto the page but I couldn't get a better pic.

 

Lots of Basic Grey Jovial in this one, plus some machine stitching on the photo mat. And I love that robin brad!

Christmas Journal - December 4th

 

December 4th's entry, and it's all about Christmas dreams.

And I know the weather we've had has caused havoc and mayhem and basically ground the country to a halt...

 

BUT I would be very happy indeed if the snow melted for a bit, and we then had a white Christmas!

Very magical to have a blanket of snow on Christmas Eve...

 

I used Echo Park papers for this, some snowflake lace paper from KI, a Basic Grey tab and chipboard, and finally a velvet Thicker. :o)

Christmas Journal - December 3rd

 

As many visitors to this blog will know, cards are what I do. And the prompt for the 3rd was right up my street.

I took a pic of where my handmade Christmas cards have been living these past few months while I've continued to add to the stockpile. Let's just hope I've made enough to go round, as the next task will be writing them and sending them!

 

And it is always fun trying to match a card to the recipient (and in some cases their stash tastes!).

 

Decisions, decisions... Anyway, time for some vintage stash on this page. My most favourite ever glazed snowflake paper from American Crafts and lots of Love Elsie accents. Plus a couple of dew drops from The Ribbon Girl.

Christmas Journal - December 2nd

 

December 2nd, and the prompt was all about the weather... well, there has been little else in the news of late as the entire country has now had a brush with snow.

We've had heavy snow since around the 25th and it's still here. So I had plenty of snaps to choose from!

 

There's something very seasonal about a post box covered in snow... And I just had to add in some snowmen, as I've not had chance to make any myself!

 

The stash is all Echo Park plus a couple of Crate stickers, and of course a Thickers number.

Christmas Journal - December 1st

So here I am playing catch-up with my journal...

I've foregone the Manifesto entry for this year's journal as I've not got much journaling space with the album format I've chosen and my 6x4 snaps... just enough for the odd journaling strip.

 

So my page is a pic of my love desktop calendar and it has reminded me that I seriously need to sort out a desktop calendar for 2011! Etsy here I come!

 

I'm rather in love with the Crate chipboard for this line too - it's the perfect finishing touch...

Turquoise touch

This week's DCM dare is another Birthstone dare, and the birthstone for December is Turquoise.

My favourite colour... well, especially when mixed in with a hint of red. I just couldn't resist it.

 

Papers: Crate Paper
Chipboard: Crate Paper
Stamp: Papertrey Ink
Ribbon: The Ribbon Girl
Glitter: Ice Stickles

 

I will be amazed if there is much left in that little bottle of Ice Stickles!

Someone did a little decorating...

It was that kind of day yesterday where I needed to clear head space between various tasks... so of course, what better reason than to get the stepladder out the shed and get stringing lights up and pulling baubles from boxes...

 

The fireplace is a red/white affair... and looks much better now that I added those gorgeous pine cone baubles. You can't go over the top with this sort of thing at least.

I found a new home for my wintry Matryoshkas, the one above was from Accessorize a few years ago - I didn't like the one they were selling this year for the price they wanted.

 

And this one has been appropriated from my mum... I just love the winter scene....

In other news I have finally got this on iTunes:

 

Oh and tonight, I shall definitely be trying my new fuzzy PJs - minus 6 it was last night!

Festive Frog Hop!

Welcome to those who've joined me from Sharmaine's fabulous blog!

I'm your next stop on this month's Banana Frog blog hop. :o)

And here's my little festive project using my most favourite ever Banana Frog font! Oh yes, it's that DeLouisville Tadpole set, and it's also twinned with my favourite colour combo - turquoise and red! Yum.

 

Stamps: Banana Frog - DeLouisville Tadpole set
Card blank: DCWV
Papers: Echo Park
Sticker: Echo Park
Dies: Nestabilities, Papertrey Ink
Twine: The Ribbon Girl
Bling: Prima
Felt: Papertrey Ink
Button: Papertrey Ink

 

I couldn't resist making a little rosette with a vintage button and some of that fabulous baker's twine.

 

And rather than just use black ink or one colour, I carried the turquoise/red theme into the greeting. I just *heart* the simplicity and clean look of this font... :sigh:

Anyway, you'd best scoot on over to Debbie's blog for some more inspiring eye candy, but before you go - don't forget to leave a comment here for your chance to win a set of Banana Frog stamps. :o)

And who can believe that tomorrow's the first of December!? Get those advent calendars at the ready!

Still snowed in...

And working from home - but at least there was some sunshine today so I went off for a little wander to stave off the cabin fever!

 

A good few inches of snow fell over night...

 

But walking with some blue sky made it all the nicer!

 

Especially when the sun came out between the trees.

 

It was quite magical.

 

And quite nice to have the park almost to myself!

 

Save the odd group of sledgers!

But it was very nice to come back home into the warmth... even if I had work to do! :o)

And continuing with the snowy theme... Here's the other card I made for the Ribbon Girl colour challenge:

 

Papers: KI Memories
Tag: KI Memories
Twill: The Ribbon Girl
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Die: Papertrey Ink
Pearls: Prima
Other: Stickles, Distress Stickles, 3D glitter paint, 3D foam, Copics

 

Right, I'd best go get my tea into the oven.

Wintry challenge

Since the weather was less than lovely today and more snow fell, and it's still bitterly cold, I've been holed up in the house doing various little chores and catching up on TV online since my craft room is one of the warmest rooms at the moment. :o)

So whilst fiddling with a few things I decided to give the blog a new festive make-over for this year. The gingerbread family banner is on vacation, and a new Christmas banner is up for the duration. I'm very fond of that snowman in the snowglobe from one of Nacy Kubo's kits - I would love to see her bring out a new festive collection this year, but don't think it's going to happen...

After that I got updated on google reader, and saw that there was an excuse to dig out some vintage KI papers to give the current Ribbon Girl challenge a go. Not sure what is going on with my cardmaking at the moment but nothing is turning out quite like I'd like it to. :o\ 

Anyway, the current colour challenge is to use white, pink and lilac as your main colours:

Papers: KI Memories
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Dies: Papertrey Ink
Embossing folder: Cuttlebug
Baker's twine: The Ribbon Girl
Ribbon: May Arts
Felt: Papertrey Ink
Other: 3D foam, Versamark ink pad, white ink pad, 3D glitter paint

 

It's difficult to see in the photo, but I Versamarked the pink tag with little snowflakes, and the lilac circle was first stamped in white with a large snowflake before I embossed and sanded it.

I did make another card for this challenge, but the Distress Stickles are STILL drying - some 6 hours later. But will see if I'm happy with the end result before positing it.

It's almost here!

And this year I am determined to finish it in album form!

With that in mind I've made my album in advance just ready to add photos and tart up with some embellishments.

The last thing I needed to do in preparation was decorate the cover page:

 

Who knew this would turn into a search for the perfect sized "Christmas" word in my stash... I always get stuck with left-over words on sticker sheets that I hadn't realised I had at the time I NEEDED them so they never get used up.

This time I am determined to use up as many of those random word stickers as I can! OK, so Christmas isn't all that random a word for this project, but there are some interesting ones that will need to be incorporated some how.

 

Anyway, bring on December 1st - I won't be sharing entries every day unless I am able to get my photos printed so I can finish the page off, but hope to play catch-up on the weekend. :)

Winter seems to be sticking around...

But at least my boiler isn't leaking any more!

However the snow seems to be a permanent feature for the next few days at least.

 

While it kept coming down I did a few things round the house and tried to catch up on my DVD rental list!

 

I finally got out my Winterland candle (fave ever Yankee Candle Christmas fragrance) - it seemed very apt!

 

Before it got dark, I went out with the camera for a walk in the park.

 

It turned out to be a bit of a short walk as the snow started coming down again.

 

Who wouldn't want to live in a Park Lodge like this?

 

The bandstand at the top of the hill looked especially nice, beyond it there were loads of kids flying down on sledges!

If it's going to be like this again tomorrow, I may stay under the duvet to finish my book!

Also today was my day for the Project of the Day on the Banana Frog blog:

 

Stamps: Banana Frog - Christmas Elegance
Dies: Nestabilities
Other: Stickles

 

It's all about masking magic for this one. :o)

Another Christmas card I've not posted yet is this one:

 

Papers: My Mind's Eye
Dies: Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Felt: Papertrey Ink
Bling: Doodlebug
Other: Distress Stickles

 
Right, off to have my tea and see what's on telly tonight. :o)

It all started with snow...

 

Yesterday morning... the first bit of whiteness of the cold season.

Not fun!

After getting home from work discovered my boiler had leaked water at some point during the day. Thankfully an engineer is coming round tomorrow to see what's what.

The snow is still here, and will be for the next day at least. I love snow if I have no where I need to be or need to use my car!

And when snow melts it generally turns to ice which I hate even more.

Anyway, on the creative front, here's my card for this week's DCM "Spotty Stripy Christmas" dare:

 

Papers: Echo Park
Stamps: Papertrey Ink
Felt: Papertrey Ink
Dies: Papertrey Ink
Bling: Prima
Other: Stickles, 3D glitter paint

Those Papertrey greetings work really nicely on these little journaling cards from the Echo Park line.

Well, I'm off to get the fire on, and catch up with some of my V+ recordings! Last night's Nikita for one. :oD