Christmas Lantern re-dressed....

Finally got round to photoing the final Christmas Lantern with its proper lights in situ... and a few Champagne Foil die cut Seasonal Layers snowflakes added to finish...

Can't tell you how much better it looks with the tiny lights behind the lantern glass... albeit very fiddly to achieve... getting Tear n Tape behind the "lamp glass on the inside of the lantern" and then sticking the lightbulb on...

And I have to laugh at this final photo... as no way does it look purple in real life!! Cool White is (supposed to be) the look... 

My favourite Detailed Gates Christmas Card!

So I remade my Christmas Gates card that I shared here (with the Tutorial for you...) as I wanted to use the Boxwood Wreaths... and make it a quicker and simpler card in a class with lots of other projects going on...

Though luckily my brain kicked into gear before I attached the Boxwood Wreath as...with all that dimension... it would never have fit in a standard C6 envelope if I had... so the Christmas Around the World papers came out again... and a simple die-cut but flat wreath & bow was added instead...

And of course... luckily the Halloween Night papers are still in the Clearance Rack for us in Europe.. so the brick sheet in there made the gate posts really easy! I have to admit that more on their way to me and that I have bought a lot of these papers since they have been in the Clearance Rack...

Rest of the details are the same as the original ... apart from the Lanterns which are also care of the Christmas Lamppost dies... which are retiring (sniff! I am so gutted!)... but they are reduced in the Year End Sale by nearly £4...

Though the Full Bundle with the co-ordinating Brightly Lit Christmas stamps is still marginally cheaper if you want the stamps too...

And I will dash a few more of these off prior to my Christmas post... quicker to create than they look... and some already prepped and ready to go ...

Anything But A Card for Global Stamping Friends Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to November's Global Stamping Friends Blog Hop... you are now in the UK with Amanda Bates at The Craft Spa...

Our theme this month is Anything But A Card... which is lovely as it has made me focus and get one of my December projects done a whole month early! So now the first ladies will be making one on Wednesday (just in case they were wondering!!!)

So I have a lantern for you using one of the fabulous large lanterns I found last year! So a matching set for my regular ladies... one for each end of their mantelpieces... 

A die cutting dream of a project... using Detailed Gate, Christmas Lamp Post and Hometown Greetings... all available with co-ordinating stamp sets in bundles with 10%... 

Plus Christmas Around the World & Halloween Night papers and a Boxwood Wreath with a Jute Twine bow to finish off...

But I have few admittances...

(1) This project was inspired by an amazing dome version by fellow demo Shannon Vanstone... though I couldn't find a dome as impressive as Shannon's so I had to alter details as I went along!

(2) My lantern has etched wording at the back that needs covering up... hence the die cut snowflake panel... 

(3) The actual lights I will use arrive on Monday... so I will finish off the project with some more sparkle & twinkle then... The lights used here are the same but have a ridiculously large battery box which is difficult to hide!

(4) I will personally use the double stamped gateposts in Graveyard Gates (as explained & used here) for gift re-makes... but I wanted to keep the project easier for some of my ladies (that panic when the Stamp A Ma Jig comes out!) and we still have the Halloween Night papers in the Clearance Rack here in Europe... so the brick paper sheet made these gateposts a breeze!

And now it is time to pass you onto the lovely Karie in the USA... I know she has 3 lovely projects to share with you...

And here is a Roll Call for you  -  if you prefer to hop backwards and forwards that way - or just in case of any broken links...

Global Stamping Friends Blog Hop Roll Call

1.  Kimberley Anne Morris

2.  Jenn Curtis Charles

3.  Jan Musselman

4.  Anastasia Radloff

5.  Amanda Bates (YOU ARE HERE!)

6.  Karie Beglau

7.  Courtenay Heuston

8. Ellen Woodbridge

9.  Amber Thompson

10.  Kristie Neal Walthall

11.  Tricia Butts

12.  Lisa Ann Bernard

13.  Amanda Farlinger

14. Erica Jones

15. Sarah McDermott

16.  Georgia Gaydos

17. Sharleen Luciano

NEW Embossing Paste... and At Home With You...

And so to the last but one of my At Home With You projects... 

I was itching to get the new Embossing Paste into action for some bricks! And to see what the Boxwood Wreath embellishments would add to a project... so it had to be a christmas card...

Kept it simple... as the bricks and the wreath had to take centre stage...

Well the Boxwood Wreaths make dressing your door child's play... I just added a Linen Thread bow and hanger to add rustic charm...

And I have to say!! I wasn't disappointed... The Embossing Paste is such fun... felt like a bricklayer for half an hour! But I bet they wish bricklaying was as quick!!

So you have a trio of products that make up the whole... which tot up to just £17.25 all in... 

The Embossing Paste...

The Palette Knives...

and the Pattern Party Decorative Masks to push it through... Bricks, Clouds, Mandala/Medallion and Diamond shapes! Lots of play factor... 

I of course just used the biggest pallete knife... slopped it on... smoothed it down into the holes... this way and that... scraped it off flat... added a bit of paste if I had missed a bit... and repeated the process until I was happy... 

Then left my pasted piece of card to the side to dry.... (which actually ended up as 3 days due to the flu! Though I think an hour or two would do it normally....)

And then it was all ready to add to the front of my card... and wow... it really adds texture and interest! But so simple.... and such fun...

I then went onto play with adding ink to the paste... sponging ink through the template after the paste bricks were dry... and a few other things... but they are for another day! But all worked well... so go on ... just have a play!

And gosh a distant memory has just come flooding back..... we used to make paper bricks!! Soggy newspaper into a metal contraption and apply pressure.... and you ended up with a paper brick to throw onto the fire (once dry!)  Wonder where that contraption has "got filed!"