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Sunday 17 December 2017

Christmas, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year


I shared this photo on Instagram last week but thought I would share here as well. This is what you do on a Sunday instead of doing housework. I had nothing ready in Christmas cards, I had lots of bits and pieces die cut and lots and lots of coloured and cut pieces but it all needed to be put together and suddenly I needed to go to Canberra and spend a couple of days as things were not going well with mum and dad and my sister and I had to make some decisions.

What to do, well of course you drag out all those fabulous backgrounds you have been making all year, and I tell you I have literally hundreds to choose from and I spent the day embossing in gold, silver, bronze and white.  Also got some vellum and black cardstock sentiments done.

Monday saw me cutting all the panels with basic die cuts and attaching to the front of the cards.


I love how they all turned out, each is individual and totally different in colour and stamped image.
I got to use lots of the stamps I had purchased and not used so far and only had two instances where



there was flecks of embossing powder because I forgot to use the anti static pillow first so I did very well. In this instance I have used the idea of adding  zig watercolour to an acrylic block then sprayed with pearlised water then pressed it down on Canson Watercolour paper.
You can just see the pearl effect in the above photo.


I have added fun foam behind the diecut panel to give the card a little more style and feel that works without having to fuss. I needed these cards to be quick and easy for posting as well. I love the white embossing on this one. The stamped image is Penny Black and comes in a set, love it.


Now this one is Canvas look watercolour paper I have added Distress Ink Pink and Orange and water to get a nice mix then a bit of rock salt. Love the effect I got.

This is another Penny Black stamp, also comes from a set of stamps with both greetings. Stamped and embossed in gold.


Die cut with Pretty Pink Posh Frame Die and then put back together. Love it.


Okay these are todays cards. And just so you know I got 40 done using this style and posted off to my friends overseas, a wee bit late, but better late than never.

Challenges:


Stamping + Watercolouring + Die-cutting
Seasons Greetings



Christmas




Christmas






Seasons Greetings





Christmas





Seasons Greetings




Thank you so much for coming to have a look and I hope to see you again soon.


A quick share of a beautiful photo of Elysha I took the other night just before she went out for a Christmas dinner. I have already shared this on Facebook but for those who follow me here I thought you might like to see how well she is looking.

Elysha loves to get dressed up and go out especially if it includes dancing (as long as she doesn't have to dance with anyone else!!) Although this year has had some hard times in it Elysha has managed to shine through, working hard at the gym to beat her pre-diabetes which wants to hold onto that body weight.  
She has managed to loose 7 kilo this year and has added a kilo of  muscle working with a gym buddy a couple of mornings a week and walking every evening with her brother Aaron and his fiancĂ© Rachael.

We are all so very proud of her.












18 comments:

Heidi Weaver said...

Hi Aileen, what lovely cards! I especially love the blues and mauves in the first. The white embossed Penny Black image is stunning against those background colours. I regret that the screen doesn't allow me to see the pearl effect. In real life it must just glow. Thanks so much for joining our Watercooler Wednesday Challenge this week. Elysha is lovely. I can understand you would be very proud of her.

Cathy said...

Well done on creating your chrissy cards from that awesome stash! Hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas, Cathy x

Mac Mable said...

Proud of Elysha too x Great idea with all the cards and so personal and creative x

Catherine said...

Your cards are beautiful! I love the rich and vibrant colors. So pretty! Thanks for joining us on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Cathie ♥

lostinpaper said...

So happy to see that those 'bits and pieces' got put to good use, your cards look amazing and so does your beautiful daughter!

Christine Alexander said...

wonderful heat embossed cards, love the watercolour wash backgrounds. BTW your Elysha looks so pretty:)
Thanks for joining us at CAS Watercolour

Megan J said...

Hi Aileen, a stunning collection of Christmas cards with all those backgrounds. I planned on making a few using similar idea, but i fortunately had enough pre-coloured images and just needed to put the cards together. Have a wonderful week... and keep cool.... Megan

Penny Hanuszak said...

Thank you for joining us this week at Watercooler Wednesday Aileen. What a beautiful card you've shared with us for our challenge. Love the colour mix and watercolour effect.

Darnell said...

I loved seeing this beautiful picture of Elysha on Facebook! And you, Aileen, obviously work better under pressure! Like magic, you pulled together some utterly gorgeous cards!! Hugs, Darnell

Loll said...

Beautiful picture of Elysha. Congrats to her on working hard to avoid diabetes! That's a lot of card fronts! Gorgeous watercoloured cards Aileen. Thanks for sharing with us at CAS Mix Up and CAS Watercolour!

nancy littrell said...

TFS the photo of all your gorgeous card fronts..I am impressed. LOVE your finished card with your beautiful color combo and stamping. So pleased you joined us at CAS Mix Up and CAS watercolour.

Especially thank you for sharing the pretty picture of Elysha. Please tell her she looks beautiful and we are so proud of her working hard to lose weight. Happy Holidays to all the family. Hugs

Karen Dunbrook said...

Good morning mf.
Loved seeing your beautiful daughter...she looks so happy and pretty.
Great cards, love the look of the bkgs. cuz you know how much I love my bkgs!!
Thanks for playing along with the CAS Watercolour Challenge.
:) xx Karen

Cara said...

Wow, what stunning cards! I think I need to make some backgrounds! Elysha looks so beautiful, she's obviously worked really hard. Hugs x

Papercraft Boutique said...

Both cards are so beautiful, Aileen! Using an acrylic block with pearlised spray water gives a nice visual texture to the background. The white heat-embossing pop against the beautiful blue/purple. The second one with salted background has interesting pattern. I love the warm color combo.
You must be so proud of Elysha. That's wonderful and good for her working hard to loose 7 kilo! Hideko :-)

SusanLotus said...

Your daughter is very beautiful! And she looks very happy. :)

My daughter is also " a little different".
She had a stroke when she was in her early 20´s.
I´m so happy she survived.

Merry Christmas!
Sussie

Bonnie said...

Both are such pretty cards, Aileen! All those backgrounds sure do come in handy when you're in a pinch! Elysha looks so pretty! Merry Christmas and thanks for sharing with us at CAS Mix Up and CAS Watercolour!

Bobby said...

I can't imagine putting all those cards together in a short period of time, Aileen, but the fact that the backgrounds were done must have sped the job along. The two you shared look wonderful. That is such a wonder picture of Elysha.

Viv said...

Wow so many cards, don't know how you did it! all fabulous too, just love those amazing backgrounds and super embossing too of course.Aww what a beautiful photo of Elysha too, hasn't she done so well this year, well done my lovely ;) hugs Viv xx