Thankful, Grateful, and Slightly Glittered

Dia Daoibh!

The Quality Street saga continues ... honestly, at this point it’s less of a treat and more of a tragedy. First, they binned the shiny wrappers (there goes my stash for Christmas crafts), and now I’ve learned the so-called Quality chocolate is made with palm oil. Palm oil! I’m convinced they should rename it Disappointing Street and be done with it. I think even the toffee feels like it’s questioning its life choices.

Anyway, onto something that actually brings joy ... my latest card, made using PowerPoppy’s Felt Leaves and Fruit Wreath Stamp Set. 

I coloured it up with Promarkers, added a sprinkle of iridescent glitter, a bit of glossy accents, and tied it all off with a delicate organza ribbon bow. PowerPoppy stamps never need much fuss, they practically design the card for you while you sip your tea and feel smug.

Challenges:

• The Flower Challenge #108 - Thanks
• 613 Avenue Create - Nov - Anything Goes (option: Thank you)
• Mix It Up Challenge #80 - Anything Goes (option: Clean and Simple)
• Classic Design Challenge - Oct/Nov - Anything Goes (option: Autumn Splendor)
• Girlz Creative Crafts #61 - Lace, ribbon, twine
• If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #210 - Fall Leaves and Turkey

• Double D: Fall Wreaths /Photo Inspiration: 
  

And on a funny note, I’ve sworn off buying Christmas chocolates until December officially starts. Every “just-one-tin” I buy disappears faster than you can say Roses and regret. We had a tin out for Halloween, and it’s a good thing we did! There were so many trick-or-treaters, including one very determined dinosaur who came back twice… I gave him an extra few sweets for commitment. If he shows up at Christmas, he’s getting a lecture on palm oil.

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 🍂🍁

Warning: May Cause Sudden Christmas Spirit

Dia daoibh!

If Christmas spirit could be spelled out in bold capitals, it’d look exactly like this! Designed by the ever-fabulous Lyn Simms, this NOEL card means business... big letters... and almost as much sparkle as your aunt’s earrings at midnight Mass.

click on pic for  a better view 

Cut from Tonic Studios textured card and Florence champagne glitter card on my ever trusty Silhouette Cameo. The lattice design gives it that fancy “I totally planned this” look (even if we all know the craft desk currently resembles the aftermath of a snowstorm). Add in some glossy green holly, a few glittery sprigs, and teeny twinkling gems for good meas, and you’ve got yourself a card that’s more Christmassy than watching The Late Late Toy Show in pyjamas with a tin of Roses.

A few challenges:

• Aud Sentiments Blog Challenge #331 - Glitter and/or Christmas & a Sentiment
• Crafter's Cafe #324 - Anything Goes (optional: Christmas)
• Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog #65 - Anything Christmas Goes
• Girlz Creative Christmas Challenge #149 - Anything Goes Christmas
• The 12 Months of Christmas Link Up #128 - Anything Christmas Goes (optional: Sleigh It Like You Mean It!)

Honestly, this card screams festive cheer louder than your neighbour’s inflatable snowman in a gale.

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 🎁

Sweet Baby

Dia daoibh!

It’s that time of year again and the shops are drowning in Christmas chocolates. I’m fairly sure I heard a tin of Roses call my name in Aldi. But can we talk about Quality Street? Since they ditched the shiny wrappers, they’ve lost their sparkle, literally!! How are we meant to make our annual Quality Street wrapper stained-glass window projects now? The kids’ art, the cards, the accidental wrapper stuck to the cat… gone. Tragic altogether.

Anyway, back to something that does still sparkle. I went with a baby theme, and all the elements were designed in Silhouette Studio and cut on my trusty Silhouette Cameo. I used Tonic Studios blue cardstock and Florence brown glitter cardstock for a bit of shimmer. A few teeny blue gems added the perfect finishing sparkle because let’s face it, if I can’t bedazzle a chocolate wrapper, I’ll bedazzle a card instead.

A few challenges:

• A Cut Above - Die Cut Challenge Blog  - November - Anything Goes
• Girlz Make Guyz Cards  - Blue and Brown
• Word Art Wednesday - Weeks #722-723 - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley Challenges #348 - A card for a child
• A Place To Start - November 2025 - Anything Goes (optional: Something New)

And on a funny note, I spent so long fiddling with the Cameo settings that by the time it finally cut right, I’d eaten half the tin of Roses. Crafting calories don’t count, right? 

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 😉

Glitter, Splatters & Irish Weather Matters

Dia daoibh!

Ah sure, it’s that grand confusing time of year again in Ireland ... the season of “four weathers before lunch.” You leave the house dressed for frostbite, and by midday you’re peeling off layers like an onion with commitment issues. The washing line looks like a science experiment - socks flapping one minute, hailstones bouncing off them the next. Typical November - mother nature’s throwing tantrums and we’re just holding the umbrella.

Anyway! Onto something far more reliable than the Irish forecast: the Card Chain Challenge for October! I received a gorgeous card from Brenda in the UK, and in return my own creation packed its crafty suitcase and flew off to Alice in Finland, hopefully dodging reindeer traffic on the way.

For my card, I went with the Colour Palette: Pumpkin, Cherry & Chocolate (sounds like a dessert, doesn’t it?) - and also the Product/Technique option: Glitter & Splatters. My desk looked like I lost a bar fight with a bottle of Stickles, but sure that’s half the fun!

I used the Spellbinders “Hiking Through the Meadows” dies, cut from Tonic Studio cardstock, and layered it all up with foam pads for that posh 3D look (or, as I call it, “strategic height to hide the dodgy glue marks”). Then I added splatterings of copper Distress Ink, a few gems, glossy accents, and Nuvo Drops in Vintage Gold, because subtlety left the craft room a long time ago. The sentiment was stamped with StazOn, because if I’m committing to something, it might as well be permanent!

So here it is - a fine pair of hiking boots overflowing with autumn blooms. My real boots, on the other hand, look like they’ve survived a turf-cutting festival and lost the will to live.

A few challenges:
Beautiful Blossoms - #34 - Anything Flowers Goes (optional Mood Board)
A Perfect Time To Craft - November - Anything Goes
Classic Design Challenge - Oct/Nov - Anything Goes (optional Autumn Splendor)
Creatalicious Challenges - #294 - Anything Goes (optional Fall Colours or Halloween)
Love to Craft - LTCCB#89 Anything Goes 
If You Give a Crafter a Cookie #210 - Fall Leaves /Turkey

If you haven’t joined the Card Chain Challenge yet, honestly, what are you waiting for? It’s like pen pals for crafters ... only with more sparkle, less guilt, and absolutely no chance of getting ghosted unless your postman’s on a tea break. You send one card, get one back, and end up grinning like you’ve just found a tenner in last winter’s coat pocket.

Sláinte,

Wendy R. 🍁🍂

Yeti or Not

Dia Daoibh!

The next HQFCB challenge is Anything Goes Fantasy with an optional Yeti twist—because nothing says "magical creature" like a snow beast who definitely forgot to buy wrapping paper. 

For today’s card, I repurposed Clearly Besotted’s Yuletide Yeti (a Christmas stamp set now moonlighting as a birthday set, because rules were made to be broken). Kept the design CAS, mostly because the Yeti ate all my patience. Coloured the wee fella with Promarkers and embellihed the bow of the present with glossy accents. The "HBD!" sentiment was die-cut and layered for dimension. The card is embellished with liquid pearl drops for subtle texture ... because sometimes you want frosty accents without the glitter fallout of 2023 haunting you. 

A few challenges:

• Heart's Quest Celebration of Love #10 Birthdays, Engagements, Weddings, Anniversaries and/or Sympathies (optional theme: Thanksgiving Day or Appreciation)
• We Love Stamping - Nov - Anything Christmas (option: Anything Goes)
• Polkadoodles  #12 - Anything Goes
• CAS on Friday #321 Birthday
• I Love Promarkers #594 - Anything Goes / Circles / Animals

Wishing you a season of perfectly sized envelopes, stamps that stick on the first try, and zero surprise glitter from projects past.

Sláinte, 

Wendy R. 🎁

Ghosted... But in a Cute Way!

Dia daoibh! 

Halloween is finally here! The night when the doorbell gets more exercise than the treadmill ever did! Between dodging tiny vampires, witches, and one very determined dinosaur, I managed to whip up a batch of chocolate-covered apples at last (about time, says everyone in the house). Sticky fingers, sugar highs, and a few ghostly giggles later, I finally sat down to make something spooky of my own.

My Ghosts in Envelope card is from Furrow and Feather, cut on my trusty Silhouette Cameo from Parklane cardstock. I added a sprinkle of glitter and finished it off with glossy accents for that eerie shimmer. I’ve made a few of these little hauntings to send off to extended family (because nothing says “thinking of you” quite like a ghost popping out of an envelope!).

🎃 A few challenges:

• Leigh SB Designs Inspirational Challenges #45: Halloween / Anthing Goes
• Die Cut Divas - Anything Goes (October Welcomes Brass and Bliss)
• Make My Monday #263 - Halloween Colors
• Beautiful Blossoms #34 - Anything Flowers Goes (optional Mood Board) 
• Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge - October: Anything Halloween

• TIME OUT Challenges #300 - Autumn Celebrations Around the World  

And on that note... may your treats outweigh your tricks, may your costume survive the rain, and may you remember which child belongs to which witch before bedtime!

💀Oíche Shamhna Shona Daoibh!💀

Sláinte,

 Wendy R. 

Witch... please!

Dia daoibh!

Ah, Oíche Shamhna, the Irish Halloween, born from the ancient festival of Samhain, when the line between the living and the dead was as thin as a tea towel and everyone blamed every draught, flickering light, and creaky floorboard on the neighbours from “the other side.” Back in the day, before pumpkins invaded from across the Atlantic, we had turnips... the original horror story. Carving one was a national endurance test. You’d start the evening full of hope and finish it with one working hand, a blunt butter knife, and a lantern that looked like it had been in a bar fight. And the smell? Nothing quite says festive cheer like the aroma of smouldering root vegetable and fear.

Thankfully, times have changed; no turnips were harmed in the making of my latest Halloween creation! 

I used the The Witch’s Hat die set from Hero Arts (Hocus Pocus Collection), cut from Tonic Studios cardstock, dressed up with Nuvo Stone Drops, a splatter of black Distress Ink, and a few mischievous gems for extra sparkle ... all raised on foam pads for that perfect touch of supernatural lift.

A few challenges:

• Everybody-Art-Challenge #576 - Orange/black and/or Halloween 
• Creative Knockouts #557 Halloween or Fall
• Try It On Tuesday - Halloween
• Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers #267 - S is for Spooky

And before I disappear into the fog ... here’s one to make you howl:

Why did the skeleton stay home from the party?
He had no body to go with! 

💀Oíche Shamhna Shona Daoibh!🎃

Sláinte,

 Wendy R. 👻

Hello, My Name Is… Craft Hoarder

Dia daoibh!

You know that moment when you sit down to make one card and end up with enough extra die cuts to open a small craft shop? Aye, that’s me every time. I swear the leaves multiply in the night ... I close the drawer and the next morning it looks like an autumn explosion. If paper had a breeding season, it’d be now 😂.

So, today’s card is proudly sponsored by my ever-growing pile of “I’ll use that later” bits! I pulled out the Spellbinders Autumn Sealed Sprigs dies and Spellbinders Sealed Squiggles, all cut from Tonic Studios cardstock and a sprinkle of glitter card for sparkle. I also added some Nuvo Stone Drops for a bit of posh texture. The big shiny “hello” was cut from cardstock, layered up, and finished with Glossy Accents.

Onto a few challenges:

• Beautiful Blossoms #34 - Anything Flowers Goes
• Classic Design Challenge - Oct/Nov - Anything Goes + option: Autumn Splendor
• The Crafting Challenge - October - Autumn / Halloween
• Creatalicious Challenges #294 - Anything Goes (option: Fall Colors or Halloween)
• The Four Seasons Challenge - October -Anything Fall Goes: 
  

And there we have it ... a cheerful autumn hello made from my “craft chaos” stash. Now, if only I could find the table under the rest of the die cuts…

Sláinte,

🍁Wendy R.🍂

Autumn Leaves & Overtime Dreams

Dia daoibh!

I know, I know… it’s been suspiciously quiet around here lately! You might have thought I’d gone off on a luxury retreat or joined a circus—but alas, no. I’ve simply moved into work. Between staff shortages and endless shifts, I was starting to wonder if I should start paying rent for the staff room. The good news? All that overtime finally paid off—literally! I treated myself to a shiny new tumble dryer. Nothing says “living the dream” quite like dry socks and lint-free joy.

Now, onto my card before I start reviewing appliance warranties for fun. 

Since autumn is in full bloom (and the trees are showing off like contestants on Strictly Come Dancing), I decided to play with the Spellbinders Autumn Sealed Sprigs Etched Dies and Spellbinders Sealed Squiggles. Everything’s cut from Tonic Studios cardstock with a touch of glitter card. I added a strip of washi tape, a sprinkle of glitter, a few Nuvo drops, and some gold gems for embellishment. I kept it sentiment-free this time ... sometimes the card just speaks for itself (and this one says, “I’m approachable”)

Onto a few challenges:

• Craft Rocket Challenges #130  - Autumn/Halloween
• Krafty Chicks #790 - CAS
• The Paper Players PP760 - CAS - Foliage 

• Tic Tac Toe Challenge #281 - (any shape die, free, fall colors) 
  

Right, I’d better sign off before my tumble dryer starts thinking I’ve run off with the washing machine—it’s a bit clingy since it realised it’s the newer model.

Sláinte,

🍂Wendy R. 🍁

Let’s Flamingle

Dia daoibh!

It’s time for Challenge #99 (Anything goes) at Ally’s Angels - and while we’re knee-deep in soggy weather in Ireland, the folks in the southern hemisphere are swanning about in their shorts and sunnies. Honestly, I think the flamingo on my card is plotting a one-way flight to Melbourne.

So, onto the card! 

I used Spellbinders Grand Flamingos die set, cut from gorgeous Tonic Studios cardstock. A splash of glossy accents and glitter, a sprinkle of caribbean blue nuvo glitter drops, and a dash of sparkly gems — because no flamingo worth its feathers leaves the house without bling.

I left off a sentiment so this card can sashay into any occasion: birthdays, celebrations, or even “sorry I nicked your paddling pool while pretending it was a lagoon.”

Onto a few challenges:

• Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday - Anything Goes 
• The Paper Funday #80 - Anything Goes/Optional of Cute or Creepy
• A Perfect Time To Craft - Anything Goes
• A Cut Above - Die Cut Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
• Dream Valley Challenges #346 - Add pearls or gems or both

And let’s be honest — flamingos are meant to stand on one leg, but mine’s clearly knackered and leaning on the flowers for support. Diva behaviour at its finest!

Sláinte,

Wendy R.🌴