Christmas Kickstart Challenge #107 - Gothic Christmas - Guest Designer - Joy to One and All Gothic Christmas Tree (Tim Holtz Tree)

Hello,

I super excited to be joining Jo - as her Guest Elf - for Christmas Kickstart Challenge #115. What an honour! 

As you likely know, but just in case you're new here, the idea behind her challenge is that her guest designs a card which she, in turn, draws inspiration from in creating her card. Then, she invites everyone to join in the fun with their takes on the theme and/or cards shared. A great way to get a lead on those Christmas cards we'll be needing.

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For this month’s challenge, we’re embracing Gothic Christmas! 

Now, before you panic (I confess, I did at first!), Gothic Christmas doesn’t have to mean "Christmas meets Halloween," although it certainly can, if that’s your thing.

Instead, you might consider the challenge as: Create a Christmas card with a Gothic twist.

Think deep, moody colours - black, plum, burgundy, rich greens, gold - perhaps some candlelight, ornate details, vintage elegance...plenty of possibilities.

Your card should still feel Christmas first with Gothic coming through how you interpret it.

No Halloween imagery required — but absolutely allowed!

Isn't Snowy's Gothic Glowover fantastic! 

Jo has shared an inspiration photo, just in case, like me, you need an inroad to the challenge.

My take on Gothic Christmas, inspired by the photo:

Black + gold + plaid background; a black tree with deep green + red sparkle ornaments; a glimmered Spellbinders sentiment. Easy...once I wrapped my head around my gothic twist.

If I can do Gothic Christmas, guaranteed you can, too! 

Please head over to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge blog to see what Jo has created. Absolutely AWE-MAZING!

Looking forward to seeing how Gothic Christmas inspires you.

Thank you for dropping by!

Color Hues Challenge #142 - Amber and Burnt Red - Autumn Greetings (The Stamp Market Leaves, Honeybee Stamps)

Hello,

Welcome to Colour Hues Challenge #142, where Stef invites us to play with hues of Amber and Burnt Red for the next two week. Perfect colours to reflect the Fall season, right. 

We're delighted to have a wonderful guest designer joining us: Crystal. 

A simple make from me: two shades of 'amber' cardstock as placeholders for my burnt red leaves from The Stamp Market. The background is a Concord and 9th leaf coverplate. I drew inspiration from a beautiful card created by Kim S, that you can see here. I love her version! 

Please visit the main blog to see how Amber and Burnt Red inspired our guest and my talented teammates.
Looking forward to seeing how this combination inspires you! 

The challenge will be open until Oct. 14 @ 9:00am (EST).

The winners will be posted an hour before our next challenge and the overall

 winner will have the opportunity to be a future Guest Designer.

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #843 - Use Dies Week - HALLOWEEN-Themed Dies - Halloween Wishes Cards (Scrapbook and Cards Today)

BOO! It’s time for a spook-tacular Just Us Girls  - Use Dies Week Challenge #843! 

With Halloween creeping closer, I'm inviting you to conjure up a Halloween card/project using one or more Halloween-themed dies — ghosts, witches, bats, pumpkins, spiders or whatever delightfully spooky designs you have hiding in your stash.  Cute, creepy, whimsical, wickedly elegant: whatever your Halloween style is, we're excited to see what you conjure up.

A new month also means a new Guest Designer; we're delighted to have Carrie Sheridan  joining us for October. Welcome, Carrie.

My cards feature some of the delightful products from the recent Scrapbook and Cards Today Halloween Wishes collection. We had classes taught by talented instructors: Cathy Z, Meghann Andrews, Justin Adkins, Nichol Spohr and Jennifer McGuire. I didn't follow all the class assignments, however, and went off in my own directions for several cards. One of my 'rogue' makes is below; the ghost is just too cute.

This card is my version of the one Nichol Spohr made; lots of die cutting happened here.

Please visit the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from our guest and my talented teammates.

Reminder: to be in the running for a Winner/Shout Out, we must see evidence of at least one (or more) HALLOWEEN-themed DIE on your card/project.  

Looking forward to a gallery filled with Halloween delights.

Thank you for dropping by!

AAA Birthday Challenge #90 - Big and Bold - Painted Rose Happy Birthday (Concord and 9th)

Hello,

Hello,

Here we are: October 1st already!! Time is zipping by ever so quickly!

 
Of course, a new month means a new challenge; welcome to AAA Birthday Challenge #90, where our theme is BIG AND BOLD.  Over-the-top sized mages, large die-cuts, bright colours and whatever else pops into your mind to celebrate birthdays all over your card front. In this case, bigger *is* better! 

We're delighted to have Loll joining us as our Guest Designer.

My Concord and 9th Painted Rose was my selection for Big and Bold. While the colours are on the softer side, the sheer size of the rose certainly makes a presence. One of my oldies but goodies in my stash; happy to give it some love. 

Please visit the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from Loll and the rest of my talented teammates.

Looking forward to seeing how Big and Bold speaks to you.

Thank you for dropping by!

AAA Cards Challenge #324 - Follow My Lead - Have A Fang-tastic Night (SB Craft-o-ween)

Hello,

Welcome to AAA Cards Challenge #324 - Follow My Lead. For the next two weeks, we invite you to draw inspiration from Helen's card, featured below.  

Inspiration card:

My most handsome Count Dracula (Spellbinders' Craft-o-ween kit from last year) came out  to play for this challenge.  I paired him with a spooky, starry night sky so he would be right in his element; after all, a vampire of his calibre needs something dramatic. He's definitely the star of the show, as Helen's plane is the star of hers.

Please visit the main blog to see my teammates' fabulous takes on Helen's card.
Looking forward to seeing how it inspires you.

A reminder that we're looking for Clean and Simple designs; you can find the description of what that means here. 

Thank you for dropping by!

Inkspirational Challenge #377 - Visual Prompt - Fall and Halloween Cupcakes - Plaid and Ghost Happy Halloween Wishes (Halloween Wishes, Scrapbook and Cards Today)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #377 where, for the next two weeks (Sept. 26 - Oct. 9), we invite you to draw inspiration from the fabulous Fall + Halloween cupcakes image below. The Fall designs, with their warm autumn colours, pumpkins, plaid, leaves, sunflowers, acorns, mushrooms and cozy harvest details, and the "spooky" touches of the Halloween cupcakes, featuring ghosts, spiders, bats, black cats, ravens and moonlit skies, means possibilities galore. Colours and textures count, too.

Pretty obvious which two cupcakes caught my eye (okay...actually all of them did!): plaid from the top row and the ghost just beneath. Rather than two cards, I went with a combination. Plaid blocks + ghost embossed black blocks (embossing folder from Taylored Espressions) for the background, then the focal image featuring the cute ghost, witch hat and banner from the special Scrapbook and Cards Today Halloween Wishes collection. 

I think this is a first for me in making blocks. I quite like it; definitely more of that style to come.

Looking forward to seeing which cupcake or cupcakes tickle your creative palate!

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #842 - Stencil Week - Leaf Frame Happy Birthday (Better Press Society - Leaf Frame)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #842 - Stencil Week. Bring out your stencils and play along with us.

We're delighted to have Julia Aston joining us as our September Guest Designer. Thank you, Julia, for sharing your creativity and inspiration with us this month.

I've brought out my Better Press Society Leaf Frame and accompanying stencil for the challenge. The leaves are lovely in any colour; here I just used 'leftover' ink from an assortment of my blending brushes. In this case, a little went a long way in giving the leaves two-tone colours. Spellbinders' nesting dies and cardstock created the placeholder for the sentiment, along with a trio of matchy-matchy enamel dots.

Please visit the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from our Guest Designer and my talented teammates. 

Looking forward to seeing which stencils you'll be highlighting.

Thank you for dropping by!