A KIS Goodbye...

Sadly it has come time for the Keep It Simple Challenge blog to close. I had a ball on the Design Team, but with a couple of teamies choosing to step down, Anni made the difficult decision to close. I may have considered taking up the reins, but my one year of high school German is not up to the task of a bi-lingual challenge!

Here is a card I had prepared in advance, which fits nicely into the Festive Friday Challenge, with its gorgeous red and white photo inspiration, as well as Catered Crop Seeing Red, and Virginia's View Clean and Simple Challenge.

I love this Santa and sentiment by Darkroom Door, which Cecilia brought to our weekend retreat, stamped and embossed in red tinsel.

CAS(E) this Festive Friday...

Had a play with some crafty friends yesterday - although there was more laughing and chatting than crafting me thinks! This is one of the two Christmas cards I managed to add to my collection. Inspired by this gorgeous Festive Friday inspiration photo and CAS(E) this Sketch. Created using Paper Smooches Christmas dies and Memory Box Pine Needle border, with papers from Echo Park and Basic Grey. 

Playing along with Virginia's View CAS Challenge too!

WCD Vintage Joy...

Hope you all had a FABULOUS World Cardmaking Day on Saturday! I was lucky enough to have spent the weekend away crafting with some gorgeous crafty friends, Jenny, Cecilia and Iwona. I made a few cards, but only two so far that I'm able to photograph and share.

My first card was created to play along with this weeks Color Q, World Card Making Day Pattern Play Challenge at Winnie and Walter, Hero Arts Holiday Challenge Tag It, and as a reminder for this months Mixed Media Card Challenge Vintage. Created my own patterned paper inspired by the colours of the Kaisercraft floral paper by layering stamps including Hero Arts Postcard, Penny Black , Prima Vintage and Antiques stamps. Papers are a mix of Kaisercraft and MME, with green and brown Copics for the leaves and branches. Stamped in brown Archival Ink and aged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Pop dotted and added burlap ribbon.

My second card was created to play along with this fortnights Festive Friday, Little Red Wagon In Stitches, Lawnscaping Patterned Paper, Simon Says Stamp Transport It and Mama Elephant's Anything Goes. Loved the combination of white and green with natural timber, and that too cute sled in the Festive Friday inspiration photo. Paper pieced the Lawn Fawn bunny, added Lil Inkers Stitched circle and square (cut down), together with this fabulous sentiment from Mama Elephant, and clear stickles under the sled for snow.

Remember there is a huge World Cardmaking Day Challenge over on 

Winnie and Walter's blog, with 6 challenges, open til Saturday 11 October at midnight. 

 

Merry, Festive, Seasons Greetings, a KIS with No Stamps...

OK so, I realise I may be leaving it a little late to start on my Christmas cards this year, but isn't that what October and November are for LOL! Inspired by the pinks, silvers and sparkles over at Festive Friday and Merry Monday The Words Have it! Christmas Challenges, I whipped up this card using an A5 sized piece of Princess Pink metal sheet from Add a Little Dazzle, ran it through the cuttlebug with a Tim Holtz Christmas sentiments folder, dipped a cotton bud in acetone to remove the pink layer from the "Seasons Greetings" sentiment and reveal the silver underneath, added some American Crafts silver glitter sheet, and voila my first Christmas card of the year!
Reminder for Keep it Simple No Stamps, and FUSION Shiny Pink too! 

 

A CAS(E) of Peace on Earth...

Clearly Besotted Pretty Poinsettia poinsettia and sentiment and Background Builder music combined to create this simple Christmas greeting.  I love Momento Luxe Olive Grove and Love Letter inks for traditional Christmas stamping.  Playing along with this fortnights fabulous CAS(E) this Sketch, Festive Friday Peace Trigger Challenge, and if I'm not too late, Little Red Wagon Off the Edge.

 

Keepin' It Simple All White...

Combined inspiration from this weeks fabulous MUSE card, Merry Monday Magical Wonder, City Crafters Snow White, Festive Friday Snowflake Element and Keep It Simple Snow Challenges.  Loved the negative space die-cut snowflake from the MUSE card, and recreated this using Lil Inkers Stitched Snowflakes and Stitched Rectangles to create the double die-cut snowflake strip.  Die-cut the snowflake first and removing the die-cut section before die-cutting the stitched edges, secured into place by adhering the panel to a second piece of cardstock for stability. WPlus9 Joy sentiment and snowflake, paired with a smaller Lil Inkers snowflake and finished with some Kaisercraft pearls.

Lucy's gorgeous MUSE card

 

This made me smile...

and this too...

CAS-ually A-MUSEing Annabelle...

Second post for the day...
I couldn't resist trying this faux chalkboard & colour combo after seeing Marion's fabulous MUSE card this week, plus Holiday Cards His & Hers faux chalkboard Christmas cards - I think this card with a kraft background and no bow would make a fab His version :)

First up, on a sheet of Simple Stories Chalkboard paper, penciled a circle outline using the inside of a double-sided tape roll as a guideline for the wreath. Stamped Annabelle Stamps Holly Branch 8 times in Momento Luxe Wedding Dress to create the wreath outline (perfect for playing along with CASual Fridays Create with 8).  Sprinkled the still wet outline with Rangers Seafoam White embossing powder and heat set. Stamped Annabelle Stamps Holly Branch sentiment and heat embossed. Stamped Annabelle Stamps Holly Branch 8 times onto Simple Stories 25 Days of Christmas paper, and heat embossed, before fussy cutting the holly leaves and adhering using a glue pen - keeping one edge of the largest leaf curled up for added dimension. Diecut MFT Christmas Wreath bow and added Kaiserkraft red rhinestone gems for holly.

Playing along with Annabelle Stamps Christmas Challenge, 

Festive Friday Favourite Challenge (Wreath), and
City Crafter Decorate It Wreath Challenge too.

Marion's FABULOUS Muse card

Favourite Festive Friday Challenge

This made me smile...                                this too...

and this!!!

A Dash of Love, Joy & Hope...

9 Minutes 17 Seconds later...

...three things you can never have too much of .

Playing along with Festive Friday Colour Challenge, 10 Minute Craft Dash Buttons Challenges and Dream Valley CAS Challenge. This would almost have to be a record for me from the start of an idea to the to finish of a card too - amazing what one will do to avoid housework LOL!  These gorgeous WPlus9 die-cuts and Fancy Pants buttons, together with Swiss Dots embossing folder make for a super fast & fun card :)

10 Minute Dash Tips:

• Die-cuts, die-cuts and more die cuts :)
• Do as many cuts as you can in one pass to save time, I die-cut the three words and one snowflake altogether in the first pass.
• I centred the Swiss Dots on my cardstock before embossing them, then the Swiss Dots creates a natural grid to assist in aligning the die-cuts accurately and quickly.
• I lined up the longest word first (hope), then aligned "joy" above that and "love" above that.

 

This made me smile...

Just a Little Distressed...

Hopefully the distressed wood and inked edges (using Parchment Distressed Ink) is distressed enough to play along in this weeks The Pink Elephant Distressed / Paper Tearing Challenge. It was too distressing to distress it anymore LOL!

How gorgeous is the inspiration photo from this fortnights Festive Friday Wreath Challenge?!? Playing along with this rustic card created using Crate Paper distressed wood paper, a collection of old letters from Scenic Route and Lil Davis, My Favorite Things wreath and these cute holly berry brads from Making Memories.  I remembered I had these brads when prompted by this weeks Little Red Wagon Brads or Eyelets Challenge. How many brads and eyelets do you have lurking in your stash LOL! 

A Dashing His & Hers...

I'm so very far behind on my His & Hers Online Card Classes homework from last week, that having already created this card for this fortnights 10 Minute Craft Dash, I thought I'd try a "His" version of the same card.  Using the same layout and sentiment stamp, but substituting more masculine papers and elements - replacing spots with weathered wood, gingham with a starry night sky, a blossom branch with a twig die-cut and a plump coral birdie with a more svelte red one.  This red & white birdie combo reminds me of Christmas, and I'm playing along with Festive Fridays Element Challenge.  Thought I'd play along with Dream Valley Challenges No Squares Allowed - with not a square in sight - just LOTS of rectangles!

Here are the "Hers" & "His" cards side-by-side for comparison:

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Festive Friday with Annabelle's Stamps...

The picture I had in my head when I started this card, and the picture you see here are poles apart - South and North Poles apart actually LOL!

Thought I'd get a head start making my Christmas cards, inspired by this weeks sketch at Annabelle Stamps,  and this fortnights inaugural Festive Friday Colour Challenge.  These cute Christmas stamps are from Annabelle Stamps, Santa's Star and sentiment stamped in Red Tinsel and heat embossed is from Whoo Loves Christmas.  Had fun with polka dot papers and star embossing, together with this fab silver tinsel paper and cute little cotton ball from Pebbles.