Deep Ocean Challenges DT Card

Hellooooo everyone, hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, we had a smashing one.

Sorry I've been MIA recently, there has been so much going on at home with different members of the family as well as a new puppy & things have been hectic & stressful at times lol.....mmm maybe I should consider Yoga lol.

Anyway I totally forgot about my DT card yesterday for Deep Ocean Challenges & this one is soooooooo darn easy.....in fact its that easy you dont even have to make anything!!!

Your Favourite Card/Project Of 2017

......yep, just upload your favourit card/project to Deep Ocean Challenges & make a post on your blog....easy peasy!!

Now I have a few favourites, although in all honesty not that many, I think I've had an off year to be honest lol.

However as most fo you know boys/men cards are my least favourite but this one I did very early in the year & I even used copics....for the first time in a very VERY long time. In fact I sold my original set & had to buying new ones again lol.

I love this image, Mo Manning does the best boy images dont you think. Ok she does a LOT of darn good images.

I was actually happy with this boy card, happy with the colouring (which is rare lol) yes it wasnt perfect by a long long way but not bad, happy with colours, papers, layout..........this really is a rarity lol!!

So has its not often I do male cards I decided this would be my favourite for 2017 & in 2018 I will make more male cards lol.

For the original post which also has the colours listed click here.

Will be back on New Years Eve peeps, til then take care & thanks for stopping by.

Lotsa hugs Vicky xxx

Swedish House Crafts DT

Hello everyone I'm here today with another Christmas Card but this card has a gift inside. I have not made these for a few years and thought this year I would make a few.

There is also another gift at the bottom of this post for you.

The dies I have used here are Roxstamps Xmas Reindeer Ornament. I used it on my last project as hanging tags. This time I have cut the ornament part away to leave just the Reindeer.......its like you get 2 looks for the price of 1........bargain!!!

Underneath the Reindeer is an envelope which is a Gummiapan die. This die also comes with a little card that goes inside, however, I have just used the envelope for decoration purposes. The little heart on it is a die from Magnolia Doohickey Kit Volume 17 of which Suha still has 1 or 2 left.

The Poinsettias I made myself using ivory foamiran. The top layer I also added green colour to just the centre then added some berries from my stash. Underneath the flowers you can see a few die cut leaves and under that is a Magnolia Jute die which was cut out in Kraft.

This is the inside of the card, sorry the left side is blurred I have no idea how that happened....I promise I was not drunk when taking photo's lol.

Here is a better view and not blurred in any way lol. The image just like the one on the front of the card is from Maja Design Joyous Winterdays Emphera sheet. I didn't want too much going on inside as I didn't want the emphasis taken form the front or the little gift lol.

So on the right hand side I added little Ambi Pur Scented Tealight Candles in Christmas Season Scent. Over the top is acetate to keep them in and I lined all around the edge with pearls.

I added a pocket with a strip underneath saying "Merry Christmas" which was cut from the bottom of one of the 12 x 12 sheets of Maja Design paper. I love that nothing goes to waste on Maja Design.

Inside the pocket I added a tag to write a personal message onto.

All around the edges are also decorated. You can see the Jute die better in this photo.

All the paper is Maja Design Joyous Winterdays 12 x 12 Collection and I machine stitched all around the edge. The birdhouse is another die from Magnolia Doohickey Kit Volume 17. I also added some organza trim along the edge and a doily cut from a die in my stash.

So as you know Suha is giving 5% discount on items that have been used on our projects. So if you would like to buy any of the items used on this candle card then here is the code you need to use.

YLQ27T83ME0Y6 valid throughout December.

Thanks for stopping by, big hugs to everyone.

Vicky xxx

Products used:

Maja Design Joyous Winterdays 12x12 Collection

Magnolia Doohickey Club Kit Volume 17

Roxstamps Reindeer Xmas Ornament

Gummiapan Little Card & Envelope

Magnolia Aspen Holidays Jute die

Crafters Companion Heat Resistant Acetate

Lovely Hanglar or Sweet Magnolia

Hello everyone I'm running late as life is so so hectic at the moment with lots & lots going on & then the christmas period adding to it as well as a new puppy we picked up 3 weeks ago........pics at the end of this post of him.

Now I have been up nearly all night, shall not go into detail why but I have already wrote this post & as I got to the end pressed something....no idea what & wiped the whole lot.....so this one is a rush by thing now lol. Apparently if you have that red warning at the top, unless you click dismiss it wont save gggrrrrr!!!!!!!

Ok so its time for a new challenge over at Lovely Hanglar or Sweet Magnolia & this month, which is the last one of the year, is super easy...

ANYTHING GOES

........see told ya.

Mine is a rush card & although I'm not happy with it, I dont have time to make another unfortunately.

Papers are Maja Design Joyous Winterdays & this sheet is 'Christmas Time', you can get the whole 12x12 collection here at Swedish House Crafts for a fabulous price....I love this collection so much I brought 2 lol.

You get fantastic service & uber fast delivery.....even I get it fast as a DT member which is just fantastic!!! Most of the times the next day or 2 at the most....amazing!!!

The sentiment is from the Autumn Stamp collection which is now at Swedish House Crafts, called Christmas Party 2017, you can buy them all here or as a full collection here.

I have used 'Holiday Wishes Kit' & cut it out using a Roxstamp Cross Stitched Nesting die also form Swedish House Crafts.

The image is 'Gingerbread Tilda' & I coloured her with distress ink refills & then went over everything with Wink Of Stella to give it sparkle.....though my camera on my phone has not picked it up.

The stars are form another stamp from the same collection 'Starlight Kit'.

I cut the image out with a die from MFT I think it is......

The sleigh is from Magnolia Doohickey Club Kit Volume 17 & Suha still has 1 or 2 left over at Swedish House Crafts.

I cut it out twice, once in white cardstock & again in Kraft, added string & gesso. The heart is also from the same collection.

As always I have decorated inside to compliment the front.

Lace, chipboard & bulldog clip are from my stash & everything else is from Swedish House Crafts.

Dont forget you can join in with the challenge as many times as you like.....every day if you have the time ;-)

We cannot wait to see your makes & dont forget to pop over to my teamies blogs to see their amazing creations.

Ok now for some cuteness. This is Sir George.....or George for short lol....he looks like a Sir dont you think lol.

He is 11 weeks old now if my maths is correct.....brain does not work very well on little sleep lol. I also go a wee bit hyper & silly with the less sleep I get so my family are on for a fun day lol.

He is lying in my craft room here next to Poppy, my other furry baby.

The red you can see is form his Christmas Bow Tie.

Here is another in the living room with him on Poppy's dog bed...........though Poppy barely used it except for night time where she sleeps in our bedroom lol. George claims it during the day though. Both pics were taken Saturday Night.

Wee thank you lovelies for stopping by & staying to the end.

Hope your week ahead is good.

Take care

Huge hugs to all

Vicky xxxx

A Gift For Christmas from SHC

Hello everyone are you ready for the big jolly fella in red? No I'm not either but I'm still getting excited even though I have 101 things to do lol.

Before I tell you what I've made I just want to point out some new Roxstamps dies I've used, I've used two new ones and one of them is in the picture above. They are like Baubles I think with stars in them, Stars Xmas Tree Ornaments they are called and I've added them as a tag kinda thing.....I love them!!

There is a gift at the end of the post! and also a link to the tutorial on how to make these boxes.

I thought I would make my 2 grandchildren a little something for Christmas Eve while they are sitting with mum anddad after their tea watching Christmas movies. They love things I make, my granddaughter is always pinching the latest card I've made and she sits them all on her window sill in her bedroom with pride.........makes me sooooo happy.

I had to use these Santa Heads as they are just perfect, I coloured them with Copics and added Flowersoft to his beard to make it fluffy. I coloured them both with red hats as little children say Santa only comes in red lol. I also added a spring underneath the head so it wobbles every time it's touched, the kids will love that part lol.

I have made little boxes to hold a bar of chocolate....the chocolate in there is not what they are getting.....if I get it now I will end up eating it lol. 

There is also the other new Roxstamps die which is the Reindeer Xmas Tree Ornament hanging on the side. I cut out two.  One in co-ordinating paper from Vintage Frost and the other in white card stock and slightly off-set them. The hearts in the centre have magnets underneath to keep the box closed. The hearts were made with a die from a DooHickey Collection. 

On the back of both boxes I added a sentiment from the latest Magnolia collection. The tag die is also Magnolia. 

In the latest Magnolia Doohickey Collection Volume 17 (which is still available here if you want to buy it). They are excellent value for money, not only do you get a LOT of dies that you can use in various ways, you also get a Magazine with tutorials in it and inspiration.

Now if I take inspiration from someone I also say who, it's just the right thing to do. My inspiration came from the magazine, the super talented Yulis (I so want to colour like her when I grow up) I did a tutorial on how to do this scene effect like I've done on the chocolate boxes.

After I made them I thought well not everyone will have the die used on these chocolate boxes. However I then remembered I had brought a die from Swedish House Crafts about a month ago and still not used it.........yes I'm bowing my head in shame! So here is another way you can achieve this effect, I made a matching Christmas card for my granddaughter.

The photo above shows what you need. 

• Paper for the card cut to size and in the decided layout and machine sewn (optional). Houses cut from white card stock using the House Dies
• Tiny Tree dies or I have used three leaf dies from Volume 17
• Two pieces of white card stock the same width as your card
• Vellum (mine is the same width as my card and the same depth as the centre paper that will lie across the middle-ish of my card)
• Foam Pads to add dimension under the middle layer that the scene is going on. (I use cardboard packaging as its firmer)

                                                          

Using one of your pieces of white cardstock cut waves into it to act like a snow. I cut two like this, you want one thinner than the other. The deeper one goes onto your paper so must be the same width as your paper/card. Glue or tape down down the bottom edge to the paper. Leave the top wavy edge free of glue.

For the houses I have used Gummiapan House dies, they are awesome, you get 5 little houses that are all individual so you can use all 5 or just use 3....depending on the scene you are creating and the size you are doing. Once you have cut your houses out arrange them as you want them, sliding the bottom of each house just under the wavy card stock you glued down first. This is why we keep the top edge free from glue, its nicer if you don't see the bottom edges of the houses.

Next take your leaves if that is what you are using and arrange them in between the houses, cut some down to make them look different heights. If you have tiny tree dies then use them but leaf dies will do the job just as well I think. Sliding the bottom of the leaf just under the top edge of the card stock. Once you are happy with the layout glue them all into position.

I then took some Enamel Accents which I've had forever and placed dots all over to act like snow is falling, this is optional. You could also use a pearl pen or even a white gel pen.

Using the thinner wavy card stock glue that onto the vellum, so that the card stock is facing up. Once this has dried and your snow drops on the paper have dried attach your vellum to the scene. I have cut my vellum to the exact size of the centre panel that I have made my scene on.

To glue it down I used tiny drops of glue from my glue gun, I did the top two corners first just using a tiny bit and then I did the bottom. Make sure the card stock you have glued on is on the top facing up. The bottom is easier as it has the card stock on the other side and this will hide any glue marks.

To help hide glue in the top two corners I then attached pearl stars which go with the scene anyway, you could even use star die cuts.

I have attached a string of pearls as I did on the chocolate boxes but this is optional. I also added more white dots on top of the vellum once it was in place as it shows up more on the vellum....so the snowfall looks as though some is close and some is in the distance. 

Here it is all finished. If I'm being totally honest I do prefer the look from the Gummiapan House dies as they stand out more and I love how you can arrange them yourself, its not fixed. I am really happy with these and I'm usually very VERY critical of my own work (I think a lot of us are lol).

I used one of the super new Tildas from the Autumn Stamp Club but these are now available in Suha's store. I used "Frozen Tilda" and stamped her with versamark watermark ink and then heat embossed with white embossing powder. I then coloured her in with Copics.....I'm still really rusty with these lol. 

I also used a sentiment from the same latest Magnolia collection and then cut it out using a Gummiapan banner die. The poinsettia I made myself using white foamiran and I added leaves using Magnolia dies. Lace is from my stash. The berries and pomegranate apples are from Swedish House Crafts.

Now if you would like to make one of these chocolate boxes then you will find a tutorial over on my blog here which I did earlier in the year. I usually add a pocket to the inside but I've kept the inside simple as they are for a 4 year old boy and a nearly 6 year old girl.

If you would like to use the same products and have a go at making one of these scenes yourself, (which are fun, I loved making these) then our lovely, generous boss Suha is giving you 5% off all the items I have used which are all linked down below so its easier for you to find. I used a LOT of items so that's quite a bundle you get a discount on ;-)

The code you need to get 5% off is O5CDMF7Y7828  it is valid until the end of December.

Thank you for staying to the end as this one was a long post lol. Hope you all have a good weekend, take care.

Lotsa hugs Vicky xxx

Links To Products Used

Maja Design Joyous Winterdays - Complete 12x12 Collection

Maja Design Vintage Frost 6x6 pad

Gummiapan Stamp Santa's Head large

Gummiapan Dies Santa's Head large

Gummiapan Dies Houses

Gummiapan Dies Stitched Banners Thinner

Roxstamps Stars Xmas Tree Ornament dies
Roxstamps Reindeer Xmas Tree Ornament die
Magnolia Christmas Party 'Holiday Wishes Kit'
Magnolia Christmas Party Starlight Wishes
Magnolia Christmas Party Frozen Tilda stamp
Magnolia Sprawling Fern dies
Magnolia Butterfly Dreams Dream Tag die
Magnolia Snowflake & Mistletoe die
12pcs Mixed Berries Cream Pearl
Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
Black Memento Ink Pad
Crafter's Companion Vellum Paper
Magnolia Doohickey Club Kits

Merry Christmas from Swedish House Crafts

Hi everyone I'm here today with another Christmas Card. I actually made this the same time as I made the last one........yes its been made for a few weeks lol. If you look at my last card you will even see the Christmas Tree from the cut-out on this card as I made this one first lol.

I used a Gummiapan stamp to stamp Merry Christmas & then cut it out using Gummiapan Stitched Banners to cut it out.

I wanted the trees as main focus for my card but wanted more of a pop, so decided to cut a Christmas Tree right in the centre of my top layer of paper & then have a bold colour paper underneath.

I cut another tree out using Kraft card & to give it some interest I added buttons & paint for a snow effect. You can get the matching stamp for this tree which is fabulous & has many possibilities.

Have you also seen the little birdies up in the tree's.....you need birdies in a tree & these dies are fabulous for using up those tiny scraps of paper.

To give it a wintery feel I added a Reindeer, Pine Cone, a glistening berry & a few other things to give interest & texture from my stash, including some rusty bells just hanging out under the seam binding.

Everything also got a dollop of white gesso to give a snowy wintery effect.........I love a winter scene.

Papers I've used are Maja Design Joyous Winterdays & I machine stitched all around them. The top layer was lifted using foam pads........if however you have no foam pads I keep all my cardboard form any crafty parcels & cut it into strips & keep them in a plastic box on top of one of my cupboards.....you can use the card to give dimension instead of using foam pads.....recycling is good.

Now I have a little something for you, if you would like to order any of these products I have used on my card then our lovely Boss is giving you 5% off these products.....all the links to the products are below. This is the code you need to enter to get your 5% discount SA46TUP30DKW, this code is valid until the end of December. Merry Christmas from SHC.

Hope I have given you a bit of inspiration, I really enjoyed making this card.

Link to my blog

Take care, hugs Vicky xxx

Products used.........

Maja Design Joyous Winterdays 6x6 pad

Gummiapan Christmas Tree die

Gummiapan Reindeer Head die

Gummiapan Birdie die

Gummiapan Stitched Banners Thinner dies

Gummiapan Merry Christmas text rubber stamp

5pcs Wooden Pine Cone

Lovely Hanglar Or Sweet Magnolia

Hi everyone hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

I'm here today with my DT post for LHOSM. Yes that's right its time for a new challenge over at Lovely Hanglar or Sweet Magnolia.

The challenge this time is.........

Pearls, Gems or Sparkle

Mine has all 3 on if I can count the centre of my bow a gem....I suppose its both gem & pearl. Now I have to confess that the basis of this card was made about 9 months ago & all it needed was foofy bits adding. I had started a different project for this challenge, however my uncle phoned Friday tea time to say my Auntie had passed away & afterwards I no longer felt like crafting. Thankfully I scoured through my half done box & found one with a Tilda on it & 10 minutes later it was finished.

The only thing that was added Friday night to this was the string of pearls, the bows, the swirl die, the tag, flowers & pearl dots & glitter to the flowers. Although at the time of taking this 1st photo the glitter was still wet oops.

The Tilda is 'Tilda With Summer Pants' which was coloured with distress inks.

Paper is Craft & You I think lol. The seam binding I made myself long time ago, added some Scrapiniec, WOC flowers, Magnolia die & lace & pearl string....oh & a doily lol.

I've only took 1 photo I'm afraid but please pop on over to the challenge blog to see my teamies creations. Remember youo can enter as many times as you want as long as its either Magnolia or Hanglar.

Thanks for stopping by

Lotsa hugs Vicky xxx

EDITED TO ADD: So sorry this did not publish I thought I had scheduled it & came to use my laptop today to write up another blog post & realised it hadnt published.....it was probably my fault & I did something wrong. Sorry ;-(

Christmas Greetings

Hello everyone welcome to the weekend, I lurve weekends as for me its family time...makes my heart melt.

Ok so today I'm here with my DT card for Swedish House Crafts & I have a Christmas card to show you. I absolutely love making Christmas cards, gifts etc and nothing makes it easier when you have fabulous Swedish products to make them with. Suha has in the new Maja Design "Joyous Winterdays"....so, so pretty. I ordered two lots so I didn't run out, as these are proving to be very popular......you can see why though.

I have used a few Gummiapan dies on this card.....yes I really do think I have an addiction....no need for a cure though, unless it's to buy more Gummiapan products lol.

Ok so dies used are Christmas Tree (which also has a matching stamp), Reindeer Head (love this) and the little Birds.....these are awesome for using little tiny scraps that would usually go in the bin...I mean under 1 inch lol.

The sentiment is from a Pion collection and you can find many beautiful Pion Collections at Swedish House Crafts. The Cabochon I made myself by using a circle sentiment that comes with most Pion collections. I used a circle punch to cut it out and then attached it to a Epoxy Resin self adhesive cabochon which I got from Ebay a long time ago. I also sometimes put them inside bottle caps for an extra touch which also look fab, especially on male cards.

The flowers I made myself using Gumiapan Flower 3 Dies, I've used all three dies. They were bent into shape slightly using Maja Paper to co-ordinate with the card. Then they were sprayed with glue and Tim Holtz glitter poured all over them, except the very bottom layer. I've also added dashings of white paint here and there. I then added a pearl to each centre. The leaves are Magnolia Sprawling Ferns die, one of my favourite leaf dies. For the leaves I also used paper from the same Maja Design Collection but from the 6x6 pad.

All papers were machine stitched as always and inside the card was also decorated to co-ordinate with the front. Behind the flowers you can just see another Gummiapan die sticking out, this is the Doodled Frame, I love these as they are perfect for adding that bit of interest.

The image is of course Magnolia "Poinsettia Tilda" from the Aspen Holiday Collection. I coloured her with distress ink refills and then coated the image with Tim Holtz Distress Glaze to protect the image.

Don't forget there is still 20% discount on the store to celebrate Swedish House Crafts being 1 Year Old..........yayyyyyyy.

Enjoy your weekend

Hugs Vicky xxx

Products used....

Maja Design Joyous Winterdays 'Beautiful Pine' 12x12 sheet

Maja Design Joyous Winterdays 'Make Decorations' 12x12 sheet

Maja Design Joyous Winterdays 6x6 pad

Gummiapan Christmas Tree die

Gummiapan Reindeer Head die

Gummianpan Birdie die

Gummiapan Doodled Frame die

Magnolia Poinsettia Tilda rubber stamp

Magnolia Sprawling Ferns die

Celebrating 1 Year Blog Hop

Hello everyone & welcome to Swedish House Crafts 1st Year Anniversary & what better way to celebrate a whole year is with a blog hop.

We are doing a blog hop with a difference but we guarantee there will be lots of prizes to be won along the way.

So you should have arrived here from the lovely Laurigami's Blog, if not start at the beginning here.

Now Swedish House Crafts is a Different Crafting Table as Suha the lovely owner calls it, so all the DT girlies are showing you bits of their craft room.

Now as a lot of you know I used to have a big summer house at the bottom of the garden that was turned into a craft room when I began this hobby. I like being around my family but dont want the mess of craft things in the living room etc. However we had an extension built for Natalie for a large bathroom for her, this meant we had 3 bathrooms....we did not need this many. So 1 was turned into a craft room for me......I must warn you this has not been finished yet & still all my craft stuff is not in here. 

So this is my craft room & although its at least half the size I used to have I love being with the family & Natalie's bedroom is right next door to me.

Excuse my dog she lies in the craft room whenever I'm in there, usually in the doorway lol.

Its a HUGE downsize but I'm making it work.........I think lol.

This is my main work area, where I plan my cards, lay out papers, plan layout that sort of thing. I also have my Sewing machine right next to me as I love to sew all papers on my card.

In the corner there is my Cameo with the grey cover on. The white square tub is my water/brush pot for when I'm colouring with distress inks.......just behind my cup is a pot with my most used paint brushes in. I'm always changing which brush I use lol

Just to the right of me is my colouring drawer for distress ink colouring only....copic colouring is kept seperate. I have more spare brushes in there, mini pads, distress ink refill palette & plastic bags that my images go into when I have coloured them.

Underneath all that is lots of watercolour paper & pads, a few different brands.

On the right side is Spectrum Aqua pens which I've still not used lol, mini ink pads & other bits.

My watermarker pens are kept in another drawer under the bench next to my re-purposed wine rack lol. The wine rack I store all my jars of buttons & sequins etc.

A lot of my dies are kept on the inside of the doors, they are in sight so I dont neglect them too much lol but also hidden so they dont look a mess. This was the best option for storing my dies as they can take up a lot of room but if I have them in a box I know a lot wont get used. This way I can see them all at sight & it makes use of wasted door space that you cannot use for anything else.

Hubby make me an MDF A4 card holder to hold all my A4 cardstock, although I still dont have it all in there & in there you will also see I have packets of dies that are still yet to be opened........yeah I'm a bad woman :-/

Underneath are inks, glitter, small die-cutting area, score board (which has my latest order form Swedish House Crafts on) & my paper cutter.

I do have 2 cutting area's....1 for small dies for quickness & the other side is where my A4 die-cutter is.

This is my larger die-cutting area & where I keep my glue gun & heat gun. I do all my gluing on the glass work top.

Down this bottom corner I have a box where I keep all my Magnolia Doohickey collections, which I will show you properly another time once its all finished lol.

Down-sizing was really hard, still is to be honest but I know I am extremely lucky to have a craft room as I know a lot dont. I try to use every little bit of space, on top of units & so I can reach I keep a little folding step in here.....the red thing folded up under my sewing machine.

I have had to be ruthless sorting my craft room out & once I am finished I will sell lots that I no longer use or need. I had the luxury of hoarding before as my old craft room was huge.

To fit my craft room out we purchased a used kitchen that a lady was selling & this fitted it out nicely & gave me lots of storage to house all my stuff.

I also have a rack on the back of my door that I keep paints, embossing powders, sprays etc in 7 it makes use of a wasted space we have on our doors lol.

I have also made a card using products from Swedish House Crafts. I have used Maja Design 'I Wish' 6x6 pad which I love. Although I have just received the new Maja Design collection & its sooooo gorgeous, I ordered 2 sets of 12x12 & a 6x6 pad lol.....yeah I know I'm greedy lol.

I've also used Roxstamps Cross Stitched Nesting Dies......another huge love of mine & a Gummiapan Doodle Circle die.

Now by commenting on my blog you can win this fabulous prize, I have these & they are fabulous. I will show you a project using them in a day or 2 time ;-) Anyone can enter & items will be shipped worldwide. There are prizes all over & bigger ones on the SHC Blog.

Gummiapan Flower dies

Dont forget to hop around all the blogs collecting your letters along the way & return to follow the instructions on the SHC Blog here for a chance to win bigger prizes.

Your next stop along the way is the super talented Anna.

All winners will be announced on 12th November, good luck everyone. 

Thank you for hopping here & being a part of celebrating with us at Swedish House Crafts for our 1 year Anniversary.

Thanks for staying to the end. Dont forget to collect your letter & follow instructions on the SHC blog.........remember to leave a comment on this blog post for a chance to win the Flower dies.

Lots of luck & many hugs

Vicky xxx