Santa's List

     This card today is for so many different challenges I can't believe they all 'meshed' together.  Of course, it probably helps that half of them had Christmas themes.  I started with the Christmas challenge at Sassy Studio Designs and used one of their images called Santa's List.  They not only want a Christmas card, but one with non-traditional colors.  Since Christmas Card Challenges wanted us to use chocolate, cream, and cranberry, I decided those were non-traditional enough to fill both challenge requirements.    The other Christmas challenges were from Christmas Crafting and Christmas Inspirations, each of which wanted glitter or sparkle, and from Christmas Cards All Year Round, where we have to use things from our Christmas stash more than a year old.  In my case, the papers, the glitters, and even the embossing folder for the snowflakes have all been in the Christmas stash at least that long!

I used a sketch from 4 Crafty Chicks.

  I like the sketch but had to change it a bit because I wanted an A2 card and not a square. Crafty Creations wants to see Anything but Squares, so mine is all rectangles and circles.  Digi Doodle Shop wants us to use anything round.

     The image is colored with pencils and Copics, then fussy cut, matted with black CS and fussy cut again.  I mounted the image onto a Spellbinders die cut (cream CS), and then onto another die cut of a larger size (cranberry dp.)  I added a holly branch, fussy cut from the same cranberry dp and layered onto cream CS.  I added glitter to the leaves and a glittered brad to one holly berry.  I cut to size the other rectangles of dp, matted them with chocolate brown CS, and added them to a layer of embossed cream CS.  The Paper Shelter wants to see embossing this week.  I put all of that onto chocolate brown CS and that was my card front.

     For embellishments, I added a bow for Aly's Sunday Challenge, and at Pile It On we are to use anything that starts with "B".  Mine are the bow and the brad.  Remember, one of the ideas behind the challenges at Pile It On is to see how many challenges you can actually incorporate with theirs into one card.  Finally, I printed the sentiment and added it to the card.  Fab 'n' Funky wants to see something that makes us smile and mine is the silly sentiment.  Do You Stack Up wants texture -- the embossing, the glitter, and the all the layers.

     Whew -- I think I have exhausted my ability to do anything for even one more challenge, at least without completely ignoring the spirit of challenge requirements.   I do like to make a list of all the challenges I'm going to use before I start the card, and work specifically within the those requirements, not finish a card and then try to find challenges that cover it.  :-)  I really like the "challenge" part -- making it work, not just submitting it regardless.

     OK, I have to go get a broken car window replaced, thanks to some young vandal who thought it would be fun to kick out car windows all along the block.  I'll bet that kid has never had to pay for anything he broke out of his own money!  As it turns out, the cost to get the windows fixed (yes, 2 of them!) is $2.41 less than the entire deductible on my insurance so the whole thing has to come out of my own pocket.  Oh well, I hope he had $500 worth of fun smashing my car.

      Once fixed, I'll be back to finish a couple more of my DT cards for next week.  Happy Stamping.  NanaConnie