Monday 25 October 2021

October Rudolph Days Challenge

Hi there! It is time for the October Rudolph Days Challenge, and this month we are remembering our dear blogging friend Kath, of the former Plain and Simple Blog. Kath often made beautiful paper pieced cards. She was a regular poster here on our challenge for many years. She was on design teams for several other challenges, and was well loved.

Any entries this month that submit a paper pieced card, will be entered for a chance to win an addition prize consisting of this Woodware stamp.

Sorry, but I just can not seem to think tonight. My dear husband had a massive heart attack several days ago, and is having a triple bypass today. My brain is on overdrive and I can not get the photos of my two cards to load. Several months ago, when my email was switched to google (by my provider), I started to have trouble getting my photos off my phone and into my email, so I can load them into my computer. I will have my daughter help me tomorrow and will just add them to this post then. Sorry to bore you with the descriptions of the cards, but I typed this post previously, and did not have time till tonight to add the photos! Just too busy spending time with him in the heart critical care unit within our Langley Hospital ICU.

His surgery is in a larger city, and they have ambulanced him into there last night. It is one of two hositals where heart surgery is done in the Lower Mainland of BC, where we live. He will stay there untill he is released. They allow two visitors at the same time, as soon as he is stable, which is so lovely. My daughters take turns driving me to visit him and they will now be able to visit too. Previously, when he was in our town hospital, it was one visitor a day. Each of us went every third day. I do not drive so on my day to visit, the girls had to wait in the vehicle, as our smaller hospital was 1 person a day! It is all due to carefully COVID protections which change depending on the area each hospital is in. Tomorrow, new rules for proof of COVID double vaccination will be required to enter the hospital. Thank goodness I figured out how to load that proof of vaccination thingy into my phone! I am not the most adept at technical stuff...

So here are my descriptions, and I promise the photos will eventually appear. The only note of interest in these descriptions is the way I glue my fussy cut items.

Oct 26...Here they finally are!!!

I have made two paper pieced cards for your inspiration. My first card features Penny Black's Snowy stamp. I stamped my image on white card, and then restamped it twice on some snippets of a red and coral patterned design paper. I fussy cut out the hat with the pompom, and also the scarf. I also fussy cut the hanging tail of the scarf from the second stamped image.

Piecing it all together was very straight forward...just some glue painted onto the base card image, and then overlaying it with the fussy cut portions. I did not pop dot the scarf tail, but rather laid it slighty off to one edge, so that the depth showed.

I painted a little Star Dust stickles on the ground to suggest fallen snow, and on the touque front rolled edge and on the pompom. I liked the look of that, so kept going and touched the stickles over the snowman outline too! I found a lovely snippet of teal snowflake DP for my background, matted my image with teal card stock, and called it done.

My second card is made with the Stampendous Owl Tree stamp. I stamped my image twice on white card stock, and fussy cut the hat fur trim out of the second image. I then decided my owl was going to become a Penguin! My snippets file had a sweet teensy black and white print that I stamped on and then fussy cut up for the "black" on a penguin. I had a teensy snippet of red and pink polka dot DP that I stamped on, and fussy cut the hat from. Found another snippet of gold for the beak, and a lime green DP for the tree. Now, that tree was a tight fussy cut!

Glued all these items using my trusty paint brush on the stamped background image again...it is much easier than placing glue on the tiny snippets themselves, plus helps you not having to handle something covered in glue! Star Dust Stickles makes a showing on the fur edging of the hat. The tree was treated to red stickles on the tree baubles and silver stickles on the star.

Silver mirri forms the mat and a snippet of a grey snowflake DP forms the back. It was almost a full 6x6 piece but I guess I had a strip cut off previously for a border! So my card is a bit of a weird size, not quite 6x6 but does not look too bad in the original envelope.

Next up is Sue at Sues Crafty Corner. Sue has made us three gorgeous cards! I can not wait to read how she made them on her blog post. I hope you will pop over to read about them too. They are made with the most beautiful dies! Beautiful dies and beautiful scenes too. Here are Sue's cards,,,
Sadly, we are saying goodbye to a member of our Rudolph Days Challenge design team. Our lovely designer Linda, of Snails Space blog has stepped down for health reasons. She was a fabulous designer who worked so hard for our challenge and will be sadly missed. Thanks for all your hard work, Linda!

Also, you may have noticed that Sam has stepped back till the New Year. She has newly diagnosed health issues to be resolved. Thank goodness for advanced tests and attentive doctors who catch these things! Sam is sorely missed, and hopefully will be feeling better soon.

Our prize this month is this Amy designs Snowflake Frame.

Friday 1 October 2021

September Rudolph Days Winner

We had 48 fabulous entries. Thanks to all of you for taking part and making Rudolph Days so special. We are a small group of posters but we are mighty! The beauty of staying smaller has given us the bonus of getting to know each other over time. If you stop by and visit the other posters here, they stop by and visit you! We create virtual friendships with crafters all over the world.

Sadly, we have lost one of our regular posters. Kath Schoefield at Plain & Simple blog took part in the Rudolph Days Challenge for many years. In late summer, Kath passed away and is sorely missed. Many of you may have seen her on the design teams for Chocolate Baroque, Allsorts, and the former Penny Black Challenge.

I did not know her well, but sometime we emailed back and forth as she was from Yorkshire and we still have family there. She was sometimes even right in their town, renting a place by the sea for her holidays. We would chat about our families and her beloved Yorkshire.

She often made huge lots of multiple cards for her grandsons to give out at school! Those were fun posts to read. She did beautiful paper piecing, and so in honour of Kath, I would like to give out a second prize at the October Rudolph Days Challenge. Anyone who makes a paper pieced Christmas card for their Rudolph Days entry, will be eligible for this second prize drawing.

We can honour Kath, and her love of paper piecing, as well as her creativity. I hope you will all join in.

I used Random Org to choose the winner. Our winner this month is # 6, Di, from Pixies Crafty Workshop. Di, please drop me an email to maureenkane@telus.net and let me know if the address I have for you is still current.