ABC Christmas Challenge - E is for...

This fortnight's ABC Christmas Challenge is hosted by Annette...and the theme is:

'Eyes down for Bingo!'

Simply pick a row or column...go corner to corner...or go mad and use them all!

We have two wonderful sponsors for this challenge:

Stamp Fairy

And the fabulous prize:

and

Shape EZ:

I picked the bottom row (Ribbon-Animal-Die Cuts) and used an adorable Stamp Fairy bear image called 'Barry Winter - Skis' for my card. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added some Stickles to the snow. I embossed some Core'dinations card using my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, then sanded over the top alittle to reveal the core. I distressed all of the edges, added some spotty ribbon (from Hobbycraft absolutely ages ago!) and some die cut snowflakes (Marianne Designs and Cuttlebug dies.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges: 

• Christmas Cards - Anything Goes
• Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas - Ribbon
• Crafty Ribbons - Use Ribbon
• My Time to Craft - Embossing
• Sweet Stampin' - Embossing
• Winter Wonderland - Bears

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies...and some fabulous guest designers...please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for...

It's a special day for us over at the ABC Christmas Challenge, as we're about to embark on our fourth...yes, fourth!...trip through the alphabet! Annette is the host for this challenge, where the theme is a nice easy one...well, we want to break you into getting your Christmas cards for 2013 done nice and gently! So, it's:

'A is for - Animals'

We are sponsored for this challenge by:

Stamp Fairy

And the fabulous prize:

I've used an adorable bear digi from the Stamp Fairy on my card, called 'Patches - Christmas 2'. The glittery papers are both by My Mind's Eye, but from two different pads...'I Believe' and 'Countdown to Christmas'...I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The snowfalkes were cut using Marianne Designs and Cuttlebug dies...and I couldn't resist adding a couple of adhesive gems in their centres for a little more sparkle.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• 2 Sisters - Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday - Something New (The image is new)
• Ready Teddy Go - Something New (The image is new)
• Stamping with the Dragon - Anything Goes

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Pile It On! Challenge - Cuddly Critters

This week's Pile It On! Challenge is a nice easy one:

'Cuddly Critters'

Our sponsor this week is the fabulous Stamp Fairy

Prize: $10 to spend in the Stamp Fairy store!

I seem to be in Christmas mode at the moment...nearly every card/project on my blog for the last week or so has been a Christmas one...so, keeping up that theme, I've used 'Barry Winter - Skis' from the Stamp Fairy. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle to the snow with some Stickles. For the background I used a couple of shades of blue Core'dinations card, embossing them using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' and Sizzix 'Snowflakes' folders, sanding over the edges to reveal the lighter core. I distressed all of the edges, and added some twine (Dovecraft 'Tea Party'), a die cut snowflake (a Marianne Designs die) and a button (threaded with more of the twine).

Here are the challenges I've piled on:

• Pile It On! - Cuddly Critters
• Craft Your Days Away - Anything Goes
• Crafty Catz - Animals
• Critter - Use a Digi
• Delightful - Punches & Dies
• Do You Stack Up - Buttons
• Gem of a Challenge - Animals/Teddies
• Stampavie & More - Buttons & Bows
• Sweet Stop Sketches - Sketch with a Spin (Die Cuts - Circle & Snowflake)
• Totally Gorjuss - String
• Wags 'N Whiskers - Favourite Colour Combo (Blue & Kraft)
• Winter Wonderland - Winter Sports

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to Pile It On!

 

ABC Christmas Challenge - N is for...

It's time for a new ABC Christmas Challenge...Wilma is our host, and the theme is:

'N is for Not a Card'

We have two wonderful sponsors for this challenge:

Prize - a $20 gift certificate to spend at the Simon Says Stamp Store!

and

Prize - a $10 gift certifiacte for the Stamp Fairy Shop!

I've made a tag...I always seem to forget about making these until the last minute, so thought I'd get at least one done ahead of time! The image is 'Barry Winter 1' from the Stamp Fairy...which I coloured using watercolour pencils...than added lots of Stickles to his hat and the snow. The spotty paper is from the 'Coundown to Christmas' pad by My Mind's Eye - I distressed the edges a little, then added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a black gel pen. I layered it over a piece of red card edes with my EK Success 'Scalloped Dimaonds' punch. The ribbons and twine are from Hobbycraft and the Ribbon Girls.

I'm also entering this tag into the following challenges:

• Crafty Sentiments - Christmas in July
• Crazy Challenge - Christmas in July
• Squirrel & the Fox - Christmas in July
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Tags 

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies and some fabulous guest designers, please pop over to the ABC Christmas Challenge.

Pile It On! Challenge - Fairytales, Fantasy & Daydreams

This week's Pile It On! Challenge is all about:

'Fairytales, Fantasy & Daydreams'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

The prize is $10 to spend in the Stamp Fairy online store!

The DT were sent some adorable Stamp Fairy images to work with, and I chose one of the 'Garden Goblins'...which I coloured using watercolour pencils. For the background, I embossed plain card using my Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' & 'Spots & Dots', Craft Concepts 'Hexagon Illusion' and Sizzix/BasicGrey 'Plaid' folders...matting the layers on to navy blue card to add definition. As this is a boy's card, I kept it fairly plain, just adding a few little red brads (by BasicGrey).

Here are the challenges I've Piled On!:

• Pile It On! - Fairytales, Fantasy & Daydreams
• Craft Your Days Away - For a Child
• Craft Your Passion - Lots of Texture
• Crafty Cardmakers - For the Boys
• Crazy4Challenges - Gardening/Outdoors
• Creative Craft - Anything Goes
• Crop Stop - Embossing
• Cute Card - One for the Boys
• Digi Doodles - Anything Goes
• My Mum's Craft Shop - Anything Goes
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Stampin' for the Weekend - Layers
• Totally Stampalicious - Masculine

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please pop over to the Pile It On Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for...

We're starting another trip through the alphabet today on the ABC Christmas Challenge...Lacey is our host, and the theme is:

'A is for Anything Goes!'

Nice and easy...anything Christmas will do!

We have three fabulous sponsors to try to tempt you to get cracking with this year's Christmas cards:

Simon Says Stamp with a fab $15 voucher excluding postage.

Stamp Fairy

$10 Gift Certificate

Ribbon Girl

Mini Christmas Ribbon Kit.

I've used an image from the Stamp Fairy on my card, called 'Barry Countdown to Christmas' - isn't he cute?! I coloured him using watercolour pecnils, then added sprakle to his stars using a Sakura Stardust pen. The papers are from the 'Christmas Fancy' pad by Dovecraft - I distressed the edges a little, then added some faux stitching. The snowflakes were cut using Marianne Designs & Cuttlebug dies, and the brads are BasicGrey.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Non-traditional colours

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, and some of the Ribbon Girl & Stamp Fairy DT, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - W is for...

I'm back today with another card for our current ABC Christmas Challenge, where the theme is:

'W is for Winter Sports'

(Think skiing, skating, sledging etc)

We have two fabulous sponsors for this challenge:

The prize from Simon Says Stamp is a $15 voucher to spend in their wonderful store!

And from the Stamp Fairy...3 digital images of the winner's choice!

I chose skating as my winter sport last week...and have gone with skiing this time using an adorable Stamp Fairy image called 'Barry Winter - Skis'. I coloured him using watercolour pencils, then added some Stickles to the snow and snowflakes. For the background, I embossed some Core'Dinations card using my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, sanding over the raised areas, and distressing the edges a little.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Crafty Catz - Use a Digi
• Crafty Creations - Kraft, White & One other colour (Mine's my favourite colour...blue)
• Lollipop Crafts - Embossing and no DP
• Paper Sundaes - Use a Digi
• Pink Elephant - Embossing
• Stamp Fairy - Glitter
• Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Sketch

Pile It On Challenge - Layer It!

This week at the Pile It On! Challenge, we're asking you to:

'Layer It!'

This can be layers of paper/card...or maybe decoupage...or anything else you care to layer.

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

I've used a Stamp Fairy image on my card...he's called 'Tommy Wizzard'...I love his cute little owl! I decided to decoupage him, so printed the image 4 times, and coloured them using watercolour pencils...then very carefully cut out the bits I wanted to layer. The 'Pumpkin' and 'Tiny Bubbles' embossing folders are by Cuttlebug, and the 'Spiders' Web' one is by Tim Holtz.

Here's a close-up of the layered image:

Here are the challenges I've Piled On!:

• Pile It On! - Layer It Up!
• Card Makin' Mamas - Digital
• CES - Magical or Spooky
• C.R.A.F.T. - Children
• Crafty Sentiments - Hallowe'en
• Creative Stamp Friends - Men
• For Fun - Kids at Play
• Paper Shelter - Embossing
• Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
• Prairie Fairy - Snips & Snails...
• Rubber Cafe - No Designer Paper
• Stamp Something - Anything Goes
• Squiggles & Giggles - Spooky
• Totally Gorjuss - It's a Man Thing

For more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies, please visit the Pile It On! Challenge.

I have candy on offer at the moment...if you haven't already entered, you can find it on this post.

ABC Christmas Challenge - F is for...

I've got another card to share with you today for the ABC Christmas Challenge...it's not a new challenge today, but I loved Carissa's sketch for our 'F is for Freebie' challenge so much, that I couldn't resist using it again. Here's a reminder of the sketch:

And here's what I did with it this time:

I've used a different Stamp Fairy image this time...so cute! The bright papers are from the 'Colourful Christmas' collection by My Mind's Eye, and I embossed some co-ordinating card with my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' and 'Snow Dots' folders. The snowflake was cut using a Marianne Creatables die. 

Our sponsor for this challenge is the Stamp Fairy

 And, in order to be eligible for the prizes on offer, you need to use a Stamp Fairy image (as well as follow the sketch)...but don't worry if you don't have any...Gerda has created a 'Freebie' especially for us, and of course you, to use for this challenge:

 You can downlaod him from the Stamp Fairy blog.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Digi Doodles - Anything Goes
• Incy Wincy - Embossing
• PaperPlay - Embossing
• Paper Sundaes - Embossing
• Winter Wonderland - Embossing

ABC Christmas Challenge - F is for...

This week it's Carissa's turn to host the ABC Christmas Challenge, which is:

'F is for Freebie (and a Fabulous Sketch)'

We have teamed up with the Stamp Fairy for this challenge, and Gerda has made a fabulous digi image which is she is giving away on the Stamp Fairy blog especially for the ABC Christmas Challenge! 

Here's a preview:

Isn't he cute???

If you want to grab this freebie, you'll need to head over the Stamp Fairy World, to download it.

The prize for this challenge is 3 digis of the winner's choice from the Stamp Fairy Shop.

In order to be eligible for the prize, you must use a Stamp Fairy image, and follow the sketch.

And here's Carissa's Fabulous sketch:

Phew...finally I can tell you about my card!

I couldn't resist using the adorable freebie, and coloured him with watercolour pencils to match the My Mind's Eye 'Countdown to Christmas' papers. I seem to be on a bit of a mission to make flat Christmas cards at the moment (for cheap postage), so I didn't add any embellishments, or use any 3D foam. I have a couple of other Stamp Fairy images, and plan to have another play with the sketch next week, so I may try something fussier then.

For more inspiration from my fabulous DT buddies, and some of the Stamp Fairy girls, please visit the ABC Christmas Challenge.

ABC Christmas Challenge - A is for...

Before I get on to our first ABC Christmas Challenge of 2011...I have a little bit of house-keeping...for our last challenge & blog hop, there was some candy hidden on my blog...which means I have a winner to announce. I picked the winner using Random.Org from the comments left on my challege post:

#52 - Katarina

Congratulations! Please contact me at helenbrammer@hotmail.com with your address by Monday 17th January, so that I can get your prize in the post!

Ok, so on to our new challenge...we know that you may be thinking that it's a little early to be starting on this year's cards...but we believe it's never too early, and to help you get a head start, we've made it a nice easy theme for you:

'A is for Anything Christmas'

We are sponsored for this challenge by our lovely regular sponsor:

 

And the prize is a $15 shopping spree in their store!

I've used an adorable Stamp Fairy digi stamp on my card of Al the penguin...that I won with one of the items I made for our last challenge :0)

I coloured him with watercolour pencils, and added Glamour Dust to the snow, and around the edges of the lacey scallops. The papers are new...from the My Mind's Eye 'Countdown to Christmas' pad...they're all gorgeous and glittery! The sentiment is a Penny Black stamp, and the ribbon is from Poppicrafts.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Unscripted Sketches - Pick any old sketch ( I used #3)
• Christmas Cards All Year Round - Anything Goes (Card 2)
• Crazy4Challenges - Celebrate Something (I'm still celebrating Christmas!)
• Paper Sundaes - Something New (The papers & the digi stamp are new)

For more inspiration, please check out the fabulous creations by my lovely ABC Christmas Challenge DT buddies!

All wrapped up!

Phew...I've finally finished making all my Christmas presents...woo-hoo!!! I do have photos of some of them to show you, but today it's all about the wrapping. I like to wrap my presents in ordinary brown paper...and I use kraft bags & tags to match. The bags were bought on form a seller on Ebay, and the tags are from WHSmith. I decorated the bags with a few snowflakes cut using Cuttlebug & Marianne Creatables dies. The tags were simply stamped with a Lili of the Valley sentiment, and decorated with a piece of My Mind's Eye 'Wonderful Winter' or 'Colourful Christmas' paper, and the images are a mixture of Penny Black (from the 'Christmas Critters' & 'Holly Jolly' sets) and there's also a Stamp Fairy snowman. I didn't bother to photograph them separately, but you should be able to get a better view by clicking on the photo.

I'm going to enter these into the following challenges:

• Pink Elephant - Tags
• Prairie Fairy - Use Kraft Card
• Stamp Something - Something with a Tag or Pocket
• The Stamp Man - Anything Goes Tags
• Winter Wonderland - Wrapping