Baby Jesus

Happy New Year!!  Wow, can you believe it is 2017??  Since it is the beginning of the month, it is time for a new challenge from Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra.  So many of you were making Christmas cards still in December as we had nearly 600 entries!!  Let's get a head start on Christmas 2017 and start making them now.  Our sponsor is the fabulous Bugaboo Stamps and the winner from the month will receive 7 images of their choice.  I used one of my favorite images as it touches on the true meaning of Christmas.  I prefer to make those kid of cards when I can.

I kept it nice and simple as the sketch seemed to call for it.  I hope you will get a chance to play along.  I love Christmas and I love to see what you come up with.

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Digi Stamps "Christmas Words--Jesus" digi; Verve "Richly Blessed" sentiment
Dies:  Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large" and "Scalloped Circles, large"; Verve "Flag It"

Challenges:
Cardz TV #7--anything goes
CAS-ual Friday #164--celebrations (celebrating Jesus' birth)
Brown sugar Challenge #231--anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #458--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #396--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #153--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #118--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Crafty Gals--anything goes
Hanna & Friends #264--Christmas
Crafty Creations #331--any holiday
Word Art Wednesday #261--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Tuesday Morning Sketches--anything goes
YNS #54--sketch

Layered backgrounds

So, back in September, my mother-in-law and I went to the Stamp N Scrapbook Expo in Massachusetts.  We took a couple of workshop classes with JustRite Stampers and had a lot of fun.  One of the classes we took was on layering background stamps and using a little bit of mixed media mediums.  The backgrounds to both of these cards were created in the class and I just got around to finishing them off this week (my DT obligations are on hold over the holidays so I actually had time to just play).

 For both cards, we started by scribbling some water based markers on some acetate, spritzing it with water and then smooshing and dragging the piece of acetate over a piece of water color paper.  Gorgeous on it's own, I have to say.  For the first card, we stamps a script background, then the circle background in black and then again, sightly offset in gold.  The sentiment is from an exclusive set that we received in the class.  This is definitely outside of my "normal", but I think it's really beautiful.

The second card was made with the same "smooshing" technique.  Then we stamped the script background followed by a crackle background.  More subtle on this one, but beautiful none-the-less.  The stamps are also from the set we received in class.  It's tough to tell in the photo, but the card base is a really metallic copper and it is gorgeous!

Challenges:
Card #1:
Cute Card Thursday #458--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #296--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #262--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Penny's Challenges #309--anyhing goes


Card #2:
Creative Knockouts #174--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #118--anything goes
Crafty Gals Corner--anything goes
Time Out #73--"with each new sunrise we are given a chance for a new beginning"
Southern Girls #150--Southern Girls
Love To Craft #5--anything goes

Winter Hello

I was in need of some last minute Christmas cards the other day, so I created my own background paper by stamping these fabulous snowflakes all over 3 full-sized sheets of paper.  Then I cut them out with a stitched rectangle die to end up with 12 panels.  Since I only needed 10 Christmas cards and had 12 panels, I decided to turn the last two into these fun "Winter Hello" cards.  It's a bit hard to tell, but that's what the sentiment says.  You can see my Christmas cards in this post.  I dressed these two cards up with a bit of gold glitter paper down the side and added stickles to the centers of all the snowflakes.  So pretty and sparkly in real life.

 Don't you love that sparkle!?  I didn't have any card stock to match my pink ink, so I just used a sponge dauber and sponged ink on the smaller banner to match.  It works perfectly.

 Here are the two cards side by side:

Each panel is just a little bit different and it was really fun to do.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Fab Flakes"
Dies: PTI "Fab Flakes"; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:
Unicorn Challenge #16--add some sparkle
Cards Galore--anything goes
Fashionable Stamping #118--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps #362--winter
Fussy & Fancy #179--angles/fairies or winter
A Bit More Time To Craft #34--anything goes
Sketch Saturday #443--sketch

{Pin}spirational #181--inspirational photo (was inspired by the colors)
Tuesday Morning Sketches #383--anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown--anything goes
Shopping Our Stash #283--winter wonderland NOT Christmas
Creative Craft Cottage #78--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #309--anything goes
Crafty Gals #202--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--make it sparkle
Inspiration Destination #117--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #395--anything goes

Last minute Christmas cards

I have a confession: I am a member of a Christmas challenge design team and I make Christmas cards ALL year long, but I was still short on Christmas cards this year!!  Gasp!!  Actually, I kind of expected it, and was actually surprised that I had as many made as I did.  But, I still had to make a last minute batch and I did manage to finish them Tuesday.  Phew!  I'm waiting for 3 or 4 addresses from relatives that have moved, but other than that the rest of the cards have all been sent out!  So, here are the last 10 that I made:

 I had gotten a new snowflake set from PTI and I really wanted to use it, so I created my own background using all (except maybe one) the stamps from the set.  I used three full sized sheets of paper and just started stamping the snowflakes until I had each piece filled.  then I used a stitched rectangle die to cut four panels out of each sheet.  So, each one is just a little bit different.  I made 10 cards and then had two panels left over so I created two other cards that I will show in my next post.
The sentiment strips were all cut from pieces of scrap that were in my scrap pile.  And the "Jesus" was cut from a scrap of wrapping paper I had saved from a couple of Christmases ago.  It had a fabulous texture and shine and I just couldn't throw it away.  It worked perfectly to add a bit of interest.  To finish everything off, I added some stickles to the center of each snowflake to add a little bit of sparkle.  You can see the sparkle and the shine of the sentiment in the photo below.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Fab Flakes" and "Inspired: Jesus"
Dies: PTI "Inspired: Jesus"; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:
Unicorn #16--add some glitter (the stickles)
Christmas Cards All Year 'Round--anything goes
Sugar Pea Designs #26--anything goes
ABC Christmas--Y for Yikes (yikes I NEED 10 cards) or Z for zoom
A Gem of a Challenge #184--Christmas
Fashionable Stamping #118--anything goes
CAS-ual Fridays #163--Christmas & Hanukkah
A Bit More Time To Craft #34--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #312--cute or anything goes
Di's Digis--happy holidays
Come And Get It--Christmas
Pixie's Crafty Workshop #260--anything goes with snippets (sentiment strips and gold paper)
{Pin}spirational Challenge #181--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the colors)

Tuesday Morning Sketches #383--anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown--anything goes
Creative Craft Cottage #78--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--here come the holidays
The Paper Shelter--anything goes
MFT #312--sketch

Penny's Challenge #309--anything goes
Crafty Gals #102--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--make it sparkle
Word Art Wednesday #262--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Crafty Creations #331--any holiday
Inspiration Destination #117--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #395--anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #157--anything goes

Thinking

 Welcome to the last challenge of the year from The Love To Scrap Challenge Blog!  So hard to believe that the year is almost over already!!  Since we know this is a busy time for everyone, it's a nice easy challenge: Anything Goes.

Our sponsors are:

A Creative Need

 Sheep Ski Designs

 Pickled Potpourri

 I was given this gorgeous image from Sheep Ski Designs:  Isn't it beautiful?!

I used the "out of the box" technique and I really love how it turned out.    I hope you will get a chance to play in our last challenge of the year.  Then, make sure you come back in the new year as we are going to have some fun changes for you.  Merry Christmas!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sheep Ski Designs "Becca--Image #25"; Verve "Take Note"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Ovals, Large" and "Standard Scalloped Ovals, large"; MFT corner die and "Blueprints 13" small banner; Verve "Flag It" large banner

Challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
Card Mania Challenge #87--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes AND I used the monthly sketch

A Bit More Time To Craft #34--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #153--anything goes

Shine

Well, here we are with the last challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack before a little Christmas break.  We know it's a busy time of year for everyone, so it's a nice and easy one: Anything Goes!!

Our Sponsor is Scrapper's Delights and I used this beautiful image:

This card may look simple (and it probably is!), but man did it take me forever to complete!  I was coming down to the wire on getting it finished in time and sometimes that really scares away the mojo!  I had the basic sketch I was using, but it just looked to plain and boring.  So after flipping through my die collection, I found some interesting ones and it really took on a life of it's own.  And now, I think, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.
I hope you'll get a chance to play along, and make sure you check out the new challenge at the beginning of the new year; it's going to be a fun year!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Scrapper's Delights "Victorian Digi 2"; PTI "Sparkle and Shine Holiday Additions"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large" and "Picot Edge Circles"; Sweet n' Sassy fence die; PTI "Sparkle and Shine"

Challenges:
Crafting Musketeers #44--anything goes
Cards Galore--anything goes
Pattie's Creations--Christmas or winter
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
The Paper Nest Dolls #12--anything goes
Divas That Cut--Layers or layer it
Love To Craft Challenge Blog #5--anything goes
{Pin}spirational Challenge #180--inspiration photo (inspired by the colors and the joy on her face!)

Crafting By Designs--Here come the holidays
Sugar Pea Designs #26--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #260--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
YNS #54--sketch

Alphabet challenge--U for use something red
A Gem of a Challenge #184--Christmas
Craft Your Passion #342--anything goes
The Merry Christmas Challenge #11--Christmas Trees (on my green paper)
Tuesday Throwdown #323--anything goes
Creative Craft Cottage #77--use die cuts
Penny's Challenge #308--Christmas
Crafty Gals #101--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #116--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #153--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #394--Christmas

Vintage Christmas

The Countdown is on now!!  This is the mid-month inspiration post for Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra and that means there are only 10 days until Christmas!!  Yikes, I'm so not ready.  I don't even think I have all my Christmas cards made, yet.  But here is one to add to the pile And give you some inspiration along the way.  Don't forget, you have until December 31 to play along with us.  Even if you have all your cards finished for this year, you can always start on next year's!

 I had the long strip of paper that goes down the side of my card sitting on my desk (it's part of a a pad I am trying to use up and now have only 3 small squares left!) and knew it would be perfect for a pop of color on a CAS card.  I added a narrow strip of torn mulberry paper since I have recently rekindled my love for it, and layered the image panel on top.  The sentiment banner looked just a little too plain for my liking and I noticed that another small rectangle of paper sitting on the desk would be perfect for framing the sentiment.  Then I had only this small strip of it left and decided it was perfect for highlighting the sentiment on the inside!  Now . . . if I could only figure out what to do with those remaining 3 pieces . . .

I hope you will get a chance to play along this month.  I love Christmas and I love seeing what you come up with.

Supplies:

Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Shepherd Boy", "Merry Christmas" and "For Unto You"

Challenges:

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps #361--CAS with a sentiment

Inspiration Destination #116--anything goes

Crafty Gals #101--anything goes

Penny's Challenge #308--Christmas

Tuesday Throwdown #323--anything goes

Craft Your Passion #342--anything goes

Fashionable Stamping #118--anything goes

Pixie's Crafty Workshop #259--anything goes with snippets

A Gem of A Challenge #184--Christmas

Sweet Stampin'--animals (my two little sheep)

Hiding in My Craft Room #279--super scraps

Crafty Catz #350--non-traditional Christmas colors

Brown Sugar Challenge #228--anything goes

Word Art Wednesday #260--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

Sugar Pea Designs #26--anything goes

Crafting By Designs--Here come the Holidays

Winter Wonderland--frame it or night scene (mine has a star so it is a night scene)

Scrapping Every Day Miracles--verse inspiration Luke 2:11 (my inside sentiment)

Crafting with An Attitude #22--anything goes

Pattie's Creations--Christmas or winter

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round--anything goes

Christmas Deer

It's time for another challenge from the Love To Scrap Challenge Blog.  This week we're feeling frosty and the challenge is: Winter Wonderland.  We have three awesome sponsors:

Karleigh Sue Digis

Little Blue Button Stamps

 The Paper Shelter

I was given this gorgeous image from The Paper Shelter!  Well, I have to say that EVERY image I've seen from The Paper Shelter is gorgeous; but I do really love this one.

 I was inspired by a card I saw earlier this week that was in shades of lilac and teal; and thus my non-traditional Christmas color combo.  I printed the image out a bit large and was running short on time, so I decided to make a CAS card and I really love how it turned out.  The left hand strip and the doily "snowflake" were cut out of an irridescent glitter paper and the shimmer is absolutely stunning.  You can see it better in the photo below.

A bit of mulberry paper and some DMC floss finish it off.  I hope you'll get a chance to play along with us.  I can't wait to see what's in your winter wonderland.

Supplies:

Stamps: The Paper Shelter "Holy Night" digi; Verve "Peace on Earth" sentiment

Dies: MFT "Small Doilies"

Challeges:

Creative Inspirations--Christmas

Crafter's Cafe #162--Christmas and/or birthday

Crafting By Designs--anything goes

The Paper Shelter #275--Christmas

Penny's Challenge #306--anything goes

Crafty Gals #100--anything goes

Inspiration Destination #114--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Little Miss Muffet #152--anything goes

Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes

Craft-Dee BowZ--anything goes with handmade bow

Dragon's Lair--Christmas Wishes

Card Mania Challenge #87--anything goes

Crimbo Crackers #121--non-traditional Christmas (non-traditional colors)

Fussy & Fancy #178--Christmas in tones or pastels

Cut It Up Challenge #110--bingo (I used the "twine/ribbon, glitter, and texture" diagonal row)

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #310--vintage or anything goes

Sweet Stampin'--Let it snow

Come And Get It Challenge--Christmas

Designer Spotlight

The House That Stamps Built is taking a break from the usual projects and challenges this month to bring back their Rock Star Spotlight series. This is a fun way to get to know all the Design Team members a little better. So each Monday and Wednesday throughout December they will be featuring a different Rock Star and showing off some of their latest creations too.

Please be sure to visit The House That Stamps Built often and leave a little love in the comments of each Rock Star Spotlight. Wendy will be awarding a $25 Repeat Impressions gift certificate to one random commenter. Every comment earns you another chance to win. So visit and comment often. The winner will be announced on The House That Stamps Built blog the first Monday of next month.

Today is my day and the spotlight is shining on me! Here is what I created to celebrate my featured post. Now please hop on over to The House That Stamps Built to read my responses to the fun questionnaire Wendy had me fill out. Then be sure to leave a comment there for your chance to win the gift certificate.

I used my favorite snowflake for this one, using both the large and small versions to create a fun patterned paper.  I also used them on the red card stock, stamping with red ink to give a watermark look.  I always think red, black and white is a super elegant color combo, and I added in a bit of gray for variety.  To give it a bit of sparkle, I added a dot of silver stickles to the centers of the snowflakes.  It's so pretty in real life.  Thanks for stopping by to check out my spotlight today and I hope you will keep checking out The House blog throughout the rest of the month to see spotlights on our current designers and some new members that will be joining the team.  

Supplies:

Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Snowflake solid (lg)", "Snowflake solid (sm)" and "Christmas"

Dies: Spellbinders banner die

Challenges:

YNS #53--sketch

Creative Inspirations #263--Christmas

Crafting By Designs--anything goes

Crafter's Cafe #162--Christmas and/or birthday

Fab n' Funky Challenge #329--Christmas

Mod Squad--Holiday Dimension (my sentiment banner is popped up with foam tape)

Penny's Challenge #306--anything goes

Crafty Gals #100--anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes

Inspiration Destination #114--anything goes

Christmas Cards All Year 'Round--anything goes

Brown Sugar Challenge #227--anything goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #310--vintage or anything Christmas goes

Sweet Stampin'--Let it snow

Come And Get It--Christmas

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

Happy Friday!  It's time for another challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack.  This week we have a fun one for you:

Our sponsor is Robyn's Fetish

I was given this cute little reindeer to work with.  

My three colors are: red, green and gold, my two embellishments are: flowers and brads, and my technique is dry embossing (it's hard to see it in the picture, but the red layer is embossed with a damask embossing folder and then sponged with some gold ink.  It's so pretty in real life.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us (maybe even work on some last minute Christmas cards!) this week.  Hop on over to Jo's blog for the full details and to see what the rest of the team has created.

Supplies:
Stamps: Robyn's Fetish "Rudolph Came To Town" digi
Dies:  Spellbinders "Layered Poinsettia" and "Floral Doily Motif"; Verve "Sprightly Sprigs"
Fiskars flower punch; Darice embossing folder

Challeges:
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #114--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Crafty Gals #100--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #306--anything goes
Addicted To Stamps #202--make your mark
The Paper Shelter #275--Christmas
Mod Squad--Holiday dimension (lots of layers and dimensional flowers)
Fab 'N Funky #329--Christmas
Creative Inspiration #263--Christmas; I also used one of their old sketches