Christmas Totes

 

Each year I try to make small gifts for my son's "class" mates.  He wanted to share the tradition of Christmas crackers with his friends and so I have decorated these pre-bought gift bags which are big enough to hold a cracker as well as other seasonal treats.

One side was decorated with a Christmas Cracker (Spellbinders), foliage (Sizzix Winter Foliage) and candy canes (Gummiapan) and the other side with a Merry Christmas sentiment (Gummiapan) and their name (cut from red mirror card stock).

The panels were cut with a Distressed Stitched die (Daisy Mae Designs).

Here is the reverse side

 I hope you can find time to join us this month at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge - this year has gone so fast and Christmas is really getting close now!

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

The Outlawz Christmas October Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #70 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and should be able to find you!

Kate

Apple of My Pie

 Time Out Challenge #323 has just gone live and we have another Pick 2 Challenge!

The concept of a Pick 2 Challenge is simple - we give you 6 prompts to choose from and you use at least 2 to inspire your creation!  To be clear, you can pick more than 2 if you like - all 6 if you really want to challenge yourself - but just make sure to pick at least 2!

The Prompts for this challenge are

Gingham, Circle, Basket, Harvest, Baking and Apple

You can interpret these words any way you like but please explain if it isn't obvious and please remember we only allow a total of 5 challenges - ours plus 4 others!  I hope you enjoy our challenge and that you can take a little Time Out and join us for some fun!  

Challenge #319 is generously being sponsored by Lawn Fawn and our Top Pick as chosen by the design team a $25 credit to their store.

The Top Pick will also be invited to join Time Out as a guest designer in a future challenge.  Speaking of guest designers, our guest designer this fortnight is Cathy Preissing of Markers, Ink and Paper, our winner of Challenge #318.  Be sure to check out the Time Out Blog to see how how Cathy and my talented team mates interpreted these six words!

In the year our youngest son was born, the commune (equivalent of local council here) gifted all the children born that year with a tree and we opted for an apple tree.  When we first saw the sapling we weren't sure it would survive that first winter but eventually it took root and after a few years began to thrive.  

We're never quite sure what the harvest from this tree will be but every year it gets stronger and stronger (much like our son I guess) and after this year's punishing hot and very dry summer we didn't hold great expectations for this season.

However, when we returned from our holiday last week, the tree was laden with juicy red apples (albeit a little on the small side) and hubby has already made two pies - so Stephanie's choice of prompts for this challenge was very timely and inspired this card - and I was able to use all six of the prompts!

I used an NBUS basket die (Gummiapan Advent Calendar Day 11 - 2025) and filled it with yummy red apples (Gummiapan Fruit Die Set).  An NBUS circle die (I think it resembles a paper plate) was the perfect size to hold the pie (Spellbinders Perfect Pies) and a sentiment (Waltzing Mouse Compact Sentiments) - everything was cut from plain white card stock and coloured with alcohol markers.  The apples were coated with glossy accents!

And of course, a red gingham panel provided the perfect backdrop!

Here's a side view closeup

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges

Ellibelle's Garden Party #19 - Apples are "in or from a Garden"!

NBUS Challenge #91 - NBUS basket die;

Seize the Birthday #335 - Not sure if these colours qualify for the topping "Fall Colours";

Krafty Chicks Challenge #840 - Week 1 Birthday;

Allsorts Challenge #859 - Anything Autumn

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!   Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate

Sending Some Summer Love

 

Challenge #322 has just gone live has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this Inspired By challenge celebrates Seasonal Colours. 

We want you to create a project inspired by the Colours of the Season Where you Live!

Our challenge is generously being sponsored by Gina K and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design teams $25 credit to their store!  

The Top Pick will also be invited to join Time Out as a guest designer in a future challenge.  Speaking of guest designers, our guest designer this fortnight is Donna Phelan of Crafting by the Beach, our winner of Challenge #317.  Be sure to check out the Time Out Blog to see how how Donna and my talented team mates were inspired by the season in their parts of the world!  

I wasn't sure how colours are supposed to categorised by season - I just know what I like and what suits me (and more often than not what most definitely does not)!  But I had to start somewhere, so I turned to my old friend Google and found this site https://colorhunt.co/palettes/ and picked a palette from the ones it suggested for Summer since until September 21st, Europe is technically still in Summer! 

Then I chose Distress Inks that I felt closely resembled these colours and took out my as yet NBUS Waffle Flowers Postage Collage Envelope die and started applying those colours into the apertures of a die cut made with the Waffle Flowers Postage Collage Block die - yes I thought (erroneously) that I could get away with not buying the matching stencil set for the Envelopes die but it was very difficult to line up properly!  

I started with Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin, Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers - which didn't work out too well for me - at least they didn't make me feel like Summer!  

First I realised that my choice of Mermaid Lagoon was too blue and too dark but I didn't want to abandon my (2nd) attempt at stencilling so I pushed on!  Next, I realised the Squeezed Lemonade wasn't warm enough so I added Mustard Seed mmm much better!  I wanted to tone down the carved pumpkin so I added Spun Sugar to the Carved Pumpkin!   

I cut an envelope from a snippet that was close enough to the Carved Pumpkin/Spun Sugar and some foliage (unbranded and NBUS die which I thought resembled Eucalyptus leaves) from a snippet I used Peacock Feather DI to colour.  I stamped this sentiment (Poppystamps Diamond Sentiments) and used a deckle-edged die to cut it down to size so it fitted inside the envelope.  I blended some of the Mustard Seed DI onto another piece of scrap and cut the seal (Waffle Flowers Wax Seal Trio) - I have been wanting to play with this NBUS die since I bought it earlier in the year and it didn't disappoint!

I still wasn't happy with the end result - that Mermaid Lagoon was really bugging me - so I decided to to hide it with a snippet of light blue instead.  Thus changing the original colour scheme I'd been aiming for and replacing the stencilled envelope with a die-cut one (I consoled myself with the knowledge that it would be mostly hidden anyway)!  

The design still lacked something so I used the snippet of blue and cut some tiny hearts placing them on the stencilled envelopes and the notecard in an attempt to pull the colour scheme together.  

The Wax Seal (Waffle Flowers Wax Seal Trio) - cut from a snippet of card I'd coloured with the Mustard Seed DI - really brought everything together I thought.  I had waited so long to find this die at a retailer in Europe and I was so happy to use it at last ... and with just a touch of Glossy Accents, it did not disappoint!

I must say I'm looking forward to the various seasonal colours being on display in the gallery - I hope you can take some Time Out and come play cards with us this challenge!

I am grateful for and would like to enter the following challenges

Snippets Playground Challenge #541 - loads of snippets used;

Die Cut Divas September Challenge - loads of snippets used (rare for me to cut into a new piece of card these days except for a card base);

NBUS Challenge #90 - NBUS Postage Collage Envelope and Wax Seal Trio dies;

Stencil Fun September Challenge - the different envelopes were stencilled (even though it was a home made one)!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!   Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate