CAS on Sunday - Challenge #300

 The new challenge at CAS on Sunday is "Winter".  Good timing for this challenge, as we have about 9" of snow on the ground, with 3" more expected today.

I used the "Chilly & Freezy" die set from Tim Holtz for this one, along with some little snowflakes from Pink & Main.  Right now, our winter wish is for no more snow, lol!

AAA Cards - Challenge #281

 The new challenge at AAA Cards is an "anything goes" challenge, with an optional twist to include something that flies through the air.

I used the "Dandelion Wishes" set from Mama Elephant for this card.  There's a little ladybug flying through the air, plus some dandelion tufts.  The images were colored with Olo markers, and I used clear shimmer pen on the dandelion fluffies.

ABC Christmas Challenge #1 for 2025

 The first challenge of 2025 is up on the ABC Christmas Challenge blog:  A for "anything Christmas" or B for "buildings".   I went with the "B for buildings" theme, using an older stamp from Crafty Individuals called Jingle Bells Rooftop.

I stamped and embossed the image in copper, then lightly ink blended blues and yellow in the sky.  The stamped image was adhered to a card front, and then a diecut and embossed frame was adhered over the top.  The frame is cut from bronze metallic paper for a little shimmer.  I die cut two frames and adhered them together to give the metallic paper a little more body.

Jingle Belles - Something Old, Something New challenge

 Jingle Belles has their first 2025 challenge - use something old and something new on a project.  I used a new stamp set on my card.  It's Christmas Cardinal from Gina K and was a stamp set I received last week in a Gina K mystery box.

The stamp set is new, but the shimmer cardstock, embossing folder,and arch dies are all old.  Normally I use markers to color images, but this time I used some Altenew watercolors that I've had for awhile.  My first Christmas card for 2025 is finished!

Die Cut Diva's Jan challenge

 The first challenge for 2025 at Die Cut Divas is to use something new.  I just received my Gina K mystery box a couple of days ago,  so this was a perfect opportunity to use one of the stamp sets from that box.

I used a Gina K die to make the "windows" behind the mice.  The mice and the awning were stamped, colored, and fussy cut and then the sentiment was stamped on the background paper.  (Images from Gina K's Ice Cream Social stamp set).  The awning was glued at the top with foam tape along the bottom edge so there is a little bit of dimension and shadow.   

Mix It Up Challenge Blog - Monochromatic challenge

 Hello everyone and welcome to 2025!   It's a new year for the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and we're starting off with a monochromatic challenge.  Your project needs to feature one color, using various shades/tints/tones of that color with black and white added if desired.

I chose to use shades of blue for my birthday card for this challenge.  This cute penguin might normally go on a Christmas card, but with this sentiment it works perfectly for a winter birthday!

I started with a light blue cardstock, and did some stenciling in a light blue on the polka dot piece and a darker blue on the plaid piece.  The penguin was stamped and colored with Copic markers, and adhered with thin foam tape for a little dimension.  

You have until Feb 15th to upload your monochromatic project to the Mix It Up Challenge Blog.  We look forward to seeing your creations!

Mix It Up Challenge - Paper Piecing

 Here we are at the beginning of November, the start of the holiday season!  Our new challenge at Mix It Up Challenge Blog is to use paper piecing on your project.  If your're not familiar with this technique, it involves stamping a base image, then stamping parts of that image onto cardstock/patterned paper and adhering to the base image.   Here's my card for the challenge:

The stamp set is from Unity Stamps.  I stamped the snowman onto a white cardstock base, then stamped it again on some scraps of orange, green, grey, black print, red and red polka dot patterned paper.  I fussy cut around those stamped pieces (hat, hat band, holly, nose, scarf and buttons) and glued them onto the base image.  I used Copic BG000 to lightly shade around the edge of the snowman and added some clear Sticklers in small areas for some sparkle, along with tiny dots of red Stickles for the holly berries.  The sentiment was stamped in black ink, and then I lightly ink blended some pale aqua ink around the edges of the finished piece. 

If you don't like to color stamped images but you like to fussy cut, paper piecing is a fun technique, and a great way to add some pattern detail to a stamped image.  I hope you get a chance to play along with our challenge.  You have until December 15 to join us with your paper piecing project.