Christmas Cross Stitch

I have been unable to focus on doing a cross stitch design for some time, mainly due to the fact that my current projects are massive. I needed something small to kick start my mojo and I found the perfect little kit just in time for Christmas. I was really drawn to the little buttons and the gold aida in the kit.



7 hours later (an hour each night for the past week) I have a sweet little cross stitch that I just need to iron and frame and I will have some Christmas décor.



Close up- I love those buttons!



Linking up with Show and Tell.

Black Tie Wedding Card

I always love weddings, and I am thrilled to be a bridesmaid this weekend for my sister's wedding. I knew I wanted to make her a card, and when I saw the Dynamic Duos challenge this week I thought it would be a perfect theme!

 

Black Tie Week is a perfect time for a wedding card- I was inspired by a card Barbara had in her gallery and made this card:

 

 

I used some black satin ribbon I had lying around and paired it with two wedding stamps. I stamped the word art in Black and the sentiment in Slate, as well as matting the decorative piece on Slate cardstock. A couple of silver jewels added some extra bling to the card.

 

Supplies used:

Close To My Heart: Black ink, Slate ink, Slate cardstock, Silver Sparkles.

Stampin' Up: Love and Laughter stamp set, Wedding Words roller stamp, Mini Glue Dots.

Miscellaneous: Black Satin Ribbon.

Happy Birthday Mum!

We have celebrated my mum's birthday today, and of course a card needed to be made.

I looked online for inspiration, and am linking up with the following challenges.

Just Add Ink #191- Just Add A Sketch

CASE Study #166

 

 

And Use It Tuesday- use anything sticky from your stash!

 

The sketch is so pretty, and goes well for a feminine birthday card. I pulled out some Jillibean Soup journaling sprouts that just happened to have a scalloped edge and a subtle doodle border, as well as a baroque-style sticker and pearl dots that are four years old. Somehow, my stash never seems to get smaller though!

 

The centre sticker and the background paper reminded me of the blue centre of the CASE study pinwheel, so that was what I decided to work around. I also found this adorable yellow pin that I wanted to use as another element of the CASE study challenge that really stood out in the picture. I recreated the banner as well, since I loved that touch on the original.

 

I flipped the sketch upside down in order to use the pin and banner as my "bow" flourish on the card.

 

Here is the finished card:

 

 

Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother- here's to another fabulous year!

 

Supplies used:

Close To My Heart: For Always Assortment.

Craft Creations: Adhesive Pearls.

Creative Memories: Hummingbird Paper Pack, Earthy PP Stickers, Cloud Cardstock.

Jillibean Soup: Spotted Owl Soup Journalling Sprouts.

Kaisercraft: Blae and Ivy PP.

Stampin' Up: Soft Suede ink, Soft Suede cardstock, Teeny Tiny Sentiments Stamp Set, Bashful Blue Ribbon.

 

Off To School!

Tomorrow we celebrate the birthday of a boy who is turning five and off to school! I wanted to create a school themed birthday card for him.

I always look at blog challenges for inspiration these days, so I am linking up with:

Use It Tuesday: Stick it- time to use up your sticky stuff!! We are talking stickers, tape, anything with adhesive!!

The Memory Nest: Crafty Creations #5.

And Freshly Made Sketches:

My hoarded school stickers came in handy for this one. I have had the school kit since 2008 when I started my husband's childhood album.



I used the alphabet stickers for two of the bold stripes, and the background paper is from the same kit. Triple matted to really emphasise the colours since no stamping was used on this card and I wanted it to still be interesting. I also used a chipboard "5" sticker that I have had for at least three years.

*sigh* I just realised that the patterned paper is upside down. I hope he still likes it!

Thanks for stopping by. It is a long weekend here so I am hoping to get lots of craft time in.

Supplies used:
Basic Grey: Cupcake Chipboard Die Cut Stickers.
Bazzil: Breaker Bay Smooth cardstock, Sour Lemon cardstock.
Creative Memories: Primary School Kit, Custom Cutting System.

Preparing For Christmas

How on earth is it November already? I am feeling rather slack as I still haven't finished Adam's baby album from July. But at least I feel like I am one step ahead of Christmas this year.

As part of my Pinterest Resolutions, I vowed to get ready for Christmas in November. I thought I would share this wonderful guide from The Complete Guide To Imperfect Homemaking. Kelly is an amazing blogger and I wanted to share my spin on her helpful checklist.

First on the list is a deep clean- which is a completely separate item on my Pinterest Resolutions and will be getting its own post.

Getting a Christmas photo taken has always been on my list- the first year was a breeze but now with two boisterous boys this year could be interesting!



I love decorating my house and so the next item on my list of things to do will be to create some Christmas décor. As we have Lucas' birthday a week before Christmas I tend to decorate the house on the weekend before Christmas so that Lucas doesn't have Christmas items mixing with his birthday party decorations. I have a beautiful cross-stitch to finish, so this gives me some time! We have an advent calendar that goes up for the boys to check their task each day. We will also be hanging up Christmas lights this year, but that is one of hubby's jobs.



When the house is looking good, then I think I need to look good too! I have booked in at Surreal Hair and Beauty for a cut and colour- some much needed me time and a break from the Christmas rush will be lovely.

I have yet to decide what the boys will be wearing this year, but I won't be buying a new outfit for everyone as the list suggests since we have plenty of dressy clothes. However, the boys do need new socks and undies, which I will be grabbing in the Farmers sale this week to avoid the malls in December.

Setting the date for parties is a big one here as we have Lucas' birthday as well as two other family birthdays in December. We also have social events each year, and my husband kindly volunteered our house for some of the festivities. All of our Sundays in December are already booked up and so making sure my diary is up-to-date for each week has been really helpful.



As well as having enough birthday food, we need to have some freezer meals and the pantry stocked. I usually do a slow cooker meal each Friday, so I will be doubling this and putting half in my Tupperware to freeze. I also have discovered that I can convert my Flybuys points into supermarket gift cards, so that takes care of the Christmas stock up for all my pantry items.

I have organised a Secret Santa for everyone in my immediate family and have already bought presents for each of the nieces and nephews. I am keeping track of what I have purchased using a simple document in Microsoft Word. I have to make a few of the gifts for in-laws but that will also be covered in a separate post.

Finally, I need to plan the activities for our Advent Calendar this year. I do a December Daily album each year, and it is fun coming up with items to do. We always include things like making cookies, seeing Christmas lights and watching a Christmas movie, but I would love any suggestions of things you do as a family at Christmas. I bought some adorable Red Mini Pegs to use on the calendar this year, now I just need ideas!



I hope this helps you to get motivated and start planning some of your Christmas tasks. I would love to hear what you have planned for your Christmas, as well as any tips for getting organised.

Floral Sympathy card

Words are never enough when someone loses a family member. Making a card is one way I can let people know I care, but I always feel so helpless in these situations.

This is a card for a wonderful woman in my life who recently lost her mother.



I am joining in with a couple of challenges for this card. the first one is CASE Study, where the inspiration this week came from this photo.

I really liked the blue, white and yellow combo in the background and it instantly reminded me of some paper I had. I have used the paper for the background and pulled out the colours to use on my flowers. I stamped the image in grey and then coloured it with my markers.

I am also joining in with An Inky Situation.

 

Suplies used:

Close To My Heart: Slate Ink, White Daisy card base.

Creative Memories: Seasons Paper Pack, Turquoise Cardstock.

Stampin' Up: Apothecary Art stamp set, Teeny Tiny Sentiments stamp set, Tempting Turquoise marker, So Saffron marker, Certainly Celery marker, Lacy brocade embossing folder, Labels Collection Framelits.