The Twentieth

In today's countdown to Christmas, T is for the traditions, treats, turkey with all the trimmings, toys under the tree, twinkling lights & tinsel.

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).

Warming up

In today's countdown to Christmas, S is for the stocking hung by the fireside, sledging in the snow & sleigh bells ringing.

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).

Keeping cool

In today's countdown to Christmas, I is for ice skating outside on a frozen lake, icing on the cake, icicles hanging from the tree & ice cubes chinking against glass.

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

In today's countdown to Christmas, R is for

rejoicing, robins, reindeer & ruby red ribbon tied around gifts under the tree.

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).

Christmas Inchies

In today's countdown to Christmas, H is for holly, holidays & happy times.

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).

The Meaning of Christmas

What does Christmas mean 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.

For my Christmas project this year, I have made a set of nine inchies, with the initial of each one spelling Christmas. Join me each day for a focus on treasured memories on a countdown to Christmas.

So let's begin with C for ...

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).

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

Keeping your eye on me

I know a few of you drop by every now & then to see what I have been up to, so I have added two more pages from my Zentangle moleskine for you to look at.

History Lesson

This layout records my visit to an exhibition held in London, back in 2008.

This is the accompanying layout to my Titanic page.

As with most exhibitions, we were not permitted to take photographs,

so I have used an image from a educational poster we had saved.

I was using case file 39 from Color Inspiration Story,

which also included a layout sketch to follow.

The background is a map image available from Mary Green at Green Paper Packages.

The map colours match the colour swatches for this challenge.

The journaling is on a pull out tag.

The journaling uses the notepaper image from case file 37, with the tabs recoloured.

The reverse includes a copy of the exhibition ticket.

I used a re-tinted brick wall image from case file 33,

to create a pocket for the journaling,

which reminds me of all the stone blocks needed to build the pyramids.

 I added two gold coloured brads to reflect all the wondrous golden artefacts we saw.

Working through the case file & thinking about how I was going to do this layout,

brought back so many memories of the day

& the amazing ancient artefacts we were so privileged to see.

This page will continue to act as a memory trigger for me for years to come.

Just to say

... you brighten my day.


A greeting card using decoupage designed by TC Chiu from a collection entitled Country Cottage, available from Joanna Sheen.


The backing paper is by Lasting Impressions from their Scrapbooks on the Go - Central Park paper tablet.


I lightly sanded the edges before assembling the decoupage layers using Pinflair Gel Glue (dimensional non-silicon glue).

Autumn Past

Autumn is a time of change, the nights start drawing in, crisp frosty mornings are not too far away & all the green leaves on the trees gradually begin to change colour through yellows, reds & bronze before turning brown & falling to the ground.

I am revisiting a card I made back in 2008, which encapsulates all that Autumn means to me.

* * * * * * * * *

So I took a walk outside & found a wonderful leaf,
fallen from it's tree & blown into our garden.

This was my inspiration. I made an image of the leaf,

using a piece of plain white paper & a brown watercolour pencil,

in the same way you would take a brass rubbing.

I scanned the image into the computer.

Then I adjusted the size & made eight copies of the image.

I printed the images onto Shabby Princess Harvest Spice papers.

I cut out the leaves, edging them with Distress Ink (walnut stain)

& shaped them using an embossing tool.

As the leaf had been my inspiration, the word Inspire seemed appropriate.

The gold card embossed word is by Hot Off The Press.

I used silicone glue to give the card dimension
& the feeling of falling Autumn leaves.

The background paper is from the same range,
edged with a Krylon 18ct gold leafing pen.

Finally I tied gold metallic thread around the card.

Here is a photograph of my inspirational leaf next to the finished card.

* * * * * * * * *

I hope you enjoyed this look back at Autumn past with me.