(Early) Christmas Cards 2013 (10): Knitted jumper style (1)

Hi all. Long time no blog post. I know, it has become very quiet here. Two of my friendly readers asked me in their comments if I was ok (thank you Judith and Amy. Very thoughtful of you x x) I am ok and alive :) Well, a few things caused my absence. First, the kitten who is quickly growing up, requires attention and keeps very active most of the time, which in turn it keeps me active too. Secondly, my blogging mojo has somehow evaporated and I temporarily lost my interest in blogging (a blog burn-out perhaps? or maybe some sort of autumnal depression/laziness?) and thirdly lack of time and work stresses successfully got me out of my crafting mood (oh! perhaps I should blame the 50 Shades of Grey ebooks too!) I've been trying to hand-make something throughout all that time but it's not much, I must admit. Not very productive. However, I'm hoping to be back to my regular blogging now :) The build-up of the blogging material has been on my mind all the time. Time to get on with it. 

Undoubtedly, Christmas is approaching fast and although I haven't been blogging much for the last month one thing is certain: I've been shopping for some red and white Scandi stuff and oh God, how I much I've been enjoying it! Roaming from a shop to a shop I've been buying Scandi-themed cups, bowls, platters, bed covers, napkins, kitchen towels, candles, Christmas tree decorations (being in my element!). Nowadays the choice in the shops is so huge and the Scandi theme is still on! It must me the 2nd or 3rd winter when the Nordic patterns reign among the Christmas products. I still dream of lidded a mulled wine pot with a tealight warmer with a Scandi theme :) I just ordered a lovely set off eBay. I've already stocked up on some bottle of German mulled wine :)

Back on the craft frontline, here are some of my new cards. Embossed jumper-style with lots of white and frosty blue colour. (I really love this embossing folder from Sizzix!) I tried first with the square version and a decorative band from a lovely Dutch scrapbooking paper. It glitters and sparkles but I don't think the photo really shows this.

Then I went for the version with the rounded edges...

and some other decorative bands:

I really enjoyed making those cards. The cosy knitted theme is so Nordic'y - I so love it!. More cards and more crafty news to come soon. I shall keep you posted. Promise :) Will be catching up with your blogs soon too! Been wondering what you have been up to.

Hope you're all having a good week and thanks everybody, whoever stops here, for their comments. Missed blogging for you. xxx

(Early) Christmas Cards 2013 (7): Nordic Blue (2). The Gold Mold Cape.

Hi. In this windy and rainy weather we've had for the past few days I've been feeling inclined to stay with a book and blanket on the sofa rather than to venture somewhere outside. Looks like the season for cold rainy and windy days is just round the corner. 

Craftwise, I'm still working on my Christmas cards and I've been thinking of having a go at selling them at my workplace this year. Just out of curiosity and for fun. I even bought the protecting cello bags for my cards yesterday. I've never sold my cards before as I tend to be rather pessimistic about the card sales considering the fact how many people can make their own cards these days and how many of them still prefer to buy a pack of 10 for £1 and which end up in a recycling bin after the festive days. So all the excess of my Christmas cards will go on sale at work. I really wonder how much interest they will receive :) 

But in the meantime here are some more cards in the frosty blue shades but this time with the mixture of natural brown kraft cardstock :) I love to use this natural brown card - it combines well with lots of colours and it is a nice change from a traditional white card. 

The card below was made using a card sketch I found on the internet. I think it was the one from the Mojo Monday blog where there's a great choice of card sketches to choose from.

Beneath, a simple card with a stamped and heat-embossed Snow Bird - a stamp from Noolibird.

The two cards together :)

And my first attempt at embellishing a gate fold card. The snowflakes have been punched with Martha Stewart punches and the reindeer stamp comes from Noolibird again. 

This type of card kind of reminds me of ... a cupboard so I embellished "the doors" too :)

I kind of like how it opens and closed and stands on it own :) More cards coming soon!

*  *  *

Saturday was luckily a nice sunny day here in North Wales so me and my bf grabbed an opportunity and went out to Wrexham County Borough Museum to see the Gold Mold Cape - we just made it on the last day of exhibition as the Mold Cape is back to its house now - The British Museum in London. For those who don't know it, it's a piece of ceremonial outfit that was unexpectedly discovered buried in a stony grave found in one of the Welsh fields and it comes from the Early Bronze Age, being about 3000 years old! What amazing craftmanship!
The cape was well displayed and I was very pleased how the photos came out :)

The cape must have received lots of interest from the public as there were crowds at the museum, even on the last day of exhibition. Below, this is how the archeologists imagine the cape was used during the ceremonies - completed by a necklace which agrees nicely with the upper line of the cape. It's assumed it once belonged to a woman of a high status. No skeleton parts survived in the grave unfortunately. Apparently some other capes existed too as some extra bits of gold leaf were found in the soil too. 

Below, a contemporary attempt at creating a tool that would reproduce the embossed pattern on the cape. Surely the bronze age people couldn't have one like this! ;) It must have been done by hand somehow.

I really enjoyed this short museum trip. You just don't get to see such things everyday. So fascinating!

Linking up to Hand-made Monday tonight :)

(Early) Christmas Cards 2013 (6): Nordic Blue (1)

Nothing much to share this time. Now with the work back (back to school in my case) I'm struggling with catching up with reading your blogs and writing mine. Definitely less time now for faffing around on the internet ;)

I'm still on building up my Christmas cards collection. Been experimenting with some cold frosty colours. This time it's a cool Nordic blue look :) These cards are mostly about punching, stamping and glueing. Nothing more than that. Simple is how I like it. I used Martha Stewart Himalayan Snowflake punch for the card below. The backing papers come from a card pack - a freebie to a card making magazine from the past. 

The Noel and reindeer stamp and the other little stamps come from A Muse Studio and the stamped snowflake border comes from a Scandinavian set of stamps by Martha Stewart. The punched floral border is Poinsettia on vine MS punch. 

Now, I can finally put to use my entire collection of Nordic-looking stamps I've been collecting for months :))) Yay!

Off to make some more cards now. Working on some Vintage Scandinavian this time :)

(Early) Christmas Cards 2013 (5): Nordic Kids (3)

I can't believe it's already September. For me this means the end of one thing and start of the other. Back to school, back to work, back to the gymming regime, coming back home later in the darker afternoons and also less time for hobbies. In other words - back to crafting after hours. Is it me or does it really feel a bit nippy outdoor as if autumn was lurking round the corner. There is something invisible in the wind, in the air and in the fact that we start the "-ember" months that brings that longing for long sunny days and holiday time. Even now, as I'm writing this to you, I'm sat on the sofa, wrapped in blanket with hot cuppa next to me. Getting cold aready! ;)

Anyway, more Christmas cards with kiddies dressed warmly for winter  ;) This time I experimented with blues and purples. It's a bit unusual Christmas combination but sometimes I like to diverge from the traditional take. I used the same set of stamps as previously.

Some embellishing bits and bobs - die cuts, gems, stick-on snowflakes, all for the wintry frosty look :)

And how a bit of layering and texture? The card below was made using a card sketch I found ages ago on the web. I also used on this card my favourite Sizzix embossing folder the texture of which reminds a jumper :)

I really enjoyed making these :) Now back to my festive stitching. This lazy Sunday afternoon just seems so perfect for it.
Have a good Sunday evening x x