Just One Word

This week's Less is More Challenge is to use just one word.  Thank You cards are always useful at this time of year, however it's no good masking off the "you" on a sentiment when it needs the S adding.  I found this very chunky Elusive Images stamp and gave it quite a gentle inking so that it isn't too dominant.  Then I used the same ink and pearlised card with white embossed trees on it.  I added a dusting of silver and one piece of bling.  Sorry for the rubbish picture, will try again in daylight...

Jolly Holly

 

 Here's a pretty holly fairy from Phindy's Place, she looks like she is making magic with her holly sprig, don't you think?  She's coloured with Copics and Stickles and the holly DP is Papermania, the holly berries are embossed on it.  The ribbon is coloured with Copics and I've based my card on this week's sketch at Simon Says.

My card is for:

Simon Says - sketch

Papertake - last Christmas card of the year (it may be or I may still make some more!)

Party Time Tuesdays - use ribbon

Top Tip Tuesday - anything Christmas

Craft your Passion - things with wings

Mark's finest papers - make a Christmas card

Less is More Music

I have been colouring an image from Mo Manning this week, all in E tones, and realised that it works for this week's Less is More.  I don't often use colored images for LIM but the colours are restrained and I like it on the white card.  I have no idea if the music is right way up or not, all I can say is that it is the way it is shown on the stamp:).  Main image is Mo Manning, music is Prima, sentiment is Indigo Blu.
My card is for:
Less is More - music
Heidi's Hobbystuggu - Christmas
Fairy Fun - Holly Jolly no red or green
ABC Christmas  - anything goes

Phindy's Place Challenge #86 - Scraps

Welcome to the last Phindy's Place Challenge of the year.  The DT is having a well deserved break and this challenge will run until 6 January, so you have plenty of time to get your entries in.  We are asking you to be frugal and use up all your scraps of paper and anything else you have lying around your craft space.  Now I accidentally cheated, as the bits of paper are meant to be no bigger than 3" square.  I got carried away followed the Saturday Sketchers layout and found one of mine is bigger, oops!  The snowflakes are punched from the leftovers when I used my Nestie circle on the main image, both bits of ribbon are short lengths that I've finished and used up on here.  The DP is My Mind's Eye, which was out on my desk.
The gorgeous image, great for a teen card, is called Snow Glory. 
My card is also for the following challenges:
Sketch Saturday - sketch
Digital Tuesday - winter wonderland
Papertake Tuesday - favourite colour Christmas (purple!)

One Stitch at a Time - use a digi
Charisma Cardz - last minute Christmas make
4 Crafty Chicks - Christmas
Creative Stamp Friends - Christmas
ABC Christmas - yipee anything goes
Crafting for all Seasons - Christmas
Bearly Mine - non traditional Christmas colours

Fred She Said Christmas Challenge

 Fred She Said is having a fun little Christmas Challenge! The theme is " Make a Christmas Tag OR Share a favorite Holiday Recipe " How do you enter? You have lots of choice here: you can make a Christmas Tag, a recipe card, or share a favorite Holiday recipe on your blog, linking to our challenge.  You don't have to use Fred She Said designs, but we love it when you do!
The PRIZE is a $25 GC to the Fred She Said Store.  There will be one winner chosen randomly.  Entries will be accepted until Friday DEC 30th midnight EST.  ... more details at the Fred She Said BLOG :) 

I used a lovely snowflake medallion from Fred She Said, which is pre-coloured, ideal for a quick and easy tag for a gift.  It really sparkles and shines; I gave it two coats or iridescent sparkle before I assembled the three layers and added Stickles and Perfect pearls to it.  You can find the snowflake here on the Fred She Said Blog - it is a freebie!

I also have a holiday recipe to share with you, which was given to me by a lady who took a quilting course with me.  I don't know where Barbara got the recipe from, but I do know it is delicious!

 

Lemon-frosted pistachio cake.

250g butter

250g caster sugar

3 eggs

100g shelled pistachio nuts (un salted)

100g ground almonds

1 orange

1 teaspoon rosewater 

60g plain flour

Crystallized rose petals and shelled pistachio nuts to decorate (optional)

Preheat the oven to 160 C Gas 3 and line the bottom of a non-stick 22cm/ 9 in. cake tin.

Cream the butter and sugar in food mixer until very light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating between additions

Blitz the pistachios to fine crumbs in food processor and then add them with the ground almonds, to the butter and sugar.

Finely grate zest and squeeze orange and then stir in with rosewater.

Lastly fold in flour with a large metal spoon.

Scoop mixture into lined baking tin and bake for fifty minutes, covering top lightly with foil for last 10 minutes.

Check the cake by inserting metal skewer into centre. It should come out fairly clean, without any wet mixture stuck to it. Leave to cool in the tin and then turn it out.

To make the icing

100g unrefined icing sugar.

 2 tblsp lemon juice.

Mix sugar and lemon juice till smooth. Pour over the cake and decorate with rose petals and pistachio nuts. Leave till icing is set.   

I'm entering my tag for a few challenges: 

Drunken Stampers - glittery holiday

Designed2Delight - tag you're it

Whimsical Wednesday - tags

Heart Song Inspirations - snowflakes and/or doilies

Cupcake Craft - look at the light (sparkly, shiny)

Everybody Art Challenge - blue & white

Digital Tuesday - winter wonderland

Shopping our Stash - tag it krafty

Do You Stack Up - winter photo inspiration

Try it on Tuesday - gift tags galore

Anything Goes - anything but a card

Craft Your Passion - tag you're it
Colour Create - blue, silver and white

Simple Scene

 

Here's a very simple Christmas card, using a non-UK Stampin' Up stamp belonging to my friend Val.  I inked the sentiment part of the stamp with gold Versamark ink and the rest with plain black, stamping it onto some paper that I'd brushed with Distress Inks.  The gold cord and mirri card mat echo the sentiment.

My card is for:

Bearly Mine - Christmas, no red or green - hope Donna is feeling better

Deep Ocean - let it snow

Paper and Such - clean and simple Christmas

Paper Minutes - clean and simple

Karen's Doodles - clean and simple

Gingerloft Challenges - Christmas/winter

Paper Sundaes - anything Christmas

Tagged

The Nordic Winter stamp set from Waltzing Mouse was love at first sight for me, unfortunately I'm waiting for a full set of the stamps as the supplier sent out a faulty batch, including my set.  However Claire the owner of WM emailed all who had bought the sets to track down and make sure that any faulty stamps were identified and replaced.  Mistakes happen, to me it is how they are dealt with that shows the quality of a business.  Full marks to Claire for reacting like this, it certainly gives me faith in her as a customer.

Anyhow, I used the stamps that were ok, or short lengths of them, to make this tag for the Waltzing Mouse Challenge.  The white on red sentiment is a better match to the ink in real life!  I stamped 3 little squares and made a 3D shape for the bottom, attached with a jump ring, also added some red gems.  Beautiful, detailed stamps that really don't need anything adding to them.

My tag is entered for:

Waltzing Mouse - Christmas Tag Challenge

Craft Your Passion - tag you're it

PanPastel UK - gift tags

Designed to Delight - tag you're it

Shopping our Stash - tag it crafty

Snow and skis

 

My card today uses a Lili of the Valley stamp belonging to my friend Val, love the jumper on the dog.  The knitting DP is Nordic Christmas? Winter? and the check is My Minds Eye.  I followed the sketch at Paper Pretties.

My card is also for the following challenges:

Paper Sundaes - anything Christmas

My Mum's Craft Shop - traditional Christmas

Stampin' for the Weekend - Christmas

Colour Create - red, white, green, snowflakes

Simply Create Too - embossing

Crafts & Me - winter snow/snowflakes

The Pink Elephant - snowflakes and sparkle

Victorine Stamps - Christmas

Crafty Calender - cold and frosty

Less is More let it snow

I had a real attack of random smudges with my one layer cards for Less is More this week, this is my final attempt which has a little cut off the bottom to remove some red ink.  Red?  Haven't used red for ages...   When I then got a blue smudge at the top right I could have either wept about it or covered it up.  In the end I did both and it is at least finished.  If you look closely at the ornaments, the stamp is made up of lots of tiny snowflakes, you may need to click on the pic.  They are white embossed and I drew in strings for them.  Do you think I should have extended the string to the ribbon?
My card is for:
Less is More - let it snow
Addicted to Stamps - snowflakes
Kenny K's - Christmas hues of blues
Let's Ink it Up - Christmas
Totally Gorjuss - let it snow

Phindy's Place Challenge #85 - clean and simple

Welcome to this week's challenge, a great one for those of us who are struggling to get last minute cards made for Christmas!  I have made an almost one-layer card;  I embossed the card with a Nestie and then die cut my image and placed it inside the embossed lines.  The image is called Winter Bird and it is really quick to colour, so effective too.  There's some Glamour Dust on the snow and some Glossy Accents on the robin.  I added a sentiment from Butterfly Kisses in red and some red twine to accent the red in the image.
My card is also for the following challenges:
Shopping our Stash - lights, whites or Meljen - I chose white
Simon Says - Christmas photomontage inspiration
Stamp, scrap & doodle - holiday card

Kraftin' Kimmie - embossing
Designed2Delight - snow
Crafty Calender - cold and frosty
Dream Valley - sparkle
Truly Madly Crafty - Christmas images & colours
Hooked on Craft - winter wonderland
Crafty Bloggers Network - shades of winter
Craft your Passion - anything goes + glitter
Top Tip Tuesday - let it snow
Celebrate the Occasion - Christmas no green
My Mum's Craft Shop - traditional Christmas
Crafts & Me - winter snow
Creative Belli - winter & Christmas
Pixie Dust Studio - glitter and bling
Papercrafting Journey - Christmas
Crafty Purple Frog - it's cold outside
Aud Sentiments - winter holiday sentiments

Traditional scene, non traditional colours

This is a Stampington stamp on loan from my dear friend Val.  I've gold embossed it and inked the background.  It is mounted on some scrap card that has been edged with embossing ink all round and then embossed with the same powder, which makes a perfect match.  I've moved away from traditional Christmas colours but I realised as I added some green contrast it doesn't fit some of the non-trad challenges; oh well.
This card is for:
Sketch Saturday - sketch
Sarah Hurley - Christmas
Cute Card Thursday - anything goes
Joanna Sheen - Christmas Wishes
Crimbo Crackers - embossing
ABC Christmas - anything Christmas goes
Crafty Cardmaking - heat embossing
Kraftin' Kimmie - heat embossing
Incy Wincy - non traditional Christmas colours
StampsRUs - emboss it

Less is More - green

This week the Limettes have given us a green challenge. This is a Memory Box die called grape wreath that isn't necessarily Christmassy but which I think can be.  Carrying on with making two cards at a time with whatever I pull out, the first card has the wreath off the edge with pearls for mistletoe berries, sentiment is Indigo Blu.  Second card is very conventional, wreath dead centre (I hope), red berries  and red Papermania sentiment.  You know there's almost too much white space here...

Phindy's Place Challenge #84 - anything goes

 This is the first Friday of the month, which means we have our Anything Goes Challenge at Phindy's Place - anything goes as long as you use a Phindy's Place image that is:).  I'm very behind with making Christmas cards so I've used the gorgeous In the Winter Field image, colouring with Copics and a bit of Glamour Dust.  I used my blender pen for the snow in the sky and the markings on the deer's back. I've loosely followed the Sketch Saturday sketch for my card, which has a Craftwork Cards sentiment and a Nestie frame, snowflakes are also a Spellbinders die.  I do hope you'll join us at Phindy's Place this week!
My card is also for the following challenges:
Sketch Saturday - sketch
Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
Hooked on Craft - winter wonderland
Gingerloft Challenges - Christmas and winter
Shopping Our Stash - digital image
Whimsical Designs - layers
Delightful Challenges - let it snow

Some More Less is More

Susan has one of the best C&S blogs out there, she is part of the One Layer Wednesday team.  To get going on her Christmas cards, she has resolved to try to make at least two cards, each different, with every stamp set she pulls out.  I have hardly any cards made so I thought this was a really good idea. So I got my Indigo Blu stamp set that had not yet been used and made a couple of one layer cards.  The small square one is my favourite, the bling and the ink match much better in real life, the light has been dreadful for taking photos lately.  Second card is silver embossed on pale blue cardstock.  Two more cards for the pile...
My cards are for:
Less is More - a bit of bling
Simon Says - anything goes
St Luke's Charity Cards - let it snow (will try to make another couple  for them)