Inkspirational Challenge #357 - Designer's Choice - COLD - Baby, It's Cold Outside (Inside Pop-up Panel using SSD Forever Frost)

Hello, 

Welcome to Inspirational Challenge #357. Can you believe it? This is our final challenge of 2025, carrying us right over the threshold into 2026. Where did the year go?

For the next two weeks (December 20–January 2), Marlena invites you to explore her Designer’s Choice theme: COLD. A timely pick for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere; indeed, as I write this post, the thermometer reads a brisk –27°C! 🥶 Winter has truly arrived.

What does cold spark for you? Frosty textures, icy palettes, snow-covered scenes, frozen treats or perhaps a humorous take on shivering critters or bundled-up figures? So many options, right!

Today, I'm using the Forever Frost collection from Simply Stated Design. The frost themed papers and ephemera certainly convey cold in the most lovely fashion.

 

This beautiful snowflake and sentiment featured on the front of my card make for a simple design.

The 'real' magic happens when the card is open, revealing a 'hidden' panel that pop-up from a carefully constructed 'feat of engineering' (at least for me it is!).

Below is a top view of the 'mechanism'.

Here is a view of one side of the card once opened, followed by...

the view from the other side.

 

A selection of ephemera - snowflakes and icy winter roses - adds to the card's wintry vibe.

I won't pretend this was easy to make; a couple of 'sloppy copies' happened first. Once I had the mechanism - or more specifically, the mechanism's opening - figured out, the card came together quickly. I'm pleased with the result and, despite the finagling and fiddling, I'll certainly be making more.  Hope this brings you a smile.

Please head over to the main blog to see wonderful inspiration from my talented team. Then, cozy up in your craft room and design a COLD themed card to share in the gallery.

On behalf of my team and myself, we wish you and your loved ones all the joys of the festive season.

Thank you for dropping by!

AAA Card Challenge #305 - Anything CAS Goes (Optional Twist: White on White) - For You Gift (TH Ribbon, SB Tag)

Hello,

Welcome to AAA Cards Challenge #305 - Anything CAS Goes, with the optional twist of White-on-White Only.  Since many of us are immersed in the joys and rush of the festive season, this challenge will run from Dec. 7th - Jan. 17, 2026.  Plenty of time to play along with us, both before, during and even after the holidays.

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

My white-on-white card was simple to make, once the idea gelled. Here, I'm featuring the wonderful bow die from Tim Holtz paired with a tag from Spellbinders. I'm smitten with the way this large, pretty bow creates the illusion of a wrapped gift.

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from our guest designer and my teammates, then bring your Anything CAS Goes cards - with or without the twist - to the gallery.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Wishing all my visitors a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Thank you for dropping by!

Inkspirational Challenge #356 - Use Stencils ( Optional Twist - Snowflakes) - Merry and Bright Radiating Snowflake (Pinkfresh Studio, WF sentiment)

Hello,

Welcome to Inkspirational Challenge #356, where we invite you to play along in our popular "USE STENCILS" challenge. The optional twist is SNOWFLAKES. 

A one snowflake card from me - and it's a big one! The Radiating Snowflakes, from Pinkfresh Studio, is so pretty whether stenciled - as it is here - or glimmered. The sentiment is from Waffle Flower; the background coverplate from PFS.

Please visit the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from my teammates, then join us in the gallery with a stenciled sensation of your own, with or without the optional twist.

Thank you for dropping by!

Color Hues Challenge #123 - Pink and Green - Happy Holidays Tree and Special Inside Pop-Up

Hello,

December 1st already! How time flies!  Welcome to Colour Hues Challenge #123 where our wonderful hostess, Tracey, invites us to create with hues of Pink and Green for this festive season. As an added bonus: the link will be open until Dec. 29th, giving you plenty of time to play along with us.

My card is one of several I made with Spellbinders’ Merry Moments kit. The front is simple, but the inside is where the magic happens. The pop-up design was inspired by a video from my talented friend, Karen, whose tutorial makes the mechanism surprisingly easy. Once that was built, I selected coordinating papers and ephemera from the kit, then added some extra pizzazz with an SB ornaments embossing folder for the inside panels. Since this card is meant to be displayed open, the message space lives on the back.

I can't wait to make a few more using this design. 

Please visit the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from my talented teammates. then join us in the gallery with Pink and Green creations of your own.

The challenge will be open until December 29th to give you plenty of time to play along. 

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!

AAA Birthday Card Challenge #80 - Box Card - Age Is Just A Number Box Card (Simply Stated Design)

Hello,

And suddenly it's December 1st! New month; new challenge. Welcome to AAA Birthday Card Challenge #80 where we're inviting you to create a BOX card or a SHADOW BOX card.  Something a little different in the design department, for sure!

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

 

I chose an explosion box card for my first ever box card style; ohmyword! I'm smitten! I was  inspired by a clear, concise, easy-to-follow video tutorial created by my fellow Canadian friend, Karen, which you can find here. My papers and ephemera come from the Age Is Just A Number collection from my favourite Canadian company - Simply Stated Design

The box with the lid on...

and here's what happens when the lid is removed. The box has plenty of room to include a bag of candies, a small gift, a gift card...whatever fits into the 4" x 4" space.

I'm super happy with how this trial run went; I hope seeing it brings a smile to your face.

Plans are already in the works for another...and another...and another.

Please head over to the main blog to see wonderful creations from our Guest Designer and my talented teammates.

Plenty of time to join us, as the challenge runs until Dec. 31st.

See you in the gallery!

To all our AAA Birthday Card Challenge players: may have a most Merry Christmas and wonderful holiday season!

Thank you for dropping by!

Just Us Girls Challenge #803 - STENCIL Week - Snowflakes Peace-Love-Joy (TE)

Hello,

Welcome to Just Us Girls Challenge #803 - Stencil Week which is our wrap-up challenge for 2025.  We're taking December off, then returning in 2026 with a new batch of inspiration. Sue, our hostess, will be the lucky person selecting our Winner of the Week and Shout Outs. 

We're grateful to Leslie Miller for being our Guest Designer for November. Thank you for sharing your abundant creativity with us this month.

Snowflakes from me - one of the designs from Taylored Expressions Create-in-Quads sets. Traditional red and green: love it! 

Please head over to the main blog for sensational stencil showcases from Leslie and the rest of my talented team. 

Looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

All of us at Just Us Girls

wish you a wonderful holiday season and a most Merry Christmas.

Thank you for dropping by!

AAA Card Challenge #304 - Sketch - Postage Merry and Bright (Spellbinders Rub-ons, WF)

Hello,

Welcome to AAA Cards Challenge #304 where, for the next two weeks, we invite you to draw inspiration from the sketch below.  You're not required to use circles or trees; let your creativity guide you to shapes + images. Rotating the sketch and/or using a different size card (slimline, mini slim, for example) would be fabulous as well.

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

Mini slimline for me + a selection of postage backgrounds as stages for super adorable rub-ons from Spellbinders' Holiday Magic Collection, purchased from one of my favourite Canadian craft retailers, here.

I just have to say: these rub-ons take cute to a whole new level! I might have a soft spot for the snowman...and the penguin...and the deer...and Santa...and the tree. Heck, they're all delightful

Please head over to the main blog to see fabulous inspiration from our guest designer and my teammates.

Then, bring your takes on the sketch to the gallery.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Thank you for dropping by!