We had 42 entries for our final Rudolph Challenge of the year. That makes my heart happy! One thing I have always enjoyed about this challenge, even before I hosted it, is that this challenge is fairly small by current challenge standards. I think that fact is one of the main reasons that the bloggers who visit here and enter here, seem to embrace visiting each other and take the opportunity to create virtual friendships with each other.
I feel that I am virtual friends with all of you and it is a lovely feeling. It has bolstered me through COVID when we were all trapped at home and trying to make the best of life. And you all embraced me when Al was so poorly, and I was so worried about him. He gets stronger every day, and is slowly learning to cope with the differences in his stamina and strength. Our grandson is 15 now and comes up to shovel our snow now, but earlier in the year he blew the leaves up onto the lawn and then mowed them up when he cut the lawn for us. Al goes out with him, not so much to supervise, but to just spend the time with him, chatting and joking around. Of course there are always desserts and tea available inside for afterwards! They were always really close as they share a zany sense of humour, but they are even closer now and it is lovely to see. Family is truly wonderful!!!
I used Random Org to draw our winner #25 Sandra
Sandra, please email me at maureenkane@telus.net and let me know your mailing address.
Hi there! It is time for our last regular Rudolph Days Challenge of 2022. It has been a great year with lots of beautiful cards made by everyone.
Thanks to all that emailed or left a message in the comments that they would like to try out for the design team spot. I will place the names in a hat and Al will draw a winner in the next few days. We are in the midst of having the walk out basement rooms painted. We moved a ton of furniture and decor items out, and will re-arrange the room and decor in a different set up once the painter is finished. He will be done on Tuesday afternoon and we are really looking forward to getting it all finished and rearranged. I bought some new pictures and I am eager to hang those and start to enjoy them!
Our designers have been busy creating some lovely cards for your inspiration. First up is Jenny at Cardarus blog. Jenny has made two scene cards with winter wildlife. They are amazing! I love scenes and appreciate the work that goes into making them. It is so detailed! Jenny has stamped the envelopes to match and they look great like that. She always has fabulous interiors to her cards so I hope you will pop over to her blog (link posted above) and leave her some praise!
Sue at Sue's crafty Corner blog
is up next, Sue has created some lovely coloured cards. I love these vivid non traditional colours! They suit this modern bauble stamped image. and are beautiully heat embossed as well. Sue always amazes me at how many cards she makes at once. She is a power machine! Hope you pop over to her blog (link posted above) and leave her some praise.
Nothing from me so far. Everything from the basement is piled up in my craft room, and although I have been making cards upstairs, I did not bring my folding backdrop thingy and so do not have photos taken yet. I will try to take photos and post them before the end of the month...
Our prize this month is this Taylored Expressional Stamp and die combo called Iconic Wishes.
Well, 55 of us have at least one more Christmas Card made. It will soon be time to drop them in the mail, so I think 55 finished cards is wonderful. For the first time in quite a while, I made it around to visit all of you, with the exception of the instagram post. I will try to join up before the next challenge.
I am doing so well since I last posted. My tooth and jaw feel great and the dentist confirmed the infection is gone! What a difference it makes to your creativity to have tooth/bone pain gone. I am also slowly returning to my craft room as Al is having mostly good days now. His golfing is on hold at the moment as he can not manage without a cart. Our weather so wet here that it is now walking only golf games at his club. If we get a few drier days, they may lift this rule...time will tell.
I used random org to draw our winnner, #26, Trina. Trina, will you please drop me an email to maureenkane@telus.net and let me know your address. I managed to wipe out the random org proof when I was trying to save it for a photo on this post, so you all will have to take my work it drew Trina!
One last thing. I am still looking for a design team member. It requires that you make a card every second month and comment on half of the entries that month. In return, I send you some Christmas stamps or dies. If you are interested, please leave your name and email in a comment on this post.
Hi there. Once again, it is time for the Rudolph Days Challenge. Don't forget, it is one entry only, and you can combine your entry with up to nine other challenges if you like. Leave a comment on this blog post, and you are set to go! This post will be short and sweet today as I have been dealing with an abcessed tooth issue and had an infection in the bone. Had the second half of some root canal work on it today, and just want to sleep now! 2 and 1/2 hours in the dental chair today for the second time on two weeks.
Sam at Whispers Cards has made a beautiful card for our inspiration. I love the die she used. It is really eye catching! The gold mirri wreath with pointsettia accents is so pretty, and is sure set off by the one larger layered poinsettia that just pops off the card. Sam has done a beautiful job on this card and I hope you will pop on over to her blog here at Whispers Cards and leave her some lovely praise!
My card is another upcycled card. My friend loves Daschunds so I upcycled this sweet pup into a card for her. The kraft paper is a matte finish and the printed design has a bit of a shimmery surface. The small gold snowflakes are gold embossed. Super simple, but at least it is another one finished up!
Our prize this month is this Studio Light poinsettia die, SL-SJ-CD50
Saturday, 1 October 2022
It is 9:45pm here on the West Coast of Canada. I know that is late for the winning post, but I have been out with my daughter, son-in-law and the grandkids while they camped at the river this weekend. They have been camping since Thursday night as Friday was a holiday here. It has been beautiful weather for camping! Of course, it helps that they have a lovely travel trailer, and have all the latest in camping gear.
Yesterday, there was a Sturgeon fishing guide out on the river with a party of fishermen, and they caught the longest Sturgeon Mike has ever seen. Sturgeon are catch and release here, and the guide needed help getting the fish netted and held for a photo. He called out to shore for help and chose my grandson to assist. He needed someone who was comfortabe with a net that size and was pleased to hear that my grandson had been successfull at sturgeon fishing before, and knew that time was of the essence to net, take the photo and release. What an exciting day for Peter!
Now, onto the winnner...
I used random org and out of 41 entries, our winner is #27, Vallerija.
Vallerija, Could you please drop me an email to maureenkane@telus.net with your address.
Hi there. Once again. it is time for the Rudolph Days Challenge. You have until the end of this month to submit a Christmas card, or a Christmas Themed hand made project. If you chose to link your submission to any other challenges, please keep in mind that we have a limit of ten challenge submissions in total, including our challenge. Please don't forget to leave a comment on this post.
First up is Sue at Sue's Crafty Corner blog Sue has made us some lovely inspiration, lots of lovely inspiration...
Sue's first card is this beautiful flying angel, heralding the Christmas story. Sue's choice of blue colours to create this card sure paid off. I think it is so lovely!
Her second card is a gem as well. She has mounted this gorgeous script image with a fabulous holographic mat. It really makes it pop. Stunning cards, Sue! I hope you will drop by Sue's blog and leave her some love.
And now. the most fab photo...Sue made multiples! Isn't that amazing!!!
Jenny at Cardsarus blog has made up two beautiful cards for us. The first is a pretty scene of a sweet young girlplaying out on the ice. Love the geese flying south in this scene! The wreath around the hilly scene is so delicate and pretty with those raised white berries.
Jenny also made this lovely scene featuring Lavinia fairies. I love the blue colours and the pretty scene. Hope you will pop over to Jenny's and leave some love.
I got some card kits made up and actually managed to make a card this month. It is very simple as it is a recycled image made up from some cards I bought on clearance several years ago. I love it when the shops blow out their Christmas stock for 80 or 90 per cent off in the early weeks of January. Things are usually pretty picked over but I can usually manage to find some cards to buy, even if I only buy them for the gilded envelopes! I bought these ones as I liked that the snowman is partially embossed so has some depth! I used up some punched out stars from my bits and bobs drawer and added a rhinestone snowflake for a bit of sparkle. The sentiment is also from my bits box, leftover from another project...(Sorry about the terrible photo, that bokeh background is actually a pretty blue! I know it does not look that way in my photo...)
Our prize this month is this Spellbinders Special Delivery die.
42 fabulous entries! That is amazing considering the extreme heat so many of you dealt with in August. It is hard to work on Christmas themes when you are so hot. I think Sam had the best idea, going on the cruise and escaping the heat for a while. The trip photos that she posted on facebook were stunning!
I usually post the Rudolpg winner earlier in the day, but we were both busy with medical tests and specialist appointments in town. Home now, and finally able to use Random Org to draw our winner, #21 Lesley G
Lesley, will you please drop me an email at maureenkane@telus.net and let me know your mailing address.
Once again, it is time for the Rudolph Days Challenge. You can submit your newly created Christmas card or any Christmas themed project to our challenge. The challenge runs till midnight on the last day of the month. Don't forget to leave a comment on this post!
Sam at Whispers Cards has created these beautiful snowflake cards for our inspiration. Her first card is this lovely gold snowflake card. The gold metallic snowflake takes pride of place, and the pretty background paper looks so good here. This card looks so festive! I like the tied twine holding the sweet sentiments...it looks great here.
Sam's second card is a silvery delight. This time, Sam has used silver metallic to make that snowflake pop. I must say the addition of that fabulous sentiment makes this card stunning! I think this one is my fave but as they both are beautiful, it was a hard decision. I hope you will follow the hyperlink by clicking on Sam's name and leave her some lovely comments on these stunning card.
I have still been busy with Al. He is still having difficulties bouncing back and the specialist advises that he may never regain the level of stamina he had before the heart attack. They have played around with his medications and that has solved some issues, but they feel his remaining health issues are simply due to the reduced capacity of his heart. He also experiences extreme heat intollerance now, and that is taking a toll on his golf outings. On hot days like we have been having this summer, he has learned to come home early and not worry about finishing 18 holes! The doctor advises that his heart can not pump enough oxygen that it needs to cool his body. He may just have to switch up to spring and fall golfing! As soon as he is strong enough, they will do the heart valve replacement and that should solve some remaining health issues as well.
I tend to stay on the same floor as him now, as if I had not been there, we would not have been able to save him. He was sitting down and could not get enough breath to call out for help. He just slumped forward a bit in the recliner. It sure has made me reluctant to go downstairs to my craft room. I am in the midst of creating card kits and scrapbook page kits so I can carry them up and work on them at the dining room table. Hopefully soon, I will be making cards again.
Our prize this month is this Find It media Christmas Bauble die.
Forty one lovely entries! You ladies are amazing. I know many of you were creating during heat waves and I thank you for taking part! It is not easy to be creative when temperatures are soaring.
I used Random Org to draw the winner and it is # 41, Kathy Asper. Kathy, will you email your address to me at maureenkan@telus.net
I will add the random org photo later as I am charging my phone at the moment and need it to take the photo to upload...
Hi there. Sorry to have been late again with the challenge. Al is struggling again and it seems it is 2 steps forward, two steps back. It is hot here and the heat seems to increase his heart problems. Although he has a wonderful doctor, there are huge wait lists to get in to see a specialist, even when you are an existing patient.
The design team has been busy creating cards for your inspiration. I am amazed at their dedication as both ladies have just had Covid. I hope you will pop over to their blogs and leave them some comments on their lovely cards.
First up is Jenny at Cardsarus Blog.
Jenny has made this wonderful non traditional coloured Christmas card. I think this card has such soft and very pretty colours! I like the fancy edge die cuts on this card too. The sheen on these papers is so beautiful and really adds to that Christmas sparkle feeling!
Jenny has made up a second card. I am loving the gold and various sheens she used for this Reindeer themed card. Once again she has used some great fancy edge dies on this card, a little different from the last ones, but so pretty as well.
Sue at Sues Crafty Corner blog has made up several cards with the same design idea but using a variety of animals as the main image. I love each and every one of these!
I think the foxes are my fave but it is hard to choose!
This Pink and Main die is our prize this month. Next up is Mr Linky...you know what to do!!!
We have had a lovely, relaxing Canada Day! I am posting the winner late tonight, as we have been too busy having fun. We did not go to the fireworks tonight as Al is too tired to drive by evening time. But we could hear them clearly! Over the years, we have watching many parades and fireworks on Canada Day. The grandkids always wear a new Canada Day teeshirt and we usually have small flags out in the planters. It is always a day we take great pride in being Canadian!
I used Random Org to draw our winner, #26 Kath! Kath, can you please drop me an email to maureenkane@telus.net and let me know your mailing address.
I will add the random org photo in the am as I am heading off to bed now.)
It's that time again! Time to submit your Christmas card or Christmas project to the Rudolph Days Challenge. One entry per person, and you must limit your other challenge entries for your item to nine, leaving it at a total of ten entries, including our challenge. And...Don't forget to leave a comment on this post!
First up is an order of business. We have a vacant spot on the design team since Linda stepped down. If you would like to be considered, please leave a comment indicating your interest. If there are a lot of applicants, I will just draw a name to keep it fair.
Sam at Whispers Cards has made a gorgeous card for your inspiration. I love the scene she created with the festive wreath hanging on the front door, and all the adorable critters waiting to come in. Lots of wonderful stamping, colouring and fussy cutting here! I hope you will pop over to Sam's blog and leave her some lovely comments for all her hard work and dedication.
I am sorry to say there is no card from yours truly. I can not seem to get organized enough to create cards, since Al has been poorly. As he is stronger again (after his relapse), I do need to get this solved. He is in the midst of an active campaign to change up the dosage amounts, meds themselves and time of day that he takes each type,and that seems to be helping. The heart specialist who oversees these changes says it is so common for heart attack and bypass patients. Some take up to a year to get everything sorted for maximum recovery. He is back on the golf course a couple times a week, using a cart and never carrying his clubs!
Our prize this month is this Sue Wilson Festive Collection, Garland Baubles die.
We had 43 entries this month. I have visited about half of you so far and the cards and projects are wonderful! I used the trusty Random Org to choose our winner, #20, Karin.
Karin, Could you please drop me an email at maureenkane@telus.net and give me your mailing address?
It is time for the Rudolph Days Challenge. One entry per person and don't forget to leave a comment here. You can enter 9 other challenges making your total 10 including this challenge.
Well, the design team has some lovely cards for your inspiration. First up is Sue at Sue's Crafty Corner.
Sue has made some beautiful Stag cards on Kraft cardstock. I love the look of ink on Kraft. It has such a lovely earthy look. Perfect for these elegant stags. Best of all, Sue has made up 4 of this design! Hope you will pop over and leave her a comment.
Jenny at Cardsarus blog has also made some lovely cards. The first is a glittery sleigh and reindeer on a beautiful glimmery word paper. Love the glimmer. As always the inside of Jenny's card are so lovely.
Her second card has some beautiful snowflakes on a lovely sky looking background. Both Jenny's cards are 7x7. We can not get that size card over here and I always enjoy seeing these larger sizes that she makes. Don't foget to pop over to visit Jenny's blog...
Our Prize this month is this Sue Wilson die, Pretty Pointsettia Frame.
Well, methinks 42 entries is pretty darn good! I am still visiting you all, and hope to finish up tonight. I am a wee bit later than usual doing the prize draw and writing up this post. Al had a shaky start this morning, so I stayed in with him. After lunch, we headed outside as he was feeng steadier. He retrieved two sets of chair cushion for the seats beside the hot tub and then proceded to clean the hot tub with plenty of little breaks to sit down and rest. This is an old photo but shows you where we were working...
I got the dead plants removed from all our large outdoor pots and cleaned up the ivy and other perennials that survived winter in the pots. I even got a bit of weeding done in the back garden. It is looking so much better out there!
I have used Random Org to choose the April Rudolph Days winner, which is #30 Glennis. Glennis, could you please contact me with your mailing address.
Hello to all my fellow bloggers! It is time for the April Rudolph Days Challenge. You may submit one Christmas card or Christmas project of any kind from the 25th till midnight on the last day of the month. Don't forget to leave a comment on this post. I am looking forward to viewing all of your entries.
I must confess that I am little behind in posting out prizes. If you are awaiting a prize, they will be posted this week. As many of you know, I do not drive and Al has been at his limit for outings after his daily walking. Since I last posted, he actually had to cut back on the walking due to some exhaustion issues. Luckily, that now seems resolved since the heart specialist changed up his meds late last week. We have rarely been out this year, other than picking up neccessities. I used to get my daughter to mail the prizes for me, but she has so much on her plate with her mother-in-law's sad health issues, and father-in-law having his knee replaced. He is finally recovered enough that she can take me out again, so prizes will go out very soon...
I have managed to get a couple of card kits made up. They are Hunky Dory kits and are a few years old. I liked the vintage look of the images, but used them on my own hand cut card bases. The premade smaller mats have a sort of foiled distressed edge damask look, so I used my Hunky Dory, Essential Book of Festive Foiled card mats for the main backgrounds. They are very simple cards but are nice and sparkly with all that foiling! I used Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Creative Sheets for the rectangular mats and then doubled them on top of each other so the centre die cuts were popped up even further! I love those pop dots and pop sheets. They are so slim that two layers of foam will make it through the post office depth tester slot, even when combined with the thick cardstock used in the card design.
Sam from Wispers Cards Blog has made a lovely Christmas card for our inspiration. She has an adorable Penny Black image combined with some beautiful design papers. Loving those embossed gold paper accents! As always, the image is coloured up so nicely and those trailing lights have left me feeling very Christmassy! Hope you will follow the hyperlink above and visit Sam and leave her some praise...
Our prize this month is this Spellbinders Chill Bear die.
We had 44 entries! I think that is a good turn out for March and am quite happy with that. I have been around to visit everyone but the Instagram entries. As yet, I do not have an Instagram account, but will make one later today and visit you both after supper.
I used Random Org to draw our winner #35 Chris craft. Can you drop me an email Chris and let me know your mailing address?
It is once again time for the Rudolph Days Challenge. You have until midnight of the last day of this month to submit a Christmas card or Christmas project, and don't forget to leave a comment on this post!
It seems as though time has sped by since I last posted. Al is still recovering quite well. He can now walk 40 min on the flat and that means he can now pop out to pick up the odd groceries at the small whole foods shop that is near us. They have an inhouse butcher and baker, so it is where we like to pick up fresh bread, buns, and meats etc. Al likes that he can get his walking in and can accomplish a task at the same time!
Our design team ladies have been very busy making creations for our enjoyment and inspiration. Sue from Sues Crafty Corner blog has these beautiful black and white Christmas cards made up. I love the look of this beautiful home with that ornate gate It so suits this old building. How wonderful it would be to have a decorated tree outside like this! I also love to see that she has made multiples of this card. Don't forget to pop over to Sue's blog and leave her some praise for these cards.
Next up is Jenny from Cardsarus blog. Jenny has been very busy creating several beautiful Christmas cards showcasing various sweet critters. It is hard to pick a favourite as they are all lovely. What I like best about these cards is the sort of hammered looking gilded paper she used for the mats behind these fabulous images. I always like a hammered or a swirled mirri better than the shiny mirri. I seem to scratch the shiny ones too easily as I work. The hammered look survives all that much better! Hope you will pop over to leave Jenny some praise for these beautiful cards.
Our prize this month is this Find It Media Precious Marieke, Star Swirls die.
Sorry I am so late in drawing the winner and getting this post up on my blog. It is my birthday today and I have been kept busy all day having coffee, lumch and supper out with friends and family. What a treat! Finally home and rushed right in to get this done.
We had 41 entries, which is pretty good for February being a short month. I used Random Org to draw our winner, Loll #13. Drop me a email at maureenkane@telus.net and let me know yur mailing address.
Once again, it is time for the Rudolph Days Challenge. You have until midnight PST on the last day of the month to submit your Christmas card or Christmas project. Don't forget to leave a comment on this post.
I am so happy to share that Sam from Whisper's Cards blog is back on the design team, sharing her lovely designs with us. Sam has been off for a bit while she got settled from a recent move and dealt with some health issues. She has created two cards for us and this first one is so doggone cute! I love the image and the fabulous sentiment! In true doggy fashion, they are all carrying something in their mouths. That must be the secret to a quick Christmas decorating day. Involve the dogs in the work! So darn cute...
Sam's second card is a lovely, inky winter scene. I love the subtle shading she achieved in this scene and the deer look right at home here!
Still no cards from me. Al is doing so much better now. He is still easily exhausted, but persists with his walking every day. We follow Coronation Street on TV and although they did a great job on the Tim storey line depicting the pre surgery pain attacks etc, let me assure you the recovery after a bypass operation in not anything like what they are portraying! Al has had a good chuckle at some of the scenes and how they show him recovering so easily! In real life, you can not lift your arms to get into a sweat shirt like they have Tim wearing, and have to wear button up or zip up clothing for several weeks. You can not move your arms all about pointing etc and have to keep your body as if your arms were trapped in a tube around your chest when rising from a chair or a bed etc. They give you a small heart shaped pillow to cross your arms over as you rise.
I have been taking the time while he does his half hour walks to finnish up the big sort out I had started in my craft room just before he had the heart attack. I finally got the heavy bookcases, desk and filing cabinets moved about the room onto different walls. Whew, I am glad that is done! I am still labelling stuff, but that can be done at my leisure. With the furniture in place and everything now put away, I can finally create cards once again.
Our prize this month is this cute Cottage Cutz Kitten in a teacup die.
