The Greetery Nordic Tree Christmas card

 

Hello everyone and welcome to a new year of fun at ABC Christmas Challenges

I hope you had a healthy and peaceful holiday season. We took our tree and decorations down yesterday and, as usual everywhere looks a bit bare after all the colour and shimmer has gone. I'm off to get some flowers later to cheer the place up. Have you made any crafty resolutions for this year? I'm resolved to keep my craft space organised and to try some other platforms now that so few people are visiting blogs any more. If you have any tips in this regard, I'd love to hear them! 

Our first challenge of the year is 

A for Anything Christmas Goes 

and/or

Buildings

The lovely Helen is our host this time and she has this prize for the randomly chosen winner

I came up with this card for my Anything Goes card.

I had some watercolour paper in my stash that I had used to mop up some green ink and this came in handy for my new Nordic Tree die from The Greetery. The background was embossed with a star embossing folder from Creative, and the sentiment is an old die from Paper Smooches. I really like this tree die and hope to play with it again soon

Before you clear away all your Christmas supplies, why not join us this time and start on your stash for next year? The Design Team has some great inspiration on the ABC blog, and they would love for you to visit them and leave some nice comments.

I'd like to play along at

A Cut Above Challenge: January - use a new die option

Girlz Creative Christmas Challenge #106 - anything Christmas goes

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #70 - anything Christmas goes

Crafty Calendar Challenge January 2025 - add a die-cut

Craft Rocket Challenge #121 - something new (tree die)

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs

Carol x

Penny Black Stocking Stuffers and Spellbinders Sugarplum Tweets Christmas cards

Hello crafty friends and welcome back to another challenge over at ABC Christmas Challenges.

We had a tremendous response to our January Challenge with 158 entries! You submitted some fantastic designs so please go to the blog to see if you were a winner if you joined us. 

Our host this time is the very talented Lynda from Loopylou

and she has this fabulous prize for the winner

Our themes this time are

C is for Checks

and/or

 D is for Die Cuts

I came up with these designs.

C for Checks

 

For this card, I stamped and white embossed the All Lined Up Background stamp from My Favorite Things onto a piece of kraft card. I then cut a white panel using the MFT Stitched Scallop Basic Edges die. The bird is from the Spellbinders Sugarplum Tweets die set and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches.

D for Die-Cuts

For this card, I cut the panel from some cream card, and before I removed it from the die, I inked around the edges with some brown ink to give a vintage look. I then stamped some sprigs and swirls around the card and stamped the sentiment from an old WPlus 9 stamp set called Pretty Patches.

I took some watercolour paper and painted on some red ink so I had a textured base and then cut the stockings and heart from it. The foliage and stockings are from the Penny Black Socking Stuffers die set and the heart is from my stash.

I'd like to play along at

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #133 - anything Christmas Goes

Peace on Earth Challenge #33 anything Christmas goes

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 4th February - anything goes or hearts and flowers

Most Magical Time of Year #5 - anything Christmas or Halloween goes

Christmas Crafts All Year Round - 2 of something

We've had some wonderful weather over the past week - cold but sunny and the best part is that it isn't dark at 3.30pm any more. I smell spring in the air!

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

 

My Favorite Things Better Together new baby card

Hello everyone and I hope you are all well.

I'm back to tell you about the new challenge just starting over at Addicted to Stamps and More

This time we want to see a card for any occasion, giving you plenty of options to join in this time. I came up with this new baby card.

 

I started by creating the background with a cloud stencil for the sky and I reversed it at the bottom to give a loose impression of waves for my boat to sit upon.

The sweet image is from My Favorite Things a fairly recent release which I couldn't resist and is called Better Together. I stamped and coloured it with Copic markers before cutting it out on my Scan n Cut. I raised it and placed it on the card before adding some glossy accents to the portholes.

I finished off by adding the sentiment from the Welcome Wagon set from Paper Smooches and layered up the card.

As always, my talented teammates will knock your socks off with their inspiration cards over on the blog, and I hope you will join us this time.

I'd like to play along at

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Cardz 4 Gals #82- shades of blue

MFT Colour Challenge 195 - blue brown black and green

Dare 2 B Artzy challenge - animals

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

My Favorite Things Harvest Mouse autumn birthday card

 

Hello everyone and welcome to the new challenge over at Simply Create Too,

Now September is with us and the leaves will soon start to change colour, we'd like to see your fall leaves cards.

I came up with this birthday card

I smooshed a few shades of blue ink to create the sky background. I placed it behind the MFT Peekaboo Wonky Window after I stamped and embossed the little greeting with white embossing powder. The images are from MFT Harvest Mouse set and I stamped, coloured with Copics and fussy cut them before arranging them on the frame. The sentiment is from Paper Smooches.

I'd like to play along at

Double D Challenges - anything with a tail

The Card Concept #159 Inspiration photo - I chose the autumn leaves

Crafty Gals Corner #223 - Hello fall

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box card Christmas pop up, Mama Elephant Bear Hugs Christmas card and Papertrey Ink Background Basic Evergreens Christmas card

Hello everyone and welcome to August at ABC Christmas Challenges.

Well you outdid yourselves last month and we had 243 amazing entries, so thank you for playing along and giving us so much inspiration.

This time our themes are 

P for Pine Tree
Q for Quiet
and
 R for Robin

and we have a great prize for the winner

I went to town on this challenge and made a card for each letter - yep - 3 cards made this time!!! 'Nuf said.

First up is P for Pine tree

For this simple card, I just inked up a sky with oxide inks and added some splats of water to create snow. I added some white glitter card at the bottom to create the sparkly snow line and covered the horizon line with Papertrey Ink Background Basics: Evergreens in dark green card and white card. 

 

A few little star gems and a sentiment finished it off.

Next up is Q for Quiet, and I created a quiet snowy hillside scene.

The cute bears are from Mama Elephant Bear Hugs and the Santa is from Inkylicious. I inked the edge of a white card mat with distress ink to give some contrast and finished off with a sentiment from Papertrey Ink.

And finally, I went to town a little on my R for Robin card

I used the Lawn Fawn Scalloped Box card die but cut it so it was taller. The robins are from Clearly Besotted's Red Robin and the other bits are from a mix of MFT, PTI, Paper Smooches and Clearly Besotted sets.

 I have to say I had great fun making this one and I had so many bits left over that I can make a few more of this design.

We have some fabulous inspiration over on the ABC Challenge Blog and you have until 31st August if you decide to join us.

I'd like to play along at

Christmas with the Cuties ~40 Christmas animals

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge # 76 - anything Christmas goes-

Christmas Craft Creations July - Christmas Characters - Christmas robin

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #35 - Snow is falling

Thanks for stopping by and stay safe.

Hugs

Carol x

My Favorite Things Hot Chocolate Christmas card

Hello everyone, and thanks for your good wishes about my birthday and nasty cough. I'm pleased to report that I had a good sleep last night and feel a bit more human now, so I hope I'll be ready to enjoy my trip to Port Sunlight for the Happy Stampers show on Saturday and have a catch up with crafting chums. Now I don't want to scare you, but after this challenge, there will only be two more ABC Christmas Challenges left before the big day! I have a pretty good stash of festive cards, but still not enough, so I was glad to add another to my pile.

For our October challenge, we have reached

U for Upcycle

and/or 

V for Velocity

I opted for U for Upcycle and used some of this pretty gift box from last Christmas and some thin cardboard from another package that came in the post.

I cut the background from the box using an MFT Blueprints scalloped and stitched rectangle die. 

The MFT mugs were cut from the cardboard and I just inked the edges before adding the decorations.

The sentiment is from Paper Smooches and I stacked it three times before adding it to the gold card, which I trimmed with scissors to make a banner. I love the stamped chocolate sprinkles,  mini marshmallows and little chocolate that comes with this set - great finishing touches to any mug of hot chocolate!

You'll find lots of inspiration from my talented teammates over on the ABC Challenge blog and I look forward to seeing your cards in the gallery.

I'd like to play along at

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Let's get ready for Christmas

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #57 - anything Christmas goes

the 12 Months of Christmas Challenge #58 - anything Christmas goes

Papertrey Ink Bells and Boughs Christmas Card

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

 

We had some fabulous entries last month and if you would like to see if you are a winner of one of the fabulous prizes from Lynda, head over to blog and scroll down.

This time our themes are 

J for Jingle
and
K for Kids

Our host this time is the wonderful Dorte and she has a lovely prize for the winner.

I went with J for jingle and came up with this card

I used the Papertrey Ink Bells and Boughs stamp and die set, and a leaf die from My Favorite Things. I coloured the bells using Copic markers to give the bells a dimensional feel and then shaped them to add to this effect. I filled each bell with silicone gel so it would set and keep the bells in shape through the post.

The sentiment is from Paper Smooches and I stacked it a couple of times. To finish off, I framed the card with a scalloped frame from a My Favorite Things set.

I do hope you will join in with us this time, and head over to the blog to see some great inspiration from my talented teammates.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Carol x

Penny Black and Paper Smooches You're Special card

Hello everyone,

Very belated wishes for a Happy New Year and I  hope it is going well for you so far.Thanks so much for your good wishes while I've been absent, and things are almost back to normal for me and my husband who is recovering well from his operation. I'm so pleased to be back in the craft room, especially when it involves using one of my favourite Penny Black images. We are ready to start another Make Your Mark challenge over at Addicted To Stamps and More

and I have this card to share with you:-

1) Stamp the hedgehog from Penny Black Hugs stamp set onto masking paper and cut it out. 

Stamp the image again onto a piece of white card and then colour with alcohol pens.

2) Stamp additional tiny hearts and colour them in before placing the mask over the hedgie. Stamp the grass over the mask and then remove the mask. 

3) Put the card with the image on through a die cutting machine with the Canvas Impression Plate from Papertrey Ink to add some texture. 

4) Cut a stitched rectangle from another piece of white card and cut an aperture from it with the MFT Rectangle Peekaboo Window die.

5) Stamp the sentiment from Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler in red ink.

6) Layer everything up and raise it onto a red mat with fun foam, before adhering it to the base card.

7) Finish off by adding glossy accents to the heart bubble.

You'll find plenty of inspiration over on the ATSM Challenge blog, so why not hop over to have a peep before deciding how you will make your mark this time. I'm looking forward to having a catch up on your blogs.

I'd like to play along with

Dream Valley Challenges #171 - Love

The Rubber Buggy Challenge #10 - Valentine, Love, Wedding

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Valentine or Love

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Crafter's Companion and Paper Smooches Christmas Penguin tag

Hello and welcome to the Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge. Anything Christmas goes for this challenge but each month we have a fun twist to make it more fun, and this time the twist is 'tag'.

Our winner for the challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

As I sit writing this, I can hear fireworks going off for bonfire celebrations and I can't believe that we only have one more Christmas Challenge left before the big day. Where has this year gone?

I came up with this tag

1) I used a paper trimmer to cut a tag shape from kraft card and used a star stencil and some glitter paste to add stars along 2 of the edges.

2) While the paste was drying, I die cut the Crafter's Companion Cute Christmas Penguin and coloured the parts before assembling him.

3) I die cut the Paper Smooches Merry Christmas die twice and stacked it to give it a little more 

structure.

4) I cut another slightly larger tag from red card, placed the kraft tag on top of it and cut a hole through both of them before adding some ribbon to tie them together.

5) To finish off, I added the penguin and greeting to the tag and tied a little white bow around the ribbon.

I love this cute penguin and can see that I'll be pulling him out again soon. You'll find lots of inspiration over on the HLS Christmas Challenge blog, and I hope you'll join in with us this time. If you are anything like me, you'll be needing lots of tags at this time of year but remember anything Christmas goes!

I'd like to play at

Crafty Friends Challenge #70 - Christmas

Jingle Belles Challenge - Animals

Craft Rocket Challenge #43 - Christmas is Coming

Thanks for stopping by

Hugs

Carol x

Lawn Fawn Winter Sparrows Christmas Card

Hello everyone and welcome to the September Challenge at 

and our theme this time is

S - Sketch - FInd a current sketch and link to it, or

T - Trio

Our Sponsors this time are

A prize from Lisa

and 

Sponsor

Bugaboo Stamps

One lucky Random winner will win 4 Digi images for their choice

and 

Sponsor

Visit our blog http://blog.craftyribbons.com

Inspiration Blog http://craftyribbonsinspiration.blogspot.co.uk/

We have some exciting and happy news

The lovely and talented Sharon joins our Design team today!

so please be sure to check our her blog and help us make her welcome.

I chose T for Trio and used a trio of cute little birds on a branch

1) Die cut a piece of white card with a stitched rectangle die.

2) Take the Simon Says Stamp Snowfall Stencil and place it over the card before pressing in a Versa Mark ink pad, and embossing with white embossing powder.

3) Mask off a rectangle in the centre of the card and sponge blue ink over it.

4) Cut a snow bank from white card and stamp the sentiment from Lawn Fawn Winter Sparrow set onto it. Adhere to the bottom of the sponged rectangle.

5) Die cut the branch and three birds from the same set, colour the birds and arrange them on the branch.

 6) Finish off by matting the panel onto some blue card and stick it to an A2 base card, raising it on some fun foam. Add some glue to the hats and snow bank before sprinkling on some glitter.

We had some fabulous entries last month and you make it very hard to choose winners! You'll find some great inspiration over on the ABC Challenge Blog, and now September is here, I'm sure you will want to start working on your Christmas card stash, so why not join us this month.


I'd like to play at

Addicted to Stamps Challenge # 152 - Christmas

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Stamp it

Pile it on Challenge - feathers or scales


Thanks for stopping by

Hugs
Carol x