Keeping it Clean and Simple

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 187 has just gone live and Helen has chosen "CAS" as our theme for August!

I decided to use this halmbock die (2025 Gummiapan Advent Calendar) for my CAS design.  A halmbock is a traditional Scandinavian Christmas decoration often placed at the foot of the Christmas tree - made from woven straw and tied with (usually) red ribbon.  

Since the goat is often placed at the foot of the Christmas tree, I laid down a few branches (also from the 2025 Gummiapan Advent Calendar) to resemble just the bottom of a Christmas tree and added a few red baubles to make it look more festive.  The square panel was cut so that the rest of the tree is off the edge.

I wanted a "God Jul" sentiment (Waltzing Mouse Alpine Christmas) in keeping with the Scandinavian theme.

Using a small panel like this or an aperture is the easiest way I know of to keep a design CAS.  Loads of white space with a minimal colour palette relying on depth and texture for interest. 

I hope you can find time to join us this month at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge - I don't want to worry you but we're over half way through the year now!

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

NBUS Challenge #89 - NBUS Halmbock and Fir Branch;

The Outlawz August Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas goes;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #69 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Krafty Chicks Challenge #831 - Week 5 Anything Goes;

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes;

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - 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 

Wintry Village

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 186 has just gone live and Debs has chosen "Monochrome Winter Wishes" as our theme for July - how can we be half way through 2026?!!

Monochrome provided the perfect opportunity to break open this NBUS set of elegant townhouses (the Greetery Market Place Mini)!  As I write this we're in the middle of a heatwave so a wintry village (especially one as pretty as this) looks pretty inviting and reminds me that Winter will return and probably with a vengeance!

I wanted my houses to look a little like gingerbread houses so I cut them from Kraft for the house bodies and an off-white for the trimmings.  

There is a detail insert die and a background die for each house so I cut a plain house from Kraft, and another from vellum and then cut another Kraft house with the detail die .  To darken the colour of the houses and add a little depth, I used Gathered Twigs DI (they were cut from the same Kraft I used on the background and card base). 

To give the house "trimmings" a sandstone appearance I added Antique Linen DI.

The trees, wreaths and string of lights were "winked" so they would sparkle (though that's not obvious from the photo).  I'm still in two minds whether to cut them from copper so I might try making up another at a later date - it's too hot to think straight at the moment!  Ditto for the sentiment - obviously it needs a sentiment and "Let it Snow" is the obvious choice and I have a NBUS hot foil set just for this purpose but the thought of getting out the hot foil paraphernalia is not something I can even contemplate in this heat so I'll put that idea on "ice" for the moment!

The background was embossed with a snow embossing folder (no idea of the name of it sorry) and I went over the raised area with a white pigment ink - I also spattered some white acrylic over the scene so the houses would also have a little snowfall.

I hope you can find time to join us this month at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge and take some of the hassle out of November/December!

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

NBUS Challenge #88 - NBUS Houses;

The Outlawz July Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas goes;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #69 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Peace on Earth Challenge #114 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Alphabet Challenge Blog - E is for Embossing (wet or dry) and I used an Snowy Embossing Folder;

Little Red Wagon Challenge #865 - I See (vellum windows on my townhouses)'

Thank God It's Friday Challenge #583 - Pop it Up (dimensionals, layered die cuts etc.);

52 Christmas Card Throwdown June Technique Challenge - Use an Embossing Folder;

ABC Christmas Challenge - L is for "Let it Snow"!

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 

Jingle Belle

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 183 has just gone live and Debbie has chosen "Jingle Bells" as our theme for June - so if you include at least one bell, you're good!

I had big plans for this card - archway, brick embossing folder - but in the end there was no time so it's a simple bell (Poppystamps Nordic Bell) and sentiment (Sizzix Holiday Words Script By Tim Holtz)!  The bell does look pretty in pink though don't ya think!

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

NBUS Challenge #87 - NBUS Bell;

Peace on Earth Challenge #112 - Anything Christmas Goes;

ABC Christmas Challenge - "J" is for Just Enough (Clean and Simple); 

The Outlawz May Christmas Challenge - 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 

All Wrapped Up

 Sparkles Christmas Challenge 183 has just gone live and Sue has chosen Gifts as our theme for May!

This die (Sizzix Gift 2) is an oldie but a goodie!  It's one of those old thick original Sizzix dies and it cuts just the one piece - gift + bow!  However, as I wanted the bow to really stand out against the present, I cut it once from patterned paper and twice more from red cardstock, then snipped away the gift part from the bow part on the red die cuts, stacked them and laid them over the patterned paper die cut.  Then I added some glossy accents so the bow would shine.

Sentiment is also an oldie but a goodie too - Waltzing Mouse Stamps Compliments of the Season.

I decorated the inside and the envelope with a stamped image of a wrapped gift (Love2Craft)!

Don't forget to check out all the great Gift Inspiration on the Sparkles Christmas Challenges Blog and I look forward to seeing your creations in the gallery!

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

MLCCB#68 - anything Christmas goes;

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - anything goes;

The Outlawz May Christmas Challenge - 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 how to find you!

Kate 

Jolly Jumping Elf

 Sparkles Christmas Challenge 183 has just gone live and Melanie has chosen Elves and Gnomes as our theme for April!

For this challenge I pulled out this jolly little elf (Charlie & Paulchen Wichtelreihe), which was a good thing as I had forgotten I'd bought this little box die (Charlie & Paulchen Kleine Geschenk Box) for him to jump out from. 

The elf was cut from white card stock and coloured with alcohol markers and his beard was also cut from white felt.  I coloured his little shoes black and added a little glossy accents so they'd shine

For his nose, I coloured it with a flesh coloured marker and coated it with glossy accents to make it bulbous.

Here's a closeup

I added a trimmed down wobble element behind his back to give the impression he really is jumping out of that box and also so he would stand clear of this large sentiment (Waltzing Mouse Stamps 'Tis the Season) - I'm having printer issues at the moment but I would have liked to say "Have your-elf a merry little Christmas"!

The rather splendid frame is from the 2023 Gummiapan Advent Calendar.

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

NBUS Challenge #85 - NBUS Cloud Frame and Box;

Die Traumfabrik - Sweet Little Things (Anything Small);

Inkspirational Challenge #364 - CAS, E is for Elf;

Peace on Earth Challenge #108 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Jingle Belles - Walking in a Whimsical Wonderland;

ABC Christmas Challenge - E is for Elf;

The Outlawz April Christmas Challenge - 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 how to find you!

Kate

Not so Frosty Hugs

 Sparkles Christmas Challenge 182 has just gone live and Caz has chosen Snowman (men or person/s) as our theme for March!

Finally, I had an excuse to use this NBUS snowman that came in the 2024 Advent Calendar from Gummiapan ... and this lovely Holly frame that came in the 2025 Advent Calendar!

The frame was cut twice and stacked.  I embossed one of the frame negatives with an unbranded embossing folder for a snowy background.

The snowman's body was cut three times for strength and dimension.  When I cut the first one, I placed a little sellotape behind the snowman to keep the bits in place (nose, eyes and buttons), then I coloured these bits and the arms with alcohol markers - I didn't need to be too careful because I cut another snowman (sans bits) and added this over the top!  On the 3rd snowman I removed the arms so they seemed to be further back than the body.

Once I'd cut the snowman's man (from black cardstock) I went over with glossy accents and added this sprig of holly!  I also added glossy accents to the buttons.

After agonising over a sentiment for way too long, I remembered that Olaf the snowman liked warm hugs and so I used this unconventional seasons greeting (Spellbinders Vivid Script) instead of something more traditional!  I also added glossy accents to this sentiment!

Don't forget to check out all the great snowman inspiration on the Sparkles Christmas Challenges Blog and I look forward to seeing your snowmen in the gallery!

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

NBUS Challenge #84 - NBUS Snowman and Holly Frame;

Jingle Bells Fa La La La La Challenge - inspired by a Christmas song (Frosty the Snowman);

Fab'n'Funky Challenge #631 - use Dies and/or Punches;

Alphabet Challenge - V is for Volume - (i.e. dimension ... a fair bit of stacking and foam tape in this design);

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything 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 how to find you!

Kate

Brilliant Baubles

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 181 has just gone live and Dawn has chosen Baubles as our theme for February.

I love anything Nordic from Poppy Stamps - they assemble quickly and look amazing and the their Layered Ornaments are no exception!   I found a pretty paper pad (Walking in a Winter Wonderland by Craft Sensations) and chose this glittered starry paper as the base for my Nordic bauble and teamed it with some silver mirri card.

The hardest part about the design of this card was what to do for a background - I wanted to give the impression that these baubles were hanging on a tree but didn't have a suitable foliage background stamp or embossing folder.  I was about to give up when I remembered a technique I haven't used for a while.  I call it faux embossing - using the same coloured die cuts on a panel so that it resembles an embossed background.  

I cut loads of foliage (Sizzix Winter Foliage) from white card stock and placed the pieces randomly on a white background, going off the edges of the panel and trimming afterwards.   

The looped strings (PoppyStamps Little Bow and String) were laid flat on the card and the baubles were mounted on foam tape.  To support the sentiment banner (Spellbinders Handmade Sentiments) I used small pieces of foam tape on either side of the middle bauble.

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

NBUS Challenge #83 - NBUS Ornament and Bow and String Dies;

Kraft Chicks Week 5 - Anything Goes;

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for Anything Christmas Goes;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #66 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Alphabet Challenge Blog - T is for Texture;

Papercraft Challenge #126 - Anything 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 how to find you!

Kate

Birds and Birches

 

Happy New Year, I hope Santa was good to you!  Let's hope 2026 doesn't rush by as quickly as 2025 did!

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 180 has just gone live and Billie has chosen Animals and Trees as our theme to start the new year.

I chose this old Impression Obsession set for my Birds and Birch Trees with a little foliage (Sizzix Winter Foliage) to break up the white.  The snow bank (Simon Says Stamp Wavy Scalloped Stitches) was the perfect spot for a sentiment (WMS Flourishes).

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

Christmas Crafts All Year Round - B is for Birds and Birch Trees;

Peace on Earth - Anything Christmas Goes;

Inkspirational Challenges - Cold (see badge below);

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Add a Sentiment;

Cut it Up Challenge #346 - Anything Goes with Diecuts;

Four Seasons January 2026 - Winter;

Little Red Wagon Challenge #839 - Use the Force (Stamping and Die cutting);

Crafty Animals Challenge #101 - Use any Animals (I used birds);

The Sisterhood of Crafters - Anything Christmas;

 

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

Butterfly among the Poinsettias

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 179 has just gone live and Melissa has chosen Poinsettia as our theme for the month of December.

To add interest I thought I'd make a spinning poinsettia card - well it seemed like a good idea at the time!

I found this cute poinsettia paper among my (many) Christmas paper pads and cut a background panel and cut a channel in this for the spinning mechanism to work.  I then cut and layered a poinsettia for my spinning element (Spellbinders Floral Stag, Spellbinders Delivering Joy, Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia) from some special glossy, red glitter card stock I've been saving for years now.  

I was underwhelmed to say the least - the poinsettia was a bit lost on the background paper!  I tried cutting a few more poinsettias (I only had enough of that glossy card stock for 1 more poinsettia so I used plain red and winked them) and randomly added them to the panel.  I was a little happier but still not loving it!  Here it is in motion!

And then I thought ... wouldn't a Butterfly (Justine Hovey Butterfly Mix) make more sense flitting about among those poinsettias and I already had a few of these left over from an earlier project!  Much happier!

Here it is in action

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

Snippets Playground Challenge #520 - Snippets of that red glossy glitter cardstock and gold below;

Simons Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Simon Says Anything Goes;

A Cut Above December Challenge - Anything Goes with a Die Cut;

ABC Christmas Challenge - W is for Wings;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - Anything Christmas Goes;

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge for December - Anything 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 how to find you!

Kate

Snow Business

 

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 178 has just gone live and it was my turn to choose the theme and I chose Festive Wear for the month of November - mostly because I was itching to use this NBUS die set (Papertrey Ink Build-A-Hat)!

I found this sheet of grey plaid among my many Christmas paper pads and teamed it with some snippets of greys left over from cutting card bases.  

I used the smaller snowflake from the Build-A-Hat set to spell out "SNOW" (MB Vintage Varsity Alphabet) and a Craft Emotions Lower Case Alphabet die to spell out "business"!

I do hope you are inspired by the rest of the Design Team at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge and can join us with some festive wear of your own - not long now till Christmas!

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

NBUS Challenge #80 - NBUS "Christmas" sentiment;

Snippets Playground Challenge #518 (see below);

Jingle Belles - Dashing Through the Snow;

Merry Little Christmas #65 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes;

Kraft Chicks Challenge Week 5 October - Anything 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

Non-traditional Christmas Colours

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 177 has just gone live and Helen has chosen Non-Traditional Colours as our challenge theme for the month of October!  When it comes to making up Christmas cards I often get inspiration from the many DP pads I have trouble parting with,  so that was where I headed first ... and this sheet of pink and black DP caught my eye!  

The gift images and all the sparkly silver accents inspired me further (particularly the black spotted presents) and I remembered this very old Sizzix Regular die (Gift 2) which is a large present with a wonderful big bow on it  and I made that up this spotted present with a big sparkly silver bow.  The bow and present are all one large piece (the Sizzix Original dies were not known for their fine detail were they) so I had to remove the present from the bow - following the curve of the "ribbon" and snipping at the bottom, and cutting it again from silver.

As well as the bow, I cut a little tag (Spellbinders Delivering Joy Sleigh) and a large "Christmas" sentiment from a NBUS set (Sizzix Holiday Words by Tim Holtz) from silver glitter card stock and the design came together pretty quickly (for once)!   I went over all that silver glitter with Glossy Accents so it wouldn’t shed!

Here's a closeup of all the sparkle

I do hope you are inspired by the rest of the Design Team at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge and can join us with a non-traditional colour combo card of your own - not long now till Christmas!

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

NBUS Challenge #79 - NBUS "Christmas" sentiment;

Simon Says StampWednesday Challenge - Think Pink; 

Word Power October Challenge;

Merry Little Christmas #64 - 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

Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly

 

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 175 has just gone live and Debs has chosen Add Some Holly as our theme for the month of September!  

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

Sparkling Trees

 

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 175 has just gone live and Debbie has chosen Include a Tree as our theme for the month of August!  These days, I always try to use at least one the many NBUS  (Never Before Used Schtuff or Stash) items that I haven't yet had time or opportunity to use!   For this project, I included two trees from a Charlie & Paulchen set  - Winterliche Bäume which translates to Wintry Trees!  

Wintry trees calls for sparkle and since I still had some of the white glitter card stock on my desk from last month's Christmas Sparkles Challenge, that's what I used!  

The falling snow background was created by using another NBUS set (Snowbanks by Justine Hovey) to cut a black panel which I laid on a white card base.  The snowbank (also from the Snowbank set) was also cut from glitter card stock, as was this "sparkle" sentiment (Creative Craft Sparkle and Shine set)!

I do hope you can join us at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge and are inspired by the rest of the Design Team!  It's never easy making Christmas cards in the summer heat but given how fast this year is disappearing, December will be upon us before we know it!!!

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

NBUS Challenge #77 - NBUS Snowbanks set and Winterliche Bäume set;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #63 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Darnell's IDEAS - anything goes week;

Krafty Chicks Challenge #779 - Anything Goes week;

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #188 - 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

fa la la la la

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 174 has just gone live and Sue has chosen Sparkle and Bling as our theme for the month of July!  These days, I always try to use at least one the many NBUS  (Never Before Used Schtuff or Stash) items that I haven't yet had time or opportunity to use!  So my mind went straight to which of my NBUS items could I make sparkle ... and my eye fell on this Gummiapan Candy Cane Set.   Well, that was in May - then came June (which you can read about here if you're interested) but basically my son and his fiancée were indecisive about their wedding invitations, and then it was a race to get them finished!  The month of June disappeared, it's now days till the end of the month and I'm still trying to make a Christmas card that Sparkles! 

Monsieur Mojo was, as usual nowhere to be found, so I pushed on with my original idea to make up some sparkling candy canes!  Now I know I have some red glitter card stock somewhere around here, but do you think I could find it ... never mind, red mirror card will suffice!  Fortunately, I found some white glitter card stock for the overlay to which I added double sided tape before cutting because I didn't want to risk wet adhesive on mirror card ... it didn't stick very well to the glossy surface of the mirror card but never mind glossy accents will keep it all together and the white glitter will still sparkle through!   

And then I had no idea how to continue!  Well the canes needed a few hours to dry so I went to bed to "sleep on it"!  The next morning while playing around with the canes, I noticed that if I attached the little bow that came with the set to the right facing cane, it resembled an "f"  and if I turned the other can upside down well it resembled an "l" ... and finally an idea began to take hold!   I tried various ornament dies but all I could see was "fo lo lo lo lo" so instead opted for a plain "a" (MFT lower case alphabet)!  And eventually with the help of yet another NBUS item (Studio Light Nested Slimline dies) I had something I could photograph!

Now you're probably thinking there's shine but where's the sparkle?   There is some sparkle (though I wish I'd been able to find that red glitter card stock) and eventually I managed to capture some of it on the terrace in the afternoon sun!   

I also realised when this card was finished, that the little bow could transform the "l" into a "t", now that could be be "sweet" don't you think?!  

I do hope you can join us at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge and are inspired by the rest of the Design Team!  It's never easy making Christmas cards in the summer heat but given how fast this year is disappearing, December will be upon us before we know it!!!

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

NBUS Challenge #76 - NBUS Candy Cane set and Nested Slimline dies;

Everybody Art Challenge #582 - Christmas in June;

Festive Friday Challenge - Christmas theme;

Girls Creative Christmas Challenge #131 - Anything Christmas Goes; 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything 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

Merry Forest

 

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 173 has just gone live and Melanie has chosen Include the word Merry as our theme for the month of June!

I don't think I'll ever get to the bottom of my NBUS (mainly because I keep adding to it) but it's fun to try!  I was playing with this 3D embossing folder (Sizzix Trees by Kathrin Breen) last month!  The first time I cracked the card stock so I remembered the trick of dampening the card stock slightly before embossing and that worked!  

Since the prompt for Sparkles was to use the word Merry, I thought I'd use this rather elegant Merry Christmas die I ordered from Gummiapan late last year.  However because it's so wide the orientation really needs to be landscape and as I wanted to use it with this embossed panel, I thought about leaving the "Christmas" off after fiddling a bit I tried the sentiment diagonally and this is what I came up with!    

I added a tree (Yvonne Creations Family Christmas Window) to the lower right corner because it was a little too plain! And then went over everything with the Wink of Stella Pen to make it sparkle! 

I know it seems strange to make Christmas cards in June but this year is flying by and it will be December in no time!  So I hope to see your "Merry" Creations in the gallery over at the Sparkles Christmas Challenge!

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

NBUS Challenge #75 - NBUS embossing folder, Merry Christmas Text die;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #62 - Anything Christmas Goes;

As You Like It Challenge - My Favourite Type of Embossing is definitely dry embossing!

A Cut Above June Challenge - Anything 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

Spotted Stocking

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 171 has just gone live and Caz has chosen Christmas Stocking as the theme for the month of May!

Finally, a chance to break out this this Woodware stamp set (Big Bubble Stocking) I ordered a while ago!  I cut bubbles (Woodware Big Bubbles and Woodware Bubbles) from a piece of patterned paper as well as snippets of red and green.  I think there must be another die that I should have bought because there were a lot of smaller bubbles needed to complete the stocking and I needed to pull out many other sets to try and find the right sized bubbles - time consuming and fiddly (ugh)!

Anyway not being a quitter, I finally finished the card and added this small "joy" sentiment (Reverse Confetti).  Glossy Accents helped complete the "bubble" look I was after.  The holly leaves were paper-pieced from a co-ordinating piece of patterned paper.

I'd like join the following challenges

NBUS Challenge #74 - NBUS Woodware Big Bubble Stocking, Woodware Bubbles, Woodware Big Bubbles;

Darnell's IDEAS Week 4 Anything Goes;

Inkspirational Challenge #340 - Seasonal;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #61 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Festive Friday Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #183 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes;

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

Kate

Winter Wreath of Joy

I just had to have this die set (Sizzix Festive Wreath) when I saw it - there were so many useful elements I thought it was great value!  However as is often the case, when it arrived it was a little bit bigger than I had anticipated and so it fell into that black hole that is my NBUS pile and I soon forgot about it! 

  Thankfully, Dawn has chosen Christmas Foliage as the theme for the month of April at  Sparkles Christmas Challenge 171, so I was inspired to dig a little deeper in my NBUS pile and found it!

Once I had constructed the layered elements and arranged them satisfactorily on my wreath I added a single word sentiment (from an old Reverse Confetti set I think) in red to pick up the red berries (both glossily accented) and added them to a red card base!

I'd like join the following fabulous challenges

NBUS Challenge #73 - NBUS Wreath die set;

The 12 Months of Christmas Challenge #121 - Anything Goes Christmas Optional Twist Vintage;

ABC Christmas Challenge - F is for Focal Sentiment;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #61 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Festive Friday Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

Girls Creative Christmas Challenge #118 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Peace on Earth Challenge #84 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Ellibelle's Corner April Wednesday Challenge - Anything 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

Sparkling Deer

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 170 has just gone live and Billie has chosen Christmas Critters as the theme for the month of March!

One of the most useful items I bought last year was this 3D-embossing folder (Sizzix 663613 Folk Art Pattern) the has added gorgeous texture and interest without detracting from the elegance of my Christmas Critter (Poppy Stamps Nordic Deer).   

Actually this is a redo of a previous design with much cooler stash than I had at the time - the deer, the banner (Spellbinders Make it Merry Sentiments Dies) and the "Sparkle" (Creative Craft Sparkle and Shine sentiment die).   

The banner die was another really useful item - it's a four die set with interchangeable sentiments.  So you can have a plain banner or any of the 3 sentiments included in the set - Jingle All the Way and Make it Merry are the other sentiments.   What I really love about this die set is the ridge that forms a border around the banner when the sentiment die is inserted ... also no poking required!

I cut the banner and lace collar from this lovely gold glitter paper I saved from a Christmas Cracker.

And once I'd cut and assembled the deer, I sprinkled glitter onto wet glossy accents for some real sparkle.  I did the same for the stacked "sparkle" sentiment.

I'd like join the following challenges

NBUS Challenge #72 - NBUS Nordic embossing folder, sentiment banner, "sparkle" sentiment;

Snippets Challenge #500 - Sneaking in with my gold snippets and hoping the Christmas theme, sparkle and touches of gold are celebratory enough

Crafty Animals Challenge #92 - Use an animal on your creation;

ABC Christmas Challenge - C and D - D is for die cuts;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #61 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Festive Friday Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

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

Kate

Christmas Tea

Sparkles Christmas Challenge 169 has just gone live and Melissa has chosen Christmas Tea as the theme for the month of February!

Julie Tilman gifted this digital stamp set to her Verve fans many (many) years ago!  Most of the sentiments in the set refer to coffee, but I figured this one could just as easily be referring to tea if I added a pair of tea cups (Marianne Designs LR0462).   The font looked a little Art Deco so I used a retro die (Memory Box Matinee Rectangles) to cut it out.  

To make the cups of tea look more realistic, I cut the cups from white and pink patterned paper with the intention of removing the tops of the pink cups (the rim and "inside").  There is an embossed edge for the curve of the rim goes but no cut lines so I carefully placed my pink die cuts over the upside down dies - lining up the embossed curve with the top of the die!   Then I just adhered the pink cup bases onto the white die cuts.  Obviously tea isn't white so I coloured the "contents of the cup" with an alcohol marker.  

While I don't think a sprig of holly would add much to the flavour of the tea, it definitely made my cuppas look more festive - I'm a firm believer that you can make anything look festive by adding a sprig of holly!

I added a little background greenery (Tim Holtz Winter Foliage) and the sentiment panel was mounted with foam tape.

I recently bought my first Wink of Stella Pen and once the card was assembled, I thought I'd add some sparkle to the holly leaves.  Unfortunately I discovered the hard way that when the pen is primed for its first use, quite a lot of glitter comes out and it's gold, not clear!  I was a little annoyed with myself for not trying it out first and ruining my carefully blended holly leaves but since there's no point crying over spilt glitter, I thought I'd embrace the gold look and went around the rims and handles with the "gold" wink of Stella too.

Here's a closeup of the cups

 

I'd like join the following challenges

NBUS Challenge #70 - NBUS My Cup to Yours Digital set from Verve;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #60 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Festive Friday Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes;

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes;

Love those Pretty Papers Challenge Feb 2025 Challenge - Anything goes with patterned papers;

Krafty Chicks Challenge #753 - Anything Goes;

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