Window To The New Year

 

Happy New Year!  Challenge #279 has just gone live and this fortnight we are welcoming 2025 with a theme challenge of Beginnings

 This fortnight we are generously being sponsored by Doodle Bugs and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design team a very generous $25 store credit and our Top Pick will also be invited to Guest Design with us in a future challenge.  

Speaking of guest designers, we're joined this challenge by the very talented Ellen Coats as our guest!  Be sure to check out her gorgeous interpretation of our quote as well as the rest of the team on the Time Out Blog!

The Beginning of a New Year is how I was inspired by Beginnings and I made this card to welcome in 2025 - though I'm still scratching my head and wondering what happened to 2024!

I pulled out this lovely window die (Poppy Stamps Gothic Arched Window) and added foam tape so it would sit higher than the "wall"!   This die didn't leave a lot of space on an A2 panel for a sentiment but one of the sentiments from an NBUS set I bought earlier in the year (Concorde and 9th Season of Cheer) fitted perfectly on the window sill!   

Of course, you can't celebrate the New Year without fireworks and I cut these from various snippets of iridescent card stock that I'd been saving up just for this purpose (unfortunately I didn't have the presence of mind to photograph said snippets in my rush to finish all my Christmas crafting and tidy everything away to make room for my guests and have somewhere to all sit down together on Christmas Day).  The fireworks die was bought from Amazon and is unnamed.

So here's to Beginnings - whether that be the beginning of a new year, a new relationship, a new baby or something else entirely!

I'd like to enter the following fabulous challenges

NBUS Challenge #70 -  The sentiment die was NBUS;

Snippets Challenge #496 - Snippets of iridescent card stocks used for the fireworks;

In{k}spire Me Challenge #552 - New Year Special;

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge  - Something New

Daring Cardmakers - Word prompt of "HAPPY" and fireworks always make me Happy and the promise of a New Year!

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

Cosy and Warm Christmas

 

Happy New Year!  I hope Santa was good to everyone and you enjoyed your Christmas break in the company of your loved ones.

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 168 has just gone live and it was my turn to choose the theme this month and I have chosen

Cozy and Warm

which gave me the perfect opportunity to use this cute fireplace die (Poppy Stamps Whittle Fireplace) that I've been wanting to break open for over 2 years now!  The sweet "whittle" mouse was included with the set which gave me the idea to use this sentiment (WMS 'Twas the Night Before Christmas).   The stockings (Poppy Stamps Whittle Stocking) were bought at the same time (because they're perfect together) and are also NBUS.

The fireplace body was cut from Kraft card stock and coloured with alcohol markers, the mantel was cut from brown card stock as was the fireplace "grill".  The flame and mouse were cut from white and coloured with alcohol markers.  The stocking bodies were cut from some snippets of tartan and the fur trims were cut from white felt.  All die cut pieces were stacked at least twice - it makes such a difference to the finished card!

The sentiment wasn't a good fit for any of my labels and was going to use the partial cut technique when I had the idea to use another snippet of tartan to fill in the blank lower third of the label.  I'm quite happy how it turned out and I think I'll use this solution again!

I'd like to enter the following wonderful challenges

NBUS Challenge #70 - NBUS Whittle Fireplace and Whittle Stocking;

Day of the Month Club Challenge #70 - National Sock (hopefully stocking counts) Day;

Allsorts Challenge Weeks 812-13 - Use Your Dies;

Papercraft Challenges #113 - Under the Mistletoe (Christmas related);

Peace on Earth Challenge #78 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Festive Friday Challenge;

Thanks for visiting, I hope you go away a little inspired!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate

Happy Ho Ho Ho-lidays

 Challenge #278 has Time Out has just gone live and this fortnight it's an Inspiration Photo Challenge!

 

Here's a closeup

Challenge 278 is being sponsored by Gina K Designs and they are very kindly offering our top pick as chosen by the design team a $25.00 store credit.  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 Arlene Rose of Sunday Stamper Papercrafts!  Be sure to check out her gorgeous interpretation of our quote as well as my talented team mates over on the Time Out Blog!

What inspires you in this pic and where does it lead your imagination?  We hope you can take Time Out of your busy schedule to come play cards with us!

There was almost too much inspiration in this photo and it took ages before I finally decided to focus my attention on spelling out the sentiment, the cute red nose on the "H", the red bow, the Ornament in place of an "O" and particularly the Santa hat - giving me an opportunity to use this NBUS Santa Hat border die!  This lovely die was in last year's Gummiapan Advent Calendar, and despite making Christmas cards throughout the year, it's still taken me a year to get around to using it!   

I cut it twice from red card stock and stacked these.  Then cut it again from white card stock and snipped off the trim and bobble, then cut it again from white felt and again snipped off the trim and bobble - I added double sided tape to the back of the felt before cutting to make it easier to adhere it to the hat!  I also blended some dark red alcohol marker in the creases of the hats for depth.

The "H"s were cut using the MFT Bottle Cap Letters set and the ornaments and bows were from a Love2Craft set.  The tiny Rudolph noses were eyes from a snowman die that just happened to be handy at the time! 

I'd like to enter the following challenges

NBUS Challenge #69 - NBUS Santa Hat Border;

Make My Monday #240 - CAS Winter Card;

Traumfabrik Challenge #134 - "Christmas Again" is the featured movie!

Word Power #12 - My red-nosed "H"s and Bauble "O"s should grab a fair amount of attention I hope!

Challenge #117 at the 12 Months of Christmas -Anything Christmas Goes!

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish all my crafty friends a blessed and sparkly Christmas and a bright and prosperous 2025!

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

Sleigh Bells Ring

 Sparkles Christmas Challenge #167 has just gone live and this month we're challenging you to 

feature a Christmas Carol or Song

Winter Wonderland is one of my favourite Christmas songs and this sentiment (from WMS Compliments of the Season) featuring the opening line was a great starting point!  It also gave me an opportunity to break open this wonderful sleigh die set  (Spellbinders Delivering Joy Sleigh) that I purchased in the Summer and I'm smitten!  The sleigh came together so quickly and I mounted it on foam tape and was able to cut the presents from some candy striped DP and the foliage from various green snippets and tuck these under the sleigh and I added the poinsettia to the back of the sleigh! 

I had already stamped the sentiment on the blank panel without properly considering the orientation of the sleigh and the problem with stamping directly on the panel is you can't change your mind later!  I added some crystal gems off to the right of the panel to try and balance it a little better but I'm more than a little annoyed with myself!

I'd like to enter this card in the following fabulous challenges

NBUS Challenge #69 - NBUS Spellbinders Delivering Joy Sleigh;

52 Weeks to Christmas Challenge - Red and Green Christmas;

The Four Season December Challenge had this wonderful inspiration;

Twofer (and Threefer, Fourfer, Fiverfer and Sixfer);

I couldn't resist making a few more cards while I had this die set out and this time opted for pink!

This time I centred the sentiment and was much happier!  I stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa and Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink (using a stamping platform).

I had snippets of pink patterned papers that had patterns small enough to pass for wrapping paper and used these to cut the four presents loaded on the sleigh (and some white snippets).  I also found a snippet of gold glitter card that was (almost) the perfect size for the sleigh trims and blades for all four cards (I did need to cut into a larger snippet for the last trim)!

 

I'd like to enter this design into the following wonderful challenges

Snippets Playground Challenge #494 - Snippets shown;

Traumfabrik Challenge #134 - Christmas Again;

Fab'n'Funky Challenge #605 - Use dies or Punches;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #59 - Anything Christmas Goes;

The 12 Months of Christmas Challenge #117 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Peace on Earth Challenge #77 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Krafty Chicks Challenge #744 - All Occasions;

Thanks for visiting, I hope you go away a little inspired!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate

Mr Fabulous

 

Challenge #277 at Time Out Challenges has just gone live and this fortnight we have an Inspired By Words Challenge with this quote from Emma Straub

"There truly is not an occasion that is not improved by wearing something festive"

Inspired By Words challenge works exactly as you would expect - you take the words from the featured quote and use them to inspire your creation!   You can use one word, multiple words or just the general idea of the quote.

This challenge is generously being sponsored by Poppy Stamps and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design teams a $20 credit to the 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 Tenia Nelson and you can check out her wonderful creations at Jazzy Paper Designs!  Be sure to check out her gorgeous interpretation of our quote as well as my talented team mates over on the Time Out Blog!

How do these words inspire you and where do they lead your imagination?  We hope you can take Time Out of your busy schedule to come play cards with us!

The word festive means of or relating to a festival and at this time of year Christmas is probably utmost in our minds!  But it also means cheerful and jovially celebratory and happily I was able to break open this NBUS and very dapper set (Tailored by Tim Holtz) to really celebrate in style!

The lapel of the tuxedo was coated in glossy accents and sprinkled with glitter for extra pizazz.   The gear was stacked a few times for stability and coated with Topiary Tapestry Embossing Powder (which has flecks of gold in it - lovely) and UTEE.  Finally I stacked a few of these "fabulous" sentiments from Honey Bee Stamps to finish off the card.

I'd like to enter the following fabulous challenges

NBUS Challenge #68 - NBUS Tailored Set from Tim Holtz;

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday November/December Challenge - Anything Goes!

Word Power Challenge #11;

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is to Sparkle and Shine!

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

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby

 

A friend of mine asked if I'd make a card for a work colleague of hers who had just had a new baby.  When she told me the baby's name was Ruby, well how could I not want to make the card in red?!   Not an easy colour for a baby card to be sure - and so I was forced to really put on my thinking cap!  

In the end, I kept the red to a minimum - basically a white on white and just a few accents of red.  My lovely Gummiapan dies (rocking horse, teddy bear and crib and curtain) came out once again along with this pretty circle aperture die from Waltzing Mouse.  

The trick with these Gummiapan dies is to "snip and layer" them (the dies have been cleverly designed to allow for easy snipping)!   For example I cut the cradle body twice and snipped off the legs and back walls of the 2nd cut and it was laid over the first.  Now the back walls of the crib and the legs sits behind - as they would IRL!   Because the effect was too subtle in white on white, I actually did the same to a third die cut.  Christine Stokes has a Youtube channel that will explain it much better than I ever could!  Then it was just a matter of placing a snippet of red card stock behind the heart cavity and filling it with glossy accents for a heart shaped ruby fit for a princess - especially one named Ruby!  

I cut the curtain from vellum and then the top and bottom frill of the curtain from red, snipped and layered it over the vellum, added my curtain to the crib and placed it over the crib then added it to my aperture with thin foam tape.   The advantage of the red bits on the curtain is that there are places to hide any adhesive - although this vellum is so thick it's barely visible anyway.  The top of the curtain is directly glued to the base and I managed to hide a tiny snippet of foam tape behind the red part of the base of the curtain to give the curtain support where it extends beyond the crib.

The teddy bear was cut from white card stock and then again from white felt - I cut a few dots from a snippet of black for the eyes.   I cut the rocking horse twice, snipped the mane, tail and around the front legs from the 2nd die cut and laid it over the first.  I then did the same again to one cut from white felt.  I used another of the black dots for the eye.

The Welcome sentiment (Lil Inker) was cut 3 times, stacked and added to the top and the name (this tiny alphabet is also from Gummiapan) was cut and stack twice.  Afterwards I decided to add glossy accents to the curtain trim, sentiment and name so they matched the ruby on the crib.

Since the Colourful Option for the month of November is red, I'd like to add my card there!

As soon as I heard the baby's name I thought of the song from the Kaiser Chiefs Ruby, hence the title of this blog post - if you're not familiar with the song check it out here (it's a favourite of my son's and mine)!  And as Fab'n'Funky Challenge #604 has the theme "music to my ears" (basically make something that's inspired by a song or song title or has a musical theme), I'd like to enter my card there! 

The theme for Inspirational Challenge #328 is layer it up and that's exactly what I had to do with this card to achieve the desired 3-D effect!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you go away a little inspired!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and hopefully be able to find you!

Kate