12 Months of Christmas Cards Pays Off

We are now into the 7th day of Christmas and it’s a fairly certain bet that not many Christmas cards are still being made for the 2011 season.  They have all been mailed and have lifted the spirits of those who have received them.  You worked hard to get them all completed and should be proud of your efforts.  Many Waltzingmouse Stamps Forum members have worked all year long to complete their cards.  They have participated each month in the Waltzingmouse Stamps Christmas Card Challenge.  (WMSCCC)

Each month, WMS issues a challenge theme for anyone who wants to consistently work on their Christmas cards.  We encourage everyone to play along each month for two reasons; 1) It’s easier to make Christmas cards throughout the year, rather than try to make them all amidst the holiday rush, and 2) there are prizes involved for participating; both motivating factors.

The participants who accepted the challenge each month have been entered into a GRAND PRIZE drawing.  The WMSCCC had many creative ladies participate, and 10 creative crafters completed the challenge each of the 12 months. I’m happy to announce our Grand Prize winner for the 2011 Waltzingmouse Stamps Christmas Card Challenge.  From the 10 crafters who completed each challenge, we drew randomly for the prize, which is a coupon code for $150!  Our BIG winner is:

Liza Carruthers

Congratulations, Liza, on your dedication and participation.  To claim your discount code, please send me (Lynn Mercurio) a PM on the WMS forum, and I’ll get your code directly to you.

The Christmas Card Challenge gallery is bulging at the seams of wonderfully creative cards all full of Waltzingmouse Stamps goodness.  If you haven’t taken a peek lately, you can see them ALL here.  As 2011 comes to an end, and 2012 is now only hours away, a new set of monthly challenges will soon be announced.  We hope that you will join us for the 2012 challenges beginning January 10th.

Happy New Year!

...Merry Christmas!!!

I have the winners of our tag competition hear and also the Nice list competition!

I'm a little late getting them up, my apologies! Christmas kinda caught up with me! I loved all of the tags, I very much enjoyed looking at all of the fabulous ideas, thank you to everyone who took part!!


Tag Comp winners:
so here we go - the Tag competition winner, chosen by random number generator:

Dana Gustafson

I awarded two spot prizes also, I was so tickled by all the entries, but could not resist these two!!

Carol - you had a headstart when you used one of my very fave sets!! the Gingerbreads!!! I loved your sweet taggie!

and

Helen - wow!! if I got a gift with this attached, I think I'd frame the tag and keep it!

Nice List Winners:
I had such a time reading the comments, it is hugely heartwarming to read about so many nice folks and what they mean to us, with all of the little things (and some very big things) they do for us. I do believe that this is my very favourite competition of the year, this is what it is all about for me, thank you all for sharing your stories!!

The winner, also chosen by random number generator is:

Charmaine Stack who said...

I really enjoy WMS, the forum, the gallery, the amazing design team. I have been made aware of so many wonderful people as a result of the community that has sprung up around Claire. One person stands out, though - a fellow fan. Deb Frings is always ready with a sweet, kind word, a generous compliment, and a willingness to cheer a fellow stamper on. I enjoy her blog and all her creations, most of which feature WMS in some fashion. The WMS world is a bit better place for her enthusiastic support. So ths year, my Nice List has a shining star atop it named Deb. :-) 19 December 2011 20:54

Since we got so many entries to this comp I thought I might just add a spot prize for this comp too, so winning the spot prize is:

Anne said... 34

Claire I'm going through a very unhappy time just now that has turned my nice list upside down. But though things are very dark my friends are there and top of my nice list is my friend Morag who is a true friend indeed with a shoulder to cry on, she is just the best person there is.

15 December 2011 20:25

Congratulations ladies!!! I have very much enjoyed 'meeting' both old friends and new through our nice list com this year!!

Ok - so here's what the winners need to do - email me at claire.brennan1@ntlworld.com - send me your addresses and I will get your goodies out to you at some point over the holidays - I may need to chat to the nice list folks a bit so pop me an email and we'll get it all rolling!

 Please note it may be the end of next week before I reply to you.

In the meantime folks, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!! I look forward to catching up with everyone in the new year!!!!

The Big Cheese of the Week

Here we are in the final countdown to Christmas! I hope you have checked your lists and are ready to relax and enjoy the season.

Just a quick note before we get started: the Big Cheese program will be taking a little break for the holidays with the next new thread to be posted on the forum on Monday, January 2. We look forward to seeing you at that time.

Without further ado, our Big Cheese of this week is Nerina with this gorgeous card.

Isn't this such a beautiful, beautiful card? For me, a take-away technique from this card is the heat embossed petals followed up with the sponged ink. This creates such a lovely effect - soft yet bold at the same time. I also love that this poinsettia is the star of the show. A stunner!

Congratulations, Nerina! Your project will be added to the Big Cheese highlight album in the WMS Gallery. Please send me an email and I will provide you with a discount code for $10 off your next Waltzingmouse Stamps purchase.

How about the cutest sock monkey tag you've ever seen?

Cathy Weber has pulled out all the stops again to create an adorable tag for her sock-monkey-loving niece. With a Nordic Winter stamped body and holding a Christmas Bitty Banner, this guy is the cutest thing going. I love that this idea is so creative, completely personalized, and executed perfectly!

And finally, with another creation that is nothing short of stunning, is Pauline Pollington.

This is just one of a set of beautiful ornaments Pauline made using Sewing Box - Christmas. Framed by a delicate snowflake, each is full of sparkle and shimmer. Assembled together as a detachable ornament garland, these would bring so much holiday cheer to a mantle. A lovely creation!

Thanks to each of you that submitted projects for the Big Cheese this week. We so appreciate you taking the time to share your holiday projects with us and the WMS Gallery. Remember, we'll be back on January 2 with a new thread here in the WMS Forum.

Wishing each of you a wonderful holiday full of the joys of the season and a happy, healthy New Year! We look forward to seeing you then!

Anya

...Last call for entries...

 These are closing tonight midnight, my time, winners will be announced tomorrow!!!!

Tag competition here

and Nice list competition here...

quick - you only have until the 20th for both competitions!!

...Last minute stocking filler...mini jars...

A proper look at the jars I was trying to show you the other day...

Stocking filler quickies - for which I have a huge need....mini jars filled with sweeties - trim yourself out a fancy label for the sides of the jars, I used these dies. I stamped some suitable sentiments from Candy Jar Christmas. Sponged edges with good ole' distress Antique Linen, never lets me down....used black ink... little bit of papperned paper from a Graphic 45 pad, this years I believe. Added a wee loop of ribbon under the lid label with extra strong tape.

Or, join two together using a piece of card, mine was trimmed with a fancy Spellbinder die to make it purty, but basically a rectangle of card scored twice and with two holes punched, see pic below. The trick is to punch holes which are wide enough to accept the jar, but slightly smaller than the lid. See the pic below for deets. Little sponging, little lace, two pieces of black velvet ribbon tied in the same way as a mans neck tie, and I have a dinky little pair of jars, a sweet treat for somebody.

Or, dress it up with a bow tie. Simple!

I started with these jars from Lakeland, it's a UK company, but any old jars will do!

...are you on our Nice List?

...we're a little bit Moxie Fab today! If you have joined us from Cath Edvalson's MoxieFabWorld blog today - Welcome! It's lovely to have you visit! We are delighted to be mentioned in the Moxie Fab Stamp of Approval feature!

Join our Nice List

I have a couple of ideas for tiny treats to show you later on today, you can see a little taster above, but first I want to invite you to play along with our Christmas comment competition.

Last year we did this for the first time and it was wonderful - It's easy, no making required. Here's how it works:

Leave a comment on this post telling me who is top of your 'Nice List' this year - it could be anyone, a teacher, a co-worker, the guy who delivers your milk. I want to hear who is top of your 'Nice List' and why - I'll start you off.

Top of my list this year are my next door neighbours. In particular Mr G. Aside from being the nicest folks on the planet, Mr G has just finished completely revamping my prized possession - my solid oak Welsh Dresser. This Dresser has been a favourite of mine, I bought it around 9 years ago for around £100 at auction, I love it.

Here's what it looked like before, I did love the antique wood finish, but it was a little overpowering in our small house and I really felt it was time for a change:

Here's what it looks like now:

I love it!! I am so chuffed!! Mr G sanded it, painted it, sanded it some more, painted it and painted it again and fixed up the handles and made it pretty, It looks great in real life, so fresh and clean!! He really took time over it and the finish is superb. Thank you Mr G.

So Mr G. is now top of my nice list :) Who is top of yours?

Leave your comment at the end of this post.

The Prizes

You have until Tuesday the 20th December to leave your comment and then I will pick a random winner - The winner will win two prizes - one for themselves, which will be 4 large sets of stamps of their choice!!! and one for the person in their comment who is top of their nice list!! we may have to get creative if your Nice list buddy is not crafty, but if they are, they too will win 4 large sets!!!

So, let's hear about your Nice List nominees!!!

The Big Cheese of the Week

Well, another week has flown by and here we are, just eleven short days until the Big One!

There is more Christmas inspiration to share from this week's Big Cheese if you need it. Isn't it great to have a place to go for oodles of ideas? Yep, that is our WMS Gallery!

Bringing you a beautiful card idea, our Big Cheese of the Week is Liza Carruthers.

I really like how Liza used a background stamp to create a focal point. The repeated pattern of the ornate border from Very Vintage Christmas creates an elegant design. Liza's card layout is a great one, a versatile sketch when one's mojo is on holiday! The frosty blues are a perfectly suited color for the theme and the big bow is lovely.

Congratulations, Liza! Your project will be added to the Big Cheese highlight album in the WMS Gallery. Please send me an email and I will provide you with a discount code for $10 off your next Waltzingmouse Stamps purchase.

This week Elizabeta shared a photo of an amazing project she completed for an online Croatian magazine.

Drop dead gorgeous, no? Elizabeta used the A Piece of Cake template to create this delectable cake. She adjusted her printer settings to shrink the template to create the second layer. What a great idea!

And finally, if you need a gift in a pinch, take a look at this inspiration from Charmaine Stack.

This is just one of many photos Charmaine shared of her gift basket items. Check the rest out here. Charmaine used the Seasonal Remedies set to create labels for food and gift items. With the coordinating dies, these are easy to pull together with little time. The labels are a little tongue-in-cheek, cleverly describing the enclosed food items. My favorite? The Effervescent Joy label used for a bottle of wine. ;)

Thanks to each of you that submitted for the Big Cheese this week. I know the holidays are quickly approaching, and if you're anything like me, the lists aren't getting any shorter! We so appreciate you taking the time to share your holiday projects with us and the WMS Gallery.

Just a quick note to let you know the Big Cheese program will be taking a short break for the holidays after this week's forum thread closes on the 18th. We'll announce our last Big Cheese winner of 2011 next week (the 21st) and then pick up again on January 2nd. We look forward to seeing you then!

Would you like the opportunity to be chosen for the Big Cheese? Add your direct links for your newly uploaded projects here in the WMS Forum, a new thread starts every Monday!

Anya

...this weeks sketch challenge...

Have you been over to play here on our challenge blog? We have easy simple sketches on a weekly basis. If you haven't seen it yet, it's just a click away!

Above is this weeks sketch and if you click here, you will see the Mischief makers fabby inspirational cards!!

The Big Cheese of the Week

Hello!

Welcome to this week's installment of the Big Cheese of the Week. Things are heating up for the holidays, I can tell! If you're in the need for a little bit of tag inspiration today, you've come to the right place.

Let me introduce you to our Big Cheese of the week, Deirdre Horgan!

Deirdre created this fantastic three-dimensional tag using Vintage Ornaments and an empty box of Cheerios! The tag doubles as an ornament, and who wouldn't want to hang this pretty thing on their tree? I love the die-cut center with the floating heart, it is an extra touch that just adds so much interest to this creation.

Congratulations, Deirdre! Your project will be added to the Big Cheese highlight album in the WMS Gallery. Please send me an email and I will provide you with a discount code for $10 off your next Waltzingmouse Stamps purchase.

Up next is a gorgeous holiday tag from Jeanne Jachna.

This is just one of a number of elegant tags Jeanne has created recently. I am always inspired by her use of color (she flawlessly combines pink and purple!) and multiple layers. My favorite? That gorgeous gem in the center of the ornament.

And finishing us off today is a trio of delectable place cards from Cathy Weber.

Let's try not to be distracted by Cathy's dessert menu for the holidays and focus on these cards themselves. Lots of sparkle and shine help these fit right in with the party. I adore the way she coordinated the images with the desserts she's serving, and layered them all on top of the holly from Festive Foliage. It makes me want to break that set out right now and add some holly leaves to something. Scrumptious, Cathy!

Thanks to each of you that submitted for the Big Cheese this week. I know the holidays are quickly approaching, and if you're anything like me, the lists aren't getting any shorter! We so appreciate you taking the time to share your holiday projects with us and the WMS Gallery.

Would you like the opportunity to be chosen for the Big Cheese? Add your direct links for your newly uploaded projects here in the WMS Forum, a new thread starts every Monday!

Anya

...Back in stock

Rescue Remedies, Vintage Ornaments and Labels 2!

...Back in stock

Back in stock: Cottage Christmas, Labels 10, Vintage banners, Doilies large and Very Vintage Christmas...just about to add them to the store...

...Greetings!

Good Friday Night to you!! Just posting a quick tag - we have our tag competition underway here, are you gonna play? Good!

This is a fun little tag I made with a Spellbinders labels 5 die and the corresponding stamp from a much underused set - Little Box Labels. I love the shape of this and I remember designing it, thinking that it would be fun to be able to trim out that larger circle and put something in behind.

So I made up a double tag - two identical die cuts, held together with a brad - this allows the front part of the tag to pivot so that you can reveal the image underneath.

I  add a silhouette of the Claus himself and couldn't resist the little 'Been Good?" (Santa's coming to town and Candy Jar Christmas sets )

The 'Greetings' on the top part of the tag is from Say it loud - Winter Holiday. Foliage is from Festive Foliage. It was a real hotch potch of stamps last night, but I was just footering with whatever was on my table. Hope it tickles.

Got a quick how-to for anyone who has Little box labels and would like to know how to trim out that larger circle. It's easy if you have a Spellbinders circle die, you can just line the circle up on the image, but If you would like to use a 1 inch punch here is a neat method:

1. Stamp label, trim it out with a Spellbinders Labels 5 die template. Take a piece of scrap and punch out 1 inch circle, keep the circle and the left over bit.

2. Line up the circle inside the larger circle shape on the stamped label, adhere with a tiny amount of glue or tape.

3. Fit the leftover bit of card over the circle, being careful not to move the circle.

4. carefully (with tweezers?) remove the circle keeping the left over bit in place and use a pencil to draw a line around the inside of the punched out circle. You can still see my wee tiny bit of left over glue in the pic below where i removed the circle.

5. Remove the spare card to reveal the drawn circle.

6. Use the drawn circle as a guide for your punch and voila, a perfecly placed punched circle, right where you want it.

Hope it tickles and don't forget to play here.

...Christmas Tag challenge!

 

Good morning!! are you ready for Christmas??? Nope? me either....

In the meantime, Lets make some tags!

I hereby invite you all to make a Christmas tag and post it here in this post for a chance to win big. I'm going to give the winner 4 stamp sets of their choice! Create your Tag using your fave WMS stamps and upload a pic here in the inlinkz widget at the end of this post.

The main winner will be randomly picked. I may also award a spot prize or two for tags that really tickle my fancy so get your thinking caps on ladies, and show us your Christmas style!

Ok, my sample above is incredibly simple, about 10 mins to make, and this would be so easy to mass produce.

 It's a great big tag with plenty of space for writing in those all important details, nothing worse than a wee taggy that doesn't give you space to say who the gift is from!! lol.

I used stamps from Candy Jar Christmas. - I used them pretty much as they are laid out on the sheet - you can see from the pics.

I stamped them in Memento Rich Cocoa onto white card. I like Memento as it sets quickly, doesn't smudge much and you can go in and pick out bits with a copic marker without fear of the ink running.

Next I picked a die to trim out my tags, Spellbinders Labels Seventeen is a great shape for these, ran it through the Grand Calibur once.

While the card is still in the die, I sponged, Antique linen of course.... I find that I don't even need to pass the card through again for embossing, the sponged colour highlights the embossing and there's no need to put it through again, a little time saving there. You can see the tape holding the die in place in the pic above, this eliminates the possibility of the die moving as you pass it through the GC.

I finished sponging and added a little golden shading around Mrs Santa and in the lettering using a copic. I added a little stamp - You're on my nice list - in red to the tag and also the word, To: from Candy Jar Christmas fillers, just to complete the tag. It really was very simple. I will add in the recipients details with a pen.

So, you have until Tuesday 20th December to make and upload your tag, each person should play only once, so give it your very best. Remember, as well as the top prize of 4 sets there may also be a couple of spot prizes, but only if I'm really tickled!!!