Queen & Co. January 2023 Sketch Challenge

Queen & Co. released new sketches earlier this month, along with a challenge to use one of them, or an older sketch, to create and share a card based on the chosen sketch. I went with Sketch #116, but I used "peasant paper" (non-Queen brand paper as nicknamed by other Queen & Co. fans, not sure who started it).  I thought I might make multiple cards, and I wouldn't have enough of the Queen & Co. paper to do multiple cards. The papers that I used were bought quite awhile ago at Tuesday Morning. The pink plaid is from Rocky Mountain Scrapbook Co., the teal ombre is from Pink Paislee (the B side), and the remaining papers were from a sheet of cut aparts by Simple Stories. The tiny hearts paper was the B side, the other designs were cut from the various cut apart cards of the A side of that paper. I used no plain card stock. I embellished with Queen & Co. enamel dots, and I used the Foundation dies suggested on the sketch.

Scrappy Tails A7 Storefront Pop Up Card

Years ago, I received a card that was like a box card, which I knew how to make, but which popped up instantly as soon as I took it out of the envelope. I never did figure out how to make it, since I would have had to destroy the card to see how it was done, and it was too nice to tear apart.

When I saw this design from Scrappy Tails, I was delighted. My daughter came to visit for Christmas and New Year's, so we each made a house. The one on the right is hers, and the one on the left is mine.

I didn't have the right sized rubber bands, and I couldn't find any to buy that were 4 inches (diameter), so when I didn't hear back from Scrappy Tails about where to find the necessary rubber bands, we improvised by using thin elastic cord which we cut and tied the right length, to make our own. It worked well, possibly better than the rubber bands.

We also used a couple of dies from other house card die sets. The bird and bird bath are from another set. Also, I used my Silhouette to cut the topiaries on the back. The house on the left in both photos is mine, the one on the right is my daughter's version.

Christmas Cards 2021 and 2022

I never posted Christmas cards for either 2021 or 2022. First, the 2021 card, which used really old papers from my stash, and a Silhouette cutting file. I didn't make many. It was too time consuming.

I designed this 2022 Christmas card for a friend who wanted to make Christmas cards, but she had never done it before. I really love the design. I used an older embossing folder, and a die and a stamp from Heartfelt Creations (discontinued).

2PeasRefugees Mock Hero Arts Christmas Circles

Apparently the November Monthly Hero Arts kit was listed as sold out within 24 hours of being posted. On the TwoPeasRefugees site, Grammadee posted a picture and a link and wondered publicly if she could make something similar with what she already had. So I suggested a challenge for those of us who want to try. The top one with the deer was my version of a sample on the Hero Arts site, only I used Queen & Co. dies. I decided to do more of my own designs for the other two, and I like them better.

I realized after I made the three shown below, that I misjudged the probable size, but I was using a circle die that seemed to fit what wreath dies I had. It was a fun little challenge, regardless. I don't know if I'll add these to cards, turn them into ornaments, Christmas tags, use them on a scrapbook page, or what I'll do with them.

CARDtober Challenge 31 You Bought It, Now Use It

I only just got this Queen & Co. newly released shaker set on Friday. I started making a card with the kit this weekend, but DH and I went out for most of the day, and I got really sick from re-exposure to allergens. I finally finished the card today, the last day for submitting CARDtober challenges. Granted, I'm not on a team, so it doesn't count for points, but I got all 31 challenges done, the 4th year in a row that I have succeeded in doing them all.

CARDtober Challenge 30 Shape Square

 For this card, I had to use a rectangle. I used scraps and Queen & Co. dies, along with a few adhesive embellishments.

CARDtober Challenge 29 Choose Your Holiday and Use Scraps

I went with a birthday theme for this one, and this one definitely used scraps/old papers.