Paper Smooches DT Jan-16 release Blog Hop

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.

Kim and the DT are sharing fun and fabulous projects using the

new stamps and dies from the January 2016 release,
 

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

CRAFTY TEMPTATION

AND the chance to WIN
one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!

AWESOME!!!

Head on over to the
Paper Smooches Blog

and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Here are some links to their store if you want to check out other crafty delights they have to tempt and inspire:
 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . .

OK

I confess ...

I had great intentions to have our Christmas cards created and posted by December 1st

TODAY it's the December 11th

... and I've only made ONE!!!

Guess what I'll be doing this weekend?!?!

This card was surprisingly easy to make as it is an SVG cut file that I cut using my Cameo, which is still a very-new-to-me tool.  Don't know about you, but visiting the Silhouette Design Studio is kind of like Pinterest , bundles of wonderful designs that keep calling "look at me, look at me"

Here is the link to the file in the Silhouette Design Store

5x5 Christmas Candle Layer Card by Daniela Angelova

I enlarged the design to be 5 3/4" square because I prefer larger cards, originally I had planned on making 5x7" cards, so I stocked up on envelopes for them, now I'll be looking out for 6x6" ones if we decide to go with this square design, not having much luck locally so far, so I might have to make smaller cards yet, time will tell.

~~~~~~

ANOTHER Christmas craft that has been on my mind is ornaments,
specifically the dimensional ones made using circles.  I made THIS ONE two years ago using Core'dinations Black Magic cardstock, punching 20 x 1 1/2" circles using my Large Fiskars Round N Round Squeeze Punch, scored for the folds, distressed the edges, folds and some of the middle, then added a rhinestone to the middle of each circle before adhering together.

Why did I link this old project?
I recently found a cut file in the Silhouette Design Studio that has a set of 20 circles with the fold lines partially cut so that they're super easy to just cut, fold and assemble.  While I thoroughly enjoyed making my original ornament, it was a bit of a pain scoring each circle (using my embossing stylus & ruler, no scoreboard for me) so as soon as I saw the ornament file, I just had to get it, thinking it would be fun to put together some kits for our nieces & nephews and neighbourhood kids to make.  FYI - the circles in the cut file are 2" diameter.
Here is the link to the cut file - Faceted 3D Ornament by Nic Squirrel 

This is how far I have progressed.

Each ornament needs 20 circles, so I cut a set out of 4 sheets of cardstock and I'm going to assemble the mix of colours the same as in Nic's sample because they look so cheery.
As you can see, the final ornament will be much larger than my original hand punched version, I will be playing around with the sizes and different colour combos.

Hope you have enjoyed the start of my Crafty Christmas.
NOW it is time for you to head on over to
the PaperCrafter's Corner blog
and check out their
12 Days of Papercrafting Giveaways
and ENTER for your chance to WIN!!!
I'm sharing my projects here today for Day Five.
#12DaysOfPapercraftingGiveaways2015

Paper Smooches Design Team Blog Hop - December release

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.

Kim and the DT will be sharing fun and fabulous projects using the

new stamps and dies from the December release,
 

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

CRAFTY TEMPTATION

AND the chance to WIN
one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!

AWESOME!!!

Head on over to the
Paper Smooches Blog

and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Here are some links to their store if you want to check out other crafty delights they have to tempt and inspire:
 

#sharehandmadekindness - Week Four

Week Four of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE something and GIVE IT"

sharing any kind of handmade kindness with strangers

This week's challenge has only just been posted, so I haven't made or done anything yet.
I will add pics with details when I've created something or updates when I have done something.

=> I'm posting today because I want to help spread the word and

encourage you to take up the challenge to #sharehandmadekindness

*****

Not sure what the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge is all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

don't forget to

BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

seeing STARS

yes, you guessed it, there are lots of stars in my card today

I was inspired by Laura's November Monthly Meetup Challenge on the Lil' Inker Design Blog

  

EDITED
At long last, here is a photo of my card.  The phone & internet lines have been down all morning and the connection has only just been restored.  Sadly I missed the deadline for the link-up to this challenge but I'm happy to have Ben's birthday card ready in time.

There are five balloons, as the birthday boy is turning five.

The Balloon String Die has three strings, so I cut an extra one and trimmed off two strings to add to the other balloons in the background.
This is a colour combo that I look forward to using again :)

Lil' Inker Designs dies used to create this card include:

Balloon Dies

Balloon String Die

Mixed & Stitched Alphabet Die Set

Other ingredients:

star patterned paper - Kaisercraft Blast Off Paper Pad

textured cardstock - Kaisercraft - Moss, Papaya and Navy

#sharehandmadekindness - Week Three

Week Three of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE something WITH a child
and/or

GIVE something TO a child"

This week's challenge has only just been posted, so I haven't made anything yet.
I will add pics with details when I've created something.

=> I'm posting today because I want to help spread the word and

encourage you to take up the challenge to #sharehandmadekindness

*****

Not sure what the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge is all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

~~~ update 19th November ~~~

Here is the fun starry 5th birthday card I have created and entered in this week's challenge, perfect birthday timing for the kids theme.

This CAS card was LOTS of FUN to make because included several FIRSTS.

This card started as an A4 sheet of 280gsm cardstock, scored in half using my Martha Stewart Scoreboard (first time scoring with this AWESOME new-to-me tool).  I trimmed the folded card down so that it stands 7 1/2" tall and have half an inch of matted layers around the patterned paper panel.  The starry patterned paper is from the Kaisercraft Blast Off 6 1/2" paper pad.  The cardstock is Kaisercraft Weave Navy, Moss & Papaya and American Crafts White textured (from a bulk 60 sheet pack).

Check out those narrow borders on the layers
... it is SO COOL to see 1/16" borders and everything so straight isn't it?
Another FIRST was using my Perfect Layers Rulers.  Usually I measure and cut all my layers, using the grid on my craft mat to make sure everything stays square & straight.  I have to confess that it was pretty exciting to start with my patterned paper panel and just cut.  I adhered it to some white cardstock, lined up the 1/16" Perfect Layers ruler edge, cut with my craft knife, repeated three more times and - WOW - PERFECT 1/16" border all round ... another AWESOME FIRST.  All my layers were adhered with Helmar 450 Quick Dry - I find this liquid adhesive to be one of my two GO-TO glues.  Apart from making it easy to make any adjustments to align layers perfectly, it is great for attaching ribbons & embellishments, drying clear and fast, just like a hot glue gun without the hot.

The dies are all from Lil' Inker Designs and include the
Balloon Dies, Balloon String Die and Mixed & Stitched Alphabet Die Set.
The balloon strings got their FIRST workout and I think they're AWESOME too.  It's so much easier to anchor the balloons with these die cuts than it is to tie each one and knot together.  The die has 3 strings, so I cut another one and trimmed off two extra strings to make up the five I needed.  I adhered the balloons and alphas in place using Tombow Mono Multi Liquid Glue (my other GO-TO glue).  At first I applied a tiny amount to the back of each piece, allowing it to dry, then fiddled around with the placement ... the best thing about this is that the Tombow becomes repositionable when used this way, so once I adjusted the placement, I went back and applied some Tombow and put each piece in place as I went, so when it dried, they were all securely in place.  I popped the small balloons and the large green balloon using foam dots for extra dimension, with the balloon strings adhered to the base of each balloon.

QUESTION - do you think I should take my white gel pen and mark a little white line across the "knot" on each balloon to make it look like they're attached to the balloon strings?

I really enjoyed creating these easy matted layers and using this colour combo,
looking forward to trying my hand at matting different shapes real soon,
you never know, I might even get to put some card, tag or bookmark kits together for kids to make.  We have lots of kids in our street and I was thinking that they might come in handy for a too-hot or too-wet weather activity.

don't forget to
BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

#sharehandmadekindness - Week Two

Week Two of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE and GIVE something to someone who works in our community"

The challenge has only just been posted, so I haven't made anything yet.
I will think about who to make a card for and will add pics with details when it's done
=> I'm posting today because I want to help spread the word and

encourage you to take up the challenge to #sharehandmadekindness

Not sure what it's all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

don't forget to
BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

#sharehandmadekindness - Week One

Week One of the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge

has been posted HERE on the SUPER KIND Jennifer McGuire's blog.

THIS week we have been challenged to

"MAKE and GIVE something to a friend or family"

Here are the cards that I created and mailed out today.

photos to be inserted soon

It feels wonderful to create special cards for special people and to

#sharehandmadekindness

Not sure what it's all about?

Click on the image below to learn more.

don't forget to
BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

I'm joining the "Share Handmade Kindness" Challenge

Have you heard the latest?

The amazing Jennifer McGuire has launched the most wonderful challenge for us all to

transform our

JOY of CREATING

in to the

KINDNESS of GIVING

during the month of November.

#sharehandmadekindness

Here is the link to learn all about it

Jennifer McGuire Share Handmade Kindness

There will be a new challenge announced each week (Mondays)

and I am looking forward to seeing how Jennifer prompts us to reach out and

SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS.

Jennifer has a giveaway offered as part of the launch of this event on her blog
"Welcome to the Share Handmade Kindness (and Giveaway)"
ANOTHER piece of exciting news is that Jennifer has collaborated with Hero Arts to create two beautiful stamps to helps us share handmade kindness, with 25% of the profits going to the Kind Campaign, so it's a win-win for everyone!!!

I am joining the challenge and hope you will too.

BE CREATIVE
and
SHARE HANDMADE KINDNESS

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 30

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 30

Sadly today is the last day of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared some FABULOUS sneak peeks and EXCITING news on her blog today!!!

The Daily Marker - Day 30 - Some Special News

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post

The Daily Marker Day 1

this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventures

don't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3

Paper Smooches Design Team Blog Hop

It's Pep Rally Week on the Paper Smooches Blog.

Kim and the DT will be sharing fun and fabulous projects using the

two new stamps and ten new dies from the November release,
available from 8pm Pacific Time 31st October.

CREATIVE INSPIRATION

CRAFTY TEMPTATION

AND the chance to WIN
one of FOUR $25 Paper Smooches gift certificates too!!!

AWESOME!!!

Head on over to the
Paper Smooches Blog

and get hopping now,
GOOD LUCK :)

Here are some links to their store if you want to check out other crafty delights they have to tempt and inspire:
 

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 29

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 29

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared some DELIGHTFUL tags and cards today as Special Guest STAR for the Winnie & Walter October release.  There is also a GIVEAWAY, so head on over NOW, be INSPIRED and have the chance to WIN :)

The Daily Marker - Day 29 - Winnie & Walter

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post

The Daily Marker Day 1

this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventures

don't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 28

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 28

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared some CLEVER colouring and GIVEAWAY on her blog today,
so head on over NOW, be INSPIRED and have the chance to WIN :)

The Daily Marker - Day 28 - Giveaway and Polka Dots

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post

The Daily Marker Day 1

this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventures
don't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 27

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 27

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared a delightful card and fabulous colouring on her blog today, along with a giveaway, so head on over, BE INSPIRED and have the chance to WIN too :)

The Daily Marker - Day 27 Blue Mountains & Giveaway

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post
The Daily Marker Day 1
this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventuresdon't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 26

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 26

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared some CUTE stamps, pretty watercolouring and a GIVEAWAY on her blog today,
so head on over NOW, be INSPIRED and have the chance to WIN :)

The Daily Marker - Day 26 - Giveaway - Watercoloring

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post
The Daily Marker Day 1
this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventures
don't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 25

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 25

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared some GORGEOUS colouring on her blog today,
her shades of grey are really beautiful.

The Daily Marker - Day 25 - Shades of Grey

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post
The Daily Marker Day 1
this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventures
don't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3

30 Day Colouring Challenge - Day 24

This month I am going to try to improve my stamping and colouring skills.

I will be playing along with

Kathy Racoosin's
30 Day Coloring Challenge
on her blog The Daily Marker

Each day Kathy will be sharing different colouring techniques, products and projects.

During the challenge, we are all encouraged to colour something every day.

FULL details and links are listed at the end of this post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 24

photo of today's colouring efforts to be inserted soon

Kathy has shared some pretty Copic colouring on her blog today :)

The Daily Marker - Day 24

DON'T FORGET TO ADD
       SOME COLOUR TO YOUR DAY :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here are some links that will help you if you want to join the colouring fun:

Kathy's Blog - The Daily Marker

Kathy's Blog Post with all the details about
The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge

Kathy's DAY ONE Blog Post

The Daily Marker Day 1

this is the one you link your projects to if you want to share your colouring adventures
don't forget to include the following hashtag
 #thedailymarker30day3