More stitched Christmas cards for 2019

I have managed to finish off the last of my stitched cards for this Christmas.  In all I have now made 64 cards of different styles  but not as many parchment as I would have liked . Hopefully both cataracts will have been done in time for me to make some before Christmas.
Anyway here are the 9 I have just finished.

My favourites are Nos: 5 & 6 - the two star cards. Even as you are stitching them you don't think that the pattern is going to look as good as it does in the end.  The colour combinations can be endless.

I now have some ATCs to get on with.  Nothing too complicated until I am less like a Pirate with one good eye.
Hugs
Carol
xx

Parchment Lesson July 2019

For our July lesson, we had some Dog Roses to colour using 3 colours - colouring on the back and the front of the image and then quite a complicated edge pattern to complete the card.
This was the first parchment I have done since I had the first cataract replaced and I wasn't at all sure how things would go.
But Wow!  -  I was surprised at how much I managed to do,  and to be happy with what I did do.

I didn't do the complicated border as I felt that that was a step too far and too soon. Instead, I found some pretty little corner heart emblems from a Groovi plate and I used those instead.  I also added a larger single heart in the middle of all four sides.

I added the bow. I found I had a bow die with a pretty edge so I used that.   I made a couple - one in a toning pink and one in parchment -  and then asked my son to say which he preferred and the parchment one was his choice. I added the gem to give a flash of sparkle.

I really enjoyed this and can't wait until the second cataract is done so that I can get back to doing some decent edging with the grids.

Here is my card. Hope you like it too:

CD Sunday - Challenge #15 - 'Anything Goes' as long as a craft CD has been used somewhere in the making. Hosted by Jane

Thank goodness it is a little cooler and wetter than it was at the time of my last CD Sunday posting.  I don't like the really hot weather so the thought of a 'heat bomb' does not appeal.
We have now reached Challenge #15 and almost halfway through the year.  It will soon be time for our Summer Challenge which will be themed and have prizes but, in the meantime, I have my offering for our current challenge to show you.
I have named this one 'Naughty but Nice'.  I think you can see why.

The pie looks so golden and delicious that I decided to use toning colours for the backgrounds, die-cut and sentiment.
The image - of course - is from House Mouse. I love House Mouse.   There isn't much on any of the CDs that I do not like.   There are a couple of layers of decoupage - another of my craft loves - which sadly is on hold at the moment.  My cataract op was a great success but I really need to have the second eye done before normal snipping can be resumed.  Thank goodness I had made many of my cards and projects early.

Thank you to those who entered the last Challenge -  which I hosted.  I was sad though that we did not have more entries but I expect that many are holidaying.

I look forward to more Blog hopping.  Actually, I say this with some trepidation as a visit to a Blog last week sent me to a CD site and I was tempted - and gave in.  I now have three more CDs in my vast collection.
Whatever the weather - have fun and take care.
Carol
xx


My son Chris has a birthday today and here is the card I have made for him. Just a simple one I am afraid.

CD Sunday - Challenge #14 - 'Anything Goes' as long as a craft CD has been used somewhere in the making. Hosted by Carol (moi).

It has been quite an eventful couple of weeks for me since Challenge #13.

Last weekend I had my great friends Debs and Mandi to stay from Friday to Sunday.  It was wonderful to see them again (too long since the last visit).   We caught up on gossip and exchanged news and even did some crafting.  The very hot Sunday was too hot for a trip out so we sat and did parchment in the cool of the dining room with the fan going full pelt and lots of cold drinks and beers.

But I digress.   Here is my card for this challenge.   All of the card comes from La Pashe and it has some decoupage.   It is called 'Man at Work'.

In my working life, I don't think I have ever seen a man working that hard.   My two sons used to work with me in the family business and I don't remember seeing them as busy as he seems to be.  They will say - of course -  that they were too well organised.

Back to a busy couple of weeks.  I had my annual breathing check up and all was well. Then suddenly on Monday, I got a call from the Hospital Eye Clinic and I have been booked in for my Cataract OP.  I had the pre-op on Wednesday and the op will be on Monday (tomorrow).

Wish me luck and I will visit your blogs as soon as I am able.

Hugs
Carol
xx

p.s. Cataract op very successful. Just have to wait a couple of months to have the second one.

'Blinged' to the max

At our last parchment lesson, we had a choice of projects and I chose to use a Groovi plate called - Tina's Floral Layering Panel. In fact, there are two panels on the plate -  each 13cms x 6 cms.
I have made what I call a three-panelled cross-over gatefold card. I googled to see what they were really called and apparently I got it right first time.

Here are a couple of photos of the finished card:

The top and bottom panels are as per the Groovi plate but the middle panel has some of the bottom panel design with a few bits from other sources. The sentiment is also from a Groovi plate.
The edging on the panels was done with a Pergamano half-square tool with embossed lines and the panels have been attached by matching tiny brads to the teal glitter card from my stash.
I then went to town on the Bling. On the sentiment panel, I used some fabulous crystal gems from Habico - purchased from the Art of Craft. The smaller gems were all from a selection pack I bought from Amazon.
It was a fiddly and time-consuming project but thoroughly enjoyed and has given me ideas for future projects.

Carol
xx