Winter Wonderland Challenge - Let It Snow!

Don't ya just love a new challenge?! I am new to the Winter Wonderland Christmas Blog Challenge, which is now in it's third week. I've been wanting to play along, but needed to get my Christmas supplies together and organized first. I've decided it would be fun make a Christmas banner, with a single flag representing the theme for each week. When I'm done, I can tie them all together and use the banner as a Christmas decoration. This week's theme is LET IT SNOW! - one of my favorite things :) The image is from a free clip art sampler sent out by Dover Publications. (If you'd like to get their free weekly clip art sampler via email, you can sign up HERE.) I added some white flocking mixed with glitter to the furry parts of the children's coats, hats, and muff (can't really see it in the photo). I then encircled the image with a sparkly pipecleaner. The base is Basic Grey paper, with pom pom trim glued around the edges. I cut the "Let It Snow" from a journaling block, and added some mica flakes as snow. The little felt snowflakes are from Stampin' Up, and the buttons are vintage mother-of-pearl from my stash. I added some tape measure twill ribbon, cuz where I grew up in Pennsylvania, everyone wants to know how many inches of snow each little town got... quite the competition! I tea-dyed some seam binding and glued it to the top, leaving enough on either side to be able to tie it to the next flag. This was such a fun project; I'm so looking forward to what the ladies have in store for us next week!

Flourishes Easy Breezy Challenge: 10-minute Cards

I hoard paper. Big time. I can't bear to part with even the smallest scrap of patterned paper, "just in case." So when I finally saw the challenge over at the Flourishes blog today, I jumped right in. The generous ladies at Flourishes are offering up the entire new release of Flourishes stamps today, just for sharing an "easy breezy" ten-minute card. So, I got out those bitsy little scraps and slapped a couple of quick cards together! The butterfly card uses scraps of paper from Autumn Leaves and Basic Grey, along with some cardstock that I stamped with a multi-language thank-you stamp from Hero Arts (LOVE that set!). The butterfly is from Anna Griffin, and the background text is from Hero Arts as well. I edged each scrap with brown ink, then just played around with them until I got an arrangement I liked, and glued it down! I tore the bottom of the front of the card, and slipped in a scrap of contrasting cardstock for interest.

The card on the right has the same stamped image as my card in the previous post. I had stamped in it a color that I decided not to use. Of course, I couldn't throw it out, so I saved it for later, which in this case, was later today :) I used the same thank-you set, and scraps of the same Basic Grey paper as the butterfly card. I used a Stampabilities compass stamp to make another coordinating patterned paper (on a scrap, of course). I wrapped the longest panel with some Martha Stewart ribbon, and attached the "thanks" sentiment, which I punched with a tag punch. Glued everything down and done!

I don't have any Flourishes stamps yet, but I love their stuff! If you'd like a chance to win some too, hurry on over to the Flourishes Newsletter and enter. The contest ends tonight, but you're only making a 10-minute card, so it's totally possible to still make the deadline :)

Sea and Sand

A little card for the Limited Supplies Challenge over at SCS today. The challenge: use only the colors of the sea and sand, and must use fibers, piercing, and brads. My seahorse image is from Anita's, stamped in SU's Blue Bayou on River Rock cardstock. I then distressed and pierced this main image panel. I used a bunch of different stamps to create patterned papers on SU's Blue Bayou, Soft Sky, and River Rock cardstocks, including Inkadinkado and Stampabilities. The sentiment is from Anna Griffin. The side panel with the fibers was crinkled and distressed, in honor of yesterday's Ways to Use It challenge. :) This project really made me long for the shore.... but it's a landlubber's life for me, for now :) Have a wonderful day!

Tag Tuesday - Definitions

I just found a wonderful challenge site that does tags... how fun! It's Kard Krazy's Tag Tuesday, and this week's theme is definitions. I was just playing around, so whipped this up pretty quickly. The girly is from the Graphics Fairy. Stickers from my stash, blossom definition from Stampin' Up. The flower outline stamp is from Magenta, and it is heat-embossed with clear glitter embossing powder. The background was made with pearlescent Brilliance inks. TFL :)

Vintage Wedding - Something Old

The current challenge over at Moxie Fab World is to use vintage items in a card. I am always scouting for inexpensive vintage books and music that are falling apart, so that 1) it's cheap, and 2) I won't feel guilty when I cut it apart to use in papercrafting projects. I've had a falling-apart 1955 edition of Little Women that I've been using the text from, but finally decided to use one of the chapter heading images for this challenge. It's actually amazing how everything old is new again... the line-drawing doves and scalloped hearts could be stamp images from right now! And the color.... Kiwi Kiss :). So for the challenge, I used the gorgeous image to make a wedding card. The sentiment is from Stampington. I added an ampersand (from a My Sentiments Exactly alphabet) in Kiwi Kiss. The background paper is K and Company, and the leaf ribbon is PTI. As an extra vintage touch, I used six mother-of-pearl buttons from a stash that was my grandmother's. If I manage to get this card to the happy couple a little ahead of time, the bride could even remove these gorgeous buttons and tie them into her dress or bouquet as her "something old." Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!