December Card Chain Challenge Reveal

After a few months of absence, I joined the Card Chain Challenge again in December. But before I reveal the card I created, I want to wish everyone a magnificent 2026, filled with peace, joy and light.

My December card went to Tina in Slovenia. 

The December prompt was to use NBUS (Never Before Used Stuff), 3 favourite colours AND an animal OR a flower OR a fruit. My NBUS item is this 3D embossing folder by Simon Says Stamp, which I bought over a year ago but never used until now. The topper is from an older paper pack that I bought a few years ago. There's always something festive about the kraft, red and cream combo. I matted the topper with a panel of Crafter's Companion kraft cardstock. I wanted it a bit darker so I did some ink-blending using HA Cup o' Joe dye ink.

Please check out all of the cards that were exchanged in December at the Card Chain Challenge blog.
And there's still time to link up for the January challenge at 

I'm also linking up my card at:

NBUS

One more pink card

This card was really a case of serendipity. I had this pink smooshed panel in my UFO box and a pink oval while experimenting with a frame for my stencil cards in the first post of today's series. And then my eye fell on a tray of elements from a shaker card kit, with these cute polar bears on top of the pile.  All I needed to do was pop up the elements using thin foam tape and adding a sentiment (from an old Winnie & Walter set). 

I'm linking up my card at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas

SSS Wednesday - Clean and simple

Sparkles Christmas - #177 Non-traditional Christmas colours

Let it snow

This card was created using a very old heat-embossed and ink-blended panel from my UFO box. I paired it with some die-cut trees with gold paint splatters and a strip of gold glitter tape. The sentiment is by MFT and was heat-embossed in gold onto a scrap of watercolour card. I used the same gold paint (Kuretake Gansai Tambi) to add a frame around my panel.

I'm linking up my card at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas

Christmas Kickstart - #103 Snow alert

Snowflake stencil cards

Hello again. Earlier this year, I purchased a copy of Simply Cards & Papercrafts because I fell in love with the layering stencils that came with this issue. I love how these cards turned out. I also love that you get a different look if you use the same colours of ink in a different order. For these cards I used Catherine Pooler inks in Grapecrush, Sugared Lavender and It's a girl. The sentiment is from a set of sentiment stamps that also came with the magazine.

I'm linking up my cards at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas

SSS Wednesday - Clean and simple

Allsorts - Anything goes (top card)

ATSM - #504 Any occasion

Pink Christmas and Mixed Media

Hello again. Two years ago, I created these cards for the annual Pink Christmas prompts at Jingle Belles. I had intended to turn my remaining 4 panels into cards shortly afterwards. Instead, they disappeared in a drawer ... until now. I did not want to cover up too much of the backgrounds so I kept things simple.

I'm linking up my cards at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas

I'm linking up my 1st card at:

Sparkles Christmas - #177 Non-traditional Christmas colours

I'm linking up my 2nd card at:

ATSM - #504 Any occasion

3 for 1 Christmas stencil cards

Hello everyone. I had some fun with a new stencil a while ago and these panels were just perfect for the current challenge prompt at Jingle Belles. It's the the annual Pink Christmas, where Lauren and Stephanie will be donating $2 each to the US Breast Cancer Research Foundation for each card that is linked up this fortnight. This was a great incentive, as always, to actually sit down in my craft room and create/finish up some cards for my Christmas stash.

I started by using my stencil (Festive Background stencils, Katie Skilton) as an embossing folder using an embossing mat and some card shims, and then blended different colours of Catherine Pooler inks through the stencil onto the raised areas (card 1). I then spritzed the stencil with water to get the left-over ink on the stencil flowing and created a print on another card panel (card 2). There was still some ink left, so I created another print, which turned out very soft and muted (card 3).

I kept the rest of the design very simple with die-cut sentiments (Frames and sentiments, Katie Skilton on cards 1 and 2; Card Making Magic on card 3) and some vellum (ivory vellum on the first 2 cards and clear vellum on the 3rd panel. 

I'm linking up my cards at:

Jingle Belles - I'm dreaming of a PINK Christmas 

I'm linking up my 2nd card at:
Sparkles Christmas Challenge - #177 Non-traditional Christmas colours

I'm linking up my 3rd card at:
SSS Wednesday - Clean and Simple

Sketchy Christmas

Hello everyone. Today, I finally took some time to create a Christmas card AND post it right away. Yay me!

Today's card was inspired by this sketch on the Jingle Belles blog.

To create my layers without adding bulk, I used a NBUS snowflake stencil (Festive Backgrounds by Katie Skilton) and Pumice stone distress ink to create a soft background and added a torn strip of ivory vellum, that I have had like forever, for my horizontal band. I found an unopened pack of Memory cards by October Afternoon in my stash. I trimmed off a small strip at the top of this card and rounded the corners with my corner chomper, and paired it with this cute tag from a paper pack that I bought in the Netherlands a few years ago. To finish off my design, I added a Santa hat brad from the Eyelet Outlet and a sentiment strip from my UFO box (by SSS if I remember correctly).

I'm linking up my  card at:

Jingle Belles - 'Twas the sketch before Christmas

Allsorts - #829 Anything goes

SSS Wednesday - Quite quirky

NBUS - #77

Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge - #44

April 2025 Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Hello everyone. It's the 2nd of the month, which means it's time for the monthly Card Chain Challenge reveal.

This month, my card went to Imke in Germany.

I was really late creating and sending my card, so this little scene and sentiment seemed very appropriate. The white oval was in my UFO box. All of the other supplies are from an Alice in Wonderland themed card kit (Love from Lizi).

I went with the Rabbit theme option. I also followed the colour option of Chocolate, Orange and Slate very loosely, since the hearts are red rather than orange. The patterned paper caught my eye because of the slate blue diamond pattern.

Do pop over to the Card Chain Challenge blog to see all of the cards that were exchanged this month. And why not sign up for the May challenge? You still have a few days to join.

I'm also linking up my card at:

SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

March Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Hello everyone. It's the second of the month, which means it's time to reveal all of the cards that were exchanged in the Card Chain Challenge for March. And since I neglected to post last month's card, I will share it here as well.

My March card went to Gail in Canada.

As always, there were different inspiration options to choose from. This month, I went with the Theme options of Africa and Friendship. 

This card panel was in my UFO box, and it was just perfect for this month's theme option of Africa. The image stamps are by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, and I paired them with a sentiment from CAS-ual Fridays/Catherine Pooler.

I'm also linking up this card at:

SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

Allsorts - Anything goes

In February, my card went to Linda in Michigan, USA.

For this one, I used the Theme option of Hearts & Flowers and the Product/Technique option of Die cutting. I used a flower panel die from an older Tonic Card Kit to create a stencil and used that to stencil the design onto PTI rustic white cardstock. The sentiment stamp and die are from the same Tonic card kit.

Do check out the other cards that were exchanged in March and February at the Card Chain Challenge.

You have until the 6th of the month to sign up for the April Card Chain Challenge.

Two Christmas cards

Hello everyone. I have two new Christmas cards to share with you, one in traditional green, and one in pink. I do love to vary between traditional and non-traditional colours for my Christmas cards. How about you?

For my first card, I used my NBUS Ink & Flip stencil from Uniko (Layering Geometric Christmas Tree). I started by blending the light green, and then flipped the stencil to blend the darker green. There's also a background stencil in the set, but I have not used it yet. 

I'm linking up this card at:

Jingle Belles - Green Christmas

NBUS - #72

SSS Wednesday - Fun with stencils

For my second card, I started with a very old 12x12 paper and paired it with a few snowflakes from my UFO box (2 of them are by SSS, not sure about the 3rd on the right). The Christmas tree (Marianne Design) also came from my UFO box. I adhered 3 trees together and then decided I wanted to add a little shimmer. So I heat embossed it using Wanderlust embossing powder (WOW/Catherine Pooler).

I'm linking up this card at:

Allsorts - #819 Feminine

Christmas Kickstart - #96 Not the norm

Rudolph Days March - AG goes

CCC January 2025

I'm back with a card that I created for the January 2025 Card Chain Challenge, and it's time for the reveal today. I had to skip a few months but it feels good to join in again. This also goes to show that participating in the Card Chain Challenge is always optional. You don't have to commit to each and every month. You only sign up for the current month. So if you're still on the fence about joining, just give it a try and see how it works out. Just sayin'...

Anyway, this month my card went to Greta in the US.

I used the colour palette for my inspiration: walnut, lavender and jade.

To create my background, I first inked up the inside om my NBUS 3D embossing folder (SSS) with brown distress ink and coloured in the rest with Copic markers after the embossing. The gorgeous foiled greeting was a gift from one of the CCC participants last year.

Old and new

Hello and Happy New Year everyone.

I've been playing with my new Snowflake Stripe layering stencils that I snagged during the Black Friday sale at Simon Says Stamp. My order arrived just before Christmas, yay.

I did some simple ink blending with one colour of ink (It's a boy, Catherine Pooler), varying the intensity and paired the new stencils with a NBUS STAMPlorations/CUTplorations die that I bought over 2 years ago but never used before.

I'm linking up my card at:

Jingle Belles - Something old, something new

Allsorts - #814 Anything goes

ABC Christmas - A ... Anything Christmas goes

Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Jack Frost nipping at your nose

Peace on Earth - #79 AG Christmas

NBUS - #70

So0SS - #258 NBUS

Stencil Fun - January AG with a stencil (optional: Winter/Hello)

Polar Bear

This card came together quickly, using elements from my UFO box. I adhered the bottom of the bear directly onto my card base, but added thin foam tape behind the ears. I also added strips of thin foam tape behind the frame.

Bear: Festive Bear and Deer die set, Katie Skilton

Frame: Sue Wilson, Creative  Expressions
Sentiment strip: not sure of the brand as it was in my UFO box

I'm linking up my card at:

Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards - C ... Cute Christmas Critter

ABC Christmas - X for Xylophone (photo inspiration)

The Cutie Pie - #200 Special occasions

Christmas treats

Hello everyone. I have 2 cards to share that are similar in design but with the colours red and green switched around.

I started by randomly stamping the red candy canes (old Stamp of Approval collection, Catherine Pooler), onto white Neenah cardstock and then filling up the spaces with brown coffee cups (Verve Stamps) and green candies (Stamp of Approval collection), using Distress Oxide inks. I die cut the panels using a SSS stitched rectangle. 

For the sentiment topper, I used a Neat & Tangled stamp and die cut the circle using a Winnie & Walter die. The sentiment topper got lost against the busy background, so I decided to do some ink blending using Pumice Stone regular distress ink, and I love how that turned out.

I'm linking up my cards (left card for those challenges requesting only one card)  at:

Jingle Belles - Christmas feast (Christmas food and treats)

Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards - Change colours (day 8)

Make My Monday - #239 Food and/or drink

We Love Stamping - Christmas

Allsorts - #807 Anything goes (option: food and drink)

Blue Christmas shaker card

Hello everyone. Here's my second set of cards for Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards link-up.

Just like the previous cards, today's design was inspired by a card that Stephanie Severin created last year. I did not have time to finish and post my card for the recent CASE prompt at Jingle Belles, but here it is.

My inspiration was this monochromatic card by Stephanie.

The patterned paper I used was from the same paper pack as the PP on my previous card (Lisa Horton Scandi Christmas) that came with a UK crafting magazine (Papercraft Essentials 204). The background was stark white, so I antiqued it using Antique linen distress ink. Stephanie had sprayed her panel with clear sparkle spray, which inspired me to turn my cards into shaker cards with glitter snow and some sequins. I coloured my frame after die-cutting using 2 rectangle nesting dies (Creative Craft). The sentiment strip came from my UFO box.

I'm linking up my card at:

Beccy's Month of Holiday Cards - B ... for Blue 

Peace on Earth Christmas - #75 AG Christmas

SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

Allsorts - #805 Magic of the season

Christmas animals

Hello everyone. In Australia, the month of November has already begun, which means that Beccy's month of holiday cards linkup has started. It's always a great way to boost my Christmas card making.

This card was inspired by a recent challenge at Jingle Belles, where we were invited to CASE a card made by either Stephanie or Lauren. I was inspired by the card below that Stephanie created in 2023.

I pretty much copied her design, but changed the colour scheme, and opted for a horizontally striped pattern insteadnof the diagonal stripes. I also decided to stamp my sentiment on the middle panel and added gold peel-off stickers to add definition to my middle panel.

I'm linking up my cards at:

Beccy's month of holiday cards - A ... for animals

Jingle Belles - Animals

October Rudolph days - AG Christmas

Christmas piglet

I have one more card to share with you today. I found these strips of patterned paper (Studio Light) in the package with the papers and tags. I had cut them previously for a particular layout but couldn't remember what that layout was, so I decided to layer them and create a new design. I fussy-cut the jar with the pigles and popped it up using a scrap of cardstock behind it. I decided to use up a bunch of left-over stamped and die-cut sentiments (SSS) to finish off my card.

I'm linking up my card at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas (for the cure)

SSS Wednesday - Christmas

Allsorts - #803 Patterned Papers

Double embossing

Hello everyone. I used double embossing on this card. I first ran my panel through my die-cutting machine with a very old Cuttlebug EF (Swiss dots) and then ran it through again using this poinsettia  EF by Sizzix. I added some ink blending on the flowers and matted my panel with black before adhering it to my card base. I finished off my card with a stamped and die cut sentiment.

I'm linking up my card at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas (for the cure)

SSS Wednesday - Christmas

Aud Sentiments - #318 Embossing and/or fall + a sentiment

Warm winter wishes

Hello everyone. I'm back with another pink-inspired Christmas card.
For this one, I inked up the inside of my embossing folder (3D Cable Knit, Gemini) before running it with a panel of watercolour card through my die-cutting machine. I then rubbed a purple ink pad (Elderberry, Memento) over the raised part and along the edges.

 

I wrapped multi-coloured fibre from my stash around my panel before adhering it to my card base using double-sided foam. I stamped the sentiment (Festive fun sentiments, Katie Skilton) in the same elderberry ink, and die cut it using a circle die. I adhered it to a slightly larger circle that I inked up with the same ink and popped it up using foam tape.

I'm linking up my card at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas (for the cure)

SSS Wednesday - Christmas

ATSM - #479 Any occasion

Embossed Christmas trees

Hello everyone, I'm back with more pink deliciousness. I am so loving embossing folders right now as well as using up my UFO stash. For the cards below, I used previously smooshed panels from my UFO box, die cut them with a stitched panel die before running them through my die cutting machine with an old Cuttlebug embossing folder. I then rubbed over the embossed image with a Delicata gold ink pad. I finished them with sentiments (Simon Says Stamp) from my UFO box.

I'm linking up my cards at:

Jingle Belles - Pink Christmas (for the cure)
Stephanie and Lauren are donating $2 each
to the US Breast Cancer Research Foudation
for each card that is linked up this fortnight.

Allsorts - Anything goes

Aud Sentiments - #318 Embossing and/or Fall + a sentiment