Inkspirational Challenge #360 - Word Prompt - XOXO (Hugs and Kisses) - Tic-Tac-Toe XOXO (MFT, Better Press Calendar)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #360.  We're celebrating the the first two weeks of February, the month of love, with a Word Prompt challenge: XOXO. Those little symbols of 'hugs and kisses' are perfect for expressing love, friendship, Valentine's Day and...well, all things heartfelt.

An oldie but goodie collection from my Favourite Things came out to play for this challenge. I love that the tic-tac-toe images and accompanying sentiments are timeless.  My new Better Press Calendar plate for February just seemed like a good pairing. Hope you agree. 

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from my amazing team.

We're excited to see how XOXO inspires you! 

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #808 - CASE a DT Week - Unique Creative Bohemian Escape - Happy Birthday

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #808, where it's CASE a DT Week. We make any style/occasion of card we want and you draw inspiration from one of our cards to create a version of your own. Please share in your description the card you CASE-d and the features that caught your eye.

My card showcases papers and ephemera from Uniquely Creative, an Australian based company whose products I'm fortunate to find in a local Alberta craft store. This collection, Bohemian Escape, is absolutely lovely. Should you choose to  CASE my card - and thank you so much if you do -  you have plenty of options: Spring theme, butterflies, florals, books, typewriters, birthday, patterned papers, ephemera, soft colours. 

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from my teammates.

Looking forward to seeing whose card you'll CASE.

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #807 - Stencil Week - Wishing You the Best Day (BetterPress Society Golden Bloom)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #807 - Stencil Week. Bobby is our lucky hostess for this challenge.

 We're delighted to have Laurel Seabrook joining us once again as our January Guest Designer.

Today, my January 2026 Better Press Society Golden Bloom plate, stencils and dies are making their debut. Such pretty blossoms - and so easy to either press or glimmer. I have close to a year's worth of Society plates to play with...getting a start with this one. For this version, i used only one ink: Fossilized Amber.

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from Laurel and the rest of my team.

Looking forward to seeing your stencil sensations filling the gallery.

Thank you for dropping by!

AAA Card Challenge # 306 - Follow My Lead - Follow Francesca - Sending Warm Wishes Coffee (SSD Coffee Ephemera)

Hello,

Welcome to AAA Cards Challenge #306 - Follow My Lead. The 'lead' we're following is Francesca, who's pretty card you'll see below. 

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

Here is Francesca's card; our inspiration for this challenge.

My card follows Francesca's in having three related/similar images set overtop a background. My background stamp is a collage of coffee-themed words; my images are ephemera from Simply Stated Design. I arranged them suggest a flow: coffee beans + a coffee grinder = a delicious beverage.

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from our guest designer and my teammates, then bring your interpretations of Francesca's card to the gallery.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Thank you for dropping by!

Inkspirational Challenge #359 - Visual Prompt - SHADES OF BLUE - Forever Frost Warm Wishes (Diagonal Pull-out, SSD Forever Frost)

Hello, 

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #359 where we're inviting you to shake off the January blues and dive into a little creative escape with us! 

For the next two weeks (Jan. 17 - 30), we’re celebrating shades of blue, drawing from the palest of soft skies to deep, velvety navy - and everything in-between.  Plenty of possibilities and we're excited to see the beautiful blue creations you’ll share with us! 💙 

My *Shades of Blue* come from a lovely paper and ephemera collection from Simply Stated Design (Alberta, Canada). I've used it to create a card that has a two sided diagonal pull-out, as well as a pocket. 

Here is the front view.  I'm smitten with the snowflake and frosty landscape ephemera, as well as the beautiful snowflake paper. Notice the little tab on the lower right.

 

When the tab is pulled, it opens to reveal two sets of inside panels. Below is the first...

and here, the second. 

This is a 4 x 6 card which can easily be adapted to A2 or 5 x 7, if you so choose. 

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from my talented team.

I'm looking forward to a gallery filled with Shades of Blue. 

NOTE: If you choose to use *only* shades of blue and white on your cards, please consider adding your creations to Color Hues Challenge #125. I am the hostess for this particular challenge and we'd love to have you share your creativity with us here - and there. 

Thank you for dropping by!

Color Hues Challenge #125 - Blue and White - Peace and Warm Wishes Forever Frost (Simply Stated Design, WF)

Hello,

It’s time for a fresh Color Hues challenge and I'm delighted to be your hostess. For the next two weeks, we're diving into a dreamy Blue and White palette. ❄️ Perfect for mid-January, these colours can reflect everything from frosty winter days to those familiar January Blues — or maybe something that draws inspiration from water/ice, Delft-style designs on vases and plates, birds or even just classic blue-and-white patterns. In whatever way you interpret them, let these two colours set the mood for your next beautiful card/project creation.

 We're delighted to have Bobby joining us as our Guest Designer for this challenge.

I'm showcasing two favourite products for my cards: the Forever Frost collection from Simply Stated Design along with my much-loved and often-seen Waffle Flower Postage Collage dies. The Peace sentiment is from Waffle Flower; Warm Wishes from Alex Syberia's Midnight Blooms.

The icicle and snowflake papers, and detailed snowflakes ephemera...swoon!

Blue, white and definitely wintry! 

Please head over to the main blog to see the fabulous cards created by Bobby and the rest of my talented team.

Looking forward to seeing how Blue and White will inspire you. 

The challenge will be open until January 29th  @ 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 #806 - MOODBOARD Week - Wintry Happy Birthday

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #806, where Vicki has shared this laden-with-possibilities mood board as inspiration this week.

We're delighted to have Laurel Seabrook joining us as our January Guest Designer.

Once again, I've drawn on my collection of Simply Stated Design products (Forever Frozen) for my card. I was inspired by the cottage image (bottom row, center) and the wood (left row, second image). 

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous cards from Laurel and the rest of my team.

Looking forward to seeing how the mood board inspires you.

Thank you for dropping by!

AAA Colourful Colourboard #24 - Valentine Tickets (Concord and 9th)

Hello,

I’m truly delighted and honoured to be joining the fabulous AAA Colourful Challenge Team. This talented group of designers is wonderfully inspiring, as you well know. How fortunate - and grateful - I am for the opportunity to create alongside them and learn from their amazing work. Now, without further ado:

Welcome to AAA Colourful Colourboard #24. The swirls of  pretty hues of pink, paired with the slightest hints of lilac and grey make for a beautiful combination, especially with Valentine's Day on the horizon. 

We're delighted to have Patricia as our Guest Designer for this challenge.

After spending far too long in my stash, unused, my Concord & 9th's Just The Ticket dies and stamp collection came out for a play. So much fun - and now that they're on the corner of my crafting desk, they'll certainly be receiving more attention. 

Here, my mini slimline card features the collection's horizonal ticket dies and an assortment of the smaller dies. Snippets of cardstock in the challenge colours made for delightful backgrounds. Hopefully I've touched on all the challenge colours in some fashion. 

Please drop in at the main blog to see wonderful inspiration from Pauline and the rest of my amazing team.

Looking forward to seeing your colourboard inspired cards/projects in the gallery.

The challenge is open until February 14th; plenty of time to join us.

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #805 - Word Week - Encouragement - Take Life One Cup at a Time (SSD Coffee, TE sentiment)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #805  where Elizabeth, our hostess, has chosen *Encouragement* or our Word Week prompt. 

We're delighted to have Laurel Seabrook joining us for her second week as our January Guest Designer.

I've used an assortment of coffee themed papers and ephemera, from Simply Stated Design, paired with a sentiment from Taylored Expressions. 

Please head over to the main blog for some amazing Encouragement cards from Laurel and my talented team. 
Looking forward to seeing how this prompt speaks to you.

Thank you for dropping by!

Inkspirational Challenge #358 - Word Prompt - SHINE/SHINY - 2026 Happy New Year (HA Numbers, WF Snowflake coverplate)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #358where we're ringing in the New Year with our first Word Prompt: SHINE/SHINY.  From glitter to metallics to glimmer foils to sequins: whatever brings a shine to your cards is fine by us! 

Happy New Year! Lots of gold shine on my card: gold foil cardstock, Hero Arts numbers, a Waffle Flower cover plate and an Alex Syberia sentiment. 

May 2026 be a wonderful year for everyone!

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from my wonderful teammates, then bring out your shiny stuff, create a card/project and join us in the gallery.

The challenge is open until January 16th; plenty of time to play along.

Thank you for dropping by!

Colour Hues Challenge #124 - Grey and Red - Santa and Gingerbread Man (SSD Cute Whimsy Bases, SB Postage)

Hello!

Happy New Year! May 2026 be filled with joy, love and crafting...LOTS of crafting!

Welcome to Colour Hues Challenge #124 where our talented hostess, Bonnie, invites us to play with hues of Grey and Red for the next two weeks. A pretty wintery combination for January, in my opinion. 

We are joined this month by two fabulous Guest Designers: Lisa E. and Barb F.

I've been waiting to share this adorable Santa for quite a while - and when I realized the image is predominately red and grey, well: here he is! Too cute! 

Please head to the main blog to see amazing inspiration from our guest designers as well as my talented teammates.

Looking forward to seeing how Grey and Red inspire you!

The challenge will be open until January 14th!

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 #804 - Die Week - Cover Plate - May Your Days Be Merry and Bright Cute Snowman (SSD, WF Frosty Panel Die, TH sentiment)

Hello,

Happy New Year!

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #804 - Use Dies Week where Elizabeth, our hostess, invites us to use a cover plate on our cards/projects. Your cover plate can emboss or die cut; the choice is yours.

We're delighted to have Laurel Seabrook joining us as our Guest Designer for January.

My card captures a combination of the festive + winter mood I'm feeling: a cute snowman from the Simply Stated Design Cute Snowman Ephemera collection , a frosty panel from Waffle Flower and a Christmassy sentiment from a Tim Holtz booklet.  The snowman makes me smile; so adorable!

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from Laurel and the rest of the team. 

Looking forward to seeing what style of cover plate you'll be sharing.

Thank you for dropping by!

AAA Birthday Challenge #81 - Winter Birthday - This Card is Full of Birthday Wishes Arctic Critters (Simply Stated Design - November Patreon Bundle)

Hello,

Happy New Year! As we welcome 2026, I want to express how much I appreciate that you're part of our creative journey here at AAA Birthday Challenge. Your inspiring cards serve to fuel my inspiration as well. Hopefully, a joyous year of crafting comes to fruition for all of us.

Welcome to AAA Birthday Challenge #81. This month, we invite you to create Winter Birthday cards and projects. Think snowy vistas, Arctic critters, snowflakes, winter colours and cozy cold-weather items like mittens, hats and scarves—so many delightful possibilities for our January theme.

We're delighted to have Cathy R joining us as our guest designer. 

 

A winter scene features prominently on my card: a wintry sky, snowflakes and an ephemera focal cluster of Arctic animals, dressed in cozy hats and scarves. (Simply Stated Design - November Patreon collection).  A Spellbinders Better Press sentiment completes the birthday theme. 

Please drop in at the main blog to see wonderful inspiration from Cathy and the rest of my amazing team.

Looking forward to seeing your winter birthday cards filling the gallery! 

The challenge is open until January 31st; plenty of time to join us.

Thank you for dropping by!