My Special Cards from 2020

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How has your week been? There is something special about today for us. We are allowed out again we can go for walks  and do our food shopping. The self-isolation ended at midnight last night. It has been very strange not to be able to go out for walks. 

I usually do some sort of round up at the end of the year. I do like to look through my cards and see what I have made. 

January 2020

Here is one of the thank you cards I made. The original post is HERE. 

February 2020

In February I went to the Farnborough Craft Show. We stayed overnight and then I did a workshop with John Next Door and my hubby visited his  parents while I was there. I am so glad we did those things. There was really no clue what was coming. These are the cards I made at the workshop. 

March 2020

This is the card I made for our friends once we had gone into lockdown. The original post for this card is HERE. 

April 2020

Who could forget Captain Tom Moore and all the money he raised for the NHS. This is the birthday card that I sent along with many other people. The original post for this card is HERE. 

May 2020

Here is a Get Well card I made with an image from Bugaboo stamps. I started following Barbara Gray's Shac Shack in March and I learnt to colour with pencils. The original post for this card is HERE 

June 2020

Here is the Father's Day card that I made for my hubby. I had also joined the Claritystamp Fresh Cut dies Club. I used one of the dies to make this card. The original post for this card is HERE. 

July 2020

This is the waterfall card I made for my father-in-law's 96th birthday. He likes a nautical themed card and if there is a bit of movement that is good too. The original post for this card is HERE. 

August 2020

In August I was invited to sell some of my cards at a Hampshire Open Studios event. It was held in my friend's garden and house. All precautions were taken. I did sell quite a few cards. This one is made with a Claritystamps Fresh Cut die. The original post for this card is HERE. 

September 2020

In September we went to a wedding. It as a lovely day. It was such a privilege to be there with only 30 guests allowed. Our daughter drew the image and the roses frame. I added lots of dies from the John Next Door range. This was the first of some collaborations between me and our daughter. I don't think I ever blogged this card. 

October 2020

On 23rd October 2020 our daughter and son-in-law moved to their new home. I drew this image for them. I is based on one of the doodles from Barbara Gray's Shac Shack. I missed a trick as I should have drawn their house which I did for their Christmas card. This is the blog post where this card is featured. 

November 2020

On the very last day of November my husband retired. He had been working at home since March. Then in June his job changed and he became unhappy. The chance of voluntary severance came up he applied and got it. This is the card I made for him. The original post for this card is HERE. 

Also in November I was asked to be a Guest Angel for the John Next Door design team. I was sent the Shutter card die set to use. This is one of the cards I made. I have a little secret and I am sure not many people will read this far. I am now a permanent John Next Door Angel. I already have my next set of dies to use. The original post this card was in is HERE. 

December 2020

Here is my own doodle used for a Christmas card. I do so love doodling. I have learnt so much from Barbara Gray. This is one of the really positive things that has come out of 2020 for me. The year everything change, when we could no longer take things for granted. The original post for this card is HERE. 

Wishing you a Happy 2021

Who knows what will be ahead of us this year?

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Snowmen for Beccy's Place

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I do hope that you had as good a Christmas as you could with the current restrictions. We unfortunately had to self-isolate which meant that the meagre plans we had were curtailed even more. It has meant that we cannot go out for walks. We are so glad that we have a garden. I cooked a nice meal which we enjoyed together and we had a WhatsApp video chat with the family. On Boxing Day we started an online Murder Mystery which is lots of fun. We are allowed out on Wednesday. The NHS app has a count down. 

This is my last post of the year for Beccy's Place I am lucky enough to be one of her blog contributors. I was given the Snowman Encore digital stamp set to work with. 

I made my own backing paper with some of the snowflakes from the set. I used a gel pen to add extra dots. 

Beccy's Blog is a great place to visit there is lots of inspiration, competitions and there are free images as well. Click on the logo and you will be taken there. 

This is the Snowman Digital stamp set. There are a lot of images here. The image set is available HERE. 

Here are some of the snowmen. They were coloured with my Polychromo pencils. I used a sentiment from the set too. 

Here is a second card I made. This little snowman is so cute. I used my Polychromo pencils again. 

Here are the cards together. They have all been sent now. I did have a few cards left over this year. I also did much better with the sizes only one needed a large letter stamp. 

Have a Happy New Year

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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A Little Gnome Christmas Card

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

Oh boy what a difference a few days makes. First today the NHS tracking app told us we had to self isolate for 7 days and then later we find out from Boxing Day loads of us are going into Tier 4. Roll on more vaccinations. What a strange Christmas and New Year we are all going to have. 

I get rather shy of sharing my own drawings. With all that is going on I thought I would give it another go. Here is the Christmas card I made for my cousin. 

I so love the gnomes that we drew in the Shac Shack with Barbara Gray. I wanted to try one on Kraft Card. So that's what I did. The backing paper was in my stash. The snowflake die came from The Works. 

Here he is. The snow was made with a Posca pen. The gnome was coloured with my Polychromo pencils. 

I know my cousin liked this card. I do like doodling. 

Have a Happy Christmas. It is going to be a strange one this year. 

Hugs Jackie

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Glamourous Ladies Christmas Card

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I hope you had a good weekend. We actually went to a socially distanced concert on Saturday. It was so lovely to be at an event. Everything was in place to keep you safe. I can't believe we are so close to Christmas. 

This is the card that I made for my good friend. We decided to meet for a walk to swap cards so I was able to make her card a bit bigger. 

I keep cards with images of this type of lady. My friend likes them a lot. 

So this image was cut from an old card. 

The Poinsettias and Ivy were cut with dies by John Next Door. I added pearls to the centres to make them a bit more opulent. At the back is white glitter card. 

I know my friend liked this card. It was lovely seeing her for a walk. Unfortunately we did get caught in the rain. Tonight is the night that  two planets are in conjunction  which will make what some people are calling the Bethlehem star. I do hope the skies will be clear enough to see it. 

I would like to enter the following challenges: 

Challenge 76 at the Crafting Happiness Challenge blog

Have a good week. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Beccy's Place - Jolly Holiday

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? We have had a busy few days. All our cards are now written and in the post. We just have the local hand deliveries to do. Our house is actually decorated. Things are starting to look Christmassy. On Tuesday we had our flu jabs. Luckily it didn't hurt. 

Here are the cards that I made for the new release of Jolly Holiday images from Beccy's Place. Today my cards are being showcased on Beccy's Blog. 

For this card I coloured the stocking with my Faber Castell Polychromo colouring pencils. I created a pattern that looked a bit tartan so I chose a tartan paper to go with it. I added poinsettias made with dies from the John Next Door range. 

Click on the logo and it will take you to the store. 

This is the Jolly Holiday image set, it is available HERE. 

Here is my second card. This time I chose to use the Red Cardinal in the stocking. Again I coloured with my Polychromo pencils. This time I used a gel pen to add snow. 

Don't forget to check out Beccy's Blog. 

Enjoy the rest of the week. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Challenge 130 at the A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge blog - Anything Goes

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? I met a friend for a walk yesterday and we delivered Christmas cards as well. We bumped into someone we both used to work with and she told us she is being vaccinated today. So the vaccine is coming. Today me and my hubby are going to get our flu jabs. Yesterday there was an outage on Google which lasted about half an hour but was rather scary while it was going on. 

Today the new challenge starts at the A Bit More Time to Craft Challenge blog. The theme is Anything Goes and there are wonderful digi papers to be won.

 I have some personal news. I am stepping down from the Design Team for this Challenge. This will be my last post for them. I have enjoyed my time on the team and the papers are delightful to use. It is great as they are on my computer they are always easy to find. With my hubby being retired now finding time to craft is going to be harder. I am not giving up card making I still love making cards and it is my dream to have a Craft Room. 

The paper I used for this card is the Merry Christmas digi paper set. This design comes in many different colours. 

Click on the logo and you will go straight to the challenge. 

To make this little scene I used the Sam's Circles dies and the Christmas Time die set both from the John Next Door range. 

I am still not sure if I have made enough Christmas cards. We have started writing them and posting them. So I will know soon. 

Enjoy the rest of the day. I think I will be back tomorrow. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Christmas Beatles themed Shutter Card

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

I hope that you had a good weekend. On Saturday we had a lovely walk as the weather was nice. We even managed to have a coffee out. We also decorated not one but two Christmas trees. The one in the lounge is real and tiny, the one in the hall is artificial and taller. It is a long time since we have had two Christmas trees. I do like getting all the Christmas things out bit by bit. It is like rediscovering old friends. 

I can share this card now that our friends have received it. I had lots of fun making it. 

I used the Shutter Card die set from the John Next Door range. I was so lucky to receive this die to make samples. There is one more Christmas card. I want to make with it. 

Now the brick work is a photo of one of the walls of our house. I couldn't find what I wanted so I made it myself. The Beatles are images by Vera Lane Studio. They come in twos and have sayings with them as well. The were coloured with Promarkers. I did add the Christmas hats as well. 

Here is a little secret we are going to Brighton to see a socially distanced concert by the Bootleg Beatles. It is going to be so much fun. Our friends liked their card a lot. 

Have a great week. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Not Just Cards - December Challenge - Anything Goes

 Hello my Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

Well Friday is here. It will be another quiet weekend for us. If the weather is good we will be able to get out for some walks. 

The December Challenge starts today at the Not Just Cards Challenge Blog the theme is always Anything Goes. This is my last post for this challenge blog.  I had decided to step down but the decision has been made to close this Challenge blog. When this challenge finishes and the winners are announced the Challenge Blog will cease to be active.

Here is the Christmas card I made for my hubby. Usually I make his card first. This year has been so odd that his was one of the last ones I made. 

For my hubby's retirement card I used an image with a shed on it from one of the HunkyDory Little books. You can see it HERE,   The image comes from a HunkyDory little book of Snowmen, It just seemed appropriate. There is a patterned paper in the background but is hard to see. 

If you click on the logo you will be taken to the Challenge Blog. 

This little image is so cute. We don't even have a shed. 

The sentiment and the foliage was made with a die set that came free with a magazine I think last year. 

I am not sure when I will give my hubby this card. We usually exchange cards sometime before Christmas. 

Have a good weekend. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Pirate themed Birthday Card

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How is your week going? We have been trying to sort out bits for Christmas. We will be spending some time with our daughter and son-in-law but we know we will be on our own for a lot of the time. Our idea is to make things as nice for ourselves as we can. That will take a bit of planning. We are not buying many presents this year. Though we will be sending a lot of cards. 

Here is the birthday card I made for our son-in-law. He plays an online pirate themed game with his friend. So when I found one of the old cards I had been given had a pirate on, I put it to one side. 

The paper came from a paper pad I bought in The Works. I liked the pad so much I bought two of them. I am very glad I did. There was red foil on the card. So I made mats and layers with red mirror card. 

As I said the main image is from a card. Can you see the cheeky cocktail glass I added?

A while ago I was asked to make a tropical themed wedding card. I bought some Tropical Sizzix dies that you can see here. 

Our son-in-law liked this card. It is just a bit of fun. It is such a shame so many celebrations have been curtailed this year. 

I hope the rest of the week is kind to you. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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Snowdrop Congratulations Card

 Hello My Crafty Blog Friends and Visitors

How has your weekend been. We have managed to go for some nice walks. At the beginning of lockdown we started doing virtual Murder Mysteries. There is a team of actors and we get emails and clues. There are YouTube films to watch and towards the end there is a Zoom meeting interrogation. We completed the latest one this weekend. We have another booked for the period of time between Christmas and New Year. It is just something a bit different to do. 

Just recently our daughter received a promotion. I wanted to make her a card to celebrate. 

I used Designer papers from Clarity Stamp. 

This the Fresh Cut Die Art Nouveau Snowdrop Aperture die. I cut it from Designer paper which I stuck to a paler Designer Paper with a double sided sticky sheet. I was then able to paper piece the die cut. I used Micro Beads to cover the remaining sticky. 

I used  one of the stickers from the Word Sticker Collection. There was left over sticky sheet and designer paper to mount the sentiment. 

I do like this die. I think is is out of stock at the moment. There are others in the same series. I might just treat myself to another one. 

Have a good week. 

Happy Crafting

Hugs Jackie

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