Christmas Card Throwdown »

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

Jul 162016

Hello! It’s theme challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and this time we’re inviting our participants to create cards using the theme of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.

I puzzled over this for a while, and finally decided to go with the idea of “four calling birds”. I thought it would be cute to have the birds perched on a set of Christmas lights rather than simply on a tree branch or on an overhead wire. I stamped the birds and the light bulbs onto scrap white cardstock so that the colors would be more true than if I’d stamped and colored on the sky blue background. Fussy cutting them took a little while but I think it was worth the effort. The birds are colored with markers to coordinate with the colors of the lights. I splattered some shimmery white paint on the focal panel to look like falling snow. The layout for this card is an old sketch from Operation Write Home, although I changed the focal panel from a rectangle to an oval.

I’m going to link this card to this week’s “Make Your Mark” challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More and to the “Christmas in July 4 Kids” challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids.

Thanks for stopping by today! Be sure to see what the rest of the 52CCT design team has done for this challenge, and then link your own card at the challenge site. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 22 to enter.

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Sparrows (Lawn Fawn); Holiday Baubles (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Soft Sky, Real Red (Stampin’ Up); designer papers from Holly Jolly Christmas 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Echo Park)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green (SU)
Other: markers (Copic); Frost White shimmer paint (SU); petite oval Nestabilities die (Spellbinders)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July color challenge

3 Responses »

Jul 092016

It’s color challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and this week we have some cool wintry colors for you. We’d like to see what kind of wintry or Christmasy card you can make with shades of blue, plus white and silver.

As I was deciding what to do for this challenge, my mind first went to snow and snowflakes. I figured that was a pretty obvious choice. And then, since I don’t always like doing the obvious, I decided to go a different route and use ornaments instead. I’ve stamped them on a white background using three shades of blue that are kind of on the teal end of the blue spectrum, and matted the images with the same three shades. The ornament garland and the sentiment are stamped in silver; in the photo you can see some of the shimmer of the silver ink in the word “cheer”. I’ve used this week’s sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for the layout of my card.

Cutting the mats was the trickiest part of making this card. Rather than cutting the ovals, layering them, and adhering them to the card front, I decided to layer the rectangular pieces of cardstock from which I cut the ovals. So the white layer is adhered directly to the card base, and the other layers are stacked on top of it.

Now it’s your turn to show us what you can make with these colors! If you need more inspiration first, go visit the 52CCT site and see what the rest of the design team has created. Be sure to link your card at the 52CCT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, July 15. We look forward to having you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Holiday Baubles (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, Whisper White (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Baja Breeze, Blue Bayou, Soft Sky (SU); silver (ColorBox)
Other: Petite Oval and Petite Scalloped Oval Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July sketch challenge

2 Responses »

Jul 022016

Hello there! Even though here in the United States people are getting ready this weekend for Independence Day, it’s always the Christmas season at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. The first Saturday of the month means it’s sketch challenge time.

I’ve kept my card very clean and simple in style. The sketch is drawn up as a square card, but I’ve stretched it out into a landscape-oriented rectangle. I’ve substituted a snowman for the triangle in the sketch. He’s kind of triangular! I had the yellow cardstocks out on my desk after working on another card, and decided to go against the usual Christmas and wintry colors and use them for today’s card. The “warm wishes” sentiment made me think of using orange for the circular element, making the circle appear somewhat like the sun. Anyway, I think the card turned out pretty cute – and it was a good way for me to think outside of the box and use some colors that I tend to shy away from.

Check out what the rest of the 52CCT team has created this week. Then have fun with the sketch and share your own card with us at the challenge site! You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 8 to link your card. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Be Jolly (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Crushed Curry, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Stitched Circle die (Lawn Fawn)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June stash/technique challenge

1 Response »

Jun 252016

Hello! This week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown we’re combining two types of challenges. We’re taking the technique challenge of triple time stamping and adding in the stash challenge of adding a few brads.

I’ve gone with a snowflake design, using the brads to embellish the centers of the flakes. I slightly offset the panels to add a little extra visual interest to the card. There isn’t a lot more I can say about it so I’ll just share the card now:

Check out what the rest of the 52CCT design team has made! Then create a card of your own and share it with us at the 52CCT site. You have until 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, July 1 to link your card.

Supplies are from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise stated:
Stamps: Festive Flurry; Kissmas & Mistletoe (Unity)
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Whisper White
Ink: Perfect Plum, Pale Plum
Other: Ice Circles brads

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June theme challenge

2 Responses »

Jun 182016

Hello there! It’s time for this month’s theme challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This week we’re asking our challenge participants to create Christmas or wintry cards featuring landscape scenes.

I’ve used the timeless classic row of trees image from one of my oldest Stampin’ Up stamp sets. I stamped the image with Versamark ink and heat embossed it onto shimmery white cardstock. I made a mask to separate the ground from the sky, and I also punched a circle to use as a mask to make a moon in the sky. I scribbled Gelatos in two shades of blue for the sky, and blended them with a wet paintbrush. I used a Gelato color called Fig to add a little shading to the ground. I matted the image onto some black cardstock and chose a purple that coordinated with the fig color for my card base.

Be sure to check out all the gorgeous cards the rest of the design team has made! Then share your own Christmas/winter landscape card with us at the 52CCT site. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, June 24 to link your card. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Lovely As a Tree (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Basic Black, Shimmery White (SU)
Ink: VersaMark
Other: white embossing powder (Stampendous); Gelatos (Faber Castell)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June color challenge

3 Responses »

Jun 112016

Hello hello! This week is color challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. Our hostess, Jacqueline, has given us the challenge of creating Christmas or wintry cards using the colors black, grey, white, and silver. Those four colors are the only colors we can use on our cards this week.

The inspiration for the layout of my card comes from the current challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch! I’ve taken a bit of liberty with the sketch by “squashing” it into a landscape-oriented rectangle. I’ve matted a light shade of grey cardstock with a narrow black mat and layered it onto a dark grey card base. I added a banner of textured white cardstock. The sentiment is cut from textured black cardstock. Unfortunately, the texture doesn’t show up in my photo. 🙁 For the silver part of the color challenge, I’ve die cut a snowflake from silver glitter paper. A few clear rhinestones give a little more silvery sparkle to the card.

Thanks for stopping by today! Now it’s your turn to show us what you can make with these colors. If you need more inspiration first, go visit the 52CCT site and see what the rest of the design team has created. Be sure to link your card at the 52CCT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, June 17. We look forward to having you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: none
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Whisper White textured, Basic Black textured, silver glimmer paper (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: none
Other: Wonderful Wreath sentiment die, rhinestones (SU); Stitched Snowflakes die (Lawn Fawn)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June sketch challenge

3 Responses »

Jun 042016

Hello! It’s the first Saturday of the month, which means it’s sketch challenge time at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. Our sketch this week has some fun layers and shapes to play with.

For my card, I decided to use some of the wintry designer paper I’ve been hoarding. I’m not sure why I’ve been so reluctant to use it. Maybe it’s because the snowmen are so super cute, I didn’t want to use them up. I’ve paired that designer paper with a coordinating print and a banner made from a coordinating solid-ish paper. I sponged the edges of the banner with the same color ink I used to stamp the sentiment. The snowflake embellishments were die cut from another coordinating solid and brushed with shimmery paint. In real life, they show up from the print papers better than they do in the photo. I added a pearl to the center of each snowflake for the finishing touch.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the 52CCT design team has made! Then make your own wintry or Christmasy card using the sketch, and share it with us using the linky tool at the challenge post. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, June 10 to link your card. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamp: Be Jolly (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Cherry Cobbler (Stampin’ Up); Frosty, Yuletide, Wintermint, and Sugar Cookie designer papers from Fruitcake collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (SU)
Other: Stitched Snowflakes dies (Lawn Fawn); Frost White shimmer paint, dimensionals (SU); pearls (KaiserCraft); sponge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - May stash challenge

4 Responses »

May 282016

Hello! It’s time for another stash challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This week we’re asking our participants to pull their dies and/or punches out of their stash of crafting supplies and use them to create a Christmas or wintry card.

I’ve paired some of my snowflake dies with some snowflake patterned paper. I used coordinating designer paper to cut the snowflakes. I added some white shimmery paint to the paper before cutting the smallest snowflake. In retrospect, I kinda wish I’d done that for the white snowflake in the background, to help it show up better. Oh well. A simple sentiment banner and a few pearls finish off the card. The sentiment is one of my oldest unmounted stamps; it’s from a Purple Onion Designs set that has been retired. The layout for it is this week’s challenge from Freshly Made Sketches.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the 52CCT design team has done with their punches and dies. Then share your own card with us using the linky tool at the challenge site. The deadline for participating is 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, June 3. We’d love to have you join in the fun and creativity! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamp: Purple Onion Designs
Cardstock: Baja Breeze (Stampin’ Up); Jack Frost, Polar Blue, and Fresh Snow designer papers from Blitzen collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Blue Bayou (SU)
Other: Stitched Snowflake dies (Lawn Fawn); Frost White shimmer paint, pearls (SU); sponge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - May theme challenge

5 Responses »

May 212016

Hello! It’s theme week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and this time we’re looking for cards with little Christmas critters. So long as your card features at least one small creature, it’ll meet the challenge theme.

I decided to use one of my Lawn Fawn stamps that doesn’t get a whole lot of inky love. I do think it’s cute, but it’s a bit of a pain to paper piece and I wasn’t in a mood for coloring. But I went ahead and pieced my scene from various designer papers and cardstock. For the bunny, I worked with a scrap of caramel brown cardstock to loosen the fibers in it, and then gently pulled the front and back apart into two pieces, to achieve a bit of a fuzzy texture. The card base is textured cardstock, although I’m not sure the texture shows in the photo. The layout for this card is this week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge, squashed into a landscape-oriented rectangle.

What kind of Christmas critter will you use on your card – animal, elf, child? There are so many possibilities! Check out the design team’s makes if you need further inspiration. Once you’ve created your own card, link it to the 52CCT website by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, May 27. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Bunny, Critters in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Creamy Caramel textured, Whisper White, Creamy Caramel, Soft Sky Prints designer paper (Stampin’ Up); scraps from Pyrus and Gypsy 6″ x 6″ paper pads (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April Pick a Previous Challenge

6 Responses »

Apr 302016

Hello there! It’s the fifth Saturday of the month, which means that at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, we get into the creative spirit by giving some of our previous challenges another go. As challenge hostess for April, I’ve chosen to revisit our previous theme challenges.

I decided to go with the theme from June 2014, Rudolph or reindeer. I stamped the reindeer onto scraps of cardstock, fussy cut him out, and reassembled him onto the designer paper I chose for the background of my scene. I added a red rhinestone to the reindeer’s nose to turn him into Rudolph. It’s a pretty simple and straightforward card, so without further chitter chatter, here it is:

I’ve used the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge for the design of my card. I’m also entering this into the current Send a Smile 4 Kids challenge, to create a card with an animal on it for a child.

Which previous 52CCT theme will you choose for your card? Check them all out at the Themes tab on the challenge site. Then share your card with us on the challenge post. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, May 6 to link your card. We’d love to have you join us! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Critters in the Snow (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand, Soft Suede, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin’ Up); designer paper from Fa La La petite paper pack (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Real Red (SU)
Other: red rhinestone (KaiserCraft)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April stash challenge

6 Responses »

Apr 232016

Hello! It’s time for another challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This week we’re encouraging our challenge participants to use up some of their stash of metal embellishments.

I’ve used a small variety of metal embellishments on my card. There is a ribbon slide on the ribbon (which, contrary to how it appears in the photo, matches the dark green cardstock). After I stamped the tree, I “decorated” it with small round brads in three different metallic colors, and used a star-shaped brad for the top of the tree. Even though I still have about two dozen more ribbon slides and a gazillion more brads among my craft supplies, it feels good to have used some of them on this card.

What will you make with your metal embellishments? Link your card at the 52CCT challenge post by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 29. We’d love to have you join in the fun and creativity!

All supplies except the metal embellishments are from Stampin’ Up.
Stamps: Season of Joy, Warmest Regards
Cardstock: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke, Confetti Cream, Celery Prints designer series paper
Ink: Certainly Celery, Always Artichoke
Other: Spring Moss grosgrain ribbon; ribbon slide, round mini brads (Making Memories); star-shaped brad (The Paper Studio)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April theme challenge

4 Responses »

Apr 162016

Hello! It’s theme week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. Because I’m the hostess there for the month of April, I get to decide what the challenges will be, and I’ve chosen Christmas Foliage for this month’s theme.

My card ended up pretty much as a revision of a card I made about a year ago. I started off by giving some watercolor paper a very light green wash of color. When it was dry, I stamped the sketchy holly image with green ink. Then I “colored” the leaves by going over them with a slightly wet watercolor brush. The ink that I used to stamp the image provided the amount of color I wanted. I colored the holly berries with a drop of cherry colored ink mixed with some water. When I was done with the red ink, I mixed it in a bit of water, and splattered it around the image to give the background a little more color and interest. Once the image was dry, I attached it to a mat of cherry cardstock, and then to a green card base.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the design team has made! Then craft your own card showing off Christmas foliage and link it to our challenge post. You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 22 to share your card. We’re looking forward to seeing what you create! Thanks for visiting my blog today.

Supplies:
Stamp: Christmas Blueprint 4 (Tim Holtz)
Cardstock: Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin’ Up); watercolor paper (Artist’s Loft)
Ink: Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler (SU)
Other: paintbrush

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April color challenge

9 Responses »

Apr 092016

Hi there! It’s the second Saturday of the month, which means it’s time for another color challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown! Since I’m hosting the challenges there this month, I got to choose the colors for this week’s challenge. I’ve kept it very simple and festive with just two colors to work with. Which two colors? Keep on and you’ll find out…

I’ve used the current CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge for inspiring the layout of my card. Hopefully my rows of die-cut jingle bells and the sentiment will work for the “banner” elements of sketch! Since it’s “holiday” week at Addicted to Stamps and More, I’m going to enter my card in their challenge, too.

This is actually a one-layer card; I stamped the sentiment directly on the card base and glued the jingle bells in place above it. To help define the edges of the card, I heat embossed them with gold ink and gold embossing powder. The hardest part of making this card was lining up the alphabet stamps on an acrylic block to form the sentiment.

Supplies:
Stamps: Jesse’s ABCs (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs); gold foil (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Gold (ColorBox)
Other: Jolly Jingle Bells die (Memory Box); gold embossing powder (Ranger)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April sketch challenge

4 Responses »

Apr 022016

Hello! Saturday means it’s time for a new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, where we celebrate Christmas all year round. Each week we offer a cardmaking challenge to help you create Christmas or wintry cards so you’ll have a bunch of cards ready to send when the holiday season rolls around. I’m excited to be the challenge hostess for the month of April! We’re kicking the month off with a sketch challenge that I’ve designed. You’re welcome to rotate the sketch onto its side, flip it mirror-image, or manipulate it into a square if you like. So long as you keep the semicircle and circle elements, you’re on the right track!

I hadn’t used this cute penguin image for a long time, so I decided to dust him off and give him a little love. I colored the snowflakes to coordinate with the cardstock I used for the semicircle, which is embossed with a snowflake design. I’ve added narrow red mats to the white panels to show them off better. The end result is a rather clean and simple styled card.

Now it’s time for you to check out all the challenge details at the 52CCT site, and visit the rest of the design team members’ blogs for more inspiration. Then create your own card and link it at the 52CCT site by 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, April 8. I’d love to see what you do with my sketch! Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Supplies:
Stamps: Sweet Christmas Wishes (Unity Stamp Company)
Cardstock: Real Red, Pool Party (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine); Pool Party (SU)
Other: markers (Copic); standard circle and big scalloped circle Nestabilities dies (Spellbinders); Snowflake Background embossing folder (Darice); circle cutting system (Creative Memories)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - March technique challenge

4 Responses »

Mar 262016

Hello friends! It’s time for a technique challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and it’s a fun and fairly popular one – paper piecing. It’s a great one for using up scraps of designer paper!

It took me a while to get everything planned out in my head for this card, but once it all took shape, the card came together pretty easily. I debated using one of my digital images, but I opted to use traditional stamps instead because I felt that would be simpler to work with all the different parts I wanted to piece. I used two different mostly solid papers for the owl’s body and a striped paper for his scarf. For the beak, I just colored the one I’d stamped on the off-white piece of paper. The sky blue background was splattered with white shimmer paint to look like falling snow. I wasn’t sure if the blue background would alter the color of the tree branch if I stamped directly on the blue, so I stamped the branch on a piece of white paper and (verrrrry carefully) cut it out and glued it to the background. Then I added the sentiment and put the owl into place. The layout for this card is from the current challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch!

The rest of the 52CCT design team and I are looking forward to seeing what paper pieced Christmas or wintry cards you’ll share with us this week! You have until 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, April 1 to link your card to our challenge post. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Owl (Lawn Fawn); Season of Friendship (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Chocolate Chip, Soft Sky (SU); scraps from Blush and Blitzen collections (Basic Grey)
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Other: Frost White shimmer paint (SU); marker (Copic)

Older Entries Newer Entries

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July color challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July sketch challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June stash/technique challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June theme challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June color challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June sketch challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - May stash challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - May theme challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April Pick a Previous Challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April stash challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April theme challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April color challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - April sketch challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - March technique challenge

Design Team Experience

Really great links

Really great shopping

Some fun stuff

Thank you for visiting!

Follow me via email

Contact me

The Important Stuff

Translate this Page

I heart

Archives

Meta

Design Team Experience

Really great links

Really great shopping

Some fun stuff

Thank you for visiting!

Follow me via email

Contact me

The Important Stuff

Translate this Page

I *heart*

Archives

Meta

I heart