Saturday, December 31, 2016

Baby Jesus

Happy New Year!!  Wow, can you believe it is 2017??  Since it is the beginning of the month, it is time for a new challenge from Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra.  So many of you were making Christmas cards still in December as we had nearly 600 entries!!  Let's get a head start on Christmas 2017 and start making them now.  Our sponsor is the fabulous Bugaboo Stamps and the winner from the month will receive 7 images of their choice.  I used one of my favorite images as it touches on the true meaning of Christmas.  I prefer to make those kid of cards when I can.
I kept it nice and simple as the sketch seemed to call for it.  I hope you will get a chance to play along.  I love Christmas and I love to see what you come up with.

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Digi Stamps "Christmas Words--Jesus" digi; Verve "Richly Blessed" sentiment
Dies:  Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large" and "Scalloped Circles, large"; Verve "Flag It"

Challenges:
Cardz TV #7--anything goes
CAS-ual Friday #164--celebrations (celebrating Jesus' birth)
Brown sugar Challenge #231--anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #458--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #396--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #153--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #118--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Crafty Gals--anything goes
Hanna & Friends #264--Christmas
Crafty Creations #331--any holiday
Word Art Wednesday #261--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Tuesday Morning Sketches--anything goes
YNS #54--sketch

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Layered backgrounds

So, back in September, my mother-in-law and I went to the Stamp N Scrapbook Expo in Massachusetts.  We took a couple of workshop classes with JustRite Stampers and had a lot of fun.  One of the classes we took was on layering background stamps and using a little bit of mixed media mediums.  The backgrounds to both of these cards were created in the class and I just got around to finishing them off this week (my DT obligations are on hold over the holidays so I actually had time to just play).
 For both cards, we started by scribbling some water based markers on some acetate, spritzing it with water and then smooshing and dragging the piece of acetate over a piece of water color paper.  Gorgeous on it's own, I have to say.  For the first card, we stamps a script background, then the circle background in black and then again, sightly offset in gold.  The sentiment is from an exclusive set that we received in the class.  This is definitely outside of my "normal", but I think it's really beautiful.
The second card was made with the same "smooshing" technique.  Then we stamped the script background followed by a crackle background.  More subtle on this one, but beautiful none-the-less.  The stamps are also from the set we received in class.  It's tough to tell in the photo, but the card base is a really metallic copper and it is gorgeous!

Challenges:
Card #1:
Cute Card Thursday #458--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #296--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #262--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Penny's Challenges #309--anyhing goes


Card #2:
Creative Knockouts #174--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #118--anything goes
Crafty Gals Corner--anything goes
Time Out #73--"with each new sunrise we are given a chance for a new beginning"
Southern Girls #150--Southern Girls
Love To Craft #5--anything goes


Thursday, December 22, 2016

Winter Hello

I was in need of some last minute Christmas cards the other day, so I created my own background paper by stamping these fabulous snowflakes all over 3 full-sized sheets of paper.  Then I cut them out with a stitched rectangle die to end up with 12 panels.  Since I only needed 10 Christmas cards and had 12 panels, I decided to turn the last two into these fun "Winter Hello" cards.  It's a bit hard to tell, but that's what the sentiment says.  You can see my Christmas cards in this post.  I dressed these two cards up with a bit of gold glitter paper down the side and added stickles to the centers of all the snowflakes.  So pretty and sparkly in real life.
 Don't you love that sparkle!?  I didn't have any card stock to match my pink ink, so I just used a sponge dauber and sponged ink on the smaller banner to match.  It works perfectly.
 Here are the two cards side by side:
Each panel is just a little bit different and it was really fun to do.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Fab Flakes"
Dies: PTI "Fab Flakes"; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:
Unicorn Challenge #16--add some sparkle
Cards Galore--anything goes
Fashionable Stamping #118--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps #362--winter
Fussy & Fancy #179--angles/fairies or winter
A Bit More Time To Craft #34--anything goes
Sketch Saturday #443--sketch

{Pin}spirational #181--inspirational photo (was inspired by the colors)
Tuesday Morning Sketches #383--anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown--anything goes
Shopping Our Stash #283--winter wonderland NOT Christmas
Creative Craft Cottage #78--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #309--anything goes
Crafty Gals #202--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--make it sparkle
Inspiration Destination #117--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #395--anything goes

Last minute Christmas cards

I have a confession: I am a member of a Christmas challenge design team and I make Christmas cards ALL year long, but I was still short on Christmas cards this year!!  Gasp!!  Actually, I kind of expected it, and was actually surprised that I had as many made as I did.  But, I still had to make a last minute batch and I did manage to finish them Tuesday.  Phew!  I'm waiting for 3 or 4 addresses from relatives that have moved, but other than that the rest of the cards have all been sent out!  So, here are the last 10 that I made:
 I had gotten a new snowflake set from PTI and I really wanted to use it, so I created my own background using all (except maybe one) the stamps from the set.  I used three full sized sheets of paper and just started stamping the snowflakes until I had each piece filled.  then I used a stitched rectangle die to cut four panels out of each sheet.  So, each one is just a little bit different.  I made 10 cards and then had two panels left over so I created two other cards that I will show in my next post.
The sentiment strips were all cut from pieces of scrap that were in my scrap pile.  And the "Jesus" was cut from a scrap of wrapping paper I had saved from a couple of Christmases ago.  It had a fabulous texture and shine and I just couldn't throw it away.  It worked perfectly to add a bit of interest.  To finish everything off, I added some stickles to the center of each snowflake to add a little bit of sparkle.  You can see the sparkle and the shine of the sentiment in the photo below.

Supplies:
Stamps: PTI "Fab Flakes" and "Inspired: Jesus"
Dies: PTI "Inspired: Jesus"; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle

Challenges:
Unicorn #16--add some glitter (the stickles)
Christmas Cards All Year 'Round--anything goes
Sugar Pea Designs #26--anything goes
ABC Christmas--Y for Yikes (yikes I NEED 10 cards) or Z for zoom
A Gem of a Challenge #184--Christmas
Fashionable Stamping #118--anything goes
CAS-ual Fridays #163--Christmas & Hanukkah
A Bit More Time To Craft #34--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #312--cute or anything goes
Di's Digis--happy holidays
Come And Get It--Christmas
Pixie's Crafty Workshop #260--anything goes with snippets (sentiment strips and gold paper)
{Pin}spirational Challenge #181--inspiration photo (I was inspired by the colors)

Tuesday Morning Sketches #383--anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown--anything goes
Creative Craft Cottage #78--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--here come the holidays
The Paper Shelter--anything goes
MFT #312--sketch

Penny's Challenge #309--anything goes
Crafty Gals #102--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--make it sparkle
Word Art Wednesday #262--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Crafty Creations #331--any holiday
Inspiration Destination #117--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #395--anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #157--anything goes

Monday, December 19, 2016

Thinking

 Welcome to the last challenge of the year from The Love To Scrap Challenge Blog!  So hard to believe that the year is almost over already!!  Since we know this is a busy time for everyone, it's a nice easy challenge: Anything Goes.
Our sponsors are:




 I was given this gorgeous image from Sheep Ski Designs:  Isn't it beautiful?!
I used the "out of the box" technique and I really love how it turned out.    I hope you will get a chance to play in our last challenge of the year.  Then, make sure you come back in the new year as we are going to have some fun changes for you.  Merry Christmas!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Sheep Ski Designs "Becca--Image #25"; Verve "Take Note"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Ovals, Large" and "Standard Scalloped Ovals, large"; MFT corner die and "Blueprints 13" small banner; Verve "Flag It" large banner

Challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
Card Mania Challenge #87--anything goes
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes AND I used the monthly sketch

A Bit More Time To Craft #34--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #153--anything goes

Friday, December 16, 2016

Shine

Well, here we are with the last challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack before a little Christmas break.  We know it's a busy time of year for everyone, so it's a nice and easy one: Anything Goes!!
Our Sponsor is Scrapper's Delights and I used this beautiful image:
This card may look simple (and it probably is!), but man did it take me forever to complete!  I was coming down to the wire on getting it finished in time and sometimes that really scares away the mojo!  I had the basic sketch I was using, but it just looked to plain and boring.  So after flipping through my die collection, I found some interesting ones and it really took on a life of it's own.  And now, I think, I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.
I hope you'll get a chance to play along, and make sure you check out the new challenge at the beginning of the new year; it's going to be a fun year!!

Supplies:
Stamps: Scrapper's Delights "Victorian Digi 2"; PTI "Sparkle and Shine Holiday Additions"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large" and "Picot Edge Circles"; Sweet n' Sassy fence die; PTI "Sparkle and Shine"

Challenges:
Crafting Musketeers #44--anything goes
Cards Galore--anything goes
Pattie's Creations--Christmas or winter
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper--anything goes with patterned paper
The Paper Nest Dolls #12--anything goes
Divas That Cut--Layers or layer it
Love To Craft Challenge Blog #5--anything goes
{Pin}spirational Challenge #180--inspiration photo (inspired by the colors and the joy on her face!)

Crafting By Designs--Here come the holidays
Sugar Pea Designs #26--anything goes
Word Art Wednesday #260--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
YNS #54--sketch

Alphabet challenge--U for use something red
A Gem of a Challenge #184--Christmas
Craft Your Passion #342--anything goes
The Merry Christmas Challenge #11--Christmas Trees (on my green paper)
Tuesday Throwdown #323--anything goes
Creative Craft Cottage #77--use die cuts
Penny's Challenge #308--Christmas
Crafty Gals #101--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #116--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #153--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #394--Christmas



Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Vintage Christmas

The Countdown is on now!!  This is the mid-month inspiration post for Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra and that means there are only 10 days until Christmas!!  Yikes, I'm so not ready.  I don't even think I have all my Christmas cards made, yet.  But here is one to add to the pile And give you some inspiration along the way.  Don't forget, you have until December 31 to play along with us.  Even if you have all your cards finished for this year, you can always start on next year's!
 I had the long strip of paper that goes down the side of my card sitting on my desk (it's part of a a pad I am trying to use up and now have only 3 small squares left!) and knew it would be perfect for a pop of color on a CAS card.  I added a narrow strip of torn mulberry paper since I have recently rekindled my love for it, and layered the image panel on top.  The sentiment banner looked just a little too plain for my liking and I noticed that another small rectangle of paper sitting on the desk would be perfect for framing the sentiment.  Then I had only this small strip of it left and decided it was perfect for highlighting the sentiment on the inside!  Now . . . if I could only figure out what to do with those remaining 3 pieces . . .
I hope you will get a chance to play along this month.  I love Christmas and I love seeing what you come up with.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Shepherd Boy", "Merry Christmas" and "For Unto You"

Challenges:
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps #361--CAS with a sentiment
Crafty Gals #101--anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown #323--anything goes
Pixie's Crafty Workshop #259--anything goes with snippets
Sweet Stampin'--animals (my two little sheep)
Crafty Catz #350--non-traditional Christmas colors
Word Art Wednesday #260--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Sugar Pea Designs #26--anything goes
Crafting By Designs--Here come the Holidays
Winter Wonderland--frame it or night scene (mine has a star so it is a night scene)
Scrapping Every Day Miracles--verse inspiration Luke 2:11 (my inside sentiment)
Pattie's Creations--Christmas or winter


Monday, December 5, 2016

Christmas Deer

It's time for another challenge from the Love To Scrap Challenge Blog.  This week we're feeling frosty and the challenge is: Winter Wonderland.  We have three awesome sponsors:



I was given this gorgeous image from The Paper Shelter!  Well, I have to say that EVERY image I've seen from The Paper Shelter is gorgeous; but I do really love this one.
 I was inspired by a card I saw earlier this week that was in shades of lilac and teal; and thus my non-traditional Christmas color combo.  I printed the image out a bit large and was running short on time, so I decided to make a CAS card and I really love how it turned out.  The left hand strip and the doily "snowflake" were cut out of an irridescent glitter paper and the shimmer is absolutely stunning.  You can see it better in the photo below.
A bit of mulberry paper and some DMC floss finish it off.  I hope you'll get a chance to play along with us.  I can't wait to see what's in your winter wonderland.

Supplies:
Stamps: The Paper Shelter "Holy Night" digi; Verve "Peace on Earth" sentiment
Dies: MFT "Small Doilies"

Challeges:
Crafter's Cafe #162--Christmas and/or birthday
Crafting By Designs--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #306--anything goes
Crafty Gals #100--anything goes
Little Miss Muffet #152--anything goes
Craft-Dee BowZ--anything goes with handmade bow
Dragon's Lair--Christmas Wishes
Card Mania Challenge #87--anything goes
Crimbo Crackers #121--non-traditional Christmas (non-traditional colors)
Fussy & Fancy #178--Christmas in tones or pastels
Cut It Up Challenge #110--bingo (I used the "twine/ribbon, glitter, and texture" diagonal row)
Sweet Stampin'--Let it snow



Designer Spotlight

The House That Stamps Built is taking a break from the usual projects and challenges this month to bring back their Rock Star Spotlight series. This is a fun way to get to know all the Design Team members a little better. So each Monday and Wednesday throughout December they will be featuring a different Rock Star and showing off some of their latest creations too.
Please be sure to visit The House That Stamps Built often and leave a little love in the comments of each Rock Star Spotlight. Wendy will be awarding a $25 Repeat Impressions gift certificate to one random commenter. Every comment earns you another chance to win. So visit and comment often. The winner will be announced on The House That Stamps Built blog the first Monday of next month.
Today is my day and the spotlight is shining on me! Here is what I created to celebrate my featured post. Now please hop on over to The House That Stamps Built to read my responses to the fun questionnaire Wendy had me fill out. Then be sure to leave a comment there for your chance to win the gift certificate.
I used my favorite snowflake for this one, using both the large and small versions to create a fun patterned paper.  I also used them on the red card stock, stamping with red ink to give a watermark look.  I always think red, black and white is a super elegant color combo, and I added in a bit of gray for variety.  To give it a bit of sparkle, I added a dot of silver stickles to the centers of the snowflakes.  It's so pretty in real life.  Thanks for stopping by to check out my spotlight today and I hope you will keep checking out The House blog throughout the rest of the month to see spotlights on our current designers and some new members that will be joining the team.  

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Snowflake solid (lg)", "Snowflake solid (sm)" and "Christmas"
Dies: Spellbinders banner die

Challenges:
YNS #53--sketch
ynssketch53
Crafting By Designs--anything goes
Crafter's Cafe #162--Christmas and/or birthday
Mod Squad--Holiday Dimension (my sentiment banner is popped up with foam tape)
Penny's Challenge #306--anything goes
Crafty Gals #100--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #310--vintage or anything Christmas goes
Sweet Stampin'--Let it snow
Come And Get It--Christmas


Friday, December 2, 2016

Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer

Happy Friday!  It's time for another challenge from Jo's Scrap Shack.  This week we have a fun one for you:
Our sponsor is Robyn's Fetish
I was given this cute little reindeer to work with.  
My three colors are: red, green and gold, my two embellishments are: flowers and brads, and my technique is dry embossing (it's hard to see it in the picture, but the red layer is embossed with a damask embossing folder and then sponged with some gold ink.  It's so pretty in real life.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us (maybe even work on some last minute Christmas cards!) this week.  Hop on over to Jo's blog for the full details and to see what the rest of the team has created.

Supplies:
Stamps: Robyn's Fetish "Rudolph Came To Town" digi
Dies:  Spellbinders "Layered Poinsettia" and "Floral Doily Motif"; Verve "Sprightly Sprigs"
Fiskars flower punch; Darice embossing folder

Challeges:
Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps Wonderful Wednesday--anything goes
Inspiration Destination #114--anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--anything goes
Crafty Gals #100--anything goes
Penny's Challenge #306--anything goes
Addicted To Stamps #202--make your mark
The Paper Shelter #275--Christmas
Mod Squad--Holiday dimension (lots of layers and dimensional flowers)
Fab 'N Funky #329--Christmas
Creative Inspiration #263--Christmas; I also used one of their old sketches



Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Sweet Baby

Oh, boy, oh, boy, oh, boy!  December has arrived!!  I'm so not ready!  My Christmas cards are not even close to being done!  But thanks to Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra, I do have a very good start on them.  All that as a shameless promotion of CHNCC2's newest challenge that start today!  As always, it is Anything (Christmas-related) Goes!  And our sponsor, Bugaboo Stamps is offering 7 images: winner's choice.  Here is my card for your inspiration:
 I was inspired by the Shopping Our Stash challenge to create a background using the Bargello Technique.  I've never given this a try before and as I knew I had a bunch of thin paper strips that needed using up, I decided to go for it.  It's hard to see it in the picture of the finished card, so I took a picture before I added the focal panel and embellishments.
Kind of a fun look, huh?  I think it might have worked a little bit better if my papers hadn't had white backgrounds.  Maybe next time.  But for now, hop on over to the CHNCC2 blog to see what the rest of the DT has created.  Then get inky and play along with us; it's time to finish up those Christmas cards!

Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "AKV Nativity-Mary and Child" digi
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Ovals, large"; PTI "Fancy Flakes" large snowflake; Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps "Small Snowflakes"

Challenges:
Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2--sketch (I turned it on its side)

Time Out Challenge #71--Christmas with glitter/sparkle
Hanna & Friends #262--bingo (I used the dies, ribbon, glitter row)
Brown Sugar #226--anything goes
Alphabet Challenge--T is for Trees (I have trees on some of the strips of patterned paper)
Hiding In My Craft Room #277--any holiday
Christmas Card Challenge #50--anything goes
Pixie's Crafty Workshop #257--anything goes with snippets (ALL the patterned papers were snippets as were the pieces of white card stock that the snowflakes were cut from)
Shopping Our Stash #280--Paper Strip Art
Die Cuttin' Divas #287--make it sparkle
Holly Jolly--a card OR anything but a card
Simon Says Stamp Monday--O, Christmas tree (trees on my strips of patterned paper)
Craft Your Passion #346--anything goes
Creative Inspirations #263--Christmas
Crafting By Designs--anything goes
Fab n Funky Challenge #329--Christmas





Warm and Cozy Snowman

Wow!!  Here it is, the last day of November!  Where has this year gone!?!?  I'm so not ready for December!  Since it is the 5th Wednesday of November, we have a special challenge this week from The House That Stamps Built: Anything Goes!!  I decided to create a fun, interactive card because I had this fun Swing Stamp Set that I hadn't gotten to use yet.  So, here is the outside:
 The sentiment reads "It's time to put on some Christmas cheer.  May your holidays . . ."
Then, instead of opening like a regular card, you pull up the tab to reveal . . .
 "be warm and wonderful" and the snowman has put on his hat and scarf!  Isn't this so cute??  I added clear wink of stella to the "snow" around each snowman.  So sparkly!!
I used this tutorial, if you want to check it out and see how it works.  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us amid the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season that is now upon us.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Snowman, 2-sided Swing Stamp Set"
Dies: Spellbinders "Classic Ovals, large" and "A2 Matting Basics A" rectangles

Challenges:
Aurora Wings #40--Christmas
Word Art Wednesday #259--anything goes with uplifting sentiment
Time Out Challenge #71--Christmas with glitter/sparkle
Aud Sentiments #169--anything goes
Hanna & Friends #262--bingo--I used the dies, ribbon, glitter row
Brown Sugar Challenge #226--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #309--use a sentiment
Hiding In My Craft Room #277--any holiday
Christmas Card #50--anything goes
Come And Get It--Baby it's cold outside
Die Cuttin' Divas #244--make it sparkle
Holly Jolly--card OR anything but a card
A Gem of A Challenge #183--snowman/woman




Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Christmas tag

I had this rectangle left over from this card I made and when I saw it just lying on my desk, I thought it looked like a tag.  I rounded the corners, added the banner sentiment and set an eyelet to tie it on, and now it IS a tag!  Super quick and easy and I think it will look great on a package.

Supplies:
Dies: Spellbinders banner die
Stamps: Verve "Peace On Earth"

Challenges:
Crafting By Designs--Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge--Christmas to die for
Crafty Creations #329--Christmas
Creative Knockouts #169--'Tis the Season
Crafty Catz #248--Christmas tags
Hiding In My Craft Room #277--any holiday
Tuesday Throwdown #321--make a tag
Holly Jolly --card OR Anything but a card


Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Elegant Christmas

Happy day before Thanksgiving!!  It's Wednesday so that means it's time for another challenge from The House That Stamps Built.  This week we have a sketch challenge for you:
So many fun options with that one!  Here is the card I created:
 I inked up my embossing folder with a gold shimmery ink before embossing my red cardstock.  It gave a subtle but shimmery finish on the debossed parts.  You can kind of see it in the photo below.
I love this color combo; it's always so elegant and it's perfect for Christmas!  I hope you will get a chance to play along with us this week.  I can't wait to see what you come up with.  And remember, if you "need" any of the stamps I used, there is a 10% off your entire order coupon in my left sidebar.

Supplies:
Stamps: Repeat Impressions "Sheet Music" and "Poinsettia"
Dies: Repeat Impressions "Flip Fancy Die Set"; Spellbinders "Classic Circles, large" and "Picot Circles"; Darice "Damask" embossing folder

Challenges:
Craft Dee BowZ--anything goes with handmade bow
Christmas at Sweet Stampin'--anything goes
A Gem of A Challenge #182--ribbon & bling (6 little tiny pearls on to of the squares)
Cuttlebug Mania--music
Creative Inspirations #262--frosty florals
Crafter's Cafe #161--Christmas comes early
Crimbo Crackers #120--anything goes
Winter Wonderland--poinsettias or snow is falling
Brown Sugar Challenge #225--anything goes
Crafty Catz #347--use red
A Bit More Time To Craft #32--anything goes
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #308--cute or anything goes
Craft Your Passion #339--anything goes
Merry Christmas Challenge #8--Add ribbon or lace
Creative Craft Cottage #176--anything goes
Die Cuttin Divas #293--anything goes


Monday, November 21, 2016

Two seasons

Hi, and welcome to another challenge from The Love To Scrap Challenge Blog.  This time it is Anything Goes.  Our three sponsors are :



I have two projects for you today.  The first one is using a Julia Spiri Digital Stamps image: April Elf
Isn't she a beauty?!  I think she is probably supposed to be a spring elf, but since this is autumn, I turned her into an autumn elf and I think it works perfectly!  I created my own background paper with mums, leaves, acorns, a script stamp and a small flower center stamp.  Then I inked up the edges and distressed them with my scissors.  Love how it turned out!  Here is a close up of the image:
I added some strands of clear wink of stella to her hair and onto the darker green trims on her dress.  You can see it a bit in the photo.
My second project uses an image from Bugaboo Stamps.  Their images are always so adorable!
I was able to use up some scraps on this one finally!  The striped paper is part of a paper pack that I have been trying to use up for quite a while.  It's been sitting on my desk for at least a year now and there are only a few small pieces left.  Unfortunately, there are still a few scraps of it left.  I even added a few more snowflakes on the inside but couldn't quite use it all up.
CARD #1:
Supplies:
Stamps: Julia Spiri "April Elf" digi; PTI "Mum's The Word"; Verve "Tall Oaks" and "Better Together; Hero Art French Script
Dies: MFT leaves

Challenges:
Cutie Pie Challenge--cute and no patterned paper
The Paper Nest Dolls #11--anything goes
Julia Spiri #26--anything goes with the optional twist of using a different coloring medium (I did not use the twist)
Sweet Sketch Wednesday 2 #102--sketch

Fab n Funky Challenge #327--digi girls or hats
The Paper Shelter #273--more than one of anything (leaves)
Inspiration Destination #112--anything goes
Brown Sugar #225--anything goes

CARD #2:
Supplies:
Stamps: Bugaboo Stamps "Little Penguin Winter Skate" digi; Verve "Merry & Bright"
Dies: Spellbinders "Standard Circles, large"; MFT "Blueprints 13" stitched rectangle die; Sweet n Sassy small snowflakes and an unknown snowflake die; Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder

Challenges:
Unicorn Challenge #15--snow/snowflakes
Christmas at Sweet Stamping--anything goes

Shopping Our Stash #278--front and center
Crafting By Designs--little animals
Crafter's Cafe #161--Christmas comes early
Crafty Gals #98--any holiday
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday--Christmas critters
Little Miss Muffet #131--anything goes
C.R.A.F.T. #390--Christmas
Cute Card Thursday #452--Christmas/holidays
Crimbo Crackers #120--anything goes
Pixie's Crafty Workshop #256--anything goes with snippets