Christmas Cards in October

I hate seeing Christmas stuff in the shops so early but it is a reminder for me to crack on with cards if I want to have them ready in time for Christmas.  Each year I leave it too late and end up rushing them and not enjoying the process.  Today I thoroughly enjoyed making my 'Lords-a -Leaping' frog card and spending time colouring and fussy cutting him out after stamping.

I made the goose card yesterday.  You can't see the Merry Christmas very well in the picture but it is heat embossed in silver and looks good in natural daylight.

Here is a close up of the feet and eggs enhanced by a little bit of strategically placed glitter.

Cas Card Three

This is the final CAS (Clean and Simple) card I will be showing for now.  It may be clean but it was far from simple!  The bird cage die was difficult to cut out using my die cutting machine and took many attempts of finding a card stock that would cut crisply so that all the detail could be popped out.

Here is a close up.  I left the middle section of the cage in as I didn't want to spoil another one by tearing it!

Cards by Daylight

 

Following on from yesterdays post, here is the card in daylight.  Not very good daylight as the weather is overcast and miserable.

 

Here is a close up of the detail.  I painted some thin gold lines over the stamped ones to add a subtle but interesting touch.

 A close up of the bright red gems that I added.

Feeling spurred on from what I considered a good card I created another one using pink ink and a butterfly stamp.  I am on a roll now!

Here is a close up where you can see that I added gold sequins for added sparkle.

Cards by Candlelight

Not quite candlelight but I have been working under a lamplight!  It gets dark quickly now and daylight hours are short.  I made this card at my newly tidied craft space.  Night fell before I could photograph it so I am putting up this picture now and then may put up another one when I am able to take a picture in natural daylight.

It is such a pleasure for me to work in such a tidy space.  I know some people prefer to work in chaos  but I really don't!  Making this type of card is meditative for me.  I get totally immersed in creating the embellishments, coming up with a pleasing arrangement and putting it all together. 

A Bake Break

I was in the middle of the major tidy up when I received a newsletter from Anne Butera. Her newsletters are always a joy to receive as she makes spreading joy her business!  Her newsletters inform of the projects she has been doing, the things that bring her joy and links to other people's inspiring/interesting blog posts, recipes, book recommendations and more!

One of the links today was for a recipe for 5 ingredient beer bread.  I stopped what I was doing, made up the mixture in 5 minutes and then put it to bake for 45 minutes in the oven.  I resumed tidying up and then rewarded myself with some beer bread, chunks of cheddar cheese and a crisp Cox's apple for lunch.  The bread was delicious but more like a corn bread consistency than a farmhouse loaf.  I enjoyed it just the same especially as it was so quick and easy to do.  Would make a nice accompaniment to any dish that requires a bit of substance to go with it especially if you are a little bored of quinoa and chia seeds!

If you would like me to forward you Anne's latest newsletter via email, where she puts a link to the beer bread and another one too - Honey Butter Beer Bread - then please let me know in the comments section below and I will send you the email.

Craft Room Clear Out Continued

This pile is just some of the things that were covering my desk and workspace.  I have been trying to find homes for all this randomness.

My desk now looks a lot more usable.  However I still have many piles and boxes to be sorted.  I'll get there one day.  I will.

More Sorting and Destashing

I freed up two more containers today by getting rid of some yarn and incomplete crochet and knitting projects.

There was over 30 orange and yellow crochet squares that were going to be my son's cot blanket.  I never did get to stitch them together - he is 20 now!!!  In addition to this I had started about four crochet blankets, a couple of scarves and other random projects that were incomplete.

Feeling pleased at having the will to give up over 20 years of projects ( if I haven't finished them as of now I never will) I trundled off to the town centre to hand them into a charity shop.  I explained that as well as various yarn I had a number of incomplete projects in the bags.  Three of the shops weren't interested.  I felt quite embarrassed as they told me they wouldn't accept unfinished items.  They said however they would take the yarn. I told them that I would only give the yarn to a shop that accepted the whole bundle!  I felt quite stroppy and nearly suggested that they finish up the projects rather than huddle around the till gossiping together!  Don't you think that a lot of charities seem so uncharitable nowadays?

Eventually I found a shop that was happy to take my donation.  I hope they are true to their word and will see that it is put to good use and that it doesn't end up in land fill. They did tell me that they have a lady that comes to the shop who buys up unfinished items and wool.  I hope they were not just humouring me.

Unburdened of these woolly items (and a little sad to let them go) I now have an accessible space to use for my papercrafting tools.