Merry Everything and a Happy Always

After a card-making drought over the past year, I've recently become obsessed with making as many cards as possible with the leftovers from my Spellbinders Santa Lane Christmas card kit. My friend Stephanie and I already made 16 cards each and I made 3 more in the past two days. And there's STILL a ton of stuff leftover! 

For today's card I used the fun May Sketch Challenge by Tracy at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. 

I wasn't sure if I could cut a good triangle and then I remembered that I bought a set of triangle dies a few years ago but never opened the package. It has a bunch of different triangle sizes and shapes (well, y'know they're all triangle shaped but some are long, some wide, etc.). I love it when I figure out I have just what I need! The sentiment and the cups are from the card kit and the papers are from Echo Park. This is an awesome sketch to use with coordinating papers so I will probably use it again.

Ciao!

A whole lotta gold

Clearly I'll never make it as a blogger. It's been more than 2 years. Whatever. 

Today I made a card using leftover bits from a card-making kit. My inspiration is from Christmas Crafts All Year Round, where the May theme is Five Golden Rings (I cannot get 12 days of Christmas out of my head, thank you very much). The challenge is to make a card or craft featuring 5 of something or a lot of gold. I went with a LOT of gold. 

Thanks to the Design Team for keeping this challenge going!

Dreaming of a green Christmas...

Playing along with two challenges, the Jingle Belles Holly & Ivy challenge, to make a card featuring foliage and the Christmas Kickstart Green Christmas challenge. I pulled out a a Spellbinders poinsettia die that I've barely used and green patterned papers from a coordinating set. The green papers have an olive hue and I love non-traditional colors on Christmas cards so this is right up my alley. 
 

Merry Sketchmas

I need to get some Christmas cards completed and always love a sketch because it establishes some boundaries. The Jingle Belles challenge is to make a card using Stephanie's sketch below.

For the background I used a leftover page that I made for Wanderlust 2021, a mixed media art journaling course. The paper is watercolor paint on a paper bag, with salt sprinkled on the wet page. It was really fun to see how the pages turned out and I would definitely use this technique again. The rest are scraps of Christmas patterned paper and a gift tag from Michaels. 

 

Hello Friend

 

This weekend I made a card for the Shopping our Stash I need a cup of coffee challenge. I've had this Tim Holtz Coffee Time stamp, die and embossing folder for years but I think I've only used it once. So it was time to put it to use. Pretty much copied the version on the back of the package so it's not very original but I like it.

Hello Sugar

I don't make many Christmas cards for children because, sadly, most of my friends are grown-ups. But I found an organization that solicits handmade cards and bookmarks for hospitalized children throughout the world so this year I am planning to make a bunch. I've already made about a dozen bookmarks. 

The inspiration for this card comes from the Winter Wonderland Christmas Sweet Treats prompt and the Jingle Belles Inchies prompt to make a card featuring one inch or two inch squares or whatever size or shape (it's pretty much a free-for-all).  

Here's the front of my card. 

And I decided to decorate the back of the card with a fun page from the coordinated papers.

I am also submitting to CraftyHazelnuts Christmas Challenge CHNC 526, anything goes, as long as it's Christmas and CraftyHazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge January 2021.

What does Ombre even mean?

OK, I know Ombre means "shaded" because I am totally fluent in French. Or maybe I looked it up on Wikipedia. I forget. Anyhoo, second card for the Jingle Belles Something Old, Something New challenge. The stamp is from the Simon Says Stamp Abstract Holidays from preferred travel buddy Stephanie. I finally broke out the Hero Arts Ombre inks I bought on sale at least a year ago but didn't even take them out of the wrap until last week. Took a little practice to figure out the little cha-cha movement to blend them but now I'm a fan. 

Well, that was interesting...

And that is all I have to say about 2020.

Starting off this year I'm getting back into card challenges after a 7 month hiatus. I had to make over 40 cards in late November so I am definitely getting a jumpstart this year. For my first Christmas card of 2021 I used the Jingle Belles Something Old Something New challenge to make a card combining something received or bought for Christmas and something I've had for a while. Something new is the fun Simon Says Stamp Abstract Holiday stamp set from my friend Stephanie and something old is scraps of card stock I've had for at least 5 years. The reindeer and the sentiment are mounted on foam tape but the I-Phone photo doesn't show it. 

Yes, I know that there should only be one red-nosed reindeer, but in my world Rudolph has an evil twin.

Also submitting to:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #45

CHNC #523

Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper January 2021 Challenge

Making S'more Memories

Today I am playing along with Sketch Saturday Challenge #610. I thought this sketch was perfect for what I had in mind for an anniversary card for my husband. We are both getting closer to retirement and are planning to spend a lot more time traveling in our motor home, so I wanted to do something related to RV-ing. The stamped images are from My Favorite Things. I colored with Copic sketch markers.

Here's the fabulous sketch:

And here is my card:

Every time a bell rings...

...an angel gets his wings. 

Playing along with the Jingle Belles challenge, to make a card featuring at least one bell. I was happy to find a bell sticker and some coordinating ornament stickers in my Christmas stash. Scraps of paper, a little stitching, a Joy sentiment and always always foam tape. Easy peasy. 

No Special Reason

This weekend I had the chance to play with the Sketch #434 from Freshly Made Sketches. I liked it so much I ended up making 5 cards with a few variations.

Here's Linda's sketch:

And here's the first card I made using the sketch and various bits of paper, some stamped and some just die cut:

The stamp and coordinating die set are a retired Stampin' Up set called Special Reason. I've had it for a while but haven't used it until now.

I'm going to make enough to send to a bunch of friends to let them know I'm thinking of them and missing them. 

Peace

Today I had a chance to play along with the Jingle Belles sketch challenge. I stamped the reindeer and the "peace sentiment: using the Altenew Festive Silhouettes stamp & die combo. The holly is from a Tim Holtz die and the papers are all random scraps. 

Here's the sketch:

Here's my card:

Hello Feathers

Playing along with Freshly Made Sketches #425 today. Here's the sketch:

Feathers seemed perfect for this challenge. I triple die cut the feathers in white cardstock to add dimension. Then I tore some pieces of patterned paper and die cut a partial image to add the color. You can find this fun technique (as I did) on the Stop and Stamp the Roses blog post.

Stick with me on this...

I had to travel for work most of this week. As you'd expect, the COVID-19 virus was the hot topic, but the airports were crowded and flights were full. When I got back to CA I had to make a run to Costco. There I found that people are stockpiling, ahem, toilet paper. An employee told me that people load up their carts faster than they can bring out a new pallet! Now there is a limit of 2 packages per visit. But apparently I am the only one with the foresight to load up on wine and M&M's as those shelves were full. Jokes on them!

Then I spent yesterday making cards with the amazingly talented Julie Ebersole. We made 20 cards and I learned a bunch of new techniques...so fun!

Today I am back to making Christmas cards. This card is inspired by the Jingle Belles Challenge to make a card featuring stickers. These stickers are from Carta Bella a Very Merry Christmas. I made a couple of tags for interest and that's about it. Pretty simple. 

I am also submitting to: 

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #480 make a Christmas card with a vintage theme.

Woof

Today I made a card for a friend who is recovering from surgery. I used the Crafty Cardmakers challenge, to make a card featuring embossing. I just love these goofy pups from the Tim Holtz Crazy Dogs set by Sizzix, which especially awesome because it includes the stamps, dies and this fun splotch embossing folder. I colored the pups with Copic Sketch markers and glued to a craft card base. On the inside I wrote "Translation: Get well soon. We miss you." 

Hello Rosebud

Made a card for a long distance friend I met in Alaska last summer. We both make cards so we send each other one at least once a month. Her nickname is Rosebud and this card has roses in full flower and bud form, so it's perfect for her.

I used the sketch challenge from Sketch Saturday #598 but mixed it up a bit, moving the ribbon to the side and reversing the direction of the strips...which I had to do because I cut them in the wrong direction. I also stitched around the edge because I just love stitching on cards. The papers are scrapbook papers from Jen Hadfield. The photo is slightly washed out because I don't have an indirect lighting source at the moment.

And here is the fun sketch from Sketch Saturday. 

For some reason, I can't center the sketch. One of these days I'll spend some time learning more about formatting!

Getting "Red-y" For Christmas

Today I made a card for the  Jingle Belles  and Christmas Kickstart challenges, to make a card prominently featuring the color red. I loved coloring this silly little reindeer.

Materials used:

Reindeer from Unity Stamps.
Colored with Spectrum Noir markers.
Papers are Doodlebug milk & cookies.
Stitched around the white cardstock, added a Christmas bulb to cover where the stitching didn't quite match up and finished with a bit of twine.

Hello Spring!

Well, it might not be spring just yet but temps hit 72 F this weekend in my neck of the woods. It feels amazing but doesn't bode well for the water outlook in NoCal this year. 

Today I made a card based on the Cut it Up Challenge 194 Your Favorite Color. TBH, my favorite color varies depending on how it is used. I love green but I look ghastly wearing it. But I think every room in a home looks better with a plant, even faux, because green complements pretty much everything. 

I die-cut the card using Stephanie Barnard Sizzix Framelits and Jen Hadfield scrapbook papers. I fussy cut the flower and die-cut the Hero Arts Hello. 

Berry Merry Christmas!

Yep, I am on a roll. Two Christmas cards completed this year. I am determined to post all my cards on the card challenges I participate in, something that I am horrible at.

I used some Penny Black Festive & Frosty papers and this fun tag from my stash.

I stitched around the edges (using my Baby Lock Soprano-to the horror of my sewing instructor) and a bit of red ribbon. Piece of (fruit)cake.

The sketch is from 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown. I'm planning to do a lot more of their challenges in 2020!

Happy New Year!

OK, I am going to post my challenge cards this year...I didn't make it past February last year, even though I made and mailed at least one card a week! Which is hugely a lot for me.

Here is my take on the Jingle Belles challenge to make a card using wrapping paper or gift tags. This year I wrapped my Christmas gifts using rolls of gorgeous paper from Target in black, gray and white, all with gold accents. We had a flocked tree in our front room and the packages looked so cool under the tree. 

I used the black/gold wrapping paper for the sky and the white/gold for the snow. I have no idea where I got the gold material that I used to die cut the Tim Holtz trees, but I will tell you it has a slick backing that neither glue nor tape runner would adhere to. Mini-glue dots (cut into quarters!) did the trick. Also discovered that stamping on wrapping paper makes a blurry mess. My first card sacrificed itself for the teaching moment. 

Congratulations to Stephanie and Lauren on Jingle Belles' 10th year and thank you for the inspiration! xo