Let's Trim the Tree for Challenge #104

Yes, it's Tree Trimming time again here at The Christmas Kickstart Challenge. 

A huge thank you to the very lovely Vicki for being our elfin muse for November. It was such fun teaming-up with you, Vicki, and I loved the card you made to Kickstart our challenge together!

Vicki picked a fun theme for our challenge and sixty cards made it into our gallery. Many thanks to everyone who joined the fun - it was so lovely to see all your antler-adorned creations. 

Our Top Picks for this challenge are:

#8 Laurel S

What a fun design!

#18 Margaret

This one rated high on the cute-ometer and no mistake!

#36 Meghan

We both fell hard for Meghan's reindeer! 

Guess who couldn't stop herself from clicking 'add to cart' for this set.😉

Our Winner and Star on the Tree for this week is:

#46 Linda

Neither of us could resist Linda's reindeer slippers and festive PJs. If you take a peek over on Linda's blog you'll see she also made a unicorn version of this card!

Congratulations to our winners, I hope you'll enjoy flaunting your blog badges for all the world to see!

Here's Rudolph with his Random Raffle Draw WINNER...

 

#27 - Marina, It's you!

Congratulations, Marina, please email me a dottypudding (at) aol.com with your snail mail address so I can connect you with your prize. 

Once again, very many thanks to Vicki and to everyone who played our challenge. A new challenge is currently in progress and it's our traditional no frills, easy-peasy, Anything Goes for December!

Challenge #105 - If It's Christmassy, Link It Up!

 

Welcome back! It's December and nearly time for the Festivities to commence. As always in December, it's just me here at Kickstart HQ as we play...

Challenge #105 - If It's Christmassy, Link It Up!

Just make a Christmas card and link it up in the gallery. And if you're looking for inspiration why not look back across our gorgeous posts for all our Challenges in 2025. Our elves have truly done us proud this past year and no mistake.

Here's what I made to get our December party started:

If you've been following me here, or over at my blog, you may know I volunteer at a pet rescue near where I live. It's mainly cats that we work with, but dogs, rabbits, mice, ferrets, snakes, spiders, a polecat... We never turn anything away. The Rescue is always short of funds and so we've booked a stall at a local Christmas Fayre to try and raise some much needed cash. I've been making cards to sell on the stall, and other volunteers have made cat toys and other pet related loveliness. I thought I'd share some of my creations for you here...

I began to run short of Neenah Solar cardstock, so had to hatch a plan to make as many cards from the small amount of Neenah that I have left. The backgrounds are from another cardstock I had lurking in my stash. I just can't find any Neenah Solar anywhere here in the UK. Anyhooo, I'm hoping to get a few more cards made and packaged before the sale next week, so wish me luck!

We may not have an elf to keep us company this month, but we do have a rather lovely reindeer called Rudolph. Being the super-cool dude that he is, he has chosen Cooper from POD as our Random Raffle Prize this month. 

 

Here's hoping you'll come and join the fun!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #104 - Reminder

 

Don't the months simply speed by! Welcome back to the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where, this month, we are in the company of Elf Vicki Ruta.

 

Vicki created this adorable card to get us in the mood to craft! 

I love this card and so couldn't wait to steal some of Vicki's ideas for my inspired by creation.

I especially like Vicki's use of gorgeous glitter cardstock for the snow and her beautiful frame. I put the reindeer image centre-stage and gave them a glittery DP background to echo Vicki's starry sky. Thanks for the inspiration, Vicki; these seemingly small details have given my card a real lift. 

Rudolph has a cute prize for his Randon Raffle Draw and respectfully requests you check the Challenge Guidelines before entering. 

Both Vicki and I really hope you'll come and join the fun... Just Add Antlers to play long! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Let's Trim the Tree for Challenge #103

 

Hey there! Yes, it's Tree Trimming Time here at The Christmas Kickstart Challenge. Try saying that quickly, I dare you!

Our Elf for October was the lovely Loll from Stamping With Loll. Thanks so, so much Loll, it's been such fun having you as our guest and getting to know you backstage. 

Folk, if you're ever looking for inspiration I'd strongly suggest a trip over to Loll's beautiful blog as she is one seriously talented lady! 

Loll picked a great theme for us and we had a rather amazing ninety-one entries as we played:

Challenge #103 - Snow Alert!

You guys really created some stunning cards and Loll and I were blown away by the gallery for this challenge. Loll's short list for our Top Picks and Winner started at fourteen and mine was nearly twice that, but somehow we whittled it down. Doing the whittling was very, very tricky and I'm very grateful to Loll for her help with this. 

Our Top Picks for this challenge are:

#55 - Pauline and #69 - Pauline

It was so interesting to watch how Pauline developed this 

beautiful bauble design to create a whole range of fabulous cards. Just look at her drop-shadow.

#83 - Marcia

Marcia has created a whole street of cuteness! 

#87 - Cindy B

Such a joyful card!

Our Winner and Star on the Tree for this week is:

#37 - Crystal

We both love the colour palette Crystal used and her layering of pretty papers. 

Congratulations to you all, I hope you'll enjoy flaunting your blog badges for all the world to see!

Last, but not least here's Rudolph to announce the Winner of his Random Raffle Draw!  

 

# 12 Purple Princess Kathy K... It's you!

Congratulations, Kathy, please email me a dottypudding (at) aol.com with your snail mail address so I can connect you with your prize. 

Once again, many thanks to Loll, and also to everyone who played along with this challenge. There's a brand new challenge underway and yet another talented elf to inspire us with their work. Please drop by and join the fun! 

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #104 - Just Add Antlers!

 

I'm delighted welcome a new elf to our Challenge... Please say 'Hi' to the very talented Vicki Ruta!

"Hi everyone!
I have been a passionate paper crafter for around ten years, and this wonderful hobby continues to bring me so much joy and creativity. I love connecting with fellow crafters and sharing inspiration - especially through Instagram Hops, which I am completely addicted to!

My husband and I run a small business selling my handmade cards on our website and at local craft fairs. When I’m not crafting, I am filming videos for my YouTube channel or spending time with our two cats, Maggie and Twiggy, who are always close by in the craft room.

I am a huge Craft Roulette fan – I have completed 250 consecutive weekly cards, been a Guest Crafter twice, and even crafted live on World Card Making Day 2025!

By day, I am a Teaching Assistant, and crafting is my creative escape. My style is punny and playful - I love a good sentiment that makes people smile! Lawn Fawn features heavily in my projects, as their cheerful designs perfectly match my style.

I am thrilled to share my love of cardmaking with this wonderful community!"

Welcome, Vicki, it's great to have you as our elfin muse this month!

Here's the theme that Vicki has chosen for us...

Challenge #104 - Just Add Antlers!

Yes, it's time to Add Antlers to you cards! We think you can play this theme a few different ways and we'd love to see a deer or two,  or you can add antlers to anything you choose.

Here's what Vicki has made to get us started...

Anyone else squeal with delight when this card appeared? I know I did as it's completely adorable! Thanks so much, Vicki!

Here's what I created to get the party started. I do love this little IO girl and her fabulous headwear. It was so much fun to get her inked up for this challenge. 

Finally, here's our favourite reindeer dude, Rudolph, with his Random Raffle Prize for this month.

Vicki and I can't wait to see what you create for our challenge and really hope you'll share your Antler-ed cards with us this month!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #103 - Reminder

 

Welcome back, card fans, it's time for our Reminder here at The Christmas Kickstart Challenge. 

We're so lucky to have the lovely Loll as our Elf this month, she is one talented lady!

Our theme is:

Challenge #103 - Snow Alert!

Loll kindly created a second card to inspire us for our challenge, which I'm sure you'll all agree is beyond cute. Please head on over to Loll's blog to find out how she made this little beauty and to leave her some love.

And isn't it fun? I love it. If you've not already visited Loll's blog I really urge you to do so and take a look at this amazing card she's just made for the PB Challenge. 

Here's a quick reminder of Loll's first card for our challenge.

I really love this card and had so much fun spending time looking at all the gorgeous details. Loll's colouring is awesome and the scene is just perfectly balanced and put together, but I decided to steal her fabulous signature paint splashes and that great torn paper effect. here's the result:

Rudolph has another fun prize for this challenge and I'm delighted to see so many of you in the linky gallery thus far. Don't forget to read the challenge guidelines to be eligible for Rudolph's Random Raffle Prize!

Have fun, and both Loll and I hope you'll come and play along! 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter