Christmas Card Challenges #24

Hello, again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge for you today at Christmas Card Challenges. Our rules are pretty simple - create a Christmas/holiday card. If you need a little extra inspiration then we offer up an optional challenge for you. This week is an inspiration photo.

When I first saw the inspiration photo I immediately thought of the Close To My Heart - Very Merry - stamp set. The writing is almost exactly the same and I thought the little pine sprigs and berries matched pretty well, too.

The paper that I have used is from a Paper Studio 6x6 paper pad. The cover is now missing, so I'm not sure what the name of it is. I really thought it would be a paper that went into a giveaway pile or the throw-away pile, but I really love how this turned out!. I just may have to make another card like this one to get it used up!

The red bow I picked up at Dollar Tree last week. I thought they might come in handy in my December Daily this year and I really think it is the perfect accent! It does make the card a little on the bulky side, so this card will be given with a gift or sent in a bubble envelope!

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We hope to see you playing along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope that you have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #22 - Nativity

Hello, again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.

Christmas Card Challenges has a new challenge posted today. Our only requirement is to make a Christmas/holiday card and we offer an optional challenge -just in case you need some added inspiration. This week's optional challenge is a photo inspiration challenge:

I have used Illustrated Faith's "CHRISTmas" collection for this card. I think this may be one of my favorite Christmas collections. I bought it last year and didn't use much of it because I was using up older Christmas collections at the time. This card is definitely not my usual go-to color combo, but I do love that little cut apart card and I like the way this turned out.

Be sure to stop by Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #21

Hello, scrappy friends! Happy Sunday to you! My thoughts and prayers go out to those being affected by Hurricane Irma. I hope that if you are in the path of this hurricane that you stay safe.

Christmas Card Challenges has a new challenge posted today. Our rules are pretty simple - create a Christmas/Holiday card. We always offer up an optional challenge just in case you need a little something to get you going. This week we have an inspiration photo for you:

I chose to create a Christmas card featuring a couple of cute little gingerbread cookies!

I embossed the background panel with my Swiss dot embossing folder, and then I added in papers from Doodlebug's Sugarplums collection.  I based my card off of this older sketch from Paper Craft Crew:

I have so many card sketches pinned to my Pinterest board that I really need to put forth the effort to use them whenever I can! I really like the way that this card turned out!

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope to see you playing along with us this week!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope that you have a fantastic day.

Christmas Card Challenges #20

Hello, scrappy friends! I hope that you are having a good weekend! We have had a lot of really beautiful days this past week or two. Usually in August it is too hot to get out and enjoy anything, but lately we've been having temps right around 80 and upper 50's to low 60's for lows. It's been nice to have the windows open and enjoy the fresh air.

Christmas Card Challenges has a new challenge starting today. Our challenges are pretty simple - just make a Christmas/Holiday card. We do offer up an optional challenge in case you need a little inspiration. This week we have a photo inspiration challenge.

I have been trying to use up a few of my older 6x6 paper pads so I can justify buying some of the new Christmas collections that are starting to come out. For this card, I have used an older Carta Bella collection called Merry and Bright. I love this paper with all of the ornaments hanging and thought it would be perfect for this challenge. The ornaments on the focal panel were from the sticker sheet. I added a bit of silver metallic thread to each of them to mimic the patterned paper. The sentiment is from a Studio G $1 bin stamp from a long time ago!

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see how the design team was inspired by the photo. What will inspire you? The colors? The ornaments? Both? I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Christmas Card Challenges #19

Hello, scrappy friends! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend. It has been pretty cool for August around here and it's been nice to be able to open the windows and enjoy the fresh air!

We have a new challenge up at Christmas Card Challenges today. Our challenge is pretty simple - create a Christmas/holiday card. That's it. But, if you need a little added inspiration, we offer an optional challenge for you as well. This week our optional challenge is an inspiration photo. How will you be inspired?

When I first saw the inspiration photo I really liked that the tree was made up of stars or snowflakes. Then my friend, Willa, sent me a pin on Pinterest of a Christmas tree made from snowflakes, and I knew I needed to recreate it. You can see that card here.

I punched quite a few snowflakes using an old EK Success snowflake punch and then went to work arranging them in a Christmas tree shape. I added a few clear gems to some of the snowflakes - they are a little hard to see in the photo, but they are there! I added a wood veneer star to the top of my tree and I love it! I can see me trying this again using green "snowflakes" for my tree!

Be sure to stop by Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I can't wait to see what you create!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #18

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge up at Christmas Card Challenges today. Our only rule is to make a Christmas/Holiday card, but we do offer an optional challenge if you need a little inspiration. This week's challenge is a photo inspiration challenge:

Since I love snowmen - this challenge was an easy one! I used a pre-colored image from Imagine That! by Kris called Snowman Trio. Pre-colored images are a great way to make a super cute, super quick card! The papers that I used are from Crate Paper's - Bundled Up - 6x6 paper pad. The colors in the papers were a perfect match to the colors in the digi stamp.

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope you get a chance to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day

Christmas Card Challenges #15

Hello, scrappy friends! Happy Sunday to you!

We have a new challenge for you today at Christmas Card Challenges!  Our only requirement is that you make a Christmas/Holiday card. We do offer an optional challenge - in case you need some extra inspiration. This week our optional challenge is an inspiration photo challenge:

I have had this wreath stamp from Close To My Heart for ages! I think it might have been one of the first sets I ever bought from them. I have used it a few times before and it is a favorite. 

I stamped the wreath in Topiary and then added red glitter glue for the berries. The papers are from Pink Paislee's Yuletide collection.

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope to see you playing along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #14

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge up today at Christmas Card Challenges. Our only requirement is that you create a Christmas/holiday card. We do have an optional challenge - just in case you need some inspiration - and this week that is an inspiration photo:

I was inspired by the silver and red color combination and the ornaments. I've had this ornament sticker in my stash for a couple of years now - I love it when I can put things to use! I added a silver thread bow so it looks like it is hanging in the box, and I added in a little more silver with the glitter tape banners. I added in a few red sequins - mainly to cover up a mess up, but I think they add a little something to it!

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We hope to see you playing along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #13

Hello, everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I hope that you are having a good weekend!

We have a new challenge up today at Christmas Card Challenges. Our rules are pretty simple - create a Christmas/holiday card. We do offer an optional challenge if you need some added inspiration.

The challenge for this week is a word prompt - wreath.

I used Echo Park's "I Love Christmas" 6x6 paper pad for this card. Maybe, just maybe, by the time the new Christmas collections start coming out, I will have this paper pad all used up! It's getting down to just a few tiny scraps.

It's a little hard to tell in the photo, but the "berries" on my wreath are actually tiny little gemstones. They add just the right amount of sparkle to this card!

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope you have some time to play along with us this week.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a wonderful day!

Christmas Card Challenges #11

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge up at Christmas Card Challenges today. Our challenge it to create a Christmas or holiday card with the optional challenge of using the color challenge photo below.

I stuck with the blue, grey, and white colors, but my blues are more in the blue-green tones instead of the blue-purple tones. (It's what I had to work with!) There were two red snowflakes on the sentiment panel, so I punched out a couple of snowflakes and circles in the blue and white colors and covered them up!

I used Echo Park's - "I Love Winter" - 6x6 paper pad and ephemera pack on this card. I think it is safe to say that I have used this paper pad all up. I think I have four full sheets left - two that are red with white dots, a white wood piece, and a blue-green piece with snowflakes on it. The scraps I have left are almost too small to use on anything, so I think I'll toss them out, and add the full sheets to my random 6x6 paper box.

Be sure to check out the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team over at Christmas Card Challenges. We would love to see you playing along!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #9

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you! I'm kinda sad that today is our last day of spring break! At least we only have about a month and a half and we will be on summer break - just 30 more school days, I think...

We have a new challenge for you today at Christmas Card Challenges. Our challenges are always anything goes, but we do provide an optional challenge if you need a little boost! This week our optional challenge is a word prompt - "Mittens".

For my card I have used Crate Paper's "Bundled Up" 6x6 paper pad, and the mitten die cut is from Poppy Stamps - "Stacked Mittens". The sentiment is from Neat and Tangled - "Simple Christmas" stamp set, one of my favorites!

This is one of those cards that I like so much more in person! The colors look so much better together in person than they look in this card - they all really do match!

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We hope to see you playing along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #7

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.

We have a new challenge up today at Christmas Card Challenges. Our challenge is always to make a Christmas or holiday card, and we offer up an optional challenge if you need a little inspiration. This week our optional challenge is a color challenge.

I pulled a few different light grey papers from a couple of different 6x6 paper pads and then added in a bit of the red. Looking at this card now, I kind of wish I would have inked the edges of all of the papers and the sentiment to help them stand out a bit more. 

Be sure to stop by Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. We hope to see you playing along and getting a head start on those holiday cards!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #6

Hello, hello! I hope that your are having a good weekend. We enjoyed a beautiful day yesterday, and were able to spend a lot of time outside enjoying it! I've pretty much given up hope on having any snow this year, so just keep the warmer temperatures coming!

We have a new challenge for you today at Christmas Card Challenges. As always - you need to make a Christmas/holiday card, and we provide an optional challenge for you, in case you need some added inspiration.

This week we have an inspiration photo for you. I was inspired by the horses and the brown in the photo.

I found this project life style card in my stash and knew I wanted to use it on a card. I tried adding more things to it, like sequins and bling, but it just wasn't working for me, so I kept it simple.

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see how the design team was inspired this week.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges #3

Hello again! I am back with my last post of the day...I think! If you are looking for my Sketch N Scrap reveal, please scroll down or go here. For my Love To Craft Challenge Blog reveal, please scroll down or go here. For my Stick It Down reveal, please scroll down or go here. For my Lasting Memories reveal, please go here.

It has been a busy day around here! What a great way to start off the new year!

We have a new challenge up over at Christmas Card Challenges today. As always our rules are to create a holiday or Christmas card. We offer up an optional challenge if you need a little help with inspiration. Our optional challenge this week is a color challenge.

Now that I look at the color challenge photo and my card, the colors look a little off, but you get the idea. I used mostly the brown tones instead of the grayish brown tones. 

I kept this card pretty simple, just embossing the background panel, and using a stamped image. For Christmas I usually stick to the reds and the greens for colors, so it was fun to step out of my comfort zone and do a different color, and I really like it!

Head on over to Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the team. I hope you get a chance to get some holiday cards made up ahead of time this new year by playing along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a wonderful day!

Christmas Card Challenges - Challenges #2

Hello again! I am back with my second post of the day. If you are looking for my Lasting Memories reveal, please scroll down or go here.


We have a new challenge for you over on the Christmas Card Challenges blog today. Our challenges are biweekly now, and our only requirement is that you make a Christmas card. We do have an optional challenge in case you need a little boost to get your card made.

This week's optional challenge is a photo challenge. Use these little carolers to inspire you. It can be the carolers themselves, the colors, music...just use something from this photo to inspire you.

For my card I used some Christmas music paper, and the music notes and title of a Christmas carol. This was a pretty quick and easy card, and I love the added little gold gems at the bottom.

Be sure to stop by Christmas Card Challenges to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I hope you have a chance to play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great day!

Christmas Card Challenges Week #1

Hello everyone! I hope that you are enjoying your weekend! My weekend seems to be going way too fast! They always do at this time of the year - so many things to be trying to get done!

I am so excited to be sharing with you my first reveal for Christmas Card Challenges as a design team member! Things have changed just a little bit over at Christmas Card Challenges - our challenges are now biweekly instead of weekly, so you will have a little extra time to play along with each challenge.

Our first challenge is:

Candy canes/red and white...2 of my favorite Christmas time things! For my card I used Doodlebug Designs - Here Comes Santa Claus - 6x6 paper pad. The candy cane embellishment is one that I had made up ahead of time to add to a card or a scrapbook page, and the sentiment is cut out from the cut apart sheet. That made for a super quick Christmas card!

Just a couple of reminders - create a Christmas or holiday card, our challenges are now biweekly. and we always have an optional challenge to provide some inspiration. 

Head on over to the Christmas Card Challenge blog to see the beautiful cards from the rest of the design team. I do hope you play along with us!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Merry Christmas with 52 Christmas Card Throwdown

Hi guys! I hope you are having a good day! The weather is cooler, the leaves are changing, and it's really starting to feel like fall! Well, at least for a couple of days...by the weekend and early next week we will be seeing the 80's again! Gotta love this ever changing weather!

I have a card to share with you today. I loved the color challenge this week over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. It is a color combo that I don't use very often, especially for Christmas cards, but this challenge may have changed that! Here is a look at the colors:

I just love that soft blue and mint green with the grey. It is just so pretty! Here is the card that I came up with:

The blue and green papers that I used on this card have been in my stash for years! I'm not sure why I haven't used them before...I guess they were some of those that I have been saving for the perfect project to come along! I used one of my favorite old $1 bin stamp sets for the tree and the sentiment. I just love that little, simple tree! I added in a little wooden star to the top of the tree, and I thought about adding in some sequins, but I couldn't get it to look anything but cluttered, so I decided against them.

Be sure to check out the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown blog. They have great challenges to get you going, and they are a great place for Christmas card inspiration!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a great Thursday - just one more day until the weekend!

It's The Most Wonderful Time...

Hello everyone! I hope your Wednesday is going good! Shane gets out of school early today, so I thought I would do a quick card share with you before I needed to pick him up.

I am still working on getting some Christmas cards made, and when I saw this week's challenge at Christmas Card Challenges it inspired me to get another card done! Their challenge this week is a photo challenge:

When I saw all the red and white with just a touch of green color scheme, I knew I wanted to use the new Doodlebug - Here Comes Santa - collection. The striped paper reminded me of the candy canes, and the bits of green on the sticker reminded me of the bits of green in the challenge photo. 

If you're looking to get going on your Christmas cards, be sure to check out Christmas Card Challenges - their challenges are always anything goes with an optional challenge. More often than not I like to use their challenge prompt to get me going!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Have a great one!

Merry Little Christmas Card

Hello everyone! I've got a quick card share for you today, and it's a Christmas card! Every year I say that I am going to start on my Christmas cards early so I am not hurrying around at the last minute trying to get them done. It never fails, every year I wait until the last minute to do them! Not this year! I am getting a head start and it's only (almost) May!

I have been a follower of the Christmas Card Challenges blog for a long time, but I have yet to join in one of their challenges. Since I am trying to get a head start this year, I thought I would finally play along! Their blog is unique in that the only requirement is that you make a Christmas card each week. They do have an optional challenge each week in case you need a little boost.

The challenge for this week is "Anything Goes".

I have created a clean and simple card - my favorite kind to make! A little embossing, a stamped sentiment, and a banner - all my favorite things!

If you need a little boost to get your Christmas cards started and finished before the holiday season, be sure to check out Christmas Card Challenges!

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!