#1-7 Winter Blues

Welcome to a new year and new projects.  This year I am trying to do 300 cards or paper projects and am trying to use up some of my ridiculous paper stash.  I am also going to try to make sure that at least once every month new stamps meet ink.  I have so many that haven't been used so that is my goal this year. We are playing with the winter blues at Shopping our Stash this week after a bit of a holiday rest.  The goal of this challenge is to use blues or winter or a combo of the two.  I made a few playing with one of the new die sets I purchased just prior to Christmas...the layers are fun so I made a few.  Play along with us, will you?

131-143 - seasonal projects

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to do a seasonal project...we are getting ready for Christmas so I whipped up a few projects...the first one is a pop up box card that I made for an entry into a contest at our local radio station - hoping to win a gift card...the next ones are paper frames that I made for some quick decor (well, not really quick, that is kind of a lie) for the fireplace mantel and one for the mother in law.  Finally, I made some grinch cards because who doesn't love the grinch.  They aren't old stash though as I just got the stamps on Friday but I couldn't wait to play with them.  The sparkly paper however is quite old so I felt they could qualify.  Play along with us, will you?

#130 - happy birthday dude

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to make a masculine birthday card.  I always find making masculine cards to be a challenge, but the easiest way for me to do it is with minimal embellishments.  It is hard for me to not go overboard and make them girly, but I think I achieved masculine with this one.  Play along with us, will you?

#129 - washi, Washi, Washi

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use washi tape on your project...I have an addiction to buying this stuff and then not really using it too often on projects...I love the look of what others do   with it and am always envious of their projects...but I find that when I use it, it doesn't always stick down and the ends peel up.  I think I figured out a solution with this project - die cutting - it seems to put enough pressure on it that the ends do not come up - so I may now be hooked into using up some of my hundreds of rolls of it.  The trees are die cut out of 8 different rolls of tape.  Play along with us this week.

#120-#128 - food for thought

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use a food package as inspiration.  I chose pop cans for mine and found some soda flavoured lip balms to complete this challenge. I am making tags for all the nieces and nephews and my girls friends. They will go on all the Christmas presents.  Play along with us, will you?

#119 -tic tac toe

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use the tic tac toe board below and make a card using three things in a line.  Mine can follow the bottom line or diagonal from the left bottom to right top...this card was inspired by Pintrest... it has heat embossing, the ribbon is from my wedding nearly 25 years ago, there is smoothing, it's a happy birthday and there are powder pigments (which I have had forever)...please play along with us, will you?

#117-118 - it's raining cats and dogs

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is "it's raining cats and dogs". We are to use a cat, a dog or something rain related on our projects...rain has pretty much ended here and the snow is upon us so I chose the cats and dogs part of the challenge...we had a "Scrap chicks gone wild " convention here this weekend and these are a couple of cards I finished with the leftovers from last year's paper pack.  Play along with us, will you?

#116 - witching hour

As Halloween approaches this week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use something witchy on your project...or something halloween related.  I made this cauldron for my witch to fall into...I didn't have anything cauldrony to use so you may recognize this as an upside down snow globe with the base on backwards...I thought it worked well...play along with us, will you?

#111 - not your ordinary card

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to make a card that is an unusual shape - no circle, squares or rectangles...mine was easy with this stamps of life die that makes a present shaped card...can't beat the simplicity of that...play along with us, will you?

#112-115 - jingle belles pink challenge

The Jingle Belles are having a pink challenge for Breast Cancer month and they are donating for every card entered...so I thought I would whip up a couple for the last minute entry category...here they are:

#110 - pink is the new orange

this week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is pink is the new orange - it can be inspired by pink or orange and pumpkins or breast cancer awareness and friendship- I sent this card to my auntie who was  going through treatments for cancer...nothing is nicer than a hug...play along with us, will you?

#109 - thanks

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to give thanks for something - it was Thanksgiving here in Canada this past weekend so we have reflected on all we have to be thankful in our house.  This card was made as thanks for a friend - says it on the inside (so you will have to trust me)...play along with us, will you?

#108 - pearls

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to follow the inspiration photo below.  I took the pearls as my primary choice for the challenge and added several to this simple card.  Play along with us, will you?

#98-107 - smooshing

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use a ink smoothing technique on your project.  I was asked by my local legion to make some Christmas cards for our troops overseas to add to the shoe boxes of supplies that they send.  I am making 40 of them and this is a few that I have started with.  I used oxide inks to do the smoothing with and thought the result was cool.  Play along with us, will you?

#97-where you are from

This week's challenge at shopping our stash is to let us know where you are from by using something on your project that represents where you live....I chose red and white for Canada and snow flakes for my home city which has been so appropriately dubbed winterpeg.  We haven't had snow yet but wow it was chilly the last few mornings which means the months of torturous white stuff and cold are not far off now...not to jinx it, hopefully there will be a really long fall....play along with us, will you?

#96 - up cycling

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is up cycling...use something that would be trash and make it into something new...I chose to use these paint samples and an old clipboard and spruced it up a bit for my Christmas list of purchased gifts....play along with us, will you?

#94-95 crazy for colouring

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is called crazy for colouring and the title says it all...just colour something...whether it is with markers, crayons, inks, gelato or pencil crayons - just get your colour on.  I used copic markers on these little barn animals...just some basic colours, nothing too detailed.  Play along with us, will you?

#93 - don't bug me

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use a creepy crawly on your project...that's right...bugs.  Not my favourite thing in the world, that is for sure, but I can get behind a dragonfly or two as they like to chow down on our mosquitoes and that makes them a wonderful creature...play along with us, will you?

#91-92 feeling hot hot hot

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use something hot hot hot - can be related to weather, summer, the beach etc...it has been so hot here, record breaking even that I chose something to cool off a bit of that heat...a good old fashion fan...play along with us, will you?

#90 - leaf it to me

This week's challenge at Shopping our Stash is to use leaves on your project...I chose to use a 3-d version and some in my paper to cover both angles...play along with us, will you?