The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #97 - Positively Poinsettias

Hi there, friends, no foolin' it's time for a brand new challenge here at The Christmas Kickstart Challenge! 

Before we get going I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who plays along with this challenge - I appreciate the 'Kickstart Community' so much and get so much joy from running this challenge, seeing your cards and getting to know you all. 

Our theme this month was chosen by our guest elf, and I think she's chosen a perennial favourite for us Christmas cardmakers. 

Please welcome the very talented Bobby from Bits and Pieces. If you've not visited Bobby's beautiful blog thus far I'd urge you to do so as it's a treasure trove of gorgeousness. This lady certainly knows what she's doing with card, inks, die cuts and pens. 

"Hi, I'm Bobby. I have been involved in a lot of different crafts through the years but the only ones that I still participate in are quilting and paper crafting, hence the title of my blog - Bits & Pieces - that I started in 2011.  My cardmaking style has evolved over the years as I continue to learn new techniques, follow challenge sites and serve on design teams.  The friendships I have made in the community have been an invaluable resource and bring me such joy.  Thanks, Jo, for letting me add another challenge and friend to my long list." 

The theme Bobby has chosen is...

Challenge #97 - Positively Poinsettias

We'd love to see a poinsettia or poinsettias on your cards for our April Challenge. Nice and simple, and so much scope for making gorgeous creations.

Here's what Bobby has made to inspire us all and get our challenge started:

Isn't this just magical? I'm completely blown away by everything about Bobby's card. You can find all the details about how she created this mini masterpiece by visiting her blog here. I've also seen the card Bobby has made for our Reminder... It's also truly jaw dropping!

Anyhooo, here's my card - it's hard to believe I'm playing the same theme as Bobby, but I am!

You can find out how I made my card by visiting my blog.

Rudolph's Random Raffle Prize for this month is a super cute set of Sizzix dies.

 

Please remember to read the Challenge Guidelines before you link up in order to be eligible to go into the draw for this prize. 

Bobby and I both hope that you'll come and play along with this fun challenge and we can't wait to see what you create!

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #96 - Reminder

 

We're in excellent company this month as our elf is none other than my dear friend, Arlene from A Bit of This and That...

 

We've had some gorgeous entries with stunning colour palette's thus far. It's interesting to see your colour choices when green, red and gold are off the menu, and it seems that pink is very popular with shades of green not far behind. You guys rock!

Arlene has very kindly created a brand new card for this Reminder. Don't you just love the snow dudes basking in the Winter sunlight. Such fun, and another great colour choice too. Thanks so much, Arlene. 

Here's a quick reminder of Arlene's first card for this challenge. I think her palette is just so pretty and harmonious, and I wish I had her eye for colour combos. 

Here's my 'Inspired by Arlene...' creation. This beautiful stamp called Darkroom Door Christmas Post has sat unused in my stash for ages, and after seeing Arlene's mail inspired card I knew it was time to ink it up and get stamping. 

The ink is clear embossed and gives a lovely sheen to the card. I left my colouring sparse to avoid making the design look too busy.

Rudolph is offering a sweet price again this month...

Please make sure you check the Challenge Guidelines before you enter so that Rudolph can include in the draw for his Random Rafflle Prize. 

So come and play along with Arlene and me: Step away from the traditional and see what you can create using a colour palette that's NOT the norm!

Let's Trim the Tree for Challenge #95

It's Tree Trimming Time once again. Comes around fast, doesn't it!

This month we were playing Fold it Fancy along with Leslie from Love to Scrap 2. Leslie is an absolute folding guru, so if you want to see how it's done I suggest you hop on over to her blog and take a look! Her work is stunning. Thanks so much for being our elfin inspiration this month, Leslie.

While we had fewer entries then usual this month, the cards were of a very high standard and there were so many beautiful fancy folds to choose from. A huge thank you to everyone who entered this month. 

Our Top Picks for this challenge are:

#4 Brenda B

Totally joyous!

#20 - Linda W

Linda refers to this as a 'basic ornament pop-up' while 

Leslie and I think it's anything but basic!

#17 - Meghan

So sweet!

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

#15 - Fabiola

Isn't this card totally adorable! And look how it fits in the envelope too. 

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

 

# 18 Craftysuze... It's you!

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

Once again, a big thank you to Leslie and to everyone who played along. There's a new challenge on offer and a brand new elf too, so please come and join the fun!

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #96 - Not the Norm!

I'm delighted to welcome back my dear friend Arlene from A Bit of This and That... as our elf for March. Thanks so much for coming to lead the fun, Arlene, it's always lovely to have you here at CKC.

So, this month we are asking you to step away from the RED, GREEN and GOLD and join us in a colour challenge where we pick colours that are...

Challenge #96 - Not the Norm

I have to tell you, Arlene and I had heaps of fun with this challenge and we hope you do too. This is what Arlene created:

Isn't this a beauty! I do love a postage-themed card and Arlene's colour palette is gorgeous. I can't wait to create an 'Inspired By' card for this one!

Here's my creation for our challenge:

I used three shades of Distress Oxide to colour a lovely embossed panel (thanks so much, Greta), and added an embossed teal Sizzix Noel die cut. 

Rudolph has a sweet prize for his Random Raffle this month. As always, he politely asks you to read the challenge guidelines before entering.

 

So, step away from the traditional Christmas colour palette and create your card with colours that are NOT the Norm. Arlene and I can't wait to see what you come up with for our challenge!

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #95 - Reminder

Welcome back to day #15 of our current challenge where we're asking you to grab your paper and card and...

Fold it Fancy!

I have lovely company for February as our elf is the Leslie from Love to Scrap 2 and she's someone who certainly knows how to create a beautiful fancy fold or two!

Here's a quick reminder of the stunning card Leslie created for our challenge launch post. 

You can find all the details about how Leslie made her card by clicking here.

Just look at all the fabulous mountain and valley folds Leslie created. What a fancy, fancy fold indeed! I love it.

For my inspired by... card I knew I wanted to grab Leslie's colour palette (so cozy) and use dimension and folds to create a scene. Here's what I came up with:

I had to add some blue Stampin' Up! paper to create the sky.

Dog with a stick!

Thanks for the inspiration, Leslie, I would never have made this card without seeing your card first! If you want to see how to create the folds for this card take a look here at Stamping Jill's fab tutorial. 

Rudolph has such a fun prize for his Random Raffle this month...

Please remember to read the Guidelines before signing-up in the Linky Gallery to ensure that you are eligible to go into the random draw for this prize.

A big thank you to everyone who has joined the challenge thus far - it's great to see so many of you in the Linky Gallery. If you're thinking of playing along please do; Leslie and I can't wait to see what YOU create!

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge #95 - Fold it Fancy!

It's the second of the month and so it must be time to launch a new challenge here at Christmas Kickstart...

We're in good company for February as our elf is the lovely Leslie from Love to Scrap 2.

Hi, I’m Leslie! Hubby and I have four grown kids and six grandkids, and we live in beautiful Colorado. We care for 15 rescued cats and added a little Forkie (Frenchie + Yorkie) girl to our tribe about a year ago. I began scrapbooking nearly 50 years ago – so long ago that all the fun papers and embellishments we use today hadn’t even been thought of. I’m a crafting junkie and really enjoy creating all things paper – handmade cards, 3-D projects, mini albums, gift bags, and paper shoes. I'm delighted to be Jo's 'Guest Elf' this month at the Christmas Kickstart Challenge! 

Thanks so much for agreeing to wear the elf hat this month, Leslie, it's great to have you here!

Our theme, chosen by Leslie, is:

Challenge #95 - Fold it Fancy!

We'd love to see your choice of fancy fold on a Christmas/Holiday card. 

Here's what Leslie has created to get your mojo movin', movin'! Somehow that sounded much better in my head, but hopefully you get the drift.

A stylish outside...

And just look at the folding MAGIC on the inside!

If you'd like to read all the details of how Leslie made her stunning card, please head over here and leave her some love. Leslie gives a great little tutorial on how she made her card. 

If someone says 'Fancy Fold' to me I immediately see it as a great opportunity to create an easel card. If you're like me and are more than a little fold-a-phobic, easel cards are a great way to start. Just do a quick Google search and pick a tutorial you like. I used Ardyth's easy to follow instructions here. 

You have to feel some sympathy for this guy. 

You can find all the details for this card and see my other fancy fold creation over on my blog.

Rudolph has such a fun prize for his Random Raffle this month...

Please remember to read the Guidelines before signing-up in the Linky Gallery to ensure that you are eligible to go into the random draw for this prize.

Leslie and I can't wait to see your fabulous fancy folds and look forward to you playing along in our challenge.