New Challenge

 A new challenge has been spotted - interesting name too - Let's Squash It!  They encourage the use of embossing folders, something which I have in some quantity and often forget to take out and use.  This time the theme is metallic and geometric although I realise now that in my haste to make a card my brain hadn't really registered the geometric element.  However I'm hoping they might stretch a point because the lower part of this folder is covered in circles.  I'd decided that as I was in seasonal mode I'd make a Christmas card using some gold card from my stash and this folder along with a die cut sentiment - fairly simple card really.

Gold metallic card from my stash
Embossing Folder - Embossalicious Christmas
Sentiment - dies from Tonic

Rainbow

 Dabbled with some ink blending in rainbow colours for a change from my recent Christmas card makes.  I die cut the shape first  before blending the inks and once the ink was dry I stamped using a large background stamp - dictionary text.  The square of white card was smooshed lightly into some ink on a glass mat and blotted to give a pale effect.  The flower was die cut from a scrap of white card and I kept the 'waste' so that I could use it as a stencil to give an impression of the same flower on the background.  Added a sentiment stamped on purple and embossed with white powder. A scattering of gems completes this card.

Die cut shape - retired set of dies from Stampin' Up
Flower - iris die by Joanna Sheen
Dictionary stamp - retired background stamp from Stampin' Up

Snow Couple

 Another Christmas card to share today, this time with some stamping and colouring using a seasonal stamp set which is a retired item - they seem to bring out a new set of Christmas stamps every year.  Using the Misti I stamped the Snow Couple, the snowflakes and the words onto a die cut stitched circle before colouring using alcohol pens.  The blue striped paper was amongst my magazine give-away paper collection and the die cut snowflake border was a free die also given with a magazine last year or maybe even before that.  Time flies doesn't it and often difficult to work out just how long things have been in the crafty stash.

Image - Snowman stamp set from Stampin' Up
Colouring - using Copic pens
Snowflake border - free die given with a magazine

Snippets Challenge #389

 Well worth popping over to the Playground to see the super cute card which Di has made using what is the prize for this fortnight - a real fun set of stamps with matching dies.  You might have guessed I will be asking for my name to go into the draw this time around.

Anyway, on to my snippets card for this challenge which was prompted by coming across a box containing quite a lot of pre-cut shapes which I must have bought years ago and I'm talking about well before die cutting became possible in our own craft rooms.  I think it is about 15 years since the Big Shot arrived on the scene so I've had this box for ages.  I've used an oval frame and four little squares with text on them from the box (hardly made any inroads into the contents) and then set about using up more of my snippet mountains to make something from this start.  Cut four brown squares to back the printed ones, an oval in cream to go behind the frame and a selection of small snippets to make the flowers and leaves.  Even the music paper was a snippet left over from a much larger piece.  The message was stamped onto the cream oval using the Misti for positioning.

                                  

Text squares and oval frame - from box of pre-cut shapes by Papermania probably over 15 years old
Sentiment - free stamp from my favourite magazine gift set
Flowers and leaves - dies by Sue Wilson
Squares - cut using Tonic nesting squares die set

Trimming the Town

Thought I'd share more of the cards made using the Trimming the Town DSP - ingredients are much the same as listed on my previous posts.  I've quite enjoyed putting these cut out houses together in varying ways to make a selection of Christmas cards.  I still have a few more variations but will save them for another day.

 

Inspiration

 As well as tempting me with crafty items I don't have, viewing blogs often serves as a reminder of something which I already have in my stash.  This was the case when I spotted a card posted  by Jules when I remembered that I had some dies which I could use to make a card similar to and inspired by one of her recent makes. If you look near the top of her blog you will also find a link to a library of wonderful card layout sketches - yet another source of inspiration when you are stuck for ideas.  I sorted out some background papers and oddments of card to die cut the components for this card, starting with some toning background papers, followed by the ovals one of which was run through an embossing folder to give it some interest.  I then cut out the various small pieces of the succulents and their pots and assembled them, finally adding a simple greeting.  Thanks Jules for a timely reminder which didn't result in any retail therapy 😊

Background - bits and pieces from my stash, border die from Crafter's Companion
Ovals - dies from Tonic, embossing folder from Creative Expressions
Succulents - die set from Sizzix Dimensional Botanicals
Sentiment - computer generated, punches from Stampin' Up

Teacups

I'll give you a break from Christmas cards for today and share something different.  I came across the remnants of a card kit which came with a magazine and tried to think of a way of using up some of the bits and pieces.  There were some good size pieces of card with printed and foiled images and I selected one of them for the basis of the card, then used a teacup die to cut out three cups from some of the scraps.  The sentiment was also part of the kit and that was a fairly quick card to put together once I'd decided on how to use up the 'bits'.  I fancy it is an advantage having a fairly good memory for all the dies and stamp collections I've amassed from the magazine freebies over the years - mind you it does often take a while to actually find them 😄

Remnants of a kit from Hunky Dory magazine
Teacup die - another freebie which came with a different magazine ages ago