Christmas snippets

Between work, my son's college graduation and getting ready for Christmas, I hadn't been in my craft room for over a month. Last night I left the guys watching football and actually made a card. Yay me.

Those of you who hang around Pixie's Snippet Playground probably recognize the inspiration for this card. About six weeks ago, the amazing Karen Letchworth made a sample card out of lots of strips of Christmas paper, and I immediately knew I'd be CASEing it. (I made this card from what I remembered Karen's card looking like, and now I see I made a more CAS version than she did.)

 The size of the Christmas paper pads I have all require me to cut a strip of an inch or two off the paper to fit on a standard size card, so I have tons of snippets, and I thought Karen's solution was brilliant.  I have plenty more snippets, so I expect I'll make several like this.

My card is for these challenges:
Pixie's Snippet Playground #368 -- use snippets
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #470 -- anything Christmas

Christmas sparkle

I can't avoid it. Christmas is coming and it's time to make some cards. Luckily, PINspirational Challenges has a new challenge designed to spark your Christmas creativity.

My Christmas style is usually pretty CAS. However, while I'm not a glitter girl most of the year, I think every holiday card needs a little sparkle.  This inspiration photo allowed me to do both.

The image and sentiment are both from Simply Stamped. I stamped them in dark green on a white snippet, then used a silver Spica pen to fill in the star and the baubles and garland on the tree. There's brown marker on the tree trunk.  I added some sequins as ornaments/sparkly elements.  The panel is mounted on a snippet of silver card stock, then on a white tent-fold card.

I hope you'll be inspired by the PINspirational photo. Link up whatever you're inspired to make (it doesn't have to be a card) on the challenge blog.

This card is entered in these challenges:
Double D -- Christmas style
Crafty Sentiments -- Christmas
Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge #464 -- Christmas
The Paper Shelter#404 -- Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #414 -- anything goes
Pixie's Snippet Playground #365 -- use snippets

Food or flowers?

      I was really impressed when I saw the cards my Design Team teammates created for the new PINspirational Challenge. I looked at the inspiration photo (to the right here), saw a pie, and immediately went to a homey apple pie theme for my card. (yup, I love food.) But some of the others looked at the same pie I did and created lovely, flowery, filigreed creations. And that's the fun of an inspirational challenge -- you can go where ever it takes you, and no two people are inspired to make exactly the same thing.
      So what do you see when you look at the photo, and how does it inspire you. No matter the answer, I hope you will make a project and link it up at the challenge blog. (You can see the different directions the DT took at the same link.)
       For my card, I created the background by repeatedly stamping an image of an apple seed packet in subtle diagonal lines. For the main image, I colored a small image of an apple pie, used an oval die to cut it out, and mounted it on a larger oval. (Note that the plaid paper I used matches the pattern of the latticework on the pie!) There's a row of small gems under the sentiment. (Sentiment is from Purple Onion Designs, source of  other images not known).

My card is for these challenges:
Word Art Wednesday # 410  -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper
Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes
Crafting by Design -- anything goes
Pattie's Creations #164 -- anything goes

It's fall y'all

Fall has finally arrived here. To celebrate, here's a fall card.  The image is from Stamplorations, colored in pencil, fussy cut and adhered on pop-dots.  The strip down the left is a snippet left when I cut out the apple basket.  The letters are stickers. The card needed something on the right, so I used a few snippets of ribbon and a leaf brad.  The background paper is a snippet of a grid-patterned paper that kind of echoes the squares of the letter stickers.

This card is entered in these challenges:
Catch the Bug -- fall photo inspiration
Word Art Wednesday #410 -- anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday -- anything goes
Stamplorations Never-Ending Challenge -- Stamplorations image
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone. Have you stocked up on candy or are you waiting because if you buy too early it will all be gone by Oct. 31?
     It is time to join in the fun with another PINspirational Challenge, and it's no surprise what the theme is this week. Get out your pumpkin stamps or spiderweb embossing folders, we're celebrating Halloween.
      I prefer "cute" Halloween, and I found this stamped image in my stash. I colored the cat image with pencils and added some Spica pen to the buckle on the hat and the star for a little sparkle. The sentiment and bat are both stickers. (Everything on this card is old enough to have whiskers, but it's amazing what works together when you dig deep.)
       I hope you'll be inspired by the Pin and create a project (it doesn't have to be a card) and link up at the challenge blog.

My card is entered in these challenges
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- spooky
Word Art Wednesday #408 -- anything goes
Pammie's Inky Pinkies #1942 -- anything goes
Crafty Sentiments -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Thinking of Thanksgiving

Hi and happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.  The new PINspirational Challenge has been posted and our fearless leader happens to be Canadian, so we're celebrating Thanksgiving. (Hey, I'm fine with Thanksgiving more than once a year.)

For my card, I used a stamp set from Mark's Finest Papers. It is stamped on kraft paper and colored with pencils. (This is a technique I've only used a few times, and it needs some work.)  The center of the sunflower is covered with flocking to give it a nice fuzzy touch.

To the side, there's a scalloped piece of patterned paper and a thin ribbon and bow.

I hope you'll be PINspired to join our new challenge. Just create a project inspired by the PIN and link up at the challenge blog.

My card is for these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday -- fall/autumn
Word Art Wednesday #408 -- anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge -- use patterned paper

Autumn leaves

         The PINspirational Challenge is up, and it's all about autumn leaves.
        I hope you'll find some inspiration in the photo and join us by creating a project (it doesn't have to be a card) and posting it on the challenge blog.
         (Here in the South, fall feels very far off.  Temperatures should be at very pleasant levels now, but instead, we have a heatwave with temperatures expected to be into the 90s well into October. Yuck).
           For my card, I used a Memory Box die of falling leaves, which I cut in a piece of brown paper that has a print that looks like a nice fall blazer. Behind that paper, I used some striped paper to create some colorful leaves.  (The picture actually looks like the leaves were die-cut and put on top, but it's the opposite.)  The sentiment is an old one from SU.