Papertrey Ink and Altenew Christmas Snowglobe card

Hello everyone, and welcome to a brand‑new challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges!

This month we’re inviting you to play along with three festive themes — choose your favourite or join in with all of them:

P is for Penguins

Q is for Quartet (Four of Something)

R is for Rectangles

Our lovely host this time is Helen, and she has a gorgeous gift ready for one lucky winner, so don’t forget to link up your creations.

P is for Penguin

For my penguin card, I dusted off an old favourite — the Papertrey Ink Snowglobe die set — and turned it into a snowy shaker.

 Inside the globe, I stamped the sweet Altenew Warm Heart mother‑and‑baby penguin pair, which fit the little scene perfectly. I filled the shaker with glitter and glass drops to create a frosty swirl when you give it a shake. I lightly inked the inner circle to give a little halo around the penguins, and used a snowy acetate for the front.

 

R is for Rectangles

For my rectangles card, I used a My Favorite Things die to create a panel of rectangles — ideal for this theme.

I backed the openings with patterned paper from my stash and fussy-cut one of the poinsettia flowers to add to the bottom-right rectangle. To finish, I stamped and heat‑embossed the sentiment for a touch of shine, then added a few die‑cut snowflakes with jewelled centres to complete the frosty look.

We’d love to see what you create — whether you’re feeling penguin‑playful, quartet‑clever, or rectangle‑ready. Join in the fun, share your makes, and you might be the lucky winner of Helen’s lovely prize.

I'd like to play along at

52 Weeks to Christmas August Challenge - use a snow globe

Krafty Chicks Challenge #833 - Christmas

A Cut Above Challenge August - use die-cuts

Cut it Up Challenge #362 die cuts with a sentiment

I hope you've been coping with the excessive heat if you are in the UK. I never thought I'd ever say I'm so ready for some cooler days and a bit of rain!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Carol x

Altenew jingle bells card and Creative Expressions Papercuts Christmas card

 Hello everyone, and welcome to a new challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges.

This time we have 2 themes, and they are

J for Jingle Bells

and/or

K for Kraft

These are my contributions

J for Jingle Bells

I used an old Altenew Magazine kit for this card, stamping and die-cutting the bells and bows first. I put the bells on a sponge mat and used an embossing tool on the back to give them a bit of a curve as they looked a bit flat without. A lick of Wink of Stella also gave a little sparkle.

I stamped the background with the sprigs in a few shades of green and then used an embossing plate from Papertrey Ink to add a little texture.The sentiment is also PTI. I finished by inking some white card's edges to create a layer and adding a few die-cut dots leftover from another project.

K for Kraft

For this card, I used an old Creative Expressions Paper Cuts Reindeer die, cutting it in kraft and white, and then paper piecing within the frame. I stuck the kraft frame directly to the card base rather than stacking it because I liked the embossed look it gives. The sentiment was from my bits box, and waste not, want not, I added a couple of the fallout stars to the banner.

I am sad to say goodbye to our lovely Teammate, Marie, who is leaving us this month, and I wish her all the best for the future. The rest of the team has some great inspiration for you, and you can see it at the ABC Challenges blog 

I'd like to play along at

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #184 - anything Christmas goes

A Cut Above May Challenge - anything goes with die cuts

Neglected Stuff Challenge May25 - use neglected stuff (Creative Expressions reindeer dies)

Girlz Creative Christmas Challenge #124 - use die-cuts or punches

52 Christmas card throwdown May Colour Challenge - red and green

Jungle Belles Challenge - Christmas bells

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs

Carol x

Altenew Just Jasmine greetings card

 

Hello everyone. I hope you had a lovely Easter and are enjoying the spring weather, if it is spring in your part of the world. We are starting another challenge at Addicted to Stamping and More, and this time you can pull out any colouring medium you like to make your mark.

I came up with this CAS design

I used the Altenew stamp and die set called Just Jasmine and used Copic pens and coloured pencils to colour it.

I inked inside a rectangle mask to frame the image, and also inked the scalloped mat with the same colour ink to coordinate.

You will find lots of inspiration on the ATSM blog, and you can link up your entry there too. 

I'd like to play along at

Altenew Inspiration Challenge April - Pretty in Pink Blooms

Unicorn Challenge #108 - use dies

CAS Colours and Sketches challenge #558 - sketch

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Blooming Blooms

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #252 - anything goes

Crafty Catz Challenge #692 - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

Lisa Horton Blooming Coneflower thank you card

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well and full of the joys of spring. I'm getting there after having a bad tummy bug that has floored me for a few days. 

I'm back with a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More, and this time we have our any occasion challenge.

 

I came up with this 5 x 7 thank you card

  

 

I used my NBUS Lisa Horton Blooming Coneflower stencils and 3d embossing folder and then cut the panel with a scalloped rectangle die. I should have cut the panel before embossing because it flattened the raised surface a little. Of course, I could have embossed it again but I was afraid of it slipping and ruining the impression so I chickened out. The die-cut thank-you sentiment is foiled with black foil from Spellbinders.

I'd like to play along at

Dream Valley Challenge #312 - Dies

Creative Moments challenge #256 flora and fauna

Can You Handle the Pressure March 9th - anything dry embossed goes

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #15 - anything floral with optional mood board

NBUS Challenge #60 - NBUS coneflower stencils and embossing folder

There are lots of cards to inspire you over on the ATSM blog and I hope you will join in with us this time.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Crafters Companion Build a Snowman Christmas card and Papertrey Ink and Altenew Jingle Christmas card

 

Hello everyone and welcome to the September Challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges.

This time we have reached S and T in the alphabet so we would like to see your 

S for'Snowmen'

&

T for 'Three of a Kind'

I have a Crafters Companion Snowman stamp and die set that is really sweet and I pulled it out to make my card. While I was looking at the head of the snowman, I decided to experiment with my Altenew Stampwheel and make a kind of wreath with the head. I was just playing and wasn't sure how it would turn out 

but I was really happy with the result. I went round the wheel again with the snowman's hat and then coloured the hats and noses with pencils. I added glitter to the hat brims and bobbles after die cutting with a square die and then inked the edges and stamped a sentiment in the centre.

Three of a kind

For this card, I die-cut a white panel with a Pinkfresh Studio die and backed the three apertures with some patterned paper. I then made a couple of jingle bells with some Altenew stamps and dies that came free with a magazine and added them to the top and bottom holes. For the centre, I stamped and embossed the sentiment and laid it on some gold card to match the little stars I had dotted around.

I thought the design was a bit lacking so I stamped and die-cut the three boughs from a Papertrey Ink set, shaped them a bit and finished off by adding them and three bows to the card.

This challenge runs until 7th October and we'd be delighted if you decide to join in.

I'd like to play along at

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #147 - anything Christmas goes

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #78 - Chillin with my Snowmies

Christmas with the Cuties #73 - - something snowy

Peace on Earth Challenge #47 - anything - anything Christmas themed

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Echinacea birthday card

 

Hello everyone and welcome to summer here in the UK which is forecast to last for a whole week after weeks of very disappointing grey and wet weather. My daughter is a teacher and she has spent much of her holiday transforming my craft room as a big present for me for a big birthday I have coming up. The weather has been really poor for her whole holiday and she returned to school yesterday amid blazing sunshine! Such a shame for her and all the children and teaching staff.

Well, another fortnight has whizzed by and I'm back with a new challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More. This time you can choose any occasion you like, but I went for a birthday card because my supply is very low.

I started by cutting a panel with the Papertrey Ink Love to Layer: Aztec die and lightly inked it with some Cracked Pistachio distress ink. I then cut several layers of the echinacea die (a favourite late summer flower and an old die from Joanna Sheen) and coloured it with my Ziggies before stacking them together to give some dimension. The sentiment is from the Altenew Sakura Blossom stamp set and I first stamped it in the Cracked Pistachio but it got lost on the background so I went over it with Wilted Violet. I'm not really happy with how that turned out but at least you can see it better. I made a layer for the panel by inking around the edge with the CP ink and placed the whole thing onto a landscape A2 card base.

I'd like to play along at

Happy Little Stampers September Birthday Challenge

The Flower Challenge #84 - use a die

Dragonfly Dreams Challenge September - birthday

As always, the DT has some great inspiration for you over on the ATSM blog and you can link up your entry over there too.

If you're in the UK - enjoy the sunshine while we have it!

Hugs

Carol x

Penny Black Hugs and Simon Says Stamp Framed Friendship get well card.

Hello everyone and welcome to another challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More.

This time we are making marks on our cards with items such as paint, markers, inks etc and I came up with this card

I used my NBUS Penny Black Hugs Edger dies and the image is from an older stamp set which was a collaboration between Simon Says Stamp and Altenew, called Framed Friendship. I used Zig Clean Colour Markers to watercolour the flowers and shade the hugs die cut. I really like that the die set includes the edger die to give some shape to the panel and you can then nestle the hugs die cut up against it. I stacked a few of these die cuts to give some dimension and only coloured the top one. 

I inked the base card with some coordinating ink and stamped the Sending sentiment on it before adding the shaped panel. All the sentiment stamps were pulled from different stamp sets to link up the message, and I finished off by splattering some ink droplets onto the panel. I really like this Hugs die because it can be used with or without the edger die and I know that Penny Black has some new words being released this month too.

As always, my talented Design Teamies have some great inspiration for you over on the ATSM Blog and you can link up your entry over there too.

I'd like to play along at

Passion for Markers Challenge week 690 - add a sentiment

Unicorn Challenge #87 - Flowers

Aud Sentiments Challenge #301 - - watercolouring and a sentiment

NBUS Challenge #50 - use new schtuff!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

 

The Greetery Christmas Pudding, MFT Santa's Elves and Spellbinders Merry Christmas cards

 

 

Hello crafty friends,

Well, March has come and I'm looking forward to spring even though we are having a very cold snap hereabouts. Welcome to the March 2023 ABC Christmas Challenge.

The challenge begins today and continues until the 8th April so you have lots of time to create and enter your projects into the gallery.

Our themes this time are

E for Elves

F for Food

and/or

G for Gold,

and I have a little prize for the randomly chosen winner

I managed to make a card for each of the themes this time 

E for Elves

I used the MFT Santa's Elves set for this, coloured with Copics and layered it onto the Altenew Diamond Frame die cut. The sentiment strip is from Simon Says Stamp.

F for Food

I used the Greetery Christmas Pudding dies for this one and shaded the pudding base with distress oxide ink and added currants with a brown Copic. The circle frame was cut with a die from Studio Katya and after I put it all together, I felt it lacked something. As I was clearing up, I found all the little red dots that had fallen from the frame die and spent a happy few minutes gluing each one around the frame. It doesn't take much lol....

 G is for Gold

 

 I used a green satin finish card for this one and foiled the Spellbinders Merry Christmas foil plate with gold foil. I added some flowers and holly, foiled with the same set, to add a pop of colour and finished off with the Christmas sentiment.

 

I know it seems strange to be making Christmas cards in March but I already feel good at seeing the little pile of cards I've already amassed!

I'd like to play along at

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #49 - anything Christmas goes

My Favorite Things - Ready set, Christmas!

Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - anything Christmas Goes 

Christmas with the Cuties - something with a sentiment

Peace on Earth Challenge anything Christmas goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

John Next Door Bauble Frame and Altenew Diamond Frame Christmas cards

Hello everyone and welcome to another challenge over at ABC Christmas Challenges.

Our host this time is the talented Helene from Mummylade and she has a little gift for the winner of this month's challenge

We have three themes for you this month and as we have reached P, Q, and R we have:

P for Pink

Q for Quarter

and/or

R for Reindeer

First up is my P for Pink

I took some white card and used inks to blend a pink ombre effect with Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, and Abandoned Coral Distress Oxides. I cut the Altenew Diamond Frame cover die and added this to the panel. 

The focal image was made with the Sue Wilson Festive Collection Christmas Tree Greetings die which I cut a couple of times in green and white so I could stack them and add a drop shadow.

My second card is Q for Quarters

For this one, I used the John Next Door Bauble Frame dies and just used the inner parts of the baubles to cut into the card. This provided three of the quarters and I completed the fourth one by adding a die-cut snowflake to the card. I matted the panel onto some aqua card and placed some red emelishments to add some contrast.

You'll find lots of inspiration over on the ABC Christmas Challenges blog and I'd love to see your entry in the gallery.

I'd like to play along at

The Holly and Ivy Challenge # 121 - anything Christmas goes

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #64 - things not found in a Nativity scene

Happy Little Stampers August - anything Christmas goes - no twist

Peace on Earth Challenge #21 - anything Christmas goes

My Time to Craft #40 winter holiday decorations

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Simon Says Stamp Framed Friendship and Poppy Stamps Art Deco Birthday card

 

Hello everyone, and if you are in the UK, I hope you enjoyed the sunshine over the last week or so. Spring is definitely here now and the lighter evenings to enjoy the birdsong in the garden are very welcome.

It's time for another challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More, and this time we'd like you to make your mark!

I came up with this offering:-

For this card I used my NBUS Simon Says Stamp and Altenew collaboration set called Framed Friendship and I stamped and coloured two of the flower and leaf clusters with my Zig Clean Colour pens before die cutting them. I lightly inked a 5x5 piece of white card for the background and then stamped the line corner from the stamp set using Wilted Violet Distress Oxide ink. I used this to place my sentiment from Poppy Stamps Art Deco Birthday sentiments to give it a half-framed look.

The card was matted onto white and I cut a scalloped square from white card and heavily inked the edges with the Wilted Violet ink because I didn't have any card of the right colour. To finish off, I shaped the flowers and leaves a little and then overlapped and entwined them to make a larger cluster that had more visual impact.

As always, you'll find lots of inspiration from my talented teammates over on the ATSM blog, and we also have a very talented Guest  Designer this month so do stop by to say hello to Trina and view her gorgeous card. I look forward to seeing your entries if you decide to join us.

I'd like to play along at

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge #229 - add flowers

Stamps Fun Creativity Challenge #407 - favourite flower - roses

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Simon Says Stamp and Apple Blossom Holly Christmas card and Altenew Warm Heart Christmas card

 

Hello everyone and welcome to another challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges which will run from the 1st to 30th September. We had so many gorgeous entries last month so if you entered last time, I encourage you to pop over to the blog to see if you were a winner.

Our lovely host this time is Wei and she is kindly offering a prize for the winner.

We have two themes for you this month and they are 

S for Stencil

and/or 

T for Two.

I came up with these cards:-

S for stencil

For this card I used a snowfall stencil from Simon Says Stamp and inked through it with white ink onto a red die-cut square card. Once the ink was dry, I sprayed it several times with Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle and although my photography was not up to showing it, the panel looks really sparkly irl.

For the holly sprigs, I smooshed some card with several shades of green ink and then die-cut them with a die from Apple Blossom. I layered them onto a second white layer, offset them slightly, shaped them a little, and glued them in the corner. The bow is from PTI and the sentiment is from SSS. I added a few Nuvo Drop berries to finish the card off.

This is my T for Two card

I embossed some navy satin white core card with a snowflake embossing folder and then sanded back the surface to show the snowflakes in white. I cut a snowbank from some card, applied double-sided adhesive tape, and then stuck on some faux snow. The penguins from Altenew are called Warm Heart, and I shaded them with some grey Copics before placing them on an oval of white card which I shaded as well. I finished off with the die-cut sentiment from PTI which I stacked three times to help it stand out.

If you need some festive inspiration, you will find lots of it from my lovely teammates over on the ABC Christmas Challenges Blog.

I'd like to play along at

Christmas with the Cuties #52 - anything Christmas goes without the option

Christmas Card Throwdown August - Stencil