Snow Much Joy

I've been hollering lately about people making Halloween Cards and Christmas Cards. I know we card-makers work ahead, but IT IS STILL AUGUST! GIVE IT A REST!

So, today I made a Christmas card, but not because I got new Christmas goodies. I can't even look at those yet. Nope, it's because the lovely ladies at Jingle Belles came up with a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge, and I love those! So many options!

Here's my card, then I'll explain:

I chose the Glitter/Die-cuts/Stamping diagonal, because I cheated. A couple of years ago I used this guy for my holiday cards (I didn't make enough throughout the year and still had to come up with my own design), and I had a stack of extra snowmen all stamped and cut. That took care of the Stamping and Die-cutting squares. Now I just needed glitter.

So first I colored my snowman, then cut the hills (more die-cutting!). I sponged the clouds/sky, then stuck everything down. I put foam behind the snowman's head to even him out, since his bod was on top of the hills.

For the Glitter requirement, I added clear Wink of Stella to his eyes and hat band. You can almost see it here:

Wow, one more Christmas card made. Whoot! I'll probably still need to make my own design this year. Hmmm, I have a stack of these left. Hmmm ...

Thanks for stopping by!

Stuff I used: Hero Arts Snow Much Joy stamp set (I think it's retired), Simon Says Stamp Make A Scene with Masks (I can't find it in the store, so it may be retired. But you can use any cloud shape, even one you draw yourself!), and the following:

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CSSC #7 WINNERS

Thanks to all who played my seventh challenge.

Here are my winners for the August challenge:

The winner is Mary Dawn:

Sorry it's a little off. Instagram is not save-as friendly, and their embed function
can't be sized without a lot of angst. I don't need angst, so you get a screen shot. Sorry, MD.  

I love how she used the flower as the vertical element. 

The two runners-up are Linda:

Cute image, and you know I'm a sucker for blue & green. :) Did you see she popped up the book's spine? Nice!

And Patricia:

Love the mix of papers. 

Congratulations, ladies! Feel free to grab your badge from the CSSC Rules & Badges page, and display it proudly on your blog. You've earned it!

And Mary Dawn, please contact me (email in the right side bar), to claim your prize!

Note: I've updated the rules to include a statement that you must claim your prize within 10 days, or forfeit.

I'll be back on the first with a new sketch!

Thanks, again, for your support! xo

Hug Me

Once again, I'm not sleeping, so ... time to stamp! I keep collecting challenges to do, then I realize I just added one that has its sister at the beginning of my list, from last week, still not done. I might be a bit behind. But since they're still valid challenges, I can still do them, even if I can't link up. In my world it's not about the link-up so much as the challenge to do something different.

So surprise! I did two challenges that are actually current! I was heavily influenced by a recent stampy supply order I received, and one of the dies gave me an idea. Actually, it was this idea that convinced me I needed the die.

Here's my card, then I'll explain:

Oops, that green piece on the right is a bit feisty (crooked).

The die is from Simon Says Stamp (linked below), and it just screams "color challenge". I prefer sketches over color challenges, mostly because I have an aversion to certain colors, and I struggle to make it work. But this die - I am set!

The colors are from the current Nacho Average Challenge:

and the sketch is the current Less is More challenge:

I used the die as the diagonal (said Captain Obvious), even though both sides of the base above and below the diagonal are the same color. Hopefully I won't be disqualified.

After a few false starts, I stuck pieces of double-sided adhesive to the backs of my card stock remnants (anything that's at least 1/4 sheet of card stock in my world is not a "scrap"), then cut them out. I used one of the negatives from an earlier failed attempt as a guide to place the pieces.

Sentiment. I needed a sentiment.  For the FIRST TIME, I actually used my ink color swatch book to choose the ink color. I determined that the Hero Arts Grape Juice ink was a very close match to whatever that purplish mystery remnant card stock is (maybe SU Rich Razzleberry?). Then I hit up my "new and not used yet" bin and chose my new Hero Arts Stamp Your Own Cactus* stamp set and chose the Hug Me stamp. Perfect. And I think it goes nicely with that twisted graphic die, too.

Wow, two challenges done, and it's not even midnight yet. Who knows what else might come out of that craft room tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!

Update: This card won Top Nacho!

* I have resisted the succulent craze until now. I'm not a flower gal, and succulents are just flowers with different watering requirements. I'd still kill them. Now that every single company has at least one succulent set, I decided I'd choose one - ONE, and I took my time choosing. I finally just ordered and received the Hero Arts Build Your Own Cactus set. I like the larger size of the images, mostly. Well see if I ever use it again. 

Stuff I used: Remnants of yellow, purple and blue-green card stock, SU Very Vanilla card stock (I got confused - another color challenge has vanilla, but oh, well), Elizabeth Craft double-sided adhesive (but I've linked to the Sookwang/Be Creative sheets below), and the following:

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