Reindeer Roundup

I so wanted to title this with the ‘it looks like reindeer’ pun, but I figure I have trampled over the line of acceptable punning way too far already on this blog, so I resisted. Practically killed me.

I don’t know where all my Christmas stamps are – I have a suspicion in a box at the bottom of a pile of other very large boxes, which means they will probably stay there unless I find an extra few days somewhere to sort out the craft room. I have a few stragglers lurking around though, and this stamp is one of them. I don’t think I used it much when I bought it years ago, back in the day when this one stamp cost £9.95!! Time to give it a quick workout.

So more reindeer themed cards then. I have a trio here, all very slightly different, because some things worked and some did not. Firstly I wanted to stamp this in grey, to be softer than black, but the grey ink didn’t do the best justice to the stamp’s detail. So I also tried it in two different blacks, which both showed the detail fine but were a fraction harsher than I would have liked, and totally indistinguishable from each other. Never mind, they are still usable.

I then decided I would ‘explore the theme‘. Translates as ‘mat them on to different colours and see which flies best‘.

Card number one is the grey ink, on a silver base card

Card number two is black ink, on a silver base card

Card number three is black ink, on a black base. This one definitely did not look very Christmassy with just the knot of red ribbon the others are sporting, so I went for a bit of extra sparkle (glitter ribbon – who knew that existed??) and a sentiment. I also ‘domed’ the sentiment a little bit and supported it in the centre with some 3d foam so it would not get squished. I swear, if 3d foam suddenly becomes unavailable I may need to question my very existence.

What do we think? Which one looks the best? And, did you spot the ‘props’? OK, so it was two jingle bells, but it’s a start… Oh, and Kathy at paper and ink imaginings, three dotted gems – thanks for the suggestion last time!

The stamp is Penny Black “Let’s Play”. I have googled and it still seems to be available here and there. The banner greeting is from Clearly Besotted Mini Banners and ribbon from The Ribbon Room.

 

Kinda Anna?

The UK is reeling from the fallout of the Brexit referendum. I’m giving nothing away about how I voted, but reactions of other people to the result, and to each other, have been interesting. It seems the ’out’ verdict was a surprise to pretty much everyone I spoke to; a few who told me they had voted to exit the EU said they hadn’t thought the (small) majority would vote the same way. I think some were perhaps ruing their choice. Others were slightly stunned that it had happened, but were looking ahead with something like interest or curiosity. At work apparently an ‘in’ voter had to be calmed down after a furious tirade aimed at work colleagues who had ticked the ‘out’ box! Who knows what will happen. There is a strange feel to today.

Anyway, enough of the news, and back to the papers (!).  I’m with my Anna Griffin stash again. I really want to use a lot of it up, not because I don’t like it any more, far from it, but because otherwise it will get battered and tattered, faded and dog-eared. Not a fair way to treat such gorgeousness. Or, indeed, such financial investment!

This card took me a while, just because I could not make up my mind about what to put where. Same dilemma as I had voting yesterday! I think it is perhaps a bit closer to the Anna Griffin look I love?

I haven’t used a peel-off border sticker in ages. When I first started out card making they were practically compulsory! A long time ago I totally fell out of love with them alongside so many other crafters, but every now and again they are just exactly what I want. This card is old school, so old school equipment is fine! Everything else except the ribbon and Brilliance Pearlescent Olive ink for the sentiment is from my Anna Griffin stash, including the punch to make the border strips.

Let’s play a game!

The game is ‘what is wrong with this picture?’ Let me quickly give you a clue before I get any unwelcome suggestions. What is the word missing from all the following:

Earl ____ tea

Lady Jane ____

50 Shades of ____

GREY!!!!! When I stamped and cut out these flowers yesterday, I used grey inks. They looked pretty good and I had the design all mapped out in my head. When I came to work with them today, they had all turned green! How the hell did that happen? The inner child cries out “Elves!” whilst the more mature brain suggests “the ink must have reacted weirdly with the card you used”. I prefer the first suggestion, as I would hope to be able to train visiting elves to tackle the housework instead, but I guess that the ink and paper not getting along is the more likely scenario. So now I have a whole load of cut out green roses and leaves. I don’t want to bin them as they took a while to do, so a rethink is required. I tried out all sorts of colour combinations but as green roses don’t figure much in the real world, most of what I offered up just looked wrong. Then, I came across the spotty card base and thought it might work better than the pastels I had been trying, and I quite liked it. Black was an obvious choice for this second card, with a pale lemon to soften it a bit.

Not at all what I had planned but sometimes it just goes that way!

Supplies: Altenew Vintage Flowers stamps and dies; Craftwork Cards spotty card base; The Ribbon Room striped ribbon