Challenge 24 - "Green" Holidays

Welcome to Challenge 24 !!


All month long our senior designers will be featuring Stampin' Up Products from Catherine Pooler.




We are excited to announce that our December Grand Prize Sponsor is Scrapfreak. Scrapfreak’s monthly embellishment kits contain the latest products at an affordable price. Not only are their kits easy on the budget but they’re extremely versatile which makes them great for all your scrapbooking projects. Scrapfreak also has one of the friendliest communities online offering daily inspiration, free classes, contests, crops and more! Be sure to check them out at www.scrapfreak.com. For the chance to win a fabulous Scrapfreak Embellishment Kit participate in one or more challenges during the month of December. Your name will be entered into the random drawing each time you enter a challenge. The winner will be selected at the end of the month!



Our first place winner will receive this darling Gingerbread Man Kit from our sponsor the Purple Pumkin.

At the Purple Pumpkin, they create cute handmade embellishments, especially for scrapbooking and cardmaking. They offer a variety of themed and colour co-ordinated kits, full of handmade flowers, ribbons, and of course BUTTONS!! All of their  buttons are made with a perfectly flat back, so they are not bulky, and sit perfectly on your layouts and cards. The buttons are also available on their own, in packs of 3. Additionally, the blog is updated every 3-4 weeks with new buttons and kits, with some designs being available for one listing only, so you have to get in quick, or you might miss out! 


Now, here are the details for this week's challenge...
 

Green Holidays
Create an altered holiday gift, card or scrapbook layout
using recycled or repurposed items you already have on hand.

Anitra Tovar

I’m a big fan and follower of the Papercraft Star blog, and have been so inspired by the creativity on display week in and week out. The love of paper crafting comes alive with each participant’s submissions, and always pushes me to think outside of the box. So, you can imagine how excited I was to be named guest designer for challenge 24.


My name is Anitra Tovar and I’ve come to learn that paper crafters are a special breed. You can always tell a non-crafter by the crazy looks you get when you feverishly talk about stamp sets, paper designs and “bling.” I’ve become accustomed to that look, and I naturally bond with those fellow crafters who share that same sparkle for embellishment. From a young age, I recognized the looks, so I honed my skills in private experimenting with all types of media like paper, fabrics, paints, etc. Is it weird that as I child I wanted to make quilts?


Over time, I learned to open up and share my creations. A light went on and I realized I wasn’t alone in this crazy world; there were all types of craft-nuts like myself just waiting for the next big thing. With the support of a wonderful husband, I’ve gained experience and have been exposed to all different styles over the years. I draw on the inspiration of life’s experiences, including having two wonderful children, in my designs.


When the kids are in bed, you can find me in my little corner of the room thinking in colors and shapes. See my creations at my blog, Stamping While They Sleep. I just hope I can be an inspiration to others.

Senior Designers

Liz

Liz just loved using the Stampin' Up products for this challenge. She took a box that once was home to some chipboard alphas and changed it into a gift box. She firstly covered it all in black paper and then used the beautiful Stampin' Up products to decorate. The cardstock is perfect for this as it is very good quality. And you have to agree the patterned paper and lace are gorgeous.

Regan

Regan had a ton of fun with this week's challenge! She used bottle caps as her recycled element and the wonderful Stampin' Up! products (one of her favs) supplied by Catherine Pooler to create this beautiful necklace and Christmas ornament! For more photos and details, please visit her blog.

Jan

This was Jan's first taste of Stampin' Up products, and was she impressed with the quality of this paper ! (and the gorgeous lace too!) Jan recycled a bag her oral surgeon gave her to create an anniversary gift bag. Navy, olive and beige are a unique combination for her. Her blog has all the supplies listed to recreate this sweet little gift.

Tracy

Tracy chose to use an empty salsa jar for her recycled craft item for this week's challenge. She whipped up a batch of yummy cocoa mix to fill it with and decorated the jar and a little card to go with it with the wonderful Stampin' Up supplies our sponsor, Catherine Pooler, supplied for this month.

Design Team

Angi

Angi had fun recycling wire and her daughter's broken necklace to dazzle up the handles of this Santa Gift Bag. She also recycled a kraft shopping bag from a local bakery and dressed up the front of it by punching out squares using Martha Stewart patterned paper and adding embellishments from Anna Griffin and The Paper Studio. For more information on how the handles were made please check out Angi's blog.

Kimberly

Kimberly created this holiday candy box made from a re-purposed Papertrey Ink stamp package she had been saving. Being the thrifty girl that she is, Kim was able to make a fun holiday gift for minimal cost. Filled with candy and decorated with bright paper and fun embellishments, her gift is not only thrifty, but would make anyone smile to receive it - proving that a thoughtful gift does not have to be expensive! Be sure to head over to Kim's blog for more photos and a list of supplies.

Auxiliary Designers

Jennifer

Jennifer recycled old sheet music and a vintage postcard she rescued from a trash heap at a garage sale into a pretty Christmas card. Text or illustrated pages from old books make wonderful background papers and are a fraction of the cost of "designer paper." See how to get more of the same looks for less over on her blog!

Cecilia

"C" created a homemade Christmas gift for her husband. She recycled and old (ugly) frame and some text from a book from a used bookstore (works by Shakespeare). She modge-podged, distressed and crackled her way to a vintage frame adding a touch of color with her homemade die cut poinsettia. Check out her blog for step-by-step instructions on how she went from old and tired to recycled, new and fabulous...but don't tell her husband...it's a surprise!