The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #114 - Reindeer Games!

 

Over at The Christmas Kickstart Challenge I'm so happy to be playing again with the lovely Loll from Stamping With Loll and I know you'll LOVE the card she's made to get our crafting party started.

Loll has picked such a fun theme for our September challenge...

Challenge #114 - Reindeer Games

We would like to see reindeer this month, please, and LOTS of them! 

Here's what I made:

I'm so glad I bought these little reindeer dudes from Mama Elephant as they are so, so cute. And here's my second card using the same 'sentiment' - just proves that context is everything! No points for spotting a fun Art Impressions gal against that lovely Simon Says Stamp Christmas Tree background. Sadly, both sets appear to be discontinued.

Rudolph is especially pleased with the theme this month, and is offering a fun prize for his Random Raffle!

Loll and I can't wait to see what you guys get up to when you play those Reindeer Games!

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #89 - Animal Antics

 

I'm delighted to be joined again at Christmas Kickstart by my dear friend Gundi from Papierelle!

Gundi has chosen a fun theme for our challenge together...

Challenge #89 - Animal Antics

We'd like to see animals playing in the snow - yes, it's as simple as that! We've both had heaps of fun creating cards for this challenge, and hope you'll enjoy this theme too! You can see Gundi's gorgeous card on the main blogerooo. 

Here's my first card for the challenge. 

I always love an excuse to ink-up this bunny stamp, and decided to dial up the fun and colour him to look like the fabulous Mr. Ben, who is one of the rabbits currently living in the Rescue where I volunteer. 

 

Isn't he just adorable! This lad is so sweet and friendly, and loves having his big, soft ears tickled.

My second card is a super-CAS creation. I do love the BB MFT bears and I think this skating bear is my favourite from the set, although they are all lovely and so easy to colour. 

Rudolph has found a very suitable Random Raffle Prize for this challenge.

 

We both very much hope you'll come and play along!

Card Chain Challenge Reveal - April 2024

We had 32 participants who exchanged cards across the globe this month. Our total number of cards exchanged thus far by Card Chain Challenge participants is 4,360 - which is pretty amazing, I think!

All the cards exchanged this month used at least one of the following options:

Colour Palette Option

 

(Exact matching is not required.)

Sketch Option

(Orient as desired.)

Theme Options: Spring / Food and drink / Friendship

Product / Technique Options:  Something You Were Given / Pop Up

I was delighted to send my card to long-term player Linda in Michigan. The bunnies are from Mama Elephant - Crafted with Love. The background squares are from a very old Hero Arts block. 

I received this beauty from Dee in Kenya. Dee's card is a Z -fold, and is so beautifully made.

And don't forget, if you want to join in the fun you can sign up for the Card Chain Challenge.  All sign ups run in advance, from the 7th of the preceding month to the 6th of the exchange month.  All reveals happen on the 2nd of the month after the exchange is complete.

Something Old, Something New...

Lauren and Stef have a new challenge...

and are playing 'Something Old, Something New'. They'd like to see you create a Christmas card using something brand new and something older. 

I'm currently loving my NEW Jane's Doodles sets from Creative Expressions. These stamps are a great size and stamp so beautifully. I inked up this cute little mug image from the set Holiday Cheers and let it take centre stage. My OLD for this challenge is a stamp from a much loved set Puffy Holiday Greetings by Mama Elephant. That quick and easy smooshy background was created with Distress Inks. 

I'm doubling-up on the challenges with this card as I'm also joining the fun at Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge #25.

 

Have a fun Wednesday, Folks!

Wrapping It Up with the Jingle Belles

I'm just squeaking-in with a few hours to spare over at Jingle Belles where Lauren and Stef are playing with wrapping paper! What a fab theme, and perfect timing too as I'd collected this cute little squad of penguins from some off-cuts of Christmas wrapping paper.

Aren't they adorable? I have enough for at least another two cards. 

I created a background with a Newton's Nook stencil called Petite Snow and the sentiment comes from Cool Penguins by Mama Elephant. The gorgeous gold patterns on the card base are provided by Darkroom Door Background stamp Abstract Triangles. 

This was such a fun make and a big thank you to The Jingle Belles for giving me a nudge to make something with these cute critters!

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Challenge #246 - N is for New

 

We're celebrating all things NEW over at the Sisterhood with our January Challenge! 

New Year, new techniques, new crafting goodies... If it's new then link it up!

Just before we get going, did you notice that Sister Lee has worked her magic again for our challenge graphic? Our NEW Edna is in a Barbie box. So clever!

My NEW creation uses a fun Mary Engelbreit image and sentiment, one of my Gel Prints, a new-to-me Sheena Douglas die cut - Make Time, and some gorgeous golden numbers by Mama Elephant. 

This is the first time I've inked-up this Mary Engelbriet set, and it was great fun to work with! You can buy these stamps from Rubber Moon, and I'd probably buy more if they weren't so difficult to purchase for a UK-based crafter. Thanks to Sister Chris for helping me get my hands on the one's I have!

In addition, I'm linking my card to The current ANYTHING GOES Challenge at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity. They have a few changes taking place and their challenge has gone monthly. Also, they have a few changes to their rules: 

• You can enter the challenge 2 times using any named brand of rubber or clear stamps and can combine your entry with a maximum of 5 other challenges (total 6 challenge links).
  
• If you use Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda stamps on your project you can enter the challenge as many times as you want and link up to as many other challenges as you want. Remember to mention in your post which Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda stamps you have used.

This is a great site with an amazing DT and a store chock full of fabulous stamps, so why not head on over and check it out!

Meanwhile, back to The Sisterhood who are ready and waiting for you to come and play along! Our challenges are now monthly to give you guys plenty of time to join the fun.

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #78 - Reminder

 

Hi guys, it's Reminder time over at Christmas Kickstart where we're in the mad-talented company of Kimberly W from Wienerhoneymooners.

 

Our theme for this month is:

Challenge #78 - Chillin' with my Snowmies

and here's a reminder of Kimberley's adorable card: 

I always like to create my Reminder card by taking some inspiration from the card created by our elfin guest and here's what I came up with...

One of the things I really like about Kimberley's card is the way your eye is invited to move around the card to 'read' the full story of her creation. I used Scene Builder from Mama Elephant and a Jane's Doodles Snowman from Winter Icons to make my card. 

I also made this fun little number...

My card ingredients for this one are as follows: Penny Black - Skate all the Way, Creative Expressions - Starry Night from the Borderline Collection and Sizzix - Tim Holtz Treeline.

Rudolph has a lovely prize for his Random Raffle for this challenge.

Kimberley and I both hope you'll come and play along!

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #72 - Reminder Post

I'm so happy to have Monika from Tinker Cards as our elf for this month over at Christmas Kickstart. 

Inspired by Monika's knitting skills, we're playing:

Challenge #72 - Wrapped up for Christmas

We'd love to see a scarf or scarves on your cards, please.

This is Monika's sweet card...

You can find all the details of how Monika made her card by visiting her blog. 

I inked-up yet another sweet little MFT set for my inspired by card and CASE'd Monika's lovely background and the way she 'hangs' her characters over the edge of the masked area. Thanks for the inspiration, Monika!

I also sneaked in the cute pup from Snow Buddies as I felt the scene needed something extra. The sentiment is from this set by Mama Elephant. 

Rudolph has a great Random Raffle prize on offer for this challenge. 

So, please join Monika and me for our fun challenge... and don't forget we want to see a scarf or scarves on your Christmas Cards!

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #71 - Baubles

 

Good morning and happy February to you all. It's bright, but chilly here in the UK and so the weather feels just right for making Christmas cards!

I'm delighted to welcome Bridget from Curlybearcrafts as our elf this month at Christmas Kickstart. I'm a HUGE fan of Bridget's amazing colouring and cardmaking talents, and have followed her blog for a long time. We recently reconnected, having lost touch a little, and I was thrilled when she agreed to don the elf hat and create some fabulous inspiration for February. 

We're playing Baubles for Challenge #71 and I know you'll love the card Bridget's created, so please come over and take a peek.

Here's what I made for the theme.

I couldn't resist choosing an adorable reindeer from a very old Do Crafts set and partnering him with some favourite Mama Elephant sentiment stamps.

I also made this card using String Lights from Altenew and then realised that the clue is in the name and that baubles are bulbs/lights: face palm moment. It's a cute card, so I thought I'd still share it. Duh!

Rudolph has a cute prize on offer for his Random Raffle this month, so why not come on over to Christmas Kickstart where Bridget and I are looking forward to seeing your bauble creations!

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #70 - Reminder

 

Over at Christmas Kickstart we're in the company of the lovely Beverly from Bev's Creative Path and we're playing with Stencils and Masks.

To inspire us for this challenge Bev created an adorable snowman card and matching envelope. I love how she staged the photograph too!

I really struggled not to simply just CASE Bev's card as I love the design, colours and everything about it, but I came up with this as my 'inspired by...' creation.

  

I borrowed Bev's big snowflake stencilling, snowman and spotty scarf. There's a mish-mash of different card company's stamps on this one, but they seem to hang together quite well. The snowmen are from Merry Gnomes by Jane's Doodles, the cute fir trees come from Mama Elephant Scene Builder and the sentiment is Puffy Holiday Greetings, also from Mama Elephant. The snowflake background is an older stencil and I've lost the packaging. 

I also made this little square card for the challenge. The stencil is from Funky Fossil and the lovely Dala Horse die is from Creative-Depot. 

    

Rudolph starts the year with a sweet little prize from LOTV as his Random Raffle offering. Don't forget to read the Challenge Guidelines before entering as Ruddy can get quite grumpy when participants enter too many challenges and can't be awarded their prize!  

 

Beverly and I can't wait to see your Stencilled and/or masked creations, so please head on over to Christmas Kickstart Challenge #70 and join the fun.