Here Comes Santa Claus...

I try to make holiday cards all year.  I appreciate the Jingle Belles for their regular challenges for keeping me on track!  This week's challenge is to include Santa:

Echo Park papers and tag.  Love the non-traditional colors in the line of paper!

Snowy Greetings

 The Paper Girls have a snowflake challenge going on.  Here are my flakes:

The patterned paper is from my hoarded stash of DCWV Winter Wonder,  The silver snowflakes were cut with Lawn Fawn Mini Snowflakes die.  I'm also linking up with the Jingle Belles.  Thanks to their challenges throughout the year, I have plenty of cards to use this Christmas!

Gold for Christmas

 The Jingle Belles have a Baby It's Gold Outside challenge:

Dasher looks best all dressed up in gold, and I set him off on a Darice Scroll Flourish embossed background and a pretty gold ribbon.  love this clean and simple look!

Stars & Stripes for the Holidays

In honor of the Fourth of July, the Jingle Belles have a Stars and Stripes challenge.  I have made literally hundreds of these over the past few years. 

The inside:

I write a short note of thanks in every one of them, and send them to the group Cards for Soldiers to distribute with their care packages.  The center panel was purchased from Hollo Paper in Ohio.  I trimmed it down and punched the corners.  Sometimes I add stars to the corners, other times jewels or Stickles.   I know it isn't the most original or fancy entry, but I hope it is a reminder to all of the sacrifices our ancestors made, and our military still make, to keep us safe.  

Gift Tags

I make gift tags to give to family and friends.  I use up my scraps and they get something useful.  Plus, they need more every year!!  Everyone wins!

Merry Tags dies from SU!  Scarps of black and white glitter paper, organza ribbon.   Sharing with The Jingle Belles shaped card challenge.  Hey!  No one said that it had to be a greeting card!!!!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells....

The Jingle Belles have a a fun challenge this week - Christmas Music!  Create something based on a Christmas song.  I actually started this card last week for their sticker challenge, but I am a little behind ;). 

The "Jingle" is made up of stickers, the bells were cut with an SVG in matte silver, the bows were die cut from matching glitter paper, and the background was embossed with an ancient Sizzix plate. 

Jingle Belles Red Challenge

I'm slowly getting back into the crafting groove, but my photography skills have not improved :(.  The Jingle Belles Have a Red challenge this time around. 

Loved playing with the different patterns and textures.  The Divine Swirls embossing folder makes the die cuts look "quilted".  While I like the tiny polka dots paper, the pieces are so small that the polka dots look too big!  The labels are adapted from Spellbinders and the sentiments from SU!.  The other sentiment is Clearly Defined. 

Pink for Christmas?!?

Why not!  The Jingle Belles have a Pink Christmas...for the Cure challenge. 

I combines silver glitter paper, pink glitter paper, and silver matte paper for this pretty one.  I added clear rhinestones to the centers of the snowflakes for extra sparkle.

All that glitters...

The Jingle Belles have a challenge to use metallics and/or glitter.  Since many of the cards that I make go to deployed military as encouragement or for them to send home, glitter is forbidden.  Glitter shows up on night vision, so I don't even allow it in my house!!  Metallics it is!

Here i my first try:

 Silver washi tape layered on silver mat, silver and white joy die cut.  OK, but I thought I would try again. 

I buy a lot of my metallics from Hollo Paper in Brunswick, OH, in 4x6.  Those dimensions leave a lot of strips left over.  I used matte silver and textured gold strips to make my background, and layered it on red and gold metallic mats.  LOVE!!!  Lawn Fawn joy die cut. 

Come join us at Words to Craft By for our Kindness challenge!!

Pretty Trash or Fun Card?

The Jingle Belles have a Shape Up for the New Year challenge - make a card that isn't a square or rectangle.  I'm not sure about this one.  Pretty trash?  Fun shape?  You be the judge.

I used a nativity ornament die and fussy cut to fit in the We R Memory Keepers die cut frame and card base.  Not what I had envisioned, but fun process.  That's what matters, right?

Blue (and White) Christmas

I am a paper hoarder.  There, I said it out loud.  What if I used it all?  Then what would I do?!?  I really do think this was, but I am trying to change.  I included some resin pieces as the embellishments, and highlighted the critters with some Wink of Stella, since the Believe was sparkly.  Here are some of my Winter Wonder and pearl papers, sacrificed for a couple of great challenges:

First up, Try Stampin' on Tuesday sketch challenge (with die cut option):

And the Jingle Belles Critter challenge.  Thanks to the Belles, I think I have most of my cards made for this Christmas!!

Color Slider Christmas Card - Photo Heavy Post!!

I wanted to make a color slider card.  In the process, I made a lot of pretty trash!!!

I inked the background with oxide inks and added the snowflakes in white, cut the snow with a stitched dies, stamped the Recollections image, patterned paper DCWV.  I stamped the image on the transparency with Staz-On, and colored the other image with Derwent watercolor pencils. 

I am sharing this with The Paper Girls Challenge #156 - Transparencies, and Shopping Our Stash #362 - Christmas in July, and Jingle Belles All Bundled Up.  Wow!!!!  I rarely am able to enter more than one challenge at a time!!!

Put A Ribbon On It

The Jingle Belles challenge is to add ribbon, lace, seam binding, fibers, ric rac, twine or any other trimmings to a holiday card.

I cut the tree with a spellbinder dies, then embossed with an old Sizzix texture plate.  I adhered a bunch of ribbon scraps to the red base with a tape runner. Topped it off with a tag pinned to a bow.  Done!

Come play along with us at Words 2 Craft By, through June 6!!

Defining Vintage

The Jingle Belles' challenge is Spirit of Christmas Past.  I am not really a shabby chic or traditional vintage person.  My favorite vintage period is the 1950s and 60s.  No one said vintage had to be a specific time frame!!

I layered the Hot Off The Press die cut on to some funky paper and popped it up with foam tape.  I fussy cut the sentiment and added a bit of Wink of Stella for depth.  The black ribbon is silk moire trimmed from an old wedding invitation liner.  I think this is my favorite Christmas card so far in 2018!!

Come play along with us at Words 2 Craft by for our Phenomenal Women challenge, through April 4.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

This week, the Jingle Belles have challenged us to make a card using inchies.  I love paper pad covers almost as much as I love the paper inside.  There are often miniature images of the patterned paper, perfect for inchies or banners.  These are 4.25" x 5.5" cards. 

I embossed the 3.5" x 5" card, but the sentiment was hard to read.  Looks pretty good in the picture, though!

Just a few more days to join us at Words 2 Craft By for our Blizzard of Kisses challenge!!

Watercolor Poinsettias

Poinsettias are so pretty for Christmas!  I stamped them on Strathemore paper, and colored using Distress Oxides and a water brush. 

 I layered them onto Lawn Fawn Perfect Plaid paper, and created a gate-fold card.  The Recollections sentiment I used has a gap in the "s" of Christmas that I didn't think looked right, so I filled it in using a dental pick.  Even my smallest brushes were too wide.

Sharing this with Jingle Belles challenge is "A Coloring We Will Go".   Come play along with us at Words 2 Craft By for our Blizzard of Kisses challenge!!

Christmas All Year 'Round

I am trying to make a few Christmas cards every week this year.  I hated that I sent some store bought cards last year. 

Love this Winter Wonder paper paired with the Lawn Fawn die cut and accented with three clear jewels.  Sharing this with Jingle Belles: Text Me and the Try Stampin' On Tuesday sketch challenge with the optional metal theme.  

Come play along with us Words 2 Craft By for our New Beginnings challenge through February 7!!

Christmas in January?!?!

Yes!  I ran out of Christmas cards before I ran out of recipients, and I am trying to do better this year.  The Jingle Belles challenge this round is We Three Kings - create a cards using three elements. 

Hero Arts Layering Tress, sentiment from Recollections heat embossed in white.  I flicked white pigment ink mixed with water for the "snow".  The snowbanks were cut from stitched dies. 

Come play along with us at Words 2 Craft By for our New Beginnings challenge! 

Metallic Christmas

The Jingle Belles challenge is Baby It's Gold.  I love using metallic papers, but hate photographing them!

The tree is cut from holographic paper and layered on red metallic paper.  The corners are a happy accident.  I thought it was a regular corner punch, but it was a photo corner punch.  I like it, though!

Pink Christmas?!?!?!

The Jingle Belles challenge this week is PINK Christmas for the Cure.  What?  Challenge accepted!!!

The Julie Nutting doll is dressed in a pink glitter dress trimmed in white velvet ribbon, white glitter boots with the same trim, and layered on a tag made with DCWV papers and stash ribbon.  The snowflakes are paper and vellum from Jolee, and the gift in glitter paper and pale pink ribbon.  Her buttons are pink pearls.  Come play along with us at Words 2 Craft By for our Autumn Flowers challenge!!!