Christmas From a Repurposed Stamp, Part A

Hello, Stampers!

Welcome! This date brings us to a point on the calendar where we are literally down to a month of Sundays before Christmas!  

I have been itching to make this card since I saw my friend Shirley post about the Craft Stamper magazine's "Make It Take It" November challenge, which is to use a "non-Christmas stamp to create a Christmas-themed image."

This is my entry:

I'll bet there are a lot of you SU fans who instantly recognized where my sweet filigree "ornaments" came from, yes? Without further a dew, here is the non-Christmas stamp I used:

This Allium flower stamp came as part of a three-stamp set, whose name I've forgotten. I have to say I'm quite pickled at how well it doubled as a Christmas stamp! I found the little ribbon in my "Bows" stamp container. It is unmarked, but I think it might have started life as a SU image, as well.

The awesome sediment is a NBUS Penny Black stamp which made a perfect shelf for hanging my "ornaments." Every part of the design was heat embossed and the bows were given an additional coating of Wink of Stella sparkle.

There are a couple of days left in this challenge, if you want to join in the fun! The link will take you to the post with all the details. The sponsor is The Artistic Stamper.

I had fun repurposing another stamp, too, so I'll be back with Part B in a separate post in a couple of days. As you all know, I never seem to have enough time to use up my stamps for what they are intended, let alone for what they aren't intended, but I recommend trying this exercise. I think you'll have fun looking around to see how you might stretch your stamps this way!

Craft Stamper is allowing participants to enter other challenges, so I'm also linking with:

• Penny Black and More Challenge, where the theme is "Anything Goes."
• STAMPlorations Blog, where the theme is "Stamps & Layers."
• TIME OUT Challenges, where the theme is "Embossing, with the optional twist of sparkle."
• Uniko Studio Challenge, where the theme is "Christmas, Anything Goes" with an optional sketch. 

If you would like more information on rules, sponsors, and prizes, please click on the links!

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New Friends Corner

Here are three more new friends for you to meet! They are happy to provide you with lots of inspiration!

Louise van Vuren of Cats, Cards, and Cupcakes. Louise, mother of three and wife of Tom, has been blogging since 2012. Not surprisingly, she is on several design teams and has won many awards. Louise loves the clean and simple card style and is always enthusiastic about trying her hand at new techniques!

Pat of Stamp, Paper, and Ink. Pat has been blogging since 2008! Needless to say, Pat has won many, many awards and served on numerous design teams. Her cards are uniquely designed, often whimsical, and always impeccably made!

Ellie of My Creative Moments. Ellie is another long-time stamper and blogger. She started stamping over a decade ago and started blogging in 2008! Like Pat and Louise, Ellie has won many awards and often served as a guest designer and design team member. Her talents with layering and coloring will awe you!

Thank you for joining, ladies, and welcome to the Playhouse!

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Critter Update

When the Mister was raking yesterday, he reached for some stray leaves along the window ledge and almost gathered up this praying mantis:

It was incredible watching her swivel that E.T.-like head and have those two wide-set pinpoint eyes look right into mine. The design is just fascinating. I took a piece of paper and moved her over to a tree so she wouldn't get scooped up in the leaf cleanup.

Now I wonder if maybe that was a bad place to put her considering birds live up there. Out of the frying pan and into the fire? Shucks. It's not easy being a bug.

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Enjoy your day! No, seriously, enjoy.  LITS!* 

As always, thank you for coming by to visit the Playhouse and special thanks to you if you take the time to leave a comment and/or join as a follower! Please let me know you came by, so I can be sure and return the flavor!

 

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