*Create It 3-Ways Instagram Hop*

 The December theme for the Create It 3-Ways Instagram Hop is "Winter Holidays".  I chose to play with some new to me Christmas stuff. I used the exact same (gorgeous) die on all three of  my cards...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up Basic Black Buckaroo Blue, unknown shimmer and silver
*Stamps:  Simon Says Stamp Christmas Blessings; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday; unknown

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne
*Dies:  Tutti Designs Snowflake Corner

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Pattern Paper Instagram Hop*

This month, the theme for the Pattern Paper Party Instagram Hop is Christmas.  As you all know, I fell in love with this new Stampin' Up! paper this year.  I paired the tree theme with a fun Sizzix embossing folder and some extra gold accents to finish it off.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Bazzill gold mirror

*Paper;  Stampin' Up! Modern Christmas

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Embossing:  Sizzix Christmas Tree Pattern

*Dies:  Waffle Flower Nesting Circles, Additional Circles; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Crushing Christmas Instagram Hop*

 The theme for December for the Crushing Christmas Instagram Hop is FREE STYLE... so no theme at all!

I used some of the snowflakes I had foiled a few wees ago with a simple die cut sentiment to make my card that I'm sharing with you today.

Card Info

*Stamps:  Alex Syberia Christmas Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Pinkfresh Studio Snowflakes; Alex Syberia Christmas Sentiments; MFT Stitched Rectangles

*Hot Foil Plate:  Pinkfresh Studio Snowflakes;
*Foil  Spellbinders

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*Challenges:  AAA#305; Inkspirational #357

*This or That Instagram Hop*

 All month long, we are playing with HOLIDAY TREATS or HOLIDAY DRINKS for the This or That Instagram Hop... once again, I have chosen holiday treats.  I went with a sparkly candy cane striped paper to start, added a shiny snowflake and a candycane topped with a bow.

Card Info

*Paper:  Michael's pack from ages ago

*Stamps:  Stampin' Up! Candy Cane Season; Penguin Palace Magical Christmas Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Stampin' Up! Real Red

*Punch:  Stampin' Up! Candy Cane

*Etc:  Stampin Up! Wonderful Snowflakes; ribbon from my stash

*Star Joy*

Just a random Christmas card for you today...  I was playing around with some items and this is what I came up with.  The JOY die is triple layered and I added the embossed panel to add a little interest to that layer.

All products used for this card happen to be Stampin' Up except the gold mirror cardstock... Real Red, Tidings & Trimmings, Joy Dies, Soft Waves

*AAA Colourful Challenge #23*

 What a wonderful colourboard for our last challenge of 2025 at AAA Colourful...  I can't wait to see how you are inspired by these colours!

I did something that I don't think I've ever done before... I used colour cardstock as my base for ink blending!  I used a pretty light blue colour and blended some other shades around the edges before running my panel through my Big Shot with an embossing folder.  The only thing I would change about this card would be to have masked off the sentiment before doing the ink spatter.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Spellbinders Cascade

*Stamps:  Penguin Palace Magical Christmas Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Tim Holtz Distress ink Peacock Feathers, Evergreen Bough

*Embossing:  Spellbinders Notched Corner Poinsettia

*Etc:  Kuretake Gamsai metallic watercolour paint

*Challenges:  AAA Colourful #23

*My Favorite Instagram Hop*

 This week on the My Favorite Instagram Hop, we are playing with our favourite thing to do in the snow.  To be honest, there's not much I enjoy doing in the snow (other than looking at it from inside) but I do love snowmen...  These little guys are technically snowballs, but I think they pass as snowmen!  

Card Info
*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Tidings of Christmas

*Stamps:  unknown red rubber (unknown and I don't remember!)

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Memento Tuxedo Black; Copics

*CASE It Instagram Hop*

 Hello friends... it's the last CASE It Hop for 2025 and I thought I would share my take on a card made by one of my Instagram Idols.  I absolutely LOVE the work that Cecile Ribon posts... She has an amazing eye for design!

Here are the cards that inspired me this month...

Cecile's cards are mini slimline cards with a band around the centre... the inside is a gift card holder.  I was inspired by the strip of paper and the die cut over it.  Instead of a slimline, I did a regular sized card.  Instead of clean lines, I did a little paper tearing along the sides of my panel (that I did not make in to a band). I also added a sentiment to my card and popped that front panel up with some foam adhesive.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Penny Black Christmas Wonderland; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*Addicted to CAS #298*

 It's time for the last challenge of 2025 at Addicted to CAS...

I am going to be so sad to leave my Christmas card making supplies in their containers instead of playing with this for every card I make...  I will still be making some Christmas cards throughout the year, but I really enjoy the time that I spend focussing only on Christmas cards.  

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black, unknown glitter

*Stamps:  MFT Christmas Wishes

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Impression Obsession Snowflakes; Small Snowflakes

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenge:  ATCAS #298

*Sending Sunshine Instagram Hop*

 Today, I am participating in the Sending Sunshine Instagram Hop.  Each month, we share cards of encouragement that we could send to someone who needs a little extra sunshine.   As I'm still deep in Christmas card mode, I made a Christmas card that might bring a little extra love to the person who gets it.  I used mirror cardstock for my light bulbs to make it extra cheery!

Card Info

*Cardstock:  assorted mirror carddstock:  Stampin' Up! Basic Black

*Stamps:  MFT Merry & Bright

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  MFT Christmas Lights

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*CAS on Friday #324*

 We are here today with the last challenge of 2025 with CAS on Friday...  you have a few weeks to play along with our SNOWFLAKE theme!

I used some super skinny glitter paper strips and some holographic cardstock to create my card for this challenge...

Card Info

*Cardstock;  Lawn Fawn Holographic, unknown silver sparkle

*Stamps:  MFT Christmas Wishes

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  unknown snowflake

*Embellishments:  Pinkfresh Studio Iridescent Clear Drops
*Challenges:  CAS on Friday #324

*Clean and Simple Instagram Hop*

 Hello and welcome to the first ever Clean and Simple Instagram Hop (CAS Instagram Hop for short!)

Each month, a group of creative friends will gather on Instagram to share a clean and simple card.  We have some guidelines for our cards, not no one is going to be too uptight about them!  Some of our guidelines are:
*minimal layers
*white space can be any colour
*minimal coverage of the card front
*keep elements close together
*use pattern paper, embossing, ink blending and bling sparingly

Many people don't realize that Clean and Simple is more than a card making style.. it's also a design style that has strict rules.

Anyway...  our theme for our first ever hop is SNOW

I created a rectangular space on my front panel with some low tack tape and I did a little ink blending to create a little more interest for my card.  I did some shading, making it darkest at the bottom, blending lighter and lighter as I got to the top of my rectangle.  I did a simple die cut JOY using a snowflake for the O and added a bold stamped sentiment to finish it off.

Card Info

*Stamps:  MFT Filled With Joy
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Salty Ocean

*Dies:  MFT Filled With Joy

*This or That Instagram Hop*

 For the month of December, the This or That Instagram Hop has one theme...  Holiday Treats or Holiday Drinks.  My card this week looks an awful lot like one someone else shared last week (but I made it before I saw hers).  I used this fabulous sugar cookie embossing folder from Simon Says Stamp and highlighted the raised icing with some white ink.  

Card Info

*Cardstock: Stampin' Up! Crumb Cake

*Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Merry Messages

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Hero Arts Unicorn Pigment Ink

*Embossing:  Simon Says Stamp Christmas Cookies

*Embellishments:  Glossy Accents

*White on White Instagram Hop*

 We have a Christmas theme for the White on White Instagram Hop this month...  I played with my Spellbinders Glimmer and some white foil on white cardstock and fell in instant love with the panel I created.  to make the word JOY stand out, I cut three pieces and layered them up.  I managed a true white on white card this time!  No extra colour!

Card Info

*Dies:  Hero Arts Joy

*Hot Foil Plate:  Spellbinders Pine Sprays

*Foil:  Spellbinders Opal

*Challenges:  AAA#305

*CAS Colours & Sketches #575*

 As is our tradition at CAS Colours and Sketches, our last challenge of the year runs for an entire month... and you get to go back to any of our challenges this past year and make a seasonal card!

I might have cheated a little bit, as I chose one of my own sketches...  sketch #568.

I had fun with some different foiled elements to make my card...

Card Info

*Cardstock:  assorted foil/mirror cardstock

*Stamps:  Concord & 9th Winter Greenery

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Stampin' Up! Sounds of the Season

*Hot Foil Plate:  Spellbinders Plaid Tidings

*Hot Foil:  Spellbinders Red

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Challenges:  CAS Colours & Sketches #575

*Atlantic Hearts Sketch #659*

 A week in to December and I have a pretty good handle on my Christmas preparations.  The only package I need to get in the mail will be sent this afternoon, the baking is about half done, the Christmas cards are in the process of being written (the envelopes are addressed), the house is decorated...  I still have some shopping and wrapping to do, but I'll get there (I always do).

Today I am sharing a card following the new sketch at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenges... I used texture and pattern to turn the sketch in to a mostly white on white card.

First, the sketch...

And here's my take on the sketch...

Card Info

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Pinkfresh Studio Snowflakes; Stampin' Up! Banners; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday; MFT Stitched Rectangles

*Embossing:  Simon Says Stamp Faceted Snowflakes

*Hot Foil Plate:  Pinkfresh Studio Snowflakes

*Foil:  Spellbinders holographic

*Challenges:  Atlantic Hearts Sketch #659

*This or That Instagram Hop*

 For the entire month of December, the choice on the This or That Instagram Hop is Holiday Treats or Holiday Drinks.  This will be a tough one for me as I don't have a lot of food or drink stamps... I think most of mine will be Holiday Treats... or at least todays is!

Card Info

*Stamps:  Lawn Fawn Simply Celebrate Winter; The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Versafine Clair Nocturne; Copics

*Dies:  Lawn Fawn Simply Celebrate Winter

*Embossing:  Spellbinders Peppermint Stripes

*Embellishments:  Liquid Pearls

*Time Out Challenges#303*

 Today we start the last challenge of 2025 at Time Out Challenges.  We will be back in the new year to hopefully inspired your creativity!

We have an awesome photo challenge for this last challenge... be sure to tell us in your post how you were inspired by the photo below.

I find photo inspiration challenges difficult... but here's my tip for how I approached this one.  I looked at the photo as individual elements...  colours, locations, shapes... so I was inspired by the red and gold I saw in the photo as well as these friends together making memories.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler

*Stamps:  Concord & 9th Winter Greenery; Mama Elephant Merry Greetings
*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne; Gina K Cherry Red and Grass Green

*Stencils:  Concord & 9th Winter Greenery

*Foil Plate:  Spellbinders Plaid Tidings

*Foil:  Spellbinders gold

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*Challenges:  Time Out #303

*Mini Slimline Instagram Hop*

 Hello creative friends... it's time for the Mini Slimline Instagram Hop!  Each month, a group of my creative friends join me in sharing a mini slimline card.  There are no rules other than the card has to be a mini slimline.

Of course, I am sharing another Christmas card today (it is going to be SO hard to get out of Christmas card mode!).  I used a new to me die set to create my card for today.

Card Info

*Cardstock:  Stampin' Up! Cherry Cobbler; Bazzill gold mirror

*Paper:  Stampin' Up! Tidings of Christmas

*Stamps:  The Ton Easy Expressions Holiday

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Spellbinders Vintage Layered Ornaments; The Ton Easy Expressions Holidays

*Challenges:  Addicted to Stamps & More #507

*{BYSHC} Sketch #64*

 Happy December, creative friends!  I am in SHOCK that we are flipping the page on to the last month of 2025!  

A new month means a new sketch at Build Your Stash Holiday Card Makers...

I chose some papers from one paper pack... the easiest way to make sure they all go together!  I like to try to choose two papers that have a white base and two that are a colourful base.

Card Info

*Cardstock  Stampin' Up! Granny Apple Green

*Paper:  American Crafts

*Stamps:  Penguin Palace Magical Christmas Sentiments

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Penguin Palace Magical Christmas Sentiments

*Tools:  Perfect Layers

*Etc:  foam adhesive

*Challenges:  BYSHCardmakers #64