Phoenix Inspirations

 It’s a long time till Christmas 2026 but crafters usually like to be prepared and have a lovely stash of cards ready for the festive season. Last year I wasn’t prepared and shock horror I had to buy some cards and I don’t want it to happen again. Therefore I have rooted out my Christmas stamps and made my first Christmas card of the year. I used a sketch from a challenge blog that I set up a very long time ago. I had to leave it a while ago but it's lovely to see that it's still going strong and it's my go to site for theme, sketch and colour challenges for Christmas. Here is their current sketch challenge that I used for my card. 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Thank you for stopping by today to take a look at my card - hope to see you here again soon 💕

 I have decided to try and get on top of my Christmas cards early this year and so far it’s going well!!! Here is a card that has been made using the Sweet Gingerbread set - I love gingerbread houses and the stamps and matching dies are really cute. I used the sketch from  52 Christmas Card Throwdown  - this is a brilliant Christmas challenge blog (I started it many years ago with Mynn Kitchen) and it’s a perfect way to get organised with Christmas crafting. Thank for stopping by today - see you soon - J xx

 it's time for another Christmas card - I make two a month for the DT line up over at  Christmas 24 The idea is to make Christmas cards all year round so that it's not such a rush at the end of the year. If you take part in every challenge you should have a tidy pile of at least 24 cards by the end of the year. It also makes use of all our fab Christmas stamps that we don't want to put away at the end of December! The theme this time is Here is my card Please do pop over to the blog to take a look at all the other fab DT cards and maybe even have a go yourself. Thanks for stopping by today - see you soon - J xx

 It's that time again - we have a new challenge over on Christmas 24 I chose the Season of Snowmen set to create these cards and used a light Smoky Slate blend pen to colour him. We are running a Guest Designer spot now so if you fancy having a go pop over to the blog for all the details. See you soon - J xx

 Just a quck post to direct you to our new challenge over at  Christmas 24 And here is my card Please do pop over to the challenge blog and maybe take part? At leaset take a look at all the other fabulous DT work. See you soon - J xx

Oh my goodness - where did February go???? I know it's a short month but honestly one minute it was there and then poof - gone!!!! I haven't been doing much crafting really - battling with my fibro and taking care of mum. Mum has been Pfizered but I'm still waitng for my jab - thankfully we are both well and covid free. So today I have my DT card for the challenge over at Christmas 24 It's a Tic Tac Toe recipe this time and here is the grid to choose from I choose a diagonal line: DIE CUTS, RIBBON, SEQUINS Here is my card For this card I used the now retired Ornamental Envelopes Bundle. I purchased this set but for some reason didn't use it in time for last Christmas - thank goodness for Christmas challenge blogs!! I also CASEd a card I'd seen by my blog friend Kerry Timms - she makes fabulous cards and I needed a bit of inspiration! Please do pop over to the challenge blog and take a look at all the other wonderful DT cards. See you soon - J x

 Hello - it's time for another challenge over at CHRISTMAS 24 No other colours except black or gray for a sentiment. Here is my card Just a very clean and simple card using the Detailed Dove dies (now retired). I die cut the dove's wings and made them into angel wings just adding a simple pearl for embellishment. The sentimet is from the Dove of Hope stamp set (also retired). Do pop over and take a look at all the exquisite DT cards and I will see you soon - J x

 It's all systems go for our Christmas card challenge over at Christmas 24 The idea is to start making your Christmas cards now and then hopefully when it comes to the end of the year you will a nice pile of Christmas cards ready to send out. The first challenge of the year is  That's right as long as it's a Christmas card it can be entered into our challenge. Here's my card Would you believe that the poinsettia petals are made from the two leaf stamps in the Rooted in Nature set ? I thought that they worked pretty well - don't you? Watch out for our next challenge coming on the 15th of January. Bye for now - J xx

It's time for another challenge over at  Christmas 24 And this week the theme is Here is my card A bit of masking went into this card and some colour blending with some brushes too. Coloures used are: SaharaSand Emerald Envy (retired) Early Espresso Poppy Parade Stamp sets used are: Peaceful Boughs Natures Beauty All products used are Stampin' Up - message me to order on jacquelinenm68@gmail.com Can you believe it's September already and less than 20 weeks to Christmas! I do love this time of year though it's so lovely to see the changing colours of the leaves on the trees and feeling that nip in the air as the first frosts arrive. Fall crafting is also fun as the colours are so exciting to work with. Check my Facebook Page Phoenix inspirations for more cards and live video crafting. Thanks for stopping by today - see you soon - J xx

It's that time again when I share with you mt DT card for  Christmas 24 Challenge Blog And this time we are creating Fancy Fold Cards I have been creating Double Point Fold cards recently so I decided to make one for this challenge - take a look It uses the new stamp set from the Autumn/Winter mini which is called Coming Home. The images are coloured using my Stampin' Blends and the DSP is from the Forever Greenery collection. Here's how it opens Thanks for stopping by today - see you soon - J xx

Yep - it's time for another  Christmas 24 challenge. This time the theme is And here is my card This is another card made from the retiring Colourful Seasons. This time I have glittered the branch and added die cut snowflakes the centres of which are adorned with an epoxy droplet. The droplets have been coloured with a dark Night Of Navy blend marker. i found a scrap of silk ribbon in my stash and my stamped snowflakes were inked with Pacific Point ink. The whole card was mounted on to a Pacific Point card base. I did a Facebook Live video on how I made this card which can be found on my page Phoenix Inspirations. Thanks for looking - see you soon - J xx

Just a quick post to direct you to the  Christmas 24 Challenge Blog Where our new challenge is And here is my card So I took a piece of Whisper White card stock and randomly stamped some snowflakes. I used Basic Gray for the larger flakes then a pale blue - Coastal Cabana and then I finished up with a brighter blue with Bermuda Bay. Into each flake I added a sparkly gem. I mounted my card stock on to some Basic Gray card which was then attached to a base of Bermuda Bay. The greeting is from the same set (retired) Endless Wishes and this was also layered like the card. A big gross grain gray ribbon was added as a finishing touch. Hope you like it and that you pop over to take a look at all the fab sparkly cards from my DT. See you soon  - J xx

Time for another Christmas 24 challenge and this time it's a sketch - take a look And here is my card This jolly snowman belongs to the set Snowman Season and is coloured in using my Stampin' Blends. The circles were die cut on the Big Shot and placed over a strip of card stock stamped with the snowflakes also from that set. You will find the challenge over at  Christmas 24 Please do pop on over and take a look at the other DT cards on show. Thanks for stopping by today - see you soon - J xx

It's time for another Christmas card challenge over at  Christmas 24 Me and my DT colleagues have been working hard to bring you a gorgeous selection of cards along the theme of CHRISTMAS TREES Here is my card  I have used the tree from the Stampin' Up set Winter Woods and in that set there is an image with a group of tree trunks. I masked off all but one of the trunks and then stamped it under my tree. The sentiment was embossed in in gold and red gems were added to the branches of the tree. A hand drawn frame adds the fininshing touch. It would be great if you could pop over and take a look at al the other DT cards - they really are beautiful. Thanks for stopping by today - see you soon - J xx

It's time for a new challenge over at Christmas 24 and here is my card I've used the outline stamp of Christmas Rose and embossed it in gold on to vellum. I then coloured in the roses using my Poppy Parade Blends marker. Another rose was stamped, embossed and coloured and then cut out and attached with a dimensional. A retired greeting was added and some some red gems as a finishing touch. Please do pop over and take a look at the other works of art provided by the DT and you never know - you might want to join in! See you soon - J xx

I am starting a new challenge blog on the 1st January 2020. It's purely for Christmas cards and will take place on the 1st and 15th of the month. If you are interested in being part of the Design Team please leave a comment below with your contact details and I will get back to you. Christmas 24

It's time for another challenge over at the Rainbow Card Challenge and this week we have a Rainbow colour scheme for you. Rainbow Card Challenge Here is my card - a cute reindeer showing off his gorgeous multi-coloured baubles on his antlers! This was such a quick and easy card to make. I used my Dashing Deer stamp set and heat embossed my reindeer with copper embossing powder. The sentiment was stamped with Cherry Cobbler ink and then my self adhesive gems were coloured using my Stampin' Blends. this is the kind of card that can be ultra simple as it is here or it can have all the bells and whistles added too and this is certainly a possibility that I will be exploring very soon so please do pop back and take a look. Thanks for stopping by today - Happy Advent everyone!! - J xx

It's Bingo time at  Make My Monday  - take a look at the card and choose a line: up, down, side to side or horizontal - it's up to you I have gone for the line with Patterned Paper, Punches or Dies and Distressing - take a look I have two cute little Christmas owls just about to kiss under the mistletoe - here's what I used Materials Stamps: Sassy Salutations, Christmas Blessings Ink: Lucky Limeade, Early Espresso Card Stock: Whisper White, Crumb Cake Paper: Christmas Candlelight Speciality DSP Accessories: 2 Step Owl Punch, Dimensionals, Sponges, Lucky Limeade organza ribbon, Basic Pearls (All items are from Stampin' Up - please see my details at the top of the page for ordering purposes) This is the last MMM challenge of the year so please pop over and wish the rest of the DT a Happy Christmas. Bye for now - Jacqueline xx

When I started this blog at the end of last year I did it so I would not be stressed or rushed making Christmas cards now. I succeeded and I hope you did too. This is our last challenge this year but don't worry we will be back in January with more challenges and ideas for getting you organised for Christmas 2013. I couldn't have done it with out my team though: Mynnette who joined me at the beginning and Ruth, Louise, Danielle and Patty who joined us half way through the year - thanks ladies I'm looking forward to working with you next year. For this week's challenge we are going Crackers - take a look Interpret this as you wish - images of crackers, hats, toys confetti etc - you can even do a joke card it's up to you. I'm afraid I didn't do anything adventurous - my card just looks like a cracker - take a look This is actually a Diamond Fold card embellished for Christmas - here's another view Materials Stamps: Christmas Bl...

It's Saturday so that must mean time for another challenge over on the  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown . This week we want you to add PEARLS to your projects Here is my card Today I have turned my Summer Silhouettes into Winter Silhouettes!! My pearls have been added as berries on my leaves. Materials Stamps: Summer Silhouettes, Christmas Blessings Ink: Bashful Blue, Marina Mist, Midnight Muse, Cherry Cobbler Card Stock: Naturals White Accessories: Basic Pearls (order any of these items and more - my details are above) Please do hop on over and check out all the other wonderful cards created by the DT and I will see you soon - Jacqueline xx