4 Cardinals, 3 Challenges, 2 Christmas Cards, and a Fun and Cool Award from My Friend Joan!!

Yah, you should be able to sing today's blog title to the "12-Days of Christmas" song...I'm humming... :) I have so much to post today. I'll try to be brief cuz I have lots of pictures!

First -- the 4 Cardinals! I am not nearly done with Christmas cards but I focused on two designs today. One of them was with the "A Cardinal Christmas" set from SU. Here's the 4 cards -- any of them stand out to you? I don't know which one to make multiples of for the give-away stash. Let me know, k?

Second -- I finished 3 Challenges today!! Personal best, record for me!! Here they are:

The first card is actually for next week's Doubledog Dare Challenge!! This was so much fun!! Bev (aka Beestamper) sent us a package of goodies to use for this challenge. We could use which ever parts we wanted but had to create a Christmas card with them. Check out all the fun stuff!!! ....and this cutie wooden mitten!!

I quickly grabbed the paper, ribbon, and stamps and made a couple of Christmas cards right away! I love love love that color combo!! The ribbon and stamps were so fun, this was easy peasy!! (The stamping is on the rose panel, didn't get a good photo of it.) Thanks for the wonderful goodies Bev, I will be using them more I'm sure!! The second card is a two-fer. It is for this week's Doubledog Dare Challenge that I hosted for our stamping gang. The challenge was to create a card inspired by either this Ugg Boot or this Ugg Boot! I chose this one (the first Ugg boot):

(The picture of the boot is not very good, you need to check the link of the first boot!)

and then made this card:

I paper fringed and quilled some flowers and leaves in colors to match the ones on the boot. I also used my cuttlebug scalloped dies to make some brown flowers, snipped the petals and layered them to make some large sized flowers. Stamped the sentiment from the "All Holidays" SU set, and glued down all the flowers and leaves sort of randomly to cover the card. Added a few white half back rounds to match the boot.

So, if you're counting, that makes 2 challenges. The 3rd one is using the same card above, and it is for a challenge that I am doing with one of my stamping pals, Joanne (aka Sleepy in Seattle). We are giving each other a month to use a specific unused, unloved, or forgotten tool or technique that we both never use that we once thought we had to have! This month we started out with quilling, and so this is my submission!! Check out the GORGEOUS snowflake card Joanne made for her submission (of course she was much more prompt in posting than I !!) Third -- Two more random Christmas cards I made this weekend:

The one on the left is a stamp designed by Judy Duke that I bought from a company called B&Js art stamps out of Las Cruces, NM. I stamped it with Green Stazon, colored in the pinecones with copics, added glitter and a shiny plastic bow, and stamped the sentiment using one of the cute little stamps from the stash of goodies Bev sent (see first challenge card!!). I really liked this one, I will be making a few more of these. The photo I posted isn't very good at all, but I posted it on SCS also, so if you want to see a better view of it, you can check it out here!

The card on the right was much simpler and faster. I used my Woodcut Wheel from SU to stamp the poinsettia background, then added layers of green, red, and some DP from HL. Glued on a little plastic poinsettia that I got in a pack from HL. The ribbon is SU wide grosgrain. Fourth -- and last, but not at all least...ta da!! Joan Irvin awarded all the Doubledog Dare bloggers a Kreativ Blogger award!! How cool is that? (See my cool new badge on the side bar!) Joan is a wonderful, sweet stamper friend of mine from here in Texas that I've never met!! She's super talented, a famous Dirty Dozen Alumni, and designs for several stamp companies. You have to check out her blog!! I am honored to be stamping with her and the award is such a thrill!! Thanks Joan!! Now to pay it forward.... how fun!!

The rules are:

1. The winner may put the logo on their blog. (Done!) 2. Put a link to the person who sent you the award. (Done!) 3. Nominate 5 blogs. (In progress...) 4. Put links to their blogs (In progress...) 5. Leave a message for your nominees. (In progress...)

The first person I'm nominating is Susan Conrad (aka One4Joy). This is one creative woman whom I admire both artistically and personally.

The next 4 are TBD! I'm just so new at blogging that I am still discovering new and amazing blogs everyday!! So stay tuned for updates to this list!!

Whew!! See, I told you I had a lot to post today!! Thanks for checking it all out!!

Sweet dreams everyone!

Anne

One of My Favorite Things!

Supplies used: Stamps: A Cardinal Christmas. Paper: Kiwi Kiss, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Glittered Winter light blue, white. Ink: Rose Red, Old Olive. Accessories: Snowflake Cuttlebug EF, DS Ribbon, "Joy" charm, brown brads.

Good Morning!

Today I got to do one of my favorite things! I hosted the Inspiration Challenge over on SCS for Stephanie, aka Smilin' Steph on SCS (see her great blog here!!). Big thanks to Ms. Steph for letting me fill in for her again!! I found this great website for the inspiration pieces: Whimsy Press. I LOVE their stuff! Here's the page of papers everyone was directed to for inspiration: Holiday Wrap Sheets. For my sample, I chose this sheet because of the great color combo! Don't you just love the bright retro colors??!! I wouldn't have come up with these for a holiday card, so I was anxious to give it a try. Honestly, I was not very excited about the card I ended up coming up with, but I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to make another before posting last night.

Anyhow, it's a great start to a stamping day! I finished my Christmas shopping yesterday (wooo hooo!) and today the plan is to finish my Christmas cards!! What are the odds??

Thanks for stopping by!

Anne

Christmas Workshop

Hi All,

Did my workshop for the ladies from my church and the Women's home last weekend. It went really well, and since all of them were first time stampers, they were very easy to please.

I kept the cards simple with minimal stamping and tried to use embelishments and simple "wow" techniques so they would feel good about what they came away with. And as much as I wanted to, I didn't drag out my heat gun to have them do embossing. Just thought I'd stick to the basics and hopefully get another chance to step it up some.

So here's the cards we made:

I didn't include a little treat bag that we made in this photo (I gave away the sample before I had a chance to photograph it), but you can see the ladies had lots to take home. I CASED the cute Santa Tags from Cindy's gallery (aka Mothermark) and the white cuttlebugged card in the back row from Irishlatte's gallery. I'm greatful for your inspiration ladies!!

TFL and Sweet dreams everyone!

Anne

Blogging in the Middle of the Week

Supplies used: Stamps - SU Pretty Peonies, Hugs and wishes.

Ink - Old Olive. Paper - Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, SU Pallet of Prints 07.

Accessories - quilled flower.

This is my card for our Doubledog Dare for the week. Michelle (aka sf9rfan, Stop and Stamp the Roses) challenged us to case a card from the SU catty! What a GREAT challenge this was...I love casing. It's the best way to get stamping done!! So I decided I was going to flip open the book and case what ever it opened up to. I landed on page 48. OK, maybe not. I ask you, who has time to make 18+ little boxes and alphas and string them up to make a swag? Not anyone in my stamp room!! LOL!! So, I took a more reasonable approach and tried again. This time I browsed through the catty and found a page with a stampset that I own on it. Yahh, there you go....Pretty Peonies -- Page 88. Now this was fun!! I happened to have a spare orange quilled flower that I made awhile back to use with the color combo the card featured, so I was good to go!! Finished this in just a few minutes...awww, now that's stamping I can handle at midnight!! Thanks for checking it out all. Sweet dreams! Anne

Tuesday Doubledog Dare Challenge

Hello all!

I've been gone for the last couple of weekends so my stamping time has been very limited. This week I'm prepping for a workshop with 12 ladies, four of whom are from the Women's Shelter in the town just north of us. The rest of the ladies are the wives from my DH's and my bible study group that meets at our house on Tuesday nights. The ladies will be arriving at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday here at my house, so I'm very excited to be hosting a card making session for them!! All of them are first time stampers! I didn't know there were any left out there!! LOL!!

Last weekend we attended my neice's wedding in Amarillo, Texas! That was a fun trip, great to see family, and just awestruck witnessing the little girl that we watched grow up marry a wonderfully kind and handsome Marine. They'll be stationed in San Diego until Spring. He's already been to Iraq 3 times, and he's only 23!!, I was so impressed! They were so adorable and very happy!

Anyhow, all that to say...here's the wedding card! Their colors were red white and black (you thought I was going to say blue, huh??!!). So when our Doubledog Host for the week Charlene (aka LilLuvsStampin) asked us to make a card with bling using embossing powder and glitter, I was thinking that woman must be reading my mind!!

I used Baroke Motifs from SU, red glitter and gold embossing powder and some tiny red round half-back jewels in the center of the red star burts. Quite easy actually.

Thanks for dropping in everyone!! Sweet dreams!

Anne

RAK from Michelle

Oh my gosh. I can't tell ya'll how this warmed my heart, encouraged me, and just plain made my week, month, day...year!! Michelle (When Things Get Really Crazy) sent me a package of goodness and I was so shocked, I looked and looked for a note of instructions or requirements and there was nothing but stamping hugs from her! Oh my, is this for real??? Check out what she sent me, along with the gorgeous Michelle-ish card, and you will see why I was so overwhelmed with this kind gesture. Thank you my sweet friend, you have made me want to do the same for others. I can see how this seemly small gesture can change someone's outlook. I am greatful and humbled. Big hugs and a giant sloppy kiss to you!! :)

Here's what came with this gorgeous card!!

Bleached Roses

It's so fun to be blogging again! Seems like forever, although it's only been a couple of weeks, and I guess in blogging time that is just like falling off the face of the earth. My apologies to anyone who checked in, in between now and the last time! But thank you oh so very kindly for checking again!! SMACK!!!

This card is for the Doubledog Dare Challenge due tomorrow night! Our sweetheart Doubledog host for the week is Francie G. (go check out her gallery ladies!!) who dared us to use the bleaching technique to create our card.

I stamped my "Rose Parade" stamp by Stamps Happen Inc. -- that I got on clearance (BTW) from HL, shout out to HL!! -- in versamark onto a SU Rose Red CS panel and embossed with SU Gold Detail Embossing Powder. Then used a teeny paint brush to bleach the roses, then colored in the leaves with these fabuloso gel pens that I got from Costco awhile back for a fabulous discounted price of $19.99...or something like that. (I was so excited about that buy!!) Cool set, huh?

Anyhow, I fussy cut (trimmed) the bottom half of the bleached roses, then adhered them to some Perifery Basic Grey DP and punched the top with the Martha Stuart lace punch that I swore I was not going to buy, ever, no way not me, I had self control. Oh well. Ahem, then I added some random decorative pink wire organdy ribbon from HL that I had, and there you have it!! Oh oh oh...stamped with "Wonderful Words" from SU... can't forget that!!

Thanks for checking it out everyone!! Sweet Dreams!!