Christmas

On this Christmas Day, my inchie is S for Seasons Greetings, which I send to you all.

Front

Back

This is the complete set, with the initial of each word spelling out Christmas.

Whatever Christmas means to you,
may I wish you a very Happy Christmas
& a peaceful New Year.

Countdown to Christmas - Advent

As Christmas draws near, A is for

Angels, sugar coated Almonds & Advent

Front

Back

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Countdown to Christmas - Mistletoe

In this week's countdown to Christmas, M is for

new Memories made,
old Memories remembered from Christmas Past,

Mulled wine, Music &

Meeting under the Mistletoe

Front

Back

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Countdown to Christmas - Tradition

For this week's countdown to Christmas, T is for

Twinkling lights, Toys under the Tree

Treats, Tinsel, 

Turkey with all the Trimmings
& Traditions

Front

Back

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Countdown to Christmas - Stocking

For this week's countdown to Christmas, S is for

Sledging in the Snow, Sleigh bells ringing

& Stockings hanging by the fireside

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Countdown to Christmas - Icicle

This week, in our countdown to Christmas, I is for

Ice skating outside on a frozen lake,

Icing on the cake,

Ice cubes chinking against glass

& Icicles hanging from the tree

Front

Back

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Countdown to Christmas - Rejoice

This week, in our countdown to Christmas, R is for

Rejoicing, Robins,Reindeer

& Ruby Red Ribbon tied around gifts under the tree

Front

Back

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Countdown to Christmas - Holly

This week, in our countdown to Christmas, H is for

Holly, Holidays

& Happy times.

Front

Back

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Countdown to Christmas - Time to Celebrate ...

Although Christmas Day is still weeks away,
we are already being bombarded with Christmas films on telly,
seasonal food in the shops & over the last few days,
the weather has certainly turned more wintry.

Christmas Day will be here before we are ready.

Below is a project from a few years ago. I made a set of nine inchies,

the initial letter on each inchie spelling out the word
Christmas. 

Join me each week for a focus on treasured memories on a countdown to Christmas.

Take a moment or two to pause & reflect on what Christmas means to you.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

This time of year is full of so many memories from Christmas Past

as well as the excitement of making new memories to be treasured in years to come.

Let's begin with C for ...

Chestnuts roasting over a coal fire

Carollers singing familiar songs

Candles burning brightly

Celebrating with family & friends

Clementines studded with cloves

Chocolates – a treat for all

Crackers to make the meal go with a bang

Cinnamon Chai latte to comfort & warm

Crystallised fruits, a cherished memory from Christmas Past

Front

Back

My inchies are one inch square mountboard,

covered in paper by Cosmo Cricket,

with dictionary definitions

& images from Lisa Altered Art,

with a dash of Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen).

Thought is the Wind

Quotations & Lyrics is The Craft Barn blog challenge for 2014.

A new prompt is provided every other week,

leaving two weeks for us to think about & create our artwork.

The current prompts are

Knowledge & Hurt

I chose Knowledge & decided to use a quotation by Augustus Hare.

This is the front of my bookmark.

This is the reverse.

I used patterned papers by Papermania, Distress Marker (black soot)

& an image cut from old paper stock.

Retro Easter

A project from a few years ago ...

Take the initial letter from each word to spell out

Easter.

Each one inch squared tile is cut from a sheet of mountboard,

covered front & back, in patterned paper from K & Company

designed by Brenda Walton.

I found six beautiful faces on Blanca's blog,

which I digitally remastered

(altered the colour, tone & resized).

The edges were sanded

to add a little aged, distressed, shabby feel.

After looking deeply into their eyes,

I gave each lady a description

which I felt matched their mood.

To add a hint of colour & focal interest,

I used Cherry Blossom flowers

leftover from my Nice n Easel decoupaged greeting cards.

These little beauties will stay on my desk throughout

Easter

& raise a smile each time I look at them ...

Changing the World

Quotations & Lyrics is The Craft Barn blog challenge for 2014.

A new prompt is provided every other week,

leaving two weeks for us to think about & create our artwork.

The current prompts are

Change & Truth

I decided to use this quote from Mother Teresa.

"I alone cannot change the world,

but I can cast a stone across the waters

to create many ripples."

This is the front of my bookmark.

This is the reverse.

I used patterned papers by Papermania & Distress Marker (black soot).

Daisy ... Daisy

Quotations & Lyrics is The Craft Barn blog challenge for 2014.

A new prompt is provided every other week,

leaving two weeks for us to think about & create our artwork.

The current prompts are

Flower & Travel

I chose Flower & decided to use a line from a song, written by Harry Dacre in 1892,

entitled Daisy Bell.

"There is a flower within my heart"

The alternate title for this song is Bicycle built for two, so it covers the travel word too.

This is the front of my bookmark.

This is the reverse.

I used patterned papers by Papermania & Distress Marker (black soot).

Whilst the original song is over 100 years old, it is still a well known & much loved song

& has even been performed by Blur,

featuring on the special edition release of their Modern Life is Rubbish album (2012).

What is Art?

Quotations & Lyrics is The Craft Barn blog challenge for 2014.

A new prompt is provided every other week,

leaving two weeks for us to think about & create our artwork.

The current prompts are

Art & Road

I decided to use art & used my quotation,

"What is art

if not a reflection

of our soul"

This is the front of my bookmark.

This is the reverse.

I used patterned papers by Papermania, Distress Marker (black soot),

an altered image from Graphics Fairy & blue felt.

It's all in the Mind

Quotations & Lyrics is The Craft Barn blog challenge for 2014.

A new prompt is provided every other week,

leaving two weeks for us to think about & create our artwork.

The current prompts are

Marriage & Age

I decided to use age & my quote is from the author Mark Twain.

This is the front of my bookmark.

This is the reverse.

I used patterned papers by Papermania, Distress Marker (black soot),

an altered image from Michelle Ward,

a moth from Papermania's Madame Payraud's Emporium of Curios

& some tape instead of ribbon.

Be Strong

Quotations & Lyrics is The Craft Barn blog challenge for 2014.

A new prompt is provided every other week,

leaving two weeks for us to think about & create our artwork.

The current prompts are

Strong & Miss

I decided to use strong & my quote is from the author Christian D. Larson.

This is the front of my bookmark.

This is the reverse.

I used patterned papers by Papermania, Distress Marker (black soot)

& an altered image from The Graphics Fairy.

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing

can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness & prosperity

to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel

that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything

& make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,

& to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others

as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past &

press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times &

give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself

that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger,

too strong for fear & too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself & to proclaim this fact to the world,

not in loud words but great deeds.

To live in faith that the whole world is on your side

so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

Silence please

Quotations & Lyrics is The Craft Barn blog challenge for 2014.

A new prompt is provided every other week,

leaving two weeks for us to think about & create our artwork.

The current prompts are

Silence & Dazzle

I decided to use silence & my quote is from the author John Grossmann.

This is the front of my bookmark.

This is the reverse.

I used patterned papers by Papermania, Distress Marker (black soot),

Ranger's Glossy Accents, ribbon

& a couple of recoloured images from my archives.

Smile

Following on from the huge success of their Alpha Challenge in 2013,

The Craft Barn is running another year long blog challenge.

This year the theme is

Quotations & Lyrics

A new prompt will be provided every other week,

leaving us two weeks to think about & create our artwork.

Last year I made a Tag Book, so I wanted to do something different with this new challenge. 

I was privileged to have won a prize in the very last week of the Alpha Challenge,

which was £20 to spend in The Craft Barn shop.

After much deliberation, I was inspired by the wooden book & small notebooks.

The wooden book, has a secret drawer.

In the drawer I will keep the small notebook,

where I will keep the inspirational quotes & song lyrics that we discover throughout the year.

So, continuing with the book theme, this year I will be making bookmarks.

These are larger than my usual mini tags, so I will be able to include more words.

I am also going to use black & white as my underlying theme,

with maybe a hint of colour along the way.

This is a reference to the black & white bookprint.

During the year, I will also alter the wooden book & cover of the notebook,

to reflect the theme of this challenge.

The first word prompts of 2014 are

Smile &/or Up

I have chosen smile & my quote is

Be the reason someone smiles today

I have used patterned papers by Papermania, Distress Marker (black soot),

Ranger's Glossy Accents & white grosgrain ribbon.