4 of the best...

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and Santa brought you just what you wanted :)

This weeks dare is another team dare :)...

'Hi All. Today we have decided to revisit your most favourite dares of 2007. The four top dares, decided by the number of comments you made on them are (in no particular order): 'buttons', 'ribbons', ...'and cut' and 'frames'. We would like to use this week as many of those dares as you like to make your card in any theme and any style.'

I managed to combine all 4 dares using a hand cut frame, buttons and ribbon :) Papers are Pink Petticoat and I added some doodling and inking...

TFL :)

Happy Christmas!!

Man Cards...

Lots of male Birthdays this month - I made these for my friends Neil whose Birthday was last week and Jim whose birthday is today! Happy Birthday Jim!!

The idea was completely based on a card that my sister bought for Jase for his birthday - he got a few fart related cards, maybe someone was trying to tell him sonething...

TFL :)

Nigella's Fudge

I saw a fantastic recipe for fudge on the telebox - made by Nigella the domestic goddess and decided to make a load with the boys to give to their teachers and teaching assistants - between them they have nine! After the shock of both boys deciding that they wanted to make all the cards for their friends... ( we did go for the simple option of punched shapes and sizzix trees :))

We made lots of fudge, this is the recipe;

12oz dark chocolate, at least 70 per cent cocoa solids, chopped
1 x 14oz can condensed milk
1oz butter
pinch salt
5¼oz unsalted pistachios, shells removed

Method
1. Place the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter and salt into a heavy-based pan over a low heat and stir until melted and well combined.
2. Place the nuts into a freezer bag and bash them with a rolling pin, until broken up into some large and some small pieces.
3. Add the nuts to the melted chocolate mixture and stir well.
4. Pour the mixture into a 23cm/9in square tray, smoothing the top with a wet palette knife.
5. Let the fudge cool, then refrigerate until set.
6. Cut into small pieces approximately 3cm x 2cm/1¼in x ¾in. Cutting 7 x 7 lines in the tin to give 64 pieces best achieves this.
7. Once cut, the fudge can be kept in the freezer - there's no need to thaw, just eat straight away.
We adapted it to and made milk chocolate fudge with cherries...

and I made some headers for it with the help of some fonts, doodling and photoshop. Hopefully, nine happy teachers :)

I'm Free!

Daring Cardmakers have a team dare this week...
'Now, on to this weeks dare. Christmas is an expensive time of year (although every day of the year can be potentially expensive to us Crafters ! ;) Anyway, we thought it would be a good idea to run a dare that was 'inexpensive'..This week, we the DCM team, would like you to design a card using a magazine 'freebie' . Either a craft magazine freebie, or indeed any other magazine freebie, papers, embellishments, tools, etc. anything really, as long as it came from a magazine. '

I think that little fingers have left prints on the camera lens judging by the blurry bits - sorry! I use the free papers that you can download from Papercraft Inspirations and a bit of doodling :)

Questions....

Found this whilst blog hopping here :)

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? wrapping paper – Deffo the paper - takes ages but I love adding little bows and curled ribbon to the presents
2. Real tree or Artificial? I prefer real trees and Josh was insistant that we had a real tree this year - not a fan of all the dropped needles though...
3. When do you put up the tree? The weekend after my Birthday so around the 15th
4. When do you take the tree down? Probably Boxing Day this year at the rate it is shedding needles...
5. Do you like eggnog? Never tried it but it sounds pretty grim
6. Favourite gift received as a child? Don't know really, I remember getting a Paul Daniels magic set that was pretty cool at the time and I played with alot.
7. Do you have a nativity scene? No
8. Hardest person to buy for? My Mum
9. Easiest person to buy for? The boys
10. Worst Christmas gift ever received? Not had anything really bad
11. Mail or email Christmas card? Post but the boys did write to Santa via email
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Gremlins or Die Hard 2
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? At some point in December!
14. Have you ever recycled/regifted a Christmas present? No
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Everything!
16. Favorite Christmas song? Last Christmas
17. Travel at Christmas or stay home? This year travel - but not too far :)
18. Can you name Santa's reindeer? Dasher,Dancer,Prancer,Vixen,Comet,Cupid,Donner and Blitzen
19. Do you have an Angel on top of the tree or a star? A big shiny silver star
20. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Day in the morning - although when I was little Dad insisted that they were not opened until after lunch which was really hard.
21. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Supermarket shopping
22. Best thing about Christmas? Seeing how excited the boys are.
So if you like the look of this, cut and paste and add it to your blog. x

Finally finished all the cards this week- just a few to hand deliver - phew! (and a huge thank you to Mrs B for her help :))

This is the photo of the boys for this year;

and here a few of the ones that we didn't use :)...

Charley says....

Still catching up.... I made this card a while ago and did not manage to upload it... Lythan set such a wonderful dare a while back to make a card portraying a song without using the actual song on the card- and here is mine :)

It is of course based on the song 'Charley Says' by the Prodigy - which I would link to but am really not sure if there are any dodgy words in it. The song was in turn based upon the rather fab series of 70's Public Service Information adverts. There are loads on youtube but my most favouritist has to be the one warning you not to play with teapots...

I used Charlie and Lola printables from the cbeebies website and made the sentiment with trust this one and courier fonts.

Made this one too for the festive season...


and... have been super busy with knitting sticks (as Jared calls them) to make a few scarves - and created some little funky labels with Pink Petticoat papers and the help of Photoshop to add the writing...



TFL :)

Another Christmas Card

I made this one a while back...

Papers are Love Elsie, CI brad and spriral clip, Paperchase Ribbon, and a handmade bauble.

TFL :)

Inside and Out

Tis the amazing Gillian's turn to dare this week :)...

'Hi everyone Gillian here, and it's my turn to dare you all this week

I dare you to take the design of your card to the inside as well as the outside.

Add a little finishing touch to match the theme on the outside,
or Surprise the receiver with a flap, foldout, decorated journal block to write on,
or one of those pop-out delights....
It really adds so much to a card when there is attention to detail on the inside
as well as the outside. I know some of you are finished your Christmas cards already
so this week it's Any theme, Christmas or not
But make the inside count too :)'

I made a criss cross card so you can see the inside from the front too :) ...

I used;

Pink Petticoat Papers

MM Tag and Happy Birthday Eyelet - can't really see it as it is way to dark to take piccies today...

Screw Brad

Creative Impressions Hanger

Prima Flowers

and lots of inking and a little bit of doodling :)

TFL!

I am still here :)

Just been super duper busy - tis that mad season of the year lol! I had this brilliant plan to blog much more during December then we all got one of those bugs and so my master plan got waylaid....

This week's little extra is Tag Time....

I used Pink Petticoat papers, Queen and Co and Prima flowers and lots of doodling... :)

I also made a matching bow

- and here is how I made it (I know that I am not the first to do this but this is the way that I set about it :)

Take some papers - I use Pink Petticoat...

Cut 8 strips to measure 2.5 cm by 15 cm and 4 strips to measure 2.5 cm by 12.5 cm.

Doodle 8 stripey bits on some paper...

Curl each strip around on itself and adhere with DST

Add a doodled strip and adhere with more DST - you can use this to stick them all together later on :)

Stick all of the strips together...

Adhere four pieces in to a star shape...

Assemble the remaining strips and add little strips of paper...

Layer the 2 big stars together...

Add the final star shape...

Add a little flower in the centre....et voila :)


And a couple of cards - this first I made for Rhi's fabulous birdy dare...

And a Stripey one for Saffa's dare...


TFL :)