Unloved stamp

Happy New Year everyone!  I have had this pansy stamp in my stash for a really long time and I could just never figure out how to use it.  The bold frame intimidated me I think.  But as I was looking for a different stamp, I came across it and decided to give it some love.  And I LOVE how it turned out!  I will definitely be inking this one up again.  I started by inking it up in black and then coloring the flowers and leaves and cutting them out.  Then I stamped it again in versamark and heat embossed it with silver embossing powder.  Then layered the colored flowers on top.  Do you have any stamps like this in your stash?  Ones that you just can't seem to make work?

Challenges:

Charisma Cardz #1--birthdays

Art Impressions #125--expect the unexpected (use something from your stash)

Milk Coffee Challenges--celebrations

Lacy Sunshine Challenges--anything goes

Verve Diva Hop--shimmer & shine (I used silver embossing powder, rhinestones and glitter pen on the center of the pansies; though you can't really see it in the photo)

Di's Digis--time to celebrate

Make it Monday--multi layered images

Lexi's Creations--anything goes

Love to Scrap #21--anything goes

The Paper Nest Dolls--anything goes

Loves Rubberstamps #85--anything goes

Crafting By Designs--birthdays

Fab n' Funky--Let's Celebrate

Viva La Verve January week 2--sketch

Supplies:

Stamps: unknown pansy stamp; PTI "Damask Designs" sentiment

Dies/embossing folders: spellbinders labels 4 (small tab at bottom); cuttlebug damask embossingfolder; Martha Stewart butterfly die

Confession and announcement

I have a confession: I made my first card for Christmas 2014 the day after Christmas 2013.  I know, right?  Crazy!!  But that leads me to the announcement: I was asked to join the newly formed Design Team for Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra!!!  Such an honor and so very exciting!  Our Design Team Debut is today, January 1,  and as it is a Christmas Challenge, I had to make a Christmas card.  So, here it is:

Is not this little reindeer the cutest ever??!!  Oh, I just love him!  He looks just like a sweet stuffed animal and I just want to hug him!  And the paper?  I picked it up on clearance at Marshall's the day after Christmas as it is a Christmas pack.  Now it's time to get started on your Christmas card crafting.  It's never too early to start.  Hop on over the the Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra and play along.  You have all month and it is "anything Christmas goes".

Challenges:

Christmas at Sweet Stamping--Let it snow (I've got snowflakes!)

Charisma Cardz #49--anything goes

Hy Heart Pieces--Can you Digi it?

Milk Coffee Challenge--any Christmas project

Viva La Verve December week 4--sketch

Stamping with Dragon--last minute Christmas (or very first thing Christmas)

Sister Act Card Challenge #38--anything goes

Di's Digi Designs--anything Christmas

Fussy & Fancy--chocolate inspiration (I went with the colors of chocolate)

Southern Girls--Christmas Wishes

Brown Sugar--winter

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge--anything Christmas goes (yes, there are two challenges and you can enter both!)

Wags & Whiskers--Christmas
The Squirrel & the Fox #60--anything goes
Christmas Card Challenge #5--anything (Christmas) goes

Supplies:

Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Plush Reindeer"; Verve "Merry & Bright"

Punches: Fiskars apron border punch; Martha Stewart snowflake punch

Papers: American Crafts Christmas pack

Something to Crow About

My cousin is 3 months, 10 days younger than me and ever since we have been old enough to wish we were younger, he has never let me forget it. : )  So, I thought this sentiment was just perfect for him.

Challenges:
Whimsy Stamps #66--party time
Seize the Sketch #10--sketch
The Paper Girls Challenge #46--use holiday products on a non-holiday project (the striped paper is from a Christmas pack I just picked up on clearance yesterday)
Raisin Boat #18--something new (just got the stamp set about two weeks ago.  It's the first time I've inked it up)
Tuesday Morning sketches #130--anything goes (no sketch this time)
Sweet Stamps #149--anything goes
The Stamping Chef #10--anything goes

Supplies:
Stamps: There She Goes "Farm Fresh" (no longer available)
Dies: Verve "Pennant Trim Die"

Oh, baby!

Here's a sweet card for my cousin's baby shower next week.  Her first baby and as you can see, a boy!  I went to Marshall's yesterday and as I was walking through the checkout line, I saw these gorgeous American Craft Christmas paper packs that were only $1.50 due to being after Christmas!!  Can you beat that?  Nope!  So, I snatched up 3 different packs.  And now, I am wishing that I had grabbed the other 3 or 4 packs, 'cause I love the patterns.  So, these two patterned papers are actually for Christmas, but I think they were fabulous for a baby card.

Challenges:
Viva La Verve December week 3--sketch

Sarah Hurley #85--create your own background (I stamped the brown panel with the Oh, Boy! stamp over and over to create a fun background)
Whimsy Stamps #66--party time! (baby shower party that is!)
Paper girls #96--use holiday products on non-holiday projects (Christmas paper on a baby card)
Crafty Creations #253--anything goes
Raisin Boat #18--something new (brand new paper)
Sister Act Card Challenge #38--anything goes
Twisted Tuesday #66--something new with the theme of New or beginning (new paper for a card for a new baby)
Inkspirational Challenge #46--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #239--New Year/New Beginning/ New Baby
Desert Island Craft Challenge #68--choose at least three of the following: (I used #2, 3, 10)
1.  snowflakes
2. dies cuts
3. 2 or more papers
4. ribbon/twine
5. bells/charms
6. lace
7. flowers
8. bling
9. make it a gift
10. red/green

Supplies:
Stamps: Verve "To the Moon"
Dies/punches: Sizzix star dies; Fiskars apron border punch
Paper: American Crafts Christmas pack

Elegance

Wow!  I'm back again after the Christmas holiday rush!  I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.  My parents' anniversary was yesterday and I'm late again, of course.  But it's the thought that counts, right?  Yeah, I'll just keep telling myself that.  It was a bit hard to get a good picture of this beauty.  I used perfect pearls on top of versamark ink to create the Damask background and shimmer just doesn't photograph very well.  On top of that, I stamped an image on the vellum panel of the window.  Now that you know, I bet you can just see it.  Anyway, there are a bunch of photos that hopefully let you see it all.

 Here is the inside.  I created a frame to match the front to use to cover up the  vellum

 Sorry for the finger in the picture, but I couldn't get the card front to stay down and you can't see the pink damask image very well, unless it is flat against the back.

Challenges:
Viva La Verve December week 2--sketch (I adjusted the sketch a bit, but I think it is still evident in my card)

Sarah Hurley #87--create your own background
Loves Rubberstamps #83--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--Wrap it up/New--double challenge (I went with the New challenge; I'm celebrating my newest die: "Resplendid Rectangles"--sooooo elegant)
Digi Stamps 4 Joy #82--anything goes
Delightful Challenges--Celebrate (celebrating my parents' 37th wedding anniversary)
Raisin Boat #18--something new (my new spellbinders rectangle dies)
Make it Monday #145--pick your technique from the past year (I went with #133 perfect pearls)
Sister Act Card Challenge #38--anything goes
Timeless Tuesday #251--use vellum
Word Art Wednesday #112--anything goes

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Damask Designs"
Dies: spellbinders resplendid rectangles, circles large; Sweet n' Sassy heart dies

For You

I think I may have mentioned before that I don't usually make tags for Christmas gifts.  It's never really appealed to me before.  But there have been so many challenges to create tags this year and I've seen so many fabulous ones that I have actually made quite a few this year.  Perhaps it will become a new thing. : )  I made this tag for my niece.  She's the only one so far, and is, therefore, the favorite.  So, of course she needed something cute for her gift and as it is going to be a rather large one, it needed a larger tag that will stick right underneath the bow (hence why I have not added any ribbon to it.)

Challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra--anything Christmas goes

V's Sweet Ideas #18--Holiday theme

One Crazy Stamper--winter/holiday

Raisin Boat #17--Christmas

Your Next Stamp--inspiration photo or sketch or both (I went with the sketch, the snow theme and the green of the tree)

      

Meljen's--Christmas tags #189 (also hosting a guest dt call for which I am now applying)

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #154--for someone special

Lacy Sunshine's Challenge #23--celebrations

Sentimental Sundays #184--snowmen

Get Inky #19--Christmas

Lexi's Creations #105--snow

Holly Jolly--anything Christmas goes

Cuttlebug Mania--anything goes: Christmas

Sweet Stamps #147--simple Christmas

Die Cuttin' Divas #145--tag it

Loves Rubberstamps #82--anything goes: Christmas

Supplies:

Stamps: Meljen's Designs "Christmas Star Snowman"; Verve sentiment

Dies: Verve "Charming Ovals" die

Joy to the World

Today is my last post for the year for the Lollipop Ladies!  I can't believe how fast time has flown by and now it is almost Christmas!!  Right now the Lollipop Ladies are running two challenges and you have until the end of December to play in one or both (as many times as you want).  The inspiration picture for the second challenge is:

with the additional challenge of ribbon.

Here is my project:

 There was so much inspiration in the photo it was hard to know where to start!  I loved the colors: red, white and green, but not a traditional green--a nice soft pale green.  So, I started there, I also have a Christmas tree and stars and the word "Joy".  And as one of my teammates pointed out earlier this week, there are lots of layers in the photo.  So I also added lots of layers to my card.

 For a little fun twist, it is a gatefold card with the entire front panel being the left hand "gate".  And as you can see, I finished off the inside with a matching star and the remainder of the sentiment from the front.

Hop on over to the Lollipop Ladies' Blog to get all the details and then come on and play along.  We'd love to see how you interpret this challenge.

Challenges:

Viva La Verve December week 1--sketch

The Squirrel and the Fox--summer or winter (I went with winter)

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra--anything Christmas goes

V's Sweet Ideas #18--Holiday theme

One Crazy Stamper--winter/holiday

Raisin Boat #17--Christmas

Cards Galore--Christmas

Word Art Wednesday #110--anything goes with uplifting sentiment

The Stamping Chef--anything goes

Crafting Musketeers #8--layer it up

Delightful Challenges--You're a gem

C.R.A.F.T. #236--Christmas

DRS Designs #99--glitter it up (I glittered the green star)

Art Impressions #124--Merry and Bright

My Heart Pieces--sparkle

Sister Act Card Challenge #36--anything goes

Crafty Catz #210--use at least 2 dies

Pattie's Creations #81--Christmas card

Verve's December Diva Dare--playing favorites (used my favorite die from Verve AND based this card off of my favorite card I made this year using Verve stamps/dies: see the card below)

{Pin}spirational Challenges #87--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the word ribbon and all the ribbon on the spools and that bright green ribbon right on the top that really grabs your eye!)

Our Daily Bread Designs #182--alternate fold or 3D item (I used a gate fold)

Tuesday Throwdown #176--What Christmas means to you (while I love everything about Christmas: the tree, the decorations, the presents . . . the most important thing is exactly what my sentiment on the inside says "the Lord has come".  Jesus came, that's why we celebrate Christmas and without that, there wouldn't be any reason to celebrate.)

Supplies:

Stamps: Verve "Star of Wonder"

Dies: Sizzix star die; Verve "Classy Label" die--love the shape on this one

Papers: DCWV Christmas