52CCT - Pick a Previous Challenge - Santa Claus

Hello friends! Here it is the very last Saturday of the November, 2013.  When there are five Saturdays in a month the 52CCT Week 5 Challenge is to Pick a Previous Challenge - as specified by the hostess.  This time Louise (our November hostess) has selected 

Pick A Previous - THEME.   

To see all the previous themes that we have done at 52CCT - just look in the Themes Archive.   

I had several favorite themes this past year so it wasn't easy to choose - ultimately I picked the April 2013 Theme - Santa Claus/Father Christmas.  Here's my DT card (hope you like it):

Isn't he just a jolly guy?  Every once in a while I get the bug to do some distressing and this was one of those occasions.  I used a Kraft scallop circle base and added a whisper white circle to layer on.  To get the list to go over on the sentiment just a tad, I stamped the hand and list a second time, fussy cut around it and then placed it on top of the original image in the circle.   

Fortunately through the 52{Christmas} Card Throwdown Challenge  (52CCT),  I have plenty of cards to send out this year.  Now I need to get some serious shopping done - eek! Most of the people on my list have been nice this year :o)  I won't specifically mention the naughty ones - you already know who you are - LOL!  I do think Santa allows "do overs" though as I've gotten a couple myself in the past :o) (slightly naughty grin).   

The other ladies on our fabulous 52CCT DT have also made some beautiful Christmas cards using past themes to share with you as well.  I hope you will go visit them and then decide to join us this week. 

I'm also entering the following challenges:

MOJO Monday 321 - Round or Square

ABC Christmas Challenges - X is for Out of the Box (NO square shapes)

4 Crafty Chicks Challenges (4CCC) #170  - Christmas

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today - I'm sure glad that you did.  Til next time friends...hugs and happy crafting! D

ATS&M# - Addicted to Holidays - Challenge #73

Hello friends.  Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I can't wait for the turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie. YUM!  Going to try a new brussel sprout recipe on the family this year.  There's also a couple movies that start this weekend that I want to see.  Not taking any extra time off from work though so I can save up my time for when my son is home from college for Christmas break (can't wait!).  What's your favorite Thanksgiving meal, tradition or activity? I'd love to hear.

This week at Addicted to Stamps and More! ATS&M Challenge #73 is our new HOLIDAY challenge. The Holiday challenge means we want to see your creations for any Holiday - Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, 4th of July... you get the idea :o).

You might think that I would have chosen Thanksgiving with it being just around the corner, but I just couldn't resist using this darling digital image from our challenge sponsor this week- Deedee's Digis to make a Christmas card.

The other lovely ladies on the ATS&M DT have made some wonderful creations to share with and inspire  you as well.  Please go visit them and say "hi".  I hope that you'll join us this week for ATS&M #73.  Our Top Addict will win a fabulous prize from Deedee's Digis this week.

Updated to add the following challenges I am also entering:

City Crafter Challenge Blog Week 187 - Snow White (where white is the main color).

Christmas Cards All Year Round - November Challenge - winter wonderland (snow themed)

52{Christmas} Card Throwdown (52CCT) - Technique Challenge #23

Hello friends, thanks for stopping by! Time for another challenge at 52CCT - a Theme challenge to be more specific :o) This week our hostess Louise has decided she'd like us to try the acrylic block stamping technique.  This is one way of creating a very unique background.  You ink up the acrylic block, spritz it with water and then stamp onto cardstock.  How much and how heavy -handed you are with the inking, misting and stamping, produces a different effect.  See what I mean about unique?  I don't think it's likely that you would achieve exactly the same result each time.  Here's my DT card to share with you this week:

It wasn't exactly the effect I was going for. I wanted a yellow glow (heavenly) but was worried that Daffodil Delight yellow wouldn't show up, so I used More Mustard instead.  And..I think I over spritzed a bit.  I also used a fairly large block and that was a bit challenging to ink it up evenly.  Oh boy - not exactly the heavenly glow I had in mind - LOL.  But, as I sat and looked at it, I decided that it could work for a distressed look. Since I didn't start my card until close to 10 pm, I didn't have time to try again  - so the distressed look is what I went for.  I do like it - it just wasn't what I pictured in my head :o)

Will you decide to join us this week at 52CCT for Theme Challenge #23?  It's a great opportunity to try a new technique and  get one more Christmas card done in time to send to your family and friends?  I sure hope so!  The other lovely ladies on the DT have made some gorgeous samples for you as well (I peeked ahead of the post) - please go visit them and see.    

I am also entering this card in my DT friend Nonni's Christmas Card Challenge #1 - "Let's get Inky" - Stamp a Happy Christmas, where the emphasis is on stamping.  

Non-traditional Christmas card - DD#79 "Black Tie" Week & Let's Get Inky

Hello friends - hope your week is going well.  I'm surprised it's Thursday already - my week has just flown by. A quick post for today to share a card I whipped together last night after seeing something that inspired me.  I'd like to enter this card in the following terrific challenges:

Dynamic Duos #79 

and Nonni's Christmas Card Challenge #1 - Let's Get Inky - Stamp a Happy Christmas

Thanks so much for stopping by today - I'm sure glad that you did. Til next time friends...hugs and happy crafting! D

ATS&M #72 - Make Your Mark - Tumbling Gingerbread Christmas

Oh hello there - thanks for popping in to visit me today.  Time for another great challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More! Last week you blew us away with all the fabulous entries for our Anything Goes challenge - I think we broke a record for # of entries.  It will be extremely hard to narrow it down to our top 5 for sure. 

Our new challenge week ATSM#72 is Make your Mark.  We want to see you use markers, chalks, watercolors, colored pencils, crayons - some sort of coloring on your creation.  Here's my DT card to share with and inspire you:

Pink is my favorite non-traditional color to use on Christmas cards :o) and I quite like the combo of red and brown with it.  I colored the stamped images with my copics and used a white gel pen for the frosting parts.  Just a couple pearls for candy buttons and then the sentiment. By Jove - I think I'm getting the hang of the CAS concept.  Let me be living proof to you that it can be done - LOL. 

We have a new sponsor this week - Fresh Squeezed Stamps.  The tumbling gingerbread men and sentiment are from a set called "Christmas Sweets".  I'm having a lot of fun with this set!  If you are chosen as the Top Addict this week you can possibly pick out this set as the winner gets to select one stamp set of her/his choice.

So... I hope that you will decide to join us for ATSM #72 this week! The other lovely ladies have made some terrific creations to share with you as well - please go visit and say "hi". 

I'm also entering my card in the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge 2 - November challenge
CAS-ual Fridays (CFC120) and Curtain Call

 

Snowflake Spinner Card

Hello dear friends and followers.  A second post for me today (whoo hoo ) to share a card I made and taught for a workshop today.  We have a group that meets once a month and I always try to teach them a new technique.  Sometimes this means that I'm cruising different sites for ideas as I don't know that many myself.  I found a video on the Stampin Up Demonstrator website by Dawn Olchefske (DO Stampin with Dawn) on the spinner technique and decided to give it a go. I modified what I learned to a Christmas card using a spinning snowflake. Here's what I made (I'll show a few pictures so you can see how it moved across the card):

  

Lots of fun to make and even more to see in motion :o)  Not sure how well it would make it in the mail though, so this is one that I will hand deliver to avoid getting completely squished.

 My card is made using the following (all from Stampin Up):

Word Window punch

Frosty Flurry Stamp set and coordinating Sizzlit dies - snowflake is stamped and cut out twice and glued together so that it has more substance to it.

Snowburst texture embossing folder (retired)

Island Indigo and Pool Party inks

Whisper white, Pool party, Island Indigo - cardstock

dimensionals, glue dots and two pennies.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Christmas Cards All Year Round - November challenge - Winter Wonderland

4 Crafty Chicks Challenge #168 - Snowflakes

Divas by Design - Something Snowy

CAS-ual Fridays (CFC120) and Curtain Call 

Well, that's it for me tonight folks - gotta get my tired little self to bed so I can get to work tomorrow.  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me - I'm sure glad that you did! 'Til next time friends...hugs and happy crafting. D



 

Merry Monday #83, JUGS215 & CCC49

Hello dear friends and followers.  A quick post to share a card I made using my new Fresh Squeezed Stamps set called "Christmas Treats", for the following challenges (I apologize for the poor photo) :

Merry Monday #83

Just Us Girls #215 - Color Challenge

and

Creative Card Crew - Challenge #49 Pearls 

(used pearls for candy buttons on the gingerbread men and the snowflake on the cocoa mug).

Isn't it great how these challenges worked so perfectly together? The Stripes part of the Merry Monday challenge gave me an excuse to open up and use my Strips texture embossing folder :o).  I LOVE non-traditional colors for Christmas cards - and Red and Browns are a great combo.  

Thanks for stopping by friends - I'm sure glad that you did.  Rushing off to go teach a class today - will share the card we made later when I return. Til next time...hugs and happy crafting! D

52CCT - November Recipe Challenge #23

Hello dear friends and followers!  Have you been enjoying Louise's November challenges as much as I have?  I must say that she has pushed me outside of my comfort zone a time or two with her awesome ideas and challenges - and I have really had fun with it.  When I saw the 52CCT Recipe Challenge #23 I let out a HUGE groan... One layer? Only a hint of color? Oh My!  Just didn't know if I can do it. One layer alone strikes fear in my heart - LOL.  But look what I did:

 

By Jove I did it!! I'm so proud of myself!

 

This is my newest stamp set from Freshly Squeezed Stamps - I just love it!  I stamped the jar first and put just the slightest shading around the image with a copic marker (C02). Then I stamped two layers of the candy inside the jar using Primrose Petal and then Gumball Green - how perfect is that ink name for this image?(Stampin Up!).  It worked really nicely with the clear stamps, didn't even need to use my Stamp-M-Jig for the inside.  I did use my Stamp-M-Jig for the sentiment though because I was so excited about how my candy jar turned out that I didn't want to risk a crooked or sloped sentiment.  My bling (Close to My Heart) looks some of the gumballs have escaped the jar, don't you agree?   This is on Whisper White cardstock, but my photo is a bit dark (bummer).

  

Please go visit the other lovely ladies over at 52CCT and see what they have made for your inspiration using 52CCT Recipe Challenge #23.  I hope that you will decide to join us and share your fabulous One-Layer card.

 

You'll be seeing another card early next week from me using this same set - so stay tuned :o)  Til next time friends.... hugs and happy crafting! D

 

 

 

 



Anything Goes - ATS&M Challenge #71

Hello friends and followers - hope each and every one of you is doing well and feeling healthy!! I got a wee bit of time to play in my craft room over the weekend and got caught up on a couple of my DT posts. Feels good to be a bit ahead instead of a lot of bit behind :o)  

So enough about me, let's talk about the current challenge starting today at Addicted to Stamps and More!  ATS&M Challenge#71 is ANYTHING GOES.  We are very happy to have a new sponsor for this challenge - Sami Stamps - that is offering a wonderful prize for our challenge winner.   Our DT member Nonni uses a lot of these images and I've admired them for quite some time.  I've made a card using one of their great digital images called "Little Acorn Bird".

 

Couldn't resist this great fall image! I fussy-cut around the image, added some distressing with Soft Suede ink (Stampin Up), and a few candy dots for texture (SU as well).  Did I mention that this is one of Sami Stamps recent freebies! Who doesn't love FREE??   

 

I'm finding that I need more practice with the coloring of nature images. I'm not super happy with my color choice for the acorns - they turned out more grey than brown - but oh well, I'll live with it.  Browns are hard for me.  I'll just keep practicing until I feel comfortable with the color choices and blending to look "natural".  Get it... nature -  look "natural"? :o) LOL

 

The other lovely ladies of the ATS&M DT have  also made some great projects to share with you during the ATS&M Challenge #71 - "Anything Goes".  I hope that you'll go visit them too and then decide to play along with us.  Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me today - sure glad that you did. 'Til next time... hugs and happy crafting! D

 

 

52CCT - Color Challenge #23 (Black, Grey and White) & CCAYR November Challenge - Winter Wonderland

Hello friends and followers - happy weekend!  This week at 52CCT our fabulous and fun hostess Louise has a color challenge for you to try.  As much as I love this color combo, I must admit that I was a tad intimidated by it.  I kept feeling like I needed to make an elegant, classy card but my MOJO just wasn't showing up for that. I had lots of ideas, fretted a bit, and suddenly inspiration struck and I decided to stick with my comfort zone of  CUTE.  Take a look:

 And the inside too (for you Ruth) ...

I stamped the grey base layer on the front with VersaMark ink to add a subtle background. I wondered if I would like it better if they were darker so on the inside I used tone on tone with the Smoky Slate ink.  Hmmm... still not sure which I like better.  The snowflakes and sentiment (front) are stamped with Smoky Slate ink.  Added some pearls & rhinestones - just because :o)  

I am happy with how it turned out, and of course now that I made this one I suddenly can think of all kinds of other ways to use this terrific color combo in an elegant fashion - funny how that works :o)  Sometimes our brains just need to give something a go to see all the other possibilities. As you can read here, the challenges don't always just challenge you - sometimes they help challenge us too ;o) 

I got a peek at the other lovely ladies amazing creations using this color combo and am delighted to see all the different styles and takes on the colors.  I hope you'll go visit them too and check it out. 

What will you make with the 52CCT Color Challenge #23?  I can't wait to come visit you and see.  

I am also entering this card in the Christmas Cards All Year 'Round - November Challenge -Winter Wonderland and Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - challenge extra for November (Thanks Hazel :o) ). 

Til next time friends...hugs and happy crafting! D



Christmas Peace for Nonni's Christmas Challenge #1 - Focus on Stamping

Hello friends - back again tonight with another post and card to share with you.  I've really wanted to support my ATS&M DT buddy Nonni in her new Christmas Card Challenges - but lately have hardly had time to keep up with my own DT responsibilities (and life in general).  But... when I was getting ready for the current Addicted to Stamps and More (ATS&M) Photo challenge (see below) I made two cards so that I would have one to enter in  the Let's Get Inky - Stamp A Happy Christmas.    For this first challenge the team wants us to focus on stamping - not embellishments.  Following that idea, I didn't use any designer paper and went to town stamping.  Here's my card:

I started with a piece of white cardstock and stamped each tree using VersaMark ink and heat embossed them using silver.  Then I dotted all over the cardstock with a Versamark pen and added a bit more silver embossing powder.  Using my brayer and an ink pad I went over the top of all my embossing until I had pretty smooth coverage and wiped the ink off of the embossing.  After letting it dry for awhile I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed it as well.  I matted this on top of some brushed silver cardstock.  A much messier process than I usually do when I make a card, but do like how it turned out. Really hard to get a good photo of though - sorry.

This is the photo I used for inspiration (the current challenge is still going on until the 11th):

it would be great if you had a chance to join both of these fun challenges.  Nonni's Stamplorations challenge will go until December 24th.  There's a prize sponsor at both challenge :o)  

Thanks so much for stopping by to visit me - I'm sure glad that you did. Til next time...hugs and happy crafting! D

Bring on the Cake - Two Birthday Cards for Two Special Ladies

Hello dear friends - so happy you've stopped by to visit me! I have a couple cards to share with you that I made for a couple very special ladies in my life.  Here's the first one for my friend Karen:

Isn't she cute?! I added just a bit of sparkle on the top for the flames.  Not sure why I used pink on this card as it isn't her favorite color at all - lol - but I hope she liked it anyway.  I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Divas by Design - Use a Digi

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge - Anything Goes

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes w/Texture (brads  & sparkle)

The Corrosive Challenge - #186 Tic Tac Toe (using middle row)

And here's another card that I made for my Mom:

This one is 5 1/2 inch square.  The design is based on a recent RetroSketches challenge that I didn't have time to play along with at the time.  The image is from Meljen's designs colored with my copic markers. My mom isn't a fan of mice but she said "Oh this is so cute!" when she opened her card :o) 

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Divas by Design - Use a Digi

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes w/Texture (embossing, flower, ribbon  & sparkle)

Meljen's Designs Challenge #185 - Friends Forever (since my Mom is also one of my best friends, I think this qualifies for the challenge theme).    

ATSM#70 - Photo Inspiration and CASual Fridays CFC119: Embossing

Hey friends - thanks so much for stopping by today! This week at Addicted to Stamps and More (ATSM) Challenge #70 is based on the photo above.  Doesn't this great photo just spark your creative juices?  It sure did mine - I had a hard time narrowing down the ideas as I absolutely LOVE these colors together.   Here's my DT card to share with you:

  

I was in Hallmark over the weekend and found myself browsing through the Christmas cards for ideas.  I came upon a card and thought "Hey, I can do that" - so I did :o)  I think I even like mine better because of the embossing and string of silver pearls.  It would be pretty quick to mass produce too.  The sentiment is stamped in silver Versamark ink and I used silver foil paper on the sides of the main panel - MAN was that hard to get a photo of, this was the best I could seem to do.  

What inspiration will you take from the photo - the colors, the stars, the ornaments, all of it??? I hope you'll join us at ATSM#70 as I can't wait to see what you make!! There's a terrific prize offered this time from DigiDarla Designs for our Top Honor slot.  The other talented ladies at ATSM have also made some fabulous creations for your inspiration - I hope you'll go visit them and see. 

I'm also entering my card at CAS-ual Fridays Challenge CFC119: Embossing as my card using both dry and heat embossing. 

Til next time...hugs and happy crafting!! D  

ABC Challenges #52 - Case a DT Member

Hello friends and Happy Monday!  This week at ABC Challenges we've decided to try something different.  We are nearing our 1 year anniversary and would like to celebrate by CASEing a DT member. 

Just a quick note before I go further to let you know that we will be taking a break at ABC Challenges until after the holidays so this will be our last challenge of 2013 - but we'll be back in January for another year of challenges.  Thanks so much for all your support this year- we've so enjoyed your beautiful cards!

Now... back to the ABC52.  You can pick any card of one of our fabulously talented ladies to CASE - please tell us which card you are CASEing. 

This was a bit difficult for me as I admire all the styles of our DT members.  Oh dear...how to choose???

Rosi has a great almost eclectic style that showcases different styles each week depending on her mood or the challenge.

AnnMarie loves pink and flowers and doesn't typically use very much DSP. She likes to make 3D projects as well.

Jackie likes to add a tab at the top of her card, butterflies, banners, layers, shapes and texture - and feminine (not masculine)  cards - however she is very good at masculine cards :o).

Ger loves square cards with darling images and an almost vintage style. Often there is a strip of ribbon too.

Lela likes ribbon, buttons and tags (and layers) and slight distressing. She tends to use softer colors.

Jeanette almost always uses designer series paper (inside and out) and has a very clean look with mostly rectangles for shapes. 

And...our fabulous Challenge Blog Owner Patty has a great classic style (I've CASEd her several times before :o) ).

So ultimately I decided to CASE Jeanette's style - take a look and see  how I did:

Here's the inside too (not sure what happened to the lighting in this one ):

Here's one of Jeanette's cards that I based my CASE on:

Gee I had a lot of fun browsing back through our past challenges at ABC Challenges and really looking our our DT members styles and cards. How did I do on my CASE of Jeanette? 

I hope that you will decide to join us this week at ABC51 - Case a DT Member.  Please go check out what the rest of the team as done as well.

Til next time...hugs and happy crafting! D 

52CCT - Sketch Challenge #23, Merry Monday #81 - {Santa}, Let's Get Inky - Stamp A Happy Christmas

Hello friends - here it is November already. Wow!  Our hostess for this whole month at 52CCT is Louise and she has started us off with a great sketch.

I LOVE the circle shapes and the diagonal lines of this sketch.  Here's what I made to share with and inspire you to play along with us this week at 52CCT:



I knew immediately which stamp set I wanted to use with this great sketch.  Who can resist a cute Santa? Not me! 

 

I know that the rest of the DT members over at 52CCT have also made some amazing cards using Louise's sketch to share with and inspire you to play along with us this week - please go visit them and say "hi".  I hope to be visiting you soon as well!

 

I'm also entering my card in my DT friend Nonni's new Challenge (which runs through December 24th) called Let's Get Inky where the theme for the first challenge is Stamp a Happy Christmas. That means to create a Christmas card where stamping plays a  main role. Since Santa is my main stamped image I thought this would fit for her challenge. 

I am also entering my card at Merry Monday #81 - Santa.

 

Thanks so much for visiting me today.  Til next time...hugs and happy crafting! D