Warm wishes

As I worked on this card, the temperature is setting some sort of record for this day in December, probably around 70F (which Google tells me comes out to about 22C).
Well, if you're going to have non-traditional Christmas weather, why not not-traditional Christmas colors?
The inspiration for this card came from Cookie Challenge #34, with the sketch from this week's Sketch Saturday.
I started by stamping two rows of snowflakes, using both large and small stamps. 
The image is from Bugaboo, colored with pencils. (That bird is so not a titmouse, but I colored him like one, because they are my favorite winter birds). The snowman (snowgirl?) is covered with Wink of Stella, with some icy Stickles thrown in good measure. The image is mounted on a snippet of lavender (such a snippet that it actually has a scalloped circle cut out of it, but you'd never known if I had not mentioned it.)

I would like to enter the card in these challenges:

Sketch Saturday #392
If you give a Crafter a Cookie #34 -- inspiration cookies
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- winter wonderland
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- make it sparkle
V's Sweet Ideas #41-- non-traditional Christmas Colors
 Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #260 -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas extra -- anything Christmas
Pixie's snippet Playground #208/209 -- Use snippets
Word Art Wednesday #214/15 -- anything goes

Merry Christmas

Let me start off by wishing everyone  a merry Christmas and thanking you for your kind comments throughout the year.
It's not often you look at a Christmas card and think "it needs a little more black," but I think this does. I may go back and edge those ornaments in  black to get a little more depth.
I know you're sick of me saying I've about used up this mat stack from Echo Park, but I squeezed another card out of the snippets.  Depending on how creative I get, there may be one or two more cards left from the rest of the snippets. 

This card is for these challenges:

Pixie's Snippet Playground #208/09 -- snippets
Word Art Wednesday #214/215 -- anything goes
Holly Jolly Christmas -- Merry Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #260 -- anything Christmas
 Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned paper Challenge -- anything patterned paper

Time to decorate

I went into Christmas overdrive yesterday, doing my first round of shopping and decorating the Christmas tree. I also made one more card, so hopefully I have enough now.

The card was inspired by the photo inspiration at the Share The Joy challenge, and the sketch is from Mojo Monday.  The ornaments are from a set by Hero Arts (maybe... it has disappeared in the current mess) and they are silvere mbossed on green snippets (the green paper has a slightly raised stripe pattern that showed up in the embossing, but I'm calling that texture...).  The sentiment is from the dollar bin at Michael's, also on snippets, with the silver paper recycled from some advertising brochure that arrived in the mail and got added to the snippets bin.  The red, still another snipped, is cut with a Marianne border die.
I am entering these challenges:

Mojo Monday #427 -- sketch
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Christmas
Share the Joy #14 -- inspiration photo
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #259 -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
Holly Jolly Christmas -- Merry Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #213 -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #207 -- use those snippets

Christmas tag

I've been fun making tags, and here's one inspired by something I saw on pinterest. I stamped the music score on a white tag and gold-embossed the sentiment.  The holly leaves/berries are a felt embellishment.

My tag is joining tags from other people  in these challenges:

Catch the Bug Christmas Chaos Day 6 -- Christmas wrapping
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- Tag it
Crafting for all Seasons #116-- anything but a card.

Bundled up

Here is another card using up the snippets left from an Echo Park Christmas stack. I think I'll try to use them up and be done with them this Christmas so I can start fresh with something new next year.

The sketch for this is from Bugaboo's Christmas Chaos.  The choir kids are colored in pencils mostly, with a little gel pen for some of the smaller areas. I'm debating whether to add a sentiment, but the strip down the bottom says Christmas Joy, which is the message anyway.

I'm entering the following challenges:
Bugaboo Christmas Chaos -- day 2, sketch
Creative Inspirations #339 -- All wrapped up
Clear it out -- Anything Goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #206 -- snippets
Word Art Wednesday #213 -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas extra -- anything Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned paper Challenges -- use patterned paper

Masking magic

Masking is one of the first techniques I learned as a stamper and it's amazing how often I forget to use it.  On this card, however, I remembered to use it, so I was able to do CAS. So CAS, in fact, that I was able to crank a couple versions out really quickly.

I stamped the reindeer (A Muse), masked him, then used a reverse mask to sponge in the blue square. Added a red nose on Rudolph, a couple of light blue sequins, and a green sentiment and matted it.

The sketch is from Happy Little Stampers and the color combo (Granny Smith, Watermelon, saltwater taffy and chocolate) is from Taylored Expressions Share the Joy challenges.

This card is for these challenges:

TE Share the Joy #13 -- colors
Happy Little Stampers -- Dec. sketch
Cookie Challenge #33 -- Rudolph
Catch the Bug Christmas Chaos Day 1 -- Here comes Santa Claus (led by Rudolph, of course)
Stamplorations -- Dec. Theme of Stamps and holiday
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Extra -- anything Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #212  -- Anything Goes

Winter's butterfly

The challenge at Time Out is to be inspired by the phrase Snowflakes are Winter's Butterflies. This image seems to reflect that, with the snowman trying to catch a flake as you might try to catch a butterfly.
The cute image is one of my faves from the no-longer-around Paper Cupcakes. He's colored with pencils with an added layer of shimmer thanks to Wink of Stella painted on him.
He's finished off with a die cut snowflake and a couple of snowflake brads.

This card is for these challenges:
Time Out #45: Inspired by Word
CRAFT Challnge #339: Winter
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #257-- use die cuts
Craftyhazelnut's ChristmasExtra -- anything Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Word Art Wednesday #211 -- anything goes