ABC Christmas Challenge – Y and Z

Hello yet again. ABC Christmas Challenge has reached the end of the alphabet for this year. With the letters being ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ – Wendy is hosting and the themes are ‘Y is for Youngsters (for or featuring a child and/or ‘Z’ is for Zoom (mode of transport). Here is my card:

I stamped the image from Newton’s Nook onto Distress water-colour card, and used the Distress water-colour pencils to colour it in.

The best way for me to use them, is to take a wet brush and touch that to the pencil nib, then move the colour around each part of the image. Once this was dry, I used the matching die set to cut it out, and set it aside to create the card base.

I took a white panel, die cut a Hero Arts bauble shape then dry embossed that panel with a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder.

I created some hills with white card stock, and found a previously created blue ink smooshed panel. I fiddled with the placement of the panel, the hills, and the bauble until I was happy, then adhered this to a card base.

I added the van at a jaunty angle, then also added some dots of glue to the blue sky, parts of the presents and the tree on the van, and along the edge of each hill.

The sentiment is a previously foiled strip.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas makes – following our themes – and I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Beyond The Bluewinter holidays

Allsorts Challenge anything goes with option let it snow

Cupcake Inspirationshappy holidays

As You Like Itanything goes Christmas

Use Your Stuff – anything goes Christmas

Merry Christ-mouse

Hello once again. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has started it’s last challenge for the year. As always, it is ;anything goes Christmas’. Here is my card:

I used quite a few Spellbinders die sets for this card – loving the die cutting and assembling of all the elements. I must have been in a finnicky mood that day…..

I first took the white card base and added some black splatters, and whilst this was drying I turned to the post box, envelope and mouse, cut out the elements, and assembled them.

Once I had put the post box on the card base, added the mouse to the front, I slotted the envelopes in as you see, then decided that there was something missing – so I die cut those hearts and arranged them around and about.

The sentiments are from a previous foiling session.

I hope you can come and join us for the last challenge of this year – we will certainly back in the New Year – creating Christmas cards for our stash. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Mix It Up Challenge atg – option to use a technique (splattering, foiling)

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friendsanything goes

2 Critter Crazies – animals as focus

Here Is A Place To Start anything goes with option happy holidays

Ally’s Angelsanything goes

Floral Framed Birthday

Hello yet again. Happy Little Stampers anything goes birthday has started a new challenge – and we’ll be taking a break for a couple of months after this. Here is my card:

The background was created using a Spellbinders stencil, paste, and then sprinkling glitter over the paste and let it dry.

I added A Pinkfresh Studio deco frame, and layered the flowers and twigs around the edge.

I added some gold gems to the flowers, the corners of the frame, and each end of the foiled sentiment.

I’ve forgotten which die and stamp set I used for the floral and leaves elements, and with the Color My Life app having some issues at the moment I couldn’t search it – and didn’t fancy trawling through my stash – when the app works again I’ll edit the post to let you know.

I hope you can come and join us for our last challenge of the year – it would be great to see you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge anything goes

Dream Valley Challenge lots of layers

Crafters Café use dies/punches

Mix It Up Challengeanything goes – option to use a technique – stencil, paste, glitter

The Alphabet Challenge – R for Reduce

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge, and as we have reached the letter ‘R’, Veronika has chosen the theme of ‘Reduce – make it clean and simple‘. Here is my card:

I used a frame from my stash – I forget the maker – and stuck a piece of patterned paper onto the back – then trimmed around the frame.

I stuck this down onto the card base with a strong glue.

I think the tree was a pre-cut piece from a kit, to which I added three gold strings, and then placed some gold facetted gems on top of the ‘loops’ of the string, adding a larger gem onto the top of the tree.

I’m looking forward to seeing your CAS cards in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

TTCRDanything goes

Lil Red Wagon glitter, glitz, gleam, glow

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge anything goes

Fab’N’Funky Challenge die cuts or embossing – no stamped image

Love To Craftanything goes

Birdie Birthday

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. This time round Dawn S has chosen the theme. She wants us to create a project which incudes anything from ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. Here is a reminder of the lyrics:

On the Twelfth day of Christmas, My true love gave to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree. 

There are a lot of options here to choose from – I went with ‘four calling birds’:

I took a break from Christmas crafting, and went with a birthday theme. To be able to arrange everything on the card, I went with a 5 x 7 inch card base.

First of all, I dry embossed a white panel, layered it with a black panel – to match the sentiment strip I was going to use – and adhered to the card base.

The birds are from Simon Says Stamp – all die cut using 4 different colours and mixing and matching tp create the four birds. These were adhered to the embossed panel with 3D foam, as was the previously foiled sentiment strip.

I added some die cut musical notes, deciding not to stamp the actual notes within the die cuts, and stuck them around the birds, with some silver gems also dotted around the spaces – silver to match the foiled sentiment.

I hope you can come and join us – I look forward to seeing a wide variety of projects and themes in our gallery – and you can see it doesn’t have to be Christmas themed at all. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friendsanything goes

TTCRDanything goes

CYHTPembossing folder – option of thanks not taken

Dream Valley Challengelots of layers

Crafters Café use dies/punches

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Hello. The new challenge has started at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas/festive’. Here is my card:

I die cut the Pinkfresh Studio snowflake panel in white and shiny red card stock, and adhered to the base card. I ensured the red was aligned with the white and cut the extra off the side.

I then used a Pinkfresh Studio snowflake die with a red non-shed glitter card, and with the same red shiny card, and layered the snowflakes – some shine and glitter on each of the three snowflakes I used.

The sentiment is gold heat embossed and die cut using the matching die set.

Once all was adhered to the card base, I added some gold gems to the centre of the snowflakes, and then two more sets of three.

I hope you can come and join us – I look forward to seeing you in our challenges. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Beyond The Blue – use some gold

Krafty Chicks – occasions

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge – Christmas

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge – Christmas

Daring Cardmakers – Shine

The Sisterhood Of Crafters – Christmas/winter

Hello Friend….

A new challenge has started at The Alphabet Challenge. Having reached the letter ‘Q’, Melanie has chosen the theme of ‘Quilt‘. Here is my card:

I used Concord & 9th dies to create this very colourful card. A lot of die cutting and then gluing the triangles together – then deciding which colours to put where, in which pattern – goodness knows how quilt makers manage.

I used some dotty patterned paper for the triangles, adhered to the base panel, a black layer, then stuck onto a white card base.

The bigger orange sentiment has a slightly off-set black layer – and the shadow layer to make it stand out a little more – the smaller sentiment in black.

Just one itty bitty black gem for the tittle on the letter ‘i’ of friend – really because lost the die cut one and didn’t want to risk a black Nuvo drop…..

The Design Team has come up with some original shapes and colours – I hope you can come and join us. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends anything goes

TTCRDanything goes

Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper Challengeanything goes with patterned paper

Avenue 613 Create anything goes – option of fancy folds not taken)

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

Love To Craft anything goes

Thankful For Your Friendship

Hello once again. It’s my turn to host the new challenge starting at Cardz 4 Galz. I have chosen the theme of ‘stencils’. Here is my card:

This card is – obviously – a slimline card – but slightly longer than the usual. I started with the card base, and die cut the Pinkfresh Studio deco frame twice – it wasn’t as long as I needed it – but I knew I could cover the join with my other elements.

I dry embossed a panel to go inside the frame and adhered the frame with 3D foam – I wanted to add the elemenst with 3D foam, and to tuck them under the frame in certain places.

The birds and branches are from a stamp, die and stencil set from Pinkfresh Studio. I stenciled this several times with different colours of birds and flowers, then used the matching die, which created lots of separate pieces, and set about arranging them in my frame.

I knew I wanted to cover the join in the frame, so I started there, then looked for a sentiment and arranged everything else around that. Some of the leaves and flowers I trimmed down to fit, and added gold gems to match the sentiment.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations which include a stencil – I look forward to seeing your creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Allsorts ChallengeAnything goes (option to add number/s not taken)

MMM Challenge thank you

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friendsanything goes

CYHTPembossing folder (wreath option not taken)

Crafts Galoreanything goes

Die Cut Divas anything goes with die cuts

Here Is A Place To Startanything goes – option words of thanks

Avenue 613 Createanything goes (option fancy folds not taken)

Stencil Funstencils (option fall colours not taken)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge stencil it

ABC Christmas Challenge – W and X

ABC Christmas Challenge has reached the letters ‘W’ and ‘X‘. The themes for the Christmas creations should be ‘White’ and/or ‘Xtra Special‘. Here are my cards:

As you can see – I had a ‘white’ moment for both cards. I think white on white gives a touch of elegance,especially with a pop of gold.

For the trees card, I dry embossed a dotty pattern onto a white panel – I think it should be rain drops – but also looks like snow to me……

The trees from Elizabeth Craft Designs were die cut out of white glitter card stock, and the sentiment is from a previous foiling session.

For the more involved snowflake card, I created a panel of white linen card smaller than the base, then used my bone folder and scoreboard to create a frame around the edge, and a few lines at the top of the ornament- almost a hanging thread or string.

The snowflake was die cut from white card stock and white glitter card – a new card for me from Pink Frog Crafts here in the UK – and adhered to the bottom of the dry embossed lines.

The sentiment is also from Simon Says Stamp – the outline in Spellbinders gold cardstock and the inner parts of the words from the same glitter card stock. I didn’t use the shadow layer.

As I had used gold for the outline of the words, I had the ‘bright’ idea of inlaying some gold back into the snowflake. I say ‘bright’ ‘cos that was fiddly as fiddly as could be – but I’m glad I didn’t give up as I like the result.

I hope you can come and jpoin with your Christmas/Festive creations following our theme – I look forward to seeing a White and Xtra Special gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Tree card:

Allsorts Challenge sparkle and shine

Creative Fingers Challengeanything goes

Crafty Friends Challenge Christmas

Unicorn Challenge Christmas is coming

Merry Little Christmas Challenge anything goes Christmas

Snowflake card:

AAA Cards CAS anything goes

Craft Rocket Challenge Christmas/Winter

Crafts Galoreanything goes

Die Cut Divasdie cuts anything goes

Dragonfly Dreams Christmas

Cardz 4 Galz – Water Colour

A new challenge has started at Cardz 4 Galz. Billie A has chosen the theme of ‘water color – background, or image – or both’. Here is my card:

As you can see, I went with the watercolour background. I wanted a messy background, and tried to achieve a kinda rainbow messiness………….I think the colours need to run together a little more, but I like the colours I used. Once dry, I matted that with black onto a white card base using Gina K Designs master layouts.

On top of this I die cut a butterfly from The Greetery in Spellbinders gold card stock, the centre portion out of black, and adhered as you see.

I chose a more generic sentiment – white heat embossed.

I hope you can come and join us with your water colouring creations – I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations anything goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies anything goes with a critter

Crafty Animalsanything goes with an animal

A Perfect Time To Craft anything goes