Winter Flowers Birthday

There is a new challenge at Double Trouble Challenge Blog beginning on Friday, December 13 . This is a departure from the usual Monday start but it was necessary in order to partner with Color My Heart Color Dare Challenges #373, beginning on Friday, December 13 and  and #374, beginning on Friday, December 20, 2019. The challenges end on Sunday, December 28, 2019. 

Here are the challenge requirements for Double Trouble #45:

Troublemaker's Thing 1 (required) - Use black & white stripes.

Double Dare's Thing 2 (optional) - Link to Color Dare #373 or #374.

Twisted Sister's Thing 3 (optional) - Use three colors.

I elected to use reds, pinks and yellows with the black and white stripe to create a feminine birthday card. The image was downloaded, resized, printed and colored with Copic markers. After fussy cutting, the image was adhered with foam tape to the card front, where black and white striped paper was adhered. The sentiment was stamped then die cut, backed with black cardstock and adhered with foam tape. A few pink pearls were added. The inside of the card was decorated with the same striped paper. 

Be sure to visit the challenge blogs for DTC #45 and Color Dare #373 and #374 to join in the challenge.

Materials

Stamp: Digital image from Alex Syberia Design "Winter Flowers" & Sizzix  (sentiment)

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White & Basic Black; X-cel for alcohol markers

Patterned Paper: The Paper Studio

Die: Sizzix

Misc.: ZIG Wink of Stella (clear), pearls & foam tape from stash

It's All About You - Birthday

One of my favorite challenges has always been Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. It's the first challenge in which I ever participated because of a friend's urging and enjoy coming back to it occasionally. This card is for AHSC #345. I made my card at a crop yesterday where I was making birthday cards for my personal stash.

The square was die cut along with the smaller piece of patterned paper with numbers. I backed the smaller square with black cardstock to give it definition. The sentiment was stamped and die cut. I like the oval done on an angle. The other part of the sentiment was punched from cardstock. After adhering a panel of red-toned paper to the card base, the black vertical strip was die cut and adhered. Another identical strip was used to decorate the inside. The other elements were popped up with foam tape. The card was finished off with the little black "flags" behind the oval and a few gems.

If you've never visited Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge, be sure to check out their blog - you'll be glad you did!

Materials
Stamps: Birthday Sentiments - no manufacturer's label 
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Very Vanilla, Basic Black
Paper: Stampin' Up! "Birthday Basics Collection" (retired)
Dies: Dare 2 B Artzy Stitched Wavy Squares, Spellbinders Classic Ovals, Lawn Fawn Borders
Punch: Stampin' Up! "Modern Label"
Misc.: Foam tape, gems

Merry Christmas - BSC 296

The December Monthly Challenge #296 begins today, Friday, December 6, 2019 at the Brown Sugar Blog. This challenge runs through Tuesday, December 31, 2019.

The theme for December is Anything Goes and the sponsor is The Paper Shelter, who provided the digital image shown above and those posted at the Challenge Blog. Participation means you are eligible for a prize.


Size: 5" x 5"


Materials
Stamp: The Paper Studio; The Paper Shelter "Holy Night" (digital image) 
Ink: Stampin' Up! Real Red; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Patterned Paper: CTMH "Holly Jolly" Collection
Die: Whimsy "Stitched Zigzag Rectangles"
Misc.: Ephemera from stash

Let It Snow

Welcome and thank you for visiting!

Try Stampin' on Tuesday Challenge #437 begins Tuesday, December 3, and continues through Sunday, December 15, 2019. The optional twist is to use the theme, Winter Wonderland, with the required sketch.

Onto a white card base, I adhered a panel of sort-of-taupe with snowflakes, followed by a layer of silver cardstock. A subtle patterned paper imprinted with the sentiment was adhered. I cut the paper so "Let It Snow" represented the small square on the sketch. With foam tape, I adhered a strip of the taupe snowflake paper edged with die-cut stitched zigzag strips of glitter paper then added the silver foiled doily, also with foam tape. A simple die-cut snowflake was added. The inside was decorated with additional die-cut snowflakes and the coordinating sentiment, "A little Winter Wonderland sparkle".

The Design Team is always eager for new participants so visit their challenge blog to play along at Challenge 437!

Materials

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White

Paper: Craftsmith "Ice Crystals", PET Textured Foil (silver) & WRMK Glitter Collection (blue)

Die: Lawn Fawn Borders (stitch zigzag), Penny Black (snowflake)

Misc.: Stampin' Up! Foil Doily (silver), foam tape

Merry & Bright - DTC #44

This is not quite my last Christmas card for the season. I have almost all of my cards ready for mailing so this one will probably be set aside for 2020. For a different challenge, I made a card using black and white stripes and liked it so well that I decided to make another, also using black and white with broader stripes than this card.

The biweekly challenge is open at Double Trouble #44. The challenge begins today, Monday, December 2, through Sunday, December 15, 2019. To play along, here are the requirements:

Troublemaker's Thing 1 (required): "Wrap It Up!" Use holiday paper on your project.

Double Dare's Thing 2 (optional): Link with our partner, Artsy Stamper Challenge #5

Twisted Sister's Thing 3 (optional): "Tie It Up!" with a ribbon, string, etc.

Be sure to visit the challenge blogs and play along!

Materials
Stamps: Beccy's Place "Sweet Christmas" (digital image & inside sentiment)
Inks: Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Patterned Paper: Stampin' Up! (red/pink pattern-retired); WRMK Glitter Collection; Echo Park "Dots & Stripes"
Dies: Waffle Flower Stitched Rectangles; Reasonable Dies Stitched Labels
Misc.: foam tape and gems from stash

Sending You Sunshine - CAS

CAS (clean and simple) cards don't take long to put together but sometimes the thought process takes a bit of time. The biweekly Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #371 begins today, Friday, November 29, and runs through Wednesday, December 11, 2019.  The requirement is to use two "m&m" candy colors. I selected yellow because I found this digital file created with yellow a while ago and have been waiting to use it. I really like yellow with blue, so that was my second color. Black and white are permitted as neutrals.

The image was downloaded, resized and printed onto cardstock. The panel was die cut with the scallops. Onto a yellow card base, the blue panel was adhered followed by the white scalloped panel. A few candy dots were added. The inside was lined with another die cut panel in white. I think my card would work for numerous occasions so left the inside sentiment for later.

Won't you please join us at Color My Heart Color Dare Challenge #371 and enjoy the paper crafting?

Materials

Stamp: Digital Image courtesy of Hannelie Bester, Desert Diva

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, So Saffron, Dapper Denim

Die: Sunny Studio "Frilly Frames - Polka Dots"

Misc.: Stampin' Up! Candy Dots

Happy Holly Days

It often seems as if the time attending a crop is, for the most part, spent chatting with old friends and making new ones with very few cards or projects reaching completion. While attending a crop a few days ago, I was able to finish three cards and begin a fourth. I was in great company so why was this crop different? I believe it was because we kept it small due to having limited space. There were nine of us in attendance and most of us knew one another. We had such a good time with each of us accomplishing several projects.

My card was inspired by the sketch at Try Stampin' on Tuesday #435. There is also an optional twist to create a non-traditional Christmas Card. I think that my choice of black, pink and rose gold is non-traditional but still festive. This biweekly challenge begins on Tuesday, November 19, ending on Sunday, December 1, 2019.

A die-cut panel of black glitter cardstock was adhered to a white card base. A smaller die-cut panel of patterned paper was adhered using foam tape. In keeping with the sketch, two banners were adhered. The sentiment was adhered along with the snowflake. I added a pair of tiny tags to the upper left because I thought the design needed more balance. The inside was decorated with scrap paper and a small coordinating sentiment, "Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day."

The Design Team at Try Stampin' on Tuesday encourages you to join in Challenge #435 so be sure to visit the blog to check out the guidelines.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White
Paper: Kaiser Craft "Sparkle"; Hobby Lobby (black glitter)
Dies: Kat Scrappiness "Stitched Fancy Scallops" and Reasonable "Stitched Rectangles w/Rounded Corners"
Misc.: Gem, foam tape & snowflake from stash

Very Merry!

Living in the Arizona desert means there are no real snowmen in the winter but I don't mind! It's been a long time since I lived in the cold climate found in upstate New York. Here's my card for Double Trouble Challenge #43. This is a biweekly event beginning on Monday, November 18, through Sunday, December 1, 2019. Here is the information necessary to play along:

Trouble Maker - Thing 1 (required): Bring on the Glitz!

Double Dare - Thing 2 (optional): Link up with Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #483.

Twisted Sister - Thing 3 (optional): Include a snow-person in your design.

I rarely make a square card but decided to go with a 5" x 5" card base to use a new square die. The panels of patterned paper, glitter paper and silver-striped vellum were layered. The image, which had been downloaded, resized, colored and fussy cut was adhered with foam tape. The sentiment was stamped and die cut then, along with the snowflakes, adhered with foam tape. The snowman's nose was finished off with Glossy Accents and gems were added to the snowflakes and sentiment banner. The inside was decorated with additional paper and snowflakes.

We'd be so pleased to see your entry over at the blogs for Double Trouble Challenge #43 and Cupcake Inspirations Challenge #483.

Materials

Stamp Set: Stampin' Up!  , The Paper Shelter Digital Store "Cheerful Snowman"

Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, WRMK Glitter Collection

Paper: Dare 2 B Artzy (snowflake print), Stampin' Up! (small trees print) & silver striped vellum (retired)

Dies: Whimsy Stitched Wavy Squares, Stampin' Up!  (sentiment label)

Misc.: Glossy Accents; gems, snowflakes and foam tape from stash

Christmas Tree Joy

Hello! Thank you for visiting.

Today's card was created in response to a tic-tac-toe color challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare #369. Based on the color grid below, the requirement is to select three in-a-row colors and, if you so choose, any other colors that appear on the grid. Black and white are also permitted. I chose the first column, Clover, Smoothie and Candy Apple. When I selected my patterned paper I discovered it also had Ballerina, Glacier and Green Apple. I did not have the precise colors in every case but used colors that are very close matches. This biweekly color challenge begins on Friday, November 15, through Thursday, November 28, 2019.

Onto a card base of red cardstock, panels of green cardstock and patterned paper were adhered. The inside was lined with a panel of white cardstock. The tree, ornaments and ovals were die cut. The ovals were adhered directly to the card. The tree was decorated with the ornaments covered in Glossy Accents then adhered to the card using foam tape. The sentiment was die cut once from red foil then five more were cut from white cardstock. These were stacked to give the word depth then adhered.  For decoration, a few left over ornaments were added to the inside of the card for decoration along with some patterned paper.

The Design Team at Color My Heart Color Dare invites you to visit the challenge blog and play along at any of the biweekly challenges. There is a new challenge beginning each Friday.

Materials
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Real Red, Garden Green; CTMH Smoothie; PET Foil (red, green)
Paper: CTMH Paper Packet "Holly Jolly" 
Dies: Kat Scrappiness "Stitched and Layered Christmas Tree" (includes ornaments), Spellbinders "Classic Ovals", Reasonable Dies "Joy"
Misc.: Glossy Accents, foam tape

Stacked Cups

This is the third day of the Coffee Lovers Fall/Winter Blog Hop. So far, I have managed to have a card per day but there are another four or five days to go. Who knows? Maybe I'll win something!

To make the card, I die cut the image of the cups, adhered it to white cardstock and colored in the open spaces with Copic markers. This was then cut with a stitched rectangular die, backed with foam tape, then adhered to another stitched die cut panel. The card base was embossed with coffee beans and a doily added. The other panels were adhered to complete the card front. The inside was lined with white cardstock and decorated with a scrap of the lime green and a scrap of turquoise embossed with coffee beans. I added a die-cut sentiment to the inside, "I love COFFEE."

Be sure to visit the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop and play along for a chance to win some fabulous prizes.


Materials
Inks: Copic Alcohol Markers
Cardstock: SU! Whisper White, Cajun Craze, Tempting Turquoise, Lemon Lime Twist
Dies: Reasonable "Stacked Cups"; Whimsy "Stitched Zigzag Rectangles" & "Stitched Notched Rectangles"; Frantic Stamper "I love Coffee"
EF: Darice Coffee Beans
Misc.: SU! Doily, foam tape

Warm Winter Wishes



The Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is something in which I don't usually participate. A few of my card making friends have won some great prizes so I decided to give it a try at one card per day. Maybe for the Spring/Summer event I can manage more.

My card came together quickly by using Dare 2 B Artzy's Christmoose Collection. I really like the "Hot Cocoa" on the moose's cup of steaming cocoa. The patterned papers are coordinates of the stamps and dies. I also included a photo of the inside of the card because I like the font of the sentiment and the strip of cute mittens.

Be sure to enter a card at Coffee Lovers!

Materials
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White & Real Red
Paper: Dare 2 B Artzy
Dies: D2BA (moose), Whimsy (Notched Stitched Rectangles)
Misc.: Foam tape

I Love You & Coffee

My old PC, purchased in 2007, was replaced this week with a new Dell using Windows10. This means I am experiencing a learning curve. I am disappointed to discover that the spacing on Blogger is now askew. It's always something!

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The November Challenge #295 at Brown Sugar begins today as does the The Fall/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! Join in to be eligible for some great fun! In addition, Challenge #42 at Double Trouble is up and running today through Sunday, November 17, 2019.



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For Coffee Lovers I need a warm beverage (coffee, tea, cider, cocoa), for Brown Sugar I need to use certain digital images from DRS Designs and the Double Trouble Challenge has three elements:

Thing 1 (required): Use stitching

Thing 2 (optional): Include a warm beverage

Thing 3 (optional): Submit the project to the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop

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I downloaded the digital images, resized, printed, colored and fussy cut them. The leaves, mug, pumpkin and acorns are digitals. I removed the digital poinsettia on the mug. I colored the mug with Copic markers. Two stitched panels were adhered to a white card base then the digital images were adhered with foam tape. The hearts were punched from cardstock. The inside was decorated with the digital acorns and word dies, combined to say, "I love you & coffee."



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Be sure to visit all three blogs to play along with them:

Double Trouble #42

Coffee Lovers Fall/Winter

Brown Sugar #295

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Materials

Stamps: DRS Designs

Inks: Copic Alcohol Markers

Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, Baked Brown Sugar; X-tra for alcohol markers

Paper: CTMH (yellow stripe)

Dies: Whimsy (stitched zigzag rectangles); Lil' Inker Quilted Stitched Spirals

Punch: Stampin' Up! Itty Bitty Accents (Heart)

Misc.: foam tape from stash