Waltzingmouse Christmas Card Challenge and some Exciting news ....

.... It's my pleasure to be the host for this month's Waltzingmouse Christmas Card Challenge.  For my month I decided to go with a colour theme and I opted for bright colours - not traditionally associated with Christmas.  In May we visited Frankenmuth and paid a visit to Bronner's - the world's largest Christmas shop.  While there we saw lots of beautiful Christmas baubles - I happened to find three baubles in the colours I picked - RASPBERRY, TANGERINE AND LIME.

I like Jonathan's photo and decided to be literal and feature Christmas baubles on my cards - I did a set!!

Stamps: WMS - Reverse Crackle BG, Yonder Star BG, Vintage Ornaments, Ornate Ornaments, Compliments of the Season II
Inks: Archival - Black; Distress - Shabby Shutters, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versamark
Dies: Spellbinders - 2010 Heirloom Ornaments (S4-283) # 4 & 5
Accessories:  Stampin' Up! Card - Pumpkin Pie, Lucky Limeade, Raspberry Ripple, Whisper White; SU Design Paper - Pumpkin Pie; Silks Acrylic Glaze - Key Lime; Martha Stewart Ornament Border Punch; Distress Stains - Shabby Shutters, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade; Clear embossing powder; Ribbon; Sakura Glaze Pen Black; Glitter

I had lots of fun making the baubles - each made by a different method.  Tangerine - I stamped the bauble outline onto pretty design paper.  Lime - I painted the background with acrylic glaze and stamped on the image.  Raspberry - I stamped Yonder Star background in Versamark, heat embossed with clear powder and then rubbed over with Picked Raspberry.  I added some detail to the tangerine and raspberry baubles with my black Sakura glaze pen.  I also added a touch of glitter to each bauble - can't really see it here!  I made the matching ribbons by dying some white organza ribbon.

To make the background I stamped the Reverse Crackle in Versamark, heat embossed with clear powder and then sponged on all three distress inks, given a lovely subtle background.  I cut the panels to fit the card bases and punched the ornament border along the bottom.  I used Stampin' Up! card to make the coordinating card bases.  It was only when I finished, I realised that I've actually CASEd the card I made for WMSC127 - I obviously like the design!!!  For the inside of each card I stamped a sentiment and another bauble - to coordinate with the card.  Here are some larger images of each card as well as one of the inside!

I can't wait to see what you make with these non-traditional colours!  Here are some guidelines for the challenge:

• Each card must contain some Waltzingmouse Stamps’ images but need not be exclusively WMS images.
• Once you have created your project, upload it to the 2013 WMSCCC gallery - and if you have a blog, we would love for you to post it there too!  The code for this month is WMSCCC08-13.
• Feel free to grab the WMS Christmas Card Logo for your blog sidebar and/or your blog post if you are so inclined.
• You may make as many projects as you like for each challenge. We encourage you to make batches of cards since our end goal is to have enough hand-made Christmas cards for each person on our “list”.
• You may play along when and if you want – make it suit your schedule. For example, challenge cards for January may be uploaded anytime in January or in June or even September...whenever you have them completed. There is no monthly deadline.

Now, before I go, I've got some very exciting news to share with you.  Some of you may have noticed, and indeed already started to follow, a new challenge - Waltzingmouse Fanatics Challenge.  When I was on holiday in the UK in July, I had the great good fortune to meet up with my blog buddy, Tara Cardwell.  We got chatting about our love of Waltzingmouse Stamps and how much we missed the weekly sketch challenge.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was when Tara emailed me to say she was setting up a new challenge and wanted me to join her on the design team.

So, starting in September we have a new challenge for all Waltzingmouse Fans - come and join us.  Do keep an eye on the blog for more news and also check out our Facebook page.

That's all for now - I've got a very busy day today - details will follow!!  See you tomorrow.