My fave five of 2014

I have shared my favourite five CHRISTMAS cards for 2014,  and Debby has asked us to share our favourite cards for the whole of 2014 too. so here's mine...

HAN & LEIA...

Original post is HERE.
This was one of my first few card makes for 2014, and was made for my husband.
Love the image, love the papers, and I was happy with the brown foam/eyelet 'belt' that I made to compliment the image.
And hubby loved it :)



 SPIT HAPPENS...

Original post is HERE.
I chose this card because it uses my favourite Mo Manning stamp, Spit Happens.
I've coloured this image for both girls and boys, and for newborn cards as well as 1st birthday cards like this one. I also love how pretty the layout, papers and flowers work together on this card.



GRUMPS' BUDGIE...

Now, I couldn't do a favourite card list without including my favourite feathered dudes, the Birdbrains, could I?
I'd choose all of them for this list if I could, and my first Birdbrain card can be seen HERE, but I have chosen the following one for this list, as it still makes me giggle when I see the photo, and it was also the first Birdbrain that I coloured a little differently to personalise it especially for the recipient...

Original post is HERE.
I love how you can personalise the Birdbrains by just colouring them a little differently than the norm, and if you look through my BIRDBRAIN CARDS you will find some that show exactly what I mean.



 JUST ARRIVED...

Original post is HERE.
This card is special to me because it is the first card made for my new baby grandson, Richard Jr (RJ).



MY BATTY HERO...

Original post is HERE.
This card was made for my older grandson, Mikey.
He loves Batman, so this Tiddly Inks image was perfect for his card. I also love the cityscape die background that teams up with the image perfectly.

Well, that's it, my fave five for 2014. Here's to a happy and creative 2015!

Happy New Year everyone! xx

My fave five CHRISTMAS cards for 2014.

The ever so talented Debby Yates makes fun, colourful and well thought out cards, and she has shared her favourites with us again. These posts are always fun to read :)
HERE's the link to see Debby's favourite five Christmas cards for 2014.
She asked us to share ours too.
Here goes, oh, and if you like the Birdbrains, you'll like this post, lol...

Holly Jolly Christmas...

Original post is HERE.
This was made back in March and was my first Christmas card make for this year.
The image cracks me up! and I was really happy with the papers and bright colours I chose when I made this card.


Mistletoe Birdbrains...

Original post is HERE.
This was the first time that I made a diorama card, and I loved the end result!
It folds flat for posting, a great idea eh?


Let it snow... Somewhere else!...

Original post is HERE.
Hehehe, perfect for those peeps that don't like shovelling ;)



Christmas Gift Horse...

Original post is HERE.
*what? no Birdbrain?!* hehe.
Seriously though, I was really happy with this card. The colours, paper / mirror card combo, and fantastic Whimsy image.


It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Original post is HERE.
Ending with another Birdbrain, and I just LOVE this image! and I also love that it didn't need much else adding to make this simple yet fun Christmas card.

Hope you liked my fave five, and I hope you'll join in too :)

Christmas Tweets

Here's the christmas card I have made for my daughter and son-in-law this year...

I've used an image from the Christmas Tweets set by DigiStamp Boutique.
The snowflake border is from a Poppystamps Die (Frozen Flakes), and the paper is by Dovecraft (Merry Magic). The sentiment is computer generated.

I'm entering this card into the December customer competition at DigiStamp Boutique
and also at:
Papertake Weekly - last christmas card of 2014
Creative Card Crew - anything goes
Pennys Paper Crafty - anything goes
Creative Inspirations - christmas/new year
Addicted to CAS - family

I want to thank you for visiting me throughout 2014, and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and that 2015 is a happy and healthy year for you all.
Have fun, relax and enjoy! Cheers! :)

Jo xx

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

How are you today? My husband gave me an early pressie... his cold!  so I am feeling a little poorly at the moment, but it should pass in a few days (hopefully), the persistant cough is the most irritating part.
So, are you all ready for the big day?
Or are you like me and still have cards to make?
Well, if you do, then From The Heart Stamps may be able to help you out there, because today is Mid-Month reminder day, and we have a FANTASTIC image for December's Stamp Of The Month.

If you joined the SOTM challenge in November, you will have received Christmas Spirit Birdbrain via email. 

If you join in this month, you'll get next month's digi for free too.

If you don't have this month's SOTM, you can still play along by buying the image on it's own, or you can still get it for free if you spend $10 in the store and use the code HO-HO-HO

Told you it was fantastic didn't I?
Here's my card...

I've coloured my image using promarkers, and then stamped around the edges with a Bo Bunny holly leaf stamp from their 'Father Christmas' clearly stamp set.
The snowflakes are a Poppystamps Die (Frozen Flakes)
The sentiment is one of FOUR you get for FREE with this great image :)
So, a quick card, letting the image be the star of the show.

I'm entering this card at:
Incy Wincy Designs challenge - anything goes
Simon Monday Challenge - anything goes
Christmas Card Challenges - clean & simple
Sister Act card challenge - anything goes
That's Crafty - anything goes

There's still time for you to play, there's 2 more weeks to get your entry in, and remember if you do, you'll get January's SOTM emailed to you for free! ;)
Thanks for looking!

Inspiration Wednesday

It's time for a little mid-week inspiration by From The Heart Stamps.

This lovely image is Hamlet and Harriet Pigwit Christmas Mistletoe, coloured, as is usual for me, with Promarkers.
I've used papers by Dovecraft, Back to Basics, Christmas (vintage), and have used this week's sketch as a starting point.
The sentiment is computer generated.

I'm entering this card at:
Allsorts - Animal Magic
That Craft Place - Christmas
The Ribbon Girl - Anything goes
Stamp & Create - Anything goes - Christmas

You can find more inspiration, and enter the I {heart} sketches challenge by clicking HERE.
Please join us on Facebook and “Like” our page to read about the latest FTH news.
We'd also love it if you'd join our Facebook Group too, this group makes it easier for you to share pics of your FTH makes, we'd love to see them!

Christmas Gift Horse

Isn't this horse adorable? What a great image. It's from Whimsy Stamps (a Crissy's digi).
It's reduced at the moment because Whimsy have announced that they can't continue with digi stamps from 1st Jan 2015 because of the new VAT tax laws in the EU. So if you planned on buying any digi's from Whimsy, grab them now while you still can.

Here's the card recipe...

Image: Whimsy Stamps 'Christmas Gift Horse'. Coloured with promarkers.
Sentiment: DigiStamp Boutique 'Christmas Greetings set 3'
Paper: Jennifer Ellory 'Berry Merry'.
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities Decorative Elements 'Elegant Ovals', Marianne Creatables 'Mistletoe', & Dienamics 'By The Letter'.

I'm entering this card at:
Allsorts - Animal Magic
That Craft Place - Christmas
The Ribbon Girl - Anything goes
A Random Fan - Christmas
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes
   

FTH December Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on this month's From the Heart Stamps blog hop.

Our theme this time is "Christmas or Winter"

As you hop along, please remember to leave a comment on each blog.
One random commenter will be selected on each blog to win an image of choice from the FTH store.
And additionally, one commenter on the From the Heart Stamps blog will be selected to win a $15 gift voucher to the store!

If you have arrived here from Jessica, you are in the right place. If you haven't, why don’t you start at the From the Heart Stamps blog, so you don’t miss anything. The full hop list is there too.

Here is my card...

 I've used No Snow Birdbrain for my image today, and I've coloured it using promarkers.
The sentiment is one that you get for free with this image, and i've used a spellbinders die, the smallest from their Decorative Elements 'Elegant Ovals' set behind it.
I haven't used any designer paper, instead, opting to have a white embossed snowflake design using a cuttlebug folder.
I wrapped a couple of pieces of blue stitched-edge grosgrain ribbon at one corner to balance with the large snowflake embellishment (snowflake trio dies by CBS) at the other corner.

I'd like to enter this card at:
Papertake Weekly - anything goes
Fantastic Tuesday - anything goes (twist: embossing)
Crafty Creations - embossing
Sweet Stampin - let it snow
Totally Gorjuss - christmas animal
Stamp & Create - anything goes christmas


Now, please head over to Kathy's blog to see her fantastic card for this hop.

Thanks for hopping with us today.
The hop will end on Monday December 8th at 6am, EST (11am UK time).
Winners will be posted on the From the Heart Stamps Blog on Wednesday December 10th
Good luck, and happy hopping! xx

FTH sketch #89

A new week means a new I {heart}sketches challenge with From The Heart Stamps :)

Here's the sketch, and an optional inspirational photo too, should you wish to use it as well as the sketch and/or twist, which, this time, is to use a tag...

Join in the challenge, and EVERYONE who plays will receive a $1 discount code for the store, and if you are the challenge winner, you will receive a $5 discount code to the store! :)
Remember though, you must use an image by From The Heart Stamps to be eligible, and please include a pic of the sketch in your blog post too.

Here's my card...

Now, I did start off with the sketch in front of me, but for some reason I went off at a tangent and the background isn't like the one on the sketch. No matter, I have use the twist, which is to use a tag.

The image is Seven Christmas Birds. However, I trimmed away 5 of them as these 2 drew my eye with their ear muffs and scarf. Plus they fit nicely onto a tag ;)
I coloured using my promarkers and added some 'snow' with a white gel pen.
The tag itself is hand cut from paper (SU 'ski slope', it's retired now though) and red cardstock, then I set a gold eyelet at the top using my cropadile. The bow at the top is a scrap piece of ribbon.
I also used a different paper from that ski slope dsp as my background, and teamed it with some gold mirri card and a spotty piece which was found in my scraps tub.
I used the same gold mirri card to punch out my stars and to cut out 'merry' using a memory box die.
'XMAS' has also been die cut using By The Letter dies by Dienamics.

You can find more inspiration, and enter the I {heart} sketches challenge by clicking HERE.
Please join us on Facebook and “Like” our page to read about the latest FTH news.
We'd also love it if you'd join our Facebook Group too, this group makes it easier for you to share pics of your FTH makes, we'd love to see them!

Oh, and remember to join us on Friday for this month's blog hop!

I'd like to enter this card at:
Sister Act - anything goes
Pennys Paper Crafty - anything goes
Creative Inspirations - seasons greetings
Simon Wednesday Challenge - anything goes
Totally Gorjuss - christmas animal
Christmas Card Challenges - anything goes

Thank you for visiting today, hope you have a great week :) xx