Winter Fun 4 Kids at Send a Smile 4 Kids!

It’s time for another fun challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids and this time our theme is Winter Fun 4 Kids. Your cards can be holiday cards or any winter themed cards. We have three very generous sponsors this week: The Cutting Café is giving their winner 3 digis or cutting files of their choice! And Crackerbox Palace is giving their randomly picked winner a $15 Gift Certificate! Cuddly Buddly’s winner will receive a 5 pound Gift Certificate!  TEAM S.A.S will also be choosing their favorite cards for our top three and the winners will receive a blog badge and an opportunity to be a guest design team member on a future challenge. Please visit the blog to see all the great cards shared by the TEAM S.A.S. design team. 

My first card above features a darling sliding snowman from Crackerbox Palace. I created a snowglobe shape for my card, did a little paper piecing and sponging, and added some snowflakes and a couple perfect sentiments also from Crackerbox Palace.

My second card features a mitten shape from a cutting file by The Cutting Cafe'. I love to make fun shaped cards and The Cutting Cafe's files make them so easy to do. I embossed the mitten shape and added a snowflake shape and a sentiment to complete the CAS card.

My last winter fun card for my kids is an easel card created with a darling freebie from Cuddly Buddly. I printed it twice and cut out and raised the twin skating bears with pop dots. The card is folded and stands up with a row of raised snowflakes punched out with my Martha Stewart snowflake border punch. 

I am entering these cards in the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp and the challenge at Penny's Paper Crafty for "more than one fold."

Stamping smiles for my kids, Karen 

Couple More CAS Kids Christmas Cards

Two more today and a few more tomorrow and I think I am done sharing the holiday cards I made this year. These are two CAS ones I made for my kids at SAS4Kids. The one above started with a scalloped card and I embossed some snowflakes on it. Then I added a dimensional sticker I got at a stamp show.

This card also started with a scalloped card base and again I embossed the card. Then I simply added a teddy bear stocking which was a pre-colored digi I got from Cuddly Buddly.

I am entering these cards in the challenges at Paper Sundaes for Celebrate and at Incy Wincy Designs for Winter Wonderland.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Crafty Boots and Stamps R Us Challenges

The challenge this week at Crafty Boots is anything goes and at Stamps R Us it is embossing. I just love this new embossing folder I got from Crafts Too and have used it in several of my new cards this season. The corner punch is from Martha Stewart and the 3D digital stamp is from Cuddly Buddly. All together they make a lovely CAS holiday card.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Card Cupids and Stamptacular Sunday Challenges

The challenge this week at Card Cupids is Cards for Kids and at Stamptacular Sunday it is Anything Christmas. Not a challenge for me at all as I love making Christmas cards for my kids. This is another of the freebie digital stamps from Cuddly Buddly and it is 3D! It is already colored for you and you print and cut out the layers and the finished image is 3D. Too cute! I put the image on an embossed layer (Sizzix) and added a simple sentiment to complete the card.

I just have to share: Send a Smile 4 Kids is the featured charitable organization chosen by CardMaker Magazine this month in their Readers Reach Out section!! You can read about it here and pick up a copy on newstands now or very very soon!

Stamping big smiles, Karen

Paper Crafting Journey and Paper Shelter Challenges

Embossing is the challenge at Paper Crafting Journey this week and Snowflakes is the theme at Paper Shelter. I made this card using a freebie digi from Cuddly Buddly and a snowflake embossing folder from Cuttlebug. I like the layout of this card. The navy piece that is tied with baker's twine is 4 1/4" wide and sticks out from the white card base. The digi image from Cuddly Buddly was printed, cut out and raised with mounting tape to complete this CAS card.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Hooked on Crafts and My Partner in Crafting Crime Challenges

The challenge this week at Hooked on Crafts was Punches and Diecuts, and at My Partner in Crafting Crime it is to use a freebie on our card. I made this card with a freebie from Cuddly Buddly and it was pre-colored for me too:) So cute and easy to make into a fun card for my kids for the holidays. The top flap of this card was cut down about an inch on the right and bottom with the corner rounded. I punched a row of snowflakes with my Martha Stewart border punch. CAS but cute with the darling image from Cuddly Buddly.

Stamping smiles, Karen

CASual Fridays and Mami Doodles Challenges

The challenge this week at CASual Fridays is to make a CAS card with an element that goes over the edge, and at Mami Doodles, the theme is Christmas. I started this card with a 4 1/4" square red card that I embossed with a Sizzix embossing folder and added the Martha Stewart snowflake border to. The super cute Christmas teddy is a pre-colored digital stamp from Cuddly Buddly and I printed him and cut him out and he sticks over the top of the card, but just high enough to fit into an A2 envelope.

Stamping smiles, Karen

Digital Tuesday and Charisma Cardz Challenges

Cute and Cuddly is the theme of the challenge this week at Digital Tuesday and at Charisma Cardz, they want to see Cutesy. I made a bunch of cute cards for my kids using free and already colored digis from Cuddly Buddly, so these challenges are perfect for one of those cards. Isn't the holiday teddy in a wreath just adorable? I printed and cut him out with my nesties and layered on another nestie circle. The card itself was made with a red stripe attached before embossing the whole card with a holly embossing folder from Sizzix. CAS and cute!

Stamping smiles, Karen

Papercrafting Journey, Meljen's and Winter Wonderland Challenges

The challenge this week at Papercrafting Journey is to use a digi; at Meljen's it is Christmas; and at Winter Wonderland it is CAS Christmas. I found a whole bunch of free digital stamps at Cuddly Buddly as well as many many others too cute to resist. So easy to make a CAS holiday card for my kids. I love to paper piece, but in this case I chose the colored version and simply printed and cut out. Add some dp, snowflakes and a snowflake border (Martha Stewart) and the card is complete. Isn't the Santa balloon sweet?

Stamping smiles, Karen

"For the Girls" Challenge at SAS4Kids

It's time for a new challenge at Send a Smile 4 Kids and this time we are challenging you to make and link a card for a girl. We have three generous sponsors you can win prizes from: Cardmadfairy, whose prize is 5 digital stamps of the winner's choice, Cuddly Buddly, whose prize is a 5 pound gift certificate (British money good for about 5 digis too or other choices), and Shelley's Images, whose prize is a $9 gift certificate. You have until November 4th at noon CST to enter this challenge.

We have chosen this theme to draw attention to the type of card we do not receive enough of here at SAS4Kids- cards for our older or teenage girls. Any card for a girl is OK for the challenge, but when designing cards for SAS4Kids, please keep our teenage kids in mind. We were also thrilled to announce this week that SAS4Kids has three new children's hospitals and another address for you to send your cards to. You can read all about it here.



As always, I had so much fun using our sponsor's images and designing my cards. Above is a lovely girl from Cardmadfairy. I made a smaller easel card that will fit into an A2 envelope, so 5 1/2" tall and the base is 4 1/4" square. I paperpieced her coat, hat and boots and colored the rest with my copics. The punched and diecut borders are made using my new Borderabilities from Nestabilities.The light purple border was raised to hold up the easel front.

My next two cards were made with fun digital images from Cuddly Buddly. If you know me or follow my blog, you know I don't really like to color. When I found these awesome images (and many many more) on the Cuddly Buddly site and they were already colored, I wasn't able to resist. I printed a bunch, and designed some CAS holiday and fall cards for my kids using them. If you prefer to color your own, these stamps are available uncolored too. If you are on a crafting budget like me, be sure to check out all the free images available at Cuddly Buddly and also all the very reasonably priced ones too.

Both of the cards above use a gatefold design, but turned in two different ways. I used dp or embossed paper and some punches and baker's twine to complete the cards.

I am entering these cards in the challenges at Fab n Funky for Fall Colors, I Brake for Challenges for Girl Power, and Ruby's Rainbow for Cute and Cuddly.

Stamping smiles, Karen