Starting the Christmas Season

I am always so late in making my Christmas cards and little gifts, but this year I hope to get things done without being in a rush at the last minute.  Well, in any case here is a start.  This post will have a lot of pictures which I hope you will enjoy viewing.

It is my Christmas Box, one which will hold candy and after it is eaten, becomes a greeting card.  Using your Scor-Pal is a must for this project.  Stamps used include those from Inkadinkadoo, Stampabilities, and Heartfelt Impressions.

Outside the box

Another view

Inside holding candy

When all the candy is gone.

A view of the different images

The greeting

Even this post was a little long, I hope you enjoyed it.  If you did, please enter my upcoming Christmas challenges as I and the Design Team would love to see what you are making this holiday.  I will be running my Christmas challenges a little earlier this year.

Thanksgiving Inspirations

Here are some additional inspirations for your "First Thanksgiving" entries.  We are looking forward to see what you create.

Vicki

When I think of the Pilgrims, I think of simplicity.  Therefore, I decided to make a very simple and classic card.    I'm not sure where I got the digital of the ship as I have had it for a long time.  The ship has been put on a black mat and then placed on gold cardstock.

As I make my Thanksgiving cards, I think about the many ways I am thankful.  I have so much to be thankful for.  One of them is that I have made so many friends - more than I could possibly have imagined- the past couple of years as a result of starting this blog. 

Petra

Thanksgiving is not only a time to be grateful for the everything we have but it always reminds me of my childhood days. When the crops were harvested and the fields laid bare, every day we would hope for some windy weather and then we would go out with our kites and have competitions which kite would fly highest (lol). In this spirit I kept my Thanksgiving card very simple (paper: American Craft, stamps: Waltzing Mouse) but added some little friendly kites.

Michele

I've made another tag for this Thanksgiving challenge.  One of my favorite Thanksgiving themes is the cornucopia or "horn of plenty."  This stamp comes from MadRat Rubber; she is a huntress with her beautiful dog and her cornucopia full of goodies.  To me it represents all the things we have to be thankful for.  In addition to having a home and food in times when many do not, I am also extremely thankful for the time and the ability to craft.  

Face

I love working with faces.  This card is using a face from CS Designs.  This one is Sea Nymph.   She is put in a diecut frame which has been modified to fit the size of the card.  I love the way the nymph peeks out from underneath the starfish  She is colored with Copic markers.  The background uses designer paper which looks like sand.   I used on the paper Highlight Cuttlebug technique which uses an embossing folder and then is highlighted with walnut distressing ink.

A couple of colorful paper flowers give additional color to the card.

I am entering this in Our Creative Corner's  Fabulous Faces.

New Design Team Member

I am so pleased to announce that I am now a member of the CS Designs Stamps Design Team.  These are one of a kind digital stamps created by Chris Stern.  These digitals are very unique and are so much fun to use.  You should go to her site and see all the different digitals and visit her blog Art with No Boundaries to enter the challenges and to see the inspirations created by me and the other members of the team.

I am so excited to be a part of this group of ladies as they are all so talented.  Thank you Chris, for letting me be a part of this wonderful group.

My card portrays the season, The image is called Solitaire Mummified from CS Designs.  I really like my greeting. It is from the "Family" background paper.  It reads "nothing is scarier than family".   Coloring was done with Copic markers.

I cannot resist.  I thought I would send this card to my daughter who just recently moved to St. Louis as all my other children are still near by in the Nashville area.  She will get a laugh from it as it is SO true.

I am entering this at Shopping Our Stash and Gingersnap Creations' Horror Stories.

Turquoise, Purple and Black

I made this card today for the Gingersnap Creations challenge. Turqoise, Purple and Black.  However, before I could post, company dropped by and I didn't get it posted in time.  Oh well, that is the breaks of the game when one waits until the last day to enter a challenge. 

In any case, I wanted to show my combination of colors.  I am fairly please with the way it turned out.  I made an easel card using a Stampin' Up medallion stamp as the focal point.  I decided to turn the Spellbinder dye sideways instead of up and down like I usually see it.  It gives it an Asian feel.

I made the easel card into a birthday card for a friend.  I hope she likes it.

Challenge # 27 - Halloween

I have decided to continue my challenges.  I hope everyone will continue to enter these challengess if for no other reason than enjoyment and to have their entry posted in my winner's spot at the top of my sidebar.  From time to time I will surprise the featured entry with a prize, but one will not be given for every challenge.

They will continue to run for a two-week period.  So you have plenty of time to create something.

October brings out all the witching and spooky images.  So with nothing more said, here are some ideas from the design team.

Vicki

My card features a design from CS Designs. The artist, Chris, has a number of images with different type masks in her Solitaire collection. On thist card is the Mysterious Butterfly. She was colored with Copic markers. I made the mask dark since this was to be a Halloween card. Also I think it makes her look like a Super Hero character ready to jump into action and go trick or treating. The image was placed on a black mat over some Halloween paper with spiders on it. To carry out the blue ghoulish color, I added a blue flower.

Valerie

Hi Everyone, Valerie here. This is a Calendar page I made for a friend. She got the calendar as a new year present, and I make her a page each month- This is the October page with a Halloween theme, as it is my fave holiday. For next week I will show you a little album I am making.

Michele

I love making Hallowe'en cards and this year I found lots of cool new images to work with. This image came from http://www.geckogalz.com/ a company I just discovered. I enjoyed pulling together cool ribbons, papers and other embellishments to make one of my first holiday cards for this spooky season. If you're making Hallowe''en cards anyway you ought to just come on along and join this challenge!

Barbara

It's that time of year when the Wicked Witch of the West (Stampsmith) becomes a popular character. It's the witching season of Halloween. Here she flies past the moon and is backed by a panel embossed with Tim Holtz' Halloween texture fade highlighted by the newly released seedless preserves distress ink. (Don't you just love that color.) Backing up the image is an orange metal panel which I crimped using a wavy crimper.



Falling Leaves

Here is a little card I made with Darla's cute little kitten watching the leaves fall.  I put the image on multiple different layers and colored the image with Copic markers.  Additional leaves were punched from paint chips and added to the card. 

This card was created for Digi Darla's Fall challenge and I am also entering it in Simon's Says Stamp and Show's Show your Stripes and Gingerloft Challenge Fall

Star Card

Here is a card that needs your Scor-Pal scoring tool.  It is easy if you have one.  It is made of a couple of  interlocking folds.

I did not do any stamping on this card.  The outside has purchased dimensional fall embellishments which I cut apart to use on the different flaps.  On the inside is some scrollwork, also purchased and some leaves punched out of different pieces of cardstock.  The greeting itself  was computer generated and the greeting and the mat for the greeting were cut with Spellbinders.  To finish out the card, I used a  little lace.

If you like this card and wish to learn how to make it,  then you need to go to my sidebar and push on the purchase button for the 3D and Fun Folds Dd.  There are approximately 70 techniques on this CD.  What a bargain!

Below are different views of the card:

The Outside of the Card

Closeup of Some of the Embellishments

The Opened Card

Closeup of the Greeting

If you would like to learn 70 techniques from one CD, don't forget to go to my sidebar.

I am entering this in Scor-Pal Guest Designer challenge.

Step Into My Parlor

"Step into my parlor" said the spider to the fly.  This card brings that saying to life.  I took black cardstock as my mat on a purple card base.   Before gluing it to the base I wrapped it with twine.  On top of that I placed my imaqge from CS Designs which was colored with Copic markers. 

On the right side I made a shrine or "parlor" which is held closed by the greeting.  When open, the parlor is filled with spiders on a commercial web.  In the corner is a pumpkin gritting its teeth.

I am entering this in  Paper Take Weekly. Forever Night and Creative Card Crew challenges.

Second Week of Halloween Challenge

Here are some additional inspirations for your Halloween entry.  You have a week left to create something creepy, ghostly or scary.  It does not have to be a card.  It can be anything including an ATC, wall hanging or a canvass.

Vicki

This time I made a little sweet treat hanger. I highlighted the embossed web with black ink. I like using it over printed designer paper. The little witch watching over the treat is by CS Designs.. She is colored with Copic markers.   Having a Scor-Pal scoring tool makes this an easy project.

The little holder is a "sneak peak" of one of the new projects on the Technique Junkies' 3D and Fun Folds CD. It has 70 techniques on it and can be ordered from my sidebar.  This is one CD you don't want to miss.

Petra B

BOO

... a truly sweet Halloween BOO! When I saw the image from Bumble Buttons, I couldn't resist it. It is just too cute. I made the image the focal point of my card and layered it on patterend digital paper (Chrystal Wilkerson) and black card. To scare you I added the BOO buttons from Karen, the Graphics Fairy and stamped some little tiny spiders from Elzybells onto the card. Happy Halloween!

Michele S

I had fun using stamps and collage for this week's creation.  I used fun papers and stckers for my design and two of my favorite Halloween stamps.  The dancing Jack-o-lantern guy is by American Art Stamps and the howling cat is from 100 Proof Press.  Trick or treat?

Hi Valerie here. I have made an autumn / Halloween tag. The tag has been distressed with wild honey and spiced marmalade and the background has been stamped with a script stamp and some flourishes. the flower basket is also hiding a little skull, and a witch is taking off to do some mischief.

My Day

Here is a type of card I have not made recently.  It is a birthday card.  Since today is my birthday, I thought I would make one to remind me that I am a little older.  However, I already realize that each morning when I get up and I move a little slower.   I am thankful for each day and each year I get.

I used a piece of altered designer paper I had on hand on the right side of the card and took a piece of trim off a candle for the center trim.  The little lady is colored with Copic markers.

Two for One

I am doing a double-post today. Both of these card features a design from CS Designs. 

Where do you think those witches get their hair styled? Well at the Stylish Witches Salon of course. Above is a digital advertisement for the salon drawn by Chris Stern of CS Designs. The salon also does a little tatooing and after midnight or during the full moon you can get a discount. I may have to try this place out as my hair always looks like it has been caught in a web.

To create the card I did two types of webbing. Firstly the paper on the left has gold spray webbing with embossing powder sprinkled throughout. Then it was put through a crimper. The paper on the right has benn embossed with a web folder and highlighted in gold.. At the bottom of the card is a "ribbon" punched from printed paper. I finished the card with a flower made from newspaper which I thought was the perfect touch since that is where I probably would have found the advertisement.

My second card features Chris' Mask of Webs. I wanted her to pop on the card so I put her on a purple web background and placed only element in black around her. She is colored with Copic markers. The fence is from Martha Stewart. I have used this fence a number of times and it looks great in settings other than for Halloween. The tree is part of a diecut someone gave me.

I am entering these in Crafty Cardmakers'  and Make It Monday- Anything Goes.

Art with No Boundaries Challenge

Art with No Boundaries, a blog by CS Designs has a new challenge.  It is Halloween.  CS Designs has some wonderful new designs for Halloween.  You have got to drop by and take a peak on their site here..    For my sample I chose to do a stand-up scene.

For my little scene I took a fence that made up 1/4 of a pink wooden Easter basket  and painted it with midnight black acrylic paint.  I then printed my little Priscilla, a CS Design digital on heavy cardstock so she would stand up and have some body.  The little pumpkin is a 3D sticker and my ghost is a piece of cotton which has been given eyes with a dot of the black paint.

On the back I put an easel so it will stand up.  I hope you like this little Halloween decoration which can be placed on a table.

I am entering this in Forever Night Challenges' Freaky Friday Challenge # 11 and Clear It Out's Halloween challenge.  I have also entered I Did It Creations' Halloween Challenge and Digital Tuesday's #131 We Like to Party! as well as Tuesday Throwdown's Halloween.

Challenges

I have been posting a challenge every two weeks for almost a year now so I have decided to stop challengs with prizes on a every two-week basis .  I will continuing having challenges from time to time, but not on a regular basis and many will not have candy.    With the economy like it is, it is understandable that it is not quite as easy to find sponsors.   I do hope you will continue to participate in my challenges with the "prize" being " enjoyment".  If  you are associated with a company or would like to offer some small prize for a challenge, please contact  me at vickiromaine@yahoo.com

Now for the winner of "Be Transparent"   It is 2amscrapper.  Her entry is in the  winner's spot at the top right hand corner of my sidebar.   I hope you enjoy your small gift.

Thanks to everyone who has become a follower and who have participated in my challenges.....please continue.

Blue and Brown

Here is my inspiration for Darla's Brown and Blue Challenge. It is a very simple card and can be done in no time at all. The main image is one of Digi Darla's and the greeting is by Finders Keepers. I colored the main image with Copic markers. She is placed  on a mat which has been put at an angle.

Trick or Treat

Here is a little card for Halloween.  I usually do not make very many Halloween cards, but this is giirl dressed in her pumpkin outfit is irresitable.  She is Priscilla, a digital, from CS Designs.

I began my card with a web embossing folder and embossed the black cardstock.  Then I used white ink to highlight.  Next I cut out my little chain from a brand new punch and I realized that the links could be interlocking when put on top of each other so I put one orange chain on each side of a black with dots one.

The image was cut with an octagonal die and place on a medallion circle cut with a   punch.   She was colored with Copic markers.  As a final touch I added a weird-shaped pumpkin to the side.  Also, what is a web without a spider?

I am entering this on Forever Night Challenges' Anything Goes and I Did It Creations' Halloween Challenge.

Challenge # 26 - Be Transparent

This post will stay at the top until the challenge closes.  To see my moew current posts, please scroll below.

This challenge will be the last one on a regular two-week basis.  For the near future, I will host a challenge from time to time as I obtain sponsors.  This will give me as well as my Design Team a break so we can get ready for the holidays.  Also, I have some other obligations that I wish to direct my attention.   I do hope you will come back each week to see what I have posted.  And who knows it may be a challenge!  Thanks to each of you  who have entered from week to week.  It has been fun seeing what everyone has created.

This challenge is called "Be Transparent"  You can put anything on your project that you can see through.  This might include a glass button, a piece of acrylic, a transparency or even a plastic window.

 Vicki

This card uses the quilt technique.  I thought the colors of the squares were great for Fall.  Faux stitching connect the squres.   The verse about the one red leaf is from CS Designs.  Since this challenge is "Be Transparent", I put a piece of acrylic over the first two words of the verse.  The red leaf was punched and distressed ink was used to obtain the red color. 

I hope you are ready for Fall as it is on our doorstep, waiting to come in.

Petra

Here I used a transparency in an easy and simple way by cutting a transparent tag, stamping on it with a little snowflake stamp in a more or less regular pattern (stamp by Heindesign) and embellishing the tag with a Nestabilities star (paper by Memorybox), a little snowflake charm and some ribbon.

Michele

The thing that is transparent here is my clear buttons. I never worked with paper dolls before in a mixed media creation so I had the idea to use clear buttons as connectors for the body parts. This creation starts with a canvas which I collaged with pretty papers. Then I added my doll. The doll pieces came from Paula's Kits Club (sadly no longer in business). I made her torso with designer paper from my stash. I only ended up using two of the buttons on her, for her arms. But I decorated around the canvas with additional clear buttons at each corner, along with other goodies. Have fun creating with clear or transparent items!



Barbara

To create my window card I cut windows in my base card and in my overlay. I used a piece of packaging acetate for my window image. I used the Technique Junkie technique Acetate Smooch from the Dec "09/Jan '10 newsletter for my image. I stamped the image (from Artistic Outpost Wonderland Collage) in Stazon on one side of the acetate and used Smooch paint to color the image. The front panel was embossed using a texture fade and highlighted with walnut stain distress ink. I added my sentiment which was done on my label printer. I think this makes a fun belated birthday card.

Valerie

Hello! Valerie here. I distressed my tag with TH inks, stamped the background with a collage stamp and a script stamp - both from LaBlanche - and added a vintage image from a German Ladies' Magazine from 1899. The image has been covered with a film strip printed onto acetate. The bunch of flowers is from Jolees.

Craft Fantastic