Blogtober 12

Yesterday was the 25th ... which can mean only one thing, it's time for Beat the Christmas Rush!  Though I have been beating it all month, technically speaking LOL.

I used my Stampendous holly image again, this time using watercolour markers to colour the stamp before making the impression.  The sentiment stamp is from Stamping All Day and the background paper is from Simple Stories.
Nice and simple, I am very pleased with these :-)

Blogtober is here!

Welcome to my first Blogtober post :-)  I have decided to go for blogging three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday - plus this first post!  For full Blogtober details, hop over to Karmacraft to see how you can take part in this challenge.
I'm going for a theme for the whole month, it's Christmas, Christmas, Christmas all the way!  This first post is my Beat the Christmas Rush for September.

 

I have gone for a Scandi theme, with kraft red and white.  White stamping and embossing on kraft, with a red mat and kraft card blank.  The stamp is from Indigo Blu, bought ages ago but never really used, and the sentiment is brand new, from Visible Image.
I really like the way this has come out, there will definitely be some more Scandi-themed cards during the month!

Beat the Christmas Rush - Mega April edit

I have fallen behind with BtCR this year, I managed January, but skipped out completely for February and March :-(  So here are twelve cards, for April!
These were started at the retreat, I had taken four sheets of 8 x 8" freebie magazine Christmas paper with me, to see how many cards I could get out of them.  Then I finished them off at home, stamping and embossing various images.
So, in the order in which I cut down the sheets ......
The completely covered A6 cards, four of these, two each of the designs shown here:

The A6 with panel:
 

The 5 x 5" panel:

 The triple slim panels:

 The nine patch:
 

The triple square:

Stamps, in order, are from Stamps by Chloe, Creative Expressions, freebie magazine, Woodware and the final stamped/embossed sentiment is from one of the CE bauble sets.
That comes to twelve cards from four sheets.... if I had planned ahead instead of making it up as I went along, I might have been able to get one or two more from the scraps!  I think my least favourite are the triple panel cards, the banner design didn't quite come out as I had imagined it..... but it's an idea to revisit later :-)  My favourites are the triple square and the nine patch - I have done both of these before and have now discovered that this particular alpha die (Dienamics) fits the squares perfectly, so there'll be some more of those to be done!  I like the CAS style of the triple square, though it is intimidating to stamp directly on the card, after the squares are affixed.... :-)

Beat the Christmas Rush - January

Krafty Karen is running this challenge again this year - make five (or however many you wish) Christmas cards a month.  The challenge goes live every 25th of the month and you have until the 24th of the following month in which to take part.
I made these at the Littlegreen retreat, weekend before last, but have only just photographed them!!

The topper is done using smooshed distress inks in Antique Linen, Tea Dye and Vintage Photo.  Then I over-stamped with Wendy Vechhi Potting Shed, the snowflakes are from Visible Image, the tree is from Stampin' Up, both sentiments are from Stamping All Day and the swirl is from Waltzing Mouse.  I matted the topper onto Bazzill dotted swiss cardstock and used a light brown card blank from Craft Creations, I think the colour is Sandstone.
Incidentally.... the tree cards were both supposed to be the same, as in the left hand design .... but I messed up the sentiment stamping on the second one, so had to change things a little .... LOL.  There aren't many mistakes in stamping, you can salvage almost anything :-)

Beat the Christmas Rush - November

Oh, what a month I have had - after doing so well for Blogtober, I had a massive (and I mean massive) computer failure. It took DH two weeks to fix it completely, we kept getting it back only to have more fatal crashes.  In the end, we have had to buy a new hard drive and install Windows 10 as W7 just refused to stay alive, the crash had corrupted essential files. 
In the process I realised that, whilst I always back up holiday photos, I hadn't been doing the everyday stuff, ie the stuff I scrapbook!  All my scrapbooking photos were separate.  More time taken to rig up the dead hard drive in what I am told is called an 'enclosure' and pull off photos, music, paid-for downloads etc ....... this has taken nearly a week.  Then to install Picasa and other software again, it has been a nightmare.  All photos are now backed up, more time taken ....
Finally, I can get back to blogging!  I have managed to make a few things whilst I have been computer-less LOL.  First up is BtCR for November.

I used a freebie magazine die from Cardmaking and Papercraft, which they annoying call a die cutting stencil.  It's not a stencil, it's a mask.  Grr. 
I cut it in silver mirri, matted onto a Diamond Bling square, embossed the Sparkle Bling background square with snowflakes and made a mirri mat for that also.  The sentiment is done using SU punches and a peel-off - Krafty Karen had done some cards incorporating the punched shape into the frame and I really liked the idea :-)
I need to do a count up now, to see if I have enough cards yet.  BtCR has really helped, so I will be doing the same next year!

Beat the Christmas Rush - October

Is this a first?  Completing Krafty Karen's BtCR challenge in the same month it goes live???  LOL.
I have gone for white and silver for these and used new stash to boot :-)

The stamps and embossing folder are new - stamps from Stampin' Up and folder from Crafter's Companion.  I embossed some Bazzill Bling in Diamond and stamped/heat embossed the snowflakes and sentiment in silver.  Then it was a case of cutting to size, cutting mirri mats and putting them all together - four times :-)

I like this simple central square layout, and I think I will try this particular design again, maybe in aqua ...... :-)

BtCR September

No particular theme for September's BtCR, I just sat down and had a bit of a session!  I made about ten, I think, donated some to Karen's charity fundraiser and kept five for BtCR.

This one uses Simple Stories papers and the curved edge panel was an idea in a card magazine from before last Christmas ...... no idea now which magazine.  My panel is smaller than the original as I misjudged where to apply the Spellbinders edging die ... LOL.  The snowflake dies are from Memory Box and the sentiment is done with SU punches.

 

 

The next two are a design I have used before and will again, the Memory Box die is so useful.  The papers are Simple Stories again and Craft Creations.

 

 

 

Finally, I had found this embossing folder in a sale, so thought I should use it ..... it is just slightly out of proportion for an A6 card, the sides don't need trimming but the top/base edges do.  I embossed some Diamond Bazzill Bling, cut to fit, then matted onto silver mirri (still using up those freebie sheets from work!)

 

 

 

There'll be more Christmas cards during Blogtober as despite my best efforts so far, I do still need just a few more :-) 

  

 

Beat the Christmas Rush - August

According to Einstein, doing the same thing again and again but then expecting the results to be different is a definition of insanity...... 
I ordered two new First Edition 6" paper pads - Silent Night and Gilded Winter - and just like every other FE pad I have ever bought, when they arrived I really didn't like them very much!  So either I am insane, or just continually optimistic LOL.  I'm sure many people love them, just not me......  So for this month's BtCR, I decided to go out of my comfort zone and try to make some cards with these papers, otherwise it would be a complete waste of money :-(

A simple one to start, Memory Box swirl die and Martha Stewart punched snowflake:

 

This paper is foiled in places, the photo doesn't show it clearly.  I do rather like this one, will definitely use the same design layout on other cards.  Another MS snowflake and SU punches for the sentiment tag.

Again the photo doesn't show it, but the large snowflakes on the paper are glittered.  The stamp is from Penny Black and was my birthday present from Karen, so I was glad that I could 'christen' it :-)

Pin-spired - Pin is here:

And finally, another Pin-spired card - this Pin has been re-pinned 168 times, so I thought I had better use it myself!  I have replaced the original oval with a rectangle:

So, I am quite pleased with the way they have turned out .... but I still don't like the papers .... LOL.  If you want to take part in BtCR, you have until the 24th September - hop over to Krafty Karen for details :-)

Beat the Christmas Rush - July

I have managed to be a little more organised for Krafty Karen's BtCR this month!  I have made five cards, yes five!!! That must be a record :-)
I decided that I really should use some Christmas stamps bought last year, which have never seen ink......!!  This snowflake lace stamp from Indigo Blu was stamped and embossed in white on kraft and also silver on white.  I matted the kraft onto red cardstock and the white onto silver mirri - which I don't usually use but I had got some free samples at work, couldn't waste them, could I? LOL.
My original plan for all five cards was this:

But after I had attached all five images to their mats and card blanks, I saw there was a small space in the design which was perfect for a tiny sentiment, so I did the other four cards like that.  The silver is difficult to photograph, I promise it is more 'silvery' in real life :-)

Five more for the box :-)

Beat the Christmas Rush - June

Just in time for this one - a couple of days before the closing date!  For details of the BtCR challenge, nip over to Krafty Karen's Fantastic Place.

I decided to make three cards using a new Memory Box die.  I cut three snowflake ribbons from Bazzill bling in Diamond, backed with Stick It adhesive.  It turned out to be a very fiddly die-cut to peel the backing off, I ruined the first one completely.  The secret is to remove it slowly and in one piece, if you try to take the 'arms' off on their own they just detach themselves from the main snowflake!!
So then I had two die-cuts.  I backed them onto Bazzill bling in Sparkle, I do like the white / aqua combination.  I wanted to round opposite corners, but did a wrong one on the first card, so had to round them all!  The second card went to plan :-)

For the third card, I took my already prepared base of Sparkle and die-cut the wording to go over it (Memory Box).  Very simple, but it does look nice.  Again, I would recommend a slow and steady removal of the Stick It backing paper for this die!

So that's three more for the Christmas box and soon the July BtCR will be coming up, hopefully I will be a little more organised for that one!

Beat the Christmas Rush - May

BtCR is now hosted by Krafty Karen, you can find the details here.  Thank you to Sue for inventing and hosting the challenge so brilliantly.

I have made four identical simple cards this month, completely non-dimensional so they can be easily posted!  I still don't have the space to set up my photo booth, so for the time being all my cards are artfully posed on my mini guillotine :-)

The paper is from Simple Stories and the stamp is from Just-rite.  The image is stamped and embossed using Stampendous Pearl Champagne embossing powder, it's a lovely soft gold.  I die-cut the image using a Nestie label, I think it was label 22.

I hope you'll join us for this challenge, hop over to Karen to find out more :-)

Buy it - Try it Monday: Beat the Christmas Rush

I bought three Christmas text dies on special offers and since Sue is kindly running BtCR again this year, I have made three cards for January :-)

They all have papers from Bo Bunny 'Altitude', the 6" pad, and I used Stick It adhesive sheet for all three.  The first one has an Ultimate Crafts die:

 

This die did not perform well ..... very difficult to cut, in fact it didn't cut completely through the adhesive sheet, the backing paper was left in the die and I had to poke out all the little pieces from a sticky die-cut, which was tricky as I didn't want to transfer all the adhesive to my fingers!

The second uses a Die-versions die:

This cut beautifully, though I had to turn it for a second pass through, but it's my favourite of all three and I will definitely be using it again :-)

And the third one, a Memory Box die.

This was a little more fiddly to cut - again I had to turn the die for a second pass and also use a shim.  Pulling the adhesive backing off was a careful job, but this is exactly the sort of die it is so useful for :-)  It also fits an A6 card blank.

I am pleased with these, they work well as production line cards, I think :-)

Beat the Christmas Rush - October

Oh my goodness ..... I haven't done this challenge since May!!
It also counts as a Buy it & Use it and an Out of the Drawer, so value for money today!

First, the cards - Two more cards with the Memory Box text die, but they also use something new .....

And two more which use an Impression Obsession die, bought sometime ago - these also use something new .....

The 'new' item is a sheet of adhesive developed especially for die-cutting, to enable the most intricate cuts to be self adhesive.  You may recall a while ago I had trouble with a delicate die here, well I think this will be the answer!  It's called Stick It, I bought mine from Craft Obsessions - who have made an instructional video here - but other retailers are stocking it too. So far, it is living up to the promise :-)

Now, this was not actually my planned blog post for today.  What I had hoped to share with you was my bumper parcel of Stampin Up goodies, which I was expecting on Friday or Saturday, so that I could spend a happy weekend playing .... unfortunately they haven't arrived yet!  Fingers crossed LOL.

BtCR May

Beat the Christmas Rush for May .... I made four cards, difficult to get into one photo!

The postage stamp circle mat is a Silhouette cutting file.  I stamped /embossed the Christmas image (Just Rite) and punched into a circle with my huge 4" Woodware punch.  Then I inked it with Antique Linen and Tea Dye distress inks.  I used 1mm foam tape to attach it to the mat, so it's not completely flat, but still "post-able"!

Beat the Christmas Rush - April

Yes, I am really late for April BtCR, the new challenge opens tomorrow! 

There are only two cards this month.... I stamped four images, then had the brilliant idea of using two of them decoupaged on top of the other two.   This was not one of my better ideas ..... very fiddly to cut out, and I'm not sure that it looks better than the original one layer image!

The stamp is an old Graphicus one, I have had it for years and always regretted not getting the Christmas Rose in the same series before they ceased trading.  However I have discovered that the people behind Graphicus, who now run  Chocolate Baroque, still have these images in their range :-)  So I have ordered the Christmas Rose and the Hydrangea, they also have Mistletoe, Poinsettia, Daffodil and Rose - a search for 'script' will find them.
I stamped and embossed the image in gold before colouring, and finished off the card with some ribbon.

Beat the Christmas Rush - March

BtCR for March - not nearly as last minute as usual, I must be getting more organised .....?!  Sticking to the theme.... busy paper, simple sentiment :-)

I cut a 12" sheet of Christmas paper (Craft Creations) into six, to fit A6 deckle edge card blanks.  Then I punched 1.75" scalloped circles (Stampin Up) to mat under the stamped sentiment (Technique Tuesday).  Just for variety, the sentiment is stamped and embossed in red and two different shades of green - Apple Red fine from Wow!, Metallic Green from American Crafts and Olive from Stampendous.

Beat the Christmas Rush - February

Just before the deadline..... here are my four BtCR cards for February.  They are all done with 6" papers, I think from Authentique. 

I decided that BtCR cards had to be simple - so I have just done a background mat and a sentiment, this one is from Stampin' Up, stamped and embossed with Wow detail red powder.  For the sentiments cut with Nestie labels 32 (?), I left the die-cut in the die and inked with Antique Linen so there is a paler edge.  The pennants (Dienamics) I inked all over, once out of the die.

BtCR January

Beat the Christmas Rush - I found this so helpful last year, so I have decided to do it again!

These are made with magazine papers, probably from Making Cards, they are at least a couple of years old.  Very simple - I made a background mat from some holly paper (Craft Creations) and some magazine bauble paper, used peel-off lines to frame the mats.  Then I cut out the images from the mag paper, matted them onto red cardstock and mounted to the base on 1mm foam tape.  The banners are die-cut  (Die-namics) and tucked under the image.  However, they did look as if they were just 'floating' ...... so I wrapped a band of gold ribbon around the base of the card to 'ground' them.  Job done :-)

Beat the Christmas Rush - August

BtCR challenge for August - made it by the skin of my teeth once again ..... :-)  Only three days to go before the next one starts .... actually that's earlier than I have been, on some months LOL.

I used some red and white paper from stash - think it might be Magnolia? - and matted onto some red cardstock.  The corners were rounded to echo the scalloped card blank.
The image is a download from the Graphics Fairy, I don't have a link to the exact entry as I downloaded it some time ago, but a search under 'Christmas' or maybe 'Santa' will turn it up :-)  I printed it out and managed to get it to print at a size to fit a punch, which is a miracle in itself!
The doily mat and banner are die-cut (Dienamics).
I should really have a count up of Christmas cards, I am onto a second box, so I must have a fair few by now :-)

Beat the Christmas Rush - July

We might be in August now, but I did actually manage to make these in July - just never got around to taking the photo LOL.  These are for the BtCR challenge 25th July - 24th August.

If you are thinking they look familiar...... well, that's because I have done them before, but in a blue and white colourway.  The design is a great one for production line cardmaking, so I thought I would go for festive reds and greens this time :-)

The papers are from Craft Creations, the doily mat and border are Dienamics dies and the sentiment stamp is either Hero Arts or Hobby Art - I don't have the original packaging anymore.  The holly leaf snowflake is a Craft Stamper freebie.