More Christmas cards

I have been busy whilst confined to this sofa. I have been crafting whilst watching the golf and am exhausted mentally with all the ups and downs of the scores.  Difficult to craft with crossed fingers.
Here are 3 more cards that I have finished.  One more Judith Maslen parchment and 2 from La Pashe.

Carol
xx

'Special Delivery'

from the sofa. As a golf and Ryder Cup nut I am not minding my confinement to the sofa as much as I should.  I am managing to do a little parchment and am still trying out the new to me Spectrum Noir pencils. Last time I posted I commented on the difficulty I found sharpening them and my lovely friend Pamela gave me a tip.  To turn the sharpener - not the pencil.  Thank you Pamela it seems to be working.
Here is another of Judith's great patterns.  I really do enjoy tackling these designs.

Okay - back to the TV and the sofa and starting a new pattern.
Carol
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Penguin Playtime

Here is another parchment Christmas card to add to my collection and this is a pattern by Judith Maslen.
This time I used my new Spectrum Noir pencils for the colouring.  I was pleased with the blending effect and  the ease with which  the colours blended. I didn't think that I would like another pencil as much as I like my Faber Castell Polychromos but I might change my mind with more use for comparison.  I don't think they sharpen as well as the Faber but that is probably because they are softer.
Here is the finished card

Carol
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I have entered my Playful Penguins in The Great Penguin Challenge of 2014.  Thank you Squirrel for the heads up.
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CD Sunday - Birthday card for a male

Good Morning.  After my last disaster when I didn't schedule my posting and then met with an accident I am preparing this one very early.  So at this moment in time I am hoping it is a good morning and we haven't been visited by floods or pestilence. 
Wendy has chosen this theme.  As we never seem to have enough 'male' cards in our boxes Wendy is kindly prodding us in the right direction.

Best of La Pashe 2012

 

 

Again I am presenting a simple square card.  A favourite shape.   There is quite a bit of decoupage and I feel that this and the sentiment is all that is needed.   I love the La Pashe artwork and I prefer not to detract from it with lots of embellishments.
The team have all produced some very different cards so please visit their blogs for full descriptions of their masterpieces.

As always we hope you will enter our challenge and I will see you later.
Carol
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ATC Swop UK

Our September theme is 'Teddy Bears'.  There always seem to be many images of Teddy Bears on CD's, on the internet and decoupage sheets etc so this one didn't present too many difficulties.  I did 5 again .....  3 stitched bears and 2 parchment bears.
Here is the picture that was shown on the Facebook Group page.  It always looks so much better than any picture  I can produce so I have copied and pasted and here they are.

The stitch patterns are from Stitching Cards and the brown parchment teddy was traced from a Judith Maslen pattern and the 'white on pink' bears come from the Parchment Magazine.
Carol
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More from the sofa

I have been sitting quietly doing some stitching and a little parchment.  The programme selection on the TV is so awful and that together with my enforced resting means that  I am steaming through my Christmas cards.

This is a La Pashe coloured digital image that I have printed on parchment.  Then I  embossed and enhanced the colours where necessary.  The border shape was made using one of the new PCA Easy Embossing frames for the outlines and then stippling in the gap.

The next three are patterns from Stitching Cards used together with some beads and die cutting.

Carol
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Christmas cards - from the sofa

I am still confined to the sofa and there is only so much television you can watch with your full attention ....so I have managed a few more cards using things I could gather around myself and have them with in reach.

Nothing too involved with oodles of embellishments - as I can't keep running around to find them - but they are all adding to the final number needed.
Carol
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CD Sunday - Happily Ever After

Good Evening.  Better late than never.  What a weekend and a start to my week.  I am so sorry to be so late with my post.  I would have problems when I haven't done a scheduled post!!  I think it is called - politely - Murphy's law.
On Thursday I bent down to pick up a piece of paper from the floor and something in my back went 'ping'.  Very painful.  I was nursing my wounds and taking it quietly when to add to it all my left leg collapsed and I ended up on the bathroom floor giving the loo, cupboard and sink a good bashing on the way down.  I have now had a CT Scan, using crutches and waiting for more appts.

I am sure that someone somewhere is experiencing Happily Ever After and I send them all my best wishes, and here is my card for our theme, which has been chosen by Team member Caz

I used the Best of La Pashe 2012  CD for my image which I decoupaged after matting with a matching background and some  plain toning purple card.

Congratulations to Linby, Pamela and Misty's Mum for being in the Top Three in 'Quilting Fun'.

I wish you (and me) a good rest of the week.
Carol xx

More beads

I liked those new CzechMate beads so much that I ordered a few more in different colours.  They were all much admired at our Parchment Workshop yesterday.  I decided to use some on a Christmas card that was my planned project for the afternoon.  The milky white ones looked perfect for mistletoe berries. 
The printed image is from La Pashe - 'The Christmas Box' CD.  I printed it out on to parchment and did a little gentle embossing.  I used a new PCA embossing template for the border.  I touched up the colouring a tad with my new Spectrum Noir pencils and then stitched on the beads for the berries.
A couple of matting layers and some stick on pearls complete the card.

Hope you like it - I do.

Have a good weekend.  Let's hope it stays dry.
Carol
xx

Christmas cards - more die-cuts

I am determined to try and use some - if not all - of the dies I have been buying very enthusiatically.
So here are two more cards using a few more of the new purchases.

The card above uses two from a set of squares and a great corner die with the spruce fronds.  I love this die.

For this second card I used four dies.  I am not sure where the decoupage comes from.  I cut it all out some time ago, put it together and popped it into a cellophane bag but didn't make a note of the origin.
The first card is using a La Pashe image.  I am using a great many of the La Pashe images again this Christmas as I like them all.  If someone gets the same one again they will have to forgive me.

1st September - so 1st Christmas cards

I have started on the mammoth Christmas card make. My Grandaughter was with me this morning as I was finishing off one of the cards (the old gentleman in the bed) and I had just attached the bow and held it up for her to look at.

Her lovely comment was. "Yes Grandma - so simple but so elegant".  She is 10!!

Here is my so simple yet elegant card.

 She didn't see the next one so I was spared any comments.

Can you spot a theme here?  The dies used for the mats are by Marianne.  The bow is by Sue Wilson and the Merry Christmas is a new Robert Addams die.  The CD used is of course - La Pashe.