C24C - Trees and Ornaments ....

... Good morning! I hope that you all had a good weekend - it was wonderful here in north Wales with bright sunshine and high temperatures. For me, it was also fun as it was the start of Euro 2020!! I did find time to make my card for our new challenge at Christmas 24 - C24C#36. For the next couple of weeks we want to see your Christmas cards that feature Trees AND Ornaments. Here's my take:

Stamps: Penny Black - Xmas Constellation; MFT - Bitty Holiday Wishes; Uniko - Most Wonderful

Inks: Gina K - Applemint, Key Lime, Lucky Clover, Jelly Bean Green, Grass Green, Christmas Pine; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Master Layouts 2

Accessories: White & Black Card; Gina K Card - Lucky Clover; Gems from stash

I'm submitting this card to Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#407 where the theme is Christmas, and to Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - MLCCB#35 where it's always Anything Christmas Goes.

I've been watching a lot of Gina K videos recently and at the beginning of June, Gina did some wonderful ink blending on video and I was inspired have a go. I die cut a panel of white card and masked of a ½" border all the way round the panel and then set to work blending a lot of green inks. Once I was happy with the blending, I removed the masking paper and stamped this lovely abstract Christmas tree in the middle of the panel. I added greeting above and below the image and layered the panel onto black card. I made a notecard from some co-ordinating card and adhered the panel in the centre. I finished the front by adding lots of iridescent gems to the little stars and dots on the stamped image - these are my Christmas ornaments. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped the abstract Christmas tree in lime ink and added a greeting in black ink.

I love the way Gina K inks blend so smoothly and the depth of colour they give. This is such a pretty tree too - I've had it ages, but it's been a while since I inked it up. I took a close-up photo to show the pretty iridescent gems - they really glow in the light:

That's all from me today - do visit our Christmas 24 Challenge blog to see more inspiration from the team. I look forward to visiting your blogs to see your creations. Have fun!!

C24C - Jolly Snowman ....

.... Good morning! I must apologise for not commenting on your projects for our last challenge - I've been away on holiday. We stayed in the UK, but I've not been doing much on the computer. I'm getting back into the swing of things now and have made a fun card for our new challenge at Christmas 24 Challenge - C24C#16. We want your Christmas cards to feature FANCY FOLDS. Here's my card:

Stamps: My Favorite Things - Bitty Holiday Wishes; Funstamps - Scribble Snowman
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Gina K - Cherry Red
Accessories: White Card; Carta Bella DP - Snow Fun; Copic Markers; Glitter

I'm submitting this card to The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge - H&ICC#76 where it's Anything Goes as long as it's Christmas.

I'm going to own up to being a boring card maker - I tend to stick to rectangular or square cards, so doing fancy folds really pushes me out of my comfort zone. I decided to make a triple stepper card and had fun making it. It was reasonably quick to make too. I started by cutting a panel of white card 8½" × 5½". I then followed the layout shown below. I know that in the UK and Europe we use metric and A6 cards, but I'm still using up US stash of cards, so I've done measurements for a standard US A2 card.

Once the cut and folds were done I decorated the panels with some winter themed paper. I also stamped my favourite scribble snowman on white card, coloured him with Copic markers and fussy cut him out. I adhered him to the long panel on the front and added glitter to the image. I added a small picture panel to the back stepper section made up of 4 layers, with the largest measuring 2⅝" square. I stamped the greeting on a piece of plain design paper using red ink. The inside is blank so that I can write my own message. Here are a couple more photos of the card with different views of the steps.

When the card is folded flat, it will fit in a standard US A2 envelope. It does have some depth so you do have to be careful of postage costs!

I think this challenge is lots of fun and I'm looking forward to visiting your blogs to see your creations. Have fun. That's all for now, see you again soon. Don't forget to visit our blog to see more inspiration projects from the rest of the design team.

C24C - Season's Greetings ...

... Good morning! Can you believe that we're already half-way through June? Me neither!! Anyway, it being the 15th means that it's time for our new challenge at Christmas 24 Challenge - C24C#12. We have a sketch for to use on your Christmas cards. Here's my take:

Stamps: Altenew - Bells & Bows; MFT - Bitty Holiday Wishes
Inks: Gina K - Jet Black Amalgam, Lovely Lavender, Wild Wisteria, Innocent Pink, Dusty Rose, Passionate Pink; Stampin' Up! - Highland Heather
Dies: Altenew - Bells & Bows; Die-namics - Stitched Fishtail Flags Stax #1
Accessories: Cream Lustre Card; Anita's Vellum - Classic Gold Christmas

I'm submitting this card to a couple of challenges - Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#393 where the theme is Holiday, and to 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT22-20 where they have these fabulous colours.

I love these cute layered bows from Altenew, they are so easy to stamp. I used cream cardstock as I think it works beautifully with these colours. I stamped the large bow using shades of purple and the two smaller one with shades of pink, and cut out the images with the matching dies. I found some gold festive vellum in my stash and cut a panel to go on the front of the card. I adhered the top bow and sentiment banner flat to the card, and used dimensional pads to add the large bow and the smaller bottom bow. On the inside, I cut another panel of vellum and on the cream card stamped a festive greeting and another little purple bow.

That's all from me for now. Do have a go at using this sketch for your Christmas cards and visit our blog to see more inspirational cards from the rest of the design team. See you soon.