Day 85: Steampunk butterfly card - three blog challenges

I am joining three challenges today: Cardz 4 Galz, Sweet Stampin' and Crafty Cardmakers.  SS and CC both ask for a 'create your own background' and C4G would like a feminine steampunk card.
the background was created using a swirly embossing folder to create the panel and then shmooshing ink over it.  I then added the three lattice die cuts (Marianne), the sentiment tag (Apple Blossom) and steampunk butterfly (Robert Addams) - the latter was cut twice, once in plain brown for a 'shadow' and then in a bronze cardstock to which the photo does not do justice!  The bronze butterfly is only affixed at the centre so the wings are free.  The sentiment is so old I am not sure of the make, perhaps Hobby Art.
See you tomorrow!

Day 84: New Home wall art gift

This is some wall art for my niece and her fiance's new house.  If they don't like it they can hang it in the loo, when I come to visit ... LOL.  It's difficult to photograph in the frame due to all the reflections in the glass, so I have shown it unframed as well.
The swirly heart and the letters are done on the Silhouette and adhered to a wood grain textured white card background.  The frame is from Wilko, I thought it was a deep box frame originally, but it is actually a normal photo frame, says so on the label, I just didn't read it properly!!  So it's perfect for this flat project :-)
See you tomorrow!

Day 83: cross stitch update

More work on the left wreath and all the white in the beard finished.
See you tomorrow!

Day 82: Mono-metallic Christmas card

Another day, another blog challenge!  This time I am sharing with Sparkles Christmas Challenge, who would like a card featuring bells.
I bought some paper pads from The Works recently, and this is one of them, called Metallic Mono.  Shades of black, white, silvery grey and gold, several papers are gold foiled, it is beautiful and will make many many cards, not only Christmas but I think it will do for masculine ones year round too.
I found this bell stamp, it's from 2005!! The sentiment is SU, as is the punch used to cut it out.  Both were heat embossed in gold.  The paper panel is die cut with a deckle edge die from Crealies, the plain black mat and the image are done with square dies from Tonic.  I inked round the sentiment tag rather than mat it.
See you tomorrow!

Day 81: Shaped Christmas card - blog challenges

I am joining three challenges today - A Place to Start and Jingle Belles both of whom are asking for a shaped card, JB also being a Christmas card blog - also Christmas Card Throwdown who would like some snowflakes featured.
I started by cutting a card blank using Nesties Label 28, then cut another panel for the topper.  I already had an inked piece of card, so used the next sized die down, to create the mat.  The base of the easel card ie the half without the fold in, was run through a dotty embossing folder - I find that most Nesties have too big a border to just leave blank and embossing is an ideal filler.  Then I embossed the top panel and attached the mat to it, then attached to the folded hinge side of the card.
The snowflakes and sentiment are from an SU stamp set 'Flurry of Wishes', I heat embossed in silver and cut out using their matching punch.  The sentiment was done with a washi tape punch and forms the stopper for the easel.  Both snowflakes and sentiment are attached with 2mm foam for dimension.
I am pleased with this one, though it did take me ages to get three decently stamped/embossed snowflakes!
See you tomorrow!

Day 80: Cross stitch update

Good progress on the beard, a new left side wreath section started and more of the left upper ribbon done.
See you tomorrow!

Day 79: Christmas card - blog challenges

I am playing along with three challenge blogs today. Retro Rubber, Double Trouble and Craftyhazelnut's Christmas challenge.  RR and DT are partnering with each other, RR has a sketch and DT a recipe and optional twist. Craftyhazelnut has an 'Anything Goes' Christmas theme, with an optional twist of using washi tape.

 Ingredients:  3 - Colors 

                           2 - Embellishments   

                           1 - Seasoned Stamped/Digital Sentiment 
                                (clear or rubber stamp more than 
                                one year old)

Using the sketch, create a project using at least one angular shape without round corners, i.e., triangles, quadrilaterals such as square, rectangle, parallelogram, rhombus, etc.

I think I have managed everything .... LOL. 

The triangle on the sketch immediately suggested a Christmas tree, so I picked one of the SU Christmas releases from (I think) 2018 or possibly the year before - Snow is Glistening.  The sentiment comes from the previous year's set, Flurry of Wishes.  I heat embossed in gold and cut out, mounted on 2mm foam for dimension.

The background paper, which I found in an old magazine freebie set, has nothing but angular shapes on it :-)  More than 3 colours - black, white, aqua and gold. 2 embellishments - ribbon and tiny gold pearls on the tree. 1 or more old stamps.

I haven't used actual washi tape - but the sentiment is punched out with a washi tape punch .....does that count???

I needed a 7 x 5 card to fit everything on!  I really enjoyed this one and finding that this particular sentiment fits that punch so perfectly was an added bonus :-)

See you tomorrow!

Day 78: Lemon bars

These are delicious, I have been making them since 2002 and they are very popular at work!

250g plain flour
120g icing sugar
170g butter / margarine
3 eggs
350g caster sugar
5 tbs concentrated lemon juice from bottle, not fresh
3 tbs plain flour

The original recipe used a 9" x 13" tray-bake tin, which is a standard USA size, I don't have one so make it in a 7" by 11" tin, it comes out fine.  Lakeland do a 12" by 9" tin, which would also work.  Make sure the baking parchment comes over the top edge of the tin, so you can lift out the completed bake more easily.

Preheat oven to 175C / 160C fan / Gas 4 / 350F.  Mix the flour, icing sugar and butter/margarine into a soft dough.  Place in a 1" deep baking tray lined with parchment and spread out the dough so that the whole base is covered evenly.  Bake for 20 minutes.
Whilst the base is baking, make the topping.  Whisk the eggs, caster sugar, flour and lemon juice until frothy.  When base is baked, pour the mixture over and return to the oven for a further 20 - 25 minutes, or until light golden brown.  Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift the entire bake in its parchment and transfer to a wire rack, it will cool much faster out of the tin.  Cut into bars when completely cold.

Day 77: Cross stitch update

More progress on the upper ribbons.

See you tomorrow!

Day 76: Chocolate choc chip muffins

250g caster sugar
290g plain flour
2.5 tsp baking powder
6 tbs cocoa powder
1 packet (around 100g) choc chips, white look good in this recipe
pinch salt
2 eggs
200ml milk
100ml sunflower oil or melted butter

Preheat oven to 200C / 190C fan / Gas 6 / 400F.  Mix all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.  Combine the wet ingredients into another bowl.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and mix in the wet until just mixed, batter will be lumpy.  Put mixture into muffin cases, it will be enough for 10 or 11.  Bake for 18 - 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.  You can make these as mini muffins, add another 50 ml of milk as the minis dry out more, and shorten the cooking time to around 10 - 12 minutes, though your oven may vary.

Day 75: Anniversary card

DH suddenly (and casually!) announced that our friends' wedding anniversary is coming up.  Those of you who have seen my previous blog will know that this is a recurring situation...... :-)

I had no anniversary cards in my box!!!  So I rummaged in the 'partially made' collection and found this base - an overlay die on a shmooshed ink background.  I punched out the scalloped circle and went through some stamps, found this swirly heart from Deep Red, which I had never used.  It fit the circle perfectly, so I added the sentiment from Stamping all Day and heat embossed in two shades of blue.  The darker blue hasn't come out so well, but it can pass as being a bit grungy, so that's ok!  I plan to make up several of these in different colours, now that I have found such a useful stamp, I really don't know why it has never seen ink!!  I actually have half a dozen or so stamps from this brand and had only used one previously, so will be having a play with the others too.

I am sharing this with NBUS challenge blog  

See you tomorrow!

Day 74: Cross stitch update

Sleeve trim finished and a little more progress on the beard. I have also rolled the frame down and started on the upper left side ribbon.
See you tomorrow!

Day 73: Father's Day card

I used another new overlay die from Lisa Horton.  The paper underneath is from a Kaisercraft paper pad and the sentiment is a very old one, I can't remember the brand - it comes from a set of 12 circular sentiments for various occasions.

See you tomorrow!

Day 72: Birthday Card

I wasn't feeling very inspired today, mojo has completely left the building!  So I found this stamped Woodware image and coloured with alco markers, then assembled a card.

See you tomorrow!

Day 71: Cross stitch update

Lower left side wreath section completed, sleeve trim in three different shades of pale beige plus white is going well, though it's very hard to see the difference between such pale shades!

See you tomorrow!

Day 70: Thank you card

A thank you card today - SU stamp, coloured with alco markers and matted onto patterned paper.

See you tomorrow!

Day 69: Gingerbread Christmas Trees

Gingerbread Christmas trees for my FIL who likes the tree shape even though it isn't Christmas!!! I don't have a metric recipe, it's all ounces because I have been making them for so many years.

8oz plain flour

4 oz soft light brown sugar

2 tsp ground ginger

pinch cinnamon

4 tbs golden syrup

2 tbs milk

4 oz margarine

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and make a well at the centre.  In a small saucepan, gently heat the margarine, milk and syrup until the fat has melted.  Cool for a few minutes, then pour into flour mixture and mix until a soft dough is formed.  Chill in fridge until firm enough to handle (or place in freezer for 30 minutes).  Roll onto a floured surface to about 1/4" or 5mm thick.  Cut out Christmas tree shapes and place on baking sheets lined with parchment, making sure they room to spread a little.  Bake at Gas 4 / 180C / 170C fan / 350F for 10 - 12 minutes.  Leave to cool on the tray for a few minutes to firm up, then transfer to wire racks too cool completely.

Day 68: Cross stitch update

Almost finished a left hand wreath section and more work on the sleeve trim.

See you tomorrow!

Day 67: Get Well card

Get Well card, SU set Dandelion Wishes and some Daliart butterflies.  I had a pre-done inked panel, so matted the image onto that and added a ribbon.  Confession time ..... I made an error in the embossing of the dandelion, so that is why there are butterflies on there - one to cover the error and the others for balance!

See you tomorrow!

Day 66: 7 x 5 flower birthday card

Another outing for the SU Butterfly Basics set flower stamp. Also a new 7 X 5 background die from Card Making Magic, sentiment from Woodware. Coloured with alco markers.  The die looks greyish in th ephoto, but is purple IRL.

See you tomorrow!

Day 65: Cross stitch update

More work on the left hand wreath and a start on the sleeve trim, which is quite difficult because it is so hard to see!  There are four shades: pale beige, even paler beige, extra super pale beige and white!

See you tomorrow!

Day 64: Hexagonal Christmas cards

The assembled hexagon cards.  I die cut the blank from an existing square one.  The sentiment (Stamping all Day) was added to the centre of the wreath.  To save a lot of fiddly gluing, I put the stamped panel flat to the mirri, but raised the mirri onto the base with foam tape, which creates a bit of a shadow effect and looks very nice :-)

See you tomorrow!

Day 63: Face mask

First attempt at a face covering! Pattern at bigcommunitysew.co.uk  I went through my patchwork fabric stash and found this rather nice material.  The lining is winceyette, because I thought that would be soft, which it is, but it is also rather warm, so I will have another go with a lighter weight lining like an old bedsheet or something.

See you tomorrow!

Day 62: Cross stitch update

Gloves done, another section of wreath finished on the right and a little more progress on the wreath to the left.

See you tomorrow!

Day 61: Preparation - Christmas card toppers

Batch cardmaking - I stamped/embossed the Penny Black wreath in silver and die cut into hexagons.  I still need to add the sentiment.  Then the mats were die cut in silver mirri using a Card Making Magic die set.

See you tomorrow!

Day 60: Baking tray try-out - catastrophic fail!

I tried out silicon baking trays for the first time.  You might think that 5 out of 6 isn't bad .... but I had two trays, so it's actually 5 out of 12!!! I think it was a mistake to put dried fruit into the sponge mix, as that seemed to stick especially well to the tray, and also I definitely should have waited until they had cooled completely before trying to turn them out.  

See you tomorrow!

Day 59: Cross stitch update

All the lower ribbons finished, gloves almost done and a bit more progress on the wreath.

See you tomorrow!

Day 58: White on white Christmas card

A white on white Christmas card ... a bit challenging, especially when it comes to the sentiment.  The layers, from the base up, are as follows: card blank, panel with a 7 x 5 bordered embossing folder (Card Making Magic), central panel with dotted embossing, oval lattice die cut (Presscut), bauble base, bauble top, and debossed sentiment panel cut twice for depth. I think that makes eight layers! The whole bauble set is by Sue Wilson, not previously used. Phew!  I am definitely going to make the baubles again now I have rediscovered them.

See you tomorrow!

Day 57: Bread

Used up the last of my wholemeal bread flour, haven't been able to get any for weeks now. I'll enjoy this bread!  After it's gone I'll have to get shop bought again, being diabetic means I can't have white bread :-(

See you tomorrow!

Day 56: Cross stitch update

Most of the gloves done now, more wreath and a bit more ribbon.  Oh that wreath is sooooooo bitty!!!

See you tomorrow!

Day 55: Simple birthday card

Another outing for this recently rediscovered stamp - heat embossed in gold and matted onto a patterned paper (Bo Bunny) background.

See you tomorrow!

Day 54: Heat embossed butterfly birthday card

More old stamps used today - The butterfly circle is from Phill Martin and the sentiment is by Stampendous.  Both heat embossed with a teal powder.  I was just going to put the circle directly onto the paper (Kaisercraft) mat which I had already affixed to the card blank, but it didn't look right.  So I cut a scalloped mat, but it still needed something else so I die cut a stitched square in white!  I am happy with it now :-)

See you tomorrow!

Day 53: Cross stitch update

More work done on the wreath and gloves.

See you tomorrow!

Day 52: Embossed/inked birthday card

I just rediscovered this stamp, it's either SU or Stampendous. Heat embossed and matted onto an inked dry embossed background. You're going to be seeing this stamp again!

See you tomorrow!

Day 51: Scrapbook layout (second attempt)

I really wasn't happy with this layout after I posted it a couple of days ago.  So I trimmed back the border (thank heaven for repo adhesive!) and die cut some bunting (Card Making Magic) for the top to replace the small loops.  I like it much better now!

See you tomorrow!

Day 50: Cross stitch update

One section of horribly bitty wreath done and a bit more ribbon.  The wreath has four shades of green and the shading is very detailed, it's a case of making one stitch, then going back to the chart, marking it off and looking for the next one!!

See you tomorrow!

Day 49: Scrapbook layout (first attempt)

I haven't done any scrapping in a while, and I still need to finish my 2019 album!  So I pulled these photos out, found some papers and a Pinterest sketch.  It wandered away from the sketch a bit ... LOL.  I used a cobblestone die for the edges because it looks vaguely like netting and a Sizzix strip die for the loops.  The title is also die cut, not sure of the brand, possibly Dienamics, it is quite old.

See you tomorrow!

Day 48: Die cut small favour box

Trying out an unused box die, bought a few years ago. Pictured with tape measure for scale.  The die is from Tonic, I used purple and white pearlescent card.

See you tomorrow!

Day 47: Cross stitch update

Today's update - all the red parts of the jacket done and more of the wreath ribbons.

See you tomorrow!

Day 46: Mini sponge cakes

Cinnamon and sultana cakes - standard sponge recipe baked in mini muffin cases.

See you tomorrow!

Day 45: Die cut overlay birthday card

I love my new Lisa Horton overlay die, there are more in the range which I will buy when funds permit!  Here it is over some patterned paper from an old Kaisercraft pad.  The die is cut from silver mirri, but I can't remember the brand.

See you tomorrow!

Day 44: Cross stitch update

Cross stitch update - a little bit of a new green and most of the red jacket done.

See you tomorrow!