Christmas Cards with paper bunting

I found these photographs today & have realised I never uploaded them - from 2013's Christmas. Some Paper Bunting Christmas cards I made all that time ago.  Quite a lot of work, but they do look good at the end of it all.

White A5 card folded in half with a Christmas print taped onto the front half. THe first ones I did like the photo below - the Christmas paper covering the whole front of the card with about a 1-2cm overhang onto the back over the folded edge - looks a bit more finished). I think the cards looked better though leaving a small border of white card showing all the way around (see below).

Then cut out an assortment of small 'bunting' triangles from coordinating Christmas printed papers, thread a needle with gold thread, tie a knot in one end ...

... and sew them all together, leaving gaps between each one to string them out across the card, allowing a bit of slack so it looks a bit more like they might be hanging up.

Tie off the other end of the thread too and then use double sided tape to stick the triangles at each end down (and in doing so hide the knots).

Stamp out some sort of Christmassy word (like 'Christmas' for instance!!)...

...and stick that on the front too. (The card below shows the design I prefer; where I left a small white border showing all the way around)

Add a little something to the back of the card for fun - here a small punched out tree and a left over triangle. All Done.

Carding

Too hot to do anything much last week I gathered my paper supplies and decided to be on the forefoot for card giving celebrations like engagements & babies that are likely this year.

Definitely not the best pictures, but I wasn't opening blinds to let in more light given the sweltering heat outside!

Pretty... Cute.

I wanted to make a card with cut out birds on it.  My initial idea was to have 3 different paper patterned birds sitting on a 'wire' fashioned from silver thread.  I cut out the birds which looked great standing alone, but just couldn't get a grouping I was happy with overall. Then, flicking through my pretty card stash I found this piece of green patterned card with what could be blue branches and a glittery white flower.  With the word 'Pretty' stuck on the outside and 'Cute' on the inside, just right to sit beside a crepe paper flower on the latest baby gift. Pretty Cute.

A Stormy night, more Cards and a Baby

It was a dark and stormy night my friends, but the desire to craft overcame the fear & I braved the howling gale, the lashing rain & the flooded intersections to drive towards the Northern Lights and meet two of the girls, one looking full to bursting with an ever growing baby belly.
As much fun as we had, it didn't feel quite the same with one of the gang having moved down towards the Southern Lights to be with her boy, but those of us remaining did our best to create.

Sitting around the table we joked that we may end up being helpers in the birth of the baby hootchie-ette due the very next day, and little did we know how close that was to being fulfilled.  Not much more than 15 minutes after we left contractions began and now there is another little being for which to make little clothes and toys and cards!

Alphabet stamps ..... I Like!

Another night of crafting during some Hootchie Hang Time with the girls and after some dinner & bottling of farm grown pears we got down to it.

Ergonomics Bollocks was up to her usual tricks with her power tools and this time (believe it or not) pieces of sticky tape, to build multi-hinged little glass door cabinets to hold all of her beautiful hand made ear rings.
That left Happy & I at the table cutting and sticking and punching and stamping cards.  And that was where the 'I Want' comes into it.  I'd fallen in love with the cute stamped greeting in the card Happy gave me for my birthday a few months ago, but after having the chance to use her alphabet stamps myself I really fell in love with them.  Little wooden blocks, edged with mini rubber letters in a little corrugated cardboard box.  I like!

So I stamped the 'thank you' cards I'd made.
I like!  (if I do say so myself)

My Hootchie Mamas

With creation and inspiration themes of this site, it couldn't take long to introduce the 'Hootchies.  These are 4 of the most amazing women I know and treasure dearly.  No, they are not all black and big bottomed 'hoochie' mamas, the name 'Hootchie' refers rather to the camping shelter reminiscent of our uni breaks hiking on the Bibbulmun Track.  Just to help clarify our roles in the old days there was Fearless Doyen Leader Hootchie, Ergonomics Bollocks Hootchie, Un-healthy smelchy Hootchie, Happy Hootchie and then me, Hunchy Hootchie. Sure that makes things a whole lot clearer!

Particularly special over the past few months or so has been the times spent 'Carding'  (that is,  making homemade cards) with some or all of the Hootchie ladies, and last night was no exception.

a sparkly red feather dress