It is with a heavy heart that I write this post. Sadly, this will be the last Rudolph Days Challenge post from this blog. Many of you know that Al and I have not had the best of health these last couple of years. You know that we also want to downsize to a rancher in a gated community, as Al struggles with with the stairs now. My mobility issues have made the stairs a bit dangerous for me as well, so we have been looking at various complexes for the right floor plan and site amenities, for about a year.
We have found 4 complexes that we like with a pool and hot tub to help keep us mobile, as well as a meeting/craft room for me! So, we are listing our house on Feb 1st. Hopefully, we manage to find one for sale as so far we have missed out on 2, and have turned several down that had terrible locations (busy road etc). Our daughter has a basement suite at ground level (no stairs), and they wish to not rent it out anymore. They will just use it themselves for their own family, and would let us stay there while we look if we do not find something in time.
With all the work ahead re searching listings, viewings at our place, packing, and unpacking, etc. I have decided to close the challenge. If anyone would like to take it over, email me at maureenkane@telus.net. This week I will be checking over each month making sure that all prizes for 2023 have been mailed out. Email me at maureenkane@telus.net if I have missed you. Sorry if you are one that I missed, but that is another reason I need to step down. Getting out to mail prizes is a bigger chore with poor mobility!
I have done up 2 cards for your inspiration this month. I have had the designers retire in December, so as to allow them this last chance to participate and try for a prize as well. My first card is a tentfold 6x6 inch square, featuring die cuts. It was a simple card to make and is great one for low depth when trying to keep postage to the minimum. The red bow is layered up a bit for a wee bit of depth.
My second card features some cheeky little reindeer. I think they are trying to kick up their heels! I had fun stamping and colouring this image. I then used snippets to complete the matting and set it onto to a pale blue background with silver embossed snowflakes. Amazing how my computer has made it look like a pale green background! The sentiment is many years old and I picked up a sheet of them at the time. Lots left to use up now!
Our prize will be this Karen Burniston Merry Christmas die and this Memory Box poinsettia die.
It seems this month flew by, and now it is time for the July Rudolph Days Challenge. Seems so hard to believe that summer is more than half way over. We have had some lovely hot days (and nights), and today (and hopefully tomorrow) brings some much needed rain. My garden sure enjoyed the good soaking as all my plants look a little perkier now. At the moment, we have over 500 wildfires burning here in British Columbia, so the rain will hopefully be a bonus for the firefighters!
Our design team has been busy creating beautiful cards for our inspiration. First up is Sue from Sues Crafty Corner Blog
Sue has made some beautiful cards...multiples as always! Sue has chosen such a great image for the feature of her cards. I wonder just what those adorable mice will get up to! Great colours and such a lovely hand stamped border background! Well done, Sue! I hope you will all take a moment and follow the hyperlink on her blog name above, and pop over to her blog to leave her some praise for these beauties.
Next up is Jenny at Cardsarus blog. Jenny has made beauitful cards for us too! Jenny has used a great design that calls for scraps of glitter card that have been diecut or punched into circles, and then stacked and shaped to resemble a Christmas tree. I love the way she decorated all the circles. I must say, Jenny has an amazing Christmas button collection! I hope you will follow the hyperlink on her blog name and pop over to leave Jenny some praise.
Our prize this month is this Memory Box Holly die bundle.
Hi there. Summer is finally here. After a lengthy rainy spat, we now have had lovely sunshine once again. My garden and I are very grateful!
Our designers have been busy creating cards for your inspiration! First up is Sam at Whisper's Cards blog. Sam has made up this very cute vintage looking snowman image into a really sweet card. I love her choice of design papers as that contributes again to the vintage feel! Hope you will follow the hyperlink and pop over and leave Sam some praise.
Next up is Marjeta of Marjeta's Creative Company blog.
Marjetta has made up this lovely Christmas scene featuring a comfortable chair beside a cozy fireplace. It looks like just the perfect place to relax in during the busy Christmas season. I love the pretty poinsettia and the greenery too. I hope you will follow the hyperlink above and pop over to leave Marjeta some praise!
Our prize this month is this Penny Black Frame die called Holly Frame.
Hi there. I have great news to share. My shoulders are feeling so much better since the injections! My pain levels are manageable and I have regained shoulder movement and ability. Also, Al had his test results and while they still can not do any surgery for his heart valve issue, he has had his medications changed up. This has increased his energy levels, so he is happy about that. He still has days where he feels exhausted, but they are fewer now and overall he is feeling so much improved.
Our designers have been busy. First up is Sue of Sue's Crafty Corner blog.
Once again, Sue has made up multiples of cards for our inspiration! Eight lovely Angel themed cards, if you can believe it!!!
Here is a close up for your viewing pleasure!
I think the angel image is beautiful and looks like Sue has the matching angel die. I really like the differing designs she created. The backgrounds are all so pretty and Sue has used some lovely die cut mats as well. It is hard to pick a favourite. I hope you will follow the hyperlink above and pop by Sue's blog to leave her a comment.
Next up is Jenny at Cardsarus blog.
Jenny has made two stunning cards with a wonderful design. I do not know the name of this type of card but will be popping on over to Jenny's blog to read about what they are called, and to find out just how she made them! I hope you will follow the hyperlink above and pop over too. First up is this amazing card featuring sweet kids building a snowman. Lots of traditional colours and red glitter card here! Don't you think this is a great design?
Jenny has made us a second card with this great design. This one features non tradional colours and lots of glitter as well! This card features a very sweet looking angel and Jenny has created a blue background that looks like the sky, so it creates a feeling of the angel flying! I love these two cards and want to give this design a try...
Our prize this month is a Poppy die called Stained Glass Poinsettia.
Hello there! You have until midnight March 31 to submit your Christmas card or project, for the March Rudolph Days Challenge. I am looking forward to seeing your creations! Don't forget it is limited to one entry per blogger. You can enter other challenges up to a total of ten
(including this challenge), and don't forget to leave a comment here on this blog.
First up is Sue at Sues Crafty Corner blog. Sue is away crafting in Cornwall at the moment, but has still managed to make these lovely cards for our inspiration! Sue is such a trooper. She is great about making multiples of cards. I hope to eventually be as productive! Here is a photo of her finished multiples. I can not pick a fave as they are all so pretty. Great scenes, each and every one!
Amazing work! Here is a close up of an adorable snowman scene. I think they all may very well be digital images, but if you pop over to Sue's blog, you can get all the details! Please leave her a comment while you are there...
Jenny at Cardsarus Blog has also been busy creating multiples of some very lovely designs. These first two cards feature glittery die cuts. The brilliance of the glitter die cuts pop against the white background card!
Jenny's next two designs feature die cuts yet again, but this time the holly seems to be cut from pearelscent card whilst the white on white card is a beautiful creamy white glitter card which looks so nice on the stark white card base. All in all, four lovely cards, showcasing beautiful dies and great choices of speciality paper. Please pop over to Jenny's blog to leave her a comment!
Our prize this month is this Crafters Companion die called Tis the Season.
Hi there. Do you know what time it is? It's Rudolph Days Challenge time! Enter a Christmas card or Christmas project you have created and you will have a chance at winning a lovely prize. You can enter your card or project into a total of ten challenges, including this one. Don't forget to leave a comment here.
We are welcoming our newest design team member this month. A big welcome to Marjeta of Marjeta's Creative Company blog. Marjeta has coloured this fun Christmas gnome and made it up into a lovely card for our inspiration. I love the vibrancy of the colouring and beautiful shading here. Hope you will pop over to Marjeta's blog and leave her some praise. You can hit the translate button to get an English version.
Here is the image as Marjeta was colouring it...so pretty!
Next up is Sam at Whispers Cards blog Sam has made up two beautiful cards using the same general design but featuring differing snowflake background die cuts and differing colour schemes. They are both so lovely! The first card is a lovely lavender creation. The large snowflake frame behind the adorable snowman is lovely with the multi pastel coloured snowflake design paper behind. Sets the perfect scene for the little fellow.
The second blue schemed version features an intricate diecut snowflakes background. It looks stunning in that glitter paper!!! With the addition of the extra overlaid snowflake, it makes a perfect backdrop for the sweet little snowman! The "snow" at the bottom of the wee snowman looks true to life...Lots of layers here and all so well done! I can not pick a fave of the two colour schemes as they are both my faves!
No update on Al yet. He has had the new heart ultrasound and other tests they needed, and he is awaiting a call from the specialist to book an appointment for the reuslts. Will update soon as we know.
Our prize this month is this lovely LDRS Creative Layered Pointettia Die.
Welcome to the first Rudolph Days Challenge for 2023. This is always an exciting month...a month to set new crafting goals, to plan some new cardmaking or scrapbooking ideas and designs, and to just have fun!
I have some news to share as well. We had several entries for the design team opening, and I finally got Al to draw the winner. I would like to welcome
Marjeta from Marjetina ustvarjalnica (Marjeta's Creative Company blog), to our team. She will partner up with Sam who has been such a champ about being short a partner! Once you arrive at Marjeta's blog, there is translate button near the top that you can press to get an English version to read. Sam and Marjuta will be our designers next month.
Our designers have been busy creating cards to inspire you! First up is Jenny at Cardsarus blog.
Jenny's first card features this pretty wreath! It looks to me that she has stamped the images individually in a circular mannner, and added some of the same stamps in the corners. I love the look of this and also love the matching images on the envelope! I am going to try to match my envelopes this year too, as I thnk it makes the card look fabulous!
Jenny made a second card in the new long, slim card style. This style is very popular over here right now. My local store has all sorts of dies and stamps etc in the slim sizes. I think Santa likes them too, as he brought me one of each this year! I quite like the glitter card Jenny used for the background. It makes her images pop off the card front! I am thinking these might be upcycled images but we will have to pop over to Jenny's blog to know for sure. Be sure and leave her some praise while you are over there!
Sue has been very busy as well. Sue has made a series of cards in differing background shimmery colours. They feature a very pretty Christmas bauble die. It always amazes me how many cards Sue makes for us to view. Be sure to pop over to Sue's blog, Sue's Crafty Corner, and leave her some praise! I am looking forward to reading about this very pretty die!
My first card showcases an image that was a gift from a friend, many years ago. I like the quiet, peaceful feel of this little scene. The image is embossed in black embossing powder and colourd with copic inks. l applied lots of star dust stickles on the trees and used a sparkle pen over the image and setiment. I used a snippet of quite thin copper mirri card from the $ store for the mat, and used another snippet of snowflake DP for the background. That background paper was from a really old kit that I picked up at the $ store as well.
My second card features a Hunky Dory cardfront. I love assembling these when I am bored! They always perk me up...The background is from my snippet files and the card itself is a 5x7 inch card. I managed to get red 5x7 envelopes this year but forgot to take a photo of the card with the envelope before it was delivered to our neighbours.
I only use these Hunky Dory cards for hand delivered cards. All the layers tend to make the cards too thick to mail with normal postage. We usually see the same group of family and friends during the Christmas season, so I bring these layered type cards along when we meet up for coffee, cards, or just meet up for fun, during the lead up to Christmas.
Al is still working on his recovery. He has a heart imaging test coming up in February that will hopefully tell if he is a candidate for a surgery to correct his aortic heart valve. They have ruled him not well enough for a valve replacement, but are testing to see if he could perhaps get a stent there instead. Fingers crossed, as that would give him more energy as aortic stenosis is very draining. After having already been through the quadruple bypass bypass surgery a bit more than a year ago, he would be quite happy to only have to deal with a stent this time!
Our prize this month is this Sizzix, Tim Holtz die set, Holiday Brushstroke #3.
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.
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
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.
