Peek-a-Boo Snowmen Christmas Cards / Journal Cards

I've been having a lot of fun joining in various papercraft challenges, and particularly enjoy combining several different challenges in a single project. I'm particularly enjoying Double Trouble, because they give a main challenge and then add a couple of optional twists.

The latest challenge from Double Trouble includes the following three elements:

• Peek-a-Boo, I See You
• Use Twine or any Type of ribbon, string, cord, or Tape on your project
• Use the sketch from Try Stampin' - Or Not - On Tuesday and enter your project in their challenge

The Design Team had created some awesome projects, but I was particularly inspired by Donna Scholz's side-fold card. It's been a while since I created a card with this type of side fold and it's perfect to go with this sketch!

I'm currently working on items for my Christmas-themed junk journals so I picked out some Crafters Companion "The Snowman" printed card blanks plus some Kanban snowman toppers. The card blanks are 5" x 7" and are printed on the front and back, so I picked out two of the cards, and was able to make two of the side-fold cards sized 5" x 3.5" and one sized 7" x 5".  

For the two smaller designs I used two different dies to create the windows for the snowmen to peek through. I used sentiments from the same Kanban collection, then added gemstones and baker's twine to one card and buttons and a fluffy yarn to the other. 

For the larger card I used some silver card-stock for the front of the card and layered on the second patterned card-stock, which allowed me to layer two dies for the window. I first used the larger die on the top (dotty) layer then positioned this on to the silver layer so that I could tape the smaller die in to correct place before cutting that layer. For this card I used a different sentiment and some silver thread / cord. 

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

1. Double Trouble - Challenge # 97b Peek-a-Boo, I See You
2. Try Stampin on Tuesday - Challenge #533 
3. Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - November Challenge - Christmas / Winter
4. Alphabet Challenge Blog - P is for Patterned Paper
5. Crazy Hazlenut's Christmas Challenge - Challenge #268

Bookmarks for Christmas Junk Journals

I'm currently working on items to go in the Christmas Junk Journals that I've been putting together, so I decided to make some bookmarks, with a slight twist. Rather than a traditional bookmark, I wanted to create folded bookmarks which are held in place with magnets.

For my first bookmark, I used partial die-cutting with a Tonic tag shaped die to create a card base. I layered a  smaller die cut tag to each side with a magnet underneath. I decorated one side of the bookmark with a sentiment from the same die set, and the other side with a snowman and snowflakes. The inside is blank for journaling space. 

The first bookmark works for most pages in my larger junk journal, but the magnets aren't very strong and won't hold on some of the heavier pages, particularly the coffee-dyed cardstock which is a bit wrinkly. I'll probably use this bookmark in one of my smaller junk journals which don't have the thick wrinkly paper. 

I decided to create a second bookmark where the magnet is not covered, to see whether this would work well on thicker pages in my junk journal. The second bookmark was quick and easy, using a couple of offcuts of card and paper along with some die-cut elements from the Papermania "At Christmas" collection by Lucy Cromwell. I attached the magnets on the inside, and tested it on my junk journal. This bookmark holds well even on the thicker and crinklier pages, so I'll be making more bookmarks with the magnets uncovered to use in my other junk journals.

I'd like to enter this project in the following challenges:

1. The Paper Shelter Challenge Blog - Challenge #491 Bookmark
2. C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Challenge #617 Christmas
3. Craft Rocket Challenges - Challenge 87 - Winter / Snow
4. Allsorts Challenge - Week 650 - Christmas
5. Dare 2B Artzy - November Challenge: Tags / Bookmarks

Girly Christmas Card Using the At Christmas Collection by Lucy Cromwell

Today, I wanted to create a Christmas card using the Papermania "At Christmas" collection by Lucy Cromwell. I was browsing through the Paper Playful blog looking for a suitable challenge, when the sketch from the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown caught my eye:

I particularly liked the wide sentiment strip going across the design which isn't something that I'd normally think to do. 

I wanted to combine this with another challenge which I spotted a couple of days ago - the latest As You Like It Challenge is to use your favourite circle embellishment. As soon as I saw that, I knew that I needed to create a card using self-adhesive gemstones. The packs that I have are from DoCrafts and each pack includes a variety of shades of the same colour in a range of sizes. I bought these a few years ago and have used them a lot. I still have quite a few in some colours, but the red and pink are nearly finished, so these ones are clearly my favourite! Even though I'm trying to use up and reduce my craft stash, these will definitely need to be replaced once they're used up.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

1. 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - November Sketch Challenge
2. As You Like It Challenge - Favourite Circle Embellishment
3. Alphabet Challenge Blog - P is for Patterned Paper
4. Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - November Challenge - Christmas / Winter
5. Just Us Girls - Word Week #609 Merry
6. Unstampabelles Challenges - November: Colour My World Twist: Make It Colourful
7. Crafty Calendar Challenge - November Challenge 'Anything Goes'

Tall Journal Cards Using the Geometric Mocha collection

This month's challenge on the Die Cut Diva's Challenge Blog is to create mini slimline and slimline cards, whilst the current challenge on the Double Trouble blog is a Tall Card with Thin Dies. I wanted to create some taller journal cards to tuck in to the pockets of my Geometric Mocha junk journals, so these challenges seemed like a great starting point. I'm going to create a few sets of cards using different sketches, and decided to start with challenge #530 from Try Stampin' - or not - on Tuesday:

For these cards I layered some scraps (left over from making the journal pages) on to pearlescent card-stock. For the first card I added a die-cut tag and circle from the collection, and for the second card I used a die-cut label and tag from the collection along with some circles that I die cut using Spellbinders thin circle dies. The base card and the card and paper used to cut the circles are also used elsewhere throughout the journal.

I'm entering these cards in to the following challenges:

1. Die Cut Divas - November is a Time for Mini Slimline and Slimline Cards
2. Double Trouble Papercrafting with Thing 1 and / or Thing 2 - Challenge #96 - Tall Card with Thin Cut partnering with Ellibelle's Crafty Challenge (including Tags, Triangles and Teardrops for Thing 3 challenge)
3. Ellibelle's Corner - November Challenge - Die Cuts and Punches - Partnering with Double Trouble
4. Try Stampin' - or Not - on Tuesday - Challenge #530

November 2021 Crafty Goals

I didn't do too badly on my crafty goals for October:

1. Make a birthday card and some gift tags for my Mum's 70th birthday
2. Complete at least 4 different papercraft projects using challenges for inspiration
3. Get started on at least one journal using one of my Bigz dies (make the cover and at least one signature of pages, more pages and other items can continue next month)
4. Sort out 5 pages of dies or stamps
5. More sewing practice - some sewn journal pages and some sewing on actual fabric!

I also made quite a bit of progress with the Geometric Mocha collection. This collection was in my "Use It or Lose It" challenge: my plan was to try and use all of the different types of elements that I have from this collection, and I'll dispose of any items that I can't find a use of. So far, I've created 3 junk journal style travellers notebooks along with several journal cards and other elements to go in them. I'll post about these once they're completed. 

I think that I'll put off  organising my stamps and dies until the New Year - hopefully the Totally Tiffany Get Organised Challenge will run again, which helps me get motivated. In the mean-time, tidying up my desk area would make it easier to craft and to get my sewing machine out!

Here are my crafting goals for November:

1. Make a birthday card for my sister
2. Make and write my Christmas cards
3. Complete at least 4 different papercraft projects using challenges for inspiration (this can include projects for any of the other goals)
4. Finish the Geometric Mocha junk journals and items to go in them
5. Make some Christmas cards to use as pages in Christmas junk journals
6. Make another Christmas journal using the Eileen Hull Pocket Notebook die 
7. Make a Christmas junk journal using the Eileen Hull Full Size Journal die
8. Make a Christmas junk journal using one of the vintage books in my stash
9. Make some Christmas-themed journal cards, tags etc to go in the journals
10. Use at least two of the "Use It or Lose It" items that I picked out last month (accordion journal and Sara's Surfaces pockets)
11. Find storage for my junk journal supplies
12. Tidy my desk