CHNC challenge 55: use a digital image and/or paper

Big apology to anyone who looked at this post earlier this morning - I had to abandon preparing this last night because I was unwell, so, unfortunately, it went live this morning with the wrong information about the winner (it was last week's - I obviously intended to revise it. The correct information is here now.

It was lovely to see that so many of you are keeping your Christmas stash out and have started the year by getting ahead with your Christmas cards - thanks to everyone who entered last week's challenge. And it was good to see so many resourceful ideas for giving something recycled a new lease of life.


Before I get on to today's challenge, I need to let you know the winner of challenge 54. Unfortunately, there could only be one winner and this is the result of using random.org:

Number 12: Shaz in Oz

who shared lots of beautiful cards including these:

Congratulations, Shaz! Please email me so I can arrange for you to claim your choice of two sheets from Linnie's Whoopsi Daisy shop.

Challenge 55

For today's challenge I'm asking you to use a digital image and/or paper.

Today's challenge is being sponsored by Bugaboo Stamps:

The randomly chosen winner will be able to choose digital stamps to the value of $21

Everything That You Ever Wanted to Know About Bugaboo Stamps:

As if raising five children in the frozen land of the North was not enough of a challenge, Jodie Mackrell decided to dip her cold little Canadian toes into the world of papercrafting by opening an online store full of her illustrations. That was two years ago. Today Bugaboo Stamps is one of the leading companies in digital images, and we're still growing!  From seriously snarky to sugary sweet to sublimely soulful all the way over to the other side of the super sexy spectrum, you're bound to find all that you need and more to create your paper projects.  Jodie works very hard to provide New Releases and Freebies every week! If your taste runs to rubber, you can find Bugaboo Stamps  at Totally Stampalicious. And finally, join the Bugaboo Stamps DT   for weekly challenges at Catch the Bug. 

I made a set of five cards for this challenge using a lovely digi supplied by Bugaboo Stamps called 'Christmas words Noel'. I digitally coloured the image in Paint, adding strips of double sided tape on the sides, which was then glittered. You can read more about my card and the challenges I've entered it into on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here. 

Now it's over to you. As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please use a digital image or paper.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 20 January. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 21 January.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

CHNC challenge 54: give it a new lease of life!

I want to thank everyone who made last year such a success for my challenge blog. I do hope that you still have enthusiasm for making Christmas cards throughout the year - it's not too early to start now!

I hope you have made a resolution to make Christmas cards throughout the year to ease that sense of panic as it gets near to the end of the year and you realise that you need more Christmas cards. So please don't pack away your Christmas cardmaking supplies - keep them out to hand throughout the year. and get busy with those cards - joining in my challenges will help you achieve this.

Before I get on to today's challenge, I need to let you know the winner of my celebration candy from challenges 52 and 53. Unfortunately, there could only be one winner and this is the result of using random.org:

Number 25: Riliska

who shared this beautiful card:

Congratulations, Riliska! Please email me with your name and full address and I'll get the goodies sent off to you.

Challenge 54

For today's challenge I'm asking you to recycle something. It could well be that you've taken down your Christmas cards and have spotted a few bits and pieces that would be just right to incorporate into a new card. Or perhaps you had some wrapping paper, packaging, ribbon or wrappers from crackers that are too good to just put in the recycling rubbish bin. I'd like you to give someting a new lease of life and recycle it - use it on a new Christmas card.

Thanks to the generosity of so many sponsors coming on board to support my challenge blog, I am pleased to say that there will be a prize every week from now on!

Today's challenge is being sponsored by Whoopsi Daisy - the randomly-picked winner will receive their choice of two sheets from Linnie's Whoopsi Daisy shop.

Whoopsi Daisy Digi Stamps features all hand drawn images by the amazing Linnie

and specialises in cute images of children.

Whoopsi Daisy offers a great deal for your money.

Take a look at the

Whoopsi Daisy shop 

where you are certain to find awesome images which will fit all your creative needs.

For my card I used a piece of a Christmas cracker that I carefully rescued. The image is from Whoopsi Daisy sheet 264 - isn't it lovely? I actually won this as a prize from Whoopsi Daisy for taking part in one of their challenges. You can read more about my card and the challenges I've entered it into on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here. 

I'm adding another card that you can see on My Crafty Outlook here (the background is recycled wallpaper):

Now it's over to you. As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please give something a new lease of life - recycle something.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 13 January. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 14 January.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

I look forward to seeing your creations.

CHNC challenge 53: celebration candy continued

Thank you to all who linked for challenge 52 - and for some showing some more Christmas cards. Mr Linky will be left open until 10:00 pm UK time Friday 6 January 2012.  Even if you entered last week, you can add a further entry for this week's challenge - that will give you two chances to win the candy. If you didn't enter last week, then what are you waiting for?

The winner will receive a 10 card pack of dark green aperture cards, Anita's  snowflakes outline stickers, a Crafts-Too snowflake banner embossing folder, A Joanna Sheen Giordano studio stamp 'Love this Christmas', A Crafter's companion Humphrey's corner 'mistletoe kisses' stamp set, a pack of 48 die cut Christmas trees, Craftwork cards candi vintage berries gold and vintage berries silver:

Anyone can take part - I'm willing to post to anywhere in the world. The draw for the winner (randomly chosen using random.org) will take place after 10:00 pm UK time on Friday 6 January 2012.

All I ask is that you create a blog post and leave the link here and, if possible, also put my pink button in your sidebar, telling people that there is blog candy available.

If you'd like to also add a Christmas card to show, then that would be lovely - perhaps you made some that you didn't have time to blog - or perhaps you've already started making some for next Christmas!! But please don't add a card unless you are linking for the blog candy - please do both at the same time, with only one entry per person this week, please.


Here is my first Christmas card for the coming year - I made this the other day - you can read about it here on my regular crafting blog:

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Sponsorship news

Just look at the sidebar to see the many sponsors that are lined up for2012! I am so grateful to these wonderful people for being willing to donate prizes for my challenges. I now have seventeen sponsors. This means that there will be a prize every week for one randomly chosen winner.

The first sponsored challenge of 2012 will be on Saturday 7 January, when Whoopsi Daisy will be providing a prize - more details next week.

* * * * * * *

If you haven't yet become a follower, please do so. It has been encouraging to see more and more followers joining each week.

This blog candy is open to everyone, whether you've participated in my challenges during the year or whether you have just found my blog - please spread the word and perhaps we'll get even more entries during 2012. The success of the blog depends on YOU.

Just remember to:

Create a post about my blog candy (and perhaps add a link to your sidebar).
Show a Christmas card within that post if you wish to (you don't have to).
Add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears - or if you have any problem linking - please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.
Become a follower if you haven't already done so.

Don't put away your Christmas stash - please come back next Saturday 7 January at the usual time of 09:00 for a challenge sponsored by Whoopsi Daisy.

Happy New Year, everyone!

CHNC challenge 52: Happy Christmas!! Celebration Candy

I can hardly believe that I started this Christmas challenge blog on 1 January this year ... and here we are on Christmas Eve. Throughout the year, I have seen loads of fantastic Christmas cards - such a lot of creativity and inspiration. The blog has gone from strength to strength, which is just down to YOU for your support and participation. I was overwhelmed with the response for last week's challenge - during one of the busiest weeks of the year for most people, you managed to break the record for the most number of entries!!

I'm also so grateful to those who have sponsored the challenge - and the good news is that I now have fifteen sponsors lined up for 2012 - yes fifteen!! I'll give more details next Saturday. This means that instead of offering a prize just once a month, there will be a prize almost every week!!

So, what am I asking you to do this week? As a big THANK YOU for the success of this year on CHNC I'm going to give away some blog candy. The link for this will stay open until 10:00 pm UK time Friday 6 January 2012. The winner will receive a 10 card pack of dark green aperture cards, Anita's  snowflakes outline stickers, a Crafts-Too snowflake banner embossing folder, A Joanna Sheen Giordano studio stamp 'Love this Christmas', A Crafter's companion Humphrewy's cornder 'mistletoe kisses' stamp set, a pack of 48 die cut Christmas trees, Craftwork cards candi vintage berries gold and vintage berries silver:

Anyone can take part - I'm willing to post to anywhere in the world. The draw for the winner (randomly chosen using random.org) will take place after 10:00 pm UK time on Friday 6 January 2012.

All I ask is that you create a blog post and leave the link here and, if possible, also put my pink button in your sidebar, telling people that there is blog candy available.

If you'd like to also add a Christmas card to show, then that would be lovely - perhaps you made some that you didn't have time to blog! But please don't add a card unless you are linking for the blog candy - please do both at the same time, with only one entry per person this week, please.

These are a few quick cards I made last week, the first four using Basic Grey papers and the fifth one using Websters pages (more information on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here):

If you haven't yet become a follower, please do so. It has been encouraging to see more and more followers joining each week.

This blog candy is open to everyone, whether you've participated in my challenges during the year or whether you have just found my blog - please spread the word and perhaps we'll get even more entries during 2012. The success of the blog depends on YOU.

Just remember to:

Create a post about my blog candy (and perhaps add a link to your sidebar).
Show a Christmas card within that post if you wish to (you don't have to).
Add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears - or if you have any problem linking - please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.
Become a follower if you haven't already done so.

Please come back next Saturday at the usual time.

Happy Christmas, everyone!

CHNC challenge 51: anything goes for Christmas

Just over a week to go till Christmas Day, so I'm guessing that most of you have got all your cards made and posted? Well, I confess that, as I write this on Friday evening, I still have about half a dozen cards to make and get in the post tomorrow, which is the last day for second class post in the UK. And I still need to make a card for John (always gets left till last).

Once again, I've had a fun time this past week looking at all the wonderful entries for my 'traditional Christmas' challenge.

Now it's time for

Challenge 51

So I think that this week's challenge can only be 'anything goes', to give you the opportunity to show any of those last-minute cards that you are still making. Or perhaps you've made some recently, but not had time to blog and show them - now's the time to do so.


I've actually made a lot of cards in the last couple of weeks - I took photos of most of them, but haven't had time to blog them. I made two black and gold cards a few days ago and managed to get photos taken outside, but had to take them at strange angles because of the reflection on the gold mirror card.

And I made these yesterday:

You can read more about these cards on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here.

So now it's your turn to show me any Christmas cards that you've made and not yet blogged.


As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week  anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 23 December. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 24 December.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

I look forward to seeing your creations.

CHNC challenge 50: traditional Christmas

Well, another week has passed and we're one more big step nearer to Christmas Day ... only just over two weeks when this challenge goes live and probably less than that when you are reading this.

Thank you so much for all the entries for last week's challenge - as usual, I so enjoyed looking at them all, so creative and inspirational.

So now it's time to announce the winner of the prize for last week, randomly drawn - unfortunately, there can only be one winner and random.org has picked:

Number 38: Anne

with this lovely card:

Please email me and I'll arrange for you to choose your digis from our

generous sponsor, StretchNBubbles.

Now on to this week's challenge:

Challenge 50

For this week my challenge is traditional Christmas, whatever that means to you. You might want to concentrate on traditional colours or include 'traditional' items on your card - holly, Christmas tree, snowmen, snowflakes, festive food ... whatever you think of as traditional. The main thing is to get on and make those remaining Christmas cards. I so enjoy visiting your blogs and seeing what you have created, so please keep the cards coming. Perhaps we'll have another week of a bumper number of entries.

If by any chance (and I wish I could say this) you've finished all your Christmas cards for this year, why not make one for this challenge that can start you off for next year. I'm sure you've still got some Christmas papers, embellishments, stamps etc around you.

Here is my card - you can read more about it and the challenges I've entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here:

I've added some more traditional cards here on my regular blog.

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make a traditional Christmas card.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 16 December. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 17 December.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

CHNC challenge 49: mainly monochromatic - with a sponsored prize

Now it's December, we really are getting near to Christmas and it's time to crack on with the remainder of the cards that we need to send. I still need to make lots (a penalty for selling so many for charity ... I now need to make more for us to send!). I loved visiting the blogs last week and seeing all the gorgeous vintage and distressed creations that were linked up. And now it's time for another challenge:

Challenge 49

As this is the first Saturday in a new month, there will be a prize for the randomly drawn winner: StretchNBubbles are sponsoring me for this week's challenge 49. The winner will be able to choose 5 digital images from the fantastic range at StretchNBubbles - just click on the link and feast your eyes on the super images - you will not be disappointed! I am so grateful to Stretch N Bubbles for offering to sponsor my blog.

A little bit about Alison:

I really started “Scrapbooking/Card making” in 1996 when my dear friend Lisa Bearnson introduced to her new magazine Creating Keepsakes.. after that I was HOOKED!.. I do both scrapbooking and card making.. I have been published in many magazines, worked for Creating Keepsakes as a designer for products sold on QVC, and won many contests. I am the owner of Do You Stack Up?! Challenge blog, Free Digital Stamps blog, & Stretch N' Bubbles Digital Stamps blog/store. I quickly fell in love with the idea of digital stamps. Not having to find a spot to keep them,being able to get your product instantly, and buying one size fit's all.. I was on board! I have never taken an art class.. I just started doodling and putting them online. My free digital stamps within 2-3 days were getting 500 downloads, so I thought if there were that many people who liked my designs. I should start a little store.. and Stretch N' Bubbles was born.. Now you might ask yourself, how did you get the name Stretch N' Bubbles? Well my dad "poppie" gives all the grandchildren "magic names" and my son's magic name is Stretch, and yep you guessed it..my daughters magic name is "Bubbles".. so I put them together and came up with that name.. Thanks so much to all of you for helping support my dream..HUGS

*Alison*

stop by and check out my blogs..

Personal Blog HERE

Store HERE

Design Team HERE

For challenge 49 I'm asking you to think 'monochrome' - this doesn't mean your cards have to be black and white - although they can be if you wish - but one prominent colour that you use tone on tone. There can be a bit of flexibility, so you can use other colours sparingly if you wish as long as there is one dominant colour.

Stretch N Bubbles kindly gave me some lovely digital images to use for this challenge, so here is my first card made with '3 stockings' which I've simply coloured with a poppy promarker. You can read more about this card and the challenges I entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here:

I must be having a 'red and white' phase because I've now made six more cards that fit this challenge - you can read all about them on My Crafty Outlook:

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make a monochromatic or 'tone-on-tone' card (with limited addition of other colours if you wish) - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 9 December. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 10 December - and I'll reveal who the randomly chosen winner is for today's challenge.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this Christmas challenge blog - thank you.

I look forward to seeing your creations.

Exciting news about sponsorship

Not only do I have a new sponsor for today's challenge, but I have lots of new sponsors lined up for 2012 - in fact, I am going to be able to give prizes much more frequently than I have this year, thanks to the generosity of those coming on board.

CHNC challenge 48: vintage and/or distressed

It's a bit scary that we're up to challenge 48 today. With only 52 weeks in the year, this really emphasises how little time there is now to get those Christmas cards done. . There weren't so many entries for last week's challenge, so perhaps you've all been so good and made most of your Christmas cards by now - or perhaps 'music' wasn't everyone's 'cuppa tea'! I very much enjoyed dipping into the blog entries and seeing all the amazing cards - such creativity and variety.

Challenge 48

So here we are at challenge 48 and for this I'm asking you to make a card with a vintage style and/or distressed. At this stage of the year the idea is to get those remaining Christmas cards done, so there's a bit of poetic licence with this challenge - please just give your card a vintage or distressed look - perhaps an image/picture that conjures up the thoughts of Christmas past.

This is my card - you can read more about it and see the challenges I've entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here.

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make a card with a vintage theme - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 2 December. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 3 December - and, as this will be the first Saturday in the month, there will be a prize from a new sponsor for a randomly chosen winner.

And speaking of sponsorship I'm getting excited about next year - I have quite a few new sponsors lined up and some prize gifts as well.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

I look forward to seeing your creations.

CHNC challenge 47: music

What a wonderful range of Christmas cards for last week's challenge, some gorgeous 'candle' cards from those who took the theme literally and some other wonderful entries that used the 'whatever lights your candle' theme in the wider sense - they were all fantastic - thank you for sharing.

We are, of course, getting close to Christmas now - how come it creeps up on us so quickly in the end? I really must get more organised because, apart from making cards throughout the year, I've hardly done anything else towards Christmas preparations - and I probably still need to make a lot of cards for us to use because I've still got one more opportunity to sell next Saturday.

Challenge 47

So here we are at challenge 47 and for this I'm asking you to include music in some way on your card - you can interpret this however you wish - anything that has a musical connection, so, for instance, a group of carol singers would be fine. I'm sure that you can come up with several ideas for this - I look forward to seeing them.

This is my card - you can read more about it and see the challenges I've entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here.

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make a card with a musical theme - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 25 November. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 26 November.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

I look forward to seeing your creations.

CHNC challenge 46: whatever lights your candle

Wow! What a fantastic response to last week's challenge - there were so many entries - more and more every day, so many I could hardly believe what was happening! It was lovely to see new people showing their bright colours and sparkly cards as well as many 'regulars' contributing. Christmas is certainly on its way and now is the time to seriously get on with making more cards.

It's time to announce the winner of the prize for last week, randomly drawn - unfortunately, there can only be one winner and random.org has picked:

Number 65: Cindy Pointe

with this lovely card:

Please email me with your name and full address and I'll get the packs of Eno craft toppers into the post.

Now on to this week's challenge:

Challenge 46

For this week my challenge is whatever lights your candle. Now, you can either take this literally and include a candle on your card or perhaps another form of light - a star, a lantern, a lamp post ... or you can take the phrase to mean 'whatever you like', which should give you plenty of freedom! The main thing is to get on and make those Christmas cards. I so enjoy visiting your blogs and seeing what you have created, so please keep the cards coming. Perhaps we'll have another week of a bumper number of entries.

I've made a set of five cards, using a candles stamp - you can read more about them and the challenges I've entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here:

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to create whatever lights your candle!

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 18 November. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 19 November.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

CHNC challenge 45: bright colours and/or sparkle - with a prize

Wow! you really did a great job of making some very special cards for last week's challenge - I love looking at all your creations and admiring the depth of talent of all the contributors to this challenge blog. Thank you so much for your participation.

Well, we're getting into November now and Christmas isn't seeming so far away now, so it's time to be a bit more serious about the festive crafting if you haven't done much so far. I know that some of you have been making Christmas cards throughout the year, but, if you haven't, it's just the right time now to start.

Apologies that linky went astray for a while last evening (because I forgot about the hour change when I did the settings last Saturday). I hope I've got it right for this week, but please bear with me if there is a hiccup.

Challenge 45

Today in the UK is 'bonfire night' when we celebrate the failure of Guy Fawkes attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament. There will be lots of fireworks this evening (don't forget to keep pets in safe and snug). Thinking of fireworks made me think of bright colours and sparkle, so I'd love to see either or both of your Christmas cards this week.

This is my card - you can read more about it and see the challenges I've entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here.

Here is another card added mid-week that is for a Guest Design slot I was privileged to join in - you can read more about it here:

And here's another one - this one isn't bright colours, but it's very sparkly (more info here on my regular blog):


As it's the first Saturday in the month there will be a prize for a randomly drawn winner (using random.org) - 2 packs of Eno Craft toppers:

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make a card with bright colours and/or sparkle - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 11 November. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 12 November.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

I look forward to seeing your creations.

CHNC challenge 44: for someone special

It was lovely to see all the various scenes on your cards for last week's challenge. Thank you so much for all the entries and the support for this little part of the crafting challenge world.

Challenge 44

Today has always been special for me - it was my dad's birthday. Sadly, he died nearly eight years ago (actually on mum's birthday on 29 November) - so 29 October is still a special day for me, one to reflect on memories of the past and to think particularly of my mum who still misses dad.

I think a lot of us crafters tend to leave the 'special' people to last when it comes to making cards, so my challenge to you this week is to make a Christmas card for someone special, so that it doesn't get left till the last minute. You might want to try and make more than one (I'm going to try, but not sure whether I'll succeed this week).

The card that I'm showing now is, of course, for my mum. I've made a double twisted easel card (the first time I've made one). I've kept the design simple, letting the paper do most of the work - more information on my regular crafting blog 'My crafty outlook' here.

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make the card for someone special - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 4 November. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 5 November - as it will be the first Saturday in the month there will be a prize for the randomly drawn winner.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

CHNC challenge 43: make a scene

Before I tell you about today's new challenge, I want to thank you for all your fab entries for last week's challenge - it was so good to see all the different baubles and hanging things - lots of ideas and inspiration.

Challenge 43

Can you believe that we're on challenge 43? The weeks are going by so quickly and Christmas is looming. The shops are getting so geared up for the festive season. I remember when it seemed early if they started selling Christmas cards at the end of October, but now it seems to get earlier year after year.

There are many of you who have been regular contributors to these challenges and have built up quite a stash of Christmas cards over the months. However, if you've only just found this blog then it's not too late to start joining in and getting going with the festive cards - perhaps make more than one for the challenge.

So, for challenge 43 I'm asking you to make a scene! No, I don't mean that you should have a tantrum, but just make a scene on your Christmas card - it's as simple as that - it can be a 'ready' scene with a topper of stamped image or you can create your own scene with various elements - it's up to you. It can be indoors or outdoors, so I think there is plenty of scope.

My cards are very simple - I made five so they can be sold in a pack - you can read more about them on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here:

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make a scene - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 28 October. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 29 October.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

CHNC challenge 42: baubles or anything hanging

Time for another Christmas card challenge - we're getting nearer to the festive season so it's time to get a bit more serious with making those Christmas cards. Thanks to everyone who joined in last week's challenge - not quite such a popular one, but I saw some lovely home-based cards.

Challenge 42

This week I would like you to make a card that includes at least one bauble or something that hangs.

I've made two cards featuring baubles - you can see details of the supplies I've used and the challenges I've entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here.

Just adding another card - you can read about it here and see the other challenges I've entered with it:

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to include at least one bauble or something that hangs - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 21 October. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 22 October.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

CHNC challenge 41: house or home

Once again, it was lovely to see your cards for challenge 40 - so many lovely ideas - who says that cards for men are boring?! I love making them and it's obvious from the entries I enjoyed seeing that you enjoy making a variety of them too.

It's time to announce the winner of the prize for last week, randomly drawn - unfortunately, there can only be one winner and random.org has picked:

Number 37: Elizabeth

with this lovely card:

Please email me with your name and full address and I'll get the packs of core'dinations into the post.

So we are now getting well into October and less than three months until Christmas, so perhaps it's time to get making those Christmas cards if you haven't already started.

Challenge 41

This week I would like you to make a card that includes a picture of a house or home - it can be the outside or inside, it's up to you. The main reason for these challenges is to help you to gradually build up a stock of Christmas cards, so there is a bit of flexibility with the challenge theme for you to interpret as you wish - you might want to feature a window or rooftops or ... anything to do with house or home. I'm sure you will come up with something imaginative to fit the theme.

I've made five cards for this (I made them the other day so that they could be sold today for Tearfund) - you can see details of the supplies I've used and the challenges I've entered on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here.

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to include a house or home - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 14 October. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 15 October.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

CHNC challenge 40: for a male - with a prize

Here we are again with a new challenge - can you believe that we are now at week 40 and fast approaching Christmas - less than three months and it will all be over! So perhaps now is the time to start to seriously think about getting some of those cards done before the panic season! Before I tell you about challenge 40, I want to thank everyone for their super entries for last week's challenge. Every week there are some new people coming on board as well as lots of you who have been making Christmas cards since the beginning of the year.

Challenge 40

This week I would like you to make a card suitable to send to a male - man or boy, you choose.

Here is my card. You can read more about this on my regular crafting blog My Crafty Outlook here.

I'm adding another card that I've made for this challenge - you can read more about it here and see the other challenges I've entered:

and another here:

As it's the first Saturday in the month there will be a prize for a randomly drawn winner (using random.org) - 2 packs of 6 x 6 black magic core'dinations ColorCore cardstock (20 sheets in each) - spell caster and potion No. 9 - these are lovely for embossing and distressing to show the colour core through the black cardstock:

As usual, you can use any materials, any techniques, as long as the end result is a Christmas card - and this week please remember to make a card suitable for a male - apart from that, anything goes.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with for this challenge - please add a link to your blog post (not your blog, but the actual post where your card can be found) by 22:00 UK time Friday 7 October. Please mention my blog and create a link within the post for your creation.

You can enter as many times as you wish (a good way to build up your stock of Christmas cards) and also link to any other challenges that allow you to do so, but new work only, please.

A new challenge will be set on 8 October.

Please add your link to inlinkz. If by any chance it disappears, please leave a comment with the link to your blog post and I will make sure it is added.

If you haven't done so already, please become a follower and grab my bright pink button to post on your sidebar and help continue to spread the word about this challenge blog - thank you.

I look forward to seeing your creations.