Christmas Kickstart Challenge

Waaaaay back in the beginning of November I was invited by Jo (AKA Dotty Jo) to be a Guest Elf at the Christmas Kickstart challenge.  I was chuffed to be invited and luckily she caught me before life took some unexpected turns and my card supplies got packed up and shoved into a corner.

The theme for this month's challenge is The Sentiment Takes Centre Stage.  This was a perfect choice for me as I'd been having so much fun with my Essentials by Ellen alphabet dies at the time.  I always thought this Katzelkraft kitty must be yowling out a celebratory tune and decided that this time the tune would be Deck the Halls.  :)

I hope you'll play along and can't wait to see your creations!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Ralfs Red, Smokey Slate) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper: (Green Swirls 12x12) Stemma

Stamps:  (Cat) Katzelkraft, (Santa hat from Holiday Cats) Skipping Stones Designs

Ink:  (Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Die:  (Classic Block Alpha) Essentials by Ellen

Markers:  (R27) Copic

Other:  (Glossy Accents) Ranger

CASology #398

  Welcome to Week 397 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:

I wonder how many kids suffer from neck strain as they turn their heads skyward searching for a glimpse of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve.  Is that a thing?

Looking forward to seeing what direction the cue word takes you.  Check out the gorgeousness from the rest of the design team then play along!

Asa Johanssen

Deidre Payne

Jacquie Southas 

Jen Wills

Joyce Mehrberg

Melissa Chipperfield

Nancy Elrick

Sandie Munroe

Sue Symens

***You've got 4 weeks for this challenge!***

Link your creations to the CASology blog by 9am Monday, 3 January (CDT).

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Dapper Denim) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (All from Joy To The World) Avery Elle

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Limoncello) Catherine Pooler

Die:  (Stitched rectangle) Mama Elephant

Other:  (Nuvo English Mustard Crystal Drops) Tonic

You Made the List

I'm playing along today with the Any Occasion challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.  When I got this Yasss! die I knew immediately that I was going to use it with these particular Ellen Hutson stamps for a cheeky Christmas card.  They really were meant to be together!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Crumb Cake) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper: Adornit (?)

Stamps:  (Bear from All Inside, List & sentiment from Santa's List) Ellen Hutson, (Santa hat from Beast Friends) My Favourite Things

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Die:  (Yasss!) Ellen Hutson

Christmas Cactus

 Hi there!  I'm popping in today with a card for the Simon Says Wednesday Happy Holidays/Christmas challenge.  There was a period last month where we thought there wouldn't be any Christmas trees making their way to the island this year so I figured I should make some cards with alternative decorative options!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Cherry Cobbler) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Cactus from Llama Love, Pot from Sweet Succulents) My Favorite Things, (Sentiment from Jungle Greetings) Mama Elephant

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Die:  (Zig zag stitched oval) My Favourite Things

Markers:  (R59, G07, G14, E08) Copic

Other:  (Nuvo Red Berry, English Mustard, Caribbean Ocean, Violet Galaxy Crystal Drops) Tonic

Merry & Bright

 Today's card is for the Fusion challenge and Darnell's NBUS challenge.  I was inspired by the sketch from Fusion and turned it 90 degrees to the right for a landscape layout.  I broke out these Lawn Fawn Christmas light dies for the first time and popped the lights up on foam tape for some dimension.  They were so easy to use.  Why have I waited so long???

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Gumball Green, Basic Grey, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  (Black & White Stripes 6x6) My Favourite Things

Stamps:  (Sentiment from Snow Day) Lawn Fawn

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Die:  (String of Lights) Lawn Fawn

Other:  (Nuvo Red Berry Crystal Drops) Tonic

Celebrate the Season

Today's card is for the current CAS Colours & Sketches challenge.  Of all my poinsettia images this one from Altenew is my favourite and gets used every year even though I never got dies for it and have to fussy cut it every time!  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Black) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Crumb Cake) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Poinsettia from Poinsettia and Pine) Altenew, (Sentiment from Simple Strips Christmas) Taylored Expressions

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko,

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Other:  (Nuvo English Mustard & Simply White Crystal Drops) Tonic

Warm & Fuzzy Wishes

It's Word Week at Just Us Girls and the word is Merry.  It's hard to believe that time of year is already upon us and that there are only 7 more Fridays until Christmas!!!  Yikes!  It'll be January before we know it.  I found a sweet little MFT kitty to wish us a merry Christmas.  I coloured him with Copics and popped him up on a patterned paper panel that's so old I have no idea which company it comes from but I made use of it and that's all that matters.  :)

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink,

Stamps:  (Cat, holly & sentiment from Peace, Love & Paws, Santa Hat from Beast Friends) My Favourite Things

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Die:  (Hemstitch Rectangle) Spellbinders

Markers:  (R27, G07, G14) Copic

Striped Tree

Today's card is for the Addicted to Stamps and More Christmas challenge.  I managed to quickly make 4 cards with this design.  I took a piece of printer paper and covered it with different green strips of cardstock and then die cut 4 trees from it.  Then I die cut 4 stars, embossed 4 sentiments and trimmed 4 card base panels from an old 12x12 piece of patterned paper. The trees are popped up on foam tape and I added a few crystal drops because I love them.  :)

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Black) Papertrey Ink, (Daffodil Delight,  All the greens!) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  (Red plaid 12x12) 

Stamps:  (Sentiment from Get Merry) Hero Arts

Inks:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko,

Embossing Powder:  (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Dies:  (Tree, star) Papertrey Ink

Other:  (Nuvo Simply White Crystal Drops) Tonic

Furry & Bright

Today's card is for the CAS Colours and Sketches challenge and the MFT Sketch challenge.  This little pup is so adorable in his Santa hat and scarf and he makes an appearance on my cards every year.  I just can't resist that floppy ear peeking out of his hat.    

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Pear Pizazz, Shaded Spruce) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Dog & sentiment from Happy Pawlidays) My Favourite Things

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko,

Marker:  (R27, E35, E37, W1, W3, W5, 100) Copic

Other:  (Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops) Tonic

Deck The Halls

 I'm popping in with a card for the Simon Says Wednesday Anything Goes challenge.  I love this sentiment from My Favourite Things and thought it suited this grumpy Katzlekraft kitty perfectly.  I dressed him up with a hat and bowtie from Tim Holtz hoping that would cheer him up but as you can see he's still grumpy!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Dark green) Bazzill, (Real Red, Cucumber Crush), Going Grey Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Cat) Katzlekraft, (Hat, bowtie) Tim Holtz, (Sentiment from Sassy Pants Holiday) My Favourite Things, (Envelope Pattern) Hero Arts

Inks:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko,

Dies:  (Oval Shadows) My Favourite Things

Marker:  (R27) Copic

Other:  (Nuvo Simply White Crystal Drops) Tonic

Gems:  Recollections

Bah Humbunny

 

I have a couple of cards today inspired by the Addicted to Stamps and More Christmas challenge.  These grumpy holiday bunnies from Honey Bee Stamps still manage to be adorable despite their moodiness.  I had fun colouring them and their accoutrements and putting some ancient patterned papers to use for the backgrounds.  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Patterned Papers:  Various

Stamps:  (All from Bah Humbunny) Honey Bee Stamps

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Flag, oval) My Favourite Things, (Speech bubble) Lawn Fawn, (Letters) Mama Elephant

Markers:  Copic

Other:  (Nuvo White Crystal Drops) Tonic

  

Let's Get Merry!

 

Today's card is for the Simon Says Wednesday Christmas challenge.  The sentiment is an old one from Hero Arts but definitely always a favourite.  I thought it worked perfectly with this Tim Holtz pooch because he sure looks like he's well on his way to getting merry!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Granny Apple Green) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  Doodlebug

Stamps:  (Dog from Crazy Dogs, Hat from Crazy Things) Stampers Anonymous, (Sentiment from Get Merry) Hero Arts

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko,

Dies:  (Long Classic Rectangles Small) Spellbinders

Markers:  (R11, R22, R27, R32, Y17, C1, C3, C5, C7) Copic

Other:  (Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops) Tonic

Brusho Poinsettia

 

Today's card is for the AAA Cards sketch challenge.  I didn't go with the optional twist to use primary colours because I was deep in Christmas card making mode and wanted to use a poinsettia for the card.  Way back in February I made a bunch of panels using Brushos (see below) and I used a couple of them on this card.  I stamped the Essentials by Ellen flower and leaves onto them and then fussy cut them.  And then I remembered I had the matching dies and didn't need to cut them by hand at all!  *sigh*  Sometimes I really worry about the state of my brain!

 

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Basic Black) Stampin' Up, (Tim Holtz Watercolour) Ranger

Patterned Paper:  (Stay Colorful 6x6) American Crafts

Stamps:  (Poinsettia from Mondo Poinsettia) Essentials by Ellen, (Sentiment from Holiday Cheer) Papertrey Ink

Ink:  (VersaMark, VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko

Embossing Powder: (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Brushos:  (Alizarin Crimson, Brilliant Red, Terracotta, Orange, Yellow, Sunburst Lemon, Line Green, Sea Green, Turquoise) Colourburst

Other:  (Nuvo English Mustard Crystal Drops) Tonic

Vintage Santa

 

Today's card is for the Inspired By... challenge.  I love the vintage look of the picture but I don't have any stamps that really fit that aesthetic.  I have a few sheets of vintage looking patterned paper but have always found them really busy and could never work out how to use them.  Enter Lisa Elton's card which gave me the perfect inspiration for what to do with them!  I think I'll end up with a stack of similar cards that makes use of some of the papers (Christmas and otherwise) that I just don't know what to do with.  Thanks so much, Lisa!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Basic Black) Stampin' Up, (Green) Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  (Mistletoe Memories 8x8) Daisy D's

Stamps:  (Christmas) Winnie & Walter

Ink:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko,

Embossing Powder: (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Other:  (Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Glitter Gloss) Tonic

Merry & Bright Trees

 I've got a card today for the photo inspiration challenge at Just Add Ink.  I love those bright and cheery Christmas trees in the picture and went straight for these Reverse Confetti tree dies.  Initially I had them placed centrally on the card but thought they needed a bit more pizzazz so I dug around until I came across the Ride the Wave die from MFT and that gave me the idea for some snowy hills.  The WPlus9 Sentiment fit perfectly across the front of them and it comes with a matching die - so cool!  

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (Melon Mambo, Peach Parfait, Tempting Turquoise, Soft Suede, Smokey Slate, Basic Black, Glitter) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Sentiment from Holiday Trimmings) WPlus9

Ink:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko,

Embossing Powder: (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Dies:  (Trees) Reverse Confetti, (Ride the Wave) My Favourite Things

Other:  (Nuvo White Crystal Drops) Tonic

Warm Winter Wishes

Today's card is for the CAS Colours & Sketches challenge.  I have a whole pile of images on my desk that are stamped and ready for colouring.  This little birdie looked like he'd be the perfect fit for the sketch so I coloured him with Copics and added some Stickles to his hat for a bit of shimmer.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Red, green) Bazzill

Stamps:  (All from Season's Tweetings) Winnie & Walter

Ink:  (VersaFine Onyx Black, Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko,

Dies:  (Stitched circle) Heffy Doodle

Markers:  (R29, R59, YR02, YR31, G28) Copic

Glitter"  (Stardust Stickles) Ranger

Other:  (Nuvo English Mustard Crystal Drops) Tonic

Poinsettia Joy

 

Today's card is for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge.  The Design Team created gorgeous cards as always but Jen Mitchell's card especially caught my eye and inspired me.  I paper pieced a poinsettia from Lil' Inker Designs and finally used some of this gorgeous MME gold striped paper.  I also added some Nuvo drops because apparently I am now incapable of making a card without them.

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Real Red, Basic Black) Stampin' Up, (Red, Green) Bazzill

Patterned Paper:  (Joyful 6x6) My Mind's Eye

Stamps:  (Flower from Festive Florals) Lil' Inker Designs

Ink:  (Memento Tuxedo Black) Tsukineko

Dies:  (Joy) Lil' Inker, (Stitched rectangle) Mama Elephant

Other:  (Nuvo English Mustard Crystal Drops) Tonic

Sweetest Christmas Ever

I've got one more card to share today.  This one if for the Fusion challenge where I took inspiration from both the sketch and the photo.  I used some more ancient 12x12 paper (yaaaaasss!) and an oldie but goodie PTI set.  Sweet and simple!

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Basic Black) Stampin' Up

Patterned Paper:  (Candy Cane 12x12) Adornit,

Stamps:  (All from Candy Cane Christmas) Papertrey Ink

Ink:  (VersaMark) Tsukineko, (Rockin' Red, Fiesta Blue) Catherine Pooler

Embossing Powder: (Opaque Bright White Super Fine) Wow

Other:  (Nuvo Oyster Grey Crystal Drops) Tonic

CASology #378

 

Welcome to Week 378 of CASology!  Take a look at the cue word for this week:

Part of the reason I love challenges so much is that they often cause me to dig out long forgotten and unused stamps.  I've used all the other stamps from his Altenew set but the stag has not been inked up before now.  He makes such a great Rudolph though that I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner! 

Looking forward to seeing what direction the cue word takes you.  Check out the gorgeousness from the rest of the design team then play along!

Deepti Stephens

Deidre Payne

Jacquie Southas 

Jen Wills

Joyce Mehrberg

Karen Haman

Melissa Chipperfield

Milka Gubo 

Nancy Elrick

Sandie Munroe

Sue Symens

This week's guest designer:

Chrissie

This week's sponsor:

Stamplorations

***We're going back to challenges every 2 weeks!***

Link your creations to the CASology blog by 9am Monday, 23 November (CDT).

Supplies Used:

Cardstock:  (White) Papertrey Ink, (Gumball Green) Stampin' Up

Stamps:  (Stag from Festive Silhouettes) Altenew, (Sentiment from Snow Day) Lawn Fawn

Inks:  (VersaFine Onyx Black) Tsukineko, (Cup o' Joe) Hero Arts

Gem:  Doodlebug

Other:  (Nuvo Autumn Red Crystal Drops) Tonic