B Should Always Be for Books

Happy Saturday! Here in my neck of the woods, we've been in a bit of a cold snap the last few days — what better time to curl up with a good book or three? And so here at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, we offer our latest challenge, B is for Books! A number of the sisters are bookworms, and we've been looking forward to this challenge. I pulled out all my book-related stamps, and while the collection doesn't quite compare to my stockpile of cat stamps, it's, um, sizeable. So I looked them over and managed to come up with something with at least a little bit of snark. 

Not a very apologetic apology! These stamps are from a long-ago Simon Says Stamp kit... I pretty much never buy kits, but this one was books, so of course I did. I've even used it a few times! This was fun to make, especially the red book waiting precariously on the shelf. I _could_ have done some masking for the book pile at the bottom, but life seemed too short. 

Then, while I had my book-related supplies out...

Tim Holtz blueprint stamp, sentiment from the same set as above. Kept the design clean in white, grey, red and black. 

Another book stamp set! This one from My Favorite Things, paired with a sentiment from STAMPlorations. This time I did some masking, to add the mug and the napping cat to the scene.

This time the books are from a WPlus9 set (this one has books AND cats!) and another sentiment from STAMPlorations. A little masking again, to add the Stampin' Up mug to the book pile.

Also, easiest photo staging ever! I simply pulled a couple of my favourite author's books from my collection. People can collect more than one type of thing, you know! :P 

We have book-related cards both with snark and without for your enjoyment on the blog today, from my sisters and our latest Queen of Snark, Cornelia! Be sure to stop by to admire their talent and be inspired! 

Supplies: (so sorry) Neenah white & Stampin' Up black cardstock, Authentique Be(you)tiful patterned paper Simon Says Stamp To Thine Own Shelf stamps, Versafine onyx black, Memento morocco, bamboo leaves, cantaloupe, rhubarb stalk, rich cocoa, London fog, cottage ivy, teal zeal, Paris dusk, ladybug & pear tart inks, Wow clear embossing powder; (big books) Neenah white, PTI soft stone & Recollections black cardstock, Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz schoolhouse blueprints & Simon Says Stamp To Thine Own Shelf stamps, Versafine onyx black & Stampin' Up real red inks, MFT blueprints 29 stitched rectangle & Sunny Studio Stamps fishtail banner dies; (cup of tea) American Crafts textured blue cardstock, Canson watercolour paper, MFT Our Story & STAMPlorations Literary Caffeine-ations stamps, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear embossing powder, Zig markers, MFT diagonal stitched rectangle frame die; (may your cup be full) Neenah white & PTI smokey slate cardstock, Authentique Be(you)tiful patterned paper, WPlus9 Smart Kitty, Stampin' Up Every Little Bit & STAMPlorations Literary Caffeine-ations stamps, MFT extreme black & Altenew Persian blue inks, MFT stitched rounded rectangle die, foam tape

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Seize the Confetti!

It's the first challenge of 2019 at Seize the Birthday! For this January kickoff challenge, we are offering the optional *topping* of CONFETTI. 

As always, you don't have to seize the topping, but consider it an extra inspiration for making a birthday card. To be honest, I double-checked with the team to make sure confetti wasn't some fab new product or technique I had missed out on. But no, we're talking about the fun stuff that seems to be mostly outlawed for throwing after weddings now. :P I did once receive a confetti-bomb wedding invitation, though. 

Switching back to birthdays, here's my card, photographed on a very cloudy dull day, sadly: 

My confetti background is made with a stencil and a rainbow of distress oxide inks. My little guy popping out of a present seemed just right for the mood of the card. He doesn't come with a birthday sentiment though, so I went to another of my cat sets *koff* for an appropriate one. For another hint of confetti, I pulled out a few grey gems for the card base. 

A little confetti can make for a fun card! There are lots more fun creations on the challenge blog. We have a new teammate, Cathy Roffey, and a new surprise party guest, Julie Beech - let's give them both a warm welcome. Whether you end up with the confetti or not, why not get a start on your 2019 birthday cards and join our challenge! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Memory Box grey card base, MFT Cool Cat & I Knead You stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black & worn lipstick, festive berries, wild honey, fossilized amber, bundled sage, mermaid lagoon & wilted violet distress oxide inks, Wow clear embossing powder, Copic markers, Simon Says Stamp falling snow stencil, MFT blueprints 29 sentiment flag & Sunny Studio fishtail banner dies, Studio Katia grey cloud crystals, foam tape

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Goodbye Muse, Hello ABC Christmas

A fun challenge came to a close at the end of 2018 when Muse: ChristmasVisions held its final challenge. I really enjoyed my year working with Ardyth and the rest of the design team, but all good things do seem to come to an end eventually. 

It's so helpful come December to have been making Christmas cards throughout the year, and being on a Christmas challenge team is a great help in accomplishing that. So I'm excited to announce I've been accepted as a new member of the ABC Christmas Challenge team! 

ABC Christmas Challenge runs through the alphabet with two or three letters per month to spark your creativity. For January we are starting, not surprisingly, with A and B. First up is A for Anything Goes:

This is the last card I made before Christmas, with this challenge in mind. It's got a fair amount going on compared to my usual cards - a stamped background with some additional green sponging around the edges, watercolored and die cut evergreen branches, a sparkly die cut jingle bell, and a stamped sentiment. All that plus a panel of patterned paper to ground the sentiment and cluster of images. Oh! There's also some red twine for the jingle bell and a few star sequins. :) 

The second challenge theme for January is B for Berries:

And this is my first Christmas card destined for 2019 mailing! I had given a quick try to these Sunny Studio layering holly stamps in November when I was making tags, with absolutely zero success. When I was able to take the time to look at the set more closely, I discovered a few of the stamps are labelled incorrectly! It wasn't just my fault. :P Using the right trio of stamps for each holly leaf produces such beautiful results. I chose to use them to frame this big sentiment, layered on a die cut green panel. Perhaps before Christmas I would have decided to bling this up a lot more, but I just added a little sparkly *frosting* to the berries. 

While you still have the lingering aftereffects of your 2018 Christmas spirit hanging around, why not be inspired by these two prompts, make a Christmas card or two or three and join us! For more inspiration, be sure to check out the beautiful cards of my new teammates. 

Supplies: (Tis the Season) Stampin' Up very vanilla, garden green & real red glitter cardstock, Teresa Collins Noël patterned paper, Hero Arts music collage background & Uniko Simply Said Blocks Christmas stamps, Stampin' Up garden green & several green distress inks, Paper Smooches Wreath Builder, Lil' Inkers Jingle Joy & Winnie & Walter Katherine cutaway dies, Hemptique red twine; (holly) Neenah white & Stampin' Up garden green cardstock, Sunny Studio Christmas Trimmings stamps & dies, Simon Says Stamp Peace on Earth sentiment stamp,Versamark,  Memento bamboo leaves, Stampin Up garden green, Simon Says Stamp green leaf & Altenew crimson & velvet inks, Wow clear embossing powder, MFT stitched scallop rectangle die, Gelly Roll clear sparkle pen

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I'm a Happy Little Stamper!

Happy 2019! I'm starting the new year by joining the Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge Design Team! (For me, it's still 2018 as I post this, but the challenge is based in Australia...) A big thank you to Carol Mayne for recommending me, and to Kylie Purtell for believing what Carol said about me. :D 

The January challenge, and my first as a new member of the team, has the optional twist of Texture. 

In a complete change of pace from weeks of Christmas cards and tags, I chose to make a sympathy card: 

This was my first chance to use this pretty sweet pea image from Studio Katia, as it arrived just as the rush of November's 25 Days of Christmas Tags began. I really like it in the vibrant purples of my Zig markers. I found a pale green cardstock that complemented the leaves and used an embossing folder to add my texture element. The sympathy sentiment is part of the same stamp set, making it easy to complete the card. I'll add this to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday anything goes challenge. 

I hope you will visit the Happy Little Stampers challenge page to admire all the beautiful creations of my new teammates! What better way to welcome January than to join us with your own watercolour project. 

Supplies: Neenah white & scrap light green cardstock, Studio Katia You're So Sweet stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear embossing powder, Zig markers, MFT blueprints 29 sentiment flag, Spellbinders grid embossing folder, Mary-Uchida corner-rounding punch

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R is for...

Of course at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers, R is for Rude Christmas! Just as Edna is keeping her rudeness on the subtle side - I think? - so am I...

I have paired Santa with this sentiment before, so wanted a new way to use them. Luckily, this sentiment fits perfectly on a tag, so I could feature it in a slightly different way. Some fun patterned paper and a little bit of ribbon for the tag finished it off. 
Some of the sisters are also on the design team at Shopping Our Stash, where the current theme is Tis the Season, so I'm linking my card there as well as to the Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge, skipping the optional theme of "snow" unless you want to count the red and green dots. :D At least they're not yellow... And one more challenge, the current Christmas-themed Wednesday Simon Says Stamp challenge.
For more rude Christmas inspiration, check out what my sisters in snark, as well as our newest Queen of Snark and guest designer Lisa have dreamed up! This challenge runs for FOUR weeks, so work out some issues on a card and come join us! 

   

Supplies: red, black, Neenah white & desert storm cardstock, Lawn Fawn patterned paper, Technique Tuesday Dear Santa stamps, Versafine onyx black & crimson red ink, Ranger clear & Hero Arts sparkle embossing powder, Copic markers, (?) tag dies, foam tape

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