Christmas is in the Air!

Yes! It's finally Christmas!!!

I'd like to wish you all a very happy Christmas, full of joy, love and blessings. I hope that the festive season allows you to enjoy the company of all your loved ones and that your hearts take comfort in remembering those who can no longer be there with you.

Here's the second Christmas card I made this year. In my last post with the vintage Poinsettia Card I mentioned that I have only been able to make a very few cards this year.

This year I was in a die cutting mode and for this card I played with the Tim Holtz Sizzix dies Victorian Carolers and Holiday Lamppost. The lovely glow in the lamp is down to the Rowlux illusion film, which is one of the coolest products ever! I previously used it in my Halloween lantern and I think it's perfect for light related accents.

The banner was stamped and heat embossed using Stampendous Christmas Air stamp and Detail Gold Embossing Powder.

To embellish my card a little I threw in some glitter and a few gold stars. As always, I've used adhesives from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

I also made these couple of cards, simpler in design, but as you will see I was still in the die cutting mode :)

For these cards, I die cut my Vintage Noel signs from 3D Foam Creative Sheets and sprinkled them with the super lush Lime Micro Glitterand Maroon Micro Glitter.

Oh, and I added multiple accents using tissue/washi tapes  :).

That's all from me for today! Thank you for stopping by and for all your sweet comments!

With warmest festive wishes

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I would also like to enter the following challenges:
Country View Challenges - December 2017 Christmas
A Vintage Journey - Winter Wonderland
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Celebrate

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On the Eve of Christmas Eve

Hello Friends!

Blimey! Where has the time gone?! I know I always promise (including to myself) to craft and blog more, but life has been so busy... non-crafty things always seem to get in the way... I'm sure you all know what I mean. So please forgive me for being such a poor blogger and visitor of late... I do try to visit your beautiful blogs whenever I can, although I don't always have enough time to let you know I've been...  But I do and will try to organise myself better soon! :)

Last time I blogged it was Halloween, and now it's nearly Christmas! Sheesh... I'm almost ready with my preparations. What about you? This year I only managed to make a few Christmas cards, which I hope to share over the coming days...

The first one up... is this frosty Poinsettia card.

With this year's cards I was totally in a die cutting mode so I decided to dust off my lush Cut 'N' Boss Machine (one of the best and most memorable gifts I've ever received! - thank you Santa!). I played with a selection of dies I've had for years but (please don't tell anyone, especially my hubby!)) never actually used before...Gasp! Please don't judge me... I'm sure you all know all too well what happens when a good sale comes up and you end up buying supplies in wholesale quantities...! Some dies are like a good wine, you leave them unopened to mature and they just get far better with time.. LOL :)

For this card I used the following dies and punches:
Tim Holtz Sizzix Tattered Poinsettia
Stampendous Dreamweaver Holly and Swirls DL3005
Spellbinders Layered Poinsettia
Marianne Creatables Dies LR0181
Martha Stewart Pine Branch

I also used the following supplies:
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L: DODZ 3D, Adhesive Dots Small, E-Z Runner Grand Refillable Dispenser
Papers: Simple Stories - December Documented
Dylusions Ink Spray - White Linen

That's all from me for now! Tomorrow is Christmas Eve (yay!), and that's when me and my family will be gathering for our Christmas Eve dinner to celebrate the reason of the season... and that's when we get to open our Christmas pressies! Soooo excited to see what Santa prepared for me this year! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today and for any sweet comments you'd like to leave. Your time and thoughts are truly appreciated. Warm festive wishes to all



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I would also like to enter the following challenges:
Country View Challenges - December 2017 Christmas
A Vintage Journey - Winter Wonderland 
Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog - Most Memorable Gift

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Sunflowers In Spring? Why Not?!

Hello Friends! I hope this post will find you well! :). A very warm welcome to my newest readers and the regular followers, too! So happy to see you here!

Can you feel it? Can you smell it? Yes, Spring is finally in the air! Beautiful sunny banks of daffodils, cheerful bunches of tulips, magnolia blooms... aaah, I love this time of year! 

In keeping with the season our Stampendous HQ powers are focusing on all things Spring this week and I wanted to join in, too! Here's a birthday card I made for my Mum and while sunflowers are not normally associated with Spring, I thought these lovely sunny blooms would be a great addition to my delicate springtime lilacs hiding in the background.

I stamped the Lilac and Sunny Vase flowers on the Mixed Media Paper and coloured the images with Inktense pencils. I then die cut the images with the corresponding Sunny Vase and Lilac die sets. I varied the height of the blooms with my trusty 3D Foam Squares from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

For my background and vase I used some papers from 7Dots Studio which I stamped with Scrollwork Leaves and which I embossed with the Dreamweaver Metallic Gold Embossing Paste over the Corner Flourishes stencil. The little tag is from the Sunny Vase stamps set.

For the bottom of my vase I sprinkled some flower dust - aka Frantage and (my newly re-discovered loOOOove for) the encrusted jewel technique. I used Bronze Glass Glitter, Spoonful of Rust, Copper Lux Mix and Shabby White Embossing Enamel. 

I finished the card with a little butterfly - because I absolutely looove butterflies and always look for an excuse to add one in lol :).

Also sharing today are:

Stampendous Blog
Pam Bray
Louise Healy

I hope you've enjoyed today's post and thank you for all your lovely comments that you may wish to leave (please do!) :). Have a fabulous day!

Big crafty hugs




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Stampendous and DecoArt - Meant To Bee Together!

Hello and welcome to our new Stampendous and DecoArt blog hop! This is not the first time these two fabulous companies play together and it certainly will not be the last time. They share this special bond and (media) mix together perfectly. They have Attitude and they are perfect for altering every-day items! :-) Yes, they are meant to Bee together... but more on that in a moment...!

And since we are having a blog hop, we are going to treat you to droolingly gorgeous inspiration from both teams as well as SUPER AWESOME PRIZES!!!

Here's what you need to do to enter into a draw for the Mega Prizes!!!!! Comment to win one of three HUGE prize packages that includes Andy Skinner stamps and DecoArt Media™ Paint plus more! US winners only, please see Stampendous Official Contest Rules here for more details. Want to see all that’s in each prize package? Take a look below:

Stampendous:
ASCRS07 Cling Handle with Care
ASCRS08 Cling Skuldoggery
ASCRS09 Cling Unexplained

DecoArt:
Quinacridone Magenta
Cobalt Turquoise Hue
Cobalt Teal Hue
Primary Magenta
Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide
Paynes Gray
Carbon Black
Titanium White
Prussian Blue Hue
Phthalo Blue
Quinacridone Gold
Diarylide Yellow
Pyrrole Red
Green Gold
Primary Yellow Media Mister
Titanium White Antiquing Cream
Patina Antiquing Cream
8oz Bottle Lamp Black Americana Acrylic Paint

Now, onto my inspiration project. This is a card I made with one of my totally mixed media-licious backgrounds I shared a while ago on Instagram. I spent an afternoon playing with my Creative Palettes and layering paints onto scraps and Mixed Media Papers. I did some stenciling with sequin waste and bubble wraps as well as lots of stamping with bottle caps and building blocks. Whatever was to hand! In addition to regular white, gold and black acrylic paints I also used DecoArt Americana Acrylics in: Bright Yellow, Yellow Light, Pink Chiffon, Carousel Pink, Cadmium Orange and Country Red.

For my focal image I used Stampendous cling Time for Love which I stamped with Jet Black StazOn ink onto acetate and I coloured the image on the reverse side with Papermania metallic pens. I cut out the heart and mounted it onto the card with DODZ-3D so it would look as if it's floating above the detailed background, without getting lost within in. And you can still see the background layers between the cogs and rivets of the image :).

I also added some more stamping with the Honeycomb Wishes Perfectly Clear Stamps Set and I threw in a few cute little heart cogs for good measure.

That's all from me for today! More inspiration is waiting for you here:

Stampendous Blog

Pam Bray

Louise Healy

Asia King

Janelle Stollfus

Alison Heikkila

DecoArt Blog

Don't forget to leave some love on the participating blogs to be in with a change of winning one of those amazing prize bundles! Thank you for stopping by today and for all your lovely comments. Good luck everyone!

Big crafty hugs




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Seasons Givings Giveaway Blog Hop And Crystal Angel

Happy New Year everyone! I am absolutely trilled to be taking part in this year's Seasons Givings Blog Hop!

This is a blog hop with a difference - each participating blog will not only have some crafty inspiration waiting for you - each blog will also have a sweet crafty surprise to give away!

What a fantastic way to start the year - you might just be the lucky winner of some fantastic crafty goodies!

As my inspiration today I'd like to share my last winter themed card for this season. Like the Angel on the card, I'm blowing the snowflakes away - except I am wishing for the winter to end and for the spring to arrive before too long :). I hope you'll like this card and that it will encourage you to look around my blog to check out my other projects as well :). You might like to have a peek at my Top Ten Picks from 2015 - a collection of my favourite projects from the last 12 months :).

Supplies:

Stampendous: Cling Crystal Angel, Teal Encrusted Jewel Kit, Royal Purple Glass Glitter, Mixed Media White Paper, Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink by Tsukineko®

Plus: Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®; Tim Holtz Marker Spritzer Tool, ribbon - May Arts, Sakura Clear Star pen

Adhesives by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: Creative Photo Corners - Silver, Crafty Foam Tape, 3D Foam Snowflakes, 1/2" Extreme Double-Sided Tape, Pigment Powders - Pink, Blue

Chameleon Alcohol Pens: BL3, BL6, BG4, CG8, NU1, BK4

Instructions:

1. Prepare an A6 card blank from purple cardstock. 

2. Trim a panel from White Media Paper 1/16th inch smaller on each side. 

3. Sprinkle the powders, glitters and mica fragments from the Teal Kit over the panel and heat from underneath using encrusted jewel technique. 

4. Embellish the panel with silver photo corners and purple ribbon. Adhere to the card base using Extreme tape. 

5. Stamp the Crystal Angel in black onto Media Paper and colour in. Stamp the Angel again onto scrap paper and cut it out. 

6. Use the cut-out Angel as a mask to cover the Angel on your main stamped image. Using the spritzer tool air brush the background snowflake with pink, purple and blue markers. 

7. Fussy cut the image and adhere it to the card over the foam tape. 

8. Decorate a foam snowflake with pigment powders and Royal Purple Glass Glitter and adhere it to the centre of the image. 

9. Add highlights to the image with the Clear Star pen.

Also sharing today:
Stampendous Blog
Lea Fritts
Rhea Weigand - Alumni designer

Challenges for this card:
That's Crafty Challenge Blog - Anything Goes
Frilly and Funkie - Holiday Hues

Giveaway #1 - How To Enter!

As it's a Season of Givings I'm giving away not one, but two generous bundles! :). To enter my Giveway #1 simply leave a comment at the end of this post letting me know what your New Year's resolution is (or are?) - crafty or otherwise. My New Year's Resolution for 2016 is to get a new (bigger?) craft room - how's that for a challenge? lol :). So now I'd love to know what you want to aim for in 2016!

You do not have to become a follower of my blog to enter this giveaway but I would be delighted if you chose to become one :). You can follow my blog via the Google Friend Connect ('Join this site' button in my sidebar), on Bloglovin' or by subscribing by email (or you can enter your email in the sidebar gadget). 

You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr :).

Included in the bundle:

Stampendous clear stamp sets x6 - BlockArt Tweet Friends, Cat Sayings, Beary Mice, Dog Sayings, Hoppy Moments, Mice Wishes

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L: 1x pack of Clear Photo Corners, E-Z Dots Mini Runner, 1x 3D Foam Pennants, 2x Creative Photo Corners - Silver, 2x Creative Photo Corners - Gold

2x Crimson Cloud clear stamp sets; 4x unmounted rubber stamps - Aspects of Design & others

2x wood mounted stamps - Wild Flowers and Nature Trail

1x pack of Christmas Bows; 1x Rubby Slipper ColorBox Glitter; 2x WOW! Embossing Powders - Ruby Romance & Red Glitz; 1x 5 pcs Cuttlebug Occasions Embossing/Die Set

Fancy Pants - Be Different Button Set & Toppers; John Lewis Christmas Mittens Card Toppers

Giveaway #2 - How To Enter!

The Giveaway #2 is my way of saying 'THANK YOU' to my lovely blog followers and those who take time to leave a few words on the projects I share - you are the reason I keep blogging and keep sharing my crafty potterings. Thank you so much for all your friendship and support in 2015!

To enter my Giveaway #2, please become a follower of my blog (if you're not one already) and leave a comment on any of the projects I blogged in December 2015. The number of comments you leave will equal the number of times your name will be put in the hat :).

If you follow my blog already and have commented on any of my projects in December, your name has been automatically added to the draw - yay! :)

To become a follower you can use the Google Friend Connect button ('Join this site' button in my sidebar), you can follow me via Bloglovin' or by subscribing by email (or you can enter your email in the sidebar gadget).

Ps. You can also find me on Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Flickr :).

Included in the bundle:

1x jewellery/trinket Box hand decorated (by yours truly lol)

7x The Artistic Stamper unmounted rubber stamps: Sneaker #1, Money Bird, Birdz set, Kiki, Franswar, Mystical Bird, Mechanical Bird

1x Crafty Individuals unmounted rubber stamp CI-282, 

1x Marianne Design clear stamp set - CS0860

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L: 1x Adhesibe Essentials Bundle, 1x pack of Mounting Squares, 1x 3D Foam Pennants, 2x Creative Photo Corners - Silver, 2x Creative Photo Corners - Gold

2x paper packs 6x6" - Lawn Fawn & Paper Cellar, 1x Tombow Foam Tape

1x Spellbinders In'spire Caged die, 1x Hampton Art Jillibean Soup Pea Pod Parts, 

1x Stampendous Spoonful of Confetting Fran-tage kit

1x origami paper set, 1x pack of book corners/markers, 1x acrylic mini album, 

1x Woodware border craft punch - Holly Leaf, 1x decorative edge scissors - Wave, 

15x mulberry paper roses, 5x dry poppy seed heads

Both giveaways are open internationally. You can enter until midnight (GMT) on 6th January 2016 and I will draw the winners on the 7th January 2016 :). I will endeavour to contact the winners directly - please be sure I can easily find a way of contacting you back - either via your blog or by leaving your email with your entry. If the contact is not successful, I will draw another winner/s.

Every single participant has something exciting to give away so be sure to visit them all and enter in the drawings. Your next stop is: Jennifer Ingle aka JINGLE :).

Lawn Fawn

Lawnfawn.blogspot.com

Scrapbook Cards & Today Magazine

http://www.scrapbookandcardstodaymag.typepad.com

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L

http://www.scrapbook-adhesives.com/blog

Reverse Confetti

https://reverseconfetti.com/blog/

Technique Tuesday

http://techniquetuesday.typepad.com

CAS-ual Friday Stamps

http://cas-ualfridaysstamps.blogspot.com

Verve Stamps

http://www.vervestamps.blogspot.com

Donna Salazar

http://donnasalazardesigns.blogspot.com

Richard Garay

http://www.richardgaray.com/blog/

AdTech

https://makesomethingreat.wordpress.com

Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

http://notimetostamp.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com

Inchie Arts

http://www.inchiearts.typepad.com

Avocado Arts

http://www.avocadoarts.blogspot.com

OHscrap (Bossy Joscie)

http://www.cutchens.com

Rubermoon Stamps

http://www.rubbermoonarts.blogspot.com

Latina Crafter

http://latinacrafter.blogspot.com

A Jillian Vance Design

http://blog.ajillianvancedesign.com

JustNick

http://justnick.myshopify.com/blogs/justnick

Your Everyday Stamps

http://youreverydaystamps.blogspot.com

Latisha Yoast

http://www.crafteebee.blogspot.com

AJ Otto

http://thewillowgarden.blogspot.com

Kimberly Crawford

http://kimberly-crawford.blogspot.com

Julia Stainton

http://juliastainton.com/blog/

Laurie Willison

http://www.soapboxcreations.blogspot.com

Teri Anderson

https://terisplace.wordpress.com

Jennifer Gallacher

http://jengallacher.blogspot.com

Vera Yates

http://www.lingshappyplace.blogspot.com

Wanda Guess

http://www.ablogcalledwanda.com

Nichol Magouirk

http://www.nicholmagouirk.typepad.com

Kelly Klapstein

http://www.kellycreates.ca

Anabelle O’Malley

http://www.anabelleom.blogspot.com

Kim Watson

http://kj-starre.blogspot.com

Chari Moss

http://www.mossymade.com

Laura Bassen

https://laurafadora.wordpress.com

Lydia Fiedler

http://understandblue.blogspot.com

Lisa Adametz

http://www.papergrace.com

Alice Wertz

http://aliceslittlewonderland.blogspot.com

Daniela Dobson

http://danieladobson.blogspot.com

Jenn Shurkus

Shurkus.com

Lori Craig

http://loricraig.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com

Amy Tsuruta

http://tsurutadesigns.blogspot.com

Lisa Henke

http://www.mylittlecreativeescape.blogspot.com

Margie Higuchi

http://margieh.blogspot.com

Lee Murphy

http://luvleestamper.blogspot.com

Lori Tecler

http://inkingaloud.blogspot.com

Dina Kowal

http://mamadinis.blogspot.com

Loretta Lock

http://lovetocreate.blogspot.ca

Darsie Bruno

http://craftingwithdarsie.blogspot.com

Marcie Sharp

http://www.cardmakinchaos.blogspot.com

Veronica Zalis

http://lk2thestarz.blogspot.com/?m=1

Barbara Anders

http://barspaperpursuits.blogspot.com

Maria Levine

http://riacreations.blogspot.com

Dana Joy

http://www.gotjoycreations.blogspot.com

Melody Rupple

http://apapermelody.blogspot.com

Keri Sereika

http://www.pinklemonade.typepad.com

Asia King (YOU ARE HERE)

http://underacreativespell.blogspot.com

Jennifer Ingle

http://justjingle.blogspot.com

Yvonne Van de Grijp

http://phoebeez.blogspot.nl

Beth Pingry

http://bethpingry.com

Erica Houghton

http://ericahoughton.blogspot.com

Mary-Ann Maldonado

http://lumpbumpandclump.blogspot.com

Piali Biswas

http://touchofcreation.blogspot.com

Ashley Newell

http://www.hearthugsdesigns.com

Nicole Maki

http://madebynicole.blogspot.com

Julee Tilman

http://www.poeticartistry.blogspot.com

Leigh Penner

http://www.leighpenner.blogspot.com

Christina Griffiths

http://flowersribbonsandpearls.blogspot.co.uk

Lindsay Amrhein

http://lindsayamrhein.blogspot.com

Laura Williams

http://www.lauralooloo.blogspot.com

Debbie Seyer

http://www.debbieseyer.com/my_weblog/

Christine Emberson

http://creativity-continues.blogspot.co.uk

Kerry Urbatch

http://www.thestampingbugsjourney.blogspot.com

Linda Lucas

http://lovelylindascraftcentral.blogspot.com.au

Tosha Leyendekker

http://www.stamptalkwithtosh.blogspot.com

Giovana Smith

http://giovana-believe.blogspot.com

Bunny Vance

http://www.bunnyrunswithscissors.com

Stacey Schafer

http://stampinwithstacey.blogspot.com

Lee Ann Barrett

http://greytpapercrafts.blogspot.com

Ruby Naz

http://www.arareruby.com

Julie Dinn

http://www.kreativejewels2.com

Jill Hawkins

https://fastestturtle.wordpress.com

Christiana Reulling

http://christygetscrafty.blogspot.com

Jodi Collins

http://stampingalatte.blogspot.com

Gracie Chavez

http://gracielliedesign.blogspot.com

Michelle Woerner

http://stopandstamptheroses.blogspot.com

Tania Willis

http://www.throughtrialsiambeingpurified.blogspot.com

Karisse Schilling

http://karissejoy.com

Lori McAree

http://smilingwhilestamping.blogspot.com

Ashley Harris

http://www.ashleyharris.typepad.com

Emily Leiphart

http://www.leiphartonart.blogspot.ca

Heidi Blankenship

http://embellished-dreams.blogspot.com

Coralynn Murray

http://sunrisestamper1.blogspot.ca

Tenia Nelson

http://jazzypaper.blogspot.com

Pretty Philosophie

http://www.prettyphilosophie.org

Jillian Vance

http://www.princessandthepaper.com

Misti Oblander

http://misti-acardaday.blogspot.com

Ceal Pritchett

http://simplybeautifulcreations.blogspot.com

Happy New Year everyone, may the New Year bring you many happy moments to share and new blessings to cherish.

And my heartfelt 'thank you' to Latisha Yoast - the fabulous lady who's behind this fantastic idea of Seasons Givings and who's committed a great amount of time to make it all happen!

Good luck and warm festive hugs!

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Wishes From The Snow Queen

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my Christmas Train Card and if you missed my post & tutorial for the Easy Glitter Ice Skates ornaments, be sure to check it out here.

Here's another Christmas card I haven't had a chance to post yet. This one is sporting a frosty Snow Queen look :). Hope you like it! I chose one of my favourite winter colour palettes of whites, blues and pink/purples - I love this colour scheme for frosty makes.

Supplies:

Stampendous:
Cling Snow Queen
Yule Diamonds Perfectly Clear Stamps™

Holiday Words Perfectly Clear Stamps™
Lavender Micro Glitter

Crystal Micro Glitter
Medium Perfectly Clear™ Acrylic Handle
Mixed Media White Paper

Memento™ Tuxedo Black Ink by Tsukineko®

Plus: Cardstock by Bazzill Basics Paper®

Adhesives by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L®: 3D Foam Squares Regular - White, Thin 3D Foam Squares Mix - White, DODZ™ - Medium, DODZ™ - 3D, E-Z Runner® Permanent Strips

Chameleon Color Tones Markers: NU1, BL3, BL6, BV4, PR4, PK3

Deco-Art Snow-Tex; Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Faded Jeans, Broken China, Peacock Feathers; Liquid Pearls; background paper - Sandylion Sticker Designs - Snowflakes; May Arts ribbon; decorative brad; paper distressing tool, cheese cloth, metal spatula, glitter pens.

Instructions:
1. Prepare an A6 card blank from purple cardstock.
2. Trim a background panel from Snowflakes paper 1/16 inch smaller than the card base on each side. 3. Using Yule Diamonds and Holiday Words stamps add some stamping to the background panel with the Distress Inks.
4. Distress the edges with a paper distressing tool or scissors. Adhere the panel to the card base.
5. Stamp the Snow Queen image in black onto the Mixed Media Paper and colour in with the Chameleon markers. Fussy cut the Snow Queen and the big snowflake.
6. Adhere the cut - out images to the card over the 3D foam squares - varying the height of the elements.
7. Adhere a piece of cheese cloth along the bottom edge of the card as if the Snow Queen was behind it.
8. Using a small metal spatula randomly spread some DecoArt Snow-Tex over the cheese cloth and sprinkle with Micro Glitters. Allow to dry fully.
9. Tie a double bow from coordinating ribbon, embellish it with a pearl brad and attach to the card using DODZ™ - 3D.
10. Finish the card with Liquid Pearls and glitter pen accents.

Also sharing today:
Pam Hornshu
Tenia Nelson

I am hoping to be back tomorrow with my favourite projects of 2015 - hope you will get a moment to pop in before your New Year's celebrations begin :). But I am certainly back on the 1st January 2016 with a BIG SWEET SURPRISE and to wish you all a Happy New Year :).

Thank you so much for stopping by and for any kind words left to let me know you've been - every comment is much appreciated.

Big crafty hugs





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Challenges for this card:
DecoArt Mixed Media Blog - Winter Wonderland Challenge
Frilly and Funkie - Holiday Hues
That's Crafty Challenge Blog - Anything Goes

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