A Smörgåsbord of challenges!

Was inspired by a Pinterest photo to develop this sweet card. It actually went together pretty quickly after I came up with a template. Makes me wish the house was filled with the wonderful fragrance of gingerbread. But there is no baking in this sweltering July heat. So… will need to pull out a few holiday CDs and continue to celebrate the holidays in my little ol’ craft room! Falalalala la la la laaaaa! (PS- the sentiment on the back of the card reads, “Enjoy the sweets the season brings.”)

Entered into: 

CAS-usal Fridays- Christmas in July                       

     (cas-ualfridays.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge                                        

     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Di’s Digi Stamps- Christmas in July  

    (disdigidesignschallenge.blogspot.co.uk)

Deep Ocean Challenge- Christmas in July                    

     (deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.com.au)

Christmas Cards All Year Round                                  

    (christmascardsallyearround.blogspot.co.uk)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Patterned Paper Challenge    

    (craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper.blogspot.com)

Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge2- Extra for July  
     (craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge2.blogspot.co.uk)

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge- Use Plaid                          

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge)

Cute Card Thursday- Ribbons & Bows                          

     (cutecardthursday.blogspot.com) 

Bugaboo Stamps is celebrating a Christmas in July event with daily challenges!

Here is my entry for Day 2 (July 16) Love the cute little reindeer brad!

Entered into: 

Bugaboo Stamps- Christmas in July (Sketch)  

        (catchthebugblog.blogspot.com)

I’m bouncing between seasons here to create a fun card using Summer Colors for Artistic Inspirations current Challenge. I especially love these cute little sunspecs… they took a little while to make, but they just scream Summer!

Entered into:

Artistic Inspirations Challenge- Summer Colors                        

     (artisticinspirationschallenges.blogspot.com.au)

This card is another entry into Poppy Power’s current challenge-“Copy a Bloomie” i.e. their design team members. This one was inspired by the card posted below that was created by the talented Cindy Lawrence!   (I love the simplicity of Cindy’s layouts, plus am amazed at the way that she decorates the insides of her cards to compliment the sentiment and image on the front of her cards. I am going to strive to CASE that in the coming days, too!) For my card I replaced the floral image with an adorable patchwork pony (free from Beccy’s Place this month) and also replaced the sprinkling of sequins with two well placed mini puffy heart stickers.

Entered into: 

Poppy Power- Copy the Bloomies                                 

    (http://powerpoppy.blogspot.com/2017/07/on-case.html)

Beccy’s Place Challenge- July                                     

    (beccysplace.blogspot.com)

Going a little out of the box for my next entry in Simon Says Monday Challenge- Distress It. I remembered doing soot stamping years ago… and I mean a few decades ago. Remember that it felt pretty rustic… and since it involves an open flame… is distressing in more ways than just a stamping technique. Couldn’t remember the specifics but found a simple tutorial here http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/soot_stamping. Tried a few images and liked the simplicity of this one best. Will make a nice masculine (PS I experimented with how close to hold the glossy card stock to the flame and found that I like holding it a little higher than most tutorials note. Lessens the chance of fire, and produces more of an even smoky tone. I also remember using our antique hurricane lamp to get a really nice layer of soot. I think that the burning oil helped with that. But... we sold that several moves ago. So... had to resort to the candle method. Also, found that cheap dollar store candles work best as they tend to create a bit more smoke. At least the ones I have did!)

Entered into: 

Simon Says Monday Challenge- Distress It                  

     (simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge)