It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...........

I'll start off by apologising, it's an extra long post today, so you may want to make yourself a hot drink and settle down, while you listen to me waffling on about Christmas.
It's one of my favourite times of the year, I just love everything about it from decorating the tree, to shopping, watching Christmas films, wrapping the gifts and of course spending time with my family.
I have all my family around Christmas Day, 15 of us all together, it's hectic but fun, my Dad dresses up as Santa and delivers all our presents, the kids love it and even though my girls are grown up they still get very excited. I hope they look back at their Christmases in years to come and remember all the good times and traditions we had.

Our pink themed Christmas tree went up, the last weekend in November, it's not very traditional but I love it, especially the fluffy feather boas. We did try just putting just the silver decorations up this year but we sat there looking at it and wasn't happy so on went the pink!!!!

My first Christmas outing was to a local village to watch the Christmas lights been switched on. Santa stopped by and all the quaint  little shops were open, all looking very festive with their beautiful window displays.

My Christmas cards have been made, I just need to write them now, I've gone with three quick designs, I love shabby chic cards but they are very time consuming so for Christmas I go for a more clean and simple look. The Merry Christmas wreath card is very traditional, while the snowflake card is more contemporary with the colours of aqua and red and then the Holly card is middle of the road using traditional gold and glitter but with kraft card.

Our next little trip was to Birmingham, where we got my Christmas present and then visited the Frankfurt German Market. This has been part of our Christmas tradition for a few years, now, it really gets me in the holiday spirit.

We had a wonder around, looking at the different stalls, I always end up buying a new tree decoration. I loved watching the ice skaters, this year, the rink hasn't been here for a few years, I just wish I was brave enough to have a go.

We had to stop for a short break and get some fried potatoes, mushrooms with garlic sauce and a mug of hot Gluh Wein, mmmmmmm, delicious.

We also popped onto The Jointstock for a drink, it's such a beautiful building and it had the biggest tree that I'd ever seen indoors, it was at least 30 foot high and decorated so pretty!!!!!!!

I've had my first festive Costa coffee, I went for the Salted Caramel skinny latte, yummy!!!

On Saturday, Paige and I went to see The Nutcracker, performed by the Birmingham Royal Ballet. It's the first time we'd seen it and it was absolutely amazing!!!! This could be a new Christmas tradition for us. The costumes and the set were breathtaking, the ballerina's so graceful, it really was a treat to watch.

One last little thing, today I decided to buy a real tree for the conservatory, we haven't had one for a few years. I'm the only one who likes real Christmas trees, I love the smell and I love that they're not a perfect shape or stand straight, it's all part of the charm.So as you can see it really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Hickman house. 

Thanks for stopping by and listening to me waffle on, you can probably tell we love Christmas in our house, it was a bit of a long post, so if you made it to the end, thank you,lol. I'd love to hear about your Christmas traditions.

xxxxDebxxxx

Papercraft Inspirations Beautiful Blogs.......

Hello there, I hope you are having a good weekend, I nearly forgot to tell you all that my little blog has been featured in the Paper Inspirations blog gallery.
It is the Christmas edition and I was absolutely thrilled when I received an email, asking if they could feature one of my Christmas cards.
It was this easel card that caught their eye, which I created back in January.

It was using the Inspired by Stamping Christmas Greetings stamp set, you can see all the details, here.

Thanks for stopping by, enjoy the rest of your day, we are off to see Jodie this morning, she started her new job on Monday so I'll get to hear all about it.She lives by Stoke on Trent near Trentham Gardens, so we are going to pop there to look around the Christmas market and maybe go on the ice rink.

xxxxDebxxxx

IBSIC #39.........sage green, red and white.

Hello my lovely, crafty friends, I'm back today with the last Inspired by Stamping Inspiration Challenge, of the year but we will be back on 3rd January 2013 with a new look colour inspiration challenge and some new DT members, so please come back and take a look, you won't be disappointed, the colours and the photo inspiration are absolutely gorgeous !!!

Back to this week's, here is the new inspiration photo, this makes me so happy looking at this, love the colour combo and LOVE candy canes.

Here's my card.

I used the Festive Frames stamp set, I love this set, it is so elegant and has some wonderful sentiments, I had to use one of my chenille candy canes too that I've been hoarding for years.

Supplies
Stamps- Festive Frames.
Papers- October Afternoon, Cosmo Cricket.
Pretties- chenille candy cane, button, SU rhinestones, grosgrain ribbon.

I used this week's sketch from Mojo Monday.

Don't forget you still have time to apply to be part of Inspired by Stamping DT, you can find all the details, here.

Thank you for looking, I hope you will play along with us this week, Merry Christmas from all of the Inspired by Stamping Design Team and we'll see you next year.

Have a good weekend, I will be back with other posts before Christmas, so see you soon.

xxxxDebxxxx

Inspired by Stamping Blog Hop..........

Welcome to the  Inspired by Stamping Blog Hop , the DT are choosing two of their favourite IBS stamp sets to work with today. If you've just arrived from Colleen's blog, Dietrich Designs, you are on the right track, if not, you may want to start at the beginning and head over to, Joanna's of Inspired by Stamping.

You could win some blog candy, a $25 gift card to spend at the Inspired by Stamping store also it will be free shipping for 24 hours only. It will run from 9am GMT/4am EST today until Wedsnesday 9am GMT/ 4am EST, just add the code "freeshipping"

It was a hard decision, choosing just two sets, as I love them all but after much deliberation I decided to showcase Oh Baby and Mason Jars.
I went with the Oh Baby as my good friend, Maria, became a Grandma for this first time so wanted to make a card for the proud parents.

I stamped the pram and cut around it, adding some buttons for the wheels and a bit of lace to the hood.
A few of the sentiments are separate, so you can create your sentiment to suit what you need. I stamped the 'Welcome' in blue and 'bundle of joy' in red to match the rest of the card.

I also made a matching tag, as I'm knitting him a little All in One Teddy Romper, this time I used the bib from the set. I adore the sentiment 'cute as button'.

Supplies
Stamps- Oh Baby.
Papers- Prima, Authentique.
Pretties- bakers twine, buttons, IBS Crochet Trim.
Tools- Spellbinders Nestabilities, SU Pennant punch.

 The next set I choose was the Mason Jar set, I went for a festive feel, filling the jar with baubles and glitter.

I used the Holiday Ornaments to create the dangling baubles, the lid I stamped onto the IBS Silver Glitter Tape, adding some lace, baker twine,  a jingle bell and then stamped 'Xmas' from the Vintage Postcard Add On 1, punching out with a mini tag. I added some glitter in the bottom of the jar.

Supplies
Stamps- Mason Jar, Holiday Ornaments, Vintage Postcards Add On 1.
Papers- Stampin' Up.
Pretties- seam binding, lace, bakers twine, jingle bell, glitter.

Now, hop on over to our next designer, Irit of Irit Shalom Designs, to see her wonderful creations using her two favourite sets.

Joanna Munster

Colleen Dietrich

                      Deb Hickman   (you are here)
Irit Shalom

Kendra Sand

Liz Weber

Don't forget, you still have time to apply for the DT call, you can find all the details, here. It is a great team to design for, so don't be shy, give it a try !!!!

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoy the rest of the Blog Hop.

xxxxDebxxxx

IBSIC #38...........Red, Purple and Cream.

Hi there, I'm back today with this week's challenge from Inspired by Stamping, I hope you're not fed up of me yet, I've posted every day this week !!!!!
This week's challenge is to use red, purple and cream, and as always here's a gorgeous inspiration photo.

I would never have put these colours together without this challenge so thank you, Joanna for getting me to create with a colour combo, I wouldn't usually use, it's always good to try new things.

I also used this week's sketch from Mojo Monday.

Supplies
Stamps- IBS December 25th Labels.
Papers- Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather.
Pretties- IBS Lace Tape, SU Pearls.
Tools- MS punches.

Don't forget you still have time to apply for Inspired by Stamping 2013 Design Team Call, for all the details, click here. Also international shipping is still only $5 during this month.

Thanks for looking, don't forget to play along with us at Inspired by Stamping.
xxxxDebxxxx

ATCAS #2............Bauble.

Hi, I'm back today with a Clean and Simple Christmas card, that I will enter into Addicted to CAS Challenge #2, the new Code Word is 'Bauble'.

I'm really enjoying these CAS challenges, I get so many more cards done than my usual style card, I made six of these in 30 minutes.

First, I cut out five fern leaves from the TH Alterations Festive Greenery and shaped as a Christmas Garland, then stamping some baubles from Inspired by Stamping Holiday Ornaments stamp set in SU Primrose Petals, Sage Shadow and Pretty in Pink, adding a rhinestone in the centre of three of them.
I also added some twinkly star confetti onto the greenery for even more sparkle, you can never have too much at Christmas !!!!!

Supplies
Stamps- IBS Holiday Ornaments, IBS Festive Frames.
Pretties- Star Confetti, SU Rhinestones.
Tools- Sizzix TH Alteration Festive Greenery.

Thanks for stopping by, have a good week.
xxxxDebxxxx

Stampin'Up Joyous Celebrations..........

Hello my lovely crafting friends. I hope you've all had a good weekend. It was our Bromsgrove Crop on Saturday, we had Christmas songs playing all day, Libby organised some challenges and also a little gift so thanks, Libby, such a lovely thought.
Also, I did a card class, and as it was Christmas, I did a little extra and made a money holder which holds a chocolate and money.

Here's what I created for the class.

The money holder is using the SU Sizzix Scalloped Envelope die, I cut two out from kraft card and hinged them together using the flaps. The photo below shows you, where I glued the flaps, then the two that have been left flat are glued together , forming an hinged holder.

Once assembled, cover the front with patterned paper, leave the scalloped edge on the right hand side, upright, on this flap I added the sentiment, punching out with the SU Oval Punch. The one on the left, fold down over the front, covering some of the paper, and keep in place with a foam square.I coloured the white pearls with a red ProMarker for the holly berries.
Lastly, I added some seam binding all the way around, so you can tie it together and added the 'December 25th', punched out with the SU Scalloped Square.

Supplies
Stamps- SU Joyous Celebration,
Paper- SU Candlelight Christmas, SU Glimmer Card.
Pretties- SU Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, SU Scalloped Tulle Ribbon, SU Pearls.
Tools- SU Sizzix Scalloped Envelope die, SU Designer Frames Embossing Folders, SU Sizzix Edgelits- Adorning Accents, MS Holly punch.

Thanks for looking, I'll be back tomorrow with a CAS Christmas card, nice and quick if you have lots to make.

xxxxDebxxxx

IBS Challenge #37.....Red, Green and White.

I'm back with this week's challenge from Inspired by Stamping and we are asking you do create a card using red, green and white.
Here's a gorgeous Christmas photo to inspire you.

I used one of the stamps from December 25th Labels, I was spoilt for choice with which one to go for but eventually decided on the one with the snowflakes.
There are some beautiful Poinsettia's on the photo which inspired me to use one of the IBS White Poinsettia Flowers.

Supplies
Stamps- December 25th Labels
Papers- Stampin'Up
Pretties- IBS Red Satin Ribbon, SU Rhinestones

I hope you can join in this week's challenge, we love to look at your creations.One last thing, Joanna is having an Inspired by Stamping 2013 Design Call so if you fancy been part of this wonderful stamp company, read the following on how to apply.

Inspired by Stamping 2013 Design Team Call! 
  

Inspired by Stamping Company is looking for 6 NEW creative designers to join our 

team! 

This call starts today November 29th and will be open until December 29th.   

The new IBS Girls will be chosen and notified by January 2nd. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us before you submit. 

(Information below) 

Requirements: 

o Actively post to your own blog in English 

o Participate in our weekly challenges for six months to be posted on every Thursday of the month. 

o Required to make 1 to 2 cards per release as specify beforehand. 

o Ability to print and work with  our stamp sets, dies, embellishments and templates (supplied by Inspired by Stamping) 

o Comment on participant submissions  

o Link to our challenge blog, Design Team members and post our IBSIC badge and Design Team Badge 

What Inspired by Stamping are searching for: 

o High quality work  

o Ability to photograph your work well and brightly lit 

o Ability to follow the directions in the Design Team Application 

o Fun, creative, happy spirited individuals who love to create with paper and stamps! And who love to share their creations and inspire others! 

Benefits: 

o With each release, you will receive 2 free IBS stamp sets (varying sizes of stamp sets each month), and/or ribbon and embellishments to use and keep with each new release. 

o Fun and creative inspiration with an amazing design team! 

o Links to your blog from our Challenge Blog, Inspired by Stamping Store, Inspired by Stamping Blog and your fellow IBSIC blogs 

o Blog community socialization, friendship, creativity, inspiration  

o A Six-Month Design Team Term beginning on January 15th and running through June 15th (as long as all Design Team requirements are completely fulfilled.  Failure to fulfill any and all of the DT requirements will result in termination from the team)  

o Immediately sent two new stamp sets to work with for our challenge. 

How to Apply: 
1. Email joanna@inspiredbystampin.com with "DT Application" as subject
3. Include the following in your email:
o Full Name
o Blog Address
o Current and previous Design Team experience (current or past DT experience is not required)
o Tell us a bit about yourself and why you would like to join us
o Submit a newly created card and/or project (never before shared on your blog) using the photo below as your inspiration.

o You may submit as many times as you wish.  Only your first application will require for all of the above ... any subsequent applications need only include 'DT Application' in the subject like of your e-mail, your name in the body and a picture of your submission attached to the e-mail.

 Good luck! We are so excited to see your entries!
Kind Regards,
Joanna, Brad and the IBS Team

Happy Crafting
xxxxDebxxxx

IBSIC #36.....A Sketch.

Hello there, and Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends, have a wonderful weekend. I'm back today with this week's challenge from Inspired by Stamping and this week we have this fab sketch for you.

I'm still on a roll with my Christmas cards and this week I've gone very pink and girly.

I created the tree by punching strips of pattern paper with the Martha Stewart Zig Zag punch, layering and  adhering them to a piece of card and then cut a triangular shape. I added some Stickles along the zig zag edge.
I used the gorgeous Glitter Tape from Inspired by Stamping  to give a bit more sparkle to my card. I love the sentiment "Believe" from Festive Frames, so simple but so meaningful this time of year.

Supplies
Stamps- Festive Frames.
Pretties- IBS Glitter Tape, rhinestones.
Tools- MS Zig Zag Punch, MS Star Punch, Spellbinders Scallop Oval and Oval.

 We have our Guest Designer Call continuing this week. We are looking for a gorgeous card that will make us all swoon.

This call will stay open until the end of November so there is still time to join. The winner will be announced on December 1st and will win 2 4×6 stamp sets!

Happy Crafting.

xxxxDebxxxx

Addicted to CAS Challenge #1...........A Snowy Christmas Wreath Card.

Hello Guys, I hope you all had a good weekend, I wanted to let you all know that there is a new challenge blog that started up on Saturday, it's called Addicted to CAS and as the name suggests, it's all about clean and simple.
My lovely friend Joanna is the Guest Designer and is also sponsoring this month's challenges, this week you could win a $20 gift card for the Inspired by Stamping Store.

This week's challenge is SNOW. 

I used my new Penny Black stamp that I got from the craft show last week for the bargain price of £1,  that's what I call a bargain !!!!!
I added some mica flakes and glitter to the wreath for the snowy effect, I love to see snow on my wreath that hangs on my front door, not that it snows very often at Christmas in the U.K. I also added some little red gems for the berries.It was really hard to get a photo that showed up the "snow" but I hope you can see it is there, IRL, you can see it better.
I think I might be making more CAS cards now I've found this new challenge site, I created 6 of these cards in the time it would take me to create one of my normal style cards.

Supplies
Stamps- Penny Black, IBS Christmas Greetings.
Pretties- Hobby House rhinestones, MF mica flakes, SU glitter.

Thanks for stopping by.
xxxxDebxxxx

IBSIC #35......and 50% off the entire store !!!!!

Hi, I'm back today with this week's challenge from Inspired by Stamping, but before I get to that, I've got some great news, if you love Inspired by Stamping products, now is the time to buy. It's Joanna's birthday, so is having a Super Sale Birthday Bash, she is offering 50% off all products in the store today and tomorrow only !!!!

Plus it is only $5 international shipping or free over $75, you need to hurry though, it's while stocks last !!!!!

Also if you've got a Silhouette Cameo, Joannna has uploaded a free file to use with 78 of her stamp sets, so no more fussy cutting, you can find the upload here.

Now back to the challenge, this week we are asking you to use the colours, gold, pink and white, there is a $20 gift card up for grabs for one lucky winner, also don't forget you could become a Guest Designer for the month.

Here's my card.

I also used this week's sketch from Mojo Monday.

Supplies

Stamps- Holiday Expressions.

Papers- Pink Paislee.

Pretties- Ribbon, Rhinestones.

Tools- Spellbinder Snowflake die, Sizzix Embossing Folder, SU Border Punch.

Hope you'll join us this week and don't forget to have a look at the SALE, today and tomorrow only.

Happy Crafting

xxxxDebxxxx