Friday, December 29, 2023

Inkspirational Challenge #306 - Moodboard - For You Bow-Tied Card (TH - Bow-Tied, Spellbinders embossing folder and tag)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #306; we're delighted to have you joining us for our wrap-up challenge of 2023. We invite you to draw inspiration from this predominately gold + black, elegant and stylish Mood Board. Hopefully you'll discover something to capture your interest: hearts, stripes, geometric patterns, cutlery, feathers, candles, the colours and so much more. 


Obvious what caught my eye: the colours. My cimple-to-create card features the oh-so-pretty Bow-Tied, from Tim Holtz, set atop a pearlescent black embossed background and a simple little tag. Both are from Spellbinders. The card works for a birthday or any occasion where a gift may be involved. Excited to use this bow in other colours; it's way easier for me to die-cut and layer one that it is to fuss around with real ribbon! 


Before turning the stage over to you:

The Inkspirational team would like to express our appreciation for your participation this year. Your enthusiasm and creativity bring us joy; thank you for embracing our challenges with such enthusiasm. We hope that the momentum of 2023 continues throughout 2024.

Wishing you a most Happy New Year!

See you in the gallery!
Thank you for dropping by!


Friday, December 15, 2023

Inkspirational Challenge #305 - Word Prompt - CELEBRATE - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas Pine Cone Branch (Good Tidings set - HoneyBee Stamps)

Hello,

Hard to believe that Christmas is but nine days away - and in the spirit of this fast-approaching festive event, our Inkspirational Challenge #305 - Word Prompt for the next two weeks is CELEBRATE. Of course, we're not limiting you to cards/projects for the holiday season; feel free to broaden the theme to any events/images/emotions that speak to celebration. 


Honey Bee Stamps' Good Tidings stamp, die and stencil set is absolutely wonderful - and the sentiment, in my view, fits well with the CELEBRATE prompt.
 I love pine cones (and yes, I do have quite a collection!) so inviting this collection into my stash was a given. The 6 stencils were easy to line up and, to add extra depth to the pine cones, I used coloured pencils. In a nutshell, I followed most of the techniques/tips/ink and pencil colours found here.

I made 8 cards in total: four for my sister to send to family on behalf of my mom; four to mom's companion who is my #1 audience for most of my cards. Hopefully, the recipients will enjoy them as much as I did making them.


Looking forward to seeing how CELEBRATE inspires you!

Also sharing at:






Thank you for dropping by!


Friday, December 8, 2023

HLS December 2023 Anything Goes with Dies Challenge - For You Bow Card (Spellbinders, Crop and Create Delivered 2023)

Hello,



My card features the All Occasion Bow dies from Spellbinders, which were part of the Crop and Create Delivered event I participated in this fall. This large, pretty bow can be transformed into a shaped card - which I've done here - or added to a card front. It's fun and delightfully versatile.


What dies will shine on your cards this month? Looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

Thank you for dropping by!


Wednesday, December 6, 2023

HLS December 2023 Stencil Challenge - Merry Christmas Sleigh (Lisa Horton, Waffleflower sentiment)

Hello,



My card features some new-to-me products:

Lisa Horton - Christmas Sleigh 3D Embossing Folder Christmas Sleigh Layering Stencils and Die
Festive Postal Marks Embossing Folder  

The sleigh is fun to stencil and it's wonderful to have a die to cut it out once done. I "may" have made several of these!


Looking forward to your stencil sensations in the gallery

Thank you for dropping by!


Monday, December 4, 2023

HLS December 2023 Anything Goes with Christmas Challenge (optional: Festive Animals) - Happy Holidays (Colorado Craft Co., Anita Jeram - Dear Santa)

Hello,

Welcome to the December 2023 version of Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge, where Anything Goes with an optional twist of Festive Animals.


NEWS from Kylie: This will be the last round of challenges for a while. Happy Little Stampers (all challenges) will be on an indefinite break starting in 2024. Thank you for all your support and we hope you will join us once we return.

Definitely a bittersweet post today, as you can see, from the note above, that Kylie will be closing her challenges for a while. Sad, for sure, but she more than deserves a break, given how long she's been running several challenges. On the 'sweet' side, she does imply a return, so I'm taking that as a positive.

I'm on a roll with Anita Jeram stamps and dies this month; trying to get a selection completed to share with our Lily's vet. This one features the adorable critters from Dear Santa. The wee mouse with his little envelope especially makes me smile!


Looking forward to seeing a gallery filled with Christmas delights!

Thank you for dropping by!


Saturday, December 2, 2023

HLS December 2023 Birthday Challenge - May Your Birthday Be As Awesome as You Are (Colorado Craft Co., Anita Jeram)

Hello,



NEWS from Kylie: This will be the last round of challenges for a while. Happy Little Stampers (all challenges) will be on an indefinite break starting in 2024. Thank you for all your support and we hope you will join us once we return.

Definitely a bittersweet post today, as you can see, from the note above, that Kylie will be closing her challenges for a while. Sad, for sure, but she more than deserves a break, given how long she's been running several challenges. On the 'sweet' side, she does imply a return, so I'm taking that as a positive! 

My card features the adorable dog from Christmas Presents which I've transformed into a birthday version. Love versatility with products! 


Let's send this challenge off with a gallery filled to bursting! 

Thank you for dropping by!


Friday, December 1, 2023

Inkspirational Challenge #304 - Designer's Choice - Add Glitter - Ho Ho Ho Glittery Santa (Santa Greetings - Tim Holtz)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #304 where Pia invites us ADD GLITTER as her Designer's Choice for the next two weeks. We're sure that many of you are glitzing and glittering up your festive cards/projects (or other significant occasions that call for some extra glam), so we'd love for you to share them in our gallery.


I glittered up the oh-so-cute Santa from Tim Holtz's Santa Greetings set. He's glammed up with glitter from his hat, to his beard, to his mittens, to his suit, to his belt to his little bitty boots (seriously, the boots are soooo cute). Even the HO HO HO is glittered.


Can't see the glitter in the photo above? Well, check it out in the photo below! Yes, definitely over-exposed but...had to share the shiny!


The Link will be open until Friday, Dec. 15th @ 11:59pm (GMT), so you have plenty of time to join us.

Looking forward to seeing your glitter in the gallery! 

Thank you for dropping by!


Color Hues Challenge #77 - Pink and Silver ( all month long) - Trim A Tree (Tim Holtz)

Hello,

Welcome to Colour Hues Challenge #77 where our lovely hostess, Nancy, invites us to use hues of Pink and Silver as inspiration for the month of December. Yes - the entire month, which means more time for you to play along with us. 

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

I've created a pink (in real life, the pink is much softer) Christmas tree for the challenge, using Tim Holtz's Trim A Tree (love the layers and ornaments), set atop a Sparkle embossing folder background. Sentiment saved for the inside. 

Looking forward to seeing a gallery filled with Pink and Silver delights.

The challenge will be open until December 28th @ 9 AM EST!

The winners will be posted an hour before our next challenge goes live.
The overall winner will have the opportunity to be a
future Guest Designer!

Thank you for dropping by!


Friday, November 24, 2023

Just Us Girls Challenge #707 - CAS Week - In a Circle - Penguins Winter Chill and Let's Be Merry (Spellbinders and MCT)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #707 - which is also our wrap-up for 2023 as the team takes a break through December. Our lovely hostess, Bobby, would like us to 'round out' the year with a CAS card with the focal image In a Circle

Thank you to Melissa for being our inspiring guest designer this month. Your creativity has been simply wonderful.

Two In A Circle cards from me - well, technically, the 'circle' is a snowball (from My Creative Time), lightly stamped with snowflakes from Uniko Studio, which seemed suitable for my little penguins (Spellbinders). I've gone a wee bit beyond 'clean and simple' in adding an embossed snowflakes background. Oops. Sentiments are also from MCT.



Looking forward to seeing your Clean-and-Simple In a Circle delights.

Thank you for dropping by!


Friday, November 17, 2023

Inkspirational Challenge #303 - SEASONAL - Merry Flip-It Fun Interactive Card Dies - Trio of Christmas Cards (Crop and Create 2023)

Hello, 

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #303 - Seasonal, where we're inviting you to draw inspiration from a "season" and create cards that are specific to that season. For instance, for Fall and Winter, you may consider the rapidly approaching US Thanksgiving and Christmas, respectively.  Whatever you choose, as long as a SEASON + specific occasion are evident, you're good to go.


NOTE: a bit photo heavy! 
I'm sharing a trio of Christmas cards I made during the September Crop and Create event. They all feature products from The Stamps of Life:

Merry Flip-it Fun Interactive Card dieThis die set creates an A2 (4.25 x 5.5 inches) Flip-it Card with a fancy shape in the middle, layering dies for the panels and a Merry word die.

Christmas Fun Paper Pad, Merry Clear Stamp Bundle, Christmas Add-On Dies (and I will be honest: the paper didn't really resonate with me - just a bit too cutesy, but - they were part of the class, so I was a good student and used them. I plan to try this die with other papers/images at some point; it really is quite versatile).

Card 1
Our 'starter' card, the simplest of the three, where the 'Merry' is visible both on the outside and inside.

Card 2: Front
This one shows the Flip-it die in action, where the 'Merry' section flips to the second sentiment.

Card 2: Inside

Card 3 - Front
This was the 'advanced' version and includes three inside panels, designed to leave space for writing a message which, in the version above, would likely need to be placed on the back of the card. A bit more fiddly, but still very easy to make.

Card 3: Inside Panels


Looking forward to seeing your SEASONAL themed cards in the gallery! 
Last time we ran this challenge, we had close to 70 awesome entries; let's see if we can surpass that!

Thank you for dropping by!


Just Us Girls Challenge #706 - Photo/Moodboard - Happy Holidays Stitched Tree and Ornaments (Spellbinders)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #706, where Carol Mc has selected this oh-so-pretty Christmas/Winter Mood Board as inspiration this week. Unconventional and traditional Christmas colors, along with a variety of images, make for a wide range of choices to draw from.



Once again, we're delighted to have Melissa joining us as our November guest designer.

Colours, trees and ornaments caught my eye, so I stitched up a card using Spellbinders products. The gold metallic thread is soooo pretty in real life! 


Looking forward to seeing how the Mood Board inspires you!

Thank you for dropping by!


Thursday, November 16, 2023

Color Hues Challenge #76 - Red and Metallic Gold - Merry Christmas Bells (Alex Syberia)

Hello, 

Welcome to Colour Hues Challenge #78, where our lovely Jules has selected hues of Red and Metallic Gold as inspiration for the next two weeks. This combination certainly fits with Christmas but, as you'll see, some of the team have gone in different directions. Lots of possibilities...

We're delighted to have Claire joining us for this challenge.

Another Alex Syberia Designs set came out to play - Jingle Bell Joy -  and ohmystars! The bells + foliage + bows (Pretty Bows) make for a lovely combination, especially when paired with the Sparkly Flakes cover die. I made this card a couple weeks back and, as you can guess, I've made several more. They'll be heading (along with a few poinsettia cards) to my mom's companion/care-giver for her to share with family/friends. Fingers crossed she'll like them.  


Looking forward to seeing how Red and Metallic Gold inspire you.

The challenge will be open until November 28th @ 9 AM EST!

The winners will be posted an hour before our next challenge goes live.
The overall winner will have the opportunity to be a
future Guest Designer!
Thank you for dropping by!


Friday, November 10, 2023

Just Us Girls Challenge #705 - Word Week - Thanks or Thanksgiving - Thanksgiving and Autumn Blessings Artsy Leaves (Tim Holtz Artsy Leaves, Waffleflower Postage Collage)

Hello,

A warm welcome and invitation to join us for Just Us Girls Challenge #705 where, as hostess once again, I've selected Thanks or Thanksgiving as our Word Week inspiration. Even though Thanksgiving is long past where I live (Canada), I decided it would be wonderful to join in with our friends who celebrate the tradition in November. For those who would like a more general prompt, Thanks is also as an option. 


Once again, we're delighted to have Melissa joining us as our November Guest Designer.

As you know, I love Tim Holtz's Artsy Leaves and the cards shared here are the first batch I made, using them. I knew I was saving them for this challenge, so they're delighted to finally have their turn on the stage. I've paired them once again with Waffle Flower's Postage Collage Grid die. Papers are from TH as well; so glad I re-discovered them in my stash. 




Looking forward to seeing how Thanks/Thanksgiving inspire you!

Thank you for dropping by!