Christmas lamp post

I'm continuing to work on Christmas cards to build up a stash.  This one features an image from Pattie's Creations, colored in pencils with a little dimensional paint. The sketch is from the Catch the Bug blog. The sentiment, from an unknown source, is stamped in Forest Foliage

This card is entered in these challenges:

February Rudolph Days -- anything Christmas
Catch the Bug -- Stella Says Sketch #403
Winter wonderland -- Must use a Sentiment
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #269 --  Cute or anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge extra --
anything Christmas
HollyJolly Challenge -- add a sentiment

Cookie Challenge #38

Here are the inspiration cookies for the new challenge at If You Give a Crafter a Cookie.  This challenge is sponsored by Sami's Stamps and Robyn's Fetish, so there are two opportunities to win prizes.

My card was created with an image from Sami's Stamps.  I used paper piecing on the onesie and colored the baby with pencils. The dotted paper is a very old Stampin Up pattern.The sentiment is from a small unlabeled clear stamp set; not sure if it's Studio G.


I'm entering the card in these challenges:
Crafty Sentiments -- Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #220 -- Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Fishing for fun

Here's a card for one of the anglers in my life. It features an image from From the Heart and also the sketch for From the Heart's current sketch challenge. For the element that called for three rectangles, I used one of my favorite tricks -- paint swatches!
The image is colored in pencils, with just a touch of Stickles on the fish, because they do sparkle. Looking at this card, I realize I should have used an Orvis knot or something fishing-related on the baker's twine. Oh well...

This card is for these challenges:
I Heart Sketches #140
Crafty Ribbons -- something that leaps (fish)
The Paper Shelter #237-- animals
Crafting for all Seasons -- 3 of a kind (3 shades of green paint swatches)
Kraftin' Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday -- anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge -- anything goes

Stepping out

I haven't done a shoe card for a while, and I came across this digi of a fun looking boot, so I decided to do a boot card. (Everyone hum along -- These boots were made for walking....)
The sketch is from the Taylored Expression Share the Joy Challenge.The image is colored in pencils with a little out-of-the-box cut (because I cut it too close when I was rough cutting before using the circle die.), nounted on a slightly larger purple circle, cut from a snippet.  For the narrow white panel, I used a sentiment stamp from Impression-Obsession ("Pretty shoes can cure the blues") and stamped it repeatedly on a white snippet. There's a ribbon (purple with white stitching) running alongside the white panel.  The embellishment picks up that same ribbon and features a pink flower with a pearl in the center. I think the DP is probably Heidi Grace; it was just sitting on the paper cutter when I got there and seemed like a perfect match)

The card is for these challenges:
Simon Says Monday: inspired by a song ( Everyone hum some more -- These boots were made for walking...)
Kraftin Kimmie #319, amethyst
Catch the Bug -- Bingo (designer paper; flower; pearl)
2 Crafty Girls #13 -- Anything goes with option of pearl
Share the Joy Challenge #23 -- sketch
Pixie's Snippet Playground #217 -- use snippets
The Ribbon Girl, use any image (plus ribbon)
Craftyhazelnut's patterned paper challenge -- use dp
Word Art Wednesday #220 -- anything goes

Road trip

I fell in love with this crazy image the first time I saw it  -- who wouldn't love to see a snowman driving a Beetle?
The inspiration for this card came fro the Double D red-and-white colorboard, and the layout is the current sketch at From the Heart.
The image (From the Heart digi)  is colored in pencils, and there are a few silver details on the car.  I paper-pieced his ridiculously long scarf with red-and-white striped paper.

This card is for these challenges:
Double D: Red and white
From the Heart: sketch 139
The Paper Shelter #236: make it digital
Word Art Wednesday #220: anything goes
Artistic Inspirations #150: Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's patterned paper challenge: use patterned paper
Simply Create Too -- use red only

Embossing Folder Stamping

I've never tried embossing folder stamping before, but I watched some videos, and it couldn't get any easier.  You ink up the raised side of an embossing folder, spritz on some water, then make an impression on your card stock.  I made several impressions -- reinking and spritzing each time.  It looks a little different each time, depending upon how much ink and water you apply.  For this project, I used a snowflake embossing folder (which says both Sizzix and Stampin Up on it) and a little blue cube of unmarked ink (one of these little inch-square ink pads you get in a cheap stamp set).

After trimming the resulting images down, adding a sentiment, and mounting them on some blue snippets, they made quite nice Christmas cards. I made a set of three, and have a few more versions of the snowflakes left over for possible use.

The card is for these challenges:

ABC Christmas -- Don't Overdo It
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #268 -- blue
Happy Little Stamper's CAS challenge -- embossing folder stamping
Catch the Bug -- Keep it Simple.
CRAFT #351-- Christmas
Kraftin Kimmie Wonderful Wednesday -- anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #220 -- anything goes
 Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra -- anything Christmas
Pixie's Snippet Playground #216  -- use snippets

Cookie challenge #37

Here is the inspiration cookie for this fortnight's Cookie Challenge at If you Give a Crafter a Cookie. There are two chances to win this time, with prizes from SLS Lines and Fred She Said.

I am not only a cat lover, I am especially a lover of orange cats (I've just had the best experience with them), so of course I wanted to do a card featuring an orange cat.  The image I used is from The Alley Way Stamps.  It's stamped in Colorbox Chalk Amber Clay ink on the white circle and paper-pieced with an orange plaid snippet and a blue plaid snippet.  The cat is framed in a stitched circle (die from Whimsy Stamp) cut from a blue snippet. The sentiment is from the same TAWS set, stamped in the same color and mounted on more of that blue snippet. Since this is my idea of a valentine (no frilly pink hearts from me), I added little hearts  (Paper Smooches die) cut from a red dotted snippet to the cat and sentiment.

Go pull out some cat or dog stamps and have some fun with the Cookie Challenge.

I'm entering this card in these challenges:
Crafting For All Seasons #119 -- Love Is in the Air
Pixie's Snippet Playground #215-- Use Snippets
Kraftin Kimmie's Challenge #317 -- love
Die Cut Divas -- Love/Anniversary
Creative Inspirations #344 -- Love and Kisses
Word Art Wednesday #219 -- Anything Goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use Patterned Paper

Snowy day

It has been snowing all day long now (but thanks to the magic of the south, no accumulation) so I made a snowy card.
The snowman is a From the Heart image, and I also used their i [{heart} sketch #138. The snowman is colored with pencils with white Wink of Stella on the snowy parts. the tiny gold snippet also has some shimmer too -- I didn't even try to catch either in the photo.

The card is for these challenges:
From the Heart Monthly image challenge
From the Heart I heart sketch #138
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #267 -- anything goes

Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra Challenge -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Catch the Bug -- Anything Goes
Word Art Wednesday #219 -- Anything goes

Looking forward to spring

I started making this card for a challenge to use washi tape. I wanted to display the tape through an aperture in the front of the card, so I used strips of washi from a set of butterfly/pastel tapes.  It came out looking more like an Easter egg than I had intended.  To keep the spring theme going, I used an embossing folding of spring flowering branches and added a butterfly (that's a Simon Says Stamp die) on the edge of the oval aperture.  The sentiment is white-embossed.

The card is for these challenges:

Butterfly #47 -- Over the Edge
Moving Along with the Times #13 -- Things with Wings
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- A  Ray of Sunshine
Jade's Sparkling Butterflies #12 -- anything goes
Kraftin Kimmie's wonderful Wednesday -- anaything goes
Word Art Wednesday #219 --- anything Goes

Looks like fun

Here's another Christmas card, using the Mojo Monday Sketch for this week.
The image is Candy Skis from The Paper Shelter, colored with pencils and accented with white Wink of Stella. The Stitched Edge die is from Penny Black, and the patterned papers are from a Hobby Lobby stack. The silver candy cane is from my stash (bought in bulk on clearance at Mike's several years ago), accented with a red and white striped baker's twine.

I'm entering these challenges:
Mojo Monday #433
Cuttlebug Mania: Kids
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #266 -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- anything with patterned paper
Word Art Wednesday #219 -- anything goes
Kraftin Kimmie's Wonderful Wednesday  -- anything goes

Valentine

Here's a CAS valentine, using an oh-so-trendy watercolored background.  I wanted to use candy-heart colors in this to pick up on the candy heart in the image (A Day for Daisies), although I think my green ended up too dark.  The cupcake is fussy-cut and applied on top of the watercolored base.

The sketch is from Taylored Expressions Share the Joy #20.

I'm entering these challenges:
TE Share the Joy #20 -- sketch/CAS
A Day for Daisies -- All My Love
Artistic Inspriations #149 - valentine
CRAFT #348-- Valentine
Word Art Wednesday #218 -- anything goes
Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper