Thursday, October 9, 2025

Another Christmas Playdate with Michele & A Bit of Halloween

Hello friends.  Michele and I had another playdate last week and worked on some more Christmas cards, and even a tiny bit of Halloween!  It's always so much fun when we can "borrow" each others supplies when we get together, and this time was no different!  We started with a new Christmas stencil set from Kristina Werner and Concord & 9th called Holiday Icons. I had played with this set before, but Michele had not and absolutely loved it...I knew she would!!  Of course I didn't mind playing with it again (it's one of those that's kinda addicting!!) and picked out 5 very non-traditional ink colors to stencil with...


Well the green is Christmas-y, but not so much the oranges and teals...I still like the color combo though.  Inks are C&9 and the joy sentiment is from The Greetery's Opposites Attract Holiday and PTI's Say It Simply: Merry & Bright sentiment is on the right hand card.  I love that the stenciling does all the work and you just add a sentiment!!

We also played with a Impression Obsession trio of birdies (E19968 by Lindsay Ostrom) I've had for ages and made into this simple card...


I kept my coloring of the birdies very simple (grays & brown Copics) and greens and red for the leaves and berries.  I fussy cut around the bottom edge of the leaves (and tail) and added a piece of plaid from Paper Rose's Merry Little Christmas Patterns


I finished with a very thin strip of red glitter cs behind the trio and a sentiment from PTI's Think Big Favorites: #20. Oh and a leftover snowflake from IO with a red gem in the center.  


This little shopping bear is from Michele's PB stash and is part of the Teddy Tidings stamp set.  I colored her with my Copics and then added her to a little scene complete with snowy trees ( PB's tree border) die and a few IO snowflakes.


 
I'm not real thrilled about the way I colored the shopping bags, but by the time I added the trees and glitter, the snowflakes & the Double Frames that Michele brought along, the card didn't turn out too bad!  The sentiment is from PB's tiny tinsel stamp set and fit perfectly in the little bit of space I had.


And now a little break from Christmas for a spooky little Halloween card...just kidding! NOT spooky at all!  This sweet little witch is from PB's fa-boo-lous set and I once again colored her up with my Copics.  


After fussy cutting her out, I placed her on a background I embossed with SU!'s Subtle ef and another of Michele's frames (PB plated frames circle dies).  I also added a couple of PB's abstract pumpkin die cuts using sandable cardstock in orange and yellow.  The sentiment is from MFT's Spooktacular Friends. I colored in the stars on her little witch's costume with a silver sparkle pen, so in real life, this card does SPARKLE!! I bought this particular stamp set because of the ghosts, but ended up loving this sweet little witch even more!!  

I will be adding this last card to the current Double D Challenge and also the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.


Once again, we had a fantastic time hanging out together and working on cards...and of course laughing, chatting, and eating too!  I made chilli (even though it was in the low 80's last week) and Michele brought her yummy cornbread and lemon brownies...yummmmmmm!!  You can check out what Michele did while she was at my house right HERE.  I know we'll be blown away as usual!!  Hope you all have a good friend to stamp with too...one of the best treasures I've been blessed with!! :0) 


Thanks for stopping by today ... I love it when you do!



8 comments:

I Card Everyone said...

It's always such fun stenciling back-to-back and getting a double WOW with the big reveal, Marcia! I love your colors today and this stencil set will never go out of style!
Your trio of tweeties is SO cute [I like it way better than mine!] especially with that sweet plaid paper and wonderful stamped-red sentiment.
This little brown bear sure is cuddly looking and adorable even after all that shopping.
I was bewitched by that darling little witch and kitty, too... we can save the ghosties 'til next year! I love that we both colored the kitty gray/black!
Seeing your cards all made brings the joy of our crafty day right back to me, my friend! Thanks so much for hosting with the most-ing! xx =]

Birgit said...

So much fun packed into this post! All your cards are amazing, as always. I adore that little trio of birds. I love how simply you've colored them and gave them a pretty plaid resting spot. All the PB images are colored to perfection and each card is just as cute as can be.

Darlene said...

WOW! These are all just awesome! Such amazing inspiration! Thanks so much for joining in the fun at our Double D challenge! Good Luck and we hope you’ll come back often.

Darlene
DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS
Double D Co-Owner

Dotty Jo said...

Lovely cards, Marcia, and I hear from Michele that you make a good chili too! There's definitely some snow on a couple of your cards so why not head on over to Christmas Kickstart and join the fun with Loll and me, Jo x

Lisa Elton said...

I always enjoy seeing the results of your playdates with Michele! These are are delightful, Marcia. I like your out of the box colors for the stencils and those darling PB images. But like I told Michele, there's just something very sweet about those little birds and they look so cute on the plaid paper with that wee strip of sprakle!

Bonnie said...

The stencil makes such neat backgrounds and works perfectly with those large sentiments. I love how you colored those little birds and the addition of the plaid. I feel a CASE coming on, lol. That sweet little bear looks so fuzzy and cuddly and I love her poinsettia! This is such a sweet little witch with her kitty! She looks so pretty with the orange and gold pumpkins. As always you made the most of a fun day together!

Leslie Miller said...

Oh, my gosh, I love when you and Michele get together! The results are such fun to see, and I also love to hear about lunch. A friend and I do the lunch exchange a few times a year and we always pull out craft supplies, but rarely actually do anything with them. Love your stencil colors. The birds are in my stash as well, and they're definitely favorites. The little bear is darling and, by the way, the packages look perfect. You're so right that the little witch girl is not spooky at all. She's adorable with her kitty friend framed up with the braided circle and those fabulous pumpkins. I just love everything! I'm so glad you shared your Halloween sweetie with us at Double D. Thanks, Marcia!

JoAnn said...

Your stenciled cards are fun and colorful but that birdie card is so sweet. Love it, as well as the cute shopping bear and the little withchy with her kitty. What fun time you and Michele have together and end up with such great cards. Thanks for sharing.