A Merry Little Christmas - December's Card Challenge

Well, here I am.
Late again!
Sigh.
We're a third of the way through the month already...
My apologies for the late start.
(One of these days I will get my act together!)

With the hustle and bustle of Christmas upon
us, I tend get lost in the busyness of
the season and forget about the little things
that are truly important. One thing that I
want to make sure not to forget through the
holidays this year is to be thankful -
for family (even when I'm tired of all the holiday parties!)
for food (even when I've baked the 20th dozen batch of cookies)
for winter (even when it takes half an hour to get everyone in their snowsuits!)
For the GREATEST GIFT OF ALL, JESUS CHRIST
(even though I don't deserve His gift of grace)

So, without further ado, here is your
challenge for the month of December:

1) Make a set of mini-set of thank you cards
(I'm thinking little 3x3's or small postcards)

2) Have them ready to jot notes to family and friends
and send them out before the end of the year!

Let's keep it simple and keep our hearts thankful!

Merry Christmas!
And God's richest blessing for 2011!
XOXO

November's Challenge

I've been meaning to post November's challenge for the past few days, but everytime I sat down at the computer, I forgot. Not today, though! Today is the day. Are you ready?

November's Hazzard County Card Challenge is to create a

Christmas Card

using the colours

Blue

Black

White

Silver/Grey

Can't wait to see what y'all come up with.

Make sure to link to your post with the Mr. Linky widget below :)

October Challenge!

So, once again, I'm behind the ball.
Sorry...

This month has been full and busy as ever.
Thankfully, amidst the craziness, there is just
so. much. BEAUTY.
i LOVE fall.
So, without further ado here is this month's challenge:

Create a card using the picture
below as your inspiration!

Our carrots are a-ma-zing this year.
Some of them are bigger than our 1 year old!
So whether you pull colours, layout or images
from this shot...whatever tickles your fancy...
have fun creating and I can't wait to see what
y'all come up with!

Happy Fall :)

September Challenge

I like music.

The Dukes of Hazzard television series had a great theme song.

I have a version of this song on a CD as performed by the band 'Weezer'. It is a great cover and it always makes me happy everytime I listen to it.

"Someday the mountain might get 'em, but the law never will."

One thing I love about music is the way it can affect your mood, remind you of a certain memory or help you to communicate something that can't be said in just words.

So your challenge for the month of September is this:

1) Make a card the uses paper PIECING, and
2) Make a card that is inspired by your favourite song or piece of music

That's it. Challenging enough, I think. I hope you have fun with this one! Can't wait to see what you create.

August's 2-part Challenge!

Breaker One, Breaker One. Might be crazy but I ain't dumb.
Crazy Cooter coming at ya, anyone home on the Hazzard Net??
-Cooter Davenport


Let me begin this month's post with an apology.
It is indeed halfway through the month already.
The challenge is just going up today.

I am sorry.

I could give you many excuses. Some legit, some not.
But, I will spare you the sob stories.
All I will say, after my long absence is...

"Man, I'm never gonna get out of this car again!
I'm gonna live in it, I'm gonna eat in it,
and I'm gonna make sweet love to it!"
- Bo Duke

LOL!!!

Don't fear fellow Duke Divas, we are back on track!
So, without further ado, here is August's challenge:

Using the following picture as your inspiration,
1) create a card/layout/paper craft for yourself
or a friend that 2) encourages growth or change.


We've been watching the caterpillars go through their
metamorphosis and are surrounded by hundreds of
beautiful butterflies. Seeing them flitting around everywhere,
and starting to feel the changing of the seasons, has really
inspired me to think about what needs to change and
grow in my own life. I know there's only a little over two
weeks left this month, but lets push ourselves to create
something meaningful and inspiring. Make something to
remind yourself of a goal or change you'd like to see in yourself,
or send an encouragement to a friend who is pursuing their dreams.
Whatever you do, have fun using the creative gift you've been given!
I can't wait to see what y'all come up with!

WINNER! and a challenge

So, July arrived, and the time has flown by! Where did the last week go to? I don't know.

First, a

HUGE

congratulations goes out to our fellow Duke Design Diva for winning this awesome prize! (just scroll down the page a bit, you'll find it....)

Check out her winning comment:




Seriously. It doesn't get more inspirational than that comment. You deserve it Angela :)

NOW

July's challenge is going to be exactly that - challenging.... and also simple.

I'm not going to place too much pressure on you this month. Just this -

Make a card that uses the 'emboss resist' technique.

I've never used this technique before (still not quite sure exactly what it all entails).

That's it. The rest is up to you. Colour, design, etc. Free reign!

Have a great time getting crafty! Can't wait to see your creations!

June's Challenge!

Hey girls! Summer has arrived in all its hot, sweaty glory and, although it's
only just June now, we've already been busy in the sprinkler, eating lots
of ice cream and slathering on the sunscreen. Wow! If this keeps up, I can't
imagine what August is going to be like!

I'm not sure how many of you know, but the first Sunday in June is
National Cancer Survivors Day, and I thought this would be
a wonderful celebration to base our monthly challenge around.
So, you have until June 30th to create a card that:

1.) is for someone who has been affected by cancer
(this can be directly or indirectly)

2.) Includes ribbon
(as various organizations have adopted different colour
ribbons to raise awareness. See http://www.rainbowofhopecanada.ca/
for a list of various cancers and their corresponding colours)


3. ) Is not a standard 5 1/2 x 4 1/4 single fold card
(just to shake things up and make y'all think outside the box!)

Well, that's it. I hope you have fun creating and may these
particular cards send out big blessings to their recipients!

Have a fantastic June everyone!

Wild Wing

This is another post that has nothing at all to do with our monthly challenge but everything to do with the Dukes.

A couple of weeks ago I was at the amazingly awesome restaurant Wild Wing enjoying some deliciously fantastic chicken wings. They had updated their menu since my last visit and I noted that one of the new chicken wing flavours (there are 101 in total) was related to our beloved Dukes of Hazzard.

Check it out...


In case you missed that, here's a close up...


I didn't try this new flavour (I stuck with my favourite "Sweet Escape") but if you are ever near one of these superb restaurants, you need to check it out. You can thank me later.

May's Challenge

Hello fellow scrappers and stampers!
Are y'all ready for another Hazzard County Card Challenge?

Last month was a blast.
Angela did a great job issuing her challenge for April.

And all of the submissions were a-maz-ing.

Your challenge for May, if you choose to accept it, is the following:

Make a card using the colour combo of Yellow, Grey and White.
And, to keep things interesting you must use the 'paper piercing' technique somewhere on the card.

That's it.

Let's kick the tires and light the fires!

April's Challenge!

April....oh how I love this month!!

The arrival of spring, rejoicing in Easter, and my

handsome farmer husband's birthday!!

I thought since April brings the celebration
of so much NEW LIFE, it would be fitting for
our challenge this month to create a baby card.
So here's dealy-o, keeping in mind all things fresh,
new, cute and roly-poly!

Create a CIRCLE-shaped card,
using a NEW (to you) product or embellishment
that you haven't opened yet (you know the
pretty things that you hoard and just look at,
because they are so gorgeous...USE THEM!!),
for a sweet little BABE (anything goes: think 'Congrats
on your bun in the oven', an infant baptism,
new baby, adoption, or 1st birthday card).

So there you go. You have until April 30th to
post your creation. Go and get crafty!!

Feel free to use this 'Mr. Linky' widget to link to your blog...

March Madness from Angela

So here's my card for this month...
Talk about a challenge!! This card definitely
went through some serious re-working before
I was happy with the finished product.

You can't really tell in the picture, but
the hearts that are stamped on the kraft
paper have a subtle, glittery finish due to
two-steppin' with some Versamark 'Dazzle'
before I inked them up with the Pale Plum.
Obviously, the colours are purples and greens
and it is a birthday card...I missed a couple
birthdays while I was out West and so the
inside reads "Sorry I'm late. Happy Birthday!"
For all the card details, you can visit The Scrapyard.

This was a great challenge - totally had to don
my thinking cap for this one :) Thanks Marnie!!
I'm having a blast playing along with you gals - so
stay tuned for April's challenge, coming on Thursday!

Marnie's March Madness

I had a good time making this month's card. I pondered for a while, sat down and sketched out my idea, and then set to work. This is the result:

This is a 3" x 6" card. I embossed the flowers in the lower right-hand side of the card in green, two-step stamped the butterfly with two other shades of green, cut it out and popped it up on the card with dimensionals. Then I highlighted the flight pattern of the butterfly with some green 'bling' on the purple cardstock base. Simple little birthday card.

Margarets March Challenge

Gasp!!! I am the first one to post my March challenge. How did that happen?

Well here is my lovely card for this months challenge and if you would like to read all the nitty gritty details of what I used to create this card, then just jump on over to my blog.

Hope you like this and can't wait to see what the other Duke Design Divas have come up with.

Cheers,

Margaret :)

March Challenge

March is a great month. Sadly, it usually signals the end of Winter, but on the upside, it's my birthday month! Yippee for me! Please, no gifts :)

So, for March's challenge...

purple/green
birthdays
two-step

Your challenge is to make a birthday card that uses two-step stamping in some way, and uses the colours purple and green on it somewhere.

That's all. The rest is up to you.

Happy Stamping!

Margarets February Post

Wow - my first card to share with you here on the Hazard County Card Challenge. I tell you Angela sure gave us a difficult challenge, really, did you see the colours on that wrapping paper. LOL

This card took me a bit to make but I think it turned out quite well. The circles may be a bit difficult to see. They are in behind the bird image and are stamped in Rose Red and Tangerine Tango. You know we were required to incorporate those colours in the card so I nicely tucked them in the background.

I did change up my pink a bit that really shows as Angela did say hot pink, so I went with Melon Mambo.


I hope you like this and have a great night. Can't wait to see what Angela has up her sleeve for next month.


Margaret :)

Marnie's Card

Argh! This challenge was so.....challenging ;) I was super excited when Angela first issued the challenge, but when I actually sat down and started making a card, I got so frustrated. The ideas seemed so great in my head, but the execution left a lot to be desired. However, I did end up making four different designs, and I decided that this is the best of the bunch:

The colours picked for the challenge can be quite overpowering, so I like how the white in the card helps to balance that out. I got to use my fun scallop edge punch, and my new circle stamps from Unity. Thought this could be a fun little card for a birthday.

Angela's February Challenge Card

Well, let me tell you, this month was a doozy!!

And I came up with the challenge - what was I thinking?!
Anyways, after a few failed attempts, I finally came up with
this card which I'm actually quite pleased with.
Very, very clean and simple. Not my usual style, but
I guess that's why we do these challenges, right?
Anyways, after a little dose of inspiration
involving clear embossing powder and a heat gun,
here's what I came up with:
I finally started up a 'crafty blog', so pop on over
and you can read about the details. I may even
post my flops, because it's always nice to learn
from someone else's mistakes rather than your own!
Well, I hope you're having fun with this months' challenge
and I can't wait to see what the rest of y'all come up with!

Card details:
Stamps: January Kit of the Month (Unity)
Card Stock: Whisper White (SU!)
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Rose Red, Tangerine Tango, More Mustard (SU!)
Vintage Photo (Tim Holtz Distress Ink)
Other: clear embossing powder (Hero Arts)

Poster

OK, so this has nothing at all to do with the card challenge for February, but everything to do with the Dukes.

Yesterday evening I enjoyed a lovely steak dinner with a few coworkers in one of the dorms on campus. On the wall in this dorm there was a poster of the General Lee. It was exactly the same as the picture featured on this blog (on the top of the menu at the left).

Seeing the poster reminded me of this new blog and the fun challenges we will have.

Can't wait to see everyone's creations this month!

February Challenge

On my birthday I received this AWESOME wrapping paper.
Okay, actually I received this awesome gift which came wrapped
in the AWESOME paper...but to me it was equally part of the gift.
I would never pair these colours together on my own
and probably wouldn't use so many colours on one card,
but that's what challenges are all about, right?
So here's the details for this months' creation:

1) Use dark purple, orange, mustard and hot pink
(The SU! colours are Elegant Eggplant, Tangerine Tango
More Mustard and Rose Red)
2) Incorporate dots - polka dots, circles, whatever...
3) Use one new stamp - something you haven't broke out
of the packaging yet, or one from an old set that
just hasn't received any inky lovin'

Think you can handle it?
You have until Feb.28th to post your card.
I know this one's gonna stretch my creative limits but

"After all if a man don't grow, he dies."
-Boss Hogg

Down to the wire...

Well, it's 9 o'clock Sunday night on the last day of January.

Talk about leaving things till the last minute!
So, without further ado, here's January's challenge card:

Okay, I know what you're thinking,
"Layout - check!
Unity stamp - check!
Button - ...what?? NO button!!
Where the heck in the world is the button?"
I know. My cards almost always have a button.
I think I have a slight obsession with buttons that goes back
to the hours I spent rummaging through my Oma's numerous
button tins in her sewing room when I was a little girl.
Anyways, I just couldn't figure out how to fit a button onto this card.
Well, it took me two weeks, but I finally figured it out -
thanks to a lovely Christmas card that had been sitting out on my
desk since December. From the beginning, I was inspired by the
structure of the 'easel card' and had wanted to try it out for myself.
Well, the inspiration had been staring me in the face all month,
and I finally got it figured out tonight!
Voila! Le button -

Thanks Marnie for an awesome challenge!
I would have never made this card without it.

Stay tuned for the details for the February challenge tomorrow.
Y'all are gonna love it :)

Card Details
Stamps: December Kit of the Month (Unity Stamps)
Patterned Paper: Bella Bleu (SU!)
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Bashful Bleu, Kraft (SU!)
Other: Button, Hearts punch, Corner Rounder punch, twill tape,
linen thread (SU!), eyelet (MM), pearl (Kaiser Crafts)

Marnie's Card

Here's my contribution for the January card challenge. Since I don't own a sewing machine, I chose to hand stitch just two corners of the patterned paper instead of sewing around the entire edge. I also opted for hemp instead of ribbon, and I moved the tag to the bottom right-hand corner.

January Challenge

Using the card design for January 10th in the Card-A-Day book as your layout inspiration (Bambino), you must use one stamp from Unity's December KOM, and at least one button.