Y for Your Favorite Punches and Dies

We have reached the midway point of our current challenge

Y for YOUR Favourite Die or Punch

Our wnderful sponsors for this challenge are

 

Stamp Fairy

There's also a 50% sale on at the moment so pop over there to grab a bargain...

and

The lovely Heidi at Simon Says Stamp are offering one lucky entrant 

A $15 voucher to spend in her store 

 

 

My card this week features a wonderful image from StampFairy. George the snowman is an old favorite of mine and I have coloured him to go with these great MME papers that I picked up just the other week, the little trees in the background were a perfect complement to the image. I have used my Frostyville border punch which is a recent purchase after loving how it looked on so many of your cards and it is sure to be a well loved and used die. Love how it has added the look of snow along the bottom of the card.

 

Thanks for stopping by. I will look forward to seeing all of your wonderful cards as I catch up this weekend.

 

 

 

Y for Your Favorite Dies or Punches

Good Morning, I hope that you are all well. Only just under two weeks now until the big day, I hope that you are all ready. If you still have a few more cards to go for this year or you are looking to get a head start for next year we have another challenge for you today over on the ABC Christmas Challenge. The theme this time around is

 

Y for YOUR Favourite Die or Punch

We are lucky to have two wonderful sponsors for this challenge and they have offered up some wonderful prizes for some of our lucky participants.

Stamp Fairy

 

There's also a 50% sale on at the moment so pop over there to grab a bargain...

 

and

The lovely Heidi at Simon Says Stamp who is offering one lucky entrant 

A $15 voucher to spend in her store 

 

 

 

I am all about saving time right now as I am knitting like crazy to finish off all of the Christmas presents that I have on the go while still trying to take the time to train our new pup so for my card I have used an image from Saturated Canary that I had previously coloured and accented with lots of stickles.  

 

I have used my favorite Spellbinders circles which seem to appear on almost every card it seems and I have also added what is sure to become a new favorite, my new Magnolia doohickey poinsettia.

The layout for this card was based off a wonderful sketch from this week's Sketch and Stash challenge which made it super simple to put together a great card in a flash.

 

Here is a close up of the image for anyone that wants a better look.

 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by, be sure to check out the wonderful creations from the rest of the DT over on the ABC Christmas Challenge Blog.

Have a great day and Happy Crafting!

 

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

Sketch and Stash - Sketch

Cupcake Crafts - Merry Christmas

Love to Create - Anything Goes

Pink Elephant - Photo Inspired

Tip Top Tuesday - Christmas

Anything Goes - Traditional Christmas Colours

Songbird Challenge - Merry Christmas Everybody

Dream Valley - Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Prayers

Good Evening, I have been missing in action lately while I get ready for Christmas and play with my new pup but I am back today with a card for the Charisma Cardz Challenge, the theme this time is Christmas which is a nice easy one as I think that most of us are in that mode at the moment.

 

 

While cleaning up my craft desk the other week I put together the base of this card using an older sketch. Then I dug around is some of my older stamps that I had not used in a while and came up with this angel from Whiff of Joy which I could colour to be a perfect match to my card. The other night I was able to put it all together and as I knew that I wanted to play up the feminine aspect of the image I have layered in lots of Wild Orchid flowers to create a little Christmas arrangement.

 

I hope that you will join us this week. I am looking forward to seeing all of your seasonal creations. In  case you need more incentive we have two wonderful sponsors who are generously offering up some fantastic prizes to two of our luck participants.

 

Simon Says Stamp

Simon Says Stamp are generously offering a $20 voucher to their online store!!! 

PRIZE TWO

and our 2nd sponsor this week is the lovely Pink Cat Studio who are offering 5 digis of the winners choice!!

Hope to see you soon!

I would like to enter the following challenges:
PaperPlay - Christmas is Coming
Cute Card Thursday - Red and Green
CRAFT - Christmas
Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes


 

X Marks the Spot

Good morning! I am running a couple of days behind as we got a new addition for our household and she has been keeping us rather occupied. Meet Arwyn, she is a 13 week old French bulldog cross, very sweet and full of affection but also very busy.

 

 

 

I thought that I would take a few minutes while she is playing to post my card for the ABC Christmas Challenge. Our theme this week is

X Marks the Spot

 

 

For my card I've opted to use a favorite older image from Whiff of Joy. I started colouring the mice and then picked out some papers for my card before colouring their clothes. If you look closely you will find lots of Xes on my card, there are several plaids in the background papers, I've added some cross stitches, and there is even a little x in the centre of the button on the flower.

I hope tht you have been inspired to join us. Be sure to stop by the main challenge blog to see the rest of the wonderful DT creations.

Pinks and Blues

Good Morning, today is the start of a new challenge at Charisma Cardz and this week we have a colour challenge for you.

We have 3 wonderful sponsors this week who are generously providing prizes for some lucky participants  

PRIZE ONE

PRIZE TWO

PRIZE THREE

 

 

 

 

For my card this week I have opted to play around with techniques that I don't use often.  I started by choosing some alcohol inks in colours that matched the theme and inked up some glossy card which I eventually settled on cutting into the doily. The background was inked up and embossed in two different patterns using clear and white embossing powder. I've layered up the doily with a snowflake cut from spellbinders dies and added a simple sentiment to finish it all off.

 

The end result is a completely different style for me and I think that I like it but I do feel that something is missing. If you know what that something might be please leave a comment with your suggestions.

 

Have a great day and Happy Crafting!

 

All Wrapped Up

 

Good Morning! After experiencing some computer problems last week I am back and today marks the midway point for our challenge at ABC Christmas. We have only a few more weeks until Christmas and we are hoping to give you a head start in prepping those presents so that they can go under the tree. Our theme for this challenge is W for Wrapping.

 

We have 2 fabulous sponsors for this challenge who are offering up some wonderful prizes.

 

The lovely Heidi at Simon Says Stamp are offering one lucky entrant

A $15 voucher to spend in her store

and

The Stamping Boutique

 

 

I've opted this time to make a gift bag following this great sketch which is found on the Basic Grey blog. I dug around in my scraps and off cuts to find these papers from some of the past Christmas lines that I have loved so much. I have used lots of holiday greenery, flowers and a simple snowflake ornament to finish it all off.

 

 

I would like to enter the following challenges:

 

Wild Orchid - Traditional Christmas

Crafty Creations - Christmas is Coming

Divas by Design - 2 or More Pattern Papers

 

 

 

Feeling Blue

Good Morning. I am here to tell you about the new challenge at Charisma Cardz.

This week the we are Feeling Blue.

 

Our fabulous sponsors this week are...

 

PRIZE ONE

The Stamping Boutique are offering 5 digis of the winners choice from their online boutique store full of wonderful images!

PRIZE TWO

Stamp and Create are offering one lucky winner a $20 voucher to their online store! Wow!!

 

 

I''ve opted to go for a masculine card this week and I have chosen this great image of Teddy Bo ready for a hard day of work. I've done things a little differently and tried my had at watercolour using my Distress Markers and for a first go, I think it turned out pretty good. The Basic Grey papers with all all of the blues really worked well with the image and I have accented with a few screwtop eyelet that I had in my stash.

 

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges.

 

Teddy Bo - Anything Goes

Allsorts - For Men Only

Crafty Creations - No Flowers

Inky Impressions - Birthday

 

 

 

 

 

 

May Your Days Be Merry & Bright

We have reached the midway point in our Vibrant Colours challenge over on the ABC Christmas Challenge and I am back to share some more inspiration with you. I hope that you have your sunglasses handy as I am not sure that I have ever made a Christmas card so bright before.

 

 

This cute little gift wrapping elf was just perfect for the challenge as she almost begs to be coloured in bright and cheerful colours. I have matched the colours that I have used to the brightest papers that I could find from MME and paper pieced the gift to tie it all together. As most embellishments would probably get lost on a card this bold and bright, I went through some past sketched and chose a layout with a strong focal point allowing the image to really be the centre of attention on this one and keeping the embellishments to a minimum.

 

I hope that you will join us for the challenge. Be sure to stop by the main challenge blog and see the gorgeous creations from the rest of the DT.

Happy Crafting!

 

I would like to enter the following challenges

 

Divas by Design - Let's Get Cute

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Without Words - Bright Colours

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - 3 Different DPs

 

 

 

 

A Vibrant Christmas

Good Morning, today marks the start of another ABC Christmas Challenge. Before I tell you all about it, I want to thank you all for joining us for our Up to You challenge. I think it was a record, we had nearly 500 entries and we really enjoyed seeing all your beautiful Christmas cards and creations, so inspiring.

Our challenge this week is being hosted by Miria and she has chosen the theme
V is for Vibrant Colours
so dig out your brightest papers from your stash and lets see what you can do with them.

We have two wonderful sponsors for this challenge who are generously offering some wonderful prizes for two of our lucky participants.

Crop Stop

Prize from Crop Stop: a $15 Gift Certificate!

If you’re passionate about paper-crafting whether it be scrapbooking your memories, making cards or altered art, CropStop is your one-stop solution. We offer an extensive selection of dies, embossing folders, inks, stamps and punches by all the popular manufacturers and the CropStop die and embossing folder storage solutions Pocketz Pages™ to keep everything organized. Our selection of embellishments and adhesives is continually expanding and we are excited to be the home of the colorful Ribbon Candy™.

In need of inspiration? Visit the CropStop Gallery, Blog or Message Board and participate in a competition or class. If you have questions concerning your machine, we have a team of experts waiting to help you.

CropStop ships internationally as well as domestic. Our personalized customer service is only one of our strengths. Call or come visit us at www.CropStop.com and see what’s new in the world of paper-crafting.

and

Wild Rose Studio

 

winner can choose 2 stamps.

 

 

For my card, I have chosen to work with some of the brightest, most vibrant reds and greens in my stash. These great papers are from MME and I have coloured this sweet elf from Kraftin' Kimmie to match.  For the layout I have followed a wonderful sketch from the Sketch Challenges blog and as the papers are so bold I have opted to keep it simple and just added a simple sentiment to finish it off.

 

I do hope that you will join us again this time around.

Happy Crafting and I hope you will visit again soon.

 

 

 

Could it be Magic - GDT Songbird Challenge

Good Morning, I hope that you are all safe and dry this morning. The winds were something else last night and we are not anywhere near the worst of the storm which hit New York and New Jersey.

 

I am excited to tell you that I was asked to be a guest designer for the Songbird Challenge this time around. Their theme is Could It Be Magic?

 

 

For my card, I opted to use this sweet, magical little fairy Whispy from Saturated Canary. She has been in my collection of digital images for a while now but this was the first time that I have coloured her up and I just love her. the hair was a challenge but I think that I have done okay with it. I still need more practice but it does look better IRL than it does in the photo.

 

I've used some MME papers from a pad that I liked so much I recently bought it again and kept the embellishments rather simple as I have a tendency to go to dimensional on a Birthday card and then I never have any ready for the mail.

 

I hope that I have given you a little bit of inspiration. Be sure to stop by the challenge blog and see the beautiful creations from the DT. There is also a wonderful prize up being offered from

Bearly Mine Designs, so why not have a go at the challenge?

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:
Card Makin Mamas - Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss - Things With Wings
Dream Valley - Glitter and Bling
Crafts and Me - Fantasy Creatures
Crafter's Companion - Birthdays



 

Too Cute To Spook

Good morning! It looks like another miserable day weather wise which means it will be perfect for doing some crafting later. First I have to spend some time on a project for work. How I do hate working on the weekend even if I can do it from the comfort of my couch! Before I start that though, I thought that I would take a few minutes to enjoy my coffee and share with you a card that I have made just for the fun of it. 

I don't tend to make many Hallowe'en cards but when I saw this adorable Teddy Bo image I knew that I wanted to colour him up. I love the bright orange pop of the pumpkin against the darker spooky papers from Basic Grey. He is all set for a night of Trick or Treat and candy. The candy stickers that I had in my stash were the perfect accent.
 

 

 Some friends have a little one that they plan to dress as a pumpkin for her first All Hallow's Eve so I think that I will give this card to them.

Happy Hallowe’en!

I will enter my card in the following challenges:

Tip Top Tuesday - Hallowe'en
Going Grey with Scrap Creations - Halloween
Love to Create - Pumpkins
Creatalicious - Halloween
Always Something Creative - Halloween
Divas by Design - Use Some Orange
Hanna and Friends - Halloween
Moving Along with the Times - Too Cute to Spook
Cute Card Thursday - Something Scary
Basic Grey - Anything Goes











 

Don't Be Square

Good morning! Today is supposed to be a beautiful sunny day. Unfortunately I have to go to work so I will basically miss it unless I go for a walk at lunch and they are calling for a chilly wet weekend.

 

 

Before I head to the office, I have a card to share with you for the new challenge at Charisma Cardz. This week our theme is Don't Be Square so I have opted to make a round card. I have heat embossed the large poinsettia image from Hero Arts on cardstock and then did some fussy cutting around it to create the image. I have then further accented the flower with glitter and gemstones for some sparkle. A quick little sentiment finished it all off. Nice and simple and perfectly flat for the mail too.

 

Our fabulous sponsors for the challenge this week are...

Digistamp Boutique

who are offering one lucky participant their Choice of SIX Digi's from Digistamp Boutique!

 

and

 

Our second sponsor this week is our very own Team Gem DT member Jenni from..   Card Mad Fairy's Creations

Jenni is offering one lucky winner the choice of 5 Digi's!!   I do hope that you will join us and share your own shaped creations. Have fun and Happy Crafting!      

 

 

U for Up to You - Midway Reminder

Good Morning, I am back from my trip to New York City. I had a lot of fun and even managed to get a head start on some of my Christmas shopping. I will have some pictures to share soon.

 

For now, I am here to remind you that you still have one more week to participate in the current challenge on the ABC Christmas Challenge.

 

The current theme is

U for Up to You

and this challenge is proving to be popular, we are already up to almost 300 entries.

 

 

For my card, I have used another wonderful image from Teddy Bo. I have coloured this little cutie to match my new Basic Grey papers which I just love, they remind me of some of their older classic collections which are still some of my favorites.

 

The image has been mounted using foam tape to allow me to tuck a holiday snowflake ornament in behind as an accent and I have layered the flower on top to boost the holiday feel.

 

Our fabulous sponsors again are...

Stamp and create

 

and

 

Meljen's Designs

 

Hope to see you join us. Be sure to stop by the challenge blog and see the gorgeous creations that the rest of the DT have made to inspire you.

Happy Crafting!

 

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

 

Totally Gorjuss - Bling it On

One Stop Crafts - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Fireworks (Sparkle and Glitter)

Basic Grey - Sparkle

Jingle Belles - Holiday Creature

Teddy Bo - Anything Goes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U for Up To You

Good Morning, I hope that you are all well.

We are at the middle of the week so just a few more days to go until the weekend. This weekend I will be finding myself in the Big Apple, I have not been to New York City before so I am looking forward to it. We have concert tickets for Sunday night and I am hoping to be able to take in a show on Broadway as well.

 

Back to today. We have a new challenge starting over on the ABC Christmas Challenge Blog and I think that you are going to like this one. Our theme this time around is

U for Up To You

That's right a nice easy one! You can do whatever you want as long as it is Christmas.

 

We have some great sponsors for this challenge too

 

Stamp and create

 

and

Meljen's Designs
Prize 4 images of winners choice

 

 

For my card today,  I have chosen to use a favorite teddy stamp from LOTV. I have coloured this little guy with Copics and accented with tinsel glitter and glossy accents for some sparkle and shine. The papers that I have used are a mix from 4 different holiday pads. I was trying for a monochromatic holiday feeling of red and white but if you look closely a tiny touch of green still managed to sneak in there.

 

I do hope that you will join us for the challenge as I am looking forward to seeing all of your holiday creations. Before you head off to your crafting tables, be sure to stop by the ABC Christmas blog to see the rest of the gorgeous DT creations.

Happy Crafting!

 

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

 

Totally Gorjuss - Traditional Holiday Colours

Totally Stampalicious - Christmas

Ooh La La Crafts - Christmas Sentiment

Fashionista Challenge - Anything Goes

 

 

 

 

Bringing the Presents

 

Good Morning, just a quick post today. I was not around over the weekend as I had the opportunity to attend Scrapfest which was being held at the local university.  I spent Friday night shopping and I Saturday I had been lucky enough to purchase tickets for my mom and I to take a class with Vicki Boutin where we made a beautiful little mini album. I will share more when I have it all finished off with pictures.

 

 

In the meantime I have a card to share with you. This one features one of the new LOTV Christmas stamps that I purchased earlier this year. It has been coloured to match these fun papers from MME and accented with liquid applique to give it a fun touch of dimension. The image is a fair size so I have kept the layout rather simple and have accented with some diecuts and a simple flower.

 

I hope that you all have a great day, be sure to come back tomorrow as a new ABC Christmas Challenge will be starting and I will have another card to share.

 

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

 

J and C Creations - Contemporary Christmas

Christmas Stampin all Year Long - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps - Animal Friends

2 Sisters - Anything Goes

 

 

 

Good Morning, this post is running a day behind but better late than not at all right.

 

Yesterday marked the start of a new challenge at Charisma Cardz. This week we have a sketch for you so be sure to head over to the blog to get the sketch.

 

Our fabulous sponsors this week are...

PRIZE ONE
The Stamping Boutique

The Stamping Boutique are offering 5 digis of the winners choice from their online boutique store Full of wonderful images!

PRIZE TWO

 

Redonkulous Designs are offering one lucky winner a free Digi from their store!!

PRIZE THREE

A Mystery Crafty Surprise from Carly! We also have 3 brandnew teammates joining us this week so please be sure to stop by and say hello to them.
♥ Renate ♥ ♥ Sarah ♥ ♥ Sheryl ♥

For my card this week I opted to use this great image from Teddy Bo thinking he would be perfect for a masculine card. I coloured him with Copics starting with the fur so that I could add some texture to it by usingg some of the Copic blending solution on a piece of old towel and holding it to the coloured image. The finished result is hard to see but if you zoom in you will notice that it really adds a wonderful touch.

 

The papers are from the recent PB&J collection from Basic Grey which is sure to become a favorite of mine. I loved the clean lines of this sketch and did not want to go to town with the embellishments so I opted to raise the image on foam tape and added a little sentiment tag which can be tucked behind the image.

 

Here is an extra peek so that you can see the tag.

 

I hope that you will join us in the challenge, I look forward to visiting your blogs to see your creations.

 

Happy Crafting!

 

I would like to enter my card in the following challenges:

 

Teddy Bo Challenge - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - All Creatures Great and Small

Deep Ocean Challenge - Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion - Hip to Be Square