Sparkle & Shine at Christmas!

 

Christmas is the ideal time to get out the sparkly card stock and use it in your cards

Although it is difficult to see in the photos, the pink and turquoise papers really catch the light and twinkle!

Animals in the Snow

 

I picked up the Hunkydory Pocket pad of 'Animals in the Snow' back in the summer - and now is the time to use it in my Christmas cards. 

It contains loads of lovely images of snowy animals include this cute little piggy!

Peace on Earth Christmas Cards

 

I used the large Festive Hunkydory Sentiment to make these cards - one in silver, the other gold

Teamed up with an elegant swirly background die, which I purchased from Craftability in Ipswich and a dove cut from white or gold scrap card. The dove die was a freebie from Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine (still going strong and with a great Gnome paper pack this month) back in 2015 and has been used every Christmas since!

More Large Xmas Sentiments

 

Some more Christmas Cards utilising the large Hunkydory Sentiments

These ones have used up some free background papers from a papercraft magazine (not sure which one!) that I have had for 2 or 3 years 

so, it was about time that they left the stash!

Sentiments - Going Large!

 

I bought the Hunkydory Big Book of Festive Centrepiece Sentiments on my last visit to Craftmania and it has proved very useful!

It is an ideal way to use up some of those busy patterned background papers that don't really match any toppers or stamps

Using a big bow salvaged from last years Christmas crackers, also distracts from the background too.

Most of these cards have a ribbon to draw the eye towards the sentiments

And the sprig of holly die that I bought 5 years ago at The Works features in several cards as well!

Hunkydory Festive Foiled Fan Cards - an Honest Appraisal

 

Now I love Hunkydory papercraft products, they make the most amazing range of items, mostly printed here in the UK. I have loads of their little books of images, pocket pads, card packs and mirri card.

So, when I went shopping at Craftmania recently, I picked up a pack of their festive fan card blanks as well as the Christmas bookmark toppers and foiled mat packs which co-ordinate together. The Magical Season Bookmark topper pack is great because it contains so many different types of images - religious, cute penguins, dogs in hats, gnomes etc!

But the fan card was a nightmare to fold - it is pre-scored, but I found it really hard to get the top and bottom fan shapes to protrude together! This card took several attempts ,including searching for online demos, before I could make it work. And I cannot make lie flat to get it in an envelope, it springs up again! I wouldn't want to send it in the post in case of damage.

So, I have given up attempting to make anymore of the fan cards and I am just using the bookmark toppers without them

I couldn't see them go to waste, so chopped out the foiled diamond shapes and and central panel to use as mats and backgrounds.

Vellum Flowers

 

Going a bit outside my comfort zone, I decided to try and make some flowers for my cards using some lilac coloured vellum from my stash.

The silver ink on vellum worked well, but the gold is not so noticeable.

Winnie The Pooh

 

Three Winnie the Pooh cards made up using some old papers and images from my stash

Ideal for the younger members of the family birthdays!

More Card Candy

 

Just a couple more birthday cards made with the stamp I posted about back in April with different coloured card candy dots and with a 5 x7 inch sized card.

Ciao Bella Seventies Junk Journal Book

 

On my last trip to Craftmania in May I bought the Afternoon Tea Junk Journal by Ciao Bella, which I have used quite a lot, so this time I bought another  - the Seventies.

It's full of cool, retro images with a strong music vibe - LP covers, cassettes, sheet music, acoustic guitars etc

Ideal to make some quirky, vintage style birthday cards

Next going to work on a scrapbook page with some old photos from that decade.

Another Trip to Craftmania, Norfolk.

 

As my daughter wanted another trip to Pleasurewood Hills Theme Park in Lowestoft last weekend, I had another chance to visit Craftmania, which is nearby in Gt Yarmouth. This time I decided to stock up on some Christmas goodies. I can highly recommend a visit if you are in the area, don't be put off that it is on an industrial estate, it just means the shop is soo much larger and the parking is free!

They have a really wide selection of Hunkydory, as well as lots of other makes. This time I took my list of Versa Fine Clair ink pads, so I could buy up some of the missing colours.

And this is the first card that I made using one of the Hunkydory Daisy Days Pocket pad images

Variety

 

I bought a pack of 40 cards & envelopes, thinking they were folded cards, but upon opening, discovered they were just single sheets, so I have had to be inventive to utilise them as background papers for birthday cards 

So I have used dogs & cats - plus the Temu toppers to make the most of the floral backgrounds

.........still got lots left to use up though!

Blast from the Past - HOTP

 

I've been gifted lots of unused papercraft books by the US company, Hot of The Press, including these colour themed Sarabooks pads

Made a couple of tag cards from the purple pack

and another tag card from the classic pad - might keep most of this one  aside for Christmas cards

These books were produced over 15 years ago, one is dated 1998! Rather than following their dated fancy fold  designs, I've used the backing papers for more a more current styled cards

Independent Shops ..... Craftability

 

I am lucky that nearby in Ipswich, Suffolk, there is a wonderful independent craft shop called Craftability

When I popped in there on Saturday, I picked up 2 sets of spellbinder nested dies for the bargain price of only £3.00 each! That was because they had been used at one of their workshops and were not on the original packaging 

I also went to the Ipswich branch of WH Smiths that was closing down and found these pots of Dovecraft flowers reduced from £1.50 to 25p each. They had the date of 2011 on the back, so had been sitting around in a stockroom somewhere for 15 years!

So that seemed a good excuse to sit in the craft room and marry the die cuts and flowers together in some birthday cards.

And use up a few old peel-offs too!