Crafty Calendar Challenge ~ Christmas

This is my second post today, please scroll down to see my Allsorts Challenge DT post.

The December Crafty Calendar Challenge begins today with the theme 'Christmas'.  Our generous sponsors this month are All Dressed Up .

Our sponsors kindly gave the DT images to use and I chose 'Christmas Penguins'.  I coloured the image with Promarkers.  The patterned papers are from The Works.

The challenge runs until the 28th November.  Please hop over the the Crafty Calendar Challenge blog to see the beautiful cards the DT have made for inspiration.  

I am joining in the following challenges:

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #700 ~ Christmas

Moving Along With The Times Challenge #161 ~ Winter Animals

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge #336 ~ Festive Creatures

The Holly and Ivy Challenge # 153 ~ Anything Christmas Goes

Allsorts Challenge ~ Stitching - real or faux

It's my turn to host the Allsorts Challenge this week and I have chosen the theme 'Stitching ~ Real or Faux'.  As regular visitors to my blog know, I often add real stitching on my cards.  There are lots of ways to faux stitching too, stamps or dies with a stitched design or doodling stitching with a pen.  

I made this Hexagon Pop-up card for good friends of ours who celebrated 40 years of wedding bliss this year.  I made the box slightly deeper than previous cards I've made using this fold so I could fit in all the lines of text.  I used a Marianne Designs cross-stitch die for the holes, and the cross stitching was done with crochet cotton.  I used Memory Box circle and scalloped circle dies for matting and layering.  The patterned paper is from The Range.  

The card folds flat for posting. 

The DT have made lots of wonderful cards for inspiration, so please visit the Allsorts Challenge blog to see all their creations. 

Prizes this week come from AALL and Create who still have some fabulous bargain to be had, lots of stamps and stencils are half price or less but you need to be quick as the sale will be over very soon.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Double 'D' Challenge ~ Stripes and/or Dots

Cut it Up Challenge #292 ~ Use more than one Die

Crafty Gals Challenge #249 ~ Dots &/or Stripes

Double Trouble Paper Craftying Challenge #154 ~ Keep Calm and Stitch On

Christmas Tree

I chose quite a few Lavinia stamps for my recent birthday and I've finally found time to have a little play with a few of them. 

For this card I used 'Christmas Joy', stamps from the 'Seasonal Words' and 'Wild Hares Set Small' sets of stamps and well as my little 'Pipin'.  The tree was stamped with Versafine Clair 'Rain Forest' and I added a little brown ink to the trunk.  I used red, yellow and blue Posca pens to add the colour to the tree.  Pipin, the little hare and the Noel were stamped with Versafine Clair 'Nocture' and I added a little grey shading under the images to ground them.  The star was punched using gold glitter card.  The top right hand corner looked a bit bare, so I added three clear gems for a little added sparkle.

I am joining in the following challenges:

Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #153 ~ Anything Christmas Goes

Simon Says Monday Challenge ~ Trees

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #700 ~ Christmas

Allsorts Challenge ~ Colours of Winter

The theme of the Allsorts Challenge this week is 'Colours of Winter' and has been chosen by Sarah.  I always think of blues and white for winter, so this is what I decided to use on my card.

I've made a Corner Pop-Up card using patterned papers from The Works and navy blue card for the mats.  The sentiment is layered on a Sizzix die cut and I used a punch for the snowflakes.

Prizes this month are from our generous sponsor,  AALL and Create. They have some fabulous bargains and offers, lots of stamps and stencils are half price or less but you need to be quick as the sale will be over very soon.

The Allsorts DT have made some fabulous cards for inspirations, so please hop over to the challenge blog to see all their creations.

I am joining in the following challenge:

Rudolph Days November Challenge 

Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards Challenge ~ T is for Trees

Fab 'n' Funky # 584 ~ Blue Hues

HLS November Christmas Challenge

Crafty Catz #660 Anything Goes- optional twist Christmas or Winter

MTTCC #74 ~ Snowflakes Christmas cards

52 Christmas Card Throwdown November Challenge ~ Shaped Cards