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Christmas Card Throwdown - June stash challenge

Jun 032017

Hello! At Christmas Card Throwdown we’re starting the month with stash challenge week, where we invite our challenge participants to use particular items from their crafting stash to create a Christmas or wintry card. This time it’s a triple item find – gems, pearls, and/or sequins. You can use any combination of those types of embellishments.

I’ve combined our stash challenge with the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge, rotating the sketch 180° to turn it upside-down. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but the red half-oval is cut from textured cardstock. The tree takes the place of the banner element of the sketch. I stamped it on a scrap piece of cardstock and fussy cut it, adhering it to the card with dimensionals. I used some pearls to decorate the tree and added a star-shaped, pearl-embellished sequin to top it off.

Now it’s your turn to show us how you can make your card sparkle and shimmer! If you’d like some more inspiration, be sure to see what the rest of the CCT design team has made. Then share your card with us, linking it at the CCT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, June 16. We’d love to have you join us!

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Season of Joy, Short & Sweet
Cardstock: Mellow Moss, Naturals Ivory, Real Red Core’dinations
Ink: Mellow Moss, Close to Cocoa
Other: white pearls, dimensionals; plain petite ovals Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); red pearls (Queen & Co.); star sequin (source unknown)

Christmas Card Throwdown - May sketch challenge

5 Responses »

May 062017

Hello hello! It’s time for another sketch challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown.

I stayed pretty true to how the sketch was drawn, although it allows for flexibility in the shapes used. I layered several different circles for my focal point, topping them with a penguin that I’d fussy cut. I attached the circles to an embossed background that replicates falling snow. A simple sentiment finished the card.

How will you interpret the sketch? Be sure to share your card at the CCT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, May 19. We’d love to have you join in the fun and creativity!

Supplies:
Stamps: Warm Penguin (Lizzie Anne Designs for Gourmet Rubber Stamps); Most Wonderful (Uniko)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Basic Black (Stampin’ Up); Solar White (Neenah); scrap from Fa La La 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle and lacy circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); Softly Falling embossing folder (SU)

Christmas Card Throwdown - March sketch challenge

5 Responses »

Mar 042017

Hello! It’s time for another sketch challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown. It’s a nice, simple one that can be dressed up with stamps or designer papers or ribbons.

I chose three coordinating designer papers for the vertical elements of the sketch. In order to accommodate the patterns on the papers, I had to cut the strips wider than the way they are depicted in the challenge graphic. So I decided to change the format of my card to a landscape-oriented rectangle. The sentiment panel and its mat were simply cut with dies. Easy peasy!

If you need additional inspiration, go on over to the CCT blog and see what the rest of the design team has made. Then show us your own interpretation of the sketch by linking a card of your own to our challenge post. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, March 17 to enter the challenge. Thanks for stopping by today!

All supplies except the dies are from Stampin’ Up:
Stamp: Wondrous Wreath
Cardstock: Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White, Season of Style designer series papers
Ink: Cherry Cobbler
Other: petite oval and petite scalloped oval Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

CAS Colours & Sketches #192

3 Responses »

Sep 222016

Ok, I admit it, I’m late with today’s post for the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge that started today. It’s been a very busy week and I’ve been trying to overcome a cold and I just wasn’t able to pull my crafty side together in time to get the card posted right when the challenge went live. But better late than never, yes? So here it is…

We have a sketch challenge this week, and I knew it would lend itself nicely for a congratulatory card I wanted to make. I had planned to dress the card up by heat embossing the flourishes and the sentiment, but I wasn’t pleased with the outcome of the different colors of embossing powders I tried. In the end, I used colors that I knew would be meaningful for the situation, and used a mat and a base layer to give the card a little extra pizazz.

As always, we’d love to have you join in our challenge! Just remember to keep your card clean and simple in style. Link it to the CC&S challenge post by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 28. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Priceless, Delightful Dozen (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Night of Navy (SU); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Night of Navy (SU)
Other: dimensionals (SU); Labels Four Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

CAS Colours & Sketches #191

6 Responses »

Sep 152016

Hello! It’s the third Thursday of the month, which means it’s color challenge time again at CAS Colours & Sketches.

The colors made me think of nature. For the focal panel of my card, I made a watercolor wash with Bermuda Bay ink. When it was dry, I stamped a wildflower image on it with a light color of ink. Then I used watercolors to paint over the image. I added in a touch of shimmery paint on a few of the flowers. Then I die cut the circle and the sentiment. The two vertical strips were stamped with subtle prints to give them a little extra visual texture. The focal panel is popped up over them with dimensional adhesive. The layout for this card comes from this week’s challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. I know that Send a Smile 4 Kids often needs cards for the teenagers they aim to serve, and I think this card will be suitable for that purpose.

Our curious furball wanted to know what was going on when I was photographing the card…

Now it’s your turn! Go see what the rest of the design team has done with these colors. Then show us what you can create with them! You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 21 to link your card at the CC&S challenge site. Thanks for stopping by today!

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: In the Meadow, Sanded, Linen
Cardstock: Delightful Dijon, Cucumber Crush, Naturals Ivory; The Langton Prestige Extra Smooth Hot Press watercolor paper (Daler-Rowney)
Ink: Crumb Cake
Other: Gansai Tambi watercolor paints (Kuretake); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); Olivia alphabet die (ProvoCraft); Bermuda Bay reinker, dimensionals

CAS Colours & Sketches #149

10 Responses »

Nov 052015

Happy Thursday! It’s time for a new month of challenges at CAS Colours & Sketches and we’re getting it started off with a color challenge. Our November hostess, Louise, has chosen some autumnal colors for us.

I have to admit it took me a while to figure out what I was going to do with these colors. I looked around online to see if any of the many sketch challenges would help inspire me. The one at Freshly Made Sketches looked like it could easily be kept clean and simple in style, so I decided to give it a try. Then I had a couple different ideas for what stamps to use. In the end, this puppy image won out. I figured since one of the challenge colors is called “Chocolate Chip”, that this could be a chocolate labrador. Heh heh. Rather than trying to color him, I stamped him onto some chocolaty brown designer paper and fussy cut him from that. I stamped his head a second time so I could cut that out and pop it up over the whole dog image with a shim of scrap cardstock, to give him some dimension. I pieced his dog bed together from cardstock in the remaining two challenge colors. I’m hoping this is enough paper piecing to make my card count for the current Less is More challenge. I played with my photo editing stuff the best I could to try to show the deep purple blackberry color correctly. I’m not sure how well the photo shows that the main panel of the card is textured cardstock, either. At any rate, I think the card will serve well for Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the CC&S Design Team has done with these colors! Then share your own card with us by linking it to the challenge post by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, November 11. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Furry Friends (Avery Elle); A Birdie Told Me (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs); Blackberry Bliss, More Mustard, Autumn Vine designer series paper (Stampin’ Up); scrap from Pyrus 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: petite scalloped circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

Cards in Envy - Gratitude

6 Responses »

Nov 022015

Hello there! It’s the first Monday of the month, which means it’s time for a new challenge at Cards in Envy. Our challenge theme for the next two weeks is Gratitude. There are so many things in our lives for which we can be thankful – so make a card showing your thankfulness, and share it with us! Keep in mind that cards for our challenges must be A2 sized (4.25″ x 5.5″) and must not have any thick embellishments that would prevent the card from being mailed at the standard first-class postage rate.

It’s been a long time since I made a starburst card, so I picked out some designer papers in colors that I felt represented the autumn season and went to work with them. Since the papers had a lot of blue in them, I chose to stamp a bird in the circle element so I could color it to coordinate with the papers. The sentiment is from a long-retired stamp set.

The Paper Players also has a thankfulness theme going on, so I’ve decided to enter my card in their challenge.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy design team has made! Then we’d love to see your creativity! Share your card using the linky tool at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, November 15. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love Quotes (Mama Elephant); Simple Sayings II (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Early Espresso, Naturals Ivory, Blue Bayou (SU); designer papers from Pyrus 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU)
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle and petite scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); sponge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October sketch challenge

6 Responses »

Oct 032015

Hello there, and happy Saturday to you! It’s sketch challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. As with all of our sketches, you’re welcome to use the sketch as it’s drawn, turn it on its side, or manipulate it into a square. So long as we can see the “skeleton” of the sketch, it’s all good!

I’ve added a couple layers to the sketch but otherwise kept my card rather clean and simple in design. I opted to go for more of a wintry card than one specifically Christmasy. It’s not easy to see in the photo, but I pierced the scalloped circle for a tiny bit of additional interest. I attached the focal panel to the card with dimensional adhesive. This card will be going into the stash I’m saving up for Send a Smile 4 Kids.

And now it’s your turn to show us what you can create! We’d love it if you joined our challenge this week. You have until 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, October 9 to link your card at the 52CCT site. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Warm Penguin (Lizzie Anne Designs for Gourmet Rubber Stamps)
Cardstock: Bermuda Bay, Basic Black, Pool Party (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle and big scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); piercing tool (Making Memories); dimensionals (SU)

CAS Colours & Sketches #140

8 Responses »

Sep 032015

Well hello there! It’s the first Thursday of the month, which means we have a new hostess of the month over at CAS Colours & Sketches! Lizy has planned some fun things for us this time, and she’s starting us off with a really nice, soft, mostly pastel color challenge.

I had the current CAS(E) this Sketch! layout in mind when I was making this card, although I took a few liberties with it by adding a matted layer and changing the rectangular focal point to a circle. The mint green color that Lizy chose tied into this week’s Paper Players challenge, and I chose the option of circle/embossing/Mint Macaron. Since I don’t have any Mint Macaron cardstock or ink yet, I just used the colors that seemed closest. My first attempt at coloring this image with my Copic markers was a flop – the green ended up too dark, and I just wasn’t happy at all with the result. So I started over again with my circular element and used my colored pencils with odorless mineral spirits. I was much more pleased with the way it turned out. Since I’m planning to send this card to Send a Smile 4 Kids, I chose a sentiment that hopefully will bring some cheer to a child of pretty much any age.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you’ll share your own card with the CC&S challenge colors by linking it to the CC&S site by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 9.

Edited on September 8, 2015: Thank you to Lisa of the Paper Players Design Team for choosing my card as “A Cut Above”! What a nice surprise!

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters Ever After (Lawn Fawn); Simply Said: You (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Pink Pirouette, Rose Red (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Rose Red, Pink Pirouette, Sage Shadow (SU); Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: Premier colored pencils (Prismacolor); odorless mineral spirits (Hampton Arts); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); D’Vine Swirls embossing folder (ProvoCraft); dimensionals (SU); sponge

Cards in Envy - Cute & Cuddly

5 Responses »

Aug 172015

Hi there! It’s Cards in Envy challenge introduction day! For the next two weeks we have a theme challenge of “Cute & Cuddly”. Show us your A2 sized cards featuring any cute, cuddly animal. Remember to keep your cards flat enough to fit in an envelope and be mailed at the first class postage rate.

I’ve loved cats and kittens ever since I was a little girl, so it seemed only natural to have a cat on my card for this challenge. First I decided to use this week’s sketch from CAS Colours & Sketches (turned on its side) and chose some coordinating designer papers for the various elements of the card. It was a great way to use up some scraps, and it makes the card eligible for the current challenge at CAS-ual Fridays. I stamped the cat bed onto one scrap of designer paper, fussy cut it, and attached it to the focal panel. I stamped the cat twice onto a scrap of grey paper. I cut one cat out entirely, and cut only the head of the other. That way I was able to adhere the second head (with a couple cardstock shims behind it) separately to give some dimension to my card. The circle with the cat was attached with dimensional adhesive. A coordinating sentiment finished the card.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the Cards in Envy design team has done for this challenge, and then go make a card showing off your favorite cute and cuddly animal! We’d love to see your creativity! Share your card using the linky tool at the Cards in Envy site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Sunday, September 6. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Furry Friends (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Dusty Durango, Naturals White (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Ambrosia 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: standard circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); dimensionals (SU)

deerly loved

6 Responses »

Aug 122015

Sorry… I just couldn’t resist the punny post title! This is a card I created to combine a few different challenges.

I’ve taken the color scheme from the current challenge at The Paper Players. I would not have thought to combine these colors, and I had a little trouble working with them, but I suppose it turned out OK in the end. I will readily admit this wasn’t one of my best coloring jobs, but I think the marker colors match the specified colors pretty well. The embossed clouds tie into the current AEIHeartU challenge. The layout is from the CAS(E) this Sketch challenge that ends tomorrow morning. The two butterflies are adhered with dimensional adhesive for a little visual separation from the background. The narrow strip of kraft cardstock is stamped tone-on-tone with a subtle texture stamp.

Challenge 27

Thanks for stopping by today!

Edited on August 15, 2015: What a happy surprise it was to see that Nance of the Paper Players Design Team chose this card as “A Cut Above”! Thank you so much!

Supplies:
Stamps: Storybook, Simply Said: You (Avery Elle); Linen (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Old Olive, Kraft (SU); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); clouds embossing folder, dimensionals (SU); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

CAS Colours & Sketches #136

2 Responses »

Aug 062015

Hello! I have a little bit of happy news to announce today – I’m the hostess for this month’s challenges at CAS Colours & Sketches! I hope that you’ll give the challenges a try and have fun with them!

A new month always gets started off with a color challenge. I’ve chosen some soft pastel colors that haven’t been used much in our previous color challenges. I haven’t made time to play along in the CAS(E) this Sketch! challenges recently and this week’s sketch really intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try. I wanted a little bit of color variation in the circles, so I made watercolor washes of the three colors onto watercolor paper. I framed the washes with the coordinating solid color cardstock. I’ve used the inlaid dies technique for the circles so the card wouldn’t be really thick with lots of layers. In retrospect, it probably would have looked better if I’d used different size dies to cut the circles, but oh well. The butterfly was punched from scraps of the watercolor washes. The body of the butterfly is attached directly to the card front, and the wings are popped up with dimensional adhesive.

Now it’s your turn. Go check out the other design team members’ cards at the CAS Colours & Sketches blog – they’ve done an amazing job this week! Then show us what you’re inspired to create using these colors. If you don’t have the exact Stampin’ Up colors, that’s all right – simply use whatever you have that matches them closely. You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, August 12 to link your card at the challenge post.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamp: Painted Petals (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride, So Saffron, Very Vanilla (SU); watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft)
Ink: Wisteria Wonder (SU)
Other: Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride, and So Saffron ink refills, rhinestones, dimensionals (SU); standard circle Nestabilities die (Spellbinders); stitched circle and stitched rectangle dies (Lawn Fawn); butterfly punches (Martha Stewart)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - April theme challenge

8 Responses »

Apr 182015

Hello! The third Saturday of the month means it’s theme challenge time at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. This time our hostess, Louise, was inspired by her love of cats and has chosen the theme of “Christmas cats”. So long as a cat is the focus of your Christmas or wintry card, it’ll be just right for our challenge.

Luckily for me, I had chosen a digital stamp set featuring a cat when Deedee’s Digis sponsored our 52CCT challenges last September. I’ve used it again for today’s card. This time I printed out the pre-colored version of the image and a designer paper that comes in the set, along with one of the sentiments. I rarely use pre-colored images but I wasn’t feeling particularly creative when I was making this card, so it was nice to have an easy way out. Then I chose some solid cardstock that coordinated with the red and the grey in the image and designer paper. The layout for my card comes from the current Crooked Stamper Sketch Challenge, but I’ve flipped it mirror-image so the cat wouldn’t be “looking off the edge” of the card. I used a square punch to cut the tail of the banner.

All right – now it’s your turn to get creating! We’d love it if you share your Christmas kitty cards on our challenge blog. You can link your card until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 24. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Digital Images: Meowy Christmas (Deedee’s Digis)
Cardstock: Smoky Slate, Rose Red, Whisper White (Stampin’ Up); Meowy Christmas designer paper (Deedee’s Digis)
Ink: printer ink
Other: square punch (Creative Memories); standard circle and big scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - February stash challenge

7 Responses »

Feb 282015

Hello! Once again, it’s stash challenge week at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown, where we invite our challenge participants to use particular items from their crafting stash to create a Christmas or wintry card. This time the chosen item is markers. Most everyone has markers, and there are so many different ways to use them, so we’re hoping to see a lot of great cards this week!

I’ve chosen one of the more obvious ways to use markers – I’ve colored an outline image with my Copics. Although I’ve had this stamp set for a few years, this wreath image has always intimidated me a bit, so I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve actually used it for a card. The layout for this card is OWH Stars & Stamps Sketch #219, which I hadn’t used before. When I was fitting the pieces of the card together, I realized that the “Merry Christmas” sentiment in the stamp set was too large to fit in the available space, and the “Happy Holidays” stamp seemed too small. So I opted to just leave well enough alone and not use a sentiment. I figure the colors and the wreath image still lead to this being a Christmasy card, but it could be used throughout the season as a “thinking of you” card or a thank you card or really anything the sender chooses. (This card will be donated to Operation Write Home, so I’m not going to be using it myself.)

How will you use your markers? We’d love to see! Link your card at the 52{C}CT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, March 6. Be sure to check out the rest of the design team members’ cards for more inspiration. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bows and Holly (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Kraft, Season of Style designer series paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); enamel dots, grosgrain ribbon, dimensionals (SU); standard circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

Cards in Envy - Christmas Carols

1 Response »

Dec 152014

Hello! Since it’s the third Monday of the month, it’s time for another challenge at Cards in Envy. Our theme for the next few weeks is “Christmas Carols”. Let a familiar Christmas carol or a winter/Christmas song inspire your creativity, and make a card using that song as your theme. Remember that for our challenges, all cards must be A2 sized and cannot have lumpy, bumpy embellishments more than 1/4″ thick.

I wanted to go with something a little more wintry than strictly Christmasy, because I’m planning to send another shipment of cards to Operation Write Home before the end of the month and they will accept winter cards through December 31. So I thought of the song “Winter Wonderland” and created a snowy scene – which, I suppose, could also work for “White Christmas”. After I stamped the trees and bird for my scene, I masked off the ground and sponged ink for the sky. Then I flicked shimmer paint over the scene to create the look of falling snowflakes and added more of the paint along the ground lines. I actually started on the card without a particular layout in mind. It looked rather plain and boring with just the scene, so I searched through the OWH Stars & Stamps sketches until I found sketch #195, a fairly simple one with a nice large focal panel. I changed it up a bit by deciding to make the focal panel oval. I turned the sketch 90° on its side and mirror-reversed it so that the small round element would be at the bottom right corner of the card. I decided to use that element for the sentiment. So I looked through my sentiment stamps, and one of the smallest ones I had that fit the space nicely read “Let it snow”. Well, that worked well for the scene, too – although then it made more sense to say that I’d used the song “Let it Snow” for my inspiration. So I guess you could say that all three songs worked together to help me create this card! 🙂

One last note (pun intended? maybe 😉 ) regarding this card. I had all three songs making a little medley bouncing in my head as I was assembling the card… and then from out of nowhere, the music in my brain started playing the chorus from “Let it Go”, changing the words to “Let it snow”. Ha ha ha! I hope that little story makes you laugh, too.

So – which Christmas or wintry song will get your creative juices flowing? Share your work with us at the Cards in Envy site by 6:00 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, January 4, 2015. (Because of the holiday season, there’s an extra week to participate!) Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has made and give them some blog love, too! Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Scenic Season (Stampin’ Up); Holiday Script (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Marina Mist, Soft Sky, Real Red, Whisper White (SU)
Ink: Garden Green, Marina Mist, Soft Sky, Real Red (SU)
Other: Frost White shimmer paint (SU); petite oval and standard circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); Snowflake Background embossing folder (Darice); sponge

Older Entries

Christmas Card Throwdown - June stash challenge

Christmas Card Throwdown - May sketch challenge

Christmas Card Throwdown - March sketch challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #192

CAS Colours & Sketches #191

CAS Colours & Sketches #149

Cards in Envy - Gratitude

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October sketch challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #140

Cards in Envy - Cute & Cuddly

deerly loved

CAS Colours & Sketches #136

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - April theme challenge

52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown - February stash challenge

Cards in Envy - Christmas Carols

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Really great links

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