Christmas greetings

 A sketch led me to think of Christmas and two other challenges reinforced the feeling in me: it's time for another Christmas card, as I don't have nearly enough yet... I have made just nine so far.

I pulled out my trusty snowflake dies, glittery card stock and glitzy little bits and pieces.

 

I die cut three snowflakes and arranged them on top of another, but not before I had cut a strip of vellum and stamped it with "Christmas greetings" which I then embossed as the drying time on vellum was more than I had time for.

 

Lastly came the shiny bits, one of them even has a snowflake design on it which I count as bonus.

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches: #755 Sketch

 

As You See It: #382 Christmas is a-Coming ... My number is 9

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Christmas in September

Craft Rocket Challenges: #140 Use dies

An Inspiration to the Simple Life

 The title is a quote from an ancient TH sheet. It seemed so apt for today's card.  A few challenges led my thoughts to my summers and summer vacations. The most fun was to stay on a farm and observe the garden and its inhabitants. The birds, the squirrels, the hedgehogs. We put watered milk out for them. 

The supplies were many this time: two stamp sets, two die sets and an embossing folder.

I started by embossing the background, then stamping the hedgehog and the tree. The hedgehog is layered and heat embossed. The flowers were cut from scrap paper and assembled.

The card will go to a friend who is thinking of quitting a city job.

 

I am entering it in these lovely challenges that inspired me today:

As You Like It: Favorite pet (and why) I always wished I could have a hedgehog, they look so soft and cuddly (but of course they are not)

Can You Handle the Pressure: AG, Stars and/or stripes optional - I selected stripes

Nachteulen /  Night Owls: # NSS 63 Urlaub - meine Ferien sind an einem Bauernhof

Creative Knockouts: #575 Outdoor fun

Craft Rocket Challenges: #138 Animals 

This little piggy -

- wants to say: Happy Birthday!

I have a new piggy die (by Creative Depot) and an old four leaf clover stamp (bought in 2009 at Papersource!!) and now it was time to combine the two. 

I stamped the clover once directly to the card and once on paper, then cut it out and adhered behind the die cut. I colored the clovers in with watercolors, and then some of the background. (Which would have been easier to do beforehand had I thought about it...)

The text is a die cut as well, green peeking behind the pink as a shadow.

Entering this card in the challenges that inspired its creation:

Retro Rubber Challenge: #rrcb209 Summer scenes

Craft Rocket Challenges: #104 Use dies

AAA Birthday: #50 Watercolors

Try Stamping on Tuesday: #612 sketch 

Double Trouble: #141 Something, Anything - Claiming  THING 1 and THING 3 (twice!). 

Snippets for CAS

 Why is CAS - clean and simple - so hard to pull off??  When elements are reduced and the background noise is not there everything else has to sit.

I am in awe of this style and wanted to try my hand at it again. 

The vase is stamped directly onto the card base, the floral arrangement of golden twigs was actually a snippet of golden craft paper put to good use. It's a birthday card. I handwrote the text ("Armfuls of happiness").

Entering it into the challenges that inspired it:

We Love Stamping: June AG / or CAS - I was inspired by the CAS option

Crafty Chicks Challenge: #668 CAS

Addicted to Stamps: #448 Birthdays

Snippets Challenge: #456 

Craft Rocket Challenges: #104 Use dies

Tonal white and cream

 Some lovely challenges collide again and they got my creative juices flowing, resulting in this card:

This unites an embossed background, die cut center where the Merry Christmas wishes are stamped on vellum and embossed with clear embossing powder, further die cuts arranged in a wreath form around it. 

Entering this in the following lovely challenges that inspired me:

CYHTP: Embossing / Wreath

Daring Card Makers: White

 Craft Rocket Challenges: #98 Christmas/ Winter 

Through the Purple Haze: #198 Monochromatic