ABC Christmas Challenge: Y and Z

It's December - not exactly sure how that happened, but the calendar tells me it is - and so we are onto the last two letters of the alphabet at ABC Christmas Challenge! And sadly, it is also my last post as part of the design team. The past three years have been a delight, and I will miss the great team there, but life has been getting a little hectic lately and I had to let some things go. We are also saying goodbye to one of the founders of the challenge, Samantha. Samantha gave me the opportunity to become part of the team, and is an inspiration both with her cards and her behind-the-scenes work. 

The loss of some team members means there is a design team call! I highly recommend this as a great way to build up your stash of holiday cards through the year. All the details are on the ABC blag. 

At last, onto this month's challenge! Our first theme is Y for YUMMY. I made a card with the yumminess implied: 

Of course anything from Mrs. Claus herself is going to be yummy! She and her bakery are stamped, embossed, coloured with Copics and die cut. For the background, I stamped the chimney smoke in grey ink, plus a second one onto a sticky note to cut out and use as a mask. I blended distress oxide ink for the sky and spritzed it with water for a little extra interest. I adhered the bakery directly to the background then popped up the frame and Mrs Claus. 

And finally, at the end of the alphabet, we have Z for Zigzags. 

For this card, I went for a vintage look with a minimum of stamping. The zigzag paper and the fishtail banner are from a patterned paper pad, while the other ephemera are from a Tim Holtz pack. I'm sure I could have found a pre-printed sentiment as well, but I do like to add a little stamping, so embossed the sentiment on the same kraft cardstock as the card base. I also added a trio of enamel dots. 

I hope the letter prompts, and the great inspiration from my ABC teammates, will help get those December holiday cards made! 

Supplies: (sweet Christmas) Neenah white cardstock, Heffy Doodle Santa's Village stamps & dies, Pink & Main Sweet Christmas sentiment stamp, Versafine onyx black & mermaid lagoon distress oxide ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT diagonal stitched rectangle die, foam tape; (Christmas greetings) Neenah desert storm cardstock,  My Mind's Eye All is Bright patterned paper, Cavallini Vintage Christmas stamp, Versamark & Catherine Pooler rouge ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Tim Holtz/Idea-ology Christmas Ephemera, FT diagonal stitched rectangle die, My Mind's Eye Lost & Found Christmas enamel dots

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Seeing White at Scrap 'n Stamp

White is the prompt today for December's Random Days of Cardness challenge on the Scrap 'n Stamp Facebook page! White cards can be elegant and classy... and then there's mine. :D Here's a sneak peek:

All the details are on the Scrap 'n Stamp blog!

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The Sisterhood of Yuletide Stampers

Oh look, here's Edna, ready to roast Chet's nuts - oh wait, I mean some CHESTNUTS on the fire to get ready for Christmas - and so are the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers with our new challenge, Y is for Yuletide! My card today is exactly as snarky as you want it to be... 

In an admittedly small sample size, women are far quicker to get the potential snark on this card than men. :D I stamped and masked a battery so I could add a second leaning against it, then coloured them with Copics. The sentiment is stamped in red and embossed - as are the batteries, of course, I emboss everything I can. :D I added a couple of scored lines on each side of the panel before adding it to a card base with patterned paper. 

Yuletide is approaching, so I hope you will consider joining us! Be sure to check out what my sisters in snark, and our newest Queen of Snark and guest designer Justene have created for the challenge! 

Supplies: Neenah white cardstock, Teresa Collins Noël patterned paper, Simon Says Stamp Big Holiday Wishes stamps, Versamark, Versamark onyx black & Stampin' Up real red ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers

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Inkspirational: Plaid

Happy weekend! It's time for a brand new challenge at Inkspirational, where my teammates Marlena and Pia have together come up with a fun designers choice theme: PLAID! Since I'm all about the Christmas cards at the moment, I took the opportunity to make two more. Here's my first: 

I took inspiration from a card I made a couple of years ago, but changed the layout and my bear's choice of sweater. I continue to often paper-piece this guy even though the little details (paws, point of Santa hat) can be... painstaking. The background is distress inks splattered with water, and then after I die cut the panel, I added a little more dark blue around the edges above where I planned to put the vellum ocean. With his mug (hot buttered rum, perhaps?) I thought the "stay warm" sentiment worked well. 

My second card was much easier to make, but still adds another one to the holiday stash: 

As I checked through my supplies for various iterations of plaid, I came across this cute snowman panel. I rounded one corner, matted the panel on red, then found coordinating patterned paper and cardstock to make up the design. (That snowflake-embossed cardstock is actually marketed as cream, but it's definitely yellow to my eye!) After I put it together, it seemed to need just a little something, so I added the die cut snowflake that balanced everything out. 

There is more plaid inspiration on the Ink blog - I hope you'll join us! 

Supplies: (stay warm) Neenah white cardstock, vellum, Echo Park Christmas This & That patterned paper, MFT Cool Day stamps, Versafine onyx black & salty ocean, wilted violet & chipped sapphire distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, MFT blueprints 29 stitched rectangle & border dies; (winter fun) Neenah white, Fabriano cream & (?) red cardstock, Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather & Basic Grey Evergreen patterned papers, Sunny Studio slimline basic borders & Sizzix/Tim Holtz mini snowflake dies, PTI snowflake impression plate, fun foam

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Seize the Birthday: Hobbies and Pastimes

Welcome to the last Seize the Birthday challenge of the year, and happy American Thanksgiving! Hard to believe we’re so close to December and the holiday season. In December, the StB design team takes a break from birthday cards - after all we, and we hope you, have built up enough stash over the year to cover those December babies! ;)

I picked the current challenge - Hobbies and Pastimes. It might initially sound tricky, but really, anything people might enjoy doing counts! I made two different cards, and only time kept me from executing more ideas. Here’s my first:

Music! Listening, playing, creating - any or all of these could be someone’s hobby. I used a couple of cute performing critters and their maestro to make my little scene. I gave them a stage with some swipes of a distress ink pad and a pencil crayon line. 

My second card:

This one is much simpler, and almost a little PAB* for me (PAB = my copyrighted acronym for Plain and Boring :D), but wouldn’t it be perfect for a crossword solver? I’ve had the crossword sentiment stamps and patterned paper forever, but couldn’t come up with a suitable pencil stamp. This sticker seemed to do the trick.

For more pastime inspiration, visit the blog to see what my teammates and current surprise party guest Carol have come up with! Hope you’ll be inspired to use your cardmaking hobby and join us. 

Supplies: (toot your own horn) Neenah white cardstock, MFT Dots & Stripes Neutral patterned paper, Lawn Fawn Critter Concert stamps & dies, Versafine onyx black, Memento London fog, Brilliance pearlescent sky blue & Ranger ground espresso distress ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, Copic markers, Prismacolor pencils, Winnie & Walter Katharine cutaways pierced rectangle frame, foam tape; Neenah white, Stampin' Up basic black & (?) blue cardstock, KaiserCraft Black & White Timeless patterned paper, Stampin' Up Cross My Heart stamp, Versafine onyx black ink, Wow clear gloss embossing powder, American Crafts/Amy Tangerine sticker

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Addicted to Stamps and More: Any Occasion

Welcome back to Addicted to Stamps and More, where our "Any Occasion" challenge is ready to go! Right now, if I have a choice, I am all about the Christmas cards. And yet... I was a bit at a loss for what I wanted to do. So I decided to try out a Sheetload of Cards, by Call Me Crafty Al! Here are my two favourites: 

If you're not familiar with Sheetload of Cards videos, each month Alicia (Crafty Al) designs a card sketch using patterned paper with a minimum of waste. For the November sketch that I used, she takes six sheets of patterned paper to create six cards. For the two above, I decided to add a stamped image to each one, as well as the stamped sentiment - the extra stamping might be why they're my favourites! ;) Making these made me think back to the early days of the pandemic, when I thought the SHORT TIME of lockdown would be a perfect time to use up lots of patterned paper on my cards! And here we are, so many months later, and still so much paper. ;) Here's a look at all six cards: 

Regardless of the occasion, we would love to see your cards in the ATSM gallery! Visit the blog for lots more inspiration from my teammates. 

Supplies: Neenah white, Stampin' Up real red, Memory Box stormy blues & American Crafts white glitter cardstock, Echo Park Keeping Cozy patterned paper, Catherine Pooler Nostalgic Season, Studio Katia Happy Snowmen & Taylored Expressions Simple Strips - Christmas stamps & dies, Hero Arts Snow Much Joy stamp, Versamark, Versafine onyx black, Concord & 9th dove & Catherine Pooler rockin' red & juniper mist ink, Wow clear gloss & opaque white embossing powder,  Copic markers, Cat's Pyjamas snowflake & MFT wonky stitched rectangle dies, Studio Katia & Hero Arts gems, Glossy Accents, frosted lace Stickles

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