Phoenix Inspirations

 I've been crafting again and I've made another Christmas card. Isn't it great that we crafters can do Christmas all year round?  So I've followed the theme over at  52 Christmas Card Throwdown  and this week it's........... So - I had a rummage around in my craft stash and I found a set of stamps and dies that I think I only used about once and a stamp set that is absolutely years and years old! I had a good play and this is what I came up with The large sentiment image is from Carols of Christmas, The poinsettia is from Merriest Moments and the die and embossing folder is from the Merriest Frames die set - all of which are from Stampin' Up I was so happy to get an Honorable Mention for my previous card - how lovely! Thanks for stopping by today - see you soon xx

 It’s a long time till Christmas 2026 but crafters usually like to be prepared and have a lovely stash of cards ready for the festive season. Last year I wasn’t prepared and shock horror I had to buy some cards and I don’t want it to happen again. Therefore I have rooted out my Christmas stamps and made my first Christmas card of the year. I used a sketch from a challenge blog that I set up a very long time ago. I had to leave it a while ago but it's lovely to see that it's still going strong and it's my go to site for theme, sketch and colour challenges for Christmas. Here is their current sketch challenge that I used for my card. 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Thank you for stopping by today to take a look at my card - hope to see you here again soon 💕

 I have decided to try and get on top of my Christmas cards early this year and so far it’s going well!!! Here is a card that has been made using the Sweet Gingerbread set - I love gingerbread houses and the stamps and matching dies are really cute. I used the sketch from  52 Christmas Card Throwdown  - this is a brilliant Christmas challenge blog (I started it many years ago with Mynn Kitchen) and it’s a perfect way to get organised with Christmas crafting. Thank for stopping by today - see you soon - J xx

It's Christmas card time again and this week it's time for some colours - take a look And here is my card My Three Wise Men have been embossed with clear embossing powder so that when I sponged my scene in blue they stood out better. I used a variety of blue inks from a very dark navy that was almost black to a pale sky blue used for the sky. You may notice that there is no silver - there was a silver gem on the star but it must have dropped off while I was setting it up to photograph it. I found it a while later stuck to the cat!! Don't forget to drop by at  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown  and take a look at all the other gorgeous DT cards. Meanwhile I'm off on my holidays for a week - see you soon xx

Good morning, firstly I'd like to apologise for my lack of blogging lately. Things have been a bit tough over the last few weeks but - there are good times on the horizon so I've just got to hold out for a few more days. On the plus side - I've got a new job. I'm working in one of the shops in the High Street in Bridgnorth. Working on the till at the moment which is fun but a little complicated too! OK - let's get down to business. Today is Saturday which means it's time for 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown This week we have a sketch - take a look I'm the Hostess this month so this is my sketch - I made it quite clean and simple as you can see - just three elements! Here is my card I stamped a piece of card stock with a music stamp a then die cut it with one of my Window Framelits. I sponged the edges before attaching it to my card blank. My tree was also stamped on to card stock and fussy cut before it too was sponged around the ...

It's Christmas card time again at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown I have picked  some colours for me and the rest of the DT to use - take a look I had a specific design in mind when I thought of these colours and I think it turned out OK - what do you think? All was going well until I tried to stamp the word 'Joy' - I smudged it big time!!!! So I re stamped it on to a label, added a silver bow and redeemed the situation! Here's a close up Thanks for stopping by today to take a look - see you soon xx

This is a very quick scheduled post. I am writing it on Thursday morning for you to see today - Saturday morning!! I am away with my daughter Briony for a pre-birthday treat! Today's card is for the new sketch challenge over on 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown For which I am the June hostess. Take a look Here is my card I was making this card at 6.00am this morning (Thursday) and I was a bit blurry eyed I can tell you! Don't forget to pop over to the blog to take a look at all the other DT inspiration and I will see you soon xx

It's time for another Christmas card and this week on 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown  Fabiola wants to see.... Here is my card (my critters might just be a bit big though!!!) And a close up of my main critter I love to make this style of card and with this one I kept the colour palette quite limited: green, red and brown. My stamps are a mish mash of what I have in my stash with a bit of Stampin' Up White Christmas thrown in for good measure - love how the banner fits perfectly on the reindeer's antlers. Do pop over and take a look at the other critters on show on the challenge blog and I will see you soon xx

Fabiola has given us some colours to work with this week at  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown Take a look And here is my card My fir branches were stamped in gray and my baubles in blue - I added a few highlights of glitter and sponged around my Kraft mat with Crumb Cake ink. Thanks for looking today - see you soon xx

It's that time of the week again - Christmas card time at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown Fabiola is our Hostess for this month and here is her sketch And here is my card I rotated the sketch to make it portrait and used my Christmas Blessings stamp set. Colours are: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Real Red and Gold embossing powder. Please do hop over to the blog to check out all the other gorgeous DT cards. See you soon xx

This isn't Saturday for me yet - I'm writing this on Friday evening. When you read this I shall probably be on my way to work. I say work - I volunteer at my local Cancer Research shop and it's not hard work - it's great fun. I got to dress all the mannequins this week - one of my favourite parts of the job. But - you came here to see my card for this week's challenge over on  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown This week as it's the fifth week of the month it's a 'Pick a Previous' I have chosen the theme of Bells from January 2015 - take a look A very quick and simple card: a bit of stamping, a couple of frosty bells and a twisty bow. Hope you like it - see you soon xx

Good morning lovely blog friends - it's a glorious day today here in sunny Bridgnorth and I have a Christmas card to share with you today! The theme this week over on 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown is Here is my card This is quite a grungy card for me - not something I do very often!! I started off with some pale buff card stock and randomly stamped some Gorgeous Grunge splats on it. I then inked and ripped the edges. Not being satisfied with that I then added a few gold embossed splats too! The Ornamental Pine stamp is perfect for this challenge and that was stamped and embossed in gold too. I then added another over the top stamped in Mossy Meadow. Two pine cones were added along with some gold sequins and I gold embossed the sentiment in the corner too - a bit of gold overload!!! Hope you like it - don't forget to pop over to take a look at the other lovely DT cards and I will see you soon xx

It's Christmas card time again and this week at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown we have a colour theme for you - take a look And here is my card This is a 4" x 4" card base with a gold dotted frame drawn with a gold fine liner pen. On to that I attached a die cut gold star. On to a piece of white card stock I stamped my star image, embossed it with gold embossing powder and die cut that also. I then folded it to make it 3D before adding with a stack of foam pads in the middle. The second photo shows this although it's a little blurry! Thanks for looking - hope you can pop over and take a look at all the other lovely cards from the DT and I will see you soon xx

I'm here, albeit a little late, with my DT card for this week's sketch challenge over on 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown The sketch we would like you to follow - keeping the theme of circles is Here is my card The front is cut away to make a 'Kick Stand' card. I used my Daydream Medallions stamp set along with the matching die set - Floral Frames. I went with traditional green and red along with a touch of gold - a few flat backed gems add a finishing touch. Thanks for looking - see you soon xx

I am sooooo late with this post - it's been a busy week, I've had blood tests and examinations and I'm taking some new medication. Hopefully I'm on the mend now. Still feeling a bit poorly but managed to get down in to my craft room this morning to make my DT card for  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown This week we want to see some Here is my card Rudolf has been paper pieced on to some DSP and heat embossed with black embossing powder. He was then cut out and attached to the card base. I then added a red pearl for his shiny red nose. Hope you like it - see you soon xx

Hello - experiencing computer problems again - I really think my laptop is on the way out but just for now it's working so I'll be quick and get my card posted! Toady is  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown  challenge day. It's a colour challenge too - take a look And here is my card My green is Mossy Meadow and I've used both the ink and card stock. I have also used the sketch over on Freshly Made Sketches   Thanks for looking - see you soon xx

Hello all - hope you are all enjoying your weekend. Today I have my weekly dt card for  52 [CHRISTMAS} Card Throwdown It's a new month so we have a new hostess - Julie. Here's what she has for us this week Here is my card The tree and sentiment are from Special Season and my colours have been inspired by the challenge over on  CAS - Colours & Sketches Thanks for looking - enjoy the rest of the weekend xx