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Christmas Card Throwdown - March color challenge

Mar 182017

Hello there! It’s color challenge time at Christmas Card Throwdown. This time we have a sort of modern twist on the traditional red and green and white, with burgundy, lime green, and cream.

I had this wreath stamp set out the other day for my card for the current challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches, so I decided to use it again for my card for CCT. I pulled out two retired Stampin’ Up greens for the lime part of the color combo and went with more of a dark cherry red rather than a true burgundy. The vanilla card base and image panel were the easy way to work in the cream part of the challenge. Although it doesn’t show well in the photo, the card base is textured cardstock, while the image panel is smooth. The bow was stamped and cut from a scrap of vanilla, and it’s raised from the image panel with shims of scrap cardstock for just a bit of dimension. The layout comes from the current Freshly Made Sketches challenge, but I’ve turned the sketch 90° on its side. Since it’s holiday challenge time at Addicted to Stamps and More, I’ll enter this card there, too.

And now it’s your turn to show us what you can create! We’d love it if you joined our challenge this fortnight. You have until 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, March 31 to link your card at the CCT site. Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you’ll come back again soon.

All supplies are from Stampin’ Up.
Stamps: Wondrous Wreath
Cardstock: Very Vanilla textured, Gable Green, Green Galore, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla
Ink: Gable Green, Green Galore, Cherry Cobbler
Other: Wonderful Wreath die

Christmas Card Throwdown - February theme challenge

7 Responses »

Feb 042017

Hello! It’s time for the first challenge of February at Christmas Card Throwdown. For the next couple of weeks, we’re asking our participants to make cards using the theme of Christmas and/or wintry drinks.

When I’m cold, I enjoy curling up with a mug of hot cocoa. I like adding lots of mini marshmallows to it and letting them get all soft and partially melted before I swallow them. 🙂 So that’s the drink I opted to feature on my card. I had the perfect stamp for this, and I decided to pair it with the sketch from a recent (but now closed) CAS(E) this Sketch! challenge. I looked through my designer papers and chose one with peppermints, because sometimes it’s nice to add some peppermint flavoring to the cocoa. I took the colors for the mug and the straw from the designer paper. Fussy cutting around the handle of the mug was kind of tedious, but I think the card ended up cheerily enough:

Since I used markers to color the mug image, I’ll submit this card for the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

Be sure to check out what the rest of the CCT design team has made. Then show us your favorite drink! We’d love it if you joined our challenge. You have until 7:00 pm Eastern time Friday, February 17 to link your card at the CCT site. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Warmest Wishes (Lizzie Anne Designs)
Cardstock: Confetti White (Stampin’ Up); Solar White (Neenah); designer paper from Aspen Frost 6″ x 6″ paper pad (Basic Grey)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Chocolate Chip (SU)
Other: markers (Copic)

CAS Colours & Sketches #199

5 Responses »

Nov 102016

Hello again! This week is sketch week at CAS Colours & Sketches. I hope you’ll consider joining in the fun and creativity there by creating a card of your own with this sketch!

In the spirit of full disclosure, I first drew up this sketch several years ago for a different challenge blog. And there are probably very similar sketches to it out there in challenge blog land. But I figured since I drew this one, I could use it again for CC&S.

I had the sweet little elephant image left over as a “reject” from a card I made a few months ago. Since the stamp set name is “Ellie”, I’m going to assume it’s a girl elephant. She’s been sitting on my desk since July (good thing she’s just a little cardstock elephant and not a real one… heh heh, bad sense of humor, sorry). I decided it was time to put her to use on a card. This time I was able to match her pretty well to one of my brown cardstocks, so I’ve used that for the angled panel. I figured some green grass would be a nice way to give the elephant some “ground” so she’s not seemingly floating on the focal panel, so I die cut some grass from a scrap of cardstock and put Ellie between some shorter and some taller grass. I used the same shade of green cardstock for the card base. The sentiment was stamped in the same shade of green, too. Using a stitched die for the focal panel gives it a little extra interest than if I’d used just a plain piece of cardstock. And now there’s a cute any occasion card for the box I’ll be sending soon to Send a Smile 4 Kids!

Addicted to Stamps and More is having a CAS challenge this week so I’m going to enter this card there.

Be sure to visit the CAS Colours & Sketches blog to see the terrific cards the rest of the design team has made. I’m sure they’d love it if you left them comments, too. Then show us what you can do with this sketch! Link your card to the CC&S site by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, November 16. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Ellie, Simply Said Hello (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Baked Brown Sugar (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic); Grassy Border and Stitched Rectangle dies (Lawn Fawn)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

4 Responses »

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 - February technique challenge

5 Responses »

Feb 272016

Hello there! The fourth Saturday of the month means it’s technique time at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. This week we’d like to see stenciling on a Christmas or wintry card.

This challenge was more difficult for me than I thought it would be. I do have a few stencils, but none of them are Christmasy. So it took me a while to figure out how I was going to meet this challenge. I finally decided to sponge ink over the stencil to create a background for one of my blueprint stamps. I stamped the image first. Then I masked it, fixed the stencil in place, and sponged two shades of brown ink around the image. After I carefully removed the stencil and the mask, I colored the image with my Copics. I debated whether to use a red or a green mat for the image, and picked the red because it looked better against the kraft card base.

The current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More is “Make Your Mark”, so I’m going to throw my card into the proverbial ring over there.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what our challenge participants at 52CCT create this week! Be sure to link your card at the challenge post by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, March 4. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamp: Christmas Blueprint 2 (Tim Holtz)
Cardstock: Kraft, Real Red (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Early Espresso, Crumb Cake (SU)
Other: Burlap stencil (Tim Holtz); markers (Copic); sponge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - January stash challenge

5 Responses »

Jan 302016

Hello! This week is stash challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. The idea of the stash challenge is to use those products we have in our craft rooms but that we might not use too often. Our hostess, Deborah, is asking us to use foils or gilding on our cards this week.

I had to think for this one. I knew I didn’t have any gilding flakes or any of the foils that are heat set that I’ve been hearing about over the last few months, and I didn’t want to go to the expense of buying something that I may not use again. Finally I remembered I had some gold foil stickers that I’d bought a few years ago. I asked Deborah if they would be all right and she said they would count. So I dug them out and had a go with them. Well, technically, I had a go with one of them. Whew. These particular ornament images are pretty fragile to work with. But I held my breath and used tweezers to help and I got it down on the cardstock without ripping it. I did have a small ripple in it, but I was able to work the tip of my Cutterbee scissors underneath it, cut it, and smooth it down pretty seamlessly. Sigh of relief! I decided to color in parts of the ornament with my Copics. Adding in the gold cording was a little tricky but I got it to work. A layer of shiny gold cardstock between the focal layer and the card base adds a bit more shine.

Since this is “holiday” week at Addicted to Stamps and More, I’m going to enter this card into their challenge, too.

Check out the 52CCT blog and see what the rest of the design team has made. Then share your own card using foils or gilding by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, February 5. We’d love to have you join in the fun and creativity!

Supplies:
Stamp: More Merry Messages (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Calypso Coral, Gold Foil (SU); Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Calypso Coral (SU)
Other: gold ornament sticker (Elizabeth Craft Designs); markers (Copic); gold cord (SU)

CAS Colours & Sketches #154

2 Responses »

Dec 102015

We’re getting into the holiday spirit again this week at CAS Colours & Sketches. This time we’re asking our challenge participants to choose one of our sketch challenges from 2015 and turn it into a holiday card.

I’ve gone back to Challenge #111 for my card. I love the interesting angles in this sketch. I’ve used some designer paper and paired it with two coordinating solid colors and a white main panel. As much as I like the scripty font of this stamp set, I don’t remember to use it very often. But the holiday sentiment fit perfectly in the space here. Once again, I’ve turned the sketch on its side and manipulated the triangles a little differently, but you can still see how the card was inspired by the sketch.

I’m going to enter this card into the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

We’d love to have you join in our challenge at CC&S! Check out the Sketch Challenges Archives tab, pick one of the sketches from 2015, and make a holiday card. You have until 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, December 16 to link your card at the challenge site. Thanks for visiting today!

Supplies:
Stamps: So Happy (Avery Elle)
Cardstock: Old Olive, Whisper White, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin’ Up); designer paper from Fruitcake collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Cherry Cobbler (SU)

CAS Colours & Sketches #153

4 Responses »

Dec 032015

Hello! It’s time for a new challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches. The first challenge of the month is always a color challenge, but during the month of December, we’re doing something a little different. This week, we’d like for our challenge participants to choose any of our color challenge combinations from 2015 and use it to make a Christmas or holiday card.

I’m revisiting Challenge #125 for my card – Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant, and Garden Green. I also reworked a card I’d made last fall. The golden yellow and the green lent themselves easily to a Christmassy feel, but then I had to work in the purple, too. I started by stamping the tree, covering the image with a mask, and masking off a horizontal strip for the sentiment. Then I dipped an old toothbrush (appropriated for crafting purposes only!) into yellow ink and spritzed it over the card. I repeated that process with green ink. (It’s a messy but fun and quick process. I did wear a disposable glove so my fingers and thumb wouldn’t turn colorful, LOL! I also covered my work area with scrap paper.) I let the ink dry for a few minutes, and then removed the masks and used purple ink to stamp the sentiment. To help set off the sentiment area, I made tiny dots with a purple marker near the edges of the area, using a ruler to space the dots evenly. I added some purple and yellow enamel dots to decorate the tree, and finally I rounded the corners of the card for a finishing touch. I don’t often make one-layer cards, but I like how the masking gives the illusion of the tree being set above the sentiment area and the splattered background. The enamel dots give some actual dimension.

I’ve decided to play along in the current challenges at Addicted to Stamps and More and Addicted to CAS, too.

Which of our approximately 25 color combinations from 2015 will you use? You can check all of them out on the CAS Colours & Sketches blog using the Color Challenges Archive tab. Be sure to see what the rest of the design team has made, too! Then link your card to the challenge site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, December 9. We’d love to see what you come up with! Thanks for stopping by today.

Supplies are from Stampin’ Up unless otherwise noted.
Stamps: Season of Joy, Christmas Greetings
Cardstock: Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Garden Green, Crushed Curry, Elegant Eggplant
Other: corner rounder, Garden Green and Crushed Curry ink refills, Elegant Eggplant marker, Regals candy dots

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October Pick a Previous Theme

6 Responses »

Oct 312015

Hello! Happy Halloween to all of my readers who celebrate it!

It may seem odd to be sharing a Christmas card on Halloween, but at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, we celebrate Christmas all year ’round! Because it’s a fifth Saturday of the month, this week we have a “Pick a Previous” challenge for you. April, our challenge hostess, is asking us to choose a previous 52CCT theme challenge for inspiration this time. You can find the previous themes in the “themes archive” tab at the 52CCT website.

I went back just a couple of months to the August 2015 theme, “For a Child.” I’m trying to build up a stash of cards for Send a Smile 4 Kids and will be sending my 52CCT cards to them. Today’s card with its punny sentiment is probably more suited for a tween or a teenager than a younger child. The layout is taken from this week’s Freshly Made Sketches challenge, but I’ve turned the sketch on its side because I didn’t want any of the little birdies to appear to be looking off the edge of the card. I stamped the tree branches on the polka dot designer paper. The birds were stamped on white cardstock, colored, and fussy cut before adhering them to the designer paper. I also stamped the bird with the earmuffs on the designer paper so I wouldn’t have to try to fussy cut around the earmuffs. (Considering the hat and the scarf on the other two birds, I do think the bird on the right is wearing earmuffs, not headphones.) I drew in the legs for the other two birds instead of cutting around them. I realize the grey isn’t the most cheery color for a child’s card, but at least it’s gender neutral. That color choice ended up as a happy accident from using dark brown ink to stamp the branches on the designer paper and progressed from there.

Addicted to Stamps and More is running their Holiday theme week, so I’m entering my card into their challenge, too.

Which theme will you pick? There are over 30 from which to choose, so have fun deciding! Then be sure to share your card with us at the 52CCT site by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, November 6. Thanks for stopping by today!

Supplies:
Stamps: Winter Sparrows (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Basic Gray, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky Prints designer series paper (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Early Espresso (SU)
Other: Chocolate Chip marker (SU); markers (Copic)

CAS Colours & Sketches #139

4 Responses »

Aug 272015

Hello hello! I’ve been enjoying creating the challenges for CAS Colours & Sketches throughout August, and now it’s time to close out the month with a sketch challenge.

I drew up this sketch as a landscape-oriented rectangle. As I was die cutting the starburst shapes, I realized that the size die that I chose was a little small, so I turned my card into a portrait-oriented rectangle instead. I also added a couple of stars to better fill in the space. The striped paper is actually a tag that came with this designer paper collection. I haven’t been using the tags, and it was just the right size to fit across the card front, so I decided to use that instead of the “normal” designer paper. I think it’s a pretty cool gender neutral card perfect for a kid of any age, so I’m going to submit it to the current Send a Smile 4 Kids challenge. I’m also going to link it to the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

Be sure to stop by the CC&S blog and see what the rest of the design team and our guest designer have created! Then go make your own card using this sketch, and link it to our challenge post by 6:00 p.m. Eastern time Wednesday, September 2. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamp: So Much to Say (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Naturals White (Stampin’ Up); tag and designer paper scraps from Oh Baby! Boy collection (Basic Grey)
Ink: Bashful Blue (SU)
Other: Nesting Starburst die (QuicKutz)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August theme challenge

8 Responses »

Aug 152015

It’s theme week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and our challenge this time promises to be a fun one! We’d like to see your Christmas or wintry cards made with a child in mind as the recipient.

I’ve relied on one of my Lawn Fawn stamp sets since they have so many cute images. This little teddy bear image was practically begging to be used, so I stamped it three times across the image panel and colored the bears with my Copic markers. I stamped the bow image three times on a scrap piece of cardstock, colored them, fussy cut them out, and attached them to the bears. A couple simple mats and a sentiment later, and my card was finished. I’ve used the current sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch! for the layout. Using the markers to color the bears qualifies this card for the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

And there you have it! Be sure to check out what the rest of the 52CCT design team has made. Then make your own card for a child and share it with us at the 52CCT site by 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 21. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Pa-Rum-Pa-Pum-Pum (Lawn Fawn)
Cardstock: Pure Luxury Ivory (Gina K. Designs); Real Red, Garden Green (Stampin’ Up)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers (Copic)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August color challenge

6 Responses »

Aug 082015

Hello there! It’s time for another color challenge this week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. Julie, our hostess for the month of August, is asking us to create our Christmas or wintry cards using traditional red and green as the dominant colors.

For my card, I chose to use a modern take on a traditional Christmas icon, using a sketchy blueprint image of a poinsettia. I stamped it on watercolor paper and used reinkers to paint the image. Using the reinkers made it easy for me to match colors of cardstock for the card base and a mat. It’s one of my simpler cards, but I’m pleased with the way it turned out.

I’m going to enter this into the “Anything Goes” challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More… because hey, why not?

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, August 14. We look forward to having you join us!

Supplies:
Stamp: Christmas Blueprints 4 (Tim Holtz)
Cardstock: Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler (Stampin’ Up); Langton Prestige hot pressed watercolor paper (Daler Rowney)
Ink: Onyx Black (VersaFine)
Other: Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green, and Baked Brown Sugar reinkers (SU); paintbrush and water

we belong together

5 Responses »

Jul 242015

Hello! I just have a quick post today to share a card made for the current challenge at the Paper Players and for the Mid-Month Throwdown at the OWH Stars & Stamps blog. It also fits into the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. The stitched square dies fit together easily and perfectly to cut the frame for the focal panel. I discovered the clouds on my desk, leftovers from a previous project that had gotten hidden under an ink pad, so I added them to the scene.

Thanks for stopping by today! Your comments are always read and appreciated.

Edited on July 25, 2015: I’m thrilled and honored that this card was selected as “A Cut Above” at The Paper Players!

Edited on August 4, 2015: What a nice surprise – this card was chosen as an “Honourable Addict” at Addicted to Stamps and More! Thank you!

Supplies:
Stamps: Love Quotes (Mama Elephant)
Cardstock: Sahara Sand textured, Soft Sky (Stampin’ Up); Pure Luxury White and Ivory (Gina K. Designs)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Other: markers and multiliner pen (Copic); Love Quotes dies (Mama Elephant); stitched square dies (Lawn Fawn); cloud dies (Sweet ‘n Sassy Stamps)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July sketch challenge

4 Responses »

Jul 042015

Hello there! My American readers may be wondering why I’m posting a non-patriotic card on July 4th, but it’s because at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, we celebrate Christmas all year round! After all, why should the joy and love and magic of Christmas be limited only to December?

Since it’s the first Saturday of the month, we have a sketch challenge this week. I’ve turned the sketch 90° to the left and worked with it sideways in relation to how it was drawn. I’ve been trying to get some more wintry, non-holiday cards made to include in the box I’m preparing for Operation Write Home, so I decided to go with a snowman image and snowy designer paper. I used some ink and blender pens to add a bit of color to the snowman. The enamel dots were a last minute decision, but I’m glad I added them because the card seemed a little plain without them.

I’m going to enter this into the current Addicted to Stamps and More challenge, too.

Now it’s time for you to show us what you can do with this sketch. If you need more inspiration first, be sure to check out the 52CCT site to see what the rest of the design team has made. Then link your card there by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, July 10. We’d love to have you join us!

Supplies:
Stamps: Mini Blueprints (Tim Holtz); Three Little Words (Stampin’ Up)
Cardstock: Pool Party, Whisper White (SU); designer paper from Fa La La petite paper pack (Lawn Fawn)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento); Smoky Slate, Wild Wasabi, Pool Party, Soft Suede, Real Red, Pumpkin Pie [for coloring the image] (SU)
Other: blender pens, candy dots (SU); white twill ribbon (source unknown)

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June color challenge

10 Responses »

Jun 132015

Hello! It’s color challenge week at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, and this week we have a fun one that allows for a lot of creative possibilities! We’re asking our challenge participants to create Christmas or wintry cards using the colors black, white, and one additional color that each participant can choose for herself (or himself).

After some mental debate, I finally selected green as my additional color. The first card I created looked better in my imagination than it did once I put it all together. So I checked out this week’s challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch! and immediately thought, “Hey, I can do this!” Four die cut squares, a stamped and punched ornament, a simple sentiment, a few card layers, and a sparkly rhinestone later, here’s the result:

I’m also submitting this card into the Holiday theme challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

Which color will you choose to add to our challenge scheme? We’d love to see what you select! Share your card with us at the 52CCT blog by 7:00 p.m. Eastern time Friday, June 19. Be sure to check out what the rest of the Design Team has made, too. Thanks for stopping by today!

All supplies for this card are from Stampin’ Up except the square die.
Stamps: Delightful Decorations, Christmas Greetings
Cardstock: Gumball Green, Basic Black, Whisper White
Ink: Gumball Green
Other: ornament punch, rhinestone; Small Stitched Square Stackables die (Lawn Fawn)

Older Entries

Christmas Card Throwdown - March color challenge

Christmas Card Throwdown - February theme challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #199

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July theme challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - February technique challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - January stash challenge

CAS Colours & Sketches #154

CAS Colours & Sketches #153

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - October Pick a Previous Theme

CAS Colours & Sketches #139

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August theme challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - August color challenge

we belong together

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - July sketch challenge

52 Christmas Card Throwdown - June color challenge

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