SSC377 Christmas Mushrooms ~ The Magic of Winter

Hey-ho, and welcome to the first Sunday Stamp challenge of the new year!  Today I'll share what I put together for holiday cards.  I can't stand the hustle and bustle run-up to Christmas.  It steals my joy, so I always target creating New Year's cards instead.

When I was a kid, we had a beautiful hand-blown glass mushroom ornament on the tree. 

That memory led me down the path in search of the lucky Christmas mushroom. With either nature or good luck themes, Christmas mushrooms (fly agaric) under fir trees are associated with northern European (German) or Asian winter solstice celebrations, symbolizing luck for the coming year and the magic of winter.  Here's another interesting reference to Christmas mushrooms.

I tried to keep the card relatively simple since I had to make a bunch, and of course I didn't have the paper I wanted for the juniper berries.  Had to wait for an order from eBay to show up for a little bit of sparkle.  The inside sentiment for my card is, "Wishing you a magical New Year."

The mushroom in the background is a previously unshared wood blank I decorated last year with Sale-a-Bration goodies: Toadstool Garden DSP, Fresh Freesia Seam Binding, Purple Adhesive-Backed Sequins, plus Ladybug Trinkets.

This week's sketch is by Lisa.

Stamps: Terrific Toadstools, Christmas to Remember; Paper: Evening Evergreen, Basic Black, Whisper White, Toadstool Gardens DSP, 2022-24 In Color Glimmer Paper; Ink: Real Red, Gray Granite, Versamark; Accessories: White Embossing Powder, Subtle Embossing Folder, Christmas Greenery Dies, Die-Cut Machine, Dimensionals.

Falliday Fest 2024

I'm back with some more end-of-the-year Falliday Fest challenges.  It's been a few years since I partook in New Year's Eve stamping challenges, and it was relaxing to get back to creating for fun.

The Tastes of the Season

For the smells and tastes of the holidays, I chose my grandmother's gingerbread cookies.

Stamps: Gingerbread Man; Paper: Pretty in Pink, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler, Mint Macaron, Garden Green, Pecan Pie, Whisper White, Country Gingham DSP; Ink: Pecan Pie, Versamark; Accessories: Delightful Decorative Dots, White Embossing Powder, Gingerbread Man Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

Metal Foil Tape ATC

Combining the metal foil tape & ATC challenges, I basically followed along with this video to create the background. 

I grabbed some weird things to make texture, like a Pedro's bicycle cleaning tool and spiral-bound notebook.  The hardest part is to figure out what layers to put on top without covering up all the background interest.

Stamps: You're Amazing, Plane & Simple; Paper: Pecan Pie, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla Scraps; Ink: Cajun Craze, Pecan Pie; Accessories: Amuse Creative Candy Clear Sticker, Misc Embellishments from Stash, Sponge, Crystal Effects, Metal Aluminum Tape, Drywall Tape, Black Acrylic Paint, Art Anthology Dimensional Paint, Stylus, Garage Gears Dies, Die-Cutting Machine.

Geometric Christmas Wreath

Rather than masking a wreath area, I die-cut a wreath and used leaf and holly masks to color it.

Stamps: Traditional Labels; Paper: Real Red, Crumb Cake, Whisper White, Plaid Tidings DSP; Ink: Real Red, Old Olive, Garden Green, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Embellishments from 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar Kit, Blending Brushes, Holly Berry Builder Punch, Christmas Greenery Dies, Traditional Labels Dies, Layering Circles Dies.

Triple Z-Fold

Here's the PDF instructions to the fun fold.  When I try this fold again, I'll edit the instructions to make a 5-1/2" tall card.

Stamps: Turtle-y Awesome; Paper: Shaded Spruce, Basic Black, Whisper White, Turtle-y Cute DSP; Ink: Versamark; Accessories: Shades of Green Hexagons, White Embossing Powder, Turtle-y Awesome Dies, Spotlight on Nature Dies, 12 Days of Crafting Advent (postage die), Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.

Crafting Advent Calendar

Hey All, I got a chance to make some cards with 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar.  It was my first experience with a crafting advent calendar, and it was pretty fun to get a surprise every day.

HCE15 ~ Bring in the New Year with Fun Color

I used both stamps and stencils to create quarter panel of a Split 4 Technique card.  I also played along with an old challenge at Splitcoaststampers, Holiday Challenge Extravaganza HCE15, a color challenge.

Here's a screenshot of most of the product in the advent calendar.  I've got a bunch of cards in my future in order to put these goodies to use.

Stamps: 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar; Paper: Rose Red, Basic Black, Whisper White; Ink: Pretty in Pink, Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Gold Glitter Dots, Flirty Flamingo Baker's Twine, Blending Brushes.

Christmas Faux Shutter/Fractured Card

So I realized that the advent flower images could pass as poinsettias.  So on to SCS 2024 Falliday Fest challenge list.

Another demonstrator Terri Gaines used the flower petals for leaves as well, which was pretty clever.

Stamps: 12 Days of Crafting Advent Calendar, TE All Together - Christmas; Paper: Evening Evergreen, Basic Black, Whisper White, Painted Christmas DSP; Ink: Evening Evergreen, Poppy Parade, Real Red, Versamark; Accessories: Gold Glitter Dots, White Embossing Powder, Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.

SSC376 Poppin' By

Hello!  And welcome back to another Sunday Stamps challenge.  Did you guys see the Poppin' By bundle on the Last Chance list?  What a fun little set!

I've been using up old scraps on recent cards, including die-cutting some colored watercolor paper for the popcorn kernels on this card.  Always fun to create new art out of some old stuff.  Speaking of Last Chance, Mr. Brown delivered the perfect embellishment, clearance Starburst Sequins, just in time for this card.

The kiddo and I went to the movies to see Wicked for Good, so this card was perfect for the occasion.

Our sketch for this round's extended challenge (running through 1/9) is by Melissa.

Stamps: Poppin' By; Paper: Lemon Lolly, Real Red, Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Watercolor Paper, Modern Medley DSP;  Ink: Daffodil Delight, Crushed Curry, Real Red, Memento Tuxedo Black; Accessories: Starburst Sequins, Mini Sequin Trim, Sponge Dauber, Banner Punch, Poppin' By Dies, Spotlight on Nature Dies, Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.

SSC375 The Mountains are Calling...

Welcome to another Sunday Stamps color challenge!  I've been doing some hiking in the Catskills lately, so I've got some snowy mountains on my mind.

Starting with the colors, I looked through my patterned paper to find something that might fit the bill.

Ha, most of my card is brought together using scraps and other tossed aside pieces, so that's pretty cool!

For inspiration, here's a shot I took from Sherrill Mountain about a week ago.

I hope you'll join us using this week's color combination!

Stamps: Above It All; Paper: Bubble Bath, Blueberry Bushel, Basic Gray, Whisper White, Bright & Beautiful DSP; Ink: Bubble Bath, Basic Gray; Accessories: Purple Sequins, Blending Brush, Banner Punch, Stapler, Greatest Journey Dies, Forever Forest Dies, Above It All Dies, Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.

SSC374 Snowy Wonder

Hi All!  Welcome to another Sunday Stamps challenge.  Guys, my REI catalog had some fun paper on the backside!  I bet I could use that for a card.

I'm only about a year late on this cute set, Snowy Wonder.  I didn't have the coordinating dies, and then happy incident, I opened the unused stamp case and found them inside!  Joyful!!  My main image layout was CASE'd from Laura Milligan.

ETA: I was looking for a place to tuck the rest of the REI paper, and I found the DSP from this bundle too, unopened.  Wow, not like me, but it's like found mad money!

Here's this week's sketch by Laurie.

Stamps: Snowy Wonder; Paper: Evening Evergreen, Cloud Cover, Whisper White, REI Catalog; Ink: Poppy Parade, Shaded Spruce, Evening Evergreen, Cloud Cover, Pecan Pie; Accessories: Pinewood Planks EF, Angled Tag Topper Punch, Snowy Wonder Dies, Stitched Shapes Dies, 3" Circle Die, Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.

SSC373/SSC372 Christmas Traditions ~ Merry & Bright

Hi All!  Welcome to another Sunday Stamps challenge.  I signed up for Stampin' Up's Traditions of Christmas craft class on Facebook to get some creative juices flowing, and *spoiler alert*, I flipped one of the cards to match this week's sketch.

This was also my shoebox project for the NEPA shoebox swap.

Here's this week's sketch by Heather, in addition to the previous color challenge.

Stamps: Christmas Greenery, Traditional Labels; Old Olive, Secret Sea, Pool Party, Whisper White, Traditions of Christmas DSP, Gold Foil; Ink: Old Olive, Secret Sea, Pool Party Stampin' Blends; Accessories: Opal Rounds, Wink of Stella, Blender Pen, Christmas Greenery Dies, Traditional Labels Dies, Die-Cutting Machine, Dimensionals.