Happy Christmas!

It's time for a new challenge at Time Out! Time Out #278 opens today and runs through December 18th. This time it is a Photo Inspiration Challenge in celebration of December Holidays around the world. You can use all or anything from the photo, or you can create something that depicts any holiday that you celebrate at this time of year. Please tell us about your holiday in your post if it is not obvious in the your project.

Challenge #278

Here is an enlargement of the photo so that you can see the detail.

We are generously sponsored by Gina K. Designs with a $25.00 store credit as a prize for our challenge winner as chosen by our Design Team. Our challenge winner will also get an invitation to design with us for a future challenge.

We are joined by Verena Shapiro of simple_stamper on Instagram. Check out her fabulous Challenge Card on the Time Out Challenges Blog.

Mine is a Christmas Card in non traditional colors inspired by the Color Hues colors for December.

I used some NBUS here - the background stencil, word die, and my new Gina K. Fuse Foiling System to foil my Sentiment Strip. I am loving my Fuse!

 Please head on over to the Time Out Challenge Blog where you can see what Verena and the rest of the Design Team has created for your inspiration. Come play with us!

 

Project Details
Stamps/Dies	CZ Design Happy Christmas Dies Avery Elle Scalloped Pierced Rectangles
Cardstock	110lb. Neenah Solar Crest 80lb. Neenah Solar Crest SU Elegant Eggplant SSS Matte Silver Cardstock
Ink	DOX Inks: Shaded Lilac, Milled Lavender, Wilted Violet, Dusty Concord, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Mermaid Lagoon Lisa Horton Solid Gold Metallic Ink
Embellishments	Little Things by Lucy's Cards Deco Foil Transfer Sheets - Lilac
Other	Gina K. Fuse Foiling System CZ Design Reversed Christmas Sentiment Strips Spellbinders Platinum Plus Scor-Pal Score Board Fiskars 12" SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer My Sweet Petunia Precision Glue Press Scor-Pal Score Tape-1/8" Waffle Flower 1/16" Foam Strips

I'm also playing at:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #93

If It's Christmassy, Link It up

NBUS #69

Stencil, Sentiment Die, Fuse Foil System

Tic Tac Toe Challenge #261

Vertical Center Row

Poppystamps December Challenge - Anything But A Card

December has arrived, and I am thrilled to be guest designing for Poppystamps Monthly Challenge. The theme for December is "Anything But A Card". 

This one really took me out of my comfort zone, which I love. I started thinking about seasonal traditions as I was growing up. My mother had a magic about her that just made everything so special in a warm, wonderful and deeply loving way. She was creative in all things and she was a talented cook.  All holiday dinners were hosted by my family of 6, and our regulr guests for many years were My Aunt Gina and Uncle Pat. Oh how I loved them and miss them still. My sisters and I always had specific jobs in preparation of a feast like polishing the silverware, making the cornucopia, setting the table, making place cards... We certainly didn't need them, but they were always made. That was my job (much preferred to the silverware polishing), and to this day, I always make place cards for holiday dinners. So I took it a little further and decided to make little treat bags for each place at our Christmas table, and my project for this challenge was born.

I found directions on YouTube for making these adorable little bags from a 6x6 sheet of paper. Easy peasy. I used the gorgeous Memory Box Poinsettia Garland 6x6 Paper for the bags and some of the "clothing items" for snowman, bear and gnome. I dressed them all up in patterned paper and Copic colored "outfits" and placed them on Spellbinders Nestabilities die cut white ovals framed in gold. I put candies in the treat bags, then closed the up with SU ribbon. I popped the ovals up using foam tape on the outer edges of the ovals. Instead of putting names on the bags, I stamped and die cut various sentiments from Poppystamps Holiday Banners stamps and dies, popping them up with foam tape.

Please head on over to the Poppystamps Blog for all of the challenge details and to see what the incredibly talented Design Team has created for your inspiration! Come join us in the gallery. A winner will be chosen at random to win a $20 Gift Certificate to spend in the store!

Huge thanks to Lisa Elton for selecting me to guest design for this challenge, and to Jeanne Jachna for having me. What a wonderfully special way for me to start December.

Project Details
Stamps/Dies	Poppystamps Holiday Banners Stamps & Dies,  Nordic Dancing Gnome, Nordic Happy  Snowman, Nordic Bundled Bear
Cardstock	Memory Box Poinsettia Garland 6x6 Paper 80# Neenah Solar Crest Simon Says Stamp Matte Gold Cardstock Various SU Colored Cardstock Scraps
Ink	Copic Markers
Embellishments	Various SU 3/8" Doublestitched Ribbon (retired)
Other	Spellbinders Platinum Plus Scor-Pal Score Board Fiskars 12" SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer MISTI Stamping Tool My Sweet Petunia Precision Glue Press Scor-Pal Score Tape-1/4" 3M foam tape