Saturday 11 February 2012

Boxing Day

No I have not gone mad in this freezing cold weather. I do know it's not yet Christmas despite having the right weather.  I shall reveal all later in my post.  The big chill continues here and we have had a little more snow. What falls has trouble melting as it is sooooo cold. Last night as we drove home the car registered -4c and it did get down to -7c....oowwch!


This was the view late this afternoon at the ponds. The ponds and river very rarely freeze but they certainly have at the moment.













Even the heron did not want to dip his toes into the icy water.




















Just the graceful swan decided to brave the waters!











Other than a quick walk this afternoon we have spent the day in the warm. So now I will reveal why I have called today Boxing Day.....(just in case some of my blogging friends don't get the pun, Boxing Day here in the UK is December 26th). Well recently I bought a new piece of craft kit shown here on the right.


Swooooon, now if you are not a card maker this will not mean much to you so I shall explain. This is none other than a Martha Stewart Scoring Board. It was very difficult to get in this county as apparently it infringes one of the UK scoring boards patents. In the end I had to buy it and pay quite a lot of postage as obviously the supplier shipped it in from the States.
Now the first thing that a decent scoring board does is to make really good neat folds in cards. You just place the paper on the boards, run the tool down the groove and hey presto neat folds.



One of the main reasons I bought this (it was part of my treat to myself with my Christmas bonus from work)
was to try making boxes. As you know a lot of my cards have gorgeous mulberry paper flowers on and you cannot put them in an envelope. I looked at buying card boxes and they cost a fortune. So I decided I would make my own.
Ta-dah!

What do you think? I had loads of practises and decided what looked really cool was to have a plain white bottom of the box and make a lid out of patterned paper/thin card.
This was the card I showed you last week and it looks really cute in its box.

***EDIT ADDED SUN 12.2.12*** There is a lot of happy dancing going on here as I just found I have won my very first "Top 5" award for this card. This is not a win as in coming out of Mr Random Number but actually for the design and making of my card. I am THRILLED take a look here. I have a new blinkie in my side bar which I am proudly displaying :0)






Here is the lid in detail.








I played with lots of other designs including some for Christmas (well it is the weather isn't it?)
I also made a card for my challenges and decided I needed something very cheerful for this cold weather.
I inked up my first Tilda stamp I have ever used and loved the strawberry theme (yes I know I have a thing about strawberries).





Here she is coloured using my trusty Promarkers and highlighted with my Prismacolor pencils.





I added little gems to the strawberry centres to make them sparkle.








The backing paper features sweet hearts (yes it's nearly that time of year) and I added a strawberry button and some sparkly gems to the corners of the card.


I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;
Ladybird Craft Inks Loves me loves me not
Papertake Weekly Anything Goes
Divas by Design Love
Whimsey Stamps challenge blog Love themed
Joanna Sheen Love is in the air
Sundays's with Crissy  Birthdays
Scrapbook Sisters #70 Anything Goes
I love Promarkers Love is in the air
Stamp, scrap and doodle Saturdays red white and pink
Simon Says Stamp Love is in the air


So a Happy Boxing day it has been. My new scoring board opens up all sorts of new card possibilities. I hope you are all keeping snug wherever you are in the world? It's nearly time for dinner here...with a G+T with ice and a slice me thinks. Cheers everyone, thanks for visiting me here and for all the lovely comments you take the trouble to leave. At the request of most of the card challenge blogs I have turned off my comment moderation to make it quicker and easier for everyone to leave a comment. I will try it for a month and see.....?

 Meanwhile Billy as usual has the right idea in this weather,
Enjoy  your Boxing Day evening ;0)

Bye for now,

Jane x

40 comments:

  1. Please keep warm Jane and enjoy your new board.

    Lovely to see your park and love the little "strawberry girl."

    best wishes,
    Anne
    PlumCreek

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Anne, the temperature is plummeting tonight, it may go as low as -10c! Enjoy your weekend too,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well I have to admit I was relieved to see actual boxes as I thought your 'Christmas love' really had gone too far this time Jane!!!! lol What a great little gadget and your boxes are lovely and such a good idea.
    It is amazing that you are only a one hour flight from me and yet your weather is so different. We had another mild day today, in fact I was out planting my primula this morning! I think we are reaping the benefits of being near the Atlantic, although not so good in the summer when it brings so much rain.
    Anyway enjoy your evening and your G&T and keep warm and as always good luck with the challenge, your card is lovely!
    V x

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thought of you Vivienne when I named my post I knew it would startle you ;-) It is amazing how different our weather is at the moment my garden is frozen solid. Have a lovely weekend and cheers my friend .
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Beautiful work. Thanks for joining us at LCI this week.
    Pinky

    ReplyDelete
  6. That's a really lovely card. Gorgeous bright colours and delicious strawberries. Thanks for taking part at I ♥ Promarkers this week.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Jane, awww.. Billy is so cute! Love your card and hope you win lots of competitions. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Jane! Thank you for a lovely company with my Sunday morning coffee! Billy is always so cute and cats they do know how to relax!
    How great that you have a new tool for your cards and boxes!
    Wonderful card again!
    Enjoy your boxing Sunday evening and have a lovely week!
    x Teje

    ReplyDelete
  9. He knows how to get comfy Teresa doesn't he. Have a great Sunday .
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning Teje it's trying to snow again here and went down to -11c last night making it the coldest night for a long time. Cats are not daft are they and know all the cosy places. I hope you were sitting in the sun drinking your coffee and have a lovely Sunday
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Gorgeous photos of the park and I love Strawberry Tilda. Thank you for joining us on the JS Challenge, Jane (DT) x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks Jane, I am not a huge fan of Tilda but this image is really lovely.
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  13. I did do a double take at your blog post title for a moment there! But then all became clear...and I can well understand your delight at the new scoring board! Such things make crafting a joy, don't they, and open up lots of possibilites! Your new card is so pretty, I love the colours and the strawberry!
    Have a happy week, Jane and hope the temperatures warm up a bit more.
    Helen x

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tee hee Helen ;0) I love my new toy...it's such fun making boxes and I may try a gate card too. Enjoy your week too and keep snug,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Dear Jane,

    Only you, The CHRISTMAS-QUEEN, can write Boxing day with capital B when boxing just anything, you're the sweetest ever! And your boxes and the cards are the most adorable, I think each is sweeter and more brilliant than the previous one... You're the card-queen also! And biggest congratulation on winning, your creations deserve every award!

    I have been quite busy and absent from blogworld but will post today, it's a promise! So I'll see you at mine soon, dear! Kisses to Billy!

    Yours,
    Mia

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your boxes are wonderful! Your cards are always lovely, and I've wondered before how you sent them to their recipients since the cards have attachments. Thanks for showing how you do it. Another way to make corners on boxes, especially on heavier cardboard is to lightly score the corners with an X-Acto knife, but I have to admit a little envy for your new toy:)

    Congratulations on your win!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Mia you know me...any excuse to get Christmas a mention during the rest of the year ;0) Thanks for your sweet kind comments as always my dear and Billy sends you the loudest purr. See you at yours later,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks Linda. I am so pleased I invested in my new toy..it makes box making so simple and my cards with flowers are now well protected. Have a great week,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  19. Adorable card! l love your kitty too.

    Thanks for joining us at SSDS this week with your Red, White and Pink card.
    Hugs,
    Linda
    Scrapcat Cards by Linda

    ReplyDelete
  20. Billy is quite some cat Linda, thanks for visiting me here,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love your gorgeous Tilda Jane, they are my favourite images and this is fabby! Great colours and design too.
    Great boxes too, I just hade to make 150 for my nephews wedding invites!
    Thanks for sharing it with the Diva's this week and good luck with the challenge and also at LCI
    Laurie x

    ReplyDelete
  22. Goodness me Laurie I think that many boxes would take me for ever! Thanks for your visit and kind words about my Strawberry Tilda card,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  23. What a super cute card, thanks for playing along with us at Whimsy

    ReplyDelete
  24. Thanks and Hi Charlene,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hiya Jane. Found you on the blog hop for Really Reasonable Ribbons. Thought I would pay you a visit as I am also from UK. North West. I too have tried making my own boxes. I struggle getting them big enough, as I like to make 8x8 cards and also have lots of sticking up flowers etc.
    What size do you make? Enjoyed your blogs. I havnt been keeping up with my blogs very well, but be nice for you to visit sometime. Best wishes Sharon

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Sharon . I have made boxes for 5x5 and just under 6x6 ". My scoring board will take card up to 12x12 so I would think bigger sizes are fine. Good to meet you and I will hop over to your blog really soon.
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  27. Congrats on making top 5 with that card and your boxes are wonderful
    Wanted to thank you for your visit on my blog Really Reasonable Ribbon blog hop
    Hugs

    ReplyDelete
  28. Hi Dawn, it's lovely for you to visit me here, I really enjoyed that blog hop and it's always fun to meet new crafters. Thanks for your kind comments,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  29. Beautiful photo's and lovely blog..love the picture of your kitty!
    Thanks so much for the sweet comment on my Really Reasonable Ribbon St. Patty's Day box :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thanks Jan, it's really good to see you here. The ribbon hop was great, some lovely cards there.
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  31. Congrats on your win! Fun boxes and such a pretty card!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Beautiful card! Colored so sweetly. Congrats on your Top 5 win too. Stay warm!!
    Thank you for joining us on the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog.
    xoxo, Christine

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thanks Lori they were fun to make,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hi Christine, it has finally turned milder again, so good to see some warmer weather. Thanks for visiting me here,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  35. WOW!!! How neat is that?!!? Thaks for sharing and joining us at SSDS this week! The boxes are really cool and your coloring is amazing! Hope you see you again soon!
    Cute kitty too! :)
    Tammy, SSDS DT

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thanks so much Tammie and yes Billy is such a sweet boy ;0)
    have a great weekend,
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  37. I'm not a card maker but I can completely imagine the joy of the scoring board, I bet you were like a kid at christmas opening that up! Lovely photos, funny as I am back-reading that we've moved into such warm temperatures and the snow seems a long time ago, in fact the boys spent the weekend playing in the garden with no coats on! Beth (the linen cat)x

    ReplyDelete
  38. Beth I was just like a kid with my new toy! It has proved so useful too. It is good to see spring is around the corner now isn't it? Take care.
    Jane x

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for leaving a comment; I really enjoy reading every single one of them.

To comply with the new Data Protection legislation (GDPR) May 2018 I wish to state that any comments left here are with your consent that your name & comment are visible to anyone who visits my blog and that you accept that your personal information is being used for that specific purpose.

Jane x