Day 12 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 12 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge –Holly Jolly Christmas with Julie Ebersole + Chari Moss.

I made it to day twelve! I have a big mess and a lot of pain but it was so worth it for all the fun I had. what a nice cheery song to end the challenge; I had too many ideas floating around in my head and not enough time so I went with the lyrics, “I don’t know if there’ll be snow but have a cup of cheer.”

as an homage to designer Julie, I die cut her snow globe die from purple mirri paper and used another of the sweet mama elephant hot cocoa images, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. to finish off, I attached a doodlebug paper background, sponged with distress ink and a light purple seam binding. I had the perfect size gold peel off sticker for the sentiment. 

25% SALE on Essentials by Ellen products, like the snow globe die and more! the sale ends tomorrow at 11:59 pm; just saying.

thanks for popping by.

 

Day 11 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 11 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge – O Christmas Tree with Carissa Wiley + Galina Filippenko.

another sweet image from Taylored Expressions Merry Millie stamp set, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and popped on a sponged shipping tag.

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Day 10 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 10 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge –The Twelve Days of Christmas with Emily Leiphart + Tracey McNeely.

I couldn’t find any images to suite the twelve days so I chose to focus on ‘my true love gave to me’ using a mama elephant bonus stamp set with purchase. painted with twinkling H2Os and again using the Sunny Studio build-a-tag #1 die set and some lawn fawn sparkle twine.

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Day 9 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 9 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge – Deck the Halls with Carly Tee Minner + Jessica McAfee

I sponged distress inks onto a manila shipping tag and splattered it; after it dried, I sponged blue distress ink through a Tim holt holly stencil, added a gold peel off sentiment and red peel off stickers on the berries. to finish it off I dyed seam binding with the distress ink.

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Day 8 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 8 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge – Sleigh Ride with Emily Mydlowski + Franci Vignoli.

I die cut some doodlebug paper for the background with Sunny Studios build-a-tag die #1 and popped on taylored expressions’ merry millie the mouse, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and fussy cut. I finished it off with lawn fawn twine and one of their snowflakes.

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Day 7 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 7 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge – Santa Claus is Coming to Town with Amy Tsuruta + Jill D Hawkins.

mama elephant Santa clause agenda image and tag die, painted with. twinkling H2Os, as usual, and I added stickles and some gold glitter pen accents.

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Day 6 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 6 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge: Jingle Bells with Angela Simpson + Brenda Noelke

I sponged a shipping tag with pink and purple distress inks, heat embossed the mama elephant sentiment in lightning black brilliance ink and added the Impression Obsession jingle bells, of course painted with twinkling H2Os and shaped with a stylus. I also used twinks to paint the greenery, a sizzix/Tim holtz die. I finished it off with gold paint splatters and gold ribbon.

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Day 5 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 5 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge: I’ll Be Home for Christmas with Elena Roussakis + Becky Roberts

I made a light-hearted tag for this sad song – Rudolph is driving teddy home for the holidays; I used the design from my cards and reduced the size of the road and houses to fit onto the tag.

the lawn fawn car critters and the car critters christmas add-on were watercoloured with twinkling H2Os, fussy cut and popped on foam tape. I added a red pearl to Rudolph’s nose. I also used twinkling H2Os to paint the road, free hand cut from Arches cold press watercolour paper, and the Impression Obsession trees; the sky was sponged with distress inks.

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Day 4 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge Part Two

I was having so much fun painting washes that I made another tag for day 4 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge. this was a two-colour wash also done with Daniel Smith watercolour paint on Arches 140 lb. cold press watercolour paper.

December 4 – Let it Snow with Lisa Spanger + Caryn Davies

this was my first time using gina k glitter paste through a pretty pink posh snowflake stencil – fun, but oh, so messy!

I used the same paste on the Impression Obsession peace sentiment that was die cut and layered three times.

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Day 4 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

these are the tags I created for day 4 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge.

December 4 – Let it Snow with Lisa Spanger + Caryn Davies

Lisa loves her watercolours and so do i. I painted flat washes with Daniel Smith watercolour paints on Arches cold press watercolour paper, embossed with a variety of folders and then sanded down the surface to reveal the paper. I finished the tags off with a lawn fawn die cut snowflake, a topper and some gold sparkle twine.

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Day 3 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 3 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge.

December 3 – Feliz Navidad with designers Therese Calvird + Tiffany Pryce Russom is a lively holiday song but my mind kind of went blank with ideas to make this more festive. in the end, I let the punny sentiment suffice.

I used images from lawn fawn: bah humbug stamp set and a hat from the holiday party animal set, but painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and fussy cut. the argyle paper was free with a lawn fawn order, die cut with an altenew heart die and finished off with lawn fawn gray sparkle twine.

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Day 2 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 2 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge.

December 2 – Puppy for Hanukkah with Heather Meeson + Suzanna Hansen is a song I’d never heard before so I watched the video to get inspired.

I used mama elephant products:

• snow friends stamp set painted with twinkling H2Os on hot press watercolour paper,
  fussy cut and popped them on foam tape
• mini merry messages sentiment
• holiday bitties‘ dreidel
• snow drift 3D pop up card die set

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Day 1 Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge

this is the tag I created for day 1 of Ellen Hutson’s 12 Tags of Christmas 2021 Challenge, a fun challenge I’ve played along with since 2014.

Christmas in Coffee Shop with Adelina Starace + Erica A-B is the Christmas song.

I painted the mama elephant hot cocoa image with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut, added nuvo shimmer pen to the cream dollop and popped it on foam tape. a Studio Katia slider tag die was used for the tag and the sentiment and a lawn fawn small snowflake was die cut to embellish the mug; I finished off with some free ribbon from Ellen Hutson.

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My Last Rudolph Days Challenge Design Team Card

I’m stepping down from the Rudolph Days Challenge design team for health reasons; it’s just been difficult to keep up with creating and commenting and I’ve finally accepted my limitations.

this is the card set I created for my daughter this year to send out, which I just finished in time!

it’s Rudolph driving! aren’t they cute?! I used the lawn fawn car critters and the car critters christmas add-on, fussy cut and watercoloured with twinkling H2Os. I created the road free hand, sponged the sky and added snow and used Elizabeth craft houses and trees, also sponged and sprayed with clear shimmer.

the rules to play along are simple – just create one holiday project, link it up and then leave a comment on the challenge blog for a chance to win a generous prize. Plus, there’s an extra draw if you’ve played along every month; the challenge deadline is November 30.

I’m also playing along with these challenges:

LAWN FAWNATICS CHALLENGE 113 – HOLIDAY CRITTERS
Simon Says Stamp – Anything Goes

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Remembering Kath at Rudolph Days

Kath, a regular participant at the Rudolph Days Challenge and a fellow team mate of mine at another challenge blog, passed away this summer; she was known for her paper piecing so in her memory, I paper pieced this Christmas card. I was in awe of her patience, especially when she made a set of cards. it’s not a technique I use because of my hands, and because I love to paint images, but I had fun with this one.

I used winter wonderland doodlebug papers and stamped the My Favourite Things elf 5 times. thanks to my tonic scissors, I was able to cut everything except for the skin tones which I used colour pencils for on designer paper. I added stickles to the cuffs and ornament. I stamped off the little snowflake image a few times with versa fine majestic blue ink and stamped a sentiment from the mama elephant jingle greetings set. I used liquid glue on the backs of all the pieces whereas Maureen, of Rudolph Days Challenge, painted glue on the base image and then attached the pieces – brilliant.

I’m also playing along with these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps and More #417 Christmas

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Batty Halloween Treats

I made these bat boxes with Lindt chocolates for my dentist’s office; they love getting treats. I used the lawn fawn tiny gift box die and some blue/gray shimmery cardstock for the base and added black cardstock pieces from the bat box add on die.

I’m submitting these to the following challenges:

Lawn Fawnatics Challenge 111 Coffee, Tea and Treats!
Dies R Us Challenge #179 Always Anything Goes with a brand they sell
Simon Says Stamp Spooky/Halloween

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National Coffee Day

In celebration of National Coffee Day, I’m sharing a clean and simple card featuring this adorable little cranky crab stamp from The Rabbit Hole Designs.

I used coloured pencils to colour; he kind of reminds me of someone. ;)

I’m playing along with the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Anything goes theme.

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My First Bag Creation

it’s national sewing month in the USA so I thought I’d share the bag I finally finished for my daughter, who chose the pattern and fabric a while ago. no problem, was my first thought; how much different can a big bag be from a little zipper pouch? I do love a good challenge. but then I encountered steps and techniques I hadn’t done before so I procrastinated until I was feeling more confident. lessons learned along the way from mistakes were helpful, although if I ever make another it’ll be with a simpler pattern.

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Another Boo to You

I don’t usually send out halloween cards but I couldn’t resist making another one using cute Taylored Expressions’ images.

this time I used a darker brown cardstock for the embossed brick and I actually finished the inside and created a matching envelope. all the images were watercoloured with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper; I used coloured pencils for the envelope.

I’m playing along with these challenges:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge create a card and matching envelope
Send a Smile for Kids September – Cute Fall/Halloween Cards 4 Kids
Art Impressions Stamp Challenge #312 Going Batty ( Halloween Creations)

thanks for popping by.

Reverse Die Cut Poinsettias

it’s my turn to share my Rudolph Days Challenge design team card and encourage you to set aside the 25th of each month from January to November to create your holiday cards.

I originally was going to showcase this die with foil but after a few frustrating attempts, I quit and created this card very quickly. I die cut the Sizzix Tim Holtz mixed media Christmas poinsettia corner twice from white cardstock and sponged with distress inks: scattered straw, salty ocean, twisted citron, and evergreen bough. The envelope was placed underneath to get a light impression with the same distress inks.

I finished off by stamping the sentiment from the Visible Image Sentimental Christmas stamp set. I love this set; it’s perfect to send cards to those who might not be so merry during the holidays.

You only need to create 1 holiday project and leave a comment on Maureen’s blog to be eligible for a lovely prize and you have until September 30 to join in. Countdown to mailing those holiday cards – 2 months!

I’m also playing along with the Simon Says Stamp Card and Matching Envelope challenge.

thanks for popping by.

Merry Millie Rainbow Christmas Card

This is my third card for the Taylored Expressions 13th Birthday Toffee and Rainbows challenge. I love Kraft and I never would have thought of making a rainbow Christmas card, but it was so much fun.

I painted these cute Taylored Expressions Merry Millie stamp set images with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, fussy cut and popped with TE foam sticky circles on a panel of the watercolour paper, using the deckle edge at the top for the snow drift. permanent markers were used to colour the gems for the Little Bits Christmas Treesand I painted each letter of the sentiment with tomboy markers from the bright set. i die cut the Little Bits Jingle Bells from hot press w/c paper too and painted them with twinkling H2Os; for extra sparkle, they were sprayed with sheer shimmer sparkle spray. finally, they were shaped with a stylus and popped up with the sticky circles. everything was attached to the Kraft, stamped with hero arts white ink with the TE Snow Day Background stamp.

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Boo To You!

this is another card I created for the Taylored Expressions’ toffee and rainbow challenge in celebration of their 13th birthday. 

the bright colour palette is my favourite so I used: pink, orange, yellow, green, teal and purple twinkling H2Os to watercolour the cute Spooktacular images, fussy cut from Arches hot press watercolour paper and attached with foam tape.

the TE brick embossing folder and Kraft cardstock were used for the background with frayed burlap distress ink and black soot distress ink for shading and splatters; the same inks were used to create the woodgrain on Kraft. the sentiments are from the TE Pennant Parade – Halloween set and those strips were attached with some purple mini brads.

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Pink And Purple Poinsettias On Kraft

I’m happy I finally have some time to create! I’m playing along with the Taylored Expressions’ 13th Birthday Celebration Challenges.

first I sponged hero arts unicorn white pigment ink through the TE Poinsettia & Pine stencil on Kraft cardstock. this card is for the toffee and rainbow theme challenge, and it was a challenge, but I used all bright colours of distress inks: wilted violet, mustard seed, picked raspberry spiced marmalade, evergreen bough, twisted citron, and salty ocean.

the happy holidays sentiment from the TE Baby, It’s Cold Outside stamp set was heat embossed in white and it fit perfectly in the rounded edge TE flag it die. the strip on the left was a leftover scrap from another project – the TE Snow Day Background was stamped in white.

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Happy Birthday, Gnomie

it’a been a while. I’ve always created at a snail’s pace because of RA and now I have new medical issues to deal with so I’m even slower. welcome to a new follower; I appreciate those who show an interest in what I create, when I can.

having a bit of time to colour was a great stress reducer.

I’m using a Simon Says Stamp set, a freebie for my birthday, for this card called Oh, Gnome. I masked the gnome to add an extra set of toadstools and the bird on the hat and used coloured pencils on kraft cardstock.

I’m playing along with these challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Stamp It!
Addicted to Stamps and More Birthdays
International Art & Soul #116 – Birthday

thanks for popping by.

Have A Cheesy Holiday

we’re more than half way through the year and it’s July 25 so time for me to share my Design Team creation for another Rudolph’s Days Challenge, hosted by Maureen.

I used Waffle Flower Holiday Cheese images, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and fussy cut – next time I’ll just buy the die. I accidentally cut off the cheeseboard sign so I substituted a thin strip of black cardstock for the sign post and cut the sign twice; once from black cardstock embossed in white and once from woodgrain paper. I used foam tape to attach to the background, made by a brayer and yellow distress inks before embossing: mustard seed and wild honey. of course I added stickles to the hats.

for the tag backs, I stamped one of the sentiments from the Waffle Flower Classic Holiday Sentiments set and used mustard seed distress ink and the smallest solid star stamp from the same set to create the star border on the front and back. to finish off, I used the mustard seed DI to colour the seam binding.

even though it’s non traditional colours, I like that it’s still festive. just a reminder that you only need to submit one holiday creation to play along, leave a comment on Maureen’s blog and you’ll be eligible for a chance to win a generous prize. you’ll also be a step closer to being ready to mail out those holidays cards in 4 months.

I’m also playing along with the Waffle Flower Christmas In July Challenge: week 1 inspiration was unconventional colours and week 3 was tags.

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In Loving Memory

I know I say this every year, but it’s hard to believe it’s now 12 years ago today that my son passed away from brain cancer and every year I’ve made a card in his memory with a memory of mine.

this year, I’m focusing on the closeness of big brother and his little sister. as a homeschooling family, we had more time for creative outlets and embracing our imagination. oh my goodness, the adventures they had and the stories they would tell were always entertaining and so detailed! for a long time there was a fascination with woolly mammoths, so as soon as I saw mama elephant’s mammoth love set, I had to grab it – I feel like it depicts my two children so well. I’m not a big fan of realism, but my memories took me there and I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost in the process of painting while I created this card.

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Kraft Christmas Card For Rudolph Days Challenge

can you believe it? it’s time for the monthly Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted by Maureen at scrappymo’s, and it’s my turn to encourage you to create your holidays cards on a monthly basis.

this was a fairly QAE (quick and easy) creation; I spent most of my time sponging brushed corduroy distress ink around Rudolph, CZ Design, the edge border and the sentiment, all of which was cut from Kraft cardstock. I LOVE the Taylored Expressions Snow Day background stamp – it has a variety of detailed snowflakes and dots and it’s a good quality red rubber stamp. I used hero arts white pigment ink and just let it air dry while I cut Rudolphs – I’ll have a set of 8 when I’m done; I ran out of time to finish by this post. I added cranberry stickles to the nose on the left but it was much easier for my hands to just cut the nose on the right from red glitter cardstock.

I hope to see you join the challenge over at Maureen’s where you can enter for a chance to win a lovely prize.

thanks for popping by.

Happy World Bee Day!

wow. it’s been a month since I posted here and I certainly haven’t been as busy as a bee; health issues sidelined me so I appreciate any amount of time I can ‘bee’ creative. :)

it’s World Bee Day – from the UN website:

To raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, the UN designated 20 May as World Bee Day.

The goal is to strengthen measures aimed at protecting bees and other pollinators, which would significantly contribute to solving problems related to the global food supply and eliminate hunger in developing countries.

my daughter gave me a box of Bee Friendly seeds for Mother’s Day to attract bees; they’re cuter when they leave me alone and just go about their buzziness.

I made these mother/daughter coin pouches featuring some sweet bees and sentiments:

thanks to an excellent video tutorial by Jan Howell, I created my initial labels for my hand sewn projects.

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Bunny Bookmark

I was a lucky random winner for the Waffle Flower March Challenge Week 3 so guess what I found? bunnies!

my daughter says she’s well stocked for bookmarks but she keeps getting more textbooks so I keep making more. the April week 3 Waffle Flower Challenge Theme is ‘sew fun’ – add a stitching detail so I stitched around the edge. I masked the book pile to stamp the bunny, both from the Waffle Flower Books and Coffee set, and painted everything with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. this is lovingly made, not perfectly made because it was my first attempt at sewing on cardstock.

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Floral Thank You Card Set

you might remember that I made two thank you cards to add to my stash. then my daughter let me know that she needed some for her profs so I made her this set of four:

she really likes the floral image from the waffle flower ‘A Little Note’ set so I used it again and again painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper and die cut with the coordinating die.

I’m playing along with the Waffle Flower Challenge week 3 – watercoloured florals.

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Peace For Rudolph Days March 2021

I’m sharing my DT creations for the Rudolph Days Challenge, hosted by Maureen at her blog.

I used this beautiful Penny Black peace die, a gift from Maureen for being a DT member, to cut green cardstock and sponged it with distress inks: shabby shutters, pine needles and chipped sapphire. I added red gloss gems, no longer available but they measure 3 mm. to finish the card, I used the taylored expressions holly embossing folder and lightly brayered with brushed corduroy distress ink.

like so many dies, I thought this one was versatile so I die cut with matte gold foil paper, coloured the berries with the only two spectrum noir markers I have and added the smallest Marianne design rhinestones that I coloured with permanent markers. the card stock is actually dark teal and I added a matte gold border to finish it off.

the rules are so simple and there’s a chance to win a generous prize from maureen so why not get a head start on holiday cards; or keep adding to your pile of cards so there’ll be no last minute rush.

I’m playing along with the Penny Black Saturday Challenge for March and the Anything Goes option.

thanks for popping by.

Have A Good Sleep

it’s world sleep day, “an annual, global call to action about the importance of healthy sleep.”

I don’t think these little guys have any sleep issues.

I fussy cut the mama elephant sloth agenda characters, painted with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper. they were attached to green striped bases, cut with the mama elephant bookmark dies and stamped sentiments from the mama elephant good reads stamp set. the stack of books images is from the book worm set.

I’m playing along with these challenges:

Art Impressions Stamp Challenge #303 Itty Bitty
As You Like It Challenge Favourite Way To Cut Your Image (& Why) I like to fussy cut, but only if I use my arthritis-friendly tonic spring loaded scissors and because I can decide how much of a border I do or do not want to have.

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Thank You Notes

I never seem to have enough thank you cards but the Waffle Flower Challenges week 2 with the spring theme inspired me to create two cards to build my stash.

I stamped the flowers from the ‘A Little Note’ set on Arches hot press watercolour paper, cut with the coordinating die and painted with twinkling H2Os. I stamped the sentiments from the same set and popped the florals with foam tape. such a dull day; I can’t wait for sunnier spring days!

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Tempting Turnips

such a classic layout for the LAWN FAWNATICS CHALLENGE 95 – CARD SKETCH but it took me a long time to come up with an idea; just in time for today’s deadline.

fun fact: bunnies can eat turnips but only as an occasional treat.

I painted the bunnies and turnips with twinkling H2Os on Arches hot press watercolour paper, added cotton ball white flocking to bunnies’ tails and popped them on foam tape. the most difficult thing was photographing this card that’ll fit into a 5 x 7 envelope – larger than I usually create; but what are challenges for?

I’m also submitting this card to the As You Like It Challenge Favourite Reason To Send A Card (& Why): I love sending cards to brighten someone’s day, as in a good old fashioned snail mail creation.

Lawn Fawn supplies used:
Snow Day stamps and coordinating dies (bunnies)
So Much To Say (sentiments)
Stitched Garden Border (turnip)
Tiny Gift Box Bunny Add On (grass mound)
Slide On Over Circles (smallest die)
Spring Fling 6 x 6 paper pad

thanks for popping by.

Dear Santa

my DT post for the Rudolph Days Challenge is every other month so I’m off this month but still making Christmas cards.

this one features a cute Penny Black wood stamp image of teddy writing to Santa (retired). I painted with twinkling H2Os, added a sentiment and attached everything to some festive doodlebug papers.

I’m playing along with these challenges:
Rudolph Days Challenge holidaymakers creations 25th of every month
Little Red Wagon #590 Teddies
Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes
Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Anything Goes with Patterned Paper
Penny Black Saturday Challenge Anything Goes + optional: Paper Piecing

thanks for popping by.