The Holidays are Upon Us!

WOW! This year is just blowing right along! I refuse to decorate for Christmas until after December 1 because I leave my decorations up through New Year's Day. If I put them up too early,  I'll want to take everything down before Christmas! I have a week to get in the festive spirit and get my house arranged and ready for decorating. I just can't seem to get in the spirit this year! Yeah, I know...BAH Humbug!

There's a new challenge on the Cupcake Inspirations blog and the theme is The Holidays! Our sponsor for this challenge is Sparkle and Sprinkle and they are generously offering a $15 gift certificate to shop in their online store.

I used the Three Wise Men digital stamp from Sparkle and Sprinkle on my art journal page.

I designed my layout in Photoshop Elements and printed on mixed media paper.

I got out my Gel Press and some Dylusions paints and sprays to create the art journal background and added some interest with the Tapestry masking stencil from the Club Scrap Tapestry page kit.

The images were colored with Prismacolor colored pencils, fussy cut and added to the layout with foam tape. A little Stickles glitter glue and gems were added for sparkle.

Click HERE to check out what the rest of the Design Sweeties have created and link up your creation for a chance to win!

I'll look for you in the gallery!

SUPPLIES LIST:

Below you can find a list with all the products used today! Links to multiple online shops are available, just click the logo below each item. Affiliate links used where possible at no extra cost to you.

Gel Press 8 x 10 REUSABLE GEL... [ SSS ] Me and My Big Ideas - Create 365... [ SBC ] Me and My Big Ideas - Create 365... [ SBC ] Canson? XL? 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" Mix Media... [ ART ] Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray WHITE... [ SSS | SBC ] Ranger - Dyan Reaveley - Dylusions -... [ ART | SSS | SBC ] Ranger Dylusions Paint AFTER MIDNIGHT... [ SSS | ART ] Ranger Stickles Glitter Glue: Diamond [ ART | SSS | SBC ]

CHALLENGES ENTERED:

• House of Cards November Challenge Gold and Pearl Accents or Colors
• Always Fun Challenges #86
• HIMCR # 380 Any Holiday!
• Crafty Cardmakers #223 Anything But a Card

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Christmas Cardinal

Wouldn't this make a fantastic Christmas card paired with some holiday sentiments?

[caption id="attachment_12806" align="alignnone" width="4873"] JFF Stamps Large Cardinal and Birch Trees[/caption]

I've picked a few sentiment stamp images from JFF Stamps for inspiration for future cards.

(Click images for direct links to the store.)

This one is just a beautiful quote and so comforting to those who have lost loved ones, especially during the holiday season.I encourage you to visit the store and check out the awesome selection of seasonal stamps and make some handmade cards to share this holiday season. Handmade cards...because no one displays an email on the mantle, shows off a tweet on the refrigerator or saves a Facebook post in a box of treasures!

P.S. The monthly challenge is still going strong! Link up your project for a chance to win a gift certificate from JFF Stamps!

I'll look for you at the linky party!

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Autumnal Sunshine

All the leaves are brown
And the sky is grey
I've been for a walk 
On a winter's day

                                                               "California Dreamin' "

Mother Nature seems to have skipped over fall and sent us right into winter...it is 28 degrees in central Louisiana this morning! I haven't even had a chance to enjoy the cool, sunny fall days that I love. I will be taking advantage of the warmer temps next week!

There's a new challenge up on the Southern Girls blog and the theme is to use inks or sprays. The sponsors for this challenge are Neat and Tangled and A Day for Daisies . Each company is generously offering gift certificates to our randomly chosen winners, so be sure to link up your inky creations for a chance to win!

I created an autumn themed art journal layout for my design team project. I found a quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne that sums up exactly how I feel on beautiful fall days!



I used three digital images from A Day for Daisies in my design, A Barrel of Blossoms,  Catching Leaves, and Joy. I love the versatility of using digital images in my designs! I created my design in Photoshop Elements, printed on mixed media paper, and used Gansai Tambi watercolors, distress inks and Prismacolor pencils to color the images.

I can think of so many fun techniques with inks and sprays, but I chose simplicity for this project.  I added some background spatters with an OLD bottle of metallic copper Memories Mist. I haven't used it in years and it still works! The spray mechanism was clogged, so I just took it off and used it to flick droplets onto the background. I also added some water droplets to lift some of the distress ink from the background for added interest. All of the different mediums worked well together. I even blended the colored pencils with Gamsol and didn't get any lifting from the watercolors or distress inks. This is definitely a combination I'll use again! 

Be sure to visit the Southern Girls blog for more inspiration from the Design Team and link up your "inked and sprayed" creation for a chance to win one of our prizes or be one of the Southern Girls' top 5!

I'll look for you in the gallery! 

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Shades of Brown

There's a new challenge on the Cupcake Inspirations blog and it's a color theme!



Our sponsor for this challenge is Poppy Stamps  and they are generously offering a $20 gift certificate to our randomly chosen winner. Link up your project and share our inspiration photo for a chance to win!



Brown is not my favorite color...UNLESS, it's spiced it up with some bold colors or patterns!



Each month Club Scrap hosts monthly challenges on their Facebook group page. The Idea Deck Challenge for November 2018 is the Ace of Clubs. The Club Scrap® Page Formulas are such great tools when I need a little inspiration! Club Scrap originally sold these as a deck of cards with the cutting and assembly instructions listed on the back of each card. Now they are sold as printable .pdf files.



I used the Ace of Clubs card from ALCM Idea Deck Volume 2 to create my set of gate fold cards.  I love that the only thing I have to think about is picking out stamp  images and complementary card stock!



Card #1 



I used card stock, stamp images and embellishments from the new Club Scrap Gone Wild page kit. I needed some type of closure for the gate fold, so I dressed up a gold paper clip from my stash with some of the ribbon from the kit and tied on the tiny bronze binoculars.



Card #2 



This card features Gone Wild stamp images and a cut apart from the page kit. I made the tiger cut apart into a decorative belly band closure.



Card #3 



The lion stamp image needed a little something, so I added some Stickles to make his eyes glow!



I used matching brads from my stash and waxed linen thread to create a tie closure for this card. The bronze giraffe dangles from the end that unwinds.



Card #4



I used more Gone Wild cut aparts for this card. I trimmed the giraffe image to fit the blue panel and fussy cut the sentiment cut apart for interest. I made a simple belly band from one of the scraps I had left and added some Stickles for bling.



Click HERE to see what the rest of the Design Sweeties have created for this challenge and link up your "shades of brown" creation for a chance to win!

I'll look for you in our gallery!

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