A Vintage Christmas... and Anything But Square at Dream Valley :)

Hello!! :)

Well, I’m finally here to share my card for our latest challenge over at Dream Valley- I’m exceptionally late with this as it should have been posted last Sunday but I’ve had a mixture of feeling really quite ill and trying to catch up with all the things I’ve not got round to doing due to feeling so rotten for the last month so have only just managed to get on my netbook to type this up... but, as we are a fortnightly challenge, you do still have another week to enter... so, I’d best get straight on then!! :S Our challenge this time is ‘Anything But Square’ and as always, any type of creation from cards to jewellery, scrap layouts and altered items will be welcome... just so long as it’s not square!! ;) We’re sponsored by OSCC and Meljen's Designs this time!! :)

And this is my belated offering...

It’s actually the card I made for my mum for Christmas last year... I had a pretty little circle card I made specially for this challenge, photos taken, edited and ready well in advance... but, when I came to upload the pic for the challenge blog... yup- I couldn’t find them anywhere!! How hopeless!! I’m normally unusually organised with my card pics- have to be with my permanently befuddled brain!! :S – but they seem to have disappeared completely... so I’ll share those when I’ve re-edited the originals and, in the meantime (whilst trying not to panic!!lol), I managed to find this one ‘not square’ card in my overflowing folder of as-yet-unposted bits and pieces...

It’s an A5 top-fold card with a panel of the same card matted on and is almost entirely made from Waltzing Mouse Christmas sets... I just love Claire’s Christmas designs so much- they really make me feel the magic of Christmas and it seems basically impossible to make anything but a lovely card from them!! :) I used a Spellbinder’s die with Claire’s co-ordinating stamp and a WMS sentiment for the focal point and then made a frame and branch for the bauble to hang from with the gorgeous Festive Foliage set.

The only non- WMS stamp was the ‘’Twas the night before Christmas’ poem from Inkylicious (another company whose stamps I love!!lol), which I stamped all over the background in Antique Linen DI to tone in with the AL edging around the whole panel. I also smeared some Antique Linen Distress Stickles all around the edges, too... I had so much fun with this card, I love doing things like this!!lol

And a close-up of the decoupaged pine cone branch and my six-loop bow (only meant it to be four loops but I was getting carried away!!lol) in gorgeous Venetian Red seam binding :)

The List:

• Top Fold A5 off-white Linen card blank (made from A3 card), plus almost A5 piece for image panel
• Stamps- Festive Foliage, Compliments of the Season & Vintage Ornaments from Waltzing Mouse Stamps and 'Twas the Night Before Christmas from Inkylicious
• Inks- VersaFine Vintage Sepia & Olympia Green and Antique Linen DI
• VersaMark, Gold embossing powder and heat tool
• Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments Dies
• Venetian Red Seam Binding from The Ribbon Girl
• Antique Linen Distress Stickles

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Divas by Design – Christmas in July :) ; Crafter's Companion - Ho Ho Ho Christmas :)

So that’s it from me for now- do pop over to Dream Valley to see the fab creations from the rest of the DT... you still have a week to enter!! :) I’ll see you soon, I hope- if my brain and body play nice and let me get anything done, that is!! :S I hope you’re all well and have a good week- thank you for stopping by and bearing with me and my haphazard blogging habits!! :)

ETA: No idea what the strange and not very pretty white background to some of my text is but I can't get rid of it so please just ignore it, it's not intentional!! :/