Swedish Christmas

Hello and thank-you for visiting! A warm welcome to those who are newly following.

You all know how much I love paper! I recently bought some 'Inkido' papers (a Swedish brand) and am really smitten by their gorgeousness - here's their first outing ...

It's a speedy post today.

Papers: Inkido ('Coming Home for Christmas' and 'Forever Santa' collections), Bazzill CS and paper doily

Border and Regular Punches: Martha Stewart

Dies: Simon Says Stamp 'Faceted Snowflake', Magnolia 'Swedish Lace', MFT 'Postage Stax' and Snowflake Doily

Embellishments: Prima, lace from the lovely Lynne. String, pearls, berries and 'foliage' from stash. Lots of dabbed Snow-Tex.

My 1st Blogaversary Candy draw closes at midnight on monday - last chance to enter is here.

Many thanks for stopping by! Wishing you all a warm and happy weekend.

Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges:

Inkido - Layers and Border Punch
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Use a SSS exclusive product
Our Creative Corner - Forgotten Things (I used a border punch to meet Inkido challenge and realised that since my Big Shot arrived from Santa last Christmas I've been using dies and completely forgot my collection of border punches (Shame on me! lol)

Tea for Two

Hello and welcome! Thanks so much to all the lovely ladies who have signed up recently to follow.

Papers: Maja Design 'Vintage Summer Basics'.
Stamps: Hero Arts and Wendy Cotterill.
Inks and Powders: Ranger Archival (by Wendy Vecchi) 'Cornflower Blue', Archival 'Rose Madder', Versamark and Stampendous Clear EP. UTEE on the tea china. Ingvild Bolme Chalk Edger 'White'. Stampendous Frantage in 'Shabby white, pink and blue'. Roses dabbed with 'Snow-tex'.
Embellishments: Doily available here. Spoon charm available here. Flowers and lace from stash.
Dies: Cheery Lynn 'Mini Pearl French Flair' and 'Horizon Coved Rectangle'. Spellbinders 'Romantic Rectangles'.
Vintage Image: Many thanks to 'History in Photos' Blog.
Template for side step card: Many thanks to 'Bubbly Funk'.

The little details:

This card took quite a while to get together! It is my first attempt at a side step card so it took a little practice. Also, distressed inked edges and 'aging effects' were abandoned in favour of clean lines with slightly chalked white rims. The papers and photos were frantaged.

The china tea cups took a few tries because I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients ... I followed the wonderful Sherry Hickox's tutorial for 'Faux Crazed Porcelain'. I tred to subsitute with products I had but couldn't achieve clean stamped images. In the end I skipped the element of crackle paint on board and instead stamped onto white specialty paper, coloured in the flower petals using watering pen, heat dried and fussy cut out. Then gave them two coats of UTEE treatment. I adapted the 'faux' technique by popping the UTEE'd china into the freezer for 5 minutes. I then snapped each so that they have 'faux' cracks.

It's a beautiful sunny and mild day here in Dublin. I hope the sky shines on you wherever you are.

Finally, don't foget about your chance to win my 1st Blogaversary Candy - please click here.

Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges:
Frilly and Funkie - Eat, Drink and Be Merry
Inspiration Journal - Falling for Faux
Vintage Udfordring - Folding Techniques
Live & Love Crafts - Inspiration Collage (using pink roses)
Crafting Musketeers - Vintage
Crafts 4 Eternity - Cute Kids
SSS Wednesday - Use a product from SSS - UTEE
Cherish This - Memories for Life - Åpen utfordring

Santa O'Clock

Hi there and special greetings to my new followers! In case you missed my recent post about my 1st Blogaversary Candy, please click here. Remember, if you're not in, you can't win!

Apologies for the dark shadows in this photo but you see it was taken at night whilst Santa and Co. were doing a test run for imminent globetrotting!

A brief post today...

Papers: Melissa Frances 'Countdown to Christmas' and Clear acetate for the clock (the latter had been forgotten but found when I was searching for something other than plain paper to stamp on!)

Dies: Sizzix Bigz - 'Stars' and 'Mini Reindeer & 25', Spellbinders 'Circles' and 'Eyelet Circles', Joy Crafts 'Round No 3', MFT 'Postage Stamp Stax'

Stamps: Crafty Individuals Clock Face 'CI-354', Inkadinkado 'A Visit From Santa' and Unity Itty Bitty 'Ticket to Christmas'

Little details: All the stars and the 25 are cardboard backed and coated with Distress Glitter 'Clear Rock Candy'. The clock (on clear acetate) is embossed using Stampendous EP 'Winter Wonderland'. The clock hands 'Prima Junkyard Findings' are also coated with Distress Glitter. Santa is embossed using 'Red Tinsel' EP on patterned paper. Padded reindeer are coated with Stampendous Silver Crushed Glass Glitter. Ticket is embossed on acetate with Judikins EP 'Silver Twinkle'. Little tree on the postage stamp image is decorated with Stickles. Most edges are inked with DIs for definition 'Salty Ocean', 'Festive Berries' and 'Bundled Sage'. Gems and twine from stash. Top Banner by Melissa Frances.

I'm so glad you took the time to visit! Enjoy the rest of your day.

Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday - Stamp on anything other than paper
SSS Wednesday - Product from SSSS - Melissa Frances Papers
Our Creative Corner - Forgotten Things
CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Cut It Out
Creative Card Crew - Christmas
Cherish This - Memories for Life - Åpen utfordring
Crafts Too Challenge You - Texture with a twist - style Shabby Chic

Snow Baby

Hello! Thank-you for stopping by and a warm welcome to new followers. In case you missed my last post for my 1st BLOGAVERSARY CANDY then please click here.

Well I've finally made a start on Christmas cards. Isn't she sweet? I know she looks cold but she has her teddy for cuddles!

I've used a pink Bazzill CS for base and cut a Sizzix on the edge die snowflake border. I glittered those snowflakes with Distress glitter and daubed with Snow-tex. Discovered that by layering vellum over vellum it achieved a good ice slab appearance so the background is two layers of vellum with the upper one embossed with Sizzix snow flurries texture fade and liberally covered with Snow-Tex. I then cut two more layers using Spellbinders Fleur de lis squares. The lower layer is white CS and upper layer is vellum again embossed with snow flurries folder.

Next stamped the gorgeous munchkin - stamp by Crafty Individuals (CI-240) with a pink Brilliance ink and embossed with Adirondack EP (Wild Plum). The little ticket at the top left (Unity Itty Bitty stamps) and the Jingle Bells text (freebie from Crafty Individuals) were also done the same way.

I thought I had some silver stickles as I wanted to coat edges in silver for definition - unfortunately there was none in my stash. So all the sparkly silver edges that you see were done by heat embossing. (Ran Brilliance silver ink around the edge and then coated withg Judikins EP (Silver Twinkle) before blasting with my heat gun. Any edge that wasn't silvered was instead coated with Snow-Tex.

Added some bobble ribbon along the base of the Snow Baby to resemble snow. I really wanted to make the card sparkle (though that isn't captured too well by photo) so I was delighted when I went thru my stash to find some Idea-ology tinsel that I had bought when reduced last January and had long forgotten about - ran that along left edge. Diecut some Memory Box 'Precious Stars' and again inked and sprinkled with Judikins EP to get some silver blingy stars. Also diecut some Winterberry sprigs (Memory Box) from white SEI Velvet paper so that there are lots and lots of textures going on.

Punched several size snowflakes from CS, vellum, and silver paper (that I ran thru a flourish texture fade so that it wasnt just flat paper) and affixed all to the card. Gave the snowflakes little gem centres too. Also included some Magnolia silvery berries. Finally attached the metal bells and little teddy to complete.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Wishing all a lovely weekend!
Nicola x

I wish to enter card to the following challenges:
Our Creative Corner - Forgotten Things
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Embossed
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Emboss It
Crafts Too Challenge You - Texture with a twist style (Vintage)
Country View Crafts - Layers
Creative Creations Challenges - Early Christmas Makes
Flourishes - Make A Good Impression
Sparkles Christmas Challenge - Non Traditional Colours
Christmas Stampin All Year Long - Cute and Cuddly Christmas
Inspiration Emporium - Falling for Faux (Faux snow and ice)

My 1st Blogaversary!

Candy now closed.

A warm and special WELCOME as TODAY (Sept 10th) is my 1st Blogaversary!

A heartfelt THANK-YOU goes to all those who have left lovely compliments and followed loyally over the past year. Your presence is the reason for my continued blogging and has made whole heaps of a difference to the enjoyment crafting brings me.

To celebrate in blogging tradition, I am sharing some 'stash'. To have a chance to win the candy all you need do is:
a) Comment at the end of this post and
b) Place a picure of my candy on your blog sidebar with a link back to my blog
c) To win, you don't have to be a follower but IF you like my work and would like to sign up to follow then that would be terrific.

'The Candy'

I am happy to ship worldwide. 'Candy-only blog' comments will be deleted. Draw will stay open until midnight September 30th. The winner will be drawn at random thereafter.

Good Luck everyone and thank-you again for making my experience in 'blogland' such a very happy one.

Nicola x