Hooked on Craft Challenge #13 - Winter Wonderland

Hello My Fair Ladies,

First of all, I want to express huge CONGRATULATIONS to Karen (the owner of Hooked on Craft) and her husband on the birth of their twins. They were blessed with one of each! Everyone is doing well. Good work, Karen!

Well, November has almost crept right by! Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas tree is up, the outside Christmas lights are twinkling tonight, and I am so ready for a long winter's nap now that Thanksgiving is over!

How was your Thanksgiving? Ours was wonderful! The turkey was perfectly done and not all dry and nasty. My yam casserole was delish. This year, I added chopped dates to it and wow! Did it add a nice subtle flavor. It's weird, though as the dates must have dissolved as we couldn't find any pieces in the casserole at all. My homemade cranberry sauce was nice and refreshing. I always like to add dried fruit to it (even if they are rock hard). This year, I had some hard-as-rock blueberries which I added to the mix. By the time they were cooked and left to set for a couple of days, they were all plump again. The stuffing was a hit with DH as he loves my stuffing. It was a unanimous A+ dinner!

It's time again for a new challenge at Hooked on Craft Challenges. This time, the challenge is to create a card using a Winter Wonderland theme. Here are the details:

This challenge will run from November 28 to Dec. 10. This challenge may include snowmen, Christmas, penguins, cold things, blue, snowflakes, ice, snow - anything involving those cold Winter topics! You may incorporate it into your project in any way you wish. How fun is that? You're in the cat bird seat on this one, ladies! Go for it!

This challenge was right up my alley as Winter is my favorite season! I chose aqua, red, and white as my color scheme. I think it tuned out so well, too! What sayest thou?

Here is the front of my card:



For this panel, I used the delightful Snowman with Heart Buttons stamp from Hooked on Craft. I also used a Memory Box corner die, Magnolia Sweden Doo-hickey tag die set for the tag that is in the pocket. I colored the white mums a matching blue. Gotta love that you can recolor your flowers when you need to match them up! You can find the following products used on this panel at Hooked on Craft:

doily - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/embellishments/paper-lace-doylies/126mm-white-paper-lace-doylies-in-a-pack-25.html

red pearls - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/embellishments/self-adhesive-pearls/self-adhesive-red-pearls-pack-100.html

bird trinkey pin - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/embellishments/decorative-trinket-pins/garden-mix-trinket-pins/handmade-decorative-trinket-garden-mix-pins.html

snowflake charm - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/embellishments/metal-charms/10-pack-of-christmas-mix-of-metal-charms.html

snowman stamp - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/stamps/christmas/santa-snowmen/snowman-with-heart-buttons.html

large white rose - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/flowers-and-leaves/mulberry-paper-curly-roses/mulberry-paper-32mm-curly-roses/32mm-white-curly-mulberry-paper-roses-5-pack.html

red rosebuds - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/flowers-and-leaves/mulberry-paper-rosebuds/small-red-mulberry-paper-closed-rosebuds-20-pack.html

white holly leaves - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/flowers-and-leaves/mulberry-paper-leaves/white-holly-mulberry-paper-leaves-20-pack.html

white mum flowers - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/flowers-and-leaves/mulberry-paper-chrysanthemum-aster-flowers/15mm-white-mulberry-paper-chrysanthemum-aster-flowers-20-pack.html

This is the inside left of the card. i chose a paper line by Martha Stewart for this card. i liked this paper as the work was already done for me! LOL. The white areas are all nicely glittered during the paper production. I chose to repeat the same Memory Box corner die as I used on the front along with the red pearls and white mums. I also added teeny tiny gems to certain areas of the die cut to enhance the sparkle of my card. The red flower is from my stash.



You can find the following products at Hooked on Craft:

red pearls - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/embellishments/self-adhesive-pearls/self-adhesive-red-pearls-pack-100.html

white mum flowers - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/flowers-and-leaves/mulberry-paper-chrysanthemum-aster-flowers/15mm-white-mulberry-paper-chrysanthemum-aster-flowers-20-pack.html

Let's take a peek at the right side of my card. I like to leave this side blank so that the sender can write their own special message. For this side, I chose to use a Marianne Design Die for the center element. To the die cut, I added a blue piece that matches the background paper. I debated adding a white snowflake to the center of the bow but DH said he liked it better without. Think I should add a sweet white snowflake to the centerpoint of the bow? I finished it off with another corner die, teeny tiny gems, pearls, and flowers. Don't you just love that red and white snowflake ribbon?



The following items may be purchased at Hooked on Craft:

red pearls - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/embellishments/self-adhesive-pearls/self-adhesive-red-pearls-pack-100.html

white mum flowers - http://www.hookedoncraft.com/flowers-and-leaves/mulberry-paper-chrysanthemum-aster-flowers/15mm-white-mulberry-paper-chrysanthemum-aster-flowers-20-pack.html

Last, but not least, is a shot of the inside pages together.



Thank you so very, very much for stopping by! I hope I've provided a bit of inspiration for you so that you will participate in Challenge #13, Winter Wonderland. I can't wait to see your amazing creations!

XO,
Chris

I would like to enter this card into the following challeges:

Hooked on Craft Challenge #12 - Something Punched

Dearest Readers,

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today! Happy 11-11-11! What a fun date to be born on! It's also one of those great dates to be married on so your significant other won't forget your anniversary too easily! Was it a lucky day for you? It was a wonderful day for me! When you read this post, though, it won't be 11-11-11 as I'm writing early to post at a later date.

I have such a fun card to share with you. The challenge at Hooked on Craft for this fortnight is "Something Punched." You may include anything punched or diecut on your project. The project will run from November 14 until November 26. There are so many options for you to use as well as themes. The Design Team has created such wonderful projects for inspiration. What an array of colors and themes! I hope you will join in the challenge! As always, Karen has provided a wonderful prize for one lucky participant!

I'd like to share my inspirational card with you. I hope you like it. I had seen something similar on a blog a few years ago. Here is the link: http://istamp4u.blogspot.com/2008/10/halloween-card.html. I never forgot how that gal had made a pumpkin shaped card using her Nesties. I knew I had to make one, too! Because I am in the Northern Hemisphere, we're having Fall right now. I wanted to keep to the Fall theme because of the yummo leaves and flowers that Karen carries at Hooked on Craft. Here is my card:



Isn't that little duckling adorable? I thought his happy little image just matched the sentiment perfectly. You can find the duckling HERE.

I created the pumpkin shape by repeating a Nestabilities die cut three times, embossing each piece, positioning them so that they looked like a pumpkin shape, gluing them together, and cutting the base so they were even. I inked the edges to add some additional depth. Next, I drew the stem and vines, embossed the paper strips, cut them, inked them, and attached them into place. I then traced the shape onto a folded piece of cardstock to form the card base and attached the decorated pumpkin topper to the front of the folded card. Does this make sense? I didn't want the embossed pumpkin to be the front flap of the card. I wanted it to be the cover attached to the front flap.

Now comes the fun part! The embellishing of the pumpkin! I used the most amazing mulberry oak leaves from Hooked on Craft. I loved the Autumnal colors! You can find the Fall Mulberry Oak Leaves HERE. I also used two yellow Daffodils and an orange Tiger Lily. The little sunflower is from my stash.

Now to the inside! Here it is:



Because the challenge was to use something punched, I went die cut crazy! LOL The left side has an assortment of layered die cuts. The center flower is from my stash while the orange Tiger Lilies are from Hooked on Craft.

On the right side, I repeated the flower pattern and added an embossed die cut panel for a personal note. I used machine stitching around both decorative mats prior to embellishing.

I hope you like my little pumpkin. I had a great time making it! I couldn't have done it without the wonderful supplies from Hooked on Craft!

Have a wonderful week! I hope you will join in the challenge. I can't wait to see what you submit! Good luck gals!

XO,
Chris

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges: