Recycling for Christmas

Hello Everyone.  I would think you are all ready for the Man in the Red Suit arriving to-morrow.   Curtains are drawn and the tree and lamps are lit and it looks like being a lovely Christmas.   Outside its horrible with high winds and rain showers, but inside we are warm and cosy.   This was the table centre piece I made for Annie & Ronnie as they are kindly hosting this years family Christmas.   The base was from a used Prawn ring that I washed and saved earlier on this month and the Log branch and twigs were from my walks after the last storm.  I used my glue gun to make everything secure, and added some of my pine cones I have in a Christmas Basket.  I bought the little robins from a floristry shop.  There is also a little christmas tree at the back ,so it looks nice from all sides.  Now that Annie has it, I thought you would like to see it too.          Hugs Rita xxxx.    

Merry Christmas to All of You.

Merry Christmas to One and All

 Merry Christmas to All of You and a Happy and Healthy New Year

 

Hello my Friends in Blogland.   Well, the Christmas preparations will soon be behind us and life can return to normal.  I do love this time of the year, but it can be so tiring too.  I have spend the most part of to-day in the kitchen doing a big bake of goodies for Christmas.   I like to give our neighbours a treat at this time too as none of them bake.
My card to-day is for All of you lovely people who make this crafting world so great.   I have made so many crafty friends through Blogging and met quite a few of them too, and had such fun.
I am so excited to tell you I won the Countryview Crafts challenge for November  with my altered book,    I have been asked to be their Guest Designer for the January challenge too, how exciting is that. Great News.
So all that is left to say is Enjoy the Festive Season and Thank-You once again for being part of my blog life.    Hugs Rita xxxx

O Come All Ye Faithful

Hello Everyone.  I really meant to schedule this post last night as we had a busy day with 3 hospital appointments today.  It has been a very long day too, so I'm off to bed early in the hope I have a good night's sleep.
This was a card I made for another crafty friend that does not blog.  The backing paper was a free one from my lovely friend Astrid, and she always gives me such great inspiration.  I covered a piece of grunge board with hessian and used distress stain to add some festive colours, before adding the image.  I have no idea the make of the Christmas language stamp as it is very old.  I ran it through the crackle embossing folder before ageing it a little with Vintage Photo.    Hope you are all safe from the terrible stormy weather that's doing its rounds right now.   Take Care.   Hugs Rita xxxx

Christmas Greetings

Hello My Fellow Bloggers.  Hopefully things are less hectic for you by now.  Its so hard to imagine that a week today will be Christmas Day..  I still have a few Money wallets to make and my Baking too, but that will be done on Sunday.   My card today I made for my dear friend Jan and she got her scan results back yesterday and the cancer has not spread to any other organs, and has shrunk enough to let her get the operation in mid-January to remove the tumour.  So for her she can now celebrate Christmas with her husband and family.  I'm so happy to share this good news with you.  
The card is another 8 X 8 and matted with a Craftwork Cards backing paper.  The stamp I have had a good few years now and was from Imagination. Added my Bow and sentiment and I love this card. Very simple ,but it does it for me.  Hugs Rita xxxxx  

\i'm Entering into the following Challenge

Imagination-Crafts Challenge:  Merry Christmas

 

In the Bleak Mid-Winter

Hello Everyone.  Hopefully you are all getting into the spirit of all things Christmas.  I still have a few things to finish, but most of them will have to wait till the weekend at least.  The weather is so unpredictable at the moment too,  its a lovely fresh morning here today, with a bit of sunshine.
Well now, on to my post for today.   Taking on board a conversation I had with Annie last week , she said her favourite Carol was" In the Bleak Midwinter".   So that prompted me to do a framed creation instead of a card for her home at Christmas.   I started out with no idea of what I was doing and then I remembered my blogging friend  Val- Jael  telling me a while back that she went twigging,  and I then started to collect some twigs on my morning walk for the papers.. My frame was one that I had in my stash of recycling bits and bobs.  I coated it first with white emulsion and then gave it a coat of gesso, before using distress ink and pewter distress stain.  The beauitiful image is from Nicecrane Designs and is called Bonnie Annee.  I then painted my twigs before adding some diamond chips to get a really nice icy effect, my holly die cuts were also treated to the diamond chips.  The tiny pine cones were collected on a nature walk at Pencaitland many years ago.  To finish it off, I used a paper napkin adhered to the stand that I designed myself.  I thought it would be better than a wall hanging.  I really enjoyed getting messy and inky whilst creating this for my daughter.   I hope you have a good week and just remember to take time for yourselves as well.  Hugs Rita xxxxx

I'm entering this into the following Challenges

Our Creative Corner :   A Very Vintage Christmas

Countryview Challenges:  Bah Humbug

Anything but a Card : Anything you Dream Up

I Believe in Father Christmas......

Hello Everyone.  Hope you are all safe from the rain and the winds.  Its been an awful day here. 
I've been catching up on things that needed doing in the house and now the tree and the decorations are all in place, I feeling as if I'm getting there.  Most of my shopping is done and only waiting on a few things I ordered online.  This is the A4 card I made for Molly and Hamish this year.  Usually I did one for each of them, but I love this Image from Debbie Moore and it was heavily decoupaged too. They both loved it even though they are older now.   Just doing some family bits and pieces now and maybe by next weekend I will be finished. I still have my baking to do as well.   Enjoy your Week-End.   Hugs Rita xxx

60th Birthday Card

Good Morning folks.  I hope you are all well and keeping free of the cold. poor Annie has a terrible time of it with this awful cold. She is a bit better now.  However, a very quick post from me to-day as we are taking OH to see the orthopaedic consultant to-day.  Annie is driving us there as its outside Glasgow.
My card and bag was for a 60th birthday.  So I started of with an 8 x 8 card and used mostly papers and elements from Craftwork Cards correspondence set. A real pleasure to work with too.  I made the roses and dipped them in the melt pot  ( Annies of course ) the leaves on the card are Fanciful flourish and the ones on the bag are dancing leaves.  I made a triple organza bow and put a finishing touch on the card.  I'll pay a visit to all your blogs when we get back from the hospital, could be a long day.    Hugs to All of You.   Rita xxxx

 

 Bag Front

 

 Bag Back

Christmas Craft Fair

Hello everyone on this miserable Sunday afternoon.  Its been raining all day and very dismal and dark.
 We went to Edinburgh yesterday with Anne and Ronnie to give some moral support to Carolyn our younger daughter who was doing her first ever craft fair.  The Craft Fair had a lovely atmosphere, but the day itself was not busy and not a lot of sales.  She did so much work to produce beautiful Cushions, Washbags and Tea-Cosy's,  Hamish and Molly did Handbag charms and Jewellery, luckily they sold a few of those.
There were seemingly three craft fairs on in the area on the same day, and this may be the reason it was quiet.  It was a long day for us as we traveled from West coast to East coast.  At night we went to the theatre where Hamish was playing his first lead part as Peter Pan and it was a superb show and a lovely ending to the day.  We got home very late last night and I think we are all resting up to-day.   Here are a few pictures of Carolyn's table and Molly complete with her Santa hat. Hopefully now I will get back into my stride again ,or maybe not ........ Hugs Rita xxxx

Bauble Card

Here I am again Folks.  It's nearly a week since I last posted and this is the first chance I've had to show a card I made last week.   We had the Decorators in Saturday and Sunday and with an 8.30am start on both days, so I had to remove as much as I possible could beforehand.   Mostly pictures etc as it was the hall and stairs that were being done, and the 10 doors were being varnished, so it was no mean feat.  Now I have it just about back to a semblance of order again and have been in my craft room to-day for the first time in a week.
My card today was pre-folded card and that saves time for Christmas cards.  The Ex-large Bauble template was one I saved from last year and I decorated it with a vellum and white card poinsettia.   The ribbon is from Mei-flower and ties like a dream.  S till have my cards for Saturday's Craft Fair to finish with inserts and that is me finished at least for the fair. I'm having my lovely daughter Annie to join us for dinner tonight ,so better get a move on.   Thank You all again for the lovely comments left on my altered book project.
  I do appreciate them all.
Take Care of Yourselves.    Hugs Rita xxxx

Vintage Christmas

Hello Everyone.  I dearly hope you are All happy and healthy and keeping free from the cold.  Really quite a dark day here and the lights have been on all day.   I got a lovely surprise this morning when my friend Jan phoned to ask if I fancied going out.  I was thrilled to bits to hear her voice saying those words.  As most of you know, she has been through high doses of chemotherapy and since the final one, she has been so very tired.  Girl Power indeed.
To-day's offering is a gift for my younger daughter Carolyn.  She is doing her first Craft Fair on the 7th December, so this was what I made for a centre-piece of her stand. . She can also use it for her Christmas table afterwards.
I had great fun creating this piece.  My dear friend Astrid had done one, and gave me guidelines on folding the pages.  I have a load of very aged books and that is how this project began.
Once I had distressed the pages I matted some some lovely card to the back and front covers and using Vintage Photo, I distressed everything again and edged it with a Krylon pen.  Now the fun part. I used Sizzix Lampost to start with and of course I had to rust it.  Then I realized  I need the red velvet ribbon to hold the book at the angle I wanted it to be.  The Numbers and Noel were also TimHoltz sizzix dies and now I could see where this was taking me.  So Christmas trees and lots of reindeers had to be given a place too.  Can you spot Rudolph ??     The front of my creation was Pine cones, leaves and berries with a gold safety candle in place to give the effect of a bright time of year, especially for children.   I hope you like my Christmas Project.   Thanks for your lovely comments.   Hugs Rita xxxx

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I'm entering it in to the following Challenges
SimonSays Wednesday challenge :  Anything Goes
Craft Room Challenge  : Vintage Christmas
Country View Challenges. : Letters

Christmas Tea-Light Card and Tag

Hello Everyone.  Well, I've had a busy weekemd, but mostly the dreaded household chores and using the pushing thing, but I feel fine now knowing its all done and put away.   So today I spent lots of time in my craft room, mostly finishing off some of my pieces.   I first made these cards over 2 years ago as  birthday gifts and I needed to do some for this year as Christmas gifts, so please forgive me if I'm treading old ground with these.
The paper pad that I used to decorate the box and the card was from Craft-Work cards  'Christmas Post' and its so lovely to work with too.  After preparing everything needed, I distressed all the edges with Vintage Photo before adding my papers etc.   I used a piece of Acetate on my box front so the  six Yankee candles could be seen, the scent from these candles is wonderful, and they are called Christmas Memories.   My poinsettia on the front is the two smallest SB die and I glittered them up a bit to suit the gold ribbon.   I hope you like what I've done, the only drawback they do take time and lots of card and paper, but so worth it when finished I think anyway.   Hopefully you are all keeping clear of this awful cold virus that's doing its rounds at the moment.  I'm off to visit some of my favourite blogs now.    Thank-you again for the lovely comments left on my blog, and everyone is appreciated...    Hugs Rita xxxxx

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Special Card

Hello Folks.  Hope you are all having a decent kind of a day.   I'm chasing my tail a bit now as Christmas is looming faster & faster.   However, My card today was one that I sent to a very special lady, just to let her know I was thinking about her.  Of course it was our very own talented blogger 'Redanne'.  I know she received it along with many others and she appreciated each and every one.  She is not out of the woods yet ,but slowly she is getting there.  Like most of you I miss her stunning cards and tags and with a bit of luck we will see her return some day soon I hope.  Got lots of inserts to do to-day to put in the cards for Carolyn's Christmas Craft Fair on the 7th December..I've done lots of boxes too.  So I hope you get time to relax over the weekend.  Hugs Rita xxx 

Graduation Card and Wallet

Good Afternoon my Friends.  I hope you are all keeping warm today as its really frosty and cold here on the coast.  But the sun is shining and if you wrap up well its a lovely day for a walk.  I walk every morning for the daily papers and now its part of my routine.   I hope all our friends in Illianois are coping with all the damage left from the storm. It looked really devastating on the news. Thinking of You All.
My card to-day was another commision for a graduation card for a daughter. This is my 4th this month.
 I went for ivory and gold as my theme for this one, and decoupaged the image that I have had since I started cardmaking, but its not showing up very well.  I used SB dies Enchanted Labels 28 and the corners were from the SB Lace Doilly accents. The wallet was made again from Ivory hammered card and the flap was in gold, the corners were cut using Marianne Anja dies.  Tryng hard to finish off some projects that I started months ago, thinking that Christmas was months away, now its upon us and I'm starting to panic.
  Take Care.  Hugs Rita xxxx

Birthday Card

Hello to everyone. I really hope you have all had a nice relaxing day.  Weather here has not been to bad.  Just been over to visit our son Alisdair, as it is his 50th birthday tomorrow and they are going to Edinburgh to Celebrate.  We had a nice couple of hours with him and the family as my Grandaughter came and picked us up.  So I thought you might like to see his card.
Its an 8X8 cream hammered card matted with a copper paper. I used a patterned paper from my Finnabair pad and using a cog stencil and vintage photo distress ink I created a background.  All the other elements are Tim Holtz.  Male cards are outwith my comfort zone, but I'm pleased with the way this one turned out.
I'm off to book my seat for the evening to watch Strictly Come Dancing and of course my knitting will be growing as well.   Hope you all have a lovely week-end what ever your doing.   Hugs Rita xxxx

Mini Star Book Tutorial

Good Morning Folks.  Here is my take on how I did this star. as many of you asked how it was done.   Sorry if its too many pictures.  Have a Good Day.   Rita xx 

Mini Star Book Tutorial

I have to tell you that this post is picture heavy as I’ve tried my best to give you a step by step tutorial.  Sorry its in stages as I went along and it is not distressed or embellished in any way.  I’ll explain as I go along showing what I've done.  Step by Step in pictures and hopefully it becomes clearer as I go along.   I started by cutting Five 3" x 3" squares and scored them all at 1.1/2"  

Then I scored them again from corner to corner on one side only and creased this fold. 

 Hope you are still with me

 When you push in the scored folds it should look like this one below

Just from another angle

All five little squares ...

 Waiting to be put together....

 Glue on the square as shown until all five have been added

 At this point I threaded a large eyed needle and put both ends down through the bead and tied a not . leaving the other ends and the bead free to add to the star. 

Take one of the ends of ribbon and stick on the corner with a smaller piece of card to cover  then the other side to match. 

Now if you slide the bead towards the star it keeps it open.

 To close it in to a little book, open it up again using the bead and turn it around till all the squares com together again and slide the bead down to close.

 This is what it should look like closed.  Hope this all make sense after such a long winded tutorial.

Now you see why I needed so many pictures. 

Hope you enjoy putting your own mark on these.  Have Fun.   Hugs Rita xxx

Christmas Star

  Hello again my lovely friends in blogland.   Its been a busy old week here, but hey ho tomorrow is Friday again.   I'm busy doing some Christmassy things at present, but you'll need to be patient a little while longer.  I have a few card orders to complete.
Months ago I made this star and took it to the Tim Holtz workshop to show the girls.  I loved making them and they are so simple to make.  This is a Christmas one. and because I put beads on it it was a bit more difficult to close. I hope you like it and if I get time I'll do a 'How To' , because as I said before I'm not very good at tutorials.  All you need is scrap card cut into 3" x 3" squares, 5 pieces make up the star. a  small piece of narrow ribbon and a bead. I'm sure that children would love making these.  Time is not something I have much of at the moment, but at least I do get some crafting done in between other things.   So not complaining too much.   Warming Hugs to you All.   Rita xxxxx

Snowflake Card

Hello Folks.  Thought I would show you a Christmas card that will be my sample for the neighbours cards this year.  I was looking for something that I could do quickly and easily, so this is the outcome of my card.  Sorry the diamond sparkle is not showing up on the snowflake.   I need about six. So not too bad.   Then I must think about my family cards after I finish Birthday and Anniversary cards.  I dearly wish I could buy more time as I don't get as much done as I'd like to in a day.  Its been very cold here to-day ,but beautiful sunshine and bright blue skies.   Take Care Everyone.   Hugs Rita xxxx

Gift Card ( Tutorial )

Hello my dear blogging friends.  Thank you all so much for all your Good Wishes, but really I think I'm out of the woods now and feel much more like my old self again.  I need to keep well as looking after OH is nearly a full time job. He goes to see the Orthepaedic consultant on December the 10th and the following week he goes for a Pre-Op. So he has not had too long a wait.
A few people asked how I made my Gift Card and so I have put together a 'How To' on what I did.  I'm pretty sure it was a you tube tutorial as I had only marked down the measurements etc.  I used an A4 sheet of card measured it out to 11 inches by 4 1/4, and then scored the two opposite corners and folded it over. You then scored the centre which is the V shaped part and fold it over, really that is all there is too it.  You can do the same again for your inserts, just make it a tad smaller and cut to size.  Could be used for Birthdays or Weddings too.  So easy, but if my instructions are not very clear, please feel free to e-mail me and I'll try to help further.  I'd much rather be sitting with you and making it, tutorials are not my strong point.  Here are a few pictures to guide you and that may help with the folds etc.   Enjoy your Sunday.  Its absolutely Glorious here.   Hugs Rita xxxx

Probably if you were to make it 4 inches you could get 2 cards.  Just a thought.