Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas to my wonderful blogging friends! We have had a great day here - my parents have come to visit so we are just 5 around the table. Lunch was huge - isn't everyone's on Christmas? Currently we are relaxing in that post-Christmas lunch stupor.

Santa came to everyone here (we must have all been nice I guess). The cyclone that was threatening to develop has turned out to be just a tropical low (we still received 122mm (about 5 inches) of rain in the 36 hours to 8am today!). To my readers from drought-stricken areas of this fantastic country - I wish I could send some to you! However, today's weather has been beautiful, even if a bit warm! Can't please all the people all the time!

I have a few cards to show you that I worked on last night.

This is my next entry in the sBS25 Challenge 10 - I CASEd Leslie's card. I don't use the gate-fold often but I really like it when I do - have to use it more often I guess. The stamp set is "Time Well Spent" which is a Level 3 Hostess Set. I waited a long time to get this one but this is the first time I have used it. Shame on me! This set is fantastic for colouring. I used the Rich Regal Watercolour Wonder crayons (Taken with Teal, Rose Red, Regal Rose and So Saffron) with my Aquapainter for my colouring this time. The base card is Metallic Copper (which I absolutely love!). The two sides of the gate have a layer of Taken with Teal DSP from the Bali Breeze pack. I used my CM Custom Cutting System blades with the circle templates to cut the 3 layers behind the large flower. I sponged the Regal Rose layer with Rose Red ink. The sentiment has only 2 layers.

With this card I CASE'd Joan's card. I loved the turquoise and copper colour combo but I don't have any copper embossing powder (SU discontinued it here at end of March 08) so I changed it to turquoise and silver. I used the So Swirly wheel across the top in Turquoise ink. The 2 sentiments are from the Cheery Chat stamp set. I used the vellum overlay on the right hand side to soften the Tempting Turquoise panel.

This card is not for the challenge and is a CASE of noone! My mum is a part-time stamper and asked to be shown some colouring techniques. I had this stamp set (Ocean Commotion from the Summer Mini) sitting unused and I knew that Mum had the Eart Elements Watercolour Wonder crayons. So we practiced a watercolouring technique where you colour on the stamp with the crayons and then spritz the image with water before stamping it. We both needed a couple of practices before we got the amount of water just right. I hadn't planned this card before we began stamping so we just stamped onto Whisper White. Then I had to come up with a layout! I usually just use other people's layouts! Anyway, I decided that the card could be an underwater scene so we used So Saffron cardstock for the sand base and tore a piece of Brocade Blue for the water. Then we spent absolutely ages deciding on where our seaweed, fish, seahourses and shells would go! Before sticking down we had decided that it needed a sentiment to fill in the gap so that was done. However, we weren't happy with it - until my Mum had the idea to use glitter! That was definitely a lightbulb moment! The glitter ripples in the sand made all the difference.

Mum and my daughter are happily working together in the kitchen - Mum peeling some huge prawns and Charis peeling carrots - but I think I had better at least offer to help. Mind you, I can't possibly think about eating anything just at the moment. Thankfully dinner is planned to be a light meal of BBQ prawns, ham (leftover from lunch, of course) and salad. I can't imagine what we would eat in places where Christmas means snow!

I hope that your Christmas day is as happy as mine has been!