Double D Challenge: 10th Birthday Celebration

Hello friends!  The Double D Challenge is celebrating its 10th birthday!  I can hardly believe it.  I started with them on that very first day, then took a break somewhere in the middle, and I've been with them ever since.  I've always had the most fun with this challenge, and Darlene and Diane and the whole team are a treasure.  That's something to celebrate!

We have a pretty mood board for inspiration:

 

The DDs are giving away a nice prize to a random player.  Creative winners, as always, are by team vote.

I made a fun card inspired by the colors in the board, using a Penny Black stamp set and a pretty fabulous Cottage Cutz sentiment die.  You know what happens when The Scrapping Cottage has a sale -- one of their recent sales was 85% off -- that's when I indulge.

The stamps are all fussy cut and glued onto the arch, part of a play session with the PB Time to Celebrate set.  More to come from that play session later.  I cut an arch in the plaid, then fit a white arch into its center.  I'm always making an effort to avoid extra weight yet still have some of the dimension that sets a handmade card apart.

There's glitter on the "i" dot, the punched hearts, the candle flames, and the bees' wings.  I shaded the lower corner with green.

Come celebrate and play with us!  The team has some inspiring celebratory samples to share with you so I do hope you'll stop by the Double D blog and have a look.

Stay safe, stay well, and stay crafty in the new year.  Thank you for visiting!

Stamps:  Penny Black Time to Celebrate  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White, Stampin' Up Orchid Opulence (hearts), Memory Box Brioche designer paper  Ink:  Various Stampin' Up, Memento Tuxedo Black  Coloring:  Copics, ink blending with brushes  Other:  Cottage Cutz Fifties Phrases #1, Spellbinders Essential Arches, Diamond Stickles, Stampin' Up 3 in 1 heart punch

Vintage Rose

Hello there.  I've been a little off kilter recently, but today I'm treating myself to a visit with you, my crafty friends.  I have a card I made before Christmas, but didn't take the time to photograph and post.  Maybe I can get back on track now.  I was fiddling around with designer paper and the split front technique.  I added the band along the edge and it seemed to expand the design possibilities.  I do believe I'll be making more of these.

The patterned paper is an Amazon find via Pinterest ad from earlier this year.  I smudged the edges and sanded the paper to give it a timeworn look.  Untouched by time, however is the Penny Black Enchantingly flower.  I was testing out some new-to-me paper for Copic coloring and ink blending.  It's 100 lb Hammermill Premium Color Copy -- bright white and very smooth.  I love this paper and, let's get practical for a moment, the price point makes it all the more desirable.  Many of you are already using this particular Hammermill paper and know of its excellent quality.

I hope to see you again soon.  My apologies if I haven't been around to visit.  Things are just a little off here right now.  Please bear with me.

Happy new year to you!

Stamps:  Penny Black Enchantingly w/matching dies  Paper:  Hammermill 100 lb Premium, Bazzill hammered Herbal Garden Dark, designer paper from Amazon   Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Apricot Appeal for sentiment, Creamy Caramel to brush paper edges  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Impression Obsession For You die, copper nail heads 

Four Cards, Same Layout

Hi, friends!  Today I'm sharing the last four 2025 Christmas cards I've made and mailed.  I fell back on an old favorite go-to layout and I have to say it was wonderful fun!  Easy cards, nothing spectacular, just a little designer paper and simple dies.  It was liberating.

Lately I've enjoyed making basic card designs and setting them aside for future use.  I like today's design for its versatility -- change the size or orientation, dress it up any which way.  For the basic design I used Spellbinders Fluted Classic Rectangles and Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets.

First we have Spellbinders Conrad Cardinal and Penny Black's Joy Edger.  Love me some Conrad!  It's a first time use for him.  You can't see his eye because it's closed.  He's so cute!

Older dies were used for the next card -- Memory Box Bauble Snowflakes and a retired Stampin' Up sentiment die.

Another -- exactly the same as Card #2, but with different designer paper.

Finally, I had a paper-covered card base sitting in my spare parts for maybe 2 years.  I pulled it out and added the center parts from the same paper pack.  The extra paper changed the look quite a bit.  I featured a not-yet-used Cottage Cutz Deer Set and a rather funky branch from Tim Holtz Sizzix Holiday Greens, Mini.  The sentiment was die cut from one of the commercial cards we received from someone sometime.  Just a little bit of recycling.

Well, that was fun!  I'm ready to get back to non-Christmas cards now as I stamped a LOT of NBUS and bagged them up individually with potential fixin's for their cards.  I always get excited when the Christmas cards are finished!

Sharing here:

NBUS Challenge #81 -- My never before used schtuff today is Conrad Cardinal on the first card and the Cottage Cutz deer on the fourth card.

Take care and enjoy your weekend, however you choose to spend it!

Double D Challenge: Santa and/or Snowman

Hello!  Are you ready for Christmas and another Double D Challenge?  I'm fairly well settled in, but it was touch and go for a while there.  Every year I declare it will be different and it most definitely is different, but not necessarily in the way I'd hoped.  You know how it goes.

I'm still loving the fun of it, though, such as the smiles I get when looking at the mood board below.  Darlene has challenged us to show "Santas and/or Snowmen".  That's fun!  

The team votes on creative favorites, and there's a pretty little stencil for a random winner:

Snowmen don't have to be for Christmas, but I can't help but think of them that way.  It's a rare year that we get any snow at all here so my snowmen will have to live happily on my cards.  This is a Bugaboo digi stamp that's been printed and lounging in my digi box for I-don't-know-how-long.  I think this wintry crew made up into a pretty cute Christmas card!

I lightened before printing and then colored with Copics.  Added Diamond Stickles for sparkle.  Keeping it simple and fun.  Gee, I didn't even embellish.  Some die cut snowflakes would have been cute, tsk.  Nevertheless, I'm happy with it.  Sometimes I forget how much I love coloring.  There will be more in the future.

I'll finish up here and give you a chance to check out all the cute snowman and Santa samples at Double D.  I hope you'll have time to play along!

Take care and enjoy the rest of your holiday!

Stamps:  Bugaboo (out of business) Snowman Trio digital stamp  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 80 lb, Stampin' Up Ruby Red, stash designer paper  Ink:  Printer  Coloring:  Copics  Other:  Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangle Stacklets, Spellbinders Tinsel Time Sentiments, Diamond Stickles

Pine Bough

Hello again!  I've yet another die cut Christmas card today.  This Botanicuts Pine Bough is my only die set from The Greetery.  I've had it for more than a year and am just now using it for the first time.  I dressed the glittery swag with an oldie bow, added an oldie sentiment, and hung it on a bit of designer paper against an embossed background.  The embossing is much more 3D than it appears in the photo, tsk.

It may look a little messy here, but is pretty in real life.  I stippled with white acrylic paint, then added gold glitter.  Tucked in some gold glitter branches.  The bow is one of my first ever bow dies.  It's from Impression Obsession (out of business).  I cut two and turned one upside down and layered on top of the other.  It makes for a cute string bow.

I hope your Christmas is coming along nicely!  At this point I've done only minimal decorating.  Ridley had his neuter procedure on Tuesday and I'm trying to keep him somewhat quiet (ha!).  I don't want Ridley and Sophie to think it's not okay to play, but the two of them are like Clash of the Titans when they get wound up.  It's good exercise -- zooming around the backyard and then clashing together in an exaggerated rough and tumble when one catches the other.  I love the life they bring to our home!

Happy holidays!

Stamps:  Retired Stampin' Up sentiment  Paper:  Cougar Natural, miscellaneous colored scraps for die cuts, Memory Box Christmas Plaid designer paper  Ink:  Various Stampin' Up added to die cuts, SU Handsome Hunter for sentiment  Other:  The Greetery Botanicuts Pine Bough, Impression Obsession Large Bow, Spellbinders Classic Circles Small, Spellbinders Pinecones & Berries 3D embossing folder, sequins, white acrylic paint, Golden Rod Stickles

More Cocoa Mugs

Hello again!  I did say I was going to make more of the Spellbinders cocoa mugs, so today I have two of them.  First is the penguin.  Fun and easy with a patterned paper base I'd recently made and set aside.  It's simply a grid of squares.  It's not my favorite background ever, but it's crunch time and it was available.  On the image panel I stamped the sentiment and some pretty snowflakes from the coordinating Stay Snuggly sentiment set.

Next, is the reindeer with another sentiment from Stay Snuggly.  Papers are oldies from The Vast Hoard.  I thought I'd never get around to that deer-pattern piece, but it finally found a home.

That's all today, friends.  Things are shaping up.  Happy holidays!

Joy & Warmth

Hello there!  I believe I'm done making Christmas cards for this year, but it will take me the rest of the month to share the cards I've made.  That's plenty of festivity to see me through.  Today I'm spreading joy and warmth with Penny Black.

In the rush to finish Christmas cards it was easy to forget how restful watercoloring is for me.  This was done with Stampin' Up inks.  The background was brushed on after coloring, and I drew the border with a skinny gray marker.

In the end I decided to spray with sheer shimmer sparkle which doesn't show so much in the photo, but it's pretty amazing in real life.

I'll be sending my card to two challenges today:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge -- Anything goes or snow/snowmen.  Must use a PB product, of course.
NBUS Challenge #81 -- My never before used schtuff is the Penny Black Holly Berry Bird, a gift from a dear local friend.

 

My apologies if I'm not keeping up with visits and comments as I'd like.  Regular life stuff on top of Christmas can be a little much.  It will all smooth out soon.

Happy holidays!

Stamps:  Penny Black Holly Berry Bird, Joy & Warmth  Paper:  Fabriano Artistico Extra White 140 lb hot press watercolor,  Neenah white card base not visible  Ink:  Ranger Archival Watering Can for image, Jet Black for sentiment, various SU inks for watercoloring  Other:  Imagine Sheer Shimmer Sparkle Spray, white acrylic paint for eye dot

Double D Challenge: Christmas Wrappings

Hello, friends!  Thanksgiving is over and our sights turn to Christmas.  In my home it's more low-key these days, but the spirit and the young-at-heart delight is still evident.  At Double D we're enjoying "Christmas Wrappings" of all kinds -- bows, ribbons, tags, packages.  Even designer paper can become Christmas wrappings for our challenge.  Just have fun with it!

Creative winners are by team vote, and there's a fabulous prize for a random winner:

I went with an oldie but goodie die for this one.  It's an out of business Die-namites die called Hanging Presents.  It couldn't be easier and I suppose that's why I've used it many times over the years.

Cut in gold and hung on Christmas plaid, it makes for a festive card with little effort.  I placed the pop out pieces below each present with a couple more stars down by the sentiment.  I could have made a bunch of these, but I'm terrible about producing multiples... it just doesn't happen.

Do pop over and visit the team at our Christmas Wrappings Double D Challenge.  You'll love the samples and I hope you'll enjoy this theme as much as I did!

Happy holidays!