Ready for Christmas

Hello, Crafters.

Yesterday morning I was driving along a fairly quiet surburban road, near where I live, and I was faced with a woman driving a white four by four heading straight for me. 

I tooted and swerved to get out of her way! 

The sound of me tooting brought her to her senses, and she also swerved. 

Needless to say I felt really shaken, and pulled over to phone hubby. 

After chatting for a few minutes, I decided I was OK to carry on to church. 

When I arrived, I realised I wasn't doing as well as I thought I was, so I phoned Vicki to come out to see me in the car park.

We spent several minutes chatting, and then she took me to a quiet area in the church to get me a cup of very sweet tea. 

Church is always a good place to be, but especially good when you've just had the fright of your life!

There wasn't any Sunday School for the children yesterday, as they were included in our service. 

It was delightful to see them on the stage singing, and then helping the preacher by holding up very large pictures he was using to explain the story of Christmas. 

It was just what I needed!


In the evening our son LD came round for dinner with his delightful girlfriend Sasha. 

Conversation flowed, and time went far too quickly! In what seemed to be next to no time, they had to make tracks home!

I made today's card yesterday afternoon but I wasn't feeling very inspired, until I came to thinking about a "skirt" for the Christmas tree!

I wanted to create a Christmas tree and decorate it would lots of multi-coloured baubles. 

As you can see that idea didn't work, so I changed to Red Glimmer Paper Stars. 


I started my card with a base of Whisper White Cardstock (CS), then a layer of Red Glimmer Paper, and a top layer of Whisper White CS. 

I dry embossed the top layer using the Oh My Stars Embossing Folder. 

As I showed on yesterday's video, I adhered the Whisper White layers to the Red Glimmer layers using Tombow, and then laid them under my self-healing mat while I continued working on the other parts.

Tombow is great for adhering to the Glimmer Paper but it does need some pressure and some time to get a good grip!

I took another piece of Whisper White CS, and stamped the Christmas tree from the Ready for Christmas Stamp Set using Wild Wasabi Ink.

I used the Christmas tree die from the Christmas Staircase Thinlits Dies to cut the tree out, and I also used the star die to die cut nine Red Glimmer stars. 

For the star on top of the tree, I used Gold Glimmer Paper and cut one small and one medium star from the Starlight Thinlits Dies. 

As I was preparing all these pieces I was thinking about the base of the tree, and how was I going to finish it off!

In my mind it was an indoor tree - real or artificial? It didn't matter! - so I needed a tub to put the tree in!

I decided to go through my file of dies to see what I could use, and as usual there were several options! 

There were a few possibilities, but as soon as I saw the Up and Away Thinlits Dies, I knew I had to use the "funnel" die upside down.

I feel it takes my tree from ordinary to something a bit special!

I finished the front of the card with the sentiment from the Star of Light Stamp Set, stamped in Wild Wasabi, and I topped the tree with the larger Gold Glimmer star. 

I die cut one more small and one more medium stars, and adhered them at the bottom of the Whisper White layer inside the card!

Another of my highs yesterday was that my two-hour video was very well received by my YouTube subscribers. 

I'll certainly consider doing it again, the only real change I'd make is that I'd plan doing it from the beginning rather than tumbling into the idea like I did this time!

Footnote: when I arrived back home yesterday, after church, hubby downloaded the film from my dash cam to view the near-miss I'd had on the way to church earlier!

The film showed what happened, very clearly, including the number plate on the other car!

If all cars were fitted with dash cams, it wouldn't take the police long to work out what happened in the horrific six-vehicle smash in the early hours of yesterday morning, in Birmingham, which claimed six lives!  

They're not very expensive, and I think like SatNav, it's only a question of time before everyone has one! If it's too late to put on your Christmas wishlist, treat yourself!

That's it from me today. Until tomorrow, happy crafting!

JanB.

PS Stampin' Up! have put more items in the Clearance Rack! Some of the retiring products have been reduced by 70%! Do pop over to my shop www.janbcards.stampinup.net to grab a bargain or two. But don't delay, once they've gone, they've gone for good! ☺ 

More Year of Cheer Washi Tape!

Hello, Crafters.

I thrilled to say my new printer arrived yesterday, albeit at 9.30 pm!

We started tracking our parcel yesterday afternoon, and the courier had 105 deliveries in front of ours!

How hard these couriers work to make sure we all receive our parcels before Christmas - I hope they are well rewarded by their employers!

Yesterday I was playing with The Year of Cheer Washi Tape, and I have to confess I used nearly the whole roll of this mottled copper tape to achieve this card.

My original design still didn't work after my third attempt, so I gave up and moved onto today's card! 

I started with a card base of Very Vanilla Cardstock (CS).

The next layer was a piece of Copper Foil, which I anchored onto my Grid Paper using some removable tape.

Leaving the first half an inch free, I adhered a strip of washi tape at every alternate half inch line on the grid paper. 

The alternative way this effect could be achieved is to use any piece of cardstock for the base and start with a strip of the plain copper washi tape that comes in the Year of Cheer Washi Tape Pack. 

Then alternate with strips of the mottled design.

I preferred to go for the easy option because with this alternative method means you have to line one strip of tape alongside the previous strip perfectly - no margin for error!

I adhered the completed panel to the front of my card, and die cut a Stitched Shape Square, and a larger size Sitched Shape Square in Very Vanilla CS.

I adhered the two together using Tombow.

Using Very Vanilla CS and the Starlight Thinlits Dies, I die cut three of the smallest fancy stars, and five each of the plain medium and small sized stars. 

I used the first star full size, and the second one I cut off the pointed bits above the last oval. 

On the last star I cut off everything and left a Maltese Cross-like shape in the centre with one oval in-between each part of the coss.

Sorry, but I can't think of another way to descibe it!

I painted each star with my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen, and adhered all three together using Dimensionals. 

Then I adhered it onto the diamond-shaped squares by using Tombow on the bottom part of the star. 

I heat embosed the sentiment , which is from the Star of Light Stamp Set, and adhered it to the card front using Dimensionals.

I painted the medium and small stars I'd die cut earlier, with my Clear Wink of Stella Pen, and layered one of each size together with a dimensional. 

I stacked two Mini Dimensionals together and used them to adhere the star to the card base so it came above the sentiment.

To decorate the inside of the card, I rescued a panel that matches the front panel, and adhered it on the right-had side leaving the same gap around three edges that I'd left around the panel on the front of the card.

I adhered five of the remaining stamps over this panel. 

For the final touch on my card, I added a large Basic Pearl to the main star on the front of my card.

In a few minutes I'm off to have my nails done, and this afternoon, I'm off to Church for their special service for people who have been bereaved.

That's it from me today. I hope you have a great weekend. Until tomorrow - and my special project - happy crafting.

JanB.   

Five Christmas Bells Video

Hello, Crafters.

As promised, I uploaded my video this morning which shows how I made the Five Bells card I shared here last Saturday.

When I orignally showed my card, I hadn't decorated the inside of it, but I'd remedied that by the time I'd made my video. 

I kept it simple by just adding four of the holly die cuts that I had adhered onto the outside of the card.

Except they weren't die cuts; I actually stamped them, which I would have done on the video but I used pre-prepared die cuts to save time.

As I knew this would be quite a long video, I had all the bells and holly ready beforehand, and then demonstrated how I did them, one of each, on camera. 

Another advantage of having everything ready beforehand was that I was able to demonstrate the bleach on a different colour from the one I needed for my project.

I chose to use Real Red - I didn't think I could chose anything more different! LOL! 

One of the reasons I love this technique is because you just never know what colour result you're going to get!

I think the only change I made to my card from the card I shared on Saturday is that I used Jute Twine instead of our Copper Trim. 

As much as I prefer the Copper Trim, I thought the Jute was more appropriate. 

Today I'm looking forward to a call from my UPS man with my latest Stampin' Up! delivery! 

Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.

Five Seasonal Bells

Hello, Crafters.

Every now and again there are occasions - like today - when my modesty goes straight out of the window! 

Please forgive me, but I'm so pleased how today's card has turned out! 

I'm planning this for my Wednesday video, although it'll take some forward planning.

I started my card by heat embossing four - the plan being three for the front and one for the inside of the card - of the bells from the Seasonal Bells Stamp Set using White Embossing Powder on Elegant Eggplant Cardstock (CS). 

Then I used normal household bleach and painted inside the bell. 

While I was waiting for the bleach to work its magic, I stamped another four using Silver Embossing Powder on Basic Grey CS, and then painted them with bleach. 

By this time my plan had changed to five bells as seen in my finished card, and I knew I wanted a darker outline for the bells. 

Seeing the developing results on the first two sets of bells, I chose Smokey Slate CS with Copper Embossing Powder, and created five bells. 

I should have done six, so I had one for the inside of the card!

I punched the bells out using the Bell Punch, but I didn't like the outside of cardstock showing, so I fussy cut around the edge of the heat embossing. 
 
I inked the Sheet Music Background Stamp with Sahara Sand Ink, and stamped off once. 

Then I took a layer of Whisper White CS and laid it on top of the stamp, making sure I positioned it straight. 

I took a scrap of paper, placed it over the cardstock, and gently rubbed all over. 

Using Tombow, I adhered this layer onto a layer of Copper Foil, and then onto a Whisper White CS card base. 

I should have waited before adhering to the card base so I could have adhered the top of the 1/4" Copper Trim at the back of the Copper Foil! DOH! 

Never mind, I successfully anchored the top of the trim down using Glue Dots.

I punched holes in the top of each bell using my 1/8" Handheld Punch, and threaded the Copper Trim through all the bells.

I adhered the bells to the card front using Dimensionals. 

At this stage I decided I needed a pop of colour and chose the holly and berries stamp from the Carols of Christmas Stamp Set. 

I painted them using Garden Green and Real Red Marker Pens, making a total of nine altogether. 

I die cut them using the Card Front Builder Thinlits Dies. 

I heat embossed the sentiment from the Star of Light Stamp Set, onto a piece of Very Vanilla CS, and adhered it to a layer of Copper Foil. 

This was then adhered to the card front using Tombow. 

Finally I added the holly using Glue Dots on the five bells, and Tombow in each of the four corners.

By the time I reached this stage, it was getting quite late and I was beginning to feel quite tired...............but I still hadn't decorated inside my card! 

This is just the second occasion since I started decorating the insides of my cards on 01.01.17 that I haven't done it! 

I adhered a layer of Whisper White CS onto a layer of Copper Foil, and adhered that inside my card, and left it!
 
At least this way I can go back to my card and finish it off properly at any time, rather than forcing myself to do something and run the risk of spoiling my card! 

The penultimate photograph shows the results of the other two bells I bleached! 

Originally I photographed the "pink" bell on a sheet of Blushing Bride CS, and the "yellow" bell on a sheet of So Saffron CS.

The idea was that I thought it would give you a good idea of the true colours! 

However, being the lousy photographer I am, while the Blushing Bride didn't look too bad, the So Saffron looked more like Daffodil Delight see the last photograph! 


I don't have any immediate plans for thes other bells, but as the saying goes, watch this space! 

I hope you have a great weekend. Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.

Cookie Cutter Christmas Eskimo

Hello, Crafters.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning, and because our cleaning lady was in and hubby would rather not be around at the same time, he decided to come down with me!

After my flu jab and blood tests had been done, we decided to leave the car where we had parked it, and walk into town. 

The weather was gorgeous, and it was just a ten minute walk. 

After a very leisurely meander around the shops getting the few bits and pieces we needed, I surprised hubby with lunch at our favourite Singaporian restaurant! 

I hadn't planned it, it just happened! 

We had an excellent lunch, followed by a slow stroll back to the car and then the short drive back home. 

Most of the time, I enjoy the anticipation of looking forward to events we've planned, but yesterday's spontaneity was superb!

Yesterday afternoon I started planning the projects for this weekend's classes. 
 
For the 3D project, we'll be decorating one of the Acetate Card Boxes on page 13 of the Christmas Catalogue, and then we'll make two cards to co-ordinate with the box. 

One of the cards will be based on today's Eskimo card. 

At the moment I have various ideas buzzing around in my head, and until they settle down I won't be sure exactly what we will be doing!

Today's card is based on an idea I have for a Christmas decoration, but I'm saving that for another day. 

I started with a top layer of Whisper White Cardstock (CS) which I dry embossed using theHolly Embossing Folder.

I stamped two images of the Eskimo from the Cookie Cutter Christmas Stamp Set, and coloured him/her (?) in using Soft Sky and Bermuda Bay Marker Pens.

I painted all the fur trims using my Clear Wink of Stella Glitter Pen. 

Using the Cookie Cutter Builder Punch,  I punched out both images. 

I adhered the embossed Whisper White CS layer to a layer of Silver Foil, and then adhered this to a Whisper White card base. 

I punched a Whisper White CS circle using the 2.25" Circle Punch, and adhered it in the centre, on the back of a Silver Foil Snowflake. 

I'm still undecided whether it is worth doing this, so I'd appreciate any feedback! 

The reasons I did this are: a). to provide an even background for the Eskimo to rest on and to adhere to, b). to give the image a clearer background i.e. just the snowflake, instead of the snowflake and the dry embossing that can be seen through the snowflake cut outs, c). to give the snowflake an easy background to adhere to the embossed layer.

The sentiment is from the Star of Light Stamp Set, and has been stamped onto a piece of Whisper White CS using Smokey Slate Ink. 
 
I layered it onto a piece of silver foil. 

After I'd adhered everything together, I finished off by adding a small silver bow, adhering it with a Glue Dot, at the top of the snowflake. 

Inside the card I adhered a layer of Silver Foil and a top layer of Whisper White CS. 

I adhered the second Eskimo in the bottom right hand corner.

Today I'll be working on another card for the weekend's classes and designing how we'll be decorating the Acetate Boxes! 

Until tomorrow, happy crafting. 

JanB.

The Light of Heaven

Hello, Crafters.

This morning I uploaded my video which I've called Christmas Stepper Card.

It was inspired by a card I received from Angela Oxer, who's a lady who comes to my classes. Many thanks, Angela, it's reallly beautiful!

You can't see the real beauty of this card in photographs but in real life, the stepper adds so much dimension. 

I could have done with some larger reindeer but the next size Stampin' Up! have on offer at the moment is far too large - or at least I think so. 

If you make this card and use the reindeer in Santa's Sleigh Stamp Set, please share it with me by email janb@janbcards.com or on my FB page www.facebook.com/JanBCards. Many thanks. ☺

Photograph 6: this is my first take on this stepper card and as you can see, if I'd try to make a video of this, it would have been about two hours long. 

The product I used for this card is the Outdoor Adventure Framelits.

I die cut two mountain images and cut the second one down to fit across the width of the card. 

I also retrieved the negative strips that had created gaps between the mountains and adhered them back in place using Tombow.

I used Wild Wasabi cardstock to die cut the trees - I cut about eight strips of them and have some left over, ready for another project!

The dies for the mountains and the trees, don't have a base cutting edge, so you can have the mountains as tall as suits your project. 

Equally, you can have as much "grass" below the trees that you'd like. It was this card that made me decide to make the little support for the inside of my card that presents it from doing the "splits" when it's sitting on the mantelpiece!
Photograph 7: this is Angela's card. She didn't use Stampin' Up! products which made my card a bigger challenge to put together!

Unfortunately, one of the reindeer went walkabouts in my office somewhere but I think the card still looks stunning. 

Did you see my previous video - Matispa Gift Box? 

I delivered the boxes to Sharon yesterday, and took the Gorgeous Grunge and First Sight designed boxes with me as well, so she could see the design options! 

Well, what do I know? LOL! 

In the video, I said Sharon wouldn't like the First Sight design as she'd dismiss it as "too flowery"! 

She love's all three designs and started with an order of four boxes in each of the three designs! 

That'll keep me busy for a little while! 

I wish you all a happy Sunday, and until tomorrow, happy crafting!.

JanB.

Peaceful Pines

Hello, Crafters.

This is the last weekend before Christmas - are you ready? I'm pleased to say I am, sort of!! 

I received a Christmas card from one of the ladies who comes to my classes, and just fell in love with it!

I contacted Angela, and asked if she minded if I copied it, and also made a video, too. Unfortunately, Angela hasn't used Stampin' Up! products, so it has been quite a challenge! 

The first card I made, I allowed myself to get somewhat carried away with it and finished up with a card, whilst I liked it, there was no way I was going to be able to make it into a video! It was too complicated and would have taken way, way too long!

I'll share a photograph of it on Sunday, along with a photograph of Angela's card. 

I started my second card, and that was a lot more video-friendly. Unfortunately, by this time, it was getting really quite late, and I hadn't made a card for today - so I went for the easy option!
 
Today's card is based on the card I'm working on for the video but, as I don't want to give too much away about Sunday's video, I won't say any more!

To make today's card I started with a Night of Navy Cardstock (CS) base, with a layer of Shimmery White CS. I used the spotted design from the Floral Boutique Designer Series Paper (DSP) for the top layer.

I took two strips of Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer paper and tore the top edge of each piece, and  adhered them, using Tombow, one above the other to look like snow banks.

For the trees, I chose Wild Wasabi CS and stamped the largest tree from the Peaceful Pines Stamp Set, three times in Wild Wasabi Ink. I die cut them using the co-ordinating die in the Perfect Pines Framelits Dies. 

Using my now-retired two way glue pen, I painted glue along the stamped lines on the trees and dipped them into my box of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. 

I adhered the trees onto the card front using Dimensionals but I added Glue Dots to the Dimensionals that would be going onto the Glimmer Paper. 

The stars are more die cuts I found in my Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper Ziplock bag! I adhered them on top of each other using Dimensionals - plus a Glue Dot on the top one - and adhered then at the top of the card.



I used some regular Scotch Tape to cover the three dots that are on the sentiment stamp from the Star of Light Stamp Set. 

Using Night of Navy Ink, I inked the stamp, removed the tape and stamped the image on to a piece of Shimmery White CS. 

Using the smallest oval straight cut die from the Layering Ovals Framelits Dies, I die cut the sentiment. I put wet glue around the outside of the die cut and dipped it in the box of Dazzling Diamonds Glitter. 

The final touch was to adhere the sentiment to the snow banks using Dimensionals with Glue Dots!

Tomorrow, I shall be out most of the day until the afternoon, so I really don't have much time to make a video, upload it, and edit it ready for 7 am Sunday morning! LOL! 

I hope you have a great weekend. Until tomorrow, happy crafting.

JanB.