The Stragglers - Part Deux

Here are the rest of the Christmas cards I didn't get time to blog before Christmas.

See you in the New Year!

The Stragglers - Part One

Rather than do a year in review, I thought I'd share the Christmas cards that I didn't get chance to blog, and there are quite a few!  I'm not going to list all the ingredients, but if there's anything you specifically want to know, just ask in the comments, and I'll add the reply in the comments.

And a few where I've CASEd Michele:

I'll be back tomorrow with Part Deux - the blue themed ones.

It's Christmas - Who Gives A Crap?

Meeeee!  I had a little festive fun in the bathroom - made a little Christmas Tree with my toilet rolls and topped it with a silver mirri star.  These are no ordinary toilet rolls, they're from Who Gives A Crap, a company that makes toilet roll from 100% forest-friendly materials, and donates 50% of its profits to building toilets for those in need.

Each roll is wrapped in fun paper, and for Christmas they came up with these fabulous Naughty or Nice designs.

I can't imagine life without access to a toilet, so buying these loo rolls is my little contribution to helping others have a better life.

Merry Christmas!

The Stockings Are Hung

What's happened to December??? Why is it going so fast?  I hope I'll be ready by the time Santa visits.  At least I've got one stocking ready to hang ;)

This is one of my favourite woodblock Christmas stamps.  I've been so busy trying to use all my NBUS Christmas stamps and dies that I haven't got round to any of my old favourites this year, but I managed to find a little stash of images that I'd stamped last year, so I smooshed this one in Distress Inks, fussy cut it and mounted it onto a plaid Distress-inked background.  The sentiment is from Uniko.

I'm entering this into TIME OUT Challenge where they've got this gorgeous inspiration photo:

And Muse Christmas Visions festive free for all.

STAMPlorations Inspiration #156

Time for some final STAMPlorations inspiration before the Christmas break.  I made this card when the Three Kings set was released but didn't blog it at the time.

The embossed background is wrapping paper that's been in my stash forever.  I tore the edge and stuck it to kraft card, then added my doodled kings.  QACAS.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the team, and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a gift voucher to the STAMPlorations store.

Throughout December all stamps, stencils, and dies (except for products in the New Release and Retiring categories) are 30% off with code HOLIDAY2017 (good for 1 time use only and not combinable with other codes).

With my STAMPGIRLSHIRLEY code you can get 20% off all other stamps, stencils and dies, and this code can be used as many times as you like.

This is my last Inspiration Design Team post for 2017, so I'll wish you a happy Christmas (but I'm sure I'll be posting more STAMPlorations/Bee's Knees cards on my blog in the run-up!).  I'll see you in the New Year, along with the rest of the Design Team, for more fabulous inspiration and ideas for using STAMPlorations products.

Winter Coffee Lovers' Blog Hop

Time for the Winter Coffee Lovers' Blog Hop, and I'm playing along with STAMPlorations, one of the sponsors of this fabulous hop, using my new set, And Coffee.

I thought I'd go for a Christmassy feel this time.  I stamped the image in Antique Linen then white-embossed the coffee top (is there a technical name for coffee tops?  Can you tell I'm not a coffee drinker?) before watercolouring with Distress Inks.  The 'Season's Greetings' sentiment is from my Layered Holly set.

 

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for some more fabulous creations from the team, and get a peek of Shery's new coffee-themed stamps.  You'll find all the details on how to play along at the Coffee Lovers' Blog Hop.

Apart from all the fabulous prizes on offer on the hop, you've also got the chance win the And Coffee set by leaving a comment on this blog post here and this blog post here by 11 December.  Christmas might come early!

STAMPlorations have a 30% sale on throughout December (not applicable to new releases and retiring products).  Single use and not combinable with any other codes.  Alternatively you can use my code STAMPGIRLSHIRLEY for 20% off multiple times.

Take It, Make It Reminder

Are you playing along with us at Craft Stamper Take It, Make It?  All you need is rubber or polymer stamps and you're in!

I've used the Reindeer Fusions stamp set by Paperbabe Stamps, Trees1 stencil by Sanna Lippert for ARTplorations, a sentiment by Uniko and a Tim Holtz diecut tree.  Oh, and PaperArtsy Infusions.

We're sponsored this month by Polkadoodles, who are providing this package of goodies for one lucky randomly chosen entrant.

The winner chosen by the design team will have a profile and their winning entry published in the magazine and on the blog, and get a guest designer spot in a future challenge.

Pop on over to the Craft Stamper blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the design team, and play along with us for your chance to win.

Anniversary Cards

Sunday marked Rory and Leyla's first wedding anniversary, after that fabulous wedding in the park in Melbourne last December.  As soon as I got back to England I ordered this Ori Kami stamp and die set so that I could make them an anniversary card that showcased an element of their wedding day.  They were quite impressed with it.

I've made another anniversary card for my spotlight post over at STAMPlorations - here's a sneak peek of it.  Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for the full hit.

New Release - And Coffee

Hello, hello!  I'm here with another 8x4 stamp set, called And Coffee, which is being launched on the STAMPlorations blog today, along with a set from Shery.  This set could be hipster/grunge, or clean and simple, or whatever you want.  I got happy stuck in the hipster/grunge/artsy groove.

For this first card I stamped the cup and saucer in Antique Linen, and the coffee in Tea Dye, then watercoloured everything.

This one was inspired by a few things I'd seen on Pinterest. I'm always drawn to bright watercoloured images.  I stamped in Versafine Onyx Black then set to work with some bright Distress Inks, and Black Soot for shadows.  Love it.  Well, I love them all actually.

So for this one, I started with the coffee cup in the corner, and once I'd coloured it I masked it while I scored some lines for the table.  I'd intended to score every other line but got carried away!  With the mask still in place I swooshed Distress Ink minis then stamped the sentiment.

For this card, the cup and saucer have been stamped on separate card and fussy cut, then I've done some first-, second- and third-generation stamping on the base card, and added a couple of strips of washi tape.

The stamps are available in store with 5% discount.  Leave a comment here and on the main blog for your chance to win this set - commenting is open until 11 December, and the winner will be announced on the STAMPlorations blog on 12 December.

If you're shopping at the STAMPlorations store, don't forget to use my code STAMPGIRLSHIRLEY for 20% off all regular priced stamps, stencils and dies.

STAMPlorations Inspiration #155

It's inspiration time at STAMPlorations.  Just in case you haven't finished making all your Christmas cards, here's some more inspiration for you for a quick and easy card.  Using the Layered Snowman stamp set.

That largest solid shape makes a great bauble.  I inked it up with Distress Inks, spritzed and stamped, then stamped the outline image.  The chain is made up by stamping the three outline buttons repeatedly, then turning the stamp round and stamping in the spaces.  The snowflake comes from Winter Mug, and the sentiment comes from Layered Holly.

Pop on over to the STAMPlorations blog for more fabulous inspiration, and don't forget to leave a comment for your chance to win a gift certificate.

Throughout December all stamps, stencils, and dies (except for products in the New Release and Retiring categories) are 30% off with code HOLIDAY2017 (good for 1 time use only and not combinable with other codes).

With my STAMPGIRLSHIRLEY code you can get 20% off all other stamps, stencils and dies, and this code can be used as many times as you like.

I'm entering this into the CAS Watercolour Challenge Anything Goes

Craft Stamper Take It, Make It

Welcome to a new Craft Stamper Take It, Make It challenge!  As long as you use polymer or rubber stamps, you're in!

I love this fabulous reindeer by Woodware.  I watercoloured him with Distress Inks, then coloured the sky, masking off an area for snow.  Just a touch of shadow under his feet for definition.

We're sponsored this month by Polkadoodles, who are providing this package of goodies for one lucky randomly chosen entrant.

The winner chosen by the design team will have a profile and their winning entry published in the magazine and on the blog, and get a guest designer spot in a future challenge.

Pop on over to the Craft Stamper blog for some more fabulous inspiration from the design team, and play along with us for your chance to win