The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #102 - Reminder

It's Reminder time again over at The Christmas Kickstart. We're in very talented company this month as we have the lovely Leslie from Running with Scissors as our Elfin muse!

Leslie has very kindly created another super card (which you can see over at CKC HQ) as we continue to play:

Challenge #102 - Santa in September

Here's a reminder of Leslie's first card for our challenge:

And here's my Inspired by... creation. 

I loved that Leslie had used a die cut Santa image and so I decided to do the same. I included design paper, a shaped window, an embossed snowy background, gifts with bows and a die cut sentiment from Leslie's original. I felt that Santa needed some googly eyes and I'm so glad I had some in my stash.

Finally, here's Rudolph with his September Random Raffle prize. 

Don't forget to read the Challenge Guidelines before linking up, please. 

Leslie and I are looking forward to seeing your Santa creations!

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Challenge #266 - Finally Fall

We're playing F is for Finally Fall over at The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers and Edna is here to get us in the mood.

 

For some reason I don't fully understand, I've created a snark-free card for this challenge. 

I had fun with some Sizzix Thinlets Artsy Leaves and Spellbinders Hemstitch Rectangles. I have to say that photographing this card was virtually impossible and it looks so much nicer IRL.

I'm linking this card over at CAS on Friday Challenge #317 where they're playing Fall. There are some stunning cards from the DT to look at and enjoy, and some lovely entries in the linky gallery thus far. 

Back at The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers my sistahs and our reigning monarch have created some fab cards, so please come and play along! 

The Card Chain Challenge Reveal August 2025

 

We had 26 lovely participants who exchanged cards across the globe this month over at The Card Chain Challenge.

 

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: Tropical / Triangles / Friendship

Product / Technique Options: Paint / Stenciling

Here's what I sent to Linda W in Minnesota:

I was in the mood for an uber-CAS creation and this was the outcome. The gorgeous stencil is from The Stencil Studio. Their stencils come in all sizes, including cute mini sizes perfect for cardmaking - just look at their Scandi range!

 

Brenda in the UK sent me this amazing work of art:

Brenda is a super-organised lady and so I've been lucky to have this sitting on my mantlepiece for a few extra weeks! 

So, do YOU want to join the fun that is 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.

We are all about spreading love around the world, one handmade card at a time!! Hope to see you there!

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #102 - Santa in September!

 

Happy September to you all! 

I'm completely delighted to welcome back the lovely Leslie from Running With Scissors to be our Elf over at The Christmas Kickstart Challenge this month. 

Leslie, has picked a fun theme for us and we'll be playing:

Challenge #102 - Santa in September!

Leslie has created the loveliest card for our challenge together and you can find it here on the CKC blog, or by visiting her personal blog here. 

This is my first offering for our Santa challenge:

I bought the Santa image as part of a set from eBay, but have no idea of the manufacturer. I just liked his sweet face and decided to make him the star of my card on a kraft card tag. I wasn't sure how to finish my card and so had a rummage through my stash to find a button to match the background paper. 

My second card for the challenge was made using the pointing Santa from Avery Elle's Ho-Ho-Holiday set. 

I was in the mood for something bright and cheery, and so grabbed the paper pad that was already on my desk from my first card. 

Everyone's favourite reindeer has chosen a cute and cheeky prize for Rudolph's Random Raffle draw...

 Fun Crafter's Companion text stamp

Leslie and I both hope you'll come and join us as we play Santa in September!

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #101 - Reminder

 

I'm delighted that we have the very lovely and talented Greta as our Elfin Muse for August. I love that Greta headed her launch post: 'On Elf Duty'. So cute.

Greta has made an adorable card for our Reminder, so why not head over to Kickstart HQ and take a look? 

 

Here's what Greta made to kickstart her Elfin Mission with us:

As always, I tried to create an Inspired By card for our mid-month Reminder post. 

Isn't Greta's card a dream? I was going to talk through the things I love about her card, but where do I start as everything is simply stunning, STUNNING! I love the big cream bow, the different shades of green AND the sparkly red accents, the placement and style of the gorgeous sentiment, the thin red border. It's all just lovely and totally harmonious.

OK, I'll stop the whole Fan Girl stuff! Here's what I made... I wanted to place my sentiment and bow at 5 to 5 just like Greta, but it just wouldn't work. Thankfully, everything else seemed to fit together nicely.

I had so much fun CASE-ing/being-inspired-by Greta's card 😉.  I know I made a much more visually interesting card because I drew on Greta's superior design abilities and her adorable signature style! Thanks, Greta!

I used Wonderous Wreath from Stampin' Up!, plus the matching Sizzix dies for this card. I used the same set for my second card, but swapped the colour palette. 

And finally, here's Cool Dude Rudy with his Random Raffle Prize for August...

Greta and I both hope you'll come Wreath it Up with us! 

The Christmas Kickstart #101 - Let's Wreath it Up!

 

Over at The Christmas Kickstart Challenge I'm delighted to welcome back my dear friend Greta, as our Elf for August. If you've not visited Greta's blog before I urge you to head there this very second as her cards are a total delight and so inspiring.

 

Greta has chosen a lovely theme for our new challenge...

Challenge #101 - Let's Wreath it Up!

Yes, we'd like to see a wreath or multiple wreaths on your cards, please. You will LOVE Greta's card for our challenge - it's a total beauty and you can find it here. 

Here's what I made for our challenge. 

I grabbed my pencils and coloured Petunia Loves Christmas from Stampingbella. I don't use my pencil crayons very often these days and I felt rather rusty as I coloured this little sweetie. I loved the contrast of the purple and the green as shown on the stamp packaging so CASEd the look for my card. 

His Rudolphness has a fun new prize for his August Random Raffle Draw. 

 

*Sigh* I wish Heffy Doodle was still in business, but I'm so glad Rudolph bagged a few stamp sets before they closed. This one is a real cutie. 

Hope to see you playing along this month!